Johnson Bill - Face To Face With God

Acknowledgments

I want to give special thanks to Dann Farrelly for his continual help and counsel in all my writing. Dann, I owe you big time.

Special thanks to Allison Armerding for helping me in the last mile. Allison, you did good, again.

Pam, thanks for your editing. Special thanks for doing so while on your vacation.

Thanks to Anne Kalvestrand for helping with research for chapter 7.

Special thanks to Mary Walker (Jodi, too) for helping me complete this projectyoure amazing!

Chapter 1
The Journey Begins

The air is pregnant with possibilitycan you feel it? Heaven itself is longing to invade the natural realm. Darkness may cover the earth, but Gods glory upon His people is becoming more and more realized, bringing hope to the most hopeless situations.

God is opening up His treasure house of truth and releasing it all over mankind in remarkable ways. The apostle Pauls prayer is being answered before our eyes: I give thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:1617, NKJV). Like birth pangs signaling the time of delivery, things are being released in revelation knowledge that have been preserved through the ages for this particular hour. In other words, this exponential increase in wisdom and revelation is being precipitated by the day that God is releasing in our time in history. Im not talking about new books of the Bible or other holy writings. Im talking about the Holy Spirit unlocking the very Scriptures we hold in our hands.

And what is this day that God is unveiling? It is a day of divine encounters, at least for those who will pursue what this revelation is making available. The spirit of wisdom and revelation is not given to make us smarter but to make us more aware of unseen realities. The purpose of this spirit or anointing is to give us wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him . It works not merely to increase our understanding of kingdom principles but also to reveal the King Himself. Presence always wins out over principles. When we encounter His divine presence, transformation occurs that goes beyond the reach of merely good ideasthis is transformation that first takes place within us that we might cause transformation around us.

The Desire Is a Gift From God

The heart to seek God is birthed in us by God Himself. Like all desires, it is not something that can be legislated or forced, but rather it grows within us as we become exposed to Gods nature. He creates an appetite in us for Himself by lavishing us with the reality of His goodnessHis irresistible glory. Gods love for people is beyond comprehension and imagination. He is for us, not against us. God is good 100 percent of the time. These realities burn deeply into the hearts of all who simply take the time to behold Him.

Paul describes this place of beholding as the absolute center of the new covenant we have been brought into, the place where we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV). The impulse that drives the life of the believer isnt the need to perform for God but to commune with Him. Only when we perceive the face of the One in whose image we were made do we come to know who we are and the One for whom we were made. And because of who He is, to behold Him and remain unchanged is impossible. As He infects us with His presence, we are drawn into an ongoing mission by the One who longs for us. This mission is simply the mission to become more and more fit to see Him in His fullness.

The degree to which we perceive the face of God corresponds directly to the degree of our yieldedness to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

And the truth is that the degree to which we perceive the face of God corresponds directly to the degree of our yieldedness to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit into the image of Christ. The question for every believer is whether we will be satisfied with only a partial transformation or whether we will be so captivated by who He is that we will allow Him to kill everything in us that would inhibit us from becoming a mature manifestation of Christ.

This quest for His face is the ultimate quest. But to embrace the quest for the face of God, one must be ready to die. Thus, this quest is not a journey for the faint of heart. It is far too costly to pursue from mere curiosity.

Still, I hesitate to warn of the cost of fully seeking His facenot because a price doesnt exist; it costs everything. I hesitate because the reality is that what a person gets in return makes the price we pay embarrassingly small by comparison.

The bottom line is that we give all of ourselves to obtain all of Him. Theres never been a better deal. When we go through with the exchange, we find that what used to matter doesnt anymore. Life without passion gives way to a life of reckless abandon. Not only does everything in our lives that is inconsistent with the kingdom of God start to die the moment we encounter Him, but the superior, supernatural reality of His kingdom starts to come alive in us. It is not possible to encounter One so overwhelming and maintain the status quo.

This journey is so sacred, so all-consuming, that very few respond to its call. While the seeds of this quest are found in the heart of every man, woman, and child, most seem to be numb to its existence. Many things work to stifle the desire in us to seek the face of the One in whose image we were created. Whether we are overwhelmed by the prevailing winds of secular reasoning or the pain of religious disappointment, such forces cause us to abandon the ultimate quest and give in to the other impulse that has infected man since the Fallthe impulse to hide from God.

Still, the ultimate quest is quite doable and within reach. It is so all-inclusive that the smallest child may come. Every other journey and every other ambition pale in comparison. One might say this one challenge adds meaning and definition to all of lifes other pursuits. Those who respond to the invitation find little else to live for. Those who say no spend their lives looking for an adequate replacement. And there is none to be found, anywhere.

My Assignment

Christian leaders in particular have their attention directed toward perceiving what God is revealing for the moment, and they work hard to articulate that revelation in the best way. Whether its in preaching, in the lyrics of a song, or in a book, we are all attempting to capture that which is divine and release it upon the earth. Thats my purpose in this book.

Much of the content of this book was first introduced to our church family around 2002. Preaching it scared me, in all the right ways. This was the only time in my life where I trembled for days following the preaching of a message. However, at the time I was not burdened to release this message in writing, which has been the case with every other book Ive written. At the same time, it became my whole life, the life that I have purposed to live, a life devoted to discovering and hosting the presence of God. Pursuing this goal has been costly, but that did not prevent it from becoming more and more fixed in me as my sole reason to be alive. In recent months God has made it clear that the message I have been trying to live is now a message I need to write about.

The quest for deep encounters with God started the moment I said yes to His call on my life. I wasnt called to ministry or to accomplish some great feat in His name. I was called to God Himself. My moment happened one Sunday in 1971 when my dad, who was also my pastor, taught a message from Ezekiel 44 about the greatest honor given to mankindour ministry to the Lord Himself in thanksgiving, praise, and worship. He taught us that there was a difference between our ministry to God and our ministry to people. There was no doubt that our ministry to God was the most important responsibility of all, and it was available to every believer.