Bill Johnson - Is God Really Good?: Bill Johnson Answers Your Toughest Questions about the Goodness of God

ABOUT BILL JOHNSON

Bill Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor with a rich heritage in the Holy Spirit. Bill and his wife, Beni, are the senior leaders of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and serve a growing number of churches that cross denominational lines, demonstrate power, and partner for revival. Bills vision is for all believers to experience Gods presence and operate in the miraculous as expressed in his bestselling books When Heaven Invades Earth and Hosting the Presence. The Johnsons have three children and nine grandchildren.

DESTINY IMAGE BOOKS BY BILL JOHNSON

God Is Good

Friendship with God

Hosting the Presence

Hosting the Presence Every Day

When Heaven Invades Earth

The Supernatural Power of the Transformed Mind

Strengthen Yourself in the Lord

Releasing the Spirit of Prophecy

Dreaming with God

Here Comes Heaven

Release the Power of Jesus

The Supernatural Ways of Royalty

Spiritual Java

A Life of Miracles

Center of the Universe

Dream Journal

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Is God Really God is based upon exclusive interview sessions conducted with Pastor Bill Johnson, where people were given the opportunity to ask tough questions about the goodness of God.

Copyright 2017Bill Johnson

All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN 13 HC: 978-0-7684-1611-4
ISBN 13 eBook: 978-0-7684-1622-0
ISBN 13 LP: 978-0-7684-1925-2

For Worldwide Distribution, Printed in the U.S.A.
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What you believe about the goodness of God determines everything. It actually defines your destiny. But for so many of us, His goodness comes with a question mark. Is God really good?

In this short book, I ask Bill Johnson, author of God is Good: Hes Better Than You Think, a series of hard-to-answer questions about the goodness of God. Will this book answer every theological question you have? No. But it will give you an anchor, and it will answer the most important question that all of us ask: is He really good? I believe you will walk away knowing in your heart that yesyes, He is good.

If it isnt established that God is good, we live with a degree of uncertainty. We approach prayer with more uncertainty than authority. Is He good? We live in response to this theological cornerstone.

I love one of Pastor Bills quotes: You cant exaggerate His goodness. That is absolutely true. But Pastor Bill also qualifies that statement because, sadly, sometimes we end up distorting His goodness. We can take it to levels that are unbiblical. Truths that have the most prominence and the most importance are the ones that end up coming under attack. They are the ones that end up having counterfeits attached to them. But when we live under the influence of this truth that God is good, how we pray, how we interact with people, how we interact with conflict, and how we interact with our circumstancesall of these things shift dramatically.

I pray specifically that as you read this book and go about your daily life, God will usher you into a divine encounter with His goodness. May His goodness be more than a concept to youmay it be an experience.

LARRY SPARKS
Publisher, Destiny Image

We hear so many news reports of terrorism and disaster these days. How do you respond when you watch the news or hear a negative news report? What would you do?

BJ: The first thing is to pray. We cant underestimate the power of prayer. We have to pray, but we have to pray with authority. We have to pray with compassion, which gives us a real root of authority. Were not begging God or talking to Him as though He caused the problem. We dont need to persuade Him to do something about it. Were simply standing in positions of authority, saying, God, this is not okay in my country. This is not okay in my city.

In the Old Testament, if a murder took place out in the wilderness, they would measure the distance to the closest city, and that city had responsibility for it. What an incredible picture! The responsibility isnt guilt and shame. No, the responsibility is, God, we need to find a solution for this.

When we see these horrific events taking place, first, we cant become callous to them. Also, we cant move in a soulish waythat is, just out of pity. I dont want to respond in pity or sympathy, because those things arent okay. Sympathy leaves a person in a problem, but compassion pulls him out. Jesus was moved with compassion. Wherever He was, people were always healed. So learn how to quiet your heart in the midst of conflict and crisis.

Oftentimes we live in reaction to the devil instead of in response to the Father.

My wife does this brilliantly. In the middle of a crisis, she will quiet her heart until she comes to a place of real rest and real peace, which sometimes seems impossible to do. The key is just to get with the Lord. You quiet your heart, and then you ask Him, What are You doing in this situation?

Sympathy leaves a person in a problem, but compassion pulls him out.

Oftentimes we live in reaction to the devil instead of in response to the Father. Jesus modeled something completely different, and I dont think were going to get this until we learn how to do what the Father is doing, how to pick up His heartbeat for something.

To be honest, sometimes youll be praying and the Lord will give you a very specific direction. Maybe what He shows you will help law enforcement to find the person who caused the problem. You could receive any number of things. But the point is that God has an answer, and as long as I am in panic mode, I am a great distance from the breakthrough. So I find a place of rest, find out what Hes doing, and pray.

God has an answer. Find out what Hes doing, and pray.

How do you minister Gods goodness to friends or family who are going through difficult times?

BJ: Friends and family are the hardest. I half-jokingly tell people, You know, a prophet is without honor in his hometown. We know that, which is why God has all of us learn how to minister at home first, so that we do it without honor or the applause of people. If we can learn to do it