It's Supernatural

SID:  Hello Sid Roth your investigator of the supernatural here with Bill Johnson. Bill Johnson is senior pastor of Bethel Church in Redding California. That’s not why I have him as a guest. I have him as a guest because he has more miracles take place when he speaks than almost anyone that I know. Now Bill, you come from such an unusual background; I have to tell you – being Jewish and being the first member of my family to become a believer in Jesus as the Messiah, I envy the heritage that you have. What is it five generations of pastors on one side and four on the other?

BILL:  Yes, it is five on my dad’s side of the family and four on my mom’s.

SID:  I don’t know whether you would take this for granted or not, but that is a wonderful heritage, you didn’t have to go through a lot of the junk, maybe, that I went through.

BILL:  That is true; it is amazing, and all three of my children are the sixth generation. They are all three in the pastoral type ministry.

SID:  Now your grandparents would tell stories of greats like Smith Wigglesworth; I mean they saw him with their very eyes.

BILL:  I grew up hearing about of course Wigglesworth; my grandfather told me he said “not everyone liked Wigglesworth,” you know and of course we like him now because he is dead.

SID:  That’s the way it is.

BILL:  We grew up hearing about Aimee Semple McPherson; my uncle was a soloist for her and so, just a lot of background in the early part of the 1900’s.

SID:  So what is it like to hear these stories…to love them, believe that they’re true; go to church and see same old same old – just religion?

BILL:  Yah. It’s a bummer (laughs).

SID:  I’m glad you said that (laughing).

BILL:  It’s just…you know it took a while for it to sink in, that it wasn’t necessary; its powerlessness is unnecessary.

SID:  So, out of curiosity even with all of that heritage, did you think in terms just throwing in the towel or saying well this is all I got and I’ll do with what I got?

BILL:  You know I think I’m just slow; it just didn’t kick in that you know what this could happen in my lifetime. I just took for granted that it happened once and it was because there was very special people involved. And it’s really easy to look at the Kathryn Kuhlman’s, or the Benny Hinn’s, or whoever and say well it’s just a gift on their life, not realizing they are gifts to the church to equip us so that all of us get to do the stuff. And like John Wember would say, “Everyone gets to play.”

SID:  But you know we have evolved to a superstar system not recognizing we have a superstar. I loved it in your book when you’re talking about that heaven wants to invade earth and that everything that is going on in heaven we can do here on earth.

BILL:  Absolutely

SID:  But, I mean it took a lot to get you to that to make that jump from the superstar to – I can do these things too! But there was a particular moment that, it intrigues me because I believe it was a turning point in your life. It was an evening and all of a sudden you had a visitation. Were you expecting a visitation, were you caught unaware?

BILL:  Yes, we had been experiencing tremendous breakthrough in the recent months leading up to this. I had been crying out to God literally day and night. I would wake up in the night praying God I must have more at any cost. And…

SID:  How important is it to be desperate like that? I mean did you hear what he said? He said he would wake up in the middle of the night, he would say constantly, God I need more; I know it’s there but I don’t have it I need more. At any cost – now that’s a risky prayer.

BILL:  Yeah, well, that was a prayer though and it was genuine. It wasn’t a careless prayer whatsoever. So I would pray that continuously and this one night he just came into the room in a way that I have never realized or experienced before. I had absolutely no control of my body. To say I trembled is an absolute understatement. It was as though thousand volts of electricity is going through me.

SID: Has something like this ever happened to you, before?

BILL: No, nothing of that measure, ever.

SID: Were you scared?

BILL: No, because I knew it was him. But it wasn’t pleasant. It was glorious but not pleasant. Physically what was happening was, was not this feel good thing. And yet the Lord…it happened at exactly 3 AM, and I had just given a word to a friend of mine the previous evening that God was going to touch him, and it could even be at three in the morning. Could be at any time of the day and I mentioned Three in the morning. And so when this thing hit I turned my head…

SID: Let me get this straight. In other words, what he did was he gave a prophetic word to someone else, but it was really for himself, or maybe for both of you.

BILL: Yeah, and that’s what happened is at 3AM this thing hit me like a freight train. And I had enough ability to turn my head. I saw the clock – 3 AM. And I said out loud, “You set me up.” Because I knew exactly, I had prophesized that word to a friend, and there I was with this divine encounter, and um. I had no control. I couldn’t stop what he was doing. It was, it was impossible.

SID: Did you want to?

BILL: I tried to see if it was something…it wasn’t that I wanted it to stop it, but I wanted to make sure that this is beyond me, if that makes sense.

SID: Oh so you were lying in bed?

BILL: Oh yeah, yeah.

SID: What was your wife doing while all this was going on?

BILL: Apparently God knocked her out. We had a waterbed; there should have been tidal waves (laughs) with what was going on.

SID: Well explain exactly, what was going on with your body?

BILL: Well, it was just a trembling in all the limbs of my body that I could not control. It was like electricity, but it was tremendous power…unlike anything that I had ever even considered or imagined before.

SID: In hindsight, what was God doing to you?

BILL: Well I can tell you exactly, because I began to see scenes of my life as I lay there because He reminded me, “You asked for more at any cost.” And my fear was laying there: I may never have control of body again. I may never be normal again. And I saw myself walking in front of my favorite restaurant

SID: Wait a second; it says count the cost in the Bible. Were you having second thoughts about this?

BILL: No I don’t think I was, but he was, he was after something. And I had a picture of me trying to teach the Bible and not being able to control myself, and the embarrassment that would cause to me and my family and the church. Walking downtown, unable to control myself, and the mockery, and the ridicule that was involved; and it was like the Lord was saying, “Are you sure you want me at any cost, because you may lose your reputation.” And I lay there and said, “If I get you in the exchange, I’ll take it.”

SID: What about you? Would you pray such a bold prayer? I want more at any cost? This is quite a cost, count the cost. We’ll be back right after this word.