Place God First and Reset the Church

The Price

Jeremiah Johnson almost lost his life before he was even born. He was born three weeks late with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. His parents knew God saved him for a reason and had a call on his life. 

Growing up in a charismatic church where his father was the pastor, Jeremiah believed that everyone could hear the voice of God.  He eventually learned that wasn’t the case. 

When he was 18 and in Bible college, his parents separated and eventually divorced.  Jeremiah’s world was turned upside down. He left Bible college and began working in a factory to help his family during this difficult time. His heart was broken and he wrestled with God for answers.  

Later, he was surprised when God sent him on a trip to India where he stayed for three months to work with lepers. Jeremiah explains, “For me, it was hell on earth. I lost 35 pounds, was stripped of everything comfortable and convenient and became more on fire for God than I had ever dreamed. Boldness and courage came upon me day after day as I learned to die daily. I finally realized that power comes from crushing and life comes from death.” 

He eventually went back to college only to learn that he was no longer eligible for financial aid. He was confused and decided to fast and pray. Within one week, an older woman who asked him to share his story with her paid for the rest of his college tuition. During his time in college, Jeremiah and his wife planted a college ministry. Upon graduation, he felt called to plant a church in the future and was excited to share it with the pastor of the church where he was working. To his surprise, the pastor felt threatened and kicked Jeremiah out of his church. “I immediately walked out the church bawling my eyes out.” Then, the pastor called him back to meet with denomination leaders where they took away his credentials. Jeremiah sat there silently as they humiliated and berated him thinking he could start a church in their area. Even though Jeremiah was hurt, he knew that God had a call on his life and didn’t give up searching for it.

God opened the doors for Jeremiah to start Heart of the Father Ministry in Lakeland, Florida, which he oversees today along with Maranatha School of Ministry while traveling and ministering prophetically.  
 
A Divine Reset

Jeremiah believes that God is performing what he calls a divine reset where God is calling His people back to Him. He says instead of focusing on the horizontal ministry we should be ministering vertically-- focusing on and ministering to the Lord. We need to put God first in our affections and devotions. 

In December 2019, Jeremiah spoke at a conference with John and Carol Arnott, Daniel Kolenda, and others where they were asked to share what they saw God doing in the body of Christ at large. As he slept that night, two angels visited him. One held a huge broom in his hands, and Jeremiah instantly knew him to be an angel of cleansing. The second was an angel of glory clothed in breathtakingly beautiful garments. The first angel of cleansing said if the Church was going to be visited by the angel of glory, she must first receive the angel of cleansing. Sharing that many will cry out for glory and will not receive it unless they consecrate themselves first. For those willing to live holy lives consecrated unto the Lord, they will experience His glory. To Jeremiah’s surprise, after sharing his dream, Carol told him that she received a similar dream several years earlier. 

Ministry Addiction

In 2015, the Lord surprised Jeremiah by having him step down from his busy schedule to deal with his “ministry addiction.”  Jeremiah defines this as being addicted to ministry platforms like microphones, speaking engagements, networking, etc. Instead of these things, the Lord told him, “You must learn how to treasure your prayer room far above any platform." Jeremiah learned that pursuing ministry opportunities and following Jesus are not the same things. The horizontal pursuit of crowd applause, platforms, and networking can be as addictive as crack cocaine. It can allow ministers to hide their heart issues because they measure God’s approval by how many doors are opening up for them to preaching engagements rather than their obedience to Him, their character and integrity, etc.  This addiction can also negatively affect their home lives by putting the ministry before their families. The way to remedy this is to readjust our priorities and focus on spending quality time with the Lord through prayer. Then, our families should come next and then ministry to other people. Our strength comes from the Lord and when our prayer time and intimacy grow with him, we are better equipped to be there for others.