“Also He (God) said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel . They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ (Ezek. 37:9-11).
By Michael Adekoya – Dear Reader, one of my favourite songs is, “Come! Breathe upon me, breath of God. Breathe upon me, Spirit of the Lord. As I lift my hands in surrender to Your name, most High…” My friend, is that your song too? If not, you have to go to God and ask Him in prayer today: Look at Adam! He was perfectly formed, but he had no life. He ‘had it all together’, but he wasn’t going anywhere until God breathed His Spirit of God into him. When that happened, he woke up and took control of his life and his divine assignment. He started walking with God and became productive.
My friend, whatever it was that God breathed into Adam that day, you and I need it too today. There are many people in the church today who are sleeping spiritually, deaf to the voice of God, blind to see, dry and dead in the spirit. Prayer is more of a burden to them than a delight and daily lifestyle. Why? They are yet to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God .” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God .” (John 3:3-5)
Did you hear that? Be honest with yourself! Are you dry or deaf spiritually? Is your hope in God lost because of what you are going through? Do you feel that God has cut you off and your prayers are not going to be answered? Maybe you dream dreams, hear God; see vision before but occasionally or no more now!
Look at the valley of dry bones which Prophet Ezekiel talked about. It was a prophecy about the Church in these last days. Ezekiel said, “Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel . They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!” The bones were dead, dry and disconnected. But when God breathed into them, they suddenly became a force to be recognized and reckoned with. My friend, that is what God is ready to do in you, in me and in all of us these days.
Notice where the Spirit of God came from…”it came from the four winds.” (Ezek 37:9). Listen! There is no place on earth where God cannot find you if you are available. But, the question is, “Are you available?” Many of us are too busy to receive from God. We are too in a hurry for everything. If there is a time to position ourselves, to realign ourselves, to key in to what He is doing and to wait on God before we do anything, it is now. When God is moving, whoever refuses to move with Him at His pace, evil will catch up with such person. When God asks you to wait, if you refuse to wait, then be ready to meet with failure.
In a way, the disciples of Jesus had already received the Holy Spirit on the resurrection Sunday when Jesus breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit (John 20:22 ). But, Jesus said to them, “Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my Father promised (Acts 1:4). My friend, there are rewards when you wait on God. Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord. You may ask, “What is this gift?” It is the baptism, the empowering, of the Holy Spirit. This is what we need today! We must not do things for God in our own strength. We need the anointing of the Holy Spirit – the empowerment for service.
When the Spirit of God came that day, on the day of Pentecost, it came suddenly. My friend, this is why you must believe, have faith, expect and get ready when you pray. The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and received the gifts and the power of the Holy Spirit. They received what would enable them to live holy and to walk in dominion. They had the seven Spirits of God like their Master Jesus. They had the Spirit of the Lord, which came with nine gifts – faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, diverse kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues, word of wisdom and word of knowledge. These are the Spirit of power which Jesus mentioned in Acts 1:8 when He said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you.” (Acts 1:8)
In addition, when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom, which will enlighten our understanding, enable us to be productive mentally and imparting us with creative abilities for exploits, will come upon us. The Spirit of understanding, which will give us the ability to diagnose situations and put solutions together, will come. Nothing becomes outstanding without understanding. The Spirit of Counsel, which is the mother of visions and guidance, will come. The Spirit of might, the inner strength and tireless energy, the kind Jesus possessed, will come. The Spirit of Knowledge, which gives revelation, will come. And the Spirit of the fear of God will come also (read Isa 11:1-3)
On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and God used the ridiculous to perform the miraculous suddenly! My friend, when the Spirit of God came upon the dry bones, broken things were mended and dead lives were brought back to life. And God wants to do the same for us, too!
Notice also, there was “a great shaking.” (Eze 37:7). Hear me, my dear friend! Before God uses you, He’ll shake up your comfort zones, your proven methods, your cherished traditions and everything that has nothing to do with Him in your life. Jesus says,” Every plant which My Father has not planted shall be rooted up.” (Math 15:13). God is after fruits and He’ll shake your tree to get it. That “Great Shaking” has started in Churches and in the Body of Christ. Before Jesus comes back, “God will sift out everything without a solid foundation so that only the unshakable things will remain.” (Read Heb 12:27). It is happening now!
My friend, are you going through a ‘shaking’ now? God wants fruits and He’ll shake your trees to get it. But here is the Good News! Your present condition is no problem to God, because He already sees your future. You need the presence, comfort, strength, revelation, vision, voice, direction and the leading of the Holy Spirit today. Just find time, get into God’s presence today and cry, “Breathe on me, Breath of God.” And when He does, you’ll never be the same again! Remain blessed!
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