Ezekiel 37:9-10 (NIV)
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army.
Good morning, I hope you have had your desire for God growing stronger each day as we pursue our Lord in this very rich text. We left off yesterday with the understanding that we can have all the appearance of godliness but not possess any power in us. We may deceive others but we cannot deceive ourselves or our God.
We do not need just the from of religion we need God himself, otherwise we are just walking zombies. I have never found zombie Christians to be very good at attracting the lost.
What is God's direction to Ezekiel now? He has Ezekiel prophesy to the wind or breath. This is the type of having him pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit. We see here a picture of true conversion. A person is dead in their sins and transgressions and they are completely without hope of ever being made alive in themselves.
Then God sends a prophet who speaks the Word of God to them and this Word enters their soul and sparks something divine at work. Bone gathers with bone and tendons on bones and then skin covers the bones but still there is no life. They now have the equipment necessary for life but lack the life giving power to live. So the prophet is told to command the wind or the breath to come and enter these dead lifeless skeletons.
What happens as the breath enters these dead lifeless skeletons? They come to life a vast army. This is the picture of creation of Adam is it not. God formed man from the dust of the earth and he had the form of life but no life power until God breathed into him his Spirit and then Adam became a living being.
Do you see it now. You can have the form of godliness, you can have all the things that make for life but still be without the power to live. There is only one thing lacking and that is the power of the Spirit of God in your life.
O for the power of the Spirit of God in our life and in our church. Without the Spirit of God in our Church and life we will only be a standing army of lifeless soldiers. Let us pray that the Lord will send his Spirit on us that we may be the army of the Lord that he intends.
Tomorrow we will see the affects of an army filled with His Spirit. Hope to see you then.
Waiting for the Filling of His Spirit in our Midst,