Holy Spirit, The Holy Breath of God

9 Holy Spirit, The Holy Breath of God Vision 2018: Forward Holy Spirit, the Holy Breath of God Ezekiel 37:1-5 Introduction: 2018 May 6 AM  I. The Prophetic Call A. Ezekiel exhibits humility by stating he didn't know if these bones could live, only God. You must walk out life in trust that God knows more than you & it may not be immediately revealed to you. B. Breath a. Yahweh let's Ezekiel know upfront the importance of breath - The Holy Breath of God. While the bones remained scattered, laying dry, bleached & lifeless the LORD tells Ezekiel to Prophesy to the bones that He would "cause breath to enter" into them. It seems that God emphasizes the breath because without it there would be no life. b. God's Prophetic Word: ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5… “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’  c. With this breath, God said, "you shall live." Meaning to revive, keep alive, along with connotation to live prosperously & forever. Zechariah 4:6 (BIBLE) II. The Holy Breath of God Remember the application: It’s more than works, it is the Spirit, the Breath of God in me.  A. They Lived a. Ezekiel was told to Prophesy to the breath, the four winds to command the breath to breathe into these slain, they were dead, lifeless & powerless without the breath of God. b. The promise of Father is that breath, Spirit will birth life, empowerment. The Promise Joel 2 – The Fulfillment Acts 2 c. Just as Elijah prayed after he heard in his spirit the sound of abundance of rain, there were those in the Upper Room, praying, waiting on the Promise from Father. Without the pouring out of the Spirit, without the rushing, mighty wind it would have only been another social meeting, a prayer gathering. The wind, the breath of God made the difference in the Upper Room & continues to make the difference in the 21st Century. B. They Stood Up a. Standing, ready to serve. b. The Spirit in them made them cognizant, aware of their position, the calling on their life. They were presenting themselves as ready to move, they were prepared to remain & be servants of the Captain of the LORD's Army.  C. They were an Exceeding Great Army a. The Hebrew definition of the word "Army." Wealth, valor, strength, power & substance. b. Psalm 18:33 regarding this same Hebrew word says that He makes you as surefooted as a deer enabling you to stand on mountain heights. Verse 40 says by this same strength you are enabled to place your foot on the neck of your enemy to destroy them. God is not raising up His Church just to look pretty & have “things” in order. He is raising up an Army! c. The Exceeding Great Army known as the Church is not meant to be lifeless, powerless & not assertively pursuing the enemy. You are part of an army, a mighty, powerful army that is resourced with everything we need to defeat the enemy. Stand Up! Be filled with the Spirit, the Holy Breath of God! III. Receive the Spirit A. Imagine the transformation which took place before the very eyes of Ezekiel as he prophesied the Word of the LORD to the valley of dry bones. The bones that were scattered, laying dry, bleached & lifeless began to come together from all over that valley. He watched as "muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies."  B. Many of us would have been so overcome with the miracle, the moving of the Spirit, the manifestation & the glory that was surely in that place, we would have been shouting & dancing never completing the mission. a. At this point what you have is a "form of godliness" but no power. It looks great! Wow! Look how far we have come! b. God, help the church to discern just because we may have it all together; the order of worship service, the Praise Team, the songs, the lights, the sound, the tech - It all seems to be right. We do things with excellence to our ability. The bones are all together, the muscle & flesh is formed over the bone & the skin covers the body, but there is no life because there is no Spirit - No, Holy Breath of God.  C. The reason we can do this is because of the resurrection of Christ. - He asks us to: * Repent * Live by Faith * Be Baptized * Be Filled with His Spirit Conclusion: PRESENT THE GOSPEL FOR SALVATION – EVERY WEEK – AND THE NEED TO COME FORWARD IN PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF CHRIST