Receive the breath of God and you shall be full of life!

Words of the Lord for this coming month: 

"Whatever the enemy has taken advantage of you or has disrupted you, this is your time to receive a fresh new life and fresh new opening! Whatever that has been 'dry' or 'in the valley' in any area of your life, this is your time to receive the breath of God that brings life!"

Ezekiel 37 is the key chapter to read as you look ahead and look afresh in this coming month.

Ezekiel 37:1-2 (NKJV) says, 'The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry'.

The word 'valley' here is 'biqah' in Hebrew, from the word 'baqa' meaning 'being broken, being ripped, being torn'. 

You see, these dry bones that Ezekiel saw were not only dead, but they were long dead. For something that has been long dead, people would usually give up hope that it will ever live again. Such was the condition or situation described by Ezekiel during one of the darkest times in the history of Judah and Israel. The people of God at that time have been taken captive in Babylon and the city of Jerusalem have been plundered, crushed and destroyed. Therefore, not only the condition or situation of the people of God at that time was broken, ripped or torn, it was also hopeless and disgraced.

People of God, maybe you too have gone through such 'crushing' time recently. Maybe it is in your career, business, marriage, ministry, health, or even finance. Or maybe you've not been able to see any 'light at the end of the tunnel' no matter what you try or how you try, and you are now on the verge of giving it all up. 

But hang on there! Let's see what God spoke to Ezekiel regarding such hopeless situation those days.

Ezekiel 37:3-4 (NKJV) says, 'And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord God, You know." Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!'"'

Ezekiel 37:5-6 (NKJV) then says, 'Thus says the Lord God to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I 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."'

Even at a time when the people of God those days were totally broken, ripped, torn, hopeless, disgraced, and with no human ways of being revived or restored in sight, the Lord spoke these words to Ezekiel! 

Ezekiel, by the way, is Yekhezqe'l in Hebrew, meaning 'God will strengthen, God strengthens, Strengthened by God'. Indeed, Ezekiel was strengthened by the Lord to bring life and purpose again to the people of God (in spite of whatever that had happened), and they were therefore strengthened and received a renewed hope and life!

It is the same today. Whatever area or areas of your life that have been 'crushed' by the enemy recently, the Lord is now breathing His Spirit and His life into those areas right now! Receive this breath of God by faith! Look to Him and receive from Him! To man, it may be impossible; but to God, all things are possible! If those 'very dry' and 'long dead' bones in the Death Valley could be revived those days, there is absolutely nothing that God cannot revive and restore in your life, going forward.

My prayer for you is that you are going to see things beginning to look up and up, no matter what happens around you in this world. In Jesus' name. Amen!

Click here to watch the full video of this preaching in TiC YouTube Channel

A breath of fresh air coming upon God's people right now!

I had a dream from the Lord the other day. In the dream, I saw someone who is a beloved of God and whom I know, and we were worshiping together in a gathering. This person was initially wondering why certain people he hoped to see in the gathering did not appear, and what he wished for did not materialize. But not long after, against all odds, the many things that he had hoped or wished for began to happen, one after another. It was a happy ending to the dream.

I asked the Lord for the interpretation of this dream, and that's when I heard these words:
"Do not allow yourself to be discouraged, no matter what had happened recently. Keep worshiping Him, trusting Him, and looking to Him. Things are going to get better, and your situation is going to improve!"

I did my part to text that particular person to encourage him with these words, and he acknowledged that he has been going through exactly what I have mentioned above.

People of God, if you have been discouraged recently, these words are for you too. The Lord wants you to know He can turn things around for you, even against all odds. I pray and declare in Jesus' name for you, that "Things are going to get better, and your situation is going to improve!" Your part is to keep worshiping Him, trusting Him, and looking to Him.

The Lord then spoke these words to me:
"There is a breath of fresh air coming upon My people who have been discouraged. Breathe it in! For I am breathing into you My Spirit, and I am breathing into you My life!"

Receive this 'breath of fresh air' from the Lord right now! In John 6:63, Jesus says, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."

Someone wrote these words to me via email the other day:
"Incidentally the past few weeks have been somewhat disappointing because I still long to do something different in my life, but I know in reality that won't happen, or at least not at the moment. When I was worshiping the day before you released these words on Sunday, I actually saw something like a plaque - the word was "breathe" and I saw flowers twirling around the corners like a vine. Now thinking back, it sounds like what you have shared on the breath of fresh air coming and to breathe it in."

I thanked her for writing in, and to me, this is a confirmation to what the Lord is saying to His people at the moment. Looking at the vision of 'flowers twirling around the corners like a vine', it does give me the impression that the flowers are 'happy' and therefore free to twirl around!

Indeed, there's a sense of liberty in the air right now. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, 'Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty'! Declare this verse over and over again, and notice the word 'Now'!

People of God, the Lord is about to do a new thing in your life this year, and it is going to be a good thing! There's a breath of fresh air coming upon you right now. Take time to breathe it in! Yes, a long, deep breath! And I am excited for you! I pray this breath of fresh air you receive will lead you into greater liberty in your life, and you shall be set free to be who the Lord wants you to be this year. In Jesus' name. Amen!

Receive the life and the breath of God!

I heard these words from the Lord recently:

"When the enemy puts death in you, I put life in you! This is a time to receive the breath of My life in you, especially in those areas that seem dead in your life."

Prior to these words that I heard, I had a dream in the night where I saw someone having a chronic disease (even though in reality, this person has no such disease!) and he seemed to be shunned, ignored, and isolated in the confine of a house, while the people in the house passed him by, going about their own businesses. As I woke up, I began praying in the Spirit for the Lord's divine protection and health for that person. I was also led by the Spirit to take authority and bind the spirit of death and disease that tried to 'invade' that person.

People of God, this is an important time to guard your heart against every form of lies, negativity, discouragement, or even despair sown by the enemy against you. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word 'despair' as 'to lose all hope or confidence'. For some of you, the enemy has been trying very hard to put such 'despair' in you recently. Take authority and bind it in Jesus' name! And fill yourselves with the Word of God, because the words that He speaks to you are spirit, and they are life! (John 6:63)

In the days after Jesus' death, the disciples were rather discouraged and downcast, and they certainly felt like failures, hopeless in every sense of the word! Some had even thought of quitting ministry altogether and walk right back to their former jobs. 

But God! When everything seemed 'hopeless' and 'dead', Jesus showed up!

Let's go to the Scripture now.

John 20:19-22 says, 'Then, the same day (of Jesus' resurrection) at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."'

See the word 'breathed' here?

This word 'breathed' is 'emphusao' in Greek (from the word 'phuo' meaning 'to blow'), and it literally means 'to cause to spring up'! In other words, Jesus came to re-commission them and give them a new lease of life! It was a time of imparting new hope in them! And it was a time of releasing them to be of use again!

People of God, no matter how 'hopeless' and 'dead' your situation may be at the moment (be it in your health, finance, family relationships, career, business, or ministry), do not lose heart, because the Lord is also here to breathe His Spirit and His life in your situation right now! This is a time to receive by faith, and declare boldly that when the enemy puts death in you, the Lord is here to put life in you!

Let's go all the way to the Old Testament now. 

2 Kings 4:32-36 says, 'When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. He went in therefore, shut the door, and prayed to the Lord. And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And Elisha called Gehazi his servant and said, "Call this Shunammite woman." So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, "Pick up your son."'

The name 'Elisha' ('Eliysha' in Hebrew) is a 'picture' of 'God who is rich in all His supplies', the One who can even breathe 'life' into every dead (or impossible) situation. The son of the Shunammite woman was already dead on his bed, and 2 Kings 4:27 says the woman's soul was in 'deep distress'. But in the midst of all these, Elisha showed up! 

Having entered the house of this woman, and shutting the door behind him, Elisha then breathed into the mouth of the boy. Notice he wasn't satisfied with the flesh of the boy becoming warm, but he continued till the boy 'sneezed seven times' and 'opened his eyes'! You see, Elisha would not give up until he saw 'clear evidence of a perfectly (and completely) restored life'! The number 'seven' in Hebrew speaks of 'perfection, completion'.

People of God, the Lord your God will also not give up on you, even when everyone else on earth has given up on you! Like a vase that is broken and crushed, let Him mend what is broken and crushed in your life right now. To man, it is impossible, but with God, nothing will be impossible (Luke 1:37). And like the woman who was asked by Elisha to 'pick up her son', you too will 'pick up your God-given dreams again'. Amen!

Depend on God's power to breathe life in you!

I heard these words from the Lord recently:
"This is a time I am breathing life in the valley of dry bones! For I am causing the 'dead' to be turned into 'life'! And I am causing the 'hopeless' to be turned into 'hope'! Let Me breathe upon you the breath of life! And let Me blow upon you the wind of My Spirit! Receive and be revived!"

Ezekiel 37:1-3 (NKJV) says, 'The hand of the Lord came upon me (Ezekiel) and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord God, You know."'

Humanly and scientifically speaking, nothing on earth can restore the bones back to life. You can't just throw a dry bone into water and expect it to come back to life again! These 'dry bones' therefore represent 'people/situation without any hope, whatsoever'. And the fact that they were 'very dry' symbolizes 'people/situation that look completely hopeless and dead'. If there's anyone who can bring these 'dry bones' back to life, it has to be the Lord!

You see, 'bones' are different from 'seeds'. Not long ago, some archaeologists found lily seeds from an ancient civilization in England. These were thousands of years old seeds. They watered it and put fertilizer as they planted the seeds. Guess what? The seeds sprouted and produced a very ancient type of lily plant! Life somehow was preserved in those seeds and the flower could live again! But not so for 'dry bones'!

The word 'valley' here speaks of 'hopeless, driest situation in one's life'. Geographically, this valley mentioned in Ezekiel 37:1-3 was near the Dead Sea, more than 1300 feet below sea level. Being one of the lowest, driest spots on earth, this valley was also called 'Death Valley'. Those days, when an army was defeated in a battle, the victorious soldiers would strip the valuables from the slain army, and leave those dead bodies unburied. Skeletons sometimes remained for years. Bones were scattered everywhere by wild animals and left to be bleached by the scorching sun.

These 'dry bones' mentioned in Ezekiel 37:1-3 were the very state (condition) of the people of God at that time. It was during one of the darkest days of Judah's history, i.e. the seventy-year period of Babylonian captivity. They were dispersed abroad, destitute of life (both spiritual and national), and have lost their identity. Take Ezekiel for example. From the time of his youth, he had been educated and trained to be a priest in the kingdom of Judah. But his hopes and dreams were dashed when King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem and took him (and other young Jews) into captivity in Babylon. He was now far and separated from where he was meant to be, totally hopeless and with no way out.

And it was in this background that the Lord spoke to Ezekiel, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I 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."'" (Ezekiel 37:4-6)

Ezekiel 37:7-8 then says, 'So I (Ezekiel) prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over...'

Notice the words 'prophesied as I was commanded'? The word 'prophesied' here is 'naba' in Hebrew, and it means 'to speak (or sing) by the inspiration of the divine' (in this case, by the Spirit of the Lord). You see, it is the Spirit who revives and brings back life! In John 6:63, Jesus says, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are life." 

So, people of God, whatever hopelessness you may be facing at the moment, take heart that the Lord is breathing life in the valley of (your) dry bones. Your part (like Ezekiel's part) is to speak as the Holy Spirit puts in you to speak. 

Indeed, this is a time to speak life and declare life over your situation, no matter how 'dried up' or 'hopeless' it seems to be! Prophesy to those 'dry bones'! Be it your family matters, your career, your ministry, your business, your finance, even your health! And watch how the Lord do the rest! He can do a miracle for you today. Believe, receive and be revived!