as we look in Ezekiel 37: 1-10 it begins with the prophet of God standing in the valley of dry bones.
A man of God surrounded by death, hopelessness, and despair.
As far as the eye can see there is only brokenness emptiness, death.
This is the valley of death.
Dreams have died here, hope for the future have died here, marriages have died here, ministries have died here.
The smell of death is in the air, there is not one drop of moisture anywhere.
There is nothing to even hint that anything could possibly change.
But God loves impossible situations, because when it turns around he gets all the glory.
I want to prophesy to somebody today who is facing an impossible situation.
God said to prophesy and tell you he is going to turn it around.
It doesn't matter how impossible it looks; you just need to look at that mountain or look at the valley of dry bones and start prophesying (thus saith the Lord).
Without the operation and activity of the Holy Spirits power instead of a mighty army of warriors ready for battle all we would have seen was a valley full of dead bodies with no power, no life.
Yes bones are connected, yes skin and sinews and flesh have come upon the bones.
But there is no life in them
Until the wind begins to blow.
When the wind begins to blow everything changes.
Life comes.
In a moment's time the valley of dead corpse become a living army by the breath of God.
The breath of God (the wind of God in Ezekials boneyard is the same wind and breath that flooded the upperoom on the day of pentecost and filled the bodies of 120 men and women with the supernatural life of God.
Zechariah 4:6 then he answered and spake unto me saying: this is the word of the Lord unto Zerrubabel saying not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord.
Not by might might
Might =strength, efficiency wealth Army ability, activity, riches.
In this one verse God honors the Holy Spirit and declares the Holy Spirit as the one indispensable irreplaceable absolute necessity in the body of Christ.
God says: on this side you have strength, ability, talent, activity, energy, programs, and then he says (it adds up to nothing =not)
As far as God is concerned if you leave the HolySpirit out of the equation you have nothing.
One of the most important lessons we learn from Ezekiel 37 is: the absolute necessity and dependence upon the Holy Spirit.
Without the activity and operation of the Holy Spirits power instead of a mighty army of warriors ready for battle all we would have seen was a valley full of dead bodies.
We can put it together, we can dress it up, we can put everything in it's right place, we can sing the right songs, preach the right sermons, we can turn the lights down low and create the perfect worship climate (but if we don't have the life giving anointing, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit we have nothing.
This doesn't mean God won't use our talents and bless our programs and our work but it means that without the Holy Spirit's power it's dead it's worthless it's powerless it's impotent.
without the Holy Spirit's power and presence and operation all of our activity is dead and all it can do is kill.
Dead preaching kills, dead teaching kills, dead singing kills.
Only the Anointing of the Holy Spirit makes alive.
The Anointing makes our worship live, he makes our singing live, he makes our teaching live, preaching comes alive under the unction and anointing of The Holy Spirit.
Zechariah 4:6 this verse settles it once and for all, for all men for all time. (The supreme place the Holy Spirit must hold in the life and the ministry and the activity of the church and every individual believer.
Just as the body without blood is dead, so also is the church dead without the presence and anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Dead means void of the person, presence, and power of the Holy Spirit.
Incapable of producing life.
Powerless to lift, heal or deliver.
One of the most important things we learn from our text is: the absolute necessity and dependence on the Holy Spirits presence and power.
We see in this valley that one of the first things that has to happen is divine connections (God connections) bone to his bone.
I need to say: That is true for us too, we must find our divine connections, we don't fit everywhere with everybody.
One of the biggest problems and hindrances to growing in God are the wrong connections.
Flesh connections (connections and relationships that are birthed by fleshly lusts, wants, and desires.
You will never experience the power of God in your life to any measurable degree until you have broken the wrong connections and found where you fit in the Spirit.
Flesh connections war against the will of the Spirit.
Abraham had a great promise and destiny over his life but it could not come to pass until he cut off his flesh connection with lot.
Flesh connections will always war for first place in your life, they will always war against the Spirit and Gods plan for your life.
Divine connections will always feed into your anointing and your destiny.
They will always strengthen your faith in God and his plan for your life.
Now in the valley (bones are connected to their right bones) and now they have muscles and flesh and skin.
But they are still dead (why?) Because the Word alone is not enough.
Yes the word will put meat on your bones, yes the word of God will fatten you up.
But without the anointing the bones are still dead.
The letter kills, but the spirit maketh alive.
I'm preaching about the indisensable gift of the HolyGhost (we can't live without him).
It doesn't matter how much Hebrew and Greek you know (what matters is: do you know the Holy Spirit?)
These bones had order, they had arrangement, everything was now in it's place, all the components were there, everything looked good (but they were dead).
Jesus said: Without me ye can do nothing.
From heavens view point the only thing that counts is what originates and develops and what grows by the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit.
Or we could say: That which is done under the direction and the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the life source and the life force of the church.
The Holy Spirit is not an optional accessory like power seats or power windows, or heated mirrors.
The Holy Spirit is a Necessity: In fact the Holy Spirit is a command.
Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, (commanded them) that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
Jesus said: Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost shall come upon you.
You need to understand that you have a very real adversary who is bent on destroying you.
The theif comes to steal kill and destroy. Jn 10:10
Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
The one who gives you power over the devil is the Holy Spirit.
The name of Jesus gives us authority = The right to exercise power.
Every believer has the right to the use of the name of Jesus = the right to excercise power
But if you do not have the HolyGhost you don't have any power to excercise.
You're like a security guard or a night watchmen who has a name and a badge but no gun.
Like the seven sons of Sceva who tried to excercise power over the demons in a man.
They flashed their badge ( they said we adjure you in the name of Jesus by whom paul preacheth come out of the man.
But they didn't have any power (they had the same badge paul had but they didn't have the same power) and the demons in the man ran all seven out of the house naked and wounded.
Jesus needed the Holy Spirits power in his life.
The disciples were commanded not to leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them.
The first thing the apostles asked the new converts were: have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?
If Jesus needed the HolyGhost
The discipled needed the HolyGhost
The apostles needed the HolyGhost
We need the HolyGhost
The HolyGhost is the only power that can cast out devils
He is the only power that can drive cancer out of a body, open blind eyes, deliver the drug addict, set homosexuals free.
He is the only power that can heal your body.
Tell your neighbor: You need the HolyGhost.
Now tell them: I wouldn't leave here without him.
To be clear: every child of God has Gods Spirit dwelling in them
We are regenerated, reborn, born again, by the operation of Gods Spirit in our hearts.
But this is a definate destinct different operation and manifestation of the Holy Spirit beyond the new birth.
Jn 4:14 The new birth is compared to a well of water springing up within us in to everlasting life.
It's personal
But
Jn 7:37-39 The reference is to rivers of living waters flowing forcefully out of your innermost being (thus spake he of the Holy Ghost.
We believe according to the scriptures that the initial evidence of being baptized in the HolyGhost is speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance.
Smith Wigglesworth said: that is the bible pattern we shouldn't expect anything different.
But having said that let us also realize that Jesus didn't say go to Jerusalem and stay till you speak in tongues.
He said: you shall receive power after that the HolyGhost is come upon you.
That is why the HolyGhost comes: To give us power.
It is the will, the plan, the desire of God that every blood washed child of God experience their own personal pentecost.
On the day of pentecost every head got a flame.
Our God is a consuming fire and God wants every soul touched by pentecost to be a live wire.
The bible says: He maketh his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire.
God wants to baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire.
We're here because we want revival (the HolyGhost is the only one who can bring revival.)
We can build the altar, and put the wood in order and put the sacrifice on the altar, but it's the HolyGhost that sets the offering on fire.
I love the altar, but it'd just a piece of wood, yes it's sanctified and set apart as a place to meet with God but it's still just a piece of wood.
It's the God of the altar We Need.
It's the one who sets the sacrifice on fire that we need.
The Holy Spirit is (The one indispensable gift)
Indispensable means: vital, critical, absolutely necessary, can't live without it.
Just as the human body cannot live without blood, the body of Christ cannot live without the great HolySpirit.
The church that welcomes the HolySpirit in all his manifestations and operations will experience life.
The church that rejects the HolySpirit in all his manifestations and operations will experience death.
It may be beautiful, it may sound good, it may be big, it may be impressive (but without the Holy Spirit it is dead.
Beautiful but dead
Sounds good but dead
Impressive but dead
Anywhere the Holy Spirit comes there is life.
The Holy Spirit is the one who manifests the healing power of God.
He is the one who delivers the bound and the opressed and sets thd captives free.
*We can do without a lot of things;*
We can do without stained glass windows
We can do without padded pews
We can do without great talent
We can do without great pulpiteers who know how to handle the english language and are schooled in homoletics and hermenuetics.
We can even survive without central heating and air conditioning
I know it would be hard but we could make it.
There was a time when the church met under what they called brush arbors.
They didn't have central heat and air, they didn't have padded pews they sat on hay bales and they had saw dust on the ground.
But they had something we have lost in many of our modern american churches.
They had the one indispensible gift: They had the mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire.
I'm not advocating returning to the old brush arbor days.
I'm not advocating ignorance over education, and i'm not advocating saw dust over carpet or hay bales over padded pews.
But i am advocating that we get back to the one indispensible gift that they had.
That we come back to where we know we can't take a step without the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Ghost is the one indispensible gift: He is the life of the church.
He is our healer
He is our miracle worker
He is our deliverer
He is the way maker
If you know the Holy Spirit is the Indispensible gift in your life, i want you to come down to the front of this building.
Maybe you have never received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, or maybe you've taken him for granted and thought you could do it by yourself, or maybe you just need fresh fire, a fresh anointing.
You need the wind to blow in your life again
Lets tell him right now: lets tell him we know that he is the one indispensible gift that we can't live without.
