Life Giving Spirit

Life Giving Spirit

The last few weeks the Lord has been putting on my heart the words “living an extraordinary life, building an extraordinary life”. The foundation is taken from the words of Christ SPOKEN in John 10 “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” So we are going to start by reading a few verses to give us a picture of the work of the Life Giving Spirit.

Ezekiel 37 1 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. 2 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. 3And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 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.” 7So I 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. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. 9Also He 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.” ’ ” 10So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11Then 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!’ 12Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘ Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 1 4I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land.

Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”

Life Giving Spirit

So we have this awesome picture of the people of God, who were as good as dead, lying in a valley of dry bones. This was a prophetic picture of hopelessness, despair and being cut off. Yet we see the Lord restoring them, bit by bit. First, the bones came together, then the sinews, flesh and skin covered them.

Everything was taking shape, but there was still something missing.

There was no breath in them

The restoration was not complete until the breath entered them, until the Lord put His Spirit within them. And then they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army!

The work was not complete until the Spirit brought life

“I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live.” So 600 Years Later Jesus Christ, God incarnate (God in the flesh) comes on to the scene and takes away for the everyone the whole world the same hopelessness, despair and being cut off from God, because of our Sin by making an atonement at the cross thus making way for the life giving Spirit to live in us all, so that we may too be restored and come back to life.

We have this picture and words given to us:

Romans 8:1
1But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

The Life Giving Spirit Sent by our Father

Now we are all free to live a life with the same Life giving Spirit, each day. We know Him as the Holy Spirit. Who came to fulfil the words of Christ that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Building an abundant life is a life-style rich with the Holy Spirit flowing through us.

It is He who bears witness with us that we are the children of God. He builds in us our new identity as Children of God, a son and daughter of God, joint heirs with Christ. Through Him in us all things are possible and so we need to make the connection that He abides in us. The helps us live the life God has prepared for us, and it’s a Spirit filled life

The Life Giving Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a Person, not simply a power or an influence. Throughout Scripture we see His personality, His attributes and the incredible diversity of His work in and through people. He speaks, teaches, guides, directs, reveals, equips and empowers. He can be grieved and resisted, and therefore we must be careful how we respond to Him and how we conduct our lives before Him.

Here are a few practical examples for us to consider Exodus 31:1-5 – God specifically fills Bezalel with His Spirit, giving him wisdom, understanding, knowledge and skill in all kinds of craftsmanship. Think about that! The Holy Spirit was involved not only in what we might consider spiritual ministry, but also in practical skills, design, craftsmanship and the construction of God’s dwelling place.

We see another example in Joseph – Genesis 41:38 – Pharaoh recognises that the Spirit of God is in Joseph, demonstrated through the wisdom and understanding God has given him. And then there is Daniel. Daniel 6:3 tells us that Daniel distinguished himself because an excellent spirit was in him.

We can conclude from these few examples that God can equip ordinary people with extraordinary wisdom, discernment, ability and excellence to fulfil His purposes so the life giving Spirit is always working for us. To End We should never become so occupied with the work of God that we neglect our relationship with the Spirit of God.

Let us learn to walk with Him, listen to Him, respond to Him and allow Him to work in every area of our lives. The Holy Spirit does not simply want to work through us; He wants to work within us, producing the life and character of Christ and to live an abundant life What will you allow the life giving Spirit to do in your life?