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Today, 31st May, is the anniversary of the day when the Spirit came like a mighty rushing wind upon the disciples, the Lord has been speaking to me much about the wind of the Spirit and focusing on the scene in Ezekiel, where the bones have all come together, bone to its bone. Muscle and sinew is added, but the bones are still lying inert and lifeless. They are going to rise up as a mighty army when the whole process is complete but even when structure and connection and order is in place, life is still absent. In some ways, this is a picture of those who are waiting to be catapulted into the mighty move of Heaven spoken of for so many years. Connections have been made. Bone has come together to its bone. Relationships are in place. Structure and even muscle has been laid down upon the skeleton of what God is doing. But still there is more to come before activation and mobilization. Ezekiel was told to prophesy:</p>
Eze 37:9 Then said He to me, Prophesy to the spirit, son of man, and say to spirit, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe upon these slain that they may live. Eze 37:10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the spirit came into [the bones], and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great host.
The word translated ‘breathe’ here means ‘to kindle, to utter’. The Holy Spirit comes and kindles a fire within the bones of this great army and they rise up as one, consumed with zeal for the House of God. He utters His voice over this waiting army and resurrection life begins to pulsate within them so that nothing can hold them back from fulfilling His purposes!
As I read these words in Ezekiel 37 again, I noticed that the Spirit must come, not from one direction, but four. The winds of the Spirit have four different starting points and as a result, have different characteristics. It is not enough to have the warm gentle South wind of the Spirit blowing upon our lives. All four winds are necessary to raise up the mighty army. It is the same Spirit every time, but with four distinct characters; each of which does a different job in the completion of the raising of this Bridal army. In Song of Songs, the Bride calls for both the North and South wind to blow upon her garden in order to induce the spices to flow out:
Son 4:16 [You have called me a garden, she said] Oh, I pray that the [cold] north wind and the [soft] south wind may blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow out [in abundance for you in whom my soul delights]. Let my beloved come into his garden and eat its choicest fruits.
Just as the Spirit can be represented by the seven lamps before the throne, so too the Spirit can blow from four different directions and have different effects upon our lives as He aids in getting us ready for the Bridegroom. These different winds of the Spirit have different characteristics and specific purposes.
On Passover this year, I noticed a strange cloud in the sky. It was shaped exactly like a plucked leaf, even having a dainty little stalk. The cloud was completely motionless, suspended in the sky. I was reminded of the scripture which tells us that the leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations. However, in order for this particular leaf to get to its assignment with the nations, the wind needed to blow! During the whole time of the counting of the omer, that leaf cloud kept being brought to mind. I was so aware that there are many who represent that leaf, fully prepared within their hearts, even plucked and separated from the general context of the tree and yet remaining suspended and motionless – held within this transition moment because of the lack of the wind of the Spirit speeding them to their appointed end time places. The days of the counting of the omer when Jesus taught His disciples about the kingdom were very necessary days and culminated in them being assembled in the upper room but there was one more thing they had to wait for:
Act 1:4 And while being in their company and eating with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised, Of which [He said] you have heard Me speak.
Beloved, you cannot launch forth until you have waited for what the Father has promised, until you are filled with what the Lord has spoken to you about. You may be separated from the general population and in the upper room, a plucked leaf ready to sail forth, but you must receive the baptism of fiery power, the outpouring promised. It will carry you right to the completion of your race for the Master.
Last weekend, I was privileged to accompany a dear friend as she played in a string quartet in a Classics Festival. The performance was in an ancient Moravian Church building and as I sat watching them rehearse, I was reminded again of the Spirit coming from the four winds and breathing upon the slain, producing a mighty army. There were two violins, a viola and a cello and they all had different parts to play in the performance. Sometimes, only one instrument would play and then others would join in. Yet they were all on the same page, following the same written music. They were in one accord in one place. Yet, not all released a sound all the time. There were appointed moments when the cello had to sound alone and the others stayed silent and listening and watching. This is such a good depiction of what it will look like as the Spirit from the four winds breathes upon the waiting inert army. The four instruments represent groups of finely tuned messengers who are, like John the Baptist, voices or sounds in the wilderness preparing the way for the coming manifestation of Christ in the earth. They are completely surrendered to the will of Heaven, tutored in secret by the Spirit away from the general hubbub of modern day Christianity. They have been prepared to bring the winds of change; to usher in a new dispensation and bring a quartet of sound which galvanises and raises up the army of God. They each know their appointed times of releasing a sound and not all speak at the same time. Yet together, they release a symphony of harmonious sound which washes over those who listen, bringing change.
The Moravians were completely surrendered to the will of Heaven. They often sold themselves as slaves in order to be able to board ships going to other continents and as they set sail, they would shout, “May the Lamb receive the reward for His suffering!”. The sound released by the Spirit Wind Quartet in these days will release an army of bond-slave messengers, willing to be carried by the wind of the Spirit wherever Heaven wills, that the Lamb may receive the reward for His suffering. The concert I listened to performed classic compositions with modern arrangements and some of them were not easy to recognize. In the same way, the sound of Heaven in these days will be performed in arrangements suited to this moment in God’s calendar and may not be easily recognizable for those who are used to the old way of doing things. The lady sitting behind me told me she had booked a year ahead to come to this concert but afterwards commented that she preferred the more classic renditions. There will be people in these days who turn away from the way the Holy Spirit is doing things. They love the old and will not immediately embrace the new. As a result they are unable to seize the moment offered them in Heaven’s economy.
The performance lasted for 50 minutes and finished just before 6pm. This is the last part of the evening watch before nightfall. Beloved, we need to work while day is here because night is coming when no man can work. From where I was sitting, I could see the most beautiful sunset through the leaded windows. A photographer was taking pictures of buckets of flowers positioned on a ladder near the piano and I mentioned to her that there was an amazing sunset outside for her to photograph. Whenever I dream about taking photographs, the Lord has used it to depict the recording of prophetic images or messages. In this case, He pointed out to me that some people are still intent on capturing messages inside the church building but the glory of God is being displayed outside the building, for those who have eyes to see. Those flowers were picked and placed in containers at various heights on the ladder in the church, depicting believers whose glory and beauty has been noticed and picked to be placed at various elevations on the ladder of spiritual ambition within the building we call ‘church’, but the glory is not being displayed in the building made with hands. Those flowers will fade and wither in those buckets where the hand of man has positioned them, but outside the Son is setting His vessels in place in the heavens to display His glory for all the world to see. I could see it dimly through the leaded panes, but by coming outside, I could see the full scope of the glory of what the hand of God was doing. Just as the Moravians were sold out for the cause of the Kingdom and allowed themselves to be carried wherever He willed, so too we need to allow the hand of God to position us in His sunset just as He wills. When we come out of the buildings made with hands, we can SEE clearly the glory of what He is already busy doing in the end of the evening watch.
After taking a photograph of the leaded window panes, I noticed that one of the panes was broken. Through it, I could actually see the colours of the sunset clearly. As I observed it, the Spirit whispered, “there is a small window of opportunity open at this time and those who are willing to fully surrender will display My glory fully as I intended.” Beloved, a night of dense darkness is falling on the earth. The Spirit is coming from the four winds and breathing upon you, in order to release you to be carried to your assignment. Let the sound of the Spirit wind quartet have its way within your heart. On the 4<sup>th</sup> day, God set the stars in the heavens to give light and direction in the earth. Be amongst the wise who shine like stars in these end times – He wants to set you in place to bring light on the earth. Can you see the window of opportunity before you, or are you focussing on that ladder and flower arrangements of man? Don’t seek to be raised into a position on the ladder of man within the building. See the window of opportunity and let the hand of God place you in His Son-set in the heavenlies. You are a leaf destined to be carried by the wind of the Spirit for the healing of the nations, not a sunflower plucked for a bouquet that will wither.
In Mark chapter 2, a paralysed man is carried by his four friends to an appointment with Jesus. The Spirit coming from the four winds is the friend of the church lying paralysed upon its bed because of sin.
Mar 2:3 Then they came, bringing a paralytic to Him, who had been picked up and was being carried by four men. Mar 2:4 And when they could not get him to a place in front of Jesus because of the throng, they dug through the roof above Him; and when they had scooped out an opening, they let down the quilt or mat upon which the paralyzed man lay.
The Spirit blowing from the four winds will lift the church to a higher level and removed the barrier to a face to face encounter with Jesus. Until this happens, the Body of Christ will remain inert. But now there is a small window of opportunity that must be seized. Four men, four instruments which precipitate an encounter that is life-changing:
…Mar 2:12 And he arose at once and picked up the sleeping pad or mat and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and recognized and praised and thanked God, saying, We have never seen anything like this before! </p>
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<p style=”text-align: left;”>The raising up of the slain is only accomplished if there are four who are willing to carry the corners of the quilt. Four companies moved by four winds do for the church what it is unable to do for itself. They release the sound that creates an opening to see and hear Jesus and receive the sound needed to heal. The concert performed by the string quartet I listened to caused me to see the small opening, that window of opportunity. Many others there didn’t even look at the window or see that there was a pane missing. The majority rushed off home to eat their supper, chattering about the lovely concert. Beloved, don’t be a sunflower; be part of His Sunset. See what others are too busy or fleshly to see and hear the call of the Spirit on the wings of the wind, beckoning you to become part of His Spirit Wind Quartet in the earth. His sound released from your earthen vessel will bring healing to the nations. Seize this small window of opportunity and become a part of His Son-set this Pentecost.
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