Dry Bones 3

You will allow me to close this call for prayer with the source of that fire.

And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? (Genesis 41:38)

That fire is not the product of our effort.

I am not therefore asking you to pray for me for more power to perform.

It is a prayer for the release of God’s Holy Spirit in His fulness in my life.

That is what is consistent with everybody in the scriptures walking in power.

The Holy Spirit is the fire that can never be ignored.

He is the fire that contains the power to transform.

He is the fire that convicts.

I am therefore praying for the fulness of the Holy Spirit in my life.

Do not for a moment think I am talking about the drama that charismatics have made of it.

Being Spirit Filled is all about being completely under His control and Lordship.

He is the One holding my reins, so to speak.

We see that when we read the Bible.

It has nothing to do with emotional highs or strange tongues but everything to do with His Lordship over every detail of my life.

It has little to do with the gifts and their exercise but everything to do with the reproduction of His character and nature in my life.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5: 22, 23)

This is what Jesus meant when He said that we will be known by our fruit. The same reason He did not mention our gifts.

The problem with my spiritual life now is familiarity or something like that.

After being in Christ and His ministry for long, that fruit of the Spirit can very easily become the fruit of my experience because it has become habit.

I have overcome temptation for so long that I do not even think about it and it stops featuring in my experience.

It means I could effortlessly overcome temptation in my backslidden state.

My passion for ministry could be so ingrained that it becomes automatic and not dependent on a vibrant relationship with Christ.

My indignation against sin and evil has become part of me to an extent that I will fight spiritual battles in the flesh and not even realise it.

That is the danger Christ was warning us against when He addressed the churches of Ephesus and Sardis in Revelation 2 and 3.

I am praying against a habit led obedience and a momentum fuelled ministry.

And I must create the space for my most quoted verses

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7: 21 – 23)

That is the possibility I am seeing in my life.

And that is what I am inviting you to pray against.

I want us to pray against the beaten path that removes our focus on Christ’s Lordship.

There is something called driver’s fatigue or something like that.

This is when a driver falls asleep on the wheel yet drives for hundreds of miles without a single mistake though his mind is completely switched off to the point that he will not remember a single thing about that trip.

This happens because he has been driving for so long that it becomes instinctive.

He will brake when required, give way to others as required and follow lanes as required.

At that time, his eyes become sensers to guide his other body organs to automatically do what is required.

That is what I fear my ministry has been leaning toward.

The reality is that our enemy can see our autopilot ministry for what it is.

No wonder we stop causing offense because we lack the spiritual fire that comes from wakefulness that is the product of a vibrant relationship with Christ. Our enemy stops fighting us because we are on his side when he looks at our spirits.

Nobody can get scared of losing to a vehicle using momentum because sooner or later that slope offering gravity will end.

He will just give us space to flow then speed off before we realise that our engine was off.

Is this not what has opened my eyes to the state of my spiritual life?

Allow me to quote the message to the church of Ephesus to get my point

I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. (Revelation 2: 2 – 6)

There is not a single complaint about their character, ministry, doctrine.

They are scoring plain As for who they are and what they stood for.

They are doing the same for their relationships and witness.

But their spiritual engine is off. They are simply coasting on neutral. They are running on momentum.

Though to us it appears energy saving, simply because it is effective, to Christ it offers great offense because it takes the focus off Him to our effort. They are bearing spiritual fruit using tools of flesh.

That is why they were being called upon to repent.

And I believe that is the same call God has for us today.

And I have seen it in myself.

As you pray with me, please remember to pray that God also points that beam of truth on you so that you are able to see whether it also applies to you.

Otherwise, you may pray me get out of the darkness you are in.

But please pray for me.