Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: The Superiority of Christ

Is The Wind Blowing - Part 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2015-03-15

Synopsis: In this sermon, John Weaver continues his series on the wind of God, focusing on the 'wind of domination'—God's sovereign, omnipotent power to restore and revive His people. Using Ezekiel 37, he illustrates how God can bring life to dry bones, raising an exceeding great army. The message emphasizes that only God can give life and revival, and that His dominion is absolute, even over the heathen. Applications include trusting in God's power for victory and praying for His dominion.

[John Weaver] Ezekiel chapter 37. We're going to read the first 14 verses. Ezekiel 37 verses 1 through 14. This is the second part of the brief series. Is the wind blowing? Is the wind blowing? Ezekiel chapter 37, beginning with verse 1. The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones. and caused me to pass by them round about, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said, and he prophesied unto these bones, and he said unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones. Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cover and bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

[John Weaver] So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say unto the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost, and we are cut off from our parts. Therefore, prophesy and say to them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel.

[John Weaver] And you shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you out of your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall you know that I am the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, saith the Lord. So the title of the message is, Is the Wind Blowing? I answered that question last week, and I pointed out that the wind is always blowing. However, it blows differently.

[John Weaver] Sometimes it's a gentle, refreshing breeze. Sometimes it's a gust. Sometimes a howling storm or a horrible tempest. Yet, it is always blowing. As I pointed out last week, I want to reemphasize that the wind is under the sovereign control of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate. Scripture teaches us that he rides upon the wings of the wind, therefore he controls it. In 2 Samuel chapter 22 and verse 11, the Bible says, and he rode upon a cherub and did fly, and he was seen upon the wings of the wind. So the wind then is under his absolute total control. Very quickly, if you would hold Ezekiel 37, but look in your Bibles in Luke chapter 8, Luke chapter 8, I want you to see this wonderful illustration of our Lord's sovereign control of the wind. Luke chapter 8, beginning there with verse 22. The Bible says this, Luke 8 and verse 22.

[John Weaver] Now, it came to pass on a certain day that he went into a ship and with his disciples and he said unto them, let us go over to the other side of the lake and they launched forth. But as they sailed, he fell asleep. There came down a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water and were in jeopardy. And they came to him and awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and there was a great calm.

[John Weaver] And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they, being afraid, wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this? For he commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey him." Of course. because he's the sovereign God of heaven and earth. Last week, we looked at one point and that was the wind of trepidation. We looked in Isaiah chapter seven there and we saw where the heart of King Ahaz and the hearts of the people were moved like the trees are moved by the wind. And the whole point that I made last week is we are not to fear man, but we are to fear God and certainly There is a very healthy fear of God's righteous judgment, and anyone with the least amount of biblical knowledge understands the wisdom of fearing God. There are many benefits and blessings in fearing the Lord.

[John Weaver] Let me just mention two today. On the one hand, you must understand, it is the fear of the Lord that enables us to depart from evil. The Bible says in Proverbs 16 and verse 6, By mercy and truth, iniquity is purged, and by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil." So if you don't fear God, you won't depart from evil. But if you fear God, you'll cease doing that which He commands you to cease doing.

[John Weaver] In other words, you will not disobey Him. So it's by the fear of the Lord that men depart from evil. Then on the other hand, A biblical fear actually pleases our Heavenly Father because it enables us to live our lives according His Word. The Bible says in Psalm 147 and verse 11, the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy. So if you really want to please the Lord, if you want to give Him pleasure, then you fear Him and obey Him.

[John Weaver] Now today we're going to come to the second truth. And that is the wind of domination. The wind of domination is a demonstration of God's omnipotence. That is His absolute power and total control over everyone and everything. Stephen Charnock, an old Puritan, defined the power of God. Let me give you the brief paragraph that he wrote in defining the power of God. Listen carefully. The power of God is that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatsoever He pleases, whatsoever His infinite wisdom may direct, and whatsoever the infinite purity of His will may resolve. As holiness is the beauty of all God's attributes, so power is that which gives life and action to all the perfections of the divine nature. How vain would be the eternal counsels if power did not step in to execute them. Without power, His mercy would be but a feeble pity.

[John Weaver] His promise is an empty sound. His threatening is a mere scarecrow. God's power is like Himself, infinite, eternal, incomprehensible. It can neither be checked, restrained, nor frustrated by the creature. So the power of God is just simply God's omnipotence. It is the fact that He is all powerful, and I can assure you that when it comes to restoring and reclaiming His people, it will indeed take the mighty power of God. Now, we just read Ezekiel 37 verses 1 through 14.

[John Weaver] Let me point out verse 9, and that's where we're going to start today. In verse 9, Ezekiel 37, God says, Then said he to me, Prophesy unto the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. The life-giving and life-restoring wind is absolutely essential to that which is needed in our day and time. What I want to do is give you some background of this message so that you can understand what I'm going to be sharing with you. I'm going to be giving you some information from the remote context and then from the immediate context as well. So let me begin by telling you about Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a priest and a prophet. He was both a priest and a prophet.

[John Weaver] He was one of the captives that had been taken into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar during the reign of Zedekiah. We know that Ezekiel had been in Babylon in captivity for a minimum of 11 years before Jerusalem fell. How do we know that? Well, because in Ezekiel 33 and verse 21, if you want to look there very quickly, Ezekiel 33 and verse 21, the Bible says this, Ezekiel is speaking, and it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, This city is smitten. So he learned about it in the twelfth year, which means he had already been there eleven years previously, and this was the twelfth year in which Jerusalem was sacked. So Judah and Jerusalem now have been sacked, looted, burned with fire and destroyed. The palace, the expensive home, and the temple had been destroyed. Many had been slain, and many had been captured and taken into captivity, and just a few of the poor had been left in the land.

[John Weaver] So basically speaking, everything was gone. You have to remember that Israel, the northern kingdom, was sent into captivity into Assyria. Now, the southern kingdom is devastated. And the few that are left alive are taken into captivity in Babylon, except the few poor that were left in the land. So here's my question. Where are the covenant people of God? The answer is scattered, battered, defeated, devastated and dead. The few that were left alive were in the hands of their enemies. Or they were left in the land to serve their masters, so to speak.

[John Weaver] I want you to look at the language of Scripture in describing the reality of what happened to Judah and Jerusalem. Look in Ezekiel, chapter 36, and let's begin reading there with verse one, Ezekiel 36, verse one. God says also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel and say, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, because the enemy hath said against you. Now, here's what the enemy says.

[John Weaver] Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession. So they've captured about everything. Therefore, prophesy and say, thus saith the Lord God, because they have made you desolate. and swallowed you up on every side, that you might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and you were taken up in the lips of the talkers, and are an infamy of the people." In other words, you've been devastated. You've been captured. Watch verse 4,"'Therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, to the cities that are forsaken, which become a prey and a derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about." Now note if you would, God says everything is basically desolated and destroyed. So here's another question. Why did God deal so seriously and so devastatingly with Judah and Jerusalem?

[John Weaver] Well, the answer is found in Ezekiel 36. beginning there in verse 16. Let's read Ezekiel 36, verse 16. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings. Their way was before me as an uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore, I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it.

[John Weaver] And I scattered them among the heathen, And they were dispersed through the countries. According to their way and according to their doings, I judged them. And when they entered into the heathen, whether they went, they profaned my holy name. When they said to them, these are the people of the Lord and are going forth out of his land. So God said, here's why I judged them. Because you were wicked, you were an idolater, you were ones that forsook me and my laws as God. And when I did send you into the lands of the heathen, even there you polluted my holy name." Yes, God dealt very devastatingly with these people.

[John Weaver] Judah followed exactly in the footsteps of Israel. Both Israel and Judah dealt deceitfully and wickedly with God. And therefore God, in His righteous judgment, turned them over to their heathen Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles, still whole Ezekiel 37, we're coming back there, but turn to Ezekiel 23. I'm giving you not only the immediate context in just a moment, but the remote context. I'm trying to show you how God has been speaking against not only the northern kingdom, but the southern kingdom. And so, in Ezekiel 23, beginning with verse 1, and we'll read through verse 19, God tells us exactly the wickedness of Israel, both the northern and southern kingdom. Notice verse 1, Ezekiel 23.

[John Weaver] The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother, and they committed whoredoms in Egypt. They committed whoredoms in their youth. There were their breasts pressed, And there they bruised their teats of their virginity. And the names of them were Aholah, the elder, and Aholibah, her sister. And they were mine, and they bear sons and daughters. Thus were their names. Samaria is Aholah, that's the capital of the northern kingdom. And Jerusalem, Aholibah, that's the capital of the southern kingdom. And Aholah, that is the Samaria, plagued the harlot when she was mine.

[John Weaver] And she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians, her neighbors, which were clothed with blue, captains and rovers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, with all on whom she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself. Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt, for in her youth they lay with her And they bruised the breast of her virginity, and poured their whoredoms upon her. Wherefore, I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, and into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.

[John Weaver] These discovered her nakedness, and took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword. And she became famous among women, for they had executed judgment upon her." Now watch. That's the Northern Kingdom. Now we're getting to the Southern Kingdom. And when her sister, Aholibah, that is Jerusalem, saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.

[John Weaver] She doted upon the Assyrian, her neighbors, captains and rulers, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way, and that she increased her whoredoms. For when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity. And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, And they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness. Then my mind, that is God's mind, was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

[John Weaver] So God is saying, here is the reason I've judged only the northern kingdom, but the southern kingdom because of their perversity, because of their constant and consistent idolatry, because they constantly and consistently forsook God and His law. So God destroyed them, basically. He left their cities desolate. He wiped them out. So here's a question. How could such a people have any hope of restoration? What nation that has sinned against God so blatantly, so openly and so wickedly could ever expect any mercy from God? What will it take to restore such a people? The answer comes back. It will take the grace and mercy and power of God. I want you to go back to Ezekiel 37. I want to call your attention to a phrase that occurs at least 70 times in the book of Ezekiel. I want you to note, if you would, verse 6. In Ezekiel 37, God says, and I will ascend upon you and will bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you and you shall live.

[John Weaver] Now, what's this? And you shall know that I am the Lord. This phrase, and you shall know that I am the Lord, occurs at least 70 times in the book of Ezekiel. Now listen, 29 times. It refers to God's punishment of Jerusalem. Twenty-four times it occurs in reference to God's governmental judgment upon the nations. And seventeen times it occurs in reference to the restoration of the people of God. Now listen to that. It occurs not only in reference to God's judgment of His people, to God's judgment of the nations, but to the restoration of God's people as well.

[John Weaver] So what does that tell us? It tells us that God is absolutely sovereign over everyone and everything. God has all power. God is the omnipotent God. He rules and reigns even over the heathen. They may not know Him. They may not acknowledge Him. They may not confess him, but that is beside the point. He is still their ruler. Now. Let me give you two verses.

[John Weaver] Second Chronicles 20 and verse six, Second Chronicles 20 and verse six, listen and said, Oh Lord, God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? And in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Notice if you would, Scripture says specifically that God rules over all the nations of the heathen. That means actually God is in control of Russia, China, doesn't matter what nation, God is in control. And then in Psalm 47 in verse 8, The Bible says this, God reigneth over the heathen. God sitted upon the throne of His holiness. So God is sovereign.

[John Weaver] Now, God's sovereign power in the book of Ezekiel is displayed first in the punishment of Judah and Jerusalem exactly the way that God foretold that they would be punished. Secondly, his sovereign power is displayed by the judgments that he placed upon the heathen nations that were around in Ezekiel's time. And third, God's sovereign power is displayed in the book of Ezekiel in the preservation of a remnant of his people, which brings us to Ezekiel chapter 37.

[John Weaver] Let me ask one other question. I've already shown you from the scripture why God sent Israel into captivity, both the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. Because of their idolatry, their wickedness, and we could spend all day talking about some of the things that they did, which was horrible, which were horrible. But here's my question. Why would God want to restore such a wicked and rebellious people? I want you to think about this in light of our land, our day, and our time.

[John Weaver] Look at what America has done. We claim to be God's people.

[John Weaver] You've seen those signs. God bless America. The question would be asked, why would God bless America? Why? Look at the children that we murder. Look at sodomy, how it's legalized in our land. Look at the fraud. Look at all the sins. That are not only just prevalent, they're governmental, they're subsidized. They're promoted. You'd have to ask, why in the world should God bless America when America would not bless God? So why in the world would God even consider restoring Israel? Why would he consider restoring us today? Well, I'll show you. Look in Ezekiel 36, beginning there, verse 21. Here's the only reason God would do anything for us. Look in Ezekiel chapter 36 and let's begin reading there with verse 21. God says, But I had pity for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whether they went. Therefore, say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel. But from my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the heathen, whether you went, and I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which you have profaned in the midst of them, and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall

[John Weaver] be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take of you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, And from your idols will I cleanse you.

[John Weaver] Now watch, a new heart also will I give you. And a new spirit will I put within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh. And I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes. And you shall keep my judgments and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers.

[John Weaver] And you shall be my people and I'll be your God." Now why in the world would God restore such a wicked, ungodly reprobate people, and the answer is for his own name's sake. God's going to do it for his great name's sake. That's all. And so that brings us now to chapter 37. Because that's where God tells us that he brings Ezekiel now to this valley of dry bones, look in verses one and two. He said, the hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones and caused me to pass by them round about. Behold, they were very many in the open valley and low. They were very dry. So there was no life in the bones. And I might add no hope of life because they were very dry.

[John Weaver] That is, they had no marrow. They had no moisture in them. They were incapable of life in and of themselves. If you look at verse 3, God asked Ezekiel a question, and he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Ezekiel had to defer to God's omniscience, for from all appearances it was impossible for those bones to live. Would you look at the mess that we're in in America? Would you look at the mess that we're in in the entire world? And you consider how God's people are persecuted, hated, mocked, despised, ridiculed, scattered, devastated, imprisoned, killed.

[John Weaver] You know, the truth of the matter is we really have not changed. And things have not really changed. Just like they did in the Old Testament, just like they did in the New Testament, we threw our preachers and our prophets in prison. Look at Ken Hovind. I could name right now at least a half a dozen preachers that have been in prison and or in prison now that have done nothing wrong other than to stand against wickedness and godliness.

[John Weaver] Can these bones live? Ezekiel said, oh, Lord, thou knowest. It doesn't look like they can to me, but Lord, you're omniscient, you know everything. Look in verse four. Again, he said to me, prophesy unto these bones and say to them, oh, you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. I completely understand Ezekiel's hesitancy to preach to a bunch of dry bones. There have been times that I often felt like I was preaching to a bunch of dry bones. Bones that were incapable of hearing and learning an absolutely devoid of life. Yet the truth is, it is ours to preach and it is God's portion to give life. Ezekiel did as he was commanded He preached and God began to move upon these lifeless bones. Look in verse five. Thus saith the Lord God into these bones, behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live.

[John Weaver] And I will lay sinews upon you and will bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin. And put breath in you and you shall live and you shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them." So, I want you to note, he preaches, and as he preaches, bone comes to bone. Sinew comes upon flesh, skin, but there's no breath in them.

[John Weaver] There was no life in them. You know, there's a principle here that we must learn. And that is this, we must understand that in all of our planning, preaching and praying are absolutely worthless. Without the breath of God, without the spirit of God, without the power of God. Most preachers never think about this. Most Christians never think about this. I do not care how good a message is. I do not care how plain the message is. I don't care how well illustrated it is. I don't care how great the oratory is. If God, the Holy Spirit does not breathe. There's nothing. We may have a semblance of life. But without God, we cannot have life. He is life.

[John Weaver] You remember, it was the Apostle Paul who said in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 6, Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. So without The life without the wind, without the breath of God. There's nothing but death. There's a hymn that we used to sing. And I still love the hymn.

[John Weaver] Brethren, we have met to worship. Here's the first stanza. Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord, our God. Will you pray with all your power while we try to preach the Word? All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down. Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around." And that is true. Unless God the Holy Spirit blesses, all is vain. Now, here's what happened. Ezekiel did as God commanded him. He obeyed God. And as he preached the word, not only did bone come to bone. And sinew. And skin. And flesh.

[John Weaver] Well, look what happens in verses 9 and 10. Then said he unto me, prophesy unto the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, thus saith the Lord God, come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these that are slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet an exceeding great army." Wow.

[John Weaver] I want to just stop right here. And give you three very important truths. First. I want you to note it was a sovereign act of God. That brought life into these bones. Man cannot produce life, only God gives life. There is no man that can say. Only God can give restoration, revival and renewal. I get tickled a lot of times at the signs that are on most modern day church buildings. They will say revival next week, April 5th through the 10th. Really? Now, if they were honest, they would say there's a meeting next week.

[John Weaver] Because usually that's what it turns out. Only God can give revival. In fact, David prayed in Psalm 85 and verse 6. He said in his prayer, will thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee? Revival comes from God. Only God can give revival. Only God can give life. Only God can give an awakening. Only God can give a restoration and a renewal and a reformation. Three times in Psalm 80, and I'm just going to quote verse 19, but this same verse occurs three times in Psalm 80, where David prays, Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine upon us, and we shall be saved. So if God does not turn us, if God does not cause his face to shine upon us, if God does not breathe upon us, we will not be saved. It is only God that can give life. Giving life is an act of God alone. I can preach to people. I can witness to people. I can tell people what God demands of them.

[John Weaver] But I cannot save them. And I cannot give them life. And I cannot make them do right. I cannot make them obey God. I've often said, I wish I could, but I can't. Only God can give life. Only God can open eyes. Only God can open ears. So the very first truth you must recognize is. These bones came together, these dead, dry bones came together only because God commanded them to. And then God breathed in them and gave them life. Here's the second truth. Look in verse 10. He said, so I prophesied as he commanded me and the breath came into them and they lived and stood up upon their feet an exceeding great army. When God gives life. When God raises his people up. It will be an exceeding great army. An army. Oh, yes. Do you know one of the titles is given to God over and over in Scripture? He is called the Lord God of hosts. You know what the word host is? Armies. He's the Lord God of the armies.

[John Weaver] So when God raises up his people, when God revives and awaken his people, he's going to empower them to throw off their enemies. That's the whole context. of Ezekiel 37. They're not only going to throw off their enemies, they're going to come back to the land that He promised them there. He's going to give them victory through His power, by His grace, for His honor and glory.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to show you something. I want you to hold Ezekiel 37. But I do want you to turn to Psalm 149. Psalm 149. Here's a passage that most people have overlooked. Very few preachers have ever preached from this passage, but I want you to see how plain it is. Psalm 149. And let's begin reading there with verse five. Watch this carefully. Psalm 149, verse 5.

[John Weaver] Let the saints be joyful in glory. Let them sing aloud upon their beds. Hmm. What are we to be singing upon our beds? Look carefully. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth. And a two edged sword in their hand. Why does God give us a sword? Why does God raise up an exceeding great army? Look in verse 7, to execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon the people, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute upon them the judgment written, this honor have all the saints. Praise ye the Lord.

[John Weaver] I don't know about you. But to me, that sounds almost like victory. That sounds like God's going to raise up a great army. And we're going to fulfill His Word and fulfill His will. So when God then breathes His breath into us, it is also a fighting breath. It's a breath that enables us to fight against sin and wickedness and rebellion and any and everything that is contrary to God and His glory. So in Ezekiel 37, When he raises these people up, he raises them to an exceeding great army.

[John Weaver] You remember that hymn we used to sing? Onward, Christian soldiers marching as to war. Oh. We've lost our martial spirit. We've lost the fighting spirit. And we need it.

[John Weaver] Thirdly, I want you to look at verse 11 in Ezekiel 37. Here's the third principle. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say our bones are dried and our hope is lost. We're cut off from our parts. This is what God allows us to think. That everything is lost. And we're absolutely hopeless and helpless before he acts.

[John Weaver] Now, let me tell you, look around at America today. Look at our ruling class, our ruling elite, as they like to refer to themselves. What do you see? We see wickedness and perversion and corruption reigning on every hand. And those who are in power believe that they are so entrenched in power that nothing will ever bring them down. And we tend to think that as God's people, we are hopeless and helpless and powerless. We think all of our parts are missing and we're dried up and there is no hope. Let me tell you something. With our sins and with our helplessness and with our powerlessness, if we look within ourselves, we have to admit, we have to confess there is no hope. But when you look beyond yourself. And you look to the sovereign power of God.

[John Weaver] You have to say with our Lord Jesus Christ, with God, all things are possible. With God, all things are possible. Let me tell you something. I'm going to show it to you right here. God will keep his word. And God will keep his promise even if he has to open our graves and raise us from the dead. He will keep his word. Look in your Bibles, verses 12 through 14. He said, therefore, prophesy and say to them, thus said the Lord God, behold, all my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I'm the Lord when I've opened your graves, all my people, and brought you about of your graves and shall put my spirit in you and you shall live. And I shall place you in your own land, then shall you know that I am the Lord have spoken it and performed it, saith the Lord. Do you realize that our God, if he pleases?

[John Weaver] According to our. Our Bible is able to raise up children under Abraham out of stones. That's what John the Baptist said. Say not to yourselves, we have Abraham our father, for God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. God can do whatever he wants to. He is not helpless. He is the omnipotent sovereign of the universe. I want you to look very quickly, Holy Ezekiel 37, but look very quickly in your Bibles, Psalm 79, then we're going to Isaiah 26. OK, look in Psalm 79.

[John Weaver] You're talking about A picture of devastation. Here's what Asaph had to write in Psalm 79, beginning there in verses one and two, then we'll go to Isaiah 26. But notice if you would, Psalm 79 at verse one. Psalm 79, verse one, look what Asaph writes. Oh, God, the heathener come into thine inheritance. Thy holy temple have they defiled. They have laid Jerusalem on heaps.

[John Weaver] Now watch, the dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven and the flesh of the saints and the beasts of the earth. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them. We are becoming reproached to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. How long, Lord, wilt thou be angry forever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire? Then he says, pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.

[John Weaver] Now, if you have to be honest and you should be honest, you look around today, you'd say, you know, Christianity is just about like that. We, the people of God, we're defeated. We're devastated. We're lost. I mean, you know, where's our power? Where's our position? Where's our prominence? We have to cry and sigh when they snap and say, yeah, that's it. That is our condition. That's what happened to Israel in the Old Testament. It's what's happening to God's people today. But look in your Bibles to Isaiah 26, because just like you have to confess with Asap, you also have to confess with Isaiah in Isaiah 26.

[John Weaver] Notice, if you would please, in verse 19. Look what he says. Isaiah 26 and verse 19. Isaiah 26, verse 19. Thy dead body shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust, for thy due is as the due of the herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Thy dead men shall live. If we are a people of faith, we have to cry out and say, yes, the dead shall live. Do you realize, just as God can make living men dead, He can also make dead men live. You know what the Bible says? John 5 verse 21, For as the Father quickeneth the dead, or raises up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

[John Weaver] Our Lord has power to quicken. In John 5 and verse 25, Our Lord said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. So what did God do? Ezekiel 37, when they said, boy, we're at the end of our ropes, we're dead, we're dry, we're hopeless, we're helpless. God simply said.

[John Weaver] You don't understand what I can do. I can raise the dead. I can raise up an exceeding great army. So what does that teach us? It teaches us this. When we get to the end of our ropes. We're to tie knot then and hang on. You know, we have a saying I don't necessarily agree with the saying, but it does prove a point. The old saying is it's not over till the fat lady sings. I guess that was Based upon operas, I don't know, but I'll tell you this, it's not over. Until God's final act.

[John Weaver] And the wicked ain't seen nothing yet. I want you to go in your Bibles very quickly to Exodus chapter five. This is such a wonderful passage, I've used it before, but yet it is so illustrates exactly what I'm trying to share with you right now. Look, if you would, in Exodus chapter five, you know the story. God has sent Moses into Egypt to deliver the children of Israel.

[John Weaver] And of course, Pharaoh refuses to let them go. He refuses to obey God. Doesn't matter. And so the elders have gone in after Pharaoh has said, now you're going to make the same amount of brick, but you're going to make them without the straw. You have to get the straw yourself. Watch it. Exodus 5, verse 14. And the officers, now we're not talking about just anybody, but here's the officers, here's the elders and the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had said of them were beaten and demanded. Wherefore, have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as here to Thor? Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore didst thou thus with thy servants? There was no straw given to thy servants, and they say, Thus make brick, and behold, thy servants are beaten, but the fault is in thine own people.

[John Weaver] But he said, Your idol, your idol. Therefore you say, let us go and do sacrifice unto the Lord. Go therefore now and work, for there shall no straw be given unto you, yet shall you deliver the tale of bricks. And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in an evil case, as it was said to them, you shall not minish all from your bricks from your daily task. Now watch.

[John Weaver] And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh. And they said unto them, The Lord look upon you and judge, because you have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. Now watch. All the elders are helpless. They cannot deliver themselves. They cannot deliver their people. Verse 22, And Moses returned unto the Lord and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil and treated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in my name, he done evil of his people, neither hath thou delivered thy people at all." So now God has Moses and Aaron helpless. Skip down to verse 1 of chapter 6. Then the Lord said to Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand will he drive them out of the land.

[John Weaver] God said, You ain't seen nothing yet. When I get through, He's going to let everybody go. And when God gets through with the wicked. They're just not going to be around anymore. There's the wind of domination. God has absolute, total dominion. So let me make some applications. Listen carefully. Here's the first one. We must understand that in God's time, in God's way, and in His pleasure, we will have absolute victory and total dominion through our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is Lord of Lords and God of Gods. He is the Great I Am, the Eternal, the Almighty Lord of Heaven and Earth. It is absolutely impossible for Him to fail, for He is God. He has dominion and he shall continue to have dominion. Let me just quote some verses. I want you to listen. Job 25, verse two, dominion and fear are with him. Dominion and fear with him. Psalm 72 and verse eight, he shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river into the ends of the earth. Psalm 103, verse 22.

[John Weaver] Bless the Lord, O my soul, all his works and all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Psalm 145, verse 13, thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and thy dominion endure throughout all generations. And how about this one, Daniel four and verse three. How great are his signs and how mighty are his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.

[John Weaver] When Ezekiel prophesied, Come thou wind, and blow upon these slain, and give life unto them, it was the wind of domination. You say, you mean to tell me Did we should pray for domination? Oh, yes. And in case you haven't realized it. Our Lord taught us to pray that way. What do you think it means when he said pray? Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. What is that? Dominion. Dominion. Dominion. You know, I said earlier, I don't you think. I told you. That God will have dominion.

[John Weaver] Even if he hasn't raised the dead. He did raise the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ. Who is the first fruits. And what follows is our resurrection. Yes, he is quite capable of raising the dead. He raised his only begotten son from the dead. And likewise, he raised us from the dead. And it doesn't matter how desperate our situation is. It doesn't matter how difficult the circumstances. It doesn't matter how we look with the sight of our eyes when God blows with His wind of domination. He will raise up His people, restore them, renew them, plant them, and enable them to exercise dominion through his word and by his spirit. Yes, we need to learn to pray, Lord, let thy wind of domination blow upon my people and even upon the wicked that they may fear and see and know that thou art God alone. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We thank You, Father, that the wind does indeed blow.

[John Weaver] Not only the wind of trepidation, but the wind of domination. Help us, Heavenly Father, to trust in Thee and look to Thee and lean upon Thee. Not looking by sight, but looking by faith. For thou art God, and with thee all things are possible, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. This program was produced by Dominion Ministry. For more information about Pastor Weber's sermons, You may contact Dominion Ministry by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R-C-O-R-N Street, Suite 705, PMB 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406.

[John Weaver] Or give us a call at 912-925-0995.

[John Weaver] You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com

Is The Wind Blowing - Part 2

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	68151444451
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: The Superiority of Christ
Genre	Sermon
Date	2015-03-15
Dictation Name
Book	Book 100: Is The Wind Blowing — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	70

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Review

Weaver introduces the second part of the series, reviews the previous message on the wind of trepidation, and emphasizes that the wind is always blowing under Christ's sovereign control.

Ezekiel chapter 37. We're going to read the first 14 verses. Ezekiel 37 verses 1 through 14. This is the second part of the brief series, "Is the Wind Blowing?" Ezekiel chapter 37, beginning with verse 1:

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 37:1-14

"The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said, and he prophesied unto these bones, and he said unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cover and bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord." "So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say unto the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost, and we are cut off from our parts. Therefore, prophesy and say to them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel."

"And you shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you out of your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall you know that I am the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, saith the Lord." So the title of the message is, "Is the Wind Blowing?" I answered that question last week, and I pointed out that the wind is always blowing. However, it blows differently. Sometimes it's a gentle, refreshing breeze. Sometimes it's a gust. Sometimes a howling storm or a horrible tempest. Yet, it is always blowing. As I pointed out last week, I want to reemphasize that the wind is under the sovereign control of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate. Scripture teaches us that he rides upon the wings of the wind, therefore he controls it. In 2 Samuel chapter 22 and verse 11, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 22:11

"And he rode upon a cherub and did fly, and he was seen upon the wings of the wind."

So the wind then is under his absolute total control. Very quickly, if you would hold Ezekiel 37, but look in your Bibles in Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8, I want you to see this wonderful illustration of our Lord's sovereign control of the wind. Luke chapter 8, beginning there with verse 22. The Bible says this, Luke 8 and verse 22.

"Now, it came to pass on a certain day that he went into a ship and with his disciples and he said unto them, Let us go over to the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed, he fell asleep. There came down a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water and were in jeopardy. And they came to him and awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and there was a great calm."

The Wind of Domination Defined

The wind of domination is a demonstration of God's omnipotence, His absolute power and total control over everyone and everything, as defined by Stephen Charnock.

Now today we're going to come to the second truth, and that is the wind of domination. The wind of domination is a demonstration of God's omnipotence. That is His absolute power and total control over everyone and everything. Stephen Charnock, an old Puritan, defined the power of God. Let me give you the brief paragraph that he wrote in defining the power of God. Listen carefully. "The power of God is that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatsoever He pleases, whatsoever His infinite wisdom may direct, and whatsoever the infinite purity of His will may resolve. As holiness is the beauty of all God's attributes, so power is that which gives life and action to all the perfections of the divine nature. How vain would be the eternal counsels if power did not step in to execute them. Without power, His mercy would be but a feeble pity.

His promise is an empty sound. His threatening is a mere scarecrow. God's power is like Himself, infinite, eternal, incomprehensible. It can neither be checked, restrained, nor frustrated by the creature." So the power of God is just simply God's omnipotence. It is the fact that He is all powerful, and I can assure you that when it comes to restoring and reclaiming His people, it will indeed take the mighty power of God. Now, we just read Ezekiel 37 verses 1 through 14. Let me point out verse 9, and that's where we're going to start today. In verse 9, Ezekiel 37, God says, "Then said he to me, Prophesy unto the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." The life-giving and life-restoring wind is absolutely essential to that which is needed in our day and time. What I want to do is give you some background of this message so that you can understand what I'm going to be sharing with you. I'm going to be giving you some information from the remote context and then from the immediate context as well. So let me begin by telling you about Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a priest and a prophet. He was both a priest and a prophet.

Background: The Devastation of Israel and Judah

Weaver provides historical context from Ezekiel, showing how both the northern and southern kingdoms were devastated due to their idolatry and wickedness, leaving them scattered and dead.

He was one of the captives that had been taken into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar during the reign of Zedekiah. We know that Ezekiel had been in Babylon in captivity for a minimum of 11 years before Jerusalem fell. How do we know that? Well, because in Ezekiel 33 and verse 21, if you want to look there very quickly, Ezekiel 33 and verse 21, the Bible says this, Ezekiel is speaking,

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 33:21

"And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, This city is smitten."

So he learned about it in the twelfth year, which means he had already been there eleven years previously, and this was the twelfth year in which Jerusalem was sacked. So Judah and Jerusalem now have been sacked, looted, burned with fire and destroyed. The palace, the expensive homes, and the temple had been destroyed. Many had been slain, and many had been captured and taken into captivity, and just a few of the poor had been left in the land.

So basically speaking, everything was gone. You have to remember that Israel, the northern kingdom, was sent into captivity into Assyria. Now, the southern kingdom is devastated. And the few that are left alive are taken into captivity in Babylon, except the few poor that were left in the land. So here's my question. Where are the covenant people of God? The answer is scattered, battered, defeated, devastated and dead. The few that were left alive were in the hands of their enemies, or they were left in the land to serve their masters, so to speak.

I want you to look at the language of Scripture in describing the reality of what happened to Judah and Jerusalem. Look in Ezekiel, chapter 36, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Ezekiel 36, verse 1. God says also,

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:1-4

"Thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, because the enemy hath said against you."

Now, here's what the enemy says.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:1-4

"Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession."

So they've captured about everything.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:1-4

"Therefore, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God, because they have made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, that you might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and you were taken up in the lips of the talkers, and are an infamy of the people."

In other words, you've been devastated. You've been captured. Watch verse 4,

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:1-4

"Therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, to the cities that are forsaken, which become a prey and a derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about."

Now note if you would, God says everything is basically desolated and destroyed. So here's another question. Why did God deal so seriously and so devastatingly with Judah and Jerusalem?

Well, the answer is found in Ezekiel 36, beginning there in verse 16. Let's read Ezekiel 36, verse 16.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:16-20

"Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings. Their way was before me as an uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore, I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it." "And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries. According to their way and according to their doings, I judged them. And when they entered into the heathen, whether they went, they profaned my holy name. When they said to them, These are the people of the Lord and are going forth out of his land."

So God said, here's why I judged them. Because you were wicked, you were an idolater, you were ones that forsook me and my laws as God. And when I did send you into the lands of the heathen, even there you polluted my holy name. Yes, God dealt very devastatingly with these people.

Judah followed exactly in the footsteps of Israel. Both Israel and Judah dealt deceitfully and wickedly with God. And therefore God, in His righteous judgment, turned them over to their heathen enemies. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles, still hold Ezekiel 37, we're coming back there, but turn to Ezekiel 23. I'm giving you not only the immediate context in just a moment, but the remote context. I'm trying to show you how God has been speaking against not only the northern kingdom, but the southern kingdom. And so, in Ezekiel 23, beginning with verse 1, and we'll read through verse 19, God tells us exactly the wickedness of Israel, both the northern and southern kingdom. Notice verse 1, Ezekiel 23.

"The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother, and they committed whoredoms in Egypt. They committed whoredoms in their youth. There were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. And the names of them were Aholah, the elder, and Aholibah, her sister. And they were mine, and they bear sons and daughters. Thus were their names. Samaria is Aholah," that's the capital of the northern kingdom, "and Jerusalem, Aholibah," that's the capital of the southern kingdom. "And Aholah, that is Samaria, played the harlot when she was mine."

"And she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians, her neighbors, which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, with all on whom she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself. Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt, for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredoms upon her. Wherefore, I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, and into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted." "These discovered her nakedness, and took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword. And she became famous among women, for they had executed judgment upon her." Now watch. That's the Northern Kingdom. Now we're getting to the Southern Kingdom. "And when her sister, Aholibah, that is Jerusalem, saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms."

"She doted upon the Assyrians, her neighbors, captains and rulers, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way, and that she increased her whoredoms. For when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity. And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness. Then my mind," that is God's mind, "was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt."

So God is saying, here is the reason I've judged not only the northern kingdom, but the southern kingdom because of their perversity, because of their constant and consistent idolatry, because they constantly and consistently forsook God and His law. So God destroyed them, basically. He left their cities desolate. He wiped them out. So here's a question. How could such a people have any hope of restoration? What nation that has sinned against God so blatantly, so openly and so wickedly could ever expect any mercy from God? What will it take to restore such a people? The answer comes back. It will take the grace and mercy and power of God. I want you to go back to Ezekiel 37. I want to call your attention to a phrase that occurs at least 70 times in the book of Ezekiel. I want you to note, if you would, verse 6. In Ezekiel 37, God says, "And I will lay sinews upon you and will bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you and you shall live.

Now, what's this? "And you shall know that I am the Lord." This phrase, "and you shall know that I am the Lord," occurs at least 70 times in the book of Ezekiel. Now listen, 29 times it refers to God's punishment of Jerusalem. Twenty-four times it occurs in reference to God's governmental judgment upon the nations. And seventeen times it occurs in reference to the restoration of the people of God. Now listen to that. It occurs not only in reference to God's judgment of His people, to God's judgment of the nations, but to the restoration of God's people as well.

God's Purpose in Restoration: For His Name's Sake

God restores His people not for their sake but for His holy name's sake, as seen in Ezekiel 36, where He promises cleansing, a new heart, and His Spirit.

Look at what America has done. We claim to be God's people.

You've seen those signs. "God bless America." The question would be asked, why would God bless America? Why? Look at the children that we murder. Look at sodomy, how it's legalized in our land. Look at the fraud. Look at all the sins that are not only just prevalent, they're governmental, they're subsidized. They're promoted. You'd have to ask, why in the world should God bless America when America would not bless God? So why in the world would God even consider restoring Israel? Why would He consider restoring us today? Well, I'll show you. Look in Ezekiel 36, beginning there, verse 21. Here's the only reason God would do anything for us. Look in Ezekiel chapter 36 and let's begin reading there with verse 21. God says,

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:21-28

"But I had pity for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whether they went. Therefore, say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the heathen, whether you went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which you have profaned in the midst of them, and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall

be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take of you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from your idols will I cleanse you." Now watch, "A new heart also will I give you. And a new spirit will I put within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh. And I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes. And you shall keep my judgments and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers."

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:21-28

"And you shall be my people and I'll be your God."

Now why in the world would God restore such a wicked, ungodly reprobate people? And the answer is for His own name's sake. God's going to do it for His great name's sake. That's all. And so that brings us now to chapter 37. Because that's where God tells us that He brings Ezekiel now to this valley of dry bones. Look in verses 1 and 2. He said,

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:21-28

"The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones and caused me to pass by them round about. Behold, they were very many in the open valley and lo, they were very dry."

So there was no life in the bones. And I might add no hope of life because they were very dry.

That is, they had no marrow. They had no moisture in them. They were incapable of life in and of themselves. If you look at verse 3, God asked Ezekiel a question, "And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest." Ezekiel had to defer to God's omniscience, for from all appearances it was impossible for those bones to live. Would you look at the mess that we're in in America? Would you look at the mess that we're in in the entire world? And you consider how God's people are persecuted, hated, mocked, despised, ridiculed, scattered, devastated, imprisoned, killed.

The Valley of Dry Bones: Preaching and the Breath of God

Ezekiel preaches to dry bones, and they come together, but life only comes when God commands the wind to breathe upon them, illustrating that without the Spirit, all is vain.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:21-28

"And you shall be my people and I'll be your God."

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:21-28

"The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones and caused me to pass by them round about. Behold, they were very many in the open valley and lo, they were very dry."

So there was no life in the bones. And I might add no hope of life because they were very dry.

You know, the truth of the matter is we really have not changed. And things have not really changed. Just like they did in the Old Testament, just like they did in the New Testament, we threw our preachers and our prophets in prison. Look at Ken Hovind. I could name right now at least a half a dozen preachers that have been in prison and or in prison now that have done nothing wrong other than to stand against wickedness and godliness.

Can these bones live? Ezekiel said, "Oh, Lord, thou knowest." It doesn't look like they can to me, but Lord, you're omniscient, you know everything. Look in verse 4. "Again, he said to me, Prophesy unto these bones and say to them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." I completely understand Ezekiel's hesitancy to preach to a bunch of dry bones. There have been times that I often felt like I was preaching to a bunch of dry bones. Bones that were incapable of hearing and learning and absolutely devoid of life. Yet the truth is, it is ours to preach and it is God's portion to give life. Ezekiel did as he was commanded. He preached and God began to move upon these lifeless bones. Look in verse 5. "Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live.

And I will lay sinews upon you and will bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin. And put breath in you and you shall live and you shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them." So, I want you to note, he preaches, and as he preaches, bone comes to bone. Sinew comes upon flesh, skin, but there's no breath in them.

There was no life in them. You know, there's a principle here that we must learn. And that is this, we must understand that in all of our planning, preaching and praying are absolutely worthless without the breath of God, without the spirit of God, without the power of God. Most preachers never think about this. Most Christians never think about this. I do not care how good a message is. I do not care how plain the message is. I don't care how well illustrated it is. I don't care how great the oratory is. If God, the Holy Spirit does not breathe, there's nothing. We may have a semblance of life. But without God, we cannot have life. He is life.

You remember, it was the Apostle Paul who said in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 6,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:6

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life."

So without the life, without the wind, without the breath of God, there's nothing but death. There's a hymn that we used to sing, and I still love the hymn. "Brethren, we have met to worship." Here's the first stanza. "Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord, our God. Will you pray with all your power while we try to preach the Word? All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down. Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around." And that is true. Unless God the Holy Spirit blesses, all is vain. Now, here's what happened. Ezekiel did as God commanded him. He obeyed God. And as he preached the word, not only did bone come to bone, and sinew, and skin, and flesh.

Well, look what happens in verses 9 and 10. "Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these that are slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet an exceeding great army." Wow.

Three Truths from Ezekiel 37

Weaver draws three truths: only God gives life; when God raises His people, they become an exceeding great army; and God allows His people to feel hopeless before He acts.

I want to just stop right here and give you three very important truths. First, I want you to note it was a sovereign act of God that brought life into these bones. Man cannot produce life, only God gives life. There is no man that can say. Only God can give restoration, revival and renewal. I get tickled a lot of times at the signs that are on most modern day church buildings. They will say "Revival next week, April 5th through the 10th." Really? Now, if they were honest, they would say there's a meeting next week.

Because usually that's what it turns out. Only God can give revival. In fact, David prayed in Psalm 85 and verse 6. He said in his prayer,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 85:6

"Will thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee?"

Revival comes from God. Only God can give revival. Only God can give life. Only God can give an awakening. Only God can give a restoration and a renewal and a reformation. Three times in Psalm 80, and I'm just going to quote verse 19, but this same verse occurs three times in Psalm 80, where David prays, "Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine upon us, and we shall be saved." So if God does not turn us, if God does not cause His face to shine upon us, if God does not breathe upon us, we will not be saved. It is only God that can give life. Giving life is an act of God alone. I can preach to people. I can witness to people. I can tell people what God demands of them.

But I cannot save them. And I cannot give them life. And I cannot make them do right. I cannot make them obey God. I've often said, I wish I could, but I can't. Only God can give life. Only God can open eyes. Only God can open ears. So the very first truth you must recognize is these bones came together, these dead, dry bones came together only because God commanded them to. And then God breathed in them and gave them life. Here's the second truth. Look in verse 10. He said, "So I prophesied as he commanded me and the breath came into them and they lived and stood up upon their feet an exceeding great army." When God gives life, when God raises His people up, it will be an exceeding great army. An army. Oh, yes. Do you know one of the titles given to God over and over in Scripture? He is called the Lord God of hosts. You know what the word host is? Armies. He's the Lord God of the armies.

So when God raises up His people, when God revives and awakens His people, He's going to empower them to throw off their enemies. That's the whole context of Ezekiel 37. They're not only going to throw off their enemies, they're going to come back to the land that He promised them there. He's going to give them victory through His power, by His grace, for His honor and glory.

Now, I want to show you something. I want you to hold Ezekiel 37. But I do want you to turn to Psalm 149. Psalm 149. Here's a passage that most people have overlooked. Very few preachers have ever preached from this passage, but I want you to see how plain it is. Psalm 149. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. Watch this carefully. Psalm 149, verse 5.

"Let the saints be joyful in glory. Let them sing aloud upon their beds." Hmm. What are we to be singing upon our beds? Look carefully. "Let the high praises of God be in their mouth. And a two-edged sword in their hand." Why does God give us a sword? Why does God raise up an exceeding great army? Look in verse 7, "To execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon the people, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute upon them the judgment written, this honor have all the saints. Praise ye the Lord."

I don't know about you, but to me, that sounds almost like victory. That sounds like God's going to raise up a great army. And we're going to fulfill His Word and fulfill His will. So when God then breathes His breath into us, it is also a fighting breath. It's a breath that enables us to fight against sin and wickedness and rebellion and any and everything that is contrary to God and His glory. So in Ezekiel 37, when He raises these people up, He raises them to an exceeding great army. You remember that hymn we used to sing? "Onward, Christian soldiers marching as to war." Oh. We've lost our martial spirit. We've lost the fighting spirit. And we need it.

Thirdly, I want you to look at verse 11 in Ezekiel 37. Here's the third principle. "Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say our bones are dried and our hope is lost. We're cut off from our parts." This is what God allows us to think. That everything is lost. And we're absolutely hopeless and helpless before He acts.

Now, let me tell you, look around at America today. Look at our ruling class, our ruling elite, as they like to refer to themselves. What do you see? We see wickedness and perversion and corruption reigning on every hand. And those who are in power believe that they are so entrenched in power that nothing will ever bring them down. And we tend to think that as God's people, we are hopeless and helpless and powerless. We think all of our parts are missing and we're dried up and there is no hope. Let me tell you something. With our sins and with our helplessness and with our powerlessness, if we look within ourselves, we have to admit, we have to confess there is no hope. But when you look beyond yourself and you look to the sovereign power of God,

God's Power to Raise the Dead

Using Psalm 79, Isaiah 26, and John 5, Weaver shows that God can raise the dead and will fulfill His promises, even if it requires opening graves.

you have to say with our Lord Jesus Christ, with God, all things are possible. With God, all things are possible. Let me tell you something. I'm going to show it to you right here. God will keep His word. And God will keep His promise even if He has to open our graves and raise us from the dead. He will keep His word. Look in your Bibles, verses 12 through 14. He said, "Therefore, prophesy and say to them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord when I've opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves and shall put my spirit in you and you shall live. And I shall place you in your own land, then shall you know that I am the Lord have spoken it and performed it, saith the Lord." Do you realize that our God, if He pleases,

according to our Bible, is able to raise up children unto Abraham out of stones. That's what John the Baptist said. "Say not to yourselves, We have Abraham our father, for God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham." God can do whatever He wants to. He is not helpless. He is the omnipotent sovereign of the universe. I want you to look very quickly, hold Ezekiel 37, but look very quickly in your Bibles, Psalm 79, then we're going to Isaiah 26. OK, look in Psalm 79.

You're talking about a picture of devastation. Here's what Asaph had to write in Psalm 79, beginning there in verses 1 and 2, then we'll go to Isaiah 26. But notice if you would, Psalm 79 at verse 1. Psalm 79, verse 1, look what Asaph writes.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 79:1-6

"O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance. Thy holy temple have they defiled. They have laid Jerusalem on heaps."

Now watch, "The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven and the flesh of the saints unto the beasts of the earth. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them. We are becoming a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. How long, Lord, wilt thou be angry forever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?" Then he says, "Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name."

Now, if you have to be honest and you should be honest, you look around today, you'd say, you know, Christianity is just about like that. We, the people of God, we're defeated. We're devastated. We're lost. I mean, you know, where's our power? Where's our position? Where's our prominence? We have to cry and sigh when they snap and say, yeah, that's it. That is our condition. That's what happened to Israel in the Old Testament. It's what's happening to God's people today. But look in your Bibles to Isaiah 26, because just like you have to confess with Asaph, you also have to confess with Isaiah in Isaiah 26.

Notice, if you would please, in verse 19. Look what he says. Isaiah 26 and verse 19. Isaiah 26, verse 19.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 26:19

"Thy dead body shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust, for thy dew is as the dew of the herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead."

Thy dead men shall live. If we are a people of faith, we have to cry out and say, yes, the dead shall live. Do you realize, just as God can make living men dead, He can also make dead men live. You know what the Bible says? John 5 verse 21, "For as the Father quickeneth the dead, or raises up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will."

Scripture Reading — John 5:21, 25

Our Lord has power to quicken. In John 5 and verse 25, our Lord said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." So what did God do? Ezekiel 37, when they said, boy, we're at the end of our ropes, we're dead, we're dry, we're hopeless, we're helpless. God simply said.

Application: Trusting in God's Dominion

Weaver applies the message by urging believers to trust in God's absolute victory and dominion, and to pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth.

God said, "You ain't seen nothing yet. When I get through, he's going to let everybody go." And when God gets through with the wicked, they're just not going to be around anymore. There's the wind of domination. God has absolute, total dominion. So let me make some applications. Listen carefully. Here's the first one. We must understand that in God's time, in God's way, and in His pleasure, we will have absolute victory and total dominion through our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is Lord of Lords and God of Gods. He is the Great I Am, the Eternal, the Almighty Lord of Heaven and Earth. It is absolutely impossible for Him to fail, for He is God. He has dominion and He shall continue to have dominion. Let me just quote some verses. I want you to listen. Job 25, verse 2, "Dominion and fear are with him." Dominion and fear with him. Psalm 72 and verse 8, "He shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth." Psalm 103, verse 22.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, all his works and all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul." Psalm 145, verse 13, "Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations." And how about this one, Daniel 4 and verse 3. "How great are his signs and how mighty are his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation."

When Ezekiel prophesied, "Come thou wind, and blow upon these slain, and give life unto them," it was the wind of domination. You say, you mean to tell me we should pray for domination? Oh, yes. And in case you haven't realized it, our Lord taught us to pray that way. What do you think it means when He said pray, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." What is that? Dominion. Dominion. Dominion. You know, I said earlier, I don't you think I told you that God will have dominion.

Even if He hasn't raised the dead, He did raise the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the first fruits, and what follows is our resurrection. Yes, He is quite capable of raising the dead. He raised His only begotten Son from the dead. And likewise, He raised us from the dead. And it doesn't matter how desperate our situation is. It doesn't matter how difficult the circumstances. It doesn't matter how we look with the sight of our eyes when God blows with His wind of domination. He will raise up His people, restore them, renew them, plant them, and enable them to exercise dominion through His word and by His spirit. Yes, we need to learn to pray, "Lord, let thy wind of domination blow upon my people and even upon the wicked that they may fear and see and know that thou art God alone." Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We thank You, Father, that the wind does indeed blow.

Not only the wind of trepidation, but the wind of domination. Help us, Heavenly Father, to trust in Thee and look to Thee and lean upon Thee. Not looking by sight, but looking by faith. For Thou art God, and with Thee all things are possible, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. This program was produced by Dominion Ministry. For more information about Pastor Weaver's sermons, you may contact Dominion Ministry by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R-C-O-R-N Street, Suite 705, PMB 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406.

Study Guide

Major Themes

God's Sovereign Omnipotence

Summary: God has absolute power and control over all creation, including the wind, nations, and life itself.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Stephen Charnock's definition of God's power and cites Luke 8:22-25 to show Christ's control over the wind.

The Necessity of the Holy Spirit for Life

Summary: Without the breath of God, all preaching and effort are vain; only the Spirit gives life.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'I do not care how good a message is... If God, the Holy Spirit does not breathe, there's nothing.'

Restoration for God's Name's Sake

Summary: God restores His people not because of their merit but to sanctify His great name among the nations.

Evidence: Weaver reads Ezekiel 36:21-23, emphasizing 'I do not this for your sakes... but for my holy name's sake.'

God's People as an Exceeding Great Army

Summary: When God revives His people, He empowers them to be a victorious army, executing judgment and exercising dominion.

Evidence: Weaver cites Ezekiel 37:10 and Psalm 149:5-9, noting the saints have a two-edged sword to execute vengeance.

Hope in Hopelessness

Summary: God often allows His people to feel utterly hopeless before He acts, demonstrating that deliverance is entirely His work.

Evidence: Weaver points to Ezekiel 37:11 where Israel says 'our bones are dried, and our hope is lost,' and then God raises them.

Key Arguments

The wind of domination is God's omnipotent power to restore.

Summary: God's power is infinite and cannot be frustrated; He uses it to reclaim and revive His people.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Charnock: 'God's power is like Himself, infinite, eternal, incomprehensible. It can neither be checked, restrained, nor frustrated by the creature.'

Preaching without the Spirit produces only a semblance of life.

Summary: Ezekiel's preaching brought bones together but no breath until God commanded the wind, showing that human effort alone is dead.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We may have a semblance of life. But without God, we cannot have life.'

God's restoration is for His own glory, not human merit.

Summary: Israel's wickedness made them undeserving, but God acts to vindicate His holy name.

Evidence: Weaver reads Ezekiel 36:22: 'I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake.'

God's people are destined for victory and dominion.

Summary: The exceeding great army in Ezekiel 37 prefigures the saints' role in executing judgment and ruling with Christ.

Evidence: Weaver cites Psalm 149:7-9: 'To execute vengeance upon the heathen... this honor have all the saints.'

God can raise the dead to fulfill His promises.

Summary: If necessary, God will open graves and resurrect His people to keep His covenant.

Evidence: Weaver reads Ezekiel 37:12-14: 'I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves.'

Scripture References

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Context: The primary text of the sermon, describing the valley of dry bones and the breath of life.

2 Samuel 22:11

Context: Used to show that God rides upon the wings of the wind, indicating His sovereign control.

Luke 8:22-25

Context: Illustrates Jesus' sovereign control over the wind and waves.

Proverbs 16:6

Context: Shows that the fear of the Lord enables men to depart from evil.

Psalm 147:11

Context: The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him.

Ezekiel 33:21

Context: Establishes that Ezekiel had been in captivity at least 11 years before Jerusalem fell.

Ezekiel 36:1-4

Context: Describes the desolation of Israel's mountains and cities.

Ezekiel 36:16-20

Context: Explains why God judged Israel: their idolatry and profaning of His name.

Ezekiel 23:1-19

Context: Allegory of Aholah and Aholibah depicting the spiritual harlotry of Samaria and Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 36:21-28

Context: God promises restoration for His name's sake, including a new heart and Spirit.

2 Chronicles 20:6

Context: Affirms that God rules over all kingdoms of the heathen.

Psalm 47:8

Context: God reigns over the heathen, sitting on His holy throne.

2 Corinthians 3:6

Context: The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Psalm 85:6

Context: David's prayer for revival: 'Wilt thou not revive us again?'

Psalm 80:19

Context: A prayer for God to turn His people and cause His face to shine.

Psalm 149:5-9

Context: The saints are to have high praises and a two-edged sword to execute judgment.

Psalm 79:1-6

Context: A lament over the devastation of Jerusalem and the slaughter of God's servants.

Isaiah 26:19

Context: Prophecy that the dead shall live and arise.

John 5:21, 25

Context: Jesus has power to quicken the dead; the dead shall hear His voice and live.

Exodus 5:14-6:1

Context: Illustrates God's timing: when Moses and the elders were helpless, God promised to act with a strong hand.

Historical References

Stephen Charnock (Puritan writer)

Context: Weaver quotes Charnock's definition of God's power as infinite and unfrustratable.

Nebuchadnezzar's captivity of Judah

Context: Ezekiel was among the captives taken to Babylon during Zedekiah's reign.

Fall of Jerusalem

Context: Jerusalem was sacked and destroyed after Ezekiel had been in captivity 12 years.

Assyrian captivity of the northern kingdom

Context: Israel was sent into captivity into Assyria before Judah's fall.

Ken Hovind (modern preacher imprisoned)

Context: Weaver mentions Ken Hovind as an example of preachers imprisoned for standing against wickedness.

Important Quotes

The power of God is that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatsoever He pleases, whatsoever His infinite wisdom may direct, and whatsoever the infinite purity of His will may resolve.

Significance: Defines God's omnipotence as the foundation for the wind of domination.

I do not care how good a message is. I do not care how plain the message is. I don't care how well illustrated it is. I don't care how great the oratory is. If God, the Holy Spirit does not breathe, there's nothing.

Significance: Emphasizes the absolute necessity of the Spirit's work for any spiritual life.

I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the heathen, whether you went.

Significance: Key verse showing that God's restoration is for His own glory, not human merit.

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet an exceeding great army.

Significance: The climax of the dry bones vision, showing the result of God's breath.

When we get to the end of our ropes, we're to tie a knot then and hang on.

Significance: Practical application of trusting God in hopeless situations.

You ain't seen nothing yet. When I get through, he's going to let everybody go.

Significance: Paraphrase of God's promise in Exodus 6:1, emphasizing His ultimate victory.

Discussion Questions

How does understanding God's sovereign control over the wind (and all things) affect your response to fearful situations?

Context: Weaver contrasts the wind of trepidation (fear of man) with the wind of domination (fear of God).

In what ways might we rely on human methods (good preaching, programs) rather than on the breath of the Holy Spirit?

Context: Weaver stresses that without the Spirit, all is vain, even when bones come together.

Why is it important that God restores His people for His name's sake rather than for their sake? How does this shape our prayers?

Context: Ezekiel 36:21-23 is cited as the reason for restoration.

What does it mean for the church to be an 'exceeding great army'? How should this affect our engagement with culture?

Context: Weaver connects Ezekiel 37:10 with Psalm 149:5-9, emphasizing a fighting spirit.

Have you ever felt like the dry bones—hopeless and cut off? How does this passage encourage you to trust God?

Context: Weaver points to Israel's confession in Ezekiel 37:11 and God's response.

How should we pray for God's dominion to be manifested in our land today?

Context: Weaver urges prayer for the wind of domination to blow upon God's people and the wicked.

Applications

Trust in God's sovereign power, not human ability.

Summary: Believers must recognize that only God can bring life and revival; our efforts are vain without His Spirit.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down.'

Pray for God's dominion and kingdom to come.

Summary: We should pray the Lord's Prayer with understanding, asking for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Our Lord taught us to pray that way... Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.'

Do not fear man; fear God and depart from evil.

Summary: A healthy fear of God enables us to obey Him and pleases Him.

Evidence: Weaver cites Proverbs 16:6 and Psalm 147:11.

Persevere in hope when circumstances seem hopeless.

Summary: When we feel like dry bones, we must tie a knot and hang on, trusting God to act.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'When we get to the end of our ropes, we're to tie a knot then and hang on.'

Embrace our identity as God's army.

Summary: We are called to be an exceeding great army, executing judgment and exercising dominion through God's Word and Spirit.

Evidence: Weaver cites Psalm 149:5-9 and urges a martial spirit.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T17:27:44Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T08:24:17Z

Clean Transcript

Is The Wind Blowing - Part 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Ezekiel chapter 37. We're going to read the first 14 verses. Ezekiel 37 verses 1 through 14. This is the second part of the brief series, "Is the Wind Blowing?" Ezekiel chapter 37, beginning with verse 1: "The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said, and he prophesied unto these bones, and he said unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cover and bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord."
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"So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say unto the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost, and we are cut off from our parts. Therefore, prophesy and say to them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel."
#2 | 1:09 to 2:05 | cleaned
"And you shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you out of your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall you know that I am the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, saith the Lord." So the title of the message is, "Is the Wind Blowing?" I answered that question last week, and I pointed out that the wind is always blowing. However, it blows differently.
#3 | 2:05 to 2:34 | cleaned
Sometimes it's a gentle, refreshing breeze. Sometimes it's a gust. Sometimes a howling storm or a horrible tempest. Yet, it is always blowing. As I pointed out last week, I want to reemphasize that the wind is under the sovereign control of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate. Scripture teaches us that he rides upon the wings of the wind, therefore he controls it. In 2 Samuel chapter 22 and verse 11, the Bible says, "And he rode upon a cherub and did fly, and he was seen upon the wings of the wind." So the wind then is under his absolute total control. Very quickly, if you would hold Ezekiel 37, but look in your Bibles in Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8, I want you to see this wonderful illustration of our Lord's sovereign control of the wind. Luke chapter 8, beginning there with verse 22. The Bible says this, Luke 8 and verse 22.
#4 | 2:34 to 3:39 | cleaned
"Now, it came to pass on a certain day that he went into a ship and with his disciples and he said unto them, Let us go over to the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed, he fell asleep. There came down a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water and were in jeopardy. And they came to him and awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and there was a great calm."
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"And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they, being afraid, wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this? For he commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey him." Of course, because he's the sovereign God of heaven and earth. Last week, we looked at one point and that was the wind of trepidation. We looked in Isaiah chapter 7 there and we saw where the heart of King Ahaz and the hearts of the people were moved like the trees are moved by the wind. And the whole point that I made last week is we are not to fear man, but we are to fear God. And certainly there is a very healthy fear of God's righteous judgment, and anyone with the least amount of biblical knowledge understands the wisdom of fearing God. There are many benefits and blessings in fearing the Lord.
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Let me just mention two today. On the one hand, you must understand, it is the fear of the Lord that enables us to depart from evil. The Bible says in Proverbs 16 and verse 6, "By mercy and truth, iniquity is purged, and by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil." So if you don't fear God, you won't depart from evil. But if you fear God, you'll cease doing that which He commands you to cease doing.
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In other words, you will not disobey Him. So it's by the fear of the Lord that men depart from evil. Then on the other hand, a biblical fear actually pleases our Heavenly Father because it enables us to live our lives according to His Word. The Bible says in Psalm 147 and verse 11, "The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy." So if you really want to please the Lord, if you want to give Him pleasure, then you fear Him and obey Him.
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Now today we're going to come to the second truth, and that is the wind of domination. The wind of domination is a demonstration of God's omnipotence. That is His absolute power and total control over everyone and everything. Stephen Charnock, an old Puritan, defined the power of God. Let me give you the brief paragraph that he wrote in defining the power of God. Listen carefully. "The power of God is that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatsoever He pleases, whatsoever His infinite wisdom may direct, and whatsoever the infinite purity of His will may resolve. As holiness is the beauty of all God's attributes, so power is that which gives life and action to all the perfections of the divine nature. How vain would be the eternal counsels if power did not step in to execute them. Without power, His mercy would be but a feeble pity.
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His promise is an empty sound. His threatening is a mere scarecrow. God's power is like Himself, infinite, eternal, incomprehensible. It can neither be checked, restrained, nor frustrated by the creature." So the power of God is just simply God's omnipotence. It is the fact that He is all powerful, and I can assure you that when it comes to restoring and reclaiming His people, it will indeed take the mighty power of God. Now, we just read Ezekiel 37 verses 1 through 14.
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Let me point out verse 9, and that's where we're going to start today. In verse 9, Ezekiel 37, God says, "Then said he to me, Prophesy unto the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." The life-giving and life-restoring wind is absolutely essential to that which is needed in our day and time. What I want to do is give you some background of this message so that you can understand what I'm going to be sharing with you. I'm going to be giving you some information from the remote context and then from the immediate context as well. So let me begin by telling you about Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a priest and a prophet. He was both a priest and a prophet.
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He was one of the captives that had been taken into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar during the reign of Zedekiah. We know that Ezekiel had been in Babylon in captivity for a minimum of 11 years before Jerusalem fell. How do we know that? Well, because in Ezekiel 33 and verse 21, if you want to look there very quickly, Ezekiel 33 and verse 21, the Bible says this, Ezekiel is speaking, "And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, This city is smitten." So he learned about it in the twelfth year, which means he had already been there eleven years previously, and this was the twelfth year in which Jerusalem was sacked. So Judah and Jerusalem now have been sacked, looted, burned with fire and destroyed. The palace, the expensive homes, and the temple had been destroyed. Many had been slain, and many had been captured and taken into captivity, and just a few of the poor had been left in the land.
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So basically speaking, everything was gone. You have to remember that Israel, the northern kingdom, was sent into captivity into Assyria. Now, the southern kingdom is devastated. And the few that are left alive are taken into captivity in Babylon, except the few poor that were left in the land. So here's my question. Where are the covenant people of God? The answer is scattered, battered, defeated, devastated and dead. The few that were left alive were in the hands of their enemies, or they were left in the land to serve their masters, so to speak.
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I want you to look at the language of Scripture in describing the reality of what happened to Judah and Jerusalem. Look in Ezekiel, chapter 36, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Ezekiel 36, verse 1. God says also, "Thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, because the enemy hath said against you." Now, here's what the enemy says.
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"Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession." So they've captured about everything. "Therefore, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God, because they have made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, that you might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and you were taken up in the lips of the talkers, and are an infamy of the people." In other words, you've been devastated. You've been captured. Watch verse 4, "Therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, to the cities that are forsaken, which become a prey and a derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about." Now note if you would, God says everything is basically desolated and destroyed. So here's another question. Why did God deal so seriously and so devastatingly with Judah and Jerusalem?
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Well, the answer is found in Ezekiel 36, beginning there in verse 16. Let's read Ezekiel 36, verse 16. "Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings. Their way was before me as an uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore, I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it."
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"And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries. According to their way and according to their doings, I judged them. And when they entered into the heathen, whether they went, they profaned my holy name. When they said to them, These are the people of the Lord and are going forth out of his land." So God said, here's why I judged them. Because you were wicked, you were an idolater, you were ones that forsook me and my laws as God. And when I did send you into the lands of the heathen, even there you polluted my holy name. Yes, God dealt very devastatingly with these people.
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Judah followed exactly in the footsteps of Israel. Both Israel and Judah dealt deceitfully and wickedly with God. And therefore God, in His righteous judgment, turned them over to their heathen enemies. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles, still hold Ezekiel 37, we're coming back there, but turn to Ezekiel 23. I'm giving you not only the immediate context in just a moment, but the remote context. I'm trying to show you how God has been speaking against not only the northern kingdom, but the southern kingdom. And so, in Ezekiel 23, beginning with verse 1, and we'll read through verse 19, God tells us exactly the wickedness of Israel, both the northern and southern kingdom. Notice verse 1, Ezekiel 23.
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"The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother, and they committed whoredoms in Egypt. They committed whoredoms in their youth. There were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. And the names of them were Aholah, the elder, and Aholibah, her sister. And they were mine, and they bear sons and daughters. Thus were their names. Samaria is Aholah," that's the capital of the northern kingdom, "and Jerusalem, Aholibah," that's the capital of the southern kingdom. "And Aholah, that is Samaria, played the harlot when she was mine."
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"And she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians, her neighbors, which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, with all on whom she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself. Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt, for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredoms upon her. Wherefore, I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, and into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted."
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"These discovered her nakedness, and took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword. And she became famous among women, for they had executed judgment upon her." Now watch. That's the Northern Kingdom. Now we're getting to the Southern Kingdom. "And when her sister, Aholibah, that is Jerusalem, saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms."
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"She doted upon the Assyrians, her neighbors, captains and rulers, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way, and that she increased her whoredoms. For when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity. And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness. Then my mind," that is God's mind, "was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt."
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So God is saying, here is the reason I've judged not only the northern kingdom, but the southern kingdom because of their perversity, because of their constant and consistent idolatry, because they constantly and consistently forsook God and His law. So God destroyed them, basically. He left their cities desolate. He wiped them out. So here's a question. How could such a people have any hope of restoration? What nation that has sinned against God so blatantly, so openly and so wickedly could ever expect any mercy from God? What will it take to restore such a people? The answer comes back. It will take the grace and mercy and power of God. I want you to go back to Ezekiel 37. I want to call your attention to a phrase that occurs at least 70 times in the book of Ezekiel. I want you to note, if you would, verse 6. In Ezekiel 37, God says, "And I will lay sinews upon you and will bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you and you shall live.
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Now, what's this? "And you shall know that I am the Lord." This phrase, "and you shall know that I am the Lord," occurs at least 70 times in the book of Ezekiel. Now listen, 29 times it refers to God's punishment of Jerusalem. Twenty-four times it occurs in reference to God's governmental judgment upon the nations. And seventeen times it occurs in reference to the restoration of the people of God. Now listen to that. It occurs not only in reference to God's judgment of His people, to God's judgment of the nations, but to the restoration of God's people as well.
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So what does that tell us? It tells us that God is absolutely sovereign over everyone and everything. God has all power. God is the omnipotent God. He rules and reigns even over the heathen. They may not know Him. They may not acknowledge Him. They may not confess Him, but that is beside the point. He is still their ruler. Now, let me give you two verses.
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Second Chronicles 20 and verse 6, Second Chronicles 20 and verse 6, listen: "And said, O Lord, God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? And in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?" Notice if you would, Scripture says specifically that God rules over all the nations of the heathen. That means actually God is in control of Russia, China, doesn't matter what nation, God is in control. And then in Psalm 47 in verse 8, the Bible says this, "God reigneth over the heathen. God sitteth upon the throne of His holiness." So God is sovereign.
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Now, God's sovereign power in the book of Ezekiel is displayed first in the punishment of Judah and Jerusalem exactly the way that God foretold that they would be punished. Secondly, His sovereign power is displayed by the judgments that He placed upon the heathen nations that were around in Ezekiel's time. And third, God's sovereign power is displayed in the book of Ezekiel in the preservation of a remnant of His people, which brings us to Ezekiel chapter 37.
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Let me ask one other question. I've already shown you from the scripture why God sent Israel into captivity, both the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. Because of their idolatry, their wickedness, and we could spend all day talking about some of the things that they did, which was horrible, which were horrible. But here's my question. Why would God want to restore such a wicked and rebellious people? I want you to think about this in light of our land, our day, and our time.
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Look at what America has done. We claim to be God's people.
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You've seen those signs. "God bless America." The question would be asked, why would God bless America? Why? Look at the children that we murder. Look at sodomy, how it's legalized in our land. Look at the fraud. Look at all the sins that are not only just prevalent, they're governmental, they're subsidized. They're promoted. You'd have to ask, why in the world should God bless America when America would not bless God? So why in the world would God even consider restoring Israel? Why would He consider restoring us today? Well, I'll show you. Look in Ezekiel 36, beginning there, verse 21. Here's the only reason God would do anything for us. Look in Ezekiel chapter 36 and let's begin reading there with verse 21. God says, "But I had pity for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whether they went. Therefore, say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the heathen, whether you went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which you have profaned in the midst of them, and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall
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be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take of you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from your idols will I cleanse you."
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Now watch, "A new heart also will I give you. And a new spirit will I put within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh. And I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes. And you shall keep my judgments and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers."
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"And you shall be my people and I'll be your God." Now why in the world would God restore such a wicked, ungodly reprobate people? And the answer is for His own name's sake. God's going to do it for His great name's sake. That's all. And so that brings us now to chapter 37. Because that's where God tells us that He brings Ezekiel now to this valley of dry bones. Look in verses 1 and 2. He said, "The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones and caused me to pass by them round about. Behold, they were very many in the open valley and lo, they were very dry." So there was no life in the bones. And I might add no hope of life because they were very dry.
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That is, they had no marrow. They had no moisture in them. They were incapable of life in and of themselves. If you look at verse 3, God asked Ezekiel a question, "And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest." Ezekiel had to defer to God's omniscience, for from all appearances it was impossible for those bones to live. Would you look at the mess that we're in in America? Would you look at the mess that we're in in the entire world? And you consider how God's people are persecuted, hated, mocked, despised, ridiculed, scattered, devastated, imprisoned, killed.
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You know, the truth of the matter is we really have not changed. And things have not really changed. Just like they did in the Old Testament, just like they did in the New Testament, we threw our preachers and our prophets in prison. Look at Ken Hovind. I could name right now at least a half a dozen preachers that have been in prison and or in prison now that have done nothing wrong other than to stand against wickedness and godliness.
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Can these bones live? Ezekiel said, "Oh, Lord, thou knowest." It doesn't look like they can to me, but Lord, you're omniscient, you know everything. Look in verse 4. "Again, he said to me, Prophesy unto these bones and say to them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." I completely understand Ezekiel's hesitancy to preach to a bunch of dry bones. There have been times that I often felt like I was preaching to a bunch of dry bones. Bones that were incapable of hearing and learning and absolutely devoid of life. Yet the truth is, it is ours to preach and it is God's portion to give life. Ezekiel did as he was commanded. He preached and God began to move upon these lifeless bones. Look in verse 5. "Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live.
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And I will lay sinews upon you and will bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin. And put breath in you and you shall live and you shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them." So, I want you to note, he preaches, and as he preaches, bone comes to bone. Sinew comes upon flesh, skin, but there's no breath in them.
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There was no life in them. You know, there's a principle here that we must learn. And that is this, we must understand that in all of our planning, preaching and praying are absolutely worthless without the breath of God, without the spirit of God, without the power of God. Most preachers never think about this. Most Christians never think about this. I do not care how good a message is. I do not care how plain the message is. I don't care how well illustrated it is. I don't care how great the oratory is. If God, the Holy Spirit does not breathe, there's nothing. We may have a semblance of life. But without God, we cannot have life. He is life.
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You remember, it was the Apostle Paul who said in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 6, "Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life." So without the life, without the wind, without the breath of God, there's nothing but death. There's a hymn that we used to sing, and I still love the hymn.
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"Brethren, we have met to worship." Here's the first stanza. "Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord, our God. Will you pray with all your power while we try to preach the Word? All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down. Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around." And that is true. Unless God the Holy Spirit blesses, all is vain. Now, here's what happened. Ezekiel did as God commanded him. He obeyed God. And as he preached the word, not only did bone come to bone, and sinew, and skin, and flesh.
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Well, look what happens in verses 9 and 10. "Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these that are slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet an exceeding great army." Wow.
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I want to just stop right here and give you three very important truths. First, I want you to note it was a sovereign act of God that brought life into these bones. Man cannot produce life, only God gives life. There is no man that can say. Only God can give restoration, revival and renewal. I get tickled a lot of times at the signs that are on most modern day church buildings. They will say "Revival next week, April 5th through the 10th." Really? Now, if they were honest, they would say there's a meeting next week.
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Because usually that's what it turns out. Only God can give revival. In fact, David prayed in Psalm 85 and verse 6. He said in his prayer, "Will thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee?" Revival comes from God. Only God can give revival. Only God can give life. Only God can give an awakening. Only God can give a restoration and a renewal and a reformation. Three times in Psalm 80, and I'm just going to quote verse 19, but this same verse occurs three times in Psalm 80, where David prays, "Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine upon us, and we shall be saved." So if God does not turn us, if God does not cause His face to shine upon us, if God does not breathe upon us, we will not be saved. It is only God that can give life. Giving life is an act of God alone. I can preach to people. I can witness to people. I can tell people what God demands of them.
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But I cannot save them. And I cannot give them life. And I cannot make them do right. I cannot make them obey God. I've often said, I wish I could, but I can't. Only God can give life. Only God can open eyes. Only God can open ears. So the very first truth you must recognize is these bones came together, these dead, dry bones came together only because God commanded them to. And then God breathed in them and gave them life. Here's the second truth. Look in verse 10. He said, "So I prophesied as he commanded me and the breath came into them and they lived and stood up upon their feet an exceeding great army." When God gives life, when God raises His people up, it will be an exceeding great army. An army. Oh, yes. Do you know one of the titles given to God over and over in Scripture? He is called the Lord God of hosts. You know what the word host is? Armies. He's the Lord God of the armies.
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So when God raises up His people, when God revives and awakens His people, He's going to empower them to throw off their enemies. That's the whole context of Ezekiel 37. They're not only going to throw off their enemies, they're going to come back to the land that He promised them there. He's going to give them victory through His power, by His grace, for His honor and glory.
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Now, I want to show you something. I want you to hold Ezekiel 37. But I do want you to turn to Psalm 149. Psalm 149. Here's a passage that most people have overlooked. Very few preachers have ever preached from this passage, but I want you to see how plain it is. Psalm 149. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. Watch this carefully. Psalm 149, verse 5.
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"Let the saints be joyful in glory. Let them sing aloud upon their beds." Hmm. What are we to be singing upon our beds? Look carefully. "Let the high praises of God be in their mouth. And a two-edged sword in their hand." Why does God give us a sword? Why does God raise up an exceeding great army? Look in verse 7, "To execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon the people, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute upon them the judgment written, this honor have all the saints. Praise ye the Lord."
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I don't know about you, but to me, that sounds almost like victory. That sounds like God's going to raise up a great army. And we're going to fulfill His Word and fulfill His will. So when God then breathes His breath into us, it is also a fighting breath. It's a breath that enables us to fight against sin and wickedness and rebellion and any and everything that is contrary to God and His glory. So in Ezekiel 37, when He raises these people up, He raises them to an exceeding great army.
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You remember that hymn we used to sing? "Onward, Christian soldiers marching as to war." Oh. We've lost our martial spirit. We've lost the fighting spirit. And we need it.
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Thirdly, I want you to look at verse 11 in Ezekiel 37. Here's the third principle. "Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say our bones are dried and our hope is lost. We're cut off from our parts." This is what God allows us to think. That everything is lost. And we're absolutely hopeless and helpless before He acts.
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Now, let me tell you, look around at America today. Look at our ruling class, our ruling elite, as they like to refer to themselves. What do you see? We see wickedness and perversion and corruption reigning on every hand. And those who are in power believe that they are so entrenched in power that nothing will ever bring them down. And we tend to think that as God's people, we are hopeless and helpless and powerless. We think all of our parts are missing and we're dried up and there is no hope. Let me tell you something. With our sins and with our helplessness and with our powerlessness, if we look within ourselves, we have to admit, we have to confess there is no hope. But when you look beyond yourself and you look to the sovereign power of God,
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you have to say with our Lord Jesus Christ, with God, all things are possible. With God, all things are possible. Let me tell you something. I'm going to show it to you right here. God will keep His word. And God will keep His promise even if He has to open our graves and raise us from the dead. He will keep His word. Look in your Bibles, verses 12 through 14. He said, "Therefore, prophesy and say to them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord when I've opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves and shall put my spirit in you and you shall live. And I shall place you in your own land, then shall you know that I am the Lord have spoken it and performed it, saith the Lord." Do you realize that our God, if He pleases,
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according to our Bible, is able to raise up children unto Abraham out of stones. That's what John the Baptist said. "Say not to yourselves, We have Abraham our father, for God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham." God can do whatever He wants to. He is not helpless. He is the omnipotent sovereign of the universe. I want you to look very quickly, hold Ezekiel 37, but look very quickly in your Bibles, Psalm 79, then we're going to Isaiah 26. OK, look in Psalm 79.
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You're talking about a picture of devastation. Here's what Asaph had to write in Psalm 79, beginning there in verses 1 and 2, then we'll go to Isaiah 26. But notice if you would, Psalm 79 at verse 1. Psalm 79, verse 1, look what Asaph writes. "O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance. Thy holy temple have they defiled. They have laid Jerusalem on heaps."
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Now watch, "The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven and the flesh of the saints unto the beasts of the earth. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them. We are becoming a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. How long, Lord, wilt thou be angry forever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?" Then he says, "Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name."
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Now, if you have to be honest and you should be honest, you look around today, you'd say, you know, Christianity is just about like that. We, the people of God, we're defeated. We're devastated. We're lost. I mean, you know, where's our power? Where's our position? Where's our prominence? We have to cry and sigh when they snap and say, yeah, that's it. That is our condition. That's what happened to Israel in the Old Testament. It's what's happening to God's people today. But look in your Bibles to Isaiah 26, because just like you have to confess with Asaph, you also have to confess with Isaiah in Isaiah 26.
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Notice, if you would please, in verse 19. Look what he says. Isaiah 26 and verse 19. Isaiah 26, verse 19. "Thy dead body shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust, for thy dew is as the dew of the herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." Thy dead men shall live. If we are a people of faith, we have to cry out and say, yes, the dead shall live. Do you realize, just as God can make living men dead, He can also make dead men live. You know what the Bible says? John 5 verse 21, "For as the Father quickeneth the dead, or raises up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will."
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Our Lord has power to quicken. In John 5 and verse 25, our Lord said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." So what did God do? Ezekiel 37, when they said, boy, we're at the end of our ropes, we're dead, we're dry, we're hopeless, we're helpless. God simply said.
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"You don't understand what I can do. I can raise the dead. I can raise up an exceeding great army." So what does that teach us? It teaches us this. When we get to the end of our ropes, we're to tie a knot then and hang on. You know, we have a saying I don't necessarily agree with the saying, but it does prove a point. The old saying is "it's not over till the fat lady sings." I guess that was based upon operas, I don't know, but I'll tell you this, it's not over until God's final act.
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And the wicked ain't seen nothing yet. I want you to go in your Bibles very quickly to Exodus chapter 5. This is such a wonderful passage, I've used it before, but yet it so illustrates exactly what I'm trying to share with you right now. Look, if you would, in Exodus chapter 5, you know the story. God has sent Moses into Egypt to deliver the children of Israel.
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And of course, Pharaoh refuses to let them go. He refuses to obey God. Doesn't matter. And so the elders have gone in after Pharaoh has said, now you're going to make the same amount of brick, but you're going to make them without the straw. You have to get the straw yourself. Watch it. Exodus 5, verse 14. "And the officers," now we're not talking about just anybody, but here's the officers, here's the elders and the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and demanded, "Wherefore, have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as heretofore?" Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, "Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There was no straw given to thy servants, and they say, Thus make brick, and behold, thy servants are beaten, but the fault is in thine own people."
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But he said, "Ye are idle, ye are idle. Therefore you say, Let us go and do sacrifice unto the Lord. Go therefore now and work, for there shall no straw be given unto you, yet shall you deliver the tale of bricks." And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in an evil case, as it was said to them, "You shall not minish ought from your bricks from your daily task." Now watch.
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"And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh. And they said unto them, The Lord look upon you and judge, because you have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us." Now watch. All the elders are helpless. They cannot deliver themselves. They cannot deliver their people. Verse 22, "And Moses returned unto the Lord and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people, neither hast thou delivered thy people at all." So now God has Moses and Aaron helpless. Skip down to verse 1 of chapter 6. "Then the Lord said to Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand will he drive them out of the land."
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God said, "You ain't seen nothing yet. When I get through, he's going to let everybody go." And when God gets through with the wicked, they're just not going to be around anymore. There's the wind of domination. God has absolute, total dominion. So let me make some applications. Listen carefully. Here's the first one. We must understand that in God's time, in God's way, and in His pleasure, we will have absolute victory and total dominion through our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is Lord of Lords and God of Gods. He is the Great I Am, the Eternal, the Almighty Lord of Heaven and Earth. It is absolutely impossible for Him to fail, for He is God. He has dominion and He shall continue to have dominion. Let me just quote some verses. I want you to listen. Job 25, verse 2, "Dominion and fear are with him." Dominion and fear with him. Psalm 72 and verse 8, "He shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth." Psalm 103, verse 22.
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"Bless the Lord, O my soul, all his works and all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul." Psalm 145, verse 13, "Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations." And how about this one, Daniel 4 and verse 3. "How great are his signs and how mighty are his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation."
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When Ezekiel prophesied, "Come thou wind, and blow upon these slain, and give life unto them," it was the wind of domination. You say, you mean to tell me we should pray for domination? Oh, yes. And in case you haven't realized it, our Lord taught us to pray that way. What do you think it means when He said pray, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." What is that? Dominion. Dominion. Dominion. You know, I said earlier, I don't you think I told you that God will have dominion.
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Even if He hasn't raised the dead, He did raise the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the first fruits, and what follows is our resurrection. Yes, He is quite capable of raising the dead. He raised His only begotten Son from the dead. And likewise, He raised us from the dead. And it doesn't matter how desperate our situation is. It doesn't matter how difficult the circumstances. It doesn't matter how we look with the sight of our eyes when God blows with His wind of domination. He will raise up His people, restore them, renew them, plant them, and enable them to exercise dominion through His word and by His spirit. Yes, we need to learn to pray, "Lord, let thy wind of domination blow upon my people and even upon the wicked that they may fear and see and know that thou art God alone." Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We thank You, Father, that the wind does indeed blow.
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Not only the wind of trepidation, but the wind of domination. Help us, Heavenly Father, to trust in Thee and look to Thee and lean upon Thee. Not looking by sight, but looking by faith. For Thou art God, and with Thee all things are possible, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. This program was produced by Dominion Ministry. For more information about Pastor Weaver's sermons, you may contact Dominion Ministry by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R-C-O-R-N Street, Suite 705, PMB 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406.
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Or give us a call at 912-925-0995.
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You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T17:27:44Z

Is The Wind Blowing - Part 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, John Weaver continues his series on the wind of God, focusing on the 'wind of domination'—God's sovereign, omnipotent power to restore and revive His people. Using Ezekiel 37, he illustrates how God can bring life to dry bones, raising an exceeding great army. The message emphasizes that only God can give life and revival, and that His dominion is absolute, even over the heathen. Applications include trusting in God's power for victory and praying for His dominion.

Introduction and Review

Weaver introduces the second part of the series, reviews the previous message on the wind of trepidation, and emphasizes that the wind is always blowing under Christ's sovereign control.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 37:1-14

"The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said, and he prophesied unto these bones, and he said unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cover and bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord." "So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say unto the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost, and we are cut off from our parts. Therefore, prophesy and say to them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel."

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 22:11

"And he rode upon a cherub and did fly, and he was seen upon the wings of the wind."

The Wind of Domination Defined

The wind of domination is a demonstration of God's omnipotence, His absolute power and total control over everyone and everything, as defined by Stephen Charnock.

Background: The Devastation of Israel and Judah

Weaver provides historical context from Ezekiel, showing how both the northern and southern kingdoms were devastated due to their idolatry and wickedness, leaving them scattered and dead.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 33:21

"And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, This city is smitten."

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:1-4

"Thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, because the enemy hath said against you."

Now, here's what the enemy says.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:1-4

"Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession."

So they've captured about everything.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:1-4

"Therefore, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God, because they have made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, that you might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and you were taken up in the lips of the talkers, and are an infamy of the people."

In other words, you've been devastated. You've been captured. Watch verse 4,

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:1-4

"Therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, to the cities that are forsaken, which become a prey and a derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about."

Now note if you would, God says everything is basically desolated and destroyed. So here's another question. Why did God deal so seriously and so devastatingly with Judah and Jerusalem?

Well, the answer is found in Ezekiel 36, beginning there in verse 16. Let's read Ezekiel 36, verse 16.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:16-20

"Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings. Their way was before me as an uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore, I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it." "And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries. According to their way and according to their doings, I judged them. And when they entered into the heathen, whether they went, they profaned my holy name. When they said to them, These are the people of the Lord and are going forth out of his land."

God's Purpose in Restoration: For His Name's Sake

God restores His people not for their sake but for His holy name's sake, as seen in Ezekiel 36, where He promises cleansing, a new heart, and His Spirit.

Look at what America has done. We claim to be God's people.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:21-28

"But I had pity for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whether they went. Therefore, say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the heathen, whether you went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which you have profaned in the midst of them, and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:21-28

"And you shall be my people and I'll be your God."

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:21-28

"The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones and caused me to pass by them round about. Behold, they were very many in the open valley and lo, they were very dry."

So there was no life in the bones. And I might add no hope of life because they were very dry.

The Valley of Dry Bones: Preaching and the Breath of God

Ezekiel preaches to dry bones, and they come together, but life only comes when God commands the wind to breathe upon them, illustrating that without the Spirit, all is vain.

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:21-28

"And you shall be my people and I'll be your God."

Scripture Reading — Ezekiel 36:21-28

"The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones and caused me to pass by them round about. Behold, they were very many in the open valley and lo, they were very dry."

So there was no life in the bones. And I might add no hope of life because they were very dry.

You remember, it was the Apostle Paul who said in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 6,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 3:6

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life."

Three Truths from Ezekiel 37

Weaver draws three truths: only God gives life; when God raises His people, they become an exceeding great army; and God allows His people to feel hopeless before He acts.

Because usually that's what it turns out. Only God can give revival. In fact, David prayed in Psalm 85 and verse 6. He said in his prayer,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 85:6

"Will thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee?"

God's Power to Raise the Dead

Using Psalm 79, Isaiah 26, and John 5, Weaver shows that God can raise the dead and will fulfill His promises, even if it requires opening graves.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 79:1-6

"O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance. Thy holy temple have they defiled. They have laid Jerusalem on heaps."

Notice, if you would please, in verse 19. Look what he says. Isaiah 26 and verse 19. Isaiah 26, verse 19.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 26:19

"Thy dead body shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust, for thy dew is as the dew of the herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead."

Scripture Reading — John 5:21, 25

Our Lord has power to quicken. In John 5 and verse 25, our Lord said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." So what did God do? Ezekiel 37, when they said, boy, we're at the end of our ropes, we're dead, we're dry, we're hopeless, we're helpless. God simply said.

Application: Trusting in God's Dominion

Weaver applies the message by urging believers to trust in God's absolute victory and dominion, and to pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth.

Is The Wind Blowing - Part 2

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	68151444451
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: The Superiority of Christ
Genre	Sermon
Date	2015-03-15
Dictation Name
Book	Book 100: Is The Wind Blowing — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	70

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review: Weaver introduces the second part of the series, reviews the previous message on the wind of trepidation, and emphasizes that the wind is always blowing under Christ's sovereign control.
The Wind of Domination Defined: The wind of domination is a demonstration of God's omnipotence, His absolute power and total control over everyone and everything, as defined by Stephen Charnock.
Background: The Devastation of Israel and Judah: Weaver provides historical context from Ezekiel, showing how both the northern and southern kingdoms were devastated due to their idolatry and wickedness, leaving them scattered and dead.
God's Purpose in Restoration: For His Name's Sake: God restores His people not for their sake but for His holy name's sake, as seen in Ezekiel 36, where He promises cleansing, a new heart, and His Spirit.
The Valley of Dry Bones: Preaching and the Breath of God: Ezekiel preaches to dry bones, and they come together, but life only comes when God commands the wind to breathe upon them, illustrating that without the Spirit, all is vain.
Three Truths from Ezekiel 37: Weaver draws three truths: only God gives life; when God raises His people, they become an exceeding great army; and God allows His people to feel hopeless before He acts.
God's Power to Raise the Dead: Using Psalm 79, Isaiah 26, and John 5, Weaver shows that God can raise the dead and will fulfill His promises, even if it requires opening graves.
Application: Trusting in God's Dominion: Weaver applies the message by urging believers to trust in God's absolute victory and dominion, and to pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

The wind of domination is God's omnipotent power to restore.

God's power is infinite and cannot be frustrated; He uses it to reclaim and revive His people.

Weaver quotes Charnock: 'God's power is like Himself, infinite, eternal, incomprehensible. It can neither be checked, restrained, nor frustrated by the creature.'

Preaching without the Spirit produces only a semblance of life.

Ezekiel's preaching brought bones together but no breath until God commanded the wind, showing that human effort alone is dead.

Weaver says, 'We may have a semblance of life. But without God, we cannot have life.'

God's restoration is for His own glory, not human merit.

Israel's wickedness made them undeserving, but God acts to vindicate His holy name.

Weaver reads Ezekiel 36:22: 'I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake.'

God's people are destined for victory and dominion.

The exceeding great army in Ezekiel 37 prefigures the saints' role in executing judgment and ruling with Christ.

Weaver cites Psalm 149:7-9: 'To execute vengeance upon the heathen... this honor have all the saints.'

God can raise the dead to fulfill His promises.

If necessary, God will open graves and resurrect His people to keep His covenant.

Weaver reads Ezekiel 37:12-14: 'I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves.'

Scripture References

Ezekiel 37:1-14: The primary text of the sermon, describing the valley of dry bones and the breath of life.
2 Samuel 22:11: Used to show that God rides upon the wings of the wind, indicating His sovereign control.
Luke 8:22-25: Illustrates Jesus' sovereign control over the wind and waves.
Proverbs 16:6: Shows that the fear of the Lord enables men to depart from evil.
Psalm 147:11: The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him.
Ezekiel 33:21: Establishes that Ezekiel had been in captivity at least 11 years before Jerusalem fell.
Ezekiel 36:1-4: Describes the desolation of Israel's mountains and cities.
Ezekiel 36:16-20: Explains why God judged Israel: their idolatry and profaning of His name.
Ezekiel 23:1-19: Allegory of Aholah and Aholibah depicting the spiritual harlotry of Samaria and Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 36:21-28: God promises restoration for His name's sake, including a new heart and Spirit.
2 Chronicles 20:6: Affirms that God rules over all kingdoms of the heathen.
Psalm 47:8: God reigns over the heathen, sitting on His holy throne.
2 Corinthians 3:6: The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Psalm 85:6: David's prayer for revival: 'Wilt thou not revive us again?'
Psalm 80:19: A prayer for God to turn His people and cause His face to shine.
Psalm 149:5-9: The saints are to have high praises and a two-edged sword to execute judgment.
Psalm 79:1-6: A lament over the devastation of Jerusalem and the slaughter of God's servants.
Isaiah 26:19: Prophecy that the dead shall live and arise.
John 5:21, 25: Jesus has power to quicken the dead; the dead shall hear His voice and live.
Exodus 5:14-6:1: Illustrates God's timing: when Moses and the elders were helpless, God promised to act with a strong hand.

Historical References

Stephen Charnock (Puritan writer): Weaver quotes Charnock's definition of God's power as infinite and unfrustratable.
Nebuchadnezzar's captivity of Judah: Ezekiel was among the captives taken to Babylon during Zedekiah's reign.
Fall of Jerusalem: Jerusalem was sacked and destroyed after Ezekiel had been in captivity 12 years.
Assyrian captivity of the northern kingdom: Israel was sent into captivity into Assyria before Judah's fall.
Ken Hovind (modern preacher imprisoned): Weaver mentions Ken Hovind as an example of preachers imprisoned for standing against wickedness.

Important Quotes

The power of God is that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatsoever He pleases, whatsoever His infinite wisdom may direct, and whatsoever the infinite purity of His will may resolve.

Defines God's omnipotence as the foundation for the wind of domination.

I do not care how good a message is. I do not care how plain the message is. I don't care how well illustrated it is. I don't care how great the oratory is. If God, the Holy Spirit does not breathe, there's nothing.

Emphasizes the absolute necessity of the Spirit's work for any spiritual life.

I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the heathen, whether you went.

Key verse showing that God's restoration is for His own glory, not human merit.

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet an exceeding great army.

The climax of the dry bones vision, showing the result of God's breath.

When we get to the end of our ropes, we're to tie a knot then and hang on.

Practical application of trusting God in hopeless situations.

You ain't seen nothing yet. When I get through, he's going to let everybody go.

Paraphrase of God's promise in Exodus 6:1, emphasizing His ultimate victory.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does understanding God's sovereign control over the wind (and all things) affect your response to fearful situations?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts the wind of trepidation (fear of man) with the wind of domination (fear of God).

[Question]

In what ways might we rely on human methods (good preaching, programs) rather than on the breath of the Holy Spirit?

[Context]

Weaver stresses that without the Spirit, all is vain, even when bones come together.

[Question]

Why is it important that God restores His people for His name's sake rather than for their sake? How does this shape our prayers?

[Context]

Ezekiel 36:21-23 is cited as the reason for restoration.

[Question]

What does it mean for the church to be an 'exceeding great army'? How should this affect our engagement with culture?

[Context]

Weaver connects Ezekiel 37:10 with Psalm 149:5-9, emphasizing a fighting spirit.

[Question]

Have you ever felt like the dry bones—hopeless and cut off? How does this passage encourage you to trust God?

[Context]

Weaver points to Israel's confession in Ezekiel 37:11 and God's response.

[Question]

How should we pray for God's dominion to be manifested in our land today?

[Context]

Weaver urges prayer for the wind of domination to blow upon God's people and the wicked.

Applications

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