LET THE WIND BLOW

TEXT: Ezekiel 37:1-3

Israel had become a divided nation - the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah).  The Northern Kingdom quickly left behind their devotion for God, and He sent the Assyrians to defeat and discipline them.  The Southern Kingdom (Judah) maintained relationship with God a bit longer, but eventually they became as wicked and idolatrous as the Northern Kingdom.  Because of their wickedness, God sent the Babylonians to defeat and take them captive.

Ezekiel was among the large group taken captive.  He was from a priestly family and in training for service in the temple when taken captive by the Babylonians.  The city of Jerusalem was destroyed. The Temple was burnt down, and all of it’s implements and articles of worship were taken to Babylon and many more people taken into captivity.

This was a discouraging and disappointing time for Judah, and Jerusalem was no more.  Everything the people had put their hope in had been destroyed.  They were dead as a nation, and dead as a people.  It seemed like everything was going wrong in their life.  I’m sure many of them wondered where the promises of God’s blessings fit into all of this.  But our God is a deliverer and a promise-keeping God.  In Ezekiel 37:14, He promised better days were coming, and they would return to their own land.

It's in the Blood! (Part 3)

Part 3

Look at what God said in relation to Jerusalem:  "Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made" (Ezekiel 22:4).

Adam’s blood was “innocent” until he (male & female) disobeyed God, which caused his blood to become “guilty blood”.  But praise be to God for the “innocent blood” of Jesus that cleanses!!

" But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from ALL sins" (1 John 1:7). 

Just as our own blood is vital for life, so is the PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS vital to us for life, even more so!  It is our means of “atonement” or at-one-ment!

"For the life of the flesh is in the blood:  and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls:  for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Leviticus 17:11).

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:22-24).

Just as the “red blood cells” supply us with oxygen and nutrients for life and carry off the waste to keep the body cleansed, so does the “precious blood of Jesus”!

"Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life" (St. John 6:53-54).

Jesus’s blood has an “eternal” factor in it!  Eternal in the Greek is aio’nios meaning, perpetual, everlasting, for ever!  That is good news!  His blood gives us not just life but everlasting life!

"And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes?  and whence came they?  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:13-14).

Isn’t that amazing how you can wash your robes in the “red blood” of Jesus, and they come out white!  Don’t try it with your own blood; it won’t work.  But we know that our robe is the righteousness of God, and they are made white by the blood of the Lamb!

"And to her (the church) was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white:  for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints" (Revelation 19:8).

As you look at the robe of the high priest in Exodus 28, it was made of fine linen, and Revelation 19 reveals to us that the “fine linen” clean and white is the righteousness of saints.  That is what God has dressed us in - His righteousness!!

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin:  that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10).

Just as “the white blood cells” are the defense of the body, so is the “blood of Jesus” our defense!

"For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:13-14).

"For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.  For a testament is of force after men are dead:  otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.  Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. (Hebrews 9:16-18)

(Vs 26) "But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself".

(Vs 28) "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many"!  (Read Hebrews chapter 9-10:  Christ’s sacrifice!)

It is by His blood we are redeemed!

"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness:  that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Romans 3:24-26).

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19).

It is by His blood we are reconciled back to God!

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us:  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby" (Ephesians 2:13-16).

By His blood we are justified!

"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:9).

By His blood we are sanctified!

"Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:29).

"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14).

Last but not least, His blood has given us communion with our Heavenly Father!

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat, this is my body.'  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink ye all of it, For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:26-28).

Jesus’ blood is our overcoming power that gives us the victory over all the power of the enemy!

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony" (Revelation 12:11)!

~ Apostle Gracie Perry

It's in the Blood (Part 2)

This message is presented in 3 parts.  Part 3 will be available on Dec. 9, 2013

Part 2

Our beginning Scripture stated, “The Life of the flesh is in the “blood”.  So, what is this “life” that is in the “blood”?

LIFE is the Hebrew word nephesh, which is a breathing creature, such as an animal; man; it is vitality; bodily or mentally, it is soul, life, person, mind, heart, body, himself, yourselves.  It comes from another root word naphash’, which means to breathe; to be breathed upon, in relation to being refreshed (as if by a current of air).

REFRESH (synonym) means invigorate; recuperate; restore; ventilate; recreate; strengthen; stimulate; enliven; renew, revive!

These definitions are in reference to the very essence of life; the act of breathing; taking breaths!

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).

Actually, what the LORD God was breathing into “man” (male & female) was the very “blood” of God Himself, which contained all that “man” needed as pertaining to LIFE, or shall I say ETERNAL LIFE!  It was the eternal life of the BLOOD that was breathed into them.

Isn’t it amazing how the LORD God breathed into the man’s nostrils and not into his mouth?  During CPR, our breath isn’t blown into the nostrils but into the mouth.  The word NOSTRILS comes from the Hebrew word “aph” meaning face or countenance.  This is the area through which “air” passes in and out of the body. 

The respiratory system is divided into the conducting zone and the respiratory zone.  The “conducting zone” includes all of the cavities and structures that transport gases to the “respiratory zone”.  The “respiratory zone”, including the respiratory bronchioles and alveoli, is the region in which gas exchange with the “blood” occurs.  (1 John 5:8) There are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one". This exchange takes place in “man” (the earth) when he yields to the Spirit (Father) and agrees (yields; consents; harmonizes; conforms) to the water (or the Word), then he (male & female) can be cleansed from all sin by the Holy Ghost (blood washing)!

The “nose” has a vestibule (passageway) which is the anterior expanded portion of the nasal fossa.  Each nasal fossa opens anteriorly through the nostrils or anterior nares and communicates posteriorly with the nasopharynx through the choa’nae or posterior nares.  The pharynx connects the nasal and oral cavities to the larynx (voice box) at the base of the skull.  The pharynx is divided on the basis of location and function into three regions: nasal, oral, and laryngeal.  It also provides a resonating chamber for certain speech sounds.  To resonate means to resound or to echo back.  When the Lord God breathed into the “man” (male & female) the breath (wind; air) of life, he became a living soul with the same abilities and capabilities the Lord God had.  He (male & female) then discovered, discerned, envisioned a new world.  The nasal cavity is concerned with the sense of smell!  A person can discern a lot of things with their nose that they may not see with their eyes or hear with their ears.

That’s why the Lord God breathed into his “nostrils” - because it readily gave him (male & female) the ability to become God in the earth.  They knew who God was and who they were in God!  They had taken in a breath of fresh air, if I might say!  They actually received the very mind of God through that “blood” transfer!  Remember “man” (adam) means to show blood in the face!  They had the wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and power to speak with the voice of the living God!  Do you see the resonating (resounding; echoing back) affect of being able to say and do as God says and does?  Hallelujah!  The blood talks!  "And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel" (Hebrews 12:24).

Psalm 103:1: "Bless the Lord, O my soul:  and all that is within me, bless his holy name"!

 What is that which is within a person?  The very wind, the breath, the “blood” of the Almighty God!!  We also bless Him with our gifts; the manifestation of His fruit that’s in us.

The function of the BLOOD, which is the fluid connective tissue in the natural, circulates through the cardiovascular system to transport substances throughout the body that are essential for life.  It maintains internal body homeostasis. 

Blood is a vascular connective tissue.  All the other tissues, bone, muscle, nerves, fat, and skin are distinctly set or fixed in their several places.  Isn’t it amazing how they do not circulate throughout the body?  But the “blood” travels or circulates to all the tissues of the body to keep it alive.  There are other fluids in the body, such as saliva, tears, gastric juices, lymph, and bile, but these are not tissues.  They are secretions.  The “blood” unites, joins, or connects all the members with the head, "And he is the head of the body, the church" (Colossians 1:18), and the individual members as well, "For we are members one of another" (Ephesians 4:25).

There are three formed elements found within the blood:

1.   Erythrocyes – red blood cells which transport respiratory gases and nutrients to all

      the cells of the body.  They also pick up the waste of the cells called “carbon

      dioxide” and discharge it through the kidneys, skin, bowels, and lungs.  Then it

      refills with new oxygen again and continues the process! AWESOME!!

2.   Leukocytes –white blood cells which defend the body against invasions by

      microorganisms.

3. Thrombocytes – the platelets, whose role is blood clotting.

* There are “Antibodies" and also "Antitoxins” that help prevent infections from getting a foot-hold or taking root in our bodies.  We couldn’t survive without them!  The antibodies are produced in response to infections.  Though they are absent in the blood, they come in large numbers after a person has had certain diseases to prevent infections from returning again.  The body builds up immunity to keep the disease from attacking again!  This immunity is in the blood!

Blood is a “fluid”, and it is the “river of life” - or the 5 quart circulatory system - that flows throughout the entirety of the physical body, giving life to all the other systems in the body!  I’m reminded of the “river” that went out of Eden to water the garden in Genesis 2:10:  and the “river of water of life” proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1).

Our blood is essential for life, so then what about the “blood of Jesus”?  It is necessary (compulsory; essential; required; urgent) that we receive it!  When we receive His Spirit, we receive His blood.

"For there are three that bear record in heaven [elevated place], the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost:  and these three are one" (1 John 5:7).

"And there are three that bear witness in earth [your body], the Spirit, and the water, and the blood:  and these three agree in one" (1 John 5:8).

Look at how it works together: the Father (the Spirit); the Word (the water); the Holy Ghost (the blood)!  They are all one in us!

"But we have this treasure in EARTHEN vessels, that the excellency of the POWER may be of God, and not of us" (2 Corinthians 4:7).

"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body:  so also is Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12).

"For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones" (Ephesians 5:30).

"And he is the head of the body, the Church" (Colossians 1:18).

"And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26).

"For we are members one of another" (Ephesians 4:25).  So we are made one in Christ Jesus by His blood, the “innocent blood”!  Judas said, “I have betrayed the innocent blood" (Matthew 27:4).  Innocent in the Greek is athoos (ath’o os), meaning “not guilty”!    So he betrayed the “not guilty blood”!  That’s why Jesus had to be born of a Virgin upon whom came the Holy Ghost and the power of the Highest (hup’sistos or the Supreme God or the heavens)!  He (Jesus) had to have “pure blood” in Him or “not guilty blood” or “innocent blood” in Him!  The synonyms for innocent are guiltlessness; blamelessness; incorruption; clean; pure; chaste!  The “innocent blood” of Jesus cleansed us of the “guilty blood” of Adam.  "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22).

~ Apostle Gracie Perry