(Church Leadership) 7. the Baptism of the Holy Spirit — Zac Poonen

Knowing God as Father in Difficult Circumstances

So, we have been thinking that, you know, in this New Covenant life, one of the wonderful things is to know God as Father and to show this world that God is a loving Father. And that's what Jesus demonstrated, not just in words, but by His life.

He was never in a panic. Once so many people grabbed him and took him to the top of a cliff to throw him down. Once he was in a boat and it looked as if waves and the storm would drown them all. But, he was perfectly at rest.

Because he knew the Father. The Bible says that as Jesus is, so are we in this world. It's not just talking about the Father in our teaching that God is a Father. It's in those difficult situations in life that we discover whether we know God as a Father or not.

We have to thank God for such situations because that's the time we discover perhaps all our knowledge of God the Father is not really means anything. We can say that we pray to the Father. But for Jesus, the presence of the Father was so real.

See, we live in a world with tremendous insecurity and to know that God cares for me exactly like He cared for Jesus. If my goal in life is the same as the goal of Jesus. See, we can't claim that the angels will protect us in all our ways if we go our own way.

A Single-Minded Desire to Do God's Will

If you can say, Lord, I have only one goal in life. To do your will on earth, in my earthly life. That's my passion. I work to earn my living but my goal in life is to do your will. I work so that I don't become a beggar dependent on others.

But my goal in life is to complete my course and do your will before I leave this earth. Whether you can say that or not, I don't know because that's up to you. I can honestly say that's what I have said to God for 40 years.

I say today what I said 40 years ago. I said, Lord, I'm not interested in making money. I'm not interested in fame. Not in the world, not in Christian circles. I'm not interested in being a preacher or an elder or anything.

I want to fulfill your will in my life before I leave this earth. He who does the will of God will abide forever, the Bible says. I want to abide forever. The world and its passions will pass away. So, if you can honestly say that before God, you can be sure that God's power will back you up completely.

But if you've got other ambitions also, I'm not saying you'll go to hell. But I don't know whether God will be able to back you up completely. See, sometimes we find our satisfaction that we are associated with some godly people.

Some people like to boast that they belong to CFC. Because that gives them a certain respect and reputation. Oh, we belong to a church that preaches holiness. But they themselves have no desire to live a holy life.

It's like the Pharisees told John the Baptist, our father was Abraham. You know, friend of God, we are connected with him. And John the Baptist said, that doesn't impress me. Abraham is okay, but where are you fellows?

There is no virtue in being associated with a church or a person or any such thing who is a godly person, church or a godly person. God doesn't say, okay, all people in your group, I'll fill you all with the Holy Spirit.

He can't do it. He may fill one person with the Holy Spirit and another person over there, because it's an individual thing. But Jesus could never have accomplished his ministry if he was not anointed with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus' Anointing and the Need for Present Anointing

He was born of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit came on Mary and his body was created. And into that body Jesus came from heaven. And he lived such a holy life. But before he went out into his ministry, he prayed while he was being baptized.

He prayed that he would be anointed with the Holy Spirit. And he was anointed. Then he went out into the ministry. You see that in Luke chapter 3 and verse 21. Jesus also was baptized and while he was praying, the heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him.

So we know what he was praying for because Jesus' prayers were always answered immediately. Yeah, here it is. The Holy Spirit descended on him. That's what he was praying for. He came as a man. And so he lived as a man.

And he told us, your heavenly father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. Luke 11, 13. It's the same thing for him. He asked, Father, I can't go out into the ministry without being anointed with the Holy Spirit.

And God answered. Are you sure, my brother, that God has anointed you with the Holy Spirit? And much more important than that, that today you are living under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Supposing I were to go to King Saul, say, were you anointed with the Holy Spirit?

I say, yeah, sure. I remember that date. Samuel prophesied the Spirit of God would come upon me and I would become another man. And it actually happened. Spirit of God came upon me and I became another man.

But Saul, are you anointed today? He thought he was. Because that happened some years ago. But it had gone. Ok, let's ask Lucifer. Lucifer, were you anointed by God? Sure. Says in Ezekiel 28, anointed.

Are you anointed today? Oh, I've got these gifts, supernatural gifts. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm not impressed with the gifts. Are you anointed? He's not anointed. Has he got gifts? Fantastic gifts. Supernatural gifts.

Do you know the distinction between having gifts and being anointed? The devil has gifts. Demons have got supernatural powers. They're not anointed. Today, you need to distinguish between a preacher who's got gifts and a preacher who's anointed.

Can you make that distinction? The anointing brings not only gifts, but grace. There's no grace in the devil. And there's no grace in many preachers today who have gifts. And if you can't make that distinction, you'll be deceived thoroughly.

Thousands of Christians are being deceived left, right and center today. The devil himself can come and manifest these gifts, they'll be deceived. Think of the things that are going on in Christendom today.

They ask for money, they push people down, they bark, they yell, they scream. Everything is Holy Spirit. What a low level of discernment there is in Christendom today. And who are the people criticizing all this?

Who are not baptized in the Holy Spirit themselves. Who've got nothing. No power, no grace, nothing. They're defeated by sin in their life. They don't have any mighty anointing of the Holy Spirit in their life.

They criticize this. Whom shall we follow? That's the tragedy of Christendom today. What these people are saying about those people is right. But these people are not much in their life either. You can criticize what you see on a television screen, Christian television.

But do you have something to offer which is superior and better? Otherwise, a lot of people will be attracted to that. Jesus had something to offer. And that's where we need to really seek God. See, the Bible speaks about the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire.

The Fire of God and Rivers of Living Water

Words that are used here, fire. Jesus said, I came to bring a fire on the earth and how I wish that fire were burning. He said, rivers of living water have to flow out of my believers. He used words like that.

You know, if you read the history of the ancient civilizations, and you look at maps of where these ancient civilizations used to gather. They always used to gather around rivers. Like in India, the Godavari or Krishna and all, centuries there'd be people around it.

And in the Thar desert in Rajasthan, nobody is there. Why? Why? Who told them to go to these rivers? They wanted water. So, that's how Jesus expected the church to be. To those who are seeking for a godly life.

I mean, if it's just a matter of gathering crowds, there are so many cults that gather crowds. One of the fastest growing religions in the world today is Islam. It got billions of people. So, I'm not just talking about numbers.

You can gather a huge church if you don't preach the cross. I'm talking about those who are hungering after godliness. Those who are hungering after godliness will come around a river. Not many people followed Jesus, but those who sought after godliness all came there.

I'm not worried if a lot of people don't come to our church. But I've often thought of it like this. Supposing there was a very upright man living in this town like Job or Elijah or someone. And he lived in this area.

And Sunday morning he would walk past our church and go somewhere else. That would really disturb me. And this is not one of these worldly people who are just interested in prosperity or things like that.

This is a man who really wants to live an overcoming life. And he walks right past our church and goes somewhere else. I would say, Lord, what's wrong with us? I mean, if people who are not interested in godliness don't come, that doesn't disturb me one bit.

But someone who is interested in godliness walks right past our church and goes somewhere else. I mean, he may be very kind and courteous and not tell me the real reason. But he won't get anything here.

It would bring me on my face before God. Say, Lord, show us where we have failed. My desire is that within a certain radius here, those who understand English in this area, everyone who is desiring a godly life should come here.

If they can find a more godly life somewhere else, I tell them, brother, tell me where that church is. I want to come and see it. If they tell me there is better music there, I say, please go. I am not interested.

Or other attractions. But godliness, that you can live a holier life by going somewhere else. I say, brother, tell me which church that is. I want to know it. I will never ask you to come to this church if you can find another place where you can live a holier life.

Never. I will never do it. I will be against Jesus Christ if I do that. So, my question is, are all the people in this area who are seeking a godly life coming here or not? Some may not come because the language is not the same.

Because they don't understand English. Ok, that is understandable. In the place where your church is located, is everyone who is really desiring a godly life coming to your church? I am not talking about those who clap their hands and love good singing and all that.

Those who really want to live a godly life. If not, what is the reason? Is it because like those civilizations, they don't find water, so they don't come there? They don't go to the desert. But they go where there is water.

I believe there is a great need for us to judge ourselves. It is no use saying, oh, we are connected with CFC, come to our church. All those who are blessed by Brother Zack's books, if you are in this town, this is the place to come.

You have to come here. Whether the service is boring or not, you have to come here. What a stupid way to gather people. And some people come on that basis, but they don't get anything. The failure is with us, who are leaders, who are elders.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the Failure of Christian Leadership

And it is perhaps because we have not really been baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire. We got some experience. First of all, I don't know whether it is genuine. I will give you my personal opinion. Paul once said, this is not what the Lord says, it is my opinion.

So, here is my opinion. 90 of the so-called baptisms in the Holy Spirit that I have come across are not genuine. And more than 95 of the tongues I have heard in my life is definitely not from the Holy Spirit.

So, I ask myself, what have these people experienced? It doesn't deliver them from the love of money. A lot of them go into immorality, worse than old covenant people. And they are all such worldliness in their churches.

Entertainment and music and all that. Is this the Holy Spirit? So, what is our calling in the midst of all this? You have often heard me say, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

It is easy to curse the darkness. That is wrong. Agreed. This is also wrong. Agreed. And that third one, that is also wrong. This is one wrong here, that is another wrong there, that is another wrong there.

Okay. It is like saying, there is no light in that candle. That one, no light. That one, no light. That one, all these hundred churches, all darkness. Fine. Agreed with you. What about your church? Is there a light there?

Is there the fire there, the fire of God? When people come to your church, do their hearts burn within them? See, I have always taken this for myself anyway, as the guideline for my life. Luke 24, you know this passage.

It says about, it says that they said to each other, these two people. Verse 32, who had walked with Jesus. Let me ask you, I just want to check, how many of you study the Bible carefully? How long was Jesus' sermon on that Emmaus road?

Have you heard me say that? It's two hours, right? Where does it say that, you say? Bible study. Verse 13, Emmaus is seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were not running. That's why I say two hours. We walk at about three miles an hour.

Seven miles means about eleven kilometers. And it's difficult to go more than about five kilometers an hour. So, it's probably more than two hours, maybe even two and a half, I don't know. And all that he was speaking was scripture.

He wasn't talking about psychology or politics or any such thing. He went through the entire Old Testament, verse 27, beginning with Moses and all the prophets. He went to Genesis, he went to Isaiah, he went to Jeremiah.

And he explained, he was teaching concerning himself and all the scriptures. And at the end of it, they said in verse 32, were not our hearts burning within us? I said, Lord, that's amazing. How do you even know whether Jesus is speaking in a meeting?

Whether it's 15 minutes or two and a half hours, our hearts will burn. That is what the baptism of fire does. A fire that other people catch that fire too. That is the evidence that the fire is in your life.

If you are a preacher, not all are called to be preachers. So, if you are not called to be a preacher, you can be baptized in the Holy Spirit as a mother, you'll be just a burning mother for Christ. So, I'm not saying everybody who is baptized in the Holy Spirit will be a preacher.

But I'm saying that to you because more than 90 of you preach. And some of you preach long sermons in your churches. I hope everybody's heart is burning with the fire of God and not burning with the desire for the meeting to be over.

Have you ever felt after you went home on a Sunday meeting, wow, today my message is all dead? Have you ever felt like that? And if you did, did you judge yourself? Did you ever feel at the end of a meeting, I was just hitting out at everybody today?

You know, I'm convinced that many of us, dear brothers, our ministry of the word does not improve because of one reason. We don't judge ourselves after we speak God's word. Let me give you my testimony.

Examining the Ministry After Every Message

I judge myself after every single message I give. I've done that for years. And many times I'm convicted. Lord, there's something there which is not right. This other thing, this little thing was not right.

It's like a mother who wants to prepare a perfect meal for her children. Oh, that's a little bit more salt there. Or it was a little less. Or here, I should have asked a little too hot. I shouldn't have made it so hot.

Or this other, this other spice, if I add, it'll really make it nice. You know, I've sat enjoying fantastic meals that some sisters have made in their homes. And I always ask myself, do I take as much trouble to make a good meal like that for God's people?

See, nothing comes without effort. Many of you are working in certain jobs. Can you think of the amount of effort you took to get a degree to get that job? You didn't just go to sleep and get a degree.

How hard you worked. For what? To get a job. To earn some money. To take care of your children. How hard you tried to various, applied so many places to get a job somewhere. Imagine if we put in that much effort also to serve God's people.

Can you imagine what the quality of our ministry will be? To seek for the power of the Holy Spirit. See, I believe the reason why I'm saying this is, it's when we see our lack that we will turn to God for the power of His Holy Spirit.

He says, I'll pour water upon him that is thirsty, it says. So, I've got to first realize that I'm thirsty. I'm not able to satisfy the needs of other people. You know, there's one parable that Jesus spoke in relation to the Holy Spirit.

Persistent Prayer for the Holy Spirit

One very clear parable. It's probably the only parable that Jesus spoke in relation to the baptism in the Holy Spirit. And that's from Luke chapter 11 and verses 5 to 13. Now, how do we know that this is about seeking for the power of the Holy Spirit?

Because at the end of that, he said, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? So, he was talking about asking the Father for the power of the Holy Spirit. So, this is very important because this is the only parable where he spoke about that.

And what is it? The parable is, a friend of mine has come to my house and I don't have any food to give him. Lord, I have to speak in the meeting. 20, 30, 40, 50 friends, 100 friends have come. I don't have anything to give them.

I've got plenty, but I don't know what to give them. So, what does he do? He goes to his neighbor's house and knocks and knocks and knocks. He doesn't get anything. He knocks and knocks and knocks. No reply.

He says, I'm not going to go. I have to get. Because of his persistence, it says in verses, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. And he said in verse 9. So, I say to you, ask like this. You will get.

Seek like this and you will find. Knock like this. It will open. The door will be opened. Because everyone who asks like this receives. Those who don't ask like this don't receive. Everyone who seeks like this finds.

Those who don't seek like this man sought, they don't find. Those who casually come and say, Lord, I'd like the baptism in the Holy Spirit. No reply. Anyway, it's time for the meeting. I have to go. You will not receive.

You go another day and knock. Lord, you remember last week I said I want the baptism in the Holy Spirit. No reply. Okay, I suppose that's it. Lord, I claim it by faith. I got it. I've got it, Lord. I've got it.

Okay. It's sad. And how do we know you got nothing? Because you set before the people an empty plate. Eat these loaves. Loaves, where are they? There's nothing there. Because you never sought God earnestly.

And yet, the word is, if you seek like this, you will get as much as you need. But you have to ask like this. It means you have to have such a concern for that poor fellow who is hungry. We must have such a concern for the need of those people to whom God has called us to be a shepherd.

That is the main thing he said in relation to the asking the Father for the Holy Spirit. And then he said, do you think the Father will deny you? You're asking for something good. And then people said, be careful, brother.

You don't know there are a lot of spirits in the world. You don't know what you'll get. Some evil spirit you may get if you pray. And then he'll tell you all these imaginary stories of somebody who got something.

Oh, brother, you know what happened when that fellow went to that Pentecostal meeting there? He went all out of his head after that. So I said, OK, I've got to be careful in this business of asking God.

I'll knock and say, OK, just make sure there's not an evil spirit or something coming up on me. Jesus said, you're going to your father? He's going to give you a snake? That's what he said. You think he'll give you a snake, verse 11?

You think he'll give you a scorpion? You evil fathers. Know how to give good gifts to your children, verse 13. How much more your heavenly father will give the Holy Spirit to those monsters. Dear brothers, I want to encourage you.

Beyond Theology and Emotional Counterfeits

Don't be satisfied with a theology. I grew up in the Brethren Assembly. As a young believer, I was baptized there. One thing I thank God for, they taught me to study the word. Really study the word. I thank God for that, because when I studied the word, I found the baptism of the Holy Spirit there.

And there's a gift of tongues right now. But they never taught me that. They said you got everything when you were saved. I tried to believe that, that I got everything when I was saved. I had to convince myself very hard that I got everything when I was saved.

Because it didn't look like that in my life. I felt I was like Peter, before the day of Pentecost. I was certainly not like Peter after the day of Pentecost. And I felt I was missing something. Within about three years of my conversion, within about a year and a half after my water baptism, I said there's something missing.

I don't know what it is. And this Brethren theology will not satisfy me. They show me this verse, the other verse, the other verse, the other verse, the other verse, and say you got it. And I get all brainwashed as a young believer and say, okay, I got it.

But after one or two days, I say it doesn't appear as if I've got it. And then I go somewhere else to some Pentecostal church. They say, come on, say hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

And I see everybody working up their emotions. And then, you know, you keep on saying any word, hallelujah or Bangalore or anything, you say keep on saying it after some time. After some time, your mouth will trip and say something else.

Ah, Brother, you got it. You got it. Now you got it. I didn't go for that also. You can try it. Bangalore, Bangalore, Bangalore, Bangalore, Bangalore, Bangalore, Bangalore. You keep on saying it after some time.

It doesn't have to be hallelujah. It's all a deception. You think the apostles in the upper room were saying Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, hallelujah, Jerusalem. What all deceptions in Christendom.

One Pentecostal pastor asked me to say that. I said, sorry, I'm not going to say it. He got angry with me and I left. I never saw him again. I got into my room and I said, Lord, I'm not happy with this and I'm not happy with that.

I don't want, I don't want a theological explanation. I don't want an emotional counterfeit. I want the power that came on Jesus Christ, River Jordan. I want the power that came upon Peter, James, John and the other apostles in the upper room.

And I don't care if it takes 10 years, I'm going to wait. But I don't want to prove to somebody I joined the club. I want the real thing. Have you sought God like that? I prayed, I wept, I cried out to God.

And I can't explain this from the Bible. But I sort of seem to get it in stages, what other people got immediately. I can't explain it. But God touched me in some way. But I didn't seem to get everything.

It's like, you know, you want, you go and buy a 10 volume encyclopedia. You come home, you find there's only 8 volumes here. What happened to the other 2? You can't say you got nothing. You got something, but something is still missing.

So I can't, so way back in 63, I got something, but I couldn't say I got everything. I mean, it did make a difference in my ministry. But after some time, I found a need for volume 9 and volume 10, which was missing.

And because I didn't have that, I became a backslider. So I began to seek God again. I said, God, you got to give me the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Have you sought God like that? Do you feel a desperate need?

Or has some group brainwashed you theologically saying, you got it, brother. Or somebody given you an emotional counterfeit and say, you got it. Or somebody, there's another method also. Just claim it, brother, claim it, you got it.

It's by faith. It's by faith. I know it's by faith. But I hope you got something real. By their fruit, you shall know them. Jesus, entire ministry was changed after that day. His entire ministry was changed from that day.

He didn't become holier when he was 31 compared to when he was 29. No. He was holy when he was 25. He was holy when he was 12. And he was holy when he was 32. But after the age of 30, and he was anointed with the Holy Spirit, something happened that came forth in his ministry, supernatural something.

You know, supposing you had met Jesus when he was 25 years old. And you visited him one evening in his house. And says, Jesus, you don't know who he is. You just said, Jesus, I heard you know something about God.

Can you talk to me? And supposing he spoke to you for half an hour. You think he'd have been boring? Not at all. He'd have shared some wonderful things about God. You know, you can share some wonderful things without being anointed with the Holy Spirit.

But even such a person who had walked with God for 30 years needed the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And I have met different people in my life. Some know clearly the theology of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Some don't know it. But I have never met anyone who I felt had an effective ministry for God who was not baptized in the Holy Spirit. Some don't believe that theology. But they had the experience without knowing what it was.

I have met people like that in the Baptist sort of situations. In the Baptist theology type of people. See, it's like Cornelius. He was a heathen. He didn't know anything about the Bible. Suddenly one day he started speaking in tongues.

This chap is not even a Christian. He's just born again right now, two seconds ago. He's not even baptized. And suddenly he starts speaking in tongues. He's baptized in the Holy Spirit. And supposing there was nobody around to teach him.

He then wondered, what is that that hit me just now? And if some brethren people were there. Emotions are probably the devil. Just renounce it and forsake it. But thank God there were no brethren people there.

But Peter was there, who himself had experienced it. He said, hey, I'll tell you what this is. You got baptized in the Holy Spirit, man. So he got his theology right from day one. But if he did not have the right person to teach him who had had the same experience himself.

And he got baptized in the Holy Spirit. Supposing he was all alone and he got baptized in the Holy Spirit. And he joined the Baptist church in Caesarea. He would have grown up baptized in the Holy Spirit, but in believing Baptist theology.

So there are people like that, whose theology is wrong, but who've really been anointed with the Holy Spirit. I've met people like that. But nobody can serve God in the new covenant without the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

And if you're not sure of that, don't think you qualify for eldership by coming for this meeting. No. You don't even qualify for eldership if you're appointed an elder. It is the continuous anointing of the Holy Spirit that we need.

The River of God and the Spirit's Fullness

And there is an abundance in that to meet every need. See, this verse keeps on coming to my mind. Psalm 65, verse 9. Middle of that verse. The river of God is full of water. The river of God is full of water.

It is always full. And we can always go there and drink to our heart's content. And enough to give any number of people who come. You know, the Bible begins like that. Let me show you how the Bible begins and how the Bible ends.

Genesis 1. God created a beautiful earth. The devil brought sin into that earth and the earth got corrupted. So what does God do? What does it say? The Holy Spirit began to move. Genesis 1, verse 2. That is what made the earth a beautiful earth.

The same thing happened to man. God created man perfectly. The devil came and messed it up. The Spirit of God has to come and change man again. It was not possible till Jesus died and rose again. But once the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, this operation that took place in Genesis 1 can operate on us.

Fruit came up on the earth. Everything multiplied. And God examined it and said, very good. And that is how it should be in our life. Genesis 1 is in a nutshell the whole Bible. You come to the end of the Bible.

It's the last chapter. What do you read there? Again it's the Holy Spirit. Revelation 22, 17. Now it is not the Holy Spirit alone like in Genesis 1. Now it is the Spirit and the Bride. You and the Holy Spirit.

Together. Saying to people, come. Anyone thirsty? It's not for everybody. Some are satisfied with their theology. It's not for you, brother. Your theology is convinced that you got everything. God bless you.

You sit where you are. Some other fellow got some emotional counterfeit by repeating Bangalore or Jerusalem or Hallelujah or something. He is happy. He is happy. Okay, that's also not for you. But there is one brother there.

Thirsty. Oh God. I don't have it. I heard enough of theology and emotional experience. I don't have it. Come, come, come, come. You don't have to pay anything. It's free. It's not only the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit and the Bride saying, come. Drink of this water of life. Praise God. I believe the Lord is inviting us to come like that. Throughout Scripture. This is the answer. To your dead assembly. Okay, let's see what's the answer for a dead assembly.

Ezekiel's Dry Bones and the Need for the Spirit

Ezekiel 37. Here is a dead assembly. The Lord takes Ezekiel to the valley full of dry bones, it says in verse 1. They were very dry, verse 2. And the Lord says, is there any hope for this church? Only bones but dry.

And Ezekiel says, Lord, I don't know. I don't think there is much hope. But you know, Lord. Okay, he says, first of all, preach the word. So, he preached the word. Do we need the preaching of the word?

Sure. That's what we are doing right now. Even in Genesis 1, God's word. Every day. God said, God said, God said, God said. And the Holy Spirit. God said and the Holy Spirit. God said and the Holy Spirit.

That's what changed the earth in Genesis 1. So, God's word. Lord, all the dry bones came together and the bones came together and there is flesh on top of it. No, first of all, that didn't happen. He says, say to them, I will bring life into you.

And it says, all the bones came together in verse 7. And there were sinews and muscles and flesh and skin and everything. That means the word of God has got all their doctrines right. All doctrines are there.

Let's see. Repentance, faith, water baptism. Yes, you got baptism in the Holy Spirit also, whether you knew it or not, you got it. You believe in the Lord's coming, resurrection from the dead and all that.

Praise God, all ten fingers are there. Okay, let's count the toes now. New Testament pattern, various things, you check, kidneys are there, everything is there. Brother, we are a New Testament church.

All the doctrines are here. That's how it was. What is missing? Life is not there. Lord says, this church needs something else, brother. He said, now you got to prophesy into the spirit to come and breathe on them.

And the spirit came on them. Verse 9. And suddenly, they didn't become ordinary brothers. They became an army, it says in verse 10. To fight the devil and his demons and the army of the Lord. You tell me, what is the difference between a bunch of dry bones and all the flesh on top of that now?