Armed and Dangerous

Ezekiel 37:10

“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.”

Most of the time when we talk about,  preach about, or even when I write about Ezekiel chapter 37 the focus of the message is the power of God reviving the dead bones.  Ezekiel 37 demonstrates how our God can move into the boneyard of our lives and churches, and resurrect dreams and visions, and it shows us how He can step into the middle of our chaos and confusion and bring order and peace.

We get a glimpse of how God can take nothing and through His Word and the operation of the Holy Ghost, can turn nothing into something awesome.  We usually take great effort to show how a valley full of dry bones can be transformed into a mighty army standing on their feet ready to serve.  Then we close our Bibles and shout about the miracle in the valley of dry bones, and then we go to the house.  But I want to start this message tonight where we usually end.  As the old radio host Paul Harvey might say, “It’s time to see the rest of the Story.”

I don’t want to write about the dry bones, I’m not going to prophesy to dry bones tonight, but I want to speak tonight to the army of God.  I want to speak a word into the lives of that group of men and women, young and old, men and women that God has called for such a time as this.

I’m not speaking tonight to the depressed, the fearful, or the wounded and worried tonight.  I don’t want this word to portray the thought that I don’t care about those people, because I do, but tonight my spirit has been directed to speak to a different group of God’s people.  My mission tonight is not to speak life to dry bones, but to give marching orders to an army.

I’m talking about the Army of the Lord.  People who have learned how to be soldiers.  There are a lot of saints in the church, but not many soldiers.  The saints do a great job of holding down the fort, but we need some soldiers to storm the gates of hell and possess the land.

There will always be dry bones, they will always need a prophet who will see the plan of God and prophesy and bring restoration and transformation.  But God gave me a word tonight for the soldiers, He said to prophesy to His Army.

God said to tell you that this is your moment in time, He has raised you up out of the valley of dry bones, He has brought order into your life, He has strengthened you and nourished you by His Word, the wind of his Spirit has filled your life and stood you up on your feet, and now it’s time for you to answer the call to arms.  It’s time for you to become God’s hands and feet in the earth, it’s time for you to be agents of change and deliverance in the earth.

The elders have been fighting for years and now it’s time for the baton to be passed, the mantle has fallen to this generation, the mantle has fallen upon us.  Smith Wigglesworth is gone, Charles Finney and John Wesley, and many other great men and women of God are not here anymore.  It’s our turn now to pick up the banner and run with it.

We have been anointed to break through and set the captives free, we are anointed to bring deliverance to the bound and oppressed, we are anointed to lay hands on the sick, and we have been anointed preach repentance to the lost and to baptize them in Jesus’ name.

Jeremiah 51:20-21

“Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war, for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms, and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider, and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider.”

Acts 1:8

”But ye shall receive Power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.”

Wherever the Kingdom of God is, there will be a manifestation of the Power of God

Luke 17:21

“Neither shall they say, Lo here!  Or, lo there!  For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

We are the Army of God!  We have been delivered from the hand of the enemy, we have been washed in the blood of the lamb, and we are filled with the Holy Ghost and Power!  We are Armed and Dangerous!

God did not call us into service, and send us into battle without weapons.  He has given us weapons that are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds and the casting down of imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

I came to tell you tonight that in this fight, we have the advantage because we have been given weapons that the devil has no defense against.  We have power of the name of Jesus, the name that is above every name.

We have the Word, we have prayer, we have praise, and we have His presence!

Mark 16:17-18

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; in My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

Listen to me tonight! You are called! You are chosen! You are anointed! You are Armed and Dangerous!

Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world!

The devil underestimated you.  You are not some weak kneed, defeated, discouraged, and beat down believers just trying to hold the fort till Jesus Comes.  We are the Army of God, and we are Armed and Dangerous, and it’s time to take possession of the land.

Luke 10:19

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

Matthew 16:18

“And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Luke 9:1-2

“Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. 2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.”

All three of these passages describe an army on the move, advancing, marching in power and authority, treading down every enemy, every devil, every sickness and every disease, breaking through every obstacle and every hindrance.

That’s the church as God sees it!  That’s me and that’s you.

We’re not going in our own authority or our own power, but we are going in the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Ghost.

I can feel the anointing rising up, I can feel some bones coming together, and I can feel some muscles, tendons, sinews, and skin coming on some bones.  And I can hear the wind of the Holy Ghost.  I can feel the breath of God breathing new life into some bones.  I can feel a fire getting into some bones.

I can see a mighty Army rising up in the Spirit!  And I can feel a shout coming on!  Praise the mighty name of Jesus!

I feel a fight coming back to someone, I feel somebody jumping back into the battle tonight.  You’ve had the breath knocked out of you, and you took a big hit.  The devil hit you where it hurt and knocked you down.  But you’re up again, you're back on your feet, you’ve got your breath back, you’ve got your fire back, you’ve got your faith back, you've got your song back, and you are Armed and Dangerous.