Arise

We welcome you to the first annual WINS conference, and we are delighted you are here. And you may be seated. 121 times in Scripture, the command is given to arise. It is a command to initiate movement from a static position to a position of action. The psalmist requested the help of God in the ninth chapter by declaring, Arise, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Indeed, the nations have been reminded in the last seven months that we are indeed just men. We are frail and we are fragile. We are mere flesh. We are dry. We are bones. We are of this earth. We are dust. But we are also reminded that although we are mere men, we serve a mighty God. A God that is a champion, that is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And we hear a sound. We hear the sound of wind. We hear the sound of resurrection. We hear the sound of hope and life. And we gather in this conference not merely to congregate and certainly not to capitulate, but rather for the purpose of standing up, to arise one more time, to change our posture and to gain our footing and to once again declare to the wind that there is only one God and his name is Jesus. Only God can blow the winds of his supernatural utterance, and we can assemble and we can arise so that we are in position for the activation of divine authority.

Ezekiel saw the Valley of Dry Bones in the 37th chapter of the book that bears his name. The Lord asked him a rhetorical question about whether these bones could live. Ezekiel may have doubted, but he recognized that God was not limited by man's decay. Ezekiel was commanded to prophesy life, prophesy life to death, prophesy breath to stillness, prophesy hope to helplessness. In other words, prophesy the opposite of what you see. Declare the opposite of what you feel. And I say to this great congregation, I believe the Lord is calling together an army of apostolics that are going to declare what we may not see and what we may not feel, but what we know. That's how you arise Ezekiel. That's how you change your posture and get in position for a miracle. I feel death, but I declare life. I feel hurt, but I declare hell. I feel pain, but I declare joy. Hallelujah. You may feel dry, but you declare I'm going to get my miracle. I'm going to stand up one more time and God is going to be exalted.

Ezekiel did as he was commanded and he heard a noise, a shaking and the bones came together. The first thing that has to happen is the body has to come together. Unity is the first step toward resurrection. Unity is a precursor to demonstration. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all, they were all with one accord in one place. Before anything happened, they were unified. And when they were all in one accord in one place, suddenly there came a sound. A sound from heaven as of a Russian mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Ladies and gentlemen, unity has a sound. Oh, and I feel it in this house tonight. I said unity has a sound. We come together with one purpose and it is to exalt the name of Jesus Christ.

It is the unifying of the body that brings the wind of heaven. The sinews and the flesh came upon the dry bones. This is the restoration. This is the dry bones being restored. Restoration is the process of putting back what was there to begin with. If you restore a piece of furniture, you bring back its natural color, the original wood. You take away the layers of time. You scrape down all of the bruises and the scars and the marks. Ladies and gentlemen, this end-time revival is going to bring back our lost loved ones. It's a revival of restoration. Our sons are coming home. They're going to be restored. Our daughters are coming home. They're going to be restored. You say that could never happen. I say prophesy what you can't see. Declare your miracle in the valley of dry bones.

Hallelujah. Oh, you want to clap your hands right now? And you want to shout at the God with the voice of triumph? And even though the bones came together, even though the flesh was restored, there was still no life. There was no breath. There was no wind. You can do everything in your power to prepare for a move of God. You can assemble the bones, the sinews, and the flesh. You can have great music and great facilities. You can have talent and lights and videos. But none of those things are going to bring life. Only God can sin the wind. Only God can blow his favor of supernatural demonstration. But I rise tonight to declare we have such a God. We've got a God that will blow the winds and make a way where there seems to be no way. And the Lord said to Ezekiel, prophesy again. Prophecy under the wind. Prophecy, son of man. And say to the wind, thus saith the Lord God, come from the four winds, old breath, and breathe upon these slain. Here's why. That they may live. I'm glad you and I serve a God that can give us life and life more abundantly.

If the first prophecy brought a unity in the flesh, the second prophecy brought an unction in the spirit. I want to say it again. If the first prophecy brought a unity in the flesh, the second prophecy brought an unction in the spirit, I'm thankful that we exist as apostolics in the atmosphere of the prophetic word. But I feel God prophesied one more time to the people of his name that declare the glory and the power of the name of Jesus. There's another prophecy coming. There's a wind that's coming. There is life that is going to reappear on the faces of his people. The first time Ezekiel prophesied the bones came together, but the second time life came. The wind is a representation of the spirit and it brought life. America has been blessed. We are the nation on earth more than any other that represents Christianity to this world. We live in a land where millions profess to be Christians. But I believe with all of my heart that there's a hunger in this generation that moves beyond the arm of the flesh. We reject the mere gathering of bones and call it revival. We speak to the wind tonight. Come from the north, come from the south, come from the east and the west and blow one more time on this nation. Blow one more time on this apostolic movement.

Jesus answered and said in John chapter 3, That which is born of the flesh is flesh. And that which is born of the spirit is spirit. We have been born of the flesh, but we hunger for the rebirth of spirit. And I feel the wind is beginning to blow. The wind is blowing across the world that's tired of business as usual, tired of just going through the motions, tired of church without God. We apostolics know the blessing of a prophetic atmosphere. We know the power of the winds that blow at midnight when the fever is spiking and your child is crying. We know the joy of the holy wind blowing life into a desperate situation. I'm thankful that we know the God that blows the wind of his spirit. But I rise tonight to declare that there is a responsibility that goes with the refreshing. As the breath of God came into them, they stood upon their feet and exceeding great army.

We rise up. We were not given breath to remain idle. We stand up. We shake off the paralysis of past mistakes. We refuse to live in fear. We refuse to be still. We refuse to listen to the intimidated voice of our adversary. Goliath froze the entire army of Israel. A mass paralysis of fear and confusion kept them from rising up. The haze that settled on their minds made them put off doing their duty. But a young lad named David in the wind of God's anointing said, Is there not a cause? I ask that same rhetorical question tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, is there not a cause? David said, I'll fight the giant. I'll rise up. And the Bible said that David shouted for the battle. Won't you say you have a size? How come you're shouting? How come you make so much noise? Because we shout in advance. We triumph in advance. We do it by faith. Because we've got a God that's already declared. It shall be. You say, I don't feel like a mighty soldier, a God. Declare what you don't feel. Go ahead and declare, I'm an overcomer. I'm a believer. I shall arise.

God is raising up an army in this generation. An army that says why not if God be for us who can be against us. We don't wait until we're under attack. We take the battle to the enemy. We arise in faith. We arise in prayer. We arise in worship. We arise to serve. We arise to declare. We arise one more time. I'm going to get back up. And I'm going to dust myself off. And I'm going to keep fighting. And I'm going to keep swinging. And God's going to give me the victory.

David declared at the death of Abner. Abner, great warrior, the captain of the guard under King Saul. He said, died, Abner is a fool. Die hands were not bound. Nor thy feet put in fetters as a man falleth before wicked men. So fellest thou. I say to this great generation of Pentecostals, your hands are not bound. Your feet are not bound. Nothing can stop you but yourself. Don't die without a fight. Don't die without a fight. Rise up one more time. Rise up and declare. I shall be saved. Fight the good fight of faith. This is your hour. This is your moment. This is your chance. We have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Would you stand now? Would you arise all across this building? Would you stand on your feet? And would you shout for the battle?