The Death of the Doldrums

Circling the earth roughly five degrees north of the equator and five degrees south is an area called the doldrums. It is a place of eerie calm, an area where no wind blows. For centuries sailors dreaded accidentally navigating into the doldrums. This band of windless, hot and humid weather near the equator could stall sailing ships for weeks driving the crew to distraction with monotony and sometimes even leading to the onset of scurvy as fresh supplies ran out.

I can remember as a young boy reading adventure stories of men of old navigating the seas in the great sailing vessels of that day and making the mistake of getting caught in the doldrums. They were stuck sometimes for days and weeks. The man up in the crow's nest diligently searched for a ripple in the water that would indicate the start of a breeze. When it came there would be a shout of joy and it wasn't very long before they were moving. Even if their movement was minimal, any movement meant life. Any movement meant hope.

I remember flying with missionary Benny DeMerchant in the Amazon several years ago. We were trying to take off in a very small body of water and there was no wind. We were in a float plane and after three unsuccessful attempts we stopped and pumped water out of the floats in an effort to decrease our weight and to get lift. After two more failed attempts I was ready to get out of the airplane. I turned to brother DeMerchant and I said, now what? He responded in a soft voice, we wait. And like the servant of Elijah scanning the horizon for a cloud, I searched for any sign that a breeze would appear. After another 40 minutes we got just enough wind for a successful takeoff. But as we barely cleared those trees in that Amazon jungle, I found myself thanking God for the wind. It was not a Russian mighty wind, but it was enough to lift us up.

In today's vernacular the doldrums are used as a term to describe a period of being sad or bored, no energy, no enthusiasm, the mulligrubs, a season of stillness, sometimes in life you feel stuck. You sit seemingly motionless and when that happens we become susceptible to spiritual diseases that challenge our faith and our fortitude as we wait for the breeze to blow. Psalmist David knew this feeling, he knew the thrill of victory, he knew the challenges of opposition, but perhaps the toughest trial was the doldrums. He records in Psalms 69 and verse three, I am weary of my crying, my throat is dried, my eyes fail while I wait for my God. He was stuck, he was in a spiritual traffic jam, just waiting, waiting on God to bring him the victory, waiting on Saul to die.

The ladies and gentlemen, I rise tonight to declare to you that there comes a time when the waiting is over. There comes a time when the doldrums die with an atmosphere shift and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a Russian mighty wind. Nine times in scripture the Bible speaks of the four winds. It doesn't say what the four winds are, but it describes their nature and in each case it is spoken of in a prophetic context. In Ezekiel 37, Ezekiel prophesies to the four winds to come and breathe upon the dead bones that they might live. We believe there is a prophetic word on this generation. We believe that there is a mighty army of millennials that will arise and be energized by the breath of God.

Ezekiel 37 reveals the four winds of unity, demonstration, restoration and impartation. 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, that's unity. And once you have unity you can deck in the supernatural. I feel a unity in this house. I feel a unity among God's people. This is our hour, this is our day. There is unity in the body of Christ.

Then said he unto me prophesy unto the wind. Prophecy son of man and say to the wind, thus sayeth the Lord God come from the four winds. O breath and breathe. Breathe upon these that are slain that they may live. That's demonstration.

Therefore prophesying say unto them, thus sayeth 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. That's restoration. God is gonna restore all things.

And the fourth wind is impartation. It is the giving and receiving of gifts and blessings and shall put my spirit in you and ye shall live and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall you know that I the Lord have spoken it and performed it sayeth the Lord. The disparity between dry bones and a marching army was great. But it was that gap that created the atmosphere for resurrection power. It is the gap that creates the wind. It was the gap between heaven and earth resulting in darkness and an earth without form that caused the spirit to move upon the face of the waters in Genesis chapter one.

We know that the natural illustrates the spiritual so what really creates wind? When the air moves it creates wind but what makes the air move? The gases that make up our atmosphere do interesting things as the temperatures change. When gases warm up the atoms and the molecules move faster they spread out and they rise. That's why steam coming off a pot of boiling water always goes upward but when air is colder the gases get slower and closer together and colder air will sink. The different temperatures lead to different pressures. In areas of high pressure the gases in the air are more crowded in low pressure zones the gases are a little more spread out and because warm air rises it leaves behind an area of low pressure. Gases move from high pressure areas to low pressure areas and the bigger the difference between the pressure systems the faster the air will move and it causes there to be a Russian mighty wind.

Can I say it this way? The wind is created by the gap in our pressure systems.

I say to you tonight there has never been a bigger gap between the spiritual and the secular as what we are facing right now. There's never been a bigger gap between righteousness and unrighteousness. The God Spirit is created by the church taking a stand for righteousness in an unrighteous world. The doldrums are created by the church trying to be like the world trying to close the gap with our own abilities. We get restless when we compromise. We get into spiritual doldrums when we compromise but this generation faces the great disparity between spiritual purpose and secular pressure but the greater the gap, the greater the wind the greater the anointing, the greater the power. This generation is called to greater works because the vacuum has never been greater. The pressure has never been greater but greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. Don't despise the difference. Embrace the inequity because it is the difference in the pressure systems that bring the winds of revival.

We don't need wokeness. We need wind. We need the spirit of God. We are hungry for the spirit of God. Let your wind blow. We need the symmetry of sin. We need the gap of greater works. The difference between debauchery and deliverance has never been greater but my God is going to stand to win for this generation for such a time as this.

But the decadence of the Roman and Babylonian empires alone is not what produced a spiritual encounter in Babylon's case in the fiery furnace. It was the gap between the masses that bowed in the young adults that stood that revealed the face of God in the fire. It was such a time as this that produced an Esther and a Daniel and a Joseph. Young adults determined and committed in the face of adversity produces a spiritual storm.

The stand that Esther took brought the wind of unity. The stand that the three Hebrew young men took brought the wind of demonstration. The stand that Joseph took brought the wind of restoration. And Daniel, the wind of impartation in each case the nation was saved because a young adult took a stand in the face of adversity.

I declare to you tonight the great cause of nationwide revival is being born in the hearts of millennials. Millennials and young ministers that are finding their purpose in the passion of apostolic atmospheres. That shift the balance of apostolic impartation. Daniel, Joseph, Esther and the three Hebrew young adults they did not live in the vain existence of governmental favor without challenging their generation. I say tonight it's time to challenge our generation with the wind of God's favor and the power to deliver anybody from anything. She called Talalobo Si.

In each case a different kingdom changed their identity but their character remained steadfast. It was in the wake of a bloody crucifixion that slaughtered an innocent man where 120 men and women came together in unity and they were all with one accord in one place. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as a fire and it sat upon each of them demonstration.

And the fire began to preach and it shall come to pass in the last days. Say of God I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams. That's restoration for this promise is unto you and to your children and to all them that are afar off. That's impartation. Jesus told his disciples greater works than these shall you do. The pressure system is going to be greater.

Esther did a greater work. She was not just a queen. She was a queen that went before the king without an invitation. Daniel did a greater work. He not only interpreted dreams. He told the king what he had dreamed. The three Hebrew young men they did not only survive the fire they did a greater work because the fire was ten times hotter. And guess how they made the fire hotter? With these giant billows that blew more air into the fire. The world tries to manufacture the wind for the purpose is a destruction but greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. The hotter the fire got the greater the miracle got. To the point that God was in the fire with him and there wasn't a hair on their arms that was even singed.

I say tonight the crazier the world gets the stronger the adorning Jesus of apostolic militias. The more heat you take the greater the revelation. Joseph did a greater work. He not only saved his own people he saved Egypt.

Maybe a storm has caused some rips in your sail. Maybe the doldrum in your mind is saying I have no purpose, no hope and no future because of present circumstances or past mistakes. But I say to you tonight there's a shift in the atmosphere. There's a ripple on the water. There's a cloud in the sky. I feel the breeze coming.

David the doldrums are over. He found the wind. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want that unity. He leadeth me beside still waters. That's demonstration. Restore it my soul. That's restoration. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. That's impartation.

Can you feel the winds blowing? Can you feel the wind of God's favor blowing? We come together in this conference. Wins conference. For the purpose of mobilizing millennials and merging ministries. We come together for greater works because our God is greater. We choose to stand. We choose to believe. We choose the spirit of God over the spirit of the world. We choose greater works over the doldrums of homogenizing hunger and diluting apostolic doctrine.

We choose impartation over individualism. We choose demonstration over apathy. We choose the miraculous over the mundane. There's nothing to be bored about. This is our hour. This is our moment. This is where the doldrums come to die. This is where boredom takes its last breath.

We are thirsty for the supernatural. We lay aside our differences and we come together in one voice. There's a call upon this generation. Greater works. Greater restoration. Greater revival. Greater anointing. This is our time. Right now.

If you believe that, will you lift up your hands and stand to your feet? Would you set your voice like a trumpet? And would you shout? Shout. Shout for the victory. Shout with the voice of triumph. Shout till you feel the wind blow. I will shout that I will see you. Come on the doldrums have to die. It's the wind of God's power.