“God`s word in your mouth is the same as God`s word in His mouth! Speak it out.” (I was checking out Andrew Shearman’s blog the other day and this quote was so profound that it stopped me in my tracks and I have been contemplating it ever since. Andrew Shearman is the Chairman of the Board at AIM.)
God has been speaking to me about my role and who I am for these last few months, revealing and confirming my purpose. I am called to Breathe Life. What does that mean? Well lets look at the scripture and then I will unpack the meaning of my purpose and how it correlates. Bare with me because I am still trying to grasp the depth of these things while trying to explain and express it all in words.
Ezekiel 37
The Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones….He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath [a] enter you, and you will come to life….So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet-a vast army.
I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath [a] enter you, and you will come to life….So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet-a vast army.
Genesis 2
God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive-a living soul!
Ezekiel prophesied by speaking LIFE to the dead bones and God breathed his LIFE into them and they stood up. Ezekiel commanded life to exist where there previously was no breath. In Genesis when god created Adam and Eve he breathed the breath of life into their nostrils and “they became a living soul!” What is astonishing to me is the meaning of the word BREATH in both of these passages. The word for Spirit in Hebrew is Ruach and it means “air in motion, or wind.” It is the same word for “breath.” I love that the Holy Spirit means the same as breath. So in these passages in Genesis and Ezekiel life is formed by the creative breath; the Holy Spirit of God. Here is an article that I found while doing a word study on “Breath” by Gordon Robertson unpacking this concept of the Holy Spirit and Breath.
“Going back to that first chapter in Genesis, if the Spirit of God was
hovering over the face of the deep, and then God said, “Let there be
light,” when you speak, it’s through your breath that the words take
form. Just imagine that: God speaking, His breath comes out, and there
you have the Word of God, “Let there be light.” That is where the
Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.” They are all separate, but at the same
time, they are all one, just as when you breathe and you speak, your
words can be one with you.“
hovering over the face of the deep, and then God said, “Let there be
light,” when you speak, it’s through your breath that the words take
form. Just imagine that: God speaking, His breath comes out, and there
you have the Word of God, “Let there be light.” That is where the
Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.” They are all separate, but at the same
time, they are all one, just as when you breathe and you speak, your
words can be one with you.“
Let’s take this into the New Testament because we have almost the same thing where Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit. He says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:608, NKJV).
Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit, and He’s saying it is like wind. When you get into the Greek behind that, the Greek word is pneuma, which again means “a current of air,” “breath,” or a “breeze, ” and again by analogy, “a spirit.” So both the Hebrew and the Greek word are talking about breath. It’s talking about wind.
Back in Creation, back in Genesis, you’ve got how we were made. “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 being” (Genesis 2:6-7, NKJV). Some translations call that “a living soul.” It’s from the breath of God that we actually get our life. And so now you get the linkage of how we were created. How we were created in the image of God is because of our breath, and it is because of the breath of God coming into us.
The same thing happens when we are born of the Spirit. When we are re-born, it is from the breath of God. In the Gospel of John, where He is giving to His disciples the Holy Spirit, just as God breathed on Adam and gave him the breath of life, Jesus breathed on His disciples in John chapter 20: “‘Peace to you! As the Father sent me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit'” (John 20:21-22, NKJV).
The Holy Spirit, the breath of God is something very close to you. It’s as close to you as your very breath. The Bible says, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” I love the current praise song that says “You are the air I breathe, Your holy Presence in me.” We can literally breathe in the Presence of God and be filled with the Holy Spirit with our breath.
It is so mind boggling to me after knowing this insight that every time I read the word breath and wind it is the Spirit of God. I love that God created the light, world and everything in it by word spoken in breath. The word is living. God is the word and we are called to speak the word boldly, but as we speak we breath out the Spirit of God. Andrew Shearman sent me an e-mail with another profound quote, “God is the word and we are the voice.” How is the word of God living today? The word becomes living today as we live it and speak it out boldly with our breath, our voice. I now have this image of when I speak a word it actually comes out of my mouth with my breath, or the Holy Spirit creative breath, and the word is transformed into vivid reality. This new understanding is causing me to really think about my words before I speak and ask the question, “Are the words coming out of my mouth speaking life, or are they speaking death?”
So now that you understand the background let me delve into a vision God spoke to me and then I will get to my discovered purpose. God spoke to me in a vision at training camp and until recently I did not understand the extent and depth of its meaning. The vision I saw was of an African woman lying on a table. I could not see her face, but I was obviously aware of her naked pregnant belly. This woman was not alive; she had no breath in her. Then I laid my hands on this woman’s womb and prayed that the baby inside of her would be birthed into life. And, the baby emerged alive and breathing. At first I thought this vision was something that was actually going to happen when I arrived in Africa. (I do believe it still could happen) But, now I realize that it is more symbolic of my purpose and calling then an actual miraculous healing. Michael Hindes, the new director of the World Race, spoke more
understanding and wisdom into this vision. He told me that women in
visions usually represent the church. God was calling me to speak life into death, into the church and into this generation. God revealed to me that as I pray and speak that his breath would flow into people and call them to awaken and truly live.
understanding and wisdom into this vision. He told me that women in
visions usually represent the church. God was calling me to speak life into death, into the church and into this generation. God revealed to me that as I pray and speak that his breath would flow into people and call them to awaken and truly live.
I am called to speak life into the dead church and to inspire and arise a movement of people who are fully ALIVE in Christ; operating in their giftedness. Going back to Andrew Shearman’s quote, “God’s word in your mouth is
the same as God’s word in his mouth. Speak it out. ” I am amazed that
God gives us the power to speak BREATH, or LIFE GIVING CREATIVE
BREATH. As we speak the words dissipate from our lips and blow
together as wind to create life. This is my purpose. Just as God
called Ezekiel to speak life into the dry bones; God is calling me to
breathe life into others. I am called to awaken a generation! Are you? BREATH LIFE!!!!
the same as God’s word in his mouth. Speak it out. ” I am amazed that
God gives us the power to speak BREATH, or LIFE GIVING CREATIVE
BREATH. As we speak the words dissipate from our lips and blow
together as wind to create life. This is my purpose. Just as God
called Ezekiel to speak life into the dry bones; God is calling me to
breathe life into others. I am called to awaken a generation! Are you? BREATH LIFE!!!!
PS. Those are my wrists in that picture. I got this tattooed on my wrist in Thai when I was in Thailand. “BREATH OF GOD.”
