In
the book of Ezekiel, chapter 37, God caused Ezekiel the prophet to
experience a valley of dry bones. As a matter of fact, He took
Ezekiel completely around the valley, so he could see the vast array
of dry and lifeless bones there. Have you ever felt dry spiritually?
Have you ever felt like all God was offering you to work with was
akin to those dry bones Ezekiel saw? I have felt that way before.
Ezekiel must have been very puzzled by what God was showing him. He
must have been under whelmed by what his physical eyes were seeing!
Why, what was the point?! It was a valley of dead, dry,
bleached out bones! What good could possibly come from them?! Then
God asked him the big question..."Son of man, can these bones
live"? Ezekiel wisely replied, "Oh Lord God, You
know". Apparently, Ezekiel was willing to defer his opinion in
favor of God's expertise. He knew those bones couldn't live in the
natural...they could only live through the super-natural power of
God! Therefore, he revealed his ultimate TRUST in the Lord to do the
work. However, God had a plan which would involve Ezekiel in the
process! He told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. He said,
"say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus
says the Lord God to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath
to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and
bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and
you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord."
Ezekiel did it! In verse 7, we read, "So I prophesied as I was
commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a
rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone."
Undoubtedly that was a sight to behold...from a valley of dry bones,
to a valley of dry skeltons! What precipitated the assembly of the
bones?! Obedience. What precipitated the obedience of Ezekiel? A
command. Command obedience is a concept that the modern church needs
to study. We need to see how it works. When God moves us to do
something, it is always for a reason. He doesn't just inadvertently
move us around for laughs. God is always working His plan in those
who are yielded and ready. He isn't looking for people who are able
to do the impossible...He is looking for those who believe the
impossible is POSSIBLE WITH HIM! Ezekiel acknowledged the authority
of God. He yielded to that power, and as a result, that power flowed
through him! What a concept! Acknowledge God. Hear His Word.
Obey! Truly, this may be the most effective and rewarding
"spiritual formula" in the Bible...yet, so many Christians
seem oblivious to it! For instance, how many times has God, through
His Holy Spirit, spoken to your spirit? How many times has He asked
you to do something, and you didn't obey COMPLETELY? If we are
honest, we have probably many times dismissed the instructions of
God in our spirit as outlandish. Most of us have probably been
remiss in the command obedience department more than once. Why?
Apparently, because we have trust issues. Ezekiel did NOT have trust
issues. He obeyed EXACTLY as God commanded. The result was AMAZING!
In verse 8, we learn that the sinews and flesh came upon the
skeletons! Skin covered them over! BUT...something was missing! The
dermatological miracle army was LIFELESS! Complete in every
way...yet missing the BREATH of LIFE! How ironic! Much like the
church today. We are complete in every way, it would seem, but often
missing the LIFE...the POWER! God was showing Ezekiel that He could
bring life back to the House of Israel, and to anyone He chose for
that matter! He was prophesying of a new army of God, made up of
those who were once dead in their sins. He was revealing the
PLAN...HIS PLAN for a new start! He was showing how useless an army
is without the MOST IMPORTANT THING! So, God told Ezekiel to
prophesy to the breath..."that these slain might live". In
verse 10, Ezekiel obeyed, and prophesied to the breath of that
assembly of corpses! "Breath came into them, and they lived,
and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly GREAT army". Can you imagine what that must of sounded like? There had to be the
silence of a grave yard as that vast army of bodies laid in the
valley! It must have been eerie, yet spectacular to hear those
bodies breathe in their first NEW breath of life all at once. What
an awesome experience for Ezekiel as he watched that living army
RISE UP before him! God knew that these had been without hope, cut
off from Himself (verse 11). He knew they needed to hear that a NEW
way of reconciliation was coming! Not just to them, but to us as
well! Jesus would be the ONE who would bring THE NEW LIFE! In verse
14, He said, "I will put my SPIRIT in you, and you shall
LIVE". What are we missing today? What is missing in the body,
in so many fellowships throughout the world?! THE SPIRIT! Oh that we
would realize the TRUTH TODAY! As Jesus told the disciples in John
6, the flesh profits NOTHING! But the SPIRIT brings LIFE! Just as
those bodies were lifeless in the valley, there are many churches
today that are dead! Just as those bodies became viable through the
POWER of GOD...the body of Christ is empowered by HIM! It is not
through entertaining preaching, it is not through musical talent, it
is not through facilities and programming...IT IS THROUGH
HIM...through HIS SPIRIT ALONE! My friend, do you feel dry in your
spirit? Do you know about God, but feel empty and powerless? Are you
part of a dead church? You need to have a LIFE VALLEY EXPERIENCE!
You need to breathe in the POWER that comes only through the HOLY
SPIRIT! Pray that the Lord Jesus would literally FILL you with HIS
SPIRIT! Ask the Holy Spirit to infill you with the same power given
to those gathered in the upper room on the day of Pentecost! Ask the
Lord to awaken you to the TRUTH of COMMAND OBEDIENCE! Yield and
surrender COMPLETELY to the will of the Father. Die to your self.
Lay down YOUR agenda. Become as yielded to God as those dry bones in
the valley. Let HIM breathe NEW LIFE into you today! Ask Him to
increase your faith. Ask Him to manifest HIS abilities in your life.
Ask HIM to use you like He used Ezekiel. Pray for DIVINE
APPOINTMENTS and ASSIGNMENTS. ALLOW HIS WORD to be the ONLY thing
you speak. The days we live in are evil. With each passing day, the
world is slipping deeper into the valley of death. The enemy of our
souls wants to see the church powerless. He wants us to focus on
traditions of man. He wants us to be divided like the bones in the
valley. He doesn't want us to assemble under the authority of God!
The only way he wants us to come together is in powerless, man
following crowds. Oh, that we as the church would not follow after
man! May we be like the tree planted by the waters...may our HOPE
and TRUST ONLY BE IN THE LORD! Ezekiel KNEW that ONLY GOD could
bring the LIFE to those dry bones! May we acknowledge God in the
same way today! May we understand with our spiritual minds what it
means for CHRIST to be the HEAD of the Church! May we discard and
disown those rituals and legalities that only bring death! May we
instead seek the POWER FILLED LIFE found only in Jesus, through the
leading of the HOLY SPIRIT! Dryness, and spiritual lack are not the
PLAN of GOD for His children! Division, disharmony, and death are
the plan of the devil. Unity, harmony, and LIFE are God's plan! May
we dwell together in unity. May we be in one accord through the
power of the Holy Spirit! May we EMBRACE THE LIFE GOD HAS
GIVEN...and may we GIVE THE LIFE WE EMBRACE! Until next time, may
you be blessed with God's BEST!
Your
Partner In Ministry,
Greg McCowen
Life
Point
Covenant
Life Fellowship - Lubbock Church - (806) 771-4244
