REVIVAL (Part 3) Ezekiel 37
How do you know if your bones are getting dry?
1. When there is no desire for Bible study and prayer.
2. When spiritual conversation embarrasses you or is avoided.
3. When you rationalize sin.
4. When you can quote scripture and attend service, but it doesn’t make a difference in your life.
5. When you life revolves around money.
6. When it no longer bothers you that others are in misery and spiritually lost.
7. When worship and service to God does not excite you.
8. When you don’t have blessed assurance.
Look with me tonight at Ezekiel. God wanted Ezekiel to know he needed revival. How do I know? Well he took Ezekiel to valley of bones. Look at what the word says the spirit of the Lord carried me out into a valley of bones. God is trying to tell us that when we let the fire die out the spirit will dry up. As Ezekiel walked through the valley of bones what did he discover? That the bones were dry without spirit.
Tonight God wants us to know that when we allow the fire to die the spirit will die just as the bones were without life so are we without God. God also wants us to understand how we can get life back into these old bones. First we need to prepare for revival. We’ve already learned how to do that.
Then we need to be prophesied to. Understand that preaching and prophesying are two very different things. Not everyone can preach neither can everyone prophesy. Ezekiel has prophesied not only to the valley of dry bones but also to those of us tonight who are called by the name of Jesus.
How has Ezekiel prophesied to us tonight? Well look first at what he did. After the spirit carried him out he began to walk. When God tells us to go somewhere or he leads us some where we must begin to move according to his will. You want revival tonight then move quit standing still waiting for the revival to come to you.
Then what did Ezekiel do? Exactly what God instructed him to do. He began to prophesy to the valley of dry bones. Now you know this must have made no sense to Ezekiel. Why in the world am I out here prophesying to the dead? They can’t hear me no one else is around. It was a test of his obedience. If he had not obeyed he would have missed the miracle. Are you missing your miracle tonight because you are not obeying God.
Do you want to see mighty works of God in your life? Do you want to see great miracles? Then get in the will of God. Obey what he tells you. Then and only then can you have these results.
Look at what happened when Ezekiel obeyed. First the bones began to shake and come together. I can imagine the chills that must have sent up Ezekiel’s back. Not only did the bones come together but they came together exactly where they were supposed to be.
What happened next? The muscle tissue began to return to the bone. Then the skin covered the muscle. That was it. NO. So what happened next? God told Ezekiel to call upon the wind. He did as he was instructed and something amazing and miraculous happened. The wind the breath of God brought life back into those bodies.
If there had never been life in those bones they could not have been revived. If you have never excepted Jesus as your savior then you cannot be revived. But if you have truly excepted Jesus and you need to be revived tonight then come down here and let us pray with you. God will breath life back into your dry bones tonight if you will obey him.
How can we revive?
1. Recognize the dryness of our bones.
2. Ruthless confession of sin. We cannot be right with God with wrongs in our life.
3. Rejoice in our salvation and engage in passionate worship once again.
