Revival (Section 2)– Revival In A Bone Yard
I. REVIVAL IN A BONE YARD Ezekiel Chapter 37
A. Again, Revival Begins with the Bare Bones
B. God Works through Men
C. Prophets are:
1. Lone men: they walk alone, pray alone, and God makes them alone.
2. Spirit-led --- Ezekiel 37:1
3. Obedient Ezekiel 37:7 "So I prophesied as I was commanded:"
D. Contrasts
1. Audiences
a. Only Heaven and Hell were spectators.
b. Today, we would require a press photograph.
2. Statistics
a. Ezekiel was satisfied with saying, " the valley was full of dry bones."
b. Today, with numbers being such a factor, we would count the bones.
3. Recognition
a. Ezekiel was only concerned with God when things started to move.
He continued to prophesy. verse 10
"So I prophesied as he commanded me,"
b. Today, when things begin to move, we would certainly call for others
to see us operate, lest men fail to give us the right ranking and privileges.
4. End Result
a. Ezekiel had a living, exceeding great army.
b. Today, skeletons come to the altars--moved, but not born of life.
II. VITAL ISSUES CONCERNING REVIVAL
A. Broken Heart
Psalms 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
M. H. ---That is, humbled for sin and emptied of self. They are low in their own eyes, and have no confidence in their own merit and sufficiency, but in God only.
Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Not in despair (as we say, when a man is undone, His heart is broken), but in necessary humiliation and sorrow for sin. It is a heart breaking with itself, and breaking from its sin; it is a heart pliable to the word of God, and patient under the rod of God, a heart subdued and brought into obedience; it is a heart that is tender, like Josiah's, and trembles at God's Word. Oh that there were such a heart in us! M. H.
Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
01792 daka’ (daw-kaw) contrite
Break, break in pieces, crush, bruised
To allow oneself to be crushed
One eyewitness said of the famous revival of Wales that it was not the eloquence of Evan Roberts that broke men down, but his tears. “He would break down, crying bitterly for God to ben them, in an agony of prayer, the tears coursing down his cheeks, with his whole frame writhing. Strong men would break down and cry like children . . . a sound of weeping and wailing would fill the air.
M. H. Those that are truly penitent for sin, who mourn in secret for it, and have a dread of the wrath of God, which they have made themselves obnoxious to, and are submissive under all His rebukes. He will give them reviving joys. He dwells with them, and His presence is reviving.
Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
1. God uses broken things.
I Cor. 11:24 Christ's body was broken
And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luke 20:18 Fall on that Stone!!!!!!!
Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
2. God uses unfinished things --- Clay in the Potter's Hands Jeremiah 18:1 -6
3. God uses children --- Perfection of Praise Matthew 21:15 -16
"And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,
"And said unto Him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have he never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?"
The children in the choir broke out crying and praying when the Holy Ghost fell.
B. Mourning
1. When a couple of struggling Salvation Army officers wrote to William Booth
telling him they tried every way to get a move and failed, he sent this reply,
" Try tears!" They did. And they had revival.
2. Bible schools (or Sunday Schools ) don't teach "tears." They cannot. It is Spirit- taught.
C. Sin
1. Must be dealt with in the individual.
God will not hear us until we repent.
2. Must be dealt with in the Church.
II Chronicles 7:16
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek
my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land.
III. REVIVAL TARRIES ---BECAUSE
Men build our churches but do not enter them, print our Bibles but do not read them,
talk about God but do not believe Him, speak of Christ but do not trust Him for salvation,
sing our hymns and then forget them. How are we going to come out of this?
A. Evangelism is so highly commercialized.
Preachers who have homes and cottages by the lake, a boat on that lake, and a big
bank balance, still beg for more. These dear, doll-like preacher-boys no longer change
their suits once a day, but two or three times a day. They preach the Jesus of the stable
but themselves live in swank hotels. They wear expensive Hollywood suits in honor
of One who wore a peasant's robe. They feast on steak in remembrance of the One
who fasted alone in the desert.
America is spiritually dying because God has sales reps and not channels of His glory.
B. A Cheapening of the Gospel.
1. Glamour and Performance is highly esteemed.
2. We must alter the altar, for the altar is a place to die on.
For fire to fall and consume the sacrifice, it must be innocent and without blemish, but, most of all, it must be on the alter to stay. Mario Murillo
C. Carelessness --- The evangelist is happy seeing his friends; and while sinners
groan at the altar.
D. Fear --- Preaching is too often done in such a way as to not offend anyone.
E. We Lack Urgency in Prayer
F. We Steal the Glory That Belongs to God.
IV. COME LET US GO UP TO THE MOUNTAIN
Isa. 2:1 -3 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Though it is uphill and against heart, yet it is the mountain of the Lord, who will assist the ascent of our souls towards Him. Those that are entering into covenant and communion with God themselves should bring as many as they can along with them; it becomes Christians to provoke one another to good works, and to further the communion of saints by inviting one another into it. M. H.
Micah 3: 9 --- 4:2 Read
4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
It is very comfortable but with which this chapter begins, and very reviving to those who lay the interests of God's church near their heart and are concerned for the welfare of it. When we sometimes see the corruptions of the church, especially of church-rulers, princes, priests, and prophets, seeking their own things and not the things of God, and when we soon after see the desolations of the church, Zion for their sakes ploughed as a field, we are ready to fear that it will one day perish between both, that the name of Israel shall be no more in remembrance;we are ready to give up all for gone, and to conclude the church will have neither root nor branch upon the earth. But let not our faith fail in this matter; out of the ashes of the church another phoenix shall arise. M. H.
V. THERE'S SWEET (NEW) WINE IN THE MOUNTAIN
Amos 9:11 -14
13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
While the world stands God will have a church in it, and, if it be fallen down in one place and
among one people, it shall be raised up elsewhere. M. H.
The ploughman shall overtake the reaper, that is, there shall be so much corn to be gathered in, that it shall last all summer, even till autumn, when it is time to begin to plough again; and in like manner the vintage shall continue till seed-time, and there shall be such abundance of grapes that even the mountains shall drop new wine into the vessels of the grape-gatherers, and the hills that were dry and barren shall be moistened and shall melt with the fatness or mellowness of the soil. This must certainly be understood of the abundance of spiritual blessings in heavenly things, which all those are, and shall be abundantly replenished with the goodness of God's house, with the graces and comforts of His Spirit; they shall have bread, the bread of life, to strengthen their hearts, and the wine of divine consolations to make them glad --meat indeed and drink indeed--all the benefit that comes to the souls of men from the word and Spirit of God. These had been long confined to the vineyard of the Jewish church; divine revelation, and the power that attended it, were to be found only within that enclosure; but in gospel-times the mountains and hills of the Gentile world shall be enriched with these privileges by the gospel of Christ, and nations were born at once, when the preachers of the gospel were always caused to triumph in the success of their preaching, then the ploughman overtook the reaper; and, when the Gentile churches were enriched in all utterance, and in all knowledge, and all manner of spiritual gifts, then the mountains dropped sweet wine. M. H.
Define New Wine:
1098 gleukos (glyoo’-kos) --the sweet juice pressed the grape
Joel 3:18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
Proverbs 3:9 -10 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
Acts 2:12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
