All of us at some point and time have been in a season of drought. Everywhere we look, all we see is what used to be alive but is now dead. And for some of us, we're glad it's dead. But for the rest of us, we are still mourning what has been lost to us. We have people all around us telling us to let it go. Move on with your life. There's no going back where that issue is concerned. But God says otherwise. There are things in our lives that we have lost that appear dead to us, but God is far from done with them!
We have lost all hope in getting back what we lost. We have lost all faith that these dry bones can live again. We have lost all hope that what we have lost will never come back. We believe the notion that it's too late. We believe the notion that we have burnt that bridge beyond all repair. We believe the notion that it is better off this way. But God. Now that oughta make you shout right there! "BUT GOD!" But God has said in His Word that He will give you beauty for ashes! He said in His Word that weeping may endure FOR THE NIGHT, but JOY will be here by morning! I wish I had a believer in here!
Some of you have given up all hope that what you have lost will never come back! Some of you have given up all hope that there is still the possibility of resurrection! Some of you have given up all hope of ever getting back what you have lost and mourn over even to this day! BUT GOD! How many of you know that when God comes on the scene, even though what you have lost may seem dead and lifeless to you, can still come alive and be made whole? How many of you know that when God comes on the scene, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS IMPOSSIBLE TO HIM?!
Ezekiel 37: 1-14, The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed, they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So, I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again, He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and 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 (a piece of tough fibrous tissue uniting muscle to bone or bone to bone; a tendon or ligament.) 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.” 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. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also, He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So, I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ Therefore, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.”
Pray with me: "Heavenly Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Lord, we exalt Your Name on high today. We pay homage and honor to Your Holy Name. Let this word today ring in the hearts of all who read it. Let the voice of the Lord sound in their ears today. Let the presence of the Holy Spirit be felt in every home represented here today. And let their hearts be opened to the Word of the Living God. In Jesus Holy Name to we pray and ask this, Father God. In faith believing and expecting Your Grace to shine forth today, Lord Jesus. Amen and Amen!!!
“Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.”
Many of us here today have situations in our lives where was once was alive and flourishing is now dead and buried. But God has said in His Word that He will open our graves, that He will put His Spirit in us, that we shall live, and He will place us in our own land! Many of you here today have been exiled from your own homes and your own family. You have been driven out of the lives of those you love and are now without them in your lives. Many of you here have been divorced by a spouse who left you because they weren't getting their way. Many of you have been abandoned by people who were supposed to love you and lift you up in your time of need, but instead they have left you high and dry. They have left you in your time of trials and tribulations. Just when you needed their love and support the most, they bailed on you in disgust and frustration.
But God said, "I will make your dry bones live again! I will breathe life on you again! I will put MY SPIRIT in you and I will take you out of that grave and set you up on your feet again! I will cause you to live again! I will make ALL your enemies be at peace with you! I will bring you home again! I will prepare a table for you in the VERY PRESENCE of your enemies! I will bring you OUT of the valley and set you on the mountain top! I will never leave you nor forsake you! I will be a friend that sticks closer than a brother! I will be your God and you will be MY people! I will bless you coming in and going out! I will make you the head and not the tail! I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you! I will bring you out of that pit and set you on MY Holy Hill! I will be your redeemer! I will be your comforter! I will be you shield and your buckler! I will rise up and defend you! I will make a way where there seems to be no way! I will cause men to give unto you! I will cause men to be at peace with you! I will give My angels charge over you! I will be your ever present help in the day of trouble! I will be with you always even to the end of this world! I will be your Father! I will be your way maker! I will be your deliverer! I will be your Redeemer! I will be your Hope when there is no hope! I WILL BE YOUR LORD THY GOD AND SINCE I AM WITH YOU, WHO COULD POSSIBLY STAND AGAINST YOU AND SUCCEED?!!! SOMEBODY SHOUT UNTO GOD WITH A VOICE OF TRIUMPH! AND LET THE ENEMY KNOW, "AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!
So, why are we so distraught over past hurts, past relationships that fell apart, and marriages that failed? Why do so easily lose our faith in God when troubles come? Why do we lose heart so easily when our hopes and dreams are dashed by this evil world we live in? Have we forgotten that the same God Who spoke these dry bones to life again is the same God that sees your pain and hears your cries and is telling you today, "I hear you. I see you. I feel your pain. But I will make everything alright again."? Have we forgotten that the same God that rose Jesus from the dead on the third day, is the same God that is reaching out to you and me today saying, "Take My hand. Let Me restore what has been lost."?
It's so easy to let the storms in your life put fear in your heart, isn't it? It's so easy to believe that all hope is lost nowadays, isn't it? But we have a God Who is our ever present help in times of trouble! We have a God Who can take a pile of bones that has been dead for years and breathe new life into them! We have a God Who can make all things new! We have a God Who said in His Word that He will never leave us nor forsake us! So, why do we feel like He's so far from us when we endure these storms and failures on our lives? Because we allow those storms to convince us that all is lost and what we had is now gone forever. We allow the circumstances of our lives to convince us that once something is dead, there is no hope of it living again. But God!
You've got to remember that the same God Who created the Heavens and the Earth is the same God Who is here in this place today! You have got to remember that the same God that created the stars, the moon, and the sun, is the same God who can take the dry bones left in the wake of disaster in your life and breathe new life into them and they will start to rattle, they will start to shake, they will start to move. They'll stand up on their feet again, restored, made new! Not a blemish or a scar on them! God can take the dry bones in your life and breathe new life into them and make them come alive again and they will be more alive than they've ever been because GOD has arrived on the scene! God has come to your aid this day! And GOD has said to these dry bones, MOVE!!!!!!!! And those bones start rattling, they start shaking, they start coming together piece by piece! They start connecting one to another! They start taking shape! They start wiggling, they start moving, they start shaking, they start coming alive again!
Then the muscles and the tendons, the sinews, the flesh, the blood, the nerves, the eyes, the ears, the mouth, all of that starts coming together to cover those bones! And when all is said and done, what used to be dry bones is what the Bibles says is an EXCEEDINGLY great army! What used to be nothing but a pile of bones in your life, is about to become a mighty army in the Name of the Lord Thy God! What used to be a valley of dead men's bones are about to become your testimony before the Lord! What used to be nothing but a heap of bones as dead as a doornail, is about to become your victory in the Lord! Weeping may endure for a night, those dead bones may lie there all night and not make a sound! But JOY is on its way! Tears may be falling tonight, bones may be left in a pile for a night, but when that sun comes up in the morning, there will be JOY and JOY unspeakable because those dead, smelly, nastified, funkafied, piles of bones are gonna stand up and be counted among the testimonies of the saints of God! Those old dead bones are about to rise up at the command of the Lord and the Lord is going to breathe NEW life into those bones, the flesh is gonna start to take shape, the muscles are gonna start pumping up inside those bones, the heart is gonna start beating again! And there will be a GASSSSSSPPPPP!!!!!!
Those bones won't be just bones anymore! Those bones aren't gonna be dead anymore! Those bones are gonna live again! Those bones are gonna rise up at the command of the Most High God and give praise to the King of kings and the Lord of lords! They will shout with a voice of triumph! Those old dead bones ain't gonna be old dead bones no more! Just like when Lazarus was dead and Jesus came to his tomb, the Lord is gonna cry out to those bones, "ARISE!!!! AND COME FORTH!!!" And the next thing you know, those bones are gonna shake, they're gonna move! Those bones are gonna rattle, they're gonna make some noise! Then, those bones are gonna get covered! The body's gonna come back! The muscles are gonna come back! The heart is gonna beat again! And once was dead is alive again! What seems dead to you, is about to come alive again! Can these bones live? At the Word of the Lord, they most certainly can!
Can these bones live? By the Grace of God, they surely will! Just like when Jesus told Lazarus to come forth, those old dead dry bones are gonna rise up and walk out of that grave! God is gonna take you out of that grave and set you on His Holy Mountain! God is gonna take the dead dry bones of your marriage, of your relationships, of your family relationships and He's gonna give the command. "RISE UP! AND COME FORTH!"
So, don't lose heart, don't lose hope, don't lose faith! Cuz God is about to make the dry bones of your life start to shake, rattle and roll! God is about to cause those dry bones to come alive and stand tall! God is gonna bring you up out of that grave and bring you home again! Don't wait till the battle is over! SHOUT NOW!!!!!!!
