“But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.” Isaiah 66:2
God does not have a vessel to look upon who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at His word. God is not able to find a vessel like Prophet Ezekiel or Evan Roberts on whom he can look upon, trust and place His power and authority on him to send His fullness of life(i.e. Revival). There are many so-called vessels, yet just a handful who tremble at his word. God does not have a vessel who entirely surrenders to God's will and word. There is a scarcity of vessels who tremble at God's word. Because of these trembling vessel, God will again look at the valley of dry bones.
There are many dry bones around us, but no vessels that tremble at God's word. There are so many very dry bones, and God has a reservoir of millions of gallons of God's life, but there are no vessels through which God's life may flow to the dry bones. There are no vessels which bridges or stands in the gap between the reservoir of God's life and the valley of dry bones. During Ezekiel’s time, there was just one valley of dry bones that was filled with God’s life. These days, there are, however, countless more valleys of dry bones that are yet to be filled with God’s life. There could be thousands of valleys of dry bones, with trillions of dry bones waiting to be filled with God's life.
For every valley of dry bones, God needs one vessel like Ezekiel. Do you want to be the Ezekiel for your valley of dry bones? These days, we see many valleys of dry bones everywhere(in every area or field). It’s not just one valley of dry bones, but many valleys of dry bones. In every city, there are so many valleys of dry bones. In the church as well there are many dry bones. In software companies, there are many valleys of dry bones. God has not called Ezekiel to go to a palace but to a valley of dry bones. Similarly, God has called you to be a prophet for your valley of dry bones. He could be showing you the exact dryness (sins) of the bones in the valley. All you have to do in the midst of dry bones, is listen to what God says and obey completely.
If God says prophesy, you prophesy. If He says pray, you pray. God has called you and kept you in the valley of dry bones for a reason; it’s not to disappoint you but He wants you to be the prophet who brings God's life to your valley of dry bones. If God shows you a valley of dry bones, it signifies He is preparing you to be a prophet to that valley of dry bones. But God will not use you until you tremble at His word. It is time that we don’t become dry like the dry bones around us, but we become the prophet for our valley of dry bones.
God's life is so abundant (that it is like a big reservoir) that can bring life to thousands of valleys of dry bones, but there are no vessels that draw from this reservoir of God's life. God's reservoir of life-giving water is so large and vast that it can provide living water to thousands of dry valleys and trillions of dry bones. The shortage is not in the reservoir of God's life, but rather on the vessel's side(i.e. shortage of vessels). It’s just like Elijah’s time, the oil flowed continuously in the widow's house until there was a shortage of vessels.
The oil did not stop first, but rather because there were no more vessels to fill, the oil stopped. Oil did not stop flowing, but it was the shortage of vessels that has caused the oil to stop flowing. Today it’s the same, the reservoir of God’s life is so vast, but there are no vessels who draw from the reservoir of God’s life, and allow God's life to flow through them continuously to the dry bones. As long as you become a vessel which trembles at God’s word, the life giving living water from God’s reservoir flows through you. God’s reservoir of living water is always full to the point of overflowing, but there are no vessels through which it flows continuously.
If only you become a vessel who trembles at God’s word, God is ready to make you the vessel which stands in the gap between the dry bones and reservoir of His life to draw living water. People want revival but they don’t want to pay the price of revival. God sends revival out of His mercy, but the vessel through which He sends the revival is prepared for many years. Evan Roberts was such a vessel that trembled at God's word, so God looked at Wales and brought the Welsh revival of 1903. God had been preparing him for revival for 13 years. He was prepared by God for revival for 13 years.
He came on the scene like John the Baptist, who had spent 40 years in the wilderness preparing the way for Jesus’s first coming. He prayed, "Lord, bend me," which means "bend my will according to God's word." These generation believers don’t know God’s word itself, so how can they bend their will(with the help of Holy Spirit) or tremble at God’s word? There are several stages to trembling at God's word.
1) We must know God’s word
2) We must apply God’s word in our lives
3) We must define or refine our lives in accordance with God's word.
4) The final stage is tremble at His word
All of the above stages occur before we tremble at His word. We must go through this process before we finally tremble at His word. It is not an overnight process and can take years to reach the final stage, which is trembling at His word. “Upon such person God looks” is the blessing of a person who trembles at His word. Because of such a vessel, God might have mercy on many valleys of dry bones.
Tremble at His word means we must quickly respond to God’s word(in whichever form) without any doubt in all circumstances.
When God’s word corrects, accept the correction swiftly, when it blesses, believe in the promise quickly, when it warns, accept the warning immediately, and so on. Our heart and soul, along with our physical body, must respond quickly to God's word. So many Old Testament saints were trained in such a way that their hearts, as well as their physical bodies, responded quickly to God's word. Only salvation is a free experience, but everything else requires our effort along with divine help. Knowing God, seeing God, and trembling at His word all require effort from our side with the help of Holy Spirit.
Tremble at His Word is a way of living in which we keep on continuously submitting to God's word every day (every second) in all aspects of our lives. This generation is impatient and wants all promises to be done fulfilled quickly. They measure success by outward blessings or growth rather than inward spiritual growth. They trust God in everything except on His timing. They lack the patience to wait on God and His timing to fulfil His promise towards us. Are you willing to wait for revival even if it takes 20-30 years of preparation? Waiting and patiently expecting are two words that go hand in hand with revival. Do you still pray for revival when you don't receive any external blessings? Evan Roberts did not see many external blessings, but his major desire is for revival.
Are you willing to pay the price of revival at the cost of your blessings? Are you willing to sacrifice your blessings for the sake of revival? Do you continue to pray for revival even if you don't see any external blessings? Is your ultimate desire in life only revival? Most of the time, we seek revival on our terms, but God waits and will not send revival until His terms and criteria are met. His terms are that - our will must bow down to the word of God continuously in all aspects of life. God's terms for revival - is that He requires a vessel to look upon and rely on, such as Evan Roberts, who trembles at His word. Are you willing to become a vessel that trembles at God’s word? Plead with God to make you a vessel who trembles at His word.
