Caught Up In the Spirit - Set Down In the Valley
Ezekiel 37:1-10 This is our text today. I’m not going to write the whole text. You can read it for yourself.
Verse 1 says, And the hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord.
Ezekiel was caught up in the spirit. Isn’t it a wonderful thing to be caught up in the Spirit of the Lord to sit with Him in heavenly places?
We all love to be carried away in the Spirit. We love to be energized by the Holy Ghost and to feel the hand of the Lord upon us.
But look at the next line: And set me down in the midst of a valley which was full of bones.
Oh, no! Caught up in the Spirit and set down in the valley!
Just because you find yourself in unfavorable circumstances, doesn’t mean the hand of the Lord is not still on you.
Have you ever received a good blessing on Sunday night? The hand of the Lord was upon you and you knew it was real and Monday you wondered what happened. You are having difficulty and you wonder where the Lord is and you don’t understand.
I want to tell you that there is a way to walk and talk that will bring you through; not just by the skin of your teeth, but in greater power than you went in with.
Matthew 4:1 says, Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Luke 4:14 says, He returned in the power of the Spirit.
With every temptation and every trial that you overcome, you are gaining power.
David said, Yea I walk through the valley. I fear no evil. The key word here is THROUGH. Don’t camp. Don’t take up residence there.
Between Egypt and Canaan was a wilderness. What you do in the wilderness will determine how long you stay.
Between Joshua and Jericho was a river and a wall.
Maybe you are saying, I don’t know what to do. I am in that wilderness place now, and I don’t know what to do. I can’t seem to make things work out. I can’t seem to make things fit together.
Ezekiel couldn’t fit those bones together. All he could do was obey God, and speak the Word of the Lord over them.
Maybe it’s time we begin to speak the Word of the Lord over our bone pile.
Well, let’s see what Jesus did.
In Matthew 4 He spoke the Word of God; devil it is written.
When Israel left Egypt, only the ones that hearkened to the Words of the Lord made it through. The ones who turned back limited God.
God told Ezekiel, Prophesy upon these bones and say, O ye dry bones. Hear the Word of the Lord.
These bones were dried up. Their hope was gone.
We are in a world where there are those that have lost their homes, their families, their self-respect. There are people caught up in witchcraft. Young women that Satan has stolen their babies from by deceit and abortion. Young men and women taken captive by spirits of homosexuality.
A crooked and perverse generation.
Can these bones live again? Is there anything that can restore?
YES! YES! YES!
HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!
God turns the hopeless into an army by the power of His Word.
Friend, if your circumstances seem hopeless, then you haven’t heard what the Lord said about it.
When God formed this world He said at least 10 times in the book of Genesis the phrase "and God said".
As Ezekiel began to prophesy God’s Word to the dry bones, a shaking took place. The bones came together and in order.
God’s Word not only brings restoration, but also order.
The prophet said, Hear the Word of the Lord.
Are you in the valley of sickness tonight? Hear the Word of the Lord.
Isaiah 53:5 says, "Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stipes we are healed." Exodus 23:25-26 says, "Ye shall serve the Lord your God and He will bless thy bread and thy water and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. The number of thy days I will fulfill."
If you are oppressed, here is the Word of the Lord over oppression.
I John 4:4 says, "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."
Mark 16:17 says, "In My Name they shall cast out devils." 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and of a sound mind."
Hear the Word of the Lord where your family is concerned.
Deuteronomy 28:4 says, "Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body."
These are examples. Whatever valley, whatever wilderness you are crossing, God has not left you comfortless. Receive His Word and you receive life.
You may have been walking by faith for a while and you feel like you are in a spiritual desert.
You need to read I Kings chapter 18. It had not rained for over 3 years, but the Word of the Lord came to Elijah and he said, "Get ready. I hear the sound of abundance of rain."
If you have been standing in the bone pile, get ready. God has sent the rain.
I want you to say, "God, let it rain on me".
God declared a new beginning for the dry bones, and He can declare a new beginning for you!
