Unhurried Spirituality Series

Video Illustration: Meant for Good!

Series for the year – quick review – Come Alive in 2025

Thesis: We can come back to life – nothing is too dead for God to bring life back into it – nothing is too lifeless for God to breath His life back into it! He is the Creator and He can bring anything back to life! Can you catch the vision of this truth and reality for 2025?

Let’s all call on God to breathe life back into that which is dead and lifeless! In 2025!

Main Scripture Text for Series: Ezekiel 37:1-14:

1The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’ ”

God is never in a hurry to fulfill His spoken Word and or His Promises. He is never rushed into doing what He said He will do! Never! Why? Because His timing is always perfect timing – God is not hurried, and we should not be hurried in life! Our prophecy in 37 is not fulfilled until 120 years later. Yes, It took God 120 years to fulfill what He promises He will do here in Ezekiel 37. This prophecy is fulfilled in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. But note the time frame of 120 years later - God did what He said He would do and He did it in His timing!

Today I want to connect some dots about “Unhurried Spiritually” – in other words - on how a person grows from being spiritually immature to a spiritually mature Christian!

Illustration: Note Spiritual growth is not like a microwave process – well - like cooking Microwave popcorn! Put the popcorn in the microwave and cook it in front of everyone! It does not happen this quick with God because He is not hurried – by you – by me – by things happening in the world – by even Satan! God is never in a hurry!

Opening thoughts to spiritual growth: Growing into Christlikeness and maturity

• Goal: Paul makes it clear that God's goal is to conform believers into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). And this takes time!

• The Process, is not instant: Spiritual Growth is not instantaneous. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul chides them for their immaturity, metaphorically calling them "infants in Christ" who could only handle "milk," not "solid food" (1 Corinthians 3:1–3).