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The New International Version Chapter 37
The hand of the LORD was on 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?”
BE STILL/PRAYER
LACK OF FAITH BUT WANT SOMETHING TO TAKE PLACE.
Israel was in exile in Babylon during this time
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.”
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE VERY DRY BONES
EZEKIEL KNEW ENOUGH THAT HE WOULD NOT SAY NO, BUT WAS NOT SURE THAT IT WAS EVEN POSSIBLE.
DO WE BELIEVE WHO GOD SAYS HE IS?
DID YOU KNOW THAT OUT OF THE 80% OF AMERICANS THAT PROFESS AS CHRISTIANS, ONLY 56% BELIEVE THAT HE IS THE GOD AS DESCRIBED IN THE BIBLE? MEANING THE ALL-KNOWING, ALL-LOVING, AND ALL-POWERFUL GOD THAT WE 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 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.
FAITH DEMANDS OBEDIENCE
THE IMPORTANCE OF OBEDIENCE IS THAT FAITH CAN NOT BE DISPLAYED UNLESS MOVEMENT IN OBEDIENCE IS DONE.
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
IN ORDER FOR THE PROMISES OF GOD TO BE MADE INTO A REALITY, WE MUST WALK IN THE CONFIDENT OBEDIENT THAT WE BELIEVE AND TRUST THAT HE WILL NEVER GO BACK ON HIS WORD.
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
FAITH AND OBEDIENCE GO HAND IN HAND. YOUR CANT HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER.
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, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
breath-rûwach-at its core, refers to the movement of air, whether by breath, wind or spirit. This word in the New Testament is known as pneuma. This same type of wordage is used in the description of the Holy Spirit descending in Acts 2:1-4.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
From the wordage used here, it brings us to the conclusion that nothing happens without God.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
Abide- meno- remain, stay
John 15:5 (NIV)
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
The word of God that came to the prophet Ezekiel, who therefore acted on it. Ezekiel could not command the bones to live, but the declaration of God through the breath of life given to him, gave him the power to raise the army back to life.
The prophetic speaking that is used by prophets is not only available to those them and it is not just something that happened in the Old Testament. It is available to all those that are willing to abide and come into communion with the Father through the Spirit.
Prophetic speaking is speaking and acting in accordance with the Father. It is speaking information that only the Father know. Unless you are connected to the Father, you can do nothing.
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!’
The feeling of being “cut-off” from God is one that everyone faces. The problem is though that we don’t spend time with Him. Spending time with the Father does not mean reading your devotional, going to church on Sunday’s and doing fun events that the church puts on. Abiding means to be still, talk to God, listen to God, come into agreement with God, to OBEY God.
Abiding in Christ is more than just speaking, but it is also listening
According to the American Time Use Survey, Americans spend an average of 8 minutes a day with God and an average of 5 hours in leisure time (social media, video games, etc.)
Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: 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. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 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 desires to put His breath of life into you. He desires His people to come back to life and to come into communion with Him. The question is will you choose today, from this day forward, to not only listen but to abide with Him?