The Main Thing

Ezekiel 37:7–10 (ESV)

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then 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 the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

This is the 2nd Installment of our 3-Part Series “Transforming the Wreckage”

Aziza and I have a thing that we do with the children where we remind them to focus on the main thing.

You sat in my chair…

What is the main thing, sitting in that chair or that you get to eat dinner?

May be more discussion and things that sort through

But, it reframes the conversation and puts things into perspective.

You can learn a lot for your own adult life from raising children.

So many times, we take our focus off of the main thing.

It disrupts our peace

Compromises our relationships

Negatively impact our behavior

I am grateful for the many times that the Lord has graciously come to me and said, “Now Chris, what’s the main thing…that you get to drive a particular car or that you have this community of people who want you to come and be with them in the first place?”

Today, we want to discover from this text what is the main thing for Ezekiel in this valley of dry bones and the transformation that God does there.

Spoiler alert, it is the same thing that will be the main thing as God brings transformation in our lives, our households, our church, our communities.

First, I will warn against the two major ways that we lose our focus on the main thing. Then we’ll point to the main thing. Then we’ll go home.

You might be surprised to discover that I have title this sermon: The Main Thing

PRAYER

Warning #1: Don’t Get Discouraged In The Detours

Ezekiel 37:7 (ESV)

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

The first things that happen when Ezekiel prophesied are all things that were not a part of the prophecy.

The prophecy began to pour forth and things happened

There was sound (thunderous)

There was movement (rattling or shaking)

There was progress (bones came together)...

None of this is actually a part of the prophecy

Revisit the prophecy… Ezekiel 37:4-6

Ezekiel 37:4–6 (ESV)

Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Nothing about noise…nothing about shaking and rattling…about bones coming together.

None of this is actually a part of the prophecy, but it was a necessary part of the process.

I think about Kiddy Land

Anytime any adult was taking you to Kiddy Land, they would have to stop somewhere.

Stop to get some food and snacks.

Stop to get some gas.

Stop to pick up another person

It felt like it was taking forever.

It is hard to process and to accept that this is part of having a fun day at Kiddy Land

Make sure you have some snacks

Make sure we’re not going to get stranded on the way home

Make sure that your friends are with you.

There are things that are not the main thing, but they need to happen for the main thing to happen well.

How do you lay sinews and flesh on disjointed bones?

How do you breathe into dismembered skeletons?

Somebody is on a detour in your life. You feel like you’re sitting in the back seat of a parked car and God has been out of the car for a long time.

Will you Trust that God knows what He is doing?

Trust Him in all of the stops He is making along the way to your promise.

Trust Him that He is still working toward the main thing

He is not slack concerning His promise

Has He said it? And will He not perform it?

Warning #2: Don’t Get Complacent With The Partial

Ezekiel 37:8 (ESV)

And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.

Now things happen that are exactly as it was stated in the prophecy.

Sinews

Flesh

Skin

But there was no life in them.

This is a dangerous point in the prophetic timeline of the transformation.

I call it the Danger of Almost

This is pretty good.

This is a miracle.

Ezekiel could have built a ministry right here.

This army died in battle…now we can return their bodies home to their families and they can have a proper burial and get some closure.

The Great Return Movement is born!

The main thing that Ezekiel prophesied is that the bones would come alive, not just look better.

When you set your desires on things more than what God has promised you and appointed for you, you are getting greed.

But, when you set your desires lower than what God has promised you and appointed for you, then you are getting faithlessness.

You have heard the saying credited to French writer, Voltaire , “Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

I say “Don’t let the good be a distraction from the Promise!”

Learn to thank God for the progress without settling in the partial.

The Main Thing Is The Activity of the Spirit of God

Ezekiel 37:9 (ESV)

Then 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.”

This is a new instruction, even though the original prophecy is not yet fulfilled.

It makes me ask, “What was wrong with the first prophecy?

Is God moving the goal post?

Okay…wait…let’s try this again.

God does not need a do-over. This second command to prophesy is a focusing exercise.

God is focusing Ezekiel on the main thing

The bones needed to come together…not a part of the prophecy, but part of the process.

The flesh and the sinews need to come on the bodies…not the main thing.

The goal is for these bones to live. And in order for that to happen, we will need the activity of the Spirit of God.

If we step back a little bit, we can see that this has been God’s focus the entire time.

The Hebrew word Ruach (רוּחַ) appears 10 times in the first 10 verses of Ezekiel 37

The word means:

spirit, breath; breath of the mouth;

vital spirit; breath; Spirit of God; life, the vital principle; I revive; the human spirit; divine and miraculous power; the Holy Spirit of God; the Holy Ghost

It undergirds and surrounds everything that God is doing with Ezekiel in the text

Verse 1: The hand of the Lord was on and He carried me out in the Ruach

Verse 5: Prophesy and say, “Oh dry bones, I will cause the Ruach to come into you…”

The act of prophesying (we discussed last week) is not mere speech, but speaking as being seized by and flooded with the Spirit.

Ezekiel was in the Spirit…and The Spirit came into him…and He spoke by the Spirit to the Spirit…Come and put the Spirit into these slain

Beloved, the key to your transformation and mine is the Holy Spirit

This year as God guides our transformation. Let’s keep the focus on the activity of the Holy Spirit of God.

You may feel like you’re on a detour. There is no need to be discouraged. Just keep walking in the Spirit.

You have a partial fulfillment of the promise. Don’t settle. Keep going for more of the Spirit.

No matter where in the process you find yourself today, GET INTO THE SPIRIT AND GET THE SPIRIT INTO YOU.

That’s the main thing!

Back in the day there used to be a thing called a Tarry Service.

The entire purpose was allow the Holy Spirit to breathe on His people in a fresh way.

There was prayer…there was singing…there was prophecy

BUT THE MAIN THING WAS TO WAIT FOR THE HOLY GHOST

It was long…but it was worth the investment

We need to learn to live a tarrying lifestyle.

I’m focused on Your Spirit, Lord. I’m waiting for Your Spirit, Lord.

My focus is not on…

My bank account

My doctor’s diagnosis

The car I drive

How frustrating my days have been

If the wind of the Holy Ghost blows in my life, it will put all of these things right.

And if all of these things come together, but the Holy Spirit does not come, my life is still a well-formed dead body lying in the valley.

I don’t know about you today, but want the Holy Spirit of God to breathe on me.

I urge you to make prayer, and bible reading, and worship central activities in your life.

More frequent…greater quantity.

WHATEVER GOD IS TRANSFORMING IN YOUR LIFE…

Somebody is work on health

Mental health

Finances

Relationships

Career

Creativity

THIS IS THE MAIN THING