May the mumbling commence!
Talk about a comeback! Once where there was a pile of dry bones; now there is a standing army of the Lord. Can it be done? It is the question that the Lord posed to Ezekiel. Can we answer as Ezekiel did? Only you, O Sovereign Lord, can know. Read that familiar passage from Ezekiel 37:
The 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. 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. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
I said, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know."
Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 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.'"
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. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin 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 it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, 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.
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.' 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. 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.'" (Verses 1-14)
And some preachers think they have a tough audience on Sunday morning. Sometimes the church body is referred to as the frozen chosen. How are we to melt the frozen chosen into a standing army of the Lord? Can we be changed to be an army that will have the faith to stand for the Lord – even when the circumstances make us want to hide away?
On an immense journey of transformation, let us start with the first small and extremely significant steps. Let us, like Ezekiel, listen to the Lord. Then, let us do as the Lord commands us. Let us take courage that Ezekiel was asked to only speak the words of the Lord and watch the work of the breath – the Spirit.
As we witness the work of the Holy Spirit, we will know the Lord for who He is. Our God is a living God. The miracles and works of God cannot be confined to yesterday. The miracles of God continue even unto today. And the best is yet to come. Let us listen, speak, and witness the work of the Spirit – even in our own personal valley of dry bones.
“Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones. Now hear the word of the Lord…”
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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