In this piece, we will be examining a matter that is very fundamental in the work of God on the earth. If you have been called into the work of ministry, if you have been called to join hands with God to get anything done on earth, you have been called for a great life, a life of influence and that is beyond you, a life that touches others, it is important that you prayerfully read this piece. It is the word of the Lord to us. Let is examine very quickly the book of Ezekiel 37, we want to examine how God raises His team.
1 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. 2 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. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 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.”’”
7 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. 8 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.
9 Also 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.”’” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 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!’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’”
Ezekiel 37:1-14
What we want to see is to get an understanding of how God raises His people; how God raises His vessels in the execution of His will on the earth. If we can know how God did it before, if we can have an understanding of how He is doing right now; then we can fully grasp how He will likely do it in the future. This is why we are examining the book of Ezekiel 37 and then we would go to examine as well the book of Genesis, starting from chapter two. Let us examine again the verse two of the book of Ezekiel 37 once again.
2 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.
Now if you note the use of words by Ezekiel you will see that he qualified the things he saw in the manner and language that he used. He was in a Valley filled with dry bones and when he got there, he observed that the valley weren't just filled with dry bones, but bones that were very dry. That shows the state that the people who hitherto were functional and were operational had become. It showed a situation of a people who used to be in honor who couldn't remain, have now been destroyed like a beast. It shows a situation where a people could begin in glory and end in disaster or shame, it shows a situation as well of a people who in authority could be dethroned of their authority in a territory.
Now this valley that was filled with dry bones were once functional but due to certain things, they got into a state of deadness and complete in-activity, a place of no usefulness and relevance. And so, God needed to get a thing done again on the earth, God needed to use the same people who have now become so redundant and dead and idle, that the situation at best could be called a very pathetic situation and yet, God needed to use them. Let us examine verse three quickly of the same Ezekiel 37.
3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.
These ministries that are folding up in different part of the country, can they live again? These men and women who have become victims of addictions, abuse, men and women who have been robbed and plundered, can they ever rise up again? Can they ever be restored back to their honor again, back to their dignity? Can there something pleasant come out of these their unpleasant states that these people are?
A man once said to one of the disciple of Jesus when he was trying to describe Jesus to him. He said "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" So, in that state, Nazareth was in a dry-bone state, a state where anything good could come out from. Yet God is the one who is able to do these things, who is able to bring the glorious things out of the darkest moment. God is the only one who is able to turn around the circumstance of a people in their deadness and in their pathetic state. And so, He asked Ezekiel…can these bones live? Ezekiel responded by saying.."You know Lord."
Let us examine verse four and five of that Ezekiel 37 as well.
4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
The above verses looks like a summary. A summary of the intention and plan of God and what He would do. If you look at that statement and compared with the one Jesus made in the book of Matthew, you would see a link and a pattern. Jesus told Peter. He said.. "follow me and I will make you." If you listen to such a word "follow me and I will make you"….you would ask the question: "How will this man that follows you be made?" Now it looks like a question: "How will these dry bones live.?" "I will cause breath to enter into you and shall live, you shall follow me and you shall live."It looks alike, isn't it?
6 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.
Sinews on you, flesh on you, cover you up with skin and out breath in you…four layers of God's activity on a people who have been dead for them to become an army that is relevant. If you look at an army for instance, every army is raised up for an assignment. No army is raised to be idle. Armies are useless when there is nothing to be done. Now when you raise an army, it is because there is an invasion in view, there is an attack in view, there is a defense in view, there is something to be done. In the same vein, when you look at a team, a team is usually raised or set up or convocated so that a goal could be achieved. It is because there is something to be done and perhaps very quickly, that a team is needed.
To be continued…….. How God Raises His Team Anywhere Anytime Pt.2
