GET TOGETHER – BE AN INSTRUMENT OF LIFE
Eze 37:10-12 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. 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!’ “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. Joh 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
We live in a time where there is much bad news. Every night if you watch the news you will see some bad news. There are murders, hurricanes, nation against nation. Lawlessness abounds in many places. We see political leaders that can’t have civil discourse to talk about their differences. Discouragement can come at us often in waves.
Certainly, we are not to be in denial and certainly it is not wrong for us as Christians to voice our objections in a godly manner to things that we believe are unbiblical and that are a detriment to society. On the other hand, we are the people that are called to be instruments of good news and of blessings. Re 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
This morning as I was prayer walking the church parking lot. I walked over the spaces and in some cases where the spaces were fading out I began to speak life over those places. I began to speak that the parking places would be filled with people having a life changing experience with Jesus Christ. That they would be filled with people who needed physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.
Wherever you work, go to school, or spend your time in retirement there most likely will be someone around you that their tongue is releasing death rather than life. You and I have the wonderful opportunity of speaking and releasing life everywhere that we go. Jesus was releasing life when He came into the synagogue at Nazareth: Lu 4:18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed.” As His chosen instruments He is calling us to do the same.
When we release life, we are being used to advance His Kingdom upon the earth. He told the disciples, Mt 10:7,8 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” All of us are called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ! When we do that we are releasing life where there had previously been death. God wants to use us to bring life where relationships have been dead and broken by sin. God wants to use us to speak life where it looks as there is no hope.
When Ezekiel was told to prophesy to the dry bones it didn’t look good for the Jewish people. They were captive in a foreign pagan land. Their capital city and the temple where they worshipped had been destroyed. In the natural it didn’t look so good. But the Spirit of the Lord was on Ezekiel. As Jesus said the Spirit gives life so he begins to speak to the dry bones. Hope is now given to a people who have been put in a hopeless situation.
Today as followers of Christ we can speak life into hopeless situations. The Apostle Paul spoke about this in Ro 4:17 ¶ (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed–God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” God desires to use us as followers of Jesus Christ to impart life where there appears to be death.
I had to ask myself this morning am I being used to impart life where there is death and hopelessness, or am I imparting death. We need to all ask ourselves that question. And then we need to be available to God to impart life in those circumstances and situations. God desires to use us to make the dry bones come alive again. Now that is life giving good news!
Let Us Pray
Lord today we know that if we are not careful that we can become so overwhelmed by a culture that often speaks death to the place that we begin to sound like the culture. Help us today to be a people that speaks life and imparts life by the power of the Holy Spirit where ever that you send us.
In Jesus Name
Amen
We love you all. May God use us all to make the dry bones come alive!
Your Friend/Kinfolk
Preston