THEME: DIVINE RESTORATION.
MEMORISE:
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Psalm 51:12
READ: Ezekiel 37:1-10
1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
MESSAGE:
Our God does not only create, He can also restore as we see in today’s Scripture reading. You will experience this kind of restoration today in Jesus’ name. The story is the restoration of dry bones. Ezekiel was taken to the valley of dry bones by the Spirit of God. Dry bones, of course, signify a state hopelessness and lifelessness. When he got there, the Almighty God had a dialogue with him. Is it not amazing that whenever God wants to perform wonders, He dialogues? He did the same when He fed the five thousand in Mark 6:30-43. The fact that God dialogues with His children does not mean He does not know what to do at any given time; rather it means that He likes to fellowship with His children. God dialogued with Ezekiel and the wonder working process began.
The first lesson in this story is that whenever the Spirit of God is upon an individual, the fellow would be able to do the impossible. Ezekiel was not even sure if the dry bones could live or not. He was just a prophet. The second lesson is that we must always acknowledge the sovereignty of God in all matters, no matter how pressing or ridiculous the case at hand may be. Ezekiel said only God knew if the bones could live again. He acknowledged God’s power. 1Corinthians 1:25,27 says:
“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men… But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;”
Whenever we acknowledge God’s sovereignty, there will be a mighty manifestation of wonders. Ezekiel responded positively to the instructions God gave him concerning the dry bones, he prophesied, and the result was a mighty army. Beloved, without the Holy Spirit we can do nothing; however, with Him all things are possible.
Whenever the Spirit of God is, there is liberty, miracles, sign, and wonders. These good things will be your portion this season, in the mighty name of Jesus.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, please speak to my situation today. Restore unto me everything the enemies have destroyed In my life, in the mighty name of Jesus.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Matthew 15-17.
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 16: O God Our Help In Ages Past.
1. O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
2. Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
3. Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
4. Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,
“Return, ye sons of men”:
All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.
5. A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
6. The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in foll’wing years.
7. Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the op’ning day.
8. Like flow’ry fields the nations stand
Pleased with the morning light;
The flow’rs beneath the mower’s hand
Lie with’ring ere ’tis night.
9. O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.