Prophesy to the Bones 1 Notes

Ezekiel 37:1–7a 

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.

2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.

3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 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.”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded.

Do you see the contradiction in positions in the 1st verse?

·       The hand of the Lord took Ezekiel “DOWN”

·       We think the only place the Spirit takes us is UP

What is the stark contrast between Ezekiel and the bones?

·       The Spirit of the Lord was on Ezekiel – LIFE (Very Alive)

·       The Lord put him in a place where no one else had the spirit – DEATH

(FULL of bones that were VERY Dry)

What are some lessons we can take away from these first 2 observations?

Just because you are taken down doesn’t mean His Spirit isn’t on you

          … all the way down into the middle of the valley – the lowest place

Is there an area in your life where you feel like you are alive but God sets you in the midst of death – dead people, or a dead situation?

Are there situations you must be in where you only feel like you’re going down?

How do you act or react in those situations?  What are your declarations?

Ezekiel didn’t just see the bones, the Lord made him walk around in them

CSI on the bones:  “slain” (vs 9), killed

The Lord asks a question:  “Can these bones live?”

          When the Lord asks a question, it is not because He doesn’t know the answer

                    “Where are you?”

                    “What is that in your hand?”

                    “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

                    “Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Why does the Lord ask us questions?

For us to locate ourselves

When the Lord asks me a question, I want my answer to be “Lord, I believe”

          But then I SEE the “dead, dry bones”

We’ve drawn conclusions about our situations based on what we see

Definition of Conclusions:  the end, the finish

We must learn to See from theSpirit, even while in the valley

Ezekiel saw a valley of dry bones.  The Lord revealed “an exceedingly great army” (vs 10)

When God compels you toward something, does He show or does He tell?

        (Remember: we walk by faith, not by sight)

What about Ezekiel?  Did He show him or did He tell him?

The Lord speaks to your imagination – He uses Words to show

You were made in the imagination of God 

What specifically does the Lord tell Ezekiel to do? 

Prophesy to a dead end situation

What was the first thing to happen when the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost?

If the Lord can control my tongue, He can control the rest of me

Why is this small member (Jms 3:5) and the least gift (1 Cor 12:28), so important?

1.     The Tongue turns the whole body 

2.     Tongues make all things possible

What do those 2 statements mean for our Church?

          What could happen if our Leaders prophesied over their ministries

The greatest power in every church is the sound that happens

When the language changes, the atmosphere changes

The first thing leaders are called to do is to Speak with Other Tongues:

Prophesy – say what God says

Use words that create life

Use words to “turn” the “Body”

What does Genesis 11 reveal as the key to stopping what’s in our imagination from becoming reality?

          Babel: making the sound unclear

So what is the key to bringing things back to life?

Leaders must take control of our sound and make every sound creative

What do you see in your ministry?

          Are there just dry bones?

Can those bones live?

What have you Prophesied over your ministry?

·       Hope

·       Expectation

·       Growth

·       Courage

·       Limitations

·       Exhaustion

·       Doubt

·       Ineffectiveness

·       Death

A true leader begins by speaking to themself

The sound you speak to yourself must be the sound of the word of the Lord – “singing hymns in your heart”