When Sir Winston Churchill met evangelist Billy Graham, Churchill expressed despair about the future, asking whether there was any real hope. Billy Graham pointed him away from politics and circumstances to Christ and the promises of the Bible.
We can ask the same question today. When we look at the world, our nation or even our personal circumstances, so much can seem dark, broken and beyond repair.
Ezekiel 37 gives us a picture of God bringing life into what appears completely dead.
Read: Ezekiel 37:1-4
The original context of this passage was the people of Israel. They were scattered and seemingly finished, but God promised to bring them back and restore them. This reminds us of something important: God can bring life out of death.
He can bring new life to:
You personally
Your family
A church experiencing decline or division
A nation experiencing spiritual darkness
So how can we experience revival, even in the darkest times?
1. God calls us to boldly declare His Word
2. Expect God to shake things up
3. Watch how God brings people together
4. God wants to build up the body
5. God wants to raise up a great Spirit-filled army
We need to recognise our need for more of the Holy Spirit. We need to be hungry for the Holy Spirit. We need to be full of the Holy Spirit. And we need to allow His life-giving power to change the world around us.
The valley looked completely dead, but God asked Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?”
The answer was not found in what Ezekiel could see. The answer was found in what God could do.
God can bring life where there appears to be death.
He can restore what is broken.
He can bring people together.
He can build His church.
He can fill His people with the Holy Spirit.
He can bring revival in the darkest times.
The question is: Do we believe that the bones can live?
