Prophetic Words of Life

“Prophetic Words of Life”


Brimfield Faith UMC / February 5, 2012

Ezekiel 37:1-14


MLK

February is Black History Month or African-American History Month. It is a month in which we acknowledge and promote the history of African Americans through history. I think it continues to be important that we remember the important roles of African-Americans throughout our history. As recent as the 1960’s, there were laws enforcing segregation and racism. Slavery and racism is one of the greatest sins of the United States of America. It is one that we must continually strive to move past and overcome. Galatians 3:28, Paul reminds us, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

In modern history, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has been one of the greatest figures in the civil rights movement. Dr. King energized a people and a movement with his speeches and leadership. He paved the way for a world where equal means equal. Where you can sit anywhere you want. Where you can eat any where you want, walk anywhere you want. He paved the way for an African American man to be President of the United States. He undermined the status quo and helped us to shape a new radical alternative. Dr. King brought this country closer to reflecting heaven on earth. He did this not just as a man, but as a prophet from the Lord.

Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech is one of the most powerful in American history. It enabled people to picture a future that previously seemed unattainable. It energized. It amazed. It mobilized. It inspired. It moved. This is what prophets do.


EZEKIEL

This is what the Prophet Ezekiel does in the Old Testament. In Ezekiel, we find the nation of Israel in a desperate place. Jerusalem, the city of God, has been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. They have been exiled and have been completely demoralized. They are not simply a nation that has been demoralized or unfaithful to the Lord. They have been stripped of an identity. They have been crushed. They are dead. Ezekiel was a prophet when Israel had been destroyed by the Babylonians. He spoke to them both before and after the destruction and exile. His role was to speak hope and life into this broken people. Not exactly an enviable role to play.

In Ezekiel 37, we experience how Ezekiel, empowered by the Lord, is able to inspire the nation of Israel. Ezekiel is swept away by the Spirit of the Lord and set in a valley full of dry bones. He proceeds to have an intense vision from the Lord. The Lord asks Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel responds, “O Lord God, you know.” With that response, the prophetic vision takes shape. It proceeds with Ezekiel prophesying to the bones. As he speaks, there is a rattling of the bones and they begin to come together. Then the sinews, the flesh and finally the skin. The valley is no longer dry bones but a valley full of bodies. The bodies are only lacking the breathe of God that brings life. Ezekiel prophesies to the newly formed bodies. The Spirit of God came for the four corners to bring this vast multitude to life.

Through this vision, the people of Israel have a visible and powerful image of how the Lord can restore them. They are the dry bones in the valley. They are lifeless and without hope. The word of Ezekiel demonstrates to the people there is indeed hope and life can be restored. And indeed he brought his word to fruition.


LIFE-GIVING WORDS

In this story, we experience the power of spoken word. Words spoken have the power to bring life or to bring death. Words, when peppered with the voice of Heaven, have the ability to restore faith, to restore hope, and to restore life. Ezekiel demonstrates the results from prophesying. Prophecy can be thought of as speaking life-giving words from the Lord. We can learn some important things about life-giving words and how to speak them from the Prophet. If we can activate these into our lives, we can bring hope and life to the world.


#1. Life-giving words evoke amazement

Ezekiel’s vision draws upon all of the senses. First, there is the spoken word. Then sounds overwhelm the ears as the bones rattle. Then the eyes are amazed by the flying of bones. The scene is compelling and fully engaging. When the story was told to people sitting around the campfire, no doubt there was an intensity, an excitement, a power in telling it. The vision shows them that they can again experience the fullness of life. The Lord uses this powerful and creative imagery to increase energy and evoke amazement in the people. Ezekiel’s vision would have been like watching a movie for the ancient Israelites. In the mind’s eye, the story begins to release creativity and imagination.

They are most effective when they are creative. The voice of heaven is most powerful when it overflows beyond the spoken word into other artistic mediums. The arts are a powerful way in which creative words bring amazement. Have you ever watched a movie and you got excited to do something as you watched it? Movies, songs, books, and other art forms have the ability to inspire and evoke the possibility of hope. They create an alternative reality, a picture of a better future. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe is a powerful example of a prophetic book that changed a nation

The creativity of a life-giving word opens us up to world full of amazement. God wants our life-giving words to evoke amazement. Amazement awakes the senses. It transforms a dull and boring world into a world full of possibility. When the world has lost its wonderment, we lose energy, we lose hope. It is easy to give up when the world around us seems impossible. When a creativity word evokes amazement, it mobiles us. We find ourselves filled with an energy that we didn’t realize was there.


#2. Life-Giving words create energy.

Ezekiel’s prophesy brings dry bones together and reassembles dead bodies and then fills them with the breathe of God. They transform from a mass of bodies into a vast multitude of living, energized people. The vision shows the people of Israel that they will have the energy to be brought back together by the Lord. With the Holy Spirit, they will not grow faint or weary but will be strengthened and energized by the Lord to continue on.

We see that life-giving words bring energy to people. They are like 50 degree weather in February. This past week Caleb and Sienna were literally running laps around the house. There was pep in their step. There is something about beautiful, warm and sunny weather that energizes people. By the same token, gloomy, cold and icky weather can bring a person’s spirits down. Words can affect people in the same way. A negative word can bring people down, but a positive word

Hearing the voice of heaven brings energy to your spirit. We often have an internal voice that brings us down, that is critical, that is negative. I have always had sympathy for people who speak negatively and criticize others because I know if they speak those things outwardly the internal voice is even more negative. We need to release the negative voices and begin to listen to those positive, life-giving voices in our life. We need to accept compliments as compliments. We need to receive encouragements as encouragements. Don’t be the person who responds to the compliment, “You look nice today,” with “Oh, so I didn’t look good yesterday?” Don’t be that person!

The Lord wants to speak life into you and over you. He has a purpose and a plan for your life. You cannot and will not accomplish it if you are down, depressed and drained of energy. If you cannot and will not believe the voice of heaven, you will never be energized to do God’s work and to be made into His image. When you hear and speak words of life, can change your family, your workplace, your community and even beyond.


AN INVITATION

The prophet’s words of life must be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is the power of the Holy Spirit to releases creativity. It is the power of the Holy Spirit the evokes amazement. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that creates energy. The Holy Spirit is released when we speak words of life into our environment. They enable lives to be rebuilt and pulled back together.

We are left with a choice, an invitation from the Lord. Ezekiel vision begins with a question from the Lord. The question is an invitation to partner with the Lord. Ezekiel makes the choice to accept the invitation and brings hope to Israel. Likewise, Dr. King accepted the Lord’s invitation and mobilized a nation to work towards equality. God invites each of us to partner in his work.

You have a choice as to whether we will partner with God. You have a choice to step out in faith and speak life-giving words to ourselves, our neighbors, and our community. You can choose whether we will receive the Holy Spirit. You can choose whether we will listen to the voice of heaven. You can choose whether we will be amazed and energized. You have a choice.

Let’s pray.