Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 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.” Ezekiel 37:4-6 ESV

     Only God can take something that is dead and make it live again. There are many things in life which are impossible. Making a valley of dry bones come together, placing flesh upon them, and breathing breath into them would be at the top of the list. But that which is impossible with man is always possible with God. In fact impossible, does not exist with God. Jesus spoke these words in Luke 18:27, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” So as we read this passage from Ezekiel, what are some important elements to experiencing the impossible?

You HEAR the WORD of the LORD

     What is it that dominates your thoughts? Many times our minds are cluttered with the noises of the world so that it is difficult to hear what is really important. I’ve been to large cities where the sounds of traffic, car horns and the general rush of people clutter the air with noise. Noise that would drown out the beauty of birds singing or the sound of a gentle breeze blowing in the trees or the flow of water in a gentle stream over the rocks….. if those things were there. You could also be in the middle of a park void of the noises of the city with all the afore mentioned and still not hear the beauty of God’s creation if your mind is cluttered with the noise of useless thoughts. It can be difficult to still our thoughts in the world in which we live. Difficult, but not impossible. Yet being still is of upmost importance when hearing the word of God speaking to us. Psalm 46:10 God says, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nation, I will be exalted in the earth!” Don’t miss this!!!! Just as birds sing, the breeze blows, and the water flows, these things all happen whether you hear them or not. God will and is being exalted, and the last place you want to finally hear and know this is when it is too late. So the first step to seeing the impossible is to hear.

Behold /See What God Does

     Could you imagine being an eye witness of a valley of dry bones coming to life? If you read a little past the above mentioned verses in Ezekiel, you will see the command for Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones to come alive. Ezekiel did, and he witnessed the bones do exactly what God said would happen. In life we can see God do the impossible when we listen / hear and live the truth of the Bible. In many cases you will never see God move until you do what He speaks to you from His word… the Bible. Do you want to see God work? Do what he says and behold the impossible, not in someone else’s life but your own. Back to the first point in reference with this thought, “But be doers off the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 ESV

Know That He Is Lord 

     He is King of kings and Lord of lords, there is none like Him! God does not ask for our direction or opinions. God is sovereign in all that he does, and in love we should honor, respect, and devote our lives to Him. Ah Lord God, it is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. Jeremiah 32:17 ESV He is Lord over all creation and everything we hear, see, and do that is worthy of worship and honor should be offered up to Him by praising his name. I will give to the Lord thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing to the NAME of the Lord, the Most High. Psalm 7:17 ESV ….. Sing praises to the LORD, O you saints, and give thanks to his holy NAME. Psalms 30:4 ESV …. Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his NAME; give to him glorious praise! Psalms 66:1-2 ESV …. Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing to his NAME, for it is pleasant! Psalms 135:3 ESV Let them praise the NAME of the Lord, for his NAME alone is exalted; his majesty is above the earth and heaven. Psalms 148:13 ESV We know the name of the Jesus is most precious for God has made it so. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the NAME that is above every name, so that at the NAME of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-10 ESV

     This is how revival can begin in the life of all who seek and desire to experience His presence.

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David

     And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. Mark 10:13-16 ESV

     This week we have the greatest opportunity afforded a church. To minister intentionally to children from the first through the sixth grades. I understand this is something that is done all year long in the church but, when you have a Vacation Bible School it could be compared to having a mini church camp at home for the children. We pour into the lives of these children everyday for three hours the good news of the gospel. We teach them that Jesus loves them more than life. We know this to be true for He gave his life as a sacrifice so that our sins could be forgiven. So now comes the question, “How are you to be involved?”

BRING CHILDREN:

     There are many stories in the Bible in which people experienced and did great things. One of the greatest things, however, was when parents, grandparents or whoever they were, brought children to Jesus. You read the Bible story about the sea parting so that more than a million people could cross on dry ground, manna from heaven to feed them, and water pouring from a rock providing enough water to quench the thirst of all these people. Remember the generation that experienced these things did not enter into the promise land, but their children did. This page couldn’t begin to cover all the great events and miracles of the Bible but, the desire to bring children to Jesus should not be passed over as just another biblical account. If you see a miracle, you will talk about it forever, and it will have the greatest impact upon only those who experienced it. But if you bring a child to Jesus it will not only impact that child, but will be a living miracle of God’s grace that could touch the lives of many through their lifetime.

BECOME AS A LITTLE CHILD:

     Jesus said when speaking about the children, “For to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (vs 14 ESV) Think about this for minute…. we are to become like children in respect to heaven…. totally dependent. When is the last time you heard of a small child going off to work for eight plus hours a day to provide for the family? Obviously you haven’t, so how does that child survive? They survive by trusting the one who does provide. Left to themselves they would become sick, starved and eventually die. So it is with the one who enters into heaven, they are to be totally dependent upon the provision of grace and mercy from the heavenly Father. Dependent in every area of life. So this week, as we should every day, come as a child in our teaching, praying, and all we do, knowing it all depends upon the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of every child God allows us to minister to.

BECOME THE ARMS OF JESUS:

     Be a servant used by God to touch and bless these precious children this week, whether you will be serving directly with the children or indirectly through prayer. VBS is a church wide event and requires everyone’s participation for it to be a success. Some of you will not be able to physically be present, but how very important is your prayerful support. Set your alarm clocks or whatever means you need to remember to pray during the 6:00 to 8:30 hour each evening this week. Jesus laid his hands on the children and blessed them, and I wonder….. what did the rest of their lives upon this earth look like? We will never know this side of heaven, but I would dare to say they were never the same as they experience the touch of the Master’s hand.

     I heard over the years many time the phrase, “Why doesn’t God do something?” This week He is. He is using us to minister to children that he one day may use to change the world. Many of you know Billy Graham as the evangelist who has affected the world in sharing the gospel of Jesus. Who were his teachers as a child? Who was his pastor? Who was it that prayed for him? How big was the church he attended? Unless you read his autobiography, most likely, you would not be able to answer those questions. My point is this; this is a very important time in our church this week. Don’t let it slip by unnoticed in your days, for we never know how God may chose to do great things in the life of the church this week.

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Psalms 33:12 ESV

 “God bless America, land that I love. Stand beside her, and guide her thru the night with a light from above.” The words just written are words of a song written in 1938 by Irving Berlin. In many ways this should be more than just a song, but a prayer request to God for our nation. With such a prayer request should come the desire to be a people pleasing to God.

What does it mean to be pleasing to God?

 YOU LOVE HIM:

     And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and all your strength. Mark 12:30 ESV

     God is not to be a second thought in our lives or someone just to be tolerated but passionately loved with thanksgiving for all the wonderful blessings of life He has given us. He walks with us everyday and knows us by name. His love for us is beyond measure! In return we love Him by praising his Holy name, a name which is above every name. We love Him by keeping his commandments. We love Him by serving Him wherever He has planted us.

 WE LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR:

     The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Mark 12:31 ESV

This doesn’t mean you love just those who love you, but you love as Christ has loved you. Jesus lived the example he wanted us to live out loud in the world. He always did the will of his Father which included Him dying for the sins of the world. Remember in the garden the statement Jesus made just before he was led away to be crucified, “Not what I will but what you will.” Mark 14:36 ESV It is God’s will that we love one another as Christ has loved us. (Ephesians 4:1-2)

 WE WALK HUMBLY

     God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. James 4:6-7 ESV

     Anything in our life worthy of thanksgiving is a gift of God, and we should give thanks in all things. Except for the precious grace of God, everything about us would be worthless. We must alway remember that, “In him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28 ESV God alone is worthy of praise! Let us always remember we are who we have been as a nation because of God’s guidance. If we cease to recognize God and all he has done for us, we will fall. So as we sing let us pray, “God bless America,” and may we live to show that we are serious in wanting God’s blessing on America.

Because of His grace ~ Pastor David