Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III 
November 24, 2024

Ezekiel 37:1-10 NKJV 
The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. 9 Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

I.            INTRODUCTION

1. Whatever your current situation, understand the importance of perseverance. Don’t give up.
2. Sometimes, in the midst of a situation, we forget that God is in control.
3. Your life is a book being written and have seen that people will give up on you during certain chapters of that book. Know that God is in control.
4. God is always at work behind the scenes, making moves on our behalf. God is turning it around for you.
5. Things look rough right now but know that it won’t always be like this. God has a plan to get you out of it.
6. The hand of God is moving in your life like never before. God is going to protect that which concerns you.
7. Everyone has heard this story about Ezekiel in the valley of the dry bones. His name alone means strengthen.
8. He was born in a priestly home in Jerusalem. He was taken captive by Babylon. In Chapter 1, we see that was 30 yrs old. Ezekiel 1:1 says1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.- This scripture indicates that Ezekiel might have been 30 yrs old when he started his ministry. This is the same age Jesus was when he started his ministry.
9. Ezekiel calls himself a prophet of God. He has these visions. He is known as the photographic prophet because of his vision driven descriptions.
10. The first vision Ezekiel had was of storm winds, visions of angels, and vision of a Divine Throne. This would symbolize the presence of God being with them during their captivity.
11. He was living by the river in Babylon. The role of a prophet was to watch over the people. He kept telling them that they had brought the captivity on themselves with their disobedience to God.
12. He even predicted the fall of Jerusalem. Ezekiel began to prophesy the restoration process after the fall of Babylon. A lot of us have chapters of our lives that we are not proud of, but God still loves us and doesn’t give up on us.
13. Ezekiel sees this valley full of dry bones. It represents the despair of God’s people. It also shows:
    1. Restoration – No matter what it looks like, God will restore.
    2. The Breath of God (ruach, spirit, wind). – Represents the power of the Holy Spirit.
    3. The is Visions – God can raise you up, when people say it is over.

II.            WE ALL HAVE BROKEN SEASONS

• You will go through seasons of brokenness. You will have seasons where you will experience, loss, pain, and many other things.
• Sometimes you might even experience seasons of financial setbacks. Brokenness can happen in a variety of ways.

A.   Broken Season Are About Disconnection 

1. When you think about it, these bones were broken and disconnected in the valley.
2. The valley represents a place of isolation.

B.   Broken Season Are About Despair 

1. It just takes a second to break a leg or arm, but it can take months for it to heal.
2. When you break something, you don’t get to choose when it heals either. We try to carry weighty things, but we have not healed yet. God will not trust you with weighty things when you have not healed.
3. When you break an arm or leg, they will give you a s cast or sling, so that you can keep it still. You got to be still so you that you can heal and know that He is God.
4. The enemy wants you to think you will be in this valley forever. Stop making excuses and admit that you need God to breath on your situation.

III.            I NEED GOD TO BREATH ON MY SITUATION

• Genesis 2:7 says 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. – God made Adam, but Adam didn’t have life until God breath life in him. You are the breath of God (ruach). Your body is just a shell.
• Your flesh cannot enter into immortality or heaven. We are spirits and therefore must worship God in spirit and in truth.
• Wherever God breaths, this is where the spirit of God is. 2 Timothy 3:16 says 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, – All scripture is breathed on by God. This is what makes Gods word incorruptible!.

A.   You Must Speak God’s Word Over Your Situation 

1. There is no breath without the word. There is no wind without the word.
2. God tells Ezekiel to speak to the bones. You should never underestimate God’s word. When you speak his word, you are coming into alignment with every purpose of God.
3. We like Ezekiel, must speak those things that are not as thought they were. When you speak Gods word, things happen!
4. When you speak God’s word
   1. This Represents Our Faith. – We know that God will take care of us.
   2. Spiritual Focus – We are intentional about God’s will.
   3. Secure Future – His word does not return unto Him void. His words have power!
5. God’s word was so powerful, He created everything with His words. If you understand God’s word, we will stop worrying ourselvesto death.

B.   You Can’t Make It Without Him 

1. You have to request the wind. The bones couldn’t be what they were supposed to be, unless God’s wind comes.
2. We have concluded that we can’t make it without Him. In him we move and have our being!

IV.            GOD IS ABOUT TO BRING THINGS TOGETHER SUDDENLY

• Ezekiel prophesied and something happened. Faith without works is dead. We do what we can do, and God will do what we can’t do.
• God will do it and when He does, He will do it suddenly.
• How do you know God is moving?

A.   God Had To Shake Things Up 

1. There was rattling and a shaking. Before your breakthrough, there will be rattling and shaking. This allows you to get yourself right, before the breath of God gets there.
2. If you remember every breakthrough you had, you will remember that you had a shaking first.
   1. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas chains came off, after the shaking. God is shaking stuff both away from you and towards you.

B.   God Works From The Inside To The Outside 

1. Ezekiel said he saw bone come to bone, sinew come to sinew (which is muscle), and flesh come to flesh. God starts on the inside first. He is not worried about the look on the outside. God is worried about your inside.
   1. What good does it do to be a name brand hat, when your head is not right.
2. Skin and tissue covered the bones and muscle. What does this represent? This is decomposition in reverse. Synthesis is decomposition in reverse.
   1. What looked like it was decomposing, came back together. God wants you to know that it is all about to come back together!
3. When the word went forth, the wind blew. Wind makes things go looking for stuff. God made sure everything got where it needed to be.

V.            IT’S TIME FOR THE BRIGADE TO STAND UP

• The bones were dead in the valley. God reversed the decompose process.

A.   It’s Time To Get Up 

1. When they came back to life, they were informed to stand up. Why? Remember when Lazarus was in the grave? When God told Lazarus to wake up, he had to come out of the tomb.
2. Lazarus woke up, but he was still in the tomb. You can be woke, but still be in a dead situation. You have to stand up and get out of that dead season!
3. Time to stop complaining and whining. It’s time for you to get up!!

B.   Never Forget Who You Are 

1. This is the children of Israel. They were a mighty army. You are not a push over! You are God’s child! You are a soldier! You are a warrior! You have survived most things that others could not have!
2. God gave you his wind and all you have to do is give him his wind back! Let everything thing that has breath, praise the Lord!
3. God is about to bring you back to where you used to be. God is about to give you your passion back. You have too much to do for God, to be lost in the valley! It won’t always be like this!