Believe God's Word and Speak Life

Summary

The service opened with a call to stand watch and listen for the voice of God (Habakkuk 2:1). It was underscored by a sobering poem about a young man whom the Spirit prompted to tell a dying woman about Christ, yet he kept putting it off until later - and the chance was gone forever. Sometimes obedience must happen now, or never.

The main message came from Ezekiel 37, the valley of dry bones - a picture of the spiritually dead people and the dry, hopeless situations we walk among every day. God did not tell the prophet merely to pray over the bones; He told him to prophesy, to speak God's word directly into the lifeless scene. We are quick to believe a doctor's diagnosis or a boss's verdict, but slow to trust and act on the word of the Lord, our great Physician.

Using Moses striking the rock instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20) and Jesus calling Lazarus out of the tomb by name (John 11), the preacher urged believers to obey God's word exactly and to declare it specifically, never adding to it or trying to improve on it. When we receive a word from the Lord, we must hold it, obey it, and proclaim it in faith - especially over our unsaved loved ones, trusting that God still raises dry bones to life.

Key Points

• Stand watch like the prophet (Habakkuk 2:1), learn to recognize God's voice, and obey it without delay.
• God's word is true and will surely come to pass when we actually believe it.
• We often trust human voices - doctors, employers, the world - more than the voice of God.
• Don't only pray over dead situations; speak and prophesy God's word directly into them.
• Obey exactly: Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it and forfeited the Promised Land.
• Be specific in faith, as Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave by name.
• Declare God's promise of life over your unsaved loved ones, for He desires all to be saved.