Rut, Rot or Revival

Ezek 37:10
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and
stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
KJ V
Intro:
1 (Ezek 37) is a classic picture of Gods ability to breathe new life into the spiritually dead.
2 Let me explain my title this morning. We can continue in the rut, this will lead to rot
(Ezekiels dry bones did not have flesh on the bones), are we can choose to be revived.
Summary:
1 In (Ezek.37:1) Ezekiel said; The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the
spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones. (In this
valley RUT was bones ROT.).
2 In (Vs2) we find that there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
(After something goes through the process of rotting, it then dries out). This RUT turned into
ROT.
3 In (Vs3) Ezekiel was ask this question; Can these bones live? Ezekiel answered by saying;
O Lord GOD, thou knowest. (The good news this morning is this, God can pull you out of your
rut, He can take dry rotten bones and make them live again).
4 In (Vs4) Ezekiel was told to Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones,
hear the word of the LORD. (The only hope that we have this morning is to hear the Word of the
Lord).
5 In (Vs5) it says; Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to
enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 In (Vs6) it says, I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put
breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' " (Here we
see that God is able to take something that has rotten and put life back in it). And ye shall live;
and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
7 In (Vs10) it says; So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and
they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
8 These bones were in a rut (Valley), the flesh had rotten off the bones, the bones we not just
dry, they were very dry, but yet revival came and these bone became an exceeding great army.
Many Christians are currently in one of three stages:
Today I want to look at each of them, evaluate them, and after evaluating where we are as
individuals and as a churchhopefully move forward to where God desires for us to be.
Lets look at those 3 places now.
The first stage is a rut.
1 We can choose to be in a rut. (We choose to stay in the rut).
Ezek 37:1
The LORD took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley filled
with bones.
NLT
2 We need to evaluate what is meant by a valley here.
3 We all go through valleys, but if we are not careful, our valley will turn into rot.
4 The valley Ezekiel referring to is a valley as in Death Valley. It is a valley with no life.
5 For a Christian a rut can be the early stages of decline, no forward progression.
(Think of it this wayin your vehicle, if you are in a rut you are stuck and just spinning your
tires; getting nowhere fast).
6 Someone said it like this; How can you be so dead, when youve been so well fed, Jesus rose
from the grave, and you, you cant even get out of bed,
Only one way to get out of a rutyouve got to will and work your way out of it.
Phil 2:12-13
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now
much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
KJ V
7 We are not working for our salvation, we are working out our salvation.
8 Are you in a rut? Are we as a church in a rut? Are you ready to get out of it?
The second stage is rot.
(We can choose to stay in the rut, if we do we choose to rot).
Ezek 37:2
2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open
valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
KJ V
1 Why do I say rot in terms of the dry bonesbecause bones dont just become bones.
After death takes place, it takes time for the natural process of decay to take placeand what
takes place prior to bones becoming simply bones can be described as rot.
2 The key thing to remember here is rot comes after death.
3 A sign of rot is becoming hearers of the word and not doers.
J ames 1:22
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
KJ V
4 Are you giving as much as your are taking?
Is the Word that you are hearing from God getting legs and making in an impact in someone
elses life?
If not, you are simply hearing and not doingand you are in need of revival.
Weve look at two options, the option of being in a rutnot going anywhere and not doing any
good, the option of being in rot
(The good news is this, we can choose revival).
We can choose revival
Ezek 37:10
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and
stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
KJ V
Revival can also be defined as the restoration of Gods people after a period of indifference and
decline.
Revival is not just a yearly event we can and should have our church calendarsit is a time for
us to call upon God, with humility and repentance, seeking Gods face and asking for Him to
heal.
2 Chron 7:14-15
14 I f my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek
my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their
sin, and will heal their land.
15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this
place.
KJ V
Ill be honestI need revival.
Ps 85:6
6 Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
NI V
Im ready, are you?
The life that God can bring to those dry bones, He can give to you today.