Ezekiel Chapter 37 verses 1 to 5:
• Verse 1 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.
• Verse 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.
• Verse 3 And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
• Verse 4 Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.
• Verse 5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye SHALL LIVE

Your first reaction might be one of ghastly disgust as you might mutter “What a Topic”? Well I would feel somewhat disappointed if the title did not get a reaction albeit one of surprise or even disgust.

While riding to work one morning this week, my heart ever searching for an article for this column (And just thoughts for the day) was horrified when this title pounded in my heart. The more I thought about it the more inspired I felt to see what develops from the title. I bounced the title off June (My wife) and she in adding her wisdom said that the
“Smell of Death in our world should be attributed to the STENCH of Death in our Churches”.

Walk with me a while as we visit the “Valley of Bones” (Your Church).

While reading this article do remember the portion in the Bible where Jesus took a whip and cleaned out the temple. Try and identify if our churches qualify for such a visitation and a cleaning?

Please also bear in mind that if we want to get rid of the spider webs we need to kill or deal with the spider. The issues of death that we will touch on in the church are the webs BUT what and who is the spider?

Is there any hope that our preachers (The Spiders?) will possess the spirituality and insight to recognise this disastrous condition and clean out the temple and once again cause the bones to live?

I personally do not think so and what I believe is that God will need to come down and perform a wondrous work (In our churches) which could and most probably will have a long list of casualties as preachers who will not hear duck for cover and pursue their own agenda. There will be those sincere hearts among preachers that will submit to God (Not the NEW thing they are all searching for) and be part of bringing us all back to God where we hear Him say “This is the Way, Walk ye in it”

To illustrate the reality of the title and the condition we find ourselves in allow me to show you the issues:

1. The condition outside the church which “Smells of Death”
2. The state within the Church which is the “Stench of Death”
1. Outside the Church:
• Immorality has become the accepted norm
• Homosexuality and Lesbianism now an accepted lifestyle with churches marrying the couples. It will not be long before some Dynamic Charismatic preacher ( Who Knows it might be Uncle Ray who makes this a first) gets a word from God they we can have a GAY preacher.
• Our leaders raping women, committing fraud, taking bribes and getting away with it.
• The waywardness of our precious youth and younger children.
• The lack of respect for life

And so the list can go on and on. You can choose to call me and an article of this nature to be negative and this is always going to be your democratic right (A principle that has created havoc and is permitting all the permissiveness in a world desperately in need of help)

2. Stench of Death inside the Church.

• Firstly what ever we have mentioned above as the smell of death in the world is alive and doing well in our churches. The sad thing is that it is also becoming acceptable as preachers not only make money out of the “Cause of God” but also fail to address the issues in a Biblical and Godly manner.
• While the world and Christians are dying and the stench of death reaching nauseating proportions our preachers are getting visions to: Change the name of the church and this is confirmed by God; plead for money on every occasion; place a price on every event and function which then caters for those that can afford it (Or do it on credit) locking out the poor and needy.
• We are not being challenged to a closer walk with God and people are joining church as just another club with no life changing experience.
• Again you and I can add to this list and our preachers will label us as negative or out of submission missing the new thing that God (Poor God getting the blame) is doing. None of these visions or new things dreamed up is having a lasting effect in our lives but we go from one into the next believing that this is the Plan of God”

Well we have spent enough time in the valley of Bones” and only God knows if and when these bones can live again.

One thing is sure and that is from the Heart of God He sends us this message:

• Verse 5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye SHALL LIVE

If you are a preacher entangled in the web of evil and have promoted and allowed this all to happen then have the “GUTS” to acknowledge your guilt and ask God for forgiveness and that Godly sorrow that works repentance (A turning away from). Start a new life for yourself, your family and the people of God. He will restore the years that the locusts have eaten.

If you are a victim inside or outside the church then take heart because God is going to Breath Life into the Dead Bones and the Valley (Our churches and our personal lives) will be a Valley of Life. Have an expectation to meet with God in what he will do to restore the church. Stop looking for a new thing which is an evil of the modern church and society AND rather have a readiness to submit to the REAL THING that God will bring about. We are presently conditioned to believe that all this rubbish in the church is of God so do be aware and ask God to protect you and to help you recognise it when He performs His act of mercy in the church.

  
Chapter one Promotions