Can Death Live Again?

Ezekiel 37:3

And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.

There are two types of works that a man will pastor. He will either start a church to be the pastor of that church, or he will take a dying church and try to make it live again. A church plant starts with such excitement and potential that though everyone knows it may take time to become something great, everyone believes it will become a great work. However, a dying or dead church rarely has the excitement and belief that it will become what it used to be.

God presented Ezekiel with the second type of work. God brought Ezekiel to a valley filled with bones. These bones were not just dry, but the Scriptures say they were very dry. God asked Ezekiel, can these bones live? Ezekiel’s answer was that God knew they could live. Ezekiel understood the power of God, and he understood that God could take a dry bone and make it live again.

You may be in a church that is dead or dying, but I can attest that the church can live again and thrive if you are willing to do what it takes to make it live again. When I took over the church that I pastor, it was not a thriving church, nor was it a church on the upswing; rather, it was a church filled with good people that was slowly dying with a handful of people. God took these people and turned them into a growing and thriving church in the Oklahoma City area. Four mindsets made the dead bones of our dying church live again.

First, do you believe the dead bones can live again? If you don't believe your church can be a thriving church, it most certainly will never live again. You must cross the threshold of doubt to believe a church can be a thriving church if that church has any hope of becoming a thriving church again. You have to believe the circumstances that brought your church to where it is are not too big for God to overcome and revive the work into a thriving church again.

Second, do you have a vision for the dry bones to live again? Without a vision, your church will continue to die. You must see your church thriving, the pews filled with people, the altars filled with souls getting saved and people getting right with God, and the baptistry waters being used every week if your church has any hope of living again. If you have no vision for your church to be a thriving church, you have no vision at all. There is nothing to work for if you have no vision.

Third, are you willing to do the work for the dry bones to live again? No church will become a thriving church without hard work. No church will become a thriving church on a few hours of work. The church staff must work eighty to ninety hours a week for the church to live again, and the lay people must treat the church as a second job and give their church ten to twenty hours a week if that church is to live again. No great church could have become great without the staff and people working many hours to see it grow.

Fourth, do you have the power for the dead bones to live again? It still takes God’s power for any church to become a thriving church. You can work long hours, but those hours become wasted hours if you are unwilling to spend the time in prayer begging for God’s power. God does give the increase to the church, but all of God’s people must work hard and get His power on their lives for this work to live and to see God give the increase to your church.