Live, Alive: Live Alive and Stand

Last weekend, I asked you the most PERSONAL question of this entire series: “Are YOU alive at all?” And you responded by stopping by the bookstore and asking for a bible – we gave away so many bibles last weekend – our team had a hard time keeping up!

 Some of you were BORN a SECOND time last weekend…SIGN up to get baptized so people can celebrate with you! Because…God is NOT finished with you.

Today, we are going to discover what it means to Live Alive… and STAND.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NLT2)
1  The LORD took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley filled with bones. 2  He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. 3  Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign LORD,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.” 4  Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD! 5  This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! 6  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.’” 7  So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. 8  Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them. 9  Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’” 10  So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army. 11  Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’ 12  Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13  When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the LORD. 14  I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the LORD has spoken!’”

Look at how COMPLETE this miracle is. God did not stop at the rattling. He did not stop when bone connected to bone. He did not stop at muscles… or flesh… or skin. He did not even stop at BREATH. God kept going until an ENTIRE valley of corpses was STANDING on its feet… like an army ready for orders.

Why?

Because…

God does not do things halfway
(1 Kings 8:10-11, Phil 1:6)

When God does something, it is never just BARELY enough. It is not mediocre. It is COMPLETE.

I admit – sometimes I can tackle a project at the house and knock it out quickly – and other times – I hit a snag – it get’s more complicated than I thought it was going to be – and the project is unfinished.

Our Master Shower sprung a leak inside the wall. I cut out the drywall.  Identified the leak. Replaced the line…And over one year later…I still haven't patched the drywall. I just shoved some bookshelves in front of it. That is incomplete and halfway.

Often, we start STRONG. But we fade FAST. Yet when GOD starts something… He ALWAYS FINISHES it.

If God had stopped at complete skeletons… it still would have been impressive.
If God had stopped at assembled bodies… it would have been remarkable.
But God was not going for IMPRESSIVE. God was going for COMPLETE. And that has ALWAYS been His pattern.

For example, when King Solomon finished building the Temple in Jerusalem, the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant into the Holy Place. And when the priests came out… listen to what happened…

1 Kings 8:10-11 (NLT2)
10  When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. 11  The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple.

The glory of God did not LEAK into the Temple. It did not TRICKLE in. It FILLED the Temple… so completely that the priests could not even keep working. God shut down the whole service… just by SHOWING UP. What I am trying to say, is that when God fills something… He FILLS it. AND God takes the SAME approach… with YOU…

Philippians 1:6 (NLT2)
6  And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

God did not save you to leave you HALF-done. The good work God began in you… He will FINISH. Not halfway. FINISHED.

Memorize this verse and meditate on it…because we are still in the MIDDLE of the process…and our lives can often FEEL unfinished.

That leads us to the second truth…

The rattling is just the beginning
(Gen 2:2, John 19:30, Rev 21:6)

Can you imagine the SOUND Ezekiel heard? Thousands of bones vibrating… sliding… snapping into place…Now, if I were Ezekiel, I might be thinking… Yes! The miracle is HAPPENING! But the rattling was just the BEGINNING of the miracle. And…when God begins to work in our lives…sometimes we treat the RATTLING like the FINISH LINE.

Your marriage has a couple of good weeks.
You make it thirty days without a drink.
You pray for the first time in YEARS… and something inside you FLICKERS.

That is the rattling. And it is WONDERFUL. But God is not finished.

Or…

We hear the rattling…we see the beginning…but then progress slows …

Your spouse snaps at you and falls back into old patterns…
Sinful habits creep back into your life…
And you think…“I knew nothing would really change.”

Let me reassure you…

GOD IS STILL WORKING. He just had not yet FINISHED. He is STILL in the process. Don't mistake PARTIAL progress for God's FINISHED work. And FINISHING… is God's signature move.

In Genesis 2 – God FINISHED the work of CREATION. He did not create half of the Galaxy then take a break. At the Cross – Jesus FINISHED the work of FORGIVENESS…as he died…he said…”it IS finished.” He did not say, “I finished MOST of it…” He said… “IT IS FINISHED.”

And the Bible ENDS with God finishing. In Revelation 21:6, Jesus said: “It is finished…”

From BEGINNING to the END…

God finished CREATION.
Jesus finished REDEMPTION.
And one day… God will finish EVERYTHING He has promised.

The God who finishes UNIVERSES…
The God who finishes SALVATION…
The God who will FINISH HISTORY itself…
…is NOT going to leave YOU half-done.

So, if your life feels stuck between the rattling and the breathing…WAIT in FAITH.  By FAITH continue to BELIEVE GOD is a FINISHER and He is going to FINISH the work he BEGAN. And recognize that as GOD finishes the work he is doing in your life – your LIFE is NOT going to look like it once did. New patterns are going to emerge. Change is going to reconstruct your HABITS. God didn't breathe life into you so you could keep living like a corpse on a valley floor…

You will…

Live Alive…and stand
(Psalm 40:1-3, Ephesians 6:11 & 14)

These BODIES… STOOD UP. God did not raise them to lie back down in the valley. God did not raise them to wander around aimlessly like… well… the walking dead. God raised them to STAND. Standing is a posture of PURPOSE. An army standing at attention is an army that is READY.

Ready for orders.
Ready to move.
Ready to serve the GOD who raised them.

King David wrestled with some dark seasons in his life.  He understood despair. Sadness. Hopelessness…Yet – listen to what happened as God finished the work of rescuing David in his life

Psalm 40:1-3 (NLT2)
1  I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. 2  He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. 3  He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.

The same PROGRESSION we see in the Valley is the same PATTERN we see unfold in David’s life…

God lifted David OUT of the pit.
God set his feet on SOLID GROUND.
God steadied him as he WALKED.
And then God gave him a NEW SONG…
…and MANY would SEE what God had done… and put their TRUST in the LORD.

When God puts you back on your FEET… people NOTICE.

Your coworkers notice.
Your family notices.
Your grandkids notice.

Somebody in your life is WATCHING to find out if God REALLY changes lives…STANDING is your STORY of overcoming!

But let me warn you… the moment you are back on your feet… the enemy will try to knock you DOWN.

That is why Paul tells followers of Jesus in Ephesisans 6:11 &14 to STAND YOUR GROUND.

Ephesians 6:11, 14 (NLT2)
11  Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.14  Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.

Notice… Paul does not say, “Put on God's armor so you can HIDE.” He says put it on so you can STAND FIRM and STAND your GROUND.

When the old temptation comes back around to lay down in the VALLEY… STAND.
When the old DISCOURAGMENT whispers, “THINGS will never change…”
When your SPOUSE falls back into old PATTERNS…
When your family faces a diagnosis…
a layoff…

REFUSE to LAY DOWN and …STAND your ground!

And TAKE note that these BODIES did not stand INDIVIDUALLY. They did not STAND alone. They stood up as an ARMY. They stood SHOULDER to SHOULDER. That is why it is so important to GATHER for WORSHIP every weekend. When you FEEL tired. When you FEEL worn out. When you FEEL alone…

The people BESIDE you in WORSHIP help HOLD you up…This is why we WORSHIP weekly.

CONNECT CONSISTENTLY. SERVE regularly…And LOVE people every day.

WE must not STAND alone.  We stand as ONE. We stand UNFINISHED.  We stand IN PROCESS.  But we STAND as ONE.

Not rattled… RAISED.
Not LAYING down… STANDING.

Maybe you are somewhere in the MIDDLE of a miracle. Don't mistake partial progress for God's finished work. The rattling has started… but the breath has not come. Do not quit. God does not do things halfway… and He is not going to START with you.

Maybe somewhere along the way… you LAID back DOWN. You are saved… but you are no longer on your FEET. Today is the day to get back on your feet.

STAND and INTENTIONALLY invite GOD to continue the PROCESS he has BEGAN in your LIFE. 

 When you STAND – you STAND with FAITH believing that GOD is not finished working in YOUR spouse. Your children. Your FUTURE.