We call out to dry bones, come alive, come alive

We call out to dead hearts, come alive, come alive

Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise

We call out to dry bones, come alive

From “Come Alive” by Lauren Daigle

We are going to conduct a revival over the next three weeks. Here at the Catch. Online. “Are you crazy?” you say. “What do you know about revivals? Were you raised Pentecostal and you never told us?”

Actually, I know very little about revivals except to expect the Holy Spirit to show up and for God to do something evident in our lives. The Holy Spirit has already been invited. I haven’t heard an R.S.V.P. yet, but I’m sure He will come. Jesus said that God would never withhold the Holy Spirit from anyone who asks.

Oh, by the way, by inviting Him we aren’t saying He isn’t already here. He is here, in our lives already, for all those who believe. So what’s a revival then? Let me guess. It’s a shaking up so that what remains is solid. It’s a fire — a burning off of dross. It’s a pruning — a cutting away of dead wood. It’s something new we haven’t experienced before. It’s the Holy Spirit actually doing something in our lives. It’s real. It results in a transformation from which we will never be the same again. That’s what I think. I also think that if you expect it, you will see it. If you don’t or if you doubt, you probably won’t.

Though we will be in the last three chapters of Hebrews throughout this experience, we are going to start off today with a well-known story from Ezekiel 37 about the Valley of the Dry Bones. In this story, which is a prophesy about how the Lord is going to restore the dead nation of Israel, God sends Ezekiel to the Valley of the Dry Bones and tells him to prophesy to the bones. As he does, the bones start to rattle and come together to form skeletons of people. And as he continues to speak, sinew and muscle, soft tissue and skin form on the skeletons until they are fully formed human beings, “but there was no breath in them.” Then God said to Ezekiel; “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army” (Ezekiel 37:8-10).

I would say a revival is all about the breath of God. What about us? Are we a bunch of dry bones lying on the ground, or do we have flesh and skin on our bones, or are we on our feet with the breath of God in us? 

Lauren Daigle has written a worship song about this story that cries out, “Breathe, O breath of God, now breathe.” 

I have selected this song as a theme song for our revival, because our revival is all about the breath of God from the four winds. You may be dry bones or you may be fully formed, but you can do nothing without the breath of God. Revival is a fresh wind from four corners of the earth that will prepare us for whatever lies ahead in these troublesome days. “Breathe, O breath of God, now breathe.”

I want you to listen to this song and save it where you can easily access it from any of your devices because I want you to listen to it often and use it for your own worship. The words are below. Click on the title for a YouTube version of the song. And get ready for something special. 

Oh yes, and mark your calendar for the next three Wednesday nights at 6pm Pacific for a special Zoom meeting related to our revival with special guests. You won’t want to miss it. More on that later.

Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly.

Come Alive

by Lauren Daigle

Through the eyes of men, it seems there’s so much we have lost

As we look down the road where all the prodigals have walked

One by one, the enemy has whispered lies

And led them off as slaves

But we know that You are God, Your’s is the victory

We know there is more to come

That we may not yet see

So with the faith You’ve given us

We’ll step into the valley unafraid, yeah

As we call out to dry bones, come alive, come alive

We call out to dead hearts, come alive, come alive

Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise

We call out to dry bones, come alive

God of endless mercy, god of unrelenting love

Rescue every daughter, bring us back the wayward son

And by Your spirit, breathe upon them, show the world that You alone can save

You alone can save

As we call out to dry bones, come alive, come alive

We call out to dead hearts, come alive, come alive

Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise

We call out to dry bones, come alive

So breathe, oh, breath of God

Now breathe, oh, breath of God

Breathe, oh, breath of God, now breathe

Breathe, oh, breath of God

Now breathe, oh, breath of God

Breathe, oh, breath of God, now breathe

As we call out to dry bones, come alive, come alive

We call out to dead hearts, come alive, come alive

Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise

We call out to dry bones, come alive

We call out to dry bones, come alive

Oh, come alive