28 October 2012
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Ezekiel 37:1-14
Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NIV)
1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.
2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.
3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."
4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.
6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.
8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'"
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.'
12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.
14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'"
-- earlier this week, I woke up with two words echoing in my mind -- the remnants of a forgotten dream -- the vestige of a vision
-- for a long time, I could not dream -- so now, I pay attention to my dreams -- I try to remember them -- to absorb them -- to understand them -- in case there is a message from God
-- in this case I have no doubt that God was speaking -- the two words I heard were "Risen Church" -- those words continued to haunt me all week
-- I meditated on them -- I searched the scriptures -- I looked them up on the internet -- I even called friends of mine and asked them what they thought these words meant -- what message God might have been giving me
-- and every time I kept getting the same vision -- the same thought -- of dry bones in a valley being brought back to life
-- I knew immediately what passage in the Bible applied -- it was the passage we just read from Ezekiel 37 -- but what was the meaning? -- what was the purpose? -- why would God speak and say no more than "Risen Church"
-- for those of you who know me well, you know where my heart is in regards to the church in America today -- I am worried about the state of the church in America -- I am worried about the state of Christians in America
-- when I look around me, I literally see churches on every corner -- every flavor -- every tradition -- every liturgical style -- from Baptist to Methodist to Presbyterian and all the way to the independent, nondenominational churches -- over 200 churches in this small south Georgia city alone
-- but I look around and I have to ask the question, "So what? -- What effect are all of these churches having on our community? -- What effect are all of these churches having on society?"
-- Paul and Silas were accused of turning the world upside down with the gospel of Jesus -- but no one is ever going to accuse the church in America of doing the same thing today -- as I've pointed out before, we don't even live differently from those around us -- most Christians today don't reflect Christ -- they reflect our modern culture and hold fast to societal values more so than Christian values
-- in 2 Timothy 3:5, Paul warns Timothy about people like these -- "the time is coming," he wrote, "when you will see people who have a form of godliness but deny its power -- have nothing to do with them," he writes
-- I know what it's like to have a form of godliness without the power -- I've been there -- done that -- I've lived it in my own life -- I've experienced it in many churches -- and I see it when I look at the church in America today
-- we're like the walking dead -- we think we're alive -- we're doing all the things we think a good church should -- we're filled with people -- we're known for our activities and our programs -- we're applauded for our ministries -- we have a reputation for being a really vibrant church, when in reality we are dead, dead, dead -- we're like the church of Sardis in Revelation 3:2 who God told, "I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead"
-- I know this seems harsh -- I know this seems critical and judgmental -- but Jesus said in Matthew 7:16 that we would know them by their fruits -- that we would recognize true believers and true churches by the fruit they bore
-- if you're honest -- if you look at the church in America today -- if you compare our churches to the portrait of the early church that we see in the Bible -- can you say that we're bearing any fruit at all?
II. Scripture Lesson (Ezekiel 37:1-14)
-- over the last 2000 years the vibrant body of Christ that we see described in the New Testament has been replaced with an empty shell -- having a form of godliness but none of the power of God -- alive on the outside but spiritually dead on the inside
-- is it possible for the church in America to rise from the dead? -- is it possible for the church in America to live again?
-- the answer is right here in this passage from Ezekiel
-- look back at Ezekiel 37:1-3
Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NIV)
1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.
2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.
3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."
-- this passage in Ezekiel occurs at the same time as the passage from Jeremiah that we looked at last week
-- by this time, the nation of Israel had split up into two countries -- Israel to the north and Judah to the south -- but both countries had turned away from God and started worshiping foreign gods and relying on their own strength to save them -- and so God's judgment fell upon them
-- both the northern and southern kingdoms ended up in captivity in Babylon -- Nebuchadnezzar had burned both the city of Jerusalem and the temple of God and carried King Jehoiachin and the leaders and young men and women of Judah and Jerusalem into captivity in Babylon -- Ezekiel was one of those who was carried to Babylon
-- in these verses, Ezekiel writes that God brought him to a valley full of dry bones -- and as God led him back and forth among these bones, Ezekiel grasped what they represented -- they stood for the nation of Israel -- and they showed what God's people had become by rejecting the true worship of God for a form of godliness devoid of His power
-- notice that Ezekiel tells us these were dry bones -- everyone here knows that bones are living organisms -- when you break a bone, it will mend itself if you set it back in place -- and most of us are familiar with the medical practice of grafting bones -- inserting living pieces of bone from one person into another and having the entire bone grow back together -- bones are living organisms
-- but, we all recognize that bones die -- if they're removed from the body -- if they're separated too long from their source of life -- they lose all signs of life and dry out -- and once a bone dries out, it dies -- a dead bone cannot be repaired -- a dead bone cannot be grafted onto another bone
-- this is what happened to the nation of Israel -- they had turned from their source of life -- they had broken their attachment with the body -- with God -- and they had become dry and spiritually dead -- and this is what is happening to God's church in America today
-- after God showed Ezekiel this valley of dry bones, He asked Ezekiel the question that should be on our lips today -- "Can these bones live? -- Can this nation be revived? -- Can these people become spiritually alive again?"
-- to which Ezekiel answered, "only You know" -- God is the source of life and only God could revive these dry bones and make them live again
-- verse 4-8
4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.
6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.
8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
-- God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the dead bones -- to prophesy means to proclaim the word of God -- to speak God's word and God's life into a situation
-- God said, "Ezekiel, prophesy to these bones -- tell them that they will live again -- that I will bring life to the dead -- tell them that I will restore their faith -- that I will make them spiritually alive again"
-- and as Ezekiel proclaimed God's word, the bones came together -- tendons and flesh appeared on them -- skin covered them -- but look what was missing -- there was no breath
-- these dry bones looked alive -- if anyone had happened on this valley, they would have seen a valley full of living people -- but these restored bodies were still dead, dead, dead, because they lacked the breath of life -- the presence of God
-- that sounds a lot like our churches in America today, doesn't it? -- alive on the outside, but spiritually dead within
-- verse 9-10
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'"
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army.
-- the first time God had Ezekiel prophesy, he spoke to the dry bones of Israel -- but this time, God has Ezekiel prophesy to the Breath -- what does this mean?
-- this is a prayer for revival -- Ezekiel cries out to the Breath -- to the Spirit of God -- and asks that the Spirit enter the walking dead standing there on the valley floor and make them wholly alive again
-- and, as Ezekiel prayed, the Breath entered them and they became alive again -- transformed into a vast army of saints
-- the message in these two verses is clear -- we cannot become spiritually alive on our own -- only God can bring the dead to life -- and if we want to see true and lasting revival in our lives and in our churches, we have to look to the Spirit of God, and only Him, to revive us
-- I don't care how many revivals a church schedules -- I don't care how many guest preachers someone brings in -- unless the Holy Spirit shows up, revival is not going to happen -- only God can bring the dead to life
-- verse 11-14
11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.'
12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.
14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'"
-- C.S. Lewis wrote that you had to first convince someone they were a sinner before they could accept Christ -- that's the reason God had Ezekiel prophesy first to the dry bones of Israel in the valley of the plain
-- the nation of Israel thought they were saved because they were the chosen people of God -- they thought they had all the answers because they had the Scriptures and the Law of Moses -- they thought that just going to Temple on the Sabbath and following the laws were enough -- but they were wrong -- dead wrong
-- and so God prophesied through Ezekiel to open the eyes of the dead -- to hold up a mirror so they could see their true spiritual reflection and recognize what they had become
-- David Jeremiah tells the story in one of his books about a pastor who was fed up with the lack of life in his church -- and so one Sunday morning, he got up in the pulpit and pronounced that he wasn't going to preach that day -- that this church was dead and that night they would hold a funeral service for it -- and with those words, he walked out, got in his car, and left
-- well, everyone was very upset and angry at what he said, but their curiosity got the best of them -- so the entire church showed up for the evening service -- and when they walked in, they were greeted with the sight of a casket at the front of the church
-- the pastor took the pulpit and said, "This church is dead -- and the body of this church is right before us -- I want each of you to come up here and take a look at the dead, lifeless body of this church" -- and he had each of them file up and look in the casket
-- and when they looked in, they saw a mirror had been placed in the bottom, and the face that stared back was their own
-- that's what God was doing through Ezekiel -- He wanted the nation of Israel to see the truth of their spiritual state -- He wanted them to see with open eyes how far they had fallen from His image
-- and once they recognized their spiritual state -- once they realized that they had indeed sinned against God by turning away from Him and His presence -- then they would be ready for revival
-- we see that here in verse 11 -- the people of Israel have looked into the coffin and seen their reflection and cried out to God -- "We are dead -- our bones are dried up and our hope is gone -- we are cut off from Your presence"
-- but God said, "Hang on, because I'm not done with you yet -- when the Spirit comes in response to Ezekiel's prayers, you will know that I am God -- I will bring you from your graves -- I will restore your faith -- I will bring you back to the Promised Land -- and when this happens, you will know that it was I who did this and I alone -- you will know that I have spoken -- you will know that I am God"
III. Closing
-- God is in the business of bringing the dead back to life -- isn't that what the gospel of Christ all about? -- eternal life through Christ?
-- but we forget that this promise of life is not just for the future -- it's a promise for us today -- Jesus said "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" -- the King James Version says, "abundant life" -- not future life -- not life in heaven -- but an abundant and full life now with the very Spirit of God within
-- who knows what this is? -- a popcorn kernel -- look at it -- it looks dead and dried out, doesn't it? -- if I was to leave this popcorn kernel right here on the table, it would stay in this same dead and dried out condition
-- but, if I take this piece of popcorn and put it in a pan with a little oil and add some heat, it will explode into new life, ending up as a tasty treat
-- do you know how popcorn works? -- you see, even though the kernels look dried and dead, there's just little bit of moisture trapped inside the kernel -- and when the kernel is heated, the moisture turns into steam and the pressure inside the kernel builds until it pops open
-- the church in America is just like this popcorn kernel -- we might be spiritually dry right now -- we might look like dry bones in a valley -- lifeless -- fruitless -- but there's always a remnant -- there's always just a little bit of life left inside
-- and if we turn back to God and ask the Holy Spirit to revive us, then that little bit of life will cause us to pop just like this popcorn kernel
-- over in Acts 4:33 it says that the apostles gave witness about Christ with great power from the Holy Spirit -- the original Greek for the term "great power" is dunamis -- it's from this word that we get our English word, "dynamite."
-- this means that the power of God is literally explosive in nature -- and when we allow ourselves to come under the power of the Holy Spirit, we will literally explode for Christ
-- Isaiah 26:19 says, "But your dead will live; their bodies will rise" -- it was this dunamis power that raised Jesus from the dead -- and it was this power that raised dry spiritual bones here in Ezekiel 37 and gave them new life -- it's also the same power that caused God to say to me this week, "Risen Church"
-- you have to agree that our churches are not what they should be -- our lives are not what they should be -- but God's not done with us -- He hasn't given up on us -- He wants us to experience His dunamis power and real life with Him -- He wants to see us turn our communities and our cities and our world upside down
-- there's only two steps in becoming a risen church
-- first, we have to admit our spiritual state -- we have to recognize how far we are from God's ideal image -- how far we are missing the mark
-- second, we have to ask the Holy Spirit to revive our spiritual lives -- to make our churches alive with His presence
-- over the next several weeks, we're going to talk about what it means to be a risen church -- about finding true revival in our hearts and in our homes and in our churches -- so we can be who Christ called us to be
-- we're going to start our quest for revival by sharing Holy Communion together -- but I want to end this message by sharing with you the chorus from Andy Cherry's song, "Our God is Alive," that I think speaks to the heart of the message of Ezekiel 37:
-- "Rise with a shout -- Cry out, our God's alive -- Rise holy fire -- burn bright, burn bright
-- "Rise with a shout -- Cry out for freedom -- Rise church, arise -- our God's alive"
-- let's pray
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