Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Ezekiel 37:1-14
Ezekiel 37:1 The
hand of the Lord was on 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, “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[a] 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, breath, from the four winds 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 people 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: 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.’”
-- I saw a
cartoon this week that really made me think – the first character asks the
other, “Are you feeling any better?” – they said, “No, so I googled the
symptoms” – “And, what was the result?” – they replied, “Well, according to
this, I’m clinically dead”
-- and I
know the cartoonist was trying to make a joke, but when I read that cartoon, I
couldn’t help but think about 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 – things just don’t seem right
-- 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 Valdosta and at least 7 churches right here in Naylor –
the problem isn’t the number of churches – it’s what we are doing in those
churches – as those churches…
-- when I
look at the things that we have been through in the last several years in our
country, from the pandemic to the divisive politics to everything else – I have
to ask the question, “Where has the church been in this?”
-- 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 really reflect Christ and follow
His commands in their lives – instead, they reflect our modern culture and hold
fast to societal values more so than Christian values
-- and with
this Christian nationalism push, we’re seeing Christians trying to find power
and influence in politics and government instead of trusting in God and in His
power and trying to do things in accordance with His will
-- 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, but when you google our
symptoms, we’re really clinically dead
-- 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
-- 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
-- the
answer is “Of course!” – as Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with
God, all things are possible” – when God gets involved, the sick are healed –
the lame will walk – and the dead will be raised to new life again
-- that’s
the message of the gospel – and we see that promise given to us right here in
this passage from Ezekiel 37
II. Scripture Lesson (Ezekiel 37:1-14)
-- look
back at Ezekiel 37:1-3
Ezekiel 37:1-3
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 is a prophecy to the exiled nation of Israel – as you
remember, although the nation of Israel started as one unified country,
following the death of Solomon, the nation split up into two countries --
Israel to the north and Judah to the south -- but rather than following God and
His commands, 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 people of Israel – they represented the
people who made up 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 – the people of Israel 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
Ezekiel 37:4 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
-- verse
9-10
Ezekiel 37:9 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
-- 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
-- this
picture of the dry bones coming to life after the Breath – the Pneuma --
the Spirit – entered them was a fulfillment of a prophecy that God had given
Ezekiel earlier – look over at Ezekiel 36:24-28
Ezekiel 36:24 “‘For I will take you out of the
nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your
own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will
cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give
you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart
of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and
move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live
in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your
God.
-- this is
the gospel of Christ – this is the promise of the Messiah and the effects of
the indwelling presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit – this is a
picture of what will happen to the nation of Israel when the Spirit comes on
the Day of Pentecost and the church is born
-- before
Christ – before the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost – the religion of the
Israelites was void of true power – they had the law – they had a form of
religion – but they didn’t have the power to follow God’s commands – they could
not keep the law and they could not save themselves from the penalty of sin and
death
-- but
Christ came and conquered sin and death on the cross and the empty tomb, and
then He sent the Spirit to empower us and help us to live a life of true faith
and obedience in Him
-- that is
what we see described for us here in Ezekiel 36 – God promises to the nation of
Israel that they will be cleansed from their impurities and their idols – their
sins will be forgiven
-- they
will be given a new heart and a new Spirit – in verse 27, God promises to put
His Spirit in them and to move them to follow His decrees and to keep His laws
-- and
then, in Ezekiel 37, when He has Ezekiel prophesy and speak to the Breath, that
is pointing to the Day of Pentecost, when the promise of salvation and the
indwelling presence of His Spirit within us will be realized
-- 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
Ezekiel 37:11 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
-- 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 so that they might turn from their ways and turn back to Him
-- 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 – then they would be ready to put their faith
and trust in the promised Messiah for their salvation and deliverance
-- we see
that here in verse 11 -- the people of
-- 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"
-- and,
once again, we see the promise of the Holy Spirit in verse 14 – “I will put My
Spirit in you and you will live…”
-- the only
way to live again – the only way to raise the dead – is through the power and
the Spirit of the Lord
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 – and this is the power that will
raise us back to the abundant life that Jesus promised
-- 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 alive again
-- 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
-- I wanted
to close 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 this
be our prayer and our cry today as we pray for the church in America to once
again rise up and be who God called them to be
-- let's
pray
No comments:
Post a Comment