Introduction

Good morning, my dear family in Christ. We gather here today, hearts filled with faith, minds ready to receive. We stand on the precipice of understanding, ready to step into the wisdom that our Lord so generously imparts.

I am reminded of a quote by G.K. Chesterton who once said, "The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man." Today, we stand before one such riddle, a mystery wrapped in the words of the prophet Ezekiel.

Let's turn our Bibles to Ezekiel 37. The scripture passage reads:

[Read passage]

Let us pause for a moment, to open our gathering with a word of prayer.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of Your word, a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. As we step into the mystery of Ezekiel's vision, we ask for Your Spirit to guide us, to breathe life into our understanding, just as You breathed life into those dry bones. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

Today, we will walk through the barren bones, feel the breath of the benevolent, and reach for blessings beyond belief. We are not here to solve God's riddles, but to find satisfaction in His mysteries. Let us step into this understanding, with hearts open and minds ready to receive.

Bones in the Barren

In the heart of the valley, we find ourselves surrounded by bones. Not just any bones, but dry bones, bones that have been stripped of life, of vitality, of purpose. These bones represent the barrenness that can sometimes creep into our lives. We've all experienced those seasons of dryness, those times when our spirits feel parched, our faith feels brittle, and our hope seems to crumble like dust in our hands.

We find ourselves standing in the midst of our own valleys: We look around and all we see are the remnants of what once was. Dreams that have withered away. Relationships that have fractured. Faith that has been shaken. We see the dry bones of our past failures, our disappointments, our regrets. And we wonder, can these bones live again?

They didn't get there overnight: They represent a gradual process of decay, a slow erosion of life. This is often how spiritual barrenness creeps into our lives. It's not usually a sudden event, but a slow drift away from God's presence. We start to neglect our prayer life, we stop reading the Word, we distance ourselves from our faith community. And before we know it, we're standing in the middle of a valley of dry bones.

The beautiful thing about God: He doesn't leave us in our barrenness. He doesn't abandon us in our valley of dry bones. Instead, He comes to us, just as He came to Ezekiel. He meets us right where we are, in the midst of our mess, in the middle of our dryness. And He asks us the same question He asked Ezekiel, "Can these bones live?"

More than the physical bones in the valley: It was a question about faith. It was a question about hope. It was a question about the power of God to breathe life into the lifeless, to bring hope to the hopeless, to restore what has been broken. And it's the same question He asks us today. Can these bones live? Can your faith be restored? Can your hope be renewed? Can your life be revived?

Ezekiel's response: It’s both humble and profound. He doesn't presume to know the answer. He doesn't rely on his own understanding. Instead, he turns the question back to God. "Sovereign Lord, you alone know." This is a powerful reminder for us. When we're standing in the midst of our own valley of dry bones, we don't have to have all the answers. We don't have to figure it out on our own. We simply need to turn to God, to acknowledge His sovereignty, to trust in His wisdom.

God's power to restore: He tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. To speak life into the lifeless. To declare the word of the Lord over the barrenness. And as Ezekiel obeys, something incredible happens. The bones start to rattle. They start to come together. Flesh and skin cover them. But there's still something missing. Breath. Life.

Breath of the Benevolent

As we continue to traverse the landscape of Ezekiel's vision, we find ourselves confronted with the divine breath, the breath of the benevolent ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO