Introduction

Good morning, family of faith! This morning we're diving headfirst into a passage from Ezekiel 37. Here, we see God's power to breathe new life into what seems lifeless and beyond repair.

Timothy Keller once said, "It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you." And indeed, the object of our faith, God, holds power beyond what we can imagine.

In the scripture, we read:

"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. 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. He asked me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' I said, 'Sovereign Lord, you alone know.' Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones and say to them, dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 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.'... And breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army." (Ezekiel 37: 1-14)

What a testament to the power of our God, to the necessity of His breath in our lives, and to the hope of new life He offers!

Let's start this morning with a prayer:

Heavenly Father, we come to You with open hearts. We invite You to breathe Your life-giving spirit into areas of our lives that feel dry and lifeless. Help us, O Lord, to surrender to Your will, as we trust in Your power to revive us and offer us a new life. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Let’s get started!

God's Power to Revive the Dead

The power of God to revive the dead is not about physical resurrection, but rather the spiritual revival that God can bring into our lives. It's about the transformation that God can bring into situations that seem lifeless and beyond repair.

In the passage from Ezekiel: We see a valley full of dry bones, a symbol of hopelessness and desolation. Yet, God asks Ezekiel, "Son of man, can these bones live?" This question is not a query for information, but rather a challenge for faith. It's a call for Ezekiel to look beyond the physical reality and see the potential for God's intervention.

Ezekiel responds: "Sovereign Lord, you alone know," he acknowledges that only God holds the power to bring life from death. This is a crucial point in understanding God's power to revive the dead. It's not about what we can do or how hard we try, but about God's ability to breathe life into the lifeless.

God commands Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones: To speak God's word into the lifeless situation. As Ezekiel obeys, the bones come together, flesh forms on them, and breath enters them. This is a vivid illustration of God's power to revive the dead. It shows us that God's word has the power to transform, to bring life where there was none.

Not just about the physical resurrection of the dead: It’s also about the spiritual revival that God can bring into our lives. There may be areas in our lives that feel like a valley of dry bones, areas that seem hopeless and beyond repair. But God's power to revive the dead means that He can breathe new life into these areas. He can transform our hopelessness into hope, our despair into joy.

Not a one-time event, but a continuous process: Just as the bones in the valley needed the continuous breath of God to live, so do we need God's continuous presence in our lives. We need His word to guide us, His spirit to empower us, and His love to sustain us.

Not limited to our personal lives: It extends to our communities, our societies, and our world. Wherever there is injustice, oppression, or suffering, God's power can bring transformation and renewal.

God's power to revive the dead is not automatic: It requires our response, our faith, and our obedience. Just as Ezekiel had to prophesy to the bones, we too must speak God's word into our situations. We must believe in His power to transform, and we must obey His commands.

The Need for God's Breath

The need for God's breath is deeply embedded in the fabric of our faith and is crucial to our understanding of God's interaction with humanity ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO