Title: Life, Everlasting – Part I: Breath
Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-10
In the movie, Frankenstein’s Monster, Dr. Frankenstein had his shady characters bring him lifeless bodies that had been recently buried. He then pieced these together and formed a huge man. Then, he raised the finished body up to the heights of his castle and exposed the monster to the lightning, thinking electricity was the key to life.
Have you ever thought what it takes to be alive? Have you ever thought what it would take to be alive, in the Lord?
Ezekiel 37:1 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.
I’m a no body, how about you? How many nobodies have you met this week? How many people do you think that you have, unknowingly or knowingly, indirectly or directly, snubbed this week? I mean, since they really don’t matter at all in the overall scheme of things, we snub them, right?
There’s probably been a lot, haven’t there? Walking along the street, riding the bus, sitting beside someone on the subway, or even walking past someone here at church.
When I think about the implications of this I’m reminded of ‘skipping rocks’, or ‘skimming stones.’ You know, where you get down close to the water and find a flat rock, and throw the rock, trying to make it skip across the pond to the other side.
I’m reminded of that because many times we appear to be that stone and the water is the Living Water. We skip along, barely touching the water, and then we’re off again, trying to make it to the other side with minimal contact with the church, with Jesus, or with God. Just enough to get a little wet, because we have to, then we bounce back into the world again not realizing exactly where our life is receiving it’s energy or liveliness.
We can’t afford to do that. We can’t continue to tell ourselves that we are going through life with Christ and actually be just skipping along the surface of Christianity expecting our talent, abilities, and smooth talking to get us into heaven.
Ezekiel 37:6 says
I will put breath in you, and you will come to life.
The thief on the cross told the other thief that had just scolded Jesus, to “Shut up.” Then he basically told Jesus, “I’m a nobody, but could you remember me when you come into your kingdom?”
What did Jesus tell him? “Forget you!” “God doesn’t want ‘your kind’ in heaven! You’re a no-body!”
No! That’s not what He said. As a matter of fact He said something that continues to confuse many denominational traditions and practices even today!
What did he say? Did He say, “Well, you need to go into the inquiry room and the elders there will ask you some questions to determine the worth and validity of your confession. To see if you’re actually ready to accept Jesus.”
NO! That’s not what He said…
Did He say, “Well, you’re not doing enough in the church, your not ministering enough in the church. You’ve not evangelized enough people!”
NO!
The man was not baptized, not a member of the local church, didn’t tithe, and was probably a shady character, to say the least. But, Jesus told him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”
Jesus told him, today you receive life, and that life will be everlasting.
Wait, a minute… Wasn’t the man Jesus was talking to a thief, and wasn’t that thief hanging on a cross? Not only hanging on a cross, but wasn’t the thief dying on the cross, just like Jesus? Wasn’t his life just about over?
We have confused life with activity. We’ve confused life with abilities. Many time we confuse the business of (Matthew 6:33 “seek[ing] first his kingdom and his righteousness,” with the ‘busyness’ of being involved in ministries.
Far too often we let the traditionalized ABC’s of church growth, and the traditionalized ABC’s of spiritual growth creep into our decisions or directions. Far too often we try to conduct a cost/analysis when confronted with a choice to make or a direction to follow. We want to find out first, ‘what’s in it for me?’ Why is that? Because over the centuries we’ve allowed ourselves to establish a set of non-written and non-vocalized traditionalized criteria for church growth, and an equally detestable inventory for personal and corporate spiritual growth.
Cost/analysis has crept into the very core of the church and replaced Jesus’ definition of life. So much so, that it has almost become an innate or intrinsic rule for church business to operate according to cost/analysis rather than through prayer and God’s leading. It seems that people follow an unspoken group of rules for church and spiritual growth, and when you put them down on paper and take a really good look at them, they are actually quite appalling and very selfish.
What are the traditionalized ABC’s of church growth?
Many churches, though they don’t want to admit it, follow these ABC’s of church growth.
A=Attendance – how many are you running over there?
B=Building – do you own your own building, yet?
C=Cash – have you got some big contributors? A big bank account?
Many churches put these three above and beyond any other ministry. That’s warped way to think about church growth. But worse than that is the ‘warped’ traditionalized ABC’s of spiritual growth. Again, many people won’t readily tell you…but you can readily witness these in many Christians.
A=Arrogant
B=Busybodies
C=[that are well] Connected
Churches and members that follow those rules are the same ones that will eventually cry out: “Lord, Lord! Didn’t we evangelize, didn’t we have Bible studies in your name? Didn’t we tithe, didn’t our attendance increase?” And, Jesus will tell them… “Away from me, I never knew you.”
Saying someone’s name twice like that when addressing or calling out to someone implies a familiarity, a closeness to that person. Best Friends!! And, Jesus says, “I don’t think so. What right do you have to call me friend when you never knew me?”
Maybe you’re a little tougher to convince. Maybe you want to say that you don’t think that kind of thing goes on?
I was naïve once as well. In my naiveté I thought it would be a good idea to have several pastors in the area get together. We could share our burdens; share our prayers…Boy, was I wrong. The first 10 minutes was taken up with everyone trying to establish a pecking order (big church, small church, nice building, bank account, etc.) And, here’s a phrase I’ll never forget, “How many are you running over there?”
It sounded more like a meeting for ranchers or sheepherders, not pastors. Their version of life was measured by their amount of programs, their records of high attendance, and the number of baptisms, tithing, and contributions. These were the very things that got the Pharisees into trouble. Duty first, commitment later; appearance first, truth later.
Isaiah 66:2
Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word."
Even before the Pharisees led the people astray, every prophet that was sent to speak the Word of God to the people spoke about personal relationship.
Ezekiel didn’t go out to the people and tell them they weren’t tithing enough.
Jonah didn’t go to Nineveh because their record of baptisms was the lowest in years.
Jeremiah didn’t rebuke the people for not reading the latest “how to really discern the will of God for your life!”
Each one of the prophets of God went forth with a message that urged the people to turn to God and establish or re-establish a personal relationship with Him!
Many times the Israelites looked back at a cherished memory and longed for the way it used to be: “Let’s go back to Egypt.” Or, “What are we ever going to do without Moses, he was such a good leader.” Or, even, “We sure did grow spiritually when so-and-so was Pastor.
A very large percentage of churches in the world, instead of pushing forward in God in the here and now, are like an old retired couple in rocking chairs on the front porch rocking back and forth and looking back at this time or that.
They have a cherished memory that they fall back upon when things aren’t looking so well for the present pastor, and all are based on those traditionalized ABC’s of Church and Spiritual Growth.
“Well, Ethel, you know back when,” or “`…member, once upon a time, last year or so, when,” or “Pastor so-and-so did” or “We’re just in a slump right now, but pretty soon…”
Carpe Diem – Seize the Day. You are not alive five minutes ago…you were alive. You are not alive five minutes from now, you might be alive. But, right now, you exist…and you exist because of God’s grace.
(John 9:4) As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
Carpe Diem – Seize the day. Contrary to the Odes of Horace, where he wrote in that poem,
Even as we speak, envious time is running away from us. Seize the day, there is nothing else beyond that.
Jesus says, even as we speak, envious time is running away from you. Seize the day, there is something beyond it, and your love, devotion, commitment and dedication to Him now, is worth it.
Christos Kurios [Jesus is Lord]
In our scripture, Ezekiel 37, Ezekiel is spirited away to a valley littered with bones. Something dreadful, a war, a slaughter, we don’t know which, but it’s a valley filled with dry bones.
Simple Question: Ezekiel, can these bones live?
His answer: Only you [God] know the answer to that.
Ezekiel was then commanded to prophesy to the bones. He did, and the bones began to move. They were gradually covered over with tendons and muscles, organs formed and flesh covered their bodies.
Then, God tells him to prophesy again, this time to impart breath into them. The bones that were covered with flesh and muscle were seemingly alive, but there was no breath.
Ezekiel prophesied again, and breath was imparted to the bodies and they became alive.
Life, Everlasting.
I don’t know about you. I can’t vouch for you. But I do know that I can’t stand to go through the robotic motions and the unnecessary rending and rendering of emotions. What about you?
Sterile attitudes, meaningless encounters, make believe spirituality, and all those, by the way, are detestable in God’s sight.
Those bones that got up and walked around had no life, until the transforming Word of the Lord was breathed into their lifeless bodies. Do you have that breath? Do you allow that breath to transform you? Do you breathe in that life-giving breath, and does He impart to you that essential essence of life everlasting? Do you feel life everlasting down in your soul?
Our church is different, thank God, than most churches. We do have life here. God is at work here, and, that is why I like it here so much. The Spiritual development of most of the members is not left up to only the pastor. Everyone realizes that personal spirituality requires personal relationship with God.
Sure, we’ve still got some more rows to hoe, but we seem to be heading in the right direction. Don’t you think?
We can’t stop however, because we, whether personally, in small groups, or even as a church, could fall victim to the same lifeless predicament of those bones if we do not allow, or if we cease to allow, the spoken Word of the Lord to transform our lives and to daily renew our lives.
Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
If His compassions never fail and they are new every morning, dare I say that we can do any less than recommitting ourselves to him freshly every morning? His breath, His Word, and His transforming Spirit breathe life and freshness into us every morning of our lives, “Great is Your Faithfulness!”
The song we sang this morning says,
Come just as you are
Hear the spirit call
Come just as you are
Come and see
Come receive
Come and live forever
Life everlasting
Strength for today
Taste the living water
And never thirst again
Come, just as you are! You don’t need anything else!
What about the one who received the first breath of life, Adam. Adam was created, according to Genesis 1, on the sixth day, but the first morning that he saw was the seventh day. The day set aside to worship the creator. Jesus said that the Sabbath was created for man, not man created for the Sabbath, and it’s most evident when you see that the very first thing that man was asked to do was to enter into a Sabbath-rest with God.
Adam didn’t have anything but himself. He had no car, no cellphone, no computers, no bank account. God told him, “Come, just as you are.”
Essentially, man came into this world with nothing on his “To-do list”, but he eventually did do something, and he fell into sin. Christ on the other hand, came into this world with a very long “To-do list” and every one of those were accomplished, and when He breathed His last He said, “it is finished.”
Because it is finished, Christianity does not begin with a DO, but a DONE. [say it with me].
Nothing that I can do will save me, but by His grace God has done everything for me in Christ.
Ezekiel 37:6 says
“I will put breath in you, and you will come to life.”
Have you received that breath? Have you come to life?
I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
(John 20:22) And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
Have you received that breath? Have you come to life?
