Ezekiel was the Watchmen!
Verse 1-2-The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.
He didn’t consult with Ezekiel where He was going to place him.
The prospects didn't look very good, when He placed him in a valley of dry
bones.
Valley Of Dry Bones-God placed Ezekiel in that valley, God has placed you
where He wants you.
Where there are dead bones all around you, men and women who are dead in their
trespasses.
Eyes seeing, ears hearing, feet walking, mouths talking, but dead without God.
Rubbing elbows with the dead, that's why we have jobs, school, and shopping,
and doctor appointments, to reach out to those who are dead!
Very Many-We need to look around us and see how many are lost, that live
around us!
Very Dry-I know that God is saying to the churches today:
There is to many dry up Christians sitting in pews these days (Baptized in vinegar)
To many dry sermons being preached these days
To many songs being sung with no life in them.
To many churches that are dead
To many Christians setting there like a bunch of dry bones!
Verse 3-And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.”
Can These Bones Live? Let's look at what Ezekiel says
As Ezekiel looks around and sees this hopeless situation, so many dead
Pastor-No more dead than ya'll been for years!
I guess we all know how he feels, he had preached to them, and I know that
how we feel sometimes, when we witness to others, invite others to Church ....
It's seems hopeless!
Looking at how the prophet answers, tells us a lot how we are answer!
O Lord God, You know!-We don't want to say no to God, but we really don't
believe things will change, so for a safety clause, we say, "If it is your
will", then when it don't happen we say, "It must have not been Gods will".
Where is our faith, where is our belief?
We should pray like it is going to happen, till it does, or till God says no
Verse 4-8-Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone.
Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
The thing that is going to change a person, a church, a nation is the word of God!
Flesh On The Bones-He's no longer looking at a valley of dry bones but at a
bunch of glassy-eyed corpse.
They look more respectable but danger deceptive, because they still have no life in them!
I wonder how many churches God looks at as bones with skin and muscle, but corpses without life!
You can be perfectly organized and be perfectly dead, every bone in its place everything there but the essential thing!
A undertaker can make a person look life like!
Verse 9-l0-Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”
So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
But even with preaching, a great message of hope, it's not enough, it must be assisted with prayer and the Holy Spirit!
The difference between looking a live and being alive is praying for the Holy Spirit to move us, to convict us, to teach us, to guide us!
A Great Army-Because there is a war waging between good and evil, righteous
and unrighteous.
We need every soldier fighting not wounded or dead, for the glory of the Lord
So God asks us, "Can these bones live?" "Can that lost person be saved?"
"Can that person change?" "Can the church grow?" "Can we be what God wants
Verse 11-14-Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’
Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves.
I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’”
A message of hope!
When Sarah was 90 years old and God told her that she would bear a son, He
reminded her, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" Gen. 18:14
God reminded Jeremiah, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is
there anything too hard for me?" Jer. 32:27
The angel Gabriel reminded Mary, "For with God nothing shall be impossible."
Luke 1:37
Jesus encouraged His disciples, "With men this is impossible; but with God
A all things are possible."
So now is your situation so hopeless?
