Three thousand years ago, God gave the prophet Ezekiel a vision. Ezekiel says, “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” (Ezekiel 37:1-2).
Imagine the scene. Thousands of bones are spread out across the valley. Here is a skull, there is a thighbone, over there is a pile of finger bones. The bones are in bad shape. They are scattered, disordered, and dry. Not even the birds like dry bones, they are good for nothing.
A. The Spiritually Lost
These dry bones represent our world today. Look at the government, politics, and the news. We see broken homes, divorce, violence, poverty, and human trafficking. People are scattered, disorganized, and fighting with one another. People celebrate what is evil and condemn what is good. People value reason over faith, tolerance over truth, and pleasure over purpose. The world is in bad shape.
There was a mighty stench rising from the valley. It was not a pretty sight. Once someone told me, “Pray for my son to be saved. He’s a good boy, but he needs Jesus.” But in reality, he was not “good,” he was dead. Without Christ, he’s dead. Without Christ, people are dead. See the world around you as dead. We don’t need politicians that are “good” politicians, we need politicians that are saved politicians. We are surrounded by a valley of dead bones that need to be resurrected.
How can we minister to a lost world?
1. Ministry is seeing what God sees and crying over what makes God cry. God was crying over the scattered, dry bones and He showed the bones to Ezekiel so that the prophet would understand the tragedy.
2. Ministry is trusting in God even when the situation looks impossible. God asked Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?" Ezekiel had very little faith when he replied, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." In the natural, your situation might look hopeless, you might question if a miracle can happen. If someone asks, “Is there hope?” You might reply like Ezekiel, “Only God knows.”
3. Ministry is repeating God’s words after Him. God commanded Ezekiel, “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’” (Ezekiel 37:4-6). There is hope for dry bones! Ezekiel did not know what to say to the dry bones but God gave him the words to say. Once I was preaching to a big crowd and the sound system was not working. Halfway back we placed a man who repeated my words so that the people at the back of the crowd could hear my message. As ministers, we play the role of that man; we simply hear God’s words and repeat them. We do not repeat the words we hear from the TV, or the newspapers. We repeat the words of God.
B. The Spiritually Dead
So Ezekiel prophesied as he was commanded. As he was prophesying, there was a noise; a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. Did you ever sing the song about the “ankle bone is connected to the leg bone, the leg bone is connected to the knee bone?”
But there was still a problem. Ezekiel says, “I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.” (Ezekiel 37:8). The scattered bones came together, flesh and skin covered the bones, but the bodies were not breathing.
These bones without breath represent dead churches. These zombie bodies represent churches that look organized, but are spiritually dead. There are entire denominations that are in shape organizationally, but the Holy Spirit is not moving. Conventional success is not good enough. We need more then organization; we also need life.
These bodies are like zombies, they look alive but they are really dead. Many Christians look spiritual but in reality they are lifeless. They never go out witnessing, they just sit in church and never accomplish anything.
You might be a spiritual zombie if…
1. You are spiritually stagnated. Dead bodies stink. The Dead Sea has water coming in but none going out. The water stagnates and begins to stink. If a person sits in church receiving all the time but never has an outlet to give to others, he begins to stagnate. These people become critical and fault finding, they are always looking for something that is not right.
2. You are spiritually complacent. Dead bodies do not move. These are people who are living in a comfort zone. They exist at a lower level than God has called them to. They do not use their gifts, talents, or abilities for God. Some people think they already have enough members in their church. They make excuses for not witnessing. They have a lack of compassion for the lost.
3. You are spiritually barren. Dead bodies do not give birth. Churches that are not saving the lost are spiritually barren; they do not have any spiritual children. There is no real productivity. Once there were some fishermen who flew to a cabin in the woods to go fishing, but a storm came up and they could not go to the lake. On the fourth day of the trip they started bickering, the fifth day they were fighting, the sixth day they were tearing each other’s hair out. Why do churches fight with each other? Because often churches are sitting still, when they should be out fishing.
C. The Spiritually Living
Again, God tells Ezekiel to prophecy, “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” (Ezekiel 37:9). So, Ezekiel prophesied as God commanded and suddenly breath entered the dead bodies; they came to life and stood to their feet.
God wants to breath life into dead churches. Throughout the Bible breath and wind represent the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit breathes on you, suddenly you come alive.
The dry bones became a mighty army. The church is called be an army! We are called to be full of life, full of the Holy Spirit, marching together for God’s kingdom.
Are you part of God’s army?
1. God’s army is full of power. They heal the sick, cast out demons, and lead people to Jesus. They aggressively take over neighborhoods, and cities, and nations.
2. God’s army is full of purpose. They are committed to obeying the Great Commission. They are excited about soul winning. They are going after the lost.
3. God’s army is full of passion. They love God and love people. They are moved with compassion. They are excited about serving God. They are alive.
God wants every dry bone to live. If you feel spiritually lost or spiritually dead, today is the day for you to come alive! God says to you, “Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live” (Ezekiel 37:13-14). God is in the business of raising the dead!
