This is where the M.E. does a series of test to determine the cause of death. In this process, information is gathered about the moments before death but also certain attributes of a person’s life. This assessment demonstrates if there is any damages to the body and it’s organs and also the assessment can show how healthy a person was.
For instance, a close inspection of the lungs can demonstrate if a person is a smoker or not. Also, a close look at the liver can show if the person suffered from alcoholism or not. Next, a close look at the heart can show if the person had a proper diet or not. Our objective assessment today will determine if we individually have a healthy relationship with God or not. So, as we lay our lives on the table, we open up our lives to reveal the truth.
Will the Medical Examiner see signs of worry? Any signs of hopelessness? Any remnants of disconnection? Any evidence of us being lost?
As we look objectively, are there signs in your life of frustration? Have those that you love not lived up to your expectation? Have those on your job not held up their responsibility?
Have you felt hopeless? Have you had to deal with financial difficulty? Have you had to change your plans due to things out of your control?
As we look into your Spiritual Autopsy, are there any evidence of a meaningful prayer life? How about proof of your giving? Can we see any markings of singing and making melody in your heart?
Your spiritual autopsy will reveal these things.
Ezekiel had to perform a Spiritual Autopsy.
Israel lay dead in the valley. And God asked Ezekiel a question during a vision. “Son of man, can these bones live?”
Lesson Text:
Ezekiel 37:1-14
1. The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones,
2. And caused me to pass by them round about: and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
3. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
4. Again, he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
5. Thus, saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
7. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
9. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10. So, I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12. Therefore, prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened you graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14. And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.
In this vision, Ezekiel performed the Spiritual Autopsy and saw evidence that the hope of Israel was lost. For he saw the army of Israel lost in battle. The last hope of Israel was gone.
Have you ever lost hope?
For the bones were very dry. Their hope was lost. They had been in this condition for a while. There was evidence that their hope was gone.
Their hope was counted in this open valley. For in this valley, there were many bones.
It did not look good. Everywhere he turned, there were many bones. No chance at victory. All was lost.
When all hope is gone, Hear the Master…If we truly Hear Him, we will understand how much He cares for us. His love for us is bigger than any enemy, any debt, any sickness, or any situation.
A. Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
1. Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord
2. But, sometimes, we can only hear the story that we tell ourselves.
a. Sometimes We do what is right in our own eyes
b. Sometimes We do what we want to do
3. Consider some examples:
a. We justify our actions, and we say things like, “I will have fun tonight and I will repent tomorrow”
b. Also, “God knows my heart”
c. And “Won’t anybody know”
There is a reason why our prayer life is dry.
There is a reason why our compassion for others is dry.
There is a reason why our patience is dry.
There is a reason why our stewardship is dry.
There is a reason why our benevolence is dry.
Can these dry bones live?
B. For these bones to live, God breathed.
1. For God says, “I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live” v5
2. “And put breath in you, and ye shall live” v6
3. “But there was no breath in them” v8
4. “And breath upon these slain, that they may live.” v9
5. “And the breath came into them, and they lived” v10
6. “And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live” v14
Can these dry bones live?
C. A few examples of Valley Times that occur
1. The current condition in the valley
a. Babylonian Captivity
b. Jerusalem destroyed
c. Holy Temple Plundered
d. They stated, “Our Bones are dried, our hope is lost” v11
2. Valley Time
a. When your prayer life is nonexistent…You’re in a Valley Time
b. When your devotion is forced…You’re in a Valley Time
c. When your giving is sporadic and not planned…You’re in a Valley Time
d. When your song is missing…You’re in a Valley Time
d. When Your study is based on the preacher’s study…You’re in a Valley Time
Can these dry bones live?
D. For They stood up but no breath was in them
1. Bones came together, bone to his bone
(Form of godliness)
a. II Tim 3:5 Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, never able to come to the knowledge of the truth
b. No breath in them, say to the wind (prayer) come from the four winds
E. Finally, Restoration to the kingdom of God
1. God will present an avenue for his people to be redeemed
a. Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)
b. John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation: but is passed from death unto life. 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live
2. God sent John the Baptist to announce the forthcoming kingdom of God and to identify the Messiah, which he effectively did; but by far the greater part of Israel rejected the message of the Great Herald, who was murdered, and they did not acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Messiah, but rejected him, clamored for his crucifixion, and professed that they had “No king but Caesar!”
3. National Resurrection—Sin had to die with Christ on the cross and the Jesus rose so that we can have life everlasting
4. The Heathen world is the grave of God's scattered, disillusioned, discouraged, and lost.
5. This is a vision of Jesus coming to redeem his people from the clutches of Satan through the victory of the cross.
6. Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior
7. Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, there shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
8. II Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new
9. Son of Man, can these bones live?
And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest
How have you been living? Are you outside the body of Christ? Dead bones in an open valley? What will the Medical Examiner see? Our decisions today, help shape the kind of life that we will live and those decisions provide the proof if we have the right relationship with the Father.
Make the right decisions. You have an opportunity today to get it right.
Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17King James Version (KJV)
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Believe the Gospel
Mark 16:16King James Version (KJV)
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Repent of your Sins
Luke 13:3-5King James Version (KJV)
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Confess Christ
Matthew 10:32King James Version (KJV)
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Be Baptized
Acts 2:38King James Version (KJV)
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Be thou faithful unto death
Revelation 2:10King James Version (KJV)
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
