Opening Video Illustration: Peanut Butter Goggles - Skit Guys!
Series: Come Alive in 2025
Thesis: We can come back to life – nothing is too dead for God to bring life back into it – nothing is too lifeless for God to breath His life back into it! He is the Creator and He can bring back to life anything! Can you catch the vision of this truth and reality for 2025?
We came up with this theme in our Creative meeting, and in our prayer meeting and I really believe it is a fitting theme for us for this New Year! I believe we are on the verge of another Jesus Revolution here in America – and I am going to pray and fast for this revolution to explode in 2025 – I challenge you to pray and fast from Jan 7-14 for a move of the Spirit on this church/school/ surrounding schools and churches and this entire region of Chicago!
Let’s all call on God to breath life back into that which is dead and lifeless! In 2025!
Illustration on stage under sign – Have fake bones all over the one side of the stage under sign “Come Alive in 2025!”
Can I ask you a question: Do you see God in all His glory – Do you really believe God can do the impossible? – Do you see what He sees – do you look at things in this world through eyes of the flesh or the Spirit? Can you see what God sees?
Walt Disney's Leadership and vision - Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 30, 2011
Walt Disney was a remarkable man of vision. He never gave up. Early in his career a newspaper fired him because they thought he had "no good ideas". That just made Disney try harder. When he was starting out in Kansas City he couldn't sell his cartoons. Some hinted that he had no talent, but Walt Disney had a dream, (a vision) so he set out to conquer his foes. He found a minister who paid him a small amount to draw advertising pictures for his church. Disney had no place to stay, so the church let him sleep in the mouse-infested garage on a cot. One of those mice which Disney nicknamed Mickey, became famous -- as the world knows.
The early days were tough; but that remarkable, creative visionary refused to give up. Walt would occasionally present some unbelievable, extensive dream to his board about an idea he was entertaining. Almost without exception, the members of his board would gulp, blink, and stare back at him in disbelief, resisting even the thought of such a thing. But unless every member resisted the idea, Disney usually didn't pursue it. Yes, you heard me correctly. Unless everyone RESISTED the idea, he would not take it. The challenge wasn't big enough to merit his time and creative energy unless they were unanimously in disagreement! Is it any wonder that Disneyland and Disney World are now realities? This type of faith is required for visionaries in business -- but also for us as Christians. Like Disney we need to dream big and trust in God for the impossible.
When Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. opened in 1974, Mrs. Disney was sitting beside Walter Cronkite. Walt Disney passed away a few years earlier. Walter Cronkite wanted to say just the right thing to Mrs. Disney, so he leaned over to her and said, "Wouldn't it be great if Walt were here to see this today." Mrs. Disney wisely replied, "If Walt had not first seen this you would not be seeing it today."
(From a sermon by Stephen Sheane, Dry Bones, 8/18/2010)
Walt Disney was a Christian (Background on Walt Disney)
Yes, Walt Disney was a Christian who believed that his faith was central to his life and career:
Baptism: Disney was baptized in the Congregational Church in Marceline, Missouri.
Sunday school: He regularly attended Sunday school.
Prayer: He believed in the power of prayer and that it could provide strength, guidance, and inspiration.
Good works: He believed that a good Christian life was demonstrated through good works.
Religious themes: He often included biblical themes in his original films.
Congregational upbringing: He attributed his success to his Congregational upbringing and lifelong habit of prayer.
Disney said, "All I ask of myself is to live a good Christian life and toward that objective I bend every effort in shaping my personal, domestic and professional activities and growth".
What Disney has become today and its distorted - secular messages of today is not what Walt would have allowed to happen in his day!
Ezekiel 1-3 – Reveals that our Priest and Prophet had a vision of the Glory of God and the throne of God. It happened at his age of 30 (some say on his birthday) because at 30 he would been ordained a priest to serve in the Temple in Jerusalem but he had been hauled off into captivity by Babylon 5 years earlier – he is living in a refugee camp – no temple to serve in as priest – at this point the Temple has not been destroyed in Jerusalem – this will happen later – but he is seeing a vision of God’s throne and Spirit departing which use to dwell in the Holy of Holies – over the Ark of the Covenant hovering – the pillar of fire which stood in the tabernacle now residing over Babylon!
Scripture Text for Series and Sermon:
Ezekiel 37:1-14:
1The 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.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’ ”
Introduction:
Ezekiel was a Priest and Prophet taken into Captivity to Babylon under King Neb! He was hauled off from Jerusalem to Iraq by the Chebar River near Tel Aviv. One day God comes in and swoops Ezekiel away in the Spirit and takes him to a Valley of Dry bones – a vast valley with stacks of bones – all dried out and white by the bleaching sun. If you know the teachings of the Levitical law, then as a Priest he was not to have anything to do with dead bones or dead things – he was taught to avoid this as a priest, but the Spirit of the Lord takes him to a place like this and has him walk among the bones! He in essence finds himself in a cemetery covered in bones! I read and tried to imagine this scene found in Scripture. This type of scene is one you would see in a horror movie or a Alfred Hitchcock movie – right – but it is a true story in the Bible.
In a sermon on sermoncentral.com called “Dry Bones, Hear the Word Of The Lord!” by Michael Otterstatter he makes this observation about the ministry of Ezekiel: One significant event divided the prophetic work of Ezekiel. It was the capture and destruction of Jerusalem. Up to that point Ezekiel forcefully proclaimed God’s judgment on sin and he called his fellow countrymen to repentance. However, once Jerusalem had fallen and the Temple was destroyed, Ezekiel’s mission became one of consolation and hope. The spiritual danger after the fall of Jerusalem was not a stubborn and proud rebellion but a utter hopelessness and despair (response of the people). Under those circumstances Ezekiel was directed to proclaim the hope of God’s forgiving grace and his promise of salvation. He adds, “The bones that Ezekiel saw in his vision didn’t have a pleasant story to tell. Let’s just suppose that Ezekiel called in a coroner (using forensic science) to determine the cause of death of the people to whom the bones in the valley belonged. What would he have found out? What story would they have told? From those bones he would have discovered that their diet, lifestyle, and environment led to the spiritual death of God’s people.
The findings are revealed to us in our text: They would have discovered they died from a sinful lifestyle! They died from rejecting God’s word of life and water of life!
The Graveyard filled with bones reveals what happens to God’s people when they turn away from God’s Bread of life and Water of life!
The people of Israel had been warned by Ezekiel and many other prophets over time - but they refused to stop poisoning themselves with sinful spoiled and contaminated food and toxic water. They just kept eating and drinking the toxins and the result was death.
Another graveyard story:
One graveyard we visited regularly as kids was down the road from my grandma and pap Kolling’s House where they lived, they lived out in the country outside Carnegie Pa... The cemetery was the local one and has been around for a very long time. We would walk through the graveyard LOOKING AT THE TOMBSTONES AND IMAGINING WHO THESE PEOPLE HAD BEEN- THINKING WHAT THEIR LIVES MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s– in all my years of walking through that graveyard in the morning, at night and during the day I can say I have never anyone come back to life.
Kathy and I have visited many graveyards in our travels – some in North Carolina, Gettysburg Pa, Maine, New Hampshire and a host of other places we traveled to. I always like to take the time to read the tombstones – the date and the name and the epitaph – you may get a glimpse of a person who has been long gone. That is the closest I ever came to seeing dry bones come back to life. I would try to imagine who that person may have been and picture their family and life. But I have never seen anyone dead come back to life – especially dry bones coming to life like in our Scripture text:
But Ezekiel see’s the result of sin and rebellion against God and His Word – it’s a pile of very dry lifeless bones – with no tombstones – no markings of remembrance – the bones are what is left of God’s people! Can you imagine the scene of Ezekiel and the grief he is dealing with?
The truth is cemeteries are filled with dead bones and Ezkiel is standing among all the dead – the ones who rejected God’s Spirit of life – God’s water of Life – God’s Bread of life! The reality check is police graveyards are filled with dead people not live people!
I heard a news story from a few years ago – titled SLEEPING IN THE CEMETERY!
According to a March 2005 news report, a tramp in Holland has been found using the cemetery as his sleeping quarters. People had been reporting to the police they saw people alive in the cemetery at night. So they investigated!
The man was charged by police after they caught him a second time sleeping in the graveyard at Nijmegen. The 43-year-old had dug out the earth from under a gravestone and was sleeping inside the hole. He had also gathered other gravestones to make his resting place more sheltered from the wind. This part could be fabricated for the sake of this illustration, but He had dug a hole – removed a body from a nice plush casket and decided it was a great place to sleep at night. The casket was soft and comfortable, so he made his bed and slept in it. He was charged with “violating tombs.”
The above illustration was adapted and distorted from the SOURCE: SermonCentral PRO. Citation: “Tramp arrested for sleeping in grave.” March 14, 2005, ananova.com.
So once again I must admit I have never seen dead bodies come back to life in my life! Let alone stood in the middle of a valley filled with dead – very dead dry bones stacked upon each other – It's important to know that this vision Ezekiel saw spoke to the original listeners in his day – it stated that these bones – these lives who are now very dead - were all under a curse because they were not buried as was the ritual in this time and in this part of the country – it represented cursed and lost lives that did not make Heaven – but instead received judgment for their sin and their punishment was a humiliating death – and their residing place would be assumed to be in hell!
As we were praying, discussing and thinking about our theme this year as a team – It just arose almost from nowhere - our theme “Come Alive in 2025!” I said that is it – that’s our focus for 2025 at Christian Hills Church and School! We too need to learn from the history of Israel – it’s has been said history has a way of teaching us what to do and not do and we need to learn from the mistakes of others!
My prayer is that we all learn from the failure of Israel, and we repent of our sins so God can resurrect our church, school, city and country! The truth is sin is all around us – I mean it surrounds us on TV-internet-movies-magazines-tick tock-Facebook-communities -newspapers and a host of other ways – Question are you getting my point and warning? Our society once consider Christian is saturated with sin on the North-east-west and south!
We must make a commitment to the Lord this year – to say no to sin and yes to the breath and Spirit of God. That is the only way to “Come Alive in 2025!”
T.S. - This sermon is based on Ezekiel – the whole book and especially chapter 37. We must see that we do not have to be dead and lifeless – we can be resurrected - we can be led by the Spirit into a graveyard and watch God bring it back to life – that a graveyard could be a home, a school, a business, a community, a city, a country, a church, a life – your life. But our text reminds us today who has the resurrection power to bring dead things back to life. The Lord does – Jesus Does – The Holy Spirit does!
Sermon 2: Dry Bones Come Alive
The big question for us today as we approach 2025 is proposed for us in Ezekiel: “Can dry bones be brought back to life?” “Can something which is dead be resurrected to life by the Spirit of God again?”
Ezekiel was asked this question by the Lord, and he responded, “Only you know Lord!” God revealed to Ezekiel that “Yes” He can through His breath – “Ruach” The Spirit of Life – By His Spirit “Pneuma.”
Introduction to Ezekiel:
Ezekiel was a priest who was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC. He started his ministry or was called into the ministry at 30 years of age. Ezekiel’s message is all about the “Glory of the Lord.” This book is a compilation over a 23-year period of messages from Ezekiel as he received them from the Spirit of the Lord. They are warnings-visions -revelations of the glory of God- messages to Israel- to return to God and forsake sin-why God left the Temple- the consequences of unrepented sins-the hope-the restorer-the power of the Spirit of the Lord-the prophecies of the future- and so many more message he most likely preach – I imagine he spoke around 700 plus messages to the people of Israel!
I am guessing how many messages he spoke basing it off my 25 years of messages posted on sermoncentral.com under contributor Michael McCartney – I have 900 sermons on this site which I have written – my sermons have been viewed in 185 different countries in the world – with 7.3 million views. Ezekiel had more messages then me and I know the Bible has had over billions of viewings, it has reached every country in the world over the centuries and reached about every people group known to the world today – Billions of people are reading Ezekiel’s Spirit filled messages!
Ezekiel is one of the most colorful prophets. He used pantomime, crying, wailing, slapping his thighs, he ate a scroll, and did many dramatic elements to deliver his message and get his message across to the people (Morris).
Stedman notes, “The story of this book is the story of human life, and the book begins with a tremendous vision of God, because all life starts with God…The glory of the prophet Ezekiel was that he saw God more clearly than any other of the other prophets. If your heart needs to be set on fire by the revelation of the character and glory of God, read Ezekiel. He is the great prophet who saw the glory of God. He saw it action – he saw it depart Israel and saw it return to Israel!
I recommend you read Ezekiel this month!
Ezekiel saw the Lord and he felt the fresh “Breath of Heaven” rush over his soul, he understood that even though he was hauled off into captivity - God had a specific purpose and call on his life. The Lord revealed himself to Ezekiel and this gave Ezekiel a vision of restoration and renewal that only could come from the power of God! Many times, we need to see into the spiritual realm to see what God can and will do! We cannot look around us and think, is this all there is? We need see into the spiritual realm as the Holy Spirit opens our spiritual eyes to see what could be!
Introduction to message 2:
Re-Introduce the theme “Come Alive in 2025” for this year and our spiritual goal.
We have been praying, we are fasting, for God to send us a fresh wave, a fresh breath to us in this New Year and this new decade. We as a staff and as leadership have been praying for God to restore this church to bring life back into it. To be able to see the presence of God show up on Sunday’s, to see souls saved for Jesus, to see families restored, to see people delivered from addictions and to see us become a church which is serving out community around us.
Ezekiel’s message or His prophetic words focus is on the expectancy of the restoration of the spiritual and religious dimension of Israel. It not only communicates that Jesus Christ the Messiah is the restorer of the nation politically but also spiritually and it can also be applied to the church today and to each of our spiritual walks with the Lord. Ezekiel is communicating the need for spiritual renewal in Israel so that the glory of God could return.
In Ezekiel chapters 1-24 we have the message being communicated that the glory of God had departed the nation of Israel. His glory departed because of sin and the unwillingness on the part of the people to repent of it and turn away from it. Ezekiel receives several visions from the Lord to tell the people at the river Chebar why God’s glory had departed them and their temple. Ezekiel was communicating the reason for the fall of the nation of Israel, why God allowed the Temple to be destroyed and why this remnant was allowed to be hauled off into captivity. Amid Ezekiel communicating why God’s glory departed – NOTE - because of sin. He also communicates his personal call to ministry by the Lord in chapters 1-3.
Geisler from his book, “A Popular Survey of the Old Testament” notes the following:
Ezekiel begins with a vision of the glory of God, explaining that Judah no longer experiences it because of their sin (1-24). He then speaks of God’s visitation in judgment on the nations surrounding Judah in preparation for the return of God’s glory (25-32). The book concludes with a description of the return of God’s glory and the restoration of Israel (33-48) (Page 279).
In Ezekiel 37 our priestly prophet who is taken away in the Spirit like what happened to John in chapter One of the book of Revelation! John sees through the Spirit how the churches in Asia are doing spiritually sadly some are spiritually dead! Ezekiel is brought to a valley filled with dry lifeless bones of the people of God from Israel.
Thesis: There are three things for us to do to Come Alive in 2025, for our families, our church, and for our community. We must allow the Spirit of the Lord to guide our lives by His Holy Spirit. We must speak His Word directly to lifeless bones. Third we must ask Him to send His breath of life from Heaven to resurrect all that is dead.
I. Allow the Spirit of the Lord to reveal to you your spiritual state and to lead you to lifeless places (37:1-3)
a. When this happens in your life then you can be led by the Spirit and given a fresh vision of what can be?
i. We need to hold on to the Words God’s Spirit reveal to us – Ezekiel heard a promise from God in Ezekiel that God had a plan to resurrect His people from the dead:
1. Otterstater notes the following: A spiritual revival in Israel would only happen when the people opened their ears to what God had to say. In his Word he would convict them of their sins and convince them that a Savior was coming who would remove their sins. Just before this vision of dry bones the LORD had said to his people through the prophet Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27) It would take a miracle for the spiritually dead Israelites to come back to life and God was ready to make that miracle happen.
a. This prophetic word is a prophecy of Jesus “The Messiah” coming to resurrect Israel and the world from sin!
i. To breath life into lifeless bones!
b. I wonder if we really understand what Jesus did for us today – we are on the other side of this prophecy, yet people still choose to be dead and lifeless bones – they do not want to be resurrected!
ii. Here is the big question “In 2025 what do you want to come to life?”
1. For me personally it’s to be 100% committed to Jesus and His ways – to say not to “Dead lifeless ways – to say no to every and any sin!”
a. To keep my heart and life pure before the Lord.
b. To listen to the Holy Spirit!
2. For ministry it’s that this church explodes with people getting saved and filled with the Holy Spirit!
a. That dead lifeless bones get resurrected by His Spirit.
b. That’s my prayer and what I as pastor of Christian Hills Church desire to see in 2025.
3. But what are you praying and fasting for? Highlight the prayers cards on the table!
a. Your family to come back to life?
i. Call out their names!
b. Your school to come to life?
i. Call out for your school by name in prayer!
c. Your life come back to life?
i. Repent of your sins – come clean!
d. Your city come to life in Christ?
i. Call out it’s name!
e. You fill in the blank?
iii. In Ezekiel chapter 1 we have our prophet receiving a vision of God in Heaven and he sees God’s glory and it changes and transforms his life.
1. It was life changing – like a few others mentioned in the Bible who saw the glory of God. Their lives were changed and transformed!
a. Others who had similar experiences:
b. Isaiah 6 – Isaiah saw the Lord and it resulted in his call to ministry.
c. Revelation 1:4, 5 – The apostle John received a message of encouragement in a time of despair. He then sent this message to the persecuted church of Jesus Christ! It filled them with courage – hope – and power to change the world!
d. Jeremiah 1 - His call and word from the Lord also inspired him to speak God’s Word when no one would listen.
e. Daniel 7 – This parallels Daniel’s vision as well.
i. Getting a fresh breath from Heaven along with seeing the glory of God will transform you, it will encourage you, it will give you direction and hope.
f. We all need a fresh revelation today – a new vivid vision of Jesus – the truth of what He sees in our lives, (that which needs to come to life) and churches that need to change and come alive and come back to life spiritually in this New Year!
g. Churches in Revelation highlighted:
i. In Revelation chapters 2-3, Jesus addresses seven churches located in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey): Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, each receiving a personalized message highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, with a focus on issues like spiritual lukewarmness, persecution, compromise with pagan practices, and faithfulness to the teachings of Christ; these letters serve as a warning and encouragement to remain steadfast in their faith despite the challenges they face in their respective contexts.
ii. Key points about each church:
1. Ephesus: Commended for hard work and commitment to doctrine, but criticized for losing their initial love.
2. Smyrna: Praised for enduring severe persecution and promised a crown of life.
3. Pergamum: Reprimanded for tolerating false teachings and compromising with pagan practices.
4. Thyatira: Recognized for good works, but warned against a false prophet leading people astray.
5. Sardis: Criticized for being spiritually dead, urged to wake up and strengthen their faith.
6. Philadelphia: Highly praised for their faithfulness and perseverance despite hardship.
7. Laodicea: Condemned for being lukewarm and complacent, urged to repent and seek true riches.
iii. Overall, the messages to the seven churches serve as a reminder to Christians to remain faithful, endure persecution, avoid false teachings, and actively pursue a genuine relationship with God.
1. We need to stay pure to God – to His message and Word!
iv. In Ezekiel Chapter 1 Ezekiel receives this vision of the Glory of the Lord, and he doesn’t understand everything other than he knows He saw God. He heard His voice rumble from the throne. He saw the brilliant display of God’s glory and felt the fresh breath of Heaven on his life and in that was the call to serve God.
1. When was the last time you felt God breathe life into your soul and spirit?
b. In Ezekiel 37 we once again have God’s hand scooping up our Prophet by the Spirit to once again reveal himself to him.
i. When you get a fresh revelation of the glory of God and feel his breath from Heaven – it will cause you to come to life!
1. In these God moments:
a. God will show you how dead things around you really are dead without Him.
b. God will give you a clear description of its lifelessness and deadness.
i. In Ezekiel the first few chapters Ezekiel see’s God’s Spirit depart Jerusalem, Judah and the temple. He makes it clear why things die; they die when sin is allowed to reign freely. He paints the picture that without the Spirit and without God’s involvement things are dead – dead - dead – dry and lifeless.
ii. It’s in these God moments when the Lord will ask you the faith questions:
1. He will ask you if you believe – Do you believe in resurrection power? – Do you believe that life can come back into dry bones?
2. Your answer is critical here – your response needs to be like Ezekiel – “Only you know Lord” – but faith believes in what it cannot see and even though things look dead. He can still breathe the breath of life back into them.
a. Listen God can breathe life into anything dead – do you believe this?
c. Question which arises from our text: How do you allow God’s hand to be upon you? Will...
i. You yield your will to His will.
ii. You go where He sends you.
iii. You do what He tells you to do.
iv. You first and foremost die to yourself.
1. 1 Cor. 15:31 Paul said he “I die daily!”
2. Col 2:20 “Since you die with Christ…”
3. 1 Corinthian 15:33-37:
a. “33Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34Come back to your senses as you ought and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.
b. The Resurrection Body
35But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.
T.S. – We must allow the Spirit of the Lord to lead us. This is the first step in being able to “Come Alive in 2025”. The 2nd step is to speak to lifeless bones what God tells us to say despite the reaction of those who hear it.
II. Prophesy (speak) what God tells you to lifeless bones (37:4-8)
a. The example of Ezekiel’s call and God’s warning to him – speak what I tell you!
i. Ezekiel chapter 2
1. In verse 1-3 we see that Ezekiel is called to his specific ministry by the appearance and vision of God in His glory.
a. I want to be humble here but affirmative that each of you understand this truth – It is God who calls people to the ministry!
i. I can honestly say that I never set out to be a minister I was dramatically called by God to the ministry.
ii. I know when God called me back to pastoring when he appeared to me in a vision in a window at Sand Hill Lake Bible Camp;
1. Describe the vision of Jesus!
2. Ezekiel says “Yes” to the call from God - this is the only reason he received the vision he received – “He said yes to the call” the reason he is standing in this valley of dry bones is because he responded to the call of God on his life.
a. Don’t be shocked if after you accept the call that God will take you to a Valley of Dry bones!
i. And they will fight against your word – your messages – your ministry! But also don’t be surprised when God raises the dead!
b. When you allow yourself to be swept away by His Spirit, you will find yourself surrounded by dead things but remember God brings dead things back to life!
i. Say – God brings dead things back to life!
ii. Do you believe this?
b. To do what God tells you to do can be the hardest choice in the world.
i. Why? Because when you say “Yes” to God you say “No” to the Devil and he makes it his mission to get you to deny the Lord and to recant your yes to God.
1. In a leadership magazine a few years back I read a startling statistic:
a. 40% of those in full time ministry today will not be there in 3-4 years.
b. The dropout rate in the ministry is climbing because of the pressure and stress of ministry today.
ii. Ezekiel was warned by the Lord that the sheep he would be speaking to would not be receptive to what He was speaking.
1. See Ezekiel 3:16-19:
2. See Ezekiel 2: 1-10:
a. The Lord tells him that the people will be rebellious, uncooperative, and hard hearted.
i. They will resist the direction of God, the teaching of God, they will be disrespectful to him and to God. They will even recruit others to be a part of their mutiny toward God and His ways.
b. They will be impudent/obstinate/stubborn meaning offensive toward God, toward God’s ways, toward Ezekiel and his ministry.
i. They would be stiff-hearted and even hardhearted.
3. The description of his flock is not a positive one, is it?
a. How many here would say, “Lord, send me!”
b. But he is commissioned by the Lord to prophesying the Word of the Lord and to tell those who are hearing it to listen and respond to it.
c. The Lord warns and even prepares our prophet/priest that his task would be a difficult one and that all along the path of rebuilding there will be resistance, but he was never to be afraid of those who were opposing him because His responsibility was to do what God called him to do.
i. He was to be fearless toward those who would want to deceive the Israelites that they would return quickly back to Jerusalem.
1. Ezekiel was to tell them that no it would not be all rosy in a few years in fact as Daniel and the Jeremiah preached it – it would be 70 years of exile.
2. He was to counteract the false message of the others with the truth (vs 6) The others were telling the people what they wanted to hear!
a. The Bible passage that most directly addresses "telling people what they want to hear" is 2 Timothy 4:3, which states: "For the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, they will heap up for themselves teachers, having itching ears.".
ii. To many of us Christians become afraid to share the Words of God and therefore fail what we are called to do.
1. Remember Jesus commissioned all of His followers to preach the Good News not just ministers.
a. Mark 16:15-18
2. Ezekiel was to be faithful to his job, his call from God to his divine purpose for being born.
a. Why? Because there would be some who would listen and heed the Words of the Lord.
b. Why? Because lost souls would find there is hope is exile and understand that God is with them if their heart is in the right place.
c. Why? That many would be set free even in exile and in captivity to another country.
d. Why? Keep preaching, keep declaring the Word of the Lord because it’s not Ezekiel’s job to make them respond to God it’s their free will. He is not held responsible whether they listen and become a doer or not, his responsibility is to deliver the message of God.
i. Listen friends and Christians, you job is not to make them accept the Gospel all your responsible to do is deliver the message and the rest lies within the listener.
ii. The truth is God anoints His own Words and he unleashes His Holy Spirit on those who hear.
1. We are to just do what we are called to do:
a. Share Bill Hybel’s story about a classmate which God laid on his heart who he did not follow up on like he was suppose too.
e. Our responsibility is to share the message of the Good news through our words and yes also our actions.
i. We need to just keep ‘Preaching it, teaching it, declaring it and presenting it.”
f. Ezekiel 2:3-7: 3:4-11 is a message of encouragement to all the presenters of God’s holy Word.
i. Johnson states it this way, “Have you ever participate in a church service where people were urging the preacher on? “Amen!” “Preach it!” and “Come On now!” and “Preach it!” The text here is really saying the following to us today:
1. “Preach it Mike!”
2. “Go for it Vernon!”
3. “Speak the Word Moises!”
4. “Sing with all your heart Ashley!” “Declare my Praise!”
5. It’s as if God is being the cheerleader for all us as we are doing His work and sharing His message through our lives.
d. The truth of God’s Word:
i. When we listen to the Word of the Lord it produces new life, it causes things to be resurrected.
ii. It sets in motion the renewing power of the Holy Spirit to bring something which is dead back to life.
iii. Transformation is done by the Word of God not by man’s wisdom or insight in church management.
iv. God’s Word is what sets in motion a building or a restoring of a life, a family, a church, a community or even a country.
1. It’s the idea of God unleashing through His spoken Word the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit into that which is dead.
2. His Word starts putting it back together!
T.S. – We need to speak the Word of the Lord to those we encounter because even though some will be hostile there will be those who will respond and come to life!
III. We need to call for the “Breath of Heaven” to come from the Lord (Ezekiel 37:9-14)
a. Ezekiel not only had to be willing to allow the Lord to lead him by the Spirit, but he had to do what God told him to do and then once he did the first two steps God then would do the third.
i. God would respond once Ezekiel did the first two steps and then he asked God to do it.
ii. Ezekiel must do the “Big Ask!” He literally had to ask Him to send His Spirit wind from the four corners of the universe and to bring the power of life which came in the form of a Breath from Heaven.
b. The term “Breath” Hebrew
i. Breath is called “Ruach” in Hebrew – it’s the same word used when God breathed into his creation man in Genesis, the man had form and a body but they did not come to life until God breathed into the creation, Adam did not come to life until God breathed into them His breath, His Spirit.
ii. Genesis 2:7: 7the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
c. The term “Breath” Greek:
i. See also - John 20:19-23: Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
d. Do you remember what Jesus said?
i. “7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:7-12)
Conclusion:
Life Examples: Ezekiel: Watching Dead Bones Come Alive (Ezek. 37:14)
In his day, hope had become a rare commodity. Ezekiel must have felt as desolate and useless as the piles of bones that he had seen in a startling vision. As the prophet sat in the middle of a valley, he knew that only a miracle could bring together his decimated and scattered people. Yet as Ezekiel watched, a miracle of life took place. Where before only dry bones had littered the landscape, the Lord added muscles, tendons, and tissue. And into those restored, silent bodies, God breathed new life.
Maybe you feel dry, defeated, emotionally scattered. Perhaps you sit alone, dejected, watching a panorama of death unfold before you. But do not despair! If the God of Ezekiel is your God, then know that even the dry bones before you can live again. In His grace they can live and stand upon their feet-an exceedingly great army.
-The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible
Illustration is from Sermon Central: Life Examples: Ezekiel: Watching Dead Bones Come ... PRO Contributed by Nathan Parker
The question for us today was: “Can dry bones be brought back to life? The answer is: “Yes, they can by allowing the Spirit of the Lord to direct our lives, by prophesying God’s Word to that which is dead. Then asking God to send His breath of life back into our lifeless bones.
He does this by releasing His Holy Spirit “The Breath of Heaven” into our lives.
My pledge to the Lord this year - “Come Alive in 2025!”
I pledge to the Lord to say “No” to sin and to totally reject sin. I pledge to be more in tune with the leading of the Holy Spirit! I commit to the Lord to allow Him to lead me to dead things so I can speak His Word of Life back into their lives! So, I can say “Live” and “They Live!” To prophecy His Word of truth to the dead bones and to warn of the consequences of sin. I pledge to ask for His breath of life to come into everything that is dead spiritually around me - so that He can resurrect it back to life!
Let me rephrase it: I am praying for all of us to Come Alive in 2025 – to come back from spiritual death, from dead lifeless bones, from dead lifeless church systems, from dead lifeless ministries, from spiritually dead lifeless communities and even from being a spiritual dead lifeless Christian. To do this I am allowing myself to be placed into the hands of God and be led by His Spirit. I am going to speak His Words to others without fear or apprehension and I am going to cry out for Him to send a fresh breath of His Spirit into my life, my family, my church, my community, my city and my country! This is my New Years Commitment!
I am not sure what yours is for the New Year – but I am tired of dead lifeless systems, dead lifeless ministries, dead lifeless services, dead lifeless events and so on – I think you get my picture! We need to come Alive!
Excuses that you cannot come alive in 2025:
I am to old – The Apostle John was 90-95 years old when he received the vision of the book of Revelation on the island of Patmos!
I have physical limitations – See the story of Nick and Joni Erickson Tada
I am to young – let me just say David – Mary the Mother of Jesus
