Those Dry Bones
(Ezekiel 36-37)
Intro
1. Being human is a privilege, but sometimes its limitations get to us...
2. Sam: lost control in Ohio, I lectured him; next week, me at Purdue...
3. In reality, no one can handle things like God....
4. The Old Covenant w/Israel---problem not the Covenant, but human
nature...."What the Law could not do, weak as it was because of the
flesh, God did..."
5. The biggest difference between the Old and New Covenant is not the
Covenant itself, but rather the nature of those who are part of it...
6. A covenant is an agreement, a contract between God and people; in
the case of the New Covenant, it is made between God and those He
causes to be born again....although certain aspects of the New Covenant
pertain to Israel at the end times, all born-again people enjoy its spiritual
benefits.
MAIN IDEA: What man could not do, God did or will
do. He will accomplish His purposes.
TS---------->We have two examples of God’s wonders, wonders man
cannot do.
I. Regenerating Hearts: Predisposing Believers to
Serve Him (36:24-28, 37:9-10, John 3:5-10)
1. Let’s start with John 3:5-10 What is often missed in a passage like
this is the fact that God is taking charge....He is the Sovereign of
regeneration....
(1) like the wind....men cannot tell
(2) Jesus expected Nicodemus to understand this from the OT
2. The water: represents cleansing...
(1) 36:24-27....note, God does this "sprinkling," not man
(2) not the baptism of the NT...
---saved by grace through faith....that’s graduation
---baptism FORMALIZES our conversion...the grad ceremony
3. The Spirit (wind/breath) Grk, pneuma, Heb., ruach---symbolizes life
---God breathed into Adam the breath of life...
---Christ breath upon the apostles, and they received the Holy
Spirit
----the "wind" blows were it will (pneuma)
---37:9-10
4. This is the foundation of the New Covenant: God reaching down,
causing us to be born again, giving us a "new nature" that is
PREDISPOSED toward God....
left to our own devices, the Gospel sounds like nonsense: S-5
5. Were people regenerated in OT times? Yes, some were. In New
Covenant, ALL are (whole of Israel at the end, all who make up the true,
invisible universal church)
(1) in end time Israel, God will reach down and regenerate them at
once; they become part of Israel at birth and enter the New
Covenant at second birth
(2) most of us are not part of Israel at birth, but we enter the New
Covenant relationship at second birth and at that point become
part of the true church.
Application: If God can breathe life into dead bones, maybe God can
reach that lost loved one of yours. Maybe that hopeless employer or
foolhardy neighbor can be touched by God. That’s why it is worth your
effort to seek opportunities to share Christ. God can do the impossible.
HOWARD HENDRICKS prayer group--prayed for 10 men they though
most unlikely to get saved; 7 or them did.
What man could not do, God did or will do. He will accomplish His
purposes.
The first example of God’s wonders is His regenerating hearts. Most of
us have experienced that wonder. But there is a second wonder
mentioned in our text that is yet future.
II. Regathering of Israel (36:28, 37:9-14, 22-24)
1. Isaiah mentions two regatherings: Is. 11:10-11
----note the second gathering BY GOD’S HAND, swiftly and completely
----not what has been happening over the last 100 years..(allowed)
----the existence of Israel now is necessary, however, for end time
prophecy....Trib. begins when antichrist signs treaty w/Israel, enters
temple....
2. This would be in the LAND (36:28)
3. Resuscitation of Israel (37:11-14)
(1) By the end of the Trib., Israel will be pretty meager...2/3 killed
(2) Does this also apply to physical resurrection? yes and no
----there will be a resurrection of saved OT believers before Mill.
4. Christ’s Kingdom on earth/Millennium (22-24)
---David, the family name of Jesus (the descendent of David)
Application:
1. You know, God is a God of life; He breathes life to His own. Satan is a
destroyer. He takes the wind out of people’s sails. He removes life.
What kind of person are you? Are you like God? Do you encourage
others, cheer others, spread love and cheer? Or are you a killjoy, a
discourager, a destroyer? Let’s remember that with our growing
knowledge of God comes the obligation to model His character...
Conclusion:
1. What man could not do, God did, is doing, or will
do. He will accomplish His purposes.
2. Implications:
(1) take pressure off self to persuade others against their wills
(2) believe you can have success sharing Christ because God has
stacked the deck...
(3) look for God to be working and join in...
(4) Stop trying to play God; do His will, but learn to rest in His
sovereignty....
(5) Learn to look at God, life & ministry from a God-centered,
Scriptural perspective, not a man-centered, human logic
perspective...
(6) Look at Israel....God’s preservation of them & His willingness to
keep His promises to them is a sign He will do the same to us...
