BONES, FAITH AND NEW HOPE...
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
THIS IS A THREE PART LESSON.
INTRODUCTION:
I have a little three feet long skeleton that I purchased after Halloween one year I use in this lesson. You can pick up one cheap.
I call my little skeleton BONES!
I have the skeleton sitting on a bar stool in front of the church.
I tell the story, I was preaching several hours from home in Montecello, Ky. That night I took Bones as an illustration for the sermon that night.
I had Bones sitting in the front bucket seat of my car and he kept falling over, so I put the seat belt around him.
I stopped at a gas station and was filling up with gas.
A man came in and inquired about the strange thing in someone’s front seat?
I knew he was speaking of Bones, my little skeleton buckled up.
I told the man that was my Grandson.
To which he replied, "You need to feed him a little better?"
TEXT:
Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Proverbs 15:13 A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
Ezekiel 37:1 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.
Ezekiel 37:11 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.
I. GOD DOES A NEW WORK WITH THE BONE OF POSSIBILITY!
WITH GOD BONES CAN BE A SYMBOL OF NEW HOPE, NEW LIFE!
A. THERE IS GIVEN A NEW DIMENSION OF THINKING, A MATTER OF MAKING A CHOICE.
B. We can change the intensity, the presence, and the nature of His presence by what choices we make.
C. DO YOU KNOW THERE ARE SUPERNATURUAL POSSIBILIES HIDDEN BETWEEN YOUR EARS? YOUR HEART? AND YOUR FAMILY?
Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
D. GOD IS GOING TO REACH DOWN AND OPEN MAN, GOD WILL USE BONE OF HIS BONE...
E. There is Divine potential with man, and God made the bones, and the flesh. But God would put in His creation a CHOICE.
Genesis 2:21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
F. MAN AND WOMAN WERE GIVEN THE FREE NATURE OF CHOICE.
Worship and obey God and His rules?
G. GOD ESTABLISHES THE GREAT POTENTIAL IN THE BONE, AND
BONES BECOME A TYPE.
II. BONES GIVE STRUCTURE TO THE BODY,
ALLOW MOVEMENT
PROTECT INTERNAL AND VITAL ORGANS
ALLOW MOVEMENT.
A. Bones are alive and growing and changing through the process of life.
B. Bone:
One of the hard parts of the skeleton of a vertebrate
Supportive structure
Essence, core, framework
The most deeply ingrained part : --- heart
compact layer surrounds the inner layer
Pick a bone --- a matter to argue or complain
Bone tired --- very, totally, extremely tired
C. YOU HAVE SPECIALIZED BONE CALLED CARTILAGE.
It is softer material, the tip of your nose, and your ears are cartilage.
D. Three layers of bone:
PERIOSTEUM (pare - ee- OS -tee -um) the outer harder part of the bone.
It has blood vessels and nerve endings in it.
CANCELLOUS (KAN -seh-lus)
the spongy inner layer with a tough outer membrane
BONE MARROW: Thick jelly like material that helps blood production.
The inner spaces of our long bones in the arms and the legs are filled with marrow, which is very important in the formation of blood.
E. MOST PEOPLE HAVE 12 PAIRS OF RIBS.
Ribs are important not only for support, but they protect the vital organs, the heart, the liver, the lungs, and the kidneys.
The center of the ribs where they connect together is called the STERNUM.
Some people have an extra set of ribs, making them 13 sets.
Even rarer is that some people are short a pair of ribs, and only have 11?
F. WHAT ARE THE LARGEST BONES IN THE BODY?:
THE HUMERUS
The humerus is the long bone from the shoulder to the elbow.
The FEMUR IS THE LARGEST BONE IN THE HUMAN BODY ---
The Femur goes from the hip to the knee.
G. THE SMALLEST BONES IN YOUR BODY?
The smallest bones in your body are found in your ear:
Hammer
Anvil
Stirrup
The stirrup is between .1 and .13 of an inch in size.
H. THERE ARE 54 BONES IN YOUR HAND AND WRIST.
Three per finger and two in your thumb.
I. THERE ARE 52 BONES IN YOUR ANKLE AND FOOT.
J. THERE ARE 33 BONES IN THE SPINAL CORD, OR BACK BONE.
K. MOVEMENT IS ALLOWED WHERE A BONE HAS A JOINT.
The skull has a fixed joint, and only the jaw bone can move.
THE HINGE JOINT IS FOUND IN THE KNEE.
THE BALL AND SOCKET JOINT IS IN THE SHOULDER.
L. YOUR BONES CAN TELL YOUR AGE:
At birth you have 300 soft bones, many are cartilage, soft and flexible at birth.
As you grow bones fuse together.
When you are young you have a lower mineral deposit, and as you age the bones will get more and more brittle.
An adult human has 206 bones.
By the age of 25 in most humans the bones will grow no more.
III. THERE ARE SEVEN KINDS OF SPIRITUAL BONES IN ANY CHURCH:
1. LAZY BONES --- do nothing, give nothing, apathy and indifference.
2. JAWBONES --- talkers, many words, little actions.
3. WISHBONES --- thinkers, planners.
4. SKULL BONES --- Hard heads, stubborn, self-willed.
5. KNUCKLE BONES --- Knockers, Critical, judgmental.
Love to knock others down, they think this will edify them.
6. BACK BONES --- The faithful supporters. They stand up with authority.
They are the nerve center of the body.
7. WEARY BONES --- Tired, weak, burned out.
IV. HOW DID MY BONES GET TO BE VERY DRY?
THE ULTIMATE LESSON OF BONES, FAITH AND NEW HOPE IS A WELL KNOWN LESSON FOUND IN EZEKIEL 37.
A. No known earthly power can restore life when we are reduced to bones.
But there is a GOD FACTOR THAT CAN RESTORE flesh and skin.
B. HOW DO BONES GET DRY?
C. THERE MAY BE HOPE FOR BONES?
BUT HOW ABOUT DRY BONES? THEIR BONE MARROW IS DEAD!
D. WE DON’T NEED AN AWAKENING! WE NEED A RESURRECTION!
Ezekiel 37:1 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.
V. GOD’S WORK DOES NOT START IN THE MOUNTAIN TOPS.
IT STARTS IN THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES...
A. THE MOVE OF GOD STARTS IN THE SPIRIT REALM, NOT IN THE REALM OF THE FLESH!
B. HOW HARD IS IT TO MAKE A DECLARATION OF FAITH?
C. We like to answer a question with a question?
D. DO WE SERVE GOD IN A PANIC OF DRY BONES?
E. DO WE TRUST GOD’S VISION?
Ezekiel 37:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live?
And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
It is easier to know the possibilities, than to launch out in the deep!
VI. THE WORD OF GOD DOES THE WORK OF GOD.
SOMEONE HAS TO KNOW THE WORD, DECLARE THE WORD, AND RELEASE THE FAITH OF A DIVINE PLAN BY THE WORD.
A. WE NEED A NEW BREATH OF LIFE AND HOPE.
B. BE IN THE PLACE OF OBEDIENCE AND UNITY.
Ezekiel 37:4 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:
C. THE EAR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BALANCE.
D. REMEMBER WHAT WE KNOW TODAY?
THERE ARE THREE BONES IN THE EAR THAT MAKE HEARING POSSIBLE ---
1. HAMMER
2. ANVIL
3. STIRRUP
E. HEAR OLD BONES, HEAR THE WORD OF GOD.
VII. THERE HAS TO BE A PARADIGM SHIFT, A CHANGE OF FOCUS, A NEW PATTERN.
A. WE NEED A NEW ATTITUDE OF ACCEPTING GOD’S WORD, AND THAT GOD’S WORD WILL DO GOD’S WORK.
B. THERE MUST BE A BOND OF UNITY OF INDIVIDUAL BONES COMING TOGETHER AS ONE.
C. WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT, YET WE ARE ALL THE SAME.
Ezekiel 37:6 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.
VIII. "THEY SAID" CAN BE A VERY DANGEROUS TOOL IN THE TONGUE OF A GOSSIP.
THEY SAY, BUT WHAT DOES GOD SAY?
A. DO WE WORK FOR GOD?
B. DO WE WORK WITH GOD? DOES GOD WORK WITH US?
Ezekiel 37:9 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.
Ezekiel 37:13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your 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.
IX. NOT ONLY DO THE BONES COME TOGETHER,
BUT THE PLAN OF GOD COMES TOGETHER.
1. UTTERANCE --- oral statement of power
2. UNITY --- oneness, togetherness, harmony --- each bone in it’s rightful place.
3. UNCTION --- anointing, spiritual fervor, earnest.
4. USEFULLNESS --- effective, purpose, valuable, benefit, ready
X. WE GROW LARGE WISH BONES WITH LITTLE BACK BONES?
GOD CAN TAKE WHAT APPEARS TO BE USELESS AND LIFELESS AND USE IT TO BRING VICTORY TO THE CAMP.
A NEW BONE? LIFE IN A BONE? VICTORY IN A BONE?
A. Samson had been under attack and he had been treated unfairly.
B. Samson moves in revenge.
Revenge is a terrible self feeding monster.
REVENGE IS ALWAYS A TERRIBLE BOOMERANG.
C. What is an ideal weapon for a man under the anointing?
It is not the weapon that is important, it is the God of the weapon!
D. FREE TO SERVE!
THE LORD’S STRENGTH CAME UPON SAMSON, and what had him bound,
was released.
Judges 15:14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him:
and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off
his hands.
E. WHY ARE WE LOOSED? TO STEP UP INTO THE VICTORY LANE.
Judges 15:15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
F. Samson is exhausted, the battles have been long and draining. Samson was vulnerable.
G. SAMSON HAD A VICTORY BUT THERE IS A GREATER LESSON FOR SAMSON.
DON’T THROW AWAY YOUR HOPE AFTER THE VICTORY!
Judges 15:17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi.
H. AFTER BEING PHYSICAL, MENTALLY, AND EMOTIONALLY DRAINED, SAMSON THE STRONG MAN HAS A PITY PARTY.
HE LOOSES HIS VISION.
I. YOU TALK ABOUT BAD ATTITUDE FAITH?
J. AFTER GREAT VICTORY COMES GREAT SEASONS OF TESTING!
Judges 15:18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
K. WE MUST KEEP OUR SPIRIT, ATTITUDES, WORDS AND FAITH IN ACTION! WITHIN THE BONE OF DELIVERANCE WAS ANOTHER MIRACLE PROVISION.
Judges 15:19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
XI. THE FIRE THAT IS MEANT TO KILL, WILL DESTROY THE ROPES THAT BIND US. YES, THEY FELL, BUT NOTICE THEY GET UP LOOSED!
A. GOD’S PLAN WILL RELEASE WHAT HAS US BOUND.
Daniel 3:23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
B. WE ARE LOOSED TO WALK THE MESSAGE.
IT WAS SUGGESTED THEY WERE WALKING TO STAY WARM?
25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
XII. FAITH WILL STAY WITH THE MAN OF GOD!
THE MAN OF GOD WAS DEAD?
ELISHA KNOWS THAT GOD’S POWER IS BEYOND OUR HOPE AND OUR EFFORTS!
WHEN THE WARRIORS HAVE NO HOPE BUT TO BURY THE DEAD,
BONES HAVE GREAT HOPE.
A. WHEN THE ENEMY IS HOT AND HEAVY ON A DEAD MAN’S TRAIL, THERE IS STILL HOPE.
B. MOABITES INVADE, GOD MOVES WHERE THERE IS NO HOPE.
C. KEEP YOUR FAITH. KEEP YOUR WORDS. GOD CAN...
2 Kings 13:21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.
D. When dead things touch dead things --- DIVINE PLAN OF FAITH.
THE GRAVE IS MADE A SAFE PASSAGE TO LIFE.
XIII. HOPE OF THE FATHERS BRING RELEASE TO THE CHILDREN. THERE CAN BE FAITH LAUCHED WHEN YOU ARE ALIVE, THAT CAN WORK WHEN YOU ARE DEAD.
A. THIS IS A TYPE OF JESUS IN A BORROWED TOMB, COMES TO LIFE AGAIN!
Hebrews 11:22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
B. JOSEPH WAS NOT GOING OUT OF EGYPT LIKE HIS DAD!!
C. JACOB DEMANDED HIS SONS CARRY HIS DEAD BODY BACK TO CANAAN.
Genesis 50:24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
D. FAITH SAYS WHEN GOD MOVES I AM GOING OUT OF HERE A
FREE MAN.
E. THERE WILL BE A SET OF BONES WANDERING 40 YEARS, BUT THERE COMES
A DAY WHEN FAITH WILL END IN SIGHT.
Joshua 24:32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the
inheritance of the children of Joseph.
F. FREE, FREE AT LAST!
The promise of God has made a way.
G. JOSEPH’S TESTIMONY OF BELIEVING DELIVERANCE WAS SPOKEN CLEARLY BY THE DESIRE OF GOD’S MAN WITH GOD’S PEOPLE INTO GOD’S PROBLEM.
XIV. I HAVE THE I CAN’T HELP IT’S.
THERE IS A FIRE BURNING, I CAN NOT QUIT!
A. THE pREACHER HAD BEEN THROUGH A ROUGH YEAR IN THE MINISTRY.
B. THE CHURCH MEMBERS DID NOT APPRECIATE THE PREACHER
OR HIS MESSAGES.
C. THERE WAS A TIME OF SELF DOUBT AND DOUBTING SELF WORTH.
D. THE PREACHER ONLY HAD ONE CHOICE, QUIT AND RUN.
E. THEN THE HAND OF GOD MOVED AGAIN:
Jeremiah 20:9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
XV. HOW HARD IS IT TO MAKE A DECLARATION OF FAITH?
A. We like to answer a question with a question?
B. DO WE SERVE GOD IN A PANIC OF DRY BONES?
C. DO WE TRUST GOD’S VISION?
D. GOD’S PLAN IS REAL.
E. GOD’S PLAN CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED.
F. GOD HELP US TO ALLOW FAITH TO BRING NEW HOPE BACK TO DRY BONES.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
If you think my investment of time and effort has value, could you team with me and help me? Will you pass this on to another? Enlarge my hands?
