When Things Look Hopeless Series

DRY BONES: There are moments that seem hopeless.

- Ezekiel 37:1-3a.

- The immediate context here is the life of Israel. Things had become hopeless for them.

- Their disobedience had led them to a place of despair and defeat. As they looked at their ability to stand up to their enemies, the army was dry bones. Utterly hopeless.

- This is something that is also true in spiritual life today. It might be an individual life, it might be a church, or it might something we think about as we think of the American church as a whole. It’s also an image that has resonated with people facing valleys down through the centuries. There have been a lot of time where it doesn’t seem as though God is going to be able to do very much because things look so hopeless.

- That's why this story is one that is so popular. It’s a situation most of us find ourselves in at some point. Or maybe this is where we live.

- Certainly today as I think of the church in America in general I think the image resonates. We are nowhere near where we should be. We are not seeing a massive outpouring of the Spirit. We are not seeing the Kingdom expanding in triumphant ways. It can feel hopeless sometimes.

- What does this passage teach us about how to respond?

BACK FROM THE DEAD: The Spirit can bring dry bones back to life.

- Ezekiel 37:3b–14.

- Now we get to the heart of this story: dry bones coming back to life.

- Unpack the passage.

- For Israel, it literally meant raising an army to life.

- This would provide them with the force they needed to go forward and win the necessary battles.

- For the church or the Christian, it means hope raised from the dead.

- Let’s start with the need for revival.

- We need revival today in the churches in America.

- The numbers are depressing. Churches closing, attendance dwindling, people lost and hopeless. The name of Christ is not held high and honored as it should be.

- It looks like dry bones sometimes.

- When we think of the great revivals of the past, we know that a move of God can have a transformational impact. It’s happened again and again. But there have been a lot of times that have felt like the valley of dry bones.

- Do we want to see a revival? Are we content with where we are now? Have we lowered our expectations to next to nothing?

- It’s essential to grasp the central place of the Spirit in all this.

- It’s the Spirit who makes this possible. He is the One who brings together all these dry bones.

- It’s the Spirit we need today to move in a powerful way.

- Is the problem that the Spirit doesn’t want to move today?

- No, I don’t think that's true at all. I think the problem is that we do not have a deep desire for a move of the Spirit. I believe that the Spirit is ready and eager to do great work among us but we aren’t looking to Him.

- We will talk in a minute about some of the alternate ways that we think the church can see great things happen. They are all seriously lacking.

- The need we have for the Spirit is something that is not given sufficient attention. There are numerous reasons why:

- a. We want to fix it ourselves.

- b. We don’t understand what the Spirit brings.

- c. We don’t want to give up control.

- Nothing of spiritual significance can happen without the movement of the Spirit. We need Him today.

- It’s not that He’s not moving. We are seeing powerful moves of God in Asia and Africa. But not in America and Western Europe.

- It is my deep belief that we are the cusp of seeing a powerful move of the Spirit. I think we are due for it and that there is a remnant seeking it today.

ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES:

- Having looked at the Spirit and His power, I think it would be helpful to detail some of the alternative approaches we are taking in the American church today to try to see a powerful move of God.

- There should be something here to offend everyone!

1. PROGRAMMING.

- One way we try to see our churches prosper is through programming.

- What do I mean by that?

- It usually looks something like this. A church is in decline. The congregation becomes concerned about that and wants to reverse the numbers. (It’s worth noting here that usually the main desire that motivates them is the “save our church.” That is, they are concerned about their church going out of business and they want to avoid that. It’s not as good a motive as “seeing people saved” or “wanting the Kingdom to expand.” It’s not that those things have no importance to such folks but they are often not the primary motivation, which is saving their church. This is repeated frequently because of how many churches are struggling today with aging congregations, deteriorating buildings, and no clear path toward reversal.) They look around and see what is working in other churches. Maybe it’s a particular type of children’s ministry. Maybe it’s a certain style of music in worship. Whatever the change, they pin their hopes on new programming within the church.