God Resurrects His People

Intro

We are passed the stage of shock, but are grieving. The work ahead of us is great. Time of hopelessness.

Main Idea: God’s promises bring hope in times of hopelessness

Ezekiel is prophesying in the Babylonian exile. God has given a series of vision throughout book. They have been in exile for at least 12 years. Jerusalem gone. Temple gone. Without hope. God will make his promises, and they hit hard.

Truth #1: God will resurrect his people (1-14)

Exp. The symbolism of resurrection is not only prevalent in NT, but has roots in OT. We see that in this passage. He’s in a valley with dead bones. An army who’s been long dead. Question in verse 3. What a question. Ezekiel answers safely. Lord, you know. Ezekiel knows God can do the impossible. Likely remembers Adam: lifeless body that God breathed life into.

Exp. Verse 4-6. Ezekiel has prophesied to people, not bones. Hear the word of the Lord. They will know he is Lord. Verse 7-8. They looked like people but were not alive.Then a miracle: Verse 9-10. Breath, wind, and Spirit are same word in Hebrew. Can they come to life? With God, yes. That’s just the illustration, then he explains what this means. Verse 11. Obviously something they have said. Similar to Ezekiel 33:10

Ezekiel 33:10

“And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’

Exp. Here’s how you will live: Verses 12-14. Hear the word of the Lord, he will do it. He will open their graves. “O my people.” They’re his.

Ill. Christian and the fox, Douglas. Not his, but treats it as his. God will take care of his by resurrecting them.

Arg. Verse 14. Put his Spirit in us. Romans 8:11

Romans 8:11

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Christ - If we have died with Christ, then we have also been raised with him. We are raised with Christ because the Holy Spirit raised Christ. Therefore, he has raised us up as well.

App. How do we do this? Walk as though you’ve been resurrected.

Live in obedience. Notice God moving when Ezekiel obeyed. What might you miss when you don’t obey the Lord?

Walk in victory. Feel the pain. Feel anger and sadness. Still have joy.

Truth #2: God will unite his people (15-21)

Exp. God gives new instructions to Ezekiel. Verse 15-17. Kingdom has been divided. Judah = south. Joseph or Ephraim = north. Verse 18-19. No longer divided. Verses 20-21. I will take them from other nations. I will gather them together. I will bring them to their own land. Their hope would be rekindled. What was once divided would be united.

Christ - In Christ, we are united. Those who were far off would be brought close. Jews and Gentiles become children of God. Paul’s message was founded on the unification of the church. Jesus prayed for us to be unified in John 17.

Ill. We’ve seen it this week. Churches from Charlotte, Jacksonville, TN, SC, GA, NY, Canada. United in the mission.

Arg. We are only unified because of Christ. Reality: The reaction to the hurricane will end. Things will be normal again. Then what? We band together during a time, but what keeps us together is our identity in Christ.

App. What do we do? Unite yourself with believers around you.

Unite locally. Being committed in a local congregation and partnering with others.

Unite nationally & internationally. While groups are here, build bridges.

Truth #3: God will lead his people (22-28)

Exp. Notice what he says next. Verse 22. One king shall be over them. He’ll explain who that is soon, but look in verse 23. No more defiling. I will save them. Our only hope is to put our faith in God. I will cleanse them. I will be their God and they my people. Possessive. Verse 24. My “servant” David. Shepherd. They had bad shepherds in ch. 34.

God is reassuring them of his promise.

This is his plan to shepherd them.

Exp. God will keep his promise. A promise they likely need to be reminded of.

Ill. Sometimes I don’t come back up and lay with Christian. He reminds me the next morning. God will not go back on his promise. He’ll keep it no matter how long it takes.

Arg. Verse 26. Make a covenant of peace and it’s everlasting. Set them in the land and multiply. Same command given throughout OT. Sanctuary in their midst forever. Verse 27. Dwelling place with them.

Christ - Jesus is the fulfillment of this kingship. He is the line of David. The Good Shepherd. Dwells in us for now. He will reign over us in new Jerusalem.

App. What do we do? Rest in his forever kingdom.

Endure hard times now. God is leading us now. We don’t have to wait for that time.

Hope in what is to come. Not hoping in things to improve here, but to be perfect there.

Conclusion

Our job is to be a light in the darkness. Catastrophe gives us a new opportunity to show Christ and teach others about the gospel.

John and healthy churches.