Living Water for Dry Bones

Introduction

Good Morning

I Am Pastor Sebastion Koger from SHBC

Wife Grace & Daughter Eden

Bill asked me to fill In.

Psalm 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.””

Psalm 96:6 “Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.”

I Pray you are glad to be here

This Morning we will be in the book of Ezekiel beginning in chapter 37

God’s people were in exile in Babylon because of their long rebellion and idolatry. Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed, and the people felt hopeless — like their nation was dead.

Read Scripture

Pray

This morning as is my custom I have 3 truths id like to show you from Gods Word.

The Reason for our Dryness

A youth leader once explained the 'valley of dry bones' by comparing it to how we feel on Monday mornings: tired, lifeless, and wishing for a miracle to help us through the week! He humorously encouraged everyone to bring their 'dry bones' to God, who can turn even an ordinary Monday into something extraordinary with His power and love!

Spiritually Speaking Have you noticed that our country has become very dry?

On a typical Sunday morning several million baptist will flood their churches

Pentecostals will go to their churches and catholics to theirs

Week in and week out people will attend services and hear amazing messages.

And yet they will be spiritually dry.

Men such as Judas Iscariot will walk along the Savior and yet never know.

Men such a Peter will be in the pressence of Christ for years and yet not have the spiritual depth to stand on their convictions.

Perhaps someone such as you will spend week after week coming to Mount Vernon Baptist Church and have the gospel preached faithfully to you and yet your dry spiritually

I am convinced that the reason for our dryness is that we have a poor relationship with the giver of life.

Contextually here The Children of Israel have gone into the Babylonian Exile and have lost their homes, livelyhoods, families, and most importantly Jerusalem. The temple has been demolished.

They are in a foreign land with no means to worship God and they have therefore become spiritually dry.

What is our excuse as nation and more so as an indavidual.

I am convinced that we are so dry in our spiritual lives not because we have to little but because we have to much.

For some of you, you are already plotting where to get lunch, for some your thinking about that Sunday afternoon nap whatever the case may be your body is a faithful member here but your mind has not attended this church in some time.

Our nation is so dry because we allow sin to go on like its normal.

Men lying with men in sexual immorality, 50% of marriges ending in divorce, The family so disconnected, husbands who would rather have a mother than a wife, wifes who would rathe have a workhourse than a husband, fathers that would rather go to the bar with their buddies rather than to the park with our children, mothers who would rather tell their friends gossip rather than tell their kids the gospel, Children who do not respect their parents, and yet we are supprised at the state of our country. And yet we are supprised that famalies dont come to our churches.

Our nation is dry because “The harvest is plentyful but the laborors are few”

Notice at V.2 the prophet notes they are very dry. Bones take an extrodinary amount of time to become dry.

I believe our nation has been away from God for so long that we have become “very dry”

But God in his ever present majesty didnt just leave us here he has offered a way to remption

The Remedy for our Dryness

What is the remedy for our Dryness?

The remedy here is two fold. First we must live and dwell on Gods Word

God’s Word V.4 says to “Hear the word of the Lord”

Let Gods word permiate every cell in your body and every fiber of your being.

Gods word has the power to change lives.

I heard the story of the socialist and the christian walking down the street discussing their views on various aspects of life when they came across a homeless man, this homeless man was much like those that we see on nearly every major street corner in our fair city. The socialist turned to the christian and said “do you see that man? socialism would give that man a new coat” the christian turned to him and said “christianity would put a new man in that coat.”

Some Men can tell you every statistic of every player in MLB but cant tell you 1 bible verse other than John 3:16.

We want to fight our spiritual battles and yet we do not have our weapon. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

We want to know what God wants for us and yet we have no lamp to guide or way. Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

We have a generation seeking the truth and we have no clue where to point them. John 17:17 ““Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”

We have people hungry for something to fill their spirit and yet we have nothing prepared in our hearts to offer them. Matthew 4:4 “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ””

This world will change when Gods people start having His word written on their hearts.

Allow me to strike a little closer if you desire for your life and your ministry to change then you must first better your relationship with God by getting in his word.

Secondly

To cure your spiritual dryness you must be filled with the spirit

V.14 “I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life”

Did you know it is possible to have Gods Spirit and yet dissobey. Hebrews 3:7–8 “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,”

We as baptist are the absolute worst for allowing the Spirit of God to move among us.

I heard the story of man in the backrow of a baptist church (typical) having a heart attack, in the fashion of a good southern woman his wife didnt want to make a scene so she stepped into the foyer dialled 911 and went and sat back down. As the ems arrived they entered the church and quietly started pulling out the unresponse almost dead looking person. long story short they had pulled out 8 people before they found the right one.

I say that jokingly but how true is it that when the spirit of God moves we tell him no.

When the spirit calls us to evangelize we are to busy, when he calls us to read our Bible were dyslexic, when he calls us to volunteer at church we suddenly have something going on.

If we as christians will have Gods word in our lifes and his spirit in our hearts we just might see some change.

Fill in here Sebastion, Remember to raise and lower your voice. Remember not to bash we need this to be slightly encouraging.

The Response to the Spirit

Finally, notice the response of the spirit. They came to life.

Maybe you have been in need of revival? Allow me to ask you similar question to that which our Lord asked the prophet Ezekial. Can you have spiritual revival?

Fill here Sebastion-talk about all of the good things that come with spiritual revival for our country and ourselves personally.