Dead Bones That Live

Dead Bones That Live

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Introduction:

has been preached by a number of preachers (pulpiteers)

In fact, you don’t even have to be a preacher / God to VBS

And you will be familiar with …

(Dem bones, dem bones, them dry bones / repeat)

(Oh hear the word of the Lord)

The toe bone connected to the heel bone,

Heel bone connected to the foot bone / (Left me out there by myself)

But we grew up hearing those songs

Preachers preached it for years / Climaxed the sermon the same way

(Connecting the bones together / Good voice & know anatomy – Job)

And for years we sang and talked about it

But we really didn’t know what meant

And in the absence of information / People became creative with text

We miss the revelation of the text

And we end up with a cute story / That means nothing to us

Body:

(Appreciate) – Ezekiel is a prophet

When he talks about (dry bones in the valley)

God has taken him up (Spirit) / To see a vision

And the vision is not so that we might have (songs or sermons)

But that Israel may have a revelation (understanding)

Of the prophetic value that God was going to place in their lives

When Ezekiel speaks about the dry bones (in the valley)

He’s trying to get them to understand / They will go through a period

Where they will be completely scattered (dismembered / fragmented)

That as a nation / The kingdom will be divided

(Southern Kingdom – Judah (taken into exile by Babylon)

(Northern – Israel (taken into captivity by Assyria)

But God promises them ()

(God) – I will not leave your life in a scattered state

(God) – Not that you won’t go through scattering circumstances

(God) – But, I will not leave you in a scattered state

(God) – But I will bring back together (those things in your life)

(God) – That were fragmented and out of place

Point:

This OT prophecy / Which is about the nation of Israel

Is God’s promise / That I will not leave you scattered as a nation

(God keeps His promises)

It’s good to know (God will not leave your life in a scattered state)

Point:

Because if you don’t understand that / You will run into some problems

(Jesus) – Talks about the danger of being scattered / divided

(Reference) – (Cast of demons by Beelzebul)

Point:

Anytime something is fragmented / It loses its power to stand

That is also true with life

Life will break you down (fragment you) / Find yourself scattered

And now you’re vulnerable to the enemy / Because you’re scattered

Concept: Before I go deeper into this concept

Appreciate / As a NT Believer / Most of our strength is predicated

On our unity

If we lose our unity / We divide our members / Lose our strength

And we can’t operate in the power that we really have

Point: God has fixed your faith / A great deal of your power

When you are positively and spiritually connected with another believer

Because, One Thing the enemy (nacash) hates

Positive & Spiritual agreement with believers

And “he” will do everything he can

To prevent you from having agreement

Observation: He doesn’t so much fight your ability to connect with God

But he does fight your ability to connect with each other

Because the Power of God / Truly Releases

When God sees us connecting (positively & spiritually) with one another

Point: Imagine what would happen (If you really believed this Word)

(Walk in / Finding other spiritual believers)

(Believers) – (Let’s come into agreement)

(I’m being attacked) / (my job, finances, marriage) / Break stronghold

Imagine What would happen to Cancer…

Point: If we stopped worrying about…

(she thinks she’s cute / he thinks he’s something)

If we ever got beyond these (petty, divisions that divide us)

That stops us from being connected / Truly came together (spiritually)

Reference: (Pentecost) – (Disciples in one-place & one accord)

(Suddenly) / Came a noise from heaven

(God was waiting on them / Get in one-place & one-accord)

Powerful Things Begin To Happen

Point: Whether you’re (Singing a Song / Hearing a Sermon)

Whenever you come into agreement about / The Power of God

Falls on that agreement

Point: You can preach (good & powerful) message

But if you preach it to a house / That doesn’t come into agreement on it

It doesn’t release the power that it could / Not connected to the Word

But if they ever get connected with that Truth / The Power of God

Is released in a supernatural way

Point: The same is true with our Singing…

Something is supposed to happen when we get together

Point:

1st – My soul needs to be fed / So I can get direction for the week

So I can fight off the enemy

2nd – I need to be in an environment / With other believers

Who are positively & spiritually driven by God

So we can rebuke the powers of the enemy / Break the strongholds…

Point: Yes, I can rebuke the enemy / By myself

Even though I’m bad by myself / I’m always better when I have backup

From other focused believers

Point: Your strength is in your connections / In the skeleton structure

The strength is in the connections

Point: But you can’t gain connections / Talking in code

(I want you to pray about something / But I not telling you what it is)

(I want you to pray God will do the thing I’m thinking / Not telling you)

(Jackson) – I can’t really pray effectively

(Jackson) – I don’t know if I agree with whatever this thing is/not

Power of Prayer comes through Connection

Explain Prophecy

Concept:

When you start talking about bones (structure)

The structure of the body / Determined by the bones

What permits us to stand upright / Not just muscles (bones)

Point: Muscles is like your anointing / Bones is structure

Your anointing can’t do what it’s supposed to do

Unless you have the structure to handle it

Thought: You need some structure in your life

Point: Structure is a weapon against the enemy

(Enemy functions in disorder / confusion / chaos)

(Everybody doing what is right in their own eyes)

The enemy uses the lack of structure to destroy potential

Point: It will destroy a community / Not outside sources

The lack of unity will destroy a community

The word community is centered on the word unity

Point: The enemy is terrified over unity

He will fight you with (pettiness, insecurity, pride, anger…)

(he say/she say / they say / I heard/ you thought when we came…)

Anything he can do to / Break the bones down from connections

The enemy will try to do it

Observation: In this prophecy (Not just a person that dismembered)

(This not just a group of people) / This was an army

Once… (Connected, United, Fighting Vessel)

They had been attacked to the point / Died on the battlefield

Been dismembered / Lost all hope of the victory

Attacks Will Do That…

Point: If Attacks become strong enough / Attacks will separate

(Couples – overcome disease – Divorce)

(Family member – addiction – Divorce)

(Family (working together) – Nothing to fight / Dismembered)

Question: What is That?

The attack took so much out of you

That you no longer have the connections that you need

To bring it back together

Point: So God Told Ezekiel (Go Down to the valley and look)

(NLT)

3 Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”

Observation: People meet you in (Context of your Crisis)

They think you “are” where you “are”

They don’t know where you’re going / What God is about to do in life

Because when God looks at you / He sees what you are going to be

He sees what He’s going to do in your life…

(People) – You met me in crisis (trouble) / Wait until I come out of this

(People) – Yes, my structure is scattered / But when God gets done

(People) – There’s going to be some rattling / Bones coming together

(People) – In my life

(NLT)

3 Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”

Question: Have you ever had a situation so long (Just accepted it)

(Maybe this is the way it is / Maybe I’m not supposed to get better)

(Maybe I’m not supposed to be loved / get married / have a life)

(Maybe my children will never get it together)

Point: And you just accept it

That is settling for being scattered and dismembered

But God Keeps His Promises

God knows how to snatch the bones in your life

And bring them back together…

Observation: (Ezekiel)

(When I was led to the bones that covered the valley floor)

(They were scattered across the ground / Very dry)

(I didn’t know if things could get better)

(But I prophesied as I was commanded)

Point: Let me say something to the “Quiet” people

Who go through stuff with your mouth closed

If you don’t speak to it / It won’t change

You have to open your mouth / Speak to those bones…

4 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! 6 I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

(NLT)

7 So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. 8 Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’ ”

10 So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.

Conclusion:

In / The Word was the source of bringing scattered bones

Together / Putting the pieces back together / Bones with right bones

It was the Word / That brought it all back together again

And when it all came together again…

The Spirit of God (ruach) / Resuscitated

What the Word Connected

(Bible) – The army of the Lord / Got their second wind

When the Word of God / Brings structure to a scattered life

And the Spirit of God / Breathes into you and Revives you

That’s God giving you / Your second wind

Point: Life may have hit hard / Knocked the wind out of you

But the Spirit of God / Has breathed into you

Giving you your second wind

Thought: Some of you are feeling fragmented / scattered

God is picking up the pieces

(People) – Pickup the pieces (3xs)

(Jackson) – It’s all coming together…

(Jackson) – Listen to the rattling / It’s coming together (3xs)

Concept: God has chosen you / Bring structure to scattered pieces

What God chooses, He cleanses

What God cleanses, He molds.

What God molds, He fills

What God fills, He uses.

Point: He wants to blow breath into you / He wants to give you 2nd wind

Listen to the rattling / It’s coming together (3xs)

Climb over whomever you need to / And come let God give (2nd wind)

Climb over every (excuse, distraction) / Come get your 2nd wind

Can’t nobody put you back together again / Like the Lord

Come to Him right now/Listen to the rattling / It’s coming together (3xs)