Dry Bones (WILD #5)
Notes
Transcript
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by his Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry. Then he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I replied, “Lord God, only you know.”
He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This is what the Lord God says: Breath, come from the four winds and breathe into these slain so that they may live!” So I prophesied as he commanded me; the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.
Look, I am about to do something new;
even now it is coming. Do you not see it?
Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert.
Wild animals—
jackals and ostriches—will honor me,
because I provide water in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people.
Intro:
This week at camp we’ve been looking at this theme of wilderness that runs through the Bible.
We’ve seen that when we follow Jesus in the WILD we find times of temptation, times of trial, times of restoration, and times of instruction. Through messages and the devos we’ve seen how Jesus, Moses, David, and God’s people interacted with God in the Wilderness.
When the bible talks about wilderness it doesn’t mean forests and lakes. It’s not talking about the boundary waters.
It’s talking about desert - about wasteland. Where water is scarce and hardly any plants grow.
[Describe the location around the Dead Sea]
The question that has been on our minds this week is this: what do we find in the WILD?
Somebody in here feels like they’re stuck in the WILD.
Tonight I have three answers to this question. When we’re in the WILD we find Death, Breath, and Life.
Death (1-6)
Death (1-6)
I want to read the prophetic vision of a man named Ezekiel. Turn with me to Ezekiel 37.
[Read Ez 37:1-10]
The prophet Ezekiel sees in his vision an entire valley filled with bones. It’s not animal bones (Elephant graveyard in Lion King), it’s human bones - this scene is straight out of someone’s nightmare!
I said that in the WILD we find death. And this valley that Ezekiel sees is dead.
(v.2) tells us that these bones are completely dried out. These people have been dead for a long time. There’s no hope for life in these dry bones.
And I gotta be honest tonight. I have sensed two different groups of people here at Summer Camp this week.
This first group, is dry bones. Man if it’s you, you know. You know I’m about to speak right to you tonight. The second i mentioned dry bones you knew that’s exactly how you feel right now.
The curse of sin - that has infected every human being - is death. Sin is a virus with a 100% mortality rate.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins
And you might be sitting here dead, not alive. Just a pile of bones that are very dried out - no life!
And it’s because of the sin that you’ve let go unchecked in your life.
We’ve all got skeletons in our closets.
It’s not a matter of IF we’re struggling with sin:
addictions we’ve let take over,
pleasures we’re indulging in,
secrets we think we’re hiding,
anger that we’re holding onto,
jealousy that colors every part of our vision,
pride that thinks you’re better than someone else…
it’s not a matter of IF we’re struggling with sin, it’s a matter of which ones, and when will they come to light.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
I know somebody came to camp this year dead in their pride. You think you’re better than other people because your not X, Y, or Z...
I know somebody came to camp this year dead in their jealousy. You wish you had the clothes, the house, the friends, the gifting, testimony of somebody else...
I know somebody came to camp this year dead in their lust. You’re addicted to looking at pictures and videos on the internet. Or you’re wrestling with feelings of attraction for someone of the same sex...
I know somebody came to camp this year dead in their anger. You’ve been holding onto resentment towards somebody for way too long...
And as Ezekiel looks over this pile of dry bones - the situation seems hopeless.
God asks Ezekiel in (v.3) “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” Is there any hope for the dried out bones? Is there any way the situation of your life can change?
And Ezekiel wisely answers, “O Sovereign Lord, only you know the answer to that”
If that’s you. You know I’m talking right to you right now. maybe you’ve been asking that question this week. Is there anything that anyone can do for me? Am I always going to struggle like this? Is there any hope for overcoming this?
If you’re dead, dry bones I have a Word from the Lord for you. A word of hope. A word of encouragement. A word of freedom. I’m going to speak the same message over you that God commanded Ezekiel to speak over the valley of bones:
He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
For you dry bones. For you who are dead in sin right now God says LIVE!
God wants to take that which was dead and make it alive!
We are all dead and deserving of death because of our sin. We have rebelled against the Holy and perfect God. He set a standard for living that we have not upheld.
But God loved you way too much to leave you like this.
So He, Himself was incarnated as a human being. 100% man and 100% God.
His name is Jesus. Jesus lived perfectly up to God’s standard. He didn’t fail once!
He lived the life that you could never live and he died the death that you deserved to die because of your sin.
But he didn’t stay dead. He rose from the dead and in doing so he conquered sin and death forever. And made a way for you to be in restored relationship with God the Father. And when you place your faith in Jesus - the Holy Spirit of God breathes into you and you can live!
He has also put his seal on us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.
So dry bones I say to you right now, LIVE!
Breath (7-8)
Breath (7-8)
I said we find Death, Breath, and Life in the Wilderness.
There is a second group here this week, and if I’m being honest, I think you’re in a worse place than the dry bones.
Look at verses 7-8.
So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
The dry bones come together, they get arranged in the right way, tendons appear to connect them together, muscles and flesh formed over the bones, skins formed over it all
But they had no breath.
This second group looks the part. You look like you’re alive. You’re not just dry bones, you appear to be a living person but you’re not.
Maybe you’re here and you know you’ve been playing games with God. You’ve been pretending and hoping that no one will notice.
You’re good at being the church kid, you’re good at hiding what’s really going on, you’re good at pretending that you’re not struggling.
And let me tell you from personal experience, you can fake it for a really long time. You could fake it for your whole life if you wanted to. And you might even fool everybody around you. But you’re not fooling God. He sees you. He knows you. He loves you. And he wants you to experience a life that is real. A life that is full. A life that builds His kingdom.
So if you’re in this second group. You need the breath.
God Himself wants to live inside you.
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.
Life (9-10)
Life (9-10)
So let me wrap this up and bring this to a close.
He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This is what the Lord God says: Breath, come from the four winds and breathe into these slain so that they may live!” So I prophesied as he commanded me; the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.
If you came to camp this year and you know that you’re just dead...
Or if you came to camp this year and you know that you’ve just been faking it...
My plea is that you would trust Jesus. And that in Jesus you would find life. You would turn away from all the things that have kept you dead and run towards the One who came to give you LIFE.
I love this prophetic picture. This final image Ezekiel sees. The bones that were dead come together, they receive the breathe. And they stand up as a vast army.
I see an army! I see 7th graders, 8th graders, and 9th graders who are alive in Christ unleashed into schools, neighborhoods, friends groups as an army to build the kingdom of God.
The Lord gives this promise to Ezekiel to end this chapter:
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a permanent covenant with them. I will establish and multiply them and will set my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. When my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel.’ ”
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