Preaching in Perilous Places

Introduction: There is a great blessing in serving God when it is inconvenient, and based upon His calling and divine will. Ezekiel shows what can happen when we yield to the moving of God’s Spirit offering our feeble efforts to His awesome service.

Memory Verse: 2 Timothy 4:2 (KJV) - “2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”

Introduction to Ezekiel

The Author: Ezekiel, the prophet who is a priest that is serving as God’s messenger to the people of God who have been taken into Babylon as captives.

The Occasion: This was a time of national tragedy after the fall of Jerusalem, the burning of the Temple, the barbaric slaughter of many people, and the abduction of the youth and noblemen.

The Purpose: Ezekiel’s prophecy is used to show the grief that Sin brings, the salvation that God provides, and the sovereign power of God, which will cause His messiah to reign over His people forever.

You Are Called to Preach (37:1-6)

Called by God’s Prompting(37:1-2) - “1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

Note v1. - The hand of the LORD was an anthropomorphic statement that assigned human attributes to divinity. This phrase is used to convey the leading and guidance of God in directing the course of His servant. Ezekiel was effectively under the control of God’s mighty hand.

Note v1b. - “and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord,” - It is important to be led by God’s Spirit. We do not belong to ourselves, but rather we are under the control of one who is greater. We cannot be effective in our own power and by our own movements. God must lead and order the steps of His servants. Every Pastor, has to learn how to be led by God’s spirit, rather than the spirit of pride, jealousy, envy or greed. Too many men have faltered in their service to the Lord, because they were not yielded to God’s Spirit. Jesus, Phillip, and John the Baptist all testify of being led by the Spirit into places they would never have journeyed, except it had been for the powerful movement of God’s Spirit.

Matthew 4:1 (KJV) -  “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”

Acts 8:29 (KJV) - “Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.”

Revelation 1:10 (KJV) - “10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,”

Note v1c. - “in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones…” - This vision was of a mass slaughter, of an immeasurable number of people. An enemy had come and completely decimated this great number of people. Imagine the troubling sight of seeing bones piled upon each other.

Note v2. - “And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; - This was a horrifying sight for a priest who was forbidden from touching a dead corpse, and if he did so, he would be considered ceremonially unclean. Ezekiel sees a situation that he is powerless to affect, and is scared to address because he would be considered ceremonially unclean if he touched a corpse even if it was now nothing but bones. The multitude of bones were representative of the nation of Israel, which had been decimated by the enemy due to their apostasy. Now their capital city, temple and nation was nothing but a pile of rubble.

As pastors we are often confronted with situations that are far beyond our capacity to change and it is overwhelming. We live in the context of a valley filled with bones.

Our nation is nothing more than a valley filled with bones.

Our political systems are nothing more than valleys filled with bones.

Our communities are valleys filled with bones.

Our homes, are valleys filled with bones.

Our churches are unfortunate valleys filled with bones.

Note v2 - “And lo they were very dry…” - These bones were left to be picked by the vultures and animals, stripped by the insects, washed, cleaned by the rains, and then bleached and dried by the sun. Because they were left unburied, it demonstrated the sad state and curse under which they had died, since in eastern culture, the burial symbolized care and respect for the deceased. The results of the nation's sin had left it completely lifeless and devoid of any hope for rejuvenation.

Note v2: These bones were diverse, dead, disjointed, and dried.

Called Under God’s Power (37:3) - “3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.”

Note 3a. - “And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live?” - God inquires of Ezekiel to look out and consider the future of the bones based on the state of the bones. It was a rhetorical question, which God surely knew that based upon human understanding, was an impossible situation. However, he wanted the prophet to see and understand how severe the matter was.

Note 3b. - “And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowsest…” - Ezekiel’s doubts about the situation were canceled by his faith in the Sovereign will and power of God. Ezekiel is only a finite creature, but he is talking with an infinite creator. The prophet understands something about the omniscience and omnipotence of God, and so he responds in faith towards God’s nature and character. The preacher lives with the tension of seeing the impossible but trusting that God can do the impossible. The preacher stands week after week in a world, nation, community, and sometimes church, filled with dry bones. And all he knows is that God gave him an assignment and it must be carried out.

Jeremiah 32:17 (KJV) - “17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:”

Psalm 115:3 (KJV) - “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”

John 5:21 (KJV) - “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.”

Matthew 19:26 (KJV) - “26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Called to Preach God’s Words ( 37:4-6) - “4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Note v4. - Ezekiel’s mandate was to preach and nothing more. Many churches have long lists of requirements they use to manage and control the minister. But God only requires one thing of the minister, and that is to preach. Although it may have seemed that Ezekiel should have gotten down and dirty, despite the challenge of defiling himself in order to catalog, organize, and reassemble the bones. God’s only message to him was to prophesy. Despite how many roles and activities people would try to put on the preacher, our greatest calling is to preach God’s word.

Illustration: The Perfect Pastor

1. After hundreds of years the perfect pastor's been found. He is the church elder who'll please everyone.

2. He preaches exactly 20 minutes and then sits down.

3. He condemns sin, but never steps on anybody's toes.

4. He works from 8 in the morning to 10 at night, doing everything from preaching sermons to sweeping.

5. He makes $400 per week, gives $100 a week to the church, drives a late model car, buys lots of books, wears fine clothes, and has a nice family.

6. He always stands ready to contribute to every other good cause, too, and to help panhandlers who drop by the church on their way to somewhere.

7. He is 36 years old, and has been preaching 40 years.

8. He is tall on the short side, heavy-set in a thin sort of way, and handsome.

9. He has eyes of blue or brown, (to fit the occasion) and wears his hair parted in the middle - left side, dark and straight, right side, brown and wavy.

10. He has a burning desire to work with the youth, and spends all his time with the senior citizens.

11. He smiles all the time while keeping a straight face, because he has a keen sense of humor that finds him seriously dedicated.

12. He makes 15 calls a day on church members, spends all his time evangelizing non-members, and is always found in his study if he is needed.

Unfortunately he burnt himself out and died at the age of 32.

Jonah 3:2 (KJV) - “2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.”

Romans 10:13-15 (KJV) - “13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

1 Corinthians 1:17 (KJV) - “17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”

🧠 2 Timothy 4:2 (KJV) - “2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”

Note v6. - “And ye shall live, and ye shall know that I am the LORD….” - The God who is the life giver and sustainer is the one who will accomplish the impossible. He will restore life where there is utter death. This valley of dead, and very dry bones will be revived. Whatever seems impossible in our strength is made possible when we yield our hearts and efforts to God’s great work.

You Must Carry Out the Call to Preach (37:7-10)

Response from preaching (37:7-8) - “7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

Note v7a. - “So I prophesied as I was commanded…” - God sends Ezekiel into an impossible situation and gives him what appears to be a useless assignment, but the prophet obeys God’s commission. Serving God requires obeying even when it does not make sense. Notice, that Ezekiel preached the word of the Lord. He provides evidence here that preaching God’s word will create impact.

Noah builds an ark, and preaches for 120 years about a meteorological event, which no one had ever seen, but he preached.

Jonah preaches to one of the most ungodly cities in the world, to some of the most dreadfully barbaric people who ever lived, but he preached.

The minor prophets Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, all preached to a backslidden people whose hearts had waxed cold towards God’s word. But they preached.

Note 7b-8. - The miraculous happens, at just the preaching of God’s word. The bones came together, along with the flesh that came back upon them. God’s word will always have an effect. This sudden release of power, punctuated by a great noise and shaking was later seen in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost, and it will be seen again at the rapture of the Lord’s saints.

Acts 2:2 (KJV) - “2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

John 3:8 (KJV) - “8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Revival from Preaching (37:9-10) - “9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding* great army.

Note vs.9-10 “Then he said unto me, Prophesy unto the wind….10 and the breath came into them.” - The Hebrew word “ruha” is translated as Spirit, wind, or breath in at least ten different instances in this account. Ruha is the life-giving breath of God, which He breathed into man’s nostrils in the creation of man in Genesis 2. This shows that it is possible for men to have bodies and still not be alive. There is another dilemma we face today, the tragic scene of people who look whole and well on the outside, but are Spiritually dead on the inside.

Psalm 104:30 (KJV) - “30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.”

Revelation 20:4-5 (KJV) - “4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image*, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”

You, Will, See the Consequence of Your Preaching (37:11-14)

Sign of Revival (37:11-12) - “11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

Jeremiah 31:1 (KJV) - “1 At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.”

Ephesians 2:1 (KJV) - “1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;”

Hosea 6:2 (KJV) - “2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.”

Amos 9:14-15 (KJV) - “14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.”

Sign of Restoration (37:13-14) - “13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

Psalm 126:2-3 (KJV) - “2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. 3 The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”