So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Transcription

1 Ezekiel 37:1-14 (ESV) The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; [a] it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, you know. 4 Then he said to me, Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath [b] to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, [c] and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.

2 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off. 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.

3 SPIRITUAL AWAKENING Ezekiel 37:1-14; Ephesians 5:14

4 Ezekiel s Experience The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry Ezekiel 37

5 I. Spiritual Awakening A. Spiritually LOST v.1-2; Luke 19:1`0; Ephesians 2:12 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Ephesians 2 Experience TRAGEDY

6 B. Spiritually DEAD v.7-8, 11, James 1:15, Romans 6:23; Deuteronomy 30:15-19; 2 Chronicles 36: So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them 11 Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off. Ezekiel 37

7 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.- Romans 6 15 See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, - Deuteronomy 30

8 C. Spiritually AWAKEN v.5, 9-14; Matthew 19:26; Romans 10:17 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath [b] to enter you, and you shall live. 9 Then he said to me, Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on 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 on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off. 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord. Ezekiel 37

9 II. Acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior Through the preached Word, lives are changed, nations are healed, and dead bones are resurrected. - Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10

10 III. Application 1. Have you selected your one WORD? 2. How do you decide which word? 3. Behavior Modification vs Character Formation 4. Make a list of various words 5. Take a week/month to decide 6. Pray for God s Guidance 7. Once decided, apply the word throughout the year. 8. Review it at the end of the day. 9. Journal it 10. Find a scripture verse to go along with it

11 III. Spiritual Awakening is remembering: GOD. IS. NOT. YET. FINISH. WITH. ME. YET. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Revelation 2

12 DEAD BONES and DRY BONES Ezekiel 37 1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.

13 SPIRITUAL AWAKENING 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord. Ezekiel 37

14 Theme for 2018 The Word Is: AWAKEN Theme verse is: Ephesians 5:14 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, AWAKE, O sleeper, and ARISE from the dead, and Christ will SHINE on you.