Forgotten Heroes of the Faith Even Dry Bones Can Live! Ezekiel calling us to find new life even in grief. Ezekiel 37: 1-10, 11-14 Pastor Sandi Evans Rogers May 25-26, 2013 Today we are concluding our sermon series on Forgotten Heroes of Faith What does it mean to forget? a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal. Dictionary.com fail to remember; be unable to recall; neglect unintentionally; to omit mentioning; leave unnoticed; to fail to think of; take no note of. How do we fail to think of? How do we omit? And - take no note of those who have heroic qualities that we regarded as a model? Along this journey you have been introduced to: Samuel.call to repent Anna.willingness in speaking up for Jesus Ananias the power of God s touch through him Today let s take a note of.make time to think to intentionally notice - - - Ezekiel...one of God s prophets of Israel. Who is this forgotten hero? What can this Man who walked among dry bones.teach us? 1
When I was a little girl, say 7-8 years old I lived in the little town of Wickenburg, Arizona. Grandparents Dad in Korea This was a favorite time in my childhood Remember it fondly wide open desert to play in. We would make wagon trains and go out into the dessert to play hours & hours What great adventures! First time I came across a dry bone It was an animal bone, of course but I wondered How did this (picture of a coyote) Get to this (picture of a coyote skull) How long had it been there? How did it get so dry? Weather? Sun? Rain? Neglect? Other animals? And it wasn t just yesterday; it took TIME! As I have been reflecting on this passage, I began to think Did Ezekiel find himself wondering or, asking any of the same questions? When in his vision, He walked among the dry bones 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. 2
Ezekiel was called to prophecy to a people who were in exile. People who had been taken from their home, their nation Made to live in a new country, a new culture They were made to feel - - less than oppressed/depressed Life is/was not good in their world. There is a foreboding in their lives. A deep sin Their sin Turning their back on God, Their disobedience their arrogance Their sin Has brought them far from God s idea l Had made them dry bones. God explained to Ezekiel the dry bones represented the whole house of Israel vs. 11 o Dried up o Hope that had perished o Completely Is that something WE can identify with? Something YOU can identify with? Have you ever felt yourself in a place or places of exile? Places far from home Far from your hopes Far from your dreams Far from Abba? Strange circumstances, that you never thought YOU would experience. Far from the life you know God desires for you Spaces, in our lives that feel hopeless lifeless endless DRY? 3
In this economy the loss of a job can feel like being exiled in a foreign or barren land. To feel useless washed up dried out nothing of value to offer no way to provide for your family Parched.dry. As a parent the loss of a dream for a child can make you feel hopeless. to see them let go/turn from the values you raised them with to pain with them when they make bad decisions to ache with them as they experience the consequence of their sin they seem out of reach far from us Parched.dry. Perhaps you have recently experienced the loss of good health and received a difficult medical diagnosis. tests and treatments that is more than you can wrap your head around experience the changes in you body not able to respond or support you as it has in the past. Parched.dry. Perhaps you have discovered at each day becomes a challenge the loss of memory makes even the simplest task difficult. what used to be easy/routine you can t remember how the fear that someday, the love you loved, who loved you will become a stranger that you or they will walk slowly into an unknown land hopeless alone fearful. Parched.dry. 4
Today is Memorial Day And you have experienced the loss of a loved one husband/wife/son/daughter/family/friend The loneliness is paralyzing Many days you can t breathe Your heart is broken sad full of grief Fear of moving forward without them will cause you to forget too quickly empty Parched.dry. Has there been a time in your life Hopeless. Parched dry, barely able to breathe, that you have been in a place you never expected to be feeling like an exile in your own life? I have more than once For me, a very empty, sad, lonely hard and parched time for me came years ago; We lived in Nashville; we had been married for a few years and decided that we were ready for children to enter into our lives. We had no idea the journey we would travel. We got pregnant so excited to share our news three months in something happened; Days before my 30 th birthday, we lost our child. We got pregnant again, this time, it was much sooner when we lost our baby. 5
The third time we got pregnant all looked well, a healthy heartbeat at first but then at the fourth month; life changed again we discovered that he had major medical challenges then at the end of the 5 th month of pregnancy, we lost our third child, a son Isaac Emory Once again I got pregnant, and we lost our child. I found myself in a place I never thought I would be we would be This was a very dry time for me, I was parched, I didn t understand. There were moments, I didn t know if I could breathe I felt empty, When I found myself pregnant then again, I kept it to myself, until I thought it was safe, then as soon as I shared my news, again the journey became full of obstacles even at the moment of his birth but once they laid Jesse Evan Rogers in my arms I felt a deep breath fill me and I felt new hope NEW LIFE in many ways. Most all of us have had those moments, Those seasons Or, maybe you find yourself there today. Maybe we are in the midst of that now feeling as if we are right there in the valley of dry bones in our lives. 6
Maybe your valley, your dry bones are: Lost job Broken relationship Grief of losing a loved one Missed opportunity Broken dream Experience of abuse Depression It is to an exiled and hopeless people, just like us that Ezekiel becomes a hero. Not for who he is but for who God is For the vision that he experiences noted in chapter 37, Breathe new life in to a parched and dry people. In Ezekiel s vision God shares with us that dry bones. even a whole valley of them.dried and parched. Well, He has an amazing vision a different plan. Let s take a closer look: Ezekiel.37 The Message 37 1-2 GOD grabbed me. GOD s Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain dry bones, bleached by the sun. 3 He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? I said, Master GOD, only you know that. What a question What can we imagine God can do? Can something dried out, Empty, 7
Can what seems impossible Lost Something we have given up on. Well from God s perspective Become refreshed? Renewed? Can we find new life? Remember: with God NOTHING is impossible! 4 He said to me, Prophesy over these bones: Dry bones, listen to the Message of GOD! 5-6 GOD, the Master, told the dry bones, Watch this: I m bringing the breath of life to you and you ll come to life. I ll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You ll come alive and you ll realize that I am GOD! Breathe. To breathe Hebrew root is נ פ ח [nph] Same verb that is used in Genesis 2:7 to describe how God, Formed a human body from the soil And breathed life into his nostrils. created man Adam from the dirt - - THEN he breathed LIFE into him. Once again in Ezekiel s vision - - - The body was formed first then came the breath of life. 7-8 I prophesied just as I d been commanded. As I prophesied, there was a sound and, oh, rustling! The bones moved and came together, bone to bone. I kept watching. Sinews formed, then muscles on the bones, then skin stretched over them. But they had no breath in them. 8
9 He said to me, Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, GOD, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life! 10 So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army. Job a man who seemed to lose everything Family, prosperity, health He says, Acknowledging where the relationship between life and the breathe of God For as long as life is in me, And the breathe of God is in my nostrils Job s friend said The Spirit of God has made me; And the breathe of the Almighty gives me life. 11 Then God said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they re saying: Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there s nothing left of us. 12-14 Therefore, prophesy. Tell them, GOD, the Master, says: I ll dig up your graves and bring you out alive O my people! Then I ll take you straight to the land of Israel. When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people, you ll realize that I am GOD. I ll breathe my life into you and you ll live. Then I ll lead you straight back to your land. (where you belong, where I envisioned you, where I promised) and, you ll realize that I am GOD. LORD A whole new perspective I ve said it and I ll do it. GOD s Decree. WOW what an amazing vision an amazing passage! 9
What seemed impossible When seen from God s perspective became possible!!! with God NOTHING is impossible! We learn that - - God s desire for His people.for us - - YOU and ME 35 times in the book of Ezekiel God says: Know that He is the LORD. He wants us to acknowledge Him as LORD. He allows much to happen in our lives so that we have the opportunity to know that he is LORD. That we will KNOW him, Know WHO he is that we will recognize His Lordship Surrender ourselves Right relationship with Him To experience His breath within. When we see ourselves and/or experience life as dry bones Parched, Dry, Grieving, Depressed, Devalued, Oppressed Empty Separated from our Abba Can we trust Him to do the impossible with our lives? Can we let go of our sin 10
our stubbornness our pain our doubt Can we open ourselves up to his perspective his desires to be fulfilled in us his breath to give us LIFE anew. We can, by: #intentionally Listening, Watching, Feeling the breath of God WE also need to experience it Experiment Take it in a deep breath A really deep breath Again.slowly and deeply Now just sit with it for a moment! Can you feel the breath? #How do we then Receive and allow God to Breath new life in us? So how do we listen? Receive, Become filled with the breath of God? When we are parched DRY spend time: SCRIPTURE 2 Timothy 3:16a.Every part of Scripture is God-breathed 11
The Word of God is the very breath of God. It is impossible to separate God from His Word. Spending time in God s word will fill us with His very breath, 2 Timothy 3:16b-17..useful for teaching the faith and correcting error, for re-setting the direction of a man s life and training him in good living. How do you: Read Reflect Study Let it fill/form in us TRANSFORM US PRAYER Intimate time with Abba, Live to listen release sit with Breathe in the breath of God Breathe out your cares and concerns Breathe in the love of God Breathe out your doubts and despairs Breathe in the grace of God Breathe out your fears and frustrations Breathe in the breath of God Breathe out your tensions and turmoil Breathe in the love of God Breathe out your haste and hurry Breathe in the grace of God Breathe out your waste and worry 12
When we intentionally open ourselves up to. Pause - - to Be Still Keep Jesus as our focus - - When we surrender ourselves. # Breath of God will fill us giving us new life. When we surrender ourselves That is when we are primed and ready to experience ABUNDANT LIFE Jesus tells us John 10:10 I came that you might have life and have it abundantly. Can you see His vision for you for me? Experience a life filled with HOPE HOPE for a future with the life he designed us for. Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future It is His breath that fills us Transforms us from dry bones This evening // morning I what to encourage you to KNOW that He is LORD, To his children full of life abundant and eternal The one who fills you with his breath and gives you life, Wherever you find yourself 13
Breathe on me, breath of God, Fill me with life anew, That I may love what Thou dost love, And do what Thou wouldst do. Breathe on me, breath of God, Until my heart is pure, Until my will is one with Thine, To do and to endure. Breathe on me, breath of God, Till I am wholly Thine, Until this earthly part of me Glows with Thy fire divine. Breathe on me, breath of God, So shall I never die, But live with Thee the perfect life Of Thine eternity. Amen. May this Hymn be your prayer of invitation to make him LORD. Of this moment, This season This Life full of possibilities Full of LIFE. 14