EZEKIEL 37:1-4 CAN THESE BONES LIVE? WE HAVE BEFORE US THIS SUNDAY MORNING WHAT IS PERHAPS ONE OF THE MOST PROFOUND QUESTIONS IN BIBLE WRITINGS. THE GREAT VISIONARY EZEKIEL IS CONFRONTED HERE IN OUR TEXT BY GOD HIMSELF. WE HEAR HERE GOD ASKING MERE MAN, A QUESTION THAT REQUIRES GREAT PROFUNDITY, GREAT INSIGHT, GREAT WISDOM. AND I AM SURE THAT THIS IS WHY GOD DIDN'T JUST ASK ANYBODY, THIS QUESTION. HE COULD HAVE CARRIED ANY OF YOU OUT INTO THIS VALLEY OF DRY BONES, BUT INSTEAD HE CHOOSES ONE WITH A VISION. YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS. HE COULD HAVE CHOSEN SOME MEDICAL DOCTOR, ONE WITH DEGREES FROM THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS MEDICAL SCHOOLS OF THE DAY. HE COULD HAVE CHOSEN AN ANTHROPOLOGIST, ONE WELL VERSED IN THE STUDY OF THE PHYSICAL MAKE-UP OF MAN. GOD COULD HAVE SELECTED A HISTORIAN, ONE THAT PERHAPS KNEW MUCH OF THE ANCESTRAL DEALINGS OF THESE PEOPLE, FOR THEY WERE NOT MERELY BONES, NO ONE COMES INTO THIS WORLD 1
WITHOUT FLESH AND BLOOD, NO ONE COMES INTO THIS WORLD JUST BONES. BUT THESE BONES WERE THE REMNANTS OF MEN AND WOMEN THAT HAD ONCE LIVED, THERE WAS SOME HISTORY BEHIND THESE BONES. BUT GOD IN HIS OMNISCIENCE, GOD IN HIS OMNIPOTENCE, GOD IN HIS ABILITY TO DO ALL THINGS, HE DOESN'T CONSULT MEDICAL DOCTORS, HE DOESN'T CONSULT AN ANTHROPOLOGIST, HE WANTS TO KNOW NOTHING OF THEIR HISTORY, ALL GOD WANTS TO KNOW, IS CAN THESE BONES LIVE? AND THAT'S JUST HOW GOD IS, HE IS NOT SO CONCERNED WITH WHAT YOU USED TO DO. GOD IS NOT LOSING SLEEP OR WASTING TIME TRYING TO REMEMBER, AND HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU USED TO DO. GOD IS CONCERNED MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS WITH WHAT YOU CAN DO, AND WITH WHAT YOU WILL DO. WE ARE THE ONES WHO TRY TO HOLD PEOPLE, EVEN OURSELVES IN BONDAGE WITH THE PAST. YOU KNOW HOW WE SAY, I KNEW HIM WHEN, I KNEW HER WHEN, BUT GOD IS NOT CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE USED TO BE, HE IS ONLY INTERESTED IN WHAT WE SHALL BE. THAT'S WHY PAUL SAID FORGETTING THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE BEHIND, I PRESS TOWARD THE MARK FOR THE PRIZE OF THE HIGH CALLING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS. SO GOD DOESN'T WANT TO KNOW OF THESE BONES HISTORY, HE 2
WANTS TO KNOW CAN THEY LIVE. SO LOOK WHO HE RAISES THIS QUESTION TO. A PROPHET, A MAN OF VISION. SO MANY TIMES IN OUR LIVES, WE CONSULT EVERYBODY BUT GOD'S MAN. WE LOOK TO DOCTORS, WE LOOK TO LAWYERS, WE LOOK TO THOSE THAT ARE LEARNED AND WELL- VERSED IN OUR AREAS OF CONCERN. BUT WE NEED TO HEAR AGAIN THE WORD OF GOD, HE SAYS WITHOUT A VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH. YOU OUGHT TO THANK GOD FOR A MAN OR WOMAN OF VISION. YOU OUGHT TO THANK GOD WHEN PEOPLE THT GOD PLACES IN LEADERSHIP HAVE A VISION. BECAUSE THE DOCTOR WILL DEPEND ON WHAT HE KNOWS, AND WHEN WHAT HE KNOWS DOESN'T LINE UP WITH WHAT YOU NEED, HE'LL TELL YOU, I'VE DONE ALL THAT I CAN DO. A LAWYER WHEN HE HAS EXHAUSTED ALL OF THE RESOURCES OF HIS LEARNING, WHEN HE HAS EXPENDED ALL OF HIS JUDICIAL REASONING, HE WILL TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE AT THE MERCY OF THE COURT. BUT WHEN YOU GO TO GOD'S PERSON, AND WHEN HE OR SHE IS A PERSON OF VISION, NO MATTER HOW DARK IT GETS, NO MATTER HOW DISMAL YOUR SITUATION, GOD'S PERSON, BECAUSE THEY KNOW GOD, WILL 3
TELL YOU THAT THE LORD WILL MAKE A WAY SOMEHOW. THEY WILL TELL YOU TO TURN IT OVER TO JESUS, AND HE WILL WORK IT OUT. THEY WILL TELL YOU THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THEM THAT LOVE THE LORD. A PROFOUND QUESTION, A QUESTION OF GREAT DEPTH, I MEAN THIS IS REALLY A DEEP QUESTION, CAN YOU IMAGINE LOOKING UPON THIS HEEP OF BONES, NOT ONLY WERE THEY BONES, THEY WERE DRY BONES, WHICH SUGGEST TO ME THAT THESE BONES WERE NOT ONLY VOID OF THE LIFE THAT ONCE SURROUNDED THEM, THESE BONES HAD NO LIFE EVEN IN THEMSELVES, THE MARROW WITHIN HAD DRYED OUT, NO MOISTURE, NO LIFE WHATSOEVER, THESE BONES WERE DEADER THAN DEAD, BUT GOD RAISES THE QUESTION, CAN THESE BONES LIVE. GOD HAS BEEN KNOWN TO ASK QUESTIONS HASN'T HE, WE KNOW THAT HE KNOWS THE ANSWER ALREADY, BUT GOD HAS BEEN KNOWN TO ASK A QUESTION EVERY NOW AND THEN. REMEMBER HE ASKED ADAM, WHERE ART THOU, HE ASKED MOSES, WHAT IS THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR HAND, HE ASKED ELIJAH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE UNDER THIS JUNIPER TREE, HE ASKED MALACHI, WILL A MAN ROB GOD, AND HERE WE FIND HIM ASKING EZEKIEL, CAN THESE BONES LIVE. NOT WHOSE BONES WERE THEY, BUT CAN THEY LIVE. NOT WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM, 4
BUT CAN THEY LIVE. NOT WHO WERE THEIR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS, BUT CAN THEY LIVE. NOT WHAT NEIGHBORHOOD WERE THEY FROM, BUT CAN THEY LIVE. NOT WHAT CHURCH DID THEY BELONG TO, NOT WHAT KIND OF JOBS THEY HAD, NOT THEIR SOCIAL OR ECONOMIC STATUS IN THEIR COMMUNITY, BUT CAN THEY LIVE. THAT'S THE QUESTION GOD ASKED EZEKIEL. WELL, I BELIEVE HE'S ASKING US THIS SAME QUESTION TODAY. St. STEPHEN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE. YOU ASK WHAT BONES, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT PREACHER, FIRST OF ALL YOU WILL NOTE PASTOR, WE'RE NOT IN A DESERT PLACE, AND FURTHERMORE THERE ARE NO BONES HERE. WELL, I'M SORRY, BUT I MUST DISAGREE, WE ARE IN A DESERT PLACE. YES WE ARE IN A DESERT WHEN THERE ARE MORE OF OUR PEOPLE BEHIND BARS, THAN IN COLLEGE. WE ARE IN A DESERT WHEN OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN CAN NOT FIND JOBS, WE ARE IN A DESERT WHEN CRIME IS ON THE RAMPAGE, TEENAGE PREGNANCY IS ON THE RAMPAGE, WE ARE IN A DESERT WHEN IT'S O.K. TO KILL LITTLE BABIES BY ABORTION, WE'RE IN A DESERT I TELL YOU, WHEN YOUNG GIRLS AND BOYS TWELVE AND THIRTHEEN YEARS OLD, KNOW MORE ABOUT THE BIRDS AND THE 5
BEES THAN MOMMA AND DADDY. BUT NOT ONLY THAT, WE HAVE OUR SHARE OF DRY BONES IN THIS VALLEY. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE THEY ARE, RIDE THROUGH SOME OF THE STREETS OF OUR CITY AND SEE DRY BONES ON THE STREET CORNER, SELLING DRUGS AND USING DRUGS. IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE DRY BONES, LOOK AT THAT MAN THAT WOMAN STANDING ON THE CORNER WITH A BOTTLE OF WINE IN THEIR HAND. LOOK AT THAT YOUNG BOY THAT YOUNG GIRL, OUT WAY PAST MIDNIGHT, YOU WILL FIND DRY BONES. BUT SOME OF YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO GO THAT FAR. YOU CAN FIND DRY BONES IN YOUR OWN HOME. THAT SON, THAT DAUGHTER, THAT HAS NO MOTIVATION IN LIFE, NO GET UP AND GO ABOUT THEMSELVES, NO GOALS FOR THE FUTURE, JUST DRY BONES. AND THEN EVERY NOW AND THEN, WE CAN FIND DRY BONES IN CHURCH ON SUNDAY. DRY BONES BECAUSE THEY THINK THEY HAVE LIFE, THEY THINK BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN IN CHURCH ALL THERE LIVES THAT THEY ARE SAVED. SO WE NEED TO ADMIT, THAT WE STAND IN THE MIDST OF THIS VALLEY OF DRY BONES. AND WE NEED TO HEAR AGAIN THIS QUESTION 6
FROM THE LORD, CAN THESE BONES LIVE?, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? CAN THESE BONES LIVE? CAN THESE BONES LIVE? CHURCH, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? WELL I'M GLAD YOU ASKED, BECAUSE I HAPPEN TO BE A MAN OF VISION. AND I BELIEVE THAT THESE BONES CAN LIVE. I BELIEVE THAT IN SPITE OF THE DARKNESS OF THE DAY IN WHICH WE LIVE, I BELIEVE, THAT THESE BONES CAN LIVE. WELL, PASTOR, WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THAT. NUMBER ONE, I BELIEVE THAT NO MATTER HOW DARK IT GETS, I BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS STILL THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. I BELIEVE THAT NO MATTER HOW MANY CLOUDS CLOUD OUR SKY, I BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS STILL THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR. I BELIEVE THAT NO MATTER HOW MANY WEEDS THERE ARE IN OUR GARDEN OF LIFE. I BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS STILL THE LILY OF THE VALLEY, OH YES HE'S STILL THE SWEET ROSE OF SHARON, HE'S STILL A ROCK IN WEARY LAND, HE'S STILL A WAYMAKER, HE'S STILL JEHOVAH JIREH ( GOD OUR PROVIDER), HE'S STILL JEHOVAH NISSI ( GOD OUR BANNER), HE'S STILL EL SHADDAY GOD ALMIGHTY, HE'S STILL I AM, WHATEVER WE NEED, GOD IS STILL THAT. SO GOD QUESTIONS EZEKIEL, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? AND EZEKIEL RESPONDS IN THAT 3RD VERSE, O LORD GOD, THOU KNOWEST. 7
THAT SAYS TO ME, THAT WHATEVER THE ANSWER IS, EZEKIEL REALIZED THAT THE ANSWER WAS NOT IN HIMSELF, BUT THAT THE ANSWER, IF THERE WAS TO BE AN ANSWER, EZEKIEL KNEW THAT THE ANSWER HAD TO BE IN GOD. THAT TELLS ME MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THAT WE SHOULD NEVER GET TO THE POINT, WHERE WE THINK WE KNOW IT ALL. BUT WE OUGHT TO BE WILLING TO ADMIT, THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS, THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS FOR, THERE ARE SOME PROBLEMS, THAT WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO SOLVE. BUT WE OUGHT TO HAVE ENOUGH SENSE TO KNOW, THAT THERE IS NOTHING TO HARD FOR GOD. THAT'S WHY I LOVE IT WHEN DAVID SAID, I WILL LIFT UP MINE EYES UNTO THE HILLS FROM WHENCE COMETH MY HELP. HE REALIZED THAT THE ANSWER HE NEEDED, WASN'T DOWN HERE, IT WASN'T IN MAN, IT WASN'T IN SOME LIBRARY, IT WASN'T DOWN HERE, SO I'LL JUST HAVE TO LIFT UP MINE EYES, TO THE HILLS, FROM WHENCE COMETH MY HELP. MY HELP COMES FROM THE LORD. AND SO IN RESPONSE TO THIS QUESTION THAT GOD IS ASKING US TODAY, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? I'VE STOPPED BY TO SUGGEST TO YOU TODAY, LIKE GOD SUGGESTED TO 8
EZEKIEL, THAT THESE BONES CAN LIVE. WE CAN BRING LIFE BACK INTO OUR COMMUNITES, WE CAN RESTORE HOPE FOR OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN. BUT IN ORDER TO DO THIS, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE MUST DO. NUMBER ONE, EZEKIEL SAYS IN VERSE ONE, THAT THE HAND OF THE LORD WAS UPON HIM, AND THAT GOD CARRIED HIM OUT IN THE SPIRIT. NUMBER ONE, IF WE ARE TO BRING REVIVAL INTO THE WEST SIDE OF CHICAGO, IF WE ARE TO BRING REVIVAL INTO OUR HOMES, IF WE ARE TO BRING NEW LIFE INTO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, THEN WE HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO WALK IN THE SPIRIT. WE'VE GOT TO STOP TRYING TO BE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, AND WE HAVE TO BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF OUR MINDS. GOD CANNOT USE US, UNTIL WE GET IN THE SPIRIT. THAT'S WHY HE SAID IN MATTHEW, THAT HE IS A SPIRIT, AND THEY THAT WORSHIP HIM, MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH. NEW LIFE BEGINS IN THE SPIRIT. THERE WOULDN'T BE SO MANY DRY PRAYERS, IF PEOPLE WOULD GET IN THE SPIRIT. THERE WOULDN'T BE SO MANY DRY ATTITUDES, IF PEOPLE WOULD GET IN THE SPIRIT. THERE WOULDN'T BE SO MANY DRY SERMONS, IF PEOPLE WOULD GET IN THE SPIRIT. ALL I'M SAYING, IS THAT WE NEED TO LET THE HOLY 9
SPIRIT HAVE CONTROL OF OUR LIVES. THE SECOND THING WE NEED TO DO IS IN VERSE 4. GOD TOLD EZEKIEL, TO PROPHESY UPON THE BONES, AND TELL THE BONES, TO HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD. I CANNOT STRESS EVANGELISM ENOUGH. BECAUSE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW, THAT GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THAT GOD IS STILL MAKING WAYS OUT OF NO WAYS, GOD IS STILL A HEART FIXER, AND A MIND REGULATOR. THEY NEED TO STOP LISTENING TO THE PSYCHICS, AND THE FORTUNE TELLERS, AND THEY NEED TO HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD. Appreciate people for who they are rather than punish them for who they are not. 10