The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' I said, 'Sovereign Lord, you alone know.' Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. Then he said to me: 'Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’

-Ezekiel 37:1-14

Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.'

Ezekiel 37:11

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.

-Psalms 1:1-3

Israel as a Nation is a miraculous story.

And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;

-Daniel 9:26

A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.

-Romans 2:28-29

If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.

-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

If we have a hope only for this life then we of all people are most miserable.

-1 Corinthians 15:19

Unless you have a hope that can transcend death, you are dry bones with no future and no hope.

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

-Ezekiel 37:7-10

Death used to be an executioner, but the Gospel makes him just a gardener.

-George Herbert

Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!'

-Ezekiel 37:4b

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'

-Romans 10: 14-15

God came in the form of Jesus Christ and He went right into the belly of death and broke its back!

-Tim Keller

First, you have to hear, understand, and acknowledge the Truth.

Second, you have to have the spirit of God breathed into you.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

-Ezekiel 36:25-27

Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’

-John 3:5-7

The New Birth says, “I believe, understand, and receive the Good News of the Gospel. I have been raised to walk in a new way of life.”

   

1 - You hear the truth. Believe the Gospel.

  

2 - You are born again. His spirit is breathed into you.

  

3 - You know that God is Lord over All.

  

  

‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’

-Ezekiel 37:12-14

These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

-1 Peter 1:7

We grieve but not like those who have no hope.

-1 Thessalonians 4:13

Have I heard the truth?

You have heard, understood, and believed.

Have I been born again?

Has God breathed His spirit upon me and transformed my identity and hope?

Do I have a new desire for righteousness that I never had before?

Are you certain that He is the Lord your God?

Has God brought you out of bondage and decay into a new life and a new kingdom that can never be shaken or destroyed?

  

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching...

-Acts 2:42

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

-Acts 2:42

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God...

-Acts 2: 44, 46-47

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.

-Matthew 5:4

Every day….. they continued to meet together… They broke bread in their homes…

-Acts 2:46 a,c,d

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

-1 Corinthians 10:31

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously

-2 Corinthians 9:6

You live under the Lordship of Christ!

You have been born again.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

-Matthew 7:13-14

No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

-Luke 9:62

Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

-Matthew 13:18-22

What most of us do not understand is that Spiritual Dry Bones happen over a period of time.

  

We have not made the connection between dry bones and our lack of spiritual discipline.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

-Acts 2:42-43, 47

Sorrow is central/Joy is peripheral.

There is very little passion for God’s word.

Corporate Worship is optional depending on how you “feel” any given weekend.

There is no real desire or passion for worship.

You live an isolated life, away from a spiritually healthy community.

Sin is unfortunate but you don’t mourn over it. “Everybody sins.”

You arrive very late to church when you do attend because you really don’t want to be there.

You are indeed a consumer. Church is for you rather than you for the church.

You give and serve not purely from your heart but partly to appease your conscience and to make up for your failures.

The presence of any real devotional life is not there. Prayer is a ritual without much flesh to it.

In short: You are religiously alive but spiritually dead!

  

It pleased God to display his free and sovereign mercy in the conversion of the great multitude of souls in a short space of time, turning them from a formal, cold, and careless profession of Christianity to the lively exercise of every Christian grace, and the powerful practice of our holy religion.

-Jonathan Edwards

How can thee bones rise again?

Revival.

  

  

R.S.V.P.

Repent - Make a 180 degree turn/Of your cavalier attitude toward spiritual things.

Say you are Sorry - For the sins of the past/For allowing the cares of the world to choke out the fire of the Spirit.

Verbalize  - Your trust in Jesus to forgive you of your sin and promise to live under His Lordship/Your recommitment to Jesus Christ

Plunge Your Past - Let the Spirit come in to give you both the power and will to walk in a new way of life/Pray that God will breathe fresh wind and fresh fire into you!

  

  

  

  

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