I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel
chapter 37. Ezekiel chapter 37. I'd like for us to look at the
first 10 verses of Ezekiel and this is the passage of scripture
that deals with the valley of dry bones. I was looking at my notes as
often as I refer to this passage. We're all familiar with it, but
I look back, I've never preached out of this passage since I've
been here. And I'd like to consider it this morning. Now, this passage
of scripture deals primarily with the truth of how God Almighty
calls his people out of spiritual darkness by the hearing of the
gospel as that gospel is blessed to their hearts by the Holy Spirit
of God. That's the ultimate message here. Every sinner needs to hear this
message. Every believer wants to hear
it, needs to hear it and hear it again. Here's the reason. Faith cometh by hearing. Faith cometh by hearing. And hearing by the Word of God.
Hearing by the Gospel. The Word of God. The Gospel of
God's grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm speaking, but I need
to hear what I'm saying. Our text begins, Ezekiel 37,
in verse 1, and here's what the Lord has to say about how He
saves His people. The hand of the Lord was upon
me, the power and the direction of the Lord. Now, whenever God
is going to speak, He's going to speak through preaching. We're going to see that in just
a minute. But 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. The Lord in His power,
grace, mercy caused me to be set down to rest, what he said,
in a valley. And he caused me to pass by these
bones, verse 2, round about. And Ezekiel said, and behold,
there were very many in the open valley, and lo, they were very
dry. Ezekiel said, I was moved upon
by the power of God to be set down in this valley. And this
valley was filled with nothing but bones, just dry bones. And he caused me to pass by them
round about, over and over, in circles. He said, I was made
to encircle these bones and to view them again and again. To just keep looking at them. The first thing that God teaches
His people, especially His preachers, is that they're going to be made
to see the plight of man's depravity and death, spiritual death. And that because of sin. This
is the reason why death is in this world. Sin. And Ezekiel
said, I passed by them round about and there were very many
in this open valley and they were very dry. There was no skin,
no marrow, no moisture. This is man by nature. There is no life, no spiritual
life. They're very dry. Not even a
little bit. They're not a little good. There's none good. No not one. No strength. No will. No belief. Dead in trespasses
and sins. Now this is man. Now this is
every man, every woman born in Adam. Dead. That's what they are. They're
dead spiritually in trespasses and sin. I know they're physically
alive for a while. But spiritually, that's what
the scripture says, they're dead. And then verse 3 said, and he
said unto me, son of man, can these bones live? Now, the question came from God,
not for God's information, but for Ezekiel's information and
for our information. Now, here's the question for
our learning. Here's a question that the Lord
asked a prophet. Here's a question that we want
to consider. Now, can sinners dead in trespasses and sins? Can a sinner live spiritually? Can he live spiritually? Can
a dead sinner, one that has rebelled against God, one that has died
in Adam's rebellion, we were all in the loins of Adam. And
what Adam did, we all did. We all did this. When Adam rebelled
against God, when God told Adam in the day that you eat of that
fruit, you're going to die. And Adam ate. Adam ate with his
eyes wide open. God spoke to Adam. Eve was beguiled. You know what that means? She
was fooled. She was tricked. She was tricked. But when she
gave that fruit to Adam, Adam, wide open, He rebelled against
God. He knew what he was doing. And
as soon as he ate, he died spiritually. There was no knowledge, no fellowship
with God. He came immediately. What we are being born into this
world, that's what he became immediately. Light. Now, here's the question. Can
these dry bones, a picture of all men, all women, born in Adam,
can they live? Can they regain life, spiritual
life before God? Can they become alive unto God
again? And the prophet's answer was,
most honest, and most modest, and most God-honoring. Now, you're
looking at dry bones. And the prophet knows surely
that with God all things are possible. But humanly speaking,
can dry bones come back to life. Humanly speaking, I mean now,
no. No. No, they can't. But is anything too hard for
the Lord? There's a question. And the scripture says that Ezekiel
answered in verse 3, and he said, Oh, Lord God, you're the Lord. You're the master. You're in charge. Lord, thou
knowest. If there's any hope for these
dry bones, Lord, you know. Because if there's any hope for
these dry bones, you're going to have to do it. Because these
dry bones have no ability to be able to bring themselves back
to life. Now you stop for just a minute and just ask yourself
this. When it comes to men telling
spiritually dead sinners that God wants to do something
if they will exercise their will. Now let me ask you something.
Does that have any kind of sanity to it? Dead bones, I mean dead dry bones. Lord you know, and you're the
only one that knows. Verse 4 says, again he said unto
me, prophesy unto these bones. Ezekiel, can these bones live? Lord, you know. He said, I want
you to preach to them. Preach to them. I want you to
preach to these dead bones. I don't want you to appeal to
their will or their ability because they don't have any. They don't
have any. There's nothing there but dry bones. That's all it
is, is dry bones. Preach to them. 1 Corinthians
1.21 says, For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world
by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. Now let me ask you this,
humanly speaking, is there anything, humanly speaking, is there anything
more absurd? Can there be anything more absurd,
more foolish to the natural mind than to preach to dead bones? Speak to these dead bones. One might say, well, I believe that God can save a
sinner any way he wants to. And I'm going to tell you, I
agree with you. God can save a sinner any way
he wants to. And let me tell you what he has
revealed he wants to. He's going to save his people
through the preaching of the gospel. through the means of preaching. Paul the Apostle penned this
to the church at Ephesus, chapter 1 verse 13, in whom you also
trusted after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel
of your salvation. So the means of God saving a
sinner, a dead sinner, spiritually dead sinner, is not, it does
not begin by appealing to that dead, spiritually dead sinner's
will. His will is dead. It's dead. So there's nothing in the object
of God's mercy There's nothing in a spiritually dead center
to appeal to. There's nothing there. You're
speaking to absolute dead. Preach to them. Preach to them. That's the only
way. Now hear me well, I don't want
anybody to misunderstand me. Does God use any other means
except the preaching of the gospel to save a sinner? The answer
is no. No. No. It pleased God. I just read it.
It pleased God through the foolishness of preaching. to save them that
believe. Now, listen to Romans 10, 14,
15. How then, how shall they call on Him in whom they've not
believed? And how shall they believe in
Him in whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? How? How? I'm telling you, it
doesn't matter what the world has to say about how God saves
a sinner. I'm telling you, according to this word, and don't believe
me if it's not written in God's word. Be like the Bereans. Search the scriptures daily and
find out if these things are so. I'm telling you. Men can
tell you that you can appeal to this. No, there's nothing
to appeal to. Preaching. God saves sinners
through the means of preaching the gospel. The gospel. Well, what is the gospel then? You say, Marvin, you keep talking
about the gospel, the gospel. Well then, what is it? What is
the message of the gospel? He told Ezekiel, prophesy under
these bones. And this, listen, here's the
beauty of this. Not only did the Lord tell Ezekiel
to preach to him, He told him what to preach. Now this is where
we can have some confidence. I know, I know what I'm about
to tell you. Well, what I've told you so far
is according to God's word, but I know that what I'm about to
tell you is so, because this is God's word. And I can, I can,
I've got God's word on this. I know the message that we're
to preach. I'm absolutely convinced of it. Here's where it is right here.
You preach to them, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Preach to the dry bones. I am preaching to people who
all were born in trespasses and sin. I'm preaching to some that
God's called out of darkness. I'm preaching to some, I'm sure,
that God's never called out of darkness, still dead in trespasses
and sins. And let me tell you what I say
unto you. Oh, you dry bones, hear the Word
of the Lord. I'm preaching to men and women
who in themselves have no ability to hear. Ezekiel, you tell men and women
what they are first by nature. First thing you tell them, you
tell them about their inability. You tell them that they're dead
in trespasses and sins. Listen to Isaiah 55a. The Lord says, For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith
the Lord. So shall my word be that goeth
forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please. It shall prosper
in the thing whereto I send it. Let me tell you the power of
God's Word is that God Almighty has said it's going to accomplish
the purpose for which it was sent. I want you to prophesy
under these bones and you say to them, Oh you dry bones, hear the Word
of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto
these bones." And here's what God's still saying to these dry
bones, to those that don't have ears to hear. They don't have
a heart to understand. He's preaching to dead sinners. He's preaching to them. And he
said, you tell them that you're dry bones and I command you to
hear the word of the Lord. And he said, you tell them, behold,
I will cause breath to enter in you and you shall live. You
tell them that. And I will lay sinews upon you. I will bring up flesh upon you.
I'll cover you with skin. I'll put breath in you. You shall
live. You shall know that I am the
Lord. Okay. Okay. Ezekiel said in verse
7, so I prophesied as I was commanded. Somebody could say, Ezekiel,
you are beside yourself. Are you nuts? You're talking
to dead, dry bones, Ezekiel. And you're talking to them as
though they're alive. And Ezekiel, who had a heart,
to believe God did exactly what He was saying. And this, Mark,
is what I'm doing. I'm talking to dead bones, and
I say according to the Word of the Lord. Oh, ye dry bones, hear
the Word of the Lord. God Almighty is sovereign. God will give you life. You don't
have it and you can't produce it. And the Lord alone can give
you life eternal, ye dry bones. So I prophesied, verse 7, 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. When I beheld, lo,
the sinews, the flesh, came upon them, and skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them." Whenever the gospel goes forth
and is preached in power, obediently by the voices of God's
preachers. And that's all a preacher is. A preacher is a messenger. I'm a messenger, an ambassador
of Christ, as though God did beseech us, telling you the very
message that God Almighty speaks. We pray you, the Apostle said,
in Christ's stead. We pray you in the place that
is reserved for God Almighty only. This is his word. Be ye
reconciled to God. And we say to dead, dry bones
to do what they possibly cannot do. There's no possibility in
themselves. They can't do it. Ezekiel preached exactly what
he was instructed to preach. He told them what they were by
nature. You're dead. He told them, hear the word of
the Lord. He told them, he said, God Almighty
alone can give you life. And he said there was a movement
I preached exactly what God said. And he said there was a movement.
He said bones came together and sinews, the connecting stuff,
ligaments that holds the bones together and the flesh was there,
the muscles and everything, the skin covered it. But he said there was no life
there. There was no breath in them.
What was just piles of bones, now started coming together,
and now it looks like people. And there's skin and they look
like human beings now, but there's no breath, they're not moving. Whenever the gospel is preached,
there's always Some activity. There's something that happens.
A sower went forth to sow one time. The Lord Jesus Christ gave
this parable. The seed is the gospel. He said a sower went and he sowed. Some of it fell by the wayside.
The birds came and ate it up and it was gone. Some of it fell
in stony ground and it sprang up quickly. Some of them fell
in thorny ground and the cares of this world choked it out.
Some of them fell on good ground, brought forth fruit. But when
that seed went forth, that seed that fell on the stony ground
and the thorny ground, there was activity there. It looked for a while like life. It looked like it had taken hold
and the authority ground, it raised up quickly. Scripture
says it received it gladly. Looked like believers, looked
like them. But it said when the sun came
out, because there was no deepness of earth, When the sun came out,
the sun of persecution, trials, it withered. It was just temporary. It was just sporadic. There was
no continuance. It looked like life. It looked
like it for a while. But there was nothing there.
They heard Ezekiel preach. There was some knowledge there.
There was some head knowledge. It's amazing how many I've spoken
with. And they'll tell me, you know,
man, I really like, you know, I read those articles. I can't
tell you how many people have told me this. Man, I read your
articles every week. Well, every time there's one
in there. And I, oh, I like, man, I enjoy those. I like that. Man, I appreciate your articles.
I said, well, thank you. Why don't you come here? There's lip service. There's a head acknowledgement. I believe in man's total depravity
and unconditional election and particular redemption, irresistible
grace, preservation of the saints. I believe that. Here. But there's no life. He said the sinews, flesh, skin,
but there was no breath. And the Lord told Ezekiel in
verse 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. Now listen. The Lord has promised
that he's going to save his people. Now you know that. The Lord Jesus
Christ said, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. That's what you just read, Mitch. I know that the preaching of
the gospel is the power of God and salvation. But listen, the power is not
in the preacher. I can preach, I'm trying, I'm
trying as clearly as I can to set forth what this book sets
forth. The glory of God in the salvation
of sinners. And I can tell you as plainly
as I know how, Ezekiel repeated exactly what God said, and there was no life. The Lord said, Ezekiel, you prophesy
to the wind. You ask God's blessing by the
Holy Spirit to bless this word. Salvation is not in my voice. Salvation is by the power and
grace of God Almighty. Brother Henry Mahan told me one
time, he said, a man can preach the gospel as clearly as it can
be preached. And unless God blesses it, it's
just words. It's just words. Words. prophesy to the wind, and say to the wind, come from
the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that
they may live." In the same page probably, Ezekiel 36. In verse
25 and 26, I want you to look what God said He's going to do.
He said, I'm going to sprinkle clean water upon you. You'll
be clean from all your filthiness, from your idols. I'll cleanse
your new heart. Also will I give you new spirit. While I put within you, I'll
take away the stony heart out of your flesh. I'll give you
a heart of flesh. 27, I'll put my spirit within
you, cause you to walk in my statutes. You should keep my
judgments and do them. God said, this is what I'm going
to do. This is what I'm going to do. This is what I'm going
to do. And look at verse 37. Thus saith
the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house
of Israel to do it for them. I will increase them with men
like a flock. The Lord said, this is what I'm
going to do and you're going to ask me for it. I pray this morning. that Almighty
God blessed by His Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit in power and
bless the Word to the salvation of your people. Prophesy to the
wind. Come for winds. Breathe. Breathe
upon these slain that they may live. And Ezekiel last verse,
verse 10 says, So I prophesied as He commanded. He said, I asked
God to bless it. And the breath came into them
and they lived and stood up upon their feet an exceeding great
army. When God is pleased to bless
the word, that's when God gives life. Salvation is not in knowledge. Not in knowledge. Demons have
knowledge. Demons, believe me, believe in
the five points of Calvinism. Everybody in hell believes in
the five points of Calvinism now. Man leaves this world and all
of a sudden, no unregenerate sinner leaves this world believing
in man's free will. All of a sudden he knows. He
knows that God's in control. There's a great difference in
merely having the Word of God preached and you have a head
knowledge of it, or acknowledgement of it, and having that Word taught
and made effectual to the heart by the Holy Spirit. Last passage,
1 Thessalonians 1. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Verses 4-7, 1 Thessalonians 1,
4-7, the Apostle Paul says, knowing brethren, beloved, your election
of God. How do you know, Paul? How do
you know? How do you know? Is there any
hope of knowing this side of the grave that God has done something
for me? Sure is. Here's where it is right
here. He said in verse 5, He said,
Our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power. and in the Holy Ghost, and in
much assurance, as you know what manner of men we were among you
for your sake. And ye became followers of us
and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction,
with joy of the Holy Ghost, so that ye were examples to all
that believe in Macedonia and Achaia." When the word of God
comes in power, There's a change within. There's not just a knowledge
of what God says. He said, our word came not in
word only, but in power. When God gives a man or woman
a new heart, let me tell you the first thing they know. I
am a sinner, incapable. of doing anything to help myself. I can't do anything. That word
sent and blessed by the Holy Ghost creates an assurance. That's what he said. It came
not in word only, but in power of the Holy Ghost, much assurance. I know whom I have believed. I'm persuaded that He is able
to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. And
he says, and you know, latter part of verse 5, you know what
manner of men we were among you for your sakes. When God Almighty
gives a man or woman a new heart, they recognize the voice of the
Lord through God's preachers. Now you listen to what a man's
preaching, and I'll tell you what you'll know. You'll know
whether or not God sent him. And then lastly, he said in verse
6 and 7, you became followers of us, you received the word,
much affliction, you were examples. A believer is an example and
he's a pattern of faithfulness in worship and conduct, an attitude
toward God, toward his people, God's people. You know why a
man will not preach the message that God told Ezekiel to preach. You know why? You know why he
won't preach it? Number one, God didn't send him. He said, the hand of the Lord
is upon me. He won't preach it because God didn't send him.
If God sends a preacher, now you write this down, he's going
to preach the only message that honors the Lord. and gives a
sinner no confidence in himself. Know why he won't preach it?
Because he really doesn't believe that men are dead. He don't believe
that. He believes that you can appeal
to something in a man. He don't really believe those
bones are dry. I'll tell you the third reason he don't preach
it. He doesn't believe God's sovereign. The Lord says, You
preach it, I'll cause sin to use, I'll cause flesh, I'll cause,
I'll send the spirit. God didn't send him. He doesn't
believe that man's a sinner and he doesn't believe God's sovereign.
But you let God Almighty teach a man what he is in himself and
who God is. If God sends a preacher, he'll
preach that. Lord, bless these words. Lord,
send your Holy Spirit today. Bless this to the salvation of
your people for Christ's sake.