Let me ask you a question, a
question that the Lord asked the prophet Ezekiel. If you went
out to a cemetery and dug up a grave that had been there for
many years, can dead bones live? Can that person who died and
has been dead a long time, can that person live? Back in Genesis,
in the garden, God said to man, the day you eat of the fruit
of the tree, you shall surely die. Now, man did not die that
day. Adam and Eve did not die physically,
but they did die spiritually. They became dead in trespasses
and sin. And all mankind died that day
in Adam. He's the father of all mankind.
Adam and Eve died spiritually. They lost the life of God, which
is holiness. righteousness, goodness, purity,
wisdom, understanding. Adam lost all of that. And all
of his offspring lost it. They don't have it. Man became
full of sin. Man became unholy, unrighteous. There's none that doeth good,
God said. None that understandeth. Man
became by nature a wicked, vile, corrupt, and yes, evil creature. the way God describes man. He
says in Isaiah 1, from the sole of the foot to the top of the
head, there's no soundness in him. From his walk to his heart,
his mind, all the faculties of man are corrupt, depraved. His will is depraved. Christ
said, you will not come unto Me. His mind is corrupt. His ways are evil, filthy. His heart is perverted. He's blind. He's deaf. He's dead
and trespassed in sin. Captive to sin. Captive to Satan. Captive to the world. Captive
to self. Unwilling. He's a rebel against
God by nature. Unable to do good, to think good,
to see, to hear. Man cannot, will not, choose
good, choose God, choose life. He is dead. He must be given
life. The life of God. Given life by
God. Life is not an offer, but a gift. Man is dead in trespass sin. He must be raised from the dead.
No truth is more evident in Scripture and in the experience of all
of those who have been quickened by God. Man must be raised from
the dead, be quickened. He must be born again. Our Lord said that to a religious
man who fancied himself to be righteous, to be good, to know
God. He didn't know God. God was standing right in front
of him, and he didn't know him. And he said to that religious
man who was dead in sin, he said, you must be born from above. How? How is man given life, quickened? Well, he's quickened, he's given
life by God, by God, by God's choice, by the will of God, not
man's will. He's dead. By the power of God,
the Spirit of God, by the Word of God, the Gospel of God, God
raises dead sinners by preaching His Word, by preaching the Gospel,
which is Christ and Him crucified. Now, the world says this is foolishness.
But to those who have been raised, those who have been quickened
by His Word, by the Gospel, those who have been born of God, the
Gospel, the preaching of that Gospel is both the power of God
and the wisdom of God. They all know, all who have been
quickened, given life, born of God, they all know it's a miracle.
It's the work of God. They all know it was His choice,
His will, His purpose, His call. Listen to Romans 10. It says,
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then? How then shall they call on Him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? sent by God. In Ezekiel 37, if
you have a Bible, and I hope you'll follow along, in the book
of Ezekiel 37 is a story, a vision, a prophecy of God, a story that
represents how dead sinners are raised to life through the preaching
of God's Word, the preaching of His Gospel. In Ezekiel 37,
verse 1, it begins, 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 dry bones, full of
bones. Ezekiel was chosen by God, called
by God, sent by the Lord God to prophesy, to preach God's
Word. Ezekiel was a gifted man. I've
often heard people say about a preacher, he's gifted. Well,
everyone who's been truly sent by God Everyone who truly preaches
the truth has been given the gift of the truth and the ability
to preach it. God doesn't send out men without
a gift to preach His Word. As Ezekiel, he was given an understanding
that they might know him that was true. He was given the ability
to preach it, to declare it. And Ezekiel himself was a gift. Preachers are a gift. a gift
of Christ to God's people. That's what Ephesians 4 says,
that when Christ ascended on high, He led captivity captive
and gave gifts unto men. And He said these gifts to men
are apostles, prophets, evangelists, some pastors and teachers for
the work of the ministry, for the preaching of the gospel.
The greatest gift God can give to a people is a preacher of
the gospel. Christ is the unspeakable gift.
Jesus Christ is the unspeakable gift of salvation, of life. And the preacher of the Gospel
is a gift to God's people because they must hear the Gospel and
they must hear it through a preacher. Ezekiel was sent. He was sent
by God. He says, He carried me out in
the Spirit, in verse 1, the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down
in the midst of this valley full of dry bone. Ezekiel was sent. He was called, chosen, and sent
to preach to these dry bones. Now, who sent this man? God did. The people didn't send him. The
people didn't call for him. They're dead. But God, rich in
mercy for His great love, wherewith He loved these chosen people,
sent them a preacher. False prophets are sent to schools,
sent to seminaries, sent out by men. Not Ezekiel, not the
prophets, not the apostles. Not Paul. Paul said, the gospel
which was preached by me is not of man, neither did I receive
it of men. Verse 1 says, I was in a valley
full of bones. Valley full of bones. The psalmist
says, though I walked through the valley of the shadow of death. This world is A world of death,
a world of sin, of evil, of darkness and death. And there are very
many, like these bones, very many dry bones and very dry. Very many that are dead all around. How many? Well, Scripture says,
all. Scripture says, in Adam all died,
for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. In
Adam all died. Listen to Romans 5. It says,
verse 14, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them
that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression,
who is the figure of him that was to come. Death reigns upon
all flesh. All flesh dies, and all are born
dead in trespasses and sin. It must be quickened. And the
Lord said of these bones, they are very dry. They had been dead
a long time. Yes, in Adam all died. They had been very been dead
a very long time and very dry. There is no sign of life. In
verse 2 it says that the Lord caused Ezekiel to pass by round
about and behold there were very many in the open valley and they
were very dry. Very many. Ezekiel walked around
and looked around and could not see one sign of life. He could
not see not one single bone that was stirring, or not one single
movement, not one single dead person was calling on the Lord,
asking for mercy. That's what God says in Psalm
14. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men
to see if there were any that did understand and seek God.
And He says they're all gone aside. They're all together become
filthy. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. And I look around at this present
evil world, my community, my nation, it's hard to find any
that calleth for truth, any that are calling on the name of the
Lord for mercy, for salvation. Very many and very dry. That
describes sinners. Verse 3, And the Lord said unto
Ezekiel, Son of man, Can these bones live? Can these bones live? Can dead, dry bones live? Can they make themselves live?
Well, that's absurd, isn't it? Well, over in Jeremiah 13, the
Lord asks Jeremiah the same question. Can the Ethiopian change his
skin? Can the leopard change its spots? Neither can ye do good which
are accustomed to doing evil. Now, this is what the true prophet
knows. In verse 3, Ezekiel answered and said, O Lord God, Thou knowest. What he's saying is, I don't
see how. They're dead. They're very dry.
I don't see how bones can live. Lord, only You know. Here's what
the true prophet, the true preacher knows, and all of God's people
know. All of God's people who were
dead and quickened and raised, all who were born of God, quickened,
taught, bought, brought, they all know, O Lord God, Thou knowest. They all know that salvation
is of the Lord. It's up to You, Lord, if they
live. You're going to have to give
them life. It's all up to you. These bones can't live of themselves. Oh, Lord, Thou know it. Here's
what the Lord said to them. Verse 4, He said unto me, Prophesy
upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the
word of the Lord. Hear the word of the Lord. Preach.
Isaiah said, What shall I preach? He said, Preach, all flesh is
grass. Dead, dry grass withereth away. And preach, Behold your God.
Say unto them, verse 5, that thus saith the Lord God unto
these bones. Hear the word of the Lord. Hear.
Having ears, they hear, but hear not, Scripture says. I was a
preacher's kid. I heard message after message,
but I didn't hear a thing. I was dead and trespassing sin.
But God, one day, through the preaching of the Gospel, according
to His power, in His good time, according to His will and His
choice, made me hear His voice, made me hear the Gospel. And
here's what He said. Preach. Behold, I will cause
breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will. I will
cause breath. Not if you will. It is not of
him that willeth or of him that runneth, but it is of God that
showeth mercy. Of his own will begat he. Man
does not have a free will. He is dead. Behold, God says,
I will cause breath to enter you. That is the Spirit of God
through the preaching of the Gospel, through the preaching
of Christ. The breath of God is the Spirit of God taking the
things of Christ, giving life from the dead, giving faith,
giving a new heart and a mind. new life, spiritual life. So,
Ezekiel said, I prophesied as I was commanded. And behold,
he said, flesh came upon them, skin came upon them, no breath
in them, but I prophesied, O wind, blow, O wind of God, come, O
north wind, and blow upon these bones. And so it is that every
true preacher of the gospel knows that it's of the choice of God,
the will of God, the power of God, the Spirit of God to give
life to dead sinners. And he calls on the name of the
Lord. He cries unto the Lord to make the gospel effectual,
to give ears to hear, give eyes to see, to give life where there
is none. And the Lord did. Ezekiel preached
and life came into those dead bones. The Spirit of God moved
upon them and they stood upon their feet. They were alive under
God. Dead, dry bones live. And so it is that when the gospel
is preached, By the power of God, the Spirit of God, life
comes into a dead sinner. He believes on the Lord Jesus
Christ, calls on the name of the Lord, and he's being given
life from the dead. What about you? May the Lord
give you this life. Amen.