Let's open our Bibles again to
Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel 37. Beginning in verse
1, let's read again. Ezekiel says, The hand of the
Lord was upon me, carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord,
and sent me down in the midst of the valley, which was full
of bones. And he caused me to pass by them
round about. And behold, there were very many
in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry. Now, the first thing we see in
this text is a universal truth about all
men. were dead, dead in trespasses
and sin. In Romans 5.12 we read, Wherefore
by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin. So death passed upon all men. Here in this valley where Ezekiel
is, he's caused it to set down in the midst of him. And he's
also caused to pass round about it and whether he's looking from
within or looking from without, all that can be seen are these
dry bones. All that can be seen is dead. And in our day, however many
years later this is, it's very much the same. The case is very
much the same. Man in his natural state is dead. dead and ruined, ruined by the
fall. Like these dry bones, we're without
hope, without help, without Christ, without God in this world. You
know, a dead man has no feeling. No feeling. You can't appeal
to a dead man's will. Can't hear you. Can't scare a
dead man. No fear. You can't make a dead
man love anyone. You can't cause a dead man to
repent. A dead man can't believe. A dead
man can't do anything. He has no life in him. And these
things are true about us in our natural state as well. There's
no spiritual life. We're dead. Dead in trespasses
and sin. Turn over to Romans chapter 3.
Romans 3. Let's begin with verse 10. As
it is written, there is none righteous. No, not one. There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God. They're all going out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable. In case we missed it the first
time, there's none that doeth good. None. So not one, not one. Just like Lazarus laying there
in the grave, said that he's been there so long his body began
to stink. We're dead, dead in sin. Remember
what God told Adam? He said, in the day, in the day
that you eat thereof, thou shalt surely die. Let's read on in
our text. Look at verse 3. And He said
unto me, He said unto me, Son of man,
can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou
knowest, thou knowest. Second point, can these bones,
man's dead, man's dead, it trespasses in sin. Second, can these bones
live? Brother Henry wrote this in his
commentary. He said this is the whole issue of Scripture. Can the Ethiopian change his
skin? Can the leper change his spots? Can the fragrance of the rose
come forth from the grave in the cursing time? Praise Almighty
God. Can the hate that dwells in this
heart, can it be turned to love? Can arrogance be turned to humility? Can these bones, can these bones
leave? This one that's dead and trespasses
in sin, can he? And Ezekiel replies wisely, he
says this, oh Lord God, you know, you know, a sinner A sinner can
no more give himself life than a man out there laying in the
grave can will himself to life. The preacher has no power to
save, the church has no power to save, and the sinner most
certainly cannot save himself. Listen, no man, no man can come
unto me except the Father which has sent me to draw him. Turn
over to to Matthew chapter 19. Matthew 19. Look at the beginning of verse 16. It says, And behold, one came
and said unto him, Good master, what good things shall I do that
I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest
thou me good? There is none good but one, and
that is God. But if thou would enter into
life, keep thy commandments, keep the commandments. And he
said unto him, Which? And Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Honor thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. And the young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept
from my youth up. What like I yet? And Jesus said
unto him, You'll be perfect. Go and sell what you have. Go
and sell that thou hast and give to the poor. Thou shalt have
treasure in heaven, and come and follow me. But when the young
man heard this, when he heard that saying, he went away sorrowful,
for he had great possessions. Jesus said unto his disciples,
Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the
kingdom of heaven. And again, I say unto you, that
it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And when
the disciples heard this, they were exceedingly amazed, and
they said, Who then can be saved? Jesus beheld them and said unto
them, with men, with men this is impossible, but with God,
with God all things, all things are possible. Can these bones,
can these bones live? with his doing and dying, with
his self-righteousness, with his giving, with his works, with
his taking his first step, with his whatever, with men? Impossible. Impossible. But with God, with Almighty God,
by His power, by His grace, by His mercy, by His wisdom, His
righteousness, His sanctification, His redemption, by His sacrifice
for sin, by His salvation with God, all things are possible. When these bones leave you, O
Lord God, Thou knowest. Over in John 1, we read, He was
in the world And the world was made by Him, and the world knew
Him not. He came into His own, and His
own received Him not. But as many as received Him,
to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on His name, which were born, not of blood,
not natural lineage, not of the will of the flesh, carnal mind,
it's its enmity with God. Not of this natural flesh, not
by the will of the flesh, not by the will of man, our efforts,
our desires, but of God, but of God. Can these bones live? Oh Lord God, thou knowest. It's by His power, it's by His
grace. Let's go on back to our text
here in Ezekiel 37, look at verse four. Again, He said unto me, prophesy
unto these bones and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the
word of the Lord. Preach to them, preach to them,
preach to them. What do we do for these dry bones?
Preach to them. That's what we do when we stand
in this, any man that stands in this pulpit, it's his responsibility
is to preach, preach the word. Paul in Romans 1, he said, I'm
not ashamed. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. Everyone to believe it, to the
Jews first and also to the good, for they're in. Why is it so
important that we hear this word? Why is it so important that we
hear God's word preached? It's the power of God. It's the
power of God unto salvation. Therein, therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. Preach the word. Preach the word,
prophesy. You know, I wonder what Ezekiel
thought. Here's this valley of dry bones,
and these bones live, and the Lord God now knoweth us. Preach
to them. That must have seemed That must
have seemed like foolishness to think that, but you know what? Isn't that what we read? It pleased
God. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. The foolishness of preaching
to save them that believe. Ezekiel did, listen, Ezekiel
did as he was commanded. God said prophesied and he prophesied. He doesn't say, He doesn't say
go and build a gym. Go and build a gym so people
can play basketball on Thursday nights, does he? He doesn't say
go build a life center where people can get together. He doesn't
say use what's popular in today, using man's methods or means. He says preach the word. And that's what he's told his
ministers. throughout time. Preach the Word. Paul told Timothy,
he said, preach the Word. Be instant in season. You know
there's times when it seems like the Word of God flows freely
and men hear and men believe and he says, you be instant in
season. He said, be instant out of season.
There's times when we wonder, is anybody going to hear God's
Word? Be faithful. Be faithful to preach the Word.
Be instant in season. the instant out of season, reprove,
rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering. Be patient. Preach. Are you still
in Ezekiel 37? Look at verse five and six. Thus
saith the Lord God unto these bones, behold, I will cause breath
to enter into you. Ye shall live. And I'll lay sinews
upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you,
and ye shall live. And ye shall know that I am the
Lord. See what God's word declares.
Look at the fourth point here. God's declaration, I will, I
will and you shall. Did you hear that? I will and
you shall. Now if you turn on the TV or
maybe flipping through the radio stations, you listen to what's
being said in most so-called churches by so-called preachers. That's not what you'll hear.
You'll hear, if you will, then God will. If you will, let Jesus
into your heart. If you will, take the first step.
If you will, give your heart to Jesus. If you will, God will. But that's counter. That's completely
whole different direction than what the word of God says. God's
word says, I will and you shall. This is the message. I will and
you shall. This is the message of God's
sovereign grace to his people. I will and you shall. Ezekiel didn't ask those bones
to do anything, did he? Imagine, imagine how foolish,
imagine how foolish truly that would be. Me and Isaac, we were
mowing yesterday. We mowed three different cemeteries.
Cars driving by, imagine if I stood out there and started asking
those bones if they would take the first step that they could
come back out of the grave. Even people who don't know the
gospel would look at that and think, how foolish. How foolish
is that? But that's what men are declaring.
That's what men are declaring in our day and time. A dead man
can't take it. A dead man can't do anything. Ezekiel didn't tell the bones
or ask the bones to do anything. Instead, he declared what God
was pleased to do for them. He declared what God was pleased
to do. You know, the gospel doesn't ask or tell us what we can do
for God. It declares what God has done
for His people through the person and work of His Son. Don't look
to yourselves, look to Christ, Christ alone. He says, look unto
me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth from God and there
is none else. He said, I'll cause. I'll cause.
I'll cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. This is the record. This is the
record. God hath given us eternal life,
and this life, it's in His Son. It's in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it's a, you see that, hath given us, it's a free gift. It's
His gift. It's a gift that cannot be lost. It's a gift that cannot be taken
away. those who've been ruined by the fall, those who've been
redeemed by the blood, those who've been regenerated by the
Holy Spirit. He says, I will, I will and he
shall. And again, he declared God's
word as he was as he was commanded. We declare God as he is. He's almighty God. God who's
sovereign in all things, God who is Almighty. He's absolutely
holy. He cannot look upon sin. He's
almighty. He's just. He's righteous. Yet he's merciful and gracious
to his people. He said, I'll have mercy on whom
I'll have mercy. I'll be gracious to whom I will
be gracious. We declare the truth about man.
He says prophesy. He says preach. Tell the truth
about God. Tell the truth about man. Man
who is born in sin. Man whose works, whose best works,
again are filthy rags. Man of whom it is said from the
sole of his foot to the top of his head is nothing but wounds
and bruises and putrefying sores. No soundness in it. Man who in
the garden disobeyed God. One commandment. One commandment.
Men talk about the Ten Commandments. Men talk about all the, we can't,
listen, we can't obey, we can't obey one commandment. We proved
that, we proved that in the garden. Man of whom given the choice
between releasing Barabbas, who had stirred up rebellion, Barabbas
who was a murderer, Pilate said, shall I release Barabbas or the
Lord Christ and the people? The people said, away with him. We would have said the exact
same thing, but away with him, away with him. Release unto us
Barabbas. Man talks about his free will
to choose. Every time. If we're left to
ourselves, you see what we'll choose. We'll choose. There's
a way that seems right under man. The end thereof are the
ways of the dead. Listen, man who said this, let
his blood be upon us and our children. Declare the word of the Lord. Preach the word. declare the
truth about God, declare the truth about man, and declare
the truth about what God has been pleased to do for His people
through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He chose us, chose His
people in Christ before the foundation of the world, predestinated us
to be conformed to the image of His Son, made us accepted
in the Lord Jesus Christ, redeemed us through His blood. shed his
own blood. There he died on the cross for
his people. Suffered and died under the wrath
of God. This he did for his people while
we were, listen, while we were yet sinners, Christ died on the
cross. You know, I think it's, sometimes
it's a struggle to do things for people we like. It's why we were being sinners.
Christ died for us. He bore our sin in his body on
the tree, made sin for us that we might be made the very righteousness
of God. He clothed us in his righteousness. The message of the gospel, I
will, I will, and ye shall. I'll cause breath to enter into
you, and ye shall live. Turn back to Titus 3. Not by works, look at verse five,
not by works of righteousness, which we've done, but according
to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and
renewing the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through
Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by his grace,
we should be made heirs according to the hope of the eternal life.
He said, you shall know. I'll cause breath to enter into
you. I'll give you life. You shall know. that I am the
Lord. And then lastly, look back to
our text here in Ezekiel. Look beginning with verse seven. He says, so I prophesied. I prophesied
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. And when I beheld lo, the sinews
and the flesh came upon them, and skin covered them above,
but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy
unto the wind. Prophesy, son of man. Say unto
the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds,
O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may have life. So I prophesied as he commanded
me. Breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their
feet. succeeding in great army. Lastly, here we see the results. Again, he says, I preached. I
preached. I prophesied as I was commanded. You know, men are not called
to entertain or to preach. I remember Henry, I think it
was Henry, used to say, we're not here to, we're not entertaining
sinners on the road to hell. Serious matters, he says, preach
the gospel. We're not here to provide tips
on how to get rich or stay healthy. We'll preach the gospel. We'll
declare the truth. To hold fast, to hold fast the
faithful word. Declare the truth. And he said
there was a noise. He said there was a noise. There
was a shaking. You know, when the Word is preached
in the power of God's Spirit, there'll be some noise. There'll
be some noise, a stir, shaking. You know, those false refuges
that we've built or other men have built, those have to be
torn down. Those have to be removed. You
go to a construction site where they're tearing something down,
there's some noise in there. When those old foundations are
tore out, there's some noise that goes along with that. Remember when our Lord, remember
when he said there were many widows? Back then he said there
were many widows. There was one. There was one
son. There were many lepers. There was a stir then, wasn't
there? Those people heard that and they went and they picked
him up and they would cast him head first over a cliff. When
the gospel's preached, there's a stir. There's a shaking. But listen, when those old foundations
are removed, they're replaced with a sure foundation. The Lord Jesus Christ. There's
noise. We read in the Scripture, there's
rejoicing over in heaven. Over one sinner that were killed. There's a noise. There's a shaking.
And then He says this, O breath, come and breathe upon these slain
that they might live. Ezekiel preached and he prayed
that the Spirit of God would come and breathe life. into a
sinner. Brother Henry again wrote this,
he said, doctrines in fact, as true as they are, they don't
save or give life. Life, life is found in Christ
and we must have Christ who is our life to give life. It can
only be found, it can only be found in Him. He that hath the
Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not death." Well, man, here in this passage, these dry bones,
man, dead in trespasses and sins. Mike, you said that before we
started, graveyard dead, dead in trespasses and sins. Can these
bones live? Can these bones live? Oh, Lord
God, you know. What's the command? Preach the
word. Preach the word. Declare God's sovereign grace. Declare the gospel. And the results,
we leave the results to him. He calls his people to himself.
All of them. Thank God for you, brother Mike.