I've entitled this message, Some
Valleys, Some Valleys That We Must Pass Through. If we name
the name of the Lord, there are certain valleys in the scripture
that we will pass through. Talking to David Pledger, he
kind of planted this seed. So I got to looking at the Concordance
and Strongs different studies, study guides, there are many
valleys that God's people will trek through. And in the Bible,
there are at least, this is what I can find, at least 37 valleys
referenced, 37. For example, I don't have the
scripture references, I didn't write them down. There's in the
Old Testament, the Valley of Salt, in which David had a great
victory. There's also the Valley of Agelon,
which when Joshua was fighting the enemy in the sun, the sun
stood still. That was in the Valley of Agelon. The Valley of Barakah, Jehoshaphat,
the king, had a great victory. And then we are somewhat familiar
with the Valley of Eskol, when the spies went over to the promised
land and there was huge grapes. They were said to be in the Valley
of Eskol. Now I'm sure in each of these
names there is, Hebrew names, there is a Greek or a English
counterpart. So if you want to look at us,
do a good study, that would be a good place to start is looking
at the valleys of the Bible. But I want to just look at four
of them, just four of them for our use of notification this
morning. And three of them, At least three of these valleys,
every child of grace will pass through. At least three of them. And perhaps one will pass through
with the Savior's exception. With the Savior's exception.
I'm not sure how to phrase it, but we'll look at that one last.
Turn with me to Ezekiel 37, for our first valley. Ezekiel 37, starting in verse
1, and I'm going to stop after verse 1, but we will look at
it. The hand of the Lord was upon
me, Ezekiel, 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. Full of bones. Ezekiel 37. This valley, everyone, everyone
who names the name of God in Christ Jesus must pass through. No exceptions. If you are a believer,
If you wish to be a believer, you're going to have to pass
through this valley. It's a valley of salvation. No
one goes to glory except they pass first through this valley
of dry bones. It's full of bones. Verse 2,
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. And God said unto me, Son of
man, can these bones live? Can sinners live? Can that which is very dry, very
dead, very alone, seemingly on the broad road to destruction,
can they live? And I answered, Lord God, You
know. You know. This valley of salvation,
of course, illustrates God's working of free and sovereign
grace upon sinners. God is doing, in this illustration,
in this valley, He does everything. There isn't one thing He doesn't
do. Everything for us. If you are
a very, very dry, dead bone, Through the miracle of one called
the Lord Jesus Christ, his miracle of bringing dead soul to breath,
life and liberty, joy, and flesh and bone. From no breath to full
respiration, from bone to skin, from silence to the beautiful
sounds of the noise of shaking, from death to life. Look at it. Lord God, thou knowest. Can these
bones live? You know. Again, the Lord said
to me, prophesy, preach upon these bones and say unto them,
O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Don't argue with
the word of the Lord. Don't reason. Don't try to figure
it out. Just listen. Listen. Stand back, as Moses
said, stand back and see the salvation of the Lord. Do you
need saving this morning? Stand back and see the salvation
of the Lord. This is how it works. Thus saith
the Lord God unto these bones, behold, I will cause breath to
enter into you and you shall live. I will lay sinews upon
you and will bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin and
put breath in you And you shall live, and you shall know that
I am the Lord. That's just an amazing thing.
When the Gospels preach, all arguments stop. Because the believer
is arrested, or the sinner is arrested, puts his hand over
his mouth, or her mouth, and says, God, you know. Thou knowest,
and I know that you are the Lord God. What are we to do? What are preachers to do? What
are believers to do? So I prophesied, or preached,
as I was commanded. And as I spoke, 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 the skin covered them above,
but there was no breath in them. Then he said unto me, prophesy,
speak again unto the wind, and the Holy Spirit, prophesy, son
of man, and say unto the wind, thus saith the Lord God, come
from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain,
and they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded
me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood
up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Through the command
of God, In the declaration of the gospel, verse 4, verse 7,
verse 10, good news for dead folk. That's what we're about.
We're about good news for dead folk. Good news for the iniquity-ridden,
dry, very dry dead bones. Everyone who names the name of
Christ is going to have to go through this valley. We're going
to have to go through this valley. That's God's means of grace. That's His method of salvation. Turn to Psalms chapter 84. Look
at our second valley. Psalms 84. Verse well, let's read the the
whole thing is the whole thing is basically about David the
musicians the chief musicians singing the praise of God's Church
and singing the praise of God's church. So this is after, excuse
me, after we pass through the valley of very dry and dead bones
and are given life freely by his grace through the blood and
accomplishments of the Lord Jesus Christ, not by our works of righteousness,
which we have done, but his mercy, according to his mercy, he called
us and quickened us. So we've passed through that
valley. And now we're in the church. We're gathering together
and worshiping him and adoring his grace. Look at this. This
is basically what it's about. It's about Psalms 84. How amiable
are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts. My soul longeth, yea,
even fainteth for the courts of the Lord. It's the church.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Yea, the
sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young, and even the altars of the Lord
of hosts, my King and my God. They have houses and places to
go to, so do the people of God." This is the place. This is a
place to the Lord. We had another place where we
met. We met in Bruce and Jackie's home for a while. We met at a
rental place, but we have a place here. It's not the place, but
we do have, this is the place, the people are the church of
God, but we do gather together. Blessed are they that dwell in
thy house. They shall be still praising
thee. Blessed is the man whose strength
is in thee, in whose heart are the ways of them who passing
through the valley of Baca, Baca, make it a well, the rain also
filleth the posts, the pools, we'll stop there. So we're here,
we're in the church, and we're gonna pass through this. Everyone
who names the name of Christ is gonna pass this valley, this
valley of Baca. Well, it means the valley of
weeping or the valley of tears. The valley of weeping, or the
Valley of Tears. Of this valley, all who walk
godly in Christ Jesus shall tread. God has no children who he chastens
or disciplines not. He disciplines and chastens us,
which will cause, as it does in our children, weeping and
crying. It was said that the Jews, as they would go to the
three grand festivals in Jerusalem, they would go to Jerusalem where
God met with his people for the three grand festivals, they would
walk past this valley. They would walk past this valley.
We sing that song, we're marching to Zion. Beautiful, beautiful
Zion. And we drove here. We didn't
walk, we drove. And yet, though he does make
us pass through this valley, continue to read with me, again
in verse six, who passing through the Valley of Bacchus make it
a well. The rain, the Holy Spirit also
fills the pools. They who are weeping, who are
in tears through many difficult trials and tribulations, they
go from strength, strength, every one of them in Zion, appeareth
before God. Oh Lord God of hosts, Hear my
prayer, give ear, O God of Jacob. Behold, O God, our shield, and
look upon the face of thine anointed. For a day in thy courts is better
than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper
in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and
shield. The Lord will give grace and
glory. No good thing will he withhold. from them that walk
uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the
man that trusts in Thee. No good thing will he withhold
from them that walk uprightly. Walking uprightly will cost you,
it cost your friends, it may cost your family, it may cost
you a name in society if that's what you're, you know, for some
reason, if that's what you desire, you shouldn't have no ambitions
for that, but it will cost you. But remember this, as you're
walking through this valley, this valley of Becca, this valley
of weeping, this valley of tears, it's also this valley of mulberries, God is with you. He's with you. As we gather together in this
place, this house, we are perhaps full of tears, but we can be
full as the well of life, and as His Holy Spirit is the rain,
we can be filled. Oh, to be near Him in every trial,
every situation, every hardship, and know that He will not and
cannot forsake His heritage, and knowing that no good thing
will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. You're gonna
walk through this valley, something may happen on the way to church,
something may happen on the way to work, something may happen
on the way through life, but remember, he's already taken
through the valley of dry bones. Fear not, what can man do unto
you? We're all gonna go through this
valley. There's no escaping it. Those who live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution. He says in Philippians, I believe
it's 129, not only is it given as grace for us to believe on
Christ, but also to suffer for his namesake. One of the Puritans
or somebody wrote, God has one son without sin, but none without
suffering. And that's true. We're gonna
go through, who passing through, Blessed is the man, the woman,
the child, whose strength is in thee, whose heart are the
ways of them of life, who passing through this valley. It's just
happenstance, passing through this valley. Well, our third
one is in Psalm 23. We know this one pretty well.
We've heard it so many times. It's the valley of the shadow
of death. The valley of the shadow, this
third valley, we must all pass. In this 23rd Psalm, it's the
valley of the shadow of death, physical death. Unless the Lord
returns and brings us home like Enoch or whatever, or Elijah,
unless he comes and gets us, we are all going to die. And
Lynn and I, we've been talking about this a lot lately. suit
of certain situations, knowledge of certain situations. I don't know why we don't think
we're going to not die. I don't know why we live like
we're not going to die. We are going to die. That's the
truth of the matter. Now, I can stand up for me and
be stoic and be unfeeling, uncaring. I don't mean that. But I'm saying
this world lives like it's not going to end. The people of this
world live like it's not going to end. It's going to end. This
is our lot. We're going to pass through the
valley of the shadow of death. None shall escape it. We must all cross Jordan, as
it is appointed, and then to judgment. It's appointed once
to die, or ordained, or predestined, and then to judgment. But we
must give him all the glory because we can say, as we pass through
this shadow of death, it's just a shadow, we can give him all
the glory because we can say as Paul, O death, where is thy
sting? O grave, where is thy victory? We've already passed through
the valley of salvation. We passed through the valley
of Becca. He is the captain of our salvation. He's our head,
our leader, our Lord, our King. And he tells us very plainly
that he has the keys of life and death and heaven and hell.
We in him cannot be more safe or secure or shielded from all
the evil which is to come upon us and come upon those who have
not, would not have him to reign over them. Which leads me to
the fourth valley. This is the one that this is
an exception. I'm not really sure an exception of sorts. It's
not an exception to the enemies of the grace of God. This is the valley, turn to Joshua
7. The valley of Achor. Joshua 7. This what happens in
this lesson is exactly what's going to happen to all those
who would not have Christ reign over them. Joshua chapter seven, verse one,
but the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing
for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zebdiah, the son of
Zerah, the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing and the
anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.
You remember this? And they went out and they fought
and they lost. And the Lord alerted Joshua, there's sin in the camp.
So he started setting a tribe aside, a tribe aside, a tribe
aside, and it came, the lot fell, and he brought the family of
Judah, and he took the family of the Zerhites, and he, verse
17, and brought the family of the Zerhites, a man by man, Zerdiah
was taken, and he brought his house, man by man, and Achan,
this son, was taken. And Judas said unto Achan, My
son, give, I pray thee, glory to God of Israel, and make confession
unto him, and tell me now what you have done. Hide it not from
me." See, sin can never be hid from God. We either confess it
or he's going to judge it. He's going to take it out on
us. Can you confess it? We can't
be hidden. So our children here this morning,
ourselves here this morning, you can't hide from God. You
cannot hide from God. This valley of Acre to all that will not Come to
God in Christ for pardon, forgiveness, and life. This valley is one
of trouble or judgment. That's what the name means, Valley
of Achor. It's a valley of trouble, of
trouble. And Joshua said, why, in verse
25, why have you troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this
day. And all Israel stoned him with stones and burned them with
fire. They had stoned them with stones,
and they raised over him a great heap of stones until this day.
So the Lord turned the fierceness of his anger, wherefore the name
of that place is called the Valley of Achor, until this day." And
in the margin, it's the Valley of Trouble. If you do not bow,
and do not serve, and do not obey Christ, this is your end. But you said there's an exception.
There's got to be an exception to scripture. His name is the
Lord Jesus Christ. If Christ take our trouble upon
him, we go free. We go free. Justice must be served. He calls this an accursed thing
in verse 12 of Joshua 7 and verse 13 and verse 24 to the end of
the chapter. It's an accursed thing. Justice
must be served. God is offended by all. Anyone
who will not submit, obey, or trust exclusively his darling
son will be in trouble. And you will go through this
valley. The believer does not. I don't know how, that's the
exception. We don't want to go through this valley. But Christ as our substitute experienced trouble that we know
nothing, you know, we have an understanding in the gospel of
the free grace of God, the just for the unjust, the pure for
the unpure, the lovely for the unlovely, We understand a little
bit. Yet in Christ Jesus, those who
even have passed through, in a sense, this valley, may, by
the grace of God, still find mercy. He passed through this
valley, Christ, on our behalf, and that's the heart of substitution.
That's the heart of substitution. How? Well, Hosea 14 says, in
him, in Christ, The fatherless find mercy. Now, when I was talking to David
Pledger and he's saying a few things about this message that
he preached years ago, something similar, he says, we don't want
to go through that valley. And I go, okay, so I kind of
put my mind, don't we want to go through the valley? But he
did for us. And how do I know that? Look
at Isaiah 65. This is how we can escape this valley. Isaiah
65, and then we will look at Hosea chapter 2. Isaiah 65, look with me at verses
9 and 10. Sayeth the Lord God, verse 8,
and I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob and out of Judah,
an inheritor of my mountains, and mine elect shall inherit
it, and my servants shall dwell there. And Sharon shall be a
fold of flocks, and the Valley of Achors, the same place, a
place for the herds to lie down, and for my people that have sought
me." So that we're there, but we're protected, we're shielded.
by our substitute. Now look at this other one, Hosea.
This is even more astounding. It's the same valley. Hosea, chapter two. Just looked at it, did a study
and found out any places this was mentioned. Look at this one,
Hosea chapter two, verses, we'll start in verse Okay, listen, before we do that,
let's, verse four of Hosea two, and
I will not have mercy upon her children for they have the children
of Horeb, for their mother hath played the harlot. This is what
we are outside of grace. Look at verse 14. Therefore,
behold, I, says God, will allure her, that's us, the church, and
bring her into the wilderness and speak comfortably unto her.
That would preach by itself, that's salvation. We've already
been through that valley, in that wilderness, the valley of
very dry dead bones. and I will give her vineyards
from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope. That doesn't make sense. If we
know what the, Achor means trouble. Yes, in and of ourselves, by
our own worth, our own merit, our own works. Yeah, there's
trouble. God will deal with it. If he's dealt with us in his
son, this same valley is a valley for a door of hope and she shall
sing there as in the days of her youth and as in the days
when she came up out of the land of Egypt. That picture is salvation.
How? Why? I'm just reading. I'm just
reading. There's a lot of things I read
in the scripture I don't understand. I don't know how this valley
could be called Valley of Trouble to some and yet be a door of
hope to others. Where once was desolation and
despair can be heard the notes of singing unto the Lord. I suppose
in Christ Jesus, our substitute, the Lord, and we can say as Habakkuk
3, 2 says, in wrath, remember mercy. In time of trouble, Remember
mercy. May we, as we pass through these
valleys, ever remember our sweet and blessed Redeemer, in whom
and by whom we owe all, we owe our everything. Even though we
pass through these valleys, we must remember, as he said in
Psalms, thou art with me. If Christ is not with you, You're
in trouble if Christ is with you. He has took all the trouble
and drank it dry for a people for whom he foreknew. These valleys sometimes, they're
necessary. They're necessary. And I thank
God, as we heard this morning in Bible class, He's predestinated
it all, and all to him we glory and give honor. Bruce, would
you close this?