In Ezekiel 37, beginning with
verse 1, here we read, 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. And he caused
me to pass by them round about. Behold, there were Many in the
open valley, and low, and very, very dry. Now the first thing
we see here in this text is the universal truth about all men. Dead. Dead. Man is dead. Men are dead in
trespasses and sin. In Romans chapter 5 verse 12
we read, wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world,
and death, death by sin. And so death passed not upon
a few, upon all men. That's what scripture declares. Now we have life, you know, pinch
yourself in the arm, right? We're living right now, but we're
dead spiritually. That's what he's talking about
here. And here in this valley, in which Ezekiel, in this vision,
it says he sat down in the midst of, in the midst of this valley
of dry bones. And he sees nothing, nothing
but dead bones, nothing but dead. One of the old riders said those
bones had been there so long they were so dry that a dog wouldn't
even want to pick one up and chew on it. They're dead. And in our day, in our day, the
case has not changed. It is very much the same. Man
in his natural state is dead. Dead and ruined by the fall. And like these dry bones, by
nature, they're never gonna be anything other than dry bones.
And that's how we are. Without hope, without help, without
Christ, and without God in this world. Last night, me and Isaac,
and we've been doing this, I guess, for, I don't know, 10, 12 years. We moved cemetery. Now, he got
there a little bit late. But imagine, if he would have
got there, I would have been standing up on that lawnmower,
and at the top of my voice, saying, anybody that wants to live, just
come up out of the grave. Anybody that wants to just take
a first step, what would his reaction have
been to me? Hey, you've been out here in
the heat too long, right? Wouldn't that be just absolutely
foolish? And I suspect anybody that would
have drove by and seen that going on. would have probably either
been too scared to stop, or they would have stopped and said,
what is wrong with this guy, right? But isn't that what goes on in
most houses of worship? I suspect when we drove by, several
of them on the way here, that that's the message that's been
thrown out there. And just as that is utter foolishness,
the thought that I could convince a dead man to come up out of
the grave, why wouldn't he? The answer's simple, isn't it?
Huh? Dead. Dead, dead, dead. I think I heard Aaron Greenleaf
say graveyard dead. That's what that is. Dead man, they can't hear. Can they? A dead man can't see. A dead man can't do anything. So the idea that I'm going to
scare a dead man into some type of profession, that's foolishness,
isn't it? That I could make a dead man
love by my actions or what I've got to say? to cause him to repent? Again, I'm a dead man. Not if
he's truly dead. Man can do nothing for a dead
man. He has no life in him. Absolutely. And the same is true spiritually. Spiritually, we're dead. And
apart from the spirit of God coming and giving life, breathing
life into a dead sinner, we'll remain will remain dead. Look
at, hold your place there, turn over to Romans, Romans chapter
3. We look at some of these verses
over and over again, but what's it say in Romans chapter 3 verse
10? It says, as it is written, There's none righteous. No, not
one. There's none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God. They are all going out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. Just like Lazarus
of old. laying there dead in the rain. Scripture says that his body
began to stink. He had laid there. You've experienced
that. You've driven by and there's
a dead deer or some kind of dead animal laying there along the
road and the smell of death is on it. That's the way Lazarus
was. Our Lord. He's gonna lay there
dead until our Lord comes and speaks life. We're dead. Trace it all the
way back to the garden. Dead in sin. What God tell Adam? In the day that you eat thereof,
thou shalt surely die. Let's read on in our text here.
Ezekiel 37, look at verse three. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, this is a good
answer, O Lord God, thou art with us. Here's the question,
here's my second point. Can these bones live? This is a whole issue of scripture. Can the Ethiopian, can he change the color of his
skin? Can a leopard change its spots? Can the fragrance of a rose,
that which is sweet, that which you love the smell of a rose,
can that come forth out of the grave? Is that possible? Can this cursing tongue, can it praise God? Can the hate, which is in all
of us, can it be turned to love? Can arrogance be turned to humility? Can these bones live? That's the title of the message,
you see. Can these bones live? And Ezekiel says here, he replies,
he said, O Lord God, now lost, only you know. You know, a sinner
can no more give himself life. than one of those men out there
or women or young people out there laying in the grave. It's
just, it's just impossible. The preacher, he has no, he has
no power to save. The church, no power, no power
to save. A sinner can't save himself. A sinner can't take a first step. There's no life in him, he's
dead. Scripture says this, no man can
come unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him. And John six, our Lord spoke
and he said, he said, you will not. We don't, we don't have
the will. We don't have the desire. He
said, you will not come. He was speaking to that. He said,
you will not come to me that you might have life. Turn to,
uh, turn to Matthew chapter 19, Matthew chapter 19. We're beginning with verse 16. Behold, Matthew 19, verse 16,
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's God. But if thou wilt enter into life,
keep the commandments. Can you imagine the arrogance
of this young man? He says that. Which? Which? And our Lord 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, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. And the young man said unto him,
all these things, all these things have I kept
from my youth up. What like I yet? And Jesus said unto him, if you'll
be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor. treasure in heaven, and come
and follow me. And when the young man heard
that, he went away sorrowful, because he had great possessions. And then it says, Jesus unto
his disciples, verily I say unto you, a rich man shall hardly
enter into the kingdom of heaven. Again, I say to you, it's 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 it, they were exceedingly amazed. And they said, who then
can be saved? If this man can't, who then can
be saved? But Jesus beheld them and said
to him, with men, this is impossible. I'm glad he didn't stop there. He said, but with God, all things,
all things are possible. I ask you, can these bones live? With men, with our doing, our
dying, with our self-righteousness, With our giving, with our worth,
with our taking the first step, can he save himself? What did
we just read there? With men, impossible. These things are 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, these are all his. You see that?
By his sacrifice for sin, by his salvation, can these ones
live? With God, all things, all things
are possible. Can these bones live? Oh, Lord God, thou knowest. In John chapter 10, or John chapter
1, verse 10, we read this. He was in the world, and the
world was, think about that. He was in the world, and the
world was made by him. Almighty God walked. on the earth
that he created. We can't even, we can't even
enter into that, can we? Think about how amazing, that
amazing that is. He was in the world, the world
was made by him, and yet 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 power. to become sons of God, even to
them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood,
not of a natural lineage. Doesn't matter who my dad or
my grandpa or, listen, no matter how far we trace it back, we're
gonna run into Adam, aren't we? Not by natural lineage. Not by the will of the flesh.
This carnal mind, it's enmity against God. Listen, we cry out
the same thing. By nature, this is our cry, we
will not have this man to reign over us. Not the will of flesh, not the
will of man, not our efforts, not our desires, but it's my
effort and my desire. It's not of God. But listen,
but of God, but of God, can these bones live? The answer, oh Lord
God, again, not of us. Back to our text, Ezekiel 37. Verse four, again, he said unto
me, prophesy unto these bones, and say unto them, Oh ye dry
bones, hear the word of the Lord. Here's the third point. Preach
to them. That's what we're told in scripture
to do. To declare the word of the Lord. That's why we come
here on Sundays. That's why we come here on Wednesdays.
That's why we listen to the message. We preach the word. preach the
word. Scripture says this, that the
word of the Lord is powerful. It's sharper than any two-edged
sword. The word of the Lord, it endureth
forever. It's the word by which the gospel
is preached. Paul in Romans, he said that,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. to salvation to everyone to believe
to the Jew first and also to the Greek for therein is the
righteousness of God revealed preach the word prophesy prophesy
to them you know I wonder when when Ezekiel was given that command. I wonder what he thought. Did
he just look out there at all those dry bones and think, this
is how the Lord is going to raise up a mighty army? Or did he just
simply by faith preach the word as God commanded him? Probably
seemed like, I imagine it seemed like a foolish thing. to preach
to a bunch of dead bums. The scripture says this, it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them. Ezekiel did just as the Lord
commanded him. You know he didn't So much foolishness goes on in
so-called, again, so-called churches. I hesitate to even call them
that. But, you know, I've seen bicycle
giveaways. I've seen movie nights. Me and
the boys were driving up north one time, and on Wednesday nights,
they were offering free karate lessons. You know, we kind of
giggle about that, but just think about the absolute foolishness
of that. Now, would that bring a good
crowd? No doubt about it, right? But what's that do for men's
souls, huh? I read something last night.
They were talking about the, I don't know why I waste the
time. on the internet with this, but
it was, I just, what do men do to get people to come to church? And somebody had said that they
had real success offering welcome baskets. Again, what does that do? How's that gonna save me from
my sin? How's that gonna enable me to
see Christ Here's what scripture says, preach
the word. That's what we do, that's it,
preach the word. Paul told Timothy, he said, you
preach the word, you'll be instant in season. He said, recruit,
rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering, All along suffering with patience,
in season, out of season. There's times when the gospel
runs well, there's times when it doesn't. Do we change our practice? Do
we do something different? No, we preach the word. Do you still have Ezekiel chapter
37? Look at verse five and six. Thus saith
the Lord God unto these bones. Behold, I will. You see that? Who's doing the
work here? God is. I will. I will cause
breath to enter into you. And what's the result of that?
Ye shall live. Huh? I will lay sinners upon
you and cover you with skin and put breath in you and ye shall
live. Huh? And ye shall love. that
I am the Lord. This leads me to the fourth point
here. God declares, I will, and you shall. Did you hear that? God said, I will, and you shall. Now if you turn on your TV, or
your radio, or listen again to what's being said in most poems, They're saying just the opposite. If you will, then God will. If you will let Jesus in your
heart, if you will take the first step, if you will give your heart
to Jesus, what's he gonna do with an old stony heart? We have
nothing to offer unto God. No, this is what scripture says.
This is what scripture says. Not man. Not man's opinion. Not what man thinks. What does
God's word declare? He says, I will, and you shall. His will is irresistible. And this is the message of God's
free and sovereign grace to sinners. Ezekiel, think about this, he
didn't ask those bones to do anything, did he? No, he declared
what God was pleased to do for them. And the gospel doesn't
ask or tell us what we can do for God. No, it declares what
God has done for sinners, what God has done for his sheep. what God has been pleased to
do through the person and work of his dear son. Don't look to
yourselves, no, no, look to Christ, look to him. Look unto, that's
what he said, look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the
earth for I'm God and there is none else. He said I'll cause
breath to enter into you and ye shall live. We don't have
breath in us, we're not gonna have life for very long, are
we? He said, I'll cause breath to enter in you. You know, he
breathed into Adam, you go back and look, he breathed into Adam
the breath of life. And when he did that, Adam became
a living soul. In Job, we read this, in whose
hand is the soul of every living thing, and in the breath of mankind. He's pleased to give it. He's
pleased to take it away. Brethren, this is the record
that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his
son. It's a free gift. He's given
it. A gift that, and listen. I remember, I remember my, my,
Papaw years ago, he gave me a, he gave me a pocket knife. I
cherish that. I kept it for years. But you
know what happened in time? What happened with most of the
pocket knives? I lost it. I never got it back. It's an amazing thing. God has
given us something that we can never lose. He's given us eternal
life. Not if he's giving it, not if
he's giving it to us. It can't be lost, can't be stolen,
can't be taken away. Those ruined by the fall, redeemed
by the blood, regenerated, given life by the Holy Spirit. Job's so-called friends said
this, the Spirit of God hath made me and the breath of the
Almighty have given me life. It is all of Him. I will, I will
and ye shall. Ezekiel says, I prophesied as
I was commanded. We declare God's word as He has
commanded. We declare that He is Almighty
God. Sovereign in all things. Almighty
God who is absolutely holy and cannot look on sin. Almighty
God who is just and righteous, yet he is gracious and merciful. He said, I'll have mercy on whom
I'll have mercy. I'll be gracious to whom I'll
be gracious. We declare the truth about man,
man who is born in sin, man whose best work is filthy rags, man
who, it is said in scripture, from the sole of the foot to
the top of the head, there's no sound of sin, nothing but
wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. Man who in the garden
disobeyed God. He had, he was put out there
just to dress it and to keep it. One command. One command. I think of that
all the time. I see people post 10 commandments in their front
yard. And would it be great if everybody obeyed the 10 commandments?
Absolutely, right? But listen, we can't, we can't
obey one. We can't obey one. Man, of whom
given the choice between releasing Barabbas, who had stirred up
rebellion and was accused of murder, Pilate said, shall I
release Barabbas or the Lord Jesus Christ? And what was the
reply? Away with this man. Give us Barabbas. And nobody in this room was there
when they said that, but had we been there, we'd have said
the exact same thing. And Pilate, willing to release
him, he asked again. He asked again. And what did
the people, they yelled. They yelled the same, crucify
him. And they said this, let his blood
be upon us, not just us, but our children. That's what they
said. Scripture says, declare the word.
Declare, preach the word, the truth about God, the truth about
man, the truth about what God has been pleased to do for us
through his son. The Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture
says, listen, he shows us in Christ. He has a people he chose
in Christ from before the foundation of the world. Predestinated us. He determined that his people
were going to be made just like his son. As He is, so are we. We're made just like His Son,
holy, righteous. He made us accepted in the Lord
Jesus Christ. He redeemed us by His blood. He shed His own blood. He died
for His people. Scripture says that while we
were yet sinners, We're nothing there about taking the first
step or doing anything. While we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. He bore our sin in his body on
the tree. He was made sin that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. We declare, I will,
and ye shall. And he says, I'll cause breath
to enter into you. And then he says, amen. You'll live. You'll know that
I am the Lord. You read that. He that hath the
Son hath life. Well, lastly, let's look at verse
17. Here are our texts. Ezekiel said, so I prophesied
as I was commanded, and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold,
it was shaking, and bones came together, bone to his bone, and
when I beheld, lo, the sinews and flesh came upon them, and
skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them.
Then he said unto me, prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son
of man, and say unto the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, come
from the four winds, O breathe, and breathe upon the slain, that
they may live. So I prophesied. As Ezekiel said,
I did as I was commanded. And the breath came into them,
and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great
army. Here's the grand result of it.
Fifth, the grand result. I preached as I was commanded.
Listen, we're not called to entertain. Remember, we're just entertaining
sinners on the way to hell. We're not here to entertain. We're not here to provide tips
on how to get rich or stay healthy. People make a fortune doing that.
We're called to preach the gospel. to preach the gospel, to hold
fast his faithful word, to declare what's written in his word. It says there was a noise and
behold a shaking. You know when the word is preached
in the power of God's spirit, there'll be a noise, there'll
be a stir, there'll be a shaking. When false refuges or torn out
from under us, there'll be some shaking, there'll be some noise
there, huh? Think about that when our Lord,
he said that, he said there were many lepers, right? And he said, just one of them
was saved. Remember how the people reacted
to that? Boy, there was some noise there, wasn't there? They
picked him up and they were gonna cast him headlong over a cliff. False refuges and foundations
are removed, but listen, here's the thing, they're replaced with
a sure foundation. A tried, Scripture says a tried
stone. There's noise all right, there's
rejoicing. You think about this, I think
about this often. There's rejoicing in heaven over
one, one sinner that repented. Oh, breathe. Oh, breathe. Come and breathe upon these slain
that they might live. And Ezekiel preached and he prayed
the Spirit of God would come and give life. I remember reading,
Brother Henry wrote in one of his commentaries, he said, doctrine
and facts, as true as they are, They don't save, and they don't
give life. We must have Christ, who is our
life. He gives life. He that hath the
Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God,
he hath not life. Well, man, then, trespasses in
sin. Here's the, can these bones live?
The command, preach the gospel. Declare God's sovereign grace. I will. He said, I will. And ye shall. Paul, writing to
the Corinthians, he said, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached
unto you, which also you've received and wherein you stand. by which
also you're saved. Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures. And listen, the results, we leave
the results to him. It's his work. Can, I'll ask
it one more time, can these bones, can they live? Can they live? You know, when John the Baptist,
He was in prison, and he sent a couple of his disciples to
our Lord, and they asked this question. He said, John wants
to know this. Are you the one who should come,
or do we wait for another? And our Lord, he said, you go
show John what you've seen and what you've heard. And here's
what he said. He said, you go tell him that
the blind receive their sight. The lame, they walk. The leprous are cleansed. The dead hear. And the dead, the dead are raised
up. Can these bones live? God's pleased
to give them life.