It was a revival time. As if it happened yesterday,
I can recall all the messages, all the things that happened
vividly. There were five messages, there
were several messages preached other than these five, but God
gave us five prominent God-given powerful messages from his word. Brother Barnard began with the
theme of the conference, which was God's sovereignty, man's
total depravity, God's unconditional election, Christ's effectual
particular redemption, Holy Spirit's call and perseverance and preservation. He preached on six stubborn statements. God is God or he's not. Man is
dead or he's not. God elected a people or he didn't.
Christ redeemed us or nobody's redeemed. Holy Spirit makes that
word effectual to the human heart or he doesn't. And if God saves
a man, he will persevere. Brother George Fletcher, who
was teaching at that time up in Canada Jarvis Street Baptist
Church, where T.T. Shields pastored. Toronto Baptist
Seminary, he was pastoring a church in Hampton, Virginia, Baraka
Baptist Church. He came and preached from Ephesians
chapter 1. The work of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit in redeeming sinners. It was a landmark message. It was a message like the one
Paul brought on Mars Hill. It reached the height. Brother A.D. Mews, Harts Harbor
Tabernacle in Louisville, Kentucky, 64 years old, he died that same
year after we had had a conference at his place. He preached from
1 Thessalonians 1. Knowing, brethren, beloved, your
election of God. The elect church, the church evangelized. Our gospel
came to you. The exemplary church, you were
examples. The evangelizing church, gospel
went out from you. And the expectant church, waiting
for the Lord Jesus to come back. Oh, God bless. Oh, you just wish
you could have been there. Brother Clarence Walker from
Lexington, Kentucky. Old brother Clarence came up.
Respected among Baptists. We invited him because he was pastor of the largest
church in Kentucky, had a school emphasizing truth of God's word,
we had some of our young men at that school at that time. And he brought two of the greatest
messages of anybody. And yet he wasn't noted there
where he postured for this type of message. Strange. But people
came from all over this area to hear old Dr. Walker. The auditorium
downstairs seated 700 and you couldn't find a place to sit
when Brother Walker got up to preach. And if I had written a message
out for him, he couldn't have preached more to Mother Joyce. I thought Brother Barnard was
going to have to be tied to his seat with a seat belt. He preached on my spiritual biography.
The young men who came from his school, the quartet, were just
as shocked as the people from Ashland who thought Wendell Walker
had set this young preacher straight. I was only 28 years old at that
time. But they figured that old man
had set this preacher straight. Well, he confirmed everything
I'd been preaching for four years in one sentence. He said, God
foreknew me. He didn't just know I would believe.
He chose me to believe. He predestinated me. He justified
me. He called me. He glorified me. And that place was powerfully
moved by the Spirit of God. And he got back up the next morning
and preached again from this Ezekiel 37 that I'm going to
look at this morning. An amazing thing, there was no
working together. No families were assigned. There was no collaborating. There
was no assignments. We waited on God. Let me tell
you this. You say you were in over your head. I've been in
over my head 49 years now. And anybody that's a preacher
of the gospel of grace is not in over his head, he's not a
preacher of the gospel of grace. That's right. We didn't plan. I'll tell you
another thing. Folks that plan their schedule
a year in advance, they're not walking by the leadership of
God's Spirit at all. I can't plan tomorrow. I'm waiting
to see what he's going to do. That's right. Not in the ministry.
Can't do it. You say the Lord willing will
do this out there. We're not going to do anything.
Paul wanted to go over here and preach and the Lord said no.
Well it's on my schedule, it won't count for me. He said well
I'll go to Bethany, I'll go to Michigan, I'll go here. No you
won't. Tonight they'll appear to you
if I don't tell you where to go. Tonight. And that's right. So these men were led of God
to preach these messages. I'll tell you what this is, this
Ezekiel 37, to begin with, if you look at verse 11 of Ezekiel
37, it's definitely a prophecy by Ezekiel of the restoration
and continuation of Israel as a nation. You see, Israel scattered
then, scattered all over the world, like it was a hundred
years ago. before 1948, scattered all over. There wasn't an Israel, there
wasn't a nation, except people, strangers, scattered here and
there. Ezekiel is prophesying that they're
to be brought back to a political nation. That's what he's prophesying. Listen to verse 11, Then he said
to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.
They say our bones are dry, our hope is lost, we're cut off from
our part. You tell them. Thus saith the
Lord God, Behold, O my people, I'll open your graves, and cause
you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of
Israel. And you'll know that I'm the Lord. I've opened your
graves. O my people, and brought you
up out of your graves. And we'll talk about this in
a moment. I'll put my spirit in you and you'll live. Will
there be a revival? I don't know. We'll see. But
I'll place you in your own land. Now Charles Spurgeon spoke from
this scripture. Charles Spurgeon spoke from this
scripture about 130 years ago when there wasn't an Israel.
One nation Israel. This is what he said. This was
135 years ago. Spurgeon, who's the prince of
preachers, as far as I'm concerned, among natural men, I mean human
beings, not our Lord Jesus, the apostles I'm talking about. But
Spurgeon said 135 years ago, there is now no nation of Israel. Her sons are scattered far and
wide, her sacred song is hushed. There's no worship at the temple.
There's no king, no leader in Jerusalem. But I'm telling you,
my people, Israel will be restored as a nation. God said in verse 14, I will
place you in your own land. And Spurgeon continued, the state
of Israel one day will be incorporated. The Jews shall one day return
to Palestine. The Jews one day will walk on
her mountains again and sit under her fig trees. And it happened
in 1948. It's over there for you to behold right now. Israel. And the unusual nation. They
can frustrate the whole Arab empire. Whip them just by talking
to them. I can't explain it. Well, you
see down in verse 14, I'll put my spirit in you. Will there
be a spiritual restoration of Israel? Will the veil be lifted?
What veil? Well, turn to 2 Corinthians 3. I tell you, the Jews are judicially
blinded. They're spiritually blinded like
all sons of Adam, but they're judicially blinded. In 2 Corinthians
chapter 3, verse 13, And not as Moses, which put a
veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not
steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished, but
their minds were blinded. Their minds were blinded. But
until this day, remain at the same veil, untaken away in the
reading of the Old Testament. When you read the Old Testament,
the Messiah, Isaiah 42, Isaiah 53, Isaiah 61, all these Old
Testament scriptures that tell about Christ, they're blind. But this veil is done away in
Christ. When a person sees Christ, the Redeemer, if Christ is preached
and he has spiritualized the whole Christ, the fulfillment
of all scriptures, he understands the Old Testament.
The veil is taken away. Like the Ethiopian eunuch asked
Philip, he said, whose eyes are talking about himself or some
other man? And Philip preached Christ to
him and the veil was lifted. And he saw and rejoiced. Verse 16, verse 15, But unto
this day, when Moses is raised, the veil is upon their hearts.
Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be
taken away. Will such a thing happen? Well,
God's able to make it happen. I know lots of, turn to Romans
11, I know lots of people's say that there's nothing left for
the Jews. Well, Paul said, I'm a Jew. You
remember that? He said, as God cast away his
people, he said, God forbid, I'm a Jew. I'm a Jew. Romans 11, verse 1,
as God cast away his people, God forbid, I'm an Israelite.
I'm of the seed of Abraham, the tribe of Benjamin. I say then, have they stumbled
that they should fall forever? God forbid. But rather through
their fall, salvation has come to the Gentiles, for to provoke
them to jealousy. Now, if the fall of them be the
riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches
of the Gentiles, how much more of their fullness? If the casting away of Israel
be the reconciling of the world, what shall be the receiving of
them but life from the dead? Sounds like a prophecy. Verse
19, Thou wilt say then, the branches were broken off, that I might
be grafted in. Well, because of unbelief they
were broken off. And you stand by faith. Don't
be high-minded, but fear not. If God spared not the natural
branches, take heed, he spare not you. Behold, therefore, the
goodness and severity of God on them that fell, severity before
Jew goodness. If you continue in his goodness,
otherwise you also will be cut off. Now listen, and they also, if they abide not still in unbelief,
shall be grafted in. God's able to graft them in again. Would you buy that? God's able. And I'll tell you this, there
wouldn't be a happier fellow in this world, more than this
fellow. If revival, if Christ was preached
and those people over there came to worship him, Paul said, my
heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel as they might
be saved. I could wish myself a curse from
Christ for my brethren, according to the flesh. They have a zeal
for God, but not according to knowledge. They're ignorant of
his righteousness. If they ever saw his righteousness,
they'd trust him. But that's what he's talking
about in the first place. Secondly, this is a description
of the resurrection of the David. Can these bones live? I was in Mexico one time and
we passed by this cemetery and we stopped to see the Mexican
customs, funeral customs, burial customs and so forth. And in
some places they rent the graves just for two years and then they
dig the bones up. What's left of the body after
two years in that climate. They dig up the bones and put
them in a family box where they can put the bones of all the
family and they put somebody else in that grave. Well I was
standing there when the grave diggers were digging up what
was left of the body. About all that was left was a
skull with hair and bones. And this scripture came to me.
Can these bones live? That's all that will be left
of me and you in a few years is bones. We can build these
vaults and mausoleums all you want to, but we're going to decay
from within. That's why the worms within,
the worms not outside looking for you, you're carrying it around
with you. Corruption. When this corruption
puts on incorruption, This weakness puts on strength. This mortality
puts on immortality. It's in here. But our Lord said that they will
arise. Behold, the time cometh when
all that are in the grave shall hear his voice. They'll come
forward. But there's a verse over in Acts
26, you ought to circle. Any time you run into someone
who questions the resurrection This was a statement Paul uttered
to a king in Acts 26, verse 8. He talked
him to King Agrippa, and he said, verse 8 of Acts
26, Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that
God should raise the dead? Is anything too hard for God? Why should that be incredible, that God should raise the dead? All right, there's a third reference
here, and possibly the primary reason why God has preserved
this scripture for us, and all the types and pictures
and parables of the Old Testament. This scripture pictures salvation. Regeneration. Restoration. He restored my soul. The resurrection from spiritual
death, not of natural, national Israel, but of spiritual Israel. They're not all Israel which
are of Israel. He's not a Jew which is one outwardly.
Circumcision is not of the flesh, it's of the heart. He's a Jew
which is one inwardly. He's spiritual Israel who's the
son of Abraham spiritually, not physically. They that are of
the faith of Abraham are of the seed of Abraham, which is Christ. So this is a story about you
and me. Let's read verses 1 and 2. The
hand of the Lord was upon me. This is God's preacher talking,
Ezekiel. He carried me out in the Spirit
of the Lord and set me down in the midst of a valley which was
full of bones. I've done this myself and I've
heard preachers talk about Yeshua standing up, I mean, Ezekiel
standing up on a mountain looking down at all these bones in the
valley. He was in the midst of it. He
caused me to walk around among them. He set me down in the midst of
a valley of dry bones. And I thought about Isaiah when
he saw the Lord. He said, I dwell in the midst
of a people of unclean lips. I dwell in the midst, doctor,
a valley of dry bones. He said, verse 2, He caused me
to walk around among them, and behold, there were very many
in the open valley, and it was very dry. Evidently there had
been a battle fought here a long time ago, and a whole lot of
people had been killed and left there to rot. The birds had picked
those bones dry. The sun had bleached them. The
wind had blown the sand over them. They were very many, they
were very dry, they were there in the open valley, parched and
bleached white, as lifeless as a stone. But I'll tell you that happened
to us, that battle, there was a great battle fought in the
Garden of Eden, when the serpent came under the
power of Satan. and tempted our parents. And they died. They were slain. That was a very long time ago.
But they weren't the only two that died. There were very many
that died. Very many. In fact, everybody
who came from their loins died. Let's read about over here in
Romans 5. But God said over here in Romans
5, talking about Adam's fall, Adam's sin, this is identification
with Adam. See, God only created one man.
In him we lived, in him we stood, in him we were holy, in him we
sinned, in him we died. And listen to Romans 5.12. Wherefore,
as by one man's sin entered into this world, and death by sin. spiritual death, so death passed
upon all men. We're all sinning. In Adam we
sin. In Adam we die. We're dead, lifeless. Paul said to the Ephesians, without
help, without hope, without Christ, without God in this world. And
that's that valley, this awesome Very many, very dry, very dead. When God's pleased to send the
preacher forth to preach, that's the first thing he teaches him.
He teaches him the condition of all flesh dead. And then he teaches him something
else, verse 3. The Lord says, that's the part
preacher's vision, now the Lord's question. And he said to me,
Son of man, can these bones live? Can these bones live when God
is pleased to give one of his servants a full view of sin, of the terrible lost
condition. That was a terrible sight that
Ezekiel saw there this valley full of bones, dry, dead. The wind was blowing sand over
them, dead. That's what this spirit of the
world did. And when he let dawns on a preacher,
God will cause him to ponder some questions. Can these dead
live again? Can a clean thing be brought
out of an unclean? Can the smell of the grave once
again have the fragrance of a rose? Can hate be turned to love? Can
the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk? Can these bones
live? But Job's friends asked that
question, Job 25, let's listen to what they said. In Job chapter
25, they talked about this, Job and his friends. Verse 4 of Job
25, how can man be justified with God? Dead, dry bones. How can he be clean as barn of
a woman? Behold, even to the moon it shineth
not. The stars are not pure in God's
sight, how much less man that's a worm, the son of man which
is a worm. And one of them said, which drinks
iniquity like water. Can these bones live? Jeremiah
pondered that question. He said, can the Ethiopian change
his skin? Can the leopard change his spots?
Can we do good that are accustomed to doing evil? Can these dead
sinners live? Our Lord's disciples asked him
that question. They said, Lord, who can be saved?
He said, with me, and it's impossible. Can these bones live? I'm talking
about dead, dry sinners. I'm not talking about tying these
bones together now with wire. Tradition, creeds, organizations,
tying them together and making them look like they're alive. I'm not talking about dressing
them up in religious garb. You take these bones and get
some wire and tie them together and stitch them together Ankle
bone to the shin bone, the shin bone to the thigh bone, the thigh
bone to the hip bone. You all sing that some Sunday,
you know. Tie them together, and then put a robe on them,
and a cross, and a hat, and maybe a black suit, and a bonnet. Make them look religious. Close
them in the garb of religion, and make them look religious.
Tie them together with your traditions, and ceremonies, and organizations,
and ball teams, and basketball teams, and potluck dinners, you
know, town together, make them a social unit, like that boy
from England came over here, he said, well your churches are
like our clubs in England, that's why we play games too. But you got to dress them up
in religious garb, get them some robes, and some crosses, and
some, all these things, but they don't move. Get the preacher
up there in front of them acting like a cheerleader and raise
his voice to a certain crescendo and then they'll start shouting.
Or get the choir to sing and wave their arms and then those
bones will start waving their arms, you know. Get like puppets
on a string. You pull them with music or you
pull them with activities or you pull them with screams and
threats and you pull them with all the talk about, you know,
seeing mama again. Get them excited. They're still
there. That's not the question, can
you make them move? It's not the question, can you
make them look like they live? The Lord says, can they live? Can their hearts beat with love
for God? Can they live without a cheerleader?
Can they live without stained glass windows? Can they live
out there in the world where the battle is going on?
Was the shout with their mouth or in their heart? What is the
shout? Where is the shout? In here or out here? Can they walk with God? That's
the question. I'll tell you a bigger question
is how can God be just and justify them too? That's a big question. That enters into this problem.
Not only man's deplorable condition, but God's holiness. We've got
to deal with both, haven't we? God's got to be reconciled to
me. Not just me reconciled to God. God's character of holiness
has got to be satisfied. God will by no means clear the
guilty. What Adam did has got to be straightened
out. in accordance with his holiness
and his justice. God's got to accept me. Got to
be reconciled to God. Well, the prophet gave an answer.
The prophet's vision, dead, dry bones. The Lord's question, can
they live? Here's his answer. It's the answer
any thinking person would give. When the preacher learns man's
ruin and ponders the question, can they live? He comes up with
one answer. Lord, I know it's left up to
them that can't. I'm telling them to do all these
different things, but they're still dead. Left up to me that
can't live. Left up to their mamas and daddies
that can't live. Only one to whom we can look,
and that's to you. Heath Ropen can't change his
skin, but you can change it. The leopard cannot change his
spots, but you can change them. A man who's dead cannot live
unless you give him life. Lazarus, come forth! He came
forth. You can do it. The leopard came
to our Lord and said, If you will, you can make me well. Well,
that's good theology, isn't it? That's my theology. Lord, if
you will, you can make me whole. They brought the Lord one day,
a man who had been lame for all his life, 38 years, he lay lame. Poor men brought him on a cot
and laid him down in front of the Lord through a skylight.
And our Lord says, Thou sins be forgiven thee. He saw the
faith of his friends and the faith of the man and said, Your
sins are forgiven. And all these Pharisees said,
Hey, you blasphemed. Only God can forgive sin, he
said, which is easier to say, Your sins are forgiven
or take up your bed and walk. Which is easy? They're both easy
to settle. I'm second. But doing it's another matter.
Doing it. And he said, so you'll know the
sort of man has power to forgive sin. I say to thee on the bed,
take up your bed and walk. And he walked. Can these bones
live? If he gives them life, they'll
live. If he wills, they'll live. If he speaks, they'll live. And
their sins, too, will be forgiven. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is of the Lord in his planning. It's of the Lord in his application.
It pleased God to bruise him on that tree. It's of the Lord
in his application, Paul said, on the road to Damascus. God
was pleased to reveal his Son in me. It's of the Lord in its
sustaining power we're kept by the power of God through faith.
It's of the Lord in its ultimate perfection. He arrays our vile
bodies and makes them like his own. My friends, can these bones
live? Lord, you know. Well, the preacher
learned something else, the Lord's command. He said to me, preach
to them. Preach unto, upon these bones. Preach to them. The fourth thing the preacher
learns is the importance of preaching, and the power of the word of
God. God quickens, but God quickens
through the Word. We're born of the Word and of
the Spirit. Of his own will beget he us through
the Word of truth. We're born again, we live not
by corruptible seed as we lived the first time. Corruptible semen
is the way. But we live not by corruptible
semen, but we live by the incorruptible seed, the word of God. The word
is preached, and it's the power of God unto salvation. God has
chosen by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
So he said preach to them. Preach to them. Hear the word
of the Lord. Say to these dry bones, Don't
say what these preachers say. Now hear me. Don't hear me. Hear the word of the Lord. Hear the word of the Lord. I
do what I say. Don't you do it either. Salvation
is not in you doing anything. It's God doing something for
you. Now listen to what he says. You say to them, thus saith the
Lord God. Now all you boys repent. Oh,
you bones, I'm just going to sing one more verse. And if you don't come, I ain't
going to sing no more. Isn't that stupid? That's awful. God's done all He can do. Boy,
you're in trouble if He's done all He can do. That's up to you. I didn't know that. Bones, it's
up to you. When you start measuring today's
preachers by the word of God, you want to put a bounty on them,
$25 a head, and wear them around your waist like they were the
scalps of old. That's right now. They're deceivers
of men. They're bartering and sold. That's expensive. That's expensive
merchandise they're playing with. You say to the dry bones, Hear
the word of the Lord, behold, I will cause breath to enter
into you, and you'll live. I will lay sinews upon you, I
will bring flesh upon you, I will cover you with skin, I will put
breath in you, and you'll live, and you'll know that I did it
all, I'm the Lord. Repentance is a gift of God.
The goodness of God leads a man to repent. You didn't repent by yourself. God gave you repentance. The goodness of God broke your
heart. The goodness of God laid you bare. The goodness of God
shut your mouth. The goodness of God showed you
Christ. And as a result of the loving
kindness and goodness of God, you repented. You didn't believe,
God gave you faith. Faith's the gift of God, it's
not a worry. It's given unto us, not only
to suffer for his sake, but to believe on him. Faith's the gift
of God. God gave you life. I'm going
to do these things. Somebody said, don't preach sovereignty
to dead sinners. Well, that's what Ezekiel's preaching
to them. That's my example here. He says,
you tell them what I'm going to do. You tell them who I am. You tell them the mess they're
in. And you tell them I'll make them live. And then every one
of them are going to say, well, the Lord did it. The Lord did
it. They'll know I'm the Lord. Sovereign,
almighty, eternal God. The God of salvation. So, verse
7, let's move on. So, oh, the results. I prophesied
to them, and as I prophesied these things, there was a noise.
I thought when I read it, yeah, there's a noise all right, the
noise of opposition. The religious crowd gets real
upset when you start glorifying God. There's a noise of opposition. Noise. Like it said when Paul
pushed at Mars Hill. Let's see what this Bible is
going to say. Noise of opposition. There's a noise, but there's
another noise, there's a noise of rejoicing. His people rejoice
when you preach grace. But then there's a, there's a
noise, but what's this? And behold a shaking, the bones
came together, bone to his bone. Behold, when I beheld, lo, the
centers and flesh came upon them, the skin covered them, but there
wasn't any breath in them. No breath. Well, he said, prophesy to the
wind, son of man, 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. Nicodemus came to our Lord. He
was dead, dry bones. He wanted to discuss religion.
He said, no man can do the miracles you do, except God be with him.
Our Lord said, Verily I say unto you, Except a man is born again,
he can't see the kingdom of God. So how's a man going to be born
when he's old? Can he enter his mother's womb
and be born? Well, Christ said, That which
is born of the flesh is flesh. If he could do that, he'd still
be flesh. If he's born a dozen times, he'd still be flesh. He'd
still be dead. But that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. And I'm all but lost that I said
to you, You must be born again. And to when? Prophesy to the wind, son of man, say to the wind,
come from the full wind, oh breath and breathe. The wind, Christ
said, blows where it pleases. You don't have any control over
the wind. God controls the wind. And the wind blows where it will,
where he will. And you can You can see the results,
but you can't tell which the wind comes and you can't tell
where the wind goes. Even so, Christ said, are those
that are born of God. The dead who live. The Spirit
of God. So we preach. Now that's the reason this was preached
back down there a long time ago. God sent this to all of us in
those early days. This is salvation. Dead. Can they live? God, you know. Well, preach to them. Preach
what? Preach Christ, the word of the Lord. Christ is the word
of the Lord. Preach Christ. Who He is? Son of God, servant. What He did? Obeyed the law,
gave us a righteousness, died on the cross. Why did He do it?
That God may be just and justified. Where is He now? The right hand
of God. Preach it! And I'll give them
life. and say to the Spirit of God,
Spirit of God, we're powerless, hopeless, ruined. Breathe on
these dry bones, and he will. So I prophesied as he commanded
me, and the breath came unto them, and they lived. Listen,
never to die again. Ninety-nine percent of the preachers
in the United States are always afraid his congregation is going
to leave, or ask him to, that they're going to quit coming.
He does all he can do to make them work and give and come to
church. He just gives himself up to try
to get folks to do things that are still dead. But when they
live, they stand. And they walked with God, and
they lived forever. You couldn't run them off, unless
you lie on God, unless you preach a false gospel, and they'll leave
you in a minute. We may ask you to leave them,
but they'll live. Somebody says, you believe in
eternal security. If God secures them, I do. Eternal
salvation, if God saves them, I do. Eternal life. If God gives them
life, they live. They live. And they're not going
back to that valley. They live. Forever and ever and
ever. And they know that He's the Lord.
That's it. Alright. 242. Let's sing closing
hymn. Jesus, I come. I come to thee. 242.