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March 29, 2020 Ezekiel 37:1-14The Fifth Sunday in Lent – A Romans 8:11-19Lutheran Church of Hope John 11:47-53Loveland, CO Psalm116:1-8Rev. Greg Schram“TURNING DRY BONES INTO LIVE BONES”What we have in our Old Testament lesson today is a story familiar to most. In fact, it’s arguably one of the most important stories in the entire Bible. It is the story of Ezekiel and the valley of dry bones. It’s a remarkable story – its message is one of hope for those who have lost all grounds for hope.Here, in something much like a trance, Ezekiel is brought by the hand of the Lord to a plain. From the plain he looks out over the valley. What does he see? A battlefield – much like the “killing fields” of Cambodia. A battlefield strewn everywhere with the bones of men long dead. As he traverses the field all about, he sees that the valley is filled with dry, very dry bones. Life and all vitality have long since gone from them. To God’s question: “can these bones live?” he has no answer. It would seem to be utterly impossible.But then God commands Ezekiel to prophesy, to speak to them the Word of the Lord, and to call upon them to hear. It’s a wonderful reflection of the life-giving power of the Word of God. Then we read in verse five: “I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” As Ezekiel heeds this divine commission he begins to hear the strange sound of rattling. The bones are moving, everywhere assembling themselves about their original bodies! They begin to gather sinews, flesh and skin.But now, appropriately, Ezekiel must prophesy again; this time to the breath, and command it to come from the four winds and breathe upon the slain. The bodies become alive because it is the Spirit which gives life (Gen. 6:17; 7:15, 22); they rise to their feet, “an exceedingly great host.”This is truly a wonderful story. But what does it mean to you and me in our lives today? I think there is a lot of relevancy. As we look around, we, like Ezekiel, see dry bones all over the place. Within ourselves, our families, our churches, schools, communities and country we see dead, dry bones scattered all about. Lifeless bones just laying there, their vitality long gone. Many, maybe even you, yourself look upon the circumstances of your own life as a valley of dry bones. As we look about we see death all around us – and not just physical, but spiritual death, emotional dryness, moral rot and ethical decay as well. As with Ezekiel, the situation seems utterly hopeless.But wait. We have a God, Ezekiel’s God, who specializes in impossible and hopeless situations; for with God nothing is impossible (Lk 1:37). One of the beautiful things about this ancient story is that it is a wonderful story of hope. One cannot read the story without having hope renewed. Who among us has not stood, at some time or other, by the grave of his hopes? Who has not faced a situation in which any possibility of recovery seemed to be ruled out in advance? At such times we can appreciate the message of this story. It speaks to us of a God who can achieve the impossible. For is that not what is meant by raising the dead to life again? Our God is a great God; He is truly omnipotent. There is nothing in all creation more powerful than our God, not even death. Death has no power over Him; not even a valley full of dead, dry bones. This story not only points to the great and glorious Day when the trumpet will sound, all the graves will open, and the dead will rise (1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:16); it also points to what God can do in our lives right now. God has the power to breathe into dead, dry bones, and hopeless situations life and vitality.Do you feel as though your situation is hopeless, impossible? As you look around and see what’s going on in our marriages, our families and homes, our churches and communities, our nation and the world, you might easily conclude: “It’s a hopeless situation.” Dear friends, do not let the devil lead you into despair. Whether it is one dry bone or two, or an entire valley filled with dead, dry bones, God can raise them up to new life. With our God there is always hope.Now how does God bring recovery to dead, dry bones? How does revival and renewal come to you and me, to our marriage and family, to church, community and country? Some would say we are in desperate need of revival today. I would agree. But how does it happen? It happens in the exact same way God brought to life the valley of dry bones. Renewal and revival is experienced in one way and one way only – through the power of the Holy Spirit as it works together with the Word of God.Ezekiel was commanded to prophesy, that is, to speak the Word of God, that the dry bones might “hear the word of the Lord.” And it was in hearing the Word that they received life and experienced renewal. The Word and the Spirit working together. Apart from them there can be no revival. Together they bring life to that which is dead. And is this not what happens to us? Paul said, “And you he made alive, when you were dead through your trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). How? Through the Word of God when it passed through our ears and penetrated our hard heart. Psalm 19 tells us that the Word of God is perfect to convert the soul (v. 7). When we who are (spiritually) dead, hear the Word of God, and the Spirit uses it to convict us of our sin and convince us of our Savior, our spiritual life is then revived and renewed.From Genesis to Revelation the story of revival is the same. It is God’s way of creating life, sustaining it, and when necessary, reviving it. In the creation story all things came to be, including life itself, when God spoke His Word. Of God Paul says that He “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Rom. 4:17). From out of nothing God creates, simply by the power of His Word. It is the Word that creates life, sustains and revives it (Rom. 10:17; Jn 5:24). There can be no revival, no renewal apart from the Word of God. The gospel says Paul, is the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16).The Word of God, however, does not work alone. It works together with the Holy Spirit. As Paul reminds us: “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). And the Spirit is not ours to command. Jesus said, “The wind blows where it wills” (Jn 3:8). The Spirit is not ours to command; but the Spirit is released and unleashed through faithful vessels (more on this later). It is the Spirit, the wind, the breath – in the Hebrew, ruah – that takes the implanted Word and creates transformation and change. Together the Word and Spirit bring life and renewal even to bones that have long since been dead and dry.The Scriptures tell us that the Spirit is a life-giving Spirit. Indeed it is. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17), and where there is freedom, there is life. Renewal comes by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word alone. Remember Luther’s explanation of the third article of the Creed? “I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel…” As dry bones “hear the word of the Lord” the Spirit breathes into them new, revived, vital life.There is another significant aspect of renewal that can be gleaned from the story of Ezekiel 37. Faithfulness. In chapters two and three Ezekiel is told by God to be faithful. God would send him to seemingly hopeless situations and people. Whether they would listen or refuse to listen, Ezekiel was to be faithful in proclaiming the Word. This is a good reminder for me as a pastor, and for all of us. Our call is to be faithful. God will take care of the rest. In an overwhelmingly hopeless and impossible situation, Ezekiel was faithful in speaking the Word. And what a ridiculous thing to do – to speak to dead, dry bones; a whole valley of them! Why, if anyone were to have seen and heard him, they would have hauled him off in a straight jacket to the nearest State Hospital, no questions asked! But what would have happened had Ezekiel not been faithful in speaking the Word? Nothing. Nothing would have happened. Those dry bones would be dry and dead still today. Had Ezekiel not been faithful nothing would have happened, because revival and renewal comes about by the power of the Spirit as the Word is proclaimed by faithful heralds. Without this, there can be no revival. But faithful he was. It wasn’t anything gigantic that Ezekiel did. In a seemingly hopeless and impossible situation he just simply spoke the Word. That’s all. Nothing more. Nothing less. It was the Word that did it. And as he spoke, the Spirit took the Word, and together they breathed into dead, dry bones life! Paul says, “faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). How blessed are the feet of him who brings good news (Nah. 1:15)! If you and I are not faithful in sharing the Word with one another who will share it? Without faithful messengers the Word will not be shared; and without the Word the Spirit has nothing with which to work to bring life to dead, dry bones.Faithfulness is what is needed; faithfulness to the little tasks. Through faithfulness the Holy Spirit is released and unleashed to do marvelous things. I wonder if Eliezer would have ever found a wife for Isaac had Rebekah not been faithful in the little task of going to the well for water at the appointed time each day. I wonder if Daniel would have received any of his visions from the Lord, had he not been faithful in the little tasks of diet and daily devotions. I wonder about Ezekiel… who was to speak the Word where there was none to hear. But he was faithful in this little task. One of the miracles is that the Word created hearers for itself. Even after the nation had to all appearances perished, Ezekiel was to continue as before to teach and to warn. He was not to abandon his mission because there seemed no hope of success. His fidelity released the powers, which brought new life to a lifeless people.Some years back I received a phone call from a woman who was deeply troubled. She said she wanted to visit with me. She sounded desperate, so I dropped what I was doing and went right over to her house. She began to tell me her story. As a young girl she had been repeatedly violated by an uncle of hers. Guilt, shame, and anger drove her to deep depression, of which she sought professional help to overcome. She had spent many, many years and all her savings seeking help… At the time she was seeing a licensed counselor, a psychologist and a psychiatrist; but to no avail. She called me when she lost hope. She was watching a TV Evangelist who had said that both victimizers and victims of such sin would burn in hell forever. She believed she was condemned. Period. So we visited. I had been ministering to this woman and her mother for several years, and I knew she was a believer. I told her that she had committed no sin; but that sin had been committed against her. Then I shared with her two pieces of Scripture: Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”; and Mark 3:28-29, where Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” I told her that there was only one unforgiveable sin – blaspheme of the Holy Spirit; and explained that blaspheme of the Spirit is simply a rejection of Jesus Christ as Savior. All other sin is forgivable. I asked her if she had rejected Christ as Savior. She assured me she had not. Then I said to her: “You committed no sin but were sinned against. Furthermore, you have not committed the unforgiveable sin. Regardless of what this evangelist has told you, Jesus says you are not condemned. Now, who are you going to believe: the evangelist or Jesus?” And immediately her countenance was transformed before my very eyes. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever witnessed! The dark veil of depression vanished; and her face, which was once weighed down with gloom and despair, was now radiantly lifted up with gladness and joy.As I left her home a few minutes later I was rejoicing in the Spirit. Walking down her sidewalk, I said to myself: “This is what it’s all about.” The Spirit then brought back to my remembrance the story of the woman in Mark 5 who had suffered from a flow of blood for many years, and who had spent all she had on many physicians but got no relief until the Lord touched her. So it was with this woman from my congregation. What years of seeing counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists (upon which she spent all her money) could not accomplish, three verses from the Bible could do in just a few short minutes! And it didn’t cost her a cent! Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you should never seek professional help. All I’m saying is that nothing is more powerful than the Word of God – it has power to break the chains of bondage and set the captive free! It has power to bring to life that which was dead.It wasn’t much what I did. I simply spoke the Word of God. I shared three verses of Scripture; and the Holy Spirit took that Word and revived a dying woman.Revival is not so complicated, really. It’s actually quite simple. Faithfulness, the Word, and the Spirit. That’s how it happens. The Spirit creates life when dead, dry bones “hear the word of the Lord” spoken by people faithful to the divine commission to speak.As I look around I see “dry bones” all about. The mountains and the valleys are filled with them. I see them in my own life. I see them in people all around me each and every day. In increasing numbers I see them in the church and all across the land, from sea to shining sea. Hopeless? Though it may seem like it to some, it certainly is not. What’s needed? Revival. Impossible? Absolutely not! For with God all things are possible! How then does it come about? Faithfulness, the Word, and the Spirit. As dry bones hear the Word of the Lord spoken by faithful people, the Spirit creates new life. This is our hope. For it is the only way revival will come: to you, to me, to family, church and country. But oh, what a revival that will be! Amen. ................
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