? (Theme Song) ?
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? Jesus is worthy ?
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? oh yes, he's worthy ?
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? worthy of all... ?
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? (Music) ? PB:
Good evening. My name
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is Dr. Carlton T. Byrd
and I'm the speaker-director
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for Breath of Life
Television Ministries.
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And we are excited because
we are on location right here at
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the Southeastern
Conference campground in
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Hawthorne, Florida.
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We're happy to be here to
share the gospel of Jesus Christ
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with men, women, boys
and girls around the world,
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but most importantly,
today we were here in
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Hawthorne, Florida.
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We're grateful tonight for the
invitation from our president
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of this conference, the
Southeastern Conference,
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which happens to be my
home conference, our president,
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Pastor Hubert J. Morrell Jr.
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Won't everyone give
him a big round of applause
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tonight?
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God bless you.
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Thank you so very much, Pastor
Morrell, for your warmth, your
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lovely wife, Sister Raquel
Morrell, and we are here to
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preach the Word of God.
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Amen.
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This is special for me, Breath
of Life viewers, because my
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parents are here tonight.
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My wife is here, our children
are here, my brother is here,
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my sister is here, but
my parents are here as well.
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Pastor and Mrs. W. C.
Byrd, give them a big round of
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applause tonight.
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We're grateful that they're
with us with Breath of Life.
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We are ready now
to get in the Word.
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If you're ready to get in the
Word, let me say you say Amen.
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Because if it's not in
the Word, it doesn't deserve
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to be heard, Amen?
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Take your Bibles and go with
me to the book of Ezekiel, and
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chapter 37. Ezekiel
37, verse 1. Ezekiel 37:1.
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"The hand of the Lord was upon
me, and carried me out in the
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spirit of the Lord, and
set me down in the midst of the
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valley which was full of
bones, And caused me to pass
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by them round about: and,
behold, there were very many
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in the open valley;
and, lo, they were very dry.
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And he said unto me, Son of man,
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can these bones live?
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And I answered, O
Lord God, thou knowest.
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Again he said unto me,
Prophesy upon these bones, and
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say unto them, O ye dry bones,
hear the word of the Lord.
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Thus saith the Lord God
unto these bones; Behold, I will
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cause breath to enter into
you, and ye shall live: And I
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will lay sinews upon you, and
will bring up flesh upon you,
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and cover you with skin,
and put breath in you, and ye
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shall live; and ye
shall know that I am the Lord.
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So I prophesied as I
was commanded: and as I
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prophesied, there was a noise,
and behold a shaking, and the
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bones came
together, bone to his bone.
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And when I beheld, lo, the
sinews and the flesh came up
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upon them, and the skin
covered them above: but there
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was no breath in them.
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Then said he unto me, Prophesy
unto the wind, prophesy, son
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of man, and say to the wind,
Thus saith the Lord God; Come
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from the four winds, O breath,
and breathe upon these slain,
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that they may live.
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So I prophesied as he
commanded me, and the breath
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came into them, and they
lived, and stood up upon their
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feet, an exceeding great army.
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Then he said unto me, Son of
man, these bones are the whole
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house of Israel: behold, they
say, Our bones are dried, and
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our hope is lost: we
are cut off for our parts.
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Therefore prophesy and say
unto them, Thus saith the Lord
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God; Behold, O my people,
I will open your graves, and
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cause you to come up out
of your graves, and bring you
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into the land of Israel.
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And ye shall know that I am
the Lord, when I have opened
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your graves, O my people,
and brought you up out of your
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graves, And shall put my
spirit in you, and ye shall
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live, and I shall place you
in your own land: then shall ye
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know that I the Lord have
spoken it, and performed it,
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saith the Lord."
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In harmony with our theme
for our camp meeting here in
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Southeastern
Conference, revive us again.
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Tonight we begin
with the subject entitled,
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"Revival In the Valley."
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God bless us now.
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Breathe into the
aisle in this place.
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Make this camp, make
this building, this room, your
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sanctuary right now.
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And God, we give you all
the praise, the honor and the
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glory for what you're
going to do for us tonight.
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Forgive me for my sins,
hide me behind your cross.
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When we leave here tonight,
we'll be able to say it was
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good to have been in your house.
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It's in the name
of Jesus we pray.
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Let everyone say Amen. And Amen.
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"Revival in the Valley."
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Now, these first 14
verses of the prophet Ezekiel as
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recorded in Ezekiel 37
can be divided into two parts.
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Verses 1-10 record
the vision Ezekiel sees.
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Verses 11-14
provide its interpretation.
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Ezekiel sees in vision the
nation of Israel as described
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in verses 1-10 as dry,
dead, and in the valley.
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Why?
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The Bible says in the
preceding chapters of Ezekiel
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that there had been a
fault in the Israeli camp.
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Israel's temple had been burned.
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The Israelites had
been slaughtered, and the
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banishment of Israel's nobles
was present and then Israel's
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life was then now,
henceforth, extinct.
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And to speak of returning
prosperity to the nation of
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Israel in such a condition
was like talking of the
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restoration of
vitality to withered bones.
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The primary intention of
this vision was to depict the
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restoration of the nation
for the House of Israel, whose
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condition at the time was
symbolized by dry, dead bones.
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What does it mean to be
dry, dead and in the valley?
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Webster says to be dry
is to be without moisture,
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to be cold, to be
unfriendly, uninteresting,
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lacking sweetness.
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To be dead is to
be no longer alive.
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Being numbed, extinguished,
lacking luster or movement.
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To be in the valley
is to be in a low area.
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So then Israel was cold,
unfriendly, without moisture.
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No longer alive,
extinguished, lacking luster
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All in a low area.
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Israel was dry,
dead and in the valley.
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Its economy was destitute.
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Its people were indigent.
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Its spirit was lifeless.
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Its nationalism was unsupported.
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Its socialism was
decadent and its spirituality
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was absent.
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Ezekiel's primary role was
to be one of prophetic speech,
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to interpret the
misinterpretations and the
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confusion that had wrestled
and arrested in the heart and
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consciousness of
the Hebrew people.
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The people had a misconception
about God, that God was
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localizing, meaning that
God was limited to one area.
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And therefore, being exiled
into Babylon, they felt that
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God had abandoned them.
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Secondly, not only did they
have an erroneous conception
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of who God was, but they felt
that the protective presence
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of God would not allow any
forces--military, political or
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social--to upheave them from
their ground and relocate them
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to some other partial ground.
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In other words, they just
believed that God wouldn't let
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them get beat up.
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And now, their
hopes have been dashed.
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They were dead,
dismembered, despairing.
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And so the picture we have in
Ezekiel 37 is a picture of the
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reanimation of life granted
to us by the Spirit of God, that
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the Spirit of God, God's Holy
Ghost, reanimates and breathes
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hope back into tired lives
and renews and restores and even
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revises that that was
once alive and is now dead.
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Dry, dead, dismembered
and despairing is the gruesome
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picture that
Ezekiel is about to see.
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But how could a revival of a
fallen nation be possible when
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its spiritual life, with
disease, decadence, distress
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and deterioration.
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For understand, when you
are weak spiritually, everything
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else is going to be weak.
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For how can one move, how
can one grow, how can one have
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life when one is unresponsive
to God's call, unmoved by
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God's claim, unchanged by
God's covenantal association
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with us in a divine human
partnership of vision, passion
00:09:18.60\00:09:22.66
and mission?
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Are we who go to church,
week after week, dead, dry,
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dismembered,
despairing and in the valley?
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What am I talking about?
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I'm talking about in the
church but spiritually dead.
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For it's one thing to be in
church; it's another thing to
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be in Christ.
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It's one thing to be in the
building; it's another thing
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to be in the body.
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It's one thing to be in the
sanctuary; it's another thing
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to be in the spirit.
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Everybody who's in
church is not in God.
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Everybody who knows the
Bible does not know God.
00:10:00.13\00:10:03.86
Everybody who has
religion does not have faith.
00:10:03.86\00:10:07.33
And everybody talking
about him ain't going to heaven.
00:10:07.33\00:10:12.96
And so it was in verse 1
that the hand of the Lord was on
00:10:12.96\00:10:17.26
Ezekiel and transported
him out to this strange, plain
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valley, to take a vision of
the vices that occurred on the
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life of those who were once
alive, a valley full of dead,
00:10:26.06\00:10:30.63
dry bones.
00:10:30.63\00:10:31.83
Ezekiel says that the hand
that sent me down rested me
00:10:31.83\00:10:36.10
there, and told me to take a
survey of the sights, to walk
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backward and forward, to walk
sideways, walk around and take
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notice of what you see.
00:10:45.20\00:10:47.06
Ezekiel saw, at the end of
verse 1 and beginning of verse
00:10:47.06\00:10:50.13
2, a valley full of dry bones.
00:10:50.13\00:10:51.53
These, however,
were not merely bones.
00:10:51.53\00:10:54.83
These were the skeletal
remains of people who had
00:10:54.83\00:10:57.80
names.
00:10:57.80\00:11:00.13
Who had families.
00:11:00.13\00:11:01.90
Who had children.
00:11:01.90\00:11:03.16
Legacies, histories,
religion, sociology, philosophy.
00:11:03.16\00:11:05.63
He saw the bony remains,
the skeletons that had been
00:11:05.63\00:11:11.53
broken, severed, separated,
where the winds had gusted
00:11:11.53\00:11:14.03
across the plain and had blown
and dismembered these bodies
00:11:14.03\00:11:17.40
throughout the valley.
00:11:17.40\00:11:18.86
He saw many bones and as
many bones as he saw, that's how
00:11:18.86\00:11:22.96
many despairers he witnesses.
00:11:22.96\00:11:26.23
How many dreams
that were unfulfilled.
00:11:26.23\00:11:30.00
How many hopes
that had been dashed.
00:11:30.00\00:11:31.93
It was full of bones.
00:11:31.93\00:11:33.03
In verse 2, Ezekiel also sees
that the bones were very dry.
00:11:33.03\00:11:38.56
Dry bones, symbolizing
that these bones were not recent
00:11:38.56\00:11:42.56
deaths.
00:11:42.56\00:11:44.30
These were deaths of people
who had died and laid in the
00:11:44.30\00:11:49.06
valley for many years.
00:11:49.06\00:11:51.16
The sun had bleached them
white, the sands had kept them
00:11:51.16\00:11:55.56
clean.
00:11:55.56\00:11:56.86
A valley full of dry bones.
00:11:56.86\00:11:58.83
Now, Ezekiel knew that if
God wanted to, God could have
00:11:58.83\00:12:06.76
raised the bones back to life.
00:12:06.76\00:12:08.56
But this was a picture
of hopelessness, despairing,
00:12:08.56\00:12:14.50
dismemberment, dry bones.
00:12:14.50\00:12:17.26
There was no hint of hope.
00:12:17.26\00:12:19.13
There was no
suggestion of possibility.
00:12:19.13\00:12:22.03
And the question now comes
in verse 3, resonating from the
00:12:22.03\00:12:26.56
voice of God, son of
man, can these bones live?
00:12:26.56\00:12:35.06
Now, when the prophet Ezekiel,
the interpreter, heard this
00:12:35.06\00:12:40.46
question, can these bones
live, he doesn't answer too
00:12:40.46\00:12:44.16
quickly.
00:12:44.16\00:12:46.40
He doesn't rush to
answer, to presume upon God's
00:12:46.40\00:12:48.73
sovereignty.
00:12:48.73\00:12:49.66
Neither does he respond
negatively in some kind of way
00:12:49.66\00:12:52.46
negating the possibility
of the hopes of those who had
00:12:52.46\00:12:55.63
already gone
through exilic pressure.
00:12:55.63\00:12:58.80
But the question tonight
remains: can these bones live?
00:12:58.80\00:13:04.56
And that's the question I
ask you today: can these bones
00:13:04.56\00:13:08.03
live?
00:13:08.03\00:13:09.00
Because if you keep the
question in 6th century B.C.,
00:13:09.00\00:13:11.90
it becomes a
question of depersonalization.
00:13:11.90\00:13:14.96
But if you raise the question
from the valley plains of the
00:13:14.96\00:13:18.73
dry bones and escort it to the
21st century, it takes on new
00:13:18.73\00:13:22.50
shape and new
form for the future.
00:13:22.50\00:13:25.03
Can these bones live?
00:13:25.03\00:13:28.80
If you do not raise the
question by pointing to the
00:13:28.80\00:13:31.76
bones in the valley, but point
to the lives of those persons
00:13:31.76\00:13:34.80
who walk the concrete pavement
of our city streets, you can
00:13:34.80\00:13:38.73
then ask, can these bones live?
00:13:38.73\00:13:42.03
When you look into the empty
eyes of men and women whose
00:13:42.03\00:13:45.33
lives have been entangled and
strangled from life, you begin
00:13:45.33\00:13:48.30
to ask, can these bones live?
00:13:48.30\00:13:51.56
When you look into the lives
of young black men who number
00:13:51.56\00:13:55.10
more in our penal system
and penitentiaries than they do
00:13:55.10\00:13:58.56
institutions of higher
learner, you begin to ask, can
00:13:58.56\00:14:02.10
these bones live?
00:14:02.10\00:14:04.86
When you look at some women
who followed some man, some
00:14:04.86\00:14:08.90
dream, some job, only to
be left alone, broken, and to
00:14:08.90\00:14:13.00
raise children by themselves,
you ask, can these bones live?
00:14:13.00\00:14:19.90
When you look at children who
used to wake up and play under
00:14:19.90\00:14:24.66
the sunshine, but now
walk through the valley of the
00:14:24.66\00:14:27.23
shadow of death, epitomized
by drugs, teenage pregnancy,
00:14:27.23\00:14:30.20
promiscuity, AIDS and
illiteracy, you ask, can these
00:14:30.20\00:14:36.46
bones live?
00:14:36.46\00:14:38.43
When you see the picture
frames of families who used to
00:14:38.43\00:14:43.60
be in harmony, but now they've
been cut out by the knife of
00:14:43.60\00:14:46.63
divorce, deceit and
disrespect, and now pulled
00:14:46.63\00:14:50.33
from the canvas, you begin
to ask, can these bones live?
00:14:50.33\00:14:54.86
When we look into the lives
of people we call "stars," those
00:14:54.86\00:14:58.10
the world crowds around, to
touch, to get an autograph, to
00:14:58.10\00:15:03.33
get a picture, where one
day they're on top of the world,
00:15:03.33\00:15:07.06
but the next day they're
forgotten, they're broken,
00:15:07.06\00:15:10.26
they're bewildered, you
ask, can these bones live?
00:15:10.26\00:15:13.96
They may depict every
semblance of life, they may
00:15:13.96\00:15:17.60
look like life, they may have
the corollaries of life, but
00:15:17.60\00:15:22.30
yet they're dry, dead,
dismembered, despairing bones,
00:15:22.30\00:15:27.70
and you ask the
question, can these bones live?
00:15:27.70\00:15:33.50
Let's get a
little closer to home.
00:15:33.50\00:15:36.33
You can move that question
from the corporate community
00:15:36.33\00:15:40.30
center of the world to the
church of the living God, and
00:15:40.30\00:15:44.06
look at people who sit in our
pews week in and week out, and
00:15:44.06\00:15:48.36
you ask yourselves the
question, can these persons
00:15:48.36\00:15:52.86
who look alive, who are no
more than dead cadavers, can
00:15:52.86\00:15:57.36
these bones live?
00:15:57.36\00:16:00.20
Can our churches that used
to be alive and well, packed and
00:16:00.20\00:16:04.76
full, sentinels of hope,
bastions of energy, can these
00:16:04.76\00:16:09.03
bones live?
00:16:09.03\00:16:11.23
And so the only answer that
the prophet can come up with
00:16:11.23\00:16:14.93
as he appeals to the all
knowingness of the sovereign
00:16:14.93\00:16:17.83
God is, oh Lord
God, only you know.
00:16:17.83\00:16:22.73
So Ezekiel goes on in verses
4 and 5, and this is what he
00:16:22.73\00:16:27.36
says the sovereign Lord told
him to do: The Lord told him,
00:16:27.36\00:16:30.43
preach the Word.
00:16:30.43\00:16:35.63
And preach the Word of
the Lord, and say to the dead,
00:16:35.63\00:16:40.96
dismembered, despairing bones,
hear the Word of the Lord.
00:16:40.96\00:16:48.13
A little imagination will
allow you to see how hopeless,
00:16:48.13\00:16:50.96
and improbable and impossible
this preaching assignment is.
00:16:50.96\00:16:55.16
For it's hard enough to preach
to those who move and stir
00:16:55.16\00:16:59.43
around, but to preach
to that which is dead, dry,
00:16:59.43\00:17:04.43
dismembered and
despairing is an awful thing.
00:17:04.43\00:17:09.16
And let me be clear: my
travels have taken me to some
00:17:09.16\00:17:11.26
dead places.
00:17:11.26\00:17:12.16
Do I have a
witness in this place?
00:17:12.16\00:17:13.93
Has there ever been a pew
of pitiful Christians who are
00:17:13.93\00:17:19.00
unmoved by the
power of God's holy Word?
00:17:19.00\00:17:21.46
Is there yet a sight of church
folk who resemble dry, dead
00:17:21.46\00:17:25.10
bones in the valley?
00:17:25.10\00:17:26.26
And can't get excited when
they think about the goodness
00:17:26.26\00:17:29.43
of Jesus and all
He's done for them?
00:17:29.43\00:17:33.00
Is there yet a glimpse of dry,
dead bones who sit in the pews
00:17:33.00\00:17:37.60
week after week,
unaltered by the call of God?
00:17:37.60\00:17:41.46
I sure hope not.
00:17:41.46\00:17:43.50
But I'm here to tell you, it's
tough to preach to Christians
00:17:43.50\00:17:47.26
who are like wheelbarrows,
not good unless pushed.
00:17:47.26\00:17:51.26
Or better yet, like
canoes; they need to be paddled.
00:17:51.26\00:17:55.23
Or maybe they're like kittens;
they are content with their
00:17:55.23\00:17:58.56
petting.
00:17:58.56\00:17:59.43
Some are like footballs; you
can't tell which way they will
00:17:59.43\00:18:01.73
bounce next.
00:18:01.73\00:18:03.03
Some are like balloons,
full of wind, ready to blow up.
00:18:03.03\00:18:05.63
Some are like trailers;
they have to be pulled.
00:18:05.63\00:18:08.66
And then some are like lights:
they keep going on and off.
00:18:08.66\00:18:11.96
Do I have a
witness in this place?
00:18:11.96\00:18:13.86
It becomes a
hopeless possibility.
00:18:13.86\00:18:17.83
But yet that's what God often
deals with: the uncanny, the
00:18:17.83\00:18:23.70
unusual, the impossible.
00:18:23.70\00:18:25.23
And yet God says, and
listen to me, preachers, elders,
00:18:25.23\00:18:29.66
deacons, whoever preaches
the word: if this is your
00:18:29.66\00:18:32.60
ministry, I call you to preach
the Word of God, even when
00:18:32.60\00:18:37.16
they are dead, dry,
dismembered and despairing.
00:18:37.16\00:18:42.06
Speak the Word of the Lord and
say to them, hear the Word of
00:18:42.06\00:18:47.96
the Lord.
00:18:47.96\00:18:49.53
Speak the Word that will
reanimate that which once was,
00:18:49.53\00:18:52.70
and the reanimating power
of the Holy Ghost will begin to
00:18:52.70\00:18:56.56
take shape and
form to all who hear it.
00:18:56.56\00:18:59.90
Ezekiel is assigned by God
to preach to these dry, dead
00:18:59.90\00:19:05.90
bones.
00:19:05.90\00:19:06.83
But you know what?
00:19:06.83\00:19:08.60
As Ezekiel begins to speak
the Word, revival takes place.
00:19:08.60\00:19:13.26
As Ezekiel begins to speak the
Word, reanimation takes place.
00:19:13.26\00:19:19.13
But not only reanimation,
because as he spoke the Word,
00:19:19.13\00:19:22.43
reanimation became
the reassembling of life.
00:19:22.43\00:19:26.56
For it's not nearly enough
to reanimate life, but life that
00:19:26.56\00:19:29.46
has been
dismembered has to be reunited.
00:19:29.46\00:19:32.26
So now God says, I will give
you the reassembling of life,
00:19:32.26\00:19:36.56
and at that moment, Go
begins to reverse the process of
00:19:36.56\00:19:41.80
decomposition.
00:19:41.80\00:19:42.93
He says, Preach the Word.
00:19:42.93\00:19:46.16
And as Ezekiel began to
preach the Word, look at
00:19:46.16\00:19:50.63
decomposition reverse itself.
00:19:50.63\00:19:53.70
God says, breath
will enter the life.
00:19:53.70\00:19:57.76
Tendons will fill the bones.
00:19:57.76\00:19:59.63
Flesh will come
upon the tendons.
00:19:59.63\00:20:02.10
And then skin will
come upon the flesh.
00:20:02.10\00:20:05.26
That is the reversal of the
process of decomposition, for
00:20:05.26\00:20:08.26
when one dies, breath leaves
the body, the flesh begins to
00:20:08.26\00:20:12.66
deteriorate, the skin and
flesh begin to decompose, the
00:20:12.66\00:20:16.16
tendons begin to disintegrate,
and then there is nothing left
00:20:16.16\00:20:19.63
but bare skeletal remains.
00:20:19.63\00:20:21.13
God says, my Word, sharper
than any two-edged sword, can
00:20:21.13\00:20:29.10
reanimate and reassemble life.
00:20:29.10\00:20:32.46
Let me be clear tonight.
00:20:32.46\00:20:34.90
It is our duty to preach to
all men, despairing of no one.
00:20:34.90\00:20:42.36
We are σσσ, we are to preach
in season and out of season.
00:20:42.36\00:20:48.53
Preach it when it's not even
popular, because you can't be
00:20:48.53\00:20:51.90
popular and
prophetic at the same time.
00:20:51.90\00:20:54.46
When it's two people, we
are to preach just as hard as if
00:20:54.46\00:21:00.63
it were two thousand
people, because God said,
00:21:00.63\00:21:05.36
wherever there are two or three
gathered in the midst, I shall
00:21:05.36\00:21:08.70
be in the midst of them.
00:21:08.70\00:21:10.90
God can quicken the
dead, God can raise life up
00:21:10.90\00:21:16.30
among the dead.
00:21:16.30\00:21:17.30
God is the
Resurrection and the Life.
00:21:17.30\00:21:19.83
God is the Alpha and the Omega.
00:21:19.83\00:21:21.90
God is the
Beginning and the End.
00:21:21.90\00:21:24.06
God is the First and the Last.
00:21:24.06\00:21:26.33
All we've got to do
is preach God's truth and
00:21:26.33\00:21:29.40
God's strength.
00:21:29.40\00:21:30.70
God is sovereign.
00:21:30.70\00:21:32.10
God will quicken whom he will,
when he will, where he will,
00:21:32.10\00:21:37.46
and how he will.
00:21:37.46\00:21:39.23
Ezekiel begins to preach.
00:21:39.23\00:21:40.83
I'm getting a little
happy right about now.
00:21:40.83\00:21:44.90
Ezekiel begins to preach, and
when Ezekiel begins to preach,
00:21:44.90\00:21:49.30
the Bible says
revival begins to take place.
00:21:49.30\00:21:51.70
And you all know what happens
when revival takes place.
00:21:51.70\00:21:53.83
The preacher gets to preach it.
00:21:53.83\00:21:55.83
The choir gets to sing it.
00:21:55.83\00:21:57.03
The organist gets to
play it The Holy Ghost gets
00:21:57.03\00:22:00.73
to move it.
00:22:00.73\00:22:01.90
The people get to shout.
00:22:01.90\00:22:03.30
Prayer warriors start praying.
00:22:03.30\00:22:04.90
Demons start trembling.
00:22:04.90\00:22:06.96
Souls stop sinning.
00:22:06.96\00:22:09.00
Gossipers stop gossiping.
00:22:09.00\00:22:10.76
Politicians stop politicizing.
00:22:10.76\00:22:15.26
Ezekiel begins to
preach to dry, dead bones.
00:22:15.26\00:22:24.23
And in the bones, the
Bible says, revival takes place.
00:22:24.23\00:22:27.16
And they begin to fix
themselves together, and
00:22:27.16\00:22:31.10
clothe themselves in flesh.
00:22:31.10\00:22:32.56
Ezekiel begins to see
that, yes, there's still a God
00:22:32.56\00:22:37.26
who sits high,
but he looks down low.
00:22:37.26\00:22:40.26
And so now Ezekiel
begins to get a little happy.
00:22:40.26\00:22:43.73
Ezekiel begins to
stomp his feet a little bit.
00:22:43.73\00:22:46.20
Ezekiel begins to life
his hands a little bit.
00:22:46.20\00:22:48.66
Ezekiel begins to whoop
and holler a little bit,
00:22:48.66\00:22:51.00
because he's
thanking God for dry bones.
00:22:51.00\00:22:55.16
Because his valley, his
revival, let him see God
00:22:55.16\00:22:57.93
perform orthopedic
surgery It let the ankle bone be
00:22:57.93\00:23:03.70
connected to the leg
bone, the leg bone be connected
00:23:03.70\00:23:08.53
to the knee
bone, the knee bone be
00:23:08.53\00:23:10.30
connected to the hip
bone, the hip bone be connected
00:23:10.30\00:23:12.83
to the back bone, the
back bone be connected
00:23:12.83\00:23:15.13
to the shoulder
bone, the shoulder bone be
00:23:15.13\00:23:17.66
connected to the neck bone,
the neck bone be connected to
00:23:17.66\00:23:20.83
the head bone,
and oh, dry bones!
00:23:20.83\00:23:27.20
Hear the Word of the Lord.
00:23:27.20\00:23:29.70
I am a witness that preaching
the Word of God will stir up
00:23:29.70\00:23:37.20
and wake up dry bones.
00:23:37.20\00:23:40.93
Thank God for his Word.
00:23:40.93\00:23:42.56
I've asked myself many times,
how can people come to church,
00:23:42.56\00:23:48.90
hear the Word and
leave the same way?
00:23:48.90\00:23:51.83
Is it because they got
the reanimation and the
00:23:51.83\00:23:56.26
reassembling?
00:23:56.26\00:23:57.46
But see, that's not
the end of the process.
00:23:57.46\00:24:01.40
Because when you read the Word
of God, it says to us in verse
00:24:01.40\00:24:05.70
8 that these people, although
they now had shape and form,
00:24:05.70\00:24:09.03
they still had
no breath in them.
00:24:09.03\00:24:13.60
Ezekiel had a measure
of success in preaching.
00:24:13.60\00:24:19.66
A measure of success in
preaching to the bones, and a
00:24:19.66\00:24:23.16
wonderful success
it appeared to be.
00:24:23.16\00:24:27.23
The bones came together.
00:24:27.23\00:24:28.93
Bone to bone.
00:24:28.93\00:24:29.96
But the Bible says that
there was no breath in them.
00:24:29.96\00:24:34.26
Ezekiel had done his work
in the preaching, but there was
00:24:34.26\00:24:39.63
still something
else that was needed.
00:24:39.63\00:24:42.90
Ezekiel must now
prophesy to the wind to breathe
00:24:42.90\00:24:47.06
on the slain and make them live.
00:24:47.06\00:24:50.00
When Ezekiel does this,
the Bible says that the wind
00:24:50.00\00:24:54.03
comes, and there stands
up an exceeding great army
00:24:54.03\00:24:58.43
of living wind.
00:24:58.43\00:25:00.26
And that's just like some of us.
00:25:00.26\00:25:03.10
Many of us hear the
Word to give us information
00:25:03.10\00:25:07.06
on how to live.
00:25:07.06\00:25:08.46
Enough of us get the
Word to get inspiration
00:25:08.46\00:25:13.56
to reassemble life.
00:25:13.56\00:25:14.76
But without the indwelling
presence of the Holy Ghost
00:25:14.76\00:25:18.90
that restores life,
life is meaningless.
00:25:18.90\00:25:24.90
Some of us look
alive, but we're dead.
00:25:24.90\00:25:28.06
Some of us are playing games
with God, jiving with life,
00:25:28.06\00:25:33.13
but that's all right.
00:25:33.13\00:25:34.36
The day will come, keep on
living, as the old folks say,
00:25:34.36\00:25:39.06
"Live long enough," and you
will find yourself in a valley,
00:25:39.06\00:25:42.93
and you'll say, not
only must I reanimate and
00:25:42.93\00:25:46.43
reassemble the Word
of God, but I need a Word
00:25:46.43\00:25:50.73
that can restore life.
00:25:50.73\00:25:52.06
Life only comes
from God's Holy Ghost.
00:25:52.06\00:25:54.86
Let me be clear to the
preachers out there, elders,
00:25:54.86\00:25:57.53
teachers, deacons,
teachers in Sabbath School,
00:25:57.53\00:26:01.26
let me be clear.
00:26:01.26\00:26:02.80
The more
soul-stirring preaching will not
00:26:02.80\00:26:06.43
create life.
00:26:06.43\00:26:07.83
Ezekiel has to still
prophesy to the wind.
00:26:07.83\00:26:15.53
He had to prophesy to the
Holy Ghost that he would breathe
00:26:15.53\00:26:18.73
life into those dry, dead bones.
00:26:18.73\00:26:20.96
PB: I would like to
thank you very much for tuning
00:26:20.96\00:26:24.73
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Life telecast today.
00:26:24.73\00:26:27.00
I do hope that you were
blessed by the Word of God
00:26:27.00\00:26:30.26
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00:26:30.26\00:26:31.50
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00:26:31.50\00:26:34.26
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00:26:41.40\00:26:45.80
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00:27:07.90\00:27:12.66
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00:27:12.66\00:27:16.03
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May God continue to bless you.
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>: It's an age-old question.
00:27:22.03\00:27:24.56
What happens after we die?
00:27:24.56\00:27:25.60
The Breath of Life gift offer
this week is "What the Bible
00:27:25.60\00:27:29.16
Says About Death."
00:27:29.16\00:27:30.23
This little book peels back
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00:27:30.23\00:27:32.96
the afterlife and carefully
explains what's accurate based
00:27:32.96\00:27:36.70
on a source we can
really rely on: God's Word.
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Discover what the
Bible says about the soul.
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00:28:12.93\00:28:16.76
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PB: Son of man,
can these bones live?
00:28:22.93\00:28:29.76