? (Theme Song) ?
? Jesus is worthy ?
00:00:02.36\00:00:06.83
? oh yes, he's worthy
? ? worthy of all... ?
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? all the praise ?
Pastor Byrd: If you would
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take your Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Ezekiel.
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Ezekiel 37, a very
familiar passage of Scripture.
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Ezekiel 37.
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We're going to
read from this passage
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these first 14 verses.
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Ezekiel 37:1.
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If you have it let
me hear you say Amen.
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The Word of God
says: "The hand of the Lord
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was upon me, and carried me
out in the spirit of the Lord,
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and set me down in
the midst of the valley
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which was full of bones.
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And caused me to pass by
them round about: and, behold,
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there were very
many in the open valley;
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and, lo, they were
very" what, everybody?
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They were very what, everybody?
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"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,
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and say unto them, O ye
dry bones, hear the word
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of the Lord.
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Thus saith the Lord
God unto these bones;
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Behold, I will cause
breath to enter into you,
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and ye shall live: And I
will lay sinews upon you,
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and bring up flesh upon
you, and cover you with skin,
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and put breath in
you, and ye shall live;
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and ye shall know
that I am the Lord.
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So I prophesied
as I was commanded:
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and as I
prophesied, there was a noise,
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and behold a shaking,
and the bones came together,
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bone to his bone.
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And when I beheld, lo,
the sinews and the flesh
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came up upon them,
and the skin covered them
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above: but there
was no breath in them.
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Then said he unto me,
Prophesy unto the wind,
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prophesy, son of
man, and say to the wind,
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Thus saith the Lord God;
Come from the four winds.
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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 came into
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them, and they lived,
and stood up upon their feet,
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an exceeding great army.
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Then he said
unto me, Son of man,
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these bones are the whole house
of Israel: behold, they say,
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Our bones are dried,
and our hope is lost:
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we are cut off for our parts.
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Therefore prophesy and say unto
them, Thus saith the Lord God;
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Behold, O my people, I will
open your graves, and cause you
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to come up out of your
graves, and bring you into
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the land of Israel.
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And ye shall know
that I am the Lord,
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when I have opened your graves,
O my people, and brought you
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up out of your graves.
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And shall put my spirit in you,
and ye shall live, and I shall
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place you in your own
land: then shall ye know that
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I the Lord have
spoke it, and performed it,
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saith the Lord."
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We need a revival.
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God, right now,
breath in Oakwood Church,
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breath in the airways
that transmit this message,
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and, God, we give you
the praise, the honor,
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the glory for what
you're going to do.
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Forgive us of our sins.
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Hide me behind your cross.
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And when the appeal is
made, God, may your people come
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running to Thee.
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In the name of Jesus.
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Amen.
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We need a revival.
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The first 14 verses of Ezekiel
as recorded in Chapter 37
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can be divided into two parts.
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Verses 1 through 10
record the vision Ezekiel sees,
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and verse 11 through 14
provide its interpretation.
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Now let's be
clear from the outset,
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Ezekiel doesn't have a dream,
but Ezekiel sees a vision.
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There's a difference
between a dream and a vision.
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A dream is a
series of thoughts, images
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and sensations that
occur in a person's mind
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when they're asleep.
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But a vision is a supernatural
appearance that conveys
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a revelation.
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Which means Ezekiel is not just
seeing something in his sleep.
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Ezekiel is receiving a
message from God to be revealed
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to God's people.
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Now, what Ezekiel sees
in the text is the nation
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of Israel as
described in verses 1 through 10
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as dead, dry and in the valley.
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There had been a fall
in the Israeli encampment.
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Israel's temple had been burned.
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The Israelites
had been slaughtered.
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Israel's nobles
had been banished.
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And Israel's
life was now extinct.
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And to speak of returning
success to the nation of Israel
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was like talking of
the restoration of vitality
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to dead, dry
bones lying in a valley.
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Now, to be dead is
to be no longer alive.
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Extinguished.
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Lacking luster and movement.
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To be dry is without moisture.
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It's to be cold,
unfriendly and uninteresting.
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To be in a valley is
to be in a low place.
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Israel was no longer alive.
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It was extinguished, lacking
luster, cold, unfriendly,
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all in a low area.
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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 non-existent.
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Its socialism was decadent.
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And its spirituality was absent.
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The Israelites have
become the living dead.
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Ezekiel's job now is to
communicate the need for
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spiritual renewal and revival
in Israel so that the glory
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of God could return.
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Ezekiel was to
interpret the misinterpretations
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that had rested in
the hearts and minds of
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the Hebrew people.
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For understand, the
Hebrew people, they had
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misunderstandings about God.
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You see, they thought
God was limited to one place.
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They thought God was restricted.
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They thought God was localized.
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That God wasn't omnipresent.
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And because they had
been exiled into Babylon
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they thought God
had abandoned them.
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But not only that, they
had a misunderstanding of who
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God was.
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They thought that God wouldn't
allow any military forces to
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uproot them from
their land and relocate them
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somewhere else.
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In other words, in our plain
English, they didn't think God
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would let them get
beat up and pushed around
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by their enemies.
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But somebody knows in this
place today that sometimes God
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allows you to
go through the fire
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so that you might
come out as pure gold.
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In this life I'm learning
you don't win every battle,
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but with God you do win the war.
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And so the image of
Ezekiel 37 is a depiction
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of the reanimation
of life granted to us by
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the spirit of God.
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That the spirit of God breathes
life back into tired lives,
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renews, restores and even
revives that which was once
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alive, but is now dead.
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But then, how could revival
of a fallen nation be possible
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when its spiritual life was
diseased, decadent, distressing
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and deteriorating?
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For when you are weak
spiritually everything else
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is going to be weak.
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So how can one move, how can
one grow, how can one have life
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when one is unresponsive
to God's call, unmoved
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by God's claim and
unchanged by God's character?
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Are we, people who come
Sabbath after Sabbath, dead, dry
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and in the valley?
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In the church,
but spiritually dead?
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For it's one
thing to be in church,
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but it's another
thing to be in Christ.
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It's one thing to
be in the building,
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but another thing
to be in the body.
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One thing to be in the
sanctuary, but another thing to
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be in the spirit.
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Everybody that's in
church is not in God.
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Everybody that knows the
Bible does not know Jesus.
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Everybody that has
religion does not have faith.
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And everybody talking about
heaven ain't going to heaven.
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Ezekiel says the hand
of the Lord carried him
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to a valley of dry, dead bones.
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Now, let me stop
right here for a minute.
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Understand, the text
says that the hand of the Lord
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carried Ezekiel.
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Let me try to say
that one more time.
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The text says that the hand
of the Lord carried Ezekiel.
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Which means God
called Ezekiel to ministry.
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Ezekiel didn't just
stumble upon the valley.
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The hand of the Lord
took him to the valley.
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If God had not called
him, he would have never
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found himself in the
valley in the first place.
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I hear people say all the time,
especially here in Huntsville,
00:09:50.73\00:09:53.30
the Lord called me to ministry.
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I've been called to ministry.
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But I dare to ask you, have you?
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Are you sure it was God's
voice and not somebody else's?
00:10:03.70\00:10:07.00
Are you sure it was God's
hand and not somebody else's?
00:10:07.00\00:10:10.06
The devil speaks, too.
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The devil leads, too.
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Ezekiel says, yes to God's
call and to what God tells you
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to do, let me tell you,
can be the hardest decision
00:10:19.73\00:10:22.03
you make in the
world, because when you say
00:10:22.03\00:10:24.36
yes to God, what you're
really saying it no to the devil
00:10:24.36\00:10:27.66
and then the devil makes it his
mission to get you to deny God
00:10:27.66\00:10:31.13
and take your yes back from God.
00:10:31.13\00:10:33.56
Anybody who has ever lived,
you know, I have a birthday
00:10:33.56\00:10:37.86
this month, I'm
getting a little older.
00:10:37.86\00:10:39.86
Come on, say Amen.
00:10:39.86\00:10:40.86
Anyone who has surrendered
their life to the Lord knows
00:10:40.86\00:10:45.20
that if you know Jesus 10
years, 10 months, 10 weeks,
00:10:45.20\00:10:50.93
or 10 days the
devil has picked you out
00:10:50.93\00:10:54.23
to pick on you.
00:10:54.23\00:10:56.23
And if the devil isn't messing
with you, I dare to say that
00:10:56.23\00:11:00.53
you and the devil must be
running in the same direction.
00:11:00.53\00:11:03.46
Ezekiel surveyed the valley
of dead, dry bones, but these
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bones were not merely bones.
00:11:12.63\00:11:15.33
These were the skeletal remains
of people who had children, who
00:11:15.33\00:11:20.00
had family, who had
names, who had legacies, who had
00:11:20.00\00:11:23.46
histories, he saw many bones.
00:11:23.46\00:11:26.23
The number of bones
seemed to indicate some kind
00:11:26.23\00:11:29.36
of mass catastrophe.
00:11:29.36\00:11:31.76
And as many bones as he
saw, that's how many despairs
00:11:31.76\00:11:34.80
he witnessed.
00:11:34.80\00:11:36.30
The valley was full of bones.
00:11:36.30\00:11:37.76
The bones were not only dead
bones, but the bones were also
00:11:37.76\00:11:41.80
dry bones.
00:11:41.80\00:11:43.06
Everybody say dry bones.
00:11:43.06\00:11:45.63
The dry condition of
these bones suggests that these
00:11:45.63\00:11:49.40
people had been dead a long
time, that these were people
00:11:49.40\00:11:52.96
who did not receive a burial,
the sun had bleached them
00:11:52.96\00:11:56.86
white, the
sands kept them clean.
00:11:56.86\00:12:00.63
Understand, Ezekiel knew
that if God wanted to, God could
00:12:00.63\00:12:04.90
bring the dead back to life.
00:12:04.90\00:12:07.86
But there was no hint of hope,
no suggestion of possibility,
00:12:07.86\00:12:12.33
no indication of
probability, and so God asked
00:12:12.33\00:12:16.90
that infamous question.
00:12:16.90\00:12:18.26
He says, Ezekiel, son of
man, can these bones live?
00:12:18.26\00:12:31.43
Now, Ezekiel doesn't answer too
quickly for on the surface this
00:12:31.43\00:12:36.63
seems like a ludicrous
question, for why would
00:12:36.63\00:12:39.36
an all creator, all
knowing, all sovereign God
00:12:39.36\00:12:42.96
ask Ezekiel such a
question in the first place?
00:12:42.96\00:12:47.76
But let's take this
question and let's move it
00:12:47.76\00:12:51.73
from sixth century B.C.
00:12:51.73\00:12:53.83
and let's move this
question to 21st century A.D.
00:12:53.83\00:12:58.46
Can these bones live?
00:12:58.46\00:13:05.90
Everyone at some
time or another has been
00:13:05.90\00:13:08.10
in the valley
of dead, dry bones.
00:13:08.10\00:13:11.20
For someone it was a divorce.
00:13:11.20\00:13:12.86
For another individual
it was a loss of a child.
00:13:12.86\00:13:16.03
To someone else it was failing
a class and then having to
00:13:16.03\00:13:18.40
repeat the same
class by the same teacher.
00:13:18.40\00:13:21.43
For somebody else it
was learning you had cancer
00:13:21.43\00:13:24.16
or you had HIV or some
other debilitating disease.
00:13:24.16\00:13:27.36
For somebody else it
was the satanic stronghold
00:13:27.36\00:13:30.26
of alcohol or illicit
drugs or the ungodly soul
00:13:30.26\00:13:33.70
ties of a relationship
that you thought was a match
00:13:33.70\00:13:36.60
made in heaven only to
later learn it was a nightmare
00:13:36.60\00:13:39.46
on Elm Street.
00:13:39.46\00:13:41.20
Everybody has a valley.
00:13:41.20\00:13:46.86
So the question is asked
again, can these bones live?
00:13:46.86\00:13:54.70
But let's take the
question a step further.
00:13:54.70\00:13:56.70
Let's move that
question from our personal,
00:13:56.70\00:13:58.76
individual lives
to the collective life
00:13:58.76\00:14:01.50
of the church, and
let's look at the people
00:14:01.50\00:14:04.66
who sit in the pews
every week, and let's ask
00:14:04.66\00:14:07.80
the same question.
00:14:07.80\00:14:08.83
Can these people that
look alive, but are no more
00:14:08.83\00:14:13.93
than dead cadavers,
can these bones live?
00:14:13.93\00:14:19.23
Can our churches that used
to be alive and well, packed
00:14:19.23\00:14:24.66
and full, citadels of hope,
bastions of energy, now dying,
00:14:24.66\00:14:29.03
decaying and deteriorating,
can these bones live?
00:14:29.03\00:14:33.10
Can our churches who are still
performing 8-track ministry
00:14:33.10\00:14:37.73
in a DVD society,
can these bones live?
00:14:37.73\00:14:43.30
Can our churches who spend
countless hours of debate over
00:14:43.30\00:14:49.20
women's ordination,
drums and guitars in worship,
00:14:49.20\00:14:53.43
church policy and procedure
and attendance at church board
00:14:53.43\00:14:57.43
meeting, instead of
countless hours in prayer,
00:14:57.43\00:15:00.63
in Bible study, church
worship, attendance at revival,
00:15:00.63\00:15:03.80
can these bones live?
00:15:03.80\00:15:05.56
Can our churches that
have the three angels' messages
00:15:05.56\00:15:10.86
of Revelation 14,
the prophecies of Daniel
00:15:10.86\00:15:13.73
and the Revelation,
the commandments of Exodus,
00:15:13.73\00:15:16.23
Chapter 20, the
life, the liberty and love
00:15:16.23\00:15:19.10
of Jesus in the
Gospel, can these churches who
00:15:19.10\00:15:23.30
know all this stuff, but refuse
to live this stuff, wake up
00:15:23.30\00:15:28.00
and realize the times in
which we live, that we have
00:15:28.00\00:15:30.80
just seen a new Jesuit
pope, war in Syria, imminent war
00:15:30.80\00:15:35.10
with North Korea,
same-sex marriage legislation
00:15:35.10\00:15:38.73
on the horizon, gun
control out of control,
00:15:38.73\00:15:42.16
and a continually
declining economy,
00:15:42.16\00:15:44.73
can these bones live?
00:15:44.73\00:15:52.06
And the only correct
answer that I can come up with
00:15:52.06\00:15:55.53
is the same answer
that Ezekiel came up with.
00:15:55.53\00:15:59.53
O, Lord God, only thou knowest.
00:16:01.50\00:16:06.10
Notice, his answer was not
God, these bones can live if you
00:16:06.10\00:16:13.93
bring them to life.
00:16:13.93\00:16:16.30
But his answer is
rather an answer of faith.
00:16:16.30\00:16:20.26
Faith does not assume
anything about the answer
00:16:20.26\00:16:23.00
to the question,
but faith simply affirms
00:16:23.00\00:16:25.20
that God knows the answer
regardless of what the answer
00:16:25.20\00:16:28.56
actually is, because it isn't
the answer that really matters.
00:16:28.56\00:16:32.40
What matters is that
God who knows is a God who
00:16:32.40\00:16:35.53
can be trusted.
00:16:35.53\00:16:37.46
So the answer of faith
says, God, only thou knowest.
00:16:37.46\00:16:45.70
So now, Ezekiel repeats
what God told him to do.
00:16:48.80\00:16:54.46
Prophesy upon these bones.
00:16:54.46\00:16:56.83
Preach onto these bones.
00:16:56.83\00:16:59.23
And oh, dry bones,
hear the Word of the Lord.
00:16:59.23\00:17:04.16
Now, I must confess, when
you stand up here to preach,
00:17:04.16\00:17:08.63
be it here or anywhere
else, preaching is not easy,
00:17:08.63\00:17:11.50
because when you stand in
audiences and congregations
00:17:11.50\00:17:14.66
week after week,
preaching is not easy.
00:17:14.66\00:17:16.96
Everybody expects
you to hit a home run.
00:17:16.96\00:17:19.46
You have to have logos,
ethos, pathos and stamina
00:17:19.46\00:17:23.03
all at the same time.
00:17:23.03\00:17:24.86
You have to be logical,
emotional and credible all
00:17:24.86\00:17:28.46
at the same time.
00:17:28.46\00:17:29.70
And it's hard enough to preach
to those that move and stir
00:17:29.70\00:17:34.46
around, but to preach to
that which is dead and dry,
00:17:34.46\00:17:40.56
I'm preaching
today, is an awful thing.
00:17:40.56\00:17:46.16
My travels have taken me
to some dry, dead audiences.
00:17:46.16\00:17:52.83
Has there ever been a pitiful
view of Christians who are
00:17:52.83\00:17:56.66
unmoved by the
power of God's Word?
00:17:56.66\00:17:59.06
Is there yet a sight of
church folk who resemble dead,
00:17:59.06\00:18:03.13
dry bones in the valley
and can't get excited when I
00:18:03.13\00:18:06.33
think of the goodness of
Jesus and all he's done for me?
00:18:06.33\00:18:09.60
Is there yet a glimpse of dead,
dry bones who sit in the pews
00:18:09.60\00:18:14.23
week after week
and are unaltered by
00:18:14.23\00:18:16.40
the call of God?
00:18:16.40\00:18:18.40
I hope not.
00:18:20.13\00:18:21.90
But I'm here to tell you
that it's tough to preach
00:18:21.90\00:18:24.76
to Christians who
are like wheelbarrows,
00:18:24.76\00:18:27.70
no good unless pushed.
00:18:27.70\00:18:30.70
It's tough to preach
to Christians like canoes,
00:18:30.70\00:18:35.33
where they have to be paddled.
00:18:35.33\00:18:37.33
It's tough to preach to kittens
when they're only content
00:18:37.33\00:18:40.73
when they're petted.
00:18:40.73\00:18:42.13
Then there are some
Christians like footballs,
00:18:42.13\00:18:44.33
you don't know which
way they will bounce next.
00:18:44.33\00:18:46.83
Some are like balloons,
full of wind, ready to blow up.
00:18:46.83\00:18:50.20
Some are like trailers,
they have to be pulled.
00:18:50.20\00:18:53.06
And then there are some,
friends of mine, like lights,
00:18:53.06\00:18:56.50
they keep going on and off.
00:18:56.50\00:18:58.50
It becomes a tough assignment.
00:19:02.06\00:19:05.70
But yet, that's
often what God deals with.
00:19:05.70\00:19:08.56
The unusual, the uncanny,
the unique, the impossible,
00:19:08.56\00:19:13.13
and God says, if
this is your ministry,
00:19:13.13\00:19:16.60
I call you to preach the Word,
preach the Word even if they
00:19:16.60\00:19:21.00
are dead, dry and in the valley.
00:19:21.00\00:19:23.86
Speak the Word of God to
them and say to them all,
00:19:23.86\00:19:29.10
hear the Word of the Lord.
00:19:29.10\00:19:31.80
Ezekiel was assigned by
God to preach to these dry,
00:19:31.80\00:19:35.26
dead bones, but as
Ezekiel begins to preach
00:19:35.26\00:19:40.16
something begins to happen.
00:19:40.16\00:19:42.30
As Ezekiel begins to speak,
revival begins to take place.
00:19:42.30\00:19:49.36
As Ezekiel begins to
speak, reanimation begins
00:19:49.36\00:19:53.03
to take place.
00:19:53.03\00:19:54.80
As Ezekiel begins to
preach, reassembling begins
00:19:54.80\00:19:59.16
to take place.
00:19:59.16\00:20:00.30
But it's not just enough
to reanimate and reassemble
00:20:00.30\00:20:03.53
life, but there also
has to be a reunion of life.
00:20:03.53\00:20:07.63
And so at that moment God
begins to reverse the process
00:20:07.63\00:20:10.53
of decomposition.
00:20:10.53\00:20:11.53
He says preach the Word.
00:20:11.53\00:20:14.26
And as Ezekiel begins to preach
the Word decomposition reverses
00:20:14.26\00:20:17.80
itself, breath enters the body,
tendons steel the bones, flesh
00:20:17.80\00:20:23.80
comes upon the
tendons, and then skin comes up
00:20:23.80\00:20:27.06
upon the flesh.
00:20:27.06\00:20:28.36
But that's the reversal of
the process of decomposition
00:20:28.36\00:20:32.10
because when a man dies
the normal process of death
00:20:32.10\00:20:35.83
is breath leaves the
body, the flesh deteriorates,
00:20:35.83\00:20:39.86
the skin and flesh
decompose, tendons disintegrate,
00:20:39.86\00:20:43.20
and then there's nothing
left but bare skeletal remains.
00:20:43.20\00:20:46.10
But I serve a God who
can do the impossible.
00:20:46.10\00:20:53.43
I serve a God who can reverse
the decomposition process.
00:20:53.43\00:21:01.00
God can quicken the dead.
00:21:01.00\00:21:03.36
God can raise
life among the dead.
00:21:03.36\00:21:06.33
God is the
resurrection and the life.
00:21:06.33\00:21:09.03
God is the Alpha and the Omega.
00:21:09.03\00:21:10.90
God is the first and the last.
00:21:10.90\00:21:11.90
God is the
beginning and the end.
00:21:11.90\00:21:15.50
And so God says to Ezekiel,
Ezekiel, preach the Word.
00:21:15.50\00:21:24.86
And don't preach this
cotton candy preaching
00:21:24.86\00:21:26.86
either, where it's sweet
on the outside and hollow
00:21:26.86\00:21:29.76
and empty on the inside.
00:21:29.76\00:21:31.03
Preach the Word.
00:21:31.03\00:21:32.13
It is our duty to
preach to all men.
00:21:32.13\00:21:35.70
We are to preach
beside all waters.
00:21:35.70\00:21:37.70
We are to preach
in season and out.
00:21:37.70\00:21:39.70
When it's two people we
are to preach just as hard
00:21:39.70\00:21:41.70
as we would to two thousand.
00:21:41.70\00:21:42.70
God said, where there are
two or three gathered in my name
00:21:42.70\00:21:44.70
I shall be in the midst.
00:21:44.70\00:21:46.10
All we've go to do is preach
God's truth and God's strength,
00:21:46.10\00:21:49.46
God will quicken whom he will,
when he will, where he will,
00:21:49.46\00:21:53.86
how he will.
00:21:53.86\00:21:55.00
Ezekiel began to preach
and revival began to take place
00:21:55.00\00:21:59.23
in the valley.
00:21:59.23\00:22:00.56
Somebody knows what
happens when revival happens.
00:22:00.56\00:22:03.60
Somebody knows what
happens when revival gets good,
00:22:03.60\00:22:06.83
the preacher gets to preaching,
the choir gets to singing,
00:22:06.83\00:22:11.03
the organist gets to playing,
the Holy Ghost gets to moving,
00:22:11.03\00:22:15.06
the saints get to
shouting, souls stop sinning,
00:22:15.06\00:22:19.26
gossipers stop gossiping,
complainers stop complaining,
00:22:19.26\00:22:23.16
and prayer warriors
start praying when revival
00:22:23.16\00:22:26.53
takes place.
00:22:26.53\00:22:27.63
Ezekiel begins to
preach to the dry, dead bones,
00:22:27.63\00:22:32.93
and the bones, the Bible says,
00:22:32.93\00:22:34.93
begin to fit together.
00:22:34.93\00:22:37.33
Now Ezekiel gets a little happy.
00:22:37.33\00:22:40.53
Now Ezekiel begins to
raise his voice a little bit.
00:22:40.53\00:22:44.30
Now Ezekiel begins to
clap his hands a little bit.
00:22:44.30\00:22:47.60
Now Ezekiel bends down
like this and begins to stamp
00:22:47.60\00:22:50.46
his feet a little bit.
00:22:50.46\00:22:51.46
Now Ezekiel begins to
whoop and hum a little bit,
00:22:51.46\00:22:53.46
because he's thanking
God for his dry bones.
00:22:53.46\00:22:58.70
His valley let him see
God perform orthopedic surgery
00:22:58.70\00:23:01.80
that lets the ankle bone
be connected to the leg bone,
00:23:01.80\00:23:06.60
the leg bone be
connected to the knee bone,
00:23:06.60\00:23:09.43
the knee bone be connected
to the hip bone, the hip bone
00:23:09.43\00:23:12.90
be connected to the backbone,
the backbone be connected
00:23:12.90\00:23:16.20
to the shoulder bone, the
shoulder bone be connected
00:23:16.20\00:23:19.80
to the neck bone, the neck bone
be connected to the head bone,
00:23:19.80\00:23:25.56
and O dry bones,
hear the Word of the Lord.
00:23:25.56\00:23:30.16
I'm a witness today that
preaching the Word of God
00:23:30.16\00:23:34.83
will wake up dry, dead bones.
00:23:34.83\00:23:38.90
I said, preaching the
Word of God will wake up
00:23:38.90\00:23:42.10
dry, dead bones.
00:23:42.10\00:23:44.40
Thank God for the Word.
00:23:44.40\00:23:46.60
I said, thank God for the Word.
00:23:46.60\00:23:48.70
God's Word sharper
than any two-edged sword.
00:23:48.70\00:23:52.30
God's Word is a lamp unto to my
feet and a light unto my path.
00:23:52.30\00:23:56.23
God's Word have I
hid in my heart that I
00:23:56.23\00:23:58.56
might not sin against thee.
00:23:58.56\00:24:01.23
I asked myself all the time,
how can people come to church,
00:24:01.23\00:24:04.60
hear the Word, and
leave the same way they came?
00:24:04.60\00:24:07.60
It's because,
according to the text, they got
00:24:10.43\00:24:13.96
the reanimation and
they got the reassembly,
00:24:13.96\00:24:17.73
but that's not the
end of the process.
00:24:17.73\00:24:19.86
Because when you read the Word
of God in verse 8, it says that
00:24:19.86\00:24:22.36
these people, although they now
had shape and form, they still
00:24:22.36\00:24:25.46
had no breath in them.
00:24:25.46\00:24:26.96
Which means Ezekiel
had a measure of success
00:24:26.96\00:24:32.06
in preaching to the
bones and a wonderful success
00:24:32.06\00:24:34.36
it appeared to be.
00:24:34.36\00:24:35.36
The bones came
together, bone to bone,
00:24:35.36\00:24:37.36
but the Bible says
there was no breath in them.
00:24:37.36\00:24:39.36
Ezekiel had done, yes, his
work in preaching, but there was
00:24:39.36\00:24:42.00
still something
else that was needed.
00:24:42.00\00:24:44.46
And that's just like many of us.
00:24:44.46\00:24:48.06
We preach and we think
we've done something, we clap,
00:24:48.06\00:24:54.06
we stomp, we shout, and
people pat us on the back
00:24:54.06\00:24:59.23
and we think
we've done something.
00:24:59.23\00:25:02.63
But, friends of mine, if
it's void of the breath, if it's
00:25:02.63\00:25:06.26
void of the Holy
Spirit, if it's void
00:25:06.26\00:25:09.50
of the anointing, all
it is is sounding brass
00:25:09.50\00:25:13.43
and tinkling cymbals.
00:25:13.43\00:25:14.83
Life can only
come from God's spirit.
00:25:14.83\00:25:20.60
The best preaching
cannot create life.
00:25:20.60\00:25:23.36
The best singing
cannot create life.
00:25:23.36\00:25:25.96
The best
testimonies cannot create life.
00:25:25.96\00:25:29.03
Only God can give life.
00:25:29.03\00:25:31.73
Only God can wake
you up this morning.
00:25:31.73\00:25:34.43
The alarm clock
didn't do it, God did it.
00:25:34.43\00:25:37.86
Only God can sustain your life.
00:25:37.86\00:25:40.83
The doctor didn't
do it, God did it.
00:25:40.83\00:25:43.56
God is life.
00:25:43.56\00:25:45.16
All life begins in
God and flows from God.
00:25:45.16\00:25:48.30
God is the life of life.
00:25:48.30\00:25:50.00
God is the giver of life.
00:25:50.00\00:25:51.53
God is the sustainer of life.
00:25:51.53\00:25:53.23
God is the way to life.
00:25:53.23\00:25:54.63
God is the way in life.
00:25:54.63\00:25:56.10
God is the way for life.
00:25:56.10\00:25:57.53
God is the way of life.
00:25:57.53\00:25:58.83
And God is a joy in my life.
00:25:58.83\00:26:02.76
So now, Ezekiel must prophesy
to the wind, to the Holy Ghost,
00:26:02.76\00:26:09.26
to breath on dry, dead bones.
00:26:09.26\00:26:12.80
PB: Thank you very much
for tuning in and watching
00:26:12.80\00:26:15.70
Breath of Life today.
00:26:15.70\00:26:17.63
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00:26:17.63\00:26:20.20
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00:26:20.20\00:26:24.80
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>: It's an age old
question, what happens to us
00:27:13.83\00:27:16.53
after we die?
00:27:16.53\00:27:17.53
The Breath of Life gift offer
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00:27:17.53\00:27:20.80
Says about Death." This little
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00:27:20.80\00:27:23.76
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00:27:23.76\00:27:27.33
accurate based on a source we
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00:27:27.33\00:27:32.13
Discover what the Bible says
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00:27:32.13\00:27:35.73
talking to the dead, the coming
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00:27:35.73\00:27:39.30
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00:27:39.30\00:27:40.30
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00:28:04.80\00:28:08.33
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00:28:08.33\00:28:09.33
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00:28:09.33\00:28:13.40
PB: Can these churches who
know all this stuff, but refuse
00:28:13.40\00:28:20.00
to live this stuff,
wake up and realize the time
00:28:20.00\00:28:23.46
in which we live,
can these bones live?
00:28:23.46\00:28:28.70