DRY BONES, HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD! (Outline)
May 11, 2008 --
PENTECOST --
Ezekiel 37:1-14
INTRO: On this day of Pentecost we recall the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the early Christian church.
God’s Holy Spirit is still poured out upon the Christian church. This same Holy Spirit comes to us day in
and day in through and by the power of God’s holy word. "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the
power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…. Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message,
and the message is heard through the word of Christ"(ROMANS 1:16a; 10:17). The words in verse 4 of today’s
text will be our theme:
“DRY BONES, HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!”
I. God’s word gives us life.
II. Our Lord gives his Spirit.
I. GOD’S WORD GIVES US LIFE.
A. Ezekiel was God’s prophet in exile. Israel, God’s chosen children, were also people in exile.
1. Israel had been defeated, captured, and now taken as prisoners to Babylon.
2. Ezekiel now gives them hope in these verses. This was God’s revelation to Ezekiel, verse 1.
3. God’s hand upon Ezekiel was the overpowering grip of divine revelation for mankind.
B. Verse 2. The valley filled with dry bones was a sad sight. The bones were ready to turn back to dust.
1. Can they live? Verse 3. Ezekiel answers with trust in God’s mercy. They can live = mercy.
2. Verse 4. The bones are dry. Bones with no ears. They are told to hear. God’s word = power.
3. This power of the word and voice of the Lord through Ezekiel would bring life, verses 5,6.
C. Ezekiel hears, listens, and speaks as the Lord commands, verses 7,8. Bones connect and flesh covers.
1. These forms are empty shells with no life. The Lord gives his command to Ezekiel, verse 9.
2. Again, Ezekiel obeys. The once dry bones with lifeless flesh now live! Verse 10.
D. The Lord and Ezekiel still speak to us today, “Dry bones, hear the word of
the Lord! The power of God’s word gave life to those dry bones. God’s powerful
word and actions still speak as loud today as they did at the beginning of this
world. Human beings are the crowning glory of God’s creation. This is so
because of God’s plan and design. Contrary to evolution we have not evolved
into being the top of the food chain. We were created that way from the very
beginning. "The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being"
(GENESIS 2:7). The Lord God Almighty stooped down and formed us from the dust of
the earth.
E. Notice the time and care and concern our Lord God took in making man. This
is different from the rest of creation. For the rest of creation God spoke and
it was done. This is the absolute power of God’s word that goes beyond our human
comprehension. When there was nothing at all God spoke and everything was created.
By the word of the Lord there was light, dark, water, land, animals, the sun, the
moon, the stars, and all things. "By faith we understand that the universe was
formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was
visible"(HEBREWS 11:3). We do well to remind ourselves of Ezekiel’s words: “Dry
bones, hear the word of the Lord! God’s word gives all things and us life.
F. We may not think of ourselves as dry bones. This is not a pleasant picture.
Read today’s Psalm (51). In this Psalm we discover the source of our dry bones.
Our bones are dry because of our sin. From the moment of our conception sin
infects us. At the moment of conception life begins. Sin is a part of our
spiritual DNA. Sin does not give life but only produces death. Thankfully we
have God’s word (and his Son) that gives us life. "When you were dead in your
sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with
Christ. He forgave us all our sins"(COLOSSIANS 2:13).
“DRY BONES, HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!”
God’s word gives us life. God’s forgiveness gives us life.
Our dry bones are refreshed by grace through faith.
God’s forgiveness is a gift, it is free.
II. OUR LORD GIVES HIS SPIRIT
A. Ezekiel and God’s people, Israel are in exile. This is not easy for them. They are living in Babylon.
1. Jerusalem has been destroyed. The temple is in ruins. They do not have a house of worship.
2. Verse 11. The dry bones are Israel. They feel dried up, without hope, and cut off.
B. Verse 12 provides hope for these people of God. They would return to Israel. It would take a while.
1. Ezekiel talks of the time they would return to Israel and of the time when the Lord returns.
2. Ezekiel speaks of the resurrection from graves. This will take place on judgment day.
C. The Lord promises hope for his people for a reason, verse 13. Then they will know the Lord.
1. Again, the dry bones would live (open your graves, bring you up). The Spirit would reveal.
2. Verse 14. Jesus poured out his Spirit on the New Testament church. Then you will know…
D. Today we celebrate God’s gift of his Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit is faith. There are other
gifts of the Spirit but THE GIFT is faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Without faith there
really can be no other gifts of the Spirit present. Here is the challenge that separates believers and
unbelievers (the world). The world has no faith. The world cannot and does not understand or want to understand
the love of God found in the followers of Christ. Jesus promises his disciples: "The Spirit of truth: The world
cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be
in you"(JOHN 14:17). Our Lord gives us his Spirit so that we believe, faith.
E. It is vital to always remember that God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is just that – a free, divine gift.
Believers believe only by the power of God. God pours out his Spirit into our stony hearts. Ezekiel also
reminds us that is the Lord who changes our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. God’s gift of faith changes
our lives. We no longer live as dry bones but as living branches attached to the True Vine. We no longer
live as lost sheep but as lambs of God lovingly led by our Good Shepherd. All of this because the Lord God
Almighty gives us life and breath and faith! "Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And
this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us"(1 JOHN 3:24).
F. “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! These words are the key to having life and breath and faith.
Everything divine that you and I and every believer possess comes to us by God’s gift of his word. Without
God’s word you and I and everyone else would be eternally lost. No wonder that the Lord commanded Ezekiel
to prophesy “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! We were once like those dry bones. Without ears we
would not hear. Without brains we would not listen. Without a heart we would not believe. Now the Lord
God Almighty has given us his Spirit through his word. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path….
Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives
understanding to the simple"(PSALM 119:105, 129,130).
CONC.: “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! These are words we need to speak to ourselves every
time we come to hear God’s word. These are the words we need to pray to ourselves each time we take
out our Bibles and read God’s word for ourselves. These same words we would use whenever we study
God’s word together. To ourselves we say: “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! With these words
we ask and pray that the Lord God Almighty would open our ears to hear, our eyes to see, and our
hearts to believe the very eternal truths and power of God’s holy word. "For the message of the cross
is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God"
(1 CORINTHIANS 1:18). “DRY BONES, HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!” God’s word of forgiveness gives us
life. Our Lord gives his Spirit. We are thankful and rejoice in God’s free gifts. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
SERVICES:
SAT – 1:00pm @ NCF Min.,
+ SUN – 12:00pm @ NCF Medium / 9:30am @ Redeemer
BIBLE STUDIES: TUES. -- 6:00pm (min) + 7:30pm (med) @ NCF / 11:55am @ Redeemer (Sun)
Sunday radio broadcast @ 9:05am on KQNK 106.7FM or 1530AM + www.kqnk.com
PENTECOST readings: JOEL 2:28,29; ACTS 2:1-21; JOHN 16:5-11; (PSALM 51)
