Resurrected Bones

Here this morning. I said last week. We started a new series for the month of October called stranger things this month of October when we we tend to to look around and we kind of you know, some people like to go and watch scary movies or they're going to haunted houses dressing up for Halloween and we're kind of surrounded by this Supernatural culture. And for the most part as we look at those things. It's made up right, you know we go to these haunted houses and its actors in in movies its actors, but this one's wanted to take a look at because the supernatural realm is not just a fake thing the supernatural realm it does exist and wanted to take a handful the stories that we find in Scripture. They're Supernatural their they're outside of what commonly happens in nature and Beyonce can be a little scary. We all experienced the scariest moments and things in our lives. Maybe it is there a haunted house where you scream out loud, or maybe you've had a more real scary experience. I remember growing up one of my best friends Jeff their family had an above ground pool. And so during the summer we would go there to go swimming and just different things and what is things are always remember doing is a kid is why don't we go underwater and see how long we can hold our breath underwater yet special. I see all the kids like, yep the going to see how long I can hold my breath and to be honest. It's not very long. But I remember one of them or scary times that I don't remember where there was actually at their pool or whether we were on vacation, but I remember one time I was doing this. I was underwater to see how long I could hold my breath. And my brother again being five and a half years older than me decide. So I'm going to be that jerk. And holds me down while I'm under there. He's not like holding me down an extreme amount of time. Like he was probably in reality like two or three seconds. He was not trying to actually drown me for anything but in my mind at the time I thought this is it. I have no breasts left within me. I'm a goner this is this is done with it, and I'm over with and you know, he let up and I had a arrogant. Was an extremely scary moment. to be without breath I think this is it. I am I am drowning. I'm a goner.

If we look at it. live experience at Nora life You know, maybe you have physically experienced an actual drowning. I'm talking about more than that. Were you just feel like you're drowning and something going on in your life? Maybe you're drowning under amount of financial that maybe you have overwhelming medical bills, or maybe you have racked up way too much on your credit card, or maybe you over bought on your house and you don't know how you're going to make your next mortgage payment or maybe you like have some really bad habit. Like you have a closet full of like 10,000 shoes. And for some reason whether it is a reasonable one, like things have happened in medical debt or of your own really a cord you feel like you are drowning financially. Or maybe you feel like you're going to because you have had some sort of physical illness and it just brings you down. You feel like no matter what you do. You cannot overcome it and it's not only bringing you down. Physically. It's bringing you down emotionally and spiritually. Maybe you have just something else that is going on in your life. And you feel like your breath has been sucked out of you and you are dry and dead inside and you just don't know what to do.

Just a minute ago. We we saw.

We saw this story that happens in The Book of Ezekiel. And this is what I have to come to make a clarifying. No, cuz I said that the stories that we are finding and that I'm talking about this month in The Stranger Things series are true stories, but I need to give a small clarification about this story out of Ezekiel and that this is considered to be one of ezekiel's visions that he has. The weather this actually physically took place or whether this took place in ezekiel's mine. I can't 100% saved but his experienced regardless was 100% real. Let's be honest how many of us have had those dreams before? Where it felt like it was actually happening play the scariest one that I remember was a few years ago shortly after our youngest daughter Maddie was born the church that we served before had an upstairs where all the sound equipment was. And in this dream. I was happening felt. So real Maddie was still a baby. And for some reason there was like in my dream there was a drop off like there were walls down into the rest of the sanctuary like it just like dropped off. And in my in my dream that felt so real Maddie just crawled right over the edge falling to the floor. And of course, I woke up the millisecond before she hit the floor, right? Cuz that's what happens when people fall in dreams. They wake up before like someone actually hits the ground. And I immediately woke up and I was terrified in real life. Woke up at like 2 in the morning from that dream and could not go back to sleep because it had felt so real and so I think we experienced and I wanted to put that little bit of clarifier that that this is a vision but to him the experience it is real. How do you be a little bit of background of what happens before Ezekiel has this vision? You see Israel at this time, like as we find throughout the Old Testament, they have this cycle of where you know, they follow God then they're think they can do things on their own and so God kind of like, okay. Hey, you think you can do it on your own any kind of leaves them for a little bit and then bad things happen. And so God says see Told You So they welcomed him. They want God back in he comes back in things go well again for them and then the cycle starts all over again. We find this throughout Israel's history. And so we're at one of those points where Israel was not following God. Sit in their culture and surrounding them they were starting to follow their culture rather than following God around that the temple in Jerusalem, they were building Idols to other gods.

And eventually God was like, all right.

You think you don't need me?

Okay. I got leaves Jerusalem to itself.

And of course during that time the Babylonians come in and take a few of them into Exile in Ezekiel happens to be one of those people that they taking the exiling Ezekiel about this time is about 27 years old.

About three years into his Exile on his 30th birthday. So Parker listen up, this could be really about you. 30th birthday, which is actually normally when they would be allowed to become priests say he was from the lineage of the priesthood and on his 30th birthday. Ezekiel would have been allowed into really that position as a priest, but he's living in Exile in Babylon. He is away from the temple in Jerusalem and God Appears to Ezekiel.

And he has not this Vision but he starts have a vision of what God is about to do with Israel and over the course of the next little while. God has Ezekiel do some really crazy things. I did I'm not going to get into those today. I just want to encourage you going to read like the first part of Ezekiel. And God has Ezekiel do some things that all of us would probably be thinking man. That guy is nuts. That's exactly what the culture thought exactly with. The people of Israel said that Israel that Ezekiel was nuts, but all the things We're done to tell the nation of Israel.

Got done with you right now. the nation of Israel Well, there's going to be devastation. Ezekiel goes on to prophesy about how not only will Israel be devastated but the Nations surrounding will be devastated and most of all Jerusalem what they considered the central place where they considered God since well that it would be destroyed.

What is Ezekiel chapter 11 God gives Ezekiel another vision and another message where he tells them? But I will save a Remnant for you. I will save a group of people. Who will go back?

And things will be restored to how it was meant to be. God was bringing judgment on Israel, but at the same time so there is hope

It's official we get to this Vision where where God sweeps Ezekiel away to this Valley and as Ezekiel looks out into this Valley. It is covered with dry bones. I want you to just think about that for a minute. What do you do when a loved one dies?

You bury them? If some other modes that we use today.

But these were bones that were just laid bare out in the valley.

a sign of disgrace sign of Destruction

something that had no life day of their bodies had been left out to just decompose and rot in the Bears son. They weren't deserving of a proper burial. They weren't deserving of anything. Great. Are they were left? To just decompose and rot. disgraced

God tells Ezekiel. I want you to prophesy to the bones prophesied that they will come alive prophesied to them. And as he does like that's what I love that video to show like. In the tendons and some translation says the sinew that's just a fun word to say, you know started appearing on all of these bones and flesh appearance, but there was one problem. That's all that happened. They were still just dead bodies laying all over the ground now instead of Bones. They had like flesh and blood and more things to just rot. Unless something happened.

So God turned against Ezekiel. He says this time this time. I want you to prophesy to the breath prophesy that breath will come into them and they will come alive in Ezekiel. Does he prophesize to the breath and it comes from north south east and west and all of a sudden this valley though just minutes ago was dry Dusty disgraceful bones comes to like that. I just want you to think for a minute you like three weeks ago. We had the creation truth Foundation here. And we had all of these fossils or research replicas of fossils up here on the stage now. Can you imagine if those all the sudden started getting sinew and tissue and Flesh on them? And then they came alive.

I would be terrified out of my mind. The not only does this Army of people in the Valley Drive is they come alive? And God says he there a vast Army. These are people ready to serve and ready to fight a battle for Israel. In the story doesn't quite in there where the video does. Ezekiel chapter 37 starting in verse 11 and then says this then he said to me son of man. These bones are the whole house of Israel. They say our bones are dried up and our hope is gone. We are cut off. Therefore prophesy and say to them he's not prophesying to phones not prophesying to breath. He's prophesying to Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says. Oh my people I'm going to open your grades and bring you up from them. I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you my people will know that I am the Lord when I open your Graves and bring you up from them. I will put my spirit in you and you will live and I'll settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord has spoken and I have done it declares the Lord. I will put my spirit in you and you will live and here's what is really interesting about the scriptures in this is where you know. It gets confused. I think sometimes in Translation or we miss. the intricacies of some things

did you know what the Hebrew word for spirit is Rua?

and breath Is Rua the same word that we find in both parts of here? So when he's telling Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath, he's in prophesy to the spirits have the spirit come from a spiritual enter them and they will come alive anything to the nation of Israel. My spirit will come in you and will you have been disgraceful? Will you have been undeserving? I will come in to you and give you a new life. I will take you from Dusty dry bones that have no breath. No hope left in them and I will make you a live.

And the same is true for us today.

The God can and we'll take ours are disgusting disgraceful Drive homes when we have no hope.

And through his spirit. Will make us alive. Paul in the book of Ephesians

chapter 2 He says this he says as for you you were. dead in your transgressions Simpsons in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and I'm the ruler of the kingdom of the air the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time gratifying the Cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts like the rest. We were by nature objects of Wrath.

but because of his great love for us. God who is rich in Mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions. It Is by Grace you have been saved And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the Heavenly Realms in Christ Jesus. In order that in the coming ages. He might show the incomparable Riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Did you get that? We are all dead Dusty Dry Bones because of our sins because of how often we have turned away and we have disgraced God just like Israel walked away from God and started serving other things we have in our own lives and we are dead because of it and there's only one way that we can come alive again and that is through the spirit of Jesus Christ. Of the Breath of God entering us and it is through Jesus Christ that we are made alive. Again. We are raised up with him. We are resurrected boned because of Jesus Christ because we have his Spirit living in US

Sometimes we sit back and think Walt. I don't feel like I have a spirit living in me. I don't really feel any different.

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When Paul writes to the Galatians, which is what we're talking about. If you want to join our class on on Wednesday nights for going through the book of Galatians, but at the end of the book of Galatians

Paul tells us he hears how you know, whether the spirits live in in you or not. It gives a couple of Lisitsa. First of all basically if the spirits not living in you. So I say live by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature for the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the spirit? If you don't have the spirit in you you might simplify some of these things. Is there a conflict with each other so you do not do what you want but if your led by the spirit you're not under law. The acts of the sinful nature obvious. Oh, here we go. Sexual immorality impurity and debauchery idolatry and Witchcraft talk about which is in a couple of weeks. Hatred Discord jealousy fits of Rage selfish ambition dissensions factions in Envy drunkenness orgies and the life I warn you as I did before that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God, so he starts off. He said, you know, what if you don't have the spirit of God living in you these are going to be some of the things that are that are that are going to be exemplified in your life and I want to take a moment to just like clarify some one thing here. He starts off by sexual immorality and in our culture today that is so like confusing as to what that actually is, and so just to clarify

That word again simply means actually any sort of sexual relationship outside of marriage. . When you look at what at what is originally means? Culture might confuse what that actually is because we live in a culture of everything goes but we don't live by the culture we live by the word and that's how God Define sexual immorality.

He goes on to say now. This is what it's like if you do have the spirit in you. The fruit of the spirit is love joy peace, patience kindness goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self-control against such things. There is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature. They have died to all of that stuff. It is no longer when it's living in them. It's dead Dusty dry bones.

With its passions and desires since we live by the spirit. Let us keep in step with the spirit.

Let us not become conceited provoking and envying each other. joy, peace, patience kindness goodness self control

when we exemplify those things in our life that it's a sign that the spirit is living in it. I can't help but think of these two amazing ladies that were in Rockford that we served alongside and Ellie were their names. I don't think these two ladies. We're survivors of the Holocaust.

I remember actually hearing one of them tell the story one time about when the Army actually came into their Village.

I have them all. Kneel down in a ditch.

With guns aimed at them.

And something someone came in and said no not now.

Instead of executing them right then and there. Took them off to a concentration camp.

We're later. They were freed and they got sponsored to come to the United States up to Rockford and have lived there ever since they were just little children at the time. One of them barely actually remembers it even happening.

But when I think of the fruit of the spirit release two ladies had every reason to be bitter towards the world to be angry towards the world of of what had happened to them. But I don't think I have ever seen more joy come out of any person than these two ladies they could be going through the day that Ellie's husband funeral was the woman. Was there serving others had a smile on her face at her husband's funeral.

I can't think of a time that I didn't see these two ladies these two sisters. Simplify joy and love and care despite everything that happened to them.

That's how we know the spirit is living in this is when we naturally are exhibiting the these qualities these characteristics. And so the question is as we examine our own life sometimes like man.

I like wanted to flip someone off as they passed me today on the road in the country road. I don't I don't have I don't have love. we we think of like selfish ambition what I am pursuing whatever I want and I am selfish and

not always thinking of others.

We don't see the spirit living in US.

The question is how how in the world do we have the spirit of God this Breath of Life to come into us?

Shortly after Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead and appeared and ascended into heaven. A bunch of the people who were there that were involved. and all of these things

that man we messed up.

They turn a penis or what do we do? What do we do because we have messed up and we do not have God's spirit living in Us in and you're probably most of you were familiar with this passage. in Acts chapter 2 where's 38? Peter replies to them repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the Forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive what? the gift of the Holy Spirit

Peter lays it out for us.

We need to repent to things here. We need to take our life of weird. But where we see those characteristics of the sinful nature or some say The Flash and we're walking towards them. and we need to just take do a 180. And leave all of that stuff of the world behind us, and we need to run towards Jesus.

And what he has in store for our lives and what he wants us to do that. We follow him. We stopped taking control of our own life and whatever we want and we followed Jesus instead. That's what repentance is all about it saying I'm done with that. I'm going to follow Jesus.

does repentance Be baptized. For the Forgiveness of your sins and a gift of the holy spirit for you. Do not just walk away but to say, you know, I am going to die. I'm going to be buried.

my old self going to kill it. three buried in the water and rise again with the Breath of Life the breath of Christ in me the Breath of God the spirit of God living in me a new life, not the sinful nature life, but the Jesus life the god life because I think it's a beautiful picture coz what do we even see at the beginning of creation, right? God create Adam, but what is he? You just laying there not a live on the ground. until what happens

God breathed into him God's spirit enters him. That's one atom has life.

To the question for you today as are you really living?

Or have you just been dead? Dead in your sins dead in your transgressions and you feel like you have no breath left in you and you just need to give it to God and you need to have his Spirit into you and maybe you committed to God maybe it was last week. Maybe it was 40 years ago, but you have not been living with his breath in you when you read those those those gifts of the Holy Spirit the fruit of the holy spirit that Paul tells us about you. Don't see that in your life. And you realize I need to pray. I need to ask God to Breathe Into Me his breath of life to have his spirits living in me and maybe you've never made that decision. Maybe you've never made that commitment to say I'm going to repent I am going to from cheese and I'm going to have the Breath of Life come into me.

So here in a minute, I'm going to pray and then after that we're going to sing a song together and if you have some sort of decision on your heart if you need us to pray for you pray for God's spirit to come into you live in you.

Cuz you haven't been experiencing that even though you you committed your life because we want to pray for you. We want to do whatever we can to help you along that Journey or if you have never committed to Christ and you're ready to say yes. I want to follow him. We would love to talk with you about what baptism is really all about and what it means to repent and to live a life of obedience and faithfulness to God. Enter experience a life like no other with his Spirit living in US.

foot spray God I just thank you. I thank you for your breath of life for your spirit living in us where we have hope. The one we're drowning in whatever is going on in our lives. We can have home because of your spirit just as the people of Israel headphone because you breathe your breath of life into them. Can you come and breathe your spirit into us? We have new life with you and may we serve you and continuously exemplify the fruit of your spirit living in US.