Live, Alive: Talking to Bones
We are continuing with our “Live, Alive” series from Ezekiel 37. Last week, we answered the question, “Can I REALLY begin to 'Live, Alive?’ Today, we will discover the secret to living with hope as followers of Jesus.
My dad was an abusive alcoholic. He was explosive, volatile, and unpredictable. The sad part was...he didn't WANT to be that way. Every few months, he would sober up for a few days and say, "I PROMISE you I will NEVER drink again." And EVERY time he made that promise, I BELIEVED him… It didn't matter how many times he had BROKEN that promise before. I REALLY believed that maybe THIS time he would KEEP his promise.
The last time I BELEIVED that promise, I was fifteen years old.
He was… drunk and asked me to DRIVE him the two-and-a-half-hour drive from our home in Bumpus Mills, Tennessee, to the VA Hospital in Nashville so he could enter their DETOX program. Throughout the drive, he talked about how life would be different when he got out of detox. All he needed was help for thirty days – and his life would change.
At check-in, he EXPECTED the staff to admit him IMMEDIATELY… but instead, they asked him to COMPLETE paperwork and WAIT for his turn. And BECAUSE they treated him like EVERY OTHER person he EXPLODED, lost his temper, and began screaming.
Police officers happened to be in the ER – they came to diffuse the situation – and then things went from bad to worse. He began to shove – and that was all it took. In the STRUGGLE to handcuff him, the tail of his shirt LIFTED, and EXPOSED a bottle of whiskey TUCKED into his back pocket. It turns out that it is AGAINST the law to bring alcohol into a Federal Building.
Forty-eight hours later, I picked him up from jail. He had two swollen black eyes…his false teeth were broken in half. And before the day was over he was drunk again.
That was the last time I believed one of my dad's promises.
Now, maybe you know what it's like to stop BELIEVING someone's promises because they NEVER kept their PROMISE and always BROKE their word to you. You learned they could not be trusted BECAUSE they NEVER did what they said they would do. BUT – have you EVER stopped believing somebody who does EXACTLY what they SAID they would do? Have you EVER stopped BELIEVING a person who is ALWAYS faithful? A person who ALWAYS keeps their WORD? No. That would be silly.
Yet – that is PRECISELY why the Israelites became the CHOSEN PEOPLE of GOD who LIVED without HOPE. They STOPPED listening to the GOD who had NEVER failed them and ALWAYS kept His word. And for GENERATIONS – their HOPE slowly died - and they concluded, ‘All HOPE is GONE.’
Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NLT2)
1 The LORD took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the LORD to a valley filled with bones. 2 He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. 3 Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign LORD,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.” 4 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! 6 I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’” 7 So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. 8 Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’” 10 So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’ 12 Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the LORD. 14 I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the LORD has spoken!’”
Remember, in this vision, the dry scattered bones represented the HOPELESSNESS of the people of Israel.
And many people today feel a sense of HOPELESSNESS in some areas of LIFE. Maybe their occupation or educational career is AMAZING – but they feel hopelessness in their FAMILY life. As you face your own valley of hopelessness—whether in your marriage, your career, your health, or your faith—remember this...
GOD’S PROMISES AWAKEN LIFE
God does NOT tell Ezekiel to FIX the bones himself. He doesn’t tell him to GATHER the bones together…to FIGURE out WHICH ANKLE belongs to which LEG bone…God tells EZEKIEL that IF these DRY BONES are GOING to LIVE AGAIN – EZEKIEL must speak GOD’s PROMISES over those bones:
Ezekiel 37:5-6 (NLT2)
5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Look! I AM GOING TO put breath into you and make you live again! 6 I WILL PUT flesh and muscles on you and COVER you with skin. I WILL put breath into you, and YOU WILL come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
BEFORE they came back to life, God PROMISED they would. BEFORE a bone RATTLED and CONNECTED to another bone, God PROMISED they WOULD. And…BEFORE something HAPPENS is the only time when a PROMISE can be made, isn’t it?
A PROMISE to do something is always about a FUTURE reality that has not happened yet. We see that throughout the BIBLE.
God promised…
…Abraham a son LONG before Isaac arrived.
…Moses DELIVERANCE long before the Red Sea parted.
…The walls of Jericho would collapse before a SINGLE stone fell.
…JESUS would pay the price for our sin LONG before Jesus was born.
God ALWAYS gives a promise BEFORE the promise is EXPERIENCED.If God only made promises after everything worked out...they wouldn't be promises. They'd just be announcements.
Numbers 23:19 (NLT2)
19 God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
We can TRUST in the CHARACTER of GOD because HE will always DO what HE DECLARES he will DO…SO…how can your HOPE in areas of your life be REVIVED? THROUGH the LIFE CHANGING truth of God’s Word…As we see in this example…
WHAT YOU LISTEN TO SHAPES YOUR HOPE
The Israelites had HEARD and KNEW God's promises…but they lost hope…BECAUSE they began listening to another voice. They began listening to the voice of disappointment, loss, failure and experience. And eventually THAT voice became LOUDER than the voice of God. That's why they were saying, "We have become old, dry bones." "All hope is gone." God never said that.
The invading Babylonians told them all hope is gone…
Their EXILE said that.
Their EMOTIONS said that.
But God NEVER said that to them.
Yet they…BELIEVED it.
Some of us have become EXPERTS at preaching HOPELESS sermons to ourselves. We say to ourselves: This marriage is never going to get better. My kid is never coming back. I will always struggle with this addiction. I have messed up too much. Nothing ever changes. Why bother praying? Why bother trying?
We BECOME confident about things we don’t actually KNOW.
We lose a JOB and WE decide our future is RUINED. A RELATIONSHIP falls apart, and WE decide we'll always be ALONE. A PRAYER is not yet answered, and WE decide God isn't listening. Something PAINFUL happens, and suddenly WE become prophets of doom.
The Israelites were wrong, too. They were WRONG when they lived for GENERATIONS, as though HOPE had DIED. If they had just EMBRACED the LIFE-CHANGING truth of God’s WORD, they would not have felt so hopeless…See, God had ALREADY told Israel that EXILE would come and that it would NOT be the END.
Deuteronomy 30:1, 5 (NLT2)
1 “In the future, when you experience all these blessings and curses I have listed for you, and when you are living among the nations to which the LORD your God has exiled you, take to heart all these instructions…. 5 The LORD your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors!
God had already promised restoration, a return, and a future. But they lived WITHOUT hope because they listened to the WRONG voice. And every time we think something like "Nothing is ever going to change." We're doing exactly what Israel did. We're agreeing with dry bones of hopelessness. We're giving our CIRCUMSTANCES the final word. But your CIRCUMSTANCES are NOT God. Your EMOTIONS are NOT God. Your FEARS are not God. This is why I encourage you…
DON’T AGREE WITH YOUR DRY BONES
If your dry bones have been whispering to you for years…
"You're never going to beat this addiction."
"Your marriage is over."
"Your child is never coming back."
"You're too old."
"You're too far gone."
"God is finished with you."
"Why even pray?"
"Why even try?"
That is exactly what happened to Israel…and it is time for you to follow the example that we see in Ezekiel and SPEAK God’s Word to the BONES of HOPELESSNESS. Stop agreeing with LIES. Stop agreeing with DISCOURAGEMENT. Stop agreeing with HOPELESSNESS.
God asked EZEKIEL to declare HIS promise. See, because God’s Word has AUTHORITY – it produces HOPE when it is applied.
The Israelites believed all hope was gone BECAUSE they stopped trusting in the WORD of GOD. And the way they could LIVE again – is by TRUSTING in God’s WORD once again.
Stop repeating what your circumstances have been saying...and start repeating what God has already said.
When your dry bones say that your marriage is over…You remind them what God says about forgiveness, grace, and reconciliation.
When your dry bones of shame say you have blown it too many times…You remind them that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
When dry bones of fear say you will always be alone, you remind them of the words of Jesus…"I will never abandon you."
The battle isn't between your HOPELESSNESS and God's PROMISES. The battle is between which VOICE you LISTEN to. God keeps His promises. Every...Single...One.
That's why you can trust Him when your circumstances disagree…you can trust Him when your emotions disagree…you can trust Him when your fears disagree. Because God's promises have never failed…Not once.
When your fears, failures, and shame start talking…Don't agree. When your circumstances start talking…Don't agree.
How do you stop agreeing with lies? By filling your mind with God's truth instead. Open up the Bible…Read it. Believe it. Apply it to your life.