All was not well. I saw some dead zones in my life. Some things that were vibrant had grown dry like my passion for people far from God, my passion for promise-claiming prayer, my passion for discipling my family, and my passion to reach NE Ohio and the world for Christ. My vitality was just not what it was.
So, I thought of what Revelation says to do when you’ve lost something you once had: Do the deeds you did at first. When I first came to NE Ohio, I engaged in early morning prayer once a week. That had not been my practice recently. So, I began to engage in 6:00 Am prayer on Wednesdays in our prayer room. And now, I am seeing more life, more zeal, more passion.
Question: What’s a dead zone for you? Where was there once life and passion and vitality and there is now dryness? Is it in your heart, your home, your career, your ministry, your church? ... Would you, right now, close your eyes and ask God to show you a dead zone in your life?
We are going to be taking a look at Ezekiel 37 for the next few weeks.
Ezekiel was a spiritual leader, a prophet. A prophet is someone who speaks God’s Word to God’s people. Ezekiel lived about 600 years before the time of Christ.
When the nation of Israel was in its infancy, the people had been told by God, “If you obey, you’ll be blessed. If you disobey and follow after other gods, you’ll be cursed. You’ll lose your land. You’ll be carried away to serve another country.”
And that’s what happened. Because they followed after other gods, the Lord lifted His hand of protection and the nation was overrun by the Babylonians. The Jews were forced from their home and taken to the land we now know as Iraq. They were a people who were oppressed. Their situation looked hopeless.
That’s when Ezekiel spoke up. He said, “A restoration – a revival – is coming. God promises his people a new heart and a new spirit and a return to the land” (Ezekiel 36:26–27). But that left some questions hanging. “Why would God restore us?” “How will we be revived?” “Can a renewal really happen?”
Ezekiel Chapter 37 answers these questions.
1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.
2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.
3 And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know."
4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD."
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Ezekiel 37:1-10 (ESV)
There is so much here in this chapter. I just want to mention three simple principles for us to apply to our lives, our families, our church, our community, our world if we want revival. Today, the first is this...
1. see what’s dead. vv. 1-2
We’ll never be revived unless we are willing to survey the scene and see what’s dead.
1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.
The landscape is filled with bones. Bleached, brittle bones. This is a picture of death. At one point, there was life. The bones were once covered with muscles and tendons and skin. These once were vibrant people. But now? Dead.
And things have been dead for awhile. You used to know life. Now, what remains are the bones.
Again, let me ask you, “What is dead in your life?”
• Your walk with Christ once was lively, but now it’s not.
• Your marriage had passion and romance, but now it’s gone.
• You once had fun as a family, but now the conversations and activities are forced.
• Your job once was a calling, but now you’re going through the motions.
• You once cared about reaching a lost world for Jesus, but it’s been a long, long time since you really cared and really prayed about anybody on the other side of the world.
• You once couldn’t wait to get up and read your Bible and pray, but now that’s a distant memory. What is dead in your life? See what’s dead. God wants us to look carefully at what’s dead.
2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.
Ezekiel 37:1-2 (ESV)
I take this to mean that there may be very many dead things in our lives and families and businesses and ministries and nation and world. And I take this to mean that things are desperate and have been for a long time. These bones are dry. Very dry.
Bones do nothing. They just lay there. Doomed. They don’t reproduce.
Is that our church? I pray not. Are we a “come-as-you-are-and-leave-as-you-were” church? I pray not. I see signs of life here. But not enough.
Is NE Ohio a valley of dry bones? I pray not, but I’m afraid so. Is America a valley of dry bones? I pray not, but I think so. We are in dry days. We are just as dry as Israel was.
And as we survey the scene, we can sink into hopelessness like Israel did if we are not careful. Skip down to verse 11.
11 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.' Ezekiel 37:11 (ESV)
Open graves. Carcasses exposed. Bones bleached under a hot dessert sun. Can you think of a more unlikely place to look for life? It looked absolutely impossible that they could ever be restored. This is a humanly impossible situation. They live in despair that nothing is going to change. They are dried up, hopeless, and cut off.
And maybe that’s the way you feel about the dead zones in your life. You feel cut off from hope. But that’s when a question comes. And it’s the Lord who asks the question.
3 And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know."
Ezekiel 37:3 (ESV)
God is asking, “Do you believe? Do you believe that what’s dead can come back to life? Can your family be saved? Can that rebellious daughter who was once so sweet ever be sweet again? Can that husband and wife who once looked admiringly into each other’s eyes ever fall in love again? Can you return to that first kind of love you had for Christ? Can that young man or woman who felt called into ministry or missions feel a renewed calling? Can God send a revival to CVC or to NE Ohio?
Principle #1 for us to apply to our lives, our families, our church, our community, our world if we want revival:
...see what’s dead.
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