So, we can dream. Our dreams must be birthed out of God’s promises so that His promises become fuel for our prayers. I'm not going to cover all 60 promises in these 2 chapters now. Aren’t you glad?
So, today, let’s just focus on 3 promises to claim.
The Lord has promised…
… to renew us.
And what does a renewed life, family, church city look like? 1) Soft-hearted. 2) Spirit-led. 3) Sin-cleansed.
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Soft-hearted)
27 And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Spirit-led) Ezekiel 36:26-27 (ESV)
23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (Sin-cleansed) Ezekiel 37:23 (ESV)
Some couples are here and your marriage needs to be renewed. You’re hard-hearted toward each other. You argue a lot because neither of you are convinced that the other is being spirit-led. And you have watched each other sin over the years in ways that have built walls in your relationships. God has promised renewal.
Some of us are tempted to think, “He won’t renew me. I have out-sinned His grace. I am too far gone. I have been dead, dry, and divided too long.”
But think. Jesus has come to give life and to give it abundantly. So, would you dare to say, “What’s dead and dry in me is beyond the ability of Jesus”?
No. He can renew even you.
What would it look like if husbands and wives dared to dream and claim the promise of God to renew their relationship?
The Lord has promised to renew us…
… to rebuild us.
Travel down I77 here in NE Ohio to Slavic Village and you will see houses foreclosed, schools shut down, and businesses failing. This story could be repeated in community after community in NE Ohio. And it’s not just financial problems we have in Cleveland. We have moral decay and political corruption.
That’s similar to what the people of God faced in Ezekiel’s day. The enemies had carried away the leading citizens along with the wealth – the gold and silver. The farms had been razed. The cities had been torn down. Things were bleak.
Now, what is the Lord going to do?
33 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.
34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by.
35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’
36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.
Ezekiel 36:33-36 (ESV)
What if our business and political leaders would do all they can do with strategies and tactics and initiatives to lift up the city of Cleveland? But what if with all that, they also put their fingers on these verses and looked to heaven and dreamed and claimed these promises. “God, we are trusting You. You alone can rebuild. You did it for ancient Israel. Would You do it for us? Do it in such a way that You will get the credit, not us.” What would happen if our leaders prayed that way?
And what is desolate and broken down for you? Maybe at age 12 or 15 or 18 you had dreams about what you could be. But somehow, your educational dreams were dashed. Or your career dreams were dashed. Or your relationship dreams were dashed. You are in a desolate and broken down situation.
What would it look like if you began to dream and claim the promises of God to rebuild you life?
The Lord has promised to renew us, to rebuild us…
… to regroup us.
Fist, let me give you just a little history. The people of God were organized as 12 tribes – 12 clans, 12 family lines. 10 were in the north in Palestine. 2 were in the south.
150 years before Ezekiel was written, the 10 tribes in the north, called Israel, (because of their faithlessness) had been conquered by the Assyrians and taken away from their homeland in the north. Now, the 2 tribes in the south, called Judah, (because of their faithlessness) had been conquered by the Babylonians and taken away from their homeland in the south.
So, the people of God were scattered all throughout the Mid-Eastern world. Some of the people – the most promising and most influential leaders – had been taken away from Israel to Assyria and from Judah to Babylon.
Now, notice the promise of God.
24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. Ezekiel 36:24 (ESV)
God promises that His people will be brought back to their homeland and rejoined to the Jewish people who had been left behind.
In chapter 37, God makes a promise through an object lesson with 2 sticks. One stick has “Judah” written on it – to represent the 2 southern tribes. The other stick has “Joseph” written on it to represent the 10 northern tribes (Joseph was the father of Ephraim, one the northern tribes).
19 Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph… And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand.
22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.
Ezekiel 37:19, 22 (ESV)
God promises to rejoin the old northern and southern kingdoms.
Reconnecting. Reuniting. Rejoining. That’s what God does.
So, today, let’s just focus on 3 promises to claim.
The Lord has promised…
… to renew us.
And what does a renewed life, family, church city look like? 1) Soft-hearted. 2) Spirit-led. 3) Sin-cleansed.
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Soft-hearted)
27 And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Spirit-led) Ezekiel 36:26-27 (ESV)
23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (Sin-cleansed) Ezekiel 37:23 (ESV)
Some couples are here and your marriage needs to be renewed. You’re hard-hearted toward each other. You argue a lot because neither of you are convinced that the other is being spirit-led. And you have watched each other sin over the years in ways that have built walls in your relationships. God has promised renewal.
Some of us are tempted to think, “He won’t renew me. I have out-sinned His grace. I am too far gone. I have been dead, dry, and divided too long.”
But think. Jesus has come to give life and to give it abundantly. So, would you dare to say, “What’s dead and dry in me is beyond the ability of Jesus”?
No. He can renew even you.
What would it look like if husbands and wives dared to dream and claim the promise of God to renew their relationship?
The Lord has promised to renew us…
… to rebuild us.
Travel down I77 here in NE Ohio to Slavic Village and you will see houses foreclosed, schools shut down, and businesses failing. This story could be repeated in community after community in NE Ohio. And it’s not just financial problems we have in Cleveland. We have moral decay and political corruption.
That’s similar to what the people of God faced in Ezekiel’s day. The enemies had carried away the leading citizens along with the wealth – the gold and silver. The farms had been razed. The cities had been torn down. Things were bleak.
Now, what is the Lord going to do?
33 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.
34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by.
35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’
36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.
Ezekiel 36:33-36 (ESV)
What if our business and political leaders would do all they can do with strategies and tactics and initiatives to lift up the city of Cleveland? But what if with all that, they also put their fingers on these verses and looked to heaven and dreamed and claimed these promises. “God, we are trusting You. You alone can rebuild. You did it for ancient Israel. Would You do it for us? Do it in such a way that You will get the credit, not us.” What would happen if our leaders prayed that way?
And what is desolate and broken down for you? Maybe at age 12 or 15 or 18 you had dreams about what you could be. But somehow, your educational dreams were dashed. Or your career dreams were dashed. Or your relationship dreams were dashed. You are in a desolate and broken down situation.
What would it look like if you began to dream and claim the promises of God to rebuild you life?
The Lord has promised to renew us, to rebuild us…
… to regroup us.
Fist, let me give you just a little history. The people of God were organized as 12 tribes – 12 clans, 12 family lines. 10 were in the north in Palestine. 2 were in the south.
150 years before Ezekiel was written, the 10 tribes in the north, called Israel, (because of their faithlessness) had been conquered by the Assyrians and taken away from their homeland in the north. Now, the 2 tribes in the south, called Judah, (because of their faithlessness) had been conquered by the Babylonians and taken away from their homeland in the south.
So, the people of God were scattered all throughout the Mid-Eastern world. Some of the people – the most promising and most influential leaders – had been taken away from Israel to Assyria and from Judah to Babylon.
Now, notice the promise of God.
24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. Ezekiel 36:24 (ESV)
God promises that His people will be brought back to their homeland and rejoined to the Jewish people who had been left behind.
In chapter 37, God makes a promise through an object lesson with 2 sticks. One stick has “Judah” written on it – to represent the 2 southern tribes. The other stick has “Joseph” written on it to represent the 10 northern tribes (Joseph was the father of Ephraim, one the northern tribes).
19 Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph… And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand.
22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.
Ezekiel 37:19, 22 (ESV)
God promises to rejoin the old northern and southern kingdoms.
Reconnecting. Reuniting. Rejoining. That’s what God does.
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