Title: Live, dry bones! (Ezekiel 37:1-10)
Contents Live, dry bones! (Ezekiel 37:1-10)
Title: Evangelizing Church
Text: Ezekiel 37:1-10
In 37:1 and 2, God takes Ezekiel to a certain valley.
A lot of people died there because of the war, and only the bones were piled up.
God asks Ezekiel. “What do you see?” “I see a lot of dry bones.”
In other words, I see death, I see despair, I see destruction,
All my people are gone, all the bones are scattered.
what a sad story
Ezekiel's answer is the same as saying, "There is nothing good about it."
I can't see any energy of life.
It seems to be talking about the reality we live in today.
Many people say they are alive, but it seems that there are only a lot of dry bones.
Everything was scattered like death, despair, destruction and scattered bones rather than a story of good things.
The divorce rate is more than half.
There was also an incident where the unemployed father committed suicide together with the family who said he couldn't live.
Unemployment is projected to be over 65%.
Labor-management disputes are expected to increase by 56%, and international disputes are expected to increase by 52%.
Everyone seems to see death, despair, destruction, and bones scattered.
However, today's Word gives us hope, and just as the dry bones were reattached and we saw God's miracle, the fantastic works of dry bones are together with you. I pray that the people of the world will be changed to the people of the world, and those who have been destroyed and whose bones have been scattered will be restored to health again.
Today, God has provided a way for us to live through the dry bone vision.
1. You must listen to the Word to live. (Verses 4, 10)
We are dry bones.
There are so many hurtful things in life. There were even times when I wanted to die.
And when I look at the reality I live in right now, there are more things to worry about with my hair wrapped around than things to laugh about, so it's a pain in the ass.
When we think about it, there are many times when we seem hopeless, as if we are nothing like a dead body.
What is the capacity for us to live in such a time? It is listening to the word of God.
As he said, "Hear the word of the LORD, ye dry bones," the word is not a counsel.
Words are not meant to be understood or explained.
Hear the word == This is a command and a proclamation.
Everyone, it is important and must be done in a moving and persuasive way when the pastor witnesses the word today.
But there is something more important than a moving testimony. It is "listen".
Do you want to live today? Then listen.
Without ears to hear, you can never live. I believe that there is a history that comes alive when the ears to hear are opened.
Verse 10 = Those who hear the word will come to life.
Are you having a hard time living today? Hear the word.
2. There must be vitality. (Verses 5, 6, 9, 10)
You can live only when the breath of God enters.
Even if you plant one bean, a living bean can sprout and bear fruit.
Likewise, we believe that the way we can live is that the life of God in our souls enters into us so that it can sprout and bear fruit.
What does God's creation mean? It is only when we receive the Holy Spirit that we can live.
If we do not receive the Holy Spirit of God, our souls will never be able to live.
But how can we receive the Holy Spirit?
Verse 9 = Only the wind blows on the slain to receive it.
The Spirit is the wind.
There is one good thing about your winds, which is that they make flower seeds fly and bear fruit.
The flowers that bloom outside and all the fruits are fertilized by the wind and bear fruit.
John 3:8 "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. This is what all who are born of the Spirit are."
So are we. I pray that the wind of the Holy Spirit will blow in your heart and overflowing in your heart.
Because the wind of the Holy Spirit blows strongly, I pray that there will be a history of saving lives in places of worship, prayer, evangelism, and devotion.
Galatians 5:22-23 == When the wind of the Spirit blows, it bears fruit.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 Gentleness and self-control; against such things there is no law.
3. When prophesying, a sound is heard and connected. (Verses 7, 8, 9, 10)
Prophecy = Proclaiming the word of God instead.
Do you know why we must evangelize? When you prophesy, history appears.
In verses 7-8, there is a history of sound when prophesying, movement when prophesying, bones fit together and connected when prophesying, tendons are formed when prophesying, and skins are covered when prophesying.
When we prophesied in verse 10, breath of life enters, life comes to life, and a great army is formed.
There is no other way to save the world.
Prophecy, in other words, this is evangelism.
Evangelism is our prophecy of the Word of God.
That is why it is our mission to evangelize.
If we do not evangelize, we are sinning against this world.
Why? When we prophesy and evangelize, there is a sound, movement, bones are connected, tendons are created, and there is a history of life and death.
Let's read together the words of Mark 11:12-14, 20-24.
In this verse, Jesus cursed the fig tree. What was the message he was trying to give us while cursing the untimely fig tree?
It is the power of words.
Verse 23 I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, believing that what he says will come true, it will be done for him.
Words have power.
Depending on what that person says and lives, that person's life will change.
What does Jesus want to say when he directly shows that figs rot to the root?
He said, "If you tell the mountain to be lifted up and throw you into the sea, and you have no doubt that what you say will come true, it will happen."
Your words have the power to make them happen.
I pray that the miracle of the resurrection of dry bones described in the book of Ezekiel will come to all members of our Keimyung Church in full.
What should I do? It is to use the power of words to prophesy the Word of God.
At that time, the dry bones will come to life, and I believe that there will be a history of moving mountains like the words in the Gospel of Mark.