Can Dry Bones Live?

Ezekiel 37:1-10
INTRODUCTION: Read Ezekiel 37:1-10.
Let s take a look at the BACKGROUND for this Scripture.
God had called His people, the Jews, out of captivity in Egypt. For over 100 yea
rs, they had been in Egyptian captivity. God brought them into the Promised Land
, and gave them a land and a King, and made them a nation. BUT
they turned again
st God, and God allowed them to go into captivity once again.
Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army invaded Israel. They had reduced Solomon s
Temple to ashes, and had taken many of the Jewish people back to Babylon as capt
ives. This is the condition that Ezekiel is in. The nation of Israel is DEAD. BU
T God has a vision for Ezekiel.
37:1-2
Ezekiel is carried to a valley full of very dry bones. I want you to imag
ine this scene with me. These bones are scattered everywhere
very white very dry.
Bones all over the place scattered by the wild animals so that there is nothing
but miscellaneous bones as far as the eye can see.
For Ezekiel, this is a vision of the nation of Israel
37:11. There was no way th
at Israel could get themselves out of Babylonian captivity. They were like these
dead, dry bones in a graveyard
dead in a hopeless situation.
Maybe this describes some of you here this morning. You look around you, and it
seems hopeless. Everything seems to have gone wrong. Your life is a mess
OR
at l
east it s not what you want it to be. You see yourself in a valley of dead, dry bo
nes.
37:3a
Look at the question. Ezekiel is looking at millions of dead, dry bones
attered about 100 s of square miles
AND
God asks him, Can these bones live?
d you answer that question?

sc
How woul

When you look at your situation AND

all you see is a valley of dead, dry bones y
ou don t see much hope, do you? It s hard to imagine those dead, dry bones having li
fe. It s hard to imagine your situation ever getting better. It s hard to imagine li
fe, beyond our present circumstances.
Israel has been taken captive by Babylon Ezekiel can t see much hope for his peopl
e. BUT he answers God s question
37:3.
Can these bones live?

I don t see how

if they do, it will be up to You, Lord!

Ezekiel is telling God that God is in charge

in control. God can do whatever He
wants to do. With God, nothing is impossible. If God wants these dead, dry bones
to live, they ll live!
Let s get to some APPLICATION here. I see 2 areas where I see dead, dry bones.
1.- In The Life Of the Church
2.- In The Life Of The Lost.
1.- In The Life Of The CHURCH
What kind of bones do we see in the Church today? Listen to the way Dennis Cocks
describes bony Christians in the Church today.

1.- The Tailbone Christian

Who just sits, and lets everybody else do the ministr
y in the church. If God had wanted you to sit around and do nothing, He would ha
ve taken you on to Glory the minute He saved you. 1 Cor. 15:58 - Therefore, my be
loved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the L
ord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Can these bones live? Yes, as soon as they get off their tailbones!
2.- The Fingerbone Christian Who are always pointing their finger at everybody e
lse, not taking responsibility for their own actions. They blame everybody else
for the circumstances they find themselves in. Can these bones live? Yes, as soon
as they see that they are reaping what they have sown.
3.- The Jawbone Christian
Who runs off at the mouth
who puts his mouth into moti
on before his brain is in gear who spreads gossip
who intentionally causes troub
le by stirring up strife. Can these bones live? Yes, when they snatch their tongue
from the Devil, and give it to the Holy Spirit. Ephes. 4:29
Let no corrupt commu
nication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifyin
g, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
4.- The Hipbone Christian
Who sits on his wallet every Sunday when the offering
plate is passed. Can these bones live? Yes, when the heart is converted, the walle
t will be converted too. Matthew 6:21
For where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also.
5.- The Drybone Christian
Whose Christian life has withered up, because he/she i
sn t in the Word of God. Can these bones live? Yes, when we immerse ourselves into t
he God s Word, the Water of Life.
6.- The Wishbone Christian Remember when you were a kid, and you got to pull on
the wishbone of the Thanksgiving turkey? If you got the bigger piece, your wish
was granted (supposedly). For some of us, that describes our prayer life
gimme,
gimme, gimme. We come to God with our wish list
AND
that pretty much describes our
prayer life. Can these bones live? Yes, when we realize that prayer is a relation
ship with God that involves, not only asking, but thanksgiving, praise, fellowsh
ip, and worship.
7.- The Backbone Christian Who has convictions
knows what they are
and stands on
them. The Christian with BACKBONE, won t live his life to please the world
won t li
ve her life to blend in with the world won t live their life to conform to the sta
ndards of the world. Can these bones live? Yes, and they do live, as a testimony o
f the grace of God.
8.- The Kneebone Christian Who
s only through a life of prayer.
wer No prayer, no power.
Can
he one who is living the life of

realizes that victory in the Christian life, come

Much prayer, much power
Little prayer, little po
these bones live? Yes, and the Kneebone Christian is t
VICTORY.

There s another area where there are dry, dead bones. That s
2.- In The Life Of The LOST
As we look out over the valley of dead, dry bones, w
e see DEATH HOPELESSNESS. Every lost person is as dead as those bones. Romans 3:
10
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: Once again, the questio
n is asked, Can these bones live? Ephes. 2:1
And He has given you new life, who wer
e dead in trespasses and sins; Yes, these dead, dry bones can live
Ezekiel gives us the 2-Fold Plan
1.- The Word - 37:4
Ezekiel is
imagine, preaching to a bunch of
dry bones, and says, Dry bones,

Of God, to bring life to these bones.

told to preach to these dead, dry bones. Can you
bones? Ezekiel begins to preach to these dead,
listen to what God has to say. He must have felt r

ather foolish!
Ezekiel continues to speak to all these bones

37:5-6.

THEN something begins to happen

right before his eyes
37:7-8. The bones came tog
ether (imagine the noise) muscle & flesh & skin began to surround the skeletons.
Laying before him were 1000 s of corpses! Bodies, but no life.
What is PLAN 1 to give life to these old dead bones? What is PLAN 1 to give life
to Christians who have lost hope
who see themselves in a hopeless situation sur
rounded by dead, dry bones. What is PLAN 1 to give life to those who have never
trusted Christ who are spiritually dead?
PLAN 1 is THE WORD OF GOD

37:4.

CHRISTIAN, if you are struggling if your Christian life seems dry & dehydrated
i
f you are spiritually thirsty
THEN dive into the Water of God s Word. That s where y
ou ll find spiritual refreshment..
If you re LOST here this morning, there s only 1 way to come to faith in Christ. Rom
ans 10:17
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. God s Wor
d tells you that Jesus is your only hope for Heaven. Without His forgiveness of
your sins, you will carry them to Hell with you for all eternity.
What s PLAN 2? Ezekiel had 1000 s of corpses laying on the ground
with no life in th
em. Something MORE is needed than just the preaching of the Word of God.
2.- The Holy Spirit 37:9-10
Remember Genesis 2:7
And the Lord God formed man of t
he dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and ma
n became a living soul.
It s not my responsibility to save anyone. I couldn t, no matter how hard I tried. W
hat s MY responsibility
what s YOUR responsibility? Romans 10:14
How then shall they
call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of
whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? This isn t j
ust a call to be a Pastor it s a call to give out the Word of God.
It s the Holy Spirit who takes the Word of God, and gives it the power to give lif
e to a dead soul. It s our responsibility to give it out SO
the Holy Spirit can us
e it to give life.
Do you know someone who is struggling who is discouraged who is all dried up
is in need of a friend, or a word of encouragement? God is calling YOU to be th
e tool, or instrument for the Holy Spirit to use to bring life to their thirsty
soul

who

Do you know someone who is lost

who is going to spend eternity in Hell who is wi
thout eternal life, without hope, without Christ? God is calling YOU to be the t
ool, or instrument for the Holy Spirit to use to bring His Word, and life, to th
eir lost soul.
CONCLUSION: Can dead, dry bones live? With God, nothing is impossible. Sometimes
we look around us, and all we see is a valley of dry, dead bones. It looks pret
ty hopeless
it looks pretty devastating
it looks pretty grim.
BUT God s got a PLAN. Get into His Word, and He ll speak to you. Yield to the Holy S
pirit, and He will give you a new life.
Can dead, dry bones live? With God, nothing is impossible. If you have never tru
sted Jesus to save you, you are still living in the graveyard of dead, dry bones
. God has a PLAN. Believe His Word, when it says that Jesus paid your sin-debt o

n the cross. Trust Him to save you, and the Holy Spirit will give you a new life
.
Can dead, dry bones live? That s up to you!
STAND

PRAYER

OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:

Can Dry Bones Live?
Ezekiel 37:1-10
INTRODUCTION: The Babylonian army had invaded Israel and taken them captive.
37:1-2

The valley of dry bones pictures the hopeless condition of Israel

37:11

- Do you see yourself in a valley of dry bones?

37:3a

Ezekiel doesn t see much hope

37:3b

With God, nothing is impossible.

only dry, dead bones.

There might be dry bones:

1.- In The Life Of The CHURCH
The Tail-bone Christian

1 Cor. 15:58

The Finger-bone Christian

The Jaw-bone Christian
The Hip-bone Christian
everything in our life.
The Dry-bone Christian

We are to work.

Take responsibility for your actions.

Ephesians 4:29
Matthew 6:21

Give your tongue to the Holy Spirit.

When our heart belongs to the Lord, so does

Immerse yourself in the water of God s Word.

The Wish-bone Christian

We are to pray, not just to ask, but to worship, praise
and fellowship with our Father.
The Back-bone Christian

Live your Godly convictions.

The Knee-bone Christian

Victory comes through prayer.

2.- In The Life Of The LOST

- The lost are as dead as these bones
- New life is available in Christ

Romans 3:10.

Ephesians 2:1

God s 2-Fold Plan To Bring Life:

1.- The Word

37:4, 5-6

Ezekiel preaches to the bones.

- The bones come together to form lifeless bodies

37:7-8

- Christians will find Spiritual refreshment in God s Word.

- The lost will find Jesus in God s Word

Romans 10:17

2.- The Holy Spirit

37:9-10

- Only the Holy Spirit can give life

Genesis 2:7

- It s our responsibility to give out the Word of God

e it power Romans 10:14
- God uses you as a tool, an instrument to bless others.
CONCLUSION:
- God has a PLAN to make dead, dry bones live.
- Are you willing to trust Him to give you life?

it s His responsibility to giv