In The Valley of Dry
Bones, Part 1
Sermon Notes: February 8, 2009 Rev. Jim
O’Neal, Senior Pastor
Isaiah 26:16-19 NRSV
16O
LORD, in distress they sought you, they poured out a prayer when your chastening was on them. 17Like a woman with child, who
writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near her time, so were we
because of you, O LORD; 18we were with child, we writhed, but we
gave birth only to wind. We have won no
victories on earth, and no one is born to inhabit the world.
19Your
dead shall live, their corpses shall rise.
O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for
joy! For your dew is
a radiant dew, and the earth will give birth to those long dead.
Ezekiel
37:1-14 NRSV
1The hand of the LORD came
upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the
middle of a valley; it was full of bones.
2He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the
valley, and they were very dry. 3He
said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?”
I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.”
4Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to
them: O dry bones, hear the word of the
LORD. 5Thus says the Lord GOD
to these bones: I will cause breath to
enter you, and you shall live. 6I
will lay sinews on 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.”
7So I prophesied as I had
been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling,
and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
8I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come
upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to
the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and
breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”
10I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into
them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
11Then he said to me,
“Mortal, these bones are the whole house of
A. Introduction
1. Lonely
Hearts Club
a.
Sometimes we feel rejected and unloved. We identify with the man who sent his picture
to the Lonely Hearts Club, only to have it returned with the note that
said: “We’re not that lonely!”
b.
We all go through times where we feel unloved, unworthy, emotionally
numb, or even dead.
2. Grieving Banker
a.
Henry worked for the bank for forty years. He was much respected by his co-workers and
the folks of his community. When he
retired his well meaning co-workers and friends threw him an elaborate
testimonial dinner. Even the “big-wigs”
from the bank came. Finally, Henry was
invited to say a few words. He said,
“Friends, I appreciate what you have done for me tonight, but it doesn’t mean
much to me now. As nearly all of you
know, my dear wife Maggie died last year, and now I have no one to share this
with.”
b.
Some of you know that kind of deep hurt. And all of us have experienced at some
time
such deep emotional pain. The anguish
may have to do with a loss: Perhaps a
precious one recently died. Maybe your
struggle is the loss of an ability, or the loss of a
job. You could be one who has gone
through rejection: A family member told
you that you’re no good. The one you
trusted the most betrayed you. Your
efforts at work or home were deemed inferior.
On the other hand, your despair might have to do with an addiction, or a
battle with an emotional problem, or it could be a terrible illness that is
attacking your body.
c.
Today’s Scripture verses speak to those of us who have been in
the “
B.
Keep things in perspective.
1. Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 26:17
a.
The Scripture from Isaiah uses the imagery of child birth. Now as a man I cannot tell you that I
personally know all about such an experience.
However, twenty-four years ago I was Chris’ “Lamaze coach” and there
when she gave birth to Sarah.
b.
I learned several things.
First, no matter what your wife in the midst of childbirth may call you,
or say to you, she still loves you. One
thing I can repeat is her statement: “If
men had the babies, there would only be one kid per family.” Secondly, it was clear to me why they call it
labor. There is pain in it. And thirdly, the pain does pass. And oh the joy in holding that brand new
baby! When we are in the midst of difficulties
we often forget that they too ultimately pass away. Difficult moments don’t last forever.
2. Quarter over your eye!
a.
I remember a campfire devotional from my youth. The pastor said, “If you hold two quarters in
front of your eyes at night, you will block out the brightest star. Tonight we have an almost full moon. As I now place two quarters in front of my
eyes, guess what happens? That’s right,
I can’t see the moon. I have blocked the
moon from my field of vision. If you lay
down in the middle of the meadow tomorrow and place quarters over your eyes,
you will block out the sun, which has a diameter of over 866,000 miles!”
b.
“It’s easy for us in the middle of a problem to lose perspective,
and say things like: ‘I’m the only one!’ ‘Nothing ever works for me.’ ‘It’s impossible.’ When we do that, we’ve lost perspective. We are focusing on the problem, and thus we
miss a whole lot of other things that are out there! We miss seeing our blessings. We miss seeing possible solutions. We miss the realization that problems don’t
last forever.”
3. Babe Ruth
a.
The baseball player Babe Ruth had a good perspective about the
game he loved to play. Most of us
remember him as the fellow who hit all those home runs, whose record stood for
years until Hank Aaron finally broke it. What we forget about Babe Ruth is this: He was not only the “Home Run King”, he also led the American League in strike-outs! A reporter once asked him: “Babe what do you do when you get into a
batting slump?” Ruth replied, “I just
keep goin’ up there and keep swingin’
at ‘em. I know
the old law of averages will hold good for me the same as it does for anybody
else, if I keep havin’ my healthy swings. If I strike out two or three times in a game
or fail to get a hit for a week, why should I worry? Let the pitchers worry. They’re the guys who’re gonna
suffer later on!”
b.
Babe Ruth understood that the bad times don’t last. Good times and new opportunities always come
along. So, my friends, get off the pity
bench, pick up the bat, and keep on swingin’!
C.
Develop a positive attitude!
1. Games People Play
a.
Dr. Eric Berne wrote a book entitled: GAMES PEOPLE PLAY. One of the games is “IF ONLY…” “If only my parents had been different.” “If only my family had been rich.” “If only I were married.” “If only I weren’t married.” “If only I lived somewhere else.” “If only I were taller, thinner, better
looking.” “If only I could do this or
that, I would be a success.” “If only, if only, if only.” A close cousin to “if only” is: “I CAN’T BECAUSE…” “I can’t get a better job, because I’m
unskilled.” “I can’t get a promotion,
because my boss is a jerk.” “I can’t
change careers, because I can’t afford college.” “I can’t find a spouse, because I’m
overweight, too old, or have three kids.” “I can’t take painting lessons, because I
don’t have the time.”
b.
We play a lot of games with our minds, and too many of them are
negative. Does this describe you? Are you filling your head with negative
thoughts, personal put downs, and defeatist rhetoric? That is what is holding you back from
spiritual, moral, and even material success.
2. Yogi Berra
a.
One of the most quoted baseball players of all time has to be
Yogi Berra. Yogi has always had a way of
twisting the English language, and the ordinary logic of things. Of a certain restaurant he once said, “Oh,
nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” He, also, gave us this bit of wisdom: “Ninety percent of baseball is mental. The other half is physical.” Maybe Yogi can’t add, but his observation is
correct. Most of life is mental. If you’re convinced there is no hope for you,
there probably isn’t. If you’re
convinced that you are a failure, that your life is worthless, and that you
will probably never amount to anything, then you will “live down” to your low
expectations!
b.
On the other hand, if you keep telling yourself that you are
loveable and capable, and if you believe that you are God’s child, that God is
with you, that therefore all things are possible by His grace, then good things
will happen in your life! Psychologists
call it the self-fulfilling prophecy, and it seems to be a true law of human
nature.
3. Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 37:1-14
a.
Are you still struggling to believe that attitude makes a
difference? Don’t just take my word for
it. Look to the Bible. First, no book is filled with more love than
the Bible. Over and over we hear of
God’s love for humankind. Clearly the
motivation for the prophesies that God gave to Ezekiel
is God’s love for the Israelites. God
would not and could not forsake them.
God would lift them out of their difficulties.
b.
Secondly, No book is filled with more optimism than the
Bible. Look at Ezekiel’s vision! God can raise a bunch of dead bones back to
life! Since that is possible, God was
saying to the Israelites, “Why do you doubt my promise to bring you back to
c.
And the promise holds true to us today. God still loves us. God loves YOU very much. And God has created you with worth and
dignity. YOU are a child of God! The Lord calls you to trust Him. Believe that God can and will get you through
your difficulty. The Lord has
promised: “I will
put my spirit within you, and you shall live!” (Ezekiel 37:14
NRSV) God will raise you up and give you
new life and new opportunities!
Christians are optimists, and possibility thinkers, because we know in
whom we trust and to whom we belong.
D.
Conclusion
1. Recap: When we are going through
difficulties, we find hope from the words of the Bible. Today we hear the call to:
a. Keep things in
perspective.
b. Develop a positive
attitude!
2. Part Two: In two weeks the words of the Bible
will encourage us to:
a. Keep busy.
b. Trust God!
In The
1. Keep
things in perspective.
2. Develop
a positive attitude!
3. Keep
busy.
4. Trust
God!
Isaiah 26:16-19 NRSV
16O LORD, in distress they sought you, they poured out
a prayer when your chastening was on them.
17Like a woman with child, who writhes and cries out in her
pangs when she is near her time, so were we because of you, O LORD; 18we
were with child, we writhed, but we gave birth only to wind. We have won no victories on earth, and no one
is born to inhabit the world.
19Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise. O dwellers in the dust,
awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a radiant dew, and the earth will give birth to those
long dead.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 NRSV
1The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me
out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was
full of bones. 2He led me all
around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very
dry. 3He said to me, “Mortal,
can these bones live?” I answered, “O
Lord GOD, you know.” 4Then he
said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5Thus says the Lord GOD to these
bones: I will cause breath to enter you,
and you shall live. 6I will
lay sinews on 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.”
7So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I
prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came
together, bone to its bone. 8I
looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin
had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to
the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and
breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”
10I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into
them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
11Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the
whole house of