Revival in the Valley of Dry Bones, Part 2

You got church services on Sunday, you got church services on Wednesday, you got special events, and we still dried up.

We still seem so hopeless. Dr. Tony Evans says as a nation and as individuals, we need the new life only the Lord can give us. God does let you get low so that you can discover only He can raise dead people. Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, this is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Urban Alternative. If your last mountaintop experience with the Lord is just a distant memory, there's a way out of that valley you're in.

And here's Dr. Evans with a look at how God can bring you back to life. God told Ezekiel in chapter 37, I want you to go down that valley and I want you to look at those dry bones. The hand of the Lord was upon me, verse 1 says, and brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley of bones.

He caused me to pass around them to check it out, and behold, there were many on the surface of the valley, and lo, they weren't just dry, He says they were very dry. Now the question is, what are dry bones? Verse 11 tells you, 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 has perished, and we are completely cut off. He says dry bones was the whole nation of Israel in a hopeless situation. That's dry bones.

They were very dry, He tells us, because they had been there in that place a long time. Dry bones is being in a situation where you don't see a way out. It is being in a scenario of major collapse, and you want to know how in the world is this going to get fixed. Dry bones is where your situation, and in the case of Israel, their national situation was in major collapse and calamity. It was where stagnation had occurred, dashed dreams and hopes, barrenness, desolation, and there was no hope. You know you and we are in this low place called a valley, a valley is a low place, we're in this low place called a dry place, a place of dry bones when you have to look up to see bottom.

When there are no ready apparent answers to your dilemma, and where you live life in crisis mode. That was the valley of dry bones. These people weren't physically dead, Israel was still a physical nation, but He calls them a valley of dry bones because they were in a helpless, hopeless situation. Historically, they were now living in Babylon, they had been taken captive by the Babylonians, and He makes the statement at the end of verse 11, and we are completely cut off. In other words, they had been completely cut off from fellowship with God because of their rebellion against God. Look at chapter 36 verse 25, then I will sprinkle you clean with water and you will be clean, I will cleanse you from all of your filthiness and all of your idols. Remember, I said that there's a correlation in the Bible between rebellion, evil, and sin and idolatry. He says your evil, your filthiness, connected to your idolatry.

That you have chosen to either replace me with other gods or bring other gods alongside of me, therefore diminishing me. He says you need to be, verse 29, delivered from your uncleanness. So what happened was at the bottom was sin, and that sin worked itself out in society because now they are captive in a place called Babylon.

How bad was the situation? Verse 3, He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, Oh Lord God, you know. He said this thing was so bad, this situation was so graphically grotesque that God asked me, Son of man, prophet, can these bones live again? And the prophet said, I don't know.

You know. Because I don't see a human answer to this. I can't answer, can these bones live again? Because there is no solution I can come up with to fix. You ever been in a situation without an answer?

That's called the valley of dry bones. It's a situation with no solution. And we are cut off. What people do not understand is that your situation in life, your zitzelleben, your circumstances are tied to your spiritual foundation. And so since sin was at the base of the economy, it has now over time worked itself out so that we are scrambling to find an answer because we never connected our spiritual situation to our social dilemma. But this is not uncommon, the failure of people to connect their spiritual dilemma, their rebellion, their sin, their evil, their wickedness to their personal circumstances.

They just think I'm having a bad day, month, week, or year, or life. He says, Son of Man, let me show you this valley, this hopeless situation that this whole nation is facing right now. They have been cut off.

They have been disconnected with me and from me. And now chaos rules. In the middle of this chaos, God has reminded the prophet Ezekiel about a promise he made. God had made a promise to his people, and that promise is stated in chapter 36, verse 24, I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land.

I'm talking about Israel in the Old Testament. He had made a promise. In spite of the fact that I'm going to spank you for disobedience, there will come a day when I'm going to bring you back home. And so Ezekiel, here's what I want you to do. I want you to prophesy. I want you to speak my word into this situation.

So I want you to talk to dry bones, to hopeless situations. And I want you to let them hear the word of the Lord. Now Ezekiel, I don't want you to tell them what you think. I don't want you to give them human ideas and opinions. I don't want you to give them the populous viewpoint of the day. Nor do I want you to cater to their emotional well-being. I don't want you to give them psychological analysis. I don't want you to give them humanistic points of view.

I don't want you to give them the latest Gallup poll so that they know what most other folk think. I don't want you to give them what will make them feel good. Why do you want me to give dry bones the word of the Lord? Because until they become very dry, they're not willing to listen.

See, as long as they're not very dry, as long as they think they can do this on their own, as long as they think they've got enough edumacation to pull it off on their own, as long as there's enough money in their bank accounts and their credit cards are working for them and they haven't paid attention to 18% interest, as long as they can pull it off themselves, they ain't dry enough. So wait till I, I didn't even call you to this valley till they were very dry. Because I wanted them to be so low in their own view that they recognize we are in a hopeless situation and we are cut off.

We can't fix this. And it was our spiritual rebellion that caused this greed. It was only recognizing the spiritual rebellion and being put in this low valley that we recognize we couldn't fix it. Now, prophet, you can talk.

Because the bones are dry. So you ought to speak the word of the Lord. Over and over again in the Old Testament, the prophets would be speaking the word of the Lord because the Bible says that there was a famine for the word of God. Now, there wasn't a famine for church, going to the temple. There wasn't a famine for religion or singing songs.

There was a famine for spiritual truth. See, everybody will come for an emotional stimulus. See, everybody wants to hear a stimulus package.

Well, let me invite you into the situation room. Everybody wants a stimulus package. Everybody wants something that's going to stimulate. You know, they want to stimulate the economy. People come to church for a stimulus package. Make me feel good today. Let me tell you the problem with a stimulus package. Something that simply makes you feel a little better. Is that you can feel a little better because things look a little better without having dealing with what caused the problem.

See, that's a problem with a stimulus package that doesn't deal with the root cause. See, the problem with our feelings, while they are real and therefore you should never deny them, they are very unreliable. Feelings are very real, so you don't skip them.

You feel the way you feel and that's the way you feel. But what you can do is bank on them because they're very unreliable. And like the seasons, they change so quickly. And many of you will leave here today feeling okay. But if the wrong person says the wrong thing at the wrong time on your way to your car, and it's probably the person riding with you, if they say the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong way, all your religion and the good feelings you had while you were in service will dissipate because they are unreliable. He says, I prophesy, speak to them the word of the Lord. They need a divine word, not just a stimulation.

They need a divine word to their dry situation. But it's still a hopeful word because he says, because I will cause breath to enter into them that you may come to life, I will put sinus muscles on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover your skin and put breath in you that you may become alive and you will know that I am the Lord. Until you realize, he says, I am the Lord.

I am the Lord. So you coming up with your packages and your stimulant packages, all I'm going to do is let something else break until you discover I, and that means nobody else, I am the Lord. So you speak to these dry bones and you tell them, this is how you got here, you got here from your rebellion but now you're in a hopeless state and you know it, that's where I want you. So now I can bring the word to you because now you've been made ready to receive it.

Your dryness has prepared you to receive it because you can't fix it. So you let them know what my plan, what my program is, what my prophetic word is, what the word of the Lord is to this specific broken situation. You prophesy my thoughts, not your thoughts. Verse 7, so I prophesied as I was commanded. I spoke what I was told to speak and as I prophesied, there was a noise.

So I prophesied and I heard a noise. There was some rumbling and behold a rattling, click, click, click, click, click, click and the bones came together bone to bone. Toe bone got connected to the foot bone. Foot bone got connected to the ankle bone. Ankle bone got connected to the leg bone. Leg bone got connected to the thigh bone.

Thigh bone got connected and stuff started to come together. Stuff that was disconnected, confused, disassociated, unrelated to one another. Stuff that was all disassembled like puzzles in a puzzle box got connected. He said when the word of God was spoken and responded to, connectivity occurred where there was disassociation and disconnection for a long time because they had been very dry. So they had been hanging out in confusion, frustration, argumentation, disassociation for an extended period of time. But when the word of the Lord was given to people who were now ready to receive it because it had gotten very dry and they couldn't fix it themselves, he said stuff started to shake, rattle, and roll. And they became connected.

So guess what you now have due to the proclamation and response, because they responded, the bones were moving, and response to the word of the Lord. You had order and organization because things that were disconnected are now connected. So you've got order and you've got organization because things are now hooked together correctly. Order and organization. So what you don't have is the chaos because you've got bones now that were disassociated, connecting in the right place, in the right spot with one another. You have order and you have organization but we still have a problem because verse 8 says, but there was no breath in them. You can have order and organization and still have no life. Now you need order and you need organization, but what good is a body with all the bones connected if it's still in the coffin? Now if it's going to go anywhere, it does have to have bones that are connected, but having bones that are connected doesn't mean you're alive.

Frankenstein had bones that were connected, but it lacked life. You can list all the programs you want. You can have all the plans that you want to make. You can have an organizational structure that is impeccable. You can have every leader in the right spot, every person in the right pew, but that doesn't mean you're alive. That just means you're organized well, but it doesn't change your problem. It just prepares you for your problem to be changed.

Dr. Evans will come back in a moment with more on how that changing process actually works. Stay with us. When the world says to man up, they're talking about things you can see.

Money, status, social media followers. What does God say? To be a man and rise up in society, you can't leave God out of it. It's the difference between good and great. See, greatness isn't achieved.

It's demonstrated every single day. Legacy is a million middle moments done well. In his sequel to the best selling Kingdom Man, Tony Evans Kingdom Men Rising challenges men to overcome the obstacles in their way in order to leave a legacy of influence. Get the book Kingdom Men Rising to discover how you can do just that. Find out more at TonyEvans.org.

Also makes a great gift. The future of our families and our society depends on men stepping up to their God given responsibility as leaders. But that takes power and perseverance. In Kingdom Men Rising, Dr. Evans addresses the cultural consequences of male passivity and shatters stereotypes painting a real life picture of manhood at its best. Teaching men to keep promises instead of secrets.

To rebuild lives and not just engines. To follow Jesus more closely than the stock market or a favorite sports team. And right now we want you to have a copy as our gift. Just visit TonyEvans.org before time runs out. Make a contribution toward Tony's ministry and we'll say thanks by sending the book your way along with all 12 full length audio lessons in his current series Kingdom Men Rising. And if you're interested in digging even deeper or to help you share this material with your family or small group be sure to check out the companion Kingdom Men Rising Bible study. Again that's TonyEvans.org or call 1-800-800-3222 where resource team members are standing by around the clock.

I'll have that information for you again after part two of today's lesson. Here's Tony. See one of the problems we have is everybody's out of order. You got men out of order. You got women out of order. You got leaders out of order. You got members out of order. We got everybody out of order and they wonder why I'm still in this valley.

You're out of order. The Word of God is to put you in order to connect this bone with that bone so that the bones are in the right place which positions you for life but it doesn't give you life. You can read the Bible all day and it'd be a dead book to you.

And you know it's a dead book you're still in the valley and you're still dry. Oh but watch this now. Then he said to me, prophesy to the breath. Prophesy son of man and say to the breath, thus saith the Lord, come from the four winds oh breath and breathe on these slain that they may come to life.

Alright watch this now. He says prophesy to the bones and then prophesy to the breath. Speak the word to the hopeless situation, the people, and then talk to the wind. The Hebrew word breath can be translated in one of a number of ways. Translated breath, it can be translated wind or it can be translated spirit.

It's the same word. In fact notice what he says in verse 14. I will put my spirit within you and you will come to life.

Well compare that with verse 9. He said prophesy to the breath so that they will come to life. So the breath is the same as the spirit. Remember when the Bible says on Pentecost the spirit came like a mighty rushing wind? So when the Bible speaks of the wind spiritually it's talking about the movement of the Spirit of God because the scripture says it is the spirit that gives life.

Watch this now. It is the word of God that gives order. This is what God says you are to do. This is the position you're supposed to be in. Order yourself by the steps of the word. So you make the decision I'm going to arrange my life, arrange my affairs, arrange my relationship, arrange my finances.

I'm going to arrange myself according to the order of the word. So that gives you order and organization. But you know you can make a decision to do that and be frustrated while doing it. You can make a decision to do it and be irritated that you even have to do it. You can make a decision to do it and not like doing it. That's because you've made the order decision without having the life to go with it.

You need the life to go with it. The Spirit gives life. He tells the prophet after watch this, watch this, talking about order, watch the order, you prophesy the word. But you, watch this now, I don't want you to miss this, you prophesy the word but don't say anything to the Spirit until the bones respond to the word. The Spirit does not come until the bones respond to the word. A lot of people want to get the Spirit when the bones haven't responded to the word. And if the bones haven't responded to the word there will be no wind blowing of the Spirit. So the reason we're not getting the Spirit is that the bones have refused the word so the Spirit's going to hold back and not move because the Bible calls it the Spirit of truth. So the Spirit wants to see the bones move and when the bones move the prophet can then call the Spirit and the Spirit will begin to blow and bring life to them bones. So that now those bones become limber and begin to move. Those bones can say, oh you know this thing is working.

Oh this stuff I didn't like but I did it anyway. The Spirit of God is now infusing it. See you either don't have the bones connected because there's no response to the word or you haven't called the Spirit in who gives life to the bones once they are connected. You must have Spirit and truth the Bible says. A lot of churches have truth and they're dead with doctrine.

They know all the Bible facts but they don't have any life. Other people talk about Holy Ghost, Holy Ghost, Holy Ghost but the bones are still disconnected so you can talk Holy Ghost all day but it's not connected to the word of the Lord so these bones are still not functioning. They're arthritic bones. They're hurting but they're bones because they have no life. But he says if you get the bones right based on the word then you can call on the Spirit to blow through and make you alive and hopeful and fruitful and productive but you can't prophesy to the wind until you prophesy to the bones.

He couldn't talk to the Spirit and so you could be praying all day long. God changed me, God changed me, God changed me. God is saying but your bones are still out of place. Your bones are still disconnected. Your bones are not in harmony. You align your bones, order your steps according to my word. Then you can call on the Spirit because the Spirit only responds to truth. What happened?

In closing what happened? Verse 10, so I prophesied as he commanded and the breath came into them and they came to life and stood on their feet an exceedingly great army. Wait a minute.

Wait a minute. Verse 10 says they stood on their feet and it was an army. Verse 1, there's no feet to stand on and their bones dry in the valley. How do you go from a dry bones to an army?

Standing on their feet. Something supernatural is happening between verse 2 and verse 9. How long had the bones been dry?

A very long time. You mean to tell me between 2 and 9 God can solve stuff that's been there for years? Between verse 2 and 9 simply through the prophetic Word and calling the Holy Spirit, God can solve stuff that's been there for decades?

These folks have been out of God's will for a long time because God can turn stuff around if He can order the bones and then call the Spirit so that there's a supernatural transformation. We're going out spending money on stuff that's just delaying the bones being as dry as they need to be for the Word to be heard so the Spirit can come and give life because God wants you to know that He alone is God. Revival is when you become alive. We are dead individually and corporately and nationally. The issue is deeper than our socioeconomic situation.

That's fruit, not root. Right now talk to God about your own revival because it starts with you, your spot in the valley. Tony Evans will come back in a moment with a final illustration about what it takes to come alive when our faith gets as dry and dusty as a pile of old bones. Today's message is from Tony's current teaching series, Kingdom Men Rising. This 12-lesson collection offers practical, clear directions for men who want to make a difference for the Lord. And as I mentioned earlier, we're offering a special package that includes all these lessons on CD and digital download as well as a copy of Tony's brand new book by the same name, Kingdom Men Rising. Remember, they're all yours as our thank you gift when you make a donation to help support Tony's ministry.

This special double offer won't be around for long and we don't want you to miss out. So make the arrangements today by calling our resource center at 1-800-800-3222 or visit TonyEvans.org where you can also sign up for Tony's free weekly email devotional. Again, that's TonyEvans.org Blessings come from God, but not just from God.

Next time, Dr. Evans will touch on the importance of the blessings we pass on and what to do if they were never passed on to us. Right now, though, he's back with a final thought to wrap up today's lesson. All your parts are connected.

Everything is connected to where it's supposed to be connected to. He said, but you do have a problem. He says in your heater, in fact, in everybody's heater, there is a little piece called an igniter. He says the job of the igniter is to send the message to the heater.

It's okay to warm up. If the igniter doesn't send the message, it's not that your parts are broken, it's that they're not getting the word. They're not getting the message that they're supposed to function based on the fact of their organization because the igniter is not sending it. Once you respond to the word, that takes care of all the parts. It means that the parts are in place and the parts are working. But until the Holy Spirit quickens or ignites or brings life, the body that's now connected doesn't get the message. So you can come here every week and if the Spirit does not speak, you'll hear the word, but you won't get the message and you won't get on fire for Jesus Christ and you won't feel alive because the igniter is not working. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by the Urban Alternative and is celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you.