Bone Dry - Brett Hickey 10/22/06

That seems hard to believe. My figuring is correct that it's

been six years since I've been the congregation here at plans

road that would make Joey about five and Serena about three the

last time we're here. But I believe that's right, so

good to be here and it's so good to see the family of God at this

place. I received a I was having a

visit by phone with a sister the other day and told her about our

plans to come here. And she asked me how the

congregation was doing and I said well, you know what, I

think the congregation here at plans road is one of the hottest

places in the Brotherhood not that.

You're the biggest congregation but that you're working, you're

growing, you're growing spiritually and you're growing

numerically and so it's exciting to be here.

Sometimes I go to a meeting not knowing how it's all going to

go, but Confident this week with your enthusiasm and your

interest in spiritual things, your interest for the Lost,

they're going to have a great meeting.

I'm certainly going to do my best to do my part in presenting

the word of God to you clearly and forcefully in a way, you can

understand it. Our text this morning, we're

going to take from Revelation chapter 22.

Revelation 22 · chapter mention

We're going to read just one verse and that'll suffice for

our introduction. This morning, revelation 22

Revelation 22:17

verse 17 later. In our lesson, we'll be talking

Quite a bit from Ezekiel. The 37th chapter one of the most

fascinating chapters to me in all the Bible.

Revelation 22 verse 17. And the spirit and the bride,

Revelation 22:17

say come, and let him who hears say come and let him who

thirsts, come whoever desires. Let him take the Water of Life

freely. You've heard it said you can't,

you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

And as a good friend of mine used to say, but you can make

him thirsty. And that's what we want to do

this morning. We want to make you thirsty for

the Water of Life, you know. There are a lot of areas in

which the idea of being all wet is used to express something -

something that you want to avoid.

It's a derogatory or derisive term.

Term. Describing one who is completely

mistaken. All wet is used in England to

describe someone who's weak or unassertive or indecisive.

In Texas where I grew up, there were wet counties and those were

counties, where alcohol was consumed freely and sold without

any, any hindrances that all and then there were dry counties and

the dry counties were the places that you thought was the best

place to live, but in the context of our lesson this

morning, what we want to avoid is being dry.

Want to go to The Living Water. We want the Living Water welling

up within our hearts and in our lives.

This morning. When asked the question, we want

to explore the question we want. I want you to explore the

question. Are you dry?

As you go through the New Testament and learn more about

God's will and you study about the illustrations, the imagery

the symbols, the analogies that you see in the Scriptures, it

appears as if in creation God already had in mind.

The analogies that he would use in the comparisons that he would

use because they fit so beautifully.

And they are so powerful. And the one that we're noticing

this morning is certainly no exception.

Want to give a little background, a little bit more

background than I usually do too.

The analogy that the the symbol that we're going to be looking

at a very material symbol, but one that carries such spiritual

weight and is used. So in so many places in the old,

and as well as the New Testament, we're going to be

talking about this morning is zekiel and drive Bones from

Ezekiel chapter 37, but I want to set this up by noticing how

Ezekiel 37 · chapter mention

God through creation and the critical ongoing need of all,

living things 4. Water sets up so beautifully,

the compelling picture. There, it's amazing.

How many processes on Earth, require water, but we want to

talk for just a couple minutes about our need as human beings.

Are you aware today that 75% of Americans with all that we have

with all of our wealth? Walk around dehydrated and 37%

of Americans. The Thirst mechanism is so weak

that it is often mistaken for Hunger.

Even mild. Dehydration will slow down one's

metabolism as much as 3%. One glass of water will shut

down midnight. Hunger pangs for almost 100% of

the dieters, studied in the University of Washington study.

Yeah, we won't drink enough water.

A lack of water is the number one trigger of daytime fatigue,

preliminary Research indicates that 8 to 10 glasses of water a

day. Could significantly, he's back

and joint pain for up to eighty percent of those who suffer with

those ailments. I'm here, 2% drop and body

water. Can trigger fuzzy, short term,

memory trouble with basic math and difficulty focusing on the

computer screen, or the printed page.

And we don't drink enough water. Drinking five glasses of water,

daily decreases, the risk of colon cancer by 45%.

It can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79% and one is 50

percent less likely to develop bladder cancer.

If they'll do something as simple as drink, five glasses of

water, Funny about us, isn't it? Even though we are aware of the

great physical need that we have for water.

And we're aware of the physical benefits of water.

Many of us will stubbornly go through our lives.

Maybe our entire lives refusing, to increase our water

consumption. We're not going to drink more

water. We're not going to do it doesn't

matter what it means or what the benefits might be.

And you know what? As we're going to see.

That's true spiritually, too. We need, we know we need the

Living Water to be what we need to be. but we avoided We don't

get enough dehydration symptoms generally become noticeable,

after two percent of one's normal water.

Volume has been lost. And initially, of course, when

experiences thirst and discomfort, then eventually,

there is a loss of appetite and dry skin athletes may suffer a

loss of performance of up to 50% with dehydration.

They may experience flushing low endurance, rapid heart rates and

elevated body temperature, and then a rapid onset of fatigue

symptoms becoming increasingly severe with greater what water

loss, once heart and respiratory rates.

Begin to increase the body, temperature continues to rise.

Because of decreased sweating at around five to six percent water

loss. One might become groggy or

extremely sleepy experience headaches, dizziness nausea

seizures fainting. Sunken eyes and may feel

tingling in one's limbs with 10 to 15% fluid loss, muscles

become spastic, Shin skin, May shrivel and wrinkle Vision made

them and then delirium sets in losses.

Greater than 15% are usually fatal.

Judge Lynch of the Massachusetts Supreme, Judicial Court, argued

that death by dehydration was cruel and violent.

In his opinion, in a 1986 case reminds me of Psalm 22, reminds

me of the was a prophecy of the crucifixion.

Some of the things that Jesus experienced, remember what he

said on the cross at one point. I thirst.

This is part of what made? What Jesus went through.

So agonizing and so cruel. That reminds me of Psalm 22, but

listen to this, the process of death by dehydration part of

what happened to Jesus, the mouth dries out and becomes

caked, or coated with thick material.

The lips become parched and cracked the tongue swells and

might crack the eyes recede back into their orbits and the cheeks

become Hollow. The lining of the nose May Crack

and cause the nose to bleed. The skin will hang loose on the

body and become dry and scaling. The bladder will Burn the

stomach lining dries out in the sufferer will experience dry

heaves. And perhaps vomiting the body

temperature becomes very high, the brain cells dry out causing

convulsions, the respiratory tract will dry out and the thick

secretions that would result could plug the lungs and cause

death. At some point, within five days

to three weeks. The major organs, including the

lungs heart, and brain would give out and the patient died.

No one normally lives more than about five or six days without

water. Rather, lengthy discussion on

water and our need for water, and the effects of not having

water, I think it's important. Are you thirsty yet?

Go with me to Ezekiel chapter 37.

Ezekiel 37 · chapter mention

Keeping this in mind. When it comes to physical

dehydration, one of the greatest one of the greatest dangers

about dehydration is that people are often unaware when they

become dehydrated and you probably heard this said to, if

you wait till you get thirsty to start drinking water, you're

probably already dehydrated. Keep that in mind because that's

what happens to us, spiritually. Before we know it, we are

spiritually dehydrated. And we're in danger, and the

devil has got as it were his hand around our throat and we're

not aware of it. Ezekiel 37.

Read with me this very interesting.

Fascinating Passage. The hand of the Lord Came Upon

me and brought me out in the spirit of the Lord and said me

out in the midst of the valley. And it was full of Bones.

Imagine that this this massive ossuary above-ground graveyard

if you please. Can you imagine as a preacher?

What is God doing with me? Taking me to this place, whether

it's in Vision or actual a real-life place or some

discussion over that God's taking you there.

But it's giving me the creeps. What am I?

What am I here for? What are we doing?

God. Read on verse two, then he

caused me to pass by them all around.

And behold there were very many in the open Valley and indeed

they were very dry. So it didn't just take the

preacher. The prophet to this valley of

dry, bones and said, look at it, but he has him walk all around.

These bones and has him noticed that they're dry and they're not

just dry, they're very dry. Verse 3.

And he said to me, son of man. Can these bones live?

I imagine Ezekiel be like most of us.

He doesn't know what's going on. He doesn't understand and maybe

doesn't know exactly what the right answer is.

So I answered O Lord God you know, verse 4.

Again he said to me prophesy to these bones.

So first he's he's taking his equal to this place and he's had

him walk all around these bones. Yes, Lord I see they're dry and

they're very dry. But now he wants the preacher to

preach to the dry bones but like any man of faith and strange

having a request is this is he's going to preach, he's going to

preach exactly what God tells him to preach.

He's going to preach the word. And say to them old dry bones,

hear the word of the Lord, thus says, the Lord God of these

bones. Surely, I will cause breath to

enter into you and you shall live.

I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon.

You cover you with skin and put breath in you and you shall

live. Then you shall know that I am

the Lord. Quickly on the messages, we get

in this story is that God could bring the spiritually dead to

life talking about is will see shortly.

These are God's people but God's people can dry up and need to be

brought back to life and God can do that.

The Sadducees you remember supposed to believe in God

supposed to believe in the Old Testament?

They denied that God could bring the dead back to life, but it's

quite clear here. Oh, yes.

God can do this. So, I prophesied as I was

commanded and as I prophesied there was a noise and suddenly a

rattling and the bones came together, bone to bone.

I see here, also the idea of division and, and within the

body, things being healed in a bringing together.

Indeed, as I look the sinews, and the flesh come upon them and

the skin covered them over, but there was no breath in them.

The bodies had flesh, they had muscle, but they weren't alive.

Also, he said to me, prophesy to the breath prophesy, son of man.

And say to the breath, thus says, the Lord God come from the

Four Winds o breath and breathe on these slain that they may

live. So, I prophesied, as he

commanded me and breath came into them and they lived and

stood upon their feet, an exceedingly, great Army.

This suggests to me. what God can do with so little And with

something that seems so weak and so powerless it suggests to me

potential and it suggests to me the potential Within Me and the

potential within you and the potential within us all of us

together. We can be like a great Army.

And God can do that through your weakness and through my

weakness. He did it here with just a pile

of dry bones verse 11, then he said to me, son of man, these

bones are the whole house of Israel.

That's right. That's God's people, these

represent and this story represents the people of God.

They weren't like they were supposed to be.

They weren't living. Like they were supposed to be

God, wasn't the center of their lives.

Oh, they were God's people. They were the chosen people but

they weren't living like it. They were so caught up in the

things around them, the world that to God, they were like dry

bones. They indeed, say, our bones are

dry. Our hope is lost and we

ourselves are cut off. They were discouraged, they were

downtrodden. They were depressed.

No wonder they had straight away from the Lord therefore prophesy

and say to them. Thus says the Lord God, behold

on my people, I will open your Graves and cause you to come up

from your Graves and bring you into the land of Israel.

Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

When I have opened your Graves on my people and brought you up

from In your Graves. Listen here, verse 14.

Certainly speaking about what's going to happen through Jesus,

in the New Testament, I will put my spirit in you and you shall

live. I will place you in your own

land, and you shall know that I, the Lord have spoken it and

performed it says the Lord. What a beautiful passage power.

There's power in that inspirational, isn't it?

This morning brother sister, are you?

Dry. I'm asking myself.

I need to ask myself. We need to ask ourselves about

that from time to time. How are we doing spiritually?

I'm not talking about some superficial check, we do that

sometimes. We need to do a complete

physical on our spiritual selves.

Call it a spiritual if you will, but we need to do it when you

take a deep look inside, we need to take a close look at where

we're at and in which direction we're going.

As one man, put it it's important where you are today

and it is and it's great that you're here at the house of the

Lord. It's important where you are but

it's more important. What's more important is the

direction in which you were headed, where you go, are you

dry this morning again? One of the greatest dangers of

dehydration is that people are often unaware that they are

becoming dehydrated and you could be dehydrated this morning

spiritually dying. And not be aware of what is

happening. Or adversary, Satan wants to

fill you up with the saltwater of sin, the lust of the eyes,

the lust of the Flesh and the pride of life.

He wants to suck the life, spiritual it right out of you.

And some Christians today and maybe some that are here today

are allowing the Devil to do just that the devil wants you to

become so self-absorbed. And all this world has to offer

that. You forget about what really

matters and then to you neglect, who and what you should be

focused on this morning. There may be Christians in this

room who were just like that pile of dry bones.

And when God looks at you, He sees nothing but dry bones,

bones that are very dry. What are some of the symptoms?

if you have dry bones this morning, there's your life seem

empty. Hopeless dry has your

relationship with God. Dried up your relationship with

your brothers and sisters. How is that?

This morning? That's a symptom.

If you don't see your brothers and sisters during the week, if

you don't talk to them, if you don't communicate with them, if

you don't have a relationship with them, it's a symptom, your

bones are going dry, you're becoming dehydrated if you're

dry it. Maybe because you haven't been

to the Fountain lately, you may be suffering from dryness and

spiritual stagnation, your spiritual life, may be as dry.

And lifeless as the Sahara Desert, you may be suffering

from From emptiness and spiritual dehydration.

And what I'm asking you this morning is when was the last

time that you and your private life in your prayer closet, so,

to speak poured out, your heart to God In Prayer, Not just going

through the rituals not just saying that same recorded prayer

that you've got memorized. But I mean, pouring out your

heart to God not just going through the motions But your

heart was totally centered on the Beauty and the benefits of

talking to God in prayer and of what he's done for you and for

your family through Jesus Christ.

If it's been a while, no wonder, you feel dry, no wonder, you

feel empty people of Israel. The house of Israel knew that

something was wrong. They just didn't know what to do

to fix it. They'd become nothing more than

just a pile of dry bones. They were just a bunch of

spiritual skeletons up, a big pile of skulls and crossbones.

The devil had his mark on them and they never even knew what

was going on. They got to the point where they

weren't doing anything because they couldn't do anything.

How is it with you today? Have you dried up

evangelistically? Meeting starts today.

There, maybe even somebody here. Who'd forgot.

There was even a meeting going on this week.

That happens a couple times, maybe more in a congregation.

This should be one of the highlights of our year because

the church this this shining bright light this light house.

If you please that keeps the light shining throughout the

year is now focused on this week.

For these eight days, we are going to shine the light

brighter and in a more concentrated fashion than we

have done. Everybody needs to be a part of

that. But you can be a part of that,

what you've been thinking about the last week and last few

weeks, I know some of you because I've heard from you,

this is the highlight of the month.

One of the highlights of this season is getting ready for this

meeting. Going to talk to people been

talking to people about the meeting, going to invite people

going to bring people to the meeting.

Those people back then they couldn't Influence People.

They couldn't even influence their own children because they

were just a big pile of calcified clubs exposed for all

to see. And if it's been a while, since

you poured out, your heart and prayer.

And if you're not praying without ceasing and you you were

dry. You are dehydrated, whether you

know it or not, you need to go to the rock.

You need some Living Water. How do you know if your dry?

How do you know if you're spiritually dehydrated Check

what you're doing. when you're not working, and when you're not

sleeping, If you're working over those 50 or 60 hours a week,

you're probably working too much.

Where's the Lord fit in to your time?

What are you doing during your what we call sometimes free

time? So many Christians are just

wandering and stumbling about in a desert of selfishness and

slothfulness, why are we growing in some congregation?

You've been growing here, but you could probably grow more.

If more people were on fire, like they should be and many

congregation. There are members of the Lord's

Church who wouldn't attend a regular weekly Bible study.

If the Apostle Paul was there to conduct it.

That's dry. That's dry, brother, that's dry

sister, and in most congregations, there are

Christians. So, busy going about With other

things in life. So busy gorging themselves,

spiritually, speaking on the carbonated caffeinated, corn

syrup e, colas of this world that they can't make time for

any more than just a sip or two of Living Water on Sunday

morning brother sister. If that's you, you're dry, you

need to do something about that, you're dehydrating yourself

spiritually. When you look in the mirror this

morning, You probably look the same way you did last week last

year, but there may be a different you today than there

was last year or a few years ago you're changing on the outside.

You may look the same but your soul is shrinking, it shriveling

up because you've not had the Living Water.

You're not getting to the Living Water.

Like you need to. You need to go to the well.

You better get back to the well soon before.

It's too late. While he can make your dry bones

live. How many people here today?

Have been saying, you know what? I really need to start reading

the Bible every day. How many times that happened

during a meeting? Or maybe a cyst?

Maybe a brother has a shared with you from the pulpit and

probably, you know, when you start reading the Bible daily

and you say yeah you know that's right and you start up and you

go for a week or two or maybe three weeks and you go back to

the same old self. We need to stick with it.

There's some things that you knew, you know, you need to be

doing you to get at it. You stay with it.

You stay keep feeding yourself, feeling yourself.

With the Water of Life. There's somebody here.

Maybe today. Who's been saying, you know, one

of these days. How do you obey the gospel?

I need to get my sins washed away.

I need to get in the water but you've been putting it off.

You take care of that, you take care of that today, there's

probably somebody here that in some other way, there's some

things going on in your life that are wrong that you need to

fix and you know, you need to fix them.

You just say well I'm going to take care of that one of these

days. Days.

You need to turn that one of these days into today.

You need to come to the Fountain.

You need to come for The Living, Water need to stop playing games

with God, and get to the Fountain.

Let's go back to our text verse 2.

Back to Ezekiel, 37 verse 2. Then he caused me to pass by

Ezekiel 37:2

them all around. And behold there were very many

in the open Valley. And indeed, they were very dry.

I get the idea here that when we're dry that we discuss God,

we disappoint God, we upset God, we disappoint, Jesus verse 3,

And he said to me, son of man can these bones live?

So I answered O Lord God, you know.

The preachers optimistic. If God says, these bones are

going to live, he believes it, but from where he look, he's

looking these bones are awful, dry, you know, God you tell me,

It's our job as leaders and teachers spiritual leaders as in

our homes, father's to be optimistic and to be positive

and stretch forward and reach forward.

Ephesians 3 verse 21 says that you're able to do exceedingly,

Ephesians 3:21

God is able to do in you exceedingly, abundantly above

all that we ask or think. Are you weak today?

God wants you, strong Ephesians 6, verse 12.

Ephesians 6:12

He didn't want you to be a Christian wants to be a strong

Christian, and he can make you a strong Christian.

If you let him Why are you so dry today?

If you're dry, you have a dead marriage.

Is your marriage dying? God doesn't want it that way.

You know, the world is overrun with divorce adultery divorce,

remarriage and divorce, and remarriage and divorce.

And remarriage, that's not God's way.

But sometimes in our homes, we think we're, okay?

As long as we're still married, But a relationship is dying or

dead. That's not God's way either,

that's not the way God ever intended for it to be.

And if that's the way it is in your marriage, your bones are

dry. Need to go to the well, What

about your relationships within the body?

Some people, some people say, well, I just don't feel like I'm

a part. I feel like I've kind of been

pushed out to the edge. I don't feel like I'm a member

of the body. And sometimes when I watch and

when I listen to way people, behave and interact with their

brothers and sisters, I'm not surprised the way they feel that

way. Need to go to the well, Matthew

Matthew 7:12

7 verse 12, The Golden Rule. Do you treat your brother the

way you want to be treated? You talk to them, your sister,

the way you want them to talk to you, sometimes.

We don't, no wonder our relationships are dying.

If you don't want others to be hypercritical of you, if you

don't want others to be backbiting about you or on, you

don't do that to them. How are you treating other

people? Do you just use people, or do

you really care? If you invest your lives in

other people, do you support them?

Do you help them? If not, you're dry, it's not

what Jesus wants out of you. God looks down, he sees dry

bones and he's disappointed and he's disgusting.

Go to the well are you cuddling sin this morning, is there some

begetting sin that like a blood sucking leech is sucking the

life right out of you? I can kill a marriage, it can

kill any relationship with your brother or sister, you need to

repent if that's you this morning.

You need to repent of your dry, bone ways and come to the

fountain. Know this.

It's Disobedience that creates dissing.

You feel like you're distant from God.

You feel like he's not really with you.

It's Disobedience somewhere in your life, distance creates

dryness and drifting and backsliding.

If you're dry this morning, it may very well be because there's

too much distance between you and God.

You got to get the sin out, you got to get the sin out of your

life and Let Jesus come in. Most dead bones will rise.

We all have dry moments, but if you're living in the valley of

dry bones, if you've lost the joy of your salvation, if

dryness is the rule and rejoicing is the exception, it's

probably because their sin somewhere in your life, maybe

there's a relationship that, you know, you need to do something

to fix and you've not done it. You've been stubborn, you've

been proud. I like the way Tony Evans

elaborated on this idea. He says Pluto is the ninth

planet from the sun and it's cold on Pluto.

It's so cold because it's so far from the Sun s un Distance makes

us cold Mercury is so hot because it's so close to the

Sun. Our distance to the Sun.

Affects our temperature and that's true.

Also spiritually, the closer you are to the Sun.

S 0n, the warmer you become How warmer you, how warm are you

toward the members of the family of God, that's an indication of

how close you are to the Sun. The question, we're asking this

morning is, do you have the living water?

Do you have Jesus? And are you feeling yourself up

with Jesus Christ? His word?

His will and his ways. If not brother or sister, you

are spiritually, spiritually, dehydrated, your dry, your dry

bones. And that's not what God wants

you to be, but you don't have to be that way.

You don't have to die, you can come to Jesus Christ.

There's a happy. Ending to the story, no matter.

How dry you are, no matter how dehydrated you are, no matter

how deep you are in the valley of dry bones, or how long you've

been there, God can bring you back.

God could put flesh on you, spiritually speaking.

He can put the breath back in. You, he can set you on higher

ground and you can go back to the Fountain.

If you just decide that you will listen to John 4 verse 14, Jesus

John 4:14

speaking. But whoever drinks of the water

that I shall give him will never thirst.

But the water that I shall give him will become a fountain of

water springing up. And everlasting God.

God wants for you to have the Abundant Life, The Good Life.

If that's not the way your life is.

If you're dry. Because you need to go to the

Fountain. You need to go to the well,

Something else you're talking about, dryness dehydration,

there are people today pulpits in this city on televisions and

on radio stations. Who are dehydrating The Plan of

Salvation taking the water right out of the Plan of Salvation.

You know what? That's like.

You know how effective that is? And taking care of sin.

I'll tell you how effective that is.

That's like you going home today and you putting in a load of

laundry and do your washing machine and you unhooking the

water. What's gonna happen?

You know, how to get those stains out.

And when you take water out of the Plan of Salvation, you can

be sure you're not going to get the stains of sin out of your

life. That's what's going on in the

world today, that won't work. You got to put the water in

Jesus said in John 3 verse 5 except a man be born of water

John 3:5

and of the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

There's water in the plant can any man forbid water.

See here is water. What doth hinder me to be

baptized? There's water in the Plan of

Salvation. So if you have per ticket per

taken of one of these plans of Salvation that is taken the

water out. That's no good.

The stain of sin is still there. Need to go to the fountain.

Need to go to the water. You'd have your sins washed away

and the watery grave of baptism. Even the Apostle Paul had to go

that route and Acts 22:16. He was told and now why tarriest

Acts 22:16

thou arise and be baptized and wash away?

Your sins? Calling on the name of the Lord

if you're dry this morning. Maybe because You're still not a

Christian. You tried to get saved at some

point in your life, but somebody took the water out, put the

water in, then you get in the water wash.

Those sins away, gotta put the Flesh on those bones.

Put the breath in your life. You can be alive and you can

serve God and you can please God and you can stay At the

fountain, there's someone here this morning who straight away

from God. Who's left, the fold won't you

come back? Get the sin out of your life?

If you've never become a Christian, you've tried some

kind of substitute or shortcut Plan of Salvation, come to the

water. The water, the spirit and the

blood. The Bible says, in first John

five or six through eight, the water spirit and the blood.

These are the three witness they'll bear testimony to your

salvation. We thank you for listening to

our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.

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Our service times are on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and

Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. Please make plans to join us.

We would love for you to be our honored guest.