Wednesday, October 19

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Ezekiel 37:1-10

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

Several years ago I was part of a team from FBCG that visited Russia to share ministry with “Transfiguration Baptist Church” – then our “sister church” - in a city called Samara. As part of the trip we were able to make a quick visit to Moscow for some sightseeing, including the opportunity to see Lenin’s Tomb in Red Square.

Now if you have ever visited Lenin’s Tomb you know that the highlight of the visit is not Lenin’s tomb – but Lenin himself! The tomb is small building – kind of like a small museum. But the centerpiece of the tomb is a glass coffin that contains the perfectly preserved body of Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. I remember recognizing immediately the bald head and pointy goatee from photos I had seen in history books. It was a little creepy, but I had to admit that he looked pretty good for a guy who had been dead for 70 years!

But, the truth is, he was still dead.

Read the word of the prophet Ezekiel again:

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” Ezekiel 37:1-10

The prophet is using a spiritual metaphor here, but his words prompt us to ask, “What kind of power makes a dead man live again?” “What kind of power causes a lifeless body to breathe again?”

In the New Testament we read:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4

The death being talked about here is spiritual death, and the life that is promised is spiritual life. The Bible teaches that spiritual death is caused by sin, and that because we all have sinned, we are all just as dead as Lenin’s corpse, spiritually speaking. We may look good on the outside – but we are spiritually dead nonetheless. The Bible also teaches that the only way for the spiritually dead to live again is through the breath, the wind, the power of God – which is available to us through faith in Jesus Christ.

By his own death and resurrection Jesus conquered the power of sin and made available to each one of us his life-giving Spirit. Paul writes:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because though Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2

We can no more make ourselves spiritually alive than Lenin can resuscitate himself and climb out of that glass casket! We can no more forgive our own sin than a breathless body can give herself CPR! Only God can make that which is spiritually dead spiritually alive again. Have you recognized your need for his new life? Have you asked Jesus for his forgiveness and invited him to live in your heart through the Holy Spirit?

If so, thank him for the new life he has given and the eternal life he has promised! If you haven’t yet surrendered your heart to the life-giving power of Jesus – you can do so today!

Pastor Brian Coffey