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This fall we’re talking about SANCTIFICATION = how God works to change you, a sinner, and make you more holy in your heart and in your actions.
Let’s read about this crazy vision given to an Old Testament prophet in Ezekiel 37
[Ezekiel 37]In the Old Testament, God comes to the prophet Ezekiel and gives him a vision of a valley full of dead bodies. But it’s not just dead bodies, it’s skeletons, millions of skeletons and dried up bones filling this valley. God tells Ezekiel that is a picture of what his people Israel are really like because of their sin. They may be physically alive but spiritually they’re dead bones.
Is sin just a problem for Old Testament Israel?
Israel dead in sin is really a picture of the problem for all of mankind. We’re all spiritually dead because of sin. We’re all skeletons filling a valley, just millions of dry bones.
So what do we do? How do skeletons and dry bones fix their situation and come back to life? If you’re dead what can you do to make yourself undead and come back to life?
Nothing! If you’re dead you can’t do anything for yourself.
But who can do something about death?
It’s God who makes these dry bones come to life again. It’s God who puts muscle and skin back on the bones. It’s God who breathes new life back into these dead bodies. And that breath is the Holy Spirit. This freaky vision that God gives Ezekiel is a metaphor, a picture of our salvation and new life.
Does sin make us sick or dead?
[Application] Sin doesn’t make us sick. Sin makes us dead - sin makes us dry bones. We’re not just hurting and we need a little bit of help from God. We are actually dead and we need God to be gracious toward sinners and bring us back from the dead by the power of his Holy Spirit.
[Not Sanctification] Remember in our past lessons we said: salvation by grace and God forgiving your sins does not mean you can live however you want - you do have to change.
BUT we also said that sanctification-change is not by the Law. Some people make the mistake of thinking, “God’s job is to forgive our sins AND our job is to make ourselves more holy by following God’s commandments.”BUT the Law cannot sanctify you and change you because the Law cannot change your heart or your desires.
What does have the power to change us? Or, WHO has the power to change us?
[Sanctification By Work of Spirit] This vision tells us we need God to make us alive again spiritually and that it is the Holy Spirit that makes us alive and then changes us.
Sanctification is a gracious work that God does himself. We don’t deserve sanctification but because of Jesus’life and death for our sins - God doesn’t just stop at forgiving us. He also works in us to change us to make us more and more holy.
So Jesus puts his Holy Spirit in us. You have nothing less than God the Holy Spirit at work in you to change you!
Does every Christian have the Holy Spirit?
Can you know if the Holy Spirit lives in you?
If you believe in Jesus, and if you love him and love those Jesus loves - you have the Holy Spirit.
Who helps us turn away from our sin and believe in Jesus?
Who shows us our sin and need of Jesus?
Once we believe in Jesus, who makes us look more and more like Jesus?
Who gives us power to love all kinds of people, even really annoying people?
Who gives us power to share the good news about Jesus with others?
Can the Holy Spirit ever lose you?
So can you ever lose the Holy Spirit?
What does having the Holy Spirit promise us is still to come?
Physical resurrection and heaven and eternal glory and the Holy Spirit will get us through this life and all the way there!
What is something we just learned that we can: 1)praise God for and 2)ask God for?
1 Kevin DeYoung, The Biggest Story Bible Storybook, Chapter 43, The Valley of Dry Bones, Ezekiel 37 226231.