He is risen! Welcome to our sunrise service,
everybody. It's a blessing to see you here at
the crack of dawn, but this is a wonderful, wonderful
opportunity to get together and to celebrate
our risen Lord as the sun is rising on this morning,
that we remember what he did in defeating death.
I want to ask you a question. Have you ever had
the breath knocked out of you? That way where
you can't breathe, you feel like you're going
to die in a moment. That happened to me once
when I was a kid. I was a skater and I was skateboarding
down the sidewalk, hit something and then flew
forward onto the ground. And it was one of those
moments where the sidewalk squares were pushed
up and I fell on my ribs right on the edge of
that sidewalk square and knocked the breath out
of me. You know, the pain was... So incredible.
It shot through my whole body. I thought I was
going to explode from the shock of the pain,
and I couldn't breathe. I was trying to catch
my breath, and it just wouldn't come. And then
I started to freak out a little bit because I
thought, well, if I can't breathe, I'm going
to die. Now, eventually, after a few moments,
my breath came back. I was able to take a breath,
but I found out right away I couldn't take a
full breath. Because it was incredibly painful
for I had cracked my ribs and simply the pain
of taking a breath and expanding my rib cage
was excruciating. And so for weeks, I had to
breathe very shallowly to allow my ribs to heal
under a lot of pain medication. And, you know,
it was at that point I learned that there's nothing
like not being able to breathe to put the fear
of death into you. Now, many of us may take...
breath and breathing for granted because our
body just does it. We don't have to think about
breathing. We don't have to think about taking
breath in. And so it just happens. It happens
when we sleep. It happens when we're doing whatever
we're doing. Now, not being able to breathe,
well, if there's no breath, there's no life.
And numerous times throughout Scripture, we read
that as the moment of death is described, it
says they took their last breath. In fact, when
Jesus died on the cross in the Gospels of Mark
and Luke, it tells us at the moment his death,
quote, Jesus breathed his last. So consequently,
the return of breath would equal the return of
life. Revelation 11, 11, speaking of the two
witnesses who are going to be on the scene during
those times after they are killed by the beast
and left on the sidewalk to rot, it says, but
after three and a half days, the breath of life
from God entered them, and they stood on their
feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
You see, the breath of life is something the
Bible talks about. It is the thing, the very
thing that gave us life. As God in Genesis 2
-7, it says, He formed man out of the dust from
the ground and breathed the breath of life into
his nostrils, and man became a living being.
You know, it's that breath of God that brought
life to us originally. It's that breath of God
that gives life to us now, and it's that breath
of God, the Spirit of God, the life of God that
rose Jesus Christ from the dead. after he suffered
and died a horrific death on the cross and went
into the grave buried for three days, buried
in that place that represents everything the
darkness of our lives is, the grave that represented
the whole death has on us. Because we know that
every single one of us are going to physically
die one day, but the truth of Scripture is that
our souls will go on. And if our souls are not
saved, if we do not know Jesus Christ as our
Lord and Savior, His resurrection is not applied
to our lives, and we will suffer what the Bible
calls the second death. But there's a lot the
Bible has to say about God's animating power,
and I want to read kind of an unusual scripture
for this morning out of Ezekiel chapter 37, because
it is a great picture of what God did this resurrection
morning when he brought Jesus Christ back to
life. It says in Ezekiel 37 verse 1, the hand
of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out
by his spirit and set me down in the middle of
the valley. It was full of bones. He led me all
around them. There were a great many of them
on the surface of the valley, and they were very
dry. Then he said to me, Son of man, can these
bones live? And I replied, Lord God, only you
know. Let's pray. Father, we're so glad to be
here to celebrate your resurrection this morning,
Lord. God, your death on the cross did did so
much, Lord. It did more than we could even possibly
imagine, Lord, that you paid the price for our
sin. But God, you didn't just die and pay our
price and leave us in bondage. But Lord, you
defeated death by coming back to life. And Lord,
this Easter morning, we celebrate that moment
when the women went to the tomb and they found
that tomb empty. Lord, and they ran and told
the disciples what they had seen, and the disciples
couldn't believe it. And Peter and John ran to
the tomb themselves to see that the tomb was
indeed empty. God, the power you have to bring
life to death means everything. It is the hope
we have, God, because, Lord, in our sin, we are
dead, dry bones. And God, you are the only one
that can bring life where there is death. And
so, Lord, we celebrate you this morning, God.
We want to just celebrate everything that this
day means, Lord, and to celebrate you, God Almighty,
the bringer of life, the Savior of our souls.
We love you so much, and we thank you. It's in
Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, obviously, the
book of Ezekiel, it was written by the prophet
Ezekiel, and it was his story. You know, here
in Ezekiel 37, it says that he was led by the
Spirit of the Lord to a valley of death. This
valley that had the remains of humanity scattered
about, a picture that is just reflective of mankind
outside of Christ. Mankind due to the curse of
sin that death is upon us, and it's just a place
full of bones. It says dead dry bones. And in
Scripture, throughout Scripture, as you study,
you might see that bare bones, bones, dry bones,
anything like this, are often used to express
a physical weakness, a spiritual weakness, a
death, if you will. And we find these things
in Isaiah and Job and other places. But in ancient
Israel, in the law, it was considered... against
the law to come in contact with any type of dead
body because the fear was is that it would contaminate
you. That which has caused those bones to die
would then contaminate you and cause you to die
as well. And so the scene here that Ezekiel is
being shown by God is one of lifelessness, one
of breathlessness, one of hopelessness. Much
like the places we talked about on Good Friday,
caves, tombs, graves. When we think of places
like this, We think of death. We think of the
end. We think of finality. We think it's over.
That whatever hopes and dreams existed prior
to that are done. They cannot come to be. Now
in this particular instance for Ezekiel, it tells
us later that these dry bones, this valley was
representative of the whole house of Israel,
God's chosen people at that time who had the
internal idea that there's no hope. They had
no hope, and the reason was very stark. It's
because they had defied the temple. They had
ignored the holiness of God's sanctuary. And
so thus, in their history, at that point, the
glory of God had been removed from Jerusalem,
the holy city of God. And we know that in the
New Testament, we are told that our bodies, our
lives, are the temple of the Holy Spirit, are
meant to be the place where God's Spirit dwells,
bringing life and hope. But because of sin, we're
separated from him. So this place that Ezekiel
was standing in was dead. The people felt like
they were dead. The people felt separated from
God, completely disconnected from him. And for
them, it was like having the breath knocked out
of their lives, that they were breathless. Dry,
dead, hopeless. But this is exactly where the
Spirit of God wants to do its work. This is exactly
where God likes to come in and do what only God
can do. Those times when we think there's no
hope. Those times where we're like, it's done.
It's over. Nothing else could happen. This is
what the women thought when they went to the
tomb Easter Sunday morning. That's what the disciples
were up in their room thinking. It's done. There
is no hope. This man we had put our faith in,
our trust in, our hope in, he's dead. And death
is final. Everybody knows that. I mean, sure,
maybe there was a glimmer of hope because this
dude Lazarus had just come back from the dead
a number of days earlier, but the guy who did
it is dead. What can happen if the bringer of
life has himself died? But it's those times where
there's no possibility. We look around, we see
no breath, no life. We look around and wonder,
can life exist in this place of death? Can life
be here? We look at ourselves at times, and especially
before we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior,
and the question is, can these dry bones live?
Because there is so much death involved with
sin. Many of us have found ourselves in these
breathless situations in our lives, and we think
a solution is absolutely impossible. There is
no way. Maybe it's reconciliation in relationships
is impossible. Maybe it is a heart that is no
longer selfish and wicked, and to see that change,
it feels like it's impossible. Maybe it's healing
in our lives, and we feel like it's impossible,
but that is exactly when God loves to work. You
see, physically, we as humans, we need breath
to live. Easter is about breath. Easter is about
God's breath, his spirit, his life. And that's
what we're celebrating today. Now, in Ezekiel
37, as much as death is prevalent on the scene,
breath is all over this story. Read with me in
Ezekiel 37 .4. He said to me, prophesy concerning
these bones and say to them, dry bones, hear
the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord God
says to these bones. I will cause breath to enter
you and you will live. I will put tendons on
you and make flesh grow on you and cover you
with skin. I will put breath in you so that you
come to life and then you will know that I am
the Lord. The Hebrew word for breath is the same
word for wind, the wind that blows. It's also
the same word for spirit. It's a Hebrew word
that's pronounced, I think, ruach. Ruach. And
it refers to the breathing that we have, which
is life. But it also refers to the Spirit of
God. And so when we read phrases in Scripture
that say the breath of God, we could also be
saying at the same time the Spirit of God. And
here in Ezekiel, we see this promise from God.
He says, I will cause. I will put breath in you
so that you come to life. Why is that important?
Because only the one with power over death can
cancel death and give life. The creator, the
one who created life and death, the one who breathed
life into us originally is the only one that
has the power over life and death. Read with
me again, Ezekiel 37 .7. So I prophesied as I
had been commanded. While I was prophesying,
there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the
bones came together bone to bone. As I looked,
tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin
covered them, but there was no breath in them.
You see, a body, a physical body without breath
has no life. It's just a body. That's how it
was in the beginning when God formed us out of
the dust. We were just a body without life, without
animation. without identity, without a sense
of self, without emotion. And it wasn't until
God breathed into the nostrils of man that we
were made alive. But verse 9, he said to me,
prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man,
and say to it, this is what the Lord God says,
breath. Come from the four winds and breathe
into these slain so that they may live. So I
prophesied as he commanded me. The breath entered
them and they came to life and stood on their
feet, a vast army. The spirit of God, the breath
of God, the breath of life for these dry bones
in Ezekiel 37, for the dead body of Jesus Christ,
for the dead spirits within us. It is everything.
It is everything. You know, 50 days from Easter
is the day we celebrate as Pentecost. Pentecost
is really the culmination of the Easter season,
and it celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit
upon God's people, all of God's people, as we
read in the book of Acts. It's the Spirit that
fell upon them, the Holy Spirit. That Spirit
is the Spirit of resurrection. That spirit is
the spirit of new life. That spirit is the spirit
of Easter hope, and that is the spirit, the third
person of the Trinity, the breath of life that
entered the tomb where Jesus' body lay and entered
into him as the breath of life, bringing his
dead body back from death, bringing life back
to him. It was a reenactment of the very first
act of creation wherein God gave life to humanity.
God restored and returned the life that humanity
gave up when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden.
It's the life that Jesus gave up when he died
because we read in the Gospels as well that at
the point of Jesus' death, it says he bowed his
head and he gave up his spirit. But three days
later, that spirit came back. He was made alive
again. And throughout Ezekiel 37, each time you
see the word breath, each time you see the word
spirit mentioned, right after those words, it
says you will live. You may live. You'll come
to life. They came to life. We have to understand
the connection. That God, the one who gave life,
the one who could take life, is the one who can
restore life. It's only in him and through him.
Nothing else. Verse 11, Ezekiel 37. Then he said
to me, son of man, these bones are the whole
house of Israel. Look how they say our bones
are dried up and our hope has perished. We are
cut off. Therefore prophesy and say to them,
this is what the Lord God says. I am going to
open your graves and bring you up from them.
my people, and lead you into the land of Israel.
You will know that I am the Lord, my people,
when I open your graves and bring you up from
them. I will put my spirit in you and you will
live. And he just said earlier, I will put my
breath in you and you will live. I will settle
you in your own land and then you will know that
I am the Lord. I have spoken. I will do it. This
is the declaration of the Lord. That is our hope,
that God wants to bring new life. God wants to
save us from the grave, from the power of death,
the power of sin. He wants to save us from those
things, and that is why this weekend happened
2 ,000 years ago. He came to die on the cross
to pay the price for our sin, but he didn't leave
us locked up in the prison. You see, when we
think of the graves and our tombs and the dark
caves of death and despair, when we think of
the grave that our Lord Jesus Christ was laid
in after he died on the cross, after breathing
his last, those places that also represent our
spiritual confinement, our imprisonment, our
judgment, that grave, that place of death, that
place of restriction, That place of condemnation
and judgment, that place of hopelessness is the
place that the Spirit of God, the breath of God,
the breath of life went into and returned life
to the dead body of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God. Raising him from the dead, giving him a
victory over sin and death, conquering its powers,
its controls, its sting. Why? Because the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ for sin was acceptable to God.
He was the only sinless one. He was the only
pure and spotless one. And so his death, his
blood shed, God accepted to pay the price for
sin. And so new life could begin. It is that
moment where the breath of God enters into us
that our lives are forever changed. We are changed.
Because we follow the one who was brought back
to life. We follow the one who suffered our death,
who went and faced death head on and defeated
it. He arose. Jesus is alive. He is alive forevermore.
Because he is alive, we can be alive. It's because
he died our death and was buried in our grave,
because life came back to him, raising him from
the dead, because he walked out of the grave,
out of the darkness, alive forevermore. Because
of that, we, through faith in him, get the opportunity
to be forgiven of our sin, to be set free from
the chains of sin and death, to be given the
breath of life, the Spirit of God. born again
to new life now and forevermore, following after
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That changed
everything. That is the very foundation of why
we are saved, why we are alive, why we get to
live new life now and to have the hope of eternal
life later. It's because he died and because
he was risen from the dead. Jesus is risen. He
is risen. Amen. Know him. Trust him. Rest in
him. And take a breath. For you too are resurrected
through Jesus Christ and what he has done. Let's
pray. Father God, we love you so much. Lord,
the very breath in our lungs is proof that you
are God. that you are real. Lord, the very breath
we breathe, Lord, but it's not just a physical
thing, God. It's a spiritual thing. Lord, that
when you gave breath to our bodies, God, we had
a soul and we had a spirit, but that spirit died
when we sinned against you. And thus, Lord, we
found ourselves shackled by sin and death. In
the chains of darkness, Lord, under a death sentence,
knowing that our physical bodies would die, but
Lord, without you, our spirits would die. The
spirit that you gave us, Lord, died when we sinned,
but the soul that goes on, Lord, would be separated
from you forever. And God, you were not okay
with that. So you did the work. You paid the
price. But God, you did what only you could do,
what only God Almighty could do, come back from
the dead, defeat the power of death forever so
that whosoever would put their faith in you would
not die but have eternal life. God, we're so
grateful for you. This morning we glorify your
name. We lift you up on high. We celebrate as
those women did that saw the empty tomb and were
so excited, the tomb is not here, why? Or that
Jesus is not in the tomb. The angels said so.
And God, if some of us are like Peter and John,
doubting, Lord, may we see the risen Christ in
our life. May we see that you are alive, and
therefore we are alive through our faith in you.
Help us to be people who live alive, to not live
death, but to live in the reality that that grave
is empty, that tomb is empty, because you walked
out of it. And we walk in that same strength
and that same power. God, we love you so much.
We are so thankful for you. Lord, we want to
conclude today this service, Lord, just by worshiping
your holy name. because, God, Jesus, you are
worth worship. You are worth our time, our attention.
You are worth everything, God. You are so worthy
because of how glorious you are. So, Lord, we
ask that you be blessed this morning as we praise
your name and celebrate you and what you did
for us. We love you so much. It's in Jesus' name
we pray. Amen. Let's worship, church.