Ezekiel | Week 6 | Bill Bush | Full Service

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Overview

67 min

Pastor Bill Bush · Oct 31, 2022 · 5 min read · 67 min listen

Quoting the message: Only God can turn a dead end into the end of death, end quote..

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Scripture in this message

Big Idea

When life feels like a valley of dry bones — hopeless, dead, over — that's exactly where God shows up. Through Ezekiel's vision of dry bones coming to life, we see that God alone brings life out of hopeless places when we listen to His word, look to His power, and live through His Spirit.

Key points

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1God asks a question that only makes sense if you trust Him
God takes Ezekiel by vision to a valley of dry, sun-bleached bones — the site of Israel's own self-inflicted military defeat — and asks, 'Can these bones become living people again?' Pastor Bill explains the question is worded to imply the answer is no, unless God can do it. Ezekiel's answer, 'You alone know the answer to that,' is really an act of faith, not evasion.
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2Listen to God's word, even when the assignment makes no sense
God tells Ezekiel to preach to a field of dead bones and promise them life — a task that sounds useless after seven years of preaching to unresponsive people. Pastor Bill applies this directly: we stay stuck in 'dry bones mode' when God asks us to do something that doesn't fit our own idea of the solution (give, serve, share our faith) and we refuse because it doesn't seem connected to our actual problem.
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3Look to God's power, and be patient for it
Ezekiel obeys, and bones rattle together into bodies with muscle and skin — but still no breath. Pastor Bill confesses his own impatience (racing to beat a stoplight to save six seconds) as a picture of how Christians want God's power to show up on their own timeline, then give up when it doesn't.
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4Live through God's Spirit — a body without breath still isn't alive
God tells Ezekiel to call breath from the four winds, the same Hebrew word used when God breathed life into Adam. Pastor Bill points out you can have a body in the room (showing up to church) without the Spirit's life in you, and that the reborn army is called back into mission, not into fighting selfish battles.
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5Living by the Spirit means surrender, then armoring up for a real fight
Pastor Bill defines living by the Spirit not as chasing feelings but as surrender, then walks through Ephesians 6's armor of God — belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, gospel shoes, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit — as what surrender looks like in practice. He shares a personal story of unexplained tension with his wife on a retreat that they recognized as a spiritual attack once they stopped and named it.
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6Plant your feet and stand — you have to step up to the plate
Using a baseball illustration about learning to hit a curveball from his mother, Pastor Bill shows that victory requires planting your feet in the gospel, waiting on the Spirit rather than panicking, and choosing to stand firm rather than staying in the outfield refusing to bat.

Application

Pastor Bill's charge is to listen to God's word, look to His power, live through His Spirit, and step up to the plate instead of staying stuck in the outfield.

Do what God actually asked, not your own fix
Stop expecting God's answer to look like your idea of the solution — if He's said give, serve, share your faith, or be a disciple, do that instead of waiting for an answer that fits your own plan.
Wait on God's power instead of quitting early
Notice your own impatience and stop giving up on obedience after one or two tries when the results don't come on your timetable.
Surrender to the Spirit and put on the armor
Trade passive churchgoing for real surrender — put on the belt of truth, the gospel shoes, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and train with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, rather than carrying it unused.
Recognize the unseen fight instead of getting distracted
When conflict or discouragement shows up without a clear cause, stop and consider whether it's a spiritual attack rather than assuming it's just circumstance, and address it with your spouse, family, or church rather than fighting each other.
Plant your feet and step up to bat
Quit staying on defense in the outfield of your own life — plant your feet in the gospel, stand firm, and actively engage the fight instead of waiting it out.

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“So here we are. Ezekiel chapter 37. I feel my voice about to go. Let me take a sip of water”
From the transcript
“So here we are. Ezekiel chapter 37. I feel my voice about to go. Let me take a sip of water. Alright. So hope out of hopelessness. How do you come back from a dead end? How do the cardinals come back from the how far behind they are right now? Anyways, verse one. The Lord took ahold of me, and I was carried away by the spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones”
From the transcript
“He says he says that. So then in verse four, it says, then he said to me, God told him, speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord”
From the transcript
“so I spoke this message just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons”
From the transcript
“Look what it says in verse nine through 14. He said to me, speak a prophetic message to the winds. Son of man, speak this prophetic message and say, this is what the sovereign Lord says, come, o breath, from the four winds. Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again”
From the transcript
“so he says that. And so he goes, so he did it. So I spoke the message, verse 10, as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet, a great army”
From the transcript
“And he talks about it in Ephesians chapter six. Every one of these letters talks about here's what it means that Christ loves you and we're saved from his love, but now we need to learn to live from his love”
Paraphrase of the transcript
And so anyways, he uses this illustration, and here's what he says. He says a final word, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so you'll be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil.
From the transcript
“He says, for we are not fighting against flesh and blood, enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places”
From the transcript
“Therefore, put on all this so you'll able therefore, put on every piece of armor, verse 13, so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle, you will still be standing firm”
From the transcript
“And then finally he says, and take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. We'll come back to that. It's the only offensive weapon we've been given that we need the word of God”
From the transcript
“And then he says, pray in the spirit at all times and on every occasion, stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere”
From the transcript
“And it says in verse 13, When you've done everything you can to stand, the very next word is, he says, Then stand”

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

Day 1

There is something almost cruel about the question God asks Ezekiel in that valley. He walks him through a graveyard of sun-bleached bones — the most hopeless scene imaginable — and then asks, 'Can these bones live?' It is not a trick question. It is an invitation to honest faith. Ezekiel doesn't pretend to have the answer. He doesn't manufacture confidence he doesn't feel. He simply says, 'O Sovereign Lord, You alone know.' That response is not weakness. It is the starting point of every real encounter with God's resurrection power. God brings us to our lowest, most defeated places not to shame us but to ask us the same question: Do you trust Me here, in this? Before any bones rattle, before any breath comes, before anything changes — God is simply asking whether we believe He can. The sermon made this plain: faith doesn't begin when things improve; it begins when we answer that question honestly, even without understanding what comes next. You don't need a plan. You don't need certainty. You need the willingness to say, 'Lord, You know,' and mean it. That posture — humble, honest, open — is where hope takes root, even in the valley.

For reflection

What is the 'valley of dry bones' in your life right now, and have you honestly told God that you don't know the way out but that you trust He does?

Pray

Pray for the honesty and courage to bring your most hopeless situation before God without pretending you have it figured out.

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

This message brought us face to face with a valley of dry bones and asked a simple but unsettling question: do we actually believe God can work in situations that look completely dead?

Discussion questions

1
In Ezekiel 37:1–3, God brings Ezekiel to the valley, shows him the bones, and asks, 'Can these bones become living people again?' What do you think that question is meant to do in Ezekiel — and what might it be meant to do in us?
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In Ezekiel 37:4–6, God tells Ezekiel to speak to the bones before there is any sign of life. What does that kind of obedience — acting on God's Word before we see any evidence it will work — actually require of a person?
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Ezekiel 37:7–8 describes bones coming together and flesh forming, yet the bodies still had no breath. The message drew a line between showing up and actually living through the Spirit. How might a community of people tell the difference between those two things in their own life together?
4
In Ephesians 6:10–12, Paul says the real battle is not against flesh and blood but against powers in the unseen world. The message named distraction as the enemy's primary strategy. What does it look like in everyday life when people are focused on visible conflicts and missing the invisible one?
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Paul describes the sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6:17 as the Word of God — and the message pointed out it is the only offensive weapon in the armor. What would it look like for a group like ours to actually train with that weapon, keep it sharp, and use it rather than just carry it?
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The message moved from Ezekiel's valley to Paul's armor and landed on the idea that God brings life out of hopeless situations, but our response matters. Looking across all three responses the message described — listening, looking with patient faith, and living through the Spirit — where do we tend to get stuck as followers of Jesus, and how might we help one another move forward?

Pray together

Ask God for the faith to obey before we see results, the patience to wait on His timeline, and the courage to armor up and engage the spiritual battle He has already called us into

Ask Rewind about this message

Scripture in this message

Ezekiel | Week 6 | Bill Bush | Full Service

Big Idea

Key points

Application

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

7-day devotional

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Small-group discussion guide

Open

Discussion questions

Pray together

Go deeper

Basics | Week 3 | Message

Evidence of Eternity | Week 3 | Message

Armor of God | Week 5 | Message

Armor of God | Week 4 | Message

Armor of God | Week 3 | Message

Armor of God | Week 2 | Message

Ezekiel | Week 6 | Bill Bush | Full Service

The big idea

Ask Rewind about this message

Scripture in this message

Big Idea

Key points

Application

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

7-day devotional

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Small-group discussion guide

Open

Discussion questions

Pray together

Go deeper

Basics | Week 3 | Message

Evidence of Eternity | Week 3 | Message

Armor of God | Week 5 | Message

Armor of God | Week 4 | Message

Armor of God | Week 3 | Message

Armor of God | Week 2 | Message