Broken to Restored - With Special Guest Chandler Harlin

Life sometimes leaves us feeling spiritually empty and exhausted, like the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37. When dreams feel dead and faith grows cold, we might wonder if restoration is even possible. God intentionally leads us into valleys because He is not afraid of broken places and does His most powerful work there. Instead of trying to figure everything out, we need to trust God's wisdom like Ezekiel did when he said, "You alone know." God brings restoration gradually - first connecting the pieces, then adding substance, and finally breathing His Spirit to bring true life. The same God who transformed a valley of death into a living army can breathe hope into any area of our lives that feels dead or hopeless.

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Transcript

How are you guys this morning? Great to be here with you guys. Let me ask you guys a question real quick. Have you guys ever felt worn out, but not just tired, but deep down? Tired of trying, tired of hoping, tired of waiting for things to change?

Sometimes life can make us feel stuck. We keep going through the motions, we keep showing up, but inside, something feels empty. And the truth is, you can even feel that way in church. You can be around people singing songs, hearing the Word, and you still feel dry inside. That's exactly where today's message meets us.

In Ezekiel 37, verses 1 through 14, we see a picture of that emptiness. The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lordland and set me in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones. He let me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor in the valley of bones that were very dry. He asked me and said, son of man, can these bones live?

I said, sovereign Lord, you're alone now. Then he said to me, prophecy to these dry bones? Or yeah, prophecy to these bones, and say to them, dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord told says to these bones, and I will make breath enter you and come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin.

I will put breath into you, and you will come to the life. Then you will know that I am your Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and these bones came together, bone to bone. And I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, prophesy to the breath, prophesy, Son of man, and say to this, this is what the Sovereign Lord come, breath from the four winds and breathe into the slain, that they may live.

So I prophesied as he commanded and breathed and entered them. They came to life and stood upon their feet a vast army. Then he said to me, son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say our bones are dried up and our hope is gone, and we are cut off. Therefore prophesy and say to them, this is what the Sovereign Lord, my graves and people, you bring up from them.

I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord. When I open your graves and bring you up from them, I will put my spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle in your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it. Declares the Lord.

The Bible says, the hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord. And it sets me in the middle of a valley not full of bones. Not just bones. Not just a few bones. A whole valley full.

And then it says, these were very, very dry. That means the bones had been there a long time. They weren't new. That wasn't something that just happened. Wherever life was before, it is gone later.

The people say our bones are dried up and our hope is gone. That is not just about their bones. It is about how they feel. Like their hope is slipping away. Maybe something in your life feels dry.

Maybe it's been that way for a long time. Maybe you've been holding on. Maybe you're getting tired of it. Maybe it's a relationship. Maybe it's a dream.

Maybe it's your faith. Maybe it's just your heart feeling heavy from life. Whatever it is, it matters to God. Here's the first thing you need to see. That God brings Ezekiel into a valley on purpose.

He doesn't avoid it. He doesn't go around it. That tells us something important. God is not afraid of broken places. He's not afraid what feels dead in life.

In fact, that's often where he chooses to work. The Bible says God set Ezekiel right into the middle of the valley. Not on the edge, not. Not a safe distance. But that's exactly where we find ourselves.

Right in the middle of something hard. Right in the middle of something we don't understand. But just because you're in the valley does not mean God is not with you. If God let Ezekiel into the valley, that means God was already there. Even when you can't see him, even when you don't feel him, even when everything seems hopeless, God is there.

When Ezekiel was standing there, God asked him a question. Son of man, can these bones live? I mean, that's a hard question. Everything that Ezekiel says says no. There's no movement, there's no breath, and there's no life.

He doesn't try to figure it out. He trusts God. He answers by saying, lord. You know, sometimes that's where we have to be, too. All sometimes we can say is God.

You know, I remember when I had to do this for the first time. When my dad was in the hospital and I stayed at a friend's house. I went to school like normal, but it really didn't feel normal. The whole time, I was worried about him. I didn't know what was going to happen.

And if I'm being honest, my faith was shaky. I remember laying there at night, praying. And I kept asking God, why? Why is my dad in the hospital? Why is it happening to us?

We go to church. We believe in you. We're Christians. Why does it feel like we're being punished? I looked at my friends, and some of them really didn't go to church.

Some of them didn't really care about God. But their families were fine. Their parents were in the hospital. And I didn't understand it. So I kept praying the same thing over and over.

God, why? Nothing changed overnight. Everything still felt unsure. But looking back now, I see something I didn't see. Even in that moment, God was there.

Even when I didn't understand, he was still working. Even when my faith felt weak, he was still left. He has not left me. This is one. This is one of the first times in my life where I had to stop trying to figure everything out and just say, God, you know?

And that's a lesson for all of us. Sometimes we don't understand. Sometimes the life doesn't make sense. But we have to trust God anyways. Then God tells Ezekiel to do something strange.

He tells them to speak to the bones. Think about that. Would you want to speak something to something dead? And when he did, something starts to happen. There was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came back together, bone to bone.

Can you imagine that coming together piece by piece? Something that looks completely over is starting to come back together. And sometimes that's how God works in our life. Not at all, not once at all. But piece by piece, slowly you start to see small changes, small steps moving forward.

Things don't look perfect yet, but something is happening. But the Bible says next, there were tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Everything looked right on the outside, but there was still no life. That's important because things can look good on the outside and still feel empty on the inside. You can fix habits.

You can clean things up. You can get your life looking better. Because real life comes from God. Then God says something powerful. He tells Ezekiel to speak to the breath.

Come breath from the four winds and breathe into these slain as they may live. And when the breath comes, everything changes. They come to life and stood up on their feet, a vast army. They didn't just move a little. They started.

They stood up. Strong, alive and restored. And in this moment, everything shifts. Because what was dead is now alive. What was broken is now whole.

What had no hope now has a purpose. Then explained. Then God explains his vision. These bones are the people. They say our hope is gone.

God is speaking to people who feel hopeless, people who feel cut off, people who feel like it's over. And then God says this. I am going to open your graves and bring you up. I will bring you back. That means God is not done with them.

Even when it feels over, God is still working. Then he says this. I will put my spirit in you and you will live. That's a promise. Life.

Not just existing, not just going through the motions, but real life.

Let's bring back to this. Where do you feel like those dry bones? When what in your life feels empty? What feels like it has been gone for too long? Take a minute and picture it in your mind.

Visualize your own valley. Is it dark? Lonely? Silent? Now hear this clearly.

Nothing is too far from God. That valley looked like an end. Like an end. But it wasn't. Because God was there.

And when God moves, things change. Life. Bones come back together. Breath comes back and life is restored. And the same thing, God who did that then, is still working today.

He still brings life to dry places. He still restores what feels broken. He still gives us hope where it feels gone. What dry bones do you need God, to breathe life into you? What empty places do you need God to restore?

And where do you need hope to come alive again? Even if it's been a long time, even if it feels far too gone, God is still able. Because if God can bring life to dry bones, he can breathe life to you. Because if God. Because if God can breathe hope into a valley full of bones, he could breathe hope into your heart, into your family, your future and your faith.

Because nothing is too broken. Nothing is too far gone. Nothing is too dry. God is able. Join me in prayer.