Address—L. Perry
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The last verse in the chorus of #7 He Now by faith I claim in mind, This is what I hope the way the evening will end up for you in Now by faith I claim him mine.
All I can do tonight is bring you to Jesus. The transaction between you and the Lord Jesus Christ about your eternal welfare is between you and Him alone.
There are many occasions in the scriptures where people were brought to Jesus. Andrew was one of those who was recorded several times as bringing people to Jesus.
When He did, He left the Savior to do the conversation with the individual about their need, whatever it was.
And that's the story tonight.
We can present you from the Word of God, the truth of the gospel.
But the end of it has to be that you have a decision to make before the Lord Jesus Christ and before God himself as to what you do with what God's message is for you.
My.
Subject tonight has to do with lifeout of death.
And this is taught to us by nature. We live in a farming area where the scripture in Genesis 8, which says, while the earth remaineth, seed, time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
We learned something from this in the repetition of the seasons, especially the one we're in now. Spring, when everything comes back to life around us, grass turns green and the winter wheat sprouts and the trees start to come out in bud and the flowers, spring flowers, bloom.
And we look back on the cold winter and we say, this is it's an annual miracle, isn't it, that this happens because everything seems so dead for so long. And in John chapter 12 and verse 24 it says, verily, verily, I say unto you, this is the Lord Jesus speaking. He said, accept a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die. It abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
And we know that how true that is that you plant one kernel of corn in the ground and you get a whole fat cob at the end of the season with hundreds of kernels on it. And 100 fold is a nice yield these days. And so it's but the seed that we planted had to die.
For the new life to come out of it.
Well, it's lifeout of death in nature. It's it's there before us, and it's a principle of God that is revealed in his word having to do with spiritual matters, having to do with the real facts of life and death. We're all alive here tonight and we're all on the way to dying pretty well. That's what's before us, the end of life.
But.
There can be out of that death, there can be resurrection.
There can be new life.
Out of a life that is on its way to death, there can be new life, and that's what I want to talk about.
I'd like to if you turn with me to 1St Corinthians 15 for a verse or two. First Corinthians chapter 15 and verse verses 3 and 4.
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1St Corinthians 15, verse 3.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
Now this is the.
Beginning of resurrection. This is the beginning of life out of death. Jesus went into death that there might be life offered to you and me, and this is the testimony to that in summary form that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures predicted in the Old Testament that this would happen.
And that he was buried, and that he rose again.
The third day, Death couldn't hold him in that grave. He rose. And this is the only, this is the only person.
That we can present the only person that we can present as the Savior of sinners because He is risen from the dead. God saw that the work that He did at Calvary's cross was a complete work. That it was finished and done. That He paid the full price that you and I deserve to pay through eternity for our sins. And the account is closed.
And it's settled, and there is eternal life offered onto all.
But upon all them that believe.
Well.
This.
Resurrection is seen in a typical way in Ezekiel 37. I'd like to spend a little time in that chapter. Ezekiel in the Old Testament, one of the prophets.
A couple of books after Isaiah.
Ezekiel 37, and we'll read the first 10 verses right now.
I want to be clear at the beginning that there is an interpretation. There is one interpretation of this passage of Scripture, and then I'll explain that briefly and then turn to an application of it, because Scripture has one interpretation in every case, but many can is capable of many applications.
So Ezekiel 37 says this, The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me, Ezekiel out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about. And behold, there were very many in the open valley, and low they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live?
And I answered, Oh Lord God, thou knowest again he said unto me, Prophecy.
These bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones. Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live, And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied, there was a noise.
And behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them above, and there was no breath in them. Then said He unto me, Prophecy unto the wind, prophecy, Son of man, and say to the wind thus that the Lord God come from the four winds. O breath and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
So I prophesied as he commanded me.
And the breath came into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet an exceeding great army.
Now this is a prophecy that is still future. It looks forward in reality to the day when Israel will be brought again into blessing of God by the Lord Jesus Christ and will be a great nation, the prime nation over all, of all the earth and all the kings will come to that one center where the Jesus Christ is reigning and will give him.
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Glory.
So this is looking ahead to the blessing of the nation of Israel, which has been long in God's plans.
What I would like to look at it in connection with the subject before us tonight, lifeout of death, resurrection, and apply it to people today.
Dry bones.
Here is a description of your condition, unless you know Jesus as Savior.
No life. Dry bones.
Picture the scene. Ezekiel is taken to this valley and there they he looks out over the valley and it is littered with bones, countless bones of people.
And there is not a stir. They're bleached. They're dry.
There's not a stir in that valley.
And the question is asked, can these bones be made to live?
Your answer and mine would be no way impossible. These are dead and that's the end of it.
Well.
In a way, that's the answer that we would have to give. If you are a Sinner, you are a Sinner before God.
And.
Are not sheltered by the blood of Christ. Are not cleansed.
Of those sins.
Then what hope is there for you?
Well, let me tell you that without God giving his Son, there would be none.
There would be none. You're dead. What could you do for yourself in that condition before God? You're dead.
The judgment is already passed upon you, and you're as good as dead.
It's something like those people on death row, the sentences passed and they're just waiting the time to die. And that's the way it is with the people of this world. You among them. If you don't know Jesus as your savior, you are just waiting the judgment of God. You may say, oh, I have everything under control. I do the best I can. I am a good citizen and I.
I pay my debts and I I am, I go to church and I have all kinds of good things that I can.
List for myself.
God looks on all that and says.
All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. They're not going to do you any good.
The only thing that can do you any good in that condition is being a Sinner is to know Christ.
And we bring you to Christ tonight.
We can't work the miracle of salvation, but we can bring you to the one who can, and that one is Jesus.
Maybe you have been thinking.
That that you are kind of running from God, that you have kept out of sight of God. You kept him out of sight at any rate, and you haven't been dealing with these matters of life and death.
Ephesians 2 and one says that we are dead in trespasses and sins. That's the way we are before God. Ephesians 2 Says that the 12Th verse is the same chapter says that we have no hope and we're without God in the world, no hope in our condition, as if we're content to stay in this current condition of being sinners. We have no hope. We have no hope.
Some people are pleased to say, well, I hope I'll be safe. I'll be in heaven someday. I hope God will look kindly on me. I hope I'll be there.
We have no hope if we're dead in trespasses and sins, we have no hope. Like the dry bones they can't have. They have no power in themselves to bring themselves back to life, to make themselves good enough to be alive. They have no hope. Bones are the basic structure of our bodies.
They're very necessary, they're the stiffest thing in US and they provide the basic structure, but all by themselves they're dead. So we apply it to people today.
There's a structure there, you know, people look like they're walking around and they're alive and they're having a good time and so on. But that's just the structure without the life as far as God is concerned.
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And there is no peace and no happiness in that. You can have fun for a while, but there is no lasting peace and no happiness, and certainly no peace with God.
There's no peace with God without coming by way of Jesus Christ. I mentioned about the.
You fleeing from God. A lot of people turn their back on God and think that God doesn't notice them anymore. Have you ever had a little tiny child who plays hide and seek and simply curls up in a ball and closes their eyes and thinks you can't see them anymore? People are very much like that in the with respect to God. They just close God out of their life and think that God isn't paying attention anymore.
Well, there's a lady in the Old Testament in Genesis 16. We won't turn to it, but she was fleeing from the presence of God, and she hoped to be anonymous, and she got far away.
And but God knew where she was, and God sent, God spoke to her and directed, told her what was going to happen in her life ahead and to go back to where she'd come from.
And you know what her response was? It was to give God a name. The way she described God was this way.
Thou God seest me.
It's a remarkable statement. Thou God seest me, She thought. She was far away and fleeing and out of sight, long gone. God knew everything about her, knew where she was, could get in touch with her and spoke to her and told her about her future and told her to go back.
Thou God sees me. Are you prepared to say that tonight? Are you prepared to say Thou God seest me at all times, in every way, in everything I do, in everything I think, in everything I am, in everything I feel, Thou God seest me.
It's true.
But do we wish to acknowledge it? Do we wish to think about it at all? Do we wish to let that thought penetrate us? It's the Word of God.
Thou God, seest me. It's a description of God that was valid in that Old Testament day in Genesis. And it's just as valid today because God knows all about us, all about our hearts, all about where we are at and what our prospects are, what we're thinking about, what we'd like to have happen, what we wish for, all of those things. God knows it all.
He also knows everything about our sinful ways, everything about our selfish ways which exclude God.
Everything about the way we push God out of our lives as much as possible.
God knows all about that.
Thou God seest me.
Well, I hope that this little verse will be the beginning of something for you, because if that can penetrate your heart and get you to think that there is no escape from these things, that God is going to deal with the question of your sins one way or another either.
In eternal judgment after you die or else because he's already dealt with the question.
By the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Which will you take the dry bones?
No life. Is that your condition tonight? Would you admit it?
If you're yet unsaved, that's your condition. We've admitted that That's the way God sees you, dry bones.
But just as God didn't leave the dry bones to bake in the desert there in the valley, so God doesn't leave you alone. The very fact that you're here tonight to hear once more a gospel message is proof, is evidence of God's concern for you.
Why you're in here tonight, I don't know.
Response to an invitation. A little notice put in your door A Because your folks are here and they brought you.
Because, well, you always come to the gospel meetings and listen, whatever reason you're here.
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And it's a tribute to God's grace and mercy in allowing you once more to come face to face with these fundamental questions of life and death.
And resurrection in this.
Chapter farther down in verse 5 it talks about God says, behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.
Breath is, we might describe it as a life force. It's the way God began with man, didn't he? He created man, and then he breathed in on man and he became a living soul.
There was a man there before the breath came, but it was the breath that made him a living soul. And that's the beginning of God's dealings with you in connection with salvation. It's through that.
Breath that comes into you first, John chapter 5, and we'll read a few verses there if you'll turn with me first. John 5 near the end of the Bible. It's before, a bit before Revelation.
First John chapter 5 and read verse 11 starting at verse 11.
First, John 511 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
These things have I written unto you, that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.
These are wonderful verses about God's relationship with us and His desire to have us know that subject of eternal life, to know about it, to know that it's ours, to know that we have it. It comes through believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's a great dividing line as you see in verse 12.
That's a split verse. It divides this company and the entire world into two camps. 1 He that hath the Son hath life.
And he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
There we have the great dividing line.
I can bring you to that line, but I can't bring you over.
It requires a personal interaction between you and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It requires that you come repenting, rethinking your whole position and recognizing that you are a Sinner who needs a Savior desperately, and come over that dividing line to be on the side that says he that hath the Son hath life.
Will you take it tonight? It's offered freely. It's a free, it's a free offer from God and it's wide open to acceptation by anyone. But as the Word says, behold, now is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. Let us read verse 20 in the same chapter, the second to last verse.
And we know that the Son of God is come and have given us an understanding that we may know him that is true.
And we are in him. That is true even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
This is a wonderful description of eternal life. It has to do with relationship. It has to do with the relationship between God the Father and his Son Jesus and their existence from a past eternity. And it has to do with the work that the Lord Jesus Christ did at the cross in order to open up that eternal life to you and me.
And.
It is all founded on his Son, God's Son, Jesus Christ.
The name Jesus means Jehovah, the Savior. He is God. He always was God, but he has come as a Savior, the Savior of sinners.
And the word Christ means that he is the great Messiah promised from a past, from a past history promised by God. You can read and look up scripture after scripture in Isaiah and Daniel in various places that predict everything, practically everything that was going to happen to Jesus in this when he came.
It's remarkable how many prophecies are of the Old Testament are directly related to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now.
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That's the.
The breath that came on those in those bones, there had to be a beginning of life there. Now let's go on to the sinews. That's the next thing that's mentioned in Ezekiel 37. It says in verse 6.
I will lay sinews upon you.
Now sinus, as we understand from I guess anatomy, are the connecting devices between muscles and bones and between bones, and they tie the whole skeleton together and allow it to be manipulated.
It's it's the power of the new life in US.
The new life is there. If the new life comes in us, then there's power for it to operate through these sinews that are connecting all the bones together.
It says in Ephesians one verse 19 which I'll 19 and 20 which I'll just read to you.
And to know what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us word, who believe according to the working of his mighty power, like the sinews which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.
The Lord Jesus is raised from the dead, and this is what makes it possible for these sinews to become a power in our life.
They are the strength, they give the strength, and it is all traceable back to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ in US.
His resurrection from the dead is God's seal of approval on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ did at Calvary Cross.
So that you if you accept Jesus as your Savior.
You need never ever worry again about the security of your salvation, because what did you do to earn it? Only developed a burden of sins. That's all. The rest was all up to Jesus and He completed everything necessary at the cross of Calvary to take away your sins. But again, I stress.
It's unto all.
But it's upon all them that believe.
If we go on to the flesh, which is the next thing mentioned, verse 6, and we'll bring flesh, bring up flesh upon you.
This is the.
The activity and energy of our bodies in that sense.
It says in Leviticus 17 verse 11 That for the life of the flesh is in the blood, and a little farther down it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Now this is looking forward. This is the Old Testament description about atonement, and it had to do with sacrifices for sins as committed, new, new sins, new sacrifices. But it looked forward. It looked forward from God's perspective to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ of Calvary, which is the perfect sacrifice, the one sacrifice for sins, that is for once and for all.
The life of the flesh is in the blood.
And we know that from nature. That's the way our bodies are, the life. You can drain the blood out of a body and it is instantly dead.
We hear of people bleeding to death in accidents and so on. The life of the flesh is in the blood, but when the blood is there.
What energy we have, what abilities we have, what strength we have, what activities we can engage in when our flesh is healthy. When the Lord Jesus Christ died, he made atonement for Can I put in your soul?
He made atonement for the soul.
I hope you can put your name in there tonight.
Everyone who?
Can say the Lord Jesus is my Savior, He has fully atoned for my sins, paid the price for my sins of Calvary's cross. Oh we have so much to be thankful for and to smile about and to give God the praise.
But The thing is true.
And is offered to you if you don't know that yet, if you can't say that, if you don't have that smile on your face and the joy in your heart with salvation through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, putting your faith and trust in Him for now, for this, for time and for eternity.
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It can be yours tonight.
John one and 1St John one and seven says the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin.
So it's a blanket cleansing cleanses us from all sin. And let me ask the question how many of your sins?
Of your entire life.
Did God know about at the time Jesus died? All of them, All of them. The past sins up to today, the ones of to day and the ones of to Morrow, and as long as we're left here alive, God knew about them all, and the Lord Jesus Christ paid for them all.
What's your contribution? Surely there must be a big contribution for you to make to this salvation.
Come believing. Come believing.
Come accepting the fact that you are a Sinner who needs a Savior.
That Jesus is the only savior. Jesus is the savior for you. That Jesus has done it all and there is nothing left for you to contribute. And you couldn't anyway. It's all done.
Come tonight.
Says in.
John 6 verse 54 Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. That's Jesus speaking. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. This is appropriating Christ unto myself.
This is taking him and in full belief.
And making him mine.
John 635 says, Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life, He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Take Christ in this sense. He's the bread of life. He is all you need.
He is complete sustenance and He is He will energize you with that new life.
The next and final item.
Is in verse 6 of Exodus of Ezekiel 37 and cover you with skin.
Now the skin, as we know in our bodies is both a covering and a protection for us.
And.
So I would.
Say that.
I would liken this to the love of Christ.
You know, I haven't spoken a lot about the love that is inherent. That is part of this message tonight. It's the basis for it. If God didn't love you in the condition in which you are tonight, there would be no salvation.
But God loves you, and He says so in His Word. It's very clear in John 316, everybody's favorite gospel verse. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God so loved the world and he's talking about people. He loves you tonight.
Jesus died for you.
Went to the cross out of love for you.
And this love is unlimited. How can we measure that kind of love?
It says in Romans, or rather in Yeah, Romans 10:00 and 9:00.
Sorry, Romans 835 is the verse I meant. Get to Romans 10 and 9 I meant. But Romans 835. Look at that, please. It's a good verse to have in front of us. Good verses to have in front of us. Romans 8 and 35. Now this is talking.
About people who know Jesus as their savior.
It tells us some wonderful things about the love of God.
Romans 835 Who shall separate us from the love of God? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, as it is written, for thy sake? We are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, and all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor death, nor any other creature.
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Shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Somebody said in an earlier meeting today that umm.
And what if a person turns their back on the light of God?
And the answer came back. Well, the light of God would shine on their back.
And so we are always in that focus of God and we are always under the the influence of the love of God.
And I would say to you tonight that this gospel message, this gospel message, as every gospel message, whether printed or spoken or on the radio or wherever you hear it, is evidence of the love of God extended to today.
Would that this love would find its way into your heart, that the shell, whatever shell you have built up to resist.
The penetration of the love of God into your heart would break tonight and that Jesus would be part of your life.
The essence of your life from here on, for now and for eternity.
Jesus wants to be in your heart, and He'll fill your heart.
He'll give you peace in your heart, peace with God.
He'll bring the peace of God upon you.
You will have peace in your circumstances, whatever they are. We're not promised a bed of roses once we are saved. That's not the story. But in what? In those circumstances, whatever they are, that come upon us.
We can have the peace of God in our hearts. It's wonderful. Romans 10 and 9 might just look at it. It's over the next chapter, next page.
Romans 10, verse 9.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart, that God hath raised him from the dead.
Thou shalt be saved.
This is.
Not a very complicated verse.
Confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus.
Jesus as Lord.
Jesus as Savior.
Jesus as the eternal Son of God-given in atonement for your sins.
Confessing.
And shall believe in thine heart, that God hath raised him from the dead.
An empty tomb over there in Jerusalem.
That Jesus was in.
But he rose on the 3rd morning.
And is alive forevermore.
Do you believe it?
Do you believe in?
When you take Jesus into your heart.
You accept him as your own Savior on this on the wall. Here is a verse that I'd like to.
Draw your attention to Maybe you've already read it as you've been sitting here looking over my shoulder.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth.
And the life no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus could say that.
Because of all of the evidence, all of the context into which that fits.
But Jesus was declared by God to be his eternal Son by voices from heaven several times.
Declared to be his eternal Son.
The works that he did in healing and in raising the dead and so on are evidence of His power as the Son of God come as a man.
And the truth.
Oh, there is a word that, if we really want to admit it as a kind of a scary word.
Because the truth is whatever God speaks.
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It is God speaks only truth, He speaks the truth and the Lord Jesus Christ was the.
Embodiment of that truth as a man. He is truth, he says. I am the truth.
He's the eternal Son of God. He's God himself, and he could only speak truth, and he could only live truth.
And He is the life. Why? Because He rose from the dead, and He has that eternal life to offer to you. No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.
Go back to our chapter in Ezekiel. There's a couple of more verses I'd like to read, Ezekiel 37 and verse 13.
And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, oh, my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall you know that I.
The Lord have spoken it and performed it, saith the Lord.
Would you like the this statement to be true of you tonight in connection with your soul?
And its eternal future brought you up out of the grave, brought you, brought the dry bones to life, given you life when there was none in you that God could recognize. Dead in trespasses and sins.
Will you have the Savior?
He says that he will put his spirit in you. New life. New life.
And ye shall live, live how? Well, there's two aspects to it. One is the.
Extent of it and the other is the quality of it. The extent of it is eternal forever, and the quality of it is it's the life of Christ in you.
Would you like to have that? Would you like to live in such a way that there's a power in you to please God?
That's what the eternal life delivers.
And I shall place you in your own land. Oh, God has a promise for you, my friend.
To go to be in the house that he has prepared for his people in heaven.
The wonderful definition of heaven is that it is with Christ forever. That's the definition of heaven, to be with the Lord Jesus Christ for eternity.
That can be your prospect and.
Then shall ye know that I am the Lord? I, the Lord have spoken it and performed it, saith the Lord.
You can have the assurance tonight that these things are absolute, permanent, durable, unchangeable and will give you enormous contentment.
And peace.
These are the promises of God, if you will have them.
It's an invitation.
Can bring you to the line.
Nobody in this room can bring you over. You need to come into direct personal contact with the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him. Ask Him.
To give you thy peace in believing.
Well, this is the invitation of the gospel. I'm going to say it again the third time. It's undo all we hear a lot about all the gospel is for everybody. Isn't it wonderful? And the whole world is under the influence of the gospel. Oh, it's a.
It's wonderful that it is, but I'll tell you this, it's a pawn, all them that believe. And the corollary of that is that's not upon any who don't believe.
It's upon all them that believe. Will you be among the number tonight? Will you come among the number? Will you come over the line?
And take that eternal life that comes through trusting the Lord Jesus and depending on Him for your eternal welfare and blessing.