Part 5 - Stone the Prophets - Ezekiel Hearing a voice of redemption to grow our faith & hope for a new heart enlived and animated by the Holy Spirit. Study by: Carol and Des Joyce Sermons can be viewed on the Hope Valley Church YouTube Channel GATHERING / WORSHIP / PRAYER Take a few minutes to catch up with each other and build community. If you have new people present give time to getting to know each other. Song: Elevation Worship - Rattle! FOCUS Woven through the writings of the prophets are both warnings of judgement and yet frequent announcements of hope; with a repeated call to return to God. Jesus summarised the role of the prophets as well as the response of Israel in Matthew 23:37… SETTING THE SCENE Structure and background Ezekiel the prophet - a Jew exiled to Babylon in 597 BC A priestly family, broad knowledge, powerful intellect. His wife’s death mirrored the loss of the Temple and he was instructed not to mourn openly for her or the Temple. Once Jerusalem had fallen, his message of hope was proclaimed - revival, restoration and a glorious future. The Book 65 occurrences of “Then they will know that I am the LORD.” Three sections: Chapters 1-24: Oracles of judgement against Israel - God is revealed in the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. Chapters 25-32: Oracles of judgement against the nations - God is revealed to the nations through his judgements. Chapters 33-48: Oracles of consolation - God is revealed through restoration and spiritual renewal. Some thoughts/themes for Ezekiel 36 and 37. Ezekiel 36:25-27 emphasises forgiveness, a new heart and a new spirit, the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel 37:1-14 where God restores dry bones to life. The Spirit of God breathes new life - the wind is an emblem of the Spirit of God to bring a three-fold resurrection - souls from the death of sin to life, the Gospel Church and the body to eternal life. The bones are brought to life by prophecy - the obedient prophetic word of Ezekiel. And so God is revealed to us through great deliverances. OPENING GOD’s WORD Warm Up Question: Describe a time in your life when you experienced true forgiveness and how that affected you. Or There are many times when we are not sure of the way ahead in life - only God has the answers. Recall such a time in your life and describe what impact it had on you and any outcomes. Read: Ezekiel 36 and 37:1-14 Read Ezekiel 36:1-24 (1-8, 9-15, 16-24) around the group. What do you think God’s main purpose was in revealing to them that their exile would end and that they would prosper again? (see verses 9, 11 and 23 if you need some hints.) What sort of response would this prophecy engender in those who heard it? Read Ezekiel 36:25-38 (25–31, 32-38) around the group. Note particularly verses 25-27. How has God spoken to you through these verses? E.g. forgiveness, a new heart, filled with the Holy Spirit, obedience to God’s Word. What is the purpose of God revealing this prophetic vision to his people - from desolation to a garden like that in Eden? Read Ezekiel 37:1-14 (1-6 and 7-14) Once again the whole point of bringing new life out of death is so that you “will know that I am the LORD.” Share a time when God has revealed himself to you in a new way through some experience of “new life”. It would appear that the people of Israel are “leaky vessels” just like us - God put his Spirit in them upon their return from exile - but history shows it gradually was lost over time. How does that relate to us as followers of Jesus and collectively as his church? LIVING OUT GOD’s WORD The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to us who believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Where are we individually and as a church in need of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit? (Revival and restoration.) PRAYER Pray for each other to receive and be filled with the Holy Spirit today. To allow the the Holy Spirit to enliven and animate our hearts in line with God’s heart. The Genesis of our English Language Bible. A modern prophet - John Wycilffe. A story about giving the good news of Scripture to people in their language so the Holy Spirit could enliven and animate their hearts also. In the past in England, and Europe, the Bible was not available in English or other native languages, but was only available in Latin, the language of the educated clergy. Can you imagine going to church and only hearing the Bible read in a foreign language? Bibles were often chained to the podiums of the cathedrals. Then John Wycliffe [c. 1330 - 1384], a prominent professor of divinity at Oxford University, said, ‘This is not right. People should be able to read the Bible in their own language.’ Church leaders branded him a heretic and an instrument of the devil. Still John Wycliffe began translating the Scriptures as a flood of persecution emerged around him. When he finally completed his translation of the Scriptures, he wrote this in the flyleaf of the first copy of the English Scriptures: ‘This Bible is translated and shall make possible a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.’ Thirty years after Wycliffe died, he was again proclaimed a heretic. Consequently, his body was exhumed, his bones were burned to dust, and his ashes were cast into the River Swift. From the River Swift, they spread to the River Avon, then into the River Severn, and then into the ocean. John Wycliffe’s ashes are the metaphor of how God’s word, is not captive in time or place but endures forever bringing about that which God has ordained. What John Wycliffe began became a movement in the centuries that followed through the Reformation, and via the church since, of bringing God’s word to people in their native language. Contacts If you would like more information or further help please contact: scott.button@hopevalleychurch.com.au