Miracles: Give God A Chance

Give God a Chance Sept. 8, 2019

Ezekiel 37: 1-14

July 20, 1969 was a monumental day for the world. On that day 50 years ago, Apollo 11 landed on the moon. With one small step, the world was instantaneously opened to new possibilities and new frontiers. A decade earlier, when President Kennedy cast his vision of space exploration, there were those who sneered and jeered and said it was impossible. It could never happen. But it did. The unthinkable, the impossible, the inconceivable happened. There was a lot of attention paid to this event this summer, and rightfully so. It was a wonderful achievement for humanity. Some may even call it a miracle, which got me thinking: Whatever happened to miracles? Whatever happened to the type of faith that expected God to show up and do the impossible? So for the next several weeks, we’re going to explore some miracles stories in the Bible, stories that will reintroduce us to the power of God. If you have your Bibles with you…

If you were to travel today to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, you might come across an old work called the “Jefferson Bible.” The “Jefferson Bible” is one of the most controversial pieces of literature in our nation, mostly because President Jefferson found it difficult to reconcile his growing Enlightenment influence with the power of God. So toward the end of his life, Jefferson took out a knife and began to remove all the miracle stories in the Bible, one by one. When he was done, his condensed version of the Bible featured all the wonderful teachings and philosophies of Jesus, but none of His moments of power. There was no mention of Jesus turning water turning into wine. No feeding of the 5,000. And certainly no mention of the greatest miracle our world has ever witnessed— the Resurrection.

It’s been said that without the Resurrection, we really have no hope in this world or in the one to come. And that’s because resurrection is God’s definitive claim that He is Lord over all! When the stone was rolled away, that Resurrection moment served as an earth-shaking reminder that God is fundamentally a God of power, a power that can overcome evil, sin and even death! Friends, our hope is built on the power of God to overcome! What kind of church would exist without the hope of miracles like the Resurrection? What kind of church would exist without the power of God to do what we cannot do? That was John Wesley’s fear as he grew older. The founder of Methodism feared the day when the church would be stripped of it’s power- not due to anyone taking it away- but due to its own God-forgetfulness. It was nothing in the days of of the old Methodist revivals to see God moving in extraordinary ways- ways that might seem a bit strange to us today. And when God showed up, lives were changed!Those miraculous moments were so important that Wesley was inspired to utter this now famous quote. ‘I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. (‘Thoughts Upon Methodism,’ 1786.)  

You see, power has always been the way God takes care of business. It’s always been God’s normal mode of operation in the world, and He expects it to be our normal way of life. Listen to these words in Luke 9: One day Jesus called together his twelves disciples and gave them power. Power to do what? Power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases and to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God.” This is a good power, a power to help make the wrongs of the world right again. But here’s where the struggle lies: sometimes what’s wrong is so painful and so intense and so close it feels stronger than God’s power. And when our realities get out of hand or we can’t come up with any answers to our struggles, faith can take a back seat. Let me just give you one example. I get stressed out easily. And when I get stressed, here’s what I typically do: I sulk. I hide. I obsessively replay the events over and over in my head. I pull away and refuse to talk. Sometimes I quit caring. And then, when I’m at my wits’ end, I pray. It’s like a light that goes on and I remember that the One who is more powerful than my stress is just waiting for me to give Him a chance. But when the light is out, it is so hard to believe. And I’m not sure there’s a better example of this than the account of Ezekiel and the Dry Bones.

Like generations before him, Ezekiel knew the the power of God. He experienced those moments in his life, but he also knew the old, old stories, stories like Moses leading Israel out of Egyptian slavery. And I have to believe that those stories inspired and encouraged him throughout his life. When you’re in a tough spot, it’s good to remember that God can part the waters. When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it’s uplifting to remember that God is able to send manna from heaven. Those old, old stories are good for the soul, but they’re not enough to sustain our present faith. Remembering who God was is important, but each generation needs to rediscover who God is, right now. We can be grateful for our parents’ faith, but it cannot take the place of our own experiences of God. What those memories should do is challenge us to ask: Do we believe the same God who did that way back then is the same God who can do this right here and right now? And this is true, even for Ezekiel, who as a prophet is sent to call people back to the presence of God! But even this man of God can’t escape the withering effects of reality. This wasn’t just waking up and having a bad day, this was a reality steeped in despair. God’s people are in exile. They’ve been torn out of their homeland, made to serve another people. For all intents and purposes, their dreams are gone, like bones that were once so alive but are now all dried up. It’s a dreary history that keeps repeating itself in the lives of God’s people. And it’s in the face of this discouraging reality that God presses into Ezekiel’s faith and asks him, “Can these bones live again?” 

I just want to pause for a moment and ask: How do you think YOU would answer that question? You’re dropped off in a the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a bunch of bones, with no life anywhere to be found. How do you think you’d answer? Because I’ll be honest with you. I know how I’d want to answer, but I think my answer would be less than faithful. I don’t know what went through Ezekiel’s mind when he thought about the question, but we do know his response. He could’ve given God a hundred different thoughts, but instead, he simply turned to God and said, “Only you know.” And that’s an important moment in this story. In this moment, Ezekiel makes an important shift. You see, one of the casualties of growing older is that we tend to keep our eyes on the struggle or the challenge or the bones. And that’s understandable. If that’s all we know, if that’s all we can see, it can be hard to think of any other possibilities. I had a colleague once who was so discouraged by our world that she would go around saying, “This world is going to hell in a hand basket.” And it was hard to argue with her. Especially after a week like this. The damage done by Hurricane Dorian was tragic. And the fate of little two year old Nalani Johnson makes me want to throw up every time I read the story. There are days, I admit, when I tend to believe that this world is as dead as those dry bones. And the only thing I could do when these moments come is to do my best to think with my heart instead of my head. And I think that’s what God was trying to accomplish with Ezekiel. 

When it comes to miracles, we’re invited to move beyond our human limitations and embrace the realm of God possibilities. In essence, we’re invited to embrace a move the center of our faith from our head to our heart, or what Jesus calls a “childlike faith.” This type of faith trusts God the way a young child should be able to trust a parent. This type of faith intentionally chooses to look to Jesus when all hope seems lost, instead of focusing on the conditions that seem so hopeless. This type of faith musters courage to believe even when it doesn’t make sense, endures in spite of all the signs that say it’s time to give up, and steadfastly believes that God can make a way when there is no way. This type of faith gives God a chance to be God. And that’s what lies at the heart of this Dry Bones story. 

With every potential miracle, there is this underlying current that God is just waiting for us to give God a chance to be God. Miracles invites us to put aside our human solutions to spiritual problems because human solutions cannot solve spiritual issues. Only God can do that. And the only way these bones will live again is if God breathes His supernatural, life-giving breath upon them. That’s what God wants Ezekiel to see. Ezekiel can’t make these bones live again. Ezekiel can’t fix this thing! But God the same life-giving breath that breathed life into creation, God makes all things possible. So…If we want to see God break in and bring life to hopeless conditions, then our hearts need to cry out for the Spirit of God to blow again. If we want to see our churches renewed, our culture change, our faith revived, then we need to ask God to breathe on us again. If we want to see God move in our lifetime, like the stories of old, we need to ask God to turn our eyes away from all the “cannots” and place them firmly on to the One who can.

I love the way author and pastor Carolyn Moore challenges us. She writes, “Friends, we are not sent out with an eye-dropper full of the Holy Spirit so we can run a friendly non-profit. No. I’m advocating for a renewed Methodism that is a partnership with a supernatural God who does supernatural things. So what do you say friends? That’s what this series is all about…inviting us to believe again in a supernatural God who does supernatural things. Even if we’re standing in a desert full of dry bones. Even after all hope seems lost. Even when the worst thing happens. Because in our faith, the worst thing is NEVER the last thing. So what do you say friends? Are you ready? I don’t know what makes you feel hopeless today, but are you ready to give God a chance to be God? I don’t know how you’re tempted to give in to the same old, same old, but are you ready for God to do a new thing? And I don’t know what seems dead and gone to you, but are you ready for dry bones to live again? Because God knows they can and is waiting for us to believe and walk forward in faith. So let’s believe. And let’s walk forward in faith. Let’s give God a chance to be God. Amen.