Good morning and happy new year. If you are new to Watermark, my name is Kevin. I'm one of the leaders here.
It's great to be with you and great to see you again and great to have seen so many of you at our Christmas service just recently.
I hope that after Christmas you manage to get some rest and recuperate after the Christmas rush.
Get ready for the new year.
I know that we have the Lunar New Year in a few weeks time for many of us in Hong Kong.
That's a big event.
And if you have children in school, it doesn't feel like a new year because the academic year hasn't started.
And so it just feels like life just kind of goes from 2023 into 2024 very quickly.
But here we are, 2024.
It is the start of a new year.
I wonder how you're feeling about this new year.
One of the things I love about the new year is a chance to slow down, to think, to pray, to reflect, and to process a little bit of the year that's gone but also the year that's to come.
What is it that I'm hoping for this year?
What are some ambitions?
I often like to think of what's one word I want to capture for this year?
And I love doing this for me personally but also for our family.
For our family, what are some of the things we want to prioritize this year?
What are the rhythms or activities we want to start?
What are some things we need to stop?
What is this year going to hold?
And how can we move from death to life, from pain to joy as a family?
What are the two or three things that are going to characterize our lives, our family this year?
But if that's true for us personally, if it's true for a family, what about us as a church family?
What are some things that we're going to prioritize this year?
What are the things that God is calling us to?
Of course, as a church family, we can't do everything that comes to mind.
We just don't have the bandwidth for that.
We can't be everything to everyone.
But what should we do?
What should we prioritize?
What are the most important things to keep at the forefront of our minds?
Now part of what makes this question difficult to answer is that there's some things that we can do.
We can prioritize devotions and our worship to God and faithfulness.
But there's actually many things that are out of our hands.
It's only in God's hands.
The things that only God, the sovereign God, can do.
God is not a slot machine that you put in a bunch of prayers and out come the results, right?
But there's some things we can do, but there's many things that only God can do.
So as we think about this question, I want us to go to a passage of Scripture in the Old Testament,
a very famous passage in Ezekiel chapter 37.
And we're going to look at it, and we're going to get from this passage some things I think God wants to speak to us about,
but here's hard for us this year.
So on that note, let me call up Rachel, who's going to do the Scripture reading.
Let's listen to the reading of God's words.
Over to you, Rachel.
Good morning.
This morning's reading comes from Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37.
Starting in chapter 36, verses 22, we read,
Therefore say to the house of Israel,
Thus says the Lord God,
It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act,
but for the sake of my holy name,
which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.
And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations,
and which you have profaned among them.
And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God,
when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses.
And from all your idols I will cleanse you, and I will give you a new heart,
and a new spirit I will put within you.
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes,
and be careful to obey my rules.
You shall dwell in the land that I give to your fathers,
and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Then in chapter 37, verse 1, we read,
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the spirit of the Lord,
and set me down in the middle of the valley.
It was full of bones.
And he led me among them, and behold,
there were very many on the surface of the valley,
and behold, they were very dry.
And he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live?
And I answered, O Lord God, you know.
Then he said to me, Prophecy over these bones,
and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
Thus says the Lord God to these bones,
Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
And I will lay sinews upon you,
and will cause flesh to come upon you,
and cover you with skin,
and put breath in you,
and you 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 sound,
and behold, a rattling,
and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
And I looked, and behold,
there were sinews on them,
and flesh had come upon them,
and skin had covered them,
but there was no breath in them.
Then he said to me,
Prophecy to the breath,
prophecy, son of man,
and say to the breath,
Thus says the Lord God,
Come from the four winds,
O breath,
and breathe on these slain,
that they may live.
So I prophesied as he commanded me,
and the breath came into them,
and they lived,
and stood on their feet,
an exceedingly great army.
Then he said to me,
Son of man,
these bones are the whole house of Israel.
Behold, they say,
Our bones are dried up,
and our hope is lost.
We are indeed cut off.
Therefore, prophecy,
and say to them,
Thus says the Lord,
Behold,
I will open your graves
and raise you from your graves,
O my people,
and I will bring you
into the land of Israel,
and you shall know
that I am the Lord
when I open your graves
and raise you from your graves,
O my people,
and I will put my spirit within you,
and you shall live,
and I will place you
in your own land.
Then you shall know
that I am the Lord.
I have spoken,
and I will do it,
declares the Lord.
This is the word of God.
Great.
Thank you, Rachel.
Thanks for that long reading.
Hey, let's pray together
as we come to God's word.
Heavenly Father,
Lord Jesus Christ,
Holy Spirit,
the triune God,
we come before you this morning,
God,
the first Sunday of the new year.
God, we come to your word
because we want to hear from you.
We don't just want your word
in our heads.
We want by your spirit
for it to lodge in our hearts.
We want you, God,
to speak to us.
God, I pray that
you by your spirit
will do what we cannot do,
what I cannot do,
that you will
cause fresh life
in our heart
and our souls, Lord.
Lord, as we come
to the start of this new year,
in some ways,
one day doesn't change
from the next.
You are faithful forever.
Just as you have been faithful,
you will be faithful.
In some ways, God,
you are not doing anything
particularly new.
You're doing what
you always have done.
But God, also,
this new year
is a chance to dream afresh,
to think afresh.
Lord, why don't you come
and have your way
in our midst this year.
I pray for us
as a church, Lord.
I pray that we will
be very attentive
to your spirit,
very attentive
to your leading,
your guiding.
I pray that our hearts
will be soft towards you.
God, we need you.
We say, Lord,
that we need you.
Each one of us individually
and as a church family,
as a city, God,
we need you.
We need you to move
in our midst.
God, you know each one of us,
the fears,
the joys,
the anxieties,
the hopes,
the dreams,
and the worries
that we have.
Won't you come
and meet each one of us
at that place?
Come and minister to us.
Come and draw near to us.
Come and be our Father.
Come and fill our hearts
with your love,
we pray.
God, this year,
we want to walk
closely with you.
And so now,
as we look at your word
and for the rest
of this year,
come and draw us
closer to yourself,
we pray, God.
Lord, we pray these things
in your wonderful
and your gracious name.
Amen.
Well, we're looking
at this passage,
Ezekiel 37.
Ezekiel is not an easy
book of the Bible.
I encourage you to read it,
but it's not necessarily easy.
And the context is this.
Ezekiel is a prophet
in the Old Testament,
and he is given a message
to God's people
who are the nation of Israel.
And the book of Ezekiel,
really,
Ezekiel's message
contains three things.
It is an explanation.
It's explaining
why God's people,
the nation of Israel,
are in the condition
that they're in.
As we're going to hear
in a few minutes' time,
they're in a very bad state.
Things are not going well
for them.
And Ezekiel is explaining
to them,
this is why you're in
this place
that you're in.
It's also
a correction.
Ezekiel's not just saying,
this is the way things are.
He's saying,
this is the way things are,
but come back to the Lord.
It's a call to return to God
and to follow Him.
But it's not only
an explanation
of why things are bad
and a call to correction.
God's Word always contains
a promise,
a promise of hope.
God speaks through Ezekiel
and says,
I will do something for you
or better,
in you,
something that you cannot do
for yourselves.
But first,
before Ezekiel gets there,
before we get there,
Ezekiel's going to explore
the devastating condition
that Israel are in.
Their condition is very bad.
And it's a result
of their refusal
to love and follow
their God,
their covenant-keeping God.
And so God has handed them over
to their very worst nightmare.
Their worst nightmare
has come upon them.
Their worst enemies,
the Babylonians,
have come
and destroyed
the city of Jerusalem
and the nation of Israel.
The Babylonians,
this ruthless nation
from the northwest,
have come.
They've burnt
the crops
and the fields.
They've destroyed
the houses,
destroyed the land.
They've destroyed
the temple.
They've killed
hundreds,
thousands of people.
The temple,
they've taken
the very best articles,
the furnishings
of gold and silver.
They've removed
them for themselves
and set them up
in their own temple
in Babylon,
this pagan temple,
which is sacrilegious.
And the rest
of the temple,
they've burnt down.
They've brought
pigs into the temple,
which if you're a Jewish person
it's kind of the worst
thing that you can do.
They've killed
lots of people.
Some of the strongest
and the best
and the brightest,
they've marched off
to Babylon
to use as servants
and slaves
in their empire.
The rest
have left for dead.
And then they
take the king.
They kill his children
before the king's eyes.
They poke out
the king's eyes
that the last thing
he sees,
his last memory
will be seeing
his children die
before him.
And they put him
in chains
and shackles
and they march him
off to Babylon
to be their slave.
And it's almost
impossible
to describe
the intensity
of the devastation
and the hopelessness
that God's people
feel at this time.
Their loss
is a total loss.
It's political loss
obviously,
financial loss,
okay,
they're now
desperate.
It's relational loss.
It's a physical loss.
It's spiritual loss.
The worst thing
about this
is their sense
of abandonment
by God.
To almost everyone
in Israel
it seems
as if God's promises
have failed.
God has not
kept up his covenant.
What of all those promises
that God made to him
about I will give you
a king who will
stay on the throne
forever?
What's happened to that?
What about God's promises
that they will possess
the land
and drive out
their enemies?
What about God's promises
of being a shield
around them?
A prince of peace
Alan spoke about
a few weeks ago.
A wonderful counselor,
a mighty God,
everlasting father.
Where are all
these promises now?
And so the essential
question facing Israel
at this time
God's people
is has God's
promise
that patience
ran out forever?
Has God's promises
failed?
Were we foolish
to think
that God
would come through
for us?
Has our faith
been an exercise
in futility?
Friends,
I wonder if these
questions have ever
crossed your mind.
Maybe you're someone
who you're used to
at the start
of the new year
have dreams
and hopes
and ambitions
for the year
but you've long
gone
given up
on such
futility.
Maybe you've
abandoned such
thinking.
Maybe you've
concluded there's
no point in
really planning
for the year
it's just going
to end
in disappointment
anyway.
Maybe the idea
of the promises
of God's covenant
faithfulness,
his steadfast love
seems like wishful
thinking at best
a cruel joke
at worst.
Well it's
into this context
that God
speaks his word
and his word
is like a ray
of sun
breaking in
through the clouds
on a dark
and overcast day
because God
speaks a word
of hope.
Hope to a people
that are facing
hopelessness
and God gives
Ezekiel a vision
and in this vision
he takes Ezekiel
to a valley
and the valley
is a valley
of
desolation.
A couple of times
previously in the book
of Ezekiel
God takes Ezekiel
he gives him
a vision
of a valley
at both times
this is a vision
of judgment
but here
it's different
it's a vision
of hope.
In this vision
that God
gives Ezekiel
the valley
is covered
in sun
scorched bones
dismembered
skeletons
a long
abandoned
nation.
These aren't
just one
or two
skeletons
one or two
unlucky people
who came
to an unfortunate
end.
This is
an entire
army
an entire
nation
who have
come to
a horrible
end.
We all know
that to not
give somebody
a decent burial
is a very
humiliating thing.
To not give
somebody an
honorable
farewell.
Here is a
nation of
people that
have come
to an
unfortunate
end
but more
than that
there's some
kind of
curse
there's some
kind of
judgment
nobody has
buried them
they've been
left for
dead
they've been
left for
humiliation
and shame.
I think
of when I
read this
passage I
think of
the killing
fields of
Cambodia
if you've
ever been
to Cambodia
and you
see just
these statues
of skulls
that they
found or
maybe the
concentration
camps in
Europe
and World
War II
just endless
bones of
people that
have been
left for
dead.
Look at
verse 11
in your
bulletin
with me
verse 11
says
then God
said to
me
son of
man
these bones
are the
house of
Israel
behold they
say our
bones are
dried up
our hope
is lost
we are
indeed
cut off
Ezekiel
realizes these
aren't just
any bones
this is a
picture of
God's
people
this is
what God's
people have
become
but of
course
the point
of the
vision is
not just
what God's
people have
become
it's what
God is
going to
do with
them
Ezekiel
knows the
depth of
despair to
which Israel
has fallen
he's been
speaking about
it for
years
for years
he's been
warning them
saying
Israel
your future
is looking
bleak
but the
point of
the vision
is what
God is
going to
do
with
his
people
who have
become
a shadow
of what
they're
meant to
be
and what
is God
going to
do
he's
going to
do
with
them
and in
them
what they
cannot
do
for
themselves
he's
going to
restore
them
he's
going to
renew
them
he's
going to
resuscitate
them
and give
them new
life
God is
going to
revive
them
look at
verse 3
to 10
with me
it's quite
long
but let's
read it
together
Ezekiel
says
then God
said to
me
son of
man
can
these
bones
live
I
answered
him
oh God
you
alone
know
that's
a great
answer
by the
way
Ezekiel
knows
okay
the natural
logical
answer
is
not a
chance
imagine
you're a
doctor
you've got
a couple
of
doctors
you're
working
in
A&E
at
Queen
Mary
and you
get a
call
paramedics
coming
we've got
a dead
patient
on a
stretcher
coming
in
get ready
with the
resuscitation
equipment
okay
we're ready
and in
comes a
dry
skeleton
okay
these
bones
are not
going
to
live
can
these
bones
live
not a
chance
but
Ezekiel
knows
God
is in
the
habit
of
doing
the
miraculous
and so
he says
I don't
know
God
you
alone
know
verse 4
then he
said to
me
prophesy
that
means
speak
God's
word
over
these
bones
and say
to them
oh dry
bones
hear the
word of
the Lord
thus says
the Lord
God
behold
I will
cause
breath
to enter
into you
and you
shall live
I will
lay sinews
upon you
cause
flesh
to come
upon you
cover
you
with skin
and put
my
breath
in you
and you
shall
live
and you
will
know
that I
am
the
Lord
God
so I
prophesied
as I
commanded
and as I
prophesied
there was a
sound
behold
a rattling
bones
coming together
bone
to its
bone
and I
looked
and behold
there were
sinews on
them
and flesh
was covering
them
skin
had covered
them
then he
said to me
prophesy
to the
breath
oh son
of man
and say
thus says
the Lord
God
come from
the four
winds
oh breath
breathe
on these
slain
that they
may
live
so I
prophesied
as I
commanded
the breath
came into
them
and they
lived
and stood
on their
feet
an exceedingly
great
army
God's
word
to his
people
as I
said
is that
he's
going to
do
something
in
them
something
to
them
before
he
does
anything
for
them
God
is not
just
going
to
improve
their
circumstances
he's
going
to
renew
them
God's
not
just
going
to
change
their
circumstances
he's
going
to
change
their
being
their
very
essence
their
identity
God's
not
just
going
to
simply
bless
them
he's
going
to
revitalize
and
renew
them
you see
the problem
facing
God's
people
is not
a
superficial
problem
they haven't
just come
with a
broken
finger
just a
slight
cut
or
need
for
antibiotics
these
people
are
in
desperate
need
for
renewing
okay
well
that's
good
and well
but the
question
is
what
does
this
have
to
do
with
us
today
I
mean
nice
history
lesson
ancient
Israel
good
for
them
here
we
live
in
21st
century
2024
Hong
Kong
what
does
have
it's
the
whole
point
of
Christmas
why
Jesus
came
it's
the
point
of
Easter
why
Jesus
died
on
the
cross
the
whole
message
of
the
Bible
every
page
of
the
Bible
drips
with
this
truth
that
God
takes
those
who
are
dead
and
broken
and
lost
and
God
does
something
in
them
and
to
them
and
for
them
which
we
could
not
do
for
ourselves
God
revives
the
dying
and
the
dead
God
renews
us
listen
to
how
the
apostle
Paul
writes
it
in
Ephesians
very
famous
he
says
as
for
you
as
for
me
we
were
dead
in
our
trespasses
and
sins
in
which
we
once
walked
following
the
course
of
this
world
the
prince
of
the
power
of
the
air
the
spirit
is
now
at
work
in
those
who
are
disobedient
among
whom
we
all
once
lived
following
the
passions
of
our
flesh
carrying
out
the
desires
of
our
body
and
mind
we
were
by
nature
children
of
wrath
that
means
we
were
by
nature
dead
under
God's
judgment
having
no
hope
but
God
being
rich
in
mercy
because
of
his
great
love
with
which
he
loved
us
we
spoke
about
that
on
Christmas
right
for
God
so
loved
the
world
that
he
sent
his
son
because
of
his
great
love
with
which
he
loved
us
even
when
we
were
dead
it's
not
when
we
had
done
a
whole
lot
of
good
things
when
we
were
dead
he
made
us
alive
with
Christ
by
grace
you've
been
saved
and
he
raised
us
up
with
Christ
and
seated
us
with
Christ
in
the
heavenly
places
so
that
in
the
coming
ages
he
might
show
the
immeasurable
greatness
of
his
riches
of
kindness
towards
us
in
Christ
by
grace
we
have
been
saved
through
faith
and
this
is
not
your
own
doing
it's
a
gift
of
God
not
of
works
so
that
no
one
can
boast
friends
if
you
are
a
Christian
this
morning
this
is
how
you
became
a
Christian
not
because
you
did
a
whole
lot
of
good
things
but
because
God
poured
faith
into
your
hearts
so
that
you
cried
out
to
him
recognizing
your
sin
asked
him
to
have
mercy
and
God
took
you
who
are
dead
and
made
you
alive
again
in
Christ
Jesus
friends
the
good
news
of
Ezekiel
to
Israel
is
the
same
good
news
of
the
gospel
to
you
and
I
today
this
is
what
God
is
doing
in
the
world
and
if
you're
not
a
Christian
this
morning
this
is
what
God
wants
to
do
in
you
and
through
you
and
for
you
God
is
calling
friends
our
faith
apart
from
God's
reviving
work
is
the
faith
of
eternal
separation
for
God
in
hell
forever
but
our
faith
by
God's
grace
can
be
an
eternal
embrace
by
God
in
glory
of
his
love
forever
this
is
what
God
is
doing
in
the
world
and
this
is
what
God
is
still
doing
okay
but
now
the
question
is
well
some
of
us
many
of
us
here
are
Christians
already
so
you
may
say
okay
well
that
happened
to
me
back
in
2010
God
changed
my
life
radically
I
was
one
person
I
met
God
changed
my
life
amazing
but
now
it's
2024
so
what
does
that
have
to
do
with
me
or
maybe
happened
much
earlier
1995
or
1975
what
does
that
have
to
do
with
us
today
we've
often
said
this
but
the
gospel
is
not
just
the
way
into
God's
kingdom
it's
the
way
of
God's
kingdom
it's
not
just
the
doorway
that
you
walk
into
it
is
that
but
it's
also
the
pathway
that
you
walk
in
God's
kingdom
as
Tim
Keller
famously
used to
say
the
gospel
is
not
just
the
ABC
of
the
Christian
life
it's
the
A to
Z
of
the
Christian
life
in
other
words
when
God
by
his
spirit
moves
to
renew
and
revitalize
and
restore
for
some
people
that
means
getting
saved
born
again
for
the
first
time
they
encounter
the
living
God
and
God
changes
their
lives
I was
chatting
to
someone
recently
that
happened
to
them
just
a few
months
ago
this
year
last
year
not
this
year
change
your
life
amazing
praise
God
but
friends
for
some
of
us
we
might
be
what
we
call
nominal
Christians
maybe
you've
grown
up
in
the
church
you
always
go
to
church
you
part
of
a
CG
you
do
the
Christian
thing
nominal
means
you're
a
Christian
by
name
but
not
by
essence
in
those
your
heart
hasn't
really
been
changed
revitalized
you've
never
encountered
the
living
God
he
hasn't
changed
renew
you
restore
you
but
for
some
of
us
we
may
be
what
you
call
sleepy
Christians
in
other
words
we
just
sleep
walking
our
way
through
the
Christian
life
right
it's
kind
of
like
our
faith
is
on
airplane
mode
it's
there
but
it's
in
the
background
it's
not
really
having
any
vital
impact
in
our
day
to
day
life
we
actually
more
focus
on
work
and
money
and
career
and
children
but
it's
kind
of
in
the
background
God
wants
to
revive
us
and
renew
us
and
restore
us
and
for
some
of
us
in fact
probably
all
of
us
just
the
reality
of
life
has
a
way
of
wearing
our
faith
down
and
our
love
for
Christ
down
and
you
start
off
Monday
on
a
high
and
by
Friday
you
just
try
to
hold
on
friends
God
wants
to
renew
us
and
revive
us
and
restore
us
and
so
what
that
means
is
that
all
of
us
whether
you're
an
elder
pastor
or
whether
you've
just
slunk
in at
the
back
from
a
difficult
weekend
all
of
us
need
God's
renewing
reviving
restoring
renewing
work
in our
lives
but
notice
something
else
in
this
passage
how
does
God
do
this
what
are
the
tools
what
are
the
mechanisms
that
God
uses
does
he
say
Ezekiel
go to
the
bones
and
say
abracadabra
no
he
doesn't
do
that
right
Ezekiel
go and
lay
your
hands
on
the
bones
no
he
doesn't
do
that
Ezekiel
go and
spray
the
bones
with
holy
oil
from
Israel
no
he
doesn't
do
that
what
must
Ezekiel
do
notice
there are
two
things
that
God
uses
to
revive
his
people
Israel
he
uses
his
word
and
he
uses
his
spirit
look
at
verse
four
with
me
it
actually
says
it
all
over
but
look
how many
times
he
talks
about
the
word
prophesy
verse
four
then
he
said
to
me
prophesy
over
these
bones
and
say
to
them
oh
dry
bones
hear
the
word
of
the
Lord
so
I
prophesied
as
I
commanded
verse
seven
and
as
I
prophesied
there
was
a
sound
and
behold
a
rattling
and
the
bones
came
together
bone
to
its
bone
now
I
mentioned
this
briefly
earlier
the
word
prophesy
doesn't
mean
to
predict
the
future
we
sometimes
think
prophets
are
those
who
can
foretell
the
future
they
can
predict
the
future
and
the
reason
we
think
that
is
because
in
the
old
testament
often
the
prophets
come
to
Israel
and
they
say
Israel
if
you
don't
turn
from
God
this
is
what's
going
to
happen
and
then
they
don't
turn
from
God
and
that
is
what
happens
and
so
we
think
prophets
are
those
who
can
predict
the
future
to
prophesy
just
means
to
speak
God's
word
on
behalf
of
God
to
God's
people
so
a
prophet
is
someone
who
speaks
God's
word
on
behalf
of
God
to
his
people
notice
how
often
what does
God
tell
Ezekiel
to do
Ezekiel
prophesy
in other
words
speak
my
word
speak
my
word
to
speak
my
word
Ezekiel
don't
speak
your
words
give
my
words
that
I
give
you
because
my
words
have
life
have
power
friends
in
God's
economy
God's
power
and
authority
are
not
found
in
people
but
in
his
words
in
other
words
in
a
great
church
it's
not
a
great
leader
or
great
pastor
that
has
power
authority
the
power
and
authority
don't
reside
on
the
person
it
resides
in
God's
word
that
God
speaks
it's
one
of
the
reasons
why
as
a
church
we
want
to
preach
expositional
sermons
because
who cares
about
what my
ideas
are
or
Neil's
ideas
you
don't
come
to
church
to hear
our
thinking
who
cares
what
we
think
what
we
want
is
what
is
God
saying
to
us
it's
God's
word
that
changes
people's
lives
God's
word
has
power
and
authority
which
we
God's
people
are
called
to
speak
and
so
in
the
vision
God
gives
it's
not
Ezekiel
the man
of
God
who
causes
the
bones
to
live
it's
rather
something
that
God
does
as
Ezekiel
speaks
God's
word
but
notice
the
word
itself
is
not
enough
because
look
at
verse
7
and
8
Ezekiel
says
so
I
prophesied
I
spoke
God's
word
as
I
commanded
and
as
I
spoke
there
was
a
sound
and
the
rattling
and
the
bones
come
together
I
looked
and
behold
there
are
sinews
on
them
flesh
has
come
upon
them
skin
has
covered
them
but
there's
a
problem
in
the
verse
8
there
was
no
breath
in
them
in
other
words
they
come
together
but
there's
no
life
verse
9
then
he
said
to
me
prophesy
speak
God's
word
to
the
breath
prophesy
and
say
thus
says
the
Lord
come
on
them
and
they
lived
and
stood
on
their
feet
an
exceedingly
great
army
now
in
the
Hebrew
language
the
word
for
breath
or
wind
and
spirit
is
the
same
word
it's
the
word
pneuma
like
you
think
of
pneumonia
is
where
we
got
a
problem
with
our
lungs
right
that's
about
as
much
as
I
know
is
pneumonia
is
the
way
of
breathing
our
lungs
so
the
word
breath
and
spirit
in
Hebrew
is
the
same
word
is
just
as
lifeless
bodies
are
nothing
without
breath
in
their
lungs
so
a
person
that
thinks
of
themselves
as
a
Christian
or
a
church
is
nothing
without
God's
spirit
in
our
hearts
reviving
us
and
renewing
us
it's
why
later
on
verse
nine
he
talks
about
the
breath
and
then
later
on
he
says
I
will
cause
my
spirit
to
enter
them
why
it's
the
church
without
the
spirit
of
the
living
God
illuminating
our
minds
reviving
our
hearts
making
us
more
like
Christ
is
no
more
a
church
than
a
lifeless
corpse
is
a
husband
or
wife
a
son
a
brother
or
sister
and
so
here
we
have
one
of
the
greatest
pictures
in
the
Bible
of
how
the
word
and
the
spirit
work
together
how
does
God
revive
and
renew
people
through
his
word
being
spoken
prayed
and
sat
under
and
submitted
to
it's
why
we
have
the
Bible
reading
plan
so
that
hopefully
every
one
of
us
every
day
are
getting
into
God's
word
and
letting
God's
word
speak
to us
and
change
our
hearts
but
friends
God's
word
alone
if it
just
sits
in
our
minds
is
not
enough
we
need
God's
spirit
to
take
the
truth
of
these
words
and
write
it
on
our
hearts
and
to
change
our
hearts
we
need
God's
spirit
to
penetrate
our
hearts
and
illuminate
our
minds
and
correct
our
thinking
and
arrest
our
prejudices
and
expose
our
sin
and
weaken
our
pride
and
ultimately
change
us
to
become
like
Jesus
so
what
does
this
mean
for
us
one
of
the
things
it
means
is
we
need
to
be
a
church
that
prays
we
need
God's
word
but
we
need
God's
spirit
as
revelation
chapter
three
where
Jesus
says
to
one
of
the
churches
I
know
your
works
your
many
works
and
I
know
you
have
the
reputation
of
being
alive
because
you
look
like
you've
got
it
all
together
but
actually
you
did
how
do
we
come
alive
we
pray
God
we
need
you
we
need
your
spirit
to
come
and
work
inside
of
us
God
come
and
let
your
word
your
gospel
so
penetrate
our
hearts
and
our
minds
and
our
wills
and
our
emotions
and
our
pride
that
it
changes
us
that
it
takes
that
which
is
dead
or
dying
or
sick
and
it
makes
us
alive
again
now
one
last
thing
before
we
get
to
practically
what
does
this
mean
for
us
look
at
chapter
36
that
Rachel
read
to us
there's
lots
we
could
say
in
this
passage
but
there's
one
thing
found
in
chapter
36
that
is
actually
throughout
this
whole
section
in
Ezekiel
but
it's
really
important
why
does
God
do
this
why
is
God
going
to
revive
and
renew
his
people
and
why
doesn't
God
just
say
I'm
done
with
you
let's
just
start
again
what
is
the
motivation
of
God's
heart
well
look
at
what
he
says
here
is
it
because
we
are
the
good
ones
you
know
we
the
grade
students
we
are
the
top
of
the
class
we
are
the
best
of
the
bunch
and
so
God
looks
at
us
and
says
watermark
I
really
need
you
and
so
I'm
going
to
do
work
in
you
that
you
can
be
your
best
no
that's
not
the
reason
look
at
what
he
says
in
chapter
36
verse
22
thus
says
the
Lord
therefore
say
to
the
house
of
Israel
thus
says
the
Lord
which
you
have
profaned
amongst
the
nations
to
which
you
came
I
will
vindicate
the
holiness
of
my
great
name
which
you
have
profaned
and
the
nations
will
know
that
I
you
and
I
will
cause
you
to
walk
in
my
statutes
and
to
obey
my
rules
friends
what's
God's
point
here
the
point
is
that
God
is
reviving
and
renewing
and
his
work
is
always
a
work
of
grace
not
by
works
friends
it's
done
for
the
praise
of
his
great
name
not
the
praise
of
our
great
name
the
point
is
not
that
God
says
I
will
lift
up
water
marks
or
we'll
see
how
great
he
is
friends
when
God
sends
his
spirit
to
revive
and
renew
us
it's
not
because
we
are
worthy
it's
because
he
is
worthy
of
worship
it's
not
because
we
are
holy
or
righteous
or
wonderful
it's
because
he
is
all
those
things
he
will
glorify
his
great
name
amongst
us
and
our
response
will
be
great
are
you
Lord
okay
are you
with
me
okay
so
what does
this
actually
mean
for
us
well
let
me
close
with
just
a
couple
of
thoughts
for
us
this
year
in
2024
what
should
we
be
thinking
about
focusing
on
prioritizing
in
some ways
if you've
been coming to
Watermark
for a while
none of this
will be new
but
anyway
here we
go again
in
2024
friends
let's
be a
community
that
cherishes
the
gospel
we've
only
scratched
the
surface
of the
Bible's
teaching
of the
new
life
that
is
in
Christ
but
Watermark
let's
make
sure
we
are
crystal
clear
on
the
good
news
of
the
gospel
and
what
Jesus
did
Jesus
came
not
to
simply
improve
our
lives
Jesus
came
not
simply
to
give
us
life
insurance
from
hell
one
day
Jesus
came
not
to
give
us
good
advice
how
to
live
our
lives
Jesus
came
to
take
people
who
were
dead
and
lost
in
themselves
and
had
no
hope
of
save
themselves
and
came
to
revive
us
and
renew
us
Christ
came
to
save
us
from
eternal
death
and
to
give
us
an
eternal
life
people
like
me
people
like
you
and
so
friends
let's
treasure
the
gospel
let's
make
sure
that
this
year
we
love
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
and
what
he
did
for
us
let's
make
sure
we
never
lose
sight
of
the
wonder
and
the
awe
and
the
joy
and
the
God
saved
us
from
hell
and
brought
us
into
his
family
let's
be
a
community
of
both
the
word
and
the
spirit
the
temptation
for
all
Christians
and
all
churches
is
to
focus
on
one
or
the
other
and
so
either
we
are
very
word
people
we
study
the
word
and
we
analyze
it
we
know
the
Greek
and
Hebrew
and
we
know
all
the
cross
references
and
we
know
our
Bible
it
doesn't
change
our
hearts
sometimes
we
think
it's
so
dry
and
we
need
the
spirit
so
we
go
to
the
other
side
and
we
think
God
just
do
whatever
you
want
God
but
actually
it's
God's
word
and
the
spirit
that
works
together
and
so
what
that
means
friends
is
let's
get
to
know
God's
word
this
year
let's
get
to
know
how
God
speaks
to
his
word
not
using
it
as
we
wanted
to
say
let's
really
submit
to
the
authority
of
God's
word
let's
let
God
speak
to
us
through
his
word
but
let's
not
just
let
it
resolve
stay
in
our
minds
let's
pray
the
word
say
God
come
send
your
spirit
I
need
you
God
come
and
illuminate
my
mind
come
penetrate
my
heart
come
and
arrest
my
will
come
reveal
sin
let
your
word
be
a
spotlight
let's
ask
God
the
Holy
Spirit
to
renew
our
hearts
and
give
us
a
passion
for
Jesus
and
the
gospel
cause
him
to
love
him
above
all
else
this
year
let's
be
a
community
of
prayer
is
hard
work
it's
hard
work
that's
why
the
apostle
Paul
writes
and
he
says
labor
in
prayer
sometimes
it
does
feel
like
that
it's
a
labor
but
friends
God
almost
never
moves
in
power
in
a
church
or
a
city
or
a
community
without
a
bunch
of
people
getting
on
their
knees
and
saying
God
we
need
you
prayer
is
our
admission
that
we
are
helpless
apart
from
God
prayer
admits
God
we
need
you
prayer
is
us
getting
on
our
knees
and
saying
God
I
am
not
enough
friends
what
our
church
needs
and what
our
city
needs
is
not
better
leaders
or
better
pastors
though
we
probably
do
need
that
as
well
not
a
prophet
to
come
what
we
need
is
God
to
move
in
our
midst
and
I've
got
bad
news
for
us
none
of
the
elders
can
do
that
we
can't
manufacture
that
only
God
can
do
it
but
we
do
have
a
father
in
heaven
who
loves
to
give
his
spirit
and
who
loves
to
bless
us
and
who
loves
to
save
us
and
loves
to
renew
us
and
so
let's
ask
him
God
come
move
in
our
midst
friends
fourthly
let's
be a
community
that
hates
sin
if
you've
been
following
the
watermark
bible
reading
plan
this
week
you've
been
reading
genesis
1
to
7
and
you'll
see
the
utter
devastation
we're
going
to
look
at
it
next
Sunday
the
utter
devastation
that
sin
brings
in
the
world
and
we
this
is
God's
chosen
people
his
nation
that
he
saved
out
of
Egypt
by
the
blood
of
the
lamb
the
Passover
led
into
promised
land
God's
abundant
goodness
to
them
and
yet
their
sin
and
rebellion
has
left
them
dead
like
dry
bones
in
exile
in
Babylon
friends
sin
is
always
more
serious
than
we
think
it
is
and
it
always
leads
to
death
of
relationships
death
of
identity
death
of
self
worth
death
of
knowing
God
utter
and
total
mess
friends
God
loves
to
save
sinners
and
he
loves
to
bring
people
back
to
him
but
the
path
is
often
very
painful
it's
very
painful
and
so
let's
flee
from
sin
let's
hate
it
let's
ask
God
to
give
us
a
distaste
for
it
let's
hate
what
sin
does
in
our
lives
and
in
the
world
and
our
friends
this
is
the
greatest
city
in
the
world
if
you
live
outside
of
Hong
Kong
welcome
to
the
great
city
of
Hong
Kong
this
is
the
best
city
in
the
world
friends
this
city
is
full
of
people
that
don't
know
him
and
don't
know
the
love
of
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
this
city
is
full
of
people
who
are
dying
because
they
are
spiritually
dead
and
this
city
is
full
of
people
that
have
never
encountered
the
renewing
revitalizing
work
of
God
friends
there
may
be
people
that
are
very
wealthy
there
may
be
in
Ivy League
schools
perfect
externalities
they have
the great
house
the great
job
members
of
all
the clubs
but
their souls
are
dying
friends
let's
love our
city
enough
to
tell
our
city
about
the
love
of
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
that
Jesus
died
on
the
cross
for
sinners
like
me
like
you
like
us
like
our
city
let's
love
our
neighbors
and
our
colleagues
and
our
family
members
enough
to
speak
God's
word
the
gospel
and
then
to
pray
that
God
will
send
a
spirit
to
use
his
word
to
cause
people
to
be
born
again
so
friends
2024
we have
in front
of us
what
should
we
do
what
should
we
prioritize
well
let's
prioritize
the
gospel
let's
come
back
to
God
let's
ask
God
to
make
us
a
church
that
is
vibrant
and
alive
because
his
spirit
and
his
work
is
in
light
of
us
we
love
the
Lord
Jesus
treasure
the
gospel
love
one
another
and
love
our
city
with
the
good
news
of
Jesus
let's
pray
together
Lord
Jesus
Christ
we
love
this
dramatic
picture
in
Ezekiel
God
as
it
shows
us
and
explains
to
us
in
such
dramatic
and
vivid
form
what
you
are
doing
what
you
have
been
doing
for
thousands
of
years
God
saving
people
who
could
not
save
themselves
God
many
of
us
in
this
room
have
encountered
your
saving
grace
our
lives
have
been
turned
around
by
you
and
God
we
our
result
is
as
Paul
says
in
Ephesians
to
the
praise
of
your
glorious
grace
all
glory
to
you
God
thank
you
thank
you
thank
you
God
for
some
of us
pray
won't
you
by
your
spirit
cause
us
to
be
born
again
cause
us
to
be
saved
God
open
the
eyes
of
our
hearts
to
see
the
depravity
that
we
have
that
we
are
without
you
but
the
hope
of
Jesus
God
thank
you
that
you
loved
us
enough
to
Jesus
come
and
die
for
us
God
I
pray
last
for us
as a
church
that
we
will
be
vibrant
and
passionately
in love
with
you
God
that's
something
that only
your
spirit
can
do
we
can't
manufacture
it
we
can't
force
it
we
can't
stir
up
the
emotions
God
emotions
fall
down
but
what
we
can
do
is
ask
you
by
your
spirit
God
to
awaken
our
hearts
to
revive
and
to
renew
us
God
for
those
of
us
who
are
just
sleepy
we
are
on
autopilot
oh
God
won't
you
come
and
move
in
our
midst
God
for
those
of
us
who
are
maybe
nominal
Christians
we
Christian
in
the
name
but
there's
no
reality
no
essence
come
and
save
us
God
for
all
of
us
I
pray
this
year
that
as
we
go
to
work
and
school
and
college
and
university
and
as
we
stay
at
home
God
you'll
send
your
spirit
into
our
hearts
and
we
will
walk
with
you
we
will
love
you
we
will
treasure
you
God
come
and
have
your
way
in
our
church
in
our
midst
we
pray
in
your
great
and
gracious
name
Amen