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I saw a man, a man of God, standing in the tree of God's Word, and he was holding a prophecy of me. And I thought, "Well, I've got to get to the man, I've got to get him to promise me not to let him go." And I went to him. The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the house.

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It was full of bones, and he led me round among them, and he told me, "There are very many upon the valley, and lo, they were very dry." And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, thou knowest." Again he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.'

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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 speaking.

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And as I prophesied, there was a voice, and behold, a rat lay to me, and the bones came together, bone to each bone. And as I looked, there were sinews upon them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had 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 the breath, 'Thus says the Lord God, 'Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these things, that they may live.'"

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So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into the bones, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, and exceedingly great lives. May God bless you all to our understanding of the history of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Praise the Lord.

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. They called her "Mia," because she was, in fact, a beluga whale. See, I'm one female, about 17 pounds, weighed 900 pounds.

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And if you will excuse the pun, she left her school, played hooky, if you will, and took up residence in Haven Harbor. She seemed to be very happy there. She would nuzzle the swimmers and tickle small boats as they went by. She learned a whole series of tricks, so many tricks, in fact, that those who are specializing in the field of marine biology seem to have a new appreciation of what cetacean intelligence really is.

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She wasn't a very large whale, but she was a good scout of a whale. Always brave, and always true, and always loyal, and always fun. And then one night, someone came and shot four .22 caliber rifle bullets at her. And then she died.

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Now, why would anyone do something like that? Was B.W.'s problem the fact that she was too innocent, too good, too intelligent, too trusty? Did she learn a lot of tricks, but miss the most important trick of all, how not to be a target? Good people are often kidnapped, too, you know.

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I think that as Christians, we become aware of the fact that we're under special attack in the world. Whenever you run up the banner of goodness and try to be happy in a service and in ministry to other people, and no matter how sophisticated or unsophisticated in the way, whenever you become vulnerable, there's a certain sense in which you put a bull's eye on your chest. I mean, if you're serious about the faith and you've got to anticipate this, Jesus said, "As the world hates me, so it's going to hate you." And he said in another place, "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely."

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Because that's the same thing that has been done to the servants of God in every time. You know, the so-called sophisticated world scorns our Christian view of sin. Meg Roth, the syndicated columnist, has said that the great watershed of the 20th century is when our society abolished sin. Nobody sins anymore.

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The problem is sibling rivalries or the Oedipus complex or the anti-Oedipus complex or something to do with thumb-sucking or toilet training. We've made psychology into the religion of the day. But as Christians, we know that sin is far more profound than that. And if you're going to take up the gospel and make it your own, you're not only going to be hurt and hit by the normalness and truth of life,

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but you're also going to be hurt and hit by evil that strikes out against you. It's always been like that. Think of the Christians, for example, who lived in Ephesus a long time ago. They suffered because of their faith.

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And the apostle Paul, who was in prison at the time, wrote them a letter, and in that letter he identifies the kinds of persecution that they were receiving. The world was against them and all the lusts thereof. They were in the midst of an alien faith group and surrounded by cultic associations which were ugly and blasphemous. The whole culture in which they found themselves living was heaned away from the things of God.

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And there was an institutional and organized evil also at work in the world at that time. And don't you find yourself struck with the fact that just what existed in Ephesus exists today? I mean, the whole world calls us to eat and drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. We see more and more cults about us, and unbelief is organized to a degree that it's never been organized before.

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The lusts of the flesh are tempted every time you turn to any of the media, and we are confronted by organized and institutional ugliness as well. Crime families, corporate theft, hypocrisy on television, corruption in public places, profanation of decency in the world of sport and entertainment. I mean, all of these things are about us, and if you take a stand for good in the midst of that kind of an environment, you become a very attractive target. That's the reason Paul wrote to the Ephesians, and I think he would say to us this morning, "If you're going to be a Christian, you need to put on the whole armor of God."

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Now, as I said, when Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians, he was in jail. And part of the method designed to keep him there was the fact that every day and every night he was handcuffed to a Roman soldier sitting right beside him. And he had a great deal of opportunity to observe the gear worn by that soldier, the equipment worn by a Roman soldier of that day. And Paul uses that military gear as a kind of metaphor to explain to the Ephesians how they can get along in the kind of society which is theirs.

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He not only mentions each of the pieces of equipment which the soldier wears, but he also mentions them in exactly the same order in which a soldier would put them on as he prepared for battle. Now, I'd like to talk about those various pieces of Christian armor and the order in which they're put on across the next few weeks. I'm going to be talking about how to have a faith for tough times. And I hope that you will follow me in this because we need to make use of the things that God makes available to us if we're going to stand strong in the midst of a world that targets these things.

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That targets us as Christians. The first word Paul writes to the Ephesians then is this, "Stand, therefore, having girded your loins with truth." Now, what was the girdle and what was the truth? The girdle was a wide leather belt.

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Often it had pieces of metal on the outside. And it was worn about the abdomen. And it had three functions. First, it protected the vital organs over which it was attached.

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Second, there were various things on it by which you could hang other weapons that you would use in the conflict, like, for example, the sword of the spirit. And then also, it had a way of pulling the soldier together. You see, in those days, they wore very loose and flowing clothes. And when you got into a time of combat, the nature of those clothes would get in the way, causing you to trip or to stumble or to be awkward.

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Well, this belt pulled all those things together. It gave unity. It gave compactness. It gave a certain firmness of stance. This is what the girdle did.

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Now, what is the Word of God? What is the truth? According to Paul, is God's Word given to us? And he derives that from the scriptures, even as we derive it from the scriptures today. Jesus said, "If you continue in my Word, you will know the truth."

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His Word, you see, equals truth. In his great high priestly prayer, Jesus prays to his Father and he says, "Thy Word is truth." The Word of God is the truth. Whenever Paul uses the word "faith," he's talking about truth.

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And he says, "Stand fast in the faith," that is, "Stand fast in the truth," that is, "Stand fast in the Word of God." And Peter picks up exactly this same metaphor and uses it in one of his letters. He says, "Gird up the loins of your minds and stand fast in the faith," that is, "Stand fast in the Word of God." So the girdle, the belt on which the Christians rely are the scriptures.

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They give firmness. They're the place in which other weapons are made available. And they also keep things together, keep you ready for the conflict. This book, which is really 66 different pamphlets written across many years in at least three different languages by more than 30 different people,

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is inspired by the Holy Spirit of God in such a way that God is revealed to us in it. In a sense, this book is like a drama in three acts in which God progressively reveals himself. In the first act, he speaks in very primitive terms because he was speaking to primitive days and primitive people. They were not sophisticated.

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But then in the second act of the book, he begins to explain to them his universal nature and how he is the source of all righteousness and truth and how everything in all the world is to be measured by him and by his name. And finally, in the third and climactic act of this book, God reveals himself through the person of his own Son. All those lamps that have been lining the road to Bethlehem are replaced by a single bright shining star.

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And we have in Christ and in the Word about him what our Christian faith is and how we are to practice it. What Paul says to those who are trying to get along in tough times is this. Stand, having girded your loins with the truth. Know the truth.

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Rely on the truth. Trust the truth. Stand on the truth. Now consider examples of people who have done that across history.

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Take for example Paul himself. He bore on his body the marks of his faith. He was the last of those called in the company of the disciples. But in the short discipleship which was his, he was shipwrecked, he was killed, he was stoned, he was tortured, he was humiliated.

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And of all of this, how did he manage to stand firm? How did he manage to keep that faith which had been given to me? By remembering the word of truth, "God loved me and gave himself for me." We'll come a little closer to our time with Luther.

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Luther wrote a letter to his young son of the faith, Philip Blanck, on May the 26th, 1521. And in that letter he says, "Do not be troubled in the spirit. Sing the Lord's song. Sing it in the night, and I shall join you.

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Let us only be concerned about the word of God." There it is, you see. That note of strength, that note of firmness. Later, Luther wrote a letter to some Christians who were being persecuted in Wittenberg.

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And in that letter he says, "I send you the 37th song. It will console and it will instruct you. Remain steadfast to trouble people," you see. He sends the word of God.

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Well, let's come even closer to our time. It was only about a year ago that the moderator of our Presbyterian church stood in this pulpit. You will remember that Ben Weir had been a hostage in Lebanon, held captive for 16 months, 14 of those months in solitary confinement. And what did he say was the thing that sustained him in that time?

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He looked about that little room in which he lived by himself for 14 months, and he'd see cracks in the wall and things in the ceilings and blinds on the windows, all of which reminded him of passages of Scripture. And he kept saying those passages to himself.

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And the only thing that he ever asked his pactors for was an Arabic New Testament. And by God's grace, one of them gave him such a New Testament. And he said of that, "When I received that word, my spirit soared." You see, the firmness, the steadfastness, the security of the Bible,

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it all had to do with the girdle. That girdle is the Word of God. Or take the example of John Testrake. John Testrake was the pilot of that TWA Flight 847 that was taken captive in June of 1985.

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You remember there were 145 passengers and 8 on the crew, and they were held hostage at the Beirut Airport for 17 days. And Testrake came out of that experience as the hero, because he always remained cool. Even when the hijackers became almost hysterical, he managed to keep control of himself.

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And he wrote about that later. And he said, "My faith has developed across the course of many years. I've had some hard battles to fight, and I've relied in those battles on God, and He's never let me down. In 1955, I was in a serious accident, and I almost lost my own life, and my little son was killed.

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Then in 1976, my wife died, and I was left to rear four children all by myself. But then in God's providence, in the church which we attended each week, I met a lady, and she became my new wife. Then, after that, my son, 27 years old, Alan, died very suddenly without any warning. I've gone through all kinds of heartbreak, mind-boggling circumstances, but I've learned to trust God."

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Now, the navigator on board that plane was a man named Christian Zimmerman, who was, incidentally, an ordained Lutheran clergyman. And Zimmerman and Testrake studied the Scriptures together every day that they were held hostage. And they conducted worship services for those who were held hostage as passengers.

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Testrake would lead the singing, and Zimmerman would do the preaching. And writing about all of this afterwards, Testrake said, "I was comforted, and I was sustained by the presence of Jesus Christ." And how did he know and experience that presence?

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Through his reliance on the Word of God. It kept things together for him, so that he was cool when everything about him was in disarray. When you put on that broad belt that promises the grace of God, it helps you stand strong. So in tough times, and these are tough times,

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we need to read this Word, and learn this Word, and hide this Word in our hearts. For it will unite us in our believing. Have you let your life know this power? I mean, if you're guilty, if you feel like Isaiah,

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"Woe is me, for I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of the people of unclean lips." Or, do you feel like Paul, when he said, "All my righteousness is like filthy rags." If the burden of your guilt is something big and overwhelming and shadowing, then send something bigger and more overwhelming to meet it.

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And that thing to send to meet it, is the grace of God. Tie on this belt from the Scriptures, "Where sin did abound, grace does much more abound." Sin might be big, but grace is bigger. Sin might be strong, but grace is stronger.

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Say that to yourself. Sing that to yourself. Remind yourself. It's the burden you carry, the burden of loneliness. It was particularly known, I think, amongst the Ephesians, because there was such a small company of Christians. And often times, they wouldn't see each other from worship day to worship day.

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They were out there working in a totally pagan world. They longed for brothers and sisters in the faith. Paul says, "Put on that Word." Maybe one of the words they put on is, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

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Did they sing that song in their hearts? Was that the belt that they tied about themselves? Are you facing enemies? Are there people deliberately trying to bring you down?

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Then take that belt that says, "He prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies," and put it on! Are you afraid of death? The death of others, or your own death? Then take that belt that says, "In my Father's house are many mansions, and I will come and receive you unto myself."

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Take that belt and put it on! Are you confronting some challenge that seems too big for you to deal with? Some question, some vicissitude, some difficulty that is awesome, and of which you are afraid? Take that belt of Scripture that says, "I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me," and put it on!

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Do you find yourself anxious, or worried, or not at peace within your own heart? Then take that belt of Scripture that says, "When thou passest through the deep waters, I shall be with thee," and put it on! Now, perhaps there are some here listening this morning who find it very hard to identify with what I'm saying.

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Maybe you've never been challenged. Maybe you've never felt the hardships and the difficulties and the kind of attack that I'm talking about. If that's so, then I'm very glad for you. But I want to give you a word of caution.

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Your time of attack, your time of hurt, your time of anxiety is coming. Don't be like Harry Truman. I don't mean the Harry Truman who was President of the United States. I mean that Harry Truman who lived on the slopes of Mount St. Helens out in Oregon.

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He lived there with 16 cats. Do you remember him? And they went to him and they said, "Look, the mountain is going to blow. Get out of here." And Harry Truman, crusty with his own wisdom and with his own strength, said, "Well, I've seen it smoke, but I've never seen it blow." And he never left the place.

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And it blew. It was an explosion 500 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. And no one has ever seen or heard from Harry Truman or his 16 cats since. Whenever a hardship comes, there's usually some kind of warning, some suggestion that's on its way.

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That's the reason it's important for us to study and to devote ourselves to the learning of Scripture and to fellowship with others while we hide God's Word in our heart. That's the reason it's important to tie on the belts in advance so that when those signs come, you are ready. Remember that great story in Ezekiel that I read to you just a few minutes ago?

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Ezekiel has a vision. It's not an actual historic event. It's a vision. And in that vision, he is sent out into a valley and the valley is full of bones, dry bones. Now remember, in the Old Testament, the health of the bones was equated with the health of the soul. When the bones were dry and parched and no life in them, that meant the soul was gone.

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There was dryness. There was no life there. There was no spiritual shine or health. After showing him this valley full of these bones, God says to Ezekiel, "Can these bones live?" And Ezekiel answers correctly. He says, "Thou, Lord, alone knowest." And God says to Ezekiel, "I want you to do a certain thing."

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And Ezekiel did that thing. And those bones came together. They came together. They pooled together. They linked themselves to one another so that sinew and muscle and skin made them healthy and whole again. Now what was the one thing that Ezekiel was told to say to the bones?

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What was the command of God that pooled everything together? Hear what the Scriptures say. And God said to Ezekiel, "Trophesy to these bones, and say to them, oh, ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." And when they heard the word of the Lord, the toe bone was connected to the foot bone and the foot bone to the heel bone and the heel bone to the ankle bone and the ankle bone to the thigh bone and the thigh bone to the knee bone.

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And the knee bone to the hip bone and the hip bone to the back bone and the back bone to the shoulder bone and the shoulder bone to the neck bone and the neck bone to the head bone. And them bones, they got up and they walked around. That's what happened for Ezekiel. That's what happened to the Ephesians.

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And that's what Luther experienced. And that's what Ben Weir knew. And that's what John Testrake discovered. And that's what is there for each and every one of us to discover also.

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That in the midst of tough times like these, the word of God will be to us a firm belt, a girdle of understanding. "Stand," Paul says, "Stand therefore, having girded your loins with the truth." That's step one in the building of a faith for tough times. Let us pray.

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Our Father, we thank Thee for the rich treasure of Thy work. And we thank Thee for those who across the years have evidenced their confidence in it and thus been strong. Lead us to the fountains that never run dry. Lead us to the treasure that is beyond measure.

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Lead us to that inheritance which is stored up for the saints. Lead us ever deeper into the word of God. And may we find in it all we need of peace and voice and power. We pray our prayer in Jesus' name, Amen.

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[Music] Amen.