Are You Being Sought By God

Are You Being Sought By God?

Scripture: Ezekiel 22:30; First Peter 5:8; Genesis 18:16-25

Ezekiel 22:30 says, “30) And I sought for a man among them, that should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” I want you to focus on the words, “stand in the gap before Me…” The dictionary defines “stand in the gap” as “to expose oneself for the protection of something; to take the place of a fallen defender or supporter.” Most of us are familiar with the concept of standing in the gap as we have experienced it personally. For example, our daughter Clarissa is a therapist who works with children. There are times when she is required to “stand in the gap” for the children she works with when she has to testify in court on their behalf. Also, some of us and our children have stood in the gap while in school when defending someone who were being picked on. We have also stood in the gap for others when we have interceded in prayer for them. So we are familiar with the concept of standing in the gap as we have done it for people we know and love. However, this morning I want you to focus on it from God’s point of view. I want you to see that God is looking for people to stand in the gap before Him and He is not asking for us to like the people first.

No, in the ancient world of the Bible, cities had walls surrounding them to provide protection from enemies. When the wall was breached, the city was vulnerable to destruction. The only way to secure it was for people to risk their lives by literally standing in the gap in the wall and fighting the enemy. If you read Ezekiel chapter twenty-two, God outlined things that the people of Israel were doing that were against His laws and against His righteousness. He had also identified the things the priests and the leadership were doing that were against His righteousness and He was ready to bring His judgment. But before He brought His judgment, He actually did something that would seem strange to all of us. Ezekiel 22:30 said that He actually “….sought for a man among them, that should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it…” God was ready to pronounce His judgment on the land but before He did so He sought someone to intercede for the land so He wouldn’t have to do it. He sought someone to stand in the gap before Him to plead with Him to not destroy the land. The title of my message this morning is “Are You Being Sought By God?”

Do you recall what Peter wrote in First Peter 5:8? He wrote, “8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.” That word seeking is the present tense of the word sought. Peter said that the devil, our adversary, is going around seeking someone to devour. The fact that he has to seek someone means that he is selective in who he attacks and how he does it. The person that he attacks is one that he understands and believes that he can catch and bring down. This is how he operates. So the stronger a person is the better that person’s chances are of resisting the attack. None of us are immune from being attacked, but the difference is what happens when we are under attack. So here is my point, just as the devil is seeking someone to devour, God is seeking someone to stand in the gap before Him for those who are not saved or living outside of His will. He is seeking those who are willing to love first which include loving those we would deem unlovable. God want “gap standers!” Turn with me to Genesis chapter eighteen.

In Genesis 18 we find the story of Abraham talking with the Lord and standing in the gap for Sodom and Gomorrah. You are very familiar with this story and this morning I only want you to focus on the conversation between the Lord and Abraham. As the Lord and His two angels prepared to leave after visiting with Abraham and Sarah, the Lord turns to Abraham to talk about His plans for Sodom and Gomorrah. This interaction was very revealing as it reveals both the heart of God and that of Abraham. Let me explain. There are many things happening in the world today that I do not agree with based on my understanding of the Word of God. I believe that our enemy, the devil, is especially working overtime to get the United States of America to look more and more like Sodom and Gomorrah where sin reign uncontested. But here is the problem, whereas Sodom and Gomorrah at least had Abraham making an attempt to stand in the gap for them, many Christians today are actively condemning those they are supposed to love and be standing in the gap for.