The Hedge of God
Ezekiel 22.23-31 (text—30)
The main aspect of the ministry of Ezekiel was that of exposing the sins, the immorality, and the injustice of the people where he lived.
This is not a very enviable assignment for a servant of God.
We need Ezekiel’s today! We need men and women of God who will cry out as Ezekiel did, about the sin that is so prevalent today.
Preachers and teachers today that cry out against the sins of the people will not have an easy time of it either.
Just as Ezekiel did, these modern day heralds will be called pessimists and it will be said that they only look at the dark side of things.
Ezekiel was a realist, and he saw things as they really were, he faced the facts of his generation, and folks we must face the facts of our own generation.
Looking at the words of my text this morning, we see that God is doing something, and folks, He is doing the same thing today!
Do you know what He is doing? He is seeking! Now all of us know what that means.
We know what the shepherd does that loses one of a hundred sheep. He leaves the 99 and goes looking for the one.
According to the words of our text, God is seeking, but what is He seeking?
He is seeking a man or woman hat will stand for Him, who will take sides for Him, and who will represent Him!
I dare say that God is seeking YOU this morning.
Can you believe that? You better! Look at the words of the text again, and notice that when God seeks a man (a servant) He finds the person He wants.
He finds the person who is willing to be AVAILABLE for His purpose. He finds the man who is willing to be USED by Him.
But sometimes He does not find the man He wants.
The prophet showed that the city of Jerusalem was like a city whose walls were gapped up and broken.
In ancient times, a cities defenses were its walls, but the defenses of Jerusalem were broken and there were great gaps in the walls. The city was in danger.
The Prophet was not thinking about the material defenses of the city. He was talking about the real defenses of the nation.
The real defenses of any nation are not its walls or bars of iron, the real defenses of any nation are its morals, its justice, its righteousness, and its purity.
Not only are these things a defense for a nation, they are a defensive network for the church and the individual Christian.
The Bible tells us “Righteousness exalteth a nation, and sin is a reproach to any people.
A nation like America may have great wealth, but unless there are men and women who are pure in heart and clean in life and who fear God,
That nation’s defense is gapped and the nation is in great danger.
In other words the invincible hedge of any nation are not the walls, gates, guns, ships or armaments, but men and women who fear God and who are willing to live their lives on the line to glorify Him.
There are great gaps in the defenses of our nation today!
There are gaps today just as there were over 2600 years ago.
The United States prides itself that we are not nearly as bad as other nations, because we are a Christian nation.
Christian nation indeed! Does our country look very Christian to you?
It is a cesspool of sin and as such, there are great gaps in our defenses today.
Human nature hasn’t changed much in the last 2600 years. It is rotten to the core and will be until Jesus returns and sets up His eternal kingdom.
The Bible says that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
It is for this reason alone that we are at war and that there is international strife and upheavals and world chaos as we see every day!
What are the gaps that Ezekiel talked about? What are the gaps that are in our defenses today? They are the same!
Verse 2 calls them abominations—these are the things that are detestable in the eyes of God.
In verses 4-5, the gaps are said to be a reproach to the heathen and a mocking to all countries.
Think about it—Jerusalem, the Holy City is a reproach to other nations. What about America! What about our churches today?
America is a reproach to the whole world today. Everyone sees our lack of spirituality and the way we have forgotten God, the true founder of America.
We may not like these words in our politically correct society, but God never said for the Christian to be politically correct. He wants us to call sin what it is, SIN.
What are some of the gaps in the hedge that God placed around our country long ago? God gave us the hedge and it was up to us to keep it pruned and healthy and we as a nation and as churches have failed miserably!
There are six gaps that I want to point out this morning that are in the hedge God placed around our country. These gaps have been caused by our carelessness to guard the principles upon which America was founded.
The first is idolatry! I hate to say it but we have Christians who worship idols. We have Sunday school teachers and leaders who committed to God, not the church, that they were going to teach a class or hold other positions in the church,
But they have fallen to idolatry and others in the church know it, and are guilty of not standing in the gap and calling sin, sin.
In 22.4 Ezekiel says, “Thine idols which thou hast made.” Folks it is not only the heathens that bow down to wood and stone who worship idols.
Many of God’s children worship TV, Cars, Money, Sports, Sex, and any number of things that they allow to keep them out of God’s house.
Anything that you allow to keep you from God’s worship and his house becomes an idol. It may even be the idol of anger, resentment, or pride. The idol of laziness is another biggie.
The second gap is despising holy things.
In 22.8 Ezekiel says, “Thou has despised Mine Holy things, and has profaned My Sabbaths.”
The greatest gap in the defenses of this country today is our desecration of God’s Holy Day.
Through this gap in the hedge, a great number of good things have fallen out and a whole sea of iniquity has poured into the gap and through this gap, God’s judgment has come.
What about the despising of God’s holy temple! Not just the church building and grounds, but what about your body.
Paul said, know ye not that ye are the temple of God!
What about the denial of God’s Word and the tossing about of God’s laws as if they were nothing.
Do people think that you despise the house of God and His holy things because you don’t come to church?
Preacher, I come to church on Sunday morning.
Might be true, but what about Sunday night and Wednesday night. I personally do not think a man is qualified to hold office in the church if he is not here to support the church when the doors are open!
That goes for Deacons, Sunday school teachers, Ushers and anyone else that holds a position in God’s house.
IF you can’t be here when the doors are open as an example to others, you don’t need to hold a position and give them the example of lackluster commitment to the Lord.
That is lip service and Jesus doesn’t want lip service folks, He wants service FROM THE HEART!
If you can’t serve from the heart, don’t tell the nominating committee that you will serve when they ask.
I would rather have to combine classes and have teachers committed to teaching God’s Word than have more classes with teachers not here to teach.
The third gap is found in verse nine: “In the midst of thee they commit lewdness.”
This means sensuality, indecency, immodesty and a horrible brazenness.
These plain words point to a lack of morality. The low standard of living that exists in our nation.
Indecency, immodesty, sensuality, and filthy brazenness are things that ought not to be, because they are a peril to man.
This spirit of lewdness is found on the street, in the newspaper, in magazines, in the theaters, and on every TV screen in the country and sadly it is creeping into our churches.
The trouble with all this is that it has developed so slowly and subtly that we have grown accustomed to it and we don’t realize the danger that it puts us in.
The fourth gap is the love of money.
Ezekiel talks about this in verse 12. People joke about this as the sin of the Jew. But folks, it is the national sin of the United States today.
It is also the sin of the church. Every Christian organization is constantly facing the burden of getting funds for God’s work.
If God’s people would give proportionately to God’s treasury, there would be more than sufficient funds for all the work that needs to be done.
Most churches need to be ashamed of themselves for being so tight with God’s Money. Nowhere in the Bible do I find where the church is to have a huge bank account,
It is nice and I believe it is good stewardship to make sure that we have the funds to do what we need to do, but what about what God wants us to do? We cannot out give God.
You have proved it for the last 15 months folks. You have a full time pastor now and along with that comes expenses.
Most churches experience a huge drop in the treasury when they hire a full time pastor. God has so blessed Thompson Creek Baptist Church that the treasury has grown consistently in the last 15 months instead of declining.
God has grown the treasury for us, have we expanded our ministry for Him.
Another gap is forgetfulness of God. Verse 12 says, “Thou hast forgotten me, saith the Lord.”
In the midst of our busy daily living, so many of us have simply left God right out.
We used to think of Him or Go to church to worship, but in these past years, we have forgotten Him.
“Thou hast forgotten me, saith the Lord”, will be on the tombstone of the USA. We are out of fellowship with God,
We are running our own lives and making our own plans, and God does not come into the picture at all.
This is tragic, but the wonderful thing is, God has yet to forget us!
The last gap I want to call attention to is the one caused by false prophets.
In this chapter, Ezekiel gives a description of those who proclaim another gospel, in vv. 25, 26.
Over the past 50 years, here in America false teachers have duped the people with teaching of rationalistic, humanistic philosophies that they have substituted for the preaching and teaching of God’s Word.
Today there are thousands of substitutes for the pure Gospel of the saving Grace of Jesus Christ.
It is up to us as a church to do whatever it takes to get the message out to the people of this community, that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.
These are just a few of the things that have caused gaps to be in the hedge of protection around America and around Christians.
The main idea of the text though is God is seeking men and women who will stand in the gaps, and who will not only stand there, but will work on mending the gaps that are there.
(Ezekiel 22:30) And I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
This is the greatest need in the USA and in the church today.
Men and women who are utterly dedicated to God and who are available to Him for His service.
What kind of men and women is God seeking?
First, He is seeking people. Not machinery, money, or methods, but people. He always reaches and teaches men through men.
The man that God is seeking is a separated man. “I sought for a man among them.” The man that God is seeking is the one who was willing to come out from among those who had better things to do than serve Him.
The man God wants is a man who will stand, “I sought for a man that should stand.”
We cannot all preach, teach, play instruments, or hold the same offices. But by the grace of God, we can all stand for the Lord and this is exactly what He wants.
He wants men and women and young people who will stand for Him and His truth. Will you be one?
Then God wants men and women who will not only fill the gap but will make up the hedges.
Standing may be passive, but here is something that is proactive.
God wants men and women who will spread righteousness and truth, that will counter act the forces of evil that are running wild in the world today.
There is another fact in the text about the kind of man that God is seeking.
He is seeking a man that will stand before Him. This means that all the resources of God are available to the man or woman who will man the gap and stand for Him.
One thing is for sure, there is no way that a man can stand in the gap on his own strength. It will take the strength of the Lord for a man to stand in the gap.
All the unlimited power that God has is there to enable us to take a stand for God in our homes, at our jobs, at our churches, wherever we may be it is available for us to take a stand and stand before Him.
Look at the verse again. God wants a man that will stand in the gap before Him FOR THE LAND!
What is the greatest service any of us can do for our country at this or any time? Think about it.
It is to live a pure, Christlike life, to be a man or woman of prayer and spirituality to stand for what is right against everything that is evil and wrong.
The last thing we should notice is that God was seeking a man to stand in the gap so that He “should not destroy the land.”
Because it is so corrupt. God cannot overlook sin. God has never nor will He ever make an exception for even one sin.
God cannot condone what is wrong. HE must judge it because He is God.
Because God must judge it, someone must stand in the gaps for Him or He will come pouring through these gaps in judgment and punishment as He did in those days.
What can we do about this?
Is there anything that we can do to prevent God’s judgment from falling upon our nation?
Yes there is. In Psalm 106 we read that because of their sin, God prepared judgment for the nation Israel.
This judgment though, was diverted, in Psa 106.23 we read: “Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.”
This means that wherever sincere Christians are, if they are prepared to live for God and serve Him faithfully, God will withhold His judgment for the sake of His people.
There is another example when Abraham interceded on behalf of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Are there men and women who are ready to accept the responsibility of standing in the gap and making repairs to the hedge of the Lord?
And I sought for a man among those in America, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
And I sought for a man among those at Thompson Creek Baptist Church, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
Where do you stand? Those of you in positions in the church, where do you stand?
Will you forsake the world and answers the clarion call of God when He says, “Whom shall we send?” Will you stand in the gap and answer, “Here am I Lord, Send (Use) me!
