Title: Stand in the Gap
Text: Ezekiel 22:23-31
Date: 11/2/08
Location: Sulphur Spring Baptist Church
Introduction: In October of 1997 I had the opportunity to be a part of something that I will never forget. Bill McCartney, the founder of Promise Keepers had a vision to bring men from all over the nation to Washington D.C. to pray for Revival, Reconciliation and a Spiritual Awakening in our nation. That day 1.4 million Christian men from every denomination and race came together to worship God and to intercede with Him on behalf of our nation.
We heard several inspirational sermons that day, and we sang several songs. But the most meaningful thing as far as I am concerned was when we got down on our hands and knees and humbled ourselves before a holy God, and confessed our sins and the sins of our nation to Him. This event or gathering was called, "Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of men.”
The first part of this title came from verse 30 of our text, which says, "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none."
This morning I want to challenge and encourage each of you to "Stand in the Gap," on behalf of your friends and family, on behalf of our church and community, and most importantly on behalf of our nation.
During the last month I’ve done my best to convince you just how serious, and how ominous the situation in America today really is. We are living in a day and time when the church has lost much of its influence. Gone are the days when the church was the most respected and influential organization in the community. If that’s not bad enough, many Americans actually believe the church has become irrelevant in today’s society. Almost 40 percent of young adults and teenagers today have a negative view not only of the church but of Christianity as a whole.
Instead of being the light of the world and the salt of the earth, many Christians have lost their zeal and enthusiasm for the Lord and have become indifferent and apathetic.
Most Christians today are reluctant to get involved in the lives of unbelievers. Many of us have fallen for Satan’s lie that things have gotten so bad in America that there’s nothing that we can do about it.
illustration: A few years ago I heard about a tragic accident in which a woman and her small child both drowned. That’s bad enough, but what really troubled me is that dozens of people were standing there watching the whole thing without even offering to help. One person even videotaped the drowning, and later bragged about it. But no one attempted to help her in any way.
According to our Text this morning one person could have made the difference for the Nation of Israel. I want us to take a closer look at this passage of Scripture this morning. The first thing I want you to notice is that:
I. THE NATION OF ISRAEL HAD ONCE AGAIN TURNED ITS BACK ON GOD.
This time as a result of their disobedience the Israelites found themselves in captivity in Babylon. Now you would think that alone would be enough to get them to repent of their sins and return to God, but it wasn’t. Many of them still had misconceptions about what it meant to be God’s chosen people. They thought that God would always protect them regardless of how far away from Him they were. They expected God to protect them and bless them as He always had. But they were unwilling to keep their part of the covenant. They were unwilling to give up their false gods and sinful lifestyles.
In our Text, the Prophet Ezekiel condemned four groups of people in particular for their sins.
A. In verse 25 he mentions the "Princes."
He is referring to the political leaders in Jerusalem and the nation of Israel. Their responsibility was to serve and protect the people. But instead they had abused their power and had actually taken advantage of the people. Ezekiel compared them to a roaring lion that tears and rips the flesh of its victims. These government rulers like the majority of our politicians today weren’t really interested in serving or protecting the people. Instead all they were interested in was getting rich and increasing their power and influence.
I heard a news report this week that said that 66 % of our Senators and 39 % of the members of the House of Representatives are millionaires. On average their salaries are around $169,000, which is nothing to sneeze at but in reality they make much more from the Special interest groups and lobbyists than they do from their salaries. So even though we elect them, when they get to congress many of them are corrupted by the Special interest groups and all of their money.
B. In verse 26, Ezekiel also condemned the Priests of Israel for their sins.
Like the Princes, the Priests were not doing what they were supposed to do. They refused to teach the Law of Moses. In fact much of the time they deliberately disobeyed it or ignored it all together.
They did not stress or emphasize Holiness and righteousness to the people. They did not teach them the difference between the Holy things of God and the common things of man. And perhaps worst of all, they refused to teach the people the importance of keeping of the Sabbath Day Holy.
In reality, these priests are like some of the preachers in America today who refuse to take a stand against sin, because they are afraid that they will offend somebody or make the feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately too many of these so-called preachers are more concerned about how their message is going to be accepted by the people in the pews than they are about whether it meets with God’s approval.
Which reminds me of what Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3 which says,
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
C. The third group Ezekiel condemned for their sins were the prophets of Israel.
The prophets saw the evil deeds of the Princes and the Priests but refused to expose them. Instead according to verse 28 they whitewashed or covered up these evil deeds by making false prophecies.
Perhaps they were on some politician’s payroll or were getting a kickback. They would prophesy and give the people the impression that those prophecies had come from God, when in fact nothing could have been further from the truth.
D. The last group of people Ezekiel mentioned were the "people of the Land."
These were the common people who followed the leadership of the princes, priests, and prophets. Because their leaders were so corrupt, the people eventually followed their example and also became corrupt. They had absolutely no morals or integrity. They were involved in all kinds of sinful activities and would do anything to make a little money, including, extortion, robbery, or taking advantage of the poor.
I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds a lot like 21st Century America. Some people today will do anything to make a quick dollar or two. I’m convinced that some people in America wouldn’t think twice about cheating their own mother out her last $1.00 bill if they had the chance.
The United States of America, like the nation of Israel has turned it’s back on God. The only difference is that we are captives in our own homeland, instead of being captives in a foreign land. We like to believe that we still live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. But in reality, we have become enslaved to our sinful lifestyles and for the most part are nothing but a bunch of Spiritual Cowards."
Our nation needs men, women, boys and girls who are willing to Take a Stand for God, even if it isn’t the popular thing to do.................
And by the way, taking a stand for the Lord seldom is the popular thing to do, and it certainly isn’t the easiest thing to do. But nonetheless we need Christians who will stand up for their faith, regardless of the consequences. We need people to stand in the gap and intercede with God on behalf of our nation. We need prayer warriors to call upon our God and beg for grace and mercy.
James reminds us just how powerful prayer and intercession is when he says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops."
Look again with me at verse 30:
God says, "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none."
So the Second thing I want you to remember about this passage is that…
II. GOD SEARCHED FOR SOMEONE TO BUILD UP THE WALL, AND STAND IN THE GAP.
In order to understand the significance of this verse of Scripture you need to understand what the situation in Jerusalem was at this particular time.
Both the city and the Temple were still standing. Consequently the Israelites who were in captivity still held out some hope that God would intervene on their behalf.
I believe the phrase "to build up the wall" refers to someone who would help re-build the Spiritual foundations of the nation of Israel. Just as the nation of Israel needed people to help re-build the walls of Jerusalem and fortify their defenses. God needed someone to begin re-building the Spiritual foundations that had collapsed, and were now lying in shambles, just as the walls of Jerusalem were.
Not only did God search for someone to re-build the walls, but he was also searching for someone to "Stand in the Gap."
This phrase had a military implication. During an attack, if the enemy was somehow able to breach the wall, then that "Gap" had to be plugged immediately or the city would fall. In the same way, the "Spiritual Gap" that had developed between God and His People was allowing the forces of Satan to do a tremendous amount of Spiritual damage to the nation of Israel.
God needed someone to "Stand in the Gap" or "Intercede" with Him, on behalf of the nation of Israel. God was looking for someone who would fall on their knees in repentance and pray for the nation of Israel, just as Moses had done for the Israelites while they were in the wilderness.
As a shared with you a few weeks ago, the Prophet Amos also interceded with the Lord when the Lord gave him the vision of what He was going to do to the nation of Israel. Amos fell on his knees before God and said, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small.” Amos 6:5
Wouldn’t it be exciting to be used by God in such a powerful way? I am convinced that God doesn’t want to destroy America, and that He would much rather send another Great Awakening than pour down His wrath and Judgment upon us. But unless we are willing to "build up the walls," and "Stand in the Gap,…".
Unless we are willing to get down on our knees and pray, and Seek His face, then I’m afraid it’s just a matter of time before we experience that wrath and judgment.
During the past 3-4 weeks I’ve told you several times that I believe the greatest need the United States has right now is not for the war in Iraq to come to an end. It’s not for the Economy to turn around, or for everyone in America to have healthcare. Our greatest need is to experience a good Old Fashioned Revival and Spiritual Awakening.
You know one thing that separates the Bible from a good novel, is that things don’t always turn out the way we would like for them to.
Which brings me to the Last thing I want you to notice about this passage of Scripture and that is that…
III. SINCE NO ONE COULD BE FOUND, WHO WAS WILLING TO "STAND IN THE GAP," GOD HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO POUR OUT HIS WRATH, AND JUDGMENT UPON THE NATION OF ISRAEL.
Verse 31 says, "So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord."
God used the Babylonians to deliver a crushing blow to the ego and pride of the Nation of Israel.
In 586 B.C. the Babylonians laid siege to the city of Jerusalem, and on August 14, 586 B.C. both Jerusalem and the Temple were completely destroyed.
Our families, our churches, our cities and our nation have been under spiritual attack for the past 30-40 years. Satan and his legions of demons are patient and very committed to the destruction of America, and I personally believe He wants to destroy us the same way He destroyed the nation of Israel.
He managed to corrupt the political and religious leaders of Israel and they in turn led the people of Israel to turn away from God. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that He is well on the way to doing the same thing to us.
Unless we as Christians are willing to "re-build the walls" and "stand in the Gap" on behalf of our nation, then America is headed for trouble.
God is a Holy God, and unless we turn from our wicked ways, and humble ourselves before him, and seek His face, then He will pour out His wrath and judgment on us just as He did the nation of Israel.
I believe God is patient and is still searching for people who are willing to rebuild the walls and stand in the Gap.
Invitation: A few years ago I heard a man by the name of Al Denson sing a song entitled “Be The One.” It’s a beautiful song with a powerful message that I believe goes right along with this sermon.
It goes like this:
In a world full of broken dreams
Where the truth is hard to find
For every promise that is kept
There are many left behind
Though it seems that nobody cares
It still matters what you do
‘Cause there’s a difference you can make
But the choice is up to you
chorus:
Will you be the one
To answer to His call
Will you stand
When those around you fall
Will you be the one
To take His light
Into a darkened world
Tell me will you be the one
Oh sometimes it’s hard to know
Who is right and what is wrong
And where are you supposed to stand
When the battle lines are drawn
There’s a voice that is calling out
For someone who’s not afraid
To be a beacon in the night
To a world that’s lost it’s way
There are still some battles
That I must fight from day to day
Yet the Lord provides the power
For me to stand and say
chorus:
I will be the one
To answer to His call
I will stand
When those around me fall
I will be the one
To take His light
Into a darkened world
I will be the one
God is searching for someone to Build up the walls and stand in the Gap for America so He won’t have to destroy it? Will you be the One this monring?
