Stand In The Gap

 

Ezekiel 22:23 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.
25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.
29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. 
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.
31 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. 

When I read these verses the comparison to our state as a society is glaring…

  • Conspiracy of her prophets… they have devoured souls (religious associations)
  • Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. (Scandels, Adultery, Fornication, tax fraud)
  • Her princes (leadership) destroy souls, to get dishonest gain
  • And her prophets… Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken. (TV Evangelists)
  • Vexed the poor and needy – Social programs do not build up, educate and empower lives.. Rather they keep them sustained at the status quo.

We indeed live in a time that is seeing the end result of a generation that has tried to build a society without God… and like then God is still looking for a man to stand in the gap.

  • The typical U.S. Congregation draws an adult crowd that’s 61% female, 39% male. This gender gap shows up in all age categories.
  • On any given Sunday there are 13 million more adult women than men in America’s churches.
  • For Sunday Morning Service almost 25 percent of married, churchgoing women will worship without their husbands.
  • Midweek activities often draw 70 to 80 percent female participants
  • There are a little more than 2.5 million men in prison today. Compared to under 500,000 in 1980. So roughly were looking at 1 in 20 men are now in jail.

I BELIEVE THAT THE ONE IS RELATED TO THE OTHER.

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.

I like to watch documentaries. It something my dad forced me to do as a child and I hated it!
I particularly like to watch documentaries on building bridges and dams. The complexity and engeneering behind such bridges such as:
  • Langkawi Sky Bridge, Malaysia that’s a 410 ft long bridge that wraps around mountains for safe passage
  • Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge, Japan – which is the longest suspension bridge in the world
  • Siduhe Bridge, China – the worlds highest bridge at over 1,600 feet above the rocks below
  • Hoover Dam – took more than 582 miles of 1-inch steel pipe in the concrete circulating ice water through it from a refrigeration plant could produce 1,000 tons of ice in 24 hours. Otherwise the amount of concrete used would generate so much heat it would have taken 125 years to cure 
  • Glen Canyon Dam – endured the great flood of 1983
  • Grand Coulee Dam – 550ft high and nearly a mile long
To build a bridge that will last a long time there has to be some planning behind it, it just not something that’s done on a whim. It’s a commitment.  It requires work.
The foundations must be strong and deep.. Most bridges underwater moorings are larger in mass that the bridge itself.
The dams that hold back trillions of gallons of water do so because the were shaped into form that would redistribute the load.
Bridges span the gap over streams, canyons and rapids allowing people to cross.
While dams place a hedge of protection to those whose lives would be devastated if the waters came through.

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.

God is searching for a man that will span the gap, to make a way for the lost to get to him. This man must have his foundations deep and back strong for the load he would carry… He must be able to be the hedge for his family and others.. Knowing for certain that if he ever let go… destruction is certain for those he would protect…

God is looking for a man to stand in the gap. But it takes work.

Presenter Note: Walk to the back of the church and show the gap between the world and the Cross

Take all the men and start at the back door, have them hold hands to span the gap between the world and the cross… there’s a gap

You look across the churches today… and you see men, we are coming just short.

We don’t have enough men that will span the dangerous canyon. To hold back the raging waters.

Remember a dam redistributes the load. As we have men standing here together it good to know that you are not alone… as Christians we build each other up… the Bible says we are to bear on another’s burdens..

So you say this morning.. How do I stand in the Gap..

First are you saved? 

Next, are your foundations planted deep, can you bear the load?  Are you ready to get to work for the Glory of God?