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MEN'S DAY
Looking for Men of Valor
~Ezekiel 22:23-30 (NAS)~
In-person service at Temple Baptist Church
(850 Venice Blvd., at Oak)
Rev. Wendell Keith Woods
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23And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 24“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not clean or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. 26Her priests have done violence to My Law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the [j]common, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have closed their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am defiled among them. 27Her leaders within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to make dishonest profit. 28And her prophets have coated with whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 29The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery, and they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have oppressed the stranger without justice. 30I searched for a man among them who would build up a wall and stand
in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found [k]no one. Ezekiel 22:23-30 (NAS)
INTRODUCTION
Since the beginning of humanity, God has solicited and sought for men to assume their divinely-ordered and divinely-ordained places of responsibility and step up to the plate and partner with Him as He oversees the universe.
In Genesis 3, when Adam, the first man, and his wife Eve, were attempting to hide themselves from the presence of God among the trees of the Garden of Eden, the Lord God called to the man Adam, and said to him, "Adam, where are you?" (NKJ)
In Genesis 18, when God was on the verge of destroying the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sin, Abraham stood in the gap and interceded on behalf of the righteous people in those cities, and asked God if He would destroy the righteous with the wicked? Abraham asked God that if He looked and found 50 righteous people there, would He not spare the place if there were fifty righteous people there? Then God said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham kept pleading and bargaining with God, working the number from 50 to 45 to 40 to 30 to 20 to 10, and God answered that "for the sake of ten righteous, faithful, and godly men, I will not destroy it."
In Proverbs 20:6, God was looking for some faithful men, and the writer Solomon asks the question “who can find a faithful man?”
In Jeremiah 5:1, God was looking for men of integrity, and He asks the prophet Jeremiah to "walk up and down the streets of Jerusalem, to see if he could find just one person who is honest and seeks the truth,” and He tells Jeremiah, “if you can, I will forgive this city.”
Luke 18:8b - God was looking for men of faith, so Jesus asked certain people the question, “when the Son of Man comes, will He find (a man) with faith on the earth?"
Ezekiel 22:30 - when God was contemplating destroying a portion of his people Israel because of their sin, God said, "I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one."
Consider what it means that the Lord looks for persons that can
fulfill the Lord’s purpose to build the wall and to stand in the gap.
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God is still looking for men today.
The book of Ezekiel was written by the prophet Ezekiel. It records his message to the exiled people of Israel of the southern kingdom of Judah, who were incarcerated in Babylon because of their rebellion against God. Ezekiel wanted God’s people to know that as bad as things were during their captivity, God still had a plan and would keep
his covenant promises despite their rebellion and the consequences they were enduring. He called on the people to have faith in God even in captivity.
In chapter 22, written in 591 BC, God indicts the Israelites; He calls them a city of bloodshed, idolatry, oppression, sexual immorality, bribery, extortion, and unjust gain. They despised the Holy things of God and desecrated his Sabbaths. But most of all, they forgot about God. In verses 23-29, Ezekiel categorizes the respective
subjects of concern:
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The prophets have been unfaithful. They have been preaching for money and prophesying for a price. They haven’t preached against sin and have covered it up by pretending to have received false visions and special revelations from God. They’ve been talking about breakthroughs, blessings, and prosperity, but not telling them of their responsibility to honor God with their lives. They were telling all kinds of lies, lying on God and saying “thus says the Lord God” when God hadn’t said anything. That sounds like today, when certain preachers are talking about the gospel of inclusivism in which all roads lead to God and heaven, and you don’t have to accept Jesus Christ to get to God or heaven, and that there is no hell.
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The priests have ignored and violated God’s law and have profaned God’s holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the unholy, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean. It’s anything goes in terms of one’s lifestyle; and they have disrespected and disregarded God’s Sabbath days and holy days and were treating them like any other day, and so God’s own people no longer were honoring him.
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The princes (officials, politicians, leaders, rulers) were like wolves, who tear apart their victims. They’ve been shedding blood and destroying lives in order to profit and receive dishonest gain. There was no sanctity and sacredness of human life.
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The people of the land (the common people, the masses) have practiced extortion and oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed foreigners without justice.
Just like today, the nation was in a pitiful condition. It was thoroughly corrupted with greedy government leaders promoting only their self-interests. The justice system was crooked, contaminated, and collapsing on the very ones it was established to protect. Because of and in light of the wicked, evil, sinful, social injustice, and negative situation in Jerusalem, God said in verse 30, "I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it.” He said, “I searched for a man among THEM."
God said, “I looked and searched for a man AMONG them," not a man who is ABOVE them or OVER them, but AMONG them. "I’m just looking for a man."
Some of us men don’t believe that God can or will mightily use us because we don’t have a certain title or position; we aren’t in a certain profession; we don't have the education, the money, the social standing, the political connections, or the right family connections and background.
God DID in the past, God DOES in the present, and God CAN and WILL in the future, use unlikely MEN, in unlikely PLACES, in unlikely CIRCUMSTANCES, from unlikely BACKGROUNDS, with unlikely CREDENTIALS, at unlikely TIMES, to do unlikely THINGS, through unlikely MEANS, METHODS, and MEASURES, in order to do his will, bless his people, fulfill his purposes, make good on his promises, and let the world know that He IS God.
God said, "I searched for a man among them who should BUILD UP THE WALL AND STAND IN THE GAP.”
Consider what it means that the Lord chooses and uses
those we would most likely reject.
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God was using a military analogy to address a spiritual problem. In that day, cities were surrounded by high walls which would protect the cities from outside military attack from enemies and keep the people in the city safe from attack from the outside. Sometimes in a battle, for whatever reason, there developed in the wall a gap, a hole,
a break, or a breach in the wall, and the enemy could come in through the gap in the wall and attack the people. So someone, or a group of defenders in the city, would have to stand in the gap of the wall and fight and defend the city until the wall could be repaired. They would put themselves on the front line and become a human wall in the gap of the wall.
Because of all the sin, and injustice, and non-acknowledgement of God in the land, a gap had developed between God and his people. So God had it in His mind to destroy the land. But before He did this He said, "I searched for a man among them who should build up and repair the wall and stand in the gap, the broken section of the wall before Me for the land, that I should not destroy [ruin; spoil; injure] it; but I found no one."
Today, there are some contemporary walls that have gaps that need to be filled with godly men. The walls of:
- Family life
- Integrity
- Holiness
- Racism
God is looking for men today who will stand in the gap. Men who are spiritual;
men who understand what God has for their lives; men who are tired of playing games; men who want to turn in their player cards; men who are tired of abusing and misusing women; men who want to be a hero to their sons and daughters.
Consider what it means to build up the wall and stand in the gap as one
chosen by the Lord to do that for family life, equity, integrity,
holiness, racism, and sexism.
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God is looking for men who are CHRISTLIKE.
Philippians 2:5-10 - 5 Let this mind (attitude) be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, (NKJ)
Many years ago I worked for Focus on the Family Ministries (when it was located in Arcadia) under the leadership of Dr. James Dobson. I worked in the correspondence department. Dr. Dobson received hundreds of letters each day from people who either wanted some of the Focus on the Family resources or products, or needed answers to their problems from Dr. Dobson. We would send them back form letters in which part of the letter was the same for everyone who wrote in, but the rest of the letter had to be personalized in the words of doctor James Dobson, as if it was coming from him directly. To prepare for that job, every day we had to listen to Dr. Dobson's daily broadcast to hear his views and what he thought on different issues and topics. We also had to read his books and look at some of his videos for the same purpose, so that when we were answering those persons' letters, it was as though we were answering in the very words of James Dobson himself, whose signature was on the bottom of the letters.
If we're going to be Christ like and if we're going to be able to put on the mind of Christ, we've got to get into His word and read and study what He was like in order to be Christlike.
Consider what it means to be Christlike.
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God is looking for men of COURAGE
Standing in the gap means that men sometimes have to be willing to take risks.
Men will sometimes have to give up some of their comfort, and inconvenience themselves.
Standing in the gap can cost you your popularity, some friends, some speaking engagements, jobs, business opportunities.
God is looking for men of COMMITMENT
It’s not seasonal or situational commitment, but it’s a lifestyle that lasts for a lifeTIME.
You’ve got to be committed to your convictions. You have to know what you believe and why you believe, and stick to it regardless of the season or situation.
You’ve got to be committed to lifting up the name of Jesus above your name or brand.
The late Tommy Lasorda was the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He won a couple of championships during his tenure as manager. I remember on a sports talk show, Lasorda was being interviewed and he was asked about his philosophy of managing and how he dealt with his players. Tommy Lasorda said that while he was managing, he tried to get his players to play more for the name on the front of their jerseys than the name on the back of their jerseys. On the back of their jerseys was their personal last name but on the front of their jerseys was either the name
Los Angeles or Dodgers (depending on whether they were at home or on the road).
He said it was more important for them to be playing for the name on the front of their jerseys because that's who they represent; that's who was paying their salaries; that's who they were ultimately playing for, more than the name on the back of their jerseys.
Men, we are a part of God’s church. On the back of our jerseys, we may have our names, or the name Second Baptist, or the name of our denomination, but on the front of our jerseys is the name JESUS. He saved us and built the church on His name.
Consider what it means to be courageous and committed as you are Christlike.
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God is looking for men who will CELEBRATE.
That is, celebrate God. God is looking for men who don't mind praising and worshipping Him publicly and openly for who He is, who He has been, what He has done, and what He can do.
For too long, there has been a stigma and stereotype in the church that says that women vocally and openly praise God, because women are emotional, but men don’t praise and worship God vocally because vocally praising God is feminine. There is something powerful about men coming together and praising the name of the Lord. Paul said, I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer.
John 4:23-24 - But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship (him) in spirit and truth.” (ESV)
We come to church daring somebody to get us to say Amen, daring somebody to get us to clap our hands, and daring somebody to make us shout. When we come to church, we sit here like we're judges in the Olympics. If the choir is not singing to our satisfaction, we hold up our score card and give them a 5. If the preacher is not preaching to our satisfaction, we hold up our score card and give her a 4. If the worship leader is not leading worship to our satisfaction, we hold up our score card and give him a 3. But who do we think we are? All of our praise and worship deserves a zero before God, in light of who God is. But if we worship God in spirit and in truth,
the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And God the Father, who knows all hearts, knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit intercedes and pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. And by the time our praise and worship gets to God,
it’s a 10, not because of what we’ve done, but because of the Holy Spirit. We’ve got to give Jesus praise for what He did on Calvary’s cross.
Consider what it means to celebrate being Christlike,
courageous and committed.
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CONCLUSION
God made one more search to find a man who could save people from their sins.
But without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. God looked for a man, but e couldn’t find a man qualified to die for mankind. But Jesus said, Daddy, you can stop your search. Just prepare me a body and I’ll go down. I’ll walk this earth for 33 short years, healing the sick, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, and teaching them about the Kingdom of God.
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Acts 4:12 - Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (but the name of Jesus)." (NIV)
1 Timothy 2:5-6 5For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6who gave Himself a ransom for all, (NKJ)
Then I’ll step in the gap on a hill called Calvary. I’ll suffer, bleed, and die on a Friday. Then I’ll get up on Sunday. If Jesus had not stepped in the gap on Calvary, my soul would still be lost. God the Father no longer had to search. It was nobody but you, Lord. Nobody but Jesus.
A few years back, VaShawn Mitchell recorded a song entitled “Nobody Greater.”
I climbed up to the highest mountain.
I looked all around, I couldn't find nobody.
I went down into the deepest valley.
I looked all around down there, I couldn't find nobody
I went across the deep blue sea.
I couldn't find one to compare
to your grace, your love, your mercy.
Nobody greater than you / I searched all over...
I couldn't find nobody / I looked high and low...
I still couldn't find nobody / Nobody greater than you
Nobody can heal like you can / Oh most holy one,
you are the Great I Am
Awesome in all your ways and mighty is your hand
You are He who carried out redemption's plan
I searched all over, and I couldn't find nobody
I looked high and low...
I still couldn't find nobody / Nobody greater than you
Nobody greater than Jesus...
Consider what it means that you can’t find anyone greater than Christ.
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