We welcome you to the Tabernacle Podcast brought to you by the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Hickory, North Carolina. If you'd like to learn more about Tabernacle, you can visit our website, tabernaclebaptistchurch.com. You can find other sermons like this one on Apple Podcast, YouTube, and Sermon Audio. It is our prayer that God has used this message to be an encouragement to your heart. Well, we're in the book of Ezekiel. How many of you found your place? Would you say amen? All right, chapter 22. I'm proud of you. You've done really well this morning. And Ezekiel chapter 22. And we'll begin reading in verse 23. Ezekiel 22. And we'll begin reading in verse 23. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto her, thou art the land that is not cleansed nor rained upon in the day of indignation. 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. 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 showed difference between the unclean and the clean and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths. And I am profaned among them. Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey to shed blood and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies unto them, saying, thus saith the Lord God when the Lord hath not spoken. 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. 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. 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. Would you note with me what the Bible says in verse number 30? The Lord said, 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 wanna speak to you on the subject of stand in the gap this morning. Stand in the gap. Ezekiel, of course, was a prophet. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and Daniel. He became a fellow captive with Daniel in Babylon and along with Jeremiah before the captivity, he warned Judah on the eve of that captivity. And as Ezekiel delivered the message of the Lord, we understand the situation here in chapter 22. The Lord said, there's a gap in the hedge, meaning therefore that the people weren't safe. The city wasn't safe. Lives were in danger. The enemy was advancing and judgment was coming. When he speaks of the hedge here, he's referring to a wall. And figuratively in the scripture in Psalm 80 and also in Isaiah chapter five, we see the picture of the nation of Israel, the nation that the Lord had planted in that land And we see the picture of Israel as a vineyard planted by the father and protected by a hedge that God put around his vineyard. But as he looks out upon the nation of Israel, as he expects to see fruit in his vineyard, he doesn't find any. In fact, he sees a vineyard that is not bearing fruit. He sees a vineyard that is not healthy and flourishing because he sees the enemy running through the vineyard and the wild beasts of the field trampling over the vineyard. And the Lord is concerned because the hedge is broken. And with the hedge being broken, that means that there is a gap in the hedge. And so he says, I'm looking for someone who will make up the hedge, someone who will stand in the gap. The Lord said, I sought a man, but I found none. The Lord was looking for a few good men. Several years ago, the Marines had an advertising campaign. to recruit and enlist young men into the Marine Corps. And there were all kinds of wonderful images of patriotism and service to your country and young men dressed in their Marine uniforms, looking sharp. And the commercial, the advertising program was designed to appeal to the patriotic senses of young men and to stir them to strive for greater things and aspirations. And the slogan was this, we're looking for a few good men. Well, I wanna tell you that God is looking for a few good men. God's looking for a few good women. God's looking for young people. who will serve him. God said, I was looking, he said to Ezekiel, for a man. I sought him out. I looked diligently for a man among them who would stand in the gap, but I found none. The Lord was looking for a man like Job who prayed diligently for his children in case they had sinned against the Lord. He was interceding for them. Or a man like Abraham, who stood before the Lord and interceded for Lot. Lord, will you destroy, he said, the righteous among the wicked. And he said, God, if you find 50 there, would you spare the city? And the Lord said, I'll spare it. And Lot got to thinking, or Abraham rather, got to thinking about that, and he thought, maybe there's not 50 there. Lord, what if there's just 40? And he thought, maybe there aren't 40. Lord, what if there's just 30? Then he began to wonder if there were even 30. And he said, Lord, what if there's just 20? And the Lord said, I'll spare it for 20. And then he said, Lord, if there's just 10, would you spare? And he said, I'll spare it for 10. But there weren't 10, were there? But Abraham was standing in the gap. Moses pled for the nation of Israel. went after their idolatry and their stubbornness and their immorality and their wickedness against the Lord. God said to Moses, I'm going to destroy this nation of Israel and I'm going to start a new nation from your descendants. And Moses stood before the Lord and interceded for the nation of Israel. He stood in the gap and God spared the people. We think of Paul, who in the book of Romans said that he would wish himself a curse from Christ if his kindred, if his people would be redeemed, if they would come to know Jesus. Those are men who are willing to stand in the gap. But the Lord said in the day of Ezekiel, I was looking for a man, but I couldn't find one. Jeremiah tells us in Jeremiah chapter 12 and verse 10, But the Lord said, many pastors have destroyed my vineyard. They've trodden my portion underfoot. They've made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They've made it a desolate, and being desolate, it mourneth unto me. The whole land is made desolate. God, looking out on that land that he chose for his people, looking at the lives of those people, brokenhearted, because that fruitful land had become desolate. Why? Because of the sins and the iniquity of the people. And God's heart was breaking because his vineyard was being destroyed. And then he said in verse number 11, he said, because no man layeth it to heart. Here's what troubled the Lord. that he was troubled and the men of Israel were not troubled. You see, I think when God looks down on the situation today in our world and in our nation, when he looks at what's happening in churches even and in homes, when he takes a careful look, what does he see? He sees that the hedge is broken, that there's a gap that the vineyard is being destroyed, that the land is desolate, that lives are desolate. And as troubling as that is, the fact that it doesn't seem to be a concern to many people or nearly to anyone is more concerning to the Lord. And so he said in the days of Ezekiel, I sought for a man Among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land, but I found none. I'll ask you this morning to ask the Lord to help you that this would be something that you would take to heart. That each and every one of us would take this truth to heart. And then as we examine this text in the book of Ezekiel, that we would take it to heart and consider three questions I wanna give them to you this morning, and I'll begin with the first one. I want us to consider what caused the gap. I think that's important to know, don't you? What caused the gap? How did the vineyard get in such a deplorable condition? How did the walls of the hedge get broken down? What created these gaps in the wall that allows the wild beasts of the field to devour the fruit of the vineyard? Well, the Bible tells us, let's look together in verse 25. He said, 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. There was a problem with the prophets. Notice again in verse number eight, and her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies into them, saying thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord God hath not spoken. You see the problem was with the prophets. They proclaimed lies. You see, the prophet's job was to proclaim the truth, to be God's spokesman to the people, to deliver the message that God wanted to communicate to the people, to give them light and to give them truth. But the prophets were not giving them light. The prophets were not giving them truth. The prophets were speaking lies to them. And notice what happened. Instead of feeding the people with the truths of God's word, they were devouring them. They were taking advantage of them. They were profiting with them and by them. By telling them the things they wanted to hear, by gaining their approval, they were profiting from them. You see, these prophets loved the praise of men more than they loved to preach and proclaim the truths of God's word. And so they devoured the people of the Lord. And then they deceived the people of the Lord. Again in verse number 28, and their prophets having daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies unto them, saying, thus saith the Lord God when the Lord hath not spoken. They were speaking incorrectly for the Lord. They were misrepresenting the Lord. And we have in our land today a number of prophets who proclaim themselves to be preachers and prophets, who are unfaithful to preach the message of God's Word. And preachers can only, if they're God-called preachers, God-anointed preachers, they can only preach one message, and that is the message of the Bible. We have no other message to preach. And Paul said in 2 Timothy chapter number three and verse number 16, that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. That means it is good for doctrine and it is good for instruction and reproof and correction. The Bible tells us that we need these things. Therefore, Paul said to Timothy, preach the word. What is the responsibility of the prophet? What is the responsibility of the preacher? To proclaim the message of God. But the prophets weren't doing that. And then we see what else happened. Look in verse 26. Her priests have violated my law and have profaned my holy things. They put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them." That word profane, it has the idea of taking the holy things of God and treating them as common things. having no fear, no reverence of God. These priests violated the law of God. They who were responsible to teach the law were not willing to obey the law. And they took the things of God, the things that were sacred, the things that were holy, and they treated them as common things. You see, in our generation today, not only do we have false prophets, But we have believers who see no difference between the holy things of God and the common things of this world. And in fact, there is a popular movement now to make the religious activity of the church, the worship and devotion of the sacredness of worship to God and make it something that is common to man. This is what is happening. This mixture of the clean and the unclean. And the Bible said they hid their eyes from God's Sabbaths. Now, we do not worship as believers on the Sabbath. We gather for worship on the Lord's Day, the first day of the week. The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the Sabbath and his church has met on Sunday, the first day of the week, the Lord's Day. That's the day he arose again. But we've lost something, haven't we, in our generation? We've lost something. We've lost some reverence for the Lord's day. We've lost some reverence for God's house. And the Bible teaches us that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is. No, as we live in this wicked culture, as we draw near to the end, as we draw near to the coming of the Lord, we don't need less and less of worship and public gatherings. No, we need more and more. And so much the more, he said, as you see the day approaching. Do you know that we are the priests of God in this generation? 1 Peter 2 and verse 9, Peter writing to believers says, but ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people. God has chosen us to be priests, to represent our Lord to a lost and dying world and to take our needs before the Father and take the needs of others before the Father. You see, as we think about what caused the gap, what do we see? We see that the prophets proclaimed lies, and we see that the priests profaned the Sabbath, but then look at what happened in verse 27. Her princes, in the midst thereof, are like wolves, ravening the prey to shed blood and to destroy souls to get dishonest gain. Who's he speaking of here? He's speaking of the government leaders, the leaders of the nation of Israel, those who were to govern the people, her princes. Now, you know, the Bible tells us that God established human government. When Noah got off the ark, God established human government. And the responsibility of human government, as the Bible tells us in the book of Romans, is to protect the citizen. The responsibility of human government is to reward those who do good and punish those who do evil. But here we find the governmental leaders influenced by the false teaching of the prophets in verse 28. Her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies unto them. These princes then begin to abuse their power and mistreat the people. We see that happening in our nation. We see it happening in our world. And by the way, it's been happening throughout history. But then notice again what happens in verse 29. Not only do we see the failure of the prophets and the priests and the princes, but notice the people in verse 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. You see, when leadership fails, the people begin to decline. And they become covetous. They oppress one another and they rob one another. They take advantage of the poor and needy. They're cold and they're callous and they're complacent. They oppress the stranger wrongfully. They're abusive. They begin to persecute the poor and take advantage of people. And God says there's a gap in the hedge. So we consider this morning what caused the gap. It was a failure of leadership. It was a failure of the prophets and the priests and the princes to be faithful to carry out their duty. As they began to be absorbed with themselves and they began to proclaim messages that would profit them, but did not proclaim the truth. And who suffered? The poor suffered. The poor and the people. So consider with me this morning what caused the gap. Then secondly, I want you to consider what can close the gap. What can close the gap? Well, it's really a very simple thing, isn't it? Look at verse 30. What was God looking for? A man. He didn't have to have a talented man. He didn't have to have a great orator or a very intelligent man. He didn't have to have an extremely capable man, no, he just needed a willing man. I wonder this morning if there are any who are willing to stand in the gap, to make up the hedge. That word make up speaks of repairing it, to build, literally to wall up, to fortify. I mean, let's take a little trip around the hedge. There's a place that needs to be repaired. What's happened? The stones and the mortar have been broken. So what do we need to do? We need to get those stones. We need to knock off the rough edges. We need to get some mortar. We need to put our work gloves on and get our tools out, and we just need to start repairing the hedge. We need to find the gap, and we need to come and stand in that gap until that gap is repaired. Ensuring that no one else comes through, no enemy comes through the gap. That word stand has the idea of rising up, taking one stand, taking a position, being willing to serve another, being willing to defend and protect. It also means to remain. and to endure. You know I found that's one of the most difficult challenges in the Christian life for a lot of people. Just to stay and to stay faithful and to stay steady. The Lord said I was looking for a man. What's gonna close the gap? A man. A believer. A woman. A child. A teenager. A grandparent who's just willing to find the gap and to fill the gap. Are you willing to fill the gap? I thought about the gap that the Lord describes for us, especially in light of the responsibility of men. And you know, make no mistake about it, the Lord has established leadership in the home and he's established it in the church. There's a role for everybody, but the leadership role belongs to godly men. And the problem in the nation of Israel is that godly men became godless men. The prophets, the priests, the princes, and the people suffered. And I'm thinking about things that or heartbreaking. I'm thinking about people who are experiencing hardship. I'm thinking about broken hearted wives. I'm thinking about kids who don't have leadership. I'm thinking about people who sat in these chairs, sang in this choir, played in that orchestra, served in this church. And all of a sudden, the hitch began to break. And the gaps, the gaps were formed. And the wild beast broke into the vineyard and trampled it and ate the fruit. And then another gap, another broken hedge, another destroyed part of the vineyard. And I'm trying to appeal to you this morning with all my heart. God's looking for a man who will stand in the gap of love. Who will love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind, with all their strength. Who will love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. who will love their brothers and sisters in Christ and who will love their neighbors. I want to ask you this morning, will you stand in the gap of love? That gap's created a lot of damage when the hedge is broken. Then the gap of leadership. The Bible tells us in the book of Ephesians that wives are to submit to their husbands That means husbands are to lead their wives. But not as some dictator, not as some abuser, not as some foolish, heady, high-minded person, but a humble man who is submitted to Christ. You see, there is no leader who can lead who has not learned to follow. You cannot lead until you learn to follow. You cannot lead if you're not submitted. Submitted to the Lord Jesus, submitted to the Holy Spirit, filled with him, submitted to the God-ordained authority in your lives, submitted to those that you lead. You see, if I'm gonna lead my family, I've gotta be submitted to my family. If I'm gonna lead my wife, I have to be submitted to her. Because if I'm going to lead her, then I have to lead her in her best interest. Which does not always equate with what she wants, by the way. But it equates with what God wants. And it doesn't equate with what I want. It equates with what God wants. And when two people are submitted one to another in the fear of the Lord, as the Bible tells us in Ephesians 5 21, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God, when two people are submitted to one another and to the Lord, then we can lead and move forward and provide the direction that is needed. You see leaders are submitted to Christ and they're submitted to the Holy Spirit and they're submitted to the God-ordained authority in their lives and they're submitted to those that they lead. I'm the pastor of this church. I don't say that to tell you that I'm the leader. Do you know who the leader of this church is? Jesus, he's the head of the church. My responsibility as pastor is that of an under shepherd. And my responsibility as a leader in the church is to follow Jesus. And therefore, I have to be submitted to him. And I also have to be submitted to you. Because this congregation, as we come together, as we consider the matters that are before us on a daily basis, a weekly basis, an annual basis, as we consider those matters, then we follow the Lord in the best interest of the church and of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the way that we should strive to lead our families. And I want to say this church will be no stronger than the leadership that the men of this church provide. And your home will be no stronger than the leadership that you as a husband and a father provides for your family. This is the responsibility that God has designed for you. Will you stand in the gap? Stand in the love gap, stand in the leadership gap. Would you stand in the labor gap and serve the Lord in his church? Therefore, my beloved brethren, be you steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. You see, if the work of this church is to be done, then all hands have to be on deck. There should be no unemployment. Among God's people, we should all be serving the Lord together. Think of what this church can do if everyone labors. Support the work of the Lord with your tithes and offerings. Support your family and provide for them. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 5, 8, but if any provide not for his own, especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. We have a responsibility to stand in the gap. to stand in the love gap, to stand in the leadership gap, and to stand in the labor gap. The Lord said, I sought for a man to stand in the gap. And I just wonder, is he seeking this morning? Will he find one? Will he find a few? Will he find many? Well, we see what cause the gap and we see what can close the gap. Just a man who's willing. Doesn't have to be outspoken. Doesn't have to be talented. By the way, leadership doesn't mean you have to talk a lot. It just means you have to do what's right. That's leadership. You don't have to be extraordinarily gifted. In fact, you don't have to be gifted at all. You just have to be willing. to stand in the gap. Well, as we close this morning, I want you to consider the consequences of the gap, the consequences. The Bible says here in verse 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. You see, the Lord had been patient with that vineyard. He'd planted the nation of Israel. He had given them everything they needed. He'd put a hedge about him, his laws and his commandments. He had given them the priests to help communicate those laws and commandments, to lead the people into the presence of God. He'd given them the prophets to proclaim his truth. He'd given them princes to guide and govern them. and make sure that there was justice in the land. But no matter what the Lord did, the people rebelled, and the hedge came down, and the enemy began to devour the vineyard and destroy the fruit. And the Lord said, maybe I need to destroy this vineyard and plant another, but all along, All along, he just kept looking for one man who was standing in the gap. But he said, I found none. Because he couldn't find one, judgment came. Nebuchadnezzar marched his army of Babylon. The Chaldeans came against Jerusalem and besieged it, destroyed the city, destroyed the temple of the Lord, and carried away the children of Israel captive. I want you to think about the dread of that. The enemy comes and destroys your life and all that you know and takes you and your children away captive. Maybe you don't even live through the invasion, but your children are carried away to a land you've never seen and known at the mercies of another. I want you to know there's an adversary of the devil. He walks about like a roaring lion. He's seeking whom he may devour, and I want you to know that he hates you and he hates your children. He hates this church, and he wants to destroy every hedge around your life and around your children, around your home, around your marriage, and around this church. That's what he desires to do. And the consequences, the consequences of that happening are unthinkable. Look at verse 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 own heads, saith the Lord. Despite the warnings of Ezekiel, despite the cries of Jeremiah the prophet, here's what happened. Nebuchadnezzar came and he overthrew Jerusalem and he carried them away captive into Babylon. Judgment came. But even in the midst of judgment, we hear the voice of Jeremiah in Lamentations chapter three. And I would imagine Ezekiel got to hear this. He said, it is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed because his compassions fail not. You see, though, I believe we're living in a nation that's already under the judgment of God. God's compassions fail not. He said, they are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. You see, the Lord, he's still at work. He still wants to work. He's still seeking for a man who will stand in the gap. I wanna ask you a question today. Are you willing to be that man? Are you willing to be that woman? Are you willing to be that young person who will stand in the gap of love and love the Lord and love your wife? Are you willing to stand in the gap? Are you willing to stand in the gap of leadership and take responsibility? And are you willing to stand in the gap of labor and serve the Lord together and repair the breaches? Thank you for listening. We pray that God has used his word to speak to you today. If you'd like to learn more about Tabernacle, you can visit us online at tabernaclebaptistchurch.com. There, you'll find additional information about our church, opportunities to partner with us financially, as well as other resources that we hope can be a help to you. May God bless you and thank you once again for listening.