Latest / Teachings On This Day On FerventWord / On Aug 25, 2010: Ezekiel 22 Stand In The Gap
Transcript
- You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2010. Alright, well this evening we're in Ezekiel chapter 22. As we continue this study through the book of Ezekiel, again the prophet Ezekiel has been dealing with the nation of Judah and really speaking to those who are in captivity with him. The nation of Judah had been conquered twice already, but not destroyed. Instead, they were conquered and many were taken captive back to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. And Ezekiel is there in Babylon. He's one of the captives and they are there in captivity but the people are believing that they're going to be set free and that Jerusalem will not be conquered and that they're going to be allowed to go home. But God has declared that they are going to be captives in Babylon for 70 years. And so God is using Ezekiel to minister to the captives that are in Babylon in regards to the things that are going on back in Jerusalem and back in the nation of Judah. They are disregarding the word of God. They're disregarding what God has declared. They're disregarding his law. Instead, they're holding on to the false prophets who are declaring to them the things that God has forbidden and the things that God has declared are not to be. The false prophets are giving them false hope, telling them that they don't need to disregard their idols, that they don't need to really turn and follow the Lord with all their hearts, that God won't allow His temple to be destroyed and they're going to be delivered any minute. And so in a sense, the false prophets were encouraging the people to continue in sin instead of repent and get right with the Lord and turn away from the things that are not of God. And so Ezekiel has a tough ministry, ministering to those who are in rebellion against God and bringing to them the truth in the midst of their false hopes and the things that they're hearing from the false prophets. And so here in chapter 22, we have God declaring through Ezekiel to the people that again, Jerusalem is going to fall. Jerusalem is going to be judged as a result of their rebellion against God. We pick it up in chapter 22, verse 1. It says, Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying, Now, son of man, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations. Then say, Thus says the Lord God, The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come, and she makes idols dwell within herself to defile herself. You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries. Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult. Here as we start out in chapter 22, God is speaking through Ezekiel. The word of the Lord came to him and God is calling him to testify or to judge the bloody city. He is referring to Jerusalem as a bloody city. Why is Jerusalem a bloody city? Well, God says, show her all of her abominations. God wants it all open in the air. Declare really the issues that are going on within Jerusalem that are causing God to bring down judgment upon it. And he points out two things. First of all, it's a city of blood. There's much bloodshed in the city of Jerusalem. And then secondly, the idolatry that's going on and the combination of those two things are bringing upon the city the judgment of God. They were a city of much bloodshed for several reasons. One thing that they were doing and that they were involved in was they were offering their children, their firstborns, in a fire or on an altar and burning them alive to a false god. And so there was the bloodshed of these innocent children, these innocent babies that were being offered to these false gods. Not only that, but there was bloodshed as a result of the prophets that were speaking to the nation. Jesus, in writing or speaking to the Jewish leaders and to the city of Jerusalem, said, which of the prophets did your fathers not put to death? The prophets, you know, almost all of them were put to death. They were almost all martyred as a result of their testimony, as a result of the call of God upon their lives to declare the truth to the people. The people wouldn't put up with it, and so they would put the prophets to death. They would kill the prophets. And so there's bloodshed there as well. But not only that, there was bloodshed as a result of the oppression and the injustice that was going on. There was much oppression to the poor and there was death as a result. There was injustice in the judicial system that was going on. And so there was bloodshed. People who were innocent that were being put to death or people who were innocent that were being oppressed to death. And so there was this great amount of bloodshed that was taking place, this injustice, this just disregard for what's right and the things of God that was going on. In addition to that, there was all kinds of idolatry. He says that she makes idols within herself to defile herself. And so they were worshipping all kinds of false gods and that included all kinds of pagan practices and sexual immorality and things that God had clearly forbidden in His Word. And so God is using Ezekiel here to state His case, to declare this is a bloody city. This is a city that is deserving God's judgment. He says in verse 4, "...you've become guilty by the blood which you have shed and you've defiled yourself." They've brought it upon themselves. It's not that God is just seeking an excuse or He was looking for a moment of opportunity to be able to bring judgment. But He says in verse 4, towards the end, He says, "...you have caused your days to draw near and have come to the end of your years." He says, you caused it. You brought this judgment upon you. And that is the reality when it comes to judgment. God is not anxious to bring judgment. He's not excited about judgment. He doesn't get joy from judging people. Judgment is always brought upon yourself. When we experience, when a nation experiences, when a people experience the judgment of God, it's something that is caused by our own selves. It's something we do by disregarding God and by pursuing the things that he has declared that we are not to be involved in. And so here the city is being informed, being reminded really, because they've heard the message many times. that this is as a result of their bloodshed and their idolatry. They've brought upon themselves the judgment of God. Going on to verse 6, he says, Look, the princes of Israel, each one has used his power to shed blood in you. In you they have made light of father and mother. In your midst they have oppressed the stranger. In you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow. You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed. In you are those who eat on the mountains. In your midst they commit lewdness. In you men uncover their father's nakedness. In you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity. Verse 11, One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife, another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law, and another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter. In you they take bribes to shed blood, you take usury and increase, you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten me, says the Lord God. Here we have a list of all the things that that are going on in the city of Jerusalem in the nation of Judah. These are things that God's people, so-called, They call themselves the people of God. They are God's chosen people, but they have forgotten Him. Although they still claim His name, although they still apply His title to themselves in their lives, they would still say that we worship God. They would still go to the temple. These are the things that they were filled with. These are the things that they were practicing. And these are the things he's emphasizing that are going on within you. He uses the phrase in you nine times here in these verses. And in your midst another two times. Over and over he's emphasizing this is what's happening right there within your midst. This is what's happening in the city of Jerusalem. It's hard for us to imagine, I think, sometimes. And often we look at the judgment of God and the judgment that He pronounces and we wonder, we say, how could this be? How could He be pronouncing this judgment? Man, God is cruel. But when we don't understand God's judgment, it's because we forget about how bad sin is and we don't understand the extent of the sin that is going on. And so God is explaining to us the extent of the sin that is going on. He's sharing and declaring, making it public, this is what's happening. He says, each one of you has used his power to shed blood in you. And so again, we have the reference to the bloodshed. That people are using authority, people are using what resources they have to bring bloodshed. Not only that, but they've made light of father and mother. And you say, well, that's not such a big deal. But you remember, it's one of the commandments that God said to honor your father and mother. The people have disregarded the commandments of God. They've made light of father and mother. Ah, mom and dad don't know that much. They don't pay, you know, so they weren't paying much attention to their parents. They were dishonoring their parents and not honoring them as God commanded. Not only that, he says that they've oppressed the stranger, which is something specifically God told them not to do. But those who were foreigners who came in, they were oppressing them heavily and severely. They've mistreated the fatherless and the widow. Again, something that God specifically commanded them not to do. In fact, He commanded them to take care of the fatherless and the widow. He pronounced throughout the scriptures that He is the defender of the fatherless and the widow. He's the one who takes care of them. And yet the people of God, again, so-called, are oppressing them and have mistreated them. In verse 8, he says that they despise his holy things. So they've disregarded the things that are sacred, the things that he called to be set apart, the things of the temple and the sacrifices. They've disregarded those things and they've despised also or profaned his Sabbaths. God called the Sabbath to be set apart, their day that's separated unto the Lord, where they remember the Lord, where they think about the Lord, where they're devoted to the things of the Lord. And yet they've profaned that, they've worshipped false gods on the Sabbath and been involved in things that God has forbidden. He said there's those in you who slander to cause bloodshed, which means they're telling falsehoods, they're speaking falsely, they're testifying falsely, perhaps in a courtroom situation in the judicial system. And as a result, people are being put to death. And so people are being put to death wrongly, unjustly or unjustly. The innocent are being put to death because there are those who are slandering them. He says, and you are those who eat on the mountains. And on the mountains is a reference to idolatry. And so, again, they're involved in idolatrous practices. They commit lewdness. Lewdness is... immorality without restraint. So, no holds barred. Whatever you want to do sexually, that's what you do. That's lewdness. And that's what they're involved in. They're involved in all kinds of sexual immorality. And he goes on to explain that. He says, "...in you are those who uncover their father's nakedness." And so there's incest that is going on. In you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity. Again, that was something that God had forbidden in his word. In verse 11, he talks about the abomination with his neighbor's wife. We're talking about adultery now. Another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law. Again, you have some incest, some gross immorality going on. Another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter. And so it's like a stepsister. And so there's all this lewdness, this sexual immorality that's going on within the city. It's just a blatant disregard of For God and His Word. And that's why He says there at the end of verse 12, He says, You've forgotten Me, says the Lord God. These are the things that are happening in Jerusalem. Being committed by the Jewish people, the people of God. These are the things that are going on. And that's why God is bringing His judgment. Verse 13, Verse 13, He says, Can your hands remain strong in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken and will do it. I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you. You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. And so God says in verse 13, as a result of this, He says, I beat my fist at the dishonest prophet that you've made. This is the reaction of God. This is, well, it's very troubling to God, to say the least. He's very upset by the things that are going on, by the things which they're allowing, by the things that are taking place. They have brought upon themselves this judgment of God. They're very proud. They're very proud of themselves. They're full of themselves to the point that they say, well, it doesn't matter what God says. And that's why they're living the way that they are. But God asks an important question there in verse 14. He says, can your heart endure or can your hands remain strong in the days when I shall deal with you? He's saying, are you going to be able to handle the judgment that is coming? You say you can handle it. You know my word. You're disregarding the prophets that I'm sending to you. You're of the opinion of the mindset. No, we're fine. We can handle it. We've got it under control. We can worship these things and still worship God. But he says, will your heart endure when I deal with you? Will you be able to handle it when I bring upon you the results or the consequences of your rebellion against me? He says in verse 15, "I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you throughout the countries." As part of God's judgment, He's bringing upon them a dispersion. They're going to be scattered throughout the world. And we see it taking place through Nebuchadnezzar. People are running, they're fleeing for their lives. Nebuchadnezzar at this time is on his way. He's going to be laying siege to Jerusalem again. For the third time, he's going to demolish it completely. It's about to be fulfilled. The nation is going to be no more at that time. It's going to be wiped out, completely destroyed. No inhabitants there left. Some go to Egypt. Some go to other nations. Many are carried back to Babylon. They're dispersed throughout the world. And so this is what takes place. But God says, and I will remove your filthiness completely from you. And that's important to note. That's important to consider. The purpose and the objective of this judgment that God is bringing is to remove the filthiness. It's like a surgery that he's performing. Now, a surgery might not be pleasant. It might not be exciting. It might not be something that, you know, we might be joyful over. We might be very fearful. And some of you have experienced that. But it's important because, well, there's a removing of the filth. There's a removing of something that is bad, that is wrong, that is bad. It's for our own good. In the same way, God's judgment, it's not pleasant. It's not something we're joyful about. It's not something God takes pleasure in. But it's for the good of His people. And so what He is doing is He's dealing with their sin. And He's working to remove that filth from their lives. And because they would not return to Him, and because they would not receive His Word, this is the way that God is going to address it. This is the way that God has to deal with it. And so they're going to be dispersed. And then He says at the end of verse 16, Then you shall know that I am the Lord. And so God says, look, are you going to be able to handle it? This is what's going to happen. It's going to be tough. There's some tough days ahead as I deal with this situation. sin that you've been practicing, but when I've dealt with it, then you're going to know that I am the Lord. This phrase that we see over and over again throughout the book of Ezekiel. Then you will know. That's God's objective. He wants His people to know that He is Lord. Now His preference for you and I and for the people of Judah at that time, His preference is for us to know that He is Lord ahead of time. For us to know that He is Lord right now, to surrender to Him, to submit to Him, to be obedient to Him, and there we're in a position that He can bless us, that He can work in our lives, that He can do the things that He desires to do, which are good, which are His perfect plans that He has in store, things that will benefit us for the rest of eternity. That's the ideal. That's what God desires for us to recognize right now that He is Lord and to submit to Him. But if we refuse, and if we insist on being disobedient and continuing in sin and living life our own way, this is for us, this is for the nation of Judah, then God will bring discipline, chastening, judgment, consequences, difficulties, whatever He needs to do to bring us to the point that we will finally know that He is Lord. And so we can kneel and bow willingly, or we can be crushed, and brought to our knees by the judgment, and recognize at that point that He is Lord, that He reigns on high, and that we need to be submitted to Him. When will you know? What will it take for you to know that He is Lord? That's a reminder for us to submit now, to not continue in disobedience. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that these things are examples for us, that we don't continue in sin, that we don't continue in rebellion. If you're involved in rebellion, if you're involved in some type of sin, if you're practicing some type of disobedience, understand this is what's in store for you. That God, He loves you too much to allow you to destroy your life in that way. And so He's going to bring some discipline and some chastening. You can turn right now and recognize He is the Lord and turn from your sin and Or you can say, no, it's okay. I've got it under control. I'm fine. God doesn't mind. He doesn't care. There's grace. All the things that we try to convince ourselves of that we just continue on in sin. And then we can experience the discipline and the chastening of God. And at the end, we will know that He is the Lord, but it will be at great cost. It's highly advisable. I encourage you right now. Recognize that He is Lord. Submit to Him. And walk in obedience. Don't disregard His word. Verse 17 says, The word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. They are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead. In the midst of a furnace, they have become dross from silver. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace to blow fire on it, to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out my fury on you. Here God now deals or speaks to the nation in reference to or in comparison to a furnace that is used to melt metals, to purify metals. And he calls the nation dross. Dross was that stuff that was impure, impure. that was within metal. The waste that was taken off metal as it was melted down and it was taken away to purify the metal. And so it's all the junk, all the debris, all the impurities that were there. And he says, here's what you've become. You've become dross. It's not that, you know, mostly you're metal but there's a little bit of impurities. You're all impurity. There's nothing pure of you left. And this is the reason for the judgment. And so, he's comparing what's happening to fire being melted down. He compares them to bronze and tin and silver and lead being melted in the furnace. And he talks about how metal is gathered and then it's put into the furnace. He says, in the same way, I've gathered you together and I've put you into this situation where you're going to experience the fire of my wrath. You're going to experience my judgment. Now the people all gathered together into Jerusalem for safety, for security. As Babylon is coming down, they were living outside of the city, some of them, and their homes and their lands were unprotected. And so they go into the city in a time of war in order to be protected by the walls. And so they were gathered together. They thought they were protecting themselves. God says, no, I'm gathering you together, all there within the city, and now you're going to experience the fire of my wrath. Now this is not just for judgment. And that's something that's encouraging. That's something that we also need to understand. Metal being gathered together and put in a furnace, heated up, melted, was to be able to purify it. And so again, what God is seeking to do is to purify his people. It's going to take some heat. It's going to take some fire. It's going to take some judgment. But the object and the end result is purification. He's dealing with that dross. He's bringing them through this to remove that dross from them. In Psalm chapter 66, verse 10 through 12, it says, For you, O God, have tested us. You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net. You laid affliction on our backs. You have caused men to ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water, but you brought us out to rich fulfillment. There the psalmist is explaining the same thing. God takes His people through the furnace, through the fire, testing us, refining us, allowing us to be trapped, allowing us to be afflicted, causing men to ride over our heads. Sometimes we have issues with those who are in authority over us. But the psalmist makes the point, we went through the fire, but you brought us out to rich fulfillment. God is faithful. to work all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. And so He's bringing this nation through the fire, but it's not for them to be finally destroyed. It's for them to be purified, for them to receive or to be richly fulfilled, to be in the place where God wants them to be. And that's still in place today. God allows us to go through the furnace. Like James says, count it all joy. When you go through various trials, when you go through various difficulties, because God's at work. It's the furnace of affliction where God refines us and purifies us and deals with that dross, deals with those impurities. He brings them up to the top. He brings them out so that He's able to cleanse us from them. And so Israel has become dross to God, but He is taking them through the furnace to deal with it. Going on to verse 23 says, He says, Her priests have violated my law and profaned my holy things. They have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean. And they have hidden their eyes from my sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Verse 2. Here again, God is declaring, listing out, making public the issues that are going on within the nation, within the people. And he's demonstrating here that at every level, there is corruption. Every level of their society was corrupt. He talks about the prophets there in verse 25. The prophets are like roaring lions. They've devoured the people. They've taken treasure and precious things. And they've made many widows in her midst. And so the prophets are taking advantage of the people. They're robbing the people of treasures, of precious things. They're fleecing the flock. They're getting wealthy, from the people. Instead of using their role as a prophet to benefit the people by declaring the Word of God, they're using that office, they're using that role to gain riches for themselves at the expense of the people. And as a result, God says, they've even made many widows. It's cost men their lives the way that these prophets are behaving. And so the prophets are corrupt. Then in verse 26, he deals with the priests. The priests are corrupt as well. They've disregarded God's law. They've violated God's law. They've profaned the holy things. They've not continued to distinguish between the things that are clean and the things that are unclean. God spent a significant portion of His Word dealing with clean and unclean. It's something that was important to Him. But the priests have disregarded it. They're corrupt. They've disregarded the word of God. They've disregarded his Sabbath. They've disregarded his law. They've disregarded God completely. Not only that, but there in verse 27, we have the princes. Those who have authority in the political scene. Those who are the kings and the governors of the people. God likens them to wolves tearing the prey. They're shedding blood. There's bloodshed that's going on as a result of The political figures, the kings, the princes, those who are in authority. They're destroying the people, notice, to get dishonest gain. Kind of like the prophets. Instead of using their position of authority, instead of using their roles of authority to benefit the people, they're exploiting the people, putting people to death in order to get dishonest gain. They're enriching themselves at the expense of the people. Verse 28, he deals with the prophets again. He says, "...the prophets plastered them with untempered mortar." That means that they're involved in sin and the prophets say, "...oh, it's okay, you can continue on with that." They just kind of patch over it. You know, if there's a major issue, you don't just put a band-aid on it, right? When you need open heart surgery, a band-aid won't work. But that's what the prophets were doing. The people were in wholehearted rebellion against God. And the prophets were saying, Oh, it's okay. Just continue on. You're fine. No problems. God won't allow this place to be judged. And so they plastered over. They encouraged the people in their sin. Not only that, but he says that they... that they saw false visions and divine lies and they said, thus says the Lord when the Lord had not spoken. So they were just making things up disregarding the role that God had given to them. And all of these levels of corruption affected the people there in verse 29. We see what the rest of the people are up to. They've been involved in oppression, robbery, mistreating the poor and the needy, and wrongfully oppressing the stranger. And so at every level, the people were corrupt. At every level, they disregarded God. I think as we look at these things, man, there's lots of comparisons that we can make to our own nation and something for us to consider and to keep in mind as we go forward in the nation that God has called us to live in and to be a part of. We need to consider we're on this same path. We're going the same way. God hasn't changed. We should not expect different results. At the moment, at that moment in time as God is declaring these things, you know, it looks like all this injustice that's going on is being allowed. It looks like they're winning, right? They're getting away with it. But that's what God's declaring. His judgment will come. God will bring justice. And we can look around today and we can think, man, it's like... injustice is prevailing. It's like those who are crooked are doing better than those who are doing what's right. But don't be mistaken. Don't be concerned. God's justice will prevail. He will accomplish righteousness. He will take care of it. Verse 30, God says, So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore I have poured out my indignation on them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads, says the Lord God. God says as a result of the corruption at every level, He's all, I looked for a man among them who would stand in the gap, who would make a wall, who would prevent the destruction that I'm going to bring, who would prevent or hold back the judgment. He says He found none, so therefore He poured out His indignation. God is declaring if there was someone to stand in the gap, He would not bring forth His indignation. He'd be dealing with the nation differently, but there was no one to stand in the gap. And that's why they're about to experience the judgment of God. There was no one willing to step up and to stand up for righteousness and to point the people back to God. That is, no one with authority or influence among the people. Now, Jeremiah was there and he was declaring the truth, but he was one of those who was oppressed. He was not one of those in authority, but He wasn't one that the people listened to. The ones that had authority and the ones that the people were listening to, those are the ones that God is looking for among them saying, is there anyone who will stand up for what's right? Is there anyone who will stand up for righteousness? Who will enforce my word and my law? Is there anyone who will declare my words? But all those who had those roles of authority and those positions of leadership... there within the nation had disregarded God, they'd forgotten God. And so there was no one to stand in the gap. And this is the part I want us to kind of end on or consider as we spend these next few moments wrapping up. The idea here of standing in the gap. Now, here's some really good news. You know, for you and I and our sinful condition, there is one who has stood in the gap to close up the wall So that we do not need to receive the judgment of God. And that's of course Jesus. Jesus stood in the gap for us. He took care of sin. He declared us righteous when we put our faith and trust in Him. He filled the gap in the wall. The pathway that God was going to use to bring His judgment upon us has been closed up. We've been covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. Now if you're here, if you're listening to this and you've not been born again, you've not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, there's still the gap. And you can't fill that gap because, well, we are sinful and we fall short of the glory of God. And we need to put our faith in Him and receive His grace and His forgiveness and His offer of salvation. We need to repent and to turn to Him in order to be saved and have that gap closed so that we do not experience the judgment of God. But without Jesus Christ, there is a guarantee of judgment. And so I would encourage you, I would beg you, receive Jesus Christ. Receive the one who said, I will stand in the gap for you and deal with your sin and take care of the judgment that is due to you because of sin. God wants to set you free and that's why Jesus Christ died upon the cross. He stood in the gap. For those of us who are believers though, I think there's something else for us to consider. And that is, are we standing in the gap? Would you turn with me please to Psalm chapter 106? It's a few books back to the left. Psalm 106. Here in Psalm 106, the psalmist is recounting for us some of Israel's history. What God has brought them through and what they've done and gone through out there in the wilderness. And in Psalm 106, starting in verse 19, it says... They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped the molded image. You remember when Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, they began to worship these golden calves that they made. They right away turned against God and began to worship these false gods. Verse 20, Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior who had done great things in Egypt. Verse 20, Wondrous works in the land of Ham. Awesome things by the Red Sea. Verse 23, Therefore he said that he would destroy them had not Moses his chosen one stood before him in the breach to turn away his wrath lest he destroy them. Moses stood in the gap for the people. He interceded on behalf of the people. They deserved punishment. They deserved judgment. They were worshipping false gods already, right away, there in the wilderness. And God said, I would have destroyed them. But what happened? Someone stood in the gap. For the nation of Judah, there in Ezekiel 22, God was looking for someone like Moses to stand in the gap. Someone who had authority. Someone who was responsible for the people to stand in the gap. But He found no one. Here in the wilderness, he found Moses. Moses stood in the gap and he stood up and he interceded for the people. And I want to encourage you as we consider this idea of standing in the gap. Are you standing in the gap? Are you standing in the breach for those that you are responsible for? You know, God's given you responsibility and he's given you authority. He's placed people around you that he's given you charge of. And you're responsible to disciple them and minister to them and to be an example and a witness to them. He's given you authority. He's given you a role within his body. The question is, are you willing to stand in the gap for those that God has entrusted to you? Moses here, he was responsible for the people and he interceded. There's another account of Phinehas who was a priest and there was a situation going on, blatant immorality, blatant sin, and he stood in the gap and he dealt with the sin. He stood up for righteousness and delivered the people from the judgment that God was going to bring upon them. There was another situation in Numbers chapter 16 where there was a plague among the people and God sent Aaron in and Aaron stood in the gap between those who had the plague and those who didn't. He stood in between. He stood in the gap and prevented the judgment of God from continuing to the rest of the people. I was thinking about Abraham as well. He stood in the gap for Sodom. Now, there was no one righteous within Sodom except for Abraham's family. And so what did God do? He brought out Lot and his family, those who had come. And then He dealt with Sodom. You remember Job was a righteous man who prayed on behalf of his children. He was standing in the gap for his kids, offering sacrifices on their behalf, praying on their behalf. You remember Noah, As God is bringing judgment upon the whole earth, Noah stood in the gap. He was someone who was righteous and his whole family was delivered. Are you standing in the gap? Are you willing to stand in the gap for those that God has entrusted to you? Your family, your co-workers, others within the body of Christ, people within the ministry, people within your neighborhood, whoever God has placed around you. Are you standing in the gap? Are you interceding on their behalf? They probably may not be doing what's right. They might be deserving of judgment. But are you willing to stand up and say, God, give them another shot. Forgive their sin. Let it be charged to my account. Are you willing to stand in the gap? When the people sinned against God by asking for a king, the people realized their sin. They said, oh, Samuel, we're so sorry. Please don't stop praying for us. In 1 Samuel 12, verse 23, he says, God forbid that I would sin against God by ceasing to pray for you. It's a sin against God to not pray for those that God has entrusted to you, to not intercede on their behalf, to not lift them up, to ask God to forgive them, and to bring them back to right relationship with Him. And so this evening, As we continue on in the service, before we spend some time in worship, what I want to ask is for us to correct any sin that may be happening in our lives in ceasing to pray for the people. And I want to ask that we take these next few minutes, just in quietness, just between us and the Lord, take these next few minutes and intercede on behalf of those that God has entrusted to you. Stand in the gap. Pray for them. Lift them up before the Lord. Ask God to withhold His judgment. And to bring them back to right relationship with Him. And so let's do that. For these next few minutes, let's just be quiet. Just you and the Lord. You spend time in prayer for those that God has entrusted to you.