Ezekiel 22:30

scripture:                “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.”

                                                        - Ezekiel 22:30

observation:                God was jealous and angry. The people that He had raised up                                 and taken care of; the people that He had saved and had                                         reserved for Himself; the people that He had given his blessings                                 and promises to had just taken all of that and threw it out in the                                 trash. They had just flushed it all down the toilet and had decided                                 to follow something else. They began to take life into their own                                 hands and make their own decisions instead of following their                                 God and King. They created idols and started to do detestable                                 things like child sacrifice. They took all of their energy and effort                                 that should have been reserved for God and had effectively given                         it all to some other “god” or to some selfish endeavors. And like                                 in the past the Lord was looking for that one or few good men                                 that could stand in the gap for the people. The few righteous                                 individuals that could God could use to turn the people back; but                                 there were none to be found. He didn’t want to punish them and                                 destroy them because he loved them. But because of his                                         righteousness and justice He had to.

application:                What does it mean to be a man who stands in the gap? What                                 kind of man can stand before God? In this land today we see all                                 kinds of crazy things happening. Suicide bombers, war,                                         celebrities that think that they own the world, acceptance of                                 gayness and all different kinds of lifestyles and beliefs, (besides                                 followers of Jesus of course), idolatry of material things. The list                                 goes on. Our cultures may be different form Ezekiel’s time but the                                 problems are identical. And so we must be on point. Especially in                                 ministry as leaders we are called to be men and women that                                 stand in the gap. It is up to us reach this world; to help bridge that                         gap. We need to build up the wall of faithful followers. The man                                 that stood in the gap for us is Jesus Christ. He bridged the gap                                 between us and God. The gap created by our unending sins. He                                 started building the wall but the task of building and rebuilding                                 the wall has been given to us. We are not called to kill or punish                                 all of these sinners. We are not called to go Old Testament on                                 them and root them out and destroy them. But we are called to                                 build up the wall. To reach out and build people up that can be a                                 part of what God wants to do. In the Ignite Ministry we are trying                                 to build the foundations of the wall. If we can help plant and water                                 the seeds than the wall will be strong. These 5th and 6th graders