Jump Start # 3118

Ezekiel 22:30 “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.”

Our verse today is one of the favorites that comes from the book of Ezekiel. God was looking, but no one was found. God wanted someone to stand in the gap. No one would do it. The tide of God’s wrath was not turned because not one righteous person could be found. Prophet, priest, prince—no one.

And, in our times today, we are in the need for a man to stand in the gap. There are two major areas that men are needed. First, in the home. Far too many men are absentee, unplugged and not involved. They bring home the bacon, but they much too often do little else. Raising the kids is left to moms or our culture. Drug use, gender confusion, poor work ethic, and massive selfishness may well be the result of a lack of male leadership and role model in the home.

The other place where men are need to stand in the gap is in God’s kingdom. The church is starving and hurting from a lack of leadership. Men could, but they don’t want to. Leading, whether in the home or the church is an incredible responsibility but also an incredible blessing. Molding lives, mentoring, and shaping hearts is just a great, great honor to be involved in.

Consider some great traits of leaders:

First, good leaders have the vision to see what needs to be done. Many will do something if they are asked, but the leader is the one who sees what needs to be done first. He knows how things could be better. He is always trying to find ways to engage others, offer encouragement and strengthen hope.

Seeing the potential and what could be, leads to goals, plans and making adjustments that will benefit all. The one who is content, satisfied and even pleased with less than standard service will never raise the bar on those he is influencing. Just getting by is enough for this guy. But a true leader will find ways to make things even better. We must excel. Being an average Christian isn’t good enough, and should never be good enough. I saw an interesting definition of what average is. Put one hand on a hot stove and the other hand in your freezer. Take the high and the low and then average it. And according to that, you should be comfortable. But you won’t be. One hand is freezing and the other is fire. So, average isn’t a good tool to measure by.

Second, good leaders have faith in others. He believes in others. He will not try to do everything himself. He can’t. He believes that others can contribute and even bring great ideas to the table. Because a good leader believes in others, he will be one of the best cheerleaders the church has. He’ll support young men giving their first lessons. At home, he’ll praise his children for doing good jobs.

Third, good leaders are transparent and have great communication. One of the saddest things I hear is when people complain, “We don’t know what’s going on around here.” There are times for the shepherds to keep things among themselves as they work with the delicate situations in the lives of others, but there is also a time to let the church know what is going on. Discipline. Goals. Plans. Special needs. All of those things  come from two way communication. Shepherd, nor dads, are mind readers. They can’t know unless we tell them. They might pick up on some things, but many of us are very good at wearing masks and keeping things very close to the vest. Then when things start unraveling, too often, we complain that no one helped. They couldn’t because they didn’t know. An atmosphere in which people are not afraid to speak their mind in kindness is healthy and good. Talking to the shepherds should not be viewed as going to the principle’s office.

Fourth, good leaders must have the conviction to do what is hard. There are so many wonderful upsides to leading, but there are times the leader, whether in the church or in the home, must be the bad guy. He must say what needs to be said. He can’t allow how others view him as a reason to back away from what needs to be done. Discipline—in the home and in the church are not some of those precious memories that we always hold on to. Those are tough moments. But a good leader realizes that discipline is a teaching moment and people can be made better through it. A man who doesn’t have a backbone, won’t do well in those moments. A man who can be talked out of things won’t do well in those moments. Those times are packed with emotions and energy. The good leader stays the course and keeps pointing towards the Lord.

Finally, a good leader extends praise generously and doesn’t blame others. He makes others feel good. He recognizes the good that others are doing. Pats on the back, an occasion shout out are common from good leaders. Our political climate could learn from this. Every time something backfires, the blame game begins and rarely if ever, does the buck stop here, as President Truman said. At home, this hurts. In the church, this hurts. This leads to a separation between the leaders and others. This kills the spirit of motivation and the desire to volunteer. Getting blamed enough times and a person just quits.

A man in the gap. God couldn’t find one in Ezekiel’s days. I wonder if He could find one today?

Roger

Jump Start # 1621

Ezekiel 22:30 “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.”

  The search is on. I see in so many places to eat and business a “help wanted” sign. They are looking for someone. The search is on for the next President of this country. There are many congregations that are searching for a preacher, looking for the right fit. Here in our passage, God was looking for someone. He was searching.

There was a total let down of spiritual leadership in Ezekiel’s time.

• Prophets were taking advantage of the people
• Priests had mingled the holy with the unholy and not taught the people
• Princes were destroying lives for dishonest gain
• People of the land had taken advantage of the poor

The nation was a mess—top to bottom. There didn’t seem to be anyone who was doing what was right. So God was looking. He was looking for someone to stand in the gap. He wanted a spiritual man to rise up. He was looking for someone that seemed to care.

There are several lessons for us to see here.

First, we can think that our times are the worst ever. They may be for us personally, but not so in history. Ezekiel’s time was bad. God would pull the rug out from the nation and allow the Babylonians to come in and destroy His holy city and temple. Abuse, neglect and indifference had filled the air. God’s messengers were ignored. There was no leadership that was pointing the way back to the Lord. As bad as our times are, we still have bright spots and faithful men and women who are not afraid to raise their voices to be heard through the fog of error today.

Second, leaders set the tone and the atmosphere for what happens in a home, a church and a nation. Ezekiel ran through a list of leaders: prophets, priests and princes. Spiritual and political leaders. None of them were doing right. They were putting themselves before the people. They were not engaged in the work that God had assigned for them to do. They were taking advantage of others for their own advantage.

The same principle still applies today. In a corporation, a school, a church, or even in a home, the tone and example of the leaders sets the pace for everyone else. You find some dynamic, caring leaders and you’ll find a healthy organization. You find leaders who are aloof, indifferent and you will see tension, turmoil and complaining. This is true of a business, a school or a church. The right people in the right place and you have something. The wrong people and you have disaster. Businesses have been ruined because of the wrong people at the helm. Churches die because leaders are not leading. Finding the right person is important. It is better to be patient and get the right fit as to just get anyone. That anyone may take the place down the wrong road.

Third, God has roles for all of us to fill. When we do what God wants, great things happen. When we don’t, disaster strikes. The prophets were to be the spiritual leaders that connected the people to God’s law. They didn’t do that. The priests were to be the intercessors between man and God. They didn’t do that. The princes were to lead the national politically in the way God wanted. They didn’t do that. As a result the nation was about to be led away into captivity for an entire generation.

Fourth, God was looking for someone who could turn things around. There was a “gap.” God was looking for a man to stand in that gap. That man would help the nation get back to God. The search was on. Find someone who can stand in the gap. Who would do it? Who would step up? It wasn’t too late.

Fifth, sadly the verse ends with these words, “but I found no one.” No one to stand in the gap. No one who would do what God wanted. No one was found. The search was in vain. No one would do it. We are not told why. Could it be that it would take commitment and no one wanted to do that? Could it be that the work seemed too hard? Could it be that the person would have to stand alone? Could it be that no one cared?

So often we wait for someone else to step up and turn things around. We complain about the nation, the company we work for and even the church. We see what’s wrong. We notice how things could be better. Policies that do not work. People that are falling through the cracks. Things not being done. Oh, it’s easy to notice what’s wrong. We see it. It bothers us. We complain about it. We don’t understand why something isn’t done. Could it be that no one will stand in the gap. Why won’t management do something? Why won’t the owners fix this? Why doesn’t the preacher or the elders do something? We want someone to do something, but we never see ourselves as that someone.

In God’s search, He was looking for a man to stand in the gap. He didn’t say, “I’m looking for a prophet to stand in the gap.” Nor, “I’m looking for a priest or a prince to stand in the gap.” Rather, God was looking for a man to stand in the gap. That man may not be prophet, priest or prince. It would be someone who knew the Lord and understood what ought to be done. It was someone who would be the work of God before all things.

The same spirit happens today. We may look for someone else to turn things around when it could start with us. Why not us? Why not try to change things at work? Why not try to change things in this country? Why not try to change things at home? Why not try to change things down at the church house? God was looking for someone to bridge the gap between the nation and Him. That gap was caused by sin. God was looking for someone to bring the nation back spiritually. Who would do it?

This has always been a issue. Who will do it? We’d like someone else to do it. Let them pour the effort into it. Let them take the heat from those who fight change. Let them find the resources and make things better. Let someone else do it and we will ride the wave of change and enjoy the fruits that come from it. But that’s not the spirit of this passage. It’s not who will go along with the leader. It’s who will stand in the gap. God was looking for someone to stand up and do that work.

We hide behind excuses. Work is too demanding right now. I have a young family. I travel a lot. I don’t think I know enough. I’m too young to do this. I’m too old to do this. It’s time for someone else to do something. Ready excuses. Nice justifications. The result: no one to stand in the gap.

Without someone in the gap, Ezekiel’s nation would be crippled by the Babylonians. In our times, nothing changes. Work becomes oppressive. Home feels like everyone has jumped ship. Church seems stale and lifeless. Nothing changes.

God looked for someone to stand in the gap, and no one was found. Could He have counted on you? Can He count on you now?

Roger