“Standing in the Gap”
In Ezekiel 22:30 NIV the LORD says,
“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.”
Men let me ask, will we be the MAN that God can call on to ‘stand in the gap’ for Him? God is searching for faithful men – men who He can trust to live and lead for Him. God is looking for men He can trust with God-sized tasks; so will we be that man?
"Who do you represent?"
Will YOU Be That Man?
As a believer a disciple of Christ, a Christ-follower, who do you represent?
Let’s look at Jesus Christ (Son Of God) and who He represented.
If Jesus was the Son of God, why did He call Himself the Son of Man?
This sounds like some kind of contradiction at first glance, but in fact there is no contradiction. An examination of Scripture reveals that the phrase "Son of Man" carries broad significance.
First of all, even if the phrase “Son of Man” is a reference to Jesus' humanity, it is not a denial of His deity. By becoming a man, Jesus did not cease being God. The incarnation of Christ did not involve the subtraction of deity, but the addition of humanity. Jesus clearly claimed to be God on many occasions (Matthew 16:16,17; John 8:58; 10:30). But in addition to being divine, He was also human (see Philippians 2:6-8). He had two natures (divine and human) conjoined in one person.
Further, Scripture indicates that Jesus was not denying His deity by referring to Himself as the Son of Man. In fact, it is highly revealing that the term “Son of Man” is used in Scripture in contexts of Christ's deity. For example, the Bible says that only God can forgive sins (Isaiah 43:25; Mark 2:7). But as the “Son of Man,” Jesus had the power to forgive sins (Mark 2:10). Likewise, Christ will return to Earth as the “Son of Man” in clouds of glory to reign on Earth (Matthew 26:63-64). In this passage, Jesus is citing Daniel 7:13 where the Messiah is described as the "Ancient of Days," a phrase used to indicate His deity (cf. Daniel 7:9).
Further, when Jesus was asked by the high priest whether He was the “Son of God” (Matthew 26:63), He responded affirmatively, declaring that He was the “Son of Man” who would come in power and great glory (verse 64). This indicated that Jesus Himself used the phrase “Son of Man” to indicate His deity as the Son of God.
Finally, the phrase “Son of Man” also emphasizes who Jesus is in relation to His incarnation and His work of salvation.
In the Old Testament (Leviticus 25:25-26, 48-49; Ruth 2:20), the next of kin (one related by blood) always functioned as the "kinsman-redeemer" of a family member who needed redemption from jail.
Jesus became related to us “by blood” (that is, He became a man) so He could function as our Kinsman-Redeemer and rescue us from sin.
If you look around this room, we as man from various cultural backgrounds were a son and have an earthly Father who may have known Jesus Christ as Savior or may not know Jesus Christ as Savior, but we all had some male “Fatherly” type of figure, and importantly some, a Godly example growing up. Perhaps your mom played that role, and uncle, grandfather, or a friend. You can put that all away and cast it at the feet of Jesus Christ.
Today and forever --- God calls us to “stand in the gap” and represent Him, in our homes, community, and the world.
Will you be that Man?
Scriptures for all men to read as devotional, prayer, song, praise and worship.
1 Chronicles 29:17
I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity ... (NIV)
Deuteronomy 1:29-31
Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." (NIV)
Joshua 1:9
...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
(NIV)
Malachi 4:6
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse. (NIV)
Psalm 103:13
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; (NIV)
Proverbs 3:11-12
My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline
and do not resent his rebuke,
because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in. (NIV)
Proverbs 3:32
For the LORD detests a perverse man
but takes the upright into his confidence. (NIV)
Proverbs 10:9
The man of integrity walks securely,
but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. (NIV)
Proverbs 17:24
A discerning man keeps wisdom in view,
but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth. (NIV)
Proverbs 17:27
A man of knowledge uses words with restraint,
and a man of understanding is even-tempered.
(NIV)
Proverbs 23:22
Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old. (NIV)
Proverbs 23:24
The father of a righteous man has great joy;
he who has a wise son delights in him. (NIV)
Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (NIV)
Colossians 3:21
Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. (NIV)
Hebrews 12:7
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? (NIV
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