Standing in the Gap

Welcome to the Dayton congregation. Thank you for taking us in. Those of you that are here for camp, thank you for showing up. We've got a busy week ahead, and it's been a little bit of a hectic time getting ready for it. But of course, we're all used to serving when the time comes.

Oh, I just thought of something. Before I get into this, my wife told me to tell everyone she said hello and she'll miss you all. This is my opportunity to tell literally everyone. She's down visiting her parents and took Connor with her. So they're having a fun time and relaxing, and they're actually speculating about starting on the potty training this week. Which I thought a week that I'm not there is a great time to do that.

So we'll see what progress has happened in a week. But as I was saying, we're here for a certain amount of service, and that's good. A calling into God's church is a calling to service. That makes sense to us instinctively. Jesus said that whoever would be greatest among his disciples would lower himself and be a servant to all. And we see that principle in the church all the time. We see it in order to have Sabbath services, you know, a lot of tasks need to get done.

And we like to divide them up and set up schedules so that just about everybody has a chance to do something. Duties range from cleaning and setting up the hall, getting the space ready, making coffees and snacks, setting out hymnals, operating the PA system, performing special music. Someone's got to prepare to stand up and speak. And of course, we have people to lead songs and lead in prayer.

While that's going on, others might be serving in a mother's room or doing security out in the parking lot. I remember that for a while. I lived in Texas. We had a big enough congregation that they put a headset on at least one person and patrolled the parking lot. It was interesting. It looked like I was listening to a baseball game, but actually I was listening to church.

None of these jobs are so much fun that people are paying us to do them. Of course, none of them are so difficult or onerous that people, you know, that we can't find people to do them. But there are times, though, when not many, or perhaps even not any, people are readily available for a task. It might take special qualifications. I think in terms of playing the piano. That's something you don't just pick up and start doing right away. It requires a lot of training and advance.

Some jobs to step into take a lot of effort or go to a lot of trouble. I learned a couple of years ago that changing careers and moving to serve in the ministry is a little bit of trouble. Not that it's a bad thing at all, but I know the born horse knows exactly what I'm speaking of. And the same goes for being a camp director. Now, I'm going to caution myself. I don't want to get into a complaining mode. But I remember 20 years ago or so, I set a goal of coming back to camp every summer. I just love camp. I said, I never want to miss.

And back then, and even maybe 10 years ago, I would have thought, boy, being in charge of the camp, that'd be cool. I'd like to do that. I don't feel quite so much that way anymore. And I know I'm not the only one. I remember having a conversation a couple years ago with Gary Smith, who directs at Pinecrest. And he looked at me and said, I'd love to just be out there at that softball field doing my thing.

But it's a job that somebody has to do. And it's funny, I looked on paper. I'm one of the best qualified to do it. So, someone needs to do it. That reminds me of a scripture, though. If you'll turn with me to Ezekiel 22. Ezekiel 22 and verse 30. I'm going to pull this a little bit out of context, because I want to get to a key phrase. Ezekiel 22 and verse 30 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 no one. How sad. There was a need for someone to step into that gap, and no one was found. And it brings to mind, to me, for some reason, the time when God came down and had dinner with Abraham. He came with a couple angels with him, and they said, well, Abraham, I wanted to let you know, we're going to go destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Their sin is so great. And Abraham instantly thought, well, wait a minute. My nephew Lot lives there. And maybe some other good people.

So we questioned God and said, would you destroy the whole city if there's 50 good people in there? And God said, well, no, I would spare it for the sake of 50. Abraham, I guess it was starting to doubt how many good people there might be in Sodoms. He said, well, what if 10 of the 50 are missing? Would you destroy the whole city because 10 are lacking? God decided, no, I wouldn't do that. And of course, you're familiar with the story. He bargains all the way down to, well, if there are 10 righteous people in the city, then I won't destroy it.

But you know what? There weren't. There was only Lot. And I wonder, at that time, perhaps Lot was thinking, boy, I wish there were 9 other righteous people to help me make a wall and stand in the gap.

I like to come back to that phrase. You're going to hear me say it a lot. At Ambassador College, during the time I was there, that became somewhat of a theme.

Some of our professors would cite to us regularly, stand in the gap, be ready. And some of us students took it up as a rallying cry.

Stand in the gap. When you see a need, stand in the gap. When there's work to be done, go to it. Go stand in that gap.

Some of us young men there at college, we saw that as a personal mission. We wanted to be the ones who would come through. When times were tough, when there was a need for someone to make a difference, we would stand in the gap.

Looking back now, that sounds a little bit conceited. But it's not all that bad for young people to get fired up and committed to a cause.

Of course, you know, we weren't all idealistic. We had that young people since... I shouldn't... I don't want to put down young people, there are a lot of them here.

But you know how young men like to joke, and I particularly have been known to turn things around. We found it only took a change of one word to go from stand in the gap to stand in the way. Such as, I'd like to get past, but you're standing in the way.

That was a lot funnier in my office when I was...

Anyways...

So we're here today, it's a special Sabbath. Many of us are preparing to go spend a week at summer camp, and there are a lot of jobs that need to be done.

And we need someone to do each one of them. And there might be many jobs that I didn't even think of and that none of us have thought of, that when they arise, someone will need to stand in the gap.

And of course, before I jump ahead to camp, I should mention that it dawns on me that the Dayton congregation is already standing in the gap to a great deal.

I brought a large number of young people here because we needed some place, some congregation that would provide the means for us to have Sabbath services.

And of course, Mr. McCready was quick to offer, and all of you were quick to jump in to make that possible.

I also brought a lot of people who are going to be hungry soon. We're going to have a gap right about here.

So I thank all of you who are standing in the gap in that way. That's something we needed.

I want to explore this subject a little further this afternoon.

Now, I think it's a general concept that genuinely applies to all Christians, but I hope you'll understand if I am focusing a little bit more specifically on our duties next week at camp in particular.

It's more than a slogan for us to create what we call the zone at camp. For it to work, we need people who are ready for the moment at hand.

People who won't fade, won't quit when things get tough. We need people to stand in the gap.

One reason that it's sometimes hard to find a person to stand in the gap is that you might need special qualifications or someone that's in the right place at the right time when needed.

And a person then has to have the skills, the character needed, and sometimes the courage needed.

And, as I said, sometimes there's a special need that someone's got to be prepared in advance for.

That led me to think ahead. I've been telling people in about a week and a half, I'm going to start thinking about the feast, because this will be my first time coordinating a feast site.

I sort of backed into that. I was thinking Cincinnati would be a satellite site again. I said, well, we'll get to spend time with our in-laws, you know, the baby with the grandparents. So I volunteered, and they said, oh, it's not a satellite site this year.

But anyways, as I started thinking about organizing a feast site, it's like, okay, we need people with special qualifications. We need men who will be able to speak, give sermons and sermonettes, song leaders. And one thought jumped into mind immediately is, they're going to be a piano player. You don't want to rely on recorded music for the feast at Tabernacles.

But it takes more than just being willing to play the piano. You know, if I called someone up and said, hey, the feast is coming up at September, can you learn piano by then?

Doesn't always work. Now, we have someone who actually set a sterling example last year. I don't know if very many of you know Dottie Seifert from the Columbus congregation. I learned that last year she had actually planned to go somewhere else, and when she heard that they had a need in Cincinnati, she changed her plans to go down there and stand in the gap.

And I'm thrilled she's coming back this year for the feast. So, me talking about needing a piano player doesn't mean I'm trying to convince any of you to come down there. But of course, I'm sure I know we've got Mrs. Lockwood and Mrs. Oblak, I believe both do it here. If there's someone I'm missing out, I'm sure that all of you and Dayton are thrilled to have them here.

Now, at times, people need to be willing to step up in courage and be committed, willing when they're needed the most to stand in the gap.

That's the major theme of one of the most exciting stories in the Bible that I want to look to today. I want to go to the book of Esther.

This is always a fun story to look at, and I want to explore how, in this story, we see someone moved into the right place, and then when the time came, exerting the courage to do what needed done.

Now, I'm going to go to Esther, chapter 1, but I'll summarize a little bit of it, if I can find it. I know there's an Esther in this Bible.

In the first chapter, we learn that the story is set in the capital of the Medo-Persian Empire, Shushan, and it involves the emperor, Ahasuerus.

I like the fact that in history, he's known as Xerxes. I might just say Xerxes for most of the rest of the time.

But he was having this great feast for princes and leaders from around, and at one point he decided, boy, I've got a good-looking wife, and I want to show her off. He sent command, bring Queen Vashti out. And let's start reading in verse 10.

On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mahuman, Vistha, Harbona, Bigtha, all these guys, seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, or Xerxes, to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing a royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command, brought by the eunuchs. Therefore the king was furious, his anger burned within him.

So the king, he's upset about this. What do I do? Let's drop down to verse 19.

He got some advice from his leaders, and they said, If it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded, in the laws of all the Persians and the Medes, so that it cannot be altered, that Vashti shall come no more before Queen Ahasuerus.

And let the king give her royal position to another. Who's better than she?

So it goes to show the amount of power this emperor had. You cross him, you're out.

Now, and I wanted to say this, even being queen, being queen has a certain amount of benefits, I'm guessing. You know, power, wealth, comfort, but they could all be taken away at a whim by the emperor. If you do something he doesn't like, there's not great job security in being queen at that time.

Well, Ahasuerus, I keep... I was planning on saying Xerxes, but I typed Ahasuerus. Later he calmed down and he realized, hmm, I kind of miss having a wife. Maybe I should see about getting a new one. And his leaders presented another plan. Let's go to chapter 2. Esther 2, beginning in verse 2.

Then the king's servants who attended him said, Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king, and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan, to the citadel... Sorry, I'm going to have to get my glasses out if this keeps up. To the women's quarters under the custody of the king's unit, custodian of the women, and let beauty preparations be given to them. Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti, and this thing pleased the king. So he said, let it be done. Now we're about to meet two of the major characters in this story. In verse 5. In Shushan the citadel there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jaeir, the son of Shumai, the son of Kish of Benjamite. Kish had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been captured with Jekonai, a king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried away. And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle's daughter, so she's his niece, oh no, she's his cousin. For she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. And so it was when the king's command and decree were heard, and many young women were gathered at Shushan, the citadel, into the custody of He-guy. Esther was also taken to the king's palace and into the care of He-guy, the custodian of the women. Now, I'm not going to read all of this. We'll skip ahead in the story. And I'm sure most of you have read this and remember, Esther was beautiful. She behaved herself quite well, and so when her turn came in to go to see the emperor, he liked her. And so he said, I'm going to make her the queen. Now, she followed Mordecai's advice, though. He said, don't tell him you're Jewish. It makes you wonder why that was in his head, because it wasn't some great shame about being Jewish. But now that Esther becomes the queen, the stage is set for the great conflict of the story. For that, we have to meet the villain. Let's go to chapter 3. After these things, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hamadatha, the agagite. It's going to be a long week if this keeps up. He advanced Haman and set his seat above all the princes that were with him, and all the king's servants who were in the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman. For so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage. Then the king's servants who were within the king's gate said to Mordecai, why are you transgressing the king's command? It happened to him when they spoke to him daily, he wouldn't listen to them. And they told it to Haman to see whether Mordecai's words would stand. For Mordecai had told them he was a Jew. And Mordecai was obeying God's commands that you don't bow down to anyone, anything other than the true God.

In verse 5 it says, When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with wrath. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they told him of the people of Mordecai. So instead Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Hasuiras, the people of Mordecai.

Now I'm not going to go through the details of all that happened next. I'll summarize. Haman, of course, goes to the king and he tells a pretty big lie. There is this group of people that are good for nothing, they're troublemakers, this, that thing. We'd be better off without them. Let me do you a favor, king whatever your name is. I'll get rid of all these folks for you. Just give me the authority and we'll even make money off of this. So a Hasuiras gives him the authority. At this point I have to wonder, this king seems to be a little bit gullible. Or maybe simple-minded. It seems that whoever comes in and tells him, here's what you ought to do, he signs up, he's ready to go. But he gives Haman the authority to wipe out all the Jews and they set a date in the future. I've sometimes pondered that. Okay, here it is. You got this plan, you got authority, and you say, okay, now, 10 months from now, we'll pounce and strike them. I'm thinking he wanted to set it so that it could happen throughout the whole empire all at once. However, that delay left some time for something to be done. If someone was able to step in to save the day, there was time to do it. Sorry, I was hesitating because this always reminds me of some of the old James Bond movies. If you remember, James Bond will get captured. Or if you ever watched the old Batman TV show. That was even worse. They capture Batman and Robin, they put them in a position of sure death, and then walk away and leave them. So that they got time to escape. Haman put the Jews in a position of sure death, explained all his plan, and then walked away. So there's a chance that they can take action. Now, there aren't a lot of options available. The Jews could mount a revolt and try to raise military force and fight. That's not all that likely. They could try to overthrow the government. Well, that's not so likely either. Or perhaps they could just get the king to change his mind. As we said, anybody that comes and talks to him, he seems to believe what they say. But Haman was the highest official in the land. How in the world do you get past Haman and get to the king to convince him that he's signed on to a bad idea? Well, if you're like me, you might have thought, hey, what about that queen lady? She's right up there. She can get around Haman. Now, of course, Mordecai thought of that, too. But I'd like to point out that Mordecai thought of something else even first. I'd have to confess, I didn't always think of in this story. Let's go to chapter 4, verse 1. When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city and cried out with a loud and bitter cry. He went as far as the front of the king's gate, because no one could enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth. Now, I should point out, Mordecai wasn't making some new fashion statement. This is a sign of mourning, also, of fasting and humbly seeking God. Now, it's interesting, it doesn't specifically say that Mordecai was fasting, though he put on sackcloth. Later on, there's a lot of talk of fasting in this book. It doesn't even say that he prayed.

That's one of the unique things about the Book of Esther. As a matter of fact, scholars have pointed that out. God is not mentioned anywhere in the book. That's very unusual. And there are different theories as to the reason for that. My personal belief is I think the book was written that way on purpose, because it's a lesson for us. Though in this era, we don't have God speaking to us audibly through a voice, and he's not moving in front of us in a pillar of cloud and fire.

But he is present. He does work his will, and he wants us to trust him. But with God working in this way, he also sometimes leaves room for us to take action. He might show us, I'm with you, but you've got to take a step. You've got to do something.

Now, if he did everything for us, we wouldn't have a chance to build a whole lot of character. So I think that's one of the reasons. And I said I'm theorizing a little bit on my own, but we do see what happens in the book. During this crisis in the Persian Empire, Mordecai not only fasted and prayed to God, but he did look for a way to take action, a way for he and his people to get this job done. Could one of them possibly stand in the gap and change things?

With that in mind, let's turn down to verse 8, or look down to verse 8.

Mordecai will send a message to Queen Esther. He also gave him a copy, this is to a messenger that goes to Esther, of a written decree for their destruction, which was written at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain to her, and that he might command her to go to the king to make supplication to him and to plead for him for all the people. That makes sense. The queen is one who can go and talk to the king. But Esther did have a problem.

She might be queen, but she didn't really have all that much power, or even all that much access to the king, for that matter, as we see in verse 11. Esther is sending a message back to Mordecai and says, All the king's servants and the people of the king's province know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law to put all to death, except for the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, then he may live. And Esther says, Yet I myself have not been called to go into the king these thirty days. That always puzzles me a little. He was so eager to get a new wife to replace Vashti, but then he can go thirty days at a time without bothering to see her.

But at any rate, she knows she doesn't have a lot of options. She goes in to talk to the king. She's inviting the death penalty. Mordecai sends an interesting answer to Queen Esther. Verse 13, Mordecai told them to answer Esther, Do not think in your heart that you'll escape in the king's palace more than any more than all the other Jews. If you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place. Mordecai had faith that God would deliver his people. He wouldn't let this holocaust happen. But you and your father's house will perish. Sometimes if we have the opportunity to do the right thing and we don't do it, the consequences can be severe. So he says, Deliverance is going to come if you don't take a step in, you're going to be destroyed. Yet who knows whether you've come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Mordecai was telling Esther that being queen wasn't going to protect her from this calamity.

But perhaps using her position to try to save her people was exactly the reason God had caused her to become queen in the first place.

That was enough to strengthen Esther's resolve. Though notably, before she took any action, she followed Mordecai's example. She fasted and prayed before risking her life approaching the king. And she didn't hesitate to ask others to join her. If we can see in verse 16, she sends the message back, Go gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan and fast for me. Neither eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise, and so I'll go to the king, which is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.

The rest of the story tells how Esther did go to the king's inner court. She earned that death sentence, but he held out the scepter to her, granted her leniency. And he went further and said, What is it you want? Maybe he realized, Oh, yeah, this is that really good-looking girl that I married. What do you want? Anything you ask. And of course, she goes on to lead this up so she can reveal the plot. Through God's intervention, the tables would be turned. The Jews were delivered. Haman was executed for his evil scheme. And Mordecai took over his high position in the government. So now Esther is queen, and her cousin Mordecai is the prime minister.

But I want to focus back on that moment when Esther made her decision. She decided to stand in the gap, even if it cost her her life. Now, I believe this is at least partly because she realized that God had been preparing her for that. He had put her alone in a unique position to be able to stand in that particular gap.

When Mordecai asked her, who knows whether you've come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Evidently, Esther realized that God had brought her into that position for just such a time. She hadn't known it in all the time leading up to it. Maybe she thought she was just winning a beauty pageant. She was getting a really sweet deal living in the palace.

And she was! All those good things. But she was also being moved into position. She was being prepared, getting ready for the time that she would be needed. But when the time came and when she was in the right position, she still had to make the decision. She had to step out in courage. She had to stand in the gap. I'm looking, is there a chance someone could bring me a glass of water up here? In the Portsmouth congregation, they've got so used to it, they always give me two glasses of water. Which sometimes can have consequences if the sermon goes long, but that's another story.

But as I said, Esther stood in the gap. What about you? How many ways has God been preparing you for a special time when you will need to stand in the gap? And what doesn't have to be a matter of life or death or saving a nation, sometimes it's a smaller matter. But you are the one that can do what's needed. Thank you very much. You might be the one that can stand in the gap. When there's a need in your congregation that you can fill, who knows whether you've been called to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Who knows whether God called you into his church, into your particular congregation, for just such a time? I look back, I remember back in about 95 when we had a great heresy in the church and many people left, I was still living in Texas going to graduate school. And in our small congregation, it's funny, two-thirds of us stayed and became a united Church of God congregation, but every one of our song leaders left. And so our pastor looked around and said, Hey, does anybody here know how to lead songs?

Well, I learned how when I was in college, haven't done it since then. Boom! I led songs every Sabbath for the next two years. Now, that was an easy way to stand in the gap, but little did I know when I was in class and college, all of us standing up doing this, that I was preparing.

During this next week at camp, we can't know how many opportunities might arise when any one of us can see a need and we could stand in the gap. When you see the opportunity, I hope you'll ask yourself the question. Who knows whether I've come to Camp Catubik for such a time as this? And I think, looking out, I had to ask several of you this week to serve in ways that weren't your first choice.

I asked some of you to work in an activity when you really had a heart for being a counselor. I asked some of you to work in one activity when you really wanted to work in another. Some of you I asked to work in service areas behind the scenes doing stuff that's not that much fun. And I understand that can be disappointing.

But, as you go into those positions, who knows whether you were called to Camp for such a time as this? And that's not a lesson only for the camp staff. God's people, His called-out ones, can go through this in a lot of different ways. Have you ever seen a fellow Christian about to stumble, but you could help? Perhaps there was a risk, though. It could be embarrassing. This person might get mad.

Perhaps you could even lose a friend. That happens to young adults sometimes. And this is just a theoretical. I haven't seen it happen in my own personal experience. But a group of young people go out for an evening having fun. One of them inadvertently has a drink or two more than makes it safe for him to drive. If you try to take the car keys, maybe he's going to get upset. Maybe he'll yell at you. It could put your friendship at risk. But who knows whether you've come to God's kingdom for a time such as that?

Maybe to save someone's life. Over the years, the Church of God has seen divisions. We've seen widespread heresies. We've seen brethren wander astray, waver in their faith. And it'll probably happen again. When it does, you might find yourself in a position to set up, step up, and help. Help someone who's faltering. When you see that, will you do it? Will you stand in the gap? And if you're not sure if you should, it's good to ask that question.

Who knows? Have I been called to the kingdom for such a time as this? Now, I'm trying to say this in a stirring way. I don't want to beat you all up, but I want it to be a little bit stirring. But I should caution, there are times when we don't always know when to stand in the gap.

And I'm going to shift gears, and I realize when I wrote this part of the sermon, I said, this might seem like I'm undermining everything I just said, but it doesn't always work like the fairy tale story that the book of Esther seems like. It's not a fairy tale, it was real, but it seems so perfect. I'd like to briefly consider a servant of God who was called to one of the biggest jobs ever, Moses. He was prepared in advance in a way unique among the Israelites of his time. He'd been raised by Pharaoh's daughter, given an education far beyond anyone else in the kingdom, or any other Israelites in the kingdom.

Sources outside of the Bible say that as a young man, he became a very successful military leader. And when Moses was 40 years old, he became interested in the plight of the Israelites. Let's go back to Exodus 2 and see what happened.

Exodus 2, verse 11. Now it came to pass in those days when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So he looked this way and that way, when no one's looked, and he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. And he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting. And he said to the one who did wrong, why are you striking your companion? And he said to him, who made you a prince and a judge over us? Are you going to kill me the same way you killed that Egyptian? So Moses feared. He said, well, surely this thing is known. And Pharaoh got word and said, well, we've got to punish Moses. He's a murderer. So the story goes, Moses fled. Now, it makes it seem like Moses just got curious. Hmm, I wonder what's going on out there where the other Israelites live. And then he blundered into a bad situation and it ruined his life. But you might wonder, how come when he said, why are you doing wrong? The fellow said, who made you a prince and a judge? I want you to, if you will, keep your finger here. We're going to come back to Exodus. But let's turn to Acts 7 to get an interesting bit of information that's not recorded there in Exodus, but we do find in this account when Stephen was giving his sermon. Acts 7 will begin in verse 22.

Here we're going to see a lot of what we just saw. Acts 7, 22. Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in word, indeed. As I said, he was well educated. He'd accomplished great things. When he was 40 years old, it came to his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. Seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed and struck down the Egyptian. For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. The next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting and tried to reconcile them, saying, men, you're a brethren. Why do you wrong one another? But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, who made you a ruler and a judge over us? As I said, this account is pretty much just like we read in Exodus, but there's one additional piece of information. Moses thought his brethren would perceive that he would lead them out of captivity. He saw a need. He thought, now is the time. I'm going to lead these people out of here. We'll go to the Promised Land. And we might say, well, good for Moses. He saw that he was qualified. He was ready to stand in the gap. He saw that he might have been called to the kingdom for such a time as this. Only problem was, it was not the time that God had in mind, not yet. And God had more preparation in mind for Moses. As we know, Moses went away and became a shepherd and became what he called a stranger in a strange land, which is what he named his first son. Now, as I said, I'm taking a slight risk of undermining the point that I was just making, but I think it's good for us to temper our willingness and even eagerness, our desire to stand in the gap, with the wisdom of always seeking God's will and seeking guidance from him as to where, when, and how to stand in the gap. And I'll add that we need to be wary that if we're not able to serve in the way that we know we could, that we don't let that push us into a bad attitude so that we miss standing in the gap when the time comes that God does want us to. You're all... it looks like you're still following me. I thought that sentence got a little complicated. Let's go back to Exodus and let's visit Moses again 40 years later, and we'll see what I mean. Now, I don't think most of us try to take an opportunity, and then 40 years later it comes up, but you have to be prepared for anything. Exodus 3 and verse 9, I'm going to break into the thought that this is, of course, when Moses is leading his father-in-law's sheep, and he's near what we know is now Mount Sinai, and he says, hey, there's a bush burning, and it's not burning up. I'm going to go check this out. He walks up in a voice, tells him, Moses, take your shoes off. You're on holy ground. And he starts having a conversation with God. Let's pick it up in verse 9.

And that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. Now, God was ready to use Moses for the job that Moses wanted to do. Now Moses didn't particularly want to do it. And over the course of the next couple chapters, he starts making one excuse after another. He says, who am I to do this?

Well, they won't believe me if I go to the Israelites. Well, I don't even know your name. Who are you? And he says, I can't speak very well. And over and over again, God makes it clear to Moses something that we should consider carefully. Because it does apply to us, too. Anytime God wants us to do a job, He'll provide for us the means to do it.

It's funny, actually, speaking to a very good friend of mine recently who learned that his minister, his pastor, wants to ordain him. And he's a little hesitant. And I said, listen, I'm going to tell you something you told me a few years ago. And actually, he said he'd heard Aaron Dean say this, so he didn't originate it. But he said, Aaron Dean said that anytime God gives you a job that you weren't seeking, He'll give you the means to be able to do that job.

And my friend said, yeah, I remember telling you that. And I said, well, it's true for you, too. And that's true for all of us. If God gives us a job to do, He'll make us able to do it. And let's read in verse 12. So he said, I will certainly be with you, and this will be assigned to you when I've sent you, when you've brought the people out of Egypt, you'll serve God on this mountain. Physically, we might have to stand in a gap alone, physically. But really, we're not alone. If we have to stand in the gap for God's purpose, He will be there with us.

And that's something we can count on. It's absolutely true. When Moses was worried that the people wouldn't believe him, God promised to work miracles. Now, let's go ahead to chapter 4 in verse 8. It'll be, if they don't believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that is, you can throw your rod down and it'll turn to a snake. Don't believe the message of the latter sign. It'll give you the ability to turn water into blood and to make your hand leprous and not leprous, which is not something I'd be eager to be doing anyways. Moses said he wasn't a good speaker, so God promised to help him, and even recruited his brother Aaron.

Let's look at verse 12. Now therefore go, and I'll be with your mouth. I'll teach you what you should say. Skipping to verse 14, the anger of the eternal was kindled against Moses. At one point he gets tired of Moses trying to make excuses, and he says, Isn't Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and look, he's coming out to meet you.

When he sees you, he'll be glad in his heart. Now you'll speak to him and put words in his mouth, and I'll be with your mouth, and I'll be with his mouth, and I'll teach you what you shall do. He'll be your spokesman. Now, I hope this will give some encouragement to our camp staff. You know, who may...you might be called on this next week to do some things that you haven't done before. Some of you might be leading an activity for the first time, and you've been thinking of your lessons plans and all that, but at some point you're going to have to stand in front of a dorm and start talking at them.

Talking to them. Teaching them some things. Or you're a counselor, and you have those dorm meetings in the evening. What if they won't listen to me? What if I can't convey what I want to say? You can, especially because you've come to the kingdom for a time such as this, and God will be with you to do it. And of course, this applies not only at camp, all of us church members.

That time when your neighbor looks at you walking out to your car on a Saturday morning with a briefcase in your hand wearing a suit and says, What are you doing? You might tend to freeze up. I don't want to tell him I'm going to church.

Well, God will be with your mouth and help you to know what to say. But I did skip over an important part of this story, though. Moses not only had fears and concerns, it looks like he'd come to this point now, 40 years later, he didn't really want to do the job. Let's back up to verse 13. He said, O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else you may send. I think it's interesting. We noted earlier Moses was keen and eager to leave the Israelites 40 years earlier. Now God was calling on him, standing in the gap, and Moses said, Please send someone else.

Now we know Moses did go and do the job that God wanted, after God pushed him a little bit. But then we look at this example to say, what about you and about me? Standing in the gap sounds exciting, and we might want to do it when it doesn't interfere with something else. As Christians, we should always stop and remind ourselves, we've already committed to following God and doing things his way and at his time.

And there, I made a point, I wrote in red ink, I'm not saying all this to chew any of us out. I'm not trying to get down on anyone. I just know that it can be disappointed sometimes to be all ready and willing to serve, and then be told, Not now. Thanks, I'm glad you're willing, but I don't have that need right now. Or likewise, it could be challenging to be settled down in a situation uncomfortable, and then be told, You better get up, we need someone over there, there's the gap, you need to go get in it. And he's like, oh man, I've got a good life, it's perfect now.

But, we need to be willing to do that. And many of us already are and have been for some time, and that's one of the most encouraging things. I'm looking at examples from the Bible. If I knew the life story of every person in this room, I'd probably have dozens or even hundreds of examples that would be inspiring to all of us. And so, since I don't know all your life stories, just substitute the one where you know you did the right thing. And you can think of a time where you were kind of like Moses, saying, oh God, can't you send someone else? And you learned a lesson from that, too. I know I certainly have. And yet, there is one more important point that I want to make about standing in the gap. And that is staying in the gap.

That moment of exercising the courage and determination to step forward, to stand in the gap, whenever it might be, that's important and exciting. As I said, we think of Esther when she was standing outside that door and then walked into the inner court, knowing that it could be the last thing she did. Okay, that sounds exciting and climactic. But there are some times in the story when we stand in the gap, and we stand, and we stand, and we stand, and we could get tired of standing. And we might pray to God, and I know I've done this, hey God, did you forget I'm here? Now, when we're taking a risk or making a sacrifice, doing something like that, we might see other people doing their own thing, and they're doing pretty well. And sometimes that happens, as I said, we make that dramatic effort, but we don't become queen soon afterwards, or prime minister. Paul wrote a very simple exhortation about this. I'll give you the notation, but rather than turn there, I'll just read it to you. 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 13, he simply said, As for you, do not be weary in well doing. Don't be weary in well doing. Instead, I do want to turn to the book of Jeremiah in chapter 12. Because the prophet Jeremiah felt this way, he had an unpleasant job. God called him when he was just a kid, and he told him, God, I'm just a kid. No, I'll be with you. You need to go do this job. And he had to keep doing it. And it was unpleasant. He loved his country, and yet he had to tell his countrymen, You're driving this kingdom into the ground. You're going to go into captivity and suffer. And they persecuted him for it. And while he suffered for doing what was right, he noticed other people disobeying God and worshiping idols and all that. And some of them seem to be living in good comfort. And that's where we get this interesting conversation in Jeremiah chapter 12 between Jeremiah and God. Jeremiah is speaking here. He says, Righteous are you, O Eternal, when I plead with you. So he said, God, you do everything right. Yes! Let me talk with you about your judgments. And I like that. Here he says, God, I know you do everything right, but can I talk to you about this? Let's have a discussion. He says, Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? You've planted them and they've taken root, and they grow, yes, and bear fruit. You're near their mouth, but far from their mind. But you know me, O God, O Eternal. You know me, and you've seen me and tested my heart towards you. So Jeremiah is saying, Look, I'm not prospering. I'm doing the right thing, and I've got a pretty rough life, and these sinners are doing okay.

Now, I'm not going to read all the explanations, but there are full explanations elsewhere in the Bible as to showing us that eventually the righteous are rewarded, and there is a punishment for sin. Of course, fortunately, there's also a sacrifice for sin so we can be forgiven. But it's interesting. God didn't explain all that to Jeremiah at this time. This time he said, Jeremiah needs to hear something else. And God basically told him, toughen up. Don't be such a wimp. Let's look down to verse 5.

God was telling Jeremiah, Man up! It's going to get worse before it gets better. But we don't want to forget God, before he told him this, had already given Jeremiah some very special promises. If you'll flip back to the first chapter, let's remind ourselves of what God had told him going in, and this hadn't changed. Jeremiah 1, verse 8. When God sent him out to warn his countrymen, he said, Don't be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Eternal.

Verse 19. They'll fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you, says the Eternal, to deliver you.

When God first called Jeremiah, he told him, It's going to get tough, but I'll be with you. I'll always protect you. That's something we can consider also. When we commit our lives to God, we're begotten. He's not going to abandon us. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Neither height nor depth nor distance, nor... Now the quote from New Testament slipped my mind, because I didn't have it in my notes. But we have to not get weary in well-doing. This applies to all of us in a way. In some senses, as I said, we're already standing in the gap. God called us out of this world, and we responded. We're already the small, scattered flock. Sometimes it's tough, not fun.

A prophecy tells us it's going to get tougher. Much worse before it's finished. And at times like that, when it seems to be getting really tough, I like to remember the words that Jesus Christ said to His apostles. Let's go to John 16. John 16, verse 33.

It says, This is the night before Christ was crucified, and He's talking to His closest disciples. These things I've spoken to you that in me, you may have peace. In the world, you'll have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. That always just picks me up. It's like, okay, the world is going to be tough. I've already overcome that world. You're on the right side. You've got the one in charge backing you up.

For those of you who are about to take charge of a group of teenagers and live with them 24 hours a day, now I know it's fun. I've done it all. I told people, if I were young enough, I'd still be doing it. But there might be times when you're doing that it feels like you're having tribulation. But be of good cheer. In Christ, you can have peace.

He's already overcome the world, and there's no trial greater than He can overcome. And I say that it almost sounds like I'm implying, boy, camp is tough. It's going to be hard. Boy, I'm just psyching us for the tough moments. But overall, you all know, well, I hope most of you know, it's tons of fun. We're going to have a blast there. So don't get all down. I'm just trying to encourage us to be ready to step in when there's a special need and not falter.

And the rare times that things are a little tough. Because even with the fun, it is an act of service. It's an act of giving. And sometimes it seems that standing in the gap, it might seem like it's as much as you can take, and maybe even more than you can take. Boy, that reminds me. I didn't plan to tell this story, but I remember my first time as a counselor. And this was when camp was three weeks long and we were all in one tent. And it was about nearing the end of the second week, and boy, was I tired.

And they would not stop talking. And I always had a rule as a counselor, you guys can stay awake as long as you want, as long as you don't keep me awake. But that wasn't happening, and finally, my temporal... I got up and literally threatened to pull them outside and start doing business. And by business, I met with my fists. They got real quiet. And the terrible thing is, I was so worked up, I couldn't go back to sleep after that.

And I made a very heartfelt apology the next day. I'd been pushed beyond my limits, and really, my limits shouldn't have been so short. But what I'm saying is, even though I had a blast that year, I fell in love with serving at camp, and I wanted to come back the next year, and every bit of it was good. But, you know, there are moments when you have to call on God for that help.

And we have the assurance that God will sustain us. My second class. Thank you. I've been getting better. I usually don't go into the second class in Portsmouth anymore, I think. I don't know if our folks in Portsmouth... Well, I'm going to drink it anyways, now that it's here. I'll probably lose my voice within a week anyways. No need to hurry it. What I was going to say is, there are a lot of examples of people in the Bible who stood in that gap, and who weathered the storm and came out.

And we've read all of those. Well, we haven't read all of them. It doesn't hurt to review them. But if you don't mind, I'd like to share a story from our country's history, about one of its greatest heroes.

This is the one I heard back when I was in college, and it's always been inspiring to me. It's about George Washington, a towering figure, leader of the revolution, father of the country, our first president. It seems hard to imagine him ever faltering or quitting. But this story tells of a time when he almost did just that. And I like the almost. That's what's so vital about this.

Now, I'm going to admit there is more than one version of this story, and no version was recorded right after it happened. So historians, and that's my business, you know, we can't say that this is absolutely true the way it's written, but this is the version of it that I like the best, because it's the most inspiring.

So I'm going to use this one today. So I'm going to be reading a fair bit, if you don't mind. It says, During the American War for Independence, the winter that the tattered American army spent encamped at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, was by far the lowest ebb of support for the independence movement, and of its leader's will to carry on the fight. One dark evening of that winter, George Washington had reached the end of his patience, and nearly that of his fortitude and determination.

He had called to his office General Henry Knox, commander of the army's artillery, and Washington's personal friend. When General Knox entered and sat down opposite the desk, Washington handed him a one-page letter, penned in the commander-in-chief's own precise and orderly handwriting. Well, go ahead and read it, Henry, Washington said. The time has come, and there is no use in continuing any longer. This is my resignation. I'm sending it to Congress tomorrow. Knox glanced at the letter, but said nothing. Do you know, Henry, that Congress promised to feed and clothe this army, but our men are starving and wearing rags?

Last night I toured the guard posts and found one sentry dead on his feet. I don't know if he died of hunger or from cold. Do you know, Henry, that Congress committed to paying these men a ten-dollar bounty for re-enlisting last fall? But it has not sent even their regular pay in the last four months. At the same time, the men who stayed be home in their villages are eating roast beef and corn.

The British are feasting in Philadelphia. I've appealed to Congress for reinforcements. I've asked for proper arms. I've begged for simple supplies. And none has been provided. I have endured beyond what could be expected of any man, but I do not want to preside over the starvation of this army. I must resign. What else could I do? General Henry Knox listened without comment. And when Washington ended his rant, Knox waited a few moments and he said, I think, sir, you should once again look upon the pearl-handled knife.

Those words pierced into Washington's conscience like a bolt from the blue. Involuntarily, his right hand reached into its pocket and clutched a well-worn penknife. Pulling it out, he looked on its handle, inlaid with Mother of Pearl. And as he did so, in his memory, he went back several decades to a memory from the old plantation in Virginia when he was nearly 14 years old.

It was early morning. He'd waited until the last moment to tell his mother of his plans, lest she take steps to try to prevent them. Now all was in place. He only needed to walk out the door. I'm joining the Royal Navy, Mother, he said. That's all there is to it. Lawrence has already gotten me a warrant as midshipman, and my ship sails tonight. Washington was tall for his age, and his ambitions were even taller. As a boy, he'd always entertained dreams of military glory. Now his chance was at hand. With a bit of luck and the right conditions, he could rise to the ranks quickly, become a captain by age 30. But before he could walk out to seize his destiny, his mother, Mary Ball Washington, cried out, Please don't do it, George!

We need you. I can't manage the planting this season. The harvest will be impossible without you. The other boys aren't ready. With your father gone, we need you to be the man of this house. Please don't leave us at a time when we have to depend on you. Whether it was her words, or the look in her eyes, or the lost expression on the faces of his younger brothers and sisters, who had awakened and come to see what was the commotion, George Washington then and there changed his destiny. He gave up his best chance for promotion in the military of the British Empire.

He declined an officer's commission in the Navy, and instead, he carried on the management of a relatively small plantation in Virginia. In the next order for supplies from England, Mary Ball Washington included a request for a good penknife, and she received one back with a mother-of-pearl inlaid handle in time for George's birthday. So that evening, with the family all gathered around, she gave it to him and said, Bless you, George, for you did your duty when we needed you the most.

With a memory of that emotional moment burning in his mind, General Washington's thoughts came suddenly back to his office, to the tattered army that he led, and to the letter lying on his desk in front of General Knox. In two long strides, he moved across the room, seized the letter, and, ripping it to pieces, he signified that he would do his duty when his country needed him the most.

I'll make reference to one other version of the story, because it's essentially the same, except in that version of the story, it says that when Washington's mother presented him the penknife, she told him, You must resolve to always obey orders from your superiors. Henry Knox knew that story, so this version of the story says that, as Washington looked at the knife, Knox told him, You were commanded to lead this army.

Have you received any command to cease leading it? And on hearing that, Washington ripped up the letter. Well, I've given you enough slogans already in this sermon, so I don't want to add something like, Remember the Pearl-handled knife? But, if we think, you know, if Washington and Knox had been studying the Book of Esther, I could see where Henry Knox might have said something like, George, who knows whether you've come to the Kingdom?

Or, in this case, it would have said, Who knows whether you've come to the Republic for such a time as this? And as I say, what about you? And what about me? Are we going to hang in there when we're needed the most? This next week? The next years? The times when the Church needs us the most? Never seen an albino squirrel before. Sorry, I just got distracted. Boy, that really shoots my dramatic ending in the foot, doesn't it?

Maybe I should back up. So tonight, you might be going home to carry on with your regular life of study, work, play, growing as called out children of God, or a good many of you are going to drive up to Camp Catubik for a week of fun and work and service all in the zone. I hope I've helped you see the need that we have to all be ready to stand in the gap. There are different ways we may be called on to do it, but when the occasion arises, often we know it.

We say, yeah, this is the time when I need to do it. God may have been preparing and leading you for this opportunity for years, and when you see it, will you exercise the courage? If you begin to falter, ask yourself, who knows whether I've come to the Kingdom for such a time as this?

Who knows whether you've been called to God's Church? Who knows whether you've been called to Camp Catubik for such a time as this? We can endure when our patience is tested. God will provide the help that we need. We can do it. We can stand in the gap, for God has called us for such a time as this.