Standing in the Gap Part 1: The World in Which We Live

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Introduction

Good morning. I am blessed and honored to be able to share with you from the Word of God these next three weeks. As I was preparing this series I realized that this is something that the LORD has been teaching me and showing me for around 16 years. Back in 2009 I started a Sunday school class on the book of Jeremiah at West Corners Baptist and in 2022 I started a preaching series through the book of Daniel at Victory Bible. Both studies impressed on me some lessons that I want to share with you from Daniel 9. I loved that Pastor Chris spoke from Daniel 6 back in November as it set some of the groundwork for this series. Back in 2008 when I began the study in Jeremiah I realized how much the world of Israel in the days of Jeremiah mirrors our world now. It was the world that Daniel was born into and he grew up in. This world Erwin Lutzer, former pastor Moody Church, would write about in his book The Church in Babylon. The fact is, the church has been in Babylon for quite some time, yet, have we been like Daniel or like most of the other Jewish people taken into exile and just go with the flow?

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During this series I hope for us to accomplish three things:

Recognize the World we live in for what it is.

Recognize the sin we have done and that our ancestors have done and confess it.

Refocus our life so that we engage our Culture for Christ.

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The World of Jeremiah (Pre-Exile)

The world in Jerusalem and Judah pre-exile was the world that Jeremiah the prophet was born into, and it was an interesting time. The northern kingdom of Israel had already gone into exile with the Assyrians and at the moment of the beginning of Jeremiah’s ministry there appeared to be a revival! Josiah was king of Judah! In 2 Kings 22-23 we have Hilkiah the priest finding the Torah. 2 Kings 22:8–11 “Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the Lord.” Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes.”

The world that Jeremiah lived in and that King Josiah became King in was a world where the Word of God had been forgotten. The Word of God was collecting dust in the back of the temple. It was not until King Josiah started having the temple repaired and cleaned that the Torah was found. The message of Deuteronomy showed that exile was right around the corner and Josiah pleaded with the LORD and a superficial revival began that would last only as long as Josiah was on the throne. After his death the lifestyle of the people would go back to the way it was before Josiah brought his reforms in. Josiah’s heart was pure and true, but the people, the priests, the prophets’ hearts had not changed.

When God came to Jeremiah, God gave him a mission and commission that was not pleasant.

Jeremiah 1:9–10 NKJV

Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.”

Jeremiah was not going to be a popular person in the land of Judah as he proclaimed the exile was coming.

Jeremiah 2:5–9 NKJV

Thus says the Lord: “What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters? Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of drought and the shadow of death, Through a land that no one crossed And where no one dwelt?’ I brought you into a bountiful country, To eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land And made My heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, And walked after things that do not profit. “Therefore I will yet bring charges against you,” says the Lord, “And against your children’s children I will bring charges.

Jeremiah 2:13 NKJV

“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Jeremiah 2:19 NKJV

Your own wickedness will correct you, And your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing That you have forsaken the Lord your God, And the fear of Me is not in you,” Says the Lord God of hosts.

Jeremiah 2:22 NKJV

For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, Yet your iniquity is marked before Me,” says the Lord God.

This is the Word of the LORD to Judah as God was preparing them for exile.

Some of the scarest verses in the Old Testament (I have found) are in Jeremiah in this pre-exile period.

Jeremiah 7:16 NKJV

“Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you.

Jeremiah 14:11 NKJV

Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good.

Jeremiah 15:1–2 NKJV

Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Such as are for death, to death; And such as are for the sword, to the sword; And such as are for the famine, to the famine; And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.” ’

Judah had gone past the point of no return and exile WAS going to happen. That is the reality of the world of Jeremiah as Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar’s army was getting closer to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Jeremiah was seeing his nation on the brink of collapse. To see his family, his friends about to be killed, raped, and captured because they would not repent or listen to God.

The World of Jeremiah and Us

I bring up this background in 2 Kings and Jeremiah as it will set the stage for the prayer that Daniel will pray in Daniel 9. We need to have an idea of what the world pre-exile was like. To get a better idea read through all of 2 Kings and all of 2 Chronicles and all of Jeremiah. Yet, what we see are the people of God. Who have been called by His name. That He called from the East and established a covenant with through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He brought them out of bondage in Egypt and brought them into the Promise Land. This is the people had forgotten Him.

They were meant to be image bearers of the name of the LORD. Yet, by worshiping the Baals and Asherah and honoring these false gods they were taking or bearing God’s name in vain. This is the meaning behind the third commandment. It is much more than speaking, it is about lifestyle. The name and reputation of the LORD God was being bore by this people, Israel. Yet, that name was being mocked, because they were no different from any other nation or people.

They witnessed the Northern Kingdom of Israel be taken into captivity for the same sins they were committing and thought they could get away with it. Yet, God will not be mocked. Are we as believers in Jesus Christ acting the same way as the people living in Jerusalem pre-exile? Ask yourself am I acting the same way as a person living in Jerusalem in the days before the Exile? Are we as Christians taking the name of Jesus in vain? Are we bearing the name of Christ in our lives and the world sees no difference? Maybe we are taking or bearing the name of God in vain. Or maybe we are as believers falling into the same trap that Paul was warning the “moral” Jews in Romans 2?

Romans 2:1–5 NKJV

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

Remember the Old Testament is an example to us. The Apostle Paul in chapter 10 of 1 Corinthians tells us that they were examples. 1 Corinthians 10:6 “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.” and 1 Corinthians 10:11 “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

The question is our we paying attention to these examples so that we do not walk down the same wrong path? As he goes on to say in 1 Corinthians 10:12–13 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

Judah had been given the example of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but did not learn from it.

Jeremiah 3:6–8 NKJV

The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.

We need to examine our lives. I need to examine my life. I have been so appreciative of the book that Pastor Chris picked out for the Bible Study. Respectable Sins. It is a challenge to examine our lives to see what sins might have in a tagline from Febreze become “nose blind” to. As Jerry Bridges in his book writing about Puritan authors of the past.

Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate Chapter Three: The Malignancy of Sin

These pastors all saw sin for what it actually is: a diabolical force within us. Ralph Venning, the author of The Sinfulness of Sin, uses especially colorful (in the negative sense) words to describe sin. Over the space of only a few pages, he says that sin is vile, ugly, odious, malignant, pestilent, pernicious, hideous, spiteful, poisonous, virulent, villainous, abominable, and deadly.

Take a few moments to ponder those words so as to get the full impact of them. Those words describe not just the scandalous sins of society but also the respectable sins we tolerate in our own lives. Think of such tolerated sins as impatience, pride, resentment, frustration, and self-pity. Do they seem odious and pernicious to you? They really are. To tolerate those sins in our spiritual lives is as dangerous as to tolerate cancer in our bodies. Seemingly small sins can lead to more serious ones. Lustful looks often lead to pornography addiction and perhaps even adultery. Murder often has its genesis in anger, which grows into bitterness, then to hatred, and finally the murder.

Jeremiah’s “church” had gone Nose Blind to Sin and its consequences and as a result they were exiled and Daniel was one of the people taken to Babylon.

We are in Babylon

It is possible we as the church in America and we as believers are in the world of Pre-Exile as described in Jeremiah or we might have already been in Babylon for a while and don’t even realize it. The issue still remains, how do we respond? We are in a post-Christian culture. It is not something that has happened overnight. It not something that started recently. The trend has been going in this direction for many decades. The more I look, the more I can see the roots of it going back the late 1800s and early 20th century in Europe and in this country. To borrow the title from a Casting Crowns song, the decline has been a Slow Fade. Yet, we have been put here in Little Falls, NY or fill in your community name for such a time as this! This is the world we live in now. This is the reality of where we are at. You are not going to get anywhere complaining and saying, “I never thought I would see the day.” Or “If only this person was in office things would get better.” Or any other thoughts similar to this.

As Ed Stetzer for the Introduction to The Church in Bible writes:

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The Church in Babylon: Heeding the Call to Be a Light in the Darkness Foreword

We have to take an honest, hard look at why we are seeing this trajectory now. Many have noted that the decline of Christian values can be attributed to a reactive, angry, disengaged, and politically motivated Christian culture that has sought to assert itself in order to win a culture war that was destined to be lost. We have the best news in the world, but often we have communicated it as the right news instead of the good news. Many times, we have preferred to be right instead of loving, and lost our reputation in the process.

Christians today are faced with at least three ways to respond: (1) assimilate the secular culture, (2) isolate from the secular culture, or (3) engage the secular culture. In light of the gospel, the only choice for the Christ follower is to engage.

The Critical thing that I believe needs to start this, is us as believers. Me, you, each one of us examine our lives. Right now. To start with our sins. Where we have gone nose blind to and to get our on our knees before God and confessing our sins and the sins our nation, our fathers, and intercede. That is why we are looking at Daniel 9.

The Need for Prayer

Let us look at the first three verses and the opening of 4.

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Daniel 9:1–4 (NKJV)

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession

The Word of God is a Mirror for our Need

This prayer that Daniel prays is a direct result of reading the Word of God. Daniel was reading Jeremiah. One of the reasons for the emphasis of Jeremiah is the fact Daniel had at least some of Jeremiah (at least Jeremiah 29— a letter to those in exile).

The verse so many people know from Jeremiah is Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Yet, this verse in the midst of a letter from Jeremiah giving the Word of LORD to those in Exile in Babylon. It is told to them in this letter (there are other references in Jeremiah too) that the exile will be for 70 years! God says to the exiles: “to all who were carried away captive whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon” Even though Babylon might have been the instrument of this, God is the One who orchestrated it. God is still in charge. Verse 10 tells us it will be for 70 years. Jeremiah 29:10 “For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.”

Daniel when reading the Word of the LORD knows the exile is soon to be over. The Word of God had an impact on his life through the reading and studying of it. Even though he most likely had saw this letter from Jeremiah before at this moment something changed, which was going to prompt him in his prayer.

Has there been a time when we read something in the Word of God, maybe you have read it before or many times before, but the Spirit of God speaks through it that time that causes you to act. Daniel was caused to act.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

2 Timothy 3:16–17 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

His action and response was going to be a prayer of confession and pleading to God, while in the midst of Babylon. That prayer is what we will look at over the next two Sundays.

In many ways Daniel would be one of the people to answer a call of Ezekiel 22. Though will Ezekiel it was pre-exile, Daniel would come after the Exile. Ezekiel 22:30 “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.” God was unable to find someone to stand in the gap. Daniel during the exile stepped up to the plate to stand in the gap before God with the prayer which we will begin next week. Daniel would stand in the gap, will you?

Application / Conclusion / Challenge

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As we come to the conclusion of today’s message I want to challenge you and challenge myself. We as believers in Jesus Christ here in the United States in 2024 are either in a pre-exile world like Jeremiah or already in Babylon like Daniel. Yet, regardless the questions is: What is our response going to be? As Ed Stetzer wrote for the introduction of Lutzer’s book we have three ways: Assimilate into the secular culture, Isolate from the secular culture, or engage the secular culture. If you believe the Bible and what Jesus Christ has called us to do, there is ONLY one option. We have been called to be agents of change. To shine the light of Christ in the darkness of the world. To be salt and make the world thirsty for abundant life that only Jesus Christ can give. As we go through the prayer of Daniel I want you to put yourself in his shoes as he pleads with God for his people, his nation, his home city. How can each of us stand in the gap and engage the culture for Christ. One of the ways we stand in the gap for our country and culture, our friends, family, and even enemies is on our knees. Next week will be looking at the prayer of Daniel.