TUNSTALL APO. PM 15th SUNDAY JULY 07.

Place: Tunstall Apo.               Date: Pm Sunday, 15th July 2007.

Text: Ezekiel 22:30.                Theme: Bridging the Gap.

Introduction:                          Reading: 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.”

There is a gap between many things,

A. Teens and Adults.          

B. Men and women.

C. Black and White.

D. Heaven and hell.

Luke 16:26 “And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.” Spiritually there is a gap between man and God, but:

1ST POINT: THE GAP IS BRIDGED BY THE SAVIOUR.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Acts 4:12 “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

A.   Jesus is our mediator. A go between who acts as a link between parties, a peace maker.

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”

B.   Jesus is our Advocate. A person who pleads for a cause, to speak, pleads, or argues in favour of someone.

1 John 2:2 “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

C.   Jesus is our Intercessor. A go between who acts as a link between parties.

Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

D.   Jesus is our High Priest. The greatest authority or major promoter of a movement or doctrine.

Hebrews 4:14 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”

2ND POINT: THE GAP IS BRIDGED BY SALVATION.

1 Peter 2:5 “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

A.    We are branches grafted into vine.

John 15:2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

B.   We are members adopted into the body.

1 Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”

C.   We are children born into the family.

John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

D.   We are sheep in God's flock.

John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

3RD POINT: THE GAP IS BRIDGED BY SUBMISSION TO CHRIST JESUS.

Ephesians 4:13 “Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

A father and his grown son were at odds.  They had not spoken in years, and both remembered the last time they did, and the harsh words that had been shared. The wife and mother of the 2 tried and tried to get them together, attempting to be a mediator and to bridge the gap, but to no avail. 

They were proud and stubborn, and each wanted the other to be the one to apologize. It took the hospital deathbed on which she eventually would lie to even get them into the same room together, but still they took turns spending time with her while ignoring one another.

        In her final moments as it was clear she was taking her last breaths, the nurses insisted both men come to her bedside for her dying wish.  There they were on either side of that bed. She asked each of them to take one of her hands. When they did she mustered all the strength she could and raised both of them up and said, “Lord, I am ready to go home now.”  Her eyes closed and her hands fell together across her stomach.

        Father and son stood there weeping, realizing she was gone, and then they realized their hands were also touching each other. Right there they swallowed their pride and made things right, the gap was finally taken up!

CONCLUSION:

Let us draw closer to one another, and to the Lord and His cross which has bridged the gap between us and God. It was the death of Christ Jesus that brought God and man together; do not let the death of Christ be in vain by turning your back on salvation tonight.