Stand in the Gap: A Report of the Sacred Assembly of Men

TEXT: Ezekiel 22:23-31 FBI

TOPIC: Stand in the Gap: A Report of The Sacred Assembly of Men,

Bobby Earls, First Baptist Church, Icard, NC

October 4, 1997

Two demons were overheard talking one day in the dark crevices of Hell. Said one to the other, “If those apathetic, indifferent and ineffective Christian men ever come together for the glory of God, Hell help us all of Heaven will break out!”

Yesterday afternoon on our nation’s capital an estimated 1.3 million men came together for the Glory of God and all Heaven broke out!

In case you don’t know, about two dozen of our P.K. men attended the Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of Men in Washington, D.C. yesterday. Together we experienced an event of historic proportions that may never be repeated again.

But it was not the event itself that drew us to Washington. Nor was it the sheer number of men that moved us. It was the divine magnetism of the Spirit of God that brought men of every race and color, and denomination to worship and bow down before Almighty God in humility, confession of sin and repentance.

The shape of the day was influenced by the following emphases.

I. OUR EXTRAORDINARY GOD

II. OUR EXTRAORDINARY RESPONSE

III. OUR EXTRAORDINARY HOPE

The call to the sacred assembly began just before noon with the blowing of the shofar, (a ram’s-horn instrument). Native America Indians were our host and they also welcomed us pilgrims by the playing of the flute.

OUR EXTRAORDINARY GOD segment helped us refocus on the Holiness and sovereignty of God. Many men have forgotten who God is. Turning to the Scriptures we sought to discover God’s identity and our response to Him.

Recognizing the absolute holiness of God and our sinfulness we moved to the next segment of our sacred assembly,

OUR EXTRAORDINARY RESPONSE

As Christian men, we have failed in many ways. During this segment we spent time addressing these areas of failure and praying for forgiveness.

We confessed each sin, compared what the Scriptures said about it, confessed it and declared that we are moving away from these sins, and that through Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

The sins we confessed included:

1. Forsaking our first love, Almighty God

2. Racism

3. Racial insensitivity

4. Evasion of spiritual responsibility at home

5. Abandonment of our families

6. Abuses to the family

7. Sexual sins

8. Lack of commitment to the church

9. Passivity in the church

10. Sins of pride and jealousy

11. Gossip, backbiting and murmuring

12. Prayerlessness

As the day came to a close, the final segment, OUR EXTRAORDINARY HOPE served to remind us that although we are sinful, the power of the Holy Spirit living within us can empower us to accomplish things beyond our own strength.

Our hope is to place all our dependence upon Him.

As we return to our families and churches, our hope is that P.K.’s will be a seed of hope planted in every town and city, every community and county in every state across America that our only hope is in God.

We saw evidences of the hopelessness of mankind in the demonstrations and protests against us. Homosexuals, women’s rights groups, atheists, were present and were a reminder that a large part of our society do not believe as we do, and therein lies there hopelessness.

Ronnie Floyd challenged us to go back and win our communities to Jesus Christ. He is our only hope. Coach Bill McCartney challenged us to continue to stand in the gap.