A Man to Stand in the Gap — George Verwer

Ezekiel’s Search for a Man to Stand in the Gap

Of Ezekiel chapter 22. Book of Ezekiel chapter 22. Let us read the word of God verse 23. The word of the Lord came unto me saying set a man say unto her thou art the land that is not cleansed nor rained upon.

In the day of indignation. There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof like a roaring lion revening the prey they have devoured souls. They have taken the treasure and precious things they have made her many widows in the midst thereof her priests have violated my law and a profane my holy things.

They have put no difference between the holy and profane neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean and have hid their eyes from my Sabbath and I am profane among them. Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves revening the prey to shed blood to destroy souls and to get dishonest gain.

And her prophets have dubbed them with untempered murder seeing vanity and divining lies unto them saying thus saith the Lord God when the Lord hath not spoken. The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery and have vexed the poor and needy.

Yea they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. And I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land that I should not destroy it but I found none.

There's Billy Graham who described this verse as perhaps the saddest verse in the Word of God. I sought for a man among them that should stand in the gap or stand or make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land that I should not destroy it but I found none.

Isaiah’s Intercessor and the Need for Evangelism

In the book of Isaiah chapter 59 we find a similar word in verse 16. Here we read and he saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore his arm brought salvation unto him and his righteousness it sustained him.

Many ask the question especially young people who are still I guess a bit idealistic can the world be evangelized. Can the world be evangelized. We're very conscious of the fact as we speak to many adults that this question is a little concern to most people in London.

Great numbers will gather together week after week and discuss the important issues of theology. There will be all kinds of conferences conventions and every other form of meeting to present various doctrines shades of doctrine and other theological truths.

But to find crowds of people gathering to seriously think about world evangelism is very hard to find in the world today. And yet many young people a majority of young people who become Christians face this question.

Christ’s Command to Evangelize the Whole World

Did Jesus Christ really mean for us to evangelize the whole world. Did Jesus Christ when he said as my father has sent me so send on you excuse me the whole world. This is a very important question. Thomas Samuel when sent by a group of Christian leaders in India to operation mobilization in 1963 came with the view of a majority of Indians that India could never be evangelized.

I think he had good reason in thinking that way. 500 million people 11 million more every year 75 of them have never seen a gospel tract. It wouldn't matter if they could for 75 of the people in India are still illiterate the vast areas of Bihar Rajasthan Kashmir so unreached.

He had a good reason to leave at this couldn't be done. I know many people who for a while are concerned about evangelism finally come to the point that it can't be done and send though and so then develop a theology that will keep them from worrying about it.

That's right you know so much of our theology is an escape. Whenever I meet a man who tells me not to be concerned about world evangelism God will take care of it. God is sovereign. Believe me. I believe and preach the sovereignty of God.

I basically believe I'm speaking to a man who's not facing reality because no matter how much we emphasize the sovereignty of God and I could not live without his sovereignty we must realize that we have been given a command and Jesus very clearly said if you love me keep my commandments.

God’s Raising of an Evangelistic Army

This is so so important tonight and I'm convinced that Jesus Christ meant what he said. And I'm convinced that in these latter days God is raising up an army not just oh and say the least but an army of men and women to go forth and reach men like never before in history.

I believe he's reached raised up great evangelist raised up monsters radio stations he's raised up gigantic printing presses that the task of world evangelism could be a reality in the months years and decades to come.

And I'm convinced that God tonight wants to convince many of us and give us faith that this can become a reality world evangelism in our decade. That's what Billy Graham says. I haven't got that much faith our century perhaps maybe less maybe more.

Nonetheless I believe it can come to pass. And I'm convinced that what God has done through this work which is only four years old basically only four years old is a testimony and God is desirous beyond anything else to reach the world in our generation.

The fact that he is taken young untrained in some ways not ready many ways and is used to win thousands to Christ to plant churches and to reach up to now at least a hundred million people with the gospel of Jesus Christ a testimony that God is concerned.

God is concerned as it says here in the book of Ezekiel I sought for a man that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap. And tonight young people adults God is seeking for a man. He's seeking for a woman to stand in the gap to make up the hedge.

One Woman’s Prayers for a School

I believe it's because of God. A dear old woman some 30 years ago almost began to in a desperate way for the school across from where she lived for 18 years. She prayed for that school. What's equivalent to a grammar school here in Britain.

She prayed that from that school young men and women would go out to the uttermost parts of the earth was an ungodly grammar school. Drunkenness immorality was so rampant were so few Christians. She prayed year after year for 18 years something would happen in that school.

When I went into that school near 1952 I was doomed as far as my carnal life was concerned. And when this woman began to pray for me and specifically asked God to save me without me knowing about it without ever having the opportunity to speak to me as far as Satan was concerned it was all over.

And it was through the prayers of this woman the gospel of John she sent me that I came to know Jesus Christ in March 5th 1955 in New York City my life has changed still being changed a long way to go.

Prayers of one woman. This is why through the years our one emphasis for our friends and for those that are interested in this one has been prayer. Prayer. I've been criticized very severely after these meetings each year for not taking an offer very soon.

Prayer Rather Than Money as the Answer

People think I'm mad. Just think of this crowd you have here while you pass the plate after a red-hot message and you get a couple of hundred pounds beloved money is not the answer to world evangelism.

It was Hudson Taylor who said it's not the lack of money that's hindering God's work. It's too much unconsecrated money and I believe that's true today. You know I'm over these years has operated on a shoestring and I can tell you many times none of us could find even the shoestring.

But we've had God's blessing. We've had power. We've seen thousands come to Christ. We've seen people come into fullness and reality in Jesus Christ which is the deepest desire on our hearts. And if you think that a majority of the young people that are here tonight will go on a year campaign and drift away I can only say you're wrong.

Training Believers for Lifelong Fruitfulness

I recently looked at a photo of one of the first teams that went into Mexico many years before I'm even exist. Every one of the young people in that photo that was almost seven years or eight years ago are going on powerfully for God today into Christian work.

We have young people who have been trained in OM as we are a training movement not a missionary society serving in more than 25 nations apart from the 20 nations were in with many different societies and many different churches.

And we're convinced that what happens in one year is only the beginnings only another step toward a whole life of fruitfulness and reality. Enjoy. We don't believe everyone who comes on OM should go into missionary work.

We have men who've gone back into business. We have men who've gone back to get their PhDs. We have men who've gone back to work in the factory teachers nurses. And it's our conviction that many people for many people God's plan includes working.

If you not work should not eat by very good policy. We believe in it heartily on OM. It's one of the reasons we do call portage work another thing and I'm convinced you and your office factory wherever you are can be as effective for Jesus Christ as those of us who go.

Of course if God is calling you to go you must go. And that's such an important thing for you to seek out where it does seem that the vast majority all seem to get the calling to stay. Seems to me some are getting them acute in the communications wrong.

May we be open to whatever God wants. How I do praise God. As I think back on how that woman prayed for that school within two years after I was converted several hundred in that one school that ungodly grammar school had come to Jesus Christ.

Prayer, Mexico, and the Expansion of the Gospel

And there are some people from that school various parts of the world today shortly after that as I was in my last year when I was converted I went into college. There I met complete fanatic named Dale wrote on.

I heard about him. I'd heard that I'd better steer clear of him. And in this other band of fighting fund these they were called who actually believed the Bible to be the Word of God. And I was told to be very careful because they were dangerous.

And they were baptizing people in the showers. That was interesting because Dale was a Presbyterian at that time. Anyway four years later he baptized me. It wasn't in the showers and there we began to meet together for prayer.

And from those prayer meetings just a small little group meeting daily things began to happen. God put Mexico on our hearts. And there's not time tonight to tell you of what happened between Mexico and where we are tonight.

What God did in Mexico. The seven bookshops were open the radio broadcast that went on the air the hundreds that came to the Lord the national workers that were raised up and are still going on today.

And then what happened in Spain even when the land was closed. The 900 ,000 people that received the gospel through the post because we couldn't give it to them in the end. And then what happened you know I'm in Europe 1962 and 25 million pieces of literature was distributed in two months.

And in 63 when 200 tons pieces of literature went into 90 ,000 villages as trucks a hundred and twenty of them most of them bought for 30 pounds traveled more than 2 million miles to reach a continent at least to a small degree the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The impact has been so great that every year missionaries more than we can handle invite us back. The teams through the summers have been doing follow-up work helping missionaries to plant churches and spreading the gospel in a marvelous way.

And again this summer close to 800 moved out in Europe. If you think this is superficial if you think this is a youthful zeal I challenge you to come on team. We've had every once in a while men of men of God who are known who are considered mature like we're not considered who are considered men of a great spiritual stature.

Young Believers, Spiritual Maturity, and Older Mentors

We've had them come to our conference. And if I could read you some of the letters of these men if I could read you some of the letters William McDonald the president of a Bible College whose life was so completely shaken by a student who went on one of these crusades and had a maturity in a reality that he could not understand he could not understand.

Who in turn wrote the book true discipleship which was not the cause of OM but only one of the many products of the movement. And then who later left his presidency though they begged in the state to come to Europe for a year and work in operation mobilization.

Many others who have been willing to find out the facts who have been willing to go beyond the OM echoes and all how many echoes there are. And I know that many of you will not pray fervently. Many of you will not be fervently concerned for what your son or daughter are doing.

Many of you will not really be burdened for what's happening this year unless some of these echoes can somehow be put behind the echo that it's all superficial. You know if superficiality can plant an assembly of 40 believers in a year and a half in Barcelona then I want to be superficial.

If superficiality can bring Muslim Turks to Jesus Christ and start the first little band of Turks meeting together then I want to be superficial. If superficiality can bring to pass what we've seen in country after country then I think we better have a crusade of superficiality.

But praise God it isn't superficial. You see as we've often made a mistake between civilization and Christianity we have made the same mistake of identifying age with spirituality. And it's not necessarily because God is sovereign.

And when Jesus Christ came to the earth and he looked for a band of disciples he chose young men. They were probably in their 20s at the most in their early 30s as far as all the commentaries I've ever read.

And those men shook the world in their day. And I have seen God take young people in their teens and teach them more prayer and more holiness than I've seen him do at times with older people we are very conscious of the fact that we are young and we have much to learn that we can easily make mistakes that we can easily get led astray.

And it's for this reason that on every field we have submitted ourselves to people older than us in the Lord we discovered. As we look for older people to work with we again must look not for age alone for spiritual quality.

And we found in every land there's spiritual men like Buck Singh in India like Ralph Chalice in France many others who counsel who encourage who pray for who teach. This is vital part of this work. I'm saying this tonight because as we come to the end of this conference all of us in OM have been conscious of one enormous need to see prayer partners adults others who live at home rallying to our side to pray with us as we go forward.

The Church’s Responsibility to Support Missionaries in Prayer

You know when you go out to India as I was just recently you visit young men who've been in India laboring for a year you discover that some of them get maybe one letter a week from their home country.

Would you like to labor in Rajasthan and keep the trials the difficulties and get one letter a week from the people who supposedly sent you out or prayed you for. I want to say this if it hurts it hurts.

But I say it with all sincerity. The adults of this island have little concern for the youth.