Jesus said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch...” (Luke 5:4 cf. vv. 1-7)
Often the Church continues to remain and preach in already evangelized areas, when there are thousands of places that never had the first chance of hearing the Gospel.
The Lord wants us to launch out to the Virgin Fields that never was exposed to the Gospel. Paul exhorts us to go where Name of Christ is never heard (Rom. 15:20). He challenges Christians to ‘preach the Gospel to the regions beyond’ (1 Cor. 10:16).
Most of the missionary efforts are concentrated in already evangelized areas. Majority of missionaries volunteer to go to easy places that are near cities and towns where all facilities and comforts are available. It is said that 80% of our giving is spent for the missionary works in evangelized places.
But God wants His Church to ‘lift our eyes and look’ to the far-off lands and hard places and carry the Gospel to those people who never heard the name of Christ. To give emphasis for this urgent task, let me draw your attention to four passages of scripture.
1) SHORELINE FISHING VS DEEP SEA FISHING (Luke 5:1-7)
Jesus called the disciples and said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mat. 4:19). Evangelism and soul winning is compared to ‘fishing men for Christ.’
There are two kinds of fishermen. Many are ‘Shoreline fishers’ while there is a minority for ‘deep sea fishing’. Look at the difference. See the contrast.
Shoreline fishing: I have seen fisher men standing at the shore and trying to catch fishes using nets and at times poles and hooks. But they were getting very few fishes. I knew the reason for this. The fisher men did not want to go into the deep areas of the ocean and risk their lives to catch fishes. They were catching only few fishes because of two reasons:
(i) There were many fisher men trying to catch fishes from the same area.
(ii) The fishes remaining near the shore were clever and will not enter into any net.
Again, I saw these fishermen quarrelling among themselves claiming jurisdiction for the same area, saying, “This is my area, do not fish here.”
This is a good example of the confusion and fruitlessness that prevail in most of our evangelistic efforts. We go to places that are already evangelized. We send missionaries where there are other missionaries already. This creates much conflict and competition in Christian Churches and Para-Church organizations. Many souls may have already been saved in that place. Now the response is very little. The remaining (fishes) are very clever and will not enter in anybody’s net.
This truth should convince us to get involved in ‘Deep Sea Fishing’. At Shankhumukham beach in Trivandrum, I saw some fishermen taking their boats and nets and going to the deeper parts of the sea. I asked them why they also do not remain on shore and do the fishing. One of them replied, “Here at the shore there are many fisher men. They quarrel one another. There are not many fishes. If there are some fishes, they will not enter into any nets because they have become too clever. But we who are going into the deep sea are aware of the dangers because of the high waves, strong wind and darkened sky with thick clouds. But there in the distant areas of the sea there are plenty of fishes. When we cast the nets, at times we feel that these fishes are ‘biting’ to come into our nets in large numbers. Surely, we will return with big catch at the end of the day”.
In evangelism this truth is clearly seen. Religious orthodox people in urban areas have heard the gospel and many of them are ‘gospel hardened’. In the Indian context, most people in that environment are deeply rooted in their religions and they are hostile to Christian witness. But as we go into the rural areas, villages in remote places and tribes on the hilly regions, they are not strongly bound by any religion. Though they are labeled as ‘Hindus’ in the census taken, they are nature worshippers and they are known as ‘animists’. These people are very much open for the Gospel of Christ. If they are given a chance to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, they will respond and believe in Christ. 38% of the population in India is tribal, it was reported. It is to these people we must go.
Though we should not forget or neglect the orthodox religious people, we must give more emphasis to the receptive people. Now is the harvest time for them. If we delay, it may become late. One missiologyst rote, “Win the people when they are winnable. If not, they will become un-winnable”.
One of the major reasons for persecution in India is the large number of tribal people turning to Christ. The majority religion in India is paranoid because of this. They are afraid that their number will decrease and Christians will increase in India. But we should not be discouraged because of these attacks. We should not slow down. We should leave our comforts and climb the mountains and live in remote places to win precious souls for Christ. Let us launch out into the deep. Let us risk our lives. Let us win multitudes for our master.
2) FRONT PEW FEEDING vs. BACK PEW FEEDING (Mark 6:39)
From the story of this miracle, feeding of five thousand we can learn the same principle of carrying the bread (gospel) to the back pews. To feed the multitude in an orderly fashion Jesus commanded the disciples “make all sit down by companies upon the green grass”. If this was not done, many people will not get even a piece of bread while those in the front lines will receive much and will; be ‘overfed’.
That is what happens in these days in our evangelization programs. To geographically easy regions and to culturally comfortable places we send more missionaries and spend more money. But we neglect the difficult regions and uncomfortable places. To the socially cultured people and economically strong communities more missionaries are ready to go. But to the economically poor and socially down trodden people we do not venture much.
The over fed Christians have time to argue on doctrinal issues that are not at all fundamental for salvation. They forget the fact that there are millions that never had a chance to hear the Gospel even one time in their life. Do not misunderstand me, beloved. We must not neglect sound doctrine. We should not complain about discipling programs. What I mean is that many of us forget the most important assignment to the Church by Jesus, “Go ye into all the world and make disciples of every nation”. We must fight the good fight of faith and contend for the faith that is fundamental for salvation.
But we should not waste our money and time for arguing about issues that are trivial.
Millions are on their way to hell. Let us rise up and go to them and stop them from eternal lake of fire. They are the ‘forgotten tribes’. They are the neglected people. They live in some of the almost inaccessible places. Think of the mountaineers who leave all comforts and risk their lives to climb dangerous rocks and mountains just as adventure for a name and fame. This week I heard the story of an Indian woman who made an adenterous journey to Antarctica. Her name came in all news papers. Her face was shown in the TV. I heard her speaking with great excitement and satisfaction. I saw her glowing in the TV media.
Beloved, the adventure you and I can take to the ‘back pews’ of the world to serve the ‘living bread’ will give us greater satisfaction here on earth and in eternity at the presences of our Savior and Lord. For ever and ever, those precious souls we win for Christ would remain as ‘monuments’ and ‘jewels’ in our crown. Let us not be content with the front pew. Let us go to the back pews of our beloved country and also to regions beyond when the Lord calls to serve.
3) SOWING IN FERTILE SOIL vs. SOWING IN BARREN LAND (Mat. 13: 3-8)
In this parable of the sower, Jesus talks about four kinds of soil- way side soil, stony soil, thorny soil and good soil. It is true that as evangelists of the gospel, we should not refuse to sow the gospel seed on any kind of soil. We do not know what people will surely receive Christ as savior.
However, if God does show us about the most receptive people and least receptive people, to whom should we send more missionaries? Where shall we spend more money? Where shall we go quickly? The answer is simple. We must go quickly and invest the maximum to the receptive people, while praying to God to make the others also receptive in His perfect timing.
This is exactly we have seen in the first point, “win the people when they are winnable. If we delay, they will become un-winnable”. Orthodox Hindus and Muslims may be very slow in responding to the gospel. But the youths of today who are not orthodox in their religions are open for the gospel. They remain in their religions just because they re born in that.
They profess those religions just because of their parents and peers. If they hear the true gospel of salvation, if they are convinced, they will come out boldly to stand for the Lord publicly.
Let us ask the Lord for wisdom to discern and determine the kind of soils we should sow the seed urgently. May God inspire and enable us to invest much and pour our lives in those receptive places. God will surely bless us to see 100-fold harvests.
4) CLAIM THE MOUNTAINS vs. EASY PLACES (Jos. 14)
When the land of promise was distributed, the 85-year-old Caleb asked, “Give me the Mountain...” (Jos. 14:12). Other tribes of Israel were asking for places that are easily accessible and easy to conquer and possess. But Caleb wanted the mount of Horeb that was occupied by the Anakims. Though he was old and weak physically, with the glittering eyes of faith he claimed the most difficult place. He was able to do this because of his boldness to testify, “I wholly followed the Lord my God” (v. 8). and he was a man of conviction. When the majority of spies reported negatively and discouraged the people of God, Caleb courageously stood in faith and encouraged the people to go and posses the land of Canaan. He was only 40 years then. That means, for over 45 years he followed God without any wavering. People with such testimonies can surely claim the most difficult places and people for Christ.
In Judges 4, we read of the oppression of Israel under the Canaanites for 20 years because of their sin. God raised Deborah the prophetess to judge the people of Israel. Barak was the commander of the army. They called the tribes of Israel to war against the strong enemy Sisera and his mighty army. But the strong tribes did not volunteer for the battle. Zebulon and Naphtali were the weaker and smaller tribes. But they were the ones who volunteered for the great battle on the mountain. God gave them a great victory. In Chapter five we read the song of Deborah, the song of victory over the enemy and praises to God. In that song, Deborah recognized and sang about the faith, commitment and sacrifices of Zebulon and Naphtali. God is not looking for our strength or abilities. He is seeking men and women who will claim the mountains and hard places by faith.
In one of our Gospel crusades in Manipur, one alcoholic young man was converted to Christ. His life was transformed. He often accompanied me in future crusades and Bible camps. In some of our prayer meetings I could hear him praying, “Master, you have promised me that you will make me a fisher of men. Yes, Lord, I do not want only small fishes, give me big fishes.” In his sincerely, zeal and passion he had the faith to claim ‘big fishes’.
Brethren, is there any mountain you need to claim now? May God show that to you. May God give you the courage to claim that mountain and posses it. Are there ‘great sinners’ you are praying for? Look at the ‘great savior’ and claim that soul for Christ. Are there any difficult region or people that God is showing you to go and possess? Obey His call and venture in faith. Do not say you are old or weak. Do not look at your lack experience or past failures. Look to your commander in chief, the captain of our salvation- Jesus Christ. Join Him in the battle and go in faith. Victory is sure. If God has blessed you with material resources, give that to train, support and send missionaries to places and people that never heard the name of Christ.
“You have no right to exist if you do not get involved in evangelization and soul winning”. God expects every one to be His witness. You have no excuse. Do not remain at the shore. Obey God and launch out into the deep. Do not remain serving only at the front pew and its lime light. Go to the back pews where people are hungry for the bread of life. Seek the fertile fields- the receptive people. Do not seek easy places. Claim the hard places for the Lord.
Feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle that is recorded in all four Gospels.
Jesus was busy teaching people and healing the sick. Apostles were with him. They were so busy and were tired. Jesus asked the Apostles to come aside to take rest in a deserted place. The crowd came to know about that. They also started their walk and overtook Jesus and the disciples. The multitude was waiting for Jesus and the Apostles when they arrived their destination in Bethsaida. Jesus began to teach them. Evening came. Jesus knew that the crowd was weary and hungry. He had compassion on them and He said to the disciples, “You give them something to eat”. (v. 37)
Bible says that there were 5000 men. Surely there were children too. May be there were equal number of women and many children too. “There is lad here...” is the clear proof of having young boys and girls in that crowd. So, the number of people could be 15000 or even more. Feeding all of them would be humanly impossible in that deserted place where the shops are so far away and the money so low.
A careful and comparative study of the four recordings of this miracle will give us at least four precious principles for world evangelization. Let us look at them one by one.
1) The Mind Jesus Had for Evangelization (v.34). “He was moved with compassion...”
Compassion is not just pity or sympathy. It means ‘suffer with the other’. The pain of the other becomes our pain. That motivates us to render help. Jesus was a man of compassion. His compassion made him cry over the city of Jerusalem knowing their ignorance and the rejection of the Lord, in spite of their zeal for religion and its rituals. Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus because of his compassion for Martha and Mary, because of His love for Lazarus and because of his knowledge of the ‘curse of death’ that mankind inherited because of sin.
When he saw the multitude Jesus was moved with compassion. How did he see them?
i) He saw them as sheep scattered and hungry and without a shepherd (Mat. 9:36-39).
ii) He saw them as ripen harvest field with out harvesters. (Mat. 9:36-39 & John 4:35).
God is looking for people who can see the world of sinners as ‘scattered sheep with out shepherd” and ‘harvest field without harvesters”. This will make us weep (Pray). This will motivate us to go to the harvest field. This will inspire and enable us to give (support) money and send harvesters.
Some one has said, “The four key words of evangelization is ‘LOOK’, ‘WEEP’, ‘GO’ and ‘GIVE’(send). Every child of God that looks to the world with the eyes of Jesus will get a vision of the world just as Jesus sees. This will make us weep for the people and regions that have not heard the Gospel. That will persuade us to go as witnesses where ever we go. If we are not able to go to far off lands, we will surely give our money to support and send missionaries.
God is seeking for men and women who have the ‘mind of Jesus’, the mind of compassion. William Carey started weeping for India when he saw the map of India and read about India and its darkness. That compelled him to come to India as a missionary. This kind of compassion made Hudson Taylor to China, Adoniram Judson to Burma and David Livingstone to Africa.
John Knox prayed, “O God give me Scotland or I die”. God wants men and women of compassion for winning the lost souls.
Apostle Paul had this kind of compassion for his own people, the Jews. He testified of this fact in Rom. 10:1, 2 & 9:1-5. He wrote, “I say the truth, I lie not…that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart” for his people who were religious but lost. He was even ready to be ‘accursed’ for the salvation of Israel. Jeremiah had this kind of compassion for the Hebrew nation. He was called the ‘weeping prophet’ because of his tears and lamentations for the people of Israel. He said in Jer. 9:1, “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.”
Jeremiah continued his weeping and exclaimed, “Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, where with the Lord has afflicted me in the day of His fierce anger...” (Lam. 1; 12, 13 cf: Jer. 8:19-22). Augustine Salins, the founder of Ambassadors of Christ in India was known as the ‘weeping prophet of India’. I have seen him many times praying with sobbing and weeping and preaching in tears. His life of compassion blessed me so much and that has challenged me to be compassionate towards sinners, backsliders, and orphans and destitute.
O, God please raise men and women of compassion, tears and broken hearts
2) The Means Jesus Used for Evangelization (v. 37)
To feed the multitude God used the disciples. He said to them, “You give them to eat”.
The Church of God is the means for evangelization of the world. He did not call or employ the angels for this great task. The instrument God uses for soul winning is the Church, you and I.
We cannot escape this responsibility. Paul said, “Necessity is laid upon me; woe unto me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16).
Jesus gave his last commission to His disciples (the Church), “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Therefore, Apostle Paul confessed, “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also”. (Rom. 1:14, 15)
The task of making disciples is the highest vocation God has given to His Church. This is a great privilege. Apostle Paul thanks God for this high calling, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry”. (1 Tim. 1:12). We are to declare the Gospel of Christ by our life and by our lips. But it is sad that there are nations and regions that have not heard the Gospel yet, even after the commission came 2000 years ago.
This is the failure of the Church. But God will surely complete the task. In eternity there will be people worshipping the Lord from every tongue and tribe. (Rev: 7:9, 10). Let us get excited about this mission.
Unfortunately, we see the disciples unprepared and with wrong attitude:
(i) They were indifferent and insensitive. They said to Jesus, “Send them away”- though they knew people were hungry and the night fall is near.
(ii) They looked for ‘shops’ to buy bread instead of looking to ‘heaven’ for supply.
(iii) They struggled with mathematics instead of looking for a miracle by God. They calculated that even 200 denarius’s worth of bread will not be sufficient for all.
(iv) Yes, they depended on their ‘reasoning’ and did not have the ‘faith’.
(v) They complained that the time is bad. “It is evening”.
(vi) They complained that the place is bad. ‘Desert place’.
This is the pathetic picture of many churches and believers in these days.
But the Lord did not scold them. He did not throw them away. He gave them the opportunity to feed the multitude. He decided to continue to use them as His instruments.
This is a beautiful picture of God using even the cold hearted, backsliding, indifferent church (believers), giving them a second chance for evangelism and church planting. God could have avoided the disciples and could have chosen others for this great task of feeding the people. But He did not. Jonah disobeyed God and fled from his mission. But went after him, caught him and sent him to Tarshish to preach. Peter denied Jesus three times. But Jesus went after him in love and renewed the appointment to feed His sheep.
Beloved, God has called you to make disciples. Do not say any excuse. Do not try to escape your responsibility. If you have become insensitive or indifferent, please return to God and get His fresh commission and enablement for evangelizing people that live in sin and doomed to eternal darkness. You may have wasted few years. Please do not be discouraged. Do not quit. Repent of your coldness. Dedicate your life for declaring the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus specifically calls Philip and asks him, “Where shall we buy bread that these may eat”?
(John 6:5). The place was Bethsaida and Philip was a native of Bethsaida. He was a local man. It is the responsibility of the local (native) person of the region to feed the people of His region, of his tribe and his language. This is a great challenge for ‘indigenous’ missions. We should not wait for external support and ‘foreign missionaries’ to do the job of evangelism of our country and our people. We should do it ourselves.
3) The Method Jesus Advocates for Evangelization (v. 39). “He commanded them to make all Sit down by companies on the green grass”
Evangelism must be done systematically. People had to sit ‘in companies’ and not ‘in confusion’. “Row by Row”, or “Line by Line” they had to sit. Nobody should be forgotten or bypassed or neglected when food is served. There is a temptation to serve food only on the ‘front lines’ neglecting the ‘frontiers.’ Front lines are in the lime light. Frontiers are not noticed and they are filled with dangers. Most people like to be in the limelight of publicity, facilities and physical comforts. God is asking us to ‘Launch out into the deep” leaving your ‘comfort zone’. (Luk. 5:4.)
Go where the name of Jesus never heard. Rom. 15:20. Let us leave the ‘shoreline fishing’ and ‘launch out’ for the ‘deep sea’ fishing. There are thousands of fishermen at the sea shore. But very few in the deep sea where the waves are high, winds are stormy, clouds are thick and dangers are many. Please be ready to risk your life for this kind of fishing. Remember, there are more fishes in the deep seas and they will run into your nets. But the fishes that are near the shore have become so clever and they rarely enter into any nets.
Friends, I am not discouraging you from any discipling programs that you are involved in already evangelized areas. I am only pleading with you to lift up your eyes and look into the fields that are ‘ripened, white and ready for harvest’. If God is not calling you for those fields, please pray for those places and ask the Lord to send laborers. Please raise funds from the evangelized areas and churches and start supporting pioneer missionaries and church planters in new regions.
There are 600 thousand villages in India. There is no Church witness in thousands of these remote villages. There are 1652 languages and dialects in India. There are many languages and dialects that have no Gospel literature or Gospel witness. There are hill tribes living on the mountains in fear of evil spirits and superstitions. They worship the rocks, trees and anything they do not understand. They have no running water and no electricity. They live in the forests and some of them even today practice human sacrifices. Some of them throw their baby girls to the ‘river god’ (Ganges) to get a ‘male son’ in the next conception. Some of them pierce their cheeks and others walk on sharp nails and broken glass to get salvation. Some of them torture their body, doing penance hoping to appease the ‘fearful god’ and get salvation. Some of them give alms to the poor and others go to holy places in order to get cleansing of their sins and better birth in the next life. This they call ‘re-birth’ or ‘transmigration’. They live in darkness because nobody went to them to tell the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Most of these people in difficult places. They are in the ‘back pews’. Most of the missionary efforts are going on in the cities and towns were all comforts and facilities are available. The people in the front pews are ‘overfed’ while people in the back-pews have not received even a little. This is sad. Oswald J. Smith, the famous Canadian preacher said, “You have no right to hear the Gospel the second time, when there are people in the world who did not hear it even one time”. O Church, let us leave our comfort zones and go to the most hostile and hard places to pull out tribes and languages from eternal damnation.
“Make them sit down in companies”. Have we not kept them standing for the last 2000 years? They are hungry. Evening is near. Judgment is coming. Hell is at hand. O Church, let us ask the nations to sit down and let us start serving them food for their hunger- the living bread, Jesus Christ. He alone can satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst. The world waits for you.
4) The Miracle Jesus performs in Evangelization (vv. 41-42)
“They did all eat and were filled and they took up 12 baskets full… 5000 men...”
The disciples did not have any bread with them. This is the sad picture of the Church (Christians) who have no food in their hands to serve the needy and hungry people around.
But the disciples saw a boy with some food and they said to Jesus, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fishes.” (John 6:9).
When talented, equipped, trained, experienced people fail, God in His grace will raise ‘lads’ for the expansion of His Kingdom. The barley loaves were the cheapest bread in those days. The two fishes were small and some scholars interpret that they were ‘two small pieces of fish’. This boy has come from a very poor family. Parents could not afford to send him with a food package of costly bread and big fishes.
Disciples pointed out this boy to the Lord. Christian leaders, may you be instrumental in introducing and raising young people for the task of evangelism. Look around you and encourage the youths to dedicate their lives to the cause of Jesus Christ.
Scholars say that this lad probably was 13-15 years only. He was a teen. That is the time when much food is required to fill the stomach. Those who have growing teen age boys and girls know this truth. I am sure that this boy was also very hungry. But he was ready to part with his precious food packet. He gladly gave it to Jesus. It was little. But Jesus took it in His hands; He blessed it and gave it to the disciples to distribute. Please visualize that scene of ‘little becoming much’ in the hands of Jesus. Behold the miracle of multitude eating and getting filled. Look at the scene of disciples carrying home twelve baskets full, each one carrying one basket of bread and fishes for their families. Little has become much in the hands of God. It became a scene of ‘starvation to surplus.’ This is what Jesus would do when we hand over our very little in the hands of God.
Jesus is asking you today, “What do you have? How much do you have?” He is not asking what you do not have. He in fact knows the ‘little’ you have. It is not much brother. But give it to Him. Do not bother about the things you do not have. Your education may be not much. Your personality may not be impressive. Your talents may be almost nothing. Your experience may be a near Zero. You know that you cannot do much if that remains in your hand and in your control. Just give it to God without any hesitation. God will do a miracle. ‘God does not look for your ability. He looks for your availability’.
God will multiply that. You will be full and overflowing. Your cup will run over. Through your multitudes will be blessed. Many will be saved. Many will be edified. New areas will be won for the Gospel. God will perform miracle when you give your all to Jesus.
In conclusion, shall we imagine and visualize the return of the disciples and the lad to their respective homes? How will each of them report when they would arrive their homes? I visualize like this:
The boy ran back to his home and excitedly said to his parents, “Mom, I have fed 5000 people today”. The parents could not believe that. They scolded him for that blasphemy. Then he explained, “Mom, I was very hungry. I knew that the food packet of five barley bread and 2 small fishes would not fill my stomach. You know it was not much. But I felt so bad when I saw that the people were hungry and the disciples had no food for distribution. The shops were also far away. There was no money to buy bread. Then I was moved with compassion and I believed that Jesus can do a miracle if I gave my all to Him. So, I gave the barley loaves and two small fishes to Jesus. Then Jesus looked up to heaven, prayed and blessed the food packet. A miracle took place. Many baskets, thousands of fishes and millions of breads. I believe there were nearly fifteen thousand people including children and women. I saw them eating with great joy and getting full and satisfied. Mom, Dad, I am so glad that I had a pert in feeding this multitude”. Hearing this, his parents thanked God. They hugged their son and rejoiced that their son was instrumental in feeding multitude of hungry people. O parents, dedicate your children for the cause of Christ. Do not fear or murmur when the Lord calls them into His glorious service.
The mother-in-law of Peter was amazed when Peter came home with one full basket on his head, full of barley loaves and fishes. She asked, “Peter, you went empty. You did not have any food with you. I was wondering and worried about your hunger and starvation. But how could you return home with this basket full of food?” I imagine that Peter answered excitedly, “Mother, it was shameful for me to go empty handed. I could not provide food for anybody, though Jesus expected me and the disciples to feed many people. This is our failure. But thank God, there was one young boy with some food. He gave it to Jesus. Then Jesus blessed and multiplied it. Then Jesus asked me and the other 11 disciples to carry the baskets of loaves and fishes to five thousand men, many women and children. I am glad Jesus gave me a chance to serve the food to the hungry. I also ate as much as I could. Now I have brought this full basket for our home also.”
Peter and his family began to praise God for this miracle and thanked Him for the privilege Jesus gave to Peter to be an instrument to feed the multitude.
Well, we can picture the reporting time by the disciples in their homes when they arrived with full baskets. Beloved, when you obey the call of God, when you get involved in missions, when you surrender your ‘little’ to the Lord, you can always expect ‘miracles in the mission fields.’
D.L. Moody finished class seven only. His English was bad. But gave his life to Jesus in total surrender. God used him mightily to shake two continents. He became a world-renowned evangelist, winning souls for Christ where ever he traveled. William booth did not complete his high school. He gave his life in the hands of God. God used him for the salvation of souls and for the planting of Salvation Army that is doing tremendous service for God and the people all over the world.
God can make your life a miracle. He can use you for the salvation of souls and for the edification of the Church. You will be an instrument for the expansion of God’s Kingdom. Therefore, my beloved in Christ, even though you may have wasted some years, even if you were starving spiritually, please hand over yourself in the hands of God, to make you a vessel according to His plan and will.
Pray to God for a heart that bleeds for the souls of sinners. Pray to reveal His plan for you. Be ready to obey whatever He asks and whatever it takes. Be available to Him for ‘home missions’ or ‘foreign missions.’ Go witnessing and winning souls where ever you go. If you cannot go to some places, because of ill health or old age, please pray for those lands and please support and send someone in your place. May God make your life a miracle in missions.
“Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in my hand.” (Jer. 18:6)
“But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay and thou our potter;” (Isa. 64:8)
The nation of Israel was chosen, called and redeemed by the Lord. They were brought to the land of Canaan and were given the law and the promises. But now they are backslidden like a stubborn heifer. They began to live in immorality, injustice, idolatry and the worship of Baal. It seemed there was no hope for them, because of their sin and rebellion. In Jer. 18:16 God is giving a ‘vision of hope’ to the prophet Jeremiah, taking him to the potter’s house. God is showing to the prophet that He is not despaired of His chosen people. He is not willing to cast them away. But He is giving them a “second chance” and decides to use them again for His glory among the nations.
This is a heart-searching message the Lord gave me when I was going through a dark tunnel of depression because of my sin. This message has forced me to my knees and brokenness. This message brought personal revival to my soul. So, this message comes to you from my experience and with a sincere desire for your personal renewal.
Here we see 3 things: the Potter, the Clay and the Wheel.
The Potter is God. He is the mastermind. He is the designer. He does not require any pattern. His shelf is full of finished products.
The Clay represents you and me sinners. The clay has no shape and no beauty. It is worthless. So are we. But the potter gives shape, beauty, value and usefulness. His hands ‘caress’ the clay inside and outside.
The Wheel stands for ‘circumstances’ – incidents, accidents, joys, sorrows, success and defeats. The foot of the potter controls the wheel. Sometimes fast and sometimes slow. He decides the speed of the wheel. Clay cannot complain.
We see four steps here in the making of the vessel.
1) The Vessel Made
The potter takes the worthless clay, squeeze and mix into a sticky paste and then throws it to the center (hub) of the wheel. With his feet he drives the throttle and makes the wheel rotate, some times fast and sometimes slow. All along he ‘caresses the clay inside and outside’ until it comes to a good shape that the potter envisions (designs). That is the way God did mould and shape Jacob the deceiver to be ‘Israel’ having power with God and power with man.
He shaped the ‘self confident Moses’ to become the leader for the despised Hebrews who lived in slavery. God shaped the ‘Choleric Paul’ and impulsive Peter to be His great Apostles. God transformed the despised fisher men to be ‘ambassadors of Christ’. He chose and raised ordinary people to be powerful preachers of the glorious gospel. D.L. Moody, Charles Finney, William Booth, John Wesley, Hudson Taylor, Adoniram, Judson and William Carey were such people.
2) The Vessel Marred
“And the vessel that He made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter” (v. 4b)
A vessel in the making can be marred because of two reasons. Not because of the inefficiency of the potter. Vessel gets marred when there is any ‘foreign substance’ hidden in the clay – like grass, stone, wood. Sometimes it gets marred when the clay moves away from the center (hub) of the wheel and goes to either sides or extreme ends.
Though God the potter has beautiful design and plan for us, we get shapeless and marred when we do not remain in the center of His will. Gehazi, Samson, Lot, David, Demas and Jonah are just few of those examples. Vessel marred when we keep secret sin in our lives, God cannot shape us according to His plan.
When we move away from the Bible and give emphasis to traditions, customs and practices, we become shapeless. We start over emphasizing a doctrine or a custom. Yes, this can happen to you and me, even after years of experience with the Lord and serving God faithfully. In our self will and in our pride, we forget the one who raised us. Then we start doing things according to our ego and to satisfy our lust and fleshly cravings. Any vessel can be marred (spoilt) when we forget God the potter and try to manage ourselves. “When we try to manage ourselves, we damage ourselves”. “We fall from paradise to the pit” in shame and pain.
3) The Vessel Remade
“So he made it another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it”. (v. 4b)
When we go astray from His will, when we fall in sin, when all our friends lose hope in us, when we feel so cornered by sin and Satan, when we lose hope and when we almost quit from His service, God is not tired of us. In His Grace, he pursues us. He is ready to make us into ‘another vessel’ fit for His use, though it may not be according to His original plan. It may not be according to our liking. When we lose our ‘first best’ God in His mercy gives us ‘the second best’ and we should gladly accept that, though it may not be our first preference. Our paths may change. Our ministry may be different than before. Our community may change. Our friends circle may be new and different. But we have to accept it without any grudge and irritation. It is His Grace and mercy that He decides to give us a ‘second chance ‘and use us again.
Samson committed sin with Delilah. He lost his power and his eye sight. But he repented. Though he did not get his sight back, he was able to slain hosts of heathen people at his death, by the power of God.
God prepared Nathan to confront David about his sin with Bathsheba. David repented. God forgave. God used him again. The whole world may have thought of David when he fell in sin “David has sinned. He is gone. He will not sing again. His harp will not play again. His cup is empty. It will not be full again”. But God forgave Him and remade him. He wrote many more beautiful songs. He ruled Israel many more years. “David recovered all” says the Holy Bible. “A man after my own heart” God certified about him. What a glorious ending!
Jonah rebelled and went against the will of God. But God in His mercy and love prepared the storm, the fish and the juniper tree for his repentance and restoration. Jonah was used by God again for the greatest revival in Nineveh!
Peter was self-confident. He thought he would never fall. But he denied Jesus three times. He went back to fishing, misleading six other disciples. But the loving savior came after him and restored him. The Lord reappointed him to shepherd the flock of God. Peter became the first preacher after Pentecost. Thousands of people were saved. God used him to pen two of the tremendous and rich epistles.
The young man, John Mark got discouraged right in the middle of the missionary travels. He went after the attractions of the world. The most respected apostle Paul labeled him as ‘useless’ backslider who is a bad example to others. But God in His Grace used him again. Apostle Paul at later times certified of John Mark,” Please send John mark to me. He is useful”.
Dear friend, are you down hearted? Are you fallen? Are you forsaken and hated by all. Have your closest friends left you? Have they lost confidence in you? Do they say, “We will never believe him again? He will not be useful again.” Oh, my friend, please know that God is not despaired of you. There is hope for you. If we yield to His perfect will, the end shall be greater than the beginning. More glorious days for God will be yours. Abundant ‘fruit bearing will surely come after the pruning and cutting’.
4) The Vessel Perfected
Finally, let us go again to the potter’s house and watch how the remade vessel is made strong and beautiful. Though the vessel is remade, it is still soft. The shape can be changed if the vessel remains like that. So, the potter will cast the vessel into the fire! He will increase or decrease the heat of the fire according to his calculation and will. The vessel cannot complain at all about the severity of the heat. The potter knows how much heat it should endure/ go through. But that is only for a season. In the end the vessel will come out beautiful, shining, strong and useful. The vessel is perfected for the masters’ use. James in Chapter 1 and Peter in 1 Pet. 1 talk of this ‘fire of manifold trials’ that God will bring in the life of a believer to make him strong in patience and faith. Both these apostles exhort us that we should not murmur or complain when we have to face those trials.
Are you in agony because of a severe fire of trial you are facing, brother? Do not be discouraged? God is working on you, to make you a vessel beautiful and useful for His use. He loves you. He is purifying you out of all the dross in your life. Just continue to endure patiently. You will finally come out as a man/woman reflecting the beauty of Christ.
One young man saw a cocoon struggling in pain so hard to bring out the butterfly. He took a scissors to cut it open and release the butterfly. Then an elderly farmer said to him, “No dear young man, let it struggle as long as it needs to struggle. Finally, cocoon will break by itself and a beautiful butterfly will come out. But if you try to help it, there will be an abortion and there will be no butterfly”. What a precious lesson.
God can rebuild your broken world, though the process of restoration may be long and painful. “David recovered all” by the Grace of God, though he had lost all (I Sam. 30:18, 19). “Word of the Lord came again the second time to Jonah” though he had rebelled against God and gone to the wrong direction. (Jon. 3: 1). God used Peter again, though he had denied Jesus three times.
God can use you again, dear brother, when you repent and return to the Lord. You can be a vessel remade for the Master’s use.
There are special days, special incidents and special places memorable in the lives of people and those may be the days of some very special decisions for life. Enoch did not walk with the Lord during his young days. But when he got a son ‘Methuselah’ he started walking with God (Gen: 5:21-24). That could be the picture of young men and women living ungodly and rebellious lives during their teen age and youthful years. It could be that the birth of Methuselah was endangering the life of the mother which led Enoch to consider his rebellious life, repent and determine to live for God and with God.
Incident of great calamity, sickness unto death, accidents and fear of a sudden danger would force people to make new decisions in life. Stories of such are many.
So also, the beginning of a new year often inspires people to make new and positive decisions. Hoping for such good and spiritual decisions for the New Year, let me list seven incidents that took place on the first day of the first month, as recorded in the Holy Bible.
1. ATONEMENT FOR SINS – Sin Offering (Eze. 45: 18-25)
That was the day for the ‘sin offering’ and it involved three things:
i) Atoning for the sins committed knowingly or unknowingly. (v: 20): Every man is a sinner. Not because of the sins committed by him. But he is born in sin- unwittingly, unintentionally, unaware because of the first man who sinned (Adam). (Rom: 5:12).
You are a sinner from birth, even before you committed any sin. You need a city of refuge to flee and escape. (Jos. 20, Num. 35). Jesus Christ is the city of refuge. He took your place and died as substitusionary sacrifice. If you have not accepted Him as savior, first day of the year is the right time to receive Him into your heart and life, for your salvation, forgiveness of sins, for cleansing and eternal life. (1 Cor. 15:1-4, 1 John 1:7, Isa. 1:18. John 1:29)
ii) Passover feast was kept for seven days in the first month. (v. 21): This is the remembrance of the redemption from slavery of Egypt by the blood of the lamb. (Exo. 12). A determination is required to worship the Lord on regular basis, each week, first day of the week, with the table of the Lord as the apostles and early Christians observed. (Acts 20:7). Unfortunately, majority of Christendom observe the Lord’s Supper only once a year or the most once a month. The excuse is that there is no ordained pastor in the local church. But the Bible speaks of ‘elders’ in every church, set apart to administer the Lord’s Table, Baptism and other responsibilities. Some people argue that the observance of Lord’s Table each Sunday will reduce the seriousness of the practice. But the Bible says, “As often as you do this”! The exhortation and the expectation are that we should often remember the death of Christ for our salvation.
iii) They ate unleavened bread for seven days. (v. 21): Leaven speaks of pollution and sin. Feast of unleavened bread means to live a life of purity and sanctification. We are asked to abstain from all appearance of evil (1 Thess. 5:22). Observance of this for seven days speaks of completeness. It is high time to have a self examination and then discard anything that is in your life against the will of God. It may be a bad habit. It may be an unhealthy relationship. It may be an income generating business and yet sinful.
Let the first day of the fist month be a day to remember for ever – as a day of salvation to some of you, as a day of re-dedication for worship to some others and a day of decision for sanctified living for others.
2) RENEWAL OF TEMPLE WORSHIP: 2 Chro. 29: 3-19. (Chs: 29-33 & 2 Kings 20)
The temple worship was ceased during the sinful reign of Ahaz the king of Judah. Idolatry prevailed. But his son, King Hezekiah destroyed all the molten images, cleansed the temple and dedicated it for the worship of Jehovah. He asked the leaders and priests to cleanse the temple and revive the true worship of Jehovah. This is a plea to all those who neglect the worship of God with the people of God (Heb. 10:25). Our God seeks worship from His children. He wants people from every tongue and tribe to be His worshippers. Our duty is to invite all people all over the world, from every ethnic group to worship Him. Eternity is a blessed place when multitude of people will worship Him from every tongue and tribe (Rev. 7:9-12).
The Old Testament worship was in the Temple which was built for it. But the New Testament worship can be done in any place. It can be in a building or a house or under a tree. Millions are worshipping Him today happily bamboo huts, mud houses, forests, prisons and in very hostile situations. They are our inspiration.
Old Testament worship was with sacrifice of animals. But for us, the final sacrifice was Christ. We do not need any animal sacrifice in worship. What are our sacrifices?
i) Sacrifice of praise (Heb. 13:15)
ii) Sacrifice of giving (Phil. 4:18)
iii) Surrender of our bodies (Rom. 12:1)
A believer should not be silent. He should offer sacrifices of praise to the Lord.
He should also sacrificially give for the work of the Lord.
He should offer his body as a living sacrifice to the Lord.
This is a challenge to you for the New Year.
3) A CALL TO SEPARATION (Ezra 10:11, 17, 9:1, 2; Neh. 13:23, 24)
Israelites had taken pagan wives. Mixed marriages gave birth to children who did not speak the language of God’s people, but picked up heathen languages. Rituals and practices of heathens tolerated or accepted. When Ezra read to them the law of God in tears, people were pricked in their hearts, repented and gave up heathen wives and declared their 100% loyalty to God. God is calling you in the New Year to separate yourself from any practice, habits, sins that you have compromised with during the past year. This includes any ritual or practice of non-Christians you have adopted because of your circumstance. It may be the celebration of a heathen festival. It may be the dress code or adornment of non-Christians. (2 Cor. 6: 14-18). It may be the ‘Sindhur’ on the forehead or it could be the breaking of a coconut to an idol or in a temple. It could be the shaving of head at the death of your father or the eating of food offered to idols. It could be offering prayers and the burial ground of a loved one or burning incense in front of an image. It could be lighting candle for a god or doing Pooja for a departed soul.
New Testament does not allow anyone to divorce his or her partner if he or she is a non-Christian. By your sober, spiritual, biblical, Godly life you must seek to win your spouse to the Lord. As you fervently pray and humbly live a Godly, exemplary life, God in His grace will lead your partner to salvation. In any case, you should not have any part in the heathen, ungodly, doubtful practices and rituals. God calls you to a life of separation in the New Year. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” should be your motto for the coming year.
4) RETURN FROM BBYLONIAN CAPTIVITY (Ezra 7:8-10)
Because of sin Israel was in the captivity of Babylon. Ezra led the people of captivity on their return journey to Jerusalem, in the first day of the first month.
i) God is seeking for an Ezra to lead the captives to freedom. You could be an Ezra in the New Year to deliver sinners from the bondage of sin to salvation in Christ. You could be the person who will be instrumental in restoring a backslider from his backsliding to a life on fire for the Lord.
ii) Ezra himself was a captive. He was not content in Babylon. So was Nehemiah. So was Zerubbabel. God used all these three men too lead the captives to Jerusalem and to bring revival of the people and reconstruction of the city of God. God can use you, though you are in the wrong place now, if you just make your decision today.
Psalm 137 is a sweet song of the people who returned to the home land after long years of slavery in Babylon. There is only bitterness in backsliding just like that of Naomi who went down to Moab (Ruth: 1). after years of pain and bitterness, she returned to Bethlehem, the house of bread. The prodigal son returned to the father’s house. His wandering and starvation came to an end. There was feast and celebration at home. May the New Year bring songs of return and restoration for you?
5) GLORY OF GOD FILLED THE TABERNACLE (Exo. 40: 1, 17, 34)
Exodus 37-40 talks about the construction of the Tabernacle – the dwelling place of God for the people of Israel. Moses obeyed and followed all the instructions from the Lord for the completion of the tabernacle. The work was completed. Then the glory of God filled the tabernacle. This was on the first day of the first month.
Your body is the temple of God. Build your life according to the instructions found in the Word of God. Build your life on the strong foundation, the rock, Jesus Christ. Build your life on the pattern shown by God in the word of God. Then your life will shine bright with the glory of God. The brightness of God’s presence in your life will enable you to be shining as ‘light of the world’ showing directions to sinners in darkness. May your life shine that others may be brought to eternal light and life?
Build your local church exactly according to the pattern shown in the Bible. Forsake all human traditions, practices and empty rituals. Remove all rubbish and build with Biblical doctrines. Then glory of God will fill the church of Christ and others will be led to the saving knowledge of Christ.
6) PROCLAIM THE WORD OF GOD (Eze. 29: 17-21)
God frequently used the heathen kings and kingdoms either to punish another heathen nation or to deliver the people of Israel. In this chapter we read of a message God gave to Ezekiel to prophecy. The prophecy was that Egypt will be punished, plundered and brought to utter defeat by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. The prophecy also did say that Israel will be revived as a powerful nation.
God is looking for people who will take time to listen to the voice of God and then declare it without any hesitation or fear.
7) LOOK FORWARD WITH RENEWED HOPE (Gen. 8:13)
God punished the world and its people by flood because of their horrible sin and rebellion. God protected Noah and his family of eight people, shutting them up in the ark. For 40 days and night the rains fell. The flood continued for 150 days. All living beings were destroyed, except the ones that were in the safety and security of the God given ark. This ark is the picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and His cross which is our refuge at the flood of eternal judgment.
When the flood was over, on the dry ground stood Noah and worshipped the Lord. (v. 21) As he stood on the purified earth, he looked to the future with hope. And God made a covenant with Noah that He would not destroy the earth by flood again.
As a sign God gave the Rainbow (9:12-17). Whenever the clouds are thick and dark when the rains come heavily, the beautiful rainbow reminds us of God’s covenant with man that God will not destroy the world by flood again. Many more ‘Tsunami’ may occur. But God’s children need not live in fear of destruction. Of course, the Bible speaks of purification of the earth by fire. (2 Pet. 3: 7-9, Rev. 21:1). There will appear new heaven and new earth after that. This will be the inheritance of the children of God.
Noah stood on the earth purified by flood and he looked into future with hope, on the first day of the first month. The rainbow was the proof of the covenant that God will not destroy the earth again by flood.
This rainbow stands for the Jesus Christ and His Cross (Rev. 10:1, 2). in the New Year let us look expectantly into the future with the assurance that Jesus and His cross is the hope of the world. Let us declare this truth to the ends of the earth.
Dear readers / hearers of this message, may I plead with you on your knees with a contrite heart to make your new commitment to the Lord on this first day of the first month? This day God calls you to Salvation, Separation, Sanctification, Restoration, Worship, Witness, Fruitfulness and Victory.
“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” (Eze. 22:30, 31)
Throughout the ages of human history God is seeking for men and women who will stand in the gap to mediate, intercede and get this sinner reconciled to God. Unfortunately, it is hard to find sufficient people for this task. Therefore, Jesus cried out in sadness, “Harvest truly is plentiful, but laborers are few”. (Mat. 9:37). Again, in Mathew 20:1-16 Jesus told the parable of a landlord in desperate need for harvesters and could not find enough people because they were all idling their times in the market place. Jonah was called by the Lord to go to Nineveh as an ambassador of the Lord and save them from destruction. But he disobeyed. That is the problem today also. Millions are perishing in sin. We do not have enough laborers to go to the ministry of evangelism and church planting, though this is the highest vocation God offers to any man.
However, in such a dark and discouraging situation, there are people who obey the call of the Lord and “launch out into the deep” risking their lives to win souls and lead them to glory. When the earth was filled with wickedness and God was about to destroy the world by flood, He sought for a righteous man to stand in the gap. He found Noah. When Israel was forgetting God and unrighteousness was increasing God found a young boy Samuel who stood in the gap to save His people. In Isaiah Chapter we hear the call of God, “Whom shall I send and who will go for us”. Prophet Isaiah responded saying, “Here am I. Send me”. Jeremiah stood in the gap weeping and interceding for the rebellious and sinning people of Israel. Nehemiah heard the call of God and he obeyed. He left the comfort of the heathen palace and went over to the desolated city of Jerusalem to rebuild the walls and bring glory to God’s people.
The most sublime picture of someone standing in the gap between Holy God and sinful humanity is Jesus Christ the Son of God. From the first book in the Bible till the last book we read the story of Jesus Christ who took upon Himself the sin of man, stood in the gap and delivered sinners from hell to heaven. Because of the sin of man, a big gulf happened between holy God and sinful humanity. There was no one to stand in this gap. There was no human resource to fill this gap. In the fullness of time God Himself sent his begotten Son into the world to bear the iniquities of man, bridge the gap and prepare the way for the reconciliation man with God, salvation for eternity.
Jesus Christ has commissioned His Church to stand in the gap between sinners and God, showing the hell-bound sinners the way of salvation by putting their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and in his redemptive work on the cross.
God is calling men and women to stand in the gap and show the way of salvation to every tongue and tribe all oin ver the world. (2 Chr. 16:9, 1 Sam. 16:7, Mat. 9:37-39). God is calling each of His children to stand in the Gap between Sinners and God, between backsliders and God, between a nation and God, between a family and God, between each ethnic group and God. God wants His Church to stand in the gap for every tribe and tongue on earth, to plead with them to get reconciled with God.
The text before us is that kind of a call from God. To make the meaning simple and clear, I want to study together with you some Bible personalities who stood in the gap pleading for the people in danger and bringing protection and peace to those who were in great peril.
Abraham is the first person that comes to my mind. (Gen. 18:23-34.). His nephew Lot was a righteous man. But for the sake of better pasture for his cattle and for material prosperity Lot left Abraham and went to the wrong place, Sodom. That was a place of sin and all kinds of wickedness. Though Lot became a prosperous man and a respected leader in the city, his soul 'vexed' in that 'backslid-en' condition.
God was grieved because of the sinfulness of the people in Sodom. So He decided to destroy the city by fire. But He remembered Lot, the righteous man in the wrong place. God looked for a man to stand in the gap between Him and Lot the backslider. The verses we have read together tells that Abraham stood in the gap and pleaded for his nephew and his family.
Lot deserted Abraham because of the unholy ambition for worldly property, prosperity and success. This departure took place after between the herdsmen of Abraham and the herdsmen of Lot. We can easily visualize the 'sourness' (bad taste) occurred at least slightly between uncle and nephew! (Gen. 13)
When Lot was in danger of captivity, Abraham went after the captors with his 318 strong men, defeated the enemies and rescued Lot. (Gen. 14)
This was a 'wakeup call' (warning) from God to Lot. Lot should have repented of his backsliding. But he did not. Lot should have gone back to be with his godly uncle. Godly companionship and fellowship are better and safer for every child of God. But Lot did not give heed to his inner voice and the biblical command. He continued to live on in Sodom because of his unrighteous ambition to be richer and to be a public figure in the world.
Now, when the Lord was about to pour down fire and brimstone upon Sodom, lot and his family were in great danger. It was at that time Abraham stood in the gap and cried before God for sparing the lives of Lot and his family. God heard and answered the petition of Abraham, who is known as 'the friend of God'.
Abraham could have harbored in his heart the hurt caused by Lot and his servants. But he did not. When Lot was in danger Abraham stood in the gap not just once but twice.
This brings to my remembrance the story of one young man who rebelled against his father, grandfather and uncle who brought him up. Because of his unholy craving for landed property and buildings he betrayed them, filed civil cases and criminal cases with false accusations against them. His father died early with a broken heart for his son who showed divided loyalties. His grandfather who prayed in tears for his restoration and reconciliation died with his prayers unanswered.
This young man who professes faith in Christ and claims Christian leadership met with a serious road accident. His life was spared by God's long-suffering. His uncle continues to stand in the gap and intercedes for his rebellious nephew who has not given heed to the 'wakeup call' from the righteous God.
This is a call to you dearly beloved to rise up and stand in the gap for those who are backsliding. That may be a family member. That may be your nephew. That may be a person who did hurt you.
God calls you to stand in the gap for your unsaved kith and kin. God is wanting you to stand in the gap for your backslid-en family folks who may have even wounded you terribly in the past, in their craving for lands, house, property and possessions. Please forgive them. Please forget their rebellion. Please stand before God and intercede for them.
Moses stood in the gap for the nation of Israel when they rebelled against God and committed the sin of Idolatry. (Exo. 32:32; Psalm 106:23) In Exodus 32nd chapter the full story of this incident is recorded.
Jehovah God by His almighty power delivered the people of Israel and brought them out of Egypt where they were slaves of Pharaoh 430 years. They were expected to be thankful to the living God and worship him only. Idol worship was strictly prohibited. Their leader Moses went to Mount Sinai and was communing with God for 40 days. When Israel could not see Moses for several days, they demanded Aaron to give them a visible god, idol. Aaron was not bold enough to restrain them from this demand. So, he collected the gold ornaments of the people and molded a calf idol. Aaron said to the people, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt”. The people fall prostrate before the idol and worshiped the golden calf.
The Lord was angry. He spoke to Moses, “I have seen these people. They are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation” (v. 9). Moses became extremely sad when he heard this terrible message from the Lord. Moses was not at all happy for the blessed promise of God to make him a great nation to replace the people of Israel. Therefore, Moses wept before God and pleaded for mercy and pardon for His chosen people. The most heart touching climax of Moses interceding for the fallen Israel standing in the gap is recorded in v. 31 & 32, “Oh what a great sin these people have committed! They have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if you will forgive their sin- but if not, I pray blot me out your book which you have written”. The Lord answered his prayer and “the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.” (v. 14)
(The KJV reading tells that Aaron molded one golden calf as their god. But the NIV reading says that they made 'gods'- more than one golden calf.)
An in-depth study of this unpleasant brings to light some valuable truths for us who are expected to stand in the gap between failed men and God.
(1) When Moses heard about the sin of idolatry by Israel, he was very sad and at the same time angry. It is a mixed emotion. He was grieved and at the same time he was hot with anger. We see the same mixed feeling of emotion in our Lord Jesus Christ when he went to the temple and saw the Jews turning the temple of God a place of merchandise. This should be the attitude of God's servants towards the sinning and backsliding people. We must be angry at sin. But we must intercede in tears for the sinner. It is unfortunate that many church leaders treat the fallen believers as permanent enemies and do all what they can to stop their rising up again for the Lord. They do not give a 'second chance' to those who miserably failed in their life and witness for the Lord. They forget the stories of David, Samson, Jonah, Peter and John Mark who were forgiven and received a second chance for service.
(2) In his holy anger Moses brought discipline among the people. He powdered the idol and forced them to drink. Secondly, he challenged the people to take a bold stand for God and the word of God. The Levites came forward to obey this call. They took their swords and slayed 3000 people bringing separation and sanctification among the chosen people. A preacher of the Gospel must act in this way. He should not avoid preaching against sin. He should not avoid rebuking sin. Church leaders are “shepherds”. There are times to use the 'staff' softly to guide and direct the sheep. There are times to use the 'rod' to spank and correct the sheep. Church leaders are like fathers. They lovingly provide the needs and guide the children. And they sternly rebuke and discipline the children. The responsibility of church elders and pastors is unique.
(It is recorded that Moses in his uncontrollable anger and desperation, took the two tablets of ten commandments and broke them. Was this justifiable? This is a question we could discuss. It is possible that servants of the highest God, at times in their zeal for the Lord and His Church may do things which are not spiritual because of 'self' and 'ego' overtaking them. The same thing happened to Moses another time. God told Moses to speak to the rock. But he smote the rock twice in his anger. He spoke words that did not glorify God. Therefore, the Lord was unhappy and did not permit Moses to enter the land of Canaan. Ministers of the Gospel and the leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ should serve the Lord and His Church in all humility and brokenness. Self-gratification, ego and pride have no place in Christian Service.)
(3) We learn another splendid example from this story of Moses standing in the gap between God and His rebellious children. In His wrath God declared that He would destroy the nation of Israel and will bring out a great nation from the family of Moses. This indeed was very much attractive and tempting- to be a great nation. Moses could have accepted that offer. He could have argued within himself for self-satisfaction, “This is the reward that God is giving me for all the sufferings and sacrifices I have endured in obeying God.”. When such a great promotion was offered to him by God, Moses could have answered to God, “Oh God, I thank you for offering such a blessed privilege. Though I did not serve you for any reward, I knew that you are a just God and sees all my labors and will reward me in your good time. Thank you.”But Moses did not yield to that kind of carnal desires. He did not desire any profit or gain in obeying and serving the people of God. This should ever remain a great example for all of us who are in the ministry of God and His Church. This example should awaken all those who are seeking position, promotion, riches and material gains in serving the Lord and His people. The safety, welfare and comfort of God's people was more important to Moses than his own welfare and security. This is the selfless service example for all Christian ministers.
(4) The ministry of standing in the gap, the true service a mediator doing advocacy and intercession is like 'atonement' that Moses announced (v. 30). In atonement the savior boldly owns the sins of the people and confesses sin on their behalf. This advocate is a substitute for the criminal. The man in the gap is ready to receive whatever punishment the judge was intending to give to the disobedient. This is what Moses did while standing in the gap between od and Israel. He carried the sin of the people. He volunteered to receive the punishment God intended to give to the rebellious people. He pleaded, “...if you forgive their sin- but if not, I pray, blot me out of your book which you have written” (v. 32). We notice a hyphen and a semi column in the middle of this verse. In the English version we see only a hyphen. This has a deep and hidden meaning. Moses was pleading for the people of Israel. He could not continue his audible prayer. He was sobbing and weeping. That is why there is a hyphen in the middle of the verse.
God is seeking for people who will intercede in tears and sobbing for the unsaved and backsliding people. God is looking for people who will pay any price to stand in the gap and win the lost and dying world to Christ. Jeremiah was a man who wept day and night when he foresaw the imminent captivity of Israel (Jer. 9:1). The hole book of Lamentations is the weeping of Jeremiah when he stood in the gap between the righteous God and the children of God who went after idolatry and unrighteous living. Apostle Paul is another sublime example for this kind of 'atonement' that we saw already. Paul was in great pain and was weeping for the 'religious and yet lost' people of Israel. (Rom. 9:1-5, 10:1). He was even ready to be a curse if by that Israel could be saved.
God is seeking and searching for these kinds of pioneer missionaries to go to the unreached and unengaged tribes and tongues of this world. God desires that the shepherds of His flock should be on their knees pleading for revival and restoration of the saints who are spiritually cold and dry. God wants His church to be burning with holiness, passion, love for the lost and worship of the Lord.
QUEEN ESTHER is the third main character comes to my mind out of the hosts of other Bible personalities who stood in the gap for the helpless and needy and those who live in the shadow of danger and death. (Esther 4:13,14). Let me bring out the main points without going to all the details of the story of Esther.
God lifted Esther an orphan girl to be queen for Ahasuerus in the palace of Shushan. She was a Jewish girl. Haman the Agagite cunningly plotted and successfully convince the king for the annihilation of the Hebrew people. Esther was the only person who could stand in the gap and save the people from danger and destruction. If she dares to do that advocacy for the Jews, her life was at great risk. The king could become angry and depose her from the palace or condemn her to death.
Mordecai, Esther's cousin who brought her up after the early death of her parents, requested Esther to go to the King and plead for the deliverance of her people. Esther was in a terrible dilemma. She was not called by the king for thirty days. If she appears before the king without his call, her life would be in jeopardy. When she passed on this situation and her hesitation to go to the king, Mordecai sent a message back to her saying, “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. YET WHO KNOWS WHETHER YOU HAVE COME TO THE KINGDOM FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS? (4:14)
Now look at the way Esther responded to Mordecai and took resolve to stand in the gap fully aware of the great danger and risk to her own life. She responded, “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. AND SO, I WILL GO TO THE KING, WHICH IS AGAINST THE LAW; AND IF I PERISH, I PERISH!”
The story goes on to say that Esther risked her life and approached the king. The Lord gave favor in his heart towards Esther. She was able to stand in the gap and plead for her people who were in the shadow of sword and death. The king altered his verdict. The Hebrews were protected. Haman the plotter was killed along with his whole family.
What a lesson to learn from this heat touching story! Dear saints of the Lord, we were like orphans wandering, starving and dying in sin and going to hell. God in His grace and mercy had compassion on us and lifted us up and adopted us as His beloved children. We are called His precious bride. Christ is our bridegroom. He wants us to go to every nook and corner of the world and deliver people from darkness eternal doom in the lake of fire.
Years ago, missionaries came over to our country exposing themselves to hostile climate, diseases and epidemics and they brought the Gospel of salvation to our forefathers. Many of them died in the mission fields in the hands of enemies and because of non-availability of medical treatment in their sickness. They stood in the gap for you and me. Someone came to you and me and shared the good news of salvation. Our death is vanished and we are alive in Christ.
It is our responsibility, beloved, to carry the Gospel to every tongue and tribe that remain in darkness even at this 21st century. Yes, there are thousands of nations (ethnic groups) scattered all over the world. They have not heard the name of Christ yet. Hundreds of those people groups live even in our great and beloved country, India. Beloved, let us leave our comfort zones and let us go out to the mountains and valleys in search of those people who are ignorantly marching towards eternal torments in hell.
Let us live frugal lives and spend all the money we can to support pioneer missionaries who are risking their lives and standing in the gap in most difficult places. Let us stand in the gap and provide for the material needs of the missionary families. Let us rise up and do the advocacy for the church planters in remote regions, challenging and inspiring churches in prosperous countries to render help to these ambassadors of the Lord. Let us spend all our resources for pulling out precious souls from the bottomless pit, eternal darkness.
As a brief personal testimony, God called me to fulltime ministry in January 1968. I was unwilling to obey. For six month I bargained with the Lord to spare me and look for someone else. I promised Him even 50% of my income for the work of the Lord if He makes me rich. But I had no peace in my heart as long as I continued disobeying God. Finally, on June 3, 1968 I resigned my job and entered into full time service as a preacher of the Gospel. Four decades are passed. I look back. I thank my God for calling me and persuading me to stand in the gap for tribes and tongues that lived in darkness. So now I am a satisfied man and can loudly declare along with Apostle Paul, “I thank my God who by His Grace called me and put me into the ministry”.
Dearly beloved, before you leave this room will you please obey the call of God asking you to stand in the gap? Can you sense the pain in God’ heart when he exclaimed, “But I found none”. Will you declare along with prophet Isaiah, “Here am I. Send me”.
(This is a message preached in many places in the past, but prepared in full on August 4, 2011 while in California, USA. This message can be elaborated with stories of great missionaries who carried the Gospel to remote regions of the world, giving up their comforts and risking their lives and even laying down their lives in the mission fields. Stories of Adoniram Judson, William Carey, John Knox, Hudson Tailor, Jim Elliot and many more inspiring lives...)
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