And I Sought for a Man

I have a word though from the Lord this morning. I shared this at the school on Thursday night, and God came in a profound way among the students and those that were visiting from the community, and the Lord gave me permission to share it this morning with you as well. It's a message that's simply called, And I Sought for a Man, from Ezekiel chapter 22, please if you'll turn there, book of Ezekiel chapter 22.

Father I thank you God Almighty for the anointing of your Holy Spirit. I thank you Lord for your strength and for your power. I thank you God for faith that you plant in our hearts as we hear and respond to your word.

You have the power, your spoken word has the power to create life, and so God we ask you to create life in us. Give us courage to go forward, give us faith to face the day in which we live. God Almighty give me the grace to speak this today, and give us all the grace to hear it.

Lord we thank you for it. Jesus keep us, we thank you in your precious name, amen. And I sought for a man, Ezekiel chapter 22, beginning at verse 23.

And the word of the Lord came unto me saying, Son of man, say unto her, thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation. There's a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured souls, they have taken the treasure and precious things, and they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

Her priests have violated my law and have profaned my holy things. They 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 Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood and to destroy souls and to get dishonest gain.

And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord when the Lord has 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. Therefore have I poured out mine indictation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath.

Their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God." Now this was a an hour of declension in the nation of Israel of people who had laid claim to walking with God. They laid claim to knowing God and understanding the ways of God, but they had fallen far, far away from the pattern that was set for them by God himself in the testimony of Scripture that had been given to them and the testimony of history as well. And it's amazing, the land had come to a place where, you know, there's an Old Testament Scripture that says when sin reaches a certain proportion, the land itself will spew the people out.

The land cannot sustain, cannot hold the people any longer. And especially those who claim to have known God, when sin reaches a certain point, God just releases his hand, just takes his hand of protection away, and the nation will consume itself by virtue of its own behavior and its own standards it has begun to live by. And you look at the verses that I just read to you and it says, there's a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey, devouring souls, taking away the treasure and precious thing, and making her many widows in the midst thereof.

Now the true prophetic call in the Old Testament was voices that God would raise to call the nation back to right living in the sight of God. When a nation is beginning to stray, when the people are turning away from righteous living, the voice of the prophet will be raised up to warn the people of what's coming, the succession of events that will unfold and what it will lead to if there's not a turning back to God again. And the voice of the prophets had become compromised, taking away their precious things, in other words the strength that could have belonged to the people, the treasure of God that was available for that generation, and making her many widows means that the strength of the nation was being lost.

Family was beginning to break apart because the voice of God was no longer being clearly heard in many of the pulpits in the nation anymore. Her priests, those who stand in pulpits across the nation, have violated my law. They've profaned the holy things, and they put no difference between the holy and profane.

They've not showed the difference between that which is unclean and clean. They've hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I'm profaned among them. A lightness had gotten into the ministry.

There was no longer a clear line of demarcation between that which was of God and that which is not of God, that which leads to godliness and strength, and that which leads away from God and brings weakness into the heart. And there was this lightness. The prophets are not warning the nation.

The priests have become light and profane in the pulpits. Verse 27, he says, Their princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey to shed blood, destroy souls, and get dishonest gain. These are the leaders.

These are the secular government leaders of the nation now. Everyone's in it for himself. There's no statesman anymore.

Everyone is there for his own advantage. It's all about staying in power now at any cost. And then there's a religion around this political movement that has largely lost the heart of God and the heart for the nation.

It says, Their prophets have dobbed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies. And you'll see that repeatedly through history in Israel. When the nation is starting to move away, there'll be a ministry that lusts for power in many cases, and they will gather round about the throne.

They will tell secular leaders anything they want to hear, as long as they can stand close to power. They don't really care what it is. They don't care if it's truth.

Saying to them, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord has not spoken. And because of all these things now, you see the people are starting to break out. The scripture says, When there's no vision, the people perish.

And that means there's no revelation of God, of the character of God, the people cast off restraint. And sorely by now we must all recognize that in this nation we have cast off restraint. Evil is now good, and good is rapidly becoming evil.

The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery. There's no sense of obligation socially or dutifully even to family now anymore. They've stolen the strength from others, they vex the poor and needy, and they've oppressed the stranger wrongfully.

And so here we see a break, a breakdown of a nation. A complete, utter, social, spiritual, moral breakdown of a people. And the nation is about to come under judgment just by virtue of its behavior.

It's going to destroy itself. In our time that we're living in, we look at the very basic unit of the family being destroyed right before our eyes. And we know historically, anybody who's ever studied anthropology, for example, or sociology knows that a society, when the family structure is lost, the society is going to unravel.

That's a historical fact that's not even open for debate anymore. Anybody who studied it knows this. Now God is just in judging the people who claim to know him and have allowed this kind of debauchery at every level in society to begin to govern them.

But look at the response. He said, I sought for a man among them to make up the head, stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore, I poured out my indignation upon them.

I've consumed them in the fire of my wrath. In their own way, I've recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God. And I see this simply as God just removes his hand and lets the society go where it wants to go.

I sought for a man. It's an amazing thought. God said, I just, I scoured the nation and I look for one person to stand in the gap.

I look for one person to stand between the nation and God technically moving his hand away from the nation. And it's an amazing thing because when you look at Israel, for example, the temple, there'd be all kinds of people going to religious services. There'd be all kinds of people studying the scriptures.

There'd be people in that time that wanted to live moral lives. They would at least be giving a marginal amount of trying to live morally and good spiritual lives. And so why is it that God couldn't find anybody? You'd think if his eyes are looking to and fro throughout the land to show himself strong on behalf of somebody whose heart is right towards him.

And I wonder, I cannot but wonder, is it possible he couldn't find anybody because nobody, it's not that they didn't study the scriptures and know the scriptures, but nobody believed anymore that he would show mercy. It's possible to get into a mindset even as the people of God and so be gripped by the sense of judgment, the righteousness of judgment. We deserve judgment that we forget that mercy triumphs over judgment.

We forget that God is willing to be merciful. We look out at our in our streets and and see what's on our media and just even the, I can't even stand listening to the news anymore. And we look at all of it and say, surely you're going to judge this.

And it becomes easy to agree with judgment when the evidence is before our eyes. But you see, if you don't know the heart of God, if we don't know the heart of God, we can get to a point where we don't believe anymore that God wants to show mercy. And is it possible he couldn't find anybody who would still believe that he could use them for this purpose despite all the natural odds being to the contrary.

Every man, every woman more or less looking towards their own resources and coming to the conclusion, well God I suppose could be merciful but never through me. Can you imagine if if that moment of mercy had come to Gideon and he had he had formed a wrong conclusion. God spoke to Gideon, called him a mighty man of valor.

The nation is being swallowed literally by a hundred and thirty-five thousand million. It's essentially come in at will and just take everything from the nation that people are trying to build. And Gideon said to the messenger of God, he said, are you speaking to me? I'm the least, my father's house, my father's tribe is the least of the tribes of Israel.

My father is the least of his tribe and I'm the least in my father's house. And in case you didn't notice, my father has an altar to a heathen God in the backyard. Are you sure you've got the right address? It's so easy to get to the point.

What if God had come to Moses and Moses said, have you forgotten? My call was 40 years ago. I'm 80 years old now. I don't have a sword.

I've got no connections. Nobody in Egypt's even going to remember who I am anymore. And you're telling me you're sending me into a nation to bring three million people out of bondage and into freedom.

Can you imagine if that that moment of mercy had somehow passed him by? If God had sought for a man, but he couldn't find Gideon, couldn't find Esther willing to go into the king, even though she had no lineage, no parentage, no strength, no real influence at that moment. Imagine if these moments of mercy, as I call them, had come. And nobody could have been found how biblical history would be so different.

We don't know what would have happened to God's people in Egypt or what would have happened in Gideon's day or the numbers that would have been lost in the day when Esther had an opportunity to go in and petition for their future before the king. There are moments in history that I like to call an awakening, a spiritual awakening. It's where somebody somewhere, and at times many wake up, they just suddenly become aware of God's willingness to restore and to heal, his willingness to show himself strong, his willingness in the midst of our poverty to release his riches once again, his willingness to take us not in our strength but in our weakness.

Didn't the book of Hebrews say, doesn't say come into the throne of God when you're strong. No, come in when you're weak to find help in your time of need. I think it's somewhat like an auctioneer who at unexpected and unannounced times throughout history pulls back the curtain and makes available an incredible treasure of mercy and power.

It's called a moment of awakening where the Lord begins to speak and says, I know, I know your land is desolate. I know your prophets are not speaking for me. I know your priests are leading the people into powerlessness.

Your princes, every man is in it for himself now, every woman, and there's this religions system around them just helping prop up their error. I know the people of the land have used oppression, exercised robbery that affects the poor and the needy, but I am willing one more time to be merciful. I'm willing to show my power and my mercy and suddenly the curtain pulls back and this incredible treasure that's only available, some people never see it in their lifetime, some people never get to know a moment like I believe has come upon us.

The whole life they never know this, their whole, all they can do is read about it. They can read about the Welsh Revival 1904, the prayer revival in New York City 1857, they can read about all these things but they never get to see it in their lifetime. But I happen to personally believe that we are in a moment of mercy as a people.

Whether you choose to believe it or not, I believe it with all my heart. This is a moment of mercy. I believe that God has schooled my heart all of my life for this moment.

I've been to Burundi, Nigeria, Jamaica, I've seen the miraculous happen. I've been to Argentina, I've watched what God can do all for this moment in history right now. And so God unveils the treasure one more time, the treasure of power, the treasure when he said to Gideon, go forth mighty men of great resources.

That was actually the call he gave to him. That's why Gideon said mighty men of great resources. Are you sure you've got the right person? All I look at I just see small, small, small, small, small.

Every time I look at myself that's all I see. My lineage, my parentage, my family, my history. You notice that I've got no certificates on the wall.

Have you noticed that I just I hide in the backyard trying to gather up enough wheat just to feed my family and you're calling me a man of mighty resources. And God says to him, yes I am because I've given you a word. I've sent my word to you and all you need is the word of God to be a mighty man or woman of God.

And so the treasure is unlocked one more time and it's like an auctioneer that stands before the people and says here stands behind you an invaluable treasure. It's only, it's only revealed from season to season unexpectedly and unannounced. And who will give me a hundred dollars? Who will give me fifty? Silence.

Who'll give me twenty-five, ten, five? Who'll give me a dollar for the treasure? First Kings chapter 18 verse 21 Elijah built an altar. Now the prophets of Baal which were godless religious leaders whose really the focus was on the cupboard in the field. It was all on provision.

As long as provision was there everybody was happy. And there's hundreds of them and they've built their altar and they're making their noise. Elijah builds another altar.

The people's hearts are captivated by a religious falseness. It's not the religion that brings people to power and changes a nation. And Elijah stands before the people having rebuilt the altar of God and he says if the Lord be God and follow him and the people answered him not a word.

They didn't know what to say. And they're looking at Elijah, he's only one man, they're looking at his altar and there's nothing at the moment happening there. And they're looking at these other men who are making all the noise.

They have access to the king, they have access to the king's court, all power and everything seems to be in their hand and suddenly but there's an inner knowledge that this religious system has fallen short of the glory of God but yet still they haven't got the courage to bring themselves to a position of answering. And finally as the people remain silent so many filled with unbelief that the treasure could actually be theirs. Nobody steps forward.

You see he said I sought for a man among them. There had to be whispers. There had to be whispers as people went into the synagogue.

There had to be whispers as people opened the text of Scripture. God is not like he's just scanning, he's speaking and he's urging and he's talking to men and women that he wants to use for his glory but nobody steps forward. And one more time the treasure is forfeited and hidden away until some undisclosed future time and people who could have been spared are lost.

It's such a tragedy when God seeks for somebody in a season like you and I are living in now to show mercy to the nation. It doesn't mean the nation will exist as it does now ten years from now. It's not about sandcastles and buildings anyway.

It's about people. He wants to show mercy to people and he searches for somebody but couldn't find anybody who would believe that he could be merciful or they could be used for this purpose and therefore the hand of God is lifted and the way of the people is recompensed as the Scripture says on their own heads. And Ezekiel speaks of a generation that missed an opportunity for an incredible miracle.

When you and I get to the throne of God one day and we get to understand the numbers of times throughout history that God was speaking, the numbers of places, the numbers of nations, the numbers of cities, where God was looking for somebody. And you know you and I know historically it doesn't take a lot of people to change the nation. Just a few that believe that God is able and he's willing.

That's all it takes. Doesn't take a hundred people to change your neighborhood. It only takes you if you believe that God is willing to show mercy.

But there's a problem that humanity always faces. Remember when the people of Israel came out of Egypt and for a season Moses went up into the mountain to commune with God so they were left in a sense without a tangible voice from God just for a moment in history. And when they were left not clearly hearing they built a God, a golden calf.

And that's the problem of humanity. We always want a tangible, touchable, easy to understand relationship with God. One that offers security, asks of us nothing, and poses no personal risk and requires little or no faith to follow.

But those who would be used of God to push back the self-destruction of this present moment in our time must not be of those who drop back in unbelief. But you and I must step forward in faith now for the glory of God and for the souls of men. We must do it folks.

We don't have much time left now to get this right ahead of us. We must step forward in faith. We must believe God.

We must have that same heart that David had as a teenager. King David when he walked into the camp and he heard this mockery of God and the people of God and the army of God and something came into his spirit. And he was he was offended that the name of God could be so brought into disrepute among his own, among God's own people.

That he went around the army as a teenager said why is nobody fighting with this? Why is everybody just standing still as if you don't have a God anymore? Of course the scripture says they were offended at him. But then he said don't let any man's heart faint. I'll go fight this giant.

And a teenager with a stone one more time. Somebody who believed that God was willing to be merciful. Somebody who believed that God could take the little he had and multiply it and use it for the glory of the kingdom of God.

He went into that valley faced a giant and defeated him and brought the kingdom of the people of God back into faith again for that season. They come out of the holes where they were hiding. They come out of the caves.

They picked up their weaponry began to fight and the scripture says a great great victory was won for the kingdom of God that day. Hebrews chapter 11 tells us what faith is. Faith is the substance verse 1 of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.

For by it the elders obtained a good report and through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. That's the essence of faith. The essence of faith believes that the spoken word to my heart is all I need.

God created the universe out of nothing. And so I don't have to have something I just have to have a heart that can hear the Word of God. God spoke and said let there be light and there was light.

God said let there be birds and there were birds. Let there be cattle there were cattle. Let there be water there was water.

He speaks and out of nothing something is created. That's the essence of faith. It's the substance of what we believe for in our lives.

It is the evidence of things that we don't see yet. It's by faith that the elders those have gone before us obtained a good report and through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Oh thank God.

Faith. Faith. Faith means we look away from the mirror.

We look we turn away from what others have told us about ourselves. We turn away from what we believe about ourselves. Every voice that's ever spoken or condemned or told us you can only go this far and no farther we put it all away and faith says you speak God and I will go forward and I will believe that you will give me the power to be everything you've called me to be and to do everything you've called me to do.

I believe that with all my heart. I will not stand here in unbelief when the God of this universe who created me in this image is speaking to my heart. I am going to get up and I'm going to go forward.

I'm going to go forward in faith and I'm going to believe God for the miraculous to happen through my life. I'm going to believe that the name of God will be glorified through my life and that people will be saved. They'll be brought out of prisons, out of bondage, out of pain, out of addiction.

They're going to be brought out of hopelessness and they're going to be brought into the life that God won for them through his Son on the cross of Calvary. I believe that with all my heart. After all of our learning and all of our study and two thousand years of books and tapes and testimonies, if we've gotten to the place in history where we don't believe that who Jesus Christ was still is today, what he has done he can still do today, then we are a people to be pitied of all people.

All of our learning is just going to be a bunch of knowledge without power. But I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to stay there. I'm getting up and I'm going into what God has for my life.

Hebrews 11 6 says, without faith it's impossible to please him, for he that comes to God must believe that he is and he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. It's impossible to please God without faith. You will not please him by church attendance or Bible study or even prayer.

Those things are good in themselves, but without faith it's impossible to please God. At some point all of these things have got to produce something in my heart and in your heart that says, God I give you my life, I give you my home, my future, I give you everything I've got. Oh Jesus you open the door and I'm going to go through it.

Faith adopts the plan of God even though it makes no sense to the natural mind. By faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as of yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house by the which he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which is by faith. This man built a boat on dry land with no launching mechanism in a place where it hadn't rained for a hundred years, but he had a word from God.

And that's what faith is. Faith says look God you have a plan, it makes no sense to the natural mind, but I'm going to follow the plan you lay from lay out before me and I'm going to believe God that this is going to bring honor to your name and salvation to people who become part of what it is that you desire to do. In verse 8 tells us that faith leaves the familiar to obtain the impossible.

By faith Abraham when he was called to go out into a place which he should after received for an inheritance obeyed and went out not knowing whether he went. Faith leaves the familiar. I know this only too well.

I remember when I was a young Christian and I began to preach the gospel and out of preaching the gospel was born a church in the wilderness really just a small group of people out in the small little town and the Lord began to speak to my heart to pastor them to leave my employment where I was successful at what I was doing and it had all of the things that go with it the pension plan and dental plan all the rest of the plans go with it and God says leave it all and go and pastor this group of people.

In this meeting in a hotel in a little wee town it was dominated by a religion that really wasn't one that knew God and it was so strange because the most opposition I got to this leading was from Christians and people tried to say what about your kids what about your retirement plan what about your dental plan don't you see this as insanity and I remember speaking these were older Christians many of them that I worked with and I remember telling them but I feel God calling me you know it's strange how do we get to the point in the Christian Church where God calling somebody is an odd thing to people everybody settles for just going to church reading the Bible and you know somehow somebody's going to ask about I had one guy was a Christian saying you've been such a vocal Christian here

who's going to witness for Christ when you're gone and it was a Christian talking to me I thought this one an odd statement what about you faith leaves the familiar to obtain the impossible there's a point where God will call and we have a tendency to restrict him in a sense to the I'll let you call me as long as between these two bookends here as long as I keep my nine-to-five as long as I don't lose my four three B and everything else as long as it's in this context you can call me folks if that were the case then there'd be nothing in Hebrews chapter 11 everybody would have just Abraham would have stayed and believe God to do something in his family Noah would a search for a lake Hebrews chapter 11 verse 11 to 12 tells us that faith believes for the ability to accomplish what God has

promised through faith Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed and was deliberative a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who had promised and therefore sprang there even of one and him as good as dead so many as the stars of the sky and multitude in the sand which is by the seashore innumerable so faith adopts the plan of God even if it makes no sense to the natural mind faith leaves the familiar to obtain the impossible and faith believes God for the ability to accomplish what God has promised and folks I've lived through this and I know this to be true and without faith it's impossible to please God Isaiah chapter 59 verse 19 says when the enemy shall come in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him you know a standard was

a banner and the enemy had come in like a flood when the enemy would come into the nation like a flood the people of God would quite often be disorganized they wouldn't know how to fight back their ranks are more or less depleted and the suddenness of what they're facing has come upon them and they're not sure what to do and so the Lord would raise up a banner a flag literally before them it would be a gathering point generally on a on a higher place a higher portion of land and the people could gather there and in that place they could receive instruction in that place that the character of God would again be revealed to them that the courage of Christ would God would come into their heart one more time and the Spirit of the Lord would raise up a standard and I feel in this generation

God's calling his church again back to the cross that's the standard in our generation every generation that's where the power of God is that's where the understanding of God is that's where the humility of God is found that's where the power of God is that's where the purpose of God is laid hold of that's where the courage of God is found it's all found at the cross on Calvary's Hill where Christ died and Christ paid the price for sin and Christ broke the bondage of hell Christ was in the grave for three days in Christ by God's power was raised from the dead that's where the standard of God is the same spirit of Christ is in us the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead will also quicken our mortal bodies in him we live Paul said we move and we have our being God will take us from

image to image and glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord when we come back to the cross the power of God becomes evident again in our lives prison doors start opening blinded eyes start seeing the wounds of the past no longer have the power to keep us paralyzed no we stand up in the strength of our God and we begin to declare that he is able to save he's able to free he's able to heal he's able to give sight he's able to give courage he's able to take us in our weakness and make us strong and it becomes our message it becomes our weaponry becomes our courage it becomes who we are as a people and we begin to stand up not with a confused message but with a clear message from the heart of God what God has done for me God will do for you through Jesus Christ his son I sought for a

man the Lord said I sought for somebody who would believe that I'd be merciful I sought for somebody who believed that I could still use them and do the miraculous through their lives I sought for somebody and I do believe I hear that call in this generation again I am determined today in my own time and in your time that the history of Ezekiel's day will not repeat itself that we will not be a people to simply go down into judgment as a nation without a season of mercy I am convinced I'm determined that that season of mercy is going to happen in the United States of America and in other nations throughout the world the question is who will rise up and say the treasure of knowing the power and mercy of God for the sake of others will be mine who will rise up who will say all I have is a

dollar but God I bid it for the treasure of Christ years ago years ago years ago I was in a church service similar to this and I don't remember the message but I was a new Christian and it was a fairly large church for Canada maybe somewhere between 600 and a thousand people I guess and I was sitting in the center section near the back and I remember the Holy Spirit was just speaking to my heart about giving my life fully to Christ and folks I felt so disadvantaged I I was still fighting with a bad temper I just there was a lot of stuff still in my life I was I was a new Christian but there's still stuff it passes away but it takes a while my life was like somebody's gun you know those old western movies where the guy gets shot and he goes over the table and climbs the stairway and falls

over the banister and that's kind of like what my life was like you know this is all things were already shot but it just took them forever to fall and die and but I got out of my seat and I came down and I knelt at the altar and and I felt I felt like I had less than the little boy who gave his lunch of five loaves and two fishes to feed ten thousand or so people but I came to the altar and I got on my knees and I began to weep and I said God I don't feel like I have anything you know I'm I'm shy to speak publicly and I can't speak I don't know how and I've got a lot of struggles in my own life that I'm believing for victory for I got a long way to go and I feel like in this church in the church everybody they had such knowledge you know I'm brand new I'm a new Christian and they had

knowledge they'd be people have been studying for years a lot of them are much older and wiser than I am but I got on my knees and I said God I just the little that I am and have I give it to you and ask you to just if you can take it take it and if you can use it for your glory God use it for your glory and the question today is as this treasure is unfolded and you might think all I have is a dollar I resource wise how could I buy this treasure because I have hardly anything to give for it that's why the prophet Isaiah said come everyone that thirsts come to the waters if you have no money come come and buy come and buy wine and milk without money and without price and that's the cry of God if you only think you have a dollar then bid your dollar but don't go down into silence if you

only got 50 cents stand up and say I bid 50 cents for the treasure if that's all you've got don't be quiet don't go down into silence if you got 10 cents stand up and I said nobody else is bidding say I bid a dime for this treasure that from time to time and season to season is unveiled because God's not looking for our resources he's not looking for our strength he's not looking for our money he's looking for the heart that just says God here am I take me take me with my five cents take me with my loaf of bread my God I have hardly anything but Lord I give it to you because I believe I believe Lord that the world's were framed out of nothing that you spoke and created the universe you spoke and created life my God whatever you are whoever you are Lord you can do that still in my life

today I believe that you speak the word and I would be healed I believe it with all my heart and so I bid for the treasure and so the question in my heart today is who is willing to bid for this treasure of Christ his life his mercy his power who's going to sit in silence in the house of God and who is going to stand up and say God Almighty if you're unveiling the treasure if an opportunity is here for me to know the power of God and the mercy of God then Oh God count me in I'll stand up and I'll bid my five cents I'll bid what I have and if you have nothing bid it so I have nothing but I'll give my heart to it I'll look after it I'll cherish it my God the treasure can't be hidden again the curtain can't close on this generation it's a season of incredible mercy God don't close the

curtain I'm here Lord I'm here send me I'm here I feel so far back you can hard you can hardly hear me but I'm here and so the question is who will rise up and say the treasure of knowing your power and your mercy for the sake of others will be mine I will not let the curtain close on this moment this generation but Oh God and it will not be said of New York City that I searched for a man and I found none I searched for a woman I couldn't find anybody oh no it will not be said if I'm all you've got God if my voice is the only one that's lifted up if all I have is ten cents to my name but then at God I still call out and so I've been ten cents for the treasure of God and the Lord says so so to the one who wants it hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah I will adopt your plan though it

makes no sense to my mind I will leave the familiar to obtain the impossible and I will believe for the ability to accomplish what you call me to do but I will not sit in silence I will not stand in indecision God Almighty I'll bring what I have and I'm going to believe that you can take it and change a generation you started my house with my heart my family my block my neighborhood my city my state and my nation and beyond the borders of my nation there are no limits to God he created the universe by the word of his mouth there are no limits to God I believe I believe with all my heart God that you are and you are a rewarder of those who diligently seek you and so I'm getting out of my seat and I'm gonna I'm attaining what you have for me I want the fullness of what you have for me I

want the full calling of God I want to know your ways and I want to make a difference in my generation and if that's the cry of your heart then let this pulpit be the banner today the standard when the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard let this pulpit be the standard today that God lifts up it says who will come who's on the Lord's side who will just say Lord here's my 10 cents multiply it and feed thousands it's all I've got but I give you what I have and I ask you to glorify your name through it what a tragedy it would be if when we get to the throne of God New York City has gone up in flames and the Lord says but and I sought for a man but I could not find one I sought for a woman that would stand in the gap for the land that I should not

destroy it but I found no one I'll let it never be said let it never be said of you or of me a father I thank you Lord for this day I thank you God Almighty for your word today it's calling us into life and strength give us courage Lord Jesus Christ to embrace what you speak every Esther here today every Gideon every Moses I pray God give us courage all of these people were nothing until you touch them and call them help us not to die in our own self-estimation but to be able to hear what you call us so that's all that really matters Lord doesn't matter what we think it matters what you say Jesus Christ I put my life in first today as much as I'm able Lord as I feel as if I'm right back where I started just coming to an altar and saying the little I have you can take it and use it for

your glory father I thank you for this God Almighty in Jesus name here in the sanctuary in the annex at North Jersey and those that are listening at home if you want to respond to this message today I want to just open the front of this auditorium let's stand together please if you will and just make your way down we're gonna worship for a few moments then we're gonna pray together I'd like to pray for all the people who by faith are responding to this altar call myself included a call for I look for a man and when you answer this altar call we know that in ourselves there is no strength and this is impossible but I was reminded this morning by the scripture where it says that she judged him faithful who had promised and Lord today we stand with that Sarah and Hebrews 11 who judged you

faithful when there was a promise of life but she in herself could not fulfill it Lord today we judge you faithful when we know that being able to be what we need to be is not found in us it is not within us but Lord we judge you faithful and Lord in our prayers today we say Lord you can make the possible happen Lord I will receive the strength because I judge you faithful I will receive what I need Oh God to be the witness I will receive what I need to move forward I will receive what I need Lord to be able to put down the voice of the condemner I will receive the faith that says this is not of myself but I will keep looking to you Jesus and looking to you I will change I will look into your word and I will change I will ask to be obedient and I will change Lord we judge you faithful you

are looking for someone and we've just responded and we've said here am I send me knowing Lord that you will be faithful to give us what we need you will not fail us so God you will not turn away from our cry when we say Lord help I in everything within me I respond but I have to judge you to be faithful to me to give me what I need and I thank you today you will be exactly that you will do exceedingly abundantly all that we can ask or think you will fill us and you will fill us again you will break the powers of fear and unbelief because you are looking for a man you are looking for someone to stand in a gap that you may be merciful and we will never go wrong by trusting in the mercy of God because the mercy will be poured out upon his people from all those that look for it there'll

never be a time you will not send mercy if there is a voice saying Oh God let your mercy flow through me let me be a receiver of it and let me give it Lord help our prayer life help us to judge you faithful for you will pour out Lord something upon your people then a mercy will go through your church such as never before we will see men and women old and young receive and respond because it's the hour of the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon a people Lord we want to be part of that people we judge you faithful you will give us what we need to stand in the gap so here am I send me Oh God in my weakness I judge you faithful and you will be more than I could ever think harassed because you are that good because you are Jesus because Lord everything we need to be righteous and holy is found

in you and not at ourselves and so Lord we step up and with the little we have one more time we judge you faithful you will do what only you can do so we look away from ourselves and look to a God who cannot fail because you love us we thank you for this in this promise we hear you today and we say it's not of us and it's you but you will do something for your glory and I thank you Lord for those that are responding by faith we judge you faithful you will do more than we can think or ask in Jesus name