TEXT: Ezekiel 22:30: "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."

GOD'S QUALIFICATIONS FOR HIS MAN.

What kind of man is needed in America now more than at any other time?

• He will build his home on the Bible.
• He will quietly rear his children in honesty and godliness.
• He will pay his debts.
• He will support his family.
• He will stand on his own feet.
• He will be faithful to worship God in church.
• He will serve God in the marketplace.
• He will help his neighbors.

THE RIGHT PRAYERS TO PRAY.

Prayers every husband and father should pray daily.

• Lord make me a loving husband.
• Lord make me a godly parent.
• Lord make me a faithful churchman in my church.
• Lord make me a good example in the marketplace.
• Lord make me a faithful citizen in my duty to my country.
• Lord use me as your servant.

THE PRICE TO PAY.

Too many people never really comprehend the price that is exacted from those who follow the Nazarene. To call Jesus "Lord" implies that He has the headship of your life, that you are committed as a bondslave to Him. We should not make that kind of commitment lightly.

GOD NEVER USES A QUITTER.

God never called anyone to be a quitter. The word retreat should not be in the Christian's vocabulary. The only way is upward and onward for the Lord; and if you are not moving upward and onward, you are backsliding.

In that hour when you have a crisis experience with God, and you decide once and forever that you will follow Him, material considerations will never enter your thoughts. When that kind of a commitment is made, you must deny yourself, die to self, take up your cross, and follow Him. The spiritual man never gives up. He does not faint. While others falter, stop, lick their wounds, cry, and wallow in self-pity, he keeps on trusting God, not allowing Satan to get him sidetracked. God is looking for men and women who will say, "We can; we must; we will!"

GOD'S SERVANTS ARE UNDER SURVEILLANCE.

Without question, we as Christians are being watched by the Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are not only omnipotent and omniscient, they are omnipresent. Every action, every attitude, and every word spoken are observed by the Trinity. This is a sobering thought.

GOD'S MAN MUST EVER FORGET THE PAST.

Philippians 3:13-14, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

In order to persevere in serving God successfully, you must forget those failures which are behind you. Many children of God must learn how to forget so that they can learn how to live. Today is the day that is important to God.

GOD'S MAN MUST LEARN TO GET UP, OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

Proverbs 24:16, "For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief."

The person who wins the battle is the one who is knocked down nine times but gets up ten. He is the one who will not accept defeat, who will never learn to sound retreat, who will never turn back. He continually goes upward and onward, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against him. It is not important what happens to us. How we react to what happens to us is important.

If you keep your eyes on Christ, and, daily, through the Word, let God talk to you personally, and, daily, talk to Him personally through prayer, you will know the will of God, you will live victoriously in it and you will persevere.

GOD'S MAN MAY NOT BE TALENTED.

It is not the super-talented who turn this world upside down; it is the super-dedicated. You have been given a Divine mandate, and God will always enable you to do what He commands you to do. The command is to give the Gospel to everyone in the world. God will make it possible for us to reach the world if we will be obedient to the light He has given us and walk through the doors He has opened.

GOD'S MAN IS ALWAYS FOCUSED.

If God's servant will see nothing but the goal line, will accept nothing but victory, will pay any price, will suffer any hurt and hardship, and will refuse to be discouraged or disheartened, he or she will win; because they are charged with the power of God's Holy Spirit.

FOR GOD'S MAN, THERE ARE OPEN DOORS AND MANY ADVERSARIES.

I Corinthians 16:9, "For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries."

There are many wide open doors, but there are also many adversaries. God has not called us to a bed of roses, to popularity, or to rate high in the polls. God has called us to preach His truth, His Gospel, whatever the cost may be. God fills with His Spirit those who learn how to fast and pray, who seek His face, and who receive renewal from Him.

GOD'S MAN MUST MAINTAIN A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER.

I think the most important thing in a Christian's life is to stay in the spiritual position where he can be used of God. If you are not being used of God, you are missing the delight of your life.

If you live long enough as a Christian, you will be disappointed by a lot of people you held in high regard. You will be mistreated; things will go wrong for you. Your little world will collapse around you a few times; many things will bring you discouragement. The only way to keep on living without losing your zeal and your vibrant, glowing testimony is to have a personal, daily renewed relationship with Christ through His Word and through prayer.

The difference between mediocrity and greatness in God's vineyard is always vision.

If we attempt great things for God and expect great things from God, God will make great things happen.

GOD'S MAN MUST NOT BE DISCOURAGED.

When you are discouraged you are of no value to God, to your family, to your employer, to society, or to yourself. You do not determine a man's greatness by his talent or by his wealth as the world does, but rather by what it takes to discourage him.

SOME THINGS GOD'S MAN MUST KNOW.

1. The Christian life is often painful and difficult.

Spurgeon said "God is too good to be unkind, too wise to be mistaken, and when you cannot trace His hand, you can always trust His heart."

Churchill said "Success in life is often nothing more than going from one failure to the next with undiminished enthusiasm".

2. Age can be a hindrance, whether young or old.

3. Mental weariness must be avoided.

4. Physical weariness affects us spiritually.

5. Financial pressures are ever with us.

6. Emotional problems are very real. The believer must learn to live under control while circumstances are seemingly out of control.

7. We must learn stability in crises.

8. Standing alone is part of victorious living.

Robert Murray McCheyne said "What a man is, he is alone on his knees before God, and no more".

9. Opposition from the enemy is to be expected.

10. Prolonged darkness is debilitating.

THE GREATEST CHRISTIAN OF ALL TIME;

Paul, outside Jesus Himself, was the greatest man of God ever on this earth. We all know his life story with his trials, physical sufferings, and strong discipline. At the end of his life he said, II Timothy 4:7-8, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them that love his appearing"