What a blessing.
If you have your Bibles this morning, I want you to turn to
Genesis chapter 18.
Leonard Ravenhill once said, one of these days somebody's going
to pick up this book and read it and believe it and the rest of
us are going to be ashamed of ourselves.
Well, I tell you, when the Word of God's applied, it'll change
lives.
When you apply it to your life, it'll change your life and it'll
also change others through you.
Abraham believed God.
He believed in God's sovereignty and he knew that if God would
move, things would change.
Now the setting is that three men have come to visit Abraham and
Sarah.
They found out that in fact, within a year, they'll have that
child that God had promised them so long ago.
They took care of these three men and we find when we look at this
passage that one of those men, or at least look like a man, was in
fact the pre-incarnate Christ.
He's having an interaction now with heaven itself.
And as that conversation continues, I want you to notice what happens.
It's in Genesis chapter 18, verse 16, it says this.
Then the men set out from there and they looked down towards Sodom and Abraham went with them
to set them on their way.
The Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do?
Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the
earth shall be blessed in him.
For I have chosen him that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the
way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has
promised him.
Then the Lord said, because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is
very grave, I'll go down to see whether they've done all together according to the outcry that
has come to me.
And if not, I will know.
So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom.
But Abraham still stood before the Lord.
Then Abraham drew near and said, will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
Suppose there are 50 righteous within the city.
Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for 50 righteous who are in it?
Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteousness to death with the wicked,
so that the righteous fare as the wicked.
Far be it from you.
Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just?
And the Lord said, if I find at Sodom 50 righteous in the city, I'll spare the whole place for their
sake.
Abraham answered and said, behold, I undertaken to speak to the Lord.
Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.
Suppose five of the 50 righteous are lacking.
Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?
And he said, I will not destroy it if I find 45 there.
Again, he spoke to him and said, suppose 40 are found here, there.
He answered, for the sake of 40, I will not do it.
Then he said, oh, let the Lord not be, let, let not the Lord be angry and I will speak.
Suppose 30 are found there.
And he answered him, I will not do it if I find 30 there.
He said, behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord.
Suppose 20 are found there.
He answered, for the sake of 20, I will not destroy it.
Then he said, oh, let not the Lord be angry and I will speak again for this once.
Suppose 10, 10 righteous people are found there.
He answered, for the sake of 10, I will not destroy it.
And the Lord went his way when he had finished speaking to Abraham and Abraham returned to his place.
It is the responsibility of every Christian to be like Christ.
And one of the ways we can be most like Christ is when we are engaged in doing something that we not only see Christ do again and again in Scripture,
but that we now know that he is doing.
Hebrews chapter 7 verse 25 tells us that Christ, listen to this, lives to make intercession for us.
In other words, we need not worry about the concern that Christ has for us.
So not only do you have a church family that's praying for you when you go through a valley,
but you have the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, interceding for you daily.
Jesus is pleading to God the Father on behalf of the church, on behalf of the world, and on behalf of you
and the concerns that you have in your life.
It is the first, this passage is the first scene of intercession that we see in Scripture.
And it may be one of the best besides John 17 where Christ himself prayed for the church.
There are areas of Abraham's life and his episodes that he faces that are difficult for us to grasp.
Hard to understand that scene of the covenant.
Hard to understand how in the past he's went into a foreign country
and called his half-sister who's his wife just his sister in order to protect himself.
He'll do that again.
And that's hard for us to understand.
There's some things that is hard for us to grasp.
But this is not one of them.
This passage truly connects to anyone
that has pleaded to the Lord on behalf of somebody else.
And don't be mistaken.
God longs to hear the petitions of his people.
The pleading intercessions of his people not only invites him to show up
and thank God to show out in our life,
but it is evidence of our dependence upon him,
which is a relationship that God strives for us to have.
But there's another side to this as well.
God wants us to know what he's up to.
God wants us to get in on what he's doing.
He wants us to see how he works.
And he gets us involved in his work.
I want you to notice in verse 17, it says,
The Lord said,
Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
What you see here is a soliloquy of the Lord
where we get to hear his thoughts.
It's almost as if God is speaking to the camera of sorts
as this plays out before us in Scripture.
He's telling us why he's doing what he's doing with Abraham,
why they're having this conversation.
And he says in the following verses in 18 and 19,
because Abraham will be used greatly
and will lead his family in the ways of the Lord.
I'm going to let Abraham in on what I am doing.
That tells me there's a longing in the heart of God
to tell us his intention.
God wants to tell us his will for us.
And we serve a Lord of love,
and he wants those who serve him faithfully
and those who are committed to live out their faith
before their family,
to know his nature,
to know his work,
and to know his will.
Now, you may be like I am.
You may be like the prophet Amos was,
who is blown away
that God would share his plan with us.
Amos said,
I'm not a prophet nor a prophet's son,
but I'm a herdsman
and a dresser of sycamore trees.
But if the Lord has spoken to me,
I'll do what he tells me to do.
And he says,
in Amos chapter 3 verse 7,
the Lord does nothing
without revealing his secrets to his servants.
Psalm 25 14 tells us
that the secrets and the friendships of the Lord
are shared with those who fear him.
Jesus said in John 15 verse 15,
no longer do I call you servants,
for the servant does not know what his master is doing,
but I call you friends,
for all that I've heard from my father
I have made known to you.
I want you to get this this morning.
Just think that the God that makes this world
and all that is in it
allows us to get in on what he's doing.
That is the God who made a galaxy
that has millions of suns
that are bigger than ours.
If you could travel at the speed of light
at 186,000 miles a second
and you were to travel
for the 6,000 years of recorded history,
you would not be able to get a tenth of the way
across our galaxy.
Yet, that is one of at least 20 galaxies
in such arc,
in just our corner of the universe.
Yet, the God who made it all
wants us to know his intentions.
He wants to interact with us.
And when God lets Abraham know
that Sodom will be destroyed
if 50 righteous people are not found,
Abraham begins to boldly approach
the throne of grace.
And I want you to notice two matters
concerning the cares of this world.
One is,
God listens
to the cry of the world.
It says there,
I will go down
and see if it's really
that bad.
Now that is what's called
anthropomorphic talk.
Okay?
And what that means is
that's the way we would talk
about something.
We'd have to see it
with our own eyes.
But God speaks like this
so that we can understand him
and understand that God surveys
what's happening in the world.
He's speaking to Abraham
who does not understand
the omnipresence of God,
who that's not been revealed to him
in the way that we see
in scripture today.
Meaning that God can be all places
at all times.
And the message is simply this.
When we bring our concerns to him,
God is on it.
Actually,
he's already there
before we bring our concerns.
He's already involved.
And if we're praying
in his will
and with his nature,
he is the one
that planted that prayer
within our hearts.
If we're praying
in his will
and in his way,
he's the one
that plants that heart,
that prayer
within our heart.
He is the one
that leads us
to bring it before him.
God wanted evidence
that it's not too late
for the mercy of God
to change this city.
And this God-man,
because I believe
that it's God
in human form
as in the pre-incarnate Christ,
he says,
I can hear the cries.
He said,
I hear the outcry
of the city.
Now, I want you to know
from where they were standing
to where that city was,
70 miles.
You and I cannot hear
the happenings of Sodom
from the Oaks of Mamre.
It's too far.
It's an hour's drive away.
But God hears
the inanimate
and the inarticulate things
of the world
crying out.
When Cain killed Abel,
God told him,
the voice of your brother
is crying out to me
from the ground.
Genesis 4, verse 10.
In James 5, verse 4,
it tells us that God
hears the wages
of the workers
that have been
fraudulently held back
by the rich.
The world cries out.
We don't hear that.
God hears that.
God hears the cry
of the aborted baby.
God hears the cry
of the secretly abused child.
God hears the midnight cries
of the abandoned wife,
of the raped student,
of the unjust wage.
God hears the cries
of the sinful desires
of our heart.
God hears
all of that.
And we know
little to nothing
about it.
The cries
of this fallen world
reach the ears
of the God
of the universe.
And God sees it
and he knows it.
Not only what
we're concerned about,
but things that
we're not concerned about.
He knows about things
that we ought to be
concerned about,
that we know
nothing about.
That's not all
he hears though.
Not only does he hear
the cries of the world,
but God hears the cries
of the intercessor.
I want you to notice
the way that Abraham
prays here.
One concession
after another
that God is willing
to hear and to honor
because one man
pleads with the Lord
in prayer.
Abraham just
overrated the spiritual
state of Sodom.
He just thought
at least there's
ten there
when in reality
we'll find
in the coming days
that there was not
ten there.
He had overrated
the spiritual
state of Sodom.
Let me tell you church,
I believe we've
overrated the spiritual
state of pickings.
Oh, we know of some
that may not know
the Lord,
but then there's
some others
who we just think
are faithful church
attenders,
but good people,
or excuse me,
we just think are not
faithful church
attenders,
but they're good people.
Are there so many
others that we think
are fine because
they do attend church
when God knows
they're lost?
One of the greatest
burdens I have
as a pastor,
and something that
haunts me,
is what if
somebody faithfully
comes week after
weeks,
hears the gospel
preached,
and never responds
to obedience
to follow Christ?
that's why every
time we come in
this room,
I want us to be
clear what the
gospel is,
the hope that we
have in Christ,
and to give the
opportunity for one
to respond,
because the God
of the harvest
is seeking workers
to labor in the
fields,
yes,
and in the fields
of intercession,
and in the fields
of witness,
that God chooses
to use to change
our very community.
we don't hear
those cries,
but God does.
We don't know
all the lost folks,
the folks without
Christ,
but God does,
and God seeks
to involve us
in his plan.
if we are to pray,
and we are,
it's good to know
how to do it,
and so let's
notice the
faithfulness of
Abraham's prayer,
and the nature
of it.
For one,
it was a proper
plea.
It's a proper plea.
He pleads with God
on the basis of
God's nature,
and God's character,
and God's glory.
Abraham says,
it would be
profane,
inappropriate
for you to do
this
to these people.
This reminds me
of Moses
pleading for the
idol makers
at Mount Sinai.
I want to remind you,
Moses went up
on the Mount
of Mount Sinai
to get the law
from the Lord.
We know him
as the Ten Commandments.
It was much more
given to him there.
We see that in the
book of Exodus,
and we see that in
the book of Leviticus.
We see it in the
book of Deuteronomy.
That's what God
revealed to him
on Mount Sinai,
but it took a long time.
He was up there
before the Lord,
and it took a long time.
He was gone a long time,
and the people
at the bottom of the
mount were idle
for too long.
They waited too long
on Moses to come down
with the word
from the Lord
that would be the law,
and so they made
an idol,
and God told Moses
while Moses was
on top of that mountain,
God told Moses
what was happening
at the base
of that mountain,
and Moses prayerfully
interceded for them.
However,
when Moses went down
and saw the chaos,
he got angry,
and he confronted him.
He then went back
up the mountain,
and he began
to pray again,
and I want you
to listen to his prayer.
It's in Exodus 32
and 32,
and he said this,
but now
if you will forgive
their sin,
but if not,
please blot me
out of your book
that you've written.
If you won't forgive them,
let me pay for their sin.
blot me out.
What a prayer.
He leveraged
his own relationship
with God
for their renewed
relationship with God.
Can I ask you something?
Because I have pondered
on this all week long.
Can't get it off
my mind.
Who are you willing
to go to hell for?
Who are you willing
to go to hell for?
Who is it
that you want to see
saved by the blood
of the Lamb
so much
that you'd be willing
to go to hell for them?
Now,
I am thankful
that you don't have to,
but I want you
to hear
the pleas
of Moses' heart.
oh dear God,
I'll lay everything
that I am down
for all of eternity
for you to change
these people,
for you to forgive
their sins,
pray that God
will stir hearts
and allow them
to open,
that he'll work
and open a door
and let folks
be able to witness
what it means
to give their heart
and life
to the Lord
Jesus Christ.
He leverages
his own relationship
with God
for their renewed
relationship with God.
And you know,
I couldn't help but think,
sometimes we don't even
want to leverage
our friendship with them
to ask them
about their salvation.
We don't want
to even leverage
the little tension
at the workplace
because we don't want
to ask them
an uncomfortable question.
We're concerned
about their salvation
but only to the
comfortable point.
But Moses laid
it all out there.
Blot me out,
Lord,
in the book of promises
that you've given me
for all of life
and for eternity.
Blot me out
if you'll forgive
them.
That,
that's intercession.
Abraham's prayer
reminds me of Joshua
pleading after
the unexpected loss
of Ai.
They weren't supposed
to lose to Ai.
Ai was small.
They only took
some of their forces
but there was sin
in the camp
and because there was
sin in the camp
they lost that battle.
And afterwards,
Joshua tore his clothes,
he fell on the ground
and he asked God
why did you bring us
this far to watch us fall?
We should have stayed
in the desert.
None of them
pleaded
on the basis
of the character
of the ones
that they prayed for.
When they prayed,
they didn't pray
on the basis
of who they were
praying for.
they didn't pray
on the nature
and the character
of their own lives.
They waged
their prayer
on the basis
of the nature
and the character
and the glory
of God.
Their example
begs for us
to ask the question,
what is the basis
of our pleads
to God?
because a proper
place,
a proper plea,
excuse me,
puts God
in his proper place
in our hearts
and lives.
And we understand
why we ask
what we ask.
It was a proper plea.
It was also
a humble plea.
He is a
100-year-old man
who has talked
to God
a long time
and Abraham
says,
I who am
but dust
and ashes.
He's saying,
I'm not worthy.
And in verse 30,
he says,
please don't be angry
if I ask you again.
You know what
you don't see here?
You don't see
some brassy
name it,
claim it
type of prayer
that if you'll
just name it,
you can command
what you want
God to do
and God will do it.
There's a Greek
word for that.
It's baloney.
That ain't the way
we pray, folks.
That ain't the heart
in which we come
into prayer.
We're not in control.
We can't order
heaven around
and tell him
what we want.
No,
a proper plea
acknowledges
who he is.
A humble plea
is what's right.
But not only that,
but a persistent plea.
And I want you to get this
and I'll close.
Abraham just kept on coming.
He didn't back off.
He was praying
for a city
that he don't even like.
Lot.
Lot went down there.
He don't even like them.
He only has one relative
and that's Lot.
And they have a constrained
relationship at best.
They had to split up
because they couldn't get along.
But yet he pleased
with persistence.
And this passage
does not take us long
to read.
Seems pretty quick.
But I'll tell you
the agony of the prayer
wasn't near that quick.
Because Abraham
persisted on.
Notice the Lord
did not leave Abraham
as he interceded.
It says Abraham
still stood before the Lord
in verse 22.
God didn't go anywhere.
God listened to his prayer.
The angels went down
to Sodom
but God heard the cry
of Abraham.
And do you notice
how he prayed?
He said pray.
God,
what if there's not 50?
What if there's only 45?
It sounds like an auction.
It's like I buy something
on Marketplace, you know.
What about 40?
What about 30?
What about 20?
What about 10?
And then he stopped.
Why did he stop at 10?
Did he stop too soon?
God's mercy on this earth
may be for the sake
of his own people.
Because the field of the Lord
is made up of wheat
who are real believers
and they're made up of tares
people who look real
but they're not.
That look like they're of God
but they're not.
But God does not pull up the tares
because he does not want
to uproot the wheat.
It happens again and again.
God protects others
because of his faithful followers.
Laban told Jacob
in Genesis 30 verse 27
that he knew
he had been blessed.
Why?
Because of Jacob.
He knew that.
When Joseph went to Potiphar's house
was falsely accused
and all those things
but when he was a servant
in Potiphar's house
running Potiphar's house
Potiphar's house
was saved
because Joseph was there.
Paul was on a ship
and they got in a storm
and it began to break up.
They weren't going to make it
and that ship
that was wrecked
with Paul on it
in Acts chapter 27
made it finally to shore
and all were saved
because of the apostle Paul
being on that ship.
In Jeremiah chapter 5
when God pronounced
his judgment on Judah
he states that
he will not bring
a full end to them
because of the righteous
among them.
God
listen to me
God spares a city
for his people.
God spares a nation
for his people.
Sodom did not appreciate that.
They thought they could
save themselves
and they couldn't.
They couldn't.
It's the prayers
of interceding Christians
that help us
to be the salt
that flavors
and preserves
our society
as Christ told us to.
Let me tell you something.
If you're living
for the Lord
one of the reasons
why you're able
to live for the Lord
today
is because
there's been prayers
that have been mentioned
for you
from people
who are already
in glory today
a long time ago
and God's still
working off those prayers.
prayers.
It is the prayers
of interceding Christians
that help us
to shine like beacons
of light
in a dark world.
You don't think
those old time
preachers
that told me
when I went into ministry
man I'm glad
I'm not going in
the day you're going in
I'm glad I'm getting out
and I said
well thank you
for the encouragement
I appreciate that.
You don't think
we ride on the back
of those guys prayers?
They're already in glory
but they done prayed
for the coming generation
for God to do
the work in us.
Let me ask you something.
If the coming generation
is based upon
the prayers
of this generation
what's their status?
In the convoluted world
in which we live today
the confusing
ever changing world
in which we live today
how can our prayers
affect that?
I think scripture points
again and again
to it can powerfully
affect that
and I believe
it comes
no other way
to my understanding
this is the first
example of intercession
praying on somebody else's
behalf in scripture
and I believe
it's one of the best
examples
because it tells us
that God
hears and heeds
the pleading prayer
of his people.
My question is
does he hear ours?
Does he hear mine?
Does he hear yours?
he won't
unless you pray
him
but if we're godly
and if we're faithful
to pray
and to lift it
before the Lord
he will hear our prayer
and he will answer
may we never
be satisfied
with less
with every head
bowed
and every eye
closed
I've not been here long
just a few days
over a year
and yet I know
already
I knew when I came in
but I even know
personally now
about so many
that I know
there's a pain
on every pew
in this building
some of them I know
about some of them
I don't
but I know
there's folks
that got stuff
on their hearts
and minds
weighing on them
struggling with it
and I get that
because when I know
about it
I pray along
right there with you
and I ask you
to do the same
for me
in the indecisiveness
and the clear direction
that I want so bad
for those I love
I ask you today
are you taking those
matters before the Lord
are you entrusting them
to him
sometimes we take
our agenda to God
and ask God to
do what we want him
to do
and then there's times
when we just go
and say God
based on who you are
I entrust this matter
to you
I ask for you
to move in this way
but I entrust this matter
to you
God will you work
and move as only you can
I want you to know
if you're here today
and you've never accepted
the Lord Jesus Christ
as your personal Lord
and Savior
or you're unclear
about that matter
you've already been
prayed for
maybe not by name
but you've already
been prayed for
because I pray
that God would work
and move in your life
today
and that you would
come to a point
in your life
where you know
for certain
you have eternal life
and you'll go to heaven
when you die
and if you want
any clarity of that
and want to understand
that even any better
I encourage you
we're going to stand
and we're going to sing
in just a moment
you obey God
and do exactly
what he tells you to do
you just come down
and say preacher
I need some guidance
with where I am in life
let's spend a few moments
talking about that
together afterwards
maybe you're here
and you do know that
but there's things
in your life
that are not pleasing
to the Lord
and you need to settle
those matters
not only do you need
to pray for other people
you need to pray for yourself
and you need to get
those things right
before God
because they hinder
your prayers
for other people
as well
and then I know
I know that in a room
this size
with this many people
there are a lot of
burdens in this room
today
stuff that you've
worried about
stuff that maybe
you prayed about
stuff that you need
to give over
to the Lord Jesus
and it's been my prayer
that today
we just hand things
over to the Lord
you can do that
where you are
you can do it
at this altar
you can do it
any way God
tells you to do it
but don't ever do
less than what God
tells you to do
and I'll never ask you
to do more than
what God tells you to do
just be obedient today
maybe God's drawing you
to be a part
of this fellowship
you know that God's
leading you to be a part
I encourage you to come
we'd love to guide you
in that process
and what that means
Lord Jesus I love you
and I thank you
for the love
that you have for us
guide us right now
to simply be obedient
to follow you
as you lead us
right now
oh God I pray
in Jesus precious name
amen
stand together