WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.400 and let's read together. 00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:06.459 From the book of Genesis chapter 18 verses 16 to 33. 00:00:07.459 --> 00:00:10.620 So this is God's word, Genesis 18. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:13.759 Then the men set out from there, 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:15.960 that's the Lord and two angels, 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:18.400 the angels, the men is referencing the men here. 00:00:18.400 --> 00:00:19.800 The men set out from there 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:22.519 and they looked down towards Sodom 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:25.760 and Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:28.039 And the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:30.079 what I am about to do, 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:32.439 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great 00:00:32.439 --> 00:00:35.200 and mighty nation and all the nations of the earth 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:36.879 shall be blessed in him. 00:00:36.879 --> 00:00:39.840 For I have chosen him that he may command his children 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:42.600 and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:44.480 by doing righteousness and justice 00:00:44.480 --> 00:00:46.879 so that the Lord may bring to Abraham 00:00:46.879 --> 00:00:48.719 what he has promised him. 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:51.439 Then the Lord said, because the outcry 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:54.159 against Sodom and Gomorrah is great 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:56.399 and their son is very grave, 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:00.159 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:02.960 according to the outcry that has come to me 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:05.239 and if not, I will know. 00:01:05.239 --> 00:01:07.920 So the men turned from there and they went towards Sodom 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:11.640 but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:13.840 Then Abraham drew near and said, 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:17.439 will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:20.400 Suppose there are 50 righteous within the city, 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:22.280 will you then sweep away the place 00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:26.359 and not spare it for the 50 righteous who are in it? 00:01:26.359 --> 00:01:28.280 Far be it from you to do such a thing, 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:31.400 to put the righteous to death with the wicked 00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:34.439 so that the righteous fare as the wicked. 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:36.120 Far be it from you. 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:39.079 Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just? 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:41.680 And the Lord said, if I find it Sodom, 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:43.799 50 righteous in the city, 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:47.159 I will spare the whole place for their sake. 00:01:47.159 --> 00:01:48.200 And Abraham answered and said, 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:51.640 behold, I've undertaken to speak to the Lord, 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:54.480 I who am but dust and ashes. 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:58.820 Suppose five of the 50 righteous are lacking, 00:01:58.820 --> 00:02:02.120 will you destroy the whole city for the lack of five? 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:06.320 And he said, I will not destroy it if I find 45 there. 00:02:06.320 --> 00:02:07.800 Again, he spoke to him and said, 00:02:07.800 --> 00:02:10.120 suppose 40 are found there. 00:02:10.120 --> 00:02:14.039 He answered, for the sake of 40, I will not do it. 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:16.319 Then he said, oh, let not the Lord be angry 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:19.080 and I will speak, suppose 30 are found there. 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:22.400 And he answered, I will not do it if I find 30 there. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:24.080 And he said, behold, I've undertaken to speak 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:27.120 to the Lord, suppose 20 are found there. 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:31.000 He answered, for the sake of 20, I will not destroy it. 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:33.439 Then he said, oh, let not the Lord be angry 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:36.200 and I will speak again, but this once, 00:02:36.200 --> 00:02:39.080 suppose 10 are found there. 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:43.960 He answered, for the sake of 10, I will not destroy it. 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:46.160 And the Lord went his way 00:02:46.160 --> 00:02:47.680 when he had finished speaking to Abraham 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:49.860 and Abraham returned to his place. 00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:51.540 This is God's holy word. 00:02:51.539 --> 00:02:55.280 Next week we're gonna start a series 00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:57.120 for the month of February and March 00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:01.319 on the gospel according to Elijah and Elisha at night. 00:03:01.319 --> 00:03:02.539 So that'll be a team series. 00:03:02.539 --> 00:03:04.159 A few of us will be preaching that. 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:06.180 So we'll be looking at stories of Elijah and Elisha, 00:03:06.180 --> 00:03:07.719 some of the great stories 00:03:07.719 --> 00:03:10.919 and how the gospel appears in those stories. 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:12.560 But tonight, before we start that, 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:16.939 I had taught on a couple stories about Abram and Lot 00:03:16.939 --> 00:03:19.000 before the induction week. 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:21.000 So we'll come back and we'll just make it 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:22.120 into a little mini series, 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:24.719 a third sermon here on Abram and Lot. 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:26.400 And that's what this is about. 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:28.240 This is in some ways chapter 18 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:31.219 is the conclusion of the Abraham Lot story. 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:35.560 And it works out well because we have a week to fill, 00:03:35.560 --> 00:03:37.800 but also it works out well 00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:41.159 because this is ultimately a passage about prayer. 00:03:41.159 --> 00:03:43.879 And there's lots here. 00:03:43.879 --> 00:03:45.879 We could talk about it from many different angles, 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:48.439 but I wanna focus on prayer, specifically on prayer 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:50.319 and how it relates to prayer tonight. 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:53.159 Prevailing prayer will be one of the things 00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:55.639 that we'll talk about more and more in this coming year. 00:03:55.639 --> 00:03:58.759 And this is a time of change, as you all well know, 00:03:58.759 --> 00:04:00.479 it's a time of transition, 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:03.239 it's a time of grief and expectation, 00:04:03.239 --> 00:04:04.840 both at the same time. 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:07.240 It's never been a better time to pray. 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:08.959 So it's great to take a moment tonight 00:04:08.959 --> 00:04:10.359 just to think about prayer. 00:04:10.359 --> 00:04:13.759 And it's a great time, 2024, we're in a new year, 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:15.919 but we're also in a time of change in our church. 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:18.279 And so it's also a great time maybe personally 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:23.279 for us to say, I want this year to reject prayerlessness 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:27.399 and say no, just say no to prayerlessness, 00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:28.879 to put it away and say, 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:31.959 I want to be a person of prayer in the coming year. 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:35.919 And we read about a way to come to that tonight 00:04:35.919 --> 00:04:39.639 in Genesis 18, it's a time where we really need, 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:42.000 not only personally, but corporately prayer, 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:44.519 because we need to be asking God to protect us 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:46.519 and protect the church, protect its unity, 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:47.879 protect its deep relationships, 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:49.719 protect its hospitality culture, 00:04:49.719 --> 00:04:51.879 protect all the great things we've had for so long. 00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:53.719 We want protection in that. 00:04:53.719 --> 00:04:56.759 And prayer is how God loves to give that 00:04:56.759 --> 00:04:59.240 through the lens of prayer, through our prayers. 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:00.560 And so that's what we have here. 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:04.839 I'm really indebted tonight to Tim Keller's reflections 00:05:04.839 --> 00:05:06.839 on prayer in his book about this passage 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:09.680 as we focus specifically on what it means for prayer. 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:13.920 So let's see three aspects of prayer here. 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:18.120 One condition, one foundation for prayer that we see here. 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:21.199 And then a few things about the nature of prayer 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:23.120 that will help us I think renew our prayer lives. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:27.280 And then lastly, the missing link in Abraham's prayer, 00:05:27.280 --> 00:05:29.200 the missing link, there is one. 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:34.240 So first, the condition of prayer we read about here. 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:36.720 So what is prayer? 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:38.800 I was looking this week at some of the different authors 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:41.680 that write about prayer and they, one says, 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:45.639 prayer is the outstretched arms of a child 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:48.720 for their fathers, crying out for their father's help. 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:51.840 Prayer, another author says is the approach of the soul 00:05:51.840 --> 00:05:54.800 to the throne room of the king of kings. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:57.960 Another author says, prayer is talking to God. 00:05:57.960 --> 00:05:59.480 There's lots of ways you can define prayer. 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:01.759 Lots of different ways to talk about it. 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:03.639 And actually when you look at statistics on prayer, 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:05.439 I mentioned this this past Wednesday, 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:07.600 lots of people in the modern world pray. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:09.879 People in our city pray. 00:06:09.879 --> 00:06:12.920 Secular people pray, people who don't believe in God. 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:14.959 They say they say in surveys, 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:17.879 you know, sometimes I find myself praying. 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:20.839 People are drawn to lift up and cry out 00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:23.639 to the invisible realm, to the God that they can't see, 00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:25.319 to long and look for help. 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:28.879 Now God in the Bible, the God of the Bible, 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:31.920 the God who does hear prayer and receives our prayers 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:35.319 calls us into something deeper and more regular 00:06:35.319 --> 00:06:37.480 when it comes to prayer and calls us, I think, 00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:39.920 to hear through this story about Abraham, 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:44.200 to really see first the condition of the possibility 00:06:44.200 --> 00:06:45.200 of our prayer lives. 00:06:45.200 --> 00:06:48.200 And so you see what happens here. 00:06:49.400 --> 00:06:51.680 In verse 17, the Lord says, 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:54.120 shall I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do? 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:57.160 I'm about to go down and I'm about to destroy 00:06:57.160 --> 00:06:58.800 Sodom and Gomorrah. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:06:59.879 It's a very wicked place. 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:02.280 If you read on the rest of chapter 18, 00:07:02.280 --> 00:07:05.560 you will see all the things that were happening there. 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:06.920 God says, I'm gonna go down and destroy it. 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:10.240 Shall I hide that from Abraham or include him? 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:12.319 Now just before this story, 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:14.960 three men had come to Abraham's door. 00:07:15.840 --> 00:07:18.439 And then we're told in the text that two of them 00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:20.879 were angels, but they appeared as men. 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:23.560 And the one in the middle was the Lord. 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:25.400 And so the Lord drew near to Abraham 00:07:25.400 --> 00:07:27.200 and came to Abraham with two angels. 00:07:27.200 --> 00:07:30.800 And then Abraham cooked a meal for God 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:32.639 and he laid bread down. 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:35.639 God had condescended and shown up in his life. 00:07:35.639 --> 00:07:37.599 And it's just very simple, very simple. 00:07:37.599 --> 00:07:39.719 But in both these stories, 00:07:39.719 --> 00:07:42.560 we see that the condition for the possibility of prayer 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:44.759 is first that God draws near to you. 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:48.800 That God comes to you, that God shows up at your door, 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:50.360 that God speaks first, 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:52.039 that God's the one who comes into your life, 00:07:52.039 --> 00:07:54.879 that God's the one who comes and knocks on your door. 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:56.560 And then you turn around and say, 00:07:56.560 --> 00:07:58.199 I want to show you hospitality, Lord, 00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:00.360 I want to now draw near to you, 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:01.560 because you've drawn near to me, 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:02.599 because you've condescended, 00:08:02.599 --> 00:08:04.360 because you've come close to me. 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:07.040 See, that's the condition that we read about 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:08.120 in both of these stories. 00:08:08.120 --> 00:08:10.759 Here, God says to two angels, 00:08:10.759 --> 00:08:13.040 shall I hide from Abraham 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:14.680 what I'm about to do in Sodom and Gomorrah? 00:08:14.680 --> 00:08:16.319 Now, when you say something like that, 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:17.879 it's rhetorical, right? 00:08:17.879 --> 00:08:20.920 You know, you say, shall I keep this from you? 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:22.680 And of course, immediately you say that 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:24.080 because the answer is no, 00:08:24.080 --> 00:08:25.360 I'm not gonna keep it from you. 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:26.800 I'm going to tell you, 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:28.080 shall I keep this from Abraham? 00:08:28.080 --> 00:08:29.680 He's saying, I shall not. 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:31.319 I'm not gonna keep it from Abraham. 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:32.159 Why? 00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:34.879 And he says, because I've chosen him, 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:36.959 because I've drawn near to him. 00:08:36.959 --> 00:08:37.799 And did you see what he's saying? 00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:41.199 He's saying, I will speak to Abraham about this 00:08:41.199 --> 00:08:43.719 and then listen to Abraham, 00:08:43.719 --> 00:08:47.759 because I want to include Abraham in a conversation 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:49.759 about what I'm about to do. 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:52.639 You see, you know, God knows what God's about to do. 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:54.319 And this text is presented 00:08:54.319 --> 00:08:57.120 that theologians tell us anthropomorphically, 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:01.279 which means in a form that we humans can understand, 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:04.839 God says, I shall go down and look at Sodom and Gomorrah 00:09:04.839 --> 00:09:07.039 to see if it really is as bad as people say. 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:08.360 That's how the text is written. 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:10.240 But of course, God knows how bad it is. 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:11.879 It's not that he doesn't know, he knows. 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:15.439 It's the way the text is written for us to receive. 00:09:15.439 --> 00:09:16.839 God knows what he's gonna do. 00:09:16.839 --> 00:09:18.039 God knows his plan. 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:21.959 100% God has determined all things from the beginning, 00:09:21.959 --> 00:09:25.159 yet he says, I want to tell Abraham 00:09:25.159 --> 00:09:30.159 so that Abraham comes and barters with me. 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:33.480 So that Abraham will cry out to me in prayer and said, 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:37.240 wait, Lord, will you think about sparing this place? 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:39.319 God knew that Abraham was gonna do that. 00:09:39.319 --> 00:09:40.279 You see what it's saying? 00:09:40.279 --> 00:09:42.839 It's saying that the condition of prayer 00:09:42.839 --> 00:09:45.039 is that God comes into your life 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:47.679 and he comes close to you and then he says, 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:49.600 I want to hear from you. 00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:51.279 I want to include you. 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:54.839 I want your prayers to really matter. 00:09:54.839 --> 00:09:56.620 See, God knows all things from the beginning. 00:09:56.620 --> 00:09:58.679 He's determined all things yet he says, 00:09:58.679 --> 00:10:02.639 and 100%, I want your prayer life 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:05.079 to actually matter in what I do. 00:10:05.079 --> 00:10:05.919 That's what he's saying. 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:06.759 It's both. 00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:08.239 You never have to choose. 00:10:08.239 --> 00:10:11.039 We're Presbyterians, we're Reformed here at St. C's. 00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:14.399 We believe in the sovereignty of God 100%. 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:16.199 He's determined all things. 00:10:16.199 --> 00:10:20.199 And 100%, the Bible says, your prayer life matters. 00:10:20.199 --> 00:10:22.879 That God wants you to come close and draw near 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:24.199 because he's drawn near to you. 00:10:24.199 --> 00:10:26.519 And he wants to include you in the conversation. 00:10:26.519 --> 00:10:29.439 And he wants you to talk to him like Abraham 00:10:29.439 --> 00:10:30.879 talks to him right here. 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:32.000 That's the condition of prayer. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:34.919 God is drawn near and then in verse 22 we learn, 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:37.399 so Abraham stood still before the Lord 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:38.720 and drew near to the Lord. 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:40.600 The condition. 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:43.519 Now secondly, a few things about the nature of prayer. 00:10:44.759 --> 00:10:47.840 What happens when Abraham prays here to God? 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:50.279 It says that he draws near to God 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:52.720 and then he starts to talk to the Lord. 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:54.559 Who's right there with him. 00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:58.000 Now I just wanna point out four things very briefly 00:10:58.000 --> 00:10:59.679 that Abraham does in this prayer 00:10:59.679 --> 00:11:03.159 that I think can change our prayer lives. 00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:06.319 Can really transform our prayer life tonight. 00:11:06.319 --> 00:11:07.559 The first is this. 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:11.239 He says, Lord, will you indeed sweep away 00:11:11.239 --> 00:11:13.519 the righteous with the wicked? 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:16.639 And he says later on, far be it from you, 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:19.039 shall not the judge of the earth do what is just? 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:23.359 Would you really Lord, sweep away this whole city 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:24.600 if there are righteous people there, 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:25.840 50 righteous people there. 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:27.639 Now you see what Abraham's doing. 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:29.960 He's coming to God and saying, 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:31.639 I know that you're saying you're going to go 00:11:31.639 --> 00:11:34.720 and destroy this place, but you're the God of justice 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:37.759 and I'm calling upon the God of justice to be just. 00:11:38.680 --> 00:11:42.279 He's saying something very bold to God. 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:43.960 He's, in some sense it almost seems like 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:47.039 he's bartering with God and he's crying out to God 00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:50.039 and he's asking for something enormous. 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:52.720 He's saying, God, I know that you plan to destroy 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:55.759 the wickedness of this city, but will you hear me? 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:57.840 Will you spare them? 00:11:57.840 --> 00:11:59.680 His prayers is huge. 00:11:59.680 --> 00:12:01.279 It's bold. 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:04.279 He prays for mercy upon this wicked city, 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:06.080 Sodom and Gomorrah. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:08.759 And it's just simply to see the first 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:12.680 that Abraham prays big, big prayers, 00:12:12.680 --> 00:12:14.240 enormous prayers. 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:15.519 He prays prayers where he says, 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:18.000 Lord, will you save this entire city? 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:21.480 He calls upon God's character and says, 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:23.039 will you spare this place? 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:24.279 He prays boldly. 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:29.279 Now, just a question, do you pray big prayers? 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:33.440 Do you have in your prayer life a routine 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:35.680 of asking God for huge things? 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:42.080 Of saying, Lord, will you bring a revival to our city? 00:12:43.680 --> 00:12:44.720 Will you spare our city? 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:47.039 Will you turn our city upside down? 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:49.159 Will you change my workplace? 00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:51.719 Will you sweep through it by the Spirit with the gospel? 00:12:51.719 --> 00:12:55.039 Will you change my entire flat complex? 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:57.639 Will you come in and will you do enormous things 00:12:57.639 --> 00:12:59.600 that no one could believe? 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:00.799 That's exactly what Abraham does here. 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:01.879 He prays huge prayers. 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:03.519 Do you pray big prayers? 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:06.639 Do you ask for great things before God? 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:10.279 The second thing is he says at the same time, 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:11.480 multiple times he says, 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:14.759 behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:17.240 And that is his saying, look, 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:19.639 I'm praying these huge prayers to you, God, 00:13:19.639 --> 00:13:21.480 and really asking for something here, 00:13:21.480 --> 00:13:25.759 but I know that I've undertaken to speak to the Lord. 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:29.279 And then he adds, I am but dust and ashes. 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:34.159 You see that beautiful marriage in his prayer life. 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:39.159 He's incredibly bold, and yet he comes deeply reverent. 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:43.680 Incredibly bold, yet enormously humble before the Lord. 00:13:43.680 --> 00:13:46.759 He says, I know I've undertaken every single time 00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:50.759 to ask you for more and more and more. 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:53.919 And I'm dust and ashes, I know that Lord. 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:55.360 He's afraid. 00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:57.000 He has the fear of the Lord. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:00.559 So he comes in boldness standing on the foundation 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:03.000 that God has drawn near to him. 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:05.080 But at the same time, he's fearful. 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:06.879 He's got the fear of the Lord in him. 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:11.439 He's, I would dare say, he's more bold in his prayer life 00:14:11.439 --> 00:14:14.559 than we often are, and he's more reverent 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:16.519 at the same time than we often are. 00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:17.759 He does both at the same time. 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:22.319 There's no high language here, not at all. 00:14:22.319 --> 00:14:23.559 It's pretty colloquial. 00:14:23.559 --> 00:14:25.199 It's on the ground type language. 00:14:25.199 --> 00:14:28.480 It's big, but normal speech to God. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:31.279 Yet at the same time, it's deeply reverent, deeply humble. 00:14:32.519 --> 00:14:36.159 Are your prayers bold and big and enormous? 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:39.199 And are they simultaneously deeply humble, reverent, 00:14:39.199 --> 00:14:42.319 stepping in in your prayer life before the throne room of God 00:14:42.319 --> 00:14:45.039 and knowing exactly the one that you're standing in front of. 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:47.519 Knowing who you're with. 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:48.719 Third, afford. 00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:52.719 What exactly is the bold prayer that he prays? 00:14:52.719 --> 00:14:53.559 And here it is. 00:14:53.559 --> 00:14:56.959 He says, God, will you spare Sodom and Gomorrah 00:14:56.959 --> 00:14:59.279 for the sake of the righteous? 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:02.759 Now, if you read on, if you read back 00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:04.480 and you read forward in Genesis, 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:07.559 you find out what the city of Sodom and Gomorrah was like. 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:10.480 Just read the very next story later on. 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:15.480 It was a place completely broken, completely lost, 00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:19.399 very wicked, a place that was an enemy of Abraham. 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:24.399 Why does Abraham ask God to spare the city? 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:29.720 Well, his nephew was there, lot. 00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:31.720 Maybe that's why. 00:15:32.680 --> 00:15:34.320 You know, he at least in part thought, 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:37.440 my nephew's there, I want God to spare this place. 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:40.159 But I think that it's more than that 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:44.719 because he says, he doesn't say, Lord, 00:15:44.719 --> 00:15:48.000 will you take Lot out? 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:49.639 Which is what God is gonna do. 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:51.639 Now, he says something much bigger. 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:55.839 He says, will you show mercy to the entirety of the people? 00:15:55.839 --> 00:15:56.879 The whole city. 00:15:56.879 --> 00:15:58.600 You know, to Abraham, these are the people, 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:00.839 Sodom and Gomorrah, that are what's wrong 00:16:00.839 --> 00:16:02.799 with his modern society. 00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:04.240 You know, if he was alive today, 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:07.600 he said, is those people that ruin our contemporary society? 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:09.879 That's what he would have said about Sodom and Gomorrah. 00:16:09.879 --> 00:16:13.039 And yet he says, for these evil people, 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:17.480 Lord, spare them in your mercy, show them mercy. 00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:20.600 For the sake of the righteous, show every one of them mercy. 00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:23.519 Maybe, maybe he says that 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:28.679 because he knows how much mercy he's been shown. 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:31.759 I think that's what it is. 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:34.600 Abraham came from Babylon. 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:37.039 He was a polytheist at one time. 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:39.000 Who knows what his stories are like? 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:40.000 But we know some of them. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:42.559 One of them, remember, we looked at the previous two times 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:46.639 that he went to Egypt and he gave his wife away 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:50.600 to be enslaved by Pharaoh to save his own skin. 00:16:51.799 --> 00:16:53.240 He did it once, and you know what? 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:55.519 In the next chapter, he's gonna do it again. 00:16:56.679 --> 00:16:59.480 And I think Abraham prayed this prayer, 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:03.440 show mercy to evil people because he thought, 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:06.839 God showed mercy to an evil man, me. 00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:08.799 He knew he was, he knew. 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:11.159 What was deep within himself, he prayed this prayer. 00:17:11.159 --> 00:17:12.839 He was able to stand in their place 00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:14.759 because he knew that he was one of them. 00:17:17.319 --> 00:17:19.720 Can you pray, do you pray? 00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:21.799 Can you pray for those people? 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:24.519 You know, who is it that you think, 00:17:24.519 --> 00:17:26.519 these are the people I really struggle with? 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:30.079 This is the group, this is the space in our society. 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:31.480 But do you pray for them? 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:33.279 Do you long that God would show them 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:35.039 his grace and mercy and compassion? 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:38.079 We pray bold, we pray reverent, we pray for mercy, 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:41.000 for people, no matter who they are. 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:42.759 That's what we learn here from Abraham. 00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:44.039 And then fourth and finally, 00:17:46.159 --> 00:17:48.819 and this is what really leads us to the final point. 00:17:48.819 --> 00:17:51.720 Just notice the depth of theological reflection 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:54.039 in this prayer, that's the final thing. 00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:56.639 Tim Keller points this out very helpfully. 00:17:56.639 --> 00:17:57.519 He says, 00:17:59.720 --> 00:18:04.000 Abram is doing theology and awakening, I think, 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:06.539 to things about God as he prays this. 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:09.099 And so notice, he says, verse 25, 00:18:09.099 --> 00:18:13.180 the God of all the earth is judge and he will do right. 00:18:13.180 --> 00:18:16.539 First he says, okay, Lord, he's talking to God 00:18:16.539 --> 00:18:19.420 and he says, you are a God of justice. 00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:24.139 I know that and I know that you can't just wish away, 00:18:24.139 --> 00:18:26.740 you're not just gonna wish away evil. 00:18:26.740 --> 00:18:28.180 You're not gonna forgive willy nilly 00:18:28.180 --> 00:18:30.079 as if nothing's ever been done wrong. 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:32.659 You're a God of justice, you stand for justice. 00:18:32.659 --> 00:18:36.500 He appeals to that, he talks to the God of justice. 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:38.500 This is not the God of modernism 00:18:38.500 --> 00:18:40.059 that Abraham prays to. 00:18:40.059 --> 00:18:42.140 This is not, he's not praying to the God 00:18:42.140 --> 00:18:45.619 who is just love in such a way 00:18:45.619 --> 00:18:47.059 that everyone can just do what they want 00:18:47.059 --> 00:18:48.420 and God will forgive them no matter what, 00:18:48.420 --> 00:18:49.900 no matter what they believe in. 00:18:49.900 --> 00:18:51.019 No, he doesn't pray to that God at all. 00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:52.859 He prays to this God of justice. 00:18:52.859 --> 00:18:55.500 And then in verse 24, at the same time, he says, 00:18:55.500 --> 00:19:00.500 and yet the God of justice loves to show compassion and mercy. 00:19:01.180 --> 00:19:04.039 And so he says, I've seen that you're a God of justice. 00:19:04.039 --> 00:19:05.819 I've seen that at the same time, 00:19:05.819 --> 00:19:08.579 you're a God who loves to show love and compassion 00:19:08.579 --> 00:19:09.859 and mercy to people. 00:19:09.859 --> 00:19:12.019 He says, can you be both at the same time? 00:19:12.019 --> 00:19:13.619 That's what he's wrestling with. 00:19:13.619 --> 00:19:16.299 In what circumstance, under what principle, 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:20.579 under what condition could God be both just 00:19:20.579 --> 00:19:22.980 and merciful simultaneously? 00:19:24.179 --> 00:19:27.339 And then he arrives at the conclusion. 00:19:27.339 --> 00:19:30.980 Now listen, this is one of the first places in the Bible 00:19:31.980 --> 00:19:34.299 where a principle, a theological principle 00:19:34.299 --> 00:19:36.779 starts to unfold. 00:19:36.779 --> 00:19:38.899 And it's one that couldn't be more important, 00:19:38.899 --> 00:19:41.940 that couldn't be more essential to what Christianity is. 00:19:41.940 --> 00:19:43.460 And it's when he says this, 00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:48.019 will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 00:19:48.019 --> 00:19:49.259 But then he takes it further than that. 00:19:49.259 --> 00:19:51.899 You see, at first all he's saying, 00:19:51.899 --> 00:19:54.619 listen carefully, at first all he's saying is, 00:19:54.619 --> 00:19:58.659 will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? 00:19:58.659 --> 00:20:00.500 So if there are righteous people there, 00:20:00.500 --> 00:20:02.819 would you not spare them? 00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:05.139 Because they're righteous, they don't deserve 00:20:05.139 --> 00:20:06.700 to die like the wicked. 00:20:06.700 --> 00:20:08.500 That's at first what he says. 00:20:08.500 --> 00:20:11.379 But then I think he awakens to something 00:20:11.379 --> 00:20:13.059 because he takes it further than that. 00:20:13.059 --> 00:20:16.059 He changes it just a little bit. 00:20:16.059 --> 00:20:17.659 And he goes on and he says this, 00:20:17.659 --> 00:20:19.539 will you sweep away the place 00:20:19.539 --> 00:20:23.019 and not spare the whole city 00:20:23.019 --> 00:20:27.019 for the sake of 50 righteous people? 00:20:27.019 --> 00:20:28.899 Now there's been something that's changed there. 00:20:28.900 --> 00:20:33.900 At first it's, is it right for you to destroy the righteous 00:20:34.500 --> 00:20:36.100 alongside the wicked? 00:20:37.060 --> 00:20:39.380 Wouldn't it be just for you to spare the righteous, 00:20:39.380 --> 00:20:40.940 to leave them be? 00:20:40.940 --> 00:20:44.460 No, then it becomes, will you not spare 00:20:44.460 --> 00:20:49.460 the entirety of the city on behalf of 50 righteous people? 00:20:51.060 --> 00:20:53.220 Now all of a sudden what's happened? 00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:56.380 He's awakening to this great theological principle 00:20:56.380 --> 00:21:00.340 that one day will be called the Great Exchange. 00:21:01.700 --> 00:21:06.340 Can a righteous person, can righteous people 00:21:06.340 --> 00:21:09.900 stand in the place of the wicked? 00:21:11.700 --> 00:21:16.020 Can the righteous stand in and represent 00:21:16.020 --> 00:21:18.500 and take the place of the sinner? 00:21:19.500 --> 00:21:22.940 Could it be that in God's justice and his love, 00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:26.060 he would say that I'll uphold justice by in love 00:21:26.059 --> 00:21:29.220 giving the righteous for the sake of the sinner? 00:21:29.220 --> 00:21:33.779 Could, in other words, could the righteousness of some 00:21:33.779 --> 00:21:37.179 be imputed to wicked sinful people? 00:21:38.019 --> 00:21:41.460 And Abraham is asking God, could it be? 00:21:42.700 --> 00:21:47.179 Could it be that the God of justice 00:21:47.179 --> 00:21:52.179 would allow the imputation, the exchange of righteousness 00:21:53.460 --> 00:21:55.099 in the place of wickedness? 00:21:55.099 --> 00:21:56.299 That's what he's asking. 00:21:57.939 --> 00:21:59.259 Now that leads us to the final point, 00:21:59.259 --> 00:22:01.139 the missing link in Abraham's prayer. 00:22:02.259 --> 00:22:05.819 Abraham's prayers are bold, they're deeply reverent, 00:22:07.099 --> 00:22:10.379 they're praying that God would show mercy to sinners 00:22:11.339 --> 00:22:13.419 and they are deeply theological. 00:22:13.419 --> 00:22:15.699 They have a theological depth. 00:22:16.699 --> 00:22:17.899 Do you pray like that? 00:22:19.179 --> 00:22:21.619 Maybe here's what can help drive you to that, 00:22:21.619 --> 00:22:25.699 seeing the missing link in Abraham's prayer. 00:22:25.699 --> 00:22:26.979 All right, he says this, 00:22:26.979 --> 00:22:31.979 Lord, would you spare the whole city the wicked 00:22:33.219 --> 00:22:34.619 for the sake of the righteous? 00:22:34.619 --> 00:22:37.939 Could the righteous stand in the place of the wicked? 00:22:37.939 --> 00:22:41.459 Could the righteousness of some be imputed 00:22:41.459 --> 00:22:43.179 to the sinfulness of the sinners? 00:22:44.579 --> 00:22:45.739 That's what he's asking. 00:22:45.739 --> 00:22:48.859 And so God says, sure. 00:22:48.859 --> 00:22:52.819 He says, yes. 00:22:52.819 --> 00:22:54.819 If you can go find me 50 people, 00:22:54.819 --> 00:22:57.699 I will take those 50 people 00:22:57.699 --> 00:23:00.179 and their righteousness will be enough 00:23:00.179 --> 00:23:01.259 to spare the whole city. 00:23:02.979 --> 00:23:04.899 And Abraham says, well, if that's the case, 00:23:04.899 --> 00:23:07.219 then let me come back one more time. 00:23:07.219 --> 00:23:11.659 And he says, what if there's five less, 45? 00:23:11.659 --> 00:23:13.819 And the Lord says, what? 00:23:13.819 --> 00:23:14.659 Yeah. 00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:18.419 And he says, oh, well, if there's 45, 00:23:18.420 --> 00:23:20.580 what if it's just 40? 00:23:20.580 --> 00:23:23.900 And the Lord says, yeah, 40, 40, 00:23:24.779 --> 00:23:28.580 40 righteous could stand in the place of the many wicked. 00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:31.019 But what if there's 30? 00:23:31.019 --> 00:23:32.380 And the Lord says, yes. 00:23:32.380 --> 00:23:35.620 And what if there's, Lord, what if there's just 20? 00:23:35.620 --> 00:23:37.539 Yes, yes, God says. 00:23:37.539 --> 00:23:40.779 I will take the righteousness of 20 00:23:40.779 --> 00:23:43.500 to stand in the place of the many sinner. 00:23:43.500 --> 00:23:46.740 And Abraham says, well, what about just one more time? 00:23:46.740 --> 00:23:48.620 He says, what about 10? 00:23:49.900 --> 00:23:54.140 Yes, 10 would be, I would take 10 righteous people, 00:23:54.140 --> 00:23:57.519 truly righteous people to stand in the place of the sinner. 00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:03.700 And then Abraham goes home. 00:24:05.099 --> 00:24:07.460 The missing link in Abraham's prayer. 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:10.980 Now look, why did Abraham go home? 00:24:10.980 --> 00:24:13.539 I think because Abraham, when he got to 10, 00:24:13.539 --> 00:24:15.019 knew maybe it's this, 00:24:15.019 --> 00:24:18.220 that when he got to 10, realized there aren't 10. 00:24:19.619 --> 00:24:23.339 He knew his nephew, his nephew's not gonna be that guy. 00:24:23.339 --> 00:24:24.980 Read on in Genesis 18. 00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:26.139 But then Abraham knew, 00:24:26.139 --> 00:24:28.379 maybe Abraham was pondering just for a moment, 00:24:28.379 --> 00:24:30.420 could, if I go to Sodom and Gomorrah, 00:24:30.420 --> 00:24:33.339 could I be the one that stands in the place? 00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:35.740 And Abraham knew, it's not me. 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:38.379 And remember, we talked three, four weeks ago now 00:24:38.379 --> 00:24:40.440 that the whole principle of the book of Genesis 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:44.099 is in Genesis 315, there's a promise. 00:24:44.099 --> 00:24:48.459 One day, the son of the woman Eve will come 00:24:49.819 --> 00:24:51.459 and will stand in the place of the sinner. 00:24:51.459 --> 00:24:52.740 We'll crush the head of the serpent, 00:24:52.740 --> 00:24:56.579 we'll destroy sin, death and destruction forever. 00:24:56.579 --> 00:24:58.939 And we're realizing throughout Genesis, 00:24:58.939 --> 00:25:03.139 it's not the patriarchs, it's not Abraham, it's not Lot. 00:25:03.139 --> 00:25:05.179 Abraham knows the theological principle, 00:25:05.179 --> 00:25:07.619 could one stand in the place of the many? 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:10.299 But he gets to 10 and he stops 00:25:10.299 --> 00:25:12.339 and you wanna shout at him, 00:25:12.339 --> 00:25:17.339 don't you, and say, Abraham, just say one. 00:25:17.339 --> 00:25:20.699 Could one, could one righteous man 00:25:20.699 --> 00:25:23.779 stand in the place of the whole of the wicked, 00:25:23.779 --> 00:25:24.579 the whole of the sinners? 00:25:24.579 --> 00:25:25.980 All the sinners. 00:25:25.980 --> 00:25:28.139 And Abraham stopped at 10, God didn't. 00:25:30.699 --> 00:25:32.339 A thousand plus years later, 00:25:33.779 --> 00:25:37.579 God would send his only begotten son, the one man, 00:25:37.579 --> 00:25:41.379 the son of the woman Eve, the one righteous person 00:25:41.380 --> 00:25:44.300 to stand in the place of the many wicked. 00:25:45.380 --> 00:25:49.260 And it's not just that his righteousness covered 00:25:49.260 --> 00:25:52.660 the evil, our evil, but it's that he actually came 00:25:52.660 --> 00:25:54.980 and stood in the middle of Sodom and Gomorrah. 00:25:55.900 --> 00:25:57.860 It's that Jesus Christ actually came 00:25:57.860 --> 00:26:01.300 and received the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah 00:26:01.300 --> 00:26:03.140 so that we could stand, so that we could escape, 00:26:03.140 --> 00:26:07.060 so that we could be lot and run and flee to the mountains 00:26:07.060 --> 00:26:09.220 and have great rescue. 00:26:09.220 --> 00:26:12.140 Jesus Christ is the one that Abraham was praying for, 00:26:12.140 --> 00:26:13.900 but he never quite got to. 00:26:13.900 --> 00:26:15.339 He's the missing link. 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:16.420 Could there be 10? 00:26:16.420 --> 00:26:18.380 The Lord says yes, if there were only 10, 00:26:18.380 --> 00:26:20.860 but there will be one. 00:26:20.860 --> 00:26:22.660 And he's come, Jesus Christ has come. 00:26:22.660 --> 00:26:27.660 Now listen, that means that in the middle of history, 00:26:27.980 --> 00:26:30.940 we have this great principle being realized 00:26:30.940 --> 00:26:34.380 that Abraham realized in the beginning of history. 00:26:34.380 --> 00:26:36.579 And that's this theological idea, 00:26:36.579 --> 00:26:39.220 this reality of the great exchange. 00:26:39.220 --> 00:26:41.220 And the great exchange is simply this. 00:26:42.379 --> 00:26:46.259 He for me, so me in him. 00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:49.699 He died for me so I could be found in him. 00:26:49.699 --> 00:26:51.539 He stood in my place. 00:26:51.539 --> 00:26:54.939 He got what I deserved so I now can get what he deserves. 00:26:54.939 --> 00:26:56.619 That's the great exchange. 00:26:56.619 --> 00:26:59.779 Donald MacLeod, I like the way he talks about it. 00:26:59.779 --> 00:27:03.500 He says, the great exchange means today, 00:27:03.500 --> 00:27:04.619 you can say this of yourself today. 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:06.099 If you follow Jesus, listen, 00:27:06.099 --> 00:27:07.619 say this of yourself, 00:27:07.619 --> 00:27:12.619 I am not cursed or left as he was. 00:27:13.099 --> 00:27:16.980 Desolate and forsaken, devoid of any sense 00:27:16.980 --> 00:27:18.539 of the Father's love. 00:27:18.539 --> 00:27:22.539 Christ, very important, Christ did not merely die with me. 00:27:22.539 --> 00:27:24.699 Christ did not come to die with us. 00:27:25.539 --> 00:27:29.980 He came and died for me, for us. 00:27:29.980 --> 00:27:33.919 So that in the sense in which he died, I will never die. 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:35.920 Every single one of us will face death. 00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:39.720 But the sense in which Jesus Christ died, 00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:42.920 you will never experience when you follow him. 00:27:44.320 --> 00:27:46.160 He died so that you don't have to. 00:27:47.160 --> 00:27:48.800 He went to hell so that you don't have to. 00:27:48.800 --> 00:27:50.600 He went into the heart of Sodom and Gomorrah 00:27:50.600 --> 00:27:51.519 so that you don't have to. 00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:54.800 He is the one who stands in the place of the many. 00:27:54.800 --> 00:27:57.519 Wow, this was written so long ago. 00:27:57.519 --> 00:27:59.960 And there's the principle and it's fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:03.120 Leon Bridges says, surrender to the good Lord. 00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:05.079 And he will wipe your slate clean. 00:28:05.079 --> 00:28:06.319 That's the great exchange. 00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:09.759 Now, let me just give you a quick application. 00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:14.439 That means that the foundation of your prayer life 00:28:14.439 --> 00:28:18.319 is because Jesus got what you deserve, 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:20.519 you get what he deserves. 00:28:20.519 --> 00:28:24.119 So the swap is not just negative. 00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:28.719 You see, it's not just that because he died, you get forgiven. 00:28:28.719 --> 00:28:30.319 That's one side of it. 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:33.319 But the positive side of it is you actually now get 00:28:33.319 --> 00:28:34.720 what he deserves. 00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:38.519 It's like he stood in your place and died for you 00:28:38.519 --> 00:28:41.119 and you get a great medal of honor. 00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:43.919 You get the victory, you get everything on the backside of it. 00:28:43.919 --> 00:28:45.720 You now get what he deserves. 00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:50.119 So you can actually come before the Father 00:28:51.119 --> 00:28:53.519 and you have the ear of God. 00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:56.720 Why? Because Jesus Christ has the ear of his Father. 00:28:56.720 --> 00:28:58.319 See, because he got what you deserve, 00:28:58.319 --> 00:28:59.720 you now get what he deserves. 00:28:59.720 --> 00:29:01.319 You get what he deserves. 00:29:01.319 --> 00:29:02.519 God really hears you. 00:29:02.519 --> 00:29:04.319 God really hears your prayers 00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:05.720 and your prayers really matter to God. 00:29:05.720 --> 00:29:10.720 So tonight, because God in Jesus has drawn near to you, 00:29:10.920 --> 00:29:12.920 draw near to God this week. 00:29:12.920 --> 00:29:13.920 Draw near to God tonight. 00:29:13.920 --> 00:29:15.620 Draw near to God this week. 00:29:15.620 --> 00:29:19.920 Secondly, say no, just say no to prayerlessness. 00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:21.720 So I'm not going to have it. 00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:24.120 I'm not gonna have prayerlessness in my life. 00:29:24.120 --> 00:29:25.319 I'm gonna say no to that. 00:29:25.319 --> 00:29:28.319 Because God has drawn near to me and Jesus Christ 00:29:28.319 --> 00:29:33.319 and then take your prayers and pray like Abraham. 00:29:34.119 --> 00:29:35.919 Be bold this week. 00:29:35.919 --> 00:29:39.319 Ask God for great things, for big things, 00:29:39.319 --> 00:29:42.919 kingdom prayers that encompass big spaces. 00:29:42.919 --> 00:29:46.019 That's what we learned here tonight from Abraham. 00:29:46.019 --> 00:29:47.319 Pray bigger. 00:29:47.319 --> 00:29:52.319 Pray that God would show mercy to our great city. 00:29:54.519 --> 00:29:55.359 Let's pray. 00:29:55.359 --> 00:29:56.179 Lord, we pray for that, 00:29:56.180 --> 00:30:00.120 that God, you would show mercy to so many in our great city. 00:30:00.120 --> 00:30:04.180 And we thank you for this great example of prayer, 00:30:04.180 --> 00:30:06.440 but even more for the one, 00:30:07.799 --> 00:30:09.160 the one righteous man 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:14.620 who stood in the place of the mini-center, Jesus Christ. 00:30:14.620 --> 00:30:16.620 So thank you for the beauty of the fact 00:30:16.620 --> 00:30:18.560 that you show us the gospel 00:30:18.560 --> 00:30:21.279 some 12, 13, 1400 years at least 00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:25.799 before Jesus was ever born right here in Genesis 18. 00:30:25.799 --> 00:30:26.639 We thank you for that. 00:30:26.639 --> 00:30:28.180 That's renewing. 00:30:28.180 --> 00:30:30.599 So we pray that that would feed our souls tonight. 00:30:30.599 --> 00:30:34.579 As we step into Monday, work day, school day, 00:30:34.579 --> 00:30:36.460 early morning wake up, 00:30:36.460 --> 00:30:37.759 Lord, we need prayer. 00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:40.440 We need your strength. 00:30:40.440 --> 00:30:41.879 We need to know that we're loved. 00:30:41.879 --> 00:30:44.159 We need to know that whatever we face, 00:30:44.159 --> 00:30:46.559 our justification that you're for us 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:48.839 and the great exchange will never be taken away. 00:30:48.839 --> 00:30:50.159 That's what we need tomorrow morning. 00:30:50.159 --> 00:30:52.759 So we ask that you would teach us that tonight. 00:30:52.759 --> 00:30:54.200 We pray that in Christ's name. 00:30:54.200 --> 00:30:56.039 Amen.