1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,400 The word access is a technical word in the New Testament. 2 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:16,800 It refers to the fact that you and I, through Jesus Christ, are guaranteed an introduction 3 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:26,080 and an entrance into the very presence of God, so that we have freedom to speak in His 4 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:27,080 presence. 5 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:34,600 I hope that today's study from Genesis 18, showing the interaction between Abraham and 6 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:42,160 God, will stir all of us to see prayer for what it is, an incredible privilege, filled 7 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:46,920 with potential more than we can possibly imagine. 8 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:48,600 It truly is. 9 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:53,320 I hope that will grip our hearts this morning, that we will see that prayer is an incredible 10 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:57,120 privilege and that it is filled with potential. 11 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:03,880 We can't even imagine the kinds of power that can be released if you and I will commit 12 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,720 ourselves to prayer. 13 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:13,680 I'm going to begin reading in verse 16 of Genesis 18. 14 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:20,600 Recall that Abraham had some visitors who came and gave to him the promise of the birth 15 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,520 of a son. 16 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:29,600 Verse 16 says, Then the men rose up from there and looked down toward Sodom. 17 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:34,880 You have to understand and see in your mind the geography to appreciate this. 18 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:36,760 For Sodom was down. 19 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:40,640 It was down in the valley of the Dead Sea. 20 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:45,360 The lowest spot on the face of the earth, and where Abraham was, was up in the mountains. 21 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:50,840 And so they literally were able to look down into that valley toward Sodom. 22 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:55,120 And Abraham was walking with them to send them off. 23 00:01:55,120 --> 00:02:00,560 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 24 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:06,620 What we have here in these few verses now seems to be a reflective passage. 25 00:02:06,620 --> 00:02:12,000 That is, God is reflecting in his heart regarding this event. 26 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:17,520 And Moses, who writes these words, is given this information for us. 27 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:22,320 God says, Since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all 28 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,620 the nations of the earth will be blessed. 29 00:02:25,620 --> 00:02:31,560 For I have chosen him in order that he may command his children and his household after 30 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:39,640 him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, in order that the Lord may bring 31 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:45,080 upon Abraham what he has spoken about him. 32 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:51,640 Notice that God is speaking here confidently about his servant that he will teach his children 33 00:02:51,640 --> 00:02:54,280 to do what? 34 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:57,020 Righteousness and justice. 35 00:02:57,020 --> 00:03:01,040 And in doing so to keep the way of the Lord. 36 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:07,760 Now we go back to the narrative where it says, And the Lord said to Abraham, the outcry of 37 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:13,520 Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. 38 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:18,800 I will go down now and will see if they have done entirely according to its outcry which 39 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:24,100 has come to me, and if not, I will know it. 40 00:03:24,100 --> 00:03:29,120 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom while Abraham was still standing 41 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,440 before the Lord. 42 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:37,720 And Abraham came near and said, Wilt thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 43 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,200 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. 44 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:46,240 Wilt thou indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous 45 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:48,400 who are in it? 46 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:53,920 Far be it from thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that 47 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,560 the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. 48 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,400 Far be it from thee. 49 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:04,600 Shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly? 50 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:09,760 So the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare 51 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,160 the whole place on their account. 52 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:18,600 And Abraham answered and said, Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although 53 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,360 I am but dust and ashes. 54 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,600 Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five. 55 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,000 Wilt thou destroy the city because of the five? 56 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,920 And he said, I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there. 57 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:34,560 And he said to him yet again, Suppose forty are found there. 58 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,760 And he said, I will not do it on account of the forty. 59 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:41,560 Then he said, Oh may the Lord not be angry and I shall speak. 60 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,220 Suppose thirty are found there. 61 00:04:44,220 --> 00:04:48,160 And he said, I will not do it if I find thirty there. 62 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:53,040 And he said, Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord. 63 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:55,080 Suppose twenty are found there. 64 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:59,240 And he said, I will not destroy it on account of the twenty. 65 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:05,040 Then he said, Oh may the Lord not be angry and I shall speak only this once. 66 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:07,880 Suppose ten are found there. 67 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,960 And he said, I will not destroy it on account of the ten. 68 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:17,600 And as soon as he had finished speaking to Abraham, the Lord departed and Abraham returned 69 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:18,600 to his place. 70 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:22,720 There are some observations that I want to make about prayer. 71 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:32,040 For what we find here really is a marvelous example, one example, of intercessory prayer 72 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:36,240 as Abraham prayed for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. 73 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:44,800 The first observation I make is this, that prayer is really a conversation with God. 74 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,960 I believe it's a conversation with God in several respects. 75 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,480 In the first place, it's ongoing. 76 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:58,640 This is not the first time that Abraham and God have spoken to each other. 77 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:05,120 This time of prayer is because of an ongoing relationship that Abraham had with God. 78 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:10,840 Secondly, it's a conversation because it's two-way. 79 00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:15,360 Abraham speaks and God speaks. 80 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:22,400 The thing that I find about my praying and so many of us is this, that our prayers are 81 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,080 one way. 82 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:31,960 We do most of the talking and very little of the listening to God. 83 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:39,260 But true prayer is a conversation in which we speak and then we are quiet and we let 84 00:06:39,260 --> 00:06:43,820 God impress our hearts with His Word. 85 00:06:43,820 --> 00:06:48,040 It's a conversation, thirdly, because it's one-on-one. 86 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:52,720 It's two people here talking, God and the Almighty. 87 00:06:52,720 --> 00:07:00,000 Because of that one-on-one conversation, intimacy in their relationship is the result. 88 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:06,680 That's how you and your wife gain intimacy, by learning how to converse with one another. 89 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:11,840 That's how you develop any kind of relationship, by learning to talk and to share. 90 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:14,520 So it is with God as well. 91 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,720 And then it's a conversation in this respect and I think an important respect. 92 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:20,680 It is well-mannered. 93 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,200 By that I mean Abraham is respectful. 94 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:30,680 He is not overly familiar or careless in his speech with God. 95 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:37,680 He does not look upon God as his good buddy in the sky, even though he was the friend 96 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,240 of God. 97 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:48,760 Beware of the kind of irreverence that is bred by the ungodly age in which we live. 98 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:50,960 Abraham was humble. 99 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:52,360 He was careful with his words. 100 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:57,220 And I understand that some of this is Asian speak. 101 00:07:57,220 --> 00:08:02,040 It is the way people in the mid-east in that day would speak to a superior and yet see 102 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,440 behind it his attitude, his heart, was humble. 103 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:11,960 Well, prayer is a conversation with God that you and I carry on too. 104 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:13,520 A second observation is this. 105 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:21,800 The prayer is motivated by concern for others is righteous. 106 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:30,400 Abraham's primary consideration perhaps was for his nephew Lot, who lived in Sodom. 107 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:38,120 He does not mention Lot by name in this prayer, this conversation with God. 108 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,780 But he knows that Lot is there. 109 00:08:41,780 --> 00:08:48,160 Lot was there because of bad choices that he had made in his life. 110 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:55,280 But Abraham prays for mercy, not just for Lot, but for the entire city, probably due 111 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:59,200 to the presence of Lot there. 112 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:04,360 Sodom was a notoriously evil place, as most of us are aware. 113 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:11,840 The culture there was tolerant of sexual behavior that was deviant and sinful. 114 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:15,840 Abraham knew that. 115 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:26,320 Abraham however knew what God wants all of us to know, that all people matter to God. 116 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,560 All people matter to God. 117 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:37,200 And so Abraham prays not just for his nephew, but he prays that God may have mercy upon 118 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:42,600 the city if just ten righteous people could be found. 119 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:49,860 Now I want to insert at this point just a word regarding how those who are pro-gay interpret 120 00:09:49,860 --> 00:09:51,960 all of this. 121 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:58,400 So there are theologians that have a particular bias and bent, and that is to extract from 122 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:03,480 the Bible the negative things that it says about homosexuality. 123 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:10,560 For example, pro-gay theology argues that the real sin of Sodom was not the sexual sin, 124 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:14,640 but it was inhospitality. 125 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:21,440 It was that the people of Sodom were not hospitable to these strangers who in chapter 19, as we 126 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:30,400 know these angels who came to that city to inspect it so that the Lord might see what 127 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:34,280 was truly there. 128 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:43,720 The response to that is that such an interpretation of the text does not adequately deal with 129 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:45,960 what it says. 130 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:57,160 God's response in verse 7 when these men come to His house wanting to know the two strangers 131 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:04,200 is this, please my brothers, do not act wickedly. 132 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:07,880 You see there's something more here than that they wanted to get to know these two men on 133 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:09,880 a social basis. 134 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:15,920 Furthermore, the severity of the judgment tells us that it was not merely inhospitality 135 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:18,480 that was at fault. 136 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:27,040 They also try to say that the real problem here was the desire to have to experience 137 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:30,320 homosexual rape. 138 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:33,080 That that is why God judged the city. 139 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:40,200 Well, in fact, it is true that that is what the men of the city wanted to do to these 140 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:45,680 two angels who came to Lot's house. 141 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:51,200 But it is interesting that it was not merely a small group, but it was as the text says 142 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:57,320 in verse 4, all of the city came together, both young and old. 143 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:05,000 All the people from every quarter came to be a part of this event, which indicates to 144 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:12,520 us that this culture in Sodom was corrupted, entirely corrupted by perversion. 145 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:17,560 There was not one single act of rape that is involved here, but this was something that 146 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:21,840 was a part of the violent city of Sodom. 147 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:29,440 Other ancient writings and historians, including Philo and Josephus, name same-sex relations 148 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:33,800 as the dominant characteristic of the city of Sodom. 149 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:37,100 This is not merely a biblical portrayal of the city. 150 00:12:37,100 --> 00:12:42,280 Even secular history says that is what this city was really focused on. 151 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:46,880 And then pro-gay theologians try to tell us that the real sins of the city were those 152 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:54,160 listed in Ezekiel chapter 16 verse 49, where it speaks of the pride, fullness of bread, 153 00:12:54,160 --> 00:13:02,280 and abundance of idleness, and failure to strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy. 154 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:06,400 That it was those kinds of sins that caused God to judge Sodom. 155 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:13,360 Well, again, there is some truth here in that the city was characterized by those sins, 156 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:15,920 but this is only partly true. 157 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:21,960 There was no concern for the oppressed, despite the prosperity of the city. 158 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:29,520 But history makes it clear that the main character of the city was found in its same-sex activity. 159 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:35,240 The very next verse in Ezekiel 16 goes on to say, thus they, the people of Sodom, were 160 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:39,960 haughty and committed abominations before me. 161 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:46,000 Therefore, says the Lord, I removed them when I saw it. 162 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:52,120 This word abomination refers in some places to idols and the practices associated with 163 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:53,720 idols. 164 00:13:53,720 --> 00:14:01,640 Or it is used elsewhere of that which destroys societies and families. 165 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:09,360 Those things are abominations to God, and that's what was happening in the city of Sodom. 166 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:13,320 So why was Sodom destroyed? 167 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:21,080 Because its depravity finally got to the point that it was ripe for the judgment of God. 168 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:29,760 The extremity of its corruption was denoted by the combination of its various sins, social 169 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,880 as well as sexual. 170 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:41,240 Abraham, in his prayer, did not argue that God was unfair to Judge Sodom. 171 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:44,280 Do you notice that? 172 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:54,600 He merely pleads for mercy because of the presumed presence of a few righteous people. 173 00:14:54,600 --> 00:15:01,560 Even a minority, even a remnant of righteous people, would have the effect of saving the 174 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:06,680 city from the judgment of God. 175 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:17,520 Notice how much value God places upon just a few righteous people in a society, in a 176 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:23,320 company, in a neighborhood. 177 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:32,800 You as one individual make a difference where you are because of who you are. 178 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:37,160 I have to quickly go on to my third observation, and that is the prayer, even when rightly 179 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:43,280 offered, is not always answered as we asked. 180 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:47,000 Abraham's intercession was for the sparing of the city. 181 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:54,120 If just ten righteous people could be found, presumably they could not be found, and therefore 182 00:15:54,120 --> 00:16:03,560 God answered Abraham's prayer by delivering Lot and his family, at least his two daughters 183 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:11,760 ultimately, delivering them while at the same time going ahead with the judgment upon the 184 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:14,240 city. 185 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:19,320 I need to note here with you that Lot, though he was delivered from Sodom, paid a terrible 186 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:30,440 price for his choice as a believer in Almighty God to live for the world of his day. 187 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:39,800 We see the progression early on in Genesis when Lot pitches his tent toward Sodom. 188 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:42,800 That is so that when he got up in the morning he would open his tent and there would be 189 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,720 Sodom down in the valley below him. 190 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:52,280 Then he moved to the outskirts of Sodom, and now by this time, years later, he is living 191 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:56,960 in the city and is even one of the leaders of the city, being a judge who sits at the 192 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:01,240 gate to hear cases. 193 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:06,960 He made a choice to live for the world. 194 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:11,220 As a result of that, though he was a righteous man, and although the judgment of God did 195 00:17:11,220 --> 00:17:18,840 not fall upon that city until he was taken out, we see that he lost everything that he 196 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:21,600 lived for. 197 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:25,840 He lost his daughter's fiancés. 198 00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:33,700 He lost his wife, who so fell in love with Sodom that she turned around to see the destruction 199 00:17:33,700 --> 00:17:37,280 and was consumed in it. 200 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:44,240 Then there was the disgraceful, shameful, incestuous relationship with his daughters 201 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:51,000 that produced two whole people groups who became enemies of Abraham's descendants, the 202 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,360 Moabites and the Ammonites. 203 00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:58,040 All of this is in chapter 19, which we don't have time to read this morning. 204 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:06,400 Lot's presence delayed judgment, but his compromises left him with no ability to influence others 205 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:11,800 for good, even his sons-in-law, to be. 206 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:14,880 When he went to warn them to flee the city, they mocked him. 207 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:17,080 They ridiculed him. 208 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:18,640 Why? 209 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:24,200 Because his life had no credibility to it. 210 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:30,160 Powerful lessons for us to learn living in the society that we live in. 211 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:33,980 Now I have some questions I want to deal with very briefly before I close. 212 00:18:33,980 --> 00:18:42,340 The first question is this, was Abraham showing more mercy than God? 213 00:18:42,340 --> 00:18:47,680 One might almost read it that way, that God is bent on judging this city. 214 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:55,080 However, God was not ignorant of what was happening in the city and deliberately went 215 00:18:55,080 --> 00:19:04,440 to the city and these two angels to see for himself what was there. 216 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:11,320 You see, God, who is all-knowing, is not some infinite hard drive who sits up there in the 217 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:16,080 heavens like a computer. 218 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:26,720 God knew what was inside of him, and yet he came there himself to view it so that he would 219 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:32,360 know in that sense what it was all about. 220 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:37,440 The same kind of an idea, by the way, was Jesus came into our world, the incarnated 221 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:43,320 God, to experience with us what it means to live in a fallen world and then ultimately 222 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:46,720 to bear our sins. 223 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:54,920 Abraham was praying to God, but he was praying in the direction that God wanted him to pray. 224 00:19:54,920 --> 00:20:03,920 Abraham knows that God will always do what is just, and he prays that God will show mercy 225 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:07,040 as well as justice. 226 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:12,440 What this tells us is that God does not delight in the death of the wicked, unlike some of 227 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:18,360 those claiming to be his people. 228 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:22,320 God does not delight in the death of the wicked. 229 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:29,480 He desires the wicked to turn back from their evil and their evil ways and to live. 230 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,000 Ezekiel 33, 11. 231 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:38,500 What we see here is the patience of God, the long-suffering of God, even with a society 232 00:20:38,500 --> 00:20:42,820 that is totally corrupt. 233 00:20:42,820 --> 00:20:49,760 God is not slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness, but he is long-suffering. 234 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:57,880 God is patient, not willing that any should perish, not desirous that any should perish, 235 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,480 but that all should come to repentance. 236 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:06,080 I believe that one purpose of this being recorded is so that we might see demonstrated God's 237 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:12,440 desire to show mercy. 238 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:19,480 The second question is this, does prayer change God's mind? 239 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:24,160 This is a debated topic in our day, especially in our cities. 240 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,120 Does prayer change God's mind? 241 00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:28,840 Does God change? 242 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:34,200 Was God here persuaded to do other than what he intended to do? 243 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:43,320 Well, first I would call upon you to note that destruction did come upon the cities. 244 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:49,640 Even in the conversation with Abraham, God knew what was going to happen. 245 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:58,720 God was not surprised by the count down there in Sodom, by what he found. 246 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:02,240 God always acts consistently with his nature. 247 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:09,440 Now, to us, from our human perspective, God may appear to change his course of actions 248 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:11,320 at times. 249 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:16,200 And so the Bible speaks of God repenting. 250 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:26,680 And yet, God always changes his course of action when man changes his attitude toward 251 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:34,760 God so that then God can, consistent with his character, act differently. 252 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:36,080 God himself does not change. 253 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:42,840 It is man who changes, and thus God can deal with man according to man's heart. 254 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:48,560 Thus the Ninevites, for example, were spared, at least for a time, because in their hearts 255 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:53,640 they repented from their sin, and God relented of the judgment he was bringing on them in 256 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,320 that day of Jonah. 257 00:22:56,320 --> 00:23:00,280 God here was not surprised that ten righteous were not found, although he was grieved by 258 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:01,960 it. 259 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:08,200 And so to quickly sum it up, the exchange here reveals God's patience and his long 260 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:11,200 suffering with sinners. 261 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:16,080 It just gripped my heart this week as I studied this that God was willing even to spare Sodom 262 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:23,260 and Gomorrah had only ten righteous persons been found. 263 00:23:23,260 --> 00:23:28,000 It brings me to this concluding statement, that is that the God who purposed the ends 264 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:35,680 of all things has included in his purpose the means to those ends, which includes our 265 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:36,680 prayers. 266 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:40,480 Abraham's intercession was not wasted. 267 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:42,940 It was not needless. 268 00:23:42,940 --> 00:23:49,540 It played a role in the drama of the destiny of these cities. 269 00:23:49,540 --> 00:23:55,960 Our prayers, likewise, play a role in God's plan. 270 00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:02,600 When you pray, you are not overcoming God's reluctance, nor are you persuading God to 271 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:04,840 do other than he intends. 272 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:11,140 But your prayers offered in the Spirit do lay hold of God's promises, and they advance 273 00:24:11,140 --> 00:24:14,440 the purposes of God. 274 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:22,760 And so today I want to call upon all of us to renew the value that we give to prayer 275 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:28,960 and to deepen our own personal commitment to pray, to see it for the privilege that 276 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:38,440 it is, to grasp the potential that there is in prayer, to join God in his work. 277 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:44,020 There is more power in prayer than you and I can possibly imagine. 278 00:24:44,020 --> 00:24:48,320 As we deepen our commitment to pray, we need to remember that it is a conversation with 279 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:49,320 God. 280 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:51,820 We need to pray with righteous motives. 281 00:24:51,820 --> 00:24:57,280 We need to pray trusting God with the outcome of it all. 282 00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:03,880 Oswald Chambers made a striking statement, it's really a question, regarding prayer 283 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:13,320 when he asked, would your praying be different if the Lord were on his knees beside you? 284 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:24,360 Well let that picture soak down into your heart of Jesus being on his knees beside you 285 00:25:24,360 --> 00:25:27,480 and how that would affect your prayers. 286 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:32,800 I urge you to be one who will pray, pray for spiritual renewal. 287 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:40,000 Back on anniversary Sunday we talked about be one, win one, help one in this year of 288 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:41,760 ministry. 289 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:46,160 We talked about being one who would pray for spiritual renewal. 290 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:53,360 I hope that God would lay upon your heart and mind to pray as never before. 291 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:56,120 There are a couple of ways in which we can be involved in that. 292 00:25:56,120 --> 00:25:58,880 One is by being a part of the Twin Cities Sacred Assembly. 293 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:01,960 There's a flyer in your bulletin this morning about it. 294 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:09,320 It will be held at the state capitol on May the 7th for an hour and a half on that evening. 295 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:13,720 Thousands of Christians from across the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota will gather 296 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:18,800 at our state capitol to pray. 297 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:22,920 I sense that it will be something like what the Washington rally was with Promise Keepers 298 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:24,800 last October. 299 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:30,720 A time for us to come before God as God's people and to pray in the spirit of Abraham 300 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:35,880 who prayed for Sodom and Gomorrah. 301 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:43,400 If God would do what he would for Sodom and Gomorrah will he not do for us something similar? 302 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:49,200 Then there's a second way that I want to exhort you to be involved and that is by joining 303 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:54,480 what I'm calling the I-Team, the Intercessory Team. 304 00:26:54,480 --> 00:27:01,040 A team of people within Grace Church who will pray for the ministry of this church at least 305 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:06,160 three times a week after the benediction. 306 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:11,480 Greg Mockler who's sitting right over here is going to be right there to take the names 307 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:17,080 of those of you who would say by the grace of God I want to be a part of the I-Team and 308 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:22,720 pray for the ministry of Grace Church of Roosevelt. 309 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:27,040 And he has a prayer list there that will get you started. 310 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:31,280 Six or seven items that will help you to know how to pray right now specifically for the 311 00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:33,640 ministry of our church. 312 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:40,000 I pray that God will awaken our hearts to see prayer in a new way because of Abraham's 313 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:41,800 example. 314 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:48,520 Let's bow together. 315 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:52,960 We're going to close by singing a chorus that I think most of you know, Spirit of the 316 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:55,520 Living God Fall Fresh on Me. 317 00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:59,160 I'm going to sing that in just a moment and let's sing it from our hearts. 318 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:09,760 Oh Father, I pray that Abraham's intercessory prayer for the ungodly city of Sodom would 319 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:17,520 awaken our eyes to see how we need to be praying for America, a nation given to some of the 320 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:24,600 very same kinds of sins that Sodom and the cities in that region were. 321 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:31,320 God break our hearts, take away the self-righteousness and the judgmental attitude that we so often 322 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:41,520 have and help us to see that people matter to you. 323 00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:49,240 And give us hearts of prayer for them. 324 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:52,240 Sing with me. 325 00:28:52,240 --> 00:29:05,120 Spirit of the Living God Fall Fresh on Me. 326 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:08,120 Let's stand together please. 327 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:23,560 Spirit of the Living God Fall Fresh on Me. 328 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:38,040 Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. 329 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:57,600 Spirit of the Living God Fall Fresh on Me. 330 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:00,480 Lord fall fresh upon us in our prayer lives. 331 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:02,480 Melt us and mold us. 332 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:06,440 Fill us and use us in our prayers. 333 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:13,840 That we may make a difference and pray like Abraham and live as righteous people in the 334 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:22,120 midst of a generation like that of Sodom and Gomorrah with a compassion to reach those 335 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:24,680 who are lost. 336 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:28,760 In Christ's name I pray, amen. 337 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:54,640 You are dismissed.