WEBVTT

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Good morning. How are you all doing today? Excellent.

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Hey, we'd like to start by welcoming anybody

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that's joining us here in our sanctuary for the

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very first time, or if you're joining us online,

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welcome. I am Pastor Nathan, and today we're

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going to be talking about why and how we are

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all called to be intercessors when it comes to

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prayer. I want to ask you a question. I want

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you to think about it. Do not share your answers,

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okay? But if we were to read a transcript of

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all your prayers over the last week, what percentage

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of those prayers would be for personal needs?

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Lord, help me with this test. I need a job. I

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need a healing. Versus what percentage of those

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prayers would be for everything else? Now some

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of you might go, well, I'm not sure, I'm not

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sure. You know, the idea of praying for personal

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things, those are legitimate things to pray for.

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We're called to ask God to bless us and to help

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us in those things. But when we look at the Lord's

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Prayer, and this is when the disciples asked

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Jesus, can you teach us how to pray? What Jesus

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did when he started out with the Lord's Prayer,

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the very first thing he did was talk about or

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pray about the honor and the purpose of the Father.

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That was the first thing he prayed, and it's

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a great example for us to follow in our prayers,

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where the very first thing he opened up with

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as he was gonna talk to God about needs, and

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he was teaching us, he talked about God's name

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being honored as holy. We understand that as

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hallowed be your name. He talked about your kingdom

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come, and he talked about your will be done.

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That is a fantastic place to start any prayer.

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And then after that, As we look at that Lord's

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Prayer, it was then we prayed for our own needs,

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right? Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive

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us as we forgive others. And deliver us from

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temptation. The reason I bring that up is the

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idea today in Genesis, we're going to see a fantastic

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example of intercessory prayer from Abraham.

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We're going to see the how and the why. We're

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going to see the motivation behind this type

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of prayer. And really, when it comes to the prayers

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of God's people, they should start with, really

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should be centered on what God is doing in the

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world around us. You see, as Christians, we are

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called to be radically other -focused people,

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and yet our nature is so quickly so quickly causes

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us to focus inward and just focus on ourselves.

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God wants us to talk to him about our needs,

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but he wants us to be focused on the needs of

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everything around us like he is. He wants us

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to care about other people like he does. He wants

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us to be praying and thinking about one another

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the way he does for us at the right hand of the

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Father. We should be praying for God's name to

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be glorified, obviously granting grace and showing

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mercy to lost friends and family. We should be

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praying for our neighbors and lost nations and

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the missionaries that are in those nations. Obviously,

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we should be praying for the church. praying

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for your church, Hosanna, really that God would

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always be glorified here, because that was really

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the impetus behind so much. We want God's name

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to be lifted up. We want God to be glorified

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in our world, and so we pray for all of these

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elements around us. Praying for others is the

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thing called intercessory prayer. The whole idea

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is that you are interceding on behalf of someone

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else. Now, some people look at intercessory prayer

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and they think that it's a special thing that

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only certain people are gifted to do, right?

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And I've heard that before. It's like, oh, they

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have the gift of intercession. I personally disagree

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with that. I think every single believer is called

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to intercede in prayer on behalf of others. And

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so the reasons and the heart behind this type

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of prayer is what we're going to see in today's

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text. We're going to be in Genesis 18, verses

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16 through 33. And what we're going to read here

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is a model for us to follow as we endeavor as

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God's people to be interceding prayer warriors.

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But first, we're going to worship him because

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God is glorious. Amen? Let's pray. Father, we

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love you. We're so grateful that you sent your

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son to die on the cross for us. Lord, the greatest

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intercession that has ever happened was you interceding

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for us. How you stepped into our place. You shed

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your blood. You paid our price that we could

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be reconciled to the Father. And so, Lord, as

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your people, it just follows that, that as we're

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wanting to live emulating you and your character,

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that we would be intercessors as well. But Lord,

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so much of this type of prayer is really a reflection

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of our heart. And God, we want our hearts to

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be like your heart. We want to see the world

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the way you see the world. We want to care about

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the lost the way you care about the lost. Lord,

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we want to understand the calling we have as

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believers in this world to be lights on a hill,

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to shine the glory of the gospel so that those

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who don't yet know you can be saved before judgment

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comes. So Lord, today I ask you that you would

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just speak to us about our call, about the why

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behind our need to pray, and that God, we would

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be properly motivated to intercede on behalf

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of others to you and praying for our nation and

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our government and our president and Congress

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and nations around the world, our coworkers,

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our friends, our family, and all of that in addition

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to our own personal needs. So God, be glorified

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today. Be glorified in our life. Be glorified

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in our church. We love you. We worship you. It's

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in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, we are

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in Genesis chapter 18. We're going to be looking

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at verses 16 through 33 this morning. And as

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I said in the opening, intercessory prayer is

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what we're going to be looking at here in this

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section of Genesis. And intercessory prayer,

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it's just simply the act of praying on behalf

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of others. It's something that our Lord Jesus

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is doing for you and me right now and has been

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doing since he ascended into heaven and sat at

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the right hand of the Father. One of the most

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comforting things is to know that our Lord, our

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Savior, prays for us 24 hours a day, interceding

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for us, praying to the Father, please, Father,

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don't strike past underneath now with a lightning

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bolt. I died for that sin, right? You know, he's

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praying for blessing. He's praying for the Holy

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Spirit and the work of the Spirit in our lives.

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It's just a wonderfully beautiful thing. And

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we get to example that. We get to emulate that

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as God's children in this world. And so the whole

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idea in our prayers, as we were talking about

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the Lord's Prayer earlier, is when we're praying,

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we want to open up with just praying for God's

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glory. Just praising him for who he is, right?

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Because that is what sets the table for us when

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we pray. A lot of the things we pray for as people

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might feel impossible. And we just talked about

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that last week as God confronted Sarah and said,

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is anything impossible for the Lord? And so when

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we pray, we start with, Father, you are holy.

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Your name is wonderful. You are almighty. You

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can do all things because that deals with the

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question, is anything impossible for the Lord?

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Nope, I've got that out of the way. Now let me

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go in to pray for God's will in this world, save

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the people that I just don't think could ever

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get saved, and all of that type of stuff as we

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intercede. Now, the idea of intercessory prayer

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and all prayer really is praying that God does

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what only God can do. How many of you have prayed

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for somebody to get saved before? Yeah? If your

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hand didn't go up, we're going to have a counseling

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appointment after. Okay, no. And how many of

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you have prayed for so long that you thought

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it would never happen? You know, I don't want

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to put my mom on the spot here, but I prayed

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for my mom for 10 years to get saved. and I would

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tell her about church and stuff, and she's like,

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no, no, that's fine for you. And for 10 years.

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Now, did I have my moments over the course of

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those 10 years where I said, I'm done, I'm giving

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up? Yeah, I did. And then I would get back to

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it, and guess what? 10 years later, my mom got

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saved. Praise God, you know? But that's what

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interceding is, is you're praying on behalf of

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others. You're praying on behalf of their needs,

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and really, it's praying God's will. in this

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world because it is God's will for mankind to

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be saved. It is God's will for the gospel to

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go forth. It is God's will for people to take

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the gospel out. And so we pray for those things

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when we pray. Father, you're awesome, you're

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amazing, you're holy, you're almighty, nothing's

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impossible for you. So then let me pray for your

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will to be done in this world. Let me pray for

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these people to be saved and this to be changed

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and, you know, all that type of stuff. But Genesis

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18 is a picture of this type of intercessory

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prayer that has the right focus, it has the right

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motivation, it has the right purpose. And so

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that's what we're going to dig into today. And

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this comes right after what we just saw in the

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last chapter with, or earlier in this chapter

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with Abraham having a meal with these three guests

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that show up to his house. We saw how Abraham

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went into a flurry to be hospitable and to hope.

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to these people. And we know that these people

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was the Lord and two angels, which we're going

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to see as we go forward through this section.

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Now the Lord and the two angels there were there

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to remind Abraham again about the promise that

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he's going to have a son and that it's going

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to be through his wife. The other reason for

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that is that Sarah had not yet heard or believed

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in the truth that she was going to bear a child

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at her age. And so we talked about that last

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week, how the Lord knew she was eavesdropping.

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He said it. She laughed. And then he confronted

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her on that laugh. And as you remember, it was

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in verse 14 of Genesis 18. He said to her, is

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anything impossible for the Lord? And that's

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just such a serious question. And it doesn't

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record here that he even waited for her answer,

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right? Because then right after that he goes,

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at the appointed time I will come back to you

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and in about a year she will have a son. Now

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again, he's talking with Abraham here knowing

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she's listening. But then at the end of this

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whole section here we read that God confronts

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her. Why did you laugh? She goes, I didn't laugh.

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And then God very gently but very firmly goes,

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no, you did. Right? And so then from there, we

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get into the section we're walking about, or

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looking at today. The meal is over. Verse 16,

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it then tells us in Genesis 18, the men got up

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from there and looked out over Sodom. And Abraham

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was walking with them to see them off. So the

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phrase there, looked out over Sodom, that, if

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this was a movie, this is where the soundtrack

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would go. Dun, dun, dun. This is the ominous

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section. The eerie music comes on at this point

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because Sodom is going to be the subject of the

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next section of Scripture here as God is going

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to judge that very wicked place. And so you just

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had this wonderful meal. You had this wonderful

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fellowship. You had this correction time. And

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then now we're moving on to this place. Now it

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was very common in the time of hospitality that

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when your guests would get up to leave, you would

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escort them out. Now, unlike today, it wasn't

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like escort them to the door, boom, slam the

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door. Okay, I'm so glad they're gone, right?

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You would walk with them. And so the place where

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this has all taken place here is just a few miles

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east of what is today known as Hebron. The city

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of Hebron in Israel is this place that we read

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in Genesis called Mamre, where Abraham's at,

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right? He was there by the oaks of Mamre, and

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that's where he has settled. Now, there is a

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town today in Israel that is considered the traditional

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site of where this conversation might have taken

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place. It's a place called Benin Aim, and it's

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three miles east of Hebron, as I said. What's

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really interesting is if you go into, I spend

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far too much time in like Google Earth. And you

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could like zoom down and get a 3D image of stuff

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from ground level. It's pretty cool. So I went

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to Benny Naim and I looked and from that town,

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you could see down into the Jordan Valley exactly

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where Sodom is thought to be and where Gomorrah

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is thought to be. Pretty interesting. So Abraham's

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here with them looking down on this place of

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wickedness, this place where his nephew's living.

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And then God is about to tell him something very,

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very ominous, very, very scary. It's interesting

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or quite sad to know that this is the last time

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Abraham's gonna look upon this part of the valley

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and it not be destroyed. The next time he looks

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down this way is in chapter 19, verse 28. And

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it tells us that as he looked down towards Sodom

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and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, he

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saw that smoke was going up from the land like

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smoke of a furnace. Thousands dead. These cities

00:13:06.610 --> 00:13:10.909
wiped out. And so, here they are, verse 17, then

00:13:10.909 --> 00:13:13.820
the Lord said, Should I hide what I'm about to

00:13:13.820 --> 00:13:20.100
do to Abraham? Did the Lord not know what he

00:13:20.100 --> 00:13:24.440
was going to do? He's omniscient. He's all -knowing,

00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:26.419
right? Of course the Lord knew. These things

00:13:26.419 --> 00:13:29.659
are recorded here for our benefit because the

00:13:29.659 --> 00:13:31.899
next couple of verses here are going to give

00:13:31.899 --> 00:13:35.039
us a glimpse into the mind of God. A glimpse

00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:38.580
into his mind so that we understand the intentional

00:13:38.580 --> 00:13:42.259
purpose behind what God shares with us and what

00:13:42.259 --> 00:13:44.440
he doesn't. It's very important. Have you ever

00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:46.019
had that place where you're like, God, if you

00:13:46.019 --> 00:13:48.740
just told me what was next, everything would

00:13:48.740 --> 00:13:51.000
be fine, right? God, just tell me what's gonna

00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:53.179
happen in six months or one year, and God doesn't

00:13:53.179 --> 00:13:54.759
tell you, and sometimes you're like, oh, it's

00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:58.360
so frustrating. And sometimes we might feel that

00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:00.639
God is just like, ah, no, I don't wanna tell

00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:02.960
you. It's just an off -the -cuff kind of decision

00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:06.460
he made. But we see here that God's intentional

00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:09.740
about what he shares with us and what he doesn't

00:14:09.740 --> 00:14:13.159
share with us. And because God is intentional

00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:16.059
in that, if God hasn't shared something with

00:14:16.059 --> 00:14:19.200
you, it's intentional and for a very good reason.

00:14:19.539 --> 00:14:22.850
And you can find peace in that, right? Verse

00:14:22.850 --> 00:14:26.389
18, as God is asking this question, he then reasons

00:14:26.389 --> 00:14:28.889
or shows us the reasons why he's gonna share

00:14:28.889 --> 00:14:31.350
with Abraham what he's gonna do in Sodom. It

00:14:31.350 --> 00:14:33.309
says, Abraham is to become a great and powerful

00:14:33.309 --> 00:14:36.049
nation and all the nations of the earth will

00:14:36.049 --> 00:14:39.129
be blessed through him. So that first reason

00:14:39.129 --> 00:14:41.730
there is because there's a purpose that God has

00:14:41.730 --> 00:14:44.789
with Abraham that knowing what he's gonna do

00:14:44.789 --> 00:14:48.210
in Sodom pertains to. The second reason in verse

00:14:48.210 --> 00:14:51.230
19, he says, for I have chosen him. so that he

00:14:51.230 --> 00:14:53.429
will command his children and his house after

00:14:53.429 --> 00:14:56.549
him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what

00:14:56.549 --> 00:14:59.769
is right and just. This is how the Lord will

00:14:59.769 --> 00:15:03.450
fulfill to Abraham what he promised him. So these

00:15:03.450 --> 00:15:05.750
two reasons where God says, should I tell him

00:15:05.750 --> 00:15:08.429
about what I'm gonna do in Sodom? And he goes,

00:15:08.529 --> 00:15:11.049
yeah, I think so. Why? Because I have a plan

00:15:11.049 --> 00:15:13.529
and purpose for Abraham, and a large part of

00:15:13.529 --> 00:15:15.490
that plan and purpose is gonna come through him

00:15:15.490 --> 00:15:19.490
teaching his kids, teaching his family to follow

00:15:19.490 --> 00:15:22.029
the way of the Lord, which is defined for us

00:15:22.029 --> 00:15:23.509
here. So if you're ever like, what is the way

00:15:23.509 --> 00:15:25.529
of the Lord? It's right there, doing what is

00:15:25.529 --> 00:15:28.889
right and just, okay? Now, that first one, he

00:15:28.889 --> 00:15:32.049
says Abraham is chosen, right? That word in other

00:15:32.049 --> 00:15:35.149
translations simply means that God knew him.

00:15:35.250 --> 00:15:38.649
It's the idea that he recognized Abraham for

00:15:38.649 --> 00:15:41.590
who he was, and he was treating him in a very

00:15:41.590 --> 00:15:44.370
special manner. That's what means he chose him,

00:15:44.470 --> 00:15:47.389
right? The emphasis is that I chose this person

00:15:47.389 --> 00:15:50.629
to do a very special thing through. I have a

00:15:50.629 --> 00:15:53.389
very special covenant relationship with this

00:15:53.389 --> 00:15:56.990
individual to do something and to be something.

00:15:57.389 --> 00:16:00.190
very important to my plan of salvation for the

00:16:00.190 --> 00:16:03.830
whole world. And so, telling him what's gonna

00:16:03.830 --> 00:16:06.429
happen in Sodom has something to do with that,

00:16:06.450 --> 00:16:10.629
as we're gonna see in a moment. Now, every Christian

00:16:10.629 --> 00:16:13.889
is called to spread the gospel. Sadly, according

00:16:13.889 --> 00:16:16.870
to statistics, depending on where you look, some

00:16:16.870 --> 00:16:19.529
say it's less than 5 % of Christians actually

00:16:19.529 --> 00:16:23.250
share the gospel. And that's pretty dismal, right?

00:16:24.019 --> 00:16:26.580
it's unfortunate because if 100 % of the Christians

00:16:26.580 --> 00:16:28.879
shared the gospel, just imagine what we might

00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:30.879
see in the world, you know, and the effect of

00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:33.480
that. But I'm not here to guilt trip all of you

00:16:33.480 --> 00:16:35.759
on that. I'll let the Holy Spirit do that. But

00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:41.559
the idea is because Abraham is going to be this

00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:45.220
man who is a people are going to come from that

00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:47.220
are going to carry the torch of God as God's

00:16:47.220 --> 00:16:48.879
people and who he is and what he wants for the

00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:54.100
world, I need to show him the consequence of

00:16:54.100 --> 00:16:59.139
denying what is right and what is just. It's

00:16:59.139 --> 00:17:02.600
important for him to know that. You see, it's

00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:05.720
important for us to understand the consequence

00:17:05.720 --> 00:17:09.599
for people not knowing the Lord. That should

00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:12.440
be a motivation behind us to share the gospel.

00:17:13.859 --> 00:17:16.140
And we can all put ourselves in positions where

00:17:16.140 --> 00:17:19.839
if we had a loved one in a situation and they

00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:22.500
were about to... be seriously harmed or die,

00:17:22.740 --> 00:17:24.660
right? And you're like, I would do everything

00:17:24.660 --> 00:17:28.220
I can to get there, to save him, to rescue him.

00:17:29.980 --> 00:17:34.160
Well, that idea, having that type of concern

00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:38.759
for the lost is why God is showing or gonna tell

00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:41.599
Abraham what he's doing in Sodom. I want him

00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:45.420
to be motivated by this destruction to see what

00:17:45.420 --> 00:17:49.240
God's justice will mete out. for those who reject

00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:51.500
him, because that is supposed to be a motivator

00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:53.660
for us to get out and tell people about Jesus,

00:17:53.980 --> 00:17:57.319
especially loved ones, coworkers, people close

00:17:57.319 --> 00:18:02.099
to you. Do you think they might not go to hell

00:18:02.099 --> 00:18:07.980
if they die without Jesus? They will. It's guaranteed.

00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:12.059
And that should be a motivator behind us to say,

00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:17.069
hey, I've got to tell you. I love you. But I

00:18:17.069 --> 00:18:18.809
need to warn you, and that's such an important

00:18:18.809 --> 00:18:21.390
part of what this thing intercession is called.

00:18:21.509 --> 00:18:23.329
We're interceding on their behalf. God, please

00:18:23.329 --> 00:18:25.990
open their heart. God, please, you know, make

00:18:25.990 --> 00:18:28.769
the soil fertile. And then you go plant a seed.

00:18:29.930 --> 00:18:32.569
Or you go harvest the seed, or you water the

00:18:32.569 --> 00:18:35.170
seed, whatever it is. But there's this motivation

00:18:35.170 --> 00:18:38.130
behind it that God is needing to show Abraham

00:18:38.130 --> 00:18:40.690
so that Abraham then does what he's called to

00:18:40.690 --> 00:18:43.990
do with all the urgency and intention and passion

00:18:43.990 --> 00:18:46.480
that he needs. So there was that first reason,

00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:48.579
his purpose, and then that second reason was

00:18:48.579 --> 00:18:51.579
I've chosen him to teach his kids to walk the

00:18:51.579 --> 00:18:54.019
way of the Lord, to keep the way of the Lord.

00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:57.799
Now, I love how God defines that, right? Doing

00:18:57.799 --> 00:19:01.920
what is right and just. Now, doing what is right

00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:04.700
there means holding to a standard for everything.

00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:09.900
The standard is God's standard, right? We hold

00:19:09.900 --> 00:19:12.809
to that. We don't back off. We don't go, well,

00:19:12.890 --> 00:19:14.329
I agree with this part, but I don't agree with

00:19:14.329 --> 00:19:16.630
this part, so I'm not. We hold to his standard.

00:19:16.710 --> 00:19:21.710
That is what doing what is right is. We might

00:19:21.710 --> 00:19:24.910
also use the word righteousness, living righteously,

00:19:25.130 --> 00:19:28.390
doing what is righteous. It's the idea of following

00:19:28.390 --> 00:19:31.730
God's standard because God's standard is right,

00:19:31.849 --> 00:19:35.430
period, in every instance. And then he uses this

00:19:35.430 --> 00:19:38.190
word just, which is interesting because it just

00:19:38.190 --> 00:19:41.630
simply means what is fair. What is without favoritism,

00:19:41.670 --> 00:19:45.269
self -interest, bias, or deception. But again,

00:19:45.329 --> 00:19:48.089
according to God's standard because he is God

00:19:48.089 --> 00:19:52.069
Almighty. The idea here is that Abraham had a

00:19:52.069 --> 00:19:56.289
parental responsibility. to teach his family,

00:19:56.450 --> 00:20:00.890
to teach his kids the way of the Lord. This is

00:20:00.890 --> 00:20:05.329
who God is. God is right and God is just. This

00:20:05.329 --> 00:20:08.529
is who he is in our life. This is how we interact

00:20:08.529 --> 00:20:11.410
with him. This is how we be the people he's calling

00:20:11.410 --> 00:20:13.549
us to be for the sake of the mission that all

00:20:13.549 --> 00:20:15.910
people would be blessed through our family. This

00:20:15.910 --> 00:20:18.869
was his mission to teach what was right and just.

00:20:20.129 --> 00:20:22.670
Now the fallacy, I just want to address this

00:20:22.670 --> 00:20:25.410
real quick here, the fallacy that some Christian

00:20:25.410 --> 00:20:28.849
parents might have where they say, well, I send

00:20:28.849 --> 00:20:31.829
my kids to a Christian school or I bring them

00:20:31.829 --> 00:20:33.609
to church once a week and we go to youth group

00:20:33.609 --> 00:20:36.289
and so I don't need to be involved in their spiritual

00:20:36.289 --> 00:20:40.490
development. Which is more common than you would

00:20:40.490 --> 00:20:45.029
think. There's little to no discipleship in the

00:20:45.029 --> 00:20:48.299
house. There's little to no devotion time or

00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:51.059
worship time. The idea is, no, I'm gonna leave

00:20:51.059 --> 00:20:55.440
that to the professionals. I'm like, if you guys

00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:58.140
think I know what I'm doing, wow, you know, I've

00:20:58.140 --> 00:21:00.380
tricked you real good, right? The professionals,

00:21:00.619 --> 00:21:02.240
right, the youth pastors, them, they're gonna

00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:05.299
be the ones that are gonna raise my kids spiritually

00:21:05.299 --> 00:21:09.279
and, you know, that's wrong. That is absolutely

00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:12.559
wrong. The first place for spiritual development

00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:15.279
for your children is in the home. The people

00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:18.880
that have the first responsibility for the upbringing

00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:23.900
of children in the Lord is mom and dad. And I

00:21:23.900 --> 00:21:25.700
know there's many cases in the world where there's

00:21:25.700 --> 00:21:28.819
only a mom or only a dad. You still have the

00:21:28.819 --> 00:21:32.339
obligation, the responsibility to lead your child.

00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:36.519
Some of the stats I looked up on this just to

00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:39.559
get an idea. In a very broad and general sense,

00:21:39.799 --> 00:21:43.269
one study found that When it comes to the 100

00:21:43.269 --> 00:21:46.430
% of a kid's time just living, right, this includes

00:21:46.430 --> 00:21:50.150
sleeping and everything, 17 % or 16 % of that

00:21:50.150 --> 00:21:54.509
time is spent at school. So 16 % of their time

00:21:54.509 --> 00:21:58.009
is being educated or indoctrinated in schools

00:21:58.009 --> 00:22:00.769
depending on where they're at. And he said, now,

00:22:00.809 --> 00:22:03.809
if you add spiritual education into that, like

00:22:03.809 --> 00:22:07.430
youth group, that accounts for 1 % of a child's

00:22:07.430 --> 00:22:12.400
time. The other 83 % was everything else, which

00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:14.819
was the bulk of being at home, being around mom,

00:22:14.940 --> 00:22:17.059
being around dad, being around the family, right?

00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:20.480
Who do you think has a greater influence on your

00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:29.299
kids? You do. You do. Mom and dad, you do. Youth

00:22:29.299 --> 00:22:31.220
ministry and Christian schools and all that,

00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:34.900
they are supplementary to what you're doing.

00:22:35.609 --> 00:22:38.309
That's why here at Hosanna, I was taught when

00:22:38.309 --> 00:22:40.650
I was in youth ministry, and I still carry that.

00:22:41.409 --> 00:22:43.650
and encourage Pastor Rick, who's our youth pastor,

00:22:43.730 --> 00:22:46.569
to do that. It's like, we supplement what the

00:22:46.569 --> 00:22:48.670
parents are doing in the home. We come alongside

00:22:48.670 --> 00:22:51.509
the parents. We're not in opposition to the parents.

00:22:51.730 --> 00:22:54.250
We're to come alongside them to help them disciple

00:22:54.250 --> 00:22:56.910
and raise their kids in the Lord. Now, that is

00:22:56.910 --> 00:22:58.970
very difficult when a kid's coming to youth group

00:22:58.970 --> 00:23:01.170
and the parents aren't saved and are actively

00:23:01.170 --> 00:23:03.130
trying to tell their kid, you can't go to youth

00:23:03.130 --> 00:23:05.990
group, right? That's a difficult situation, but

00:23:05.990 --> 00:23:08.190
that's not what the study is about, okay? The

00:23:08.190 --> 00:23:10.730
idea is that it's supplementing supplementary.

00:23:10.829 --> 00:23:13.450
Now, even though it's a supplementary thing,

00:23:13.569 --> 00:23:17.170
we still take that mission extremely important.

00:23:17.410 --> 00:23:21.109
It's huge that we invest in that, and we do as

00:23:21.109 --> 00:23:23.430
a church. It's why we have a building down the

00:23:23.430 --> 00:23:26.470
street for our Hosanna kids, right? It's why

00:23:26.470 --> 00:23:28.730
we have a youth ministry down the street. It's

00:23:28.730 --> 00:23:31.650
why we invest in having a full -time staff youth

00:23:31.650 --> 00:23:34.769
pastor so that he can minister to the kids, but

00:23:34.769 --> 00:23:37.730
that's still supplementary to what parents are

00:23:37.730 --> 00:23:40.210
supposed to be doing in the home. Now, what's

00:23:40.210 --> 00:23:45.089
too common is that a lot of Christian families,

00:23:45.190 --> 00:23:49.789
statistically, aren't discipling their kids in

00:23:49.789 --> 00:23:53.410
the home actively, and then they only bring them

00:23:53.410 --> 00:23:58.029
to youth ministry once in a while. And I think

00:23:58.029 --> 00:24:03.029
that can cause problems, right? A lot of parents

00:24:03.029 --> 00:24:04.349
today in the church, they want to bring their

00:24:04.349 --> 00:24:06.009
youth into the sanctuary, right? And I think

00:24:06.009 --> 00:24:08.250
that's great, right? Youth, if you're here, you

00:24:08.250 --> 00:24:09.910
know, you're hearing the word, God bless you.

00:24:10.269 --> 00:24:13.329
But my personal opinion is the best place for

00:24:13.329 --> 00:24:16.809
junior hires and high schoolers to be is in youth

00:24:16.809 --> 00:24:19.029
ministry. That is the best place for them to

00:24:19.029 --> 00:24:21.549
learn because the whole thing is geared to their

00:24:21.549 --> 00:24:23.809
life, their place, their struggles, their issues.

00:24:24.349 --> 00:24:27.569
It's all for that. And so that's my little soapbox

00:24:27.569 --> 00:24:29.269
there, my little plug for youth ministry, right?

00:24:29.569 --> 00:24:32.569
It's just parents. highly encourage you to take

00:24:32.569 --> 00:24:34.910
advantage of youth ministry. And I understand

00:24:34.910 --> 00:24:36.630
there's all kinds of issues and difficulties

00:24:36.630 --> 00:24:39.990
with that, but the statistics say this, that

00:24:39.990 --> 00:24:44.089
among Christian, born -again, evangelical families,

00:24:44.269 --> 00:24:46.829
I'm talking about families who, you're not questioning

00:24:46.829 --> 00:24:50.130
their faith, they're solidly Christian, attend

00:24:50.130 --> 00:24:54.410
church once a month. That's the statistic today.

00:24:54.569 --> 00:24:58.950
The vast majority attend once a month. Now, Most

00:24:58.950 --> 00:25:01.230
of your faces I see every week, so praise God,

00:25:01.390 --> 00:25:04.150
right? But in the church as a whole, it's once

00:25:04.150 --> 00:25:08.690
a month. So if parents aren't discipling their

00:25:08.690 --> 00:25:11.369
kid in the home, and they only bring them to

00:25:11.369 --> 00:25:17.329
youth ministry once a month, what type of spiritual

00:25:17.329 --> 00:25:19.990
effect is that ultimately going to have? Very

00:25:19.990 --> 00:25:22.769
little. It works, but it's very little. And so

00:25:22.769 --> 00:25:26.390
the idea here is God is establishing this idea

00:25:26.390 --> 00:25:31.150
that Abraham, your call to bless the whole world

00:25:31.150 --> 00:25:35.069
comes through you teaching your kids to live

00:25:35.069 --> 00:25:38.210
the way of the Lord so that then they teach their

00:25:38.210 --> 00:25:43.890
kids and so on and so on and so on. So God is

00:25:43.890 --> 00:25:45.710
like, look, Abram, I've called you to this, or

00:25:45.710 --> 00:25:48.339
Abraham, I've called you to this. You're to lead

00:25:48.339 --> 00:25:50.140
and you're to teach. And that doesn't just mean

00:25:50.140 --> 00:25:51.740
like, okay, sit down, we're having a lecture.

00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:55.000
This is the other challenge that exists in a

00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:56.779
lot of Christian families in this world where

00:25:56.779 --> 00:26:01.339
the idea is Abraham is to be to his family and

00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:08.660
to his kids, watch how I live. Watch what I prioritize.

00:26:10.460 --> 00:26:16.000
Watch how much I live or don't live holiness.

00:26:19.250 --> 00:26:22.250
And then let's sit down and read the Bible and

00:26:22.250 --> 00:26:24.009
let's have devotionals and all that type of stuff,

00:26:24.170 --> 00:26:27.009
right? See, when I was in youth ministry, one

00:26:27.009 --> 00:26:28.750
of the things I would struggle with a lot is,

00:26:28.750 --> 00:26:31.670
you know, in discipling the kids. And, you know,

00:26:31.690 --> 00:26:33.990
some of these kids were from Christian families

00:26:33.990 --> 00:26:37.109
and families in the church, you know. And, you

00:26:37.109 --> 00:26:39.190
know, I'd be talking to the kid about this or

00:26:39.190 --> 00:26:41.349
that and we'd be in a Bible study or something.

00:26:41.430 --> 00:26:42.869
I'd say, yeah, this is, you know, this is what

00:26:42.869 --> 00:26:44.769
God says to do and this is how you're supposed

00:26:44.769 --> 00:26:50.300
to react. And that's not what my dad does. Well,

00:26:50.300 --> 00:26:53.079
let's focus on the word right here, you know?

00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:59.039
Because if you're not exampling it at home, where

00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:01.539
your kids are most of the time, they're not going

00:27:01.539 --> 00:27:03.940
to take it serious anywhere else. So anyways,

00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:07.799
off that soapbox. We'll go over more of that

00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:09.160
on Father's Day and Mother's Day. All right.

00:27:12.109 --> 00:27:14.789
But basically, the idea here with Abraham and

00:27:14.789 --> 00:27:18.089
his family is God ultimately desired his people,

00:27:18.190 --> 00:27:21.750
the people of God, to be people of righteousness

00:27:21.750 --> 00:27:26.210
and justice. They were to be people that the

00:27:26.210 --> 00:27:27.970
whole world would look at and see these are people

00:27:27.970 --> 00:27:31.529
of righteousness and justice. They lived righteousness.

00:27:31.789 --> 00:27:35.069
They were just people because they were reflecting

00:27:35.069 --> 00:27:37.670
the character of the God that they are proclaiming

00:27:37.670 --> 00:27:42.539
to us. For example, Leviticus 19 .18. It says,

00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:44.319
do not take revenge or bear a grudge against

00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:46.940
members of your community, but love your neighbor

00:27:46.940 --> 00:27:51.880
as yourself. I am the Lord. Why does God want

00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:54.220
us to do that? It's because we're a witness to

00:27:54.220 --> 00:27:55.920
the people around us. We're a witness to the

00:27:55.920 --> 00:27:59.180
world. People are watching. We know that. People

00:27:59.180 --> 00:28:01.460
are always waiting for the Christians to stumble

00:28:01.460 --> 00:28:03.400
so they can pounce on that and go, see, you guys

00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:05.920
are a bunch of hypocrites. We're going to stumble.

00:28:07.980 --> 00:28:11.380
So let's not stumble on purpose. and just add

00:28:11.380 --> 00:28:14.859
to the problem, right? So God wants us to be

00:28:14.859 --> 00:28:16.579
a witness, and this is why he's going, okay,

00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:18.460
I need to tell Abraham about what I'm going to

00:28:18.460 --> 00:28:21.619
do in Sodom, because of his mission. His mission

00:28:21.619 --> 00:28:24.240
to be a blessing to the world, and that mission

00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:26.299
coming through his family, and him teaching his

00:28:26.299 --> 00:28:30.299
family to live what is right. And this came all

00:28:30.299 --> 00:28:32.099
the way down through the generations. In Matthew

00:28:32.099 --> 00:28:34.480
chapter 5, verse 38, Jesus was talking to the

00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:37.470
people, and this is what he says. You have heard

00:28:37.470 --> 00:28:39.650
that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth

00:28:39.650 --> 00:28:42.410
for a tooth. But I tell you, don't resist an

00:28:42.410 --> 00:28:44.910
evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you

00:28:44.910 --> 00:28:47.690
on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

00:28:48.529 --> 00:28:50.690
It's hard to do, especially if you're, you know,

00:28:50.710 --> 00:28:52.750
I got my self -pride and someone strikes you,

00:28:52.769 --> 00:28:56.230
you're like, I'm gonna strike you back. But he

00:28:56.230 --> 00:28:58.750
says, turn the other cheek, right? And it's like,

00:28:58.809 --> 00:29:02.130
okay, I could reason that. As for the one who

00:29:02.130 --> 00:29:04.069
wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let

00:29:04.069 --> 00:29:07.980
him have your coat as well. Okay, I could do

00:29:07.980 --> 00:29:10.680
that. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go

00:29:10.680 --> 00:29:14.019
with him too. Hold on, Lord. That's walking for

00:29:14.019 --> 00:29:16.960
two miles never gonna happen, right? I don't

00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:20.440
like hiking. But his idea here is we're not the

00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:23.079
ones to be meeting out justice. We're the ones

00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:25.720
to be meeting out love and grace and mercy, right?

00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:28.140
Give to the one who asks you. Don't turn away

00:29:28.140 --> 00:29:31.200
from the one who wants to borrow from you. For

00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:33.980
you have heard that it was said, love your neighbor.

00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:37.980
and hate your enemy, but I tell you, love your

00:29:37.980 --> 00:29:39.799
enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:43.880
Why? So that you may be children of your Father

00:29:43.880 --> 00:29:47.700
in heaven. So we as believers here in this world,

00:29:47.819 --> 00:29:50.599
we're called to example God. We're called to

00:29:50.599 --> 00:29:52.819
walk in righteousness and stand in righteousness.

00:29:53.180 --> 00:29:55.200
And so as the world is watching you and your

00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:57.859
behavior, it's so that they see the character

00:29:57.859 --> 00:30:00.400
of the God we're proclaiming to them. That's

00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:02.519
why our behavior and our witness is so important.

00:30:03.009 --> 00:30:05.529
Each one of us is an example of what God wants

00:30:05.529 --> 00:30:08.509
to do with all of us. The salvation, the love,

00:30:08.589 --> 00:30:11.450
the restoration, all of that. And that's great.

00:30:11.509 --> 00:30:13.609
We're called to preach that gospel, but that's

00:30:13.609 --> 00:30:17.509
only one half of the gospel. You see, when we're

00:30:17.509 --> 00:30:19.410
out in the world, we can't just say, hey guys,

00:30:19.490 --> 00:30:24.009
God loves you. They go, sweet. So you need to

00:30:24.009 --> 00:30:28.680
get saved. Why? We need to give people the entire

00:30:28.680 --> 00:30:31.759
gospel. And so God is like, okay, Abraham, you're

00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:33.359
out here to teach righteousness and justice.

00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:35.180
You're to be people of righteousness and justice.

00:30:35.359 --> 00:30:37.700
But I need to show you this over here so you

00:30:37.700 --> 00:30:42.000
understand what's at stake in how you live and

00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:46.029
what you say. We're called to be people who extend

00:30:46.029 --> 00:30:48.589
grace and mercy, but we're also called to warn

00:30:48.589 --> 00:30:52.210
people, to share the consequences of refusing

00:30:52.210 --> 00:30:55.369
the righteousness of God, refusing the justice

00:30:55.369 --> 00:30:57.690
of God, and that's what Abraham was about to

00:30:57.690 --> 00:31:00.369
watch. He was about to watch what his father

00:31:00.369 --> 00:31:03.210
in heaven would do with the incredible sin of

00:31:03.210 --> 00:31:07.619
Sodom. Why? So that as he was teaching his family

00:31:07.619 --> 00:31:10.420
about what righteousness and justice is, they

00:31:10.420 --> 00:31:13.539
would be able to say, here's an example of God

00:31:13.539 --> 00:31:17.720
meeting out justice on sin. This is why you want

00:31:17.720 --> 00:31:20.180
to walk the way of the Lord because there's salvation

00:31:20.180 --> 00:31:25.200
in him. He would understand that it's God. is

00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:27.980
the one who's gonna punish sin. God is the one

00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:29.859
who is just. We're supposed to be people who

00:31:29.859 --> 00:31:32.000
are living righteousness and justice. We're supposed

00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:33.660
to be preaching the gospel about who God is,

00:31:33.740 --> 00:31:36.500
but we're to warn them about what the judge of

00:31:36.500 --> 00:31:39.799
the world will do if you refuse him. So this

00:31:39.799 --> 00:31:42.779
whole intent was to burn into their mind and

00:31:42.779 --> 00:31:45.559
their heart through generation after generation

00:31:45.559 --> 00:31:48.420
after generation what would happen to the people

00:31:48.420 --> 00:31:51.839
who refuse righteousness and justice. And Sodom

00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:55.559
and Gomorrah was was a place that was everything

00:31:55.559 --> 00:31:58.240
opposite of what was right and what was just.

00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:02.259
And so why does God do this? Why does God want

00:32:02.259 --> 00:32:04.180
to do this? Why is God saying Abraham needs to

00:32:04.180 --> 00:32:06.559
hear this? Well, one of the big objections you

00:32:06.559 --> 00:32:08.500
might get when you share your faith with people

00:32:08.500 --> 00:32:11.039
and you try to warn them, you say, look, without

00:32:11.039 --> 00:32:13.859
Jesus Christ, it's hell forever. You may have

00:32:13.859 --> 00:32:18.319
heard this before. How could a God of love send

00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:22.119
anybody to hell? Right? You ever heard that before?

00:32:23.619 --> 00:32:28.240
Why would a God of love? That's not just. That's

00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:32.559
not fair. Right? That's the question that people

00:32:32.559 --> 00:32:35.740
come out with. And so what God wants Abraham

00:32:35.740 --> 00:32:39.099
to learn here as he sees this and ties it into

00:32:39.099 --> 00:32:40.700
what he's going to be sharing with the people,

00:32:40.839 --> 00:32:44.319
is that if anybody would ever question what God

00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:47.970
thinks of sin, If they would ever question what

00:32:47.970 --> 00:32:50.289
God thinks of a rebellious, unjust, perverse

00:32:50.289 --> 00:32:53.809
culture, just so you don't understand, yes, God

00:32:53.809 --> 00:32:56.970
is love, yes, God is grace, yes, God is mercy,

00:32:57.089 --> 00:33:05.289
but he's also just. Now, verse 20. Then the Lord

00:33:05.289 --> 00:33:07.730
said, so he's reasoned, and now he's like, okay,

00:33:07.769 --> 00:33:10.450
I'm going to tell Abraham. The outcry against

00:33:10.450 --> 00:33:12.029
Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin

00:33:12.029 --> 00:33:16.119
is extremely serious. extremely serious, right?

00:33:16.220 --> 00:33:19.099
In the Hebrew, that means characterized by causing

00:33:19.099 --> 00:33:23.000
severe pain, severe suffering, and incredible

00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:28.039
sorrow. We might use words today like atrocious,

00:33:28.259 --> 00:33:31.519
right? That was an atrocious act, which is where

00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:35.220
we get the word atrocity. When we read about

00:33:35.220 --> 00:33:38.160
things happening in Africa right now where Christians

00:33:38.160 --> 00:33:40.359
are just getting round up and just getting murdered

00:33:40.359 --> 00:33:42.859
countlessly, we go, that's an atrocity. Or when

00:33:42.859 --> 00:33:45.779
any group of people is focused and there's this

00:33:45.779 --> 00:33:48.779
great slaughter and suffering, it's an atrocity,

00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:54.200
right? He says their sin is this. Their sin is

00:33:54.200 --> 00:33:58.720
causing extreme sorrow, extreme suffering, extreme

00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:01.839
and severe pain. And so he says, I've heard the

00:34:01.839 --> 00:34:07.309
outcry. from these people. That word outcry is

00:34:07.309 --> 00:34:11.429
a word that references people who are being brutalized

00:34:11.429 --> 00:34:14.469
and the cry they would rise up for salvation,

00:34:14.530 --> 00:34:18.190
to be saved, the cry of the oppressed. It was

00:34:18.190 --> 00:34:21.010
a word used of when Israel was in Egypt and they

00:34:21.010 --> 00:34:23.090
were under the yoke of the Egyptians and they

00:34:23.090 --> 00:34:25.530
would cry out, like, please set us free, right?

00:34:25.769 --> 00:34:28.969
It's the people that are suffering abuse, suffering

00:34:28.969 --> 00:34:31.750
hurt, and all this stuff. And so he goes, The

00:34:31.750 --> 00:34:37.030
outcry against Sodom, it's immense. Now, when

00:34:37.030 --> 00:34:39.389
we typically think of Sodom and Gomorrah, often

00:34:39.389 --> 00:34:42.369
the most common thing that we think of, or what

00:34:42.369 --> 00:34:44.489
is their sin? The most common thing we think,

00:34:44.650 --> 00:34:48.530
the most common thing we, whoo, common thing

00:34:48.530 --> 00:34:52.690
we think. is that their sin was primarily sexual,

00:34:52.949 --> 00:34:55.969
right? We get into chapter 19, we see that the

00:34:55.969 --> 00:34:58.650
men wanted to take the angels that were visiting

00:34:58.650 --> 00:35:01.570
and rape them, and it's a whole messed up story

00:35:01.570 --> 00:35:05.949
there when we get to it, but it wasn't just a

00:35:05.949 --> 00:35:11.469
sexual thing. The idea was that the whole state

00:35:11.469 --> 00:35:15.030
of things in Sodom was a very terrible, moral...

00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:19.780
social corruption. There was an arrogant, cavalier

00:35:19.780 --> 00:35:22.440
disregard for basic human rights and a cynical

00:35:22.440 --> 00:35:26.860
insensitivity to the sufferings of others. Now,

00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:30.860
yes, sexual perversion was a huge part of that,

00:35:30.920 --> 00:35:32.900
and we'll see that in the next chapter, but the

00:35:32.900 --> 00:35:36.559
idea is what was happening in Sodom was that

00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:39.440
people were being abused and raped and taken

00:35:39.440 --> 00:35:42.840
advantage of and hurt and beat and robbed and

00:35:42.840 --> 00:35:45.780
all of this stuff, and they would be Just cast

00:35:45.780 --> 00:35:47.860
out like trash and people on the street just

00:35:47.860 --> 00:35:49.800
broken because they've been abused and everybody

00:35:49.800 --> 00:35:51.940
else in the city is going, glad I'm not them.

00:35:52.940 --> 00:35:56.500
And walk right by. Or I don't know, here's something

00:35:56.500 --> 00:35:58.840
crazy to think. Wow, that's terrible. Let me

00:35:58.840 --> 00:36:03.219
pull out my phone and video it. Does that sound

00:36:03.219 --> 00:36:07.760
familiar? That's our world today in so many ways.

00:36:08.940 --> 00:36:11.599
These atrocities happening all around us and

00:36:11.599 --> 00:36:14.239
yet as a culture we think we're so enlightened.

00:36:14.559 --> 00:36:17.139
Mankind has never been so free, right? We've

00:36:17.139 --> 00:36:19.659
never been so like full of knowledge and all

00:36:19.659 --> 00:36:23.179
this stuff and yet how many millions and millions

00:36:23.179 --> 00:36:25.800
of children are being trafficked around the world

00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:35.000
for disgusting use? The sin here was pervasive.

00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:42.570
Pervasive. Theologian David Wells said, he was

00:36:42.570 --> 00:36:44.309
talking about how our world is very much like

00:36:44.309 --> 00:36:46.150
this today, and this is what he said. He goes,

00:36:46.210 --> 00:36:50.630
there is violence on the earth. The liberated

00:36:50.630 --> 00:36:53.889
search only for power. Industry despoils the

00:36:53.889 --> 00:36:57.349
earth. The powerful ride roughshod over the weak.

00:36:58.030 --> 00:37:01.309
The poor are left to die on street grates. The

00:37:01.309 --> 00:37:03.150
unborn are murdered before they can ever see

00:37:03.150 --> 00:37:04.989
the rich and beautiful world that God has made.

00:37:05.630 --> 00:37:07.869
The elderly are encouraged to get on with the

00:37:07.869 --> 00:37:09.730
business of dying so that we might take their

00:37:09.730 --> 00:37:12.989
places. The many forms that violence takes in

00:37:12.989 --> 00:37:15.829
our world today provide stunning reminders of

00:37:15.829 --> 00:37:18.650
how false have been the illusions about freedom

00:37:18.650 --> 00:37:21.829
with which we have for two centuries been enticed

00:37:21.829 --> 00:37:27.429
in the West. The world is terrible. There's a

00:37:27.429 --> 00:37:30.750
lot of good in it. That mainly comes from those

00:37:30.750 --> 00:37:33.309
who know the Lord and are trying to help. But

00:37:33.309 --> 00:37:39.510
the sin nature is through every atom of humanity's

00:37:39.510 --> 00:37:43.289
body. And the more we try and just forget about

00:37:43.289 --> 00:37:44.909
these wicked things and go, oh, look how enlightened

00:37:44.909 --> 00:37:47.250
we are. Look how advanced we are as a people.

00:37:47.369 --> 00:37:50.329
And it's like, there's more slavery in the world

00:37:50.329 --> 00:37:51.909
today than there ever has been in the history

00:37:51.909 --> 00:37:57.469
of mankind. It's just not public. And so this

00:37:57.469 --> 00:38:01.349
is the picture of Sodom. And so yes, sexual perversion.

00:38:01.869 --> 00:38:05.190
but so much greater than that. So verse 21, the

00:38:05.190 --> 00:38:07.190
Lord says, I will go down to see if what they

00:38:07.190 --> 00:38:09.949
have done justifies the cry that has come up

00:38:09.949 --> 00:38:14.170
to me. If not, I will find out. So again, you

00:38:14.170 --> 00:38:18.590
go, does all knowing God not know? Right? Hey

00:38:18.590 --> 00:38:20.989
bro, I gotta go check it out. It's like, you

00:38:20.989 --> 00:38:23.409
created the universe, right? Obviously he knows.

00:38:24.699 --> 00:38:28.039
Right? He's omniscient. We discovered that when

00:38:28.039 --> 00:38:30.199
he was talking to Abraham and Sarah laughed within

00:38:30.199 --> 00:38:32.320
herself within the tent. He's like, I heard her

00:38:32.320 --> 00:38:36.900
laugh. He knows all things. But again, for Abraham's

00:38:36.900 --> 00:38:39.360
benefit and for our benefit, he's speaking in

00:38:39.360 --> 00:38:43.210
terms that address our concerns. Right again,

00:38:43.369 --> 00:38:44.829
when we're sharing the gospel with people and

00:38:44.829 --> 00:38:46.710
we're talking about the reality of hell and the

00:38:46.710 --> 00:38:48.530
reality of salvation and God loves you and he

00:38:48.530 --> 00:38:50.550
wants to save you and they bring up the why would

00:38:50.550 --> 00:38:53.909
a God of love do that? How can God do that? Does

00:38:53.909 --> 00:38:55.929
he know everything about the situation? Does

00:38:55.929 --> 00:39:00.010
he know every detail? It's like if God is all

00:39:00.010 --> 00:39:03.369
knowing, of course he does. But here, just in

00:39:03.369 --> 00:39:08.809
case that was a thought in Abraham's mind, well,

00:39:08.829 --> 00:39:11.940
have you been there? He's like. I'm going to

00:39:11.940 --> 00:39:15.260
go check it out. I'm going to make sure that

00:39:15.260 --> 00:39:19.500
when I judge this place that it's going to be

00:39:19.500 --> 00:39:24.400
based on full and accurate and thorough and right

00:39:24.400 --> 00:39:29.619
information. See, God's judgments aren't cavalier.

00:39:29.659 --> 00:39:31.239
They're not willy -nilly. They're not whatever

00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:34.239
word you want to use for that, right? He's not

00:39:34.239 --> 00:39:36.639
up there like Zeus in the Greek pantheon who

00:39:36.639 --> 00:39:38.500
was just bored and throwing lightning bolts down

00:39:38.500 --> 00:39:42.940
at people, you know? God's judgments are absolutely

00:39:42.940 --> 00:39:45.159
accurate. And why is he telling him this? Because

00:39:45.159 --> 00:39:48.800
he wants Abraham to know that if and when I judge

00:39:48.800 --> 00:39:52.800
this place, it's going to be absolutely just.

00:39:54.420 --> 00:39:56.820
There will be no possibility to go, that wasn't

00:39:56.820 --> 00:40:01.059
fair. No, it was just. It was fair. That was

00:40:01.059 --> 00:40:03.739
biased. No, it wasn't. I know everything about

00:40:03.739 --> 00:40:06.579
what they did, and I know just every detail about

00:40:06.579 --> 00:40:08.639
the situation. They refused me. They refused

00:40:08.639 --> 00:40:13.679
everything. And justice has fallen on sin. Now,

00:40:13.719 --> 00:40:16.820
of course, he knew that when he got there, the

00:40:16.820 --> 00:40:20.119
cry would absolutely justify what they had done.

00:40:20.400 --> 00:40:23.039
But again, just so Abraham knew it would be a

00:40:23.039 --> 00:40:26.179
completely righteous and just judgment. Eh, if

00:40:26.179 --> 00:40:29.980
not, I'll find out. So, verse 22. Then the men

00:40:29.980 --> 00:40:32.739
turned from there and went towards Sodom while

00:40:32.739 --> 00:40:36.159
Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Abraham

00:40:36.159 --> 00:40:39.389
stepped forward and said, Will you? really sweep

00:40:39.389 --> 00:40:43.269
away the righteous with the wicked? What if there

00:40:43.269 --> 00:40:46.389
are 50 righteous people in the city? Will you

00:40:46.389 --> 00:40:48.789
really sweep it away instead of sparing the place

00:40:48.789 --> 00:40:51.130
for the sake of the 50 righteous people who are

00:40:51.130 --> 00:40:54.750
in it? You could not possibly do such a thing

00:40:54.750 --> 00:40:57.429
to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating

00:40:57.429 --> 00:41:00.110
the righteous and the wicked alike. You could

00:41:00.110 --> 00:41:03.170
not possibly do that. Won't the judge of the

00:41:03.170 --> 00:41:07.940
earth do what is just? This is the beginning

00:41:07.940 --> 00:41:11.400
of his intercessory prayer, right? The rest of

00:41:11.400 --> 00:41:14.599
that was all intro to this, okay? This is where

00:41:14.599 --> 00:41:18.280
we're gonna see Abraham praying in an intercessory

00:41:18.280 --> 00:41:21.019
way and where we could learn how we do this,

00:41:21.059 --> 00:41:23.219
how we get the heart to do this, how we should

00:41:23.219 --> 00:41:25.260
operate with this. And the first thing we notice

00:41:25.260 --> 00:41:27.440
there is that as the two angels walked away,

00:41:27.500 --> 00:41:29.539
he was still standing there with the Lord. And

00:41:29.539 --> 00:41:32.739
then it says, Abraham stepped forward and said,

00:41:33.000 --> 00:41:36.440
all right? That idea stepped forward is to draw

00:41:36.440 --> 00:41:41.500
close. Now, applicationally, we should know that

00:41:41.500 --> 00:41:47.199
the closer we are to God, the more our hearts

00:41:47.199 --> 00:41:50.760
are going to be like his. And that's a foundation

00:41:50.760 --> 00:41:53.760
of intercessory prayer, right? The more our hearts

00:41:53.760 --> 00:41:57.059
are like us, the more selfish our prayers are

00:41:57.059 --> 00:42:00.010
going to be. The more our hearts are like his,

00:42:00.110 --> 00:42:02.650
we're gonna find ourselves being way more concerned

00:42:02.650 --> 00:42:05.250
about other people and what's happening to their

00:42:05.250 --> 00:42:07.190
lives and what's happening around us. And that

00:42:07.190 --> 00:42:09.530
is really the foundation of intercessory prayer,

00:42:09.650 --> 00:42:11.650
really the foundation of all prayer. But this

00:42:11.650 --> 00:42:14.730
idea of praying on behalf of others, it's about

00:42:14.730 --> 00:42:17.869
being close to God. You see, while Abraham was

00:42:17.869 --> 00:42:21.489
there close to God, Lot was way over there in

00:42:21.489 --> 00:42:25.309
Sodom, right? Lot, who Peter calls righteous,

00:42:26.409 --> 00:42:28.690
So there was righteousness within him. There

00:42:28.690 --> 00:42:30.789
was something within him where God said, hey,

00:42:30.869 --> 00:42:34.650
I've granted you the idea of salvation and that.

00:42:34.789 --> 00:42:38.070
He was still living amongst the sinners and it

00:42:38.070 --> 00:42:39.809
tells us he pitched his tent there and then he

00:42:39.809 --> 00:42:41.929
moved in. Next chapter we're gonna find out he

00:42:41.929 --> 00:42:45.610
was a leader in the city. But what's not recorded

00:42:45.610 --> 00:42:47.670
anywhere in scripture is that righteous lot was

00:42:47.670 --> 00:42:51.969
there going, God, please save my city. There's

00:42:51.969 --> 00:42:54.690
no recording anywhere that he was interceding

00:42:54.690 --> 00:42:58.730
on behalf of Sodom and the people there. No record

00:42:58.730 --> 00:43:02.309
of that. He's way over there in sin, living in

00:43:02.309 --> 00:43:04.590
the place of sin, while Abraham's right here

00:43:04.590 --> 00:43:07.489
standing before the Lord. And who's the one that's

00:43:07.489 --> 00:43:11.170
gonna pray for the salvation of the place? Now,

00:43:11.170 --> 00:43:13.230
we see that Abraham judges that. It's not really

00:43:13.230 --> 00:43:17.489
that he's so much like, save that city. He's

00:43:17.489 --> 00:43:19.320
like. Are you gonna wipe out the whole thing

00:43:19.320 --> 00:43:22.619
even if there's righteous people there? Because

00:43:22.619 --> 00:43:24.320
that doesn't line up with your character, God,

00:43:24.420 --> 00:43:27.699
right? The righteous, the ones who are living

00:43:27.699 --> 00:43:29.659
the way you want, the ones who have committed

00:43:29.659 --> 00:43:31.519
to you, the ones who believe you, you're not

00:43:31.519 --> 00:43:38.619
gonna judge them with the wicked, are you? Now,

00:43:38.699 --> 00:43:44.900
this idea here comes from this concern that Abraham

00:43:44.900 --> 00:43:48.980
has about God's reputation. What was the first

00:43:48.980 --> 00:43:53.519
thing Jesus told us to pray? Father, hallowed

00:43:53.519 --> 00:43:57.199
be your name. My greatest priority is your glory.

00:43:58.840 --> 00:44:02.159
The greatest priority is your glory. May your

00:44:02.159 --> 00:44:04.239
name not be tarnished and sullied in any way.

00:44:04.320 --> 00:44:08.460
What is Abraham concerned here? If you kill the

00:44:08.460 --> 00:44:11.840
righteous with the wicked, well then everybody's

00:44:11.840 --> 00:44:13.380
gonna be able to point the finger at you and

00:44:13.380 --> 00:44:16.019
go, see? It doesn't matter if you're saved. God

00:44:16.019 --> 00:44:17.679
is still going to drop the hammer on your head.

00:44:19.179 --> 00:44:21.219
And that's what Abraham's concerned about here.

00:44:22.300 --> 00:44:24.880
He's concerned that God's glory would be tarnished

00:44:24.880 --> 00:44:27.280
here. Donald Barnhouse said, the longer one remains

00:44:27.280 --> 00:44:30.019
in the presence of God, the more proper perspective

00:44:30.019 --> 00:44:32.599
he gains on the world, and all that is therein.

00:44:33.289 --> 00:44:35.090
You see, we don't have to go wallow in the mud

00:44:35.090 --> 00:44:36.869
to understand the wickedness of the world. We

00:44:36.869 --> 00:44:38.650
don't have to go be a part of sin to understand

00:44:38.650 --> 00:44:40.849
the wickedness of sin. If we just stay close

00:44:40.849 --> 00:44:43.550
to God, we study his word, we're gonna have a

00:44:43.550 --> 00:44:46.150
proper understanding of what the world is and

00:44:46.150 --> 00:44:47.510
what the people in the world are because the

00:44:47.510 --> 00:44:50.590
Bible teaches us that. And then sure, most of

00:44:50.590 --> 00:44:52.550
us could just remember who we were before Christ

00:44:52.550 --> 00:44:56.400
and we know all we need to know about that. But

00:44:56.400 --> 00:44:58.679
as we're close to God, walking with him, studying

00:44:58.679 --> 00:45:01.699
his word, we get enough insight into all these

00:45:01.699 --> 00:45:04.179
things, but our heart gets molded into his where

00:45:04.179 --> 00:45:08.380
we start to have a compassion. To at least start

00:45:08.380 --> 00:45:12.739
to think about what's gonna happen and how's

00:45:12.739 --> 00:45:15.579
that gonna affect your glory, God. Intercessory

00:45:15.579 --> 00:45:17.340
prayer, the second thing, requires that we appeal

00:45:17.340 --> 00:45:19.139
to God based on his character and his glory.

00:45:19.260 --> 00:45:21.800
This is an extension of that. Abraham calls him

00:45:21.800 --> 00:45:25.510
the judge of the whole earth. Aren't you going

00:45:25.510 --> 00:45:28.610
to do what's just? You want me to teach my family

00:45:28.610 --> 00:45:30.949
what's right and just. You want to teach my family

00:45:30.949 --> 00:45:32.469
to walk with the Lord, and I'm going to do that.

00:45:32.610 --> 00:45:35.250
But God, I'm worried that if you do this and

00:45:35.250 --> 00:45:36.710
there's righteous people there, it's going to

00:45:36.710 --> 00:45:39.530
tarnish that. It's going to tarnish who you are.

00:45:39.590 --> 00:45:41.929
It's going to tarnish the picture of what you

00:45:41.929 --> 00:45:44.030
want people to know about you. And so he appeals

00:45:44.030 --> 00:45:48.369
to God's mercy. Would you really do this if there

00:45:48.369 --> 00:45:51.369
was 50 righteous there? And then he gets a little

00:45:51.369 --> 00:45:53.130
full of himself, I think, and he goes, certainly

00:45:53.130 --> 00:45:55.300
it's not. possible for you to do that, right?

00:45:56.260 --> 00:45:58.380
At least that's how I read that. But the idea

00:45:58.380 --> 00:46:03.440
here is, God, I'm concerned about who you are

00:46:03.440 --> 00:46:07.119
and that your glory is tarnished, right? Start

00:46:07.119 --> 00:46:08.960
there. God, you're amazing. You're awesome. You're

00:46:08.960 --> 00:46:12.840
holy. You're just everything. And God, I want

00:46:12.840 --> 00:46:17.420
your name lifted high above all things. So God,

00:46:17.440 --> 00:46:19.099
I know judgment's coming, but I'm praying on

00:46:19.099 --> 00:46:21.000
behalf of all these horrible, wicked people.

00:46:21.260 --> 00:46:23.920
Lord, I know when your judgment comes, just don't

00:46:23.920 --> 00:46:26.000
do anything. Lord, I don't want your name to

00:46:26.000 --> 00:46:30.460
be sullied. And an intercessory prayer requires

00:46:30.460 --> 00:46:32.619
that we maintain the right perspective on things,

00:46:32.739 --> 00:46:35.320
who we are in the context of who we're praying

00:46:35.320 --> 00:46:39.260
for. Look at verse 26. The Lord said, if I find

00:46:39.260 --> 00:46:41.619
50 righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will

00:46:41.619 --> 00:46:45.260
spare the whole place for their sake. Now, I

00:46:45.260 --> 00:46:46.820
think that was the moment where Abraham went,

00:46:46.900 --> 00:46:50.820
dang it, I started too high. I know there ain't

00:46:50.820 --> 00:46:55.760
50 righteous people in that place. Then he answered,

00:46:55.980 --> 00:46:59.880
since I have ventured to speak to my Lord, right,

00:47:00.039 --> 00:47:03.039
well, I've already put my foot in it, so let's

00:47:03.039 --> 00:47:06.219
keep going. Even though I am dust and ashes,

00:47:06.639 --> 00:47:10.880
suppose the 50 lack five. Will you still destroy

00:47:10.880 --> 00:47:14.179
the whole place for the lack of five? Now, the

00:47:14.179 --> 00:47:17.679
idea there is Abraham's going, look, I'm dust

00:47:17.679 --> 00:47:19.900
and ashes. I have no place. I'm not better than

00:47:19.900 --> 00:47:22.059
them. I'm not saying, you know, I'm this big

00:47:22.059 --> 00:47:24.239
spiritual person. You need to listen to me. I

00:47:24.239 --> 00:47:27.440
understand that the place that I'm praying for

00:47:27.440 --> 00:47:29.960
you to save right now, if there's 50 righteous

00:47:29.960 --> 00:47:32.739
or 45 righteous, I understand they're horrible,

00:47:32.780 --> 00:47:38.659
wicked people. But so am I. I'm a sinner. I'm

00:47:38.659 --> 00:47:40.840
a sinner, and so I'm gonna keep pleading, interceding

00:47:40.840 --> 00:47:42.659
for them with the understanding that, yeah, you

00:47:42.659 --> 00:47:45.420
are a holy God, you are almighty, you can do

00:47:45.420 --> 00:47:46.780
whatever you want and judge whatever you want,

00:47:46.860 --> 00:47:51.059
but I'm gonna pray for this wicked place because

00:47:51.059 --> 00:47:54.599
I know I'm wicked too. And I know you saved me.

00:47:55.800 --> 00:47:58.039
And so I'm gonna pray that you save them too,

00:47:58.199 --> 00:48:00.460
that you don't wipe this whole place out, but

00:48:00.460 --> 00:48:02.820
instead, if there's any righteous people there,

00:48:02.960 --> 00:48:09.059
keep the place whole. He replied, God replied,

00:48:09.280 --> 00:48:12.599
I will not destroy it if I find 45. Then he spoke

00:48:12.599 --> 00:48:17.980
to him again, suppose 40 are there? Like, gulp.

00:48:19.059 --> 00:48:21.260
How about 40? I will not do it on account of

00:48:21.260 --> 00:48:25.880
40. Probably took a deep breath. I'm totally

00:48:25.880 --> 00:48:28.780
dramatizing this thing. Let my Lord not be angry

00:48:28.780 --> 00:48:30.780
and I will speak further. Suppose 30 are found

00:48:30.780 --> 00:48:32.579
there. He answered, I won't do it if there's

00:48:32.579 --> 00:48:35.820
30. Then he said, since I ventured to speak to

00:48:35.820 --> 00:48:39.079
my Lord, suppose 20. I will not destroy it if

00:48:39.079 --> 00:48:43.280
there's 20. Then he said, let my Lord not be

00:48:43.280 --> 00:48:45.659
angry. I will speak one more time. Suppose 10

00:48:45.659 --> 00:48:49.099
are found there. And God answered, I will not

00:48:49.099 --> 00:48:55.670
destroy it on account of 10. We see this humility.

00:48:55.789 --> 00:48:59.909
We see this posture of, I recognize what I'm

00:48:59.909 --> 00:49:02.269
asking. I'm recognizing, you know, who you are,

00:49:02.329 --> 00:49:04.190
God. I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I'm

00:49:04.190 --> 00:49:07.230
pleading with you on behalf. I'm not coming here

00:49:07.230 --> 00:49:09.349
with any type of arrogance or whatever. I'm but

00:49:09.349 --> 00:49:13.409
dust. And then going, oh my gosh, I started with

00:49:13.409 --> 00:49:16.630
50. That was a mistake. So do -do -do -do -do

00:49:16.630 --> 00:49:21.739
-do all the way down. Yes, God's my friend. This

00:49:21.739 --> 00:49:24.139
is what allows us to have this dialogue and this

00:49:24.139 --> 00:49:27.460
conversation, but he's still Lord. And we see

00:49:27.460 --> 00:49:31.639
reverence in his prayers. Praying period, including

00:49:31.639 --> 00:49:33.559
intercessory prayer, comes with that we know

00:49:33.559 --> 00:49:35.360
we're coming to the holy God of the universe.

00:49:36.659 --> 00:49:40.199
We're not coming to just our buddy. Yeah, God

00:49:40.199 --> 00:49:41.940
wants to hang out with us on the couch, as I

00:49:41.940 --> 00:49:46.219
said last week, but he's also Lord. He's God

00:49:46.219 --> 00:49:49.679
Almighty. And so he's like, God, I'm just...

00:49:50.339 --> 00:49:53.139
I'm humbling myself to pray for this. Now, what's

00:49:53.139 --> 00:49:55.039
interesting is Abraham could have been like,

00:49:55.219 --> 00:49:58.519
hey, look at Sodom. Yeah, I risked my life for

00:49:58.519 --> 00:50:01.380
those punks. I remember the four kings took them

00:50:01.380 --> 00:50:03.440
all and I chased those four kings up north and

00:50:03.440 --> 00:50:05.400
I defeated the whole army and then I gave them

00:50:05.400 --> 00:50:08.159
back all their stuff. And they continued to be

00:50:08.159 --> 00:50:13.460
this way? Smite them, oh mighty smiter. That's

00:50:13.460 --> 00:50:16.159
kind of how we pray sometimes, right? That's

00:50:16.159 --> 00:50:18.159
our intercessory prayer. Smite them, oh mighty

00:50:18.159 --> 00:50:23.610
smiter. But his prayers, like, spare the whole

00:50:23.610 --> 00:50:27.889
city, including the morbidly perverse and wicked,

00:50:27.949 --> 00:50:32.570
for the sake of the righteousness, so that your

00:50:32.570 --> 00:50:35.809
name isn't tarnished. I read this quote. It says,

00:50:35.829 --> 00:50:38.869
a man who has himself received mercy seeks to

00:50:38.869 --> 00:50:44.789
secure mercy for others. Can you pray for the

00:50:44.789 --> 00:50:48.670
worst of the worst in this world compassionately?

00:50:49.150 --> 00:50:52.550
God, just, if there's any way, if there's any

00:50:52.550 --> 00:50:59.110
way, if there's any possibility, save them. And

00:50:59.110 --> 00:51:04.849
I think of, what are they called? Pedophiles.

00:51:06.590 --> 00:51:09.030
My prayer for pedophiles is God, drop a meteor

00:51:09.030 --> 00:51:15.969
on their head. Kill them. Right? Traffickers,

00:51:16.030 --> 00:51:22.000
all this stuff. But the heart of intercession

00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:25.739
and the heart of God is, I hope they get saved.

00:51:27.719 --> 00:51:30.840
Because that would change everything. That would

00:51:30.840 --> 00:51:36.039
stop them. That would stop the victims, right?

00:51:36.099 --> 00:51:38.260
As he's looking at Sodom, he's going, all the

00:51:38.260 --> 00:51:44.659
rapists and all of that stuff. He's saying, God,

00:51:44.739 --> 00:51:46.840
if it brings you glory and it protects your people,

00:51:47.099 --> 00:51:53.840
don't destroy them. That's a hard prayer. But

00:51:53.840 --> 00:51:56.280
it comes with a place of understanding that a

00:51:56.280 --> 00:51:58.139
Christian is no better than any other person

00:51:58.139 --> 00:52:00.500
when it comes to the guilt that we have for sin.

00:52:01.659 --> 00:52:05.260
We're no different than anybody's sinful tendency,

00:52:05.360 --> 00:52:07.980
as terrible as it might be. The difference is

00:52:07.980 --> 00:52:13.679
we're saved. That's it. And so we're called to

00:52:13.679 --> 00:52:16.980
have this heart of compassion. God, if you saved

00:52:16.980 --> 00:52:22.000
me, I know you could save them. But still, he's

00:52:22.000 --> 00:52:24.380
in this context here of the judgment, you know.

00:52:26.059 --> 00:52:28.420
And so intercessory prayer requires that we remain

00:52:28.420 --> 00:52:32.820
persistent and persevere in our praying. We keep

00:52:32.820 --> 00:52:34.980
praying. As I said earlier, how many of you prayed

00:52:34.980 --> 00:52:36.480
for someone to get saved for a long, long, long,

00:52:36.519 --> 00:52:39.920
long time? Can you pray the same way for someone

00:52:39.920 --> 00:52:41.460
that you thoroughly believe in your heart of

00:52:41.460 --> 00:52:43.960
hearts? God, please wipe them out and send them

00:52:43.960 --> 00:52:46.760
to hell forever. Can you pray that same prayer?

00:52:46.820 --> 00:52:48.760
God, please save them and persist in that prayer.

00:52:50.860 --> 00:52:54.780
And we see that with Abraham. 50, 45, 40, 30,

00:52:54.880 --> 00:52:57.480
10, all the way down. God knew how many righteous

00:52:57.480 --> 00:53:01.380
were in Sodom. He knew what he was gonna do.

00:53:01.699 --> 00:53:03.980
He knew that he was gonna be absolutely right

00:53:03.980 --> 00:53:05.679
and just in going there. He knew what he was

00:53:05.679 --> 00:53:07.980
gonna find. He knew how he was gonna judge the

00:53:07.980 --> 00:53:11.119
place, but he had this dialogue with Abraham.

00:53:11.679 --> 00:53:17.639
And my question is, why? Abraham, I want you

00:53:17.639 --> 00:53:20.630
to know. my judgments will not fall upon the

00:53:20.630 --> 00:53:25.510
righteous. This is why we're a pre -tribulation

00:53:25.510 --> 00:53:29.050
church. I don't believe God's judgments are going

00:53:29.050 --> 00:53:33.050
to fall on the righteous. I don't. I don't think

00:53:33.050 --> 00:53:35.409
it lines up with this and many other passages

00:53:35.409 --> 00:53:38.010
in Scripture where we see God's character. That's

00:53:38.010 --> 00:53:39.469
why I think God's going to take the righteous

00:53:39.469 --> 00:53:41.429
out of the world and then tribulation is going

00:53:41.429 --> 00:53:44.550
to fall. Now, yeah, there's going to be people

00:53:44.550 --> 00:53:46.469
who get saved during that time. Different class

00:53:46.469 --> 00:53:48.590
of people at that point. Different group of people.

00:53:50.489 --> 00:53:53.269
But again, I'm not here to jump on that soapbox

00:53:53.269 --> 00:53:55.969
either. But we see very clearly here what God

00:53:55.969 --> 00:53:58.610
is saying to him is, my judgment's not going

00:53:58.610 --> 00:54:00.550
to fall upon the wicked. Now, does that mean

00:54:00.550 --> 00:54:03.969
bad things never happen to the righteous on this

00:54:03.969 --> 00:54:07.289
earth? No, of course not. Remember when the Tower

00:54:07.289 --> 00:54:09.090
of Siloam fell on the people and everybody's

00:54:09.090 --> 00:54:12.110
like, oh, who sinned that the tower fell on them?

00:54:12.190 --> 00:54:14.389
And Jesus is like, nobody, the tower fell because

00:54:14.389 --> 00:54:18.510
there's a thing called gravity, right? And so

00:54:18.510 --> 00:54:20.909
we can't over -spiritualize or under -spiritualize

00:54:20.909 --> 00:54:23.010
the issue here, but what I see in this is God

00:54:23.010 --> 00:54:26.369
wants Abraham to be sure, right? I'm gonna go

00:54:26.369 --> 00:54:28.769
teach my kids and my family all about righteousness

00:54:28.769 --> 00:54:31.849
and justice and I want to tell them God is absolutely

00:54:31.849 --> 00:54:35.909
just and God is absolutely right. And so, 50?

00:54:35.909 --> 00:54:39.829
45? All the way down to 10. I believe at this

00:54:39.829 --> 00:54:44.329
point Abraham was like, I get it. You will not

00:54:44.329 --> 00:54:46.449
judge this place unless it is absolutely 100

00:54:46.449 --> 00:54:50.389
% appropriate. And when you do, there will be

00:54:50.389 --> 00:54:52.510
no question of whether it was just and right.

00:54:54.250 --> 00:54:57.030
And so he stops. Now I did ask myself the question,

00:54:57.150 --> 00:55:01.309
why did Abraham stop at 10? There's no real...

00:55:01.599 --> 00:55:04.760
answer on that. It doesn't say. I read one commentator

00:55:04.760 --> 00:55:07.059
go, maybe Abraham knew that between Lot and his

00:55:07.059 --> 00:55:10.920
wife and his kids, it was nine. So, and he was

00:55:10.920 --> 00:55:13.039
like, I'm not really sure about Lot right now.

00:55:13.099 --> 00:55:14.739
So I don't, I don't know. That's speculation.

00:55:15.480 --> 00:55:17.980
But the idea is that he persisted. He persisted.

00:55:17.980 --> 00:55:21.019
He persisted. Now, verse 33, it says, when the

00:55:21.019 --> 00:55:23.659
Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he departed

00:55:23.659 --> 00:55:30.409
and Abraham returned to his place. The thing

00:55:30.409 --> 00:55:31.969
I want you to notice there is it says when the

00:55:31.969 --> 00:55:36.230
Lord finished speaking with Abraham. Not when

00:55:36.230 --> 00:55:40.250
Abraham was done speaking to the Lord. Sometimes

00:55:40.250 --> 00:55:44.590
when we're praying, we can get this idea of like,

00:55:44.789 --> 00:55:47.389
God, you need to hear everything I have to say.

00:55:48.570 --> 00:55:50.070
And God, you're going to be, and I'm praying

00:55:50.070 --> 00:55:52.110
for this, and I want you to do this, and then,

00:55:52.250 --> 00:56:00.369
don't you leave. God acts and moves on his timetable,

00:56:00.409 --> 00:56:03.269
not ours. That doesn't mean we don't pray. That

00:56:03.269 --> 00:56:05.570
doesn't mean we don't intercede. But God will

00:56:05.570 --> 00:56:08.269
always act on his timetable, not ours. Sometimes

00:56:08.269 --> 00:56:10.050
he'll tell us what that timetable is. Sometimes

00:56:10.050 --> 00:56:12.130
he won't. We already looked at it. He's absolutely

00:56:12.130 --> 00:56:15.670
right in whether he tells us or not. But here

00:56:15.670 --> 00:56:18.230
we get to 10 and God said, okay, we're done.

00:56:19.869 --> 00:56:22.429
Now there's two big truths in this chapter that

00:56:22.429 --> 00:56:26.250
really build upon one another. That frame this

00:56:26.250 --> 00:56:29.579
whole thing. When we're, gonna go pray for those

00:56:29.579 --> 00:56:33.659
that we don't wanna pray for. Pray for the things

00:56:33.659 --> 00:56:35.860
we think are impossible, right? This whole thing

00:56:35.860 --> 00:56:37.900
is framed on two verses. Verse 14, is anything

00:56:37.900 --> 00:56:41.860
impossible for the Lord? No. Verse 25, won't

00:56:41.860 --> 00:56:43.780
the judge of the whole earth do what is just?

00:56:44.679 --> 00:56:48.960
Yes. Right? Is it impossible for the Lord to

00:56:48.960 --> 00:56:52.039
judge the whole earth justly and righteously

00:56:52.039 --> 00:56:54.639
and accurately and thoroughly? Is it impossible

00:56:54.639 --> 00:57:00.480
for him to do that? No, it's not. So therefore,

00:57:00.659 --> 00:57:05.199
never doubt him. When we get into the word and

00:57:05.199 --> 00:57:07.619
the temptation comes up, that seems brutal and

00:57:07.619 --> 00:57:13.400
unfair. God is just. When we're trying to figure

00:57:13.400 --> 00:57:15.860
out how his mercy and his judgment is tied together,

00:57:15.940 --> 00:57:19.880
God is just. God is fair. God is right. Period.

00:57:19.960 --> 00:57:25.099
End of story. We have to know and trust that

00:57:25.099 --> 00:57:30.079
God hears the outcry of humanity. He does. He

00:57:30.079 --> 00:57:33.420
hears the cry of the abused, the cry of the trafficked,

00:57:33.460 --> 00:57:36.599
the murdered, the wronged, the hurt, the abandoned,

00:57:36.880 --> 00:57:42.420
all of it. And I am right there with any of you

00:57:42.420 --> 00:57:44.400
who struggle with that because I'm like, God,

00:57:44.539 --> 00:57:48.380
how can you still permit this in the world? It's

00:57:48.380 --> 00:57:54.760
so heinous. But God is right. God is just. Always.

00:57:55.539 --> 00:57:59.309
In all things. And because we know he hears it

00:57:59.309 --> 00:58:02.469
all, we know that his word tells us judgment

00:58:02.469 --> 00:58:05.889
is coming. Judgment is coming, as surely as God

00:58:05.889 --> 00:58:09.730
is right and just. So like Abraham, as God's

00:58:09.730 --> 00:58:12.989
people in this world today, we're called to be

00:58:12.989 --> 00:58:16.280
people who live the way of the Lord. which is

00:58:16.280 --> 00:58:18.300
doing what is right and just according to God's

00:58:18.300 --> 00:58:20.920
standard. We are to be people who are passing

00:58:20.920 --> 00:58:23.860
that on to our children and our families, and

00:58:23.860 --> 00:58:25.980
we're to be people who are then letting all that

00:58:25.980 --> 00:58:28.239
spread out as the gospel goes forth, telling

00:58:28.239 --> 00:58:30.420
people about how much God loves them, and the

00:58:30.420 --> 00:58:35.679
warning of hell. We're called to intercede on

00:58:35.679 --> 00:58:39.300
behalf of others. But that intercession starts

00:58:39.300 --> 00:58:44.000
with God, I don't want your name to be sullied.

00:58:45.739 --> 00:58:47.300
Lord, that's what I'm concerned with, that your

00:58:47.300 --> 00:58:49.519
name is lifted high and just in all the glory

00:58:49.519 --> 00:58:51.400
that nobody has a reason to point and go, aha,

00:58:51.519 --> 00:58:54.820
he's not fair, he's not just. So we draw near

00:58:54.820 --> 00:58:58.380
to him. We draw near to him because the closer

00:58:58.380 --> 00:59:00.139
we are to him, the more we just, we're gonna

00:59:00.139 --> 00:59:02.380
wanna see his name lifted high, but then we do

00:59:02.380 --> 00:59:04.300
so, our heart starts to change. We start to have

00:59:04.300 --> 00:59:07.539
his heart of compassion, his heart of righteousness

00:59:07.539 --> 00:59:10.420
and justice, and we pray things from the perspective

00:59:10.420 --> 00:59:14.539
of, God, I'm interceding for the world. Save

00:59:14.539 --> 00:59:16.420
them as you saved me. I know your judgment's

00:59:16.420 --> 00:59:19.579
coming. And when it does, there's gonna be no

00:59:19.579 --> 00:59:21.480
question that it's absolutely right and just,

00:59:21.539 --> 00:59:23.840
that you did it based on full information, that

00:59:23.840 --> 00:59:27.320
you did it without any ability for anybody to

00:59:27.320 --> 00:59:30.619
question you. But until that happens, Lord, just,

00:59:30.679 --> 00:59:35.039
we're still in this world. And I want more people

00:59:35.039 --> 00:59:36.659
to come to heaven with us. And so, Lord, I'm

00:59:36.659 --> 00:59:37.920
praying for these people, I'm praying for these

00:59:37.920 --> 00:59:40.199
people, I'm praying for these people. Don't drop

00:59:40.199 --> 00:59:43.099
that judgment just yet. My brother isn't saved.

00:59:43.199 --> 00:59:45.320
My mom isn't saved. My dad isn't saved. Whoever

00:59:45.320 --> 00:59:47.980
it may be. God, I'm praying for them. Please.

00:59:51.059 --> 00:59:53.880
We pray for others based upon just bold confidence

00:59:53.880 --> 00:59:57.159
in his character. We don't have to question,

00:59:57.280 --> 01:00:00.420
will God or does God want to save my family member?

01:00:00.619 --> 01:00:02.420
Of course God wants to save your family member.

01:00:03.659 --> 01:00:07.500
Does God want to stop this and change? If it's

01:00:07.500 --> 01:00:09.059
in line with his character, of course he does.

01:00:09.159 --> 01:00:10.739
And you can pray with confidence in those things.

01:00:13.170 --> 01:00:15.409
We understand as we're praying that we too are

01:00:15.409 --> 01:00:17.849
sinners. So we can't ever put ourselves in a

01:00:17.849 --> 01:00:20.230
place of pride to say, oh, that person I'm not

01:00:20.230 --> 01:00:22.130
praying for, that person I won't intercede for.

01:00:22.449 --> 01:00:27.150
No, we are but dust and ashes. And then we pray

01:00:27.150 --> 01:00:31.309
with passionate persistence, never stopping until

01:00:31.309 --> 01:00:35.030
the Lord says, okay, all done. And we know that

01:00:35.030 --> 01:00:37.489
all done is gonna happen one day. And the way

01:00:37.489 --> 01:00:39.349
it's gonna happen is in a blink and a twinkling

01:00:39.349 --> 01:00:41.090
of an eye, we're gonna be standing with the Lord.

01:00:43.599 --> 01:00:46.699
And that's going to happen. But until that happens,

01:00:47.000 --> 01:00:50.280
we need to pray. We need to pray for people.

01:00:50.880 --> 01:00:53.460
We need to pray for those that are lost. We need

01:00:53.460 --> 01:00:55.880
to pray for the governments and the politicians

01:00:55.880 --> 01:00:59.719
and pray extra for them, right? No, but we need

01:00:59.719 --> 01:01:02.239
to pray for the criminals and pray for the terrible

01:01:02.239 --> 01:01:04.179
people as well as we pray for our own needs.

01:01:08.099 --> 01:01:10.400
Because again, that time will come when what

01:01:10.400 --> 01:01:14.230
happened to Sodom will look like a gentle hug

01:01:14.230 --> 01:01:17.329
compared to what comes upon this earth in tribulation.

01:01:18.630 --> 01:01:21.449
And knowing that's coming should be a motivator.

01:01:23.010 --> 01:01:25.150
Should be something that motivates us to go,

01:01:25.250 --> 01:01:31.170
I've got to walk the way of the Lord. I've got

01:01:31.170 --> 01:01:33.590
to share the gospel with people because I know

01:01:33.590 --> 01:01:36.510
for a fact that is coming. And the time is short.

01:01:37.010 --> 01:01:39.510
So let's get to it, amen? All right, let's pray.

01:01:39.650 --> 01:01:46.039
Father. There's a lot in this world, God, that

01:01:46.039 --> 01:01:52.960
is tough to fathom. There's so much wickedness

01:01:52.960 --> 01:01:58.519
and evil and just atrocities or horrible things.

01:02:01.619 --> 01:02:03.639
And God, so many of these things, there's no

01:02:03.639 --> 01:02:06.960
way for us to understand why it's still happening.

01:02:07.039 --> 01:02:08.940
But God, we have to trust that you are right

01:02:08.940 --> 01:02:14.260
and just. God, we need to be people who leave

01:02:14.260 --> 01:02:16.800
judgment to you because you are the judge of

01:02:16.800 --> 01:02:21.099
the whole world, not us. And so God, help us

01:02:21.099 --> 01:02:25.019
to draw near to you, Lord, that as we pray, we

01:02:25.019 --> 01:02:27.760
wouldn't just be praying for our needs. Not that

01:02:27.760 --> 01:02:30.619
that's wrong, Lord, but we would be people that

01:02:30.619 --> 01:02:37.400
have a heart like you. That we would care about

01:02:37.400 --> 01:02:39.219
your will being done in this world, which is

01:02:39.219 --> 01:02:40.760
that people would get saved. And so we would

01:02:40.760 --> 01:02:43.119
pray for people. that we know aren't saved. We

01:02:43.119 --> 01:02:46.800
would pray for situations that are contrary to

01:02:46.800 --> 01:02:49.260
your glory and your righteousness, Lord. We would

01:02:49.260 --> 01:02:55.019
pray for what is right to permeate the world,

01:02:55.079 --> 01:03:00.679
Lord, even though, God, we know the story. But,

01:03:00.739 --> 01:03:03.400
Lord, you care about people. We should care about

01:03:03.400 --> 01:03:07.179
people, especially lost people, because we were

01:03:07.179 --> 01:03:11.760
once lost people. So help us, God, to pray with

01:03:11.760 --> 01:03:14.300
confidence in who you are, your will and your

01:03:14.300 --> 01:03:17.579
way and your character. Help us to be humble

01:03:17.579 --> 01:03:19.940
in that, recognizing, Lord, that we're sinners

01:03:19.940 --> 01:03:24.659
too. That as people who have received mercy,

01:03:24.840 --> 01:03:29.119
we would pray for mercy on others. And that,

01:03:29.139 --> 01:03:31.099
God, especially in those situations where there's

01:03:31.099 --> 01:03:34.639
things we hate, there might be people we hate,

01:03:34.780 --> 01:03:38.960
I pray, God, you would work within our hearts.

01:03:39.659 --> 01:03:43.780
To pray for their salvation. Because Lord, it

01:03:43.780 --> 01:03:47.340
is only you that is going to fix the wickedness

01:03:47.340 --> 01:03:51.559
of sin in our hearts. And help us to pray with

01:03:51.559 --> 01:03:57.659
persistence. To not stop, to not give up. To

01:03:57.659 --> 01:03:59.519
not let up on doing that until we're standing

01:03:59.519 --> 01:04:03.920
before you in glory, God. Because we know judgment's

01:04:03.920 --> 01:04:08.900
coming. We know the time is short. God, move

01:04:08.900 --> 01:04:12.699
within our hearts to be these people, not perfect

01:04:12.699 --> 01:04:17.500
people, but saved people who love as you love.

01:04:19.440 --> 01:04:21.280
We love you so much, God, and we thank you. It's

01:04:21.280 --> 01:04:24.480
in Jesus' name we pray, amen. All right, church,

01:04:24.599 --> 01:04:25.019
let's worship.