Well, good morning. It is great to be back with you all. It's been a couple of weeks. I've missed you. It's especially good to be back from the East in the land of 98 degrees and high humidity to a land of 103 degrees, dust, and apparently baseball-sized hail. That's nuts. I don't know what happened there. Today we're going to be looking at Genesis 18, 16 through 33. It's printed in your bulletins. Or if you have your Bibles, you can turn there. And one of the things I've been doing this summer is really wanting to look more on just my own prayer life. What does it mean to go to God in prayer? So I've been trying to explore scripture on that. And in this passage, you could really describe this whole passage as Abraham interceding. Interceding. for Sodom to God, communicating with him. And so I want us to just explore what is going on? What does this really do? What's it for? Why do we as a church actually pray for others? And so ultimately, this is a particular passage of Abraham doing just that, praying, interceding, for Sodom. And I think often when it comes to prayer, you know, we could define prayer like any good Reformed Presbyterian using the Confession. Prayer is offering up of our desire unto God for things agreeable to His will in the name of Jesus with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgement of His mercy. And that is true But I think often what happens is there's sort of a spectrum when it comes to our prayers. That on one side, we have people who almost really highlight the sovereignty of God. That God is sovereign and therefore he's gonna do what he wants and we just communicate to him and he just does it. And then on the other side, we have people that are almost going to God, pleading and reminding almost to him of himself. God, you're merciful, so be merciful. Almost as if they're the ones who are, out of their own understanding of what goodness and justice is, are telling that to God. So what is actually going on when we pray? And so that's what I wanted to do today. I want us to look at that. Let's read together Genesis 18. This is 16 through 33. Then the men set out from there, and they looked down towards Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all of the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. For I have chosen him that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him. Then the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether he hath done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know. So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom. But Abraham stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are 50 righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the 50 righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fares the wicked. Far be that from you. Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just? And the Lord said, if I find at Sodom 50 righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake. Abraham answered and said, behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. I am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the 50 righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it if I find 45 there. Again, he spoke to him and said, suppose 40 are found there. He answered, for the sake of 40, I will not do it. Then he said, oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose 30 are found there. He answered, I will not do it if I find 30 there. He said, behold, I've undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose 20 are found there. He answered, for the sake of 20, I will not destroy it. Then he said, oh, Lord, oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again, but this once. Suppose 10 are found there. He answered, for the sake of 10, I will not destroy it. And the Lord went his way when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. Let's go to God now in prayer. Dear God, we thank you for your word. We thank you that it guides us and shapes us and gives us all we need to live faithfully. I pray that you would meet us here today, that you would show us through your word what it means to love you more, what it means to serve you more. Equip us, God. It's in Christ's name. Amen. Well, one of the reasons I love being at Texas Tech and being in Lubbock is that it is actually a sports place. There's a lot of great sports around here, especially on the college campus with football, baseball, basketball. Right now, we're in the midst of the College World Series. The NBA championship has just ended. NFL football, college football is on the cusp. And one thing I often notice while watching these sports games is that there is a great deal of intercession that takes place. Not only to God, but to each other. Here's what I mean by that. Throughout the games, you know, you have a referee who calls a certain play. You know, maybe the player goes in for a layup and makes contact with the other player or player's caught out on first. or a wide receiver's interfered with. And then what happens immediately after? Well, we have players, coaches, fans, us, who yell and scream. Sometimes the coach comes off the bench and he pleads to the ref. Change the call. Making a case for his player. Standing in the gap. And essentially, the coach is interceding. The coach didn't commit the foul. He's standing between the ref and the player and pleading to the ref on account of the action of his player. And in a way, intercessory prayer is doing that. We're petitioning God on behalf of another party. So we come to this text in Genesis, and that's what Abraham's doing. Standing in the way of God and Sodom, standing in the gap, seeking to intercede. And I'm sure, as you know, as we know from reading scripture, Sodom is full of guilt. And this actually could be where my sports analogy breaks down. Because is God merely just a referee? You know, just making his verdict, listening, but making his verdict regardless. And as I said before, we often lie on a spectrum. Right? We have on one side, you know, someone who is going to highlight just all of God's sovereignty, which is true. He is going to accomplish what he wants regardless of me. Then at the other end, someone pleading with God, reminding God of his own attributes as if God has forgotten who he is. It's almost as if the person interceding is sort of teaching God about this person, about what's going on. Manipulating God in a way of what's right and wrong. So what exactly is going on when we intercede? What really is happening? Does it matter if God is going to do what he wants anyways? Why pray? I hear that all the time on the college campus. On the other hand, do we have so much power in prayer that it's almost like getting God to change his mind? And what I want us to see is that prayer does matter. There is something that takes place when we go to God through intercession especially. And the question is what? And through this passage, I want us to see that Abraham intercedes for the nations because God actually initiates the intercession. It's because God is sovereign that we're invited to pray. And that through that invitation, we have an opportunity to participate with God. Through Abraham's intercession, Abraham's actually changed. God reveals and teaches Abraham more about who he is rather than the other way around. And so for context, let's just look for a little bit at this specific passage, but let's understand what's the wider context here. You know, in Genesis 12, Abraham was chosen by God, he's his servant, and he's promised that he would make a great nation out of him. He would bless him and make his name great so that he would be a blessing. So throughout the story of Abraham, we have to keep this in mind. How is God fulfilling this promise to Abraham? And things get in the way. And Abraham gets confused and Abraham gets scared. And then right before this passage in Genesis 18, Abraham has a visit from the Lord. And what happens? God actually confirms the first part of this promise. You indeed will be made into a great nation because you will have a child. Praise God. His plan will continue through Abraham. Now what about the second part? Through Abraham, all the nations on the earth will be blessed. And what do we see right here? That right after that passage, Abraham intercedes for the nations. Abraham intercedes for a particular nation. That you could say that one of the very first expressions of blessing the nation is actually praying for them. It's sharing the burden with God about the world. And so, sort of the big idea that I want us to get from this passage is that part of our calling, actually as God's people, part of what it means to be faithful and to bless others is by praying for each other, praying for others. And I believe, in many ways I'm preaching to the choir here, like y'all are a praying people. You know, I hear from students that come visit, I'm like, hey, how was the service? And they're like, wow, you pray a lot here. And let me confess something to you. Well, first off, I love that. I'm proud of that. I want us to be a church that centers ourselves on what prayer is, communicating with God in our worship. But let me confess, sometimes I check out a little bit. Forgive me, that's wrong of me, that's sinful. But in studying a passage like this, in studying prayer in scripture throughout the summer, it gives me encouragement. to stay active, because prayer is not only a blessing to others that we pray for, but it's greatly a blessing to us. And so I want us to look at three things from this passage of why this is such an important calling, not only for us, but for others. So I want us to see three things in this narrative, that we pray because of what God reveals to us. We pray because of what God invites us into through prayer. And then we pray because of what God teaches us and shapes us within the act of praying. So first, we pray because of what God reveals to us. Look with me in verse 16 through 21. What are the things we observe? The first thing we see is that the Lord is talking with his divine counsel about allowing Abraham to see what he is about to do. What's his reasoning? Seeing that Abraham will be made into a great nation and all the nations will be blessed in him. So as a chosen servant of God, Abraham will command his children and household to keep the way of the Lord by doing what? Righteousness and justice. That doing righteousness and justice, this is often a pairing in the prophets. We hear it over and over again. Think of Micah 6, 8. What does the Lord require of you? Do justice. Love righteousness, walk humbly with your God. So it seems that God's allowance of Abraham to witness his plans, it's linked with this blessing of the nations of doing righteousness and justice, that approaching God is actually a part of that call, praying to God. What else do we notice? It seems that God, he's in his investigating phase right now. He's investigating the outcry of Sodom. He's withholding his judgment right now. showing he's a patient, he's calculated, he's going down to see, as it says in verse 21, whether they have done altogether, which could actually be translated, whether they have just made a complete destruction of things. What do we know of Sodom? You've already learned from earlier in Genesis that Sodom was wicked. In Genesis 13, 13, it says this outright. That in many ways, Sodom and Gomorrah, they become almost an archetype in the Bible of total wickedness, deserving of God's wrath. And it seems that God is finally going to do something about it. That there was obvious heinous sexual acts, but also immense violence and hospitality, other injustices, that the word outcry is often used in scripture to describe this very thing. It refers to the cry of the oppressed in the face of justice, in the face of injustice. So for instance, the motivation for God in Exodus, he hears Israel's outcry to God as slaves in Egypt. And yet here, it's about another nation, not even his chosen people. God does care about the injustice over all the nations. He cares about the moral ethic of the entire world. It's his world. And he does have the power to do something, yet is also conscientious. That as a conscientious, righteous judge, he's allowing his servant Abraham to see into some of his divine plan. And this is one of the reasons God reveals it. He reveals to his servant what he's about to do. As an illustration, think for a moment about just all the vast information that we get on a daily basis. You know, we have pictures, videos, things that are posted to the internet, social media, news every single day. It can be overwhelming. Some of us are, you know, some of us, we post things. We want to inform others. And as a poster, you have the control of what you do or don't put on the internet. But we post what we want people to see, what we want our friends to hear, what concerns us. as people, right? And if we believe in a sovereign God that doesn't allow anything to come to pass, that he doesn't already ordain, then consider for a moment what God actually allows us to see. What does God actually enable us to witness? What does God share with us? That of course we filter all these things through his word, which helps us to see the world rightly, But I ask, what do you see when you really look out there? And I know, probably, if you're like me, you think it's not very pretty. It's overwhelming and it's sad. That it's certainly not hard to recognize and witness the amount of suffering, pain, sadness, and sin. You know, reading stories from the news, witnessing atrocities. We live in a unique time in history when we can actually witness on people's faces those who have been severely wounded all over the world. And in many ways, it's unavoidable. And in many ways, that's why there's often so much divisiveness. Like, because people can't escape from witnessing this evil and they outcry. And we long to fix it. Now granted, we have immense different opinions on the ways it can be fixed. But for a moment, following this flow of the passage, consider this, that God has given us as his people immense opportunity, actually, to witness things outside of the church, to witness the atrocities of our own Sodom. He doesn't hold back from showing us the brokenness of Lubbock and the culture or the nation. And as his servants, he continues to allow us to see This terrible wickedness that often plagues our country, our world, our lives. And because we're limited, we only get a grain of sand of that compared to the amount that's out there. I mean, think of your own personal stories. How much of your own story and the pain within it do you actually even reveal to people? Maybe a little bit, or certainly there's things you don't even want to speak about. I know that God sees all of it. What if one of the reasons that God enables you in this moment to witness certain things and has called you as one of his servants is not just to separate and critique and judge, not to actually move away, not to form some isolation from it so you don't have to interact with it, but what if one of the reasons he's revealing it He actually shows us and places us in a place like this so we can draw near to him and communicate to him about it. That it serves as an example that all things, even those terrible things, work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. That God uses it not just to bring anxiety, but to draw you even closer to a God who hears your outcry. and wants you to experience Him further. Abraham, through God revealing to him what is about to take place, is driven towards God. You know, it's estimated that approximately 9% of the entire world believes in Jesus Christ and rests upon Him alone for salvation. Now, that's a good number, but it's also a really small number. God has shown us as his people the truth. He's shown us the gospel. He has given us the path to life. And part of the reason we are called into Abraham's family is to participate with him. And one of the very first ways Abraham does this is by seeking intercession. That when we are exposed to those who we know are lost, or those we know are seeking things that are far against God's design and plan, where do we start? And I think if you're like me, it's easy to just go into judgment or fix it mode. It's easy to just thank God that I'm here and not over there, or blame other things for why the world the way it is. And I think the passage shows that a really good starting place is to motivate us towards God and prayer for them. Interceding, letting that burden move us towards the heart of God. Because not only does God reveal to us as his people, but God also invites us into what he's doing. God invites Abraham to intercede. Verses 22 through 32, we see that from Abraham's new knowledge of God's plan, it moves him to draw near. God's revealing creates action. Following the flow of the story, I think it's important to note that at this stage, you know, God is still in his patient deliberation process. As it says in Exodus, he is a God that is slow to anger. He is still withholding his judgment of Sodom. We are still learning what God's ultimate verdict will be. You know, this is where my analogy of the referee breaks down. You know, the interceding in the game with referees actually takes place after the call's been made. There's a foul and boom, a verdict, and then we swoop in to try to intercede. However, the picture is painted here as one of a patient judge that we go to. And if we understand that God is withholding his judgment currently, intentionally revealing his plans to Abraham, moving Abraham to draw near, then it seems that God is incorporating Abraham into this. And as Abraham moves closer, notice that Abraham begins asking not for the removal of the innocent, but for the forgiveness of the guilty. Abraham's appealing to a God of mercy in this moment. Have mercy on the guilty God for the sake of the innocent. Forgive the guilty. Have mercy, Lord. Notice the pattern that actually this establishes throughout scripture. These righteous lives that Abraham is assuming are in Sodom aren't necessarily atoning for the guilty. But Abraham is pleading with God that he allows the guilty to continue on living for the sake of the righteous. Is this not a step towards the cross where Jesus, completely righteous in every way, gave up his life for the sake of the guilty? And so if inviting Abraham to participate in what he's doing, it's almost as if God wants Abraham to test the limits of his justice. Some people have stated that this passage can be interpreted as bargaining. that Abraham, the buyer, would start with a number and that he would negotiate on certain prices. However, that's not what is taking place. God agrees on the price every time. If anything, Abraham can be seen as the haggler. It seems that God, by initiating Abraham, is creating an opportunity for Abraham to witness what his divine justice really looks like. Through prayer, Abraham draws near. and experiences further both God's mercy and justice again and again and again. And we intercede because God allows us to understand what's going on and further invites us to experience further who he is. I can remember a couple years ago, just the stressful, exciting, fun time of job searching with Valerie after seminary. And during this time, you know, we prayerfully considered where to go and potential ministries to apply for, and we got to visit a couple places. And the idea behind these visits was so that I would become closer to the place, I would see it, that I would see life taking place there, that I would imagine different aspects of doing ministry there, that I would meet face-to-face with the people that live there, that I could start observing and learning about this particular ministry. And the reason the committee would invite me wasn't just to get me to come and see, but actually the hope for them is that I would want to participate in what they were doing there. That I would see it and it would move me. And in the same way, Abraham is being drawn into this and what God is doing, and God wants him there. God wants him to make requests. He wants him to be a part of what he's doing. We intercede because God invites us to be involved. This is one of the means he does that. Now we can of course all grow in this area, you know, as you see and observe, come to know the brokenness of the world, the darkness that is taking place. Know that God, he's actively asking you to come to him, to talk to him. You're engaging with God as he works, a God that is slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, who forgives thousands. Participate. Now you may say, that's great, you know, I'm glad he wants me to be involved. But you know, there are plenty of times that I feel like I pray and nothing happens. You know, maybe some of you have relatives or friends that you are constantly interceding for, which seems to be very little change in their lives. You see a world that often seems to be getting worse rather than better. So what is actually going on in this invitation? And through prayer, we see in this passage that God teaches us a whole lot about who he is. Let's look at the rest of the passage. There's a reason that prayer is considered a means of grace within our doctrine. Look at the progression that's taking place. Abraham humbly makes the request, followed by God's agreement. Then he boldly continues again and again. It's as if through this prayer, Abraham is becoming more emboldened, more encouraged to approach God. This participation through intercession, it leads him into less cynicism in a way. He approaches God more and more with a greater and greater request. His prayer progresses and explores who God is and God's mercy and God's justice more and more. Through his prayer, he gains more courage to ask God. And then again, and then again, his prayers are doing something to him. Outwardly, he's participating in what God is doing, but inwardly, Abraham is also changing through God's divine plan for himself. Through prayer, God actually teaches us more about who he is. And notice this, this is interesting. Where does Abraham stop? He stops at 10, which I find interesting. Like you would think naturally, Abraham would just continue. But it's almost as if Abraham just becomes satisfied. Through his intercession, he's actually taught more about God's justice and mercy, and he explores that divine mercy and grace that God reveals, and then he stops. As if he becomes satisfied and knows that the judge of all the earth will do what is just. That this active endeavor of intercession for us, it grows us in a way that becomes, that we get more satisfied, more confident in what God is doing. Not less. Do you want to experience His provision and grace? Sometimes we think in order to do that, we have to just work really hard, you know, read another book, you know, stand up and fight. We need to defend God. And those things aren't wrong, per se. However, can I suggest that through this passage, God wants to teach you about who He is by just going to Him in intercession? He wants to shape you with his love and mercy and justice, not only for the world, but for you. He wants to increase your faith like Abraham to where you can sit and be satisfied with Abraham and say, the judge of all the earth will do just that. I have confidence in him. I'm satisfied in him. And he uses your prayers to draw you in. An accessory prayer doesn't just change the world, but it actually changes us as people who are called to serve and bless the world. As I close, you know, being in Memphis a couple weeks ago caused me to just look back and remember I used to live there about a decade ago. And I can remember first moving to Memphis and meeting someone from my church who said this about Memphis. You know, Memphis can be a very hard place in many ways to live. And know this, people move to Memphis to give something. People move to Nashville to give something. Sorry, Nashville peeps. But through giving to Memphis, you continue to fall in love with Memphis. And of course, essentially what he was trying to say was that as you witness and experience the world of Memphis, Approach it with this mindset that, why are you there? To serve. And through that service, actually God changes you to love it. And when we think about praying for others, I think it can often start out with just committing to a people through our prayers. Giving rather than getting. But through that, I believe that God grows you in your love for them. shapes you into a people that serve because of your love, rather than because of your duty, but because you actually love them. I'm reminded of the prayer of intercession of Jesus for us in John 17. He says, Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am. to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Oh, righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name and I will continue to make known that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them. Brothers and sisters, this is what we get to participate in. a conversation with Jesus who looked out in the world and saw you and interceded for you. We don't follow a God who is idle, but a God who refuses to sit and watch the injustice done both to you and from you. And so he intercedes. And he didn't do it by removing himself from us. He did it by entering into a world. and taking all of that upon himself. This is the God that we follow, a God of intercession. And if we long to follow that God, we long to look like him by participating in our own intercession for others. Let's pray. Dear God, we thank you for this time. I pray that you would continue to shape us as a people through all of your means of grace. but in particular through prayer, that you would use it to show us even more about who you are. As a God who hears us, as a God who faithfully moves in all the world, as a God that we can actually put our trust in, a God that we know will do justice, and we know is merciful. We thank you, God. It's in Christ's name, amen.