The Work of Intercession

What a blessing.

If you have your Bibles this morning, I want you to turn to

Genesis chapter 18.

Genesis 18 · chapter mention

Genesis chapter 18.

Genesis 18 · chapter mention

Leonard Ravenhill once said, one of these days somebody's going

to pick up this book and read it and believe it and the rest of

us are going to be ashamed of ourselves.

Well, I tell you, when the Word of God's applied, it'll change

lives.

When you apply it to your life, it'll change your life and it'll

also change others through you.

Abraham believed God.

He believed in God's sovereignty and he knew that if God would

move, things would change.

Now the setting is that three men have come to visit Abraham and

Sarah.

They found out that in fact, within a year, they'll have that

child that God had promised them so long ago.

They took care of these three men and we find when we look at this

passage that one of those men, or at least look like a man, was in

fact the pre-incarnate Christ.

He's having an interaction now with heaven itself.

And as that conversation continues, I want you to notice what happens.

It's in Genesis chapter 18, verse 16, it says this.

Genesis 18:16

Then the men set out from there and they looked down towards Sodom and Abraham went with them

to set them on their way.

The Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do?

Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the

earth shall be blessed in him.

For I have chosen him that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the

way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has

promised him.

Then the Lord said, because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is

very grave, I'll go down to see whether they've done all together according to the outcry that

has come to me.

And if not, I will know.

So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom.

But Abraham still stood before the Lord.

Then Abraham drew near and said, will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

Suppose there are 50 righteous within the city.

Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for 50 righteous who are in it?

Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteousness to death with the wicked,

so that the righteous fare as the wicked.

Far be it from you.

Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just?

And the Lord said, if I find at Sodom 50 righteous in the city, I'll spare the whole place for their

sake.

Abraham answered and said, behold, I undertaken to speak to the Lord.

Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.

Suppose five of the 50 righteous are lacking.

Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?

And he said, I will not destroy it if I find 45 there.

Again, he spoke to him and said, suppose 40 are found here, there.

He answered, for the sake of 40, I will not do it.

Then he said, oh, let the Lord not be, let, let not the Lord be angry and I will speak.

Suppose 30 are found there.

And he answered him, I will not do it if I find 30 there.

He said, behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord.

Suppose 20 are found there.

He answered, for the sake of 20, I will not destroy it.

Then he said, oh, let not the Lord be angry and I will speak again for this once.

Suppose 10, 10 righteous people are found there.

He answered, for the sake of 10, I will not destroy it.

And the Lord went his way when he had finished speaking to Abraham and Abraham returned to his place.

It is the responsibility of every Christian to be like Christ.

And one of the ways we can be most like Christ is when we are engaged in doing something that we not only see Christ do again and again in Scripture,

but that we now know that he is doing.

Hebrews chapter 7 verse 25 tells us that Christ, listen to this, lives to make intercession for us.

Hebrews 7:25

In other words, we need not worry about the concern that Christ has for us.

So not only do you have a church family that's praying for you when you go through a valley,

but you have the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, interceding for you daily.

Jesus is pleading to God the Father on behalf of the church, on behalf of the world, and on behalf of you

and the concerns that you have in your life.

It is the first, this passage is the first scene of intercession that we see in Scripture.

And it may be one of the best besides John 17 where Christ himself prayed for the church.

There are areas of Abraham's life and his episodes that he faces that are difficult for us to grasp.

Hard to understand that scene of the covenant.

Hard to understand how in the past he's went into a foreign country

and called his half-sister who's his wife just his sister in order to protect himself.

He'll do that again.

And that's hard for us to understand.

There's some things that is hard for us to grasp.

But this is not one of them.

This passage truly connects to anyone

that has pleaded to the Lord on behalf of somebody else.

And don't be mistaken.

God longs to hear the petitions of his people.

The pleading intercessions of his people not only invites him to show up

and thank God to show out in our life,

but it is evidence of our dependence upon him,

which is a relationship that God strives for us to have.

But there's another side to this as well.

God wants us to know what he's up to.

God wants us to get in on what he's doing.

He wants us to see how he works.

And he gets us involved in his work.

I want you to notice in verse 17, it says,

The Lord said,

Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?

What you see here is a soliloquy of the Lord

where we get to hear his thoughts.

It's almost as if God is speaking to the camera of sorts

as this plays out before us in Scripture.

He's telling us why he's doing what he's doing with Abraham,

why they're having this conversation.

And he says in the following verses in 18 and 19,

because Abraham will be used greatly

and will lead his family in the ways of the Lord.

I'm going to let Abraham in on what I am doing.

That tells me there's a longing in the heart of God

to tell us his intention.

God wants to tell us his will for us.

And we serve a Lord of love,

and he wants those who serve him faithfully

and those who are committed to live out their faith

before their family,

to know his nature,

to know his work,

and to know his will.

Now, you may be like I am.

You may be like the prophet Amos was,

who is blown away

that God would share his plan with us.

Amos said,

I'm not a prophet nor a prophet's son,

but I'm a herdsman

and a dresser of sycamore trees.

But if the Lord has spoken to me,

I'll do what he tells me to do.

And he says,

in Amos chapter 3 verse 7,

Amos 3:7

the Lord does nothing

without revealing his secrets to his servants.

Psalm 25 14 tells us

that the secrets and the friendships of the Lord

are shared with those who fear him.

Jesus said in John 15 verse 15,

John 15:15

no longer do I call you servants,

for the servant does not know what his master is doing,

but I call you friends,

for all that I've heard from my father

I have made known to you.

I want you to get this this morning.

Just think that the God that makes this world

and all that is in it

allows us to get in on what he's doing.

That is the God who made a galaxy

that has millions of suns

that are bigger than ours.

If you could travel at the speed of light

at 186,000 miles a second

and you were to travel

for the 6,000 years of recorded history,

you would not be able to get a tenth of the way

across our galaxy.

Yet, that is one of at least 20 galaxies

in such arc,

in just our corner of the universe.

Yet, the God who made it all

wants us to know his intentions.

He wants to interact with us.

And when God lets Abraham know

that Sodom will be destroyed

if 50 righteous people are not found,

Abraham begins to boldly approach

the throne of grace.

And I want you to notice two matters

concerning the cares of this world.

One is,

God listens

to the cry of the world.

It says there,

I will go down

and see if it's really

that bad.

Now that is what's called

anthropomorphic talk.

Okay?

And what that means is

that's the way we would talk

about something.

We'd have to see it

with our own eyes.

But God speaks like this

so that we can understand him

and understand that God surveys

what's happening in the world.

He's speaking to Abraham

who does not understand

the omnipresence of God,

who that's not been revealed to him

in the way that we see

in scripture today.

Meaning that God can be all places

at all times.

And the message is simply this.

When we bring our concerns to him,

God is on it.

Actually,

he's already there

before we bring our concerns.

He's already involved.

And if we're praying

in his will

and with his nature,

he is the one

that planted that prayer

within our hearts.

If we're praying

in his will

and in his way,

he's the one

that plants that heart,

that prayer

within our heart.

He is the one

that leads us

to bring it before him.

God wanted evidence

that it's not too late

for the mercy of God

to change this city.

And this God-man,

because I believe

that it's God

in human form

as in the pre-incarnate Christ,

he says,

I can hear the cries.

He said,

I hear the outcry

of the city.

Now, I want you to know

from where they were standing

to where that city was,

70 miles.

You and I cannot hear

the happenings of Sodom

from the Oaks of Mamre.

It's too far.

It's an hour's drive away.

But God hears

the inanimate

and the inarticulate things

of the world

crying out.

When Cain killed Abel,

God told him,

the voice of your brother

is crying out to me

from the ground.

Genesis 4, verse 10.

Genesis 4:10

In James 5, verse 4,

James 5:4

it tells us that God

hears the wages

of the workers

that have been

fraudulently held back

by the rich.

The world cries out.

We don't hear that.

God hears that.

God hears the cry

of the aborted baby.

God hears the cry

of the secretly abused child.

God hears the midnight cries

of the abandoned wife,

of the raped student,

of the unjust wage.

God hears the cries

of the sinful desires

of our heart.

God hears

all of that.

And we know

little to nothing

about it.

The cries

of this fallen world

reach the ears

of the God

of the universe.

And God sees it

and he knows it.

Not only what

we're concerned about,

but things that

we're not concerned about.

He knows about things

that we ought to be

concerned about,

that we know

nothing about.

That's not all

he hears though.

Not only does he hear

the cries of the world,

but God hears the cries

of the intercessor.

I want you to notice

the way that Abraham

prays here.

One concession

after another

that God is willing

to hear and to honor

because one man

pleads with the Lord

in prayer.

Abraham just

overrated the spiritual

state of Sodom.

He just thought

at least there's

ten there

when in reality

we'll find

in the coming days

that there was not

ten there.

He had overrated

the spiritual

state of Sodom.

Let me tell you church,

I believe we've

overrated the spiritual

state of pickings.

Oh, we know of some

that may not know

the Lord,

but then there's

some others

who we just think

are faithful church

attenders,

but good people,

or excuse me,

we just think are not

faithful church

attenders,

but they're good people.

Are there so many

others that we think

are fine because

they do attend church

when God knows

they're lost?

One of the greatest

burdens I have

as a pastor,

and something that

haunts me,

is what if

somebody faithfully

comes week after

weeks,

hears the gospel

preached,

and never responds

to obedience

to follow Christ?

that's why every

time we come in

this room,

I want us to be

clear what the

gospel is,

the hope that we

have in Christ,

and to give the

opportunity for one

to respond,

because the God

of the harvest

is seeking workers

to labor in the

fields,

yes,

and in the fields

of intercession,

and in the fields

of witness,

that God chooses

to use to change

our very community.

we don't hear

those cries,

but God does.

We don't know

all the lost folks,

the folks without

Christ,

but God does,

and God seeks

to involve us

in his plan.

if we are to pray,

and we are,

it's good to know

how to do it,

and so let's

notice the

faithfulness of

Abraham's prayer,

and the nature

of it.

For one,

it was a proper

plea.

It's a proper plea.

He pleads with God

on the basis of

God's nature,

and God's character,

and God's glory.

Abraham says,

it would be

profane,

inappropriate

for you to do

this

to these people.

This reminds me

of Moses

pleading for the

idol makers

at Mount Sinai.

I want to remind you,

Moses went up

on the Mount

of Mount Sinai

to get the law

from the Lord.

We know him

as the Ten Commandments.

It was much more

given to him there.

We see that in the

book of Exodus,

and we see that in

the book of Leviticus.

We see it in the

book of Deuteronomy.

That's what God

revealed to him

on Mount Sinai,

but it took a long time.

He was up there

before the Lord,

and it took a long time.

He was gone a long time,

and the people

at the bottom of the

mount were idle

for too long.

They waited too long

on Moses to come down

with the word

from the Lord

that would be the law,

and so they made

an idol,

and God told Moses

while Moses was

on top of that mountain,

God told Moses

what was happening

at the base

of that mountain,

and Moses prayerfully

interceded for them.

However,

when Moses went down

and saw the chaos,

he got angry,

and he confronted him.

He then went back

up the mountain,

and he began

to pray again,

and I want you

to listen to his prayer.

It's in Exodus 32

and 32,

and he said this,

but now

if you will forgive

their sin,

but if not,

please blot me

out of your book

that you've written.

If you won't forgive them,

let me pay for their sin.

blot me out.

What a prayer.

He leveraged

his own relationship

with God

for their renewed

relationship with God.

Can I ask you something?

Because I have pondered

on this all week long.

Can't get it off

my mind.

Who are you willing

to go to hell for?

Who are you willing

to go to hell for?

Who is it

that you want to see

saved by the blood

of the Lamb

so much

that you'd be willing

to go to hell for them?

Now,

I am thankful

that you don't have to,

but I want you

to hear

the pleas

of Moses' heart.

oh dear God,

I'll lay everything

that I am down

for all of eternity

for you to change

these people,

for you to forgive

their sins,

pray that God

will stir hearts

and allow them

to open,

that he'll work

and open a door

and let folks

be able to witness

what it means

to give their heart

and life

to the Lord

Jesus Christ.

He leverages

his own relationship

with God

for their renewed

relationship with God.

And you know,

I couldn't help but think,

sometimes we don't even

want to leverage

our friendship with them

to ask them

about their salvation.

We don't want

to even leverage

the little tension

at the workplace

because we don't want

to ask them

an uncomfortable question.

We're concerned

about their salvation

but only to the

comfortable point.

But Moses laid

it all out there.

Blot me out,

Lord,

in the book of promises

that you've given me

for all of life

and for eternity.

Blot me out

if you'll forgive

them.

That,

that's intercession.

Abraham's prayer

reminds me of Joshua

pleading after

the unexpected loss

of Ai.

They weren't supposed

to lose to Ai.

Ai was small.

They only took

some of their forces

but there was sin

in the camp

and because there was

sin in the camp

they lost that battle.

And afterwards,

Joshua tore his clothes,

he fell on the ground

and he asked God

why did you bring us

this far to watch us fall?

We should have stayed

in the desert.

None of them

pleaded

on the basis

of the character

of the ones

that they prayed for.

When they prayed,

they didn't pray

on the basis

of who they were

praying for.

they didn't pray

on the nature

and the character

of their own lives.

They waged

their prayer

on the basis

of the nature

and the character

and the glory

of God.

Their example

begs for us

to ask the question,

what is the basis

of our pleads

to God?

because a proper

place,

a proper plea,

excuse me,

puts God

in his proper place

in our hearts

and lives.

And we understand

why we ask

what we ask.

It was a proper plea.

It was also

a humble plea.

He is a

100-year-old man

who has talked

to God

a long time

and Abraham

says,

I who am

but dust

and ashes.

He's saying,

I'm not worthy.

And in verse 30,

he says,

please don't be angry

if I ask you again.

You know what

you don't see here?

You don't see

some brassy

name it,

claim it

type of prayer

that if you'll

just name it,

you can command

what you want

God to do

and God will do it.

There's a Greek

word for that.

It's baloney.

That ain't the way

we pray, folks.

That ain't the heart

in which we come

into prayer.

We're not in control.

We can't order

heaven around

and tell him

what we want.

No,

a proper plea

acknowledges

who he is.

A humble plea

is what's right.

But not only that,

but a persistent plea.

And I want you to get this

and I'll close.

Abraham just kept on coming.

He didn't back off.

He was praying

for a city

that he don't even like.

Lot.

Lot went down there.

He don't even like them.

He only has one relative

and that's Lot.

And they have a constrained

relationship at best.

They had to split up

because they couldn't get along.

But yet he pleased

with persistence.

And this passage

does not take us long

to read.

Seems pretty quick.

But I'll tell you

the agony of the prayer

wasn't near that quick.

Because Abraham

persisted on.

Notice the Lord

did not leave Abraham

as he interceded.

It says Abraham

still stood before the Lord

in verse 22.

God didn't go anywhere.

God listened to his prayer.

The angels went down

to Sodom

but God heard the cry

of Abraham.

And do you notice

how he prayed?

He said pray.

God,

what if there's not 50?

What if there's only 45?

It sounds like an auction.

It's like I buy something

on Marketplace, you know.

What about 40?

What about 30?

What about 20?

What about 10?

And then he stopped.

Why did he stop at 10?

Did he stop too soon?

God's mercy on this earth

may be for the sake

of his own people.

Because the field of the Lord

is made up of wheat

who are real believers

and they're made up of tares

people who look real

but they're not.

That look like they're of God

but they're not.

But God does not pull up the tares

because he does not want

to uproot the wheat.

It happens again and again.

God protects others

because of his faithful followers.

Laban told Jacob

in Genesis 30 verse 27

Genesis 30:27

that he knew

he had been blessed.

Why?

Because of Jacob.

He knew that.

When Joseph went to Potiphar's house

was falsely accused

and all those things

but when he was a servant

in Potiphar's house

running Potiphar's house

Potiphar's house

was saved

because Joseph was there.

Paul was on a ship

and they got in a storm

and it began to break up.

They weren't going to make it

and that ship

that was wrecked

with Paul on it

in Acts chapter 27

Acts 27 · chapter mention

made it finally to shore

and all were saved

because of the apostle Paul

being on that ship.

In Jeremiah chapter 5

Jeremiah 5 · chapter mention

when God pronounced

his judgment on Judah

he states that

he will not bring

a full end to them

because of the righteous

among them.

God

listen to me

God spares a city

for his people.

God spares a nation

for his people.

Sodom did not appreciate that.

They thought they could

save themselves

and they couldn't.

They couldn't.

It's the prayers

of interceding Christians

that help us

to be the salt

that flavors

and preserves

our society

as Christ told us to.

Let me tell you something.

If you're living

for the Lord

one of the reasons

why you're able

to live for the Lord

today

is because

there's been prayers

that have been mentioned

for you

from people

who are already

in glory today

a long time ago

and God's still

working off those prayers.

prayers.

It is the prayers

of interceding Christians

that help us

to shine like beacons

of light

in a dark world.

You don't think

those old time

preachers

that told me

when I went into ministry

man I'm glad

I'm not going in

the day you're going in

I'm glad I'm getting out

and I said

well thank you

for the encouragement

I appreciate that.

You don't think

we ride on the back

of those guys prayers?

They're already in glory

but they done prayed

for the coming generation

for God to do

the work in us.

Let me ask you something.

If the coming generation

is based upon

the prayers

of this generation

what's their status?

In the convoluted world

in which we live today

the confusing

ever changing world

in which we live today

how can our prayers

affect that?

I think scripture points

again and again

to it can powerfully

affect that

and I believe

it comes

no other way

to my understanding

this is the first

example of intercession

praying on somebody else's

behalf in scripture

and I believe

it's one of the best

examples

because it tells us

that God

hears and heeds

the pleading prayer

of his people.

My question is

does he hear ours?

Does he hear mine?

Does he hear yours?

he won't

unless you pray

him

but if we're godly

and if we're faithful

to pray

and to lift it

before the Lord

he will hear our prayer

and he will answer

may we never

be satisfied

with less

with every head

bowed

and every eye

closed

I've not been here long

just a few days

over a year

and yet I know

already

I knew when I came in

but I even know

personally now

about so many

that I know

there's a pain

on every pew

in this building

some of them I know

about some of them

I don't

but I know

there's folks

that got stuff

on their hearts

and minds

weighing on them

struggling with it

and I get that

because when I know

about it

I pray along

right there with you

and I ask you

to do the same

for me

in the indecisiveness

and the clear direction

that I want so bad

for those I love

I ask you today

are you taking those

matters before the Lord

are you entrusting them

to him

sometimes we take

our agenda to God

and ask God to

do what we want him

to do

and then there's times

when we just go

and say God

based on who you are

I entrust this matter

to you

I ask for you

to move in this way

but I entrust this matter

to you

God will you work

and move as only you can

I want you to know

if you're here today

and you've never accepted

the Lord Jesus Christ

as your personal Lord

and Savior

or you're unclear

about that matter

you've already been

prayed for

maybe not by name

but you've already

been prayed for

because I pray

that God would work

and move in your life

today

and that you would

come to a point

in your life

where you know

for certain

you have eternal life

and you'll go to heaven

when you die

and if you want

any clarity of that

and want to understand

that even any better

I encourage you

we're going to stand

and we're going to sing

in just a moment

you obey God

and do exactly

what he tells you to do

you just come down

and say preacher

I need some guidance

with where I am in life

let's spend a few moments

talking about that

together afterwards

maybe you're here

and you do know that

but there's things

in your life

that are not pleasing

to the Lord

and you need to settle

those matters

not only do you need

to pray for other people

you need to pray for yourself

and you need to get

those things right

before God

because they hinder

your prayers

for other people

as well

and then I know

I know that in a room

this size

with this many people

there are a lot of

burdens in this room

today

stuff that you've

worried about

stuff that maybe

you prayed about

stuff that you need

to give over

to the Lord Jesus

and it's been my prayer

that today

we just hand things

over to the Lord

you can do that

where you are

you can do it

at this altar

you can do it

any way God

tells you to do it

but don't ever do

less than what God

tells you to do

and I'll never ask you

to do more than

what God tells you to do

just be obedient today

maybe God's drawing you

to be a part

of this fellowship

you know that God's

leading you to be a part

I encourage you to come

we'd love to guide you

in that process

and what that means

Lord Jesus I love you

and I thank you

for the love

that you have for us

guide us right now

to simply be obedient

to follow you

as you lead us

right now

oh God I pray

in Jesus precious name

amen

stand together