Ill. In 1886, Dr. John Pemberton’s concern took action. One day he introduced Atlanta, Georgia to his caramel-colored syrup concoction. He first distributed this concoction to Jacobs Pharmacy where Coca-Cola was sold for the first time. As it’s popularity rose, Dr. Pemberton’s concern was that every person alive should be able to taste his product at least one time in there life!
It has been over 100 years since Dr. Pemberton’s concern took action. Surveys now show that 97% of the world has heard of Coca-cola, 72% has seen a can of Coca-Cola, and 51% has tasted Coca-Cola! (used from sermoncentral.com adapted from R. Davis)
• After two thousand years, there are still people groups who have not heard of Jesus.
• There are billions of people who have not seen Jesus in the life of a believer.
• There are billions of people who have not seen that Jesus makes a difference in a life.
• Who is praying for all these people?
• When we pray for them, how and what should be pray.
• This is far more important than having them taste a Coca Cola.
• After Abraham and the Lord had fellowship together, He went on to his business.
Gen 18:16-19 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 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."
• The Lord came to Abraham and Sarah to share His plan for them.
• He had another purpose, to destroy some wicked cities.
• Because of the honor that Abraham had in being chosen to be the father of a great nation, God wanted him to know more of His plans.
• We will see Abraham go from the height of joy to the depths of sorrow.
Gen 18:20-22 Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know." 22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.
• Abraham did the hospitable thing and begin walking with the men.
• The Lord told Abraham that He was going to investigating Sodom and Gomorrah.
• For the second time, the Lord made a comment that was for strictly Abraham’s benefit.
• First He asked, “Should I tell Abraham our plans?”
• He wasn’t seeking the two angels permission.
• He was getting Abraham’s attention.
• Then He said, “We are going to see if the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah is as bad as we suspect.”
• Again, He knew everything, and He was saying this for Abraham’s benefit.
• The Lord and the two angels continued to walk, but Abraham stopped, kind of said, “Wait a minute”.
• His reaction indicated that he knew what the Lord was find and the wickedness of these two cities.
Gen 18:23-25 Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"
• Abraham’s heart sinks when he realized what the Lord was going to encounter and deal with.
• “Are you going to destroy the good folk with the wicked? If there are 50 good folk, would you destroy the whole place to get rid of the rest? That just doesn’t sound like you, to put away the righteous along with the wicked. You are the judge of the whole earth and you know better.”
• This seems bold of Abraham, but I have heard prayers that say so much as this.
• But God knew Abraham would do this and was shaping his heart.
Gen 18:26 And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
• That was what Abraham had asked, but reviewing the situation, he knew it would not be enough.
Gen 18:27-28 Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."
• Abraham drop the critical number to 45.
Gen 18:29-32 Again he spoke to him and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it." 30 Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." 31 He said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it." 32 Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."
• Abraham continued to negotiate for Sodom and Gomorra until he was down to 10 good people.
• God agreed, but HE already knew the whole region was wicked with no regard for God.
Gen 18:33 And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
• At this, the conversation was over and the Lord and the two angels left.
I. We must have a personal relationship with God. (vs.17)
A. It starts with a personal relationship with God through Jesus alone.
• Abraham was asking a friend when he interceded for these people.
• Jesus was a friend who had just received his hospitality.
• When we ask Jesus to save someone, we need to be open with Jesus and honest about our own lives.
• I am not saying we have to be perfect, but we must not allow known sin to reside in your life.
• Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
• A personal relationship with Jesus is important if our prayers are going to be powerful.
B. It is maintianed through:
1. Daily Bible reading (God’s way to speak to us).
• We receive power to not only intercede, but to intervene in this world.
• Joh 17:17-18 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
• God speaks to us through His Word. He directs us to make a different.
• He guides us out of trouble and to the needy.
• He gives us the words to say. He give us the power behind the words.
2. Daily prayer (Our speaking to God).
• How many prayers have begun like this, “Lord, let me remind you who I am….”
• “Lord, I know it has been a while since we talked but…..”
• It is important to YOU that you make a frequent practice of speaking to God in prayer.
• It is not that He will forget you, but that if you don’t make it a regular practice, you will have so much business to deal with God before you make a request, you become ineffective.
• A parent once complained, “My child only calls me when he needs something.”
• We could ask such a parent if the child made regular calls, when the child did need something, would it be easier to grant the occasional request for help.
• The parent would say, “Of course it would.”
• When an unfrequent prayer asks God for help in trouble, God’s response could well be, “What you are asking now is not the most important issue here.
• “We need to talk about this, and that, and this, and that….”
• But for the child who speaks to God daily, you have spoken about this, and that, and this, and that….
• So the response is more likely to be more powerful when business is taken care of before the request.
3. Contemplation (God speaking into us).
• Contemplation, sometimes mentioned as meditation, and sometimes confused with Eastern meditation, is different than what the world understands.
• It is simply thinking about what God said in His Word and what we said in our prayers.
• It is being quiet and still and allowing God to speak further into us.
• It requires no mindset, no physical posture, no humming.
• It is just thinking about God and what God said.
• It is taking an honest look into our own heart through the lens of scripture and letting God do some cleaning there.
• We need to think about God and about the Word of God.
• 1Ti 4:13-16 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
• One of the greatest compliments you can pay someone is, “You know, I have been thinking about what you said.”
• I believe God loves it when we take what He says seriously enough to think about it a while.
II. We must see the world through the eyes of God.
• ( Mt 9:36) When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
A. God will reveal.
• When we have God’s heart for people, God will show us the need.
• Luk 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
• Matthew 18:12-14, Jesus tells about how a shepherd will leave 99 sheep in safe care to go find the lost sheep.
• That is His heart, and that needs to be our hearts.
• We need to love the Lord enough to have His heart.
• That means we need to love the lost enough to sacrifice to reach them.
• Only then will our prayers have the power we desire.
B. We will not always understand.
• Sometimes God will show us how He is working around us.
• Most of the time, however, He is working around us and asks us just to be obedient.
• Those are the times we don’t need to know.
• Unfortunately, that is the time when many quit.
• We say and hear, “We are not doing any good. We are seeing no results. I don’t see any need to continue.”
• If God said He is working, would that be enough for us to continue?
• Well, here you go.
• Isa 55:10-11 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
III. We must intercede on the behalf of others. (vs 18-33)
• Abraham was begging for these people’s lives.
• Granted, he didn’t have to see them destroying each other’s lives in their wickedness.
• He didn’t have to watch daily as they abused the most innocent, the children and the aged.
• He didn’t have to deal with their abuse of the sick and taking advantage of the poor.
• He didn’t have to listen to their hatred of Him and all the good God stands for.
• God did, but God listened to His friend’s prayer.
A. Intercede through prayer
• We need to be a praying people.
• Jas 5:14-18 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
B. Intercede through going (Mat. 28:18-20)
• As Abraham got up to go with Jesus and the angels, we need to be willing to get up and go for others.
• “Go” is a fundamental command for the Church.
• You see, if we are not careful, we will do more “staying here and doing” than we do going.
• We will do more internal Church work than we do outreach.
• Jesus’ last commands were filled with “Go”.
• Mat 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
• He is with us when we GO. We are not with Him if we refuse to GO.
• Act 1:6-8 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
C. Intercede through sending other where you can not go (Romans 10:13-15)
• Plan B is simple. If you can’t go, send someone.
• We have somehow got it backwards. We send first and then if we have any time left, we go.
• But sending others, as important as sending missionaries is, is plan B.
• Rom 10:13-15 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"
• I will be honest, we have not been unfaithful at Plan B.
• And we need to continue to be faithful at sending and supporting missionaries.
Conclusion:
• What we need is more people like Abraham that will let their concern move to action!
• Because one man let his concern move to action, in 100 years 97% of the world has heard of Coca-Cola, 72% has seen one, and 51% has tasted one!
• What would happen if we got the burden to get the Gospel out that Dr. Pemberton had to get Coca-Cola out?
• Truly, every creature would then hear the Gospel!
