I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that air travel is more about competition than cooperation. For example your goal when boarding the plane is to make sure you snag a spot for your carryon in the overhead bin. Let the other guy have to gate-check his bag because there’s no more room in the cabin. Then when you get off the plane it’s a race to be first in line at immigration because you’ve got places to go and people to see. Let the other passengers fend for themselves.
Unfortunately that attitude can carry over into our everyday lives. As long as we’re getting along, that’s all that matters. Let others fend for themselves. But as we watch Abraham on his journey of faith this morning, we’ll see how he shows concern for his fellow travelers, and he does that in the best way possible: he prays for them. That’s also how God wants us to show concern for our fellow passengers on the journey of faith.
Last Sunday we heard how the LORD came down with two of his angels disguised as travelers and dropped in on Abraham and Sarah. God stopped by to strengthen Sarah’s faith in the promise that she would have a son in her old age. Once the visit was finished God and his two angels got up and started making their way to the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah. You see this was the other purpose for which God had come down to earth. God said to Abraham, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know” (Genesis 18:20, 21).
Of course God didn’t actually need to go down to these cities to check out what was going on. He knows all things and was well aware of what the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were up to. But by telling Abraham that he had come to “investigate,” God reminds us that he does not act without first having gathered all the information. Therefore his acts of judgment are never rash or without reason; they are always warranted.
So what was going on in Sodom and Gomorrah that was so bad? Well, we’ll save that discussion for next week’s sermon. What I want you take note of is why God bothered to share his plans with Abraham. As they were strolling away from Abraham’s tents God murmured to himself: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him” (Genesis 18:17-19).
God wanted Abraham to know about his plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their impenitent sin because Abraham was a leader. And as such, God wanted Abraham to witness just how seriously he deals with sin so he could warn others. Sure, it may seem that God doesn’t care how we live because he doesn’t zap us with lightning every time we do something wrong. However God sees all that we do and he seethes at our sins. Those who continue in sin without a care can expect to face God’s judgment someday, as did the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah.
When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in such a way that smoke billowed up from those cities as if from a furnace, I’m sure others in the area took notice. If they would have come to Abraham for an explanation, he would have been able to give them one along with the warning to turn from their sins lest God judge them in the same way. God took Abraham into his confidence that he might share with others what he had learned and in this way show concern for his fellow travelers on the journey of faith.
Do you realize that God has also taken you and me into his confidence? In the Bible he has told us what is going to happen to this world: it will be destroyed by fire, and that could happen at any moment. He has also told us that the only way to survive the destruction is through faith in Jesus. But God has also made it clear that our personal judgment day might be even closer at hand. For when we die we will have to stand before God and receive our verdict: heaven or hell. Since you are in the know, God urges you to show concern for your fellow travelers by giving them this information.
There’s also something else you can do for them: pray. That’s what Abraham went on to do when God told him of his plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham prayed for his nephew Lot who lived in Sodom with his family. He didn’t want Lot to be swept away in God’s judgment. So Abraham turned to the Lord and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked…” (Genesis 18:23-25).
In this text Abraham demonstrates the quality of God-pleasing prayer. We first see how prayer is to be unselfish. Abraham was pleading for others, not just for himself. He wanted the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to experience the same grace he had experienced from God throughout his life. In the same way our prayers too should be unselfish. The Apostle Paul said, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:1, 2). “Pray for everyone!” Paul says. Pray for your family, the people here in church, your co-workers, friends, and yes, pray for your enemies too. Pray for your governing officials instead of complaining about them.
To help guide your pray for others use the fingers of your hand as an outline. Your pinky, the smallest finger reminds you to pray for those who are weak in health or faith. Your ring finger prompts to you pray for those who are married. Your middle finger, the biggest finger, reminds you to pray for those in authority. Pray for our prime minister, our premier, our mayor, and our first responders. Your index finger is the finger you use to point with, so pray for those who point the way to heaven—your pastor, missionaries, Seminary professors, Sunday School teachers. And since your thumb is the digit closest to you, use it to remind you to pray for those close to you like your spouse and children. And what is it that we should pray for? Not just that they have good heath, but that their faith in Jesus be strengthened.
Like Abraham, be persistent in your prayers. Abraham addressed the Lord six times in our text. He didn’t stop until God agreed that, for the sake of 10 righteous people, he wouldn’t destroy those wicked cities. Can you be as bold and persistent in your prayers? Yes! Jesus urged such persistence. And the Apostle James wrote: “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6).
But what right do we have to approach God with such boldness? Abraham knew that he had no right to make the requests he was making. He even said: “I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27). Like Abraham we too are nothing but a walking bag of dust. And yet through Jesus we may boldly approach God’s throne. Jesus even once said: “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:14). But is that promise true? You’ve asked for a new car and haven’t gotten it. You’ve asked for God to take away your aches and pains, but they’ve only increased. So what did Jesus mean? Well, whenever we ask for whatever is according to his will, Jesus will give it to us. That’s why when we pray for forgiveness we can do so with absolutely boldness. God will grant and has given us forgiveness because this is his will. But I don’t know if it’s his will that I have a new car or that he take away my arthritis. So with requests like that, I will add, “your will be done,” and be content that even if God doesn’t answer that prayer with a yes, he will answer my prayer with the strength I need to carry on.
Abraham experienced that kind of answer to his prayer. You see, God did end up destroying Sodom and Gomorrah because there weren’t even 10 righteous people in those cities. But there was at least one. And even though his faith was faltering, God saved Lot in accordance with Abraham’s prayer. That tells us that prayer is not pointless. God invites us to pray because he promises to hear and listen to our prayers. And he does take into consideration what we are asking of him.
So the next time you’re rushing through a busy airport or shopping mall, take a moment to stop and look at all the people. Think of what awaits many of them because they don’t believe in Jesus. Don’t just shrug your shoulders and get back to your business, show concern for these fellow travelers of yours. Witness to them about what you know is coming: Judgment Day. And then pray for them boldly and persistently. Pray that God would bring them to faith. And pray that he keep all believers safe from the corrupting influences around them. This was in fact Jesus’ prayer for you the night before he died. Let me close with those beautiful, encouraging words. “My prayer, [Father], is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one… 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth… I pray also…that all of them may be one...so that the world may believe that you have sent me…24 Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world…26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” (John 17:15, 17, 20b, 21, 24, 26). Amen.
SERMON NOTES
How does today’s text illustrate how God never does anything without all the facts first?
(3 questions) Why did God take Abraham into his confidence and tell him what was about to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah? How has God also taken us into his confidence, and for what purpose?
Abraham’s conversation with God in today’s text is really a model prayer. Fill in the blanks.
We learn from Abraham that prayer is to be un____________ in nature.
(the points below will come later in the sermon)
Prayer should also be b___________ and p_______________.
But we should also be h_____________ when we pray.
Finish the “handy” prayer outline below and use it this week in your prayer life!
Pinky finger = pray for...
Ring Finger = pray for...
Middle Finger = pray for…
Index Finger = pray for...
Thumb = pray for…
Agree or disagree and explain. God did not answer Abraham’s prayer, just like he doesn’t always answer our prayers.
Jesus prayed for us the night before he was crucified. Below is an excerpt of that prayer. Underline the thoughts that are especially comforting to you and explain why.
“My prayer, [Father], is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one… 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth… I pray also…that all of them may be one...so that the world may believe that you have sent me…24 Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world…26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” (John 17:15, 17, 20b, 21, 24, 26).
