God Is Bigger Than You Know and Closer than You Realize.

Steve Gentry

[0:05] All right, go ahead and have a seat. [0:07] Welcome to Village Church. [0:08] This is your first time here. [0:10] My name is Steve. [0:11] I’m one of the pastors and I just want to thank you so much for being here. [0:15] It’s a privilege and I’m grateful to see each and every one of you and have you here

[0:19] this morning with the opportunity to share God’s word with you, to worship alongside [0:24] of you. [0:24] Before we get started, there’s just a few things that I want to talk about. [0:28] We’ve got a lot going on. [0:30] We’ve got financial peace starting tomorrow night. [0:33] We’ve got art of marriage coming up.

[0:37] But specifically today, after each service this morning, so for about 15 minutes after [0:42] the service, if you are a parent of a middle or high school student and you’re not on [0:48] the city, you may not have seen this announcement. [0:50] But right over here after the service, our new student ministries director, Jake Morris, [0:55] is going to be right over here and he’d love the opportunity to meet with you guys, let [0:59] you know a little bit about him, give you a little bit of vision for youth ministry

[1:03] or student ministry at Village Church. [1:05] And so I encourage you, if you have a middle or high schooler, to go over there after [1:09] the service and spend a few minutes with Jake, great guy, good friend, and he loves the Lord. [1:15] Secondly this morning, in your handout is a lovely picture of a family, Rob and Tiffany [1:21] Brewer and their little daughter Isabella. [1:22] If you see that, they are going out in the month of February on a mission trip to spend

[1:29] some time with some IMB missionaries overseas. [1:32] And if you could, just keep that, maybe put it in your Bible, maybe put it on your refrigerator, [1:38] keep it for family devotionals. [1:40] If you could join me in praying for them as they go and just get some hands-on experience [1:46] with some missionaries that are already on the field and learn more about the mission [1:50] of God and what he’s doing overseas.

[1:52] Just pray for them and join them and just support them in any way that you can, as we [1:57] will be doing as a church. [1:59] And so if you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them to Genesis chapter 18. [2:03] We’re going to go back into our Genesis series. [2:06] We never finished that up. [2:07] So we’re just going to head right back into it.

[2:10] We’ve been going through the life of Abraham between Genesis chapter 12 and Genesis chapter [2:15] 22. [2:16] And what we’ve seen God do in the life of Abraham thus far is that he’s called him [2:22] to himself. [2:23] Out of all the people of the world, people are not following God. [2:26] And so God just inserts himself into Abraham’s story, calls him to himself, makes promises

[2:32] to Abraham and says, Abraham, I’m going to bring you to a land that I’m going to give [2:36] you. [2:36] I’m going to make your descendants outnumber the stars in the heavens. [2:41] And Abraham follows in faith. [2:44] And in November and December, we went through part of his story and we’re going to pick [2:48] up for the next few weeks and finish at least this part of the story that God wrote through

[2:52] the life of Abraham. [2:53] But we know that Abraham followed God. [2:56] Abraham had great faith in God. [2:58] He went to a new land. [3:01] But one thing in Abraham’s life that we continuously see is that in his trust, we see that Abraham’s [3:07] not the hero of the story.

[3:09] That he trusts God until he doesn’t trust God. [3:13] He follows God until he doesn’t follow God. [3:18] Abraham’s life is one of picking up the pieces of a life that is faithless and allowing [3:24] God’s grace to rebuild that faith, to give more and more grace in his time of need. [3:29] And the one thing that’s going to mark the life of Abraham is not his abundant obedience, [3:34] not his abundant faithfulness, but his abundant repentance of his sin and his repentance of

[3:41] his lack of faith. [3:42] The hero of the story is truly God. [3:45] And the reality that God, no matter what happens in Abraham’s life, God shows himself faithful. [3:51] God shows that his promises are sure. [3:54] His promises are completely secure. [3:57] That in light of everything that happens in this world, we see one thread and that is

[4:01] the thread that God can be trusted in a world where trust is very hard to have in anyone [4:08] or anything. [4:10] And that through this story, God shows his power above absolutely every situation and [4:16] circumstance that can present itself in this world. [4:20] And so we get to the beginning of Genesis chapter 18 and we find ourselves in the middle [4:24] of another interesting story in which I believe God does this in Genesis chapter 18 to teach

[4:30] us about his power, about his closeness to us, as well as about his ability to fulfill [4:37] any promise that he has to make. [4:40] He wants to teach us in this story in Genesis chapter 18 about the gospel. [4:45] Now what’s taking place in the beginning of Genesis chapter 18 is that it says in the [4:49] text starting in verse 1, And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at [4:55] the door of his tent in the heat of the day.

[4:58] He looked it up his eyes and looked and behold three men were standing in front of him. [5:03] When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth. [5:10] Now what happens here is what’s seen in the Old Testament is a theological word called [5:14] a theophany. [5:15] And that is that God literally appears in human form to someone. [5:21] And so in this story we know that one of these three men is God because it says the Lord

[5:26] appeared to him. [5:27] These are not just three angels, there’s at least maybe two angels, we’re not sure the [5:30] scripture ever tells us their identity, but it does tell us that the Lord is one that [5:34] appears to Abraham. [5:37] And Abraham immediately gets up, runs to meet these three men as he bows himself to the [5:43] ground basically in worship.

[5:46] And as he’s worshiping, God begins to unfold over the next 14 verses, his promises again [5:52] to Abraham and Sarah. [5:53] See more time begins to pass by and Abraham and Sarah have no children and God has promised, [5:58] I’m going to make your descendants, I’m going to make your offspring, meaning you’re going [6:04] to have children that are going to out number the stars and the heavens. [6:07] And at this point in the story, they’re around 100 years old, 24 or 25 years after God initially

[6:13] made this promise and they’ve not seen the return on that promise. [6:17] And God continuously comes in and says keep faith, keep believing. [6:21] Have you ever had a moment in your time where you’re not seeing the promises of God happen [6:24] in your life and you know the Holy Spirit is telling you keep trusting, keep believing. [6:28] Keep following. [6:31] And that’s what God’s doing here.

[6:32] And he comes in person, goes to Abraham and Sarah and he once again says, I’m going to [6:38] give you a child. [6:41] And interestingly enough, in the story, we don’t see Abraham’s lack of faith as much [6:45] as Sarah’s lack of faith as she laughs basically at the foolishness of such a promise at her [6:52] age. I mean, she’s ready for the retirement home. [6:54] She’s not ready for the maternity ward.

[6:57] She says, Oh God, I don’t think you know the science here. [7:01] And God says, Oh, I don’t think you know the power over the science here.

[7:06] So she laughs. [7:08] God again looks at her and in spite of her lack of faith, the promise of God is not [7:15] changed whatsoever. [7:18] So we see that the power of faith is not in the one who has faith, but rather it’s [7:25] in the God who makes the promise. [7:30] Friend, faith is worthless if there’s no power to back it up, but faith is made powerful

[7:36] if there is a God who has power to fulfill a promise that you believe. [7:43] And that’s what we see over and over and over again in the story of Abraham’s lack of faith. [7:47] Abraham and Sarah, this ultimate power that God has, this ultimate authority that God [7:54] has over absolutely everything where God in spite of anything that can happen in life, [8:01] any situation, God’s will is going to be done. [8:06] You can be sure of that.

[8:08] So you can either respond to that and be angry that his will is different than yours. [8:12] Or you can say, I’m going to be on the winning team here and trust God for his promises [8:18] to happen because they’re going to. [8:21] But then in verse 16, our story takes a dramatic turn. [8:27] Our story makes a turn in verse 16 where God looks to Abraham and he says this between [8:34] himself and the two that are with him.

[8:39] It says, then the three men set out from there. [8:42] In other words, they’re going to leave Abraham and Sarah. [8:46] They looked down towards Sodom and Abraham went with them to set them on their way. [8:53] And the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? [9:01] Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the nations [9:04] of the earth shall be blessed in him.

[9:06] For I have chosen him that he may command his children in his household after him to [9:11] keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice so that the Lord may bring to [9:16] Abraham what he has promised him. [9:18] Then the Lord said, because of the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their [9:25] sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the [9:33] outcry that has come to me.

[9:35] And if not, I will know. [9:39] So we have this set up here where God’s leaving the presence of the two that he has promised [9:43] to make a great nation out of and he’s headed down towards Sodom. [9:48] And the scripture says that God looks into himself. [9:51] He begins to dialogue with himself and I guess maybe the angels that are with him. [9:55] And he says, should we hide from Abraham what we are about to do down in Sodom or should

[10:00] we let it be known to him since we are in a covenant relationship with Abraham?

[10:05] Note that the story never says should we bargain with Abraham. [10:09] The story never says should we ask Abraham for his advice. [10:12] The story never says should we get his input on the most effective way to do what we are [10:16] going to do in Sodom.

[10:19] Now, the story just says, hey, should we let this guy know? [10:22] Should we give him the news bulletin? [10:23] Because it’s going to happen.

[10:26] And so we see two things that I think are very interesting because we are tempted to [10:31] really skip over this part, just read through it as the preface to the story that’s really [10:36] going to happen in chapter 19. [10:37] But I think what’s in this section of scripture is extremely powerful for how we deal with [10:43] the actions, the promises, and the judgments of God in our lives. [10:47] First, I want to go over two things that we learn about God in this passage.

[10:50] The first thing that we learn about God in this passage is that God’s authority and [10:55] judgment is larger than we realize. [10:58] God’s authority and judgment is larger than we realize. [11:03] God is greater than we can imagine. [11:07] In Genesis 1, God speaks the world into existence. [11:10] He executed judgment through the flood while redeeming Noah and his family out of it.

[11:15] He calls Abraham to faith and makes promises about the future that require real faith. [11:20] Situation after situation, God shows Abraham his power. [11:25] He makes covenant with him. [11:26] He makes promises to him about the future. [11:29] In those promises and in that covenant, he makes specific declarations about what is [11:35] going to happen in the future.

[11:37] And so through this story, we do not see a small, feeble God who worries about the future, [11:44] who worries about what humanity is going to do. [11:46] We don’t see the small, feeble God, but rather we see a great God. [11:51] We see a large God. [11:53] We see a powerful God. [11:55] We see a God who can literally speak.

[11:58] And with that power, things just exist. [12:03] We see an abundant God, a large God. [12:07] We see a God, dare I say, that our minds cannot fathom. [12:14] How large, how powerful, and how great he actually is. [12:20] Our minds can’t get wrapped around it. [12:22] Because it’s larger than my mind can even comprehend.

[12:27] He created, he controls, he empowers. [12:32] Therefore, it is only reasonable that we trust and follow his commands and promises. [12:37] It’s the only reasonable response to a God with that type of power. [12:42] But secondly, we see that God is large enough to bring judgment on others. [12:50] Now this is the part where we begin to struggle because we believe that maybe we know a little something [12:54] that God hasn’t thought of, which really is counterintuitive to the story if you really think about it.

[12:59] We believe that maybe we have a little insider information and maybe God’s ways, [13:03] what God’s doing in our lives, what God’s doing in this world, maybe they could be a little better. [13:08] Maybe he should really dialogue with us and kind of conference with us and discuss with us [13:13] and strategize with us because we really know what’s going on on the ground.

[13:20] But what’s interesting about that is that that’s not the God that scripture paints a picture of. [13:27] I want to go through a few verses really quick. [13:30] First thing I want to let you know is that God is knowing enough to judge in any situation. [13:36] God is knowing enough to judge in any situation. [13:41] Romans chapter 1133 puts it this way. [13:43] Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.

[13:48] How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable are his ways. [13:56] In other words, God’s judgment is so great that we are not great enough to fathom some of it. [14:04] But then secondly, Psalm chapter 90 verse 4. [14:07] For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past or as a watch in the night. [14:15] What that’s saying is a thousand years are in your sight. [14:18] There’s nothing in the future that he doesn’t know.

[14:20] There’s nothing in the past that he doesn’t know. [14:22] God has a perspective that is a thousand years, which is really just a hyperbolic way of saying it’s eternal. [14:31] God knows all. [14:33] God knows everything. [14:35] Every detail, every jot, every tittle. [14:39] There’s never a moment with God where he says, now I need to stop and really consider.

[14:45] Or let me look back. [14:46] I forgot this. [14:48] God doesn’t know what forgetfulness is. [14:52] God simply knows.

[14:55] Nothing can contain God. [14:57] Look in 1 Kings chapter 8 verse 27. [15:02] But will God indeed dwell on the earth? [15:05] Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you. [15:09] How much less this house that I have built. [15:13] Note, God is larger than this world.

[15:16] God is larger than the universe. [15:18] God is larger than the highest heavens. [15:20] Nothing can contain him. [15:21] He’s so great. [15:24] Isaiah chapter 66 verses 1 and 2. [15:26] Thus says the Lord, Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.

[15:31] What is the house that you would build for me? [15:34] And what is the place of my rest? [15:36] All these things my hand has made. [15:39] And so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. [15:42] But this is the one to whom I will look. [15:45] He who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

[15:50] I love putting my foot up on the ottoman, but I’ve never said the ottoman is the only place my feet can go. [15:57] God looks to the earth and he says it’s like unto his footstool. [16:02] It cannot contain him. [16:03] Neither can heaven. [16:05] He created both. [16:08] The creator is not contained by the creation.

[16:11] The creator is higher than the creation. [16:14] And at the end of this text he says the only logical response to that is humility. [16:21] It’s to say, God, you are far greater than I.

[16:26] Thirdly, God’s authority is over everything. [16:31] In Psalm 139 verses 7 through 12. [16:34] Where shall I go from your spirit or where shall I flee from your presence? [16:38] If I ascend to heaven you are there. [16:40] If I make my bed in Sheol you are there. [16:42] If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

[16:46] even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me. [16:50] If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me and the light about me be night, [16:53] even the darkness is not dark to you. [16:57] The night is bright as the day for darkness is as light with you. [17:02] What is he saying? [17:03] You cannot even go headlong into sin to escape God’s power.

[17:10] There is nothing that’s dark to God. [17:15] He sees it all. [17:16] He knows it all. [17:18] He’s the God over it all. [17:20] You cannot escape the presence or the authority of God. [17:26] Deuteronomy 10 verse 14.

[17:28] Behold to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, [17:34] the earth with all that is in it. [17:38] Everything belongs to God. [17:40] Abraham Cuper, the theologian, once said that there is no part of the earth [17:44] or anything in it that God does not look at and say, mine. [17:48] God owns it all.

[17:50] God has it all. [17:51] God’s powerful over it all. [17:53] God has authority over it all. [17:55] Anything that happens, anything that you experience, [17:58] anything that you go through, anywhere that you go, [18:01] God is still the God of it.

[18:04] He’s not lost control. [18:06] He’s not lost authority. [18:08] So He’s greater than our minds can comprehend. [18:11] So in His judgment we see perfection. [18:14] God is the creator and ruler of everything. [18:19] The Bible is clear.

[18:21] But that’s not where it stops. [18:24] See, because the temptation is that we can get this great, huge view [18:28] of who God is standing on it and we should. [18:33] But then it becomes impersonal.

[18:37] Then it becomes as though He’s disconnected from me. [18:42] Then it becomes this great God that I just cower under because of His great power. [18:48] But I think this story shows us something else about God. [18:52] And that is God’s immediate closeness to us in His power. [18:58] See, secondly, God’s authority and judgment are, excuse me, is not impersonal. [19:05] It’s very personal.

[19:07] And I think that’s why God does this. [19:08] Because it would be no problem for God from His throne, from above His throne, [19:14] to simply pour out judgment, to simply make things happen, to simply make promises. [19:19] He can do it. [19:19] He doesn’t have to do what He’s doing here. [19:22] But instead, God comes specifically, appears to Abraham for comfort,

[19:27] and then goes to Abraham and is going to instruct him in what he’s going to do in Sodom [19:35] to reveal to us that we have a very personal God who is not simply transcendent, [19:43] but He is also very eminent. [19:45] He’s close. [19:46] He’s personal. [19:47] He relates.

[19:48] He loves. [19:49] He cares. [19:50] We belong to Him. [19:53] He wants us to know that closeness. [19:55] He does not want us to see Him as a God who’s just simply there, acting impersonally. [20:03] But rather, He’s acting very personally.

[20:06] We see this in the text that we’ve just gone through between verses 16 and 21, [20:12] that God wants to be known. [20:15] God makes His covenant with Abraham, [20:17] and He makes any covenant that He does with anyone so that He will be known in all His glory, [20:22] including judgment.

[20:28] In my life, I’ve known great relationships with many people, [20:32] but specifically, I’ve known one great relationship, and that’s with my wife. [20:36] That’s just this closeness, this two becoming one, [20:38] and I’ve had the glory of experiencing that with my wife. [20:42] But what if my wife looks to me and she says, [20:45] you know, Steve, I love almost everything about you,

[20:48] and I want to be a part of almost every part of your life, [20:52] but there’s this one thing about you that I want nothing to do with. [20:56] I despise it. [20:58] I hate it. [20:59] Don’t tell me about it. [21:01] Don’t let me see it.

[21:02] Don’t bring it into my presence. [21:04] You keep it out of here. [21:07] That would hurt me. [21:09] I imagine it would hurt any of you.

[21:13] But oftentimes, I think that’s how we treat the judgment of God. [21:16] We want to act like that’s the one part of God that’s not personal.

[21:20] That’s the one part of God that’s disconnected from me. [21:23] That’s the one part of God that I don’t want to talk about. [21:25] That’s the one part of God that I don’t want to do anything with. [21:27] That’s the one part of God that I can’t comprehend, and I hate it. [21:30] So I’ll just dwell on everything else. [21:33] Except that one thing.

[21:35] But in this story, God makes known to us, and especially to Abraham, [21:40] and He’s going to make it known next week to Lot, [21:42] that His judgment is personal. [21:46] And that His judgment isn’t to be denied, [21:48] but rather His judgment is to be trusted. [21:51] His judgment is to be gloried in.

[21:54] His judgment is to be worshiped. [21:57] Because God doesn’t just reveal to us this one close thing, [22:03] where it’s just no judgment, God’s not a judgy God. [22:06] He is. He is. [22:09] He judges all, and it’s perfect. [22:12] And He wants us to know it.

[22:14] And He wants us to see the personal judgment. [22:17] It’s not just transcendent judgment, it’s imminent judgment. [22:20] And I want you to see some places in Scripture [22:23] where God makes it abundantly clear [22:25] how personal that He gets with each and every one of us. [22:30] How personal this relationship that He has with Abraham,

[22:34] and even the relationship that He has with the people of Sodom, [22:36] is look in Hosea, chapter 6, verse 6.

[22:47] You know what He’s saying in that text? [22:50] He’s saying He doesn’t want you to bring the sacrifices, [22:53] or He didn’t want the Israelites to bring the sacrifices, [22:56] just do it because they were told to, [22:58] do it because they had to. [23:00] He wants them to understand why the sacrifice is necessary.

[23:05] He wants the knowledge and relationship of God, [23:09] and the love that He has for them, [23:11] in those sacrifices for their sin. [23:13] He wants them to understand His judgment. [23:18] In Psalm, chapter 8, verses 4 and 5, it says, [23:21] What is man that you are mindful of him,

[23:23] and the son of man that you care for him? [23:25] Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings, [23:29] and crowned him with glory and honor. [23:31] In His judgments and everything, [23:33] God cares for humanity, [23:35] and is personally involved in that caring.

[23:37] He doesn’t just send caring angels, rather He’s involved Himself. [23:41] He’s mindful of man. [23:44] He cares for humanity. [23:46] In Psalm 34, 18, the text says, [23:48] The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, [23:51] and saves the crushed in spirit.

[23:55] Even on our worst day, [23:57] where we are feeling the curse of sin, [24:01] God is close. [24:03] God is caring. [24:06] God is loving. [24:08] God is mindful.

[24:10] In 1 Samuel, chapter 16, verse 7, [24:12] the text says, [24:13] But the Lord said to Samuel, [24:14] Do not look on His appearance, [24:16] or on the height of His stature, [24:18] because I have rejected Him.

[24:19] For the Lord sees not as man sees. [24:22] Man looks on the outward appearance, [24:24] but the Lord looks on the heart.

[24:28] So God has literally just judged Saul, [24:32] saying, I’ve rejected Him.

[24:35] And He says, I want you to understand [24:38] why I’ve judged Him the way that I have, [24:42] because I’m a God that goes right through everything [24:46] and sees what’s going on inside.

[24:50] God is closer than you can comprehend. [24:56] He’s in us. He sees us. [24:58] He knows our deepest thoughts. [25:01] Knows our deepest longings. [25:03] Knows what’s motivating what we do [25:06] and why we do it.

[25:07] And in real senses, that should terrify you. [25:10] Alright. [25:11] He not only knows what you did, [25:13] He knows why you did it. [25:15] So the most self-righteous thing you did [25:17] for religious reasons,

[25:18] God knows you’re a fake. [25:20] Because He sees the inside. [25:23] God knows everything. [25:25] He’s so close. [25:26] He’s so involved that His judgment [25:28] isn’t separated from a heart,

[25:30] but rather, it is heartfelt judgment. [25:32] It is heart-involved judgment. [25:34] It is passion. [25:35] It is desire. [25:36] It is relational judgment [25:39] as much as it is above everything,

[25:43] higher than we can imagine, [25:45] more than we could ever comprehend judgment. [25:48] It’s right there. [25:49] And God wants us to see that in this story. [25:53] He wants us to understand that He is imminent [25:56] and He will act.

[26:00] God’s great power is close enough [26:02] to be personally involved. [26:05] See, there’s this lie [26:06] that many of us tell ourselves [26:07] with our actions, with our attitudes, [26:09] and what we do.

[26:10] I think we really believe [26:13] and buy into a lie that no one knows,

[26:18] that we’ll never have to pay, [26:21] that no one really understands us. [26:24] But the Scriptures give us a different story. [26:25] The Scriptures give us a story of a God [26:27] that sees you in every situation that you’re in. [26:30] That you cannot escape it.

[26:31] You cannot get away from it. [26:33] In your deepest sin, [26:34] in your deepest regrets, [26:35] God’s there. [26:37] So when you lie to yourself [26:38] and say that God’s not involved,

[26:40] God doesn’t see, [26:41] I’ll never have to pay, [26:42] God will never bring judgment into my life [26:44] for anything that I’ve ever done.

[26:47] It’s not the story that we see in Scripture. [26:50] We see a God that’s involved. [26:53] We see a God that does judge sin, [26:57] but not just national sin. [27:00] He does that. [27:01] He’s going to do that.

[27:04] But God also comes into your life. [27:08] He knows the specifics. [27:10] He knows the reasons. [27:12] He knows the what’s, the whys, the inbetweens. [27:15] He knows your apathy.

[27:19] He knows your anger.

[27:21] He knows every little thing about you, [27:25] every excuse that you use, [27:27] every time you put off obeying Him, [27:31] every time you put off committing to His mission, [27:34] every time you put off following Him, [27:37] God is there.

[27:41] But friends, we often live as people [27:43] that functionally believe [27:46] that He is disconnected from our personal lives. [27:51] He is not. [27:54] With you, last night, [27:55] that’s where He was.

[28:00] And that can be a joy or a terror.

[28:06] The reality is that we serve a God [28:09] who’s passionate, caring, [28:13] but He’s also judging. [28:15] I want you to see this dual reality [28:19] in Luke chapter 19 verses 41 through 44 [28:22] where Jesus Christ Himself

[28:23] is looking over Jerusalem. [28:26] He says, when He drew near and saw the city, [28:28] He wept over it.

[28:32] I mean, it doesn’t get more personal than that. [28:35] The God who spoke everything into existence [28:38] looking over His city and weeping,

[28:44] saying, Would that you, even you, [28:47] had known on this day the things that make for peace? [28:50] But now they’re hidden from your eyes. [28:53] For the days will come upon you [28:55] when your enemies will set up a barricade around you [28:58] and surround you and hem you in on every side

[29:01] and tear you down to the ground, [29:04] you and your children within you, [29:06] and they will not leave one stone upon another in you, [29:10] because you did not know the time of your visitation.

[29:16] In other words, you kept putting God off,

[29:24] saying, Surely not today. [29:27] Surely not today. [29:30] Surely I have more time. [29:32] Surely I can just get this right later. [29:35] Surely not today. [29:38] And Jesus looks over Israel,

[29:40] over His city, Jerusalem, [29:42] and He weeps in the pain of how personal the sin is, [29:47] how personal the rebellion is that He has experienced from the… [29:52] and He says, Oh, Jerusalem, that you had just repented, [29:56] but you didn’t, you wouldn’t, you will be judged. [30:00] His judgment is imminent.

[30:06] But the joy of God’s power and personal involvement [30:10] is repentance to trust and follow. [30:14] The fear is that we would continue in our sin. [30:18] Judgment is coming. You cannot escape it. [30:21] But the reality is that we do have a God of great grace [30:24] who we saw comes in the person of Jesus Christ.

[30:30] But here’s where the story becomes so fascinating to me, [30:35] because it’s not hard to look in Scripture and see judgment. [30:37] I mean, let’s be honest. All right? [30:40] But what’s interesting about this story is Abraham’s dialogue with God [30:45] and what that means about us. [30:48] Look in your text in Genesis 18, verse 22.

[30:57] So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom. [30:59] But Abraham still stood before the Lord. [31:04] Then Abraham drew near and said, [31:07] Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? [31:10] Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. [31:13] Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it

[31:16] for the fifty righteous who are in it? [31:18] Far be it from you to do such a thing, [31:19] to put the righteous to death with the wicked, [31:22] so that the righteous fare as the wicked. [31:25] Far be that you… excuse me, far be that from you. [31:29] Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just?

[31:32] And the Lord said, If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, [31:36] I will spare the whole place for their sake. [31:40] So what’s interesting is that when we talk about a God of just [31:43] disbast judgment, all right, we think about a God that cannot be prayed to, really. [31:47] We think about the impersonal attributes of God, [31:49] because we don’t want to make judgment personal.

[31:51] And so what we would really think is that Abraham comes, [31:54] and we almost see a little sarcasm where it’s like, [31:58] Abraham, are you really reminding God of who He is? [32:00] You think He doesn’t know. [32:03] All right, so at the end of the prayer, [32:05] God could just be like, okay, you’re with them, Zap.

[32:10] But that’s not what God does. [32:14] That’s not what God does. [32:15] And I think that tells us something about God. [32:19] And He keeps going in verse 27, [32:20] Abraham answered and said, Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, [32:24] I am but dust and ashes.

[32:25] I think Abraham right there is like, oh wait, I’m talking to God. [32:29] By the way, I know who you are. I’m sorry.

[32:33] Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. [32:36] Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five? [32:38] And he said, I will not destroy it, even if I find forty-five there. [32:41] Again, he spoke to him and said, suppose forty are found there. [32:44] He answered, For the sake of forty, I will not do it. [32:47] Then he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak.

[32:50] Suppose thirty are found there. [32:52] He answered, I’ll not do it if I find thirty there. [32:54] He said, Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. [32:56] Suppose twenty are found there. [32:57] He answered, For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it. [33:00] Then he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, I will speak again.

[33:04] But this one, suppose ten are found there. [33:06] He answered, For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it. [33:10] Fifty, forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty, ten. [33:15] Abraham is really good at bargaining. [33:17] All right, his prices just keep going further and further down. [33:21] And God’s like, Okay, if I find that, I won’t do it.

[33:24] If I find that, I won’t do it. [33:26] But what I want to focus in on first is the reality of what’s going on between Abraham and God is intercessory prayer.

[33:39] That God, number three this morning, welcomes intercessory prayer for redemption. [33:46] God never once looks to Abraham and says, How dare you ask me to redeem? [33:53] How dare you request of me that I would save people?

[33:59] No, because remember, it’s a God who wants us to know his steadfast love.

[34:04] And so we see Abraham come to God pleading, God, save, God, save, God, save.

[34:18] You see, in the beginning of the story in verse 16, if I get that on the screen real quick, [34:27] it says that the men set out from there speaking of God and the other two, and they looked down towards Sodom. [34:33] All right, that term in the Hebrew and all of the scriptures is not just a term of direction. [34:40] It’s a term of moral dubiousness. [34:45] It’s a term of understanding the morality of where he’s going. [34:50] In other words, God looked down to Sodom because God knows Sodom.

[34:59] God knows what’s happening in Sodom. [35:01] God knows the wickedness of Sodom. [35:04] God knows the pain, the shame, the rebellion, everything, the perversions that are happening in Sodom. [35:13] So he’s this all-knowing, all-powerful God. [35:17] But I love this picture that we get of Abraham who has a nephew in Sodom. [35:27] And he wants him to be saved.

[35:29] And so when Abraham comes before the Lord, he begins to plead, he begins to beg. [35:36] And the reality is that I do not believe we understand the power of what Abraham’s doing here. [35:42] I don’t think we understand the worship of what’s taking place with Abraham here. [35:46] That God does not just simply want us to stand back and say, [35:50] You’re transcendent, you’re eminent, I’m not involved, you do whatever you want. [35:55] Whatever you will is going to happen anyway, so I’m out.

[35:58] Prayer’s pointless, prayer’s meaningless. [36:01] No! [36:03] If that is where your informational, theological mind is gone, you’ve not understood the Word. [36:09] You’ve missed the Lord. [36:11] You’ve missed His care. [36:13] You’ve missed His compassion.

[36:14] Look at Luke chapter 18 verse 1, Jesus Christ says, [36:17] And He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

[36:26] Sometimes we have an understanding of Scripture where we lose the heart of God inside of the power of God. [36:32] When the two can never be divorced. [36:36] God welcomes this prayer. [36:37] God is glorified in Abraham’s prayer. [36:41] God is worshiped through Abraham’s prayer. [36:44] The Bible contains story after story of man praying for God to save.

[36:49] God wants our desires to be wrapped up in redemption as His is. [36:54] He marries that desire with prayer because of His great power. [37:00] Prayer pleases God. [37:02] Because note what Abraham is doing as he’s saying, God, it is your choice.

[37:10] But please, that you would redeem.

[37:15] Our temptation is to discount prayer because of God’s power. [37:20] We oftentimes, and I’ve heard it, what’s the point of prayer?

[37:25] If God’s gonna do what He’s gonna do, what’s the point? [37:28] It’s meaningless. [37:29] It doesn’t have any effect. [37:32] Oh, that could not be further from the truth, my friends. [37:35] We may fall for the lie that it does not have power to do anything, but this is not what the Scriptures reveal. [37:40] I just want to give you one example of many where in the book of Exodus,

[37:45] Moses has been up on the mountain receiving the commandments and literally all hell has broken loose down in the camp. [37:51] They’ve gone so crazy. [37:52] They’re taking their earrings and they’re making golden calves and they’re dancing around golden statues. [37:57] And they’re worshipping that golden statue. [38:00] And God is furious as He should be. [38:03] He’s literally just given Moses the command, no other gods before me, no graven images for me.

[38:08] And what are they doing down below? Graven images and other gods.

[38:13] And so God looks at Moses, by the way, I’m gonna kill them all. [38:16] You’re gonna be the only one left. Good luck.

[38:20] And Moses says, God, don’t have mercy and grace for your people. [38:29] And he dialogues with the Lord. He begs the Lord. [38:32] And then in Exodus, chapter 32, verse 14, and the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people. [38:41] There was power in Moses interceding on behalf of Israel. [38:51] It literally worked God’s will in a certain direction.

[38:59] In Romans chapter 10, verse 1, Paul writes of his prayer for the people of Israel to be saved. [39:05] Prayer is built on God’s power and personal involvement with man. [39:09] And look at what he says. He says, Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

[39:20] Might I say, the authority on New Testament sovereignty is Paul.

[39:27] And Paul’s saying, I pray that God would save.

[39:33] John Piper has put it this way, prayer is the hammer that drives the nail of God’s will.

[39:43] Prayer literally changes things.

[39:48] Believe that. [39:50] You say, well, how does that fit in God’s sovereignty? [39:53] Here’s what I believe. I believe that God not only defines the ends, but he also commands the means. [40:03] In other words, I believe there are moments where if I had not prayed, things would not have happened. [40:08] But because I prayed, it did. And I believe that’s how God willed it be. [40:13] I believe that he wills our prayers to change things.

[40:18] Believe it. Because I see it. [40:21] I see it all through scripture. I see it painted over the canvas. [40:25] That prayer is powerful. It’s commanded by God. [40:29] And it’s used by God. [40:33] Say Abraham, praise, and God is glorified.

[40:40] Finally this morning, we must accept and trust God’s judgment. [40:49] Here’s where it gets difficult. [40:52] But here’s also why Jesus cried.

[40:57] Because there are times when God’s judgment is painful.

[41:03] Where God doesn’t find those ten righteous.

[41:09] God is wiser than we are. [41:14] God can be trusted because he’s God. And he’s good. [41:20] It’s hard to admit that you shouldn’t be in absolute control. [41:24] But you shouldn’t. [41:27] Because you can’t handle it. You’re a sinner. [41:31] I mean, we would ruin everything.

[41:33] If I had absolute control for ten seconds, the world would explode. [41:38] That’s how bad I’d be at leading. [41:40] In God’s way.

[41:45] Philippians 4 verse 6 gives us the application, I believe, of Genesis 18. [41:51] This is not being anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

[42:01] I believe verse 33 holds a great lesson for us. [42:04] And verse 33 is probably the least looked at verse of Genesis 18. [42:09] Verse 33, it says, And the Lord went his way when he had finished speaking to Abraham. [42:17] And Abraham returned to his place.

[42:23] And you say, what in the world are you talking about? [42:27] There’s nothing about that. [42:29] It’s one that we often glance over. [42:31] But when God goes to Sodom, we don’t see Abraham run after him, pleading, begging for him to stop. [42:40] Abraham returned to his place. [42:42] We don’t see what Abraham’s mindset was, but I hope and think it was one of trust.

[42:49] Abraham went before God. [42:51] Abraham prayed. [42:54] Abraham did what he could. [42:56] Abraham worked the mission of God. [42:59] Asked God. [43:01] But at the end of the day, at the end of the prayer, Abraham understood and humbled himself enough to say, God, it’s up to you.

[43:14] And that is one of the hardest trusts that you will ever have in your life.

[43:24] God loves your unsaved family and friends.

[43:30] He loved Abraham’s as well. [43:33] He wants you to pray to him about them. [43:35] He wants you to intercede for them daily. [43:39] And when we’ve prayed all that we can, and we’ve done the work of the mission of Jesus,

[43:45] giving the good news of Jesus to all people, [43:48] God doesn’t want us to be anxious about it. [43:53] God doesn’t want us to be fretted as if he can’t be trusted. [43:59] God wants us to work. [44:01] God wants us to pray. [44:03] God wants us to act.

[44:04] And then he wants us to rest in his great judgment,

[44:12] in his great power, [44:14] his great wisdom, [44:15] his great love, [44:16] his great work of redemption, [44:18] his will is going to be done.

[44:25] He’s a great God. [44:27] Bigger than you know. [44:31] Closer than you think.

[44:35] He invites you, asks you, commands you [44:40] to work, to pray, to love.

[44:46] And then finally, to trust.

[44:52] But I want to tell you that the reason that we can have such a trust [44:58] is because of Jesus.

[45:02] In John 1, 14, we see God again do something like Genesis 18, [45:08] where he comes down a greater. [45:11] It says in the Word,

[45:30] Jesus showed the power and personal care of God for people [45:35] in the greatest way that we’ve ever seen or will ever see on this earth. [45:41] He showed us the power and personal care of God for people [45:41] [45:43] But then, on the cross, ultimate judgment was laid on Jesus. [45:50] He took it willingly.

[45:52] We deserved it, but he came and found no one righteous, but himself. [46:00] Therefore, judgment was necessary. [46:02] He took that judgment onto himself. [46:05] The righteous for the sinful, and trusting him in this way [46:08] is what redemption is all about. [46:11] God has declared that anyone who trusts in Jesus will never have to suffer

[46:16] the coming condemnation that will come from him for sin.

[46:21] He demands you trust in Jesus instead of your sin.

[46:28] Because his judgments are perfect.

[46:33] And his judgments are made final in Jesus. [46:37] If you trust in Jesus. [46:42] As the band comes, I know that God’s greatness and his involvement and his judgment, [46:52] it’s this hard reality that sometimes it’s tough to swallow because it is so personal.

[47:02] But what we see in Jesus and what we even see in this story is not a God who is disconnected.

[47:12] We see a God that’s more personal than maybe we’re even comfortable with.

[47:18] Who knows everything, but also does everything necessary to be saved. [47:27] You can’t save yourself from his judgment.

[47:31] You can try, but you’ll fail.

[47:34] The great thing about God is that he doesn’t look at us and laugh at our dismay, [47:38] but instead he comes down and he pays the penalty.

[47:44] He didn’t find ten, so ultimately he came down and became the righteous one. [47:53] In human form.

[47:56] And he went to the cross and he suffered and died for my sin and he suffered and died for your sin. [48:03] And then rose again winning victory over any condemnation that could ever rule over us. [48:10] He’s the God that saves, but he saves through Jesus. [48:16] Trust him. [48:17] If you’ve already trusted him, let’s celebrate that salvation this morning through the communion meal.

[48:26] The cup represents his shed blood, the bread represents his broken body. [48:31] Blood shed, body broken for you. [48:35] And we celebrate it because through his sacrifice we’re saved. [48:43] Forever. [48:43] When you’re ready, come.