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Adventures in Faith - Abraham 9. A Few Good Men

Genesis 18: 16 - 33 God is looking for "a few good men" and "a few good women." He searches the earth to find those who will stand strong in the evil day. Why? The answer is not hard to find. A few people united for any cause can change the world! The point is clear: It's doesn't take many people to impact a culture. That means you can make a difference right where you are. With that we turn to our text. It is the famous story of Abraham pleading for Sodom to be spared. Most of us know it in general outline. When God inspected the city, he found its sin so great that he determined to destroy it. Abraham intercedes with God, asking him to spare the city on behalf of the righteous who still live there. What transpires is a rather funny exchange between Abraham and God as Abraham uses all his persuasive powers to induce God to spare the city. He asks God to spare the city for the sake of 50 righteous people there. When God agrees, Abraham senses an opening and lowers the number to 45. God agrees and Abraham begins to work him down to 40 … 30 … 20 and finally to 10. Would God spare Sodom for the sake of only 10 righteous people? The answer is yes. At that point, either God indicated he would go no lower or Abraham decided not to press his luck. For 10 people the great city of Sodom could be spared. Archaeologists tell us that Sodom may have been a city of almost a quarter of a million people in Abraham's day. Yet it could have been spared if there had been only 10 righteous people. Let's look at 3 lessons from this ancient story.

1. The Character of God No doubt the central lesson deals with the character of God.

A. His Knowledge He knows all about the sin of Sodom. He has heard the "outcry" of the city. God sees and God knows! He sees every injustice in this evil world. "Listen! Can't you hear those cries in your imagination? I think I hear the cry of a child-wretched, hurt, and terrified-being beaten by a drunken father. There is another cry. It is the cry of an old man assaulted by a gang of thugs. I hear his painful cry as they beat him around the face and shoulders. There is the cry of a teenage girl being raped in an abandoned car. The cry of a wife abandoned by her husband. I hear the cry of a man so trapped by our dehumanising welfare system that he has given up. I hear the cry of sinful pleasures: the raucous cries in the thousands of bars that scar the faces of our cities, the cries of prostitutes and those who patronise them, the soft cries of drug addicts, the arrogant cries of those who have been able to defeat their enemies or ruin their competitors. But wait! Those cries are only a fraction of those millions of cries that are rising every moment of every day from every street in every city and village of our land-cries that are all heard by God, felt by God. Must God's judgment not fall on us too, and quickly? How shall we excuse ourselves when the only righteous God comes down to see if what we have done is as bad as the accusation that has reached Him?"

B. His Justice He will not wink at sin or say, "Boys will be boys" or "Live and let live." He will always do what is right. Abraham's whole prayer is based on the question in v. 25 "Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

C. His Mercy When he heard the outcry of Sodom's sin, he personally came down to investigate the case to see if things were as bad as he had heard. Furthermore, he allowed Abraham to intercede when he could have destroyed the city from the very beginning. But we see God's mercy most clearly in this one fact: he would have spared the city for only 10 righteous people. Prayer changes things. Indeed it does. But we need to think clearly about this. Since God knows all things from beginning until the end, prayer doesn't change God's mind. But it may change our mind. In this case, prayer changed Abraham's mind about God. He knew he was just, but was he also merciful? After the prayer, he could say with confidence that God is merciful not only for hearing his prayer but also for agreeing to spare the city for the sake of ten righteous people.

2. The Effectiveness of Prayer Here we come to yet another "first." When Abraham prays for Sodom it is the first intercessory prayer in the Bible. To "intercede" is to plead the case of another person. When Abraham asked God to spare Sodom he was interceding in the highest court of the universe. That raises an interesting question. Why did God allow Abraham to intercede for Sodom? After all, God already knew the facts and he already knew what he was going to do? Doesn't that render Abraham's request useless? To say it that way is to come up against the greatest mystery of prayer. If God already knows what he is going to do, why pray? Why Pray?

A. God allowed Abraham to intercede in order to reveal his mercy. B. God did it so that we would know that He takes no pleasure in destroying the wicked. C. Abraham's prayer shows us the power righteous people can have. D. It teaches us the value of intercession. This is what prayer is all about. So we may say confidently that Abraham's intercession teaches us something about God and something about prayer. It's important to realize that Abraham doesn't question God's right to judge, nor his decision to judge the wicked. He's not saying, "Who do you think you are?" or "What right do you have to destroy Sodom?" Unlike modern man, Abraham understands that a holy God has the right to judge his own creation. In all that he says, he implicitly recognizes the sovereignty of God. Why, then, does he pray? v. 23 "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?" How can a righteous God treat righteous people the same way he treats the unrighteous? The answer is, he can't. God values righteousness even more than he hates unrighteousness. This is the basis of Abraham's prayer. 4 characteristics of biblical prayer: 1. He didn't know what God would do 2. He didn't demand anything from God 3. He came back again and again-6 times in all 4. He based everything he said on God's character And for all that, his prayer wasn't answered. Sodom was destroyed. Sometimes our prayers won't be answered "yes" either. But it wasn't Abraham's fault. Nor is it always our fault. With that truth in mind we return again to the most fundamental truth about prayer, which is that we must always say "Your will be done."

3. The Righteous Can Save a City When Abraham and God finished their discussion, the bottom line had come to this: 10 righteous would have saved Sodom. That's all. Just 10 righteous people to save a city of a quarter-million people. As you think about that truth and think about the great cities of today, recall the words of Proverbs 14: 24 "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." Proverbs 28: 12 "When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, men go into hiding." That's what happened in Sodom. Wicked men had risen to power and the righteous had gone into hiding. Whatever influence they once had for good had been dissipated by the overwhelming power of evil. How does this principle work? First, the righteous must be in the city. Only people in Sodom could save Sodom. Second, the righteous must be righteous. Third, the righteous must speak out. That is, they must make their presence felt in the affairs of life.

Taking Politics Out of the Church Only the gospel has the power to change the human heart. There is always a risk that by focusing on moral issues you may offend the very people you are trying to reach with the gospel.

A Time to Stand Up That much we all agree on. But how much should Christians speak out on moral issues? Would Sodom have been a better place if Lot had spoken out instead of apparently going along with the moral debauchery? I do believe there are times when faithfulness demands that Christians as individuals and churches as institutions must speak out for good and against evil. In these days of moral decline, are we not obligated to speak the truth? If we don't, who will? As the salt of the earth, our words may sting at first but then they will bring healing. I do think it's important that we speak to issues, not personalities or politics. It's not our job as Christians to vote in the next president. Our God will raise up the right man at the right moment. Or at least, he will give us the leader we deserve, if not always the leader we want. United with others who share our concern, we can have great impact for good in our nation. But when great moral issues are at stake, silence is treason. By speaking out, we can show how the gospel applies the gospel to every area of life. When the testimony is given with a right spirit, it can be a great encouragement to others. I'm sure you've heard it said that "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." Therefore we focus on the gospel and we speak out on moral issues when necessary. Our great need today lies in 2 areas:

1. Moral Courage 2. Commitment to Prayer We need to the courage to speak out and stand up for God whatever the cost and we need the commitment to prayer because our words and actions will come to nothing with the help of heaven. On the basis of this passage, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is really good. You can make a difference. A few people united for any cause can change the world What is the bad news? This passage makes it clear that it is not the presence of evil but the absence of good that brings God's judgment. 10 people could have saved Sodom. No matter what we may think of the sin of Sodom, this much is beyond debate: God wanted to spare that wicked city. What does God see when he looks at your family? Your school? Your place of work? Your neighbourhood? Your city? Where are the righteous men and women who can make an impact for eternity? What is Your Sodom? This message has several basic applications: it stands as a strong warning to those living in sin. Don't mistake God's patience for unconcern. He destroyed Sodom! He will one day cast you into Hell. Your only hope is to turn from your sin and cast yourself on Jesus Christ for mercy to forgive your many sins. His blood can save, but even Christ's blood is of no avail unless you trust him with all your heart. I close with a word to Christians. When all is said and done, your prayers matter more than your politics. God would have spared Sodom not because of Abraham's protest (there was none), but because of his prayer. If we take this passage seriously, it forces us to consider one question above all others: Who are you praying for? Don't stop! Don't stop! Don't stop! Charles Spurgeon said, "If sinners will not hear you speak, they cannot prevent your praying." He's right. You can reach people through prayer who won't listen to your words or even look you in the eye. They can stop you from speaking, but they can't stop you from praying. Sinners have no defense against the mighty weapon of prayer. What is your Sodom? Is it your school? Your neighborhood? Your office? Your workplace? Your family? Go back and be salt. Who knows? You may end up saving an entire city.

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