| Print Page | Close | Saturday, May 19, 2012 | http://www.redeemerlostalamos.org/pages/9SundayPentecost2010.html |
9th Sunday after Pentecost, 2010
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier
Genesis 18:20-33
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
In today’s Gospel lesson, our Lord Jesus Christ, teaches us to pray. From Him we learn to seek in order to find, to ask in order to receive, and to knock in order for the door to be opened to us. The Lord loves to hear the petitions of His people. The Lord loves to hear prayers that are prayed in faith. The Lord loves to hear persistent prayers. The Lord loves to hear the requests that are rooted in love for the neighbor.
Yet, over time, we forget the power of prayer. If we are honest with ourselves, then we acknowledge that we do not pray as we should. As we just sang, “What a privilege to carry ev’rything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit; oh, what needless pain we bear—all because we do not carry ev’rything to God in prayer!” We are so forgetful. Thus, we must be reminded.
We easily give up in our prayers. From our finite perspective we even wrongly conclude that God does not hear our prayers because we do not get what we want. Now take a look at Abraham, did he get what he wanted? In our Old Testament text, we hear of the persistent prayer of Abraham. He is an example to us of one who clings to the promises of God and acts upon them. He is an example to us of one who prays for others. As believers, we have the ability to intercede for others. Thus, Abraham intercedes for Sodom and Gomorrah. Notice how Abraham does not condone their sinful activities, but rather out of love he prays for them. He knows that the Lord is patient and merciful; so, he prays for the Lord to be patient and merciful toward Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham asks that the wicked would be spared for the sake of the righteous who dwell in their midst.
Ever since humanities fall into sin, there have been two groups of people namely the righteous and the wicked. The righteous are the believers who listen to the voice of God. The wicked are the unbelievers who despise the word of God. The two groups are headed in opposite directions. One way leads to life and the other way leads to death.
During the days of the great flood, only the righteous were spared from judgment. Yet, overtime, the people of the earth were once again separated into two groups namely the righteous and the wicked. The wicked forgot the great deliverance worked by God who saved them from the flood waters. Over time they refused to listen to the voice of God. In a similar way, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had forgotten the deliverance worked by God who saved them from captivity by the hand of Abraham. This took place around fifteen years before the time of our text. Over time, they refused to listen to the voice of God. They forgot that it was by God’s grace that they were freed. They acted as if God could not hear or see what they were doing.
The Lord our God does see and hears all. Yet, in this passage, in a very human way we understand that He is going to see if what He has heard is accurate. Moses writes, "Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 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.”" (Genesis 18:20-21, ESV) This teaches us that our God is slow to judge. He is patient. He does not bring judgment hastily. He makes sure that the judgment is just. God is holy and He cannot let sin go unpunished. At the same time, the Lord shows his grace and mercy in the first deliverance of Sodom and Gomorrah from their captures. He shows that He wants to forgive and deliver them from the consequences of sin. He is willing to take the time before He judges. Ultimately, because of sin, the wicked will be found to be enemies of God.
On the other hand, believers are friends of God. Look at how God and Abraham are friends. Moses writes, "So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?" (Genesis 18:22-23, ESV) The Lord shows that He is willing to listen to Abraham as a friend. In verse twenty-six, the Lord responds, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” (Genesis 18:26, ESV) In this response, we learn that our God is willing to spare the wicked on the account of the righteous. As friends, Abraham continues to persistently ask that the people be spared on account of forty-five righteous, then thirty, then twenty, and finally ten. Abraham continues to plea for the people trusting in the mercy of God.
Because ten righteous people were not found, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. However, Lot’s family was spared just like the family of Noah was spared from the great flood. Abraham’s prayer was not granted teaching us to pray that the Lord’s will be done in all our petitions. In addition, Abraham continued to trust in the Lord’s promises and continued to live a life of prayer.
We learn of the mercy of God in that He was willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah on the account of ten righteous people. Ultimately God spares us on the account of ONE who is righteous. The Apostle Paul writes in today’s epistle lesson saying, "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." (Colossians 2:13-14, ESV) Did you get that? God canceled our record of debt by nailing it to the cross. Because of our sin, we deserve to die and spend eternity out of fellowship with God. In our baptism we have been united in Christ’s crucifixion. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, this record has been canceled. This includes our neglecting to pray as we should.
As disciples we are taught such lessons so that we do not forgot the great deliverance worked by God in our salvation. We are warned so that we do not refuse to listen to the voice of God over time. When the work of Holy Spirit is resisted, the heart becomes calloused and is neither moved by the kindness of God nor improved by the threats of God. Without faith in our hearts and God’s word upon our lips, we are left alone in the garden offering the kiss of Judas. Apart from Christ we are enemies of God.
But in Christ we are friends. As believers, who are righteous by faith, we can boldly sing, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!” And again, “Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our ev’ry weakness—take it to the Lord in prayer.” It is easy to understand the significance of a friend. In your day-to-day activities, who do you go to for help? You seek out a friend to help you.
I remember when we used to live in Houston when my wife had spinal meningitis. At that time she was pregnant with our first daughter and my son was about two years old. Here I am at the hospital and the doctor is informing me that this is a very serious situation. The nurse is demanding that Luke must leave the room. What am I to do? There are over 2 million people who live in Houston, but who can help me? Out of all the people there, I call up one family from the church and tell them the situation. Without hesitation, they took my son into their home so that I could be at wife’s side. Who knows if Luke was going to give their kids spinal meningitis. You see, they were friends.
Just two weeks ago, we were back in Houston eating dinner over at their house. Even though we have not kept in contact with them we picked up right where we left off. It was as if there had been no time of being separated. You see, they are friends. Do you have friends like that? Now if earthly friends can be so meaningful, how much more meaningful is it to have a friend in Jesus. He is our true friend who helps us in our day of need. He is our true friend who picks up the conversation right where we left off. Even when we neglect to talk to Him, He is always ready to start the conversation again. “In His arms He’ll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there.” Amen.
