True Intimacy With God — Genesis 15-18

0:02 Alright. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. It's been a fun weekend, hasn't it? Thanks to the musicians, the singers, very lovely.

0:11 Thanks for sharing this weekend with me. I've enjoyed it very much. If you missed the conference, we were looking at the subject matter of discipleship. What is a biblical discipleship? What are disciples doing?

0:24 And then we had a session on mentorships, what those mentoring relationships look like. And then our fourth session was on having a good spiritual nursery. I think if you missed those, all those messages are gonna be posted on the website. Couple logistical things before we get in our text. I haven't mentioned it, but I have a YouTube channel.

0:47 It's Henderson Publishing. There's a number of messages that are on that channel if you're looking for some ministry. And then also, if you've never been to Montana and you've never seen the beauty of the state, I have one playlist that's nothing but hikes and so forth through the area. So you can get to see what Montana looks like without exerting all the effort to hike mountains and upstreams and all that. And then I have had several questions on books.

1:16 I'll be packing the books up after lunch. The may we see Christ and, may we serve Christ are daily devotionals. Okay? The may we see Christ is just looking at Christ every day, 366 devotions. One goes through the Old Testament, one goes through the New Testament.

1:35 And then may we serve Christ is application oriented, again, day by day through the Old Testament and day by day through the New Testament. And there was a little confusion. If the sign up sheet is, if there's something that you want that I didn't bring... Obviously, I couldn't bring all the the titles here, just sign your name, your email address, and tell me what you want, and I'll contact you after the conference. If you want the Old Testament commentary series, just sign up for that as well.

2:15 We're gonna be looking at a stand alone topic this morning. The... What does intimacy with God look like? What does intimacy with God look like? I must ask the Lord to bless our time.

2:28 Father, we thank you for the lovely weekend that we've had. We thank you for overruling the weather. This could have been a very hard weekend to have a conference with all the snow that was received, but you've you've blessed abundantly. We thank you for all the wonderful food, the fellowship, the interaction with each other, investing in each other's lives, edifying each other. And we just, again, pray for this lampstand here at Westlake to burn brightly for you.

2:57 And now, father, we pray that you would have your way with us, that your spirit and your word would have their way with us. Father, we give you full permission. Convict us, encourage us, exhort us, whatever's needed that we might be brought further along and drawn closer to you. We ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

3:44 And then in chapter 15, Abraham's been there for a while, but no children. God said that you would be the the father of many nations, but no children, Abraham, Sarai, Abram at that time, and Sarai had been waiting. And, God affirms his covenant, ratifies his covenant in Genesis chapter 15. And in verse six, we read, and Abraham believed God and accounted to him for righteousness. And that would be the way that God would save men and women, boys and girls all the way through the human timeline.

4:20 God represents a truth. And when we we just rise above what our senses can verify and we just take God at his word, God says, that pleases me. I'm justifying you. I'm accrediting righteousness to your account. And that's the first time in in the Bible you'll find the words believed, accounted, and righteous.

4:41 God put them all in one verse to make sure that the plan of salvation is all based in grace. It's received through faith. And you can't get to heaven unless you're justified in Christ. Amen? Amen.

4:54 Then in chapter 16, we have a lapse of faith. Few more years goes by. Sarai comes to Abram and says, you know, take my handmaiden Hagar and take her as a concubine and she'll have children unto me. Well, wasn't God's plan. And Abram didn't ask the Lord about it.

5:16 He listened to his wife. He takes Hagar as a concubine and has Ishmael. And Ishmael then becomes a picture of the flesh throughout scripture. Paul expounds that in Galatians chapter four. It's a sad chapter and there's a lot of consequent...

5:33 Actually, in the world today, much of the strife that's going on is a result of that lapse of faith. In chapter 17, we have the man of God being restored to the Lord. And I just want to quickly point out three things that happened in this chapter. Verse one, we read, when Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said, I am almighty God. Walk before me and be blameless.

6:27 And it's interesting that God doesn't speak to Abraham for thirteen years between chapter sixteen and seventeen. Then he comes to him in chapter 17. He's gonna remind him of his covenant 13 times. God is a great counter, and he's using layers and layers of revelation to try to convey the full picture of salvation to us, and he uses numbers and colors and types and shadows and all of it. And it's very exciting to see this by New Testament truth and understand these hidden pictures in the Old Testament.

7:02 So he's gonna get a new walk. He gets a new name. He goes from Abram to Abraham. Abram, exalted father to Abraham, like father of many nations, many peoples, which is kind of exciting given that he he only has one son at this time, and he's gonna be the father of many nations. It's interesting though that the the suffix in when he says, Abra, in the Hebrew, you don't actually engage the vocal cords.

7:32 You just breathe out. It's a rush of air. And Sarai went to... From Sarai to Sarai. Whenever God breathes on something, it gets life.

7:42 Alright? So here we have this man of God. He's getting a new walk. He's getting a a new name. He's gonna get a a new identity.

7:50 He gets a sign, circumcision. And he's 99 years of age. He had confidence in his flesh in chapter 16, and circumcision is invoked to remind him as Paul says in Philippians three verse four, we're to have no confidence in the flesh. And so circumcision was a constant reminder of that. So he gets a new sign, a sign of the covenant.

8:14 Abraham, 99 years of age, circumcised that day and all the males in his household. So a new walk. He's got a new name. He's got a a new identity. It's a new beginning.

8:57 I'm gonna give you a little outline for the chapter, and then you can follow through as we go through verse by verse. So in verses one through eight, we have Abraham offering worship up to God. He's going to refresh the heart of God. And I want you, as we go through, notice what Abraham is doing and what he's not doing. Alright?

9:20 And then in verse nine is a transition verse, verses 10 through 15... 16... No. 15 is Abraham receiving revelation from God. K?

9:36 And then in verses 16 through 22, we have Abraham in communion with God. They're walking along together. And then in verses 23 through 33, we have Abraham making intercession before God. So Abraham offering worship to God, receiving revelation from the Lord, walking with the Lord in communion, and then making intercession before God. Now that might remind you a little bit of Acts two forty two.

10:09 What did the New Testament church do together? They enjoyed the apostles' doctrine, receiving revelation from the Lord. They enjoyed fellowship or the koinonia, communion with each other as they're in fellowship with the Lord. They enjoyed the Lord's Supper, which we did a little bit ago, offering worship up to the Lord. And they engaged in prayer, making intercession before the Lord.

10:32 So collectively, those are the four things that we can enjoy as a local assembly of God's people. And you can enjoy, as you'll see in the text, this individually. Chapter 18 verse one, then the Lord appeared to him, a terebeth tree, this is like a tall oak tree, in Mamre, and he was sitting, mark that, he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So I kinda picture Abraham. Here's the tent.

11:17 Verse two. So he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him. And when he saw them, he ran. He ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the ground. And he said, my lord, if I have now found favor in your sight, do not pass on by your servant.

11:40 Please let a little water be brought. Wash your feet. Rest yourselves under the tree, and I will bring a morsel of bread that you may refresh your hearts. After that, you may pass by inasmuch as you have come to your servant. And they said, do as you have said.

12:00 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal, knead it, make cakes. Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, hastened to prepare it. He also took butter, milk, and the calf which he had prepared and set it before them and, mark this, he stood by them under the tree as they ate. So first we find Abraham setting inside the tent, in the shade, sun's up high, he looks up and he sees three men coming. Now as we go on, we'll find out that one of these is a theophany, a pre incarnate visit of Christ to the earth and the other two are angels.

12:48 They're identified as angels in chapter 19 because these two angels will go to Sodom and have an interaction with Lot. As soon as Abraham sees them, he gets off his seat and runs to them. It's the heat of the day. This is a 99 year old man. When we were in Kansas, I used to run quite a bit.

13:12 I know it doesn't look like it now, but I used to run quite a bit. When in Kansas about... Well, it's been seven, eight years ago. I thought, you know, I'm gonna start running again. Oh, it was painful.

13:25 Here's a 99 year old man. He's so excited about his god. He's running to meet his god. And then he bows down before him. Now this is the Hebrew, Shaqa.

13:38 And this is the first time it's in scripture. And what Abraham is showing us is what worship is. He bows down before his creator. This word is normally translated worship in scripture. In Genesis 22, it appears in the English for the first time, Shaqa, as worship.

13:59 Right? So Abraham is teaching us about worship. It's an eagerness to refresh the heart of God any way that you can. Now who is doing all the talking here in verses two through eight? It's Abraham.

14:16 All the Lord said is, do as you say. And this is very important. When the Lord Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman, he said that there's a day coming where you'll be able to worship me in spirit and in truth. The Holy Spirit comes in and through our human spirit, we're able to worship the Lord, but it has to be in truth. I don't care what kind of emotional fanfare it is, the gymnastics that goes along with it, if we're offering something to the God of truth that is not true, it is unacceptable to him.

14:56 It does not thrill him. So Abraham is being very careful here. He's saying, Lord, this is what I like to do. You know, I'll I'll bring a pan in here of water so your feet can be washed, and and we'll get some bread going and and a meal prepared, and you can sit here under the shade tree and wait for it. And Lord says, do that.

15:17 In other words, he was... The Lord confirmed to Abraham what would please him, and Abraham does it. But he's very careful to make sure what would please the Lord before he engages in it. Now we don't have to ask the Lord about it because we have his word now that tells us what he appreciates. For example, this morning, we gathered and obeyed the Lord's command.

15:40 His dying request was to remember him in the way that we did this morning, and we honor him by doing so. It's a really cold heart that can deny the Lord's dying request to remember him and not be gathered with the saints on Sunday morning, to worship the Lord. So we know what god appreciates and we should have that attitude of wanting to run, do whatever I can to refresh the lord. Notice that Abraham gets his family involved with this opportunity to worship the lord. Goes to Sarah quickly, gets a meal, knead it, let it rise, bake some cakes.

16:22 He goes out to the herd. He picks the the best calf he has. He gets one of young men to dress it, prepare it. By the way, this is not fast food, right? I'm thinking, I'm a hunter and I kinda know how long it takes to prepare an animal that's on the hoof to serving on a platter.

16:44 I'm thinking this at least took an hour and a half, maybe longer. Here... Here's the Lord graciously setting in the heat of the day under the shade tree for a meal he doesn't need to eat. And he's waiting, and Abraham's running back and forth. And and everybody's working, and the Lord's just there patiently waiting.

17:03 He doesn't even need it. But it it shows you how thrilling it is when we engage him with the spirit of truth and just the the fervency in our souls to give God whatever will please him. And that's the attitude that we need to come. So men, here's a good opportunity. Make sure that you get your family prepared to worship.

17:32 When our kids were young, I used to go around to each of the rooms on Saturday night and to say, you know, tomorrow is the Lord's Supper. And I just wanna make sure you've kinda looked over your week, got sins confessed. We started them on daily quiet times and taught them to be all week long be looking for some thought about the Lord. Beloved, every person that's saved, man, woman, child that comes here on Sunday morning should have a full heart, a prepared offering for the Lord. Now there's church order, and the men have been given the task by the Lord to do the audible ministry.

18:15 There's a visual ministry the sisters engage in. There's an audible ministry that the men engage in. But when the brother stands up and he's sharing a thought that the Lord's given him, he's representing the Lord, but the words themselves don't go past the back wall or the ceiling tile. The words are not the worship. Okay.

18:37 This is very important because I've heard sisters say, well, why do I need to prepare? I'm not gonna be worshiping. No. The worship comes from the heart. So when a sister hears a brother share the exact thought that she's been meditating on, how encouraging is that?

18:56 She knows that the god of the universe is listening to her own heart, and she knows that that man is standing up in the power of the Holy Spirit and conveying it. It's a win win. I don't know how many times through the years I've heard my wife or some... Either one of the daughters say, thanks dad or to their brothers or even to another brother in the meeting. Thanks for sharing my thought this morning.

19:21 Sometimes they'll add a little bit more. And it's very encouraging for them. One of our daughters, I won't mention her name, but she would go into a room on Saturday night, close the door, get commentaries out, and she would work an hour, hour and a half on her Lord's Supper thought. She had a journal. She'd write her thoughts out.

19:38 Went back for years. Took them very seriously. About five years ago, Brendan and I were up in Northern Ontario for a trip. We had a conference at Sudbury, and then we did some hiking and cross country skiing. And we went over to Renview near Ottawa, Ontario for a second conference.

19:59 And normally, Brenda will pick out a hymn out of the black book that that really aligns with her thoughts for... That she's gotten out of scripture for that morning. And she'll often have it open. And the first hymn called out at Sudbury was that hymn. My wife goes, god so good.

20:24 We go to Renfrew the next day. She's got her hymn open. The very first hymn called out Lord's Supper was that hymn. My wife had tears running down her face. She's, god is so good to me.

20:36 The worship comes from the heart, and every one of us should be prepared worshipers on Sunday morning. Not not rushing in the Lord's presence with something half cooked or some little thought, but really meditating, thinking about... Abraham is laboring here, and this isn't quick work. He got his whole family involved. So Abraham is teaching us something here about worship, how to refresh the heart of God, and we all should be involved in it.

21:34 Sarah was listening in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. That's very polite way of saying they were really old. And Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Alright.

21:50 She's postmenopause. She can't have children. In verse 12, therefore Sarah laughed within herself saying, after I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my Lord being old also? And the Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh, saying, shall I surely bear a child since I am old? Is anything too hard for the Lord?

22:16 At the appointed time, I will return to you according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. But Sarah denied it saying, I did not laugh for she was afraid. And he said, no, but you did laugh. We'll pause our reading there. Now in Sarah's defense, we don't know if...

22:39 And it's a laugh within herself. I don't think it was audible. But we don't know if she was thinking, no way am I gonna have a kid. Or, oh, I'm gonna have a kid? We don't know what it is, but if there is any doubt to who her husband was speaking to, it was all settled.

22:58 I mean, the Lord overheard her thoughts and made it public. And so Sarah knew that this was the Lord as well. Now how much does Abraham say in verses 10 through 15? Nothing. Not a word.

23:14 Why? Because he's receiving revelation from the Lord. And when the lord speaks, we don't add anything to that. Amen? Amen.

23:23 It's it's his truth. All we're doing is propagating the truth. That's why there's so much accountability in teaching. James says, don't let there be too many teachers. There's great accountability.

23:34 We're speaking for the Lord, and he takes that very seriously. So Abraham is receiving revelation from the Lord. And what kinds of things is God encouraging Abraham with? He reaffirms his promises. And by the way, isn't that encouragement to us to go into word and reaffirm God's promises to us?

23:55 The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. That's pretty encouraging. Even when you look out and see how wicked and dark things are, the lord is building his church. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Isn't that an encouragement?

24:12 Claim it. There's gonna be a trump, a shout, pow, we're out of here. That's encouraging. That's a blessed hope. So these are things that encourage us.

24:25 God also affirms his character. He affirms his attributes. I am a covenant keeping God. There's nothing too hard for me to keep. Every promise that God has in this book, he's going to keep.

24:42 The nation of Israel is going to be restored. The last few chapters of Ezekiel, we read about this millennial temple. The last two chapters, we read about these sections of land that each tribe's going to get. Temple's never been built. Those sections have never been given as an inheritance.

24:58 It's gonna happen just as God's word says, and they'll be established back in the land. The last two verses of Ezekiel 39, God won't leave one Jew anywhere in the world. Have them all back in the promised land. God's a covenant keeping God. So revelation from the Lord.

25:18 We have God. We have the canonized word of God. It's here for us, preserved for us. We can claim the promises of God. We can rejoice in the character of God, His attributes, His faithfulness, and so forth, and this encourages us on to walk in the faith.

26:28 And if not, I will know. Then the men turned away, these are the two angels, from there and went towards Sodom. But Abraham, mark this, still stood before the Lord. So when he was receiving revelation from the Lord, Abraham stood, didn't say a word, received it from the Lord. Now dinner's over, and they're going to start moving towards the East, towards Sodom.

26:56 The two angels get up, the Lord gets up, Abraham gets up, and they start walking along together. It's a really beautiful picture of fellowship and communion with the Lord. How much does Abraham say in verses 16 through 22? Not a word. Now that seems kind of strange to us, doesn't it?

27:19 How could you call this communion and fellowship with the Lord? Abraham isn't saying anything, but God sure is. He's he's bestowing all his accolades on his man of faith. Now Abraham, he's he's gonna become a great and mighty nation. All the earth is gonna be blessed in him.

27:42 He's gonna command his household after me. He's gonna do righteousness and justice, and Abraham's just soaking it in. Here's the god of the universe putting all these accolades and encouraging him. If you think about what we talk about when we're together, we talk about our burdens, our suffering. We talk about other people.

28:05 We... It's not necessary, though, when you're walking with the Lord. Right? The one who cares for us, all burdens are satisfied. When we get to heaven, he's gonna wipe away all tears.

28:17 We'll be a perfect peace. I love that scene in Revelation chapter four where you got the Shekinah glory coming from the throne of God, the Sardis, the emerald, the jasper, all of it, and a circular rainbow around the throne and the four living creatures flying above the throne calling out, holy, holy, holy is the lord of hosts, thunder and lightning. I mean, it's a majestic scene, and yet, I see a glass before the throne, not even a ripple because all in God's presence is peace and rest. And this is what Abraham is enjoying. He's in God's presence.

28:55 He's enjoying communion with God. And when you're in communion with God, that's peace. Arene is a Greek word that's normally rendered peace in the New Testament, and it has the idea of making two things one. If you're ever frustrated, anxious, and so forth, Paul says in Philippians two, you need to adapt the mind of Christ. Because when you adapt the mind of Christ and think like him, then you come into peace.

29:22 You're resting in him. And so all is at rest at... In God's presence. Just keep your finger here and flip back to the book of Zephaniah. The z books are at the end of the Old Testament.

29:41 Zephaniah is fourth from the end, Zechariah is second from the end. We're in Zephaniah chapter three. In the context here is the millennial kingdom when the Jewish nation had... A remnant has been refined and restored to the Lord. Listen to this.

30:03 We're gonna start in verse 16. In that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem, do not fear Zion. Let not your hands be weak. The Lord your God is in your midst. So God is with them again.

30:18 's not with them right now, but he is there. The mighty one will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. Listen to this. He will quiet you with his love.

30:30 He will rejoice over you with singing. Hallelujah. He will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice over you with his singing. This is this is the God of the universe singing love songs over his people.

30:48 How cool is that? Quieting us with his love. And I think that's what Abraham was enjoying. He was just walk on. Oh, beloved, what will it be like?

31:01 And the trump, voice of the archangel, everything that's ever caused you to weep and cry, suddenly gone, and you're in the midst of utter peace and rest. And this is what the Lord offers us now in spirit. There it'll be realized. But if we walk along with him, as I said yesterday, Paul says in Philippians chapter four twelve, I've I've learned whether to be content if I have a lot or little. He says, I've learned.

31:31 Uh-oh. I've been ushered into the mysteries or the secrets, the resting place. And and my piece says it based on circumstances out here. It's based on my presence with the lord, and nobody can take that from you. Don't let anybody take that from you.

31:47 Hudson Taylor, pioneer missionary into China in the mid nineteenth century, founded inland... China Inland Missions. At one time, several two or 3,000 missionaries he was overseeing. Great work of God. It was costly.

32:05 His first wife, Maria, died after twelve and a half years of marriage. They had seven children. When Maria was pregnant with their seventh child, they had already lost two by diseases in China. They sent the four older children back to The UK for for schooling. And so it was Hudson, Maria, and they were expecting their seventh son or their seventh child and after the child was delivered that baby died and shortly after that Maria contracted cholera and died.

32:37 So Hudson Taylor is all alone now in China. His wife... First wife is dead. Three of his children buried there, the other four on the other side of the planet. And by God's grace, he provided another wife for Hudson Taylor.

32:51 They were married, and then after a period of time, she went to The UK to be with the four older children. Hudson Taylor was going to come to The UK to join her later. When he gets back to The UK, he's picked up in a horse and carriage, and his wife and he are in the back seat of that carriage. And he said they held hands, but the the whole thing was so serene that neither one of them could speak. And Hudson Taylor quotes Zephaniah three, I will quiet you with with my love.

33:24 That idea of just being at peace with the one you love and a perfect rest. And I think that's the beauty of what Abraham is experiencing. There's two reasons why God left the heights of heaven and took on human form, son of God, and came and talked with Abraham. We find out that he is going... He knows the wickedness in Sodom and Gomorrah, but God is going to be shown to be just, so he's going to send two witnesses there to verify it.

33:53 So the saints... The people that are there will know that. And as we see in the last part of the chapter, he wanted an intercessor. And that takes us to our final section, verses 23 through 33. And Abraham came near and said, would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

34:30 How big of a step did Abraham have to take to come near the lord? That's it. Right? Maybe a step or two, and he's right there next to the lord, and he's gonna make intercession. Think of what God has done in order to allow Abraham to make one or two steps.

34:50 He's left heaven. He's taken on human form. It's the heat of the day. He sat under a tree for probably a couple hours, eating a meal he didn't need to eat. Then he's strolling with Abraham towards Sodom just so Abraham could take one or two steps to come near and make intercession.

35:08 God does all the work, and yet we don't make full use of the throne of grace. He's done everything. He just says, please come boldly in, we read in Hebrews four. He loves an intercessor. He wants somebody to stand in the gap for the wayward and the wicked.

35:27 Verse 24. Suppose there were 50 righteous within the city. Now listen to the demeanor here of Abraham as he's speaking. Suppose there was 50 righteous within the city. Would you also destroy the place and not spare it for the 50 righteous that were in it?

35:47 Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so the righteous should be as the wicked? Far be it from you. Shall not the judge of all the earth do what's right? Those are pretty bold words. Verse 26, and the Lord rebuked Abraham.

36:09 Doesn't say that, does it? Lord, he doesn't... He's not in a rebuking mode here. He is burden for the souls in Sodom and Gomorrah. We read in Ezekiel chapter eighteen twenty three, God has no pleasure in destroying the wicked.

36:26 Some people think that God is like just ready to, boom, smash you in. No. He's long suffering. He's patient that all should come to repentance. He he he wants the wicked to turn to him.

36:39 He wants the carnal, and Lot was a carnal believer in Sodom. He wants people to turn to the truth, and so he's sending the angels into Sodom. He's listening to Abraham make intercession. There's no rebuke here. The Lord says, if I find in Sodom 50 righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

37:09 And I think Abraham thought, wow, that went pretty well. And so he goes to 45, 50... Or 30, 20, 10. So let's pick up in verse 32. Then he said, Abraham said, let not the Lord be angry.

37:27 Has there been anything in this chapter that's shown the anger of the Lord? No. Not at all. I will speak but once more. Mark that.

37:38 Suppose 10 should be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the sake of 10. So the Lord went his way as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. Who started this conversation? Abraham did.

37:56 He stepped near. He started making intercession. Praise the lord. He's standing in the gap for the wayward. It's exactly what god wanted.

38:03 We see Moses doing the same thing in Exodus 32. After the golden calf, says, god... A holy god's anger was burning against his covenant people. They'd already forsaken and broke his commandments. He says, I'll destroy and make a nation of you, Moses.

38:18 And Moses says, don't do it, Lord. For your name's sake, your enemies will say you brought your people out here to kill them in the wilderness. And it says the Lord relented. Well, God, he has his sovereign purposes and what he's going to do all planned out. Nothing's gonna change that.

38:40 But he's presenting the opportunity for intercession for those purposes to come about. And Moses steps right up and makes intercession for God. God loves an intercessor. And I think this is one of the weakest things in the church today is we're not making use of the throne of grace. The prayer meetings as we looked at yesterday in the New Testament, especially in Acts, were all focused about boldness and doing what God had told them and praying for those that were suffering because they did.

39:10 And that doesn't typically characterize our prayer meetings today. But the great revivals in the church age have all been with utter brokenness and a commitment to pray until God brings mercy down from heaven. And that's what we need. We need mercy from heaven. You...

39:29 I think of that revival in The Hebrides in 1949, 1950. Duncan Campbell was used... Campbell was used by the Lord in in that revival, and some of the stories he tells is just incredible. The fear of god coming on people in the middle of the night so so heavy that they came screaming out of their houses wanting god. Wouldn't that be great to see at Westlake?

39:54 The fear of god Abraham came near. He makes intercession. He started the conversation, and Abraham ended the conversation. Lord, I'll talk to you once more. I think if Abraham gone to five, the Lord would have gone to five.

40:14 But Abraham stopped, and I'm... This is my opinion. I think he stopped because he thought, I've saved I've saved Sodom. There's Lot. There's Lot's wife.

40:25 There's Lot's daughters. There's his son in laws. And I think Abraham thought there were 10 righteous in Sodom. What a wake up call the next morning when Abraham pulls the flap of the tent back and the whole Jordanian Valleys up in smoke. There wasn't 10 righteous in Sodom, and God destroyed it.

40:46 Beloved, don't give up on the intercession. I had a I had a boss, my teenage years all the way up, and he he said, when you go to college, you'll figure out... You'll figure it out, and that'll be the end of your Christian faith. Well, that isn't what happened. Twenty three years I prayed for that man.

41:10 He had a believing wife. Twenty three year... It took cancer to get his decision. And Merle came to Christ. He said, I don't know why I've been so stubborn all these years.

41:19 And the Lord gave him a repeat... A reprieve. He had about two years there to grow and learn the Lord before the Lord took him home. Don't give up intercession. This is where the action's at.

41:31 It's the word of God and the spirit of God working on the soul. So these are these are the kinds of things that in... Intimacy with God looks like. It's it's this idea of giving to god, refreshing the heart of god, bowing down in humility, and just giving god whatever he says. If you're if you're disobeying something, you can't please the lord.

41:55 Your worship is not going to be acceptable. So we need to confess sins, get right with the lord, submit to his truth, and just yield to him what he wants. Then we need to receive revelation from him. We don't add to it. We take it.

42:09 We appreciate his promises, his character, his attributes. We claim them as our own. We enjoy fellowship with him, understanding that as we yield to truth, he he manifests more of ourself, and we're drawn deeper and deeper into the the hiding place of god, the resting place. Nobody can take that away from us. And we have this opportunity to make intercession before god.

42:34 Let's make full advantage of the throne room, the throne of grace, and especially making intercession for the wicked and the wayward. Father, we thank you for the time we've had today to think about what this looks like intimacy with you. We thank you for this great example of Abraham. We pray, Father, that you've spoken to us today. There's some area of neglect, some some area of disobedience, some area that we need to grow in.

43:06 Please show it to us and bring us along and make us more like your son. Father, we thank you for the food before us. We pray we just enjoy this meal together and have sweet fellowship. We ask in the name of the lord Jesus. Amen.