Changing God's Mind

So before I jump into this portion of Scripture, something that I need to tell you is, I have never ever, ever preached this portion of Scripture before, except for first service. But otherwise, I have never preached this portion of Scripture before. And the reason is, because every time I read it before, it just messed me up. And I felt like I couldn't bring any real clarity to this portion of Scripture. And so literally, for the last six or seven years, I've been wrestling with the Scripture, I've been trying to find other people who have taught on the Scripture I've been trying to, you know, dive into the what is the Scripture mean? And today, I feel like the Lord's released me to preach it. And so I'm really, really excited. So if you have not read through Genesis, I would challenge you and encourage I implore you please read the book of Genesis, this incredible specifically, the story of this guy named Abraham who is an absolute legend, man, he is awesome. He's awesome. I don't want to give the whole story away. But he has some visitors he kind of God had promised Abraham many things that he would be the father of many nations and that he would kind of be the lead guy in the kingdom. Back in those days. He was a type of Christ that we can see in the Old Testament. He foreshadowed what Jesus would be and who he will become. So let's read the Scripture. I got a lot of Scripture, y'all ready for it? Okay, if you didn't get Bible reading him, I got you. I got you. Verse 16, then the man got up from their meal and looked out towards Saddam. And as they left Abraham with them, and on with them on their way, should I hide my plan from Abraham, the Lord asked, let's just underline that, as we make our observations throughout the Scripture, today, should I hide my plan from Abraham, for Abraham was certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right. And just. Then I will do for Abraham, all that I've promised. So the Lord told Abraham, I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah because their sin is so flagrant. I'm going down there to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard, if not, I want to know. The other man turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. Abraham approached him and said, Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? Let's observe this, this is a big deal, will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? This word wicked means on righteous dot.da suppose you find 50 people living there in the city, will you sweep it away and not spirit for their six? Surely you would do such a thing destroying the righteous along with the wicked, the righteous, along with the wicked, you wouldn't destroy the righteous with the wicked, would you? God, why you'd be treating the righteous and the wicked, exactly the same? Surely, you wouldn't do that once you Abraham's onto something here he realizes that the God that he knows surely wouldn't treat the righteous in the wicked the same way. So why the bad news of destroying this entire city? Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right? And the love reply? If I find 50 righteous people and start them, I'll spare the entire city for their sake. Then Abraham spoke again, he's since I've begun, let me speak further, my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. Suppose there are 45 righteous people rather than 50 Will you destroy the whole city for the lack of five? And the Lord said, I will not destroy it. If I find 45 righteous people there. Then Abraham presses request just a little bit further. Suppose there are only 40 and the Lord replied, I will not destroy it for the sake of 40 Please don't be angry with me, my lord. Abraham pleaded, let me speak. Suppose there are 30 righteous people found and the Lord replied, are not destroyed if I find 30 than Abraham said, since I've been Here to speak to the Lord. Let me continue. Suppose that there are only 20. Sounds like some of your kids, doesn't it?
I go to bed. Okay, you got 30? What about 35? Right? Then the Lord said to Abraham about 20. And the Lord replied on not destroy it for the sake of 20. Finally, Abraham said, Lord, please don't get angry with me. If I speak one more time, suppose only 10 are found there. And the Lord replied, I will not destroy it for the sake of 10. And when the Lord had finished this conversation with eight with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent. Here's what I want to do for the next few minutes is I want to talk about the scripture. But I want to again, hopefully, over the next little while, answer this question. Does prayer change God's mind? Like I said, a few minutes ago, I want to talk specifically about a type of prayer. That's probably not at the top of our prayer formation. It's called intercession. See, I think that many of us who find ourselves praying we pray with intention about things for us, we might pray for intimacy, God, I just want to get to know you. But going to a place of intercession is a whole nother level of prayer. When you're praying for people who you don't know you're praying for people maybe that you don't like you're praying for people who don't believe what you believe. They don't act like you act, they don't do what you do. They may see the world differently than you do. But you're praying for them, nevertheless, because you don't want God's will to not happen for them. Intercession. Intercession means this. It's the action of intervening on behalf of another. See, I think that most of us when we pray, we want God to act on behalf of us. But many of us would never wasted breath, we wouldn't certainly waste time praying for somebody else, to experience the goodness of God.
I mean, I only have 15 minutes to pray, am I really going to pray for somebody else that I may not know? Am I really going to pray for Nicaragua? Like, yeah, that's sad that the team couldn't go and that the missionaries are on their own and the government is in such an upheaval, that they're the night like, that's sad, but does it affect me? Does it affect here? Does it affect now? The answer is yes. Because if it affects somebody who is a part of the kingdom, then it affects you, who's a part of the kingdom. So we've got to stop viewing prayer as a right here and now and realize the prayer crosses the boundary lines of time and space.
Even natural relationship crosses the boundary lines. intercession is a powerful form of prayer. So let me start everybody with answering this question. Does God change his mind? See, because I read this scripture for the last six, seven years, and I'm like, Oh, my gosh, this is messing me up. Because here's the reality. If my prayer changes God's mind, then I'm God and he's not.
Prayer does not change God's mind. Because I can't change God's mind, and neither can you. Well, Pastor Matt, you just read the Scripture. And God changed His mind based on Abraham's prayer. Now, I didn't know I didn't. No, no, no, he didn't. God's mind is already made up everybody. God's mind is made up. God loves all people, John 316. He wants to heaven to come to earth, Matthew 610. And he does not change. He's the same yesterday, today. And forever. Hebrews chapter 13, verse eight, God's will is always good. It's always pleasing in it is always perfect.
And all of this was accomplished to the person of Jesus, the life, the death, and the resurrection. So why then does it appear? That Abraham's prayer change God's mind? It's because of the way that we read Scripture. See, as Americans especially, we typically read a story, and we start getting main character vibes. You know what I mean? Like, I'm the main character, I'm the main event. No, you're not. No, you're not. See, you read. We read this and we see Abraham like we see us and like, I'm the big deal. I'm the man. And Abraham changed. Abraham did not change God. as mine, what actually happened was God changed Abraham's mind. And I'll show you here in just a few minutes. See, what happens is we, we fix our filter as though we are God. And so everything is filtered through that and we see the change and we think, wow, we're awesome.
But if you continue to read, some of us may know that in Genesis chapter 19, God does actually end up destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. However, he did not destroy the righteous people that were living there. They got out beforehand because of a warning from the angel of the Lord. The issue for Abraham was the same issue that God was having, he did not want to destroy the righteous with the wicked or the unrighteous. It was not it was not God's heart to do that. However, God's Will on Earth needs a vehicle to come through. So in order for God and His will to take place on Earth. It needs to come through someone swipes at Jesus. It's why you and I who are followers of Jesus are now empowered by the person of the Holy Spirit, to bring God's Will so that the supernatural can take place in the natural realm. Abraham was that man in this story. He was a man of intentionality and prayer which establish intimacy with God, which moved him to a place of praying, intercession. Prayer must become a practice for all of us. That's intentionality. It's intimacy. And it's intercession. If we see those three things, and we can begin to see the Kingdom Come here on earth, when our prayer life begins to take the shape of these three eyes more often than it doesn't, then we can count on seeing the things of the kingdom. We can see heaven open, here on Earth. In fact, there are three gates that I think this type of prayer, open up prayer of intercession, open up, can I just can I just challenge you for a minute. Something that's become very popular culturally is this talk of like gatekeepers and gatekeeping, Cattai, stop gatekeeping when it comes to the kingdom, because Jesus is the gate, the Bible says he's the one who people come to salvation and the knowledge of a saving grace through. And so stop withholding from people or stop living beneath the destiny, the Plan The Promise of the purpose of God in such a way that it excuses people sin, stop excusing your sin, to water down the life transformation that could be afforded to somebody else. You're gatekeeping the gospel, you're keeping people out of the gospel, because they're seeing you rather than seeing Jesus, let's be people who point people, to the person of Jesus. Stop making ourselves the main event of Christianity. So here are the three gates that I think are opened to us who will begin to pray these prayers of intercession gate number one, or the gate is the gate to his secrets, the gate to his secrets, the gate to his secrets, that you know that God wants to share his secrets with you. I love this Genesis at 17 says, should I hide my plan from Abraham? And we've read this and we think, wow, God's really confused. Seven quite the quandary. Like,
should I?
should I hide my plan from? Now what he's saying is, why should I hide my plan from him? Why should I hide my plan from him? He is a friend. The Bible calls Abraham a friend of God. So he's saying, should I hide my plan? Absolutely not. That's why he reveals his secret to Abraham. That's why he tells him hey, listen, this whole town is about to go down. Because they're living apart from the place of righteousness that the people of God are called to. He'll show you which path to take when he knows that you care about the past and he'll show you give a bit Have you ever been in a conversation with somebody and maybe you've been too attentive to your phone husbands with your wives? And you're like, Oh, honey, can you say it again? And she's like, No, Nevermind. Nevermind. Forget about it. Anybody that will hit close to home. There was no Amen to that.
But that's a lot like what God is like, he's like, Hey, listen, if you don't care, I'm not gonna share it with you. But if you care If you're attentive to it, then I'll share it with you. If you're my friend, if you can close the relationship, you set up a place of intentionality and prayer, and you come to me intimately seeking my face, then I'll share my secrets with you. I don't want you to be in the dark, I don't want you to wander. I don't want you to be like, Well, what's my purpose? What's God's play? God wants to reveal it to you. He can't trust you with it when you don't seek him first. But Abraham lived a life.
That was God first he was a friend of God. Say should I should I hide my plan? From my friend know why in the next verse, He goes on to share the plan. He said, Abraham, a hearts broken. And here's why. God is looking for sons and daughters that he can share his secrets with, hoping that there'll be stirred to intercede, remember a couple of months ago, and our brick by brick series and I talked about giving. But I talked about giving toward or giving in connection to what the way that God's stirring your heart, and I said, it's the things that make you mad, glad and sad. That's what God stirs you. And that's what God wants you to give. But that's also what God wants you to intercede. He's looking for sons and daughters who won't just walk by the situations that make them mad, glad or sad. He's looking for sons and daughters who will step up and intercede on behalf and call things down. See, because God's Will can't be done on earth as it is in heaven unless he has a willing vessel to step up. The reason that he triggers your heart or stirs your heart in those places that make you mad, glad and sad, is because that's his destiny for you. That's where you're supposed to pray. That's where you're supposed to give. That's where you're supposed to serve.
That's how you're supposed to intercede. That's how the kingdom of heaven comes to
earth through you. He was to reveal his secrets. The second thing that God does is God opens the gate to his heart. When we pray prayers of intercession like this, The Lord replied, If I have 50, righteous, then I'll spare the entire city, wouldn't it all the way down to 10. If I have 10? Well, as we know, the story goes, they couldn't find 10. So what God did was he used Abraham's life, to spare those who are righteous in the city. He used his prayers to spare those who are righteous in the city, and then he destroyed the rest. He destroyed the rest. God's heart is that no one ever be destroyed. However, there is a difference. Everybody, between righteous and unrighteous. There's a difference between right and wrong. There is a difference between righteous and wicked, there's a difference. The father is hardest for people to receive right, standing through Jesus Christ and faith in Him alone, which is why it's so important that those of us who have received Jesus are learning how to pray. It's why it's so important that we learn to intercede why, because we can't change God's mind. But we can bring God's will to earth like it isn't heaven. See, without somebody who's willing to bring the will of God, the power of God, to Earth, God's limited and what he can do.
We like to think that God can just pour it out, pour it out, pour it out, and he can, but he has to pour it out into people who are willing to carry it out here on Earth, otherwise, we will see
the blessing of the kingdom. Well, that's, you know, and that's why culturally, the enemy works so hard to get us to believe that God doesn't work that way anymore. Yeah, we pray things like go God, you know, like if it's your will, well, can I tell you how we know God's will? By reading the Word. And when we read the Word and know God's will, we can pray God's will, that it'd be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let me ask you something. Is there any sick folks in heaven? No. It was like, was that a trick question? No. God's will is always to heal. That's why it says that by the stripes of Jesus, we were healed. But we have to pray intercede prayers of faith on behalf of with people. To see the Kingdom Cup that His will might be done on earth as it is in heaven. It's important that we learn as Christ followers to enter See it and to share our faith, these prayers really matter? Do they matter? Because God changes his mind? No, no. No, they matter because God opens the gate to his heart. See, God doesn't change his mind. God changes our mind. God doesn't move to where we are, we move to where he is. See, the reality is God did not want to destroy Sodom, he did not want to destroy the righteous and the wicked together, he would have had to if there weren't a righteous man named Abraham, just like for those of us who are now separated from Jesus, he doesn't want to destroy any of us. But we have to find our right standing through Jesus, who was the man who came to earth to intercede on our behalf. I know this is a lot. I know this is a lie. But God wants to give us his heart. He wants to share with us his heart. The gate to God's heart does not open when we recite the ramblings of the latest YouTube, Instagram or Tiktok. Preacher. It's not open when we excuse our sin or choose apathy, leading others into wayward places the gate to God's heart is open to us when we pray according to His work, His will and His way, His Word, His will, His way. And when our desires become more like his, he reveals more of his heart. In fact, the Bible says in Psalm chapter 37, verse four, that God gives you the desires of your heart. He gives you the desires of your heart. Does that mean like, oh, I want a new house, a new house? No.
I want a new car, a new car? No, that's not what it is. It means that he gives you the desires of your heart. Now, I would imagine that many of you have not dreamed about being in church on a Sunday morning, that it rained that, you know, like, you most y'all probably didn't dream up. You know what I'm gonna get up early. I'm gonna go to church my whole life. No, probably what has happened is over the course of time, God has changed or giving you a new desire to be in his presence to be with his people. God has given you the desire
of your heart.
Right? My worst nightmare would have been going to church early, when I was a teenager. Now you cannot keep me home, I don't care if I'm traveling, I'm on vacation was going to, I'm going to church somewhere, somehow, some way why God changed the desire of my heart. Some people get fearful all the time that man if I live with Jesus, he can make me move to Africa or something like this. No, God will give you the desires of your heart. If he moves you to Africa, it's gonna be because you want to move to Africa, because he has implanted that heart in you. Man, if I if I give my life to Jesus, I'm gonna have to give all my life savings away. No. If you want to give your life savings away, is because God has moved on your heart and the desires of your heart are changed. And now I want to find the kingdom. He's not going to make you do anything that you don't want to do. He's going to offer you an opportunity, Abraham
to say, would you intercede on behalf of these people? See, when he gives you the desires of your heart, your heart changes, he gives you more of the desires of your heart. The way that I read this now, is not Abraham, change God's mind? This God changed Abraham's mind. I don't think Abraham gave a flip about Sodom. Until God came to him and said, Son, this is what I'm about to do. And he's like,
Oh, what about what about 50?
Why don't you find 50 And he's like, smiling and heavenly. He got my heart. My son got my he didn't care last week, but now he's got my heart. If there's 50 Okay, 50 I got you. This Oh, what about what about 45 Is my son he got more of a heart? Yeah, here's the kingdom. He
says, What about 30? What about 30? Cuz you're smiling in heaven. He's like, yes, my will can be done on earth as it is in heaven. Because I see a righteous man who is not saddled with just prayers of intentionality for himself or intimacy to build himself up, but he's interceding. He's receiving the heart.
Yeah, do it for 30 What about 20? What about 20? And God says, My son, he's got my heart. Here's the kingdom 20. God, what about what about 10? What about what do you think about 10 Gustin and heaven just keep receiving more and more heart 10 We're good. Let's go. Let's go. He said, Have you find 10 Don't destroy the entire city. He's like God, I know that. There's a differentiation between righteous and unrighteous. There's a differentiation between righteous and wicked. And I know that you cannot receive or accept wickedness, somebody who doesn't receive the Spirit of God who doesn't receive the person of Jesus, I know that you can't receive that, but But surely don't lump the righteous in. They couldn't find 10, righteous. And so what they did is, they taught an escape plan for the righteous to spend eternity somewhere, the unrighteous one.
Here's what I want to challenge you. There's a lot of teaching today. That would encourage you that there's no such thing as an afterlife or eternity. There's no such thing as a heaven or hell, there is no such thing as either be connected or disconnected to the Father for eternity. There is there is it's not God's plan that anybody be separated from him. That's why He sent Jesus. However, however, the choice is ours. The choice is ours. That's why it's so important that we have men and women who respond in prayer who intercede on behalf of people. Because of my life, some of you see Jesus differently than you saw before. Because of the life of your city group leader, some of you see Jesus differently than you saw him before because of your family member. Some of you see Jesus differently than you did before. Because of somebody significant in your life who you saw change, according to the plan and purpose of God who was carrying the heart of God who was interceding on your behalf. Your lives have changed. And that's not any testament to us. That's testament to Jesus and who he is in the way he changed my heart. Because I can tell you this right now, I would have never moved in inconvenience myself so that somebody can hear a message about Jesus.
Ever. Ever.
We're living in Georgia. And God just began to plant this idea in my heart, about Nebraska. I was like no. Since somebody else, I live there for a long time. Surely you don't want me to go back. And all of a sudden, I couldn't get Nebraska to my heart. And we made our way this way. Pastor Carrie and I were on a walk earlier this week. And she's somebody's texting her about the nice weather and whatever flippin place they were. And I was like, no shot. I would never leave Nebraska. Not until God changes my heart and he hasn't so far. My heart is so set on Nebraska. My heart is so set on leading people. Why? Because God opened the gate to his heart. When my prayer shifted into a place of intimacy said okay, son, you got more of my heart. Here's more of the kingdom. You got more on the heart. Here's more of the kingdom. Here's more on the heart and more the kingdom got to open the gate to his heart. Final thing that God will open the gate to these prayers will open the gate to his to his blessings to his blessings. Some of y'all might remember way back on Easter Sunday. When I started this series, it started in Matthew chapter five, verse three. And the Bible says God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him. For the kingdom of heaven, is theirs. The kingdom of heaven is there's
the people who operate in humility, and know I'm not the center of the universe, I'm not the center of the world. I am in fact not the main character.
See more people get tripped up thinking that they're the main character than anything else. Think how does this affect me? How will it impact me? But man, I've seen people move forward according to the kingdom, when they start thinking about the things that God thinks about That's what this term poor means, means an understanding that without Jesus, I'm poor and broken in spirit that I'm in desperate need of a savior of a turnaround of change of mind, change of heart. And that's who God blesses and that who receives the kingdom.
As we close today, I want to ask you this question. First, I want to remind you of the fact that prayer doesn't change God's mind. Prayer doesn't change God's mind. Prayer changes my mind. Prayer doesn't position God to be on the same page as me. Prayer positions me to be on the same page as God. And this might be the very reason that some of us are afraid to pray. But can I challenge you? Getting on the same page is God, the same places God is the greatest place you can ever live your life. God has no desire to take everything away from you. God has every desire to enhance you, to increase you to bless you to make your life more full than you could have ever imagine. That's God's desire. He loves you, for you. But let me ask you this, if you've been praying to change God's mind, or if you've been praying that God might change yours. It's great to pray these prayers of intention. Me, me, me, me, God helped me. Be with me. Move over to intimacy prayers, like Okay, God, I'm good with just being with you. Maybe not all the stuff, but just you. But then you shifted to intercession. And that's when God starts releasing the kingdom on your life. That's what I think God's doing here right now with us. It's a release in the kingdom, which is super fun. Can I pray for you? Father, thank you, for every person under the sound of my voice, that I thank you for the way that you're speaking to us the way that you are leading us. But I just pray right now that we would come humbly before you taking honest inventory of our hearts, in the areas where we've wanted to change you. Maybe that we thought we were the main character, that we repent and we turn away from that. And we say move in us and move through us do in us and do through us but on the UK. Speak to your people, God. Let us know the way you want to bless us. Let us know the way that you want to bring the kingdom through us that you might be exalted, that you might be lifted on high that you might be magnified In Jesus mighty name. Amen.