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Speaker 1: And there came two angels to Sodom. At Even and

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Speaker 1: Lot sat in the gate of Sodom, and Lot, seeing them,

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Speaker 1: rose up to meet them, and he bowed himself with

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Speaker 1: his face toward the ground Genesis nineteen one. My Lord,

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Speaker 1: thank you for constantly showing me grace when I am

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Speaker 1: surrounded and tempted with the pleasures of this world. Thank

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Speaker 1: you for protecting me from myself and from foolish decisions

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Speaker 1: I've made when I wasn't thinking in alignment with your word.

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Speaker 1: Help me to move with critical obedience when you give

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Speaker 1: a command, I will no longer hesitate when I know

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Speaker 1: the direction your calling me to go. I will no

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Speaker 1: longer look back at my past, longing for the things

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Speaker 1: that move me off the path of my destiny. Thank you, Lord,

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Speaker 1: that when you close one season of my life, like

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Speaker 1: Lot and his family, you will provide a safe space

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Speaker 1: for me and my loved ones to dwell in. I

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Speaker 1: thank you for your protection, your justice, and your mercy

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Speaker 1: towards me. I can move in full confidence knowing that

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Speaker 1: You've placed your angels like a fence around my life.

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Speaker 1: I am protected because I am Yours in Jesus' name, Amen,

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Speaker 1: listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.

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Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year brought to you by Bible in a

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Speaker 1: Year dot com.

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Speaker 2: Abraham and God talk about Sodom and Gomorrah. Before this story,

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Speaker 2: we learned about how God made a cover and with

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Speaker 2: Abram and renamed him Abraham. He renamed SARAHI to Sarah

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Speaker 2: and promised them a son despite their old age.

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Speaker 3: Even in doubt, insecurity, and disobedience, God continues to make

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Speaker 3: promises to Abraham's family. Now we revisit the evil cities

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Speaker 3: of Sodom and Gomorah as God is about to judge

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Speaker 3: those within the city and Abraham intervenes inspired by the

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Speaker 3: Book of Genesis.

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Speaker 4: I'm so glad you've joined us on the Bible in

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Speaker 4: a Year podcast today, But before we get to today's episode,

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Speaker 4: I want you to know that I would absolutely love

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Speaker 4: to send you my daily devotional that will give you

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Speaker 4: fresh encouragement every single morning and day, from the moment

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Speaker 4: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits

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Speaker 4: the pillow. There are thousands of things demanding our attention,

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Speaker 4: but it's in the midst of all this crush and

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Speaker 4: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and

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Speaker 4: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help

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Speaker 4: you spend time each day growing in God's life giving,

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Speaker 4: life changing Word by sending you my free daily email

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Speaker 4: devotional PowerPoint Today. So visit Jagraham dot org to sign

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Speaker 4: up for your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's Jagraham dot org,

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Speaker 4: Jack Graham dot org. When we last saw Abraham and Sarah,

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Speaker 4: they were receiving their new names and a renewed affirmation

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Speaker 4: of God's covenant to make a great nation through them.

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Speaker 4: In today's reading, we'll find God paying a special visit

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Speaker 4: to Abraham, and when he comes, he is not alone.

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Speaker 4: Abraham bows before the Lord and welcomes the travelers with hospitality,

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Speaker 4: sparing no good thing as he lavishes them with fresh

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Speaker 4: food and drink. The first thing that God does is

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Speaker 4: once again reassure Abraham and Sarah of his promise to

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Speaker 4: give them a child. But that's not all he is. Therefore,

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Speaker 4: there is a grave matter to which God must attend

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Speaker 4: the rampant wickedness of two cities. We've heard their names before,

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Speaker 4: Sodom and Gomorrah. But now God's patience with the evil

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Speaker 4: doing has run out. As we've seen before, evil cannot

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Speaker 4: and will not go unpunished. Justice will be served, must

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Speaker 4: be served. As you listen today, pay attention first to

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Speaker 4: God's patient love towards Sarah, who is still very dubious

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Speaker 4: of her prospects for motherhood. Notice how God does not

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Speaker 4: become angry at her doubt, but instead reassures her as

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Speaker 4: a loving parent does to a child. Then, as you

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Speaker 4: hear the Lord in Abraham discuss Sodom and Gomorrah and

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Speaker 4: God's plan to meet out his righteous justice on the

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Speaker 4: great sin he is seeing, watch how Abraham intervenes. This

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Speaker 4: is a great lesson in both humility and boldness before

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Speaker 4: the Lord to be learned here in this passage. So

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Speaker 4: let's listen in as God and Abraham talk about Sodom

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Speaker 4: and Gomorrah.

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Speaker 2: Under the shade of the trees and mamory. In the

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Speaker 2: heat of the day, the Lord appeared near Abraham's tent.

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Speaker 2: Only this time he did not come as he usually did.

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Speaker 2: Abraham was visited by three strangers seemingly divine in nature,

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Speaker 2: and one among them spoke as the Lord. Abraham bowed

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Speaker 2: to them, knowing that this was not a usual thing.

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Speaker 2: He lavished them with a meal and worshiped God with

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Speaker 2: his hospitality underneath the trees. After the men had their

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Speaker 2: fill and were rested, one of them asked, where is

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Speaker 2: your wife Sarah. Sarah was close by in the tent

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Speaker 2: beside the trees, listening to their conversation and trying not

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Speaker 2: to be heard. She is in the tent, Abraham responded,

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Speaker 2: not sure how to speak with these strangers. The Lord

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Speaker 2: once again spoke his promise to Abraham, knowing Sarah was

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Speaker 2: listening through the tent. When I returned to you about

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Speaker 2: this time next year, your wife shall have a son.

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Speaker 2: A faint laugh could be heard from the tent. Sarah,

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Speaker 2: an old woman far past her child bearing years, could

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Speaker 2: not fathom such a notion. The idea of two people

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Speaker 2: nearly a hundred years old even having normal sex was

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Speaker 2: a laughable idea. After I am worn out and my

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Speaker 2: husband is old, shall I even have pleasure? Sarah chuckled

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Speaker 2: to herself. God, hearing this, turned to Abraham and asked,

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Speaker 2: why does Sarah doubt that she can have a child

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Speaker 2: at her age? Let me ask you this is anything

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Speaker 2: in possible? For the Lord? Is anything too hard? For

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Speaker 2: the creator of the stars and the mender of all

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Speaker 2: things broken. Listen again about this time next year, I

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Speaker 2: will return to you, and Sarah shall have a son. Sarah,

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Speaker 2: now found out for her silent chuckling, denied ever having

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Speaker 2: laughed or doubted, with a kind grin as a loving

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Speaker 2: father looks at his child who was caught sneaking around,

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Speaker 2: said yes, you did. And then the three strangers began

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Speaker 2: their descent towards Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham walked with them

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Speaker 2: to send them on their way. The three were speaking

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Speaker 2: among themselves, and the lords said, shall I hide from

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Speaker 2: Abraham what I am about to do. Abraham will become

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Speaker 2: a great and mighty nation established by me. I have

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Speaker 2: chosen him to lead the way of the Lord by

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Speaker 2: doing righteousness and justice. God turned to Abraham honestly and

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Speaker 2: spoke plainly. The prayers and the outcries of those suffering

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Speaker 2: because of Sodom and Gomorrah have become great. They are

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Speaker 2: a people corrupted and poisoned by selfishness, and their sins

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Speaker 2: are grave. I am going down to observe them and

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Speaker 2: measure them according to their deeds. If they are truly

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Speaker 2: as sinful as reported, I will know. As the Lord

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Speaker 2: and Abraham were talking, the two other strangers began their

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Speaker 2: descent into Sodom. Whether Abraham was aware of it or not,

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Speaker 2: a compassionate and curious heart came upon him. He inquired

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Speaker 2: to the Lord, asking, will you wipe out the righteous

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Speaker 2: with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous people in

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Speaker 2: the city. Will you then destroy the place and not

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Speaker 2: spare it for the fifty righteous who.

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Speaker 1: Are in it?

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Speaker 2: It does not sound like you to do such a thing,

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Speaker 2: to put the righteous to death with the wicked. Far

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Speaker 2: be that from you. You are the judge of all

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Speaker 2: the earth, should you not do what is just? This

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Speaker 2: was a bold inquiry coming from Abraham as he was

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Speaker 2: speaking face to face with he who causes the seas

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Speaker 2: to rise and fall with the moon, and cradles the

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Speaker 2: heavens and the span of his hands. The Lord, however,

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Speaker 2: spoke plainly and compassionately with Abraham, saying, if I find

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Speaker 2: in Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare

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Speaker 2: everything for their sake. Abraham had more questions. He was

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Speaker 2: unsatisfied with his question before now coming to realize who

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Speaker 2: he was speaking to, Abraham approached the subject again, only

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Speaker 2: this time with more reverence. He asked, I know who

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Speaker 2: I am speaking to, and I am but dust and

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Speaker 2: ashes in front of you, and not worthy. But suppose, oh,

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Speaker 2: there are forty five righteous in the city, will you

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Speaker 2: destroy the whole city if there are five? Less righteous

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Speaker 2: than before? The Lord looked again at Abraham and answered,

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Speaker 2: I will not destroy it if I find forty five righteous.

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Speaker 2: What about forty righteous? Suppose there are only forty? Will

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Speaker 2: you destroy the city? Then I will not. Please, do

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Speaker 2: not get angry with me, Abraham said, but what if

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Speaker 2: there were only thirty righteous people in the city. I

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Speaker 2: will not do it if I find thirty there, God

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Speaker 2: replied twenty. For the sake of those twenty, I will

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Speaker 2: not destroy the city. Please, Lord, I know that I

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Speaker 2: am dust before you. Do not be angry with me.

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Speaker 2: And let me ask this last question. What if there

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Speaker 2: were only ten righteous among the city? Would you spare

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Speaker 2: the city? If there were ten righteous? The Lord looked

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Speaker 2: again finally at Abraham, his chosen hero was speaking before

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Speaker 2: him with boldness and humility. The man he had chosen

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Speaker 2: to be Father of nations was now displaying a heart

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Speaker 2: to see the righteous upheld and the innocent spared. He

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Speaker 2: answered Abraham tenderly, and one final time he said, for

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Speaker 2: the sake of ten, I will not destroy it. And

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Speaker 2: the Lord went his way towards Sodom, and Abraham returned

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Speaker 2: to his home.

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Speaker 4: Our passage today opens with a visit by God to

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Speaker 4: Abraham and Sarah's tent. But this was a different kind

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Speaker 4: of visit, and we see God as joined by two

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Speaker 4: others who are heavenly beings angelic beings. These were angels

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Speaker 4: that would later visit, most likely Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham

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Speaker 4: in me recognizes this is an important visit and rushes

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Speaker 4: to greet. The Lord then extends great hospitality, lavishing his

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Speaker 4: guests with bread, milk, curds, and a freshly slaughtered calf.

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Speaker 4: One cannot help but be reminded again of Abel and

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Speaker 4: of his sacrifice of the best of his flock and

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Speaker 4: offering which the Lord was pleased. What comes next is

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Speaker 4: another reassurance that what God has promised is always true.

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Speaker 4: God will give a son to Abraham born by his

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Speaker 4: wife Sarah. But now God gives her an actual timeline

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Speaker 4: by this time next year. You see, God doesn't always

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Speaker 4: reveal his timing to us. In fact, most often, he

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Speaker 4: does not reveal his timeline, but that doesn't mean he

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Speaker 4: can't or won't give you an idea of his timing.

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Speaker 4: He knew how much this couple had endured, and this

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Speaker 4: was the final stretch. God wanted them to keep holding

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Speaker 4: fast to the promise because it was just about to happen.

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Speaker 4: The newly renamed couple is continuing to trust and have faith,

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Speaker 4: but this doesn't prevent Sarah from laughing incredulously unable to

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Speaker 4: yet imagine how this could possibly happen. But notice that

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Speaker 4: God doesn't get upset or offended by this. Instead, he

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Speaker 4: simply ask if there's any doubt that he can truly

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Speaker 4: do what he said. Even after Sarah tries to deny

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Speaker 4: her doubt, the Lord does not grow weary of her

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Speaker 4: or chastise her. All he says is that he knows

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Speaker 4: she laughed, as if to say, I know you did.

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Speaker 4: I know you laugh, But don't worry. The Lord and

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Speaker 4: his travel companions then begin to leave, headed down south

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Speaker 4: to Sodomon Gomora. God has plans for these evil cities,

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Speaker 4: so he shares his plans for justice with Abraham, his

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Speaker 4: chosen man, this man who was to pave the way

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Speaker 4: for God's redemptive plan, the evil and the sin of

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Speaker 4: Sodom and Gomorrah can no longer be tolerated. God is

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Speaker 4: going to wipe out those two towns. These are the

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Speaker 4: cities where his nephew Lot. Abraham's nephew Lot lives with

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Speaker 4: his family. But otherwise they are of no great consequence

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Speaker 4: to Abraham. That's why what happens next is so amazing.

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Speaker 4: Abraham intervenes. He intervenes by asking God to allow for

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Speaker 4: an opportunity for these cities to be spared. He asked

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Speaker 4: God to find just fifty righteous men in Sodom, and

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Speaker 4: if he does, to relent from destroying them. Throughout his life,

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Speaker 4: Abraham has seen that God's plan will not be stopped,

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Speaker 4: and yet here he is boldly asking God to change

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Speaker 4: his mind. God agrees, but Abraham wants more. Fifty might

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Speaker 4: be too many. He has, after all, been living in

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Speaker 4: the area, knows of the wickedness of the people of

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Speaker 4: these cities, so he suggests a lower number. What I

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Speaker 4: love about Abraham's second request is the humility with which

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Speaker 4: he approaches God, even as he is being so incredibly bold.

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Speaker 4: Genesis eighteen twenty seven to twenty eight records this conversation,

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Speaker 4: and Abraham replied, now, behold, I have ventured to speak

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Speaker 4: to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.

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Speaker 4: Suppose the fifty righteous men are lacking five? Will you

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Speaker 4: destroy the whole city because of five? And he said,

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Speaker 4: I will not destroy it if I find forty five.

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Speaker 4: There now here is a wonderful lesson on boldness and humility.

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Speaker 4: At the same time, Abraham has asked God for a

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Speaker 4: huge thing, and God has agreed, but he wants to

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Speaker 4: take it a step further. Notice how he handles this,

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Speaker 4: first acknowledging his position relative to God. I'm but dust

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Speaker 4: and ashes, and that's who we are compared to the

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Speaker 4: greatness and the glory of God. We are dust and ashes,

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Speaker 4: and then boldly and clearly making his request. This is

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Speaker 4: how we are to approach God in prayer, first recognizing

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Speaker 4: God's him immense greatness and power and glory and our

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Speaker 4: smallness by comparison. But then we can make our request

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Speaker 4: with confidence, confidence because we know in Jesus Christ, God

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Speaker 4: has promised to hear us. Here. God once again agrees

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Speaker 4: with the proposition, and this goes on several more times

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Speaker 4: until Abraham is able to whittle the number down to

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Speaker 4: just ten righteous men, just ten. The Lord then turns

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Speaker 4: and heads to Sodom in search of a few righteous

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Speaker 4: men who can spare this wicked city. We'll find out

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Speaker 4: the next time what happened. Lord God, Thank you for

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Speaker 4: this passage and how we can learn so much. Thank

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Speaker 4: you for your loving patience with us, and for the

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Speaker 4: times when you reveal your great plans in detail to us,

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Speaker 4: as you did with Abraham and Sarah. We know you

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Speaker 4: do not have to do this, but you choose to

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Speaker 4: do it for our sake. Thank you, Lord, that we

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Speaker 4: can approach you with boldness and humility, that we can

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Speaker 4: ask for our heart's desire. Help us to trust you more.

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Speaker 4: Father in Jesus' name. Amen, thank you for listening to

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Speaker 4: today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas,

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Speaker 4: and before we go, I want you to know that

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Speaker 4: I would love to send you my daily devotional to

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Speaker 4: give you fresh encouragement every single day. So visit Jackgraham

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Speaker 4: dot org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.

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Speaker 4: That's Jack Graham dot org.