October 30, 2025 • 61 mins
Do you and your family delight in the Word? Or do you desire the world and despise the Word? Pastor Lance shows us from Scripture how a Christian is characterized by disassociation with the world, not companionship with it!
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Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight and a chance to, to be
together. And we're grateful for how you
answer prayer. And we're grateful, Lord, for
the word of the Lord, we thank you that we can study the
scriptures. We thank you, Lord, for the for
the insight you give us as we study them.
And you open up to us, our hearts and minds to be able to
behold your beauty tonight. Lord, I, I pray that you work in
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all of our hearts. Help us to examine our lives in
light of what Your Word says, that we might understand the
essence of true, genuine biblical Christianity, and that
we might live in light of what Your Word says.
Forgive us, Lord, for falling short at times.
Forgive us, Lord, for our sinfulbehavior.
We know that you are a great, forgiving God.
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And our prayer, Lord, is that wewould live for your glory and
honor that you be pleased with how we seek to honor You each
and every day, and that as we learn tonight, we would take
with us those things that we have learned and apply them to
our lives for your glory in Jesus name, Amen.
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What is true about a Christian is that a Christian purposes in
his heart to make a decision, and that decision is to deny
himself and take of his cross and follow the Christ.
That's Luke 9/23 having made a decision that Christian is
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defined by Philippians 3 verse #3 He worships God in spirit, he
he boasts only in Christ Jesus, and he puts no confidence in the
flesh. That definition is described in
Second Corinthians 5/17, that ifany man be in Christ, he is a
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new creation. Christians are described as
being in Christ and Christ in them.
That description is then declared by the believer in
Matthew 16 because he declares that Jesus Christ is the Son of
the living God. He understands the deity of
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Christ and believes that fully. That declaration leads to a
dedication, and that dedication is summed up in Philippians 121.
For, as Paul says, for me to live as Christ and to die as
gain. All Christians, all genuine true
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believers live for Christ and not for themselves.
And then they, they denounce andthey destroy those members of
their body that keep them from being all that Christ wants them
to be. That's Colossians 3 verses 1 to
8. And then they devote themselves
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to 1 ambition, and that is to please only Christ. 2nd
Corinthians 5 verse #9 seven keycharacteristics that help you
understand what a Christian really is.
Number 8 is that that Christian disassociates from the world and
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all of its evil. There is a disassociation from
loving the world to loving Christ.
The believer understands James 4verse #4 that to be a friend of
the world is to be an enemy of God.
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The believer understands that. The believer understands that
that if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in
you. And yet so many people are
deceived, self deceived into thinking they love the Lord, but
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in reality they love the world. I want to show you how that
happens this evening through an illustration, a three word verse
that's illustrating the principle of someone who did not
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disassociate from the world, butwanted to associate with the
world. Let me say it to you this way.
This person is a biblical character without a name, whose
body never to corruption came, who died at death, no one's ever
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died before, whose shroud is found in every grocery store.
Let me say it to you again. This biblical character is
without a name. Whose body never to corruption
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came, who died to death, no one's ever died before.
Whose shroud is found in every grocery store.
That's the person. That person is found in the 17th
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chapter of Luke. In the 17th chapter of Luke in
verse #22 Christ begins to talk about His coming again, His
second coming, His coming in judgement.
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And as He talks to those round about Him, he wants them to
understand that His judgement isgoing to be like the days of
Noah. That is, men and women will be
drinking, they'll be getting married and being given in
marriage. They'll carry on as if nothing
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bad is ever going to happen, butit will.
And then he says, it'll be like the days of of Sodom when they
were eating and drinking, they were buying, they were selling,
they were planting, they were building, they were carrying on
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everyday activities because theywere indifferent to the fact
that God was going to judge man.And so it says in verse #30 of
Luke 17, it will be just the same on the day that the Son of
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Man is revealed. Interesting.
It says in Luke's Gospel, the 2nd chapter, that as Simeon
would talk to Mary at the dedication of their child, the
Lord Jesus, Simeon would say that the hearts of many will be
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revealed by your son. There's something about our Lord
that truly reveals what's on theinside of man.
And nothing will be more revealing than when He comes in
judgement, because not only willHe be revealed that all of His
glory and spend the splendor, but He will reveal the hearts of
everyone He's come to judge. This is the verse #31 of Luke
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17. On that day, the one who was on
the House stop and whose goods are in the house must not go
down to take them out, and likewise the one who was in the
field must not turn back. In other words, the day of
judgement, there is no time to collect your possessions, but
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only those who turn around to goback will see the value of those
possessions as more important than Christ Himself.
And He says those famous 3 wordsthat describe a biblical
character without a name, whose body never to corruption came,
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who died of death, no one ever died before, whose shroud is
found in every grocery store verse #32 remember Lot's wife?
That's the biblical character without a name.
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She's referred to three times and she's 19 as lots wife.
We don't know her name. She was turned into a pillar of
salt. That's the shroud that's in
every grocery store. And yet she becomes the supreme
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example in Scripture of someone who looked like her husband but
was completely different than her husband, and she would be
destroyed. She would be judged.
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Because she is the example of self love in the Bible.
She becomes the example of worldly love in the Bible.
She's the example of someone whocomes so close to being
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delivered, but it's not someone who was on the brink of
deliverance, but her heart was exposed and she died along with
those in Sodom and Gomorrah. She becomes a warning.
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That's why Christ uses her as anexample.
When the judgement of God comes,don't go back to your house to
collect your possessions becauseyou can't take them with you.
When you're judged, don't go back internal.
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Look at your field as if you'll never see it again because you
won't just remember Lot's life. She turned back and she was
destroyed because the true condition of her heart was
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revealed, that she really didn'tlove God, she simply loved
herself. And so she becomes the example
of those who love darkness rather than light because their
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deeds are evil. So turn with me, if you would,
to the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 19.
And so our Lord refers to this scene when He says remember
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Lot's wife, Genesis 19 verse #26But his wife from behind him
looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
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There's a reason why you are to remember Lot's wife because her
example is 1 of worldly love andself love.
Excuse me? Her look, her looking back
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revealed the true nature of her character.
The most insignificant acts thatyou do reveal more about the
condition of your character thananything else you do.
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The small insignificant acts truly reveal your character and
Lots wife misses Lot. Her character was revealed and I
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want you to notice three things about her character. 4 things
about her character. Excuse me, why does she look
back? Why are we?
Do you remember Lot's wife? Number one is because she
desired the world. She desired the world.
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Her heart was truly in Sodom. Her body was out of Sodom, but
her heart was still in Sodom. Her affections were in Sodom.
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Her attention was in Sodom. In fact, a man's attention will
always determine his decision. Your decisions will always
determine your direction. Your direction will always
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determine your destination, but it's all based on your
affections, all based on that which has your undivided
attention. And Sodom had Missus Lott's
attention as we talked about a couple of weeks ago, the Bible
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says set your affections on things above, not below Missus
Lott which that are affection onSodom.
She couldn't bear to live without her friends and Sodom.
She couldn't bear to live without all the opportunities
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that Sodom offered her. She loved the world.
She desired the world. But notice what it says.
But his wife from behind him? That's just a marvelous
statement. She was behind for three
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reasons. Number one, no one could see
her. If they could not see her, they
could not #2 scold her. And #3 if they could not scold
her, they could not stop her. That's why she was behind.
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She wasn't about to walk side byside with Mr. Lot.
She wasn't about to do that because then he would be able to
keep her from looking back. The children, the daughters,
they would not turn back to see what was happening with Mom
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because the command was don't turn back, don't look back.
So while she's behind them, she knows they're not going to turn
around and see what she's doing because they were given a
command by the angels. Do not turn around, do not look
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back. So she would stay behind because
she truly desired the world. People who desire the world
endeavor to conceal their activities.
They don't want to be seen, so they hide in the dark places.
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They they stay behind where no one can watch them, no one can
see what they are doing. That is a characteristic of
someone who desires the world. They stay behind so no one can
see. If they cannot see her, they
cannot scold her. They cannot say to her, what are
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you doing, Mom? You can't do that.
People who desire the world do not want their deeds to be
censored. They don't want to be seen and
they do not want to be told whatto do.
They don't want to be scolded byparents, by pastors, by friends,
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by anybody, because they are an entity of them to themselves.
They want to perform their deedsas they see fit, and so they
don't want to be seen. So they lag behind and they
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don't want to be scolded by anybody because they do not want
to be held accountable for anything that they do.
So they can't be seen. She could not be seen.
She could not be scolded. Therefore she could not be
stopped. And the person who desires the
world doesn't want to be stoppedbecause they love the world.
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You see, worldliness is not an act.
Worldliness is an attitude. We we think that it's an act.
It's something we do. No, worldliness is an attitude.
Physically her, she was outside of Sodom, but her attitude was
in Sodom. That's what she really wanted.
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That's where she wanted to be. And so therefore we see where
she truly desired the world. You know, I think about people
who claim Christianity, they claim to love the Lord, but down
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deep they really love the world.They're the people that do not
want to be seen. So they do what they do in
secret where no one can see them, thinking they they are
hiding from everyone and they can continue to camouflage their
Christianity. Excuse me, but the bottom line
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is, is that they don't want to be seen because they don't want
to be told what to do. They don't want anybody
interfering with their love for the world.
And so they continue to hide so they can't be scolded.
Bishop JC Rile in the 1800s saidthese words.
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I believe there never was a timewhen warnings against
worldliness were so much needed by the Church of Christ as they
are in this present day. That was said in the 1800s.
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I wonder what he would say todayif he was alive.
Because worldliness has crept into the church.
Because people who love the world are in the church.
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The Angel had taken her by the hand to remove her from the
city. How grateful it was for God to
do that, and yet that meant nothing to Lot's wife.
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One author said it this way. Some people are so taken up with
material things that Christ thinks it necessary to warn them
that on the very day in which Hewill be revealed to execute the
wrath of God on evil centers andconglomerations of human
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iniquity, they will be tempted to go back to the house or city
to get their favorite possessions, because they cannot
imagine life without them. For the sake of things, they
will lose life itself. So true.
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For the sake of things, for the sake of friendships, for the
sake of affection, they're willing to lose their life.
That's what Luke 17 is about. Christ would go on to say in
verse #33 Whoever seeks to keep his life in Luke 17 will lose
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it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
He says, I, I tell you on that night there, there will be two
in bed. One will be taken and the other
will be left. The one taken is taken into
judgement. The one left is left to go into
the Kingdom. There will be two women grinding
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at the same place. One will be taken, the other
will be left. Two men will be in the field,
one will be taken, the other will be left.
In other words, two people in bed.
Two people in bed believe they're united together, but one
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will be revealed that they are not true, and the other one will
be revealed that they are true. One will be taken in the
judgement, the other will not. There'll be two people working
side by side in the same workplace, presumably thinking
that they both know the Lord, but one is taken into judgement
and the other is not. There'll be two people in the
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same job location, 1 taken into judgement, the other not Why?
Because one desires the things of the world and 1 does not.
Matthew, chapter 13. This is the thorny, weedy soil
who falls away because of the cares of this world or because
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of the deceitfulness of riches. My friends, this is so
important. Christ says, remember Lot's wife
because she did not disassociateherself with the things of the
world. She wanted to remain associated
with the things of the world. But true Christianity
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disassociates with the world so many times.
We, we, we have family members and, and maybe one of the family
members is yours. They, they just can't depart
from the things of the world. They love to be in the world.
They love to be with the world. They love to do worldly things.
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Their interests are in the world.
They're the kind of people that that that show no interest
necessarily in church because they'll schedule their work on
Sunday so they don't have to go to church.
That's a Lot's wife. That they will schedule things
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around church activities so theydon't have to be involved in
church activities. That's a Lot's wife.
That's a self deceived person who wants you to think they love
the Lord, but in all reality they love the things of the
world and they want to be with the people of the world and they
don't want to be with the peopleof God or in the Church of God.
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That person is the lot's wife. They desire the world.
And maybe you're a parent today and that's one of your children.
Then you need to talk hard and long with that child about
whether or not they know the Lord.
Hard and long because as a parent you are held responsible
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for their spiritual direction. If you don't tell them, how sad
would that be if they end up in a crisis eternity.
Don't just placate your childrenby thinking and convincing them
that they love the Lord when a reality they truly love the
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world. Be very, very careful about
that. That's why the Lord puts us in
here. It's interesting that in verse
#17 it says when they had this is Genesis 19, I'm sorry.
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When they had brought them outside, one said escape for
your life. Do not look behind you and do
not stay anywhere in the valley.Get completely away.
Don't stay in the valley. Disassociate yourself with any
of the surroundings of that which is going to be destroyed.
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But we find ourselves wanting sobadly to dabble in the things of
the world we want to. We want to walk on the fringe as
if it's OK. But you got to remember lots,
wife. The angels wanted to be clear
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that separation must be completeand total, not partial.
The total. So her character is defined by
#1 She desired the world becauseshe desired the world #2 comes
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into play. And that is she despised the
word. She despised the word.
She despised it so much that when the warning was given, she
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completely and totally disobeyedbecause she did not delight in
the word of warning. She despised the word of warning
because it went against her lovefor the world, and therefore she
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would despise what God said to the angels.
It was a blatant defiance. Proverbs 1313.
He you despises the word will bedestroyed by that word.
Proverbs 29. One.
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He who stiffens his neck againstmuch reproof will be destroyed
without remedy. So many times we play with the
authority of God's Word, and youcannot do that.
She despised the word of the living God.
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When God says not to do something, He tells you not to
do it for for your sake. He doesn't do it to punish you,
doesn't do it to make you uncomfortable.
He does it because He wants you to live for Him and honor Him.
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John tells us that his commands are not burdensome.
They don't weigh you down. To an unbeliever, they're
burdensome. To the believer, they're
delightful, and one of the ways you know someone's a believer is
when you talk to them about the Word of God.
They don't see it as a burden toobey, they see it as a complete
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and total blessing to obey. Her character was revealed in
her looking back because she desired the world.
She despised the Word and #3 shedisbelieved the warning.
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She disbelieved the warning. God's not going to do that.
God's a loving God. He's a righteous God.
He's a kind God. He's a merciful God.
He's a patient God. God's not going to destroy Sodom
and Gomorrah. She disbelieved the warning.
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Every act of disbelief demonstrates the fact that I do
not believe that God is going todo what He said He's going to
do. It denies the authority of His
Word. God had already shown a mercy by
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taking her by the hand and moving her outside the city.
Because they weren't moving, lotincluded.
In fact, when the warning had been given, they went to bed.
The Angel had to get them up thenext day.
It's time to go. Why are you still here?
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This is going to be destroyed. You got to go.
And they hesitated. So the Angel had to take them by
the hand and physically remove them for Abraham's sake, because
Abraham had prayed. The Bible tells us in verse #29
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that it came about when God destroyed the cities of the
valley of the valley. That God remembered Abraham and
sent Lot out of the midst of theoverthrow.
When he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.
God did it because of Abraham. God remembered Abraham and
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spared Lot and his girls. You know there are so many
warnings in the scripture. The Bible says in Proverbs 14
verse #12 there is a way which seemed with right into a man,
but the ends are over the ways of death not life.
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What a warning. There is a way which seemeth
right into a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.
The Bible says the wages of sin is death, the payment for sin is
death, and it's only because of God's mercy and grace that we
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live when we sin and do not die.The Bible says in Galatians
chapter 6 verse #7 do not be deceived.
God is not mocked that whatsoever man sows that shall
he also reap. Do not be deceived.
But we are. We do not think that God's going
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to do what he said he's going todo, but he did.
So remember lots wife, very important not to forget her
judgement came and judgement wasswift.
But notice this about the judgement upon her.
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She had all the reasons not to look back.
She was on the brink of deliverance, just about to be
saved, but she perished because her heart was revealed.
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She was the wife of a righteous man.
You would not know that by reading Genesis.
We know that because of Peter. In Second Peter chapter 2, Peter
tells us he was a righteous man.We would never know that by
reading Genesis 19. In fact, looking at Lot's life,
you wonder how could he ever be righteous?
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But he was right before God, andshe was the wife of a righteous
man. She had that advantage.
She was married to a believer. She was married to a righteous
man. And all the words that he would
say and all the things that he would, he would do.
You'd think that she would learnfrom her husband, but she did
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not. She might have looked like she
learned from her husband. She might have looked like the
faithful wife. She might have looked like a
righteous person. But God revealed her heart.
She was not a righteous person, but she was the wife of a
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righteous man. Not only that, she had the
warnings from the Angel. Three of them, one at night, one
in the morning and one at the outskirts of Sodom.
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She had the warnings from the Angel.
Do not look back. Don't do that.
Judgments coming. You don't want to be judged.
You don't want to be condemned. Do not look back.
Three warnings. The wife of a righteous man.
The warnings from the angels. How about this?
She even welcomed the angelic visitors into her home.
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She welcomed them into her home.She had a first hand account of
entertaining angels unaware, butI believe she would end up
knowing that they were angels. So not only was she the wife of
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a righteous man, not only did she receive warnings from the
angels, not only did she welcomein the angels, but #4 she
watched the miracle of the blinding of the homosexuals
outside her door. She watched it.
She saw first hand account of how all these men who wanted to
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have sexual relationships with these angelic beings who were at
the door and Lot was trying to keep them out of the door.
They were struck blind and she was able to view that miracle
from a first hand experience. But it did not change the
condition of her heart. She desired the world, she
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despised the word, she disbelieved the warning, in
spite of the miracle that was before her.
Just to show you that miracles do not change people's lives,
only the message of the Gospel does.
That, one author said. We have so many spiritual
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blessings today in our land, yetby the looks of the lives of
most, the opportunities have been completely ignored, yes,
even scorned. Much judgement awaits those who
are poor stewards of spiritual opportunities.
The greater the opportunities not used, the greater the
judgement, for the judgement is related to the opportunities one
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has received. That's why the Bible says in
Hebrews chapter 6, Having tastedthe good word of the Lord, have
you been partakers of the Holy Spirit?
Have you been afforded the wonderful opportunities of the
Scripture? Unless you repent, you will
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perish because it will be impossible to renew you to
repentance once you've seen all the obvious evidences and turn
your back on. So important.
She desired the world, she despised the word, she
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disbelieved the warning. So the consequence?
She died on the way. And her death was sudden,
shameful, specific and severe. Her death was sudden.
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She looked back and she was judged immediately.
She was turned into a pillar of salt.
God's punishment overtook her onthe spot.
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It was sudden and without remedy.
No opportunity to repent, no opportunity to ask forgiveness,
no opportunity to speak to her husband, no opportunity to get
things right with her family. She came to ruin because her
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judgement was sudden. It was shameful because she died
in the act of her sin. She died in the act of
rebellion. She was turned into a pillar of
salt, looking back at that whichwas she's told not to look back
at, and she died a shameful death.
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She died a very specific death at a very specific time, at the
exact same time that the cities were being burned with fire and
brimstone from above. That was the time that she was
judged and turned into a pillar of salt.
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And it was severe because she perished along with the
occupants of Sodom and Gomorrah.How incredible is that?
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When you desire the world, you will despise the Word.
Your children despise the Word. Or do they delight in the Word
of God? Do they want to read the Word?
Do they want to hear the Word? Or do they do they despise the
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Word? They despise it because they
desire something other than the Lord.
They desire the world. And when you despise the Word,
you will disbelieve the warningsof the Word.
They made no difference to you. God's not going to do what He
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says he's going to do. Well, he might have done at the
start of the Gomorrah. He might have done it during the
days of Noah and the flood, but he's not going to do it to me.
So we say, or so we think. We desire the world.
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Then you will always suffer. You need to detest the world,
not desire the world. You need to delight in the Word,
not despise the Word. You need to believe the warnings
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and not disbelieve the warnings.You need to regard the walk of
the godly, not disregard the walk of the godly.
You need to live and not die. For a Lot's wife becomes the
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answer to Romans 623. The wages of sin is death.
That's the payment. She had opportunity to believe.
She had opportunity to follow. She had opportunity to deny
herself. She don't want to do that.
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She loved the world and she loved herself she loved herself
more than she loved her girls. She loved herself more than she
loved her husband. But you know, they never really
knew that until it was too late because she, being from behind,
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looked back and she, she was changed or became a pillar of
salt. I don't know where you are,
where your family is, your husband, your wife, your
children, your friends. But remembering Lot's life is
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absolutely crucial in our journeys to the land of Israel.
We would stop on our way back from Masada, on our way back
from and Getty and stop by the Dead Sea.
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We would open our Bibles to Genesis chapter 19, and we'd
read the story, the accounts of what took place in that region.
It was a beautiful region at onetime, a beautiful region, but it
was destroyed because of the sinof the people in the city.
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But we understand that well. We have a hard time getting the
grip on his Lot's wife. What happened to her?
I'm sure the girls believed thatshe was a follower of the Lord
God of Israel. I'm sure her husband believed
that his wife was a follower of the Lord God of Israel.
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At least she played along that way.
That that's why the series What is a Christian is so important
because people are so easily self deceived.
You know what? I bet you even Lot's wife
thought that she believed in theLord God of Israel until the
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true nature, the true colors were exposed.
She was turned into a pillar of salt.
Why a pillar of salt? Interesting.
Why not just zapper? Incinerator.
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Why a pillar of salts? I have my ideas.
The Bible says you are the salt of the earth.
You are the light of the world. You're in a world that's
decaying. Salt retards corruption in a
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world that's dark. Light reveals the Christ who is
the true light. But my reason is this is that
it's a reminder to Lot that he was in the city where he was not
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effective as salt because he didnot retard the corruption of the
city. And even though he was a
righteous man, I, I think that we need to quickly, and I mean
quickly look at what happened toLot.
(48:28):
And if you're a husband today, you need to examine your life in
light of that. And so just let me take you back
a couple of pages to Genesis chapter 13 and show you how it
began with Lots says in verse #10 Lot lifted up his eyes and
(48:51):
saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered
everywhere. This was before the Lord
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the Lord
liked the land of Egypt. Why is that important?
(49:13):
In Genesis chapter 12, there's afamine in the land.
Abraham did not seek the Lord. Abraham did not pray.
What do I do when there's a famine in the land?
What did Abraham do? He went to where there was food.
So he went to Egypt. He went down to Egypt.
Egypt is symbolic of the world. In the Old Testament, Abraham
(49:37):
went the way of the world, and Lot was with him, and Lot
journeyed back with him. And Lot got a taste of Egypt,
got a taste of the world. And once he got the taste that
(49:57):
longing in his heart, it caused him to look One Direction.
When he and Abraham, we're goingto part ways.
Abraham said, you can go this way or you can go that way.
Choose which way you will go. And he looked towards Sodom and
he saw the lushness of it. It was like Egypt and it and it
(50:18):
affected the longing of his heart.
Abraham had a negative effect onhis nephew Lot, And Lot, when he
looked towards Sodom, saw the lushness of it.
It was just like Egypt. That's what I want.
(50:39):
So because Lot longed for Egypt,Lot looked toward Egypt.
And because he looked toward Egypt, I like this, he leaned
toward Egypt. Look at verse 12 of chapter 13.
(51:04):
Abraham settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the
cities of the valley and moved his tents as far as Sodom.
Once you long for Egypt, you will look toward Egypt.
Once you look toward Egypt, you will begin to lean in the
direction of Egypt. And once you lean in that
(51:29):
direction, you will live in Egypt.
And sure enough, in verse 12 with chapter 14, Lot, Abraham's
nephew and his possessions departed for he was living in
Sodom. Once you long for Egypt, you'll
(51:52):
look toward Egypt. When you look toward Egypt,
you'll lean that direction. Remember, Egypt is symbolic of
the world, and once you lean that direction, you will live in
that arena. They did.
(52:14):
But it gets worse, because as you move on to Chapter 19, it
says now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot
was sitting in the gate of Sodom.
Only those who led in the city would sit in the city gates.
(52:37):
Once you long for the world and look toward the world and lean
toward the world, you'll live inthe world, and you will then
lead in the world. And Lot did, but it gets worse
(53:01):
because he's just 19 verse #7 hesays to the men in the doorway.
My brothers do not act wickedly.Your brothers, the homosexuals
were your brothers. They become his brothers.
(53:24):
Because once you look toward thecity, because you've already
longed for the city, and you lean toward that way and you
live that way and you lead in that place, you love that place.
(53:45):
Lot loved Sodom, my brothers. He loved us so much that when it
came time to leave, he lingered in the city, it says in verse
16. But he hesitated.
(54:07):
So the men seized his hand in the hand of his wife, in the
hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was
upon him. He lingered because he loved the
city, because he led there, He lived there.
(54:29):
He leaned there because he looked there, because he longed
for the world. That's why it's so important to
understand the Scriptures when the Bible says so explicitly
(54:56):
that we are to disassociate withthe world.
When you care for the things of the world, you end up being
companioned with the world. Those who become companioned
(55:16):
with the world become contaminated by the world, and
those contaminated by the world then become conformed to the
world. When the Bible says do not be
conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of
(55:39):
your mind. And those who care for the world
and those who become companion with the world, and those who
become contaminated by the worldand those who become conformed
to the world, they then become controlled by the world.
(56:03):
That was Lot. The difference is, is that Lot
was a righteous man. His wife was not.
She was condemned along with theworld.
Lot was not. Lot was in no way a perfect man.
(56:30):
In many ways he was a horrible husband and a horrible father.
But the Bible does say he was a righteous man.
And yet there were a lot of things he probably could have
done a lot differently than he did, but he didn't.
(56:55):
We did a series years ago calledLot's Loss in Life.
What did Lot lose? Lot would lose his family.
Lot would lose the city and Lot would lose his testimony because
(57:22):
Lot had lost all credibility. He lost so much.
Didn't have to be that way for us at all.
Not at all. But he had a wife that was
turned into a pillar of salt to remind him that he could have
(57:45):
retarded corruption in the city.But he didn't because he loved
the city, the city in which he led in, the city in which he
lived in. We are of the world.
We are in the world. We're not supposed to be of the
world. So important come out from among
(58:07):
them and be separate, says the Lord.
There is to be complete separation, a complete
disassociation with the things of the world.
You have to ask yourself, do my children disassociate themselves
from the world or do they find themselves wanting to associate
more and more with the world? Beware or your wife or your
(58:31):
husband. There should be a direct
disassociation with the things of the world and all of its
evil, because all it does is ruin people's lives.
So where are you? Where's your family?
(58:56):
Have you disassociated with the things of the world or are you
still hanging on to different parts?
The warnings given when Jesus returns don't go back to your
house to collect your possessions.
They mean nothing. They're of no value whatsoever.
Don't look back at your field. Remember lots, wife.
(59:23):
Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for
tonight. We thank you for your word.
It's very clear. You have made it crystal clear.
And our prayer, Father, is that we would be people who
disassociate with the things of this world.
(59:48):
It's not easy sometimes, Lord, but that's because we have a
wrong perspective. Our affections are not above,
they're below. Our mind is set.
On things below and not on things above.
For once we get a clear glimpse of our Savior, we get a clear
(01:00:14):
understanding of our Lord. Things on earth are irrelevant.
Everybody mean nothing, so we deny ourselves.
We take up a cross daily and we follow you because we love you.
(01:00:36):
We love you more than our own lives for to live as Christ, to
die as gain, we make it our ambition to be well pleasing in
your sight. May that be us tonight.
Lord, maybe learn from what we have just heard and follow you
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completely in Jesus name, Amen.
Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight and a chance to, to be
together. And we're grateful for how you
answer prayer. And we're grateful, Lord, for
the word of the Lord, we thank you that we can study the
scriptures. We thank you, Lord, for the for
the insight you give us as we study them.
And you open up to us, our hearts and minds to be able to
behold your beauty tonight. Lord, I, I pray that you work in
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all of our hearts. Help us to examine our lives in
light of what Your Word says, that we might understand the
essence of true, genuine biblical Christianity, and that
we might live in light of what Your Word says.
Forgive us, Lord, for falling short at times.
Forgive us, Lord, for our sinfulbehavior.
We know that you are a great, forgiving God.
(00:44):
And our prayer, Lord, is that wewould live for your glory and
honor that you be pleased with how we seek to honor You each
and every day, and that as we learn tonight, we would take
with us those things that we have learned and apply them to
our lives for your glory in Jesus name, Amen.
(01:05):
What is true about a Christian is that a Christian purposes in
his heart to make a decision, and that decision is to deny
himself and take of his cross and follow the Christ.
That's Luke 9/23 having made a decision that Christian is
(01:30):
defined by Philippians 3 verse #3 He worships God in spirit, he
he boasts only in Christ Jesus, and he puts no confidence in the
flesh. That definition is described in
Second Corinthians 5/17, that ifany man be in Christ, he is a
(01:52):
new creation. Christians are described as
being in Christ and Christ in them.
That description is then declared by the believer in
Matthew 16 because he declares that Jesus Christ is the Son of
the living God. He understands the deity of
(02:14):
Christ and believes that fully. That declaration leads to a
dedication, and that dedication is summed up in Philippians 121.
For, as Paul says, for me to live as Christ and to die as
gain. All Christians, all genuine true
(02:37):
believers live for Christ and not for themselves.
And then they, they denounce andthey destroy those members of
their body that keep them from being all that Christ wants them
to be. That's Colossians 3 verses 1 to
8. And then they devote themselves
(02:59):
to 1 ambition, and that is to please only Christ. 2nd
Corinthians 5 verse #9 seven keycharacteristics that help you
understand what a Christian really is.
Number 8 is that that Christian disassociates from the world and
(03:26):
all of its evil. There is a disassociation from
loving the world to loving Christ.
The believer understands James 4verse #4 that to be a friend of
the world is to be an enemy of God.
(03:51):
The believer understands that. The believer understands that
that if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in
you. And yet so many people are
deceived, self deceived into thinking they love the Lord, but
(04:19):
in reality they love the world. I want to show you how that
happens this evening through an illustration, a three word verse
that's illustrating the principle of someone who did not
(04:42):
disassociate from the world, butwanted to associate with the
world. Let me say it to you this way.
This person is a biblical character without a name, whose
body never to corruption came, who died at death, no one's ever
(05:08):
died before, whose shroud is found in every grocery store.
Let me say it to you again. This biblical character is
without a name. Whose body never to corruption
(05:30):
came, who died to death, no one's ever died before.
Whose shroud is found in every grocery store.
That's the person. That person is found in the 17th
(05:52):
chapter of Luke. In the 17th chapter of Luke in
verse #22 Christ begins to talk about His coming again, His
second coming, His coming in judgement.
(06:13):
And as He talks to those round about Him, he wants them to
understand that His judgement isgoing to be like the days of
Noah. That is, men and women will be
drinking, they'll be getting married and being given in
marriage. They'll carry on as if nothing
(06:36):
bad is ever going to happen, butit will.
And then he says, it'll be like the days of of Sodom when they
were eating and drinking, they were buying, they were selling,
they were planting, they were building, they were carrying on
(06:57):
everyday activities because theywere indifferent to the fact
that God was going to judge man.And so it says in verse #30 of
Luke 17, it will be just the same on the day that the Son of
(07:18):
Man is revealed. Interesting.
It says in Luke's Gospel, the 2nd chapter, that as Simeon
would talk to Mary at the dedication of their child, the
Lord Jesus, Simeon would say that the hearts of many will be
(07:40):
revealed by your son. There's something about our Lord
that truly reveals what's on theinside of man.
And nothing will be more revealing than when He comes in
judgement, because not only willHe be revealed that all of His
glory and spend the splendor, but He will reveal the hearts of
everyone He's come to judge. This is the verse #31 of Luke
(08:06):
17. On that day, the one who was on
the House stop and whose goods are in the house must not go
down to take them out, and likewise the one who was in the
field must not turn back. In other words, the day of
judgement, there is no time to collect your possessions, but
(08:29):
only those who turn around to goback will see the value of those
possessions as more important than Christ Himself.
And He says those famous 3 wordsthat describe a biblical
character without a name, whose body never to corruption came,
(08:50):
who died of death, no one ever died before, whose shroud is
found in every grocery store verse #32 remember Lot's wife?
That's the biblical character without a name.
(09:12):
She's referred to three times and she's 19 as lots wife.
We don't know her name. She was turned into a pillar of
salt. That's the shroud that's in
every grocery store. And yet she becomes the supreme
(09:33):
example in Scripture of someone who looked like her husband but
was completely different than her husband, and she would be
destroyed. She would be judged.
(09:56):
Because she is the example of self love in the Bible.
She becomes the example of worldly love in the Bible.
She's the example of someone whocomes so close to being
(10:18):
delivered, but it's not someone who was on the brink of
deliverance, but her heart was exposed and she died along with
those in Sodom and Gomorrah. She becomes a warning.
(10:42):
That's why Christ uses her as anexample.
When the judgement of God comes,don't go back to your house to
collect your possessions becauseyou can't take them with you.
When you're judged, don't go back internal.
(11:02):
Look at your field as if you'll never see it again because you
won't just remember Lot's life. She turned back and she was
destroyed because the true condition of her heart was
(11:23):
revealed, that she really didn'tlove God, she simply loved
herself. And so she becomes the example
of those who love darkness rather than light because their
(11:45):
deeds are evil. So turn with me, if you would,
to the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 19.
And so our Lord refers to this scene when He says remember
(12:10):
Lot's wife, Genesis 19 verse #26But his wife from behind him
looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
(12:31):
There's a reason why you are to remember Lot's wife because her
example is 1 of worldly love andself love.
Excuse me? Her look, her looking back
(13:00):
revealed the true nature of her character.
The most insignificant acts thatyou do reveal more about the
condition of your character thananything else you do.
(13:22):
The small insignificant acts truly reveal your character and
Lots wife misses Lot. Her character was revealed and I
(13:47):
want you to notice three things about her character. 4 things
about her character. Excuse me, why does she look
back? Why are we?
Do you remember Lot's wife? Number one is because she
desired the world. She desired the world.
(14:13):
Her heart was truly in Sodom. Her body was out of Sodom, but
her heart was still in Sodom. Her affections were in Sodom.
(14:38):
Her attention was in Sodom. In fact, a man's attention will
always determine his decision. Your decisions will always
determine your direction. Your direction will always
(15:01):
determine your destination, but it's all based on your
affections, all based on that which has your undivided
attention. And Sodom had Missus Lott's
attention as we talked about a couple of weeks ago, the Bible
(15:24):
says set your affections on things above, not below Missus
Lott which that are affection onSodom.
She couldn't bear to live without her friends and Sodom.
She couldn't bear to live without all the opportunities
(15:46):
that Sodom offered her. She loved the world.
She desired the world. But notice what it says.
But his wife from behind him? That's just a marvelous
statement. She was behind for three
(16:12):
reasons. Number one, no one could see
her. If they could not see her, they
could not #2 scold her. And #3 if they could not scold
her, they could not stop her. That's why she was behind.
(16:39):
She wasn't about to walk side byside with Mr. Lot.
She wasn't about to do that because then he would be able to
keep her from looking back. The children, the daughters,
they would not turn back to see what was happening with Mom
(17:00):
because the command was don't turn back, don't look back.
So while she's behind them, she knows they're not going to turn
around and see what she's doing because they were given a
command by the angels. Do not turn around, do not look
(17:22):
back. So she would stay behind because
she truly desired the world. People who desire the world
endeavor to conceal their activities.
They don't want to be seen, so they hide in the dark places.
(17:46):
They they stay behind where no one can watch them, no one can
see what they are doing. That is a characteristic of
someone who desires the world. They stay behind so no one can
see. If they cannot see her, they
cannot scold her. They cannot say to her, what are
(18:09):
you doing, Mom? You can't do that.
People who desire the world do not want their deeds to be
censored. They don't want to be seen and
they do not want to be told whatto do.
They don't want to be scolded byparents, by pastors, by friends,
(18:34):
by anybody, because they are an entity of them to themselves.
They want to perform their deedsas they see fit, and so they
don't want to be seen. So they lag behind and they
(18:55):
don't want to be scolded by anybody because they do not want
to be held accountable for anything that they do.
So they can't be seen. She could not be seen.
She could not be scolded. Therefore she could not be
stopped. And the person who desires the
world doesn't want to be stoppedbecause they love the world.
(19:19):
You see, worldliness is not an act.
Worldliness is an attitude. We we think that it's an act.
It's something we do. No, worldliness is an attitude.
Physically her, she was outside of Sodom, but her attitude was
in Sodom. That's what she really wanted.
(19:44):
That's where she wanted to be. And so therefore we see where
she truly desired the world. You know, I think about people
who claim Christianity, they claim to love the Lord, but down
(20:06):
deep they really love the world.They're the people that do not
want to be seen. So they do what they do in
secret where no one can see them, thinking they they are
hiding from everyone and they can continue to camouflage their
Christianity. Excuse me, but the bottom line
(20:30):
is, is that they don't want to be seen because they don't want
to be told what to do. They don't want anybody
interfering with their love for the world.
And so they continue to hide so they can't be scolded.
Bishop JC Rile in the 1800s saidthese words.
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I believe there never was a timewhen warnings against
worldliness were so much needed by the Church of Christ as they
are in this present day. That was said in the 1800s.
(21:16):
I wonder what he would say todayif he was alive.
Because worldliness has crept into the church.
Because people who love the world are in the church.
(21:39):
The Angel had taken her by the hand to remove her from the
city. How grateful it was for God to
do that, and yet that meant nothing to Lot's wife.
(22:05):
One author said it this way. Some people are so taken up with
material things that Christ thinks it necessary to warn them
that on the very day in which Hewill be revealed to execute the
wrath of God on evil centers andconglomerations of human
(22:27):
iniquity, they will be tempted to go back to the house or city
to get their favorite possessions, because they cannot
imagine life without them. For the sake of things, they
will lose life itself. So true.
(22:53):
For the sake of things, for the sake of friendships, for the
sake of affection, they're willing to lose their life.
That's what Luke 17 is about. Christ would go on to say in
verse #33 Whoever seeks to keep his life in Luke 17 will lose
(23:13):
it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
He says, I, I tell you on that night there, there will be two
in bed. One will be taken and the other
will be left. The one taken is taken into
judgement. The one left is left to go into
the Kingdom. There will be two women grinding
(23:36):
at the same place. One will be taken, the other
will be left. Two men will be in the field,
one will be taken, the other will be left.
In other words, two people in bed.
Two people in bed believe they're united together, but one
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will be revealed that they are not true, and the other one will
be revealed that they are true. One will be taken in the
judgement, the other will not. There'll be two people working
side by side in the same workplace, presumably thinking
that they both know the Lord, but one is taken into judgement
and the other is not. There'll be two people in the
(24:26):
same job location, 1 taken into judgement, the other not Why?
Because one desires the things of the world and 1 does not.
Matthew, chapter 13. This is the thorny, weedy soil
who falls away because of the cares of this world or because
(24:49):
of the deceitfulness of riches. My friends, this is so
important. Christ says, remember Lot's wife
because she did not disassociateherself with the things of the
world. She wanted to remain associated
with the things of the world. But true Christianity
(25:11):
disassociates with the world so many times.
We, we, we have family members and, and maybe one of the family
members is yours. They, they just can't depart
from the things of the world. They love to be in the world.
They love to be with the world. They love to do worldly things.
(25:35):
Their interests are in the world.
They're the kind of people that that that show no interest
necessarily in church because they'll schedule their work on
Sunday so they don't have to go to church.
That's a Lot's wife. That they will schedule things
(25:58):
around church activities so theydon't have to be involved in
church activities. That's a Lot's wife.
That's a self deceived person who wants you to think they love
the Lord, but in all reality they love the things of the
world and they want to be with the people of the world and they
don't want to be with the peopleof God or in the Church of God.
(26:20):
That person is the lot's wife. They desire the world.
And maybe you're a parent today and that's one of your children.
Then you need to talk hard and long with that child about
whether or not they know the Lord.
Hard and long because as a parent you are held responsible
(26:43):
for their spiritual direction. If you don't tell them, how sad
would that be if they end up in a crisis eternity.
Don't just placate your childrenby thinking and convincing them
that they love the Lord when a reality they truly love the
(27:05):
world. Be very, very careful about
that. That's why the Lord puts us in
here. It's interesting that in verse
#17 it says when they had this is Genesis 19, I'm sorry.
(27:29):
When they had brought them outside, one said escape for
your life. Do not look behind you and do
not stay anywhere in the valley.Get completely away.
Don't stay in the valley. Disassociate yourself with any
of the surroundings of that which is going to be destroyed.
(27:53):
But we find ourselves wanting sobadly to dabble in the things of
the world we want to. We want to walk on the fringe as
if it's OK. But you got to remember lots,
wife. The angels wanted to be clear
(28:14):
that separation must be completeand total, not partial.
The total. So her character is defined by
#1 She desired the world becauseshe desired the world #2 comes
(28:39):
into play. And that is she despised the
word. She despised the word.
She despised it so much that when the warning was given, she
(29:00):
completely and totally disobeyedbecause she did not delight in
the word of warning. She despised the word of warning
because it went against her lovefor the world, and therefore she
(29:22):
would despise what God said to the angels.
It was a blatant defiance. Proverbs 1313.
He you despises the word will bedestroyed by that word.
Proverbs 29. One.
(29:43):
He who stiffens his neck againstmuch reproof will be destroyed
without remedy. So many times we play with the
authority of God's Word, and youcannot do that.
She despised the word of the living God.
(30:10):
When God says not to do something, He tells you not to
do it for for your sake. He doesn't do it to punish you,
doesn't do it to make you uncomfortable.
He does it because He wants you to live for Him and honor Him.
(30:31):
John tells us that his commands are not burdensome.
They don't weigh you down. To an unbeliever, they're
burdensome. To the believer, they're
delightful, and one of the ways you know someone's a believer is
when you talk to them about the Word of God.
They don't see it as a burden toobey, they see it as a complete
(30:54):
and total blessing to obey. Her character was revealed in
her looking back because she desired the world.
She despised the Word and #3 shedisbelieved the warning.
(31:17):
She disbelieved the warning. God's not going to do that.
God's a loving God. He's a righteous God.
He's a kind God. He's a merciful God.
He's a patient God. God's not going to destroy Sodom
and Gomorrah. She disbelieved the warning.
(31:41):
Every act of disbelief demonstrates the fact that I do
not believe that God is going todo what He said He's going to
do. It denies the authority of His
Word. God had already shown a mercy by
(32:04):
taking her by the hand and moving her outside the city.
Because they weren't moving, lotincluded.
In fact, when the warning had been given, they went to bed.
The Angel had to get them up thenext day.
It's time to go. Why are you still here?
(32:25):
This is going to be destroyed. You got to go.
And they hesitated. So the Angel had to take them by
the hand and physically remove them for Abraham's sake, because
Abraham had prayed. The Bible tells us in verse #29
(32:47):
that it came about when God destroyed the cities of the
valley of the valley. That God remembered Abraham and
sent Lot out of the midst of theoverthrow.
When he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.
God did it because of Abraham. God remembered Abraham and
(33:13):
spared Lot and his girls. You know there are so many
warnings in the scripture. The Bible says in Proverbs 14
verse #12 there is a way which seemed with right into a man,
but the ends are over the ways of death not life.
(33:33):
What a warning. There is a way which seemeth
right into a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.
The Bible says the wages of sin is death, the payment for sin is
death, and it's only because of God's mercy and grace that we
(33:55):
live when we sin and do not die.The Bible says in Galatians
chapter 6 verse #7 do not be deceived.
God is not mocked that whatsoever man sows that shall
he also reap. Do not be deceived.
But we are. We do not think that God's going
(34:18):
to do what he said he's going todo, but he did.
So remember lots wife, very important not to forget her
judgement came and judgement wasswift.
But notice this about the judgement upon her.
(34:42):
She had all the reasons not to look back.
She was on the brink of deliverance, just about to be
saved, but she perished because her heart was revealed.
(35:07):
She was the wife of a righteous man.
You would not know that by reading Genesis.
We know that because of Peter. In Second Peter chapter 2, Peter
tells us he was a righteous man.We would never know that by
reading Genesis 19. In fact, looking at Lot's life,
you wonder how could he ever be righteous?
(35:29):
But he was right before God, andshe was the wife of a righteous
man. She had that advantage.
She was married to a believer. She was married to a righteous
man. And all the words that he would
say and all the things that he would, he would do.
You'd think that she would learnfrom her husband, but she did
(35:52):
not. She might have looked like she
learned from her husband. She might have looked like the
faithful wife. She might have looked like a
righteous person. But God revealed her heart.
She was not a righteous person, but she was the wife of a
(36:14):
righteous man. Not only that, she had the
warnings from the Angel. Three of them, one at night, one
in the morning and one at the outskirts of Sodom.
(36:35):
She had the warnings from the Angel.
Do not look back. Don't do that.
Judgments coming. You don't want to be judged.
You don't want to be condemned. Do not look back.
Three warnings. The wife of a righteous man.
The warnings from the angels. How about this?
She even welcomed the angelic visitors into her home.
(37:01):
She welcomed them into her home.She had a first hand account of
entertaining angels unaware, butI believe she would end up
knowing that they were angels. So not only was she the wife of
(37:21):
a righteous man, not only did she receive warnings from the
angels, not only did she welcomein the angels, but #4 she
watched the miracle of the blinding of the homosexuals
outside her door. She watched it.
She saw first hand account of how all these men who wanted to
(37:42):
have sexual relationships with these angelic beings who were at
the door and Lot was trying to keep them out of the door.
They were struck blind and she was able to view that miracle
from a first hand experience. But it did not change the
condition of her heart. She desired the world, she
(38:07):
despised the word, she disbelieved the warning, in
spite of the miracle that was before her.
Just to show you that miracles do not change people's lives,
only the message of the Gospel does.
That, one author said. We have so many spiritual
(38:34):
blessings today in our land, yetby the looks of the lives of
most, the opportunities have been completely ignored, yes,
even scorned. Much judgement awaits those who
are poor stewards of spiritual opportunities.
The greater the opportunities not used, the greater the
judgement, for the judgement is related to the opportunities one
(39:00):
has received. That's why the Bible says in
Hebrews chapter 6, Having tastedthe good word of the Lord, have
you been partakers of the Holy Spirit?
Have you been afforded the wonderful opportunities of the
Scripture? Unless you repent, you will
(39:25):
perish because it will be impossible to renew you to
repentance once you've seen all the obvious evidences and turn
your back on. So important.
She desired the world, she despised the word, she
(39:47):
disbelieved the warning. So the consequence?
She died on the way. And her death was sudden,
shameful, specific and severe. Her death was sudden.
(40:15):
She looked back and she was judged immediately.
She was turned into a pillar of salt.
God's punishment overtook her onthe spot.
(40:37):
It was sudden and without remedy.
No opportunity to repent, no opportunity to ask forgiveness,
no opportunity to speak to her husband, no opportunity to get
things right with her family. She came to ruin because her
(40:58):
judgement was sudden. It was shameful because she died
in the act of her sin. She died in the act of
rebellion. She was turned into a pillar of
salt, looking back at that whichwas she's told not to look back
at, and she died a shameful death.
(41:24):
She died a very specific death at a very specific time, at the
exact same time that the cities were being burned with fire and
brimstone from above. That was the time that she was
judged and turned into a pillar of salt.
(41:45):
And it was severe because she perished along with the
occupants of Sodom and Gomorrah.How incredible is that?
(42:08):
When you desire the world, you will despise the Word.
Your children despise the Word. Or do they delight in the Word
of God? Do they want to read the Word?
Do they want to hear the Word? Or do they do they despise the
(42:31):
Word? They despise it because they
desire something other than the Lord.
They desire the world. And when you despise the Word,
you will disbelieve the warningsof the Word.
They made no difference to you. God's not going to do what He
(42:52):
says he's going to do. Well, he might have done at the
start of the Gomorrah. He might have done it during the
days of Noah and the flood, but he's not going to do it to me.
So we say, or so we think. We desire the world.
(43:14):
Then you will always suffer. You need to detest the world,
not desire the world. You need to delight in the Word,
not despise the Word. You need to believe the warnings
(43:35):
and not disbelieve the warnings.You need to regard the walk of
the godly, not disregard the walk of the godly.
You need to live and not die. For a Lot's wife becomes the
(43:57):
answer to Romans 623. The wages of sin is death.
That's the payment. She had opportunity to believe.
She had opportunity to follow. She had opportunity to deny
herself. She don't want to do that.
(44:17):
She loved the world and she loved herself she loved herself
more than she loved her girls. She loved herself more than she
loved her husband. But you know, they never really
knew that until it was too late because she, being from behind,
(44:43):
looked back and she, she was changed or became a pillar of
salt. I don't know where you are,
where your family is, your husband, your wife, your
children, your friends. But remembering Lot's life is
(45:10):
absolutely crucial in our journeys to the land of Israel.
We would stop on our way back from Masada, on our way back
from and Getty and stop by the Dead Sea.
(45:36):
We would open our Bibles to Genesis chapter 19, and we'd
read the story, the accounts of what took place in that region.
It was a beautiful region at onetime, a beautiful region, but it
was destroyed because of the sinof the people in the city.
(46:05):
But we understand that well. We have a hard time getting the
grip on his Lot's wife. What happened to her?
I'm sure the girls believed thatshe was a follower of the Lord
God of Israel. I'm sure her husband believed
that his wife was a follower of the Lord God of Israel.
(46:28):
At least she played along that way.
That that's why the series What is a Christian is so important
because people are so easily self deceived.
You know what? I bet you even Lot's wife
thought that she believed in theLord God of Israel until the
(46:54):
true nature, the true colors were exposed.
She was turned into a pillar of salt.
Why a pillar of salt? Interesting.
Why not just zapper? Incinerator.
(47:17):
Why a pillar of salts? I have my ideas.
The Bible says you are the salt of the earth.
You are the light of the world. You're in a world that's
decaying. Salt retards corruption in a
(47:39):
world that's dark. Light reveals the Christ who is
the true light. But my reason is this is that
it's a reminder to Lot that he was in the city where he was not
(48:07):
effective as salt because he didnot retard the corruption of the
city. And even though he was a
righteous man, I, I think that we need to quickly, and I mean
quickly look at what happened toLot.
(48:28):
And if you're a husband today, you need to examine your life in
light of that. And so just let me take you back
a couple of pages to Genesis chapter 13 and show you how it
began with Lots says in verse #10 Lot lifted up his eyes and
(48:51):
saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered
everywhere. This was before the Lord
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the Lord
liked the land of Egypt. Why is that important?
(49:13):
In Genesis chapter 12, there's afamine in the land.
Abraham did not seek the Lord. Abraham did not pray.
What do I do when there's a famine in the land?
What did Abraham do? He went to where there was food.
So he went to Egypt. He went down to Egypt.
Egypt is symbolic of the world. In the Old Testament, Abraham
(49:37):
went the way of the world, and Lot was with him, and Lot
journeyed back with him. And Lot got a taste of Egypt,
got a taste of the world. And once he got the taste that
(49:57):
longing in his heart, it caused him to look One Direction.
When he and Abraham, we're goingto part ways.
Abraham said, you can go this way or you can go that way.
Choose which way you will go. And he looked towards Sodom and
he saw the lushness of it. It was like Egypt and it and it
(50:18):
affected the longing of his heart.
Abraham had a negative effect onhis nephew Lot, And Lot, when he
looked towards Sodom, saw the lushness of it.
It was just like Egypt. That's what I want.
(50:39):
So because Lot longed for Egypt,Lot looked toward Egypt.
And because he looked toward Egypt, I like this, he leaned
toward Egypt. Look at verse 12 of chapter 13.
(51:04):
Abraham settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the
cities of the valley and moved his tents as far as Sodom.
Once you long for Egypt, you will look toward Egypt.
Once you look toward Egypt, you will begin to lean in the
direction of Egypt. And once you lean in that
(51:29):
direction, you will live in Egypt.
And sure enough, in verse 12 with chapter 14, Lot, Abraham's
nephew and his possessions departed for he was living in
Sodom. Once you long for Egypt, you'll
(51:52):
look toward Egypt. When you look toward Egypt,
you'll lean that direction. Remember, Egypt is symbolic of
the world, and once you lean that direction, you will live in
that arena. They did.
(52:14):
But it gets worse, because as you move on to Chapter 19, it
says now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot
was sitting in the gate of Sodom.
Only those who led in the city would sit in the city gates.
(52:37):
Once you long for the world and look toward the world and lean
toward the world, you'll live inthe world, and you will then
lead in the world. And Lot did, but it gets worse
(53:01):
because he's just 19 verse #7 hesays to the men in the doorway.
My brothers do not act wickedly.Your brothers, the homosexuals
were your brothers. They become his brothers.
(53:24):
Because once you look toward thecity, because you've already
longed for the city, and you lean toward that way and you
live that way and you lead in that place, you love that place.
(53:45):
Lot loved Sodom, my brothers. He loved us so much that when it
came time to leave, he lingered in the city, it says in verse
16. But he hesitated.
(54:07):
So the men seized his hand in the hand of his wife, in the
hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was
upon him. He lingered because he loved the
city, because he led there, He lived there.
(54:29):
He leaned there because he looked there, because he longed
for the world. That's why it's so important to
understand the Scriptures when the Bible says so explicitly
(54:56):
that we are to disassociate withthe world.
When you care for the things of the world, you end up being
companioned with the world. Those who become companioned
(55:16):
with the world become contaminated by the world, and
those contaminated by the world then become conformed to the
world. When the Bible says do not be
conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of
(55:39):
your mind. And those who care for the world
and those who become companion with the world, and those who
become contaminated by the worldand those who become conformed
to the world, they then become controlled by the world.
(56:03):
That was Lot. The difference is, is that Lot
was a righteous man. His wife was not.
She was condemned along with theworld.
Lot was not. Lot was in no way a perfect man.
(56:30):
In many ways he was a horrible husband and a horrible father.
But the Bible does say he was a righteous man.
And yet there were a lot of things he probably could have
done a lot differently than he did, but he didn't.
(56:55):
We did a series years ago calledLot's Loss in Life.
What did Lot lose? Lot would lose his family.
Lot would lose the city and Lot would lose his testimony because
(57:22):
Lot had lost all credibility. He lost so much.
Didn't have to be that way for us at all.
Not at all. But he had a wife that was
turned into a pillar of salt to remind him that he could have
(57:45):
retarded corruption in the city.But he didn't because he loved
the city, the city in which he led in, the city in which he
lived in. We are of the world.
We are in the world. We're not supposed to be of the
world. So important come out from among
(58:07):
them and be separate, says the Lord.
There is to be complete separation, a complete
disassociation with the things of the world.
You have to ask yourself, do my children disassociate themselves
from the world or do they find themselves wanting to associate
more and more with the world? Beware or your wife or your
(58:31):
husband. There should be a direct
disassociation with the things of the world and all of its
evil, because all it does is ruin people's lives.
So where are you? Where's your family?
(58:56):
Have you disassociated with the things of the world or are you
still hanging on to different parts?
The warnings given when Jesus returns don't go back to your
house to collect your possessions.
They mean nothing. They're of no value whatsoever.
Don't look back at your field. Remember lots, wife.
(59:23):
Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for
tonight. We thank you for your word.
It's very clear. You have made it crystal clear.
And our prayer, Father, is that we would be people who
disassociate with the things of this world.
(59:48):
It's not easy sometimes, Lord, but that's because we have a
wrong perspective. Our affections are not above,
they're below. Our mind is set.
On things below and not on things above.
For once we get a clear glimpse of our Savior, we get a clear
(01:00:14):
understanding of our Lord. Things on earth are irrelevant.
Everybody mean nothing, so we deny ourselves.
We take up a cross daily and we follow you because we love you.
(01:00:36):
We love you more than our own lives for to live as Christ, to
die as gain, we make it our ambition to be well pleasing in
your sight. May that be us tonight.
Lord, maybe learn from what we have just heard and follow you
(01:01:00):
completely in Jesus name, Amen.
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