MESSAGE OF THE WEEK

05 September 2010

RESISTING THE CALL OF THE WORLD

Lot, Part 2, Continued

TEXT:  1 Corinthians 5:6, ⁶ Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

INTRODUCTION:  When we look at the life of Lot, we see what can happen when a Christian begins to compromise.  Lot made the fatal error by believing he could compromise with the world and not be affected by it.

I.          LOT CHOSES TO LIVE WITH THE WICKED.

Genesis 13:12-13, ¹² Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. ¹³ But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.

A.        Lot had a contentious spirit.

Genesis 13:7 and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock.

NOTE:  Lot couldn’t get along with the righteous but he could get along with the wicked.

Genesis 19:4-8, ⁴ Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. ⁵ And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”   ⁶ So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, ⁷ and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! ⁸ See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”

B.        He had no difficulty in leaving his Godly uncle but he had great difficulty in leaving godless Sodom.

Genesis 19:15-19, ¹⁵ When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. ¹⁷ So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he^[a] said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”   ¹⁸ Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! ¹⁹ Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die.

II.         HE TURNED HIS LIFE OVER TO THE WORLD AND YET HE HAD TO GO TO GODLY ABRAHAM FOR HELP.

A.        The battle of the kings:

Genesis 14:1-2, 8, 10-14, and 16.   ¹ And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).  ⁸ And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim.  ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains. ¹¹ Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. ¹² They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. ¹³ Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. ¹⁴ Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.  ¹⁶ So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

1.      Lot loses all because he comprised with sin.

Genesis 14:11, ¹¹ Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way.

2.      Genesis 14:12, ¹² They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

3.      The wicked will never prosper.

B.        Notice, it is Godly Abraham that saves Lot and his family.

Genesis 14:13-16, ¹³ Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre^[a] the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. ¹⁴ Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶ So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

1.      Lot’s rescue came from God’s man not from his so-called friends from the world.

III.        LOT’S DELIVERANCE FROM GOD’S JUDGMENT.  IT IS NOT BASED   ON LOT’S FAITH, PRAYER OR GODLINESS; RATHER IT IS BASED   ONCE AGAIN ON ABRAHAM, GOD’S COVENANT PARTNER.

            A.        Genesis 18:1-2

 ¹ Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. ² So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground.

1.         A real man of God knows the power of prayer.

NOTE:  Abraham intercedes.

Genesis 18-22-33, ²² Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. ²³ And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? ²⁵ Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”  ²⁶ So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”  ²⁷ Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: ²⁸ Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?”  So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”  ²⁹ And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?”  So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.”  ³⁰ Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?”  So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”  ³¹ And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?”  So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”  ³² Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”  And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” ³³ So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

2.         God is moved by the voice of prayer.  Abraham’s plea delivers Lot.

NOTE:  Genesis 19:1, 12-17, ¹ Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.  ¹² Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! ¹³ For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.”  ¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.  ¹⁵ When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. ¹⁷ So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”

B.        God warned Abraham, not Lot.

Genesis 18:17-21, ¹⁷ And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, ¹⁸ since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? ¹⁹ For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” ²⁰ And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, ²¹ I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

1.   God’s blessings were on Abraham not Lot.  Genesis 18:18,  since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.

2.     God remembered Abraham, not Lot.  Genesis 19:29, ²⁹ And  it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in  which Lot had dwelt.

IV.       THE LEGACY OF LOT’S COMPROMISE.

            A.        Lot never influenced or changed anyone’s life for good out of the entire city of Sodom.

Genesis 18:32, ³² Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”
And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.”

1.         The ungodly had affected Lot but he had no affect on them.

Genesis 19:14, ¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.

B.        Lot lost his wife.

            1.         She couldn’t forsake her desires and could not obey one command of God.

Genesis 19:17, 26-28, ¹⁷ So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”  ²⁶ But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.  ²⁷ And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. ²⁸ Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace.

2.         Lot corrupted his daughters.

Genesis 19:30-38, ³⁰ Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. ³¹ Now the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth. ³² Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.” ³³ So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.  ³⁴ It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, “Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.” ³⁵ Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.  ³⁶ Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. ³⁷ The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. ³⁸ And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.

3.         Lot offered his own daughters to immoral acts.

Genesis 19:6-8, ⁶ So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, ⁷ and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! ⁸ See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”

NOTE:  He practiced what this city of Sodom preached.

CONCLUSION:

Although God delivered Lot, we read on 2 Peter 2:7-8 that Lot’s way of life brought him pain and sorrow.

2 Peter 2:6-8:

⁶ And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; ⁷ and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked ⁸ (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds).