[0:00] Well, I wish you all a warm welcome to our meeting this evening, and we hope that the Lord will be in our midst and bless us together.
[0:18] Before we start, there's an intimation that there's a WFM at half past seven on Tuesday night this week. So that's half past seven Tuesday night.
[0:30] We'll begin by singing to the Lord's praise in Psalm 97 in the Scottish Psalter on page 359. Page, Psalm 97.
[0:47] God reigneth, let the earth be glad, and isles rejoice each one. Dark clouds encompass us, and in right with judgment dwells his throne.
[0:57] Fire goes before him, and his foes it burns up round about. As lightnings lightened the world, earth saw and shook throughout. Hills at the presence of the Lord like wax did melt away.
[1:11] Even at the presence of the Lord of all the earth I say. The heavens declare his righteousness, all men his glory see. All who serve images confounded, let them be.
[1:23] We'll sing these four verses to the Lord's praise. God reigneth, let the earth be glad. God reigneth, let the earth be glad.
[1:37] God reigneth, let the earth be glad. And I rejoice in more.
[1:50] God reigneth, let the earth be glad. God reigneth, let the earth be glad.
[2:08] I don't see more in my heart, Lord, that I am from the land.
[2:29] And now IHE've found him to per Nowhere I was five.
[2:45] One should rule on the top that lands it come.
[2:59] Like once did man away, he lost his hand.
[3:19] O Lord of all the earth, I say, The hands declare his righteousness.
[3:44] All men's glory see. All who serve the devil, Look about him and have been here.
[4:16] We'll bow our heads in prayer. O Lord, our God, we come to thee this evening acknowledging our need of thee.
[4:30] Without thee, thy servant of old could say we can do nothing. And O Lord, we cannot even praise you aright.
[4:42] And when we come before you in prayer, O Lord, we find so often That although we come with words, our hearts are often far from thee.
[4:55] Give us the spirit of thy servant of old when he could say, I will not let thee go until you bless me. O Lord, grant that we would have that pleading spirit Before you tonight and acknowledge that you are God.
[5:16] We were singing there, The heavens declare your glory. And O Lord, grant that we would acknowledge who God is.
[5:28] Infinite, eternal, unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, goodness and truth. A God who is far above our thoughts And to whose presence The Old Testament church could not come But the high priest could only come once a year And that not without blood But we come this evening because blood has been shed God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son That whosoever believeth in him Should not perish But have eternal life And we come to thee this evening because of him Because of what he has done for sinners such as we are And he can now say to us that no man cometh unto the Father But by me And O Lord, that is an encouragement to each one of us this evening
[6:32] That we can approach the mercy seat On account of what he has done for us On account of what he purchased for us at Calvary O gracious God, we give thanks again For that wonderful work That he purchased for us Taking our sins upon himself Becoming sin for us Who knew no sin And bearing the penalty of it And O Lord, grant that now that we can come to thee Acknowledging our need of him Acknowledging our sins And giving praise to thee that he ever lives To make intercession for us We pray for us all here gathered this evening And ask thee, O God That even in the hour that we are gathered together That you would come in And dwell with us And we could say like others of old It was good for us to be here
[7:32] O gracious God, we plead thy presence We plead thy promise tonight That where two or three are gathered in thy name Thou art in the midst And we bless thee when we open thy word That that is the truth Go with us then And lead us into thy truth again this night And bless all of us And all connected with us We pray for those who cannot be here Who would be here but cannot Through one thing or another Maybe through infirmity of body or of mind We commit them to thee Whose place would we miss But O Lord, grant that you would bless them Where they are And enable them to look to thee As the God who is not confined to Abel But a God that we can access At any place, at any time We pray for those who could be here But aren't O Lord, we pray that you would put a desire
[8:35] Into their hearts To come out to the means of grace While the means of grace are with us While the opportunity is with us To come to your house O Lord, give us the desire And give those who have no desire at all To come We think of our families Thou knowest them They are in our families And we plead again for them That they would come To seek their way to Zion To seek the living Jesus We ask, O Lord, for those of our families Who are laid aside at this time We think of them Whether they are at home Or in hospital Or in homes of rest Or wherever they are That you would be with them And help them Remember those who are undergoing treatment Of one form or another We ask, O Lord, that you would bless them And help them Remember us as a generation As a community A community, O Lord Where once these houses of worship
[9:37] Would be filled On our Lord's Day evening But now we see So many empty places O Lord God Grant that you will come back Visit us again With thy spirit We pray thee Open the windows of heaven We need thee To work amongst us It is not through men Or women Or through any other Means that we can come To thee But through thy word And we bless thee, O Lord That we can come All that thou wouldst bless it And bless Our communities Our generation Our islands And the nations of Our nation And the nations of the world At these sad times Remember them Where their war is present We think of them Especially in the Middle East And in Ukraine at the moment We pray, O Lord For peace We pray for justice O Lord, we pray That you would come In the way that you can come
[10:39] Especially To your people Who are maligned so often For anything that they do O Lord, we ask That you would preserve Your own ancient nation Of Israel And draw them back To yourself We pray thee Where they have forsaken thee The living God They have forsaken The one True Saviour of sinners Who came into their midst But of whom He could say of himself That they did not want to know O Lord, we ask That you would return To that nation Again And We read in thy word That if the casting away Of them Be as light To the Gentiles And the bringing in Of them Be with us Will be to us As light Life from the dead Holy gracious God We ask that you would be With them And grant that You would bless them And be with all Other nations We think of them In Ukraine And we think of
[11:41] Them in Deepest Africa We think especially In Nigeria Where your people Are being slaughtered Day by day Almost On a daily basis O Lord Protect your own people Remember them In their extremities Be with us all We pray With this congregation And the pastor of it We ask O Lord That you would bless him And bless his work here We ask that you would come And bless us To the work of the gospel In this village Remember them worshipping In the worship hall Beside us We ask you O God That you would bless Your word there as well And that you would come And unite us together again Under the banner Of the gospel Go with us We pray thee Lead us And guide us And keep us And we ask all For Jesus sake Amen We'll sing again This time And sing psalms And sing psalms Psalm 11
[12:41] That's on page 12 Of the blue book Psalm 11 And we'll sing From verse 4 To the end of the psalm The Lord is in His holy place The Lord is on His heavenly throne His eyes observe The human race And in His sight Each one is known The Lord examines All the just The righteous ones He proves and tests But all those Who love wickedness And violence His soul detests Down to the end Of the psalm For God The Lord is righteous still In righteousness As He takes delight And they alone Will see His face Who are in heart And life Upright At Psalm 11 From the singing psalms Version Page 13 At verse 4 The Lord is in His holy place The Lord is in His holy place
[13:48] The Lord is in His holy place The Lord is in His holy place The Lord is in His holy place The Lord is in His holy place The Lord is in His holy place The Lord is in His holy place The Lord is in His holy place Is the Heav candidём Who takes foe Will it sooner Have the Lord Lecture on the God The right away Just once he proves that death Love, love, love, love, we can't
[14:52] Of thy whole ancestral wilderness Love, love, love, we can't Hear, love, we can't As fiery coals are so formed As scorching when he'll be done Such punishment to be there long For God's love is right just yet
[16:02] Then why just let me take the eye And lay out the world's deepnesses Through our life of Christ And life of Christ We'll read this evening in the book of Genesis The book of Genesis at chapter 19 Chapter 18 finishes with Abraham
[17:09] And you'll find that in the heading Verses 22 to the end of the chapter Interceding for Sodom And here we have in chapter 19 The rescue of Lot and the destruction of Sodom A very solemn, solemn chapter In the Bible We'll read part of it We'll read down to verse 29 Of chapter 19 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 bowed himself with his face To the earth and said My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house And spend the night And wash your feet Then you may rise up early And go on your way They said, no We will spend the night in the town square But he pressed them strongly
[18:11] So they turned aside to him And entered his house And he made them a feast And baked unleavened bread And they ate But before they lay down The men of the city The men of Sodom Both young and old All the people To the last man Surrounded the house And they called to Lot Where are the men Who came to you tonight?
[18:34] Bring them out to us That we may know them Lot went out To the men at the entrance Shut the door after him And said I beg you, my brothers Do not act so wickedly Behold, I have two daughters Who have not known any man Let me bring them out to you And do to them as you please Only do nothing to these men For they have come under the shelter of my roof But they said, stand back And they said This fellow came to sojourn And he has become the judge Now we will deal worse with you Than with them Then they pressed hard Against the man Lot And threw near To break the door down But the men reached out their hands And brought Lot Into the house with them And shut the door And they struck with blindness The men who were at the entrance Of the house Both small and great So that they wore themselves Out groping for the door
[19:36] And the men said to Lot Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law Sons, daughters Or anyone You have in the city Bring them out of the place For we are about to destroy This place Because the outcry Against its people Has become great Before the Lord The Lord has sent us To destroy it So Lot went out And said to his sons-in-law Who were to marry his daughters Up Get you out of this place For the Lord is about To destroy the city But he seemed to his sons-in-law To be jesting As morning dawned The angels urged Lot Saying Up Take your wife And your two daughters Who are here Lest you be swept away In the punishment Of the city But he lingered So the men seized him And his wife And his two daughters By the hand
[20:36] The Lord being merciful To him And they brought him out And set him Outside the city And as they brought them out One said Escape for your life Do not look back Or stop anywhere In the valley Escape To the hills Lest you be swept away And Lot said to them Oh no my lords Behold your servant Has found favor In your sight And you have shown me Great kindness In saving my life But I cannot escape To the hills Lest the disaster Overtake me And I die Behold this city Is near enough To flee to And it is a little one Let me escape there It is not Is it not a little one And my life Will be saved And he said to him Behold I grant you This favor also That I will not Overthrow the city Of which you have spoken Escape there quickly For I can do nothing
[21:37] Till you arrive there Therefore the name Of the city Was called Zohar The sun had risen On the earth When Helot came to Zohar Then the Lord Reigned on Sodom And Gomorrah Sulphur and phile From the Lord Out of heaven And he overthrew These cities And all the valley And all the inhabitants Of the cities And what grew On the ground But Lot's wife Behind him Looked back And she became A pillar of salt And Abraham Went early in the morning To the place Where he had stood Before the Lord And he looked down Towards Sodom And Gomorrah And toward all the land Of the valley And he looked And behold The smoke of the land Went up Like the smoke Of a furnace So it was That when God Destroyed the cities Of the valley God remembered Abraham And sent Lot Out of the midst Of the overthrow When he overthrew The cities In which Lot had lived
[22:37] Amen May the Lord Bless That portion Of his truth To us This evening We'll sing again This time In the Scottish Psalter In Psalm 50 Of the Scottish Psalter It's on page 278 The second version Common meter version Of the Psalm Psalm 50 Page 278 And we'll read From the beginning The mighty Lord The mighty God The Lord Hath spoke And called the earth Upon Even from the rising Of the sun Into his going down From out of Zion Whose own hill For the perfection High Of beauty is From thence The Lord Hath shined Gloriously Down to the end Of verse 4 He to the heavens From above And to the earth Below Shall call That he his judgments May Before his people Show Sing these four verses To the Lord's praise The mighty God
[23:38] The Lord Hath spoke To the mighty God The Lord Hath spoke But now we are the one.
[23:58] Here come the high sea all the time. The world is going down.
[24:17] From the dark side of his own head.
[24:28] Where the love and passion lie. Where the beauty ends.
[24:43] The Lord has the glory. And glory is Thee.
[24:58] The court shall come and shall no more be silent but eager.
[25:16] The court shall come and shall be silent but eagerly.
[25:46] The court shall come and shall be silent but eagerly.
[26:16] The court shall come and shall be silent but eagerly. The court shall come and shall be silent but eagerly. The court shall come and shall be silent but eagerly. The court shall come and shall be silent but eagerly. The court shall be silent but eagerly. We'll have a short word.
[26:28] A short word of prayer. I ask the Lord to bless us. O Lord our God we come again to seek thy face and to seek thy presence. That thou wouldst bless us. Be with us as we meditate upon a portion of thy word.
[26:43] And that we would learn from it. And understand more and more of the glory and wonder of a merciful God.
[26:53] But a God who is also just. O Lord help us we pray thee. To come to him in all our needs. And to spread them before him even this evening.
[27:06] Wash away our sins. And we ask it for Jesus sake. Amen. We'll turn back to the chapter that we read in Genesis chapter 19. And we'll read it.
[27:20] Verse 15. As morning dawned. The angels urged Lot saying.
[27:33] Up. Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city. But he lingered.
[27:45] So the men seized him. And his wife. And his two daughters by the hand. The Lord being merciful to him. And they brought him out. And set him out.
[27:58] Outside the city. The text I want to look at is. And we'll be looking at Lot. But it's particularly in that.
[28:11] The beginning of verse 16. It's a short verse. But he lingered. But he lingered.
[28:22] It seems that. I was reading some of those who. A bit of study in this. It seems that. In the Hebrew text for this. There is actually a pause.
[28:33] Sign. Immediately. Immediately. We have. In the ESV. There is a full stop actually. In some of the translations. There is a continuation. But in the ESV.
[28:43] There actually is a full stop. Which. When. As you remember. When you were in primary school. And when we were doing some first aid in English. And these. Things that are now far gone. Used to say that.
[28:54] Anytime there is a full stop. You stop. And I remember. Some of our primary teachers. Telling us these things. But here we have. It's a stop. And. It's immediately after.
[29:06] Lingered. It's got no bearing whatsoever. On the meaning of the text. But. It is apparently used for. Effect. Reading effect. We are to stop.
[29:19] And to reflect. Upon what has been said. That is why. They have actually put a pause. A sign. The Hebrew put a sign. In there.
[29:30] To say. You must stop. Reflect. On what. Has just been said. But. Lot. Lingered. Righteous.
[29:42] Lot. Is lingering. In Sodom. And that's what. The Bible is telling. Us tonight. To pause on.
[29:54] For a little while. Despite. All the gracious. Words of warning. Despite. All that. Warning that has been given to him.
[30:06] Despite. All. The initial burst of. Obedient. Seal. Remember that. He had seal in here.
[30:19] Despite. Angels. Warning him. Lot. Lot. Lingered. But friends.
[30:30] When we. Pause. On that. And that's. An amazing. Thing. That. Righteous. Lot. Now let's. Be honest.
[30:41] About that. That's what the word. Calls him. In. Second. Peter. Righteous. Lot. Is. Pausing. In Sodom. Is lingering.
[30:51] In Sodom. But when we look at that. We have also. To reflect. On what's in the next part of it. And there is. Marvelling.
[31:03] Not only. At lot. Lingering. But. Marvelling. At the wonder. Of how the Lord. Reacted. To lots.
[31:13] Lingering. He. Didn't. Cast him aside. And that. Is what we should. We should really.
[31:23] Take our breath. Away as well. This evening. The mercy. Long. Suffering. Of God. To lot. Last week.
[31:34] When I was. I was. Trying to prepare. This talk. This evening. My daughter. Came in to me. And she said to me. What. She asked me. What I was doing. Of course.
[31:45] Daughters are very. As any of you have daughters. So are sons actually. They're very inquisitive. When you're doing something. And I. I was. Doing a wee bit of. Of preparation here.
[31:56] And I. She asked what I was doing. And I said to her. I was preparing. For Tolstah. And she asked me. What I was. What topic. And she said. I said to her. I was preparing. On lot.
[32:08] And she looked at me. In amazement. And she said to me. What. On earth. Are you doing. Preparing a talk. On lot. And.
[32:18] Well. Why did you choose. That subject. Well. I says to her. And I'll be quite honest. With you. I said to her. I feel. So often. Like.
[32:30] Lot. Myself. Do you feel like. Lot. So often. That you're lingering. You're dilly dallying. You're.
[32:41] Drifting. You're lingering. On your way. To the. Celestial city. Or else. You're just lingering. You're lingering. Here.
[32:51] Maybe. Well. I'd like to look at. Three things. Regarding. Lot. This evening. First of all. Look at.
[33:02] Lot. Drifting. That's what I mean. By lingering. Drifting. Drifting. God's. Deliverance. And thirdly.
[33:15] Sodom's. Destruction. First of all. Lot's. Drifting. Well. Lot. Lived.
[33:26] First of all. By sight. Look at him. If you go back to. Chapter. Thirteen. Although.
[33:36] This is maybe in form of a Bible study. This evening. This evening. This well. In. In. In. Genesis. Chapter 13. We find that. Lot. And. The. The title.
[33:47] Of. Of. The pages. Abram. And. Lot. Separate. You find. You find that. Matters. With. Lot. And. With. Abraham. Have. Progressed. Materially. They're well.
[33:58] Things have been going well with them. Their. Cattle. And. Their sheep. Donkeys. They have. Increased. They have.
[34:09] A lot of. Material goods. The two of them. And then. In verse. Six. Of. Thirteen. We find. It said that the land was not able to bear them.
[34:20] The place where they were. Wasn't able to. Take the two of them. Those. That. They had. That many. Much. That. That. That. That. That. That. Many. Flocks. And. And. Herds.
[34:31] But. Then. You read. In verse. Seven. There was. Then. Strife. There was. Strife. Between. The herdsmen of Lot. And. The herdsmen of Abraham. And.
[34:42] As a result. Abraham. Suggested. To them. Abraham. The old man. The wise man. That he was. He. He said to them. That the two of them. Should separate.
[34:53] Look. At verse. Ten. We have. Something there. That tells us. Something. About Lot. And. It says here. Now. The valley.
[35:04] Of Siddam. Was full of bitumen. And. As the kings. That's. That's in verse. Four. Sorry. In verse. In verse. Thirteen. In verse ten. Chapter thirteen. It says here.
[35:15] That. Lot. Lifted up. His. Eyes. And. Saw. That the Jordan. Valley. Was. Well. Watered. Everywhere. Like the garden.
[35:27] Of the Lord. Like the land. Of Egypt. In the direction. Of Zohar. Lot. Lifted up. His eyes. His decision.
[35:38] Was. Made. By what. He saw. By sight. That's what he saw. He saw this wonderful land out. And he said to Abraham.
[35:50] I'm going to take that. I would like to take that land. No consulting. With the Lord. Do you see anything in there? That he went and he asked the Lord. For. For. For. What he should do.
[36:01] When he saw it. He was like. Remember the garden of Eden. Remember when. When Eve. She was there. She saw. In Genesis chapter. Chapter three.
[36:12] She saw that. The tree was good for food. Again. Sight. And that was a delight. To the eyes. She took. Of the fruit.
[36:23] Very similar. Remember. What lot saw. Oh friends. How deceitful. Sight can be. Many a good man.
[36:34] And a good woman. Have been deceived. By sight. Many times. You and I. Have been deceived. By sight. If we're honest. Little wonder.
[36:46] The savior said. When he was preaching. He said. If I. If I told. If I. Your hand. Gets in your way.
[36:58] You cut it off. If an eye. Offend thee. Cut it off. If an eye. He says. Take it out. What he meant was. Stop. Looking.
[37:09] Stop. Whatever you're doing. Stop. Looking. Friends. You and I know. That by sight. We just need to look. To open the television.
[37:21] We just need to press. The button. Of our iPad. Or our screen. Or our iPhone. And we've got something there. That we shouldn't be looking at. Isn't that correct? Very very often.
[37:33] Oh friends. How often. The screen. Whether it is in a screen. Or an iPad. Or a phone. Or the TV. Any of these.
[37:45] Can distract us. They are. I believe. They are. The devil's. Distraction. For any. Of us here. And that's all of us. Male or female. Boys or girls.
[37:56] We are distracted often. It's by sight. Friends. The times. We walk. By sight. And not. By faith. We're.
[38:07] In danger. Of walking. Away. From God. We are. Walking. By sight. That's what he did. Lot. Lived by sight. But Lot. Lived by another. He lived.
[38:18] For self. Look again. Chapter 13. Again. Chapter 13. At verse 11. Look what he did.
[38:29] Lot. Chose. For. Himself. That's what he chose. That's what it says. Bible is as explicit there. As it can be.
[38:41] Now. Friends. Wouldn't you think. That when Abraham said to him. We have to split up. Wouldn't you think. That he would have gone. To Abraham.
[38:53] And said to Abraham. You choose. Abraham was. Abraham took him out of the Chaldees. His father did. Terah took him out of the earth. And Abraham took. When Terah died.
[39:04] Of course. Lot came with him. And. And Lot was his nephew. So there was a different age. So he didn't even think of saying to Abraham. But no. He said. I'll choose.
[39:15] He chose first. That's what he did. He chose. As been the younger. He says there. And there. What was it.
[39:25] So he chose. He. He makes the choice. Not only. On the reach. On the basis of sight. But on the basis of self. He saw.
[39:36] What did he see. He saw that it was well watered. Look at it. His flocks. It was like the garden of the Lord. He saw that. His flocks. Would grow. His estate.
[39:46] Would flourish. And friends. When we look at it. Like that. He was looking at it. From a selfish point of view. What I will get to do it. How often.
[39:58] Is that the case. With you. And with me. Me. What is in it. For me. What is mine. Look at these words.
[40:09] Mine. My wants. My needs. My life. My way. That's all. That we have. Of ourselves. If we're honest.
[40:21] We're looking at ourselves. And he was looking. At himself. What's in it. For me. Because. We live friends. In a self.
[40:32] Obsessed culture. I'll say that. Quite honestly. I. See. What. The children. Do at school. Nowadays. You know. The big thing.
[40:43] In school. Nowadays. Is to raise. The self. Esteem. Of children. You raise. Their self. Esteem. And they'll progress. Well.
[40:54] That's the mantra. Today. Raise. Their self. Esteem. Self. Self. Self. I'm not saying. That we should. Put people down. And put people down. And put people down.
[41:04] Far from it. But we're raising them up. To think. That they are something. That they're not really. So. That is. That is.
[41:14] Our culture. Today. But then. There is of course. The opposite. Last week. I. I was speaking.
[41:26] To a friend of mine. And she had been telling me. That. There was a. A friend. A mutual friend. Who's got a new job. Over in Inverness. And.
[41:36] Was in the caring. Part. She was doing caring. Of some. And. She was left in charge. Of a young. Apprentice. Girl. And the. Apprentice girl. Was. Wasn't very.
[41:48] Sure. Of what she was to do. And this woman. Took her. Under her wing. As it were. She's a Christian. This woman. She took her. Under her wing. And.
[41:58] She taught her. And the supervisor. Somebody else. Was telling us this. The supervisor. Came up to this. Woman. And.
[42:09] He said to her. He said to her. He says. Are you a Christian? And she turned. And she says. Yes I am. Well. He said. I know. By the way.
[42:20] You treated. That young girl. That you were a Christian. Wonderful. Oh friends. Isn't it wonderful. I often think.
[42:30] I wish that I could. Show other people. That. I have that. Christ like. Feature. That that woman had. And she has. I know her very well. She's a godly woman.
[42:41] And it comes out. It came out to this man. Who didn't know her. From Adam as it were. But he could see. Oh friends. That's the way to live her life. Selfless. Selfless.
[42:52] Rather than. Selfish. And I think. Lot was exhibiting. Bible has it. Bible has these words. For our learning. He chose.
[43:04] For himself. He saw. What he wanted. And there it is. But thirdly. Lot lived. In Sodom. See the past again.
[43:18] Chapter 13. At verse 12. We have. There we have. Abram settled. In the land of Canaan. While. Lot settled.
[43:28] Among the cities. Of the valley. And moved. His tent. As far as Sodom. Moved his tent. As far as Sodom.
[43:44] He's in a tent. He's outside Sodom. Further forward. Now. Now.
[43:57] Before I go there. Notice that. Notice what. Moses is right. In Genesis. Notice. Notice in chapter 13. At verse 13. Look what he says.
[44:08] He puts. Moses puts this in. The Lord is. The spirit is putting this in. Now. He says. He moved his tent. As far as Sodom. Now. Now. The men of Sodom.
[44:20] Are wicked. Great sinners. Against the Lord. Now. The Holy Spirit. Has put that in. For a purpose. Where did Lot go?
[44:34] Went towards Sodom. Went towards this place. What is Ezekiel? If you check up on Ezekiel. You get a good description. Of what Sodom was. It says there. Behold. This was the guilt.
[44:45] Of your sister Sodom. She and her daughter. Had pride. Excess of food. Prosperous EAEs. And did not aid the poor.
[44:55] And needy. They were haughty. And did not. Did. Much abomination. Before me. So. I removed them. When I saw it.
[45:06] Here it is. There is a description. They on top. Of what they did. Pride. Excess of food. Prosperous EAEs. They did not bother. With the poor. They were haughty.
[45:17] In other words. They thought. They thought. Of themselves. As better than others. And their abomination. Friends. Don't ever.
[45:28] Any one of us. Think. What was the abomination. Of Sodom. It was sodomy. In a year or two.
[45:39] Time friends. We won't be able. To say this. Possibly. In a church. Man. With man. And woman. With woman. Is an abomination. To the Lord.
[45:50] Nothing short. Nothing else. But an abomination. And that's. What the Lord saw in it. And that's. I couldn't help. When I was reading. Chapter 19.
[46:01] Tonight. I couldn't help. And I hadn't really taken it in. That. How evil. The men of. And. The men of Sodom.
[46:12] Were. In trying to get a hold. Of the two angels. The two men that came to. The Lord. They there. It says there. That they tried. Their best. Even to break.
[46:23] The door down. And they were old. And young. Every single soul. Men that they could get. In Sodom. They came that night. To Lot's door. Old.
[46:34] And young. Sixty odd year olds. Seventy odd year olds. Fifteen year olds. That's what it says there. Old and young.
[46:46] And they tried. In their desperation. To break. The door down. To perform. Their filth. But.
[46:57] Let's be honest about it. And here we have it. That was the abomination. Of Sodom. And here is the place. Where Lot. Chose for himself.
[47:09] It was a conscious decision. And it was a decision. An action. That would have a consequence. Every decision. That you and I make. Has a consequence.
[47:21] Every action. Has a consequence. And this is what he did. Instead. He thought of gaining everything. For himself. He was going to lose.
[47:32] Everything. That he had. Oh friends. What about ourselves? What about ourselves? When we look at Lot? Is there anything there in Lot? That we think.
[47:44] Are we. In an ease. A world of ease. Are we going through. Are we going through. As if it were. Looking at. Ourselves. And having. Looking for. Prosperous ease.
[47:56] Is that what we're looking for? Well. If it is. We're in danger. We're in danger. But you know. In it all. And here I have to change.
[48:08] Here I have to. And I think. We've been. We've been. We've been. We've been. Condemnatory. And really. Criticizing. In Lot. Within it all. I don't believe. That Lot.
[48:19] Was comfortable. How do I say that? I don't believe. That he was comfortable. In his decisions. He had taken himself. And his wife.
[48:30] And he had moved them. He had moved them. Into the plane. He had moved them. Further in. When we've got him. In chapter 19. He's in a house. Not in a tent. Outside. Not only is he in a house.
[48:41] But he's on the gate. Is he in. Is he amongst. The leaders. Of the town. Don't know. Not quite sure of that. But yet. If we read. In Peter. Peter.
[48:52] Second Peter. Has. Sums it up. Very. Very well. And this I think. And this I think. Is. Puts. Another light. He was.
[49:03] In that condition. He had. Done. What he had done. But look at the words. It's in. Second Peter. Chapter 2. And. I'll just read it out here.
[49:14] He talks about. Peter is talking about. He's talking about the end of the world. And he's going back. And he's looking at. At. At what happened to Sodom. What.
[49:25] He turned. He brought a flood upon the world. Of the ungodly. That's Noah. And by turning the city of Sodom. And Gomorrah. To ashes. He condemned them. To extinction. Making them an example.
[49:37] Of what was going to happen. To the ungodly. Friends. This is. This is but an example. To what's going to happen. At the end of the day. God is going to come. And he's going to come.
[49:50] In vengeance. That's what the Lord. That's what the Bible says. And he says here. And it says here. Making them an example. Of what is going to happen to him.
[50:00] And if he rescued. Righteous Lord. Now look at this. Look what he says. Greatly distressed. By the sensual conduct.
[50:10] Of the wicked. It was. On. His conscience. He was. Greatly distressed. By the sensual conduct.
[50:20] Of the wicked. For as that. Righteous man. Lived among them. Day after day. What. What does it say? He was. Tormenting. His righteous soul.
[50:32] Over the lawless deeds. In other words. Lot. Was exercised. About what was going on. In Sodom. He was there.
[50:43] He had made a wrong choice. He had done it by sight. He had done it for self. But friends. There was something in Lot. In other words. I feel that he was groaning. And I feel that he was groaning.
[50:56] And he. And because of that. It says quite clearly there. That he was tormenting. His righteous soul. And that. Day by day. He wasn't happy.
[51:08] Friends. If we're honest. When we. Fall into sin. And when you spend a period of time. Of sin. And we do that.
[51:19] Whether we are the Lord's people. Or whether you're just not of the Lord's people. You know it. And I know it. You're not happy. As a matter of fact. The times we enter into sin.
[51:30] And I can say this from my own thing. I'm miserable. Absolutely miserable. Is that the way you feel? You. Something has happened.
[51:41] You've lost your temper. Or whatever has happened. Or else. Maybe you said something. That you shouldn't have said. And it comes back to you. How many times friend. Do you spend at three o'clock. Or four o'clock. In the morning. Seek of yourself.
[51:53] Just seek of yourself. As to what you are. What you are. That's friends. That's. I believe that the spirit was still working. In. In. In Sodom.
[52:04] And that's why. In the midst of the doll. Is. Those deliverance. Let's look at his deliverance. First of all. He was warned.
[52:17] Of the peril. That was coming. He was warned. Of the peril. In chapter 18. And you can read it first. It's a.
[52:28] Chapter. The whole. Chapter. From 13 onwards. To 19. Is a wonderful. Chapters to read. But. In chapter 18. The Lord had. Had warned. Abraham.
[52:40] What he was going to do. He warned him. That he was going to destroy. Sodom and Gomorrah. And there you have it. In verse 20 and 21. And the reason for it.
[52:51] Because. He says. The outcry. Of their sin. Is very. Grave. Grave. That's. Coming back. To what I said before.
[53:02] Their abomination. Was very. Grave. So he was going to overthrow. And then he sent. Then he sent.
[53:12] The two angels. Then after that. You've got that. Finished. You know. I often wonder. I often amazed at. When it comes to the last verse. There of.
[53:24] Abram's. Returning to his place. And then we have. The two angels. Coming into. Sodom. We have there. There. And then. In. Verse 13.
[53:35] Of chapter 19. We have. They explicitly. They say to Lot. We are about to destroy. This. Place. Because. The outcry. Against its people.
[53:46] Has become. Great. Before. The Lord. The Lord's patience. Friends. Had run out. You agree with that? And my.
[53:58] He is all patient. And the fact that you're here. And I'm here tonight. Displays that patience. Doesn't it? But yet.
[54:09] His patience. Had run out. With Sodom. Because. The iniquity. Of the Sodomites. Had reached its brim. No mercy.
[54:21] For them. Punishment. Had to be done. Justice. Had to be done. They were now. Past that stage. And justice. Was going to be meted out.
[54:32] Oh friends. How often. We feel ourselves. That that's the case. That. We've. Limited. God's patience. Do you ever feel yourself.
[54:44] That you think. That you've. Gone. So far. Into sin. That it is an amazing thing. That he hasn't said. Cut it down. Why.
[54:54] Cumbereth it the ground. And that is because. Of that amazing. Patience. And amazing. Grace. And mercy. That you're here tonight.
[55:05] You've spent. You've spent. So many years. In indifference. And ease. And you're here tonight. Wonder. Oh friends. The wonder of it all. That he's taken us here.
[55:17] On the 22nd. Of October. 2023. Others. Others. Are gone. And you and I. Are here.
[55:28] And it's because of his mercy. That he has done it. And that's it. We've been warned. Time and time. Of the peril. As. As. As lot was.
[55:40] And here he is. And he's. He's been. He's been. He's been warned of it. And look what he did. Look what he did. In. In.
[55:50] Verse 14. When he was told about it. In chapter 19. At verse 14. We have him there. Look what he does. So. Lot. Went out.
[56:01] And said to his sons in law. Who were to marry his daughters. Look at it. There's an exclamation. After my up. Is there a new verse. Up. Up.
[56:13] He's shouting it out. Up. Get out of this place. For the Lord is about to destroy the city. There's an urgency. In what he's saying to them. He believed every word.
[56:25] What the angel had said. And now he's going. To those that are close. Close to him. They've told him. Go and tell. Your. Your. Relators. Tell them. And tell them to. And he's. He's warning them.
[56:36] He says. He believed everything. He had. That's his reaction. But look at. Look at their reaction. Look at their reaction. How sad. He seemed to them.
[56:49] He seemed to them. Says. To his sons in law. To be jesting. To be in fun. Oh friends. They were.
[57:02] Unaethodized. That's all I can say. They were. Unaethodized. To their sin. They were stuck. To their sin. They were enjoying.
[57:14] Their sin. They didn't want out of it. And when somebody came to them. And said to them. Get up. Get out of this place. The Lord is coming. And friends. How often.
[57:24] That is the case. With ourselves. Oh. How often. These. The. The. Anesthetic. Of this world. Takes hold of us. And we're.
[57:36] The warnings. The warnings. That are going on. The peril. That is before us. Yesterday. I was at. A funeral. Saw some of you there.
[57:49] Sad. Sad. Some funeral. And back. I was at the back. And I was looking. I was. When. Coffin went out.
[58:01] It was. Wheeled out. I was thinking to myself. That. Boy. That young boy.
[58:13] He's in his eternal home. Where. Where. Where. God. Because he's only. In. One of two places.
[58:25] He's going to heaven. Because he's. A follower of Jesus. But he's going to. Hell. A lost eternity. If he's not. And when I.
[58:35] That body. Went past. This awful. Thought. Came through me. He is. Where he lived for. And I'm not saying. Where he's gone. Where he is.
[58:45] I'm not saying. I'm not saying. What God can do. With the eleventh hour. That's the same. With every soul. Every soul. That dies. They go. Immediately.
[58:57] The souls. Of believers. Are at their death. Do immediately. Pass into glory. The souls. Of. Of. Of. Of. Of. Unbelievers.
[59:09] Do immediately. Pass into hell. Friends. That's the fact. That's a fact.
[59:25] It's a fact. Together. The grave. Down there. Tolstair. Been opened many times. In the past. Weeks and months.
[59:37] Not everybody. Is going to have it. Not like we're taught today. Oh friends. This is the peril.
[59:49] That is before us. How much. We need. We need. To heed. The warning. That there is an eternity. Coming before us.
[60:01] John Piper says. I read this list. This afternoon. In his. Fixing on eternity. He says this. This. Is not home.
[60:13] And many of our problems. Stem. From the fact. That we are. Too comfortable. To remember it. Oh my friend.
[60:24] This is not our home. This is not our lasting home. This is not. There is. We're going to the place. Where. Eternity.
[60:34] Is never ending. It's not 70. 50. 40. 80. 100 years. Multiply that. Upon thousands.
[60:45] Upon thousands. And you've got eternity. Do you want to spend that. In hell. No. You won't. None of you would say. You would. Well. Friends.
[60:56] Now is the. The warning. Escape. He says. He says there. That's what. We're to do. Now. Thirdly. Lord.
[61:06] Lord had privileges. Time. As he is running on us. Lord had privileges. What were these privileges? Well. The Lord sent.
[61:18] Two angels. To Sodom. Now he sent. Two angels. To Sodom. And the reason. He sent. Two angels. And I'm just taking this.
[61:30] I believe. He sent. Two angels. To Sodom. To deliver. Lord. I don't believe. He. Sent. Two angels. To Sodom. To destroy it. Although they said that. He didn't need to.
[61:42] The angels. Weren't. In Sodom. When they was destroyed. They were outside it. They had taken. Lot outside. So he could. They could have destroyed. Sodom. From outside.
[61:53] But he put them in. So to. To. And the thought about it is. Look at.
[62:03] The first. The first. Verse. Of chapter 19. The two angels. Came to Sodom. Two.
[62:14] Sinless. Angels. Coming to a place. Like Sodom. Oh friends. What a marvelous.
[62:25] Thought that is. For. Lot. For a sinner. Like Lot. And his family. But friends.
[62:35] Is it any more. Wonderful. And I think it's more. Wonderful. When you think of this. Chapter. John. 316. God so loved. The world.
[62:46] That he gave. His only begotten son. He sent. His son. Into the world. That so. Whoever believes in him.
[62:58] Should not perish. But have. Eternal life. Oh friends. That's the most wonderful. Transaction. That ever. For unto you. Is born this day.
[63:10] In the city of David. A savior. Which is Christ. The Lord. Two angels. Coming to Sodom. Do not compare.
[63:22] In the least. To the son of God. Coming in. As a baby. To Bethlehem. And then. For that. Baby. To grow into a man.
[63:34] And to go to Calvary. And there. At Calvary. We read. That he. That he was taken there. There. They took him. They took him. And he went.
[63:45] Out. Bearing his cross. John chapter 19. He went out. Bearing his cross. To the place. Called. The place of Askel. Which is called Golgotha. There.
[63:56] They crucified him. Oh friends. That was the. Why did he come? He come. He came. To save. Sinners. Such as you and I are.
[64:06] I was. Going through this yesterday. And I had. Sometimes I have hymns. In the background. As I'm trying to study. And this hymn came out. I sat down there. Wondering. Wondering.
[64:17] How could I. How could I. I say something. On this. This wonder. Then this hymn came out. And it's called. I stand amazed. In the presence of God.
[64:28] And it says here. I stand amazed. In the presence. Of Jesus. The Nazarene. And wonder. How. He could love me. A sinner.
[64:40] Condemned. Unclean. How marvelous. How wonderful. And my song. Shall ever be. How marvelous.
[64:50] How wonderful. Is my saviour's. Love. For me. Oh friends. That's. The privilege. That Lot had. The other privilege.
[65:01] He had. Was. He was nephew. To Abraham. The friend of God. And this. He had this privilege. That Abraham.
[65:12] Prayed. For him. I'm going to ask you. Tonight friends. You know. I know some of you. And you're recipients. Of prayers. Of. A mother. A father.
[65:25] A grandfather. A grandmother. Some of us are. Many a time. A grandmother. Or a granny. Or a grandfather. A father. Or a mother.
[65:35] Spent their knees. Praying for you friend. I know some of you. I know you know yourselves. Could be an auntie. An uncle. They prayed night.
[65:46] After night. They would take you. To a throne of grace. That's what Abraham did. Remember. He started at 50. He then went down. To 40. Then he went down. To 30.
[65:57] Then he went down. To 20. And then he went down. To 10. He pled. He pled. He pled. He prayed. Friends. What about yourself?
[66:09] What about yourself? Have you pled. With the Lord? Oh friends. Plead. There's a difference. Between praying. And pleading. I'll tell you.
[66:20] What pleading is. It's like Jacob. I'm not going to let you go. Until you bless me. And held him on to. Oh friends. Don't just offer a little prayer. Just a little prayer. We're so.
[66:31] So. Sometimes. We're sick of ourselves. With a prayer. Shouldn't we also? Oh my. We're just. So sick of ourselves. We wonder. At times. If we're praying at all.
[66:42] But plead. Oh. Go to the throne of grace. And plead. Plead for yourself. But plead for your family. Pray for these children. Don't give up on them.
[66:53] Plead. That is what he did. He had this. And he pled. Time is going on. I'm just going to finish. Well. These were the privileges. These were. The privileges he had.
[67:05] And then he was given. There was a plea. He was given a plea. The plea was this. He lingered. We have that. But he lingered.
[67:21] And yet in his lingering. Look what the men did. They not only pled with him. Take your wife. And your own daughter. Who are you. Lest you be swept up to the punishment. That's what they said.
[67:31] In verse. In verse 15. But then. They took him by the hand. They took him by the hand. It's remarkable. There was two.
[67:42] Two. Two angels. And there was four of them. Can you picture it? One angel.
[67:55] With two. One on each hand. That's the picture I've got. Of them coming out of. Out of Sodom. They're coming together. And an angel. Has got the two daughters.
[68:06] And the other angel. Has got Lot. And his wife. On the other. And they're taking them. Out of Sodom. Oh. What a wonderful picture.
[68:17] Of the grace of God. Because I believe today. With all my heart. That when you come to church. And when you've got that desire. To come to church. Friend. The Lord has taken you.
[68:27] By the hand. The Lord took you. By the hand. Tonight. Took you. By the hand. Maybe there was something. In the water. I'll wait behind.
[68:38] No. And it's lingering. Maybe a new lingering. He's taking you. By the hand. And he's going. He's. He's taking you. And then. Look at him again.
[68:49] He's then. I'm sorry. I'm going over the time. I should have said that. I was going to do one. Thing on this. And maybe come back. And do a second one. But anyway. We're here. We are where we are. Look at.
[69:00] Look. Look at. Look at. When he's. He's taken. When the angel. Has taken them all out. He says to them. He takes them out of the city.
[69:12] And then. They put them down. As if it were. It's just outside the city. And they tell them. Look at verse. At the end of verse 17. Do not look. Escape for your life. Do not look.
[69:22] Back. Or stop. Anywhere in the valley. Escape to the mountains. Lest you be swept away. And then Lot. Look at him. Oh my. You know. How easy it is for her. To criticize. Lot.
[69:32] Lot pleads with him. Or he says to. I can't go to the mountain. I'm too old. Make an excuse for himself. The one that took him out.
[69:43] Sodom would take him up the mountain. But he says. There's a little village here. Let me go to it. And they agreed to it. They agreed to what he requested. But look. At what they say.
[69:55] To him. They say in verse 22. Escape. There quickly. So. What Matthew Henry says here. Is. There is gracious vehemence.
[70:08] In this. In other words. What they're saying to him here is. Get a move on. And get out of there quickly. Escape. Quickly. Get out quickly.
[70:20] Calvin says there. After the angel. Has granted him his wish. Respecting the place. He again. Reproves. His indolence. By exhorting him.
[70:31] To make haste. So here. Instead of the escape. There is the escape. With haste. They had to do it. And there he is. He enters. Zohar. And finally. We have.
[70:43] The destruction. Of Sodom. Lot. Had arrived in Zohar. Gil. Writing on this. It was a morning. Of light.
[70:53] Look at. It says. There the sun. Had risen on the earth. When Lot came to Zohar. Then the Lord reigned on Sodom. Verse 23. And Gomorrah. And he overthrew. These cities.
[71:05] Gil says. It was a morning of light. And joy to Lot. Who was so wonderfully delivered. But a dreadful. One. To the men of Sodom.
[71:16] And the rest. Of the cities. Of the plain. It was a. Wonderful. Day. For Lot. But it was a dreadful. Day.
[71:26] For. The citizens. Of Sodom. Not one of them. Escaped. Not even. Lot's wife. Who have that. And that's another story. Lot's wife.
[71:37] Looks back. Why does she look back? Because. Sodom. Is still in her. She's looking back. And she's deciding. To go back.
[71:47] To Sodom. She loved. The life of Sodom. And she looked back. Wondering. Looking back. But you know why? Because the morning. Had dawned.
[71:59] Nothing. Had happened. And she looked back. And she. Looked back. And with wonder. And she's thinking about. What her loss was. And then. All of a sudden.
[72:12] It comes. Suddenly. In a moment. Suddenly. Suddenly. Soon be cut down. Are they? That's what the. That's what the psalmist says. And friends.
[72:23] That was a suddenness. In Sodom. Because everything. Looks so bright. And here we have it. But. But she. Looked back. And she was lost.
[72:36] Pilgrim's progress. At the end of the book. Christian. And hopeful. Have gone into. The celestial city. And Bunyan.
[72:47] As the writer. Tells about ignorance. I was reading that. This afternoon. It's amazing. He had got over the river. Because.
[73:00] Of a. Ferryman. Called. Vain Hope. And when he had got over the river. He was asked to produce. A certificate. And he couldn't have. But he had got it. And then.
[73:10] We have. The king. Commanded. The two shining ones. To go out. And bind. Ignorance. Hand and food. And take him out. And then. There is these words. Then I saw. That there was a way.
[73:21] To hell. Even from the very gates. Of heaven. As well. As from the city. Of destruction. That. Slot's wife. Oh. Friends.
[73:33] Friends. Friends. You're close here. To the celestial city. I know. You are. Don't ever let it be said of you. You're like Rod's wife.
[73:45] Friends. You've been warned. Of the peril. You've been. Had privileges. All your lives. And you've listened to the plea.
[73:58] Escape. Escape to the mountain. What's going to be your answer. Tonight. Today. Today. If you will hear his voice.
[74:09] Harden. Not your hearts. There's too many examples. Of that. Down in the cemetery. Hardening hearts. And now. As to their souls.
[74:21] Where are they? Let us pray. O Lord. O God. We come. Thanking thee. That thou art a God. That is infinite. And mercy. Judgment.
[74:32] Is thy strange works. But judgment. Is still thy works. O blessed one. Impress it upon all our minds. To follow. To come to thee.
[74:42] This evening. With all our needs. As sinners. To thy footstool. Pleading. For forgiveness. I have sinned. Against heaven. And in thy sight.
[74:54] Make me. He said. To be one of thy hired servants. O blessed one. If there be any here. Who are not yet closed in with thee. We pray this night. That they would do so.
[75:06] Lord. Be with those who have closed in. Those of us who have been many years on the road. Keep us. We pray. Lead us. And guide us. We ask it for Jesus sake.
[75:16] Amen. We will sing in conclusion. In verse. In Psalm. Sing Psalms 34. Sing Psalms 34.
[75:28] Page 40. Sing Psalms 34. Page 40. Verse 7. The angel of the Lord surrounds and guards continually.
[75:39] All those who fear and honor him. He sets his people free. Come. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Who trusts in him is blessed.
[75:51] Oh fear the Lord you sense with need. You will not be oppressed. We'll sing these two verses in conclusion. Amen. Him. Thank you. We will pray.
[76:03] CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS
[77:04] CHOIR SINGS O Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing and be with us all, we pray thee, not only tonight but throughout the week.
[77:25] And lead us and guide us by thy Spirit and forgive all our sins. For Jesus' sake, amen. Amen.