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[0:00] Seeking the Lord's blessing, we'll turn to the first part of scripture we read, the book of Genesis, and chapter 19.

[0:30] And we'll read at verse 15. Genesis, chapter 19, at verse 15.

[0:41] And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

[0:53] While he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him. And they brought him forth and set him without the city.

[1:06] And it came to pass, when they had brought him forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stayed thou in all the plain.

[1:17] Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. Especially the words in the middle part of verse 16, where it says that the Lord was merciful unto him.

[1:30] The men laid hold upon his hand, the Lord being merciful unto him. Last Sabbath, we saw the destruction of the cities of the plain, chiefly the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

[1:51] Now, Abraham had prayed for Sodom. And he had prayed earnestly for Sodom. And God had told him that if there were but ten righteous men in Sodom, God would spare the city.

[2:06] However, the following morning, when Abraham went out to look at the very spot where he had prayed, he saw two things having taken place. First of all, he saw that the cities had been destroyed by the righteous judgment of God.

[2:24] And he also saw something else which was as remarkable and as wonderful to him. And that was that Lot had been delivered by God's mercy from the midst of the burning judgment.

[2:37] And that was a great lesson for Abraham to learn. It was one which he saw and was impressed deeply on his soul, as it should be on yours and mine, that God will judge the wicked and that God will deliver the righteous.

[2:52] And that is God's work and God's prerogative. And he shall do so. He shall judge the wicked and he shall deliver the righteous. And the apostle Peter tells us in 2 Peter 2 and verse 9, he tells us this, that the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations or trials.

[3:15] And he also knows how to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. Now that belongs to God. Righteousness belongs to him. He clears the guiltless and he condemns the guilty.

[3:29] And in this very chapter of 2 Peter 2, Sodom and Gomorrah is taken as an example. Peter says that God turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes and delivered just Lot.

[3:46] Because the Lord knows how to deliver the godly and how to reserve the unjust for judgment. So it's a great principle or two great principles.

[3:57] And we need to lay them closely to heart. Now we saw how Sodom was destroyed and we saw why it was destroyed. Not just because of Sodomy.

[4:08] That was the end of its course of sin. But it arrived at that situation because of the way that the city conducted itself or the inhabitants conducted themselves. We're told in the Bible that the sin of Sodom was fullness of bread, an abundance of idleness, pride, and then it became Sodomy.

[4:29] And we saw how these patterns have worked themselves out in history in many different cities and in many different civilizations. And we see how the pattern is working itself out in our own midst too.

[4:42] And tonight I want to look with you at another remarkable thing. And that is the deliverance of Lot from Sodom. I don't know if there is anything as remarkable as the way in which God deals with this man who is a resident in Sodom.

[4:56] Surprisingly so. But the way in which God enters and takes this man out and delivers him. So we'll look at the deliverance of Lot.

[5:08] First, who was Lot? Lot was a nephew of Abraham. And when Abraham heard God's call in Ur of the Chaldees.

[5:18] When Abraham was still himself an idolater. When Abraham heard that call and when he left Ur, having preached, we believe, the gospel to them. When he left Ur, Lot was moved to go with Abraham.

[5:33] And if you'll pardon the expression, Lot cast in his lot with Abraham. And he followed him. And he followed him to Haran. And he followed him south to Canaan. And even when Abraham went down to Egypt, he followed him down to Egypt.

[5:48] And he followed Abraham back into Canaan. And then at a certain point, they parted ways. And Lot went down to Sodom. And Abraham remained in the land, in another part of the land of Canaan.

[6:03] Now there's no doubt that Lot was a man of God. And if there is any doubt upon that matter in the Old Testament, that doubt is dispelled in the New. The word of God is crystal clear on the matter that Lot was a man of God.

[6:17] And he was a holy man of God. He was that too. Now having said that, there is no doubt that Lot made a great error in his personal life of going into sin.

[6:30] Or going into the company of sin. And that had an effect upon his own life. And when he required deliverance, God delivered him like a man asleep.

[6:43] Like a man almost drunk. Or a man who had lost his way. But nonetheless, God delivered him. And God had mercy upon him. And that reminds us that not all the Lord's people, that all the Lord's people are not perfect.

[6:58] And all of them at one point or another in their lives will decline. Their graces will become low. And they will wax cold. And it is only because the Lord being merciful to them, that they are stirred out of that sloth.

[7:13] And that they are brought out of it. Not due to themselves, but due to the Lord. Now we have to be careful. When I say that Lot was backslidden, it may not be wrong to say that he was still ahead of most of us in here tonight.

[7:30] There were things in his life that marked him out as still a godly man. And we must do justice to it. For example, in 2 Peter 2, we are told three times that Lot was a righteous man.

[7:44] As though Peter wishes to emphasize that to us, that he was in himself righteous. He was clothed with a good righteousness. He had clothed in with God.

[7:55] And he had received that righteousness of God by faith. He had that. And he was a righteous man. Deep down, he was a good man. And we are also told in verse 9 that he was godly.

[8:06] Because the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations. And he has just been speaking about Lot. And that emphasizes to us that even in the slothful condition that he had got into, he was nonetheless a godly man.

[8:21] For example, in verse 19 of Genesis, in chapter 19, verse 1, you'll notice that when the two angels came to Sodom, that Lot was sitting in the gate.

[8:33] And when Lot saw them, he rose up to meet them. And he bowed himself with his face towards the ground. Now, I have no doubt that he was there simply because of his duty as a man of God.

[8:47] He was there to protect anyone passing through that city because he knew of the evils of the open square. He knew the abuse and the iniquity that was going inside the city.

[8:57] And Lot stayed at the gates to catch any passerby lest something come upon them. And he was ready to show hospitality to any of the Lord's people who were passing by.

[9:10] Was that not something he learned of Abraham? When Abraham in the previous chapter met the three angels, he was sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the day, ready to entertain strangers.

[9:22] And he entertained angels unawares. Well, so is Lot. He is ready to do good at the gate. And lo and behold, the angels of God come to meet him.

[9:34] Isn't it good to be in a good place, to do a good thing, and to meet there the people of God? Well, God met him. And the angels of God met him.

[9:47] And then again, there is this, whatever happened to Lot? He was a preacher of righteousness. He was a preacher of righteousness. Because we're told in verse 14 that Lot went out that night, that fearful night, the night of doom.

[10:03] Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and said, Get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked to his sons-in-law.

[10:15] In other words, he appears to have felt about it strongly enough to look like someone who mocked. Someone who was beside himself. Someone who lost himself. He is saying that the city is going to be destroyed.

[10:27] That it is imminent. That the judgment of God is to fall. And he seemed to them like one who mocked. And so he was a preacher of righteousness. He was that.

[10:37] And two, and three, we're told that his soul was vexed and tormented in Sodom. Now this is an interesting thing. And we have to do justice to the word of God, as it says it.

[10:52] We're told, as Peter tells us, that that righteous man vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.

[11:05] And we're told that he was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. And that word vexed means to be torn in pieces.

[11:17] That man, Lot, whoever he was in Sodom, we'll come to that in a moment. Whoever he was in Sodom, he was not happy with Sodom. He was obviously content enough to stay in Sodom.

[11:30] But he was not happy with Sodom. In fact, Sodom vexed his righteous soul from day to day. He was torn in pieces by the conduct, by the speech, and the behavior of the men and women in that city.

[11:46] From day to day, we're told. Not just periodically, but from day to day. You know yourselves how easy it is to become familiar with a thing. To become familiar even with an evil.

[11:57] To become familiar even with the evil of sodomy. After all, when these things are presented so harmlessly and so effectively on television and through other media of that kind, your attitude subtly begins to change.

[12:15] And things that horrified you before, don't horrify you anymore. Things that you considered awful and obnoxious, know while you accept them. Maybe you don't consider it quite right, but nonetheless, it is normal or nearly normal.

[12:32] And you will leave it at that. And sometimes you are roused by God to discover yourself that you are not as vexed as you ought to be with the sin that is around you.

[12:44] And here, Lot is vexed from day to day with the sinful conduct of Sodom. And those people who say that Lot was just nearly a write-off would do well to consider whether we ourselves are as vexed with sin as Lot was, even in his condition.

[13:06] There's no doubt that Lot has gone wrong, but he was still vexed with wickedness. Is that not a barometer, a useful one, for yourself and myself as to where you stand before the Lord?

[13:19] Is the sin around you, and even the sin within you, is it as vexing to you as it was here to Lot? He was a man of God.

[13:31] But still, there is something wrong. Something has gone wrong. We know that because he is in Sodom, and because of many other things that the scripture says here.

[13:44] The first question is this, where did Lot go wrong first? Or how did he begin to go wrong? Well, the answer to that lies in this. Sometime before this, many years, when Abraham and Lot were in the land of Canaan, a famine came into the land.

[14:03] And when that famine came into the land, Abraham took a wrong step. You know what that is? Every child of God does. He took a wrong step, and he went down into Egypt.

[14:18] Into the prosperous land of Egypt. And we know what befell him there with his wife. How he was nearly in grave difficulty.

[14:30] He was in grave difficulty, and the life of his wife was jeopardized by what he did there. But nonetheless, God turned that to good account. And Pharaoh himself showered blessings upon Abraham eventually, and he showered blessings upon Lot.

[14:46] And we're told in chapter 13 of this book, that when they left Egypt, they were both very, very rich men. Abraham went up out of Egypt with Lot.

[15:00] And Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And we're just told before that he had received many of these things. And we're told also, Genesis 13, 5, that Lot also, which went with Abraham, had flocks and herds and tents.

[15:17] So much so that the land was not able to bear them. Now, the Canaanites and the Perizzites were still in the land of Canaan. So the amount of land that they had between them was not all that great.

[15:30] And their wealth had increased so much that there was a kind of rivalry developing between the herdsmen. The herdsmen of Lot and the herdsmen of Abraham were falling out with each other over cattle and over land and over territory.

[15:43] And here is Abraham, a man of God. He says to Lot, his nephew, let there, he says, be no strife, I pray you, between me and thee, for we are brethren.

[15:56] And these lovely words, let there be no strife between me and thee, for we be brethren. Is not, he says, the whole land in front of you. Separate yourself and take the left hand.

[16:08] And if you do, I'll go to the right. And if you go to the right hand, I will go to the left. So Abraham gave to Lot the choice of the land in every direction.

[16:21] And most of you will know the choice that Lot made. We're told that Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord.

[16:37] And Lot chose the plain of Jordan. And he pitched his tent towards Sodom. And then the word of God comes in like this.

[16:48] But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before God exceedingly. Wicked and sinners before God exceedingly.

[17:00] Now notice how Lot is operating. He lifted up his eyes and he looks. And what does he see? He sees the land. And it reminds him of Egypt where he was.

[17:14] It reminds him of Egypt where he became wealthy. And Lot chose that land. It looked like good pasture land, which it was. It looked like Eden to him. It looked like Egypt where he had become a wealthy man.

[17:27] And he chose it. And he chose it. This is the point. In spite of the moral state of that city. And when the book says that the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly before the Lord, that is meant proverbially that that was well known.

[17:46] And the word of God makes it plain that that was well known. It is not as though Lot went to this place and suddenly discovered what it was like. But he knew what it was like. Its name had gone before him.

[17:56] It was well known in Canaan for what it was. Well known for what it was. And he still chose that place. And that is where he pitched his tent.

[18:07] What is his mistake? What is his mistake? Well, he made a choice in life according to the material considerations.

[18:17] Not according to the spiritual consideration at all. But according to the material consideration. He looked for a time, a treasure on the earth rather than a treasure in heaven.

[18:33] And when he did that, Lot put himself into difficulty. Now, my friends, I wonder how many are prone to do that very thing.

[18:47] You're looking for a job. You're looking for a place to go. You're looking for a place to live. Is it where you're going to be? Is it the good of your soul?

[18:58] Or is it the good of your body? What are your considerations? And what are mine? You know, I have sometimes been absolutely amazed at where people have chosen unnecessarily to cast their lot in this life.

[19:14] I'm amazed because I have known that no possible spiritual good could flow from it. Lot made that choice, as many people do.

[19:26] And it's no use to say that Lot went there as a missionary. I'm afraid, my friend, he did not. Had Lot gone there as a missionary, that would have been told us. But what we are told is that he lifted up his eyes and saw the well-watered plain and it looked to him like Eden and like Egypt.

[19:44] That was the basis upon which Lot made his choice. And as often happens, God gave him the desire of his heart, but he sent leanness to his soul.

[19:59] He had to be vexed day and night with the conduct of the wicked around him. Now, I want to look with you just at the way that you see this declension.

[20:12] It's very interesting. This is the way sin works. This is the way sinful company works. And it works this way for you who are believers and you who are still unbelievers. The path of sin, in many ways, is just the same.

[20:25] It's a path that's drawing you and sucking you down relentlessly, remorselessly. It's drawing you down. Here it is with Lot. Lot.

[20:36] It's the way that Lot pitched his tent towards Sodom. That's the first thing.

[20:47] He pitched a tent towards Sodom. He's gone near it. He's near it more or less as he possibly can. He pitches a tent.

[20:58] No, you know that a tent is a temporary structure. He pitched a temporary tent outside of Sodom. But then in chapter 14 and verse 12, there's a difference there.

[21:12] We're told in chapter 14, verse 12, that they took Lot. Lot. I'll come back to this incident later, but just focus on certain words just now.

[21:23] They took Lot, Abraham's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom and his goods and departed. Isn't that interesting? Didn't dwell near it.

[21:35] Didn't dwell towards it. But he is now dwelling in it. Is he in a tent? No, he's not in a tent. Because we find in chapter 19 that Lot has either bought or built a house.

[21:50] And he has bought or built that house inside Sodom. That is where he has bought it or that is where he has built it. In chapter 19 and verse 3, we're told that when the angels came, Lot pressed upon them greatly.

[22:06] And they turned into him and entered into his house. And he made them a feast. Entered into his house. Lot. Lot.

[22:18] You saw and you're vexed and you've built a house. A permanent structure for yourself in the midst of the wickedness of that kind of sin.

[22:31] Although his soul is vexed within him. Now, for many people, for us all in a way, I suppose you would say, it's very hard to understand how he can put his house where he is vexed.

[22:44] But, my friends, in some respects, don't we all? Is it not possible for you sometimes, because of the good you're getting out of a certain situation, to stay in it, even though it's dragging your soul down?

[22:58] Is it not possible that because of the amount of money that's involved, or because of the house, or because of the facilities, or because of the shops, or because of one thing after another, you stay in situations that are killing your soul?

[23:16] And you can do that as believers. And unbelievers do it too. Constantly, you look for treasure upon the earth. And you know it kills your soul sometimes, where you are, and what you do, and the company you're with.

[23:32] And sometimes you would cut it off. You would wish, well, perhaps I didn't go down to that place, and wish I didn't drink all night in that place, or party in that place, or whatever. But you do it, and you've got into it, and you're sucked into it, to the point where you're now established in it, steadfast in it.

[23:50] And it's as though nothing can cut you off. You've come into it, and you've dwelt there. Well, even Lot did that here. Lot did it in Sodom, and he did it as a man of God.

[24:02] Notice, he never went the way of Sodom. Never once did he become like them in that respect. No, not at all. But still, he was vexing his soul.

[24:13] And we'll see in a moment what effect that had on his life. Here's one effect. In verse 15 of chapter 19, when the angels told him to get out, we're told that the angels had to hasten Lot.

[24:29] Isn't that interesting? You'd think a man who knew that the world was in fire would get out of it as fast as he could. But the angels had to hasten Lot and say, arise to him.

[24:42] And we're told in verse 16, remarkably, that while he lingered, the men laid hold of his hand, the Lord being merciful to him. It's as though a sleep had come upon Lot.

[24:55] There was something holding him down and something holding him back. He didn't linger because he was just naturally slow. It's not just a martyr that Lot was just taking his time, but he lingered because his heart was somehow or other wedded to that place.

[25:10] There was something he was getting out of it that made it very difficult for him to leave it. And the Lord being merciful, he laid his hands upon him. Oh, my friends, have you known such a thing? Times maybe when some kind of sin has ensnared you.

[25:24] And you've fallen asleep around its perimeter. Maybe you've even been sucked into it. And in that condition of sleep, you've come to see that only the Lord aroused you out of it.

[25:36] Only God took you, shook you, and brought you to your senses. That is what happened here to Lot. Notice how weak his faith is in verse 18.

[25:48] God told him, he says, don't stay in the plain, don't look behind you, get to the mountain, lest you die. And Lot says, not so, my Lord. Verse 18.

[25:59] Thy servant hath found grace in thy sight. I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me and I die. When a person has slipped away a bit from God, there is this constant fear of providence.

[26:16] This constant fear. And it's a terrible thing. And it's that doubting in God's care over us. Doubting in God's power and doubting in God's word.

[26:27] God says, go to the mountain and you shall be safe. And Lot says, not so, my Lord. For if I go to the mountain, evil would take me and I die. And look again at God's mercy.

[26:40] This is what comes through all the time. God says, I have accepted you concerning this request too. I will not overthrow this city for which thou hast spoken.

[26:51] So his faith is weak. And then I don't want to go into this in detail simply because of the awfulness of it. At the end of the chapter, I didn't read it.

[27:01] Most of you will be aware of the awful incident that took place between Lot and his daughters. The awful incident that took place there. Let's remember that the scriptures tell us that Lot was not aware of it.

[27:17] He was not aware of it. I don't wish to elaborate on it. But he was not aware of it. But it was his drunkenness that put him into it. It was his drunkenness that put him into it.

[27:31] And again, is that not a remarkable thing? A remarkable thing. These things are hard to understand. But they're in God's word.

[27:42] It's very hard for me to give a thorough explanation of it. Because I don't possess it. But it's there. And that is it.

[27:52] He was delivered. And after that, maybe in the nervous exhaustion of the whole thing, he allowed himself to be overcome with drink. And in that condition, an evil took place.

[28:04] And all these things tell us that while Lot was in Sodom, he was breathing its air. And you can't breathe the air of these things too much without them getting to you.

[28:18] And I'll tell you, friends, where that is very relevant for ourselves, I would not at all say that our town is like Sodom. But inside your television set is.

[28:30] Inside your television set is. It is. It is like it. It is it. And if you breathe the air of that, and what is provided on the satellites and on the cables, and even on the terrestrial channels many times, you breathe that air, and you will be affected by that air, one way or another.

[28:54] Lot was in it like a man in the rain. He was in the midst of the thing, but he was vexed by it. But how many people soak in bad philosophies, a bad approach to the gospel, a bad approach to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

[29:09] How many people have accustomed, become accustomed to their ears hearing blasphemies, and cease to think it's evil. How many are accustomed to gradually scenes of adultery, and all kinds of unorality on the screens, and it's breathing the air of Sodom.

[29:27] Look what happened to this man. Let it be a warning. For years his life was low, and even when God saved him, this awful thing came into his life, before finally he was restored by the mercy of God, the Lord being merciful to him.

[29:45] And if you've begun to think, and this is important, if you've begun to be out of sympathy with God's point of view, I don't want to speak of God, I mean with God's knowledge, if you are out of sympathy with God's knowledge, and God's judgment, then get the world out of your heart, and me with you.

[30:09] Because the effect of the world is to make us opposed to what God says. And when you find yourself reading passages of the word and being opposed to it, watch that something is not taking your heart aside.

[30:24] Let your heart be chaste. Let it be God's. Let you be a chaste virgin presented before the Lord, who is your master and your Lord.

[30:35] And I think it's worth mentioning this too. Very worthwhile. Sometimes you can do a thing, and you can go astray in your life.

[30:51] You can walk into a sin, and the worst effect is maybe upon your children, than upon yourself. Sometimes you can do a thing, and you can take it, maybe because of your background, and your upbringing.

[31:05] And you somehow think that all that is in your children. And it's not. And the effect of what you're doing or saying is worse in them than it is upon yourself.

[31:19] What I mean is this. Abraham was responsible for going to Egypt. It was his decision. Who came out of it in a bad way? Lot.

[31:30] Lot. It was Lot's decision to go to Sodom. Who came out of that worse? His daughters. His daughters.

[31:43] Lot survived it. I'm not so sure whether we could say that his daughter survived it. Look at what they did. Read it for yourselves. What is it but what they grew up with in Sodom?

[31:56] That's all. It wasn't what they had heard from their father. It was what they grew up with in Sodom. Lot just about handled it. The family did not.

[32:07] Let us remember that. Let us remember our children. And let us remember those close to us. And let us keep our life as far as we can, by the grace of God, away from sin.

[32:22] Because we never know what effect it might have. And what about his wife? Well, if you look at the chronology here, the sequence of events, I think it seems quite plain that Lot's wife was from Sodom.

[32:37] Because there is absolutely no mention of her wife. Every time it mentions Abraham and his wife, it only mentions Lot, the nephew. Even when it mentions servants and people like that, there is still no mention of anybody with Lot.

[32:51] He's on his own. What does that tell us? It tells us that he found his wife in Sodom. And there again, that tells us the dangers.

[33:02] Lot was drawn into a place of wickedness. And that was where he found his wife. Now I want us to notice this. That Lot's wife, at least, was sensible enough to run out of Sodom.

[33:15] But she still looked back. Why? Not only was she in Sodom, she was off it. Lot was in Sodom, but thanks be to God, he was still not off it.

[33:30] But his wife was in it, and she was off it. And she turned round. Why? Because deep down, she did love it more than the religion of her husband.

[33:42] I'm quite sure that Lot's wife would have been no great help to Lot himself. And at the end of the day, the hypocrite and the backslider were separated by the judging hand of God.

[33:55] You know, friends, in this world, we can't often tell them apart. The backslider and the hypocrite. But the text says, the Lord knows how to deliver the righteous.

[34:08] And the Lord knows how to reserve the unjust. And the Lord knew. And this woman turned to look at Sodom. I'm telling you, friend, tonight, you are to get out of that place.

[34:20] You're to get out of your ways of sin and the sinful life which has ensnared you and which is keeping you captive. And when I say get out, I mean get out. I don't mean stop on the plane.

[34:33] I mean don't look back. I mean hurry up and make your way to the rock. Get out and don't stop until you can lay hold of Jesus Christ and him crucified.

[34:44] Until you can say, he is mine and I am his. So that you can say that you are severed from it. Escape, he says, for your life. Look not behind thee. Neither stay thou in all the plain.

[34:57] Escape to the mountain. Lest thou be consumed. It is like that. The world is going to go up in flames and in smoke and we are all going to stand before the judgment seat of God.

[35:09] We are to escape and not to stop on the plain and we are not to linger and we are not to look back. And if any of you tonight have begun to get out and you've begun to grope your way, I tell you, hurry up.

[35:23] Hurry up and cast in your lot with Christ and with his people. Make your calling and election sure. Strive first to get in the straight gate.

[35:35] Repent. Turn. Follow the way of Christ and follow the way of his people. Follow that way without delay. Don't stop in the plain. You're not out of danger.

[35:46] The ashes will come down. The brimstone will make its way there. Don't stop in the plain. Get to the rock. Get to Jesus Christ and him crucified. And then you will be saved.

[36:00] And Lot never looked back because he was a man of God. Look, friends, you've got to be decided out and out for Christ. Not one half for him and one half for another.

[36:13] But be out and out for the Lord Jesus Christ. And another interesting thing, too, about Lot here. As is true of every Christian, he was a man warned.

[36:25] Some years before this, Sodom was at war. I mentioned this, I think, last week, if not the week before. I mentioned that the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and the five cities of the plain united together in a coalition against their overlord from Mesopotamia.

[36:43] and they lost that war. And the king of Sodom and the men of Sodom were taken captive. We're told that Lot himself was taken captive and his goods.

[36:57] Notice the scriptures. And his goods were all taken captive. How was Lot delivered? By Abraham. He took with him three hundred servants, armed, and they went out after him.

[37:08] And they delivered Lot. He redeemed him. That is the work of our redeemer. His brother went down and redeemed him. That is our redeemer. You'd have thought Lot would have learned.

[37:20] He lost in the twinkling of an eye everything he had. Everything he had got in Egypt and everything he had in Sodom. He suddenly lost it. And you would have said, well, that's God shaking a man. That's God shaking you.

[37:32] You know, sometimes God shakes us like that. He comes into our life and it's pretty secure. And suddenly, we've just lost a lot. Everything, maybe, that we've gloried in.

[37:43] We've lost the lot or pretty near the lot. And we think, well, what is it all? For a moment, you say to yourself, what is it to me anyway? What are these goods and these possessions?

[37:56] What is it to me? There's my life and there's eternity. What does it mean to me? And if you were looking on at that person, you would say, well, surely that person is now going to come to Christ. And lo and behold, no, he doesn't.

[38:10] The same was true of Lot, even as a Christian. He was warned here that he was putting too much thought upon worldly things.

[38:20] He lost them. But he didn't take the warning. He was shaken, no doubt, but he didn't take the warning. And in connection with the same incident, there's something else.

[38:31] when the king of Sodom came back with all his goods and all his wealth, the king of Sodom went to see Abraham. And he offered Abraham a whole load of money and reward.

[38:45] And Abraham says, not so, he says. In case anyone says to me that the king of Sodom made me rich, no, he says, I will not take it. Was that not a witness to Lot?

[38:58] Surely it was. Surely Lot remembered a better day when he left Ur of the Chaldees. Surely Lot remembered a better day when he renounced his own country, when he renounced many things, and when he went out.

[39:12] And he saw Abraham still living like that. Didn't care about the world. He just didn't really care about the world. Yes, he used it. And God, as it happened, gave him a lot of it.

[39:25] But he didn't really care too much for it. And he could say to the king of Sodom, keep it. Keep it all. I don't want it. I don't live by it. And even then, Lot didn't learn from that.

[39:37] God gives us little warnings like that from time to time. And he's giving you that, maybe as a Christian tonight, who are for some reason like this. Or you as an unbeliever, going down, down, down.

[39:50] He's stopping you and he's arresting you. And is it not better to take heed before the Lord rains upon your head fire and brimstone out of heaven?

[40:03] And so he needs a joke. And I think these are the marvelous words in the whole chapter where it says in verse 22, you know, this is truly remarkable.

[40:15] And when we read these things, we see the grace of God. And that's what comes through, the grace of God. Verse 22, when Lot says, let me go to this small city in case I die in the mountains, God said to him, listen to this, verse 22, haste thee, he said, escape there, for I cannot do anything until thou become thither.

[40:42] Now isn't that remarkable? The omnipotent, the all-powerful God says, I can't do anything, he says, until you get out of this place.

[40:54] What does that tell us? It tells us God's commitment to save his own people. Whatever they are in, God is committed to save his own people and he will save them.

[41:05] The Lord knows how to deliver the godly and how to reserve the unjust. He knows how to do it and he will do it.

[41:17] And there's an interesting divine and human side here. You know, we often wonder about, well, what's my part in this and what's God's part?

[41:28] Have you ever noticed how the two things come together here? God says, in one part to Lot, if you don't get out of here, you'll be destroyed.

[41:39] And in the next breath he says to him, I can't destroy the city until you get out of it. You say, well, that is a mysterious thing. So it is. That is the mystery of what God is saying to you tonight.

[41:55] As far as the Christian goes, he won't die until he's saved. But if he's not saved, he'll die. And that's strange, but that's just the way it is.

[42:06] That is just the way it is. He won't die until he's saved. But if he's not saved, he'll die. And that's just what God is saying to him. And that's the way the gospel comes to you.

[42:16] And you're to stop wrestling with it. You must accept it just like this. True indeed, that if God has ordained you to be saved, you shall be saved. But let me tell you tonight that the word to you is just like this, that if you don't get out of Sodom, you will perish in it.

[42:33] And you've got to get up on your legs and run. That's what you have to do. And me with you. That is, friends, what we have to do. We have to get out.

[42:45] And he did it. Lot moved and out he went. And I pray that even one soul wouldn't it be good if there was two? Or the opposite of Abraham if he could go up ten, but about fifteen, or twenty, or thirty, or forty, or forty-five, would it not be good if souls like that escaped for once and for all out of Sodom and embraced the rock who was the Lord Jesus Christ.

[43:13] I'll just close with this that in the morning when Abraham went out, look at these two verses again. Chapter 19 at verse 27. Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.

[43:30] And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain and beheld and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. 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 dwelt.

[43:54] Now, God had just said to Abraham, tell your sons everything I tell you. Everything I give you, pass it down to the generation that is being born.

[44:06] And then, interestingly, God just stamps this lesson upon Abraham as though this is one thing you must tell them. Tell them that there is a hell to be shunned, Abraham, and tell them that there is a heaven to be gained.

[44:19] Tell your sons and your daughters and your children and tell everyone out there that there is great danger in the cities of Sodom. And except you escape from them, you shall be lost.

[44:30] Tell them, Abraham, of my judgment and tell them, Abraham, of my mercy. In other words, Abraham, tell them that the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation and how to reserve the unjust and to the day of judgment to be punished.

[44:46] Friend, come to Christ and you shall be saved. Let us pray. O Lord of hosts, thou art the Lord of glory, thou art great in might and thou art strong in battle and there is none like unto thee.

[45:05] And it is remarkable for us to consider that in thy greatness, in thy holiness and in thy spotless purity and majesty, thou art willing to come down and to save sinners and thou hast had compassion upon them.

[45:21] For thou didst not only pity them, but thou didst stretch out thine arm and thy right arm wrought salvation. We thank thee for the way in which thou art delivering even those who have fallen back.

[45:35] And we pray that thou would also deliver those who have never come forward. Grant that any here tonight ensnared in sin and in the bondage of Sodom would come to discover the liberty of the Lord Jesus Christ and the freedom and the glory of having an inheritance in heaven and of having a Lord who loves us and a Lord who cares for us, having a God who watches over us and a Savior who is committed to save us to the uttermost.

[46:04]  And part us now with thy blessing for Christ's sake. Amen.