[0:00] Come with me to the book of Genesis chapter 19 and verse 12. Genesis chapter 19 and verse 12. I want to bring a message to you tonight about losing the respect of your children.
[0:15] This is a horribly sad story. And it applies to everybody in the room because though you may not even be a parent, you have a testimony.
[0:26] And that testimony ought to be the best you possibly can keep. And you can be a dad or a granddad or a great granddad and you can't give up.
[0:37] You can't slack off. It's something that has to always be on your mind. So the story is about Abraham and Lot. And Abraham is like one of the most important men in the Old Testament.
[0:50] And Abraham is going to be called out of a land of idolatry and a land of worshiping idols. And he will be called to go. He will become the father of the Jewish nation, Israel.
[1:01] He will have his son Isaac and then Jacob and then the 12 tribes. And all this great stuff is going to happen. While he is there, he has a nephew named Lot. And Lot will know that God is doing a work in Abraham's life.
[1:14] And there's debate about whether or not Lot should have ever gone. Whether or not Lot should have ever been allowed to go with him. But regardless, we know from the Bible story he does go. And he goes with Abraham.
[1:25] And so God begins to bless Abraham. And those blessings begin to flow over on top of Abraham and Lot. So Lot is now enjoying what God's doing in both of their lives. And one day, things are going so good that Abraham and Lot decide that they need to separate.
[1:42] Because money is more important than ministry. And because money is so important, actually the man of God, the real man of God, in the story, is actually going to be the one that has the idea.
[1:54] And he's going to say, look, I can't keep making money if you hang around here. Get lost. My herds are too big and your herds are too big. And let's separate. And so Lot will then look and Abraham will allow him to choose.
[2:05] And he will choose the well-watered plains of Jordan. And he will begin pitching his tents towards the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. He will arrive in Sodom and Gomorrah. When he gets there, he will slowly become a person of great influence in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah.
[2:21] He will become probably the mayor or at least one of the aldermen or one of the city councilmen in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. And then one day God will speak to Abraham and say, I've had it up to here with Sodom and Gomorrah.
[2:37] And I'm about to destroy them. And since I love you so much, I could not and would not destroy them without talking to you first. That's pretty sweet. Now they've got a relationship with God, amen. And so God says to Abraham, I'm going to destroy the city.
[2:50] And Abraham real quick goes, ho, that's where my nephew lives. And he said, now wait a minute, God, if there were 50 good people in that city, you wouldn't destroy that city. And God said, okay, well, the first 50 good ones, I won't.
[3:03] So Abraham says, well, what about 40? And he says, well, the first 40, I won't destroy it either. He said, well, what about 30 then? I mean, if you just want to go to 40, surely you'll go to 30. He gets them all the way down to 10 and he stops.
[3:16] It's pretty easy to figure out why he stops. I mean, there's Lot and his wife and his two daughters that get out with him. And then there's a mention of son-in-laws. And if there's two of them or three of them and they all have wives, he could have easily had 10.
[3:28] He's been there long enough. He could have had some influence. He could have led somebody to Christ. He could have led somebody to do right. And Abraham calls off the bargaining with God and calls off the prayer requests.
[3:39] The angels show up in the city of Sodom because God, though he's going to destroy wickedness, will not destroy his own people. And God shows up, sends his angels, and they show up to speak to Lot.
[3:49] And when they get there to talk to Lot, they say to Lot, they say to Lot, hey, you need to get out of this city. And everybody you know, all your family members, all your buddies, everybody that's yours, you get them and we're going to get them out of Dodge and they don't have to die.
[4:06] And so Lot only goes to see his son-in-laws. And their son-in-laws, and if they are actually son-in-laws, and some of this might be a tad iffy, you'll have to figure that out. But he goes to see his son-in-laws, and he says, look, some angels came from God to talk to me and to tell me that they're going to destroy the city.
[4:24] And the son-in-laws started laughing at him in his face. So you say God talks to you, huh? What a joke. You got another joke?
[4:34] Pass me another beer while he tells us another joke. And they laugh him and mock him until he goes home. When it comes time to leave the city, he doesn't really want to leave the city.
[4:47] He has now lived in the world so long that he's so stuck on the world that he'd rather not leave. And the Bible's going to say he lingered, he hung around. And the angels actually grab his hands and grab his family's hands and basically drag them out of the city to save their lives.
[5:04] When they get outside the city, his wife, Lot's wife, turns around, looks back at the city, and turns into a pillar of salt. I look for messages that might help us because we are parents or we are at least people of influence.
[5:21] Everybody in this room, you influence somebody. People are watching you. People know. If you're a dad, you're really in trouble. They're watching you. If you're a mom, they're watching you.
[5:31] If you're a granddad, they're watching you. If you're a grandmom, they're watching you. If you're an aunt, somebody's watching you. If you are a Sunday school teacher, if you are family members to somebody, people are watching you and determining things about God because you and I are sitting in a church on a Thursday night saying, we love Jesus enough to be here when nobody else would be here but people like us.
[5:54] And so I want to talk to you about losing your children's respect. We're going to take it straight out of the Bible. Read with me if you would and keep your Bible open, please. We'll stay in Genesis. It's not going to be hard for you to keep up.
[6:05] Genesis chapter 19 and verse 12. And the men, that's the angels that came from God, said to Lot, Hast thou here any besides? You got anybody else in town? Son-in-law, sons, daughters, or whatsoever.
[6:19] Whoever. What you got? You got a club? The Rotary Club? They can come with you. Whoever you got in town, thou hast in thy city. Bring them out of this place. For we will destroy this place.
[6:30] Because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord. And the Lord has sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters.
[6:45] And said, up. Get you out of this place. For the Lord will destroy this city. You need to underline this phrase. Put a circle around it. Draw some errors to it.
[6:56] But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-laws. Father, I really love these people. And I ask you to help our people to grow and mature and take seriously what we're doing.
[7:11] Being dads and moms and aunts and uncles and grandparents. Being friends. Even having Facebook gives us influence. God, help us not lose their respect.
[7:24] In Jesus' precious name. Amen. In the story of Lot, Genesis chapter 12 and verse 4, Lot started out well. Lot started out well. Take your Bible and go with me, if you would, to Genesis chapter 12 and verse 4.
[7:37] He walked with the man of God. I mean, his buddy is the man of God. Fact is, there's no name any more well-known than Abraham. The Muslims go back to Abraham. And the Jews go back to Abraham.
[7:48] And the Christians, we go back to Abraham. He's the father of all the believers. And so we all go back to Abraham. And the Bible says in Genesis 12, verse 4, So Abraham departed. Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him.
[7:59] And Lot went with him. Put a circle around that. Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother's son.
[8:13] And all their substance that they had gathered. And the souls that they had gotten in Haran. And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. And to the land of Canaan they came.
[8:24] I just would call your attention to the fact that if Lot goes with Abraham, he must have been interested in God's call on Abraham's life. I don't know why he went. Actually, the call was to Abraham, not to Lot.
[8:35] And I'm not sure why Lot went. But when he saw Lot stand up and say, or Abraham stand up and say, I'm going, Lot said, I want to go. I'll leave everything. I'll take a stand and I will go.
[8:46] And you might question, well, was he even saved? Maybe he's just hanging around with him. So you just mark a note in the margin of your Bible right there to 2 Peter 2, verse 7. We know he was saved.
[8:58] The fact is we know not only was he saved, we know he knew all that was going on was wrong. And though he never shows it on the outside, on the inside, he was hating sin.
[9:09] The Bible says in 2 Peter 2 and 7, and delivered just Lot. You need to underline that in your Bible. Just Lot. Saved Lot. Forgiven Lot. Made right Lot.
[9:19] Lot like Jesus. Just Lot. Vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. He was just Lot. He was righteous Lot. He was saved Lot.
[9:30] He hated the sin around him, and he wanted a different lifestyle. Then he gets off track. Go with me, if you would, to Genesis chapter 13 and verse 1. He gets off track.
[9:41] Could I just stop and say, you might be on track right now, but that doesn't mean you'll stay on track. We've got to finish well. Not to be saved, but because we lead people. I am a leader.
[9:53] There are people, lots of people that look to me and say, I'm following that guy. So I just want you to understand, there's a lot of people looking at you too, and you just don't want to admit it. There's a lot of people. You've got a wife, she's looking at you.
[10:04] You've got nieces and nephews and cousins, and you've got friends, and you've got people that like you, and they're looking to you. You have influence. You're a leader. And he got off track.
[10:15] In Genesis chapter 13 and verse 1, Did Lot worship God from his heart like Abraham did?
[10:32] Maybe he wasn't fully committed. Maybe he was just there. Maybe he came to the worship service, but he really wasn't involved in the worship service. Maybe he came in because it was time to do that, and maybe when it came time for Abraham to get a hold of God, maybe Lot came like you do, half-hearted.
[10:51] I'll go in and sit, but I won't sing. And if I do sing, I'll mumble sing. And I won't give, and if I do give, I'll nickel and dime him. I'm not really going to get all the way in.
[11:02] I'm just going to be there. I don't know if that's what happened or not, but I know what it says in Genesis 13 too. In Genesis 13 too, Abraham was very rich. He had cattle in silver and gold. He went on his journeys from the south to Bethel unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, and then to the place of the altar.
[11:18] You ought to underline that. Abraham said, I'm looking for my worship spot. I'm looking for my worship spot. And when he got there, he said, which he had made at the first, and Abram called on the name of the Lord.
[11:29] That bothers me. It really does bother me. It's like Lot was a spectator. I don't know if he was or not, but at least, man, if I'd have been there, I'd have liked for God to wrote down, Abram and Lot called on Jesus.
[11:41] Abram and Lot were involved in the worship, or they, they could have just said they were involved in the worship. I'd just like to be included in something there, but he wasn't. Is that where he started going wrong?
[11:52] I don't know. Lot had gotten rich, and the money begins to divide the two. Bible says in Genesis 13, 5, and Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.
[12:05] You see, he got rich. He got rich. There wasn't enough land for the two of them to still be together. So in Genesis 13, 6, the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together.
[12:18] For their substance was great, so they could not dwell together. I cannot read that without honestly saying, you could sell a cow. I can't read that without saying, slaughter some sheep.
[12:31] I can't read that without saying, it's more important to be together. But in verse 7, there was strife between the people that worked for Lot and the people that worked for Abraham. And so, it appears to me that maybe Abraham missed his chance.
[12:46] Look, if you would, at Genesis 13, verse 8. Abram said unto Lot, I don't want us to be fighting, so you need to leave. I don't like it that we're fighting over money.
[13:00] I think you need to leave. Maybe he missed an opportunity to invest spiritually because he's worried about money. You pick where you live based on money.
[13:13] You pick your weekly schedule based on money. Then you wonder what's going to happen to your testimony because money becomes what drives you if you're not careful. Don't get mad.
[13:25] If a shoe fits, put it on. If it don't, just put it back on the shelf and let somebody else look at it. Look, if you look at Genesis 13, verse 9. Abraham's doing a talking here from verse 8, and he said, Isn't there a whole lot of land around us?
[13:38] So leave, I pray thee, from me. And you pick the way you want to go, and I'll pick the way I want to go. And I'm going to just be blunt honest with you all my life until I was recently preparing this particular.
[13:50] I preached this before. It's the first time I ever noticed it. I think Abraham really blew it. I think Abraham looked at dollars and cents. He got out the bank book and said, You know, there's more land for my cattle if I get rid of Lot.
[14:01] Who cares if his family gets right with God? I don't think he really thought that. I think he thought, Everybody knows you've got to make a buck. I'm just trying to make a little money here. But he was already rich. Very rich.
[14:13] Should Lot have said that he preferred to have less money and more of God and stayed with Abraham? Had Lot just said, That's okay. I'll tell my guys not to fight. I'll get rid of some stuff.
[14:24] I just want to be with you. His money and material goods made him walk away from the man of God. He chose the material over the spiritual. And he took a step towards the world and worldly success.
[14:39] In Genesis chapter 13 and verse 10, the Bible says, And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
[14:50] And by the way, it looked like Egypt. It looked like the place where God is not. It looked like the place where lost people live.
[15:01] It looked like the place where sin. It looked like a place with casinos. It looked like a place with bars. It looked like a place with parties. It looked like a place where you could have fun.
[15:12] It looked like a place where you could be comfortable. And Lot wanted financial power. and freedom. He'd been to Egypt. He'd seen what the world had to offer.
[15:24] And so he chose with little consideration for what God wanted from him or holiness. In Genesis chapter 13 and verse 11, Lot chose him.
[15:35] Well, we should outline that. Lot chose him. I know that's just old-fashioned King James English and you probably, maybe I'm taking too much of it, but it's like Lot said, I just think I'll pick me.
[15:46] I think I'll just pick me. That's what I want here. That's what would make me happy. Lot chose him, all the plain of Jordan and he journeyed east and they separated themselves the one from the other.
[15:58] Now Lot's on his way to Sodom. In Genesis chapter 13 and verse 12, Abraham dwelled in the land of Canaan and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain. And here's the bad thing. He pitched his tent towards Sodom.
[16:12] He saw that wicked city that God's gonna save flat out in just a second that he hated. And he knew God hated it. He didn't, by the way, if you walk with God, nobody has to explain to you it's wrong. Honestly, if you need somebody to explain to you abortion's wrong, you must not know God.
[16:26] If you need to explain to you why getting drunk and getting high and having sex outside of marriage is bad, then you must not know the God of the Bible. He knew. But he said, hey, that's where the fun stuff is.
[16:39] I'm headed there. Baby, we'll be there in a few days. Party, here we come. which is sometimes how people around here live. I can be guilty of that. He pitched his tent towards Sodom.
[16:52] Now we know Sodom was a wicked place because verse 13 says so. It's just one more verse. And Sodom, the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
[17:04] The people in Sodom stink spiritually. They are wicked before God. But money and comfort are now more important to Lot than his relationship with God.
[17:22] Are you mad at me yet? Are you uncomfortable? I'm just reading the Bible. If we're blunt and honest, I'm not a real good preacher. I can't read well. And this is what it says.
[17:33] He pitched his tent towards it. And then he slowly rose in prominence in the big city, in the world. The world started writing about him on the front of the Wall Street Journal and the Atlanta Journal.
[17:45] The Bible says in 19-1, Genesis 19-1, and there came two angels to Sodom and even, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw him come up. Now you've got to understand this is something you don't understand from the, maybe from the very reading of it, you're not getting this, but the gate, that's where the mayor sits.
[18:01] The gate, that's the place of influence and power. That's where the big shots sit. That's, that's the place where the folks that run the city sit. They could tell you you can't come in the city, you can't come in the city. This is how much tax you owe and this is what you're going to do and these are what the rules are.
[18:15] That's headquarters. That's the mayor's office. That's the police department. And he's in the gate. He is now a well-known person in Sodom.
[18:25] He's a well-liked person in Sodom. He's allowed to sit in the gate. This is a city full of homosexuals who hate God and they've decided to like Lot. You want their freedom.
[18:41] You want their lifestyle. That's what's going on. So then we get this. God loved Lot even when he was doing wrong. Isn't that one of the sweetest truths you can find in the Bible?
[18:54] Oh Lot, I mean Lot goodnight. You walked away from the man of God. You chose the world over God. You did wrong buddy but God in heaven says well he might have done wrong but he's still mine.
[19:05] I'm going to go get him. Say amen right there. He loved him. He's going to get him out of Dodge. He's going to save him. He's going to rescue Lot and everybody in his family. He's coming to get him. So look if you would at 19.1 again.
[19:17] Two angels came to Sodom. You know where they came from don't you? God sent them. God sent the angels to seek out Lot. And to warn him of what was about to happen.
[19:27] Look if you would at Genesis chapter 19 and verse 13. The angels warned Lot what was about to happen. They say in 19.13 we will destroy this place. Underline that.
[19:38] We will destroy this place because God's fed up with it and the cry of their wickedness is so great that it stinks in the nostrils of God and it is waxed great and it comes up before the God of heaven and he has sent us to destroy it.
[19:53] But he said Lot we are God loves you. He loves you. He doesn't want to hurt you. Even though you're living with them you're not one of them. Even though you picked up their habits you're not one of them.
[20:07] So in chapter 19 verse 15 when the morning arose the angels got in a hurry and they hurried up at Lot. They said Lot get up, get up. Arise. Take the wife and the two daughters which are here lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
[20:22] We don't want sin to drag you down and kill you and destroy you like it will those who hate God. So hurry up and get up. Get up and let's get out of Dodge.
[20:33] In chapter 19 and verse 16 they have to forcibly remove him. In chapter 19 and verse 16 while he lingered the men laid hold upon his hand and on the hand of his wife and the hand of his two daughters the Lord being merciful unto him they brought him forth and sent him without the city.
[20:53] I need you to stop just a second and I really want you to circle the word lingered in your Bible. I don't know if you can see this but this is a guy I've been walking with God and two angels show up.
[21:06] Angels. He knows they're not normal. He knows they're not normal. He knows something special going on. And these two angels show up and they say the God of the Bible the God of Abraham is about to destroy this place so get off your duff get up and let's get out of town while you can and Lot said can we negotiate this any?
[21:28] I really like living here. My best friends don't like God but they're pretty good people. My best friends may be sodomites and my best friends may be getting drunk and my best friends and my kids run around with those people.
[21:42] Come on is there any way we can work this out? He lingered. You should put a circle around that word lingered. You should meditate. If God came to you right now and said get out would you say wait a minute God I like the world too much.
[21:55] I know the world hates you but I like them. He lingered. And Lot they grabbed his hand his wife's hand his daughter's hand they're all saved and none of them want to get out.
[22:08] Probably something like that's going to happen when the rapture happens. Some of us are kind of looking up and some of us are kind of not looking up. Some of us are ready to go and some of us are like I hope he don't come back. I hadn't made my first million yet.
[22:21] Love this. The Lord being merciful unto him. Did you underline that? The Lord being merciful unto him. He could have let him die.
[22:34] He could have let him die. He could have let the fire fall but God's good to his people even when you don't do right God's good to you. Even when you are rebellious against him and when you're doing junk you ought not do the God of heaven says I love him angels go tell him get him out of Dodge.
[22:51] Fact is they don't want to leave. They don't want to leave but the angels are told you just get my boy out. That's my boy. Pretty good stuff. They set him outside the city.
[23:02] So that brings us to 1914. The tragedy of the story is that Lot has now lost his testimony in his family and with his children. I'm a dad and a granddad.
[23:13] I have four kids and they're married that's four in-laws and then I have twenty grandkids and then I have friends and I have you and I have so many people and when I say God said something I want you to believe me.
[23:29] If I were to come to you and say it's what the word of God says I want you to look at me and say if anybody knows what God said it's old Austin. I'd hate to think you'd look at me and say weren't we drinking last night together? Weren't we fornicating together last night?
[23:42] Weren't we checking out porn together last night? I don't believe a word you say. I know you. You can act like that in a pulpit all you want but I don't trust you. That's what happens in the story. Last 14 Lot went out and he speaks to his son-in-laws.
[23:57] I tend to think that the two girls that go with him are virgins and not married. I think he had two others at least maybe three or four other daughters and some sons-in-laws and he goes to them they're married and by the way if they got married they married lost people.
[24:11] They married lost people. That means they married people that are at least bisexual. That means they married people that worshipped other gods.
[24:22] That means they married people that worshipped down at the sex temple. That means they married people in the world. And he says to his family, now guys, you're not going to believe this, but God just spoke to me.
[24:37] And we've got to get out of town. He's going to destroy the city. And they looked at him and said, you see that on YouTube?
[24:49] Is it Halloween? Is it April Fool's Day? What are you doing? You're trying to tell us you and God talking now? Aren't you the mayor here? Didn't you run on the sin platform?
[25:03] How'd you get to be who you are? It's certainly what talking about God around here. We all know that. In fact, didn't your daughter marry me because my daddy has money and power and you wanted more of it?
[25:16] Does that mean they never saw him worshiping God? Does that mean he never did speak to them about God and what God was doing in his life? I mean, if he'd have been, I was in a restaurant the other day and whoever was with me, he just pointed out a couple and there's a couple sat across the table and he had her hands and they prayed.
[25:38] I go in the place that we eat together a lot of times on Friday morning and we're over there and one of the waitresses said, that's a whole lot of Bible study people show up here on Fridays. Not a lot. The fact is, I meet those people, I'm like, I think he must love Jesus.
[25:52] I might not agree with everything, but he must love Jesus. They come in here with a Bible and a notebook. I sit here and listen to their conversation. I'm like, I think they won't talk about Jesus. Not a lot. And he didn't disciple anybody.
[26:04] Been in that city all that time and here's how I know he didn't disciple anybody. Look at chapter 19 and verse 12. The man, that's the angel, said unto Lot, you got anybody else here? Look at it.
[26:14] Underline that. Hast thou here any besides? You got anybody else here? What about your son-in-law? What about your sons? What about your daughters? I'm pretty sure he knew, the angels knew the answer.
[26:28] They came from God and God said, check him out. He's got boys. He's got girls. He's got married kids. He's been there a long time. Get the family and get them out. And then he said, this is a really crazy one.
[26:40] And whatsoever thou hast in the city. We don't have time to look at it, but if you were to go look at the story old Rahab, the harlot, when the two men of God left there, they gave her a cord to hang out the window, a rope to hang out the window.
[26:56] It said they'd been there. And they said, anybody you get in this house, or you will save them. She goes out and gets her family, get somebody in there. She goes out and says, I might be a prostitute, but the God of heaven just sent a message.
[27:07] And if y'all get over at the house, you won't die with everybody else here. You know he's coming. Not a lot. He gets nobody. He gets nobody. If he'd just got a handful, they got to the number 10.
[27:18] They get nowhere. Was there sin in his life? He had a leadership in a wicked city. There's a saying, birds of a feather flock together.
[27:33] In Spanish they say, tell me who you run around with, and I'll tell you who you are. You just name your friends, and I'll know all about you. Did he have a tendency to get drunk?
[27:49] Which he would have learned in Sodom. Look at chapter 19 and verse 32. After all this is over. See, this is a wild and crazy story. After all this is over, the two daughters say, we got to get our daddy drunk because we don't have a husband.
[28:03] We don't have any kids. And we're not pregnant. We got to get our daddy drunk so he'll have sex with us. So in chapter 19 and verse 32, they said, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him that we may preserve seed of our father.
[28:19] That's amazing. Underline seed of our father. You know what they were doing? They were saying it was okay because it was biblical that they should preserve seed. That was a biblical principle. So anytime you do wrong, as long as you come up with a good Bible reason, God told me to divorce my wife.
[28:34] God told me. That's what happens. Come on. Let us make our father drink wine. Skip down, if you would, to verse 33. And they made their father drink wine that night.
[28:48] Now, you know, just to be blunt and honest, you can't make me drink anything I don't want to drink. You'd have to be as strong of me to make me do it. While I lived in Peru, Dr. Beneventi used to say all the time, I'm going to get you drunk.
[29:03] I said, no, you ain't. He said, I'll slip it in your Coke. I said, no, you won't. I said, I wouldn't let you touch my Coke. I said, you're not fixing my Coke for me. I'm not getting drunk. Never had the nasty mess in my mouth, not putting it in my mouth.
[29:17] Some of y'all, young Calvinists ought to hear that. They made him drink. They made him drink. And he got so drunk that he didn't know when they lay down with him or when they got up from him.
[29:35] So he got so drunk that he's in bed, his daughter comes in, has sex with him, gets up and leaves, and he doesn't even know it. He doesn't even know it.
[29:47] I don't know anything about being wasted, but that sounds pretty wasted. I don't know anything about being drunk, but it sounds pretty bad. Dad, I don't know how you get a guy to drink and ain't used to drinking, but he must have been used to drinking when they said, hey, you want us to bring you a Bud Light, Dad?
[30:03] He said, yeah, just go ahead and put it on the rocks. Bring it to me with a little bit of ice. Why, yeah, bring me a little cocaine to snort. I don't know what he said, but good night, he got drunk. He didn't just get drunk.
[30:14] He didn't have a drink. He got stoned out of his head. He got stoned enough he had sexual relations and didn't know it. The next night, the other sister said, well, that worked.
[30:28] It's my turn. Let's get Dad drunk. I mean, he had to wake up with a headache. At least I know the Peruvians used to say that.
[30:40] They used to say you have to cut to cure. So the next day when they got up and had a bad enough headache, they'd have to drink some, just take the pain away. But he got drunk again. Verse 34, I lay yesterday night.
[30:53] Let's make him drink wine this night. You go in and you lie with him and we'll do it so we can preserve seed. Isn't that amazing? We're doing this for Jesus. We're doing this for the cause of Christ.
[31:04] Getting our dad drunk and having sex with our dad for Jesus' sake. That's what we do when we sin. What failures might be obvious in your life also?
[31:20] That's the question tonight. You might have failed to express to your family how you love God more than what this world can offer. And I would ask myself tonight as we go through this passage of Scripture, does your wife know you love Jesus?
[31:33] Does your wife know that you would drop every dime you have in a heartbeat to follow Jesus? Does your wife know that money's not the boss in your life? Does your wife know that comfort's not the boss in her life?
[31:45] Does your wife know Jesus is supreme in my life? Well, it didn't happen here. In chapter 19 and verse 17, it came to pass when he brought them forth abroad that he said, escape for thy life and don't be looking back neither stay thou in all the plain.
[32:01] And he said, oh Lord, not so. Oh God, please. Don't take me out of sin city. I like sin city, please. And so he said, now God, you've been good to me, verse 19.
[32:17] And I found grace and you've magnified your mercy and you showed me mercy, saving my life. But I can't go to a mountain. I don't like mountains.
[32:28] I know that's where you live. I can't go to a mountain. I need me a city. How about a little one? Not so much sin. The casinos are smaller. The drinks are smaller.
[32:40] People are nicer there. He said, if I go there, some evil will take me and I will die. Now this city is a little one.
[32:52] Look at your Bible underline it. It's a little one. Let me escape thither and my soul shall live. He hated that he had lost all of his material goods.
[33:05] He looked back. He thought back. He meditated on, I was a billionaire this morning and now I am busted. He wanted to be with people.
[33:21] He felt safer in a little town like the last one, not on a mountain with God. He knew what was best for him. God didn't. He didn't want God telling him what to do.
[33:33] When he looked at things, he said, now God, I know you should come to you and I know you got me out of that city but God, I like cities. I don't like mountains. I won't be with you that much. I won't be with some other sinners. Let me go to another city. He hadn't shown much concern for the spiritual life of his children.
[33:50] Chapter 19 and verse 14, Lot went out and spake of his sons-in-law which married his daughters and said, up, get out of this place for the Lord will. And they laughed at him. Had he ever talked to them about God?
[34:02] Had he ever talked to them about their spiritual lives? Why'd they act that way? Maybe they knew their dad in private and knew he wasn't really a man of God. He very likely went somewhere to worship.
[34:14] He probably knew how to carry a Bible and sing the songs. His heart wasn't there. He just hung out around God's people. He lingered. Chapter 19 and verse 16, he lingered.
[34:28] His kids wouldn't even leave the city except for two girls. His wife, you know, she's not really going to leave the city. We're not to her yet. He's lingering. He had a hard time choosing God over stuff.
[34:42] He had a hard time choosing God over stuff. I think I told you I was in China a long time ago and I met some, 1999 and I met some Christians that had been in prison for being Christians in China and I told them I was going to pray that God would prosper their country and give them religious freedom like we have in America and he said, please don't.
[35:06] We don't want to be like you. You have freedom to worship but you don't worship. You got stuff. You don't have God. We have God. Just don't pray for us like that. He really said that to me.
[35:17] I remember sitting there going, I have never in my life thought I'd ever hear that. He lingered. He knew all the right talk the Lord had been merciful to him.
[35:30] I'll go to chapter 19 and verse 26. Somehow his wife hadn't learned enough to have a heart for God. Somehow his wife hadn't learned enough to have a heart for God. His wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.
[35:43] I'm almost through. His wife turned back and turned into a pillar of salt. I would hate to think I've been married 45 years and my wife would be more desirous of Sodom and Gomorrah than the God I teach about.
[35:55] I would hate to think that I say I love God and I try to talk about it to my kids and my wife would be like, I'm with you buddy but I'm not staying with you. I'd rather go back to the world. And here's a really sad truth.
[36:09] The last one. Did you know the man of God was still real close by? If he was so vexed and I know he was because the Bible says he was. He got up every day and he felt miserable around people who didn't love God but he just kept doing it.
[36:26] And here's what the Bible's going to tell you and I'm going to read you the verse in a second. The man of God was right over there where he could have seen him. I'll prove it to you. It's in the Bible. He could have gone to the man of God. He could have gone last year or the year before.
[36:38] He could have gone and said, Abraham I'm ready to get things right. I want to come back. I'll just get rid of my stuff. Can I just work for you? I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of a man of God than I had to be worried about my junk. That's not what happens.
[36:50] So how do you know Abraham was that close? Look if you would in your Bible at chapter 19 and verse 27. And Abraham got up early. He got up early and he went to the place where he usually worshipped God and he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and he saw the smoke.
[37:09] Now you've got to be pretty close to do that. If they started a fire in Los Angeles we probably ain't going to see it. If they started a fire in downtown Atlanta we're probably not going to see it. But if you're on top of Stone Mountain if you're on top of Stone Mountain you can probably see all around Atlanta.
[37:24] That ain't that far though. You could walk it if you needed to. He never went back. So let me finish. I did just tell you a Bible story and I did just read the other Bible and you can go back and study it and see if it ain't in the Bible.
[37:38] But we're playing with God too much aren't we? We've become so religious that we know all the acts and our kids know who we really are. They know that if we had to choose between our hobby and Jesus we'd choose our hobby.
[37:54] Come on. You can be mad. You ought to get glad. They know that if we had to choose between our job and God we'd choose our job. they know that if we had to choose to obey God or what would make us prosper they know what we'd choose.
[38:12] And the day is coming when our kids are going to look at us and say I never thought you was a man of God.
[38:24] Now let me tell you I work with kids all the time. That's all I work with. I'm an overgrown youth director. And I'll tell you what I hear all the time. Well my parents you know they're good people. They go to church but they ain't never really been in.
[38:37] Here all the time. They're good people. And I was brought up in a Christian home. They're kind of nominal. Don't want that do you?
[38:52] Couldn't we tonight say no I want to do right so will everybody in my family will know. I am God's man. You are God's man.
[39:04] And the fact that you haven't been doing what you ought to be doing he still loves you and he'd come to Sodom to get you if he was there. But the facts are you know you know you're very close to losing the respect of your children.
[39:18] Now well the churches in America their kids don't go to church. The pastor's kids don't go to church. The deacon's kids don't go to church.
[39:30] The Sunday school teacher's kids don't go to church. The fact is in most of the churches these young people go to I'm a young man. Don't lose the respect of your children.
[39:41] attention. The church shows us what people believe of the or them see