[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Take your Bible, go with me to Genesis chapter 19. Did you know that you could be a good, godly man, be brokenhearted when you saw sin, and still lose your home?
[0:20] Did you know you could be a good, godly man, really saved, genuinely saved, and live in the middle of the worldly environment, and get so caught up in a worldly environment that it would be hard to tell you from anybody else, and you could end up losing your home, losing your daughters, losing your wife, losing your reputation, losing everything you have, because you messed with sin.
[0:46] We're going to read a passage of Scripture tonight that I hope you'll let, I'm not even going to read it to you, because it takes a long time, we'll read through it with you. I'm going to walk you through the story, and then we're going to look at some things that you might consider for your life, but I just want you to know tonight, as you listen to this, that this is a perfect picture of what could happen if you take grace, and you abuse grace.
[1:10] You'll still go to heaven, you won't lose your salvation, but we don't sin without repercussions. We don't sin without repercussions.
[1:21] Genesis 19, starting in verse 1, and I'll just tell you where I'm reading from, and you can kind of scan with me, because I'm not going to read it, I'm just going to read you my highlights to tell you the story. But old Lot is in Sodom, and he sets in the gate in chapter 19 and verse 1, and two angels show up.
[1:37] You know, I think it's probably the two angels that were just in chapter 18, and they were with Jesus in the Christophany, when Jesus showed up before he was born, and he was there talking to Abraham, and now I think maybe he's going on back to the right hand of the Father, and the two angels come to Sodom, and when they do, Lot jumps up, and he runs out, and he said, hey, come on into my house in chapter 19 and verse 2.
[2:00] Spend the night with me. Let me take care of you. Let me do some things. In chapter 19 and verse 2, they said, no, we'd rather stay in the streets. In chapter 19 and verse 3, he compressed them greatly.
[2:10] He said, please, come on into my house. And he said, I want to fix you some food. And so after he talked to them pretty strongly, and it pushed them a little bit, they came into his house. While they're at the house in chapter 19 and verse 4, the men of Sodom come around the house, and they're trying their best to get in.
[2:26] They say, hey, you have some men in there. Some new guys have come to town, and we would like you to send them out here so we could have sex with them. We want to know them.
[2:38] In chapter 19 and verse 7, Lot steps outside the door, and he says to them, brothers, my brothers, do not so wickedly. I've got two daughters that have never been with a man in their life, and I'm begging you, if you would, to take those, my girls, and you guys do anything you want to with them all night long.
[3:00] Don't do anything to these men. The men said to him in chapter 19 and verse 9, they said, I can't believe this. You come here to our house. You want to make yourself, to our town, you'll make yourself one of our judges.
[3:12] And they said, we don't want that. And they came near, and they tried to break down the door. And the angels stuck their hands out. And chapter 19, verse 11, they smote the men with blindness. And so the men spent all night long touching the side of the house and trying their best to get into the house.
[3:30] In chapter 12, verse 12, the angels say to him, Lot, do you have anybody here besides the ones we got here at the house? Do you have any son-in-laws? Do you have any sons?
[3:41] Do you have any daughters? Anybody? Go get them all and get them here because we're going to destroy this place. So in chapter 19 and verse 14, Lot went outside. He goes down the street to where his daughters live with their son-in-laws.
[3:56] In chapter 19, verse 14, the guys who married his daughters, and he says, come on, God sent some angels down here and he's going to destroy our city and we've got to get out. And they looked at him and they said, they mocked him.
[4:08] They laughed at him. They laughed in his face that he had come to tell them that. And so when the morning came, the angels in chapter 19 and verse 15, they said to Lot, let's get up, grab your two daughters that you got here and your wife and let's get out so that the sin that's about to be destroyed, you don't get destroyed with it.
[4:26] And so they went outside the city in chapter 19 and verse 16 and he says to them, escape in verse 17 for your life and don't stay in the plain. Don't even stay out here close to the city.
[4:37] Don't stay anywhere near. Get as far away as you can. And the city is about to be destroyed. Fire's about to fall out of heaven and destroy it. And Lot's been rescued. His sons-in-laws have laughed at him.
[4:48] And in chapter 19 and verse 18, he looks at God, looks at the angels, oh no, not so my Lord, please don't make me get too far away from here. Don't make me go out to the mountaintop there, away from here.
[5:01] If I found grace in your sight and you have magnified your mercy and you came down here and you saved me, please don't take me to the mountain because I might get killed up there. Chapter 19 and verse 19, I might die, something bad might happen to you.
[5:14] In chapter 19 and verse 20, he says, don't you see that city? There's a little city over. It's just a little one. It's not a big one. And if you'll let me go there, my soul shall live. And so the angel said, well, you can go.
[5:25] And he went to the little place, a little town called Zoar and the Lord rained down in chapter 19 and verse 24. So on Sodom and Gomorrah, he rained down brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.
[5:37] On the way out of town in chapter 19, verse 26, his wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt. Chapter 19 and verse 27, Abraham gets up in the morning like it's probably his custom and he stood before the Lord and had his prayer time.
[5:52] Chapter 19 and verse 29, really some very sad words for me when I think about my life. God remembers not Lot, but Abraham and he sent Lot out.
[6:07] It says God remembered Abraham. Abraham, you ask. Abraham, you prayed and I'll get Lot out of town. Lot was so afraid when he got to Zoar, he was afraid even to live in the town.
[6:19] He was afraid to go to the mountain. And it says in chapter 19 and verse 30, Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountain and his two daughters were with him. And he was afraid to dwell in Zoar so he lived in a cave.
[6:31] So he and his daughters moved into a cave and while they were in the cave, the two girls began to think to themselves, nobody's ever going on to marry us. And so they got their father to drink wine and they got him so drunk that they had him so drunk they could lay down with him and he didn't even know when he laid down or when they got up.
[6:52] And the next night, they did it again and they got him drunk again and he didn't know it even when they went down what he did and when he woke up, he had no idea what had happened.
[7:03] Now I'll show you some scripture tonight but the Bible tells me this is just Lot. This is a righteous man. He was saved. We're saved by grace.
[7:15] We know that. We're not under the law. And Lot was saved. There's not a thing I can see in his life that would make me think he was saved. But somewhere along the way because you read what the Bible says about grace and you say, well, I'm free from the law and some of us would get the idea maybe I can live like I want and do what I want and it's not important what I do and there's no consequences to it because basically grace would almost give me a license to sin.
[7:40] But that's totally not the story because just Lot who was vexed by the filthy conversation of the wicked who every day his heart was troubled by all the sin he saw around him.
[7:52] Every day though no one could sit on the outside his heart beat to say this isn't right. I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be in the middle of this. This is a bad place. He played with sin.
[8:04] By the end of chapter 19 an extremely wealthy man has no wife has lost his daughters and his son-in-laws.
[8:14] I don't know if there are any grandchildren who lost all of his riches and his two daughters will have his babies. Hollywood can't make a movie that bad.
[8:29] I mean this is a horrible chapter. And I would just like quickly to go through the story with you and I'd like you to write down if you want to eight things I think you could learn from this chapter.
[8:41] Eight things I believe that you ought to get a hold of. Father, would you deal with our hearts? Would you draw us close to you? Lord, help us as we draw out of this chapter some wonderful truths about you and some wonderful truths about our life.
[8:52] And help us dear God to take sin seriously and to not play with it. Wake us up God. Help us never to play with sin. Help us never to think that we have the right to just mess around with sin.
[9:05] Help us to realize that our lack of leadership could literally destroy our families. God, I pray tonight that you'd help me to say things with the right spirit and a tender heart and love your people and help them see what you teach us in this chapter and I'll give you praise in Jesus' name.
[9:23] Amen. The first thing I want you to see chapter 19 and verse 1 no matter how low you sink he'll never leave you nor forsake you. No matter how low you sink he'll never leave you nor forsake you.
[9:36] Lot's a just man and he's saved and in chapter 19 and verse 1 the two angels come to Sodom the city's about to be judged Lot's going to lose everything he has Lot's not been walking where he should and Lot's going to be rescued.
[9:52] I would like to remind you I showed you in chapter 19 and verse 29 it is God remembering Abraham and sending Lot out. It was another Christian praying that God was going to save him.
[10:03] I'd just like you to know if you do wrong God will still love you. He will come get you. He will protect you. But why would you take advantage of his love his grace and his mercy?
[10:15] That's the first thing I wish you'd see. This whole story is a horrible story of a man who knew the great God of heaven. And I will show you in a minute that the Bible is clear he is a saved man.
[10:27] How would you how could a man knowing all of that walk like he did? But the first thing I want you to remember is grace. He didn't lose his salvation. He was still saved.
[10:38] Second thing we should look at Lot's sin embarrasses him. Lot's sin embarrasses him. Now two angels have come to his house. I'm not sure when he figures out who they are.
[10:50] I'm not sure when he knows that there are angels. But he's in the house and they've come in the house and before they can get in the bed that night Lot hears all the guys at the door and he steps out and the guys are saying hey man we see some fresh guys in town we've never known them and we've never done anything with them and this ought to be some nice time to do some wicked stuff and some perverse stuff and Lot says brothers well how bad can you get brothers verse 7 do not so wickedly he has fallen so low that he offers his virgin daughters to the sodomites he is so low he offers his virgin daughters to the sodomites I have an idea of what it's like to know when your daughter's raped I cannot imagine a dad so low so perverse so filthy that he would offer his daughters look what he says in verse 8 I have two daughters which have not known men that's a word for carnal knowledge for sexual intimacy he said let me
[11:56] I pray you bring them out unto you and do you to them as is good in your eyes don't do anything to these guys though that I got in my house these sodomites are so perverted and wicked they're not interested in his daughters they want to sexually abuse men they think that they mock and make fun of Lot because he thinks he has a right to judge him and tell him anything and it's the angels that save him sodomites want to commit perverted acts so much they didn't stop trying all night long I just wonder I want you to see the embarrassment here he is in his house these two men have come I don't know if he's figured out if they're angels yet but certainly he's a leader certainly he's wealthy we know that he was wealthy he was so wealthy he couldn't live with Abraham and there he is in his house and maybe he thinks no one will know exactly what's going on he brings those two men in his house and maybe he has no idea what's going on and then the sodomites show up and knock on the door and Lot is caught Lot you're one of us send them out third thing that's horrible in the story is Lot loses the respect of his family he loses the respect of his family in chapter 19 verse 12 he said y'all got any more family here and Lot had walked with God's man and Lot had known
[13:09] God in the past and he decided to make his own decisions and choose his own direction and Lot wanted to fit in he didn't like being a Christian he didn't like being a round peg in a square hole he didn't like not fitting in he wanted the comforts of the world more than he wanted to work on his relationship with God and he lost his testimony as a man of God I doubt his family saw him worshiping God he obviously wasn't making disciples because there weren't even 10 guys in town he had compromised the world and even become a leader among the sodomites apparently he didn't work and express his love for his family showing his concern for their spiritual well-being they knew that he didn't live it even if he talked it Lot's got daughters that are married living in town and he lost them he lost them they refused to believe him when he needed them most to believe him I don't know how you can how you'd feel but you know there's imminent danger you know the whole city is going to be destroyed and you know that anybody stays in town is doomed and he goes to see his sons-in-laws and he calls his sons-in-laws and he says hey son-in-laws listen to me
[14:16] God's speaking to me God sent some angels to tell me we're going to be destroyed the city's destroyed come with me and they'll get us out of town and they looked at him and said God spoke to you Lot you're hearing from God now oh you're a man of God now ha ha I don't believe a word of it they mocked him Lot has to turn away from his daughter's house go back to his house to where his two young virgin daughters are and his wife and his own children don't respect him that's what sin will do to us fourth thing is that even in the face of discipline God and God's work in his life he wants to do life his own way I wish you looked with me at chapter 19 and verse 18 and Lot said unto him oh not so my Lord God I mean if you're going to destroy the city and if you came from God and you got a plan for my life stop a minute that's not what
[15:17] I really want to do I'm not really pleased with the direction you have for my life he was told to get out of town and take his wife and daughter so they didn't get consumed with the sin of the place even under orders he lingers in chapter 19 and verse 16 it says and while he lingered did you know Lot is in the city knowing the city is about to be destroyed and the angels have to grab him by the hand and basically drag him out of town we're going to destroy this city now come on buddy but you can get so comfortable with sin you can get so comfortable with and now it's time to leave and he has to be drug out of town he's told to go to the mountain or die be consumed and hurt in the destruction he said don't even stay in the plane get to the mountain unless you be consumed and he says don't wait a minute God can we talk about this I know you have a plan for my life and I know you have something you like me to do and
[16:18] I'm even grateful you're going to rescue me but Lord if I found 1919 if I found grace in your sight and you have magnified your mercy and you showed unto me you saving my life but I can't go to a mountain I mean God wait a minute if I do that evil might take me and I might die I been living in the middle of Sodom and Gomorrah where guys will be blinded and spend the whole night trying to break in the house I've been living right here in the middle of perversion city where men want to do wicked so bad that they will spend the night blinded trying to get into my house but God you don't know how to take care of me he said there's a city on the way God it's a little one it's a little one God let me go there and I'll be a happy guy and I shall live chapter 19 and verse 20 so sinful so wicked that he still wants to do life his own way do you know what leads us down the wrong path and what messes up our life self will wanting to do my thing my way we ought to surrender and not try to make deals with
[17:33] God because he just might give you what you want and let you deal with the consequences did you know that God answers prayer sometimes when it's not the best thing for us when they wanted to consume it on their own lust and they wanted quail to eat God said alright that's what you want you ask and I'll give it to you but it's going to come out your noses lot says don't send me to the plant don't send me to the mountain but he finally goes to the mountain but then he hides in a cave and in that cave in just a few hours or days his young daughters will get him drunk and do the unthinkable with him and have children by their daddy God answers prayer he's kind to give us what we want but can I remind you that real prayer is learning to ask him what he wants more than seeking what you want real prayer is more finding out what
[18:36] God wants from us and what God wants to do in our life than it is about doing what we want to do lots all wrong here real prayer is asking him for wisdom instead of doing my own thinking consider what your thinking has done for you look where it's gotten you so far look what your thinking has done for you look what your way of doing things has done for you lot you're in Sodom and Gomorrah and there aren't even ten righteous people in the whole city and your daughters don't respect you you're going to lose your wife before the story is over lot maybe it's time to quit thinking and start obeying maybe it's time to quit praying for God to change his will and for you to change your will chapter 19 and verse 27 what a contrast I want you to think about lot and Abraham in chapter 19 and verse 27
[19:38] Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord what a sentence a whole message could be preached there he got up early and he went to the place where he stood before the Lord you see Abraham has a habit of seeking God don't forget in chapter 18 he's already been praying in chapter 18 he's done business with God and now it's chapter 19 and he's back he's God and Abraham have a special friendship that makes a difference in chapter 19 and verse 29 God remembers Abraham can I just say to you I'd like God to remember me directly I'd like me to be able to pray to God and say God I need help I'm yours I'd like to know I still got an open line of communication I'd still like to be in touch with him Lot loses everything that he has his wife so much wants to be in
[20:41] Sodom that she turns back and turns to a pillar of salt in chapter 19 and verse 26 Lot's married daughters and their families have died in the fire all of his possessions are gone he only has what's on his back and possibly whatever he could carry out and he's living in fear hiding in a cave his life is pretty much ruined but sin will still keep carrying him down in chapter 19 and verse 31 the older sister talks to the younger sister and says our dad's an old guy and there's not a man in the earth that will come into us after the manner of the earth nobody wants to marry us and nobody wants to have children with us let's get our dad to drink wine drink the wine and he did and he got drunk and they lay with him and he did it again the very next night and he didn't know at either time his daughters fear that no man will ever want to know them they get their dad drunk and sleep with him children will be born to him that will cause trouble for
[21:50] God's people throughout history lot got drunk you won't like how do you get a guy drunk that doesn't drink alcohol he apparently had the custom of enjoying his alcohol I'm sure he thought he could handle it like most everybody does but he got so drunk he didn't even know what he was doing he got so drunk that when his daughters got up and left he didn't know what he had done he got so drunk that they were able to pull it off two days in a row I'll just say to you real quickly this is the second time alcohol is mentioned in our Bible first time we saw it Noah got drunk and he got embarrassed and he got naked and his son saw him and mocked and whatever happened there his other two sons took a blanket and held it on their shoulders and threw it over their dad now we get the second mention by the way in the
[22:57] Bible whenever you want to know how God feels about something just read the story and read it in order he's got a book put together for you the first time alcohol is mentioned not a pleasant story and the second time it's mentioned now not a pleasant story not a pleasant story the lot daughters and entire family is affected by drinking I know this isn't popular and I know you don't want to hear this but that alcohol is a dangerous thing to play with it bites and stings it mops people and you might think I can handle it and I can control it I'm sure Lot thought that I'm sure Noah thought that I'd just be real careful because I'm a Bible student and I've been reading my Bible not one of them is positive yet not one of them is positive not one of them is saying go baby let's get us a bud not one of them got the idea hey a little wine will cheer your heart so far we're not seeing that are we last thing
[24:00] I'll take the next few minutes to show you this sin destroys a Christian home and I'm just going to rehearse all if you read your Old Testament version of Lot's life you will not have one indication this man saved you'll know he ran around with a saved man you know he ran around with Abraham you know he was greatly blessed because he was with Abraham you know he got very rich then you'll find out that one day he decides to just mistreat Abraham and take the best looking land for himself and Abraham goes the other way and Lot heads towards Sodom and Gomorrah and if you know any Bible at all Sodom is like the most wicked and vile city in the Bible is so wicked that God will destroy it and Lot heads that way but when I get to the New Testament I find out Lot was a righteous man look at 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse 6 with me because I want you to know this could happen to your house I want you to know this could happen in your home 2
[25:02] Peter chapter 2 and verse 6 the Bible says turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow making them an example unto those that should after live ungodly don't think you sin and get away with it don't think Sodom that you can pull that without eventually God bringing some judgment verse 7 hold on you're going to have a hard time believing this but that's the word for righteous just lot who was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked now listen to this look here a second watch this you saw the story you read the story with me when God looked out from heaven he said that's one of my guys he's born again he's not born again Old Testament but he's a Christian he's an Old Testament saint and he's one of my guys he's just lot and not only that when sin's going on all around him it's tearing him up
[26:02] I mean he's eaten alive inside he's like I hate this sin I hate seeing him I hate the way people are doing stuff I'm really vexed with it the filthy manner of living of the way of the wicked I mean it really bothers me verse eight for that righteous man righteous he was just in seven and he was righteous in eight dwelling among them and he saw him and he heard him and it vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds I don't know what he said at night when he got in the bed I don't know if he said anything to his wife or I don't know if he internalized it all but this guy was eat up with all the wickedness that was going on in Sodom and Gomorrah verse nine what a verse in second Peter chapter two in verse nine the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation when there's tribulation and trial and horrible affliction coming over a city
[27:06] God knows how to get the godly he talking about lot he's talking about lot it's the context and he reserved the unjust on the day of judgment to be punished this story should help you examine your life and decide that you will live a holy life and give a godly example to your home this is a horrible story and it was written to teach us a lesson we don't have to talk about a TV show we don't have to talk about something theoretically god opened the pages of the bible and let me show you a family and let me show you what happens when you are saved and do wrong god does love you your relationship with him is not performance based your relationship with him is not performance based or he wouldn't be just righteous godly lot he'd be saved and lost lot but that's not what happened it's not performance based but your blessings and happiness in many ways are performance based you see when you don't do right you bring on yourself the consequences of your stupidity he will not forget you he will not leave you but he will allow you to suffer the consequences of your stupidity if you choose to not honor him and to not live out who you are then you will not enjoy all that he has for you by the end of chapter 19 lot is poverty stricken but
[28:50] Abraham is still living the blessed life you should never choose to sin so that grace may abound after lot has moved into the city of Sodom and Gomorrah sitting in the gate which was an indication of being a leader in the city offering to give his daughters to the Sodomites God still chooses to rescue him but grace should never be used as a license to sin or an excuse to ignore him are you ready unrepented sin will always catch up with us unrepented sin will always catch up with us it will embarrass us you will get called out on it you won't lose your salvation you will go to heaven he will come get you before he destroys the city but if anybody if a man has anything he's got a little bit of pride and when those guys came into his house
[29:58] I'm sure a lot wanted to say I'm a man I'm a man of God you wouldn't be at my house you didn't know I was a man of God and all of a sudden the door gets knocked on and the angels have to rescue him sin showed up and sin embarrassed you if you say one thing and live another you may lose the respect of your children all across America our churches have no young people all we have left are the old people our kids have grown up and decided Christianity doesn't work and it's not for them and it's not that God failed or his word didn't work I think it's more of a lot it's not always that and I'll not say that but I do know that on my side of this thing I want to be the right kind of parent it might not happen in a day they may have to be adults before they realize it but you can't be a hypocrite and expect it not to affect your children you can't love
[31:05] Jesus on Sunday and live like the devil on Saturday you can't live in Sodom and act like it's okay publicly and expect your kids not to know something doesn't add up dad you talk real spiritual you talk really like loving God tonight but I don't ever see it another thing in the story is how stubbornly do you serve God are you always about getting God to do in your life with you what you want I think one of the big problems that I face and you face and by the way I didn't want to preach this message I dreading this but I think one of the problems is that we always want to tell God what to do you know Lot chose to separate from Abraham as a dumb move he should have killed some cows he should have got rid of some sheep he should have said hey let's don't worry about it you can be in charge he should have done anything besides walk away from
[32:10] Abraham that's a dumb move another dumb move another dumb move was when he put his tent started heading towards Sodom another dumb move he moved into Sodom another dumb move he became a leader in Sodom and sat in the gate another dumb move when they show up to take him out of the city by now he's not discipling anybody he's not even influencing his own children to serve God and then he says don't tell me to go did when the Sodomites were trying to grab him at the door and they would have gotten in they reached out and grabbed him and pulled him in and blinded the Sodomites but Lot says oh you you couldn't take care of me this is what leads to Lot sleeping with his own daughters it's his own self will he had to go to that cave he couldn't go to and drunk because he chooses what is best for his life it's the same mistake he made with
[33:21] Abraham and his cattle loving sin will cause you to linger there even when you're getting the devil beat out of you I don't know what's going on with Lot and they have to grab his hand and drag him out and get that was he looking around to see which painting he needed to get off the wall was he trying to think about opening the safe and grabbing some money what's what's gotten into this guy what's going on but you see if you love sin you won't run from sin you won't flee from sin you won't resist the devil it's the same pride and arrogance that causes him to refuse to believe that God can and will protect him he wants a city a small city but he ends up in a cave be careful not to pray for things that might end up hurting you and your family can I just say here no telling how many of us have done things and we will say God if you give me that loan if you give me that if you give me that job and that job becomes more important than serving
[34:22] God if and we end up hurting our family realize that wine is a mocker strong drink is raging and many get fooled by its appeal it looks nice doesn't it and I can hear you right now I can't have a drink just says I can't get drunk I know talk to Noah and talk to Lot we're two stories in I know whatever you want to say but we're two stories in I'm sure Lot thought that only a little alcohol wouldn't hurt I'm sure he made excuses for the luxuries he enjoyed he never thought it would take him that far down the road it never crossed his mind that sin would take him to where he's going to end up never crossed his mind that his daughters would be dead he might have had three he had daughters that's praying at ten because he was thinking three daughters three son in laws that's six two daughters that go out with him that's eight him and his wife that's ten maybe that's why
[35:37] I don't know I don't know I'm just guessing but Abraham maybe Abraham just thought well there's only a couple of daughters and daughters and son in laws but maybe he led somebody else to Christ maybe disciple somebody that low but you can't control sin let me remind you Romans and Genesis seem like they go hand in hand you do not have to serve sin sin has no power over you lot was not impulsively led dominated or forced to go to Sodom and you aren't either the bottle can't control you pornography can't control you sin can't control you in Jesus you have victory you have no excuse sin has no power over you you end up in the cave having lost it all because you choose day by day choice by choice not to do what you should it's not a big decision that gets us in trouble it's a small everyday decision you have victory why don't you go out and live up to who you are and who you are made to be you listen
[37:12] I'm going to tell you I'm through I can't believe I did it 7 o'clock but you watch this one day lots riding walking with Abraham I'm sure hearing about the Lord knowing God seeing the blessings of God and watching Abraham build altars and he makes a decision it was just one decision I'll separate myself from the man of God then he made another decision I'll take the well watered plains then he made another decision I'll cast my tent towards Sodom then he made another decision I'll go into Sodom then he made another decision I'll be a leader in Sodom you can't be a leader if they know you're a Christian you do need to be a 007 Christian right you need to always hide who you are don't carry gospel tracks don't talk about Jesus don't mention the Lord because it doesn't fit with Sodom Sodom doesn't like that and you might not get to be recognized they might not make you the governor or they might not make you a city councilman if you talk about
[38:21] Jesus if you talk about the Lord if you even say something like I'm kind of vexed with this filthy conversation of the wicked it probably wouldn't make you any friends in town I'll tell you this we have victory and Genesis 19 is not just an interesting story where God writes down Lot's story to embarrass him God wrote down Lot's story to remind me of what can happen when a good man a just man a righteous man a godly man loses it all because he plays with sin he plays with sin man you can you can't say I try to pick on any of you
[39:22] I simply told a Bible story I made like three runs for the same story I challenge you to go home and read the story I challenge you to go home and think about it think about the beauty of the story think about God rescuing a lot think about the tragedy of the story I'm a dad I have four children four in-laws 17 grandkids and I'll be honest with you I do not want to destroy my family I want them to know that the God I profess to love and they see me talk about him in public they know I love him in private your kids are going to make their own decisions okay your kids are going to make their own decisions and sometimes when you're doing right they'll do wrong so I'm not talking to those of you who are really living it if you're the right dad at home you're the same man of God in the pulpit that you are at home amen but you know if you're playing the game you know if you're one way in front of
[40:28] God's people in another way somewhere else you know if you are you know if you talk one way and walk another way you know if you are and I hope you love your family enough to say I'll not just settle for my salvation I want to influence my family for Jesus you have victory why don't you go out and live up to who you are made to be why don't you trust God to give you great success even in your home father in heaven I love you thank you for the chance to serve you I pray that your people tonight would be blessed and strengthened and encouraged and I pray God that you would help us to be afraid of sin enough that we would turn to you and turn our back on sin God I pray you help us to never admit that sin has power over us I pray God you help us to say no to sin and yes to you we're not living under the law but that in no way frees us to play with sin
[41:35] I pray you deal with your people this message was recorded at vision baptist church in alfred georgia for more information log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times location contact information and more audio and video recordings