[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. Thank you very much. It's a joy to be together again this evening to share some things from God's Word.
[0:12] We are in the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 19. It's good to be able to have you all here and across the expanse.
[0:30] And we miss a lot of our folk when they aren't all able to be here with us. And I certainly trust that the weather is accommodating and the blessings are good for them for their trip into Tennessee.
[0:42] And to give some more information to these young people that are going out to the mission field, help to prepare them, get them ready to go. This is an amazing place.
[0:54] My wife and I have never experienced things like we've experienced here. And the Newton send-off on Sunday night was another rich blessing for us. I think there are, what, seven couples that we've counted up that have either gone back to their home on the mission field or gone to the mission field for the first time since the first of the year.
[1:17] And maybe we've missed some count there. But how many churches have that unique of an experience to be able to send out that many? It's a pretty special thing, pretty unique. So, there was a man in the Old Testament.
[1:34] I think that there was a day when we would have been extremely proud to have had him be a part of our local church. He was probably a pretty dynamic fellow, spiritually speaking.
[1:47] He was known as a righteous man. Several times in the scripture it talks about righteous lot. He would have been a delight probably for any Christian family.
[2:01] His cousin actually was Abraham. Abraham had no children. And when Lot's father died, probably he moved in with Abraham and Sarah and almost became to them like a son.
[2:21] Probably didn't have a whole lot of this world's goods. But as Abraham loved him as his own, loved him as a brother several times, he's called Abraham's brother in scripture.
[2:33] Abraham probably began to share some of his wealth. Some of his herds of sheep, other livestock.
[2:44] The day came where Lot's herds got so big that when Abraham's herdsmen, as they're called in the scripture, took their livestock out and Lot's herdsmen took their flocks out, that there began to be conflicts fighting over who gets what property, who gets what land, who gets what access to what water.
[3:14] And there was never a conflict between Lot and Abraham that we're told about. They were like brothers. But there was a conflict that began to build between their herdsmen and ultimately filtered back to Abraham and Lot to the point that one day Abraham said, Lot, this land is no longer big enough for the way that our flocks have grown.
[3:44] And our livelihoods have grown. We need to do something. And I'm going to give you the option to choose, Lot, where you want to go.
[3:56] If you go east, west, north, south, you choose where you want to go. You have first choice and I will pick another place. And Lot chose to go down into the plains area by Sodom and Gomorrah.
[4:18] Because there was good pastures and lots of water was what the scripture tells us. I doubt that Lot chose those areas because of the desire to want to live near Sodom.
[4:38] But ultimately, whatever happened, if he sold out his flocks, somehow he ended up in the city of Sodom. Now we understand that some of the shepherds, the owners, they would live in town and then they would go out to herd their sheep and come back into town at night.
[4:57] Possibly that was part of it. But something happened to Lot. And that's what we want to give some consideration to for our thoughts tonight.
[5:12] There's a lot about Sodom and Gomorrah throughout the Old and New Testament. And there are several references to Lot as to what happened in his life. And it's not a pretty picture, folks.
[5:26] A sad, sad day for the choices that he made. What is Sin City in the United States?
[5:39] Well, some say Las Vegas, right? Is that what you were going to say? Yeah. Y'all been to Las Vegas? Well, my wife's aunt lives in Henderson, Nevada, which is a suburb outside of Las Vegas.
[5:59] And we went to visit her aunt, my wife's three brothers and their wives. And so we all converge. And of course have to take a stroll down the streets of Las Vegas.
[6:14] Beautiful. Beautiful fountains. Unbelievable buildings. Ka-chink, ka-chink, ka-chink, ka-chink.
[6:29] You go past any of the casinos and the money just flows. I still have my first quarter that I went in with and I don't plan to spend it now.
[6:42] If you never put the first dollar into gambling, you'll never worry about the second, right? If you never smoke your first cigarette, you'll never worry about smoking the second one.
[6:53] If you never take your first drink, you'll never worry about taking the second drink, right? Yeah. Lot made a choice. Somewhere along the line, he made some choices that the first choice led to the second choice, led to the third choice, and ultimately a tremendous ruination of his life.
[7:18] Let's pick it up in Genesis chapter 19 and read a few verses and then refresh ourselves with some of the things of Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah and then we'll move into some thoughts from the New Testament as well.
[7:34] Verse 1, There came two angels to Sodom at even, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom, and Lot, seeing them, rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.
[7:47] And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways.
[7:58] And they say, Nay, but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly, and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house. And he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
[8:13] But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter. And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in unto thee this night?
[8:29] Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
[8:41] Behold now I have two daughters, which have not known man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes.
[8:51] Only unto these men do nothing. For therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came into sojourn, and he needs to be a judge.
[9:06] Now will we deal worse with thee than with them? And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. And the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
[9:21] And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
[9:33] And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides, son-in-law, thy sons, thy daughters, whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place.
[9:44] For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord. And the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city.
[10:04] But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law. I want to jump to the New Testament and read a couple verses for you.
[10:18] First of all, Jude 7. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
[10:38] And then we read in 2 Peter 2, beginning with verse 6, And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly, and delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked.
[11:02] For that righteous man dwelling among them in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.
[11:14] The things that we find that happened to Sodom in Jude 7 and also in 2 Peter 2, verse 6, are for our example.
[11:30] God will judge sin. God's eyes see all that happens in the world. We do not get away with sin.
[11:40] God will always judge the evil. We see it in our news, and this week more happenings. Amazing thing up in Cleveland, Ohio, that three ladies were found who had been kidnapped 10 years ago.
[11:57] How amazing was that? And what, they lost 10 years of their lives, but they were found alive. Amazing.
[12:07] Perish the thought that something happens in our judicial system that they make some mistake and the man gets off free, which happens once in a while. But I have my thoughts of what should happen to this man.
[12:25] I'm sure all of us do. Sodom and Gomorrah were wicked, evil cities that it's a shame to even elaborate on the explanation of what kind of cities they were.
[12:41] But Lot found himself mixed up in those cities. He made a choice. He wanted the wealthier places of grass and water, and because of the choices that he made, he was close to Sodom, and he ended up in the city.
[12:57] And the Bible tells us that he vexed his soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.
[13:10] Twice the word vexed is used. What does the word vexed mean? You woke up this morning, the first word out of your conversation was, I feel vexed today, right? Ah, y'all know how to use the word vex?
[13:23] Well, it sounds kind of like a scary word, doesn't it? To vex something sounds like a curse. The word comes from a word that means to labor down.
[13:38] And it has the meaning of to wear down with toil. You ever had a hard day's work? We have a man from our country that's in North Korea, and he's been sentenced to 10 or 12 years of hard labor.
[13:58] When you are dealing with hard labor, you're under harsh circumstances, and it wears you down. You have blisters on your hands, your body is tired, you're feeble.
[14:12] This word vexed comes from what means to wear down with toil, to labor down, to oppress, to torment, to have pain as a result of one's toil.
[14:28] And the word is used here of Lot that Lot made a choice to take his herds and family near to Sodom, and they wore him down.
[14:41] He lived amongst them, and day after day, he vexed his soul with their manner of living.
[14:56] Jude 7, they gave themselves over to fornication, going after strange flesh. in 2 Peter 2, 6, turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly.
[15:19] And delivered Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. A couple Sundays ago in my Sunday school class, we talked about Psalm 9, and in Psalm 9, five times the phrase or the words, the wicked is used.
[15:41] And in studying that word, wicked is a word that encompasses all sin and evil, transgression, all that there is that is wrong is encompassed when you use the word wicked.
[15:56] Wicked is something that if you're called a wicked person, you have done it all. When you say the wicked, Lot vexed his soul with the conversation of the wicked.
[16:18] Conversation, we understand in our Bibles, means manner of living or way of life. Day after day, he was there. Every day, and verse 8, for that righteous man dwelling among them in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.
[16:43] How does it get started that you fall into a trap of sin? A little here, a little there, it won't matter, nobody else really cares, I can do this one time, there is a statement and I think from what I read it came from the 19th century, what's, Waldo Emerson, how's the name go?
[17:21] Ralph, there's the first name, Ralph, everybody knows Ralph, Ralph Waldo Emerson was one that was credited with this phrase, I can't prove it to you, but made this statement, sow a thought, reap an act, sow an act, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap a character, sow a character, reap a destiny.
[17:56] Y'all heard that before? How many of you have ever heard that before? Okay, several of you, for some of you that haven't, let me see if I can remember it one more time, sow a thought, reap an act, sow an act, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap a character, sow a character, reap a destiny.
[18:24] me. It all starts out with right here, a little thought. You didn't learn to say no to something and you gave in, you sowed a thought, you reaped an act, and ultimately it can change your life.
[18:45] It happened that way with Lot from day to day, hearing and seeing what was going on in Sodom and Gomorrah, little by little, it vexed, it wore him down.
[19:01] It wore him down, it labored him down, it oppressed him. I think there was a part of Lot where he really didn't give in to those practices himself, but they so heavily weighed upon him that he began to justify and he began to accept and it no longer bothered him as much as it once did.
[19:27] Are we as troubled as we once were with the hearing of the word abortion? Are we as troubled as much to hear about gay marriage?
[19:47] used to be that we would not patronize any stores that professed to acknowledge certain things. I dropped my ARP card.
[20:03] Uh-oh. I'm there. I dropped my ARP card when I found out that ARP supported abortion. What's a senior citizens organization doing getting behind abortion?
[20:22] I mean, it doesn't fit for anybody, but it especially doesn't fit for senior citizens unless you're Abraham and Sarah, but, um, having children that are older age, but, anyway, uh, I dropped my card.
[20:37] They've called me sometimes. I said, I can't. And I've gone into hotels, and, uh, and, uh, we're seniors, uh, oh, okay, do you have your ARP card? Nope, I refuse to carry one.
[20:50] They support abortion, and I'm against it, and I feel that it's very offensive that I have to have an ARP card to get your senior citizen discount. Okay.
[21:01] Okay. And I've, sometimes they say, oh, we agree, we're with you. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.
[21:11] Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Eventually, for Lot, as he wore down, he began to change in his thought patterns.
[21:27] How far down could someone like Lot go? Well, in the passage that we just read, let's consider just one of the elements of how far he was willing to go.
[21:39] When the men of the city came in, the two angels came to his house, he took them in, he fed them, but he began to have knocks on his door and these men said, bring them out, we want these men.
[21:52] No, don't do this wicked thing. Here are my two daughters. Take them and do whatever you will. What?
[22:07] How far would a man go? No. Now, Lot felt that he needed to protect these angels, but do angels need protection, folks?
[22:21] But he was willing to say, here's my two daughters, you can have them whatever you want, but just don't do this thing regarding these men. Lot, how could you do such a thing?
[22:34] How could you say such a thing? How far down has your mind gone that you're willing to give your two daughters to the men of Sodom and Gomorrah?
[22:47] Number two, in verse eight also. He said at the end of verse eight, these men, these two angels, these men do nothing for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
[23:09] What is he saying? I think, if I understand what he's saying here, I think what Lot is saying is, I recognize the lifestyle of Sodom and Gomorrah and these men came under my roof for me.
[23:26] That's the reason why they are under my roof. Don't you come in and take my men away from me. Here's my two daughters, you can have them, but these are my men. That's why they came under my roof.
[23:37] He used that as an argument. Lot, you are willing to say that these angels as messengers from God, you're willing as your testimony to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to say to them that they came to have these acts with you.
[23:57] Lot, how far down have you gone? his willingness to give his two daughters, his deception stating that these men have come in for him.
[24:14] Then he was told if he had any family, get them together and get them out of the city. And he goes to his sons-in-law.
[24:26] Verse 14, And Lot went out and spake unto his sons-in-law which married his daughters. Now, there's dispute a little bit here.
[24:37] Did Lot only have the two daughters? Well, they had never been married. They had no man. And Lot goes to his sons-in-law which married his daughters.
[24:53] So apparently in my mind, he must have had married daughters. Now, there's some uncertainties there. That's alright. But in my mind, he had two daughters still under his roof in his home that he was willing to give for nothing to the city men.
[25:13] But he went to his sons-in-law which had married his daughters. And he said, up, get you out of this place for the Lord will destroy this city. He gave them a warning.
[25:23] He knew that judgment was coming. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law.
[25:34] His testimony was worthless and powerless to his sons-in-law. And I think, if I'm right on this, his own daughters that were married to those sons-in-law, if there were more than the two under his roof, and it just makes sense to me that they probably were, he didn't even see his own daughters come out.
[26:04] Probably had possibly grandchildren. I don't know. Doesn't say. He was willing to give his daughters. He was willing to lie about extreme wickedness.
[26:18] His testimony was worthless. his procrastination to want to leave was slowing him down.
[26:31] Verse number 16. And while he lingered, 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.
[26:50] But notice while he lingered, why would you wait if God is going to judge the city? Why would you ever think about sitting back and lingering?
[27:04] You go now! How long halt ye between two opinions? and he was torn between what he would have to leave in the city and be spared?
[27:23] Couldn't make up his mind. He lingered. How far down have you gone? Number five. Came to a point of where they told him to escape and in verse number 17, escape to the mountain.
[27:39] Escape to the mountain. Get out of town. Escape to the mountain. And verse 18, Lot said unto them, O not so, my lord.
[27:51] He's going to argue with the angels. Not so, my lord. Behold now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me and I die.
[28:11] Isn't that kind of like us, that it's just a little thing?
[28:26] It's really not a bad thing that I'm doing. It's just a little thing. I only put a little bit of my lip. I only take one drink, only one.
[28:55] I have a son who's 41. He has smoked since he was in high school.
[29:08] probably quit now the way it sounds from what he tells us. We hope he has. When did you take your first cigarette?
[29:22] A high school cheerleader coaxed him into taking his first one. Couldn't say no to her. Couldn't say no. go. How does it happen?
[29:40] How does it happen? Oh, it's just a little city. It's not a very important city. Just let me escape to that city. How could he argue with these people?
[29:51] They said get to the mountain. Get away. God's going to judge this place. Oh, that's alright. Let us just go to this little city. It's just a little one. It's just little.
[30:01] It's not important. How far was Lot's life downhill? He was willing to give his two daughters. He was willing to lie about the angels that were there, saying they were there to commit wickedness with him.
[30:16] His testimony was worthless and powerless to his sons-in-law. He procrastinated. He lingered. He demanded to renegotiate the messengers of the Lord's command to flee to the mountains.
[30:28] It's just a little one. Lastly, when he finally did flee, he went to that little city and then felt unsafe there and went to the mountains.
[30:38] Isn't that something? They told him to go to the mountains in the first place. It took him a while to get there. Finally went. His daughters, not knowing right from wrong as daddy should have taught him, and he himself not having very good discernment, they got him drunk and he had committed incest with his daughters and they had children from their father.
[31:11] Does that tell you how far Lot went downhill, folks? Does that give us a little bit of an idea of what it means that he vexed his soul?
[31:21] They wore him down day by day, hearing and seeing, little by little they wore him down to where he was this low and yet known as a righteous man.
[31:38] And God delivered him out. God spared his life. So what did Lot lose in all of what he chose?
[31:50] He chose water and grass. Sounds innocent enough, but it was the plains down by Sodom and Gomorrah. Number one, he lost all his possessions.
[32:04] Now if he still had his herds, I don't know, but he didn't have his herds when he left. Didn't have his house, didn't have his possessions, everything that was important to him.
[32:16] I've got to get to the land where there's grass and water because that's where my sheep will need to fatten and grow and I'll be prosperous. He lost all his possessions.
[32:29] Number two, probably lost his employees if he still had sheep. He had herdsmen. They probably perished if we aren't told.
[32:42] He lost his witness. He lost his discernment. He lost his dignity. He lost his spiritual strength. He lost his self respect.
[32:59] He lost his family. Were there additional children or grandchildren left behind? I surmise that he probably had daughters, that he had sons-in-law that were married to his daughters.
[33:12] ultimately, where did his wife come from? He didn't marry someone that was a part of his life when he was with Abraham.
[33:27] There was a day in Genesis chapter 14 where an enemy nation came in and took the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and took Lot and captured them and carried them off.
[33:40] his brother Abraham came to his rescue and brought him out. In Genesis chapter 14 it talks about that when he brought him out, brought him with all of his stuff.
[33:55] Let's see, verse 16 of chapter 14, and he brought back all the goods and also brought again his brother Lot and his goods and the women also. So apparently there were women with Lot at this point and the women also and the people.
[34:13] At the same time that Abraham rescued Lot, Abraham rescued the king of Sodom. Rescued the king of Sodom.
[34:28] And Abraham said to the king of Sodom in verse 22, I have lifted up mine hand unto the Lord, the Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abraham rich.
[34:57] The king of Sodom wanted to give some pay to Abraham for not just delivering Lot, but for delivering him. and Abraham said, I will not take a thread from you, not even a shoe latchet, lest you would say, I have made Abraham rich.
[35:17] Abraham was still pure in his mind, and in his heart, and in his ideas, and he would not compromise himself with the king of Sodom, but not so Lot.
[35:30] Lot vexed his righteous soul. Lot lost his family, his wife. Woo! They were warned not to look back, and outside of Zohar, she just couldn't stand it, had to look back.
[35:52] The Bible tells us that she became a pillar of salt. Unbelievable. And then lastly, we never find a mention of a relationship again with Abraham.
[36:12] The next several chapters after chapter 19, as we will find when our preacher comes back, Abraham is still, there's things happening with Abraham, but we never find Abraham and Lot back together.
[36:34] Once Lot got down to Sodom, oh, if he would have just said, this is not for me, I'm going to leave this thing, I'm going to sell my herds, I'll give them away, I'm going back to my brother, my cousin, my good friend, Abraham, Abraham, take me back, I sold everything, I'm not a conflict to you, I'm willing to work for you, I'll take care of your herds, I'll do whatever, but just take me back, I cannot live amongst those wicked people anymore, it's too much, it's wearing me down, I've got to leave.
[37:11] I don't know if that ever crossed his mind, but at some point in time, he vexed his righteous soul, he wore down the toil of their worldly conversation, day after day, in seeing and in hearing, it wore him down.
[37:34] What's the lesson for us? Can it happen here? Can it happen to someone in Vision Baptist Church?
[37:47] Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting.
[38:04] You have a choice, you have a choice. Some of you tonight might be at crossroads in your lives relative to big decisions that you have to make.
[38:15] We all face decisions, some small but some life-changing. Are you able to say no?
[38:29] Choose. Lest you become a fable as Lot did. Let's pray.
[38:42] Our Father, how we thank you and praise you for your goodness and grace and your mercy. we thank you for how that you were gracious to Lot, how it must have hurt you when you saw him vex his soul, but you loved him and you snatched him away before you judged those cities.
[39:06] We thank you for your being loving and kind and merciful to us, undeserving sinners as we are. we thank you for your grace.
[39:18] Lord, you know our minds, you know the directions that we tend to go and help us tonight to make some good choices for the things that would come about in the days to come.
[39:33] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfredo, 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.