Thank you so much, praise band, for leading us this morning in worship.
What a blessing you are.
If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn to Genesis chapter 13.
Genesis chapter 13.
You know life is strange.
It seems like we kind of live life backwards.
We make some of the most crucial decisions of our life
when we don't know any better.
You see the value of your education when you're finished.
No do-overs.
You see the wisdom of your parents when you're grown.
You know the most about parenting when your kids are out of the house.
And you hear yourself as you get older say,
if I'd only known,
if I could do that again.
So what can we learn from that?
Now I will tell you, I've struggled with saying what I'm about to say
because I know it may be offensive to you.
But the more I ponder, the more I believe it's true.
We're not really prepared to handle life by ourselves.
Now I know a lot of self-made people may take offense to that.
But I'm sorry.
The reality is we're not really prepared to handle life by ourself.
It is as if we were not made to master it on our own, actually.
And if we try, we're going to mess up.
Lot messed up.
Abram's nephew, Lot, messed up.
And I believe the account of his mess-ups are in Scripture
so we don't make the same kind of mistakes ourselves.
So I want us to look at Lot's example this morning.
Not to follow it, to learn from it.
Now, Genesis chapter 13, beginning in verse 1 says,
So Abram went up from Egypt.
He and his wife and all that he had and Lot with him into the Negev.
Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
And he journeyed on from the Negev as far as Bethel
to the place where his tent had been at the beginning
between Bethel and Ai,
to the place where he had made an altar at the first.
And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord.
And Lot, who went with Abram,
also had flocks and herds and tents,
so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together.
For their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.
And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock
and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock.
At that time, the Canaanites and the Barizzazites were dwelling in the land.
And then Abram said to Lot,
Let there be no strife between you and me
and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen,
for we are kinsmen.
Is not the whole land before you?
Separate yourself from me.
If you take the left hand, then I'll go to the right.
And if you take the right hand, then I'll go to the left.
And Lot lifted up his eyes
and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered,
everything like the garden of the Lord,
like the land of Egypt in the direction of Zor.
This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
That's a prophecy there, folks, aforementioned.
So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley,
and Lot journeyed east.
Thus they separated from each other.
Abram settled in the land of Canaan,
where Lot settled among the cities of the valley
and moved his tent as far as Sodom.
Now the men of Sodom were wicked,
great sinners against the Lord.
I guess having too much is a good problem to have.
You know, I guess it's better than having too little.
But it can also be a huge problem.
Scripture says that he was very rich.
In other words, Abram was rolling.
You know, the word actually very rich,
the word in Hebrew actually means heavy.
So in other words, he was loaded.
He appeared to be doing okay financially
before he went into Egypt.
But remember when he went up to Egypt,
Egypt took care of him.
Because he gave his wife,
he just claimed her as a sister,
gave his wife to Pharaoh for a time.
And Egypt took care of him because of that.
And he was able to take all that he had with him
when the plagues came and Pharaoh said,
take your wife and get out of here
and all your stuff too.
So he left very rich.
And he's loaded with people too.
Family and all those acquaintances,
extended family are like guests.
And Ben Franklin said,
guests are like fish.
After three days, they start to smell.
And it was Abram's fault, quite honestly,
that they were in this situation.
God told him to leave his extended family behind.
But he didn't.
Took his father with him
and his father had him hang out in Haran way too long.
And he was supposed to go to Canaan.
But when times got tough,
instead of trusting the Lord to get him through,
he went to the wealth of Egypt
and profited from it.
But he also inherited the mess that it made for him.
Now as they leave Egypt,
they have conflict.
Literally in the original language,
that speaks of physical and verbal conflict, fighting.
They were getting after it.
And it was the herdsmen against the herdsmen.
So they're fighting over property
and what sheep belongs to who
and all that kind of stuff.
And remember,
they wasn't even supposed to be on this journey.
Lot wasn't even supposed to make it to this journey.
And things were shook.
And Lot was blessed with livestock as well.
And verse 5 says they had many tents.
Well, they had people in those tents.
They had a flock of people with them too.
And traveling with that many people,
I mean, if you've ever been on a bus ride for several days,
you know that no matter how big that bus is,
it ain't big enough to be with those people.
And then with more livestock and more food and more water,
all that's needed,
and this is a land that was hit by the famine earlier.
And besides that, Scripture tells us
that the land is filled with Canaanites and Perizzocites.
I mean, Perizzocites sounds enough like parasites
to make you know they're good for nothing, you know.
But plus, let me add,
Abram and his family were rich folk.
Rich folk have a sense of entitlement to them, you know.
I mean, they don't want to just live off the land.
They want to live nice, you know.
I've come to define rich folk as those folks who,
not for a special occasion, just for a meal out,
they'll order an appetizer and dessert.
Man, what's that like, you know?
And there are not a lot of desserts in this land.
It's not there.
And now everyone's sprawling out like Texas
and something's got to give.
And Abram could have said, get out, but he didn't.
He didn't.
He told Lot, pick where you want to go.
If you go to the left, I'll go to the right.
If you go to the right, I'll go to the left.
You pick where you want to go.
Don't ever let that slip by unnoticed.
Because Abram not only treated him like an equal,
which he was not, but Abram put Lot before himself.
Not only does that speak of a corrected course
in Abram's life along the way,
but he is now following and trusting the Lord again.
But it also speaks of an increase in his faith.
Because he's trusting the Lord he's going to provide.
He didn't trust in himself.
He didn't trust in Lot.
He's just trusting in God.
And he gave God control of his future.
And my friend, that's exactly where he needed to be.
And that's exactly where we need to be.
Lot, on the other hand, didn't do so well.
And we can learn from both.
The ramifications for Lot would be huge,
but his future could be different
if his decision-making was different.
But he didn't aim in the right direction.
He wasn't really prepared to manage life by himself.
Nor are we.
Now, I realize when I stand in this room,
I am surrounded by a lot of smart,
successful, and good people.
And then there are those other ones.
But anyway.
But we're prepared to manage our lives by ourselves.
We feel like we are.
But the reality is we're not prepared
to handle life by ourselves.
And to be honest,
we're not intended to handle life by ourselves.
God made us to be in relationship with him
and depend upon him.
And that kind of dependence
kind of rubs against us sometimes
because we like to be independent.
I don't need anybody else.
I don't depend on anybody.
I got this.
Well, watch out
because it'll eventually show what you got.
And if we get that wrong,
it causes a lot of headache.
And Lot got it wrong.
Lot chose for himself.
So this episode in his life
that affected his future
begs us to ask three life questions
about ourselves.
One is this.
Are we merely trusting what we can see?
Lot was not grateful for what he had.
He was greedy.
And he was looking for more wealth
and he was looking for more plenty
and he was standing on the ledge
in the midst of a parched land
and he was seeing garden-like plains before him.
Garden of Eden style stuff.
Now I'm telling you,
the Jordan River was winding
through the deepest gorge in the world
with lush and green grass on both sides
and beautiful palms all along the banks.
It was around those areas
that some of the great cities were built.
But what he couldn't see from that angle
was the rest of the river
because the Jordan, the Yarden,
means descender.
And the Jordan River is a sinking down as it goes
and it, as in death of sorts
because when John the Baptist baptized in the Jordan River,
he symbolized the death of the old self
and the resurrection of the spiritually dead
to life in Christ.
And the sad reality is
the life-giving waters of the Jordan
dropped far below sea level,
1,414 feet below sea level
into the Dead Sea,
a sea so salty that nothing can live in it.
And I found out when I visited there
that if you accidentally splash yourself in the eye,
you won't see for quite some time.
They say you can float.
But on the bus, on the way to the Dead Sea,
that overcrowded bus I was talking about,
somebody said,
you know they say
that if you ever get upside down in the Dead Sea,
you bob and you can't get back up.
So I went out there in the Dead Sea.
Don't laugh at me.
I went out there in the Dead Sea
and I laid back.
You know, I've seen people with pictures
reading the newspaper
and they're just floating.
And I leaned back
and I thought I leaned back a little too far.
And I didn't want to be the one dude
in American history that visited Israel
that drowned in the Dead Sea from bobbing
and they couldn't get the old boy back up.
And so in my effort to sit back up,
I splashed myself with a seawater
that's ten times saltier than ocean water.
And the trip was over.
I was done.
The guy I was with said,
hey man, watch it.
I said, I can't see anything.
It's a horrible experience.
Lot should have known better.
That's all I'm saying.
What looked promising though to Lot's eye
was actually choosing death.
And it's a lesson for us.
Don't let money and possessions
and property be your guide.
Don't let that stuff
cause quarrels
and fights
and divisions.
It's not worth it.
And that was
not only Lot's,
that was not his only mistake.
The second question
I think we ought to ask ourselves is this.
Are we solely
making our own
decisions?
Because Lot was
protecting his status.
really.
Instead of his family.
He was trying to get
everything that he possibly could
no matter what the cost.
But the reality is
the best may not always
look like the greatest.
He was choosing for himself
instead of trusting God.
He felt certain
for what he could see.
And you shouldn't feel certain
about what you can see.
Actually, that's exactly
the opposite of living
a life of faith
when Hebrews 11.1
describes faith as this.
Faith is the assurance
of things hoped for.
The conviction of things
not seen.
The things that you cannot see.
How can we be certain
about the things
that we cannot see?
We put our faith
not in what we can do
and not in what we can see
but what in God can see
and what God can do.
And what God will do.
And that's why
it's so important
that we must be
spirit led in our lives.
Because that is the opposite
of how we think
in the flesh.
And most of the time
we believe it is the stuff
that we can see
that we can be certain of
as we prognosticate
about things.
But instead of what
God will show us
and Lot learned
the difference.
Sadly.
Let's learn from Lot.
Let's don't make
the same mistake.
In reality
his greatest uncertainty
his greatest mistake
came because
he trusted what he saw.
What he thought
he could grasp.
Third question is this.
Are we hanging out
in the right places?
Are we hanging out
in the right places?
He pitched his tent
among the wrong people.
He pitched his tent
near Sodom.
Now you know
that we get our word
sodomy
from that word
because of the depth
of the sexual sin
in that area.
However,
their sin was more
than that.
Ezekiel 16,
49,
and 50
says this about Sodom.
It says,
Sodom
had pride,
excess of food,
and prosperous
ease.
But did not aid
the poor
and needy.
They were haughty
and did an abomination
before God.
Now let me be clear
about Sodom
and we'll get there
in a week or two.
If you think
the Christian church
can turn a blind eye
to the sinful
sexual abominations
of the world,
you're wrong.
We can't.
The world is loud.
Loud about the matters
of sex and gender.
And the church
needs to stand
and proclaim
the truth
in the matter
as boldly
as we hear it
from others.
But just as true,
if we are proudly
and easily
ignoring the needs
of others,
Scripture says
we're haughty
and an abomination
as well.
It is not our job
to focus on one
and not the other.
It's our job
to take care
of both.
And not only
was Lot pitching
his tent near Sodom,
but the Canaanites
and the Perizzites
were also living
in that land.
Those are enemies
of God's people.
They are stumbling blocks
for Lot.
But his conflict
was with a believer,
which was Abram.
Abram,
a man of faith.
So let's not act
like Abram
and Lot
because the reality
is if believers
struggle against each other,
while we're struggling
against each other,
there's a lost world
out there
in the same land
that we will fail
to reach
if all we do
is get fascinated
with each other.
Those who are against
the work of the Lord
are lurking.
They want to embarrass us
or see us
embarrass ourselves.
They are also
the evils
of the flesh nearby.
Scripture says,
like a lion
seeking whom
he may devour.
You need to remember
as what Ephesians 6,
12 tells us,
that we don't
wrestle against
flesh and blood,
but against the rulers,
against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers
of this present darkness,
against the spiritual forces
of evil
in the heavenly places.
Our battle's not
against flesh and blood.
Our hatred
don't need to be shown
upon each other.
So while Christians
take their eyes
off of what we're
supposed to be doing
and deal with
the trivialities
among each other
or just selfishly
set our own course
and do our own thing,
the enemies of the Lord
are striving
to divide
and to conquer.
Why wouldn't the devil
take full advantage
of that?
Church,
we can't be asleep.
He took advantage
in Lot's life
because Lot
wasn't paying attention
and Lot didn't
see it coming
and the text
reminds us here,
prophesies to us
that this is before
the Lord destroyed
Sodom and Gomorrah
because God
saw it coming.
Lot didn't see it coming
and Lot didn't
trust God
with what he was to do.
He just looked
with his eyes.
He picked
what he thought
was best.
Friend,
we don't know
what tomorrow holds
but we better know
that the one
that holds tomorrow
we better know
the one that holds tomorrow
and we better let him
call the shots
of our life.
If not,
we will inevitably
keep pitching
our tents
a little bit closer
to Sodom
every time.
Just inching.
Just moving
that way.
Just moving
that way.
There's an option.
There's an option
that we ought
to take
and I think
God,
Abram,
claimed that option
and the option
is to trust
the Lord.
Trust the Lord.
He let God
lead him
and I want you
to watch
what happens
when he let God
lead him.
it's in Genesis
chapter 13
beginning in verse 14
and it says this.
The Lord said to Abram,
after Lot had
separated from him,
lift up your eyes
and look from the place
where you are
northward and southward
and eastward and westward
for all the land
that you see
I will give to you
and to your offspring
forever.
I'll make your offspring
as the dust
of the earth
so that if one
can count
the dust
of the earth
your offspring
also can be counted.
Arise,
walk through the length
and the breadth
of the land
for I will give it
to you.
So Abram,
oh I love this,
moved his tent
and came
and settled
by the oaks
of Mamrie
which are at Hebron
and there he built
an altar to the Lord.
Oh,
pick up on this difference.
He didn't trust
his vision.
He trusted God's.
He didn't choose
for himself.
He let God choose.
He didn't pitch
his tents
with the wickedness
of the world.
He pitched his tents
in the oaks
of Mamrie.
Mamrie is a
Hebrew word
for fatness.
That sounds
a lot better
than descending
down to death,
don't it?
Not only that
but it says
he also was
in Hebron
and Hebron
means fellowship.
So in other words
he was in a place
of fatness
and fellowship
and he built
an altar
to the Lord.
He didn't try
to manage
his own life decisions.
He let the Lord
do that
and God built
a great nation
through him.
As Jesus
reminds us
he sought
first the kingdom
of God
and his righteousness
and all these
things
whatever they are
in your life
these things
will be added
unto you
as long as you
seek
the kingdom
of God.
These things
are that stuff
that you need
or the stuff
that you're worried
about.
Trust God
he'll take care
of that.
but it may
be like
for Abram
in your life
it may be
that you need
correction
in your life
you need
repentance
in your life
you need
to turn
180 degrees
and that's
exactly what
Abram did
he had to
go back
from where
he had
started
and trust
the one
that he trusted
when he was
there before
before he tried
to go on
his own
because when
he went
on his own
and made
his own
decisions
he pitched
his tents
in Egypt
and placed
his wife
in Pharaoh's
house
and placed
his nephew
under the
influence
of evil
presence
and got
their mind
off of what
it needed
to be on
and led
them to make
bad decisions
along the way
and it wasn't
until Abram
came back
to where
he had been
when he was
right with God
that God
told him
walk the
land
everything
you see
and everything
you touch
I'll give
to you
and I'll
bless you
beyond measure
that's an
old man
he's talking
to
and he
just promised
him the
world
I want to
close with
one more
life question
I know I
said three
I lied
one more
what do
we do
when we
realize
we messed
up
I got
good news
for you
we begin
again
we begin
again
time is
wasting folks
but we can
begin again
and we can
get it right
aren't you
thankful today
that God
always allows
us to come
back
and make it
right
aren't you
thankful today
that God
always allows
us to come
back and make
it right
amen
but we first
have to admit
that we're not
really equipped
to manage
our lives
on our own
and before
you take
offense of
that I
want you
to know
God never
intended for
us to do
that
he always
intended for
us to walk
with him
and depend
upon him
and allow him
to guide us
so let's not
trust our eyes
let's trust
the Lord
let's not
choose for
ourselves
let's let
God choose
and let's
watch where
we hang
out
let's be
careful where
we pitch
our tents
instead
let God
guide us
and when he
guides us
we'll be
blessed
with every head
bowed and
every eye closed
in this room
I ask you
for something
I ask you
if you've ever
made a decision
to follow the
Lord Jesus
as your
personal Lord
Savior
I want you
to know
if you
haven't done
that
you've made
a lot of
wrong decisions
along the way
and the reality
is
that I'm
thankful today
that you have
an opportunity
of salvation
today
if you'll admit
to the Lord
Jesus that you
are a sinner
that you've
done wrong
that you realize
it's separated
you from the
Father
that you'd
like to
take Christ's
sacrificial death
as your salvation
and surrender
your life
to the Lord
Jesus
I want you to
know he'll guide
your path
you can trust
him
that's a big
step
more than you
can see
I get that
but I promise
you
he's right there
with you
guiding you
all the way
God's drawing
you to himself
today
don't ignore
him
you respond
as he speaks
to your heart
and life
we'll stand
in just a moment
and we'll sing
and as we do
more important
than singing
it's your
invitation to
come
we'd love
to guide
you in what
it means
to have a
personal
relationship
with Christ
maybe you
know that
you do have
a personal
relationship
with Christ
but the reality
is you're
not going
in the right
direction
you're pitching
your tent
in the wrong
place
you're living
off your own
site
you're not
doing exactly
what you need
to do
you need
to come
back
to a place
where you
were before
in your life
where things
were right
and make it
right again
and I'm
thankful that
God allows
you to come
back
we can trust
him with that
you may want
to do that
personally
where you
are
you may
want to
do it
at this
altar
you may
want a
pastor
to pray
with you
whatever it
is
I just
encourage you
to be
obedient
to God
maybe God's
drawing you
to be a part
of this
fellowship
you know
this is your
church home
God's made
that clear
to you
I encourage
you to come
as God
leads you
we'll guide
you through
that process
or maybe
there's one
here today
who's made
a personal
relationship
with Christ
and made
that commitment
to Christ
but there's
never been a
time when you
look back
over your life
since that time
you gave your
heart and life
to the Lord
Jesus Christ
and I want you
to know
if that's the
case
it'll be a
great hindrance
in your life
to keep you
from being
everything that
God would have
you to be
the devil
loves
to play off
of our
lack of
public
confession
of faith
to make us
weak in our
faith
so just
trust him
with that
I have
no idea
how God
spoke to you
I know how
he spoke to me
this week
as I worked
on this
but I want
you to know
you'll never
be satisfied
unless you
follow the
Lord Jesus
and in him
you'll find
your satisfaction
so just
trust him
today
and be
obedient
to him
Lord Jesus
I love
you
and I
thank you
for allowing
us to study
your word
together
to worship
you dear
God
to hear
from you
God
give us
the boldness
the fortitude
the wisdom
the strength
dear God
to respond
in obedience
as you speak
to our hearts
and lives
lead us
right now
oh God
I pray
in Jesus
name
amen