September 17, 2017 Gen 13 and 19 “Lot: Little by Little Losing God’s Way”

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“Lot: Little by Little Losing God’s Way”

 Walk Thru The Word for Today:   Genesis 13: 1-7 (ESV)

1So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. 2Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD. 5And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, 7and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

Walk Thru The Word for Today:   Genesis 13: 8 – 13 (ESV)

8Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.^a 9Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. 12Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.

Walk Thru The Word for Today:   Genesis 14: 8 – 12 (ESV)

8Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim 9with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five.

10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. 11So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

Walk Thru The Word for Today:   Genesis 19: 1 – 5 (ESV)

1The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

4But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”

Walk Thru The Word for Today:  Genesis 19: 6 – 11: (ESV) (6 verses to read)

6Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.

Walk Thru The Word for Today:  Genesis 19: 12 – 15: (ESV) (4 verses to read)

12Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” 14So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

Walk Thru The Word for Today:  Genesis 19: 16 – 22: (ESV) (7 verses to read)

16But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

Walk Thru The Word for Today:  Genesis 19: 23 – 28: (ESV) (6 verses to read)

23The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

27And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

Walk Thru The Word for Today:  Genesis 19: 29:

29So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

Walk Thru The Word for Today:  Genesis 19: 36 – 38: (ESV- Lot and His Daughters)  (3 verses to read)

36Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day

Message Map:  Genesis 13 & 19

Lot: Little by Little Losing God’s Way

• LOT PROGRESSIVELY SLID OUT OF God’s Will as He progressed through promotions in Sodom
• Lot lived with the Wicked, while Losing Opportunity to Influence them for God.
• LOT languished about Leaving SODOM & SODOM Lingered in LOT & his family
• Lessons we Learn from Lot’s Legacy

The sin of Sodom

Gen. 13:13 – The problem with Sodom is that “The men of Sodom were sinning greatly against the lord.

KJV = But the men of Sodom were wicked (bad, evil, miserable severely troubled and unpleasant) and sinners before the LORD

Before = exceedingly impudent and daring sinners in defiant, open-opposition to God’s revealed natural laws.  Gen 18:20 Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,

God is the judge, and He alone determines what is sin. In Sodom’s case the sin was HOMOSEXUALITY

Against/Before the LORD =  Sin is a personal affront to God, and it is God who a) defines sin, b) judges sin, and c) is to whom we have to answer.

Before the Lord = exceedingly impudent and daring sinners in defiant, open-opposition to God’s revealed natural laws.

There is something about homosexuality that so fundamentally undermines God’s plan for humankind when he says, “male and female He made them, and that we are to be fruitful and multiply, that when societies institutionalize it as publicly accepted policy, God comes down and blows up the society.

Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate (completely & utterly rejected) mind, to do those things which are not proper

Sinning greatly is highlighted in both

Genesis 18:20 Ezekiel 16:49-50

People will try to use Ezekiel 16:49 to say Sodom’s sin was that it did not take care of the poor.  But in vs 50, the sin is called an “abomination” and what calloused their hearts to the point where they committed that sin is living in pride and wanton selfish ease that abused every poor traveler who happened to have the misfortune of thinking in Sodom. They could a comfortable respite from their travels.  ⁴⁹Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. ⁵⁰They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.

Genesis 18:20-21 indicates that all those whom were abused in the twin cities of terrible sin had cried aloud for God to help them, as people who find themselves assaulted tend to do.  God heard and responded to those cries.

²⁰Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, ²¹I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

The vicinities of Sodom and Gomorrah was as the garden of the Lord – beautiful and prosperous. But the beauty of the landscape and the superabundance of the luxuries it afforded, instead of producing thankfulness and graciousness in the inhabitants, inspired a terrible attitude of proud and lustful entitlement to vent their indecent passions about any unsuspecting visitors who fell into their clutches. Each time they committed such crimes against God and man, their moral corruption increased as they grew bolder in vileness and more daring in their defiance of heaven. They sinned “exceedingly before the Lord.” And Lot had fallen into the vortex of their vice and blasphemy. Which especially at night stood in sharp contrast to the beauty of the cities and their immediate vicinity.

Other verses regarding being or becoming reprobate:

Titus 1:16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

2 Timothy 3:8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also do these resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

Psalm 15:4 indicates that standing with God means despising what God despises and rejecting what God rejects.  Keeping in mind, God hates the sin, but he loves the sinner.  If the sinner won’t let go of sin, and tries to drag us all into it, then rejecting the sin means separating ourselves from the perpetrators of it.

Psalm 15:4 who despises a vile person but honors those who fear … In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change…

2 Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test/be reprobates (KJV)!

1 Corinthians 6:9

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,

Galatians 5:19

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;

Galatians 5:20

Idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,

1 Timothy 1:10

For the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching

Sexual sin is different than other sins

Gen. 13:13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the LORD.

1 Cor. 6:18 flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

Outside/ without the body = the whole “human nature,” which is in 1Corinthians 6:19 is the temple of the Holy Ghost. Other sins may profane only outer courts of the temple; this sin penetrates with its deadly foulness into the soul’s very holy of holies–

1 Tim 4: 2 … Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; = Spiritual & moral nerve endings are cauterized to deaden and petrify our sense of right and wrong.

All sins are not the same.  The Bible teaches that sexual sin is worse than other sins, and that Homosexual sin is far worse than Heterosexual sin because it requires both disobedience and stepping out God’s established natural order for sexual relations.

This additional aberration infects, hardens and petrifies every aspect of our moral , conscience, perception and being.

The Pulpit Commentary goes on to say… “Other sins may be with and by means of the body, and may injure the body; but none are so directly against the sanctity of the whole bodily being as fornication. Sinneth against his own body. By alienating it from the service of him to whom it belongs; by incorporating it with the degradation of another; by staining the flesh and the body (Proverbs 5:8-11; Proverbs 6:24-32; Proverbs 7:24-27); by subtly poisoning the inmost sanctities of his own being. St. Paul is here thinking mainly, however, if not exclusively, of the moral injury and defilement.”

JFB Commentary – “But” the fornicator alienates that body which is the Lord’s, and makes it one with a harlot’s body, and so “sinneth against his own body,” that is, against the verity and nature of his body; not a mere effect on the body from without, but a contradiction of the truth of the body, wrought within itself [Alford].

Matthew Henry 6:12-20 Some among the Corinthians seem to have been ready to say, all things are lawful for me. This dangerous conceit St. Paul opposes. There is a liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, in which we must stand fast. But surely a Christian would never put himself into the power of any bodily appetite. The body is for the Lord; is to be an instrument of righteousness to holiness, therefore is never to be made an instrument of sin. It is an honour to the body that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead; and it will be an honour to our bodies, that they will be raised. The hope of a resurrection to glory, should keep Christians from dishonoring their bodies by fleshly lusts. And if the soul be united to Christ by faith, the whole man is become a member of his spiritual body. Other vices may be conquered in fight; that here cautioned against, only by flight. And vast multitudes are cut off by this vice in its various forms and consequences. Its effects fall not only directly upon the body, but often upon the mind. Our bodies have been redeemed from deserved condemnation and hopeless slavery by the atoning sacrifice of Christ. We are to be clean, as vessels fitted for our Master’s use. Being united to Christ as one spirit, and bought with a price of unspeakable value, the believer should consider himself as wholly the Lord’s, by the strongest ties. May we make it our business, to the latest day and hour of our lives, to glorify God with our bodies, and with our spirits which are His.

Wesley says – 6:18 Flee fornication – All unlawful commerce with women, with speed, with abhorrence, with all your might. Every sin that a man commits against his neighbor terminates upon an object out of himself, and does not so immediately pollute his body, though it does his soul. But he that committeth fornication, sinneth against his own body – Pollutes, dishonours, and degrades it to a level with brute beasts.

Flee = escape.  There is something about sex sin that should inspire a sense of fear or threatening danger in us that causes us to run away from it.  While we are told to resist the devil and certain sins and to stand against Satan (), we’re told in The Pulpit Commentary to “Flee fornication.” In the battle against sensual sins, there is no victory except in absolute flight, because these sins have their dwelling in the body of our being, which it can destroy.

When lust patterns are not released to God to deal with, sexual sin can make us our own deadliest enemy. Every sin… is without the body. Some have supposed that this cannot apply to gluttony and drunkenness, which they therefore class with fornication; but even in those sins, as in suicide, the cause of and incentive to the sin is external, whereas sexual sin has its source of uncleanness within the heart and the thoughts.  Thus Jesus addressed this as a heart problem, saying in Matthew 5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Job 31: 1 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.

Gen 19:29 God Rescued Lot, because God remembered Abraham. 

• Gen 19:29 God save Lot, because God remembered Abraham. God was mindful of Abraham, and for his sake rescued Lot from the main consequences of Sodom’s sin.  This informs us that…
• We should be encouraged to pray for our loved ones and others and not give up praying for them – even as we see them make bad choices.
• God will certainly give an answer n his own way and time to the prayer of faith.
• Lot, though a righteous man, and saved eternally, yet deserved to perish temporarily with the wicked people with whom he had aligned and associated himself – merely for worldly advantages, which would have happened, if Abraham had not interceded by his prayers.

Lot’s daughters were damaged in sodom’s sin

• had been raised wrong i) as pagans or ii) in a pagan, ungodly environment, (in contrast to Gen. 18:19 – which says For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”) Note Gen 18:19 seems to be a conditional promise such as 2Chron 7:14, which says “If my people do 4 things, God says, “then I’ll do 3, which is hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.” I must asset God is not healing our land, because we are doing the 4 things that are our part of the equation.
• married (unequally yoked) Sodomites or Gomorrahites, who did not know, understand nor honor the God of Abraham – men who were so far from understanding the move and plan of God in their lives they laughed, thinking it unbelievable that God actually was sending angels to rescue them?
• Lot never saw Abram’s mission as his mission. There’s no evidence Lot sought to get grafted into God’s mission for Abram, nor that he communicated to the sons-in-law the mission he had accompanied Abraham to undertake.
• Lot betrothed his daughters to Sodomites. Gen 19: 4-5 indicates that Lot’s sin-in-laws were part of the crowd that wanted to rape angels, whom they thought were innocent men just passing through their city. 4But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”
• were yoked with men who completely missed their “day of visitation” and opportunity to be saved!

If Lot’s daughter’s had faith, it was a Dumbed Down Faith – a faith not built on God’s actual commands, and promises.  They made it up as they went along, thinking it right to sin as they did to bear children.

Today; there are a lot of people engaging in sin, thinking they are doing God’s will or that God thinks that what they are doing is okay.

How many people laugh, thinking God’s impending judgement and His amazing salvation is unbelievable?

How many people today laugh when we tell them what God’s Bible actually says? They laugh thinking they know what they are talking about when it comes to God, yet they absolutely refuse to read what the author of the Bible and the universe actually has stated.

Lot’s wife whiffs out

Which of the following do we think is why Lot’s wife looked back?  Is it that she …

1. Failed to look ahead to a future in God Phil 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
2. Longed for the life she was leaving – Lk 9:62 “Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
3. Never accepted Abraham’s God (Rom 10:9-10 9If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
4. Was unequally yoked with Lot (Since Lot’s wife is not mentioned until he is in Sodom, we might assume Lot went to Sodom as a single man, and married a Sodomite. This theory is confirmed by Gill’s Exposition of The Bible which says, The wife of Lot, whose name the Jewish writers (x) say was Adith, or as others Irith (y); and, according to the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, she was a native of Sodom:

Lot’s wife sinks into sainthood salt-hood (which is a play on “Sainthood”)

Lot’s Wife is changed to a Pillar of Salt, which is symbolic of Lot’s family’s failure to be the needed cleansing and preserving agents in Sodom, as disciples are supposed to be according to Matthew 5:13.

Commentators offer interesting theories as to what happened to Mrs. Lot.

Elliot’s Bible Commentary. As regards the method of her transformation, some think she was stifled by sulphureous vapours, and her body subsequently encrusted with salt.

More probably, the earthquake heaped up a mighty mass of the rock-salt, which lies in solid strata round the Dead Sea, and Lot’s wife was entangled in the convulsion and perished, leaving the hill of salt, in which she was enclosed, as her memorial. Salt cones are not uncommon in this neighborhood, and the American Expedition found one, about forty feet high, near Usdum (Lynch, Report, pp. 183 et seq.). Entombed in this salt pillar, she became a “monument of an unbelieving soul” (Wisdom of Solomon 10:7).

(Josephus, Calvin, Rosenmüller, Kalisch, Wordsworth), surmise she was killed by fiery, sulphurous vapor with which the atmosphere was impregnated, and afterwards became encrusted with salt.

Gill’s Exposition of The Bible says, Jewish writers (x) say Lot’ wife was named Adith, or Irith (y);

Gen 19:17 says And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”

WHAT BIBLICALLY IS SYMBOLIC OF WHAT HAPPENED TO MRS LOT IS Her Looking Back was regarding with pleasure, favor or care so she blew the if-then angel covenant “If look back you die!

Salt is the symbol of perpetuity in the O.T., as perpetual alliances were called “covenants of salt.”  (Gen 31:53, Lev 2:13, Numb 18:19, 2 Chron 13:5)

• All meat-offerings were seasoned with salt (Leviticus 2:13 KJV).
• God’s covenant with Aaron and the Levites in Num. 18:19 “is an everlasting covenant of salt.”

2 Chron. 13:5 God’s covenant of David’s kingship of Israel was ratified “by a covenant of salt.”

In Gen. 31:52 a pillar of salt was set up as a memorial of the alliance between Jacob and Laban.

Great importance is attached to keeping covenants. Divine wrath fell upon those who broke them with the violators being trampled underfoot. (2 Samuel 21:1, 2; Ezekiel 17:16)

 Lot languished about Leaving SODOM & SODOM Lingered in LOT & his family

Gen 19: 12-16

• The angels would have rescued 6 people
• (2 = Lot and wife; 2 = Lot’s sons-in-laws, who were pledged to marry his daughters), 2 = daughters living at home).
• Only 3 (Lot & 2 daughters.) actually were saved. Lot looked back, = refused to let go of sin. (See Luke 17:32-33) & Lot’s son-in-law’s laughed

Contrast:   Lot’s son-in-law’s laughing with Sarah’s laughing.  Why did Sarah get grace and the boys perished?

• Sarah already had made steps of faith and obedience and the boys did not make the necessary steps that would have saved their lives.

Lot Lived with the Wicked, while Losing Opportunity to Influence them for God.

Barnes Says – 10And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar.

So Lot lost his way as did Adam and Eve who were convinced to take the final step into sin, by being enticed by what they saw.  Genesis 3: 6-7  6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

THE HOLY SPIRIT SAYS LOT WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN – 2 Pet. 2:7-8 “Lot was a righteous man, who was  distressed (exhausted and worn out, oppressed and overpowered) by the filthy lives of LAWLESS  men (who were noted for their lewdness and outrageous, shockingly indecent public conduct that included wanton — deliberate and unprovoked— violence)- for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was TORMENTED (tortured and tormented as if buffeted by the shock of waves.)  in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard –“

QUESTION: If Lot was tormented by Sodom’s sin, then what did he do about it?

1. The Sodomites sinful behavior of the was well known yet did not deter Lot, who made relationships without regard to the spiritual character of those with whom he aligned as a partner.
2. Did Lot believe in ““separation of church and state” and felt that no matter what civil authorities did, his role was to go along with it?
3. Did Lot believe that witnessing is best done by the shining example of our Christian lives? The problem with thinking we are such shining examples is that Rom 2:23 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  So our lives at times can be poor examples of what it means to live in Christ. & besides 10:17 says Faith comes by hearing – so even if we this our lives are so great, we still gotta speak up and out.

• Satan & Sin are cannibalistic in nature; and consume those who cooperate and submit to them. So in Gen. 19: 1– The men of Sodom would consume Lot, who positioned himself as a leader and judge as one of their own.  Unholy alliances are not made to help us Satan, the consulate their only comes to steal, kill and destroy!
• Lot damned his daughters by 1) exposing them to Sodom’s sinful wickedness (Gen 19: 7) Gen 19: 7 Lot and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 2) treating them in ways that damaged them psychologically and morally.
• Lot failed to follow Gen 18:19 and “direct his children and household to keep the way of the LORD,” so they felt it was okay to commit incest and have the children the way they did.
• Lot’s Legacy is THE MOABITES & AMMONITES – arch enemies of God’s plan for Israel.

The World is Suppressing Sodom’s lesson

2 Peter 2: 4-10

4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell^a and committed them to chains^b of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;^c 7and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8(for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,^d and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10and especially those who indulge^e in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.

Lessons learned from Lot’s Legacy Lot Lost God’s Way by walking by sight

Lot lost God’s way through a series of steps that looked good and seemed rational.  Gen 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD…

Scripture speaks of 3 types of hearts that are touched by The Gospel:

• burning- pure Hearts – like the disciples experienced on the road to Emmaus in Like 24:32 & 1 Tim 1:5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
  • lukewarm- -indecisive indecisive Hearts – Rev 3:16 – to which God responds by spewing out of his mouth
  • cold-Calloused, unfeeling, unbelieving Hearts – Ps 119: 70 (ESV = unfeeling like fat, KJV = as fat as grease NAS = covered with fat, NIV= callous and unfeeling, & Hebrews 3:12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God

Obedience = Faithful demonstration

Talk without Obedience = Hypocrisy.

Talk without Obedience = death.

Our hearts must be transformed by God, who works within us – so we can do right!

Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind & Mark 12:30 adds with all our strength, as does Luke 10:27, which also adds; and, ‘Love your neighbor.”  Loving our neighbor means telling them about Christ.

Matthew 6:21 & Luke 12:34 say “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. … Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

Acts 2:26 ties our hearts and tongues together: “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope

Luke 6:45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up …A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. …

The goodness of our heart, however, requires God to work in and circumcise it.  Romans 2:29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.

Let’s Pray that God is merciful and gracious to us to conform us to His will.

Dear God, we pray that you will work in us and make us the type of people who can offer ourselves to with our hearts in which you are able to do Your holy and amazing work of circumcision.

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