Jude On Lots Sin

The speaker is discussing the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and how it serves as a warning of God's judgment. They also talk about the importance of spiritual leadership in marriages and the negative effects of rebellion. The speaker emphasizes the need for husbands to love their wives and for wives to respect their husbands. The speaker believes that marriage teaches us how God wants to be loved and supported. So we are still in the book of Jude, you know, I can't believe this is like the fourth week and there's still like a couple left because you just I mean, he must have been a troublemaker He just brought up all these controversial things in his one chapter. He brought up, you know, five or six controversial things And so today the story of sodom and gomorrah, he brings that up Uh, so we're going to be talking a little bit about that week and peter and first peter He also mentioned it so we hit it really hard in detail in first peter So we'll be a little less detailed today since we hit it so hard in first peter But that has been four or five months ago But before we go in our study any longer, let's go ahead and go to the lord in prayer Dear jesus again, we come to you lord hands held high. We know that That's amazed at us how much you love us because we we give you very little back compared to what you give us We know there's a lot of sin in our lives You told us in the scripture that you can't you can never look favorably upon sin And we want to be looked on favorably this morning So we'll ask you as you told us in first john to forgive us of our sin cleanse us That we might be clean at least now so that we can have your holy word in us. We ask this in your name. Amen Yeah, so, uh jude 1 7 Here's the way and it's like four weeks later and we're in verse 7 I mean, it's amazing. He says and don't forget sodom and gomorrah and their neighboring towns People always forget it wasn't just sodom and gomorrah There was a lot of other towns around there which were filled with immorality that word, uh in the greek is pornea uh, which means sexual immorality But whenever they heard immorality, they always knew that they didn't you know for us immorality just means anything immoral But to them the word immorality only referred to that and then he went on to say even every kind of sexual perversion Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of eternal fire of god's judgment now In second peter remember second peter, uh said a lot the same thing He said later god condemned the cities of sodom and gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people Uh, you notice the bible writers wanted us to know that god is a god of love and justice and mercy But he's also a god of judgment and and the the writers almost all of them reminded us now and then you know We don't want to dwell on it, but understand that god also has a god of judgment And they disregarded him they just disregarded him I don't know have you ever been disregarded like that like say at work Or something, you know the answer, you know exactly what to do, you know, what but nobody Nobody listens to you and then you just have to kind of step back and let let them fail Don't you hate that step back and let people fail? But you hit a point where you're like, okay, they're not going to listen to me And i'm just going to have to step back and let them fail, you know And in this case, not only do they disregard him they've rebelled against him Disobeyed him now the bible has a lot to say about rebellion What does the bible say about rebellion? It causes lots of trouble compares it and we're going to be there later But compares it to witchcraft you can imagine that compares the rebellion to witchcraft. It will be in that verse later Says that god hates both of those things hates rebellion hates things of of, you know, the occult things like witchcraft And rebellion oftentimes is what destroys marriages Because divorce is one of satan's best tricks He it's just it's a great way not only to to hurt some one person, but it's a great way to hurt You know lots of people. I mean the wife the husband the children the in-laws You know, I I remember when my sister got divorced years ago Her husband was just one of my closest best friends. I mean and it was almost like I got divorced from him Because you know, I just really really we were just great friends and and you know Then now you had this thing between you, you know, it's just it's a horrible thing Uh, and many times it is the sin of rebellion that causes that Because we like to follow cultural standards instead of following biblical standards Because everybody, you know agrees with you on cultural standards. Here's here's one of the just a few verses of what god says about marriage It says wives be subject to your own husbands as to the lord For the husband is the head of the wife and christ also is the head of the church He himself being the savior of the body so pretty high bar set here for the leader of a home Savior of the body head of the head of the church But as the church is as but as a church is subject to christ So also wives ought to be subject to their husbands and everything Gary you nodded awfully hard there. I don't understand that But But husbands that means that you have to be spiritual leaders. That means you got to do your job as a spiritual leader If you don't you're kind of almost forcing her to do your job And that is the case in many if not Most marriages is the case is the husband will not take the spiritual head of their house And now you have put the wife in a bad spot now Somebody has to be the leader and so many times she can't do what god made her to do because she has she's trying to Do what god made us to do? But god prefers it Be the other way he prefers and and and demands actually that we take spiritual leadership of our home and that the wife is a supportive person to us Help meet. I think it's how king james worded it A supportive person someone to build you up And when a wife builds a husband up it just encourages him to be better and to be better at everything Uh, so that means both both husband and wife need to know the standards Then once we know the standards we both we both have to practice the standards ephesians 5 25 goes on husbands. Love your wives Just as christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her. That's a high bar I mean not not just love having that little squirrely feeling inside of you But actions to the point of giving your life for your spouse for your wife if that were required So that he might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing and the water of the word Heard a story just the other day about a Guy, he finally saved, you know, this is super bowl season, right? It's coming up close He finally saved enough money to go to a super bowl and he put his name in and waited his turn His you know, has anybody in here ever been to a super bowl? I don't hardly know anybody that's been to a super bowl very expensive And so he goes and he's excited and he sits down and he looks and there's an empty seat beside him he's thinking It's got to come nobody buys a seat these were good seats and doesn't come and so Eventually, he looked at that seat He looked at the guy that was two seats over and said who would buy a super bowl seat and not come? And the man said well That's actually that's actually my extra seat He said that my wife and I have been going to super bowl every year since we've been married every year That's our special thing. It's a lot of money. It's our special thing And he goes i'm so sorry. I wish I wouldn't have asked and then a few minutes later He got to thinking doesn't he have cousins or a nephew or a son or a daughter somebody that might want to go? So he said excuse me, sir I don't want to be rude But couldn't you find anybody to come and fill that seat, you know your son or your daughter or your nephew or your niece? He goes well now Uh, they're all at the funeral Okay, so anyway aphesians 5 27, um That's why i'm talking about the love between husband and wife they're Feeding slides when he says so he said so that jesus Might present himself See, he he did all that for us as a church because we're his bride Uh so that he might present To himself the church in all her glory having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing But that she would be holy and blameless not perfect But blameless meaning, you know, you try you make mistakes You make mistakes, but you try to fix them and and you go to god for forgiveness when you fix them and and that you Make yourself as good as you can for each other, you know, um God didn't have to do the marriage thing. He could have made us just like the animals I'm a deer hunter. I know, you know when the does go in heat and the bucks go get nutty and chase them And that's why we kill them because they're so you know, they don't have any caution anymore They're running after those females and they get a nice cartridge shot into them for their trouble But uh god didn't want us to be like that He didn't want the females just to be running around going in heat and the guys breeding them like Was kind of like what happens now anyway But he wanted us to understand what it felt like to be loved and what it felt like to be respected what it felt like To be supported. He wanted us to know all of that So that we could know how he feels about us. See that's the whole the whole thing was he wanted us to know How he feels about us how he likes to be supported how he likes to be You know honored and and so he he gave us this working lifetime lesson called marriage He goes on said husbands ought to also to love their own wives as their own bodies He who loves his own wife loves himself Nevertheless each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself and the wife must see That she respects her husband and respect is just another kind of love when you talk to Men and women about what they want in the marriage It's amazing how quickly you get to the fact that women they like the flavor of love of being cherished being, you know supported And men seem to like the flavor of love of respect and to be held up and to be uh, you know Given that kind of love. It's both both of them are loved though But it has to start by getting rebellion out of our families god hates it Here's the first I talked about earlier for rebellion Is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry because you have rejected the word of the lord So now we have to say okay. He hates rebellion as much as witchcraft. So what does that mean? He compared the two so we need to look at the two So we're going to take a look at that this things that were practiced by pagans Uh, well then because 1926 there's so many verses about this I had to just really take a snippet of it um And the reason I like this section because you're going to see a lot of things are lumped together It says do not eat meat that has not been drained of its blood Do not practice fortune telling or witchcraft I remember the word for sorcerer is is pharmakia, which is the word we get the word pharmacy from So, uh, they use drugs in their practice is what they basically did Um, which is funny because god warned us of the sorcerers of the future how they would help bring down the earth And we always thought that meant these people like, you know, like harry potter stuff, you know Like waving their wands and stars and stuff flying around But I you know, but the way the pharmaceutical companies have attacked our country this last, uh, you know, 50 or 60 years I think maybe god was not warning us about magical sorcerers But maybe he was actually warning us about the pharmaceutical companies because that word Pharmakia is where he gets the word sorcerer. I mean who knows? He says also do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards Which this is weird. We don't know why he didn't want to do this We we assume that it was because the pagans did this the people who worship false gods And and somehow they did it in honor of their false gods And he didn't want uh, he didn't want those things being caught on to by the jewish people. He didn't want them also You know trying to mimic the people who are worshiping false guys That's all we can think because why else would he care if he trimmed your beard, right? So the meaning whatever the meaning was was not in their trimmers It was in their hearts, whatever the meaning of the trimming the beards was He says do not cut your bodies for the dead something They would often do they've sliced themselves for the dead and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the lord Okay. Oh boy. I just opened a can of worms and I almost everybody has a tattoo these days I got one of roy orbson a little tramp stamp right here on me No, but uh not really But just one thing to remember about tattoos. They're permanent Okay, I mean whether you're talking biblical or not, uh, take a look at this lady's tattoo here She uh, she always liked to put her boyfriend on her arm So she had she had a tattoo of mark through each one Okay, so uh likely The most likely interpretation is that the tattoos were being used to honor their false gods In the same way the cutting was being used in the same way The trimming the beard was being used trimming the beard in a certain way trimming the sideburns in a certain way Because it's all in the same context now It doesn't come right out and say that but since it is all in the same context But likely they were cutting themselves tattooing themselves trimming their beard in a certain way Their sideburns a certain way They were drinking blood from their kills all to honor their false gods Probably what was happening because we see no new testament bible about any of those things trimming your beard getting a tattoo cutting yourself We see none of that in the new testament um, so, um As far as tattoos today go it's like everything it's all from your heart. What do you why are you doing it? uh, if you're doing anything out of uh Being vain and things like that from from carrying around a coach purse to uh, you know, whatever, you know One person buys a coach purse because they just like it the other person buys it because they think it makes them look really You know fashionable or awesome or whatever same with the watches I know some guys will wear fifteen hundred dollar watches and I always tell them, you know If you're trying to get some attention in kendalville indiana with that watch They don't know the difference of a rolex and a walmart special, you know, so they get you nowhere But so the motive why are you getting the tattoo would be one thing you could ask yourself But there is no restriction in the new testament Only those old testament restrictions the old testament law and a lot of those laws had a reason Like some of the dietary laws we find out later some of the things they weren't allowed to eat were things that were hard to keep fresh like pork and And seafood and things like that some of the things uh, the law probably was because god knew they would end up getting sick Really sick if they if they made that part of their diet They didn't know why they just knew that he told them not to do it But we know from galatians 3 and all over the new testament says therefore the law Was our tutor to bring us to christ that we might be justified by faith But after faith has come we are no longer under the tutor. So we are not under the law Even if the law was still going today We wouldn't be under the law because it's for the it was for the jewish people It wasn't for gentiles and everyone in here is a gentile So we it wouldn't have been for us anyway, even if we had been born back then But it certainly isn't for anybody now because it has been fulfilled it wasn't a bad thing It was just something that god had used to point to christ and after christ came there was no reason for the pointer anymore And all of those things we read about were all in the same context as the tattoo so, you know That's one something to keep in mind, you know Uh, same as all the eating rules. You can't eat this you have to eat that you know, you have to sustain from this Uh, even there's still like a catholicism still has a bunch of those stupid rules still today, you know We'll eat this on that day and this is the length and this is that and none of those god doesn't want any of that Certain foods rituals things like that But there's no comment on tattoos in the new testament And no comments on how to trim your beard in the new testament or how to drain the blood out of your animals None of that that was all the law So the new covenant is about the intentions of your heart Unless he specifically says not to do something And there's a few places in the new testament where he specifically says they don't do this This is not good for you But if he doesn't specifically mention something then it just comes down to the intention of your heart Why is it that you did what you did? Um the innocence or the guilt in your heart now, um These days it is the tattoos is one that gets the biggest attention out of all those scriptures I just read because nobody else does nobody cares about those other things Some people prefer not to get one Just because that verse we read that that one verse in the old testament That scares them a little bit. So they decide i'm not going to get one just because i'm a little scared about that Some people avoid them because interests are fleeting, you know, what you think is really cool now Is not so much cool later, right? I told my daughter laura. I said so when you get old It's going to look like hieroglyphics on you when your body starts to wrinkle in and nobody can read your tattoo anymore So some people don't don't want them because of those kinds of things I mean, I know uh, chris really you really regret that dallas cowboys tattoo. Don't you that you have? Somebody protect me Some just some are like me in this next picture. They just fear the pain. I do not want the pain Those things hurt Uh leviticus 1930 It was on about this because the whole reason we got Dragged over here was because of the spiritual thing The mediums and stuff says keep my sabbath days of rest and show reverence towards my sanctuary I am the lord do not defy yourselves by turning to mediums So guys when you're dating a girl get someone to get a large extra large or small do not date a medium That's what he said Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the lord your god I know i've told the story before but shelly and I were at a garage sale one time and they had this Beautiful leather biker jacket. I mean it had all these patches. It was and it looked like it had hardly been worn and uh And you could see the price on it had 150 then they had a mark through 100 marked through 75 a mark there And you could tell it had been at several garage sales And shelly said I wonder why that didn't sell and I said shelly. It's a medium. Have you ever seen a medium biker? I Sorry, that's a true story though But uh, but when it comes to this mediums and spirit shit spiritualist and all those things I said that were wrong Uh all that like ouija boards and horoscopes and all those things Even though that was an old testament law. There's something different God said he hated it. See that that's different than the law when god says I hate something If god hated something in the old testament, he hates it in the new testament Because he doesn't change. He didn't say I hate tattoos or I hate you trimming your beard or I hate you. Uh, Not properly bleeding your animals before eight, but he did say when it comes to spiritist. It was an abomination to him. He hates it Uh, he hates that. He also said he hated uh, he it was the abomination to him when people are sexually perverted and try to Try to marry people of their own sex. He said he hated that too. So no old testament law or not God hates them. He hates now. So he did say he hated the spiritism movement so jude's point was Uh rebellion has its price And and it's as bad as as you know as the soothsayers and all those things Don't ever let your kids play with that stuff You know, I know the ouija boards look like they're fun and the seances seem fun But it is a bad bad idea because it opens a port that the enemy has free access to And many people have suffered for that He says don't forget sodom and gomorrah and neighboring towns which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion Uh when someone calls someone a pervert, that's what they're saying is they they are exercising perversion Those cities were destroyed by fire to serve as a warning to the eternal fire of god's judgment So back to genesis where where this all started the whole sodom and gomorrah thing said so the lord told abraham Remember abraham was was abram when he first met him and he gave him the extra name father to father of many abram versus abraham Uh, he asked abraham get up and just go. I want you to go to a new place He was a rich man with plenty of herds and plenty of livestock plenty of farmland And he just listened to god and went didn't argue And that's why he became the first jew. He was he trusted god He said i've heard great outcry from sodom and gomorrah because their sin is so flagrant I'm going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know well God already knew he was just speak. He spoke he speaks to men the way men understand uh, he already knew but he sent uh, he sent uh, He wanted to send some people to see it's about how bad sodom and gomorrah was It's funny how he said that sin cried out to him, isn't it? That always amazes me That he personified it like it cried out to him So he lets abraham know that judgment is coming so god sent uh angels Disguised as men scripture talks about that a lot angels sometimes could show their glory Sometimes they hid their glory jesus showed his glory and jesus hid his glory at times In the kingdom years, I believe that that glorified saints will be able to show or hide their glory So that so he gets the angels assigned to do that doesn't give us their names The other men turned and headed towards sodom which would be the angels and the lord remained with abraham and abraham approached him and said Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? So abraham is starting to form that stereotype that jews have now you guys probably say i'm you ever hear the expression i'm doing you down You know, I mean you try to get a better deal on something. I'm horrible at it. I mean People see me and it's like on the cartoons. They see this big sucker walking to them Because I always get the worst end of a deal But abraham this is where this the stereotype came from from his past is that jewing him down He's going to bargain. He's going to bargain with god. Okay, and he's like a car dealer Abraham says suppose you find 50 righteous people. They're living in the city Uh, how many people lived in that city? It depends on what historical reference you look at but anywhere from 50 000 to several hundred thousand Suppose you find 50 righteous people living there in the city Will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? Surely, you wouldn't do such a thing destroying the righteous along with the wicked Why you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same? He's a little barking again Surely you wouldn't do that should not the judge of all the earth do what's right? And then he says I am serious and don't call me surely Anyway Abraham knew that god was merciful. Abraham knew that god was just And god allowed him to ask the question, which is cool that he because the question what was based on truth He is a just god. He is a loving god. And so his question was based on truth So he's god's okay with you asking him questions and questioning things as long as you do it respectfully humbly And the lord replied if I find 50 righteous people in sodom, I will spare the entire city for the sake of those Then abraham spoke again Since I have begun let me speak further to my lord, even though I am but dust and ashes He's playing it good at me. Suppose There are only 45 righteous people there than rather than 50 Will you destroy the whole city for the lack of five you see how he focused on five instead of 45? Because that made it a better deal for him, you know And the lord said I will not destroy it if I find 45 righteous people there thousands of people living there Maybe 100 200 300 maybe a half a million people living there And if he finds 45 people that are living, right? He's not gonna he's not gonna punish the rest of them. It shows you a little bit about god's nature, doesn't it? Uh willing to save everybody just for 45 good people that tells you that's that's why it's great You know when you're a little church in a little town like us to understand that god values People who live right even though it even though we're outnumbered, you know Joel holstein's church, you know, they could you know eat us, you know, I mean they're so big but uh, But he values the faithful few he always has But abraham wasn't finished yet. He thought man. That was too easy You ever made a deal and then you thought oh man, I should have offered less because they took it too fast Have you ever done that? You're like, oh man, why didn't I offer less? Um, and that's kind of what he did, but the humility god liked the humility and he appreciated it uh Scripture says close yourself close yourself with humility To one another because god opposes the proud but gets grace to the humble So he decides i'm going to try for even a better deal, you know But god had the advantage because god knew how many righteous people there were inside him. He knew the exact number there was But he's going to let abraham keep moving Percentage was small of righteous people, but that's the way it still is the abraham pressed his request further Suppose there are only 40 and the lord replied. I will not destroy it for the sake of 40 Please don't be angry. My lord. Abraham pleaded. Let me speak Suppose only 30 righteous people are found and the lord replied. I will not destroy it if I find 30 Uh abraham read this book we found it in the in the dead sea scrolls uh trump the art of the deal i'm, pretty sure that he uh, he uh He read that book and abraham said since I have dared to speak to the lord. Let me continue suppose. There are only 20 I mean at any time if I was abraham, I would be thinking a bigger bolt of light He was gonna have around to smoke me right but the lord replied then I will not destroy them for the sake of 20 Finally abraham said lord, please don't be angry with me if I speak one more time Suppose only 10 are found and the lord replied then I will not destroy it for the sake of 10 When the lord had finished his conversation with abraham, he went on his way and abraham returned to his tent Now abraham probably turned to his tent pretty cocky. He probably picked him and I got it There's got to be 10 people good. There's got to be 10 faithful people down there hundreds of thousands There's got to be 10 He probably thought and that tells you a little bit about the nature of abraham He also was a person who loves people even though he didn't Appreciate the way they lived down there in those towns. He still loved people in general And that's a good thing Praying for others even people who are living really bad even people who are enemies. That's a good thing But also just keeping in mind that justice and discipline Are also good things because god doesn't do anything. That's not good So justice discipline and judgment are also good things and if you lack these qualities even in your family If you lack the quality to discipline, you're going to have a hard time with your kids I'm, just telling you that's going to happen if you lack those qualities, uh of judgment and of mercy and of justice You're going to have a hard time. We're supposed to be like god Ephesians 4 24 says put on the new self created to be like god in true righteousness and holiness To be a godly person we have to exercise all those things including discipline Now abraham had no idea How evil, you know, he didn't really know how evil they were because he he probably thought that his deal of 10 was a good deal Um, but lot knew And abraham knew some and lot knew a lot because he chose to move there He moved away for what for money and power And fame he moved away for the wrong things eddie murphy said every bad decision I've ever made has been based on money and that is so true. I've seen many people fall because of this Genesis 19 1 says that evening the two angels came To the entrance of the city of sodom a lot was sitting there Now the fact that he was sitting at the entrance means he must have been a position of authority like that A judge or a councilman because that's where they operated people would come to the gate gate and say hey Somebody stole my uh, my iphone and he'd say, uh, they haven't been in them yet I get I know stuff like that But anyway, he was sitting up there So he must have been like a politician of sorts A lot was sitting there and when he saw them he stood up to meet them because he knew something was different about these guys That just walked through the door He knew something was different then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground my lords He said come to my home to wash your feet and my guests for the night You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again. Oh, no, they replied We'll just spend the night out here in the city square They're messing with him If they know they know that would be a bad idea That would be like going down to the heart of chicago and spending the night out on out on the sidewalk You know, that's not something you want to do more people get killed in chicago Per day than almost any war zone you go to New york city la they're all left to the same Now the same the angels knew that that wasn't what they really intended to do, but they're messing with it But a lot insisted so at last they went home with him a lot prepared a feast for them complete with fresh bread Made without yeast and they ate So that's a cool thing spiritual beings eat If you like that, I mean someday we may get to eat. I still say that jim's pizza is going to be right there in heaven I'm telling you But before they retire for the night all the men of sodom young and old came from all over the city and surrounded the house See the news spread pretty quick these these really Good-looking men, you know, dare I even go there? They were there and and evil can smell the blood of goodness Evil can smell it and they want to destroy it anytime anybody does anything for good Evil is right there to try to try to stomp it out You know when they were trying to get the supreme court to get rid bro V-way, oh, they were just rioting weren't they because they didn't want to lose their right to kill children They didn't want to lose that right. That's how they are and they they're they wanted to corrupt what god made good They shouted a lot Where are the men who came to spend the night with you bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them So these guys were homosexuals So a lot stepped outside to talk to him shutting the door behind him And he sees they're all huddled up talking about what they're going to do next. You got that picture back there Yeah, look at them. They were all huddled up Trying to decide how they were going to break in there and sin Now the angels often appeared as men in scripture as we talked about But undoubtedly these were very special men. They knew they knew they were very handsome men And and so abraham gave a a lot of He he had he he chose this place abraham chose this place Um, and so we'll do a little flashback. Uh, he chose it because it was a big city full of action and wealth and and power So and so we're going to do a little flashback back to james's 13. It says god offered You know abraham said hey, you know, we both have a lot of flocks. We both have a lot of employees It's time that we uh We need to kind of separate because we're getting our stuff mixed up. They were not mad at each other or anything They just said it's time to separate because we have too much stuff uh And abraham let lot pick whatever he wanted And lot chose for himself the whole jordan valley in the east of them and he went there with the flocks and servants and parted Company with his uncle abram Because he was still called abram at that time But the people of the area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the lord So he he knew he was going into a shady area, but it had success and lights and you know I mean, it was a big city. It was las vegas. It was a big beautiful place to be That was his first mistake because when you hang around with people of low moral uh quality And they will always always drag you down Very seldom, you might pull them up a little bit, but they will almost always drag you down Paul warned the corinthians. He said do not be misled bad company corrupts good character. Some versions say bad company corrupts good morals Uh, so true no matter how hard you try when you hang around with people that are of low moral You will pull get pulled down a little bit i've seen this happen time and again with good faithful christians who every time the door was cracked open there they were Worshiping their lord and then they get they get become friends with someone who maybe it's even another christian But they become friends with someone who's got a lot lower standards and the next thing, you know They both have low standards. I see i've seen it so many times, but they place those exciting things, you know those things that that are fun and those things that are flashy and They place those above the god things that many times come off as boring god things sometimes but not realizing In the long run, it's not that way I mean and and all these things can be things that are good like hobbies. I've got some great hobbies I love beekeeping. I love to deer hunt Uh sports, I like football. I mean there's nothing wrong with those things until you put them before god And you can justify in the mirror all you want But when you choose a hobby before god that hobby just became a sin in your life And that's what happened. That's how the enemy works constantly distracting you But those same people will say how much they love god. I sure love god. I sure love god Uh saying it or having that little warm feeling in your chest Just like a marriage that's not love love his actions. That's not love at all. I like this little picture here of jesus taking a selfie Said these people honor me with their lips But their hearts are far from me Never a scripture more true than that one Uh, these men they they wanted to assault lots guests god's visitors these angels They had perverted god's plan One man one woman one marriage for life they perverted that plan Uh, you know god certainly is a god of forgiveness many times many people have a second marriage That's that's godly or a third marriage is godly Certainly god's a forgiver if we mess up and or our spouse messes up and we end up having to leave a marriage Uh, that's not the end of the story god. Absolutely Uh can bless your second or third marriage to be a godly one that certainly can do that But he just knows it comes with a lot of trouble So they didn't like lot stepping in their way, you know, he was kind of an outsider, you know And they said stand back this fellow came from the came to town as an outsider. Now. He's acting like our judge We'll treat you far worse than those other men and they lunged towards lot to break down the door Just like today if you step out against this community here You're you're in for some trouble they will they will they will cut to the quick when they are step when you try to Compare their lifestyle with what god said is true Uh, so living among these evil people was bad judgment on that side It may have greened him some wealth and power and position But it's a bad way to make a decision Scripture says for the love of money is the root of all evil not money not money The love of money is root of all evil, which means Uh some coveted after it and they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows Uh, the people the super wealthy people have the same suicide rate as the super poor people same suicide rate almost no difference So people when they're wealthy and living like that don't think that's making them happy happiness doesn't come from it It was this knight in tune said but the two angels reached out and pulled lot in the house and bolted the door Then they blinded all the men So god apparently gave these these angels some power They blinded all the men young and old who were out to the door of the house. So they gave up trying to get inside meanwhile the angels Questioned a lot. Do you have any other relatives here in the city? They asked get them out of this place your son-in-laws sons daughters or anyone else Get them out of here because things are going to get bad for we are about to destroy the city completely The outcry against this place is so great that it has reached the lord and has sent us to destroy it So a lot rushed out to tell his daughters Fiances quick get out of the city. The lord is about to destroy it But the young men thought he was joking got a nice little picture here. Ha ha ha good one Good one lot. Yeah, god's gonna destroy the city But he thought you know, that was to their to their demise at dawn the next morning the angels became insistent hurry They said a lot take your wife and your two daughters who are here and get out get out right now Or you will be swept away into destruction of the city a lot spiritual state is showing here Because he's stalling he's hesitating And here he's speaking to holy angels of god and he's hesitating. I mean just think about that You'd think he would just be saying yes, sir. Yes, sir Whatever you say i'll do but he's hesitating he's holding back because he probably really liked the power And the wealth and the placement he had in the town Evil had a hold on him to some degree and that's what we talk about when you do get involved in things that get in The way of you and god They they attach to you like a tick. It's hard to pull them out That's I remember when the when the nfl went crazy on us and started, you know insulting our veterans by not, uh, you know by you know, not doing this pledge of allegiance or the national anthem That ticked me off and it was like pulling a tick out when I had that So I had I didn't watch football for like three years until they finally their behavior started getting back better again but still It was hard to let that go But but that's what you have to do when something's in the way But still hesitated the scripture says The angel seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to To safety outside the city for the lord was merciful God primarily saved a lot because of abraham abraham was his uncle and he loved he loved abraham It's good a faithful family member is a good thing to have Then the lord rained down fire and brimstone sulfur from the sky Of sodom and gomorrah and he utterly destroyed them along with other cities and villages in the plain wiping out all the people every bit of the vegetation uh, ron ron wyatt, uh, who is a geologist that uh, super super solid christians passed away now, but He found the site of sodom and gomorrah a totally scorched earth And he even the the fire the brimstone. I think we have a couple pictures Even the brimstone still there in the scorched in the scorched area And you can even break them open and light them as you can see in the picture And they will still light and they still produce great heat. I mean, they'll melt right to the spoon that you put them in Um, you know god left plenty of evidence that sodom and gomorrah and the surrounding cities were destroyed in this very fashion And the geologist they're like, I don't know what happened Maybe it was a volcano that spit little balls, uh for a 20 mile radius, you know I was like they have no they have nothing. I mean, they just they know they have nothing So lot and lot and his wife and his daughters are leaving and they told lot's wife do not look back I told all of them don't look back. Don't look back while the while the stuff's falling But lot's wife looked back as she was following behind him and she turned into a pillar of salt Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out of the place where he had stood in the lord's presence So she they didn't want her looking back I don't know really totally why maybe because it represented regret from leaving maybe it was something to do with the brightness of the of Whatever it was when the holy angels of god tell you not to do something. You just not you just don't do it And she turned into salt And I would have took her with me though because I love salt on my food I would have took her with me, you know ground her up and you know sprinkled her on my uh, bacon and stuff But either way she looked back God knew what was in her heart and she paid for her disobedience Genesis 19 28 he looked out across the plain late You know This was later towards sodom and gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the city like smokes from a furnace But god had listened to abraham's request and kept lot safe removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plane uh It was uh, it was time for a change you guys remember the song I see We'll see if uh, we don't have jeff here for our trivia, but who wrote the song I know that it's time for a cool change anybody time for a cool change Little river bands remember them little river band. Yeah Uh, even in that fallen state god remembered his people Even though a even though lot Had fallen away from his faith. He was still a christian what we would call a christian He was just a christian way out of the will of god But even when we get way out of the will of god god remembers that day that you trusted him with your eternal life He'll never forget that day that moment You might have been nine years old seven years old You might have been on the way home from work one day and and god just burdened you so hard that day at work And maybe you trusted him with your eternity on the way home Maybe it was a moment of faithfulness, but whatever it was, he will never let it go He he's gonna hold on to you to the end But when you get away from him, he won't forget you that if you That you can be disciplined your life could be a bad life as a christian if you just keep rebelling against him I'm glad he's forgiven He's a forgiving god and second chronicle says if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves Pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways Then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sins and I will heal their land That's what we need right now here in this country. We need we need this attitude right now But god also rescued lot out of sodom and because he was out of sodom because he was a righteous man Even though he did all those bad things He still considered him a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him Yes lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness. He saw and heard day after day It's funny how we can let ourselves be whisk away A slow fade until we find ourselves out of god's will letting the enemy just slowly lure us just a one baby step at a time Peter says so you see the lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials Even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment God pulled a lot out Even after this horrible his horrible decisions. He forgave him and then he even rescued him And our last slide you've never gone too far But god can't redeem you restore you forgive you and give you a second chance Just the god of the second chance Okay, we're gonna go ahead and stop there. I think we're going to go into a little bit more of the of how israel rebelled against god in the wilderness next week and It's a pretty amazing story, too