Genesis 19:12-22 NKJV Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! (13) For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” (14) So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. (15) When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” (16) And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. (17) So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” (18) Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! (19) Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. (20) See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.” (21) And he said to him, “See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. (22) Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
- Oh the mercy of the Lord. Through the stupidity of lot, through the comprises of Lot, through the excuses of Lot, through the laziness of Lot… through it all, God saves him.
- Through all of Lot’s many failures, God shows him mercy.
- If this is your first time joining us here at CLC, welcome! This is what we do here, we preach through scripture, and we are now in our 48th sermon from the book of Genisis.
- You just so happen to be here for a message on God’s merciful warnings… that God would send angels not only to bless Lot and his family, but to save Lot and his family from destruction.
- The God of the Bible is a God of wrath, yes, for he certainly destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone… But He is also, and has always been, a God of mercy. A God who saves.
Psalms 25:6 NKJV Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old.
- God’s tender mercy and lovingkindness has been from old! Since the creation of the world, God has been a God of love and mercy, and even here, as we see the destruction of the two most wicked cites, we see God’s mercy on full display.
Genesis 19:15-16 NKJV When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” (16) And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
- I can’t stress this enough church, because we are a church that calls sin sin, and we don’t beat around the bush… but I never want us to get jaded…
- Even in the times of the greatest judgments of God… We see mercy triumphing.
- Even when the fire and the brimstone falls, God’s mercy reigns.
- It is why I am not afraid of the tribulation… it is why I am not fearful of the events of Revelation… because even in Judgment, mercy triumphs for those whom God’s favor rests.
James 2:13b NKJV …Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- When judgment come, mercy comes… especially to those who are living in the favor of God… especially for God’s people.
- So as we read about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah… we see intertwined this tail of Lot and his family being saved.
- So this morning we will examine the warnings and the mercy from the Lord, as we look at the events of the angels leading Lot, his wife and two daughters out of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
- When God gives you warning, that is the title of the message today… when God gives you warning.
- What do we do, how do we respond when God gives us warning… because God gives us warnings all the time… whether you have been saved for decades, or you are going to be saved later this morning… God gives us warnings… How do we receive them, how do we respond? How does that effect our lives?
- But before we get into that, let’s pray over this message.
- So this morning I have FOUR points, they are going to go fast, so note takers get ready… four points from Genesis 19:12-22
When God Gives You warning
- God is Warning You: Live in Sin and Be Destroyed!
- When God Gives You Warnings: He is not Joking
- When God Gives You Warning: Don’t Linger
- When God Gives You warning: Don’t Compromise
- Alright, let’s get into these points with our first point this morning “God is Warning You: Live in Sin and Be Destroyed!
Point One – God is Warning You: Live in Sin and Be Destroyed!
2 Peter 2:6-8 NKJV [God turned] the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; (7) and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked.
- God turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, and condemned them to destruction… why?
- Well because there was a whole lot of sin going on there, yes…
- Homosexuality, rape, extramarital sex, murder…
- So God destroyed them for their sin… and because there was a great outcry against them… Scripture tells us that as well…
- But Second Peter gives us ANOTHER reason that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah… He did it for YOU! He was thinking of you, everyone here, everyone who has ever lived since the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah… God did it as an example for you, as an example for me… That if we are to live ungodly, He will destroy us.
- Sometimes the most loving thing a Just God can do is tell you the truth and WARN you. If you live a life of sin, if your life starts to resemble the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, then destruction is coming.
- Think of the most evil men in history… what has happened to them?
- Hitler? Bullet in the head.
- Osama Bin Laden? Taken out by Navy Seals
- Sadam Huesane? Hanged.
- Jeffery Epstein? He didn’t kill himself… but he was still killed.
- Diddy is in prison, and hopefully more celebrities are to follow.
- 5.5 percent of Americans identify as homosexual, yet 65 percent of all AIDS patients are homosexual.
- The CDC estimates that 1 in 5 Americans have an STD, those are diseases that don’t effect people who live Godly lives.
- LGBTQ individuals are nearly 5 times more likely to commit suicide than a heterosexual… and we know that it is not because of bullying or persecution because history has proven that the most persecuted people groups are the least suicidal.
- But not just sexual sin… all kinds of sin leads to destruction.
- Drunk driving accidents, drug overdoses, kidney and liver failures… this is the destruction that is coming.
- Losing loved ones, breaking relationships, homelessness, loneliness, depression… all the results of godless, sinful living.
- But what is worse than that is in the life to come.
Revelation 21:8 NKJV But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
- GOD DOES NOT TOLARATE SIN FOREVER. Eventually the destruction comes, let Sodom and Gomorrah be a warning to you…
- If you are going home to fornicate, or drunkenness, or drugs, or gossip, or unjust hatred, or greed, or which craft, or pornography… be warned… DESTRUCTION WILL COME. GET OUT OF THAT SIN NOW! RUN TO THE CROSS.
- And I am not just talking to the unsaved… Maybe you have given your life to Christ, maybe you have found favor and righteousness in Christ… praise God!
- But maybe you find yourself like lot, righteous, but still sorunounded by sin… you have the same warning! GET OUT OF THE SIN BEFORE THE DESTRUCTION COMES.
- Don’t presume on your salvation that just because you said a prayer once that you have a free ticket to heaven… in fact all the more we should work out our salvation with fear and trembling knowing that God is just and His wrath will come.
Philippians 2:12 NKJV Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
- Work out your salvation with fear and trembling… that was written to CHRISTIANS. If once saved always saved is true then why should we fear and trembling if there is no possibility of fall and failure…
- LET THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORAH BE YOUR WARNING, and 2nd peter says.
2 Peter 2:6-8 NKJV [God turned] the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; (7) and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked.
- Now let’s talk about how God delivered righteous lot, because I am believing that most of you are not living an ungodly life, and those of you who are will head this mornings warning and repent… turning back to Jesus and leaving the sin of Sodom behind…
- How did God save Lot, by sending angels to warn him… so, point two this morning… when God gives you warnings, don’t mock and don’t be a mockery.
Point Two – When God Gives You Warnings: He is Not Joking
Genesis 19:14 NKJV So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. First Point Here.
- When God gives you a warning… church, come on now… when God gives you a warning, it is not a joke.
- When God warns you and tells you to leave sin behind… He is not joking, he is not mocking.
- When your pastor tries to warn you, it is not because your pastor gets some kind of weird kick out of calling out sin.
- When your discipler calls out sin in your life, it is not a game… it is not a matter of opinion… and it certainly ain’t no joke… GOD LOVES YOU, YOUR PASTORS LOVE YOU, YOUR DISCIPLER LOVES YOU, YOUR CHURCH FAMILY LOVES YOU.
- Lot loved his son in laws enough to warn them to flee the city… but they laughed at him… they thought he was joking… they thought he was mocking… AND THEY WERE DESTROYED BECAUSE OF IT.
- There were two thieves on the cross… one of them thought it was a joke to be hanging next to Jesus… He had a chance to repent but instead made a mockery of the situation… AND HE WAS DESTROYED BECAUSE OF IT.
- In the last days people will come scoffing, thinking it is all a joke… that is what 2 Peter 3:3-4 says… you know what will happen to them? THEY WILL BE DESTROYED BECAUSE OF IT.
Ecclesiastes 7:5-6 NKJV It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools. (6) For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.
Proverbs 13:1 NKJV A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
Proverbs 15:31-32 NKJV The ear that hears the rebukes of life Will abide among the wise. (32) He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.
- Listen guys, when someone who loves Jesus comes to you and tries to warn you… tries to say “Hey I think there is something wrong, I think something needs to be corrected”… they are not joking.
- There is NO FUN in rebuking others… I know that some people think I get a kick out of it… out of warning people that their life is heading toward destruction… but I don’t.
- It is one of the hardest part about my job as a pastor… because I know how people will take it.
- I am still tormented by the way people have reacted when I lovingly try to warn them of the impending destruction.
- I come to them in love with scripture, prayer, and experience… I show them the errors of their ways… I want their life to be better, I want to save them from the pit that they are heading towards…
- And I guess I seem to them to be joking… because they get offended, they get angry, they make excuses, they ignore me…
- I try to save their marriage and they blow me off and end up divorced.
- I try to help correct their life and they blow me off and end up in prison.
- I try to warn them and they blow me off and end up leaving the faith.
- IT HAPPENS SO MANY TIMES THAT I AM ALMOST AFRAID TO WARN PEOPLE.
- And I wish that I could be the pastor that just says stuff people want to hear… just make people feel better in the moment while the fire and brimstone starts to fall…
- But I just can’t be that guy, I love you guys too much to NOT warn you. And I am talking to Christians… listen if I, or your discipler, or a deacon, or any mature Christian comes to you warning “Hey, destruction is coming” PLEASE LISTEN… even if what they say hurts, listen… it hurts them to say it… they are not joking, they love you enough to say the uncomfortable! BE GRATEFUL!
- And secondly, let me talk to the pastors, and deacons, and disciples, and mature Christians in here… Your life ought to be holy, it ought to be set a part… so that people KNOW you are not joking.
- You can’t tell Billy to stop sleeping with his girlfriend if everyone knows you are stepping out on your wife.
- You can’t smell like cigarettes while telling Ashley to stop vaping…
- YOU KNOW IT IS PRETTY HARD TO CONVINCE YOUR SON IN LAWS THAT THE CITY THEY ARE IN IS GOING TO BE DESTROYED FOR SEXUAL SIN WHEN JUST THE NIGHT BEFORE YOU OFFERED THEIR WIVES UP TO BE RAPED INSTEAD OF THE MEN STAYING IN YOUR HOUSE…
- Ok, let’s keep moving… point three… when God gives you warning: Don’t linger.
Point Three – When God Gives You Warning: Don’t Linger
Genesis 19:15-16 NKJV When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” (16) And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
- Look at the ridiculousness of Lot in verse 16… and while he lingered…
- LINGERED? BRO! Angels! They made the whole city blind… they warned you the bombs are dropping… they said get out… WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR‽
- Listen, if two angels come to your house… and you know they are angels, and they have shown signs and wonders, and they are there for your sake… and they say “Get out of your city it is about to be destroyed” then my firm pastoral advice is “RUN!”
- What on earth is he waiting for?
Psalms 119:60 NKJV I made haste, and did not delay To keep Your commandments.
- I will tell you what happens when you start to linger… you lose your sense of urgency, then you lose your sense of direction.
- You start questioning… you know, if my son in laws aren’t going to come, then maybe my daughters wont want to come.
- And if my daughters don’t want to come, then my wife won’t want to come…
- Do I really want to leave my daughters and wife behind?
- Besides… people like me here… and this is all I have ever known.
- I am not saying I won’t leave, like the angels told me to… but I think I will do it in my own time.
- And you do all this reasoning and before you know it you forgot that the angels where not giving you a lifestyle suggestion, they were warning you of impending destruction.
- Then the fire falls, and the brimstone falls, and as you are lying under a burning stinking flaming chunk of brimstone with your last breath you curse God “GOD WHY WOULD YOU ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN TO ME?”
- And guys I speak from experience, I have seen it in my life when I delay obedience to God I have seen destruction come in my life… and I have seen it DOZENS of times, Pastor Jared and Pastor Mike have seen it dozens of times, our wives have seen it dozens of times where people come in and out of this church and their lives are full of destruction because God gave them an urgent warning and they LINGERED… not saying “No” out right, but just saying “No for now”.
- Delayed obedience is disobedience!
- Now the good news is, God is a God of mercy, and the Angels didn’t accept Lot lingering.
Genesis 19:16 NKJV And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
- Even though Lot lingered, God had mercy.
- The good news is church, even if you Linger, God is a patient God. Don’t test His patience, but we serve a God of grace and mercy, and mercy triumphs over Judgment hallelujah!
- Now let’s get to our final point: When God Gives You Warning: Don’t Compromise!
Point Four – When God Gives You Warning: Don’t Compromise
Genesis 19:17-20 NKJV So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” (18) Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! (19) Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. (20) See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”
- The angels, fed up with Lot’s lingering, grab him, his wife, and daughters by the hand and run them out of the city. They then say “ESCAPE FOR YOUR LIFE! GO TO THE MOUNTAINS OR YOU WILL BE DESTROYED!
- And Lot… oh Lot, look how Lot responds…
Genesis 19:18 NKJV Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords!
- Wait… what? The angels who are saving you from destruction… who made everyone blind… WHO YOU OFFERED UP YOUR VIRGIN DAUGHTERS TO DEFEND… they say run to the mountains and you say “NO”‽ WHAT?! KIND OF TOMFOOLERY‽
- I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen this stuff happen in the church all the time.
- The angels say flee to a cave in the mountains and Lot says “Yeah… nah fam… caves are like dark and damp and stuff… and there might be dangerous animals or robbers there who might kill me… listen angels… I have kind of gotten accustomed to a certain way of living… I am a city boy after all… so how about I just not do what you said and instead go to that small city over there… it’s just a small little guy, wouldn’t that be ok”.
Genesis 19:21-22 NKJV And he said to him, “See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. (22) Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
- The angel says fine… go to the city… but listen you are delaying what God wants to do… do you see that church in the scripture there “For I cannot do anything until you arrive”.
- Listen church, when you linger and when you compromise, God may still give you grace, He may still show you favor, as He did Lot… but it may end up delaying what God has for you.
- Listen church, God has things in store for you… challenges, yes, testing, sure… but also blessings, and callings, and ministries, and giftings.
- And when God tells you to get out of something… sometimes it is because He doesn’t want you to get destroyed, like in lot’s sake…
- And sometimes it is because He has blessings around the corner…
- And the truth is, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah WAS a blessing for lot.
- It removed a source of sin in Lot’s life… a source of sin that clearly had a bad influence on him.
- Maybe God WANTS to destroy the relationship you have with your girlfriend… because that relationship is leading you into sin…
- Don’t compromise and say “But God, maybe if I bring her to church with me next week… maybe I can try for just another few months”.
- Bro if it aint from God it aint from God.
- If God is telling you to quit drinking don’t compromise with one more trip to the bar.
- One more hit of the bong.
- One more session of gossip.
- One more spin of the slot machine.
- I have known men who God told to stop gambling, so they stopped going to the casino and instead took up sports betting… and they ruined their lives.
- I have known men who were planning on breaking up with their girlfriend then ended up getting them pregnant.
- I have known men who just wanted one more bender and ended up in prison.
- When God calls you out of something DO NOT COMPRIMISE… He may have mercy yes… but at best it delays what God wants for you, at worst it will lead to your destruction.
- Now let’s close this up by once again looking at God’s mercy…
Conclusion
Genesis 19:16 NKJV And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
- You know, when you consider the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from the standpoint of Lot, and not from the standpoint for the Sodomites… it is a very different story.
- If you consider it from the standpoint of the Sodomites it is a story of wrath and destruction… it is a warning, as Second Peter says, for those who would live ungodly…
- But when you consider it from Lot’s perspective it really is a story of Amazing grace…
- A story of undeserved mercy and favor.
- No one would have blamed God, except for maybe Abraham, if God destroyed Lot along with the Sodomites… I mean he compromised, he lingered… he even offered his daughters up to be raped… God could have said “Sorry Abraham, there is not one righteous in all of Sodom” and then nuked the place, Lot included…
- But Lot found mercy, Lot found grace.
- He didn’t deserve it, of course he didn’t, that’s why it is called grace… if he deserved it then it would be justice… but Lot still loved God, and still hated sin… even if he was so tainted by it, and Lot found favor.
- Then I read this verse… verse 16… The angels took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters…
- Church, do some basic math with me… how many hands do two angels have?
- Four hands! Right, two a peace… Each one of the angels hands was used to pull someone out of Sodom…
- God sent the EXACT right number of angels to save Lot.
- And God will send angels to save you… and maybe an angel brought you to church this morning… maybe it was by the leading of an angel that you are here… and God is calling you out of a life of sin and destruction… I have good news, there is a life of joy, and love, and peace, and forgiveness waiting for you… a family of God who want’s to welcome you in, a place to call home… an eternal dwelling place along with your savior… you don’t have to dwell in sin any longer, today Christ offers you His nail pierced hand to lead you home…
Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God.
Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids
2808 Schaeffer Dr SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
www.CedarRapidsChurch.com
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