A ‘Lot’ of Problems

Genesis 13:1-18 NKJV  Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South.  (2)  Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.  (3)  And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,  (4)  to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.  (5)  Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.  (6)  Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.  (7)  And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.  (8)  So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.  (9)  Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”  (10)  And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.  (11)  Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.  (12)  Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.  (13)  But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.  (14)  And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward;  (15)  for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.  (16)  And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.  (17)  Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”  (18)  Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD.

• Well good morning church! If you have been with us for a while you know that we are preaching through Genesis, and this morning we happen to be in Genesis 13.
  • I believe that God has called us to go through Genesis, and I believe that God wanted you here for this sermon… there are 4 points in today’s sermon, and we are going to fly through them, but first let’s recap what we just read.
    • Abram, in the last chapter, was called out by God to be set apart, to be the father of God’s people. He was called to leave his family behind and go to a land that God was promising him, the land of Canaan.

Genesis 12:1 NKJV  Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.

• Abram was also told the he would be blessed by God, be a blessings for other, and have a special kind of protection over him from other people…

Genesis 12:2-3 NKJV  I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.  (3)  I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

• But when Abram got to the land he was promised he found it was in a severe famine, so Abram went down to Egypt were there was food.While in Egypt Abram wrongfully feared for his life, being afraid of man instead of God, so he tried to live a life of deceit.God revealed Abrams deceit to Pharoh and the Pharoh sent Abram and Lot, and their families, out of the land…
  • That’s where today’s Scriptures start. Abram and Lot return to the land of Canaan, both being very wealthy, and try to settle there…
    • But there is a problem… both Abram and Lot have lot’s of cattle and servants… we are talking small armies worth of servants and livestock… and they realized that this one spot, between Bethel and Ai, was too small for them. Not to mention that verse 7 says that the Canaanites and the Perizzites also were dwelling in the land at the time.
  • Worse, the servants of Abram started fighting with the servants of lot…
  • And so Abram makes an executive decision and tells his cousin Lot

Genesis 13:8-9 NKJV  “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.  (9)  Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”

• Lot looks around, finds the nicest land, which happened to be next to the two most wicked cities that possibly ever existed, and he choses this land, leaving Abram to settle in Hebron, a city in the land of Canaan, the land that God had promised him.
• We all on the same page now? Cool… now we get to talk about the first mistake Abram made after God called him… a mistake that will plague him often…

• A ‘Lot’ of problems: The wrong way to live right.

• A ‘Lot’ of Problems: The wrong way to live right.
  • You see, cousin Lot brought a lot of problems with him… and that is because Abram was never supposed to bring Lot with him… in fact, Abram was disobeying God when he brought Lot with him…

Genesis 12:1 NKJV  Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.

• Abram was supposed to get out of his country and AWAY FROM HIS FAMILY… is Lot not his family, of course he is… Lot is Abram’s cousin.
  • Abram disobeyed God, likely thinking “Well that just means I should leave Dad behind… I can still hang out with my bestie Lot”… Abram disobeyed, and the result was a ‘Lot’ of problems!
    • How many of y’all know that manytimes God’s commands are put over us because he want’s to save us from problems?!
      • “Well I just don’t understand why God wouldn’t want me to marry her”
      • “I don’t know why God won’t let me take this job”
      • “Why can’t I do this thing or that thing God?”
        • BECAUSE GOD IS TRYING TO SAVE YOU FROM A LOT OF PROBLEMS…
• And so we see with Abram and Lot…
• Now understand this church, before we get into these points, you may be tempted to think that Lot was an evil man… but the Bible says that Lot was righteous. Second Peter 2:7 specifically calls Lot “Righteous Lot”.
  • Lot was a righteous man, meaning he was living right in the eyes of God, that he was in right standing with God…
    • But even still, Lot did… well, a lot of things wrong!
• That is why todays sermon is “A ‘Lot’ of Problems: The wrong way to live right!
  • Most of you are Christians in this place, you are born again… if you are not we can fix that at the end of service… but most of us are Christians, we are righteous… but we can still make mistakes… thus, this sermon is for you saints who are living righteous lifes… let lot’s mistakes be a warning and instruction to you…
• A ‘Lot’ of problems, the wrong way to live right…
  • Lot did four things wrong, and for the remainder of this message we are going to go through these four things very quickly, so buckle up.
    • The Four Wrong’s of Lot in Genesis 13

1) The Wrong Strife

2) The Wrong Vision

3) The Wrong Choice

4) The Wrong Place to Settle

• So let’s start by talking about the Wrong kind of Strife that Lot had with Abram

Point One – The Wrong Strife

Genesis 13:6-7 NKJV  Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.  (7)  And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.

• So Abram’s and Lot’s encampments were striving against each other… no obviously this should not be so… but how many of y’all know that sometimes strife is inevitable?

Romans 12:18 NKJV  If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

• This verse makes it seem that there will be times when it is NOT possible to be live peaceably with all men.
  • But as brothers we SHOULD always live peaceably with one another.

Psalms 133:1 NKJV  A Song of Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!

• God loves it when His people dwell together in unity. The opposite is true to, God HATES it when people stir up strife among His people:

Proverbs 6:16-19 NKJV  These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:  (17)  A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,  (18)  A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,  (19)  A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

• The Bible tells us that as Christians we should not be arguing over controversies, theories, and minor doctrines… we can hold separate opinions about things, we might think this verse means this and you might think that verse means that… but if we are truly brothers in Christ we should not be quarrelling with each other… WE ARE ON THE SAME TEAM!
  • I remember when I first moved to Cedar Rapids I was doing evangelism in Coe College, and I talked to one couple who were VERY close to accepting salvation. I gave them my card and said “we should double date sometime”! And they were so grateful.
  • A week later I got a call from a local pastor inviting me out for breakfast… I was so excited, I was new into town and people were noticing me!
    • I get to our breakfast meeting and the pastor had already finished eating by the time I got there… and I was early! He told me “Have a seat”… I did, as the waitress came over he waived her away… then he reached into his pocket, took out MY church card, and slide it across the table… “Is this yours?” he asked with condemnation.
    • I said it was and he told me “Do you have any idea how long WE have been witnessing to that couple? And you think you can just come in and lead them to Jesus and bring them to YOUR church?! COE COLLEGE IS OUR TERRITORY, STAY OUT!”.
• I was shocked and speechless, as a young man with a weak backbone I apologized and left… but now a days I think I would have replied “We are on the same team bro!”
  • Now fast forward 10 years… and the church that man was a pastor at, a well established church at the time, that church is now closed… and I take no pleasure in that, it breaks my heart because they were preaching the gospel and making differences in peoples life… just some of them were practicing the wrong way to live right… they were choosing the wrong strife… as scripture says:
• Mark 3:24-25 NKJV  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  (25)  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
• Church look around the room… THESE ARE THE PEOPLE YOU SHOULD NEVER FIGHT WITH… THESE ARE THE PEOPLE YOU SHOULD NEVER BICKER WITH! If there is strife in your life, let it not be with the brothers and sisters of God… After all, there are enough Canaanites and Perizzites in the land to give us problems, we should be united against evil, and if there must be strife, then let us strive against the evil one. Amen?!
• That brings us to the second wrong of Lot’s Genesis 13 account… The wrong vision.

Point Two – The Wrong Vision

Genesis 13:9-10 NKJV  Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”  (10)  And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.

• Abram and Lot agree to part ways, and Abram graciously gives Lot the choice of land.
  • So what happens next?
    • Does Lot build an Altar to the Lord, as Abram did? Does Lot cry out to God in prayer and fasting: “Lord help me to know where YOU want me to go, where YOU want me to be, what YOU want me to do?”
      • NO! Lot looks selfishly with his eyes to pick the best land for himself… or at least what he THINKS is the best land for himself based on what his eyes can see.

Philippians 2:3-4 NKJV  Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  (4)  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

• Lot did not care, seemingly, about Abram’s interests… and he did not care about God’s interests… He cared about his own selfish ambition… I WANT THE BEST LAND! I WANT THE MOST MONEY! I WANT THE MOST SUCCESS… I, I, I, ME, ME, ME! That land is well watered, it has the lushes gardens and fields… THAT IS WHAT I WANT.]
• But Lot’s vision was temporary… look at verse 10 again:

Genesis 13:10a NKJV  And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) …

• It was well watered… BEFORE the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah… then it became desolate and remains desolate to this day… Lot had the wrong vision, he looked with his own selfish eyes instead of the eyes of the Lord… and what he thought looked good turned out very bad… he was righteous, yes, but he was practicing the wrong way to live right… and as such, what he thought would be green pastures shortly turned into a desolate wasteland.
  • Church, saints, righteous men and women of God, who have been made righteous by the blood of Christ, you must live by FAITH and not by sight… your eyes will lie to you, your eyes will think the fruit looks good to eat… but our eyes don’t see as God sees, instead we must live by faith, looking to and trusting God and what God has for us.

2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV  For we walk by faith, not by sight.

• Church, God knows the future, we don’t… and our eyes CERTAINLY don’t… Our eyes only see what is presently true… technically our eyes only see the past because it takes time for the light to bounce off the object, get to our eyes, and be processed… BUT GOD KNOWS NOT JUST THE PAST, NOT JUST THE PRESENT, BUT THE FUTURE… God KNEW that the land Lot was looking at would soon be worthless… but Lot’s eyes did not.
• Saints we must make a practice of asking the Lord to see how He sees…

Ephesians 1:18-19a NIV  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, [and] the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people…

• Open the eyes of our HEARTS Lord… that we might see all that you have called us to, the glories and riches that you have for us… the inheritance you have for us… open the eyes of our hearts!
  • But Lot, who was righteous, did wrong. The wrong way to live right, having the wrong vision…
  • And what does that lead to? It leads to making the wrong choice… Point three, the wrong choice.

Point Three – The Wrong Choice

Genesis 13:11 NKJV  Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.

• So Lot made the wrong choice… of course he did because he was looking with the wrong vision.
  • He chose the land of Jordan… go and look at a map what Jordan looks like today, it’s the same Jordan as biblical times, according to modern Archeologists… you can go on Google maps and see that Jordan is still a dessert, it is still a wasteland… it is full of many wonderful people I am sure… but the land itself is desolate, while Israel remains green and fertile… you can see the contrast from satellites it is so extreme.
    • Lot made the wrong choice… and of course he did, that is what happens when you have the wrong vision. Eve had the wrong vision and that lead her into the eating the forbidden fruit…

Genesis 3:6 NKJV  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

• And then Eve saw… SAW WHAT EVE?! What she saw lead her to make the wrong choice…
  • Saints, listen to me… the wrong kind of vision will lead to the wrong kind of choice…
    • Single Saints: I know that girl is SO pretty… I know that boy is SO handsome… but does GOD want you to marry them?
      • If they are not Christians then we KNOW the answer is “No”, but you should also seek the wisdom of God through other Godly counselors.
    • Working Saints: I know that job pays more money… But does GOD want you to have that job?
      • Have you prayed about it, have you asked others to pray with you?
    • Moving Saints: I know you found a great deal on that house… but have you heard from the Lord?
      • Have you prayed on it, have you sought wisdom from brothers and sisters in Christ, do you have the peace of God about the decision?
    • Married Saints: I know that having a lot of kids can, to our own understanding, seem like a lot of work…
      • But is your choice on how many kids to have based on your own vision and understanding, or have you asked the Lord “Do you want us to have more kids”?
    • Visiting Saints: I know our church is AWESOME and we seem like we are like the 7^th coolest church in town…
      • But your decision on where to go to church should be based on the Lord and not on sight, amen?!
• Who you marry, where you work, where you live, how many kids you have, where you go to church…
  • Aside from the choice to follow Christ, these are the most important choices in your life. Chose wisely… with wisdom from the Lord… and it is always a good idea to ask for prayer and advice from other saints:

Proverbs 11:14 NKJV  Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

• There is wisdom in the multitude of counselors, Lot didn’t ask ANYONE where he should settle… he didn’t ask God and he didn’t ask Abram… he just chose on what he saw… and made the wrong choice.
  • He was righteous, but he was practicing the wrong way to live right.
    • And that led him into the wrong place to settle, our final point this morning.

Point Four – The Wrong Place to Settle

Genesis 13:11-13 NKJV  Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.  (12)  Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.  (13)  But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.

• Lot settled next to Sodom, and the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.
  • “But PASSSTOR…. How could Lot have known that Sodom was wicked?!”
    • Well for one, he could have asked God…
      • But we know that he didn’t even need to do that… he almost certainly knew the men of Sodom were wicked because Isaiah 3:9 says that the men of Sodom did not hide the sin but boasted about it declaring it to all… THEY WERE FAMOUSE FOR THEIR SIN…
• So you need a place to settle? Maybe DON’T SETTLE THERE BRO!
  • Not only did Lot settle next to Sodom, he actually ended up dwelling IN Sodom…

Genesis 14:12a NKJV  They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom…

• Not only did he dwell IN Sodom, but he became a city official, sitting at the gates of the city to help with matters of law and judgment. We learn that in Genesis 19:1

Genesis 19:1 NKJV  Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom…

• Sitting at the gate was a government job, and a prestigious one at that… remember that it was near the city gate that Prince Absolom, King David’s son, turned Jerusalem against David… The city Gate was a place of judgment and authority in all sorts of legal matters before people could enter the city… and somehow Lot landed this position…
  • How fast Lot went from dwelling in the promised land, to striving against Abram, to looking selfishly with his eyes, to making the wrong choice, to finally living in LITERALLY the worst city to ever exist…
• Here is the lesson for us today church: Living sin adjacent quickly becomes living in sin.
  • We will later learn that Lot’s daughters are ALL KINDS OF MESSED UP.
    • And we will learn that Lot fell into alcoholism…
      • How can this be, a righteous man becoming an alcoholic with horribly messed up daughters and a faithless wife…
        • Well, He had the wrong kind of strife, the wrong kind of vision, he made the wrong choice and found the wrong place to settle.
• Church, never allow yourself to settle down and be planted in the WRONG SPOT.
  • Be planted where God calls you to be planted and that is it.
    • AND NEVER attend a church that is soft on sin… sin adjacent becomes sin abundant so quickly.
      • Let me say that again “Sin adjacent becomes sin abundant quickly!”
  • Early on in our church life one of our leaders had a free trip to Vegas and invited me to go…
    • That was a mistake… turns out they call it sin city for a reason… after a day of trying to be righteous in that city we just decided to stay in our hotel rooms and play video games…
    • Sunday came and we found a church to go to… and I wish I was making this up… but the pastor, in his sermon, said… and I quote “Now I used to be a drug addict, a drunk, and a partier… Not that those things are wrong… but they were not for me”.
      • NOT THAT THOSE THINGS ARE WRONG… BRO! WHAT?!
        • Listen if God has called you to plant a church in Vegas, as I believe he does do… there is one way and one way only to run that church… in direct opposition to the sin that the city is named after!
• Sin adjacent becomes sin abundant so fast. I pray that CLC would be were you and your family Settles, but should the Lord call you to a different city or different church, find a church that is FAR away from sin and firmly in the promises of God, amen?!
  • Now let’s conclude this message by briefly talking about the right way to do things.

Conclusion

• Lot had a Lot of problems… and Abram had a LOT of problems…
  • But Abram in Genesis 13 did things the right way.
  • When there was strife, Abram was the one to accept responsibility, he sacrificed selflessly and gave lot the option of were to live.
    • He did what was necessary to live peaceably with his cousin lot.
      • So Abram sacrificed to avoid Strife.
    • When it came to a finding a land to dwell in for Abram, Abram returned first to Bethel… Beit-El, the house of God… and he worshiped and sacrificed and prayed… and God reaffirmed His promises to Abram, and sent Him afresh to the Promised Land.
    • There were Canaanites in the land, which we later learn are giants… if Abram saw with his eyes he might say “Me and my servants are but grasshoppers in the sight of these giants” but we don’t see such faithlessness from Abram, Abam trusted the Lord.
    • That lead Abram to the right choice, which lead him to settle in a land of great blessing and promise.
• Gospel Call
• Now before I close I want to add this… Lot made a ton of bad choices… but the Bible still says he was righteous… That is why I titled the sermon “The wrong way to live right”…
  • Lot still loved God, he still served, honored, and worshiped the LORD… but he messed up… a LOT.
    • And still, through it all, God protected and delivered Lot, as we will see in coming chapters.
    • If you have been like Lot, I have good news, if you have not forsaken God, He has not forsaken you… your choices have consequences, yes, but God is still with you… return afresh to Him and making good choices, and pray that the Lord would restore the years you have lost by living the right life the wrong way.

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