May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in His Holy Word. Let's turn to the Gospel of Luke
chapter 17 and verse 32. It's just three words. Luke 17 and verse 32. Remember Lot's wife. You should realise these of course
are the words of the Saviour. So we should recognise they are
relevant and they are important. And you might ask the question
why should we remember Lot's wife? Well, in the book of Genesis
we have the account of Lot and the situation which he was in
and also the position with regard to his wife. We'll just read a few verses
in the 19th chapter of the book of Genesis. And from verse 15
we read this. And when the morning arose, then
the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, Take thy wife and thy
two daughters, which are here, lest they be consumed in the
iniquity of the city." He lived in Sodom, which was a very wicked
place. And he had been told to escape,
told to go away. And this was a part of the account. And while he lingered, the men
laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and
upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto
him. And they brought him forth, and
set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they
had brought him forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy
life, look not behind thee, Neither stay thou in all the plain, Escape
to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them,
O not so, my lord. Behold now, thy servant hath
found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy,
which thou showed unto me in saving my life. And I cannot
escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me and I die. Behold now, This city is near
to flee unto, and it is a little one. Oh, let me escape thither. Is it not a little one? And my
soul shall live.' And he said unto him, See, I have accepted
thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this
city for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither. For I cannot do anything till
they become nither. Therefore the name of the city
was called Zohar.' And then we read, The sun was risen upon
the earth when Lot entered into Zohar. Then the Lord rained upon
Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord of heaven. And he overthrew those cities
and all the plain and all the inhabitants of the cities, and
that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from
behind him, and she became a pillar of salt." And that's what our
Saviour is referring to when he tells us to remember Lot's
wife. And it's very salutary. You may
think, well, of course, that occurred a long time ago and
it was just particularly because of Lot and his wife and his daughters. And things aren't the same today.
Well, of course, they're not the same. But God is the same. And God is still to be obeyed. Many people today trifle with
God. they think they can choose what
they want to do they think they can please themselves they think
they can go their own way and yet God you see gave to Lot a
very clear direction to escape and to not look back well in
the case of Lot's wife we see the temptation to look back was
just too great. It was an evil place. It was a sinful place. And that's
why the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. But sadly what
we observe is her heart was still there. Her heart was still there. Although she'd been brought out
of Sodom, her heart was still there. And therefore, instead
of heeding the gracious instruction that had been given to them to
not look back, she disobeyed. And the result was, she became
a pillar of salt. And she was there as a pillar
of salt, I understand, for many years. It basically turned to
marble, and it was there as a testimony, as a witness to the power of
God and to the terribleness of turning our backs upon God because
that's what she had done. She had said in her heart, I
will not have this man to reign over me. I'm going to please
myself, and therefore she disobeyed God with the terrible outcome. And these things are written,
you see, for our instruction. They're not just written as an
interesting account, something that tickles our fancy. It's
the Word of God which we should be very concerned about, to obey. in that 17th chapter which we
read together of course it wasn't only Lot that was referred to
it was those in the day of Noah and we're told as it was in the
days of Noah so should it be also in the days of the Son of
Man they could eat they drank they married wives they were
given in marriage until the day that now entered into the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all. So likewise also, as
it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought,
they sold, they planted, they built, but the same day that
Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven
and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the
day when the Son of Man is revealed. We're told many times in the
Word of God that this world will not exist forever. And if we
read the Word of God and the signs of the times, surely it
is evident that the end of time is closer. closer to when we
were born. We know not when the end will
come. We're told, the Saviour said, the only person that knows
is the Father. When that trumpet shall sound
and time shall be no more. But we should be assured of this,
that there will be an end. And we know not when that will
come. Whether we will see it, whether we all will see it, or
perhaps you that are younger will see it, or perhaps none
of us will see it. But the time will come when everything will
be burnt up. And we see, don't we, if you
look around, the evil state of things. That's why the flood
came. That's why Sodom and Gomorrah
were destroyed. was because the terrible evil
which existed in their days and it would appear that in Noah's
day there were only those eight souls who were saved, were delivered
and of course in Lot's case it was only really him and his two
daughters very solitary really and very
striking to read these accounts and no doubt such words are familiar
to us but because of our nature because of the power of Satan
we tend to put these things to the back of our mind and don't
think really they will occur the end of time won't occur in
our lifetime Well, it would be good, you know, if when we go
to bed at night we wonder whether it will come while we're asleep,
whether it will come when we're awake, whether it will come at
midday. Because clearly, because of the earth and the way it rotates,
there will be night and there will be day. And when that destruction
comes, some will be in the midst of their daily life. Some will
be sound asleep in bed. It won't matter. The end will
come. And those then who are not called
by grace will cry unto the rocks to cover them. They won't bear
to look at the terrible scenes which exist. It'll be too late. They will have turned their back
upon the truth of God, turned their back upon the great and
glorious invitations of the Gospel, not listened. to the Word of
God, but follow their own inclinations. And the Lord goes on in this
chapter to just describe in some little detail of what will occur. He tells us, in that day, the
day known to God, he which shall be upon the housetop and his
stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away, And
he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it. And whosoever
shall lose his life shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night
there shall be two men in one bed. The one shall be taken and
the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together. The one shall be taken. the other
left. Two men should be in the field,
but one should be taken and the other left. And they answered
and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever
the body is, nither will the eagles be gathered together. Well, we have this vivid picture
already set before us in this chapter. Words of the Lord, and
don't forget, in the midst of it we have these words, Remember
Lot's wife. And that says the truth. We're not to ignore it. We're
not to think it's not relevant to us today. We are to remember
that this woman disobeyed God. You might think, well, that was
a very trivial thing. Just to turn around and look
at where she'd come from to see what was happening. And our natural
mind would think, well, nothing wrong in that, it's quite interesting
to see what was occurring. But, the significance was, she
disobeyed God. And that's really the bottom
line for us to realize. We cannot trifle with God. She trifled with God. She thought
she could do what she wanted to. She obviously wanted to please
herself. But we know the result. She was
turned into a pillar of salt. Her life was taken from her.
And my friends, you and I cannot give ourselves life. But God
can take our life. and it would be a tragic scene,
wouldn't it? for us if we turn our back upon God and if we disobey God I don't know your situation,
your condition before God but you know very clearly what God has directed you in
and spoken to you in, perhaps And you may not want to do it.
She didn't want to not turn around. She had her own way. But she
also received the outcome of disobeying God. And it's a very
solemn thought. And it's a very solemn truth
for us today to recognize that we should not please ourselves. our great concern should be to
please God. It really comes down to the situation,
the condition of our heart, of our heart as to whether we are
pleasing God or not in this very same Gospel we can read in the
9th chapter about a man who disobeyed God
and we can read about what he did and how solemn it is to realise
that we are not our own, we are not allowed to do those things
which we want to do. We are to do those things which
God has directed us to do. And what a blessing it is when
we are made willing in the day of His power. Well, in the 8th chapter of Luke
we read about the situation, about the man who thought he
could purchase the favours and the privileges thereof himself
and he wanted to buy them and he was not able to because
they were the gift of God and it's a very solemn situation
to think if you and I can purchase something No, we have a very
clear direction and a very clear command to do the will of Almighty
God and it will be a great blessing therefore if God gives us a willing
spirit you know, on that occasion Peter said to him this man thou
is neither part nor lot in this matter For thy heart is not right
in the sight of God. We don't want to be deceived,
do we? Our heart is deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked. And left to ourselves, we think
we can organise our own life. We can say what we want to say.
But are we speaking in accordance with God's will? Or are we trying
to dictate to God? You know, it's a solemn thing,
isn't it? To dictate to God. What a blessing it is if we're
made submissive to do God's will, to hear God's word, to obey God's
word, to be subject to God's will, and to submit to God's
will. God is on the throne. We're little, puny people. And to think that we can appear
to almost stand and argue with God, can almost appear to direct
God as what he should do. God is a great God. And it's
a great blessing, therefore, if God brings us down to realise
that we shouldn't think that we can do that just to please
our own ego. We are very egoistic, left to
ourselves. But what a blessing it is when
God takes us in hand. And when God takes us in hand,
do you know what we're like? We're like a little child. And
little children need to be led. And what a blessing it is when
God then takes us by our hand and leads us. We're not left
then to try and dictate to God as to what he should do. It's
a great blessing, isn't it? To be submissive to the will
of God. You see, we can be sure that
God's will and purpose is best for us. You see, in Lot's wife's
case, she was told, they were all told, not to look back. What
was the benefit of looking back? Was it going to do their soul
any good? Was it going to do Lot's wife's soul any good? Or
was she just going to see the destruction of Sodom? Well, she
decided that she was going to look back. She would have seen
her husband and her daughters looking steadfastly forward and
not looking back. But she no doubt drank behind
and then turned around and looked back. And the judgment was immediate. She became a pillar of salt. There was no opportunity to repent. There was no opportunity to say,
I wish I hadn't done that. It was too late. See these lessons
in the Word of God are for our instruction. They're so that
by God's grace we might walk in accordance with the Word of
God and not in accordance with our own will. What a great blessing
it was. Lot was delivered out of Sodom
and we're told what he was like there. We're told he was vexed. with a filthy conversation of
the wicked. And that's a good test, isn't
it, for our religion today. We do live in a terrible world. We're swearing and cursing and
blasphemy exists on so many people's lips. What a blessing it is if
we can truly turn away from such things. Indeed, perhaps speak
against such things. You know, it's contrary to the
Word of God. And what a warning it is. What a warning it is to us in
these things. Well, here was a woman, obviously
pretending that she was a good person, she'd come out of Sodom
and she'd been Dragged out? They'd all been dragged out.
Even lots had been dragged out. You'd think it would be an obvious
thing, wouldn't it? To do what God had said. But
they lingered. They lingered. It's a sad scene, isn't it? to
linger in the tents of wickedness. What a sad, sad position we're
in if we linger, linger in an evil and linger in a wrong place
and really have our heart in the wrong place. And so that's
where Lot's wife did. She had her heart. Her heart
was Not right. In the Psalms we read, and I
think it's in Psalm 78 and verse 37, we read this. Let me read first of all verse
35. And they remembered that God
was their rock, and the high God their Redeemer. Nevertheless,
They did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him
with their tongues. For their heart was not right
with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant. We can't say
really better, can we? Left to ourselves. But then we
see the great mercy of God in this Psalm of Asaph, and we read,
as Almighty God, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity
and destroyed them not, but did not forgive Lot's wife's iniquity. She was destroyed. Yea, many a time turned he his
anger away and did not stir up all his wrath, for he remembered
that they were but flesh a wind that passeth away and cometh
not again. How oft did they provoke him
in the wilderness and grieve him in the desert. It's good sometimes just to ponder
our own life and to try and see how many times we perhaps have
grieved the Lord. Grieved the Lord. said things,
done things, which are not God-honouring, pleased ourselves. God hasn't dealt with us as our
sins deserve, but he did deal with Lot's wife as her sins deserved. And that's why we have this clear
statement, remember Lot's wife. We should not think, oh well,
the children in the wilderness, they got away with it. They didn't
obey God. And God was merciful to them.
You see, God was not merciful to Lot's wife. And my friends,
we should not presume God's going to be merciful to me. God's going
to be merciful to us because we may have disobeyed God. We
may have mocked God in our lives. We may have turned our back upon
God and gone our own way. It's a very solemn scene, isn't
it? Surely that's why we have a warning
like this. It's a very clear and a very
solemn warning. This could have been omitted,
couldn't it? From the Word of God. We could have just been
left with that part that I read in the 78th Psalm. A very comforting
statement. A very encouraging statement.
And God's obviously given us that. So that if we do come with
true sorrow and repentance in our heart. And again, that's
the gift of God. Then the Lord looks upon us in
love and mercy. But here was a soul hard-hearted,
rebellious, clearly didn't want to leave the place of sin. Wanted to stay there. It was
so strong. in her being she couldn't but
look back what a solemn position, what a solemn scene and my friends
it's there for a warning I think it's just there for an interesting
account it's there for a warning great blessing it is therefore
if God comes and touches our hearts And perhaps we may even
be like, lot was had to be dragged out, dragged away from it. It's a sad situation, but sometimes
it is so. Sometimes we may have got ourselves
into deep mire, got ourself involved in things that we shouldn't get
ourself involved with. and you know it's much more difficult
to get out of those difficulties than it is to enter into them. We should recognise that God
has given us His Word to direct us to do that which is right
and that which is good and that which is God honouring. You see,
God's given us wonderful tests to examine ourselves And one
of them is this. If we do something, if we say
something, perhaps even if we think something, does it bring
honour and glory to God? Or does it detract from the honour
and glory of God? See, it's good to be questioned,
isn't it? It's good to be questioned, you
know, by our conscience. God's given us a conscience and
we should recognise it and we should therefore desire to be
guided by it and to not enter and to continue in sinful things
and the effect of that is to separate us from our God it doesn't
draw us nearer it separates us from our God what a blessing
it is then if our desire is to walk closer to God and not farther
away and not to walk far off you know what happened to Peter
Peter was very strong in himself he said he would never deny his
Lord and Master in actual fact he would die for him and then when the Lord was taken
into the judgment hall Peter followed afar off he followed
afar off and he followed afar off and he had those three occasions
when people spoke to him that he was one of the Lord's disciples
and on three occasions he denied it and the third occasion denied
it with oaths and curses you see left to ourselves how sadly
we can fall how sadly we can go against the things of God
remember that was in a very short period of time there was that
dramatic change the reality was that Peter was relying on his
own strength my friends we don't have any strength which is good
ourselves Because we're sinners of the earth. And we're vile
sinners. And we walk in accordance with
the flesh. We listen to the devil, just like Adam and Eve did. They
saw the fruit. They saw it was attractive. And
they turned away from the command of God. Well, when these things
come to our remembrance and come into our face, we should remember
Lot's wife. We should remember the situation
and perhaps we might even go back to an earlier time in Lot's
life, in the earlier part of Genesis, in the 13th chapter
of Genesis we read about Abraham and Lot separating and we're told
that Lot also which went with Abraham had flocks and herds
and tents and land was not able to bear them and there was a
strife and Abraham said unto Lot let there be no strife I
pray thee Between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy
herdmen, for we be brethren, is not the whole land before
thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take
the left hand, then I will go to the right. If thou depart
to the right hand, then I will go to the left.' And Lot lifted
up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was
well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and
Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of
Egypt, as thou comest unto Zion. Then Lot chose him, or the plain
of Jordan. And Lot journeyed east, and they
separated themselves, one from the other. Do you know the problem? Lot did not seek. direction and guidance from God. He looked to his own understanding.
He looked to that which appeared to be very welcoming and very
satisfying. And he let his nature dictate
as to what was the right way. But how wrong it was. And what
a disaster it was, wasn't it? What a disaster! You see, naturally it might have
appeared good. The reality was, it brought disaster. It brought
the death of his wife. It was a very solemn decision
that he made. We have to note in this account,
he didn't pray for guidance. He didn't seek unto the Lord.
He didn't ask for direction. He followed his own, his own
way. And what do we read in the Psalms,
in the Proverbs rather? There is a way that seemeth right
unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death. My friends,
let us not go or do the way that seemeth right, but let us go
the way that is right, in what appears to be a difficult way. Because even in difficult way,
if God before us, who can be against us? Remember Lot's wife. Remember the solemn account. It's there, my friends, for our
instruction. It's not there to ignore. It's not there to think,
well, that's an interesting account. But of course, it doesn't apply
to me. I live in a very different environment. in a very different
situation. We need to actually just sit
down and meditate and consider whether perhaps God's instructed
us, commanded us, what perhaps not to do. And we're doing it
against God's will. Well, we know not what will come
of it, but we don't want God's judgment to fall upon us, do
we? We don't want to recognise that
as Lot we hadn't sought direction to that place and then as Lot's
wife disobeyed clearly the Word of God. You see in what we might
consider to be negative parts of the Word of God there is great
instruction and great truth for us today. That's why God has
gloriously given us his word to follow and to desire to follow
it and to desire to do that which is right and God-honouring. The Lord tells us, those that
honour me, and that means following his commands, those that honour
me, I will honour. and those that despise me, like
Lot's wife, shall be lightly esteemed. And so was she. Well, my friends, these are searching
things, are they not, for all of us? But I trust we can bless God
that he's given us examples like this. so that we may examine
our own lives examine our own hearts not forgetting our heart
is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked that's
the state by nature of our heart and that's where we are and let's
God bring about a glorious deliverance well may we come and may we have
faith in God and may we desire to do his will and obey his voice
and then to be able to rejoice in his infinite love and mercy
to such unworthy sinners. Amen.