Take your Bibles and turn with
me to the book of Genesis chapter 19. 19. I had originally thought that I
would go through verses 23 through
26, but I think After looking again, I think
I'm going to just go through 25, and then Lord willing, I'll
go into verse 26, where Lot's wife turned around, looked back.
And I'll probably deal with that Sunday morning, one of the services. But let's look at, just read verses
23 through 25, and we'll have a word of prayer. The sun was
risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. And the Lord
rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord
out 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. Let's pray together. Our Father,
as we call upon you this evening, we're so thankful that we can
call you our Lord and our God. We're thankful for the privilege
to look into these holy scriptures, and Lord, thankful that we want
to. I pray that you'd bless it, bless
it to our understanding. Give us some light, Lord, we
ask you. Help us, we're so needy. These
things we ask. for Christ's sake. Amen. You know, the Lord had delivered
Lot from the destruction of Sodom by the means of two angels. And though Lot lingered, the
scripture said, the Lord was pleased to mercifully bring this
vessel of his affection out of the city of Sodom before God
destroyed it. Just plucked him as a bran right
out of the fire. Saved him by grace. But when
Lot was told by the Lord to go to the mountain, that's what
the scripture It says, verse 17, it came to pass that when
they, the angels, had brought them, Lot, his wife, his two
daughters forth, that he, that is the Lord himself, we looked
at this last week, said, escape for thy life. Look not behind
thee, neither stay thou in all the plain. Escape to the mountain,
lest thou be consumed. As soon as the Lord told Lot
that, Lot said in verse 18, unto them, and again he's talking
to the Lord. Notice that. Lot said unto them,
O not so, my Lord. He's speaking to the Lord, who is the very image of the
Godhead. He's speaking unto the Lord. He's speaking to Jehovah
and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, not so, my Lord. He said in verse 19, Behold,
now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified
thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me, in saving my life. And I cannot escape to the mountain,
lest some evil take me, and I die. It amazes me how he's explaining
to the Lord why he can't do what the Lord told him to do. Because
if I do what you said, some evil is going to overtake me. I'm
going to die. Verse 20, he says, behold now,
this is Lot speaking. Behold now, this city is near
to flee into, and it is a little one. Oh, let me escape thither. Is it not a little one? And my
soul shall live. In verse 21, I'm convinced. The Lord allowed him to do what
Lot thought he wanted to do. The Lord was going to show Lot
and he's going to show us something concerning our thinking when
we think that our way is better than God's way. Lot said unto the Lord, it's
just a little one. And I just go to this, it's just
a little one and it's probably in his mind that this is a safer
place than where I was. I'm from Louisiana and I lived in a little town called
Tioga. It's just a little town, just
a little big town, about like Katy. Cuyahoga's a little bit
bigger than Katy, not much. But there's some towns in Louisiana
that I really wouldn't want to live in. Some of these big towns,
great big ones, I wouldn't care to live in. Some of them's got
some pretty rough reputations. And probably in lots of mine,
this is just a little one. Fewer people, fewer sinners,
fewer sins. maybe a little custom, I mean
a country, a little country town, you know. And the Lord said,
I'm going to allow you to do that. But scripture says in verse
30, we won't be there tonight, I looked at this last week. Lot
went up out of Zoar, dwelt in the mountains, two daughters
with him. For he feared to dwell in Zoar, and he dwelt in a cave,
he and his two daughters. If I can go to this little town,
it's just a little one. It's just small, small. I want
to speak tonight for a few minutes on this subject. Is it not a
little one? Just a little one. You know, we're all prone to
think, as Brother Lott, Lott was a just man. Scripture says
he was a believer. Trying to justify our way as
opposed to God's way. The Lord told Lot what to do. You do this. I've got this little
town over here. If I could go there, okay. You go. What danger in thinking
that just a little act, just a little act of compromise won't
really matter that much? It's just a little one. But it's the little act of compromise
that leads to another and to another until the end is seen
to be devastating. It's just a little one. Did not the Lord say unto Adam
concerning one tree in the Garden of Eden, just one tree, Genesis
217, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
not eat of it, for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt
surely die. Satan lied to Eve and told her,
you won't die. You're not going to die. God
knows in the day you eat thereof, you'll be like God. You'll be
like God himself. You'll know good and evil. And the scripture says in Genesis
3, 6, now listen to this, and when she saw, it was just a little look, when
she saw, that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant
to the eyes, it was just a little pleasant look, it was a pleasant
look, but just a little one, it was just a little look. And a tree to be desired to make
one wise. You know, just a little wiser,
just, I can learn something here. Just a little, just a little. A tree to be desired to make
one wise. Oh, the lust of the flesh, the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. She took of the fruit thereof. It was just a little touch, it
was just, She just took it, that's all she did. Just a little. And
did eat. Just tasted it. And gave also
unto her husband with her, just a little small gesture, just
a little suggestion. Gave it to him. Just a small
gesture. And he did eat. It was just one fruit. And the consequences of that
little look, it was just a look, a little touch, a little taste,
a little gesture toward her husband, and his eating of just one fruit,
it was just one, but one that God forbid, Thereby, the whole world of mankind
spiritually died and the earth was cursed. Romans 5.12 says,
wherefore by one man, sin entered into the world and
death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have
sinned. King David, one night, saw a
woman. He just saw her. Just a little
look. But from that one look, he sent
a messenger, took her, brought her to David. David lay with
her. She conceived. David had her
husband killed. The sword never left David's
house. The enemies of the Lord had reason
to blaspheme. Oh, the danger of thinking, it's
just a little, it's just a little. The commandment of the Lord to
Lot and to every vessel of his mercy is, escape for thy life. Look not behind thee, don't linger
with desire for this world. Flee to the mountain, flee to
the rock, Christ Himself, lest you be consumed. Now listen,
here's why. God is going to judge this world. God's going to judge sin. deal
with it. And he did. The scripture says
back in Genesis 19, the sun was risen upon the earth when Lot
entered into Zoar. Here, the sun was risen. The
way the wording there, the sun was out. You see it. It wasn't
a day that seemed to be anything other than any other day, just
a day of safety, bright promise, another day, prosperity. Verse 24-25, then the Lord rained
upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord
out of heaven and he overthrew those cities and all the plain
and all the inhabitants of the cities, that which grew upon
the ground. God Almighty was the immediate
author God reigned upon it. Sodom, Gomorrah, other cities,
destruction. Then when Lot was in Zoar, then the Lord reigned upon Sodom
and upon Gomorrah. Brimstone and fire from the Lord. Brimstone. I looked that up. This is what I found from the
definition. First of all, it's said to be of cypress resin,
so pitch probably was some of the material, but also sulfur
is revealed to be the material. But the Lord also said to rain
fire with the cypress resin and sulfur. Fire, that is burning,
fiery, flaming, hot. And here's what we behold to
be the result. This is what that was called.
Fire and brimstone. Fire mixed with resin, sulfur,
and that has become the biblical symbol of destruction because
of sin. Fire and brimstone. But while men look at that, now
we think about this, this happened thousands and thousands and thousands
of years ago. In fact, I tried to look it up
and find out when this happened. Somewhere around 1800 BC. 1,800 years before Christ. And we look
back at that and say, well, that took place thousands of years
ago and that judgment of that wicked city is over. But I want
us to look at something from Scripture and consider something
of the admonition and the warning that judgment is coming concerning
the judgment that happened to this city. Judgment's coming,
just like it was to this city. The scripture says, and concerning
Sodom, and I want you to remember, Sodom is a picture of this world,
and it's false religion. Sodom, humanly speaking, it was
men with men and women with women, and no children can be produced
from that. That's a picture of false religion. No life produced,
no life. Isaiah 1, 10 and 11. Hear the
word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom. This is Isaiah 1, Isaiah. The prophet was moved right this. 1,100 years after the destruction
of Sodom. This Isaiah wrote somewhere around
750 BC. Sodom was around 1800 BC. So about 1100 years, somewhere
in that area. Isaiah wrote, hear the word of
the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom. I thought Sodom was gone. Well,
that physical city's gone. Gomorrah's gone. But what it
represents. Give ear unto the law of our
God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude
of your sacrifices unto me? I am full of the burnt offerings
of rams, the fat of fed beast, and I delight not in the blood
of bullocks, rams, or he goats. The God of this world The little
g, God of this world is what I'm talking about. And the message,
I want you to turn with me to Deuteronomy 32. I want you to
look at these scriptures. I don't want you to just hear
what I'm saying. I want you to look at it. Deuteronomy 32, but
I'm gonna say this, the little g God of this world and the message,
the false message of the little g God of this world. That is
what Sodom sets forth. Sodom is a picture of spiritual
adultery, spiritual filthiness, spiritual, of a false gospel. Deuteronomy 32, verse 31-33. Now listen to what's being said. For their rock, now look at the
lower case rock, this is what I want you to look at. It's not
as I rock. It's written, it's got a capital
R there. Their little God is not our God. Even our enemies themselves be
injustice, for their vine is of the vine of Sodom and the
fields of Gomorrah, and their grapes are grapes of gall, their
clusters are bitter, their wine is the poison of dragons, the
cruel venom of asp. This is the result of their God. Sodom's God. A God that sets
forth that which is no God at all. But I thought Sodom's gone. No, Sodom, listen. Remember,
Sodom is a picture of this world's religion. It's an abomination. It gives
man glory and not God glory. It's that picture that sets forth
the children of the kingdom are brought forth through the preaching
of the gospel that Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. It is the power of God and salvation. Life is produced through the
preaching of the gospel, but Sodom and Gomorrah They were
sodomites, there's no doubt about it. It was wickedness. But this
city, it's a picture of that which God doesn't bless as far
as preaching and glorifying to Him. And God will judge it. Here's this picture of this spiritual
wickedness and this preaching of this message that says forth
man trying to earn his own righteousness before God by the works of the
law. This is Sodom. That's Sodom. False religion. Spiritually speaking, now you
listen to me. Spiritually speaking, Sodom and
Gomorrah is still in this world right now. Spiritually. Sodom
and Gomorrah still hating God. That false message It hates God,
it hates God's gospel, it hates God's people, and God's going
to destroy it. Did you see what we read right
here happened to that city, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
and those other cities in the plain? What did God do? That's
what God's going to do again. Psalm 11 6, upon the wicked. He shall rain snares, that is
the Lord will ensnare the wicked, fire and brimstone and a horrible
tempest. I looked at horrible tempest,
scorching wind. This shall be the portion of
their cup. All judgment is committed, the scripture says in 522, John
522, under the sun. And according to God's word,
the sun, the sun himself, rain fire and brimstone upon Sodom. And that's what's going to be
Jude 1, Jude chapter 1. That's what's going to be in
the last day. Jude chapter 1, verses 5 to 7. The scripture says, I will therefore
put you in remembrance. Though ye once knew this, how
that the Lord, having saved his people out of the land of Egypt,
afterward destroyed them that believed not, and the angels,
which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,
he hath reserved in everlasting chains unto darkness, unto the
judgment of the great day, even as Sodom and Gomorrah. And the
cities about them, and like men, are giving themselves over to
fornication, going after strange flesh, setting forth for an example,
suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." As God drowned the inhabitants
in the flood, God drowned the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah,
but he drowned them in fire and brimstone. It rained, it said.
It rained fire and brimstone. He didn't do it with water, he
did it with fire and brimstone under destruction. All the cities,
plains, the people, everything grew up on the ground. It is
a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Now, this is what's going to
happen for all rebellion. For all that trust in themselves
that they're righteous. All that look to their free will,
their free choice. their works of righteousness.
This is what's gonna happen. But listen, before we end this
night, I got some good news. I got some good news. Now, I
always like to hear the good news. You know good news is only
good news when you hear the bad news. Now here's the bad news. All apart from Christ, God's
gonna judge, and you're gonna be cast out into the lake of
fire. That's the truth, but for every
needy sinner. Now, if there's a sinner here
tonight, if there happens to be a sinner, Brother Scott used
to say that's a precious thing because it'd been made so by
God's revelation. That's a precious, precious,
precious thing, sinner. Christ Jesus came into this world
to save sinners. Now, if there's a sinner, I mean
a real one, a real one, if there's a real helpless sinner, needy,
stinking sinner here. I've got some good news. Just as Almighty God rescued
Lot, just Lot, from the wrath that was due unto Lot, If the
Lord who rescued Lot, who lingered when judgment was, I mean, in
minutes, minutes, was getting ready to fall on Sodom, minutes,
took him by the hand, Scripture says. His wife, he took those
two girls too, the never known man, and brought them forth,
took them out of a city marked for destruction. If there's any sinners here,
that by the grace of God you've realized, I can't save myself.
I can't please God by myself. I can't keep the law of God.
Nobody's ever kept the law of God save the Lord Jesus Christ.
But if there's one here, and by the grace of God has heard
the voice of the Lord say in his heart, all that have heard
the voice of mercy and grace and compassion. Lot heard. The
Lord said, my sheep hear my voice. But if there's one, if there's
one, Sodom then is Sodom now. That city itself, the physical
city's gone, but spiritual Sodom's here. Listen to me. Escape for your life. Look not behind thee, neither
stay thou in the plain. Escape to the mountain. Flee to Christ. Look unto Him,
the author and finisher of our faith. Flee unto Him who is the
city of refuge. There's a refuge. There is a
refuge. It's not you. There's no helping
you, no helping me. But if you've heard His voice,
And I, again, I say, well, I don't know about all that. I'm telling
you, the Lord said, my sheep, hear my voice. If you've heard
the voice of the master, by faith alone, by the ear of faith, you
perceive his voice, and you've heard the voice saying to you, I've stood for you. I have everlastingly
loved you. I laid down my life for you. My righteousness is imputed unto
you. I ever live to make intercession
for you. I'm coming back for you, that
where I am there you may be also. If there's one sinner here that
finds great joy in knowing that there's a savior of sinners Now,
if you're good, if you're righteous and you're satisfied, I don't
have anything for you. But I'm telling you, if there's
somebody here and they can't help themselves, I'm so glad,
I'm so glad that God would reveal that. I pray that he reveal that
to me fresh. Now, if you've heard his voice, The
Lord saved you. You trust Him. I want us now
to remember the Lord that has loved His people, died for them,
sent His Spirit, regenerated them, called them to Himself,
sealed them by His power, has taught them by His Spirit, given
them a heart to sit and listen to the gospel, willing, thankful
to hear a preacher tell them from God's Word, Christ Jesus
came to this world to save sinners. I need God to save me. I want
Him to save me. I want Him to save me. I want
Him to save me for His glory and for my eternal good. Amen. Okay.