Well, may the Lord be with and
bless us tonight as we meditate in his word. It's a very short
text tonight, so you young people and children should be able to
remember it. Sometimes the texts are a bit
long, but this has just got three words. And it's in the 17th chapter
of Luke, and it's verse 32. 17th chapter of Luke and verse
32. Remember Lot's wife. Well, we read together in Genesis
about Lot's wife. And you may remember what we
read. What happened was that Lot's
wife disobeyed the very clear command of God and that command
was that they should not turn around and look back at the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot's wife disobeyed And
I expect you remember what happened to her. She became a pillar of
salt. Her life was taken from her and
she became a pillar of salt. There was no opportunity to repent. There was no opportunity to say
that she didn't mean to do it. She had disobeyed the great and
eternal God. And we can read an account like
that, can't we? But you know, the reality is God is to be obeyed. And we should not think that
somehow we're above that and somehow we can excuse ourselves. We have these very important
illustrations for us today to be found doing that which is
right and not doing that which is wrong. We might just, for
a moment, remember Lot. Lot, of course, was with Abraham. They came out of Ur of the Chaldees
together, and they farmed together, and they both prospered. And
they prospered so much that their herdsmen, they quarreled because
they were getting in each other's way. And so they decided to separate. One go one way, and one go the
other. And Abraham said to Lot, well,
you choose. You choose where you will go,
and I'll go in the opposite direction. So Lot got up, stood clearly
on a bit of a hill, and looked around, and he saw a wonderful
well-watered plain. And he thought, that'll be just
right for my cattle. So off he went with all his cattle. And there, of course, in the
middle of that plain were these two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. And we find that he very quickly
lived in those cities, and they were very wicked and very evil
cities, so bad, in fact, that God decided they must be destroyed. But in his great mercy and providence,
we find that Lot was to escape and not be kept amongst those
that should be destroyed. And so the Lord sent angels to
bring Lot and his family out of Sodom and Gomorrah. He told
Lot what would happen He told him to go and get his sons and
his son's wives. Lot went and told them. They
didn't believe Lot. They didn't believe Lot. They
thought it was just tales, and therefore they stayed there in
Sodom and Gomorrah. And then, you see, Lot lingered
there He obviously was taken up with some of the things, and
the angels had to grasp him by the hand and drag him out, and
his wife, and his two daughters. And you would think that shortly
then they would all realise the solemnity of the situation, and
especially when they would have heard the fire and brimstone
coming down upon these cities and destroying them. and had
gone as fast as they could. Well, it would seem that Lot
and his two daughters did, but we find that Lot's wife, she
obviously didn't really want to leave that place of pleasure,
that place that she lived in. And she looked back and she became
a pillar of salt. So we see there the picture and
the account of Lot's wife. And so when we read this account
here in the Gospel of Luke, Luke refers to it as a very outstanding
position and condition. But also he draws our attention
to a very similar situation which I'm sure you will remember, and
that was in the days of Noah. Again, in the days of Noah. And
this time the whole world was in a terrible state. A terrible
state. And it would seem that there
was only Noah and his sons and his sons' wives who were not
taken up with all the evil of his time. And so we're told as
we read together in this earlier verses in verse 26. And as it
was in the days of Noah, so should it be also in the days of the
Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they
married wives, they were given in marriage until the day that
Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed
them all. And yet, you see, Na had been
building that ark for many, many years, obeying God, building
it on dry land. And it would appear that it had
probably not been rain until that time. And so, no doubt,
they all thought, what a foolish man. But you see, Na was obeying
God. But the time came, as God had
said, when the flood did come, and none escaped. None escaped. Yes, they were all destroyed,
apart from Noah and his wife and his sons and their wives.
You see how God's word comes to pass. We tend to think, perhaps,
of the good things that we expect to come to pass. And perhaps
God has been very gracious to us and given us promises with
regard to good things. But sometimes there are bad things. And God brings his judgments
upon people because of the bad things. And we ought to realize
that we do have to do with a just God. God is gracious, he is kind,
he is long-suffering, he is just. And so as we read, 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. Why does the Spirit of God direct
us to such accounts? God directs us to such accounts
because we should realise the Lord has told us there will be
a day coming when He will destroy the heaven and the earth, it
would all be burnt up. And again, men and women today,
boys and girls, they think such statements are mere fairy tales. They say, will things continue?
As they always have done, they're going to continue. We needn't
worry. Well, we do need to be concerned. And that's why we have in this
account that we read. Even thus shall it be in the
day when the Son of Man is revealed. And we're told what would happen.
In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop and his staff
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, and the other left. Two men shall be
in the field. The one shall be taken, and the
other left. And the answer that said unto
him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever
the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
Well, we don't know when that will occur. But we do know that
it will occur. And the Lord tells us the words
of Jesus. Be also ready. You know, not
the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh. There are
plenty of warnings in the word of God, There's many a picture
in the Word of God that what it will be like, how the world
will be worse and worse before that time when the end of time
will come. And we see today, we must see
today, we cannot but see today how it is getting worse and worse. Those of us who are older could
look back into our own lives and our own country and see how
things are dramatically worse than when we were young. They
were bad then. Our forefathers thought they
were bad. My friends, they're far, far worse today. You only have to look around,
don't we? and we see churches and chapels,
for the most part, pretty empty. Very few people wanting to worship. Very few people desiring to come
and hear what God will say. And especially we know with this
virus which has It's been a pandemic throughout the world. We're very
grateful for the Internet and the benefits it's brought. But
we see and we know there are many people today who are just
continuing listening to the Internet. It's more convenient. The seating
is a bit more comfortable. They can have a cup of tea halfway
through and wander around. And you see how things deteriorate. And yet you see the Word of God
tells us we are not to forsake the assembly of ourselves together
as the manner of the sum is. We're not to substitute that
with sitting at home and listening to the internet. We should be
thankful for the provision but we should realise what the Word
of God encourages us to do. And so that's just one example
of what we might term the declension, a means of turning away from
the things of God in the day and age in which we live. You see, people are prepared
to just have a nominal religion. In the two examples that we've
quoted, in the flood in Sodom and Gomorrah, people didn't want
religion. They didn't want to hear the
word of God. They didn't want to hear the
warnings. And I suppose, if we really analyse
it, that's true now, isn't it? We only have to look at the things
that we've been able to do through our distribution fund when we
started it. A good few years ago now. Well, there were many avenues.
There were many individuals who wanted copies of the Bible. There
were many schools that we were able to deliver Bibles and good
books to. And we spent, Frank and I used
to spend a day sometimes delivering to schools, many schools, and
that year after year. And now we see there's very little
Demand for it. Rental demand for school leavers'
Bibles. As you well know, we've distributed
to 15 schools the last couple of years. And this year, I think
we've only had responses from seven. We see, don't we then,
a turning away from the things of God. Oh, people want the things
of the world. They don't want anything that
disturbs their life. They don't want anything that
stops them enjoying the vanities of time. In reality, they don't
want to bow down to Almighty God. Now then, this evening, it's
a great blessing for all of us If in our hearts there is that
true desire to bow down to the great God, a ruler of our world,
our planet, a ruler of the universe, to bow down and to acknowledge
he is the Lord of Lords, he is the King of Kings, he is the
one to hear and to answer. And so we find that for the most
part, men are turning their back upon the things of God. And so
we have this very clear, simple word to remember, Lot's wife. Lot's wife. Doesn't take long,
does it, to remember that? and to remember how the Lord
dealt with her because she effectively turned her back upon the things
of God. She didn't want to obey the word
of God. No, her heart was still in Sodom
and Gomorrah and that's why she looked back. Now what a mercy
for us tonight. if our heart seeks for the things
of God. Our great concern and desire
is to know more of the things of God. What a blessing that
is. What a favour that is. What a
wonderful mercy that is. It's not something that you and
I produce ourselves. But we need to realise and need
to realise more and more that we're on this earth. It's
only for the people of God a lodging place. It's a place that the
Lord has placed us in just for a very, very short time. And then eternity. And then where
will our souls be? People don't want to consider
their latter end. And let the Word of God encourage
us to do just that. Because we don't know when we
shall be called to stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
But if we were called tonight, where we say, well, I didn't
really spend Sunday very well. I sat in chapel and I didn't
think or listen to what was being said. I just spent my time thinking
of what I'll be doing in the week to come. It's very easy to be sidetracked. The devil wants to sidetrack
us. He wants us to put the things
of God in the background. He wants us to put the things
of time in the forefront. He wants to distract us from
the worship of God. He wants to distract us from
reading the Word of God. He wants to distract us from
praying. And all these things we see abound
today. We see the Church of God, as
we read in the book of the Revelation, lukewarm, lukewarm. Well, what a sad position it
is to be found lukewarm. It means that we're not hot or
cold. We just pick up religion when
it suits us and we put it down again when it doesn't suit us. Luke, what does the revelation
tell us? The Apostle John was instructed
to write, the reaction of Almighty God was this, I will spew thee
out of my mouth. It's not an acceptable form of
religion. to be lukewarm. We may think
perhaps we can get by with it, but you see we cannot. We cannot
do those things which are contrary to the word of God. We find then that we can easily
become lukewarm. declension sets in, we become
weaker and weaker, and weaker and weaker, until religion is
right in the background, and it's of no real concern, and
we're happy therefore to turn away from it. Well, remember
Lot's wife. It's a very solemn warning for
all of us, And that means all of us, young and old, we shouldn't
think, well, I'm a young person and I'm all right. The Word of
God applies to us all. And we should really be concerned
that what we do is in accordance with the Word of God. In the
Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews, which is, of course, a very wonderful
book, we're told now the just, shall live by faith. Sometimes
we always want to see things black and white that we can grasp
with our natural hands, as it were. But no, the Word of God
tells us the just shall live by faith. And the Lord does give
faith. We should be thankful for it.
It goes on in this 10th chapter of Hebrews, where the Lord says,
if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. To draw back. That means not
to be wholehearted in our religion. Not to be wholehearted in the
things of God, but to draw back. and let the things of time take
a place, draw back. Solemn, isn't it? It's what the
Lord says, if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure
in him. And then the apostle goes on
to encouraging saying, but, it's a good thing if it applies to
us, but we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but
of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Well, I hope all
of us tonight believe in the saving of the soul. But I'm sure
if it's true, then we shall be concerned to hear God's word
as it speaks to our heart and to listen to the solemn warnings. We've just read here in this
Gospel of Luke some of the warnings. But there are many warnings in
the Word of God to encourage us, encourage us to hold on our
way, encourage us to cleave to God and the things of God. How blessed it is to meditate
upon the things of God. To read the word of God, and
as we read it, to think of what it says, and to be led into all
truth as it is in Jesus. You know, we can very easily
mourn our condition. Mourn, perhaps, the hardness
of our heart. Mourn, perhaps, the rebellion
in our heart. But we need to consider our life
and consider our objectives and consider our desires. Do they direct us to consider
Him? That's what the apostle tells
us, isn't he? in the 12th of Hebrews, consider him. Well, the best place, of course,
to consider him is listening to the glorious gospel preached
and declared. We consider him then. What a
mercy it is to hear such words and to be blessed by such words,
because surely our concern is not to be unhealthy, but to be
healthy in the things of God and to turn away from those things
which are not in accordance with God's Word. We know that Lot
was a just man. Well, and yet Lot, you see, found
it hard to leave Sodom and Gomorrah. But we're told, and we're thankful
for it in Peter's epistle, we're told and delivered, just not
vexed with a filthy conversation of the wicked. Well, that's a
good sign, isn't it? Again, as we meet in the world,
and we have to meet in the world, are we vexed with the evil conversation
of the wicked? Are we vexed when the name of
the Saviour is blasphemed? Are we hurt because of such positions
and situations? And are we hurt because of what
the Saviour means to us? Is He the One who we truly love? Is He the One who we truly adore? Is he the one who we love to
talk about? Is he the one who we love to
hear about? Consider him. These are the great
things, aren't they? And again, it's very easy to
give way, to not stand firm, for these
glorious truths. Because in these truths, in the
knowledge of the Saviour, is where we find spiritual food. It's where we find eternal food. We don't find eternal food in
the things of time. Time is perishing. Time is vanishing
away. Everything will be burnt up. So no true value. But in the
things of the Saviour, there is eternal value. And so as the Word of God tells
us to set our hearts and our affections upon things above
and not on things on the earth, things above where Christ is. We have our affections there. To realise indeed, as Paul tells
us, for here have we no continuing city. All those people in the
world, when the flood came, realised too late. They had no continuing
city. All those people in Sodom and
Gomorrah realized too late they had no continuing city. And all
my friends, let none of us be found realizing too late that
here we have no continuing city. And the apostle goes on to say,
but we seek one to come. There is not a vacuum. There
is not an emptiness in the things of God. And so are we seeking
that eternal city, that eternal habitation? Noah and his sons
and his sons' wives were. By God's grace, they were delivered
from the wrath of God on the earth at that time. And so were
not in his day delivered from the wrath of God to Sodom and
Gomorrah. And we see the world today fast
hastening to a similar situation to that. Yes, men are lovers
of pleasure rather than lovers of God. And oh, may all of us
not be found lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, but
may we be found lovers of God, loving to do his will, loving
to follow his great and glorious example, turning away from all
that which contradicts such a position. How easy it is. The devil presents
us, doesn't he, with many excuses. Many excuses. But we have to
weigh up our religion in the sight of Almighty God. His excuses
may stand with our fellow men and women, but excuses don't
stand with Almighty God. God looks at the heart. God sees
there whether we are honest, whether we are truthful, whether
we do desire to love God, whether we do desire to worship God,
whether we do desire to serve God. Remember Lot's wife. It's a very potent word to consider,
isn't it? Wonderful, isn't it? God is gracious
to us and blesses us. It's a wonderful favour we consider
this morning, didn't we? Those who were blessed. Yes, on that wonderful day of
Pentecost, what a glorious day it was. What a wonderful work
of the Holy Spirit. And my friends, there was that
vast concourse who truly desired to follow the
Lord, truly desired to do his will. How wonderful it was. And what drew them? What drew
them? A crucified saviour. That's what
drew them. What draws us? Is it the crucified
saviour? Do we love to hear about Jesus
Christ and him crucified? You know, there was that occasion
in Paul's day when the people said, come and tell us the same
things next Lord's Day. We want to hear them. They didn't
say we're fed up with what you're saying. We want to change. No, no, no. They wanted to hear
the same things, the same glorious things, touching the Saviour. the Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
may that be our real concern. And as we mentioned this morning,
in the last verses of that second chapter of the Acts, we read
how those people, as they were converted and were baptised and
followed the Lord, they worshipped every day. They gathered together. They came together every day. I didn't say, well, I've had
enough of that. We're giving it a rest today. We've got a
lot to do. We've got to do all these things. Oh, no. Religion
was so precious to them. To hear the gospel was so glorious.
Every day they came and assembled and worshipped. Remember Lot's
wife. It's very easy, isn't it, to
be taken up with the things of time. But my friends, may we
be taken up with the things of God. May our constant concern
be that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ. That desire will land us in glory. We don't want to be, do we? Like
Solomon Gomorrah. We don't want them to be like
the people in the flood, who cared for the things of time.
May we be concerned. As again, the dear Apostle Paul
said, to know Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He might have
said, I could from all things parted be, but never, never,
Lord from Thee. It's a wonderful statement, isn't
it? We probably fail to come far short of that. What a blessing,
though, if we have in our heart the desire to be found there,
to be found ever living nearer to Christ. The nearer we live
to Christ, the closer we live to Christ, the more we shall
love Christ, because we shall hear his voice more. We should
rejoice in it. What a mercy then, to be led
by the Spirit of God. And the Word of God tells us,
those that are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God. Well, it's important, isn't it,
that you and I are led by the Spirit of God. What a blessing
it is. Because if we are, then heaven
is our home. And as we travel through life,
may we be found, again in the words of the hymn, travelling
home to God, in the way the fathers trod. They are happy now, and
we soon that happiness shall see. Oh, let us be a true follower
of the Saviour, Our forefathers, we go back in history, and we
think how costly religion was in those days of the Puritans
and the Reformation. It wasn't easy to be a Christian,
was it? But how many people were so willing to forsake all, to
suffer for his sake. How they loved to gather together
to worship, and how the Lord was with them. and how the Lord
blessed them, and what spiritual prosperity there was. You only
have to read the lives of the Puritans and you'll find how
blessed they were, how godly they were. The life of God was
their life. It was all their life. And they
loved the Saviour. Well, my friends, may we indeed
truly be found in this right way. Remember Lot's wife. Let us not look back. Let us not turn back. You know,
we read, don't we, that question of the person who was ploughing. And we're told, whoever looks
back, is not fit for the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us keep our eyes
looking forward, looking where? To Christ. Keep our eyes upon
the Saviour. Oh, my friends, the Holy Spirit
directs us to show us how sinful and evil we are and how our nature
is prone to go the wrong way. to realise we have a gracious
God. A gracious God who does not deal
with us as our sins deserve. And may we therefore be found
looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith.
What a mercy that is. What a mercy that is, that we
have that great and glorious example. Well, may we not forget
Lot's wife. And may the Holy Spirit lead
us ever more closer and deeper into the love of the blessed
Redeemer, who loved us so much that he gave his life that we
might receive life. What a debt we owe, a debt we
shall never be able to repay for what a blessing it is if
we love this despised and crucified man and seek indeed that heavenly
desire to eventually be found in glory with Christ, which is
far better.