These are solemn, ominous words,
warnings of our Lord, like the previous message. Solemn words
of our Lord, yet mercy, great mercy to our
children. It says to us and our children,
like Noah, it says that Noah was warned of God and so he moved
with fear. and prepared an ark to the saving
of his house, by which he condemned the world,
but he became an heir of righteousness, which is by faith. I want to
be like Noah, don't you? I want to be like Lot, though
I seem as one that mocks. I want to be a believer. I am a believer. The Lord speaks
to us of Lot and Sodom as He did Noah and the ark and the
flood. The world doesn't believe They
don't believe that there's God. They don't believe there was
a flood. They don't believe that there's sin, that such a thing
as sin. They don't believe that there's judgment, that there's
wrath, that there's heaven or hell. Did you read J.C. Ryle's
article in the book? Very good. But we do. We believe. We really do. We
believe all that's written in the prophets. The way they call
heresy, that's the way we believe them. And the reason we do, the
only reason why we believe, It pleased God to reveal His Son. We know, John said, we know,
to God's people, he said, we know that because the Son of
God has come and given us an understanding that we might know
Him that is true. And we're in Him that is true.
This is life, to know the true God and Jesus Christ to be seen.
And the only reason we know is God chose us and revealed Himself
to us, like God. Not no one. And those who don't
believe, here's the point, here's the thing, is those who don't
believe are not calling me a liar, they're calling Jesus Christ a liar. Because
He's the one that spoke these things. He's the one. Scripture says, "...as many as
received Him, to them gave He the right privilege to be called
the sons of God, which were born, not of blood, not of the will
of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God." Born of
God. Quickened by God. Chosen by God. Begetten by the Word of Truths.
God chose them. Gave them life from the dead.
Revealed Christ to them. And those who received Him, John
preached, has set to His seal that He's true. He's true. Let God be true. Every man alive. So I'm not here to prove the
ark. I'm not here to prove the flood. I'm not here to prove
that there was a Sodom and a fire rained down on Sodom. God said
so. That's it. The Lord is telling
us. The Lord is telling His disciples.
That's who He was talking to here in this room. That's who
he's talking to. And he's telling them of the
certainty of his return and the suddenness of his return. The
certainty of it. He said, heaven and earth will
pass away. Not one word about failure. There's not one thing
Christ has said that hasn't come to pass, is not now coming to
pass, and will not come to pass. Everything he said. Heaven and
earth going to pass away. Let me go ahead and say that.
But God made a covenant. See, God made a covenant with
Christ. Gave a people to Christ. You know, the Lord might come
in a moment, so I'm going to say this quick, in case somebody
hadn't heard. God chose a people for the foundation
of the world and gave them to Jesus Christ, like Noah and his
family. And God gave them to Jesus Christ
to come to this earth and save them, to be their ark, to be
their refuge, to be their blood sacrifice, to bear the wrath
of God against them upon Himself. And they're going to be found
in Christ in that day. All of God's people are going
to be found in Christ in that day. All of God's people, though
they live inside of Him, He's going to bring them out, outside
the camp. Hebrews 13 says, and bring them
to Christ, every single one of them, like Lot. He's going to
lay hold of them. Why? Because God made a covenant with
Christ. And Christ said, all the Father giveth me shall come
unto me. That's what He said. No man can,
except the Father draw them. But everyone He's drawn, everyone
He's chosen and given to me, they're going to come. Why? Because I'm the king. Where the
word of a king is, there's power. I'm like Noah. They come when
I call. And they're saved by me. I just told you the gospel. Alright, but in this story of
Lot, go back to Luke 17. Our Lord said, verse 28, likewise
also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank,
they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded. The same
day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from
heaven and destroyed them all. As in the days of Lot, they ate,
they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted. Go back to Genesis 18. We read
chapter 19. Go to Genesis 18. Genesis 18. As in the days of Lot, so shall
the coming of the Son of Man be of Christ. They ate, they
drank, they bought, sold, planted, built life on earth. That's life
on earth. That's what everyone is taken
up with. Alright? It always has been. It's always
been that way. God is not condemning eating
and drinking. Our Lord came and ate and drank
the very food and drinks that He made. There's nothing wrong
with that. He gives us all things richly
to enjoy. They bought and they sold. Abraham
was rich in cattle and gold and silver. The Lord maketh rich,
He maketh poor. They sold, they planted, they
builded. Nothing wrong with those things.
Okay? But the Kingdom of God is not
in meat and drink. The Kingdom of God is not in
seen things, but unseen. The Kingdom of God, Scripture
says, is in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Now, what's that? That's Christ. The Kingdom of God is righteousness. He is the righteousness. The
Kingdom of God is peace. He is our peace. The Kingdom
of God is joy of the Holy Ghost. Christ said, My joy, I'm going
to give you the Holy Spirit. You're going to rejoice in Me,
Christ said. You? Is that better than life to you,
Christ? And you're in the Kingdom. And
when He comes, you're going with Him. But in the days of Lot,
like now, Look at chapter 18, verse 20. Chapter 18, verse 20. This is the Lord coming to Abraham
and said, the Lord said, because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah
is great, because their sin is very grievous. In Isaiah 3, you've read this
many times with me, but the Lord said this in Isaiah 3, He said,
the show of their countenance doth witness against them, they
declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Apparently, Sodom
was a little bit hush-hush about their sin and iniquity for a
while, then they all came out of the closet and began to defy
God and heaven and, you know, pride, take pride in their sin.
And our Lord's Word says, they hide it not. He says, woe unto
their soul. They've rewarded evil unto themselves. That's what He said. And He said in Isaiah 37, their
rage against Me and their tumult has come up into My ears. I hear it. Isn't that now? Isn't that now? More than ever. More than as
in the days of love. They're not going to hide their
sin anymore. They're going to be proud of it. This month, you know that this
month has been designated as LGBTQ month, pride month. And the only reason that we're
not in that, He said, Lord, lay hold of us. We're in it. We're living this
world. Lot, remember they said to Lot, you just sojourn here. Thank God. He was in it. Marvel, he was
not of it. And they knew it. You're not like us. But you're
not our judge. No, Lot didn't. He knew he wasn't. But God is. And Lot believed God. Oh my! But in our text, Genesis 18. Yeah, that's our text. Genesis 18. And then it says,
you see, in Genesis 18, verse 1, the Lord appeared to
Abraham. And he lifted up his eyes, and
three men, Stephen, three men came to Abraham. Who were they?
The Lord was one of them. Who? Who? The Lord Jesus Christ. That's who spoke to Abraham and
Lot. There were three men. The Lord
and two of His angels appeared to Abraham. And they made this
covenant. They already made this covenant.
They came to confirm it. To give a promise. I thought,
if I get in that chapter 18, I'll get stuck there. But they
came, Abraham, your wife is going to have a son. John, they came
bringing promise of a son, a miracle child, Isaac, who is a picture
of Jesus Christ. Before Sodom was destroyed, God
came with this promise. Before the warnings came this
promise of life in a son, of a covenant in the son, of a covenant
made with Abraham through the only begotten Son. whom Abraham altered just like
Christ on Calvary. So, that's a picture of Christ
before judgment. There was mercy. Well, in Genesis
19, two men. Two men. Where did the Lord go? Back to the right hand of the
Majesty of Ohio. He sent two men, and you have
it, Genesis 19, Verse 1, you have it there? Genesis 19, there
came two angels to Sodom in the evening. Two angels. And the
rest of this time they're called men. They're just referred to
as men. Well, they were men, Kelly. They
were men. They didn't have wings. They're
men. They look just like men. The
men of Sodom said, bring these men out here. They were just
men to them. Not to Lot. Not to lie. Angels. And he knew it. He was so grateful. And he treated
them like that. Angels of mercy. Oh, brethren. The Lord has sent angel after
angel after angel to us, has he not? With the message of judgment,
wrath, mercy, grace, salvation. And He lays hold of us. These
men are going to lay hold of Lot, the Lord being merciful
to him, and bring him out. We are going to be saved through
the Law and the Prophets. We are going to be saved by mercy
and truth, righteousness and peace. We are going to be saved
by pastors and teachers. We are going to be saved by angels
of His mercy. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preachers. How shall they hear without a preacher? Lot
wouldn't have heard this. Lot wouldn't have come out if
the Lord hadn't sent two angels to bring him out. The Lord didn't say, I sure hope
Lot comes to himself. I sure hope Lot figures it out.
No, sir. He sent two angels to bring him
out. And he came to Sodom. And you remember the Lord said,
I'll not destroy this city if I can find ten righteous. If I can just find ten righteous,
I won't destroy this city. There were not ten righteous
in a town of 200, 300,000. Not ten. And doesn't the Scripture say,
there's none righteous? No. Not even one. But Lot. Hold on. Lot is called a righteous
man. You know that? Doesn't it, John?
You know the Scripture. Just Lot. Peter wrote about it, wasn't
it, Peter? Just Lot. He's called just. He's
called righteous. He said that righteous man vexed
his righteous soul with the sin of people all around him. It
vexed him. And he was sitting in the gate. Lot was sitting
in the gate. You remember our memory verse
that said, Blessed is he that sitteth at my gates watching
and waiting. This is the gate. Christ is the
gate. The way. Come sit and wait. What do we
want? Out! Lot was sitting in the gate.
What's he doing? I believe he's calling on the Lord. I believe
he's... See, he grew up under Abraham. He grew up hearing the truth.
He grew up hearing the truth of God. Abraham worshipped at
Bethel. Lot was right there beside him.
And he heard this, and he heard this all his day, until he became
a certain age, and he'd look at Sodom. Ooh, that's where I
want to live. Abraham, no, don't. That's where I'm going, Uncle
Abraham. Oh, Abraham wept over me. And he went. And he almost perished
in Sodom and Gomorrah. I was in it. And God sent two angels to this
decadent, filthy city to save one man. One man. And remember in our
text, Genesis 19 said, I can't destroy this plague till I bring
him out. Lot was sitting at the gate,
wanting out. I believe that Lot, the Lord brought him to himself,
like that prodigal son. Lot remembers hearing the message,
you know, he'd been in Sodom for a while, and God's Word that
he heard through Abraham, the worship that he heard with Abraham,
with the true and living God, and God's mercy, and the blood
sacrifice, and all of that, he heard that, and it came back
to his heart, his soul, his mind, and it convicted him, and he
said, what am I doing here in Sodom? What am I doing here? How did I get here? What made
me think this was what I wanted? Oh, I want out. He sat in the
gate praying. I believe he was praying, Lord,
come get me. You know what the Lord did? He did. He sent two
angels to get him out. Bless God, that's what He did
to me. To bring Lot out of Sodom. So Lot heard. He heard these
angels, the message that they had of judgment. He believed. And in Genesis 19, he believed,
and whatever you believe, whatever is in your heart, the mouth will
speak. Right? So he went out, look at
verse 14. Lot went out and spake unto his
sons-in-law. that married his daughter, said,
up, get you out of this place. The Lord will destroy this city.
God doesn't love us. He's angry. He's going to destroy
this place. That's the true God. And that's
the truth. And our Lord said, as in the
days of Lot, didn't He? And Lot went and told those he
loved, believing the truth, and he went and told them. It says
he seemed as one that mobbed. It doesn't matter what they thought
of him. He's telling the truth. It doesn't
matter what he had been. He's telling the truth. It doesn't
matter. Lots of sinners. They say, you're
just a man like us. You're just a sinner like us.
And you're warning us? Yes, I am. Do you realize how
difficult it is for me to stand up here time and time again and
warn you when I'm a sinner too? Do you realize the hypocrite
I feel like so often? But I'm just telling you of my
mercy to you, okay? I'm telling you where I found
mercy. I'm telling you, I'm telling me what I'm telling you. Flee
from the wrath of God. Don't look back. Paul said, forget
the thing. Forget yesterday. Look to Christ.
Just look to Christ. Just come to Christ today. I'm
telling you today what I need to do myself. Come to Christ.
Get in the ark. Flee. It was warned, you see, a lot
was warned again and again. When I started to bring this
message, honestly, I thought, I've heard this so many times,
and I hate to bring messages of warning and judgment and keep
talking about God's angry. It's what Jesus Christ said. Have you noticed with me going
through Luke? Have you noticed with me? Dire
words. Have you noticed with me? All
the way through Luke. It just gets more and more serious, doesn't
it? So much more as you see the day approaching. It gets more
and more serious. The words of our Lord. And the closer he gets, and that's
what the Scripture says, exhorting one another so much more as you
see the day approaching. Kidnapper, come thou with us.
Don't forsake the assembly of yourselves together. The Lord is coming. Well, where
am I? Lot went out. He seemed as one
that mocked. He wasn't. He was telling the
truth. He was telling the truth. And look at verse 15. Don't you
love this? He said, in the morning rose
he, the angels hasten lots and arise, take your wife, your daughters
which are here, lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
And I'm telling every parent in here to have your children
under the sound of the gospel. Noah, for a hundred years, would
get up every morning and go to work on that ark. And he told
Chim, Ham, and Japheth, get up boys. Get up. Oh, dad, I don't want to get
up. Sham, Jafa, get up, son. We want to work on that art.
But dad, it's true, son. I'm telling you. I want you in
that art like I want to be in that art. You're coming with
me. As long as you're in my house, Sham, Jafa, you're going to be
with me. See, Lot had two daughters that
lived at home with him and never known a man. And they were with
him, and the Lord laid hold of them. The Lord was merciful to
them. Were they sinners? Oh, were they sinners. But the
Lord laid hold of them. And he went, he had at least
two other daughters, didn't he, that were already married. And
he went out and told them, you need to come with us. We're leaving,
you need to come with us, the Lord's coming." Dad, nobody be
like that. I do. It's the truth. The Lord said, well,
look at verse 16. It says, while he lingered. That's me. Is that you? Any lingerers
in here this morning? Lot lived a long time in Sodom.
He had a home. He had a nice chariot. He's still
making payments on it. He had a family. Children and
maybe some grandchildren. He had other daughters that were
in Sodom. He had strong ties, didn't he? There were things
he liked to do in Sodom. Places he liked to go. Didn't
he? You? Me? I do. The things I enjoy, people
I love. But I believe like Lot that the
Lord will destroy this place. And I say with Lot, Lord, lay
hold of me. Don't let me linger. And he did. In verse 16, the Lord, while
He lingered, the men laid hold of Him. The gospel, He said.
This is how the Lord speaks. This is how the Lord saves us.
This is how the Lord brings us out. When those three men spoke, it
sounded like one person was speaking. He was. Those two angels were
just repeating what the Lord said. And when the Lord went
back, those two angels were sent to lie. Let's just tell what
the Lord said. And their words were the words
of the Lord. And the Lord saved Lot through their words. Brought
them out through their words, though just men. Angels of mercy. And while he lingered, the men
laid hold upon his hand, upon the hand of his wife, upon the
hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him." Oh Lord, lay hold of me. Oh Lord, lay hold of me through
Thy gospel. Lay hold of my wife. Lay hold
of my daughter, my granddaughter. Is that what you said? Lay hold
of us. Bring us out. He did. He brought them forth. And what did He do? Set them
without the city. Do you know where that is? You
need to see it. Hebrews 13. I'm going to close.
This is the conclusion. Okay? Hebrews 13. This is where
that's found. He laid hold of them and set
them without the city. Because that's not Lot's home. That's not where he's staying. He's going to the mountain. Lot's
going to end up in the mountain. Mountain. What mountain? And
Mount Zion shall be deliverance. For in that mountain, John the
Lord had prepared a feast of fat things and wine on the lake.
In that mountain, he shall bring forth Victory on the judgment. Death, where does that stand?
In that mount. Where is that? Mount Calvary. Mount Zion. In Hebrews 13, this says in verse
12, Our Lord Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people
with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth
therefore. Turn. Save ourselves from this
untoward generation by turning to Christ. Unto Him, without
the camp, bearing His reproach, for here we have no continued
city. We seek One to come. By Him,
therefore, by Him I say, let us offer the sacrifice of praise
to God continually. That is, the food of our lips,
giving thanks to His name." Why? Because the Lord being merciful
to us has sent preachers. angels of His mercy to warn us,
to show us, to put us in the ark, to bring us out of Sodom
by His mercy before the fire fall. And in our text of Luke
17, the Lord said, the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it
rained fire. When the last one of God's elect, be it
a child born, a baby aborted, When the last election, the lightning's
going to flash, the trumpet's going to sound, and some of you
are smiling. The graves are going to open
up, the dead in Christ are going to rise, and in us the sky is
going to be filled with our Lord's presence and everybody that he's
bringing with him. Isn't that something? You see
it? Yvonne, do you see that? You see it more clearly than
anybody. I do too. I do too. And it says, even thus
shall it be the day when the Son of Man is revealed. And he
went on to say, remember Lot's wife. Her heart was still inside of
her. She appeared to go out. She appeared to be out, but she
wasn't. It wasn't out of her. She wasn't even crying. She looked
back with longing. That's where I want to be. And
not in love. He didn't look back. He forgot
that. Pressing forward. How about you? All right. Let's sing in closing. Number
141, is that it?