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What is a Christian: By Disassociation · CCC West Covina

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Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight and a chance to, to be
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together. And we're grateful for how you
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answer prayer. And we're grateful, Lord, for
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the word of the Lord, we thank you that we can study the
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scriptures. We thank you, Lord, for the for
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the insight you give us as we study them.
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And you open up to us, our hearts and minds to be able to
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behold your beauty tonight. Lord, I, I pray that you work in
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all of our hearts. Help us to examine our lives in
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light of what Your Word says, that we might understand the
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essence of true, genuine biblical Christianity, and that
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we might live in light of what Your Word says.
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Forgive us, Lord, for falling short at times.
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Forgive us, Lord, for our sinful behavior.
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We know that you are a great, forgiving God.
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And our prayer, Lord, is that we would live for your glory and
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honor that you be pleased with how we seek to honor You each
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and every day, and that as we learn tonight, we would take
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with us those things that we have learned and apply them to
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our lives for your glory in Jesus name, Amen.
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What is true about a Christian is that a Christian purposes in
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his heart to make a decision, and that decision is to deny
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himself and take of his cross and follow the Christ.
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That's Luke 9/23 having made a decision that Christian is
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defined by Philippians 3 verse #3 He worships God in spirit, he
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he boasts only in Christ Jesus, and he puts no confidence in the
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flesh. That definition is described in
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Second Corinthians 5/17, that if any man be in Christ, he is a
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new creation. Christians are described as
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being in Christ and Christ in them.
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That description is then declared by the believer in
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Matthew 16 because he declares that Jesus Christ is the Son of
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the living God. He understands the deity of
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Christ and believes that fully. That declaration leads to a
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dedication, and that dedication is summed up in Philippians 121.
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For, as Paul says, for me to live as Christ and to die as
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gain. All Christians, all genuine true
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believers live for Christ and not for themselves.
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And then they, they denounce and they destroy those members of
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their body that keep them from being all that Christ wants them
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to be. That's Colossians 3 verses 1 to
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8. And then they devote themselves
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to 1 ambition, and that is to please only Christ. 2nd
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Corinthians 5 verse #9 seven key characteristics that help you
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understand what a Christian really is.
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Number 8 is that that Christian disassociates from the world and
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all of its evil. There is a disassociation from
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loving the world to loving Christ.
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The believer understands James 4 verse #4 that to be a friend of
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the world is to be an enemy of God.
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The believer understands that. The believer understands that
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that if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in
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you. And yet so many people are
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deceived, self deceived into thinking they love the Lord, but
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in reality they love the world. I want to show you how that
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happens this evening through an illustration, a three word verse
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that's illustrating the principle of someone who did not
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disassociate from the world, but wanted to associate with the
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world. Let me say it to you this way.
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This person is a biblical character without a name, whose
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body never to corruption came, who died at death, no one's ever
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died before, whose shroud is found in every grocery store.
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Let me say it to you again. This biblical character is
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without a name. Whose body never to corruption
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came, who died to death, no one's ever died before.
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Whose shroud is found in every grocery store.
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That's the person. That person is found in the 17th
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chapter of Luke. In the 17th chapter of Luke in
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verse #22 Christ begins to talk about His coming again, His
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second coming, His coming in judgement.
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And as He talks to those round about Him, he wants them to
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understand that His judgement is going to be like the days of
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Noah. That is, men and women will be
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drinking, they'll be getting married and being given in
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marriage. They'll carry on as if nothing
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bad is ever going to happen, but it will.
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And then he says, it'll be like the days of of Sodom when they
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were eating and drinking, they were buying, they were selling,
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they were planting, they were building, they were carrying on
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everyday activities because they were indifferent to the fact
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that God was going to judge man. And so it says in verse #30 of
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Luke 17, it will be just the same on the day that the Son of
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Man is revealed. Interesting.
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It says in Luke's Gospel, the 2nd chapter, that as Simeon
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would talk to Mary at the dedication of their child, the
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Lord Jesus, Simeon would say that the hearts of many will be
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revealed by your son. There's something about our Lord
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that truly reveals what's on the inside of man.
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And nothing will be more revealing than when He comes in
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judgement, because not only will He be revealed that all of His
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glory and spend the splendor, but He will reveal the hearts of
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everyone He's come to judge. This is the verse #31 of Luke
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17. On that day, the one who was on
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the House stop and whose goods are in the house must not go
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down to take them out, and likewise the one who was in the
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field must not turn back. In other words, the day of
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judgement, there is no time to collect your possessions, but
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only those who turn around to go back will see the value of those
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possessions as more important than Christ Himself.
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And He says those famous 3 words that describe a biblical
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character without a name, whose body never to corruption came,
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who died of death, no one ever died before, whose shroud is
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found in every grocery store verse #32 remember Lot's wife?
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That's the biblical character without a name.
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She's referred to three times and she's 19 as lots wife.
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We don't know her name. She was turned into a pillar of
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salt. That's the shroud that's in
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every grocery store. And yet she becomes the supreme
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example in Scripture of someone who looked like her husband but
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was completely different than her husband, and she would be
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destroyed. She would be judged.
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Because she is the example of self love in the Bible.
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She becomes the example of worldly love in the Bible.
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She's the example of someone who comes so close to being
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delivered, but it's not someone who was on the brink of
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deliverance, but her heart was exposed and she died along with
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those in Sodom and Gomorrah. She becomes a warning.
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That's why Christ uses her as an example.
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When the judgement of God comes, don't go back to your house to
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collect your possessions because you can't take them with you.
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When you're judged, don't go back internal.
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Look at your field as if you'll never see it again because you
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won't just remember Lot's life. She turned back and she was
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destroyed because the true condition of her heart was
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revealed, that she really didn't love God, she simply loved
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herself. And so she becomes the example
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of those who love darkness rather than light because their
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deeds are evil. So turn with me, if you would,
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to the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 19.
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And so our Lord refers to this scene when He says remember
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Lot's wife, Genesis 19 verse #26 But his wife from behind him
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looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
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There's a reason why you are to remember Lot's wife because her
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example is 1 of worldly love and self love.
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Excuse me? Her look, her looking back
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revealed the true nature of her character.
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The most insignificant acts that you do reveal more about the
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condition of your character than anything else you do.
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The small insignificant acts truly reveal your character and
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Lots wife misses Lot. Her character was revealed and I
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want you to notice three things about her character. 4 things
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about her character. Excuse me, why does she look
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back? Why are we?
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Do you remember Lot's wife? Number one is because she
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desired the world. She desired the world.
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Her heart was truly in Sodom. Her body was out of Sodom, but
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her heart was still in Sodom. Her affections were in Sodom.
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Her attention was in Sodom. In fact, a man's attention will
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always determine his decision. Your decisions will always
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determine your direction. Your direction will always
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determine your destination, but it's all based on your
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affections, all based on that which has your undivided
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attention. And Sodom had Missus Lott's
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attention as we talked about a couple of weeks ago, the Bible
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says set your affections on things above, not below Missus
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Lott which that are affection on Sodom.
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She couldn't bear to live without her friends and Sodom.
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She couldn't bear to live without all the opportunities
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that Sodom offered her. She loved the world.
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She desired the world. But notice what it says.
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But his wife from behind him? That's just a marvelous
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statement. She was behind for three
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reasons. Number one, no one could see
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her. If they could not see her, they
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could not #2 scold her. And #3 if they could not scold
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her, they could not stop her. That's why she was behind.
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She wasn't about to walk side by side with Mr. Lot.
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She wasn't about to do that because then he would be able to
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keep her from looking back. The children, the daughters,
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they would not turn back to see what was happening with Mom
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because the command was don't turn back, don't look back.
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So while she's behind them, she knows they're not going to turn
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around and see what she's doing because they were given a
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command by the angels. Do not turn around, do not look
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back. So she would stay behind because
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she truly desired the world. People who desire the world
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endeavor to conceal their activities.
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They don't want to be seen, so they hide in the dark places.
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They they stay behind where no one can watch them, no one can
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see what they are doing. That is a characteristic of
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someone who desires the world. They stay behind so no one can
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see. If they cannot see her, they
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cannot scold her. They cannot say to her, what are
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you doing, Mom? You can't do that.
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People who desire the world do not want their deeds to be
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censored. They don't want to be seen and
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they do not want to be told what to do.
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They don't want to be scolded by parents, by pastors, by friends,
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by anybody, because they are an entity of them to themselves.
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They want to perform their deeds as they see fit, and so they
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don't want to be seen. So they lag behind and they
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don't want to be scolded by anybody because they do not want
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to be held accountable for anything that they do.
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So they can't be seen. She could not be seen.
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She could not be scolded. Therefore she could not be
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stopped. And the person who desires the
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world doesn't want to be stopped because they love the world.
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You see, worldliness is not an act.
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Worldliness is an attitude. We we think that it's an act.
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It's something we do. No, worldliness is an attitude.
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Physically her, she was outside of Sodom, but her attitude was
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in Sodom. That's what she really wanted.
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That's where she wanted to be. And so therefore we see where
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she truly desired the world. You know, I think about people
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who claim Christianity, they claim to love the Lord, but down
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deep they really love the world. They're the people that do not
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want to be seen. So they do what they do in
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secret where no one can see them, thinking they they are
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hiding from everyone and they can continue to camouflage their
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Christianity. Excuse me, but the bottom line
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is, is that they don't want to be seen because they don't want
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to be told what to do. They don't want anybody
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interfering with their love for the world.
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And so they continue to hide so they can't be scolded.
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Bishop JC Rile in the 1800s said these words.
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I believe there never was a time when warnings against
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worldliness were so much needed by the Church of Christ as they
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are in this present day. That was said in the 1800s.
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I wonder what he would say today if he was alive.
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Because worldliness has crept into the church.
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Because people who love the world are in the church.
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The Angel had taken her by the hand to remove her from the
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city. How grateful it was for God to
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do that, and yet that meant nothing to Lot's wife.
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One author said it this way. Some people are so taken up with
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material things that Christ thinks it necessary to warn them
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that on the very day in which He will be revealed to execute the
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wrath of God on evil centers and conglomerations of human
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iniquity, they will be tempted to go back to the house or city
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to get their favorite possessions, because they cannot
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imagine life without them. For the sake of things, they
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will lose life itself. So true.
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For the sake of things, for the sake of friendships, for the
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sake of affection, they're willing to lose their life.
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That's what Luke 17 is about. Christ would go on to say in
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verse #33 Whoever seeks to keep his life in Luke 17 will lose
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it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
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He says, I, I tell you on that night there, there will be two
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in bed. One will be taken and the other
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will be left. The one taken is taken into
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judgement. The one left is left to go into
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the Kingdom. There will be two women grinding
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at the same place. One will be taken, the other
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will be left. Two men will be in the field,
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one will be taken, the other will be left.
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In other words, two people in bed.
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Two people in bed believe they're united together, but one
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will be revealed that they are not true, and the other one will
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be revealed that they are true. One will be taken in the
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judgement, the other will not. There'll be two people working
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side by side in the same workplace, presumably thinking
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that they both know the Lord, but one is taken into judgement
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and the other is not. There'll be two people in the
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same job location, 1 taken into judgement, the other not Why?
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Because one desires the things of the world and 1 does not.
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Matthew, chapter 13. This is the thorny, weedy soil
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who falls away because of the cares of this world or because
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of the deceitfulness of riches. My friends, this is so
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important. Christ says, remember Lot's wife
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because she did not disassociate herself with the things of the
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world. She wanted to remain associated
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with the things of the world. But true Christianity
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disassociates with the world so many times.
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We, we, we have family members and, and maybe one of the family
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members is yours. They, they just can't depart
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from the things of the world. They love to be in the world.
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They love to be with the world. They love to do worldly things.
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Their interests are in the world.
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They're the kind of people that that that show no interest
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necessarily in church because they'll schedule their work on
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Sunday so they don't have to go to church.
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That's a Lot's wife. That they will schedule things
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around church activities so they don't have to be involved in
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church activities. That's a Lot's wife.
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That's a self deceived person who wants you to think they love
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the Lord, but in all reality they love the things of the
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world and they want to be with the people of the world and they
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don't want to be with the people of God or in the Church of God.
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That person is the lot's wife. They desire the world.
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And maybe you're a parent today and that's one of your children.
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Then you need to talk hard and long with that child about
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whether or not they know the Lord.
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Hard and long because as a parent you are held responsible
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for their spiritual direction. If you don't tell them, how sad
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would that be if they end up in a crisis eternity.
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Don't just placate your children by thinking and convincing them
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that they love the Lord when a reality they truly love the
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world. Be very, very careful about
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that. That's why the Lord puts us in
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here. It's interesting that in verse
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#17 it says when they had this is Genesis 19, I'm sorry.
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When they had brought them outside, one said escape for
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your life. Do not look behind you and do
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not stay anywhere in the valley. Get completely away.
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Don't stay in the valley. Disassociate yourself with any
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of the surroundings of that which is going to be destroyed.
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But we find ourselves wanting so badly to dabble in the things of
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the world we want to. We want to walk on the fringe as
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if it's OK. But you got to remember lots,
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wife. The angels wanted to be clear
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that separation must be complete and total, not partial.
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The total. So her character is defined by
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#1 She desired the world because she desired the world #2 comes
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into play. And that is she despised the
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word. She despised the word.
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She despised it so much that when the warning was given, she
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completely and totally disobeyed because she did not delight in
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the word of warning. She despised the word of warning
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because it went against her love for the world, and therefore she
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would despise what God said to the angels.
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It was a blatant defiance. Proverbs 1313.
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He you despises the word will be destroyed by that word.
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Proverbs 29. One.
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He who stiffens his neck against much reproof will be destroyed
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without remedy. So many times we play with the
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authority of God's Word, and you cannot do that.
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She despised the word of the living God.
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When God says not to do something, He tells you not to
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do it for for your sake. He doesn't do it to punish you,
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doesn't do it to make you uncomfortable.
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He does it because He wants you to live for Him and honor Him.
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John tells us that his commands are not burdensome.
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They don't weigh you down. To an unbeliever, they're
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burdensome. To the believer, they're
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delightful, and one of the ways you know someone's a believer is
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when you talk to them about the Word of God.
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They don't see it as a burden to obey, they see it as a complete
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and total blessing to obey. Her character was revealed in
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her looking back because she desired the world.
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She despised the Word and #3 she disbelieved the warning.
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She disbelieved the warning. God's not going to do that.
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God's a loving God. He's a righteous God.
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He's a kind God. He's a merciful God.
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He's a patient God. God's not going to destroy Sodom
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and Gomorrah. She disbelieved the warning.
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Every act of disbelief demonstrates the fact that I do
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not believe that God is going to do what He said He's going to
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do. It denies the authority of His
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Word. God had already shown a mercy by
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taking her by the hand and moving her outside the city.
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Because they weren't moving, lot included.
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In fact, when the warning had been given, they went to bed.
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The Angel had to get them up the next day.
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It's time to go. Why are you still here?
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This is going to be destroyed. You got to go.
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And they hesitated. So the Angel had to take them by
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the hand and physically remove them for Abraham's sake, because
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Abraham had prayed. The Bible tells us in verse #29
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that it came about when God destroyed the cities of the
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valley of the valley. That God remembered Abraham and
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sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow.
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When he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.
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God did it because of Abraham. God remembered Abraham and
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spared Lot and his girls. You know there are so many
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warnings in the scripture. The Bible says in Proverbs 14
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verse #12 there is a way which seemed with right into a man,
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but the ends are over the ways of death not life.
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What a warning. There is a way which seemeth
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right into a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.
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The Bible says the wages of sin is death, the payment for sin is
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death, and it's only because of God's mercy and grace that we
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live when we sin and do not die. The Bible says in Galatians
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chapter 6 verse #7 do not be deceived.
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God is not mocked that whatsoever man sows that shall
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he also reap. Do not be deceived.
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But we are. We do not think that God's going
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to do what he said he's going to do, but he did.
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So remember lots wife, very important not to forget her
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judgement came and judgement was swift.
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But notice this about the judgement upon her.
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She had all the reasons not to look back.
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She was on the brink of deliverance, just about to be
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saved, but she perished because her heart was revealed.
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She was the wife of a righteous man.
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You would not know that by reading Genesis.
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We know that because of Peter. In Second Peter chapter 2, Peter
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tells us he was a righteous man. We would never know that by
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reading Genesis 19. In fact, looking at Lot's life,
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you wonder how could he ever be righteous?
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But he was right before God, and she was the wife of a righteous
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man. She had that advantage.
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She was married to a believer. She was married to a righteous
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man. And all the words that he would
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say and all the things that he would, he would do.
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You'd think that she would learn from her husband, but she did
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not. She might have looked like she
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learned from her husband. She might have looked like the
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faithful wife. She might have looked like a
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righteous person. But God revealed her heart.
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She was not a righteous person, but she was the wife of a
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righteous man. Not only that, she had the
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warnings from the Angel. Three of them, one at night, one
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in the morning and one at the outskirts of Sodom.
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She had the warnings from the Angel.
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Do not look back. Don't do that.
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Judgments coming. You don't want to be judged.
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You don't want to be condemned. Do not look back.
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Three warnings. The wife of a righteous man.
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The warnings from the angels. How about this?
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She even welcomed the angelic visitors into her home.
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She welcomed them into her home. She had a first hand account of
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entertaining angels unaware, but I believe she would end up
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knowing that they were angels. So not only was she the wife of
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a righteous man, not only did she receive warnings from the
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angels, not only did she welcome in the angels, but #4 she
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watched the miracle of the blinding of the homosexuals
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outside her door. She watched it.
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She saw first hand account of how all these men who wanted to
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have sexual relationships with these angelic beings who were at
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the door and Lot was trying to keep them out of the door.
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They were struck blind and she was able to view that miracle
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from a first hand experience. But it did not change the
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condition of her heart. She desired the world, she
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despised the word, she disbelieved the warning, in
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spite of the miracle that was before her.
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Just to show you that miracles do not change people's lives,
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only the message of the Gospel does.
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That, one author said. We have so many spiritual
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blessings today in our land, yet by the looks of the lives of
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most, the opportunities have been completely ignored, yes,
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even scorned. Much judgement awaits those who
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are poor stewards of spiritual opportunities.
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The greater the opportunities not used, the greater the
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judgement, for the judgement is related to the opportunities one
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has received. That's why the Bible says in
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Hebrews chapter 6, Having tasted the good word of the Lord, have
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you been partakers of the Holy Spirit?
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Have you been afforded the wonderful opportunities of the
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Scripture? Unless you repent, you will
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perish because it will be impossible to renew you to
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repentance once you've seen all the obvious evidences and turn
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your back on. So important.
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She desired the world, she despised the word, she
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disbelieved the warning. So the consequence?
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She died on the way. And her death was sudden,
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shameful, specific and severe. Her death was sudden.
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She looked back and she was judged immediately.
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She was turned into a pillar of salt.
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God's punishment overtook her on the spot.
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It was sudden and without remedy.
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No opportunity to repent, no opportunity to ask forgiveness,
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no opportunity to speak to her husband, no opportunity to get
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things right with her family. She came to ruin because her
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judgement was sudden. It was shameful because she died
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in the act of her sin. She died in the act of
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rebellion. She was turned into a pillar of
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salt, looking back at that which was she's told not to look back
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at, and she died a shameful death.
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She died a very specific death at a very specific time, at the
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exact same time that the cities were being burned with fire and
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brimstone from above. That was the time that she was
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judged and turned into a pillar of salt.
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And it was severe because she perished along with the
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occupants of Sodom and Gomorrah. How incredible is that?
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When you desire the world, you will despise the Word.
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Your children despise the Word. Or do they delight in the Word
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of God? Do they want to read the Word?
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Do they want to hear the Word? Or do they do they despise the
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Word? They despise it because they
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desire something other than the Lord.
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They desire the world. And when you despise the Word,
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you will disbelieve the warnings of the Word.
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They made no difference to you. God's not going to do what He
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says he's going to do. Well, he might have done at the
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start of the Gomorrah. He might have done it during the
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days of Noah and the flood, but he's not going to do it to me.
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So we say, or so we think. We desire the world.
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Then you will always suffer. You need to detest the world,
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not desire the world. You need to delight in the Word,
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not despise the Word. You need to believe the warnings
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and not disbelieve the warnings. You need to regard the walk of
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the godly, not disregard the walk of the godly.
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You need to live and not die. For a Lot's wife becomes the
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answer to Romans 623. The wages of sin is death.
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That's the payment. She had opportunity to believe.
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She had opportunity to follow. She had opportunity to deny
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herself. She don't want to do that.
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She loved the world and she loved herself she loved herself
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more than she loved her girls. She loved herself more than she
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loved her husband. But you know, they never really
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knew that until it was too late because she, being from behind,
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looked back and she, she was changed or became a pillar of
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salt. I don't know where you are,
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where your family is, your husband, your wife, your
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children, your friends. But remembering Lot's life is
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absolutely crucial in our journeys to the land of Israel.
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We would stop on our way back from Masada, on our way back
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from and Getty and stop by the Dead Sea.
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We would open our Bibles to Genesis chapter 19, and we'd
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read the story, the accounts of what took place in that region.
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It was a beautiful region at one time, a beautiful region, but it
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was destroyed because of the sin of the people in the city.
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But we understand that well. We have a hard time getting the
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grip on his Lot's wife. What happened to her?
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I'm sure the girls believed that she was a follower of the Lord
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God of Israel. I'm sure her husband believed
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that his wife was a follower of the Lord God of Israel.
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At least she played along that way.
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That that's why the series What is a Christian is so important
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because people are so easily self deceived.
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You know what? I bet you even Lot's wife
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thought that she believed in the Lord God of Israel until the
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true nature, the true colors were exposed.
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She was turned into a pillar of salt.
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Why a pillar of salt? Interesting.
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Why not just zapper? Incinerator.
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Why a pillar of salts? I have my ideas.
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The Bible says you are the salt of the earth.
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You are the light of the world. You're in a world that's
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decaying. Salt retards corruption in a
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world that's dark. Light reveals the Christ who is
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the true light. But my reason is this is that
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it's a reminder to Lot that he was in the city where he was not
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effective as salt because he did not retard the corruption of the
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city. And even though he was a
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righteous man, I, I think that we need to quickly, and I mean
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quickly look at what happened to Lot.
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And if you're a husband today, you need to examine your life in
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light of that. And so just let me take you back
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a couple of pages to Genesis chapter 13 and show you how it
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began with Lots says in verse #10 Lot lifted up his eyes and
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saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered
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everywhere. This was before the Lord
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destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the Lord
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liked the land of Egypt. Why is that important?
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In Genesis chapter 12, there's a famine in the land.
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Abraham did not seek the Lord. Abraham did not pray.
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What do I do when there's a famine in the land?
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What did Abraham do? He went to where there was food.
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So he went to Egypt. He went down to Egypt.
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Egypt is symbolic of the world. In the Old Testament, Abraham
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went the way of the world, and Lot was with him, and Lot
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journeyed back with him. And Lot got a taste of Egypt,
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got a taste of the world. And once he got the taste that
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longing in his heart, it caused him to look One Direction.
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When he and Abraham, we're going to part ways.
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Abraham said, you can go this way or you can go that way.
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Choose which way you will go. And he looked towards Sodom and
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he saw the lushness of it. It was like Egypt and it and it
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affected the longing of his heart.
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Abraham had a negative effect on his nephew Lot, And Lot, when he
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looked towards Sodom, saw the lushness of it.
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It was just like Egypt. That's what I want.
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So because Lot longed for Egypt, Lot looked toward Egypt.
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And because he looked toward Egypt, I like this, he leaned
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toward Egypt. Look at verse 12 of chapter 13.
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Abraham settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the
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cities of the valley and moved his tents as far as Sodom.
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Once you long for Egypt, you will look toward Egypt.
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Once you look toward Egypt, you will begin to lean in the
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direction of Egypt. And once you lean in that
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direction, you will live in Egypt.
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And sure enough, in verse 12 with chapter 14, Lot, Abraham's
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nephew and his possessions departed for he was living in
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Sodom. Once you long for Egypt, you'll
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look toward Egypt. When you look toward Egypt,
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you'll lean that direction. Remember, Egypt is symbolic of
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the world, and once you lean that direction, you will live in
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that arena. They did.
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But it gets worse, because as you move on to Chapter 19, it
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says now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot
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was sitting in the gate of Sodom.
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Only those who led in the city would sit in the city gates.
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Once you long for the world and look toward the world and lean
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toward the world, you'll live in the world, and you will then
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lead in the world. And Lot did, but it gets worse
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because he's just 19 verse #7 he says to the men in the doorway.
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My brothers do not act wickedly. Your brothers, the homosexuals
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were your brothers. They become his brothers.
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Because once you look toward the city, because you've already
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longed for the city, and you lean toward that way and you
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live that way and you lead in that place, you love that place.
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Lot loved Sodom, my brothers. He loved us so much that when it
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came time to leave, he lingered in the city, it says in verse
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16. But he hesitated.
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So the men seized his hand in the hand of his wife, in the
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hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was
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upon him. He lingered because he loved the
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city, because he led there, He lived there.
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He leaned there because he looked there, because he longed
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for the world. That's why it's so important to
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understand the Scriptures when the Bible says so explicitly
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that we are to disassociate with the world.
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When you care for the things of the world, you end up being
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companioned with the world. Those who become companioned
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with the world become contaminated by the world, and
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those contaminated by the world then become conformed to the
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world. When the Bible says do not be
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conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of
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your mind. And those who care for the world
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and those who become companion with the world, and those who
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become contaminated by the world and those who become conformed
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to the world, they then become controlled by the world.
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That was Lot. The difference is, is that Lot
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was a righteous man. His wife was not.
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She was condemned along with the world.
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Lot was not. Lot was in no way a perfect man.
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In many ways he was a horrible husband and a horrible father.
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But the Bible does say he was a righteous man.
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And yet there were a lot of things he probably could have
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done a lot differently than he did, but he didn't.
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We did a series years ago called Lot's Loss in Life.
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What did Lot lose? Lot would lose his family.
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Lot would lose the city and Lot would lose his testimony because
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Lot had lost all credibility. He lost so much.
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Didn't have to be that way for us at all.
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Not at all. But he had a wife that was
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turned into a pillar of salt to remind him that he could have
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retarded corruption in the city. But he didn't because he loved
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the city, the city in which he led in, the city in which he
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lived in. We are of the world.
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We are in the world. We're not supposed to be of the
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world. So important come out from among
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them and be separate, says the Lord.
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There is to be complete separation, a complete
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disassociation with the things of the world.
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You have to ask yourself, do my children disassociate themselves
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from the world or do they find themselves wanting to associate
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more and more with the world? Beware or your wife or your
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husband. There should be a direct
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disassociation with the things of the world and all of its
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evil, because all it does is ruin people's lives.
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So where are you? Where's your family?
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Have you disassociated with the things of the world or are you
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still hanging on to different parts?
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The warnings given when Jesus returns don't go back to your
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house to collect your possessions.
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They mean nothing. They're of no value whatsoever.
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Don't look back at your field. Remember lots, wife.
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Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for
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tonight. We thank you for your word.
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It's very clear. You have made it crystal clear.
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And our prayer, Father, is that we would be people who
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disassociate with the things of this world.
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It's not easy sometimes, Lord, but that's because we have a
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wrong perspective. Our affections are not above,
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they're below. Our mind is set.
1:00:03
On things below and not on things above.
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For once we get a clear glimpse of our Savior, we get a clear
1:00:14
understanding of our Lord. Things on earth are irrelevant.
1:00:24
Everybody mean nothing, so we deny ourselves.
1:00:28
We take up a cross daily and we follow you because we love you.
1:00:36
We love you more than our own lives for to live as Christ, to
1:00:43
die as gain, we make it our ambition to be well pleasing in
1:00:50
your sight. May that be us tonight.
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Lord, maybe learn from what we have just heard and follow you
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completely in Jesus name, Amen.