Latest / Meadows Baptist Church Podcast / The Hold of Sodom - 10/28/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

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The Hold of Sodom - 10/28/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch · Meadows Baptist Church Podcast

• 0:02
  Welcome to [music] the podcast of
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  Meadows Baptist Church of Walnut Cove,
• 0:07
  North Carolina. We're so glad [music]
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  you joined us today. If you enjoy
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  today's message, be sure to subscribe,
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  [music] follow, and share with your
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  friends. Now, let's join Pastor [music]
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  Charlie Branch with a word from God
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  >> in Genesis chapter 19. And uh I'll say
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  this tonight, the schools of America is
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  the same story. I' I've seen um some
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  billboards we me and dad myself made a
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  long journey uh Monday and then again
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  today uh on the way back from Rock of
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  Ag's home office. Um I seen some
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  billboards, you know, you've seen them
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  says, "Want better schools? Pay the
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  teachers." Now I don't disagree with
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  that, but I'm going to tell you this
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  much right now. You can't pay a teacher
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  enough to deal with the environment
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  they're having to deal with.
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  >> But I want tell you what'll fix that is
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  Jesus.
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  >> And uh
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  truth is tonight u our colleges have
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  turned out teachers who don't know God.
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  >> And uh we have we're blessed in this
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  community. We got some in our church
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  tonight. Teachers that love God. And I
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  appreciate their devotion to the Lord. I
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  want to say this, school needs Jesus and
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  he'll be the first one to tell you that.
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  And uh I believe that tonight. Genesis
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  chapter 19. And I don't want to be
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  redundant tonight. Uh but I do want to
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  share with you what the Lord has put on
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  my heart. And I would rather be obedient
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  to him uh than have the approval of man.
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  And so we're going to try to be obedient
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  to the Lord tonight. Like I said, I'm
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  going to do my best not to be redundant.
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  Um but I want to give you some truths
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  tonight if I could. and Genesis 19. I've
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  told you this as we get to these
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  passages that we know a little more
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  familiar. I want to try to bring out
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  some things maybe you some angles you
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  haven't thought about uh from these
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  passages and don't claim to be genius
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  scripturally by any means, but I want to
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  try to just be a blessing to you if I
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  could and give you another angle of the
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  passage. And so we'll look tonight
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  Genesis 19. Let's let's begin reading uh
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  in verse number let's begin reading
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  verse number 17.
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  Genesis 19 and u and we'll read just a
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  couple verses here. Mainly look at the
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  whole chapter tonight um if we can.
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  Genesis 19 verse number 17. The Bible
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  says and it came to pass when they had
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  brought them forth abroad that he said
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  escape for thy life. Look not behind
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  thee neither stay thou in all the plain
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  escape to the mountain lest thou be
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  consumed. So the angels here have
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  brought Lot and his family. They have
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  literally grabbed them by the arm and
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  are dragging them out of the city.
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  Judgment is impending upon them.
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  Destruction is near. And Lot says this
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  in verse number 18. Lot said unto him
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  said unto them, "Oh not so, my lord,
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  behold now thy servant hath found grace
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  in thy sight. Thou has magnified thy
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  mercy, which thou showed unto me in
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  saving my life, and I cannot escape to
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  the mountain, lest some evil take me,
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  and I die. Behold now, this city is near
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  to flee unto, and it is a little one.
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  Oh, let me escape thither. Is it not a
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  little one, and my soul shall live? And
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  he said unto him, See, I have accepted
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  thee concerning this thing also, that I
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  will not overthrow this city, for the
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  which thou has spoken. Haste thee,
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  escape thither, for I cannot do anything
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  till thou become thither. Therefore the
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  name of the city was called Zor. The sun
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  was risen upon the earth when Lot
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  entered into Zor. Then the Lord rained
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  upon Sodom and upon Gomorra, brimstone
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  and fire from the Lord out of heaven.
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  And he overthrew those cities and all
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  the plain and all the inhabitants of the
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  cities and that which grew upon the
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  ground. But his wife looked back from
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  behind him and she became a pillar of
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  salt. Father, I ask you tonight humbly,
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  Lord, as we have gathered uh for our
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  Bible study tonight, Lord, I really
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  believe you put a message on my heart.
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  And so, Lord, I pray, God, tonight you
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  would help us as we'd come to preach
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  this text. I pray you would give us
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  wisdom, discernment beyond our years. I
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  pray that you would give us liberty to
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  be able to preach the word of God with
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  power. I thank you for the missionary
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  tonight, shared his burden for the
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  country of Kenya. And Lord, we ask God
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  that you would prepare uh the way before
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  him as I know you already have. I pray
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  you continue to bless uh on the
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  deputation road and continue to help
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  them as they go there. And Lord, I ask
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  you to help us tonight to continue to do
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  all that we can for missions. And Lord,
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  I pray you'd help us to stay right with
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  you and use this text, Lord, to keep us
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  in the right path. Lord, we sure love
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  you. Thank you for loving us. And we ask
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  it all in Jesus name. Amen. Genesis 19
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  really I believe it could be described
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  here in this text or the the meaning of
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  this chapter really is is a description
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  of the man Lot and what his backsliden
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  state has gotten him to and he has come
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  to an environment of society that I
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  believe is is described in three ways I
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  would say number one when we look at
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  this society uh the thing that
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  predominantly comes to my to mind about
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  this environment Lot is in is it's a
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  homosexual environment
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  I know that's not a good first point to
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  use, but it's the first point I've got.
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  Amen. And the Bible says, we we talked
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  about that on last week. Verse number
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  five, that the men of the city come to
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  him. They said, "Where are the men which
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  came into thee this night? Bring them
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  out unto us that we may know them." And
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  I'm not going to sweep it under the rug
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  tonight. We're living in that society.
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  >> Yeah. Amen.
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  >> You can say amen. Roll me tonight. This
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  where we're living at in our country.
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  And my dad and I was talking on
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  yesterday and I said, you know, I think
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  that really we're sheltered from it in
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  the country. Not as much as I'd like to
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  be. Somebody say amen right there. I'd
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  like to know nothing about it. But the
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  truth is we're sheltered from it. I
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  think when you go into the cities and
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  and uh complexes of this country, I
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  think that there's a lot more majority
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  of this than what we realize. And this
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  city in this text, we made the statement
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  on last week that it was pretty much
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  totally overrun by this. Uh verse number
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  five mentions that that the men of the
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  city came. And so there's a group of
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  them that have come here in the text.
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  And not only is it a homosexual
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  environment or a homosexual society, we
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  see number two, this society that Lot
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  has engulfed himself in is a hostile
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  society. You say, "What do you mean?"
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  Well, notice verse number nine or verse
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  number eight. They've come here uh to to
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  take these angels here, these men, so
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  they think, and to try to defile them.
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  And Lot rebukes them in verse seven and
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  8. And verse number nine, and they said
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  to Lot, "Stand back." And they said
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  again, this one fellow came into
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  sojourer, and he will need to be a
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  judge, speaking of and scornfully uh of
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  of the of Lot here in the text. And now
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  look what they say. Now will we deal
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  worse with thee than with them. And they
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  pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and
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  came near to break the door. Now,
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  evidently, according to verse number
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  nine, there is a group of them that
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  pushes Lot off to the side, and they
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  begin to uh that work that press sword.
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  There's a physical approach on him. They
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  are trying to harm him physically, but
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  there's another group of them in verse
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  9, it says that they came near. They
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  they leave from Lot and then they go to
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  the door to try to break into his home.
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  You say, "What is that?" Well, that's a
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  hostile society. Amen. And we know about
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  that in this country. I mean, you've got
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  the news. You know how it is uh up in
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  Chicago and up places like that. I mean,
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  we could talk about all kinds of
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  different places tonight, but it's
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  described as a homosexual society. It's
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  described as a hostile society. But in
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  this text, I think alarming to me, what
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  I find, it's described as a hopeless
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  society.
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  >> You say, "What do you mean?" Well,
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  notice the text. These angels here, they
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  put forth their hand. Verse 10, pull lot
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  into the home. Verse 11, they smite the
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  men that are at the door with blindness,
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  uh, so that they cannot find the door.
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  In verse 12, the men said unto Lot, Hast
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  thou hear any beside, son-in-law, and
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  thy sons and thy daughters, and
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  whatsoever thou hast in the city? Bring
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  them out of this place. Verse number 13,
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  listen now. For we will destroy this
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  place, because the cry of them is wax
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  and great before the face of the Lord,
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  and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.
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  So obviously in the indication tonight
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  of the text is is that this nation, this
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  city has gone so far in rebellion and
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  rejection of God that God says there's
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  no hope for them.
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  >> I want to say this now. When God says
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  it's time for it to be over, we better
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  open our eyes.
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  >> And the truth is, I don't believe we're
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  too far from that in this country. I
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  believe that God has given us a remnant.
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  I believe God has given us a space of
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  grace. I'm thankful for that. I'm
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  grateful for that. But what interests me
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  in this text is not Sodom, but what
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  interests me is what happens when Lot
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  and his family leave Sodom. And I was
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  thinking about this text. There's three
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  things that I want to give you tonight
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  in this text concerning the hold of
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  Sodom. You see, when Lot leaves Sodom,
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  everything's not fixed. When Lot leaves
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  this city and destruction comes, all of
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  his problems are not over. Matter of
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  fact, things are going to get worse for
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  Lot after he leaves. And I want to tell
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  you this tonight that we we see it in
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  the rehabilitation uh programs around
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  that men when they go on drugs or when
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  they become alcoholics, often times
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  their their physical state is worse on
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  the coming off than it is while they're
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  on the drug or on the alcohol. And the
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  things that they do oftentimes are
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  worse. And the detachment is worse than
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  the period of attachment.
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  And in this text, there's three things
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  that I can say to you tonight about the
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  hold of Sodom. And and I and there's
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  three instances that are described in
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  this text. We know tonight that Lot is
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  the only one that makes it out of the
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  city alive. And we know that the Bible
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  literally describes him of all the men
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  and all the people in the city that he
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  was the only righteous individual. He's
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  the only one that makes it out with
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  somewhat a measure of integrity in this
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  text. And we notice here in the text
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  that Lot is journeying out here in the
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  text. I want to say first of all tonight
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  we can illustrate the hold that Sodom
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  has number one tonight by the distance
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  that's described in verse number 20. You
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  say, "What do you mean?" Well, you see
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  Lot's journeying out of the city. The
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  angels have come to get him. And first
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  of all, we see in this text this, and
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  I'll give you this, the distance refers
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  to Lot's laziness. The hold of Sodom,
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  number one is laziness.
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  >> So, what do you mean? Well, notice the
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  text. You see, they have given Lot the
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  warning here in the text that you need
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  to get your family out. Verse number 14,
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  Lot goes out and spake to his
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  sons-in-law, which married his
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  daughters. He says, "Up, get you out of
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  this place, for the Lord will destroy
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  this city." but he seemed as one that
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  mocked under his sons-in-law. And it
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  pictures almost the urgency that's in
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  Lot's heart as he goes to his children
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  trying to warn them of the judgments to
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  come. Now, remind you this tonight, Lot
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  was a righteous man. The Bible literally
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  tells us that in Peter's epistle. And
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  so, his righteousness is seen here and
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  his warning to his children. But notice
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  in verse number 15, it says, "When the
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  morning arose, then the angels hastened
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  a lot." Notice this. saying, "Arise,
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  take thy wife and thy two daughters
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  which are here, lest thou be consumed in
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  the iniquity of the city." Notice the
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  next four words of verse 16. "And while
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  he lingered,
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  >> I would say his laziness is expressed
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  number one tonight in his linger."
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  >> Now, I think tonight, if we were honest
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  with ourselves, let's just bring this
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  into reality, put ourselves where Lot
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  is. If we know that destruction is
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  coming, we've beheld two angels with a
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  message from God that imminent and
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  eternal destruction is coming to this
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  city. Do you think we'd go home and lay
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  down for the night?
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  >> But he goes home in the text, notice it
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  in the text, verse number 15. When the
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  morning arose, then the angels hasten
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  Lot. Why is Lot still there?
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  >> The morning comes, he's still in the
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  city. Not only that, but they're
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  hastening him because he is still. And
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  even while they're pushing on him to get
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  out, he's still hanging around because
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  you know what? It's hard to detach from
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  Sodom once you've ever been there. And
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  I'll say this, for those who are lost
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  that's there, it's real hard for them to
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  get out of it. Thank God the grace of
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  God can deliver you out of it. But I
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  want to say this pretty much as hard if
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  not maybe a little bit harder is a saved
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  person that's been out of the will of
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  God for so long in a place where they
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  should not have been. trying to get out
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  of there is nearly impossible.
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  >> Amen.
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  >> Notice what happens. While he lingered,
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  the men laid hold upon his hand, upon
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  the hand of his wife, upon the hand of
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  his two daughters. The Lord, notice
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  this, the Lord being merciful unto him,
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  and they brought him forth and set him
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  without the city. Now, imagine if this
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  was today.
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  I see people in sin all the time. You
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  know what I want to do? I want to go
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  grab hold of them and say, "What are you
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  doing?
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  >> Get out of this mess." You know what
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  they'd do to me now if we did that? They
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  crucify us, friend.
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  >> I watch people day in and day out. They
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  come in this church on Sunday. They come
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  in at sometimes on Wednesday. And
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  they're lingering around in sin. And my
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  heart yearns WANTING TO CALL THEM OUT OF
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  THAT. BUT THEY'RE JUST LINGERING AROUND
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  HERE. YOU KNOW WHY THAT IS? BECAUSE
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  SODOM HAS A HOLD ON THEM. And that hold
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  is their own laziness.
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  >> Amen.
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  >> It's a lot harder to leave than it is to
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  stay.
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  >> Notice the text. Not only the lingering
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  expresses the laziness, but I want to
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  say his lying expresses. Look what he
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  says. They tell angels 10:1 17 came to
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  pass when they brought them forth abroad
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  that he said, "Escape for thy life. Look
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  not behind thee, neither stay thou on
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  all the plain. Escape to the mountain,
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  lest thou be consumed." And Lot said
• 14:17
  unto them, "Oh, not so, my lord." Now, I
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  want to give you something right here
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  for a minute. I believe it's John
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  Butler, maybe it's Phillips, that said
• 14:23
  this concerning this text. He said that
• 14:26
  phrase is diametric diametrically
• 14:29
  opposed to itself. Look at that. He
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  said, "Oh, not so my Lord." Oh, not so
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  is an unsubmissive will.
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  >> Right?
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  >> But when you call somebody your Lord,
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  what are you doing? You're submitting to
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  them.
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  >> Lot is unwilling to submit, but all the
• 14:45
  while trying to recognize their
• 14:47
  authority. Boy, doesn't that sound like
• 14:49
  the church today? Oh, we preacher, we
• 14:52
  love you. We love you, pastor.
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  We love the word of God. WE LOVE YOUR
• 14:57
  PREACHING. WE LOVE THE songs of Zion,
• 14:58
  but in their heart, they're saying,
• 15:00
  "Well, we're just not going to do what
• 15:01
  you're saying." You know what that is?
• 15:03
  That's a lie.
• 15:04
  >> Amen.
• 15:05
  >> Notice the text. You say, "Preacher, I
• 15:06
  don't see the lie." Well, notice what
• 15:07
  happens in verse 19. It gets a little
• 15:09
  deeper. Behold, now thy servant hath
• 15:11
  found grace in thy sight. Thou has
• 15:13
  magnified thy mercy, which thou showed
• 15:15
  unto me in saving my life. Man, this
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  will preach. Man, I wish I could stop
• 15:19
  and preach all this. Listen to this.
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  Notice this phrase. He says, "And I
• 15:23
  cannot," notice that, "and I cannot
• 15:26
  escape to the mountain." Lot says, "It's
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  not possible.
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  I can't get any farther than where I'm
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  at." And you know what? IN THIS TEXT,
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  WHAT THAT REVEALS is is not Lot's
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  inability because later on in the
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  chapter, you know what he does? He goes
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  out of Zor and goes up the mountain.
• 15:45
  >> It wasn't that he couldn't go. It's just
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  that he didn't want to.
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  >> That's lying.
• 15:52
  You say, "Where is it expressed?" Well,
• 15:54
  it's expressed in this distance in verse
• 15:56
  20. Behold, now this city is near to
• 15:58
  flee unto, and it is a little one. Oh,
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  let me escape thither. Is it not a
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  little one, and my soul shall live? Lot
• 16:05
  did not want to go where God wanted him
• 16:07
  to go. He wanted to go just far enough
• 16:10
  to have peace of mind that he was away
• 16:13
  from the fire, but he wanted to be just
• 16:16
  close enough to Sodom that he could
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  still remember what it's like in the
• 16:19
  plane.
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  You say, 'What do you mean, preacher?
• 16:23
  Well, you remember when the Bible says
• 16:24
  Abraham told Lot, you look across the
• 16:26
  plane, you choose you a place to live.
• 16:28
  And the Bible says that Lot held all the
• 16:30
  plain of Jordan, that it was well
• 16:32
  watered everywhere. Amen. It was a land
• 16:34
  that was suitable for his herds and his
• 16:36
  flocks and his cattle. And he was seeing
• 16:38
  prosperity. And that prosperity we know
• 16:41
  leads him to perversion in this chapter.
• 16:44
  But you see, he's getting out of the
• 16:45
  perversion. But he just really don't
• 16:47
  want to turn loose of that prosperity.
• 16:51
  You say, "Why is that?" Well, he's
• 16:52
  wanting to stay in the plane. And you
• 16:55
  see, God is going to destroy ALL THESE
• 16:57
  CITIES. BUT THIS city does not get
• 17:00
  destroyed because Lot is there. You say,
• 17:02
  "What is that?" That's the hold of
• 17:04
  Sodom. Lot was lazy. He liked having
• 17:07
  everything handed to him on a silver
• 17:09
  platter. He liked everything his way,
• 17:11
  fixed the way that he liked it. And the
• 17:13
  truth is here in the text, it manifests
• 17:15
  to us the hold of this world because we
• 17:18
  are really not willing to distance
• 17:20
  oursel from the world in which we live.
• 17:23
  >> The Bible still says, "Come out from
• 17:25
  among them and be you separate,
• 17:27
  >> saith the Lord, and touch not the
• 17:29
  unclean thing. Then I will receive and
• 17:31
  you shall be my sons and daughters,
• 17:33
  saith the Lord Almighty." The truth is
• 17:35
  tonight if we're going to do be where
• 17:38
  God wants us to be and be what God wants
• 17:40
  us to be, there's going to have to be
• 17:42
  more distance than arms reach to where
• 17:44
  destruction is.
• 17:47
  >> You going to have to divide from some
• 17:49
  things. You see, he was not willing to
• 17:51
  go the distance because he was not
• 17:53
  willing to divide himself.
• 17:57
  You say, "What happens?" Well, we
• 17:59
  believe Lot's the saved man out of this
• 18:00
  crowd, don't we? Well, here's what
• 18:02
  happens. Lot's going to reap some
• 18:04
  punishment, but the ones that really
• 18:07
  reap the punishment, it's not Lot, it's
• 18:10
  his family.
• 18:11
  We've we've already alluded to this that
• 18:14
  Lot loses his entire family through this
• 18:17
  ordeal. I would say number one tonight,
• 18:20
  the hold of Sodom is seen in the
• 18:22
  distance. Nobody ever gets too far away
• 18:25
  from Sodom. You say, "What do you mean?"
• 18:28
  Well, you think about this. The whole
• 18:29
  city died there.
• 18:32
  Then notice what happens.
• 18:34
  The Bible says in verse number 25 that
• 18:37
  God overthrew those cities and all the
• 18:39
  plain and all the inhabitants of the
• 18:41
  cities and that which grew upon the
• 18:43
  ground. Notice that the fruit was even
• 18:45
  destroyed. God was sick of them. Notice
• 18:47
  verse 26. But his wife, notice this,
• 18:50
  Lot's wife looked back from behind him
• 18:53
  and she became a pillar of salt. I would
• 18:57
  say tonight, number one, the hold of
• 18:58
  Sodom is seen in the distance. But
• 19:00
  number two, the hold of Sodom is seen in
• 19:02
  disobedience.
• 19:04
  Say, what do you mean? Well, there was a
• 19:06
  clear command given to Lot and his
• 19:08
  family. In verse number verse number 16,
• 19:12
  verse number 17, he said, "And it came
• 19:14
  to pass when they had brought them forth
• 19:16
  abroad that he said, escape for thy
• 19:17
  life, look not behind thee.
• 19:21
  >> Don't turn back. Don't even look back."
• 19:24
  >> Don't even think about going back. And
• 19:27
  the Bible says in the text that Lot's
• 19:29
  wife turned around and looked again. You
• 19:32
  say, "What does that describe?" Well,
• 19:33
  you see, the distance described the
• 19:35
  laziness of Lot. Lot at best was a lazy
• 19:39
  Christian. I want I want to say
• 19:41
  Christian. He was a lazy saved man. He
• 19:43
  was not a Christian at all. If we were,
• 19:44
  he were to be described in Christian
• 19:46
  terms. But I want to say this. There is
• 19:48
  the disobedience of Lot's wife that
• 19:50
  describes what is lost. You see, what's
• 19:54
  the truth of this text? Lot's wife made
• 19:57
  it out of Sodom. But you know what never
• 19:59
  made it out of Lot's wife? Sodom.
• 20:02
  >> That's right.
• 20:04
  >> Lot's wife was still held.
• 20:06
  >> You see, the hold of Sodom's so great,
• 20:08
  you don't have to be there positionally.
• 20:11
  >> You can be there passionately.
• 20:14
  >> You say, "What does that describe,
• 20:15
  preacher?" Well, I think it describes
• 20:17
  two things. You think about what his
• 20:19
  wife lost in this text. Well, she lost
• 20:21
  all those children. And I want to give
• 20:23
  her the benefit of the doubt. Because I
• 20:26
  want to say tonight that the reason she
• 20:28
  looked back is because she's got babies
• 20:29
  down there that are dying.
• 20:32
  She got babies down there that are
• 20:33
  already in hell. And she knows that
• 20:36
  they're already gone. I want to give her
• 20:38
  the benefit of that doubt tonight and
• 20:40
  say that. But I want to say this
• 20:42
  tonight. You think about the truth of
• 20:44
  Lot's wife is seen in this this evening.
• 20:46
  Lot Lot's wife lost what she still had
• 20:49
  by wanting what was already gone. Yeah.
• 20:53
  >> You think about what she lost. She lost
• 20:55
  her family.
• 20:57
  She'd already lost two daughters, two
• 20:59
  sons-in-law, and at least two sons back
• 21:01
  there in the city. But she still had a
• 21:02
  husband who her love and affection
• 21:05
  should have been for primarily. Number
• 21:07
  two, she still had two daughters that
• 21:09
  was with her. Amen. But you know what?
• 21:12
  Because she looked back, what she
• 21:14
  wanted, she couldn't have it. But so she
• 21:16
  lost what she still had. You know what
• 21:17
  the hold of Sodom does? It causes people
• 21:20
  to forget about what they've got right
• 21:22
  now
• 21:23
  >> and to look back at what they used to
• 21:25
  have and you know what they end up
• 21:26
  losing what they got now. I hope you're
• 21:28
  listening to me tonight.
• 21:29
  >> THE HOLDER. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE
• 21:31
  PREACHER. I'M NOT LIVING IN SIN NO MORE.
• 21:33
  WELL, HOW MANY DAYS do you spend
• 21:35
  remembering the good old days?
• 21:38
  >> How many time man I think about man I
• 21:40
  enjoyed them high school years.
• 21:43
  >> I want to hit somebody on that one right
• 21:44
  there. Amen. I'm going tell you this.
• 21:47
  There ain't nothing back there that you
• 21:49
  need to relive.
• 21:51
  >> Not a thing.
• 21:53
  >> And the truth is, if you are spending
• 21:56
  your life looking back what's behind
• 21:58
  you, you'll never be any good to the
• 22:00
  Lord.
• 22:01
  >> Amen.
• 22:03
  >> Jesus said it this way. No man putting
• 22:04
  his hand to the plow and looking back is
• 22:07
  fit for the kingdom of God.
• 22:09
  >> Your desire, YOUR DRIVE, AND YOUR FOCUS
• 22:12
  SHOULD BE WHAT'S FORWARD. WHAT'S THE
• 22:14
  TRUTH ABOUT THIS WOMAN? She didn't only
• 22:16
  lose her family. She lost her future.
• 22:19
  >> She lost all relationships. But she
• 22:21
  didn't only lose her relationships. She
• 22:23
  lost reality.
• 22:26
  >> She don't exist anymore. Look what the
• 22:29
  Bible said. Verse 26. But his wife
• 22:31
  looked back from behind him and she
• 22:33
  became, notice that she became a pillar
• 22:36
  of salt. You know what that is right
• 22:38
  there? What did Sodom and Gomorrah
• 22:41
  become? It became an emblem of God's
• 22:43
  judgment. You know what she became when
• 22:46
  she looked back? An emblem of God's
• 22:48
  judgment. That's right.
• 22:49
  >> You know what you'll do when you turn
• 22:50
  back and want what's in your past more
• 22:52
  than what's God's got for you in the
• 22:53
  future? You'll become of em an emblem of
• 22:56
  what you used to be.
• 22:59
  >> And you know what? You'll die that way.
• 23:01
  >> That's right.
• 23:02
  >> If God don't give you grace and allow
• 23:03
  you to get out of it, the truth is
• 23:05
  there's been men that were alcoholics,
• 23:07
  drug addicts, all types of those type of
• 23:09
  things. And I believe some of them have
• 23:11
  gotten saved. And what happens? that
• 23:13
  pull of that old life, the hold of
• 23:15
  Sodom's big.
• 23:17
  It's strong. And you know what they end
• 23:20
  up turning back.
• 23:22
  And you know what they do? They go to
• 23:23
  their grave
• 23:25
  with that same addiction.
• 23:29
  An emblem of God's judgment. And we sit
• 23:32
  around and wonder, were they really
• 23:33
  saved? You know, the truth is about Lot.
• 23:36
  It's been said by preachers much greater
• 23:37
  than I. We would really never know that
• 23:39
  Lot was a righteous man if it wasn't for
• 23:41
  Peter's epistle. We wouldn't know that
• 23:43
  he was saved. We wouldn't know that he
• 23:44
  was right with God because everything he
• 23:46
  did just seemed wrong.
• 23:49
  >> And the illustration of of this is that
• 23:52
  disobedience will always cause you to
• 23:55
  lose ground in your life. You think
• 23:58
  about what Lot lost that day. He's
• 24:01
  already lost his children that were in
• 24:02
  the land. Now he's lost his wife. She
• 24:05
  got out, but she didn't make it far. You
• 24:07
  see, the hold of Sodom is great. You
• 24:09
  might make it out alive, but you might
• 24:10
  probably won't make it too far. I I
• 24:12
  heard illustration one time talking
• 24:14
  about a a gentleman lived his life and
• 24:17
  and and drugs, alcohol, all of that type
• 24:20
  of thing. He got saved later on in his
• 24:22
  life, but because of his addiction for
• 24:24
  so many years, he ended up dying from
• 24:27
  dise from from decay inward because of
• 24:31
  how he had abused substance for so long.
• 24:34
  And that brought his death in spite of
• 24:35
  him being saved. The Lord doesn't
• 24:37
  reverse the curse in our body.
• 24:41
  >> What you do, you'll have to live with
• 24:43
  the consequence of it. You know why?
• 24:44
  Because the hold of Sodom is great. You
• 24:46
  say, "Preacher, what do you mean the
• 24:47
  hold of Sodom?" It's the hold of sin.
• 24:50
  It's the grip of the devil in your life.
• 24:52
  It's the grip OF YOURSELF THAT DESIRES
• 24:55
  NOTHING BUT GRATIFICATION for you and
• 24:57
  nothing else. It does not desire the
• 25:00
  will of God. Does not desire the plan OF
• 25:02
  GOD AND WILL NEVER. YOU LISTEN TO ME.
• 25:04
  YOU WILL NEVER FULFILL THE PLAN AND
• 25:06
  PURPOSE OF GOD IN YOUR LIFE IN THE POWER
• 25:08
  OF THE FLESH.
• 25:10
  >> NEVER.
• 25:11
  >> YOU WILL NEVER ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING FOR
• 25:13
  GOD IN THE WILL OF MAN. I WANT TO TELL
• 25:15
  YOU FRIEND, YOU WERE SAVED BY THE WILL
• 25:17
  OF GOD AND BY THE POWER OF GOD. JOHN
• 25:19
  SAID IT THIS WAY, WHICH WERE BORN NOT OF
• 25:21
  BLOOD, not he said, which were born not
• 25:24
  of water, NOT OF THE WILL OF MAN, NOT OF
• 25:26
  THE WILL OF THE FLESH, BUT OF THE POWER
• 25:28
  OF GOD.
• 25:30
  >> That's the only way you'll have life.
• 25:32
  And disobedience will reign in your life
• 25:34
  until you allow the power of God to take
• 25:36
  your past from you.
• 25:40
  >> I'm sick and tired of seeing Christians
• 25:41
  lingering around. And what happens is
• 25:44
  daddy lingers and so mama gets lost.
• 25:47
  You say, "HOW IS THAT, PREACHER?" WELL,
• 25:49
  THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED IN THE TEXT, ain't
• 25:50
  it?
• 25:51
  >> LOT STAYED AROUND TOO LONG AND SHOWED
• 25:53
  HIS AFFECTION FOR THAT CITY AND MAMA
• 25:55
  DIED BECAUSE of it.
• 25:59
  >> And if that's not enough, we still got
• 26:01
  the children.
• 26:03
  Notice this. Thirdly, you see, the hold
• 26:06
  of Sodom is described by the distance,
• 26:09
  that laziness.
• 26:11
  The hold of Sodom is described by
• 26:13
  disobedience. It's described by what's
• 26:15
  lost.
• 26:17
  His wife, she lost her life. He lost
• 26:20
  her. He lost her forever. She lost her
• 26:22
  children. She lost her future. She lost
• 26:24
  it all. But the Bible says in the text,
• 26:27
  verse number 30, you see Lot's still
• 26:31
  going. And this is what amazes me,
• 26:36
  brother Sherman. This is what I think in
• 26:37
  my mind. Lot's still doing what's right.
• 26:40
  You know, he said, you know, I don't
• 26:42
  want to go to the mountain. I don't want
• 26:45
  to do that. But you know what? Verse 30,
• 26:47
  he's going, ain't he? He goes out of
• 26:49
  Zoar. Why? Because he's afraid. He's
• 26:52
  seeing all those cities of the plain
• 26:54
  being burned up. And you know what? It's
• 26:55
  the judgment of God. That terror of the
• 26:57
  Lord's calling him, "Look, man, I need
• 26:58
  to get out of here. I've done lost
• 27:01
  everything. All I've got is these two."
• 27:03
  And so, you know what he does? He's
• 27:04
  going up the mountain. And you know what
• 27:05
  that is? That's obedience, isn't it?
• 27:07
  >> Amen. But the hold of Sodom's still got
• 27:09
  them.
• 27:11
  Said, "What do you mean?" Well, Lot's
• 27:12
  being obedient. But you know who's not?
• 27:15
  It's his daughters. The ones that's
• 27:18
  tagging along behind him. Why? Because
• 27:20
  the mindset of Sodom never left them. He
• 27:23
  said in verse 31, verse number 30, it
• 27:26
  says, "For he feared to dwell in Zor,
• 27:27
  and he dwelt in a cave." Think about
• 27:29
  that. All of Lot's prosperity was gone.
• 27:33
  all of his cattle, all of his fields,
• 27:35
  all of his his riches and finance, all
• 27:37
  of that was gone. And now he's standing
• 27:40
  in a cave with nothing. And the Bible
• 27:42
  says that they're still notice this
• 27:44
  verse 31. And the firstborn said unto
• 27:46
  the younger, "Our father's old there's
• 27:48
  not a man in the earth to come in unto
• 27:50
  us after the manner of all the earth."
• 27:51
  Thirdly, tonight I would say the hold of
• 27:53
  Sodom is described not just in the
• 27:55
  distance, not just in the u
• 27:58
  disobedience, but it's described by
• 28:01
  defilement.
• 28:03
  You see,
• 28:06
  Paul wrote to the Corinthian church. He
• 28:08
  said, "Flee fornication." Two sins
• 28:10
  written the Bible said to flee. Flee
• 28:13
  idolatry because you're not meant to
• 28:16
  stay there and try to handle it. Number
• 28:18
  two, flee fornication. You're not meant
• 28:20
  to stay there and try to handle it on
• 28:21
  your own. Flee fornication. This is the
• 28:23
  verse. For every sin that a man doeth is
• 28:26
  without the body. He said, "But he that
• 28:28
  committh fornication sinnth against his
• 28:30
  own body." You know what what that an
• 28:32
  illustration of that is? It's an
• 28:34
  illustration of a man taking a knife and
• 28:38
  every every time he commits that sin,
• 28:39
  he's just cutting himself over and over
• 28:44
  and over again. You know what happens? A
• 28:46
  scar will build. A scab will come and
• 28:49
  then a scar will build. But you know
• 28:50
  what? There'll always be a mark there.
• 28:52
  >> That's right.
• 28:53
  >> And what'll happen is is that thing,
• 28:55
  man, if you hit that scar just right,
• 28:58
  it'll bring you to your knees.
• 29:01
  >> And it's always a weak place. You ever
• 29:03
  notice a scar bleed faster than anywhere
• 29:05
  else?
• 29:06
  You see what this is an illustration of
• 29:08
  is their defilement. You see, Lot had
• 29:11
  invested so much in their mind. Bible
• 29:13
  says he vexed his righteous soul with
• 29:15
  their unrighteous deeds. But the truth
• 29:17
  is their unrighteous deeds had got into
• 29:19
  the unrighteous heart of his children.
• 29:21
  And they'd never been saved. THEY'D
• 29:23
  NEVER SEEN THE TRUTH OF THE WORD of God.
• 29:25
  Like Uncle Abraham had INVESTED INTO
• 29:27
  LOT, BUT LOT'S CHILDREN NEVER GOT A
• 29:29
  CHANCE.
• 29:31
  >> Brother Marty, I'm sick and tired of
• 29:32
  seeing young people never get a chance.
• 29:35
  I've already seen too many walk out of
• 29:36
  this church in the last two and a half
• 29:38
  years without a chance. We're trying to
• 29:41
  love on them, but mom and daddy don't
• 29:42
  give a rip about them.
• 29:44
  >> Amen. trying to teach them the right way
• 29:46
  and give them some truth and trying to
• 29:48
  love on them. No, THEY DON'T DRESS
• 29:50
  RIGHT. NO, THEY don't act right. But I
• 29:51
  really DON'T CARE. I'M JUST TRYING TO
• 29:54
  GIVE THEM SOME HOPE FOR A FUTURE THAT
• 29:56
  THEY MIGHT MAKE IT IN THIS LIFE AND
• 29:58
  LEARN TO LOVE JESUS AND LEARN TO BE
• 30:00
  RIGHT WITH GOD. BUT MOM AND DADDY DON'T
• 30:02
  CARE ENOUGH TO GET OUT OF THE BED AND
• 30:04
  COME TO CHURCH.
• 30:05
  >> AMEN.
• 30:07
  >> I'm brokenhearted by it because I've
• 30:10
  watched too many of them walk away. And
• 30:12
  you know what happens in this text? They
• 30:14
  they they get out because Lot brings him
• 30:16
  out. But the truth is Lot don't decide,
• 30:18
  "Hey, it's time to start telling them
• 30:19
  the truth.
• 30:22
  Lot don't take this as a time to say,
• 30:24
  youngans, y'all gather around. We need
• 30:25
  to talk.
• 30:27
  >> I should have never went down there.
• 30:30
  I should have never took you to this
• 30:32
  place and showed you those people. I
• 30:34
  should HAVE NEVER INVOLVED YOU IN THOSE
• 30:36
  ACTS." Remember
• 30:39
  now, Lot told those men of the city, he
• 30:41
  said, "You don't do anything to these
• 30:43
  two men that are with me, but I got two
• 30:44
  daughters, these two that have not known
• 30:47
  man." And you know what he says? You
• 30:48
  I'll give them to you. You do what you
• 30:50
  want to with them. These daughters
• 30:52
  didn't mean a thing to him.
• 30:54
  >> And you know what? They didn't forget
• 30:55
  that.
• 30:55
  >> Mom and Daddy, you listen to me. If you
• 30:57
  treat your children like trash, they
• 30:58
  won't forget it.
• 31:01
  >> I don't believe that's here on a
• 31:03
  Wednesday night, but maybe I'm preaching
• 31:04
  to the choir. Maybe we were all seeing
• 31:06
  it. Maybe we're all sick of it tonight.
• 31:08
  I'M SICK AND TIRED OF THIS FRIEND. AND
• 31:10
  WHAT I'M SAYING IS WE SEE THIS
• 31:12
  DEFILEMENT COMES OUT. WHAT IS IT? IT'S
• 31:14
  THE DEFILEMENT OF LUST.
• 31:17
  Look what happens. Number one, there's
• 31:19
  an assumption. Look what the Bible says.
• 31:22
  They're dwelling in a cave. Verse 30,
• 31:24
  verse 31. And the firstborn said unto
• 31:26
  the younger, "Our father is old." Lot's
• 31:29
  not too old at this point in time. He
• 31:31
  nowhere near as old as Abraham is in the
• 31:33
  text. The Bible said in verse number 31,
• 31:35
  they assume that he's old. Notice this.
• 31:37
  This is the really bad assumption. And
• 31:39
  there is not a man in the earth to come
• 31:41
  in unto us after the manner of all the
• 31:44
  earth. Now, I don't want to be crude
• 31:46
  tonight, but the truth is Sodom was was
• 31:48
  was engulfed in sensuality and
• 31:51
  sexuality. The only religion these girls
• 31:54
  knew was lust.
• 31:56
  >> And you know what their assumption is?
• 31:58
  This what the devil do to young people?
• 32:01
  Well, there's just there's nowhere else
• 32:02
  to go.
• 32:04
  or something like this. There's nothing
• 32:05
  else that I can do to fix the pain.
• 32:10
  You think about what these little girls
• 32:11
  have seen. They've watched their whole
• 32:13
  family burn up. They've watched their
• 32:15
  mama turn into a pillar of salt.
• 32:19
  You picture that? They've been hurt
• 32:21
  unimaginably.
• 32:23
  And yet Lot still hasn't took the time
• 32:25
  to tell them, "Hey, you know, all that
• 32:27
  down there was a lie.
• 32:31
  All that down there was wicked and
• 32:33
  ungodly and that's the reason we're in
• 32:35
  this mess. So you know what they do?
• 32:38
  Bible say in verse 32, "Come, let us
• 32:40
  make our father drink wine." That
• 32:42
  assumption leads to intoxication. Isn't
• 32:44
  that interesting? Assumptions always
• 32:45
  lead to that.
• 32:48
  The music industry, the television
• 32:50
  industry has made millions on two
• 32:52
  things.
• 32:52
  >> That's right.
• 32:53
  >> Intoxication and sexual sin.
• 32:56
  >> Amen. That's right.
• 32:57
  >> Millions.
• 32:58
  >> Amen. Millions people have doomed their
• 33:01
  marriages, damned their children to hell
• 33:04
  in this life because of their lust. AND
• 33:06
  IT'S BEEN ON A TV SCREEN THAT TAUGHT
• 33:08
  THEM A RELIGION THAT WAS NOT FROM GOD.
• 33:11
  AND LITTLE JOHNNY AND LITTLE SUZY THAT
• 33:13
  GROWED UP WATCHING GRANDMA AND ME
• 33:16
  WATCHING THE SOAP OPERA. THEY'RE IN A
• 33:18
  MESS NOW THAT NOBODY CAN FIX.
• 33:21
  >> Cause grandma and mama thought it was
• 33:22
  cute.
• 33:26
  I know it's quiet tonight, but I plan on
• 33:27
  preaching it.
• 33:29
  >> Truth is tonight, this defilement, that
• 33:31
  assumption always leads to intoxication.
• 33:33
  Now, one writer said this. I thought
• 33:35
  this was interesting, brother Shane.
• 33:37
  Where did they learn
• 33:39
  to get him drunk?
• 33:42
  >> You know where they learned that?
• 33:46
  How would they have known that?
• 33:49
  They decided that, well, we're going to
• 33:50
  do what we did back yonder. You see,
• 33:53
  Sodom's got a hold on it. And let me say
• 33:55
  this. All right, I've done preached
• 33:58
  everything else. I might as well preach
• 33:59
  this, too.
• 34:00
  >> All right,
• 34:02
  young men, young ladies, if you got a
• 34:05
  problem with pornography, getting
• 34:06
  married is not going to fix it.
• 34:08
  >> That's right.
• 34:09
  >> Amen.
• 34:11
  >> I hope you're listening to me.
• 34:13
  >> That ain't just young men, young ladies.
• 34:14
  That's every one of you.
• 34:15
  >> That's right.
• 34:16
  >> Let me tell you what you need to do
• 34:17
  tonight. You need to get your problem
• 34:18
  straightened out and then think about
• 34:20
  getting married. Right.
• 34:24
  >> This text here proves to us that they're
• 34:27
  just because they got out didn't mean it
• 34:29
  got out of them. Their assumptions,
• 34:32
  their intoxication. I'll give you this
• 34:33
  and I'm done tonight. I said I wasn't
• 34:35
  going to deal with the whole text, but I
• 34:36
  want to deal with some things maybe you
• 34:37
  hadn't thought of. The Bible says the
• 34:41
  eldest goes first. She coerces the
• 34:44
  youngest to do the same thing. Verse 36.
• 34:48
  Thus were both the daughters of Lot with
• 34:50
  child by their father. And the firstborn
• 34:52
  bare a son. Notice this. And called his
• 34:55
  name Moab. And the younger she also bare
• 34:59
  a son and called his name Benmi. Now I
• 35:01
  want to ask you a real question.
• 35:03
  Why
• 35:05
  do these daughters name these children?
• 35:08
  Isn't it always the father that names
• 35:10
  the children? Now, I know scripture a
• 35:14
  little bit enough to know that if Lot
• 35:16
  knew these were his children, he'd have
• 35:18
  named them.
• 35:19
  >> You know what I think? I think they
• 35:21
  lied.
• 35:24
  You say, "How is that? How could Lot not
• 35:26
  know?" Well, notice the text. Verse
• 35:29
  number 33. And they made their father
• 35:31
  drink wine that night, and the firstborn
• 35:33
  went in, and lay with her father, and he
• 35:34
  perceived not when she lay down, nor
• 35:37
  when she arose. Do you see that? Notice
• 35:42
  verse 34. Verse 35. And they made their
• 35:45
  father drink wine that night also. And
• 35:47
  the young arose and lay with him, and he
• 35:49
  perceived not when she laid down, nor
• 35:50
  when she arose.
• 35:53
  I'm not saying it's the gospel truth
• 35:55
  tonight. But it's a very good
• 35:57
  possibility that these girls lied to
• 35:59
  their daddy.
• 36:01
  >> Say, "What do you mean?" Well, they've
• 36:04
  decided there's nobody else in the earth
• 36:06
  for them. No. You seen that? Yeah,
• 36:09
  >> there's not a man in all the earth. How
• 36:11
  foolish. I mean, truth is, every one of
• 36:14
  us has said it at some point in our
• 36:16
  life. Man, they must be nobody, you
• 36:17
  know. And the truth is that's that's
• 36:19
  crazy. I mean, tell youngans that, you
• 36:22
  know, buddy of mine said he said this
• 36:25
  when we was in school. He said, "Women
• 36:26
  are like mailboxes." He said, "You go
• 36:28
  over the hill, there's three more of
• 36:29
  them."
• 36:31
  That's not good philosophy, Christian
• 36:33
  speaking. But what I'm trying to tell
• 36:35
  you tonight is the emphasis of this
• 36:36
  truth. Okay? Don't think don't think
• 36:38
  down of my buddy, okay? He's he's he's
• 36:41
  saved now and he's right with God. All
• 36:42
  right?
• 36:43
  >> But what I'm saying is is
• 36:46
  just because the person you're with is
• 36:48
  bra causing you to sin, you don't have
• 36:50
  to stay with them.
• 36:52
  >> God's got somebody for you that you
• 36:54
  won't have to sin with.
• 36:57
  >> That's right.
• 36:59
  >> God's got somebody for you that you
• 37:00
  don't have to mess up with. Right.
• 37:04
  >> God has a relationship for you that can
• 37:06
  be holy and can be righteous. Now, I'm
• 37:09
  going to tell you this. This preacher is
• 37:10
  against this as much as anything. You
• 37:12
  don't date every girl, every guy that
• 37:14
  comes along.
• 37:14
  >> That's right.
• 37:17
  >> You know what you're doing? You're
• 37:18
  training yourself for divorce.
• 37:21
  >> If you can't commit to anything, you
• 37:23
  probably won't after you get married.
• 37:26
  >> All the parents are uncomfortable. Why
• 37:28
  y'all so uncomfortable? These young
• 37:29
  people ain't uncomfortable at all. Amen.
• 37:32
  I'm tell I'm telling you this tonight,
• 37:33
  okay? This text, what it reveals to is
• 37:36
  when there's an assumption that's led,
• 37:38
  there becomes an intoxication. Doesn't
• 37:41
  have to be alcohol either. I'll say that
• 37:43
  people get intoxicated in moments. They
• 37:46
  live for what they call the high. And
• 37:48
  the highs come from a lot of things,
• 37:49
  don't they?
• 37:50
  >> Let me tell you this tonight. Those
• 37:52
  those highs, what they're going to do,
• 37:53
  they're going to lead you to a life of
• 37:54
  deception. Amen.
• 37:56
  >> And I've known some men,
• 37:58
  they live their life into their grave in
• 38:01
  a lie.
• 38:04
  >> Why is that? Because the hold of Sodom
• 38:06
  is strong.
• 38:08
  Now, I don't want I don't want you to
• 38:10
  get me wrong tonight what I said. I
• 38:11
  don't want that little statement I made
• 38:13
  to mess you up while I'm trying to say.
• 38:15
  I am really sick of this.
• 38:18
  Why I'm preaching this tonight to you
• 38:20
  again is because I don't want to see
• 38:23
  another young lady get pregnant out of
• 38:24
  wedlock.
• 38:26
  I don't want to see another young boy
• 38:28
  mess his life up because he got his
• 38:29
  heart broke and he decides to end it
• 38:31
  all. I know a man tonight fit 40 years
• 38:35
  ago got his heart broke by a little girl
• 38:37
  and he spent his life in drugs.
• 38:42
  You say preacher that ain't real. It is.
• 38:45
  spent his life in drugs, addicted to
• 38:47
  everything that come across the counter
• 38:49
  because a little girl broke his heart.
• 38:52
  >> Never amounted to anything. Ain't got a
• 38:53
  tooth in his head. Now, what I'm saying
• 38:55
  is is it don't have to be that way.
• 38:57
  That's right.
• 38:58
  >> Cuz here's what happens if you allow
• 39:00
  that. You say, "Preacher, is that
• 39:02
  relationship wrong?" No. What do we know
• 39:04
  about marriage? What do we know? The
• 39:06
  Bible says marriage is is honorable and
• 39:07
  all and the bed is undefiled. Amen. But
• 39:09
  whoreongers and adulterers God would
• 39:11
  judge. We know that that is the holy
• 39:13
  estate. He that findeth a wife findeth a
• 39:15
  good thing. It's good for man that he
• 39:17
  should not be alone. We know that
• 39:19
  tonight. We believe that.
• 39:21
  >> BUT TO GO OUTSIDE of that is the worst
• 39:23
  of the worst sins.
• 39:25
  >> Amen.
• 39:27
  >> God condemns it. God marchs against it.
• 39:31
  And the truth is tonight I'll preach it
• 39:34
  until the last one walks out those
• 39:36
  doors. And you better believe me
• 39:38
  tonight. There are some that have walked
• 39:39
  out those doors because I've said you
• 39:41
  shouldn't watch pornography. Amen.
• 39:43
  >> There's some that's walked out because
• 39:45
  they thought that it would be all right
• 39:47
  for them to leave their wife.
• 39:51
  >> I'm going to tell you the truth tonight.
• 39:53
  That covenant you make, it ain't just
• 39:55
  before you and the magistrate.
• 39:59
  >> It's before God.
• 40:01
  >> And I say it every time I preach this
• 40:03
  because it's true. Amen. Just because
• 40:06
  the other party don't hold up therein
• 40:08
  does not mean that you are not obligated
• 40:10
  to.
• 40:14
  Say, "Preacher, it's awful easy to
• 40:16
  preach that when your life is fine. I
• 40:17
  want to tell you this. My life might
• 40:18
  blow up tomorrow."
• 40:20
  >> That's right.
• 40:20
  >> We ain't above sin, are we? Only Alan
• 40:23
  Mark says, "One way to live above sin is
• 40:24
  to build your house above a beer joint.
• 40:27
  >> You ain't above it. I'm not above it
• 40:29
  tonight. Any of us could be involved in
• 40:31
  anything."
• 40:32
  >> But the truth is tonight, friend, it
• 40:34
  does not change the command of that
• 40:36
  book. And if I fail to keep it, it does
• 40:38
  not change the truth. If you fail to
• 40:40
  keep it, it does not change the truth.
• 40:42
  The truth is the truth. And I'm going to
• 40:44
  tell you TONIGHT ONE MORE TIME BECAUSE
• 40:46
  GOD COMMANDS IT TONIGHT. THE SIN OF
• 40:48
  SODOM, THE HOLD OF SODOM IS GREAT. IT'S
• 40:51
  AS GREAT IN THIS DAY AS IT'S EVER BEEN.
• 40:53
  AND IT'S HIGH TIME SOME PEOPLE BREAK THE
• 40:56
  CHAIN. ALLOW GOD TO DELIVER YOU TO SET
• 40:59
  YOU FREE BECAUSE YOU NEED LIBERTY. YOU
• 41:01
  NEED FREEDOM. AND I WANT TO TELL YOU THE
• 41:03
  ONLY WAY YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE IT IS IF
• 41:05
  YOU SURRENDER YOUR LIFE TO GOD. JOKE
• 41:07
  YOUR PRIDE AND PUT IT ALL ON THE ALTAR
• 41:10
  AND SAY, "LORD, I WANT NOTHING ELSE BUT
• 41:12
  YOU."
• 41:15
  >> YOU SAY, "PREACHER, HOW I CAN'T LEAVE MY
• 41:17
  MARRIAGE." I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO LEAVE
• 41:18
  YOUR MARRIAGE. I'M ASKING YOU TO WALK
• 41:20
  AWAY FOR LONG ENOUGH TO THINK ABOUT GOD
• 41:23
  AND TO ASK WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT IT AND
• 41:25
  THEN GO BACK INTO IT AND HANDLE IT FROM
• 41:28
  THAT PERSPECTIVE.
• 41:29
  >> AMEN. I'm asking you to reconsider your
• 41:32
  children
• 41:34
  because the truth is you may have made
• 41:35
  it out of Sodom unscathed,
• 41:38
  but your children probably don't.
• 41:42
  >> We have kids classes tonight, but them
• 41:45
  kids teachers, it ain't their job to
• 41:46
  teach your children.
• 41:48
  >> That's right.
• 41:49
  >> And I'm thankful for our teachers
• 41:51
  tonight. But if you don't teach it at
• 41:53
  home, they're not going to get it here.
• 41:55
  That's right.
• 41:56
  >> Well, we hear that at church, but
• 41:59
  it just ain't at home. I'm tell you
• 42:01
  tonight, you better put you better make
• 42:02
  it at home,
• 42:04
  >> cuz if it's not, it'll destroy you.
• 42:07
  >> We can all agree on one thing tonight.
• 42:09
  The hold of Sodom is real.
• 42:12
  >> It's real. And I think it's manifest in
• 42:15
  those three things. You say, "How is
• 42:18
  that?" Well, I give you this and I'm
• 42:20
  done.
• 42:22
  We read a text Ecclesiastes
• 42:26
  the description
• 42:28
  of the sin of Sodom.
• 42:31
  God was talking to Jerusalem
• 42:35
  and this is what he said to Jerusalem
• 42:39
  in Ezekiel 16.
• 42:43
  He said in
• 42:45
  Ezekiel 2 to Jerusalem, I'm g find here
• 42:50
  chapter 16 verse number 47.
• 42:54
  Yet he verse 46. Thine elder sister
• 42:57
  sister is Samaria. She and her daughters
• 42:59
  that dwelleth thy left hand. Thy younger
• 43:02
  sister that dwelleth at thy right hand
• 43:03
  is Sodom and her daughters. Yet hast
• 43:06
  thou not walked after their ways, nor
• 43:08
  done after their abominations? But as if
• 43:10
  that were a very little thing, thou was
• 43:13
  corrupted more than they in all thy
• 43:14
  ways. As I live, sayeth the Lord God,
• 43:17
  Sodom thy sister hath not done. She nor
• 43:19
  her daughters as thou has done thou and
• 43:21
  thy daughters. Behold, this was the
• 43:23
  iniquity of thy sister Sodom. Listen to
• 43:26
  the list. Pride, fullness of bread.
• 43:30
  What's the next phrase? An abundance of
• 43:34
  idleness. What did we say? The first
• 43:36
  thing manifested itself was laziness.
• 43:40
  Notice the text. Abundance of violence
• 43:42
  was in her and in her daughters. Neither
• 43:44
  did she strengthen the hand of the poor
• 43:46
  and needy, those that were lost. Verse
• 43:49
  50. And they were haughty and committed
• 43:51
  abomination before me. There's your
• 43:53
  defilement.
• 43:54
  The Bible describes that as the sin of
• 43:56
  Sodom. And you know what Lot did? His
• 43:59
  family did every bit of that while they
• 44:01
  were out. You don't have to be in Sodom
• 44:04
  to be Sodom.
• 44:05
  That's right.
• 44:08
  >> You say, "How is that?" Well, we got
• 44:09
  sodomites all over this country.
• 44:12
  >> Yeah.
• 44:13
  >> Full of them. And I ain't talking about
• 44:15
  just homosexuals either.
• 44:17
  >> You know what? Modern day churches are
• 44:19
  full of sodomites. You say, "What is
• 44:20
  that?" Lazy people.
• 44:22
  >> Yeah. Amen.
• 44:24
  >> Lazy people. That was the reason why
• 44:26
  they were like that. Lazy. God ain't
• 44:29
  never blessed a lazy man.
• 44:30
  >> No.
• 44:32
  >> Not because of his works. He might bless
• 44:33
  him in spite of him, but he ain't never
• 44:34
  blessed him for anything he's done.
• 44:37
  Truth is, tonight when I think about
• 44:39
  this, I think about the fact that this
• 44:41
  thing hits a lot closer to home than
• 44:43
  what we realize it.
• 44:45
  Cuz you know what? You've heard it said,
• 44:47
  "Well, everybody's got a lazy streak in
• 44:49
  them." You know what that is? That's
• 44:52
  flesh.
• 44:54
  >> That's wicked.
• 44:57
  >> Say, "How is that, preacher? I got to
• 44:58
  rest." Well, that's not laziness.
• 45:01
  Rest is not laziness. You know what
• 45:03
  laziness is? Is not doing what you're
• 45:05
  supposed to be doing when you're
• 45:06
  supposed to be doing it.
• 45:08
  >> Did you hear what I just said?
• 45:10
  >> The Bible said in the book of 2 Samuel,
• 45:12
  at the time when kings go forth to
• 45:14
  battle, David was at home,
• 45:16
  >> asleep. You know what he was? He was
• 45:18
  lazy.
• 45:19
  >> He was supposed to be on the
• 45:20
  battlefield. Where was he at? He's in
• 45:21
  the bed.
• 45:22
  >> And because of that,
• 45:24
  >> he doomed his family.
• 45:26
  >> That's right.
• 45:27
  >> I mean, we could go on and on and on
• 45:28
  tonight. But the truth is sin of Sodom
• 45:31
  and strong. You better get it out.
• 45:34
  Father,
• 45:36
  I ask you tonight, Lord, would you
• 45:37
  please?
• 45:39
  I don't know what's here. I I honestly
• 45:41
  believe tonight from my heart, I
• 45:43
  honestly believe tonight that I'm
• 45:45
  preaching to the choir, Lord. I do.
• 45:49
  But God, the truth is I know my own
• 45:52
  heart, Lord, that there is wickedness in
• 45:54
  all of us. And God, we need to repent.
• 45:58
  God, every day we must die to self, to
• 46:02
  sin, and to Satan and give ourselves to
• 46:06
  you a fresh and a new. And Lord, I pray
• 46:07
  if there's somebody here tonight needs
• 46:09
  to do that, they would take this time
• 46:10
  and do that. And Lord, I ask you, God,
• 46:13
  for the rest of us, Lord, would you help
• 46:15
  us stay serious?
• 46:17
  God, would you help us stay devoted?
• 46:20
  Lord, would you help us stay involved?
• 46:23
  Because Lord, it's not just that we need
• 46:25
  to be busy at the workplace. Lord, we
• 46:26
  can be the best worker on the workplace,
• 46:28
  but the worst Christian.
• 46:31
  God, would you help us to be busy about
• 46:33
  your business, Lord? Help us to be
• 46:35
  serious about your work. Help us to be
• 46:38
  involved in your ministry.
• 46:43
  Lord, I love you tonight. And Lord, I
• 46:45
  pray you'd please keep your servant from
• 46:47
  evil. God, as I ask you each day, Lord,
• 46:50
  that you would protect my mind. I pray
• 46:51
  that even now you would protect it,
• 46:53
  Lord, because I know that the enemy
• 46:54
  wants to take it away. And Lord, I pray
• 46:56
  for the minds of these precious people,
• 46:59
  Lord, that you would keep these dads and
• 47:00
  these husbands strong, Father, and the
• 47:02
  Lord, gird up the loins of their mind.
• 47:04
  And God, that their wives might be able
• 47:06
  to trust in them and rest in them. And
• 47:08
  Lord, for the ones that don't have that,
• 47:10
  God, I pray for these women that have
• 47:11
  been strong, Lord, in spite of those
• 47:13
  around them not being strong, I pray
• 47:15
  that you would doubly bless them
• 47:16
  tonight. And God, I pray for these
• 47:18
  children, these young people, God, these
• 47:21
  young people in here, and the children,
• 47:22
  God, that's in the classes tonight.
• 47:24
  Lord, would you please guard our little
• 47:25
  ones minds? God, I can't imagine what
• 47:28
  they're faced with at school each day.
• 47:30
  God, would you please protect their mind
• 47:33
  and Lord? Help us to do all that we can
• 47:36
  to raise them in the right way to show
• 47:38
  them the light of the gospel while
• 47:40
  they're in this place. Help us to be
• 47:42
  close to you. Lord, I love you. Thank
• 47:44
  you for your grace and ask it all in
• 47:46
  Jesus name. God's children are said,
• 47:49
  >> "Amen." Thank you for being
• 47:51
  >> Thank you for joining our service
• 47:52
  [music] today. We'd love it if you join
• 47:54
  us in person the next time you are able
• 47:56
  at Meadows Baptist Church. Our [music]
• 47:59
  physical address is 2988
• 48:02
  Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North
• 48:04
  Carolina. Our service times are Sunday
• 48:07
  school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning
• 48:09
  worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday [music]
• 48:11
  evening worship at 6:00 p.m. and
• 48:14
  Wednesday evening Bible study at 700
• 48:16
  p.m. For more [music] information, visit
• 48:19
  us at meadowsbaptisturch.com.
• 48:21
  Thanks again for tuning in.
• 48:24
  [music]