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Advent Productions

Benjamin Ng

Remember Lot’s Wife

Father in heaven, thank you so much for being with us throughout this Sabbath day.

Thank you, Lord, for watching over us, guiding and leading us.

And once more, Lord, I know that you're never tired of bless your children.

And Lord, we studied last night that you are so willing to give your Holy Spirit to your children.

And so we're pleading for another portion of your Holy Spirit, a double portion in fact, that you would inspire our hearts and our minds as we look into a very familiar story that you would speak to our hearts and guide us, we pray in Jesus name, Amen.

If you've not already guessed from the description or the title that you've seen coming in, let's turn our Bibles to Luke chapter 17, verse 32, from where we get our sermon title this evening.

It's not as short as what you find in John 11, where Jesus wept, but it is close, it comes second.

Luke chapter 17 verse 32 the Bible says, remember Lot's wife.

She is famous for turning back and looking at Sodom when God was pouring out that fire and she turned into a pillar of salt.

You know Jesus is the 1 that reminds us here of this unfortunate incident and there are lessons for us to learn from it this evening as we go back into the Old Testament and look at what happened and how it is and the circumstances that led up to this point for Lot's wife to be turned into a pillar of salt.

Genesis chapter 13 and we're gonna start there in verse 1.

Genesis chapter 13, we're starting in verse 1.

Please turn with me in your Bibles, let's follow along.

Verse 1, and Abraham went out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had and Lot with him into the south.

And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

And he went on his journeys from the south, even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai, unto the place of the altar which he had made there at the first.

And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

And Lot also went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents, and the land was not able to bear them that they might dwell together, for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

And there was strife between the herdmen of Abraham's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle, and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land." You know, friends, Abraham had been blessed.

He was the 1 that was inheritor of God's promise and he was the 1 that went out, but Lot, his nephew, tagged along.

And It came to this point when the land was not able to support both of them.

There began to be strife between the herdmen of Lot and the herdmen of Abram.

The Bible says here in verse 7, that the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

Always, always, always, the world is watching on to see how God's children deal with each other.

Between Abraham and Lot, there was strife.

And there the Canaanite and the Perizzite were watching, seeing what would happen.

Verse 8, And Abram said unto Lot, let there be no strife.

I pray thee between me and thee and between my herdmen and thy herdmen, for we be what?

It was uncle and nephew situation, but yet Abraham brought himself down to the level of Lot and he says, we are brothers, let's not fight.

Verse 9, is not the whole land before thee separate thyself I pray thee from me.

If thou will take the left hand, then I'll go to the right.

Or without a part to the right hand, Then I will go to the left, and Lot lifted up his eyes, and behold all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zor.

Then Lot chose them all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves 1 from the other.

Abram, the uncle, he was older than Lot, And yet he allowed Lot, the younger 1, to choose first.

How many of us would have acted differently, How many of us would have said, hey, I have the right, I'm older, my children, well, if he didn't have children at that time, But if he did, he would have said, look, my children are the same level as you.

You know, respect is a very big thing in Eastern culture, which is very similar to the Jewish culture, you know.

But yet Abraham said, you choose first, and wherever you go, I'll go opposite.

It was like the Garden of Eden, the Bible says.

That's how fertile this land was, even like Egypt.

Verse 12, Abraham dwelled in the land of Canaan and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent towards Sodom.

But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." Friends, he wasn't in Sodom yet, but This was the first step that he took in a downward spiral that was wrong.

He wasn't there yet, but eventually he would end up living in the city of Sodom.

And friends, that's the first step that he took in the wrong direction as he began to look for the modern conveniences as he pitched his tent toward that direction.

At this time, Jesus is met with Abraham and he told him his plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and he's been pleading and pleading and he brought that number down to 10 and said, God, please don't destroy Sodom if there is 10 righteous people there.

And the angels have come into the city, 2 of them, ready to warn Lot about what God is about to do.

And look at verse 15, Genesis chapter 19 and verse 15.

And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy 2 daughters, which are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand and upon the hand of his wife and upon the hand of his 2 daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him.

And they brought him forth and set him without the city." You know, he lingered to obey.

God had already decided he was going to destroy that whole Sodom and Gomorrah and here was Lot.

The angels had to come in themselves and take hold of Lot with their own hands and drag them, it seemed, out of the city unwilling to leave Sodom and Gomorrah.

Maybe because he still had children in the city.

He had gone and begged for them to follow him, but they just laughed at him, thinking that he was crazy and an old foolish man.

Maybe he didn't think that God would really destroy the city while he was yet in it.

Maybe he had so many possessions in Sodom that he was trying to think how he could carry all of it out with him.

Sodom was tied to his heart, dear friends.

Do you have things in your life that is making it hard for you to follow Jesus and you're hesitating?

Maybe some of us will be so tied to our lands and our houses.

You know, Ellen White says that there will be some that will be perishing with their gold and their silver at the end of time, you know.

Have you come to this point where maybe the world has tied you down so much that even though your greatest desire is to follow Jesus and you want to get out of the city or you want to leave your job or whatever it is, it's very difficult for you to do that.

The angels had to come in and drag him out.

And so that was his second step in this downward spiral that would eventually lead to Jesus saying, remember, Lot's wife.

We're still in Genesis chapter 19, now in verse 17.

The Bible says, and it came to pass when they had brought forth abroad, been brought them forth abroad, that he said, escape for thy life.

Look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain.

Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

This was the directive that the angels gave to Lot.

I mean, if an angel messenger came to me and said such a thing, Wow, how I would have been quick to obey.

But look at what Lot says in reply, verse 18.

And Lot said unto them, O not so, my lord!

Behold now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life.

And I cannot escape to this mountain lest some evil take me and I die can you believe it Lot says to the angel oh no I can't go to the mountain in case some evil overtakes me and I die there.

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Remember Lot’s Wife

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