Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Genesis

Genesis 19:17-38 08/11/02

Intro: Pastor Rex Bonar tells this story.

 'The flying Wallendas are perhaps the world's greatest family of aerialists and tightrope walkers. Karl Wallenda had a great capacity for concentration on the intention, the task before him. But Karl Wallenda fell to his death while walking a tightrope without a safety net between two high-rise buildings in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 
    Wallenda's wife said that before her husband had fallen, for the first time since she had known him, he had been concentrating on falling, instead of on walking the tightrope. He had personally supervised the attachment of the guide wires, which he had never done before.'

Exp:    Often the difference between success and failure, between life and death, between experiencing the blessing or the judgment of God is the direction we're looking.

    This morning we are going to see:

      -four different people; Lot, Lot's wife, Abraham and Lot's daughters,
     -the four directions in which they looked,
     -the four resulting consequences to the direction of their gaze
     -and what it was that motivated them to look in that direction.

     It will be your challenge this morning to take a close, intentional gaze at the direction of your life, and then take an even deeper look at what is motivating your walk in that direction.  Because, what you will discover just may be the difference between success or failure in life, between experiencing God's blessing or judgment, and yes, perhaps even between life or death, for you and those you love.

Read: Genesis 19:17-22

Lot Looks Around

     Lot is back to his old tricks. The angels say look Lot, you can't stay here, it will be your death, and the death of your family. Flee, run, get out of here, go to the mountains where you will be safe. Go! I am sure you are thinking what I was thinking, if it were me, I would have been outta there. You wouldn't have to tell me twice. But, not Lot. I find it amazing that in the throws of a disaster that has not been experienced since the Great Flood, Lot was arguing with the angels who were trying to save him. Let me go to the city of Zoar.

     Here we have Lot looking around again and thinking: 'There is no comfort in the mountains, there is no wealth to be had in the mountains, I did pretty well in the city, Zoar is a small city and I won't get into trouble there. Let me go to Zoar.'

     The direction of Lot's gaze was motivated by comfort and wealth. You see, that was where his heart was. Once again
         instead of looking up to God,
         instead of trusting and listening to God's messengers, the angels,
         instead of finding blessing from God,

     he made a slight modification to Frank Sinatra's song. Lot sang..'I want it my way'. And it was his downfall.

 I want you to notice something. The angels grant Lot's request. Isn't that something? They let him go to Zoar instead of the mountains. They let him have it his way. And God may do the same for you. He may let you experience Burger King Christianity ...you remember the jingle 'Hold the Pickle hold the lettuce special orders won't upset us'? Well some Christians modify it just a bit.  'Hold the tithing, hold the service more than Sunday you won't get us'.

     God will often let us have it our way. But don't ask where God is when you get in a pickle. Remember it was you who climbed into the barrel.  It was your choice to look around at the world instead of looking up to God in the first place.

     Look closely and honestly. Do you and Lot have a lot in common? When presented with a choice in life, and we are presented with hundreds everyday, is your first reaction to look around: for wealth, power, security, or comfort or how this decision will benefit me?

     Or do you look to God, His Word and the prompting of the Holy Spirit? To how this decision will honor God?

     The direction you look and the decisions you make, reveal your true heart before God. And know this, just as surely as I am standing here this morning,  it will effect those you love as well.

Read: Genesis 19:23-26

     Lot may have argued that his little sins of compromise like we looked at 2 weeks ago, may not have hurt anyone.
 But that was not true. Lot's wife was influenced by Lot's sin, by the compromises to his faith.

     Everyone, Lot, Mrs Lot and Lot's daughters were all told the same thing, to flee this sinful place and not to look back. Well, Mrs Lot's direction was motivated by what Sodom offered and she did what many of us do, look back instead of looking up to Christ.

     We look back on the good ole days, we glamorize the past, especially when the present is not to our liking. We look back to what could have, should have and ought to have been, if only different decisions were made. And we loose sight of present realities.

     Jesus in Luke 17 warned the people of his time to remember Lot's wife. He told them to follow him, look to him instead of to the things of the past.  And He is telling you, all of us, the same thing today. Don't look to the past, it's gone, done, over with, let it go. Look to Christ, and follow Him.
 
    Listen. Lot's wife perished even though God warned her. The message he gave was plain and she heard and understood it. BUT, she refused to obey it and she paid the consequences.

Read: Genesis 19:27-29

 In the midst of Lot's family looking around and looking back, we are reminded that there is another direction to look..up. This text shows us the reason why Lot and his family were spared the destruction of Sodom. The direction of Abraham's gaze was motivated by the character of God. Abraham knew that God would not destroy the righteous with the wicked.

     It was because Abraham looked up to God that Lot was spared. Vs 27-29 are here to show us what can happen when we don't look around, when we don't look back.  When we look up to God, God hears, answers and God blesses.

 The text never says that Abraham knew that Lot was saved from the destruction of Sodom. But I believe he knew it, because He believed God keeps his promises.

     Lot, Lot's wife and as we will see his daughters all looked in the wrong direction because their hearts were motivated by something other than honoring God. Abraham looked to God because his heart was full of the presence of God.

     The choice seems simple. Whose your role model...whose example are you following...Lot and his family or Abraham?

Read: Genesis 19:30-38

 Lot didn't think his little sins, his compromises with the world would hurt anyone. Be assured, the sins of the father, or the mother, do have an effect on the children.  What did Lot's children learn from the sin and faith compromises of their father?

     Remember Lot's response to the men surrounding his home in Sodom? Here, take my two virgin daughters and do what you want to them only don't hurt my guests....morality (keeping his daughters sexually pure) is set aside for practicality (protecting his guests).

     Once Lot's daughters saw the situation they were in, (no eligible bachelors on the mountain) they looked to themselves for an answer. They would sacrifice morality for practicality...our fiancés are dead, we are in a cave all alone and we must have children to keep the family name going. Why not get pregnant by good old dad...morality is set aside for practicality.

     Come on pastor, what are you saying? Certainly we are not like Lot. And our children would not go to this extreme even if we do compromise our faith. You may be right. But how just far are you willing to let them go? Just how far can they push the bounds of morality before it is too far?

 Do you know what?

     Unless you change your behaviors and attitudes,
     Unless you stop making compromises with the world,
     Unless you refuse to allow little occasional sins to be practiced in your life...

     You will have no control over where your children place moral, spiritual or ethical boundaries.

     What are you going to do? I told you there would be some soul searching this morning.

Conclusion

 We are disgusted and appalled by the behavior of Lot's daughters..aren't we? But what about Lot. He let his daughters get him drunk and have sex with him. I don't care how drunk you are, you would know you were having sex with your daughters. Lot knew, but he no longer cared.

    Do you care? Then understand that even though the sin we commit before our children may not be anywhere as bad as what Lot did. It is still sin.

     Lot had allowed his little sins, his once in a while sins, his compromises with the world to form a pattern in his life. It made an impression on his heart and his heart directed his gaze away from faith and God. Now his life is one of utter disgrace and misery.

     Let us take notice of the direction we are looking..and heading in life or Lot's life of faith compromise may become a pattern for our own. And remember, your loved ones are watching you. They will be effected by what they see, by the direction you are moving in life and by what motivates you to look in that direction.