I would like to
welcome every one of you to the
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3ABN Worship Center right here
in beautiful southern Illinois.
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It's always a joy to have
our 3ABN family to be a part of
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these special
events that we have.
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And you know, we have
3ABN viewers from television,
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we have 3ABN
listeners from 3ABN radio,
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and we just
welcome every one of you.
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You know, today we are
continuing in our series,
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of our, Pillars Of Faith.
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And Pastor John
Lomacang is our speaker.
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And the name of his series
is, The Anatomy of a Crisis.
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This is the third sermon
that he's done in this series.
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The first one was,
The Crisis in Heaven.
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Then the second one,
The Crisis in the Garden.
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And we're continuing today
with, The Crisis in the Family.
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And it's always an
honor for me to be able
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to introduce Pastor Lomacang.
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He's my pastor.
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And he's the pastor of the
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Thompsonville
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
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who happens to be here
in the 3ABN Worship Center.
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But not only is
Pastor Lomacang my pastor,
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I'm honored to
call him my friend.
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And so he's going to be
coming out here in just a moment
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to share the crisis
that's in the family.
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And we know that's a
real issue and a problem
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in the world today.
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But before he comes out, I want
to share the scripture reading
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before I share the prayer.
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The scripture
reading is Luke 17:32.
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And the
scripture reading is this,
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"Remember Lot's wife."
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Now let's pray and ask
God, by the power of His Spirit,
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to touch every one of our
hearts to draw us into a closer
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relationship with Him and
be conformed to His image.
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Father, I praise
You and I thank You
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for the power that's in
Your Word to work a good work
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within each one of us.
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And I thank You, Father,
for the gift and the calling
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that You have placed
upon Pastor Lomacang's life.
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And I ask now, oh Father,
that You would stir up that gift
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that is within him.
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Let that anointing
flow forth and touch
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every one of our hearts.
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I pray for every person
that's listening to this sermon,
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and every person
that's watching and viewing,
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Father, that You would
touch all of our hearts.
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Open us up, oh God,
and let us be vessels
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that You can flow through;
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vessels, Lord, that
will hear Your word,
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receive Your word,
change and be conformed
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to Your very image and likeness.
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And we praise You
and thank You for it.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
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Now I invite
Pastor Lomacang to come.
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Pastor, we
certainly do welcome you.
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Thank you, Mollie.
Thank you very much.
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And thank you,
friends, for joining us for this
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continued series, The
Anatomy of the Crisis.
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Surely we live in a world
that's replete with crises
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of every description.
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And the crisis in the
family is no less important than
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all the other crises that we
face and talked about thus far.
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And I asked Mollie to pray
for us today, and I'm going to
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allow that pray
to be sufficient.
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But as I get into the
message, I want you to put your
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thinking caps on today
because the scripture reading
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is one of the
shortest verses in the Bible.
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The only one that
challenges it is, "Jesus Wept."
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This is a verse with
only three words in it.
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"Remember Lot's wife."
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And when you approach
the scriptures, you discover
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that nothing inflames the
desire of a preacher more than
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trying to discover
what those three words mean.
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Every word has a very
significant meaning behind it.
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"Remember," for example.
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You find the Bible replete
with the word, "remember."
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"Remember the Creator
in the days of thy youth."
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"Remember the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy."
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The thief says to
Jesus, "Remember me when
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You come into Your kingdom."
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And it screams at us, to say
to us, it is of utmost eternal
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importance when the
Bible says to remember,
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that we not forget.
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And so, not only is
the word, "remember,"
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included in the
verse, but the name of a man.
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"Lot"
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And I would say, when
you consider how the story
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of Lot's life unfolds,
Lot was in a lot of trouble.
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And so today we're
going to see our families,
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whatever the
description of your family,
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whether American, or from
Australia, or from New Guinea,
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or from the Caribbean,
or from the Philippines,
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wherever you may be from, you
could be from Mexico or Canada,
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wherever you're from, you might
see the anatomy of the crisis
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that may have come or can
be forming in your family.
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And hopefully you can receive
the instruction of God's word
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to find a way around the crisis.
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And truly, the only
way around any crisis
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is by the blood of Jesus.
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The third word in
this short scripture,
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Luke 17:32, is, "wife."
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After being married 32 years,
going on 33, I can honestly say
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that the wife you choose,
or the wife that chooses you,
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can either enhance your
life or destroy your life.
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The mate that you choose,
the husband that you choose,
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the spouse that you
choose, can either enhance
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or turn your life into a
life long experience of misery.
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And so we're going to
see so many components
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in this sermon today.
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"Remember..." Do not forget
when God says, "remember."
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"Lot..." Who are you and what
impact do your decisions have
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on your spouse?
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And may of you know
the end of the story,
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but I'll hold onto that so that
I can release that later on.
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And then your spouse, the wife.
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What did she do that
has been forever chronicled
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in the pages of God's Word?
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Now Lot was not by himself.
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Lot was the cousin of a
man by the name of Abram,
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who later on by God's grace
changed his name to Abraham.
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Abram and Lot were
richly blessed by the Lord.
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For a time they lived
in the land of Canaan.
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But because they were
blessed with the abundance
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of livestock, there was often
strife between their herdsmen.
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The herdsmen of Lot
fought against the herdsmen
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of Abram, his cousin.
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And in order for
the purpose of peace,
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Abram decided to
make a suggestion.
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He says, his family...
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And you'll discover this
sometimes, some of the most
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difficult situations to navigate
is strife in the family.
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I mean, think
about that for a moment.
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The Bible says a man's foes will
be those of his own household.
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And so we know today
there's family disputes,
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there's family
division, family strife.
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One person hates the
other, the other one is not
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talking to the other.
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There are individuals
in families that haven't
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spoken for years.
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And often times, something
that could be easily handled
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by a friend, a job or a
co-worker, or someone that
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you are casually acquainted
with, can become a major crisis
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in your family.
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Often times we
treat strangers better
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than we treat family members.
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I remember saying to one
person that I know very well
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that was a family member,
and I knew that this individual
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had a temper, and I
said to that person, I said,
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"Treat me like a stranger."
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Because I noticed that
whenever they met a stranger,
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they always put
their best foot forward.
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They always smiled,
they were always cordial.
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If the stranger made a mistake,
they were very quick to forgive.
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And I said, "I'd like you
to treat me like a stranger."
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And they said,
"What do you mean?"
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I said, "I've noticed
you are kinder to strangers
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than you are to your family.
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You hold them to
such a strict standard.
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You appear as though you
are the only one that's perfect
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in the family, and no one
can make a faulty decision."
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And so we see that
Abram decided, "In order for
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our family to be low on
strife and high on unity,
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we've got to make a decision."
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They could not solve the
decision among the people
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that worked for them, for
there was constant strife.
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Sometimes their cattle
herds were intermingled
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and they argued whose
sheep belonged to whom,
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for whose cow belonged to whom,
or whose goat belonged to whom.
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And so they made a
decision, found in Genesis 13:9.
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Abram said to Lot, his
cousin, "If you take the left,
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then I will go to the right.
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Or if you go to the right,
then I will go to the left."
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In other words,
"Whatever direction you go,
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I'm going to go in
the opposite direction."
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And some of you
feel that way today.
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Some of you say to
your family members,
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"Wherever you're
going, I'm not going.
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Wherever I'm going, I'm
not inviting you to go."
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Because of the conditions
that exist in our hearts,
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our families are often
at odds with each other.
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Sometimes you have a family that
you work with every day at work.
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And you find that
wherever certain people are,
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you don't want to be there.
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Have you ever felt that before?
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There are some individuals
in our family circles
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that the moment we
see them coming, feelings
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of discomfort begin
to rise in our spirit
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and we begin to imagine
what kind of conversation
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we're going to have.
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There are some family
members that are always sick
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no matter what the doctor does.
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There are some family
members that are always begging
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for money no matter
how much money they get.
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There are some family members
that are always finding fault
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with someone else because
they're not taking the time
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to look at themselves.
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And so Abram said to Lot,
"We need to make decisions
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to have a better family life.
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And until that happens, you go
left, I promise I will go right.
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You go right, I
promise I will go left."
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And so Lot
exercised his right to choose.
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And the Bible said
in Genesis 13:11-12,
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"Then Lot chose for himself
all the plain of Jordan..."
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He looked out at what
God had laid before him
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and he chose all
the plain of Jordan.
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And it continues in
verses 11 and 12 of Genesis 13,
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"...and Lot journeyed east.
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And they
separated from each other.
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Abram dwelt in
the land of Canaan,
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and Lot dwelt in the
cities of the plain and pitched
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his tent even as far as Sodom."
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When I read that
scripture, I thought to myself,
00:11:17.24\00:11:19.14
what does the Bible
mean, "even as far as Sodom"?
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What that means is, it
was obviously understood that
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Sodom was such a city that
the farther away from that city
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that you can remain, the better.
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But Abram decided that
he was going to the west,
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obviously because Lot
decided to go to the east.
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They went in
opposite directions.
00:11:38.13\00:11:39.46
And Lot risked the future of
his family by going even as far
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away from Abram
as the city of Sodom.
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In other words, if you
begin to understand the context
00:11:50.84\00:11:53.54
of the story, the very
influences of Sodom began to
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leak into the family of Lot.
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His children, his wife,
his sons, his daughters.
00:12:00.52\00:12:04.99
Obviously, the people that
worked for him were affected
00:12:05.02\00:12:07.86
by the city of Sodom.
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They went as far as Sodom.
00:12:10.13\00:12:13.13
You know, there's a
point I want to make
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that I don't want you to forget.
00:12:14.63\00:12:15.96
The environment we choose
will influence our family.
00:12:16.23\00:12:21.20
The place we choose to live,
the city we choose to live in,
00:12:21.60\00:12:26.21
the environment we choose
to establish our families in,
00:12:26.37\00:12:29.71
will, without mistake,
affect our family life.
00:12:29.74\00:12:33.75
I mean, there's
no two ways about it.
00:12:33.78\00:12:35.52
It's not possible to live
in darkness and find light.
00:12:35.75\00:12:39.99
It's not possible
to live in degradation
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and find exalted righteousness.
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It's not possible to live
in a city laden by corruption
00:12:44.96\00:12:49.46
and find peace.
00:12:49.63\00:12:51.00
Lot chose the city
that would inevitably impact
00:12:51.23\00:12:55.84
those three words,
"Remember Lot's wife."
00:12:55.97\00:12:59.44
You know, we're told about
the importance of the company
00:12:59.47\00:13:01.98
we choose in 1
Corinthians 15:33.
00:13:02.01\00:13:05.15
Look at that verse
with me. Look at it.
00:13:05.31\00:13:07.02
The Bible says,
"Do not be deceived."
00:13:07.35\00:13:09.65
Very powerful.
00:13:09.68\00:13:11.02
"Evil company
corrupts good habits."
00:13:11.05\00:13:16.02
When I was being
raise, my mother would say,
00:13:16.19\00:13:17.86
"Choose your friends wisely."
00:13:17.89\00:13:19.29
And I'd say, "Why?"
00:13:19.33\00:13:20.66
She's say, "Because all
friends are not always friends."
00:13:20.70\00:13:23.00
All the people that you
associate with are not always
00:13:23.20\00:13:26.30
thinking the best for you.
00:13:26.97\00:13:28.50
Some people get close
to you to find out ways of
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bringing you down.
00:13:32.34\00:13:33.68
Some people get close to you
just to become jealous of you.
00:13:33.84\00:13:38.48
Be careful.
00:13:38.51\00:13:39.85
"Evil company
corrupts good habits."
00:13:39.88\00:13:42.88
Pray about the people
you choose as friends.
00:13:42.92\00:13:46.76
Because not everybody that says
they're a friend is a friend.
00:13:46.79\00:13:49.89
Matter of fact, the
way that you can examine
00:13:49.92\00:13:51.86
whether or not a
person really is a friend
00:13:51.89\00:13:53.50
is if they risk telling you
things that you need to hear
00:13:53.63\00:13:57.67
rather than things
that you want to hear.
00:13:57.70\00:14:00.20
Matter of fact, the
wise man Solomon said,
00:14:00.34\00:14:02.47
"Faithful are the
wounds of a friend,
00:14:03.64\00:14:06.34
but the kisses of an
enemy are deceitful."
00:14:06.37\00:14:10.25
Look at scripture up in
the book of Ecclesiastes.
00:14:10.28\00:14:12.41
"Faithful are the
wounds of a friend,
00:14:12.51\00:14:14.18
but the kisses of an
enemy are deceitful."
00:14:14.28\00:14:16.85
Sometimes our friends will
tell us something that hurts us,
00:14:16.99\00:14:20.52
but they want to
give us direction for the
00:14:20.99\00:14:24.33
blessings of our lives.
00:14:24.36\00:14:25.73
But our enemies will
tell us what we want to hear.
00:14:25.76\00:14:28.76
You know what
somebody once said?
00:14:28.86\00:14:30.80
You can always tell who
your friends really are.
00:14:31.23\00:14:33.70
Friends continue to stay with
you when all of your possessions
00:14:34.10\00:14:39.97
and your money is exhausted.
00:14:40.01\00:14:41.38
But people that are
not really your friends,
00:14:41.41\00:14:43.45
they are there
for your possessions,
00:14:43.48\00:14:45.01
for your
finances, for your money.
00:14:45.05\00:14:46.98
And when that's
exhausted, they're gone.
00:14:47.02\00:14:48.95
But a true friend will be
with you, will support you,
00:14:48.98\00:14:52.72
will hang around you, will
be the person you can lean on
00:14:52.75\00:14:56.06
even when you are at the
lowest point of your life.
00:14:56.09\00:14:59.53
And some family
members are that very same way.
00:14:59.66\00:15:02.20
You can trust them,
you can rely on them,
00:15:02.23\00:15:05.07
you can call on them,
because their great interest
00:15:05.10\00:15:08.14
is a relationship
between you and themselves.
00:15:08.17\00:15:11.04
What a city Sodom was.
00:15:11.77\00:15:13.44
If you look at history
and read what archaeologists
00:15:13.68\00:15:16.31
are beginning to discover about
this location of the world,
00:15:16.34\00:15:19.25
some are saying that it was the
most beautiful among the cities
00:15:20.72\00:15:23.18
of the Jordan valley.
00:15:23.22\00:15:24.55
All year long it was
fertile with vegetation.
00:15:24.75\00:15:28.02
Abundant gardens,
and even tropical plants
00:15:28.06\00:15:31.33
were in the city of Sodom.
00:15:31.36\00:15:32.79
It is said that some people,
as gifts, brought certain plants
00:15:32.83\00:15:36.10
that could not naturally
survive in other parts of the
00:15:36.13\00:15:39.63
Jordan plain but they did
survive in the city of Sodom.
00:15:39.67\00:15:42.94
So Sodom was blessed with
plants that could not exist
00:15:42.97\00:15:46.04
in other regions,
but somehow would thrive
00:15:46.07\00:15:48.48
in the city of Sodom.
00:15:48.51\00:15:49.84
Sodom was covered
with flocks and herds.
00:15:50.61\00:15:52.85
The hills that surrounded
this great metropolis,
00:15:52.88\00:15:55.85
Sodom and
Gomorrah, the sister cities,
00:15:55.88\00:15:58.05
were abundant
with flocks and herd.
00:15:58.25\00:16:01.06
The influence of the city, art
and strong industrial commerce,
00:16:01.26\00:16:05.69
encircled this proud city.
00:16:06.06\00:16:08.03
If I could make some comparison
today, it would be like
00:16:08.06\00:16:10.33
New York City, or
Chicago, or Los Angeles,
00:16:10.37\00:16:13.74
or Denver,
Colorado, or Paris, or London.
00:16:13.77\00:16:18.47
Major cities. Australia, Dubai.
00:16:18.51\00:16:21.64
Major cities where there
was no shortage of anything.
00:16:21.68\00:16:25.61
Strong industrial commerce.
00:16:25.75\00:16:28.68
Not only that,
according to archaeology
00:16:28.98\00:16:31.72
the treasures of the
east adorned her palaces.
00:16:31.75\00:16:35.02
Some of the most
beautifully lavished structures
00:16:35.06\00:16:37.69
were in the city of Sodom.
00:16:37.73\00:16:39.06
Gorgeous buildings,
lavished with gold and silver
00:16:39.09\00:16:42.60
and ornamentation.
00:16:42.63\00:16:43.97
And so Sodom was also a
city that not only had great
00:16:44.00\00:16:47.07
influence at the ground level,
but it was a city that attracted
00:16:47.10\00:16:50.81
the human eye.
00:16:50.84\00:16:52.17
When you walked among
its streets, when you looked
00:16:52.21\00:16:54.44
at its buildings that seemed
to have touched the skies,
00:16:54.48\00:16:57.71
you were influenced that
this was a city like no other.
00:16:57.75\00:17:01.38
Not only that, caravans...
00:17:02.78\00:17:05.02
I could use the word
today, trailer trucks.
00:17:05.12\00:17:07.29
...filled with goods
supplied her places of
00:17:07.39\00:17:10.63
trade day and night.
00:17:10.66\00:17:12.13
Sodom's highways were
synonymous with the freeways
00:17:12.16\00:17:15.80
that lead into the
large cities like New York,
00:17:15.83\00:17:18.30
Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
00:17:18.33\00:17:20.27
And everything that
the human heart desired,
00:17:20.47\00:17:23.14
everything that the
human heart could want,
00:17:23.61\00:17:26.11
could be found in Sodom.
00:17:26.47\00:17:28.31
But Sodom had a sister city.
00:17:28.84\00:17:30.61
Gomorrah.
00:17:31.25\00:17:32.58
And it matched her in
almost every category.
00:17:32.61\00:17:37.65
Listen to Luke 12:15.
00:17:38.15\00:17:40.29
When you ever get surrounded
by the things that seem to take
00:17:41.72\00:17:45.23
your attention away from
the important avenues of life,
00:17:45.26\00:17:47.80
don't forget this verse.
00:17:48.20\00:17:49.76
Luke 12:15
00:17:50.07\00:17:51.70
"And He said to them,"
that is Jesus speaking,
00:17:52.00\00:17:54.34
"Take heed and
beware of covetousness,
00:17:54.37\00:17:57.74
for one's life does not
consist in the abundance
00:17:57.84\00:18:01.21
of the things he possesses."
00:18:01.24\00:18:02.58
You see, it's
not what we possess,
00:18:02.74\00:18:04.81
but it's what possesses us.
00:18:04.85\00:18:06.31
Some people are
possessed by their possessions.
00:18:06.35\00:18:09.18
There's nothing wrong
with having possessions,
00:18:09.32\00:18:10.95
but don't let your
possessions possess you.
00:18:10.99\00:18:13.56
Sodom was the city that
possessed its inhabitants.
00:18:13.79\00:18:16.66
The possessions
possessed those who
00:18:16.76\00:18:18.69
possessed these possessions.
00:18:18.73\00:18:20.16
Try to say that five times.
00:18:20.20\00:18:21.80
That's the kind of city it was.
00:18:22.16\00:18:23.63
You could walk down the
streets and the store windows
00:18:23.67\00:18:25.73
were replete with
choices of every kind of item.
00:18:25.77\00:18:28.44
The competition
to sell was great.
00:18:28.47\00:18:30.57
And there was no
lack in this great city.
00:18:30.71\00:18:32.64
But the one thing that
this city lacked was the moral
00:18:32.67\00:18:35.74
fiber and character and
the exalted presence of God.
00:18:35.78\00:18:39.78
The record goes on to
say there was no problem
00:18:40.48\00:18:43.18
finding a job in Sodom.
00:18:43.22\00:18:44.55
Every walk of
life could be supplied.
00:18:44.59\00:18:46.49
And the whole year seemed
to be one round of festivity
00:18:46.69\00:18:50.63
and merrymaking.
00:18:50.99\00:18:52.43
Cities by
cities, county by county,
00:18:52.66\00:18:55.86
community by community.
00:18:55.90\00:18:58.00
These cities had every desire,
except a desire to know God.
00:18:58.03\00:19:03.64
Listen to Genesis 13:13 as
this city is further described.
00:19:03.77\00:19:10.35
"But..."
00:19:11.98\00:19:13.31
You notice that verse 13
begins with the word, "but."
00:19:13.35\00:19:16.05
Reversing what verse 12 says.
00:19:16.08\00:19:17.82
"But the men of Sodom
were exceedingly wicked
00:19:17.85\00:19:22.59
and sinful against the LORD."
00:19:22.62\00:19:24.96
A city with so much, but
it lacked the very element
00:19:25.09\00:19:27.96
that it needed.
00:19:28.00\00:19:29.33
The men were exceedingly
sinful and exceedingly wicked
00:19:29.36\00:19:33.84
against the Lord.
00:19:34.04\00:19:35.37
I grew up in New York City.
00:19:35.40\00:19:37.14
And I remember in my
younger days going to Manhattan
00:19:37.64\00:19:41.44
as a teenager, going
to Manhattan when I was
00:19:41.48\00:19:45.11
there in my twenties.
00:19:45.15\00:19:46.48
And there was a
particular street.
00:19:46.65\00:19:48.48
If you're a New
Yorker, you know it.
00:19:48.68\00:19:50.29
It was called 42nd Street,
between 8th Avenue and Broadway.
00:19:50.39\00:19:55.02
I would say it use to be the
wickedest street in the entire
00:19:55.22\00:20:04.53
city of New York.
00:20:04.57\00:20:05.90
42nd Street.
00:20:05.93\00:20:07.30
It was not wicked.
00:20:07.34\00:20:09.00
It was exceedingly wicked.
00:20:09.04\00:20:10.54
It was not sinful.
00:20:10.57\00:20:12.01
It was exceedingly sinful.
00:20:12.21\00:20:14.01
You could walk down that street
and people walked past you and
00:20:14.64\00:20:17.38
they'd try to sell you drugs.
00:20:17.41\00:20:18.88
I remember the
words they use to say.
00:20:18.98\00:20:20.48
"Coke and speed and THC."
00:20:20.52\00:20:22.78
Trying to inadvertently
sell their wares by telling you
00:20:22.82\00:20:27.96
the kind of drugs that
they had on their possession,
00:20:27.99\00:20:30.09
on their person,
to try to sell to you.
00:20:30.26\00:20:32.13
And it was hard to walk past
one smut shop after the other.
00:20:32.36\00:20:36.90
The billboards were
replete with immorality.
00:20:36.93\00:20:40.57
And people lined those cities.
00:20:40.67\00:20:42.97
Prostitutes and
pimps and drug pushers.
00:20:43.00\00:20:45.71
But somebody, the mayor
of the city of New York,
00:20:46.24\00:20:49.08
one day said,
"Enough is enough."
00:20:49.11\00:20:51.18
And they cleaned up that city.
00:20:51.21\00:20:53.08
Now when you go to New
York City, 42nd Street is now
00:20:53.11\00:20:55.78
synonymous, not with
wickedness and sinfulness,
00:20:55.82\00:20:58.22
but 42nd Street is now
looked at as a family street.
00:20:58.65\00:21:01.96
Family stores,
family entertainment.
00:21:02.32\00:21:05.23
They cleaned up all
the sinfulness and all the
00:21:05.36\00:21:08.66
wickedness of that city,
of that particular street.
00:21:08.70\00:21:11.87
Well, when the Bible says
that the men were exceedingly
00:21:12.57\00:21:14.64
wicked and sinful,
it describes clearly
00:21:14.67\00:21:17.31
what kind of men they were.
00:21:17.34\00:21:18.67
Romans 1:21-24
00:21:19.21\00:21:22.21
I'm turning in my Bible
there and I'm going to read
00:21:22.24\00:21:24.98
what the Bible says as it
describes the men of Sodom.
00:21:25.01\00:21:28.32
Romans 1:21-24
00:21:28.35\00:21:32.42
The Bible says, "...because,
although they knew God,
00:21:32.45\00:21:36.52
they did not glorify Him
as God, nor were thankful,
00:21:36.93\00:21:42.30
but became futile," or
vain, "in their thoughts,"
00:21:43.10\00:21:45.93
their imaginations, "and their
foolish hearts were darkened,"
00:21:45.97\00:21:50.21
the Bible says.
00:21:50.24\00:21:51.57
And then goes on to say,
"Professing themselves to be
00:21:51.61\00:21:54.14
wise, they became fools..."
00:21:54.18\00:21:55.84
A city of intellectual stamina.
00:21:55.88\00:21:57.91
A city of intellectual giants.
00:21:57.95\00:21:59.51
They thought they
were wise, but in fact,
00:21:59.55\00:22:01.52
when you put God out of
your wisdom, the Bible says
00:22:01.55\00:22:04.45
they became fools.
00:22:04.49\00:22:06.09
And notice what else
they did in verse 23.
00:22:06.62\00:22:09.09
"...and changed the
glory of the incorruptible God
00:22:09.12\00:22:12.09
into an image made
like corruptible man:
00:22:12.13\00:22:16.06
and birds and four-footed
animals and creeping things."
00:22:16.10\00:22:20.10
And verse 24,
"Therefore God also gave them up
00:22:20.20\00:22:23.94
to uncleanness, in
the lusts of their hearts,
00:22:23.97\00:22:28.61
to dishonor their
bodies among themselves..."
00:22:28.71\00:22:33.25
You know, I want to
just say this very carefully.
00:22:33.55\00:22:35.72
And I'm going to say this
with as much love in my voice
00:22:36.05\00:22:38.19
as I possibly can.
00:22:38.22\00:22:39.55
We live in a world that
is not just a location like
00:22:39.62\00:22:42.46
Sodom and Gomorrah,
but all of our major cities
00:22:42.49\00:22:44.79
fit the description
that the Bible just gave.
00:22:45.03\00:22:48.20
Cities of lust in their hearts,
00:22:48.70\00:22:51.07
dishonoring their
bodies among themselves.
00:22:51.17\00:22:53.47
Men with men.
00:22:53.50\00:22:55.14
The Bible makes it clear.
00:22:55.30\00:22:56.64
I'll go to those
verses in just a moment.
00:22:56.67\00:22:58.01
But to summarize, the
Bible says they knew God
00:22:58.04\00:23:00.91
but did not give God the glory.
00:23:00.94\00:23:03.01
You know, when somebody
says they don't know God,
00:23:03.31\00:23:04.95
they know of God, but they
may not know God personally.
00:23:05.11\00:23:08.92
Because they use
God's name in profanity.
00:23:09.32\00:23:11.65
They use God's name in blaming.
00:23:11.99\00:23:13.96
They use God's name when
they want to look to someone
00:23:13.99\00:23:16.59
who they believe is
responsible for their plight,
00:23:16.69\00:23:19.53
or their devastation,
or their destruction.
00:23:19.56\00:23:22.06
The Bible says
they were not thankful.
00:23:22.36\00:23:24.23
In other words, all they were
concerned with was getting more,
00:23:24.27\00:23:27.57
and taking
more, and having more.
00:23:27.60\00:23:29.40
But they never thanked
God for even good health.
00:23:29.44\00:23:33.44
The Bible says their minds
were filled with things that
00:23:33.71\00:23:37.55
were pointless and empty.
00:23:37.58\00:23:39.38
That's why you have to choose
your entertainment nowadays.
00:23:39.48\00:23:42.15
I remember being in the city
of New York a few years ago.
00:23:42.18\00:23:45.32
And the attraction of
Time Square is being there
00:23:46.25\00:23:52.23
around midnight.
00:23:52.26\00:23:53.60
The later the hour,
the brighter the lights.
00:23:53.80\00:23:56.33
And so my wife and I,
just to remind ourselves
00:23:56.36\00:23:59.03
of the kind of
city we were raised in,
00:23:59.07\00:24:00.44
we went to Time Square.
00:24:00.47\00:24:01.80
It seemed as though,
in any other major city
00:24:01.90\00:24:03.87
it would have been
quiet, but in Time Square
00:24:03.91\00:24:05.97
all the lights were flickering,
the cars were passing by,
00:24:06.01\00:24:10.05
the buses were filled,
00:24:10.08\00:24:11.68
the taxi cabs were
carrying there passengers.
00:24:11.71\00:24:14.15
And you could see
sights and hear sounds of every
00:24:14.35\00:24:17.92
form of life in the city.
00:24:17.95\00:24:20.19
As a matter of fact, the
temperature in Time Square
00:24:20.22\00:24:24.19
was warmer than off Time Square
because it was so much lights.
00:24:24.23\00:24:28.56
So much neon lights, and led
lights, and billboards that were
00:24:28.76\00:24:32.97
fifteen stories high
of flickering lights.
00:24:33.00\00:24:35.54
The heat from these radiating
lamps kept Time Square warmer
00:24:35.57\00:24:39.51
than other places.
00:24:39.54\00:24:40.88
But I'll never forget
what I saw one evening.
00:24:41.21\00:24:43.35
It was about
11:30 in the evening.
00:24:43.38\00:24:45.18
And there was a long line
that had formed for two blocks.
00:24:45.21\00:24:48.48
And I wondered what
possibly could be the
00:24:48.58\00:24:50.82
reason for this long line.
00:24:50.85\00:24:52.19
Talking about being filled
with pointless and empty things.
00:24:52.22\00:24:56.36
And I went and I
inquired, and somebody said,
00:24:56.52\00:24:58.59
"Well, this long line is
for the opening of Toys R Us."
00:24:58.63\00:25:04.80
And I said, "But Toys R Us
has been opened for years."
00:25:04.83\00:25:06.47
They said, "No,
they're closed right now, but
00:25:06.50\00:25:08.64
at midnight, at midnight they're
going to open their doors
00:25:08.67\00:25:13.11
and they are going to unveil
the newest gaming system."
00:25:13.14\00:25:17.45
And I said, "You've
got to be kidding me.
00:25:17.71\00:25:20.48
This crowd that's two
blocks long and curving around
00:25:20.65\00:25:26.25
the corner, they're
waiting for a gaming system?
00:25:26.29\00:25:28.99
And they're going to
buy it after the doors
00:25:29.19\00:25:30.93
open at midnight?"
00:25:30.96\00:25:32.79
And I thought
to myself, amazing.
00:25:33.03\00:25:35.26
People will stand in line for
two blocks, circling the block,
00:25:35.30\00:25:38.87
for a gaming system.
00:25:38.90\00:25:40.77
And on the other side of that,
it's hard to get people to even
00:25:40.80\00:25:44.31
be interested in
the things of God.
00:25:44.34\00:25:46.88
Stadiums are filled with fans,
arenas are filled with fans,
00:25:46.91\00:25:51.78
theaters are filled
with entertainment fans,
00:25:51.98\00:25:55.18
concert venues are
filled with music fans,
00:25:55.32\00:25:58.49
stores are filled
with merchandise fans.
00:25:58.89\00:26:01.32
But the churches are
often empty in major cities,
00:26:01.36\00:26:04.03
because the cities give
them pointless and empty things
00:26:04.06\00:26:09.30
on which to focus their minds.
00:26:09.33\00:26:11.37
The Bible goes on to say
that their hearts were dark.
00:26:11.47\00:26:13.94
They could not be trusted.
00:26:13.97\00:26:15.37
They were wise in temporal
things, but foolish concerning
00:26:15.67\00:26:18.57
those things that are eternal.
00:26:18.61\00:26:20.21
They distorted the meaning of
God and saw Him as irrelevant.
00:26:20.51\00:26:24.81
Today one of the
greatest downfalls of humanity
00:26:24.85\00:26:26.92
is they think
that God doesn't count.
00:26:26.95\00:26:28.88
They say that
God is old fashioned.
00:26:29.02\00:26:30.85
They even try to distort the
description of God in the Bible.
00:26:30.89\00:26:34.09
They say He's an old man with
a long beard and a white robe,
00:26:34.12\00:26:37.13
and He's irrelevant;
doesn't fit into society today.
00:26:37.16\00:26:39.49
But I want to tell you, friends,
that's a wrong approach to take
00:26:40.03\00:26:42.83
towards a God who
is the only one that
00:26:43.03\00:26:46.53
can offer you hope and
freedom and eternal life.
00:26:46.57\00:26:49.00
The Bible goes on to
say and describe clearly
00:26:49.50\00:26:51.64
they worshiped, but
they worshiped creatures
00:26:51.77\00:26:54.58
and creation, not the Creator.
00:26:54.61\00:26:57.51
They believed in
the theory of evolution.
00:26:57.55\00:26:59.45
And some people believe
somehow they were the result
00:26:59.48\00:27:01.88
of an explosion.
00:27:01.92\00:27:03.25
Friends, I want to remind
you, we are not the result
00:27:03.28\00:27:05.95
of an explosion.
00:27:05.99\00:27:07.32
We are the result of the hand
of the Almighty loving Creator.
00:27:07.36\00:27:12.73
God formed us, He molded us.
00:27:12.76\00:27:14.96
He made us in our image.
00:27:15.00\00:27:16.40
But the problem is,
when you tell somebody
00:27:16.43\00:27:19.50
that they are an accident,
they live that kind of life.
00:27:19.53\00:27:22.34
A life that is
filled with accidents.
00:27:22.64\00:27:24.77
When you tell somebody that
their ancestors are monkeys,
00:27:24.81\00:27:27.61
they start acting
like their ancestors.
00:27:27.64\00:27:29.68
If you tell somebody
that they came from the hand
00:27:30.05\00:27:32.81
of a wise God, a Creator,
a Lord of great intelligence,
00:27:32.85\00:27:37.42
they begin to believe it,
accept it, and live it out.
00:27:37.45\00:27:40.86
But in this city, they worshiped
creatures and creation,
00:27:41.29\00:27:45.13
not the Creator.
00:27:45.16\00:27:46.49
And then the most debasing
thing; they perverted love
00:27:46.53\00:27:50.07
and replaced it
with demonic sexuality.
00:27:50.10\00:27:53.13
Look at Romans 1:26-27.
00:27:53.17\00:27:55.70
The family was influenced.
00:27:56.17\00:27:57.51
Lot's family was influenced
by this kind of environment.
00:27:57.54\00:28:00.58
What a crisis in his family.
00:28:00.74\00:28:02.38
Verse 26 of Romans
1, "For this reason..."
00:28:03.85\00:28:06.05
The decisions that men made.
00:28:06.65\00:28:07.98
"For this reason God
gave them up to vile passions.
00:28:08.02\00:28:12.49
For even their women
exchanged the natural use
00:28:12.52\00:28:16.59
for what is against nature."
00:28:16.62\00:28:18.63
Verse 27, "Likewise also
the men, leaving the natural use
00:28:18.76\00:28:23.67
of the woman, burned in
their lust for one another,
00:28:23.70\00:28:27.64
men with men
committing what is shameful,
00:28:27.67\00:28:30.27
and receiving in
themselves the penalty of their
00:28:30.31\00:28:33.27
error which was due."
00:28:33.31\00:28:35.08
In other words, like today.
00:28:35.21\00:28:36.75
Our world, our
nation, America, has become...
00:28:36.98\00:28:39.78
It's joined the ranks of those
who have taken another step
00:28:39.81\00:28:43.28
down in immorality.
00:28:43.35\00:28:44.79
Right now in America,
same-sex marriage is being
00:28:44.89\00:28:48.59
touted as a
great accomplishment.
00:28:49.16\00:28:51.16
Men marrying men,
women marrying women.
00:28:51.19\00:28:54.53
But the Bible made it clear
that this was not the plan that
00:28:54.56\00:28:58.10
God had from the Garden of Eden.
00:28:58.13\00:29:00.74
Men with men was not God's plan.
00:29:00.77\00:29:02.47
Can you imagine if God
made two men in the garden?
00:29:02.50\00:29:05.21
There would be no procreation.
00:29:05.24\00:29:07.01
Because men cannot
procreate with men.
00:29:07.04\00:29:09.44
If God made two women
to be joined together,
00:29:09.48\00:29:12.25
women cannot
procreate with women.
00:29:12.28\00:29:14.45
They cannot produce any seed,
00:29:14.65\00:29:16.38
they cannot
produce any offspring.
00:29:16.42\00:29:18.15
Humanity would have
died in the Garden of Eden.
00:29:18.19\00:29:20.96
So God's plan is the best.
00:29:21.49\00:29:22.96
A man to marry a woman,
and a woman to marry a man.
00:29:22.99\00:29:27.10
Those two opposite sexes
complete the image of God
00:29:27.33\00:29:32.87
in the human race.
00:29:32.90\00:29:34.24
So when man and
woman comes together,
00:29:34.27\00:29:36.10
the image of God is
represented in the human race.
00:29:36.20\00:29:40.04
That was not the case in Sodom.
00:29:40.08\00:29:41.91
But they also had one
other problem that affected
00:29:41.94\00:29:43.81
the family of Lot.
00:29:43.85\00:29:45.18
Ezekiel 16:49
00:29:45.21\00:29:46.95
The Bible says, Ezekiel
16:49, "Now this was the sin
00:29:47.55\00:29:52.45
of your sister Sodom:
00:29:52.49\00:29:54.02
She and her daughters
were arrogant, overfed,
00:29:54.89\00:29:58.89
and unconcerned.
00:29:58.93\00:30:00.26
They did not help
the poor and the needy."
00:30:00.30\00:30:04.87
They not only ignored God,
00:30:04.90\00:30:06.80
they also ignored
the poor and the needy.
00:30:06.84\00:30:09.67
That was the environment that
Lot and his family lived in.
00:30:09.70\00:30:12.47
But God had a plan.
00:30:12.74\00:30:14.08
You see, we are
accountable about our attitude
00:30:14.11\00:30:16.31
and involvement
with the less fortunate.
00:30:16.34\00:30:18.31
That's why the Bible
says, "As much as you've done it
00:30:18.51\00:30:21.02
unto the least of
these, My brethren,
00:30:21.05\00:30:22.98
you've done it unto Me."
00:30:23.02\00:30:25.15
Well, at the time
that Lot moved to Sodom,
00:30:25.69\00:30:28.72
corruption had
become almost wide spread.
00:30:28.99\00:30:32.59
And God, in His mercy,
permitted rays of light to shine
00:30:32.69\00:30:36.77
amid this moral darkness.
00:30:36.87\00:30:38.63
For some time God pleaded
with the inhabitants of Sodom,
00:30:38.67\00:30:41.57
but even God placed a limitation
on the extent of the wickedness
00:30:41.60\00:30:46.61
of Sodom.
00:30:46.64\00:30:47.98
And that's why in these
last days we have to be honest
00:30:48.08\00:30:50.35
about our stand with God.
00:30:50.38\00:30:52.21
And we have to be firm in
our faith and our commitment
00:30:52.25\00:30:54.92
to the God of heaven.
00:30:54.95\00:30:56.28
Notice 2 Corinthians 6:17.
00:30:56.32\00:30:58.29
Look what the Lord says.
00:30:58.32\00:30:59.65
This applied to
the city of Sodom.
00:30:59.69\00:31:01.82
This also applies to
the cities of our day.
00:31:01.86\00:31:04.66
Listen to the words
of the converted man
00:31:04.89\00:31:07.23
by the name of Paul.
00:31:07.26\00:31:08.60
2 Corinthians 6:17
00:31:08.63\00:31:10.93
The Bible says,
"'Come out from among them
00:31:11.13\00:31:13.47
and be separate,' says the Lord.
00:31:13.50\00:31:15.30
'Do not touch what is unclean,
and I will receive you.'"
00:31:15.34\00:31:20.71
When the world wants to
corrupt you, the Bible says,
00:31:20.91\00:31:22.74
"Come out from among
them and be separate."
00:31:22.78\00:31:24.71
Separate yourselves from
those polluting environments.
00:31:24.81\00:31:27.52
Separate yourselves from
those elements of pollution.
00:31:27.72\00:31:30.52
Separate yourselves from
the practices of pollution.
00:31:30.55\00:31:33.42
"Come out from among
them and be separate,
00:31:33.46\00:31:35.89
and then I will receive you."
00:31:35.92\00:31:37.99
So remember that.
00:31:38.09\00:31:39.76
God does not
receive the corrupt,
00:31:40.00\00:31:42.20
but He can clean the corrupt
that they may be acceptable
00:31:42.70\00:31:46.84
in His presence.
00:31:46.87\00:31:48.20
He says, "Come out, be clean,
and then I will receive you."
00:31:48.24\00:31:51.34
Mark Twain once said,
"It is easier to stay out
00:31:51.44\00:31:54.98
than to get out."
00:31:55.01\00:31:56.34
It's easier to stay
out of corruption than to
00:31:56.38\00:31:58.91
get out of corruption.
00:31:58.95\00:32:00.28
You see, friends, the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
00:32:00.42\00:32:02.58
were confined to the
plains of the Jordan.
00:32:03.22\00:32:05.32
But today the same
practices are found in cities
00:32:05.35\00:32:08.56
all over the world,
the cities of our age.
00:32:08.59\00:32:11.36
A very important quotation
I found in the book called,
00:32:11.53\00:32:14.20
Christ's Object
Lessons, page 54-55.
00:32:14.23\00:32:17.07
Listen to the
description of our world today.
00:32:17.27\00:32:19.73
"The cities of
today are fast becoming
00:32:20.77\00:32:22.64
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
00:32:22.67\00:32:24.61
The many holidays
encourage idleness.
00:32:25.34\00:32:27.91
The exciting sports:
theater-going, horse racing,
00:32:28.14\00:32:31.38
gambling, liquor
drinking, and reveling,
00:32:31.41\00:32:35.48
stimulate every
passion to intense activity.
00:32:35.62\00:32:39.32
The youth are swept
away by the popular current.
00:32:39.35\00:32:42.82
Those who learn to love
amusement for its own sake
00:32:43.19\00:32:46.49
open the door to a
flood of temptations."
00:32:46.53\00:32:51.23
That's how the cities are today.
00:32:51.80\00:32:53.30
That's how the world is today.
00:32:53.34\00:32:54.70
And not only that, but
what the devil has done
00:32:54.74\00:32:57.41
for those that
don't live in the city,
00:32:57.44\00:32:59.34
he's created another way
of getting into our homes
00:32:59.37\00:33:01.48
even if you live in the country.
00:33:01.51\00:33:02.84
Through satellite
and cable television.
00:33:03.28\00:33:06.48
He's pumping the very same
things that corrupt the cities
00:33:06.51\00:33:09.38
into our homes.
00:33:09.42\00:33:10.75
So not only do you have
to stay out of the cities
00:33:10.79\00:33:12.49
that corrupt you, but you
have to keep the corrupting
00:33:12.52\00:33:14.59
influences out of your home.
00:33:14.62\00:33:16.62
One person once
said, "Flee temptation,
00:33:17.19\00:33:19.63
and don't leave a
forwarding address."
00:33:19.89\00:33:21.93
Run for your
life, in other words.
00:33:21.96\00:33:24.90
And the reason is clear.
00:33:25.17\00:33:26.50
Satan knows that if he can
get our focus off of Christ
00:33:26.67\00:33:30.91
and onto the world,
it's just a matter of time,
00:33:31.04\00:33:34.84
here me carefully,
it's just a matter of time
00:33:34.98\00:33:37.55
before we are swept
away by the influences,
00:33:37.58\00:33:40.82
by the winds of destruction.
00:33:40.85\00:33:42.18
Just like the antediluvian world
and just like the cities of
00:33:42.22\00:33:45.95
Sodom and Gomorrah.
00:33:45.99\00:33:47.66
You see, friends, the fact is,
the record of crime and iniquity
00:33:48.22\00:33:50.93
in the large cities
of the land is appalling.
00:33:50.96\00:33:53.36
The wickedness of the wicked
is almost beyond comprehension.
00:33:53.53\00:33:57.67
Many cities are becoming
like Sodom in the sight of God.
00:33:57.80\00:34:01.80
But here's a reality.
00:34:02.07\00:34:03.41
You can pass laws that
seem to favor the inhabitants
00:34:03.44\00:34:06.11
of these corrupt
cities, but here's the reality.
00:34:06.14\00:34:08.88
Hosea 8:7 says,
"You sow the wind,
00:34:08.91\00:34:11.98
you will reap the whirlwind."
00:34:12.01\00:34:13.85
No matter what you
sow, you will reap.
00:34:13.88\00:34:16.65
No matter what you've
done, it'll come back on you.
00:34:17.79\00:34:19.92
You see, Lot lived in the city.
00:34:20.49\00:34:22.76
And as time went
on, he began to discover
00:34:22.79\00:34:25.19
the influences of the city.
00:34:25.23\00:34:26.56
And so Lot
began to plead to God.
00:34:26.90\00:34:29.06
He began to plead
for there to be a change.
00:34:29.80\00:34:32.17
And so Abram, considering
the environment that his cousin
00:34:32.20\00:34:35.77
was in, he also
began to plead to God.
00:34:35.80\00:34:38.01
You see, you read, counting
the members of Lot's family,
00:34:38.34\00:34:40.98
there were very few righteous
people left in those cities.
00:34:41.11\00:34:44.51
Abraham petitioned God.
00:34:44.55\00:34:46.21
He said, "Lord, what if
there's fifty in the city,
00:34:46.31\00:34:48.58
would you save the city?"
00:34:48.62\00:34:49.95
And God said, "Yes, I would."
00:34:50.09\00:34:51.42
He said, "Okay Lord,
what if there's forty-five?"
00:34:51.45\00:34:53.76
"Of course I would."
00:34:53.82\00:34:55.16
"Well what if there's forty,
would you still save the city?"
00:34:55.19\00:34:57.46
He said, "Of course I would."
00:34:57.49\00:34:58.93
"Well Lord, okay,
what if there's thirty?"
00:34:58.96\00:35:01.33
Now think about New York City.
00:35:01.36\00:35:02.80
"What if there's thirty in New
York, would you save the city?"
00:35:02.83\00:35:05.87
The Lord says,
"Of course I would."
00:35:05.90\00:35:07.24
"Okay, Lord, what
if there's only twenty,
00:35:07.27\00:35:10.37
would you still save the city?"
00:35:10.41\00:35:11.74
The Lord said,
"Of course I would."
00:35:11.77\00:35:13.11
Now let me say
something, friends.
00:35:13.14\00:35:14.48
Does that sound like a God
who's not filed with mercy?
00:35:14.51\00:35:17.08
If there's only twenty
people in this entire city,
00:35:17.11\00:35:19.48
He said, "I will save it."
00:35:19.51\00:35:20.85
And finally Abram said
to God in Genesis 18:32,
00:35:21.95\00:35:25.79
"Then he said, 'I
will speak but once more.
00:35:26.52\00:35:29.59
Suppose ten
should be found there?'
00:35:30.09\00:35:34.73
And He said..." God said.
00:35:35.06\00:35:37.20
Listen to God, the God of mercy.
00:35:37.23\00:35:38.80
The God who's not
willing that any should perish.
00:35:38.83\00:35:40.60
"He said, 'I will not destroy
it for the sake of ten.'"
00:35:40.64\00:35:48.24
Does that sound like a
God that wants to destroy us?
00:35:48.54\00:35:51.11
Does that sound like a God
who's hurrying to condemn us
00:35:51.41\00:35:56.92
or wants to burn us in the fires
of hell throughout eternity?
00:35:56.95\00:36:00.02
No it doesn't.
00:36:00.06\00:36:01.39
That's what Satan does.
00:36:01.42\00:36:02.76
He attacks the
character of God and says,
00:36:02.79\00:36:05.03
"He's the God
that's hunting you down.
00:36:05.06\00:36:06.83
He wants to convict you and
destroy you and persecute you
00:36:06.86\00:36:09.56
and torment you
endlessly throughout eternity."
00:36:09.66\00:36:12.33
But He said, "No,
that's not who I am.
00:36:12.73\00:36:14.47
I'm not willing
that any should perish.
00:36:14.74\00:36:16.67
Why should you
die before your time?"
00:36:16.71\00:36:19.04
Ezekiel 33 and also chapter 18.
00:36:19.34\00:36:22.11
"Why, sinner, should
you die before your time?"
00:36:22.14\00:36:25.71
Well the sad fact is,
Lot was not even aware that
00:36:26.68\00:36:30.25
judgment was at
hand for his city.
00:36:30.29\00:36:34.02
The last night for
Sodom and Gomorrah was like
00:36:34.12\00:36:37.63
any other night.
00:36:37.66\00:36:39.73
And so God, knowing
that judgment was at hand
00:36:40.30\00:36:42.76
for that great and
corrupt city, He sent messengers
00:36:42.80\00:36:46.40
to the family of Lot to
get them out of that city
00:36:46.43\00:36:49.37
before destruction would come.
00:36:49.40\00:36:50.91
Genesis 19:1,
God's messengers came.
00:36:51.44\00:36:54.81
The Bible says two
angels were sent to Sodom.
00:36:55.54\00:36:58.11
And verse 2, and Lot
invited them to his house.
00:36:58.15\00:37:01.32
But the angels told
him that they wanted
00:37:01.55\00:37:03.89
to stay in the city square.
00:37:03.92\00:37:06.05
But here's the
point I want to make.
00:37:07.02\00:37:08.36
Every major city has a square.
00:37:08.62\00:37:10.83
I talked about Time Square.
00:37:10.86\00:37:12.39
But Lot was so clear about
the kind of city he lived it
00:37:12.43\00:37:15.90
that he would not allow the
angels to stay in that city.
00:37:15.93\00:37:19.87
The Bible says in verse
3 of chapter 19 of Genesis,
00:37:20.44\00:37:24.11
"But he insisted strongly...and
so they entered his house.
00:37:24.61\00:37:28.61
Then he made them a feast,
and baked unleavened bread,"
00:37:28.78\00:37:32.21
the Scripture
says, "and they ate."
00:37:32.25\00:37:34.42
Sodom was
bustling with activity.
00:37:35.18\00:37:37.09
The streets were
still crowded late at night.
00:37:37.29\00:37:39.45
Highways were still
packed with travelers.
00:37:39.55\00:37:41.89
Stores were busy
with buying and selling.
00:37:41.92\00:37:44.83
Restaurants were active
with indulgent multitudes.
00:37:44.93\00:37:48.06
Pleasure seekers were bent
upon the enjoyment of the hour.
00:37:48.26\00:37:51.47
Maniacs and violent criminals
were busy applying their vices
00:37:51.50\00:37:55.97
while the clock of
judgment was ticking down
00:37:56.00\00:37:59.41
for that immoral city
of Sodom and Gomorrah.
00:37:59.64\00:38:02.31
Persistive, these
cities were morally corrupt.
00:38:02.78\00:38:05.81
And Lot took on an alternative.
00:38:05.91\00:38:08.22
The city was so corrupt...
00:38:08.25\00:38:09.75
Let me emphasize
this clearly here.
00:38:09.78\00:38:11.55
The city was so
corrupt that when Lot decided
00:38:11.59\00:38:15.62
to invite these angels,
these visitors to the city,
00:38:16.52\00:38:20.16
when he decided to
invite them to his house,
00:38:20.20\00:38:23.26
he took an
alternate route to his house
00:38:23.53\00:38:26.20
to lose the men of the city.
00:38:26.23\00:38:28.80
Now you've got
to think about that.
00:38:29.50\00:38:30.84
He tried to lose those
that were following these
00:38:30.87\00:38:33.27
strangers to the city.
00:38:33.31\00:38:34.64
The men were so corrupt,
they knew who visitors were.
00:38:34.68\00:38:39.68
They were so familiar
with the corruption and the
00:38:39.71\00:38:43.22
corrupt of the city that they
said, "Hey, these are people
00:38:43.25\00:38:46.49
that we've never met before.
00:38:46.52\00:38:47.86
These are new men in the city."
00:38:47.89\00:38:49.36
And they desired
to know these men.
00:38:49.46\00:38:50.89
So Lot, in an attempt to
lose these corrupt people,
00:38:50.93\00:38:54.90
he made turns to try to
lose them through the city.
00:38:54.93\00:38:58.30
And chapter 19
verse 4 made it clear.
00:38:59.77\00:39:04.27
"Now before they lay down..."
00:39:05.94\00:39:07.64
They got to the
house of Lot safely.
00:39:09.04\00:39:11.08
Before they went to bed.
00:39:11.68\00:39:13.01
Verse 4, "...the men of
the city, the men of Sodom,
00:39:13.05\00:39:16.48
both old and young, all the
people from every quarter..."
00:39:16.52\00:39:22.29
You've got to get that.
00:39:22.32\00:39:23.66
All the people
from every quarter.
00:39:23.69\00:39:27.56
You've got to think about that.
00:39:27.66\00:39:29.40
The inhabitants of the
city of Sodom and Gomorrah,
00:39:29.90\00:39:32.33
these corrupt men from every
quarter surrounded the house.
00:39:32.43\00:39:36.71
And verse 5, "And they
called to Lot and said to him,
00:39:37.01\00:39:39.31
'Where are the men
who came to you tonight?
00:39:39.67\00:39:41.88
Bring them out to us that
we may know them carnally.'"
00:39:42.08\00:39:47.35
Now that may sound...
00:39:47.78\00:39:49.58
That's a hard scripture to read.
00:39:49.78\00:39:51.55
But what that in essence is
saying is that's how degraded
00:39:52.12\00:39:55.46
the cities of Sodom
and Gomorrah had become.
00:39:55.49\00:39:58.13
No wonder families
are messed up today.
00:39:58.33\00:40:00.33
No wonder there are
crises in the families
00:40:00.36\00:40:02.20
when they watch
this on television.
00:40:02.23\00:40:03.77
Today our world is busy
trying to make this kind of
00:40:03.80\00:40:06.40
activity entertainment.
00:40:06.43\00:40:08.17
They call it the new normal.
00:40:08.27\00:40:09.70
They give it names that you
laugh your way into carnality,
00:40:09.90\00:40:13.11
you laugh your
way into immorality.
00:40:13.14\00:40:15.21
Look at the shows on television.
00:40:15.24\00:40:16.68
They try to act
this out in front of you.
00:40:16.88\00:40:18.81
The lesbian, the gay, the
bisexual, the transgender.
00:40:18.85\00:40:21.85
I know it's not a popular
topic, but the reason I'm
00:40:21.88\00:40:24.95
preaching about it is because
this is what's messing up
00:40:24.99\00:40:27.62
the families of
our society today.
00:40:27.66\00:40:29.59
Not just in the world, but
also in many of our churches.
00:40:29.69\00:40:32.69
We see these things, we
watch them, we laugh about them.
00:40:32.83\00:40:35.40
We become active visitors.
00:40:35.46\00:40:37.60
We follow these
shows from week to week.
00:40:37.63\00:40:39.37
Sitcoms and
television shows and movies.
00:40:39.40\00:40:42.27
And after a while, these little
dripping drops of immorality
00:40:42.37\00:40:46.34
begin to erode our
moral fiber until they become
00:40:46.37\00:40:52.28
the new normal.
00:40:52.31\00:40:53.68
Don't allow corruption
to become the new normal.
00:40:53.72\00:40:56.12
Don't allow degradation and
vice to become the new normal.
00:40:56.22\00:41:00.52
Well Lot made very attempt
he could to quiet the mob.
00:41:00.56\00:41:03.32
But he was so affected by
the city that instead of trying
00:41:03.89\00:41:08.03
to just persuade the men...
00:41:08.06\00:41:09.40
This is amazing.
00:41:10.90\00:41:12.23
...instead of just
trying to persuade the men
00:41:12.27\00:41:14.20
to leave them
alone, Lot went so far...
00:41:14.30\00:41:16.81
Affected by the city.
00:41:17.11\00:41:18.81
The family will be
affected by the city.
00:41:18.84\00:41:21.71
He was so affected by the
city that he offered the men
00:41:21.91\00:41:25.81
of the city his
daughters, to corrupt them,
00:41:25.85\00:41:30.19
rather than to
protect his family.
00:41:30.22\00:41:32.12
I see why Martin Luther
King Jr. said what he did.
00:41:33.22\00:41:36.09
He said, "He who
passively accepts evil
00:41:36.89\00:41:40.66
is as much involved in it as
he who helps to perpetuate it."
00:41:40.76\00:41:45.07
He who accepts evil
without protesting against it
00:41:45.23\00:41:48.94
is really cooperating with it.
00:41:49.17\00:41:51.17
That's exactly
what happened to Lot.
00:41:51.37\00:41:52.71
His heart was
twisted, his mind was twisted,
00:41:52.74\00:41:55.14
his morality was twisted.
00:41:55.18\00:41:56.81
He had some
semblance of righteousness,
00:41:56.85\00:41:58.85
but he was so affected
by the city he offered these
00:41:58.95\00:42:01.68
corrupt men and alternative.
00:42:01.72\00:42:03.42
Going so far as even offering
his daughters to these men
00:42:03.62\00:42:07.26
that they might be
corrupted by their vices.
00:42:07.29\00:42:09.96
Albert Einstein said, "I do
not fear the explosive power
00:42:10.29\00:42:15.73
of the atom bomb.
00:42:15.76\00:42:17.10
What I fear is the
explosive power of evil
00:42:17.13\00:42:21.34
in the human heart."
00:42:21.37\00:42:23.27
That's exactly what gripped the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
00:42:24.24\00:42:26.98
You see, when you
say your heart is good,
00:42:27.08\00:42:28.71
you have to read what the Bible
says about the human heart.
00:42:28.74\00:42:31.28
Jeremiah 17:9
00:42:31.55\00:42:33.45
"The heart is
deceitful above all things,
00:42:33.75\00:42:36.85
and desperately wicked.
00:42:37.05\00:42:39.09
Who can know it?"
00:42:39.29\00:42:40.82
And so the message:
00:42:40.86\00:42:42.19
You see, friends, the
only hope for the family
00:42:42.22\00:42:43.86
is a spiritual heart transplant.
00:42:44.03\00:42:48.33
What was the message
to Lot and his family?
00:42:48.66\00:42:51.03
The first message was,
as they were growing up,
00:42:51.37\00:42:53.34
is get the city
out of your family.
00:42:53.37\00:42:56.04
The first message was, get
the city out of your family.
00:42:56.07\00:42:59.21
Now hear that carefully.
00:42:59.24\00:43:00.58
Those of you that live
in the city, get the city
00:43:00.61\00:43:03.91
out of your family.
00:43:03.95\00:43:05.28
Some people are in
church, they're in church,
00:43:05.31\00:43:07.45
but we are praying for
the church to be in them.
00:43:07.48\00:43:10.09
Get the city out of your family.
00:43:10.49\00:43:12.95
Now I know what I mean by
that, because I've moved from
00:43:12.99\00:43:15.59
New York City many years ago.
00:43:15.62\00:43:17.03
But I find myself sometimes
singing the little town blues.
00:43:17.43\00:43:21.03
Sometimes I say,
"Oh, I miss New York."
00:43:21.13\00:43:23.03
You know why?
00:43:23.06\00:43:24.40
Because after living in
such a city, after a while
00:43:24.43\00:43:27.30
we have to pray for God,
not just to take us physically
00:43:27.40\00:43:30.64
out of the city, but for
the city to be taken out of us.
00:43:30.67\00:43:34.34
That's why David the
psalmist prayed the prayer
00:43:34.64\00:43:36.24
that we should pray.
00:43:36.28\00:43:37.61
Psalm 51:10
00:43:37.75\00:43:39.15
"Create in me a
clean heart, O God,
00:43:39.18\00:43:41.28
and renew a right
spirit within me."
00:43:41.32\00:43:45.69
You see, the fact of this
is, the heart of the matter
00:43:46.25\00:43:49.16
is the matter of the heart.
00:43:49.46\00:43:52.29
The heart of the matter is
the matter of the human heart.
00:43:52.33\00:43:56.20
Sydney J. Harris
wrote these words
00:43:56.56\00:43:59.13
that I admire what he said.
00:43:59.17\00:44:01.10
He said, "The
difference between a good person
00:44:01.20\00:44:04.17
and a bad person
is really very simple
00:44:04.21\00:44:07.78
at the bottom point.
00:44:07.81\00:44:09.14
The good person loves
people and uses things,
00:44:09.18\00:44:12.05
while the bad person
loves things and uses people."
00:44:12.08\00:44:16.65
That was the kind
of city Sodom was.
00:44:16.69\00:44:18.89
The used people
because they loved things.
00:44:18.92\00:44:22.26
They came to Lot's
house to use the men
00:44:22.29\00:44:24.79
because they loved their vices.
00:44:24.83\00:44:27.00
The men were so corrupt they
tried to break down Lot's doors.
00:44:27.63\00:44:30.43
They were so blinded by
lust that even when struck
00:44:30.63\00:44:33.70
with blindness they
stumbled over each other
00:44:33.74\00:44:36.74
trying to find the way to get
to the guests at Lot's house.
00:44:36.77\00:44:41.28
But for the angels,
but for the grace of God,
00:44:42.81\00:44:46.28
Lot would have been
torn apart by the men
00:44:46.55\00:44:49.78
of the city of Sodom.
00:44:49.82\00:44:51.92
You see, many of us
listening to the message today
00:44:52.42\00:44:54.76
have to keep this reality in
mind that we are still alive.
00:44:55.72\00:44:59.93
And I praise the
Lord for the statement.
00:44:59.96\00:45:01.43
We are still alive.
00:45:01.46\00:45:03.00
Because when the devil
could have snatched us out,
00:45:03.03\00:45:06.23
when the devil could
have taken our lives,
00:45:06.33\00:45:08.30
when he could have
closed our record while we lived
00:45:08.34\00:45:11.37
a corrupt life, God
in His mercy reached out
00:45:11.41\00:45:14.28
and snatched us in and
saved us at a critical moment
00:45:14.41\00:45:19.05
where we could
have lost our lives.
00:45:19.08\00:45:20.42
Praise the Lord for that.
00:45:20.45\00:45:21.78
"The angels of the Lord encamp
around those that fear God,
00:45:22.55\00:45:27.46
and deliver him."
00:45:27.66\00:45:28.99
Psalm 34:7
00:45:29.02\00:45:30.59
The angels of God still
surround the people of God.
00:45:30.63\00:45:34.40
Amen for that.
00:45:34.43\00:45:35.76
Praise the Lord for that.
00:45:35.80\00:45:37.13
You see, probation, my friends,
was fast closing for that city.
00:45:37.17\00:45:40.74
And the angels of the
Lord brought the final message.
00:45:40.77\00:45:45.81
Here was the message:
00:45:46.04\00:45:47.38
Not only get the
city out of your family,
00:45:47.41\00:45:49.01
but get your
family out of the city.
00:45:49.04\00:45:51.65
In these last days
we've got to make choices.
00:45:51.81\00:45:53.88
The cities are
becoming corrupt by the moment,
00:45:54.05\00:45:56.72
by the tick of the clock.
00:45:56.75\00:45:58.09
If you can't get the
city out of your family,
00:45:58.35\00:46:00.59
get your family out of the city.
00:46:00.62\00:46:02.59
You see, in these last days
God is sending the same message;
00:46:02.69\00:46:05.86
"Get our family
out of the city."
00:46:06.19\00:46:08.76
He is calling us
out of corruption.
00:46:09.36\00:46:11.20
He's calling us out
of halfhearted living
00:46:11.47\00:46:14.57
and worldliness,
out of indecisiveness
00:46:14.60\00:46:17.84
and vanity and pride, out
of conformity to the world.
00:46:17.87\00:46:21.71
In this critical
hour, what a moment it was.
00:46:22.18\00:46:24.55
The men corrupted by the city,
Lot pleading with his family.
00:46:24.71\00:46:28.35
Lot asking them to
make a decision to turn
00:46:28.45\00:46:30.59
their lives over to Christ.
00:46:30.62\00:46:32.19
Lot saying to
the family members,
00:46:32.29\00:46:34.56
"God is trying to save you."
00:46:34.59\00:46:36.36
But I'll tell you what.
00:46:36.39\00:46:37.73
The challenge that Lot
had is the same challenge that
00:46:39.29\00:46:43.03
many of you are
facing with your children;
00:46:43.06\00:46:45.33
mother's facing
with their daughters,
00:46:45.50\00:46:47.60
father's facing with
their sons or their daughters.
00:46:47.70\00:46:50.41
Uncles and aunts
trying to convince
00:46:50.91\00:46:52.87
family members the right road.
00:46:52.97\00:46:54.81
You may have been a
Christian for a long time,
00:46:54.84\00:46:56.81
but sometimes you come up
against a wall when you're
00:46:56.85\00:46:58.98
trying to say to people
that are so influenced and
00:46:59.01\00:47:01.98
so saturated by darkness.
00:47:02.02\00:47:04.02
You try to give them direction,
00:47:04.05\00:47:05.45
given them words
of encouragement.
00:47:05.55\00:47:07.29
You try to say to them,
"This is the better life."
00:47:07.32\00:47:10.06
But they're so saturated
by the world around them
00:47:10.26\00:47:13.19
that the family
institution becomes the victim.
00:47:13.43\00:47:16.30
They victimize
themselves by their own choices,
00:47:17.37\00:47:20.70
their halfhearted living,
their worldliness, their pride,
00:47:20.74\00:47:23.97
their indecision.
00:47:24.01\00:47:25.34
You know, what's amazing
to me is that when Lot went to
00:47:25.41\00:47:28.91
his sons and his daughters
to try to convince them,
00:47:28.94\00:47:31.85
they minimized the
urgency of the hour.
00:47:32.01\00:47:34.85
They minimized the things
that Lot had said to them.
00:47:34.88\00:47:38.22
The angel told Lot
to get His family out.
00:47:39.09\00:47:42.96
He appealed to his sons-in-law.
00:47:42.99\00:47:44.69
And they thought
that he was joking.
00:47:44.73\00:47:46.19
They could not
fathom their lavished homes
00:47:47.33\00:47:51.77
and the city that they
lived in being destroyed.
00:47:51.80\00:47:54.14
That's why when September
11th happened in New York City,
00:47:54.17\00:47:57.04
it was such a shake-up to
those who lived in New York.
00:47:57.07\00:47:59.24
It was a shake-up to me.
00:47:59.27\00:48:00.61
Because we
couldn't fathom for a moment
00:48:00.64\00:48:02.74
that such violence
would come to such an advanced
00:48:02.78\00:48:06.15
metropolitan city like New York.
00:48:06.25\00:48:07.98
We couldn't fathom that such
a fortress like the Pentagon
00:48:08.02\00:48:11.35
could be impregnable
by an attack from outside.
00:48:11.39\00:48:14.62
We couldn't fathom that.
00:48:14.66\00:48:16.06
We couldn't fathom that these
skyscrapers, these buildings,
00:48:16.52\00:48:19.39
these World Trade
Center buildings, could come
00:48:19.43\00:48:21.26
crumbling down in just a
matter of minutes or hours.
00:48:21.30\00:48:24.90
We couldn't fathom that.
00:48:24.93\00:48:26.27
And in the very same way,
there are people today that are
00:48:26.77\00:48:28.67
so packed by possessions
they cannot fathom that
00:48:28.70\00:48:31.87
their multi-million dollar
home, their very expensive home,
00:48:31.91\00:48:35.21
or even if it's a
calm and very quaint
00:48:35.24\00:48:37.95
or very conservative
home, some people are so
00:48:38.05\00:48:41.25
in love with their possessions
they cannot fathom leaving
00:48:41.42\00:48:44.62
these things for
their own safety.
00:48:44.65\00:48:47.52
And so they hold on.
00:48:47.79\00:48:49.12
Lot's family could not imagine
giving up their lifestyle.
00:48:51.29\00:48:54.20
They could not
stomach leaving their
00:48:54.23\00:48:55.86
high paying jobs behind.
00:48:55.90\00:48:57.37
They were enamored by the view.
00:48:57.40\00:48:59.53
They loved looking
out of their windows
00:48:59.67\00:49:01.27
over the great metropolitan
area of Sodom and Gomorrah.
00:49:01.30\00:49:04.94
They loved seeing the
success, the wonderful suits,
00:49:04.97\00:49:08.21
the high fashion lifestyle,
the beautiful shiny cars,
00:49:08.24\00:49:11.71
the fast machines.
00:49:11.75\00:49:13.18
They loved the stores with
great choices and possessions.
00:49:13.21\00:49:16.15
They loved the quaint
restaurants and the tinkling
00:49:16.18\00:49:18.29
glasses of
champagne and alcohol.
00:49:18.32\00:49:19.95
They loved all these things.
00:49:19.99\00:49:21.49
They could not fathom
leaving their high paying jobs.
00:49:21.59\00:49:24.53
They could not stomach leaving
the very things that they have
00:49:24.56\00:49:29.36
placed their passion and
their love and their desire in.
00:49:29.40\00:49:33.60
The songs of the
world meant more to them
00:49:34.24\00:49:36.04
than the songs of eternal life.
00:49:36.24\00:49:37.74
And the very idea of
walking away from it all
00:49:37.77\00:49:41.24
seemed to be meaningless.
00:49:41.28\00:49:43.38
You know, there's a text
in John 10 where Jesus says,
00:49:44.08\00:49:47.42
"My sheep will hear My voice."
00:49:47.45\00:49:48.78
You know, friends, I'd rather
be a dumb sheep and be saved
00:49:48.98\00:49:51.35
than be a very
head-strong goat and be lost.
00:49:51.52\00:49:54.62
There are some people
that hear the voice of God
00:49:54.66\00:49:56.36
calling them; family members,
their brothers, their sisters,
00:49:56.39\00:49:59.06
their uncles, their
aunts, the father, the mother,
00:49:59.09\00:50:01.66
God has called endlessly on some
of you watching this program,
00:50:01.70\00:50:05.20
but you'd rather be a
hard-headed goat and be lost
00:50:05.40\00:50:08.00
than be called a
dumb sheep and be saved.
00:50:08.04\00:50:09.60
But I want to tell you this.
00:50:09.64\00:50:10.97
If you follow the Shepherd,
you're not a dumb sheep.
00:50:11.01\00:50:12.97
You are listening to
the voice of the only One
00:50:13.01\00:50:14.84
that can save you.
00:50:14.88\00:50:16.21
But Lot's family was stuck.
00:50:16.58\00:50:18.15
Friends, I tell you what.
00:50:19.91\00:50:21.25
We can get to heaven
without wealth, without riches,
00:50:22.22\00:50:24.55
without honor, without
learning, without friends,
00:50:24.59\00:50:27.19
but we can never get
to heaven without Jesus.
00:50:27.29\00:50:30.29
Well, as I wind up the
story, I have a better ending.
00:50:30.99\00:50:34.30
The only ones that
made it out of the city
00:50:34.73\00:50:37.77
were Lot and his two daughters.
00:50:38.27\00:50:42.17
You see, when the
call had come to Lot,
00:50:42.74\00:50:45.27
had he made up his mind
at that critical moment,
00:50:45.31\00:50:48.44
had he said, "Okay, heavenly
Father, You've told me to leave.
00:50:48.61\00:50:54.62
I'm not going to hesitate.
00:50:54.72\00:50:56.12
I'm going to leave."
00:50:56.15\00:50:57.49
But Lot hesitated.
00:50:57.52\00:50:59.82
Lot hesitated.
00:51:00.02\00:51:02.02
He was also
affected by the city.
00:51:02.22\00:51:04.13
He looked at all
that he had worked for,
00:51:04.16\00:51:05.93
he looked at the cattle he
had, the possessions he had,
00:51:05.96\00:51:08.33
the house he had,
the furniture he had,
00:51:08.43\00:51:10.83
he looked at the
family photo albums,
00:51:10.87\00:51:12.87
all the things
that he had saved up,
00:51:12.90\00:51:14.64
he was possessed
by his possessions.
00:51:14.67\00:51:17.07
But he was fighting
between what he owned
00:51:17.41\00:51:19.54
and the one that owned him.
00:51:19.57\00:51:20.94
After many points of hesitation,
he finally turned his affections
00:51:22.34\00:51:26.88
to the God that
called him out of Sodom.
00:51:26.92\00:51:29.58
But the problem
was, Lot's hesitation
00:51:30.05\00:51:33.79
affected the life of his wife.
00:51:33.89\00:51:36.52
Her affections for her lifestyle
00:51:37.46\00:51:39.59
were greater than
her love for Christ.
00:51:39.69\00:51:41.63
And the Bible says, when
God was calling them out...
00:51:41.90\00:51:44.80
As a matter of fact,
it became so critical,
00:51:44.83\00:51:46.63
as they neared
the hour of judgment
00:51:46.84\00:51:49.40
the angels had to grab
their hands and cause them to
00:51:49.50\00:51:53.24
flee the city while destruction
was being rained down.
00:51:53.27\00:51:57.51
While destruction was nearing
the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
00:51:57.65\00:52:01.05
God had to pull
them out of the city.
00:52:01.08\00:52:03.35
And on their way out, between
being lost and being saved,
00:52:03.39\00:52:09.16
between
salvation and destruction,
00:52:09.19\00:52:11.59
Lot's wife made the critical
mistake, the critical mistake
00:52:11.79\00:52:16.40
of looking back.
00:52:16.43\00:52:17.77
She made the critical
mistake of looking back.
00:52:18.00\00:52:20.47
You see, the Bible says, "He
that puts his hand to the plow
00:52:20.50\00:52:23.51
and looks back is
not worthy of Me."
00:52:23.54\00:52:28.38
There are those that
God is calling out today.
00:52:28.74\00:52:30.91
They're sitting in the
comfort of their offices.
00:52:32.45\00:52:34.58
They're sitting in the
leather seats of their cars.
00:52:35.45\00:52:37.22
Nothing wrong
with your possessions.
00:52:37.25\00:52:38.85
But if you're more
possessed by your possessions
00:52:39.12\00:52:41.09
than filled by the Holy Spirit,
you are in the same position
00:52:41.12\00:52:44.26
of Lot's wife.
00:52:44.29\00:52:45.63
She's caught between the
safety of God's deliverance
00:52:45.66\00:52:49.26
and the hand of the
destruction of those cities
00:52:49.83\00:52:52.70
for which she
has fallen in love.
00:52:52.80\00:52:54.60
God is calling someone
today to make a decision,
00:52:54.67\00:52:56.54
to come out of the darkness
into His marvelous light.
00:52:56.57\00:52:58.97
To leave the
things that have held you
00:52:59.11\00:53:00.94
to the God that
wants to hold you.
00:53:00.98\00:53:02.68
To lay down your life
that you have constructed
00:53:02.71\00:53:06.18
to accept the life that
Jesus is constructing for you.
00:53:06.21\00:53:09.25
To leave the city
that you have built
00:53:09.28\00:53:11.39
to look forward to the
city that God has built.
00:53:12.25\00:53:14.12
That's why Abraham said...
00:53:14.16\00:53:15.49
And I understand these
words now more than ever before.
00:53:15.52\00:53:18.26
When Abraham said
he's looking for a city
00:53:18.29\00:53:21.00
which has foundations
whose builder and maker is God,
00:53:21.20\00:53:24.10
he's looking for a city
because he knew that his nephew
00:53:24.30\00:53:26.94
chose the wrong city.
00:53:26.97\00:53:28.70
He came from the wrong city.
00:53:28.90\00:53:31.01
But he said he's not
going to stop traveling
00:53:31.77\00:53:33.88
until he finds the city of God.
00:53:33.98\00:53:37.65
She lost her life
between what she wanted
00:53:37.88\00:53:41.75
and what the
Lord wanted for her.
00:53:42.28\00:53:44.22
There are those of you today
00:53:44.42\00:53:45.75
that are in the
same predicament.
00:53:45.79\00:53:47.12
What do you want?
00:53:47.16\00:53:48.49
Is what you want more important
than what God wants for you?
00:53:48.52\00:53:51.39
Is what you've
worked for more important
00:53:51.43\00:53:54.03
than what God
is working for you.
00:53:54.06\00:53:57.03
Are the sacrifices
that you have made greater
00:53:57.33\00:53:59.73
than the sacrifice
that Jesus has made?
00:53:59.83\00:54:02.04
Is the world that you live
in greater, offering you more
00:54:02.37\00:54:06.37
than the world that Jesus
is preparing for us to live in?
00:54:06.41\00:54:09.71
The Bible says, "Eyes have not
seen and ears have not heard,
00:54:09.81\00:54:13.21
it hasn't even
entered the hearts of men,
00:54:13.25\00:54:16.28
the things that God has prepared
for those that love Him."
00:54:16.48\00:54:20.32
So today, friends,
it's time not to look back.
00:54:20.36\00:54:23.93
Time is winding down.
00:54:24.23\00:54:25.56
God is pleading with
us, "Don't look back."
00:54:25.59\00:54:28.63
Walk away from man's
traditions and follow
00:54:28.73\00:54:31.13
the truth of God's word.
00:54:31.17\00:54:32.50
Walk away from false worship,
from traditional worship,
00:54:32.53\00:54:35.54
and turn your
life over to Jesus.
00:54:35.64\00:54:37.71
Walk away from sinful
pleasures and worldly fashion.
00:54:37.81\00:54:40.94
Walk away today
in this critical hour
00:54:41.14\00:54:43.58
from the destroying
health practices that wrack
00:54:43.75\00:54:46.82
your body day to day.
00:54:46.85\00:54:48.32
Walk away from
violating the Bible Sabbath
00:54:48.35\00:54:50.99
and begin to trust your
life in the hands of God
00:54:51.02\00:54:53.29
who can more than
provide your needs.
00:54:53.32\00:54:55.46
Walk away from a lack of love
and invite Jesus to come in.
00:54:55.56\00:54:58.36
Walk away from indecision
and get onboard with Jesus.
00:54:58.39\00:55:03.53
Walk away from a world
that promises to destroy you
00:55:03.67\00:55:06.97
while it claims
to enhance your life.
00:55:07.00\00:55:10.84
Look beyond the
lights of the here and now
00:55:11.24\00:55:13.94
to the glory that shall
be revealed in the hereafter.
00:55:13.98\00:55:16.95
Look beyond the things
that you have labored for,
00:55:17.05\00:55:19.71
the money that you have stored.
00:55:19.75\00:55:21.08
One day every
dollar you have saved
00:55:21.12\00:55:23.39
will be of no value at all.
00:55:23.42\00:55:25.52
That's why, friends, I'm
not looking for what's in my
00:55:25.72\00:55:27.46
bank account, but I'm
looking forward to the day
00:55:27.49\00:55:30.19
when I can give an account.
00:55:30.23\00:55:31.59
And I can thank the Lord
for all that He has provided,
00:55:31.89\00:55:34.30
all that He has
stored, all that He has saved,
00:55:34.33\00:55:36.70
all that He has done.
00:55:36.73\00:55:38.07
I remember as a young man
when I had to make a decision
00:55:38.57\00:55:40.94
when I was locked into my life
of music and disc jockeying,
00:55:41.57\00:55:44.87
when I lived in those moments of
the pleasure that I had sought.
00:55:49.34\00:55:52.01
Surrounded by the 400
record albums that I had,
00:55:52.85\00:55:55.32
surrounded by the two
turntables, the mixing board,
00:55:55.35\00:55:58.05
the gigantic speakers.
00:55:58.09\00:55:59.55
I remember the parties
in the World Trade Center,
00:55:59.75\00:56:02.09
the parties on Broadway, the
parties on downtown Manhattan,
00:56:02.66\00:56:06.73
uptown Manhattan, the
house parties, the club parties.
00:56:06.76\00:56:10.03
I remember the day when
I was in my car on my way
00:56:10.17\00:56:13.37
to what I said
was my last party.
00:56:13.40\00:56:17.01
And I almost lost my
life in a car accident.
00:56:17.21\00:56:20.78
I was between
God's gift and my desire.
00:56:20.88\00:56:24.55
I was between what
God was offering me
00:56:24.58\00:56:26.75
and what I had a
desire for myself.
00:56:26.78\00:56:28.62
And the Lord, in His mercy,
reached into that position,
00:56:28.65\00:56:32.12
that moment, that hour,
and took me out to give me
00:56:32.15\00:56:35.09
what He's given to me today.
00:56:35.12\00:56:36.59
So friends, whatever
your family decision may be,
00:56:36.62\00:56:39.59
don't hold onto the
things that you have embraced.
00:56:40.10\00:56:42.86
Be willing to let
go of the things that
00:56:43.06\00:56:44.73
you have labored for.
00:56:44.77\00:56:46.20
For the best is yet to come.
00:56:46.30\00:56:48.84
The crisis in the family
can be replaced with the Christ
00:56:49.00\00:56:53.14
in the family today.
00:56:53.17\00:56:54.84
You've got to say
it like the songwriter;
00:56:54.98\00:56:56.44
"I'd rather have
Jesus than silver or gold;
00:56:56.48\00:56:59.81
I'd rather be His
than have riches untold."
00:56:59.85\00:57:03.28
Today, fathers and
mothers, pray for your children.
00:57:03.32\00:57:06.25
Children, pray for your parents.
00:57:06.29\00:57:07.86
Pull the family together so
that one day when the heavenly
00:57:07.89\00:57:11.43
call is made, when the
account that we must give to God
00:57:11.46\00:57:15.26
for the children we have
raised, when that time comes,
00:57:15.30\00:57:17.63
you'll know by God's
grace that He has saved you
00:57:17.67\00:57:20.90
from the crisis in your
family and has placed within you
00:57:20.94\00:57:23.81
the endless hope of
Christ in your heart.
00:57:23.84\00:57:26.27
God bless you.
00:57:26.31\00:57:27.64