Lot's Loss Perpetuated, Part 1

We are looking at the biblical narrative of the life of Lot. There's not a lot of good to say about this man. That's why we've entitled our series, Lot's Loss in Life, because he loses so very, very much. It's an enormous study. It's very practical to every one of us, because it tells us so much about our lives. For instance, every one of us, to some degree or another, experiences loss in life. For example, I'm sure this week you lost something. Maybe you lost a pen or a pencil. Maybe you lost your checkbook, your car keys.

Maybe you lost your dog, your pet rat. I don't know. But we tend to lose things. But those things could all be replaced fairly easily. Some lose jobs. Some lose scholarships, lose money. They also can be replaced. Maybe not so easily, but you can get another job. You can usually make some more money. You lose a car, you can buy another car. You lose a house, you can maybe one day buy another house. And some of you have experienced those kinds of losses. Other losses, not so much. You can lose a limb, an arm, a finger, a leg.

Those can't be replaced. You can lose your sight, lose an eye, lose your hearing, even lose your memory. Those things cannot be replaced. And yet the greatest loss in life is when we lose those who are close to us. We lose loved ones. For some way, somehow, they're gone. And that's where what happened in Las Vegas this past weekend ties into what it is we're talking about this evening. Because loss is inevitable to some degree for all of us. And it varies in different degrees. But the loss of a loved one hits to the deepest part of a person, the soul of a man, unlike anything else.

Because by nature, we are made in the image of God, and we are, by nature, relational beings. And so when we lose someone close to us, there's almost like there's this huge gap. And those losses, losses, most of the time come unexpectedly. I'm sure those people in Vegas this past week did not go to a concert expecting to be shot at. So the loss of those 59 people came unexpectedly. It also came very suddenly. For loss of a loved one happens very suddenly and tragically, sometimes even swiftly. We must come to realize that there's one thing that does ring true.

And that is when we lose something or someone, it's always comes about because of God's sovereignty. Always, without question. And so when you think about the loss that people experienced in Vegas, it did not happen outside the realm of God's providential control of all things. For instance, God's sovereignty is defined in this way, that God directly causes or consciously permits every single thing that has ever happened in human history. God directly causes or consciously permits every single thing that has happened in human history.

That is evident in our story with Lot. He consciously permitted the kings of the West to revolt against the kings of the East. Thus a war ensued. Thus Lot was captured and the city of Sodom was captured. That didn't happen by accident. God consciously permitted that. The flip side of that is Genesis 19, which we're going to begin discussing this evening. That the Lord directly caused fire and brimstone to rain down on Sodom and Gomorrah. See that? So God's sovereignty is defined by the fact that God either directly causes or consciously permits every single thing that has ever happened in the universe.

And in our story of Lot, we see that. And we must realize that Romans 11 36 speaks of that. For all things are from God, go through God in order to come back to God. To him be the glory. Right? To him be the glory. Paul would state that everything that happens comes from God, either directly caused by him or consciously permitted by him. It goes through God in order to come back to him again, because he ultimately is going to receive all the glory. For example, John 9, when there was a man that was born blind and the disciples asked who sinned, this man or his parents?

Because in Judaism, they believe that if you were born with a birth defect, it was that way because either you sinned in the womb or your parents sinned. And Jesus' response was no one. Has nothing to do with man's sin. Has everything to do with one thing. And that is on this day, the glory of the Lord will be manifested. This man was born blind for one reason, so that on this day he would be healed and God's glory will be seen by all. Because everything is about God's glory. And so we need to come to grips with that.

The Bible says, Isaiah 45 verse number seven, I am the Lord, there is no other, the one forming light, creating darkness, causing well-being, and creating calamity.

God is the author of calamity. I am the Lord who does all these things. He says in verse nine, woe to the one who wants to quarrel with his maker about these things. Cursed are you if you think that you can come and question the God of the universe on how he does his business. Because God's in charge. Isaiah 46 verse nine, he says, I am God, there is no one like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, things which have not been done, saying, my purpose will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.

Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my purpose from a far country. Truly I've spoken, truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it. Surely I will do it. Excuse me. There are many verses that speak to the sovereign controlling power of Almighty God. So much so that in Psalm 89, the Bible tells us that God is the one who causes the sea to swell. In other words, he's the one who causes all flooding because he causes the sea to swell. Don't think for one moment that the sea swells without God being actively involved in that.

He's in charge of everything. We need to come to grips with that. And while it might be difficult for people in Vegas to understand what has taken place, there's one thing that's true in that God, God consciously permitted what happened to happen. He did. He allowed evil to run its course. We live in a country that has been abandoned by God. I'm not sure that people recognize that we pray God bless America or sing God bless America, but save your vocal cords. It's not going to happen because, excuse me.

Oh wow. Look at us. It's like Halloween up here. I got all this candy. America lives in Romans one. It's the worst place to be. It's called the wrath of God's abandonment. When God abandoned the nation, he gives it over to his evil devices. In fact, one of us said, if God soon doesn't destroy America, he has to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah because that's where America is. But we are experiencing God's wrath. One of the questions asked on the news with the news media was why more and more mass shootings in the history of our world?

Well, the simple answer is, is that God has abandoned our nation and it's only going to get worse. You can pass all the gun laws you want to pass. It's not going to change anything. It's still going to get worse because evil reigns in the heart of sinful man. Guns are not the issue. Man's hearts are the issue. And as long as man's heart continues to run evil, it's just going to get worse and worse and worse. And God has let America go. And we are experiencing the evil of our hearts, not to its fullest yet, but worse than we ever had before.

Because God has abandoned our country. And that's what Romans one teaches. And yet I need to say this. We talk about loss. There is one loss you can prevent. And that's the loss that centers on the consequences of your sin. That's the one loss you can prevent. You can't prevent the loss that comes through tragedy, natural disasters, those kinds of things, because they're going to take place. People are going to die. But you can prevent the loss that comes because of your sin by not sinning or if sin repenting from your sin.

You see, when we look at the life of Lot, he's a classic example of whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap.

If you sow to the flesh, you're going to let the flesh reap corruption. If you sow to the spirit, you let the spirit reap life everlasting. If you sow sin, you're going to reap the consequences of sin. Because Lot sowed sin, he reaped the consequences of sin and he lost. And so there's one loss you can prevent. And that's why the study is so enormous. That's why the study is so important for you and me. That's why I wonder why not everybody else is here. I guess loss is okay for them. You can tell them I said that if you want to.

I guess it's okay for them to lose in life because this is a pivotal study for the church. To understand the consequences of sin and how not to lose in life. Lot teaches us how not to live our lives. And so we've kind of taken you through the process by helping you understand Lot's learning process. That was week one. Remember that? Lot's learning process. And we wanted you to understand that no matter how deep the sorrow may be in your life or how far you may journey in life or wherever your family might take you or what kind of education you have in life, none of that can shape your thinking.

What shapes your thinking must be the scripture. That's why the principle we gave you in week one is what happens in me is more important than what happens to me. Because scripture must shape the way we live our lives, the way we respond to decisions that we make. If not, we then will blame our upbringing, will blame someone else or someone's influence in our lives for decisions that we make. We must look to scripture and trust in what God says and follow his word.

And that was week one. Then we moved to Lot's leaving Abraham. Remember that? Went through his learning process and then Lot himself leaving Abraham. And the principle we gave you was that wrong decisions are a result of worldly desires and worldly desires are a result of a weak devotion. And that was Lot. He had a weak devotion to God. And we helped you understand that Abraham was a man who made bad choices, but at least he would call upon the name of the Lord. At least he would build an altar in a pagan land.

At least he would repent of his sins. Lot never did that. In fact, you'll never read in scripture of Lot building an altar or calling on the name of the Lord or praying at all in scripture. You never read about that because he has a weak devotion. Well, that weak devotion led to a worldly desire. That worldly desire led to wrong decisions. Now, I knew someone would ask me this question. And I was asked this question by my daughter this past week. I was too sick to answer it. So I answer it for her this evening.

Because someone will say, did not Abraham, having gone down to Egypt and lied about Sarah's wife being a sister and getting in a whole heap of trouble, why would he do that again? Because he does, right? He does it, listen, 25 years later. Oh, let me ask you a question.

What sin did you commit 25 years ago that you didn't commit until now? Can you remember that? I'm not sure that lying was a part of Abraham's life for 25 years, but he did do the same thing 25 years later in Genesis chapter 20 with King Abimelech. And the neat thing about the story is that Sarah is now 90. And the king wants Sarah in his harem with all the 19 and 20 year old girls. I want to know what was in her water. That whatever it was she was drinking, we'd have a part of, because at 90, she was still a knockout.

And King Abimelech wanted Sarah as a part of his harem. And so the whole sister story sequel, as it went around, the first time was do it again.

You tell them you're my sister to protect my life. And so she did. And so he took her into his household and God struck his household. And Abimelech had a dream. God showed up in his dream. That's a nightmare. If God shows up in your dreams, that's a nightmare. And he had one horrendous nightmare. God says, you're going to die.

And Abimelech was upset because he realized Abraham lied to him. And now Abraham was rebuked by a pagan king. He's rebuked by a pagan king. And it's interesting to note that in Genesis chapter 20, in verse number 13, Abraham says, God caused me to wonder from my father's house. That word wonder used 50 times in the old Testament, always used in a negative sense, not a positive sense. He's blaming God for bringing him to Canaan. He's blaming God for causing him to wander about. And Abraham's giving all these excuses as to why he lied and why he had Sarah lie.

And yet the king gives him silver and the king gives him livestock and the king blesses him because if he didn't do that, God's going to kill him. And somewhere between Abraham being rebuked by a pagan king and getting all the good things from king Abimelech, it says in verse 17, Abraham prayed to God. Now I don't know what went on in Abraham's life, but there had to be some repentance there because in order for God to hear what he was saying, iniquity had to be removed. So he had to have some kind of repentance somewhere in there to pray for king Abimelech and his wife and his maids so that they would be able to bear children because God had put a stigma on them.

They could not bear children. And God answered his prayer. The point of that is that he did pray. He did go back to his God. There was repentance in there someplace. The point of all that is that Lot never did that. Lot never did. He never came to a point where he said, I was wrong. I got to pray to God. I got to build an altar to God. I got to call upon the Lord. He never does that. Never does. But Abraham always does. And that's the mark of a maturing, growing individual who when confronted, when rebuked, repents, gets it right.

And by the way, please understand this. God never blesses because of you. He blesses in spite of you. The minute you think that God blesses because of you, you're treating God as a little magic rabbit's foot that if you rub him a certain way, he's going to do good for you. No, God blesses in spite of us, not because of us. And the life of Abraham is that story, that God blesses Abraham, not because of him, but in spite of him, protects his wife, protects his descendants, protects his covenant, protects everything about Abraham, because that's the way God is.

And so just in case you were wondering that question, I thought I'd answer it for you this evening, so you don't have to come ask it later on in our study. The point of matter is, is that we saw Lot's learning process, then we saw Lot's leaving Abraham, and then last week we saw Lot's loss initiated. Tonight we're going to see Lot's loss perpetuated. And then in two weeks, Lot's loss escalated. And then we're going to see Lot's loss culminated. And then we're going to conclude it all by saying Lot's loss was dominated by the sovereign controlling work of God through it all, because God is still in charge, no matter how much we sin or not.

And so we need to see all that. That's why this study is so enormous, because once the loss was initiated last week, he lost peace, he lost pleasure, he lost protection, he lost power, he lost possessions, he was taken captive, and God moved nations. So Lot would be taken captive. So uncle Abraham would come in to rescue him. So Lot would come to grips with the reality of a sin and repent, but he doesn't. He doesn't do that. Instead, Lot refuses to repent of his iniquity. He refuses to recognize God's sovereignty, and he refuses to realize his responsibility with his family.

He still refuses all that. And he goes back to Sodom. And now we come to Genesis chapter 19, because this is the next time he is mentioned outside Genesis chapter 14. And it has been 15 years since Genesis chapter 14. Now think about that. 15 years he has enjoyed the passing pleasures of sin. He's thinking to himself, wow, this is a very slow passing pleasure of sin. It's lasting quite a long time. Now I know he doesn't know that verse yet, but think about it. It's been 15 years, no consequences.

God warned him back in Genesis 14 when the war erupted between the kings of the west and the kings of the east, and Sodom was taken captive, and Lot was taken captive. And yet he refused to recognize God's sovereignty at all, because he had not repented from his iniquity. And how God brought uncle Abraham in to rescue him, and spare him, and save him. He missed the wake-up call, went right back to Sodom. And now he is living in the city. Now he is actually leading in the city. And maybe he's leading in Sodom because of what uncle Abraham did 15 years earlier.

Maybe it's because of what Abraham did for the whole city of Sodom by rescuing them. We don't know. But now he is leading in the city. Once his loss was initiated, and it didn't get his attention, that loss now is perpetuated in his life. In this week and next week, I'm going to show you how that loss is perpetuated. Then we'll see how it's escalated. Then we'll see how it's culminated in his life. If you've got your Bible, Genesis chapter 19. That was all introductory. Genesis chapter 19. Three verses.

That's it. Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed down with his face to the ground. And he said, Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise early and go on your way. They said, however, no, but we shall spend the night in the square. Yet he urged them strongly. So they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread and they ate.

Now, these three verses show us how far gone Lot is. And you're thinking, really? I didn't see that in those three verses. I'm going to show you that by contrasting Abraham with Lot in four particular areas. Okay. The first area I want to contrast Abraham with Lot is in the delegation of the heavenly visitors.

Okay. Notice the text says in Genesis 19 verse number one. Now the two angels came to Sodom. What two angels are those? Well, we have not had the luxury of going through Genesis chapter 18. So let me help you understand what happens in Genesis chapter 18.

Abraham is visited by three heavenly beings. Three. Okay. In Genesis 19, Lot is visited by two heavenly beings. Now in Genesis 18, they described as three men, three men. But we know that two of those men are angels. Why? Because it says in verse 22 of Genesis 18, then the men turned away from there and went towards Sodom while Abraham was still standing before the Lord. Now verse one of chapter 19, the two angels came to Sodom. The two men were two angels, meaning that angels are not human, but can take on human form and can inhabit humans.

But that's the story of angelology. We're not going to talk about that tonight, but at least you need to understand that. And this is important to understand because Abraham received three heavenly visitors, the three men, two of them of which are angels. The other one is the Lord himself, the pre-incarnate Christ, the angel of the Lord. He is called the Lord in 18 verse number one, 18 verse number 13, verse number 17, verse number 20, verse number 26, verse number 33, chapter 19, verse number 24, twice, and verse number 27.

So Abraham receives three visitors, three men. One is the Lord, two are angels, but all in the appearance of a man. But Lot only receives two visitors. They are the two angels. What does this tell us? Very simply this, God does not commune with the carnal. He doesn't. God's not going down to Lot. God's with Abraham. He's not going down to see Lot. He dispenses his angels to go down and see about the wickedness in the city because he said to Abraham that's what he was going to do. But the point is, is that God himself is going to commune with those who commune with him.

He's not going to commune with those who don't. And already you can see Lot's loss perpetuated. He's further and further and further moving away from the Lord himself because of his own sin, because of where he is, his unwillingness to repent of his sin. And so in this delegation, Lot was visited by two angels, which in and of itself is quite miraculous. Would you not agree? Sure it is. But would you rather have two angels or would you rather have the Lord God of Israel? Yeah, I'd take the Lord God of Israel.

Of course you would, right? But God's not going down to Sodom. God's not going where Lot is. Remember Genesis after 18, verse number 19, God says, For I have chosen him, that is Abraham, so he may command his children in his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what he has spoken about him.

That's the kind of person God communes with. Those who command their children to walk in the ways of the Lord. This is so important. And I wonder if Lot ever came to this conclusion as he was fleeing Sodom, as fire and brimstone would pound down upon that city. Because Lot was not the father that Abraham was. By Genesis chapter 18, Abraham is the father of Ishmael. He is the husband of Sarah. He is the leader of his house. By Genesis 18 and 19, Lot is now married. Lot has daughters. But he never commanded his daughters to keep the ways of God and to walk in the truth of God.

And yet Abraham did. And that's very important for all of us to understand. Because sin and its effects are perpetuated with our lack of leadership in the home. That's why it's so important for us to live righteous lives, to live holy lives. And when we sin, to repent, to get things back on track again for the glory of his name. The second thing I want you to see is the position or the location of where Abraham was when the three men, two of which were angels, one was the Lord himself, came to him.

And where Lot was when the two angels came to him. This also tells you about how Lot's loss is perpetuated in his life. It tells us in Genesis 19, verse number one, these words, Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.

As Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. And commentators would tell you that this is the clear indicator that Lot was now leading in the city of Sodom. Those of you who are going to Israel with me this year, we're going to go up north to Tel Dan, where Jehoshaphat built his altar of idol worship. And you're going to see the city gates of Dan. And you're going to understand this very vividly because it was in the city gates where businessmen and legislators would sit to make transactions and to rule in people's lives.

Lot being there would indicate that he was a part of that process, meaning that now Lot was leading in the city. That which he longed for, he looked toward. Remember that? He longed for Sodom because Sodom was like Egypt. So that which he longed for, he looked toward. And that which he looked toward, he leaned toward. And that in which he leaned toward, he would end up living in. And now he's leading in the city. This is how sin perpetuates itself, because he just can't get enough of Sodom. And I'm going to show you in a minute that his leading in Sodom was because he loved Sodom.

I'm going to show you that in the text in just a minute. So hang on. But the important thing is, is that where he was, was in the congregation of the wicked. He was leading among the congregation of the wicked. He said, wait a minute, Pastor, should we not be salt and light in society? Yes, you should. But because you are salt and you are light, you better shake that salt and shine that light. And Lot didn't do that. He wasn't shining very brightly, that's for sure. Okay. He wasn't shaking any salt around because he was welcomed in the city.

He was embraced in the city. He's now leading in the city. That's important. Why? Because where's Abraham when the three men come? Well, if you go back to Genesis 18, it tells us, verse one, now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. He was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. Abraham understood what it meant to be an alien and a stranger in a foreign land. He knew what it meant not to be like those in Canaan. He knew what it meant not to associate with those who would move him away from his God.

Lot did not. That's why his loss perpetuates. You see, bad company corrupts good morals. First Corinthians 15, right?

It just does. Who you hang out with, where you go, tells a lot about the condition of your heart and what you like to do. It just does. Who you like to hang around with throughout the week tells us a lot about you. Not so much about the people you're hanging around with, but a lot about you. And Lot loved to hang out with the hot knobs of Sodom. He'd been there 15 years, 15 years. He wasn't going anywhere. He loved the city. He loved the city lights. He loved the glamour and glitz of Sodom. He certainly had made no impact in the city because Abraham had prayed, if there'd be 10 righteous in the city, spare the city.

God says, I'll spare it for 10. Wow. Certainly there's going to be 10 righteous ones there. You got Lot, his wife, got his two daughters, their sons-in-law. Okay. That's what? Six. Certainly they're going to make an impact on four of the people, right? You think, but the sons-in-law, they're not even believers in the Lord God of Israel because Lot's daughters would marry the unbelievers of Sodom. You see, this is so important. Lot's desire to live in that city affected his family tremendously. Here's the point.

He didn't even care. Didn't care. For Lot, it was all about him. It was all about his possessions. It was all about his life. It was all about his happiness. It was all about his joy, his future. It's all about him. It wasn't about his wife or his kids. It's about him. That's why his loss is perpetuated. Third thing I want you to see is not just the delegation and the location, but I want you to also see the reception and how the two angels are received by Lot.

How the three men, two of which are angels, one is the Lord, are received by Abraham. Okay. It says, these words in Genesis chapter 19, when Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, bowed down with his face to the ground. That's how he received them. He said, now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your service house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise early and go on your way. That was their reception. But when you read about Abraham's reception, listen to this. Verse 2 of chapter 18, when he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him and we saw them.

He ran. He ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth. Verse 6, Abraham hurried. Verse 7, Abraham also ran to the herd. He hastened. He ran. There was spiritual fervency about Abraham's response and there was just low-keyed, nonchalant reception on the part of Lot. You see, when you are walking with the Lord, you can't wait to serve the Lord. But if you're not walking with the Lord, you're not too excited about serving the people of God. You're just not. Those who do can't wait to serve.

They'll run. They'll make haste. They'll be quick. They want to do it right. They can't wait to get it done. But for the carnal Christian, he just kind of goes through the motions, does what he does. You say, well, wait a minute. Aren't you going a little too far here? No, no. Because one man's reception was tested and the other man's reception was not tested. Listen to what the angel said to Lot. He said, behold, my lords, please turn aside into your service house. Spend the night, wash your feet.

Then you may rise early and go on your way. They said, no, no. That's what it says. Nope, we're not doing that. But we shall spend the night in the square. Really? You'd rather spend your night in the city with the sinners rather than in the comforts of the carnal. Answer? Yes. Yes. Because they said no. He had to urge them to come in. They said, we're not doing that. We're going to spend the night in the streets. But look at Abraham's response to the response to Abraham.

He says, please a little water, verse four, be brought and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a piece of bread that you may refresh yourselves. After that, you may go on since you have visited your servant. And they said, sure, we'll do as you say. Absolutely. Not a problem. We're good with that. You see, that whole reception is crucial because you see the carnal, the carnal person, the person who doesn't walk with God is the most untrustworthy person there is on the planet.

They're double-minded. They're fickle. You can't trust them. These are angels. Lot can't be. They're not omniscient. They don't know. They only know what God tells them. But the carnal can't be trusted. But the faithful man, Abraham, he can be trusted. Wash your feet. Rest here. Come on in. Sure. Not a problem. We can do that. But with Lot, no. So now you have this invitation that he says, verse three, yet he urged them strongly. So he turned aside to him and entered his house and he prepared a feast for them and baked the leavened bread and they ate.

He had to urge them. He had to compel them to come in. He had to beg them to come in. No, you got to be in here. See, Abraham didn't have to do that. They willingly accepted the invitation that Abraham gave them because he was a man who truly walked with God. You see, Lot's invitation had to be tested, had to be tried. But not Abraham's. This shows you how sin and the loss in Lot's life is perpetuated. How far this man has gone. Why? He loves where he is. How do we know that? Genesis 19, verse number four.

Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter. And they called to Lot and said to him, where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them. But Lot went out to them at the doorway and shut the door behind him and said, here it is, please, my brothers. Really? Really? Your house is surrounded by Sodomites. They want the two men that have come to your house. What do you say?

Do you go out and say, please, my brothers? Of course not. You yell, be gone, you evil creatures. No way are you going to have the men in my house. No way are you coming to my house. But he loved the city. Why? Listen.

He says, do not act wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with men. Please let me bring them out to you and do to them whatever you like.

There's a man who loved the city of Sodom. He loved the sinful glitz of Sodom. This is where he wanted to be. That's why he has to be dragged out of the city, kicking and screaming. He doesn't willingly leave the city having been warned that it's going to be demolished by God himself. He has to be dragged out of the city because that's where his heart is. He loved the city. He longed for it. He looked toward it. Having looked toward it, he leaned in that direction. And the longer he leaned, he soon began to live in the city.

And once he lived in the city, he had to lead in the city because he loved the city. My friends, this lesson in lot is so important for us today. The Bible says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life.

Why? They're not of the Father, they're of the world. And the world's passing away, and the lust thereof, but he who does the will of the Father remains forever. But the world's passing away in all of its lusts. And this is a story of loss. This man loses testimony, ministry, credibility, integrity, believability, family, legacy. He loses everything that matters because he will not repent. He will not turn back. He just loved the world too much. This is a warning for all of us. This needs to be told to our children, the horrific consequences of sin and how it destroys families, cities, societies, needs to be told over and over again.

My prayer for you, for me, is that we'd learn how not to live this kind of life. Let me pray with you.

Father, we're grateful for your Word, the truth that's there. We're thankful that we could spend time looking at this evening. There's so much we didn't even begin to cover, so much to say. Our prayer is that every one of us realize that there is a loss that we can prevent. And that loss comes because of the consequences of our sin. We don't have to engage in that sin. We can walk with God. We can live with God, commune with God, call upon the name of the Lord, live a bountiful, fruitful life for the glory of your kingdom.

It doesn't mean we're not going to lose things. We will lose things, but we just won't face the consequences of our sin in this life. And so we pray that, Lord, we'd learn how not to live this kind of life. And for anyone here, Lord, who has begun that downward spiral in the things of the world, may this be a wake-up call to them to repent, to turn while there's still time, to save their families, their children, their grandchildren, to be a testimony, and to be a light in a world of darkness that so desperately needs to know the way to Jesus Christ.

We pray this in your name. Amen.