Tragedy in the Twin Cities, Part 1

Genesis chapter 19 is where we are this morning. As you recall earlier in the day, that is Genesis chapter 18, God, two angels, appeared to Abraham. And God informed Abraham that he was going to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot does not know that yet until today, this passage, Genesis 19. It's later in the day, in Abraham's time, because the two men who were with the Lord Jesus Christ incarnate, and that is two angels, they appeared to Lot in Genesis 19. Lot welcomed them into his home.

And of course if you were with us last week you know about the pursuit of the men of the city who came after those two angels in wanting to have relations with them. Lot of course would protect them, bring them into his home. And as the men came after Lot, the two angels would snatch Lot out from the doorway and shut the door behind him. And of course the men were struck blind and they were unable to get into the door because the angels had protected Lot and his family. That's where the narrative is.

And so we want to pick it up there, read to verse number 29, and then that will be our lesson this morning. Verse number 12, Genesis 19, Then the men said to Lot, Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord, that the Lord has sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, Up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city.

But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting. And when morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, Up, take your wife and your daughters, your two daughters, excuse me, who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city. But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hands of his two daughters. For the compassion of the Lord was upon him, and they brought him out, and put him out of the city. And it came about, when they had brought them outside, that one said, Escape, for your life.

Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley. Escape to the mountains, lest you be swept away. But Lot said to them, Oh, no, my lords. Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life. But I cannot escape to the mountains, lest the disaster overtake me, and I die. Now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there.

Is it not small, that my life may be saved? And he said to him, Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there. Therefore, the name of the town was called Zoar. The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

But his wife from behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Now Abraham arose early in the morning, and went out to the place where he had stood before the Lord. They looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley. And he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace. Thus it came about when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

Tragedy in the Twin Cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. And of course there are two other cities that were destroyed on that day in Genesis chapter 19. But when you talk about God's holiness, and God's righteousness, and God's justice, it demands that we talk about God's anger, and God's wrath. And we don't want to talk about that, because we don't want to have a view of God being angry. The Bible says in Psalms that God is angry with the wicked every day.

And the Bible tells us that what happens in Genesis 19 is an expression of God's anger. While we look at Genesis 19, and see his long-suffering, and see his patience, we understand that God is angry with what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah, and thus he destroyed it.

I tend to think that we as Christians today don't like to talk about God's anger for fear of what it might do to us. But as you recall the psalmist said in Psalm 2 verse 11, Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son lest he become angry, and you perish in the way. For his wrath may soon be kindled, how blessed are all who take refuge in him. Psalm 2, of course, is a messianic psalm about the return of the king when he sets up his throne on Mount Zion, and rules, and destroys those who come against him.

The psalmist concludes by saying, will you do homage to the Lord? Will you worship him with reverence and in trembling? If so, you'll be blessed. If not, the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you will perish. I guess this morning we need to ask the question, are you one who honors the Lord? Are you one who trembles before his presence? Or are you one with flippancy, go through life thinking that God is not going to punish you, or God is so loving, and so caring, and so kind that he wouldn't do those kinds of things?

If so, then you have a misconstrued idea of who God really is. You need to understand him as the Bible describes him, not as some TV preacher declares him to be. What does the Bible actually say? Genesis 19 gives us a clear view of God. And as we look at the tragedy in the Twin Cities, three things I want you to begin to see.

Number one is the mission of the messengers. Number two is the lingering of lots. And number three is the consumption of the cities.

Within those three points we will begin to understand God's character, and how God begins to enact his judgment upon the sons of disobedience. Those people who willfully reject him, who turn their back on him to do their own kind of thing, who don't believe that God will do what he says he will do. Let's look first of all at the mission of the messengers.

They came with a mission. They came with three things in mind. Number one, to destroy a city. Number two, to deliver a family.

And number three, to determine a destiny. Those are our three points this morning. Hopefully we'll be able to finish them. First of all, they came to destroy a city.

It says in verse number 13, we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord, that the Lord has sent us to destroy it. The outcry was great. Genesis 18-20 speaks of the outcry, the sins there in Sodom. We studied Ezekiel chapter 16, which describes those sins in great detail. And we looked at them last week in Genesis chapter 19, verses 1 to 11, as we talked about the pursuit of these men, the popularity of their sin, the passion behind their lives, as they would seek to engage in gross kinds of sin with these two angels.

And the Bible says that their sin is before the Lord. And it tells me that, you know, you can't hide from God. We think that we can hide from Him, don't we? We think that we can do those secret kinds of sins where God never sees. But the text says, their outcry has become so great before the Lord. The Lord knows all. We know Psalm 139, where it speaks about the fact that God knows my thoughts even before my lips speak the words. We know what Jeremiah 16-17 says, For mine eyes are upon all their ways, they are not hidden from my face, neither is there iniquity from my face.

God sees everything. There's nothing He misses. That should warn the wicked, and that should give great encouragement to the saints. It should warn the wicked that they should be aware of the fact that no matter what they do, and no matter where they do it, God sees it. No sin goes unnoticed. And have you not observed that Satan in his efforts is so deceptive? He makes sin pleasurable. He makes sin appetizing. And he makes you think that, you know what, if you just do it, it feels so good it can't be wrong.

And just for a brief moment, it seems right. It seems the best way. It seems the most accommodating way. And yet, if you talk to the victims of sin, they'll tell you a different story. If you look at some of the travesties in our homes, and talk to people who have gone through the heartache of sin, they can tell you that sin never pays what it promises.

It always ends up in devastation, distress, destruction, depression, you name it, inevitably death. Because that's where sin takes you. But Satan is such a master deceiver, he even gets the believer to think that sin is going to be okay. And sin is pleasurable, the Bible says in Hebrews 11.

It is pleasurable, but only for a short time, not in the long haul, because it disobeys the law of God. And yet, that sin is always before the Lord. He knows it. He sees it. He scrutinizes it. And yet, we are so foolish to think that God doesn't see it. Just because your wife doesn't see it, or because your kids don't see it, doesn't mean that God doesn't see it. He does. And is it not true that as Christians, people who are abused, people who have been mistreated, realize that God does see the wicked?

God sees the wicked. And though it might look like they prosper, maybe you're in a divorce situation, your spouse is an unbeliever, and it seems like they get it all, you get nothing. It looks like they're better off than you are, and you're trying to follow the Lord. Psalmist said, when I went into the sanctuary of God, I perceived their end. I realized that what they have is just temporary. It's not eternal. I know that they're on the slippery slope downward, and in a moment comes destruction. Psalm 94 speaks the vengeance of God, that vengeance is His, He will repay.

In Genesis chapter 19, vengeance was God's. He repaid those people who sinned against Him, and would not submit to a sovereign authority. Notice with me, if you would, these messengers, their mission, as they came to talk about the destruction of a city.

Notice with me a couple of things. In verse number 14, a lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters and said, up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city. These messengers, these two angels, had a mission, and with their message came great authority. Why? Because they were from the Lord. God was going to destroy a city. Judgment was imminent. The wrath of God was kindled. His anger would be displayed, and God had given them a mission to go to the city and tell lots about the destruction that was going to happen.

They had a mission, and with that mission came a message, and behind that message was great authority, and that tells me that people like you and me have great authority behind our message that we give to people. I think of those going to Argentina this week, and the authority behind their message. Remember the words over in Titus chapter 2, verse number 15, when Paul said these things, speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you, Titus. Speak with authority. We have the opportunity to speak with authority because God has given us a mission, and behind that mission is a message to a lost world to help them understand that God is going to judge the world as He judged Sodom and Gomorrah, except it'll be worse.

We can speak and call men into account because we have the words of God. So when these angels would come to Sodom and Gomorrah, they were able to go to a lot and speak with authority. God's going to destroy the city. We are here as messengers from God. You can actually say that when you go out to share your faith to people, I am here on a mission from God. I have a message from God that if you don't return from your sin and follow God, you will perish in your wickedness. And you can say that with authority because God has spoken it in His Word and has declared the condition of lost man and their end if they don't repent and turn from their sin.

And so these men had a message, and they came with urgency, up now. Now is the time. Don't hesitate. Our message should always be one with urgency, should it not? Sure it should. Now is the day. Today is the day of salvation. Don't put it off till tomorrow. You don't know what tomorrow may bring. And with that urgency comes a priority. Go back up to verse number 12. Then the men said to Lot, whom else have you here? A son-in-law, your sons, and your daughters. You know, there's a priority in our message, and that priority centers around the family, our own family.

There are a lot of people who love to share their faith. They want to go door-to-door. They want to take missions trips, but they've neglected their families. And yet our family is our number one priority.

It's our number one ministry. When these messengers, these angels came to Lot's house, they were concerned primarily with his family, his daughters, sons-in-laws, that they know for certain about what's going to happen in that city. I'm afraid that there are many people, many people in my profession who have overlooked their families. They think it's better to travel the world and to do all kinds of things, leaving their families behind, do whatever it is they want to do, promoting the gospel around the world, but not promoting it in their homes.

And thus, their children have gone by the wayside. Their wives have gone by the wayside because they're not there to instruct them in the ways of righteousness and teach them the truth of God's Holy Word. Our family is our priority. These messengers emphasize that in Lot's life. And you'll notice that Lot would go to his sons-in-laws.

And look what happens. And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-laws, who were to marry his daughters. Get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city. That's what I heard. But he appeared to his sons-in-laws to be what? Jesting. That's an amazing statement. They thought he was joking. God's not going to destroy the city. Come on, Lot. You've got to be kidding us. That's not going to happen. And he appeared to them to be jesting. They didn't accept his message. They rejected his message.

You know why? His lifestyle. His lifestyle was just so bad that he didn't take them seriously. And is it not true that sometimes we want to go to our family and share Christ with them, but it almost appears as if we're jesting to them because they don't take us seriously? We as believers need to take a strong stand. What happened to Lot? All we talked about is love for the world, and we talked about how he lived in the world and led in the world. We talked about those things. But, you know, if you're going to be able to present Christ to Lot's world, it's not true that you have to have a converted heart.

Sure you do. Your heart's got to be converted. You've got to be saved. There are a lot of us trying to convert other people, listen very carefully, who have not experienced a true conversion of our own selves. Many of us are, not many of us, some of us are deceived, thinking that we're trying to win the world to Christ when in reality we haven't even been won to Christ. The Bible says in 1 John, excuse me, John 3, 11, we speak that which we know and bear witness to that which we have seen.

Lot had a converted heart. He did. Do you? And after we have a converted heart, we must have a clean heart. We must have a clean heart. David said in Psalm 51 that he wanted God to create in him a clean heart. Renew a right spirit within him. And after you have a clean heart, you need to have a consecrated heart, a consecrated heart, a heart set totally apart unto God and His purposes. It says in 1 Samuel 12, 24, only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart. Matthew 6, 33 says, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

Do you have a consecrated heart? Listen very carefully. Lot didn't have a consecrated heart. Lot didn't have a clean heart. And so when he went to his sons-in-laws, they laughed at him. He appeared to be jesting to them. They couldn't believe him. Although his heart was converted, it wasn't clean. And because it wasn't clean, it wasn't consecrated. And fourthly, you need to have a communing heart, a heart that talks and walks with God, a communing kind of heart, a heart that communes with God about the condition of the lost soul.

You'll never read in the book of Genesis of Lot building altars or communing with God. Lot never prayed for Sodom. Lot never prayed for his family. That's evident by his lack of testimony, his lack of ability to win people to Christ. There are some people who think they have a converted heart, but in reality, they have a counterfeit heart. They haven't experienced true saving faith. And I ask you today, have you experienced true, genuine saving faith? Has there been a conversion of the soul, a turning from sin to a Savior that honors him?

Don't have a counterfeit heart. Lot did have a converted heart, but he didn't have a clean heart. He had a corrupt heart, a corrupt heart. His heart was bent toward the world, doing the things of the world. So when he went to the world, he was so much like him, he couldn't win him. How about you? Is your heart corrupt? Is it filled with sin? Are you trying to hide that sin from God? Remember, everything is before the Lord. He sees it all. Because his heart wasn't clean, it was corrupt. And because it wasn't clean, it wasn't consecrated.

Therefore, he had a compromising heart, a compromising heart. He compromised in so many areas of life. He compromised his daughter's purity and virginity by offering them to the men of the city. He compromised his own testimony by not having a clean heart and standing up for what is true. He compromised his wife and will notice more about her as days go on in our study in Genesis chapter 19.

But he was a man who lived a compromised life. If your heart's not consecrated to God, it compromises with the world. Lot didn't have a committed heart. He had a camouflaged heart. Oh, he might not have committed some of the same sins as the people in the city, but he blended in so well. He was the perfect picture of a camouflaged Christian, covered up totally by the things of the world. How about you? Do you have a converted heart? Is it clean before the Lord? Is it consecrated to Him? Does it commune with Him on behalf of the world?

Is it committed to Him? Or do you have a counterfeit heart? It's really not converted at all. Do you have a corrupt heart because you're trying to hide your sin from God? Do you have a compromising heart trying to live like the world, be like the world? Do you have a camouflaged heart, a consuming heart, trying to gather all you can from the world? If you were to go home right now, share Christ with your family, would they believe you? If you were to talk to them about the judgment to come, would they believe you?

Is your life so committed, so consecrated, so clean, so converted, that people will see God in your life? I trust that it's the case. Let's pray.