What Happens When You Don’t Fully Leave?
From Creation To Covenant • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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When God speaks, we listen and obey — even when it’s hard.
For almost two years we’ve been meeting on Saturday nights at North Heights. And recently, we began noticing something… people were migrating from NH to Carl Junction. The family here has become strong — magnetic.
So our elders made a decision. Not because it was convenient. Not because it was trendy. But because we believe God is leading us to consolidate and become a family gathered at one campus again.
And I know for some, that’s a shift. Change is hard. Leaving something familiar is hard.
So please be praying for those who are feeling the weight of that shift…
There’s another shift going on as well…
We’ve been talking since October about our “From Now To NEXT” journey
This will see us renovate:
Our Gym into a new Auditorium
Existing offices into a new Lobby
Update existing Restrooms
This will increase our seating capacity from approx. 190 to approx. 320-340
In October, we passed out little chairs and asked everyone to be praying for the people who would fill the seats in the new space
Just over a week ago, we received 350 brand new chairs for that space
(and if you attend our Easter services at 9:30 or 11:00 on April 5 — you’ll get to sit in them!)
I want to thank you for:
Praying for people who will join us over the next year or so
Giving financially toward the “From Now To NEXT” journey
(as of right now, we have received approx. $150,000 in gifts)
If you didn’t get a small chair to use for praying, we have some available today at our Welcome Center
PRAY
Context:
Abraham had a nephew named Lot
Abraham and Lot were traveling together but between the two of them, they had too many people and animals and it was hard to find food for all of them
Abraham gave Lot the first choice — he could choose the land he wanted and Abraham would go the opposite direction
Lot chose to live near a city called Sodom — which was nearby a city called Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were WICKED places
God was going to destroy the two cities
Abraham — “50 righteous people?”
Abraham — “45 righteous people?”
Abraham — “40 righteous people?”
Abraham — “30 righteous people?”
Abraham — “20 righteous people?”
Abraham — “10 righteous people?”
God said if that many good people were there, He would relent
Two angels show up to tell Lot and his family to leave Sodom before it was destroyed…
P. 12
12 The two men — the angels — said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
Sin is most deadly when it feels familiar.
Lot warned his sons-in-law about the consequences of the sin in Sodom but they didn’t listen to him.
Why not???
Because sin was NORMAL for them
The moment sin feels NORMAL — you’re closer to death than you realize.
Familiarity with sin breeds fatality.
Nobody wakes up one morning and decides to destroy their life. They just slowly get used to what once would have destroyed them.
Story: Toilet on Front Porch
Changed out a toilet
Put it on porch, with flowers in it as a joke to my wife
5 months later — still on my porch
I never notice it…but everyone else does
Once we stop seeing sin and recognizing it as sin, it becomes THE MOST DEADLY THING IN THE UNIVERSE.
15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”
God is always ready to point out sin in your life.
Here, through the angels
In you, through...
Holy Spirit
Bible
Other believers
Questions:
Does this mean God is waiting for you to screw up so He can call you on it?
NO — God is waiting for you to recognize your sin so you can accept His offer for restoration
How do “other believers” help with this? I thought the Bible said… “Do not judge.”
ACTUALLY — Bible says we SHOULD judge…so we know how to help people
ACTUALLY — Bible says “Do not condemn.”
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” — even here…the angels had to PULL Lot out of Sodom —
18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! 19 Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”
God has offered Lot a way out of the consequence of a broken city — but Lot still wants to suggest his own solution
How often have you been confronted with your own sin… And you’ve heard God’s instruction… “Repent and believe.”
Change your mind
Do something about it.
But you’ve thought… “Maybe if I do __________ instead…it’ll be easier/quicker/less embarrassing”
21 He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.)
23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.
This is devastation on an incredible level — THANK GOODNESS LOT AND HIS FAMILY WERE ABLE TO GET OUT…
26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Lot’s wife looked back.
Not on accident.
Not out of curiosity.
It was out of longing.
She had lived in Sodom long enough…
…and the sin had become normal enough…
…that she was mourning leaving it behind…
…and longed for one last look.
You can run from Sodom and still have Sodom in your heart.
You can be rescued from sin and still want it back.
You can leave what was destroying you and still want it back.
Deliverance doesn’t always mean desire is gone.
28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.”
30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.”
If you try to hold on to the brokenness of your past, you will ultimately lose everything — including your life.
Let me ask you…
What sin in your past do you secretly wish you could go back to?
What sin has your heart not actually left?
There is a long-lasting consequence to secretly holding on to sin…
For Lot’s wife — when she secretly longed for it, it cost her life…immediately
But she wasn’t the only one secretly holding on to sin…
Lot and his daughters had their own secrets…
30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar — remember, they tried to negotiate with God and stopped in Zoar, rather than going all the way to the mountains initially…well, they’re going to go the rest of the way now — and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. — Lot finally made it to the mountains but he was afraid to be around people so he chose to stay in a cave. Because of his choice to live all alone…his daughters would have a hard time finding husbands to have kids — 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”
33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
Just to be clear…
The Bible identifies this as a sinful sexual behavior.
In fact, if you are wondering what type of sexual activity is good and what types are sin, it’s pretty simple…
According to God’s Word…
Sex between a male husband and a female wife is good.
ALL OTHER SEXUAL PRACTICE IS SIN.
Sex between:
Boyfriend & Girlfriend = SIN
2 men = SIN
2 women = SIN
Fiance & Fiance = SIN
Any other combination that is NOT a male husband and female wife = SIN
Much of our culture HATES that truth…but just because you might not like it doesn’t make it any less true
And remember…THERE’S A CONSEQUENCE FOR SIN…it’s what we’re dealing with in Genesis 19
Earlier in Genesis 19, before we started reading, it was clear that much of Sodom’s sin was sexual in nature.
They had left Sodom — but Lot’s wife was still longing for it
They find themselves living in a cave…all alone…scared…because of the consequences of a sinful city
And now…Lot’s daughters are engaging SINFUL SEXUAL BEHAVIOR — just like they had left behind
You can run from Sodom and still have Sodom in your heart.
36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
The choices you make don’t just affect you…they have long-lasting ramifications for your future kids, families, and generations to come…
Because…
Sin may feel temporary — but its consequences rarely are.
Two sons were born from sin…
One would become the Moabite people
One would become the Ammonite people
Throughout the Bible, the Moabites and Ammonites would be two of the greatest enemies to God’s people.
One night in a cave shaped centuries of conflict.
One sinful decision altered an entire family’s future.
Your sin isn’t temporary either.
You might not be living in Sodom…but you’re living in a culture that certainly knows a lot about sin.
God has called you out of it.
15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
INVITATION: Repent and Surrender to Jesus
CHALLENGE: Leave “Sodom” behind
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Where has sin become normal in your life?
Is there something that once convicted you that no longer does?
What voices (culture, media, friends) have helped make it feel acceptable?
If someone new observed your life, what might they see that you’ve stopped noticing?
Where are you hesitating to obey God?
Is there a clear instruction from God you’ve been delaying?
What feels difficult, embarrassing, or costly about full obedience?
Are you asking God to adjust His plan to make it easier — like Lot asking for Zoar?
What part of “Sodom” is still in your heart?
What sin in your past do you secretly romanticize?
What do you miss about the life God called you out of?
If you’re honest, where do you still feel pulled backward?
How might your private sin affect others?
Who is watching your life right now — children, spouse, friends, coworkers?
What patterns might you be unintentionally passing down?
If your current compromises multiplied for 20 years, what would the result look like?
What would “fully leaving” look like this week?
What specific action would demonstrate repentance — not just regret?
Who do you need to invite into your life for accountability?
What comfort might you need to sacrifice to walk in obedience?
