Remember Lot’s Wife

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Intro:

In 1775 a silversmith was given a task of great importance.
His task was to alert local militias that British troops were nearing the city and to come to arms and be prepared to protect the citizens at all costs.
His name was Paul Revere and his famous ride announcing the arrival of the British signaled the beginning of the American Revolution, the war that lead to the development of this great nation we are a part of today.
Like Mr. Revere throughout time, many have come announcing the arrival of great things and many announcing the arrival of terrible things.
Sounding the alarm that something was on its way.
Sounding the alarm that life is going to change.
Sounding the alarm that things are about to happen that demand the attention of everyone who hears the message.
The Lord, in Chapter 18, had visited the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in one final point of grace before His judgement was carried out.
Keeping with His promise to Abraham, He entered the cities searching for just 10 righteous residents.
He promised that if He would find 10, He would spare the cities and without His wrath for their sake.
After finding not even 10, the decision was made, His mind was made up and His justice had to be carried out.
The one specific thing that the Bible says that God cannot do is lie.
He is incapable of telling a lie off any sort.
Had he not sent judgement after telling Abraham that He would, He would have been a liar and although the cities would have been spared, everything that followed would be nothing more than a fairy tale.

The Messengers

So the Lord sent 2 angels to Lot
To warn him of the coming destruction and tell him to take his family and leave.
They found him standing at the city gate.
The city gate was a common meeting place for the elites within the city.
At the gate you could see all that was going on, who was entering and who was leaving.
But more importantly than what you could see, you yourself could be seen if you were standing near the gate.
So it was customary for the elites and the leaders to gather near the gate.
Lot had become so involved in the daily living in such a wicked place that he was found comfortably standing near the gate.
After some persuasion from Lot, the angels agreed to go with him for the evening to his house.
That night the townsmen attempted to break down the doors to get to the men that they may “lie with them”.
This is how purely evil and corrupt the city had become.
It was common for visitors to be attacked, harmed and in this case, the plot was for much worse than some physical attack.
Lot went out to fend off the townsmen and protect his visitors and was nearly swept up in the mob, after bringing him back inside, killing the townsmen who attacked him, they delivered to him their message.

The Message

Their message:
Take your sons-in-law,
Take your daughters,
Take your wife
And leave this place for the Lord has sent us to destroy the city because of the cry against it that has come before the Lord.
Lot immediately took the message to his sons-in-law and they laughed at him.
Verse 14 says “he seemed as one who mocked”
Genesis 19:14

And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

In other words, the thought he was a clown.
Fooling around with foolish words that weren’t worth listening to.
At morning time, the message became more severe.
It’s time to go.
It’s time to get your family and get out of here before you too are consumed with the iniquity of the city.
The urgency became so great that they grabbed ahold of Lot, his wife, and his daughters and forced them outside the gate.
The message remained the same, the city will be destroyed, escape and do not look back, flee and forget what was here.

The Escape

After some discussion of where they would go, they settled on Lot and his family fleeing to the city of Zoar. (Zo-are)
The sun was up, the time had come, and the escape happened.
Abraham’s intercession in Chapter 18 was moved along by the hope that he found with each response from the Lord.
But the driving force behind the intercession had been his nephew Lot!
Hearing the Lord’s plans, Abraham pleaded for the city for the sake of his nephew and the Lord kept his word to not allow the righteous in the city to perish with the unrighteous.
The only righteous He found was Lot and for his sake, his family was spared with him.

Genesis 19:24-29

Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

What an impressive display of God’s power and might.
In a few moments the entirety of the valley surrounding Sodom and Gomorah was reduced to nothing more than ash and rubble.
What an impressive display of God’s grace.
Lot and his family were removed from the destruction and protected from the wrath of God.
With only one stipulation given, don’t look back.
Don’t look back at what you had there.
Don’t look back at what you were there.
Don’t look back at what you knew there.
But keep your eyes forward.
Keep focused on the destination that the Lord gave you.
Keep focused on the grace that has been shown to you and the opportunity to live when you should have died.
Don’t look back.
That’s it.
Not:
Go into this new land and in this new land make this change and that change.
Not:
Run and along the way pick up this problem or that issue.
Not:
Fix yourself so that your worth saving.
Not:
Find yourself in the wilderness in between so that you know who you are by the time you get to Zoar.
Not:
Follow your heart and be who you want to be and do whatever you want to do.
Don’t look back!
In a few moments everything was gone.
In a few moments the landscape of that valley was forever changed.
In a few moments the wickedness that came up before the Lord was judged.
In a few moments the wrath of God was put on full display for the most vile and evil in the world at the time.
In a few moments, a scar, an eternal reminder of the swiftness of God’s judgement was left on the face of the earth.

Moments

In one of those few moments, Lot’s wife disobeyed the command of the Lord to not look back.
And in a moment, God’s wrath was poured out on her as well.
You see moments matter.
Every moment is a gift from God and every moment not spent bringing glory to Him is a moment that will eventually have to be answered for.
We are given this promise in Hebrews 9:27

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Everyone has an appointment with death.
Everyone has an appointment with the Judgement of the King of Kings.
Everyone will answer for the moments that they were given and what they did with them.
In one moment Lot’s wife lost everything, including her life.
And that one moment is what she is forever remembered for.
She could have been remembered:
As a great mother.
As a supportive wife.
As a righteous escapee from God’s wrath.
As a Godly woman.
As an example of faithfulness in the midst of pure evil.
But instead, she is remembered for this one moment of looking back.
We don’t know much of anything else about her.
We don’t learn much of her from Scripture.
The only part of her story that is really remembered at all is the final moment.
Moments matter.
Moments are what people remember.
No one remembers days.
No one remembers weeks.
No one remembers months or years.
Everyone remembers moments.
Every memory that you have is just a moment.
This past week I attended the funeral of one of the most God-fearing women I have ever met who had an amazing testimony of a lifetime of service to the Lord.
As everyone gathered around the chapel there were stories swapped, memories shared, but one moment stuck out more than the rest.
There was one moment that really mattered more than any others.
There was one moment that shaped the remaining moments.
There was one moment that meant more than the memories.
That one moment was the moment that she gave her heart to the Lord.
That one moment was the moment that she realized that she was a sinner in need of a Savior.
That one moment lead to a funeral chapel full of people who remembered her for her faithfulness.
Yes, she was a good mother.
Yes, she was a good wife.
Yes, she was a good aunt.
Yes, she was a good cousin.
Yes, she was a good friend.
But more than any of these, she was a Christian.
And that one moment defined her for the rest of her life and shaped her story and every story that was shared by friends and family from the far corners of Missouri and the country.

The Greatest Moment

As we gathered around that chapel on Wednesday, I couldn’t help but notice the faces that were missing.
The patriarchs.
The one who were the glue that held the family together through:
A depression
A World War
A Vietnam War
A Korean War
A Recession
Distance and time
Even with the addition of children, grand-children, great-grand-children, even some great-great-grand-children, there just aren’t as many of us as there used to be.
In just a few moments, it seems, the family chain has broken and the missing links have made it home.
And what’s left for those of us that remain are the moments.
You see when you die:
Your years will become nothing more than a small dash on a large stone.
Your days will be dwindled to just the moments.
Your voice, after some time, will fade like a shadow at dusk.
In a generation or so your name will be nothing more than a topic of conversation with no connectivity or familiarity.
What’s left here to grieve will only grieve for a season.

Your Legacy

When your voice has faded,
When you house has become nothing more than empty rooms filled with dust,
When your life has been summarized in your eulogy,
What will you have left behind?
What will your legacy be?
How will your family remember you as they gather round your grave?
How will your family remember you long after the final date is placed on your gravestone?
One moment can change everything!
One moment can create within you a new heart, make you a new creation.
One moment can start eternity.
One moment can create your legacy.
And it will be the one moment that you recognize that you are lost and you need a Savior.
It will be that one moment when you realize that Jesus Christ is the Savior that you need and only He can give you eternal life.

The Warning

Just like Paul Revere, just like the angels that came to Lot, I stand before you today to bring you this message:
God’s judgement is coming!
God’s wrath is coming!
Time is running out and one day will come to a sudden end!
One day EVERY knee will bow and EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father!
One moment that trumpet is going to sound, the dead in Christ are going to rise, and the those that are alive and remain will be changed forever!

Matthew 25:1-13

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

A typical Jewish wedding custom was for the groom “bridegroom” to go the the house of the bride.
There the ceremony would take place, usually at night, which is why the lamps were so important.
These 10 virgins represent the bridesmaids, hoping to be a part of the ceremony to come.
Once the wedding ceremony was completed the bridegroom, the bride and the guests would return to the bridegroom’s home.
A place that he would have been preparing for his bride from the time of their engagement.

3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

Knowing that the bridegroom would be coming.
Knowing that oil was needed for their lamps,
These foolish went with nothing.
Believing that all they had was more than enough.
The wise, however, took oil, and plenty of it.
They were prepared to wait as long as necessary for the bridegroom’s arrival.
A moment separated the wise from the foolish.
In a moment the wise made preparation.
In a moment the foolish believed they had all they needed.
They knew that the bridegroom was coming, but they became complacent in their waiting and slept.
You see there is a fine line between contentment and complacent.
Contentment is Lord I will serve you gladly and be ready for your appearing at all times.
Complacency is I will get ready when I need to get ready, but for now, the Lord hasn’t come, so I’ll just go on being me until I need to be something else.
The warning that He is coming has been going out for over 2,000 years, when He comes, those who are complacent will be without excuse.

6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

The foolish have no need for the things of God.
They are living for themselves and they are happy about it.
But there will come a time when they are going to need what the church has, and it will be too late for us to give them anything else.
While the Lord tarries the church has the obligation to share the gospel and to give hope to the hopeless.
But when the last trumpet sounds, when the shout so loud it raises the dead is heard, when the Lord Himself descends, there will be nothing left for the church to do.
Our obligation having been met, we will rise to meet the bridegroom in the air, and the foolish with be left alone, without God.

0 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

In a moment the door will be shut.
In a moment the church will meet the Lord in the air.
In a moment those who are the lost, the foolish who believe they have no need for the Lord, will be left behind.
I believe the busiest day in any church is going to be the moment after the rapture.
I believe the loudest cry for grace and mercy is going to be herd the moment after the door is shut.
Here’s the bad news,
Once the door is shut, it is shut!
The Lord isn’t going to return a third time for those that weren’t ready when He returns the second time.

The Lord’s Return

When the Lord returns,
He is not coming for everyone!
He is coming for those who are ready!
He’s coming for those who are the blood washed.
He’s coming for those who are the redeemed.
He’s coming for those whose lamps are trimmed and burning.
He’s coming for the saved.
He’s coming for His children.
And when He comes:
There won’t be another chance.
There won’t be another moment.
There won’t be another opportunity for an open door.
The cry is going out:
The Lord is coming!
The Lord is coming!
The Lord is coming again!
And the warning in verse 13, watch, therefore, for you do not know the day nor the hour that the Lord will return.
Be ready in season and out of season!
Be ready, because ready or not, He’s coming agian!

Conclusion

Remember Lot’s wife.
One moment and she was gone.
One moment and her legacy is a legacy of disobedience and death.
You have this moment.
And it could be your final moment.
This one moment could change everything!
This one moment could start eternity for you!
The Lord is coming!
If He comes today, will you go with Him?
If His wrath is poured out on the earth tonight. will you perish with the iniquity of the world?
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