Scum Sweetheart

Introduction

Back in the late great 1900’s, 1993 to be exact, the Christian rock band wrote a song entitled Scum Sweetheart. It was confused to be a song written about a love gone wrong, but lead singer would elaborate that it was about a love affair with the world.

We walk hand in hand 'til life does us part me and the world my scum sweetheart We met long ago with a flirt and a stare together ever since a lethal love affair I tried to get out to get up and go I was afraid of the fall the vertigo You made me suffer guilt was your game you had control of what I became

When I first heard this song, I didn’t fully grasp what the band was trying to convey from Scripture.

1 John 2:15–17 CSB

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.

We left Abram and Lot last week in which Lot sought the things of this world. He chose prosperity, riches, easy, comfort of the world and set up shop right next to the the most evil taking place in the world.

We don’t know exactly what faith Lot has in God, but from decisions and descriptions given of him, we find a lack of surrender to God.

Our sermon this morning will examine the first part of chapter 14. From it we are going to see subtle clues of a love affair with the world, being enslaved in the world, and needing rescue from it.

A key questions for your to consider throughout this sermon- do you have a greater love affair with the world or with Jesus?

Genesis 14:1-16

Context

The text sets the scene for us in the first several verses. There are many pagan tribes/nations scattered throughout the Promised Land.

We learn that a particular king seems to be the dominant guy- Chedorlaomer (The Cheddar). A group rises up against Cheddar because they were subject to him.

Subject means they compelled by force to him. It probably were forced to pay him for “protection” or be wiped out.

If you ever seen a mob based movie where the local business are forced to pay money to the local mob boss for “protection” or be forced out. Yet, the amount they have to pay is back breaking.

Kinda like taxes…

This is the situation.

So, this group rises up, loses, and is now taken captive. This includes Lot and all he had.

Truth 1: Genesis 14:12

I want to zero in on v. 12 for a moment. When we last left Lot, Genesis 13:12 “12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived in the cities on the plain and set up his tent near Sodom.”

Now, 14:12 tells us Lot is living in Sodom. Sodom was described as:

Genesis 13:13 “13 (Now the men of Sodom were evil, sinning immensely against the Lord.)”

How did Lot go from establishing his life near Sodom to now living in Sodom?

I think Proverbs 5 helps us see. This chapter speaks of the seductive women to steer clear of. I believe this is metaphor used to stay away from folly, sin, lack of wisdom, or the world’s ways.

Proverbs 5:1–14 “1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen closely to my understanding 2 so that you may maintain discretion and your lips safeguard knowledge. 3 Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her words are smoother than oil, 4 in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood and as sharp as a double-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps head straight for Sheol. 6 She doesn’t consider the path of life; she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable. 7 So now, sons, listen to me, and don’t turn away from the words from my mouth. 8 Keep your way far from her. Don’t go near the door of her house. 9 Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others and your years to someone cruel; 10 strangers will drain your resources, and your hard-earned pay will end up in a foreigner’s house. 11 At the end of your life, you will lament when your physical body has been consumed, 12 and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and how my heart despised correction. 13 I didn’t obey my teachers or listen closely to my instructors. 14 I am on the verge of complete ruin before the entire community.””

When we set our lives next to the world, inevitably we find ourselves of the world.

The Scripture is full of warning and advice like this. The world around Lot and Abram is being the world and sometimes that affects us. However, Lot set up shop next to and then in the world, if you will.

If he wasn’t dwelling there, he wouldn’t have been captured.

Some might ask, what do you mean by the world?

In essence, “we are not to love and idolize thoughts, values, and behaviors that are contrary to God’s Word and His will. Things that appeal to our sinful flesh and are fleeting and passing are not to be the things that we live for.” (CCEC, 1 John, Akin)

Far too many of us are flirting with the world. Why do we hear report after report of churches closing their doors, losing members, or seeing lack of commitment?

Because we have either let the world take over in our lives as individuals or as churches. Some have opened a door to Satan. Churches that now teach blasphemous things in the name of love yet result in appealing to the sinful flesh.

Some churches use models of growth or believe they are healthy because they have large numbers of people coming; yet they have gained them by the world in elevating things of this world.

There is a Baptist church in Florida that created a production of Vegas level that featured Beyonce songs. It looked like a concert.

I want to be careful here, because I am all for creativeness in worship and expressing worship in various ways. But, I can’t find anywhere in Scripture where the church relied upon gimmicks and wordly things to bring people to them.

In the name of growth many have elevated the things of the world over that of the Lord.

If all the flash and events went away and all we had was stripped down worship, fellowship, preaching of the Word, prayer, etc that all led us to Jesus; would that be enough?

I can’t stop with the church, either. As individuals we must be careful not to be like Lot. There are things in this world that vie for our attention, demand our energy and focus, and can eventually capture and enslave us to them. Some of them good things and some evil.

A neutral aspect of this world that can become being like the world is busyness. I say it all the time, I’m just crazy busy. Yet, when my busy schedule keeps me from pursuing the Lord and the things of the Lord, what is my true focus?

Before long, something has to give and often when the world has taken over in our lives, it is the things of God that get cut out first.

“Have we developed love affair with the world or things of this world instead of God?”

Let Lot be a warning and a guide to us to be careful not to set up next to the world only to be sucked into the world.

Truth 2: Genesis 14:14-16

Abram learns of his nephew’s capture and assembles 318 trained men along with some groups he had a treaty with. They go and defeat the other armies and bring back Lot, all his possessions, and others as well.

There are 2 points I need to make in this section. First,

Prepared men and women of the Lord are able to stand up to the world.

Abram was ready for a moment like this. He knew he was in enemy territory with all the pagan nations around him. In preparation, he had men trained for battle.

Perhaps a battle would never come his way, but he was not going to take that chance.

Ephesians 6 speaks of putting on the armor of God and lists all these spiritual components. For what purpose?

Ephesians 6:10–13 “10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. 13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.”

There is a call throughout Scripture to prepare, to be active, pursuing Christ and what He calls us to. Passivity is never given as a choice.

Far too many men of God in our church today have become far too passive spiritually, myself included more often that I’d like.

We must take serious our call to be the spiritual leaders of the family and the church. We must become trained men of the Word and the Lord, skilled to lead and teach others.

Men and women of FBC Farwell, I ask you. How are you preparing to stand in and against this world?

Are you willing and ready to prioritize the Word personally and corporately?

Will you commit to the things we do as a church and individual Christians to share Jesus and grow others in Jesus?

Are you willing to reprioritize your life that looks more like training yourself and the next generation?

Think about practice in athletics for a minute. Is the student who barely puts in effort at practice, doesn’t take time to learn the plays, and put in work in the offseason going to get much playing time?

He/she shouldn’t.

We want our kids to practice their sports several days a week and take them to camps and clinics to master their sport, yet we will treat Scripture, church, and the things of God as 3rd and 4th on the priority list.

When we do, we raise up little Lots or become Lots ourselves. Unable to defend against the world and ready to be taken captive.

Truth 3: Genesis 14:14-16

The second truth from this section comes as Abram seeks to rescue his nephew. Abram doesn’t have to rescue Lot, Lot doesn’t deserve it.

Yet, Abram, without question goes. Why? He knows the danger Lot is in and determines it is worth the fight. The salvation of Lot is worth the cost to himself.

The rescue of lost people in the world is of great value to our Lord and should be to us.

We ourselves are not the saviors of people. We are instruments used in the hands of our Redeemer. Paul David Tripp wrote a wonderful book called Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands and he says this,

“As we listen to eternity, we realize that the kingdom is about God radically changing people, but not in the self-absorbed sense our culture assumes. Christ came to break our allegiance to such an atrophied agenda and calls us to the one goal worth living for. His kingdom is about the display of His glory and people who are holy. This is the change he came, lived, died, and rose to produce. This is the life and work He offers us in exchange for the temporary glories we would otherwise produce. This kingdom agenda is intended to control our hearts and transform our lives.” (5)

The Apostle Paul said it this way,

2 Corinthians 5:11–21 “ 14 For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion, that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised. 16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Are we more compelled by Christ or the world?

Christ didn’t rescue us from our sin just so we selfishly keep it to ourselves. He gave to us a ministry of reconciliation. He saved us for His glory, for our eternity, so that we would bring others along with us. He reconciled us to Himself so that He can use us to reach others.

This mission is accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, but it is not done well or at all when we set up our lives next to or in the world and we do not prepare as we are called to prepare.

I have walked our streets and felt a burden in my heart, knowing many houses I pass contain people lost in sin and the world. They place hope in temporary glories.

And I have to confess, I have not been the most active in this area. It is easy to take preaching the Word on Sunday as sharing the gospel, but that is like fishing in a small pond versus a large lake.

Our Wednesday night programs, our events for the community, and simply engaging with people must have the Kingdom agenda as an undercurrent to our lives.

We must participate in what we can as we have determined these are the methods or modes in which we can bring forth this message of reconciliation.

A sign the world has seeped into our hearts and lives is seen when care not for the perishing world around us. If we truly believe that people will spend an eternity separated from God in Hell, why would we not seek to do what we can to give this message of reconciliation?

Christ Connection

The Christ connection is pretty evident, I believe.

We are all Lot at some point in our lives. Lost, enslaved by the world and sin, separated from our Father in Heaven and in need of rescue. Sometimes we fall back into that “Lot like” mindset.

Jesus Christ is the rescuer. Not a mere man, but God in the flesh. He rescued us by His life- being perfect and righteous where we could not; by His death- paying the penalty of sin and taking on the wrath of God for us; His resurrection- sealing salvation over sin by raising 3 days later to defeat sin and death that results in new life in us.

He needed no one else.

Not only does He save us from sin and the world, He leads us to pursue Him and His kingdom from here on out. The Apostle Paul said it this way,

Romans 6:6–13 “6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. 13 And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness.”

Conclusion

Audio Adrenaline finished their song, Scum Sweetheart this way:

You're the world full of lies how could I think of compromise? It seems to me a solitaire affair I was in need but you didn't care Please stay away heartbreaker you're not gonna be my soul taker I've got friends that want to see you they'd stay away if they had a clue It's a black heart that I see it's evil it'sbad and all in between Whatever it is I'll do my part to keep you from being their scum sweetheart.

The world has a way of being a soul taker. Jesus said, “For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world and yet loses his life(soul)?”

King Solomon wrote an entire book about chasing the world apart from the Lord and he concluded with this:

“When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep His commands…”

Maybe you have set up shop next to the world. Your are flirting with it, tempted to be swayed by it.

Maybe you are in/of the world. It has gotten you and your life is ruled by it. Christ is either pushed so far down the priority or non-existent, that you move from whatever the world offers as your hope.

Maybe you need complete rescue today. Either in salvation from sin and world to Jesus or you need rescue from where you have built your life as of late.

Wherever you find yourself, I pray you and I would commit to the Lord our lives.