Tick Tock, Genesis 19:16

Alexander the Great, being asked how he had conquered the world, replied, “By not delaying.” —Foster

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.

Archis, the magistrate of Thebes, was sitting with many mighty men drinking wine. A messenger came in bringing him a letter, informing him of a conspiracy against his life and warning him to flee. Archias took the letter, but, instead of opening it, put it into his pocket and said to the messenger who brought it, “Business tomorrow.” The next day he died. Before he opened the letter the government was captured. When he read the letter it was too late. —Pulpit Treasury

—Pulpit Treasury

The Present, shows Lot dawdling,

The Present, shows Lot dawdling,

Genesis 19:16 ESV

But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.

When Lot Lingered

1. When it was time for decisive action

2. When his godly uncle was praying for him

3. When heavenly messengers were urging him to go

4. When judgment was imminent

5. When he knew better than to linger

6. Comments by J. C. Ryle on Lot’s lingering

a. Slow when he should have been quick

b. Backward when he should have been forward

c. Loitering when he should have been hurrying

d. Cold when he should have been hot

Illustration ODB by David C. McCasland: Exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. —

Several years ago a friend took me to a motivational seminar that I thoroughly enjoyed. Instead of focusing on money and success, the leaders guided us toward understanding our unique identity and purpose in life. Then they passed along some helpful methods for effective living. One motto has stayed with me: “Do it now!” The principle they taught us was that it takes as much energy to avoid a task as it does to do it. Procrastination saps power; completion gives relief.

A spiritual application can be seen in , a passage filled with an air of immediacy as it calls us to obey the Lord. “‘Today,’ if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, . . . but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (vv.7-8,13). We don’t know how long it would have taken the children of Israel to reach the Promised Land if they had obeyed God, but their 40-year journey resulted from their unwilling hearts. An entire generation missed the adventure of a lifetime (vv.8-11).

When we know how the Lord wants us to live, why don’t we just say “Yes!” No debate, no delay. Do it now!

It’s easy to procrastinate And leave good deeds undone, But such a course will bring regrets When life’s short race is run. —Anon.

Do it now! Today will be yesterday tomorrow.

The Past shows why,

Genesis 13:5–13 ESV

And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

Why Lot Lingered

1. He made a wrong choice early in life ()

Genesis 13:5–11 ESV

And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.

2. He found his fellowship with sinners ()

Genesis 13:11–13 ESV

So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

3. He had raised his family in Sodom

4. His treasures were all in Sodom

5. He felt too old to start over again

6. Sodom was home

Illustration, ODB by Dave Branon: As righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death. —

The teenager expressed the view of many. Speaking of the wild parties he attended, the 16-year-old declared, “Without these parties, my life wouldn’t have any purpose.”

Attitudes like this result from a string of bad choices that multiply until life loses its meaning. Examples of this “bad-choice string” can be seen all around us.

Take the couple whose first bad choice is to be sexually active without being married. They soon follow that practice with other poor decisions that lead to spiritual, economic, and social problems. Or consider the business person who takes money from petty cash to line his pockets, only to follow that bad choice with many others just to cover it up.

In we read about the bad decisions Lot made when he and Abram decided to part ways. Given the pick of the land, Lot chose the best ground for himself, and then settled near a city known for its wickedness. records the tragic result of one bad choice that led to others.

Learn from Lot’s mistake. If you have made a decision that violates God’s principles, don’t let one mistake turn into a string of bad choices. Stop right now and ask the Lord’s forgiveness and help.

The grip of habit can be so strong, You find it easy to choose the wrong; But let God's Spirit control within, And He will free you from binding sin. —Kasper

True repentance rejects the wrong and returns to the right.

The Future, says: “Tick Tock”,

James 4:13–16 ESV

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:2 ESV

For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

2 Peter 3:10 ESV

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Many Are Lingering Like Lot

Many Are Lingering Like Lot

1. They know more truth than they live

2. They believe in heaven but don’t long for it

3. They know time is short but live as if it were long

4. They build their lives around things below

5. They understand the battle but consort with the enemy

6. They say they love Christ but don’t live for Him

Why are you waiting?

Illustration ODB by Dennis J. DeHaan: If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. —

The Shepherd’s Home in Wisconsin has a problem with dirty windows. Although many of its residents are severely disabled, they love Jesus and understand that He has promised to return someday and give them new bodies. “Every day,” said the superintendent, “some of them go to the windows and press their noses against the glass, looking for Him.”

The expectation of those precious people is genuine. Their irreversible mental and physical limitations fuel their longing for the day when they will be perfectly whole and free.

The Holy Spirit enables us to keep alive that same hope. And it is a sure hope because it rests on two events, one past and one future—the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (), and the reality that He will return to this earth someday (). Paul united both truths in today’s key verse (v.14).

When the going gets tough, we must resist the temptation to give up on life, or to find morbid pleasure in complaining. Instead, we must stay obedient to the Lord, renounce sin, and keep our eyes on the future (). Then we can rejoice in the certainty that in the world to come our painful trials will be no more.

Let’s keep looking for Christ’s return.

One day at death or Christ's return We'll shed this earthly life of care; And we who've known and loved the Lord Will in His perfect likeness share. —DJD

The greatest joy on earth is the clear prospect of heaven.