Because that's what you're, that's what we're here for
tonight. And Pastor Lewis preached a
great message this morning. That was a help.
And I know he'll do the same thing tonight.
He's he's up first this evening. And so get your Bibles out.
Pastor Lewis, you coming up here and preach?
OK, take your Bible and turn with me to Luke chapter 17.
Luke chapter 17. I trust that the message this
evening will edify the church at large.
I know that that is part of my responsibility, but if you want
to know why I'm preaching the message I'm preaching tonight,
it is largely because of the individuals who just left this
platform. Our youth and this message
tonight is directed at the young people and all of us get to be a
family on the wall and glean from it, I trust.
But parents, you know, there's a reason why you bring your young
people to a church like this. And I'd like you to turn to Luke
chapter 17 as we preach tonight on Remember Lot's wife.
Remember Lot's wife, Lot's wife could not tear herself away from
this world. At least she would not.
And I think of Spurgeon, not Charles Spurgeon, but my 140 LB
bullmastiff back home. And every, every once in a while
I'll throw him a piece of raw meat or some fat and you just
try to get it from him. He he's not letting it go.
And there's a lot of people like that when it comes to this
world. Lot's wife was that way.
She would not let it go. In communion we are taught to
remember the death of Christ and the righteousness that it
brings. But in remembering Lot's wife,
we're taught to remember her wickedness in death, not
righteousness. And I'll be honest with you,
this is a command that's not so pleasant.
We're commanded to do it. The Lord told us to do it, but
it's not really pleasant. Luke chapter 17 verse #32 The
Lord says, remember Lot's wife. And again, not the most pleasant
thing to do, but we're told to for a reason.
We're going to do that this evening.
The Lord helping us. Let's pray first.
Heavenly Father, would you give grace and power and strength?
Lord, we want Your word preached today in Your power.
I pray for Pastor Shifflett as he comes shortly to preach to
us. I pray that you'll clear his
mind and give him liberty. I pray that you'll do the same
for me now, that You'll strengthen us by Your word in
Jesus name, Amen. Remember Lot's wife in that
command. We find our need to review all
of Scripture, not just the New Testament, but also the Old
Testament. We also find that through this
command we are in danger of forgetting every one of us, and
we have to be told what's important to remember.
And we read this Remember Lot's wife.
Whenever we read this passage, we're told to go over Scripture
again and again and again. Understand, just because you
read your Bible last year doesn't mean that you don't need
some more and that you don't have to read it again.
A life of remembering truth in God's word.
Remember Lot's wife. This command was given by our
Lord to His disciples towards the latter part of His ministry.
He was speaking about His second coming, the signs of His coming,
that it will be as the days of Noah and as the days of Lot.
And the theme to his disciples and in that sense to us tonight
is to be ready for His coming and don't get distracted by
looking back. Lot was a saved man who
compromised truth. Don't miss that.
I can't emphasize it enough. He was a saved man, but he
compromised truth. He is a picture of a worldly
Christian. The Bible tells us that he
pitched his tent towards Sodom. I believe I was a college Chapel
many years ago when a preacher said something that I wrote
down. I'll never forget it.
He said men fall the way they lean.
He pitched his tent towards Sodom.
Men fall the way they lean. He was leaning towards Sodom.
He ended up living in Sodom. He ended up learning from Sodom
and sitting at the gate leading in Sodom.
Young people, men fall the way they lean, but God delivered
just lot. He's the same man.
The New Testament tells us this second Peter chapter 2 verse 7.
It says and delivered just not only Lot, but justified by
faith, just lot vex with the filthy conversation of the
wicked. Now we don't have to beat around
the Bush about what that filthy conversation was.
It was a, it was a city filled with sodomites and understand,
I'm using the Bible word. They don't get upset when you
call them gay. They don't mind if you call them
queer. One of their biggest
organizations was the Queer Nation.
They don't mind sodomite and they don't mind all of the
initials ate, all of the initials, the LG, all of that.
But they cringe when you call them sodomites because that's
what God calls them. It was a land filled with
sodomites and he was a righteous man dwelling among them.
The Bible says seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul
from day-to-day with their unlawful deeds.
Those two I get the I gate and the ear gate, OK?
It vexed him and it affected everything in his life.
Now, even though she had a saved husband, when it came time for
her to make a decision, she showed her true character.
Young people, you young men, you be careful who you marry, and
young women, you be careful who you marry.
Lot's family was told to flee the city without looking back.
That was just too much for her. She couldn't handle that.
Go with me to Genesis chapter 19.
Genesis chapter 19. Remember Lots wife Genesis
chapter 19, verse #13 For we will destroy this place, because
the cry of them is waxing great before the face of the Lord, and
the Lord had sent us to destroy it.
Verse 15. And when the morning arose, then
the angels hasten Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two
daughters, which are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity
of the city. Now look at verse 16.
And while he lingered, that was a problem.
God told him what to do. And while he lingered, the men
laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and
upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being
merciful unto him. And they brought him forth, and
set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they
had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy
life. And here's the command.
Look not behind thee, look not behind thee, neither stay thou
in all the plane. Escape to the mountain, lest
thou be consumed. Look at verse 23.
The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zohar.
Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah, brimstone and
fire from the Lord out of heaven, and he overthrew those
cities and all the plane and all the inhabitants of the cities,
and that which grew up on the ground.
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a
pillar of salt. By the way they had exited the
city. She was almost safe.
Be careful when you think you're almost safe.
We're told in the text to remember Lot's wife and Luke.
I've said this before, and I'm not saying it just to be
redundant. I'm saying at the drive home a
point it it's not a very pleasant thing to do.
And at first you might say there's not much about her that
I want to remember. Not much at all.
It's like, remember Lori Lightfoot, OK, what is their
desirable to remember about that face?
What is it about Lot's wife that we should remember #1 I'd like
you to see the command. The command, the command.
It was simple. Don't look back.
Lot's wife was told not to look back there in Genesis chapter
19, verse 17. Look in the middle of the verse.
Look not behind thee, the angels instructed Lot and his family.
Don't look back young people, you are living in modern Sodom
today and I want to exhort you from the word of God.
Don't look back this world says you have to binge YouTube videos
and waste your life. Don't look back.
This world says you've got to go to ChatGPT for your problems and
and find out answers about the unknown from that source instead
of the Bible. We need young people who will
escape the corruptions of this world and determine that they're
not going to look back. Looking back first of all showed
her disobedience. Turn with me to Deuteronomy
chapter 30 quickly if you will. Deuteronomy chapter 30, her
disobedience. The end of the day, Lot's wife
was just disobedient. Deuteronomy chapter 30, verse
#20 Deuteronomy 3020. Scripture That thou mayest love
the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that
thou mayest cleave unto him, for he is thy life and the length of
thy days. Don't miss that Lot's wife.
He's your life and the length of your days, that thou mayest
dwell in the land which the Lord swear unto thy fathers, to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them.
I heard the true story of a young Christian man who was
engaged to marry a wonderful Christian girl.
They said they wanted to serve God together, and that was
certainly the sentiment of the young lady.
But the young man was tempted. The night before the wedding,
some of his old friends said let's go out and have a good
time. And he knew he shouldn't have
done it, but he decided to go with them.
And he was immoral. The night before he married a
godly Christian girl, and he thought he got away with it.
He thought he got away with it until a little girl was born to
that union. They got married the next day.
God gave them a little girl and she was born with no eyes.
He had caught a disease in that night of sin and his little girl
was born with no eyes. He went to the doctor both he
didn't know what was the problem and his his wife and they both
went and got examined and the doctor asked him what were there
any physical encounters before you got married and his mind
race back to that night. Fast forward a little while that
little girl was able to talk and speak of course never could see.
And one day in the living room she asked her father, Dad, why
don't I have any eyes? Why don't I have any eyes?
He pulled out a gun. He walked out into the front
yard of his own house and blew his brains out.
What was the problem? He looked back, he looked back.
Lot's wife was commanded, don't look back.
And it was an extreme act of disobedience.
Looking back showed her disobedience.
Secondly, looking back showed her direction.
If you go back to Genesis 19 and look there at verse #26 back,
she looked back. Sin always takes you back.
Verse #26 but his wife looked back.
And don't miss this from behind him.
Now that's important. She didn't just look back.
She looked back from behind him. That tells us she was the last
one in the pack. Well, that tells us that there
was some that that worldliness caused apathy.
The point that she didn't care, no zip in her step to get out of
that city that God was going to destroy.
She was the last one in the pack.
She looked back from behind him. Nobody would see her sin of
looking back because she was looking back from behind him.
Young person, the devil will tell you that lie when it comes
to the Internet. No one will see me looking back.
No one would scold her for looking back.
Why? She was in the back of the pack.
No one's going to scold me. I won't get rebuked, young
person, and all of us for that matter.
We need to stay in the place where our sin is rebuked.
Keep there, keep yourself in holy places where sin is
rebuked, and stay away from any place that will let you sin
without rebuke. Remember Lot's wife.
No one will be able to stop me from looking back because I'm in
the back of the pack. Looking back showed her
disobedience. It also showed her direction.
Thirdly, looking back showed her desire.
It showed where her affection was.
It showed where her heart was. Her body was out of Sodom, but
her affections were still in Sodom.
Why did she look back? Maybe there was some stuff in
Sodom that she wanted to go back and get.
Why did she look back? Her marriage was broken up, her
daughters were discouraged and committed horrible sin, all
because her affections were in the wrong place.
If your affections are on the things of this world, you're
setting yourself up to be destroyed.
Colossians 32 says set your affection on things above and
not on things on the earth. Looking back showed her desire,
her design. Are you young?
People were really good about having me sign your notes of
this morning. That was good.
I'm looking for these things. I want you to keep these things.
Don't look back forth. Looking back showed her
defiance. It was a plain command, plain.
She was shaking her fist at the Almighty.
How dare he keep this back from me?
She rebelled against God. Defiant young people against God
always lose. Remember Lots wife looking back
also showed her disbelief. Her disbelief.
Now listen, you don't have to stand up and say I don't believe
the Bible to show that you don't believe.
It's all in your attitude, it's all in your conduct.
And by looking back, it proved that she didn't believe what God
had said. If she thought she would have
turned into a pillar of salt, do you think she would have looked
back? No, she did not believe it would
hurt. It's the age-old concept that
you can send without consequence, that you can send
without judgement. Same lie that the devil told Eve
in the garden and she had to learn the hard way.
Looking back showed her disbelief.
But then number six looking back showed her dissappreciation.
Her dissappreciation of what or the angels sent by God to show
mercy upon that family. And, and and it goes further.
One of the angels took her by the arm, guided her out of the
city. Lot's wife should have been so
grateful for what God had done for her.
And when you look back, what are you saying to your pastor?
When you look back, what are you saying to your godly parents who
kept you in a church like this? When you look back, what are you
saying to the privileges that have been bestowed upon you?
Looking back says a lot of things, shows your dis
appreciation. It's a command, young person, a
command. But secondly, I'd like you to
see the catastrophe, the catastrophe.
The catastrophe is that that we are to remember.
We're commanded to remember Lot's wife.
Not pleasant, but we're commanded to do it.
The catastrophe is that she would not lose her life.
She would not lose her life. Look back at Luke chapter 17 if
you would. Luke 17.
There in verse #33 Luke 1733. Luke 1733.
Scripture. Whosoever shall seek to save his
life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life
shall preserve it. It's a wonderful principle.
It's like the way up and God's economy is down the way to be
strong is to be weak. We have a small Christian School
there in Chicago, and we have a set of lockers in our annex
hallway. And it's amazing what happens
when a young person thinks they can keep their sandwich too
long. We'll walk through that hallway,
get a whiff of that thing, and know that somebody thought they
could keep their lunch. And then it's checking the
lockers, finding out whose thing is that roasting in the hallway.
You tried to keep it and you lost it.
What a principle. The same happens to our life.
You will spoil your life and your future.
If you say it's mine, I'm going to keep it.
This is also true with salvation.
Try to hang on to your soul and do it your way and you'll lose
your soul in hell. Fires, flames.
This is true in the Christian life.
Lot's wife was captivated by the world she loved.
The cesspool wives are normally called the the better half.
This wife was Lot's worst half. She delighted And Sodom, she
said, this life is mine. I'm taking it back, young
person, God has a wonderful plan for your life.
Wonderful plan. And my heart was stirred as I
saw the young people on this platform singing their heart
out. Praise the Lord for that.
Praise God for that. But understand that doesn't mean
that that any one of them is truly right with God in the
heart. Make sure you're walking with
the Lord and staying close to Him and determined by God's
grace. You're not going to look back.
Hanging on to your life ends the great adventure that God has for
you. Looking back ended Lot's wife's
adventure of life in A big part of letting go of your life is
keeping your eyes off of the forbidden.
That was the issue. She look back keeping your eyes
off of the forbidden. Come on now.
There may be some apps that need to be deleted, some music that
needs to be changed. I'm told that they'll put
blinders on horses in training to keep them going in the right
direction so that they don't get distracted that there are some
blinders. We need to keep us going in the
right way. We ought to remember the
command, remember the catastrophe, and then third,
remember the cost. Remember the cost.
What was the cost? What was the cost?
Lot's wife lost her very life, her life, the Bible says in
Genesis 1926. But his wife looked back from
behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Now we praise God that there's life in the right kind of look
that that brass serpent was lifted up in the wilderness.
And we know that pictures our Lord Jesus Christ.
There's life in the right type of look, but there's death in
the wrong type of look. And and she looked back and it
cost her her life. Her punishment was severe.
You see, the wages of sin is death.
Eve and Adam, they found out that those that cling to death,
cling to disobedience, must pay in death.
Pillar of salt, a pillar of salt.
The death reduced her value, reduced her value.
Now salt is not a worthless commodity, but it is in this
case, in that it reduced her value.
The Bible implies that they just left her.
They left her and they kept on going.
Sin reduced her value. If she had just broken her leg,
they would have carried her right.
But salt didn't have much value. Sin does not increase your
value, it only cheapens your value.
She was much more valuable as a wife and as a mother, but as a
pillar of salt, she was essentially worthless.
The prodigal son wasted his substance on riotous living.
He cheapened his very life. Now listen to me, friend.
Listen, Don't let. Don't let some boy or girl
reduce you to a pillar of salt. Cheapen and reduce your value.
The death also took away her honor.
I marvel when we read of the honorable death and burial that
Sarah had. And when we're told, I believe
she's the only woman in the Bible, we're told the age of her
her, her death. When she died, it was honorable.
There's no honor in this. I don't see anywhere where her
daughters went back to bury a pillar of salt.
There was no honor. Sin takes away your honor.
If you'll learn that, you'll, you'll, you'll have lots of help
for your journey. And then the death hurt others.
Daughters knew they'd never see her again, affected their life,
affected their walk, affected their morality.
The Bible tells us in Second Timothy chapter 4 verse #10 For
demons hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and
has departed unto Thessalonica creations, to Galatia, Titus on
the Dalmatia. Looking back now, Lot's wife
didn't get what God had for her, nor did she get what she wanted.
It's the same way with sin today.
You won't get what God has for you, and you won't even get what
you want. Philippians chapter 3, verse 13.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended but this one
thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which are before I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus. She found out that the love of
the world produce death, the glance of death.
Turn with me to Luke Chapter 9, if you would.
Luke Chapter 9. Young person, don't look back.
Luke Chapter 9, verse #62 Luke 962.
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow
and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.
This world is so grimy, it's so guilty, it produces so much
sorrow. It doesn't deserve you looking
back. Lot's wife defied God in her
heart and lost it all because she had to have a look back.
Hold this world with a loose hand and be ready to leave all
and go in the direction that God points you determining that
you're not going to look back. Now I want to give you some hope
if there's any here tonight, you say in my heart or in my life
there has been looking back. Well, let me say this tonight
you're still here. Praise the Lord and you still
are under the sound of the word of God.
God brought you to a place to hear His word and, and, and
what's better yet, you're not a pillar of salt.
There's hope you can turn around.
It will not be easy. You will need help.
You're going to need the right type of church.
You're going to need a church like this.
You need preaching. You need your pastor, right
friends, right music. May it not be in a few years,
remember? And then and then so and so.
Remember so and so in that was in this room during this
conference. Remember them and they become an
example of what not to do. Remember lots, wife master.