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Bible says the blood of Jesus 
Christ his Son cleansed us from 

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all sin and that's why we sing 
about the blood. 

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I know if you think about it 
from a human standpoint or human

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perspective, it sounds like a 
gory thing or something like 

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that. 
But honestly, what Jesus Christ 

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went through us on the cross was
a pretty gory thing. 

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He was whipped, he was beaten, 
He was, he was tortured. 

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And then he then he was killed 
and hung up on the cross and he 

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did it all for us. 
He could have, he could have 

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called 10,000 angels to come 
take him off that cross anytime 

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he wanted to. 
And he and he, he very could 

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have done it. 
And and if I was him, I probably

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would have. 
But he knew what he was doing 

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and he knew why he was there and
he knew was for me. 

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He knows for you. 
And he did it anyway. 

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And he loved us so much that he 
was willing to shed his blood on

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the cross. 
You know, some people say well. 

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Jesus could have died in a 
different way. 

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You know, He could have just 
been maybe, maybe clubbed on the

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head and died and that would 
have been a little bit easier or

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something and and and and, you 
know, you think about it from 

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that perspective. 
Maybe it would have been easier.

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But The thing is, all throughout
the Old Testament, you see that 

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it was blood that had to be shed
in order for that sacrifice to 

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be made. 
Jesus Christ had to shed his 

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blood on the cross. 
He had, He had to not just die, 

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he had to shed his blood. 
And that's why we say for the 

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blood. 
And that's all that I have to 

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plead. 
It's through the blood that 

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Jesus shed for me. 
I can't earn my way there, can't

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do anything. 
I can't do enough good to 

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account for all the bad one sin.
One sin is another. 

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Bible says, for whosoever shall 
keep the whole law, and yet 

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offended one point is guilty of 
all. 

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Just like somebody who loves the
store one time is called a 

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robber, right? 
Somebody who tells a lie one 

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time is a liar. 
And that's why when we sin even 

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once, we're sinners and we can't
get into heaven without Jesus 

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Christ. 
I'm so thankful that he died in 

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the cross for us. 
If you don't know Jesus Christ 

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as your Savior, I mentioned this
on Thursday night in our 

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Institute class. 
I I would never be under the 

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illusion that in a crowd this 
size, every single person here 

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is saved. 
I think the majority of people 

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are saved, some of some that 
have not been in church all that

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long time. 
Maybe it's you, and maybe you're

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questioning whether or not 
you're saved. 

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That's you need to get it 
settled. 

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And I will always share the 
gospel in a message because 

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there's always somebody that 
does not know for sure that 

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they're on their way to heaven. 
And we need to make sure that 

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that that's that that we have 
that settled. 

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And boy, what a precious, 
precious thing that is. 

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I would never want to make the 
blood of Jesus Christ of none 

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effect. 
He shed his blood for you. 

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And when you reject that shed 
blood of Jesus Christ, you are 

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rejecting everything that he is 
and everything that he's done. 

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And what a horrible, horrible 
thing that would be to have to 

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stand before God and say I 
rejected your son. 

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I would not. 
I I would not want to be in that

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position. 
And that's why I've accepted 

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Jesus Christ as my Savior. 
Doesn't have anything to do with

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me. 
It has everything to do with 

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him. 
But I'm so thankful that he did.

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I'm thankful that I've had that 
opportunity. 

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Genesis chapter 19 is a story 
that you're probably at least a 

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little bit familiar with. 
But before we get into anything 

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about the message, I want to 
read the passage to you this 

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morning. 
This is the story of Lot and the

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destruction of Sodom and 
Gomorrah. 

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Sodom and Gomorrah was a wicked 
place, and a whole lot of things

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that were going on in there that
were just that. 

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They were thinking that quite 
honestly, were an abomination to

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God. 
The homosexuality was one of the

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things, but there was a lot of 
other things that were going on 

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in Sodom and Gomorrah that were 
displeasing to God as well. 

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And God decided that he was 
going to destroy Sodom and 

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Gomorrah for their sin. 
But obviously Lot and his family

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were living there and Abraham 
being a just man and and and a 

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friend of God as the Bible says,
went to God and said, hey, if if

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I can find 100 righteous, will 
you spare the city? 

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And God said, all right, I'll 
spare the city And he started 

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looking and he couldn't find 
100. 

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He said, well, how about 50? 
Couldn't find 50, how about 10? 

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All right, 10 And even 10. 
Righteous could not be found in 

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the cities of Sodom and 
Gomorrah. 

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And so God gave Abraham an 
opportunity to get Lot his his 

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nephew out of the city before he
destroyed it. 

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There was some, there was some 
stipulations as they were 

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leaving. 
Don't look back. 

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And the Bible says this in 
Genesis chapter 19 and verse 15.

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And when the morning arose, then
the angels hastened, A Lot 

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saying, Arise, take thy wife and
thy two daughters, which are 

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here, lest thou be consumed in 
the iniquity of the city. 

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And while he lingered, the men 
laid hold upon his hand, and 

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upon the hand of his wife, and 
upon the hand of his two 

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daughters, the Lord being unto 
him. 

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And they brought him forth and 
set him without the city. 

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Think about this. 
Lot was Lot was a just man. 

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The Bible says that it vexed 
just Lot. 

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Right? 
Lot was a just man, But Lot 

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decided that he was going to 
pitch his tent. 

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Towards Sodom and he just puts 
his tent in that direction. 

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He didn't go into it. 
He didn't settle down the city 

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of Sodom until Sodom started to 
wear him down and he started to 

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look at that city. 
And the more he looked at it, 

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the more he desired it. 
And the more he desired it, the 

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more he made the decision that 
he was going to move in. 

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Before long, Lot was sitting in 
the gate of the city. 

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That means Lot was one of the 
city leaders there in Sodom. 

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If anybody could have changed 
anything, Lot could have done 

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something to change it. 
But he didn't. 

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And before long, Lot's entire 
family was taken up in the 

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wickedness in the filth of 
Sodom. 

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To the point that when God gave 
Lot an opportunity to escape 

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that city alive before he 
destroyed it, Lot had to be 

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dragged out by the hand, by 
those angels. 

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He had become so attached to 
that city, so attached to that 

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wickedness, so attached to that 
lifestyle and everything that 

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went along with it, that even 
when he was faced with absolute 

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destruction, not only of himself
but of his entire family, he 

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lingered. 
And the angels had to drag him 

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out, And and boy, what a phrase,
the Lord being merciful unto 

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him. 
And they brought him forth, and 

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set him without the city. 
And it came to pass, when they 

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had brought them forth abroad, 
that he said, Escape for thy 

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life, Look not behind thee, 
neither stay thou in all the 

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plain. 
Escape to the mountain, lest 

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thou be consumed. 
And Lot said unto them, Oh, not 

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so, my Lord, Behold, now thy 
servant has found grace in thy 

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sight, and now it's magnified 
thy mercy. 

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Which thou has showed unto me, 
and saving my life. 

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And I cannot escape to the 
mountain unless some evil take 

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me, and I die. 
Behold, now this city is near to

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flee into, and it is a little. 
10 Let me escape thither, is it 

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not a little one? 
And my soul shall live. 

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And he said unto him, See, I 
have accepted the concerning 

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this thing also, that I will not
overthrow this city for that 

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which that for the which thou 
has spoken haste thee escape to.

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Therefore I cannot do anything 
till become thither. 

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Therefore, the name of the city 
was called Zoar. 

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Even then, lots fighting with 
this Angel. 

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No, no, I can't go into the 
mountains. 

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If I go into the mountains, 
something's going to happen to 

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me in the mountains. 
Let me go into this little city.

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And Angel again, God being 
merciful, said all right, fine, 

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go into that city, but get over 
to the city. 

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Can't do anything to you. 
Get over there. 

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God's being merciful to you. 
He's trying to get you out of 

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this place. 
Just get out of this place. 

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Verse 23 The sun was raising 
upon the earth when Lot entered 

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into Zoar. 
Then the Lord reigned upon 

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Sodom, and upon Gomoral 
brimstone and fire from the Lord

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out of heaven. 
And he overthrew those cities, 

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and all the plane, and all the 
inhabitants of the cities, and 

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that which grew up on the 
ground. 

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I looked back from behind him, 
and she became a pillar of salt.

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And Abraham got up early in the 
morning to the place where he 

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stood before the Lord, and he 
looked towards Sodom and 

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Gomorrah, and toward all the 
land of the plane. 

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And behold and loathe, the smoke
of the country went up as the 

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smoke of a furnace came to pass 
when God destroyed the cities of

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the plane. 
That God remembered Abraham and 

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sent Lot out of the midst of the
overthrow, when he overthrew the

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cities in which Lot dwelt. 
It's an amazing thing. 

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And if you have been taking part
in the Bible geography lessons 

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in that we've been doing on 
Sunday nights, you've seen the 

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pictures. 
Sodom and Gomorrah is a desert 

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now, but it was obviously used 
to be a very lush place, a very 

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lush plane. 
That's why a Lot even pointed 

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himself in that direction in the
first place. 

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But when God destroyed Sodom and
Gomorrah, he destroyed them for 

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for basically all the time. 
Now that land, the Bible says 

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it's going to be healed when 
Jesus Christ comes back. 

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And and in that end time all of 
that land where Sodom and 

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Gomorrah, all that desert area, 
the Judean wilderness and all of

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that is going to grow and be as 
lush as the Bible says, as the 

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as the plane of sharing, which 
is one of the lushest places in 

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Israel right now. 
But you see what happens here in

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this, in this, in this story. 
Could you imagine what Lot must 

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have thought when he realized 
that his wife was a pillar of 

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salt? 
I don't. 

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I I'm not sure just exactly when
he realized that she was a 

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pillar of salt, she was behind 
him as they were running out of 

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the city. 
And I don't know if maybe he 

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looked back only to check on her
and God was merciful again to 

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him because he wasn't looking at
the city, he was looking at his 

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family. 
I don't. 

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The Bible doesn't tell us. 
But maybe, maybe, maybe he 

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never. 
Knew until they were safely in 

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the city of Zor. 
That is somehow he found out 

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that she had turned into a 
pillar of salt. 

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I don't know, but could you 
imagine what Lot must have 

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thought when he found out that 
his wife was a pillar of salt? 

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Why did she turn back? 
What a tragic story. 

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I don't know why she turned back
because the Bible again doesn't 

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get that answer. 
But some people have suggested 

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that she was actually from 
Sodom, which is also was a great

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possibility if you look at the 
story of of Abraham and Lot. 

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Sarah, Abraham's wife has 
mentioned many times in that 

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story. 
Lot's wife was never We don't 

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have a name for her. 
We don't know who she was, We 

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don't know where she was from. 
We don't know anything about 

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her. 
When a Lot pitched his tent 

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towards Sodom, there was no wife
with him, at least in the story.

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Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't.
Maybe she was from Sodom and 

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that's why she looked back. 
Maybe she was looking back to 

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see if any of the other her 
other family had decided to 

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follow her. 
Maybe she was looking back to 

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get one more look at her beloved
city. 

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Either way, she made the 
grievous mistake of looking 

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back. 
God had very specifically told 

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them, when you leave the city, 
don't look back. 

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She violated a very direct 
command to look back at the old 

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life, to look back at the old 
world, where they were coming 

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from. 
And we need to look at the 

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command that we're given in Luke
chapter 17. 

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Turn over there. 
One of the shortest verses in 

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the Gospels. 
Now obviously John 1135 is the 

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one that all the kids are 
familiar with. 

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Jesus wept. 
And what a story that is, and 

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and I think it's it deserves a 
verse of its own. 

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But this one in Luke chapter 17 
and verse #32 is also one of the

224
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shortest verses in the Gospels. 
And Jesus is giving a little bit

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00:10:53,130 --> 00:10:57,210
of a dissertation if you will, 
talking about several different 

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things when it when it comes to 
talking with a crowd of few. 

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If your if your Bible has verses
in red, then you can see that 

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most of chapter 17 is in red. 
Jesus is talking about the 

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second coming and in the middle 
of all of that he starts to to 

230
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talk about this story of lot. 
And then he says this in Luke 

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chapter 17 and verse #32. 
Remember lots wife. 

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Remember lots wife. 
Now that's a command. 

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00:11:27,770 --> 00:11:29,130
You know anything about English 
grammar? 

234
00:11:29,130 --> 00:11:31,410
There is no subject. 
And when there is no subject, 

235
00:11:31,410 --> 00:11:35,370
it's an understood you. 
You remember Lot's wife. 

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This is a command that we've 
been given. 

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We only have one thing that we 
have to remember about Lot's 

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wife, because we don't have 
anything about her. 

239
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We don't know her name, so we're
not. 

240
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It's not her name that we're 
supposed to remember. 

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We don't know anything else 
about Lot's wife except what she

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looked back. 
And he says remember Lot's wife?

243
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It's so if it's so important 
that we we remember the fact 

244
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that Lot's wife look back, then 
there must be an important 

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message in that for us. 
And there is. 

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And that's what I want to share 
with you this morning is some 

247
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reasons why in remembering Lot's
wife, we should not look back in

248
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our Christian life. 
Let's pray. 

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And then we'll look at a couple 
of those reasons this morning. 

250
00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:18,080
Father, we love you again. 
We thank you so much for your 

251
00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:19,880
goodness. 
I thank you for the story and 

252
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the reminder that we have to not
look back. 

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Having put our hands to the 
plow. 

254
00:12:25,950 --> 00:12:28,550
God, I'll pray that this would 
be an encouraging and a 

255
00:12:28,550 --> 00:12:30,390
challenging message to us this 
morning. 

256
00:12:32,350 --> 00:12:33,790
We thank you for all that you do
for us. 

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00:12:33,790 --> 00:12:35,150
In Jesus name. 
Amen. 

258
00:12:36,350 --> 00:12:37,910
Turn, if you will, the Galatians
Chapter 3. 

259
00:12:37,910 --> 00:12:41,510
The first thing that I want to 
mention as far as why we should 

260
00:12:41,510 --> 00:12:43,990
not look back is because there's
been so much that we've there. 

261
00:12:43,990 --> 00:12:45,750
There's so much that we've been 
saved from. 

262
00:12:46,470 --> 00:12:48,550
There's so much that we've been 
saved from. 

263
00:12:48,550 --> 00:12:53,070
If you know Jesus Christ as your
Savior, then you're a changed 

264
00:12:53,070 --> 00:12:55,110
person. 
You should be. 

265
00:12:55,670 --> 00:12:59,950
Our life before salvation is 
characterized as the old man or 

266
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the flesh. 
And the Bible talks about all 

267
00:13:02,230 --> 00:13:05,190
all throughout the the the, the 
writings of Paul, especially the

268
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fact that we are going to be 
constantly fighting against that

269
00:13:07,470 --> 00:13:10,590
old man, that old nature. 
The old man is the man that we 

270
00:13:10,590 --> 00:13:13,950
used to be before we became a 
new creature in Jesus Christ. 

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00:13:14,270 --> 00:13:17,070
Therefore, if any man being 
Christ, he is a new creature. 

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00:13:17,070 --> 00:13:19,670
The Bible tells us in First 
Corinthians old things are 

273
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passed away. 
Behold, all things are become 

274
00:13:21,670 --> 00:13:24,970
new. 
So that old man is, is, is who 

275
00:13:24,970 --> 00:13:27,410
we should be putting off, and we
should be putting on the new 

276
00:13:27,410 --> 00:13:29,010
man. 
But that's the part of us that 

277
00:13:29,010 --> 00:13:31,410
fights against our desire to do 
right. 

278
00:13:31,610 --> 00:13:33,850
That old man is constantly going
to be there. 

279
00:13:33,850 --> 00:13:37,210
We can never get rid of this 
flesh, this robe of flesh. 

280
00:13:37,210 --> 00:13:40,490
I'll drop and rise to seize the 
everlasting prize, but that does

281
00:13:40,490 --> 00:13:44,050
not come until we meet Jesus 
Christ in glory. 

282
00:13:44,460 --> 00:13:47,100
We're going to be dealing with 
this flesh all the way up until 

283
00:13:47,100 --> 00:13:49,860
that point, but why is it so 
much easier to do wrong? 

284
00:13:49,860 --> 00:13:53,860
Why is it so hard to live a 
consistently godly life? 

285
00:13:54,100 --> 00:13:57,540
Because we have a sin nature 
called the flesh, and we fight 

286
00:13:57,540 --> 00:14:00,380
against that. 
It constantly fights against Our

287
00:14:00,380 --> 00:14:03,700
Calling as a Christian to live 
for Jesus Christ. 

288
00:14:04,540 --> 00:14:07,380
Paul uses what he knows about 
this war in the Soul to ask the 

289
00:14:07,380 --> 00:14:09,780
Church of Galatia a very 
important question here in 

290
00:14:09,780 --> 00:14:14,200
Galatians chapter 3. 
In verse #3, are you so foolish?

291
00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,120
Having begun in the Spirit, are 
you now made perfect by the 

292
00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:20,040
flesh? 
He said. 

293
00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,880
How? 
How can you think that if you're

294
00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:26,640
a new person in Jesus Christ, a 
new creature in Jesus Christ? 

295
00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:29,200
How is the flesh going to help 
you with that? 

296
00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,360
It's not. 
And I mean, he's point blank 

297
00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:34,000
about it. 
Why are you so dumb? 

298
00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:37,320
How can you be so foolish to 
think that the flesh is going to

299
00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,730
help you? 
Flesh is not going to help you. 

300
00:14:39,730 --> 00:14:42,970
We've been saved from the flesh.
We've been set free from living 

301
00:14:42,970 --> 00:14:45,930
as the old man. 
Are you so foolish that you 

302
00:14:45,930 --> 00:14:48,690
think that going back to that 
old man, or that old way of 

303
00:14:48,690 --> 00:14:51,490
living, that old lifestyle, can 
do something for you 

304
00:14:51,490 --> 00:14:54,730
spiritually? 
You've been saved from that. 

305
00:14:54,730 --> 00:14:57,490
Why would you go back to that? 
That's what Paul is asking 

306
00:14:57,490 --> 00:14:59,530
there. 
In other words, don't look back.

307
00:14:59,530 --> 00:15:03,730
Because what you've been saved 
from, the flesh is weak, is not 

308
00:15:03,730 --> 00:15:06,650
an excuse to sin. 
It's a warning not to sin. 

309
00:15:07,490 --> 00:15:09,610
And I think I I believe the 
problem is that so many 

310
00:15:09,610 --> 00:15:12,050
Christians are abusing the 
doctrine of grace. 

311
00:15:12,210 --> 00:15:16,450
If I turn over to Romans chapter
6, a lot of Christians have this

312
00:15:16,450 --> 00:15:19,410
idea in their mind that because 
they're saved from spending an 

313
00:15:19,410 --> 00:15:21,730
eternity in hell, it doesn't 
matter how they live their 

314
00:15:21,730 --> 00:15:25,410
lives, right? 
Well, I've got liberty and Jesus

315
00:15:25,410 --> 00:15:29,690
Christ, and you do. 
But that liberty is not a 

316
00:15:29,690 --> 00:15:33,570
license to sin. 
That liberty is a license to 

317
00:15:33,570 --> 00:15:37,030
live for Jesus Christ. 
And you have the ability to do 

318
00:15:37,030 --> 00:15:40,230
that because of the fact that 
you are in Jesus Christ. 

319
00:15:40,590 --> 00:15:43,630
An unsafe person cannot live a 
spiritual life. 

320
00:15:43,870 --> 00:15:47,710
An unsafe person cannot live a 
godly life because they're still

321
00:15:47,710 --> 00:15:49,630
in the old nature. 
They're still, they still have 

322
00:15:49,630 --> 00:15:51,430
that flesh. 
They've never been a new 

323
00:15:51,430 --> 00:15:54,070
creature in Jesus Christ. 
They've never been made new. 

324
00:15:54,070 --> 00:15:58,150
They can't please Jesus Christ. 
They that are in the flesh, the 

325
00:15:58,190 --> 00:16:02,300
Bible says, cannot please God. 
Grace covers a multitude of 

326
00:16:02,300 --> 00:16:03,940
sins. 
That seems to be the mantra of 

327
00:16:03,940 --> 00:16:07,340
so many Christians today. 
But look what the Bible says. 

328
00:16:07,860 --> 00:16:11,540
This is Paul writing in Roman 
chapter 6 and verse #1. 

329
00:16:11,940 --> 00:16:14,340
Paul says this. 
What shall we say then? 

330
00:16:14,420 --> 00:16:17,300
Shall we continue and sin that 
grace may abound? 

331
00:16:18,220 --> 00:16:21,620
God forbid. 
How shall we that are dead to 

332
00:16:21,620 --> 00:16:24,820
sin live any longer? 
Therein he's saying you. 

333
00:16:24,940 --> 00:16:27,860
You're dead to sin. 
How are you going to live in it?

334
00:16:29,260 --> 00:16:29,740
You. 
You. 

335
00:16:30,270 --> 00:16:33,190
What shall we say then? 
Shall we continue in sin just so

336
00:16:33,190 --> 00:16:36,990
we can have grace? 
No, He says, God forbid. 

337
00:16:37,510 --> 00:16:41,590
How shall we that are dead to 
sin live any longer in sin? 

338
00:16:42,470 --> 00:16:46,670
Look what he says in verse #6. 
Knowing this, that our old man 

339
00:16:46,670 --> 00:16:51,390
is crucified with him, that the 
body of sin might be destroyed, 

340
00:16:51,630 --> 00:16:55,110
that henceforth we should not 
serve sin, for he that is dead 

341
00:16:55,110 --> 00:16:58,180
is freed from sin. 
Now, if we be dead with Christ, 

342
00:16:58,380 --> 00:17:00,820
we believe that we shall also 
live with him. 

343
00:17:01,460 --> 00:17:05,619
We're dead to the old nature. 
We're dead to those things alive

344
00:17:05,619 --> 00:17:08,300
in Jesus Christ. 
That's what gives us the ability

345
00:17:08,460 --> 00:17:11,099
to live the Christian life in a 
joyful way. 

346
00:17:11,859 --> 00:17:16,220
That's what gives us the ability
to to to be able to live that 

347
00:17:16,220 --> 00:17:18,099
abundant life that he talks 
about. 

348
00:17:18,660 --> 00:17:20,339
Verse #12. 
I think he brings it all 

349
00:17:20,339 --> 00:17:23,579
together in this. 
Let not sin therefore reign in 

350
00:17:23,579 --> 00:17:25,780
your immortal body, that you 
should obey it in the lust 

351
00:17:25,780 --> 00:17:28,610
thereof. 
Neither yield you your members 

352
00:17:28,610 --> 00:17:31,370
as instruments of 
unrighteousness unto sin, but 

353
00:17:31,370 --> 00:17:34,330
yield yourselves unto God as 
those that are alive from the 

354
00:17:34,330 --> 00:17:37,930
dead, and your members as 
instruments of righteousness 

355
00:17:37,930 --> 00:17:40,490
unto God. 
For sin shall not have dominion 

356
00:17:40,490 --> 00:17:43,410
over you, for you're not under 
the law, but under grace. 

357
00:17:44,050 --> 00:17:46,530
So don't use grace as a license 
to sin. 

358
00:17:46,650 --> 00:17:50,410
Use grace as a license to live 
the abundant Christian life. 

359
00:17:50,930 --> 00:17:53,370
Don't yield your members as 
instruments to sin. 

360
00:17:53,530 --> 00:17:55,690
Yield them to God for him to use
you. 

361
00:17:56,370 --> 00:17:58,170
Right. 
A knife can be a good thing and 

362
00:17:58,170 --> 00:18:00,810
a bad thing, right? 
A knife in the hand of a 

363
00:18:00,810 --> 00:18:03,850
criminal can be used as a weapon
of murder, right? 

364
00:18:04,050 --> 00:18:08,370
But a knife in the hand of a of 
a surgeon can be a a weapon of I

365
00:18:08,370 --> 00:18:11,330
don't know if weapon is the 
right word, but an instrument of

366
00:18:11,330 --> 00:18:15,450
healing, right? 
It's whose hand is it in? 

367
00:18:15,970 --> 00:18:18,370
And that's exactly what he's 
talking about, yielding your 

368
00:18:18,370 --> 00:18:22,010
members as instruments not to 
sin so that you can have grace 

369
00:18:22,290 --> 00:18:25,070
yield them to God. 
You're already you're alive from

370
00:18:25,070 --> 00:18:27,710
the dead. 
You're made new in Jesus Christ.

371
00:18:27,830 --> 00:18:30,950
Let him use those instruments. 
He deserves them. 

372
00:18:30,990 --> 00:18:32,590
He's the one that's purified 
him. 

373
00:18:33,310 --> 00:18:37,430
Let him use those instruments. 
In other words, because what 

374
00:18:37,430 --> 00:18:40,310
you've been saved from, you 
cannot just live your life like 

375
00:18:40,310 --> 00:18:43,190
you please. 
Why would you want to do that? 

376
00:18:43,190 --> 00:18:46,670
He says You've been saved from a
whole lot of things. 

377
00:18:47,870 --> 00:18:50,810
Yes, you have, Grace. 
And yes, God will forgive you 

378
00:18:50,810 --> 00:18:52,770
for the things that you do in 
your life, because we're not 

379
00:18:52,770 --> 00:18:56,050
going to be perfect. 
But we don't just go sin because

380
00:18:56,050 --> 00:18:59,730
we have grace, because we have 
grace that should keep us from 

381
00:18:59,730 --> 00:19:01,810
sin. 
Of course grace covers those 

382
00:19:01,810 --> 00:19:05,530
sins, but we should avoid sin 
and that old lifestyle at all 

383
00:19:05,530 --> 00:19:07,730
cost. 
Turn to Galatians chapter 4. 

384
00:19:09,890 --> 00:19:11,490
See a lot of people that don't 
know Christ. 

385
00:19:11,490 --> 00:19:13,690
Look at the Christian life is 
nothing more than a series of 

386
00:19:13,690 --> 00:19:16,180
do's and don'ts. 
Well, why would I want to get 

387
00:19:16,180 --> 00:19:18,140
involved in church? 
Just don't do this. 

388
00:19:18,140 --> 00:19:20,900
Don't do this, do that, do that.
And I honestly, that's the way a

389
00:19:20,900 --> 00:19:22,500
lot of young people look at the 
Christian life. 

390
00:19:22,820 --> 00:19:26,220
Just a list of do's and don'ts. 
They see Christianity as living 

391
00:19:26,220 --> 00:19:29,260
in change because of all the 
things that we can't do. 

392
00:19:29,900 --> 00:19:32,220
Well, you can't do this. 
You can't do that. 

393
00:19:32,780 --> 00:19:34,940
You can't drink. 
You can't smoke, you can't 

394
00:19:34,940 --> 00:19:35,780
curse. 
You can't. 

395
00:19:35,780 --> 00:19:37,460
You can't. 
You can't know. 

396
00:19:37,460 --> 00:19:41,450
The truth is, I could. 
If I wanted to, right, Nothing. 

397
00:19:41,450 --> 00:19:45,370
Stop me from going down to Wawa 
and buying a beer and and 

398
00:19:45,370 --> 00:19:47,650
drinking the whole thing. 
Nothing stopping me from doing 

399
00:19:47,650 --> 00:19:50,450
that right? 
I could go grab a pack of 

400
00:19:50,450 --> 00:19:53,130
cigarettes and smoke the whole 
thing this afternoon if I wanted

401
00:19:53,130 --> 00:19:54,370
to. 
I probably couldn't. 

402
00:19:54,370 --> 00:19:56,050
I'd probably choke to death 
before I did that. 

403
00:19:56,050 --> 00:19:57,490
I've never had one, so I don't 
know. 

404
00:19:59,570 --> 00:20:03,650
But I could, right? 
I I could go, I could go do 

405
00:20:03,650 --> 00:20:06,050
anything that I want to do. 
It's not that I can't do those 

406
00:20:06,050 --> 00:20:08,690
things, it's that I don't have 
to do those things. 

407
00:20:09,170 --> 00:20:11,450
Think about the man that's 
addicted to alcohol. 

408
00:20:12,130 --> 00:20:15,410
He's in change to that alcohol. 
A person that's addicted to 

409
00:20:15,410 --> 00:20:17,170
smoking is in change to those 
things. 

410
00:20:17,290 --> 00:20:19,450
You think about pornography 
addictions. 

411
00:20:19,730 --> 00:20:21,250
Those people are addicted to 
that. 

412
00:20:21,250 --> 00:20:23,490
They they're in change to those 
things. 

413
00:20:24,010 --> 00:20:25,490
They're the ones that are in 
bondage. 

414
00:20:25,490 --> 00:20:28,290
Not me. 
I have the freedom in Christ. 

415
00:20:28,290 --> 00:20:31,220
I'm not in bondage to that 
lifestyle, like all of those who

416
00:20:31,220 --> 00:20:34,860
are in those lifestyles that are
trapped and looking for meaning 

417
00:20:34,860 --> 00:20:38,260
and happiness and peace, only to
find out that that that in the 

418
00:20:38,260 --> 00:20:41,860
bondage that that they're in, it
just constantly draws them back 

419
00:20:41,860 --> 00:20:44,780
in, right? 
How many times have, well, I've 

420
00:20:44,780 --> 00:20:48,020
been clean for for a month, but 
unfortunately I went back to it,

421
00:20:48,700 --> 00:20:50,900
right? 
No, as a Christian, I don't have

422
00:20:50,900 --> 00:20:55,420
to do those things. 
I've been clean for 35 years, 40

423
00:20:55,420 --> 00:20:57,340
years. 
I've never been involved in any 

424
00:20:57,340 --> 00:21:00,420
of those things. 
That's because of my freedom 

425
00:21:00,420 --> 00:21:04,020
that I have in Jesus Christ. 
I'm freed from those things. 

426
00:21:04,540 --> 00:21:08,300
I'm not a slave to those things.
And Paul sums it up perfectly 

427
00:21:08,420 --> 00:21:11,460
what we've been saying from in 
glacial chapter 4 and verse #9. 

428
00:21:12,020 --> 00:21:15,740
But now after that you have 
known God, or rather are known 

429
00:21:15,740 --> 00:21:19,460
of God. 
How turn ye again to the weak 

430
00:21:19,740 --> 00:21:23,860
and beggarly elements where 
until you desire again to be in 

431
00:21:23,860 --> 00:21:26,780
bondage? 
What's he saying? 

432
00:21:27,980 --> 00:21:31,340
He's saying a prisoner that's 
been free doesn't walk out and 

433
00:21:31,340 --> 00:21:33,300
say, you know what? 
I don't really like this free 

434
00:21:33,300 --> 00:21:36,260
air stuff. 
Let me go back into prison here.

435
00:21:36,420 --> 00:21:37,980
Take me back and put me in 
chains. 

436
00:21:38,460 --> 00:21:41,220
Who does that? 
Nobody does that. 

437
00:21:41,220 --> 00:21:42,180
Right? 
You get your free. 

438
00:21:42,380 --> 00:21:44,660
I'm free. 
I'm free. 

439
00:21:45,020 --> 00:21:47,380
There's no walls around me. 
This is this. 

440
00:21:47,460 --> 00:21:50,100
I can't believe how beautiful 
the sky is today. 

441
00:21:50,500 --> 00:21:52,580
I can't believe what the sun 
looks like. 

442
00:21:53,020 --> 00:21:54,380
Right. 
That's what somebody who's freed

443
00:21:54,380 --> 00:21:57,630
from prison does, and that's 
what we as Christians should do.

444
00:21:57,630 --> 00:22:00,910
And what Paul is saying is when 
you go back to those things that

445
00:22:00,910 --> 00:22:04,950
you've been freed from, it's the
same thing as walking back into 

446
00:22:04,950 --> 00:22:07,190
prison and sitting down and 
asking to be put in chains 

447
00:22:07,190 --> 00:22:08,790
again. 
How can you do that? 

448
00:22:09,670 --> 00:22:13,830
How turn here again to the weak 
and beggarly elements where 

449
00:22:13,830 --> 00:22:17,950
until you desire to be in 
bondage, It's it's almost like a

450
00:22:17,950 --> 00:22:20,590
rhetorical question, Paul. 
It's like Paul is just 

451
00:22:20,590 --> 00:22:23,150
dumbfounded. 
How can you want to do that? 

452
00:22:24,570 --> 00:22:26,330
And that's the question that I 
have for you this morning. 

453
00:22:26,450 --> 00:22:29,130
If you're a Christian, if you 
know Jesus Christ is your 

454
00:22:29,130 --> 00:22:33,690
savior, how can you participate 
in the things that the world is 

455
00:22:33,690 --> 00:22:36,530
participating in? 
How can you jump in and be 

456
00:22:36,530 --> 00:22:39,330
involved in the homosexual 
lifestyle and then sticking up 

457
00:22:39,330 --> 00:22:41,730
for all of those things? 
How can you be involved in 

458
00:22:41,810 --> 00:22:44,850
sticking up for abortion? 
How can you be involved in 

459
00:22:44,930 --> 00:22:48,850
Hollywood's productions? 
And you are when you're watching

460
00:22:48,850 --> 00:22:52,930
those things, By the way, if if 
nobody watched it, they would go

461
00:22:52,930 --> 00:22:55,630
out of business, right? 
You see that happen with Bud 

462
00:22:55,630 --> 00:22:58,230
Light, right? 
Everybody stopped drinking and 

463
00:22:58,230 --> 00:23:02,670
and they lost a huge, huge 
market share because people 

464
00:23:02,670 --> 00:23:06,150
finally standing up to some of 
this craziness in this nonsense.

465
00:23:06,950 --> 00:23:08,430
And that's I mean that's 
biology. 

466
00:23:08,430 --> 00:23:10,150
That's all that stuff. 
That doesn't that. 

467
00:23:10,150 --> 00:23:12,630
I mean it does have a little bit
to do with spirituality because 

468
00:23:12,630 --> 00:23:14,550
God said that he made a male and
female. 

469
00:23:15,030 --> 00:23:17,550
But think about all the things 
that we should be standing up 

470
00:23:17,550 --> 00:23:19,630
for when it comes to 
Christianity that Christians 

471
00:23:19,630 --> 00:23:24,290
have just backed away from. 
If enough Christians would stand

472
00:23:24,290 --> 00:23:26,650
up to it, we'd make a difference
in this world. 

473
00:23:27,290 --> 00:23:30,610
But too many Christians want to 
go back to the weakened beggarly

474
00:23:30,610 --> 00:23:33,330
elements where and to they 
desire to be in bondage. 

475
00:23:34,770 --> 00:23:36,850
Huge part of the problem is that
most of the people who claim to 

476
00:23:36,850 --> 00:23:40,290
be Christians are not. 
There's not near as many 

477
00:23:40,290 --> 00:23:42,970
Christians in this country as 
claim to be Christians. 

478
00:23:43,890 --> 00:23:45,890
That's why the Bible. 
Says many will say it to me. 

479
00:23:45,890 --> 00:23:48,730
In that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in the name? 

480
00:23:48,730 --> 00:23:51,450
And then I name have cast out 
devils, and then and in thy name

481
00:23:51,450 --> 00:23:54,890
have done many wonderful works? 
Then will I say to them, Depart 

482
00:23:54,890 --> 00:23:57,050
from me, ye cursed into 
everlasting fire. 

483
00:23:57,050 --> 00:24:00,650
I never knew you, right? 
That's people who are getting up

484
00:24:00,650 --> 00:24:04,850
and preaching, getting up and 
proclaiming the word, getting up

485
00:24:04,850 --> 00:24:07,050
and healing people and doing all
these other things. 

486
00:24:07,050 --> 00:24:09,210
And we did all this in Jesus 
name, he said. 

487
00:24:09,210 --> 00:24:12,450
I don't know who you are, right?
It's like the devils. 

488
00:24:12,950 --> 00:24:15,630
Jesus I know and Paul I know, 
but who are you? 

489
00:24:15,630 --> 00:24:17,550
Right? 
They they were, they were 

490
00:24:17,630 --> 00:24:19,270
religious. 
They were going to go cast out 

491
00:24:19,270 --> 00:24:20,590
these devils. 
They were going to do all this 

492
00:24:20,590 --> 00:24:23,030
stuff in the name of Jesus. 
And he said, who are you guys 

493
00:24:23,030 --> 00:24:24,110
again? 
We don't know. 

494
00:24:24,110 --> 00:24:28,190
You and Jesus is going to do the
same thing to a lot of people 

495
00:24:28,310 --> 00:24:30,910
who think they're Christians, 
who have pretended to be 

496
00:24:30,910 --> 00:24:34,550
Christians for a long time. 
These guys I know. 

497
00:24:34,750 --> 00:24:37,430
But who are you? 
I don't know You, and if I don't

498
00:24:37,430 --> 00:24:39,470
know you, you're cursed into 
everlasting fire. 

499
00:24:39,590 --> 00:24:42,860
What a sad thing that is. 
That just goes to show you that 

500
00:24:42,860 --> 00:24:46,220
there's so many in this world 
today who claim to be Christians

501
00:24:46,220 --> 00:24:48,940
who are not because they've 
never been washed in the blood 

502
00:24:49,060 --> 00:24:52,060
of the lamb, they've never been 
to Calvary, they've never had 

503
00:24:52,060 --> 00:24:55,940
their sins forgiven, and there's
no change in their life. 

504
00:24:57,220 --> 00:24:58,540
You see. 
You don't have to change in 

505
00:24:58,540 --> 00:25:00,980
order to be saved, but you 
change because you have been 

506
00:25:00,980 --> 00:25:03,260
saved. 
There ought to be something 

507
00:25:03,260 --> 00:25:06,470
different about you and all 
these churches that are out 

508
00:25:06,470 --> 00:25:08,070
there preaching. 
Oh, just come as you are. 

509
00:25:08,150 --> 00:25:09,910
You don't have to change in 
order to be saved. 

510
00:25:10,030 --> 00:25:12,150
You don't have nothing. 
Nothing has to change. 

511
00:25:12,150 --> 00:25:14,590
Just just just claim the name of
Jesus. 

512
00:25:14,710 --> 00:25:17,950
That's not salvation. 
You have a whole churches full 

513
00:25:17,950 --> 00:25:21,990
of people who have never been 
transformed by Jesus Christ. 

514
00:25:22,270 --> 00:25:25,510
And if nothing changed from the 
moment you got, from the moment 

515
00:25:25,510 --> 00:25:28,510
you accept that Jesus Christ is 
your savior, then I highly doubt

516
00:25:28,510 --> 00:25:30,270
you accept that Jesus Christ is 
your savior. 

517
00:25:31,190 --> 00:25:34,510
Therefore, if any man being 
Christ, he is a new creature. 

518
00:25:35,130 --> 00:25:37,490
Old things are passed away. 
Behold, all things are become 

519
00:25:37,490 --> 00:25:39,290
new. 
You're not working for your 

520
00:25:39,290 --> 00:25:42,210
salvation, you're working 
because of your salvation. 

521
00:25:42,850 --> 00:25:44,370
You've been saved from 
something. 

522
00:25:44,370 --> 00:25:46,650
You ought to show a difference, 
and there ought to be a 

523
00:25:46,650 --> 00:25:48,330
difference in your life to show 
the. 

524
00:25:48,330 --> 00:25:50,970
Gratitude that you have for what
Jesus Christ did for you on the 

525
00:25:50,970 --> 00:25:52,970
cross. 
Don't turn back. 

526
00:25:52,970 --> 00:25:54,610
Don't even look back because of 
all that. 

527
00:25:54,650 --> 00:25:57,890
You've been saved from when you 
remember the sacrifice that 

528
00:25:58,010 --> 00:26:01,060
Jesus made by going to the 
cross, when you remember how 

529
00:26:01,060 --> 00:26:04,700
miserable your life was before 
Jesus Christ, when you remember 

530
00:26:04,780 --> 00:26:08,380
what it was like to be in 
bondage to sin, how can you look

531
00:26:08,380 --> 00:26:11,260
back? 
Remember Lot's wife? 

532
00:26:12,260 --> 00:26:16,340
She looked back. 
We shouldn't because we've been 

533
00:26:16,340 --> 00:26:19,860
saved from so much, but also #2,
because there is yet much work 

534
00:26:19,860 --> 00:26:22,380
to do. 
Turn over to Luke Chapter 9. 

535
00:26:24,100 --> 00:26:27,300
The world is likened in many 
places in the Bible to a harvest

536
00:26:27,300 --> 00:26:32,460
field, Jesus said. 
The harvest is plenteous, but 

537
00:26:32,460 --> 00:26:36,820
the laborers are few. 
And I will tell you that the 

538
00:26:36,900 --> 00:26:40,700
that the harvest is getting less
and less plenteous part partly 

539
00:26:40,700 --> 00:26:43,460
because there are so few 
laborers, right? 

540
00:26:43,700 --> 00:26:46,460
What happens when you have a 
whole field of corn that grows 

541
00:26:46,460 --> 00:26:49,580
up and it's ripe and it's ready 
for picking and nobody goes and 

542
00:26:49,580 --> 00:26:55,740
picks it, Eventually it dies and
eventually it keeps other things

543
00:26:55,740 --> 00:26:57,660
from growing up, right. 
And I think that's exactly 

544
00:26:57,660 --> 00:27:00,580
what's happened in our world. 
The harvest still is plenty. 

545
00:27:00,860 --> 00:27:03,860
Plenty of harvest out there to 
gather, but most of those fields

546
00:27:03,860 --> 00:27:05,740
are dying because nobody's 
harvested them. 

547
00:27:07,980 --> 00:27:11,060
Says the harvest truly is plenty
of, but the laborers are few. 

548
00:27:11,060 --> 00:27:13,580
In Luke Chapter 9, Jesus is 
giving a lesson on true 

549
00:27:13,580 --> 00:27:16,460
discipleship, and he has two 
different men that come to him 

550
00:27:16,500 --> 00:27:19,220
and tell him that they're 
willing to follow him anywhere. 

551
00:27:20,060 --> 00:27:22,260
And then Jesus gave them the 
command to follow him, and they 

552
00:27:22,260 --> 00:27:23,940
both came up with excuses why 
they couldn't. 

553
00:27:26,060 --> 00:27:27,380
The head of something that they 
had to do first. 

554
00:27:27,380 --> 00:27:29,900
So Jesus gives them this strong 
statement in Luke Chapter 9. 

555
00:27:29,900 --> 00:27:36,740
In verse 62, Jesus said unto 
him, No man having put his hand 

556
00:27:36,740 --> 00:27:41,140
to the plow and looking back as 
fit for the Kingdom of heaven. 

557
00:27:42,500 --> 00:27:44,980
I think we could certainly apply
that to somebody who is who 

558
00:27:44,980 --> 00:27:47,060
wants to go to heaven, but it's 
not willing to give up his sin 

559
00:27:47,060 --> 00:27:51,420
and his worldly lifestyle and 
forsake those things to accept 

560
00:27:51,420 --> 00:27:53,220
Christ. 
You don't have to be sinless to 

561
00:27:53,220 --> 00:27:56,380
be saved. 
You don't have to stop all your 

562
00:27:56,380 --> 00:27:58,620
sin to be saved, but you have to
want to. 

563
00:27:58,620 --> 00:28:00,980
You have to have a desire. 
You have to have a new 

564
00:28:00,980 --> 00:28:04,140
relationship with your sin when 
you meet Jesus Christ. 

565
00:28:04,540 --> 00:28:07,620
That's what repentance is. 
Repentance is recognizing that 

566
00:28:07,620 --> 00:28:10,820
I'm a Sinner and that my sin is 
sending me to hell. 

567
00:28:10,820 --> 00:28:14,020
And I need a Savior, and I need 
a new relationship with him, and

568
00:28:14,020 --> 00:28:15,700
I need a new relationship with 
my sin. 

569
00:28:16,100 --> 00:28:19,260
No longer will I love that sin. 
No longer will I revel in it. 

570
00:28:19,260 --> 00:28:21,500
No longer will I want to go back
to it. 

571
00:28:22,220 --> 00:28:25,140
I've been saved from that but 
but, but I believe that we can 

572
00:28:25,140 --> 00:28:28,620
also apply this to Christians. 
He was saying you're not fit for

573
00:28:28,620 --> 00:28:32,980
God's work if you if you look 
back I think there's a strong 

574
00:28:32,980 --> 00:28:35,140
allusion to Lot's wife in this 
passage. 

575
00:28:35,140 --> 00:28:37,660
In fact turn over to Matthew 
chapter 6. 

576
00:28:38,500 --> 00:28:41,780
See, I think was what Jesus was 
saying is if you have a desire 

577
00:28:41,780 --> 00:28:44,780
to follow me and to reap the 
benefits of those who do follow 

578
00:28:44,780 --> 00:28:48,540
me, you can't be looking back to
a worldly life again and and 

579
00:28:48,540 --> 00:28:51,040
hankering after it. 
You can't be, you can't be 

580
00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:53,400
having that draw that that makes
you want to go back. 

581
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:55,480
Not all of us are going to have 
that temptation. 

582
00:28:56,720 --> 00:29:00,440
There's that's part of 
temptation, A temptation to go 

583
00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:03,160
after this thing or that thing. 
But if, if, if you, if, if your 

584
00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:06,640
whole life is pointing back in 
the direction of, I want that, 

585
00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:09,960
like like the Israelites in the 
wilderness, right? 

586
00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:12,560
How many times did they say, oh,
if we could only just go back to

587
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:16,240
Egypt, oh, life would be so much
better back in Egypt. 

588
00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:18,960
The idea of putting your hand to
the file with someone who's 

589
00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,400
intent on doing his job, he's 
not looking back with regret 

590
00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:24,920
that he undertook that job, 
right? 

591
00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:26,320
And that's exactly what he's 
talking about. 

592
00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:28,440
Somebody who is a Christian, 
somebody who's been saved, 

593
00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,240
somebody who who is going 
forward for the cause of Jesus 

594
00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:34,280
Christ does not regret the 
decision to become a Christian. 

595
00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:37,000
It's exactly what Jesus is 
trying to get across in our 

596
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:38,760
spiritual lives. 
If you're going to serve him, 

597
00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:42,080
serve him with your whole heart.
You come into a relationship 

598
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:45,040
with Jesus Christ still loving 
the world, still looking with 

599
00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:50,440
regret on the pleasure that you 
gave up the wealth, the world, 

600
00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:52,800
the honors, and you're not fit 
to be called a servant of Jesus 

601
00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,320
Christ. 
I find it so interesting how the

602
00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,600
Bible interprets the difference 
between where our loyalties lie.

603
00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:05,640
Matthew, chapter 6, verse 24. 
No man can serve 2 masters, for 

604
00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:07,800
either he will hate the one and 
love the other, or else he will 

605
00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:09,440
hold to the one and despise the 
other. 

606
00:30:10,070 --> 00:30:14,230
Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 
Now, he doesn't say that we 

607
00:30:14,230 --> 00:30:15,630
choose between God and the 
devil. 

608
00:30:16,950 --> 00:30:18,070
What is? 
What is he saying? 

609
00:30:18,070 --> 00:30:22,670
That we're choosing between God 
and mammon, right? 

610
00:30:22,670 --> 00:30:28,550
You know what mammon is? 
It's wealth, treasure, riches. 

611
00:30:28,910 --> 00:30:31,070
So many people are drawn away by
that. 

612
00:30:31,070 --> 00:30:34,950
The God says that we choose 
between him and the world, him 

613
00:30:34,950 --> 00:30:36,990
and that lifestyle, him and 
riches. 

614
00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:40,040
Serving Christ is everything or 
nothing. 

615
00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,720
Person that is not willing to 
sacrifice everything for the 

616
00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:48,080
cause of Christ is really not 
willing to sacrifice at all, and

617
00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:50,680
that's what he's talking about. 
No man having put his hand to 

618
00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,360
the plow and looking back is fit
for the Kingdom of heaven. 

619
00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:56,360
Don't look back. 
Don't look back because of what 

620
00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:58,800
you've been safe from. 
Don't look back because there's 

621
00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:03,280
much work to do. 
And #3 if you'll turn over to 

622
00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:07,950
Philippians chapter 3. 
Don't look back, because there's

623
00:31:07,950 --> 00:31:12,230
a reward waiting in heaven. 
We have the past, the present, 

624
00:31:12,550 --> 00:31:14,710
and the future. 
The past is what you've been 

625
00:31:14,710 --> 00:31:16,590
saved from. 
The present is what we have to 

626
00:31:16,590 --> 00:31:19,030
do now. 
The future is where we're going.

627
00:31:19,710 --> 00:31:22,470
There's treasure and a reward 
waiting in heaven. 

628
00:31:22,470 --> 00:31:26,030
Philippians Chapter 3 is a 
familiar passage to most of us. 

629
00:31:26,030 --> 00:31:29,710
In verse #13 it says this 
brethren I count not myself to 

630
00:31:29,710 --> 00:31:33,110
have apprehended, but this one 
thing I do, forgetting those 

631
00:31:33,110 --> 00:31:36,050
things which are behind. 
And reaching forth into those 

632
00:31:36,050 --> 00:31:42,810
things which are before I press 
toward the mark for the prize of

633
00:31:42,810 --> 00:31:44,930
the high calling of God in 
Christ Jesus. 

634
00:31:45,970 --> 00:31:50,050
You know some people so well you
shouldn't focus on on heaven. 

635
00:31:50,810 --> 00:31:55,330
You know, why would you focus on
heaven as being a reason why 

636
00:31:55,330 --> 00:31:56,890
somebody would want to accept 
Jesus Christ? 

637
00:31:56,890 --> 00:31:59,130
Or why would you focus on on 
earning crowns? 

638
00:31:59,290 --> 00:32:01,850
It's all it's you should just 
focus on serving Jesus. 

639
00:32:01,970 --> 00:32:04,830
And I agree we should. 
But The thing is, why would he 

640
00:32:04,830 --> 00:32:07,150
give us those motivations if he 
didn't want us to be motivated 

641
00:32:07,150 --> 00:32:09,390
by them, right? 
If he didn't want us to be 

642
00:32:09,390 --> 00:32:11,830
motivated by the prize of the 
high calling of God in Christ 

643
00:32:11,830 --> 00:32:14,550
Jesus, then why would he mention
it in this passage if he didn't 

644
00:32:14,550 --> 00:32:16,310
want us to be motivated by 
earning crowns? 

645
00:32:16,310 --> 00:32:18,430
And why would he tell us about 
the five crowns we can earn, 

646
00:32:19,350 --> 00:32:20,310
right? 
If he didn't want us to be 

647
00:32:20,310 --> 00:32:23,150
motivated by going to heaven, 
why would he describe heaven and

648
00:32:23,150 --> 00:32:24,550
all the beauty and everything 
else? 

649
00:32:24,710 --> 00:32:27,670
He I think he wants us. 
To be motivated to go there and 

650
00:32:27,670 --> 00:32:30,310
to earn the rewards that we can 
earn, right? 

651
00:32:31,770 --> 00:32:34,410
But we have to forget some 
things if we're going to press 

652
00:32:34,410 --> 00:32:35,530
forward. 
And the first thing we have to 

653
00:32:35,530 --> 00:32:37,930
forget is past failures. 
See, the devil is going to try 

654
00:32:37,930 --> 00:32:40,690
to remind you where you failed. 
And we failed. 

655
00:32:40,930 --> 00:32:43,050
A lot of times as Christians, 
especially if you've been a 

656
00:32:43,050 --> 00:32:46,170
Christian for for quite a long 
time or any length of time, 

657
00:32:46,330 --> 00:32:47,650
you're going to fail as a 
Christian. 

658
00:32:48,530 --> 00:32:50,410
And the devil is going to point 
back at those things and say, 

659
00:32:50,410 --> 00:32:52,770
hey, remember what you did. 
God can't use you. 

660
00:32:52,770 --> 00:32:54,930
God could never use you again. 
Look at all those failures. 

661
00:32:55,050 --> 00:32:56,770
Look at all the things that you 
have to your name. 

662
00:32:56,770 --> 00:32:58,050
Look at the ways that you've 
messed up. 

663
00:32:58,050 --> 00:32:59,490
Look at the things that you've 
done. 

664
00:33:00,940 --> 00:33:03,380
So try to tell you that you 
can't be useful to God. 

665
00:33:03,580 --> 00:33:06,860
One songwriter put it this way. 
When Satan reminds me of things 

666
00:33:06,940 --> 00:33:09,820
I regret, I bring up Calvary, 
lest he forget. 

667
00:33:10,620 --> 00:33:13,540
What a what a great, what a 
great statement in a song. 

668
00:33:13,540 --> 00:33:17,100
Past failures cannot determine 
our future success for God, 

669
00:33:17,740 --> 00:33:20,860
forgetting those things which 
are behind, he says. 

670
00:33:21,300 --> 00:33:24,140
That means if you've had 
failures in your past, forget 

671
00:33:24,140 --> 00:33:25,900
them. 
Go forward. 

672
00:33:26,540 --> 00:33:29,300
You've made mistakes. 
The wounds heal. 

673
00:33:29,770 --> 00:33:31,850
Turn around and go forward for 
the cause of Jesus Christ. 

674
00:33:31,850 --> 00:33:33,730
But I'll say this too. 
We have to forget our past 

675
00:33:33,730 --> 00:33:37,130
victories. 
Not that we can't be glad for 

676
00:33:37,130 --> 00:33:40,010
them, but a lot of Christians 
want to live on what they did 

677
00:33:40,010 --> 00:33:43,890
yesterday for God. 
Oh, they like to dwell on things

678
00:33:43,970 --> 00:33:46,570
that they used to do. 
I remember back in the day, we 

679
00:33:46,570 --> 00:33:49,650
used to and we would, and then 
we would. 

680
00:33:50,170 --> 00:33:54,930
And why aren't you doing it now?
Forget the past victory. 

681
00:33:55,530 --> 00:33:56,810
Pretend they never even 
happened. 

682
00:33:56,810 --> 00:33:59,450
The same way we want to forget 
all our past failures, right? 

683
00:33:59,750 --> 00:34:01,950
We want, we don't want to 
remember the things that we made

684
00:34:01,950 --> 00:34:04,310
mistakes and we want to talk 
about how good we are. 

685
00:34:04,310 --> 00:34:08,190
And all this, you know well how 
wonderful I used to be and all 

686
00:34:08,190 --> 00:34:11,989
the things that I used to do for
God and all of those are still 

687
00:34:11,989 --> 00:34:15,550
stacked up to my credit. 
Pretend they never happened. 

688
00:34:15,550 --> 00:34:17,030
What are you doing for Christ 
today? 

689
00:34:17,630 --> 00:34:18,949
What have you done for him in 
the last week? 

690
00:34:18,949 --> 00:34:20,710
What have you done for Christ in
the last month? 

691
00:34:21,850 --> 00:34:25,090
Forget those past victories. 
Living in the past is looking 

692
00:34:25,090 --> 00:34:28,090
back in the Christian life. 
Forget those past failures. 

693
00:34:28,250 --> 00:34:31,130
Forget those past victories and 
look forward to the prize that 

694
00:34:31,130 --> 00:34:34,370
God has for you to win. 
If you're still alive, then He 

695
00:34:34,370 --> 00:34:36,010
still has something for you to 
do. 

696
00:34:36,850 --> 00:34:39,530
When He's done with you on this 
earth, he'll bring you home. 

697
00:34:40,570 --> 00:34:43,770
If you're not home yet, then you
still have work to do. 

698
00:34:44,530 --> 00:34:47,449
Get busy. 
Do it while you have the time. 

699
00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:50,000
Use the opportunities that he's 
giving you now. 

700
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,040
You may not have all the energy 
that you used to have. 

701
00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:54,400
You may not have all the 
abilities that you used to have.

702
00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:56,400
You may not be able to do 
everything you used to do, but 

703
00:34:56,400 --> 00:34:59,960
you can do something and do it 
for the cause of Christ. 

704
00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:03,400
There's so many more victories, 
so many more blessings, so many 

705
00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:05,120
more rewards that he wants to 
give you. 

706
00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:09,400
You can't win them by looking 
back and only win them by 

707
00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:11,280
looking forward and pressing 
toward that mark. 

708
00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:15,440
I have a cousin that's a very 
gifted runner, had a four year 

709
00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:17,080
scholarship to the University of
Michigan. 

710
00:35:17,740 --> 00:35:20,860
And boy I remember we went up to
we went up to Minnesota. 

711
00:35:20,860 --> 00:35:23,340
I think they were seniors and 
they hit their twins and both of

712
00:35:23,340 --> 00:35:25,340
them are fast, but one of them 
is faster than the other. 

713
00:35:26,100 --> 00:35:28,580
One of them got a I think you 
got a scholarship to a division 

714
00:35:28,580 --> 00:35:32,500
two college and this one got a a
a four year scholarship to the 

715
00:35:32,500 --> 00:35:36,940
University of Michigan to run 
track and and cross country. 

716
00:35:36,940 --> 00:35:40,940
And I remember we went up to 
visit for a family reunion in 

717
00:35:40,940 --> 00:35:45,620
July and we went up to Atasca 
State Park, which is the 

718
00:35:45,620 --> 00:35:48,370
headwaters of the Mississippi. 
And we're just going out there 

719
00:35:48,370 --> 00:35:50,410
to to relax. 
There's some trails out there 

720
00:35:50,410 --> 00:35:52,330
and they they came out there 
dressed in their running clothes

721
00:35:52,330 --> 00:35:53,850
and they said, yeah, we got to 
get our run in. 

722
00:35:54,090 --> 00:35:56,250
We're we're just going to go run
a short 6 miles. 

723
00:35:56,850 --> 00:35:59,370
And and like 30 minutes later 
they came back and they had run 

724
00:35:59,370 --> 00:36:01,770
their six miles and they just 
fit, you know, then they just 

725
00:36:01,770 --> 00:36:03,770
did everything that we we did 
the rest of the day. 

726
00:36:03,770 --> 00:36:06,370
I mean, these guys were in 
amazing shape, but he went to. 

727
00:36:06,370 --> 00:36:07,850
University of Michigan and he 
won. 

728
00:36:07,850 --> 00:36:10,610
He won several NCAA titles and 
different things. 

729
00:36:10,610 --> 00:36:13,210
I mean an excellent runner and 
he's only, I think he's been 

730
00:36:13,210 --> 00:36:15,490
graduated two or three years 
now, so he's not that far out of

731
00:36:15,490 --> 00:36:16,730
it. 
He actually signed a. 

732
00:36:17,390 --> 00:36:21,270
Professional running contract 
and I forget who he runs for but

733
00:36:21,270 --> 00:36:22,950
he does a lot of that kind of 
stuff anyway. 

734
00:36:23,750 --> 00:36:27,430
My dad being that he's you know 
obviously his, it's his sister 

735
00:36:27,430 --> 00:36:29,430
and and a lot of their family 
lives up there. 

736
00:36:29,430 --> 00:36:31,590
So he goes up there a decent 
amount, watches the races and 

737
00:36:31,590 --> 00:36:34,630
everything else And so he he 
really gets excited about the 

738
00:36:34,670 --> 00:36:36,710
the races. 
And so every once in a while has

739
00:36:36,710 --> 00:36:39,390
send me a video of of some kind 
of race that happened or 

740
00:36:39,390 --> 00:36:40,910
whatever else. 
And a lot of times it's my 

741
00:36:40,910 --> 00:36:42,910
cousin, but other times it's 
it's different people. 

742
00:36:42,910 --> 00:36:45,430
And anyway. 
Not too long ago he showed me a 

743
00:36:45,430 --> 00:36:49,390
video of an indoor track meet 
and 1 runner had just. 

744
00:36:49,390 --> 00:36:52,070
I mean he he had gotten way out 
in front of everybody else and 

745
00:36:52,070 --> 00:36:54,270
he was, I mean to look like 
there was you know he was just 

746
00:36:54,270 --> 00:36:56,990
he was cruising and everybody 
else was kind of there. 

747
00:36:56,990 --> 00:36:59,870
But there was there was one guy 
and the announcers kept talking 

748
00:36:59,870 --> 00:37:01,870
about and they say I think he's 
just hanging back. 

749
00:37:01,870 --> 00:37:05,390
I think he's just waiting for 
his opportunity to pass and 

750
00:37:05,430 --> 00:37:08,710
because he should not be as far 
back as he is, I think he's just

751
00:37:08,710 --> 00:37:10,630
waiting And he was, he was very 
near the back. 

752
00:37:11,340 --> 00:37:14,060
One lap left and the bell rings 
to show you that there's one lap

753
00:37:14,060 --> 00:37:17,140
left and this guy started making
his move and he started passing 

754
00:37:17,140 --> 00:37:19,460
people one after another after 
another and there was a pretty 

755
00:37:19,460 --> 00:37:21,580
good gap between 1st and 2nd 
place. 

756
00:37:21,900 --> 00:37:24,420
This guy moved up into second 
place and as they're rounding 

757
00:37:24,420 --> 00:37:28,100
these corners he was he was 
closing that gap and the guy 

758
00:37:28,100 --> 00:37:31,100
that was out in the front and 
and you know the the announcers,

759
00:37:31,100 --> 00:37:32,380
of course they're getting all 
excited. 

760
00:37:32,380 --> 00:37:34,540
They're starting to talk about 
this could be a really close 

761
00:37:34,540 --> 00:37:36,540
finish and you know, they're 
they're getting more and more 

762
00:37:36,540 --> 00:37:38,140
excited. 
And and as they rounded the 

763
00:37:38,140 --> 00:37:39,900
final corner on the home 
stretch. 

764
00:37:40,550 --> 00:37:43,350
The the announcer noticed 
something that the runner in 

765
00:37:43,350 --> 00:37:48,870
first place did and he pointed 
it out and he said, oh, he just 

766
00:37:48,870 --> 00:37:54,030
made his first mistake. 
He looked back and that little 

767
00:37:54,030 --> 00:37:57,110
mistake of him looking back to 
see where that other guy was was

768
00:37:57,110 --> 00:37:59,910
just enough that that guy needed
to pass him as they stretched 

769
00:37:59,910 --> 00:38:03,470
across and and the guy beat him 
for first place. 

770
00:38:05,780 --> 00:38:08,380
The only way to effectively 
press toward the mark is to 

771
00:38:08,380 --> 00:38:10,700
continue to press toward the 
mark. 

772
00:38:12,100 --> 00:38:14,940
Don't look back. 
Don't look back. 

773
00:38:14,940 --> 00:38:16,860
Don't look back. 
Unless you want to go back, 

774
00:38:17,700 --> 00:38:19,660
because the direction you're 
looking is the direction you're 

775
00:38:19,660 --> 00:38:22,220
going to go. 
The interesting thing about 

776
00:38:22,220 --> 00:38:25,900
Lott's wife is that she was 
turned into a pillar of salt. 

777
00:38:25,900 --> 00:38:27,420
She didn't drop dead on the 
spot. 

778
00:38:27,420 --> 00:38:27,900
Why did? 
Why? 

779
00:38:27,900 --> 00:38:30,220
I mean, God didn't say don't 
look back or you're going to 

780
00:38:30,220 --> 00:38:32,140
turn into a pillar of salt, he 
said. 

781
00:38:32,140 --> 00:38:36,770
Don't look back, right? 
Why didn't she just drop dead? 

782
00:38:37,730 --> 00:38:39,810
Why didn't you know? 
Why didn't some burning ash 

783
00:38:39,810 --> 00:38:42,290
falling on her from Sodom and 
Gomorrah and she burned up? 

784
00:38:43,250 --> 00:38:47,890
Why a pillar assault? 
I showed you a picture of the 

785
00:38:47,890 --> 00:38:51,090
traditional spot of where Lot's 
wife was as we were going 

786
00:38:51,090 --> 00:38:53,210
through this when we visited in 
Israel. 

787
00:38:53,490 --> 00:38:56,250
But there's lots wife. 
Now whether that's her or not, I

788
00:38:56,250 --> 00:38:57,930
don't know, but that's been 
there a long, long time. 

789
00:38:57,930 --> 00:39:00,610
Josephus, the historian that was
alive during the time of Jesus 

790
00:39:00,610 --> 00:39:04,970
Christ, mentioned going to see 
the pillar of Lot's wife. 

791
00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:09,600
But God told us to remember 
Lot's wife. 

792
00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:12,520
You think maybe that's why she 
was turned into a pillar of 

793
00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:19,320
salt? 
Is a memorial, a reminder that 

794
00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:25,960
all those years ago in Genesis, 
when she looked back, got turned

795
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:30,480
into a pillar of salt. 
Here we are in Matthew, I'm 

796
00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:34,000
sorry, in Luke. 
And you can say, Hey, remember 

797
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,280
Lot's wife? 
She looked back and she got 

798
00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:42,400
turned into a pillar of salt. 
God left lots Wife there is a 

799
00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:46,760
stark reminder to us not to do 
what she did. 

800
00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:52,040
And he says remember lots wife. 
There's nothing significant 

801
00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:54,520
about lots wife that we're given
in the Bible other than the fact

802
00:39:54,520 --> 00:40:00,320
that she looked back. 
Looking back is something that 

803
00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:03,680
we would do well to avoid. 
Don't look back because of what 

804
00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:07,120
you've been safe from. 
Don't look back because there's 

805
00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:09,520
yet much work to do. 
And don't look back because 

806
00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:12,520
there's a reward waiting for you
in heaven. 

807
00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:18,360
Perhaps you're here this morning
and you're looking back a little

808
00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:20,720
bit. 
You've been saved. 

809
00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:23,480
Maybe you've even been saved for
quite a long time. 

810
00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:28,400
Are you looking back? 
You're looking back and saying, 

811
00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:32,000
boy, if I could only do that. 
Oh, it'd be so wonderful to be 

812
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:33,760
able to have the freedom to do 
that. 

813
00:40:34,390 --> 00:40:38,750
We're using using grace as an 
occasion to sin instead of as an

814
00:40:38,750 --> 00:40:42,750
opportunity to have that freedom
in Jesus Christ, to live for him

815
00:40:42,750 --> 00:40:44,630
and to be used as an instrument 
of his. 

816
00:40:45,670 --> 00:40:48,670
Are you looking back? 
Are you looking forward in 

817
00:40:48,670 --> 00:40:51,030
accomplishing everything that he
wants to accomplish through you?

818
00:40:52,110 --> 00:40:53,830
That's the question for all of 
us this morning. 

819
00:40:54,910 --> 00:40:55,950
Let's pray. 
Father, we love you. 

820
00:40:55,950 --> 00:40:57,150
Give me. 
Thank you for your goodness to 

821
00:40:57,150 --> 00:41:01,030
us. 
Thank you for the reminder that 

822
00:41:01,030 --> 00:41:05,990
we have of Lot's wife. 
Tragic story for her, but a 

823
00:41:05,990 --> 00:41:08,870
tremendous reminder for us Don't
look back. 

824
00:41:09,910 --> 00:41:12,390
This world has nothing to offer 
us. 

825
00:41:13,270 --> 00:41:16,190
And as we saw in our first 
chorus, I don't want to go back 

826
00:41:16,190 --> 00:41:17,710
to the world. 
There's nothing in the world for

827
00:41:17,710 --> 00:41:22,750
me, God, I pray that don't be 
the mindset of every single 

828
00:41:22,790 --> 00:41:26,390
person in this one. 
In God, we're making, we've made

829
00:41:26,670 --> 00:41:30,310
some mistakes. 
Start looking back. 

830
00:41:31,070 --> 00:41:34,250
Pray that you help us to get 
those things right with you this

831
00:41:34,250 --> 00:41:36,010
morning. 
Pray that you give us the 

832
00:41:36,010 --> 00:41:39,330
boldness to take that step and 
got to do. 

833
00:41:39,330 --> 00:41:44,090
Pray If there is anybody in here
that's still lost, still does 

834
00:41:44,090 --> 00:41:46,890
not know Jesus Christ or their 
Savior, still wondering maybe 

835
00:41:47,610 --> 00:41:51,690
where they're going to spend 
eternity, I pray that you bring 

836
00:41:51,690 --> 00:41:54,570
the conviction in their heart to
the point where there is no 

837
00:41:54,570 --> 00:41:57,330
doubt that they need you and 
God. 

838
00:41:57,330 --> 00:41:59,290
I pray that you'd help them to 
make that decision this morning 

839
00:41:59,290 --> 00:42:02,440
as well, to accept Jesus Christ 
as their Savior. 

840
00:42:03,720 --> 00:42:07,280
God, may we all be where you 
want us to be, so that we can be

841
00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:10,800
a church full of people that are
being used by you to the fullest

842
00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:13,720
capacity. 
Nothing that we're missing out 

843
00:42:13,720 --> 00:42:15,680
on. 
Nothing that we're lacking from 

844
00:42:15,680 --> 00:42:20,720
you because our hearts are so in
tune with yours, pointing in the

845
00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:25,120
direction that you're leading. 
And God, where we've started to 

846
00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:29,710
stray, bring us back. 
Thank you for all that you do 

847
00:42:29,710 --> 00:42:31,350
for us in Jesus. 
Amen. 

848
00:42:31,350 --> 00:42:32,470
If you would, please stand at 
your seat.