1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,840 There's a piece in this whole story of the destruction of 2 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:07,240 Sodom and Gomorrah that I think often gets overlooked, and it is 3 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:15,080 the the the absence of Lot's ability to influence anyone in 4 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:16,960 the entire region of Sodom and Gomorrah. 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:21,440 Apparently here, here's a lot. He's a nephew of a Brahm who 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:26,480 becomes Abraham, the father of many nations through whom all 7 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:28,400 nations on earth will be blessed. 8 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:30,720 And his his nephew travelled with him. 9 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:33,160 His nephew left their home country with him. 10 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:36,280 He heard, I'm certain he heard the stories. 11 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:38,960 He knew why they were gone. He knew that they were going to 12 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:41,520 a land that that they didn't know until they got there. 13 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:45,080 And God said this is it. He'd heard all of those things 14 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,640 from his uncle and when he goes and lives in the Jordan Valley 15 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:53,280 and and sets up house near the city of Sodom and then 16 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,360 eventually moves into Sodom after he's been there for, I 17 00:00:56,360 --> 00:01:00,280 think this has been about 10 or 15 years estimate he's had. 18 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,120 He's become a leader. He's one of the judges of the 19 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:06,760 city. That's why he's at the gate when 20 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,320 the angelic visitors come to visit Sodom and check things 21 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:11,480 out. That's why he's there. 22 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,120 He's become a leader in the city, but he has absolutely no 23 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:21,240 influence, at least no influence for good among the people of 24 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,800 Sodom and Gomorrah. He had a chance. 25 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:30,080 He had an opportunity to influence the people around him, 26 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:34,280 the community around him, the atmosphere around him in a way 27 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:39,160 that might draw them closer to God and God's way, but had zero 28 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:43,600 impact, not even any impact on his own family. 29 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:48,440 Now in a day when influencer has somehow become an actual 30 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,080 profession, I still haven't figured out how that happened, 31 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:54,360 but but it's a job now being an influencer. 32 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:56,080 Social media is involved with it. 33 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,560 I'm I'm not terribly influential and I'm not terribly good at 34 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,480 social media. So that's out for me is a career 35 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,840 choice. But in in that mindset, I think 36 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:10,199 it's worth asking ourselves, asking yourself, I need to ask 37 00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:15,920 myself as I'm interacting in the culture and the the circles in 38 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:19,240 which I interact, which you interact, are you an influencer 39 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:21,400 or are you just being influenced? 40 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,760 Are we? We have been given the gift of 41 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,160 the Holy Spirit as followers of Jesus Christ. 42 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:36,760 The very God of the universe dwells in US and among us as the 43 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:41,960 body of Christ. Are we making any impact? 44 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,280 Are you making any impact? Are you influencing people 45 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:51,280 around you in a way that draws them closer to God and helps 46 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:54,280 them become more and more like Jesus Christ? 47 00:02:54,920 --> 00:02:58,160 Or are we simply being influenced by the culture that's 48 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:00,400 around us? It's a question we have to ask. 49 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,680 This is what happened with Lot. Abram became Abraham lived in 50 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:08,040 the land of Canaan and while Lot lived among the cities of the 51 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,520 plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 52 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,040 Remember they had a choice. They were there were stayed 53 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,920 become so prosperous and and so wealthy as a as an extended 54 00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:22,560 family that they didn't have enough land to graze all of 55 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,120 their animals on their various sheep and goat herders were 56 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:27,760 fussing and fighting with each other. 57 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,960 So Abraham gave Lot the choice. Lot look down at the Jordan 58 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,880 River Valley where Sodom and Gomorrah and some other cities 59 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,640 where he said that's a really, really fertile happening place. 60 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,280 I'm going to go live down there and he lived near Sodom. 61 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:45,560 That was lots to he chose to put himself and and his family in 62 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:48,720 that environment and in that cultural context. 63 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:52,920 And in like 15 years later, God wipes the whole place out. 64 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:59,120 God couldn't find even 10 people in the entire region that could 65 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,720 be described as righteous living their lives in a way that was in 66 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:07,920 right relationship with God and with the people around them and 67 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:12,240 wiped them all out. After all of that time, Lot had 68 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,520 had no influence at all. He failed to influence his 69 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,399 community. He failed to influence his 70 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:20,079 family. When you look at this whole of 71 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:25,320 chapter 19, you see even his family hadn't been influenced by 72 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:28,680 anything like faith in God from Lot. 73 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:32,520 When when the angels tell him, hey, you know, we're going to 74 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:35,720 wipe this place out. If you've got any family, get 75 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:38,000 them out now. And so Lot goes to his future 76 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,760 sons in laws. He's got two daughters and he's 77 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,080 he goes to their their intended husbands and says God's going to 78 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:47,640 wipe this place out, let's go. And they just laughed at him. 79 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:53,000 Lot had so little credibility with him, so little influence on 80 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,200 them, that when he tried to save their lives and warn them of the 81 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:59,760 coming wrath of God, they just thought it was a joke, thought 82 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:05,280 he'd lost his mind. As they're fleeing the city and 83 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:09,560 they're making their way to the mountains and, and, and, and 84 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,440 burning sulphur is raining down from the sky. 85 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:16,160 Whether it was like showers of sulphur or whether it was some 86 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:18,360 sort of, you know, I talked about last week, perhaps a, a 87 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,640 near earth explosion of a meteorite that wiped everything 88 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:24,520 out of it. But as the destruction is 89 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:32,480 happening, Lot's wife that is so longing for this city that was 90 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:37,600 so corrupt and so broken and so far from God, that as it's being 91 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,720 destroyed, she turns and longs to return to that way of living. 92 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,280 Lot had no influence, no meaningful impact on his wife 93 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:49,960 for the good. And then when they get in the 94 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:54,800 mountains and and his daughters are all that's left of his 95 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:59,200 family and his wife is dead and their intended husbands are 96 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,480 dead, they decide to take matters in their own hands. 97 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,920 They get their father drunk and they get themselves pregnant off 98 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:10,840 of him so that they can have sons and daughters to carry on 99 00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:16,480 the family. That's how little impact for 100 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,720 good that Lot had on the people around him. 101 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,640 I think Lot's story is, is a story of one of the greatest 102 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:30,240 failures, not just in the Bible, but in all of human history, to 103 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:34,560 have known the stories of God, to have known the power of God. 104 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:39,200 That God through his uncle saved Lot and his entire family when 105 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,640 they were taken captive as political prisoners. 106 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:48,000 That got God through, that God saved Abram and saved Sarah from 107 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,120 countless difficulties. That blessed them and multiplied 108 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:52,720 their wealth over and over and over again. 109 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:58,160 And Lot had experienced first hand all of this and failed to 110 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:01,760 pass it on to anyone that he knew with any degree of 111 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:08,400 credibility or influence. His family so completely steeped 112 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:12,480 and influenced by the culture around them that they were 113 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:19,200 simply part of that culture and no one in the community would 114 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:22,160 even listen to him. Lot failed to influence his 115 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:24,560 family. He failed to influence his 116 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:26,360 community. Why? 117 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:32,320 I think one of the main reasons, maybe the reason that Lot failed 118 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:35,920 to influence his family and his community is because he focused 119 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:41,080 on the wrong thing. Lot we see and we don't, we we 120 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:43,560 get a hint at it. We don't get it developed and 121 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,960 explained in any great detail. But we do know this. 122 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:51,000 When Abram gave Lot the choice, did he want the Highlands or the 123 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:53,040 lowlands? Did he want the mountainous 124 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:55,720 area, the hilly area or the fertile plain? 125 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,440 That Lot chose the fertile plain because that's where he could 126 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:03,400 get richer. The land was better there, the 127 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:10,000 nightlife was better there. It was more wealth there, and 128 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:13,960 Lot never went into that environment to influence the 129 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:18,000 people there. He went into that environment to 130 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:24,600 make himself rich, to add to his own status, his own wealth, his 131 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:28,440 own position in the community that was around him and in the 132 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:32,120 culture that was around him. He was focused on the wrong 133 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,840 thing. Lot looked around and saw that 134 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,760 the whole plain of the Jordan towards Zohar was well watered, 135 00:08:38,159 --> 00:08:41,000 like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. 136 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:45,200 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and 137 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:48,800 set out toward the east, and as we read earlier, pitched his 138 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:55,440 tent near Sodom. Lot failed to influence because 139 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:57,360 Lot failed to focus on the right thing. 140 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,280 Brahm was focused on God much of the time. 141 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:04,800 Brahm was not a prayer, and we even after he became Abraham, he 142 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,040 made mistakes. He lost his focus along the way 143 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:12,200 at times too, and bad things happened every time he lost it, 144 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:15,800 lost his focus on God and started focusing on himself and 145 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,040 on his circumstances, on what he could do to fix things and make 146 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,240 things better. Every time he did that, things 147 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:23,840 went bad. But Abram kept coming back to 148 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:29,200 God, kept repenting. Lot lost his focus and he never 149 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,880 seemed to get it back. He never seemed to get it back. 150 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:37,280 And when he when we lose our focus on God, when we lose our 151 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:41,440 focus on why we are here. And God was clear with Abraham, 152 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:45,120 This is why you are here. I'm going to bless you so that 153 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,520 you can be a blessing to the people around you. 154 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:52,640 Every nation on earth eventually will be blessed by you and 155 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:54,440 through you. That's your focus. 156 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:57,040 That's your why. That's why I called you out of 157 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:59,320 your homeland. That's why I brought you to this 158 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:02,120 new homeland so you could be a blessing to others. 159 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:06,800 Lot went to the Jordan Valley so that he could be blessed by the 160 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:09,560 resources that were there. Do you see the difference? 161 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:15,720 One is an attitude of service that is willing to endure 162 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:18,400 suffering for the sake of being a blessing to others. 163 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:22,680 One is an attitude of selfishness, which says these 164 00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:26,680 folks exist to make me better and build me up. 165 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:31,400 And Lot and his whole family got caught up in that. 166 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,280 He lost his focus. Let's compare Lot to another 167 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:40,560 real life person who had a a highly contrasting attitude 168 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:42,440 toward Lots. And by the way, I found out 169 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:44,560 earlier, I've been saying a lot wrong my whole life. 170 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:46,400 Apparently it's actually pronounced Lote. 171 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,680 I was determined to do it properly this morning and it 172 00:10:50,680 --> 00:10:52,280 didn't happen and it's not going to happen. 173 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:55,400 I give up. Eric Little. 174 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:57,160 I'm pretty sure I'm pronouncing his name right. 175 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:00,320 If you don't, if you know that name, it's probably because 176 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:01,920 you're old and you watch the movie. 177 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:05,400 Chariots of Fire, one of my favorite, I think maybe the 178 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:07,040 greatest sports movie of all time. 179 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,920 I, you know, just my opinion based on the true story. 180 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:15,640 Eric Little was one of the main characters in that he was in 181 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:19,240 training in university in Edinburgh and Scotland to become 182 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:23,200 a missionary to China. He was also incredibly gifted as 183 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:25,840 an athlete. He was a great rugby player. 184 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:29,240 He played for the Scottish national team and did well with 185 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:32,240 them. And he was very fast, a very 186 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:35,600 fast runner. And so we qualified for the 187 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:40,160 Olympics for the United Kingdom to go to Paris in 1924 and 188 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:45,120 compete in the Olympics. When he got there, he discovered 189 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:50,080 well before he got there, his sister, who was also of a 190 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:54,280 missionary mindset, and and other family and friends were 191 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:59,800 deeply concerned that Eric had lost his focus, that he was 192 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:04,040 leaving behind the calling that he had to the mission work of 193 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:09,680 God in order to pursue the glorious life of an athlete and 194 00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:13,920 rugby and in Olympic running. And they thought he'd lost his 195 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:16,680 focus. And Eric said, no, I haven't. 196 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:19,320 I haven't talked a little bit more about that in the later. 197 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:22,120 Exactly what he said. He said I haven't lost my focus. 198 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:26,760 And then the test came because he was part of a team, the track 199 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:30,880 and field team, and the event he qualified for was the 100 meter 200 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:33,760 dash. That's what he was going to run 201 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:34,600 in. That's what he was going to 202 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:36,120 compete in. He was one of the favorites to 203 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:37,920 win a medal, maybe even the gold. 204 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:41,520 But one of the qualifying heats for the 100 meters was on a 205 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:44,960 Sunday. And Eric said I can't run on a 206 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:48,560 Sunday. I can't do that. 207 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:53,040 He was already on the Olympic team. 208 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:57,280 He was already in Paris. The Olympics were already 209 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:03,240 starting when he announced to all of the PII can't compete. 210 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:05,920 And if it can't compete in the qualifying heat, he's out of the 211 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,680 race entirely. England loses a chance to 212 00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:11,080 meddle. It's done for them in that 213 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:15,160 event. And the leaders of the British 214 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:18,440 Olympic team, we're not happy about this, including the Prince 215 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:21,200 of Wales, the Crown Prince of England. 216 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:24,960 And at a celebration just before the Olympics were about to 217 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:28,000 begin, they had this conversation with Eric. 218 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,600 Paul Birkenhead has advised us as to your attitude towards your 219 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:37,000 participation in the 100 meters heats little or would your non 220 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,320 participation be more accurate? It would say yes. 221 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:43,240 We were also consulted as to the correct manner in which to 222 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:45,400 approach the French. Something we just can't allow to 223 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:47,840 happen. Going cabin hand to the frogs of 224 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:50,640 all people, simply out of the question. 225 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:52,720 Simple matter of national dignity. 226 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,520 Little being a patriot, I'm sure you understand. 227 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:58,640 I must say so I felt it was an impractical suggestion from the 228 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:00,680 start. Why did you say so man? 229 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:03,280 As an athlete, you value economy of effort. 230 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:06,600 I wanted to run. I was desperate enough to try 231 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,000 anything. Well, all that being understood, 232 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,680 we decided to invite you in for a little chat to see if there's 233 00:14:12,680 --> 00:14:15,320 any way that we can help resolve the situation. 234 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,680 There's only one way to resolve the situation, that's for this 235 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:22,000 man to change his mind and run. Don't state the obvious, 236 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,080 Gadagan. We have to explore ways in which 237 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:26,560 we can help this young man to reach that decision. 238 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:29,720 I'm afraid there are no ways, Sir. 239 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,200 I won't run on the Sabbath, and that's final. 240 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:39,240 I intended to confirm this with Lord Birkenhead tonight, even 241 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:41,560 before you called me up in front of this inquisition of yours. 242 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:44,680 Don't be impertinent little. The impertinence lies so with 243 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:47,200 those who seek to influence a man to deny his beliefs. 244 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:50,840 Our country little We're appealing to your beliefs. 245 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:54,680 No country, no king. Your loyalty to them. 246 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:59,280 Yeah, here in my day it was King fest, God after. 247 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:01,880 Yes, and the War to End wars bitterly proved your point. 248 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,640 God made countries, God makes kings, and the rules by which 249 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:15,880 they govern, and those rules say that the Sabbath is his, and I 250 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:23,520 for one intend to keep it. That way, Mr. Little, you're a 251 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:27,800 child of your race, as I am. We share a common heritage, 252 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:32,880 common bond, a common loyalty. There are times when we're asked 253 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,320 to make sacrifices in the name of that loyalty. 254 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:39,200 And without the my allegiance is worthless. 255 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:44,640 As I see it, for you this is such a time. 256 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:54,360 Sir, God knows I love my country, but I can't make that 257 00:15:54,360 --> 00:16:00,880 sacrifice. Little shared a lot in common 258 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:05,560 with Lot. They were both living and acting 259 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:10,160 and and engaging in life and business and relationships among 260 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:15,120 people who did not share their values, who did not share their 261 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:20,520 beliefs, who had different goals, aspirations, and agendas. 262 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:26,760 But Lott lost his focus. Lott's focus was on what can I 263 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:32,040 do to get myself blessed? What can I do to increase my 264 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,800 status, my position, my privilege? 265 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:40,480 And Little's focus never wavered from what can I do to serve God? 266 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:46,600 What can I do to bear witness into the world of the power and 267 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,280 love and importance and significance of God and 268 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:59,280 faithfulness to God. And in Eric's version, brand of 269 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:03,760 Christianity, honoring the Sabbath was a very, very, very 270 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:09,599 high level priority and value. And he said no matter what, not 271 00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:13,240 for king, not for country, not for glory, not for fame. 272 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:18,480 I will not go against what God has called me to in order to 273 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:23,839 pursue what you're offering me. Glory and fame and status and 274 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:27,400 privilege and honor and all of the things that go along with 275 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:32,960 it. Eric, unlike Lot, never lost his 276 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:36,400 focus. Here's interesting thing about 277 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:40,520 Eric Little. Eric ended up competing in the 278 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:45,600 Olympics because one of his team mates who had qualified in two 279 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:49,240 events had already won a medal in one of those events, and so 280 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,480 he gave up his spot to Eric for the 400 meters. 281 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:55,160 I'm not a track and field person. 282 00:17:55,560 --> 00:18:01,000 You're not surprised by this, but my understanding that 283 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:05,160 running 400 meters, that's four times as long as 100 meters, 284 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:07,120 right? Again, I'm no expert in track 285 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:10,960 and field. When you train for 100 meter 286 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,600 Sprint, you're not ready for a 400 meter run. 287 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:20,240 Eric ended up winning the gold in the 400 meters in 1924. 288 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:28,000 The next year he went as a missionary to China, where he 289 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,920 lived and where he died. 20 years. 290 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:34,960 He was there. He was there when World War 2 291 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:37,080 started. He was there when the Japanese 292 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:41,040 invaded. He was placed in an internment 293 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:46,080 camp, a prisoner camp by the Japanese, not a good place to 294 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:50,560 be. And while he was there, he led 295 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:57,240 Bible studies and he preached sermons, and he gave up his food 296 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:01,480 and his medicine to people that were hungrier and sicker than he 297 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:05,800 was. And he eventually died serving 298 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:12,520 God in a prison camp in China. As a missionary, Eric never lost 299 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:17,640 his focus. And the impact he had in China 300 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:21,200 and around the world is extraordinary. 301 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:27,320 Extraordinary because rather than being influenced by the 302 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:31,440 culture around him, he chose to keep his focus on God and 303 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:37,520 influence people around him. Lot's failure had a massive 304 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,280 impact both horizontally and vertically. 305 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,160 I want to skip that slide other than to say this, that the 306 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:50,360 children that his daughters bore through him became some of 307 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:54,240 Israel's greatest enemies. 400 years later. 308 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:58,280 They violently fought against Abraham's descendants as they 309 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:00,760 were coming out of Egypt and back to the promised land. 310 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:06,560 Lots descendants stood in their way and tried to block them. 311 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,480 Watts failure had a massive horizontal impact. 312 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:17,440 All the family that he knew was corrupted and destroyed in one 313 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:21,880 way or another. By the culture that surrounded 314 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,080 them while they were in Sodom and Gomorrah, and by the 315 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:32,000 judgment that God placed on that horizontal massive failure, the 316 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:36,520 entire region destroyed because of the lack of 10 people, 10 317 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,080 people. Let's think about Lot, his wife, 318 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,240 his two daughters, and their two sons. 319 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:46,480 If just, you know, there's six right there. 320 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:50,480 If I counted correctly, 6 right there. 321 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:53,680 They only needed four more people to influence. 322 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:58,960 Lots failure of influence contributed to the destruction 323 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:04,280 of an entire civilization, and lots of failure to influence had 324 00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:08,560 effects for generations, for hundreds of years to come, 325 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,680 because he allowed himself to be influenced instead of keeping 326 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:18,240 his focus on God. What does this have to do with 327 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:19,840 us? It's an old story. 328 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,720 And if you're not an Olympic runner who's also a missionary, 329 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:24,200 what does this? What does this have to hear? 330 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:26,120 Some practical implications for us. 331 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,800 Beware of your own limits, including your capacity to 332 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:33,520 influence. It's not really fair to put all 333 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,240 the blame on Lot's failure to influence. 334 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:44,200 The failure of focus was really the biggest problem because if 335 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:47,680 Lot had been focused on God and right relationship with God, he 336 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:50,800 might have recognized the possibility, in fact 337 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,760 probability, of what would happen to him and his family if 338 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:57,840 he moved where he moved and lived where he lived and did 339 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:02,200 what he did. We have to beware of our own 340 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:04,920 limits. Sometimes we want to have 341 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,440 influence and we can't. It's quite possible that lot 342 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:10,960 went down there with great intentions and really did want 343 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,400 to influence and simply failed. It was beyond him to do that. 344 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:18,520 It was he was too easily seduced by what they had to offer and so 345 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:22,360 was unable to influence them meaningfully, unable to keep his 346 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:25,120 focus. We need to be aware of our 347 00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:28,200 limits when it comes to influence and our capacity to 348 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,600 influence others. There is a tension between 349 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:36,000 Jesus's example and his call to be a friend of sinners and Lot's 350 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,160 example of pitching his tent near Sodom. 351 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:43,080 This is a challenge that we have to constantly work out in our 352 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,640 faithful following of God because Jesus said, go be among 353 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:50,200 the sinners. Don't build isolated 354 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,520 communities. Don't build walls around 355 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:54,640 yourselves, your families and your churches. 356 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,960 Don't bubble wrap everyone so that nothing in the world around 357 00:22:57,960 --> 00:22:59,560 them can ever touch them or reach them. 358 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:03,440 Live in these insulated communities, insulated mindsets 359 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:07,640 and, and, and, and little silos so that you're not, you're never 360 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:09,720 affected like Lot and his family were. 361 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,400 Jesus said, that's not the way I want you to live. 362 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:18,920 Go out there, be among the world, be a friend of sinners, 363 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:21,960 have dinner with them, go to their house, invite them to your 364 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:24,880 house, go out to lunch with them sitting near him at the ball 365 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,240 game, Have conversation with them, build relationship with 366 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:31,800 them. Jesus, that's part of what Jesus 367 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:33,720 commanded. That's part of what he the 368 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:37,520 example that he gave us. That's how Paul lived his life 369 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:41,680 and his mission life. And then you have lots example 370 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:47,240 of the dangers of pitching your tents near Sodom, of being 371 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,040 influenced rather than being an influencer. 372 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,960 That's a constant tension that we have to live with and it 373 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:59,800 can't be resolved by simply creating rigid rules that says 374 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:01,840 we're never going to hang out with those folks, We're never 375 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,160 going to invite those folks. We're never going to live in 376 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:05,920 those places. We're never going to let those 377 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:09,960 people in our community that that, that that kind of solution 378 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:13,200 is out of bounds because it violates Jesus's example and 379 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:14,960 call for us to be a friend of sinners. 380 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:21,640 But Lot is a warning to us. And as a matter of prayer in our 381 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:26,080 own lives and in our own faith, we have to be aware of where we 382 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:31,200 can and where we can't be effective influencers because 383 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:33,400 there's too great a risk of being influenced. 384 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:39,720 Simple example, someone that's three years sober from drugs and 385 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:43,000 alcohol probably shouldn't make the local bar their mission 386 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:48,880 field, right? You, you got to be aware of 387 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:53,480 where your triggers and your land mines and your trip UPS are 388 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:55,280 likely to be. And say, you know what? 389 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,160 That's going to need to be someone else's mission field. 390 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,320 I'm not going to live in a silo. I'm not going to bubble wrap 391 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:06,280 myself and my my family. But but I can't go there and I 392 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,160 can't hang out with those folks. Sometimes it's, it's a 393 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:14,200 relationship with family or a person or people and say every 394 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:18,800 time I get around them, I just just everything goes bad. 395 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:22,440 When I spent a lot, I spent a lot of time working with kids in 396 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:27,400 juvenile jails and, and they would leave and they would come 397 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:33,120 back and 9 times out of 10 when they came back, the story went 398 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:35,560 something like this. Everything was going great. 399 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,560 And then I started hanging out with my old friends and I was 400 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:40,040 like, I'm not going to hang out with him. 401 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:41,760 I'm not going to do the drugs this time. 402 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:43,360 I'm not going to smoke the weed this time. 403 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:45,680 I'm just going to hang out. And I was hanging out with him 404 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:47,240 and then I was like, I'll just do it once. 405 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:50,080 And then I was doing a lot and then I'm stealing stuff for my 406 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:55,200 parents and I'm doing this kind of thing because they put 407 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:58,360 themselves back in an environment where they could not 408 00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:02,560 possibly keep their focus, where they could not possibly be an 409 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,480 influence. And this is a balance that we, 410 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:10,160 there's no law for it. It's a matter of prayer and 411 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:13,240 discernment. We're between ourselves and God 412 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:16,440 and wise people around us that help can help us see and say, 413 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:18,120 yeah, no, you're fooling yourself. 414 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:20,480 Don't go there. Stay away from those folks. 415 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:22,160 You go over here and do that instead. 416 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,680 Don't isolate yourself, but don't put yourself in a in a 417 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:30,760 situation and in a context where you're almost certain to fail. 418 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,920 So we have to ask ourselves, to what degree can we keep our 419 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:40,080 focus on Jesus and his call in any given situation? 420 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:42,840 That's it. That's just part of the life 421 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:45,720 that we live. That's part of following Jesus, 422 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:52,400 choosing the difficult path of neither, total isolation as some 423 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:57,240 Christian groups have chosen, and total immersion, which leads 424 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:00,680 U.S. Open to being just repeating 425 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:04,840 Lot's failure. And so it's a prayerful balance, 426 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:07,280 someone that I think is living out that balance. 427 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:11,520 It's at this point tremendously well as Maria Carino Machado. 428 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:15,040 Carina Machado, if you follow the news, I suspect you've heard 429 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:16,840 her name a lot in the past few weeks. 430 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:19,400 If you don't follow the news, let me tell you about her. 431 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,360 Maria Carina Machado recently won just a couple weeks ago the 432 00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:27,840 Nobel Peace Prize 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. 433 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:32,400 She is living and hiding in Venezuela right now. 434 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:36,160 She, by profession is an industrial engineer. 435 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:40,840 She comes from a professional family in Venezuela and and she 436 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:44,240 had no interest in politics. She wanted to be a businesswoman 437 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:45,800 and she wanted to be an engineer. 438 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:48,840 And that's what she was well on her way and being that and doing 439 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:51,160 that. And politics got worse and worse 440 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,800 and worse. And in Venezuela and Maduro, the 441 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:58,600 the dictator there was making life worse and worse and worse 442 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:01,840 for more and more people. And so finally, Machado entered 443 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:04,680 the realm of politics and became a professional politician. 444 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:10,680 And she spoke and wrote and taught and gave speeches and 445 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,120 tweets and social, all of the things that, you know, I'm no 446 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:14,920 good at. She was doing really, really 447 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:18,640 well against the powers that were there until she was accused 448 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,560 of multiple crimes just to get her out of the way. 449 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:26,000 And she wanted to run for election in 2024 as a president. 450 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,160 They were having elections. She wanted to run. 451 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,200 They said she can't run. The powers that be. 452 00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:35,880 Maduro said you can't run. So she convinced an old guy to 453 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:40,880 run on her behalf, and he ran on her behalf. 454 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:44,080 And everyone knew that he wasn't running, that he was just kind 455 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:46,840 of a stand in for her because her name wasn't allowed to be on 456 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:51,000 the ballot. She got 90% of the vote in 457 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:56,120 hiding, and she's now in hiding No one. 458 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,320 She's still in the country, but no one knows where she is. 459 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:01,280 Most of her supporters don't even know where she is. 460 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:04,800 And she still insists that Maduro's government's going to 461 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:07,080 fall. Her family had to leave the 462 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:09,960 country. Her children are in danger now. 463 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:14,320 Her family's in danger. She's in danger. 464 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:21,320 She has continued and and she has continued to push for 465 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:25,280 democracy and peace and freedom in the country of Venezuela. 466 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:30,280 And she's a staunch Christian, acting out of her faith. 467 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:36,160 Her particular brand of Christianity is Catholicism, and 468 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:39,400 she walks when she was free to do so, went through around her 469 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:44,480 country, praying everywhere she went for her people, receiving 470 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:47,440 gifts to remind her to pray everywhere she went. 471 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,800 Rosaries were often given to her, and rosaries just a tool 472 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,280 for prayer that that many Catholic folks use. 473 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:59,680 And her faith is a tremendous part of what has motivated her 474 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:03,800 to put her own life at risk and even her own family at risk. 475 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:09,400 But here's the thing. She could have gone the other 476 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:11,920 way. She could have simply bent the 477 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:16,480 knee to the powers that were around her, gotten along to go 478 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:20,080 along, going along to get along to to fit in, to reap the 479 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:23,720 rewards, to do all of the things that you need to do just to, you 480 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:27,080 know, get the favor and the blessing of of the powers that 481 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:29,560 be that are out there. And she chose not to do that. 482 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:35,680 And it was great danger in that. There's great risk in that, and 483 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:38,400 a lot of people that give into the cultural influences around 484 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:41,040 them, they do it seeking a sense of safety. 485 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:42,840 They want to protect themselves. They want to protect their 486 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,040 family. She chose to risk herself and 487 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:50,000 she chose to risk her family. Here's the simple fact, there's 488 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:57,080 a lot went along to go along and his entire family was destroyed. 489 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:02,000 There's not necessarily any safety in that. 490 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:07,600 And here we have a real life person in our world right now 491 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:11,440 who is seeking to be an influence rather than simply to 492 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:13,400 be influenced by the culture around her. 493 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,320 And her faith is part of that and she's making a difference. 494 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,440 I, you know, maybe one of us in this room will one day win a 495 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:21,920 Nobel Peace Prize or or some other prize. 496 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:24,680 I can, I can guarantee you it's not going to be me. 497 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:32,320 I just just know that. But these big level things, 498 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:35,040 they're great for us to view as examples. 499 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:41,240 For the vast majority of us, the question is not at the scale of 500 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:45,320 international politics. It's at the scale of our family, 501 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:51,360 our school, our workplace, our community, our county, maybe our 502 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:53,560 state and our country a little bit. 503 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:58,720 But are we being an influencer or are we being influenced? 504 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:03,480 Are we keeping our focus on God? We're allowing our focus to 505 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:06,120 drift into what can we do to serve ourselves? 506 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:12,160 These are the questions that Lot and Eric and Maria, they all ask 507 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:14,880 us to reflect on. Let's do that in Jesus name, 508 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:16,200 Amen. Amen.