Genesis 19:15
(15) “And when morning came, the angels did all in their power to make Lot go …”
Praise the Lord for His goodness. I pray that you are having a tremendous week in the Lord. Before I start relaying some thoughts from this passage I want to invite you to our time of Celebration on Sunday morning. We have a tremendous time of Bible Study during Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. and then a great time in the Spirit at 10:30 a.m. Come this Sunday to share in all of the God’s goodness. Now onto the reason you stopped by.
Have you ever thought about the times when you seemed to be rushed out of danger and as you looked back you knew it was the Lord? The Bible says that we are to redeem the time while there is time. If you know this story, you know that Lot had went his own way from Abraham. He took his family and settled down in the lush valley while Abraham settled in the mountains. The problem that Lot had is that he was drawn closer and closer to the cities that were there in the valley. These cities were full of all kinds of immorality and the Lord decided that He had had enough of Sodom and Gomorrah and was going to bring judgement on them and destroy them.
Now Abraham pleaded with the Lord for their safety because he knew that Lot had settled there. So the Lord sent angels to get Lot and his family out of danger. There are some keys that we can glean from this story concerning reaching the lost. Those are the things that I would like to explore in the next few blogs that I write. Just like in building a building the ground has to be prepared and the foundation put in before putting up the walls of the building.
The Angels teach us some lessons in reaching the lost. First, we must go to their homes. Now I know that door to door visitation is dangerous today and most believers don’t want to do that kind of ministry. We like to stay in our comfort zones. However, there are some other homes that we can go to that aren’t homes at all. Think about where you do grocery shopping, Kroger, Giant Eagle, Sam’s, Walmart, I think you get the picture. Wherever you go you feel at home. You know where the milk is, you know where the bread is, you know where the meat is, unless the switch things home. In other words you feel at home. You may even know some of the people that work there. Well, it is those people that need the Lord as well as your neighbor, right?!? You have gone to their home with a message, the Good News of Jesus Christ. So the angels went to Lot’s home to tell him of the judgement that was coming to Sodom. Second, they stated their case to Lot and his family. “The Lord will destroy this city.” (v.14). In other words Lot, your hometown is going to go up in smoke and all that are here are going to die. Do you want to be a part of that destruction? Well, now I know that many of us would not talk to people at the store with those harsh of words. However, we have a message of love to share and I wonder how many of us share that message with those we go and see? You see destruction is coming to this world. It won’t last forever. Christ is coming again and when He does, Game Over thanks for playing. The question is, “Do you know Him?” “Have you played the game of Life well, by trusting in Christ, accepting Him into your heart, and lived the life that He called you to?” If He doesn’t see the blood applied to your heart there is one statement that He will say, “Depart from me, I knew you not.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to hear those words.
So they tell Lot, “Get up and get out of here!” Lot was reluctant so the angels used, “Loving Violence.” They took him by the hand and led them out of the city. Picture this, two angels with their hands busy leading Lot, his wife, and his two daughters out of the city. I can picture them pulling against the angels and the angels pulling a little harder, kind of like I used to do with the kids when they were younger and I wanted to get somewhere and they were slowing me down. I would pull on them and they would pull on me, especially when they wanted to do something different. There are times when we need to show a “loving violence” and lead the ones we are ministering to by the hand. There are times when they will pull against the conviction of the Spirit, but hopefully by that time you have developed a relationship with them to the point that you can pull a little harder. Just one thing to remember, do it so in a loving way.
Well, I think that is good for this time. In a few days we’ll continue down the story of Lot. The whole point though is to share with those around you of the coming destruction, Christ return. Love to all and have a great week.
Pastor Rob
