Lot – making good choices
1. Each day we live we make hundreds of choices.
2. We choose to set or not set an alarm clock.
3. If an alarm clock rings, we choose to respond to it or maybe hit the snooze button.
4. We choose what do in the mornings – breakfast or no breakfast.
5. Should we shower first or do something else first?
6. In many ways, life is all about choices.
ONE
MAN WHO SHOWS US THE IMPORTANCE OF CHOICE IS LOT.
a) According to Gen. 13, Lot made a choice that really affected his life.
b) Gen. 13:10 says Lot “lifted up his eyes” and saw some land—some land that looked very good.
c) Based upon the physical characteristics of this land, Lot choose to live in this area.
d) Gen. 13:12 provides us with an additional thought – READ.
2) Lot chose an area that later was involved with a military battle and he was kidnapped.
3) Gen. 14:12 – READ.
a) If we continue to read through the account, we find that Lot was rescued.
b) Who helped bring Lot and his possessions back?
c) Verses 14, 16 of Gen. 14 – READ.
d) Abraham rescued Lot. Abraham was living in a different area (apart from Lot).
e) When Lot choose his destination, perhaps he had no idea about what he would eventually face.
f) Even if Lot didn’t initially know, he did finally figured out what the area was like.
4) Listen to 2 Pet. 2:7-8.
a) Peter cited some history for his readers.
b) He spoke about angels that sinned.
c) Then he talked about Noah, the ancient world and a flood.
d) In verse 6 he discussed Sodom and Gomorrah; here is what we find in verses 7-8 – READ.
e) Whenever Lot realized what the local conditions were like, he chose to stay in this place.
f) He made a deliberate choice and this choice had a very negative impact on him.
g) By the time of Gen. 19 we find that it cost him his wife and problems with his daughters.
5) Sometimes we know about bad choices immediately; other times it can take a little while.
6) Bad choices need to be identified and then avoided.
a) Not long ago I learned of a young lady who is about 20 years of age.
b) She grew up in the Midwest and went off to a very southern state.
c) She was looking for work and one day applied for a job at a “salon.”
d) She was offered the job but those offering the position said there was a little detail.
e) Males would be in hot tubs without any kind of covering and she would need to join them.
7) This young lady said, “I’m a good girl from the Midwest, no thank you.”
8) Here was a young woman who is hundreds of miles from home and she needed employment.
9) She was put into a position where she had to make a choice.
10) She was far enough away from mom, dad and friends so they might have never known.
11) She made her choice and her decision was immediate.
12) Lot’s life suggests that making a bad choice can lead to some hard consequences.
a) Lot may have reasoned, “the land is good, the people are not, but I will be okay.”
b) Little did Lot realize that he would be kidnapped and his family would suffer so terribly.
c) Even if saying no to a wrong choice is hard initially, it can save us from lots of grief later.
13) In our lives we make a lot of important choices.
a) One of the most fundamental is who we will serve in our life.
b) Will we serve Satan or the Son of God?
c) Will we be a disciple of the devil or a disciple of the Lord?
d) Will we choose heaven as our home or will it be hell?
14) No decision is more important than the spiritual choice we make.
15) We know what choice the Lord wants us to make.
16) In the gospel of Matthew we find Jesus saying in Mt. 11:28-30, “come unto me.”
17) Jesus spoke about the “narrow way” and the “broad way” at the end of a sermon in Mt. 7.
18) He said we can be “with Him or against Him.”
19) Jesus spoke of “truth” and “error” (both words describe choices).
20) Jesus knows all about choice.
a) Think back to His temptations in the wilderness; the Lord had to make choices.
b) Would He accept the devil’s offer to bring forth food from stones?
c) Would He choose to jump from the temple or not jump?
d) Would He worship Satan or not submit to the devil’s offer?
21) Jesus has already faced the same in-your-face choice that we all get to make.
22) Our choice determines where we spent life without end.
BASED UPON OUR CHOICE TO FOLLOW OR NOT FOLLOW THE LORD, WE WILL MAKE SOME ADDITIONAL DECISIONS.
a) For instance, we will choose a career.
b) I am not exactly a “career counselor” – that job never held any interest for me.
c) I did a little looking on choosing a career and one source offered 10 steps in choosing the right field.
d) Based upon what has been said so far you might be able to guess the first suggestion.
e) The most fundamental point in this career counsel was “being in harmony with our values.”
2) This point comes from someone in the world.
3) Lot had good values; we know that from 2 Pet. 2.
4) Because he had the right value system, he should have based his choice on those good values.
5) The text says he “looked at the land.” He looked at the wrong thing.
6) Other qualities certainly relate to choosing a career.
7) We need to look at our abilities (skills). Career choice may be related to where we want/need to live.
8) The spiritual aspect should be the guiding force.
9) We must make a living in the world, but our ultimate commitment is to Christ (Mt. 6:33).
10) In addition to making a career choice, we may choose a mate.
a) We do not know what kind of wife Lot had.
b) We know she was turned to a pillar of salt because of disobedience.
c) Was Lot’s wife ever really committed to Jehovah?
d) Was she a godly woman who had a weak period towards the end of her life?
e) We simply do not have enough information to draw any conclusion.
11) We do know that we make choices about mates.
12) We want to make this choice wisely and oh so carefully.
13) Some have gone out of their way to argue that a Christian must marry a Christian.
14) Those holding this view will often argue that a Christian who marries a non-Christian sins.
a) There is a problem with this conclusion.
b) If marrying a non-Christian is a sin, the sin must be forgiven (the problem must be remedied).
c) Acts 8 (the example of Simon) shows that sin is cancelled out through repentance.
d) Repentance means a turning; a change.
e) When the people in Acts 2 repented, those who hated the Lord loved and supported Him.
f) If a marriage is wrong (sinful), repentance means the bond is severed.
g) If it is a sin to marry a non-Christian, severing the relationship is done by divorce.
15) If we speak to someone who thinks marrying is a non-Christian we usually find some twisted logic.
16) People argue that a mixed marriage can stay intact if the Christian acknowledges doing wrong.
17) If the Christian just “says” he or she sinned (i.e. confesses), the marriage can continue.
a) Let’s test this explanation.
b) Suppose you and I rob a bank together and we come away with $10,000.
c) Can we just “confess” the robbery to God and “keep the money?”
d) If confession of sin does the trick, we have no obligation to repent (return the money).
e) Repentance is required, and in the case of robbery, repentance means we do more than confess.
f) We restore the funds to those from whom they were taken.
g) If marrying a non-Christian is sinful, the solution is divorce.
18) It is not a sin to marry a non-Christian.
19) 1 Cor. 7:12 discusses a situation where a Christian is married to a non-Christian; divorce is not mentioned.
20) Verse 13 makes the same point.
21) Peter spoke of wives who had non-Christian husbands. Paul told these people to stay married.
22) Marrying a non-Christian or staying married to a non-Christian is not wrong.
23) Saying it is not wrong does not mean it is recommended.
a) 1 Cor. 6:12 says that even if something is lawful, it may not be wise (expedient).
b) We are in the mist of winter and there have been times when ice was on the roads.
c) We can zoom down ice-laden roads in 50 miles per hour.
d) Is driving in that manner wise? We can flunk out of school, but is that wise?
24) If you are a Christian who is thinking about becoming involved with a non-Christian, I have a suggestion.
25) Find a Christian who has married to a non-Christian. These people are not hard to find.
26) Take the Christian aside and tell them you want to date or get serious with a non-Christian.
27) Ask your brother or sister in Christ if they have any wise words for you.
28) Ask if they have faced some special challenges before you put yourself into the same situation.
29) If you are not willing to do that, then let me tell you what many brethren have told me.
30) Here are some quotes from Christians who have married non-Christians:
a) “It’s hard. I come but my wife doesn’t. My husband doesn’t attend with me.”
b) “I had to teach my children about Christianity all by myself.”
c) “I can’t stay for the potluck because I have to go home and meet my spouse.”
d) There are non-Christians who are wonderful people; choosing one for a mate makes life very hard.
31) Whether or not people marry, they generally have at least a few friends.
32) The Bible says that choosing the wrong friends can be a curse.
33) The way of the wicked causes people to err (Prov. 12:26).
34) Evil companions corrupt good morals is a principle we find from 1 Cor. 15:33.
35) Choices are so important that we want to ask God for wisdom.
a) James spoke about asking God fort this type of help in Jas. 1:5-7.
b) We also might, as mentioned moments ago, ask others for advice.
c) There is safety in many counselors (advice givers), Prov. 11:14 (if they are good advisors).
d) We can also learn from the choices of others.
e) Look at the mistakes others make and decide in the heart that we will not imitate them.
f) We can look at both Lot and his wife and find errors that we don’t want to repeat.
g) If we find that we have made a bad choice, we need to correct things.
h) Lot could have changed his circumstances just as many others can do.
i) We do not want to continue with a bad choice because of pride, guilt, or something else.
j) Good choices start with the Lord.
36) We choose to become a Christian, and tonight we hope you have made that choice.