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Sermon for Lord's Day August 14, 2022 Luke 17:20-36
Luke 17, verse 20, these are the words of the living God. Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, look, here it is or there.
But behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. And he said to the disciples, the days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, look there or look here, do not go out or follow them.
For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man.
They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.
But on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. So will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop with his goods in the house not come down to take them away.
And likewise, let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night, there will be two in one bed.
One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken, the other left. Two men, one taken and the other left. And they said to him, where, Lord? He said to them, where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
Let's go to the Lord in prayer together this morning. Our great God and King, our Heavenly Father, we come before your throne today in recognition that you and you alone are holy, you are just, that you are righteous, that everything you do is right.
Lord, we come before your throne today asking for help this morning as we try to proclaim the truth of your word. We desperately need the aid of your Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and all righteousness in your word.
Help me not to be in the way. Help me not to isogete into the text today, but help me to read from the text and proclaim the truth of your word according to the truth of your word, letting scripture interpret scripture.
For it is in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. If you would like to go ahead and mark your spot too, we'll be going back to Genesis chapter 6 and Genesis chapter 19 as we look at the accounts of the flood and of Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed when we get there.
Maybe this will just save you a little bit of time. If you want to put a title on top of your notes, I have the title on top of my notes, the certainty of divine judgment. The certainty of divine judgment is what we're going to be looking at today.
The Puritan Thomas Brooks made this statement. He said, the scriptures, by frequently calling believers pilgrims, by calling them sojourners and strangers, does sufficiently evidence that there is no abiding for them in this world.
This world is not our country. This world is not our city. This world is not our home. It is not our habitation. And therefore, we are not to place our hopes or our hearts' affections upon things below.
For heaven is our chief city. It is the best country. It is the most desirable home. And it is the everlasting habitation. And therefore, the hopes, desires, breathings, longings should be heavenward and should be gloryward.
In plain language, this world is not our home. We do not find our hope in this life, but we find our hope in eternal life, that which Jesus Christ has bought and paid for by shedding his blood on the cross.
So as we look into this text, the immediate context of this passage is the destruction on Jerusalem in AD 70. So as we look through this text, that's our framework that we're looking at. So what this means for us is this, church.
Having seen the steadfast word of God proven to be true throughout all generations, we can confidently look forward to the second advent or the second coming of Christ. We can look at it confidently with full assurance of faith in our hearts as we're taught from the scriptures.
And for this reason, as you're taking notes, write these two words down. Already. Actually, already is one word. Maybe the other one I want you to put in quotations is two words, not yet. Already and not yet.
So we can confidently look forward to the second coming of Christ with full assurance of faith based upon the already fulfilled word of God, what God has already accomplished. And so when we speak of that, we're speaking of the already fulfilled prophecies concerning Christ.
Kenny has taught us this for years in Sunday school. That is one of the chief, in his estimation, it is one of the chief assurances and confidences that we can gain from the word of God, that all that said Christ, all that concerned Christ in the prophecies, came to pass.
To the jot and to the tittle. Not one thing was missed before he came concerning him. And so this is beautiful. And so the already fulfilled prophecies concerning Christ lead us to absolute certainty concerning the not yet fulfilled prophecies concerning Christ.
That Christ will come again. If he has done all that he said he would do prior, then certainly he's not going to stop now, amen? Amen. He is faithful and he is true. So this, the not yet fulfilled prophecies of his second coming and of his judgment.
Not just his judgment then, but of the day of final judgment. We live in a day, we live in a time, where some of us can remember and we call them, I can't believe I'm old enough to be saying this, the good old days.
Right? Ain't that an old person saying it? Amen. But I remember the good old days when men of God would stand and they would boldly proclaim heaven and hell. They would preach against sin, proclaim the grace of God in Christ Jesus, lifting up high the cross of Christ.
And my friend, it would be a lot of times couched in pointing to that day of final judgment. You are not going to get away with the things that you think you're getting away with. There will be a day of reckoning.
And this is what we're going to see in the text, the certainty of divine judgment. Again, Thomas Brooks said this, as the mercy of God is infinite towards the elect, so the justice of God is infinite towards the reprobate in hell.
The reprobate shall have punishment without pity, misery without mercy, sorrow without support, crying without compassion, mischief without measure, and torment without end. There is a certainty to the judgment of God.
So last Sunday, we took the time to look at verse 20 and 21 to review and to sure up our foundation concerning the context in this passage. And so now we are ready to move forward. You are encouraged, as always, Tam and I were texting this week, as always, jot your questions down.
If you have questions, if you have concerns, if you have challenges, write those down. But I encourage you in this even further, be very, very specific in your questions because the more specific the question that you ask, the more specific answers you will get.
And the good news is, this applies to everything in life. Be very specific. We want to be a people who are thinking, who are Berean, if you would, who are taking what we hear and taking it to the word, laying what we hear over the word like one of those matte blueprints and make sure that it lines up with what the scripture says.
Brothers and sisters today, you're encouraged to do this because it will help both you and I to understand the text together and for us to grow. So concerning what Jesus said in verse 20, Jesus said, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed.
Warren Wiersbe, in his commentary on this verse here, he says this, that that word used for observed is the word paratoresis. It means to observe the future by signs. It carries the idea of spying, of lying in wait, and even of scientific investigation.
The point Jesus made was that God's kingdom would not come with an outward show so that people could predict its arrival and so that people could plot its progress. This is going on today. By the way, we see this in our, we can make this applicable to our day.
This is what's going on today. Everybody's trying to figure out who's gonna be the president next. And every single day, folks are attempting to plot out and to track the progress of political power, whoever that might end up being.
But our church wants to remind you unashamedly today that the kingdom of God is not a political power. We're not looking for a political savior. The kingdom of God is not threatened by the political powers of our day.
Jesus, again, according to the scriptures, has already demonstrated that he is the king of kings and he is the Lord of lords, that the kings of the earth will, if not already having done so, will one day bow to King Jesus.
We have but one king today. As a matter of fact, let's read the words of the apostle John if you would turn to John chapter 19. John chapter 19. Let's read verse five through 16 for context. In John chapter 19, we see that Jesus, after having been unduly tried, illegally tried, brought before Pilate, the scripture says in John 19 five, Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe and Pilate said, behold, the man.
Therefore, when the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, crucify him, crucify him. And Pilate said to him, you take him in crucifying for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, we have a law and according to our law, he ought to die because he made himself the son of God.
They did not like that. And so when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid. He was terrified and again went into the praetorium and he said to Jesus, imagine it. He goes to Jesus and he says, where are you from?
But the scripture says, Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said, are you not speaking to me? Again, thinking about who he was. Do you not know that I have power to crucify you and that I have power to release you?
Jesus answered and he said this, you could have no power at all against me unless it had been given to you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin. From then on, Pilate sought to release him but the Jews cried out saying, if you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend.
Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and he sat down in the judgment seat in the place that is called in the Hebrew, the pavement or Gabbatha.
And now it was the preparation day of the Passover about the sixth hour and he said to the Jews, behold your king. But they cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, shall I crucify your king?
And the chief priests answered and said, we have no king but Caesar. Then he delivered him to be crucified. So they took Jesus and they led him away. This was a bit of our Sunday school lesson. One of the questions that was asked, this was the cowering of the governmental officials.
It was the cowering of the religious officials of this day, cowering to the authority of the state, so to speak. And again, let's be reminded we have but one king and that is Jesus Christ. Greg Moore of the Dead Men Walking podcast some time ago made this statement.
And so I took it to quote today. He said this, so many pastors like politicians love the middle. It's comfortable there. It's safe there. They can hold hands with the world and the church at the same time.
But we live in a current culture where the divide between biblical righteousness and worldly appeasement is exponentially increasing. He said this, we are about to see who these con men really are. They're wolves, they're hypocrites and they're cowards.
The Pharisees question, the Pharisees question, remember what was the question? The question was, when will the kingdom of God come? That's when Jesus answered them, reminded them the kingdom of God does not come with observation.
So our views, or actually it was Wearsby that said this actually, he said this, the Pharisees question was legitimate but it was also tragic for Jesus. Remember, Jesus had been in their midst for three years.
Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of the living God. Jesus Christ, the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, healing the sick, raising the dead in their midst. For three years and yet these men were still in spiritual darkness.
They were blindly and groping for the wall. They did not understand who Jesus was or what he was seeking to accomplish. And this is why Wearsby states it plainly. This is why, because their views of the kingdom of God were political.
They were not spiritual. Jesus said, the kingdom of God is in your midst. The kingdom of God is in you. So their views of the kingdom were political, or I'm sorry, their views of the kingdom were Jewish and not spiritual.
They were Jewish and not universal. They had their tradition and their culture shape everything about their thought life. Here's where the rubber meets the road, church. Our views concerning the king and his kingdom are not to be, number one, political.
For the kingdom of God is not a political power. Nor are they being, get ready, hang on to your seats for this. Don't nobody lynch me. I'm not going anti-American, but I'm saying this. Our view of the kingdom of God ought not to be an American view of the kingdom of God.
Our view of the kingdom of God ought to be a biblical, not just a biblical, but a thoroughly biblical view of the kingdom of God, such that our hope and our strength and our peace lay in the truth of the scriptures themselves, not in the circumstances and the events that take place around us.
Our views are to be distinctly biblical. The Christianization of the world will not take place because the right people are in power in Washington, true or false. Here, this is response time, right? True, right, good answer.
It will not take place because large numbers of Christians are uniting together en masse and ushering in the kingdom of God. True or false? True, right. Jesus isn't waiting for us to get our act together to do what he's gotta do.
He don't act on our whim. He does all that he pleases in heaven and on earth, thanks be unto the living God. The kingdom of God has been established and will be consummated on that day when Christ returns again.
And it is that in which we can have hope. So according to the Bible, the reality is that the kingdom of God does not come with observation because the work of the Holy Spirit is a work that is wrought, it is a work that is done, it is a work that is accomplished in the hearts and in the minds of men and women.
It doesn't come through worldly reform, but it comes through the new birth, the supernatural birth of God in the hearts of men and of women. Zechariah told Zerubbabel in his sermon there, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord.
All right, so the Jewish people, that was all introduction. Now we're gonna get to the actual text here. You all will just have to bear with me today. I know there was a lot on that introduction, but this is so important that we have a firm foundation here today.
Wiersbe said this, the Jewish people lived in an excited atmosphere of expectancy, particularly each year at Passover when they commemorated their deliverance from Egypt. They longed for another Moses who would deliver them from their bondage.
Some folks hoped that it would be John the Baptist, but John the Baptist quickly dispelled that notion when he said, I am not the one you need to be looking for, for the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.
He is greater than I. As a matter of fact, John the Baptist said, he is so great that I'm not even worthy to stoop down and unloose the latches on his sandals. He's that good. And John went on to say this, matter of fact, I baptize you with water, but when Jesus comes, he's gonna baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost, is what John the Baptist said.
Fire is judgment, the Holy Ghost is regeneration. Okay, so he goes on to say this, the fact that he was going to Jerusalem, remember, we've keyed in on this throughout the last months, Jesus journeys toward Jerusalem, right?
He journeys toward Jerusalem. This excited the Jewish people all the more. Now, whenever we get there in chapter 19 of Luke here, we'll see and read about the triumphal entry of Jesus. Remember, everybody knows what happened there, I hope you do, if not, what happened there was this, Jesus enters the city, all the Jewish folks are there, they're singing Hosanna, glory to God.
They're laying out their palm branches and they're laying out their coats before Jesus as he comes in, riding on the foal of a donkey. And they're shouting again, Hosanna. But know this, MacArthur said this, because they expected the imminent establishment of the kingdom of God, the Jewish crowds were shouting, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
The Jews thought that this was the coronation of their earthly kingdom that was about to do away with the Roman Empire. That's what they thought. But when they realized soon shortly after this, instead of shouting Hosanna, they shouted, crucify him, crucify him.
Because they had their hopes and they had their expectations fixed on this world. And they did not have their hopes and did not have their expectations fixed on the kingdom of the living God that is unshakable.
So in our text today, as we pick up in the text here, Jesus turns from speaking to the Pharisees to his disciples in verse 22. And he says, the days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the son of man.
This term, this terminology is very, very important. Now, a lot of times we hear Jesus referred to as the son of God, right? Here we see son of man, several times we see son of man. Matthew Henry gives a wonderful explanation of what this term is about here when it says the son of man.
For Jesus, remember what Jesus said here, you will desire, the days are coming when you will desire to see the days of the son of man. What are those? Matthew Henry states this, the disciples thought that they should carry all before them and they expected a constant series of successes in their work.
But Christ tells them it would be otherwise. The days will come before you have finished your testimony and before you have done your work, when you shall desire to see one of the days of the son of man, meaning this, one of the days such as we have now in context.
One of these days where we get to be literally, physically in the presence of Christ, where Jesus is walking amongst them, in their midst as he told the Pharisees, where he is healing the sick, where he is giving sight to the blind, where he's given the ability of the lame to walk again, where he's raising the dead.
He said, you will desire to see one of the days of the son of man, the time is coming such so. Matthew Henry goes on to say this, at first, indeed, you will have wonderful success in relating to the text.
So they had, they had success when were added to the church in that day, thousands of people on the day of Pentecost. But do not think it will always be so. No, you will be persecuted and scattered, silenced and imprisoned so that you will not have opportunity of preaching the gospel without fear as you now have.
People will grow cool to it when they have enjoyed it a while so that you will not see such harvest of souls gathered in Christ afterwards as at first, nor such multitudes flocking to him as doves to their windows.
Henry goes on to say this looks forward to his disciples in after ages that they must expect much disappointment. The gospel will not always be preached with equal liberty and success. We see this in our time, but the gospel never loses its power.
Let's keep that in mind. Well, we'll go through period, there are periods of time throughout history where the gospel doesn't seem to be as successful as it is at other times. He said ministers and churches will sometimes be under outward restraints.
Teachers will be removed in the corners and solemn assembly scattered. Then they will wish to see such days of opportunity as they have formerly enjoyed. Sabbath days, sacrament days, preaching days, praying days.
These are the days of the son of man in which we hear from him and which we converse with him. So what Jesus, as he turns to his disciples, he is saying, look, there's gonna come a time not too far from where we are right now in context.
He's saying this to the disciples where you're gonna wish that you could just go back to the days where I am here. He goes on in the text and he says this, and they will say to you, look there or look here.
Do not go out and follow them for as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the son of man be in his day. Well, doesn't it seem as though, let's bring this to present time for just a moment to make application here.
Doesn't it seem so when you think back on times where there is a great move of God, where there's the great power of God is at work in the hearts and the minds of men, regenerating men and women, boys and girls, where folks actually realize that God is thrice holy and where men and women are saved and they're swept into the kingdom of God.
And how we take for granted those days, how we forget how good those times are. And we say to ourselves, boy, I wish we could go back to those good old days. That's what Jesus was saying to them. This time that he was with them was but for a short period.
It was a small span of time. And they were encouraged not to take for granted that wonderful time. Jesus said, for as the lightning flashes from one side of the sky to the other. When we were driving to vacation and one of the most exciting parts of the commute there was the lightning that flashed across the sky.
And when you're driving down the interstate at 90 miles an hour or so, you can't hardly get your phone out, right? Because I was wanting to, but I knew April was sitting there and I'd get in trouble. What are you doing, right?
You wanna get your phone out and capture that moment. But my friend, you can't catch the lightning. It's there and then it's gone. That's what Jesus is saying here. As the lightning flashes from one side of the sky to the other, you see it and then it's gone.
And then Jesus, what Jesus does next is he reinforces the serious nature and the severity of his teaching. The serious nature and the severity of his teaching. The seriousness of his teaching here. How does he do that?
By relating the account of Noah and by relating the account of Sodom and Gomorrah burning. There is a certainty in divine judgment. So Jesus says in verse 25, but he must first suffer many things, and here's the time indicator, and be rejected by this generation.
That generation, that's the context. This generation. Because his coming and judgment on Jerusalem was coming in that generation and it certainly did. Again, this is why we can be encouraged by the faithfulness of the word of God.
That took place. But it is also why we must be encouraged as Christian men, Christian women, Christian boys and Christian girls to live holy lives before God. He said this, just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days, and he uses this term again, in the son of man.
When Jesus came, everything went on just like normal from the beginning of the world. They were eating, they were drinking, they were married, they were giving in marriage, they were so busy with their life that they could not see that the son of God was in their midst.
Oh, brothers and sisters today, I'd ask you this, are you so busy that you fail and you neglect to see the glory of God in all of life? You really wanna get a shot of glory, go on a date where the sky is moon and just stare at the sun.
You'll get a glimpse of the glory of God there. Go out at night when the sky is clear and look at the moon and the stars. You get a dim view of the glory of God there. But my friends, today, as we look at this, Genesis chapter six, Jesus immediately points them to Noah's flood.
Genesis chapter six, we'll read that. Genesis chapter six, beginning in verse five. Five. The scripture states this, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And the Lord, King James says it repented the Lord. ESV, the Lord regretted means the same exact thing, it's the same word. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him to his heart.
So the Lord said, I will blot out man from whom I've created from the face of the land, both man and animal, creeping thing and bird of the heavens for I am sorry that I have made them, but Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Here we see the certainty of divine judgment and we see the grace of God put on display. So we read a little bit further, God gives him the instructions for the ark, he builds the ark and we see his purpose and his reasoning in this.
Here we read in that short little passage of text there that it repented or it grieved the Lord that he had made man. So let's break this down in simple terms here. This has been a debated idea, it's been a debated term for years, probably forever, probably still will be debated.
But if we take the words for what they mean and how they are defined in simple terms, let's keep this in mind, that God in his character, that God in his nature is the sum of all perfection. Meaning he can be angry and be perfectly righteous in his anger.
He can be sad and be perfectly sad in his anger. He can be happy and be perfectly happy in his anger. As human beings, we are not able to perfect our emotions, but God is perfect in all of his person.
So the character and the nature are the sum of perfection. Let's be clear here, God did not make a mistake and feel bummed out about it. He is not a man like we are. He is not a woman like you are. April and Joe and I had this conversation.
How many times, Joe asked on the way going down to Valerie Davis yesterday evening, how many times is dad right? Your mom said occasionally, or April said occasionally. I'm okay with being that way. But God did not make a mistake and God did not feel bummed out because he didn't think it through, amen.
The Bible says that he regretted making man and that he was thoroughly grieved and the text even says to his heart, to his core. That word that is used there for repented or regretted is the Hebrew word.
It means, what it means is to breathe deeply or to sigh. Cameron, has there ever been a time where you've done something dumb? And think back to this time. I'm not saying, and remember, I'm not saying God did something dumb.
I'm just making a human relationship or connection here. What is the first thing you did when you made that realization, when you come to the understanding that I should never have done that? You regret it?
Exactly, amen. And then you breathe deep and you sigh. That's the word that's used in the text is that God breathed deeply and that he sighed at this. That being said, know this, God had every right to be upset and to be grieved and God had every right to do what he did in flooding the world and destroying all of his creation.
Why? Because he made it. If you make something, you can do with it whatever you want to do, but God made us and God did not make us to live lives for ourselves. We were made to worship him. So God had every right and what God did, what God did, to be clear, what God did was an act of his just wrath and his righteous punishment, his just wrath and his righteous punishment and he alone has the right to do so with man as he sees fit.
But again, keep this in mind. We not only see divine judgment, but we see the grace of God. We see the grace of God. So what did God do? He stayed true to his character and his nature. He stayed true to his character and his nature because he is holy, because he is righteous.
He could not and he would not allow the sin of man to go unpunished and by the way, it ain't God's fault that Adam and Eve sinned. They sinned when they were drawn away of their own lust and enticed. They sought their own pleasure.
They sought their own will. They sought their own way. They sinned again, as James says, when they were drawn away of their own lust and enticed and from that day forward, sin reigned. God is always right in punishing sin.
Genesis chapter 19, beginning in verse one, because remember, Jesus said to the disciples, there's a time coming when you're gonna seek to see the days of the son of man, what was going on in their time as Jesus stood before them and then he said, consider this, consider that just as it was in the days of Noah, men were married, giving in marriage, they were living their lives as though nothing else mattered and yet here is the son of God.
Here is the son of man in their midst and then he says to them again, and let's consider Sodom and Gomorrah, what took place. The scripture says in Genesis 19, one, two angels came to Sodom in the evening and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.
When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and he bowed himself with his face to the earth and he said, my lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.
They said, no, we will spend the night in the town square. But he pressed them strongly so that they turned aside to him and entered his house and he made them a feast and he baked unleavened bread and they ate.
But before they laid down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man surrounded the house and they called to Lot and they said, where are the men who came to you tonight?
Bring them out to us that we may know them. He's speaking of knowing them carnally. Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him and he said, I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.
Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you and do to them as you please. That was kind of an act of coward. That was not kind of, that was a huge act of cowardice on Lot's part, by the way.
Lot goes on to say, only do nothing to these men for they have come under the shelter of my roof. But the men of the city, they said, stand back. And they said, this fellow came to sojourn and he has become the judge.
Now, we will deal worse with you than with them. Then they pressed hard against the man, Lot, and drew near to break the door down. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door and struck the men with blindness who were at the entrance of his house, both small and great, so that they were themselves out groping for the door.
So the angels reached out, they grabbed Lot, they pulled Lot back into the house. They blinded the men who were at the door. And then the scripture says, then the men said to Lot, the angel, this is speaking of the angels now, the men said to Lot, have you anyone else here?
Any sons-in-laws, daughters, or anyone you have in the city? Bring them out of this place, for we are about to destroy this place because the outcry against his people has become great before the Lord and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.
So Lot went out, said to his sons-in-law who were to marry his daughters, they were betrothed. He said, up, get out of this place for the Lord, Yahweh, is about to destroy the city, but he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city. But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand.
The Lord, here's the grace of God, the Lord being merciful to him, they brought him out and sent him outside of the city. If it had been left up to Lot, him and his family would have been destroyed, but by the grace of God, by the goodness of God, and by the mercy of God, Lot was delivered from that place.
And my friends, today, if you are to be delivered from the sin in your life, the sin that captivates you, the sin that holds you in bondage, my friend, the only way that will happen is by the grace of God when God comes and does the miraculous work of the new birth in your heart.
May that be today for you. May that be the day, today be the day of salvation for you. He's being merciful to them. They brought him out and sent him outside the city. And as they brought them out, one said, escape for your life.
Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills lest you be swept away. And Lot said to them, oh no, my lords, behold, your servant has found favor in your sight and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life, but I cannot escape to the hills lest the disaster overtake me and I die.
Not by power, nor by might, but by my spirit, says the Lord. You can't do it on your own. That was a good understanding he came to right there. He said this, he said to him, behold, I grant you this favor also that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.
The angel speaks to Lot. And he said, escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there. Therefore, the name of the city was called Zoar because it was little. So the sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah, sulfur and fire from the Lord Yahweh out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the cities and what grew on the ground.
But Lot's wife behind him looked back and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord and he had besought the Lord basically is what he was doing.
And he looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, there were five cities there. And he looked and behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. So it was that when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
There was an article, a 2009 article from, it was an archeological article by a Jewish writer, Lebel Resnick. And he said this, the entire areas are covered even now with spongy ash. These two cities show clear signs of utter destruction.
The layer of ash ranges from four to 20 inches in depth. Parallel to these five cities in the valley is a fault line where two large plates of earth are exerting great pressure on each other. This tectonic feature has caused a number of earthquakes in that, had caused a number of earthquakes in that region.
The pressure can also force subterranean matter such as magma, or in this case, what is called bitumen, which is like asphalt. It can cause asphalt to fly into the air. And geologists suggest that the earth spewed forth flammable hydrocarbons high into the atmosphere, and these were ignited by lightning or some other natural source, and the flaming debris fell back to the earth.
My friend, even science affirms that there was fire and brimstone that fell. It is a powerful reminder of the certainty of the divine judgment of God. Back to Luke very quickly as we close here. So, Jesus tells them about Noah and the flood.
He tells them about Sodom and Gomorrah being burned. And in verse 30, he says this, so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Remember, the context here is immediate. So it will be when the Son of Man is revealed.
The Son of Man was there. He was there revealed before them, and he said this, on that day, let the one who is on the housetop with his goods in the house not come down to take them away. And likewise, let the one who is in the field not turn back.
And then it's as though he was saying, you remember what you just heard about Lot's wife? Remember Lot's wife. Our gaze is to be fixed on the Lord. Where we look is heavenward. Where we look is onward.
Where we look is upward. He goes on to say this, whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night, there will be two in one bed. One will be taken, the other left.
Two women grinding together. One will be taken, the other left. Two men, one will be taken, and the other left. So let's consider God's severity. Is God's severity just? Yes. Let's consider God's severity and judgment.
Is God's severity and judgment purposeful? Yes, it is purposeful. Is his severity and judgment good? Yes. Is it necessary? Yes. That is exactly right. So and just as his severity is necessary, purposeful, and good, so is his goodness, his mercy, and his kindness toward men.
It is all there. Thomas Brooks said this concerning the, there was a great fire in London that basically destroyed the city of London in 1666. Thomas Brooks wrote this concerning that fire, and he said, by severe providences and fiery trials, God designs the reviving, the quickening, and the recovering of our decaying graces.
By his fiery trials, he will inflame the love which was ice cold. He will raise that faith which has fallen asleep. He will quicken up the hopes which were April languishing. He will put life and spirit into those spiritual joys and comforts which were withering away and which were dying.
God will, by fiery trials, unfreeze those frozen graces. He will unfreeze the frozen graces of his people, and he will put new life and spirit into them. God may have you burn up your outward comforts so that he might lead you forth to live in a daily exercise of grace, a grace upon himself, a grace upon his power, a grace upon his sufficiency, a grace upon his goodness, a grace upon his faithfulness, a grace upon his fullness, a grace upon his graciousness, upon his unchangeableness, a grace upon his promises.
For know this, the Apostle Paul, in writing to Timothy, states this in 2 Timothy 2 .19,. Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands sure. The Lord knows them that are his. A not so old song puts it this way.
I've just come into a valley, one like never before. I keep searching for a way out, seem like padlocks are on the doors. Oh, there must be another sunrise, another sunset that I'll see. God will make this trial a blessing.
That's the love he has for me. I was not the first one to come into this place. You see, every child of God, this test you must face. It is here that God will mold you and make you what you ought to be.
God will make this trial a blessing. Just be patient, you will see. Now I'm standing on a mountain. Looking back, I can see when I was in the lowest valley, his strong hand was leading me. Oh, it's good to see the sunshine and to taste sweet victory.
God has made this trial a blessing. Oh, the grace he gives to me. God will make this trial a blessing, though it sends me to my knees. Though my tears flow like a river, yet in him there's sweet relief.
There's no need to get discouraged. There's no need to talk defeat. God will make this trial a blessing.