Listen to the Ashes of Sodom — Don Johnson

I have a prop here, it is a gallon of ashes, and I'm going to, this would be kind of like the remains of about a couple of dozen cremated people, ashes, that's what you are. You know, how many of you want to come up this afternoon after the message and you can take a photo of this and hang it in your gallery and this is a family portrait?

In my hallway at home I have pictures of my children when they were young and I have pictures when my children are growing and they are getting older and then I've got pictures of them with children and I'm looking at May and I and some of the photographs as we are moving on and I thought I might as well get this photograph hung up on the wall.

The Dust and Ashes of Humanity

Genesis 3, 19 says, to Adam after he had sinned for dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return. That's not my text but just to remind you, Abraham when he was interceding for Sodom and that's what I'm going to be talking about because these ashes are going to represent the citizens or at least some of the citizens, the moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles of Sodom and the young people, children.

And I'm going to talk to them and they're going to talk to us but when Abraham was interceding for he knew the wickedness of Sodom but when he was interceding for the Lord not to destroy the city because of the presence of so many righteous and he started with 50, you remember and he finally ended up at 10 and God said, I will not destroy the city if I find but 10 righteous.

But one thing that God, one thing that was said by Abraham to the Lord was, I am but dust and ashes and you remember that, that's a good profile when you're talking to God, you remember that you're but dust and ashes.

Job said, I am become like dust and ashes for he knoweth our frame, he remembers that we are but dust, Psalm 103 verse 14. Now in the case as we're going to lead, now this will be our, these will be our text that we will look at, Luke chapter 17, Luke 17 verses 28 through 30, likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they did drink, so do we but the emphasis was this is their life, their life was focused upon eating and drinking.

We found that same statement made in verse 27 of the people who perished in the flood, they did eat, they did drink, they were focused upon filling their appetites and one of the marks of godliness and this is what I'm going to talk to you tonight about is becoming godly, being godly, are you interested in being godly?

You will not go to heaven without being godly and the mark of godliness as we will see is to have your appetites under control, under discipline, your desires, your bodily appetites and we all eat and we all drink but this was the focus and also the fact that these are such normal things, they were eating and they were drinking when destruction came to them, they were expecting it, it was normal, they were going through their normal routine, they were living their lives.

Listen, they bought, they sold, they had expectations of doing something with a profit, they were engaged in enterprise and commerce, they were buying and selling, they were in manufacturing, production, the assembly lines were going, they bought, they sold, they planted, they were expecting a harvest, they needed to eat more, they were planting crops expecting a full harvest, they built it, got plans, the city is expanding, new people are moving into town, the city is on the upward swing, growth is happening everywhere, they need more buildings, they need more space, they need more room, it's a metropolis situation and it's exploding in the population but the same day that lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all, even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed, Jesus gives us a little sneak preview of the future, he says it's going to be similar to this exactly when I return.

Sodom as an Example of Ungodliness

Now listen, let's read another text in 2 Peter chapter 2, 2 Peter chapter 2 verses 6 through 9, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, turning the cities, the mamas and the daddies and the grandparents and the aunts and the uncles and the production, the assembly lines, the building projects, reducing it all to what?

What does the scripture say? Ashes, now I said that this could be a family portrait of any of us because in the natural process of us dying and being entombed or buried, the natural process will take time but God in the case of the Sodomites speeded up the process a little bit and not only did he speed up the process of turning these people into ashes, he did it in an unnatural way, they experienced something that was quite remarkable.

Notice, now why did God do this? Now, he did it for several reasons but now what concern does this ashes business have with me? What impact on my life? Notice, making them what? An example unto those that after should live ungodly.

They stand as a permanent historical example. The ashes of Sodom as a warning from God of the consequences of living an ungodly life, an undisciplined life, a life that is in rebellion to the law and to the will and the word of God.

God is dead serious about those who continue to live in rebellion to his will. Notice in verse 7, and delivered just lot and I might say just in the sense of justified and just in the sense of really just him and his two daughters and he was the only one that got out of Sodom but the Lord did deliver just lot, notice, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked and the thing about it is if you're on the ungodly side of wickedness, you rejoice in it, you love it, you pursue it, you crave it, you desire it, it's a part of your fabric, it's in your makeup, it's in your mentality, it's in your will.

If you're on the godly side of wickedness, that is if you turn from it, it grieves you, you do not love it, it vexes you, it burdens you, you don't have the relationship to it you once had. You're dead to sin and you're alive to God through Christ Jesus.

For that righteous man dwelling among them in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. Notice they're in rebellion. Their actions are unlawful. They're not living the way God intended men to live.

Anarchy. Oh, yes, they're prosperous. Oh, yes, they're architects. Oh, yes, they're builders. Godly. Seeing and hearing his righteous soul was vexed from day to day with their unlawful deeds, then the conclusion here or the conclusion here, a very helpful and encouraging statement concerning godly people who happen to be living in unrighteous and wicked days.

That's us. I'm about to break this thing. I'm about to throw it away. Do I need this thing on? Yes. Oh, for the good old days. I pine for the good old days. When cell phones didn't go off in services and you didn't have to hot wire the preacher.

But listen to this encouragement for us. The Lord knoweth how. You don't, but he does. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust until the day of judgment to be punished.

He knows how to do both. He knows how to keep and preserve and protect his people who are godly, who have turned to him, who have trusted him, who are vexed and grieved and burdened, who have turned from their sinful ways and are now living under his rule, who have bowed their knee to his lordship over their life.

He knows how to keep them. He knows how to protect them. He knows how to hedge them about with safety. But he also knows how, what? To reserve the unjust until the day of judgment to be punished. One more text.

Eternal Fire and the Cause of Sodom's Judgment

Jude, verse 7. Right before the revelation, the little Jude. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over, notice this, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

The text that we read in Luke emphasizes the sudden catastrophic interruption of daily busy life in the scenario of Sodom. No one but Lot was expecting a storm to fall out of heaven containing fire and brimstone.

That was not in the previous night's weather forecast that the fire and brimstone would destroy them all. Leave no one. The text in 2 Peter emphasizes in the scenario of Sodom that God makes a distinction between the righteous and the wicked.

And he knows who are his own. The Lord knoweth them that are his. And he will deliver them. He will spare them. He will, if you please, before the great and final conflagration occurs, he will take them out unto himself.

The Lord will preserve his own. He does not destroy. Abraham asked the Lord, will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Be it far from God to do this. He does not destroy the righteous with the wicked.

So the 2 Peter text emphasizes the distinction that God makes between righteousness and wickedness. And it also emphasizes the long lasting moral of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Now the Jude rendition of this event emphasizes the exact cause of the catastrophe.

What brought it on? Well, it was this. The people were letting themselves go. They were giving themselves, the scripture says, over to fornication. Notice this in Jude 7. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about the metroplex area, not just Sodom alone.

The whole region was infected with this lifestyle. As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner giving themselves, notice, over to fornication. Now fornication is a broad term in the scripture, but it covers basically all the bases of immorality.

It can mean, and all immorality is an abomination with God. It always leads the list of the works of the flesh. Have you noticed that? Immorality. It can mean unlawful sex before marriage. We use the term fornication.

Now the scripture does use the word fornication. It can, particularly, it can mean immoral practices of sex before marriage. But it can also mean immoral behavior after marriage. Sex outside of marriage.

That's wrong. Isn't it? Sex outside marriage is wrong. How wrong is it? It's fatal if you don't get forgiveness. And it can also mean, notice this, it's, he emphasizes this. He adds it as appendix even.

Giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh. Particularly the sin of homosexuality is in view. And we know that this is one of the preeminent marks of the citizens of Sodom. Do you remember when the angels got there to destroy the place?

They wanted to stay out in the street and Lot wouldn't let them. And he said, no, it's too dangerous out here. You going to come into my house? And at nightfall, from every corner of the city, men, old men, grown men, young men, and children had gathered around the house of Lot saying to him, bring those men out that we may have sex with them.

Immorality is one kind worse than the other. All of it's an abomination. We sometimes think that homosexuality falls in a class by itself. In the sight of God, it's no different than adultery or fornication.

Yes, there's a perverseness and an unnaturalness about it. I'm asking this evening, does this issue of truth, this point of revealed history, deserve a voice, an advocate? Should we be interested in taking a stand on the side of righteousness and purity, especially in the culture that we live?

We are now in the process of seeing state after state in our country legalizing and legitimizing homosexual behavior. Now, beloved, the Bible mentions the destruction of Sodom too many times for us to lightly pass over this.

We ought to. That text in 2 Peter 2, verse 6,. And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemn them with an overthrow, making them an example to those that after should live ungodly. We ought to get envelopes and put ashes in them and write 2 Peter 2, verse 6 on the outside of the envelope and send them to every congressman and representative in Washington, D .C.

And we ought to furthermore send one to every teacher and preacher that stands in the pulpits of America. My friend, this is no joke. God turned Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemning them with an overthrow.

Why? To make them an example. To who? To all those who afterward should live ungodly. I'm exhorting you. I'm appealing to you. I'm pleading with you. I'm urging you to flee the wrath of God. Forsake your sin.

Turn from your ungodliness. Lay hold on the hope. It's easy for us to skim over these verses that record such a monumental expression of the wrath of God and fail to grip what actually happened to this place.

The Historical Warning of Sodom's Destruction

Can you imagine this, beloved? These were great metropolitan cities. Sodom and Gomorrah, kind of like Minneapolis, St. Paul. They were closely associated, twin cities. They were up, running, working, thriving.

And here one day, life was busy. Life was full of optimism. Life was full of activity. They were eating, drinking, buying and selling, planting and harvesting. They were planning and building. One day, these were cities with people, great populations of men, women, teenagers, children, babies, doing their thing one day, and the next day, the next day, the whole thing was a pile of ashes.

They have searched for the remains of Sodom and Gomorrah for many years, biblical archaeologists, and have never found it. You know why they don't find it? I got this. I don't need to mess up the carpet anyway.

But I'll tell you, there's nothing much substantial about ashes. I could pour some in my hand and they're gone. God didn't want this cursed place found, but He wanted this cursed place remembered. And He recorded it in the Word of God.

He placed it as a monumental warning. We don't know much. If I were to ask, hey folks, what were your medical practices of the day? How advanced were you in your knowledge of medicine? I don't know that aspect.

How about your arts and entertainment? You know, all ancient metropolises had great theaters, places of amusement, places to go and to be entertained. What kind of clubs and nightclubs and places of entertainment, great theaters, did you folks have?

How about your schools of higher learning? Tell me about your magnet schools of math and science. How many colleges and universities did you people have? I'm not meaning to be funny, folks. How about your leading industries?

What were y 'all manufacturing? What were your primary agricultural products? You were eating and drinking. What were your favorite foods? What were your favorite drinks? And also, all peoples have a religious take on God.

Do you not think there's people in pulpits who have a take on God who says homosexuality is okay, it's normal? What was your take on God? What religious holidays did you practice? What festivals did you observe?

There's a lot of things we don't know. We do know this, that they were very prosperous people. They made a lot of money. In fact, there's an interesting verse in Ezekiel 16, verse 49 and 50. But anyway, it says, Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom.

Now listen to this. Pride, they were very proud. Why? Because they were achieving people. You can just imagine, they had many accomplishments in all of these areas of science and arts and education. Building.

They had a future. So they thought. They were full of pride. And also notice this. Fullness of bread. They had plenty to eat. And excessive food. Fullness of bread. And boy, did they have the parties.

And then notice abundance of idleness. And abundance of idleness comes when you've got plenty of money. Plenty to eat. Nothing to work. You've got a lot of spare time. These folks were making so much money that they had a lot of time on their hands.

They were spending six hours playing the stock market of the day. How much money did you make, folks? They were in the thick of good living. As they viewed life, they were very busy in the affairs of all of the indulgence and all of the possibilities in metropolis living.

If we only knew about the accomplishments and achievements, the economic, cultural, and architectural achievements of Sodom, volumes could be written. But none of that that I've mentioned matters one bit, does it?

Huh? What matters? There's only one thing to the God of the universe that really matters. How we live. Their human condition is obscured by one factor that made these folks famous forever. We knew about them before we even came here tonight, didn't we?

What did God think about their lives? What did God think about their educational institutions, their plans, their building, their achievements? God's verdict was that people that live like these people did, you see, they were having a lot of sex.

Their bodily appetites and desires were completely out of control. And one of the most fundamental and basic desires that we have is to have sex. It's a desire in all of us. Amen? It's a natural desire.

Sanctification and the Discipline of Desire

There's an interesting verse. I don't know if you've ever seen it. You have, 1 Thessalonians 4, 3. Listen to this statement. It's an interesting verse. For this is the will of God. Now, listen to this.

It's like everything here is being condensed. The will of God is being condensed in a little statement here. It's like it's boiling down. If you could take all the things. Of course, we know there's a lot of factors involved in the will of God, but it's an amazing statement in the Scripture.

For this is the will of God. Even your sanctification. Now, the word sanctification means you're setting apart. It's a mark that God has made you holy and set you apart. That He sanctified you. He set you apart.

Notice this. That you should abstain from fornication. Notice it's like all the emphasis of sanctification is condensed in this. That you know how to control your sexual appetites. That they're under control.

That they are submitted to God. That they are exercising. By the way, God made you a sexual person. And God gave you good, lawful arena in which to experience that. It's good, healthy, pleasurable, wonderful, fine, uncondemned.

Thank God for it. When it's in order. When it's in place. When we're doing it God's way. When it's not unlawful, disobedient, rebellious. One of the premier marks of holiness. And beloved, you will not see God without holiness.

But one of the marks of holiness, what being godly means, is to have your appetites and desires and bodily cravings under control. This is the will of God concerning you. So we learn what God thought of their sexual activities.

It overruled everything. Nothing else mattered. This was a biggie to God. And he destroyed them. Now, they were suddenly burned down to a pile of ash and cinders. And now the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah serve as a timeless example to every nation, every leader, every society, every country, every community, and every individual on the face of God's earth.

The ashes of Sodom preach and tell all of us something that living ungodly has a consequence to it. God is pointing all of us back to the pile of ashes that once was Sodom and says, this is what I will do to you if you continue in your sin.

This is what sin will do to you. It's what God will do. This is what God thinks about immorality in any form. Fornication, sex before marriage. He hates it! And if you haven't been forgiven of it, you are going to be damned!

Can He forgive it? Yes, He can. Can He change the immoral, loving person and make them pure in heart, clean in their life, obedient? Yes. Yes, He can. You need Him to do it! Try as you might, you can't change yourself.

Sin is too much of a master over you. You must have the stronger than the strong man. Cast out the demon. Beloved, what happened, the amazing thing is that in this scenario, you know, we think about wicked people when people die in sin.

They normally drop into hell. They perish when they die. But here's an amazing, almost, it's not a reversal totally, but it's interesting that God didn't let them drop into hell. He brought hellfire to them while they were on top of the ground.

Yet alive. Eating, drinking, fornicating, men having sex with men, women having sex with women. He brought hell upon them. And they didn't know! They knew not! Now, beloved, let me tell you this. What happened on top of the ground?

Can you imagine the horror of that day? Fire and brimstone falling on people's bodies. Brimstone on people's heads. People's hair being caught on fire. People's fingers and toes being burned off. But, beloved, what happened on top of the ground to these folks is only part of the story.

Judgment, Hell, and the Resurrection of the Dead

We see these ashes of the people of Sodom, the remaining human ashes, that every one of these mamas and daddies, grandmas and grandpas, and aunts and uncles and teenagers are still alive right now, down there.

What happened on top of the ground was nothing compared to what happened after. For you see, the Scripture says that not only God wiped them out physically, God has confined their immortal souls. You see, they're still there, every one of them.

Do you believe that? If you believe your Bible, you must believe that. Every single one of them are still down there, in hell, under the sufferings of fire, till judgment day. In fact, Jesus said, listen to this, in Matthew 10 and 15, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment.

He's talking about the day of judgment. They're going to come out. They're going to be raised from the dead. Every last one of them, the fornicators, the homos, they're going to come out of the ground, and God is going to judge them.

And then he's going to confine them. You see, what they're suffering now is a probation, temporary punishment. In a sense, they're being punished, and they're in the regions of the dam, but they're not yet cast into the eternal lake of fire.

They're to come out, stand before God, just as you will be standing before God. They shall be judged, and they shall face an eternity of punishment, suffering, the scripture says, the vengeance of eternal fire.

What happened that day that turned them into ashes was temporary fire. What they will face when they stand before God, after their sentence is read, will be eternal fire. Now, I want to be as brief as I can.

I know it's late, and I know you're tired, but I'm going to give you just as brief as I can some of the poignant and very sober lessons that we can gain from the ashes of the residents of Sodom. Have you ever heard that old proverb, those who do not learn from history, or what?

That's what this taxi is exactly saying. Sinner, sinner, if you do not learn from the ashes of the folks of Sodom, you will be condemned to repeat it. Let me give you the lessons quickly. Number one, the example, the prototype of judgment.

Sodom as the Prototype of Future Judgment

This whole business would have no credibility at all unless the Lord, in essence, will do the same exact thing again to those who live ungodly. I mean, it's a history lesson. Beloved, if you give yourself over to your bodily appetites, God is going to do this to you, in essence.

If you live and die in sin, you shall go to hell, and at the last day be raised out of that hell to face judgment and be condemned to eternal hell. Who is this script you're speaking to? It's speaking to me.

It tells me, Brother Don, don't live in sin. Don't turn from your wickedness. Live the way life ought to be lived. This warning is to anyone who gives up their body for the wrong way of living. It's like a generic, Hear ye, hear ye, saith the citizens of Sodom.

This would be a joke. We could laugh at it. We could dismiss it as a myth. If there wasn't the credible warning that you live in sin and die in sin, you shall be punished with everlasting destruction.

The Moral Significance of Personal Lifestyle

There's another lesson, number two. The ashes of Sodom preaches to us that your lifestyle matters. And don't tell me your private life is none of anybody's business. Let me tell you, God is always poking His nose into your private life.

Living the way you live, it counts for something. Sodom's ashes say that God has expectations for humans. He wills that humans live a certain way. Well, what does our neatly educated and permissive society say today about these kind of people?

Well, they can't help the way they live. They can't help it. They weren't born that way. God made them that way. There's great peace when you come to terms with your own sexuality, isn't there? Is sex before marriage okay, teenagers?

Is sex between people of the same sex okay, men? Is sex outside of marriage okay, folks? Listen to them. Don't you hear them preaching? Don't you hear them preaching? Beloved, you may have your lust, your bodily appetites, your inclinations to immorality, but ultimately your sinning is a personal choice.

It's your decision. Sin, immorality, it is you choosing. The Bible says that the people of Sodom gave themselves over. They yielded their bodies to this. They gave themselves to immorality, to this wicked, condemned form of living.

Beloved, let me tell you this. Before you ever discovered America, God had a predetermined set of behavior and morals for you to live by, and it's He. It is not the United States of America, our Congress, or our president that sets the moral standards by which human beings are to live by.

This issue is not up for vote. The Creator has spoken. He has said, Lifestyle matters. Morality matters. Sodom and Ashes tells us who makes the rules. No government, no leader, no group has the right to alter or mess with or modify the law of God.

And we happen to be in the thick of seeing our own nation pass laws that slap the face of God and say, thumbing their nose at God. I'm telling you, we're in dangerous territory. The ashes of Sodom are preaching to us tonight.

As a nation, biblical morality established by God is universal and it's applicable to every human being. The law of God applies to everyone here. God makes no exception for you, young person. The wages of sin, and sin is the transgression of God's law.

The wages of sin is what? And that's still being applied. I don't care how much the Hollywood elite scorns biblical morality or how many times our nation's president gets on and makes pro-homosexual videos encouraging homosexual young people and tells them, don't let anyone tell you your lifestyle is wrong.

I'm telling you, God has already spoken before this whole crowd got upon this earth. God had spoken through the ashes of Sodom saying that lifestyle matters. God makes the rules. God makes the law. No one escaped.

No one. No one will escape the consequences of immoral, ungodly behavior. Get out of sin. Whatever men may think or believe, by a promiscuous society, the vengeance of eternal wrath is coming, and the suffering of body and soul forever will fall upon those who do not forsake their sin.

Greater Accountability for Those Who Hear the Gospel

Thirdly, I hear these ashes preaching another line of truth. Am I preaching too long? Is there time to close? Let me. I got two scriptures. Listen. Listen to this. This is incredible. Matthew 10, beginning at verse 14.

Whosoever shall not receive you, this is Matthew 10, 14, nor hear your words when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

He repeated this insightful warning in Matthew 11, verses 23 and 24. Matthew 11, 23 and 24. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell for the mighty works which have been done in thee have been done in Sodom.

Now listen carefully to this. This will blow your mind. It will blow your neat systematic theology somewhat. Shake it and rattle it. Listen to this. For if the mighty works which had been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained, it would have remained unto this day.

Who you think was expressing this? Was this just an educated guess? Who was saying these words? You think he had any knowledge of the fact? You think he could have known? Do you think he really would lie to us?

Do you think he could really tell us the truth here? That this really would be true? That Sodom and Gomorrah would be remaining unto this day? And verse 24. But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee.

Here's what these people are saying to me tonight. And you. It would have been very different with us. It would have changed everything with us if we only had the gospel preached to us that you have. It would have been better.

It would have been better with us than it turned out if we only had the gospel. Take heed folks. To heed the terms of mercy and forgiveness and eternal life that's offered to you in the gospel. For it's going to go much worse with you than for us on judgment day.

That's incredible. In all fairness, beloved, as bad as these folks were, as horrible as the moral conditions were of Sodom, Christ says, listen to this, Christ who knows everything said that if these people had had a chance of repenting and had an offer of mercy and invitation and explanation of the grace of God, they would have jumped at a chance of finding a real purpose in life.

But they never had that. Not one verse of the Bible. Not one invitation. Not one gospel sermon. In an amazing, isn't that an incredible truth what Jesus has spoken? This is also, it blows my mind. It says that some multitudes sinned and perished under conditions that if it had been a little different, they would have been saved.

Now, my question is, is God obligated to treat all people equally? No. Cannot the potter do what he wills with his clay? But it's just an amazing thing. Isn't it an amazing thing that some people, many people, are going to hell under conditions, under spiritual, external conditions that other people would have been saved under had they had them.

Think about it. The point is, beloved, eternal punishment will be just in every situation. But the punishment of the citizens of Sodom on that day will not be near as dreadful as those who have heard about Jesus and have been invited to be reconciled to God by turning from sin and offering their life up to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

I'm telling you, if you die in your sins now, it would be the fate of the Sodomites is going to be much better than yours on that day. Not near as dreadful. These people will come out and yes, they shall be judged and yes, they shall be eternally punished.

But their suffering in the eternal world to come will be minor compared to those who have trodden underfoot the blood of the Son of God and have despised the Spirit of grace and have rejected God's only begotten Son who says, Come unto Me and live!

Perseverance and Holiness in an Ungodly World

Beloved, do you hear the ashes of Sodom? They testified of present living souls who sit in here of the gracious offers of the Gospel time and time again. Some of you fit in this category. I'm telling you tonight, you would like to be in our shoes if you die in your sins.

You would gladly change places with us if you die in your sin, perish. Why will you hate your own soul and refuse to bow to the One who can wash you and change you and forgive you and make you brand new and bring all of your bodily appetites under discipline and control?

Let me say this, and I close, and I know one of the characteristics of being righteous in an ungodly day is the same thing that was said about Lot. Is it possible to live a righteous life and remain distinctly different in an ungodly world?

Yes, it is. It's possible. But it is not possible to live in an ungodly world without being grieved and vexed and agitated just as righteous Lot was in that day. Beloved, agitation, vexation, and grief is a characteristic of those who are saved.

It is the character and the nature of a renewed heart to be delighted with righteousness and to be vexed and grieved with iniquity. If you love sin, you are not saved. Brother Don just preached to us in essence that message.

If you love sin, it doesn't mean that you do not sin. It doesn't mean that you cannot fall in sin. But if you love it, if you desire it, if you pursue it, if it is your master and Lord, if you walk in the flesh, you shall perish in your iniquity.

And then, this encouraging note to close on, just as God preserved and delivered righteous Lot from this impossible situation, so He will preserve His people today. Aren't you thankful? Brother, the world around us is getting messy, dirty, filthy, but God is going to keep us clean if we belong to Him.

The Lord knows how to deliver the godly from temptation. Aren't you glad the Lord knows how to keep you in this wicked world? How to work in you the proper desires and bring into you the powers and not allow you to be attempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation, provide a way of escape that you may be able to be.

Aren't you glad of the faithfulness of God in this wicked hour when the world is falling apart and people are insane in sin? Aren't you thankful that the Lord knows how to keep His children and deliver them, preserve them, watch over them, and keep them.

The Gospel's Power to Deliver from Sin

Let's praise His name. You don't know how to keep you. You don't know how to work your way through this mess. Thank God we have the Scriptures, Brother Dean. Thank God we have the Holy Spirit, Brother Don.

Thank God we have Christian brethren to lean on. Thank God we have the preaching of the Word! Thank God we have the church to come to! Thank God we've got godly men to listen to. We've got a lot of helps.

Great is the help of the Lord. I'll tell you folks, He'll help you if you belong to Him. If you're yielded to Him, He will help you. He will preserve you. He will keep you in this dark and trying hour.

What a story! We may be grieved and vexed, beloved, at the conditions around us in our deteriorating nation. But we as Christians need not be fearful or intimidated or silenced in despair. Yes, biblical morality is under attack like no other time I've seen in my life.

But we have the ashes of ashes on our side. That is, we have God on our side. God has given us the record. It's true. Now some of you sitting there in that chair tonight, your deepest need is to get out of your sin.

You're in the danger zone! You're controlled by your passions. You're controlled by your lusts. You're controlled by your bodily appetites. You do those things that are full of abomination of the sight of God.