Escape to the Mountain — Carter Conlon

This message is one of the Times Square Church pulpit series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing World Challenge, P .O. Box 260, Lindale, Texas, 75771, or calling 903 -963 -8626.

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Lot's Escape from Sodom

I'm going to continue the second part of a message that began last Sunday morning. Genesis chapter 19, message tonight is entitled Escape to the Mountain, Escape to the Mountain. Father, I thank you. God, I praise you for the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you, Lord, that you don't ever call any one of us to stand in our own strength, reasoning power, Lord, or wisdom, or apart from you, apart from what you've given to me, I have nothing. God, I thank you that you have promised that in believing on you, that out of my inward parts would flow a river of living water, living water to give drink to your chosen Lord, to those that you love, to those that are thirsty in this house tonight.

Oh, Holy Spirit, I ask that you make the word of God, the word of the living God alive, make it a living reality in every heart and every life, quicken us now, Holy Spirit, not only be to speak, but quicken all in this house to hear, to hear what it is that you're speaking to your church in this last hour of time.

God, you're speaking so clearly. Lord, give us the grace to be able to hear and to respond, to have open hearts and to come running to you, Lord, not fearing, not doubting, not living in unbelief, but knowing that you have nothing but good thoughts towards your children, nothing but healing and wholeness and protection for your sons and daughters.

Oh, God, I ask for the grace to deliver this word tonight in Jesus name. Amen. Genesis chapter 19, beginning at verse 17,. It came to pass when they had brought them forth abroad that he said, Escape for thy life.

Look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain, escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord. Behold, now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou showed unto me in saving my life.

And I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me and I die. Behold, now this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one. Oh, let me escape thither. Is it not a little one? And my soul shall live.

And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither, for I cannot do anything until thou come hither.

Therefore, the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. And then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.

And he overthrew those cities and all the plain and all the inhabitants of the cities and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind, and she became a pillar of salt. When we began the discussion of this man called Lot, we found him in Genesis chapter 19, verse 1, sitting in the gate of Sodom.

We discussed last week that the gate was a place of commerce, a place of buying and selling. Lot was a man who was given a personal advantage. And I believe that he had placed much of his trust in his ability to buy and sell and get gain.

And also in the gate was a place of government and civic influence. Most of the things that happened that are of any significance commercially or governmentally happened in the gate. It was the tradition in those days, virtually in every city.

Those who sat in the gate got first bids, really, at new goods that came in and things like that. And here's Lot sitting in the gate. He is the nephew of Abraham. Abraham's the man who God gave the promise to, that through him all the generations of the earth were going to be blessed.

Abraham rose up to travel into that land that God had promised to him. And Lot, being his nephew, got up and went with him. And so obviously, along the way, Abraham would have revealed to Lot the promises that God had made to him.

And it came time when they came to the area that they were supposed to dwell in. And they lived together for a little while. Then, of course, the increase came. And they couldn't live because of the multitude of all of the goods that they had, especially the flocks and the herds.

So Abraham said to Lot, he said, well, you take a look and you choose whatever you want. You can have it and whatever is left, I'll take. And in this, he really did show the heart of God, where it talks about in the scriptures in the New Testament, look not every man on his own things, but also on the things of others.

And Abraham manifested that heart, which I believe is essential to anyone who will follow the Lord in faith. We cannot be people who look continuously to ourselves and to our own gain and our own advantage.

And Abraham looked away from himself and said, you choose whatever you want. So the scriptures, Lot lifted up his eyes. But you see, this was the continuous weakness in Lot. He could only lift up his eyes so far.

He had a horizontal vision and he looked out with his natural eyes and he saw a place that looked very good. It looked very secure to dwell in that place. And so he chose that place and moved his family, moved his flocks there and settled in Sodom and Gomorrah.

After Lot was removed from him, the Lord said to Abraham, now lift up your eyes. And Abraham was a man who was not given to lifting up his eyes only halfway, but he lifted up his eyes all the way to heaven.

And that's when God began to speak to Abraham one more time and said, Abraham, I am thy exceeding great reward. Abraham, everything that you've ever longed for, Lot's chosen what he thinks is going to bring him satisfaction.

But everything that you've ever longed for, you're going to find it in me. And brethren, my brothers and sisters tonight, that is the same cry of God, the same heart cry for us as it was in that generation.

Those who have chosen to live by just what their natural eye can see, there's coming a day of great remorse, a day of great trial and tribulation upon them. Because they've not looked high enough. They've not looked to the place where God alone dwells and his promises are the only thing that can sustain them.

At this place of buying and selling, two angels came down to messengers from heaven. They told Lot, they said, get out of this place for God's heard the cry of it. It has become very wicked and he's going to judge it by fire.

They said, if you have anything here, sons, daughters, family, go and get them out of this place. So Lot went to his family that were in Sodom and Gomorrah, his daughters, his sons in law. And as I shared last week, perhaps his grandchildren that were part of those relationships.

Although the scripture doesn't say that, I think it's safe to assume that he possibly had grandchildren. And he said to them, up, get out of this place. The Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

They looked at him. And because his life had been there been such mixture in this man's life all the way along. They didn't take him seriously. And they laughed at him. The New International version of this says they they thought he was joking.

Whereas the Bible clearly calls us. God calls us to be living epistles, living testimonies of the goodness, the grace and even the severity of God. The fullness of God. Lot came in because it was such mixture in his life.

His family looked at him and they just laughed. In the morning, the angels hastened him and said, Lot, arise, take your wife, your daughters and here and everything that's with you. Lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

And while he lingered, they laid hold on his hand, the hand of his wife, the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him. And they brought him forth and sent him without the city. And I talked last week about lingering lot.

As he's leaving the gate, everything that he's ever trusted and he's got to now leave it behind him. My brothers, my sisters, there is a there is a day coming. There's there's a judgment called the judgment seat of Christ.

The Judgment Seat of Christ and the Loss of a Life's Work

Now, there is a judgment called the White Throne judgment. And that is the the judgment of the unrighteous dead. There's a day coming when every person who ever lived in the face of the earth is going to stand before a holy God.

And the White Throne judgment is not a judgment to determine whether you're saved or lost. It is a judgment of the unrighteous dead. It's just God giving a complete full revelation now to everyone who stands before him as to why he is just in sending them to hell for all of eternity.

And why they're going to suffer his wrath. But there's another judgment. And oftentimes, many people in the body of Christ don't give a whole lot of thought to this judgment. It's called the judgment seat of Christ.

And that's where every believer, you're going to be there one day and I'm going to be there one day. And everything we have done from the day that we came to Christ and said he was our Lord and Savior is going to be tested with the purity of God.

The fire of God is going to touch everything. The scripture says there are in the New Testament. There are some whose entire life work is going to be burned. Yet they themselves will be saved. Yet that's by fire.

I believe that lot is a type of one of these men in the New Testament. The apostle Peter talks about the deliverance of righteous lot who is vexed with the conversation, filthy conversation of the wicked.

If the righteousness that lot had absolutely had to be imputed to him because I don't see anything righteous about this man other than the fact that he was Abraham's nephew. The righteousness he had had to be imputed to him by God.

There was no other way. And I believe just as lot stood at the gate and lingered and and for that moment realized how vain his life had been. There are people are going to stand at the judgment seat of Christ just before entering into that time when all tears and all sorrow and everything is going to be wiped away.

And at that judgment seat of Christ, every man's works going to be tested, every man's works going to be tried. And there are some who are going to be standing there. And at that time, there will be an awareness.

I believe this with all my heart. There will be some that say, my sons are not here. My daughters are not here. My family is not here. And there will be perhaps for the first time in their lives, the realization that what they have lived for has been all in vain.

They themselves are saved, yet so is by fire. But there will be an awareness for that moment. I know when we enter into heaven, there'll be no more tears, no more sorrow. It is conceivable, I suppose, after this judgment that God will wipe out of their memory the fact that they even had a son or had a daughter.

It is possible because there'll be no sorrow, there'll be no sighing in heaven. But for that moment, standing there and beginning to realize, oh, God, just as Lot did when he was lingering at the gate of the city.

Oh, God, for one more day, God, for one more hour, God, for one more week, one more month to go down. If I would have known, if I would have understood how I would have lived my life differently, how I would have taken seriously the things of God.

And now Lot is brought out of the city. The Lord says in verse 16, was merciful to him. They brought him out and they set him without the city. And it came to pass when they had brought him forth abroad in verse 17, that he said, now this is the angel speaking to him, escape for your life.

Look not behind you, neither stay on all the plain, escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. Now, this was God's instruction to Lot. Escape to the mountain. You would think that this man, after living so long unto himself, after finally coming to the realization that all of his life's work was for nothing.

You would begin to think that this man would hunger and want to lay hold of every word of God that would come to him. Escape to the mountain. This was God's instruction. The angel was saying that your safety rests in the pursuing of that which truly represents the heart and plan of God.

Lot, you have lived to yourself and this is what it's come to. You've been by mercy brought out of the city. You have got to leave your family behind and everything you've labored for is going to perish.

Now, escape to the mountain. Go to that place. Follow the word of God. Walk in obedience to God and you will find safety there. Said, escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. The prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah chapter two, verses two and three, it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow into it.

And many people shall go and say, come ye and let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

This is what Isaiah is saying. There's a day coming. It's going to come to pass in the last days that that God's house will be established. People will go there and they will be taught the ways of the Lord and they will walk in the paths of God.

Hallelujah. Now, the word mountain is often figuratively represented in the scriptures, that which embodies God's revelation of his heart and purpose to those who honestly seek him. You'll find words in the Bible that have a figurative representation.

And the word mountain is often, often used to represent that place where God reveals his heart. God reveals his purpose. God reveals his path to all those who want to walk with him in truth and in honesty.

In Genesis chapter 22, it was to a mountain called Moriah that God sent Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. He sent Abraham to a mountain. It was a test of his obedience. And God was showing us through this story that in this place, I'm calling you to learn to obey me because that's where safety is.

When we make that decision to walk in obedience to God. In First Chronicles chapter 21, it was on that same mountain that David was sent to offer a sacrifice. David had foolishly numbered the nation of Israel.

He began his eyes were turning away from the power of the presence of almighty God. And he was beginning to look to his own might and to his own strength. And God considered this a very, very serious sin on David's part.

And even though David was warned not to do this yet, he chose to follow that path, which brought about a destroying angel that was going forth and destroying by thousands the children of Israel. And God called David to that same mountain.

And on that mountain, there was a man called Ornan, the Jebusite, who had established a threshing floor and he was working there with his children threshing wheat. It was the place of his living. Ornan saw the destroying angel there with a sword in his hand.

And Ornan said to David, he said, if you need this place to offer sacrifice, that the plague may be stayed from the people. He said, I give you the threshing floor. I give you the wooden instruments to burn.

He said, I even give you the oxen to offer for the sacrifice. Ornan said, I give it all to you. You see, that mountain that God's speaking about is firstly a mountain of obedience, but then it's a mountain of sacrifice.

And Pastor David spoke about that this morning, that that we finally come to the place of learning that it is reasonable to offer our lives as a living sacrifice unto God. Holy, holy unto God, which is a reasonable service.

It was on this same mountain called Moriah that Solomon was instructed through the Holy Ghost by the instructions given by his father, David, to construct a temple. You find it in Second Chronicles, chapter seven.

It was on this mountain that Solomon dedicated such a beautiful prayer when the temple was finally constructed to the Lord. It was on this mountain that the glory of the Lord God was revealed and he showed us his desire to respond to sincere worship from those who have an honest relationship with him.

He desires to respond with protection, provision and an assurance of a continuing godly heritage. God came down and he said, if you're put to the worst, if there's a struggle, I'm just paraphrasing it now, if there's trouble, trial.

If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, he said, I will hear from heaven and I will heal their land. And he promised Solomon, if you walk in my ways, there'll never fail somebody from your lineage, somebody, another of your descendants to sit upon my throne.

Matthew, chapter five, six and seven, some of the most profound teaching of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament begins by saying he went up into a mountain and began to teach the people. In Mark, chapter three, verses 13 and 14, Jesus called some of his followers up to a mountain and it was in that place that he ordained 12 of them to be with him, that he might send them forth to preach.

He taught in the mountain, he called in the mountain, he ordained in the mountain. Mark, chapter six, verse 46 tells us that Jesus departed. It was his habit to do so up into a mountain to pray. Mark, chapter nine, verses two and three talks about Jesus taking Peter, James and John up into a high mountain, a part where he was transfigured before them.

A place of sacrifice, a place of obedience, a place of teaching, a place of commission, a place of revelation of the heart of God, a place of prayer, a place of seeking God, a place where the glory. The glory.

Of the living Christ was revealed to three men who had made the decision to follow him up into the mountain. And perhaps the psalmists say it best. The writer of Psalm 121, verses one and two, says it this way.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. David says it even better in Psalm 61, verses two and four. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

In verse four, he says, I will abide in thy tabernacle forever. I will trust in the covert of thy wings. David says, lead me to that rock. Lead me to that place that is higher than I. I will abide there.

I've made a choice to live there. And I will trust in your revelation of your heart and your way and your path to me. I will trust in it. For therein lies my safety. This is why the angel said to Lot, flee to the mountain.

Go to the mountain. Obey God. Because if you choose any other path, you're going to be consumed in the iniquity of this city. Find the heart of God. Find the path of God. Learn to trust in Him. Learn to walk with Him and obey Him.

Learn to give your life as a living sacrifice for the purposes of God. If you're afraid of this, ask Him for a revelation of His heart. Ask Him to give you a joy that's unspeakable and full of glory in understanding His purposes for fallen men.

And how those purposes are affected through your life and through mine. You would think that Lot would be so excited. Finally, he's got a sure word from God. And many, many people have, even maybe some tonight, you've come out of that first place.

God's called you. And you begin to realize that, hey, this city is going to pass away. The realization is hit. There's some sitting here tonight and you're in sorrow because of some of the things in the past.

And we trust that the Lord will heal you. But there's a memory of lost relationships, lost opportunities, lost blessings. Because of wrong values and wrong priorities. But now you come to a place where, just like Lot, the messengers of God have got you right by the hand.

And the messengers are saying, flee to the mountain. Flee to the mountain, lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city. There's a flood coming in on the world of the ungodly. Flee to the mountain.

Choosing Obedience Over the Little City of Zoar

Don't be satisfied with anything less. And you would think that Lot, finally, with what he has left. He has his two daughters. He's lost some of his other daughters. He's lost his grandchildren. He's lost his sons-in-law.

He has his wife and he has his two daughters. And you'd think there'd be such a gratitude in that man's heart. To say, from now on, honey, from now on, my daughters, we're going to walk with God. We're going to follow God.

Whatever God says to do, we're going to do it. You would think that it would be reasonable in this man's heart to begin to do these things. But in Genesis, the very next verse after 17, Genesis chapter 19, verse 18, he says,.

And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my lord. Behold, now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thus magnified thy mercy. So he's aware of grace now. He's aware of mercy, which you have showed me in saving my life.

I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me and I die. So here's Lot saying, I cannot, I can't go that far. And in verse 20, he says, Behold, now this city is near to flee to. It's a little one.

Oh, let me escape there. Is it not a little one? And my soul shall live. So here's Lot, still motivated by the same love of self. He gives way to the fear of the unknown. He's unable to entrust himself completely to the plan of God for his future.

Trust is really the issue. Lot is saying, Lord, I know what you want me to do. And I hear what you're calling, but it's so far. It's such a climb. It seems so distant. And who knows what awaits me? If I really entrust myself to you, if I really walk with you, if I really let you take my hand and walk in obedience.

Oh, God, I don't know what's going to happen to me. And the very same thing that has always gripped this man now begins to take over. He has a revelation of mercy as a revelation of grace. And now he looks to where he can see.

He said, No, here's a little city not too far away. And is it not just a little one? Oh, please let me go there. Unable to entrust himself to the word of God, the plan of God for his future. He begs to have leave to take a shorter journey.

Oh, folks. It's a tragedy of of our generation, I think. And it's a tragedy of church generations and times gone by that people having heard the call of God. What does Jesus say? Come on to me. Come on to me.

Learn of me. I'm meek and lonely in heart. You shall find rest for your soul. Come up to the mountain. Come into the very heart of God. Come let me reveal myself to you. And so many say, Well, it's such a long way and it's so fearful.

And can I really trust you? And he begs to take leave to take a shorter journey. And there are so many today that say, Oh, I'd like to. Is there a shorter way? Is there? And I want you to notice something.

The angel gives him leave to follow his own heart's desire. The angel said, See, I've accepted the concerning this thing, and I will not overthrow the city for which I have spoken. Jesus will never force anyone to follow him.

He's an absolute gentleman. He's a loving God. You see, in the book of Revelation, when he speaks to the church of Laodicea, a church that's lukewarm and adulterous heart. And he says to them, Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

He had every right to kick the door and demand obedience, but he doesn't do that. He reveals his heart. He will never force anyone to follow him. And so the angel speaking on God's behalf says, OK, you want a shorter journey.

Here it is. It's all yours. You'd ask me today. How does this happen in the lives of those who profess to know Christ? How do they find this shorter journey and who offers it to them? Go put a marker in Genesis 19.

The Unjust Steward and Wasted Stewardship

Go to Luke chapter 16. Go to Luke chapter 16. Beginning at verse one, he said to his disciples, there was a certain rich man which had a steward. And the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.

And he called him and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? Give it account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest no longer be no longer steward. The steward said within himself, What shall I do?

For my Lord takes away from me the stewardship. I cannot dig, and to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, that they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his Lord's debtors unto him and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my Lord?

And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill and sit down quickly and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat.

And he said unto him, Take thy bill and write four score. And the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely. For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

This story, this parable is about a man who was the servant of a very, very rich man. The very, very rich man gave him his goods to use wisely, to distribute wisely. He forfeited his right to represent that rich king or that rich man because he wasted his calling.

And to me, it speaks of many who sit in, who stand at pulpits perhaps all throughout the world today. Once perhaps called of God, once perhaps handled wisely the treasure of the revealed word of God. But they got lazy, got out of the prayer closet, get out of the Bible.

Today we have men who are standing and leading supposed revivals throughout parts of the world. And they actually boast, they get up in the pulpit and they boast that they spend little or no time in prayer.

They boast that they don't spend time in God's word. They boast of coming from the back room, playing video games and standing out. And they say, Every time I stand, the anointing is still there. They boast of coming straight from the golf course to the church on Sunday morning.

But the Lord, you see, they don't realize the Lord is taking away from them the right to represent him before the people. And the evidence of that is they lose the passion for God. They lose the passion for prayer.

They lose the passion for holiness. They lose the passion to study his word. They're not able to bring the treasure of Christ out of this book anymore. Those things that were once entrusted to them now have fallen through their fingers and they're left standing empty.

And they say, What can I do? There are men standing in the ministry all over the United States and North America today that have given the chance would get out of the pulpit. But they don't know what to do.

They say, I cannot dig. In other words, I've done this for so long. I don't have any skills. I never went to college. I don't have a trade. What am I going to do? And I'm too ashamed to beg. So he says, I know what I'll do that when I'm put out of the stewardship that they may receive me into their houses.

Here's the issue. I am called and Pastor David is called anybody else who ever stands in this public. We are called to provoke you to go to the mountain of the Lord. That is God's house. That's God's dwelling.

That's where his heart is. His plan. His purpose. It may provoke some. It may anger others. Some others may not know how to deal with it. But I'm not called to have you receive me into your house. I'm not called to be loved by everybody.

If you love the truth, I know you'll love the preachers of truth if you love truth. But if you don't, you're going to become angry with me. You're going to become angry with Pastor David eventually if you don't love the truth.

But the unjust steward says I'm resolved what to do that when I'm put out that they may receive me into their houses. And here's a sign. Beware of preachers who preach so that you will love them. He called his Lord's dinners unto him and said unto the first, how much do you owe my Lord?

How much do you owe? And he said, a hundred measures of oil. He said, take your bill, sit down quickly and write 50. The Holy Ghost is speaking to some hearts in the house of the Lord, even in this hour.

And people are reading this thing. I read here where it says, if anyone will be my disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. And then the unjust steward stands and says, well, that's not really what it means.

Half of that should be sufficient. Half of that is all that God requires. Here's a little city. Many, many preachers today are just travel agents to Zohar. That's all they are. Travel agents to places that are far short of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Settling for Little and the Loss of a Godly Heritage

In the Genesis again, chapter 19, verse 23. The sun was risen upon the earth. When Lot came into Zohar, entered into Zohar. Zohar in the original Hebrew, do you know what Zohar means? It means little.

Little. Now hear me clearly. Lot is called to the mountain of God. He's called to receive an absolute revelation of the heart of God that his life may come to represent another kingdom, another master.

But he opts for little. Instead, how many Christians today call to the very heart of Christ who really could make a difference in this dying generation that we're living in? Instead of pursuing, instead of walking through, instead of trusting God, opt for little.

Little effort. Little distance. Little obedience. Little change. Little sacrifice. Little trust. Little seeking of the ways of God. Little of the word. Little prayer. The apostle James tells us that the fruit of dwelling in such a place is instability.

James chapter 1, verse 8 says,. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Now listen. The word ways in the Greek is hodos, which means sometimes denoting the revealed will of God as being shown by God and leading to him.

The revealed will of God shown by God and leading to him. A double-minded man is unstable in every path, in every attempt that he makes to find the will of God, to find that path that leads to the very heart of God.

His double-mindedness would produce in him an instability that causes him never to be able to find the path. Never. In this place of little, he continues to suffer loss. In verse 26, his wife looks back and turns into a pillar of salt.

In this place of little. There are many, many people today who are dwelling in little. Called to the very heart of God. Made a choice. They're dwelling in little. Zohar is the city that they've encamped in and they're suffering continuous.

The losses are continuing to mount. The situation in his life is not turning around. His wife now looks back. Why does she look back? She turns into a pillar of salt. Salt, by its very nature, is a preservative.

She was called and should have been led by her husband to become a preserver, to preserve a godly heritage. She had two daughters. And those daughters should have been trained down the ways of God, having seen the futility of living in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Salt is a healer. Christ himself said, I came to heal the brokenhearted. Salt gives flavor. Didn't Paul say we are the savor of Christ? Wherever we travel, wherever we go, some of life to life and others of death unto death.