It’s a High Price to Pay for Having Your Own Way
Gen 13:1-13
Lot is a very interesting character. He was the son of Abraham’s Brother. Last week we look at the Faith of Abraham. One of those things was he obeyed the Word of God. But when we take a closer look – You will remember that God told Abraham to get out of Ur – and leave his family behind. Abraham went but he did not leave all his family behind. He took his Nephew and all of his Nephew’s family and servants along. That was a big mistake.
Lot was the classic example of a worldly Christian. He was what we would call a Backslidden Child of God.
WHAT BACKSLIDING IS NOT:
A. It is not losing you salvation.
B. It does not mean you lose the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
WHAT BACKSLIDING IS:
A. It means that you look like, act like, talk like a lost person. You would have a hard time proving to me that Lot was a saved man if it were not for the Apostle Peter.
2 Pet 2:6-8 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
The word vexed has the idea of a person having an open wound and every day just digging at it and not allowing it to heal. They vex the wound.
B. It means that a saved person tries to work out his life and his problem by his own best thinking.
Prov 14:14 KJV) The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways:
C. It means that they can go so far into sin that they forget they were once saved.
(2 Pet 1:9 KJV) But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
T/S Backsliders take a downhill path that has 4 distinctive sign post along way. These sign post are there to let a person know how far down the road they have traveled. It is well illustrated in the Life of Lot.
THE FIRST SIGN: IT BEGAN IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.
Gen. 13:3-7 They camped in Bethel and he worshiped the LORD there. During this time Lot was traveling with Abram, and Lot also had flocks, herds, and tents. Abram and Lot had so many animals that the land could not support both of them together, so Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen began to argue. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were in the land.
Explain the text: Argue in the Church – The world is watching.
A. Most people thinks that a person doesn’t really Backslide until they go out and get drunk or do some bad sin. Just the opposite is true. By the time a Child of God get to the point of giving in to some horrible sin they have been backslidden for some time.
B. Most Backslider are on church pews today. There was strife between brethren and the Caaninite was in the Land ( They were watching). The first sign of Backsliding is to begin to find fault with your Brother and Sister. When you start pointing fingers. I tell you - if I can get a good handle on what’s wrong with me, I won’t have time to look at the faults of others.
C. If we could get the Backsliders who are on church pews this morning to repent there would be the greatest revival this country has ever known.
D. That is why in the last church the Lord put it on an individual basis. "If any Man will here my voice . . . . . ."
E. I know of what I speak. The most backslidden I have ever been was when I was being the most faithful to the church I was a member. (Now notice I said, "Faithful to the Church - Not faithful to the Lord". You see, you can be faithful to the church and be a dead spiritually.
F. You see Backsliding begins in the House of God.
2ND SIGN POST: IT GERMINATED IN THE PLAINS OF JORDAN. GEN. 13:10-11
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD . . . . Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
A. The second step is taking your eyes off Jesus and looking to the things of the world.
B. You must notice the progress of the verbs in Verses 10 & 11
LOOKED - CHOSE - JOURNEYED - SEPARATED.
Same with Eve. He saw the fruit - She chose to eat it - She moved to give it to here husband - They separated themselves from God.
It is the same with you and I. We look, chose, move, and separate.
C. Today you are either looking unto Jesus or you are looking to the things of this world.
3RD SIGN POST: IT GREW IN THE CITIES OF THE PLAINS.
13:12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
A. He pitched His tent toward Sodom.
The rich young ruler. Jesus loved him but he loved the wealth of this world
The prodigal son looked toward the Far country.
Paul said, "Demas hath forsaken me having loved this present world."
B. Lot became rich in Sodom. He was influential. Got into politics. His wife was head of the urban improvement league. They belonged to the country club. They were mentioned in the society page. I am willing to believe that they were member of the Westside Community Church of Sodom. If you had ask – Is there anything destroy it?
They won favor with man but lost their power with God.
FINAL SIGN POST: IT CULMINATED IN A CAVE NEAR ZOAR. GEN. 19:30-38
30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar . . . . He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us. . . .Let’s get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father.”
