The Woman We Must Never Forget

[In two passages today, we're going to] talk about the woman who must never be forgotten. The first is in Genesis chapter 19, and the second is in Luke chapter 17.

So if you'll find Luke 17 and Genesis 19, I'll begin reading from Genesis. And the minute you turn to Genesis 19, you know you're turning to that account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain because of their wickedness. And let me say that if God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness, he'll have to apologize to them, as Ruth Graham has said, if he doesn't do something about the wickedness in our own country, in our own city, the same kind of wickedness.

Genesis chapter 19, verse 15, And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him. And they brought him forth and set him outside of the city.

And 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. That's a great gospel text. I'm not preaching on that tonight, but that's a great text.

If you make that mountain Calvary, escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, O not so, my lord. How can you say my lord and then say not so? Behold now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shown unto me in saving my life.

I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil overtake me and I die. Behold now this city is near to flee unto, and is a little one, O let me escape there. 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 which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thee, for I cannot do anything till thou become there. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar, which means little.

The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and 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 him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord. Do you have some place early in the morning where you stand before the Lord? I hope you do.

And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain and beheld and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass when God destroyed the cities of the plain that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt. Now we turn to Luke chapter 17 to see what our Lord Jesus had to say about this.

He's talking about his return. He's not disclosing the mystery of the rapture that that came a little later on. He's talking about when he returns.

And he's warning that when the days of his return come, they should be very careful to be ready. Verse 28, Luke 17, also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built. But in 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. In that day, let him that shall be upon the housetop and his stuff in the house not come down to take it away. And let him also that is in the field not return.

Now, obviously, he's not talking about the rapture of the church, because when the Lord comes in the air for his church, you won't have any time to go find your bank book or your Bible. It's going to be like that in the twinkling of an eye. He's talking about when he returns to this earth, when he comes down to Jerusalem to establish his kingdom.

Remember Lot's wife. Now, why should we remember Lot's wife? Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it. And whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

Remember Lot's wife. We don't even know her name. All I can call her in this message is Mrs. Lot, because we don't even know her name.

We don't know where she came from. We don't know when Lot got married. We don't know a great deal about her, but we know this.

She looked back, and this one event in history has recorded for us a warning. Don't look back. Because she looked back, she was judged.

And because she was judged, she's a warning to us. Now, there's one word that describes Lot's wife, and that's the word worldly. She was a woman of the world.

As I said, we don't know when Lot married her. Apparently, Lot was not married when he left to come with Abraham to go to the promised land. We don't know where or when or how.

It's possible that she was one of the ladies of the land, and Lot married her. We don't know. But this we do know.

She was a woman who was worldly. Now, whenever you use the word worldly, people respond in different ways. The mature Christian, the mature, honest Christian says, oh, yeah, I know what you mean by worldly.

That's somebody who loves the things of this world, who lives for the rewards of this world, whose great concern is the pleasure of this world. A worldly person is somebody who, when the Lord Jesus does return, it's going to interrupt their plans. They just haven't got that marked in the book.

They have everything else marked, but not that. A worldly person does not have to be an adulterous person, a drunk, a dope addict. The mature Christian says, I know what you're talking about.

Worldliness is that attitude of mind that fixes your affection and your attention on things below, not things above. A spiritually minded person is one who looks at earth from heaven's point of view. A worldly minded person is one who looks at heaven from earth's point of view.

There's a big difference. But you mentioned the word worldly, and some compromising Christians say, define your terms. What do you mean by that? And they're always trying to move the line.

They're always trying to redefine things so that what was worldly yesterday really is not worldly today. Now, friends, all of us know what it is in our lives that keeps us from being the best Christians. We don't have to go up and down these rows and say, what do you think about worldliness? What do you think about? Everybody here tonight, everyone listening to my voice, knows the thing or the things in his life, her life, that keep us from being the best Christians, that keep us from praying as we should and reading the word as we should, witnessing as we should, rejoicing as we should, worshiping as we should, giving as we should.

And those things are worldly. Worldliness is an attitude of heart. John said, love not the world.

If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. And Lot's wife was a worldly woman. And Jesus said, remember Lot's wife.

There are four facts about Lot's wife that we ought to remember if we're going to be ready when Jesus comes. We Christians are looking for a day of rapture. That day of rapture is going to usher into this world a day of retribution.

We are looking for that day when we shall be translated out of this world into the next. But that day is going to usher in for this world a time of trouble and tribulation and judgment such as the world has never seen. And if God did not shorten those days, no one would survive.

Now, if you and I will remember four facts about Lot's wife, it may help us in our relationship to this present evil world. And it may help us in our preparation for when the Lord comes back. Fact number one, she had a worldly husband.

It's my conviction, but I can't prove it. But it's my conviction that the wife led the husband down, not the husband led the wife down. But this, I know, Lot was a worldly husband.

If anybody ever had an opportunity to be a spiritual man, it was Lot. You know, one of the greatest tragedies in life is the tragedy of lost opportunity. I think of this great city of Chicago with preachers coming and going, men of God.

We can turn the radio on and listen to them preach. People don't do it. We can go down to a bookstore and for $1.95 buy a paperback book, buy some good and godly writer and grow in grip.

People don't do it. Here at the Moody Church, we have prayer meetings on Monday night and prayer meetings on Wednesday night and prayer meetings on Friday night and prayer meetings on Sunday night. And I thank God for those who attend.

But by and large, people aren't interested. And when the rapture takes place and we stand before the Lord, we're going to have to confess the sin of wasted opportunity. Lot wasted his opportunity.

God, the God of glory, appeared to Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees and said, Get out. Get out. Go to the land I'm going to show you.

And so Abraham took Lot with him. And Lot had the privilege of walking with the man who was the friend of God. I thank God for those rare opportunities I've had in my ministry of being able to be with great men of God.

I recall in my first church. I was a budding pastor trying to learn what this was all about, and I heard that Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter was just about 10, 15 miles away from us, maybe not that much. And I had that I had the audacity to phone him.

This was about 22 years ago. Right about now. And I said, Dr. Baxter, I'm just a young beginning preacher, but I've heard you preach and I've read your books.

Could I have a half an hour of your time? Now, he could have said, I'm busy. He said, my brother, come out. And so I went out to the motel where he was staying, and he didn't just give me a half hour of his time.

We talked for an hour. He said, could you come back tomorrow? I said, I certainly could. He said, come back.

And so I went back the next day and we talked some more about Bible study. Then an interesting thing happened. He said, I see that you have an automobile.

I said, yes. He said, would you teach me how to drive? I said, you don't know. He said, in Great Britain, we don't have to know how to drive.

We don't need automobiles in Great Britain. I said, I'd be happy to. So I had the joy that whole week of teaching him how to drive and being with him.

And all the things he said to me, the hints and the suggestions and the inspiration. From just being for a week with that man of God. I think of Dr. Walter Wilson.

Oh, what a blessing he was to us. And how many times at conferences you could walk up to him and say, Dr. Wilson, can I have five minutes of your time? And he was available. Because so many great men of God have tried to help me.

Whenever a pastor has called me or stopped me, I've always tried to be available. Because I know what others have done for me. And Lot had the privilege of walking with Abraham, being at the altar with Abraham, listening to the word of God from Abraham.

And you'd think Lot would have developed into being a marvelous, marvelous man. But he didn't. He didn't.

He failed. He failed miserably. When he started walking with Abraham, Lot had a tent and an altar.

And he was looking for that city. These are the marks of a pilgrim. Abraham was a pilgrim.

You can always tell a pilgrim by his tent. And you can always tell a pilgrim by his altar. And you can always tell a pilgrim by his vision.

He's looking for that city. And Lot would say to Abraham, what are we looking for? Where are we going? You're so wealthy. Why do you live in tents? Oh, he said, I'm looking for that city that God's building.

Then something happened to Lot. Lot went down to Egypt. In Genesis chapter 12, he goes down to Egypt with Abraham.

And he got a taste of Egypt. He comes back in chapter 13. And you discover that Lot in verse 5 has flocks and herds and tents, but no altar.

And then Lot loses his vision. Lot has to separate from Abraham. And he looks towards Sodom and pitched his tent towards Sodom.

And then he lost his tent. He moved into Sodom. And so he lost his tent and he lost his altar and he lost his vision.

And there he is living in Sodom. And God warned him. Have you discovered in your Christian life that when you get backslidden, God spanks you? Have you discovered that's a great experience? To know that God loves us too much to let us do whatever we want to do.

And God came down and said, Lot, you shouldn't be in Sodom. And God started a war. God allowed some kings to fight each other.

And they took the goods and they took the people of Sodom and kidnapped them. And a fellow came running into Abraham's camp and said, Abraham, Lot has been taken. And Abraham got his army together.

And they went and rescued Lot. You ever notice that the backslider doesn't go out and rescue the godly man. It's the godly man goes out and rescues the backslider.

And when Abraham showed up and delivered Lot and his family from those soldiers, Lot should have said, oh, Uncle Abraham, I'm backslidden. Pray for me. I should be with you.

I shouldn't be. He went right back to Sodom. She had a worldly husband.

Now, let me say a word to you girls who aren't married yet. Don't marry a worldly-minded man. He may have a great deal materially to offer you, but that doesn't amount to that much.

You marry somebody who's walking with God. You marry somebody who knows how to pray. Someone who has an altar.

Someone who lives in a tent. He's not fixed to this world. He's singing occasionally, this world is not my home.

I'm just passing through. Marry somebody who's got the kind of vision that's looking forward to heaven. Lot wasn't that kind of a man.

Lot's wife had a worldly husband. Let me say a word to the husbands. Watch out.

Watch out. When a husband starts to backslide, he gets away from the altar. He gets away from walking with God.

Things start to happen in the family. And this family went to pieces because of a husband who was backslidden. Now, I'm not preaching on remember Lot.

I'm preaching on remember Lot's wife. But Lot's wife had a worldly husband. Now, there are many things that Christian husbands may not be able to give to their families.

But there's one thing they can give to them that's worth everything. The blessing of the will of God. And I tell you girls, to have a husband who knows how to pray.

Who knows how to discover the will of God. Who has the courage to do the will of God. Children and young people to have a father who's not worldly minded.

Worrying about all the things of this world. But who walks with God and who knows how to pray for you and be an example to you. That's worth everything.

It's tragic to see the way Christian homes are falling apart these days because of worldliness. She was married to a worldly husband. If I'm speaking to a husband right now who's not being a faithful, spiritual leader in the home, shame on you.

If you're not spending time in the word, if you're not praying for and with your family, if you're not establishing in your home an atmosphere of heaven on earth, shame on you. You're missing one of the greatest blessings in all of life. Fact number two, not only did she have a worldly husband, she had a worldly home.

Their home was worldly. She was a worldly woman and Lot was a worldly man. Now, Peter tells us, 2 Peter chapter 2, Peter tells us that Lot's righteous soul was vexed with the godless behavior of the people in Sodom.

I should think so. I should think so. Now, let me make it very clear that their home was not worldly because they were in Sodom.

Daniel was in Babylon. His home wasn't worldly. Joseph was in Egypt.

His home wasn't worldly. We have missionaries who are planted in the midst of corruption and godlessness. Their homes aren't worldly.

Mrs. Lot's home wasn't worldly because she was in Sodom. It was because Sodom was in there. Sodom was in their home.

I suppose the city of Chicago has its share of sin. I was in a Canadian city recently and was absolutely shocked at the way one area had changed to become just nothing but a strip of lust and pornography. Our cities have their share of wickedness.

The sin for which Sodom was famous is in the city of Chicago. In fact, very few people anymore even blush when this sin is mentioned. People are writing books about it and saying this is what I am.

They're coming out. Athletes are doing it and artists are doing it and other people are doing it. They're just proud of it.

The problem was not that their home was in Sodom. The problem was that Sodom was in their home. It's the thing Dr. Ironside often said.

You can't stop the boat from being in the water, but you better keep the water out of the boat. And she had a worldly home. I was turning the pages of my Bible in preparation for this message and I could not help but contrast Genesis 18 where God came down to see Abraham and Genesis 19 where the angels went down to see Lot.

Absolute contrast. Now, I'll not read these long chapters to you. You people are Bible students.

You remember them. In chapter 18, Abraham is sitting at the door of his tent. In chapter 19, Lot is sitting in the city gate.

You know what that meant? He was one of the aldermen of the city. He now had a position with the government. Perhaps Lot said, you know, if I get into government, I can clean this place up.

I'm glad for Christians who are called to government and I'm glad for whatever good they can do, but he sacrificed a great deal to accomplish nothing. Abraham was at his tent door. He was a pilgrim.

Lot was in the city gate. He was a powerful politician. When the Lord came down to see Abraham, it was noon.

It was light because Abraham was walking in the light. When he came down to see Lot, it was evening because Lot was walking in the darkness. In chapter 18, the Lord Jesus and two angels came to see Abraham.

The Lord Jesus felt at home with Abraham. In chapter 19, it was just the two angels who went to see Lot. The Lord Jesus didn't even go to visit Lot.

He didn't feel at home there. In chapter 18, you find Abraham hastening. Verse 2, he ran to meet the guests.

Verse 6, he hastened to tell Sarah to bake some bread. Verse 7, he ran to get some meat from the herd. He hastened to dress it.

In chapter 18, you have this old man running to do the Lord's will. In chapter 19, you have a young man lingering, arguing. In chapter 18, the Lord came with a message of joy.

Your wife's going to have a baby. In chapter 19, they came with a message of judgment. Get out of here.

The city is going to be destroyed. In chapter 18, Abraham had influence. In chapter 18, Abraham stands before the Lord and prays for the city of Sodom.

I wonder if anybody prays for our cities today. They curse the city. I wonder if they pray for the city.

Abraham, in chapter 18, draws near to the Lord. He says, are you going to destroy the righteous with the wicked? He was praying for Lot. Praying for Lot's family.

If you find 50, 40, 30, if you find 10. In chapter 18, Abraham was a man of influence. In chapter 19, Lot had no influence.

No influence over his wife. No influence over his children. No influence over his in-laws.

No influence over the city. Daniel was in Babylon, but he was a man of influence. He was walking with God.

Joseph was in Egypt, and he was a man of influence. He was walking with God. Paul went to Corinth, but he was a man of influence because he was walking with God.

Lot went to Sodom, and he had no influence for anything that really counted. If it comes to the place where I have no spiritual influence over my own family, I have loss. In chapter 18, the result was joy.

A baby is going to be born. In chapter 19, the result is sorrow and agony and judgment. And of course, a couple of babies were born there too, but they turned out to be the enemies of God, the Moabites and the Ammonites.

Do you see it? Oh, do you see it tonight? Not only did Lot's wife have a worldly husband, but she had a worldly home. I've never been able to piece together all of the details. There's some indication that they had two daughters who were married, because it talks about his son's in-law, and then two daughters that weren't married, or it's possible the two daughters who weren't married were going to marry these other boys.

I don't know. I've usually felt, I've often felt, that there were two married girls and two sons-in-law, that's four, and Lot and Mrs. Lot, that's six, and two unmarried daughters, that's eight. You know, if Lot had won his family and two of his neighbors to the Lord, God would have spared Sodom.

That's interesting. Abraham was sure that Lot had at least won his family and that Lot had at least won a couple of his neighbors, but he hadn't. You know why? He had a worldly home.

He had daughters that were worldly. He had standards that were worldly. When the two angels came to visit Lot, they said, we'll stay out here in the street, and Lot said, don't stay in the street.

Whatever you do, don't stay out there because this crowd is wicked. And then when the crowd came beating at the door, we want these men, bring those men out, because they wanted to have immorality with them. They wanted to perform sexual acts with them.

You know what Lot said? Lot said, I've got two daughters here, take them. Can you imagine? Can you imagine a man who had walked with Abraham a man who was supposed to be a saved man sacrificing his daughters to the appetites of the world? Many a Christian father is doing that, sacrificing his children to the appetites of the world. She had a worldly home.

Thirdly, at the foundation of everything, she had a worldly heart. You say, pastor, how do you know she had a worldly heart? I'll tell you how I know. Your eyes see what your heart loves.

Did you know that? Jesus said, the lamp of the body is the eye. That's where the light comes in. The lamp of the body is the eye.

And if your eye is single, then your whole body is full of light. If you're single-minded, you're not double-minded. If you have your eyes fixed on the things of the Lord, looking unto Jesus.

If your eye is single, then your whole body is full of light. But if you're double-minded, if you've got double vision, then the darkness comes in. Your outlook determines your outcome.

Your eyes see what your heart loves. Illustration? Do I have to illustrate this? You're out at O'Hare Field waiting for a loved one to fly home and there may be 2,000 people milling around out there and the minute you see her or him, that's it. You can always pick your loved ones out from the crowd.

You can always pick out a loved one's voice. Illustration? I love books. I always see bookstores.

I can be driving down, there's a bookstore. Now, perhaps you women, you may love yard goods. You enjoy sewing.

Always find a yard goods store. Gentlemen, you may be sportsmen. Always find a sports store.

You may be an automobile enthusiast. You can always find an automobile lot. You see, what the heart loves, the eyes see.

Our loving and our looking go together. And the things we don't love, we don't see. God said to Lot and to his family, get out of here.

Get out. And don't look back. Now, it sounds like he was very mean.

Oh, no, it was a test. I give Lot credit. He didn't look back.

His wife was behind him. It's too bad she wasn't next to him. Too bad he didn't really have a hold of her and say, come on, let's get moving.

She was behind him. He didn't see that she turned and looked back. And they got to that cave and found out that mother wasn't there.

She had a worldly heart. We commonly, and rightly so, identify Sodom with sexual immorality. The word Sodomite has gotten into our dictionary.

But there were other problems in Sodom. Did you know that? Did you ever read Ezekiel chapter 16? There's a little statement in Ezekiel 16 that talks about Sodom. Ezekiel chapter 16, verse 49.

Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread. Abundance of idleness were in her and in her daughters. That means the other cities of the plain.

Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. She had a worldly heart. Pride, love not the world due to the things that are in the world.

All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. Pride, fullness of bread, plenty to eat, abundance of idleness. You get pride and affluence and idleness together, you're going to have immorality.

Every nation that has ever had affluence and idleness and pride has ended up with immorality. She had a worldly heart. That's where worldliness really centers in the heart.

Love, not the world. What do we love tonight? What do we love tonight? How much do we have to have to be happy? What could God take away from us? Sometimes the father has to come down to the vine and prune away some things. She had a worldly heart.

I can't help but contrast Lot's wife with Sarah. Now, Sarah had her faults. Sarah doubted some of the things God said, but Sarah was a godly woman.

And there wasn't worldliness in her heart, there was faith in her heart. Finally, not only did she have a worldly husband and a worldly home and a worldly heart, she had a worldly hope. Her hope was in the world.

Her hope was in the city. Her hope was in her bank account and her status and her social engagement. Her hope was there.

Oh, my heart goes out to people whose hope is in the world. I've heard somebody say recently, boy, it's as sure as the world. If anything is unsure, it's the world.

You can't depend on the world. She had a worldly hope. And because she had a worldly hope, everything she lived for went up in smoke.

He that doeth the will of God abideth forever. I don't know how much she had. There's nothing wrong with having a lovely house if you've got a lovely home to put in it.

Nothing wrong with owning property. Many of us do if you're doing it to the glory of God. Nothing wrong with being president of the garden club if you're doing it to the glory of God.

Nobody is saying that Christians cannot minister in the city. Many of us are trying to do so, but our hope is not there. We sing in one of our marvelous songs, My hope is in the Lord who gave himself for me and paid the price for all my sins on Calvary.

Because her hope was in the world, she could not control herself and she had to turn around and see where everything was going that she'd lived for. You know where it was going? It was going up in smoke. Now, let's not be critical of her.

Let's look into the mirror ourselves. If Jesus Christ came today, how much would you and I leave behind? You say, well, everything. No, it doesn't have to be.

It doesn't have to be. Have you given your home to the Lord? Have you given your house to the Lord? Are you using it for his glory? Have you given your automobile to the Lord? You've given your children to the Lord? You turned your library over to the Lord? Is your business the Lord's? You see, when you live like that, doing the will of God day after day, then you keep sending it on ahead. And then no matter what happens to the material things, the spiritual things last forever.

Paul makes a statement, a frightening statement, a frightening statement in 1 Corinthians when he warns the Corinthians not to get involved with the things of the world. Listen to this. 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 32.

But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord. Why? That we should not be condemned with the world. You see, God chastened Lot.

God had him captured as a prisoner of war. And God spanked him. And God said, Lot, I don't want you to be condemned with the world.

Lot went right back. It's a series of steps down, isn't it? Friendship with the world. Love the world.

Spotted by the world. Conformed to the world. Condemned with the world.

And the last scene you find is the whole family going to peace as Mrs. Lot killed on the plane. She turns into a pillar of salt. The same ingredients that were condemning the city killed her.

And Lot and his two single daughters go up into a cave. The last thing we see of Abraham is this. The sun is coming up.

At the beginning of the day, Abraham goes out to have his devotions. To stand before the Lord. And he just sees the smoke coming up.

And he's praying. Oh, has Lot been delivered? Has Lot been delivered? Apparently, God couldn't find 10 righteous people. Was Lot delivered? Yes, Lot was delivered.

Not for Lot's sake. For Abraham's sake. I wonder how many times God has delivered me.

Not because of me. But because of a godly grandfather who prayed for me. Or great-grandfather.

Or Sunday school teacher. Or pastor. And so the last thing you see of Abraham in this scene.

He's standing in the light. The sun is coming up. And the light is shining upon Abraham.

The last thing you see of Lot. He's in the darkness. Committing incest with his two daughters.

Getting drunk. And the result. The Ammonites and the Moabites.

The enemies of God. Oh, you say it can't happen to us. Really? Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

She had a worldly husband. Who did not help her at all to become a spiritual woman. She had a worldly home.

Did not help her children at all to become spiritual people. She had a worldly heart. She herself was not spiritual.

She had a worldly hope. And it went up in smoke. The song is not in our book.

I wish it were. Take the world. But give me Jesus.

Can you say that tonight? We used to sing down south. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus.

No turning back. No turning back. The cross before me.

The world behind me. No turning back. No turning back.

In the days I attended the Swedish Covenant Church. We often sang if I gain the world. But not the Savior.

Were my life worth living for a day? You don't hear much about worldliness these days. You hear about lifestyle. Well, that's my lifestyle.

I think that word lifestyle covers up a multitude of sins. People think they can do anything they want to do as Christians. What's my lifestyle? Is it God's lifestyle? Be not conformed to this world.

But be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The Lord Jesus said, remember Lot's wife. She's a warning against worldliness.

And we need that warning today. May I say a closing word to those of you who may have never trusted Christ. The only reason that God did not send that judgment on Sodom sooner was because Lot was in the city.

As poor a believer as Lot was, his presence in that city made it impossible for God to judge. You know why God has not sent judgment down upon Chicago? Because there are Christians in this city. He cannot send his wrath upon his own children.

But when we're gone, watch out. The angels got a hold of them and said, get out of here. We can't do anything until you're out.

And one of these days, the cup of iniquity in the city of Chicago is going to be full. And God's going to say, I'm sick and tired of it. And not just Chicago, but Los Angeles and Berlin and London and the whole world.

The iniquity is just going to increase. And God's going to say, the time is ripe. And he's going to call his children home.

And then he's going to pour judgment down upon these cities and upon this world. If you're not saved, you'll be here. The only reason God has not sent judgment is because we are here.

When we're gone, watch out. As weak as we are, watch out. As failing as we are, we're still holding back the judgment of God.

And some of you here tonight need to come and give your heart to Christ. Turn your back on the world and its sin and its folly and its judgment and come and say, the world behind me, the cross before me, I want to give my heart to Jesus. And there are some Christians here tonight who need to get serious about godly living.

Who need to move away from that life of compromise and no influence and no tent and no altar and no prayer and get back with Abraham, the friend of God. The friend of the world was Lot. The friend of God was Abraham.

Lot got what the world offered him. Abraham got what God offered him. I'll take God's offers any day.

Perhaps some here tonight need to get right with God and say, I've been worldly. I've been arguing about it. I've been compromising.

I've been excusing it. I've been using other people as my excuse. But starting now, you can take the world, but I want Jesus.

Let's pray. Father, when we realize that the world crucified Christ, we can see how hateful this world system really is. Blind, Christless, hopeless.

Oh, God, thank you for delivering us from it. I pray for those here tonight who have never been saved, that they might come and trust Christ before it's too late. I pray for believers, oh God, who are tempted to get back into the world.

Father, help us to remember Lot's wife. Help us to be consistent and consecrated. And no matter where you put us for ministry and living, help us to be faithful.

Speak to every heart now, I pray, and accomplish your will in our lives. For Jesus' sake, amen.