Building Godly Families (Part 4)

Dr. Michael you sat also from his father God in the name of the precious son Jesus your son, we come to you, trusting you believing you that even though you have not promised to keep us from the valley of shadow of death, but you promised that you will walk in it with us so we thank you for that. Father I pray for every trembling heart upright for every troubled heart upright that the peace of God that passes understanding, will feel the hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Father I pray that we would not waste this crisis by just waiting for it to be over, but that we learn what you have for us in the crisis so that we might grow in Christ and regrown the knowledge of Christ.

Father, help us to reach out to the lost and to remind them that God is a God of power. My and that he is a God in control and that he will use whatever crisis so we're in to bring glory to himself, and bless his children. Father, thank you that our eyes on Jesus because we know this is not our eternal home and we heading home upgraded as we traveled in as sojourners in this life that we would walk with you, trusting you work for you within our eyes out of our eternal home helpless to focus on you in these difficult days for with writers in the mighty name of Jesus.

Amen and amen and amen. Welcome to leading the way with Dr. Michael you sent celebrating more than 30 years of ministry proclaiming the gospel, discipling believers and helping those suffering for their faith in difficult parts of the world. We've all seen small unwise decisions of today lead to bigger and more destructive decisions and lifestyles of tomorrow.

Next on leading the way. A biblical example of how small steps of disobedience lead to destruction. It's a look at the life of not Abraham's nephew and how his journey is an example for you today. He announced Dr. Michael you set sharing a personal journey as he begins today's leading the way it was about three years after I have committed my life to the Lord that I went through what theologians call backsliding experience. I like the word backsliding because truly, if you're not going up you're going down.

It's that simple. There is no standing still in the Christian life, and I had to say I had to limit the very hardware the very difficult way, but through that experience God taught me a lot of things. Oh yes 00. During that time I kept going to church. But my heart was called toward God. My heart was called toward God's word. My heart was called for Christians.

My heart was called toward spiritual walk of any type. And that is why I know there are many Christians backslide right in the pews in the church and for a period of 18 months, I sought to do my own thing. I got angry with God. When my mother died and so I blamed God for all kinds of things I've never despised God know I've never done that. But I had a cold love toward him. Some of you are going through that experience right now, for whatever reason. Backsliding never happens overnight. It begins with taking baby steps. Slowly but surely my body was going to the church.

But my heart was far from the Lord, my heart was firmly established in the world and eventually of course I was in the deep waters of the world and that of course until my boat hit the rock and I walk up at God's mourners bench early in my life. The Lord taught me some very powerful lessons during my time in the wilderness first that all of us every one of us. I don't care how much you claim to love God.

Everyone of us is susceptible to the subtle temptation of the world, the flesh and the devil. Everyone of us in the second lesson is this, that the temptation does not come at once. It is a constant thing.

It is extremely slow busy. I am convinced from the language of the Scripture that the serpent did not comment didn't even leave immediately fell for it, but it was day in and day out day in and day out, look at this and putting that shoddy one in front of her face and the sad thing is this every true Christian, every born-again believer. Every person who was saved from eternal hell to eternal heaven must be daily on their guard regarding the little bit of sin all yes us a little bit of sins that are respectable in our society that we don't take notice of them. Let me give you a warning that little bit of sin does not stay a little bit of sin for very long. It soon going to become a little bit of mixing lot was a man who began with a little bit of sin, and he ended up in a whole lot of trouble. He ended up in a whole lot of big sins lot was a man who began was taking baby steps toward sin, and he ended up swimming in it.

I wanted to listen carefully. Please because lot is an example of a Christian who became waterway as an example of a Christian who became halfhearted about his faith. A Christian who used all of the right words and yet rationalized covetousness as good a Christian who puts Christians spin on a blatant sin a Christian who is drunk with covetousness and yet claims the sobriety of serving God. Let me tell you a couple things about Mark before I get to tell you more about where he was number one. He was Abraham's nephew Abraham, that man of faith. The man that the Bible spoke of that he looked forward to the day of Jesus 2000 years before Christ, that the man of faith who trusted God with all his heart. He had a nephew named La he traveled with his uncle. They went to Egypt.

Together they wandered away from the Lord together and they come back together and he saw the dealings of God in the life of his uncle and his own life. The second thing you need to know about law is that he took some baby steps toward greed and selfishness and he ended up in a disaster. Please follow these steps with me closely I'm going to show them to you from the Scripture. I am not making them up.

They are in chronological order, and they are in the word of God. So the first step is this the Bible said lot looked toward Sodom. Turn in your Bibles a mark in your Bibles. Genesis 1310 he looked toward Sodom and some of course has become to be as simple of godlessness, symbol of perversion symbol of all fingers worldly without understanding I wanted to concentrate with me. The first step was that he looked toward Sodom listen law.

Obviously, a man who knew how to use sanctimonious drivel you really did, and if you look toward Sodom.

But he didn't go in there and as if to say, well, women at a man like me would not live among these people know better than that I cannot be in that place. This is not a place for a believer to be. This is not a situation for a believer to be.

I want to go there I just wouldn't settle there too classy for these people over and I'm just going to take a look.

I'm just going to take a peek. He probably said to himself as I want stay for very long.

I look from a distance. I will not be part of this I would just look I want do anything wrong.

I will keep my distance on see what's going on you know once you look for to long. Whatever it is you looking at not leave you to figure that out once you look for too long. The second step is imminent is absolutely imminent in the second step.

The Bible said it was in Genesis 1312 that he pitched his tent toward Sodom. Some of the translation says near Sodom it's eminent. I want to say lot my body. Wendy just going to Sodom wanted you just call it what why don't you make it easy on yourself and just move. Oh no no no no brothers of don't you understand I'm not going to be part of the skull John Allen live for the Lord is the sanctimonious drivel you know a brother use. If you don't understand.

Sodom is a very wicked place, classy guy.

I mean brother use. If you don't understand the Scripture said about being unequally yoked with unbelievers to do that all brother use if I know I know the Bible said all you know I don't want to be like them, I'm just going to be there on business number to get out the reason I know this is because the devil took or something else that the moment you pitch your tent toward Sodom or near Sodom, there is 99.99% of a chance for you to be within the city in a very short period of time, my beloved friends. I pray the spirit of God will take those words inadequate as they might be and just translate them into a heart imprint about your hearts, because I believe genuinely this is a word from the Lord of a warning to some of you. I don't know who but the Lord clearly made that clear to me in my prayer in the morning.

Is this whatever file you're playing with. Whether it is the business deal that stinks up to high heaven. Whether it is that addiction to pornography 100 set addiction to alcoholism whether a set addiction to drugs. Don't fool yourself by thinking that you only can get near Sodom, but not stay there. Don't fool yourself by thinking that like the moss you going to fly close to the flame but do not going to get burned for as surely as the devil is real and it doesn't matter how long it takes. I can tell you that the third step will be living inside of Sodom. Look at step number three Genesis 1412 where to find lot in the very heart of the city of the Bible doesn't tell us how he got there. The Bible doesn't tell us when the movers and the moving vans came in and shipped his furniture and took him inside, from nearby to the city itself. The Bible does not tell us what an incredible real estate deal that he found in Sodom that made him move in the Bible doesn't tell us all of this I believe with all my heart that the Bible is telling us that if and when you pitch your tent near Sodom. It is as good as moving into Sodom and the fourth in the final step was the law become part of the furniture in Sodom how don't know that Genesis 19 one.

Step number four.

The Bible said he was sitting at the gateway of Sodom. The gateway in the Bible in the Old Testament, particularly those who sit at the gateway, not anybody can go and sit in the gateway. Only the city Council members would sit at the gateway, only the ruling elders considered the gateway to gain such prominence in this in this new place. He agrees palms.

He knew how to get along with people was a clever businessman and before long he was elected to the city Council asked what he sitting at the gate of Sodom ON a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, is in the great good is now the God has his witness inside the wicked thing about Michael God has a mission to this corrupt place is not God, what are you talking about God has his man to lead others to himself God. Now the problem is lot was nothing of the sort wanted to do something Locke had already abandoned his high calling way before he got into Sodom. Someone once said, you know it's a lot easier to make a buck to make a difference and I couldn't agree more. Christians are supposed to uphold the vision of swimming upstream of culture of swimming upstream of the pressure of the world, but so many Christians are floating downstream on the yacht and when the chips are down, integrity and biblical principles will get sold not by guilt, and when that happened, my beloved friends with me tell you is a warning from the word of God. History tells us that is just a matter of a short time for the yacht hits the rocks. The four steps probably took years to complete. There is no telling. I don't know the Scripture doesn't spell it out but it it's a period of time. Those four steps started with baby steps. Then they got accelerated slots problem you telling us of God's people can't live in the city of man. Please don't misunderstand me. That's not what I'm saying at all was that Christian should not rise to a position of leadership in the secular culture the secular society, absolutely not. That's not what I'm saying I wanted to listen very carefully. The problem was inside. Lots. The problem was Lockhart. The problem was. Lots mother's the problem was. Lots real intentions to see Sodom was inside La Puente before lot was inside Sodom wanted to look at the conclusion God is not looking for perfection on the first one to say, but for the grace of God there go I.

But God is looking not for rationalization is looking for repent as what God is looking for is looking for men and women who know how to confess and how to repent and how to turn. Don't think I'm preaching legalism. Not at all.

I'm preaching the grace of God I get so overwhelmed by the grace of God I can't talk. Sometimes because, but for his grace. I would be standing here lot who has gone down this four steps was offering his daughters to be raped by the homosexuals and it is of goodness of God that the homosexuals refused to rape his daughters. How can you contribute as a believer by the nonbelievers. In fact, I can tell you right now you know it from the word of God that if it was not for his uncle Abraham up there in the mountains, interceding, crying his heart out crying his eyes out to God pleading with God pleading mercy from God.

Absolutely literally forcing God's hand about me that in the negative sense in his intercession before God. If it wasn't for uncle Abraham's intercession walk of his family would've been destroyed in Sodom, my friend somebody's praying for you somebody's praying for you. Don't keep on attempting God don't keep on attempting God. But the Bible said that the Angels, they literally had to yank him and his wife and his daughter.

They had to yank the best of the will really miss that yank them by the arm and get them out of there and even when he got there did not want to go to the mountains.

He wanted to go to another little city was bargaining with the Angels is a man I don't want to be up there were nobody knows not want to go there to another business deal that we got this little town just to get up to the Mauser and again but but for the intercession of his uncle. He said okay you go there because of the grace of God is going to be extended to you because of Abraham, not Christian.

Listen to me. Please. You cannot escape the payments of your choices is not that you going to lose your salvation.

You know I don't teach the but you cannot escape the payments for your choices. Though the checks might be late in the mail. The payments will always get there Christian please listen if you are not willing Sodom and Sodom is winning you for God's sake, for your sake, for your family sake get out Christian please listen if your possessions are possessing you for God sake, for your sake and for your family sake get out.

Probably some of you saying, well, how do I know that I have pitch my tent toward Sodom and I'm glad you asked because I'm anxious to tell you there are four indicators write them down.

If you have a pen for indicators. I would tell you that you have moved close to Sodom whatever Sodom is to you because Sodom to you might not be Sodom to somebody else. When I besought him to me whatever Sodom do you is you know it, and God knows it and you and the secrecy between you and God know what it is number one you develop a preoccupation with possessions and things and accumulation not just a matter of having things. Don't misunderstand me, please. That's not what I'm saying but being obsessed with them. This has nothing to do with how much you have, you can have a million A dollar it makes no difference usually is not the amount the issue is this, and it has everything to do with your attitude toward things. Second indicator when you are worrying about your possessions rather than managing them.

Your tent has been pitched close Sodom third indicator envying others or comparing yourself with others is a dangerous signal for you pitching your tent close to Sodom fourth indication in gratitude in your heart bursting gratitude to God in gratitude to others focusing on what you don't have when you have lost your joy in giving all these are indicators that your tent has been pitched very close to Sodom before you get sucked in by those who have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying something to consider are your decisions leading you toward destruction like Claxton.

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