Warning Signs | Kyle Idleman

Well, hello, Pando family. Welcome to Southeast Christian Church. We're located in Louisville, Kentucky. We've got campuses all across the Louisville area, Southern Indiana, and Central Middle Tennessee, and we are thrilled to be wherever you are, and thank you so much for being a part of it. As a matter of fact, we love hearing from you all so much. We get dozens of letters every week, and you can write to us. Check out the description there, and while you're there, go ahead and click subscribe and join the 32,000 other folks that have subscribed to us inside the Pando app because when you do, it shows up in the feed all the content that we like to give to support you on your faith journey, and so make sure you hit subscribe. Today, we're in the middle of a sermon series. Actually, we're in the middle of the book of Genesis. We have our senior pastor, Kyle Idelman, and he is preaching through one of the most difficult sections and part of the story of Genesis today on the Sodom and Gomorrah and their destruction, and I promise you, Kyle does it in just a powerful way that you're gonna be sitting there and you're gonna be thinking about your life, and he's gonna call this message warning signs, and I promise you, the warning signs that showed up for Lot, his family,

and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are gonna be applicable to you, and you're gonna be looking in at your life and seeing the same thing. I couldn't help but think that, so it's a powerful message from our senior pastor. You're gonna wanna check it out. Stick around to the very end because after today's service, I'll be up with some specific ways that you can stay engaged through the Pando app from Southeast. We're thrilled that you're here. Welcome to Southeast Christian Church. Let's worship together. ♪ Oh yeah ♪ ♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey ♪ ♪ For the sun that wakes us up, we praise You ♪ ♪ For the breath inside our lungs, we praise You ♪ ♪ For Your never-ending love, we praise You ♪ ♪ It's what You're worthy of, baby ♪ ♪ For the ways You changed our lives, we praise You ♪ ♪ For the ways we can't describe, we praise You ♪ ♪ For the millions more to find, we praise You ♪ ♪ It's what You're worthy of ♪ We lift our voices together this morning. ♪ This is what You're worthy of, praise forever ♪ ♪ All the good You've given us cannot be measured ♪ ♪ You alone deserve it all, our lives surrender ♪ ♪ Jesus, take every part, it's what You're worthy of ♪

Hallelujah! Sing for the greatest sacrifice. ♪ For the greatest sacrifice, we praise You ♪ ♪ For the grave You left behind, we praise You ♪ ♪ For the resurrection life, we praise You ♪ ♪ It's what You're worthy of ♪ ♪ For the day You will return, we praise You ♪ ♪ For the justice You will serve, we praise You ♪ ♪ In heaven and on earth, we praise You ♪ ♪ It's what You're worthy of, oh ♪ ♪ This is what You're worthy of, sing praise, praise forever ♪ ♪ All the good You've given us, cannot be measured ♪ ♪ You alone deserve it all, our lives surrender ♪ ♪ Jesus, take every part, it's what You're worthy of, oh ♪ ♪ From glory to glory, beginning to ending ♪ ♪ You're holy, You're worthy, so we'll keep on singing ♪ ♪ From glory to glory, beginning to ending ♪ ♪ You're holy, You're worthy, so we'll keep on singing ♪ Oh Lord, we magnify Your name. ♪ Let it all ♪ ♪ This is what You're worthy of ♪ Sing praise! Praise! ♪ All the good You've given us ♪ ♪ Cannot be measured ♪ ♪ You alone deserve it all ♪ ♪ Our lives are in that ♪ ♪ Jesus, take every part ♪ ♪ It's what You're worthy of ♪ ♪ This is what You're worthy of ♪

Praise forever! ♪ All the good You've given us ♪ ♪ Cannot be measured ♪ ♪ You alone deserve it all ♪ ♪ Our lives are in that ♪ ♪ Jesus, take every part ♪ ♪ It's what You're worthy of ♪ Hallelujah! ♪ It's what You're worthy of ♪ Church, we lift a shout of praise today to the Lord. He is worthy to be praised, amen. ♪ A thousand generations falling down to worship ♪ ♪ Sing the song of ages to the Lamb ♪ ♪ All who've gone before us, all who will reveal ♪ ♪ Sing the song of ages to the Lamb ♪ Oh, come on, declare His name, the highest. ♪ Your name, Your name, Your name, Your name, Your name ♪ ♪ Stands above it all, above it all, above it all, above it all ♪ ♪ All those who defend You, all powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name, it stands above them all ♪ ♪ And the angels cry, glory, glory to You, glory to You ♪ ♪ Oh, You lift them high, glory, glory to You, glory to You ♪ ♪ Oh, glory, glory to You, glory to You, glory to You ♪ ♪ If you've been forgiven, if you've been redeemed ♪ ♪ Sing the song forever to the Lamb ♪ If you walk in freedom, and if you bear His name ♪ Sing the song forever to the Lamb ♪ ♪ We'll sing the song forever and amen ♪ ♪ And the angels cry, holy, our creation Christ ♪ ♪ Holy, You are lifted high, holy, You're holy forever ♪

♪ Hear Your people sing, You are holy to the kingdom be ♪ ♪ Holy to the kingdom be, holy, You will always be ♪ ♪ Holy, You're holy forever, oh You're amazing, amazing ♪ ♪ Forever, oh You're amazing, amazing, amazing ♪ ♪ He's the high, You're amazing, He's the greatest, You're amazing ♪ ♪ He stands above them all, above all thrones ♪ ♪ And amends all powers and positions, You're amazing ♪ ♪ You're amazing, oh He stands above them all ♪ ♪ You're amazing, He's the high, You're amazing, He's the greatest, You're amazing ♪ ♪ He stands above them all, above all thrones ♪ ♪ And amends all powers and positions, You're amazing ♪ ♪ He stands above it all, in the angels' choir ♪ ♪ He is the Holy, of creation Christ ♪ ♪ The Holy, in unlimited high ♪ ♪ You're Holy, Holy forevermore ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Holy, to the king of kings ♪ ♪ Holy, you will always be ♪ ♪ Holy, you're holy forevermore ♪ ♪ You are, you will always be ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forevermore ♪ Amen, church family. You mind just holding your hands out like this, just in a posture to receive, a posture to just listen and soften your heart. We pray for us. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you that you are holy and set apart and you are far greater, far better, far high above anything in this world,

anything we may ever face. You are the God who is in control and we worship you. We bless you. Lord, as we hear from your word over these next few minutes, you have our heart, you have our attention, and we want to be holy as you are holy. In Jesus' name, we all agree and say, amen. You can be seated. We are making our way through Genesis. As we study this weekend, we're gonna see God's mercy and God's judgment on full display. One of the ways God often demonstrates his mercy to us is through warning signs. I don't know how you are when you see certain warning signs on the road. I tend to think that's not for me. I tend to think that's for all y'all. Like, I tend to see a warning sign and assume I'm somehow exempt from it. That is for less competent drivers than myself. Or I just get used to driving a certain path and if there's a warning sign there, I don't notice it because I've just gone down this path so often, the sign doesn't catch my attention. But one of the things I just want you to catch today in these next few minutes as we study God's word is that his mercy to you is often a warning sign that you've not noticed. I had a friend in high school, we'll call him Josh because that was his name and still is his name.

But Josh collected warning signs. Like, that was a hobby that now I recognize is aggressively illegal. But at the time, I thought it was just pretty cool. You walked into Josh's room and it looked like the Department of Transportation had had a yard sale and there's a stop sign above his bed and a railroad crossing sign and a dead end sign and a wrong way sign, even had a blasting zone ahead sign. And these were not knockoffs, these were not replicas, these were signs that Josh had stolen and hung up in his room. And I don't mean to give him a hard time for it, unless he's 50 years old somewhere and this is his house decor. Like, if he's continued to do this over the decades, Josh, if you're watching this, it's not right what you're doing. But I'm just assuming that was a teenage thing because there's something about a teenager that probably doesn't recognize the implications of something like that. They don't recognize that the reason a sign is warning people is because someone knows there's danger ahead and they care enough about the person who's coming to give them a heads up. There's mercy in a warning sign. And that's what we see in Genesis 19. It's one of the most intense, one of the most uncomfortable, but also one of the most theologically loaded chapters

of Scripture in the Bible. And one of the ways I wanna start off here is just acknowledging the discomfort of what we're gonna study together. Like, this is not the sermon that a preacher would look at and say, you know what would be great for after Mother's Day weekend, Sodom and Gomorrah. But that's where it lands for us as we're studying through the book of Genesis. And what I want you to hear before you read a single verse of this chapter is that this is not a chapter about a God who loves to destroy. Some people would try to package it that way. This is a chapter, it's a story about a God who warns out of mercy before he judges. It's a God who calls out before he closes the door. It's a God who remembers the faith. and extends mercy. And so, as we study this out of Genesis 18 and 19, the posture that we have is not looking back and saying, okay, what happened to Sodom? The posture we have would be, God, what are the warning signs in my life? In your mercy, how are you trying to get my attention that I need to be more sensitive towards? And so, the first thing that I want you to see as we get ready digging into this story is sometimes the warning sign isn't for you. Sometimes it's for someone else, and it's an invitation for you to pray for someone else.

Sometimes a warning sign you see, you're tempted to dismiss because you're like, well, that's not for me. But sometimes you're the person who's supposed to see it for someone else. That's what happens in Genesis 18. God's about to bring judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, and he lets Abraham in on this. He tells Abraham about the outcry from these cities, about the evil, about how sin has just overtaken the city, how it's a place of severe darkness and depravity, and that he's gonna destroy it. And when Abraham hears this, he starts doing this thing. It's kind of interesting. He starts negotiating with God like he's at a yard sale. He starts trying to talk God into not doing what God has said he's gonna do, which for some of us, we're like, well, is that even a thing? Well, if you read the story, verses 23 through and following. We'll just keep reading. Then Abraham approached God and said, will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the 50 righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing to kill the righteous with the wicked. Will not the judge of all the earth do right?

The Lord said, if I find 50 righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake. Then Abraham spoke up again and said, now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than 50? Doesn't say 45. What if it's five less than 50? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people? God says, if I find 45 there, I will not destroy it. Once again, Abraham spoke to God. What if only 40 are found there? He said, for the sake of 40, I will not do it. Then Abraham said, may the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if, what if there are only 30 there that can be found? And God said, I won't do it for the sake of 30. Abraham said, now that I've been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only 20 can be found there? God said, for the sake of 20, I will not destroy it. Then he said, may the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just one more, just one more time. What if only 10 can be found there? And God answered, for the sake of 10, I will not destroy it. And when the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left and Abraham returned home. Such a interesting interaction. It teaches us so much, I think,

about how intercession works. It's a word for some of those here today who are praying on behalf of other people. And you're wondering, does God hear me? Is it making a difference? It seems to. Abraham sees what's gonna happen to these people. They're not his people. It's not his home. Now he has his nephew, Lot, that lives there. And Abraham starts interceding for this whole city and God just keeps saying yes. Seems like God wants to say yes to these prayers. I kind of wonder why Abraham stopped at 10. I mean, he was on a roll. Why not just keep going? I think Abraham probably thought, well, Lot will have 10. I mean, Lot lives in that city and he's gonna have at least 10 people in his family that will be righteous. So he stops there. Abraham saw a warning sign. It wasn't for him. It was about someone else. And I want you to see this. His first instinct is not to judge. His first instinct is not to cancel. His first instinct is not to ghost the city. His first instinct is not to say, well, that's what you get and to virtue signal about how he is against

what's being done there. Like instead, what's his first instinct? His instinct is to pray for, to intercede on behalf of. An intercession is often standing in the gap between someone you love and the consequences they can't see. Intercession is often standing in the gap between someone you love and the consequences that they can't see. So when someone you love is headed for destruction and you see it and they don't, how do you respond? If you could, maybe think of somebody right now. Maybe get a name in your mind where you know it, like you can see it. Like how do you respond in that moment? There are a few ways I just want to identify that we tend to respond. Instead of starting with intercession, one way we tend to respond is what I would call the spectator. A spectator can. in the stands and they've got the view, like they can see what's happening, they know what place should be called, they know the direction the game should be going, but they're not in the game. Like, they have no skin in it, they're just kind of watching things unfold, but they don't, you know, they don't think it has anything to do with them, and so they don't really say anything. And if you ask them about that, they'd probably say, well, you know, it's not my problem, it's not my business, I'm just going to emotionally check out of this, and so they pull back, and it sounds maybe healthy, but oftentimes it's cowardly, it's passive, and it's apathetic. You're not sure what you should do, but you should at least intercede. So just check yourself here on your prayers. Like, what percentage

of your prayers are interceding for people who are on a destructive path? Now, intercession may be where it starts and not where it stops, but it should start with intercession, because intercession then gives you the wisdom on how to respond next. Another way that we tend to respond when somebody's on a destructive path is what I would call the puppeteer. The puppeteer loves the person. I think their intentions are genuinely good, but here's what's happened. Somewhere along the line, love quietly became control, and so the puppeteer tries to control the outcomes. The puppeteer decides that the way to handle this person and the path they're on is try to work the strings, and so they're working behind the scenes to control decisions, to control relationships, to control emotions, and so when someone comes to them and says, I'm struggling with this, or I'm feeling sad or anxious or angry, the puppeteer says, well, let me tell you all the reasons why you shouldn't feel that way, and they're trying to control the person. Here's the theological problem with being a puppeteer. You're often trying to do from the outside what God can only do from the inside. You've decided to put it on yourself to be God in this person's life or situation, which puts a tremendous amount of pressure on you and on that relationship, because when they don't do what you want them to do, it doesn't work, and what ends up happening oftentimes when you're the puppeteer is the person learns to pretend around you, but it's not real. Like, they know they can't be sad or anxious or struggling with something around you, and so around you, they pretend to be something they're not, and we end up trying to do on the outside what only God can do on the inside. Third response is the fixer. A fixer has a hard time watching someone they love suffer consequences, so every time consequence comes knocking at the door, the fixer answers it first, and they pay the bill, and they make the call, and they smooth it over, and they step in front of the fallout and absorb it for themselves, because they would rather take the hit than watch someone they love get hurt, and as a recovering fixer, I can tell you that this can be done out of love. Here's what the fixer doesn't realize. Sometimes the very thing God is using to wake someone up is the consequence that you keep protecting them from. Sometimes the very thing God is using to wake them up is a consequence that you keep protecting them from. Now, how do you know when it's helpful to step in? How do you know when it's helpful to do what's right? It comes from intercession. Like, if

you're praying for that person, if you're praying for wisdom, if you're praying for God's intervention, then you've got some wisdom to draw from. Like, okay, now is the time where you should say something. Now is the time where you can step in and protect, but it has to come from this place of intercession, and so that's what Abraham does. He prays, and he steps into this gap. He starts talking to God on behalf of this community, and can I just tell you something, and some of you who are doing this, you know it, this can be exhausting, because you are standing in the gap for someone, and they don't know it, and they don't appreciate it, and you're not sure it's going to make a difference. You're fighting a battle that no one sees. Don't give up. God hears your prayers. Play this out. If I could speak to some of you who are parents of teenagers. Your teenager is struggling. Maybe they're isolating in some ways that have started to concern you. Like, they go to their room, and they close the door, and their phone is hidden, and grades are dropping, and there's one-word answers if you're lucky. The spectator backs off, and calls it, I'm just going to give them space. I'm just respecting their independence, but in reality, you're afraid of how they're going to respond. You're afraid that if you say too much or do too much, that they'll reject you. There's the puppeteer who obsesses Obsessively checks every text and tracks every location. And I'm not saying there's not a place for that. I did those things. But there's a line where you start to feel more like a CIA agent. Like you obsessively follow it and you don't have, you've got lots of information but very little connection. And then there's the fixer who calls the school, schedules a counselor, rearranges everything on the outside to try to fix what's happening on the inside. The intercessor does something different. The intercessor starts with prayer. And then sits on the edge of their bed of their teenager and says something like this. I don't need you to talk right now, but I want you to know I see you. And I know something's going on. I just want you to know I'm not going anywhere.

I'm not exactly sure the best way to help you, but I do want you to know this. I am praying for you every single day and I am here for you. And then you get up and you walk out. Who do you have in your life right now who's headed toward danger? It's God bringing somebody to mind. Are there some warning signs you see that they can't see? I think of my friend that I'll call Jared. I could see his marriage falling apart, I think, before he could. Just little things, the way he talked about his wife, the way he started traveling more, there was just something. In a way that you know, but you can't fully explain it, you just know it's not good. And I look back on that, I recognize that I didn't really do anything about it. I mean, I prayed a little, but really vaguely, like, God be with Jared. I didn't call him. I didn't sit down with him. I didn't tell him I was interceding on his behalf. I didn't step into the gap in any intentional way. I just told myself, it's not really my place, and it's not really my business. About a year after that, he told me he was getting a divorce, and I remember just that moment of sitting there thinking, I saw this coming. Like, I saw this coming. I saw the warning signs, but I treated those warning signs like, well, since they're not for me, they're not for me to pay attention to. And I just want to, before I move on, I just want to say something to some of you who are on the other side of the room, and you've got somebody like this in your life, and they keep praying for you, and they keep speaking a word to you, and you're annoyed by it, and maybe they don't do it quite right, and maybe they're getting some of the details wrong, but if you've got somebody who's trying to step in the gap, if you have somebody in your life who loves you enough to try to speak to you about some concerns that they have, if you have somebody who's come to you and says, hey, I'm worried about you.

Here's some things that I see. If you want to, you can receive that as judgment. You can go on the defensive. You can be dismissive. Or you can be thankful that you've got somebody like that who cares enough to not give up. Abraham steps into this space, and he intercedes. Second thing we see here is God sends a warning before he sends judgment. We get to Genesis 19. The two angels that were with God, if you remember from last week, they were with God at Abraham's tent. These two angels arrive in Sodom, and verse one says, the two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. Lot sees these two visitors. He seems to have the similar instinct that Abraham had when he sees them. Like he knows there's something special about them, and he goes to them. He insists that they come to his house. He makes them a meal. He shows them hospitality. And then things take a very dark turn in verses four and five. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part, so all the men from every part of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house, and they called out to Lot, where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out so that we can have sex with them. So you have this very explicit, very disturbing scene that unfolds here. All the men from all the town, young and old, sexual assault. That's our plan. Lot is not ashamed of it. They come demanding it, and the depravity of the city is on full display. And in the chaos of this, Lot does something that's really difficult to read, verses six through eight.

Lot went outside to meet them, and he shut the door behind them, behind him, and said, my friends, red flag there, my friends, don't do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who've never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them, but don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof. And this is so disturbing. It is a devastating thing, a devastating scene that shows us how sin works. consumes, makes people slaves, how it escalates. We read about Abraham, or excuse me, Lot just a few chapters earlier, walking alongside Abraham, and he chooses the greener grass, and he moves towards Sodom. And then we keep reading the story, and he's moved into Sodom, and we keep reading the story, and now he's sitting at the gate of Sodom, indicating that he's become a leader of that community. And after years of being in this environment, like his moral compass is so damaged that this is his solution. That darkness has warped his mind, and I think he's doing something here that he couldn't have imagined himself doing years earlier. And there's just something about like prolonged proximity to dark darkness that corrupts and erodes, and you find yourself doing something you never thought you would do and calling it a reasonable response. I'm sure for Lot there were warning signs, and now he doesn't really notice them. In the middle of all of this though,

as you might guess, the angels have had enough. So the angels jump in in verse 11, it says, "'Then they struck the men who were at the door "'of the house, young and old, with blindness, "'so they could not find the door.'" Verse 11 would indicate that even though they're blind, they keep trying to open the door. Like sin had taken control of their desires to such a degree that even being struck with blindness doesn't seem to send them on their way. And the angels turn to Lot. They say that verses 12 and 13, "'Do you have anyone else here, sons-in-law, "'sons or daughters, or anyone else in this city "'who belongs to you? "'Get them out of here, "'because we're gonna destroy this place.'" Their warning to Lot is get your family and get out. And here's the way I put this in your notes is even when the mission was judgment, God made sure mercy got there first. God opened a door for mercy. So the angels don't show up and immediately torch the city. They warn Lot, and God's warning wasn't meant to be a threat. It was meant to be mercy. And I just want you to hear some of this, because if you're seeing some warning signs from God, there's part of you that wants to receive it as punishment.

It feels like God is against you. You feel like the conviction you've been dealing with is somehow God's cruelty. But in fact, it's God's mercy. And so I just want to give you some ways that I think God might be trying to get your attention, some ways I think he was trying to get Lot's attention. Because what ends up happening for some of us is God starts sending us warnings, and what we end up doing is we start seeing those warning signs as things like, oh, that's just some stress in my life right now. We'll say, well, it's just some bad luck that I've been dealing with. I'm just going through a difficult season. Meanwhile, it's a sign from God out of his mercy that's meant to get your attention. And all of us, if we're honest, can have a hard time not ignoring the warnings, even when they come from people who love us. I know what it's like to give a warning sign that gets completely ignored, because it happened this week. So recently, my son told me that he and his wife are getting a dog, and all of my kids have done this. They get married, they immediately get a dog, and it's such a bad decision. Like, I mean, did we do that? Yeah, we did. But it's just lots of stress, it isn't cheap.

When they travel, guess who gets to take care of the dog? The fixer, or the fixer's wife takes care of the dog. So I texted him this text. When I found this out, I said, hey, can I talk you out of this idea of getting a dog? In your first year of marriage, a dog will add a fair amount of extra stress and expense. Very reasonable, very measured, very wise. He texts me back. Here's the text I got back from him. I've got to learn from my own mistakes, and he gives me the salute. It's the most respectful dismissal. He basically says, I hear ya, I honor you, but I'm gonna do it my way. And I think that for many of us, like, this is how we receive God's warnings. Like, I acknowledge that, I hear that, I respect you, but you know what? I gotta learn from my own mistakes. Here are five warnings that God sends that I think we can miss. Number one is the surround sound, when multiple people are saying the same thing. When three or four people in your life. are giving you caution about the same thing. It doesn't necessarily mean that they're right, but it certainly means that you should listen. Like, it's not a coincidence, and God might be using some surround sound

to get your attention. The real way you know that this is a warning sign is how you respond to it when it happens. So if you've got two, three, four people who are all expressing some caution to you, and your response is to be dismissive or defensive, it's a much greater likelihood that what they're saying should be a warning sign to you. Does that make sense? Like, the more defensive you are about those three or four people trying to speak to you about something, the more likely it is that what they're saying is something you need to hear. Number two is the cover-up. It's when secrecy becomes a lifestyle. If there's a part of your life that you're going out of your way to keep hidden, that should be a significant warning sign. So you delete your browser history, you angle the phone screen away from somebody, you've got this whole other version of yourself that people in your life have never seen, that's hiding, and destruction often begins with hiding. Or if I could say this another way, hiding is a warning sign that destruction is coming. Hiding is a warning sign that destruction is coming. Number three is the missing piece. When peace disappears and you pretend like it hasn't. So you're not sleeping well, and everything feels heavy,

and you've got this kind of low-grade anxiety that's running in the background like this app that you can't close, and you keep telling yourself you're fine, but you're not fine. Philippians 4 says that the peace of God will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. And if you just find yourself in this place where your peace is gone, and you can't figure out where it went, you might be tempted to say, well, it's just stress. It's just the busyness of the season. And maybe it is, or maybe it's God saying, something in your life is out of alignment with me. Your spirit knows it, even if your mind won't admit it. So pay attention. Number four is the rerun. This is when you have the same consequence that just keeps showing up in your life. It's the different relationship, but it's the same fight. It's a different job, but it's the same problem. It's a different year, but it's the same struggle. And at some point you have to stop blaming the other people and the circumstances, and you have to start asking yourself, what is God trying to teach me that I just can't seem to see? Because you keep ending up in the same place. And when you see that pattern, a pattern in your life like this is often a warning sign on repeat.

It's a warning sign on repeat. God's hoping you're gonna pick up on the pattern, and every time it plays out, it gets a little bit louder as he's trying to get your attention. Number five is the mirror. This is when someone else's destruction looks really familiar. Like you watch somebody else's marriage fall apart, and there's something in you that says, that's the road we're on. That's the road we're on. You hear about someone else losing everything because of an addiction, and there's this whisper to you, that's gonna be me in five years. And you see the consequence in someone else's life, and you feel exposed. That's a warning sign. It's got somebody else's name on it, but it's your address. And I think Lot had every one of these five warnings in his life as I read through the story. I think it's a pretty safe assumption that all five of these he would have had the opportunity to see, but he missed them all. What we see next here in the story is the angels don't whisper to Lot. They grab ahold of him. And this is theologically significant because it really challenges how so many of us think about grace. We tend to think of God's grace

as kind of this gentle knock at the door, kind of soothing invitation. Hey, hey, hey, can I just talk to you for a minute about the path you're on? And what we find in this story is God's grace is much more aggressive. So look at, here's why I put this in your notes. Grace is trying to drag you out of what you're too comfortable to leave. The angels tell Lot to get out. The warning is clear. The danger is real. The clock is ticking. Verse 14, Lot goes to his son's-in-law, tells them the city's about to be destroyed. He says his son's-in-law thought he was joking. They laugh at him. They roll their eyes. They don't believe the warning. It feels like an overreaction to them. And I know, I know that even in the midst of this sermon, that's how some of you respond. You listen to this and you're like, okay. That was a long time ago. And I really don't think, I don't really think what I'm kind of caught up in is that big of a deal. I see some warning signs, but I think those are for other people. I think I'll be the exception.

Just, hey, just relax a little bit. Verse 15 and 16. With the coming of dawn the angels urged a lot saying hurry take your wife and your two daughters who are here Or you will be swept away when the city is punished when he what? hesitated When he hesitated the men grasped him By his hands and the hands of his wife and two daughters and they led them safely out of the city for the Lord was merciful to them That word hesitate It's this idea not of pausing It's this idea of being caught by something Dawn is breaking fire is coming. The angels are saying go and lots like And he hesitates But the angels grab a hold of him. Sometimes grace doesn't look like an open door. Sometimes it looks like a firm hand The angels physically drag him out of the city the Hebrew word here for grabbed a hold is seized they seized him and The phrase I don't want you to miss is in verse 16. It says why why did why did grace do this for them? It's because the Lord was merciful to them. The Lord was so merciful that he dragged them out of Sodom. That was mercy I don't think it felt like mercy. I think it felt disruptive. I think it felt aggressive I think it felt heavy-handed. It felt like they were losing something. They'd spent their life building, but but it was mercy it was mercy and Maybe you're getting some of this kind of mercy in your life where God is seizing some things He's grabbing hold of some things and it feels heavy-handed and it doesn't seem fair and it seems like God's taking something from you But what if God's not punishing you? What if he's pulling you because he can see something coming that you can't grace doesn't always not politely at the door sometimes thank the Lord it kicks down the door and grabs a hold of you and drags you out and There's a number of people in this room who would give that. Amen They're so thankful That God's grace was relentless enough to beat down the door

Here's what you see next in this story the most dangerous moment of any journey is when you look back Lots family is out. They're on the road The angels have given them clear instructions for 17 as soon as they brought them out. One of them said flee for your lives Don't look back. Don't stop anywhere in the plane flee to the mountains or you will be swept away couldn't be more clear Don't look back move forward Don't stop 24 and 26 then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord of the heavens Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plane destroying all those living in the cities and also the vegetation in the land But lots wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt She looks back that word for looks back is this looking back longingly that might even be the way it's translated She looks back longingly That it's literally on fire her past is on fire and there's something within her That still looks back Here's the way I put this in your notes You can't move forward into what God has for you. If your heart is still attached to what he brought you out of And this gets a little personal for us Because that can be a daily challenge to not look back you talk to somebody maybe who Who's gotten caught up in an addiction or gotten caught up in a fair and they would tell you a lot of them would tell You that walking away from that wasn't necessarily the hardest part In other words the hardest part wasn't necessarily a decision to leave It was it's a decision to to not look back and the reason for that is because leaving is one decision But staying gone is a thousand decisions Leaving is one decision, but but not looking back as a thousand decisions and lots wife is rescued But she didn't make it she looks back and there's part of me that wants to skip this part of the story because Again, it's disturbing and there's enough disturbing parts of this story But there's Luke chapter 17 the only time Jesus ever mentions lots wife and here's what he says Verse 32 remember lots wife. Okay, I Guess I'll mention that Let's take a moment here and remember lots wife Just remember that it's possible to be rescued but

But not leave The past behind does not focus on what's ahead Lastly in our story we see God's mercy. It says even in judgment God remembered After all the fire and all the destruction and all the devastation There's just this little verse in verse 29 sitting at the end of the chapter says so when God destroyed the cities of the plain He remembered he remembered Abraham and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived So that's interesting. It says God remembered who? Abraham And he brought Lot out. He doesn't say, he doesn't say God remembered Lot's righteousness. He doesn't say that Lot earned his rescue through good behavior, that Lot's track record was impressive enough. You know, he made some mistakes, but no, it says God remembered Abraham. I specifically think God remembers Abraham's righteousness and Abraham's faith and Abraham's intercession. Because of that, Lot was saved. Lot wasn't rescued because of his own righteousness. He was rescued because of Abraham's righteousness, because of Abraham's intercession. So Lot hesitates, Lot's wife looks back, Lot's son-in-law laugh, and yet Lot survives. And what I want you to catch as we wrap this up is this is a picture of the gospel. This is a picture of your story and my story, because we are people who hesitate. And we are people who look back and we are people who get comfortable in places

where we never should have settled. And someone else's faithfulness has covered our failure. Someone else stood in the gap, that Jesus is the ultimate intercessor, that he stood between us and our consequences that we couldn't see. He absorbed the judgment that we deserved. And it's not because of your faithfulness or my faithfulness that grace grabs ahold of us. It's because of Jesus. And I just want to say something here before we're done. And this isn't easy to say. But the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is not a story about, it's not just a story about what happened. It is a story about what will happen. It is a story about judgment. Second Peter chapter two, verse six says, God made Sodom an example of what's coming for those who refuse him. And that's not something I say at the end of this to scare you. It's something I say to point out God's mercy to you, that God and his mercy in this message with this story is holding up a sign. It's a warning sign. There is a day coming when we will face judgment. The breathtakingly good news is that Jesus has grabbed ahold of you and grace is available to pull you out right now.

So can you just, in a moment of humility and honesty, ask yourself maybe what warning signs you're ignoring. Maybe you're ignoring someone else's warning sign. There's somebody that you need to be praying for, somebody who needs you to stand in the gap. Maybe God's been sending you warning signs not to punish you, but to rescue you. And you've got these convictions and you keep pushing it down. And there's a still small voice that you keep drowning out. And maybe like Glott right now, you're hesitating. Like you know what you need to leave behind. You know what God's trying to pull you out of, but it's scary and it's not comfortable. And you're not sure you're ready to leave behind the city, even though it's on fire. Maybe you're like Glott's wife where you've been rescued, but your heart is just still looking back and you're just still attached to kind of the old life and the old identity and the old normal. There was just something about that that felt safe because you knew what to expect. Listen, what God has ahead of you is better than anything that's behind you. And so I just want to speak to you. Like I think the angels spoke to Lot when they came and knocked on his door. They, I don't think knocked gently. I don't think they pulled up a chair. I don't think they lit a candle and said,

hey buddy, whenever you're ready, like no pressure, take your time. We just want you to know some options that are available to you. If you'd like to talk to somebody, we've made some of those people available. If this week isn't good for you, maybe next week would be fine. Like that's not the tone. They reach in, they grab him, they seize him and they pull him out. And Lot stands there hesitating like he's got some kind of decision to make. There's no decision. Like this is it, this is the time. And I know that there's some of you, because I know what this is like, where you'd say, I'll deal with this next year. But you said that last year, which means that this year is next year. Some of you have been saying when the kids get older or when the season changes, hey, the kids are older, the season has changed. And you're still standing in the doorway, looking at the same house, having the same conversation with yourself. You've been having it for years. And I'm just saying, if grace has got a hold of you and it is pulling, stop fighting it.

Stop fighting the hand of God in your life. He is not here to punish you. He is here to save you. He's here to save you. He's here to rescue you. Stop asking for five more minutes and run, run with grace into what he has. Let's pray. God, I thank you that you in your grace and in your mercy meet us right where we are. Thank you that you've not given up on us. I pray, Lord, that you would let us stop hesitating and stop resisting, or maybe for some, stop laughing, stop looking back. Lord, that we would see your love for us as you warn us. I pray, God, that today would be a day where we respond. It's in Jesus' name, amen. One of the ways we're gonna respond here in the next few minutes is if you're a follower of Jesus, we're gonna have some time of communion together, and in communion, what we're gonna celebrate is that God didn't say, for the sake of 10 righteous, he just said, for the sake of one, for the sake of Jesus, that he would spare all those who would put their trust in him, and so we wanna celebrate that together. We want to allow communion to be a time where we intentionally decide we're not looking back, that we're looking ahead.

And some of you, you're sitting in this room and you're wondering if God has given up on you. What I want you to understand is the Holy Spirit is interceding for you. Jesus is interceding for you. He's our great intercessor. He's doing for you what Abraham did for Lot, because he loves you. So we wanna celebrate that as we take communion. For some of you, maybe in these next few minutes, it's an opportunity to step over the line and to make a decision, to stop hesitating, and say, okay, I'm gonna follow Jesus with my whole heart. As we worship, you can go to our next step room over here on the first floor to your left. Let grace invite you there. We'd love to talk to you and pray with you. And then during this time, too, we're gonna have our prayer team come forward and they would just really be honored to have a moment to pray for you. And maybe what you need to do is come forward to ask them to intercede with you for someone in your life. Pray as an intercessor and let somebody else intercede along with you for somebody you know is on a path that's a dangerous path. Or maybe it's your own life. Like, you know that you need to come and humble yourself and it's your way of responding to God's grace,

trying to pull you out, but there's something within you that hesitates. Like, you sit and you just think about the person who's next to you, or you wonder what people will think, and you tell yourself you'll deal with it later, and like, even now, you're coming up with six reasons why right now isn't the right time. If that's what you're doing, that is a clear indication of hesitation. And I think Jesus would just want to invite you to humble yourself, to come forward, to pray, to ask someone to help you move towards what is ahead, to pray for you, and maybe for you, that looks like forgiving someone who's hurt you and you have been held back by bitterness for too long. Maybe it's confessing something that's had a grip on your life and you've been trying to keep it hidden, but hiding is the path to destruction, and today's gonna be the day that you stop hesitating. So in the next few minutes, we'll worship, it's a time of communion, it's a time of decision, and we'll have a time of prayer. Help me pray. Lord, I ask that you would meet us right where we're at here in the next few minutes. I pray for some who are sitting here, and they have known for a while that they need to make a decision to follow you, a decision to surrender, a decision to be baptized

as a way to die to their old way of life, and to walk with you in a new way of life. God, I pray for some here today who just need someone to pray for them, and they're hesitant, but they see some things in their life, or they see some things in somebody else's life. Would you just allow us in these next few minutes just to approach your throne of grace with confidence together, knowing that you will help us in our time of need, that your grace will meet us right where we are. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's take communion together. ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪♪ ♪ When I think of the Father sending us His Son ♪ ♪ So we could all inherit the riches of His love ♪ ♪ I can't help but exalt Him ♪ ♪♪ ♪ When I think of the power held within His hand ♪ ♪ Impossible is nothing according to His plan ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but exalt Him ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but exalt Him ♪ ♪ And now to Him who is able to do so much more than we ask or imagine ♪ ♪ Glory to Him in the bridegroom in Jesus ♪ ♪ Through all generations, forever and ever ♪ ♪ Glory to Him, oh Lord, all power, all glory to Him ♪ ♪♪

♪ When I think of the cross, how it set us free ♪ ♪ From hell into heaven, for all eternity ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but exalt Him ♪ ♪ It'll be a holy moment when we walk through heaven's door ♪ ♪ Pain will be behind us and death will be no more ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but exalt Him ♪ ♪ And lay my cross down before Him ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Now to Him is able to do so much more than we can ask or imagine ♪ ♪ Glory to Him in the bridegroom in Jesus ♪ ♪ Through all generations, forever and ever ♪ ♪ Glory to Him, oh Lord, all power, all glory to Him ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Oh, we thank You for Your love ♪ ♪♪ ♪ How deep, how high the love of the Father ♪ ♪ How strong, how wide the arms of the Savior ♪ ♪ I stand in awe and I'll worship forever ♪ ♪ I can't help but exalt Him ♪ ♪ And how deep, how high the love of the Father ♪ ♪ How strong, how wide the arms of my Savior ♪ ♪ I stand in awe and I'll worship forever ♪ ♪ I can't help but exalt Him ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but exalt Him ♪ ♪ Now to Him is able to do so much more ♪ ♪ Than we can ask or imagine ♪ ♪ Glory to Him in the pride in Jesus ♪ ♪ Through all generations, forever and ever ♪ ♪ Glory to Him, oh Lord, oh power, oh glory to Him ♪ ♪♪

♪ The Lord is my shepherd, and He is everything I need. ♪ ♪ I will not worry, I will not fear the enemy. ♪ ♪ He said that He loves me, He said that He's with me. ♪ ♪ Even though I walk through the valley of shadow and death. ♪ ♪ And still I know He has good, He has good for me. ♪ ♪ So I will take heart in deserts and gardens. He has good plans, He has good plans for me. ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans. ♪ ♪ Thank You, Father. ♪ ♪♪ ♪ The Lord is my Savior, so why should I doubt my victory? ♪ ♪ Why would I question the rod and the staff that comforts me? ♪ ♪ He quiets the waters, He quiets the storm inside of me, so I could be better. ♪ ♪ Than walking with Him when I believe He has good plans, He has good plans for me. ♪ ♪ So I will take heart in deserts and gardens. He has good plans, He has good plans for me. ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans. He has good plans for me. ♪ ♪ So I will take heart in deserts and gardens. He has good plans, He has good plans for me. ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans. ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh. ♪ Well, if you need that promise this morning, would you sing in faith? If you need to be reminded that He's for you, not against you, would you let it rise this morning? Come on. Hey. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Father, You're great ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father ♪ ♪ Everything changed, it's getting harder to recognize ♪ ♪ The person I was before I encountered Christ ♪ ♪ I don't walk like I used to, I don't talk like I used to ♪ ♪ I've been washed from the inside, I've been washed, let it rise ♪ ♪ Say hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood, could have only been the blood ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood, could have only been the blood ♪ ♪ I cannot explain, and nothing's more real than this ♪ ♪ In the presence of God, lower my heart experience ♪ ♪ In my shame at the waist high, in my sin at the most high ♪ ♪ I was washed from the inside, I was washed from the inside out ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood, could have only been the blood ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood, could have only been the blood ♪ ♪ Thank You, thank You, Jesus ♪ ♪ Our praise is Yours, Father, yeah ♪ ♪ It's never been about performance, perfection ♪ ♪ Or striving for acceptance, let me tell you ♪ ♪ It's only about the blood ♪ ♪ It's never been about deserving or earning ♪ ♪ It's a gift that's freely given, let me tell you ♪ ♪ It's only about the blood, come on, you sing, whoa ♪

♪ Does anybody wanna be holy and righteous? ♪ ♪ Purified as fathers, let me tell you ♪ ♪ It's only by the blood, does anybody wanna be worthy? ♪ ♪ Forgiven, justified, redeemed, let me tell you ♪ ♪ It's only by the blood, sing hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood, could it only be the blood? ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, I know it was the blood ♪ ♪ Could it only be the blood? ♪ ♪ Whoa, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ We thank you for your blood ♪ ♪ We thank you for your body, yeah, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh Well, thank you so much for being a part of South-East Christian Church, right where you happen to be. It's a big deal. You should be proud of yourself for stepping up. through the service and I hope today's message that Kyle gave us is helpful for you. I know from my perspective listening to him say that you can make one good decision once and that's that's not hard but doing that daily that's that's where difficult that requires thousands of decisions maybe you made the decision to leave an old life once but to do that every single day and return to something new is the difficult part and we are here to support you within this Pando app to be able to do that every Thursday we release a Pando specific podcast this week we're gonna be talking about something new that's gonna be coming out called spiritual pathways so you're gonna want to watch the podcast this Thursday so that you can see in future weeks some additional content that we have coming from our SE southeast recovery ministry that's all about getting on the right path with God and how that resolves all the conflict within our own hearts so make sure you check that out love to be a part of that thank you for being a part of service can I pray for everybody let me pray for you right where you are inside the app this is a prayer for you Heavenly Father we are grateful that you are ever present in our situation that you see us and that your mercy is always what leads before the judgment and so

Lord I pray that your mercy shows up in a powerful way for the folks that are listening to this message and that they choose to receive you and walk with you each and every day it's in Jesus name that I pray amen you