Genesis chapter 13 we pick up with Abraham. Remember last week we talked about how he was dwelling down in Egypt and he had
Lied and told them that his wife was actually his sister. He got in all kinds of trouble with that
But of course God took care of him. God helped him out of that bad situation
Now he's leaving Egypt. It says verse 1 of chapter 13 and Abram went up out of Egypt
he and his wife and all that he had and a lot with him in the south and Abram was very
Rich in cattle in silver and in gold now
There are examples in the Bible of people who were rich that were not bad people
You know here we see Abram was very rich. He had silver he had gold he had cattle
what the Bible warns us about is that the desire to become rich is something that will destroy us and that's why the Bible says
They that will be rich. He said first of all that having food and raiment. Let us be there with content
We should just be content out in food and clothing
But he said but they that will be rich or they that want to be rich he's saying in 1 Timothy 6
fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which
Drown men in destruction and perdition for the love of money is the root of all evil
Which while some coveted after they have heard from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows and
Timothy is then told to flee these things now
We need to be careful that we don't covet money that belongs to someone else or covet
Riches because the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil and some people they covet after riches
They want to be rich they desire to be rich and it leads them into temptation snare
Destruction of their life the Bible also says in the book of Proverbs labor not to be rich
Cease from my own wisdom our goal in life should not be to become rich
That is not a biblical righteous goal to have now some people in the Bible were blessed with great riches
Abraham was one of them
But that ought not be the emphasis and the focal point of our life
You know if it's if we become rich or if we make a lot of money and somehow
You know we're in business and maybe we just make a lot more money than what we need to live
We have a lot of extra money great
But that should not be what we grow up thinking man. I can't wait when I grow up
I want to do this and my goal is to drive that fancy car and to have that fancy up
Because it's gonna take away from your service to God because you cannot serve God and man
And you cannot live a life focused on gaining riches and wealth for yourself and follow Christ at the same time
It's not gonna work. It doesn't mean we should look at somebody who's rich and say well
He's not Paul in Christ
Look at those riches because if we looked at Abraham we would have been mistaken about that
But in our own lives that ought not be a priority
We should just seek to to feed ourselves and our families and take care of our needs and enjoy
Enjoy life a little bit, but not to seek to be rich that is not what life is about and honestly most of us
Probably couldn't handle it
you know
And honestly you hear about people they win the law though, and it destroys their life
Because they don't know how to handle it and then their friends get weird on them and their family gets weird
And it ends up destroying their life and sometimes they end up worse off financially
Because they go nuts with it, and they don't know how to handle it
And you know we all think oh man if I had that kind of money
You know I could really be wise about it and smart about it and so forth, but you know what that's what everybody
We don't know maybe God keeps us a little leaner than we want to be because he knows that that's all we can handle
That it keeps us humble and keeps us right with him and keeps us from going off the deep end if we had a little too
Much money and leisure and we're actually going to get into that subject a little bit later in the sermon
So what I'm saying is don't just attack somebody for being rich or hate someone for being rich
Or or look down on them and just automatically think they're not following Christ
But we are not seek for that and wish for that see the thing covetousness is when you desire what belongs to someone else
Now if I desire my own wife
That's not covetousness because she's my wife, but when I desire someone else's wife. That is covetousness. That is a sin
That's why the Bible says thou shall not cover thy neighbor's wife or his house
Or his ass or his or his horse or whatever anything and we today. I like that brother Miller's sermon last night
We don't even realize that's a sin in America today. I
Tell people I'll be out so many
I'll tell people want to take a man with says thou shalt not covet and I'll ask them
Do you know what that means they say no and I explain it to them
And then they say that's a sin
That's wrong
And some people even argue and say that can't be wrong
Why would wanting nice stuff that I don't have be wrong, but it is wrong
Because it's the opposite of contentment
That's covetousness is when you desire something that belongs to someone else
That is wrong now if I want something and I go out and buy it
That isn't wrong because that's something that I have the power to get it's when I don't have the power to get something
And I just wish inside man. I wish I had that man. I wish I had it must be nice
It's old so-and-so's got it and so that's something we need to stay away from
But let's keep reading it says in verse 3 went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel
under the place where his ten had been at the beginning between Bethel and Hayi
under the place of the altar which he had made there at the first and there Abram
Called on the name of the Lord we saw that last week where he called upon the name of the Lord at that altar
And a lot also which went with Abram had blocks and herds and tents and the land was not able to bear them that they might
Dwell together for their substance was great so that they could not
Dwell together and there was a strife between the herd men of Abram's cattle and the herd men of Lot's cattle and the Canaanite and the
Parisite dwelled them in the land
So there's just not enough space for these guys to be together because they're both wealthy they both have a big operation
Lots of employees lots of goods lots of cattle and so forth and so the land just isn't able to bear them
And he doesn't want there to be any strife between them strife is friction or animosity or fighting
He's saying that I don't want us as relatives to begin to hate each other and to have a problem here
Just because our employees are fighting because there's just not enough room for the cattle to all graze in the same place
He's saying we need to split up
He said verse 9. This is Abram speaking to his nephew Lot is not the whole land before thee
Separate thyself I pray thee from me if thou wilt take the left hand
Then I would go to the right or if thou part of the right hand then I will go to the left
Now Abram is being very gracious here because he's letting Lot make the decision
He's saying to Lot choose where you want to go and I'll go the other way
Let's just split up and I'm gonna give you first pick now
He didn't really have to do that because he is definitely the one with seniority
He's the uncle Lots the nephew and not only that he's the one who brought a lot along taught him everything
He knows the reason that a lot is so prosperous
It's because he's hanging around with Abraham in the first place because when he quits hanging around with a broom
Guess what his life goes the wrong direction
Majorly, so he's riding Abrams coattails and yet Abram gives him the first pick and you know this shows what a humble
Person Abram was and you know God wants us to be humble also and
humbleness or humility
The Bible talks about as in honor
Preferring one another putting other people first is humility Abram put lot first
Even though he didn't have to see why I don't have to do that
I'm just as good as there but the humble person just does it anyway
The humble person goes to a wedding or a feast as Jesus said it takes the lowest seat
He doesn't say I deserve to be in the best seat
He takes the lowest seat and he lets other people tell him if he needs to go up higher
but the humble person looks not every man on his own things, but every but every man also on the things of others and
That the person who's humble
Esteems other better than themselves the Bible says and so these are all the lessons that the Bible teaches about humility
Considering other people's needs more important than your own needs putting other people first
Putting yourself last and that's what Jesus did when he said, you know what?
I'm the Lord and master. He said you call me Lord. You call me master
He said you do well because I am your Lord master, but yet I've washed your feet yet. I've served you
And he said whoever's the greatest among you let him be your servant. That's humility
Jesus Christ made himself of no
Reputation but took upon him the form of a servant that is an example that he left to follow in his steps
Not to be a big shot not to be mr
Cool that walks in and expects everybody to serve him and wait on him
But rather than one that will be a servant and the one that will put other people first and not consider himself
So important that everybody needs to serve him all the time and that's how Abram was he defers unto law
Even though there's no reason in the world why he could have just said, you know, why don't you go that way?
because I said so and
I'll go this way because this isn't working
But he's a very humble man
Lot on the other hand, we don't see him showing the same humility here. We see lot just saying okay
Okay. Well, I'll take what I want then and
He says in verse number 10 and lot lifted up his eyes and be held
That means that he saw or looked upon
All the plane of Jordan that it was well watered everywhere
before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord like the land of Egypt as
Thou comest unto Zohar then lot chose him all the plane of Jordan. So lot basically takes the best for himself
He looks at the land. He sees what is the best land and he says that's what I'm gonna take to myself
Not giving Abram the best but taking the best for himself
So we see a selfish decision there and it says and they separated themselves the one from the other
Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan and lot dwelled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent towards Sodom
But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord
exceedingly so
Not only does lot choose the best for himself
But he actually chooses to get himself near a city called Sodom and
To pitch his tent towards Sodom now. This is the beginning of the downfall of law
This is the the beginning stages of the horrific stories
Then we're going to read about we get to Genesis 19 the horrific
Things that happened in lots life in Genesis 19. They started right here
This is where they began and it began with lot
Choosing for himself
what he thought was the best thing and
Everything was just about what's going to give him the most economic prosperity and if that means
Pitching his tent right near and even facing his tent towards Sodom
he's going to do it and at this point we just see him dwelling in the cities of the plane and
pitching his tent toward Sodom
but the next time we see lot mentioned he's inside and
Then the next time we see him mentioned after that he's in the gate of Sodom meaning that he's actually an important person
And a person who has a position of authority in
Sod
Now the Bible says that the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly now
There's a but there at the beginning of the verse
but the men of God saying
But he's saying there's a problem here with what lots doing because if you're just reading this it sounds like okay lot
Dwelled in the plane. He's in these cities
Okay, but he says no, but the men were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly now
Let me start out with the word exceedingly
There are people out there today
And in fact, I hear this all the time that will teach you and it's very popular doctrine
Amongst independent Baptist even they'll tell you all sin is equal in the sight of God
I don't believe it for one second, but it is now
You hear it all the time and it's like I mean, it's a doctrine with people on
Par with like the deity of Jesus Christ. I mean if you question that they say oh, how dare you all sin is equal
Now, let me give you several reasons why right now why all sin is not equal because right here
We see that they weren't just sinners
He could have just said ultimate and saw them or sinners will join the club because the men in every city are sinners
Because every person on this planet is a sinner and always has been and always will be but is that what he said?
Oh, they were sinners and saw them. Oh, so what so am I so were you so is everybody?
No, they weren't just sinners. They were sinners before the Lord
exceedingly
They were wicked that means that they were worse are you listening worse than other sinful cities?
This was not just a sinful city. This was an exceeding sinful city
So how can you have an exceeding sinful city of all sins equal?
Now, let me explain to you several biblical reasons. Why all sin is not equal number one
First of all, just common sense before we even go to the Bible just use a little common sense
You think that mean murdering somebody is the same as me stealing a pencil from off the desk somewhere
Same thing
You're just as bad
Because you stole that pencil as somebody who goes on a postal killing spree
You work at the post office
You stole a pencil that's just as bad as going down there with a machine gun now anybody who believes that I?
Would venture is borderline insane
I mean wouldn't that be like an insane person that would just think yep. It's the same thing
You'd say what do you do? Are you nice?
So that's the common sense argument
Now here's some biblical argument. How about when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate and let me ask it was Pontius Pilate
committing sin
by
Sending Jesus to the cross yes
Absolutely he was committing sin was he not
I mean he washed his hands and said oh, I'm free from the blood of this chest person
Did that really mean that he's free from the blood of that person no?
Pontius Pilate was guilty before God he committed the sin of
Sending Jesus Christ to an to an unwarranted death to it. He was a righteous
He was without sin and yet he was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate, but you know what Jesus told Pontius Pilate
He said he that delivered me unto you has the greater sin
So if all sin is equal in God's eyes
Then how could one person have a greater sin than the other if it's all equal
The term greater sin would make zero sense if all sins equal wouldn't even make sense
You can't have a greater sin if all sins equal
You just have another sin
But he said he that delivered you unto me at the greater sense who is he referring to the Jews, okay?
That's why throughout the book of Acts
That's where you will see them mention the Romans
But it's mainly directed at the Jews saying you took Jesus and crucified him with wicked hands
Because Jesus considered them more guilty
They were the ones who shouted crucify him they were the ones who'd seen the miracles
Pilate hadn't seen the miracles Pilate didn't really know Jesus as well as they did they knew him and
Saw the miracles they heard the preaching and chose to reject it and to cry out crucify
And when Pilate said I'm free from the blood of this just person you know what they said in response his blood be on us
And on our children and God looked at that and said they have the greater sin
But all sins equal now, I think not also
Jesus
Spoke to the Pharisees and said that not only did they devour a widow how widows houses
But for a pretense they made long prayer. He said
Therefore shall they receive the greater
Damnation so if we have greater sins and greater
Damnation how can you say all sins equal? Okay? Here's another argument. There's no verse in the Bible that says all sins equal yeah
Yeah, quote me the verse that says that one sin is just as bad as that and people say well we in our mind
It's different, but in God's eyes. It's all equal according to what scripture
There's no scripture that says that now the only scripture that even comes close to that that I've seen people try to use is the
One that says whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offended one point
He's guilty of all for he that said do not commit adultery said also do not kill now if they'll commit
No adultery yet if thou kill thou art become a transgressor of the law
So all God is saying there is that even if you haven't committed all the sins on the list
Committing one sin makes you a transgressor of the law you are in violation of God's law
Yeah, even if you've never committed adultery if you killed you're in violation
It doesn't matter whether it's stealing or adultery or lying or killing if you break any of God's laws
You are a transgressor of the law you are condemned as a sinner you are condemned to hell period
Unless you receive salvation through Jesus Christ, so just saying that people are all condemned as sinners
Just saying well, you know Adolf Hitler is condemned to hell
Okay, and Mother Teresa is condemned to hell. They're both Roman Catholics. They both believe the same false religion
They're both in hell, but you can't sit there and say well Mother Teresa was as bad as Adolf Hitler
Or you know or whatever
I'm just saying you know that doesn't compute because there are all kinds of people in hell today
there are people like Jeffrey Dahmer in hell and
Then there are people in hell who were fairly normal nice people who just didn't believe in Jesus Christ
Were those people as bad as Jeffrey Dahmer no, but they're both condemned. They're both transgressors. They're both sinners
They're both punished in hell are they receiving the same damnation well Jesus said the son receive a greater damnation
Okay
and so that the point is
That not there's no scripture that says all sin is equal James 2 10 is the closest you can get and it just simply does
not say that
And if it did say that it contradicts some other scriptures
But here's a whole nother argument on top of that if all sins equal in God's eyes
Then why did God lay out different punishments for different sins in the Old Testament law?
Why was one type of stealing punished fourfold and one type of stealing punished fivefold?
Why are some types of crimes punished with stripes or a beating other types of crimes were punished with?
Death and why were there different punishments for different crimes if all crime is equal because the very concept of
Justice says that the punishment matches the crime, and that's why the scales of justice are there as the symbol for justice
Here's the crime on this side the punishment sets things right the punishment
Balances the scales and so that's why there are different punishments in the Bible for different crimes
Murdering somebody is not the same punishment as stealing somebody's cow
Now there are times in the United States of America where if you stole somebody's cow
They'd hang you you'd be put to death right in the Old West there were times when they would execute
cattle thieves
But is that biblical to execute a cattle thief?
No, it's not
Because the Bible specifically lays out things that weren't death penalty stealing is not one of them
Now a cattle thief should have to pay back fourfold
Maybe there could be a beating in order, but they should not be put to death
However a murderer an adulterer or a rapist should be put to death okay because the punishment has to match the crime
It's not like oh, you're speeding death
The city of Tempe making a law red light violation minimum fine dead
Okay, minimum punishment for violating a red light death, and you'd say that's not fair
They take what you should have stopped at that red line. You should obey the law
No because you'd say it doesn't matter even if I broke the law the punishment needs to fit the crime
But you say well all sins equal well it just makes no sense on any level
We just looked at it like four different ways
It just doesn't make any sense, but it's just something that you hear over and over again you start to just believe
If you just repeat it like a parrot
All sins equal
You're not thinking anymore you just repeated it isn't true it's a lie it's false
Now you say why are we so worked up about that?
Why are you so mad about that because I'm here to tell you tonight that the people that were living in Sodom
We're not just ordinary sinners. They were exceedingly sinful
And don't sit there and tell me that what they did in Sodom was just as bad as any other sin
Because it's a lie. It was worse. Because he said they were wicked and they were exceedingly sinful.
Does God rain fire and brimstone on every pencil thief?
Does God rain fire and brimstone on everyone who tells a lie?
Everyone who commits sin? No.
But did God rain fire and brimstone upon Sodom?
Yes he did. Now, why were they wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly?
What was their sin? Well, Goku would do Ezekiel.
Because a lot of people don't like when I'm preaching tonight.
And of course the people that are here tonight better like when I'm preaching or else they need to go find another church.
Weird loving weirdos.
But anyway, everybody here tonight, you know, they better like when I'm preaching or else they better just not come back ever again.
Please. For the safety of all our children, you pervert.
But let me tell you something. I was preaching to a little bit less friendly crowd earlier today.
You know, right now I'm in my home crowd here. I'm preaching to Peyton Ward Baptist Church.
Earlier today I was preaching at the community college.
The public school. And I was preaching the same stuff I'm preaching and I was ripping face.
And I'll tell you something. A lot of people didn't like it. They're not going to believe it.
And it was just amazing to me how the brainwashing is working so well on these young people.
And this classroom that I was in, I spoke to two different classrooms and this subject came up.
And basically, these are young people that are probably around 19, 20, 21.
You know, they're young adults, early 20s, straight out of high school in a lot of cases.
And I mean, you tell them that sodomy or being a queer is a sin and that it's an abomination, that it's vile and disgusting.
And man, they look at you like you have two heads.
And I'll tell you, a lot of these people were just literally, it's like smoke was coming out of their ears. They were so mad.
I mean, literally, people were getting so angry with me as I just read the scriptures and explained this doctrine of the fact that sodomy is wicked in the eyes of God.
And literally, it's like you could just see them start shaking. Some people were literally shaking in anger.
And just, they just couldn't even hardly contain it.
Maybe, I don't know if it was the demons inside of our...
Or if they were just, you know, I think that they're just so brainwashed that to get up and say, hey, these people are perverts.
And you know what, they all tried to tell me, oh, they're born that way.
Now, let's see if born that way lines up with Ezekiel 16 where we're about to read.
Because they said, oh, they're born that way. And here's what they said.
I have all these gay friends and I don't use the word gay because gay is a Bible word that means cheerful and happy.
I'm not going to run God's word through the dirt and gutter.
That's why people get offended when you use words like fag and queer.
I get offended when people use the word gay.
And when I hear somebody say it, I correct them and say, hey, don't use that word around me.
Excuse me, I find that word offensive, gay.
Because you know what, gay is a Bible word and the Bible says every word of God is pure.
There's nothing pure about unhappy and cheerful about what they're doing.
And what was I saying? I got up on the tangent there.
Lines up with the Bible.
What's that?
See if it lines up with the Bible.
Yeah, I was talking to these young people and I don't know.
Oh, yeah, yeah, born that way.
And this is what they said.
They said, this girl said, I've got friends that are gay.
And she said, they said even when they were seven years old, they just preferred boys to girls.
And I said, what in the world, seven year old doesn't prefer to hang out with other boys and girls?
Because when you're seven, girls have cooties and don't want to hang out with other girls.
What kind of garbage is this?
Oh, that proves they were born that way.
Because when they were five, six, seven, eight, they're not even thinking about that when they're five, six, seven, eight.
Of course you want to hang around with the boys.
I mean, I literally, I remember, I remember when I was in fourth grade, I was nine years old.
And I remember I was sitting with a girl on this side and a girl on this side.
And I was like, man, you know, I want to sit with the boys.
And I remember they arranged the whole class.
Then I realized it wasn't just me.
They arranged the whole class.
Boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl.
You know why?
Because they're not going to talk to them.
Because they don't want to talk as much because they're not interested in the same things.
Whereas if you put boy, boy, boy, it's going to be all kinds of mischief and talking and spitwads and paper airplanes.
You know, so you go boy, girl.
And then you're just like, oh man, you know.
And you don't go to the playground and go hang out with the girls.
Now these days you've got a bunch of weirdos teaching kids through TV and everything else to be dating.
You have, literally, my wife is telling me about these literal seven and eight year olds talking about their boyfriend and their girlfriend.
I mean, that's just weird.
That's not normal childhood.
I mean, I was nine and ten and you're thinking about playing sports and playing on the playground and hanging around with other boys.
It's not until you reach puberty or whatever that you start to be thinking about the opposite gender and thinking along those lines.
You're not thinking about the bedroom when you're a little kid.
You have a innocent, pure, and clean mind when you're a kid.
You're not thinking about that stuff.
And so I said, they're just looking back at normal childhood and just, oh, that proves that I was born to be this way.
Let's see if that lines up with what the Bible says, born this way.
Okay, Ezekiel chapter 16 says in verse 49,
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom.
So what was the sin of Sodom?
He says, pride.
Well, that reminds me of something.
Isn't that what they call their parades, the pride?
And he says this, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters.
Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
And they were haughty, haughty means prideful, arrogant, puffed up, and committed abomination before me.
Therefore, I took them away as I saw I could.
So did they just start out committing abomination?
They were just born committing abomination?
Is that what the Bible says?
They were just born that way committing abomination?
No, they got lazy, they got prideful, they got arrogant, they got puffed up,
they started to imagine and invent evil things, and then they committed abomination against God.
Go to Jude, if you would, Jude in the New Testament.
Because people say, oh, that was the Old Testament.
Okay, well, let's go to the New Testament.
In fact, I don't know how far to the right in your Bible you want to go.
This is book number 65.
In the Bible, people say, oh, that was a long time ago.
Well, I mean, we're in book 65 here.
We've got to be in the New Testament by now with Jude, right?
One book right before Revelation.
Look what Jude says.
It says, even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner,
giving themselves over to fornication.
Does it say they're born committing fornication?
Born to fornicate?
Born to be a Sodomite? No.
Born to commit abomination? No.
He says, they gave themselves over to fornication.
And he said, going after strange flesh.
Now, somebody give me a synonym for strange.
Weird.
That's what strange means, queer.
Odd.
Weird.
Okay, and he said, that's what they went after.
It was weird.
Strange flesh.
And he said, they are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
So, correct me if I'm wrong.
In the New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, book 65,
is he not saying that Sodom and Gomorrah is an example?
Not was an example, but is an example.
So, is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah obsolete?
No.
It's become obsolete.
It's outdated.
It was in the Old Covenant.
It was in the Old Testament.
No.
In book 65, he says, no, it is set forth as an example.
He said, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
So, what does he say here?
He's saying it's an example.
God poured out literal hell fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah,
as an example to those that afterward would go after strange flesh,
that hell would be their destiny.
It's that simple.
Go to 2 Peter 2, just a few pages to the left in your Bible.
And correct me if I'm wrong,
but Peter was one of the apostles of the Lamb.
Peter was a New Testament preacher.
Peter is a book in the New Testament, right?
And he says in 2 Peter 2, pretty much the same thing,
he says in verse 6,
and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes,
condemned them with an overthrow,
making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly.
After what?
After them.
Currently, now, you're reading 2 Peter in the New Testament.
He's saying that is an example of how God feels.
Now, do you see any remorse in these passages,
where God's saying, you know what?
That's what I did back then, but I'm not like that anymore.
No, he says, hey, you remember what I did in Sodom and Gomorrah?
That's the example of how I feel about it right now.
He didn't say I changed how I feel.
He didn't say I changed my opinion or I changed how I deal with it.
No, he said I took them away as I saw good.
And there's a day when men will call good, evil, and evil good.
God rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah.
He had one word for it, good.
It's good.
It is good.
He said, I took them away as I saw good.
God looked upon what he had done, and he said, it's good.
He said it's an example.
It wasn't a one-time thing where he just lost it that day
and just, ah, he's a bunch of sodomites.
Oh, man.
That was harsh.
No, he said that's an example right now of what I do, how I feel about it.
Now, keep reading.
And delivered just lot, vexed with the alternative lifestyle of the wicked.
Is that what it says?
Does that say vexed with the alternative lifestyle?
Or does it say vexed with the filthy conversation?
Now, I see a lot of people have said, you know, the word conversation means lifestyle.
Now, you know, that could be true to an extent.
You know, I'm not going to get into that tonight.
But it ain't an alternative lifestyle.
It's a filthy lifestyle, according to the Bible.
He said that the law was vexed with the filthy.
Okay, look.
These are the words that I used today at the college speaking.
And these are the words they didn't like.
Filthy, queer, vile, abomination, wicked, sin.
These are biblical words.
These are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These are the truth in words.
And so he says here that he was vexed with the filthy.
So if you ask me, how would you describe this out of my lifestyle?
It's filthy.
Filth.
Now, I don't know about you, but the word filth is a pretty strong word, isn't it?
Filthy.
Now, literally, when you're speaking German, if you use the word filth, it's almost like a cuss word.
To say that, you know, if you want to call somebody the worst thing, you call them a filthy swine.
You know, we don't really think that.
That doesn't sound bad to us in English.
But if you call somebody filth pig in German, that's like considered like as if in America you were using profanity.
That's how it is to say filth pig in German.
So filth is a pretty strong word, isn't it?
Okay.
That's just a little anecdote about the German language.
But it says in verse 8,
For that righteous man dwelling among them and seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.
So we have filthy, unlawful, wicked, exceedingly sinful.
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations and reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.
But chiefly they that walk up to the flesh in the lust of what?
Miami cleanness.
And despise government.
Now, it doesn't say they despise their current government.
It says they despise government.
They hate any authority over them.
They want no authority, no rules, no law, no accountability.
They want a lifestyle of an animal.
Which an animal is just if it feels good, do it.
Or just, you know, survival of the fittest.
That is the animalistic philosophy that they espouse.
And it goes on and on.
He says,
Whereas angels which are greater in power might bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
But these as natural brute beasts.
Now, what is a beast?
An animal.
What is a brute?
Someone who's stupid.
He says a brute, they're like a brute beast.
Now, I've heard people often say, well sodomy's okay because the animals do it.
Who's heard that argument?
Oh yeah, they'll bring this up all day long.
What about the animals?
They do it.
I just say, well, you know what?
I've been saying they were animals for years.
And then that shuts them up real fast.
They'll be like, well the animals do it.
I'm like, exactly.
They're like, huh?
I don't make kids mad when I call them animals.
Oh, wait.
That's good.
So anyway, let's go back to Genesis.
Let's go back to Genesis chapter 13.
You know, it gets me fired up.
And the reason that you say, why are you so fired up about this issue?
Because this world is becoming a scary place.
It's getting weird out there, my friend.
And I mean, I'm just afraid for my children that when they turn 16 and they're going to get a job somewhere,
can they even work somewhere where they're not just surrounded by homos and weirdos?
I mean, is it going to get to the place where we're living in something like Sodom?
You know?
And then it's like, let me just talk to you for a second.
And let me just tell you what's on my heart right now, okay?
This country is becoming like Sodom.
And it's a scary, scary thing.
So you're homophobic.
Yeah, I'm scared.
He has to be a bunch of perverts.
I don't want to be in a dark alley around him.
I don't want to be like blocks surrounded by him.
Where they're surrounding the house, beating on the door.
Bring out Pastor Anderson and we may know him.
You know, nobody wants to be in that kind of a situation.
It's horrible.
And that's what our country is getting filled and inundated with.
And so we look at it and it scares us.
Okay?
And it also just, we just don't want our kids exposed to it.
We don't feel like it's even safe to even let them out of our sight.
There's just so much of it around.
And it just keeps getting worse and worse.
Now, look, let me just tell you this.
And it's really important that you listen to what I'm saying right now.
Throughout history, there have been nations who went down this path that we're on right now.
We're not the first one.
The Canaanites went down this path.
The Roman Empire went down this path.
And you'll hear about the bizarre things that the Romans did
and the sodomy that they went into, the ancient Greeks.
You know, you look through the annals of history
and there have been a lot of nations that went down the path that we're going down.
But there's a very big difference between what's happening right now
and what happened then.
And this is the part that's fearful.
Because throughout history, a nation went down this path.
And that nation was destroyed.
That nation was judged.
That nation fell apart.
And people went somewhere else.
Or another nation took over that got rid of the sodomy, got rid of the weirdos.
Okay.
But let me ask you something.
When Hollywood is deceiving the entire world with the sorcery of television,
the sorcery of the movies, and the sorcery of the rock and roll music industry,
which all promotes sodomy,
where do you go?
Where's left?
Who's not? Who's going to be left's hand?
Because it used to be it's like one nation went down this path.
They destroyed themselves from the inside.
They self-destructed, whether it were the Romans or the ancient Greeks
or the Canaanites and the Parisites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
They were judged.
They cleansed the sodomites out of life.
But hold on a second.
What when the entire world is getting taught this message?
What when the opinions of these young people in the college that I was at today,
oh, and that's just being broadcast to the whole world.
Because now with the internet and television and the satellite dish
and all these different things, all the nations.
Now, you say, well, TV doesn't make it into all nations.
Well, we'll fix that.
We'll invade them.
Our country will invade them and bring them broadband.
Because we've got to bring the shining light of Hollywood
into whores and whoremongers and drugs and alcohol and sleazy women
and sodomy and effeminate men and queerness.
And we have to spread our gospel of queerness throughout the whole world,
through Hollywood.
That's what's happening right now.
And so it'll get to the point where one day, are you listening to me?
One day you might look at your family and just look at your church members
and look at yourself and just say, you know what, this place is too weird, man.
We've got to get out of here.
We need to just go somewhere else.
We're living in the South.
And then it's like, okay, where do we go?
When Arkansas is the same way.
When Idaho is the same way.
You know what I mean?
You just name anywhere.
When the Bible fell, it's the same way.
I mean, it's scary thought.
Everyone is going this way.
And that's why Jesus simply has to come back.
You know what I mean?
Because otherwise it would just get so bad, you're not going to have anywhere to go anymore.
And so that's why the second coming of Christ is such an important doctrine.
And it's a doctrine that we need to understand that Jesus Christ will come and deliver us
before it gets that bad.
And I just hope it doesn't get that bad where we live before that takes place.
And so it's a sobering thought.
You think I'm paranoid and you think I'm over the top and I'm preaching too hard.
And how many people think, oh, I like Pastor Erickson.
He's a little radical.
You idiot.
I'm not radical enough.
You read the Bible.
If you think I'm radical, Elijah would tear your face off.
You think my preaching is hard?
You don't even know what hard preaching is.
I'm a wimp compared to the guys in the Bible that would preach.
I wish I was an Elijah.
Don't give me this garbage of I'm too radical.
I'm too extreme.
No, you're brainwashed.
You love the world.
You listen to too much rock music.
You're listening to too much Hollywood.
You're watching too much TV.
It's not that I'm too radical.
I'm just Joe Blow average preacher.
I'm just preaching the Bible.
I'm nothing special.
I'm not some radical.
I'm not some extremist.
And I'll prove it to you.
50 years ago, everybody would agree with what I'm saying is the truth.
Everybody, everybody, everybody.
Unsaved.
Any denomination, any religion, any atheist would have said 50 years ago, 60 years ago, 70 years ago,
they would have said, well, yeah, of course it's disgusting.
Of course it's vile.
Of course it's an abomination.
Of course it's repulsive to the human mind.
So how does that make me an extremist or a radical?
It doesn't.
You're radically worldly.
And so Pastor Anderson is not extreme.
And people always, sometimes they'll say it to me as a compliment,
like I'm just really radical or really extreme.
And you know, I just honestly have to say, no, I'm not.
There's nothing extreme about me except that I preach the Bible
and the Bible's an extreme book then.
Then that's not me being extreme.
That's him being extreme.
If he's the one dumping fire and hell on people.
If you think that's extreme, then take that up with him.
But it isn't me that's extreme.
I'm just preaching the Bible now.
What if I preach tonight that's not in the Bible?
Nothing.
And so it's a sobering thought.
You need to wake up.
And if you think this preaching is too hard or over the top or extreme,
you need to slap yourself in the face and wake up
and realize that your country is being destroyed
and the minds of young people are being so perverted
that by the time you talk to them when they're 15 and 16 and 17 with the gospel,
they're already so perverted and reprobate,
they're already such sons of Belial that a man can't even speak unto them.
Because they've already been destroyed.
They've already been sleeping around and just living in filth and sin.
They're already blaspheming God.
I mean, I was at that college today
and literally there's just a guy just handing out just anti-Bible, anti-Jesus Christ leaflets.
Promoting atheism.
And he's just handing them out.
It's like he's distributing tracts for Satan.
I'm not kidding.
You know, he's laughing.
Everybody's taking him and laughing.
I didn't see anybody rebuke him.
Nobody said, I don't want that.
I'm not going to read that garbage.
Nobody said, no, I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Take your atheistic trash and get it out of my sight.
Nobody said that.
It was just...
Even Christians.
Idiot.
Laugh it up, moron.
Your country's being destroyed.
Your children are going to have to live in this filth hole.
Wake up. Go soul-witting.
Get in the Real Bible Believing Church.
Read the Bible.
Be counted.
Who's on the Lord's side?
Who?
That's what we ought to be asking tonight.
But Lot, he thought that Pastor Anderson's preaching was a little bit extreme.
That's what happened with Lot.
So Lot said, well, faithful word.
We ought to just love him and treat him like everybody else, so I'm going to pitch my tent there.
Right?
Lot said, oh, it's just another sin.
And he pitched his tent there.
His family was destroyed.
His children became perverts.
His wife died and became a pillar of salt.
And his daughters became perverted.
His whole family destroyed.
His whole life destroyed.
And all of his descendants after that, you never hear anything but bad about them.
You know who his descendants were?
The Moabites and the Ammonites?
Always bad.
Don't let them in the congregation of the Lord.
Don't have anything to do with them.
Don't marry their daughters.
Don't marry their sons.
Stay away from the Moabites.
Stay away from the Ammonites.
Is that the legacy you want to have?
If so, pitch your tent toward Sodom.
If so, wake up every morning and take a good look at Sodom.
You'll end up like Lot.
That's how he ended up.
But let's get off that subject.
I'm sick of that subject.
It makes me mad.
And it just kind of ruins my day.
You know, I'd just rather just think about wholesome and pure and righteous things.
But somebody's got to get up and say this stuff or else it just isn't going to get said.
So let's move on to something better.
It says in verse 14,
Now I think from reading this chapter, it's apparent to me the way that God emphasizes how he's making these promises to Abram after Lot had separated from him.
And I know he made promises previously.
I think God wanted Lot and Abram to be separated as well.
You know, because Lot was not a good influence, I don't think.
Because if Lot's got his tent pitched toward Sodom, if Lot's left his heart in San Francisco, if Lot is worldly and sinful and okay with these types of things,
if Lot's a selfish person who chooses what he wants best for himself and doesn't care about others,
You know, I just don't think that God wanted Lot and his family to be assimilated into, you know, the nation of Israel.
And so he caused that separation to take place because he wanted to give that land up to Abram and his seed and he put a separation between Lot and Abram.
And notice, those two families, they never rejoined.
Abram's descendants became, you know, of course, through his grandson, the children of Israel.
And Lot's descendants became the Ammonites and the Moabites. There's just two very separate groups of people.
And so I believe that God was in this. And sometimes strife will happen between us and certain friends that we might have.
There can be a separation that takes place. You know, sometimes God is just purging people out of our lives that don't really need to be there in the first place.
And it seems like Abram was better off with his family and everybody just away from Lot's influence.
He just wasn't. I mean, he was saved. The Bible's clear that he was a saved man.
And they did have a conscience about the things that were going on in Sodom.
But he just wasn't a godly friend and a godly relative to have hanging around all the time.
And so, you know, God made that separation take place for a reason.
And he makes Abram this promise. Verse 16,
I'll make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
Arise, walk through the land and the length of it and the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee.
And Abram removed his tent and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is that he brought and built there an altar unto the Lord.
You know what else this kind of reminds me of?
It kind of makes me think about how sometimes people will be going to a Bible-believing church,
and a good, solid, Bible-creating church, and they'll leave the church.
And then their life might go a different direction. Maybe their life goes south a little bit.
But you know what? God's people still go on and still keep going.
Because the thing that stands out to me in this chapter is at the beginning of the chapter, Abram's prospering.
At the beginning of the chapter, things are going good for Abram. He's doing the right things. He's following God.
And at the end of the chapter, God's still talking to him. God's still blessing him. Things are still going well.
And so when the lots that have a soft spot for Sodom, when the lot leaves our church, guess what?
This church will still be here, and it'll still go on. You know what I mean?
And all the Abrams and Sarahs will still be here and still do what they're supposed to do.
You know, there are just a lot of lots along the way that just need to go somewhere else.
And you say, why do you preach so hard? You know what? Because I just can't stand worldly, liberal,
water-town Christianity. I'm just sick of it.
And so I just hope that this kind of preaching will just get those people the hell out of here.
You know what I mean? And you say, oh, I can't believe you said it.
Well, you know what? I can't believe the state of our country, and I can't believe the state of churches today.
I'm sorry. I don't have tolerance for it. I'm sick of it.
And I want this church to be a clean and righteous and godly place filled with godly families
and godly men and godly women and godly young people who actually care about living a righteous life.
And they like hard preaching, and they like the Bible, and they think that St. Peter was right and St. Jude was right,
and they think that everything that the Bible says is right, and they're sick of Hollywood,
and they're sick of TV, and they love the lost, and they want to go out and win souls to Christ,
but they're not bringing the world into church.
We'll bring this to them, but we're not bringing them in here.
They can stay out there in their cesspool of sin. We're not bringing in their rock and roll.
We're not bringing in their movies and Hollywood. We're not bringing in their clothing stuff.
No, we'll take it to them.
But I'm here to tell you tonight, I will not compromise.
And if you expect me to ever compromise and back down to please you,
you are dealing with a very stubborn preacher who will not ever back down.
And I don't care if the whole world backs down on this and starts accepting homos,
this preacher will never accept homos ever.
They will never be in this church. They will never attend here.
One of them will never attend this church. They'll be thrown out.
In the Bible, they weren't even allowed to live next door to God's house.
They broke down the houses of the Sodomites that were just near the house of God.
And then today they said, bring them in. No.
I mean, the Bible says to cast out fornicators.
That's people that are normal. That's men with women.
That's a normal sin. And he said there was a fornicator in 1 Corinthians 5.
They said, put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
How much more those who go after strange flesh?
No. I will never back down on this.
You know what will happen before I ever back down on that?
I'll just resign and just quit being a pastor.
And I'm not even going to do that. I'm just saying there will be more dignity in that.
Wouldn't you respect me more? Wouldn't you respect me more if I just resigned and said,
you know, I'm not going to pastor anymore?
Then if I got up and started saying, well, time's changed.
It's going to be a cold day in hell, my friend. I will never back down on this.
If you back down on this, if you think that it's normal,
if you start accepting them and they're nice and they're coming over for dinner,
you know what? See, hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back.
Because I will not accept. You're not getting that from the Bible.
I read you what the New Testament...
Show me something in the New Testament about sodomy that I didn't already read to you tonight.
There's only one. Romans 1. Want to go there?
Do we really need to go there? I showed you everything else that the New Testament said.
Mr. New Testament Believer, I showed you Jude and St. Peter. That ought to be enough.
Don't give in on this. God's going to bless us.
And look, this is the doom and gloom sermon.
Because you know what the moral of the sermon is?
Be in Abraham. Let Locke go hang out with a bunch of queers.
You can still be in Abraham. You can still be blessed by God.
God still is going to take care of you. God's going to bless you and your seed after you.
God's going to take care of you.
God is going to cause you to be saved and to prosper.
Let Locke hang with the queers. But you don't have to go that route.
And I believe that God can protect us and bless us and keep us safe.
Let Locke go to the weak church down the street.
I'm staying here with Abraham and Sarah right here. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Father, please just help us to be strong, dear God. We're living in tough times.
And we're living in times where there's a lot of pressure to change.
And there's a lot of pressure for people to tone things down and to water it down.
I'm constantly hearing about the government trying to pass new laws just against this kind of preaching.
Laws against passages of the Bible.
And Father, help us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of your might.
And God, when I go to the college to preach again tomorrow, help me to preach the same thing I preached today.
And not to back down, dear God. Give us boldness and give us your grace to continue in the fight for what is right.
In Jesus' name we pray.