We'll read this all together. Let's stand, please, for the reading of the Word of God.
Chapter 11, verse 15 of Hebrews. Let's read it together, please.
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out,
they might have had opportunity to have returned.
Turn now to the book of Genesis and the 13th chapter, page 22 in your Schofield Bible, and the 10th verse.
And let's likewise read that verse together. Ready?
And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain 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, has thou comest unto Zoar.
And let's pray.
Although we probably have little realization of how great our opportunity is,
tonight, of course, is a great opportunity.
Nowhere else in the world would we have such an opportunity as we have now.
We pray that you'd help tonight as we meet together and as we listen together,
and as we, of course, have our hearts touched by the message.
May we translate that into that which you'd have us to do and to be.
Of course, we pray so much for May 3rd. We want it to go very well. We want to be of help.
Bless, we pray, and help our church family and our preacher in Jesus' name. Amen.
Let's give the Lord a way and his three daughters sing.
I want to read for you that verse we read a while ago without you returning to it.
I think it's one of the most amazing verses in the Bible.
It is Hebrews 11 and verse 15.
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out,
they might have had that opportunity to return.
If they had been made mindful of what it was like in Egypt, they might have wanted to go back to Egypt.
I do not want anything in the First Baptist Church of Haman to remind people who get saved
of the places from whence they came at all.
And I want to talk to you tonight about my sermon. I've got three titles.
One is why most folks go back.
Two, the purpose of separation.
Three, lack the land of Egypt.
Lack the land of Egypt.
It was said that Lot chose the well-watered plains towards Sodom because it was lack the land of Egypt.
If it had never been to Egypt, he wouldn't have known that.
I want to talk to you tonight. I want to listen very, very carefully as I bring the message.
Father, help me as I speak tonight in a very special way.
I ask your help.
And I pray you bless the dear ones as they listen. Amen.
I had a man years ago who got saved in our church.
The truth is I won the man, the Lord, myself.
He was there in the church for a few weeks and we needed an usher one Sunday morning.
And this man was asked to fill in and take the offering.
He made an appointment the next week with me and he said,
Pastor, don't ever ask me to do that again.
I said, why?
He said, I just got out of the world a few months ago.
I'm saved. I know I'm saved.
But he said, the way some of the ladies sit in the pews,
benign me of the way some of the ladies sit out in the world.
And that's why I know a Christian lady ought to sit like the worldly lady sits
or dress like the worldly lady is dressed.
He said, I just can't do it.
I cannot take the offering anymore because I'm trying to live a Christian life
and every time I take the offering I see the way some of the ladies are sitting,
showing their knees and so forth and in some cases their thighs.
And he said, I just cannot do it.
I'm afraid I'll go back into the world.
I knew we had a man at the rescue mission one time who was an evangelist.
This is his story and I believe he told the truth.
He was an evangelist down south.
He'd been saved from a life of drunkenness and was an alcoholic.
And he got saved and became an evangelist.
He preached revivals all over the southern states, he said.
One time a man owed him some money and this man was in a tavern
and this guy goes in the tavern to collect the money
and while he's there he takes a drink and he ends up an alcoholic again
and in the rescue mission.
Now you listen carefully to me.
What you'd better do is you'd better divorce yourself from anything
that reminds you of what you used to be.
Not long ago, a few weeks ago, we had a man come out to our house
to do a little work for us and he was a fine young married man
and he looked at the name there and he said,
Are you the Jack Hyles, pastor of First Baptist Church?
And I said, Yes, I am.
And he said, I've always wanted to meet you.
I've heard about you all my life.
I grew up in the Canada region.
And I said, Are you a Christian?
He said, Yes, I am.
He called the name of the church he goes to.
And he said, I like our church.
We just had a what's not service, he said.
And I like it.
And I'm quoting.
He said, Because our church what's not services
are just like the world plus Jesus.
And that's the picture of modern Christianity.
The charismatic movement is just like the world plus Jesus.
The evangelical movement is just like the world plus Jesus.
Wear your hair like the world plus Jesus.
Sing the songs like the world plus Jesus.
Men, wear your earrings like the world plus Jesus.
Ladies, wear your pants like the world plus Jesus.
Go mix swimming plus Jesus.
And now what happens is when people do that,
before you know it, they slide back in the world
because of our text tonight that says,
in Hebrews chapter 11, it says,
And truly if they had been mindful of that country
from whence they came out,
they might have had opportunity to return.
Let me show you a picture tonight.
Two little boys playing in the yard
in a little city called Zoar, a little town called Zoar.
Those two little boys look like ordinary little fellows,
but they're not.
You see, the father of one of those boys
is also his grandfather, if you please.
This little boy is the son.
Are you listening to me? No talking, please.
This little boy is the son of the daughter of Lot.
And he's also the son of Lot
because Lot committed incest with his daughter.
I want to say again, I face this so often
in my counseling session.
There's nothing any more rotten to me
or any sorrier to me
than a man who would look with lust on his own daughter,
and that's one reason why that around the house
you ought to have your daughters fully clothed
walking around the house.
They shouldn't walk around the presence of their dad
with their underwear on.
I'm simply saying that nothing is worse.
And you guys, pardon the word, not even guys,
you animals who would lust at your own daughter
in God's name, do society a favor and blow your brains out.
But these two little boys are playing in the yard.
Listen to me.
They're playing in the yard.
Where did it all start?
It started when Abraham was in the Ur of the Chaldees
in Babylon, what we call Babylon, now Iraq.
Abraham later on went down into Egypt.
Egypt reminded him of Babylon.
And while he was there, he took Lot
because Egypt reminded Abraham of Babylon.
Now, Abraham shouldn't have gone anywhere
without him in Babylon.
But while he was there, Lot became enchanted with Egypt.
And when they came back, Lot and Abraham said,
I want you to choose what you want now because there's strife.
We mentioned it last Wednesday night, I think it was.
And Lot chose the well-watered plains towards Sodom.
Now, the Bible says he chose the well-watered plains
towards Sodom because it was like the land of Egypt.
It was like the land of Egypt.
Now, Lot would never have gone to Sodom
if he hadn't been to Egypt.
And Lot would never have fathered by the sin of incest
two little boys, one named Moab, one named Ammon,
if he hadn't been to Egypt.
Now, you listen to me.
You folks that got saved from the tavern,
don't you go back to the tavern.
You folks that got saved from lust,
don't you go back to the movie house.
I'm saying if you go back and see what you had before,
the same old appetites are there,
and you will see and be tempted to return.
For if they had been mindful of the country
from whence they came,
they might have had opportunity to return.
What Lot is saying is this.
He's saying, Moses, don't you have anything
in the wilderness and when you get to Canaan
that reminds the people of Egypt.
Don't you sing Egypt's music?
Don't you dress like the Egyptians?
Don't you worship like the Egyptians?
Don't you talk like the Egyptians?
Don't you live like the Egyptians?
Don't you dress like the Egyptians?
Because you are a peculiar people.
If Abraham had not been mindful of Babylon,
no Middle East problem,
he wouldn't have gone to Egypt,
he wouldn't have met the little gal Hagar
whom he got pregnant and brought her back to Canaan,
and from whom that union came a boy named Ishmael,
Ishmael the father of the Arab people,
and all the troubles tonight with Iraq,
Iran, Jordan, all the troubles in the east tonight,
the Jordanians, all the pelvis,
the Netanyahu going through tonight,
all of it is caused because a Christian man
went somewhere and that place reminded him
of where he had been.
Listen, ladies and gentlemen,
when you make a break with the world,
make a clean break with the world.
When the Israelites were going through Moab
on their way to the Promised Land,
it was necessary for them to go through the country of Moab
and the country of Edom.
Both of those were heathen nations.
And God said to Moses now,
as you go through Moab and Edom,
He said, stay on the highway.
Don't turn to the right, don't turn to the left.
You stay on the highway.
Now you said you've got to buy some food,
get off the highway, go buy some food,
pay cash for it, and get back on the highway.
Now why?
I'll tell you exactly why.
Because the Israelites had left the land of Egypt,
and Edom was a lot like Egypt,
and Moab was a lot like Egypt,
and God said, don't want you getting off the highway
because it might remind you of Egypt.
By the way, that's why 1st Baptist Church of Haman,
I want nothing in this place to remind you of false religion.
I want nothing in this place to remind you
of the old Mother of Hollis, the Catholic Church.
I want nothing in this church to remind you folks
that were saved out of Catholicism,
once you thought you were going to heaven
because a priest put some ashes on your head on Ash Wednesday
or put some fat on your plate on Fat Tuesday.
I want to tell you tonight,
those of you that came out of that,
bless God, that's why they don't wear robes in the choir.
That's why I don't wear a robe right here.
That's why we don't have liturgy.
That's why we don't sing the Sevenfold Army
because we don't want to remind you from which you came.
Moses went to Mount Sinai.
While he was up there to get the tablets of stone,
Aaron, his assistant,
led the people in building or making a golden calf.
From the earrings they placed in a mold,
the golden calf,
and Moses came back down.
They were worshiping this golden calf.
They were singing worldly music.
They were dressed, or they were naked,
dressed immodestly, and they were dancing.
Now, it's wrong to do that,
but here's where it's doubly wrong.
It was in Egypt where they learned about the worship
of the sacred cow.
This golden calf was reminding them of Egypt.
The songs they were singing were Egyptian songs,
and I don't care who you are or whether you like it or not.
Brother, let's clean up our church music across America.
We don't need to buy the devil's tune
to put some of God's words to it.
Boy, give me the old songs of Zion.
Give me rescue the perishing.
Give me a Calvary.
Give me must Jesus bear the cross alone.
Give me come to the fall of every blessing.
Give me when the saints go marching in.
Give me when we all get to heaven.
Give me blessed assurance Jesus is mine.
Give me how the songs of God have been tested and proved
in great revivals and building great truth.
We don't need to buy the devil's tune to add to our music.
That's why I'd just as soon watch HBO
as watch these characteristics on television.
Nothing more than reminding the people of the old country,
brother, I want our people to make a clean break
with the old country.
Same old stuff plus Jesus.
I think we came to the Hammond years ago,
and I'm not, I think the man that preceded me
was a godly man, a good man.
And I owe a great debt to him
and all those that were here when I came.
But there are a few things I changed.
Number one is, when it came time for the special,
the lights dimmed.
Remember that?
The lights dimmed.
He had a rheostat and, what was it, a rheoboam,
one or the other, but anyhow.
And as the singer got up,
the lights in the auditorium dimmed
and a spotlight was on the special music.
Now we stopped that.
Why? Because that's like the land of Egypt.
I recall we used to have baby dedication.
I've never seen anything like that before.
I mean, we always dedicated babies at the hospital
when the parents, we prayed for the baby at the hospital.
But we had baby dedication.
I thought that sounded pretty good.
And so what we did,
bring all the new babies down to the altar,
and we'd have a prayer for them,
and have baby dedication.
But the first time we had it,
after I came here,
I met a visitor, I said,
where are you from? What brings you here?
He said, I'm the godfather for one of these babies.
And I said, that does it.
We're not going to have anything that looks like baby sprinkling.
And so we thought, you know why?
Hey, somehow or other,
we had the idea back in those days,
that we were going to tiptoe up on the Catholics,
and act like them, and be like them,
and fool them, and say,
now you're a Baptist.
And you didn't know it.
Bless God, when you join First Baptist Church of Hamlet,
I want you to know about it.
We used to chant the Lord's Prayer.
We stopped that because that's the way they do in Egypt.
That's why we don't have any canned music here.
Brother, if special numbers are too high-falutin'
for that gal to play the organ, that gal to play the piano,
we'll just change the special numbers.
Because, it reminds me, it's like in the land of Egypt.
That's why, when I first came here,
a fellow walked up to me and says,
what size tails do you wear?
I said, what you talkin' about?
Well, he says, the pastor here preaches in a scissor-tailed coat,
and a form of attire on Sunday morning.
And I said, no more?
This one doesn't.
No, sir.
You know why?
Because that is like the land of Egypt.
They announced a good Friday service.
I'd never heard of it.
Down in Texas, we weren't that smart.
It was a good Wednesday down there,
and we thought, gee, it's Chris Todd on Wednesday.
So, I announced a good Friday service, and I had one.
And you wouldn't believe what it was like.
It was like the land of Egypt.
So, I didn't have any more of them.
I went to the Bible.
I used to have a library over there,
where Maxine Jeffers' office is now.
Had a library.
I went in the library and saw a bunch of fake Bibles in the library.
I took them out and burned them in the garbage can.
That didn't go over too good the library committee.
But those fake Bibles didn't go too good with me either.
I said, we're going to have God's Bible
and not the devil's Bible.
I want you to know that's one reason why
I run around on the platform and holler and stand up on the chair
and while we sing and hold our hands up and say amen and praise the Lord.
I don't want First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana.
I don't want the preacher to be like Egypt.
I don't want the music to be like Egypt.
I don't want the atmosphere to be like Egypt.
I don't want the worship to be like Egypt.
Bless God.
I don't want to remind you where you came from.
I don't want to remind you where you're going to.
My first day I was here.
38 years and 8 months ago.
Walked in the office and my secretary was there in shorts working.
Just like they do in the land of Egypt.
We stopped that right away also.
I'm not saying you wear choir robes.
You're the devil.
But you look more like a Catholic than if you didn't wear choir robes.
Shall we stop that?
We had Catechism classes.
We didn't do what the Catholics do but it sounds the same.
So we stopped the Catechism classes.
That's one reason why this building has no stained glass windows.
Now I'm not fighting stained glass windows.
I'm just saying stained glass windows look more like Catholics than a new village Sunday revival meetings.
That's why we have no pictures of Jesus hanging around here.
I don't want this church to remind anybody of the country from whence they came.
Now you listen to me.
If you don't want to go back where you were, don't you be reminded of where you were.
I don't want our schools to be like all the others plus Jesus.
I don't want our athletic contest at Hammond Baptist schools to be like all the others plus Jesus.
I talked to Dr. Boyd the other day about this.
I said, we have a prayer before the games.
Why don't we read the Bible some before the game too?
We kicked the Bible at our public schools but now we've kicked it out of our gymnasium in our Christian school.
So next year we're going to read the Bible.
Don't you say at a basketball game you got it right?
And I said, but Boyd, why don't we sing some gospel songs at the ball game?
Man, I don't want it to be the world plus Jesus.
I want it to be Jesus plus the ball game.
Boy, this is good.
Why not take our Bibles to the ball games?
You say, Brother Howard, you're going too far.
I'll be going farther than this as the years come.
If you can't take your Bible, don't go.
And when your Bible's not welcome, don't you go.
Blessed God, next year at the basketball game, let's get out of our car,
talking our Bibles inside that gymnasium, and let's read some scripture together,
and let's sing some old-fashioned gospel songs together,
and let's quit making it like the world plus Jesus.
Let's just make it old Jesus.
You say, Brother Howard, you get more phonetic all the time.
Come on, blessed God.
When I went to seminary, I saw a chorus down there that said phonetics.
I thought it was phonetics. I majored in it.
I don't want our music to be like Egypt plus Jesus.
I don't want it to be rock music plus Jesus, classical music plus Jesus,
long hair plus Jesus, mini skirts plus Jesus, shorts plus Jesus,
women wearing pants plus Jesus, acting while singing specials plus Jesus.
Blessed God, don't go to places that remind you of Egypt.
Don't listen to music that reminds you of Egypt.
Don't read magazines that remind you of Egypt.
I said don't read magazines that remind you of Egypt.
Don't watch programs that remind you of Egypt.
Don't run with the crowd that reminds you of Egypt.
Don't choose friends that remind you of Egypt.
And that's why you shouldn't watch David Letterman,
because he's like the land of Egypt.
And that's why you shouldn't watch Jay Leno,
because he's like the land of Egypt.
And that's why you shouldn't watch Tom Snyder,
because he's like the land of Egypt.
And that's why you shouldn't watch Jerry Springer,
because he's like the land of hell.
That's why you shouldn't watch Oprah, because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch All My Children,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Young and Restless,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Sunset Beast,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Ricky Lake,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Bold and Beautiful,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch As the World Turns,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Another World,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch One Life to Live,
because it's like, hey stay around, I'll get to yours here in a minute.
That's why you shouldn't watch the Godless Mari Show,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Roseanne,
because she's all fired ugly.
And she's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch General Hospital,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Jenny Jones,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Montel Williams,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Sally Raphael,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Hard Coffee,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Inside Edition,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't like Barney and Friends.
I said Barney and Friends,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch the Newlywed Game,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch the Dating Game,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch the Bill Cosby Show,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Murphy Brown,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Access Hollywood,
it's like the land of Egypt.
And that's why you shouldn't watch Channel 38,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Lisa,
it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Sesame Street.
Oh, oh, oh!
Because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Gerard over there,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Three's Company,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Larry King Lies,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Love Boat,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Mad About You,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch The Golden Girls,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Saturday Night Live,
or Sunday Night Dead, because it's the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Dallas,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch the Charismatic Religious Program,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Entertainment Tonight,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Access Hollywood,
it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Designing Women,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch Cheers,
because it's like the land of Egypt.
That's why you shouldn't watch MASH.
Clean up your act!
Clean up your living room!
Clean up your family room!
Clean up what your kids watch!
Clean up your household!
And quit having Egypt come in your house!
That's why you shouldn't watch All in the Family.
Because it's like the land of Egypt.
Our music shouldn't be like Egypt.
Our dress shouldn't be like Egypt.
Our hairstyles shouldn't be like Egypt.
Our vocabulary shouldn't be like Egypt.
Our school shouldn't be like Egypt.
I thank God I go to the church
when a liberal comes to visit and spot him.
We had a couple of guys with hair like girls
sitting up back here a few weeks ago.
I spotted them.
I wasn't surprised to find one of them
moved there to the Hammond Times,
criticizing my sermon.
You said that hurt your feelings, brother.
It blows a couple of hippies back there.
By the way, one of them was a pastor of a church.
I wonder why he wasn't in church on Wednesday and Sunday night.
I'll tell you why.
An old-fashioned preacher drove some people on Sunday night
with a little pussy foot and ear-ticking
and back-spatching preacher.
He can't get a crowd to hear him on Sunday night.
That's why heroes shouldn't be worldly, famous people.
That's like the land of Egypt.
That's why heroes shouldn't be Michael Jacksons
or Michael Jordans,
because it's the land of Egypt.
That's why cheerleaders wear dresses that cover their knees.
At our schools and our activities,
we have modest dress.
Why?
We don't want to dress like the land of Egypt.
That's why our schools don't have girls' sports.
Girls cheer for the boys.
Bunch of girls out there walking like boys
and throwing passes like boys and shooting like boys.
Well, I'll teach them how to walk and sit
like girls ought to walk and sit.
He's out going to church where they have a school
where the girls can play ball like the boys do.
Well, you just trot your little back-slidden carcass out of here
and get your little pussy-foot near-ticking, back-scratching preacher
that'll bow to your cow-towel to your wishes.
But that's God.
You got an old-fashioned preacher behind this puppet
that's going to say,
we're not supposed to be like Egypt is.
That's why our girls do not wear pants, even for sports.
We don't want to be like the land of Egypt.
That's why at our college we had no drama major.
We don't want folks coming to Howells Anderson College
and learning drama so they can go out in Hollywood.
The only drama we want is preaching drama.
That's why we don't allow rock music, regardless of the words.
It's like the land of Egypt.
That's why young men wear tapered haircuts in our schools.
We don't want them dressing like that,
wearing their hair like the land of Egypt.
That's why our college plays,
does not play intercollegiate sports.
We don't want to be like the land of Egypt.
If you want to go somewhere,
and it is the height of unspirituality
for somebody to choose a college
so he can play football or baseball or basketball.
Why don't you choose a college
because it goes so many and help brush up
and get people born again.
We're not going to be like the land of Egypt around here.
That's why I refuse accreditation for our schools.
We're not going to talk down to Egypt
and say our school is okay.
We're going to talk to Egypt and say our schools are okay.
We're not going to say to Egypt,
tell us how to run our schools.
We'll go to heaven and say to God,
show us how to run our schools.
That's why piano recitals are at least 80% gospel songs
and not all long haired music.
Bless God, the same songs that we sing on Sunday morning
and Sunday night ought to be good enough
for the piano recitals at Howells Anderson College.
That's why no worldly opera stars perform at Howells Anderson College.
That's why no one should go to a state university.
It's like the land of Egypt.
That's why our children and teens
should not go to government schools, public schools.
They're like the land of Egypt.
That's why we will take no government money
from the federal government
because our schools refuse to be told
by the federal government how to operate
like the land of Egypt.
That's why our couples don't date on chaperones and cars alone.
We don't want to be like the land of Egypt.
That's why our high school doesn't play public schools
so they can strut their little Egyptian legs at halftime
and let all the men look their Egyptian legs at halftime.
Bless God, at Hammond Baptist School
I'll walk out, I'll set the building on fire,
I'll ask God to destroy it
whenever a little old short-sighted gal
comes strutting down at halftime for basketball games.
Bless God, as long as this old man's alive,
that's not going to happen.
That's why our language should be
not like the land of Egypt.
Neat, I checked the dictionary.
Neat means in order, clean and orderly,
or trim and tidy.
That's what neat means.
The Egyptian vocabulary.
Experts.
I checked the word cool in the dictionary.
It means not hot
or moderately cold.
I checked the word blast.
It means a loud noise caused by an explosion
or a strong rush of air.
And not the hot air that comes
when a person bawlers Egyptian vocabulary as a Christian.
Now you listen to me carefully.
It's time some of you folks cleaned up your vocabulary.
I'm not going to let Egypt tell me
how to dress or how to talk.
I'm not letting Egypt choose my clothes or my vocabulary.
I checked the word bread.
It doesn't mean five dollar bill.
It means dough made with flour or meal.
Awesome means feeling a reverence or wonder.
And baby means a very young infant.
There was a day when a sermon like this
would not have seemed out of order
in any church in America, hardly.
We've copied Egypt.
We've made our church services like Egypt.
We've got Egyptian music.
We've got Egyptian preaching.
Our speaking, our homilies, what do they call them?
The homily to me is corn that's cooked a certain way.
But we've got Egyptian music, Egyptian atmosphere,
Egyptian type dress.
Bless God.
This world is not my home.
I'm just passing through.
My treasures are lit up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
and I just don't feel at home in this world anymore.
When you say I can go to Egypt or places like Egypt,
I won't affect me.
It affected Abraham.
It affected Lot.
It affected Jehoshaphat.
It affected Liminech and Naomi.
It affected Balaam.
It affected Peter while he armed the Devil's fire.
And you are not a better Christian than Balaam
or a better Christian than the apostle Peter
or a better Christian than Abraham
or a better Christian than Jehoshaphat
or a better Christian than Naomi and Liminech.
What you ought to do is say with the grace of God,
I am not going to do anything, go anywhere,
say anything, do anything, wear anything,
watch anything that reminds me of where I came from.
My text says, and truly,
if they had been mindful of that country
once they came out,
they might have had opportunity to return.
Let's go back to our two little boys
playing in the yard outside the city of Zohar.
I don't blame those boys for things.
It's too bad that little Haman had to be the father
of a heathen nation.
And little Moab likewise had to be the father
of a heathen nation.
They're just typical boys.
Who's their mother?
Lot's daughters.
Who's their father?
Lot.
What was Lot doing down there in Sodom?
He chose it because it was lack of the land.
Lack the land of Egypt.
People say to me often,
little Haman, you thought as you got older you'd change.
I have.
I've got meaner.
You see ladies and gentlemen,
as the world gets worse,
God's people have got to cry louder than they ever cried before.
Our job is not to stay the same distance from the world.
Our job is to stay where we are.
And as the world changes, we don't just stay the same distance.
By the grace of God, we look at the world and say,
you have nothing we want.
Take the whole world and give me Jesus.
He satisfies. He satisfies.
If you never want to go back to the life from whence you came,
then don't you be around things that remind you of the life that you once lived.
My text says it better than I can say it.
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out,
they might have had opportunity to return.
And that's why an evangelist could end up a sought alcoholic rock
at the Hammond City Rescue Mission.
Because one day he went back to a tavern to collect the debt that somebody owed him.
And when he went back and walked in, it reminded him of the old life.
Our Heavenly Father,
I pray tonight, number one, that you help this place
always to be, to avoid those things that make us mindful of the country from whence we came.