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Genesis 19, when I turn to a passage like that, it should go without saying that I'm not preaching a resurrection or an Easter Sunday sermon. I fully intended to, I wanted to, and I thought about what I would preach throughout the week. I know I'm supposed to, I guess, because it's Easter Sunday. Sometimes I think God lays things in our hearts, and to be perfectly honest, my mind was really preoccupied with the soul winning marathon, more so than Easter, and I don't say that in a bad way. It's just kind of what was going on, and you know, just kind of some of the experiences that I saw, some things just kind of reflecting on, it's kind of inspired the sermon. I kind of had a rough outline earlier on in the week, and then I kind of just threw out the week because I thought about where we're at as a nation and what we're trying to do, or what we did, excuse me, on Saturday, the marathon, just kind of got me thinking about some other things. If you've really heard for an Easter sermon, a resurrection sermon, I can guarantee you that you can go online on YouTube and there's going to be like six or more great sermons on the subject that you can go listen to. I preached last Sunday on the death of Christ, and that's a very important subject. Of course, I don't mean to downplay the resurrection at all. Quite honestly, I have preached the resurrection from this pulpit in times past, you know, randomly out of nowhere, just not on a specific day, and I'll probably do the same thing again. It's a great topic, but there was just something else I felt like preaching this morning, so you're going to have to get that resurrection sermon from some other source this morning. I will touch on it tonight a little bit, but I wanted to preach this morning. When I'm preaching this morning, the title of the sermon is called Lingering or Laboring in the Last Days. Lingering or Laboring in the Last Days, and we started there in Genesis 19. We're not going to spend a lot of time in Genesis 19. We're going to look at Genesis chapter 18 a little bit more and some other scriptures, but I didn't want us to read Genesis 19 because Genesis 19 is just a good reminder of some of the harder truths that are in the Word of God. You know, people often criticize the Bible and say, oh, the Bible was written by men. You can't really trust it. You know, and that's true. The Bible was written by men. The Bible says that holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and that's how we received the Word of God, that the Holy Ghost came upon those men, and wrote those things, that they were moved to write by God, and God preserved those words for us. And so that's very true, but one of the things that always strikes me about that statement about saying, well, the Bible's just written by men, that's a reason to dismiss it, is the fact that, yes, it was written by men, but it doesn't exactly cast man in the best light, does it? It does a really good job of telling you like it is when it comes to mankind. I mean, we look at Genesis 19. That's a dark chapter. I mean, we got sodomites in there. We got, you know, people trying to commit rape. We have incest. I mean, just disgusting, vile sins, things that we don't want to think about or talk about, things that we don't like to have our minds dwell on, and certainly not things that we would write about ourselves, certainly not things that we would want to say, hey, this is what mankind is like. So it's one of those, you know, important chapters because it helps us understand that there are some hard truths in the Word of God. And one of the hard truths that we understand from Genesis 19 is the fact that God destroys wicked nations. God destroys wicked people. That God is a God who judges. God is a God who pours out wrath. God is a God who destroys people. Now, if you would, turn back one chapter to Genesis chapter 18. I really want to look at two individuals this morning. I want to look at the character Lot, and I want to look at the character of Abraham. Because it's from those two characters that I get that title, because lingering or laboring in the last days. Because that's kind of what we see happening with these guys. We see Lot lingering, and we see Abraham laboring. Now, if you look there in Genesis chapter 18, we'll start reading in verse 16. Genesis 18, 16, the Bible reads, And the men rose up from the fence, and looked towards Sodom and Abraham, and went out to bring them on the way. And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do? Seeing Abraham shall surely become a mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. For I know that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he had spoken of him. And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me. And if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from the fence, and went towards Sodom, and Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And the men turned their faces from the fence, and went towards Sodom, and Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And Abraham drew near and said, Will thou destroy the righteous with the wicked? Preadventure there be fifty within the city. Will thou also destroy and spare not the place with the fifty righteous therein? That be far from thee to do after this man, or to slay the righteous with the wicked? That the righteous should be as the wicked? That be far from thee, shall not the judge of the earth do right? So we see here that when Abraham learns what it is that God is going to do, that he has come down to go see if the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah be true, that he plans on destroying these people. And Abraham doesn't try to make excuses. Abraham doesn't try to help God understand that what they're doing isn't that bad, that that's just the way they were born. And what was the sin? I mean, the sin was Sodomy. That's what they were into. They were a bunch of queers. They were faggots. That's what was going on in that sin. And he doesn't try to excuse this. He doesn't try to placate God. You know what he does stand up for? Is the righteous. And he starts to whittle God down a little bit, a little bit, a little bit more. All the way from fifty, if you read the rest of the story, we know he says, we'll now destroy it and preadventure to be found ten righteous. So he gets them from fifty all the way down to ten. And again, that should help us to understand something, that God destroys wicked nations. He says, well, I don't know if I like this sermon. I don't know if I agree with this topic. It's resurrection Sunday. Why are you preaching this? Well, this needs to be preached. And I saw some things yesterday that just reminded me, this is the message that this country needs to hear. Everyone wants to feel good and go to church today. And there's people that won't ever darken the door. Any other day besides Easter Sunday, they're going to go to church out of just placating some family member. Or they feel like it's just their duty to go to church. And they just want to hear a nice sermon about how Jesus rose from the dead. And praise God that Jesus rose from the dead. I'm glad for that. But you know what? He's coming back again. He's going to come back again and he's going to judge this earth. And there's nothing that I'm going to read to you from the word of God that can even begin to compare what Jesus is going to do. He comes back to this earth a second time and pours out his wrath on this earth. And a lot of it's going to be because of some of the same things that we see here in Genesis 19. So first of all, we have to understand that God destroys wicked nations. And you say, well, that's Old Testament. That's Sodom and Gomorrah. Why are you bringing that up? Well Jude, which is way deep in the New Testament, cites Sodom and Gomorrah. It says in Jude 1, even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in light banner giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh are set forth as an example. We have this story back here in Genesis 19 because they are set forth as an example. God wants us to look back at these chapters and learn something from this. Suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. You know, God destroys wicked nations. If you would, turn over to Psalm chapter 19. Or Psalm chapter 9. Go to Psalm chapter 9. You're going to Psalm chapter 9 and I'm going to read to you from Isaiah chapter 40. The Bible says in Isaiah chapter 40, all nations before him are as nothing. And they are counted to him less than nothing. It's not enough to God just to say they are nothing to me. He says they are less than nothing. They are in the negative. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that I've been born in the United States of America. There's honestly, as far as I know, there's really no other place I'd rather live. The conveniences we have, the quality of life we have. If you start to study anything from ancient histories and ancient civilizations that have come through time, things that people used to have to endure, what it meant to be a citizen in certain countries and civilizations throughout time, we've got it really, really good. We, as just even what they would consider poor people, live as kings used to. That's not an exaggeration. We enjoy foods and conveniences and technology like the world has never known before. We're part of this country because we were born here. But let me tell you something. This country is turning its back on God. The Lord has in so many ways turned its back on God. It's rejecting God. It's becoming hostile to the things of God. And they need to understand something and don't think just because you wave the red, white, and blue that somehow you're just going to get past. The God looks down and says, well America's different. America's just better than everybody else. They can get away with it. You know what God says about America? He says of all nations that they are less than nothing. When God comes back, he's going to send up. When Jesus comes back, he's going to set up his own kingdom. He's going to fly his own flag. He's not going to run for President of the United States. He's not going to try and be part of what we've got going on here. He's going to set up a whole new thing. You're there in Psalm chapter 9. Look at verse 17. Psalm chapter 9. In verse 17 the Bible says, The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all nations that forget God shall be turned into hell. Now that's where we're headed. That's where we're going in this country. A nation that is forgetting God. Forgetting our roots of our forefathers. Forgetting about the God of the Bible. And we're slowly and surely being turned into hell. We can talk about that figuratively. Just going to hell in a hand basket. How this country morally is just declining and going into a gutter. But not only that, because of all the lies and the heresy that's being preached and taught in our public school systems. And the godless culture that we live in. It's literally turning droves of people in this nation. Entire nations that are going into hell. Now I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself. Did you notice last night if you watched the live stream of all the results that were coming in. That there were some places that were soul winners out and nobody got saved. I'm not down on those soul winners. I think that takes a lot of character. I think it takes a lot of determination to go out and go soul winning in a country that doesn't want to hear it. That's a whole nation. There was one person saved in Japan yesterday. Maybe it was zero. People went out. There's countries that nobody got saved. Can you imagine just now. I remember hearing that and thinking. Imagine the fact that there are countries in this world where they go days without anybody accepting Jesus Christ. That happens. All nations get turned into hell. Entire people go to hell. Entire populations. For the needy shall not always be forgotten. The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. Arise oh Lord. Let not man prevail. Let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Well that's not a very nice prayer David. That's what he prayed. That's what he wanted to see. To see the heathen judged. Put them in fear oh Lord. That the nations may know themselves to be but men. Why preach a sermon like this? So that people will get humble. So that people understand that we need to see a country like God. So that people understand that they're nothing special. That they are just men before God. That they're part of a country that God targets as less than nothing. That's why we need to understand this. It says they're all nations. No exceptions. Not the United States. Not Israel. Not anybody. There are no exceptions. If you forget God as a nation, you're bound for hell. Now he says there, Let the heathen be judged. Amen to that. And that's a real easy attitude to adopt. And it's getting easier all the time. The more wickedness we see coming, the more filth and abomination I see every day in front of my own eyes. And our culture. If you follow the media and the policies that are being enacted in this country. It's real easy to just say, Let the heathen be judged. Let the heathen be judged. Even so, come Lord Jesus and judge these people. It's a really easy attitude to adopt. And I'm not saying it's a wrong one to have. It says that, Why is it? Because they forget God. We're living in a nation that forgets God. They're forgetting God. And that's an attitude our nation has quickly embraced, isn't it? One that just wants to forget God. That's evidenced by the fact that we see the rise and acceptance of the LGBTQ HIV community. You see the homosexuals, the queers, whatever you want to call them. The transgenders. My day, when I was growing up, we called them transvestites. Because that's what they are. People want to go mutilate their bodies and not identify as the gender they were born with. It's a bunch of garbage. And people are accepting it. It's popular. It's accepted. And if you speak out against it, you're labeled a hate group. You're labeled a hate preacher. You label me whatever you want. If that's what the book says, if that's what the book calls it, that's what it is. You can label it whatever you want. Go ahead and put me on your stupid list of hate preachers. And make sure you send me a plaque so I can hang it up in the front of you. Amen. Because I'm not afraid of you putting on a list. I mean, is that where we're at in this country? You're afraid to be put on a list? Oh, they're going to put me on a list. You're going to send me a memo and give me a paper cut? Go ahead, mark it up. Put me on them. I hate them in the perfect age. Amen. They're guilty. They're vile. They're abominable. They're not of God. And it's an attitude that comes from forgetting God. Rejecting God. I mean, that's what Romans 1 describes them as doing. It says in Romans 28, And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. That's where it all starts. They don't even want to think about God. They don't want God to exist. They want to put God out of their mind. And God says, okay, well I'll forget about you too. It says as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind. To do those things which are not convenient. You know why they do all those things? Because God has rejected them. God has given them over to a reprobate mind. So let's not forget who forgot who first. They forgot God. They said, I don't want to retain God in my knowledge. I don't care what the Bible says. I don't care what the Christians say. And that's why we're going around and knocking on doors so people are coming more consistently hostile to the gospel towards anyone. I almost got ran over the other day because I'm carrying a Bible in my hand. I'm trying to cross a further driveway. The lady honks her horn and pulls five feet in front of me. Do you think it's just because of the look on my face? You know, maybe. I don't know. I tend to think it's because I had a Bible in my hand. I had a suit and a tie on. And it was obvious what I was doing. Knocking on doors. Oh, there's one of those religious people. Let's see how rude I can treat them. And you know what? That's not going to stop me. All it is is a testimony we're at as a country. They're getting more and more wicked. Why? Because they're forgetting God. And we see it with the rise of this LGBTQ community. You know, there are people... We see today in our country that people who do not want to retain God and their knowledge, they want to reject the things of God, they are now a protected class. They are a protected class. They have public policy on their side. They have lawmakers on their side. They are a protected... They're the vast majority. And you know, a lot of people in this country still think they're weird. They still think they're filthy. They're just too afraid to say it. Why? Because they're a protected class. And saying things like that could get you in hot water with them. And they'll go after you. And they don't stop. They're militant in what they believe. And I think it's time God's people got a little militant too. At least in a pulpit. At least a man of God should get some hair on his legs and stand up and not be afraid to preach this every now and then. To remind people where we're at. Because I'm telling you something, people are not paying attention anymore. I mean, why is it that they're able to just rise up and do the things that they're doing in this community of these filthy sodomites? It's because people are at home doing this. Just flipping them into channels. And they're letting this crap be poured into their head. And they're just drowning their minds in the world's philosophy and the world's policies. And it takes every now and then a man of God just needs to stand up and just shame people and remind them So... You know, things are not as bad as Sodom. Yet. Though they will be. I mean, I've seen some things at least recently, last few years going on in our culture. I mean, remember Bruce Jenner? When we were all without him? That freak goes out and mutilates himself and gets just national attention. He's just giving interviews. His image is dressed up as a woman with a mutilated body is just being promoted and just published all across this country. People are having to see that. We're getting bad. Are we as bad as Sodom? No. They're not surrounding houses and trying to violate people yet. But I believe there will be a time when it gets about that bad. You say, I don't know. Well, the Bible says evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse. At least we can all admit that it's going to get worse before it gets better. Before Jesus comes, it's going to get a whole lot worse. And we should have the same attitude as one of these two individuals in this story. Abraham or Lot. Because remember the title of the sermon is Lingering or Laboring in the Last Days. We should have the same attitude as Abraham. And what was Abraham's desire? I mean, obviously, Sodom was Sodom and God was perfectly righteous and just to go and judge those people and destroy those people. But Abraham had an attitude. It wasn't all just let God destroy him. I'm sure he wasn't opposed to that. But what was his heart? It was for the righteous. His heart was for the righteous. We should desire mercy for the righteous. That should be our attitude. I'm saying, let God arise. Let his enemies be scattered. Amen. So come Lord Jesus. We should have that attitude. But let's not forget on the other side that we should still have mercy and compassion for the righteous. Not just the righteous that we already know, but the righteous that we can go out and win. The sinners that are out there that might not reprobate, which are many of them. Reprobates are around every corner. The vast majority of people are not reprobates. They might have a bad attitude. They might reject the things of God. But there are still people out there that will listen. Maybe it's not 50. Maybe it's not 40. Maybe it's not 30. But hey, what if it's 10? What if there's 10? Is it not worth it to have a little bit of compassion on them to go out and at least reach 10 in a wicked country? That supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. We should still desire that. We should still desire to pray and be able to just quietly go about our lives lending souls to Christ. We should still have mercy as Abraham did. We should desire mercy for the righteous. So why is that? Not just for their sake, but for ours only as well. If we want to have a quiet and peaceful life where we can raise our family in all godliness and honesty and raise some godly children, I look forward to being a grandparent. I'm taking my time getting there. I'm not in a rush. I'm putting off getting old as long as I can. But I think about that, about my kids growing up one day and having grandchildren and being able to see my son's sons. I think that's a great thing. But what if that doesn't happen? What if things get so bad that we don't see it happen? Things are cut short before that. So be it. But there's nothing wrong with wanting that. And if we want that, we're going to have to work for it. And I think that if we go out and do the works of God, that God will spare our country maybe a little bit. Maybe he'll put off his wrath a little bit longer. I mean, isn't that exactly what Abraham wanted? He said, well, he didn't spare Sodom anymore. Yeah, they didn't find ten. They had to go count. The ten weren't there. That's how bad it was. I think we could find fifty. I mean, go look at the results. We could find a lot more people that will be made righteous through Christ. See, God will spare a wicked nation if there be some righteous found there. And we need to try and get some righteous people in this country before it is too late. So that we can have and live a quiet and peaceable life. You know, there's another reason why soul-winding is so important. It's not, you know, of course the primary reason is to pull people out of hell. I mean, whatever happens to our country and whatever happens in our lifetime it pales in comparison to somebody spending eternity in a place as terrible as hell. And that's our primary motivation. But, you know, another reason why to go soul-winding is to create a righteous remedy. You know, if people accept Jesus Christ as Savior if they get saved, you know, they're not going to become reprobates. They're going to have the Spirit of God in them. They're going to understand truth when they hear it. Wickedness when they see it. The Bible says in James 5 let him know that he which converted the sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death. That's important. And shall hide a multitude of sins. You know, if we could get some people saved, maybe God will be a little more willing to just kind of look over some things. So you know, I'm going to spare the United States a little bit longer. I'm going to put up. Don't get me wrong. It's coming. This country is far too far gone. It's too far gone. There's two months in here. Judgment will come. But may it not come in our days. If maybe we could go out and spare some people. If we could go out and get a righteous remnant made. How are we going to do that? Through soul winning. Going out and seeing people get saved. That's how important soul winning is. You know, we can sound like we're just beating the same old drum and just repeating the same old message. Soul winning, soul winning, soul winning. Let me say it again. Soul winning, soul winning, soul winning. That's what we're about. Because this is how important it is. It's a soul from hell. It can hide a multitude of sins. And if we can create a righteous remnant, it can put off God's wrath a little longer. And we can see even more where it's done for God. You see, the heaven and the sun and Gomorrah were wicked people. And they, whether they knew it or not, they were in the last days of their existence. I mean, they didn't know that the Lord was just over the hill. And He was sending His angels over. And they went right, marrying and giving a marriage, drinking, carrying on and living life like it was just another day at the office. Until one day, God shows up and the sun came up and fire and brimstone came down. And they were the last day of their existence. And it just very well may be that's about where we're at. As a country and as a world. Our nation, no doubt, is heading in the same direction. You can't deny that. Maybe we're not as bad as Sodom. You can't deny the fact that we're heading in that direction. That's why we go out door knocking yesterday. You know, you got one brother knocking on some tranny's door. Some guy he wants to identify as a woman. Or vice versa. That's why I got to go down the street and see some fag walking down the street. Yes, I said fag. That's what he is. I'm not afraid of that word. Fag is something that's going to be bound up and burned. That's exactly what God's going to do to these sodomites. He's going to gather them, bind them, and burn them. And I got to walk down the street and watch some guy with his pants hiked up and his little fanny pack, his hair in his ponytail and his little tiny steps. Much like a woman as you can with a mustache on. It was everything I could not just to roll down the window as I drove by and say, go to hell you faggot. And I almost feel guilty for not doing it. Because we need some people to stand up and call out the Phil. Why do you think they're out of the crowd? Why do you think he's not afraid to just walk up and down the street looking like that? Why do you think I got to go and knock on a door? My partner knocks on a door. A man comes out in a sundress with hair down to here, implants, and an Adam's apple out to here and shoulders broader than my own. Hairy knuckles. Why do I got to see that? Why do I got to work somewhere? Why do I got to go to work several times and have to deal with some tranny? Some filthy sodomite. That's what they are. Because people aren't getting up and calling it out. If it bothers you, don't let the door hit you or the good Lord split you. Because I'm sick of it. I fear for my children what they're going to have to see. I didn't see this stuff 10, 20 years ago. We're going down this path so fast. It's breakneck speeds. It's unbelievable how quickly things are progressing. It's true. I remember the big deal back when I was a teenager was that Ellen DeGeneres was a header show. Not the one she has now, her sitcom. Ellen DeGeneres, her sitcom. She came out as a lesbian. They pulled the plug on her show. Can you imagine that? Who remembers Saturday Night Live? It's Pat. Remember It's Pat? The whole premise was they couldn't figure out if it was a man or a woman. There was some androgynous character and that was the big dad. I got to use the bathroom. It's over there, Pat. They're trying to see which one it goes into. Imagine running that skit today. They'd pull that show right off. They don't have the guts to run a skit like that today. When I grew up, that was funny. We made fun of people like that. I'm not that old. I'm not that old. But I'm not that old. I just keep telling myself that. The point I'm trying to make is that's how quickly we've progressed in just a few short years, a few decades. Now they're just walking up and down the street. They'll come answer the door. We had a brother and family that goes and knocks on the door. Was that what they said? I don't identify as a woman or something like that? Something like that. But people say that now. I don't identify. Hi ma'am, I'm from a Baptist church. I don't identify as a woman. Well, I identify as a woman. Some of you have a hard time identifying you too. God knows what's been happening. So our nation, it's heading in the same direction. No doubt about it. That's why I had to see that fag walk up and down the street yesterday. Let me just say it. With this University of Arizona shirt on. That big fat A. And if you ever believe there's a sermon coming about that university. When a university wants to go on their website and say we're the leading university for transgender studies, you better believe that big fat A on his shirt just stands for abomination. And that's what that university is teaching these people and universities all across this country that there's nothing wrong with these people. There's everything wrong with these people. And it's an indicator of where we are as a nation. A nation that is going to hell in a handbasket. So we need to be like Abraham. So we can try and put off the judgment of God that is sure to come. But you certainly don't want to be locked in their story, right? Because Lot was the one that was lingering, wasn't he? It says there in Genesis 19, if you're still there, Genesis 19. And there came two angels to Sodom and even and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. I mean, he's cozied right up. He's sitting right in the gate. I mean, the gate's like the public square where you go to meet and talk and greet people and talk business and get to know your neighbor. You know, they didn't have social media back then. It wasn't all done through email. They actually had to go outdoors and talk to people in the marketplace. And that's where Lot was. Just rubbing elbows. Look, the Bible says that every man from every quarter, young and old, came to violate those two angels. I mean, Lot knew exactly who he was dealing with. And there he is just hanging out. Lot sat in the gate in his lazy boy just flipping through the channels. Just, you know, Ellen DeGeneres. Who else is out there? Will and Grace. Who are the other, you know, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. What are some other ones? Come on. What are they? What are the other fag shows that are on TV now? I'm glad you guys don't know. The ones I just quoted are I don't know how old. They're old though. But you're gonna tell me, I mean, they've got gay Disney characters. There's all kinds of folk out there. Brainwashed people from a young age. So that's Lot. You know, that's where a lot of people are today. Now Bible says that Lot was a right that he was a just man. Bible says, you know, he's in Hebrews 11. He's in all faith that he was saved. Let me tell you something. You can be saved and you can go rub elbows with these people. And you can get complacent and you can get brainwashed and you can be just okey-dokey with everything that's going on. And just become a lukewarm, lame Christian. You can go and be like Lot and you can vex your righteous soul with the filthy conversation of the wicked every day of your life. And that's where a lot of people are. And they get so vexed by everything they say going on that they just become numb. And they say, well, what's the point in fighting? They just throw up their hands. They just want to go along with the flow. And that's where Lot is. Just lingering. They say, well, maybe it wasn't Lot's fault. Let's not forget that Lot chose to be there. Go back to Genesis 13 if you want and read it sometime. Lot says In fact, go there right now. Go to Genesis chapter 13. Lot chose to be in Sodom. He wanted to be there. And that's where a lot of Christians are today. They're content to dwell with the wicked and just say, well, everything's fine. You know, that's just their lifestyle. We just got to love them to the Lord. Got to love people that hate God. The Bible says they hate God. That God gives them over to reprobate mind. But somehow you're better than God Even though they've been rejected by God. It's not going to happen. Genesis chapter 13, look at verse 10 So Sodom and Gomorrah were already there. Even as the Garden of the Lord. You know these fags, they always love the nicest places. You ever go to the most scenic, the most nice places to live? That's why they're all in Portland. That's why they're all in San Francisco. Where I'm from, Traverse City, Michigan. Because it's a very beautiful place to live. Lots of water, lots of scenery. It's very scenic. It's a very desirable place. Southern California. Miami. Orlando. They seek out these places. And they go and live there because they're well watered. Because they look nice. They're fruitful. You know, because they know in the back of their minds that this life is the best there is. They know what's coming. And it says there that in verse 12 He wanted to go there. And Lot journeyed east. And they separated themselves, 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. He wanted to wake up in the morning, open up that door, and the first thing he wanted to see was Sodom. That wicked, vile, filthy city. That probably had a lot of merchandise. That was probably really well off. That probably had, you know, when you go there and make a lot of money. He wanted to go there. Where do we find him? First he starts out the tent. Just pitching his tent. You know, you're just there, just watching a little bit of some Sodomite friendly show. You know, just once in a while, once a week. Next thing you know, you're talking to your gay friend at work. And saying, oh, it's just a lifestyle. And you're slowly getting desensitized to it. To the point where you're sitting in the gate with him. That's what happens when you linger. On the last days. You end up like Lot. You know, Lot beholds well-watered plains. And it's the same problem with Christians today. We've just become so accustomed to the abundance. The well-watered plains of America. Just all the conveniences that we have. And I'm grateful for them. But you know, we think that's more important. We want to hang on to that more than anything. We don't want to rock the boat. We want to keep our nice cush position and not say anything offensive. You know, we don't want it to cost us anything. We have to be a Christian. And so that we can have all these nice things that we're afforded as living in. And that's exactly what brought Sodom and Gomorrah down. Or led to what brought them down. I'll read to you in Ezekiel 16 where it says, Behold, this was the iniquity of their sister Sodom. Pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idols. Does that not perfectly describe the United States? I mean, fullness of bread? I mean, we're baptism. We're going to get something to eat later. But you know what? Our big problem this afternoon is we're not going to get bread. We're not going to get bread. Our big problem this afternoon is going to figure out where are we going to go. Is it going to be D.G.'s? Is it going to be the diners? Is it going to be Chipotle? Is it going to be this place? Is it going to be that place? Where are we going to go today? You know, that's the big problem. Why? Because we have fullness of bread. Because there's food on every corner. And the abundance of idolists. That's another one. We want our $40 work week. We want our two weeks paid vacation. We want 17 paid holidays if you work for the city of Phoenix. 17 paid holidays. Plus vacation. I've never seen a group of people work so hard at not working here. Or not working at the city. And that's where we're at as a country, as a nation, and as a people. Same place to autumnal. And it says, And in her daughters neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were hottie. God bless America. While we just do all the filthiest, vilest things that God absolutely detests. Right? We think we just get away with it because we're American. Because we're hottie. And they committed abomination before me. And there's people that will say, well that's not why God destroyed, you know, there's hope for Sodomites because God destroyed Sodom, not because of the sin that they were into, but because they were proud and lazy. No, it says there in verse 50, genius, it says, And they were hottie and committed abomination. I mean, there's committed sin, you know, being the gluttonous, lazy individual. Then there's sin. Then there's being an abomination. That's a whole other level of God aboring something. Hating it, despising it. You know, and that's where we're at today. We're living in a country that's fast approaching its last days. And we have Christians who are just lingering. Like a lot. Lingering. They're too full and they're too idle to go work for God. They don't want to work for God. You know, even after, I mean, think about what happened or even after hearing the message of doom and destruction from God's own angels. The angels come in and they get Lot and they say, if you have hearing in this city, get out because we're going to rain down fire and burnstone. He says it's going to go down. We're burning this place to the ground. Lot still lingers. You ever notice that? That they had to actually physically remove Lot from the city? Obviously, he understood that these were the angels of the Lord. They said everything they were going to do. But if you're still in Genesis 19, where we started this morning, Genesis 19 verse 15, And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here. That wasn't ten, was it? Lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while ye linger, and remain old on his hands, and upon the hand of his wife and upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him, and they brought him forth and set him without the city. So even in the face of destruction, Lot just continues to linger. He can't let it go. He doesn't want to give up the world. He doesn't want to give up his comfortable little lifestyle in Sodom. And that's where a lot of Christians are today. That's why they get offended when the preacher gets up and calls them thanks. And Sodomites, and reprobate, and rejected, and hated of God. Because they don't like it when the boat gets rocked a little bit. And then, they're like Lot, they want to linger. Maybe he'll go on for a few more years. Maybe things aren't as bad as they look. But things are bad. Things are going to get worse in this country. Our country is going down in flames. In flamers. The flamers are just raining us down. And Christians, they're just content to ride it out as if nothing's wrong. They're content to just go along with the flow. Not rot the boat. Nothing's wrong. You don't hear no evil, see no evil, see no evil. Head in the sand. Don't want to admit what's going on. Don't like it when anyone points it out. And they want to just go along with the flow. They're like Lot. They're just lingering. You say, how do you... What's your proof? I'll tell you my proof right here. Right here in the pulpit. Right here in these results. Don't get me wrong about what I'm about to say. I love the soul of the big marathon. I'm looking forward to next year. I'm thankful for the 2,441 souls I got saved. Praise God for that. Word of God that we're everyday in this world. You know what's really sad? And I'm not down on the 2,000 people. 2,258 soul winners. I'm proud. I'm proud of every single one of them. I've got every single one of them. But there's 7 billion people in this world. There's 7 billion people in this world. And there's less than 3,000 people. And I'm sure there's other people that went out soul winning. Other people that would have gone if they could have. Or had something going on. They go soul winning at other times and not down on you if you didn't make it yesterday or whatever. But I'm trying to make the point here that even if we had every man, woman, boy, girl, everybody that could go soul winning out yesterday, do you think it would really be a whole lot more than 3,000 people? In a world of 7 billion people? Our country, our world is going to hell fast. And Christians today just ride it out. Do you think there's more than 3,000 Christians in the world? Do you think there's 3,000 more people in this world that understand what it takes to get saved? That if they wanted to, could have gone out and gotten soul saved? And you know what? That's just one day. There are Christians that go their whole life without winning a single soul prize. They can't be bothered with it. Because they're too busy lingering in the gate at Sodom. Taking in everything that Sodom has to offer. And not wanting... Lifestyle evangelism. I heard someone, a preacher say real recently, I like this. I'm all for lifestyle evangelism. My lifestyle is evangelizing. That ought to be your lifestyle evangelism. Make evangelism your lifestyle. And I would to God that we had more Christians. That that number grows. I hope that number is a lot more than it is next year. We need more soul winners. See, we need more people that are going to be like Abraham. You would go back to Genesis chapter 18. Abraham is not like God. Abraham, we find, busy serving God. That's what he's doing. Sodom and Gomorrah on the brink of destruction. What's Abraham doing? He's serving God. Look at Genesis 18 verse 1. He's headed this way. He'll make it here eventually. When he saw God moving, when he saw God showing up, when he saw the presence of God, he wanted to be there. He didn't care how hot it was. He got up off his backside and ran to meet him. And he bowed himself toward the ground. And said, My Lord, if now I found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee from thy servant. Let a little water I pray you be fetched, and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. And wash a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts. After that ye shall pass on. For therefore ye come to your servant. And they said, So do as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened unto Sarah. He hastened. He wasn't idle. He wasn't lingering. He wasn't taking his time. He ran. He hastened. And said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal. Needed to make cakes upon the herd. And Abraham ran unto the herd. This guy's running everywhere. He's busy serving God. He's trying to get a meal together to God. He wants God to stay with him. He wants God to bless him. He wants to know what God has to say. He wants God to be pleased with him. What's he do? Serves him. And he does it with haste. He ran unto the herd and fetched a calf tender and good. And gave it unto a young man. And he hastened to dress it. He took butter and milk and the calf which he had dressed. I mean, he is a Baptist. Our roots go deeper. We got a meal and he served up. That sounds good. Why don't we go get some buttered milk and some calves, right? And he dressed. And he set it before them. He set it down. And he stood by under the tree and they did eat. And he was busy to serve God. That's the type of person we want to be today. That's the type of Christians we need today. We're ever going to see that number of soul winners grow. It's going to be because we have some Christians who aren't afraid to stand up in the heat of the day when it's hard, when it's not easy and are still going to go out and serve God. We're going to have soul winners in five hours. It was probably not as hard as it could be. At least we got a lot of people saved. At least we saw 36 souls come to Christ yesterday. But you know what? It took going out in the heat of the day. It's not even hot here yet. And it was hot. It's only going to get hotter in the next few months. Are we going to quit soul winning because it gets hot? We're going to keep going out. We're going to keep doing the work. It wasn't the easiest thing. Where I was, my team, I saw one person come to the Lord, I think. I mean, look at them. We covered a lot of ground. Several blocks. Knocked a lot of doors. People slamming doors. Not coming to doors. Not interested. It's not always easy. But you know what? We still got to serve. We still got to do it. We still got to go out and do the work. While we're out there soaking up all the bad doors, I mean, what if I had sent Fabian over there? What if I said, no Fabian, no apartments for you. And sent him over to that unreceptive neighborhood. You know, but we were there busy soaking up the bad doors and those that were with him. And that's how you got to look at it. You know, you're not going to win souls every single time you go out door knocking. I didn't get one yesterday. But I'm still rejoicing the fact that, you know, somebody got 36 other souls saying today. It doesn't have to be me every time. It doesn't. We're a team here. And we need people to go out and serve God. Be like Abraham. They need to be quick to serve the Lord. Not worry about the temperature or what it's going to cost them. No, not for God. Get them that old, wiry, bony calf. That old cow. You know, that's just been nothing but a nuisance. She's on her last leg anyway. You know. Just give that to God. A lot of people are like that. Oh, we'll just give God a little bit here and there. Abraham was quick. He didn't let the circumstances, he didn't let the heat of the day get to him. And he went out and he had the best that he had. That's what he gave to God. That's what we need today. We need to be like Abraham, not like Lot. We need to labor, don't linger. Destruction's coming. Wrath is coming. Judgment's coming. Don't be like Lot and linger in the gates of Sodom. Be like Abraham in Genesis 18 and be quick to serve God. Go ahead and turn over to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. You go to 2 Corinthians 5, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Always. All the time. You should be abounding more and more in the work of the Lord. For as much as you know that your labor is not in vain. I mean, was Lot's labor in vain? No. He had a conversation with God. He was able to influence the mind of God Almighty. He didn't labor. Because he had treated the Lord. Because he gave and he worked. And he's able to top God down from destroying from 50 to 10. God agreed. But the 10 weren't there. Was he not able to influence the mind of God? Wouldn't we want that for our lives? For us to be able to go to God and be able to say, God, can you help me here? God, do this, God, do that. Would you have done that for Lot? I think Lot's lucky he got out of there alive. The Bible says the only reason he got out is because God was merciful unto him. Meaning he didn't. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don't deserve. Mercy is getting what you do. Not getting what you do deserve. I mean, he said he was merciful unto him. I mean, God was very patient with Lot. He said, you know what? I agreed to spare it for 10. I tell you what, I'm just going to spare these few people here. And the rest are going to go. He didn't have to do that. He did destroy the whole city. He agreed with Abraham for 10. We want God to listen to us and hear us. And if we labor for God, we're going to be fruitful. I mean, it's the same thing with Abraham here. He was fruitful. If you think about it, he was able to stand on the promises of God. He was faithful to God. And God's promises came true for him. That he became very fruitful. Go ahead and turn over to Hebrews chapter 6. Keep something in Genesis. Just go to Hebrews 6. The Bible says, alright, as you can see, you're going to Hebrews 6. The Bible says, Wherefore we labor that whether present or absent may be accepted of him. And that's a big reason to labor for God right there. That he'd accept you. That he'd approve of you. That he'd look down and say, I'm pleased with you. There's a reason to labor. Hebrews chapter 6 says, For God is not unrighteous to forget your work And that he ministered to the saints and do minister. God pays attention to what we do. God pays attention to whether or not we're lingering. God pays attention to whether or not we're laboring. He pays attention. And we know that our labor, if we're going to be fruitful, if we work for God, that we're going to bear fruit as Abraham did. And that that fruit that we bear today, I mean, with Abraham, it was a literal child in his old age. God made a promise to him. Abraham, you just have to trust me and know that I'm telling you the truth. And Abraham served him. But Abraham didn't see that promise come to fruition until very much later in his life. And when it came to the promise of his son. And it's true with us. It's not the same with us. Often sometimes a couple has to pray for a child. But by and large, what I want to apply this to is the fact that we as God's people need to work for God and stand upon the promise of God. If we work for him, we're going to be spiritually fruitful. We're going to bring forth the spiritual seed. And that's what the Bible says in Proverbs 11, that the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. And he that wineth souls is wise. If we go out and win another soul to Christ, that's another tree of life. That's another person that can go out and win another soul to Christ. So, the conclusion here is that Abraham labored. He was the one that labored. That's what we want to do. He labored because he knew the promises of God are true. That he understood that judgment is a thing and that God judges and that God rewards. And if you would, keep something in Hebrews 6. Go over to Genesis 17. Stay in Hebrews 6, keep something there, and go to Genesis 17. God made a promise to Abraham. It says in Genesis 17 verse 1, When Abraham was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said unto him, I am the Almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. He's ninety-nine years old and God says, I'm going to multiply you exceedingly. And Abraham fell on his face and God talked with him saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name be any more called Abraham, but thou shalt be called Abraham. For a father of many nations have I made thee, and I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings come out of thee, and I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land where thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. I mean, Abraham's there, he's found laboring, God gives him this great promise. Now did Abraham see this come true? He didn't, he died. But many hundreds of years later, like many hundreds of years later, and I'm not going to take the time to read it, but if you go to Joshua chapter 11, you see where Joshua comes in the Promised Land. And in verse 9, he defeats king after king after king after king. Joshua, in Joshua 11 verse 9, he says, The king of Jericho won, the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel won. The king of Jerusalem won, the king of Hebron won, the king of Jarmuth won, the king of Lakish won, the king of Eglom won, the king of Geyser won, the king of DeFar won, the king of Geiter won, the king of Hormah won, the king of Arad, the king of afol, the king of Makeda, the king of Bethel, the king of Tapuah, the king of Ephr, the king of Apheke, the king of Shimm Wrestleach, the king of Aichina, the king of Tannach, the king of Megiddo, and he goes in and he fulfills this promise that was made to Abraham hundreds of years later. He goes in and defeats and he takes all the land of Canaan for his possession. and for his possession. You know, some people go to Joshua 11 and they would read that and they would say, that's just a list of really hard to pronounce names. Why would God put that list in there? I think I read that and I see a promise that God gave his servant upheld hundreds of years later. Maybe that's why so many people linger. Maybe that's why so many people are idle today. Because the promise is too slow to come. They know Jesus is coming. They know that he's going to reign one day. But to them, it's a far off. They're blind. They can't see it. They lack the faith to see it far off. Abraham, do you think Abraham was really expecting that? It all happened in his lifetime. God promised him that in Genesis 17. No, he understood that he was 99 years old, that he was going to die. That this promise was to the nations that would come out of him. That he believed God. And that's why a lot of people today, they don't labor. They do not like Abraham. They're like a lot. They linger. Because they don't really, they might even believe the promise of God. But to them, it's so far off. You know, we're going to be rewarded for our works that we do in this life. That God is going to reward us for the souls that we win to Christ. And let me tell you something, that reward is not far off. In fact, it's one breath away. You walk out, you go pull out of here, get in a wreck, and you die and you go straight to heaven, that reward is going to come or not come pretty quick. And we're so short sighted in this life that we don't want to be bothered serving God because to us it just seems like it's so far away. You see, if you're there, go to Hebrews chapter 11. We'll wrap it up in Hebrews chapter 11. Say, well, I don't know. I mean, do people really doubt God that much? Well, I don't know. It says in 2 Peter 3 that there shall come the last day scoffers walking after their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continued as they were from the beginning of creation, just like Sodom and Gomorrah, we're getting away with it. God doesn't see. God doesn't care. Christians today think the same thing. Oh, I know the Sodomites are out, but it doesn't seem like God really cares. It's been going on for a long time. Things are going to get worse, but you know what? That's all right. They lack the ability to see far off. Look at Hebrews chapter 11 verse 13. These all died in faith, having not received the promises. They died in faith. They believed the promises and they died believing them, even though they didn't receive them. But having seen them a far off, why is it they were able to die in faith having not received the promises? Because they have seen them a far off and were persuaded of them. I mean, things that they would never partake in, things that were going to come thousands of years later, were able to persuade them in their life until they were willing to labor for God. Go read Hebrews 11, all the hall of faith, all the great exploits and works that these men and women of God did. They did them all, it's saying here, because even though they knew they weren't going to receive those promises, they were able to see them a far off. And it influenced them and persuaded them to labor for God in their lifetime and embrace them and confess that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. I mean, that's the attitude you have to have if you're not going to linger in the last days. If you're going to have to labor, you have to understand that this world is not your home. You're just passing through. You're not going to go sit in the gate of Sodom and let souls go to hell and let a whole country be turned into hell. Amen. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And if truly they've been mindful of that country, once they came out, they might have had opportunity returned. But now they desire a better country. That is in heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for yet prepared for them a city. That's the same promise that they had back then, that God has prepared for them a city, that there remain yet a rest of the people of God is the same promise that we have today. And that God was a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. That's the same promise that we have today. And those that linger, those that refuse to labor in the last days are those who doubt these promises. They can't see them afar off. They don't believe them. They're not persuaded. Go over to Hebrews chapter 10. Let's not be like them. Thank God for the almost 3,000 people that are out soul-witting this week. Thank God for everyone that they're not like all the other ones. You know, the people that go soul-witting on a regular basis, whether it was yesterday or any other day, they go out there, they understand the need to go out and win souls to Christ in these last days. Thank God for every one of them. Let's do more of that. Let's have more of that. Let's not stop doing that. Let us hold fast to the profession where faith, says in verse 23, without wavering for He is faithful, that promise. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of our souls together. You know, we don't need any more lots in this world. We got plenty of them. You know, in the world of Christendom and Christianity today, we're filled to the brim with a bunch of lingering lots. We just want to hang out in the gate of Sodom and just enjoy the world as it passes by and just gleefully go along with the world and this culture, this godless society that we're living in. We don't need any more of them. We got all we need. You know, we don't need them lingering and helping to usher in, you know, the wrath of God. I mean, what was Lot doing there? Do you think he was evangelizing? No. You think he was out there trying to, you know, win them to Christ, turn them to righteousness? Not at all. In fact, he was a really bad testimony, if anything. If they found out, oh, wait, you're Abraham? You're a people of God? The Lord God Jehovah is your God? The God who teaches what we're doing, is everything wrong? He's a bad testimony. And what he's doing is he's helping usher in the wrath of God. Because people look at that, the world looks at that, and they say, well, this must not be real. This must not be true. I mean, this guy claims to believe it. He certainly doesn't live like it. So they don't get saved. They keep going on their merry way. They get more and more evil, more and more wicked. And the lots that are lingering in the world market down are helping to usher in God's wrath in this country. What we need are some Abrahams. That's what we need, who are willing to labor, who desire mercy on others, who want to see more righteous, who want God to be merciful and to see the righteous spared. They need more of them, more Abrahams who desire mercy and have faith and patience to wait for the rest that comes. They have the faith, they have the eyes that can see it far off and understand the promises that are made to us, the rest that has come, and in the meantime are going to go out and not linger, but they're going to go out and they're going to labor in these last days. Let's go ahead and pray.