Well it is good to be with you and I trust that the Lord would bless his word to us today. I really do not understand what the differentiation between a seminar is and a preaching. So we are going to open up the Word of God and preach it. There are two passages that I want to read to you. One from Genesis.

Genesis chapter 19. That would be very familiar to you. Genesis 19. And while you are turning to the passage, I want to say what a joy it is and a privilege for me to be here and to bring God's Word. And this is a familiar passage And our subject is warnings to a heart wedded to the world.

And we want to look at Lot's wife specifically regarding that. Genesis 19 and I'll be reading from the King James Version. And there came two angels to Sodom at even, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot seeing them, rose up to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways.' And they said, Nay, but we will abide in the street all night.

And he pressed upon them greatly, And they turned in unto him, and entered into his house, and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, and all the people from every quarter. And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came into thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

Behold Now I have two daughters which have not known men. Let me I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Only unto these men do nothing, for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof." And they said, stand back. And they said again, this one fellow came in to Sojourn and he will need be a judge. Now will we deal worse with thee than with them.

And they pressed, sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides, son-in-law, and thy sons and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place? For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord.

And the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters and said, Up, get you out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city but he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law and when the morning arose then the angels hastened lot saying arise take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, 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 sent him without the city. And it came to pass when he had brought them forth abroad, he said, Escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain escape to the mountain lest thou be consumed and lot said unto them oh not so my lord Behold now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest thou, lest some evil take me, and I die.

Behold now this city is near to flee unto and it is a little one. Oh let me escape thither. Is it not a little one and my soul shall live? And he said unto him, See I have as accepted thee concerning this thing also that I will not over overthrow this city for which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither, for I cannot do anything till thou become thither.

Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities and all the plain and all the inhabitants of the cities and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt.

And the words of our Lord Jesus Christ which are recorded in Luke chapter 17. Luke 17, just three words in the original. Remember Lot's wife. Luke 17 verse 32. Remember Lot's wife.

Which is given within the context of the Lord speaking to them of in the previous verses. It says likewise also in verse 28 of Luke 17. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

In that day he will, he which shall be upon the housetop and his stuff in the house, Let him not come down to take it away, and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. Amen. Friends we are looking at the inspired record of history in the salvation of Lot.

Yet we see in this the destruction and judgment that fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah, those wicked cities. Including what fell upon Lot's wife while She was fleeing Sodom. Our Lord Jesus Christ just gave a sobering word and warning in Luke 17 and verse 32 on this. And few warnings in Holy Scripture are so solemn as that which here falls from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Remember Lot's wife.

Lot's wife became a beacon of warning. Standing there in that pillar form to warn all who profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and yet love the world. We are living in times that the world is so vividly displayed all around us. And here I'm talking about the world that is without God. The world that is ungodly.

Worldliness would be a better thing to say. Worldliness is all around us. Is all around us. And Lot himself, the husband of that woman, the Scripture says he was living in that wicked city of Sodom. And the Scripture says he was a righteous man.

If the Scripture did not say that he was a righteous man, we would have to say that he was not converted at all. But the Scripture says that. In 2 Peter 2 and verses 7 and 8, Peter says this, that the Lord delivered just lot. It says just lot or righteous lot. Vexed with The filthy conversation, the filthy lifestyle of the wicked.

For that righteous man dwelling among them in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. And when God sent his angels to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, she fled from Sodom with her husband. She went with him, but she, it says, looked back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt. That's what we read in Genesis 19. Why?

The question is why? She simply disobeyed God's express command. When she looked back, She was struck dead at once and turned into a pillar of salt and the Lord says in Luke 17 32 the Lord says Hold her up before your eyes Remember her. Remember her as a beacon, a warning. Remember Lot's wife.

So here we should remember. It's a solemn warning when we think of the person our Lord tells us to remember. Could not Christ ask us to remember one of the choicest of servants? Why does he not say, remember someone else? Why does he say, remember Lot's wife?

Could he not find someone better? Someone more helpful? Someone who at least we know their names. Could he not say remember Abraham, remember Isaac, remember Jacob, remember Sarah or Hannah or Ruth? No.

Here is a serious call. He singles out one woman lost forever under the wrath of God. And so he says, remember her. Remember Lot's wife. So it's a very serious, very solemn warning.

Most of when we study the context in which it is given. Our Lord is talking to us about the distinguishing grace of God. And the gift of faith in himself. And just after giving that warning, he says that in the day which the Son of Man is revealed, we must not return to our stuff. He uses that term stuff, the things that you have.

In verse 33 of Luke 17 he says, Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. In a word, our Lord is calling for utter surrender to himself as Lord. He's calling for the utter surrender, devotion, consecration of our lives to him as our Lord. Remember Lot's wife. Apply this to yourself.

Do you remember Lot's wife? What does it mean to remember Lot's wife? Do you take this? We see it as being a solemn warning when we realize who is it it is that gives it. Who is giving this?

If I was to tell you remember lost wife you don't have to take my word. You don't have to see it as being important. But when the Lord Jesus Christ says it. When this warning is given by the Savior, the Son of God, the friend of sinners, full of mercy and grace and love, ever compassionate and tender, who delighteth the Scripture, says in mercy. He's the one of whom Isaiah wrote, one who will not break the bruised reed or quench the smoking flax.

He says, remember Lot's wife. It's no ordinary man, it's no ordinary preacher who says this. So this is a solemn warning also when we understand to whom it is given. The Lord Jesus is speaking to his disciples. He's not addressing the scribes, he's not addressing the Pharisees, he's not there doing an open meeting and he says, remember Lot's wife, to a crowd who were not following him.

But he's speaking to Peter, James, and John, and many others who loved him, who trusted him, who followed him. He's addressing these and the multitudes with them who profess to love and trust and follow him. It's to those who profess faith in the name of the Son of God who says, remember Lot's wife. So it's for us. It's for us.

It's a solemn warning also when we consider the words of our Lord, the words that he uses to give it. He doesn't tell us to beware of Lot's wife. He doesn't say be careful of Lot's wife. He says, remember Lot's wife. Why does he use that word remember?

Is it not because we are all in danger of forgetting Lot's wife? We are not in the danger of forgetting her existence. Everyone knows all the children are taught about Sodom and Gomorrah. If you were to ask them, they would tell you something about the situation. What happened?

They've maybe colored in, they've maybe written out the words here, we've discussed it around the table, it's been preached upon. It's not about forgetting that she existed or forgetting her destruction or the reason for it. Why was it that she was destroyed? But we are in danger of forgetting. What we are in danger of forgetting is the lesson to be learned from her.

That's the thing we forget. What's the lesson? He tells us to keep Lot's wife before our minds. It is something to be done actively, proactively. You have to come to this text again and again and again.

What's the lesson here for me? What's the lesson for my children? I'm living in a world and we are seeking to escape sudden. That's what we are trying to do. And what I need to do, remember Lot's wife.

That's what I need to do. That's what I need to bring before my family, before myself, before my wife, before my children, before those around me. To remind them of the lessons concerning Lot's wife. A lot says to remember Lot's wife because he would have us to remember that though she thought she was safe, she was not saved. Her heart was still in the city to which she looked back.

Lot's wife escaped Sodom, but never came to the place of refuge in Zoar. Multitudes there are among God's... There are many among God's professed people who are exactly like Lot's wife. Maybe this conference has many amongst those who have attended, both children and adults, who are in that situation, yet not safely in Zoar. They're trying to get there.

They've escaped Sodom, they think. They think they're safe. They may even profess faith in Christ and outwardly appear to follow Him. But their faces and hearts are not fixed on the Savior. Maybe there is divided heart.

Maybe messages are preached and you have all kinds of doubts and questions or you are distracted by some things. Maybe your affections are divided. Maybe your affections are divided. Well, we have a little time and I want to, as I've given an introduction about what we are going to talk about, I want to say a few things. First of all, what it means to remember.

Remember first that saving grace must be in our hearts. Remember that saving grace, This is one lesson we learned from Lot's wife. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ wants us to remember. That saving grace must be in your hearts, in my heart, in the heart of my children. So remember Lot's wife in that sense.

And learn that salvation is not a family inheritance. There is much speculation about who she was, where she was born. Many would think that actually she was from Sodom itself. Many speculate about her background. When she became Lot's wife and so on.

But the fact is we don't need to be concerned about that. We know nothing else about who this woman is. The Lord has not revealed that to us. Not even her name. All we are told about is of her person is this.

She was Lot's wife. There is a reason why the Holy Spirit tells us nothing about her. It is the Lord's intention for us to ever remember that grace is not a family possession. Salvation does not come to us simply because we are related to men and women who possess it. The Lord says in John chapter 1, it is not of blood, not of the will of man, but of the will of God.

In John chapter 1 and verse 12 and 13 we read, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name which were born not of blood not of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God. It is God's will that a person is converted. This woman, think about it, she was we could say within this family, this covenant family we could say, she had covenanted to be with the wife of Lot. She was married to a righteous man. She was united to him in the closest possible bonds, Yet she perished.

She had dwelt in tents with holy Abraham and seemed to share all the privileges of Abraham's family. Yet she perished. She was dear to one who was dear to God. Lot loved her. Yet she perished.

And though this fact is plainly revealed in the Holy Scripture, it is commonly ignored and needs to be repeatedly proclaimed. Grace does not run in bloodlines. Grace is grace. And it is sovereign grace. You may be the wife of a faithful, Godly man, and yet be a daughter of Belial.

You may be the husband of one of the king's daughters, the king of king's daughters. And yet be yourself a castaway. You may be the child of a prophet and yet a child of wrath before the prophets of God. You may be the father of a most gracious family and yet be an alien, as the scripture says, to the commonwealth of Israel. No earthly relationship can put you in a good relationship with God if you are destitute of grace.

Oh, there are many benefits of being in a Christian home. There are many blessings that are in a Christian home. If you are born in a Christian home, I was not born in a Christian home. I was not privileged. But if you are born in a Christian home, You are in a special way privileged because you have not been born in a heathen home.

So you must be encouraged by that. That God is for you, not against you. But remember this. You must be recipient of the grace of God, having faith and life in the Lord Jesus Christ. No one is born into the kingdom of God by his first birth.

To enter the kingdom ye must be born again except a man be born again he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. These are the things we must remember these are the things we have to bring before our minds again and again it's the gospel truths We should not be tired of it. That which is born of the flesh is and will certainly perish. We must be born again. So as I read regarding Lot's wife and what the Lord says to his disciples, it brings to my mind, I must remember this.

I must remember this when I am praying for my wife, my family. We do not know the heart of man. You don't, I don't even know. We think we know each other. Husbands and wives, we think we know each other intimately.

Lot did not have to wrestle with his wife. He did not have to drag her out of the house. She came after him. He might have thought that she's one of the lords. She's been saved.

She's being saved. Only the new birth, my friends, wrought in us by God the Holy Spirit will bring us into the bond of the covenant. And so here is something we must remember. You will not go to heaven on your husband's faith or your wife's faith or your parents' faith. You must trust Christ yourself.

You must be bathed in the redeemer's blood. You must be robed in his righteousness. You must be born of God. So that's the first thing. The second thing is this.

Remember your privileges. Remember your privileges. Remember the privileges Lot's wife enjoyed in the days of Abraham and Lot. True saving faith was a rare thing. There were few who knew God, Few who trusted Christ as he was revealed to them in types and shadows and promises.

But yet Christ was revealed. His promise was given right from the beginning. There were few who were born again. Few to whom the arm of the Lord was revealed in omnipotent saving mercy. Few who like Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

There were few who like Enoch walked with God. Few who like Abraham were called of God and believed God. And that was counted to them for righteousness. Few there were, yes. The knowledge of God was confined to a few favored people.

Most of the world lived in darkness. Most of the world lived in ignorance and superstition and idolatry. Lot was not a perfect husband or father. He was not in a best of spiritual states, in the best of spiritual shape, living in an ungodly culture. Yet he was saved.

The Scripture says he was a righteous man. And he longed for, as a righteous man, his soul was vexed within him, the Scripture says. He longed for the Lord and spiritual things. Everything was not perfect with him. But he was still a man who loved the Lord.

Very few people had Such an example, such a spiritual company, and such clear instruction as Lot's wife. Yet she perished. You think, if I only met Abraham, if I was only there amongst them and heard them and so on, then I would surely believe. I would surely believe in Jehovah. I would surely trust in the Lord.

But she perished. Not only was Lot's wife married to a righteous man, she had Abraham, the father of the faithful for her uncle by marriage. And if you look at the timelines that are put together very helpful, you'll see that there are so many overlaps with various patriarchs and so on. The faith, the knowledge, and the prayers of these two righteous men were things with which she was familiar. These were men who knew God.

They worshiped God. Now, We may say in various things they had feet of clay, they were not perfect men, but they believed God. They walked with God. The Lord was working in them, chiseling out his image in them. And so she saw this man.

He's not perfect, but he's still godly. He's still righteous. He's still spiritually minded. He still has feelings that his soul is vexed. He's not a happy man because he's living in this society, in a culture that is vexing his soul and is upset about these things.

He's not a happy man. He sees the ungodly deeds of the Sodomites. Then religion in Abraham's household and in Lot's household was not a formality. Faith in Christ was would be the true principle, ruling principle of their lives. And you see in them a growth, a spiritual growth if you study both of their lives.

As I said, were they perfect? No. God was working upon them. Did they fall at times? Yes.

Did they compromise in certain days? Yes, they did. But his wife must have seen and known. What a privilege it was for her to live in such a house. There was nobody else in the world, we could say, who had the privileges that Lot's wife had.

When Abraham first received the promise of God, Lot's wife heard about it, was there, yet she perished. When he pitched his tent between Haai and Bethel, Lot's wife was there, yet she perished. When the angels of God came to Sodom and warned her husband to flee, she saw them, she fed them from her table, she prepared food for these angels. Have you prepared food for angels? And not been moved by that?

She heard their voice, their words. She made their bed in which they slept in. Yet she perished. When the angels took them by the hand and led them out of the city. She was one of those who they brought out of Sodom, yet she perished.

So this is why we need to remember these things, remember the lessons. In spite of all her opportunities, in spite of all her privileges, in spite of all she had seen and heard. Lot's wife lived and died in a graceless, godless, Christless, an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, a stranger from the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. The eyes of her understanding were never enlightened. Her heart was never broken.

Do you have a broken heart? Do I have a broken heart? Her will was never made to bow before the Lord. She had a form of godliness, but nothing more. She had a lamp of profession, but no oil of life and grace in her lamp.

She conformed to her husband's way, And that's a good thing. She conformed to his ways. But she refused to walk in the way. She did not oppose his religion. She didn't complain about it.

And you may do that. In whatever state you are in, you may not complain, our children may not complain, but is there any interest in it? You can do certain things but not be interested in it. You may say that this is just how it is done. Like sometimes it is that our children may not like something that their mother has made.

They have no interest in it, but they still must eat it. So it is the same. The world was in her heart, and her heart was in the world. And in this state she lived, and in this state she died. To learn from these lessons.

Here the lesson which her case is meant to teach us. Privileges without grace will only add to your condemnation in eternity. And that's what we need to teach our children. There are such privileged people. No one else in the world are so privileged as our children.

And we have to have expectations. We must believe there is a reason for them to be born in our family. The reason they are born in the way they are in our families. They need us. We need them.

And we must influence them for good. I'm not concentrating here on what Lot did and what he could have done. I'm just concentrating on his wife. We could say a lot about Lot And we could, and I would encourage you to study Lot's life. But here I'm just thinking about his wife.

You live in the full sunshine of the richest opportunities and means of grace. You enjoy the privilege of hearing the gospel regularly. You live in the household where the Christ of God is worshipped and served. My friends, I went through life for 18 years. I didn't hear anything about the gospel.

I didn't know who Jesus Christ was. I had not read any portions of the word of God. But you have. You do have it in your hand. But are you interested in it?

Do you cherish it? Do you love it? Do you thank God for it? Do you know the truth from error? Are you indifferent to it?

Is the gospel of Jesus Christ bubbling and burning in your soul? If God does not stop you and save you by His grace and our children too, all these privileges will be a millstone about their necks and dragging them forever down into the pit of destruction. So that's why the Lord makes it all very sobering warning. It is in the midst of his instruction about his second coming. It takes something more than providential privileges and the outward blessings of God to save our soul.

It takes something more than godly company to produce godliness. It's a good thing being among Christians. It's a good thing for our children to link up with other children of similar minds and similar families, it's a good thing. That's why I brought my son here, to link up with some of the children here and to see we are not the only strange family in our church or community. Those are all good things.

But he needs something more. We need something more. You see Joab was David's captain, but he was ungodly. Joab was in the midst of David. Gehazi was Elisha's servant.

Demas was Paul's companion. Judas Scariot was Christ's disciple and Lot had a worldly unbelieving wife. They all died in rebellion and unbelief in spite of all they saw, in spite of all they heard and knew and experienced, they are lost now. They are lost. As long as a person is alive in this world, there is hope for them.

So don't lose hope. Don't lose heart. You might have a family member who is far from God right now, but as long as they are alive, there is hope. You can pray for them. God can intervene in their lives.

But when they die as a lost person, they are lost forever. They all died in rebellion and unbelief. They all tell us that it takes more than the means of grace to save. Salvation comes by the powerful work of God's grace and Holy Spirit. Highly value the great privileges God has given you, but do not trust in them.

That's the issue. Do not trust in those things for your salvation. If they do not do you good, they will add to your eternal condemnation. The same fire that melts the wax hardens the clay. You've heard this many times.

The same sun that makes the living tree grow dries up the dead, the dead tree, and prepares it for the burning. J.C. Ryle, that bishop of Liverpool, was exactly right when he said, nothing so hardens the heart of man as a barren familiarity with sacred things. Are you so familiar with sacred things, with holy things, with Christian things? Are you glad when they say to you, let us go up to the house of God?

Are you glad? And you say, that's where I want to be. The Sabbath is the best of days. The Lord's Day is the best of days. Lot's wife had many privileges, but then thirdly, remember the danger of nominal Christianity.

We've touched on this, but there's a warning of salvation in name only. Lot's wife escaped Sodom only to perish with Sodom. She believed that the city was going to be destroyed. She believed that. She rose early in the morning with lots and prepared to leave the house.

She ran down the streets of Sodom. She fled. You can imagine what happened that morning. She was running. She was moving.

She was escaping. She fled through the gates of the city gate. She reached the open plains with her husband. She was willing for a while to run with him. Follow his example.

She was doing all of that. And she did so for a considerable distance. And we don't hear her complaining. She doesn't complain about her tired feet and the sore feet. And can you go a bit slower?

And when are we going to get there, as the children would say. Are we there yet? She doesn't say any of that. We don't see it in the word of God. But there is something we learn.

During that time of her running, it may be a considerable amount of time. You maybe drove here, maybe you came on the plane to be here. Maybe you were traveling for a great distance. You thought about many things. You talked about many things.

She had to flee. She had to run for a great distance. She began to think about why was she leaving? And as you have the Lord Jesus Christ speak just before he gives the warning, he says in Luke 17 and verse 31 about the stuff. You can go back for the stuff, he says.

In Luke 17, 31, in that day which he which shall be upon the housetop and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away. He that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. This is what the Lord says, and then after that, it says, remember the Lord's wife? She did think about her stuff. She slackened, and as she thought about her stuff, the things I have, I left those things behind.

And then she slackened her pace, and lingered behind. She stayed behind. She wasn't staying with her husband. It says that she looked from his behind. She was at a distance from him.

She went part of the way towards Zohar, yet she perished. This woman was actually out of Sodom. She was almost in Zoar, the city of refuge. She was almost there. That was the case with Lot's wife.

Shall that be the case for us and our families, our children, our wives, our husbands. This is why we need to bring one another to the foot of the cross every day. To talk about those things. And not so get bogged down in some other issues. Maybe deep theological issues.

You know I was preaching at our own church a few weeks ago on subjects of heaven and glory and all of those things, and we have a couple of young men who've come and recently been converted, and I thought that they would be very interested, they would be dazzled by all of these things. And do you know what one of them said? I said, I don't really, I didn't take much from that sermon and I was kind of disappointed. I didn't really take much about it. You know, heaven for me is something else.

The thing, I am so thankful to God, and I want to know, how was it I was saved? How is it that me, a sinner, has been saved and God has forgiven my sins. How amazing that is. And so I thought that he's getting that right. He's thinking about the right things.

He's thinking about things that are sure. There's very little we know of heaven and what we know, there are types and shadows in picture form. As John Bennion said, if you really want to know what heaven is like, make sure you get there and then you'll see. And that's how it is. So this is why we need the gospel.

This is why sometimes I've said, well my wife does not know my heart. We might think we know each other, but it's only the Lord who knows his elect. We are so good at fooling ourselves and fooling others. Maybe there are some who are at the suburbs of the city of refuge, even here, even in this conference. And that place is a dangerous place to be.

To be just at the suburbs, just to be outside, not in. Oh, to perish at the gates of salvation for want of one step. You've come to the door. Perhaps you admire the door. You think this is wonderful.

These are good things, good times we have with each other. But maybe you have not entered into life by Christ, the door. Maybe still there is within you a soul that is lost. Oh what a pitiful place to be. And finally, remember the danger of perishing under the wrath of God.

Moses tells us Lot's wife looked back in Verse 6 of chapter 19, Lot's wife looked back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt. What a little thing that appears to be. She looked back. What did she do? She just looked back.

What's wrong with looking back? She looked back. But little things often are much bigger than they appear. Often can do great evil or great good. These doors, they are on little hinges.

But it is turning a big door. She looked back. There is a life in a look. There is that hymn that we sing sometimes. Our Savior says, look unto me and be ye saved.

There is also death in a look. Remember Bunyan's, Pilgrim's Progress, they're at the gate of heaven. There was also a gate that led directly to hell. And he wondered at that. And there are those who get so close and not in, but fall away.

She looked back. There is death in the look. Why? Ultimately she didn't believe God. That's what it was.

She didn't trust the Lord. She didn't actually believe that God would do it or God would do any harm if she disobeyed. The Lord had said to them through the angels, He had said to them very plainly, look not behind thee. She was a grown up child. He said, can you do this?

They don't do it. They do something else, they don't do. Do the very exact thing that we have asked them. Look not behind thee. But she looked back.

Why not look back? What's the problem with a look? I've not done anything. But that which is obvious from the context in which our Lord gives this warning is this. She looked back because though she fled from Sodom in fear, She still loved Sodom.

She still loved Sodom. So the Lord says in verse 26 of Luke 17, And as it was in the days of Noah, So shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. And then further on, in verse 30, it says, Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Oh, what a day that will be.

That's the day that the Lord Jesus Christ will be revealed. May He now reveal Himself to you. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop and his stuff in the house let him not come down to take it away and he that is in the field let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. That one glance betrayed the love of her heart.

In that look she showed where her heart was. She loved the world and it's stuff. That's why she was going back. It was like that man that the Lord said, don't, if you're on the roof and I come, don't go to get your stuff. It's like on the airplane coming here, if something happens and we crash, leave everything.

Don't take anything with you. She loved the world and its stuff and could not pull it out of her heart or her heart out of it. Remember Lot's wife, John Gill, the commentator, says this, Our Lord's design in these words is to warn all professors of religion in all ages against looking back to things that are behind or turning their backs on him in a time of distress or persecution since such are not fit for the kingdom of God and in these God has no delight and pleasure. Remember Lot's wife and don't look back. So many passages of the word of God that speaks about not going back, not looking back, not turning back to those old ways, to those old things, because that shows where our heart is.

In Luke nine verse 62, the Lord says this, And Jesus said unto him, No man having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Or the Apostle Paul, he says in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verses 6 onwards, he says, Now these things were our examples. To they intent we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. Verse 7 of 1 Corinthians 10, it says, neither be ye idolaters as were some of them as it is written. The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

Neither let us commit fornication as some of them committed and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of serpents, neither murmur ye as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for examples. And they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall." Or in Hebrews 10, the apostle says this in verse 38, Now the just shall live by faith, But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe on the saving of the soul. Or in 2 Peter 2 and verse 18 we read this, who live in error, while they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption. For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome. The latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after they had known it to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered unto them." Do you see? They turn from the Holy Commandment. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb. The dog is turned to his own vomit again and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. Love not the world, John says.

Neither the things that are in the world, if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Remember Lot's wife then. Remember that she perished under the wrath of God. She perished because she did not trust in what God said. She did not believe in the word of God.

That word was their gospel, escape. To not look back, you don't need Anything that is in the past. You go forward in your life. You look unto Jesus Christ. But she loved Sodom.

Remember that she perished under the wrath of God. And the way she perished was suddenly, it was so sudden, she didn't expect it. But as she looked, her body turned into a pillar of salt. As the Sodomites perished, she also perished. While the fire was coming from heaven, fire did not hit her.

But she turned into salt. Remember that she is in hell now. Remember Lot's wife then and escape for your life as the scripture says. We must flee to the Lord Jesus. And friends I know this to be true.

There is nothing in the Lord Jesus Christ that bars anyone from coming to him. Satan may tempt you. Satan may tempt you to look back at your old life, your old ways. And you think, well maybe I can begin to look back and examine things. But, Satan may tempt you, but he cannot prevent your coming to Christ.

And that's, he can't prevent you from coming to the Lord Jesus Christ every day. To bring the gospel every day to your remembrance. Your sin may be great, your fall may be great, but Christ's power to save is greater. That's the amazing thing about Lot himself. Your desire maybe has been called, but Christ's love is glowing.

It is a glowing ember. You are weak, I am weak. But Christ is mighty to save the scripture says. And I know this much about everyone here. I don't know your name but I know this about you.

You're either saved or you're lost. Either you are a believer or you're a non-believer. You're either in Christ or you're without Christ. You can't have a foot in both. You're either, you go into heaven or you're out of heaven.

There's no middle ground. So do not comfort yourself by saying, well I'm interested in Christ and want to know more about Him. And if that's the case, I'm thankful for that, that you want that. But, a mere interest in knowing about Christ is to abide under the wrath of God. We have a man for four years he's been coming.

He sits right in the front. He says, I'm interested. I'm seeking, he says, pastor. I'm seeking. He's a wonderful man.

He's a good husband. He works hard. He says he's seeking. For four years he's been seeking. I said to him, when are you going to be a finder?

When will you find? When will you take hold upon these things and run to Jesus Christ? That's the poor soul to be. How can you bear the thought of the wrath of God abiding upon us? It is only because we are ignorant of it.

We don't really understand what is the wrath of God. She didn't appreciate it. You see, our unbelief can stupefy us to look back and to stay behind. She was staying behind. What was it that made her to stay behind?

She was just going slow behind. She wasn't going forward. She wasn't going ahead. She wasn't running. My friends, that very same wrath that kindles the fires of hell and torments the damned.

It will fall upon those who also stay behind, who look back. So think, am I in Christ? Am I aiming to have my children to be heirs of heaven and heirs of glory? So let us remember Lord's wife. Let us remember I need the gospel.

I need the Lord every day. I need to encourage my family in the truths of the work of Jesus Christ, what he did upon the cross. And for that to seep into everything in my life. For me to be thankful, to be content. The many things we have heard today, going back to the basics all the time.

Because if we get those basics wrong, then everything else goes wrong. If you get the gospel and who Jesus Christ is and your love for him wrong, then what you will do is either you will be limping as a believer, or at worst, you will not be saved. You may be seen as being someone who has escaped. You are being Christianized but not Christian. That's what the Lord wants us to remember.

Don't merely be Christianized, as we are living in a Christianized country. It's not a Christian country. It's a Christianized country influenced by many Christian things. But It is not yet a Christian country because if it was, it would be heaven. There is only one place which is Christian, thoroughly Christian, pure, 100% Christian.

And that is heaven. Well may the Lord then bless these things to each one of us. Let us pray. Our gracious God, we confess to thee that this passage stirs our hearts. We are amazed to think that what's the difference between us and Lot?

We are amazed to think, Lord, these thoughts because if we are honest, As I am honest with thee now, Lord we have looked back. We have looked back at different times. We have wondered. We have disbelieved thy word. We have had some or many low times, dark times, unbelieving times.

And Lord we have turned back and looked back and stayed behind. Lord we pray, yet since that has not turned us into a pillar of light, a pillar of salt, or that has not taken us into eternity, that that would show us mercy, and show mercy towards our family. May our children enter into Zoar, And Lord, may our children make greater advances than us. We pray for thy blessing then upon this congregation and speak to our hearts and transform us to have a heart for Zion, to have a heart for heaven and glory and Christ and His gospel. So be with us now.

Pardon our every sin through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen. Thank you.