Sodom and I-35 and Genesis 18

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Sodom and I-35 and Genesis 18
Topic Started: Aug 5 2007, 06:31 PM (658 Views)
JAN	Aug 5 2007, 06:31 PM Post #1
Member Posts: 42 Group: Members Member #1,588 Joined: August 4, 2007	SUDDEN DESTRUCTION, Sodom and I-35 and Genesis 18:20-32 My friend sent me this today. It was his sermon. It is EXCELLENT and so I am posting it here. I myself have driven across this bridge MANY times - thousands. I am personally convinced it was blown intentionally. It was not the fault of construction. SUDDEN DESTRUCTION, Sodom and I-35 and Genesis 18:20-32 Sermon by Pastor Tom Olson, August 5, 2007 God was forced to deal with Sodom because it was beyond hope of redemption and the perversion was spreading to neighboring cities. We all were shocked this week to see the collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis. No driver was aware of the peril. Suddenly it collapsed under them. What about us? We do not realize how close we may be to sudden destruction. The structural integrity of the bridge was crumbling silently beneath them. The foundations of our society are crumbling silently beneath us and we don’t know when the collapse will come. This is the point of our Old Testament lesson. Abraham’s nephew, Lot and his family were living in the rich, but sinful city of Sodom. Abraham rescued that city. But they did not follow Abraham’s God. Lot had no effective influence. I suppose that it was a beautiful place with seaside scenery and rich green farmland…desirable to live. Lot tolerated the vice of the town and for the sake of its wealth. But Sodom became so perverted that God sent angels to give them one final chance. The Lord said to Abraham that he would spare the city if only 10 righteous people were found in it. But God’s amazing patience was running out. Genesis 18:20-21: Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know." What sin was so great that God sent angels from heaven to deal with it? The answer is found in the next chapter. Genesis 19 /1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening. 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." The ABOMINATION of SODOM WAS HOMOSEXUALITY. That is why we call it SODOMY. Up until a few years ago Sodomy was a crime in many states. Now it is becoming accepted, even trendy for young people to experiment with it. Mineral Point has people in it who practice Sodomy. As far as I know the church has been silent. The fact that God did not destroy Sodom sooner was not that God is apathetic about sin. It is because God is merciful and he gave Lot time to win Sodom over to righteousness. But Sodom was having more of a negative influence on Lot and his family than they were having on Sodom. God was forced to deal with Sodom because it was beyond hope of redemption and the perversion was spreading to neighboring cities. When people got up that morning in Sodom they never realized that this would be their last day on earth. Some were probably concerned about the spread of homosexuality but they became apathetic. That is exactly the place where we find ourselves today. Apathy. 3 to 4 thousand babies are aborted each day and our congregation is apathetic and silent. We have become apathetic about other basic morals. Little by little we have accepted the new cultural norms. Today people live together without marriage and try out partners until they decide if they want to keep them. It is kind of like taking a car for a test drive. Then they can come to our church and have a “so-called” Christian wedding as if nothing is wrong. It is shameful. In my parents’ church, couples living together without marriage even get their children baptized in front of the church today as they claim to “renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways” and the church winks and says nothing. We are more scared of offending people than offending God. It is no wonder that the Holy Spirit does not show up? I am afraid that we are like the frog in the pot. Put a frog in a pot of hot water and he will jump right out. But if you put of frog in a pot of cold water he is happy. Then put the pot on the stove. As the water gets hot the frog gets so used to it that he will stay in it until he is boiled to death. I bet some of you watch movies they would never have watched 20 years ago. I bet there are people in this room who have watched evil shows like Desperate House Wives. Our conscience can become hard and we lose our ability to blush. That is the state of the church today. We have gotten so used to sin that we can’t even take a stand any more. Churches today not only condone sin, they celebrate it. There are homosexual pastors, gay union blessings, church weddings of couples living in open sin. And at the same time rejection of the clear teaching of Scripture on the death, burial, resurrection and return of Jesus Christ. I-35 We are like the people on that bridge in Minneapolis. We drive along merrily thinking all is well. Our minds are on what we are going to eat for supper. Then suddenly, judgment comes. But was it suddenly? There were warnings. The media have discovered that many bridges in Minnesota are in terrible condition. In fact, the bridge that collapsed was labeled as dangerous only one year after it was built. But no one listened to the warnings. It would have cost too much money to replace. So nothing was done and now look at the result. It is my job as a preacher to sound the warning bell. Our Old Testament Lesson is clear. God is not mocked. The wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23. We cannot condone sin and expect to get away with it. There will be consequences. In Luke 13 Jesus told the crowd that they must repent or perish. Luke 13:6 Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' 8 "'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'" God does not take sin lightly. If we keep clinging to sin after receiving the truth, we force God to give up on us. Listen to Hebrews 10:26-27/ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. It is an awesome responsibility to be a leader in the church that bears the Name of Jesus Christ. James 3:1 /Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. It is time for all of us to repent. Our church must take a clear stand. Just because we toy with sin and get by, doesn’t mean that God is pleased. He is just patient. But learn from the parable of the fig tree. God’s patience has a limit and he will cut down the tree that does not bear fruit. Lot and his family chose the riches of Sodom over righteousness. They did not take a clear stand. Material advancement was apparently more important to them than confronting the growing sin of homosexuality in their town. But eventually their silence led to the loss of everything. It would be better to never go to church than to go and then reject the Word of God. It is even worse to be a leader that openly brings sin into the sanctuary. I am afraid that we are on a bridge that is about to collapse. The acceptance of sin has eroded the foundation to the point that the collapse of the structure is inevitable. God is patient, Jesus is merciful and salvation may be still available. But if we reject the Word of God, then we force God to take action. One of my godly deacons in Cloquet used to say, /The gears of God’s judgment move exceedingly slowly but they grind exceedingly fine. Don’t toy with God’s patience, because it does come to an end and when it does, there is no turning back. Now lets finish the story. The angels blinded the wicked homosexuals and spoke to Lot: Genesis 19:12-18 /Get them (your family) out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it." 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking. 15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished." 16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" Genesis 19:24-26 /Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities, and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Friends, this world is heading for destruction. Flee from the coming wrath of God. Don’t look back. Don’t get comfortable here. The last time the world was destroyed, it was with a flood. This time it will be with fire. Come to Jesus today. Repent of sin. Plead the blood of Christ until true faith is formed in your hearts. The bridge is ready to collapse and we are on it. Today may be your last chance to get saved. Amen If any of you want to get right with the Lord, I would be happy to visit with you after the service. If your bridge collapses and you end up eternally lost, you can’t say that you were not warned and did not have a chance to come to Christ. Your eternal soul is a serious issue…don’t take it lightly.



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