I Can’t Stay Here - 6
Subject – Distortions of Truth
by Rick Welborne
--The Lord had told Abraham to leave Egypt and go to a country the Lord would show him. His nephew Lot was with Him. They both were very wealthy and growing larger.
Genesis 13:5-13 (NKJV)
5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.
6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.
5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.
6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.
--This may be one of the more interesting series that I have done in all my years being here at Life Church. We are looking at conditions or attitudes that can get us in trouble and why we can’t stay there.
--Except for those of you who can confess everything away the rest of us have to deal with the 90/10 syndrome of life being tough sometimes.
--There are times that life just throws things at us that we probably were not expecting and because of that we become weary, dried out, and, as a believer, attempting to run on empty.
--As we attempt to run on empty, we find ourselves neglecting time of intimacy with the Lord which in itself is a design for disaster. Trouble is on the horizon.
--When we get that way we always have an impact on others. Paul said it best when he said none of us live until themselves alone and none of us die until themselves. When we go down, we take others with us.
MacDonald – It is action without heart, oratory without power, doctrine without love. People who are dried out within can often be, for a while, the hardest workers. But they can also become the harshest critics and the most negative teammates. Inside they experience a rising turbulence—confused goals and motives and inconsistent, unexplainable patterns of personal performance.
--Last time we looked at David and how he got off track…he wasn’t where he needed to be, he was not spending time in God’s presence like before, he commits adultery, has a man killed, hurts an entire nation.
--I shuttered the other day talking to a professional in our city telling me that kind of situation (adultery) could never happen to him because he was above all that. Take heed when you think you stand.
--When we get bombarded with life, when we get weary and tired, when we allow our spirits to dry out, we can be among those who have fallen. David thought he had escaped until the prophet Nathan came.
--This is free but it is important: If you have shepherds who love you enough to confront you with an issue (not easy for us), please understand the gravity of the situation.
--You keep going your own way and you keep doing your own thing, that thing will take you further than you want to go and you will pay a price higher than you want to pay. Remember those around you watching. Kids.
--Today I want us to look at what can happen when this world (this cosmos) can begin to distort our lives and the truth of our lives. Our verse that goes with our name. You have two choices:
John 10:10 (NKJV)
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
--We can choose to serve Christ faithfully and find life or we can go down a road of bad choices and end up wondering (like David) how we got here. Forgive me and take not your Spirit from me.
1. Our spiritual passion is under attack.
--We are continuously bombarded with advertisements that tell us everything we really want to hear. If you drink a certain beverage you will be cool and everyone around you will be fit and beautiful.
--Mike Mindale has convinced us that My Pillow is the best pillow on the planet. And now, you can get a mattress topper that will help you sleep better too. We may never get out of bed.
--If you have ever used any of the products they advertise you may find yourself extremely disappointed. Because of pain, I have tried Blue Emu, Australia Dream just to be disappointed and greasy.
--In the 1940s there was a convincing tobacco commercial that convinced so many about how good a certain cigarette could be. Listen to it:
Commercial – According to a recent nationwide survey, more doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette. Three leading independent research organizations asked this question of 113, 597 doctors: “What cigarette do you smoke, Doctor?” The brand named most was Camel. Now you probably enjoy rich full flavor and cool mildness in a cigarette just as much as doctors do, and that’s why if you are not a Camel smoker now, try a Camel on your T-Zone, (that’s T for taste and T for throat, your true proving ground for any cigarette…etc.
--Why would I bring this up? Can you imagine, back then, how persuasive this must have been. After all, doctors and experts were saying these things. If they smoke, why not me?
--I can tell you why not, millions of people who have gotten cancer as a result of these professionals endorsing such a terrible addictive product. Both of my parents died of lung cancer. Raleigh – coupons.
--Our spiritual passion is constantly under attack by the distortions of truth that pervade our time. Think about the thousands of persuasive messages pressed upon us each day.
--These attacks on our spiritual passion come through commercials (TV, Internet), direct human encounters, signs all around us. Stop here, stay off the grass, no food or drink. Endorsements by famous people.
--Hopefully, we automatically filter out most of these messages like an executive secretary might sort thru the junk mail for their boss. Our minds are having to say no over and over again.
--What we end up with is a small set of decisions in response to a large number of messages…the ones that cannot be left to our subconscious secretaries.
--So what’s the point…choices make us weary and we do it every day. I remember talking to one of our missionaries coming back home after being on the mission’s field for four years.
--They went to Walmart and were completely overwhelmed by all the choices of everything. Just the chip isle was crazy…so many flavors, salted, unsalted, ribbed or un-ribbed. One choice where they came from if that.
MacDonald – Even though we are not aware of the relentless barrage of messages coming at us, the combined force of them is doing a number on us. They quietly sandblast the soul, the seat of conviction and value, threatening our ability to make and implement priority decisions.
2. The choices made by Lot…he listened to his eyes.
Genesis 13:7-13 (NKJV)
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.
--It is hard not to think about Lot because his inner life had become so distorted by the realities around him. He was living as a parasite off his uncle Abram and was in no place to make major decisions about his destiny.
--He and Abraham shared a business of sorts which had reached a place where it seemed best to split the assets and move in different directions.
--The supply of resources was inadequate for the flocks and herds they had built up, and tension was increasing between their staffs. It is possible that it was no longer enjoyable for them to work together.
--One of the most powerful lessons for me personally was how the magnanimous Abraham did not allow this split to be open for discussion.
--Rather he gave Lot the first choice to go in whatever direction he wanted to go. Lot was only too willing to seize the advantage…Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan…he took that quickly.
--All kind of messages poured into his mind suggesting that he should grab the green grass and the lush valleys to the south while they were available as long as Abraham was stupid enough to give him first shot.
--Lot listened to his eyes…Lot looked with his eyes and saw the beauty of Sodom. He did not look from an inner spirit of values and convictions that would have permitted him to see moral rot and filth.
William Blake’s Poem – This life’s dim windows of the soul…Distort the Heavens from pole to pole…And lead you to believe a lie…When you see with, not through, the eye.
--Pastor, you talked about a lesson, please share. Being here 30 years has given me quite a bit of history to study. We have seen people come and go. Some left well and others, not so much.
--With much criticism, I have taken Abraham’s approach and decided to bless whoever worked with us and left for whatever reason. What are you doing and what are you thinking? I am thinking God is going to bless me.
Genesis 13:14-15 (NKJV)
14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are--northward, southward, eastward, and westward;
15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.
14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are--northward, southward, eastward, and westward;
15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.
--At least from my perspective, God never allowed any of those people to hurt me or to hurt Life Church. I told my critics it is more important for me to think about God’s Kingdom more than teaching that person a lesson.
--Lot looked with his eyes and Abraham looked with the eyes of his spirit and God blessed him. Lot’s choice would ultimately cost him his family, his dignity, and any sense of credibility he had ever had.
--We can get so distorted by all the messages coming at us from the world but, hear me, not all of the negative messages are coming from the world. The Christian community has its share.
--When we preach a gospel of “I”…I can have it all, I can just say it, I can live in prosperity financially, I can confess anything negative out of my life. We sound like Lucifer…I will ascend above the most high. Danger.
3. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.
Ephesians 1:16-19 (NIV)
16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
--I pray that the eyes of our hearts are opened or enlightened. Yes, we are bombarded with all kinds of messages every day but we have a choice.
--Lot listened to his eyes…not the eyes of his heart but the eyes of his flesh, his desires. I am sure it was good for a while but consider the cost. The sin of Sodom so infected him that he was willing to give up his daughters.
Genesis 19:7-8 (NIV)
7 and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing.
8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."
7 and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing.
8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."
--His wife’s heart was so attached to the sin there that she looked back and became a pillar of salt. God open the eyes of our hearts so we can see the price we are paying. Stop listening to your eyes and listen to God’s Word.
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy
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