The Man Who Won And Lost

We are beginning today a series of at least four sermons on Bible Types of Modern Men, and this morning our subject is “The Man Who Won and Lost.”

You will find the text in Genesis 13:10–11: “And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.”

Two Classes Of Believers

In this narrative we have two men who represent two classes of believers. They were men of God. Abraham stands as the father of the faithful, the man who could trust God and obeyed Him. He represents that class who will have, as Peter says, “an abundant entrance into the eternal habitation.” Now Lot stands for another class, of which Peter also speaks—those “scarcely saved.” Paul uses a more striking metaphor—“saved as by fire”—everything burnt up, nothing abiding.

Now the story, briefly told, is simply this: God chose Abraham to be the father of the Hebrews and the founder of that great nation, Israel. He commanded that he should go out from his country, from his kindred, from his father’s house, into a land that God would show him. Abraham did not wholly obey the Lord. Had he wholly obeyed in every detail he would have saved himself a good many heartaches and a great deal of disappointment. He took with him his father, a nephew, Lot, and probably some other relatives, and he did not go immediately into the land that God showed him; he only went part way, to a place called Haran, and there he abode until God through sorrow and death had to move him out and into the land.

The Happy Way

Those of us who, like Abraham, endeavor to follow God, obey Him and do His will, learn some things through experience; indeed, it seems we will not learn in any other way. Sometimes experience is a very severe and costly teacher. But we have found out God’s way for us is not only the holy way, it is the happy way. It is not only the best way, it is also the brightest. When we take God’s plan and walk in God’s will and have His purpose fulfilled in our lives, it involves our joy on Earth as well as our heaven.

That was true with Israel. When Israel, as a nation, walked in the ways of Jehovah and did that which God wanted, she was prosperous, she was healthy (and I am speaking of physical health), and she was protected and always triumphed over her enemies. Her defeats came as a result of her disobedience. Her sickness came as a result of her sins. God’s purpose for Israel was not only holy but wholesome.

When Israel came out of Egypt, God said to Moses, “Oh that there was such a heart in them that they would fear my name and keep all of my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever.” That is God’s purpose—“well with thee and with thy children forever.” God has no pleasure in our being afflicted. He gets no joy out of my suffering and sorrow, except the joy that comes from the sanctification that may result from it. Listen. Is it the way of the believer, the way of the man who obeys God, that is hard? Is it? No. It is the way of the transgressor that is hard. Is that not true? His paths are pleasantness and all His ways are ways of peace. Blessed be God forevermore! I believe every loyal old saint in this house this morning will say amen to that—God’s ways “are way of pleasantness and all His paths are paths of peace.”

A Question Of Wealth

The trouble that came between these two men, Abraham and Lot, was the result of their becoming immensely wealthy. There have been a great many quarrels over wealth since this one. “If riches increase,” said the wise man, “set not your heart upon them.” I don’t know but what we might find, if we only knew as God knows, that the greed for gold is really at the bottom of nearly all the evil in our civilization today. Murder, bootlegging, demoralizing dance halls, and dirty picture shows are not flourishing merely because the proprietors really want to see people debauched and disgraced, but the love of money is underneath the whole thing. “The root of all evil,” says Peter, “is the love of money.”

There was strife between Lot’s herdsmen and Abraham’s herdsmen. I don’t know how it came about, but it became so fierce that Abraham called Lot and said, “Let there be no strife between your herdsmen and mine. The whole land is before us. Let us separate one from the other.” It is better to separate than to have strife. I think that is true. There is nothing in the world that hurts the church of Jesus Christ more than strife. It is a great thing for the preacher to keep strife out of his heart. “The servant of the Lord must not strive.” He must be “apt to teach,” patient, not a fighter.

A Choice To Be Made

Abraham calls upon Lot to make a choice. “Here’s the whole land. You choose. If you go that way, I will go this.” There are a great many choosing hours in every life. Some of the choices are decisions we can revoke after we find that we have made a mistake. But some of them can never be changed. They are so vitally important. They affect our whole eternity. The Bible is a book of choices. Every man who ever did anything had to make a deliberate choice. Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. It takes a great deal of grace to say no. That is the trouble with a great many of our boys and girls today. They are easily led. They do not want to go wrong but they do not want to offend some friend or some little clique. Moses had grit and faith enough to say no—and no to a great big thing. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to “suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” These are things that appeal to the flesh and to the emotions and you do have a good time before the rottenness takes hold of your bones. But it is only for a season. Moses saw it all and made his choice for God. He might have been a Pharaoh. He would certainly have been a very wealthy man, but for forty years, with just a staff in his hand, because of that choice, he stood at the backside of the desert shepherding sheep for his convictions. Then God Almighty brought him out and in the last forty years of his life, God made him one of the greatest men the world has ever known. I was going to say the greatest, for in many respects I believe he was.

Great Decisions

You know Moses’ name is going to be associated with the Saviour’s name when we get over yonder and sing the great chorus of redemption. It is going to be “the song of Moses and the Lamb.” You would never have heard of Moses had he not made that great choice that day.

I might talk of Joshua who said, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” What that meant not only for Joshua, but for his family! What a position for a man to take, especially a father! And then there is Ruth, the Moabitess, who made her great decision and took Naomi on the very lowest level. Joshua becomes the successor of Moses and Ruth became an ancestress of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are some of us on this platform this morning who would never have been known as far as civilization and society are concerned, had it not been for the fact that one day we made a choice for Jesus Christ. Except for that some of us would have been in hell before now. Oh, that some boy or girl would resolve in his or her heart today and say, “I am going to make my decision—the decision that affects all eternity.”

A Selfish Choice

But Lot chose him all the plain of the Jordan for it was well-watered everywhere. Lot was a selfish man. Had he been generous, he would not have made that choice. He was the younger of the two, the nephew of old Abraham. Everything he possessed had come as a result of his association with this man of God. He should have gone to his old uncle and said, “Uncle Abraham, you have the first right. You make the first choice and I will take what is left.” But before him were the plains of the Jordan, well-watered everywhere. Behind him were barren hills. The problem was that of shepherding. Lot chose the plains.

It Was Worldly

Then, too, it was a worldly choice. What do I mean by worldly? He had not a thought of God in his heart. If Lot had only stopped to think, if he had even prayed! But there isn’t a suggestion that he lifted up his eyes to God. Like a great many other Christians at those important moments he just made the choice through the sight of his eyes and the desire of his own heart. Solomon said, “Young man, walk in the light of thine eyes, but know that for all this God will bring thee into judgment.” And here is a good example of it. Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the plain. If it were just a matter of finding pasture for his cows and camels and sheep it seemed a pretty good choice. But if you are a child of faith, if you belong to the household of God, you can’t make a choice and leave God out. There is more to consider than cattle and gold and sheep in the believer’s choice. There is your soul; there is your God.

God Ignored

Lot left God out. Had he thought or prayed he would have seen the seething sin of Sodom. He would have considered that unholy atmosphere into which he was going to take his daughters; he would have thought of those wicked, licentious men with whom his girls might marry. But he just lifted up his eyes and took the plain of the Jordan. A painted face, a Babylonish garment, a wedge of gold are the things that appeal to some. But God looks at the heart. I am speaking this morning for my young people, as well as the others here. Some of the older ones have made choices from which they have been suffering all their lives. I ask you young people who come here, who have had praying mothers, to be careful, be prayerful in deciding who will be your husband, who will be your wife, what will be your occupation. As your Pastor, as your brother, in the name of God, I beseech you to pray for divine guidance in these things that affect your future and your soul.

Did you notice that verse which I read as our text? It is so suggestive: “He lifted up his eyes and saw the plain of the Jordan that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord.” It looked like the Garden of Eden! But note the next verse: “It was like Egypt.” Do you see the force of it? It looked like the Garden of the Lord, but it was really Egypt. Egypt stands for sin and lust and judgment. Yet this man of God deliberately took his family into that atmosphere. I sometimes wonder if believers who have been brought up in an atmosphere like that of The Moody Church do not make a mistake in changing the location of their homes. I wonder if they should not pray about it. Maybe you are going into a society and a circle and an influence that will affect your children like Sodom acted upon the children of Lot. Perhaps it would pay you better to stay in the old house, near the old church with the old fellowship. The new place may look good to you. It may have better houses, better schools, better lawns, but is it really Egypt? The dancing, card-playing evil crowd are no ill on South Clark Street now. The high and low are coming together in sin and lust and there isn’t a great deal of difference between the crowd at the top and the crowd way down at the bottom. Passion and lust dominate and rule. Consider well, my friend, before you make your choice. Is it “like Egypt”? If so, don’t go.

A Foolish Decision

Lot’s choice was foolish. If he had thought it over, he would have known that it would not ultimately have been a win for him. The true believer must look at his life in the light of eternity. You must estimate values from God’s viewpoint. How is it going to affect my standing when I come to the judgment seat of Christ where every man’s work must be tried of what sort it is? You have a wonderful picture of it here. Lot was the loser. What did he lose? He lost fellowship with Abraham. Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. And listen friends—you always go the way you look! It is not the locationof the tent that is emphasized here; it is the way it was pitched. It is the attitude this man is taking towards those sinful people.

So it wasn’t long until Lot dwelt in Sodom. Mrs. Lot said to him one day, “Now, husband, we have not found the Sodomites so bad, have we?” They had come to know these people very well for they had to go to the market in Sodom with their milk and meat and all that sort of thing. You know the devil can be very nice to you until he gets the hook in. He gives his best wine first, and afterward that which is worse.

So Mrs. Lot said, “Husband, I am thinking about our girls. It is all right to go to church with these Moody folks, but we want something better than they are giving. We want some society for our daughters. Don’t you think we might take a house in the city?”

“Well,” says Lot, “I don’t know. I have found these folks pretty square.” He was getting more liberal, you see. You always do when you pitch your tent toward Sodom. Like a magnet it pulls you.

So by-and-by they gave up the old tent and moved into a “brown stone” house on Fifth Avenue in Sodom. The people were so well pleased with Lot that they had an election and would you believe it, they nominated Mr. Lot for Supreme Court Judge! He is elected and “sat in the gate of Sodom.”

“Now,” said Mrs. Lot, “didn’t I tell you? It pays to be generous. If you were narrow like Abraham, what would you ever have but sheep and oxen and sheep folds? Look now, you are a judge, one of the most honored men in the whole city.”

Judgment Coming

But all the time the storm clouds were gathering, the great retribution was coming. Lot saw Sodom good, the plains well-watered everywhere, the men generous—but listen. God saw and it is what God sees that makes the difference. “God saw the men of Sodom were exceedingly sinful.” But He was patient and waited a long time. By-and-by, the judgment came and Lot lost all his money. He lost all his influence. He had political prestige enough to be elected judge, but not a bit of spiritual influence. When God’s messengers came to warn this man Lot cried to his fellow citizens, “I am your Supreme Court Judge! I beg of you, don’t disgrace our worthy and honorable city!” And from the mob, there came back the cry, “Who is this fellow that comes to rule over us?” Fellow! Oh, it is a different thing to have political influence and to have spiritual influence. Money influence and prayer influence are two different things. God Almighty has picked you and me out, to be a center of power and blessing to men. The devil will give us money, friends, position, and everything if he can only keep us from being that channel of blessing.

A Father Fails

Lot lost his money; he lost his influence with the people, and listen, brother, sister, my dear father, my mother, listen. Lot lost his testimony with his children. He wen to Sodom to benefit his children. He wanted to educate them and give them better clothes, better company. But he compromised with God and lost out. Warned of God, he went that night and said to his children, “Up, children, God is going to destroy the city.” And it says, “Lot was to his children as one who mocked.” He had not an ounce of influence.

A mother came to Mrs. Philpott and asked her to go and pray with her dying daughter. The mother said, “I am going to let you go in alone and talk to her.”

Mrs. Philpott said, “No, you come in with me.”

But she replied, “You go in alone, please. Yesterday I was so concerned about my girl that it seemed I had to say a word to her, and I finally got up courage to ask her about her soul, and she said to me, ‘Mother, I don’t want to hear anything from you about it. You have not lived the life.’”

Yes, friends, you can sell goods, you can do business, you can make money, you can have political power without being right with God, but you can’t influence that child of yours, or your neighbor, or any soul for God unless you are right with Him.

A young man worked at a bench in a factory and he asked his friend, seated near him, to come up with him to the special revival meetings held at the church that night. The fellow turned around and said, “No, I won’t go with you.”

“Well,” his friend responded, “I want you to know that I am praying for you.”

“You better go and do some praying for yourself, old chap. I was up to those meeting two years ago when you made your confession. I came nearly yielding, but I said to myself, ‘I will wait. He works with me at this bench, and if I see it makes a change in his life, that it satisfies him, I am going to make my decision.’ I have watched you for two years. I have found you are just as worldly as I am. You go to the same places I go. We were at that show the other night and you were there. And Wednesday night? Oh, I didn’t see you that night. I suppose you were at your church prayer meeting, praying for me. You better go back and pray for yourself.”

Would God that some of these worldlings would rebuke some professing Christians in words like that!

Lot Lost All

Lot lost all—his money, his influence, and his testimony—and he lost his wife. She took him into Sodom and he had a hard time getting her out. If Mrs. Lot isn’t a real helpmeet, she may be a terrible dead weight. Mrs. Lot can be a stepping stone to higher, holier living, or she may be a mill stone to sink herself and her loved ones into terrible despair. Lot had to take his wife by the hand and pull her out of the city and when she was nearly in a place of safety, she turned and looked back. That was the last look; it was the last straw, the last act of rebellion against God and judgment fell. She turned into a pillar of salt.

Lot’s children perished, all but two, and they debauched their own father. From that night of shame and sin came two children, Moab and Ammon and the greatest enemies of God and the children of Israel were the Moabites and the Ammonites. These were the offspring of Lot’s children.

Lot, I take it, is saved, but so as by fire. He had not a thing but his soul saved. Some of you are like that. God saves by His grace, but if you were to die now, you would go into His presence with a naked soul, “saved as by fire.” I feel tender and sad this morning and I am saying in my heart, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” “Every man must give an account of himself to God” and “every man’s work shall be tried.” If, like old Abraham, you have the good sense to stay in the place of separation, God will surely bless you. Did not Abraham get something worthwhile? I would rather have the barren plains and Abraham’s reward, than Lot’s riches and his loss.