I hope you are awakening to how seduction slips its way into your life so carefully. I know it doesn’t always feel good to talk about this kind of material, but we are living in a time that we have to. Are you ready to pick up where we left off last time? Let’s go!

We know that Lot chose the portion of land near Sodom because its looks enticed him. Lot did not realize he was planting himself in a danger zone. The type of sin that was going on in Sodom was so wicked and because the people never repented, God destroyed it. We are wise not to be in an intimate relationship with someone who is actively engaging in sin without repentance in their heart. Scripture warns us in Galatians 6:1 to be careful when restoring someone we know who has fallen into sin. It says, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.” After reading that, why do we need to be careful when restoring someone caught in sin?

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Why do you think God warns us that we also may be tempted into their sin?__________________________________

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God warns us to be careful because he knows how capable we are to giving way to temptations and then getting wrapped up in the very thing we were trying to pull our sisters out of in the first place!

Can you think of ways that we may pitch our tents next to sin?____________________________________________

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I can think of several. Let me share one. If we begin hanging around someone who is involved in the “partying” scene, it may seem harmless at first. But, the more we surround ourselves with that person socially, the more we being to grow numb to that kind of behavior. Over time we begin to crave this atmosphere and all that comes with it. What starts as one time ends up being every week. I can remember when I was single falling into that trap over and over. I would tell myself, “I’m going to quit going out to the bars and I am going to quit drinking.” Yet I never changed my surroundings so when the temptations to go out with the same group of girls came again, I would fall into the same pattern over and over.

It’s so important that we are aware of our surroundings. I have been guilty of pitching my tent next to the doorway of sin one too many times. I don’t ever want to be naïve again. Perhaps you know someone who has gotten close to sexual sin and fallen head first into it. For instance, a young lady by the name of Sarah has been working out at the local gym. No harm there. However, Sarah’s marriage has been under a lot of stress lately. Her husband, Chris, has been working long hours and never seems to be home. He never seems to call home during the day and Sarah is feeling lonely and unloved. Sarah has been working out at the gym where she begins to notice a guy who always seems to make eye contact with her. At first, Sarah doesn’t think too much about it because she has a low self esteem and figures no men as good looking as this one would be noticing her anyway. As time passes, Sarah finds herself looking forward to going to the gym just so she can see this guy and to see if he notices her. Sarah begins to flirt with seduction. She is placing herself in a position for attack. Before long, eye contact turns into a few smiles here and there, which later turns into small conversations. She begins to think that he is incredibly nice and she finds out through conversations with him that he goes to church. Chris, Sarah’s husband, resents going to church every Sunday because he is tired from a long week at work and this begins to look attractive to Sarah. She begins to think about this guy all of the time. She begins fantasizing about what it would be like to be in a relationship with him. He appears to be so nice and charming and after all, he goes to church! Do you think Sarah is pitching her tent near danger? Why or why not?
 
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Sarah is in a major danger zone! First of all, we know her marriage is weak right now and that makes Sarah vulnerable. Sarah becomes attracted to this man based on appearance and has little knowledge about him. She is being seduced by appearances. Just because he goes to church doesn’t make him a godly man. Satan works desperately to destroy the body of Christ through the church. Sarah is headed toward a full blown affair if she does not remove herself from this danger zone. What would you do if you were Sarah at this point?

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I can tell you now, Sarah needs to flee! She is headed for a downward spiral of sin if she doesn’t cry out to God for help! Ladies, when we believe lies that we won’t let it get out of hand and that we are not capable of such sin, we have walked right into the enemy’s trap. God’s word tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23).

I know in my past I never thought I was capable of half the things I found myself doing. Speaking from experience, it is best to humble ourselves and get into agreement with God that we are all capable of anything. Besides, believing we are above certain sins is prideful. God’s Word says in Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction.” Let’s not set ourselves up for destruction because of pride in our lives. Sarah began making decisions based on outward appearances and the lure of another man. She began to go to the gym at the same time each day just so she could “accidentally” run into the guy at the gym. Seduction whispered lies to Sarah and talked her into fantasizing what life would be like with another man. Lot did something similar as well.

In our scriptures we saw that Lot was probably strong enough to resist temptations, but other members of his family proved not to be. Sometimes we choose locations for our families next to sin and although we may be resilient to it, those closest to us may not. Have you ever thought about how staying in a sinful environment could affect your loved ones? Perhaps a parent provided an environment for you that was conducive to sin. Being that you were surrounded by it, maybe you fell into it.

Have you ever found yourself in a “Sodom” and possibly not by choice? Describe what happened.

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I know I have. Because of Lot’s decision, most of his entire family was susceptible to sin and total destruction. I would encourage you to read the entire chapters of Genesis 18-19. It’s better than any soap opera you could watch on television!

Here is the Reader’s Digest version: When God sent two angels to destroy Sodom, Lot was there at the city gates and urged them to come into his home so he could feed them. While they were there, a group of sexually hungry homosexuals surrounded the home demanding Lot to bring these two men (angels) out so they could have sex with them. In Lot’s desperate attempt to save these two men, Lot offers his two virgin daughters to the men outside for them to have sex with. Any father with a heart completely surrendered to God could not give his daughters over to a mob like this! So we can see how deeply the sin around Lot was absorbed into his own life. He became desensitized to the point of offering his own daughters to be victimized. I don’t know about you but after understanding the wickedness of Sodom and what the consequences are from just living near it, I don’t want to be caught dead close to that place. I don’t ever want to become desensitized to sin. It has happened one to many times in my life and caused too much destruction.

Is there any area of your life where you feel sin going on around you is being absorbed into your life? I have had a past full of many grievous sins and I can tell you that after all of the pain and destruction I caused myself and those nearest me, I don’t ever want to go back to any area that even borders a “Sodom”. I speak from experience. It is not worth it! When the Holy Spirit convicts you about a certain relationship and a red flag goes up you are wise to take notice of it. If you have been tempted into an ungodly relationship and the Holy Spirit is prompting you to flee from it, run like the wind! Don’t let the enemy have a foothold any longer. His plan is to expose you sooner than later. Let this serve as a warning and run as far from the relationship as possible.

Please read the rest of our text for today which is Genesis 19:14-36. Just to recap, the angels were urging Lot to get his family and get out of there before the Lord destroyed it.

Have you ever urged someone to leave a life of sin before total destruction fell on them? Perhaps someone has urged you to leave sin. If so, what was their reaction or what was your reaction towards them?

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If you remember when Lot urged his future sons-in-law to get out because the Lord was going to destroy it, what was their reaction?
 
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Sometimes, we may face rejection from our loved ones who have fallen into sin when we confront them, but it’s better to be obedient and speak God’s truth in love than to never confront our loved ones about their sin. On the flip side, don’t reject those who encourage you to flee from sin. They are trying to help you!

In the rush to get out, Lot was only able to convince his wife and daughters to leave. The angels gave strict orders in verse 17. What were they?
 
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Why did they tell them to flee to the mountains? ________________________________________________________

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Hopefully your answer was "so they wouldn’t be swept away”. We are going to look at this more in detail in our next lesson. I hope you are enjoying this story as much as I am. I told you the things of God are not boring! There is so much to learn from His word. I can’t wait to meet back with you tomorrow.