Let us make a start to our Remembrance Day service, and we will sing together the hymn number 752. O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home. We'll remain seated as we worship God, singing this wonderful old hymn of praise to God. O come, all ye faithful, to Bethlehem. O come, all ye faithful, to Bethlehem. Our shelter from the storm in us and our eternal home. Under the shadow of thy throne, Thy saints and well-seekers, Salvation gives thine arm, O, and our defense is sure. Before the hills in orders fit, our earth we seek her way. Long may we sing of our God, to them with tears we'll sing. A thousand angels in my sight are like an evening glow. That answered mine before the rising sun. I much have ever known extremes Where fall and suns await. They fly for God in as a dream, night and the opening day. For God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come. Let's all unite together in prayer, please. Let's all pray. Our Father, we gather again tonight around thy heavenly throne of grace in the Saviour's name. We thank thee for this opportunity that we have to come again into thy courts, into thy holy presence to render thanks unto the Lord our God. We're thankful for this season of the year, this time of the year, and we thank thee for this day of remembrance. And we have many things to be thankful to God for. We bless Thee for those who have paid the supreme sacrifice in giving their lives that we might have freedom, that we might be freed from oppression, that we might enjoy liberty and freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience. Our heavenly Father, we thank Thee for maintaining the cause of truth and righteousness, but bless thee for thy favour shown to this nation of ours down through the years. God has intervened in many cases in the history of the nation, and we render thanks unto thee tonight for all the Lord has done. for the good things that he has provided for us, even in our nation, for the gospel of Christ, for freedom to preach the gospel, and for freedom to assemble together in the house of God to worship thee. Bless thee for the opportunities even to go into the open air to share the glorious gospel of Christ and the power of the gospel. and we want to acknowledge thee, and we want to return thee thanks for thy great faithfulness to this nation of ours. We thank thee best of all. for the remembrance we have of thy dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and what he did for his people on Calvary's cross, lest we forget. Lead me afresh to Calvary. And Lord, we pray that even at this time when we come to give God thanks for his mercies in the past, May we not forget to give God thanks for the greatest sacrifice ever made, the sacrifice that Christ made on Calvary's cross when he offered himself as a lamb without spot unto God, to turn away God's wrath and to secure salvation for his people. We're thankful for those here tonight who have a testimony of saving faith in Jesus Christ, who can look back with rejoicing to a time in life's experience when they visited the cross, when they bowed there on bended knee, when they looked up to behold a bleeding lamb, and there by faith they embraced the Christ of the cross, were born again of the Spirit of God and washed in precious blood. now gathered together in the house of God, redeemed souls, ready for the great eternity. And that will be our prayer tonight, that many others will come and join us as we march as pilgrims bound for glory. Even tonight, someone hearing my voice on the webcast or Someone even here tonight in the house of God, may the Spirit of God strive with them and bring them to an end of themselves, and may they be found as repenting sinners tonight at the foot of the cross. What a remembrance service this would be for them, to be saved by grace and washed in precious blood. We commend our meeting unto thee. Be with us now and bless us. For Christ's sake, we ask these things. Amen. As you appreciate, we are not able to have our normal Remembrance Day service like other years due to the current restrictions that are in place at this point of time. However, the elders felt it was important to go ahead with a shorter and a smaller Remembrance Day service. It's always important to honour those who have made that supreme sacrifice to secure for us freedom and liberty from oppression and from oppressors, and also to secure for us the freedom and liberty to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience. Now we're only going to have one wreath being laid tonight on behalf of the members and friends of Coleraine Free Presbyterian Church by one of our elders, Mr. Colin Gibson, MBE, and we'll ask our brother to come now and do that for us. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. Will the congregation please stand. ["Taps"] Oh When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrows, we give our today. ["Taps"] Our gracious Father. Once again, we do give Thee thanks for Thy great faithfulness to this nation of ours. We thank Thee for giving the victory on many occasions. We bless Thee for the freedom that we have enjoyed for many years now. And we pray that Thou will continue to bless us with freedom and liberty for many years to come in the will of God. We pray that thou will bless our nation at this time. We're living in dark times, dangerous times, and we pray that the Lord, in his sovereign grace, will be pleased to intervene in our behalf and spare our people and turn away the virus in Jesus' name. And granted, even men and women will be sober-minded at this time, and take plenty of time to ponder their eternal destiny and where they will be after death comes, granted even by the Spirit of God through preaching. through the praying of the saints of God and the churches of God, that there will be a turning again unto the paths of truth and righteousness. Many hearts will be touched by the Spirit of God, and many will be seeking after God for mercy. Thou has done it in the past. Thou has intervened in times of great revival in our history. And our heart's desire to thee tonight is, wilt thou not do it again? Wilt thou not step into this dark, depressing situation and turn the tide for the glory of God? And may our nation prosper under God. unto the gospel of grace, and under the teaching of thy holy truth. Hear us as we pray, and visit us in our own little province and further afield, and grant where servants of God faithfully declare the gospel tonight, that hearts will be touched, lives will be changed, souls will be saved, and thy kingdom greatly extended. We ask these things in Jesus' name, amen. Congregation may be seated. Now we'll ask our brother, Mr. McLean, to come and make the announcements for us, please. Well, on behalf of the Indoor Moderator and the office bearers of Coleraine Free Presbyterian Church, we want to welcome each and every one along to our service this evening, to this Remembrance Day service. And we want to welcome those joining us by way of webcast also, and to our Indoor Moderator, the Reverend Irwin, who's here to preach the word this evening. The announcements end for the incoming week as follows. Tuesday night at 8 p.m. we have our prayer meeting and Bible study here in the church, and the Reverend Irwin will be along to bring the word of God. And that meeting will also be webcast on the usual channels. And then on Thursday evening at 8 p.m. it is the Women's Missionary Prayer Meeting. again meeting here in the church. The speaker on that occasion will be Mrs. Ruth Stewart. Mrs. Stewart has been to Uganda on different occasions to see the work of God there, and she will be relating some of her experiences to the ladies on Thursday night. Then on Friday, just to note, there's no open air through until mid-December, but the Youth Fellowship will be meeting on Friday evening at 8 p.m. in the church hall. And then at 8 p.m. also in the church, the men's prayer meeting will be taking part. Then next large day at 10 a.m., as we said this morning, the Sunday school's still not commenced, but we have been hearing good reports of the FPC Kids webcasts on Facebook and YouTube, so please join in there if you can. The Bible class taking place at 10 a.m. on Zoom. And again, the same code will be used week on week for the Bible class. And then the service is next Lord's Day at half past 11 and half past six when Dr. Lindsay Wilson, minister of Castle Derg, Free Presbyterian Church will be along to preach at the services. I just gave a reminder this morning about our broadcasts on Radio North. And those go out each Lordsday evening at a quarter past eight on Radio North 846 medium wave. But our brother Albert has also reminded me that if you're on the internet, you can also get those live through the Radio North website. So that's radionorth.net. So radionorth.net at 815. And you can also hear the broadcast there. As we mentioned this morning, please remember in prayer our brother David Ramsey, who's gone through his surgery and awaiting further treatment and recovering at this time. And also, as Mr. Irwin alluded to in his prayer this morning, please also remember the family of Dr. Alan Kearns, who passed away at the end of the week and was just buried yesterday. We thank God for his servant and for the legacy that he has left behind. throughout our denomination and further afield, but please do remember his family in particular at this time. Thank you. Thank you, brother, for making those announcements. If you will turn in your Bibles this evening to the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 19. And I want to read some verses from this chapter. familiar portion of God's Word, Genesis chapter 19, and we will read from verse 12 of the chapter. And when you find the place, Genesis 19, commencing to read at verse 12, let us now hear the Word of God. "'And the men,' that is, the men of Sodom, "'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 wax and grape before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has 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 set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that 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 the Lord said unto them, O not so, my lord. Behold, now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shown unto me in saving my life. And I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me. and I die. Behold, now this city is near to flee into, 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 accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city for the 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 Zorah. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zorah. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And they overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground, as fearful thought that is. But his wife looked behind, or looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. We'll end there, and we will be referring you to this portion during the course of the message. I preached this morning on three words, so I prayed. And tonight I want to preach on another three words found in Luke 17 verse 32. And I'm sure you are familiar with this well-known text from the New Testament, referring to the incident here in Genesis chapter 19. And it is these fearful, frightening words. Remember Lot's wife. Remember Lot's wife. May I please the Lord to bless His word to all of our hearts tonight for Christ's sake. Now the month of November brings to mind many things for which we ought to be thankful to God for. An event which appeals to the children, maybe more so in England and so on, rather than here, is Guy Fawkes Night. But this is something more than a night of bonfires and fireworks. For if the gunpowder plot had succeeded on the 5th of November, 1605, the subsequent history of England may well have been different, and we may have become a Roman Catholic nation. Another November anniversary is the 17th, which commemorates the accession of Elizabeth I in 1588, which was long kept as a day of national rejoicing. She restored the Reformed faith and, of course, the English prayer book after the horrors and the bloodshed of Queen Mary, Bloody Mary. Elizabeth was not without her faults. But under God, she brought both national and spiritual prosperity to her nation. November the 5th recalls another historic day in English history. For on that day in 1688, William of Orange landed at Torbay to restore freedom to her nation. And the motto inscribed on his banners as he marched to London was the free parliament and the protestant religion. England actually owes a great debt nationally and spiritually to the Prince of Orange. The constitution as we know it today stems from William's day. Now what I'm doing now is simply stating facts from the history of our nation. And with thankful hearts, we ought to return praise to God tonight for his intervention in our history and providing us with a constitution, with providing us with freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience. Yet another anniversary is Remembrance Sunday. I can remember where I was 33 years ago, in the morning time especially. I was preaching in the Martyrs' Memorial. I came down to the front to conduct the Lord's Supper, and the elder, Mr. Moore, came and whispered in my ear, there's been a massacre down in Enniskill. Many lives were lost on that occasion. And in our own country, in our own province, there are still many troubled, sad, and sorrowing hearts, even going way back all those 33 years and more. So we're thankful to God for what he's done, and we're thankful for this Remembrance Sunday. When we can, with Thanksgiving, record our thanks to God, for the bravery and the sacrifice of countless numbers who, in two world wars and wars since, and in the conflict in our own province here as well, who made that supreme sacrifice. And we lift our hearts to God tonight and praise for his goodness and his mercy and his continuing faithfulness to us. Now, let us not regard these events as mere facts and matters of history. For without them, we most certainly would have been without our freedom tonight. We would be void of that freedom that we enjoy. And we ought to look to the Lord to maintain his cause in our land at this time, and that we may, under God, continue to enjoy freedom, to be able to assemble here in the house of God, to sing the praises of Christ, to pray in the Savior's name, and then to turn to the holy word of God. What a treasure we have in the Holy Bible. So we as a nation and as individuals, we should take heed to what is taught in the scriptures. Deuteronomy chapter eight, verse two, thou shalt remember all the ways which the Lord thy God hath led thee. Now my theme tonight in this remembrance service is the theme of remembrance, of course, naturally enough. And we're going to, for a time tonight, remember Lot's wife. Now all the information we have about Lot's wife is packed into one verse in Genesis chapter 19 verse 26. But his wife looked back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt. A dozen or so words in the Old Testament and three in the New Testament These are the only details we have about this woman. Yet we must pay attention to her, for it is written by the finger of God, remember not swife. It's a very solemn warning, especially when we consider the subject that the Lord Jesus Christ was dealing with at the time he uttered these words. He was speaking of a second coming. and was describing the awful state of unreadiness in which many will be found in that day. The last days were on his mind when he said, remember Lot's wife. Now in the light of the coming of Christ to judge the world, remember Lot's wife who perished. She is a type of a person or people who appear to be convinced of their need of salvation, yet never get converted. Her story is an exceedingly sad story. And it has been the story of many, many countless souls down through the years. So for a time tonight, in the light of a common day of judgment, let us remember Lot's wife. Three simple things I want to share with you tonight about Lot's wife. Let's think for a moment or two about when she perished. Well, when did she perish? She perished when God's judgment fell upon her. When God's judgment was poured out upon Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain. Now in her day, true religion was scarce. The knowledge of God was confined to a few favored families. And the greater part of mankind at that point of time lived in darkness and lived in superstition. And when you look around the world today, isn't there a massive part of humanity living in nature's darkness? And many living in superstition with no thought about God, no thought about the well-being of their souls, no thought about where they will be in eternity. It doesn't really matter to them at all, sad to say. And it's becoming more focal these days. There is an exceeding great hatred towards the things of God and the person of Jesus Christ and the gospel of God's grace. Things continue to get worse. And they will continue to get worse until the Lord comes and puts everything right. But for many, it will be too late then. because they would have died in their sin, died down for eternity. Therefore, remember Lot's wife. Now, when we think of Lot's wife, we've got to remember this, that she married a man who, although he made many mistakes, was a man described in the Bible as a just and righteous man. I've mentioned this before. In 2 Peter 2, verses 4 and 8 makes this abundantly clear. He's a hard man to fathom. He's a hard man to understand. Now, I don't think that he was really like the people who lived in Sodom. I don't think that he was a drunkard. There's no indication that he was an immoral man. There's no indication that he was profane in his language. And there's no indication that he practiced the sins of Sodom. But what was he doing there? You think of what he left. He moved his family from a religious environment to a sinful environment. Now Lot never had an altar. We never read in the Bible of Lot ever praying and seeking God or offering a sacrifice. But he lived for a period of time in the company of a man who did believe God. A man who was described as righteous, too. He believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. His uncle Abraham was a man of faith and a man of God. And he enjoyed, if I could use that term, that privilege for a considerable period of time, until Lot set his eyes on something else. He maybe became bored with the altar sacrifices. He maybe grew tired of hearing Abraham praying and preaching around the altar. He just couldn't tolerate it anymore, just like the prodigal son. I'm sure he did have some kind of a strict upbringing. And he just couldn't wait for the time to get free. He couldn't wait to get away from the influence of his dad or his father. He just wanted to get away. He wanted to get to the far country. Oh, there's pleasure to be found for me in the far country. Therefore the time came that he gathered all his possessions together. And I've mentioned this before. He came to his father and he more or less was saying to his father, father, I wish you were dead. He said, give me the portion that belongs to me now. I can't wait until you're dead. I want it now. And so he got the one portion and the elder brother, he was getting the two portions because he was the older brother. And that was the law. He just couldn't wait to get away. And we can imagine him setting off, his father's heart was broken. Many a father and mother's heart is broken today. It's okay when you have kids small and growing up and they're very obedient in the home and we cherish them and love them and pray for them and delight in them and we love to see the efforts that they make growing up. But when a time comes when children get into their teens and get to college and away from home, they just want to be free. They get tired of the environment. They get tired of having to attend church and go by all the requirements and regulations, no TV on a Sunday, no this on a Sunday. Now it happens, that's life. And we love our children and we pray for our children, but human nature is human nature. And when Lot took his family to Sodom, it wasn't a good move. They eventually perished. Father let his children there. They all perished. That's a fearful thought. We can lead them to the house of God or lead them away from the house of God. What he left, he left that behind. He left Abraham, he left the altar. He left the sacrifices behind. What he loved, well, he set his eye upon Sodom and he fell in love with Sodom and fell out of love with the pilgrim life. Not that he was really a true pilgrim, by the way. And Sodom represented the world And like the world, Sodom is a filthy place. This world is a filthy, filthy place. You think for a moment of the things that are happening, the reports we hear in the news and reading the newspapers, the things that happen that make you sick. This is the world in which we live. Oh, how we need be much in prayer in these days that God would intervene in grace. He loved the world and then what he lost. He lost everything that was precious to him. He lost everything but his soul. Now, his wife was familiar with the things of God. She had been for some considerable time, but she had never been converted. She was aware of the importance of the sacrifices. She smelled the animals burning on a regular basis. She saw the smoke ascending from Abraham's altar. She knew all about that. She knew about God's revelation to Abraham, about the promised land, about his seed and so on. She knew about the promised seed, and the promised seed was Christ. I don't know how much she really delved into that or understood, but there was a promise of this seed that would come, that would be a blessing to the world. And yet, her heart was hard. She had all of these privileges. But it requires something more than privileges to save the soul. She needed grace. And that's what men and women need today. They need grace. Oh, they may have many privileges. The privileges of growing up in a Christian home. The privileges of having the Bible, the word of God. The privileges of having praying parents. The privileges of having been sent along to Sunday school where faithful teachers have taught them the things of God, who've prayed over them with many tears, faithful pastors, faithful preachers, declaring the gospel, denying themselves on many occasions, even sleep to pray for their congregation, to bring them into the kingdom of God. It takes more than privileges to save the soul, it needs grace. When the Lord told the listeners to remember Lot's wife, he turned their attention to a family that had integrated into Sodom, into that vile place that was ripe for judgment, for judgment was coming. Remember how Lot saw the place to begin with. Abraham gave him the choice. He lifted up his eyes and it appeared as the garden of the Lord. That's how it appeared, the garden of the Lord. It appeared to be a wonderful place. He never asked if it was the right place to take his family to. No, he never asked that. He was influenced by what he saw. It's a beautiful place, it's a wonderful place, but it turned out to be a wicked place, an exceeding wicked place. How then he sought the place, he moved closer to it. Lord, don't be going there. Lot, don't be a foolish man. You're headed in the wrong direction. How many times have I told people that? In the workplace, in the family, in the home. Son, don't go that way. Daughter, don't take that course in life. You don't know what's waiting out there for you. Oh, young people. Those with young families, keep these words before you. We need to surround these kids with our prayers, lay hold upon God and save them from getting close to this world. And then the tragic thing is he settled in the place. He couldn't get out of it. He didn't want to leave it when the time came. It robbed him of everything that was precious. So he was a man who made foolish choices. He was a man who tolerated filthy conditions. Imagine living there. His righteous soul was vexed daily by what was going on in that vile, sinful place. And these things are in our face today. Isn't that right? It hasn't changed. And the Lord said that, according to his book, that the days prior to his coming would be like the days of Noah and the days of Lot and the days of Abraham and so on. Think about the fearful consequences that he suffered. Now the Lord had revealed unto Abraham the fact that he was going to judge Sodom. The Lord revealed that to his friend. And Abraham is called a friend of God only three times in the Bible. No one else is called a friend of God in the Bible. This man had this distinction of being a friend of God. And God whispered in his ear, Abraham, my friend, I'm going to destroy Sodom. Why did God tell him he was going to destroy Sodom? Because he was giving him the opportunity to pray for his nephew. and they pray for his nephew's family. And they did pray about it. Remember how he tried to reason or bargain, if you like, maybe that's not the right term. How he began with a high number, if they're 50, if they're 40, 30, and so on. They stopped, they didn't go any lower than that. He prayed and he stood yet before the Lord just to see what God would do. We don't read of Lot ever praying. Angels were sent in answer to Abraham's prayer. God sent agents to intervene in answer to his prayer. Oh, that God would send the ministering angels to minister to those that we're praying for, to preserve them, to protect them. They arrived in Sodom at even. It was dark, you see. The coming to Sodom, a dark place. Oh, they had been entertained by Abraham when he sat there in the tent door at noontime. The sun was bright. Abraham was walking in the light. No, not, he's walking in the darkness. And the angels, not Christ this time, the two angels arrived. The Lord came to visit Abraham. But not so, not, he sent the two angels. Came at even time. It was night, the night before the judgment day. I can imagine how it must have felt, the eeriness, God is about to strike Sodom. God is about to pour out his wrath. It may be like that at the end of the age. God is going to come in judgment. Lot invited the angels to spend the night, but they preferred to sleep outside. But they eventually, they did come in. And before they laid down, a commotion began outside the door. The filth of the city came to Lot's door. They said, bring out the men. Isn't that significant? Bring out the men. They're bold. They're brazen. Bring out the men. We want to know the men. Can you imagine the state that Lot was in when he offered to prostitute his daughters? Can you imagine the state of this man, this righteous man? What he was prepared to do to please the people who lived in Sodom. He should never have been there, but he was, sad to say. This is what he was prepared to do. And the Lord in miraculous fashion intervened and saved his life. They hadn't actually pulled him in or no telling what would have happened to him. Saved his life. The message from God was a warning to Lot and his wife and family. Escape for your life, verse 17 of Genesis 19. This was a clear message. Escape for your life. Now, Christ tells us on many occasions in his word. He tells of a day when the wicked will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Matthew 25, 46. The apostle Paul also speaks of that day when he said, the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God. Do you know God through Christ tonight? Have you started for heaven and home? Have you repented of your sins? Have you believed the gospel? Have you fled to Christ? Have you taken the warning? Have you heeded the advice? Have you bowed and bent at knee and cried, God have mercy on my soul? To avert this judgment, you need to seek him. then you need to seek him now, for the Bible does say, now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. Taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel. Oh, the gospel is cast down in our streets today, in the streets of our towns, in our villages, in the streets of the capital cities of the world. The gospel is belittled. Men make fun of God and Christ and religious people, religious fanatics. That's the way it is. It's not gonna get any better. God may intervene by sending times of refreshment from the presence of God, but that's not gonna change the situation as it is. The world will continue on as it has been progressing over the years until its climax. Until that moment in time, God has the creed from eternity. to send His wrath upon a rebellious world, a rebellious humanity. That day is coming. We can't even begin to imagine what it's going to be like. We have fearful verses in the Bible, we have fearful illustrations of judgment in the Bible, and all of the judgments all the way through the Old Testament are types and pictures of the judgment that will come eventually. That's the way God works, you see. He's building up to the climax, little by little revealing this thing or that thing or something else. And this was one of the first illustrations of this judgment that's coming at the end of the age. The message they brought, bring them out of this place. That was a message of deliverance. The Lord saves his people out of the world. the messages of deliverance. He can set you free from whatever is hindering you, whatever is holding you, whatever chain binds you, whatever lust you may have, whatever life you're living, whatever course you have taken, whatever depth you have sunk to in your life and your life's experience, He can bring and set you gloriously free by delivering you by His grace. He will destroy this place. There's the message of destruction, verse 13. It really was a message of heaven or hell, a message of life or death. That's to put it very succinctly. John the Baptist warned his generation to flee from wrath to come. And that word flee simply means to be saved by flight, to escape out of danger, literally to flee from divine and righteous wrath against sin and sinners. And the same idea is found in the word escape that is used in verse 17, verse 19, 20 and 21. It means to slip away. It means to escape quickly. So this was the message that the angels brought to that damn city. And in those cities of the plain, there was a message, escape, slip out of the place of danger, slip away quickly. It was an urgent message, slip away quickly. Don't wait any longer. The message was clear, get out of Sodom, and the message It's clear tonight, flee from your sin. Get out of that old sinful lifestyle and flee to Christ. Repent, that's the message we don't hear often. Repent, turn your back on your sin. Turn from unto, from sin unto God, through Christ, through the sacrifice he made. We remember him and his death in a sacrifice made on Calvary's cross. And there at the cross, we have a manifestation of God's love. When Christ, the holy, spotless, pure lamb of God, offered himself totally as a sacrifice to God, enduring the wrath of God, and on the cross of Calvary, I do believe that he literally suffered hell in those short hours, and he cried, it is finished, what's finished? Hell is finished for His people. Wrath is finished for His people. It's done. It's complete. I have taken it all. I have suffered in your place. I have taken the wrath of God. I have suffered hell for you. I've endured it for you. I have taken it to give you freedom. I've taken it to give you liberty, to bring deliverance to your soul. Get out of this place. They were directed to the mountain in verse 17. In the New Testament, we can point you to a mountain or a hell, if you like, the hell of the cross. When they were come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified him, the place of the skull. When the morning arose, or at day dawn, verse 15, the sun did not rise until lot entered Zorah. Hebrew signifies when the streaks of light break up the eastern clouds. The word was given at night, he didn't leave until the morning. He was slow to leave. He was reluctant to leave, along with his wife, when she perished. Why she perished? Because of unbelief. The message was clear. She wasn't to look back. That was the command of God. God was not going to bend his requirements. He was not going to alter anything to please anybody else. And the Bible does say in verse 26, she looked back and became a pillar of salt. This was a contradiction of the message that she received. Don't look back. Now, in Oriental countries, it was a rule for the wives to walk a distance behind their husbands. And maybe she thought that no one would see her. Thou, God, seest me. Every move we make, every thought we think, every place we go, he knows every single thing about us. Isn't that mind-boggling? Isn't that an amazing thing? God knows the minds of everyone here and the minds of everybody in this province and the minds of everyone in the nation and everyone in the world. God knows everything at this point of time right now. And He knows where you stand. He knows your heart. He knows your excuses. He knows where you're going, why you're going, when you'll go. Now God sees me. She made an effort to be seen. She nearly escaped. Some people say, oh, I was nearly saved one night in the maid hang. Oh, I intend to get right before I die, you know. I've heard that many times over these past 40 years, different people. Even there, standing beside them, as they lay there on their deathbed, oh, I'm thinking about it, thinking about it. She was lost because her heart was still in Sodom. She was convinced to get out of Sodom, but she was never converted. She fled from the city, but her terrors were like a morning cloud in the early dew, which quickly passes away. Now the Bible tells us that the angels hastened lot, but they lingered. Can you imagine? And we say, that's a foolish thing. But there are thousands and millions of people today knowing that there's judgment to come, and they linger still. They're waiting. They're waiting for something to happen, for some feeling to come across them or over them. The preacher says, judgment's coming, but we're waiting. The Bible says, seek. Flee to Christ. Flee from wrath. Get under the blood, that's the message. She fled from the city, but these terrors all vanished. They both showed no real hurry. They were very casual. Some people look upon the things of God in a very casual manner. They were low to leave the place and the pleasures of the place and the people of the place. The angels had to forcibly remove them from the city. The angel actually took hold upon her hand in verse 16. The angel more or less dragged her and her husband out of the city. Finally, they moved out of the danger zone. Judgment fell. Fire and brimstone came out from the presence of God. When you think of the prophecy given in the Word about that day when fire and brimstone will descend from on high, when the Lord comes again to destroy the ungodly and reward his people and glorify his Son, and glorify all those redeemed souls and take them home to the Father's house." Fire and brimstone. She ran for a while, but stopped short. She couldn't forget about the things left behind. She couldn't forget the family she had left behind. She couldn't forget about the friends she left behind. Some people have this very foolish notion, if my loved one has gone to hell, I want to go there to be with him or her. Oh, they have no idea what they're talking about. If their loved ones could speak and we know it's impossible, they would say, don't come to this terrible place. Just like the man in Luke chapter 16, for I am tormented in this place. Get Lazarus to go and broadcast and tell my loved ones, my brothers, not to come to this place. And the word was, they have the prophets, they have Moses, they have Abraham. They have the teaching of the prophets. If they don't obey the prophets and listen to the gospel they preach, there's no possibility that they'll be convinced by someone raised from the dead. Don't let them come to this place. It was too late to pray. Hell will continue forever. Those who die unrepentant will remain unrepentant. They will suffer eternally the wrath and the judgment of a sin-heating God. No reprieve, no light in the dark tunnel, no way out, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, no mercy, no grace, no gospel, no relief, no water, Oh, for a drop of water to be placed upon the tip of my tongue, for I am tormented, tormented for eternity, damned forever, lost forever, cast aside forever from the presence of God, but there's mercy with God. Because one drank all the dregs of the wrath of God on Calvary's cross, and through faith in His sacrifice, through faith in His blood, you can be saved and delivered from wrath. You can start tonight on the journey to heaven by grace and grace alone, by blood and blood alone, by Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. There's no other way. There's no other hope in the world apart from Christ. There's no way into the kingdom of God. What about your friends? If your family doesn't want to go there, you take the right way. Plead with them to join you. Come now with us and we will do the good, say to them. But we can't change their hearts. We can't change their minds. Only God can do that. But we can pray for them that the Lord and grace would intervene. She was awakened in a sense, but she was not converted. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Her anxieties began to vanish. with the darkness. She took one look back to see if Sodom had really been destroyed. It was an act, a deliberate act of disobedience, because her heart was not right. Simon, we read in Acts chapter 8, my heart is not right with God. She looked back. She was an unbeliever. Only look, but it decided her fate. That's why Jesus says, remember not his wife. Heaven and hell in a glance. I think about Spurgeon on that snowy morning when he went into that little chapel and he heard that unlearned man stand up there because the preacher was not available or able to get to the meeting. And he heard him quoting Isaiah 45, look, look, And there in the pew, that young man looked to Christ and was saved. Well, unfortunately, Lot's wife looked back. She was judged on the spot. Lot, he went to Zorah. He found safety there. But his wife looked back at Sodom and met destruction. One thief looked to Christ. The other looked away from him. Her sin may have seemed a little thing, but it revealed her true character, just a look. Little things often show the state of the heart. A crack in an arch, as small as it proves the foundation, may be giving way. A straw may show which way the wind is blowing. One look shows the rottenness of a sinner's heart. And that look showed the rottenness of her sinful heart. Escape, escape, get out. They were brought out, but her heart was still there. And the judgment of God came. Lot was saved. His wife was lost. And that has been the heartbreaking account of many couples down through the years. One has been saved by grace. The other has been lost by sin. Don't let it happen to your family. Maybe there's a saved husband with an unsaved wife here tonight. Pray that God in his mercy will come and speak to your heart. Make your calling and election sure tonight. flee to Christ, repent, believe the gospel, and be saved, and be delivered. The same fire that melts the wax hardens the clay. The same sun that makes a living tree grow dries up a dead tree. Pharaoh saw miracles and he perished. Korah heard the voice of God from Sinai. but he was judged. Belshazzar heard a message that had been interpreted by Daniel and died on the very night he heard that. Judas had been in the company of the disciples, but he hanged himself and went to hell. And finally, and briefly, where she perished, so near the place of refuge, She didn't get to that place of refuge, the place that God had accepted. Lord did. Unfortunately, his wife didn't. She fully intended to get there, by the way, I think. She was at the very gate, so close yet so far. It was almost there. Apparently, this little city wasn't far away, maybe three or four miles, as one commentator puts it. Other towns were destroyed. This place chosen by lot was delivered and spared. Now Grippa was almost persuaded. Abner was at the very gate of Hebron when Joab slew him in retaliation for his brother's murder. Hebron was one of the cities of refuge. He died at the gate after hearing the message of peace from David. So he left the presence of David the king, the beloved, who's a type of Christ. He heard the message of peace. He found acceptance there. But as he was moving away, just at the gate of the place, Joab came, put him to death. here she's near. God suddenly broke in, in the very act of disobedience, suddenly by a stroke of God she's removed. Entombed in a pillar of salt, she perished, and that without remedy. For he that been often reproved, hardened of his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed. and that without remedy. Sodom turned into a salt sea, destroyed by fire and brimstone. The whole area was filled with salt. The stroke was singular. It was remarkable. It was outstanding judgment. Great banks of chemicals have accumulated there over the centuries. And places the smell of the sulfur is nauseating. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. Nobody can sink there. I've learned back reading the newspaper, not holding myself up, didn't sink. I don't like to be there very much, but that's what you can do. You dip your hand into it, hold it up to the sun, and it becomes encrusted with the chemicals in a few seconds. When Aaron's sons died, after offering strains, fire came down from heaven and destroyed them. It's a solemn thing to die at any time, but to die in the act of sin is a fearful thing. To die at the hand of God is frightening. be sure your sin will find you out. There is a message that I have been preaching for many, many years. It's the message of a full and free salvation that Christ has purchased for sinners through his work on Calvary's cross and all who look to him by faith and repent of their sins and believe the gospel and come to him can and will be saved. And he says, I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. In the light of the coming judgment, in the light of a day of wrath, coming from the presence of God, prepare to meet God. Remember Lot's wife, who perished. She died in her sin. She was lost. to eternity. May God, in his grace, bless his word tonight. Now, we're going to just sing a few verses of Psalm 46. And then I'll ask the congregation to stand. And we're going to have the national anthem. And it's going to be sung by our brother, Andrew Linden. I didn't know he could sing. I knew he could paint. I didn't know he could sing. But we'll sing Psalm 46, these few verses. I'm sorry for the length of time to get the message across. We'll sing these verses. And then I would ask you to stand once we have these few verses sung together. And then our brother will sing the national anthem to us. Okay, we'll worship God. God is our refuge and our strength and strengths of present day. Let's all worship God. ♪ God is love, eternal strength ♪ ♪ He sings the praise with me ♪ The earth we burn, we will not be afraid. Through hills and mists, the seas we cast, No water to retain. And God will be in all the hills, by swearing sea to shay. I will be. The city of our God, the holy place wherein the Lord was silent at his abode. And wishes of earth, of heav'n, Of days of early birth. ♪ Follow to her and help her will ♪ ♪ And guide her in her will ♪ ♪ The heathen praise her majesty ♪ ♪ The kingdom's praise her majesty ♪ The Lord God of our end, His voice we yearn to hear. The Lord of hosts is on our side, our Savior to maintain. Would the congregation please stand. Brother Andrew. God save our gracious Queen Long live our noble Queen God save the Queen victorious, happy and glorious, long to reign over us, God save the Queen. Now may the grace of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rest and abide upon all of God's believing people now and forevermore. We ask these things in the Savior's name and for God's eternal glory. Amen. Amen. I'm the Rev. Derek Irwin, Intermoderator of Colerain Free Presbyterian Church. I would like to thank you for joining us today for our webcast. We really do appreciate you tuning in. If we can be of any further help to you regarding spiritual matters, do not hesitate to contact us by visiting our website www.colerainfpc.org or via our Facebook or sermon audio pages. You may also email us. Our email address is info at colerainfpc.org. You may also like to attend our services at Colerain Free Presbyterian Church at Clifton Road, Colerain at 11.30 and 6.30 each Lord's Day. We assure you of a warm welcome at the services and look forward to having you with us. Thank you once again for listening today. May the Lord richly bless you. Don't forget to join us next time for the preaching of God's Word. God bless.