Prime Your Pump

OvidiuRadulescu35OvidiuRadulescusermonsThe Widow at Zarephath 1 Kings 17:10-16 (NIV)10 So he (Elijah) went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" 11. As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread." 12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I dont have any breadonly a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat itand die." Elijah said to her, "Dont be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land. "15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.

Can you imagine that? Is extreme drought, famine, you are at the brink of starvation, and someone is coming to your house, knocking at your door and asking your food... Your last crumb of bread, insisting: "Give me first!"... And the poor widow didnt call the Police, didnt went inside to look for the shotgun She just gave Elijah EVERYTHING she had: a handful of flour and a drop of oil, enough for a small pita bread She was able to sacrifice herself and her son, because she understood by faith, to prime the pump

Many-many years ago, when I was in my high school years, I went up in the mountains with three friends from church. Every summer vacation we did the same trip, a week or two carrying our tents, and wandering going around the Carpathian Mountains.

So we arrived at this farm. It was a hot August day and we were thirsty We knocked at the door nobody The owner was not there, the door locked and his dog just barking aloud

Going around we discovered a pump like this one (actually showing a pump - $ 50 from LOWES - I remembered to this from a Zig Ziglar presentation). And one of my friends grabbed the handle and started to pump. How many of you ever used those kind of old fashion water pumps?... Rise your hands please

(Pumping) OK, so this guy began to pump, and pump, and pump, about three or four minutes After that, exhausted, he said nope, no water here, probably this is just an work out device for biceps.

But I noticed how the grass looked fresh green around the pump, and even the soil was kind of moist so I told them the pump is functional, look and compare And they said, OK, its your turn to pump. And I did I pumped, and I pumped, and I pumped several minutes, and the squeaking noise was just awful But no water

Well, the owner showed up, alarmed by the dog barks and we asked him for some water. He showed us the pump Oh, no, its not working (Pumping again) Yes, is working, but we needed to PRIME THE PUMP FIRST!... You know what I am talking about to prime the pump, dont you? Well, at that time I didnt know And he went inside and came with a jug with water

water into the pump while we stared at him not understand why he dont give us the water instead And he said: now you pump No, no like this. And he grabbed the handle and he went several times up and down sturdy! And the water came.

You know, you need to put something inside here, before you have something out there You need to have some arrows, yes you, King Joash, to have some arrows first, in order to shut them out You need to have something in your bank account in order to be approved for some credit Isnt something?

ILL. After we came here in US, I discovered that everybody around me were using something named credit card to buy things We said, oh good, lets go to a bank and asked them for tis wonder card ziiip and pay for your gas, and ziiip agin and buy a nice church suit. I went with one coworker, I told them that I a newcomer and and I need a credit card The bank teller smiled and said: Is not working this way You have to have money in order to ask for money In other words, do something before, in order to expect results. Prime the Pump first!See, unfortunately a lot of people are standing in front of the stove of live and saying: hey stove, give me some heat, and I will put some wood in there!. This is not the way it works. You got the put something in, before you can get anything out

So many times, you know, the employee goes to the employer saying give me a raise and after that I will start coming to work on time My nephew Eddie asking me: buy me a watch and I will read a book as you asked me to do so many times in other words, reward me right now and I will produce something later

Can you imagine a youngster in school saying: Teacher, if I will go home with an F again, my parents will skinned me alive; pass me on this semester and then I will study for the next year as nobody else. Reward me right now, Ill produce later! Is not going to work that way. Can you ast seeing an old farmer staying in the middle of his field in October saying: Oh Lord, I did not plan a thing this year, but if you give me a big crop this year, Ill plant more than anybody next year Is not going to work

The rule of sowing and reaping is at being made by God, and is the fundament on everything in our Universe Sowing and reaping

In the spiritual area, in our relationship with the church and with God, people are doing the same thing: give me that blessing and I will do this and that Heal me first and I will stop drinking after that. Give back my family and I will stop chasing other women right awayIt does not work like this You see, you have to put something in (the pump) in order to have something out I mean invest, sacrifice, sweat, before the reward Have something already done in order to prime the pump

August, hot, pump, and pump, and very hot... and the question is: how much effort are you willing to put in, for a drink of fresh water?...

And finally my friend Sorin said, You know Ovidiu, I dont thing is any water left down there Oh yeas, still there but deep down And the good thing about the water that is deep down at 50 feet underground, is this: the deeper the water - the purer, the sweeter, the cooler andthe most refreshing thing in the world

Friends, is not true with our life, is not the same law assigned by God our Creator, in our lives? Is not true that if you become an MD, a doctor, in only six months of evening classes, or over the Internet classes, the reward is minimal and how many patients will trust you as their doctor?

Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you can learn to do it well (Zig Ziglar) We will never know how many kids will miss the opportunity of a college scholarship because they didnt study an average of 10 more minutes a day

We will never know how close we were to a genuine experience with God, to a real high level Bible study experience, finding the Scripture the most exciting thing in the world, only because we become discouraged to soon, become bored to soon, and we quit exactly before experiencing the joy

(pumping) We will never know how much success we have had in life, in ourrelationship with our spouse, with our children, with our neighbors in telling them about Jesus, in our Christian experience if only pumping for a little bit more, a little bit harder Pump and pump and pump but only to give up "Hey man, is no water down there, why spending time and energy for nothing I quit, I am out of here

(pumping harder) No, no, dont stop right now, is coming, wait a little bit more, just pump If you stop, the water is going back down and the whole effort is really for nothing just dont quit because if you do, you have to start ALLLLLLL OVER

Yes my friends, this is the story of your life and the story of my life, this is the story of our church this is the way God put the law of sowing and reaping in order to let us be serious in seeking the everlasting values of His Kingdom.

(Pumping) I believe with all of my heart that if you will pump long enough and hard enough, end enthusiastically enough the water will go up and up, against the law of gravity, pushing out the air and coming closer, and closer and finaly the water starts to flow

(Pumping slowly) All you have to do once you reach this level, is to keep it easely, barely making an effort, just enjoying muving the handle, and the water is coming out effortless, more, and more More water than you possibly can use

The basic problem is this : so many times, people get involved in something and say I will give it a tray and if is work out, that will be good, and if not I dont want to kill myself - you know what I mean dont you? - I will stop and look for something else Let me tell you something (pumping slow & apathetic) You will gonna pump for ever like that, my friends, before everything happened

(Pumping fast) When its your turn, when God offered you by grace, an opportunity to do something for your life, for your church, for your family, for you as potential citizen of Gods kingdom

When you have the handle in your hand, be serious about pumping. Pour something in the beginning, and pump with heart, until the water will flow And once the water starts to flow, then my friends, is just easy as ABC no more swat, no more effort, everyting is nice, smooth, easy, while the water is more and more, and purer, and cooler and fresher, and tastier, is unbelievable

Returning to the story of that pump the man, the owner of that mountain farm, finally said: look inside the kitchen, they are some clean buckets, bring them all here. And he just played with the handle of that pump. It was like flood of water without any effortFriends, if we are serious about seeking Gods Kingdom and His righteousness first, if we are willing to follow His advices, His way instead or our way, we will respect those two rules:1.Prime the pump first. Give to God first. Seek Him and His rigteousness first.2.More effort in the beginning, is rewarded with less effort and more enjoyment after that

And respecting them, we will be blessed more than our wildest dream Successful life here and eternal life there

Ahithophel the Ticking Bomb

OvidiuRadulescu35OvidiuRadulescusermonsTopic: #4 of 23 for Sermons on Forgiveness: GeneralScripture: 2 Samuel 16:23-17:23Denomination: Seventh-day AdventistDate Added: September 2009

Audience: Believer Adults (31 - 49)

Keywords: Ahithophel, Pride, Forgivenes, David, (Suggest a Keyword)

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Share thisPrint friendlyAdd to FavoritesAdd to CalendarSuggest KeywordsIve read a number of stories about people who have tried to disarm bombs and maybe they have blown up in their face. Handling a ticking bomb could be a very dangerous thing.

Have you ever know a person thats like a ticking bomb? They seem like a normal people, but you get on a certain subject and they explode. Theres a certain thing that is like a trigger, and if you talk about that thing with that person, it just sets them off. Theyre time bombs. The smallest static electricity set them off. A comment, a word.

One thing that makes for unstable people and people that are time bombs is when they carry a grudge. Theyve been offended about something or certain subject, and you bring that subject up and theyre explosive.

As a pastor, I would visit people like that. Maybe they werent going to church any more, and they had a reason that they werent going to church. And if you wanted to find it out, you would go and sit down and talk with them and mention them coming back to church, and poof, explosion. Because there was something they felt injured about, that they were carrying, and that had built up a lot of gunpowder in their lives. They were carrying a grudge.

The dictionary defines a grudge as a cherished dislike. Isnt that an interesting word? Cherished dislike. Now, its one thing to cherish something that you like. That makes sense. You wife, your children, your God; but when we cherish something that we dont like, whats going on?...

ILL. This is an oxymoron - words in combination that simply dont make sense. Soft rock. Theres no such thing as soft rock, is there? Working vacation. Or, Almost saved. These words just dont go together. Thats an oxymoron. To cherish a dislike is an oxymoron. Thats what carrying a grudge is. Its a wound that we grab to ourselves and that we hang on to.

Imagine someone who loves their wound, you know. They broke their arm and they cherish it: Wow, I love that. Isnt it great? I mean, look at that!. People who are carrying a grudge are displaying wounds, are cherishing wounds, and theyre time bombs. Because if you touch that wound, they explode. You never know when theyll explode.

Ahithophel was a time bomb. He was a person like that. Normal under all circumstances, seemed to be a friendly person, a very bright person, good friend of King David, but he was wound up tighter than a clock. And he was ready to explode. Now, it wasnt that he was unintelligent. He was a very intelligent man, but there was a part of his life that he was really stupid in. Even smart people can do some really stupid things.

2 Samuel 16:23 Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophels advice.

Isnt that amazing? When it came to judgment in most things, talking with Ahithophel it was like you were talking to God. How would you like that said about you? "When you get counsel from Pastor Ovidiu, its like youre asking God."

We read in 1 Chronicles 27:33 that Ahithophel was the kings counselor. Now, not only was Ahithophel a wise man, but as the kings counselor he had a lot of status in the kingdom because any time the king had a problem, he would call for Ahithophel. He would have access to the palace and to David directly. Any time the king wanted good information, he asked Ahithophel. It would be like today, President Obama always calling you for advice. "I need to know what to do in the Middle East. What do you need me to tell you what to do?"

He would have a lot of say in the kingdom. But Ahithophel, as wise as he was, was loaded up with gunpowder. He was a time bomb. He was carrying a grudge. He was full of bitterness, anger and hostility because of an experience that he had, that he was not able to get over. What was the grudge that he was carrying?

What is the grudge that youre carrying? Are you carrying something? Is there something in your life that is building up the gunpowder, of being a time bomb that if someone touches you on that subject it really sets you off? Maybe it was something you were injured about. Maybe some individual that did something totally wrong to you. Is there someone, is there something in your life that sets you off?

Lets see what set Ahithophel off. You remember the story in the Bible that Absalom rebelled against David. The Bible said he stole the hearts of the men of Israel. And we can read about it in 2 Samuel 15:2-4. (read)

"Well, I would help you. I would do this. I would do that. Just vote for me as your next king" And he stole the hearts of the people.

Absalom was doing this right under the kings nose. After 4 years of electoral campaign, kissing up to the people, undermining David as king and showing off himself to everyone, Absalom said to the king in 2 Samuel 15:7:"Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord.

Hebron is about 20 miles south of Jerusalem. When he arrived at Hebron, he sent secret messengers to the tribes of Israel and this message is in 2 Samuel 15:10. "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, Absalom is king in Hebron." He went down to Hebron, not to complete his vow but for a overthrow. Kill the legitimate king, David, and Absolom be the king.

There was Absalom in Hebron, starting a rebellion. He was gathering an army, he was organizing his cabinet, he was reaching out to everyone who would support him, and he was getting ready to march on Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 15:12: While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, Davids counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absaloms following kept on increasing.

Absalom asked Ahithophel to join the rebellion. Now, how in the world could he do that? Ahithophel was a wise man. he had been Davids counselor for a long time. He was serving in Davids cabinet. He reached right into Davids private group of counselors, the ones having the full power, and got one of them to join the rebellion. And what does the Bible say? Because he did that his conspiracy gained strength. Because Absalom was able to attract some of Davids counselors everybody else began to think, "Well, I guess wed better get on the right side of this. Because Ahitophel is on this side too

How could Absalom get Ahithophel to do that? Certainly he was smart enough to know that this was not a sure thing: rebellion. Absalom knew something about Ahithophel. He knew that he was a time bomb. Over the years Absalom had opportunity to found out that Ahithophel was carrying a grudge, a very heavy grudge, a cherished dislike about David.

I imagine that this grudge caused Ahithophelto abandon David. Now, what was this grudge? What would cause Ahithophel to abandon his long-time friend, David? Well, Ive put together a couple verses. You don;t need to look them all up.

2 Samuel 23:34 gives a list of Davids mighty men and it mentions Eliam, the son of Ahithophel. So we find that Ahithophel had a son named Eliam.

In 2 Samuel 11:2 we read, David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isnt this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

Bathsheba the grand-daughter of Ahithophel was taken from her husband and her husband was killed by David. Ahithophels son, Elaim had a daughter, named Bathsheba. So this grudge: Bathsheba had been stolen by David and Uriah, the Hittite, her husband had been killed by David.

Now, Bathsheba probably undoubtedly forgave David. And maybe Elaim, Bathshebas father forgave David. And, certainly we know that God forgave David. But Ahithophel, the grandfather never let it go. He never forgave David for that sin. He carried a grudge, and for year and years and years it festered in him until it finally exploded when he had opportunity in Absaloms rebellion to abandon David. Absalom was alienated from his father and Ahithophel used that opportunity to participate in the rebellion.

Well, we of course know the story of what happened after that. Absalom chased David out of Jerusalem. After David was out of Jerusalem Absalom asked Ahithophel what he should do next. Ahithophels advice was among other things, to use twelve thousand men and pursue David immediately.

But instead of following his advice, Absalom decided to ask somebody else. It was Hushai. And you remember the rest of the story. Hushai was actually Davids friend who had stayed behind to frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel and his advice was the he should wait and then make a large-scale attack on David in his stronghold. All the men of Absalom said that the advice of Hushai was better than the advice of Ahithophel.

I think his advice appealed to Absaloms ego that hed make a big large-scale attack on David. Anyway, that end of Ahithophels advice. What was the end of Ahithophel?

2 Samuel 17:23 When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his house in order and then hanged himself. Why did he hang himself? He knew the cause was doomed. He knew that David would be able to rally the troops and in the end win the battle.

In reality the end any grudge, the end of carrying bitterness in our hearts is total collapse. It doesnt destroy the other person that were seeking to injure. It destroys ourselves. If we are not able to experience forgiveness, and extend forgiveness to others, it isnt that it destroys others, it destroys ourselves. Jesus was hanging on the cross and He said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

Forgiveness is not something we give to people when they come crawling to us on their knees. Forgiveness is not something we extend to people when they finally realize that they were wrong and we were right and they beg forgiveness. Forgiveness is an attitude toward people that we dont hold grudges.We dont carry bitterness. Bitterness is a poison like a boomerang. You throw it and it might feel good when you throw it, but it comes back to cut our heart out. Carrying a grudge destroys us. It doesnt destroy others.

Can you imagine doing with the physical wound what we sometimes do with a spiritual wound?

ILL. I get a cut on my hand and I put a band-aid on it and show it to my wife. And she says, "Its OK, dont wory. Its just a little cut." The next day I take the band-aide off and show it to her and she says, "Yes, its really healing. It looks good." But I say, "No, its not." And so I pop it open again. I squeeze it open until it bleeds. "Look how bad that is!" And she says, "Yeah, that is pretty bad, let me take care of you." I wanted some sympathy, some attention there, finally I got it. But whats even worse is that you opened it up. I would never do that with a physical cut.

Why do we do that with emotional injuries? Why, when I am emotionally injured by someone, do I then go to somebody else and keep opening the cut? Keep showing it so that infection continues to grow? And again, eventually destroys myself like it destroyed Ahithophel in his suicide. Dont nurse a grudge. Dont allow the poison of the past to pollute the present.

Whether the past sins are your own or whether theyre others, accept an experience of Gods grace. When we understand Gods forgiveness of us, we are able to extend that forgiveness to others even when they dont ask for it. Maybe they dont want it because were forgiving them not for them, were forgiving them not for them but for us. We are expressing to them the grace of God the same way God expressed His grace to us, dying for us while we were yet sinners. And so we, in turn, are able to die for others, to forgive others, to live gracefully for others, even while they are sinners. Dont collect the powder of a time bomb, its explosion will destroy you.

Didnt Ahithophel have a right to be offended? Absolutely! Didnt David do an horrible thing? Absolutely! Didnt Ahitophel have a right to be injured? Absolutely! Did he have a right to be unforgiving and to carry that bitterness through his whole life? No. Not if he was going to experience what God wants us to experience. God forgave David. Ahithophel apparently never did.

The best way to defuse a grudge is forgiveness before its asked. Even if its never asked. Christians forgive. Our Scripture today Rom. 12:17-21: (READ)Jesus did it before us (MORE)

Think of someone you may be holding a grudge against. It may not be big, just a broken relationship. Maybe an estranged relationship. Now, think of some way you can defuse that: send that person a note, maybe a dinner invitation, maybe a phone call. Remember to take your wound and continue to open it up and you will eventually die from the infection. Allow the cleansing grace of God to clean out those infections. Remember Lot's Wife

Scripture: Luke 17:26-17:32Luke 17:26-32(NIV):"Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lots wife!"

The stories of Noah and Lot are actually opposites. And I will ask some questions in order to highlight this statement.

FIRST question. When God destroyed the world in Noahs day, what agency did he use to bring about the destruction? Water, isnt that right?- When God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, what was the agency that God used to bring about the destruction? It was fire. We are in the presence of a direct contrast in Gods dealing with those two time periods. One is uses Water and the other is uses Fire.

SECOND question. I like you to also consider with me for a moment how long before the flood did God tell Noah of the coming of the destruction? How much time? How long before? 120 long years.Now, how long before the coming of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah did God tell Lot and his family about the destruction? How long before? The Bible says in Genesis 19 that the angels of God arrived at Sodom in the evening; Lot invited them in his home, and immediately the story with the wicked men of the city that night And it was the next morning when the angels took Lot and his wife and their daughters by the hand and they left the city. How long is that? Its about 12 hours. Notice the contrast again. Because in Noahs day God warned the world 120 years. In Lots time, how long before? Almost 12 hours.

THIRD question. Now something else. I want you to think about how much those two men lost. When the flood came, how much did Noah lose in the destruction that God send? How much did he lose when the flood came? Nothing. We have good Bible students here In the book Patriarch and Prophets Ellen White told us that all that Noah possessed, all, everything, he invested in the building of the ark.

While Noah was giving his warning message to the world, his works testified of his sincerity. It was thus that his faith was perfected and made evident. He gave the world an example of believing just what God says. All that he possessed, he invested in the ark. (PP 95)

How much did he invest? ALL. He lost nothing Friends, do you realize what that means? That means that came a time when Noah sold his last horse of his farm, his home furniture, his house, everything he owned, and he invested everything into building of the ark. Which means that when the flood came, Noah lost nothing! Why? The money was where? How much did Lot lose when the fire came from above to destroy the wicked cities? Lot lost everything.

Lets talk about their families. How much of Noahs family was saved when the destruction came? All of them. It was he, his wife, their sons and the sons wifes, all of them were saved. When the destruction came, how much of Lots family was saved?... Was Lots wife saved? No. And when you read about the account of Lots daughters although Lots daughters have made it out of the city of Sodom, Sodom had not made it out of the daughters. We can follow the history of the people known by the name of Moabites who latter on became quite a plague and a bother for Gods people, the Israelites, throughout the history.

I shared these things with you because these two stories are presented in Scriptures to gave us an idea of two classes of people that will be saved before Jesus comes. Now, Im sure you recognize that both of these men, Noah and Lot, are given to us in the Bible as righteous men. Bible says that Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation (Gen.6:9).And how about Lot? The Bible gives us a brief description of him in 2 Peter 2: 7-8 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds The Bible says that Lot was a righteous man.

But you see, friends, there will be people as they will see the approaching of Jesus coming, as they are recognizing the signs of the end, they will be people like Noah that will invest all that they have in the cause of God and for His work. And they will have invested their means and energies in the heavenly bank, the one that FDIC does not need to guarantee for So then, when Jesus comes, these people, like Noah, will have lost nothing. Because these Noah people lived a life that is transparent not only to the people that they have witnessing, but to their own families, then all their children and family members will be saved.

You know, I am convinced that Noahs family was saved because every one of the could see that Noah believed what he preached in his home life. We see children who end up living the church because there was hypocrisy in their home People having just a mask of religion wearing it in public, but having a different private life, denying what they claim to believe God forbid

Noah is the example of those who have seen what is coming, and made serious preparations However, they will be some others, like Lot. They have made compromise after compromise with the world. And these compromises put them in a position when they witnessing is no longer effective. Do you remember what the Bible says in Genesis 19:14? When Lot told his sons-in law to get out of the city, do you know what they thought about Lots serious warning? They thought that he was joking. 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

You know, you cant live in Sodom and expect results when you tell people to get out of Sodom, isnt that right? The same way, when we are living in sin, we cannot expect to tell others to stop sinning and they to actually do it.

Now, is interesting to look in this story of Lot and to observe how Lots family was affected by his poor choices and compromises. At the very end Lot awoke, realizing the situation that he is in, and the Bible says that Lot, by the mercy of God, was led out of that city. And Lot of savedThey will be people that who, step by step, were putting themselves in dangerous position, and they might be saved. But I want to make this as clear as possible: what will be cost involved? All their means lost, all that they accumulated for this very life, lost, and what is more tragically, at the expenses of their families. Some or all their love ones lost All gone

ILL. Im amazed when I read about these people that were swindled by that investor banker, Bernard Maddoff. Famous celebrities, head of sates, high ranking officials, charities, universities, invested their money and overnight their lifetime savings gone, vanished in a Ponzi scam. People invested because they believed in the system, they were convinced that this way they can save their assets, and have some extra interest

Friends, I believe that they will be people that they have hoping to save up for some pleasures, for some ambitions, for some security to have more because the times are uncertain, for some peaceful life in this world, people who invested themselves here, everything here And their selfish ambitions, and all these earthly plans will crumble, will vanish, when Jesus comes

But is not my purpose today to talk simply about Lot and Noah. Lets focus again on verse 32 of Luke chapter 17. Please, lets underline these three words right here, so full of meaning Jesus said: remember Lots wife. Three words only. But so full of meaning

I studied this Scripture, I prayed about, seeking an answer: why did Jesus told the disciples to remember Lots wife? You know, this chapter, Luke 17, is designed to worn the believers about the conditions prior to the second coming. Why then in this context Jesus didnt say remember Noah? Or remember Lot?... Why Jesus choose the wife of Lot? 1. The first thing Ive noticed is that this verse is written in a unique fashion. Do you notice that Luke 17:32 does not give us the NAME of Lots wife? Do you notice that? Now, by the way she did have a name Jewish scholars are sure that her name was Ildeth (Edith in English). So Lots wife did have a name. Why didnt Jesus say remember Ildeth? Surely Jesus knew her name. But the way Jesus rephrases this warning gives us the first reason why He told us to remember Lots wife. When Jesus told the disciples about Lots wife, He said it in such a way that we always connect Lot, with the fate of his wife.

You see, if Jesus said remember Ildeth, over time, over centuries, we may lose sight, we may forget about Lot and the influence that he had on his wife. But the reason why Jesus said remember Lots wife is because Lot have something to do with what happened to his wife. This afternoon, if you have time, you may read the chapter in the book Patriarchs and Prophets that describes the destruction of Sodom, and the entire 19 chapter from Genesis. Its something very important there that will help us understand the story, better.

Do you remember the angels coming to Lots home? They said Lot, God is going to destroy the city, get you up out of the city into a safe place. And as the angels told Lot get out, get out quickly, Bible said that Lot read please, he lingered (verse 16). Lot lingered

ILL. Now perhaps you can remember what happened when hurricane Katrina came to ravage the South They were warnings given forthe residents to evacuate as fast is possible because a powerful hurricane is coming. They saw that huge storm on the Weather Channel satellite, a category 4 hurricane. And long lines of cars trying to get out of thereBut they were also reporters interviewing people decided to dont leave. Their cars in garage, and they were watching TV Why would someone linger in the face of destruction? Why?

You have to consider that Lot not always lived in Sodom. When Abraham and Lot first split, the Bible says that Lot pitched his (what?) tent toward Sodom. Genesis 13:12. Please, dont miss that; it says that Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. It wasnt even in Sodom, it was just in that direction But by the time we reach Genesis 19, the Bible says that Lot had a house in Sodom.

You know how this happened. He pitched his tent in the beginning, and as the chapter progress, he came closer, and closer, and by the time of this story in chapter 19, he is having a house inside. If we modernize the story, we might say that Lot bought a nice two stories home in a nice subdivision of Sodom, maybe his children attending the public school of Sodom, maybe Lot have a business bank account and some commercial properties as investment opportunities in Sodom. Lot was a wealthy man. And I imagine when Lot saw everything that he had, a nice home, nice cars, prosperity in business, all of the themes that this life can offer, when the angels said Lot, get out quickly, God will destroy the city, the Bible says that Lot lingered.And you know something friends? Sister White tells us that his wife SAW that When Lot ligered, she was watching him closely!

If Lot himself had manifested no hesitancy to obey the angels warning, but had earnestly fled toward the mountains, without one word of pleading or remonstrance, his wife also would have made her escape. The influence of his example would have saved her from the sin that sealed her doom. But his hesitancy and delay caused her to lightly regard the divine warning. PP 161

We are told that that this hesitation made her to look back You see friends, when Jesus said remember Lots wife Jesus was reminding us that Lots influence was part of the reason for the faith and the ultimate destiny of his wife. Lots wife is a reminder of the power of influence that every one of us has on those around us.

All of us influence somebody; from the very smallest child to the elderly grown up Every single person is influencing somebody else. And the question is not are you influencing somebody?, because its obvious, but the question is are you influencing them to be saved, or to be lost?

As I watch my daughter growing up, Im amazed and even scared of the influence that I have on her. So many times I watched her doing things that she learned by watching me and my wife Everybody influences somebody. Everybody is helping somebody to be saved, or to be lost The question we have to ask ourselves, again, is what kind of influence?...Remember Lots wife said Jesus, connecting the fate of Lot to the fate of his wife.

2. A second point. Lets look again in Luke 17 and read the statement in its context: Verse 31 In that day lets pause for a moment. What day is Jesus talking about? When Jesus will return In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not comedown to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. In that day, at the second coming, the heaven will be rolled down like a scroll, it says that the earth will shake and the mountains moved away, island sucked down in the ocean, they will be destruction as never seen beforeAnd having this picture of total end time disaster, who then, in the right mind, will be interested in their stuff?

And immediately after v.31, Jesus says Remember who?... We can see better now why Lots wife turned back. Why? Because of a five letters word: STUFF. What a powerful warning regarding the end time, we got from Jesus, here in Luke 17 Do we live in a materialistic world or not? Sure, look around: people being obsessed with money and having more stuff. And you dont have to be reach to be trapped in materialism. Just to think that more stuff we will make as happy what a deception!...

ILL. You know, stuff will grow on you. I visted with one of my friends, Pastor Adams, a family in Rockford IL: a nice house, but they never throw away the thinks they dont need it They rented a storage and put old furniture and old mowers, and old heavy TVs The yard packed with several old boats and probability 6 broken cars and all kind of things that you may thing about Pastor Adams aked them about, and they said: You never know when you need something Inviting them to the church Oh we are busy organizing the stuff Working all week long to have money to buy stuff and keep the stuff in a rented storage; and during the week-end, organizing the stuff. This is their life. They sleep in a corner of their living, on a couch, the rest of the house being jam-packed

I have the same tendency Im buying books, I have hundreds of books, and almost nowhere to put them all, source of some little disagreement with my wife. But dont take me wrong, it not a sin to possess things, its not the stuff, but the love of stuff - that is dangerous Loving the stuff more than we love Jesus, spending time on stuff, instead of being busy to spread the 3 angels message, instead of having a healthy relationship with our family and with our church family Yes, Jesus warning is not for Missis Lot, its for Mister Lot as well For both

3. Now the third and last point to consider with me this morning Where was Lots wife when she became a pillar of salt? Now, growing up I saw our Sabbath School quarterly a chart with 13 pictures, one for each week. And I remember the picture of Lot and his wife: in the background the city burning, while Lot, his wife and the daughters are hurrying away from the city, while Lots wife was turning into salt

But you know, when we read the Bible more closely, we discover that this not the way it happened. The Bible says that Lot and his family, his wife included, they reached the city of Zoar (Gen19:23) So from the safety of this place, the Bible says that Lots wife looked back. Why do I restate this to you? Did Lots wife obey the commandment of God to leave the city of Sodom? Did she obey, yes or no? She did. Its a lesson here that is very important for all of us. You see, Lots wife she obeyed on the outside. She did what God said, she left the city. But it was just a matter of time before the inside of her heart was revealed. Because although she left Sodom, where was her heart? It was still thereWhich is why she long, she long for the stuff and the things she left behind, the things she was not happy without. And she turned back

Lots wife is a reminder to us that although we may comply with what God had said, compliance and conversion is not the same thing. All of us are here this Sabbath, today, we have obeyed what God said Remember the 7th day and keep it holyBut just because we are here it does not mean that we are really keeping the Sabbath. Because keeping the Sabbath is not just rest for the physical work we are doing during the week, but it is a rest from the works of the flesh, it is ceasing from sin that God wants us to experience. And is the joy of Salvation trough Jesus We can be here today, in the Sabbath, but the heart can be far away, not in communion with God and enjoying His presence God is not satisfied with just an outside obedience; He wants conversion of the heart alsoWhen we do Evangelism, we come across with people who knows that the Seventh day is the Sabbath. We come across with people who understand that Gods remnant have a special diet as Gods restoration plan You see, many people recognize what is truth, but so many of them are not converted to what is truth.

CALL. Remember Lots wife is an warning from Jesus and a reminder to us: that is not just external compliance with what God commanded. Its about allowing God Spirit to convert and change us, outside and inside as well And this is may call this morning, and my prayer Remember Lots wife, all of you, all of us who are Jesus wife, Jesus bride in typology, the church. Focus on Jesus (expand idea) May Lord bless each and everyone Amin.

(PS. Thank you Emanuel for your ideea)