Biblical Sexuality (A Response to Canadian Bill C-4) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

If you have your bible in your hands today, would you meet me in the book of second Peter chapter two? Second Peter chapter two. And just place a marker at verse seven for now. And join with me in prayer one more time. Lord, we need your help.

We need your help unpacking and understanding your word. We ask that you would help us to comprehend your mind and your heart, your perfect, unchanging will. Lord, humble us, sober us, equip us, encourage us, warn us, whatever is necessary for your people, to be more like your son. We ask, Lord, that those who are here, who might have objections or stand in opposition to your rule, that they would sense the weight of the truth, and it would cause them to turn to you. We ask, oh, God, that you would encourage your people in these days so that we would feel bold and courageous to stand for you.

Lord, we trust in you. We love you. You are everything to us. And we pray, oh God, that this word would be translated into obedience as we respond to it. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Some of you may not be aware, but today we join with the efforts of many pastors around North America who have decided to dedicate this Lord's Day to proclaim what the word of God says about the will of God concerning sexuality and identity. The reason for this collaborative initiative is to respond to a recent law that has been passed in Canada, which not only attacks the biblical standard for sexuality, but it even threatens those who would persuade others to believe it. Here's why what we're doing today is very important. This bill, known as bill c four, has been passed, and it essentially claims that the belief in God's unmistakably clear and holy standard for sexuality is a myth.

That is not a word I am using. That's a word that they have used. And I just wanna read to you a portion of the preamble of this legal document. Quote, whereas conversion therapy causes harm to society because among other things, it is based on and propagates myths and stereotypes about sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, including the myth pay attention, including the myth that heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity, and gender expression that conforms to the sex assigned to a person at birth are to be preferred over other sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. Let me translate that.

If you believe that sexual relations should be exclusively expressed and experienced between a man and a woman within the confines of marriage, or that your gender is assigned to you at birth, you are adhering to a myth. This is an attack on the truth. This is an assault on God's decree and his design for his creation. Additionally, this law criminalizes what is labeled as conversion therapy. Now when the majority hear conversion therapy, what their imagination is race to is generally some grossly used methods that can be labeled even as torturous means, such as shock treatment or some kind of drugs that are given and and some kind of strange methods to try to change someone's behavior.

We are in agreement that if there's any inhumane way to coerce somebody to be something else, that's wrong. That is wrong. Because no other means, no other method, no other tool, no other instrument, no other intimidation or manipulation can truly change someone. We as a gospel people believe only Christ can change you. Only the gospel can change you.

And so we are in agreement that if you're going to force yourself or force someone else to bend them into shape, that is not right and that is not what Christians stand for. But that is not what this bill is trying to make illegal. And if it is, then they have done an extremely poor and irresponsible job to define it. Because when you see the description of conversion therapy in the legal documents, it is so broad and so vague, it can easily include pastoral counseling. Preaching of the word of God, evangelizing, or even one on one witness through the Bible to win a heart to Christ.

And you even have some parents now in that nation who are greatly concerned that they can be in trouble for trying to do their duty as a parent and teach them what the word of God says about who they are, what marriage is really about, and what is honorable to God concerning sexuality. And so today, with all that being said, we want to clarify what the culture may deem as a fairy tale is actually God's perfect and unchanging will for his creation. And this is not just a flex from the government. There is a penalty. There is a penalty if your actions, if your activity fits under their description of conversion therapy.

You wanna know what it is? Two to five years in prison. And so either they clarify what they mean or they are deliberately making this a broad description so that, so that Christians, among others, can be silenced against the narrative that is trying to be pushed into a generation. At first, we thought that we were going to have to pause in our series in second Timothy to address this, which we were willing to do. But by God's providence, this subject, I realized, fits perfectly with our main text as we are going through second Timothy together.

Because we've been hearing week after week after week Paul telling Timothy that as we approach the return of Jesus Christ, there will be greater times of difficulty because there will be an increase and intensifying of immorality and unrighteousness. And we spent one message. If you've been to this church long enough, you know that we've addressed this subject head on multiple times. There was one morning where we spoke on the objections, the main objections that people bring up concerning our belief that sin such as homosexuality is in fact a sin. And we spent another day together discussing how this crazy behavior and these beliefs is not disconnected, but deeply connected to God's passive wrath on a society that has continually rejected Him as supreme and sovereign.

But I want to come to this subject with a different angle. I want to come to this subject mainly to address what the attitude of believers should be and what our actions should be as we are moving faster and faster into a world that is not only upholding corruption, but will now persecute those who are consecrated unto Christ. Remember what Paul said and warned about last week? That as we come to those final minutes of the last hour of the last day, there will be a greater absence of heartfelt thanksgiving to God. That there will be an absence of gratitude to the source of all good and perfect things.

And amazingly enough, after speaking about those who would be ungrateful, he says that there will be also an increase of those who will be unholy. And that's the portion where we find ourselves today as this day is dedicated to speak about a real life illustration for you and I about how unholiness will spread, will spread into the mainstream. And how unholiness will not only be tolerated, but it will be praised. And not only will it be praised, but it will threaten those with persecution who would stand against it from the highest form of human authority that we know. This is not a light thing.

This is a serious thing. And this demands us as a people who have been called the salt and light to know how to appropriately respond to things that are coming to this nation sooner than later. And so I want to speak briefly about the attitude of the believer, and we're going to look here in second Peter chapter two beginning in verse six. If by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. And if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked, for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard.

These verses describe to us that the annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah, which is recorded in great deal in the book of Genesis, was not merely mentioned so that we can have a historical account of how God in his righteousness displays his wrath against iniquity. No, no, no. Sodom and Gomorrah represent way more than that. Sodom and Gomorrah, according to these verses, the Holy Spirit teaches us that it serves. It serves as an example of what will come to future generations that even though sin may be legalized, and even though it may be normalized, the wrath of God for those who praise it and practice it is imminent.

Is imminent. Sodom and Gomorrah stand as memorials of societies and nations and cities that would uphold that which is perverted and twisted and corrupt. It stands as a warning to people who would look back at this document, who would look back at this unchanging word and say, this is what God will do. And the Lord Jesus himself on more than one occasion has reference to Sodom and Gomorrah in order to teach and illustrate about the final judgment. In fact, let me take it further.

The Lord Jesus Christ himself was at Sodom and Gomorrah and gave approval of God's wrath upon those cities. Sodom and Gomorrah's sobering remind us that those sinful societies may be distracted by sophisticated planting and building, marrying and selling. God's righteous and holy judgment is on its way. But that's not the reason why we've come to this text this afternoon. That's not the main point.

Our purpose is to examine why, rather how, Lot is mentioned. That in the midst of this sin soaked city called Sodom, there was a man by the name of Lot who was actually righteous. And interestingly enough, the righteousness of Lot is not defined to us by his deeds, but it is described to us based on his inner attitude concerning the evil around him. In other words, his righteousness is given to us, it's told to us based on what he felt. Because how your heart reacts and responds and what your thoughts say reveal what Christ has done to it.

And what do we see here? That he was greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked, and he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds. Now, if you've read the Genesis depiction of Lot, this this is kind of troubling. Because Lot made monumental mistakes while living in Sodom that would make it very difficult for anybody to be convinced to even call him a good person, never mind crowning him as righteous three times as Peter does here. And as difficult as this may read, it seem though it may seem irreconcilable, we have to understand that the apostle here is not trying to convince us that Lot was morally perfect.

But what he is trying to tell us is that he was not completely contaminated by the dominating sin of his day. One way that is proven is by the hospitality that Lot shows to those heavenly guests in contrast to the gang of men that wanted to to rape them instead. Yeah. He was influenced. There was a level of compromise.

But through this commentary, we understand that this man was not totally lost to the degree that he could not determine what was right and what was wrong. And although many people use Lot to point to a negative example, to point as an example of a worldly Christian, here I see see and we should see together that there is some positive instruction that we can gain from the life of Lot. Here's my question to you this afternoon. May I ask you today what the sin around you is doing to your soul? Are we as God's righteous people broken over the lostness that our generation is swimming in?

Is there a sense of concern of the coming judgment that will be poured out on those who bury themselves in greater and deeper darkness as Bill c four layers another blanket of iniquity upon the nation of Canada? Are we stirred to watch a people swimming in their filth as God's forgiveness stands on the shore of grace? Pleading for them to come and experience his life and his favor by a simple act of faith. Do we feel pain this afternoon? Or are we numb?

I'm gonna get to that in a moment. Do we feel pain? Because we are witnessing a people who are blindly walking towards a cliff with their fingers in their ears as God has, through many faithful people, crying through them to be healed of their blindness and to turn from self destruction? Is there any, any sense of disturbance? Because you see, Lot made a lot of mistakes.

He made a lot of disappointing decisions in his life. But we are told according to this text that there's one thing he did not allow himself to get to, and that is to be completely desensitized to the evil around him. This man did not become numb because lawlessness was normal. There was a sense of excruciating agitation and deep trouble while living in Sodom. And the reason why I bring this before us this afternoon, I want to let you know ahead of time that this message is not going to answer the objections to the common arguments against what we believe.

This is gonna be intensely practical and a call for us to simply be in tune with the heart of God. You see, what we discover about our thoughts, what we discover about our internal attitude concerning the outrageous behavior and beliefs that is being promoted is an indicator of the health of our souls. Let me tell you let me tell you this way. I know of people, and I have read already of comments of professing Christians that would be much more angry about what I am preaching on today than about the sin that will damn people for eternity. So let me say something that may shock you.

If our spirits are not stirred, if we're not disturbed, if this kind of news, if this plunging into deeper sin is not something that shakes us to a certain degree, then we might be one step closer to a warning that Paul gives to Christians. And that warning is found in the book of first Corinthians chapter six beginning in verse nine. And here is what Paul says to Christians. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.

Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Here's the charge that the Holy Spirit gives to a church. Do not be deceived. And this charge to be free from deception is twofold.

The primary charge is for people who think that they can live in a habitual, unrepentant sin and still think that they are headed for heaven. Paul's charge here is to remind his readers that it is impossible to claim salvation in Jesus Christ because that salvation will cause you to hate your sin, reject your sin, and pursue holiness, though you may fail along the way. And it is impossible to say that you can embrace the cross while embrace your favorite sin. It doesn't work. It doesn't make sense.

That is either proof that you have not understood the gospel to begin with or that your profession is false, and this scripture is deeply concerning to those who believe that you don't have to repent in order to be saved, which is popular in our day. But moreover, this command to not be deceived, to remain in the light, to remain free from trickery and lies is not limited is not limited to the potential convincing and justification of my own sin. In other words, though we can be deceived and though we can justify particular habit or love for something of the flesh, we can also be deceived by the fate, about the fate of those who are promoting or defending their own particular sin. Because as celebrities come out, as laws are implemented in order to soothe the consciences of sinners and to silence the heralds of righteousness, as family members and friends that we dearly love invite us to support their ungodly sexual pursuits and beliefs, we gotta guard our hearts. Because the normalization of such sins mixed with the pressures of persecution, added with the conflict of the emotional turmoil of not wanting to lose touch with people that we truly care about can make lies much more appealing.

Yeah. Maybe, maybe, maybe I'm wrong about this whole understanding of sin. Some of the nicest people I know are in monogamous same sex relationships. In fact, people that identify as gay are nicer than most Christians I know. Can God really reject the people who are only living by impulses that they feel like they've been born with?

Is is that just? Is that right? How can something so pure like love and falling in love be deemed as evil and as an abomination? I'm not sure I'm not sure I can worship a God who believes that. And so I still believe in God, but I have my mental scissors out, and I'm just gonna cut out the parts that might contradict, or I will do a very great injustice to the Bible to convince my idea of who God is.

You know what my call to you this afternoon is? It's not to give you statistics from what psychologists say about the lifestyle of those who are living in skewed sexual conduct. Is to simply ask you to be careful and to charge you not to be deceived. Do not be deceived. Because even a righteous man like Lot, with all of this praise concerning what he felt, was challenged even with this great righteousness roaring within him.

Even such a man came to a low point in his convictions. And And the only way you can see it is when you go to the account for yourself. So turn to Genesis 19 and fast forward to verse 16. Genesis 19. Let's read from verse 15 rather.

As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot saying, up. Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city. This is astounding. This is like, wow. If this doesn't serve as a warning, I don't know what will.

Verse 16, but he lingered But he lingered, so the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him. And they brought him out and set him outside the city. What's so disturbing about Lot's hesitation is that this is not the first time he was told that judgment was coming. The angels came the day before. The angels arrived and told them before the fact.

In fact, the whole day passed by. A whole evening. A whole night. And he even witnessed supernatural intervention from these angels causing blindness to come about to these men who were at his door trying to receive these guests for their sensual pleasures. Lot saw that with his own eyes, and yet still he feels this hesitation to leave Sodom.

Can you imagine that? Can you imagine that there's a man here who is lingering as there is sulfur ready to be rained upon his own home? And the question to ask is, why the hesitation? Why are you even lingering? Why are you even second guessing?

Why have you not already left? And the only way to get the the pure interpretation is to understand the sequence of events. And right before this, right before we are told that he he was lingering and waiting and contemplating and pacing back and forth wondering if he should do it, was that he tried to persuade his sons in law to join him, and they rejected it. He tried to convince them that judgment was coming. He tried to tell them that God's wrath is going to be poured upon because the sin of Sodom has become a cry to the heavens.

Would you join me to escape the wrath of God? Would you join me to know the mercy of God? You see, we see a man here who is lingering because he realizes some of his own family will not join him. He lingered because he knew that the decision to separate himself would cause him to forfeit relationships and even the fortune that primarily attracted him to Sodom in the first place. This is why this man, who though in Peter we are told, was stirred because of the sin around him, also lingered because it really came close to home.

And it challenged his emotional attachments, the history that he had with these people. And here we see an example of what can happen to even the righteous in Sodom. This is why I'm charging you to be careful. Because what we're hearing as a preview with our neighbors up north is just a glimpse of the aggression and the persuasion that will come from an ungodly folk. And my concern is that this will cause a greater divide in the minds and hearts of those who claim to be professing Christians.

Therefore, my call this morning is simply this, continue to anchor yourself, Continue to align yourself. And the posture of your heart to God's heart concerning concerning righteousness, holiness, his will, and his purposes for those who believe on his son and those who reject his son. And God's attitude is not limited to abhorrence. God's attitude towards even these grotesque sins is great affection for them to be saved. It's great affection for them to actually come to the knowledge of Christ, but no effective action can be made until we have laid the foundation of the right thoughts and attitudes about the whole thing to begin with.

And I'm not here just to clarify that God condemns such behavior because I can point that from Genesis to Revelation, and I hope I hope all of us in here who love God's word already are convinced of that. But what I want to charge you is to be careful of the tide of deception that is coming, and it's already here, but also of the right attitude. Not just the defensive, but the offensive. Not just to hide away in our bunkers, but to go out into the streets of Sodom, so to speak, and to bring out as many people as possible to escape God's wrath and to know His embrace. And so the attitude that I'm charging you today is to be free from deception and to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as you soak yourself in the word of God.

Surround yourself with the right people, And continue to bring every opinion, every law, every form of entertainment, every popular coming out video, every false Christian to the Scriptures. Because it's amazing what we will see when the temperature really gets hot. It's amazing to see where people will stand when there will be a price to preach this word. You've been warned. You have been warned.

But I want us to retract. I want us to pull back from Genesis nineteen sixteen to see to see a few things about how we can not just not just guard our hearts, which is vitally important, but also to win the hearts of others. Come back to verse 12 of Genesis 19. Genesis 19 verse 12, we read that the men said to Lot, these angels, have you anyone else here, sons in law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city? Bring them out of the place.

For we are about to destroy this place because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it. You know what's so amazing? The main point of Lot's story in Sodom is actually how God honored the prayers and the intercessions of his uncle Abraham. That's what it is. You come to the conclusion of this chapter, and what you learn is that God was faithful to Abraham standing in the gap for his nephew.

But in the midst of that main plot, we read here that Lot himself receives a commission. He receives instruction. He receives a call. And before this moment in Lot's story, he wasn't very exemplary in the way he related to a morally shattered city. Because when you come to verse one, look how we are introduced to Lot.

The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth. There's no detail in the Bible. That's by accident. The fact that we are told that Lot was sitting at the gate is much more significant than him maybe waiting for guests.

That's not what's happening here. The gate was much more than just the entrance and the exit from a city. The gate, according to the Bible, proves us that this was the location of cities where there will be transactions made, where legal things are done, and where civil and religious sometimes authorities will come to make such transactions or deals. So what does that tell us about Lot? Lot did not just move to Sodom.

Lot became over time a civil authority in Sodom. He became a leader to a certain degree. He might have even been elected to this position, which is deeply concerning if this man has righteous convictions because how is it that they're allowing this man to be in the position of making and determining decisions when they stand in polar opposites concerning their worldview? So Lot, yes, he was righteous in his emotions, but Lot here is showing a level of compromise because he was able to blend in with the society. And this is how we are introduced to him.

And then we come down to here and we realize that at this point, his outlook was sanctified. It was transformed, and it was changed upon the revelation of heaven's perspective and the eternal understanding of what's happening in Sodom. Do you understand? This is where everything was altered, friend. This is where everything really really changed and put him into a new gear.

This is what launched him into a new way of relating to those that he had no problem living with to a certain extent. The fate of his coworkers, his friends, his extended family awakened him to reach out with the truth and to no longer attempt to put all his efforts to try to blend in as much as possible. What changed them? What God said about them. What changed them?

An understanding of their future if they remain in a state of rebellion against God. What stirred him? Truth. And you see, regardless of what kind of position he had in his culture, no matter what kind of decisions he was making for the apparent well-being for his people. Lot proves here that he was governed by a heavenly law.

Lot here proves that he was motivated and moved by a constitution known as the word more than anything else. And that is exemplary. Because I wanna tell you today that no matter how much the criminal code in Canada changes, and no matter what kind of developments may happen in our own country, the mission and the message of our faith will never change. Never. I was talking to a friend last night who is in Canada, and we were discussing this this bill.

And I had asked him, well, what's your local church doing? What are the what are you hearing about the churches, and how are they responding to this? I know of some who are choosing to preach behind the pulpit in order to even pay a price for declaring God's word. But what's going on? He had told me, well, we're there, but many of the pastors have come together and have have sent a letter to the government to to clarify what they mean by conversion theory.

They wanna know because it's just too ambiguous. And so we're waiting on on their response. I said, well, that's wise, and I'm sure that's helpful. But then later on, as I went to bed late at night, I thought to myself, well, even if they get an answer, does it really matter? It doesn't.

Even if conversion therapy includes penalizing those who would declare the word of God, or if it excludes it and you can exercise your religious freedom all you want, the mission doesn't change. The message will never change. Whether it's legal or illegal, God's word remains forever true. So what does it matter? What does it matter?

And here we see that this man of a prominent position dropped any cares or concerns about how he was gonna be seen or what kind of things were gonna happen to him because he's been convinced at this time through these heavenly messengers that God's word is triumphant. And no matter what kind of laws or resistance they come up with, God's will will be accomplished and no man can withstand it. And so he moves. And he moves forward to do what God told him to do. And may we display the same faithfulness moving forward.

May pulpits be found faithful. May people, the people of God, be true to the witness of the scriptures. So let it be known. Let it be known on this day that God has created man in his own image. Male and female, he created them.

No one has the authority to dictate or alter the sex that he or she has been assigned to at conception. Such an attempt on any level is an assault on the sovereignty of God, as we have been all intricately woven in our mother's womb by his perfect divine wisdom as our creator. And though the rampant campaign of homosexuality and, and, a long spectrum of other expressions of skewed sensual conduct is becoming a norm and is trying to attack marriage and sexuality, let's go further understand that this push for transgenderism and to be known as different things that don't make sense even to science and biology, we're going to a new level. It's not just trying to alter sexuality, it's trying to alter reality. And here's the understanding.

If there's anybody who is living in a fantasy, it's not the Christian who has a biblical worldview. It's the people who try to believe something about themselves or others that is not even consistent with science. And although the instructions from the heavenly messengers provide insight of how God clearly condemns such ways of thinking and how it is an abomination and is worthy of judgment, how it is a stink to the nostrils of a holy God. It is also not void of hope. Because we are told here, in verse 16, that he lingered.

Yes. But early on, he was told to go and rescue as many people as possible before leaving. You know what I find so amazing about that? Think very carefully about how this story is written and given to us. When these angels in verse 12 here say, have you anyone else here, sons in law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place.

You know what's so incredible? There's an omission of a certain quality. Because when Abraham interceded for his son, or rather his nephew, and not just his nephew, but for the righteous with his nephew in mind, he had been pleading for who? The righteous. The righteous.

What if there's this amount of righteous? What if there's that amount of righteous? What if it comes down to this amount of a handful of righteous? The righteous, the righteous, the righteous. And God affirms and confirms, I will spare it if there are this many righteous, this many righteous.

But then when these these representatives of God come, they tell Lot, have you, anyone else here? Sons of law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, I don't see the righteous. I see anyone who is willing to escape the wrath of God. I see anyone who is willing to take on the warning and apply it with sobriety and obedience. I see God's grace here.

That it's not just the righteous who could have escaped, but even those who would simply by faith trust in the message that law would proclaim. And so, yes, we must stand firm and clearly define how the bible is against such things, but at the same time, we must also offer the hope that change is possible. A transformation is available. And here's the thing, when we come to this, we realize that Lot obeys that instruction, the message of what's coming, without compromise. He was faithful in what he said.

And what's so amazing here is that it provides an example that we must have the balance of the wrath of God and the glory of God and his goodness. That marriage is so needed. And so I wanna also say, let it be known that if there's anybody, anybody that might feel trapped, that might feel so overpowered by a particular sin that you know even in your conscience, God condemns. There is hope for you. That Jesus Christ truly wants to see you saved, forgiven, and renewed by his blood.

And if you just but trust that what you are seeping, what you are enjoying prematurely, and what you think is actually gonna satisfy that void, if you just convince yourself enough that this is wrong and you see what God says about it, you're one step closer to hope and change. And as you call upon Christ, not only will he deal with your eternal destination, he will transform you now. He will infuse you with the person of the Holy Spirit to such a degree that you can rise above the temptations and the impulses of your flesh. This gospel is so powerful and so real that it actually supernaturally alters your reality. But you must repent and believe.

Stop trying to use and muster up all your strength to convince yourself that God approves of it. He doesn't approve of it. He disapproves of it, but he so loves you that in that state, he's willing to save you. And so throw yourself at his feet with whatever strength you have left. With whatever measure of faith that you have, give it to him instead of trusting in a false lie that will damn you and even destroy you in this life.

Lot shows us that although he had failed in the past, he is in this moment swimming upstream while the rest of the culture, his neighborhood, his workplace are headed in the other direction. Don't be ashamed of the gospel. But we see something else. Not only does he prove to us that he was governed by a heavenly order, by heavenly law, by heavenly perspective, he was willing to engage others with the truth. Notice what he does here.

After he is told and asked if there's anybody else, in verse 14, so Lot went out and said to his sons in law who are to marry his daughters, up. Get out of this place where the Lord is about to destroy the city. But he seemed to his sons in law to be jesting. Notice where where Lot first goes when he learns about what god is about to do. His family was his first mission field.

He could have gone anywhere, but he goes to those who have married his daughters. And though the message may have been difficult to hear and though it would have put a great risk to how they would have viewed him and related to him from this moment on, this man was not convinced about the temporal. He was operating by the eternal. And so he was compelled by a truth that he knew that they needed, and so he visits them. And you have many good hearted believers today who are overwhelmed by even even the thought of approaching somebody that they dearly care about, that they love, and to present them with the gospel because of this particular sin being so sensitive to truth.

And that is only because a culture is praising it and calling people heroes to those who would embrace it and declare it. So it does make it a little bit more difficult. But I wanna tell you something. It's not as complicated as you're making it seem to be. I have a I have a hunch that if you saw Paul preach the gospel to a homosexual, it wouldn't look much different than how he would preach to a thief.

Because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All are in need of his grace. Whether it's you jumping up from this cliff to this cliff and you fall here or you fall there, it doesn't matter. We all fall short of the glory of God. And so though your personal history may be twisted and dark, you know how to preach the gospel to somebody who is outside of Christ.

It's the same message. It's the same truth. It's the same remedy. It's the same cure. The same cure for the drunkard.

The same solution for the self righteous Pharisee, the same direction, the way for the person who is caught up in pride or lust or envy is the same thing for the homosexual, for the transgender, for the one who is lost in how they even understand their own bodies. It's no different. And so this man communicates this truth so plainly, so clearly. But in Lot's case, the tone of his delivery was urgent, and the theme of his message was judgment. Because at any moment, that sky was going to be lit up by heavenly fire.

And so it was very brief and very direct. And though we should not shy away from judgment in our presentation, and though we should not fail to be urgent, there is also the importance of including the present reality of what the gospel will do in your life. Meaning, when you look back at what Paul said to the Corinthians in that text that we read, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. That's not where he ended it. That's not where he put the the period mark.

He did not just present the gospel truth to those, including those in, in strange sexual behavior. He didn't just say you're not going to go to Heaven if you practice these things. You come to verse 11, let me read it in one Corinthians six. And such were some of you. And such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of God.

And so Paul sandwiches this truth. Yes, you can't be deceived and thinking you could hold on to your sin and inherit eternal life, but he also concludes by saying, but that is not who you are today. He's speaking to those who have been changed. Implying what? That we have to tell people that Christ can actually change you.

We're not just telling people that if you don't stop, if you don't change, you're going straight to hell. We're telling people this gospel is so unique. There's nothing like it that upon faith, you can actually receive a supernatural strength that can alter your very desires, that can cause you to love God to such a great degree that you will love him more than what your flesh craves for day in and day out. One of my first friends that I had when I became a believer confessed to me that he struggled with same sex attraction. I mean, I was a brand new believer.

I was still figuring out simple doctrine. And this came to me. And I thought to myself, okay, Lord, you threw me in the deep end. But in that moment, there was a grace because because why would I react to a certain way with this sin when all sin is is gonna be condemned? And so I just began to ask honest questions to this person who I could not tell was struggling with such things because he seems so righteous in his convictions and his practice and his worship.

And I asked him honestly, why aren't you living there? Because you're telling me that you can't wait to be married to a woman and have children. Why? Why is that the case? And he had told me without hesitation, he told me without stuttering that my love for Christ is greater than my love for sin.

Jesus Christ is so beautiful to me. He's so wonderful. He had saved me. That the satisfaction I have in knowing that I am walking in his will is greater than whatever lust can be quenched. That's the gospel.

That's the gospel. And we have to be clear. And so let me be intensely practical here. Do we have anything in our hearts that's prayerfully planning to sit down with people that we know, that we love, to say, I gotta tell you something that I would tell anybody else who is outside of the knowledge of truth that has saved my soul. And though you don't have to kick down the door open like lot lot might have had and panically tell them that they have to run, sometimes in certain occasions that is necessary.

All I'm asking you to do, and I can give you I can't give you actually five steps to how to do it. I can't because every person is different. Every situation is unique. Every dynamic demands a different kind of wisdom, though the message is the same. All I'm asking you today is, why are you so intimidated?

Why are you so fearful to have a conversation with that person? Because the most unloving thing that Lot could have done in response to this invitation to see other people come with him was to not say anything. Let me let me just put this into perspective. How would you feel about Lot if after reading verse 12, he was told by these angels, the invitation is open. Bring whoever is willing to come.

Go. And judgment is is delayed so that he can do this. How would you feel if he had responded, I don't know? You see, my sons in law, they kind of agree with that, and they're married to my daughters. And I don't wanna make it awkward.

I don't want it to be uncomfortable. If they ask me, I will say something, but I don't think I'm gonna introduce it because I don't wanna step on anybody's toes. Can you imagine that in the verses of Genesis 19? That being given to us? Be honest, how would you feel about it?

And so I extend extend that illustration to examine our own hearts. Why are we so afraid of giving a truth that can supernaturally transform somebody? Why can a people be so bold about telling you and me and our children that there are 60 something different gender identities without blushing? Why can gay organizations go on YouTube and jokingly say we're coming for your children, but you and I, we squirm when we think about the idea of sitting across a table from somebody we went to school with to say, I gotta tell you about a truth that changed me and it can change you. If Canada and any other government is gonna be so aggressive, may the church in righteous fierceness reach the lost.

And guess what? The response of such people in our lives, whether stranger or familiar friend, is not our responsibility. I want you to notice what they say at the end of verse 14. But he seemed to his sons in law to be jesting. What a sad, sad, sad conclusion.

Here, Lot storms into this house, and he he sits his sons in law down. He goes, I gotta tell you what I just learned. Judgment is coming. This place is gonna be turned into ash. And as they're listening, they start laughing.

And the reason why they're laughing is not because he delivered it in a humorous manner. It's because what he was saying, the the content seems so absurd, so silly, so out of touch with reality that they thought it was a myth. Sound familiar? Thought it was a joke. They thought it was void of any true substance, and so they totally dismissed it, and they even mocked and scorned it.

Welcome to 2022. You don't think Sodom and Gomorrah is an example? Just look up and see who our neighbors have become. But the reason why they thought he was jesting is important to understand. You see, Lot lived so long among them as one of them that his testimony had no power.

There is no weight to it. This man here was so camouflaged with the Sodomites and those who lived in Gomorrah that when it came time to him to actually deliver something of spiritual value, they could not even receive it with a hint of seriousness. And so this is what I wanna tell us, that if this world is going to criticize us for believing something in the bible to be a myth, may they not criticize us for being crazy and out of touch because we don't practice what we preach. Let them call us whatever they wanna call us, but may they criticize a consistent people. May they criticize a people that apply this word in every area of life.

And not just in a way in which you want to just manifest your anger because you feel like there is an organization or a narrative that's coming for your kids, for example. It's a myth. We don't believe what you're saying because we don't believe you believe what you even believe in. Because look at this, this, and this, and that. So Lot lost his testimony.

That is a great danger for many believers today, but I have to also say this, that you would be amazed to know the excuses that people will have in wanting to reject the truth. And you'd be amazed to know how desperate they will become in even accusing you, right, and accusing me of being imperfect vessels, giving them the permission to continue to live in their own way. But Lot here proves to us that faithfulness to God is necessary despite the reaction and response of those around us. So I have two things for you closing this message. And I have a feeling that there are gonna be a lot of questions, which is fine.

You can spend the next hour if you want answering them now. But I have a very simple straightforward message for all of us. Forever is watching as well. Let your heart remain soft. Let your heart remain in tune with the heart of God.

I've been told many years ago that there was somebody that wasn't coming to our youth group at the time. And when asked why, they said, well, Brother Daniel believes that abortion is a sin, and that homosexuals are not right with God. This kid, I think, was like 14. Stay in this book. Fear God.

Trust in his judgments no matter what is swirling around you. And secondly, may that attitude by the grace of God not cause us to be fearful, but to be active in our faith. And to see the signs of what's happening, including Bill c four, and only for it to be a greater motivation to sit with people and to preach the gospel, even if they have to throw you in jail for five years. Testimony when he was lingering. Can you imagine?

I mean, it doesn't say, but I can just imagine what his sons in law thought. You just told us last night that judgment was coming, and you're hanging around here sweeping your floor. So that lost urgency could have even affected his testimony even more. And that is why I praise God for the pastors across North America who are behind pulpits to say, if that's how you're gonna if that's how you're gonna criticize the word of God, then we'll declare all the more. Don't lose your urgency as as Lot did.

Stay prayerful. Ask God for opportunities and open hearts, and just believe that the gospel is enough. That there doesn't need to be tricks and there doesn't need little things to try to manipulate somebody's way of thinking. Just present Christ and watch him change a desperate soul. Yes.

Be ready to answer objections, and you can find that message on YouTube. Yes. Be ready to to give statistics if you need to, but the substance of our message, the substance of the Christian's conversion therapy is Christ and Christ alone. Simple enough, but many Christians are making it complicated. And many Christians are ready to compromise.

So may this church be found faithful in whatever is coming down the pike. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for how your message encourages us to have a certain attitude and actions ready to be implemented in a day where people are being swept up into greater deception. Lord, we ask that our own hearts would not become numb, numb in a way that it might cause us to be inactive. And we ask, oh god, that no matter how close this deception and people conforming to the narrative of this day, no matter how close it comes to home, may we love you more than our family.

May we love you more than our friends. May we love them enough to prayfully present the truth as you would anybody else that we know doesn't know Christ. We ask, oh, lord, that a watching world would see a church that so believes what they preach that they're willing to pay a price for it, especially for the nation of Canada. We ask, oh, lord, if it's possible to extend the freedoms that they've once enjoyed. But Lord, if that has has come to an end, we ask, oh, Lord, that you would embolden ministers and congregations that would show the world that we love you too much to change this message.

And we want you to come to the truth even if we have to be punished for it. We ask, oh Lord, that as we feel the temptations and the doubts that might creep into our hearts, that it would quickly be extinguished by the truths that we heard today and the truths that we will discover as we continue to study your word. Find us faithful. Find us true. Find us to be true ambassadors of Jesus Christ, for we know that this world desperately needs it.

We give you all glory for your wisdom this afternoon. In your name we pray. Amen. Can we stand and worship the Lord together?