A Lot to Consider | Ps. Keith Pittman

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What's going on, church family?

Welcome to church at home.

I pray that you guys are doing amazing and that you had an incredible Christmas holiday season with your family and with friends, and that you really did embrace and embody what this Advent season really does represent.

And that is ultimately that we have hope, that we have joy, that we have peace, and that we have love.

And it's all centered in the person of Christ Jesus.

As you're sitting with your family, maybe you're listening to this in the car, maybe you're with community and friends, maybe you're watching this in real time on the Sunday after Christmas.

My hope is that we can lean in because this in theory could be the last message that we hear as we prepare to go into the new year where we have huge expectations.

But as I've been processing and praying about what is it that God wants me to speak to us today, I came up with something that I think is really significant that can help us to kind of close out this year and be a catalyst for as we step into the next year.

I have a passage of scripture that I would like to read to us that's going to serve as like our theme to anchor us, and then we're going to unpack and see where it goes.

The Bible tells us in the book of Hebrews, chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, it says this therefore, since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which easily clings to us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Hebrews 12:1

Looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated on the right hand of the throne of the Father in heaven.

This this passage is powerful because right before it in Hebrews chapter 11, we often call it the hall of faith, the hall of fame of faith, so to speak, where where the writer of Hebrews he lists a series of incredible events and activities and characters in the Bible to help us recognize that what we're walking through isn't original.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

That while it may be unique to us, there are others who've been on similar journeys, had similar temptations and struggles.

And what I love about the Bible is that it doesn't hide our heroes' flaws.

We see their setbacks, we see their struggles, we see their disappointments, and how God ultimately is the one who is able to cover, to redeem, and lead them to their next step.

When we look at this Hall of Fame of faith, um there's a character whose name isn't mentioned, but he is implied throughout of it.

And so we see, of course, the character of Abram.

He's a pillar of faith.

In fact, the Bible says that he's the father of the faith, but there's some things that are surrounding him and connected to his family, specifically a person that I really want to zero in on today.

And that is his nephew Lot.

What I love about the story of Lot is that he's one who's easy to overlook, but I believe that he has a life that is filled with deep principles that can be altering to our entire life's timeline if we can extract those principles and apply it to our life.

So here's a simple thought that I want to share with us for today.

We're going to pray and see what it is that God wants to speak to us today.

But if you're taking notes, and of course I hope that you are through our app, here's what I want you to write down: a lot to consider.

Let's pray.

Let's see what God has for us today.

Lord, we thank you so much for your faithfulness.

We thank you for um moments where we are able to sit and pause and come with family and community and be still in your presence and be encouraged by your word, to be inspired by your word, to be challenged by your word.

So, Father, I just pray over the next few moments that you give us open eyes to see you, open ears to hear your truth, and open hearts to receive everything that you have for us.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Okay, so at the time of this recording, we're just a few weeks out from the Thanksgiving holiday.

And for me, every year, uh my parents come to town for Thanksgiving, and it's always an amazing time of just food, fellowship, fun.

It's a it's a great time, it's just very filling for me.

So typically the Saturday before Thanksgiving, my family comes into town, my parents come into town, and and and one of the things that I love to do is I love um going to pick them up from the train station.

But also, if you're in the Greater Orlando area, you also know that that same Saturday, that same weekend is the weekend of the classics.

And that's if you know, then you know, but it's Battle of the Bands, it's a lot of activity that's happening in the city.

So that means that in addition to already a lot of traffic and a lot of visitations from people, we also have that layer on top of it.

So now that I've set the scene, now you understand my reality.

As I'm preparing to leave my house, of course, we live in a world where we have so many options and choices.

I begin to ask myself, what is the best route that I need to go in order to pick up my parents from the Winter Park train station?

Of course, I look at the app, and the app is giving me a couple of different options.

And of course, with the options, there's like this AI that gives you some suggestions.

It says, okay, this option here is shorter time, and this is our route that we're recommending that you take.

And then there's two other options, and those other two options were a little bit longer.

It says it's fewer turns, um, a little bit more traffic if you go this way.

So naturally, me looking at it, I'm saying, hey, I'm gonna pick the option that's gonna get me there the quickest.

We live in a world of efficiency and urgency.

So let me go the route that's the quickest.

But here's the challenge with going that particular route.

That particular route was gonna ride me straight down I-4.

Again, I'm speaking to a community that I know may be broad and global, but if you just Google i4, you'll understand why that probably wasn't the best decision.

So I hop on i4 with an expectation that I'm gonna make it there because that is what the artificial intelligence inside of my phone told me was the best route to go.

It was the quickest route, it was the most efficient route.

However, that route and that decision turned out to not be such a great one because what started off as a little bit of yellow on my map turned into bright red.

And what turned from five minutes quickly turned into 10 minutes, quickly turned into 30 minutes, and then here I am sitting in the same spot on i4 60 minutes later.

Now I'm not sitting there because I didn't have the information.

I'm I'm not sitting there because I didn't have the insight.

I was stuck there because I made a choice looking at the wrong metrics.

The app did its job, it told me where to go, it told me the options that I had to get there, but I looked at the wrong metrics and and and considered that with making my decision.

I didn't consider how fragile that particular convenience was going to be.

I didn't consider that if there was an incident that happened on that road, there weren't a lot of exit points and I would be stuck there.

I didn't consider anything that can happen that's a little bit unexpected.

I chose the fastest route and I missed a much bigger picture.

You see, my friends, this is how life works.

Most of us don't end up where we are because we didn't have any options, but we end up there because we did have options, but we considered the wrong metrics.

It looks good right now.

It felt easiest in the moment.

It promised a quick payoff.

And instead of asking if it truly aligns with God and where God is trying to take us, we wanted to know if it could take us there in the most convenient and quick way possible.

Now let's go in and center in on the life of Lot.

Lot's life is a reflection of a series of choices.

From the time he was young, the Bible tells us that his father dies.

And so now he's looking to his grandfather Terah and his uncle Abram, who later becomes Abraham, as the patriarchs of the family, so to speak.

So they leave their homeland of Ur of the Chaldeans with the intention of going to Canaan, which we will now know as the promised land for the children of Israel, that land of milk and honey.

So stick with me here.

They left their homeland with the intentions of going to the promised land that would eventually set up a legacy of promise that is for the descendants that they didn't even know that were going to come.

But the Bible tells us that while they were on this journey, that that Terah, the grandfather, the primary patriarch of the family, that they stop in a small town called Haran, and it says they settled there.

I want you to catch this.

That while they had intentions of making it to a place that would be abundant enough for their entire family legacy, but they made a pit stop at the space called Haran and they settled there.

How often do we recognize that God is prompting us to go in a different direction?

That God is leading us to lead an area of our comfort.

But as we're on the journey, we find a spot that that maybe that checks off the boxes.

Maybe there's some burdens and some and some convictions that God has given us, but we get to a location that seems close enough to it, it checks off most of the boxes, and we settle there.

I tell you, friends, that this is where the seed of compromise was planted into the spirit of Lot that then allowed compromise to become a natural part of the metrics that he uses when he makes his decisions.

So the Bible says that they settled there.

They settled there so long that the grandfather eventually ends up dying in that very same land.

But then the mantle of leadership is passed on to Abram, and then Abram picks up where his father left off and he leads his family to go towards the promises of God.

He picks it up.

The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 11, verse number 8, that by faith that Abraham obeyed God, and when he was called out to go to a place that he was going to receive an inheritance that he did not know where he was going.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

That means that in order for us to truly walk in the promises of God, you're going to have to walk by faith.

This may seem like the price of admission for us as believers, but if I could be honest with you, as much as we walk by faith and not by sight, so often what we see influences our faith.

And so we see that Abraham is known as the father of the faith because he saw where his father fell short.

And God said, Will you trust me and take a step out in faith?

And I will lead you as you walk.

And so once again, Lot is exposed to two ends of the spectrum: a grandfather who was walking by his sight and settled and died short of the promise, and an uncle who was walking by faith and leading them through some uncomfortable territories, but nonetheless they had God's provision.

Lot had some choices.

So as we unpack some aspects of Lot's life, I want to pull out a couple of principles that I hope can be helpful for you as you wrap up this year and prepare to step into next year.

Interestingly enough, when you look at the original name of Lot, his name literally means wrap up.

So I couldn't think of a better character for us to examine as we wrap up this year and go into the next year.

But here's a couple of principles that I want you to write down that I think can be shapeforming for us as we go into our next season.

Here's the first thing where you pitch your tent shapes your future.

Let me say that again.

Where you pitch your tent, it shapes your future.

That may seem a little bit like an enigma, so let me break that down a little bit.

For Abraham and Lot, as they're growing, as they're moving towards the promised land, the Bible says that they both are tremendously blessed.

That means that they have resources.

And in the context of this particular culture, that means that they had livestock that needed land in order for them to graze and to continue to grow.

So they had such an abundance of resources that their livestocks were often cohabitating in the same spaces and it was causing conflict in the family.

So they came to the conclusion we need to create a little bit more space so that your livestock and your community have some room and that my livestock and your my community have some room.

So I don't want us to go separate ways, but I do want to give us some space so that there's room for us to continue to grow.

So the Bible says that Abraham, the elder, actually goes to his nephew and says to him, Hey man, which direction do you want to go?

He wants to give him choice.

This is an example of the older serving the younger.

What direction do you want to go?

Abraham knew that God's promises and hands was on his life, so he didn't need to try to manipulate and look for the best environment.

He says, I want you to choose where you want to go.

And the Bible tells us that Lot lifts up his eyes and he sees the valley of Jordan.

It was green, it was well watered, and look at this.

It says, just like Egypt.

Now you have to understand in the biblical context that Egypt was considered to be a place of oppression.

While they had abundance, it was a place of oppression.

We actually see this all play itself out in the book of Exodus.

But when they saw that it looked good, this is the direction that he wanted to go.

Notice this, and this is so important.

He doesn't pray.

He doesn't ask God.

He doesn't say, Is this the direction you're sending me?

He doesn't even ask his uncle, hey, what do you think?

What is your suggestion?

How do you feel?

And which direction do you think I should go?

But instead, Lot chose by sight and not by calling.

This is where we often can get tripped up.

We allow our eyes to inform our faith.

The text tells us that as he's going in the direction, and we see this in Genesis chapter 13, verses 11 through 12, it says this.

Genesis 13:11–12

It says that when Lot journeyed east, Lot lived among the cities in the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.

He moved his tents as far as Sodom.

He saw the beauty of the land.

He saw the opportunities for advancement for his family.

Let me give you a quick side note on the significance of Sodom.

Throughout scripture, Sodom is frequently mentioned as a city that is rife with oppression and social injustice.

It is defined as being arrogant, overindulgent, complacent, and unconcerned for the underprivileged.

Later interpretations reduced the sin of Sodom to sexual perversion and immorality, but that oversimplifies the context and misses the complete biblical nuance.

Ultimately, the judgment on Sodom and its sin of Sodom was that it lacked biblical hospitality, it was rife with injustice, it was over-indulgent in all things, and that is why God issued judgment on it.

I want you to hear me.

God wasn't zeroed in on just one thing.

In fact, the overindulgence and the sexual perversion was a secondary focus.

The primary reason why Sodom was judged was because of its social injustice, because of its oppression of people, the arrogance and overindulgence in all forms of sin.

And watch this.

And that is the place that Lot chose to go towards.

This is exactly how compromise works.

It's not a leap, but it starts with a location.

I'm not doing what they're doing.

I'm just around it, but I'm strong enough to handle it.

I'm not into all that.

I'll just I'll just hang out there.

I'm not invested.

I just follow them.

It's not a big deal.

I just scroll, I just watch, I don't pay much attention.

I just I just swipe.

But I want you guys to hear me.

Spiritual formation is deeply environmental.

Where you live shapes what you love.

Did you hear that?

Where you live, it shapes what you love.

What that means is your habits are shaped by the people around you.

Your nervous system adjusts to what is repeatedly exposed to, and your sense of normal is built off of repetition.

This is why the Bible tells us that bad company corrupts good character.

This is why Proverbs tells us, walk with the wise and you will become wise.

Lot didn't wake up that day and say, Hey, I want to raise my kids in Sodom's.

But what he did is he just kept moving closer and closer.

His tent got closer and closer.

Opportunity here, advancement there, enlarging his tent there.

And next thing you know, he's living in an environment that is so anti to the things of God, but it's become normal to him.

So here's my question.

As we prepare to conclude this year, I think a good question we can ask ourselves is where have I been pitching my tent?

Where do I have and what have I given a front row seat in my life?

What environments do I live in online?

What is shaping my feed?

What is the algorithm sending to me?

What's feeding my imagination and my desires?

Where do I pitch my tent near the waters of bitterness?

Where is comparison?

Am I too close to shame?

Do I live near the presence of God or do I live nearer to the noise of Sodom?

As we enter into this new year, this is not about condemnation, but it is about clarity.

Because Lot's life teaches us you can be righteous and still live in a place that is slowly eroding your soul.

Here's the second point.

The Bible tells us this, and I want us to get this principle here.

Number two, God's mercy will pull you out, but it won't choose for you.

Did you hear me?

God's mercy will pursue you and he will pull you out, but he's not going to make the choices for you.

Let's fast forward a little bit so you can get a sense of what I'm talking about.

In Genesis chapter 19, verses 12 through 22.

Genesis 19:12–22

We're fast-forwarding here.

Lot is no longer just living near Sodom, but the text shows us that he's now in Sodom, that he's sitting at the gates of Sodom, the place of authority, the place of influence.

It's a sign of saying that I made it here.

You see the quick shift of he moved his tents near Sodom to now he's living in Sodom and he's a man of influence.

So when God's angels show up there, he is saying to them that this is the place that I've made it.

But notice what God's word is to Lot.

He says, Grab your family and get out.

Get out, because this environment, it's I'm going to issue my judgment.

I'm going to bring a course correction to this environment.

It is so anti-me that I'm removing my hand from it, and judgment is about to fall upon it.

And verse number 16, listen, Genesis 19, verse number 16, is haunting to our souls because even after a word from God comes to Lot telling him that this is not the place that God has for you, that this is not God's best for your life, the text says, but Lot lingered.

He was exposed to a grandfather that settled in a spot that was short of God's promises.

And now we fast forward where he's in his own valley of decisions.

And even after he is told very clearly that God is telling him that this is not what he has for him, the text says he lingered.

God is saying, move, judgment is coming, and Lot is slow walking.

He's attached to the very thing that is killing him.

He knows it's bad, but it's also familiar.

Some of us know that feeling.

It's it's I know this relationship is toxic, but this is what I know.

Or or maybe he can change, maybe she can change.

Maybe this is the best that I can get.

I know that this habit is destroying my peace, but how else am I supposed to cope with the disappointment in my life?

I I know that God's been calling me to forgive, to step out, to change, but I'm just not ready yet.

But God's mercy is so intense in the story.

The text tells us in verse number 16 so the men seized him, him being Lot, and his wife and his two daughters by the hand.

The Lord mercifully grabs a hold of him and brings him outside of the city.

I love that the text says that they seized them by hand.

This is rescue language.

This is God saying, I'm I'm not going to just talk you out, but I'm going to literally pull you out.

I want you to think about this here.

How many times did God grab you by the hand?

Maybe you didn't recognize it, so let me put it in the context that maybe you know that that conversation that woke you up, that message that you heard that you thought was written just for you, that closed door that you didn't like, but now you look at it and see that that was God, that conviction that you just couldn't shape, those are evidence of God literally showing up in your world and grabbing you by the hand and saying that it's time for you to move.

Mercy came after you.

But I want you to watch this that even after God's mercy grabbed Lot by the hand, Lot was still negotiating.

As he's leading him out of the city, Lot says, I can't go off into the hills because disaster may overtake me and I may die there.

So so I want to stay to the city that is near enough.

Let me escape there.

So even though he sees that God has rescued him, even though he sees that God has been leading him this entire way, that God is leading him in a direction, he's like, Well, that's too far, but can I go to a space that That's still close to the very thing that you're leading me out of.

In other words, he wants salvation, but he also wants preferences.

This is rescue with options.

This is obedience with conditions.

My hope for us as we're going into this new year is that we know exactly where the Spirit of God has been nudging us and we we go to where he's leading us to do.

Stop going to the spaces that he delivered you from.

Have the hard conversation.

Let the offense go.

Rearrange the rhythms around you again and again.

Return to community and stop isolating yourself.

God is sending you reminders, but he won't choose for you.

I want you to hear me, friends.

Mercy can pull you out, but he will not live out your new life for you.

So maybe at the end of this year, the question should be God, where am I lingering when you're telling me that it's time for me to go?

Okay, now we want to go into our third and final thought.

And hopefully this will be the thing that brings it all together.

As God is leading you out into something new, into something greater, into something freer, here's my final statement for us.

Don't look back.

Sounds simple.

I know it's complex.

I know it's not easy, but don't look back.

The angels give very clear instructions.

In Genesis 19, verse 17, it says, escape for your life, do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley.

Genesis 19:17

Don't look back.

Lot's wife turns back.

And the text tells us that she turns into a pillar of salt.

Time won't permit me to unpack that, and there's a great deal of mystery there.

But what I will tell you is that this is a posture of the heart, that her body was leaving Sodom, but her heart was still there.

This is not about geography, but it's about attachment.

Jesus literally uses this as a warning when he says in Luke chapter 17, verse 32, remember Lot's wife.

Luke 17:32

Some of us, if we're honest, are physically out of old situations, but emotionally still tethered to them.

God pulled you out of that relationship, but your imagination still lives there.

God rescued you from a version of yourself, but shame keeps replaying the old footage.

God shifted you out of an unhealthy environment, an unhealthy church, an unhealthy job, but your heart is still replaying the offense of the hurt and playing the what-if game.

I want you to hear me write this down because I think this could be something that can be a catalyst for you.

Looking back isn't always nostalgic.

Sometimes it's bondage dressed up as memories.

And I believe that God is saying, forget those things which are behind.

Pressing forward to the high calling that we have in Christ Jesus.

The text tells us that Lot, instead of going to the hills, the upper place, the higher place that God has for him, that he settled for the cave.

He went into this cave out of fear, isolation, and trauma of losing everything, and he made another bad decision.

What we don't heal, we will repeat in very distorted ways.

This culture that Sodom has created continues to show up in Lot's daughter.

That's how trauma and sin patterns work.

If we just move locations without addressing what shaped us, we carry it into the next city and into the next tent.

If we just exchange external circumstances but not internal narratives, Sodom comes with us.

So this year, it's not just about leaving things behind, but it's about who are we becoming and what future we're building by God's grace.

It's choosing healing over hiding.

It's choosing community over isolation, it's choosing obedience over lingering.

It's choosing presence over proximity, not living near the things of God, but living in them.

As I reflect on me sitting in traffic for an hour on I-4, I began to see that there were some cars that were literally making U-turns on the shoulder and going off onto the side, getting into the other direction, and then getting onto highway and making it to their destination.

And I know that that sounds incredibly risky, and the way I'm defining it can sound like this is a scene from Fast and Furious, but I assure you that it wasn't that dramatic.

But I had a decision to make.

I can continue to sit here in this direction that's not leading me to my destination.

I've wasted enough time, or I can make a risky maneuver and I can make a U-turn and go in a different direction.

And that's exactly what your pastor did.

Don't let any of the officers know.

I made a U-turn, made a change of directions, and made it to my destination.

It was inconvenient.

It was a little bit risky, but what I can tell you is it brought me out of the confusion and the chaos in the parking lot that I was in and led me to the place that I was ultimately supposed to be.

Lot's story is heavy, but it doesn't get the final word.

And maybe for you, this year it can feel like you've been on I-4 in a parking lot at a complete standstill, wondering why am I not moving?

Why is there not any traction?

Why have I not seen any movement at all?

And maybe this is a moment that God is saying as we go into this new year, as we go into this new season, that there's an opportunity for you to make a U-turn.

Because scripture tells us that at the cross, judgment for all sin has already been resolved, that we are righteous as a result of the finished work of Christ.

It's not that complicated.

But like Lot, we have to make sure that we reposition ourselves, that we have to allow ourselves to go in a direction that God is ultimately calling us to go.

The goal is not for us to be perfect, but it is our desire to be in alignment with the things of God.

Next year won't be perfect for you, but I do believe that you can pitch your tent where God will call you to go, that you can lead and be and trust where He's leading you to, and you will see significant impact in your life.

So I want to close with this because I realize that there's some in our community that this year may have been so challenging.

And maybe you're in your own parking lot right now.

But I want to close this year out by encouraging you.

So I'm just want to speak specifically to some people that are dealing with disappointment, unanswered prayers, people who thought things would look different.

I want you to hear me.

Disappointment tries to teach us to lower our expectations and to play us safe.

But I want you to know that we serve a God who's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think.

Sometimes we just need to reposition ourselves and trust.

So I want to declare this over your life that Lamentations 3 says this.

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope that the Lord never ceases, because great is his faithfulness.

God is faithful, he sees you where you are, and he's going to lead you out of this space even of your disappointment.

So, Lord, I thank you so much for your faithfulness.

I thank you for your grace.

And even in our spaces of disappointment, we're able to lament, we're able to express it, you're able to meet us in that space, and you're able to lead us out of it as long as we stick close to you and follow your guiding voice.

I also want to speak to some of us that may be dealing with fear and doubt, anxious about what's to come next, disappointed and trying to work through how to rebuild trust.

But I want you to know that you don't have to go your own way.

The Bible tells us in Isaiah 41, 10, fear not, for I am with you.

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and I will help you.

Let me pray for you.

God, I see the places that we are today and the things that we're scared about tomorrow.

And Lord, I don't want to confess this fear over our lives, but Father, we acknowledge it.

But we know that ultimately that you're in control.

So, Lord, I just pray over every person who is fearful, every person who is wrestling with doubt, and they want to come out of it so they can walk in the freedom that you have for them going into this next season.

I pray that you give them peace that surpasses all understanding, that you strengthen their resolve and that you make their path straight and remind them that you are indeed with them.

And lastly, I want to pray for some people that are believing God for healing.

Maybe this year has been one that has been such a disappointment because there's something physiologically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally weighing you down.

I want to pray for us because I truly believe that Jesus is indeed the great physician.

In fact, Isaiah 47.3 says that he heals the broken and he binds up their wounds.

Let me pray for us.

Holy Spirit, we thank you that we recognize that you are indeed a healer.

In fact, Scripture says that Jesus came with healing in his wings.

So, Father, we position ourselves under the healing wings of Jesus.

We invite his grace to continue to do a work on the inside of us.

Father, we believe that what you've begun in us, you're going to complete it.

So, God, I declare over every person that is dealing with sickness in body, mind, soul, spirit, I pray that not only do you comfort them where they are, that your healing virtue goes out and brings total restoration, total redemption, and allowing a testimony to come forth out of it.

So, so Father, I declare healing over our community that going into the new year, that we're going to have a different statement that comes out of our mouth, one that clearly says that surely the Lord is with us and God has healed me.

Family, I pray that you can receive this.

I pray that we recognize that we all have a lot to consider, but we don't want to allow ourselves to settle.

We don't want to allow ourselves to get comfortable.

We don't want to pitch our tents in environments that God doesn't have for us.

We don't want to linger, but we want to be people who don't look back, that we trust in God and we follow Him every step of the way, knowing that no matter where we go, God is with us.

And if God is for us, then nothing can be against us.

So let me bless us as we go into this new year.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May He make His face to shine upon you and give you everlasting supernatural peace.

God bless you guys.

Be safe.

Can't wait to see you next year.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at celebrationorl or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.