Is your chair comfortable?

Plush and cushioned next to instant amenities that satisfy? How’s your view? Are you so relaxed that you’re about to nod off?

The Jordan valley was fertile and well-watered. The harvest was plentiful. There was no apparent lack of anything. It was large, prosperous and influential. In the midst of such prosperity, wealth and achievement, much like today, many give way to satisfying themselves with all the plentiful luxuries, leaving no room for the One who made it all possible.

Ezekiel 16:49 says,

"Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy."

In the fruitfulness and lush environment, everything at their fingertips, moral decline crept in. Abundance, leisure, and pride. Material success fostered a spirit of independence from God.

When people are no longer occupied with serving God or caring for others, pleasure can become life's chief pursuit.

Apparently, the people of Sodom become rooted in self-pleasure and saw no need of a Redeemer. When life is lived in abundance of appetites and passions, reasoning and rationale tend to dissipate. Humans often look inward instead of upward, forgetting or disregarding disciplined counsel.

Scripture presents a fuller picture of Sodom's sins than we often recognize:

Pride (Ezekiel 16:49)
Prosperous ease (Ezekiel 16:49)
Neglect of the poor and needy (Ezekiel 16:49)
Arrogance and abominable conduct (Ezekiel 16:50)
Sexual immorality (Jude 7)
Sensuality and lawlessness (2 Peter 2:7–8)
Violent attempted sexual assault (Genesis 19)

Reducing Sodom's sin to only homosexuality misses much of the bible’s report.

Reducing it to only inhospitality, as Queer Theology frequently campaigns, also misses much of the biblical witness. This theory doesn’t make sense by Lots response. As he understood the yelling and rage, he offered his own daughters that they might “know” them. Clearly a sexual reference and Lot’s response is still the topic of many conversations today.

The picture Scripture paints is of a society in profound moral rebellion against God, where arrogance, injustice, abuse of power, and sexual corruption had become deeply entrenched.

From that perspective, the attempted assault on Lot's guests is not presented as an isolated incident but as a vivid manifestation of a culture whose moral foundations had largely collapsed. Jesus' reference to "the days of Lot" (Luke 17:28–30) likewise emphasizes not merely one sin, but a society living comfortably, ignoring God, until judgment came.

Is this beginning to sound a bit like what is taking place in today’s societal representation? How about the church?

During the filming of my documentary, FREEDOM, Trailer, I went to San Francisco to interview those in the LGBTQ community about the definition and claims made about so-called “Conversion Therapy.” While I was interviewing one of the men at an outside bar on Castro Street, a film crew associate remarked of a man on the opposite side of the street, casually walking along, fully naked. This was at about 2:00 in the afternoon. Really? The patron at the bar said, “You should be here on the weekend.” I said, “Oh no I shouldn’t.”

There’s no interference. No policeman citing someone for indecent exposure. No concern about parents with children in the neighborhood. Just a continual decline in morality and preservation of licentiousness. God will only hold back the winds for but a moment. What’s in store for our destiny?

Prophetically, where do you think we sit? Nearly all of Biblical prophecy has been fulfilled. Thousands of years ago, God, knowing the future commissioned us with this,

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28: 19-20).

As I gaze across the lack of denominational efforts, not just in general witnessing, but specifically to the LGBTQ community, I’m deeply saddened. The nudge has to be personal, as pleas to local, as well as corporate appeals to minister are nearly in vain.

History and the traditional understanding of scripture are largely challenged today where culture and carnal desire dictate new theology. Primarily a revisionist view, that begins to chip away at the literal work of the Holy Spirit.

Worship services today can sometimes seem to lack the humility and earnest calls to surrender that are essential to God’s plan for spiritual growth and health.

Fellowship halls are often filled with food and lively conversation. While fellowship is valuable, discussions easily drift toward everyday topics, with little attention given to Jesus or the sharing of spiritual experiences and encouragement.

Adventist heroin, (sugar) overshadows the professed health principles, once thought valuable to the Adventist and Bible message — another comfort we won't surrender, another symptom of the same complacency.

We are in a blind crisis, pretending all is well. We need fellowship with a greater emphasis on Christ-centered devotion, spiritual renewal, and the practical application of biblical principles in daily life.

I think we become victims of spiritual pride and started losing our way. We prevailed with prophecy seminars, scaring people into membership. Maybe we should have combined the prophecy with relational Christianity, dealing with real-life complexities like the huge wave of LGBTQ indoctrination.

I say this as one who lived it. It didn’t happen all at once. Satan knows not to make it so obvious. Yes, there were dots of people here and there like myself, who had the “homosexual” tag. Prayers were offered — and praise God — heard. Forty years of them, before I returned to God. Don’t stop praying now. Satan never gives up. He knows your weaknesses, and mine.

He’s threatened nearly every modern family today, with a counterfeit of all that God intended for good. Homosexuality used to be the complexity. Then he one upped it with transgendersim.

When our teaching establishments compromise by seeking to mirror the world’s teaching establishments, Bible teachings are diminished and God’s gift, the Spirit of Prophecy, is often dismissed. As a result, reliable Christian truths are obscured and ultimately obliterated.

Spiritual complacency is witnessed at its worst with this. "...they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator..." Romans 1:25

LGBTQ activism is alive and well within Adventism, at the highest levels. At the NAD level, and in conferences and unions such as the Potomac conference. And yet there are still those at a distance that want to question where the apostasy in the church is today.

We’ll throw pastors out of churches, seeking to remove their influence, and yet leave in place, blights on the face of Adventism such as La Sierra University who has an atrocious history of blasphemous claims. One represented yearly now with Lavender Graduations.

What happened to our allegiance to God and His great commission to make disciples of men? How can we do that when we are acquiescing to cultural trends and demands? Are we simply asleep in Sodom? History is repeating itself. Just as in the days of Noah, and certainly Sodom.

Jesus promised He will return, to receive the faithful. (Acts 1:11; Matthew 24:30). Before that day, the world will not gradually become more Christlike. Instead, Scripture says deception will increase, love will grow cold, lawlessness will abound, the gospel will be preached to all nations, and God will have a faithful people who keep His commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Matthew 24; 2 Timothy 3; Revelation 12:17; 14:6–12).

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we often speak of Sodom though it couldn’t possibly relate to us. Yet, here we are. Before judgment fell, God sent messengers. Before fire came, there was an invitation to leave. Before destruction, there was mercy.

We are rapidly approaching another pleading. I find myself identifying and grieving over such a call. Lord, please … "Then he said, 'Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.' He answered, 'For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.' Genesis 18:32

This is still God's way.

We live in a generation marked by confusion about identity, sexuality, truth, and the meaning of love. Many identifying as LGBTQ are not merely political opponents or participants in a cultural movement. They are our children. Our relatives. Our friends. All made in the image of God. Many are hurting. Some are deeply confused. Some have experienced rejection, abuse, loneliness, or shame. Some are confident in beliefs contrary to Scripture. Others quietly wrestle, afraid to tell anyone of their struggle.

None of this surprises our Savior.

Jesus never lowered the standard of truth and righteousness, yet neither did He withhold His invitation. He called us to repentance because He loves us. He desperately wants to save us all. Will we let Him? Will we agree with Him?

If we truly believe that Christ alone is the answer, then we cannot withdraw from those who need Him most. Pray, share, invite. Reflect God’s deep love for every dear soul. Never camouflage or compromise His truth. Take Him at His Word. He is trustworthy.

The chair is still comfortable. The view still satisfies. But it's time to wake up.

May Jesus’ first words to you be, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

****