The Danger of Delay

The Danger of Delay

Sometimes the greatest danger in your life is not that you don't know what to do. It is that you know what to do but keep delaying it.

Another word for this is procrastinator.

The Bible speaks of the word lingering. Lingering is the delay between knowing what God said and doing what God said.

The Danger of "Just a Little Longer"

Main Text: Genesis 19

Have you ever said:

• "I'll do it tomorrow."
• "I'm going to leave soon."
• "I'll stop after this one more time."
• "I know I need to change, but not yet."
• "I know God is telling me to move, but I'm comfortable here."

Some of us keep hitting the spiritual snooze button.

God says: Wake up! We say: Five more minutes. God says: Leave! We say: After this weekend. God says: Change! We say: Next year.

You cannot keep snoozing and expect to arrive on time for your destiny.

The Warning Given

"And the [two] men (angels) asked Lot, 'Have you any others here [in Sodom] - a son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters? Whomever you have in the city, take them out of here; for we are destroying this place, because the outcry [for judgment] against them has grown so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy and ruin it.'" - Genesis 19:12-13 (AMP)

• The angels made it clear that destruction was going to happen.
• They were on assignment from the Lord.

"So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were [betrothed, and legally promised] to marry his daughters, and said, 'Get up, get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy this city!' But to his sons-in-law he appeared to be joking." - Genesis 19:14 (AMP)

• For Lot to warn others, he believed the report.
• Lot had lost credibility; when people laugh at you when you are trying to be serious, it means they never took you seriously.
• Before you can lead others, you must first lead yourself.

"When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot [to hurry], saying, 'Get up! Take your wife and two daughters who are here [and go], or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.'" - Genesis 19:15 (AMP)

Another clear instruction.

The Snooze Button

"But Lot hesitated and lingered. The men took hold of his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, because the Lord was merciful to him [for Abraham's sake]; and they brought him out, and left him outside the city [with his family]." - Genesis 19:16 (AMP)

Lingering happens when you know it's time to go, but you're not ready to leave.

• Lot knew it was time to leave.
• Lot heard the warning.
• Lot understood the danger.
• The opportunity to escape was available.
• The danger of lingering is that what you intended to visit can eventually become what you refuse to leave.
• Some people are not confused; they are simply comfortable.
• He had to be dragged out.

They know:

• The relationship is unhealthy.
• The habit is destructive.
• The environment is toxic.
• The business is no longer right.
• The season has ended.

But they keep saying: "Just a little longer."

Instructions From the Angels

"When they had brought them outside, one [of the angels] said, 'Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, or stop anywhere in the entire valley; escape to the mountains [of Moab], or you will be consumed and swept away.'" - Genesis 19:17 (AMP)

Here we see the instructions given by the angels:

1. Escape for your life.
2. Don't look back.
3. Don't stop.
4. Destination: the Mountains of Moab.

"But Lot said to them, 'Oh no, [not that place] my lords!'" - Genesis 19:18 (AMP)

Family, have you ever tried to help someone and they say no? People want help on their terms.

"Please listen, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness (mercy) to me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, because the disaster will overtake me and I will be killed." - Genesis 19:19 (AMP)

• Why should they listen to you?
• Your life is evidence against your judgment.
• Henry Ford was famous for the statement: "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't - you're right."

"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." - Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)

"Now look, this town [in the distance] is near enough for us to flee to, and it is small [with only a few people]. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) so that my life will be saved." - Genesis 19:20 (AMP)

• Lot is the last person who should be picking a location; he chose Sodom and Gomorrah, the place he is being rescued from.
• So many times we get ourselves in trouble trying to outsmart God's plan.
• Lot has no faith; he is focusing on what he can see versus what God said.

"For we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God's promises]." - 2 Corinthians 5:7 (AMP)

If you don't put a limit on God, God won't put a limit on you.

"And the angel said to him, 'Behold, I grant you this request also; I will not destroy this town of which you have spoken. Hurry and take refuge there, for I cannot do anything [to punish Sodom] until you arrive there.' For this reason the town was named Zoar (few, small)." - Genesis 19:21-22 (AMP)

Wisdom Keys

1. Lingering Often Reveals That You Are More Attached to the Place Than You Realize

What was keeping him there? His possessions? His lifestyle? His relationships? His status? His comfort?

Lot had become connected to Sodom. You can leave a place physically and still be attached to it emotionally.

This is why some people leave a relationship but keep checking the person's social media. They leave the job but cannot stop talking about the job. They leave the city but keep wishing they were back. They leave the sin but keep fantasizing about it.

You cannot move forward while constantly negotiating with what God told you to leave behind.

2. Lingering Can Cause You to Lose What You Were Supposed to Take With You

The angels told Lot: "Take your wife and your two daughters..."

God was not just trying to save Lot. He was trying to save his family. But because Lot lingered, the situation became more dangerous.

"But his wife looked back..." - Genesis 19:26 (AMP)

Lot's lingering affected his family. Your delay can affect people connected to you.

Parents who linger in dysfunction can teach children dysfunction. Leaders who linger in compromise can cause followers to stumble. Believers who linger in sin can damage their witness. What you tolerate may become what your children imitate.

3. Lingering Often Happens Because We Are Waiting for God to Make Us Feel Ready

But faith does not always wait for feelings. Faith moves because God spoke.

Noah built before it rained. Abraham left before he knew where he was going. Peter stepped out of the boat before he knew how he would walk on water. The Israelites stepped into the Red Sea before the waters completely parted.

You may never feel ready to obey God. You have to move based on the Word, not your feelings.

4. Lingering Can Make You Miss the Moment God Has Created for You

There are moments in life that require immediate obedience.

Esther had a moment.

"Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" - Esther 4:14

If Esther had lingered, an entire nation could have been destroyed.

Jesus said to Peter: "Follow Me." Peter did not say, "Let me think about it for six months." He left his nets.

Jesus said to Matthew: "Follow Me." Matthew got up.

There is a difference between waiting on God and lingering in disobedience.

5. Sometimes God Has to Pull You Out Because You Won't Walk Out

Thank God for the grace that grabs you.

• Sometimes God closes the door.
• Sometimes He removes the person.
• Sometimes He interrupts the plan.
• Sometimes He causes discomfort.
• Sometimes He allows the thing you were holding onto to fall apart.

Some doors closed because God was protecting you from going back through them.

6. Jesus Gives Us Another Warning About Lingering

"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things left behind] is fit for the kingdom of God." - Luke 9:62

Your focus determines your direction.

The Difference Between Waiting and Lingering

Waiting on God

Lingering

God has not released you

God has already spoken

You are preparing

You are procrastinating

You are trusting

You are hesitating

You are growing

You are avoiding

You are in God's timing

You are delaying God's instruction

Waiting is faith

Lingering is often fear disguised as wisdom

The Three Questions of Lingering

1. What has God told me to leave? Be honest. What has God already addressed?
2. Why am I still here? Is it fear? Comfort? Money? People? Familiarity? Insecurity? Emotional attachment?
3. What will my delay cost me? Ask yourself: "If I keep doing this for another year, where will I be?"

If you keep spending like this, where will you be? Living like this, where will you be? Thinking like this, where will you be? Staying in this relationship, where will you be? Delaying obedience, where will you be?

Closing: When God Says Go, Go!

Lot's story is a warning.

There are places you cannot stay forever. There are seasons you cannot keep repeating. There are habits you cannot keep defending. There are relationships you cannot keep carrying. There are opportunities you cannot keep postponing.

When God says move, move!

The question is not, "Do I feel ready?" The question is, "Has God spoken?"

If God has spoken:

Get up! Get out! Go forward!

You have lingered long enough. You have delayed long enough. You have made excuses long enough. You have been standing at the edge of your next season long enough. Your next level is waiting on your next step.

"The tragedy is not always that you missed your moment. Sometimes the tragedy is that your moment came, God spoke, the door opened - and you lingered."

Stop lingering. Your time is now.

Declaration

I will not linger where God has told me to leave. I will not allow comfort to keep me from purpose. I will not allow fear to delay my obedience. I will not keep looking back at what God delivered me from. When God says move, I will move. When God says go, I will go. When God opens the door, I will walk through it. I am leaving the old season. I am entering the new season. I have lingered long enough!

Discussion Questions

1. Think of a time God clearly spoke to you about something you needed to leave, stop, or change. Are you currently waiting on God, or are you lingering? What's the honest difference in your situation?
2. Lot became emotionally attached to Sodom even after he knew judgment was coming. What "Sodom" in your own life - a habit, relationship, mindset, or environment - are you still emotionally connected to, even if you've physically or outwardly moved on?
3. The sermon points out that lingering doesn't just affect you, it affects the people connected to you. Who in your life might be watching how you respond to what God has asked you to leave behind? What message is your delay sending them?
4. Using the "Three Questions of Lingering" from this message, take time this week to honestly answer: What has God told me to leave? Why am I still here? What will my delay cost me if I wait another year?
5. Esther, Peter, and Matthew all responded immediately when their moment came. What is one specific, practical step you can take this week to move instead of linger in an area where you know God has already spoken?