Untitled Sermon

From one to another

Genesis 11:1–9 “Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.”

This is frustrating

It seems like humanity had achieved something great, even something that the LORD desired for His people. Even the New Testament states that the New Heavens and New Earth will accomplish these things. Ephesians 2:14 “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility”, Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”, and Revelation 5:9 “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,” So, why would the LORD confuse and disperse them when something even He desired was accomplished? Isn’t that the point? If they were to get there on their own, why make it so difficult or confuse them to the point to where they cannot do it on their own?

It is this tiny little phrase, “let us make a name for ourselves.” We can want the right thing or accomplish something good for all the wrong reasons. “I need a smartphone so I can fit in” “I need to make the team so I can showcase my skills” “I need to get an A so I can prove that I am ready for new privileges.” What is wrong with these statements? Is there anything wrong with them?

They’re selfish by nature and miss the greater point of having a smartphone, making a team, or getting an A. Is not the point of a smartphone, connectivity, yet desiring to fit in a selfish act? Is not making a team about enjoying the reliance on others and improving your skills for the betterment of the group? Is not getting an A to showcase your desire to learn and grow for the sake finding a job that will one day improve the lives of others?

God confused and dispersed because their “accomplishment” was misguided. It was selfish and excluded God and His plan for His image bearers. May they not forget their Creator and in whose image they were created and for what purpose they were made for. He had to do it in order to make sure that when, one day, when they became One again it would be under the way, rule and reign of Him because He is their Creator and because of that He holds the best possible outcome of life in His hands.

The wrong motivation behind the right thing will inevitably lead toward destruction. Jumping over a lot of the Biblical story, we arrive at Jesus’ solution to all of this. That being, our oneness belongs to Christ because He is the one that grants us a place to belong and the call and capability to be “one” with another for the right reasons - being one with with the Father under His rule and reign.

We should want and should strive toward being many and one. (Theo)

How do we shift out motivation? Why should we shift our motivation?

Romans 12:3–8 “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Remember that you are not as great as you think you are. There is always one greater

Remember that you have been given life because God wanted you to have it

Remember that your salvation and eternal hope is granted to you because of the work of Christ, not you

You have gifts to offer the world

Use them not to make yourself look great, but to serve others. When everyone does that, everyone benefits, and everyone can experience being one as it in the way it is meant to be experienced - for our good and His glory.

With this motivation for the right thing, we will find life not unlike the New Heavens and New Earth.