FIGHTING AGAINST TOWER BUILDING

Illustration:

Text: 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.

FIGHTING AGAINST TOWER BUILDING

Correct view of Ourselves

as opposed to relying on our human abilities. Verse 4 … and let us make a name for ourselves…(Rather than give honor and glory to God… they want to give honor and glory to themselves)

Romans 12:3 “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.”

We are sinners in need of saving

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 3:10 “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;”

We are in need of saving, we cannot save ourselves

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

We are limited

Humanism- an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.

This mindset can creep into the church

The ESV Study Bible Chapter 11

The Babel enterprise is all about human independence and self-sufficiency apart from God. The builders believe that they have no need of God

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

We need a move of God

“This is a move of God.” ~Pastor Wayman Mitchel.

This is what we need, not a move of man’s abilities, man’s intellect/philosophy, or man’s technology.

Zechariah 4:6 “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”

Correct view of Others

as opposed to focusing only on ourselves or those like us. Verse 1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words… (they were unified with the same thoughts)

Realize that there are “others”

We are ego-centric - Concerned with individual rather than society

We can become extremely “cliquish” a small group of people with shared interest and do not readily allow others to join them

My Favorite Illustrations Superiority of Christian Love

Christian love rises above human differences to show itself in absolute loyalty to others in their need. Christian love looks on other persons through the eyes and with the heart of God. Christian love respects others as persons who are objects of God’s love.

God’s view of others

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Matthew 9:36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

John 4:35 “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.”

Remember you were apart of the “others”

1 Co 6:9–11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? 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. 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 our God.”

My Favorite Illustrations Witnessing like Jesus

Missionary E. Stanley Jones asked Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi what Christians could do to win India to the Christian faith. He replied that the Christians should identify with people as Christ did during His time.

Becoming Earth fillers

as opposed to settling for what’s comfortable or secure. Verse 8 So the lord dispersed them…

By Getting a new tongue

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”” Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

It’s weird- We must remember. The Gospel is foolishness. If God can raise a man from the dead what stops him from Giving someone the gift of speaking in tongues (whether its tongues of men or tongues of angels).

It’s obsolete- most of the gifts in the bible are for evangelistic purposes. Thus, if people still need saving , then all the gifts are necessary

Acts 19:1–6 ESV

And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.

By Scattering

Old Testament

Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””

Genesis 9:1 “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”

Genesis 9:7 “And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.””

The ESV Study Bible Chapter 1

God’s creation plan is that the whole earth should be populated by those who know him and who serve wisely as his vice-regents or representatives

New Testament

Matthew 28:19 “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,”

My Favorite Illustrations Jesus Expected Nothing Less

In Matthew 28:19 “go” often is translated as an imperative form of the verb. In reality the word form is a participle, meaning “going” or “as you go.”

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

Radio DJ asked the question: What have I done today to advance the kingdom of God?

we should desire God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done.

The Potter’s House Mission

Evangelism

Discipleship

Church planting