Sermon Notes

“The Tower of Babel”

By Pastor Bruce J. Wilson

July 24^th, 2011

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Who has done everything right?  Let’s face it, we’ve all blown it at one time or another.  Did we make the right choice, or did we make a good choice?  It’s human nature to make mistakes.  Sometimes God gives us warnings about things that we should be careful about, things that we need to be on guard against.  We can be selfish, and we can be clever at hiding it, and good at excusing it.

There are a lot of stories in Genesis that deal with human nature and conflict.  There are those that would say that those are ancient, and they don’t apply any more, but you would miss out on a great deal if dismiss the stories of Genesis as fairy tales. 

Genesis 11:1-4            …whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name…

Let’s do something big, notable, worthy.  These men tried to build the Tower of Babel.  God had to make some adjustments.  This story has been sticking with me for years.  We make plans, but sometimes we don’t stop to think how our plans fit in with God’s plans.  People today have towers of Babel in their own lives?  You want to do something significant and worthy, but why?  There are at least a few things in my life that will make me look good, but have nothing to do with my walk with God.  Maybe what you are doing isn’t good or bad, but all the pieces around it are just way too much. 

Let’s do this; we’ll feel really good about it.  Maybe there’s a good reason for it, but have you really thought about why?  If it’s just to get people’s attention, then it’s not worth it.  A great exercise for your life is to just re-evaluate why you are doing what you are doing.  Is it so people will have a certain opinion of you?  Is it part of your testimony, or is it a testament to your pride?

Do you ever get those things in the mail from colleges?  There’s a lot of advice out there on how you should be spending your time and money.  Is what you’re doing a distraction, or is it part of your ministry? 

Maybe you have a lot of landscape that you’re not doing anything with.  You’re not building on it.  You have no plans.  Well, maybe, someday I’ll build something on it.  Maybe you’re just clearing the land.  Have you really sought it out?  Have you prayed it through?

You know, there’s something today that is a big distraction to prayer.  I imagine most everyone here has one on them right now; a cell phone.  Sometimes it’s okay to ignore it.  Just let it go to voice mail; answer that text later.

1 Samuel 8:4-7            …they have rejected Me…

These are the elders of Israel.  These are wise people, and yet, basically, they decided to do something that, bottom line, was rejecting God.  Why did they do that? to be like other nations.  They wanted to be like other people.  They wanted to be accepted, to be approved by others.  That can be a healthy thing, but it can also be destructive.  “Oh, God, we’re glad not to be in Egypt any more, but, we’ll take it from here.”  I know that you know better than that; you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.

In the military, everybody has to wear a uniform.  Why? so that everyone looks alike.  Even after hours, people in the military often just follow the crowd, and do whatever everybody else is doing.  We have to find ways to combat or counteract that.

A lot of people just don’t want God to be Lord over their lives; they just don’t feel that it make difference.  Let me tell you, it makes all the difference in the world.

“This looks like a good idea.”  But, you know what?  It’s entirely possible that God doesn’t care about it, or maybe He does care about it, but His answer is, “No.”  Take some time and ask God what he wants.  He has the answer, and He can answer a lot faster than a text-message (but that doesn’t mean that He will—He make you wait).  He’s not limited by technology, but He’s not strapped to it, either.

1 Corinthians 3:8-13   …the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is…

You’ve heard the phrase, “Trial by fire.”  That came from the Bible.  Each person’s life is going to be proved by fire.  Take heed how you build on that foundation.  If you could look back at my life, I have a large number of scattered, started projects that I never finished.  Those projects had a lot of me, but only a little bit had to do with God.  Ministry is mostly just being personable.  Of course, you have to have something to share when you get the opportunity, so you have to study.  All of the other things probably won’t last the test of fire.  Some of you aren’t going to like this, but once the fire burns all the extraneous stuff away, all of our ministries are going to look pretty much the same.

Maybe you start something, and it really is of God, but other things pile on.  Maybe well-meaning brothers and sisters ‘help’ you out with your project.  Pretty soon, though, the original purpose has been buried.  Did you ever get distracted and miss the point?

1 Peter 2:9-12          But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation…

That is our purpose.  That should be your testimony.  This is our legacy.  You should be asking yourself, “Does what I’m doing with my life, what I’m building, fit this description?”  You may be asking yourself, “Why am I still here, instead of in Heaven?”  Be that testimony; God can use us as that tool to save others.  Share a phrase or a Scripture.  Strangers and pilgrims?  A peculiar people?  That doesn’t sound like something to aspire to.  I’m going to tell you something:  Real Christians didn’t make it into the history books.  You have to really read between the lines to see any real influence that we have had on the world. 

Help other ‘strangers and pilgrims’ along the way.  Don’t be distracted by things.  You don’t need to have three of these and eight of those in every color…  As good things come along, enjoy it.  Take a vacation, you probably need it.  But be that kind of person that when other people realize that their lives are a mess, that you can share something positive.

There are a lot of things that you can say no to.  Simplify your life.  Stick to the basics; let the rest of the things go.  Build your life on good things.

                             Sermon notes by Pete Shepherd