1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,760 Turn in your Bibles to Genesis Chapter 11. 2 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:07,160 We'll be in Genesis 11 this morning. 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,280 For those who are new with us this morning, let me fill you in 4 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:15,280 on what you've dropped into here. 5 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:24,160 Back in the fall, in September, we began a study in the book of 6 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:30,440 Genesis and you can see from the slide it says parts 21. 7 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:37,840 So today is the 21st message in this series in Genesis and we 8 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:43,760 are only in Chapter 11. Things will begin to speed up 9 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:49,840 here momentarily. But I should warn you we may 10 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:54,080 take a break for the summer and then come back to it again in 11 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,680 the fall. So I foresee us probably being 12 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:00,200 in Genesis another year, which is fine by me. 13 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:02,280 I hope. I hope you're OK with that. 14 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,200 But I am loving the study in Genesis. 15 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,480 So that's where we find ourselves this morning, Genesis 16 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:15,920 Chapter 11. Now if you stop and consider 17 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,080 ancient history, you'll be confounded by the number of 18 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:23,480 seemingly impossible human achievements and find yourself 19 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:28,800 asking how did they do that? The Great Wall of China, 20 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:33,600 Stonehenge, the Great Pyramids of Giza, Chichen Itza, Machu 21 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:39,000 Picchu, the Roman Colosseum, Petra and even the Moai of 22 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:43,560 Easter Island. All these projects baffle the 23 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,960 mind of modern day people and engineers. 24 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,760 How could they do that? How could they, with their 25 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:56,440 technology, build such impressive structures? 26 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:02,000 This morning's text gives us perhaps a little bit of insight 27 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:05,920 into ancient humanity's capacity. 28 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:10,520 If you're able, would you please stand as we read from Genesis 29 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,920 Chapter 11, verses one through 9 this morning? 30 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,080 Now the whole earth had one language in the same words. 31 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,280 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plane in the 32 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:25,240 land of Shinar and settled there. 33 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:28,320 And they said to one another, Come, let us make bricks and 34 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,360 burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, 35 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:35,000 and by two men for mortar. Then they said, Come, let us 36 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,920 build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the 37 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:40,880 heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be 38 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:43,240 dispersed over the face of the whole earth. 39 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:46,880 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower with 40 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:49,000 which the children of man had built. 41 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:52,120 And the Lord said, Behold, they are one people, and they have 42 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,760 all one language. And this is only the beginning 43 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:57,760 of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to 44 00:02:57,760 --> 00:02:59,720 do will now be impossible for them. 45 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,160 Come, let us go down. And they're confused their 46 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,520 language, so that they may not understand one another's speech. 47 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,160 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the 48 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:12,600 earth, and they left off building the city. 49 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,800 Therefore, its name was called Babel, because they're the Lord 50 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,040 confused the language of all the earth, and from there the Lord 51 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,120 dispersed them over the face of all the earth. 52 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:32,000 You may be seated. A few weeks ago we looked at the 53 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,520 table of nations in in chapter 10. 54 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:38,320 This was an extensive genealogy and it showed us where all the 55 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:42,760 people of the world came from. As we look at our text this 56 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,400 morning, I want to make sure you understand Genesis isn't moving 57 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,880 in a strictly linear chronological sense. 58 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:53,680 Strictly Chapter 11 is a a flashback. 59 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:59,120 Chapter 11 is inserting itself part way into the genealogy of 60 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,160 chapter 10. And as we begin our this study 61 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,600 this morning, we look at humanity United. 62 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:11,400 Verse one just told us the whole earth had one language and the 63 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:15,920 same words. When Moses referred to the whole 64 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,760 earth here, he wasn't saying globe, he was saying all the 65 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:24,160 people of the earth compacted into this one region all had the 66 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:28,520 same language. Now as an aside, it's hard for 67 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,960 me to think in terms of their world. 68 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:39,120 For example, the first time humanity saw this picture was 69 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:46,280 December 11th, 1966. This picture was not available 70 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:52,720 before December 11th, 1966, when the satellite ETS1 took a 71 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,600 picture of the Earth and for the very first time in history 72 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,760 revealed the entirety of the Earth's shape. 73 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:04,200 It blows my mind. Granted, the picture leaves a 74 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,080 bit to be desired, but that was the very first time that 75 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:10,600 specific image was recorded. As a result. 76 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:15,000 Now, when we read the word Earth, many of us, we think of 77 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:18,680 that. We think of the globe. 78 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:23,840 But here in Genesis 11, Moses is referring to all the people, the 79 00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:27,280 world who lived there in Mesopotamia. 80 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:34,160 Those people, they had one language and the same words. 81 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:39,440 They had one language, the same words at that time, one set of 82 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,280 words. Having one language made it 83 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:47,120 possible for humanity to to unite together in carrying out 84 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:53,000 great projects. Now stop for a moment and 85 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:57,040 consider the fact that we all speak English. 86 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:03,680 Now we can say we all speak English, but that does not mean 87 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:08,480 we all speak the same exact words right? 88 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:16,000 If I said the golf clubs were in the boot then most of you would 89 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:21,480 think I was crazy. A few people here would say Yep 90 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,360 that sounds about right. Golf clubs would be in the boot 91 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:30,600 that is your trunk. If I asked you where you got 92 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:35,200 your sunnies, you'd be baffled as to what in the world I was 93 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:37,480 talking about. And you would say, well, it's 94 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:40,080 sunny outside, I get sun outside. 95 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,200 And you would be clueless as to the fact that I was actually 96 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:48,240 asking you where you got your sunglasses. 97 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:55,960 So we share the same language, but we have different words 98 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:59,600 sometimes. Having the same language made a 99 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:03,400 number of things easier, not simply just for communicating 100 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:07,760 with each other, but also being able to share ideas. 101 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:13,640 Communication was easy and it enabled mankind to easily work 102 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:19,480 together. By the way, I should say though, 103 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,320 I was born in Kansas City and I'm not sure what word they use 104 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:23,920 there. Though I was born in Kansas 105 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:32,360 City, I am a West Coast person, so as such I will always use the 106 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:37,600 word soda to refer to carbonated drinks. 107 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:44,160 They are not whatever it is that a lot of you refer to them as. 108 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:50,560 I can't even say the word. It is a soda, just to be clear, 109 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:52,720 in case there was any question on that. 110 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,600 For what it's worth. It's just that's just how it is. 111 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,040 You know, it's funny, I remember going to the South one time. 112 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:07,160 I would like a Coke. What kind? 113 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:13,440 A Coke, right? That was kind. 114 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,200 I was not ready, ready for that was not on my radar that I 115 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:19,480 needed to specify what kind of Coke. 116 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:23,640 Anyways, I digress. So in verses 2 and 4, two 117 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,760 through 4, we look at the building of Babylon. 118 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:30,520 Verse 2 through 4, as people migrated from the east, they 119 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:33,280 found a plane in the land of Shinar, and they settled there. 120 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:36,440 And they said to one another, Come, let us make bricks and 121 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:38,919 burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone and 122 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:41,880 by tomb and for mortar. Then they said, Come, let us 123 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,480 build ourselves a city and a tower with this top in the 124 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,920 heavens, and make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed 125 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:49,320 over the face of the whole earth. 126 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:54,320 There are few things for us to 1st address. 127 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:58,400 First of all where we are. It's good to remind ourselves 128 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:03,360 that that our setting is still in the region of Mesopotamia. 129 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:09,200 The story has yet to relocate to Canaan, there to the West. 130 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,800 Everything all started here in Mesopotamia, Eden and in its 131 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:18,840 garden where we're there in in that region could have been in 132 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:21,120 the South of Mesopotamia, could have been at the north. 133 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:24,840 Those are the two options for where Eden may have been. 134 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,720 The first humans were kicked out of the garden just a little bit 135 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:30,440 to the east. So it could have been in Iraq, 136 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,680 could have been in Iran. Adams descendants all lived 137 00:09:33,680 --> 00:09:35,360 there. Noah and his family lived there. 138 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:39,560 And the ark landed on the northern edge of Mesopotamia, 139 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:44,800 somewhere near in the mountains of the Ararat region. 140 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:51,400 So here we are, the text tells us in Shinar, which is the 141 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:55,400 southern part of Mesopotamia, largely located in modern day 142 00:09:55,400 --> 00:10:00,800 Iraq, just South of Baghdad. Babel was where it says 143 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:07,520 Babylonia there on the map, the mighty warrior Nimrod. 144 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:11,120 He began his Kingdom here in in this region. 145 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:16,160 From this point on out, whenever Shinar or Babylon are mentioned, 146 00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:20,640 the region isn't set up as a model of godly behavior. 147 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:26,360 Rather, Shonar is characterized by Pagan idolatry, sexual 148 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:30,920 immorality, human pride, and spiritual rebellion. 149 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:36,040 The prophet Daniel, he served in Babylon under King 150 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,200 Nebuchadnezzar. And whenever we see the 151 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:44,320 Chaldeans in Scripture, it also is a reference to the people of 152 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:49,240 this region. So how did they plan to pull off 153 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:53,640 this great feat of building a city and a tower with its top in 154 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:58,360 the heavens? Well, they invented a new form 155 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:02,000 of technology and this was fired bricks. 156 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:06,800 Fired bricks. Before this moment, people used 157 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:09,280 mud bricks and wood for building. 158 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:13,560 Any bricks that were used consisted of mud bricks set out 159 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:17,680 in the sun to to dry. The Babylonians came up with 160 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:22,080 this new way to make bricks, burn them in a kiln. 161 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:25,880 Burning bricks meant they were much more durable and were 162 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:28,760 sometimes referred to as artificial stone. 163 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:34,920 Now remember in art class when we we would make ashtrays. 164 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:38,160 I don't know why we made ashtrays. 165 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:42,320 I'm not sure why our art teachers thought that all of our 166 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:46,520 parents were smoking. Maybe some of them were, but we 167 00:11:46,560 --> 00:11:50,080 made ashtrays for some reason. And then we took them and what 168 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,520 did we do? We fired them, right? 169 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:57,240 The the teacher put them in the kiln so that they would become 170 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,720 hard and they would last much longer. 171 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,400 That's is exactly what was happening here. 172 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,800 And then they also used bitumen to hold the walls together. 173 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:11,560 This is a binder and petroleum products. 174 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:16,480 And today it's used to bind concrete in asphalt. 175 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:21,520 So with these new stone like bricks and by two men as their 176 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:25,600 mortar, they were able to create structures that could last 177 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:32,200 longer, even outlast their own lifetimes, and be impervious to 178 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:36,040 the weather. Verse 4 continues. 179 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:39,840 Let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the 180 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:43,120 heavens, and make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed 181 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:45,320 over the face of the whole earth. 182 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:50,560 They planned to build a city and tower. 183 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:53,920 They plan to build a city and tower. 184 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:59,720 Of course, this wasn't the the first city to ever be built. 185 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:04,680 Cities had likely already been around for thousands of years 186 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:08,200 since Kane's son Enoch built the first city. 187 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:12,760 People had lived in cities before the flood, and here after 188 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:17,000 the flood, they're returning back to city building and 189 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:23,000 living. If you're like me, when I was 190 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,720 growing up, I always thought they were literally trying to 191 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:30,920 build a tower to reach all the way up to heaven, as though they 192 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:35,080 could build high enough to actually touch the the Skydome, 193 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,640 whatever it was that they thought was up there. 194 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:42,720 Growing up, I thought it looked perhaps something like this 195 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:49,720 picture, a very tall tower with its top in the clouds, I guess 196 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:53,200 kind of like Jack and the Beanstalk, something like that. 197 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:59,200 But you see, they weren't literally trying to reach heaven 198 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:03,000 or the clouds. When it says they were trying to 199 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:06,080 reach up to heaven, it's a way of saying they were trying to 200 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:12,240 seek heaven's favor. And so actually what they built 201 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,920 most likely looked something more like this. 202 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,400 Scholars believe they were trying to build a massive 203 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:25,560 ziggurats. We have evidence of this 204 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:30,880 ziggurat form the world over, not just in the ancient Near 205 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:35,000 East, but also in other parts of the world, even in the Americas. 206 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:39,880 Some of the high places in the Old Testament were likely 207 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,400 ziggurats. A ziggurat is a massive mud 208 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:48,720 brick structure that served as a temple for the gods. 209 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,200 These were completely solid structures with terrace levels, 210 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:57,120 each receding from the previous level and utilizing long sets of 211 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:01,680 stairs to gain access to their various levels as well as to the 212 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:05,720 temple on top. It was believed that the gods 213 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:08,960 lived in the temple at the top of the ziggurat, so only the 214 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,680 priests and other highly respected individuals could 215 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:16,920 enter them. The goal of the Babylonians was 216 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:20,320 accessing the realm of the divine. 217 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:25,640 They wanted to solicit the help of the gods, these false gods 218 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:31,880 that they were worshipping. When we talk about Babel, we 219 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,080 talk about the tower, but the city and the tower aren't 220 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:38,520 necessarily to be distinguished from each other. 221 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:44,760 The tower actually symbolizes the purpose of the city, and 222 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:48,960 that was to glorify themselves, Make a name for themselves. 223 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:53,320 That's what they wanted to do. They wanted to make a name for 224 00:15:53,320 --> 00:16:00,600 themselves. In a couple weeks in chapter 12, 225 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:04,640 we'll see that God tells Abraham that He would make Abraham's 226 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:08,640 name great. So what's wrong with the people 227 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:12,200 of Babel having a great name as well? 228 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:18,640 Well, Abraham's name being great wasn't for Abraham's own sake or 229 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:22,960 for his own glory. The greatness of Abraham's name 230 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:27,200 points to the One who worked a miracle and chose this family in 231 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:30,080 order to bring salvation to the world. 232 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:35,680 The people of Babel. They wanted notoriety to be 233 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:39,360 distinguished above all the other peoples of the earth, to 234 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,640 have the spotlight pointed back on them. 235 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:48,960 Words like ourselves and and themselves point to the self 236 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:52,840 interested and independent efforts of these Babel lights. 237 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,000 They weren't concerned with Yahweh. 238 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:03,440 Abrams name was received as a gracious gift, not pointing to 239 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:08,880 himself, but rather to the one who made him the father of many 240 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:14,280 nations, even when it seemed impossible. 241 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:21,359 Their goal was to make a name for themselves and and also to 242 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:24,880 avoid being scattered. They wanted to avoid being 243 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,480 scattered. This was a form of risk 244 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:33,160 avoidance. They wanted to avoid risk. 245 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:36,920 Being scattered across the earth may sound mundane, but in a 246 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,080 world where there is a massive amounts of wilderness and open 247 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:45,360 deserts, being scattered is dangerous. 248 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:48,800 It's a dangerous thing to roam around the open desert and 249 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,800 potentially come across bands of Raiders. 250 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:54,920 Not to mention, if my little family and I are removed from 251 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:58,520 the city and sent out into the wilderness where there are no 252 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:03,560 support systems, it'll be much harder for us to survive. 253 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:06,320 We'll have to do everything on our own. 254 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:12,520 We have to grow our own food, and we also have to kill all our 255 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:17,040 own animals. No one would be around to help 256 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:21,120 us. This is a scary prospect. 257 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:25,280 So it was far easier to band together with others and build 258 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:31,560 cities, relying on each other for their provision and safety, 259 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:40,000 rather than relying on God. Next in the text, we look at 260 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:44,760 God's response and the undoing of Babylon. 261 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:48,280 Verse 5 says something interesting. 262 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:52,840 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the 263 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:58,960 children of man had built. Now it's not good when God comes 264 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:04,960 to town. In Genesis 1820 and 21 Yahweh 265 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:07,880 says regarding the city of Sodom. 266 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:13,280 Then the Lord said, because the outcry against Sodom and 267 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:17,840 Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to 268 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:21,720 see whether they have done all together according to the outcry 269 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:25,440 that has come to me, and if not, I will know. 270 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:30,040 In both of these passages God is saying I'll go down there and 271 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:34,320 see what's going on, which is code for things are about to go 272 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:39,840 down. God is not happy, He's coming 273 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:43,400 down to earth means he's about to act in judgment. 274 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:49,880 Then verse 6 read, the Lord said, behold, they are one 275 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:52,800 people, and they have all one language, and this is only the 276 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:57,440 beginning of what they will do, and nothing that they propose to 277 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:00,240 do will now be impossible for them. 278 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,880 God took notice of the fact that they had this one language and 279 00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:10,520 everyone was so well united behind this project. 280 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:16,960 CS Lewis coined the term chronological snobbery. 281 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:20,720 I love that chronological snobbery. 282 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:25,640 This is the idea that newer is truer, more recent is better 283 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:29,240 than historic, and people of today are vastly more 284 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,200 intelligent than the people of the past. 285 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:39,720 Chronological snobbery imports an air of superiority into the 286 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,000 conversation. People from ancient times 287 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,600 couldn't do the things that we can do today. 288 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:48,960 Well, there is some truth to this. 289 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:55,680 Since peoples from old couldn't clone wolves and sheep, they 290 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:59,760 couldn't build robots and they couldn't fly to space past the 291 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:08,640 moon and back, but they were still able to pull off many 292 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:14,840 impressive building projects. Even building a 450 foot arc 293 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:22,320 today is quite impressive. I'll say when we went, when we 294 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:28,120 went to the arc a month ago, the most, the biggest thing that I 295 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:31,040 just was astounded by, like it's cool what they've done. 296 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,360 Like it is amazing that somebody had a vision. 297 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:35,920 Let's build an arc in the middle of nowhere and people are going 298 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:37,640 to come to see it and we're going to make lots of money. 299 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:40,240 I'm sure they've made lots of money. 300 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:44,240 I know they've made lots of money, but I'd love to know what 301 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:48,200 the what cost them to build it. But you look at this thing and 302 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,720 even by today's standards, it's huge. 303 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,880 You walk through it and you're just impressed. 304 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:05,000 Doing that in Noah's day is just unimaginable. 305 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:13,680 But humanity had had such vast capacity for work and technology 306 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:18,560 and engineering. The unity of the ancient Near 307 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:22,280 Eastern peoples was remarkable, and God took note of that. 308 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:27,280 His final summation of these people was that they could pull 309 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:32,920 off anything they wanted if they came up with an idea they had 310 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:40,080 the know how to make it happen. Verse 8 continues So the Lord 311 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,200 dispersed them over the face of the earth and they left off 312 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:45,640 building the city. Therefore, its name was called 313 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:48,400 Babel because they're the Lord confused the language of all the 314 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,120 earth. And from there the Lord 315 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:51,920 dispersed them over the face of all the earth. 316 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:57,160 God had told them to feel the earth, but they weren't doing 317 00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:58,440 that. Instead, they were choosing to 318 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:04,280 congregate in in urban areas. Though urban environments are 319 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:08,400 havens for crime and evil to hide out, they're also places of 320 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:13,760 relative safety, beckoning people to take refuge within 321 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:18,440 their walls. So God gave them different 322 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,280 languages. He stopped the building of the 323 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:25,400 city and tower and spread them out over the earth and and gave 324 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,120 the city a name. They wanted a name. 325 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:34,040 They got a name, Babel. In Hebrew the word is Babel and 326 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:38,600 in Greek it's Babylon. So these words both refer to the 327 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:43,360 same place. So what do we know about 328 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:47,320 Babylon? First of all, Babylon is 329 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:54,600 synonymous with confusion. It's synonymous with confusion. 330 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:59,680 The name Babel is a word play with the Hebrew word Bilal, 331 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:03,240 which means confusion. These words have the same root. 332 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:08,320 So Babel is to be interpreted as confusion because there the text 333 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:11,160 says the Lord confused their language. 334 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,960 It's also on a on amata poetic. We all know what that means. 335 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:23,440 Onomatopoetic means that it the word sounds like that sound, so 336 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,080 it's onomatopoetic. Nature means that the name of 337 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:29,040 the place is pronounced the same as what we call it. 338 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:33,520 When someone is speaking confusing gibberish, they're 339 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:38,360 babbling. It's Babble when we talk about 340 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:43,040 culture. The primary vehicle for cultural 341 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:47,240 transmission, that is to pass down culture from one generation 342 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:52,800 to another is language. It's language that enables 343 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:55,640 communication, the learning of traditions and stories, and 344 00:24:55,880 --> 00:25:00,160 facilitates passing those down to following generations. 345 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:05,120 Now everything is a is a culture. 346 00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:10,240 Culture existed prior to this point, but after this point is 347 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:14,080 where we begin to see diversity in culture as people have 348 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,800 separate languages and then they begin to move towards Europe, 349 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:21,880 towards Asia, as well as towards Africa. 350 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:25,120 If you want to know more about that, check out my sermon from 351 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:28,760 three weeks ago as I went through that chapter of 352 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:33,120 genealogy. Needing to transport words and 353 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:38,040 ideas into another language is a significant hardship, so 354 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:44,160 progress on the city ceased. God wasn't simply stopping them 355 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:48,520 from building the tower, but also from making a name for 356 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:53,000 themselves. God gave them the name, and now 357 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:56,760 Babylon is synonymous with confusion. 358 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:02,680 Next, Babylon is synonymous with rebellion. 359 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:10,520 They were rebellious people. Babel's reputation is that of 360 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:13,080 rebellion against God and his commands. 361 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:17,920 The first act of rebellion was staying in and building a city. 362 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:24,040 This wasn't just a little oops, it was rebellion against God's 363 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:26,800 commands. They literally began this 364 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:31,160 building projects, they said, so they wouldn't be dispersed 365 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:36,080 across the earth. They've been instructed to to 366 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:37,880 fill the earth. That was the original 367 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:39,440 instructions in the cultural mandate. 368 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:43,400 That was the original instructions to Adam and Eve. 369 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:49,360 And then the cultural mandate was reiterated when Noah and his 370 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:53,680 family got off the ark. Be fruitful, multiply and fill 371 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:57,640 the earth. But their rebellious hearts 372 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:02,360 instead chose to defy God's instructions to them. 373 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:09,040 And lastly, Babylon is synonymous with evil. 374 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:15,280 Babylon is synonymous with evil. The name Babylon appears more 375 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:20,200 than 250 times in Scripture from here in Chapter 11 all the way 376 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:25,520 through to Revelation 18 explicitly and then chapter 19 377 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:30,320 implicitly. Roughly 7 to 800 years after 378 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:34,880 Moses wrote the Torah, some of Israel's prophets began to 379 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,160 announce God's judgment on Israel would come to them 380 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:40,560 through through their oppressor Babylon. 381 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:46,320 It was completely unconscionable that God would use these 382 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:53,280 horrible people for His purposes and to discipline His people. 383 00:27:54,720 --> 00:28:00,920 How could God use the Babylonians to discipline the 384 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:07,000 Israelites, God's people Nonetheless, it was Babylon who 385 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:11,760 carried away the 2 southern tribes of Judah into exile, and 386 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:17,920 they destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in the process in the 387 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:21,000 name Babylon. It figures greatly in the end 388 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,760 times. Now, some have suggested that an 389 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:29,440 actual Babylonian Kingdom will arise, such as that which Saddam 390 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:31,960 Hussein attempted to rebuild in the 80s. 391 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:37,160 I was not aware. I was 3 when he started his 392 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:42,320 project in 80 attempting to rebuild Babylon. 393 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:49,720 He, he was essentially going to be the fulfillment of scripture 394 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:51,880 is essentially what he was trying trying to do. 395 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:56,680 Well, not trying inadvertently fulfilling it, but he attempted 396 00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:00,920 that back in the 80s. But actually it's more likely 397 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:05,160 that Babylon is a label given to the the forces who will 398 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:10,520 persecute faithful believers in the end times. 399 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:16,520 The people about wanted a name, so that's what they got. 400 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:21,920 A name that would literally never be forgotten. 401 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,160 Babylon will always be connected back to the events of this 402 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:30,560 chapter and the evil Kingdom that would take up residency in 403 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:34,600 Shannar. So what do we do with this? 404 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:39,880 Most of us have not been to Babylon. 405 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:45,440 I suspect somebody in here has has probably been been in that 406 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:55,080 region set to Baghdad. But how does this, how do we 407 00:29:55,640 --> 00:30:01,760 live differently because of what we see with the Babylonians? 408 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,200 First of all, this will sound simple. 409 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:14,920 Live a life of obedience and everyone says, well, duh. 410 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:17,960 Yeah, right. Obviously we're supposed to be 411 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:21,480 obedient. I know it seems like a given, 412 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:26,200 but but we need to apply the Bible to our lives. 413 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:30,600 It's important that we understand what it means to walk 414 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:37,680 in obedience. Deuteronomy 533 says you shall 415 00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:40,480 walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, 416 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,040 that you may live and that it may go well with you, and that 417 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:46,560 you may live long in the land that you shall possess. 418 00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:51,120 Walking in obedience is the key to living life well. 419 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:56,160 It's the key to success in life. And we're not just trying to 420 00:30:56,800 --> 00:31:00,960 promote some health and wealth gospel or something like that. 421 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:05,480 No, we're defining success as living within God's standards 422 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:12,640 and and looking at his ways and his blessing, not measuring 423 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:14,440 success according to the world's. 424 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:19,440 So we uphold God's standards, we walk in his ways. 425 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:24,560 John in the New Testament, John devotes a significant amount of 426 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:31,280 space to writing on this topic. And in John 1415 he records 427 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:37,040 Jesus words. Jesus said if you love me, you 428 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:44,280 will keep my commandments. God's expectation is that we 429 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:49,880 will actually do what he says. We can fill our heads with all 430 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:54,360 sorts of knowledge and information about God, but if we 431 00:31:54,360 --> 00:32:01,040 don't do anything with it, if it doesn't transform us, then it's 432 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:07,880 pointless, James says. If we don't obey God's words, 433 00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:10,920 then then we are deceiving ourselves. 434 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:20,480 So walk in obedience to God. Do what He tells you to do right 435 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,760 away and with the right heart attitude. 436 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:28,360 The people of Babel lived in rebellion against God and His 437 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:30,240 commands. They didn't do what He said. 438 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:37,040 If God tells you to do something, well God, let's talk. 439 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:39,760 You know, that's a good suggestion. 440 00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:47,280 That is not how we want to work. If God tells you to do 441 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:52,960 something, then do it. To not heed God's words is to 442 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:59,320 have an attitude of pride and to declare that God, I know what's 443 00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:02,880 right. I know what's best. 444 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:13,320 News flash, if you got your way, your life would not be what you 445 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:17,400 think. I know that from my own personal 446 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:25,960 experience. Lastly, use your gifts for God. 447 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:34,920 Use your gifts for God. Each of us is born with a shape. 448 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:40,680 And I should actually take this moment to mention because I know 449 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:44,200 somebody will come to me and say, oh, the very last line on 450 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:48,280 your note sheet is a typo. Yes, I know it's a typo. 451 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:51,240 I realized you already noticed already already there. 452 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:56,920 I realized it last night and I just, my thought was, hey, 453 00:33:57,160 --> 00:33:59,440 people will figure it out. Maybe I'll even say something. 454 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:05,560 The very last line should say something like how are you using 455 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:10,320 your shape? Are you using it for God or 456 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:12,239 something like that? I think it's how are you using 457 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:13,920 your shape? I forget what it actually says 458 00:34:14,199 --> 00:34:16,440 there, but how are you using your shape? 459 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:21,239 So shape S is for spiritual gifts. 460 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:25,880 These are the Holy Spirit induced gifts that God gives you 461 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:29,600 at the moment of conversion, at the moment that you place your 462 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:33,239 faith in Him. They enable us to serve the 463 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:39,880 church effectively. H is heart hearts or or your 464 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:42,040 passions. What are the things that you 465 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:45,960 like to do When you get connected to ministry in an area 466 00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:49,440 you're passionate about, then that helps make it extremely 467 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,400 fulfilling. Now I have to say, be careful. 468 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:58,760 For years I dreamed is there a way I can just ride the bike 469 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:05,880 like 4568 hours a day and I could get into professional 470 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:07,760 cycling and that could be my ministry. 471 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:11,920 Like, OK, there are some people who yes, surf ministry is their 472 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:17,120 thing or cycling ministry or, or being involved with professional 473 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:19,360 sports, whatever. There are people like that, yes, 474 00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:22,720 they've God has worked something, managed to align 475 00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:27,960 their hearts with ministry, but for most people, that's not 476 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:29,560 necessarily how it's going to work. 477 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:32,480 What are the things, though, that you are passionate about? 478 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:36,960 For example, when God called me into ministry on Christmas Day 479 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:42,200 of 1997, I was passionate about music. 480 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:49,240 So it made sense for me to spend the first nearly 25 years of my 481 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:54,080 career in ministry as a worship pastor. 482 00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:58,080 That was what I was passionate about. 483 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:02,680 I still have passions about that, of course, but but in 484 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:07,000 recent years, in the last few years, God began to shift my 485 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:13,360 passions and give me a passion for sharing and preaching the 486 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:20,800 Word so that now I am engaged in ministry in another area that I 487 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:24,280 am passionate about. Being involved in ministry that 488 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:28,560 aligns with your passions can be extremely fulfilling. 489 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:34,680 So that's heart and passions. A is for aptitude or abilities, 490 00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:41,280 special abilities and aptitudes. Josh Barnes works in finance for 491 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:44,640 von Marr. So what does he do for us? 492 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:49,360 He does financial things. We have a number of people who 493 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:54,200 are involved in IT, who do things for us that are behind 494 00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:57,720 the scenes, and we couldn't do ministry without these people. 495 00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:04,040 They have special aptitudes, special abilities and 496 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:07,200 personality. This is all the unique 497 00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:10,400 characteristics and traits that make you you. 498 00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:14,680 Fortunately, there's no one else like you. 499 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:20,240 Amen. We don't want another another 500 00:37:20,240 --> 00:37:27,520 one of me just to be clear. But you are the only one who is 501 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:34,240 you, so you bring yourself to the table and offer yourself to 502 00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:37,640 God. Lastly, E is for experiences. 503 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:41,720 Each of us has had different experiences in life, some of 504 00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:47,480 them bad, some of them good, and we can take lessons we've 505 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:53,360 learned from the various aspects and the challenges, and we can 506 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:57,720 help guide others who might be going through similar challenges 507 00:37:57,720 --> 00:38:05,680 as what we have gone through. Also, First Peter 410 reads as 508 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:08,880 each has received a gift. Use it to serve one another as 509 00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:12,600 good stewards of God's varied grace. 510 00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:17,640 This is to say that God has poured out his grace into our 511 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:18,920 lives. So then we take it. 512 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:21,360 We take God's grace and then we re gift it. 513 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:23,720 This is where we gifting is actually good. 514 00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:30,040 Re gifting isn't just good for that white elephant party that 515 00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:33,160 you're going to No, here we're taking God's grace and we're re 516 00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:36,200 gifting it, giving it out to others. 517 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:40,960 The people of Babel, they, they took the gifts, the knowledge 518 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:44,160 and the aptitude, these great abilities that God had given 519 00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:50,600 them and they use them strictly for their own purposes. 520 00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:55,920 Obviously some of these areas will help you make a living, 521 00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:59,200 those of you in finance IT and whatnot. 522 00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:09,000 But what about serving God? Are you serving God in some 523 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:11,440 manner? What is it that you feel called 524 00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:15,120 to? Don't abuse the gifts God has 525 00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:18,840 given you. Use them for His glory. 526 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:24,000 Now, you would think that each generation after the flood would 527 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:29,840 have learned the lessons of Noah's generation, but that's 528 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:35,520 not what happened. Humanity was bent on redefining 529 00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:38,720 right and wrong and glorifying themselves. 530 00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:42,960 They were intent on becoming a God unto themselves and 531 00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:48,400 excluding the lordship of the Creator, resting control of 532 00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:53,800 their lives from God's hands. So my final encouragement this 533 00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:59,800 morning is to live with clarity in our words and our actions. 534 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:04,240 Our lives should point others to God. 535 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:08,120 When people look at us, they should see consistency between 536 00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:13,120 our words and actions. There shouldn't be any confusion 537 00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:16,560 about about whether or not we actually believe what we say we 538 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:21,280 believe. And if we walk with integrity, 539 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:25,680 then people will know that we mean what we say. 540 00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:31,560 And lastly, live with obedience in our lives and goodness in our 541 00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:34,240 hearts. Obedience is further proof of 542 00:40:34,240 --> 00:40:37,440 our relationship with the Savior of the world, and goodness 543 00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:41,880 demonstrates the humility modelled by our Savior. 544 00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:51,080 Let's walk the walk, be doers of the Word and not hearers only. 545 00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:53,680 Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. 546 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:02,960 Father God, we come to you this morning. 547 00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:10,160 God, thankful for the many ways that you have poured your grace 548 00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:15,320 into our lives. You have for those of us who 549 00:41:15,320 --> 00:41:17,720 have placed our faith in you. You have poured out your 550 00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:21,600 salvific grace into our lives, and we're so thankful for that. 551 00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:27,920 You've also given us common grace. 552 00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:34,480 Everybody has received personality, abilities, gifts. 553 00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:38,240 They have passions, experiences, all these things. 554 00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:45,800 Everybody's received these. So may we all be diligent to 555 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:54,320 take these things that you have given to us and to use use them 556 00:41:54,320 --> 00:42:04,840 to serve others. God, would you also give us 557 00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:11,960 lives, hearts that are passionate for obedience. 558 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:19,640 May we not be stubborn and pushed back when you call us to 559 00:42:19,640 --> 00:42:24,640 something, but when you call us when we be passionately 560 00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:37,800 passionate about obedience. God, give us your humility that 561 00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:43,600 we would not seek for our own name, but for Your name, Your 562 00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:51,120 Honor. So we surrender us to You, and 563 00:42:51,120 --> 00:42:55,320 we worship the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, the name that is 564 00:42:55,320 --> 00:42:59,880 above every name. In His name we pray. 565 00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:00,600 Amen.