WEBVTT 00:01.516 --> 00:04.896 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church sermon podcast. 00:04.896 --> 00:06.396 We're so glad you're here, 00:06.396 --> 00:08.356 and we hope this message inspires you, 00:08.356 --> 00:09.516 builds your faith, 00:09.516 --> 00:12.536 and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.536 --> 00:15.616 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible 00:15.616 --> 00:18.316 and learn how you can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.316 --> 00:21.496 So welcome and enjoy the message. 00:21.496 --> 00:23.796 If you have your Bibles this morning, 00:23.796 --> 00:26.976 open them to Genesis chapter 10. 00:27.503 --> 00:32.003 We're going to be covering a lot of verses this morning, and it'll be helpful to have 00:32.003 --> 00:36.463 your Bible open so that you can follow along. 00:36.463 --> 00:40.443 We're continuing our series of messages through the book of Genesis. 00:40.443 --> 00:45.203 Genesis is the book of beginnings. 00:45.203 --> 00:52.623 It helps us to understand where we came from and why the world is the way that it is. 00:52.816 --> 01:00.436 Now there are four major events in the book of Genesis chapter 1 through 11. 01:00.436 --> 01:08.776 The first is creation, which answers the question, why is there something rather than nothing? 01:08.776 --> 01:15.176 And the answer is that God created everything and everyone. 01:15.665 --> 01:19.985 The second great event is what we call the fall. 01:19.985 --> 01:23.045 And it answers the question, if God is good 01:23.045 --> 01:27.765 and created a good creation, why is everything so messed up? 01:27.765 --> 01:32.285 What is wrong with us and the universe? 01:32.285 --> 01:34.325 And the Bible answers that question 01:34.325 --> 01:39.325 by describing mankind's rebellion and sin against God, 01:39.705 --> 01:43.725 which corrupted the goodness of God's creation. 01:44.740 --> 01:48.180 The third great event is what we call the great flood. 01:48.920 --> 01:54.780 And it answers the question, what is God's response to evil and to sin? 01:54.780 --> 01:59.380 And the answer is judgment and grace. 02:00.097 --> 02:02.637 And as you look at the major stories of the Bible, 02:02.777 --> 02:07.837 you see both of those themes and responses to evil and injustice, 02:08.337 --> 02:13.497 that God is a God of judgment and justice towards sin and evil, 02:13.977 --> 02:19.217 and he is a God of grace towards those who have sinned. 02:19.617 --> 02:25.217 The fourth major event we're going to look at today is the Tower of Babel, 02:25.417 --> 02:27.137 and it answers the question, 02:27.957 --> 02:34.437 If we are all of common descent from Adam and Eve and then from Noah, why do we have 02:34.437 --> 02:39.657 all of these different languages and different peoples on earth? 02:39.657 --> 02:45.817 And so let's jump in, in chapter 10, beginning in verse number 1. 02:45.817 --> 02:51.037 Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and sons were born 02:51.037 --> 02:52.317 to them after the flood. 02:53.303 --> 02:59.403 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tyrus. 02:59.903 --> 03:04.003 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Gogomah. 03:04.563 --> 03:09.643 The sons of Javan were Elisha, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 03:10.363 --> 03:14.843 From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, 03:14.843 --> 03:21.123 everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations. 03:22.008 --> 03:25.988 Now we see here God's blessing of procreation 03:25.988 --> 03:29.848 and dominion over the earth is being carried out 03:29.848 --> 03:33.688 by the descendants of Noah. 03:33.688 --> 03:35.468 And the first thing I want you to see 03:35.468 --> 03:37.608 is that the Bible teaches the unity 03:37.608 --> 03:41.068 and the equality of all humanity. 03:41.718 --> 03:47.558 The Bible teaches that all of us are descendants of Adam, and then ultimately we are descendants 03:47.558 --> 03:51.978 of Noah and one of Noah's three sons, all of us. 03:52.638 --> 03:56.578 And so all of humanity shares a common descent. 03:56.578 --> 04:00.078 And so we are one and we are equal. 04:00.871 --> 04:07.771 Now this eliminates any basis for racism because the human race all descended from one couple 04:07.771 --> 04:09.831 and so we're all related. 04:09.991 --> 04:14.871 We are all related as brothers and sisters by creation. 04:16.011 --> 04:22.571 Now Darwinianism argues that there is no common descent from one couple. 04:23.112 --> 04:27.792 There's no equality in survival of the fittest. 04:27.792 --> 04:30.172 It's kind of a dog-eat-dog world. 04:30.172 --> 04:32.992 And so in fact, it's based on inequality. 04:32.992 --> 04:37.192 Some are fitter than others. 04:37.192 --> 04:40.992 And so if a person does not believe the Bible, 04:40.992 --> 04:44.112 then there is not an absolute basis 04:44.112 --> 04:48.292 for human unity and for human equality. 04:48.948 --> 04:52.368 And so in the Bible, the unity and the equality of humanity 04:52.368 --> 04:56.208 is not based upon language, it's not based upon culture, 04:56.208 --> 04:58.708 it's not based upon geography 04:58.708 --> 05:03.568 or some other arbitrary declaration of equality. 05:03.568 --> 05:07.068 It is based on the fact that God created each one of us 05:07.068 --> 05:11.308 from one man, he created us in his image, 05:11.308 --> 05:14.808 and that he blesses all the peoples of the earth 05:14.808 --> 05:17.948 through the Lord Jesus Christ. 05:18.395 --> 05:21.135 Our unity is based on creation. 05:21.775 --> 05:24.835 It is based on how God created us, 05:24.835 --> 05:31.775 and it is based upon God's love for all of us in the Lord Jesus Christ. 05:32.595 --> 05:37.335 And so as a result, we all possess equal dignity, 05:38.055 --> 05:41.095 equal value, and equal worth. 05:41.555 --> 05:43.795 When you see someone... 05:43.910 --> 05:48.230 What you are to see is a bearer of God's image. 05:48.350 --> 05:52.210 Now, sin has tainted that image, but that image is still there. 05:52.210 --> 05:55.490 And so all of human life is valuable. 05:56.370 --> 05:59.710 Let's continue reading in verse 6. 06:00.410 --> 06:03.690 We've got a lot to cover, so listen fast, all right? 06:04.717 --> 06:08.817 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 06:08.817 --> 06:11.557 Sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, 06:11.557 --> 06:14.397 Sabta, Rehama, and Saptaka. 06:14.397 --> 06:17.977 And the sons of Rehama were Sheba and Dedan. 06:18.453 --> 06:19.973 Cush begot Nimrod. 06:20.173 --> 06:22.233 He began to be a mighty one on the earth. 06:22.533 --> 06:24.473 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. 06:24.473 --> 06:28.353 Therefore it is said, like Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord. 06:28.833 --> 06:34.113 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, 06:34.833 --> 06:35.873 in the land of Shinar. 06:36.433 --> 06:41.093 And from that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-er, 06:41.913 --> 06:47.433 Calah, and Rizin, between Nineveh and Calah, which is the principal city." 06:47.900 --> 06:52.860 Mizraim begot Ludum, Annamim, Lehabim, 06:52.860 --> 06:57.780 Naphtahim, Patharizim, and Kazluhim, 06:57.780 --> 07:02.380 from whom came the Philistines and Kaphtarim. 07:02.380 --> 07:05.160 Canaan begot Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth, 07:05.160 --> 07:08.900 the Jebusite, the Amorite, the Gishite, or Girgashite, 07:08.900 --> 07:12.380 the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite, 07:12.380 --> 07:16.120 the Arvadite, the Zemrite, and the Hamathite. 07:16.115 --> 07:19.615 Afterward, the families of the Canaanites were dispersed. 07:19.615 --> 07:21.995 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon 07:21.995 --> 07:24.915 as you go towards Gerar as far as Gaza, 07:24.915 --> 07:27.455 then as you go towards Sodom, Gomorrah, 07:27.455 --> 07:32.455 Adma, and Zeboam as far as Lasha. 07:32.495 --> 07:35.835 These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, 07:35.835 --> 07:37.295 according to their languages, 07:37.295 --> 07:40.875 in their lands and in their nations." 07:41.775 --> 07:43.395 Whew, all right. 07:45.005 --> 07:48.065 I think I got one wrong, but I'm not going to tell you which one, all right? 07:49.425 --> 07:56.425 What we see here is we see clans, tribes, nations, and peoples. 07:57.025 --> 08:01.905 And I think the big idea of this chapter is that we worship 08:01.905 --> 08:05.345 and serve one global God. 08:06.065 --> 08:10.065 We do not worship a tribal deity. 08:10.065 --> 08:12.865 We worship the creator of all things 08:12.865 --> 08:15.445 and the creator of all peoples. 08:16.409 --> 08:21.189 And so we are committed to a global vision 08:21.189 --> 08:25.949 because our vision is to be as big as our God. 08:25.949 --> 08:28.849 Now we see in this passage that mankind 08:28.849 --> 08:33.469 very quickly begins to rebel against our creator 08:33.469 --> 08:36.249 just as it was before the flood. 08:37.030 --> 08:39.830 There's a man by the name of Nimrod 08:39.830 --> 08:43.430 and his name means let's rebel. 08:43.430 --> 08:46.130 He was the first and certainly not the last man 08:46.130 --> 08:49.210 who sought to dominate and to rule the world 08:49.210 --> 08:54.210 and to lead the world in rebellion against God. 08:54.830 --> 08:59.830 Now the essence of rebellion is I wanna do it my way. 09:01.250 --> 09:05.170 The essence of faith is I wanna do it 09:05.380 --> 09:06.880 God's way. 09:06.880 --> 09:09.860 Did you know that every decision that you make 09:09.860 --> 09:13.320 within your life is a decision between those two things? 09:13.320 --> 09:16.680 Every area of your life is a decision 09:16.680 --> 09:18.620 between those two things. 09:18.620 --> 09:21.280 Do I want to do it my way, 09:21.280 --> 09:26.280 or by faith do I want to do it God's way? 09:27.060 --> 09:30.180 What we see is that God is the God 09:30.180 --> 09:32.120 of everyone through creation. 09:32.887 --> 09:36.627 but not everyone yet realizes it, recognizes it, 09:36.627 --> 09:38.467 and has repented. 09:38.467 --> 09:42.527 And so God is sending us as his people 09:42.527 --> 09:45.687 to tell every person and every people 09:45.687 --> 09:49.407 in every place about him. 09:50.327 --> 09:52.127 Now let's continue in verse 21 09:52.127 --> 09:54.347 because we gotta get to chapter 11. 09:58.638 --> 10:01.178 And the children were born also to Shem, 10:01.278 --> 10:02.858 the father of all the children of Eber, 10:02.958 --> 10:04.718 the brother of Japheth, the elder. 10:05.318 --> 10:07.338 The sons of Shem were Elam, Asher, 10:07.518 --> 10:09.358 Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. 10:09.798 --> 10:14.198 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 10:14.798 --> 10:17.478 Arphaxad begot Selah, and Selah begot Eber. 10:18.365 --> 10:21.205 By the way, that's where we get our word Hebrew from. 10:21.965 --> 10:23.785 To Eber were born two sons. 10:23.905 --> 10:27.685 The name of one was Peleg, and in his days the earth was divided, 10:27.845 --> 10:29.525 and his brother's name was Joktan. 10:30.345 --> 10:36.325 Joktan begot Almadad, Shalef, Hazarmaveth, 10:36.607 --> 10:37.867 I told my daughter last night, 10:38.007 --> 10:40.627 please don't name your kid Hazarmaveth. 10:41.467 --> 10:43.747 If she does, I'm going to call him Bubba. 10:43.747 --> 10:51.987 But Jera, Hadaram, Uzal, Dikla, Obal, 10:52.351 --> 10:58.591 Abimele, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. 10:58.971 --> 11:01.031 All these were the sons of Joktan. 11:01.351 --> 11:07.171 And their dwelling place was from Misha as you go towards Sephar, the mountain of the east. 11:07.171 --> 11:12.431 These were the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations. 11:13.071 --> 11:17.711 These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations. 11:18.051 --> 11:22.051 And from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood. 11:22.338 --> 11:33.978 All right. Three times is a charm, all right? Now, Shem was the oldest, and yet he's mentioned last, 11:34.038 --> 11:39.278 and there's significance to that because it's through Shem that ultimately the Messiah will come 11:39.278 --> 11:45.498 who will save the world from our sin and restore creation back to God. 11:46.418 --> 11:52.118 But one of the descendants we're going to see of Shem is a man by the name of Abraham. 11:53.198 --> 11:57.378 And by the way, Shem is where we get the word Semite from. 11:58.078 --> 12:03.578 And so Abraham was a descendant of Shem, and a descendant of Abraham was a man by the name 12:03.578 --> 12:06.538 of David, who was the son of Abraham. 12:06.538 --> 12:16.338 And a descendant of David was a man by the name of Jesus, who was the son of David. 12:16.338 --> 12:22.818 And so this entire chapter, connected to the rest of biblical theology, is showing us the 12:22.818 --> 12:28.578 theology of the seed that will come from woman, that will come to crush the head of Satan, 12:28.578 --> 12:34.598 defeat sin, and restore everything back to the rule and the reign of God. 12:34.598 --> 12:39.458 And so it's showing us that the Son of Man, who is the Son of God, is going to redeem 12:39.458 --> 12:42.298 all of humanity. 12:42.298 --> 12:43.838 And so here's the principle. 12:44.198 --> 12:47.078 God has one plan of salvation 12:47.078 --> 12:50.818 for all peoples and all persons. 12:50.818 --> 12:53.498 The Bible teaches that there is one God, 12:53.498 --> 12:55.418 there is one humanity, 12:55.418 --> 12:59.298 and therefore there is one plan of salvation. 13:00.238 --> 13:03.218 We see this play itself out in the book of Acts. 13:03.218 --> 13:06.998 In Acts chapter eight through chapter 10, 13:06.998 --> 13:10.858 we find the conversion of three very important people. 13:11.317 --> 13:14.617 In Acts chapter 8, we find the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch 13:14.617 --> 13:17.337 who was a son of Ham. 13:17.594 --> 13:23.014 In Acts chapter 9, we find the conversion of a man by the name of Saul, who later went 13:23.014 --> 13:27.474 by the apostle Paul, who was a son of Shem. 13:28.194 --> 13:35.714 In Acts chapter 10, we find a man by the name of Cornelius, who is brought to faith in the 13:35.714 --> 13:43.314 Lord Jesus Christ, who was a centurion of the Italian regiment, who was a son of Japheth. 13:44.054 --> 13:53.694 And what the Bible is telling us is that God is the God of the Hamites, the Semites, and the Jephthites through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 13:54.414 --> 14:02.894 You see, it doesn't matter what ethnicity we are, what color we are, what language we speak, or what nation we come from. 14:02.894 --> 14:11.394 The God of heaven and earth is the God of every tribe, every tongue, every nation, and every people on earth. 14:11.994 --> 14:13.754 And if you... 14:14.260 --> 14:17.080 will turn in faith and embrace his son, 14:17.080 --> 14:19.020 the Lord Jesus Christ. 14:19.020 --> 14:24.020 The Bible says that God will adopt you into his family 14:24.360 --> 14:27.640 because Jesus is the one that he sent 14:27.640 --> 14:31.700 to be the savior of mankind. 14:31.700 --> 14:36.700 Notice what it says in chapter 11 and verse one. 14:37.680 --> 14:41.980 Now as we prepare to read these chapters or these verses, 14:42.442 --> 14:49.442 I want you to recognize that Genesis chapter 10 tells us what happens, and Genesis chapter 14:49.442 --> 14:53.622 11 goes back in time and tells us how it happened. 14:53.622 --> 14:56.782 Now sometimes we see this in movies, don't we? 14:56.782 --> 15:01.942 The beginning of the movie sometimes is the end of the story, and then the rest of the 15:01.942 --> 15:07.202 movie is telling us how the story got to that point. 15:07.202 --> 15:08.742 And so verse number 1. 15:09.290 --> 15:13.290 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 15:13.290 --> 15:15.990 And it came to pass as they journeyed from the east 15:15.990 --> 15:19.330 that they found a plain in the land of Shinar 15:19.330 --> 15:20.930 and they dwelt there. 15:20.930 --> 15:22.170 Then they said to one another, 15:22.170 --> 15:26.310 come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly. 15:26.310 --> 15:29.910 They had brick for stone and they had asphalt for mortar. 15:29.911 --> 15:34.471 and they said come let us build ourselves a city and a 15:34.471 --> 15:39.851 tower whose top is in the heaven let us make a name for ourselves 15:39.851 --> 15:44.191 lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth 15:44.191 --> 15:46.411 but the Lord came down 15:46.411 --> 15:49.831 to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built 15:49.831 --> 15:51.911 and the Lord said indeed 15:51.911 --> 15:55.351 the people are one and they all have one language 15:55.342 --> 15:57.322 And this is what they begin to do. 15:57.742 --> 16:02.562 Now, nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 16:03.842 --> 16:11.362 Now, the essence of sin is our desire to displace God with self. 16:12.554 --> 16:16.254 It's to say that my life is about me 16:16.254 --> 16:19.614 and I'm trying to build something in my life 16:19.614 --> 16:23.034 to make my name great. 16:23.034 --> 16:28.034 I am trying to promote myself and to preserve myself 16:29.214 --> 16:32.414 and to live for myself. 16:33.260 --> 16:35.560 Now we look at this tower that they built 16:35.560 --> 16:40.560 and was a monument of a false religion and a false unity 16:41.420 --> 16:45.700 and we think, well, we're more sophisticated than that now, 16:45.700 --> 16:49.180 but the truth is we still do this today. 16:49.180 --> 16:52.320 In many of the cities of our nation, 16:52.320 --> 16:54.800 the highest or the most prominent building 16:54.800 --> 16:57.340 is about the God of that city. 16:58.240 --> 17:00.400 What are the highest buildings in New York City? 17:00.400 --> 17:02.420 Well, they're the financial buildings. 17:02.673 --> 17:06.153 Because the God of New York City is money. 17:06.153 --> 17:08.133 What do you go to see when you go to Boston? 17:08.133 --> 17:10.013 You go to see MIT and Harvard 17:10.013 --> 17:13.773 because the God of Boston is intellect. 17:13.773 --> 17:15.393 When you go to Washington, D.C., 17:15.393 --> 17:17.853 you go to see the government buildings, 17:17.853 --> 17:20.233 the White House and so forth 17:20.233 --> 17:24.433 because the God of Washington, D.C. is power. 17:24.433 --> 17:27.233 When people visit California, they wanna see Hollywood. 17:27.233 --> 17:28.072 Why? 17:28.073 --> 17:31.033 Because the God of California is fame. 17:31.343 --> 17:33.103 You see, we're not more sophisticated. 17:33.383 --> 17:37.303 We just find different ways to articulate old problems. 17:38.183 --> 17:43.963 And so we see all of this in our own cities, but we also see it in our own hearts, don't we? 17:44.763 --> 17:50.563 We are tempted to build towers that are all about us and what we want. 17:51.492 --> 17:55.492 We are trying to build a life not for God's glory sometimes, 17:55.632 --> 18:00.272 but we're trying to build a life for our own glory 18:00.272 --> 18:03.092 because we want to be great. 18:03.092 --> 18:06.052 Sometimes the tower is called career. 18:06.275 --> 18:09.135 Sometimes the tower is called kids. 18:09.135 --> 18:11.555 Sometimes it's a relationship that we think 18:11.555 --> 18:14.875 is gonna bring us significance and meaning within life. 18:14.875 --> 18:18.535 Sometimes it's talent or achievement. 18:18.535 --> 18:22.535 But the problem is when it becomes all about us. 18:24.835 --> 18:27.875 Now you can understand sin solely by looking 18:27.875 --> 18:31.335 at the middle letter, the letter I. 18:31.335 --> 18:34.215 What I want, not what God wants. 18:34.743 --> 18:38.163 My strength, not his strength. 18:38.163 --> 18:41.683 My glory, not his glory. 18:41.683 --> 18:46.683 The Bible teaches that pride is at the root of all sin. 18:48.203 --> 18:52.023 C.S. Lewis said that there's a telltale sign 18:52.023 --> 18:55.103 that you have pride and that is that you struggle 18:55.103 --> 19:00.403 with jealousy and envy towards other people. 19:01.422 --> 19:03.382 Do you ever get to the point where you go, 19:03.382 --> 19:06.762 man, I'm gonna see how high other people's towers are 19:06.762 --> 19:09.762 compared to my tower, you know? 19:09.762 --> 19:13.642 Pride by its very nature is competitive 19:13.642 --> 19:15.982 and it is comparative. 19:16.508 --> 19:28.388 And so C.S. Lewis says the quickest way to tell that you have pride is that some other person's pride really bothers you because suddenly that ups the competition. 19:28.388 --> 19:39.568 Now there's a comparison and their towers of something might make our towers of something look less great and less significant. 19:39.988 --> 19:45.708 And they might make our towers look less grandeur and a little smaller. 19:47.035 --> 19:53.195 You see, when you have pride, it really doesn't matter how smart you are, just that you're 19:53.195 --> 19:55.715 a little smarter than everybody else around you. 19:56.435 --> 19:58.495 It doesn't matter how beautiful you are. 19:58.575 --> 20:03.175 Maybe you're completely content with what you look like until you're around some other 20:03.175 --> 20:05.435 people that are more beautiful than you. 20:06.172 --> 20:08.672 It doesn't matter how much money you have. 20:08.732 --> 20:12.752 Maybe you're content until everybody else around you has more things 20:12.752 --> 20:16.392 and more money and more resources and more options 20:16.392 --> 20:19.612 because of the wealth that they have accumulated. 20:19.612 --> 20:25.352 And so pride is manifested by a sense of comparison 20:25.352 --> 20:29.192 and competition with other people. 20:30.332 --> 20:32.952 Now, what the Babylonians wanted... 20:33.627 --> 20:35.187 was safety and security. 20:36.187 --> 20:40.367 And so instead of obeying God and spreading and filling the earth, 20:40.847 --> 20:46.047 they tried to stay in one place in order to have greater security and greater safety. 20:46.227 --> 20:50.267 They also wanted significance and they wanted greatness. 20:50.447 --> 20:52.847 And by the way, those are things that we want. 20:53.707 --> 20:54.867 We want security. 20:55.727 --> 20:57.047 We want safety. 20:57.047 --> 20:57.909 We want security. 20:57.910 --> 20:59.550 We want a sense of significance. 20:59.550 --> 21:02.530 We wanna be a part of greatness. 21:02.530 --> 21:05.790 And there's nothing wrong with any of those things 21:05.790 --> 21:08.530 in and of themselves, as long as we understand 21:08.530 --> 21:11.130 that God gives us all of those things 21:11.130 --> 21:14.090 through a relationship with him in Jesus Christ. 21:15.570 --> 21:18.610 You see, when we pursue security apart from God, 21:18.610 --> 21:20.990 all it does is creates insecurity. 21:21.907 --> 21:29.107 comparison, jealousy, and envy, and a sense of the universe not being right, of us not being right. 21:29.447 --> 21:35.567 When we seek greatness apart from God, it always leads to a sense of futility and emptiness 21:35.567 --> 21:42.667 because we weren't made to live for ourselves. We were made to live for God. God created us to 21:42.667 --> 21:48.867 enjoy Him and His glory and to live for His glory within our life. 21:50.425 --> 21:59.105 I want you to notice three things that they had and that they used for their self-promotion 21:59.105 --> 22:03.105 that the Bible says we are to use for God's glory. 22:03.105 --> 22:06.705 First, it says that they had unity. 22:06.705 --> 22:08.185 They were one. 22:08.185 --> 22:11.545 Second, they had one language. 22:11.545 --> 22:12.745 They had a common language. 22:12.745 --> 22:14.845 And third, they had creativity. 22:14.845 --> 22:16.945 Instead of using stone to build. 22:17.138 --> 22:19.378 They used brick, was a more efficient 22:19.378 --> 22:22.378 and effective way to build. 22:22.378 --> 22:25.498 And so first of all, they united, 22:25.498 --> 22:28.918 not for the purpose of glorifying God, 22:28.918 --> 22:31.018 but for the purpose of sin. 22:32.058 --> 22:35.658 But the Bible tells us that God unites us in Christ 22:35.658 --> 22:40.478 for the purpose of his glory and our good. 22:41.378 --> 22:44.938 Now I wanna share with you four types of unity 22:45.235 --> 22:49.955 that we want to have as a church that we wanna use 22:49.955 --> 22:53.175 for the glory of God and the spread of the gospel. 22:53.175 --> 22:56.515 First, we want theological unity, 22:56.515 --> 22:59.595 which means that we believe the same things 22:59.595 --> 23:03.095 about the most important teachings in the Bible. 23:03.095 --> 23:05.795 We're not gonna agree on every interpretation 23:05.795 --> 23:09.375 of every passage, but it's important that we have unity 23:09.375 --> 23:12.195 and agreement on the fundamentals of the faith. 23:12.708 --> 23:16.928 that we agree on that which is most essential 23:16.928 --> 23:20.048 and most clear to what it means to be saved 23:20.048 --> 23:23.368 and to have a relationship with God. 23:23.368 --> 23:27.348 Secondly, we want relational unity, 23:27.348 --> 23:30.188 which is the idea that we are a spiritual family. 23:30.612 --> 23:35.272 In fact, the Bible describes us as being brothers and sisters in Christ, 23:35.772 --> 23:39.632 that we are a family, the family of God, 23:39.712 --> 23:42.492 and we are to relate to one another as if we're family. 23:43.672 --> 23:49.952 And so our challenge is that you be intentionally moving toward the people in this church, 23:50.952 --> 23:55.492 that you seek to build meaningful and significant relationships 23:56.110 --> 23:58.550 with people who love God and love you, 23:58.550 --> 24:01.050 and that together you move closer 24:01.050 --> 24:03.910 in your relationship with the Lord. 24:03.910 --> 24:06.690 I mean, what would it look like to show up early 24:06.690 --> 24:10.610 and to leave late and invest in relationships? 24:10.610 --> 24:13.370 That's one of the reasons that we have life groups. 24:13.677 --> 24:20.577 so that we can be a community and we can live out our relationship with one another in fellowship with each other. 24:21.517 --> 24:30.277 Third, we want to have missional unity, which means that we have the same goal as a church. 24:30.797 --> 24:35.997 We want to help people go from spiritually lost to spiritually leading. 24:36.965 --> 24:40.785 We have one mission, and that is to make disciples 24:40.785 --> 24:45.785 of Jesus Christ who make disciples of Jesus Christ. 24:46.365 --> 24:50.445 And so we are not on any political mission. 24:50.445 --> 24:53.185 We don't think that the hope of the world 24:53.185 --> 24:55.405 flies on Air Force One. 24:55.405 --> 24:57.185 We believe that the hope of the world 24:57.185 --> 25:00.485 died on the cross 2,000 years ago, rose from the dead, 25:00.485 --> 25:03.045 and is gonna rule and reign for all eternity. 25:03.813 --> 25:05.533 We don't believe that the hope of the world 25:05.533 --> 25:07.133 resides in the White House, 25:07.133 --> 25:10.793 but resides on the throne of heaven. 25:10.793 --> 25:13.533 Now we're not on a social mission. 25:13.533 --> 25:15.473 We're not just trying to be a great place 25:15.473 --> 25:17.213 to meet people and to hang out, 25:17.213 --> 25:18.993 although that's true, 25:18.993 --> 25:21.713 we are a great place to meet people and hang out, 25:21.713 --> 25:23.853 and that's part of our unity, 25:23.853 --> 25:25.393 but that's not our mission. 25:26.037 --> 25:31.497 We're not trying just to be a safe and great place for you to live out your family values, 25:31.577 --> 25:34.657 although we believe in family values. 25:34.937 --> 25:41.237 We have one mission, and that is to help people meet Jesus, know Jesus, and follow Jesus. 25:41.237 --> 25:45.377 Our mission is all about Jesus. 25:46.793 --> 25:53.173 Finally, we are to have not only theological unity and relational unity and missional unity, 25:53.373 --> 25:58.393 but we want to have practical unity as well, which is how we carry out our mission. 25:59.433 --> 26:02.333 And that's why the Lord Jesus gave us the local church. 26:03.093 --> 26:08.593 He put in place leaders that can lead and a structure to follow so that we can be united, 26:08.593 --> 26:15.793 not only in what we believe, but in how we live it out and we carry it out together. 26:16.983 --> 26:21.983 They had unity, but they also had a common language. 26:22.323 --> 26:26.043 But what we see is that they used their language 26:26.043 --> 26:29.883 for self-promotion, which is different 26:29.883 --> 26:32.363 than God calls us to use language. 26:32.363 --> 26:36.823 God uses language to bless us, to save us, 26:36.823 --> 26:39.743 and to sanctify us. 26:39.743 --> 26:44.863 And God has given us a common language in the Bible. 26:45.755 --> 26:49.555 We call it the word of God. 26:49.555 --> 26:52.475 Language creates culture, 26:52.475 --> 26:56.515 and words create the worlds that we live in. 26:56.515 --> 26:59.715 And so we want our thinking, our speech, and our lives 26:59.715 --> 27:04.295 to be formed and to be shaped by God's word. 27:05.195 --> 27:08.635 You see, God's word is powerful when it's spoken, 27:08.635 --> 27:11.495 and when it's embodied by the people who say it. 27:12.130 --> 27:17.130 And so we need to embrace God's word as our language. 27:17.230 --> 27:19.950 And we need to articulate it well 27:19.950 --> 27:23.330 and we need to live it out well within our life. 27:24.390 --> 27:29.390 The third thing that they used for sin was creativity. 27:30.410 --> 27:34.710 Creativity is discovering, building and developing, 27:34.710 --> 27:37.370 which is one of the things God created us to do. 27:38.152 --> 27:41.992 The creative God of the universe created creatures 27:41.992 --> 27:45.712 who are creative in order to have dominion over the earth. 27:45.712 --> 27:48.872 But the problem was they were using their creativity 27:48.872 --> 27:51.732 against God to rebel against God 27:51.732 --> 27:55.832 instead of to honor and to follow God. 27:56.748 --> 28:08.808 And so as a church, we want our unity, our language, and our creativity to be used so that people would meet Jesus and become disciples of him. 28:08.808 --> 28:11.628 Notice what it says in verse 7. 28:13.201 --> 28:18.081 It says, "'Come, let us go down there and confuse their language.'" 28:18.081 --> 28:21.521 Notice God's being just a little bit funny here. 28:21.601 --> 28:23.201 He uses condescending language. 28:23.201 --> 28:25.641 They thought their tower was so big. 28:25.721 --> 28:27.941 They thought they were so bad and awesome. 28:28.461 --> 28:32.061 And God says, "'I've got to go down there to see this puny thing down there.'" 28:32.061 --> 28:34.481 And so, "'Let us go down.'" 28:34.481 --> 28:38.701 And they're confused, their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 28:39.425 --> 28:45.405 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 28:45.765 --> 28:52.165 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. 28:52.405 --> 28:58.485 And from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all of the earth. 28:59.445 --> 29:03.405 Now they were trying to make their name great. 29:04.145 --> 29:09.225 And they were trying to be safe and secure and not leave where they were. 29:10.036 --> 29:20.316 And those were the exact opposite two things that God had told them to do and that God desires for his people to do. 29:20.316 --> 29:25.696 You see, God always leads his people to have a multiplication mindset. 29:26.636 --> 29:28.976 Because God has a multiplication mindset. 29:29.936 --> 29:34.856 When he created us, he blesses and he said, I want you to be fruitful and I want you to multiply. 29:36.361 --> 29:45.801 Chapter 10 is Genesis 1 being carried out as mankind is fruitful and multiplies over the face of the earth. 29:45.801 --> 29:51.661 You see, sinful man is always looking inward toward his security and his glory, 29:51.801 --> 30:00.561 but God is always leading his people to look outward and to multiply for his greater glory and for our greater good. 30:01.825 --> 30:08.245 You see, the whole reason that we as God's people gather like we are today is so that we can scatter. 30:09.285 --> 30:17.085 We gather in order to be equipped, to be encouraged, to be empowered, so that we can be sent out well. 30:18.245 --> 30:24.105 At the end of our service, we say, remember, God is sending you to someone somewhere. 30:24.965 --> 30:26.485 That God is equipping you now. 30:26.845 --> 30:28.225 He's encouraging you now. 30:28.225 --> 30:35.385 He's empowering you now so that you can go out and be a blessing and a beacon of light in a dark world 30:35.385 --> 30:41.525 so that you can be someone who spreads his glory and grace so that others may know him, 30:41.845 --> 30:48.105 so that his fame may be multiplied and his joy may be experienced by others. 30:48.232 --> 30:58.112 You see, our vision as a church is to multiply disciples, leaders, and churches for the glory 30:58.112 --> 31:00.392 of God and the spread of the gospel. 31:01.132 --> 31:03.492 It's not about us building up. 31:03.572 --> 31:04.872 It's about us building out. 31:05.492 --> 31:10.552 We want to plant churches all over Bakersfield and the Central Valley and around the world 31:10.552 --> 31:13.352 so that the glory of God may spread. 31:13.352 --> 31:14.184 Amen. 31:14.185 --> 31:18.225 so that the greatness of God may be more fully known. 31:18.225 --> 31:21.145 We wanna spread his glory. 31:21.145 --> 31:24.425 And so today we gather, 31:24.425 --> 31:27.065 and we gather in order to scatter, 31:27.065 --> 31:32.065 so that God may be known by all people. 31:33.405 --> 31:37.185 Now, the name Babel means gate to God. 31:38.198 --> 31:41.778 But if you change the accents, 31:41.778 --> 31:46.058 then it has a different meaning, which means confusion. 31:46.058 --> 31:49.418 And so there's kind of a play on words here. 31:49.418 --> 31:51.918 What they thought was a gate to God 31:51.918 --> 31:55.858 was actually a door of disaster. 31:55.858 --> 32:00.458 The towers that we often build for our greatness 32:00.458 --> 32:05.218 and for our security often bring confusion 32:05.218 --> 32:06.438 and disappointment. 32:07.662 --> 32:11.262 Notice that God doesn't tear the tower down. 32:11.362 --> 32:13.102 He just leaves it there to rot. 32:14.362 --> 32:18.322 Let me ask you, do you have any rotting or broken towers in your life? 32:19.182 --> 32:22.522 Maybe unmet expectations for your life? 32:23.242 --> 32:25.022 Maybe unrealized dreams? 32:25.022 --> 32:26.207 Maybe unrealized dreams? 32:26.208 --> 32:28.048 maybe broken relationships, 32:28.468 --> 32:31.448 maybe things that you hoped for 32:31.448 --> 32:35.108 that didn't come to fruition within your life. 32:35.608 --> 32:38.568 And if your life is about you, 32:38.768 --> 32:42.548 often God will allow those things that you're pursuing 32:42.548 --> 32:45.628 to end in confusion and frustration. 32:46.848 --> 32:49.108 And that's a matter of God's grace 32:49.108 --> 32:51.848 because your life being about you 32:51.848 --> 32:55.188 destroys you and the people around you. 32:56.161 --> 33:00.061 Because you and I were not made for our life to be about us. 33:00.061 --> 33:04.041 We were made for something greater than ourselves. 33:04.041 --> 33:07.981 We were made for a relationship with God 33:07.981 --> 33:10.941 and we were not made to self-promote. 33:10.941 --> 33:14.061 We were made to love God and love people. 33:14.061 --> 33:16.721 And that's not about pride. 33:16.721 --> 33:18.481 That's about humility. 33:19.212 --> 33:20.472 That's about love. 33:20.672 --> 33:26.332 That's about giving of ourselves for the good of other people. 33:27.812 --> 33:34.592 And so often, God uses every broken tower in our life 33:34.592 --> 33:40.512 to teach us that Jesus is the only one who can truly satisfy our hearts. 33:42.280 --> 33:50.360 I want you to think of every broken tower in your life as a monument that declares to 33:50.360 --> 33:58.460 turn back to the God who made you, the God who saved you, and the God who loves you. 33:59.780 --> 34:08.960 You see, God is the only one who can truly and fully satisfy the deepest longings of 34:08.960 --> 34:10.160 the human soul. 34:11.710 --> 34:18.930 The problem with the people of Babel, and our problem is not that we want too much, 34:19.490 --> 34:27.410 is that so often we settle for too little. We settle for the puny, temporary, 34:28.550 --> 34:33.430 fleeting things of this life that won't matter and won't last in eternity. 34:34.880 --> 34:38.680 instead of the satisfying, glorious, 34:38.680 --> 34:43.240 and eternal goodness and grace of God 34:43.240 --> 34:47.440 that will last forever and ever. 34:49.080 --> 34:54.080 Let's bow in an attitude of prayer. 34:56.120 --> 34:57.420 Here in a few moments, 34:58.471 --> 35:02.551 We're going to have a time of invitation, a time of worship, and we want to invite you 35:02.551 --> 35:05.351 to come and to give your life to Jesus. 35:06.511 --> 35:12.951 The Bible says that God sent his only begotten son because he so loved the world. 35:14.251 --> 35:21.271 Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sin, and then he rose from the dead and he's coming 35:21.271 --> 35:21.630 back. 35:21.631 --> 35:26.971 The Bible says if you'll turn from your sin and put your trust in Jesus, you can and you 35:26.971 --> 35:29.807 will be saved. 35:29.808 --> 35:31.788 What does it mean to make Jesus your Lord? 35:31.888 --> 35:33.328 Does it mean you'll never sin again? 35:33.468 --> 35:34.367 No. 35:34.368 --> 35:37.168 The Bible is very clear that we're sinners in need of grace. 35:38.528 --> 35:42.148 What it means is you say, you know, I want Jesus to be in charge of my life. 35:42.228 --> 35:44.728 I'm tired of living for myself. 35:44.868 --> 35:47.327 I want to live for him. 35:47.328 --> 35:49.288 What does it mean to make Jesus Savior? 35:49.288 --> 35:52.648 It means that you're not trusting in your own righteousness, 35:53.008 --> 35:56.248 but you're trusting in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, 35:56.368 --> 35:58.808 what he did on the cross to pay for your sin. 36:00.487 --> 36:03.267 You're trusting in the grace of God 36:03.267 --> 36:07.687 that he extends to all of us in his Son, the Lord Jesus. 36:08.687 --> 36:11.747 And so we wanna invite you this morning to come 36:11.747 --> 36:14.127 and to trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior. 36:16.147 --> 36:19.747 Maybe you've trusted Jesus as your Savior, 36:19.747 --> 36:24.347 but you've never gone public with your faith 36:24.347 --> 36:25.827 through believers baptism. 36:27.115 --> 36:29.175 Baptism doesn't save us. 36:29.255 --> 36:30.475 It doesn't wash away our sin. 36:30.555 --> 36:32.935 Only Jesus can wash away our sin. 36:33.015 --> 36:36.795 But what it is is a public profession of our faith in Jesus. 36:36.795 --> 36:43.715 We are identifying with him that he died on the cross, was buried, and rose again to pay for our sins. 36:44.015 --> 36:47.175 And because of that, we can have a relationship with God. 36:48.515 --> 36:52.635 Because he rose from the dead, someday we too will rise from the dead as well. 36:54.757 --> 36:59.337 Next Sunday is our 40th anniversary as a church, 36:59.517 --> 37:01.857 and it would be a wonderful day. 37:02.077 --> 37:04.557 I think you would always remember to get baptized, 37:04.657 --> 37:06.697 to go public with your faith next Sunday. 37:06.877 --> 37:09.297 And so if you want to be baptized, come forward. 37:10.117 --> 37:14.957 Let us know, and we can schedule that and set that up for next Sunday 37:14.957 --> 37:17.577 or whatever Sunday that works for you. 37:19.124 --> 37:25.344 Maybe the Lord's leading you to join this church, to be a part of this family, to say, 37:25.704 --> 37:27.544 I have theological unity. 37:28.224 --> 37:30.364 I have relational unity. 37:30.904 --> 37:32.744 I have missional unity. 37:32.844 --> 37:33.904 I have practical unity. 37:34.044 --> 37:41.004 I want to be a part of God's people working together to pursue Christ and to spread his 37:41.004 --> 37:42.524 glory and grace. 37:42.524 --> 37:43.524 You come. 37:44.723 --> 37:49.483 Make it official, become a part and a member of our family 37:49.483 --> 37:51.982 here at Valley. 37:51.983 --> 37:54.523 But maybe God's doing something else in your heart 37:54.523 --> 37:56.183 and your life and you would say, 37:57.223 --> 38:00.223 you know, there's some towers of disappointment in my life. 38:01.943 --> 38:05.023 I've been pursuing all kinds of things thinking 38:05.023 --> 38:07.883 that that's gonna give me a sense of significance 38:07.883 --> 38:12.243 and greatness, but I just keep hitting a wall 38:14.103 --> 38:17.463 Now I'm confused and disappointed. 38:19.203 --> 38:21.043 I want to encourage you 38:21.043 --> 38:28.863 to surrender all of those broken towers to the Lord 38:28.863 --> 38:33.903 and ask Him to use them to point you to Him 38:33.903 --> 38:37.323 and His love and His grace in your life. 38:38.763 --> 38:43.603 Instead of pursuing significance without Him, 38:44.984 --> 38:51.104 that you would pursue significance in Him, through Him, and for Him. 38:52.284 --> 38:55.544 You can come and pray at these steps right where you are 38:55.544 --> 38:59.764 and ask the Lord to do something in your life that only He can do, 38:59.844 --> 39:03.664 by His grace, for His glory, and for your good. 39:06.364 --> 39:07.604 Our Heavenly Father, 39:09.115 --> 39:12.215 We thank you for this time of worship. 39:12.215 --> 39:14.695 We thank you for your word 39:14.695 --> 39:17.595 as it reveals to us who you are. 39:17.595 --> 39:22.595 You are the creator of all peoples and all persons. 39:23.575 --> 39:27.415 You are the savior of all people. 39:28.295 --> 39:32.995 And God, your plan is to save a people from every tribe, 39:32.995 --> 39:36.175 tongue, language, and nation on earth 39:37.313 --> 39:45.813 so that we might know and enjoy your greatness, your glory, and your grace for all eternity. 39:47.233 --> 39:54.153 God, I pray that you would tear down the towers that we have tried to build for ourselves. 39:55.353 --> 40:04.313 And God, you would build an eternal glory that does not fade away in Jesus Christ within our life. 40:05.579 --> 40:08.619 Lord, may you be our greatest pursuit. 40:09.559 --> 40:11.539 May you be our greatest love. 40:12.419 --> 40:14.279 May you be our greatest desire. 40:15.079 --> 40:18.379 And may you satisfy us in all things 40:18.379 --> 40:21.919 because God, you alone are enough 40:21.919 --> 40:24.759 to satisfy our souls. 40:25.619 --> 40:27.239 God, work in this invitation. 40:28.276 --> 40:30.156 Draw hearts to you. 40:30.896 --> 40:35.156 Magnify and glorify your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 40:35.316 --> 40:38.396 May the Holy Spirit move upon our hearts 40:38.396 --> 40:41.636 that we may know you and enjoy you more 40:41.636 --> 40:48.156 as a result of your word and your grace. 40:48.976 --> 40:51.096 Bless this time of invitation, Lord. 40:51.096 --> 40:54.416 In Christ's name we pray, amen. 40:55.580 --> 40:56.640 Thanks for listening today. 40:56.980 --> 40:58.460 We hope you enjoyed this message. 40:58.700 --> 41:01.840 And if you did, we would be so grateful if you left us a review. 41:02.480 --> 41:04.600 Also, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast 41:04.600 --> 41:07.460 if you would like to be notified when a new sermon is released. 41:08.060 --> 41:11.200 If you feel the Lord calling you to take the next step in faith 41:11.200 --> 41:15.080 through salvation, service, or giving, don't wait. 41:15.695 --> 41:18.795 reach out to us by texting podcast to 88988. 41:19.155 --> 41:21.435 That's podcast to 88988 41:21.435 --> 41:24.375 or connect with us on one of our social media platforms. 41:25.015 --> 41:28.135 You can also visit our website, valleybaptist.org 41:28.135 --> 41:30.135 to find even more great resources. 41:30.835 --> 41:32.495 No matter where you are in your journey, 41:33.055 --> 41:34.294 know that we love you. 41:34.295 --> 41:35.435 We're praying for you 41:35.435 --> 41:38.455 and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.