No Limits
Introduction
In taking on this task of going through the important Old Testament stories, I have really had to wrestle with what stories to include and which ones to skip. And I was tempted to skip the story of the Tower of Babel. But I just couldn’t. Partially because it is such a well-known story, but also because it is so misunderstood. Or, I should say, not understood. There are several very important points in this story, yet most read over it as if it is just an interesting bit of trivia. Some people decided to build a big building and God stopped them. That is about as much as people get out of this story. But there is much more to it than that. There are some very important lessons that we can learn from the story of the Tower of Babel.
Genesis 11:1-9 (NLT)
At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.
They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”
But the LORD came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”
In that way, the LORD scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the LORD confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.
Now let me draw out some important points from this story. And that is my real objective in these sermons. I don’t want us just to know the stories. I want us to know what they mean. I want us to be able to apply the truths from these stories to our own spiritual lives. So what are some important truths from the Tower of Babel story.
I. Human Potential.
First, this story tells us that God created mankind with great potential. Many non-Christians believe that Christianity attacks humanity and says that we are basically worthless. Many say that the Christian faith is a crutch for the weak. They believe that the Christian faith is something that helps worthless people feel like at least they will get a break in the next life. Yet, listen to what God says about the human potential:
Genesis 11:6 (NLT)
“Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!”
God says: If man were to work together. If we were to put all our differences aside and work together, there is nothing that we could not accomplish. At least in this physical world.
The Bible is very positive when it comes to human achievement. For example:
Romans 8:37 (NLT)
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
The Bible does not tell us to be weak and defeated. The Bible tells us to be victorious. God tells us that we can achieve anything especially if we are on God’s side. And there is great proof to the fact that those who have faith in God are more victorious than those outside the Christian faith.
Many outside the Christian faith have called Christianity the “opium for the masses.” By this they mean that religion is for the weak-minded, emotionally disturbed people who need a crutch to get through life. But the evidence says just the opposite. The evidence show that those in the church are not a bunch of ignorant losers.
The evidence demonstrates that Christians are much more successful than those outside the church.
Religious people have a much higher education level than those who do not believe in a god. And according to four different research articles on this subject Bible Believing Christians have the highest educational level of any other sub-group in our culture worldwide. So Christianity is not for the ignorant. It is for the educated. It is for the wise.
Christians are also more successful in the business world. Take for example David Green owner of Hobby Lobby. Giants for God said of David Green:
David Green, founder of Hobby Lobby, opened his first retail business in 1970 with $600 in start up capital and parlayed it into a $2 billion per year retailing giant with 434 stores. By the world’s standards, he is a remarkable success. However, what makes him an even greater success is his commitment to sharing his faith in Jesus Christ through his business. From spending thousands each year to advertise in newspapers the Gospel during the Christmas and Easter holidays, to playing Christian music in his stores, closing on Sundays and altogether operating his business according to biblical principles.
Another great example is the owner of Chick-fil-a, S. Truett Cathy.
S Truett Cathy’s life is an extraordinary example of what one can accomplish when wholly committed to Christ. S Truett Cathy is founder of Chick-fil-A and is one of the finest Christian entrepreneurs in American history. Chick-fil-A is a very profitable national brand with gross revenues exceeding $4.5 Billion a year despite his mandate that each of the more 1600 fast food restaurants be closed on Sundays (what many in the fast food industry experience as one of their busiest days). S Truett Cathy has fostered children for over 30 years and has taken in over 200 foster children through WinShape Homes. His WinShape Foundation funded over $18 Million to develop foster homes and summer camps.
There are many more Christians who are among the most successful businessmen in the world. Tom Monaghan founder of Domino’s Pizza. Norm Miller of Interstate Batteries fame. Anthony Rossi found of Tropicana. Asa Candler creator of Coca Cola. And Henry Parsons Crowell of Quaker Oats just to name a few.
And as I look out over this congregation I see business owners, educators and administrators and nurses. I see hardworking educated successful people. That is the church. When you live by Christian principles you will be successful because God created us with enormous potential.
Now I am not a health and prosperity preacher, but I have found that the Bible gives us all we need to be successful. Let me give you just a few examples from the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs 15:22 (NLT)
Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.
Proverbs 6:6-11 (NLT)
Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
Proverbs 11:24-25 (NLT)
Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
What great advice. Always seek counsel and education, work hard, and be generous and you will be successful. God gives us everything we need to be successful. God created us with great potential.
II. Success Without God.
Unfortunately, there is also great potential for evil as well.
Genesis 11:4 (NLT)
Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”
The builders of the Tower of Babel committed three great sins that are common to all those who are successful.
Sin #1 – Self-centeredness.
When you are successful the temptation is to become inward focused. There is a great story about King Nebuchadnezzar. God had made King Nebuchadnezzar very successful. But Nebuchadnezzar grew proud.
Daniel 4:29-30 (NLT)
Twelve months later he was taking a walk on the flat roof of the royal palace in Babylon. As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’
The king said, “I did this for me. And I deserve to enjoy all the riches I have earned.” He became completely self-centered. And God humbled him. God caused him to lose his mind until he gave credit to God. And God in a sense does the same thing to us.
James 4:2-3 (NLT)
Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
If your focus is all on yourself, then you will have no power in prayer. God will not give you what you want, if you don’t give Him the glory He deserves. That is why the book of Proverbs says that one of the key factors in success is keeping your eyes focused on God.
Proverbs 16:3 (NLT)
Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.
The second great sin is simply ignoring God’s Commands. They said in Genesis 11:4:
Genesis 11:4 (NLT)
This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.
And yet after the flood God had told them to be fruitful, multiply and spread out over the whole earth. When they built babel, their intention was to go directly against the will of God. God told them His plan, but they thought that they had a better plan. And that is a sure way to disaster.
Matthew 6:33 (NLT)
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
If you want to be successful, then put God’s Kingdom first. Make His plans your plans. Then and only then can God bless you the way He desires.
The final great sin is to believe you don’t need God.
Genesis 11:4 (NLT)
Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky.”
I like the way the New King James Version words this verse. For it really tells us what their motivation was.
Genesis 11:4 (NKJV)
And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens…"
Let’s build our way to heaven. We don’t need God. Look what we can do. We don’t need God to be successful. We don’t need God to have everything we want. We don’t need God to get to heaven.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Conclusion
The point of the story of the Tower of Babel is: You are never so successful that you have outgrown your need for God. For in the end it is salvation that matters.
Mark 8:36-37 (NLT)
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
God’s number one goal is for you to reach heaven. And you can’t do it on your own. And if you try, God will do everything in His power to make you realize you can’t. That is why he mixed up their languages and spread them over the whole earth. They thought they were successful but they were losing heaven. God doesn’t want us to waste our potential. So He will take away our success if we are in danger of losing our soul because of it. So if you want to experience true success, then keep God first in your life.
