A young pastor was asked by a funeral director to conduct a graveside service for a homeless man who had died while traveling through the area. He had no family or friends, and the funeral was to be held way out in the middle of nowhere in a brand-new cemetery. In fact, the homeless man would be the first to be laid to rest at that particular cemetery.
The pastor was not familiar with the area, so he got lost on the way to the cemetery. Being the typical man, he did not stop to ask for directions. He finally arrived an hour late. He saw the crew and the backhoe, but the hearse was no where in sight. The workmen were eating lunch.
The pastor apologized to the workers for his tardiness. They looked puzzled, but the pastor stepped to the side of the open grave anyway and found the vault lid already in place. He assured the workers that he would not hold them long, but that this was the proper thing to do.
As the workers gathered around, still eating their lunch, the pastor poured out his heart and soul. As he preached, the workers began to say “Amen!” “Praise the Lord!” and “Glory! (They must have been Baptists). So he preached, and he preached some more, like he’d never preached before. He began in Genesis and went all the way to Revelation. He preached for two hours and 45 minutes. Finally, he closed in prayer and was finished.
As he walked to his car, he felt he had done his duty and left with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication, feeling pretty good about himself. Then, as he opened the door of his car and took off his coat, he overheard one of the workers saying to another, “I've been putting in septic tanks for 20 years, and I ain't never seen anything like this before” (William M. Baudhuin, P.E., President, Baudhuin Incorporated, The Funeral, 8-16-2005; www.PreachingToday.com).
The preacher had made a complete fool of himself. But you don’t need to be a preacher to do that kind of stuff (although it helps). Anybody can make a fool of themselves. Anybody can come into a situation feeling high and mighty and leave feeling awfully low.
The question is: How do you keep from doing it? How do you keep from humiliating yourself? How do you keep from doing stupid stuff? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Genesis 11, Genesis 11, where the builders of Babylon demonstrate what NOT to do.
Genesis 11:1-2 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there (ESV).
Shinar later came to be known as Babylon, which is now in current day Iraq.
Genesis 11:3-4 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth” (ESV).
These people are very proud and full of themselves. They are proud of their own ingenuity. They are proud of their own intelligence and advanced technology.
They wouldn’t dare do it the old, outdated, inferior way. They wouldn’t dare just let the bricks dry in the sun, and they wouldn’t dare use mud for mortar. Oh no! They are going to thoroughly BAKE the bricks to make them harder, and they are going to use TAR for mortar to make them stick together for ever. Oh wow! We’re going to use the latest technology. Aren’t we just the greatest? “We’re invincible, because we’ve used the latest technology.”
Old sailors like to tell the story of the young sailor learning to become a navigator. Aboard ship at sea, the captain said to him, “Please tell us where we are.”
So the sailor took a sextant and made the complicated set of calculations. After a while, he wrote down the coordinates of longitude and latitude and handed it to the captain.
The captain studied it for a while, checked his charts, and said to the young navigator, “Are you absolutely convinced that these are the right coordinates?”
“Yes, sir, I'm absolutely convinced.”
“You know exactly where we are?”
“Yes, sir.”
“There could be no conceivable mistake in your calculations?”
“Absolutely not, sir. I've done my best.”
Then the captain said, “Well, then I would suggest you put on a jacket.”
“Why, sir?”
“Because according to your calculations, we are planted squarely at the top of Mount Washington” (Gordon MacDonald, “When Religion Becomes Serious Business,” Preaching Today, Tape No.142; www.PreachingToday.com).
Just because you have the ingenuity, it doesn’t mean you’re intelligent. Just because you have the education, it doesn’t mean you’re smart. Just because you have the technology, it doesn’t mean you’re wise.
Vance Havner was an old Baptist preacher who had keen insight into our contemporary society. He once said, “Of all the illusions and fantasies and farces of human history, the biggest mirage of all is what we call progress. Just because we split the atom and are back from the moon, we've given God His walking papers. We have decided we can work out our own salvation, and that science has the answer to sin” (Vance Havner in On This Rock I Stand. Christianity Today, Vol. 30, no. 12; www.PreachingToday.com).
Don’t you believe it. Don’t be so full of yourself that you make a fool of yourself. Instead…
DEPEND ON THE LORD’S WISDOM, not your own.
Lean on God’s understanding. Rely on His insight, not your own. Second, if you want to keep from making a fool of yourself, then…
DEPEND ON THE LORD’S POWER, not your own.
Rely on His strength. Trust in His might, not your own.
You see, the people of Shinar were not only self-ingenious. They were self-reliant. In verse 4 they said, “Let us build OURSELVES a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for OURSELVES…” They are only concerned about THEMSELVES, making a name for THEMSELVES, reaching heaven all by THEMSELVES. They are so full of THEMSELVES, that they think they can take God’s place in heaven. That’s not unlike many people today.
A newly elected congressman was visiting Washington, D.C., to get acquainted with his new colleagues. He was visiting in the home of one of the ranking senators, who was trying to explain the bizarre workings of the capitol. As they stood looking out over the Potomac River, they saw an old deteriorating log floating by on the river.
The old senator said, “This city is like that log out there.”
“How’s that?” asked the new politician.
“Well,” the senator replied, “There are probably more than one hundred thousand grubs, ants, bugs and critters on that old log as it floats down the river. And I imagine everyone of them thinks that he is steering it” (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, p.439)
How often do people think they’re steering their own destiny?
How often do people think they’re in control when they’re not?
Heaven must look down and laugh sometimes, because they know that only God is in control. They know that only God is the Lord.
The Bible says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). And “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21). GOD is in control, not you and me, or anyone else.
Dick Jones lived as if everything depended on him, but one morning, he woke up early with a high fever. His wife called the doctor, who diagnosed viral pneumonia. The doctor suggested that Dick stay in bed for several days, but Dick complained.
“No! I’ve got a breakfast meeting at the school. I’m president of the PTA board. Then I’ve got crucial business at the office, a luncheon date, and three very important appointments this afternoon. Tonight, there’s the building committee meeting at the church. Doctor, there’s no way I can be sick today!”
“I’m sorry,” said the doctor. “I don’t know anyone who is indispensable. I suggest you stay in bed.”
At that very moment, as the story goes, Dick’s high fever sent him into a trance. Dick sees himself in heaven. The angels are gathering around God and his holy throne, but everything seems to be in disarray. Some papers are being passed around, and finally, after much discussion, an angel passes an important looking paper to God. He reads it and is obviously upset. God gets off His throne and says, “Oh no! Oh no! What will I do today? What will I do?”
The angels all together say, “What is it, God? What is it?
And God replies, “What will I do today? Dick Jones is sick! (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, pp.297-298)
Do you ever think that ever happens in heaven? I don’t think so. God is NOT dependent on you, but uou are VERY dependent on Him. You cannot even take your next breath, unless God gives it to you. So don’t be so full of yourself that you make a fool of yourself.
Instead, depend on the Lord’s wisdom, depend on the Lord’s strength, and third, if you want to keep from making a fool of yourself…
OBEY THE LORD.
Submit to His will, not your own. Yield to His way.
The people of Shinar were self-ingenious, and they were self-reliant, with the result that they were self-willed.
Did you notice WHY they wanted to build a tower that reaches to the heavens? In verse 4, they said, let’s do it “lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
Yet, in Genesis 9:1, God commanded them to “fill the earth.” They think they know better than God. They think their way is better than God’s way. And so they disobey a clear command of God. They are NOT going to “fill the earth,” as God told them to. No! They are going to build a tower so they can stay right where they are.
They are rebels, just like their leader. Turn back to Genesis 10:8, where we find who the founder and mayor of this city actually was.
Genesis 10:8-10 Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar (ESV).
There are several things we learn about Nimrod here. First, he was a rebel. That’s what his name means. Literally, Nimrod means “we will rebel.”
More than that, he was a rebellious leader. Verse 9 says, twice, “He was a mighty hunter before the Lord,” literally, “a mighty hunter in the face of the Lord.” Nimrod opposed God to His face, and he led others in that opposition.
You see, Nimrod was a hunter of men. He was a captivating, charismatic leader, who gathered people together into great cities all over the ancient world, so they wouldn’t have to scatter and fill the earth as God commanded. He was leading people in open rebellion against God.
And sad to say, there are many people who live in open rebellion today. Oh, they have their “reasons,” which they think justify their sin, but they know what they are doing is wrong. They know God’s clear command, and yet they do it anyway.
For example, over the last 36 years of ministry, I’ve counseled a number of unmarried couples who are living together. When I ask them why, they say, “Oh, pastor we know its wrong, but if we get married, we’ll lose our welfare benefits, or we’ll lose our social security benefits.”
You see, the government gives single mothers more welfare benefits than married women, and elderly couples can have their social security benefits reduced if they get married. So a lot of couples are living together without the benefit of marriage. They know it is wrong, but they do it anyway, in open rebellion against the God of the universe, who has been very clear on this matter.
My friends, don’t do what you know to be wrong, even if you think you have a good reason to do it. That’s how you get into trouble. That’s how you end up making a fool of yourself.
A recently licensed pilot was flying his private plane on a cloudy day. He was not very experienced in instrument landing, so when it came time to land, the control tower was talking him through the process. Then the pilot got to thinking about all the hills and towers and buildings in the area, and he got panicky. That’s when a calm, but stern voice said from the control tower said, “You just obey instructions. We’ll take care of obstructions” (David Seamands, Living with Your Dreams, p.79; www.PreachingToday.com).
That’s what God says to you and me. You may think you have all kinds of “reasons” to disobey God, all kinds of “excuses,” all kinds of “obstructions.” But God says to you, “Just obey the instructions. I’ll take care of the obstructions.”
Trust Him on this, will you, and obey Him. Don’t be so full of yourself that you make a fool of yourself. Instead, depend on the Lord’s wisdom, not your own self-ingenuity. Depend on the Lord’s power, not your own self-reliance, and obey Him. Otherwise…
YOU WILL BE SELF-DECEIVED.
You will think you’re something when you’re nothing. You will feel like you are standing firm right before you fall.
That’s what happened to the people of Shinar. Even with all their ingenuity, even with all their independence, even with all their insubordination, they were no match for the almighty God of the universe. Let’s go back to Genesis 11:5
Genesis 11:5-9 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth (ESV).
God accomplished His will despite their rebellion. The people called their tower “Babel,” which as a noun, in the Hebrew, means “gate of God, but the verb form means “to confuse.” The word has a double meaning. You see, the people of Shinar thought they were in the gate of God. Instead, they were only in a state of confusion.
And that’s what happens to those who are full of themselves. They think they are something, when they are nothing, and their pride leads to a fall every time.
A pastor took a 45-minute drive in an old, beat-up van with a guy he barely knew. Along the way they ended up talking about Jesus and whether this man would give his life to Christ. The man’s response laid out humanity's resistance to the gospel with striking clarity. He said, “My biggest problem is pride. I can't humble myself. And you wanna know the reason I can't give up my pride?” He leaned up onto the steering wheel and paused for effect. “Because it's brought me so far.”
The pastor couldn't believe his ears. He knew that the man’s pride had brought nothing but great pain. It was all he held onto while growing up in gangs—while his father died of a drug overdose and his mother was in the mafia. The pastor knew that this self-made man beat his wife regularly, that he was unemployed, that he had just gotten out of prison. In fact, a week later that he was on his way back into prison!
In a separate conversation, his wife told the pastor that his young daughters are terrified of him, that he is an alcoholic, and that she is planning to leave him. She even told the pastor that the old van he was driving was going to be repossessed in a week (www.PreachingToday.com).
The man deceived himself. His pride only got him pain, isolation, and ruined relationships, and that’s all your pride will do for you. So give it up!
Don’t be so full of yourself that you make a fool of yourself. Instead, Depend on the Lord’s wisdom. Depend on the Lord’s power, and obey Him. Otherwise, you too will be self-deceived.
On October 3, 2003, Roy Horn celebrated his 59th birthday with more than a thousand friends. Later, he performed with his partner, Siegfried Fischbach, at the Mirage Hotel before an audience of 1,500 people. Since the late sixties, Siegfried Fischbach and Roy Horn's high energy performances with wild animals had earned them such an international reputation they were known simply by their first names—Siegfried and Roy.
About halfway into the performance, Horn appeared in the spotlight with a six-year-old white male tiger. It was a routine he had done hundreds of times. But for some unexplained reason, Horn slipped on stage. His loss of footing startled the 600-pound animal, who proceeded to lunge at Horn. In self-defense, the illusionist attempted to beat the animal off with his hand-held microphone. The audience gasped as the tiger grabbed Horn by the neck and dragged him offstage like a limp rag doll. At that point, stage-crew members used fire extinguishers to distract the animal and free Roy. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to save his life.
In thousands of performances over 35 years, Horn had successfully evaded the dangers of his trade. But in an unexpected loss of balance, he lost his career (and nearly his life). A few nights after the tragic accident, Larry King interviewed Horn's partner. As Siegfried Fischbach attempted to explain what went wrong, two little words stood out as the primary cause. “Roy slipped” (KOMO 4 News, 10-3-03, and Associated Press, 10-10-03; www.PreachingToday.com).
God warns us in His Word, “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). The tigers in your life WILL take you down. Temptation will destroy you unless you depend on the Lord to keep you standing.
So look to Him today and every day. Trust Christ with your life. Surrender your life to Him, so you can stand firm against the forces of evil in your own life. Please, don’t be so full of yourself that you make a fool of yourself.
