Title: The Power Of A Tower
Text: Gen 11:1-9
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Introduction:
Anyone who travels to Edinburgh, Scotland will find Edinburgh castle a tower of seemingly insurmountable strength. But the truth is that the castle was once actually captured. The fortress had an obvious weak spot which defenders guarded—but because another spot was apparently protected by its steepness and impregnability, no sentries were posted there. At an opportune time, an attacking army sent a small band up that unguarded slope and surprised the garrison into surrender. Where the castle was strong, there it was weak.
- As this castle was a monument to it’s strength and impenetrability, so was the Tower of Babel a monument to the people themselves and not to God. And it proved to be there downfall later on.
- This morning we are going to use this sermon as an introduction to tonight’s message entitled The Anti Christ and the Coming Tribulation.
- We are going to see this morning how the Anti Christ will build a tower like dynasty, but in the end it will lead to his downfall.
- Also we as people, if we are set on building our own dynasty, it too will lead to our downfall.
- So let’s look at our text this morning and see what life lessons we can learn.
- The tower boasted of great human achievement, and was considered one of the wonders of the world.
- Now the tower of Babel was not wrong in itself, but the moment it became wrong was when it took God’s place in there lives.
- We too erect our towers, for example: expensive clothes, big house, fancy car, important job.
- All these are not wrong, but when they take God’s place in our lives, it becomes idolatry.
- We are free to develop in many areas, but we are not free to think we have replaced God.
- It was the desire of the people in our text, to dominate the world and their own destiny apart from God.
- That is why the Tower Of Babel became a sore spot with God.
Ex 20:5-6 says, “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
- To the Christian, God says I will be first or we will suffer. It’s the same thought we have with our children, don’t touch the stove or you are going to get burned.
- Don’t erect an idol, or you are going to get burned.
- What can we learn so that we will not fall into the same situation.
- What life lessons can we learn that will improve our marriages, churches and lives?
- The Word shows us 3 powerful life lessons found in our text, that when applied will accomplish great blessing in our lives.
Point 1: The Power Of Pride
Verses 4 says, “Then they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
- We need to avoid pride like the plague.
- There purpose for building a great tower, was based on pride and rebellion against God.
- It was an independence from God.
- The Anti Christ will be full of pride and arrogance.
- He will be independent and disobedient, the very characteristics of pride.
- The people in our text came together to strengthen themselves and in pride to make a reputation for themselves lest they be scattered over the planet.
- This attitude appears to be in direct disobedience to go out and fill up the whole earth.
Gen 9:1 says, “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.”
- The Bible declares that pride will destroy the person who lives by it’s principals.
- Listen to this true story:
A U.S. Air Force transport plane with its captain and 5 crew members was flying over Alaska in the mid-50s when they entered an unusually fierce snowstorm. The navigator contacted an air base only to be told that he had veered several hundred miles off course. Correct coordinates were given to the navigator, who continued to insist that his own calculations could not be that far off. Soon the plane ran low on fuel. The six men decided to abandon the plane and parachute to safety, but because of the -70 degree Fahrenheit temperature and winds that gusted to 50 mph, they were all frozen within minutes of hitting the ground. A friend of mine was part of the rescue team that discovered and retrieved the bodies 3 days later. As a result of the navigator’s pride, 5 other people went to their deaths. Proverbs 12:15 tells us that “the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.” The results may not always be so dramatic, but we must all be careful to seek the counsel of God and wise individuals before making decisions of lasting significance.
- Pride is that powerful, it will destroy relationships, bring havoc on homes and divide churches if we are not careful to recognize it.
- And Pride can be so subtle that we doubt even recognize that it’s at work in our lives. Listen to this story:
Paul W. Powell once observed: “Pride is so subtle that if we aren’t careful we’ll be proud of our humility. When this happens our goodness becomes badness. Our virtues become vices. We can easily become like the Sunday School teacher who, having told the story of the Pharisee and the publican, said, ‘Children, let’s bow our heads and thank God we are not like the Pharisee!
- Pride will produce 3 things in a Christian:
A. Pride Will Produce No Fear For The Lord
- Proverbs 8:13 says, “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech”.
- The Anti Christ will be of perverse speech, will curse and blasphemy the name of God.
- The Anti Christ will be a person who does not fear God or respect God.
- A Christian that is full of pride will not fear God, nor care what He thinks.
- It will be covered up in the big sins, but the little sins that nobody knows about they won’t change.
B. Pride Will Bring Disgrace To The Believer.
- Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”
- A proud person can’t make sound decisions.
- Adolf Hitler was considered to be a smart person. He took Germany from the pit of despair economically, but destroyed himself and millions of people because of pride. His quest for fame was too much and his pride created hatred.
- Point being pride brings disgrace to all those who entertain and live by it.
C. Pride Will Bring Quarrels
- Proverbs 13:10 says, “Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.”
- When arguments occur in the home or church, we need to ask ourselves whether pride is involved or whether we are honestly contending for the truth.
- Often people quarrel for their own ideas because of pride.
- The Anti Christ will not quarrel, he will kill all those who get in his way because of the pride that fills his life.
- We can see that pride will bring destruction, because it serves the god of self and removes God from His rightful spot in a Christians life.
- As we will see tonight, the Anti Christ will try to remove God from His rightful place in the temple and will exalt himself above God and curse God’s name. That is pride and rebellion and it will destroy!
Point 2: The Power Of Unity
Verse 6 says, “The Lord said, If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.”
- God say’s, that people who unify themselves will be able to accomplish anything.
- This should stir excitement in every Christian, knowing that if every church understood the power of unity, there is nothing that the church can’t do.
- Towns would be transformed, cities would be saved and a nation would turn to God.
- There is nothing that will be impossible for those who are unified.
- The devil knows this and attacks every Bible believing church to fight and quarrel among themselves so they will not be in unity to bring in the harvest.
- As a result we lose our children, the next generation and it keeps getting worse.
- There’s nothing worse then a divided church, divided home, divided school etc.
- Let God unite the church, every home and marriage for His blessing and miracles to flow.
There are two ways of being united—one is by being frozen together, and the other is by being melted together. What Christians need is to be united in brotherly love, and then they may expect to have power.
- If churches refuse to unite in brotherly love, they will be powerless. We will not see the power of God in operation like we should. Unity will create an atmosphere for miracles.
- The Anti Christ will unite the whole world for his evil purpose.
- Unity can serve two areas, for evil or for good.
- And we see in our text it was for evil. If God hadn’t of stopped them, they would have accomplished what they set out to do.
- The Anti Christ will unite the world for evil, and it’s only because of God that his evil reign can be stopped.
Point 3: The Power Of Communication
Verse 7-9 says, “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.”
Married couples spend an average of 27.5 minutes per week talking to each other, according to Ray Bridwhistell, speech communication expert. TV viewing (46 hours per week), children, household chores, social obligations, and working wives are the reasons for this lack of communication between spouses.
In a Harvard study of several hundred preschoolers, researchers discovered an interesting phenomenon. As they taped the children’s playground conversation, they realized that all the sounds coming from little girls’ mouths were recognizable words. However, only 60 percent of the sounds coming from little boys were recognizable. The other 40 percent were yells and sound effects like “Vrrrooooom!” “Aaaaagh!” “Toot toot!” This difference persists into adulthood. Communication experts say that the average woman speaks over 25,000 words a day while the average man speaks only a little over 10,000. What does this mean in marital terms? . . . On average a wife will say she needs to spend 45 minutes to an hour each day in meaningful conversation with her husband. What does her husband sitting next to her say is enough time for meaningful conversation? Fifteen to twenty minutes—once or twice a week!
- Communication is very important in every relationship.
- In our text, it was so important that when God confused there language they could no longer communicate thus resulting in there dispersing.
- Think about this point for a moment, the way God chose to stop there building was to interrupt there communication.
- When we choose not to talk there is only disaster, that result in feuding etc.
- Communication is a powerful tool that can literally stop anything dead in its tracks.
- If there are marriage problems, there needs to be meaningful communication
- If there is misunderstanding in churches, there needs to be open dialogue.
- When there are problems in a nation, the leader needs to make an address to the people and call a press conference.
- Communication is so important that we take it for granted a lot of the times.
- In our text, God stopping the flow of communication, stopped the evil that was going on.
Conclusion:
- In conclusion this morning the Anti Christ will be a proud, unifying, communication leader.
- This will all be done for evil purposes and will be to push his own evil agenda.
- Let’s make it personal.
- Are you proud? Meaning is God 2nd in year life, in your marriage, home?
- Is church just a 90 min ritual or is it a meaningful experience for you. If it’s not maybe pride has taken over your life and home.
- Is it your passion this morning to live in unity?
- Is your home a war-zone? How far are you willing to create unity in the church to see God’s blessing and miracles.
- We are so good at blaming others, when maybe God is saying I want you to change.
- If we are unwilling to change then we are prideful and need to put God in His rightful place and that’s first.
- What about communication?
- Do you talk to your children, spouse etc? How well is your communication to God?
- Do you spend time with God in prayer?
- Communication is so powerful that it will bring unity, miracles and blessing in every aspect.
- Do you need the Lord’s help in any of these areas?
- Ask the Lord to help you and He will change this church, your home, marriage and personal life forever.
Lets Pray!!!
