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Be Reasonable—Do It My WayGenesis 11Title SlideDoes anyone know what building this is?It’s “Khalifa?Tower” or Burj Dubai.? At 2,684 feet and 160 floors, it is the tallest man made structure ever built.? Construction began in September 2004 and was completed September 2009.? Five years of construction and 4.1 billion dollars yielded 3,595,100 square feet of floor area and the new world record.3This is a comparison chart of how it stacks up with some of the worlds other tall buildings.? Perhaps the most well known to us is Chicago’s Sears Tower, or Willis Tower as it was renamed.? Khalifa?Tower stands over 1000 feet taller.4These pictures were taken from above, sometime during the construction of the building.? How would you like to be one of the workmen up there at the top??5Let me give you a few interesting facts about the construction of this great tower.? 300,000 cubic yards of concrete were used in its construction.? To give you a sense of how much concrete that is, if you were to use 300,000 cubic yards of concrete to make a sidewalk. Your sidewalk would be about 1,200 miles long.? In all this concrete is about 31,400 metric tons of rebar.? If laid the rebar end- to-end it would reach over ? of the way around the world.?Now the concrete and rebar are the parts of the building that you don’t see in these pictures. So, what about the glass and metal panels?? There’s about 20.7 acres of glass and 6.8 acres of metal panels comprising the exterior skin of this building.? Today, in Genesis 11 we are going to another tower, built in the land of Shinar.?6Genesis 11:1-27Settling in the valley of Shinar was an act of disobedience. God had commanded men to spread out and fill the land, not to congregate in cities.Genesis 9:1,7God said one thing, man did the opposite. He knew that if many people gathered together in one place, not much good would come of it, they would feel more powerful and easily forget their dependence on God to survive and thrive.8Genesis 11:39There was no stone in this region so the people showed great ingenuity in making bricks out of dirt, water and straw. And since this was and is oil country, tar pits were plentiful, thereby making sticky tar a logical choice for mortar. God gave humanity the ability to do amazing things. Things no person could have imagined 100 years ago: computers, worldwide travel, medical advances, cell phones. But how much of what we call progress, has been used to bring glory to God or to increase His Kingdom?A conservative guess is that at least 90% of modern technology is being used for economic and military purposes (to further ourselves and/or our bank accounts)--to store up treasures here on earth. How much of this technology, and the profits from it are being used to end starvation, spread the gospel, reduce crime, improve families, or glorify God?10How much did Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys spend on the New Texas Stadium? 1.15 billion dollars. They joke that there is a hole in the top of the stadium so that God can watch his favorite team play.We look at World Vision and other organizations where 1 dollar a day can feed, school, and provide healthcare for a child living in poverty. I wonder if Mr. Jones has ever thought of feeding over a billion people around the world. This example is representative of our priorities, in terms of what we use God’s gifts for. 11Genesis 11:412Do you see what they do as a united group of people? They make their own plans without thought for God. Three times we read, “Let us… let us… let us.” All of man’s rebellion begins with the phrase, “I will do such and such,” whereas obedience to God begins with the phrase, “Thy will be done.” Which of the two do you operate under? I will, or thy will?Here is an event in human history where mankind comes up with a scheme to better himself, to make himself more powerful, but it only ends in disaster. There are many theories about how to improve mankind, but none of them work. Some believe that if mankind could just be put in a Utopia type environment, then we would all get along and treat each other as we should. But Adam and Eve proved that this doesn’t work.Some say that education is the answer to all of life’s problems. If you just educate people, then they will become better. But they forget that it was it was the gaining knowledge, which ruined Adam and Eve. Education isn’t wrong, but it failed to keep Adam and Eve righteous. Then there are those who argue for a one world government. That a new world order would bring peace to the nations and the end of war. That is partly why there is the United Nations today and the European Union. But as we see from Genesis 11, nations being united do not lead to righteousness, but to greater rebellion against God.13Some time ago, the Los Angeles Zoo displayed an exhibit designed to inform, amuse and shock visitors. Its slogan was “The world’s most dangerous animal - the only animal capable of destroying the earth, other species, or even its own kind.”?What was this animal? 14The Human animal—(two college students). Man by himself is a timid and troublesome animal, but with company he is a daring and dangerous animal. With a little knowledge, in the wrong environment, and for the lack of guidance, man is a dangerous.?Let’s look at the three things the people in Babel wanted to accomplish.15First, let us build ourselves a city.16The desire to settle in one place and build a city runs counter to God’s command to spread out across the earth. But why? 17When people are piled up in cities, there is a tendency to lose touch with the natural world which God has created for us to learn of His ways.? The clutter of man blocks out the beauty of creation, encouraging us in the ways of selfishness and pleasure seeking.?Cities are centers of commercial and business life where all the needs of the body can best be met. Also, cities are centers of pleasure and culture, where all the hungers of the soul can be satisfied: hunger for beauty, art, and music and all the ingredients of culture. Add to this the fact that people who want to do more sinful stuff usually migrate to the city where it’s more easily hidden and accepted. Also, if you get a lot of people together in one place for an extended period of time, what usually happens? Competition and arguments leading to cliques, fights, and murder. Pride and desire for power, is the enemy that crops up when many people get together for long periods of time.To top it off, in most U.S. cities approximately 20.4% of the people go to church. The smaller the population, the more people go to church. So, if we use attendance as a measure of spiritually, from a Christian perspective, cities are less healthy than smaller towns. 18Second, let us make a huge tower that reaches to the heavens.This tower is what was known as a Ziggurat. It was a tower to worship the creation rather than the Creator. Carved into the bricks would have been zodiac signs, humanlike figures and animals to represent other gods. All of this is in blatant rebellion against God’s command.19Third, let us make a name for ourselves.The people of Babel want to make their mark on the world rather than conform to God’s plan for their lives. They want power and prestige. They want to ensure that they will not be scattered; they want to choose their own destiny. 20Definition of humanism21Posing for the camera of Playboy magazine cost a 26 year-old stewardess her job recently. The tragedy, as reported in the?Dallas Morning News,?was not her release, but in her reasons for her decision. She had learned that lung surgery was needed and the outcome might not be good. She decided to pose so that the world would remember her.While most people are not so candid about their motives, the world is filled with people who desperately wish to be remembered. All of us are inclined to build monuments to ourselves in one way or another. 22Sometimes, we will take credit for things that we shouldn’t. It’s like the beaver told the rabbit as they stared up at the immense wall of Hoover Dam, "No, I didn’t actually build it myself. But it was based on an idea of mine.“23What about us, you and me?? We certainly don’t say these words audibly, but do our thoughts, our plans, or our actions, speak these words.? When someone pats us on the back after an impressive performance of some kind and says “good job.” Do we enjoy the praise a little too much??24Humility is necessary for salvation. No one has been saved by demanding that God let them into heaven.25Genesis 11:5-726Face it: English is a crazy language. It can be very confusing all by itself.There's no egg in eggplant, no ham in hamburger, neither apple nor pine in pineapple, English muffins weren’t invented in England, nor do French fries come from France. Quicksand works slowly, boxing rings are square, and guinea pigs are neither from Guinea nor pigs. A wise man is the opposite of a wise guy.An alarm goes off when it’s on.If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, two geese. One moose, two meese? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? People recite at plays and play at recitals, ship by car and send cargo by ship, park on driveways and drive on parkways, and have noses that run but feet that smell.How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? Your house can burn up as it burns down, you fill in a form by filling it out, and alarms go off by going on. When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And when a car slows up, it slows down!One two-letter English word has more meanings than any other two-letter English word: up. It means toward the sky or at the top of a list, but when we awaken, we wake up. At a meeting, a topic comes up. We speak up. Officers are up for election and it is up to the secretary to write up a report. We call up friends, dress up, brighten up a room, polish up silver, warm up leftovers, and clean up kitchens. We lock up houses and fix up cars. People stir up trouble, line up for tickets, work up an appetite, and think up excuses. Drains must be opened up when they stop up. We open up a store in the morning and close it up at night. If you are up to it, build up a list of the ways up is used; it will take up a lot of time, but if you don’t give up, you may wind up with a hundred. When it threatens to rain, it clouds up. When the sun comes out, it clears up. When it rains, it wets the earth and often muddies things up. When it doesn’t rain, things dry up. I could go on and on, but my time is up, so I’ll wrap it up since it's time to shut up!27One day everyone is communicating and working together. The next day it’s total chaos. All of a sudden the electrician says something to the carpenter and the carpenter doesn’t have the slightest idea what the electrician is talking about. The plumber talks to the bricklayer, and the bricklayer scratches his head and shouts: “What did you say?” The foreman is barking out orders to the laborers and they are shrugging their shoulders in bewilderment. The ladies get together for morning coffee and no one has a clue about what the other one is saying. Nothing good happens when people cannot communicate. This is true from the standpoint of a nation divided as well as in marriage and family. The people no longer could work together. Worse yet, they no longer trusted one another. The spirit of friendliness and confidence was replaced by ugly suspicion. People today still have mistrust for people who do not speak the same language. Finally in frustration, the people throw up their hands, put down their tools, pack their bags, and in little family groups head out in different directions. 28Genesis 8-929Do you know what the word Babel means? Babel, is linked to the Hebrew word for confusion,?balal, but it means the gate of the gods. They wanted this tower’s top to be in the heavens, not to be close to God, but to be equal to God. Does this remind you of the original sin? 30Isaiah 14:12-14We live in a world that is more selfish, more focused on getting rich, creating monuments to ourselves than ever before.Just look at our world today: Two-thirds of it is starving, crime has never been higher, there are more ridiculously rich people than ever before, governments are more in debt than anyone can imagine, we have amazing medicine but more people are dying from degenerative diseases than ever before. The vast majority of the population on the earth lives in large cities, and relationships between people has never been worse.That’s what human progress has brought. We can gloat about all the amazing physical achievements of the past century, but the truth is that the world is spiritually crippled, and God’s people are largely indistinguishable from anyone else. We have not advanced in any way that God would consider achievement, even Christians are farther away from him and less zealous than ever before.31Let’s bring this story closer to home. Are there some monuments to sin that we’ve been building in our lives? Are there some things we’ve allowed into our lives that are dishonoring and defying the Lord? Hurt feelings that just won’t permit us to forgive someone we think has snubbed us or taken credit for something we did, or some feelings of anger, bitterness, and jealousy which we just can’t put away toward that person who is more successful than we are? Do we ever try to make a name for ourselves? Pride in our abilities and accomplishments, or great pride in our families at the expense of looking down at others. Are we building any Towers of Babel in which the Lord isn’t included in the blueprints? 32A pastor was invited to dinner in the home of a very wealthy Texan. After the meal was over the host took the pastor to the place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area. Pointing to the oil wells punctuating the landscape, the Texan boasted: “Twenty-five years ago I had nothing. Now as far as you can see, it’s all mine.” Looking to the north at his sprawling grain fields, this Texan said: “That’s all mine.” Turning toward the east were herds of cattle about which he bragged: “They are all mine.” Then pointing to the west and a beautiful forest, he exclaimed, “That’s all mine, too.” The man paused, expecting the pastor to compliment him on his great success. Instead the pastor placed one hand on the man’s shoulder and pointing heavenward with the other, he said: “How much do you have in that direction?” How much do you have in that direction? Does that question also apply to you and to me? When we put the Towers up, whatever they might be, faith in the Lord cannot thrive and grow. That is what the sin of pride can do to anyone of us. The Lord is absolutely unwilling to let anyone wipe their feet on his commandments or on his wishes. The Bible says: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked” (Galatians 6:7). “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18)—We must never forget that lesson from the Tower of Babel. 33References34Alternate Beginning or EndingIt is always the old, old story of the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Remember the story in mythology of the boy who hired himself out to a sorcerer to be his servant and to carry his water for him? Like all boys, tiring of the work, he looked around to find some easier way of getting the job done. is a parable of the tower of Babel. Man, in his inventiveness, thinks he can master the earth. But the very solutions he works out become bigger problems. Obedience to God is our only salvation.OR34It you choose not to use the youtube video but would like to use the illustration in the video:It is always the old, old story of the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Remember the story in mythology of the boy who hired himself out to a sorcerer to be his servant and to carry his water for him? Like all boys, tiring of the work, he looked around to find some easier way of getting the job done. One day when the master was away he prowled around among the sorcerer's magical paraphernalia. He found certain books with magic words, incantations, in them. He learned a few of these and tried them out on the broom. To his amazement he found that he could command the broom to carry water in buckets. He sat back, opened a magazine, and read while the broom carried in the water, bucket after bucket. But after a bit he detected a little moisture on the floor. To his consternation he realized that the tubs and basins were all full and the broom was still carrying in the water. He decided he had better do something about it. He arose and uttered the magic incantation, but the broom kept on carrying in the water, dumping it on the floor. As it began to rise around his ankles the boy panicked. He didn't know what to do. He cried out every magic word he knew, but nothing worked, and the broom kept on carrying in the buckets and dumping them on the floor. Soon the water rose around his neck, and he began to cry out in anguish, realizing that he hadn't learned enough. He was saved at the last moment by the return of the master who, in a few words, cleared up the whole situation.That is a parable of the tower of Babel. Man, in his inventiveness, thinks he can master the earth. But the very solutions he works out become bigger problems. ................
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