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Good morning everybody. How are y'all doing today? I'm doing pretty good. Is it

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like warmer on this side of the building or something? You know? Hey, if this is your

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first time joining us here in our sanctuary at Hosanna or if you're

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watching online for the first time, we want to say welcome to all of you. We're

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so glad you're here to worship with us. I am Pastor Nathan and today we are going

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to be looking at the famous story of the Tower of Babel. This is a true story in

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Genesis chapter 11 about man's God-defying ways and its search for

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self-exaltation in its own delusions. You see, way back in the beginning when we

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were studying the Garden of Eden and we looked at the fall, we learned there that

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when Adam and Eve sinned and they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and

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evil, it was essentially an act that proclaimed we won't need God if we have

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the knowledge of good and evil ourselves. That if we are the ones that

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can establish what is right and wrong, if we are the ones who could determine

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what is moral and immoral, we won't need him. We will be free of his control and

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actually effectively be God's ourselves. And really that has been the root of

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man's sinful decisions ever since. And you know, man has this innate desire in its

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fallen sinful nature to exalt himself to glory that belongs to God alone. Well, the

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whole human experience that we get to live on this earth boils down to

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what is called our terminal heart issue. You see, mankind has a terminal heart

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issue, both physical and spiritual. Physically, our hearts actually die

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because sin introduced death into creation. In God's original design, we

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were designed to be immortal, to live with him in an eternal fellowship. But

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because mankind sinned, the physical world was introduced to death. Our

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spiritual heart died as sin killed our perfect fellowship with God. Where in

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that moment our spirit was made dead and leaving us with a spiritual deadness

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that no longer desires to be with God, to desire God, to fellowship with him.

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Instead, we were left with this deadness that desires its own selfish, self-centered

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way and will. That was the sin of Satan, who once said, I will exalt myself into

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the mountain on high. I will be the one who is worshiped. I will be the one who

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is glorified. And that is the sin he introduced to Adam and Eve. George

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McDonald said this once, the one principle of hell is this, I am my

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own. And that is our problem. You see, when we refer to our heart spiritually

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from a biblical sense, what we're referring to is the seat of our desires,

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the seat of our wants, the seat of our own pursuits. And that is reflected in

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the mantra of the world, which says the heart wants what the heart wants. Well,

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the problem is, is the heart wants just a few things that history and experience

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show us. The heart wants to be number one. The heart wants to be indulged in all

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its desires and pleasures. And the heart wants to be in charge, ruling us through

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our feelings. And we see that problem in our world today, where people are

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adhering to all manner of silliness because, well, I feel it. I feel this way.

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I feel this is true. And so this collectively refers to what I call the

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Babylonian heart. It's a heart after the world. It's a heart in pursuit of its own

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glory. And it's a heart that stands in defiance of God Almighty. This is what

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this story of the Tower of Babel speaks of. It shows us really the length that

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mankind will go to exalt itself above God Almighty. And it also shows us how

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God responds to our hubris when we do so. But we're going to worship God first

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because we want to start everything remembering, focusing on, realizing again

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that God is Almighty. That He is truly God above. He is the one that deserves

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all the glory, all the praise, regardless of what mankind can accomplish or not.

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God is the one who deserves all of it. Amen? Let's pray. Father, we love you so

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much. We thank you, God, for sending your Son to this world to die for our sins.

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Lord, from the very beginning, God, you created us with a capacity, Lord, to

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really walk in your footsteps creatively, God. We're able to invent and we're

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able to build and we're able to advance technology and medical science and all

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these wonderful things, God. But, Lord, because of our fallen nature, instead of

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using these things as another way to give glory to you, God, we use these

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things often to glorify ourselves. And ultimately, God, we're capable of

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destroying ourselves as well. And, Lord, you know that. God, as we look at the

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story today of the Tower of Babel, Lord, may we be reminded that really not

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just what we're capable of, but what we're capable of in our sin. Lord, how

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left to our own devices we will ultimately and always exalt ourselves

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above you, grasping for the glory for ourselves instead of giving it to you,

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God. And yet, Lord, even in that, you are gracious, you are patient. And so, Lord,

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we want to start by praising you to get our minds fixated on who deserves the

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glory, and that is you and you alone. We love you so much. It's in Jesus' name we

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pray. Amen. We are going to be in Genesis chapter 11 this morning. And just a quick

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recap, you know, back in Genesis chapter 10, in the middle of what was called the

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Table of Nations. The Table of Nations was the genealogical list of the sons of Noah

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and who kind of spread out and how the original 70 nations on the earth spread

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from that. Right in the middle of that list, you might remember that verses 8

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through 12 told us about this man named Nimrod, this very powerful ruler in those

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days where he had just accomplished so much. It really emphasized how unique and

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different this powerful man was. But right in the middle of his story, it tells

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us that the first of the many kingdoms and cities he established was this city

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called Babylon. Now, Babylon is a city, an ancient city that actually exists today.

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You can go visit it and be a tourist there and all that. But the city of Babylon,

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the concept of Babylon carries very significant symbolic meaning in

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Scripture. Throughout the Bible, the idea of Babylon usually represents a powerful

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enemy of God's people. Now, for a long time, it was actually the Babylonian

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empire. But in Revelation, it's referring to this end times coalition, this

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worldwide government led by the Antichrist centered in Babylon. But the

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empire itself is also known as Babylon. So throughout Scripture, this idea of

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Babylon really is anything that embodies opposition to divine authority and

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oppression of God's people. Like I said, in the New Testament, Babylon typically

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was figurative of Rome because at that time, Rome was the world power. They were

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the worldwide government, if you will, and they were oppressing Christians all the

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time. And so Rome was also referred to as Babylon or the Empire of Babylon. But,

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you know, throughout time, we've seen different broader senses of Babylon,

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really meaning the world as a whole and its stance to stand against God's rule.

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You know, the Bible tells us that we have the devil that's against us, we have

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our flesh that's against us, and then we have the world, which is this whole

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world system that really is rebellious towards God, living its own way,

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pursuing its own wants, and so on and so forth. And so what I call a Babylonian

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heart is the heart that desires to exalt itself above God and or determine its own

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right and wrong without him. A Babylonian heart is the heart within humanity to

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say, God, we don't need you. We will run our own lives and establish our own

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parameters of living. And so this is what this story is all about. Here,

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this in Genesis chapter 11, this Babylonian place physically and then the

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ideology of Babylon, the mindset itself has its first major post-flood expression

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in Genesis chapter 11. And so read with me. We're going to read the first nine

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verses, which is the story of the Tower of Babel. It says,

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The whole earth had the same language and vocabulary. As people migrated from

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the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to

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each other, Come, let us make oven-fired bricks. They used brick for stone and

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asphalt for mortar. And they said, Come, let's build ourselves a city and a

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tower with its top in the sky. Let's make a name for ourselves, otherwise we will

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be scattered throughout the earth. Then the Lord came down to look over the city

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and the tower that the humans were building. The Lord said, If they have

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begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing

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they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let's go down there and

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confuse their language so that they will not understand one another's speech. So

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from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth and they stopped

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building the city. Therefore it is called Babylon. For there the Lord confused the

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language of the whole earth and from there the Lord scattered them

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throughout the earth. Now what's interesting about this story here is

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we're after the flood. We've had the table of nations and the

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only post-flood story we've had so far in detail was Noah and him falling into

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drunkenness and exposing himself in the shame of that. But in that story we then

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saw the blessing being laid upon Shem and Japheth and the curse being laid

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upon Canaan who was one of the sons of Ham. Right after that we have the table

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of nations and now we have this story. Now traditionally the story is called

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the Tower of Babel. That's how many of us understand it and I'll explain that

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later but this story is a reflection of the fall of mankind in Eden is really

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what we're seeing here. There's a lot of parallels between the original fall in

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the Garden of Eden and what's taking place here with mankind. For example in

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the garden we saw that humanity being Adam and Eve they they were attempting to

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grasp power and control from God. Right that was the sin of eating of the fruit

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of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Right God said don't do it so it

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was obviously disobedience or rebellion but the idea was is is if we eat of this

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fruit we will have the knowledge of good and evil. We get to set the rules we

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won't have to listen to God anymore. Well here in the story of Tower of Babel

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what we're gonna see is humanity's attempt to exert its own self-determination

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in rebellion to God in a very similar way. In the Garden of Eden in chapter

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3 verse 22 we see God observing what happened what humanity did and then it

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says since the man has become like one of us knowing good and evil then God

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goes on with his his judgment and that was a picture there where we see the

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Trinity the the the the Holy Trinity of God the Father God the Son God the

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Spirit collectively is one God expressing himself. Well here in verse 7

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in the Tower of Babel after it says God looks down to see what mankind is doing

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it says then let's or let us go down there. So again we see sin in both places

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then we see God noticing it and going okay this is what happened and now God

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is responding. In both of these stories we see God's concern about the

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ramifications of man's decisions right instead of God just going oh you done

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messed up boom you're wiped out. We see God being concerned about what this is

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gonna do to mankind and then he takes steps to to make promises to fix that

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but then in both of these stories we see the subjects of the story expelled from

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where they are Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden and what we're

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gonna see here is these people of the earth gathered in one place are gonna be

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scattered they're gonna be expelled from that place if you will and so the story

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is is a great parallel to the fall and it's kind of like hey guess what after

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the flood man fell again. So verse 1 it starts out by telling us the whole

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earth had the same language and vocabulary. Now if you're a Bible student

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and you were studying through chapter 10 with us you might have noticed

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something here that some take issue with. It says the whole earth had the same

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language and same vocabulary but in chapter 10 as we had the table of

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nations it told us over and over that these people groups settled by their

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clans according to their languages. So some people look at this and they go oh

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that's a contradiction the Bible it must not be true. So have a nice day

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everybody we're done right? No. Chapter 10 and 11 are not chronological in that

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sense they don't follow one another chronologically. The events of chapter 11

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specifically these here in the Tower of Babel they're not after chapter 10. What

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chapter 10 is is a broad overview of the original 70 nations how they dispersed

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right? Where they ended up according to their clans and their languages. Chapter

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11 is a specific story that takes place during that expansion of the nations

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right? So there's no contradiction here if someone tries to tell you that it's a

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very easy explanation. I do believe that this story of the Tower of Babel takes

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place specifically during the days of Peleg. That was one of the one of the

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sons that went out one of the nations and it says in chapter 10 verse 25 that

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it was during the days of Peleg that the earth was divided and so I believe that

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this story then now is telling us that story of how the earth was divided. And

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so effectively what you got in chapter 10 in the table of nations is hey Israel

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this is where all the different nations and languages ended up and then chapter

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11 is this is the specific story of how those different languages came to be and

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how that scattering happened. And then I do want to point out too it starts out

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by saying the whole earth had the same language of vocabulary. There are some

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who read this story and they go it couldn't possibly mean the whole earth

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because of they give many reasons. Some say that this is a story only about the

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offspring of Ham right? Because Nimrod if he was the one who built the tower he

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was in the family of Ham and and people come out with all kind of different ways

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to say this couldn't possibly be everybody on the planet. But I looked it

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up for you and guess what the whole earth means. The whole earth right? It's

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not it's not a trick right? It means the whole earth and it's a it's a phrase to

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refer to all the people on the earth. Now some people go well how could that be?

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How could all the humans on earth at that time be in one place? I'm like maybe

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they came from eight people who were all in one place and have still been together

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as they've been migrating right? It's not a difficult explanation to look at these

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things. But so it sets us up the whole earth had the same language of

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vocabulary and then verse 2 it says as people migrated from the east they found

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a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. Now this is another detail

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that doesn't necessarily come through in the English transition well but people

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look at this and go oh it says as people right? That can't possibly mean all

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people but the phrase in the Hebrew the original language is they. So the way it

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reads in the original language is the whole earth had the same language of

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vocabulary and they migrated from the east. So it's pretty clear what and who

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it's referring to. But it's given us this picture just setting up how they got to

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this area called the land of Shinar and what happened there and so it tells us

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that they came from the east. Now I want to share some pictures with you as we go

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through this because this is another challenge people have to this story and

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I'm bringing this up because as I study these things I stumble across different

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websites and you know just posts from people and TikToks and stuff where

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people like to pick out details like this and go see the Bible's false. And so I

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hopefully want to be able to equip you to be able to explain these things to

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people because here in the CSB it says the people migrated from the east. In

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some more traditional translations if you read it if you have like a King

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James or a new King James it says that the people trans migrated eastward and

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those are two different things right from the east eastward and so sometimes

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people will point this out and go see the Bible's false and blah blah blah and

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so let's talk about that for a second. Now the way people migrated at the very

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top of that map you'll see Mount Ararat right in the top in the center okay. Right

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below that that little pink area there that is actually what is known as the

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land of Shinar. Now there's a problem that pops up first because if you're

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talking about is it from the east or eastward either one of those seems wrong

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because the land of Shinar is south of Mount Ararat and so again you go how do

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we explain this well the reason that there's a translation issue some say

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from the east some say eastward just because the Hebrew isn't super clear on

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which one it means but it means the same thing let me show you if it's supposed

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to be eastward that word eastward doesn't just mean east okay what it means

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is in an easterly direct direction and so you'll see those mountain ranges there

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these are mountain ranges that kind of line the area going towards the southeast

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and so what happened was that the people migrated southeast from Ararat all right

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they went towards the southeast and southeast east is eastward you following

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me okay and that doesn't preclude the fact that as they were migrating

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southeast that they might have curved out to the southwest and ended up in the

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land of Shinar it's not a problem it's not a difficult thing to explain now if

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it's supposed to be translated from the east as we read here in the CSB well

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then that literally means from the east and guess what from the east they came

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from the east and ended up in the land of Shinar and so the assumption there is

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that they had already migrated down southwest and then or southeast and then

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at some point they came from the east into the valley and so it's it's not a

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this doesn't unravel our theology right this doesn't wreck Christianity and

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we're done and go home right it's a pretty easy explanation to see how they

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got there but biblically this idea of east from the east eastward all this

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type of thing throughout scripture very often east or eastward or east as a

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direction suggests trouble it suggests the idea of of moving away from God or

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people being in a place where they're away from God and for example when Adam

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and Eve were expelled from the garden in God's presence it says they went east

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when the cherubim guarded the entry to the Garden of Eden it was the east entry

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that people couldn't come back in there when Lot left Abraham he went eastward

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when Jacob fled from his homeland he went to the eastern country and so on

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and so forth so it's not every single instance but very often especially in

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the Old Testament when east or the direction of east is included in the

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thing the idea is that there are people that are already drifting from God or a

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people that are already separated from God in some way and so here in the story

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of the Tower of Babel this idea that the people all had one language one

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vocabulary and they had migrated from the east is that at this point most of

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the people have drifted from God at some point and we're gonna see the results of

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that here as we get into the next verses but it tells us they ended up in this

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valley in the land of Shinar as you saw on that map that's southern

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Mesopotamian Valley that's today it's southern Iraq and some people connect

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and this is if you're a history geek this is gonna be fun but if you're not

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just bear with me but some people connect the land of Shinar to the land

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of Sumer and if you've ever studied ancient civilizations and stuff you'll

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be familiar with an ancient civilization called the Sumerians they're one of the

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oldest known civilizations in the world they've discovered a whole lot about

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them in the area of what would be called the land of Shinar now they were a

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non-Semitic culture that lasted from about 3000 BC to about 1700 BC but

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what's interesting is is if Shinar is Sumer they're they're the same area what

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we have discovered is that the Sumerians are credited with creating one of the

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very first forms of writing going all the way back in fact the Sumerian

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language itself is considered one of the oldest known written languages in the

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world and we talked a little bit about that last week where you know all these

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languages seem to have come from a single source and all these you know

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secular linguists and stuff they study languages and they go wow it's so

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interesting they all seem to come from a common place and then we who are not

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linguists most of us go duh the Bible said so right so it's very just

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interesting that there seems to be a connection there but the idea is that

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the story of the Tower of Babel here the start of the story emphasizes the the

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universality of humanity right that that mankind all had one language and one

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dialect they were all kind of marching the same direction you know not every

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single person but as a whole this is the idea that we get and so you would think

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that especially coming from Noah and his sons and the generations coming from

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that that having one common language which meant that they were sharing in

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the same language the stories of what happened and telling you about the

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flood and what life was like before the flood and all these things as they were

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going down you would think that would promote a united godliness of faith

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right especially being that close to the flood right yeah God is real he wiped

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out the world but the problem is and that's what we saw with Noah in the

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story of his drunkenness is that sin still existed within mankind and so

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these people migrated it tells us that they settled there now that is the real

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key to getting into this story they settled there you see God had told them

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to be fruitful to multiply and to what fill the earth right the idea of fill

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the earth was spread out over the whole earth but what do we see the people

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doing here settling in one area settling in this one place it was very similar to

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Cain when Cain was cursed by God he was cursed to be a nomad he was cursed to

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wander for the rest of his life but as we read through Cain's genealogy is he

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founded cities and that's just in direct opposition to God's will for his life

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God said wander Cain said no I'm gonna settle I'm gonna build places for people

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to settle and we see the people here doing the same thing that they're coming

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together as a group they're they're they're settling in one place and again

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that's in direct rebellion to what God had commanded mankind to do so verse

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three they said to each other come let us make oven oven-fired bricks they used

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brick for stone and asphalt for mortar and they said come let's build ourselves

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a city and a tower with its top in the sky let's make a name for ourselves

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otherwise we will be scattered throughout the earth and so again it's

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just giving the details of them coming to the thing of saying we don't want to

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scatter right we're actually gonna gonna settle down right here and we're gonna

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build a city and we're gonna build a tower now the details about the tower it

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tells us that they wanted to build a tower with its top in the sky what does

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that mean what's the significance of that well in these times the idea of the

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sky was the heavens right we've talked about how in the in the original Jewish

301
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language the heavens could be the atmosphere it could be space or it could

302
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be the spiritual realm where where God dwells but collectively up there was

303
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considered that's where God is right up in the sky and so the idea of let's

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build a tower with its top in the sky is let's get to God on our own terms and

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then we're gonna pop right into his house and Josephus the historian he's

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the one that connects Nimrod to the building of this tower in his writings

307
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he suggests that the one of the reasons Nimrod led the people to build this

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tower is so that they could go up and give God a piece of their mind for

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destroying all their forefathers in the flood can you imagine I'm going to God's

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house and I'm gonna tell him what's up it's like the audacity right that the

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arrogance and so the work we're not just gonna build a tower we're gonna build a

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tower so high that we're gonna get to God and we're gonna have a conversation

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with him and so the word tower here it most likely refers to what we call a

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ziggurat right a ziggurat was a certain type of tower that we've discovered in

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areas it's a stepped tower that would eventually end up in this one little

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kind of unit a temple or some type of a room at the very top now these are very

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common throughout Mesopotamia we've actually found old ruins of these types

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of things in Babylon in the areas of Asher and Nineveh and Ur and Eridu you

319
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could actually go see the the one in Ur it's pretty famous they've restored a

320
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lot of it and they're massive but at the tops of these types of structures at the

321
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very top that room or that temple the top was was viewed as a gateway for

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deities that that the people would build these ziggurats to get up into the sky

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and then they would say okay God you need to come down to us so we could have

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a conversation and that's what this room was for right we built a neutral zone

325
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God we're down here you're up there let's meet in the middle and we're gonna

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talk it was also for you know different forms of worship and stuff but the idea

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was is that these ziggurats carried that concept throughout cultures that we're

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gonna create a God a place for God to come to us even in all of their pagan

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religions and so there have been other artists renditions of what this tower of

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Babel looked like some render it as a big round tower like a big cone there's

331
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all kinds of really interesting drawings and and nobody knows for sure but it was

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very likely a ziggurat type of building but so it tells us they wanted to build

333
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this tower and then it also says that they worked to build a city and again

334
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that's just a further emphasizing their direct opposition to God's mandate to

335
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spread out over the earth now you'll notice there in the verse it says we're

336
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gonna build a city we're gonna build a tower and they state their reason for

337
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doing so otherwise we will be scattered throughout the earth what does that tell

338
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you they knew God's mandate there was no confusion or our lack of clarity about

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00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:42,100
God's mandate they were well aware of what God wanted them to do and so what

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are they saying no we don't want to do that we're gonna do the opposite and so

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in effect what the people are saying to God here is God we know better we will

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00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:59,880
run our own lives thank you very much very much like the sin of eating the

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fruit of the knowledge of good and evil we won't need you God your ways that's

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cool whatever but but leave us alone we'll do it our own way we'll be just

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fine and then you also see the other motivation for them because they said

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let's make a name for ourselves and that's where we get down to the problem

347
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of sin that exists within mankind it's not that people just say I don't want

348
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:31,400
God what they really want to say is I want to be worshipped like God I want

349
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the glory that's that's God's alone I want to be the one people turn to and

350
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look to I want to be the one that that is the famous person not God and this

351
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was their motivation they wanted to be known they wanted to have that name it's

352
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the it's the idea of pride right in modern terms we might use the term

353
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legacy you know some people get very caught up that they want to leave a

354
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legacy for their for their offspring and so they want to have their name on as

355
00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:06,080
many many buildings as possible and you know they they want to exalt themselves

356
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so that they leave a legacy that no one will ever forget who they are and so the

357
00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:15,280
implication here is again that they would be the ones worthy of glory and

358
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praise not God you know and that's often us when we when we do things we like to

359
00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:28,040
be known we like to be recognized for what we do right it's kind of a natural

360
00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:32,760
thing there was a time a long time ago that I I was getting one of those food

361
00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:36,920
kits that you order you know you know when you're so lazy you order your food

362
00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,600
and you pay way too much for it and then they ship it to your house and you think

363
00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:43,720
you're saving money right I did that for a while and and it was this company

364
00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:48,000
called home chef they're not buying any advertising that's just who I had okay

365
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,960
so so they would send this kit to your house and it was like all the

366
00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:57,120
ingredients and then it was like very very detailed instructions like cut it

367
00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:02,200
this way you'll cook it I mean it was like super detailed right and so I would

368
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:05,280
follow the instructions and I was making these meals and I was like man this is

369
00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:09,680
delicious right and so after I did that for a couple weeks you know I started

370
00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:16,600
going I should start a restaurant I'm an amazing cook you know and and I taste

371
00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:20,760
this look what I did taste this right and it's like you just literally

372
00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:25,160
followed the very detailed instructions right you can't mess it up and so we we

373
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have that within us right we we want people to know what we've done and what

374
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we've accomplished and so this is what the people here were doing now the major

375
00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:37,780
issue with their tower and they're trying to build it up to the sky was to

376
00:30:37,780 --> 00:30:45,880
think that man by his own efforts could possibly reach God and supplant God that

377
00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:51,200
was the the hubris here that was the pride that we in our own effort we we're

378
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:56,200
gonna be able to get to God he's not he's not transcendent Lee so far removed

379
00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:00,360
from us that we can't reach him on our own and when we get there maybe we'll

380
00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:05,560
we'll kick him out of his house maybe maybe we'll take his place because after

381
00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:10,600
all look what we can do look what we've created this is a fatal delusion of all

382
00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:14,480
man-made religion going all the way back to the very beginning every false

383
00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:22,360
religion in the world teaches that works bring salvation and Mormonism you have

384
00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:25,200
to do works you have to go on your missions trip you have to do all these

385
00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:28,040
things to work your way through the three heavens because there's three

386
00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:32,160
heavens and if you do enough works you get to the third one and guess what the

387
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:36,860
prize is when you get to the third heaven you become a god and you get your

388
00:31:36,860 --> 00:31:42,640
own planet what a prize right when I was in high school I'm not proud of this but

389
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:46,360
when I was in high school we had a friend who was a Mormon and we were very

390
00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:51,880
much not religious people at all and and he didn't even like the fact that he was

391
00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:54,880
Mormon but we would always like mess with him because he told us one day he

392
00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:59,760
goes yeah this is what we believe and we're like bro get Jupiter that's a lot

393
00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,800
of real estate man that's a lot of real estate and he'd be like shut up guys and

394
00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:13,080
so but the idea is if you do enough you through your own efforts could become a

395
00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:19,440
god yourself Jova's Witnesses right your salvation is in jeopardy if you don't go

396
00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:22,520
door-to-door stand out on the street with a display and hand out those

397
00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:26,920
magazines you have to do it you have to check in you have to write down your

398
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:32,160
numbers Islam you have to pray five times a day and you have to face a

399
00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:35,600
certain direction among all the other rules or you're not gonna make it to

400
00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:40,720
paradise but then you come to Christianity and Christianity says there

401
00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:47,040
ain't nothing you could do matter of fact God already did it all all you have

402
00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:52,000
to do is believe in what he did all you have to do is trust in him you're saved

403
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:56,040
through faith not through your effort because your effort is is pitiful

404
00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,880
anyways and we're gonna see that in a moment here in the couple verses that

405
00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:03,320
are to come but the idea is Christianity is the only one that that says just like

406
00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:06,920
Noah right you're declared righteous through your faith believe God believe

407
00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:10,200
what he says believe what he says about you and sin and salvation and who you

408
00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:17,080
are and who he is and what believe it and you'll be saved but you're like God

409
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:23,740
what about the magazines I don't care about your dumb magazine but God I want

410
00:33:23,740 --> 00:33:28,720
to get my own planet like maybe I can make Pluto a planet again if I get that

411
00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:37,720
one and it's like you're not God you never will be God God is God and so give

412
00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:42,640
him the glory for being God because he is the only one worthy of it and will

413
00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:46,440
ever be worthy of the glory so these tower builders they were a

414
00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:51,760
sinfully broken people and again the suggestion here is that it was was

415
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:57,160
everybody alive at the time right now it doesn't say that every single person was

416
00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:01,960
was walking in the sin and stuff because we know is as we scattered we're gonna

417
00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:08,560
end up with the the shamites going in in at Abraham coming from that but but the

418
00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:14,560
group here as a as a characterized whole they're attempting to preserve unity

419
00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:19,240
through their outward efforts right like we're gonna stay together we're gonna

420
00:34:19,240 --> 00:34:22,680
we're gonna work we're gonna do big things but all of that would ultimately

421
00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:27,760
fail you just look at the history of mankind every time mankind says we're

422
00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:32,040
gonna come together through some outward means it ultimately falls apart why

423
00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:38,840
because what's inside man is desperately wicked corrupted beyond all hope it

424
00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:42,920
doesn't matter how how okay let's let's pull together let's let's make a United

425
00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:47,640
Nations let's make this let's make that as long as man is involved without God

426
00:34:47,640 --> 00:34:50,400
it's gonna be corrupted and it is corrupted because you're gonna have

427
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:53,880
people that are driven by their selfish need to make a name for themselves to

428
00:34:53,880 --> 00:35:02,400
have power to have wealth to have control but our hearts are the problem

429
00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:08,680
too many in this world have a Babylonian heart a heart that might even say oh yeah

430
00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:14,960
God you're real but I don't need you my decisions are better than yours leave me

431
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:19,440
alone don't tell me what to do I don't need your salvation I could save myself

432
00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:25,920
and Jeremiah 17 nine tells us the heart is more deceitful than anything else and

433
00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:35,800
incurable who can understand it has your heart ever led you astray I love them

434
00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:42,400
and then you realize I wasn't love at all that was lust they broke up with me

435
00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:47,520
I will never go on and you're still alive today right our heart says I need

436
00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:51,520
this and you realize you don't need it if I just got that my life would be

437
00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:56,200
better and your life wasn't better like the heart is deceitful our feelings are

438
00:35:56,200 --> 00:36:00,480
deceitful that's why truth is truth and truth is not relative as much as the

439
00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:06,800
world wants to make us believe that truth doesn't care about your feelings

440
00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:12,600
right if the if there's a pot on the stove and it's boiling hot the truth is

441
00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:17,800
if you touch it you're gonna burn yourself and if you're like not sure

442
00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:21,680
about that go up to that and go you know I feel that it's cold and touch the pot

443
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:28,280
okay you're gonna get burned truth is truth feelings don't always lead us the

444
00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:32,160
right way and so when Jeremiah asked that question who can understand man's

445
00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:38,640
deceitful heart guess what the answer is God does look at verse 5 then the Lord

446
00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:42,400
came down to look over the city and the tower that the humans were building

447
00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:46,720
that's pretty cool God's like oh they're doing something let me go check it out

448
00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:50,520
and to me it's kind of a funny picture right because you got man building this

449
00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:55,360
tower we're gonna build this tower with its top in the sky we're gonna go just

450
00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:59,560
break into God's house if you will we're we're man we're gonna show God we don't

451
00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:04,320
need him we could get to the heavens on our own and then it tells us that this

452
00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:11,880
infinitely transcendent incomparably supreme God has to come down to look

453
00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:17,480
over what mankind is building it's like I don't know I'm this is purely speculative

454
00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:23,380
the angels are like hey God you see what man's building yeah we see it they think

455
00:37:23,380 --> 00:37:27,480
it's pretty magnificent God's like well I'll bend down with my

456
00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:35,360
microscope and take a look at it oh how cute they're building a tower you know

457
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:40,120
Isaiah 40 22 says God is enthroned above the circle of the earth its habitants

458
00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:44,400
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers he stretches out the heavens like thin

459
00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:51,640
cloth and spreads them out like a tent to live in and then we think look what

460
00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:57,840
we have made God are you impressed you guys remember that scene in castaway

461
00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:01,560
you ever see that movie with Tom Hanks or is in a plane crash and he gets stuck

462
00:38:01,560 --> 00:38:07,060
on the island and there's that one scene where he's trying to make fire and he's

463
00:38:07,060 --> 00:38:10,440
like he finally gets it going and then right after that there's a scene where

464
00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:13,520
he's standing on the beach in the night and the big bonfire and he's just

465
00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:19,800
celebrating and then what he does beats his chest look look what I have made and

466
00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:25,760
he's turning around like there's is there anybody here to see my greatness

467
00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:33,600
and what does God do when we do that well Psalm 2 chapter or chapter 2 verses

468
00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:39,200
1 through 4 says this why do the nations rage in the people's plot in vain the

469
00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:42,840
kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspire together against the

470
00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:46,880
Lord and his anointed one let's tear off their chains and throw their ropes off

471
00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:57,120
of us the one enthroned in heaven laughs the Lord ridicules them look at our

472
00:38:57,120 --> 00:39:06,920
tower right it's just all the stuff that that that mankind does to exalt itself

473
00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:13,800
it's just so silly to hold that up against an omnipotent creator and go are

474
00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:20,960
you impressed it's just silly and yet man still tries to do it so so much for

475
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:26,800
the bold effort of man right we'll show God he laughs verse 6 the Lord said if

476
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:30,260
they have begun to do this is one people all having the same language then

477
00:39:30,260 --> 00:39:34,640
nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them the idea of that

478
00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:39,200
phrase there is they will accomplish whatever they put their minds to right

479
00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:46,560
that's the idea this isn't God being threatened right God didn't lean over

480
00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:50,680
and put his face as close to the ground as possible and bust out his microscope

481
00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:56,320
to see the tower and go oh no they're gonna they're gonna get us if they band

482
00:39:56,320 --> 00:40:05,120
together and keep building I'm finished no God's concern however is that what

483
00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:12,280
would happen to humanity if left unchecked we'd already seen it once or

484
00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:19,840
mankind became just violent and wicked and perverse and he had to start over

485
00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:25,400
if you will but then he made a promise a covenant with Noah I will never again

486
00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:31,920
flood the world I will never again destroy the world this way and yet here

487
00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:38,760
we are again mankind having just come out of a worldwide flood come on like

488
00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:44,720
what are they thinking there's only a few generations back from Nimrod to Noah

489
00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:50,400
and it's like it's not like it was ancient history but the whole world was

490
00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:57,200
destroyed and yet here we are again we don't need God we'll do our own thing

491
00:40:57,200 --> 00:41:03,400
and you know man mankind we're created with a pretty awesome capacity right to

492
00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:06,640
build to invent right you just think of the things especially in the last you

493
00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:10,600
know hundred years or so that that mankind has discovered and invented and

494
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:15,360
medical science and and you know flying outside of our atmosphere I mean all

495
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:22,280
these really cool things that we've been able to do and all of it I think is just

496
00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:28,440
a reflection of our Creator right our Father in heaven is a creator you look

497
00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:34,360
at the majesty of animals and science and life and all this stuff and it's

498
00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:39,160
just so beautiful and God goes yeah I gave you that same spark and what do we

499
00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:45,360
do we make nuclear bombs see let's create something that could annihilate

500
00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:51,440
us all that's cool well how about how about we band together and cure cancer

501
00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:58,480
no no I'm gonna create something that just lifts up my name that gives me the

502
00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:03,000
money that that gives me the glory and everybody's trying to do that same thing

503
00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:09,640
and we're just fractured as ever instead of moving towards humility and obedience

504
00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:16,680
to God and worship and praise humanity if left unchecked would ultimately cast

505
00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:22,440
off God all together and try and rule the universe itself why because we have a

506
00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:28,680
sin nature we have Babylonian hearts without God that says I am number one I

507
00:42:28,680 --> 00:42:34,360
will get everything I want everybody else can suffer as long as I get what I

508
00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:41,880
want and then our delusions we would never turn to God why because well we

509
00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:47,640
are so high and lifted up we are the ones that that are so lofty and so

510
00:42:47,640 --> 00:42:52,280
glorified there's no room for God and so the hammer of judgment falls in verse

511
00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:56,680
seven says come let us go down there and confuse their language so that they will

512
00:42:56,680 --> 00:43:00,920
not understand one another's speech so from there the Lord scattered them

513
00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:06,880
throughout the earth and they stopped building the city now that word confused

514
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:10,600
there when he said let's go confuse our language first of all we see let's right

515
00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:14,400
there's a picture of the Trinity again because it's God speaking and then it's

516
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:19,400
a plural but that word confused in the Hebrew language is balal right that's

517
00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:23,960
the Hebrew word that means to make unclear to to blur it to make something

518
00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:29,120
indistinct and that's what he did he confused their language right I mean

519
00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:34,000
imagine waking up one day and all the people you've been working with for who

520
00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:38,240
knows how long and your buddy and you get up and you start speaking and he

521
00:43:38,240 --> 00:43:42,200
looks at you quizzically and then he starts speaking back to you and you're

522
00:43:42,200 --> 00:43:46,920
like bro are you drunk what is that nonsense coming out of your mouth and

523
00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:52,320
he's hearing you going bro are you drunk and everybody starts getting thoroughly

524
00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:57,280
confused because what is these what are these weird sounds and then maybe off

525
00:43:57,280 --> 00:44:00,240
in the distance you hear someone that that says something you recognize and

526
00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:03,960
you go can you understand me and that person goes yeah you guys start to

527
00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:08,120
congregate together you're like yeah my buddy I don't know what's wrong with

528
00:44:08,120 --> 00:44:11,080
him he's just saying I don't know either and then you hear someone else you can

529
00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:17,120
understand us come over here and then all the people started to unite around

530
00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:20,840
their languages now some scholars look at this and they go yeah this is where

531
00:44:20,840 --> 00:44:26,720
God banded the different ethnicities we see in humanity together right that's

532
00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:29,760
certain people groups that that they all spoke the same language so they all

533
00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:34,560
banded together and and then as humanity went on that's where we have the the you

534
00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:38,200
know the different different races that we have in the earth today now it

535
00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:42,560
doesn't say that here but that's speculative but the idea is is that the

536
00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:47,240
speech was confused and and I believe that slowly those who were speaking the

537
00:44:47,240 --> 00:44:51,920
same language started to congregate together and and it just messed

538
00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:56,840
everything up I mean we know this today a common language is pretty pretty

539
00:44:56,840 --> 00:45:01,280
beneficial when everybody speaks the same language you know things could get

540
00:45:01,280 --> 00:45:05,720
accomplished plans could be made you know that's why at the UN right we go

541
00:45:05,720 --> 00:45:08,120
let's get the whole world together at the UN and they all have the cool

542
00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:10,880
headphones where things are translated in real time so that they could

543
00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:17,520
communicate but have you ever gone like on a vacation to a foreign country and

544
00:45:17,520 --> 00:45:21,440
nobody speaks English if that's your native language and you don't know their

545
00:45:21,440 --> 00:45:25,160
language and you're trying to get directions somewhere and like I had a

546
00:45:25,160 --> 00:45:28,320
friend of mine tell me once he goes look if you ever go on vacation down to

547
00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:31,960
Mexico and someone's talking to you and you don't understand it don't smile and

548
00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:37,440
go see see just don't do that because you have no idea what you're agreeing to

549
00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:41,160
see you know he's like nah he's like just get someone who knows the language

550
00:45:41,160 --> 00:45:47,580
right so having these confused separate languages separated the people today in

551
00:45:47,580 --> 00:45:53,560
today's world linguists say there's 6,500 main languages in the world today main

552
00:45:53,560 --> 00:46:00,040
languages not obscure languages main 6,500 right you might have heard of

553
00:46:00,040 --> 00:46:03,040
people and go wow they speak ten languages and you're like oh my gosh

554
00:46:03,040 --> 00:46:08,520
that's an impossible feat there's 6,500 in the world today now linguists also

555
00:46:08,520 --> 00:46:12,600
speculate that if you include all the dead languages and you go back to all

556
00:46:12,600 --> 00:46:17,120
the root languages that over history there have been over 31,000 unique

557
00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:23,760
specific languages spoken by man since as far back as they could go and without

558
00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:28,840
a common language it's again it's hard to plan it's hard to coordinate let

559
00:46:28,840 --> 00:46:33,960
alone engineer a tower and so deprived of their unified community and the

560
00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:38,000
benefit of cooperative design and cooperative development it says they

561
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:42,320
stopped building the city now it doesn't say they stopped building the tower

562
00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:46,360
which I find interesting however they did scatter so the assumption is that

563
00:46:46,360 --> 00:46:49,920
the city and tower as one piece they stopped building it all and they all

564
00:46:49,920 --> 00:46:56,600
went their own way and so verse 9 it says therefore it is called Babylon for

565
00:46:56,600 --> 00:47:00,000
there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth and from there the Lord

566
00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:05,040
scattered them throughout the earth so he confused their languages and

567
00:47:05,040 --> 00:47:09,800
therefore it's called Babylon and you go what's the connection right well the

568
00:47:09,800 --> 00:47:16,720
name Babylon from here forward has forever been connected to the confusing

569
00:47:16,720 --> 00:47:22,200
of the languages the division of people but it's also connected larger to the

570
00:47:22,200 --> 00:47:26,640
idea of what took place here right the hubris of man thinking you know we're

571
00:47:26,640 --> 00:47:31,000
gonna exalt ourself now the way this is connected is the word Babylon is

572
00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:37,920
actually the Greek spelling of the Hebrew word babel B-A-B-E-L right Babylon is

573
00:47:37,920 --> 00:47:41,960
the Greek spelling of that and so that's where we get the tower of babel right

574
00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:48,640
and babel is a proper name that is derived from the Hebrew word for

575
00:47:48,640 --> 00:47:54,120
confuse remember the Hebrew word for confused balal well babel is like a

576
00:47:54,120 --> 00:48:01,200
wordplay on that God confused them and so we're gonna call them confused right

577
00:48:01,200 --> 00:48:06,760
that's the idea here it's a proper name now the tower itself wasn't called

578
00:48:06,760 --> 00:48:12,400
babel it was the city in which the tower of said it's the tower of babel and so

579
00:48:12,400 --> 00:48:19,920
the city babel then throughout history became known as Babylon and it became a

580
00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:24,760
city it became an empire and then it also became known for all these other

581
00:48:24,760 --> 00:48:29,200
things we talked about the the exalting of humanity the pride of humanity sin

582
00:48:29,200 --> 00:48:34,480
separation from God drifting from God and so you could say that in Hebrew what

583
00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:38,560
Moses is writing here that the Israelites heard is that that this place

584
00:48:38,560 --> 00:48:43,000
where they were building this tower became the city of confusion Babylon

585
00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:48,760
right now it's very interesting is anytime God makes a declaration mankind

586
00:48:48,760 --> 00:48:52,320
in its sin likes to try and twist it and go no we're gonna make it better right

587
00:48:52,320 --> 00:48:56,960
so God recorded this place as this became known as confusion this place is

588
00:48:56,960 --> 00:49:01,560
confusion well as languages further developed you had the original languages

589
00:49:01,560 --> 00:49:06,440
yet Samarian out of Samarian came a language called Akkadian and in Akkadian

590
00:49:06,440 --> 00:49:14,280
they started referring to this place as Babel II not babble Babel II now what

591
00:49:14,280 --> 00:49:20,800
does Babel II mean in their language gateway of God God said no it's confused

592
00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:26,680
no it's not we got a house on top of that ziggurat it's called gateway of God

593
00:49:26,680 --> 00:49:30,480
and it's just funny how we do that now and then of course has been mentioned by

594
00:49:30,480 --> 00:49:35,040
a lot of pastors over the years is that the word babble in English means babble

595
00:49:35,040 --> 00:49:40,000
right it means gibberish and so that's kind of what happened there so again

596
00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:44,000
throughout scripture Babylon came to be this allegory of human pride

597
00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:49,480
godlessness the godlessness that attracts God's judgment you know all of

598
00:49:49,480 --> 00:49:54,800
that stuff Jeremiah used Isaiah's or he applied Isaiah's prophecies to the

599
00:49:54,800 --> 00:49:59,880
Babylon of his time you had Daniel recording in his book the glory and the

600
00:49:59,880 --> 00:50:04,640
demise of the evil prideful Babylonian Empire you had the New Testament

601
00:50:04,640 --> 00:50:09,000
describing the persecutor of God's people the embodiment of pride and lust

602
00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:14,960
in the book of Revelation is Babylon the great harlot so all of this stuff that

603
00:50:14,960 --> 00:50:20,400
we see in this tower is is the example the start of where this entire concept

604
00:50:20,400 --> 00:50:24,440
of standing against God casting him off thinking I'll get to heaven on my own

605
00:50:24,440 --> 00:50:31,400
I'll exalt myself I don't need you I'll do it my way and we see that God just

606
00:50:31,400 --> 00:50:37,720
went boink scattered them all now the reality of babbles influence in history

607
00:50:37,720 --> 00:50:41,280
although it's like oh wow that's where all the languages came from and wow

608
00:50:41,280 --> 00:50:45,680
look how prideful mankind was it's also a source of incredible hope because at

609
00:50:45,680 --> 00:50:49,880
this point God was like man if I leave man unchecked the things they'll be able

610
00:50:49,880 --> 00:50:55,040
to accomplish are going to destroy them so I'm gonna scatter them but Zephaniah

611
00:50:55,040 --> 00:50:59,720
the prophet prophesied that there would be an ultimate reversal of babble he

612
00:50:59,720 --> 00:51:05,360
said this in Zephaniah 3 9 for I will then restore pure speech to the peoples

613
00:51:05,360 --> 00:51:10,040
so that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him with a single

614
00:51:10,040 --> 00:51:14,520
purpose you see the single purpose originally with one actual physical

615
00:51:14,520 --> 00:51:21,480
language was worship God praise him be fruitful multiply fill the earth what

616
00:51:21,480 --> 00:51:25,240
people did with that is we don't need you we're gonna build a tower so God

617
00:51:25,240 --> 00:51:30,640
went scattered the languages but then he said guess what I'm gonna do one day I'm

618
00:51:30,640 --> 00:51:34,960
gonna restore pure speech to the peoples for what reason that they would call

619
00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:40,480
upon the name of the Lord and serve him with a single purpose what mankind gave

620
00:51:40,480 --> 00:51:44,040
up God was gonna restore and that's just the story all the way through the Bible

621
00:51:44,040 --> 00:51:49,160
we get through the Old Testament we get to the New Testament God himself comes

622
00:51:49,160 --> 00:51:53,800
in the flesh Jesus Christ he lived he died he rose again from the dead and

623
00:51:53,800 --> 00:51:56,760
then at Pentecost you remember the story in the beginning of the book of Acts

624
00:51:56,760 --> 00:52:01,480
right you have all the people from these different nations gathered in Jerusalem

625
00:52:01,480 --> 00:52:04,680
and you have all the believers gathered waiting and then the Holy Spirit falls

626
00:52:04,680 --> 00:52:10,480
upon them boom and then went outside and they were saying one thing praising God

627
00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:14,960
but in all the different languages and what does it tell us there that it

628
00:52:14,960 --> 00:52:19,720
wasn't confusion anymore because all the people heard the believers speaking in

629
00:52:19,720 --> 00:52:24,960
their own language isn't that a Galilean how's he speaking in my language but

630
00:52:24,960 --> 00:52:28,760
they all heard the same thing they heard one united message the

631
00:52:28,760 --> 00:52:33,640
glorification of God the message of who he was and what he can do and of course

632
00:52:33,640 --> 00:52:39,280
they were like are they drunk right and I have nothing to back this up but I

633
00:52:39,280 --> 00:52:43,080
think that that might have been a playback to this time in Babel are you

634
00:52:43,080 --> 00:52:49,280
drunk bro you're speaking gibberish but this was all a reversal of Babel and it

635
00:52:49,280 --> 00:52:53,840
was a sign that God had done the work God had God had fixed the problem God

636
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:58,200
had dealt with sin that all who would be able to put their faith in him now would

637
00:52:58,200 --> 00:53:04,040
be people who call upon the name of the Lord and be saved and so back here in

638
00:53:04,040 --> 00:53:09,400
Genesis at Babel God was not done with humanity no more than he was done with

639
00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:16,120
humanity prior to the flood we see God's grace in all of us because instead of

640
00:53:16,120 --> 00:53:22,560
destroying mankind again right come on how many times you guys gonna do this

641
00:53:22,960 --> 00:53:26,780
instead of just smashing them saying okay you're all done like thanks for

642
00:53:26,780 --> 00:53:30,040
gathering I just didn't I didn't have to go all over just boom you're all dead

643
00:53:30,040 --> 00:53:36,240
he went no I'm gonna do what was necessary to just thwart their desire

644
00:53:36,240 --> 00:53:42,400
for a society without God I'm gonna do something that is going to keep them

645
00:53:42,400 --> 00:53:47,640
from killing themselves I'm gonna do something that is gonna help them not

646
00:53:47,640 --> 00:53:52,060
destroy everything that they are but but separate out and accomplish what God

647
00:53:52,060 --> 00:53:57,200
wanted them to accomplish in filling the earth and by scattering them he also did

648
00:53:57,200 --> 00:54:00,320
something to thwart the devastating possibility of what they were capable

649
00:54:00,320 --> 00:54:05,680
of now in our end times I find it very interesting that in our end times

650
00:54:05,680 --> 00:54:11,080
languages kind of coalesced back into most people speak English right that's

651
00:54:11,080 --> 00:54:14,640
the the language of the world even though there's all these other languages

652
00:54:14,640 --> 00:54:19,640
and dialects still that mankind as a whole isn't so separated by language

653
00:54:19,640 --> 00:54:21,760
anymore that they could still communicate and as they're coming

654
00:54:21,760 --> 00:54:27,200
together we see the secularization of our society where mankind is more and

655
00:54:27,200 --> 00:54:32,160
more drifting back towards the there is no God we don't need God look at what

656
00:54:32,160 --> 00:54:36,080
we've made look at our accomplishments look at our science look at we can fly

657
00:54:36,080 --> 00:54:44,440
to space God's like I created space big deal but mankind is very quickly

658
00:54:44,440 --> 00:54:51,040
marching towards being a gathered people standing in defiance of God again

659
00:54:51,040 --> 00:54:56,320
but the hopelessness of battle was not God's last word for humanity as we know

660
00:54:56,320 --> 00:55:01,720
the day is coming that sin will be fully destroyed the sin nature will be fully

661
00:55:01,720 --> 00:55:06,040
dealt with that there will be a complete harmonious unity restored among all the

662
00:55:06,040 --> 00:55:10,280
nations that all who call upon the name of the Lord are adopted in the family

663
00:55:10,280 --> 00:55:16,480
of God and made one people again in effect with one language all the praises

664
00:55:16,480 --> 00:55:21,040
of God but until then we have to be people on this earth where we were

665
00:55:21,040 --> 00:55:26,520
intentionally leave babble behind like stop clinging to those things that that

666
00:55:26,520 --> 00:55:31,080
are just self-exalting clinging to those things that that that communicate we

667
00:55:31,080 --> 00:55:34,920
don't need God I could do it on my own and even as Christians how many times do

668
00:55:34,920 --> 00:55:39,360
we as believers enter into situations challenges or whatever and instead of

669
00:55:39,360 --> 00:55:43,640
praying and instead of getting in God's word we just try to handle it on our own

670
00:55:43,640 --> 00:55:53,240
and what happens it gets worse but instead leave that behind leave the the

671
00:55:53,240 --> 00:55:58,520
the Babylonian heart behind leave that part of you that is still with you

672
00:55:58,520 --> 00:56:02,840
because your sin nature is still with you but leave it behind and instead

673
00:56:02,840 --> 00:56:13,040
cling to the Lord stay close to him stay close to his word stop trying to fix

674
00:56:13,040 --> 00:56:17,240
your own problems and mankind needs to stop trying to bring true peace and

675
00:56:17,240 --> 00:56:22,080
unity because they will never happen without Jesus Christ why because man's

676
00:56:22,080 --> 00:56:30,160
heart is corrupted instead we must come to Christ in faith believing in who he

677
00:56:30,160 --> 00:56:36,720
is and what he did and what it means for each one of us trusting ultimately that

678
00:56:36,720 --> 00:56:44,240
God can take the Babylonian heart the dead cold just evil wicked heart that

679
00:56:44,240 --> 00:56:49,960
we're all born with and replace it with a new heart a living heart a heart that

680
00:56:49,960 --> 00:56:56,680
beats for him Ezekiel said this in chapter 36 this is the promise for all

681
00:56:56,680 --> 00:57:00,940
who call upon the name of the Lord I will give you a new heart and put a new

682
00:57:00,940 --> 00:57:04,800
spirit within you I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of

683
00:57:04,800 --> 00:57:10,560
flesh I will place my spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and

684
00:57:10,560 --> 00:57:18,440
carefully observe my ordinances that is what Jesus Christ offers all of us today

685
00:57:18,440 --> 00:57:21,960
when God looks down upon all our accomplishments and don't get me wrong

686
00:57:21,960 --> 00:57:26,360
there's a lot of neat things we've accomplished none of it is ever gonna

687
00:57:26,360 --> 00:57:31,920
cure our heart problem we are born wicked and without Christ we die wicked

688
00:57:31,920 --> 00:57:37,920
and because God is holy and righteous and just if we leave this life still dead

689
00:57:37,920 --> 00:57:45,240
in our sins knowing that we had the opportunity to be forgiven then it's

690
00:57:45,240 --> 00:57:49,000
gonna be an eternity paying the price for your own sins and the Bible calls

691
00:57:49,000 --> 00:57:55,000
that hell but today if you don't know Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior

692
00:57:55,000 --> 00:57:58,760
instead of the division and the disunity that exists in your life in so many

693
00:57:58,760 --> 00:58:02,400
different ways you could find a new place of unity within the body of Christ

694
00:58:02,400 --> 00:58:07,040
a place where you're among other people who have also been forgiven of their sin

695
00:58:07,040 --> 00:58:14,240
who recognize that without God it is hopeless but with him it's paradise so if

696
00:58:14,240 --> 00:58:18,200
you don't know Jesus I'm gonna give you an opportunity right now to receive him

697
00:58:18,200 --> 00:58:24,480
as your Savior and all that means is that you say I believe that God is who

698
00:58:24,480 --> 00:58:29,680
he says he is in his word I believe that he came to this earth 2,000 years ago I

699
00:58:29,680 --> 00:58:34,560
believe he died on the cross to pay for my sin all of my sin past present and

700
00:58:34,560 --> 00:58:39,720
future so God bring me into your family that it would be a part of the one

701
00:58:39,720 --> 00:58:44,720
united people who when we leave this earth we're gonna be united with him in

702
00:58:44,720 --> 00:58:53,000
heaven forever let's pray father we thank you Lord

703
00:58:53,000 --> 00:58:59,640
I thank you God for your presence here today I thank you Lord for your word I

704
00:58:59,640 --> 00:59:07,240
thank you Lord for your grace your patience Lord we we just keep going back

705
00:59:07,240 --> 00:59:14,840
to the same old things due to our sin nature over and over and over and yet

706
00:59:14,840 --> 00:59:20,320
God in your perfect infinite patience and your grace and your love you will

707
00:59:20,320 --> 00:59:26,080
wait for us to come to that place of knowing you to finally realize that we

708
00:59:26,080 --> 00:59:32,240
don't deserve the glory that yes we are sinful broken people wicked and selfish

709
00:59:32,240 --> 00:59:37,680
and that Lord nothing we can do is gonna change that because it's the very core of

710
00:59:37,680 --> 00:59:43,320
who we are but God you preach this message to us you share this hope with

711
00:59:43,320 --> 00:59:49,640
us that God we would come to you and say God I believe in you and I believe in

712
00:59:49,640 --> 00:59:57,200
what you say please forgive me of my sin please give me that new heart because

713
00:59:57,200 --> 01:00:02,680
this old dead one isn't working teach me how to live for you God give me your

714
01:00:02,680 --> 01:00:06,080
spirit that that I would be able to follow your statutes and carefully

715
01:00:06,080 --> 01:00:12,480
observe your ordinances because God it is only you who could change our lives

716
01:00:12,480 --> 01:00:22,200
and then God with that hope is that when this this world this life is over that

717
01:00:22,200 --> 01:00:25,720
instead of the the judgment for our sins Lord that we would enter into paradise

718
01:00:25,720 --> 01:00:33,320
because you've already forgiven us Lord we don't deserve that but you give it to

719
01:00:33,320 --> 01:00:38,640
us anyways because you love us and so while we're praying with heads bowed

720
01:00:38,640 --> 01:00:42,360
eyes closed if you're in this room tonight or if you're watching online

721
01:00:42,360 --> 01:00:48,560
tonight this morning and God has been speaking to you today and maybe you're

722
01:00:48,560 --> 01:00:55,240
aware you're sensing that that that Babylonian heart in yourself where you

723
01:00:55,240 --> 01:01:00,040
do pursue the glory for yourself you do want your name to be known you want to

724
01:01:00,040 --> 01:01:05,040
be the one to be glorified and you're realizing that before an Almighty God

725
01:01:05,040 --> 01:01:14,440
creator of all the heavens and the earth he's the only one worthy of the glory if

726
01:01:14,440 --> 01:01:17,920
you've realized the sin that's in your life as you've sinned against him in

727
01:01:17,920 --> 01:01:25,640
your pride in your hubris and you want to say God forgive me God come into my

728
01:01:25,640 --> 01:01:34,120
life save my soul give me a new heart if you want to be saved today just while

729
01:01:34,120 --> 01:01:37,400
we're praying I just want you to raise your hand where you're seated and say

730
01:01:37,400 --> 01:01:42,440
yes God I want to receive that if you're watching online and you want to receive

731
01:01:42,440 --> 01:01:45,800
Christ this morning I just want you to type into the chat right there and say I

732
01:01:45,800 --> 01:01:51,200
want to be saved I see you in the back anybody else God is speaking to you this

733
01:01:51,200 --> 01:02:00,760
morning of your need for him your need for that new heart in your life just

734
01:02:00,760 --> 01:02:05,040
raise your hand up where I can see it let me pray with you this morning I see

735
01:02:05,040 --> 01:02:13,760
you in the back there anybody else all right father God I pray for those that

736
01:02:13,760 --> 01:02:19,200
have acknowledged their need for you here in this room and in online God Lord

737
01:02:19,200 --> 01:02:24,320
I know your spirit is speaking to them your spirit is the one drawing them unto

738
01:02:24,320 --> 01:02:30,080
you and that God as you have revealed to them their their sinful state before you

739
01:02:30,080 --> 01:02:35,880
and even spoken to them about the the judgment to come on that and yet God in

740
01:02:35,880 --> 01:02:39,320
the midst of that you you express the grace that you want to give them in

741
01:02:39,320 --> 01:02:44,680
forgiving them of their sins Lord I pray God that even now they'd be full of your

742
01:02:44,680 --> 01:02:49,280
spirit as they accept you and for those of you that want to receive Christ today

743
01:02:49,280 --> 01:02:54,920
I just want you to pray these words with me there's no magic in the words it's

744
01:02:54,920 --> 01:02:58,960
not in that the phrase ology it's just simply the intent the meaning from your

745
01:02:58,960 --> 01:03:07,720
heart and say God I know I've sinned against you I know I have a proud heart

746
01:03:07,720 --> 01:03:18,400
I've lived a life thinking that I deserve the glory I've lived a life

747
01:03:18,400 --> 01:03:27,640
thinking that I can save myself Lord I've lived thinking that I don't need

748
01:03:27,640 --> 01:03:39,520
you but God today I realize I do I'm nothing without you my heart is dead

749
01:03:39,520 --> 01:03:52,000
without you so God please come into my life Jesus as you died on the cross for

750
01:03:52,000 --> 01:04:00,920
my sin I receive the hope and the promise of that I trust in you paying my

751
01:04:00,920 --> 01:04:11,080
price to save my soul I put my faith in you I believe you give me that new heart

752
01:04:11,080 --> 01:04:20,380
God fill me with your spirit that I may serve you that I may know you and that

753
01:04:20,380 --> 01:04:28,960
one day I will be with you forever in heaven thank you for loving me so much in

754
01:04:28,960 --> 01:04:35,520
Jesus name I pray amen well if you prayed that prayer today we want to help you on

755
01:04:35,520 --> 01:04:40,120
this relationship and I say relationship you've started a relationship with your

756
01:04:40,120 --> 01:04:45,520
creator the creator that's been pursuing you for who knows how long you've come

757
01:04:45,520 --> 01:04:48,240
into that family with him you've received everything he's given you and

758
01:04:48,240 --> 01:04:52,000
promises of God's Word is you have that new heart and you have that new spirit

759
01:04:52,000 --> 01:04:56,680
within you we call it being born again that dead spirit that has been

760
01:04:56,680 --> 01:05:01,500
disconnected from God for so long is now alive but we want to help you on growing

761
01:05:01,500 --> 01:05:05,160
in this and so if you raise your hand saying you prayed to receive Christ I

762
01:05:05,160 --> 01:05:08,760
want you to either come forward and get one of these believers packs after the

763
01:05:08,760 --> 01:05:12,600
services concluded it's a little white envelope or as you're leaving out the

764
01:05:12,600 --> 01:05:15,800
back today please ask one of the elders out there for a new believers packet

765
01:05:15,800 --> 01:05:20,280
because we just want to help you like what do I do now well it's you grow in

766
01:05:20,280 --> 01:05:24,040
this relationship and we do that through worship we do that through study we do

767
01:05:24,040 --> 01:05:28,440
that through prayer and then as we have our next baptism service at the beginning

768
01:05:28,440 --> 01:05:32,080
of next year I encourage you to take that step to publicly proclaim that you've

769
01:05:32,080 --> 01:05:36,200
given your life to God if you're watching online please just let us know

770
01:05:36,200 --> 01:05:40,040
in chat and we'll get your address don't post it in the chat please we'll connect

771
01:05:40,040 --> 01:05:45,200
with you and make sure that you get one of these packs as well but we want to

772
01:05:45,200 --> 01:05:50,120
just be together as a family united because we preach one message it's Jesus

773
01:05:50,120 --> 01:05:55,200
crucified Jesus risen from the dead Jesus saves it's one language we speak

774
01:05:55,200 --> 01:05:57,800
in the midst of all our different languages because when you talk to

775
01:05:57,800 --> 01:06:02,200
somebody about the Lord the Lord spirit pierces their soul he speaks into their

776
01:06:02,200 --> 01:06:07,160
heart and then one day we're just gonna be proclaiming God together forever in

777
01:06:07,160 --> 01:06:11,720
heaven hallelujah I can't wait for that but in the meantime there's a whole lot

778
01:06:11,720 --> 01:06:15,760
of Babylon we got to fight against and so may God give you his strength his

779
01:06:15,760 --> 01:06:20,120
spirit empower you may God reveal to you the gifts he's given you to be a part of

780
01:06:20,120 --> 01:06:25,120
his ministry in this world and until Jesus comes back for us let's pray that

781
01:06:25,120 --> 01:06:42,840
we see many many souls saved amen all right God bless you guys let's worship