Living Grace Foursquare Church

If We Build it, we don’t have to go!
Pastor Richard Farris
Living Grace Oct 2025

Man Proposes, but God Disposes. Thomas Kimpis, an Augustinian monk

This saying is almost a religious cliché, but many do not even understand what it means.
A better way to say it is Man does what he can, God does what He will!
Solomon used more words and said it even better: “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” Proverbs 19:21
God is all about His plans and His purposes. God asks us to participate in the plans. He makes a way for His creation to be involved.

The unfortunate thing is that humanity is like a spoiled child. He gives a directive, and we answer with 'I do not want to' or 'I have a better way.' If I do it a different way, I will look good.

God is going to accomplish His plans and purposes His way, despite the plans and purposes of sinful man.
Let's look at a couple of real quick examples before we get into the text today.

Adam and Eve sinned, but God clothed them and promised a redeemer.

Cain killed Abel, but God sent Seth to carry on the godly line.

It never works out well for us when we take things into our own hands: there are always consequences to our reaction or adjustment to His direction.

Look at a couple more examples of God having His way.

The Sethites intermarried with the godless Cainites, leading to widespread wickedness and debauchery.

So, God chose to wipe the earth clean with a flood, but Noah and his family were spared because they believed in and trusted God's word.

God had a plan for cleansing, redemption, and rebuilding in mind.
Think about the story of Jonah as he was told repeatedly to go to Nineveh, and instead of going, Jonah went the other way and was swallowed up by a big fish and spit out on the beach of Nineveh.

God got his way!! He always does!

There are many more, but I think you get the idea.

There are four great stories in the first 11 chapters of Genesis: the creation of the universe, the fall of man, the great flood, and the attempted building of the tower of Babel, before the Narrative takes a significant turn.

Following the flood, the family of Noah, who were on the ark, were given the command to “be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth”.

But as you may well know, that is precisely what they did not do!
And so, we arrive at the passages for today. Let's stand today for the reading of God's Word.

Prayer

Now the whole world has one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language, they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
So, the Lord scattered them from there all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there, the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 11: 1-9
The timeline for the text today is approximately 100 years after the flood.

Noah is still alive, and it is said that, although Noah was not directly responsible, this new beginning led to the most arrogant revolt against God recorded anywhere in Scripture.

Nimrod was the grandson of Ham and the great-grandson of Noah. He was a great hunter and is considered the founder of the great godless Babylonian empire.
Before the scattering of chapter 10, the people had a better idea than was given to them by God. And so, they decided to gather in the city of Babylon, Nimrod’s city.

It is shocking to me that after the entire population was wiped out, humanity is so quick to move right back into utter wickedness.
They returned to their old wickedness and dismissal of God and His will for them.

Let's break this down a little as we seek God in this passage.
Now the whole world has one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
There are two possibilities regarding this: either this occurs before the actual scattering, or the scene takes place in Babylon, where a common language is used for business and commerce in metropolitan areas.

Some commentaries suggest that chronologically, Chapter 10—the listing of the descendants of Noah—followed Chapter 11, which discusses the Tower of Babel, before the scattering of the people groups.
I choose to believe that the chapters are in literary order, not chronological.
There is a lot of evidence to support that, but we will not dissect that today.

The people all spoke a single language.
This is not the problem, except that it caused them to unite in rebellion against God.

The people settled in Nimrod’s city instead of filling the earth; the people hunkered down in the city of Babylon in defiance of God's direction.

This is an absolute disregard for the command to go and be fruitful and cover the entire world.

Babylon must have been a beautiful city that spoke to and enticed the human heart with all the fleshly desires.
I imagine the great food and amazing goods that there were to be obtained, and then the opportunity to feed the fleshly desires. I think the attraction was overwhelming and sensual.
People often ask me about living in Las Vegas or Sin City, and I have a stock answer, but I can only imagine the debauchery in this city.
I have toured the city of New Orleans, and it is a city rampant with sin and debauchery.
I picture Babylon being worse than New Orleans during Mardi Gras

Pastor Richie says that men need to overcome three things that can lead them astray: anger, pride, and sexual sin. The attraction to Babylon was so overwhelming to man's sinful heart.

Humanity made a conscious decision to defy the Lord and His command.

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

Fun tower picture

This is a tower that some friends built in Carlsbad last week.

We are not talking about this kind of tower.
But this kind of tower!

Then, man gets together and decides to build a tower, a ziggurat, or a stepped tower. Interestingly, they are always constructed with mud bricks on the inside and baked bricks on the outside—all the building materials we manufactured.

It is not built out of stone that was used in other essential buildings.
These buildings had a massive footprint and reached up into the sky with a spiral staircase or ramp around the outside for ascent and descent.

Picture of Tower

There were no internal chambers, but there would be a chamber at the top where the people would maintain an internal shrine to the god that they were worshiping.

It was not for man to go up and interact with god, but a means for god to come down and meet with man.

The bricks were held together with tar or pitch, which was then spread on the outside to make the structure waterproof.

The city and the structure were called Babel, which means “the gate of the gods.”

Notice that they said, Let's build ourselves a city and a tower to reach the heavens so that we can make a name for ourselves.

It was not a tower to honor God but a tower to honor man.

And if that is not enough, there is a statement that we will build the tower, so we do not have to do exactly what God told us to do: inhabit the whole earth or fill the entire world.

A blatant act of defiance, telling God I have a better idea than you, God, so I am going to ignore you and do my own thing.

God knew there was something dangerous about all the people gathered in one place, so He told them to scatter, but they did not.

The Tower of Babel project was an arrogant declaration of war on God.

Charles Beard, a historian, says that “the ones whom the gods will destroy, they first make drunk with power”.
God has demonstrated repeatedly that it does not pay to rebel against His will.

The people had several things going for them: they were a united nation, one group of people speaking one language, motivated by a single spirit of pride, and driven by a compelling desire to make a name for themselves.
There was only one crucial thing missing.
GOD'S APPROVAL!

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language, they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

God in heaven is never surprised, perplexed, or paralyzed by what people do on earth.

Babel's conceited “Let's go up!” was met with God's calm response, “Let's go down!”
It is not as if God really needed to come down to see what was going on, but rather to dramatize His intervention.
When God came down, He was not pleased that man was building a kingdom where he was king and made no room for God, His input, or influence.

Man was bowing to the throne of self instead of bowing to the throne of God.
Remember that man was building the tower in utter defiance of the word and will of the Lord.

He gave directions to Noah's family, and they did precisely the opposite.
God’s intervention with the people not only dealt with the immediate sin but helped to prevent future sin, at least for the time being.

The unity of humanity in the moment gave men a false sense of power that would lead to even greater rebellion against God in the future.

It is not that God does not want unity among people; it is unity around Himself that He seeks, but when man is unified unto himself and for his desires, not the desires of God, that is where the problem rears its ugly head.

By coming down and confusing the people's language, God saved their lives and allowed them the opportunity to return to Him.

God could have chosen to destroy them, their city, and their tower, but instead, a loving God gave His creation yet another chance to live and turn their hearts back to him.

The word Babel sounds like the Hebrew word Balal, which means confusion.

God’s judgment turned the “gateway of the gods” into “the door of confusion”.
In the church, God is not a God of confusion or disorder, but in the world, God sometimes uses confusion to keep his people from uniting against his will.

Remember that Shem means 'name,' and God had promised Abraham a descendant of Shem to make his name great.

When people rely solely on their own efforts to achieve greatness, they often fail to attain lasting fame.

Interestingly, no one knows the names of the builders of the tower. However, the name of Abraham is renowned worldwide and revered among Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
THERE IS A VAST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAN’S “WE WILL MAKE OUR NAME GREAT” AND GOD’S “I WILL MAKE YOUR NAME GREAT”

So, the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there, the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Man had decided to oppose God and do the exact opposite of His direction.

The confusion in the language sent the people in different directions since the things that had bound them together were no longer present.

They did not understand each other anymore. I wonder how this was processed in their minds. Like yesterday, we could speak and understand each other, and today we cannot.

This meant that the factors that caused unity disappeared, leading them to stop the building project because they could not understand each other and went their own way.

Last week, PR showed you a map of the regions of the world where they settled following the scattering.

Since God scattered the people and gave them unique languages, this ushered in the Global mission that we are a part of today.

God is still intent on getting His message out to all creation. God sent His Son, Jesus, and it was vital then, as it is now, for humanity to know and understand who Jesus is and the power of His resurrection.
Understanding that Jesus is the only name upon which we are saved.

Once the scattering and the confusion of the languages happened, there had to be still a plan to tell others about the Savior.

It is with this in mind that we today recognize our calling to tell others about the Lord and Savior.

Worship team comes
Jesus gave us a commission. “The Great Commission,” and he has not released us from that commission.
“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:16-20
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8

We like the inhabitants were given a job to do, and Jesus did not leave us with any options. He did not say, "If you want to or if you feel like it, I would like you to go."

HE SAID GO, and this is our commissioning. It is not optional whether we participate in the mission; it is a commandment. Remember, God will get His way. He told us to do it, and that is what we are to do.
Remember that Jesus said on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, "If my people remain quiet, the very stones will cry out." Jesus was going to have the rocks speak out in His name.

It is not for us to stand in defiance of His instruction, but for us to obey.

It is said by John Maxwell, “Mission exists because worship does not”.

Our call to mission will only be over when every Knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord!!
Will you obey the Lord in your calling to tell others about Jesus?
I pray you will today. Do not stand in opposition like those in antiquity did.

Today is the day for each of you to say yes to the Great Commission. Not reliving the errors of those past.

If today you do not understand this commission, please come and speak to me or one of the prayer team.

If you do not have a relationship with Jesus and want one today, please go to one of the prayer corners, and someone will pray with you as you make the best decision of your life.