Turn with me to Genesis 11. Genesis 11, we're going to look at the story of the Tower of Babel this morning. And I feel like this bounces around quite a bit in the beginning. I feel like we're here and there and it just bounces around a lot. And I could just quote some of these things to you, but I want you to see them. And so bear with me for just a minute. Because I believe that this is important to understand the what and the why of this account. All right.

The last time we were here in Genesis, we looked at the story of Noah. And if you look at chapter nine, if you turn back a page, the last or the second to the last verse in chapter nine, it says, Genesis nine, verse 28, it says, and Noah lived after the flood 350 years. Noah lived 350 years after the flood.

And chapter 10 verse 1 says, now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and unto them were sons born after the flood. And then chapter 10 lists That family line, all of those sons and grandsons and generations that replenished the earth. And beginning in chapter 11, this is about 100 years after the flood, okay? About 100 years after the flood, Genesis chapter 11 verse 1 says, And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.

And it came to pass as they journeyed from the east that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, go to let us make brick and burned them throughly, and they had brick for stone and slime had they for mortar. And they said, go to, let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven. And let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built, And the Lord said, behold, the people is one and they have all one language. And this they begin to do. And now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to let us go down and they're confounded. And they're confounded their language that they may not understand one another's speech.

So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth, and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel, and that means confusion. Because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth, and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

Now, the account of Adam and Eve, we're going through, we have been going through stories. We're not going through Genesis verse by verse, literally. We've just gone through some stories. And the account of Adam and Eve took place about 4,000 BC. This is about 2,200 BC. So 1,800 years have passed. When the flood came, I said this was 100 years after the flood. It had been about 1700 years since God made Adam and Eve and creation.

And men were living for about 900 years back then. Men don't live, men and women don't live to be 900 years old now. But back then, men and women were living a long time. And they were having sons and daughters for hundreds and hundreds of years. You can see how quickly the earth became populated. It wasn't populated at the rate today. You know, men were staying on this earth and having sons and daughters.

If you look at chapter 5, turn with me to Genesis 5. Verse 28 it says, Lamech, that's Noah's father, Lamech lived in 180 and two years and begat a son and he called his name Noah. He was 182 when he had Noah. Saying this same shall comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed. And Lamech lived after he begat Noah 590 and five years, 595 years. and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years and he died. Now watch verse thirty two. And Noah was five hundred years old and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Noah was five hundred when he begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. That's amazing isn't it? Five hundred years old.

So There were a lot of people on this earth. There were a lot of people on this earth. And up until this point, there was only one language in the world. Everybody up to the flood came from Adam. And then after the flood, everybody came from Noah and Adam.

And back in chapter 11, and you can see why I'm saying this is bouncing around a lot. Hopefully, hopefully this is making sense. But back in chapter 11, verse one says, the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And that's how it will be again. One day in glory, there will only be one language. And it's going to be the language of Christ. Either that'll be Hebrew or that'll be the tongues of angels or whatever it is. But in this moment right here, there was one language and the Lord our God changed that. And this is the reason why.

Verse 2 says, And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, and that actually means toward the east, eastward, as the population grew and expanded, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, go to, let us make brick and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone and slime had they for mortar. And they said, go to, let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven. And let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Now, this was God's commandment when he told Noah to come out of the ark. Maybe I should just tell you this. I was going to have you go to Genesis 8, but let me just tell it to you because we've already turned a lot. He told Noah, you, your wife, your sons, their wives, and all these animals, you go out of the ark and you go out into the world and replenish it. Chapter 9, verse 1 says, God blessed Noah. and told him, you go out and replenish this earth.

You go out and replenish it, okay? Go out and replenish the earth. Chapter 11, verse four, they said, go to let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven and let us make us a name lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. All right? God said, scatter abroad. And they said, no, we're not going to do that. We're going to do this instead so we won't be scattered abroad.

This was direct rebellion to the commandment of God. And I'm going to tell you, that's always a problem. That's always a problem. Before the flood, The wickedness of man was great and every imagination of his heart was only evil continually. After the flood, the wickedness of man was great and every imagination of his heart was only evil continually.

And let me tell you what that shows us. Judgment is not what makes men and women to be new creatures. God sent judgment to this world. Judgment is not what makes men and women to be new creatures. It takes the mercy of God through the death and the blood of Jesus Christ, slaying the old creature. Where was the old creature slain for God's people? The cross of Calvary. All right, it takes the mercy of God through the death and the blood of Christ, slaying the old creature, and it takes the grace of God through the life, the gift of His Holy Spirit, creating a brand new creature born of God. It takes God making old things to be passed away and all things to be made new.

That's what it takes. It takes God. God has to do it. If man is left to himself, okay, there's man. Now you do what you want to do. You make your own decisions and you do your own things. If man is left to himself, man will do the same thing that man has been doing since the beginning of time.

And that is sin against the commandment of God. That's what it is, sin against the commandment of God. And the reason is because that's what is in the nature of man to do. That is the nature of all men and women. That's what they do, sin against God. Sin against God.

It is because of man's sin that the Lord changed the languages of this earth. forcing them to obey his commandments. The fact that we have multiple languages, the fact that you can cross borders into different places and hear different languages means mankind is a sinner against God. Us included, we're not speaking Hebrew. All right, we have a changed language.

Mankind is a sinner against God. Men and women are sinners against God. That's the whole reason why God changed all the languages. Look at verse 9 right here. It says, Therefore is the name of it called Babel because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth. And from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

They did not want God's will to be done. They wanted their own will to be done. But in the end, they found out that is not a possibility. All flesh wants his own will to be done. But at some point in mercy and goodness and kindness and salvation, God will reveal that to a man or a woman now. And in judgment and in condemnation, that will be revealed to a man or a woman in that day. But at some point, every man and woman on this earth is going to learn that it is not a possibility.

It is not a possibility for my will to be done over God's will. There is only one will that is going to be done. God Almighty. God Almighty. It's the will of the Sovereign Almighty God. His name is Jesus Christ. This whole account took place over the issue of man's will or God's will. That was the whole issue. The whole thing came down to man's works or God's grace.

The Lord God told them, he said, freely go out and be fruitful and multiply. And man said, no, let us do the opposite of that. Look at verse three. It says, they said one to another, go to let us. Now those two words right there are two of the most dangerous words that could ever come out of a man or a woman's mouth. Let us, not if it's the Lord's will, let us. Not let God be true and every man a liar. But let us have our will and our way.

That's exactly what the adversary said. That came from the adversary. That's the root of sin. That's where sin began. That's exactly what the adversary said that caused him to be cast out of heaven as a bolt of lightning. And sin to be brought into this world.

Let us. Let us, verse three. And they said one to another, go to let us make brick and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone and slime had they for mortar. And they said, go to let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven. and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. Let us, let us, let us. Oh, that God in grace and in mercy would cause a man or a woman to say, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us. This is not about us. This is about him. This is not about what we're going to do. This is about what he has done.

That's the difference in the truth concerning salvation and a lie. That is the difference in the true gospel and false religion. That's what this story exposes to us. The false religion of man thinking that he can work his way to God. That's what it is. Man lying to himself, thinking he can work his way to God. Man thinking he has the ability to build his own foundation. When God has declared that no other foundation can be laid than the one that God laid, which is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, this is the lie of man's false religion. Verse four, they said, go to, let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven.

Let's work our way to heaven. That's the lie of false religion, that that ability is in the hands of us, it's not. It's not. It's not by works of righteousness, which we have done. But according to his mercy, he saved us. That's the truth of the gospel because that's the truth of salvation. Turn with me over to Isaiah 53.

As I read this, I'm gonna emphasize he, him, and his, all right? That's what I want you to pay attention to, he, him, and his, but you can also pay attention to we. You can see what we did, and we is we, not them, we, all right? Pay attention to we, but the emphasis is on he, he, him, and his. Isaiah 53, verse one, who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed, for he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground.

He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our inequities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. You want to leave us to our own will and way. That's what we're going to do. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgression of my people was he stricken, and he made his grave with the wicked and the rich in his death.

Because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he hath poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bear the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

He is him, not unto us, O Lord. It's all unto him. It's all unto him. Man ruined himself in sin and rebellion, but God came down and put an end to man's sin. Did he put an end to every man's sin? No. He put an end to his elect particular people's sin. Every soul the father gave to him, he came down and put an end to their sin.

And that's exactly what our text illustrates for us. Go back over to Genesis 11. All right, man produced all of this sin and rebellion right here. That's what man did, sinned against God. Verse five says, and the Lord came down. Now that's what we just read in Isaiah 53. God was manifest in the flesh. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Verse five says, and the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built it. The Lord came down and saw the sin. Verse six, and the Lord said, The Lord came down, and the Lord said, Thus saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord. O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Verse six, And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one.

That means one in sin. They're all in the same lump. All have sinned. The Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language. It's the language of sin. And this they begin to do, and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. Verse seven, Go to, let us. Now I'm gonna tell you, this is the glory of the gospel. This right here is the glory of the gospel.

The only reason that any of us, and you know, talk about men and women all over the world. Let's talk about men and women in this room. The only reason that any of us were stopped in our tracks and redeemed from all of our rebellion and sin against God, the only reason is because the Trinity God said, let us. This is the only reason. The Father said, I'll do the choosing. The Son said, I'll do the saving. And the Spirit said, I'll do the quickening and the calling.

Let us. Let us. This is the only hope that men and women have before God, that God would say, in grace and mercy, let us. Verse 6, the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language. In this they begin to do, and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

And I'm going to tell you something. God was not hindering their engineering abilities. He was hindering their rebellion. Now, there's no stop in the depths of their rebellion. Let us do something about this. He put a difference. He made a change in them so that they could no longer do what they were so bent on doing, and that is rebelling against God. rebelling against God by their own will. I'm gonna tell you that is all my hope, that is all my joy, that's all my comfort.

My name is Gabe Stoniker and I'm a sinner against God. I didn't used to be a sinner against God, I am a sinner against God. And I'm gonna tell you something, this afternoon and tomorrow, I'm still gonna be a sinner against God. And I don't want to be a sinner against God.

God help me and do something for me and save me. And this is all my comfort and this is all my hope that God would come down and do something that would stop me from doing what I am so bent on doing. And that is rebelling against God. God came down and He created a change in them that forced them to do His will. You know, that's the result of the cross. God said, go and be scattered abroad.

And man said, no, we will not do that. We will not have that man reign over us. I want to do my own thing. I want to make my own decisions. I'm going to make my own choices. I'm going to have my own hand in salvation. So he came down. And He scattered them. He did it for them. And that's how it is in salvation. We couldn't and we wouldn't. So He came down and did it for us. And the end result of His work was God's will concerning us. He accomplished God's will concerning us. For us. because we couldn't and we wouldn't, but God.

Verse seven, it says, go to, let us go down and there confound their language that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth and they left off to build the city. They stopped trying to build that city. They couldn't, couldn't build the city. He put an end to their works.

And it's my new thing I'm doing. If I see something that I think is important to emphasize, I started putting three check marks by it. I got three check marks by this, okay? That is what God does in the hearts of every single one of his people. He puts an end to our works. False religion tells men and women, you're going to have to work your way to heaven. You're going to have to work your way to God. You better start digging and build you a foundation. And you're going to have to stand on that. And you're going to have to build you another foundation. And you're going to stand on that so you can build you another foundation. And you're going to have to pyramid this thing up to God.

When God comes down, he puts a stop to our works. He says, you're not going to do that anymore. Because it's not by our works. Salvation is not by our works. It's by God's work. Salvation is by the cross of Calvary. That was God's work. Our Lord from the cross did not cry, Father, it is started. Father, I took the first step. Father, I made my choice. Now, hopefully they'll make theirs. He said, it is finished. Why would the God who cannot lie say that? Because it was finished. It's finished. Salvation is by the work of Jesus Christ. Salvation is by the work of God. And when he reveals that to a sinner, it's called repentance.

It's a changed mind. Repentance is not, okay, I'm sorry. I'll go back and right all my wrongs. Repentance is a, Saul of Tarsus changed mind from going and saying, I hate that word, and I hate that God, and I hate all the believers of that, to, Lord, what would you have me do?

Every one of us experienced that. Every one of us was turned from us to God Almighty. And the moment that a man or a woman sees God Almighty in the person and work of Jesus Christ, he stops his own work. He counts it all dung that he might win Christ and be found in him. He put an end to all of our works. And he accomplished by the cross. Christ accomplished. When he was made sin for his people, we were made his righteousness in him. He accomplished for us, in us, what he commanded of us.

Verse nine says, Therefore is the name of it called Babel, confusion, because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth, and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. They kept saying, let us, let us, let us.

This whole thing ends by saying, the Lord did, the Lord did, this is what the Lord did. Here's the conclusion. The Lord did it. Every truly saved soul will cry, the Lord did it. What'd you do, sin against the Lord? That's it. The Lord did it, that's the gospel. The Lord did it, that's salvation. The Lord did it and he gets all the glory for it. He gets all the glory for it. All right, amen. You're dismissed, I've went over. We'll have a quick turnaround here.