WEBVTT 00:00:09.699 --> 00:00:13.300 Hello and welcome to the Kalamazoo Church of Christ podcast. 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:14.820 Thank you so much for listening. 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:16.160 We're Startup Church. 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:23.460 We just planted in September, 2020 and at the Kalamazoo church, we believe that Christianity is done best when it is done together. 00:00:23.539 --> 00:00:32.299 And so if you live in the Kalamazoo area, we would love to connect, be it coming to a Sunday service, one of our small groups, or even just grabbing coffee with a member to learn more. 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:36.439 You can visit kalamazoo.church in order to do that. 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:40.380 We pray that you are inspired by what you hear today. 00:00:46.750 --> 00:00:48.130 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:00:48.869 --> 00:00:51.590 See I, for the communion, I brought the phone up. 00:00:51.649 --> 00:00:55.109 Now we got the computer, so we know we're, we're getting serious. 00:00:56.609 --> 00:00:58.350 Um, well, yeah, getting down to business. 00:00:58.409 --> 00:00:59.109 Good morning church. 00:00:59.189 --> 00:00:59.630 Again. 00:01:00.270 --> 00:01:03.969 Um, I want to give just a happy update from the last time I spoke. 00:01:04.590 --> 00:01:05.129 Last time I spoke. 00:01:05.129 --> 00:01:05.849 This is an obvious one. 00:01:05.969 --> 00:01:07.950 Last time I spoke, I had no beard. 00:01:08.569 --> 00:01:11.670 Happy to say today that there's a beard now that has grown back. 00:01:11.969 --> 00:01:14.370 I feel way much more confident up here. 00:01:15.150 --> 00:01:18.530 Um, it was, it was a very vulnerable last time, so I'm really happy. 00:01:19.269 --> 00:01:24.790 Um, yeah, as you guys were coming in today, you guys probably realized it was a little hectic, right? 00:01:24.870 --> 00:01:26.090 It was a little hectic out there. 00:01:26.090 --> 00:01:34.829 Um, I have this marathon going around, and so I, for Sundays right now, so I don't have a car, which is probably going to change tomorrow, hopefully, fingers crossed. 00:01:36.030 --> 00:01:38.709 Um, but so I've been walking on Sundays at church. 00:01:38.750 --> 00:01:39.750 I just, I really love it. 00:01:39.790 --> 00:01:43.269 It's, it's a good way for obviously me to get some good walking in. 00:01:43.349 --> 00:01:44.010 It's really healthy. 00:01:44.109 --> 00:01:44.930 I just love doing it. 00:01:45.629 --> 00:01:50.049 Obviously the walk was, you know, every turn I made was exactly where the marathon was. 00:01:50.090 --> 00:01:51.989 I was like, all right, that's there, that's there, that's there. 00:01:52.469 --> 00:01:54.930 And I shared this a little bit with Alec right before church. 00:01:54.930 --> 00:02:04.230 I was like, I just, when I'm looking at people who run marathons, I don't, I feel so distant, like it feels like an alien thing to me. 00:02:04.269 --> 00:02:11.469 I'm like, you're running at, you probably started this at seven o'clock in the morning on a Sunday for fun. 00:02:11.729 --> 00:02:12.930 I don't understand you. 00:02:13.009 --> 00:02:18.870 You and I are so apart, like the way that we understand each other couldn't be on different sides of the world. 00:02:19.150 --> 00:02:19.409 Right? 00:02:19.449 --> 00:02:26.710 I'm just like, no, I like the only way that I like to, you know, run or get that intense exercise if I'm playing like basketball, it's the only way. 00:02:28.009 --> 00:02:32.289 But it's just so funny as I was walking, I was like, well, isn't that perfect for today's lesson? 00:02:32.810 --> 00:02:33.090 Right? 00:02:33.729 --> 00:02:38.150 Because today we're speaking about Babel, the Tower of Babel. 00:02:39.469 --> 00:02:44.270 And we'll dig into it more about like, what does it mean, what happened and the events around it. 00:02:44.729 --> 00:02:47.469 It has a lot to do about language, communication. 00:02:47.469 --> 00:02:49.449 It's at the core of everything we do, right? 00:02:49.449 --> 00:02:55.370 You know, the Bible and more specifically, the section of Genesis that we've been learning, the world created, right? 00:02:55.409 --> 00:02:59.550 That's kind of the title of the last seven lessons that we've done in our thread series. 00:02:59.849 --> 00:03:07.610 You know, they've been focusing on how God's world was created and started with the voice of God, right? 00:03:07.789 --> 00:03:09.930 He spoke the world into existence. 00:03:10.030 --> 00:03:13.169 He spoke us into existence, right? 00:03:13.449 --> 00:03:16.629 And here, the story is going to end with the power of language. 00:03:17.129 --> 00:03:17.229 Okay. 00:03:17.229 --> 00:03:27.349 You know, language, words, tongues, and communication have always been at the forefront of the most important parts of our lives, as well as the biblical narrative. 00:03:27.469 --> 00:03:28.629 You can go to the next slide there, Jerry. 00:03:29.349 --> 00:03:33.889 And we can look at many situations where our communication has been a blessing, right? 00:03:34.610 --> 00:03:41.909 But there are also many situations where our language and communication is at the root of a lot of our problems. 00:03:41.909 --> 00:03:51.110 And that is something, if we reflect on God's world created, it's been an ongoing focal point since the beginning of time. 00:03:51.710 --> 00:03:55.990 So our issues of communication are not new or special. 00:03:56.110 --> 00:03:58.750 They've been happening ever since the beginning of time. 00:03:59.310 --> 00:04:01.069 Think about the last lesson we just had. 00:04:01.490 --> 00:04:05.210 God specifically spoke through Noah, right? 00:04:05.229 --> 00:04:05.909 We look at the flood. 00:04:05.969 --> 00:04:11.090 If it wasn't for his communication to Noah, there would have been no way for him to build an ark, right? 00:04:11.090 --> 00:04:14.550 That was something that no one had built anything like this before. 00:04:14.930 --> 00:04:16.230 It needed communication. 00:04:16.370 --> 00:04:19.569 There needed to be strict specifics on how to build it. 00:04:20.910 --> 00:04:21.569 Look before that. 00:04:21.629 --> 00:04:22.589 Think about the fall of mankind. 00:04:23.550 --> 00:04:32.449 It was the serpent's power of persuasion through language that helped plant seeds of doubt, pride, and wanting to be lords of our own lives. 00:04:33.709 --> 00:04:47.110 We can easily bridge these ups and downs of our lives and the ups and downs of God's creation and how communication or language, I'll use those terms kind of interchangeably today, they're at the core of both. 00:04:48.589 --> 00:04:49.589 So think about this. 00:04:49.910 --> 00:04:50.889 We're digging into this. 00:04:51.110 --> 00:04:59.029 Like for our lives, think about how many issues or important moments hinge on language or communication. 00:05:00.230 --> 00:05:02.550 Think about work, right? 00:05:02.610 --> 00:05:09.050 Even if it's not like, you know, face-to-face, it's kind of through email now, more and more, right? 00:05:09.470 --> 00:05:12.709 I know like Cal works, you know, away from his actual workplace. 00:05:12.870 --> 00:05:15.649 If you didn't have email, you couldn't do what you do now. 00:05:15.750 --> 00:05:18.250 Or if it wasn't for Zoom or all these online things, right? 00:05:18.290 --> 00:05:19.250 Work is so important. 00:05:19.550 --> 00:05:20.970 You would get nothing done. 00:05:21.290 --> 00:05:25.329 Our world would be in a shambles if it wasn't for communication for our jobs. 00:05:26.470 --> 00:05:28.149 Getting a little personal about marriage. 00:05:28.810 --> 00:05:44.850 I cannot speak from a personal experience here, but just from a viewpoint, just as, yeah, it has important moments, issues, anything in between, it hinges on communication, right? 00:05:45.069 --> 00:05:49.569 You guys could probably think like how many times, especially, I'll just go to the men part here, right? 00:05:49.569 --> 00:05:51.990 How many times have you been in trouble because you didn't communicate something? 00:05:52.529 --> 00:05:55.129 You, yeah, there's a lot. 00:05:55.269 --> 00:05:56.290 It's a lot, right? 00:05:58.129 --> 00:06:00.850 You know, parenting, you know, all right? 00:06:00.990 --> 00:06:03.170 Parenting, it gets deeper, right? 00:06:03.170 --> 00:06:09.990 How many things aren't communicated between sons and daughters and fathers and mothers, right? 00:06:10.089 --> 00:06:13.370 That anger, the emotions, that's how I felt, right? 00:06:13.509 --> 00:06:18.209 When I was younger and my mom was like, do it because I say it, I'm like, that's not a good excuse. 00:06:18.389 --> 00:06:21.569 Like, that makes me so angry because in my mind, I'm not being communicated with. 00:06:21.670 --> 00:06:23.529 I'm not, you know, there's no dialogue. 00:06:23.889 --> 00:06:24.470 But it happens. 00:06:24.649 --> 00:06:28.509 So, you know, we fall in these, you know, family dynamics that are hard. 00:06:29.350 --> 00:06:30.290 Think of the big picture. 00:06:30.290 --> 00:06:32.410 Think of society, social media. 00:06:32.889 --> 00:06:35.009 Everything is through language communication. 00:06:35.170 --> 00:06:42.209 But the way we do it seems more and more like we're trying really hard to find the right and wrong words for all situations. 00:06:42.990 --> 00:06:51.490 And language is becoming and has been a big issue and it's changing all the time of what we're supposed to say, how we're supposed to say it, and the tone we say it in. 00:06:52.730 --> 00:07:00.329 And as you can see here on the board here, the Bible is constantly telling us how important language is. 00:07:00.589 --> 00:07:00.769 Right? 00:07:00.810 --> 00:07:03.009 This hasn't been something that is like brand new. 00:07:03.129 --> 00:07:05.550 It should not be a brand new concept, especially biblically. 00:07:05.550 --> 00:07:11.129 If you've read the Bible and parts of the Bible, it has always been an important subject. 00:07:11.569 --> 00:07:11.930 Right? 00:07:11.970 --> 00:07:13.889 Think about Genesis 1-3, the start here. 00:07:14.149 --> 00:07:16.430 God created it with His voice. 00:07:16.569 --> 00:07:19.589 Going back that God created this world with His voice. 00:07:20.029 --> 00:07:20.810 Our voice matters. 00:07:21.329 --> 00:07:23.949 I want to list off just a few here and their importance. 00:07:24.189 --> 00:07:27.350 And this is something for you to take on, write down, so you can look at this later. 00:07:27.430 --> 00:07:28.470 It's not something we'll dig in deep. 00:07:28.470 --> 00:07:30.990 It's just a point to say, hey, it's important. 00:07:31.470 --> 00:07:33.370 You know, Proverbs 10-19, right? 00:07:33.509 --> 00:07:35.870 Talks about how our tongues can multiply sin. 00:07:36.149 --> 00:07:37.930 Think about Proverbs 18-21. 00:07:38.389 --> 00:07:41.629 The tongue has the power of life and death. 00:07:42.209 --> 00:07:43.009 Will such power. 00:07:43.129 --> 00:07:47.910 Matthew 12-37, our words will quit us as well as condemn us. 00:07:49.410 --> 00:07:51.149 This is the power of our words. 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:54.370 So as you think about that, put yourself in that mindset. 00:07:54.850 --> 00:07:56.709 Let's get into the story of Babel. 00:07:57.329 --> 00:07:59.230 Genesis 11, 1-9. 00:08:01.220 --> 00:08:04.600 Now the whole world has one language and a common speech. 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:08.339 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:12.300 They said to each other, come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly. 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:15.600 They used brick instead of stone and tar and mortar. 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:22.540 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. 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:25.439 Otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the earth. 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:29.199 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 00:08:29.420 --> 00:08:38.840 The Lord said, if as one people speak in the same language, they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan will do will be impossible for them. 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:42.980 Come let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. 00:08:43.500 --> 00:08:48.240 So the Lord scoured them from there over all the earth and they stopped building the city. 00:08:48.740 --> 00:08:55.039 That is why it was called Babel, because it was where the Lord confused the language of the whole world. 00:08:55.500 --> 00:09:00.179 From there, the Lord scouted them over the face of the whole earth. 00:09:02.019 --> 00:09:05.820 This is a unique passage in our relationship with God. 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:09.960 Please feel free to look over this as I'm speaking too. 00:09:10.019 --> 00:09:10.960 It's really, really important. 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:14.019 I have just a rhetorical question. 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:16.980 How does this make you feel about God? 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:20.120 How does this make you feel about God? 00:09:21.340 --> 00:09:26.639 From an outside view, just reading it straight down, it kind of seems like God is working against the success of humanity. 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:35.220 Maybe like, we're going to build this great tower where all together we're speaking the same language, we're best friends kind of thing. 00:09:35.460 --> 00:09:36.360 We're doing it. 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:39.279 God tore that up. 00:09:40.539 --> 00:09:41.519 Why is that? 00:09:43.179 --> 00:09:49.559 You know, think of all the hardships that come from the world still being divided linguistically to this day. 00:09:52.059 --> 00:09:56.899 Something that I'm really appreciative of when we look at this is kind of the lessons that have gone beforehand. 00:09:57.299 --> 00:10:06.340 So let's take what we've been learning the last few weeks about being human, human limitations, and the rest, and let's apply it to what we're learning right now. 00:10:07.240 --> 00:10:10.799 There are indeed problems that spring from speaking different languages. 00:10:11.419 --> 00:10:14.340 I know I barely have English down. 00:10:15.320 --> 00:10:20.500 I've lived with it for 27 years, and there's times where I say things and I'm like, I don't think that was a word. 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:21.799 I'm rolling with it. 00:10:22.019 --> 00:10:23.820 And like, that doesn't make sense, whatever. 00:10:24.019 --> 00:10:27.559 I have troubles with my own language, and they're like, hey, you want to learn Spanish? 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:28.320 I'm like, I can't. 00:10:28.379 --> 00:10:29.940 I barely know how to speak my own, right? 00:10:30.100 --> 00:10:32.000 I have troubles with this, right? 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:41.820 But history has shown that there are even greater problems when we all speak the same language, but it's not the language of Christ. 00:10:43.220 --> 00:10:44.639 You can go to the next slide here. 00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:46.440 Think about empires. 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:49.080 Think about empires. 00:10:50.019 --> 00:10:58.139 The Roman Empire, the Nazi Germany Reich, or if those are just a little too dark, think about the Star Wars Empire. 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:02.059 I'm really glad me and Spencer talked about Star Wars today, or not Spencer, Alec, my bad. 00:11:02.940 --> 00:11:03.539 Close enough. 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:05.879 But wait, Star Wars, right? 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:09.240 Think about that empire, the four, five, and six, the originals, right? 00:11:09.340 --> 00:11:10.259 Think about the empire. 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:16.179 That's the kind of thing that can happen when everyone speaks the same language. 00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:19.320 There's no room for dissent. 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:23.820 There are propaganda campaigns that control speech. 00:11:25.860 --> 00:11:28.299 Control is not just about language. 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:33.679 The Bible account begins by saying the earth had one language and the same words. 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:42.539 When a group of people all use the same words, it is very powerful, but can also quickly lead to a lot of trouble. 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:51.419 And the reason this is, and I'll dig into this, is like humans have always had their hand in taking control, right? 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:57.080 A couple of weeks ago, Alec's lesson powerfully pointed out what truly happened at the fall of man. 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:04.019 It was seeing God's purpose for our own lives and saying, no, I want God's rule. 00:12:04.580 --> 00:12:05.940 I want God's purpose. 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:09.120 I don't like the purpose God gave me. 00:12:11.019 --> 00:12:22.500 And I think it's so easy to think that if we had the same language and the same commonalities that we would all just, you know, hold hands and, you know, skip down the yellow brick road. 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:24.519 It's not how we are. 00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:25.960 It's not our nature. 00:12:27.460 --> 00:12:32.639 You know, we often forget that humans are more often a part of the dirt than the divine. 00:12:33.500 --> 00:12:37.259 You know, we seek things of this earth rather than seeking what is God. 00:12:38.059 --> 00:12:39.580 And Babel was no different. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:46.340 I think from an outside perspective, looking in, it's like all these people are just trying to have this thing together. 00:12:47.179 --> 00:12:54.320 But we know what happens to us as sinful humans when we try to do things in one commonality. 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:57.179 We usually do it for our own pride, our own control. 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:00.340 It usually ends up in destruction and a lot of sin. 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:04.059 Babel was more than a tower. 00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:08.940 It seems to coincide with the first attempt at an empire in our world. 00:13:10.500 --> 00:13:13.139 God is decidedly anti-empire. 00:13:13.659 --> 00:13:16.799 And here's where we dig into what the slide says, right? 00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:19.139 Empires devalue humanity. 00:13:19.820 --> 00:13:21.580 People are seen as cogs in a system. 00:13:22.740 --> 00:13:25.460 Empire pushes past human limitations. 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:29.759 It's all about growth and the success and the glory of the empire, right? 00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:38.759 Think of the three options, like all of it was about the pursuing of domination and progress or something that was in the name of, you know, quote, unquote, progress. 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:42.740 Didn't matter what cost it took to grow those empires. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:45.259 Empire is anti-rest. 00:13:45.899 --> 00:13:47.600 Once again, it's growth, it's strength. 00:13:48.580 --> 00:13:50.200 Empire is anti-diversity. 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:57.200 Same language, same words, uniforms, the way that we talk, what we say. 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:00.139 Empires weeds out creativity. 00:14:02.220 --> 00:14:04.840 God is all about diversity. 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:12.759 You know, as a church, we can look at this and we want to build something amazing. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:16.559 I hope that's in our nature or that's what we're trying to do. 00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:18.620 We're trying to do it on a day-to-day basis. 00:14:19.100 --> 00:14:23.679 I think sometimes we see some of these characteristics and want to infuse them in the church, right? 00:14:23.720 --> 00:14:25.179 You hear growth and success. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:28.039 Growth and success aren't bad, right? 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:29.860 We want this room to be bigger. 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:31.000 We want it to succeed. 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:46.679 The ways that we do it, though, tying back to the ways that the humans tried to build Babel, tried to connect with God, it's usually from our own hands, from our own control rather than understanding how God wants to do it, how God wants to build the church, not how we want to build the church. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:55.399 But if we have to build a church that is not an empire, we have to take an anti-Babel approach. 00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:57.559 Go to the next slide here. 00:14:58.919 --> 00:15:04.700 What does it look like to build a growing, healthy church that is anti-Babel? 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:07.000 Well, it's the opposite of the things we just listed. 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:07.620 Let's look at it. 00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:11.980 It's a direct correlation or they directly oppose each other. 00:15:12.820 --> 00:15:15.240 People's humanity is valued, right? 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:16.019 We are sinners. 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:19.600 We need healing and saving all the time. 00:15:19.659 --> 00:15:20.980 We are not perfect. 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:23.879 People's limitations are respected. 00:15:23.879 --> 00:15:28.019 We are called to the standard of Christ, but given heaps of grace. 00:15:28.100 --> 00:15:34.419 I think everyone here can look at the times that someone has shown them love when they deserve to probably be slapped across the head. 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:35.720 I know I can. 00:15:35.779 --> 00:15:40.940 There's been times where I've really messed up and people's love covers my limitations. 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:43.600 Rest is valued, right? 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:45.799 It's about His work, not our work. 00:15:46.679 --> 00:15:47.980 Remember the creation. 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:52.139 Jesus or God took specific time to rest on the seventh day. 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:53.820 What's so cool about that? 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:54.620 God did not need to rest. 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:55.000 It's God. 00:15:55.059 --> 00:15:58.580 He could do whatever He wants, but He needed to teach us how to rest, right? 00:15:58.580 --> 00:16:03.159 So He specifically put it in how we need to rest in our day-to-day life. 00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:05.759 Diversity is valued. 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:08.100 Differentness is honored. 00:16:09.419 --> 00:16:18.600 People of different perspectives, ideas flourish, especially when it's under the unification of Christ and not man. 00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:22.440 Man, this sounds amazing, doesn't it? 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:24.879 You look at these, you're like, that's cool. 00:16:27.899 --> 00:16:28.840 That's what my heart wants. 00:16:28.899 --> 00:16:29.799 That's what our church wants. 00:16:30.379 --> 00:16:32.639 Man, it'd be so cool if we had an example of this. 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:38.940 Acts 2 is a really good example of this. 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:42.100 Let's take a look at Acts 2. 00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:48.019 Acts chapter 2 is a hugely significant chapter in the Bible. 00:16:48.019 --> 00:16:49.019 We know it well. 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:56.080 It's the first time that the gospel is ever preached and people are saved by believing, repenting, and being baptized. 00:16:56.679 --> 00:16:59.940 3,000 are added to the church on that first day. 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:02.179 But here's the thing. 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:04.380 That's only the second half of that chapter. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:08.420 It's the one we use the most, I think, in our group of churches because it's so important. 00:17:08.500 --> 00:17:10.660 It's talking about the building of the church the first time. 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:15.078 But we do tend to breeze over the first half of Acts 2. 00:17:16.019 --> 00:17:21.460 God is building His church, and He is building it in a decidedly anti-emperor way. 00:17:22.078 --> 00:17:22.740 So let's dig into this. 00:17:22.759 --> 00:17:25.539 It's not on here, but it's Acts 2, verses 1 through 21. 00:17:25.700 --> 00:17:26.640 I'm going to read it out loud. 00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:32.500 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 00:17:33.160 --> 00:17:38.519 Suddenly, a sound like a blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:43.880 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:49.940 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 00:17:51.140 --> 00:17:55.400 Now they were staying in Jerusalem, God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 00:17:55.960 --> 00:18:02.160 When they heard this sound, a crowd came in bewilderment because each one of them, their own language being spoken. 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:07.259 Utterly amazed, they asked, Aren't all of these who are speaking Galileans? 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:12.819 Then how is it each of us hears them in our native language? 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:32.079 Parthians, Medes, and the Ammonites, residents from Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontius in Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia in Egypt, and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors of Rome, both Jews and converted to Judaism, Cretans, and Arabs. 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:35.720 We hear them declaring the words of God in our own tongues. 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:39.900 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, What does this mean? 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:43.880 Some however made fun of them and said, They've had too much wine. 00:18:45.339 --> 00:18:51.980 Then Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed the crowd, Fellow Jews and all who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you. 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:53.460 Listen carefully to what I say. 00:18:54.019 --> 00:18:55.799 These people are not drunk as you suppose. 00:18:56.420 --> 00:18:57.880 It's only nine in the morning. 00:18:58.740 --> 00:19:02.000 No, this is what is spoken by the prophet Joel. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:05.740 In the last day, God says, I will pour out my spirit on all people. 00:19:05.859 --> 00:19:07.380 Your sons and daughters will prophesy. 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:11.420 Your young men will see vision and your old men will dream dreams. 00:19:12.500 --> 00:19:17.500 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days and they will prophesy. 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:23.079 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 00:19:23.700 --> 00:19:28.700 The sun will turn to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 00:19:29.059 --> 00:19:32.960 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:37.339 We get the look here. 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:40.220 We know what happened at Pentecost. 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:42.420 We know about the saving. 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:43.480 We know about the 3000. 00:19:44.279 --> 00:19:49.460 And we count ourselves as a part of this church that began that day, the beginning of church. 00:19:50.819 --> 00:19:52.720 But have we considered how it happened? 00:19:53.900 --> 00:19:58.839 Like the Babel account, it begins with language, such a core part of everything we do. 00:19:58.839 --> 00:20:07.579 But instead of everyone speaking the same language and being the same common tongue, after all, that's how things get done in empires, right? 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:08.200 Same language. 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:12.759 God makes sure that everyone hears the gospel in their own language. 00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:17.819 Luke takes great care to point this out. 00:20:18.740 --> 00:20:24.019 He even names all the places where people are from and where they will scatter to after the festival is over. 00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:31.200 Instead of having everyone hear the gospel in one language, diversity is built in from the start. 00:20:32.140 --> 00:20:36.519 The church is multilingual and multicultural on day one. 00:20:38.839 --> 00:20:41.220 It's not just language diversity. 00:20:42.039 --> 00:20:50.680 They did speak different languages, but the prophecy of Joel fulfilled in Acts 2 talks about old men and women dreaming dreams and young seeing visions. 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:58.559 The people represented had distinct cultures, age groups, men and women alike from three different continents. 00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:03.619 They were not asked to learn the language or lingo of Christ. 00:21:04.619 --> 00:21:09.779 They were not asked to assimilate into a one culture to the Judaic culture. 00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:13.839 The gospel came to them and went home with them. 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:17.980 That's how God builds his church. 00:21:18.680 --> 00:21:21.539 It's the exact opposite from Babel. 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:28.019 So let's look, and this is the same thing here, becoming anti-Babel churches, right? 00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:29.519 We get to look at Acts 2. 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:31.400 It's convicting, right? 00:21:31.460 --> 00:21:35.880 Looking at it like, whoo, it's convicting, it fires you up, it kind of does everything in between. 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:43.000 So what can we do to honor the Spirit's work on the first day of church and build without building empires? 00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:46.819 First of all, we need to expand our view of Acts 2. 00:21:46.819 --> 00:21:57.680 We often go to the end of the chapter and look at how they devoted themselves and they were together and the Lord added to their number, but we can't forget that the great diversity built into that community. 00:21:58.759 --> 00:22:00.099 And this is where the tension lies. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:04.119 And we must follow the Spirit as we build. 00:22:04.579 --> 00:22:09.380 How can we have tight communities that are also very diverse and value one another's differences? 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:13.460 It's one of those classic statements, easier said than done. 00:22:13.700 --> 00:22:15.240 It's like, oh, let's do it. 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:19.059 Well, we have a lot of emotions or we grew up different ways. 00:22:19.140 --> 00:22:24.359 We have different ways of doing things and it doesn't make things easy, but also makes them way more worth it in the end. 00:22:25.339 --> 00:22:36.539 One of my favorite stories about conversion that I think highlights this church diversity is the current campus minister in Denver, Rick Ramon, is one of the guys who trained me up. 00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:56.559 And one of the reasons that he was so intrigued to study the Bible, he was a guy that didn't really want to study, came out to a campus midweek and something that caught his eye and made him think that, wow, something's different, was two guys that did the welcome, kind of how Paul did our welcome today. 00:22:57.160 --> 00:23:03.420 It was Steve Medberry, so I wasn't there at the time, but I know the guys really well, Steve Medberry and Jamel Compton. 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:14.940 Jamel grew up in Montbello, which is one of the more dangerous crime, you know, statistic areas, you know, place that, you know, predominantly black. 00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:18.700 Steve is redneck, as they get, wears camo all the time. 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:23.799 And these two men are up here talking about how great God is together. 00:23:25.380 --> 00:23:28.880 Isn't that just, isn't that Acts 2, right? 00:23:28.980 --> 00:23:30.480 Isn't that what we were looking for? 00:23:30.740 --> 00:23:36.400 And that moment sparked Rick's interest to be like, I think something's different going on here. 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:39.299 It made him want to study the Bible, right? 00:23:39.630 --> 00:23:51.299 That's the type of community, men who come from way different backgrounds, men and women who come from different backgrounds that in no other situation would be standing up here talking about anything together. 00:23:51.680 --> 00:24:01.359 But God is so much more powerful than the races and the social economic and languages that barrier and divide us, right? 00:24:02.650 --> 00:24:04.019 There is an archetype. 00:24:04.019 --> 00:24:13.019 God shows us the path, and it's the very next thing he does in Genesis, kind of giving us a precursor to what we're going to be learning. 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:17.680 God's answer to Babel is family. 00:24:19.819 --> 00:24:25.359 God's answer to Babel, his answer to an anti-Babel church is family. 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:29.779 This is a preview for our next series, God's People Verb. 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:45.819 But the very next thing we see after God's frustrated and scatters the empire and sends everyone off to their own nations, is that he fully invests into one family and giving them an impossible promise. 00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:55.759 It's Genesis 17.4, once again, it's not up here, but Genesis 17.4, this is when he's talking to Abraham, and we will get into this a lot more in the upcoming weeks. 00:24:55.759 --> 00:24:59.559 As for me, this is my covenant with you, you will be father of many nations. 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:06.839 It's impossible for one family, one person, to become a multitude of nations. 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:09.680 That's just genetics. 00:25:10.339 --> 00:25:11.640 That's just the way it works, right? 00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:14.640 All the descendants of Abraham are just the descendants of Abraham. 00:25:14.940 --> 00:25:15.619 One family. 00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:16.779 One nation. 00:25:17.500 --> 00:25:20.240 Yet, God makes a promise that seems impossible. 00:25:20.859 --> 00:25:23.920 But it seems impossible from our eyes, not from God's eyes. 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:28.960 And it ties back to everything we've looked at in God's world created. 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:31.660 God understands what he is doing. 00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:34.839 His purpose for us has always been clear. 00:25:35.960 --> 00:25:42.920 And as we look at every moment that God has created, humankind has done everything to try and bring our limitations into the fold. 00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:52.079 When it comes to building an anti-Babel church, we want to do it our way, but God is so clear on how we build it, right? 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:52.980 The family. 00:25:53.220 --> 00:25:54.420 And it's at the heart of these things. 00:25:55.259 --> 00:25:57.599 It's at the heart of us wanting to grow our church. 00:25:58.599 --> 00:26:01.279 It's at the heart of us wanting to help people be saved. 00:26:01.900 --> 00:26:04.140 At the heart of making a difference in our community. 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:22.720 The key, I feel this really personally, I love this statement, the key is not an amazing program or getting everyone on the exact same page or some catchy phrase to get us all on board for the next, you know, lesson or year or, you know, whatever it is. 00:26:23.400 --> 00:26:25.240 It's this idea of family. 00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:31.019 God works with families to accomplish the impossible, no matter how big the group is. 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:33.960 If it feels like family, it will be blessed. 00:26:34.039 --> 00:26:36.819 And if it feels like an empire, it will be cursed and scattered. 00:26:38.039 --> 00:26:43.859 But something important for us to know about family, it isn't just a word or a comfortable feeling that we get. 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:46.480 Family is intentionality. 00:26:48.299 --> 00:26:51.740 Family is setting up time with someone because you want to be a part of their lives. 00:26:53.119 --> 00:26:57.519 Or it's something like doing Friday Tulips for anyone who wants to come. 00:26:58.819 --> 00:27:05.099 Because we want to have great community, we want to build memories together so that we tie together, especially when the hard times come. 00:27:05.660 --> 00:27:12.740 Because if we're not with each other, if we're not creating tight memories, it's easy to get lost. 00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:14.700 It's easy to separate. 00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:16.920 Right. 00:27:16.920 --> 00:27:22.019 Family isn't a vague statement that we can make without any intentionality behind it. 00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:23.500 I think it's important. 00:27:23.880 --> 00:27:26.099 It's a conversation me and Jared had at one point, right? 00:27:26.119 --> 00:27:28.539 It's like family is it's a very loose term. 00:27:28.599 --> 00:27:29.319 It's a great term. 00:27:29.460 --> 00:27:31.940 We use it because we want to fill that connection. 00:27:32.500 --> 00:27:37.420 But I know growing in campus, a lot of times, especially after COVID, it's like we need to build family. 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:38.480 We need to build family. 00:27:39.240 --> 00:27:40.160 What does that mean? 00:27:40.619 --> 00:27:40.839 Right. 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:42.240 Like there's nothing behind it. 00:27:42.859 --> 00:27:44.559 That's why I think behind it, intentionality. 00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:45.599 I want to build family. 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:46.519 Well, what does that mean? 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:47.519 How do you do that? 00:27:47.920 --> 00:27:48.019 Right. 00:27:48.220 --> 00:27:49.420 You spend time with each other. 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:54.319 You go out and you make specific times to hang out, have talks. 00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:55.779 It could be fun. 00:27:55.859 --> 00:27:56.740 It could be spiritual. 00:27:57.180 --> 00:27:57.319 Right. 00:27:57.460 --> 00:28:00.440 The idea, like go and have a quiet time with someone that's building family. 00:28:00.619 --> 00:28:03.000 But the reason is because you want each other to grow in God. 00:28:03.059 --> 00:28:09.339 You want to make sure that you are, you know, stay connected to the Bible as well as the person right next to you. 00:28:09.339 --> 00:28:09.660 Right. 00:28:09.940 --> 00:28:10.740 That is family. 00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:11.319 Yeah. 00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:17.380 And something super important about it is it's not going to happen by osmosis. 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:20.779 It's not going to just overwhelm you in one day. 00:28:20.839 --> 00:28:23.319 It's like I created family or someone did it for me. 00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:27.740 Initiate with others and in the nicest way possible. 00:28:27.859 --> 00:28:28.539 Don't look for excuses. 00:28:28.740 --> 00:28:28.859 Right. 00:28:28.920 --> 00:28:29.839 Like it's so easy. 00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:30.640 But why didn't me? 00:28:30.740 --> 00:28:32.099 It was time and X, Y, Z. 00:28:32.619 --> 00:28:33.440 Don't look for excuses. 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:35.319 Don't wait for someone to initiate with you. 00:28:35.480 --> 00:28:36.299 Go after it. 00:28:36.539 --> 00:28:38.740 Go create the anti-bible church. 00:28:39.480 --> 00:28:40.059 You do it. 00:28:41.319 --> 00:28:43.680 I think often these lessons create time. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:51.640 To reflect on the vision for our church in the end, what it should look like, and more importantly, how it can reflect to God more and more. 00:28:52.819 --> 00:28:59.160 It can be easy to take these moments and challenges that we have and think of them as not accomplished. 00:28:59.779 --> 00:29:03.119 Think of them as something that's like we're here in the mountains up here. 00:29:03.900 --> 00:29:05.740 The preacher just told me I had to go do it. 00:29:05.960 --> 00:29:06.099 Right. 00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:06.920 We have to climb in. 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:08.079 It looks long and tall. 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:14.859 But I want to end kind of today with rather of encouragement for the good that we are already doing as a church. 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:26.279 You know, I've been reflecting a lot on my time in Kalamazoo and we had a very impactful gratitude midweek this last week that Jaron led. 00:29:26.579 --> 00:29:30.460 And it's part of the reason it made me think about what I've learned in the nine months. 00:29:30.519 --> 00:29:33.140 It's already been nine months that I've been here. 00:29:34.759 --> 00:29:42.859 And what stuck out to me about Kalamazoo Church of Christ, and to put it plainly, is that I think we are truly trying to build an anti-baptist church. 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:44.559 Right. 00:29:44.660 --> 00:29:45.900 One that's rooted in our family. 00:29:47.380 --> 00:29:52.819 And I think being a small church really makes that, I want to say easy, but it makes it clear to do. 00:29:53.700 --> 00:29:59.140 Everyone here, we can meet and someone has a big enough house, we can all meet in it. 00:30:00.420 --> 00:30:03.119 That's a unique opportunity that most churches will never have. 00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:03.799 Right. 00:30:04.400 --> 00:30:04.980 That's awesome. 00:30:05.420 --> 00:30:05.539 Right. 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:15.460 We could all, you know, and we can like, half of us could like go do yard work for someone or whatever it is like we can connect, we can get together, we can make it very intentional. 00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:17.319 And. 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:23.660 Like, I want us to know that this is good. 00:30:24.279 --> 00:30:28.460 Like, I don't want us to lose, like, the sight of this. 00:30:28.940 --> 00:30:32.759 I think you can very much grow weary in doing the good that we're supposed to do. 00:30:32.759 --> 00:30:37.099 And not understand just like how awesome it is in the moment. 00:30:38.680 --> 00:30:43.779 I love our little, big impact we have on the kingdom of God. 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:44.279 Wow. 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:50.759 Our town might be a dot on a big map, but everyone's soul here is important in the kingdom of God. 00:30:51.720 --> 00:31:01.940 Whether it's the ever growing chaos the kids bring, to the intentional prayer requests that we post in our churchwide groupmeet, we are building an intentional church. 00:31:02.759 --> 00:31:06.319 It won't look perfect or pretty at times. 00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:09.000 Actually, most of the time it won't look pretty. 00:31:10.119 --> 00:31:15.440 But God will bless people who fight for this type of anti-babble mindset. 00:31:16.299 --> 00:31:18.500 Let me pray for the end of our lesson. 00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:22.140 Dear God, I'm so grateful. 00:31:22.779 --> 00:31:25.519 I'm so grateful that you scattered us. 00:31:26.200 --> 00:31:26.900 It's a weird statement. 00:31:27.059 --> 00:31:30.960 I just, you know, I have never really thought of that before this week. 00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:39.380 I'm grateful that I can look across the room and I know that someone is here from a whole different side of the continent, a different culture. 00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:43.940 I'm so grateful that not everyone is like me. 00:31:44.039 --> 00:31:45.039 That'd be really scary. 00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:47.819 And I think it'd be really bland, it'd be really boring. 00:31:47.980 --> 00:31:52.099 I'm just so grateful that we have such diversity in this group. 00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:53.220 And we're trying to build that. 00:31:53.960 --> 00:32:10.799 Doesn't mean we're going to be perfect in it all the time, God, but I'm so grateful that you showed us the way, that you showed us Acts 2, that you showed us what it looks like to be multicultural, to go and spread the good news of your son to everywhere we go, God. 00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:12.500 So let us take that. 00:32:12.559 --> 00:32:18.579 Let us be encouraged that we are building an anti-babble church and we don't lose sight of all the good that you've done in our lives. 00:32:18.660 --> 00:32:22.640 And we remember to do it with careful language and communication. 00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:24.940 And we just try to do it in your name and not ours. 00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:25.700 Yes, I pray. 00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:26.539 Amen. 00:32:26.940 --> 00:32:27.079 Amen. 00:32:28.920 --> 00:32:30.940 With that, I think that we're done. 00:32:31.539 --> 00:32:33.859 Once again, go get your crazy children if you have them. 00:32:34.299 --> 00:32:38.720 Thank you so much for listening to the Kalamazoo Church of Christ podcast. 00:32:39.119 --> 00:32:42.420 If you're in the Kalamazoo area, we'd love to get connected. 00:32:42.660 --> 00:32:50.019 Please go to kalamazoo.church and fill in your information to come to a Sunday service or any other event that we have going on. 00:32:50.240 --> 00:32:52.640 In any case, you'll be hearing from us next week.