DIY Disaster | Bryson Koch

Well, hey, Pando family. It's so good to be with you guys today. My name is Matt Robinson. I'm a Grateful Recovering Alcoholic and Drug Addict. And I'm a pastor here at Southeast Christian Church. And we are so glad that you are worshiping with us today and are participating through the Pando app. So grateful that you all are a part of our church family. Love being able to connect with you. Spent so much time this week writing and responding to letters that we've got from you guys. And it's such an encouragement, not only to me and our team of volunteers that helps with that, but our entire church leadership. We get to share those with some of the guys that lead our church. And seeing the genuine way that their faith is moved because of what God is doing in your life and you participating with us is so awesome. So please continue to write in for us. Please let us know what God is doing in your life. Share those one-at-a-time stories. And just please continue just to stay connected with us like that. If you've not subscribed to our Southeast Pando channel, I encourage you to do that today. There's so much great stuff that pops and drops on there. And if you're subscribed, you don't have to worry about any more about remembering or checking in. It'll come automatically.

So if you haven't done that, do that. So you can stay connected with us, especially through this sermon series that we're in right now. We're at a lengthy walk through the book of Genesis. And today Bryson does a great job bringing out some really cool truths that landed for me that I know will land for you. So we're grateful that we get the chance to do this together. And so if you would, let's begin and get ready for worship. Come on, we sing. We praise You. For the millions born to find. We praise You. It's what You're worthy of. Oh, He's so worthy. Come on, we sing. Let all our lives surrender. Jesus, take every part. It's what You're worthy of. Yes, You are worthy, Lord. Oh. For the greatest sacrifice, we praise You. For the grave You left behind, we praise You. For the resurrection life, we praise You. It's what You're worthy of. For the day You will return, we praise You. For the justice You will serve, we praise You.

In heaven and on earth, we praise You. It's what You're worthy of. It's what You're worthy of. Yes, He's worthy. This is what You're worthy of. We praise You, Lord. And all the good You've given us, it cannot be measured. For You alone deserve it all. All our lives surrender. Jesus, take every part. It's what You're worthy of. Oh. We sing for glory. ♪ From glory to glory, beginning to ending ♪ ♪ You're holy, You're worthy, so we'll keep on singing ♪ ♪ From glory to glory, beginning to ending ♪ ♪ You're holy, You're worthy, so we'll keep on singing ♪ ♪ So we'll keep on singing ♪ ♪ Yeah oh oh yeah oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Forever this is what you're worthy of ♪ ♪ Praise forever all the good you've given us ♪ ♪ We cannot be assured of you alone deserving of all our lives and the day ♪ ♪ Jesus take every part is what you're worthy of ♪ ♪ This is what you're worthy of ♪ ♪ Praise forever all the good you've given us ♪ ♪ We cannot be assured of you alone deserving of all our lives and the day ♪ ♪ Jesus take every part is what you're worthy of ♪ ♪ It's what you're worthy of ♪ ♪ Oh it's what you're worthy of ♪

♪ Oh it's what you're worthy of ♪ ♪ Oh it's what you're worthy of ♪ ♪ When I think of a Father sending us His Son ♪ ♪ So we could all inherit the riches of His love ♪ ♪ Oh I can't help but exult Him ♪ ♪ Oh I can't help but exult Him ♪ ♪ And when I think of the power built within His hand ♪ ♪ Impossible is nothing according to His plans ♪ ♪ Oh I can't help but exult Him ♪ ♪ Oh I can't help but exult Him ♪ ♪ Now to Him He is able to do so much more than we ask or imagine ♪ ♪ Glory to Him and the pride in Jesus ♪ ♪ Through all generations, forever and ever ♪ ♪ Glory to Him, oh Lord, all power, all glory to Him ♪ ♪ And when I think of the cross and how it set us free ♪ ♪ From heaven to heaven for all eternity ♪ ♪ Oh I can't help but exult Him ♪ ♪ And it will be a holy moment when we walk through heaven's door ♪ ♪ Pain will be behind us and death will be no more ♪ ♪ Oh I can't help but exult Him ♪ ♪ And lay my crowns down before Him ♪ ♪ Oh we lay our crowns on Him and now to Him He is able to do so much more than we could ask or imagine ♪ ♪ Oh glory to Him, in the bride, in Jesus ♪ ♪ Through all generations, forever and ever ♪ ♪ Glory to Him, oh Lord, all power, all glory to Him ♪ ♪ Oh glory to Him, to Jesus ♪ We sing of His love. ♪ How deep, how high, the love of the Father ♪ ♪ How strong, how wide, the arms of the Savior ♪ ♪ We stay in awe, we'll worship forever ♪

♪ I can't help but exult Him ♪ We sing how deep, how high ♪ How high the love of the Father, how strong, how wide ♪ ♪ The arms of the Savior, I stand in awe ♪ ♪ And I'll worship forever, I give Him my exalted ♪ ♪ Oh, I give Him my exalted, I give Him my exalted ♪ ♪ Oh, now to Him is able to do so much more ♪ ♪ Than we could ever ask or imagine, glory to Him, yeah ♪ ♪ I have been Jesus through all generations ♪ ♪ Forever and ever, glory to Him, oh Lord, glory to Him ♪ ♪ Oh, power, oh, glory to Him, yeah ♪ Amen, church, you all can grab a seat. We are about to step into a time of communion. And as we do, we want to use this time to express gratitude to the Lord, to thank Him for the love that He pours out, for His presence, His grace, and for the forgiveness that He freely gives. I also want to encourage you to take this time and reflect on your own journey that God has had you on, all the highs and the lows, the clarity and the wandering, the breakthroughs and the waiting, and thank Him that He has been right there with you through all of it. We see the image of Jesus with His arms stretched on the cross, and that is the same posture that He has towards us today, a pure sacrificial love for you and for me. During this next time of worship, we are going to see baptisms

from across all of our campuses that happened just this past weekend. And as we do, may we celebrate the power of Jesus as we celebrate the hundreds that joined Him in new life. So as you receive communion, can we just express gratitude and say, thank you, Jesus, together? You can eat and drink when you're ready. This joy is mine, now and forever. What a privilege to walk with Him. Even when the road feels long, I fix my eyes on eternity. Even when the trials they call, I know Your goodness will follow me. Yeah, You have been so, so good. You have been way too kind. Jesus, just to know You is better than life. Oh, Jesus, just to know You is better than life. What a privilege to follow Jesus. What an honor to worship Him. His joy is mine, now and forever But I'll be there to walk with Him To walk with Him Oh Your arms stretched wide on that cross for me You gave Your life as an offering My hands held high, all I have to bring I give my life, You're worth everything Your arms stretched wide on that cross for me You gave Your life as an offering

My hands held high, all I have to bring I give my life, You're worth everything You're worth everything Your arms stretched wide on that cross for me You gave Your life as an offering My hands held high, all I have to bring I give my life, You're worth everything What a privilege to follow Jesus What an honor to worship Him His joy is mine, now and forever What a privilege to walk with Him What a privilege to walk with Him I could sing Your name for all my life And still find more to love each time Jesus be the name ever on my lips It's sweeter every time that I call on it There's just something about Your name There's just something about Your name There's just something about Your name That makes me cry holy There is no other name There is no other name There is no other name Jesus, You're worthy You have been the friend who never left I won't forget Your faithfulness Jesus be the name ever on my lips It's sweeter every time that I call on it There's just something about Your name There's just something about Your name

There's just something about Your name That makes me cry holy There is no other name There is no other name There is no other name Jesus, You're worthy There's just something about Your name ♪ There's just something about Your Name ♪ ♪ There's just something about Your Name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry holy ♪ ♪ There is no other name, no ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ Jesus, You're worthy ♪ ♪ You're worthy, Lord ♪ ♪ Let me sing Your Name, Jesus ♪ ♪ Feel it in your heart ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Jesus, Your Name is life, the morning light ♪ ♪ The one the darkness can't deny ♪ ♪ The resurrection and the life, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, Your Name can save, Your Name can heal ♪ ♪ Your Name can make the storm be still ♪ ♪ You never fail, You never will, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, the breath of life broken for us ♪ ♪ The wounded and the worthy one ♪ ♪ The first and last and soon to come, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, the King who overwhelmed the grave ♪ ♪ The Lord who will forever reign ♪ ♪ The Name above all other names, Jesus ♪

♪ Jesus be the Name, Jesus be the Name ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus be the Name that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus be the Name that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus be the Name that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ Jesus, be the Name that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus be the Name that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus be the Name that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ Jesus, be the Name, Jesus be the Name ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus be the Name that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ Oh, the only Name, the only Name ♪ ♪ The only Name, Jesus ♪ ♪ We are your Lord, we are your Lord, Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus ♪ Jesus, that is our prayer. Jesus, that is our prayer. That yours would be the Name that gets all the glory and honor and praise. Father, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, into this world for us. Spirit, thank you. We thank you for the ways in which you are going to open our hearts and our minds and our eyes and our ears to the Word today. Let it speak to us. Father, Son, and Spirit, we love you. Jesus, be the Name. And it's in your Name that we pray, Jesus. Amen. You can have a seat. Well, there is a certain kind of confidence

that pops up right before everything falls apart, especially when it comes to DIY projects. And I think we know this, right? Like we've seen the YouTube videos. We've seen this in our own lives, right? Of these DIY disasters. It's the husband who's like, babe, I got this. Like I've watched three YouTube tutorial videos. I don't need a contractor. And then all of a sudden he's calling 911 because of a house fire. Or it's the couple who eyes a wall and they're like, I'm pretty sure. that's a non-load-bearing wall, and then all of a sudden, here comes their ceiling in on them. My personal favorite kind of DIY disasters are the cake expectations versus reality. Have you seen these? It's the idea of, hey, you know, somebody's getting a cake for someone they love, maybe a child, and hey, instead of having the professionals bake it, I'm gonna do it myself. Look what DIY did to my girl, Ariel. That's a little rough, isn't it? What about Olaf? Right, like, we love Olaf. He's so sweet, and he loves warm hugs. But would you wanna hug this?

I showed this picture to my two-year-old daughter. She cried because that is nightmare fuel, right? Like, there's something powerful and just present in a strong way and this stubborn confidence in that self-sufficient voice that we all hear inside that says, hey, I got this. I don't need help. I'll do it my way. And while most of the time we know the DIY disaster costs us maybe a weekend or a little bit of money or at the very least, like, some lost dignity or a traumatized two-year-old, what happens when that DIY approach that I'll do it my way, I'll build this myself, I'll decide my own direction stops being about home improvement or cake baking and instead becomes the organizing principle behind a culture? Or a church? Or your relationships? Or your life with God? Genesis 11 that we're gonna unpack today is exactly that story. If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to Genesis chapter 11. Genesis 11, we're gonna start in verse one. And as you're turning there, to give you a little context if you're just jumping in with us, we are in the midst of a five-month journey through the very first book of the Bible,

the book of Genesis. And since chapter three, where we saw the first man and first woman rebel against God, we have been tracking the downward spiral of humanity into more sin and more tragedy. In fact, if you have your Genesis fill-in-the-blank books, this is your first fill-in-the-blank. Genesis three through 11 tracks the downward spiral of humanity into a world marked more and more by tragedy and death. This kind of eight-chapter stretch from three to 11 just page after page, we see this, right? Like family is murdering each other in Cain and Abel, and we see violence fill the whole earth. And then last week we saw God send a flood upon the earth. And now on this other side of the flood, humanity is looking to repopulate the earth. And rather than learn from anything up to this point in chapter 11, humanity decides to double down on the DIY approach apart from God. And so we're gonna dive into this story, but first, I actually want you to flip one page back to Genesis chapter 10. There's a character who's introduced there who we need to meet in order to kind of understand where we're going in this story. So Genesis chapter 10, starting in verse eight. Cush, who was one of Noah's grandsons,

was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. When we read this in English, it just feels like God has made this guy to be like the spokesperson for Bass Pro, right? Like just a man's man. He's hunting and fishing. And I imagine him out on his Blackstone grill, like grilling filets, like a man's man. And yet, if we were to dig into the Hebrew, that word before God can really be translated into against or in defiance of or in the face of. It's this picture of Nimrod in all of his pride and his abilities and his status, being like a who is God compared to me kind of posture. And his name actually speaks even more to this. What we're gonna see as we continue to study through Genesis is that names just meant so much in the ancient world. Like today, we pick out names, right? Based on if a first and middle name sounds good with our last name, or maybe it's just the random 2 a.m. Pinterest board where you're scrolling and finally you're like, oh, that name slaps. I'm going with that name. But yet in the ancient world, like names were often prayers or prophecies that parents would pray over their kids and just pray that they would grow to live out

or be identified by the characteristics of that name. For instance, Holly and I tried to lean into this with our two daughters, Madison and Lucy. Madison's name means strong fighter and Lucy's name means light. And so every day, we lean into our two little girls and we're like, hey Madison, listen. You are a mighty warrior. Like we pray that you just grow in this boldness and confidence of who you are in Christ and that you would live boldly for him and Lucy, little light. We pray that you would just grow to let your light shine to the world around you. Like those are our prayers. Those are the sweet names of little Madison and little Lucy. You want to know what Nimrod's name means? Let's rebel, baby. Let's rebel. Sure, God's just thrilled with all his lifestyle choices, right? Let's rebel is going to go on in this way in verse 10. The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon and Uruk and Akkad and Qalna and Shinar. And from that land, he went to Assyria where he built Nineveh. Your next fill in the blank, Genesis 10 verse 8, is this Nimrod, whose name means let's rebel, is the founder of two of Israel's greatest enemies in the Old Testament, Nineveh and Babylon. And if you know your Old Testament like you know, those names just jump off the page. Like these were two just vicious empires that oppressed God's people that actually conquered them and carried them off into exile later in the Old Testament. In fact, Babylon goes on into the New Testament and especially into the book of Revelation as kind of this stock image of human evil and this final symbol for everything opposed to God. Your next fill in the blank is this, Babylon serves as a symbol of corporate or collective evil and rebellion throughout the rest of the Bible, including into the New Testament. This is a great starting point, right?

We have let's rebel and this is the heart behind all of this. Like the foundation of Babylon is what it looks like when that DIY human ambition organizes itself entirely against the heart of God. And so we're going to dig in with that in mind. We're going to flip back to chapter 11 to see how Babylon or Babel got started. Genesis 11 starting in verse 1. Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. And as people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and they settled there. And so remember where we left off last week? The world is repopulating after the flood and the people are all unified in one language. They're migrating. The text says eastward. And as we study through scripture, oftentimes what we see is numbers or place names or geographic areas. They have a surface level meaning. But oftentimes there's a deeper kind of spiritual theological truth that's trying to be communicated as well. For instance, I just want to show you all the times that east has showed up so far in Genesis. When God drives Adam and Eve out of Eden, they go east. When Cain murders his brother, he goes east. In fact, we see this throughout the rest of scripture that east often is symbolically a direction of moving further and further away from relationship with God. And so not only do we see the direction of east, but we also see that the people settle in literally the plain of Shinar. The word is the valley of Shinar. Literally this low space. And for all of us that know Psalm 23 by heart, we know where this is going. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. We're going to see two cities later on in Genesis, Sodom and Gomorrah, that are known as the cities of the plain or the cities of the valley. That just like east, the idea of a valley in scripture often also communicates this kind of spiritual place of lowness and darkness. And so these people are going east. They're going low. And I know for some of us, we're like, hey, what's the significance here? I think if we were to get real honest about our lives, like if we were to close our eyes and remember back on moments in our lives, we can picture moments

in which we were going east or going down into a valley. These times in which we found ourselves seemingly growing more distant from God. Maybe you close your eyes and you remember that night where you made a decision that changed everything. Or maybe you close your eyes and you remember that time in your life when you were surrounded by this sense of community that actually brought more death than it did flourishing in life. And the ultimate tragedy in all of this is that God is there. Like all the people need to do is look to him and turn their attention to him. And yet what do they do? They just keep their eyes down and start building their own lives. Genesis 11 verse 4. 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'll be scattered over the face of the whole earth. If you studied this text before, you know. that the tower that they're building was most likely what was called a ziggurat, a defining monument of ancient cities back in the day. And these weren't just like civil engineering projects, these were theological statements. In fact, your next fill in the blank is this, the Tower of Babel was most likely a ziggurat, a temple tower, a temple tower. They were these massive stone stepped towers, sometimes hundreds of feet high, dominating the skyline of major cities in the ancient world. And what's interesting is we found versions of them all over the world. Like not just here in Mesopotamia,

but in Egypt and even in Central America amongst the Mayan and Aztec cultures. In the original language, the word ziggurat can be translated into the word mountain peak. And what's really significant about that is in the ancient world, mountains were thought to be the dwelling places of the gods, right? They reached up into the skies near the clouds, right? This idea that up there is where the divine dwelled. And so literally in building these temple towers, what people were attempting to do was manufacture sacred spaces by building fake mountains. It was this idea of if we build this right and if we perform the right rituals, then we can draw down the deity into this space. In fact, at the very top of these towers was a little temple chamber where it was thought the deity or deities would come and dwell in this chamber. It was this mindset of, hey, if we build this, we can manage this encounter, right? We can access this god or gods on our own terms whenever we need them. And you may ask, what's different from this compared to what God asks Israel to do with the tabernacle tent and the temple later in the Old Testament? The difference is God leads the way on those plans, right?

He's the one that establishes the relationship there with Israel. Here, there's a totally different heart. There's a self-serving heart, a controlling heart. In fact, in the ancient world, ziggurats were thought to be control mechanisms. It was a way of saying this, hey, in building this, we will decide how, when, and where God shows up on our own terms. We'll bring God in when we need him, and then when we don't need him, we'll stash him up in that little temple space at the top of the tower. We're gonna engineer the relationship to serve our projects. And what was the heart of those projects? All you need to do is look back at verse four again for the heart of Babel. Fill in the blank. The pride of Babel is identity apart from and above God and a name for ourselves, in will and decision-making apart from God, that we not be scattered. As the people at Babel build this temple, they say, hey, we're gonna build this to make a name for ourselves. We're gonna be the ones that author our own identity. We're gonna define who we are. We're gonna secure our own reputation. And in addition to identity was will and decision-making, the phrase is, hey, otherwise we'll be scattered.

You may ask, like, what's the deal with the fear of being scattered? Up to this point in Genesis, God has been cleared twice in his command to humanity to fill the earth and be fruitful and multiply. That was the command in Genesis one. Genesis nine, God says, hey, be fruitful and multiply and repopulate the earth. It's this picture of, hey, as my image bears, like, spread out to every corner of the earth, carrying my heart and my love and my will. And yet, at Babel, they look at the mission of God and they say, hey, no thanks. We're gonna do things our own way. We're staying here and we're gonna build something that we feel like keeps us safe and makes our name great and serves our agenda. Your direction, God, go be scattered? Nah, no thanks. We're gonna decide our own direction. It's the reality of, hey, who defines you and your identity? Well, we do at Babel. And God is more than welcome to come down here and bless our identity. Or it's, hey, who decides your direction and decision-making? Well, we at Babel do, of course. And God is more than welcome to come down here and bless our decisions and our desires. Babylon is ultimately not just about a tower.

It's ultimately about these two declarations, our name and our direction. And listen, God is welcome to show up as long as it's on our terms. And if you know this story, you know that this goes just about as well for them as baking that Olaf cake was. Verse five, but the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that people were building. I love the irony of the language there, right? The people say, hey, we're gonna build a tower that reaches into the heavens. And in the language here, God's gotta still come all the way down to see their little puny tower. Verse six, the Lord said, hey, if it's one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing, they plan to do will be impossible for them. That word begone here in Hebrew, it actually carries the connotation of defiling or desecrating or destroying. If you've ever read this story and you're confused, like is God just frustrated over some bad building plans? Like no, what God is doing is stepping in as an act of mercy to scatter humanity that's united around this babble heart that would lead to even more sin growing faster and faster and further and further.

And so verse seven, come let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. And thus Duolingo was born. And so the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth and they stopped building the city. And that is why it was called babble because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. And from there, the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. God breaks up humanity, all the languages and nations and people groups go their own way. The city is abandoned at least till later. The author points out a fun wordplay here. So the word babble or babel in the original language means the gate or doorway of the gods. But the word balel means the gate or doorway of confusion. And so the people wanted to be the center of civilization their way, but they were left with a monument of confusion and failure. How we doing guys? This is a weird story, we tracking? Babble is something else, isn't it? Like I read this story and I just think like the audacity to look at the God who made you, who literally spoke and creation leapt into existence, who has allowed humanity to repopulate the earth after the flood. He's given them everything they need for flourishing,

even in a sin soaked world. And they look at him and they say, you know what? We're gonna do our own DIY project. We're gonna build a monument to our own name. We're gonna take your mission and replace it with ours. We're gonna build a tower to try to control the relationship with you. God just laughs at that. And as I read this story, I just think, you know what? Thank God that's ancient history, right? I thank God that every church is organized entirely around the mission of God and not just trying to fill seats and keep people comfortable. Thank God that our prayer lives are never just wishlist that we just invite God in to bless all the things that we want. Thank God that our relationship with Jesus isn't just in adding him in as an add on to our lives instead of allowing him to change everything. Listen, Babylon is not buried under the sands of ancient Mesopotamia. It could be alive in this room. It could be alive in your heart. In fact, it's the default setting of the human heart since the fall. When a relationship becomes about when each person can get from the other person rather than what you can actually give them. When love becomes a transaction and the other person exists to meet your needs and validate your choices

and just support your plans. Listen, the heart of Babylon may just be alive and well. In your parenting, when it becomes about raising children who make you look good rather than children who love God when their success is all about your legacy and what other people think about you. Listen, the heart of Babylon may just be alive and well. When your faith has simply just become this management system. I keep God up on a shelf and then when I need him, I bring him down and then I stash him away again and my prayers are just me inviting God in to bless me with whatever I want instead of an actual conversation where he may stretch and challenge me. Listen, the heart of Babylon may just be alive and well. The heart of Babylon of my name and my will could be alive and well in your career and your social media presence as you chase influencer status and an addiction that you've accepted as just who you are in your investment portfolio. Listen, this is me. Even as I stand up here in front of thousands of my family members that I love, listen, I have to be at war alongside the Holy Spirit against Babylon in my heart. Because if I'm being really honest, I care way too much about what you all think of me. And even as I preach against Babylon, Babylon is attacking my heart. If you look at your life, at what you protect

and what you build and what keeps you up at night and what you'd be devastated to lose, and the honest answer is, hey, I'm primarily building something that lifts my name up or keeps my life secure the way I want it secured or moving in the. the direction that I want, whether God wants me to go that way or not, listen, you might just be living in Babylon. In fact, you fill in the blank is this, when anyone or anything sets its identity or will slash decision making above God, they or it become Babylon. It's a sobering reality, and yet, it's into the very heart of that tension that Jesus steps in, in his life, in his death, in his resurrection, in his kingdom, as the very definition of anti-Babylon. When I saw this number, I got emotional. Do you guys wanna know how many people got baptized this last weekend at one of our services across all our campuses? 745 people, guys. Woo! Woo! 745. In fact, this morning, across all of our campuses, if that was you, if you got baptized last weekend, can you stand so we can celebrate how good God is? Woo! Have a seat.

745, and here's the deal, guys. Every single one of those baptisms, it was a party. It wasn't just a public declaration of allegiance to Jesus. Every single one of those baptisms was an emphatic declaration to the spiritual forces of evil that they have lost, that Jesus reigns, and that he, not DIY Babylon, is king of the universe in our hearts. 745, guys. 745. Here's what I know, because I know and I love you all. I know that this is a church who takes it so seriously, identifying the heart of Babylon in our lives, and seeking to partner with the Holy Spirit to just destroy it and tear down those towers. I know that whether you're at one of our campuses or watching online this morning, I know some of us are thinking right now, hey, I can see the tower. I can see what I've been building up for my name or my desires or my will, and so what does it look like, Bryson? Not just in theory, but in practicality, tomorrow or even later today, to reject the DIY heart of Babylon and embrace the heart of God's kingdom. What does it look like to tear down the tower in my life? And from the way of Jesus, we have three ways that we can step into the demolition of Babylon today.

The first is this, that you identify the tower and the DIY project in your life. You identify it. And Jesus, we see him throughout the Gospels with so much grace, but also truth. He calls out Babylon in the hearts of people in front of him. And it takes getting really honest with the questions of what's the thing in my life that I'm most afraid to lose or what's the thing I'm most organizing my life around and what would it reveal about me if it fell, whether it be your reputation or your career or financial security or your platform or a relationship. Listen, you have to name it because if you don't name it, you can't surrender it. Babylon loves to operate in isolation, in control and contain your heart in the darkness. But the second that you drag it into the light before God and others, it loses its grip. And so what does it look like this week to maybe grab someone, whether it be a spouse or a close friend or an accountability partner or pastor or counselor and say, hey, I gotta tell you about a tower I've been building in my life. Or maybe if right now you're like, listen, I don't know if I can ID that tower. Maybe it's asking that other person, hey, be honest with me. Where in my life have I been lifting my name

or my will above God's name and God's will? Secondly is this, that you pray the anti-Babel prayer, the Lord's prayer, or I like to call it the prayer of God's kingdom. Listen, for some of us, and I know this because I see this in my own life, maybe you're walking through a season where you are really frustrated that God is not blessing the blueprints of your life. Even though this might be a moment where just like Babel, God is dismantling or frustrating those plans because your heart is not aligned with his heart for you. And so all of a sudden, what does it look like for you to come like the disciples to Jesus and say, hey, Jesus, teach me how to pray? Hey, Jesus. In your time on earth, you were so intimately connected with the Father and the Spirit. What does it look like to pray? And Jesus gave his disciples and us this daily practice for transforming our hearts, this counter declaration, this anti-Babel prayer. Some of us have prayed it so much, we forget what we're even saying. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Guys, this is anti-Babel. This is every time you pray this saying,

I don't wanna build my kingdom, God, I wanna be a part of building your kingdom. And you begin to break it down and you speak the word Father, Father. And all of a sudden, God is not just a tool to get what I want or a helpful religious construct that provides me some stability. Listen, he's my dad who loves me and created me and wants me to grow in deeper intimacy with him and feel his love that he has for me. Listen, what does it look like for you when you pray to just stop and listen? Not for some abstract religious ideology, but for the voice of a person to be known and loved, your dad, who wants you to hear from him. Father, Dad, hallowed be your name or holy is your name above all things, not my name. Like Father, you are the one whose identity fills the earth. My life is not a monument to me. I was created ultimately to reflect to you. What does it look like for you to get real honest about your name that you've been trying to elevate as opposed to God's name and his name for you that is so much better? Your kingdom come. Father, not my kingdom, not my carefully constructed life or platform or project, I'm releasing my grip on what I've been building and handing it to you because I want you to rule and reign in my life, in my home, in my marriage, in my parenting,

in my finances, in my career. And lastly, your will be done, Father. Not my will, not my plans or dreams or aspirations, not my deepest desires that I seek to satisfy and fill with my own selfish ways. Father, your plans for my life. What would it look like, guys? If even for five to 10 minutes a day, you just set an alarm on your phone and you stopped and you prayed this prayer and you didn't just recite it line by line, you actually camped out and you let these words sink into your heart. Guys, the Holy Spirit wants to renovate our Babylon hearts and what a way to align ourselves with the fruit he's wanting to produce in us. You identify the tower in the DIY project and you pray the anti-Babel prayer and lastly, you join God's project. You don't invite God into your project, you join God's project. You may ask, well, what's God's project right now? I'll tell you what it looks like. It looks like last weekend. Looks like 745 baptisms. It looks like this picture of you being constantly reminded that your life with God is not just about you and him. You're a part of something far greater. You're a part of a family that is growing and growing and growing.

I wanna take us back to Babel. The people are scattered and confused and turned loose in their own pursuits and in so many ways, it's like the language of Paul in Romans 1 that God just gives humanity over to what we want. Life apart from God, okay, it breaks my heart but I'll give you what you want in this moment. And then history plays out and then in steps Jesus. His life, his death, his resurrection and then shortly after Jesus' resurrection, we have a book of the Bible known as Acts where we see the life of the church and in Acts chapter two on a day called Pentecost, we see the Holy Spirit fall on a community of believers huddled up in an upper room, praying the same prayers Jesus taught them to pray. Your kingdom, your name, your will. You know who else was in the city? Lots of people that speak a lot of different languages that you can trace back to this moment in Genesis 11. Acts two, and everyone present, the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began speaking in other languages. And at that time, there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. Like we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done.

Guys, this is the inverse of Babel. This is God now through the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus and the work of the church regained. gathering the nations back under the umbrella of the Gospel. The New Testament in verse, you fill in the blank, of Genesis 11 is Acts 2. Where the people were scattered at Babel, they are now continually being reunited in and through the Gospel. Where Babel divided in rebellion and judgment, God's kingdom unites in grace and redemption. Where Babel confused the languages of the rebellious, God's kingdom unites across all countries and languages. Where Babel was built on the DIY prayer and heart of my name and my kingdom and my will, God's kingdom is built on the heart and the prayer of your name and your kingdom and your will. This is Babylon being undone. And this is the mission that we get to be a part of as a church, guys. Like we're not just here playing church on Sunday mornings, we are a part of God's project of reclaiming the nations, reclaiming people that have been scattered to every corner of this earth under the name of Jesus. Listen, every time that we see someone far off from God come to him, every time you see someone dip under those waters and raise back up, every time that you are unleashed as the full force of the church to love people one at a time

through your giving, your generosity, your serving, your aligning of your heart and your giftings that God's given you to the mission of this church, listen, you are witnessing and participating in the continued undoing of Babylon. It's huge, guys. You were not made for your own DIY projects in your life. You are called to join God in his project of reconciliation and redemption of this lost and this broken world. And it starts here in this room. And it starts across all of our campuses and it starts online. It starts with us looking at our lives and saying, where is Babylon in my life because it has to fall? Am I using God to build my kingdom and further my own agenda, Genesis 11, or am I surrendering and allowing God to use me to build his kingdom and further his agenda, Acts 2? Southeast, what does it look like for you to follow Jesus in the continued dismantling of Babylon? It's a victory parade for Jesus that you get to be a part of. What does it look like for you to identify your tower, your DIY project, and pray the anti-Babel prayer daily and join God's project? Because listen, there is a world that needs Jesus. There's a world that needs Jesus. And when it starts with us getting serious

in all of our spaces with our hearts and what needs to happen here in alignment with King Jesus, listen, that allows us to march triumphantly with him out into a lost and broken world and see Babylon continue to fall over and over and over again until Jesus returns in victory. At the end of the Bible, Revelation chapter seven, John, one of Jesus's closest friends, earliest followers, a leader in the early church, he is given a glimpse of where this is all heading. And he records for us this in Revelation chapter seven, glimpsing into heaven. And he says, and I say, after this, I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count from every nation and tribe and people and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb. And they cried out in a loud voice, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. Every tribe, every tongue, every nation, people from amongst all of them, united, not under any name or will or kingdom of this earth, but united in the name of Jesus. That's where history's going. And for those of us who are followers of Jesus, listen, we get to look forward to this day

in anticipation and hope. And at the same time, there are people in our lives who don't know Jesus. And Babylon still has them in slavery. What does it look like for you to partner with Jesus in tearing down the towers of your heart so that we can be sent in his name to the people in our lives so that they can be standing with us one day too, singing these words of praise and glory. Southeast, is it your name or is it Jesus' name? Is it your will or is it Jesus' will? Is it your kingdom or is it his kingdom? Let me pray. Father, Dad, we come before you. We come before you in humility and in open hands and hearts with the insufficient names and wills and desires that we have sought to lift up in our own lives. And we recognize your name and your will and your heart for us is so much greater. Father, thank you for your mercy and your grace. Jesus, thank you for your obedience on the cross, your life, your death, your resurrection. You stepped into this world and you lived the perfect anti-Babel life on our behalf. Holy Spirit, thank you. Thank you for inspiring Moses to write these words for us to study today.

Thank you, Spirit, for the work you do in our hearts. Through a story about a tower and people's arrogance and pride and just the conviction and the challenge and the comfort and the growth that that brings that you bring in and through us. Father, Son, and Spirit, we love you. We wanna see Babylon continue to fall. And it's in the powerful name of Jesus that we pray, amen. Well, we are at a moment in our service where I just wanna ask you, what's God doing in your heart right now? I know that some of us have walked into this room or maybe we're online right now and we find ourselves in a place that just feels really dark. Like maybe everything seems to be falling around you. Maybe it's a picture of going eastward or going into a valley. Like you would say, if you're really honest, Bryson, I've been making decisions or walking this path. It feels like I'm moving further from God. Maybe you're here in this room or online today and maybe you're not a follower of Jesus. Maybe you walked in here and you've been just living this life trying to find fulfillment and satisfaction and answers and all of these different ways. And yet you're finding them to be completely bent on you and completely bankrupt. And so you're here and you're like, look, I don't know about this whole Jesus guy,

but there's something happening in my heart that I'm at least willing to have a conversation. Listen, if you find yourself anywhere in that, we have some amazing people over here in our next step room to your right that would love to talk with you and pray with you during this next song and after the service. If you're online, would you engage with people in the chat there on our SeOnline team? If you're ready for a in-person conversation yet today, I wanna encourage you to text the word connect to 733-733 and fill out our digital connection card. Whatever you put on there, a prayer request, a question, a way for us to walk with you. Listen, however you engage with that, like we wanna help you take a next step. And so my ask is, however you feel called to in this moment, however your heart is stirring, would you just be obedient? And one beautiful way for us to all march in obedience is to stand and sing and declare the holiness and the otherness of our God. And so let's stand and worship as we close. ♪ To the Lamb ♪ ♪ All thoughts and dominion ♪ ♪ All powers and positions Your name ♪ ♪ You stand above them all and the angels cry ♪ ♪ Holy our creation Christ ♪ ♪ Holy our creation Christ ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Oh if you've been forgiven and if you've been redeemed ♪

♪ We sing this song forever to the Lamb ♪ ♪ And if you walk in freedom and if you bear His hand ♪ ♪ We sing this song forever to the Lamb ♪ ♪ Yes we will sing this song forever and amen ♪ ♪ And the angels cry holy our creation Christ ♪ ♪ Holy, you are lifted high ♪ ♪ Holy, you'll hold me forever ♪ ♪ Hear people sing holy, holy, holy to the King of kings ♪ ♪ Holy to the King of kings ♪ ♪ Holy and you will always be holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus your name is the highest ♪ ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name it stands above them all ♪ ♪ All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name it stands above them all ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus your name is the highest ♪ ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name it stands above them all ♪ ♪ Above all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name it stands above them all ♪ ♪ And the angels cry holy our creation Christ ♪ ♪ Holy and you are lifted high, holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ He's holy so can people sing holy to the King of kings ♪ ♪ Holy to the King of kings, he's holy and you will always be ♪ ♪ Holy you'll be forever and you will always be holy ♪ ♪ Holy forever ♪ ♪ Forever ♪ ♪ The creation suddenly articulate ♪ ♪ With a thousand tongues to lift one cry ♪ ♪ Then from north to south and east to west ♪

♪ We hear Christ be magnified ♪ ♪ We hear Christ be magnified ♪ ♪ Where the whole earth echoing His intonation ♪ ♪ His name would burst from sea and sky ♪ ♪ From rivers to the mountain tops ♪ ♪ Christ be magnified ♪ ♪ Oh be magnified Lord ♪ ♪ We sing oh Christ be magnified ♪ ♪ Just let His praise be heard ♪ ♪ To rise, Christ be magnified in me ♪ ♪ Oh, Christ be magnified from the altar of my life ♪ ♪ Christ be magnified in me, yeah ♪ ♪ Yeah oh, oh, oh, oh oh, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ Every creature finds its immoral spring ♪ ♪ And every human heart its native pride, oh they knew more than I could give my feet, oh sing Christ be magnified in me ♪ ♪ O be magnified in us oh God, sing, O Christ be magnified just let his praise arise O Christ be magnified in me ♪ ♪ Sing it, O Christ be magnified from the altar of my life ♪ ♪ Christ be magnified in me ♪ ♪ O I won't bow to idols, I'll stand strong and worship you ♪ ♪ And if it puts me through the fire, I'll rejoice cause you're there too ♪ ♪ I won't be fooled by feelings, I'll hold fast to what is true ♪ ♪ And if the cross brings transformation, you can hang me there with you ♪ ♪ Cause death is just a doorway into resurrection life ♪ ♪ And if I join you in your sufferings, then I'll join you when you rise ♪ ♪ And when you return in glory with all the angels and the saints ♪ ♪ My heart will still be singing, my song will be the same, O Christ be magnified ♪ ♪ Oh let his praise arise, O Christ be magnified in me ♪ ♪ Sing O Christ be magnified, from the altar of my life, Christ be magnified in me ♪ ♪ Sing O Christ be magnified, just let his praise arise, O Christ be magnified in me ♪ ♪ Sing O Christ be magnified, from the altar of my life, O Christ be magnified in me ♪

Man, that was such a great time together. Worship really landed for me in this gathering, this worship service. The message was something that was so healthy for me to hear as a person in long-term recovery. There were so many messages that God, that the Holy Spirit was pressing on me, and I'm hopeful that it was for you. If there was specific stuff in this, please write in and tell me about it, tell our team about it. I would love to hear what your connection is with that. But man, the part that really stuck for me was when, at the very beginning when Bryson was there, had that, I got this, I got this mentality when he pressed in on that. And the Holy Spirit really connected with me because it's just such an ongoing battle for me that I got this, that I can do this on my own, or that I've got a plan. I'm ashamed, I challenge myself constantly with how much I still trust my plans more than I trust the God who provides for me. And so I'm hopeful that this sermon landed for you. And there was another piece in that that I really felt like connected in recovery was when he was talking about how we get our plans and then we ask God to bless them. And I know in my life I've caused a lot of resentment towards God at different times because I was using God, like it talks about in the recovery literature, like a Bush League pinch hitter, right? Like I've got this whole plan. Now I need God just to show up and bless that. And then getting mad because God's not showing up and doing what I want him to do. And you know, it's such a good kick for me to be reminded to just sit still, let God do his thing, and not trust what I can do, trust who God is. God is love, and I can trust that, and that's a struggle for me. So I'm really hopeful that it landed for you, really hopeful that God used the message today in our service today to continue down this journey of what it looks like to walk with him.

You know, if you've enjoyed this with us today, we'd love for you to connect with us on Thursdays. We have a Pando exclusive podcast that drops. It's just some of our team talking to you guys, a sermon follow-up that kind of digs a little bit deeper into that. So if you were intrigued by Genesis 11 and wanna know some more about it, hop on Thursday to connect with our team to learn a little bit more about this text, okay? And we're gonna close with one of my favorite parts of our Pando service. It's just a prayer time, and I was sharing before this, as a pastor for 25 years and a guy that's been sober for five and a half, I still really struggle with prayer. Like, it is hard for me to just sit down and start praying. My mind wanders. I get disconnected from it. I worry, should I do more of this, or should I do less of that? I'm asking for too much. I'm not, you know, I struggle with prayer, and I find a lot of peace and a lot of solace in being able to read prayers that are written out. And so I'm hopeful today that this is a moment for you to lock in and pray. Don't get hung up on some of the big words that are in this. God knows the posture of our heart, and sometimes the best prayers that I have are, Jesus, just please help, you know?

So, but let's close our time together today, not just reading a prayer, but let's pray the prayer together. Dear Lord Jesus Christ, by your radiant and magnificent resurrection, you broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as conqueror. You reconciled heaven and earth. Our life has no hope of eternal happiness before you redeemed us. Your resurrection has washed away our sins, restored our innocence, and brought us joy. How inestimable is the tenderness of your love? Amen. Amen. We love you guys. Thank you so much for being with us. Can't wait to connect with you again. Hope you have a great week.