( GENESIS 11:4 )

AND THEY SAID, GO TO, LET US BUILD US A CITY AND A TOWER, WHOSE TOP MAY REACH UNTO HEAVEN; AND LET US MAKE US A NAME, LEST WE BE SCATTERED ABROAD UPON THE FACE OF THE WHOLE EARTH.

This week in our Sunday School lesson I’m going to leave Hebrews for at least this Sunday. The Lord has impressed upon my heart this week to go in a somewhat different direction. I’m going to call this lesson:

THE CONCEPT OF MAN WITHOUT GOD

If you follow or study the Bible you know that the verse we are using is in a period of time a few years after the flood of Noah. In the days before that flood; the Bible say this:

( Genesis 6:5 )

AND GOD SAW THAT THE WICKEDNESS OF MAN WAS GREAT IN THE EARTH, AND THAT EVERY IMAGINATION OF THE THOUGHTS OF HIS HEART WAS ONLY EVIL CONTINUALLY.

We know that ( Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord ). We know that after 120 years of building the Ark; only eight people boarded that Ark and were saved from the flood that came. There’s one other thing that was saved on that Ark above the people and all the animals that were aboard. That was the ability for man to sin and to continue to be wicked in the sight of God.

Now, I like for you to notice also in ( Genesis 11: 10 ) that the bloodline to Jesus Christ came from Shem, the first born of Noah. If you choose to study it, you can follow him all the way to Jesus Christ.

Well, what about the other two sons? We see what they were doing in the earlier verses of ( chapter 11 ). They were seeking to build their own way to heaven. I believe that we often misrepresent the abiity of man and all he can do on his own. We simply assume that the people of those days were ( less civilized ) than we are today. I can’t say for sure how smart they were but, we can see that God stopped what they were attempting to do at that time, even after the flood of Noah.

In a mere 2000 years from the days of Christ, what are we seeking to do today? In these verses, God confounded the languages. Do you realize that now, I can take my computer, you can speak any languager you choose to and I can translate it into a language I speak? Do you realize today that doctors can actually look inside your body and see death coming? Within the mind and heart of a man, he can do and learn anything he chooses to. We have a vessel on the planet Mars, we’ve been to the moon more than one time. What is it in man’s ability that he cannot do?

I personally have a son in law. He actually died at his house in his early thirty’s. My daughter called EMS and gave him CPR until they arrived. They, the EMS members estimated that he was dead 15 minutes and, they worked on him right there in that bathroom for 48 minutes before they transported him to a hospital. The hospital put him on life flight and sent him to Duke Hospital. They pulled his temperature down to what they called ( cold storage ) for about three days to preserve his organs and then began to bring his body temperature back up to norrmal.

That’s been at least 12 years ago. A few Sunday’s ago he spoke at his home Church. I seen him day before yearterday and, basically, he has a very clear mind and is doing well.

In all this, what am I trying to get you to see? Man not only has the ability to kill you, he also has the ability to keep you alive! Let me ask you something. Let’s say in the normal course of my life I have appendicitis. I’m in terrible pain. What’s going to happen to me if I can’t get to a doctor? I’m going to die! Have you ever heard this quote: ( If we could have just got him to the hospital on time ) we could have saved his life. Have you heard that?

When I was a young boy, I had two sisters to die, eight weeks old on average. I also have a sister born between those to sisters that is still living. If those two sisters had been born today, they could have easily fixed the problem they had with thier hearts.

God’s word tells us that ( it is appointed unto man once to die ). And, you can count on it, you are going to die at some point. Let’s go back to my appendicitis. Let’s say that I’m twenty years old,I never had any time for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I live just as I please and, I’m not the least bit concerned about what God thinks about what I do. Now, I have appendicitis. Let’s see what God thinks about that as far as my flesh is concerned.

( John 15: 6 )

IF A MAN ABIDE NOT IN ME, HE IS CAST FORTH AS A BRANCH, AND IS BURNED, AND IS WITHERED; AND MEN GATHER THEM, AND CAST THEM INTO THE FIRE, AND THEY ARE BURNED.

Here I am, man twenty years old with something wrong with me that will kill me if someone of this world can’t stop what is going to happen! Now, let’s go back a little. I was born into the world a boy, something I had no control over. One day about the age of twelve or thirteen, I became a man, still had not control. However, what about what I did learn from that time foward? How much attention did I pay to what I had access to? In my case God had already let me know I needed salvation and I rejected the very salvation he offered. I just happened to have a very Godly mother, a praying mother that continually put my name before our Lord.

Many young people are not that blessed. They don’t have parents that teach them Godly things or even right from wrong. Guess what? That doesn’t matter! Whose fault is it if every child in this world is completely without the knowledge of God? God has done all he could to present his grace and mercy to every person.

I’ll use this ture story to make my point. I was working one day and a friend of mine came to me with another young man. He introduced me to him; calling me pastor. I shook the young man’s hand and asked him, son do you go to Church any where? He rplied, no. I said, do you have Children? He replied, yes I have a little boy and girl. I then said, son; you are a grown man, if you choose to die and go to hell, you have every right to do so. However, you have two little children! For heaven’s sake, don’t take them with you, at least give them a chance to make up their own mind. You have that God given responsibility as a parent.

My whole point in saying these things is this. God looked at me when I was about twenty years old and thought, boy you are not any good to me, why should I allow you to live? Now, I thank God for what he has allowed men to learn and what he has given men the knowledge to know. All that knowledge that man has can be used for good or evil.

Man might be able to prolong life but, at some point we are going to die. When I was twenty five, I asked Jesus Christ to be my savior, I was born again. Since that time I have sought to allow him to live through my fleshly body. Because of good sound spiritual teaching as a new born believer, I came to understand that God’s true desire is for me to forget all that I might desire in this world and allow him to live, thrive and speak through me.

That is God’s desire for every person that is born upon the face of this earth. If we seek to paint a true picture of God’s will; this is what it would be. Every child born upon the face of this earth would be born to parents that are born again with a passion to, from the first day their children are born, began to feed them the spiritual food God’s Spirit allows to flow through the hearts and minds of the parent. By the time every Child reaches the age of twelve, that child is prepared with the spiritual knowledge they need to become born again, born in the same spiritual family their parents are in Christ Jesus.

There’s a saying I’ve heard over the years: ( Heaven and earth will soon be passed, only that that’s done for Christ shall last ). If we go back to ( Genesis 11 ) where men were seeking to only build something for themselves, actually we see within that; the very grace of God. God could have, once again, killed them all but didn’t. Do you realize that anyone of us could die of anything at any time? To be honest, even in the Old Testament God didn’t even care about the flesh of Israel if they were not willing to use their fleshly bodies to do his will.

Look at this verse:

( Romans 3:20 )

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

There are those that often critize God the Father for his actions as far as killing people in the Old Testament. Just in a physical way of looking at it, I can clearly see what they saying. Those that denounce God have a right to feel anyway they choose to. If we consider for instance; someone with that mindset, let say they get cancer. When they go to the doctor seeking help they are simply seeking to help of men to fix their physical body. It has nothing to do with God does it? Why? Because they don’t acknowledge him in any way.

With that being said, let’s say that you say you believe in Jesus Christ. You acknowledge that he gave his life for ransom for your sin, you say you believe that. However, at the very same time, you live as you please, do as you please, never once even considering what the Holy Spirit is desiring from your flesh, you get cancer. Aren’t you calling on the same worldly doctors, in their worldly wisdom and knowledge to keep your flesh so you can continue as you please? I’ll have to at least give the person that is an atheist his due credit. He’s not calling on Church members to pray for him in his condition. He or she is simply seeking the help of this world.

You on the other hand, you that live just as you please but, acknowledge that you believe will now ask Godly people to ask God to help you. My question is, why should he? What the difference you in and those of the Old Testament that didn’t pay any attention to him? I have some bad news for you, there isn’t any difference!

Consider this: when God confounded men in the Old Testament, changing their language, he didn’t kill them did he? They continued to live. However, where are they today? Didn’t they all die? Let’s say that you’re an Atheist or someone that believes in word only, you both get cancer and the doctors actually heal your body, you feel so blessed! Isn’t death still in front of both of you?

There are people in all walks of life that live and die at all ages. It doesn’t matter if you are a saint or sinner, young or old. Tomorrow is not promised to any person, including the most Godly man it is. There are very Godly families that lose children to sicknes at an early age and the same goes for sinners of all sorts.

I’m going to give this verse in closing and a few comments:

( Colossians 3:9-10 )

LIe NOT ONE TO ANOTHER, SEEING THAT YE HAVE PUT OFF THE OLD MAN WITH HIS DEEDS; ( 10 ) AND HAVE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH IS RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE AFTER THE IMAGE OF HIM THAT CREATED HIM:

We could use a whole new lesson to prove all I’ll be saying here. However, what actually takes place when salvation is real in a person’s heart, when the act of be born again takes place; God sees that person as ( dead ) and that in Christ Jesus. From that very instant foward a new person is suppose to be developing in the very same physical body you still have. All that you are, as far as your desire is going to change. According to these verses we are ( renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created us ). We are to now, begin to think like God the Father.

While the average local Church are very willing, in most cases to speak out against ( abortion ) often even ( birth control ) of any form; they practice ( spiritual abortion ) and ( spiritual birth control ) in every service they hold. The problem is they just can’t see what I’m saying! I’m going to say something I told my very own pastor once. I told him that all I needed to do was to bring a tape recorder, tape one of the services he has, then, I can just stay home and listen! It’s the same rerun every week!

I’m going to give you another verse here. I can say the same thing here, a whole other lesson!

( 1 Timothy 5:5-6 )

NOW SHE THAT IS WIDOWED INDEED, AND DESOLATE, TRUSTETH IN GOD, AND CONTINUETH IN SUPPLICATIONS AND PRAYERS NIGHT AND DAY. ( 6 ) BUT SHE THAT LIVETH IN PLEASURE IS DEAD WHILE SHE LIVETH.

I know well what these verses are saying, I’m not a fool! But, can you see the spiritual aspect as well? Just taking as a physical point, we see a wife that her husband has died and she is a true widow, sold on prayer and supplications. If every Church member is born again, isn’t her husband dead? The first person that every member was married to ( dead to them ) being ( Satan himself )? Can we say that every Church member is ( continuing in supplications and prayers night and day )?

And, if not isn’t that whole Church, as far as the spiritual aspect is concerned ( dead while it is alive on this earth )? If all this world can see is your flesh then you are completely worthless to God the Father. I don’t care how rich you are, how blessed you thing you are, how healthy you are. You are simply experiencing to ( blessings of men ) the ( knowledge of men ). Many people and Churches as well want to think, even giving God the praise for all they have when, in reality if they are not listening to and yielding to the very spirit of God then ( they have their reward here ).

Often when we are in need physically and we ask for prayer; all we’re doing is praying to this world, seeking the blessings of this world for the blessings upon our flesh and, the worst part ( God, because of our own actions, is not a part of it )!

Lord, I pray that you can use this lesson to open the spiritual eyes of those in spiritual need!

Marshall Clayton

2 Timothy 1:7