Connections

1. Connections Pastor Craig B. Key, Sr. Living Word Bible Fellowship May 19, 2013

2. Connections • Text: Gen. 11:1-9 • Opening: Have you ever seen a demonstration of an electrical circuit? The particular one that I am talking about is a simple light to wall switch circuit. In order to complete a circuit like this one, each wire must be connected securely to the light and wall switch and the light bulb must also be secured; if these are not in place correctly it is said that you have a “Bad Connection.” • Verse(s) 1-4: • When we look at this passage we see that the builders of the Tower of Babel had unity. • Now having unity is good, but it all depends what you are unified upon and who you are unified with. • Unity means oneness of feelings, as among a number of persons; concord, harmony, or agreement.

3. Connections • Parallel the connection that Nimrod had with Ham (bad connection) and Noah had with God (good connection). • Have you ever been on your cellphone with someone and then go into a heavily wooded area and the other person sounds as if they are talking to you under water; it is said the you have a bad connection. • What we must come to grips with is, when we link up with folk that are not going in the direction in which we are going is our lives become just like that heavily wooded area, a life filled with a bad connection. • Many times we are in unity (harmony) with some people that are influencing us, but its not a Godly influence.

4. Connections • Verse 5: • God is Omnipresent • Nothing catches God by surprise • Ps. 139:7-12 “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me," Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” • This is a good thing, because when I am in trouble, lonely, confused, needing something from Him, I don't need Him asking my momma, my friends, or auntie...I need Him to be right there to intervene NOW!!!

5. Connections • Verse 6: • We have got to watch who we link up with. • Look at a link chain, the chain has to be tested for its integrity before it can be sold. • The question then becomes: As you link up with someone have they been tested to see whether their integrity can hold up under extreme pressure??? • The bible talks on two separate occasions about our connections with people that are not going in the same direction in which we are going.

6. Connections • 2 Cor. 6:14-18 (MSG) “Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God’s holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way: “I’ll live in them, move into them; I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people. So leave the corruption and compromise;leave it for good,” says God. “Don’t link up with those who will pollute you. I want you all for myself. I’ll be a Father to you; you’ll be sons and daughters to me.” The Word of the Master, God.”

7. Connections • 2 Thess. 3:6 (AMP) ” Now we charge you, brethren, in the name and on the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) that you withdraw and keep away from every brother (fellow believer) who is slack in the performance of duty and is disorderly, living as a shirker and not walking in accord with the traditions and instructions that you have received from us.” • Verse 7: • God places extreme importance upon His will. • He is Sovereign (Supreme Ruler) • There was a saying back in the day for those who were in charge that they were the “HNIC” • The question then becomes: Do we view God as being in charge of our lives???

8. Connections • And if so where do we place His will on our scale of importance??? • They got together under the leadership of Nimrod and decided to: • Stay put • Build themselves a city • Build a tower, whose top is in the heavens • And make a name for themselves. • But Gen. 9:1 spelled out something else totally different from what they were doing. • Verse 8-9: • Drastic times calls for drastic measures

9. Connections • God had to pull out His trump card • It was if God was saying, “I can show you better than I can tell you!!!” • Its the same thing with us, we go out and do things without God and because its not in God's plan for our lives God allows everything to fall apart. • God has to take these sort of drastic measures in order to get your attention so that you can identify with the scripture that says "...without Him you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

10. Connections • Closing/Takeaway: • All of this happened, in this story, as a snowball effect of a bad connection • Whoever has your ear has your heart • 1 Cor. 15:33 (CEV) "Don't fool yourselves, bad friends will destroy you“; or (AMP) “Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character.”