The document compares the biblical stories of Babel and Pentecost. It summarizes that at Babel, people acted in pride and arrogance to build a tower without God. In response, God confused their languages and scattered them. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit united people of different languages and allowed them to understand the gospel, gathering nations to announce the good news of Jesus Christ. While Babel brought confusion, Pentecost brought peace and the foundation of the church.

1. Linguistic diversity: Babel and
Pentecost
 I have spent my career reversing the tower of Babel!
 6500 languages spoken worldwide
 By 2030 80 per cent of the world’s population will speak
Chinese
 2 million speak Esperanto
 Every year dozens of minority languages die out
 English is the most widely used second language but is
likely to be replaced by Chinese or Spanish

2. The Tower of Babel

3. Genesis 11
Now the whole world had one language and a
common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they
found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make
bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick
instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 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 will be
scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the
tower the people were building.
.

4. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same
language they have begun to do this, then nothing they
plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go
down and confuse their language so they will not
understand each other.”8 So the LORD scattered them
from there over all the earth, and they stopped building
the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there
the LORD confused the language of the whole
world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face
of the whole earth.

5. Acts 2 1-13
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all
together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the
blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled
the whole house where they were sitting.3 They saw
what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and
came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.5 Now there were
staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every
nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a
crowd came together in bewilderment, because each
one heard their own language being spoken.

6. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are
speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us
hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes
and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and
Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and
Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near
Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts
to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them
declaring the wonders of God in our own
tongues!” 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one
another, “What does this mean?”13 Some, however,
made fun of them and said, “They have had too much
wine.”

7.  God scatters the people because man was told to fill
the earth (Gen 9: 1,7) but they chose to gather and
build a tower instead.
 God intervenes and confuses their language.
Previously they all spoke the same language
 Babel represents self reliance - the attitude than man
doesn’t need God but can go it alone.
 Babel represents self-exaltation – the motivation to
make yourself famous, instead of being motivated to
glorify God.

8. 1 BABEL DISPLAYED THE SPIRIT OF ARROGANCE
AND PRIDE. PENTECOST DISPLAYED THE
POWER OF LOVE.
2 BABEL DIVIDED MEN THROUGH LANGUAGE.
PENTECOST UNITED MEN THROUGH THE HOLY
SPIRIT.
3 BABEL BROUGHT CONFUSION. PENTECOST
BROUGHT PEACE.
4 BABEL SHOWS US MAN FULL OF HIMSELF.
PENTECOST SHOWS US MAN FULL OF GOD.
5 BABEL BROUGHT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE
TOWER. PENTECOST BROUGHT THE
FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH.

9. 6 BABEL SCATTERED MAN OVER THE FACE OF
THE EARTH TO TELL THEIR CHILDREN OF GOD’S
POWERFUL WRATH. PENTECOST SCATTERED
BELIEVERS OVER THE FACE OF THE EARTH TO
TELL THE WORLD OF JESUS AND HIS POWER TO
SAVE.

10.  At Pentecost, God gathered the nations together for the
purpose of announcing his gospel (the good news of
Jesus Christ) to all nations. At Pentecost, many people
from many languages understood the gospel through
those possessed by the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, it was
God displaying His mighty work.
 Babel was a completely different story (Genesis 11). At
Babel, God scattered the people because man was told
to fill the earth (Gen 1:28, 9:1,7) and they chose to
gather and build a tower instead. At Babel, God
intervened and confused their language. At Babel, it
was not God displaying a mighty work, but man
attempting a mighty work.

11. A Great Commissionary
Before pulpits and pews, pastors and preachers,
before deacons and elders and Sunday School teachers,
before flowery Lord’s tables and cross adorned steeples,
there existed a mission for all of God’s people.
Before programs and services, proper methods, proper times,
before music and preaching, our sometimes silly pantomimes,
before “Sunday morning church” and “Wednesday night prayer,”
there existed a mentality, “Anytime, Anywhere.”
Before statements of faith and superfluous vision,
before gallivanting doctrine and convenient religion,
before I follow Calvin or Luther, Peter or Paul,
there existed one Lord with a mandate for all.

12. Before baptist or catholic, various sects and denominations,
before division and distinction, seemingly appropriate separations,
before the ninety-five theses or even the edict of Milan,
there existed one standard which the church was built upon.
Go and make disciples we still hear our Jesus say,
baptizing them in haste, for tomorrow is today,
in name of the Father, and the Son, and Holy Ghost,
teaching them to obey for He is with us to the uttermost.
So before saying church member, church deacon, church teacher,
church pastor, church apostle, church planter, church preacher,
we advance the words of Christ, the only true visionary, declaring
now and forever more, I AM A GREAT COMMISSIONARY!

13. Choices
Pentecost or Babel?
God wants us to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea,
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
1. Are you reliant on yourself (Babel) or reliant on God
(Pentecost)?
2. Are you exalting yourself (Babel) or exalting God
(Pentecost)?
3. Are you more concerned with your own story of
achievement (Babel) or with God’s story of achievement
(Pentecost), what God has done in Christ?
Don’t be Babel. Be Pentecost. Be a Commissionary.

14. Are you like the Babylonians, trying to do it on your
own?
Are you relying on the power of your own strength or
the power of other men to bring you what you need?
At Babel, People gathered together to do their own
thing.
At Pentecost, the believers obeyed Jesus, gathered
together, waited for his promise, were united in Christ,
prayed… God gave them His Promised Holy Spirit.
Then they went out to become witnesses, to share the
good news. Be filled with the Spirit. Allow Him to fill you
with His love and share that love with others during the
coming week.

15. Hymn 489 Jesus shall reign where e’er the sun

16. Purpose
Helping to fulfil the Great Commission in the power of the Holy
Spirit by winning people to faith in Jesus Christ, building them
in their faith and sending them to win and build others; and
helping the Body of Christ do evangelism and discipleship
Our Mission
Win, build, and send Christ-centered multiplying disciples who
launch spiritual movements
Our Vision
Movements everywhere so that everyone knows someone who
truly follows Jesus
Our Values
Faith, Growth, and Fruitfulness

17. Benediction 1 John 1:7
If we walk in the
light, as He is in the
light, we have
fellowship with one
another, and the
blood of Jesus
Christ His Son
cleanses us from all
sin

18. Curso Alpha
resumes on Wednesday at 7.00