What's gone wrong with the World?

Now, can we turn again in our Bibles, this time to the book of Genesis, page 12, if you're using a church Bible.

We're going to read a couple of sections from Genesis 11.

Over the next four Sundays, we're going to be looking at different scenes from the life of Abraham to help us answer some important questions.

Now, this time our question is, what's gone wrong with the world?

And to help us to answer that, we're going to be in Genesis 11, beginning at verse 1.

Now, the whole world had one language and a common speech.

As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

They said to each other, come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly.

They used brick instead of stone and bitumen for mortar.

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.

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.

The Lord said, if as one people speaking the same language, they've begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth and they stopped building the city.

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.

And then from verse 10 to 26, we get a family tree of Shem.

But we're going to pick up in verse 27, where we're introduced to the account of Tira's family line.

Tira became the father of Abraham, Nahor and Haran.

And Haran became the father of Lot.

While his father Tira was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans in the land of his birth.

Abraham and Nahor both married.

The name of Abraham's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah.

She was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.

Now Sarai was childless, because she was not able to conceive.

Tira took his son Abraham, his grandson Lot, son of Haran,

and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abraham.

And together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan.

But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

Tira lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

Amen. This is God's word.

So as I said, we're thinking about this question, what's gone wrong with the world?

In 2025, so just last week, there was a global concerns report.

It was a survey done, 30 different countries across all continents,

asking people to reflect on what concerns them most about the world.

And the top four answers were these.

Inflation, immigration, corruption, and conflict.

Now as you think about what's gone wrong with the world,

I wonder if you would agree with those, or what else would you add?

There is probably a lengthy list that we would each have.

When we come to the message of Genesis 11,

and indeed the message of the whole Bible,

we see that there are visible problems in society.

We are aware of them.

Crime, abuse, injustice, war.

But all of those problems, they stem from a deeper source.

The Bible helps us to see what's gone wrong,

that when people act as if they are God,

or when we live rejecting God, what the Bible calls sin,

that is what the Bible says is what's gone wrong with the world.

To think about the classic G.K. Chesterton anecdote you may have heard,

when the Times newspaper back in the late 1910s,

invited people to write in and respond to this question,

what's gone wrong with the world,

he simply wrote,

Dear Sirs, I am yours sincerely, G.K. Chesterton.

That people are the source of the world's problems,

was Chesterton's observation,

and I think it's the observation we see in Genesis 11.

So we're going to explore today the problem of a failed human project.

To recognize it as a monument to self, this Tower of Babel,

and then we need to see God's responses to it.

So over the next four weeks, as I said,

we're going to be meeting Abraham.

Abraham described in the Bible as the father of faith,

and we know he's a key figure within Christianity,

also within Judaism and Islam,

a huge figure to consider.

Today he's kind of in the background, we will meet him.

I guess it's an invitation to come back and find out some more next week.

He lived an amazing life.

If you want to do any homework,

read Genesis 12 to 22 over this week or the coming weeks.

And you see a man where God is working in his life in remarkable ways,

getting involved in his story.

We are going to hear some really rich and wonderful promises

that God gives Abraham, which are good news for everybody.

We also see real challenges, which are a challenge and enable his faith to grow.

And the story of Abraham is also going to help us to answer some key questions.

It's going to help us to answer questions like,

who is God?

How can I know God?

What does faith in God look like?

And today, what's gone wrong with the world?

And what Genesis 11 does for us is,

while it reveals that the world has walked away from God,

it also offers hope that God will send Jesus to bring us back to himself.

So we're going to look, first of all, at the human problem,

and then we're going to look at God's answer.

And the human problem can be summarized here as pride and personal glory.

In the early 1900s, cruise liners, those big old ships,

they were the way to travel.

And in the early 1900s, there was a great race on

to see who could build the fastest ship to cross the ocean.

Or other companies were interested,

who could build the most luxurious ship to cross the ocean.

And the White Star Company, they went down the luxury line,

leading them to build and then launch the Titanic.

Incredible design and incredible luxury came together.

But the Titanic also came with a boast.

There was the claim that this boat was unsinkable.

And so when the first voyage began,

there was the expectation that Titanic was on the route

to bringing the boat and the company great fame and great glory.

But we know what happens, don't we?

In 1912, it sank.

And tragically, over 1,500 lives were lost.

It wanted a name.

It wanted glory.

But that name is associated with tragic failure.

The story of the Tower of Babel is its own Titanic building project.

And this is about making much more than just a grand city and a high tower.

It's a people wanting to make a name for themselves.

That Babel was a building project aimed at personal security

and personal glory

and people becoming godlike in their ambition.

And the outcome of that building project,

a name associated with shame and confusion,

a monument to human folly.

So the author of Genesis 11 wants to tell us that story

and he uses language and he picks up themes to support his point.

So look with me at our text.

And it begins in the first couple of verses

with the people of the world on the move.

Now the whole world had one language

and a common speech.

As people moved east, they found a plane and they settled there.

So notice that at this time in history,

humanity is united.

They share a language.

They share a culture.

Think about how different that is from our experience today.

We just have to look around this building

and we recognize different languages and cultures.

And we go outside into the festival

and we recognize that there's an incredible diversity.

And that's a great thing.

And we celebrate that.

But at this point in history, unity,

the first danger sign for this united people

is here in the idea that they are moving east

and they are settling.

And we might think, well, what's the problem with moving east?

Well, if we go back earlier in Genesis,

we discover whenever people are moving east,

they're moving away from God.

So after Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

eat the forbidden fruit and God sends them out,

they are sent east.

After Cain commits the first murder

and kills his brother Abel,

he is sent to wander east.

So when we discover that all the people are moving east,

this is a sign that the world is walking away from God.

And the fact they're settling

reminds us they are comfortable in this position.

So the people of the world, they're on the move

and they're also a people on a mission.

That's there in verses three and four, isn't it?

They're working together on this epic construction project.

And remember, they have no machinery.

They have very basic tools,

but they're taking the best of modern tech that they had.

They've got brick and bitumen

and they use it for this great building project.

Now we are familiar, aren't we,

with the competition to build big.

I guess last century,

all the big buildings were probably situated in America,

but now it's moved towards the Middle East, hasn't it?

And those great towers,

those skyscrapers are a sign of ambition and power,

a way of placing one's stamp on the world.

So the biggest at the moment is the Burj Khalifa,

but there's competition from Jeddah and Riah

wanting to build bigger,

that they are known as the place

with the highest skyscraper.

Well, on this original building site of Babel,

you can hear the personal pride,

the sense of ambition,

the drive for glory.

It's there in the language, verse three and four.

How many times do we find them saying,

let us build ourselves so that we may make a name,

otherwise we'll be scattered.

Here are a people,

and the Bible tells us,

they have been made in God's image,

because everybody is, including us,

but they are not interested

in getting God's opinion,

getting God's input,

or seeking God's glory.

Look at the reason why they're building the tower.

They want to build the tower

to avoid being scattered.

And we may instinctively think,

well, that's okay, security's a good thing.

But not when we go back in the Bible

and we discover God has said to people,

fill the earth,

spread out,

so that the glory of God

would fill the earth.

God says, scatter,

and they say, gather.

God says, spread my glory,

and they say,

no, we want our own glory,

thanks very much.

Because the text tells us

they want to make a name for themselves.

We are made to worship God,

but personal glory is clearly

their number one priority

in this new city.

They are not honoring God,

wanting to make his name great,

and they're not trusting

that God will make a name for them.

They want to make a name for themselves.

And notice too,

they want to make a tower

that reaches to the heavens.

And that's not simply saying

we want to build up and build high.

And that's saying

we want to reach God's level.

We want to become like God.

So here is a people,

and they're using the technology

that's available to them,

and they're all working together

effectively to get rid

of the need of God.

And so we're given,

just in a few short verses,

here is a snapshot of a people

who are walking away from God,

working to get rid

of the need of him.

And so Babel functions

as a giant monument to the cell.

If anybody has been on holiday

in any of the ancient Roman sites,

or maybe you've been

to a place like Vietnam,

you are going to have seen

monuments and images

all over the place.

And those were used

to claim personal glory

and authority

for the person who is depicted.

Babel is like that.

And we can also say

that Babel is the first

truly secular society.

You know, the idea of secular,

removing God from the picture.

That's exactly what they're doing.

It's the foundation of Babel,

the sense of what progress

looks like in Babel.

It's all built on self

with no word of God at all.

The dream of these Babel builders

is we can provide the security

and the status

and the good life

that we are looking for,

and we don't need

to concern ourselves with God.

Back to our question,

if we ask Genesis 11,

what's gone wrong with the world?

The answer is

that we as people

have walked away from God

and his ways.

The problem is human pride.

The problem is when

we seek personal glory

at the expense of God

and his design for our lives.

I wonder if we thought

about life in those terms.

I wonder if we've asked ourselves

the question,

or can we see why

Genesis gives that answer?

A brief look through history

might help us.

Think about the world empires,

you know,

the desire for expansion.

What are they built on so often?

Look at your history books,

you'll find greed,

injustice,

slavery,

exploitation,

racism,

and the desire

for personal glory.

Think about the world wars.

At 20th century,

people were celebrating,

oh, look how technologically

advanced we are.

Look at all our scientific progress.

How is the progress used

to create weapons of destruction

and mass destruction?

Or look around

at contemporary society.

What are some of the things

that worry us?

What makes the headlines

or what gives us

sleepless nights?

Think about migrants

and the realities

of human trafficking.

Think about the hate

and the violence

that we're confronted with

in our news headlines

day after day.

Maybe it's the race

of the companies

to build powerful AI

and we have that fear.

Well, what if it becomes

untethered and on the loose?

What if people are asking,

not should we,

but simply can we?

Maybe our anxiety

is to do with social media,

social media platforms

or social media influencers

and maybe the impact

that it has

on a younger generation.

Go to the roots

of all of those things

and we're going to see

elements of human pride,

human ambition,

human self-interest,

seeking personal glory

and not seeking God.

And the Bible says

that's a recipe for chaos

and suffering

in so many ways.

And then instead

of just looking out,

if we look in,

if we're brave enough

to turn the spotlight

on ourselves,

what do we find?

Isn't it true

that our own personal pride

and our desire for glory

that that can produce harm

in our relationships?

Isn't it our seeking status

and glory that leads us

to perhaps tear others down

so that we can build ourselves up?

Because if I want to be number one

and if I want my name to be great

and then you also want

your name to be great,

well, what happens?

Well, now we've got clash

and conflict

and something has to give

and there's going to be winners

and there's going to be losers

and there's conflict.

But maybe we also find this.

Maybe we also can identify

with Babel in this way.

When we remove ourselves

from God's story,

when a society or a person

removes oneself

from God's plan

for how life is supposed to be,

we're still trying to build

a life for ourselves

and we're still trying

to make progress,

but maybe we're not sure

exactly what that's supposed

to look like.

What is progress

supposed to be?

What does the good life

really look like?

And for many people,

it leads to a feeling

of being anxious

and frantic and hopeless

because we can't figure it out

by ourselves.

There is something within us

that as people,

we often dream

that we have the answers,

but we're not so good

at seeing that often

we're part of the problem.

I came across the beginning

of the UN Charter

in 1948 this week.

So after the Second World War,

that determination

that the nations would work

together for peace.

And even to just read

the preamble,

you discover what big claims,

I mean,

great ambitions,

but big claims

that we can make

for ourselves.

Listen to how

the Charter begins.

We,

the peoples

of the United Nations,

will succeed

in getting rid

of the scourge of war.

We will promote

social progress

and better standards

of life

in larger freedom.

You know,

that sounds wonderful,

doesn't it?

But what's the reality?

There is still

the horrors of war.

There is still

the reality of oppression.

Millions of people

are still being bought

and sold

by people traffickers.

The heart

of the Babel problem

is the problem

of the human heart.

So we left to ourselves

are not going to fix it.

When we reject

and remove God

and His design,

when we replace God

with self

at the center,

when a life

or a society

is driven by pride

and a desire

for personal glory,

Genesis 11

reminds us

it creates

so many problems.

Some of you

might remember

the episode

of the sitcom

Friends

where Rachel

wants to make

an English recipe.

So she decides

she's going to make

an English trifle.

But the problem is

that her cookbook

has got two pages

stuck together.

So she's trying

to make trifle,

she turns the page

and she's reading

the instructions

for making

a shepherd's pie.

You try and make

a trifle

with the ingredients

for a shepherd's pie

and the result

is obviously

going to be

a disaster.

Now far more seriously

Genesis 11

is telling us

as people

we have taken

God's good idea

of progress

but we're following

entirely the wrong

direction

because we're rejecting

God in favor of self

and it leads to chaos

and confusion.

And so what we need

to see next

is God's responses

to see as their hope.

So if that was

the problem

pride and seeking

personal glory

let's see God's

responses

because there's

two responses

the first response

that we need to

recognize is the

response of judgment.

So look at verse 5

and notice the irony.

So here's these

people that are

trying to make

a tower that reaches

to the heavens

but the Lord

came down

to see the city

and the tower

that people were

building.

And I think

the author of Genesis

is inviting us

to imagine God

as it were

stooping down

and squinting

maybe he's getting

his magnifying glass

out if you've seen

Honey I Shrunk the Kids

trying to see

this tiny speck

of a tower

that the people

thought was so

grand and glorious.

God is so much

greater.

And so it's full

of irony

but verse 6

reminds us

this is no joke.

The Lord said

if as one people

speaking the same

language

they've begun

to do this

then nothing

they plan to do

will be impossible

for them.

Notice God knows

the human heart

and he recognizes

that the Tower of Babel

is really only

phase one.

This is a people

who are entirely

set on

I'm going to

build a life

without God.

And so what happens

is that the creator

of the universe

the designer

who tells us

how life should go

he intervenes.

He has been

insulted

and rejected

and rebelled

against

and so God

gets involved.

Some of us

will likely

have been

or will go

to the cinema

to watch

The Odyssey

Homer's

kind of epic

poem

on screen

7th century

or so

Greek poem.

It has loads

of weird stuff

in it

but one thing

that I think

Homer gets right

is

it is a bad

thing

to insult

the God.

the story

is full of

even more

so

it is a

serious thing

to insult

and to ignore

the one true

and living God.

And so God

comes

and he confuses

language

and he scatters

people

and we can just

imagine the chaos

you imagine

any project

where nobody

can communicate

because there's

culture barrier

and there's

language barrier

and what happens

here is that

God will not

allow the people

of the world

to continue

on their own

merry way

in rebellion

against him.

And so this is

judgment

on sin

that rejects

God

on hearts

that are turned

inwards

in human pride.

They wanted

a life

and a world

and progress

without God

but in the

Lord's judgment

it all comes

crashing down

and it will

come crashing

down.

And so there is

that warning

of a God

who judges

rebellion.

But that's only

one of God's

responses.

The second

response

is the promise

of rescue

and reconciliation.

So, so far

I think we've

been dealing

with the bad

news of what's

gone wrong

and hopefully

we're seeing

that it's honest

but it's not

yet hopeful.

To find hope

we need to turn

to that second

passage that we

looked at.

We need to

turn to that

family tree

and you might

be thinking

well what on

earth has a

family tree

got to do

with hope

and I guess

the next few

weeks will

unveil that

so bear with

me in that

sense.

But one way

to think about

it is this.

So over the

summer our

family we did

a little bit

of a Spider-Man

movie catch-up

because there's

a new one

coming out

and if you

know anything

about the

superhero genre

think about

what you have.

You have

often a very

unexpected hero

who is chosen

in a surprising

way in the

end to save

a city or

save a world.

That's a

superhero trope

but it's also

in a sense a

biblical principle.

God chooses

one for the

sake of the

many.

And what we're

going to see in

the coming weeks

is that God

chooses Abraham

a very old

man who had

previously been

worshipping idols

and he's

going to

speak to

him and

he's going

to save

him and

as we saw

he sets

him on a

journey and

what God's

going to do

for Abraham

is he's going

to make a

name for

Abraham and

he's going

to give

Abraham wonderful

promises and

one of the

things that he

says to

Abraham is

that Abraham

from your

family will

come a source

of God's

blessing to

all nations.

It's there

at the beginning

of chapter 12.

So through

Abraham's family

comes a hope of

rescue and

reconciliation.

God's going

to extend

salvation.

to the whole

world.

And so

Genesis 11

prepares us

for the truth

that there is

hope coming.

That yes,

the Bible is

very honest,

the world is

in a mess.

And yes,

God does

judge sinful

rebellion,

but wonderfully,

yes,

also God has

a plan to

redeem and

rescue and

restore.

And the

whole Bible

tells us that

he does that

wonderfully through

his son,

the Lord Jesus,

who comes from

Abraham's family.

So let's just

look for a few

minutes at how

Jesus is God's

answer to the

human problem.

That while we

as people have

walked away from

God,

God comes to

bring people

back to himself.

So first of all,

who is Jesus?

Well, we know

that Jesus is the

eternal son of God,

glory of heaven,

worshipped by

hundreds of

thousands of

angels,

but he is the

God who came

down to us

to become one

of us.

Fast forward to

the New Testament.

First book of the

New Testament is

the book of

Matthew.

Matthew begins

his story of

the life of

Jesus in a way

that I think we

find as modern

people surprising.

It starts with

a family tree.

Why start an

exciting story

with a family

tree?

Because Matthew

wants us to

know Jesus is

the one from

Abraham's family

who is the

promised one.

He is God's

redeemer.

He is the way

God will reconcile

people to himself.

So God the

Father sends

God the Son

into a world

that needs

rescue.

And Jesus,

the Son of

God, he comes

and he lives

a perfect life.

So different

from the people

of Babel,

so different

often from us.

Full of

humility.

Serving others,

taking upon

himself the

title of a

servant,

washing his

disciples'

feet.

He lives

always and

only for his

Father's glory,

not trying to

make a name

for himself.

And he comes

with an amazing

message.

I am the way

back to God.

He has come

from the

Father so we

could know

God as

Father.

And then as

we come

towards Jesus'

death, we

discover that

he dies,

this perfect

one.

He dies on

a cross.

And the Bible

tells us why.

In 1 Peter 3

1 Peter 3:18

verse 18,

we are told

Christ died,

the righteous

for the

unrighteous,

to bring

us to

God.

Do you

know that's

the goal of

Jesus coming

into the

world?

That's the

greatest good

that Jesus

brings so

that you

and I,

by trusting

in Jesus,

we can

know life

with God.

God gives

us himself

to restore

what sin

has ruined.

And then

after his

resurrection,

so Jesus

dies three

days later,

he's risen,

he returns

to heaven,

because Jesus

belongs there,

and from

heaven he

sends his

spirit.

And we

read about

it in Acts

Acts 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

And did you

notice what

happened in

the book of

Acts?

There are

nations,

people from

different languages

and places,

and together

they hear the

good news of

Jesus.

So here's a

new people

united,

different

languages,

different

cultures,

worshipping,

celebrating the

good news of

Jesus.

Jesus.

And we

can go to

the very

end of

the Bible,

Revelation

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

you get this

vision of

what's life

going to be

like in

the new

creation.

And we

find people

from all

nations and

tribes and

peoples and

languages,

and they're

worshipping,

and right at

the centre,

the source of

their word is

Jesus.

So do we

see what God

has in store

to do through

his son Jesus?

He is uniting

people together

again.

Not in pride,

because pride

separates,

in worship.

A group of

people no

longer thinking

about our

own glory,

but now

captured by

God's glory.

And what the

Bible tells us

is that history

is progressing

in a great

building project,

but it's not

ours,

it's God's.

And Jesus is

the master

builder,

and he's also

the foundation.

And what Jesus

is doing right

now is Jesus

is calling people

from different

places and

different backgrounds.

And he's

giving people

the faith to

believe.

So people are

being united

to Jesus,

and they've

been brought

together into

the church of

Jesus.

And that takes

us to the

mission of the

church.

Why are we

here as a

local church?

We have a

mission.

We are workers

together on

Jesus'

building projects.

So what do

we do?

We tell people

about Jesus,

we put the

love and

the grace

of God

on display

so that

others can

be restored

to life

with God

too.

We are to

help people

to both

see and

to feel

that Jesus

is God's

great answer

to our

human problems

in the way

that we

practice unity

and peace

and love,

in the

welcome that

we extend,

in the

kindness that

we offer

across

difference.

So we

have here

in Genesis

11 both

the indication

of what's

gone wrong

with the

world,

our walking

away,

our sinful

pride,

but it

also offers

hope that

the God of

grace and

love is not

done with

people and

that rather

he will come

in Jesus to

bring us

back into

relationship

with God.

And so

Jesus today

invites us to

come to

him.

for rescue

and

reconciliation.

Let me

pray for us.

Our God

and Father,

we thank

you that

the Bible

tells one

great story

of redemption,

that while it

is very

honest about

the reality

of the sin

in our hearts

and lives,

our own

pride and

our seeking

glory for

ourselves,

it also

shows us

your grace

and your

salvation,

that you

sent Jesus

to our

people who

are walking

far away

from you

to bring

us back

home so

that we

could call

you our

father,

so that we

could live

for the

glory of

Jesus and

not for

our own

glory.

And so

we pray

that you

would help

us to

wrestle with

these realities,

to bow our

knee to

Jesus and

to be so

glad to live

to make him

known and to

enjoy his

glory.

And we

pray in his

name.

Amen.