Unity in the Body of Christ- Part II
Nothing Restrained!
Genesis 11th Chapter
1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
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.
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
In this week’s text, we see a group of people who decided to build a tower and a city in order to make a name for THEMSELVES. They weren’t supernatural. They weren’t super-spiritual either. All they were was UNIFIED. Of course, we know that without God, nothing is possible; yet for some period of time, in spite of God and in spite of a few natural hurdles, these people were accomplishing this virtually impossible task. Let’s take a look at two of those natural hurdles:
1. The Physical Structure of the Tower
According to a friend who is an architect, the tower of Babel would be virtually impossible to build due to the “wind load” the building would face. You see, as a building increases in height, it faces increasing winds that could cause it to bend and even move to the point that it “snaps” or breaks. So the actual design or structure of the building would have posed a challenge for the builders. Here’s another hurdle…..
2. The Physical Demands on the Human Body
If you thought the building was going to face problems at higher elevations, what about the people? If any of you have ever been to Denver (1 mile above sea level) and attempted to do strenuous exercises after coming from a lower altitude like Florida, you’ve probably experienced some challenges doing so because the air at higher altitudes has less oxygen. If your body is not accustomed to operating at that level, you may experience some difficulties with physical activity.
I don’t know how many of you watch televised football games, but some of you may have noticed that when a team from a lower altitude plays in Colorado, more than likely, those players utilize oxygen masks. Well, the people building the tower did not have the luxury of oxygen masks. And if they were planning for this building to reach the stratosphere, they didn’t have space suits to accommodate that height either.
But in spite of these natural hurdles, not only did God Himself see their venture as possible, but also He saw every venture they put their hands to as possible: “And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do” (Genesis 11:6) .
Now let’s rewind just a little bit. What I said was, “God saw THEIR venture as possible.” These people had unified themselves so strongly that they were actually well on their way to accomplishing this impossible feat without God. In recognition of their unity, the Lord went on to say that “nothing will be restrained from them, which they imagined to do” BECAUSE THEY ARE ONE! However, because they did not want to include God in THEIR venture, what was possible through their unity was now impossible because God was not going to allow it to happen.
Now if people could almost do the impossible without God, what excuse does the body of Christ have? If we really laid hold of the concept of unity, there would not be anything restrained from us. And if we had God’s agenda at heart, then do you believe that He would divide the effort? Absolutely not! I believe that if we walked in unity, God and the heavenly host would come down and strengthen us even more.
This is why satan’s number one strategy is to divide and conquer. If he can make us mad enough about which day to hold the church anniversary, then he’s completed his objective. If he can divide us on whether or not God desires for us to be financially wealthy, he’s completed his objective. If he can divide us on whether or not we should speak in tongues, he’s completed his objective.
It’s now time that the body of Christ becomes one in order to complete the mission that God sent us here to do. And by being one in faith, one in hope, one in love, one in effort, one in strategy, one in agenda, and one for our Father’s cause, NOTHING – – – Absolutely NOTHING will be restrained from us.
