People love leaving a mark in life. We want to construct something that has visibility, impact, and purpose. I was recently visiting my family in Missouri, and we went to this cave where someone had carved a giant letter "S" into the wall. Even in this incredible natural environment, someone just had to leave their mark. You see it everywhere — couples' initials carved into beautiful trees, padlocks on bridges, graffiti on walls. Everyone's trying to leave a mark, to build a tower that everyone can see.

If you've been in Orlando for any amount of time, you know about "that building," the I-4 Eyesore. The actual name is the Majesty Building, started around 2005, but it's basically become a monument to unfinished business. Every time I see it, I'm reminded of another tower of unfinished business: the Tower of Babel.

Building Platforms Instead of Altars

In our world today, people are still trying to build something visible and notable. Everyone's trying to go viral, chase clout, make impact. Your physique is on display, your relationship is on display, your financial status is on display. Even spiritual people can fall into this trap. You can start something with the right intention, but suddenly pride gets in, and now you're trying to be better than others.

People are building platforms instead of altars. They're building towers in their lives. In Scripture, there are two defining moments centered around language and power. One is at the Tower of Babel, which ends in confusion. The other is Pentecost, which ends in commission. So the question today is: Am I living for my tower or am I living for His power?

My Tower is Built for Control, His Power is Given Through Surrender

In Genesis 11, we hear the people of Babel say, "Let us make a name for ourselves." This is just a few chapters away from the beginning of the story. They should have known better. They heard about how Adam and Eve tried to do things their way, and it didn't go so well. Yet something happens in every person's heart: "Let's do it our way. What if we do it our way?"

At the heart of building a tower is man's desire to make a name for himself. "We don't need God. We'll build up to Him. I don't need God's help. I'll build something so big, He has to bless it." To all my hustlers out there: Are you trying to build something so big that you think that IS the blessing?

The most heartbreaking part of this story is they were trying to reach God in their own strength. They could have just asked Him to visit. They could have said, "Hey God, will you move? Will you abide in us? Will you meet us here?" But no, they said, "We don't need to surrender. Let's make something in our own control."

God saw what was happening and came down to confuse their language and scatter them. Was God threatened by their tower? No. He knows that if people start to operate in pride, they will destroy themselves. God would rather come down and scatter them as  an act of mercy to foil their plans than to let them destroy themselves.

You might be over here crying about the door that closed in your face, thinking, "God, why don't you just let my dreams happen?" But you have no idea how much love is in the closed doors in your life, how much He's protecting you from. Sometimes God's answer is no, and that's love too.

The Power of Waiting

Contrast this with Acts chapter 1, right before Pentecost happens. Jesus says, "Now I'm going to go, and I want you to wait for the gift my Father has promised." What do we have to do to get real power? Do we build? Do we work? Do we network? Jesus says, "Wait."

"They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength." Isaiah 40:31

 How well can you wait? Most of us are professionals at working hard to make it happen. But how well can you wait? Have you developed your ability to wait as much as you've sharpened your ability to hustle? Have you practiced waiting? Have you trained the stamina of your endurance to wait and wait and wait?

We live in a culture where waiting is seen as weakness. Everything is instant gratification. I think there's a very real enemy who knows if he can attack your ability to wait, then he can cut off the avenue of your true strength, because "they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength."

How long can you wait before you feel tempted to work? How long can you wait on the Lord before you feel tempted to do it for Him? You're in good company if this is a struggle for you:

• Abraham and Sarah: "God, the promise isn't here yet, so let's find Hagar." 
• Adam and Eve: "The communion of relationship isn't giving me the divine power I want, so let me eat this fruit." 
• Moses: "Well, the water... I want it to come out of the rock now, so let me just hit it instead of speaking to it."

When "Suddenly" Comes

Jesus told the disciples to wait for the gift. If you're the disciples and you saw Jesus ascend, how long would you think it would take for the gift to come? They probably thought, "I can't see Him anymore, so He sent it down, right?" But they had to wait 40 days.

There were probably people still standing on that hill where Jesus ascended, thinking it would come down right there. "It's been an hour since He went up. Do you feel anything?" Then some of the mature ones probably thought, "Jesus was in the tomb for three days, so maybe that's preparation for us." Three days pass. Nothing. Maybe four days, five days, ten days, two weeks, a month. Babies are born, believers die, life moves on. Where is it?

Pentecost was born out of waiting, not working. They locked themselves up in an upper room and waited and waited and waited. They didn't preach, they didn't broadcast, they didn't network, they didn't plan. They just sat there and waited and prayed. Receiving, not reaching.

Then Acts 2:2 says, "Suddenly a sound came like a wind blowing through the room." I have some issues with this word "suddenly."  It had been 40 days! But the reason they can say "suddenly" is because on the other side of the blessing, all that waiting was worth it. When God moves and when He does what He says He will do, you will look back on the wait and you'll say, "It was worth it."

His Power Unites, My Tower Divides

In Babel, they had the same language but the wrong motive, and it brought confusion. In Pentecost, they had many languages but one motive, and it brought unity. At Pentecost, for the first time, people were hearing the promises of God and the gospel of Jesus in every language. This is a miracle!

The Holy Spirit allows you to reach across divides. We're in a time where there's more racial divide than ever in our country. It's not better smooth talk or political savvy that's going to bridge those gaps;  it's the power of the Holy Spirit. When I look at my church, I see faces that don't have the same color as me, backgrounds that don't look like mine, and last names I can't pronounce. That's the power of the Holy Spirit to unite people across the divide.

We don't need louder voices. Social media is already too loud. We need clearer voices. People who are speaking with the power of the Holy Spirit. We don't need one-liners; we need the Word of God. What would it look like if your words brought people to Jesus instead of pushing them away?

His Power Points to Jesus' Name

In Babel, they said, "Let us make a name for ourselves." But in Pentecost, Peter stood up and preached the gospel of Jesus. What I love about the Holy Spirit is that He always gives glory to the name of Jesus. Jesus always gave glory to the Father, and the Holy Spirit always gives glory to Jesus.

This is the first time the gospel is preached in the name of Jesus. The power of the Spirit points you to the name of Jesus. If it's pointing you to Jesus, you know you're looking at God's power in a person. If it's pointing you to another person, or the speaker, you know you're looking at a constructed tower.

In a world with a lot of voices, never mistake influence for authority. The loudest voices aren't the most powerful.  The most powerful voices are the ones who point us to the name of Jesus. You can have influence but still be empty. Never confuse platform with power.

Receiving the Gift Today

The tower is always going to be unfinished business, but the power of God brings real life change. The Holy Spirit gives us the fruit of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, and the authority to do everything that Jesus enabled us to do. Jesus said, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.  He didn't say "you might," but "you will."

This isn't a maybe kind of gift. It's not reserved for pastors or Christians who've followed God a long time. If you believe Jesus is Lord and have surrendered your life to Him, then the Holy Spirit is God's gift to you. The Holy Spirit brings power to witness, to be bold in your witness for Christ.

Maybe it means you're a business owner who radiates the goodness of God. Maybe as a parent, when your child is sick, you lay hands on them and teach them the power of God. Maybe as a student, you carry yourself with such authority and confidence that you minister identity to students around you.

The Answer to Every Need

The Holy Spirit is the answer to our needs. If you need breakthrough, it's the power of the Holy Spirit. If you need healing, it's the Holy Spirit. If you want to see addictions broken, it wont' happen through self-help, because you got yourself into the chains in the first place. It's the power of the Holy Spirit that breaks chains, lifts burdens, heals marriages, and restores lives.

In Luke 11, after teaching the Lord's Prayer, Jesus says that when we pray, God gives the Holy Spirit. I believe the Holy Spirit is the answer to the Lord's Prayer. When we say "lead us not into temptation," how do we do that? The Holy Spirit. When we say "help us forgive our debtors," it's because of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our daily bread, our strength for worship, our power for everything.

This isn't about being worthy enough to receive it, it's about Him being good enough to give it. When I was about 10 years old, standing in a service just like this, I felt like I wasn't good enough. But the Lord said to me then what I'm saying to you today: "This is about my love for you, not about how hard you work."

So the question remains: My tower or His power? Are you building something for your own recognition, or are you surrendering to receive what He wants to give? The choice is yours, but I pray you'll choose His power every time. Because when His power falls, everything changes.