GOD’S PATTERN

-Introduction

-Many of my fond childhood memories involve my grandma and grandpa.

            -Grandpa – working in the garden – planting, pulling, digging, etc; the barns – cows and

              chickens – I can still see and smell the dirt of the garden and the hay in the barns.

            -Grandma – helping her break green beans, seeing her canning, smelling and eating her
                                cooking, watching her sew

-When I think about the time spent with grandma, there was always one thing that I dreaded – the

times that she would go to the fabric department at the store to look at patterns – boring.

-pattern – (Mirriam/Webster Dictionary)

            -noun – “1.  an ideal model   2.  something used as a model for making things…

            -verb – “to form according to a pattern”

-In the time we have this morning, let’s talk about God’s pattern for us – His ideal model that we

are to pattern ourselves after. 

-God Provides Patterns

-God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor 14:33).  Therefore, He provides patterns that are to be

followed – patterns that provide order and cohesiveness.

-When we follow God’s instructions (patterns), we all benefit.

            -Jas 3:13-18 – Envy, strife and confusion come from following the ways of the world.  We

                                                    are to follow the wisdom which is from above. 

            -Where do we find it?  - God’s word

-Throughout the scriptures, we find that there are blessings (here and to come) for those who conform

to God’s patterns.  For those who do not, there are dreadful consequences (here and to come).

          -Josh 22:1-5, 10-12, 15-16

          -The people viewed this altar as a violation of God’s pattern (His instructions).  Therefore, they

            considered it a trespass and rebellion and feared the consequences that would result.

          -vs 21-29 – “behold the pattern” (vs 28)

-Additional Old Testament Examples

-Rom 15:4 - To help us with our application of the scriptures, we should try to think of Old Testament

                     examples which will motivate us in our efforts.

-Noah & the Ark – Gen 6 – Was Noah supposed to build the ark according to a specific pattern?

            -Did he?  Gen 6:22

-Moses and the Tabernacle – Was the tabernacle and the things associated with it to be made after a  

specific pattern?  Ex 25 – 30

          -Did Moses and the people follow the specific pattern prescribed by God?  Ex 35-39

          -Ex 39:42-43

-Solomon and the Temple – Was Solomon given any type of a pattern to follow? – 1 Chron 28 (vs 19)

          -1 King 6:38 – “the fashion of it” – (Strongs) - mishpat – “…a verdict…pronounced judicially”

                                                          (Brown-Driver-Briggs)- “judgment, justice, ordinance”

                                                                      -Lev 18:4 – “my judgments” – same word

          -The pattern that God had given was binding (authoritative).

-The Example of Jeroboam

-Consider the following question, “In the Old Testament scriptures, who is condemned more often

  than any other person?” – King Jeroboam, the first king of the Northern kingdom of Israel

          -There are 25 scriptures which contain a condemning reference to Jeroboam

          -Often times, the kings who did evil in the sight of God are classified as those who followed the

           ways of Jeroboam.

-What was it that Jeroboam did that was so terrible?

            -1 Kings 12:28-33

            -vs 28 – “gods” – (Strongs) - Elohiym – “gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the

                                      plural thus, especially with the article) of the Supreme God”

                        -Gen 1:1 – “Elohiym”

            -Jeroboam wasn’t necessarily trying to direct the people’s attention away from worshipping and

              serving the true God of heaven.

            -However, he changed God’s prescribed pattern and did according to what “he had devised of

              his own heart” (vs 33)

-Summary and Invitation

-God’s word provides the pattern that must be followed in the various aspects of our lives – family;

church – organization and worship; obedience – initial obedience to the Gospel and faithful living, etc.)

-We must abide by His pattern.

            -John 12:48

            -Matt 7:24-27

-Rom 6 – Paul talks about the wonderful topic of freedom – freedom from sin.

            -How did the Christians at Rome receive that freedom?

            -They “obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered” to them.

            -“form” – (Vines)** - “the representation or pattern…a cast or frame into which molten material is

                                                poured so as to take its shape.  The Gospel is the mould; those who are obedient to its

                                                teachings become conformed to Christ, whom it presents”

-God’s word provides the pattern that we must conform to.  What about you?

-Obey the Gospel:  Believe (John 3:16, John 8:24), Confess (Matt 10:32, Rom 10:9-10), Repent (Acts

                                                            17:30, Luke 13:3,5), Be Baptized (Matt 16:16, Acts 2:38, Gal 3:26-29)

-Live Faithfully:  Rom 6:4, Eph 4:22-24 – If you haven’t been faithful, come back to God – 1 John 1:7-9,

                                                  Acts 8:22-24

Reference Works:

Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Copyright 2001, Merriam-Webster Incorporated, ver 2.6

Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew

     Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.

The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright

     (c)1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation

     Research.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers