Subject: GOD
From: <Saved by Windows Internet Explorer 7>
Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2007 10:31:16 -0600

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

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