The Pattern

Greetings, friends!

I've been stirred by the Lord to share some thoughts He is giving me. I believe that every one of us who say we know and love God need to pay close attention to the verses I'll be sharing.

Genesis 6:12-15 - "So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it...""

Genesis 6:22 - " Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did."

Exodus 25:9 - "According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it."

Exodus 39:42,43 - "According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them."

Exodus 40:33,34 - "...So Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle."

1 Chronicles 28:9-12 - " "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it." Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit;"

2 Chronicles 5:1 - "So all the work that Solomon had done for the house of the Lord was finished..."

2 Chronicles 7:1 - "Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple."

I see a correlation between the Lord giving the plans, the people obeying the plans, and then the power of God available to accomplish His will. Noah didn't ask the Lord to bless the boat so that it would hold all that came and that it would stay afloat for as long as necessary - no, he simply did according to what the Lord said. Moses did cry and beg God to bless their efforts - he only built according to the pattern he was shown. When the pattern was followed, the Glory of God came. When David was told by God that Solomon would build the House of God, David told his son all the plans he'd received by the Spirit of God. Then, after the pattern was followed, there was the manifest Presence of God.

Could it be that the main reason the Glory of God isn't among us as GOD INTENDS is that we have strayed from the pattern? I'm not talking about a "church service"...I'm talking about the Body of Christ as individuals and as a whole moving away from the Designer's Plan and putting together our own brand of what walking with the Lord is to be about. We're so quick to compare ourselves with others who don't measure up as well as we or measure up better (which we can easily give an excuse for). Even in areas where there is some measure of God's power in evidence, we are not seeing the "exceeding greatness of His power to those who believe...".

My heart hungers to move beyond the way things are. I've been asking the Lord to bring about a new revolution and awakening of His Presence...to shake this area, this nation, this world with His Presence, His Power, so that all may know HE is the ONE TRUE GOD.
Not Allah, or any other counterfeit. But what must take place, first, is the return to the PATTERN!

Jesus, the Son of God, is GOD's PATTERN! "This is My beloved Son; hear Him...". He humbled Himself to the Pattern of God - the words regarding the will of God. He learned obedience through the things He suffered (it wasn't always easy following the Pattern). Yet, when it was ALL complete, God HIGHLY exalted Him and gave Him a Name above ALL names!.

The choice is ours. The Pattern is before us - it's up to each of us to submit moment by moment to the Lordship of Jesus -

I'll close with this passage from Colossians 3:1-4
"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."

When Christ, Who is our life appears (is revealed in and through us, which is God's intended purpose - Romans 8:29) then we will walk in the Glory of God (see Acts 5:12-16).

Follow the Pattern - anything less is disobedience.

Pastor Jan
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5