2/3/22
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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
For the past 3 months we have been looking systematically at the Book of Isaiah, starting with Isaiah, Chapter 1. I had planned to continue tonight by sharing some thoughts from Isaiah, Chapter 42. However, when I recently re-read Verse 9 of Isaiah 42, the Spirit of God seemed to direct me to this message, which I have titled "The Pattern." The Lord always wants to reveal Himself to us more clearly. Because of the turbulent, chaotic conditions in the world, which will only get worse, we need Him in our life today more than we ever needed Him. One of the awesome characteristics of the Lord is that He meets us where we are. He comes to us on our level, based on the condition of our heart. If we are hungry, He comes to us as the bread of heaven; if we are thirsty, He comes to us as water out of the rock; if we are sick, He comes to us as our healer; if we are discouraged, He comes to us as our hope; and if we are bereaved, He comes to us as our Comforter. What an amazing God we serve!
As an introduction, consider Ecclesiastes 1:9-11,
In one sense, those verses are true in that human nature has never changed and never will. Also, from Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. I also believe it is very safe to say that God's plan and purpose for man has never changed. We all have the same general purpose which is to glorify God and help to edify His chosen people - Christ in you, the hope of glory. But we all are unique in that we have different callings, different gifts, and different ministries. Peter was a mouth; John was a heart. We glorify God when we fulfill the purpose for which we were created. Each one of us, when we fulfill our high calling in Christ Jesus, receives the same reward. David said, in 1 Samuel 30:24, that he that goes forth to battle and he who tarries by the stuff shall receive the same portion of the spoil. It is also true that nothing is new to God because He lives in eternity.
Now let us look at Isaiah 42, Verse 9.
Now let us read Isaiah 43:18-22.
Verse 22 contains the key for each one of us. That key unlocks those things in our life that are new to us. Whatsoever the Lord Jesus says unto us, do it.
No one can drive forward in a car by looking in the rear view mirror. Neither can we hold on to what we were or what we experienced in the past if we want to receive what the Lord has for us today. We have to know, by faith, that what is before us is more important than what lies behind us or we will not let go of the past. The end of the matter is better than the beginning. When the Israelites were delivered from their bondage in Egypt, their crying for the former things in Egypt kept them from entering into the new things that the Lord had for them in the Promised Land.
The phrase, have dominion, means to "rule over." Rule over what? The phrase, "in our image, after our likeness" is one thing, not two ... in the likeness of His image. If we are made in the likeness of God's image, then we will have sovereignty over the natural world on earth. We will also be creative. However, man was initially created, not made. Verse 26 declares God's purpose or end result for man; Verse 27 states the starting point. Before we can be "made" by God we must be created. God's plan for man was that we were created to partake of the tree of life daily. That partaking was never intended to be a one-and-done event. We were never designed to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil at any point in our life. Man was never designed to rule over other men. As a born-from-above Christian, our spiritual man was designed to rule over our natural man. However, all those who have been made in the likeness of God's image are to be ruled or governed by our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 43, Verses 1 and 7, confirm God's original plan for man.
We were created for the glory of God, not for our pleasure. Revelation 4:11 says,
A few months after we left that New Testament house church, I asked and received permission to share at their next elders' meeting what I had received from the Lord about church government. After I shared in detail for 30 minutes that there is no static pattern for church government, one of the elders said, "That was the best teaching I have ever heard about church government. Now let's get back to what we were doing." In other words, he saw no application to their operation. That is why denominations will continue until Jesus returns. That is why most churches will continue to follow the same pattern that they have grown up in. That is why we have hung out a "Do not disturb" sign. That is why we are too comfortable; but Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. That is also why God is no longer working with churches as a whole, but He is definitely working with individuals. That is why there has always been a church within a church. That is why each individual Christian must press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
When we remember the former things and dwell on the things of old, we are walking in religious traditions, which are extremely hard to break. They constitute perhaps the greatest hindrances to our maturity as an individual believer. Everyone is familiar with the example when Moses relied on his past experience rather than on the current word of the Lord.
From Exodus 17, When the people thirsted for water, the people murmured against Moses. They said, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? The Lord told Moses to smite the rock, which he did, and water came out of the rock. Later, when the children of Israel again had no water to drink, we read in Numbers 20 that the LORD told Moses to speak unto the rock and it shall give forth his water. Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly. After that act of disobedience, Moses, who also symbolizes the Old Covenant law, was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.
The pattern that we Christians today are called to follow is not the pattern that was given to Moses to build the Tabernacle.
Neither is our pattern that which the Lord gave to David for Solomon to build the temple. Neither should our pattern be to rigidly follow that which the Lord told the early church to follow. That was then; this is now. Some folks do not understand how something can be Divinely given and then Divinely taken away. The book of Hebrews gives ample evidence of that. Is our God the God of the past? Absolutely! but He is also the God of the present as well as the future.
The only pattern for us Christians today is to hear from the Lord Himself concerning the way that we should go.
Note that both Zion and Jerusalem bring good tidings, but their method is different. Bring good tidings to whom? to Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). Note that Jerusalem is to lift up her voice with strength, not with the natural voice, but by the power of the Holy Ghost. However, to the best of my knowledge, Zion is never told anywhere in the Bible to say anything. That is because Zion represents those who minister to the Lord ... the Lord's ministers. Jerusalem speaks; Zion becomes. God dwells in Zion. To the best of my knowledge the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts do not record one verse when the apostle John ever said anything. Even in the Gospel according to John, he never mentions his own name.
Now let us consider what has been said thus far. Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 1:9-11, said there is no new thing under the sun. But in the verses in Isaiah 42 and 43 the Lord says that He has new things to declare. I suppose some folks might say that seems like a contradiction, but there are no contradictions in the Bible. Contradictions exist only in our carnal minds. Not everything written in the Bible speaks about truth that we should follow. Consider the life of Cain and Saul, the first king of Israel. A multitude of Israelites came out of Egypt but only two adults made it into the Promised Land. Some of Scripture is recorded to warn us Christians of examples not to follow. Consider Solomon, the man who was full of God's blessings but failed. No man ever received so much wisdom and knowledge as did Solomon. He also received wealth which was far greater than all of the current billionaires today. He wrote 1005 songs and 3000 proverbs. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He had fame and awe throughout the known world. He had more of everything that the natural man longs for today, but in his later years he left out God and became an idolater. His sensuality and pride caused him to become a shipwreck which some have called the most terrible tragedy in all the world. However, before Solomon's fall, he wrote the Book of Proverbs, which is full of the wisdom of God. At least 25 years later Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes, in which he declared that everything under the sun is vanity, but he never mentioned in that book the things above the sun ... above the natural realm. Ecclesiastes is human intelligence and wisdom under the sun. Proverbs is about Divine wisdom and knowledge above the sun. Solomon's life was an example of the contrast between the spiritual man and the religious man.
God rarely reveals more of Himself and His word to those who use intelligent minds but to those who have a humble heart. We must have a humble dependence on the Holy Spirit or we will go astray. Our brain, our mind, must be under the headship of our heart. Although David made several gross errors, he was a man after God's own heart. Before we can walk in humility, we must be broken ... broken of all traces of self. In order to be broken, we must repent. The repentance that we Christians must experience is that which Isaiah experienced as recorded in Isaiah Chapter 6. The Lord said that there was none like Job in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil. But Job experienced that same level of repentance when he said, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." What happens after some number of Christians repent? They become ministers to the Lord rather than ministers to the house (Ezekiel 44). Then they weep between the porch and the altar on behalf of the body of Christ (Joel 2:17). After that happens, the Lord returns.
What are the characteristics of babes, sucklings, and little children? They don't know anything. They have not been educated in the things of the world, so they are totally dependent on their parents. Newly planted grass is always the greenest when it first emerges from the ground. It loses its luster when it is exposed to the world.
When Jesus called His first disciples, He did not select many from the intelligent; He called ignorant fishermen ... those who did not have to unlearn the traditions of men. The people who crucified Jesus studied the Bible every day. Pilate looked Truth straight in the eye and said, "What is truth?"
As an introduction, consider Ecclesiastes 1:9-11,
"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after."
In one sense, those verses are true in that human nature has never changed and never will. Also, from Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. I also believe it is very safe to say that God's plan and purpose for man has never changed. We all have the same general purpose which is to glorify God and help to edify His chosen people - Christ in you, the hope of glory. But we all are unique in that we have different callings, different gifts, and different ministries. Peter was a mouth; John was a heart. We glorify God when we fulfill the purpose for which we were created. Each one of us, when we fulfill our high calling in Christ Jesus, receives the same reward. David said, in 1 Samuel 30:24, that he that goes forth to battle and he who tarries by the stuff shall receive the same portion of the spoil. It is also true that nothing is new to God because He lives in eternity.
Now let us look at Isaiah 42, Verse 9.
"Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them."
What new things does the LORD declare? We hope to shed a little light on that question in this message. When the Lord says, "before they spring forth I tell you of them," who is the "you"? A partial answer to that question is found in Amos 3:7. "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets." The Lord revealed His secrets to Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Paul and other true prophets. Of course, there are 7,000 more that we don't know about. But the key in Amos 3:7 is His servants the prophets. Servants first, then prophets. God is more interested in our character than in our comfort or our ministry. He can make the very stones to cry out or a jackass to speak, if necessary. It should go without saying that God never intended for the secrets that He reveals to His prophets to simply remain within them. Those secrets always were and are intended to be shared with all of God's chosen people. Sadly, scripturally and historically many of God's chosen people have rejected God's chosen prophets. Of course, He who holds all secrets is the risen Lord Jesus Christ. He is the greatest prophet.
Hebrews 1:1-2, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds;"
Now let us read Isaiah 43:18-22.
"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise. But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel."
Verse 22 contains the key for each one of us. That key unlocks those things in our life that are new to us. Whatsoever the Lord Jesus says unto us, do it.
Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
Therefore, the most important message that any minister can convey is how to hear the voice of the Lord for yourself. Although Eli taught the young Samuel for six years many things about the ceremonial law, the most important function of Eli was to help Samuel to hear the voice of the Lord for himself.
A New Testament counterpart of those verses in Isaiah is recorded in Philippians 3:12-14.
A New Testament counterpart of those verses in Isaiah is recorded in Philippians 3:12-14.
"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
No one can drive forward in a car by looking in the rear view mirror. Neither can we hold on to what we were or what we experienced in the past if we want to receive what the Lord has for us today. We have to know, by faith, that what is before us is more important than what lies behind us or we will not let go of the past. The end of the matter is better than the beginning. When the Israelites were delivered from their bondage in Egypt, their crying for the former things in Egypt kept them from entering into the new things that the Lord had for them in the Promised Land.
Matthew 13:52, "Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old."
The word "new" means new as to quality, not new as to time. The word "householder" means "the master of the house." The "man who is an householder" is the Lord Jesus Himself. We do not simply discard old treasures in the form of truth which our Lord has given to us in the past, but we must always be open to receive His new treasures.
1 Corinthians 2:9, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."
Have you ever thought about what new things we have never seen or heard or have entered into our heart?
Hebrews 5:10-11, "Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing."
Have you ever thought about the many things that Paul had to say but which were hard to be uttered?
Every one of us has experienced some heartache in the past. Someone said some untrue things about us. One of our children rebelled against us. We never got that business promotion when we really deserved it. We loaned some money to a friend but he never paid it back. Someone in a car cut us off the road. If we hold on to any anger, bitterness, or hostility about what has happened, it will keep us out of what God wants to do in our life. If we have received direction in our life, then we must resist all distractions. The devil wants to keep us busy thinking about all of the bad things of the past because then we have no time to walk in Philippians 4:8,
Every one of us has experienced some heartache in the past. Someone said some untrue things about us. One of our children rebelled against us. We never got that business promotion when we really deserved it. We loaned some money to a friend but he never paid it back. Someone in a car cut us off the road. If we hold on to any anger, bitterness, or hostility about what has happened, it will keep us out of what God wants to do in our life. If we have received direction in our life, then we must resist all distractions. The devil wants to keep us busy thinking about all of the bad things of the past because then we have no time to walk in Philippians 4:8,
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19). If we try to fight our battles, we may miss what the Lord has for us. How much better it is to let the Lord fight our battles because He never loses. Finally, one of the greatest distractions of the enemy is to get us into a place of unforgiveness. Just before Jesus died on the cross, He prayed, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." We have no record in the Bible that any of those folks who crucified Jesus ever asked Jesus to forgive them. Unforgiveness on our part will keep us out of the wonderful life that the Lord wants to give us.
A number of years ago, a good brother told me that he never felt that he "fit in" anywhere. I never responded in any way because I did not know at that time what, if anything, I should say. But from my experience I can certainly identify with him. In reality, that is a good thing! No one ever follows an ordinary person. It takes courage to be controversial. We are not called to fit in but to stand out! We are called to be in the world but separated from the ways of the world. Jesus suffered without the camp. David as a youth was probably looked at by his brothers as being a little different from them ... perhaps even a little weird. David was in charge of tending the sheep. Sheep are very smelly, stinky, dumb animals that must be cared for by man. They routinely follow each other. All we like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6), and we certainly like to follow the crowd. That is why mega-churches are popular. David undoubtedly absorbed the stink of those sheep by being around them so much. He also seemed quite different in that the only other thing he did was to write a lot of poems. He would even go out by himself in the fields and sing those psalms to the Lord. When David was called in before the prophet Samuel, Samuel could smell the stink of the sheep. But the Lord saw greatness in David, so the Lord told Samuel to anoint that young lad to be king of all Israel even though David had no background to be a king. John the Baptist was an even greater controversial figure. He was not like other men. He just lived in the wilderness, ate wild locusts and honey, wore the same old clothes, and called the Pharisees a generation of vipers. But Jesus said that a greater prophet than John had never arisen. Then, we could talk for years about a man named Jesus, who was the most controversial man ever in the eyes of the religious elite of the day.
Shortly after the Lord sovereignly and dramatically apprehended me, He quickened to me, from Isaiah 61, that I was to be a minister. At that point in time, the only way I knew how to become a minister was to go through a seminary. Then I received several messages through rather unusual events that I was to attend Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. I applied to attend that seminary in the fall of 1968 and was accepted. I could easily have gone there, but we put a fleece before the Lord that if someone bought our house before our daughter was born in May of 1968, then we would go. A number of people came by to look at our house. They all said how lovely our house was, but no one offered to buy it. We put a "For Sale" sign in our front yard, but the wind kept blowing it down. Immediately after our daughter was born on May 31, 1968, I came back from the hospital and found a real estate agent along with a nice couple waiting at our front door. They had a contract all ready for me to sign. I had to tell them that our house was no longer for sale because our daughter had just been born. I told them that if they had come by one day earlier, the house would have been theirs. I did not understand at the time why the Lord had closed the door to such a good seminary. However, not long afterward the Lord made it clear to me that if I had gone, I would have to un-learn almost everything they taught me ... things like apologetics, hermeneutics, and homiletics. I still have no idea what those words mean. I soon realized that seminaries, and even many Bible schools are like cookie-cutters, teaching prospective students year after year about the Bible and what the Lord has said and what He has done; but they have no idea what the Lord is doing and what He is saying today because only the Holy Spirit can reveal that to man. God cannot be explained; He must be revealed.
A number of years ago, a good brother told me that he never felt that he "fit in" anywhere. I never responded in any way because I did not know at that time what, if anything, I should say. But from my experience I can certainly identify with him. In reality, that is a good thing! No one ever follows an ordinary person. It takes courage to be controversial. We are not called to fit in but to stand out! We are called to be in the world but separated from the ways of the world. Jesus suffered without the camp. David as a youth was probably looked at by his brothers as being a little different from them ... perhaps even a little weird. David was in charge of tending the sheep. Sheep are very smelly, stinky, dumb animals that must be cared for by man. They routinely follow each other. All we like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6), and we certainly like to follow the crowd. That is why mega-churches are popular. David undoubtedly absorbed the stink of those sheep by being around them so much. He also seemed quite different in that the only other thing he did was to write a lot of poems. He would even go out by himself in the fields and sing those psalms to the Lord. When David was called in before the prophet Samuel, Samuel could smell the stink of the sheep. But the Lord saw greatness in David, so the Lord told Samuel to anoint that young lad to be king of all Israel even though David had no background to be a king. John the Baptist was an even greater controversial figure. He was not like other men. He just lived in the wilderness, ate wild locusts and honey, wore the same old clothes, and called the Pharisees a generation of vipers. But Jesus said that a greater prophet than John had never arisen. Then, we could talk for years about a man named Jesus, who was the most controversial man ever in the eyes of the religious elite of the day.
Shortly after the Lord sovereignly and dramatically apprehended me, He quickened to me, from Isaiah 61, that I was to be a minister. At that point in time, the only way I knew how to become a minister was to go through a seminary. Then I received several messages through rather unusual events that I was to attend Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. I applied to attend that seminary in the fall of 1968 and was accepted. I could easily have gone there, but we put a fleece before the Lord that if someone bought our house before our daughter was born in May of 1968, then we would go. A number of people came by to look at our house. They all said how lovely our house was, but no one offered to buy it. We put a "For Sale" sign in our front yard, but the wind kept blowing it down. Immediately after our daughter was born on May 31, 1968, I came back from the hospital and found a real estate agent along with a nice couple waiting at our front door. They had a contract all ready for me to sign. I had to tell them that our house was no longer for sale because our daughter had just been born. I told them that if they had come by one day earlier, the house would have been theirs. I did not understand at the time why the Lord had closed the door to such a good seminary. However, not long afterward the Lord made it clear to me that if I had gone, I would have to un-learn almost everything they taught me ... things like apologetics, hermeneutics, and homiletics. I still have no idea what those words mean. I soon realized that seminaries, and even many Bible schools are like cookie-cutters, teaching prospective students year after year about the Bible and what the Lord has said and what He has done; but they have no idea what the Lord is doing and what He is saying today because only the Holy Spirit can reveal that to man. God cannot be explained; He must be revealed.
John 16:13, "Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come."
Who is the "you" in that verse? every professing Christian? I don't think so. The "you," from 2 Corinthians 3:18, are those believers who have an open face and are beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord.
I have shared many times over the years some of our experiences in a New Testament house church in Northern Virginia back from the late 1960's until May 30, 1980. I still believe that was the "best" church I have ever seen. We never had a paid minister, never passed a collection plate, never had a written program, never built a physical church building, never used a pulpit or podium, never knew who was going to start singing a song or when, and in general never knew who was going to say what or when. We had a wonderful community spirit of helping each other in natural ways. We also had structure and order in our gatherings. We had much good teaching through a number of solid men of God, including Bob Mumford and Derek Prince, both of whom were considered excellent teachers at the national level. When Derek Prince came to one of our Tuesday night meetings, the first thing he said was that he had heard we were like the he goats before the flocks (Jeremiah 50:8). That was true. I believe we were on the cutting edge of what the Lord was doing at that time in Christian churches. We were taught that the church at Antioch, with its multiple ministries, was "the better pattern" than the church at Jerusalem, with the pastor and elders. Therefore, wanting to be scriptural, we decided to function from the beginning like the church at Antioch. One problem with that approach, hindsight, was that we were not mature enough then to function that way. Like all churches, we had a mixed multitude.
I was the porcupine in that local church. I believe every church needs a porcupine or we get hard and set in our ways. I suppose many folks considered me and my wife to be controversial. That resulted in some natural events which were disturbing to my wife, but it never bothered me in any way. Perhaps that was because very early in my walk with the Lord, He clearly revealed to me the specific reason why He had sovereignly apprehended me. If we are confident in our direction, we will not be distracted. Nehemiah said to his distracters, "I am doing a great work, so I cannot come down" (Nehemiah 6:3).
Back in our early New Testament church days, one man who was called an elder said, "I read in the New Testament that the early church appointed deacons. We don't have any deacons so we need to appoint some deacons." That was just one of several times that our house church did some things simply because we saw a pattern in the New Testament. Another such occasion was when we selected a name for our church. We read in the Bible about the Church at Corinth, the Church at Ephesus, etc. Therefore, we, wanting to be scriptural, called ourselves The Church at Fairfax County because we lived in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. That, I believe, was a product of our carnal minds. First of all, we were NOT the Church at Fairfax County, because the Church at Fairtax County consists of all born-again believers who live in Fairfax County. Secondly, I believe the Church at Corinth and the Church at Ephesus never called themselves by those names. That was just the way that Paul and others identified them.
However, after 10 years as part of that local church, the Lord told us in 1978 that we would have to leave that church or the ministry the Lord had put me and my wife into could not be fulfilled. But we still had to wait on the timing of the Lord, which came on May 30, 1980. On that day, the Lord clearly said that was the day to announce that we were leaving that house church. The Lord gave me much wisdom as to the right words to say that would not offend anyone. As a side tangent, only proud people get offended.
One year later, that New Testament house church totally disintegrated. The Lord revealed several reasons why He removed that candlestick. Only the Lord knows all of the reasons. One of the reasons was because we got into a traditional rut. Although we had no written program or routine, we always had an unwritten pattern ... an opening prayer, sing three fast songs, then sing three slow songs, sing in the spirit for about 15 minutes, wait for the prophecies, which always came forth, someone gave a teaching, a chair in the middle of the circle if anyone wanted prayer, then fellowship, which was more like socialization. We were led by a pattern, not by the Holy Spirit. From personal experience, nothing will quench the Spirit faster than to go through the same routine every gathering. Every local church I have seen goes through their same routine every Sunday. Sadly, we continue to follow our traditions, never knowing that the Spirit of the Lord has something far greater in mind. On a positive note, this Covid pandemic has put a dent in our traditional religious gatherings, which form a man-made pattern. Some Christians want the Lord to take the virus away so that we can get back to the way we were doing things. I believe that the Lord sent that virus, hoping that we could see His higher ways. Paul said, in 2 Timothy 3, that in the last days, men would have a form (or a pattern) of godliness but denying the power thereof.
This word has both an individual and a corporate application. Although the individual application may be fairly easy to accept, the corporate application meets with stiff opposition. The first word that I ever wrote, forty-some years ago, was about church government. When we want to seek God's truth about some topic, such as church government, a good principle to follow is to start with the book of Genesis.
I have shared many times over the years some of our experiences in a New Testament house church in Northern Virginia back from the late 1960's until May 30, 1980. I still believe that was the "best" church I have ever seen. We never had a paid minister, never passed a collection plate, never had a written program, never built a physical church building, never used a pulpit or podium, never knew who was going to start singing a song or when, and in general never knew who was going to say what or when. We had a wonderful community spirit of helping each other in natural ways. We also had structure and order in our gatherings. We had much good teaching through a number of solid men of God, including Bob Mumford and Derek Prince, both of whom were considered excellent teachers at the national level. When Derek Prince came to one of our Tuesday night meetings, the first thing he said was that he had heard we were like the he goats before the flocks (Jeremiah 50:8). That was true. I believe we were on the cutting edge of what the Lord was doing at that time in Christian churches. We were taught that the church at Antioch, with its multiple ministries, was "the better pattern" than the church at Jerusalem, with the pastor and elders. Therefore, wanting to be scriptural, we decided to function from the beginning like the church at Antioch. One problem with that approach, hindsight, was that we were not mature enough then to function that way. Like all churches, we had a mixed multitude.
I was the porcupine in that local church. I believe every church needs a porcupine or we get hard and set in our ways. I suppose many folks considered me and my wife to be controversial. That resulted in some natural events which were disturbing to my wife, but it never bothered me in any way. Perhaps that was because very early in my walk with the Lord, He clearly revealed to me the specific reason why He had sovereignly apprehended me. If we are confident in our direction, we will not be distracted. Nehemiah said to his distracters, "I am doing a great work, so I cannot come down" (Nehemiah 6:3).
Back in our early New Testament church days, one man who was called an elder said, "I read in the New Testament that the early church appointed deacons. We don't have any deacons so we need to appoint some deacons." That was just one of several times that our house church did some things simply because we saw a pattern in the New Testament. Another such occasion was when we selected a name for our church. We read in the Bible about the Church at Corinth, the Church at Ephesus, etc. Therefore, we, wanting to be scriptural, called ourselves The Church at Fairfax County because we lived in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. That, I believe, was a product of our carnal minds. First of all, we were NOT the Church at Fairfax County, because the Church at Fairtax County consists of all born-again believers who live in Fairfax County. Secondly, I believe the Church at Corinth and the Church at Ephesus never called themselves by those names. That was just the way that Paul and others identified them.
However, after 10 years as part of that local church, the Lord told us in 1978 that we would have to leave that church or the ministry the Lord had put me and my wife into could not be fulfilled. But we still had to wait on the timing of the Lord, which came on May 30, 1980. On that day, the Lord clearly said that was the day to announce that we were leaving that house church. The Lord gave me much wisdom as to the right words to say that would not offend anyone. As a side tangent, only proud people get offended.
One year later, that New Testament house church totally disintegrated. The Lord revealed several reasons why He removed that candlestick. Only the Lord knows all of the reasons. One of the reasons was because we got into a traditional rut. Although we had no written program or routine, we always had an unwritten pattern ... an opening prayer, sing three fast songs, then sing three slow songs, sing in the spirit for about 15 minutes, wait for the prophecies, which always came forth, someone gave a teaching, a chair in the middle of the circle if anyone wanted prayer, then fellowship, which was more like socialization. We were led by a pattern, not by the Holy Spirit. From personal experience, nothing will quench the Spirit faster than to go through the same routine every gathering. Every local church I have seen goes through their same routine every Sunday. Sadly, we continue to follow our traditions, never knowing that the Spirit of the Lord has something far greater in mind. On a positive note, this Covid pandemic has put a dent in our traditional religious gatherings, which form a man-made pattern. Some Christians want the Lord to take the virus away so that we can get back to the way we were doing things. I believe that the Lord sent that virus, hoping that we could see His higher ways. Paul said, in 2 Timothy 3, that in the last days, men would have a form (or a pattern) of godliness but denying the power thereof.
This word has both an individual and a corporate application. Although the individual application may be fairly easy to accept, the corporate application meets with stiff opposition. The first word that I ever wrote, forty-some years ago, was about church government. When we want to seek God's truth about some topic, such as church government, a good principle to follow is to start with the book of Genesis.
Genesis 1:26-28.
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
The phrase, have dominion, means to "rule over." Rule over what? The phrase, "in our image, after our likeness" is one thing, not two ... in the likeness of His image. If we are made in the likeness of God's image, then we will have sovereignty over the natural world on earth. We will also be creative. However, man was initially created, not made. Verse 26 declares God's purpose or end result for man; Verse 27 states the starting point. Before we can be "made" by God we must be created. God's plan for man was that we were created to partake of the tree of life daily. That partaking was never intended to be a one-and-done event. We were never designed to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil at any point in our life. Man was never designed to rule over other men. As a born-from-above Christian, our spiritual man was designed to rule over our natural man. However, all those who have been made in the likeness of God's image are to be ruled or governed by our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 43, Verses 1 and 7, confirm God's original plan for man.
1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
We were created for the glory of God, not for our pleasure. Revelation 4:11 says,
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
Genesis 5:24, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."
The name, Enoch, comes from a Hebrew root word which means "the beginning of discernment," which is the beginning of wisdom. Enoch never had a human pastor or teacher. He simply walked with God. No man can improve on Enoch's close communion with God and his separation from the world. Jude tells us that Enoch functioned as a prophet.
There is no fixed pattern associated with church government. Church government must be dynamic ... a process of ever moving away from the government of the church through men and toward the government or rule by the Lord Himself. The life of Peter, as recorded in the book of Acts, is a good example of the process of maturity for both individual and corporate government. In Acts 1, it is Peter with the 120. In Acts 2 it is Peter standing up with the eleven. In Acts 3 through 8 it is Peter and John. They are constant companions. From Acts 9 through 28 Peter and John are never mentioned together ... it is Peter and the Lord.
There is no fixed pattern associated with church government. Church government must be dynamic ... a process of ever moving away from the government of the church through men and toward the government or rule by the Lord Himself. The life of Peter, as recorded in the book of Acts, is a good example of the process of maturity for both individual and corporate government. In Acts 1, it is Peter with the 120. In Acts 2 it is Peter standing up with the eleven. In Acts 3 through 8 it is Peter and John. They are constant companions. From Acts 9 through 28 Peter and John are never mentioned together ... it is Peter and the Lord.
Isaiah 9:6-7 says, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."
A few months after we left that New Testament house church, I asked and received permission to share at their next elders' meeting what I had received from the Lord about church government. After I shared in detail for 30 minutes that there is no static pattern for church government, one of the elders said, "That was the best teaching I have ever heard about church government. Now let's get back to what we were doing." In other words, he saw no application to their operation. That is why denominations will continue until Jesus returns. That is why most churches will continue to follow the same pattern that they have grown up in. That is why we have hung out a "Do not disturb" sign. That is why we are too comfortable; but Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. That is also why God is no longer working with churches as a whole, but He is definitely working with individuals. That is why there has always been a church within a church. That is why each individual Christian must press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
When we remember the former things and dwell on the things of old, we are walking in religious traditions, which are extremely hard to break. They constitute perhaps the greatest hindrances to our maturity as an individual believer. Everyone is familiar with the example when Moses relied on his past experience rather than on the current word of the Lord.
From Exodus 17, When the people thirsted for water, the people murmured against Moses. They said, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? The Lord told Moses to smite the rock, which he did, and water came out of the rock. Later, when the children of Israel again had no water to drink, we read in Numbers 20 that the LORD told Moses to speak unto the rock and it shall give forth his water. Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly. After that act of disobedience, Moses, who also symbolizes the Old Covenant law, was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.
The pattern that we Christians today are called to follow is not the pattern that was given to Moses to build the Tabernacle.
Exodus 25:1, 9, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying ... According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it."
The Lord told Moses at least 5 times to make everything according to the pattern that the Lord showed him. That admonition is also recorded in
Hebrews 8:4-5. "For if He were on earth, He should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount."
Neither is our pattern that which the Lord gave to David for Solomon to build the temple. Neither should our pattern be to rigidly follow that which the Lord told the early church to follow. That was then; this is now. Some folks do not understand how something can be Divinely given and then Divinely taken away. The book of Hebrews gives ample evidence of that. Is our God the God of the past? Absolutely! but He is also the God of the present as well as the future.
The only pattern for us Christians today is to hear from the Lord Himself concerning the way that we should go.
Isaiah 30:21 says, "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."
To hear a word behind us means that we walk by faith. That is called Divine order or being led by the Spirit. It is very important to remember that "man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that is proceeding from the mouth of God." We can structure everything to be like the New Testament church after Pentecost and have no wine in our wineskins. The wineskin, as good as it might be, can never produce the wine to fill it. Our Pattern is the person of the Lord Jesus Himself and what He is speaking to us today, not what He spoke to other folks in the years past. We cannot live on yesterday's manna. In order to have Divine order we must take our orders directly from headquarters ... from the Lord Himself. We have been trying to put Saul's armor on David. David knew better than to do that. All David had in his battles was the anointing that comes from hearing the voice of the Lord and obeying. The reason that David never lost a battle was because he always asked the Lord if he should go out to fight. Perhaps we need some David's in our churches today. We also might consider how Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and many other Old Covenant saints got along so well without the use of a Bible or a concordance, or Bible teachers, or big conferences. They simply heard the voice of the Lord and obeyed. God's original intention was for man to hear the voice of the Lord for himself and obey. His plan has never changed. When the Israelites were coming out of Egypt, the Lord rained down manna from heaven every day except for their Sabbath day. It was the responsibility of each man to gather the manna for himself and his family. That responsibility has never changed. However, we all know that Adam chose to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is easy to discern evil. It is not so easy to discern the difference between man's good and the will of God. Human nature is still our public enemy number 1.
Sadly, too many Christians today still want to hear from the Lord through their pastor. Many years ago, the Lord spoke the following word. "There are a lot of good pastors who love the Lord and sincerely desire for all of the people to grow in maturity in Christ. But they are trying to fit more of the Lord into their own format and routine." Of course, the Lord will never allow that.
We Christians today have been saturated with Bible knowledge. We have read the Bible, listened to many teachers and preachers, read many good books, heard many messages on DVDs, gone to many of the big conferences, and listened and financially supported many "big name" TV evangelists. What occupies most of the time in our church gatherings today? Words ... teaching, preaching, prophesying, singing, outward, spoken prayers. There certainly is a place for that.
Sadly, too many Christians today still want to hear from the Lord through their pastor. Many years ago, the Lord spoke the following word. "There are a lot of good pastors who love the Lord and sincerely desire for all of the people to grow in maturity in Christ. But they are trying to fit more of the Lord into their own format and routine." Of course, the Lord will never allow that.
We Christians today have been saturated with Bible knowledge. We have read the Bible, listened to many teachers and preachers, read many good books, heard many messages on DVDs, gone to many of the big conferences, and listened and financially supported many "big name" TV evangelists. What occupies most of the time in our church gatherings today? Words ... teaching, preaching, prophesying, singing, outward, spoken prayers. There certainly is a place for that.
Jesus said, in Matthew 6:7-8, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him."
The church today is living in the age of the Laodicean church as recorded in Revelation, Chapter 3. That is the only one of the seven churches where we find the message "thou sayest." As a result, we have a head full of knowledge about the Bible, but we come up short in the knowledge of God Himself. Paul, after 30 years of ministry, said, "That I may know Him." (Philippians 3:10).
Isaiah 40:9, "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!"
Note that both Zion and Jerusalem bring good tidings, but their method is different. Bring good tidings to whom? to Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). Note that Jerusalem is to lift up her voice with strength, not with the natural voice, but by the power of the Holy Ghost. However, to the best of my knowledge, Zion is never told anywhere in the Bible to say anything. That is because Zion represents those who minister to the Lord ... the Lord's ministers. Jerusalem speaks; Zion becomes. God dwells in Zion. To the best of my knowledge the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts do not record one verse when the apostle John ever said anything. Even in the Gospel according to John, he never mentions his own name.
Now let us consider what has been said thus far. Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 1:9-11, said there is no new thing under the sun. But in the verses in Isaiah 42 and 43 the Lord says that He has new things to declare. I suppose some folks might say that seems like a contradiction, but there are no contradictions in the Bible. Contradictions exist only in our carnal minds. Not everything written in the Bible speaks about truth that we should follow. Consider the life of Cain and Saul, the first king of Israel. A multitude of Israelites came out of Egypt but only two adults made it into the Promised Land. Some of Scripture is recorded to warn us Christians of examples not to follow. Consider Solomon, the man who was full of God's blessings but failed. No man ever received so much wisdom and knowledge as did Solomon. He also received wealth which was far greater than all of the current billionaires today. He wrote 1005 songs and 3000 proverbs. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He had fame and awe throughout the known world. He had more of everything that the natural man longs for today, but in his later years he left out God and became an idolater. His sensuality and pride caused him to become a shipwreck which some have called the most terrible tragedy in all the world. However, before Solomon's fall, he wrote the Book of Proverbs, which is full of the wisdom of God. At least 25 years later Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes, in which he declared that everything under the sun is vanity, but he never mentioned in that book the things above the sun ... above the natural realm. Ecclesiastes is human intelligence and wisdom under the sun. Proverbs is about Divine wisdom and knowledge above the sun. Solomon's life was an example of the contrast between the spiritual man and the religious man.
God rarely reveals more of Himself and His word to those who use intelligent minds but to those who have a humble heart. We must have a humble dependence on the Holy Spirit or we will go astray. Our brain, our mind, must be under the headship of our heart. Although David made several gross errors, he was a man after God's own heart. Before we can walk in humility, we must be broken ... broken of all traces of self. In order to be broken, we must repent. The repentance that we Christians must experience is that which Isaiah experienced as recorded in Isaiah Chapter 6. The Lord said that there was none like Job in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil. But Job experienced that same level of repentance when he said, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." What happens after some number of Christians repent? They become ministers to the Lord rather than ministers to the house (Ezekiel 44). Then they weep between the porch and the altar on behalf of the body of Christ (Joel 2:17). After that happens, the Lord returns.
Matthew 11:25-26, "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight."Matthew 21:15-16, "And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto Him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?"
Mark 10:15, "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein."
What are the characteristics of babes, sucklings, and little children? They don't know anything. They have not been educated in the things of the world, so they are totally dependent on their parents. Newly planted grass is always the greenest when it first emerges from the ground. It loses its luster when it is exposed to the world.
Jeremiah 9:23-24, "Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD."1 Corinthians 1:26-27, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;"
When Jesus called His first disciples, He did not select many from the intelligent; He called ignorant fishermen ... those who did not have to unlearn the traditions of men. The people who crucified Jesus studied the Bible every day. Pilate looked Truth straight in the eye and said, "What is truth?"
Isaiah 40:22 says that God sits on the circle of the earth. A circle has no beginning and no end.
The Lord is the Alpha and the Omega. He, and He alone is our Pattern.
I want to mention one more thing that is new every day ... His great mercy.
Linda and I will try to sing a song from Lamentations 3:22-23. We invite all who are listening to this message to sing with us. The title of the song is "The Steadfast Love of the Lord." Just lift up your voice to the Lord.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness, O Lord; great is thy faithfulness.
The Lord is the Alpha and the Omega. He, and He alone is our Pattern.
I want to mention one more thing that is new every day ... His great mercy.
Linda and I will try to sing a song from Lamentations 3:22-23. We invite all who are listening to this message to sing with us. The title of the song is "The Steadfast Love of the Lord." Just lift up your voice to the Lord.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness, O Lord; great is thy faithfulness.
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