Infinite Fellowship Ministries

Going Back To The Pattern Of God: Sermon By Minister Grace Tuiya

In the worship of God there is order and decorum that He has instituted to be followed. 

God has not left it to man to decide how he should worship Him but has given instructions and standards to be obeyed.

“And in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat portions. And the Lord had respect and regard for Abel and for his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no respect or regard.

So Cain was exceedingly angry and indignant, and he looked sad and depressed. And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why do you look sad and depressed and dejected? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Genesis 4:3-7 (AMPC)

You can’t manifest what is of God if you are out of His pattern. 

When we disobey God’s standards and pattern, sin comes for us to control us. Your perception in the spirit becomes damaged.

Going back to the basics mean going back to genuine fellowship and service.

Abel offered his sacrifice by faith and in obedience. He gave God the best.

Cain did not perceive God so he was offended when God rejected his sacrifice.

Abel gave his sacrifice with humility. Cain was presumptuous and haughty. 

Lack of correct perception will lead to offence. 

God is very precise and detailed in how He wants things done and when. 

Noah was given materials and detailed instructions and measurements for building the Ark.

“Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. And you shall make it according to all that I show you, the pattern of the tabernacle or dwelling and the pattern of all the furniture of it.” 

 Exodus 25:8-9 (AMPC)

“And see to it that you copy [exactly] their pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” 

Exodus 25:40 (AMPC)

“An altar of earth you shall make to Me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name and cause it to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. And if you will make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone, for if you lift up a tool upon it you have polluted it. Neither shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness be not exposed upon it.” 

 Exodus 20:24-26 (AMPC)

There is a precise standard and decorum in approaching God. 

God will always judge when His instructions are not obeyed. 

“[But these offer] service [merely] as a pattern and as a foreshadowing of [what has its true existence and reality in] the heavenly sanctuary. For when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, he was warned by God, saying, See to it that you make it all [exactly] according to the copy (the model) which was shown to you on the mountain”  

Hebrews 8:5 (AMPC)

Aaron’s sons were consumed by fire because they disobeyed the instructions of God. They introduced strange fires in the altar.

The Israelites were taken into exile because of their hearts that were not in the right place with God.

“Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites, with all those whose spirits God had stirred up, to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.” 

Ezra 1:5 (AMPC)

“They sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, For He is good, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid! But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house [Solomon’s temple], when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice, though many shouted aloud for joy.” 

 Ezra 3:11-12 (AMPC)

The foundation of the new temple was not built according to the pattern like Solomon’s temple. It had no glory after it was built. 

“Afterward, the officials came to me and said, The Israelites and the priests and Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, but have committed the abominations of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. For they have taken as wives some of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy offspring have mixed themselves with the peoples of the lands. Indeed, the officials and chief men have been foremost in this wicked act and direct violation [of God’s will].

 Ezra 9:1-2 (AMPC)

Nehemiah and Ezra tried to bring back the Israelites to God but their hearts were not right.

In the New Testament, the pattern that God has ordained is that Jesus is the cornerstone. He is the foundation. 

“Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tested Stone, a precious Cornerstone of sure foundation; he who believes (trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone) will not [a]be ashamed or give way or hasten away [in sudden panic].

Isaiah 28:16 (AMPC)

A cornerstone is a standard upon which the rest of the building should conform to.

As children of God in the New Testament, Christ is our foundation and we should conform to Him. 

“But as it now is, He [Christ] has acquired a [priestly] ministry which is as much superior and more excellent [than the old] as the covenant (the agreement) of which He is the Mediator (the Arbiter, Agent) is superior and more excellent, [because] it is enacted and rests upon more important (sublimer, higher, and nobler) promises.“

 Hebrews 8:6 (AMPC)

There is a pattern and a mandate that God has given to us as a community. Every church in the Body of Christ carries a pattern and a mandate.

Are you diligent to obey the instructions given by the leadership and what God tells you? How diligent are you in following the pattern of God? How is your prayer life, your word life, fellowship and service to God? Are you consistent?

God has called us to check our hearts. How well have we conformed to His pattern?