| “According to the Pattern”: Does It Still Apply? A.
“Four blind men are walking along when they come upon an elephant…” -a
popular modern parable. 1. One of the
blind men grabs the elephant’s trunk and declares, “This is a big snake. ”2.
Another blind man wraps his arms around the elephant’s leg and tells
the others, “This is a tree.”
3. The third blind man grasps
the elephant’s tail and theorizes, “This is a rope.” 4.
The final blind man runs his hand along the elephant’s side and says,
“This is a wall.” B. Why were all the blind men wrong? “God is
like the elephant!” so says the popular analogy. C. There is one major detail left out of this
parable: the elephant has______________!
1. 1 Corinthians 2:9-16- “these things God has revealed to us through
the Spirit.” 2. 2 Timothy 3:14-17
-“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable…” 3. 2 Peter 1:16-21 -“we have the
prophetic word more fully confirmed…”
I. A “Pattern” of Obedient
Submission in the Old Testament
A. Adam and Eve: “of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” (Gen 2:17) B.
Noah: “Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him”(Gen 7:5; Heb
11:7) C. Moses: “Exactly as I show you concerning
the pattern of the tabernacle…” (Exo 25:8-9) 1. “You shall not add to the word that I
command you, nor take from it…” (Deut 4:2)
2. WHY? Because God is awesome in holiness and will be glorified (Lev
10:3; 9:22-10:2) II. “According to the Pattern”: Does It Still
Apply? A. Christians: “Christ has obtained a ministry
that is as much more excellent…” (Heb 8:1-6)
1. “All____________in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” (Matt
28:18) 2. “When the Spirit of truth
comes, he will__________you into all the truth…” (John 16:12-13) 3. “The things I am writing to you are
a_______________of the Lord” (1 Cor 14:37)
B. Our
responsibility?“___________the pattern of the sound words” (2 Tim 1:13) 1. _______________(Rom 6:17-18, 2-4; Matt
28:19-20) 2. The__________(Eph 1:22-23) a.
Her organizational structure (Acts 14:23; 1 Tim 3; Tit 1) b.
Her mission (1 Tim 3:15; Tit 2:1; Eph 4:11-12; 1 Thes 1:8) c.
Her worship (John 4:24)
d. Her boundaries of fellowship
(2 John 9) 3. Our individual_________with God (1 Pet
2:21) a. ____________just as the
Father has taught us (John 8:28) b.
__________what the Father has shown us (John 5:19) C.
Seeking the__________of our Father above all else (John 7:18) C.
The stakes? (Gal 1:6-10) Do you
want to be a servant of Christ? |
