There is a Pattern for the Assembly

I want you to turn with me please to a number of passages, a number, some of my work has already been cut out for me from the morning session, and I hope you'll catch what we're going to speak on as we develop a subject that I think there's a great need for. It's even a subject that I've been told doesn't even exist, but we'll look at it. Romans chapter 6, Romans chapter 6, verse 17, But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form, or type, or mold of doctrine which was delivered you.

Now the actual meaning of that is not so much that they were, that the doctrine was delivered to them, but an unchangeable doctrine, and what he is speaking about really is the truth of the gospel and its attendant truths, they were poured into that mold. That doesn't change, and so he's telling them about a mold or something that is fixed. Now let's go over to, we're going to read a number of passages, 1st Corinthians chapter 4. 1st Corinthians chapter 4, the apostle Paul is seeking for the Corinthians who he had seen saved.

He was looking to come to them, but he couldn't come. There were deficiencies in them, and they need to be addressed and so on, but he's going to send Timothy instead. Now look, let's look at verse 17.

For this cause I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord. He has been writing to them in the beginning of this chapter about stewards being faithful, and the faithful requirement of those who handle in the things of God. And then he says, who shall bring you, Timothy is faithful, he's my genuine, my beloved son, as you are, he says, you are my children.

Then he says, but he's faithful, you're not, you've not been faithful, he is faithful. And then he says, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ. And then he says, as I teach everywhere in every church.

Chapter 11. In chapter 11 he is giving them the tremendous doctrinal subject of headship. Now headship doesn't just start in 1st Corinthians 11.

Headship goes right back to the beginning of our Bible. But he is giving them headship now as God has added to that truth, and he is telling them of the importance of it in the assembly. No doubt he had already taught them that, because you couldn't have an assembly established if that truth wasn't known.

But he's going to say something at the end of this middle section, this section as headship is addressed. And verse 16. But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom.

No such custom is what? Being contentious about this. We have no other custom. If any man disagrees with what is being taught here, he's saying he is contentious, he is out of step with the truth that is established here and is being taught.

And he says not only do we have no such custom, and that is apostolic teaching, but then he says neither the churches of God. Neither the churches, plural, of God. Let's go over to chapter 14.

Chapter 14 and verse, let's go down to verse 33. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak.

But they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. Now let's go over to just a few more passages.

2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians 2, and we'll go down to verse 15. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. Hold on to that word traditions for a minute.

Let's go back to 1 Corinthians 11. I forgot to read that, and I would like to read that. 1 Corinthians 11 verse 2. 1 Corinthians 11 verse 2. Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things, and you keep the ordinances, that's the same word there, the traditions, as I, or just as I delivered them to you.

Let's go over it now, back to 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 16. 1 Timothy 1, 16. How be it for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him whom, on him to life everlasting.

Paul is saying that his life, what he is going through, is a pattern for those that would suffer, for those that would believe hereafter. There is another passage where he appeals to something else, where he is a picture of those who should believe in a future day, in relation to the nation of Israel. But here it's in relation to believers and what we will go through in terms of our suffering.

Now let's go over to 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy 1, verse 13. Hold fast that form, that's the word pattern here, hold fast that pattern of wholesome, sound, healthy words, which thou hast heard of me. Do you see the chain in these verses? There's an origination point, and then there is a processing, a passing on chain.

So he says, you've heard them from me, hold them fast, there's a pattern of wholesome, healthy words. And he says, hold on to them. Now, Titus chapter, well, 2 Timothy chapter 2, let's stay here, verse 2. And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.

So you'll notice again a chain. A chain for what? Something that that Paul made up? Something that was part of maybe one particular church and not another? No. This is something that was complete in itself, was given by the Apostles to the Apostles, and then to be passed on from generation to generation by faithful men in the teaching.

Titus chapter 2. I'm not going to speak on all of these verses, but I do want you to see them, and it's very important that we do that. Titus chapter 2 and verse 7. He has just written to Titus to pass on truth in relation to various age groups, aged men, women, the young men, the young women, and so on. And then he says this in verse 7, in all things, showing yourself, showing thyself a pattern of good works in doctrine, showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, etc.

Here is a pattern that Titus was to be. And then lastly, let's go back to the very beginning, Exodus chapter 25. And I know I am very aware that I'm going to the Old Testament for this, but there is a reason, because there are not only principles, there are not only precepts, but there are principles in the Word of God that carry us right through the Bible.

It is important to be familiar with those principles. They are as unchanging as the precepts that we are given. Exodus chapter 25.

This is the beginning of the instruction that God is giving to Moses in the mount to build the tabernacle. I'm sure every one of us has at least heard this verse, or at least this quoted verse 8. God is saying to Moses now, and let them make me a sanctuary. Why? That I may dwell in their midst.

That I may dwell in or among them. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. I'm not going to tell you what the pattern is in my message.

That would take a lot more time. But I want to establish before you, and if we can do this, then it's incumbent upon everyone here to find out what that pattern exactly is. What I would like to do, what my exercise is, is to establish and show you incontrovertibly that there is a pattern.

There have been men that have come here and they have actually taught on our platforms that there is no pattern to the assembly. God has not given us any pattern. That is false.

God has given us a clear pattern in our New Testament. The fact that God has actually given patterns to many things is undeniable. I have read of a number of them.

When it comes to patterns, we have, for example, Titus. Paul encourages him to be a pattern. We have the Apostle Paul who says, I am a pattern of them that should believe hereafter.

When you go back to the Old Testament, you have God gave instructions for the ark. God gave instructions for the tabernacle, for the temple. When we come to the New Testament, we have this framework of truth, this pattern that is given to us on the pages of our New Testament.

And that pattern is consistent with principles that run throughout the Bible. God doesn't say one thing, one place, and another, and that conflict with one thing after another. We have a pattern here.

Now, it's important to understand, especially for younger ones, but for all of us, God has not given us a pattern so that we can rule out this and rule out that. God has given us what is called a positive pattern. The idea being that God is telling us, as he told Moses, as he gives Paul for the church, the churches, of what he wants them to have, what he wants there to be.

He's not giving us instructions saying, now, don't put this, and don't put that, and don't... There are things that do tell us of certain things that shouldn't be there, but they're inconsistent with the Christian's life as well as the assembly. Let no evil communication come out of your mouth. There are certain things that are not to be.

They're inconsistent with being a Christian. But when it comes to this pattern, we have a positive pattern. It would take a million pages to tell us what's not to be there and what's not... God didn't tell Moses, for example... Now, Moses, there's 151 different plants in the desert.

I don't want you to bring any of this plant, this plant, this plant. No, there's all different types of material. There's all different types of animals.

God told exactly what animals he wanted sacrificed so that this pattern that is given to us not only revolves around, for example, in the tabernacle, the sizes, the shapes for most things, the instruments thereof, the animals that were sacrificed, the priesthood that was to function. God gives us a positive pattern. Now, negatively, we have things as well.

And we're told, for example, in Romans Chapter 6 and Romans Chapter 12, we're talking about... God is telling us about being delivered to a mold, something that is going to shape us. And it's the gospel there. But in Romans Chapter 12, he tells us, be ye not conformed to this world so that the world has its own pattern of things, its own things that it wants.

I like J.B. Phillips' translation of that verse. It says, don't let the world squeeze you into its mold. It's good.

So we have negative patterns. And the world stresses lawlessness, right? The whole world lieth in the lap of the wicked one. The lawlessness pervades.

Godlessness pervades. As the psalmist says, our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us? They don't want restraint.

The world doesn't want that control. There's no obedience, wickedness, something negative. But when it comes to what we have here in terms of a pattern, God gives us the positive features of what he wants.

And when we have a pattern, and that could be for a number of different things. This world operates on pattern. Retail operates on pattern.

Auto business operates on patterns, right? Those patterns, whether it's a dress, whether it's a machine, whether it's a building, the idea is that there is going to be, there's purpose in the design and the creator of that pattern. There are essential qualities, characteristics, features that they want seen. There is function.

And then there is repeatability in the idea of more of those. That's why you have a pattern. You're never given a pattern partly for one-off things.

We're given patterns, individuals make patterns so that it can be repeated. And so when it comes to the truth of a New Testament assembly, a New Testament church, God's design, God's purpose is that there be one thing in many localities, not many things in one locality. He's given us a pattern.

This is essential. We need to get a hold of this because we're living in such a day where even if you were to ask people, what is the purpose of a church? They will tell you, well, it's so they have a sense of community, so we can have relationships established, so we can enjoy each other's company and fellowship. We heard about fellowship earlier, but that's not what people are talking about.

There was a newspaper in my hometown, and there was a full-page article about a new church in the area. And this church catered to the needs of the people. But there was not one word about the Bible, not one word about God, not one word about lordship, not one word about Christ.

It was the people's church. Why did God give Moses the pattern for the tabernacle? I read it to you. Let them make me.

This is for me, that I may dwell among them. So that one very important word in relation to this pattern that is given to us, this purpose, because a pattern emphasizes purpose. It emphasizes characteristics, features, functions.

It's testimony. Every New Testament church, from the truth of the pages of the word of God, is a testimony first and foremost to God. And then it is a testimony for God, but we are first and foremost for him.

Make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. Worship. What is worship? Worship is basically a word, and that's one of the great reasons why we exist, one of the great things we will be forever.

So that from each company, each New Testament assembly, would come forth worship, so that first and foremost, God will receive glory. So what is worship? It's basically an old...comes from an old English word, worth-ship, the worth of the individual. It is the acknowledgement, the reverence before the individual who we are giving it to.

And so all of these things are involved. Now, the Hebrew word, when you go to the Old Testament, you will read about the pattern. You read that in Exodus 25.

The Hebrew word here has the idea, and this is very interesting, it has the idea of pattern to have or obtain children. It also is translated as building up or repairing. The idea in having children is so that a family name would be propagated, right? So that the inheritance would be maintained.

When you come to the...I've got to watch here. I'm having a very moving message here. The idea in having children is so that would be propagated, handed on, handed down.

That's exactly what God wants in terms of this pattern that He has given. He wants truth in relation to Himself, in relation to His Son that He loves. He wants it propagated.

He wants it carried on, to build up. You can't build if you have something, and you certainly can't repair something all contained in the word pattern if you don't know what the function, the features of that machine or item is. In fact, if you don't know and you try to make a repair, you might even make it worse.

So I want you to think about that. I want you to think in relation to a pattern and some of you girls. I know we often leave out girls in ministry too, women, but... And one thing I will say in relation to what we heard earlier about house of God, just to make a little... You cannot have an assembly without women.

So we are thankful for every woman that's here today and the recognition of headship as well as the recognition of your place and you're in the scheme of things of the purposes of God. So let's just take a bride, a wedding, and that's her day, right? And so let's take a pattern for dresses, and she picks out the colors, and she picks out the pattern, and the type of dress, and what she wants. And there are three bridesmaids.

And during the course of the wedding procedures, right, building up to the big day, because that day is all about her, right? One of the women in that party says, you know what? I know she wants all turquoise dresses, but I want a blue dress. This is what I want. And so can you imagine now, her three friends come to her and show her, and the one girl says, I know you like blue too, so I'm going to wear this dress.

And the bride looks, and she's looking, and I'll tell you what would happen. After an interesting conversation, that girl would go from a participant to becoming possibly a guest, if even that. Because what she's showing is she thinks more of herself and what she wants than what the bride wants.

And when individuals take what God has given us in the New Testament, and they stress what we want instead of what God has commanded there to be, it's showing that we want more, and we think more of ourselves than the Lord. It's made for Him. Pattern.

Pattern not only shows essential purpose, essential characteristics, but it also shows practice. And practice is repeatable. And that is why I read those two passages about the traditions.

Now, I have heard individuals say, ah, you see, that's just an assembly tradition. What you're doing is just an assembly tradition. Can I ask everybody here, just for a moment, to blank out everything you have ever thought about what a tradition is.

Don't picture some family and some dusty cabinet and annals from a history of a family that's been doing this and this for a hundred and fifty years. Clear your mind. Because in the Bible, you have two words that are very closely aligned.

And the word tradition in the Bible, which was in the New Testament, was written in Greek. And I'm by no means a Greek scholar, but it does help. Study your Bible.

Look up the words. You'll see interesting connections. There is a word called doctrine.

Doctrine is essential. If we do not know doctrine, if we do not study our Bibles and get into them carefully, you will not know doctrine. It simply means the teaching.

Teaching that has been given. Now you take the word traditions and that word traditions incorporates the word teaching. But it brings another word, a prefix, with it.

And you know this word. Anybody ever do anything on the parallel bars? I have fallen many times off them, okay? You know what they are. They're two bars that run alongside each other, right? Side by side.

When something is parallel, it's placed alongside. That's the meaning of the New Testament word tradition. It is teaching that is placed alongside.

And it's meant to be duplicated. Duplicated. Transmitted.

Handed on. Unchanged. It does not vary because of culture.

It does not vary because of chronology. It is given to us consistently so that it will be maintained. That is the pattern of things that is given to us.

And Paul says, you're keeping the side by side teachings just as I delivered them. And he says to the Corinthians in chapter 11, good for you. You're doing good.

And what happens in chapter 11 is they were actually doing something without really the knowledge of why they were doing it. Young people, all of us, it is essential that you know why you do what you do because you will never be able to defend it if you don't. Number two, you will never be convicted of it if you don't.

It is essential. This pattern does exist. There is a pattern here.

Now, I want you to think of just, as I move in the second half of this message, four essential elements of a pattern. Number one, the creation of that pattern. The creation of it.

What was in the mind of the person who made this pattern, who gave this pattern? What was the purpose of it? When it comes to a building, when it comes to a machine, when it comes to an automobile, there is the idea of function, features. When it comes to dresses, clothing, it's the idea, it expresses something of the character, the interests of the creator. That is exactly what the New Testament assembly does.

This pattern expresses not only the purpose, and God does nothing without purpose. Everything God does has purpose. God is not purposeless, and so we have the creation.

There's a cohesiveness as well in terms of the pattern that God has given to us. If there are components, they are cohesive, they link together, they don't conflict with one another. Our brother William has brought that before us in terms of the body in 1 Corinthians 12.

In 1 Corinthians 11, we have the males and the females, and there is no conflict, there's no competition. There is component equality. Both are necessary to fulfill the pattern.

So when we hear about the headship, the head covering of the sisters that is seen in the gatherings of New Testament assemblies, the truth is this, that there should be men present as well as women present. And together, they display that truth. Separate one from the other, and you have an incomplete truth.

There's a cohesiveness. So that things work together. We see that in the members, as our brother has brought before us, and we see that in the meetings as well.

So when you come to Acts 2.42, they continued steadfastly in the doctrine, right? Fellowship, breaking of bread and prayers, four items. That has often been said that that is the pattern of a New Testament assembly. Well, there's more than that.

But any one of those four things do not conflict with one another. There is a cohesiveness to those four things. I've actually heard people call the breaking of bread meeting the worship meeting.

I've even seen it on signs of some assemblies, the worship meeting. Brethren, worship pervades every meeting of the assembly. When we pray, do we not give thanks to God? When we preach the gospel, I don't know about you, but I tell you what, every time I preach the gospel, my heart is worshiping.

I'm thankful that I'm saved. And I'm longing for other people that they will come to know my Lord Jesus and worship him as well. So that there's a cohesiveness in terms of this pattern all together, a framework.

Number three, there is a consistency, or maybe I should say a constancy, in the fact that these truths are constant. They bear repetition. God wants them to be repetitive, repeated.

The same, commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. 1 Corinthians 4, as I teach everywhere in every church. 1 Corinthians 11, if any man seem to be contentious, we have no other custom, neither the churches of God, so that this is meant to be something that is taught and held on to.

Hold fast that form, that pattern of sound, healthy words. Truth by nature, by virtue of what it is. And truth is becoming more and more rare in the world in which we live.

But by nature and virtue of what truth is, it bears repetition. We need to repeat it because it is truth and it doesn't change. And so God desires this.

In fact, if we don't, brethren, if we don't keep repeating it and teaching it, we will lose it. You remember back in the book of Ruth, chapter 4, when Boaz is going up to the gate, and he's there already, and he's going to redeem Ruth, the writer slips in in the narrative. When he's talking about the shoe that was removed, he's going back to Deuteronomy.

He's going back to the truth of the Leverite marriage. And the writer slips in in the book of Ruth. And you remember when the book of Ruth was written? In the days of the judges.

What happened in the days of the judges? Men had got far away from God. There was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

So what does the writer kind of slip in, in Ruth, chapter 4, in relation to this custom? He says this, and you'll allow me to paraphrase. He says, now this is how it used to be. This is how it used to be.

Why did he slip that in? Because they had forgotten. Is it going to come to the point, dear brethren, elders here, where truth is going to be forgotten? It's going to just lay in the streets? That the things that are dear to the heart of God, the things that revolve around ultimately the New Testament assembly revolves around the Lord Jesus Christ? In fact, not even ultimately, foundationally. Is it going to be that young people, a generation coming up, they will know very little? That they'll take their cues from the groups around? That they'll take their cues from societal views? When it comes to this pattern, our guidance, practice, purpose should be on the basis of Scripture alone, not on traditions, men's traditions, not on the writings of church fathers, not on the world's thinking, trends, values, ideologies, polls, surveys, or popularity.

Sola Scriptura, the Scriptures alone. That is why I am begging you young men, you young women, get into your Bibles, study the Word of God. The future does depend on that.

See what God is saying of the importance of these things. Lastly, the last one is this, conviction. Conviction when it comes to this pattern.

The Apostle Paul says, as he writes to the Thessalonians, hold fast. He writes to Timothy in his last letter. Timothy says, guard the committal, guard it.

And Paul says as well in that letter, I am persuaded. I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. He's saying that this deposit that I have received and what I have worked for and labored for, he says, I am persuaded he's able to keep it.

Can I ask you, can I ask everyone here? I know in a gospel meeting, we do this as preachers, you on this side and you on this, but I want to do that now. Are you persuaded? Everyone here in the back, are you persuaded that what we have here in the Word of God, thank you, brother, is exactly and only what we need, that it is sufficient, it is right, it is the real deal, it's the only deal, it's the only thing, and it's necessary to teach it. We need vision.

I'll close with this. We need intelligence in the scriptures too. Because I'll say one thing I notice, and younger people, you're sharp.

You're sharp. Whether it's the phones you're on, whether it's the computers, whether you guys, I go on and I'm like, I just forget it. You're quick thinkers, you're sharp.

And when people, and I want to say this as a way, when people speak from our platforms, they need to be intelligently presenting scripture. We can't be winging it. We can't be giving stories and what happened, this, and it needs to come from the Word of God.

We need vision. And you know what that vision needs to be? People often quote that verse in Proverbs, where there is no vision, the people perish. And they'll talk about reaching beyond, and going forth, and reaching.

That is true to do that. But do you know what that's on the basis of? Do you know what that verse is speaking about? Turn with me as I close. Just turn to Proverbs 29.

Proverbs 29 and verse 18. Proverbs 29 and verse 18. Where there is no vision, that simply means to see.

What are they seeing? The regions beyond? Are they seeing something that's beyond them? No. They're seeing something that's in front of them. Where there is no vision, the people perish.

The people will become, you know what the Hebrew word means? Lawless. But he that keepeth the law, the Word of God, happy is he. What is he saying? Where there's no vision for what the Word of God says, where there's no understanding of what is before us in terms of the Bible, the people will become lawless.

There will be no order. What happened at Corinth? They became disorderly. They were taking their cues from Corinth rather than from what God said, from the pattern.

We have used passages, and I know there are principles, timeless principles. There's a verse, for example, we hang in a lot of our gospel halls, Psalm 50, verse 5, gather my saints together unto me, them that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And I've heard that used for gatherings, and we should be... I'll tell you what, that is not a gathering I would want to be part of.

If you read Psalm 50, it's the judgment of God upon his people that he gave the covenant to at Sinai, and they have broken it. They have disobeyed, and God is going to bring judgment upon them. And he's saying, now you gather together, you come together to hear my voice because you are disobedient.

Brethren, we have clear verses in our New Testament, as our brother has given to us, as others have given to us, to teach us, to instruct us, to get to know firmly and respond to them obediently, intelligently, devotedly. May God help us. God has given us a pattern.

Now, it's up to us to follow it. May God help us to do so for his name's sake.