12/16 Strength for Today

Don't Change the Pattern
Exodus 25:40
“And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.”

When you look at the verse above, you will notice that God is as interested in how things are done as much as He is interested in the results. In the previous verses, God told Moses how He wanted the golden candlesticks to be made. He gave Moses the design of the candlesticks as well as how He wanted them to be made. Then when you come to the verse above, God told Moses to make the candlesticks “...after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.” Yes, God wanted the candlesticks to be made, but He wanted them made exactly the way He told Moses to make them.

One of the arguments liberals commonly make is that the result is the only thing that matters to God. They will make the statement that as long as people get saved that is the important thing. Christian, this is the Devil's lie! Sure, God wants people to get saved, but He doesn't want us to compromise in order for people to get saved.

This is a shocking statement, but God would rather us do what is right and nobody get saved than for us to compromise truth and a thousand people accept Christ as Saviour. The pattern of how we do things is just as important as the result. You need to run from those who make this statement, “Can't we just lay aside our differences for the greater cause?” A person who says this is a compromiser.

In the LORD's work you cannot compromise. You cannot look at Christianity like you look at politics. In politics they may compromise to get things done, but in the LORD's work we are to uphold truth. You cannot compromise and still uphold truth, for truth never changes.

Be careful about attending churches that don't think the methods are that important. God is just as concerned with the methods as He is the result. Don't listen to preachers who have changed their methods just so they can draw bigger crowds. Playing rock music and talking like the hipster generation just to get a crowd is wrong! You should not follow these preachers, listen to them or read their books. Always remember that you should do right in a right manner. Remember that the pattern you follow is just as important as the result. Don't change the pattern, even if you still get the same result!