Follow the Instructions!

Exodus 26:30 “And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount.”

Have you ever put something together out of the box? Maybe a bicycle or something that comes with instructions. If you put it together correctly, you followed the pictures given to you in the directions. Otherwise, that “one screw” you thought was “not important” was probably the one piece holding it all together!

God’s instructions about building the tabernacle are a reminder to us that what we know depends on the instructions we follow. Exodus 25:30 says, “And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.” God had a pattern-an opinion-about how the tabernacle and its goods should be built. Did you know that fifty chapters in the Bible talk about the construction of the tabernacle? God took the time to detail the things we often think are mundane. If you are not careful, you can fly right over passages like Exodus 26 without realizing that God has given you a pattern for everything He feels important for life. He is a God of details.

For example, the Gospel cannot get any better than it is. God has given the pattern-the way to Heaven-and you cannot improve on it. What if someone thinks he is saved but is not sure? The answer is in the Gospel and what he has done with it. What if someone claims to be saved but does not live like it? Listen, the answer is the Gospel and what he has done with it. You cannot do any better or improve on God’s way!

Did you know that your authority as a parent and in working with young people is not based on your having all the answers. Your authority is in the position that God has given you. Authority is God’s idea, and He has given us the pattern for authority. We do have a pattern for every question because God has given His pattern for everything important for life.

God’s instructions about the tabernacle also remind us that our life should be a pattern. Much of what we know has been shown to us by someone else. I have been in revival work for over fourteen years now, and whenever someone thinks I’m brilliant because of what I’ve said, it is generally something I started parroting-repeating because I heard it-and I have made it part of my life now. That is not a bad thing; there is nothing new under the sun. And anything worth repeating is given to us in the Bible.

Your example can be for good or for bad. I have met hundreds of youth workers, and the ones who are most effective with young people are not the ones trying to be “hip” or be cool. The most effective workers are those who love young people and help them do what is right.

Titus 2:7 says, “In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works. . . .” Your life is an example, and it should be an example of good works.

We serve a God of details and patterns. He has given a pattern for everything that is important to Him. If God wants you to build it, you can if you follow His instructions.