Heb. 8:5; Psa.
19:13
In spiritual work, the most important
thing is to know the "pattern...in the
mountain" (Heb. 8:5). There are many
things that are important in spiritual
work; the lack of any one of them
causes our work to lose its spiritual
usefulness and brings about God's
displeasure. But among these many
things, the most important one is the
"pattern...in the mountain." The
pattern in the mountain is simply
God's plan. If there is no
comprehension of God's plan, there
is no possibility for God's work.
Hebrews tells us that the tabernacle
was made according to the pattern of
God. Before Moses could make the
tabernacle, he stayed on the
mountain for forty days and forty
nights so that God could show him
the pattern of the tabernacle in
heaven. From the Holy Place to the
altar, including every layer of covering
on the tabernacle, there was a definite
pattern for the material and color to
be used. Nothing was laid out
arbitrarily. Everything was definitely
specified. The Bible spells them out in
a clear manner. Everything concerning
the altar, laver, table, lampstand,
incense altar, ark, and the rest of the
items in the tabernacle, including the
kinds of metal or wood to be used,
their measurement and color, were
specified according to God's
predetermined pattern. There was not
one item according to Moses'
intention.
Just as He made the tabernacle, God
also has a predetermined plan
regarding His present work of building
the church. Everything must be done
in a definite way, whether it is great or
small. Moses did not bear the
responsibility of drafting the pattern of
the tabernacle. He was only
responsible for building according to
the pattern shown to him on the
mountain. The glory of a worker of
Christ does not depend on whether
he can do something for God based
on his own innovative idea, but on
whether he is able to carry out God's
revealed will. The comprehension of
God's predetermined plan is the glory
of God's worker..............

God's work allows
absolutely no liberty. When Moses was
building the tabernacle, he had no
freedom to decide whether a small
nail should be gold or silver;
everything had to be done according
to God's instructions.
God called Moses the meekest person
on the earth. Meekness means being
"very supple and yielding." Whatever
God wanted Moses to do, he did.
Whatever material and color God
wanted Moses to use, whatever the
pattern and measurements, all had to
be according to God's instructions. In
every matter he acted according to
God's direction and never according
to his own intention. This is
meekness.
Here is something that affords us a
great deal of spiritual insight. We can
see the position of a servant with
regard to the Lord's work. Everything
concerning the tabernacle was
determined by God Himself. He did
not let Moses decide one thing. He
did not give Moses the opportunity to
contribute any idea. God not only told
Moses the general scheme for
building the tabernacle, He also told
him the details. Not only were the
pattern, material, and color according
to God's instructions, but the
measurement of every item was also
determined by Him. It was not
sufficient just to work with the
materials chosen by God; there was
also a definite charge concerning how
to handle the material. For instance,
the curtains should not just be made
of fine linen, but of fine twined linen.
The Bible tells us further that the
lampstand should not just be pure
gold, but one piece of pure beaten
gold. God did not leave any room for
Moses to provide an idea. God knew
what He wanted for Himself; He did
not need man to tell Him what His
wishes were...................

The greatest blessing of a worker of
Christ is being able to receive God's
instructions on the mountain and to
know the work that God has
entrusted to him with its pre-
determined pattern. In all that we see
today, can we say that the servants of
Christ have come before God to ask
Him to assign them the work that they
should do? Do they come before God
and ask Him to direct them
concerning the time and the way of
their work? Is it not true that we see
many meetings, discussions,
plannings, deliberations, and
decisions? Many assume that God
does not have a detailed arrangement
regarding their work and that many
matters are their responsibility. They
have not seen that in God's work they
are merely servants and should only
do what they are told. "Whatever He
says to you, do" (John 2:5b). In the
Body of Christ, we are just members;
we have to be absolutely under the
control of the Head. "Holding the
Head" (Col. 2:19). These people
assume that God will use their natural
life and natural ability to make up
what is lacking in God's plan. in God's work,
Christ is an absolute master.
Everything concerning the work must
be first received as an order from Him
before it can be carried out. The
manifestation of the ability of a worker
of Christ and the demonstration of an
abundance of spiritual usefulness can
only happen when one attentively
listens to God's plan and, accordingly,
carries it out. Other works may be
thriving and may look great in men's
eyes, but they do not have real power
or usefulness............

Psalm 19:13 says, "Keep Your servant
from presumptuous sins; / Do not let
them have dominion over me; / Then
I will be blameless and cleared / Of
great transgression." Our sins toward
God are of two kinds: one is rebellion
and the other is presumption. When
God tells you to do something, and
contrary to His wishes, you do not
obey but do what He does not want,
that is a sin of rebellion. We all know
that this is a sin and are willing to
make an effort to terminate it. None
of us want to commit this sin. But,
brothers and sisters, please
remember that the Bible not only tells
us that rebellion is a sin, but that
presumption and rashness are also
sins. When we begin a work that God
has not instructed us to do, we are
committing a sin of presumption.
Rebellion is refusing to do what God
has commanded, and presumption is
doing what God has not commanded.
Acting outside of God is the sin of
presumption. He says, "Thou shalt not
commit adultery. Thou shalt not
steal" (Exo. 20:14-15). If a man
commits these, it is sin. We all know
this. But in things which He has not
commanded, we assume that we can
act carelessly, without realizing that
this is also a sin. If we begin anything
that He has not commanded, even
the very best thing, it is also a sin.
When He has not given us the
command, even working for God is a
sin. The prayer in Psalms is really
good. The psalmist asked God to keep
him from presumptuous sins.