Join me as we discuss patterns in Scripture, the patterns of God and the patterns we fall into as humans. What the bible tells us about patterns and how we can go on "pattern hunts" in our own lives.
Tribe, A Jesus Revival
S4 E9: Patterns.
Hey everyone! It's Britt Vega, host of the Tribe Podcast. Here at Tribe, we believe that we are all called to live, love, and pursue our God-given purpose within the context of a tribe. Not only were we created by a God that is community, love is our identity and calling. It's literally in our DNA. If you want to hear real stories of God's great love and faithfulness, you're in the right place. Let's get into our message for today. Hey y'all! Welcome back to the Tribe Podcast. Today, we are talking about patterns, specifically about the patterns that we read about in Scripture and the patterns that we fall into as human beings. So let's start with God because isn't that always the best place to start? God's pattern is that he creates. When he creates, he creates beautiful things, which honestly is real encouragement for all of us because it's our reminder that God doesn't make mistakes. In fact, if you are listening to this message, hear me say that God has a plan for your life. He created you and he thinks that you are beautiful just the way that you are. In fact, from the moment that he formed you in your mother's womb, he did that with intentionality and with a purpose. We also see the pattern of the tabernacle in Scripture where God was very specific in his details to Moses building it, which tells us many things, but it certainly reminds us that God is a God of details and intentionality. The specifications of the tabernacle that God instructed in Moses was built on the pattern or the blueprint of the perfect tabernacle in heaven. So again, we see God creating. Okay. So I know that we all just want to kind of skip Satan in his patterns, but it's important to touch on what he's bringing to this conversation. And I'm just going to say right out of the gate, one of the biggest differences between God's patterns and Satan's patterns is that Satan cannot create. So he has to get really sneaky to do what he wants to do. Satan steals, he kills, destroys, he separates and causes opposition. He accuses, he tempts and he does evil. And even as I say, all these things that I know to be true, there are just no positive words when we're talking about the enemy. He is a liar. He is a deceiver and he wants to steal our joy and our peace, which are the very gifts that God has promised us if we do life with Jesus. So let's talk a little bit about our patterns as human beings. The pattern that we have as humans is that we sin. We do what we don't want to do time and time again. You can find it in Romans seven, it's verses 19 through 23. And I would encourage you to read this whole area of scripture in your own time. But we pick up in verse 19 where it says, I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do. This I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do, not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work. Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me for in my inner being, I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in me waging war against the law of my mind and making me prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. Really, really heavy verses. But if you're a faithful listener of the podcast, you heard our friend pastor Jackson touch on this when he spoke on intentionality and our habits back in June. We do what we don't want to do and we don't do what we know we should do. Every day we fall short, we might want good, but we choose to continue to sin. Essentially, we're getting in our own way when we do this. We're disrupting God's good and beautiful plan. From the very beginning of time, God had a plan. Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and they interrupted that plan, but God cannot be thwarted. I think of it kind of like pivoting, which I talk to my kids about all the time. So even though the original pattern in plan was interrupted, God said a new plan in action, a plan where he sent his son to pay the price for us. And by doing so, he restores the possibility of us being with God forever. It truly is the greatest gift that we will ever receive. What I'm really saying in all of this is that patterns have a purpose. Let me give you a few more examples of just these beautiful patterns that we read about in scripture. We see seasons of rain and of famine where God ends up sending showers for the people. There are patterns of rising and falling patterns of wandering in the wilderness and being blessed by God. One of the things that we learn about the patterns of scripture is that God is a God of consistency. He is a promise keeper. He loves his people and that has never changed. He continues to show up for those that he loves and the same message is true for all of us today. In scripture, we see the pattern of the number seven, which communicates a sense of completion or fullness, which is another podcast episode entirely. But for those of you that are hearing this pattern for the first time, I imagine you'll start noticing it more now as you dig into the Bible and you come across the number seven, it was a pattern and it had significance. And this really slow season of summer, all this talk about patterns has me thinking about what patterns I have in place in my own life. I have a little bit of extra time in this season to just kind of be mindful and to really think about the type of patterns that I want my kids to see in my own life and the legacy that I'm leaving behind. What I am adamant about my kids remembering about me and this is one of many, many things, but it's that I will never be busying myself and falling prey to what the world wants us to do. Like I'm not going to overbook our calendars and say yes to all of the things because what happens, well at a very basic level, what happens is our kids will grow up and that's what they're going to remember. Mom was always busy or dad was always busy. We didn't have a lot of downtime. But on a deeper level, when we do that, we miss the small and the beautiful blessings that God has in store for us in the quiet and in the everyday moments. Now, I'm not just talking about doing the right thing just because it looks good, like reading my Bible. I'm talking about reading my Bible and my kids being inspired to pull out and to read their own Bibles or reading my Bible than allowing the fruit that is produced from that time make me a more patient, a more wise and a more loving mom and wife. Our minds are so beautiful and so wonderful and so just like intricate and the way that they work. And one of the things that I love about them and I've talked to my counselor about this is that they're wired to seek out patterns and then to try to understand and then assign meaning to them. But what I've learned is that not all of the patterns that we've placed in our lives are healthy. So we must go on a pattern hunt where we are actively seeking out and naming every pattern that we see in our lives. Once we recognize something as a pattern, then we have to put it in a category and let me give you an example. My two categories are patterns that A) produce good healthy fruit and then B) patterns that do not. So seeing those two written down on paper or even typed out in the notes section of my phone, it really helps me to determine if it's a pattern that I want to continue doing. And when I say go on a pattern hunt, what I mean is taking an inventory and deciphering what patterns are and are not serving me and my family well in our lives. A few of my own examples of healthy fruit patterns are choosing to run back to God and rooting my mind and my worth and who he says I am. I choose to continuously run back to him because it creates safety and because he is the ultimate protector and will always be there. Another example is giving the first of my day to Jesus and spending that alone time with him. Hear me say even in the summer when all of my kids are home, yes, it is crazy and it is loud and it's not an empty house where it's just me and Jesus. I still spend the first of my day digging in a scripture. I log on to my Bible classes. I read my current Bible study that I'm doing with one of my best friends and I do it because I know that it produces good fruit and I'm a better version of myself for everyone around me when I prioritize this time. Now also hear me say that there are unhealthy patterns that I've had to really break away from like watching reality TV or scrolling on social media or even booking my calendar and living that busy life that I was talking about earlier in the message. They're not things that are inherently bad. They're just things that God has made it abundantly clear that those are not spaces that he wants me to be in so I don't do it. I started out as a pattern that I had to break and I am telling y'all when you finally decide that you're going to take a break from whatever unhealthy patterns you have in your life, it could be gossip, people pleasing, harboring unforgiveness or bitterness. Y'all there is a feeling of freedom that I promise is waiting for you. There is no such thing as too far gone or too unhealthy because God simply does not look at us that way. He just wants us to continue to run to him time and time again. We're going to talk more about connecting the dots next week but I wanted to lay a foundation of patterns and going on this pattern hunt in our own lives and just really digging in the scripture and seeing if patterns were important to God which we're learning today that yes they are because he was a God of consistency. He is a God of consistency and he's a God of intentionality but I wanted to do all that so that you could spend the next week thinking about the patterns that you have either intentionally or unintentionally placed in your life. It could be the people that you're choosing this around yourself with or the things that you're committing to. It could be your lack of tithing or it could be that you've chosen us spend every morning with the Lord or every portion of your day with the Lord. Listen I get that we all have seasons where we feel like we are just surviving like we're nowhere near thriving. We're just you know paddling in the deep end just trying to keep our head above water. Maybe it's our kids sports or our travel or our work schedule. Our family has been there and I understand you have to give yourself grace as you walk through this process. I cannot wait to get into part two of this message as we start to dig a little bit more into what it looks like to connect the dots in our own lives. Let's make heaven crowded. I'm praying for y'all and I'll see you next