If you'll take your Bibles tonight and go to the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter number 35 is where we'll be this evening, Jeremiah chapter number 35. We are given a very interesting story in this chapter, in this passage of scripture, that perhaps maybe most of our people may not be all that familiar with. I think it would be a help to us to study this passage and consider what it has to say to us here tonight. So Jeremiah chapter number 35 is where we'll be and we will preach through the majority of this chapter but for the sake of time we'll just read the first five verses. And then we'll jump into the message. The Bible says, Then I took Jazaniah, the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazinia, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites. And I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanun, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maseah, the son of Shalom, the keeper of the door. And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine and cups, And I said unto them, Drink ye wine. And let's just read the sixth verse as well. But they said, We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye nor your sons forever. And I want to preach to you on this subject, just simply consider the Rechabites. Consider the Rechabites. Now it may be that most of you perhaps are not familiar with this group of people. And to be very frank, I don't know that I'm super familiar with them either. They're not exactly a group of people that probably most of us have studied and know a whole lot about. As a result of that, in my study today, I've gleaned some things regarding who these people are and exactly where it was that they came from. And we believe that the Rechabites were descendants of Moses' father-in-law. And we learn of that, won't take time to turn there, but in Judges chapter number one and verse number 16, and if you wanna write that down, if you don't believe me on this, just write Judges 1.16, and then another passage, write down Judges 4.11, And then also 1 Chronicles 2 and verse number 55. And if you'll follow that pattern, you'll find that these folks descended from the father-in-law of Moses. And so it's an interesting group of people. They were not Jewish people at all. And yet they had some interesting characteristics or qualities that God is going to use to teach his own people a lesson in this passage of Scripture. Now, we see here the Bible seems to indicate that God comes to Jeremiah. And God gives Jeremiah a very unusual assignment. I don't know that God, probably too many times in history, has given an assignment like this one. But God says to Jeremiah, here's what I want you to do. I want you to gather these Rechabites, and I want you to bring them to the temple, to the house of God, and I want you to take them into a side room, a side chamber there in the house, and I want you to offer them wine to drink. And we're gonna see how they respond. I truly believe God knew exactly how they were going to respond. And what God was doing here was God was using this group of people as an object lesson to teach his people something, and we're going to learn that here in just a moment. And we ask ourselves the question, what do the Rechabites teach us? What lessons do we glean from them and from their behavior and the way they conducted themselves here? Well, I believe they teach us lessons on obedience. I believe they teach us lessons on loyalty, and I believe they teach us also some lessons on faithfulness. And I just got to be very frank and honest with you. These, to me, are all areas that I think all of us could probably use some strengthening in, in 2016. I'm talking about obedience. obedience to God and to his word and obedience to authority. Again, I'm talking about loyalty and understanding who our loyalty is to and where that ought to reside and who ought to be first priority in our lives. And then, of course, faithfulness, just consistency, doing the right thing over and over and over again in spite of the temptations, in spite of the difficulties that may come. Now, the Bible tells us in the last days in 2 Timothy chapter number three, this know also in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents. The Rechabites, even though the man that commanded them not to drink wine has been off the scene for over 300 years, they're still obedient to his command. There's a lesson in that for us. He says they'll be disobedient to parents. He said they'll be unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, not keeping their word, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. And I think all of us would agree we are most definitely living in this day and age. You look around and it's fairly obvious that all of the characteristics that are listed here are marking our day and marking our age. And so we understand that and it's troubling to see that these things don't just mark our day and age, but in many cases they also mark Christianity. They mark the church. As we look around, we see these things are not just problematic outside the walls of the church, but they're also problematic within the walls of the church. There seems to just be a lack of faithfulness, a lack of loyalty, and a lack of obedience among God's people just as much as there is among the people of the world. And so the Rechabites here in Jeremiah, chapter number 35, they speak to us. They're teaching us something. They challenge us to consider that there might be a better way, and that it is possible to live this better way, even in the midst of great challenge, and even in the midst of which everyone else is doing just the opposite. And so I want us to consider these Rechabites tonight. Number one, I want you to consider the lifestyle of the Rechabite people. We find that in verse number six, where they answered Jeremiah after being presented with this opportunity to consume this wine. There's an answer that's given, notice it. It says in verse number six, but they said, we will drink no wine for Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ye shall drink no wine, neither ye nor your sons, Forever. Now here's the thing. Number one, lifestyle of the Rechabites. No wine. They did not drink. Complete and total abstinence from alcoholic beverages. Now look, this command had been given to them from this man by the name of Jonadab. some 300 years prior to what takes place in Jeremiah chapter number 35. To give you some idea of a gap of 300 years, we're talking about longer than the nation that you and I are living in. A longer history than that. This man lived longer ago than if you and I were to go back to the day in which our Declaration of Independence was signed. And yet here they were, 300 years removed from that command, and they are still faithfully carrying out this command, this vow that he had encouraged them to make. Now during his life, he obviously issued this command, and for 300 years, they were obedient to it, and they had abstained themselves from alcohol. Now, here's what I would say as practical application. This would be a wise thing for all of us to commit to. as we live these lives. For those of us that call ourselves Christians, we ought to be those that would be considered, hey, we're not drinking that stuff either. We're going to stay away from that stuff because we understand the devastation that it can bring in a life. Did you know that God's word expressly condemns the drinking of alcohol all throughout? And I want us to use our Bibles a little bit tonight, and I want you to take your Bible and go with me to Proverbs chapter number 20 and verse number one. Proverbs 20 and verse number one. Now the Rechabites were not necessarily known as God's people. They were not Jews. But they certainly were in touch and in tune with God's desire in this matter. Notice it says in Proverbs chapter number 20 and verse number 1, it says, Now again, we're living in a day and age in which there are even pastors and religious leaders that will stand up and will try to tell you, hey, it's not that big of a deal. And I'm here to tell you that the Bible never changes its stance. It is that big of a deal, and it will always be that big of a deal. For those of us that are Christians, to abstain from that is a very wise thing indeed. Take your Bibles, go to Proverbs 21. Now you're already there in 20, look in Proverbs 21, and look in verse number 17. It said, And certainly, probably all of us, and perhaps know someone whose life is made more difficult and perhaps maybe even brought to poverty because of an addiction to an alcoholic beverage, because of an addiction to the bottle. I've shared this story before. I don't know that I've ever shared it in this auditorium, but I know I've shared it with our teenagers, that when I was in Bible college, I worked in a homeless ministry for a semester. We used to go to downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, and there was a, truly there was a group of homeless men that lived underneath a bridge. And we would go down and we would pass out scripture and gospel tracts and try to engage in conversation with these men. I'll never forget a conversation I had with a gentleman many, many years ago underneath a bridge in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. As I began to try to share the gospel with him, he looked at me and he said something to this effect, God could never save my soul. And I told him that's just not true. Forgiveness of God is available to anyone. And he looked at me and he said, you don't understand what I've done. And I tried to emphasize to him, it doesn't matter what you've done. God still wants to forgive you. The blood of Jesus Christ is still sufficient to wash away your sins. And he began to share with me his story. And he said, you know, several years ago, he said, I was an ordinary, normal person. He said, I was a businessman and I had a good job. And he said, I had a wife and I had children. He said, but I got addicted to alcohol. And he gave the story that many of us would be familiar with. He said, I would get a paycheck and I would go and I would literally waste all of my money drinking alcohol on the weekends. At a point in time in my life, my wife came to me and she said, you either choose that or you choose me and your family. And he said, God could never forgive me because I chose alcohol over my family. And he said, it has been years since I've seen my children. I don't know where they are. And he said, look where I've ended up. Look where I'm living. And I thought to myself, what a powerful illustration of this truth and of this verse. Verse number 17, he that loveth wine shall not be rich. And so we understand that it is the power to take control of our lives and to absolutely deplete us of our resources. Notice with me Proverbs chapter number 23 if you would. Look in verse number 29, Proverbs chapter number 23 and verse number 29. The Bible says this, who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? So a series of questions here. Basically they all are asking the same thing. Who's got major problems in their life? Notice he gives the answer in verse number 30. They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine, look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright, at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. And what a description of alcohol. of wine, of beverages that have the ability and the power to intoxicate an individual and cause him to do things that he should not do. And the Bible is very, very clear. Now, here's what I want to say. That again, there are lots of quote unquote Bible teachers and scholars and preachers that will tell you that it's okay in 2016 to drink. They're out there. And if you want to look, you don't have to look real hard, you'll find them. You'll find men that are considered to be men of God, men that are perhaps even building large mega churches that will tell you, hey, social drinking isn't really all that big of a deal. It's not a big deal. In fact, everything in moderation, that's what they'll say. But I remind you of this. If you want to know whether drinking is right or wrong for a Christian, simply ask an unsaved man. Now think about that for a moment. They'll tell you. They'll give you a straight-up answer. I give for illustration. In the early 1990s, the city of Cleveland and this area, Cuyahoga County, recognized that some of our sports teams had needs for new stadiums. And so they decided, well, we've gotta build these new stadiums if we're gonna keep these teams in town, but where are we gonna get the money to build these stadiums? And they passed something known as the sin tax. Now, who gave that name to that tax? I don't think they consulted with Dr. Roy Thompson, but I'm pretty sure if they would have, he would have said, call it a sin tax. I don't think they consulted with Pastor Folger, although if they would have, he probably would have said, yeah, you can call it that. And again, maybe it was a Christian that gave it that term. but it has since become known as a sin tax and it is a tax on alcohol and the sale of alcohol. It is a tax on cigarettes and the sale of cigarettes. And if my understanding is correct, it's a tax on the lottery and any ticket that is bought in the lottery. All of those things, listen, are considered to be sinful according to the wicked government that governs this area. Now let that sink in for just a moment. And you want to sit down and have some preacher, some man of God, try to tell you, hey, it's really not that big of a deal. Hey, it's not actually a sin. Well, I beg to differ. And the world, the unsaved world would beg to differ as well. The world will tell you to stay away from that stuff. Well, the Rechabites were men that determined, hey, Jonadab commanded us 300 years ago, our father said no wine, and we're gonna stick with it. Notice the second thing that they were known for, or their lifestyle. If you'll go back with me to Jeremiah, chapter number 35, you'll find in Jeremiah 35, in verse number seven, he said, we're not allowed to drink wine, verse number seven, neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any. But all your days ye shall dwell in tents, that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers. Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he hath charged us to drink no wine all our days, we our wives, our sons, nor our daughters, nor to build houses for us to dwell in, neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor sea." And so the second aspect of the lifestyle of the Rechabites was this. No permanent dwelling place. They did not, apparently, live in houses or own homes. They did not buy land by the acre. They did not buy fields for which to farm. They were simply known as nomads. They kind of traveled, they lived in kind of a clannish setting, and they would have dwelt in tents, and they would not have built permanent homes in Israel, because listen, they were not Israelites by blood, but rather they were strangers or foreigners in the land of the nation of Israel, and they understood that, and their fathers understood that, their ancestors understood that, And so they determine, hey, in order to keep the distinction, so that we do not consider ourselves to be Jews, which we are not, we are Rechabites, we are going to live this lifestyle that we might maintain this distinction. So they held no property, they raised no crops, they lived in tents, and they moved whenever necessary. And can I say that in a spiritual sense, this also is a wise practice for us as Christians as well. And what I mean by that is it's important that we not get too caught up or bogged down or too invested in this world in which we're living in. Because we are truly just strangers passing through. In other words, as the old songwriter said, this world is not my home, I'm just passing through. And that's the way that we ought to live as well. And the Recobites, they had it right. They weren't Jews, and so as a result of that, they thought that it would not be wise for them to own homes and to do this sort of thing, because they wanted to maintain this distinction. They were different from the Jews. They understood that, and they wanted to maintain that distinction. Now, the Bible tells us in Matthew 6, in verse 19, "...lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth." where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. And my challenge to you, based upon the lifestyle of the Rechabites, is to understand, certainly we have to have a home, we have to have a place where we dwell, a place where we live, but understand, this world is not our final resting place. This world is not our priority. Our priority is in the heavens. Our investment of our lives is to be in the heavens, not here on this earth. And I'm afraid a great deal of many Christians are living their lives consumed with accumulating wealth and racking up more and more prosperity. And the truth of the matter is they have very little time left over, very little resources left over for a heavenly work. than a heavenly investment. And the Rechabites, their lifestyle teaches us something about not making this place our permanent dwelling place. So we see here the example of the lifestyle of the Rechabites. Notice secondly, the testing of the Rechabites. For in verses 1 through 11, we find that they faced two specific tests. And we're going to see how they adjusted and how they handled these tests. we find that they disdained pragmatism. They disdained pragmatism. For we find in verse number four, that as he brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanun, and again, we read those names, verse number five, and I sat before the sons of the house of the Rechabites, pots full of wine and cups, and I said unto them, drink ye wine, verse number six, but they said, we will drink no wine. In other words, these were not a pragmatic group that exist in a specific situation in a reasonable and logical way instead of depending on ideas and theories. Now let me maybe read that again and let me try to explain why I believe that they disdain this idea of pragmatism. Pragmatism is dealing with the problems that exist in a specific situation in a reasonable and logical way instead of depending on ideas and theories. Now look, had they been pragmatic in their approach, here's probably what they would have done. Yes, Jeremiah, what would you have for us to do? Drink this wine. Well, we got a decision to make here, boys. 300 years, wine has never touched our lips. But here we are, in the temple of the Most High God. And here, after all, is the man of God, and he is commanding us to drink this wine. So we do have a problem here. We have this conviction that we've held all of these years, but we also find ourselves in the midst of this quandary, so to speak, in which we are in the temple of God, and someone that we believe to be a true man of God is telling us to violate our conviction, violate our principles, and, you know, let's just go ahead and do it. That's what a pragmatic person would do. They would look at the situation, and they would toss aside the ideas that they've lived by, or the theories that they've lived by, or perhaps, if you want to term it in a better way, the convictions that they've held to, and they will just come to a reasonable and logical conclusion. Well, he's telling us to do it, so we might as well do it. I mean, Jeremiah would never lead us astray, especially in the house of God. But listen, this group of people were not pragmatic in their approach. They governed themselves by principle, and listen, no matter who was offering it to them and where it was being offered, they refused to move from the principle and the conviction that they had developed in their lives. Now there's a lesson to be learned in this. Because we live in a day and age in which everything's somewhat relative. And you know, well, I mean, hey, they're doing it. If they're doing it, it must be okay. I mean, I know what the Bible says and I know what the preacher preaches and how he lives, but I mean, come on, look at them. It can't be all that bad, can it? And that's the pragmatic approach. And I want you to know where it leads. It leads to violating your principles. It leads to violating your convictions and what you've lived upon for so many years. May God help us as his people to disdain pragmatism in our approach to the decisions and the choices that we must make in this life. May God help us in that area. Notice secondly, not only did they disdain pragmatism, but they embraced preservation. So what do you mean by that? Well look in verse number 10. Now remember it said they don't drink wine and they stood up to this test. But in verse number 10 they give us a little bit of insight into another test that they faced and how they handled it. Look in verse number 10. But it came to pass when Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, came up into the land that we said, come and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and for fear of the army of the Syrians, so we dwell at Jerusalem. So as we look at this, we think, well, they passed the first test. They said no to the offer, the enticing offer to drink alcohol. Even though it was offered to them by a man of God in the house of God, they still stood up to that and they said no. They passed with flying colors, congratulations. But here they are, and now their community, their region comes under attack by the Chaldean and the Syrian army, and they flee, they cast off this 300 year way that they have lived, and now all of a sudden they're living in the city of Jerusalem, which was something that Jonadab, their father, told them never to do. So how do you justify this? Well, can I say that lest one views this as another example of pragmatism, I would wholeheartedly disagree. And the key difference, the key difference, I believe, was the command not to drink wine is of a moral nature. In other words, you can look at that, as we've already discussed, and you can say that is either right or it's wrong. However, where one lives, whether one dwells in a tent or whether one dwells in a house, is really not of a moral nature at all. In fact, we would say that the decision to drink wine was moral, the decision of where they were going to live in many respects was amoral. It was really neither right nor wrong. And so when it came to deciding whether they were going to stay out there as sitting ducks and allow their homes and their families and their children to come under attack and perhaps to even die, they would rather throw off this 300 year history and save their families or preserve their line than they would to lay out there and to stay out there as basically sitting ducks. Let me try to illustrate that for you. When I was in Bible college, there was an influential man that I sat under that believed that, well, his preference was whenever he preached that he would wear a white shirt. He would not wear a shirt that had stripes or some other pattern or some other design, or even if it was a solid shirt, if it was of a different color, that was just what he did. And to be very honest with you, his influence wore off on a lot of the young men that were studying there, and they kind of borrowed off of that. I'll tell you another thing that he did, he wore double-breasted suits. Almost every time he preached, he was in a double-breasted suit. If somebody wants to do that and that's what they're going to be, there's not anything wrong with that. In fact, that's fine, that's great. I applaud them. But if somebody decides to do differently, I wouldn't criticize them. I mean, that would be a somewhat silly thing to do, right? I mean, how dare you? Great message, but you ruined it because you wore a striped shirt. Man, powerful message, but man, where was the double-breasted suit? I don't think any of us would react in that manner or in that form. That's a whole lot different than a man perhaps not preaching from the Bible. It's a lot different than a man perhaps throwing off his decades-long commitment to abstinence from alcohol. They're just two completely different things, are they not? And if that man were to be asked to preach somewhere, and someone truly said, look, we know what you like, we know you like the white shirt, but we're gonna ask that you not wear a white shirt, we're gonna ask that you wear a striped shirt, or a patterned shirt, or a solid colored shirt, but not a white shirt, you know, I would assume that he probably, for the opportunity to influence and to make an impact on those people, he'd probably be willing to do it, why? Because it is not a Bible issue. And the truth of the matter is, these Rechabites had enough discernment, and they had enough mind about them to understand, you know, look, while we like this distinction, we like staying away from the rest of the people and living this way, it's part of who we are, it's part of our culture, it was not a moral issue. It was simply something that they were done to keep their culture and their heritage and their history alive. And the truth to be told, the Bible does not clearly indicate whether they actually owned homes or not. It may be that they were just renting. It's even possible that they took their tents with them and perhaps maybe just outside the city limits, but for safety and purposes, perhaps maybe they set their tents up just outside rather than way out in the desert somewhere. The Bible doesn't exactly tell us, but if they were living in homes, this is not of a moral issue in which we'd say, hey, you guys blew it here, you ruined your testimony, and you can no longer be the example that God wants you to be. And so we see here the Rechabites, we consider the lifestyle, we consider the testing of the Rechabites and how they handled it. Lastly, let me give you several items here on the example that they become to God's people. If we come to verse number 12, God begins to talk. And God begins to say what he thinks about the Rechabites and how they measure up to the children of Israel. Number one, consider they were more obedient to their earthly father than the Israelites were to their heavenly father. Let that sink in for a moment. Listen to what he says in verse number 14. Look at verse 13. The words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine are performed. For unto this day they drank none, but obeyed their Father's commandment, notwithstanding I, speaking of God, deity, the God of the universe, I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking, but ye hearkened not unto me. Now here's this group of people, and for 300 years they have tenaciously clung to a command made by an earthly man, who was mortal, who was a sinner himself by nature, And they said, we will not defile what he has told us to do. We will not give up our principles and give up our convictions. We refuse to do so. And then God says, look around. Look at my people. I have spoken, I have commanded, I have raised my voice in some respects, and no one listens to a word I'm saying. Allow that to be a tremendous example to us. Can I say that we have a divine book that ought to govern our lives? So often we're quick to discard of it in order to more conveniently live our lives. With this behavior, I share with you, certainly God is not pleased. When God has clearly spoken, we have an obligation to hear, to heed, and to obey. Number two, consider, not only were they more obedient to their earthly father than the Israelites were to their heavenly father, but their obedience produced blessing, while the Israelites' disobedience would lead to a curse. In verse number 17 it says, Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father and Kept all his precepts and done according unto all that he hath commanded you Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever And so their obedience led to blessing, whereas the Israelites' disobedience led to a curse. Number three, God's people can learn lessons, listen, from those who are not God's people. God's people can and should learn lessons from those who are not God's people. You know, look around you. What does the Bible say? The Bible says, consider the ant thou sluggard. I mean, you can learn a valuable lesson just by looking at nature. We can learn lessons simply sometimes by studying the lost world. The Rechabites were not Jews. Although they were not God's people, they outshined God's people with their dedication, their faithfulness, and their loyalty. Can I give you some examples of people that that even though there may not be God's people, man, they are truly dedicated to their cause. I think of the world of politics, where we are, probably most of us are to the point where we're almost sick of it, all of the talk and the commercials and that sort of thing, and I understand that, but you know, the truth of the matter is, we always say this from the pulpit, and I believe we believe it, we believe that no matter who gets elected, God's still on the throne, We believe no matter what happens God's still in control and we really have nothing to hang our heads about. The Bible is very clear that God oversees those that rise to positions of authority and sometimes God allows that for specific reasons. And yet, you look at the political world, and boy, they are so consumed, they're so enamored, they're so caught up in what they're trying to do, and their cause, and their purpose, and their mission. And we can learn a lesson from them. How about those in the sports world? They're dedicated, aren't they? That's my team. We may be the worst team in the league, but that's my team. I'm going to invest all my money in them. I'm going to put all my time into that. That's going to be my passion. That's going to be my drive. That's what I'm going to be consumed with. We can learn lessons from people that are not necessarily God's people. How about those involved in the arts? musicians and movie stars who are wholly dedicated to their craft and will do anything to succeed and are passionate about what they do and they're passionate in their stand and what they believe in, even if it's completely and directly opposite to even what nature itself teaches us, they're consumed with their own agenda and their own mission. They're faithful to it. No one's gonna get them off topic. No one's gonna get them off of their course. This is what I believe in, and no one's gonna keep me from believing this. God's people can learn lessons from those who are not God's people. Lastly, let me say loyalty is a precious, yet very rare commodity. People that are truly loyal to an idea, to a conviction, to a standard, those people are extremely rare in the day and age in which we're living. People are throwing off their convictions and the ideals with which they were raised and all of these things in an effort to perhaps better blend into society or to maybe lighten the load a little bit for them. This is happening all around us. The Bible is very clear. that we can consider the Rechabites as a tremendous example of a group of people that even though they weren't God's people, they taught God's people a tremendous lesson. And I would say that God was well pleased with their stand, with their conviction, their faithfulness, and their loyalty.