St Theodore's Sermon

	St Theodore's Wattle Park

Sermon of the Week

9/7/00

Obedience Jer 35
John 14:15-24

   A survey taken a few years ago indicated that about 8% of the population of our capital cities attended church on any given Sunday. Does it surprise you that the number might be so small in what's supposedly a Christian country? Or is it the sort of figure you might expect, given the number of people you come across in your everyday life, who have no interest in Christianity? 8%! It's fairly clear that we're in the minority isn't it? As much as we might like to think that we share our values with the majority of the population, the reality is that we probably don't. What that means for us is that there'll be times when we're going to find it hard to live faithfully as Christians. This is particularly so when the culture we live in has become so much a culture of the crowd; a culture of the mass media. Community values and standards are no longer determined by the teachings of religion. People no longer subscribe to the standards and values passed down to them by their parents. Rather, their values are set by the way the mass media presents issues to us. Think about the debate on Euthanasia that's been going on for the past few years. Chances are, unless you've set out to research the issues for yourself, or have been exposed to some independent ethical discussion, the information you have on the issue has come from the mass media, from the newspaper, the TV or from magazines. And depending on the particular leaning of the editors of those media, and their perception of how the majority of their readership might feel about the issue, you may have been swayed one way or the other in the debate.

   Of course as Christians who read and study God's word we may have more opportunity than most to think about moral and ethical issues, but what about those who don't? Where do they get their opinions from? Sadly, many simply go with the flow, with the majority view. They just follow the crowd. After all, how could so many people get it wrong?

   Now there's nothing wrong with being part of the crowd on some occasions. There's nothing better than to sit in a crowded MCG at a Boxing Day Test, or at a big footy match. It'd be wonderful to be standing up at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, singing the national anthem. On those occasions it's great to be carried along by the mood of the crowd. But it'd be different if you were in a crowd as a riot exploded. I remember when we were in India a few years ago, a protest march passed by our hotel and the hotel manager advised us not to go outside, because we wouldn't want to get caught up in any trouble that might erupt. There are times to be part of the crowd and times to stand apart from the crowd.

   That's particularly so when it comes to deciding how we're to live. And it's one of the most difficult parts of being a Christian. To stand apart from those around us and be our own person. More importantly, to be God's person.

   Jeremiah, was a person who stood apart from the crowd. There was no way he was going to lower his standards because the majority disagreed with him. But it wasn't enough that he was willing to stand up and do the right thing. After all he was a prophet. People expected him to be different. How was he going to convince them that anyone could do what he was asking? How was he going to show them that ordinary people could live righteous lives, even if everyone around them was disobedient?

   One day God told him to do a strange thing. "The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD ... ²Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak with them, and bring them to the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink." Now the Rechabites were descendants of a man called Jonadab, son of Rechab. They weren't a particularly significant family. They didn't own land or houses. They only ever lived in tents. They were quite probably wandering craftsmen, possibly metal workers. They were about as ordinary as you could get. It seems their ancestor Jonadab, who lived some 250 years before in the time of King Jehu, had taken an oath that neither he nor his children would ever drink wine, nor build houses and farms and vineyards. And he'd cautioned them to obey what he said so that they might live a long time in the land where they wandered. That of course is the promise of the fourth commandment, isn't it: 'Honour your father and mother that your life may be long in the land that the lord your God will give you.' And they'd kept his command ever since. It was only when Nebuchadnezzar invaded the land that they'd come into Jerusalem for protection. But even here they still followed their forefather's instruction on abstinence from wine.

   So they weren't the sort who'd be high on the list of people to invite to a feast. They would just have been embarrassed when the wine came out, and the other guests mightn't know how to handle their eccentricity. But that's what happens. Jeremiah is told to invite them to dinner. What's God up to here? What is he trying to prove? Is he trying to show the Rechabites that it's time to give up their eccentric lifestyle; to move on from their conservative past into the present; to reconnect with their fellow Jews? Or is there more to it than that?

   Well, in any case, he invites the whole clan to a dinner right in the middle of the Temple precinct. Look at where he brings them: "I brought them to the house of the LORD into the chamber of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold." He sits them down in this room that's within view of the Temple officials, just above the room belonging to the gatekeeper of the Temple. What's about to take place will happen in a public place, within earshot, and probably the sight of any number of people who happen to be in the temple that day. This isn't just for them, it's meant as a sign to all the people. So having sat them down he brings out jugs full of wine, pours it into their cups and says "drink up". "L'Chaim." "To Life!"

   Imagine the pressure on these few men. Here was the great prophet of the Lord, Jeremiah, who's just invited them to dinner in the Temple, telling them to drink. How could they refuse? After all, they'd already compromised their standards by moving into the city when the invasion began. What was one more compromise? What difference would one cup of wine make? Surely if someone as important as Jeremiah invited you, you couldn't say no.

   But listen to their answer. "We will drink no wine, for our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us, 'You shall never drink wine, neither you nor your children; ⁷nor shall you ever build a house, or sow seed; nor shall you plant a vineyard, or even own one; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you reside.' ⁸We have obeyed the charge of our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, ⁹and not to build houses to live in. We have no vineyard or field or seed; ¹⁰but we have lived in tents, and have obeyed and done all that our ancestor Jonadab commanded us." They made their decisions, not on the basis of what was popular with the crowd, the majority, not on what was recommended by the powerful or the influential, but on the basis of what had been commanded by their forefather, Jonadab. It was their integrity, their devotion to their forefather's command that gave them their identity.

   And suddenly it all becomes clear. Suddenly the message hits home. Jeremiah has his audience and he has his message. People have noticed the Rechabites. Who could miss them? And now word will have spread about this feast and their rebuttal of his offer of wine. And so he begins to speak to the people of Judah. "Can you not learn a lesson and obey my words? says the LORD. ¹⁴The command has been carried out that Jonadab son of Rechab gave to his descendants to drink no wine; and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their ancestor's command. But I myself have spoken to you persistently, and you have not obeyed me. ¹⁵I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, 'Turn now everyone of you from your evil way, and amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall live in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors.' But you did not incline your ear or obey me. ¹⁶The descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have carried out the command that their ancestor gave them, but this people has not obeyed me."

   Don't get distracted by the question of whether or not to drink wine. That's not the issue at stake here. It's merely the object lesson. The issue is whether ordinary people can obey God. The issue is whether you and I will obey God. Here are these ordinary people who are still obeying the command of their human father some 250 years later, and yet the people of Judah can't obey the commands of God. The Rechabites can stand firm against the pressures of society but the people of God seem incapable of repenting, even when God sends the prophets to warn them of the disasters that they're bringing on themselves. I'm reminded of what we read last week, with the message from the Potter's house: "Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings. ¹²But they say, "It is no use! We will follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of our evil will." God says, don't just look at these Rechabites as an item of interest, as an oddity. Observe how they live. See their integrity of life. I've brought them here as an example of how well ordinary people can live. It's not beyond you. It's not impossible to follow God. There's nothing special about these people. Anyone can live with integrity if they so choose. Your problem isn't that it's beyond you, it's just that you're lazy. You're just not prepared to put your lives on the line for God. You've chosen rather to be spectators and consumers. You've ignored the greatest things, the best things that have ever been said to you, God's word, and have turned instead to the noise of the crowd. "The descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have carried out the command that their ancestor gave them, but this people has not obeyed me."

   Well, what about you and me? How are we going to live in a culture where what we believe and think is so much determined by the media, by the powerful and influential voices that confront us every day? Jesus said "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." It isn't easy to follow Christ. It isn't easy to stand up for God. It involves carrying a cross. He said "If you love me, you will obey what I command." Following Christ requires obedience. It requires listening to his voice, not that of the crowd. Speaking of our current state as Christians, Paul said "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." In other words, we don't have a choice. We're compelled, if we're followers of Christ, to live for righteousness. This impacts on every area of our life. It touches the way we speak, the way we relate to others, the way we conduct our business, the way we keep our word, the way we treat our children or our parents or our brothers or sisters. It requires of us purity of heart, minds that are trained in God's ways, that are able to see through the deceptive words of the crowd, wills that are focussed on pleasing God, and most of all strength of character to stand firm against the pull of the world, that would turn us aside from following Jesus Christ.

   How will we manage all that? Through the power of the Holy Spirit who comes to dwell within us. In today's reading from John's gospel we read this: "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." He goes on in the next section to say: "I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you." So we're not left on our own. It doesn't just depend on our own ability to obey. God gives us his Holy Spirit to remind us of all that Jesus has said, of all that God requires of us and to help us do it.

   So be encouraged. In the words of 1 Cor 16: 13-14: "Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. ¹⁴ Let all that you do be done in love." Just as the Rechabites found the strength to resist the pressures of the world that were against them, we too will be enabled to stand up for what we believe by the power of God's Holy Spirit. Let's pray that God would empower us to remain obedient to him despite the pressures of the crowd and the temptations of the world that we face every day.

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	Sermon of the Week
	9/7/00
	Obedience	Jer 35 John 14:15-24

	A survey taken a few years ago indicated that about 8% of the population of our capital cities attended church on any given Sunday. Does it surprise you that the number might be so small in what's supposedly a Christian country? Or is it the sort of figure you might expect, given the number of people you come across in your everyday life, who have no interest in Christianity? 8%! It's fairly clear that we're in the minority isn't it? As much as we might like to think that we share our values with the majority of the population, the reality is that we probably don't. What that means for us is that there'll be times when we're going to find it hard to live faithfully as Christians. This is particularly so when the culture we live in has become so much a culture of the crowd; a culture of the mass media. Community values and standards are no longer determined by the teachings of religion. People no longer subscribe to the standards and values passed down to them by their parents. Rather, their values are set by the way the mass media presents issues to us. Think about the debate on Euthanasia that's been going on for the past few years. Chances are, unless you've set out to research the issues for yourself, or have been exposed to some independent ethical discussion, the information you have on the issue has come from the mass media, from the newspaper, the TV or from magazines. And depending on the particular leaning of the editors of those media, and their perception of how the majority of their readership might feel about the issue, you may have been swayed one way or the other in the debate.
	Of course as Christians who read and study God's word we may have more opportunity than most to think about moral and ethical issues, but what about those who don't? Where do they get their opinions from? Sadly, many simply go with the flow, with the majority view. They just follow the crowd. After all, how could so many people get it wrong?
	Now there's nothing wrong with being part of the crowd on some occasions. There's nothing better than to sit in a crowded MCG at a Boxing Day Test, or at a big footy match. It'd be wonderful to be standing up at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, singing the national anthem. On those occasions it's great to be carried along by the mood of the crowd. But it'd be different if you were in a crowd as a riot exploded. I remember when we were in India a few years ago, a protest march passed by our hotel and the hotel manager advised us not to go outside, because we wouldn't want to get caught up in any trouble that might erupt. There are times to be part of the crowd and times to stand apart from the crowd.
	That's particularly so when it comes to deciding how we're to live. And it's one of the most difficult parts of being a Christian. To stand apart from those around us and be our own person. More importantly, to be God's person.
	Jeremiah, was a person who stood apart from the crowd. There was no way he was going to lower his standards because the majority disagreed with him. But it wasn't enough that he was willing to stand up and do the right thing. After all he was a prophet. People expected him to be different. How was he going to convince them that anyone could do what he was asking? How was he going to show them that ordinary people could live righteous lives, even if everyone around them was disobedient?
	One day God told him to do a strange thing. "The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD ... ²Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak with them, and bring them to the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink." Now the Rechabites were descendants of a man called Jonadab, son of Rechab. They weren't a particularly significant family. They didn't own land or houses. They only ever lived in tents. They were quite probably wandering craftsmen, possibly metal workers. They were about as ordinary as you could get. It seems their ancestor Jonadab, who lived some 250 years before in the time of King Jehu, had taken an oath that neither he nor his children would ever drink wine, nor build houses and farms and vineyards. And he'd cautioned them to obey what he said so that they might live a long time in the land where they wandered. That of course is the promise of the fourth commandment, isn't it: 'Honour your father and mother that your life may be long in the land that the lord your God will give you.' And they'd kept his command ever since. It was only when Nebuchadnezzar invaded the land that they'd come into Jerusalem for protection. But even here they still followed their forefather's instruction on abstinence from wine.
	So they weren't the sort who'd be high on the list of people to invite to a feast. They would just have been embarrassed when the wine came out, and the other guests mightn't know how to handle their eccentricity. But that's what happens. Jeremiah is told to invite them to dinner. What's God up to here? What is he trying to prove? Is he trying to show the Rechabites that it's time to give up their eccentric lifestyle; to move on from their conservative past into the present; to reconnect with their fellow Jews? Or is there more to it than that?
	Well, in any case, he invites the whole clan to a dinner right in the middle of the Temple precinct. Look at where he brings them: "I brought them to the house of the LORD into the chamber of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold." He sits them down in this room that's within view of the Temple officials, just above the room belonging to the gatekeeper of the Temple. What's about to take place will happen in a public place, within earshot, and probably the sight of any number of people who happen to be in the temple that day. This isn't just for them, it's meant as a sign to all the people. So having sat them down he brings out jugs full of wine, pours it into their cups and says "drink up". "L'Chaim." "To Life!"
	Imagine the pressure on these few men. Here was the great prophet of the Lord, Jeremiah, who's just invited them to dinner in the Temple, telling them to drink. How could they refuse? After all, they'd already compromised their standards by moving into the city when the invasion began. What was one more compromise? What difference would one cup of wine make? Surely if someone as important as Jeremiah invited you, you couldn't say no.
	But listen to their answer. "We will drink no wine, for our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us, 'You shall never drink wine, neither you nor your children; ⁷nor shall you ever build a house, or sow seed; nor shall you plant a vineyard, or even own one; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you reside.' ⁸We have obeyed the charge of our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, ⁹and not to build houses to live in. We have no vineyard or field or seed; ¹⁰but we have lived in tents, and have obeyed and done all that our ancestor Jonadab commanded us." They made their decisions, not on the basis of what was popular with the crowd, the majority, not on what was recommended by the powerful or the influential, but on the basis of what had been commanded by their forefather, Jonadab. It was their integrity, their devotion to their forefather's command that gave them their identity.
	And suddenly it all becomes clear. Suddenly the message hits home. Jeremiah has his audience and he has his message. People have noticed the Rechabites. Who could miss them? And now word will have spread about this feast and their rebuttal of his offer of wine. And so he begins to speak to the people of Judah. "Can you not learn a lesson and obey my words? says the LORD. ¹⁴The command has been carried out that Jonadab son of Rechab gave to his descendants to drink no wine; and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their ancestor's command. But I myself have spoken to you persistently, and you have not obeyed me. ¹⁵I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, 'Turn now everyone of you from your evil way, and amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall live in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors.' But you did not incline your ear or obey me. ¹⁶The descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have carried out the command that their ancestor gave them, but this people has not obeyed me."
	Don't get distracted by the question of whether or not to drink wine. That's not the issue at stake here. It's merely the object lesson. The issue is whether ordinary people can obey God. The issue is whether you and I will obey God. Here are these ordinary people who are still obeying the command of their human father some 250 years later, and yet the people of Judah can't obey the commands of God. The Rechabites can stand firm against the pressures of society but the people of God seem incapable of repenting, even when God sends the prophets to warn them of the disasters that they're bringing on themselves. I'm reminded of what we read last week, with the message from the Potter's house: "Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings. ¹²But they say, "It is no use! We will follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of our evil will." God says, don't just look at these Rechabites as an item of interest, as an oddity. Observe how they live. See their integrity of life. I've brought them here as an example of how well ordinary people can live. It's not beyond you. It's not impossible to follow God. There's nothing special about these people. Anyone can live with integrity if they so choose. Your problem isn't that it's beyond you, it's just that you're lazy. You're just not prepared to put your lives on the line for God. You've chosen rather to be spectators and consumers. You've ignored the greatest things, the best things that have ever been said to you, God's word, and have turned instead to the noise of the crowd. "The descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have carried out the command that their ancestor gave them, but this people has not obeyed me."
	Well, what about you and me? How are we going to live in a culture where what we believe and think is so much determined by the media, by the powerful and influential voices that confront us every day? Jesus said "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." It isn't easy to follow Christ. It isn't easy to stand up for God. It involves carrying a cross. He said "If you love me, you will obey what I command." Following Christ requires obedience. It requires listening to his voice, not that of the crowd. Speaking of our current state as Christians, Paul said "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." In other words, we don't have a choice. We're compelled, if we're followers of Christ, to live for righteousness. This impacts on every area of our life. It touches the way we speak, the way we relate to others, the way we conduct our business, the way we keep our word, the way we treat our children or our parents or our brothers or sisters. It requires of us purity of heart, minds that are trained in God's ways, that are able to see through the deceptive words of the crowd, wills that are focussed on pleasing God, and most of all strength of character to stand firm against the pull of the world, that would turn us aside from following Jesus Christ.
	How will we manage all that? Through the power of the Holy Spirit who comes to dwell within us. In today's reading from John's gospel we read this: "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." He goes on in the next section to say: "I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you." So we're not left on our own. It doesn't just depend on our own ability to obey. God gives us his Holy Spirit to remind us of all that Jesus has said, of all that God requires of us and to help us do it.
	So be encouraged. In the words of 1 Cor 16: 13-14: "Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. ¹⁴ Let all that you do be done in love." Just as the Rechabites found the strength to resist the pressures of the world that were against them, we too will be enabled to stand up for what we believe by the power of God's Holy Spirit. Let's pray that God would empower us to remain obedient to him despite the pressures of the crowd and the temptations of the world that we face every day.


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