Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:10] Speaker B: Welcome to another episode of the Line Upon Line Ministries podcast, a podcast committed to the expository ministry of the Word. I'm your host Mark Williams. On today's podcast we are going to continue our interview with Brother Josh Miller. Last episode we looked at the first part to today we'll look at part two and then on the next episode we'll complete that interview with part three.
Also today on the podcast we're going to share one of Brother David Miller's more well known sermons from Jeremiah 35 called Rechabite Religion.
This sermon is one that deals with a difficult topic, alcohol.
I'd encourage you to stick around to the end where I will provide some helpful resources if you happen to be one or have family or friends who is dealing with this difficult life dominating problem of alcohol or other substance use.
So let's go to part two of the interview with Brother Josh Miller as we discuss what it was like to grow up in the house of the country preacher at large.
[00:01:26] Speaker A: You know, as I'm sure many folks know, you know, I got out and after I became a young adult, got out, went to college a few years after that, just living, living a little, living a lot, reckless living for myself and not, not at all how I was raised.
And I didn't realize at the time you don't realize when you're a kid and you're stupid what you're doing to those who love you.
And it wasn't intentional, but I was living like that and I knew they were disappointed and I didn't care.
I continued with my disregard for what I knew was right.
Anyhow, I had several warnings, you know, the Lord gave me and I didn't heed them at all.
And then, you know, on August 2, 2003, a buddy of mine and I had to wreck and I was thrown out, wrapped backwards around a pine tree and broke every vertebrae in my neck except for C1.
Fortunate to only have a spinal cord injury at C5. But anyway, I woke up in the hospital whenever it was. I don't remember exactly how long I'd been there, but there was dad right there beside my bed. I can just remember waking up and looking and seeing this, you know, the bright lights and I don't have a clue what happened. And man, I can't move. My head was in traction and they had these tongs screwed into the side of my head and it had me pulled back and I'm laying flat in the bed. I don't have, I can't do anything but look up and I don't think that was purely accidental.
But there was dad and mom, for whatever reason, wasn't there was. Wasn't in the room right then.
And dad. And I'll never forget. I could just hear him say, hey, son, you've had a wreck and you've broken your neck and you're paralyzed, but you're gonna be okay, and you're gonna bounce back and you're gonna be all right. You just.
So just relax and whatever.
I think he had to tell me that several times.
But seeing I don't like the fact that we had the wreck at all. I don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to sound like some pious person where I don't like being disabled. And dad and I used to always.
We'd give each other hard times all the time about being disabled. And he'd look at me and say, I don't even like handicapped people.
I said, well, I generally do. There's just one.
[00:05:07] Speaker B: Problem with this one.
[00:05:08] Speaker A: Guy, just this one that I don't like.
But no, we would. We'd give each other a hard time about it.
And anyway.
But.
So I don't like that it happened at all. I don't like being disabled. I don't like being a quadriplegic.
But I'm so grateful for. Well, number one, that God spared my life and when we didn't have to. And I know when in similar situations, other lives haven't been spared and I don't deserve it.
But I got to see a demonstration of what in my mind is like God's love for us.
And I got to see that through my parents.
During that time, I was in the hospital.
Hospital and rehab for five months and two months in icu. And they didn't know from one day to the next, they, you know, if I was going to make it or not.
Of course, I always thought I would be fine if they would just leave me alone. You know, bring me some morphine, leave me alone. I'll be in good shape.
But.
But, man, seeing just the love and the care and it didn't matter who I had been and how I had been living and the decisions I made and all that stuff up to that accident, that it didn't matter because they were my parents and they were there.
And, you know, I know dad was scheduled to preach several places, and he just called and canceled. And they came and they drove the motor home to the hospital parking lot, set up camp there and stayed there the whole time.
The whole time, every day.
And, you know, And I was so grateful and blessed to have family and friends, aunts and uncles and buddies and, you know, so many people. That was a great support group. But just seeing the love that David and Glenda had for their son, especially when I didn't deserve it, you know, it was. It was. It was amazing. And I hadn't been. I'm not going to claim I hadn't been the perfect person, Christian, whatever, since that day, but, man, God gave me an example to look at here on earth. And I think some. Sometimes he does that, you know, we just have to acknowledge it. You'll be looking for it.
And I wasn't looking for it then, but I got shoved right in your face. It was shoved right in my face, and it was like, hey, moron, here, take note.
And I mean, I just couldn't have, you know, dad. Dad was just adamant, said, you're gonna be fine. We're gonna get through this.
Wow. And, you know, when it came time, just a.
An example, like when it came time for me to move out of rehab, man, I was sick as a dog. I had.
I'm 6, 7, and I was down to.
When I left the hospital, I weighed 129 pounds.
I put nine pounds back on. Wow.
So I was skinning bones.
And anyway, I can remember being in rehab and the caseworker had brought it up to us as a family that, you know, there were some acute care facilities and some assisted. Assisted living type facilities that might be an option that we needed to look at for.
For me to go after I left rehab.
And, you know, I had a. I had a feeding tube in my stomach. I had all this stuff, you know, medical stuff that. That we didn't know anything about. Sure. You know, my mom didn't know she hadn't been a nurse. Right. She didn't know about, you know, how you tend all that stuff.
And I would have, like, you know, I even had said, hey, if I need to look at some of. I mean, I'd love to come home, but.
But I. I understand reality, too. I mean, there's.
[00:10:24] Speaker B: Didn't want to be a burden.
[00:10:25] Speaker A: There's. Dad, I didn't want to be a burden. I didn't. And, you know, I thought, man, I've already caused all this grief and anguish, and, you know, Glenda Miller wouldn't hear of it. And that got shut down real quick.
It was, no, you're coming home.
And dad just said, we're going to do whatever we got to do.
And, you know, the Lord's blessed me, blessed Our family blessed, you know, during that whole time, abundantly and inexplicably, honestly, things I didn't even know about until years later.
But just seeing.
It's one thing when folks talk about display and grace and love and all this stuff, and they talk about keeping their faith during trials, and, you know, you can hear somebody get up in the pulpit and talk about how you should do all that.
And not that he's wrong, he's not, obviously. But, man, when you see it.
And I got to see that out of my dad and my mom both. I mean, honestly, they were a team.
And I don't have.
I'm doing a horrible job at explaining the impact that that made on me was just how that, you know, they were just calm and kind and gracious and, you know, before long, dad was.
Dad was holding church in the waiting room at the ICU. Of course, he was of the St. Vincent Hospital.
And then you had nuns and clergy there at the hospital coming by to discuss theology with the country preacher at large.
And it just went on all the time, and it was something. And then there were folks who had a loved one in the room next door to me, and that individual passed away. I'll never forget it.
And dad was out there sharing the gospel with them in the waiting room and outside that room in the icu and, you know, praying with those folks. And I've encountered folks years down the road, former staff from there at the hospital, let's say. I can't.
The impact that your parents had on me during the time you were in the hospital has changed my life.
And that's so neat because, you know, that's.
And yeah, I'm having a session where I'm bragging on my mom and dad, but. But more importantly, just the Lord, you know, because they.
They.
They allowed God to use them. Yeah. Not. They have to allow God. I didn't mean it like that. No, God can use. Sure, God can you. But they could have.
[00:14:10] Speaker B: They could have just been there and been in grief and focused only on, you know, the bad things and what. What they have to deal with, but.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah.
[00:14:20] Speaker B: What an example.
[00:14:21] Speaker A: Yeah. And, you know, so that was.
It was. I was 22 when that happened. So, you know, I was grown, but I was grown. I wasn't mature, but some would say I'm still not.
But anyway, they.
That.
That whole time, it was almost kind of like, you know, I got a do over.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: Another chance.
[00:14:56] Speaker A: And my mom had often said that God gave me to them twice.
You know, once when I was Born and then again after, after the wreck. So. But you know.
Yeah.
[00:15:13] Speaker B: What an example there.
[00:15:14] Speaker A: Yeah. What.
[00:15:15] Speaker B: So from that point on, like how, how has your relationship with. Or how was your relationship with your dad, like from that point, like, where did that go from there to.
[00:15:28] Speaker A: Well, today, you know, dad, he was still my dad. Sure. And, and he, and I needed a dad. I needed a lot of fathering because I didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did. So you started listening a little bit more. Yeah, I wish. At 44 I was as smart as I actually thought I was at 21, I've discovered I'm just. There's a whole lot more out there I don't know than there is. I do.
But dad, you know, he was there for me, he and mom both. And then, you know, he would tell me, son, you gotta. Well, first of all, I was fortunate to have had a business and they kept it going during the time that I was out with, you know, recovering from the accident, so forth. And so, you know, in the Miller household, there wasn't going to be any, you know, just laying around, drawing disability.
That wasn't an option and I'm so grateful for that.
It was, hey, you got something you can get up and go do and if, and if, and if you can't do that, you can find something you can do, set about to doing it.
And that's, you know, what we did. I got out of that. I got into the rental property business a little bit early on. Didn't have, and then didn't have got out of the first business and had gotten into the rental property stuff. But it wasn't a full time job or anything at that time. So I decided to go to school, go back to. I thought, well, I'll go back to college and get a degree and at least make mom happy.
And so I had done that, then rocked along with that and was pursuing a bachelor's degree with thoughts of going on to law school actually and had an opportunity to come along with the business that was too good to, you know, you just had to be, you have to be even dumber than me to pass it up.
But it wasn't going to allow me to continue having time to go to school. So I dropped out again.
But anyhow, the Lord's been very gracious to me in the business and, and dad was, you know, dad was right there. We would talk about everything and he was so sharp, you know, not.
Yes, he was a great preacher and he was a great theologian and.
But man, dad was just sharp, period.
He could have, you know, if the Lord hadn't called him to preach, he could have been running a Fortune 500 company. Probably because he just, he had the, he had the smarts for it. You know, I could call dad and be like, hey, what do you think?
What do you think it's gonna cost? If you made a deal at X amount and it was six and a half percent interest and you know, whatever, it's like, what's that gonna run you over a 10 year time span and if you gave him about 30 seconds, he'd spit you out a number and then you could go actually do the math on the calculator and he wouldn't be $5 off.
And then if I said, if I corrected him, he'd say, well, for crying out loud, I was speaking in generalities. If you'd give me a minute, I could have figured it up and got down to the penny.
We'd always laugh about that kind of stuff. But he, he really was, he was sharp. And so he was, he, he just quickly became my mentor for one, and advisor.
I never, I've been fortunate to do a lot of property deals throughout the years in this business.
I never made a deal, never made a deal that I didn't talk to him about until after he's passed away.
And even, I mean, the week before he died, he was sitting there and reminded me what a goober I was.
I've been telling you to do that. You need to sell that.
He's a good night. Maybe one of these days you'll listen to me.
But he, honestly, what dad and I had is so unique. I think I say that maybe it's not, but dad had become my mentor, my advisor.
And then just pretty quickly, you know, I would say the last 15 or more years of his life, he was my best friend.
Just that, you know, because I'm in this situation, Dad's in the situation he's in.
And yes, they're different and we have different, we have different things about our.
Not all, not every two people that are in a wheelchair face the exact same challenges. But we do a lot, you know, like, and there's things that dad could get about what I may be going through that nobody else could.
Nobody could.
[00:21:41] Speaker B: Nobody.
[00:21:41] Speaker A: And, and vice versa, right? You know, and he would talk to me about stuff and, and then, you know, we just had that.
And then when we, when mom started to get sick with the Alzheimer's and we went through, we went, went through that together and the decision making stuff that you got to deal with when you have a loved one in that situation. It's, you know, it's a tough deal. And my heart breaks for anybody who's got family dealing with Alzheimer's or dementia in any form.
It's a cruel, cruel deal disease. But we went, you know, dad and I went through that together. And he just said, hey, I want us, you know, whatever decisions we got to make, you know, let's do it together.
And so that's. It doesn't need to be all on me or all on you.
And we did. And when you go through that with somebody, you just. You can't help but have a bond.
It just strengthens it even more. We hated, you know, I hated losing mom.
For sure. There was a, you know, just. She was my mom and she was my dad's wife for 55 years.
But, you know, after that, you know, dad lived nearly two years after she passed. And I knew he had told me multiple times after a month or so after mom had passed, I guess was the first time he'd said, hey, you know, I'm good and I'm, you know, I'm happy, but if the Lord took me home today, I ain't gonna fuss about.
And I said, well, I would.
Right? I don't really want you to go anywhere.
But.
Yeah, no, I mean, just. Just we talk multiple times a day. And he, you know, he might call me up and say, hey, hey, I know you're out here roaming around numb skulling around some rent house somewhere, but just in case she's wondering, the market was up percent and a half today.
I didn't have to be running around a rent house. And I bet if you wanted to compare, I probably had a more profitable day than you.
All right, all right. Hey, look, I'm out here. I'm fixing to go to the farm. All right? I love you. Gotta go buy.
And that's it. And I just feel like the whole conversation. Okay, you're right.
And then RA call up and say, hey, look, I got something I want to tell you, but I ain't gonna get into it right now.
When you get settled in tonight, when you get laid down, you.
You call me. Now don't forget, I'm gonna be expecting you. Call me. All right? All right. Love you. You gotta go. Bye.
And that was it. But then we might, you know, he might call too. We might talk for two hours about stuff. And he would always say, now, son, I figured out a way where you could actually do something and be profitable.
And then he would set into telling me and about every time he was right. They were always great ideas, many of which I used.
But we got, you know, we loved doing stuff at the farm together. Of course, we shared the passion of hunting and all that stuff. I got into when I got into politics. I think he enjoyed getting involved in that a little bit.
It was he.
Well, I know he did. I know he did. Because I faced challenges from people within my own party and others for being too conservative. And if y' all have followed dad for any amount of time on Twitter or Facebook, you probably had the pleasure reading some of his comments.
They weren't all. They weren't all about theology, right?
[00:26:28] Speaker B: No.
[00:26:29] Speaker A: And anyway. But it was.
It would get me.
[00:26:32] Speaker B: He had his opinions, and he wanted.
[00:26:34] Speaker A: To know what they were. One time.
One time we were in the middle of a campaign and, you know, didn't really know how it was going to go.
And my campaign advisor, you know, guy I've hired to get us through all this, and they handle all this stuff, and they've got social media people that do all this nonsense for you and cost you a bunch of money.
He called me up one day.
He said, hey. I said, yeah. He goes, have you read your dad's latest post?
And I said, no.
No, I don't guess.
He said, well, it was about your opponent.
I said, oh. I said, no. I hadn't been on Facebook. I've been working today, you know, believe it or not, and I hadn't seen it.
He said, man, I think we'd just be a lot better off if he didn't post anymore.
And he goes, you might mention that to him. And I said, no, I'll let you mention. Yeah, you go ahead.
I'll give you his number and you can mention it, too, but I'm not doing that.
It was funny. Yeah, but, you know, we had all. We.
Looking back on all that now. It was, you know, at the time, it was all, boy, it was serious, you know, because you get your competitive juices flowing and. And all this stuff. But, man, we got to have those times together, and that was so much fun.
And I see families who don't share that togetherness, and I feel for them because I miss my mom and dad a whole lot.
But like I was telling you earlier, you know, I think it's almost been a year since Dad's passed, and so I've been without both of them.
And, you know, we've had different things happen in life where you go from the Lord kind of has shown me, you know, hey, it's time to not grieve and time to celebrate, you know, celebrate who they were, who they are and where they are. Right. And in whose presence they are. And the fact that, you know, I'm going to be reunited with them and the fact that where we're going and what's going to happen then is going to be so glorious that reuniting even with my mom and dad, who I love so dearly, is going to be secondary or maybe third and day. I'm not sure how that's a word, but you're right. You're right.
[00:29:30] Speaker B: First and foremost will be that entering into glory and seeing our Savior.
[00:29:35] Speaker A: Absolutely.
And I know, dad, they just got.
[00:29:38] Speaker B: To be there first.
[00:29:40] Speaker A: They did, they did. And. And I'm. I'm glad they are. And I. Even though I miss them, I wouldn't ask for them to.
To come back because they're where they worked for and where they have strove to be.
As you can tell, I was a C student at best.
[00:30:09] Speaker B: But, yeah, they lived their life for.
[00:30:12] Speaker A: That, for that goal. Absolutely.
[00:30:18] Speaker B: Up next, we have brother Miller's classic sermon, Rechabite religion from Jeremiah 35. And remember, stick around to the end for some additional resources and information.
[00:30:32] Speaker C: Would you find the Old Testament, Book of Jeremiah, chapter 35?
The title of my sermon tonight is Rechabite Religion or the Influence of One Godly Man.
As we read our text, I want you to look for the influence that Jonadab the son of Rechab had upon his sons and daughters.
We need a revival of that kind of religion in our day.
Rechabite religion.
Have you found the text?
Let's begin at chapter 35, verse 1.
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, go unto the house of the Rechabites and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the Lord into one of the chambers and give them wine to drink.
Then I took Jazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazaniah 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 Maaseiah, the son of Shallum, 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.
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.
Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyards, 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 seed, but we have dwelt in tents and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our Father, commanded us.
Hallelujah.
Praise the Lord.
I have four items in my sermon tonight. First, I want to talk about the commandment to the Rechabites.
Secondly, I want to talk about the compliance of the Rechabites. Thirdly, I want to present a contrast to the Rechabites. And then I want you to see some consequences to the Rechabites.
Did you notice the commandment that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons and daughters?
He said, you are not to drink wine.
You nor your sons forever.
Now, Baptist folk appreciate a commandment like that just on the surface.
That's a good commandment. Commandment for parents to give to their children.
Don't drink any wine, be a teetotaler, be an abstainer.
Don't do it.
But we can better appreciate the commandment when we understand the historical circumstances which it was given.
You see, Jonadab did not live during the days of Jeremiah.
Oh no. He lived approximately 300 years before Jeremiah. He lived during the administration of Ahab and Jezebel.
Do you remember them?
Ahab.
What a spineless specimen of a man.
A moral coward and henpecked and manipulated by his wicked wife to do evil.
Queen Jezebel was meaner than a junkyard dog.
When did you last know of parents naming a new baby girl Jezebel?
It just doesn't happen. It's because of the meanness and the wickedness associated with her.
Under their influence, the nation of Israel fell to an all time low morally and spiritually.
And God passed the sentence of judgment upon the house of Ahab. He commissioned a man named Jehu to be his instrument in judging the house of Ahab. It's at this point in the history where we first encounter our man Jonadab. Jonadab joined in affinity with became a partner with Jehu in implementing the judgment of God on the house of Ahab. Those of you who have read this biblical account recall that when the king of Judah and the king of Israel rode together out across the plain of Jezreel, it was Jonadab with Jehu who intercepted them and and put them to death.
When they rode into the city of Jezreel, Jezebel had tied her hair and painted her face.
It was Jonadab with Jehu who said to the eunuchs, throw her down from the upper level of the house that she might die. And the dogs licked her blood.
They gathered the 70 sons of Abraham, Ahab, and summarily executed them.
They gathered the prophets and the worshipers of baal, that fertility God, and put them to death.
Now, any way you slice it, Jonadab was a religious reactionary in his day, talking ultra fundamentalist.
It was this man in these circumstances, a man who had seen the moral and the spiritual decline of the nation.
It was this man in these circumstances that got under a heavy indictment from holy justice regarding his personal responsibility to be the moral and spiritual leader for his family.
And he gathered his family around him one day and he gave them this commandment. He said, you are not to drink wine, you, nor your sons forever.
And guess what?
300 years later, when God wants to teach Israel an object lesson in obedience, he says to Jeremiah, bring those sons of the rechabites into the house of God.
Set pots of wine and cups before them and invite them to drink.
I've got something I want to show you.
Obedience.
Now listen, God is not tempting the rechabites. God knows what their response will be. For for 300 years, they've been obeying their father's commandment.
I tell you unashamedly.
When I first saw that and I contemplated the influence that this godly man had upon his sons and daughters, I could not contain my jubilation.
And in the privacy of my study at home, I shouted for joy.
And I said, oh, God, I want to be like Jonadab.
You remember Michael Jordan?
Everybody wore those T shirts saying, I want to be like Mike.
I'm thinking about getting me some T shirts saying, I want to be like Johnny Depp.
But after a while, my jubilation subsided and I was gripped with a compelling question.
How did he pull that off?
How can a man command his sons and daughters moral and spiritual principles, and 300 years later, generations removed, they'll still be obeying their father's commandment. I believe that question ought to Grip the heart of every parent and grandparent in this room.
Are you interested?
I shall offer three suggestions.
One, he taught them by exhortation.
By that I mean he laid the law down.
He said, this is the way it's going to be.
We're not even going to vote on it.
We're not calling for a symposium.
God has charged me with responsibility for your moral and spiritual welfare. And today I'm standing up and I'm stepping out in front assuming my God given responsibility.
I tell you tonight, the greatest single need in Christian family living, even in the homes of Baptist preachers, the greatest single need is for men of God to stand up and step out in front of their wives and their children and their grandchildren and begin to provide godly moral, spiritual leadership for their home. And I would caution you by telling you that that no amount of success in other areas will ever compensate for failure in your home.
But number two, he taught them by explanation.
If he had been in my case, he might have said something like this. Now son, you know how much we love our dog.
When my Joshua was one year old, some preacher friends of ours got together and bought him a registered basset hound puppy.
Josh and I talked it over, admittedly a one sided conversation, and we decided to name the dog Old Deacon. And some of the brethren recalled and asked, why did you name the dog Old Deacon?
I said, now that you've brought it up, there are several reasons for it. Number one, he doesn't attend Sunday school.
And number two, he doesn't tithe.
And number three, he whines a lot.
And number four, the next time I get mad at a bunch of deacons, I'm going to kick that dog.
I believe if it had been in my case, he wouldn't have backhanded his son across the mouth.
When he asked why.
He would have seized the opportunity, taken advantage of the moment. He might have said something like this, Son, we wouldn't want to keep a dog at our home that bites one out of every three people who come by to see us. Would you?
I don't know about you, but I don't have that many friends to begin with that I could keep a biting dog around that would bite one out of every three people who come by to see me. And yet, son, the US Bureau of Statistics tells us that today 15 social drinkers.
Social drinkers.
I suppose that would include reformed Baptists exercising their Christian liberty.
What did you say? I didn't hear you.
I'm talking about social drinkers start down the same road together and when the dust has settled and the bottom line is in, here's how it Three of them are problem drinkers, robbing the family budget of priority money to purchase alcoholic beverages.
Two more are confirmed alcoholics.
That's five out of 15.
Can we do the math?
Can we reduce that down to its lowest common denominator?
That's one in three.
Why would we want to keep a bottle of wine to serve to our guests when they're in our home, knowing that if they drink with us when the bottom line is in now, it won't be next week, it won't be next month or next year. It might be five years, it might be 30 years.
But before it's all been said and done, one out of three is either going to be a problem drinker or he's going to be a sopping drum.
That's the US Bureau of Statistics.
Why would you do that?
Any of you listening?
Now, look, I've been at this for 53 years.
I've earned the right to say what I think about alcohol.
And here's what I have to say.
I, for one, am personally embarrassed that Reformed theology and those of us who've been Calvinists a long time before being Calvinistic was cool.
I am personally embarrassed the brethren who claim the Reformed faith and in the name of Christian liberty want to drink as much beer and as much whiskey as anybody else in town.
I'm embarrassed about it, and furthermore, I'm offended by it.
So quit it.
I mean it.
Quit it.
Pour it out.
Get rid of it.
And I don't want to hear the arguments.
I'm going to concede right up front that the wine that Jesus made at the wedding in Cana probably had some alcoholic content.
Not much, but some. I concede the argument.
I also have read the text that says, all things are lawful, but all things are not expedient.
Well, let me just interject a biblical hermeneutic.
All things are not lawful.
You have to look at every text of Scripture within the context in which it's found.
For example, just to help you to see it.
Fornication is not lawful.
So then all things, without exception, are not lawful.
Just making any sense.
I can't tell by the way a couple of you are looking now.
But just to concede that argument, does this mean marijuana is lawful?
Does it?
Do you see where that leads you?
Do you know what the Bible teaches us? In the Old Testament, three classes of men were forbidden the use of any wine.
Prophets, priests and kings.
Are you redeemed?
I didn't ask you if you're reformed. I'm asking you if you're redeemed.
I'm telling you if you've been regenerated, if you've been justified, if you've been reconciled to God, then, my friend, you have some liberties.
But Christian liberty is not freedom to sin.
It's freedom from sin.
I've read the arguments.
They don't amount to much.
Take a little wine for your stomach's sake.
They didn't have the medicines you and I had or have today.
You know that, don't you?
You know there's better medicine available to you when you've got problems with your stomach than imbibing wine.
Now y' all done gone gotten quiet on me.
An old preacher told me once it gets real quiet on you, son, you. You might be plowing deep.
Do you know everything in these conferences doesn't have to be lofty and theological.
Some of it can be down in a low manger and practical.
Do you know what the Bible says about you? If you've been redeemed, it says you are a prophet, a priest and a king.
Have you claimed that?
Then leave your liquor alone and start living like you're a prophet and a priest and a king.
How in this world could there be something that tastes so good to you that you'd throw caution to the wind?
Do you know what the Bible says about it? Hosea, chapter 4, verse 11, says whoredom and wine.
I'd be embarrassed that they're even associated.
Those two terms. Whoredom and wine and new wine. Listen, now. Takes away the understanding.
[00:53:38] Speaker A: Take.
[00:53:38] Speaker C: Takes away the ability to make good, common sense judgments.
I know many of you.
You're no different than I am. You and I don't possess enough acumen to take a chance on losing any of it.
The Lord knows we need full control of every bit of intelligence we possess. Let us not lose any of it.
Okay. I'm done with that.
And just in case you want to come up to me afterwards, I know that my hermeneutic in the sermon tonight is not the best.
I didn't ride down here on a turnip truck.
I've been at this long enough to know that consuming alcoholic beverages is not the grand overarching theme of this text.
I know that obedience is the theme of the text. I just wanted to get the rest of that in there while I had the opportunity.
Now, he taught them by exhortation, he taught them by explanation, and he taught them by example.
You'll never convince me. He could have pulled that off sitting around on Saturday afternoon watching an NCAA football game and drinking a six pack of Budweiser. Forget about it.
And furthermore, if you drink wine tonight and you're a father, where did you get your standards for when you're going to allow your children to drink?
What's the rule on that?
And if you're a preacher, what are you going to do when your people ask you about it?
And furthermore, what are you going to do when you get the call late on Saturday night about 12:30? Come quickly to the emergency room.
And when you get there, here's a mother crying uncontrollably and a father in such shock he cannot speak.
And when at last they're able to speak and they tell you that their son is dying, and the mother says, pastor, we never had this as an issue in our home till you preached on it a few weeks ago and said it was all right to imbibe in the name of Christian religion or Christian liberty, as long as you did it in moderation.
What are you going to say?
It's a waste of our time to exhort our sons and daughters moral and spiritual principles. If we're unwilling to mirror and model and example the worth and the value of those principles in our daily lives, it's a waste of our time.
Now, that's my first point. Here's the second one.
I want you to see the compliance of the rechabites.
Now, this section in my sermon needs three subdivisions, but I hadn't been able to figure out what to call one of them.
So I only have two subdivisions.
However, I do have a lengthy transitional statement.
I want you to see the quick and resolute response of the rechabites. Now, get the picture in your mind. Again, the prophet has brought them into the house of the Lord. He has set pots of wine and cups before them. He has invited them to drink.
But quickly, resolutely, they respond, we will drink no wine.
And they did not add before its time.
Paul Mason notwithstanding, there wasn't going to be a time when the rechabites would drink wine.
I've wondered what might have happened if this had been brought up at a Southern Baptist convention.
Can't you just hear some of the more fundamentalists saying, no, we're not going to do that, Only to have some of the moderates come to the podium and with an angelic and melodious voice say, now, my brethren, it is obvious that we are caught up in the furor of our emotions.
This is a volatile issue, and good men are on both Sides, let us not be guilty of making a decision today based upon our emotions. One that we would regret in years to come.
After the spirit of Gamaliel, that noble teacher, I suggest that we put off making a decision today and that a seven person committee be formed.
I would suggest two pastors, two laypersons, two denominational employees and one token woman.
And let these come from the seven geographical districts so that we maintain geographical balance.
And further, I'd suggest that we appropriate $100,000 from contingency funds to meet their expenses and let them study this matter and bring us back a recommendation at next year's convention.
Well beloved. It is the opinion of this country preacher from Arkansas that there are some things we shouldn't have to vote on every year at the Southern Baptist Convention.
There are some things we ought to have our minds made up about by now.
There are some things that we ought to be rock solid on.
I want to tell you, you looking at a preacher. I'm not going to give any ground to this liquor drinking crowd.
Do you hear me? I'm going to fight it. I've been fighting it all of my life. I've led the fight in Cleveland County, Arkansas. I'm proud to announce to you we don't sell alcohol in Cleveland County. And I'm not going to give in to a bunch of wet, behind the ears young Calvinists either.
You'd spend your time better at a desk before the book than you would down at the pub sipping beer and thinking how wise you are. You're playing the fool.
I say quit the foolishness.
Repent.
And I'd say, furthermore to the rest of you preachers, quit dilly dallying and preach and warn the people about the evils of alcohol.
And guess what?
I like to be loved and applauded as much as any other preacher in the room.
But I want to tell you there are some things I'm not going to give an inch on.
And liquor's one of them.
Where was I?
I know.
Now that's my transitional statement. Here are the two items I want you to see about their compliance.
Number one, their compliance was complete.
And number two, it was consistent day by day, week by week, month by month, year after year.
For 300 years, they'd been obeying their father's commandment. Hallelujah. That's shouting ground for those of us who lead in Baptist life today. If you want to run 100 in Sunday school, you've got to enlist about 300.
Up and down, in and out.
Johnny, come lately here Today and gone tomorrow. Don't you long for a revival that'll get the folks up to date in their compliance and keep them consistent.
Their obedience.
Now, you know enough about preaching to know that preaching not only gives an explanation and an illustration, it makes an application.
And so I want to ask you now, are you up to date in your compliance?
Now, I'm not asking you if you're spiritual.
Have you noticed how everybody's spiritual these days?
Oprah Winfrey spiritual these days?
I'm not asking if you can attend a Bill Gaither homecoming jubilee and tap your toe and pat your hands to the music and cry crocodile tears.
What I'm asking you is right now, right now, right there, are you up to date in your personal compliance with the will of God?
Well, let me give you the contrast.
Why don't you do this? I just sense the need to help you out a little bit.
Do this. Just lean way back and go.
All right, here's the contrast.
Jonadab and the rechabites obeyed.
For 300 years, the Israelites were in continual disobedience.
Disobedience not to a man, but to God.
What a contrast.
The rechabites obeyed Jonadab, who was dead and gone.
The Israelites disobeyed God, who was alive and well.
Jonadab spoke once.
God rose up early in the morning, sending the prophets.
What a contrast.
Listen to me now. It is not a compliment to the men of God when it is said of us, we blend into the crowd.
I tell you, if we were what we ought to be, we'd be standing out in bright contrast to the meanness and wickedness of our day.
Now, the consequences.
The last verse in the chapter. Thus saith the Lord.
Jonadab, the son of Rechab, shall not want a man to stand before me forever.
Jonadab will never see the day when he won't have sons and daughters standing before me, obeying me, ministering before me.
How could God make such a promise as this?
I'll tell you how.
God has not only appointed the men, God has appointed the means for bringing those men to salvation.
And one of the chief means is a godly home life where there's a Jonadab and. And a righteous wife by his side.
And together they feel the weight and the burden to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Now, often they come to the day's end and they're wringing their hands and shaking their heads, and one says to the other, what are we going to do.
They're not getting it. They're just not getting it.
And they talk about it and they resolve that they don't have a plan B, they're going to stick with the book, they're going to stick with the Bible.
And they get down on their knees and they commence to pray and they thank God for their children. Over again they confess that their children are heirs in the hands of a mighty man. They cry out to the Father, don't let us miss the mark, O God, would you in sovereign grace compensate for our weaknesses and failures.
God help us to be better parents tomorrow than we were today.
And they go to bed and they rest and they and they wake the next morning and they commence again to exhort and explain and example godly principles. And one day the glorious Gospel of Christ, like a bright light shines into the darkness of their child's heart and grace quickens them and grants them repentance with godly sorrow and faith to lay hold upon the Gospel of Christ.
And then they grow up and they have children and the grandchildren hear it and see it and one day the spirit of God quickens them.
And then they get married and have children. And now there's three dimensional teaching. Parents and grandparents and great grandparents and it's almost like those great grandchildren hardly have a chance. It doesn't matter if they're at home, doesn't matter if they're over at Mamie and papa's or over at Granny and BD's, that's big daddies.
Doesn't matter.
The people they have for role models, the people they spend much of their time with or people who are walking right down the middle of the pike, obeying the principles and enjoying the privileges of godly living.
And one day God could say to Jeremiah, bring those sons of the rechabites into the house of God and offer them wine to drink. I've got something I want to teach you about obedience.
I want to tell you, beloved, if the church is going to be here when Jesus comes, you and I have got to be obedient. And we've got to teach our sons and our daughters obedience.
God help us to do it. Would you bow for prayer, our Father? Would you write these things indelibly upon our hearts and before our eyes?
Blessed Lord, if there's even one in this room who needs to repent, I pray you'll give them grace to do it. To make a new resolve to walk in obedience to God in Jesus name.
Amen.
[01:10:07] Speaker B: As you've heard from brother David, he has some very strong opinions regarding alcohol and while the hope is that we would never pick it up in the first place, the reality is that one in three, as Brother David mentioned, end up in a life dominating situation.
Part of my ministry experience was as a counselor in a drug and alcohol recovery program.
So let me encourage you with a couple of resources to point you in the right direction for helping or dealing with this problem yourself. First is a book recommendation. It's called the Heart of Addiction by Mark Shaw. This book will help walk you through what addiction is and how to overcome it God's way. So if you are dealing with this struggle yourself or you have friend or family that you would like to help walk through this, I'd recommend this important and helpful resource. Also, if you would like help with this, I would Recommend going to biblical counseling.com and clicking on their counselor map. If you need help, help is available.
You can find a local Biblical counselor that you can meet with face to face if one is available. Or you can also search for counselors who are available by Skype or Zoom or other online software. Help is available and God's Word is sufficient.
So I'd recommend reaching out to one of these Biblical counselors or picking up this resource to help you think through this important and difficult problem. God's Way I hope you've enjoyed this episode of the LineupOn Line Ministries podcast. If you have any questions or topics that you would like us to cover, be sure to email me at lineuponlineministriesmail.com as always, be sure to check out our website as it is updated regularly as well as our social media.
If you happen to have any resources from Brother David Miller where he has come to your church and preached or or did a revival or anything like that, and you'd like to share those resources with us that we can make those available on our website.
Also email me at lineuponlineministriesmail.com or if you have any prayer requests. We'd also love to hear from you and be praying with you as well. Thank you for listening to this episode.
God bless you as you continue to study and minister His Word.
[01:12:34] Speaker A: SA.
