Sermon

Run Jonah Run

First Baptist Church of Henrietta - Sermons

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  1. Well, we are jumping into a brand new series today.

  2. I will give you one guess what it's on.

  3. Y'all are smart people, man.

  4. It is on Jonah.

  5. So if you would take the word of God with me

  6. and turn to the book of Jonah in the Old Testament.

  7. And we will begin in chapter one.

  8. This is a four-part series.

  9. If you need help finding it,

  10. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah.

  11. Jonah chapter one.

  12. And before we get started reading in the text,

  13. I'd like to give you a little bit of a background

  14. on what is going on.

  15. So the Assyrian army is one of the greatest military forces

  16. the world has ever seen in the history of the world.

  17. They were very fierce, ferocious,

  18. kind of took no prisoners type of army.

  19. They were feared greatly by all their enemies

  20. or prospective enemies.

  21. When the Assyrians came in,

  22. you knew that you were probably going to lose

  23. or at least have a very bloody long fight on your hands.

  24. Nineveh was their capital city.

  25. And it was a great city in the ways of the world.

  26. It was very populated.

  27. It was very advanced.

  28. It was beautiful.

  29. And it was the kind of city that could just never be conquered by an enemy.

  30. So that was their reputation.

  31. And one of their great opponents was the nation of Israel

  32. or the tribe of Judah, the nation of Judah.

  33. And so back in this day, in the context of Jonah,

  34. the Assyrians or the Ninevites, which was their capital city,

  35. those people were at odds with the people of Israel, God's people.

  36. So that's the context in which we find this.

  37. Jonah is a prophet.

  38. You know what I don't have on me right now is my little clicker.

  39. So I'm really sorry.

  40. Would you mind?

  41. I might have left it back in my office.

  42. But until then, would you mind just clicking through these slides with me?

  43. And I'll try to tell you when to advance them.

  44. So Jonah, as we open up, Jonah chapter 1 and verse 1.

    Jonah 1 chapter mention

  45. This is not the first time we've heard of the prophet Jonah.

  46. There was another time back in 2 Kings when it's talking about King Jeroboam,

  47. an evil king, the son of King Joash, who was actually a great king who feared God.

  48. But his son, Jeroboam, did not continue in that faith.

  49. And he did, the Bible says, what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

  50. And so King Jeroboam, in this previous instance in which we find Jonah mentioned in the Old Testament,

  51. King Jeroboam is getting ready to go to war.

  52. And he calls in two prophets of God to try to tell him how this war is going to go.

  53. And the first prophet was Jonah.

  54. And Jonah tells him, don't worry, king, you've got this.

  55. You're going to see a mighty victory today.

  56. And then the other king was Amos.

  57. And if you happen to know your Bible a little bit,

  58. you'll know that there is an entire book of the Bible dedicated to the words of Amos.

  59. A great prophet in God's eyes.

  60. And unfortunately, Amos tells him, Matt, you're a hero.

  61. That's not what Amos told him.

  62. That was a little side note.

  63. Thank you, Matt.

  64. All right, we're good now.

  65. Amos gave the exact opposite prophecy from Jonah.

  66. And he said, king, not only are you going to lose, but you're going to die today.

  67. And his prophecy came true.

  68. So we already have an instance of Jonah being unreliable.

  69. You could maybe even call him a false prophet, willing to say what is necessary to please his listeners, his hearers.

  70. So Jonah, we don't have a good context for when we start reading in Jonah 1.

  71. So if you're there, Jonah chapter 1, if you're able to, would you mind joining me in standing?

    Jonah 1 chapter mention

  72. And let's read these first three verses together.

  73. And then we'll go on.

  74. Jonah chapter 1 in verse 3.

    Jonah 1 chapter mention

  75. I'm reading from the New Living Translation.

  76. The Lord gave this message to Jonah, son of Amittai.

  77. Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh.

  78. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.

  79. But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord.

  80. He went down to the port of Joppa where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish.

  81. He bought a ticket and went on board hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.

  82. Let's pray together.

  83. God, I pray that we would learn a lesson from Jonah.

  84. Over these next few weeks, God, help us to see the Jonah in us and help us to be pointed to how great you are,

  85. how in control you are, and how compassionate you are.

  86. It's in Jesus' name we pray.

  87. Amen.

  88. You may be seated.

  89. Verse 1 of Jonah starts us off like 60 miles an hour,

  90. and we're about to get up to about 100 miles an hour in this story of Jonah.

  91. So he starts us off saying,

  92. Jonah, I'm about to ask you to do a scary, difficult thing.

  93. Go to perhaps the most feared city of that world

  94. and tell them that they have sinned against God,

  95. and God is going to judge them.

  96. And what happens?

  97. What happened?

  98. He didn't do it.

  99. He did the opposite.

  100. Jonah says,

  101. Okay, here's what I'm going to do.

  102. God wants me to go this way.

  103. I'm going to run in this direction as far and as fast as I can.

  104. So what does it say?

  105. Verse 3,

  106. Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord.

  107. First of all,

  108. do you think his understanding of God was a little flawed?

  109. We understand,

  110. with the benefit of the whole Bible

  111. and centuries of Christian teaching passed down from generation to generation,

  112. but really we just understand from God himself

  113. that God is omnipresent.

  114. It means he's everywhere.

  115. You can't get away from the face of the earth.

  116. Back in the Old Testament it said,

  117. How can I run from your presence?

  118. How can I escape from your presence?

  119. If I go over here, you're there.

  120. If I go over there, you're there.

  121. If I go behind closed doors, you're there.

  122. You're with me everywhere I go.

  123. Jonah apparently hadn't wrapped his head around that.

  124. He said,

  125. I'm going to get away from God

  126. by going in the opposite direction of where God wants me to be.

  127. Like God's over there waiting for me to get there,

  128. but I'm going to pull a little number on him

  129. and I'm going to go the other way

  130. and he's going to wonder where I am.

  131. So in verse 3,

  132. he went down to the port of Joppa.

  133. Now,

  134. let's look at this.

  135. Nineveh is about where modern day Iraq is.

  136. So he goes down to the nearest seaport,

  137. which is Joppa.

  138. And then that's a 550 mile trip.

  139. Then he's going to go all the way across

  140. to about where modern day Spain is now,

  141. Tarshish.

  142. So these were kind of the opposite ends

  143. of their known world at the time.

  144. You want me to be in Nineveh,

  145. but I'm going to go as far as I can

  146. to get to Tarshish.

  147. So overall,

  148. this is a,

  149. somebody do the math for me here.

  150. 3,000,

  151. 3,050 mile journey.

  152. Thank you.

  153. I was an English teacher,

  154. not a math teacher.

  155. Okay.

  156. It's not my strong suit.

  157. Well,

  158. I happened to actually look that up ahead of time

  159. and I said,

  160. what's about that far away from Henrietta, Texas?

  161. And it's about Juneau, Alaska.

  162. So if y'all decided,

  163. God wants me in Henrietta.

  164. Instead,

  165. I'm going to jump in my car

  166. and I'm going to drive all the way

  167. to Juneau, Alaska.

  168. Well,

  169. you'd be pretty far,

  170. wouldn't you?

  171. But you think you'd outrun God?

  172. Think you'd be able to get away from God?

  173. Think God be waiting for you in Juneau?

  174. Sure he would.

  175. Think God is everywhere.

  176. So here's a question for us.

  177. Why do we run?

  178. Why do we run?

  179. We do it all the time.

  180. Maybe not as physically

  181. or as drastically

  182. as what Jonah did.

  183. Although maybe there have been times

  184. in your life

  185. and maybe you're in one now

  186. where you are actively living

  187. in an opposite way

  188. of how you know God wants you to live.

  189. Maybe you know God wants you somewhere

  190. or wants you to be doing something

  191. and instead of following God,

  192. you're going in the exact opposite direction

  193. because you don't trust

  194. that God is good,

  195. God is right,

  196. and God knows what's best.

  197. You don't trust that.

  198. It's hard for us to trust that.

  199. It's easy for us to say that.

  200. It's easy for us to sing that.

  201. But it's much, much harder

  202. for you and for me to live that.

  203. Do our actions,

  204. do our thoughts,

  205. do our choices,

  206. does the trajectory of our life

  207. back up that we believe

  208. that God is good,

  209. he is right,

  210. and he knows what's best?

  211. Or are we a little bit more like Jonah

  212. than we would care to admit?

  213. Have we said,

  214. I don't think so.

  215. I don't like those people

  216. in Jonah's case.

  217. Why in the world would I go

  218. and warn them of God's coming judgment

  219. why doesn't he just smite them down

  220. and destroy them?

  221. Why doesn't he just wipe them out?

  222. They don't deserve to be forewarned.

  223. They don't deserve a chance to repent.

  224. That was Jonah's hang up.

  225. That was his problem.

  226. That was his lack of faith in God,

  227. God's goodness,

  228. God's justice,

  229. and God knowing what was best.

  230. So, why do we run?

  231. You ever seen the movies

  232. where they're usually movies about police

  233. or maybe a prison guard or something,

  234. and all of a sudden,

  235. you see the guy who's trying to get away

  236. sneak out,

  237. or you see a cop come up

  238. and approach somebody on the street.

  239. Sir, I need you to put your hands behind your back,

  240. and what do they do?

  241. They run.

  242. They take off running.

  243. And what does the policeman or the security guard

  244. or whatever inevitably say?

  245. We got a runner.

  246. We got a runner!

  247. Inevitably, there's a microphone

  248. or they've got a walkie-talkie or something,

  249. and they say,

  250. we got a runner,

  251. and then the chase is on.

  252. And for the next five minutes or so,

  253. there's a chase,

  254. and you know that at some point,

  255. the guy is going to get caught,

  256. and justice will prevail.

  257. That picture really has nothing to do

  258. with anything else in the sermon.

  259. It was just too good,

  260. and I had to put it in there.

  261. So,

  262. some high-speed,

  263. high-stakes car chase

  264. like you see in the picture there.

  265. I really want to know the story.

  266. Is that photoshopped,

  267. or did that really happen right there?

  268. Amazing.

  269. Can we just run out and grab the kid and stuff?

  270. Anyway, that was fun.

  271. Why do we run?

  272. Well, we run because of our lack of faith.

  273. Maybe we run in those movies

  274. because their lack of faith in the justice system.

  275. If I get caught,

  276. I'm going to get in trouble for what I did.

  277. Or maybe if they're wrongfully accused,

  278. if I get caught,

  279. no one's going to be able to get me

  280. off of the charges that I've been accused of.

  281. Whatever it is,

  282. and so they run

  283. because they have a lack of faith

  284. in surrendering.

  285. Well, you and I

  286. also often run

  287. because we have a lack of faith

  288. in surrendering to God.

  289. So, we actually have a little bit

  290. in common with Jonah there.

  291. Say,

  292. we can easily look at Jonah

  293. and say,

  294. man, why didn't you just do

  295. what God told you to do?

  296. Because it was scary.

  297. Because Nineveh's not a place

  298. you wanted to go,

  299. especially if you're preaching

  300. a counter-cultural message.

  301. Nineveh's not the place

  302. as an Israelite

  303. to walk in and say,

  304. you guys aren't following the right God.

  305. You need to follow our God.

  306. And he says,

  307. you're wrong

  308. and he's going to destroy you.

  309. Well, what do you think

  310. is going to happen to him?

  311. So, he's scared

  312. and he's got a legitimate concern.

  313. But instead of surrendering that to God

  314. and saying,

  315. I am your prophet.

  316. Literally,

  317. my mission and commission

  318. is to go out

  319. and preach your message

  320. to those who will hear.

  321. So, instead of just surrendering to that,

  322. he runs.

  323. Tim Keller,

  324. the late Tim Keller,

  325. died just last year,

  326. I believe it was.

  327. Great pastor up in New York City area

  328. and wrote a lot of very helpful books.

  329. This one came from

  330. the prodigal prophet on Jonah.

  331. He said,

  332. Jonah concluded

  333. that because he could not see

  334. any good reasons

  335. for God's command,

  336. there couldn't be

  337. any good reasons

  338. for God's command.

  339. Jonah doubted

  340. the goodness,

  341. wisdom,

  342. and justice of God.

  343. How many times

  344. have you and I

  345. done the same?

  346. Doubted God's goodness,

  347. wisdom,

  348. and justice.

  349. I think sometimes

  350. we find ourselves doing it

  351. almost without

  352. consciously making that choice.

  353. Just our subconscious

  354. surrenders to our flesh

  355. instead of surrendering

  356. to the Holy Spirit,

  357. and we doubt

  358. that God is good,

  359. we doubt that he is all-wise,

  360. and we doubt

  361. that he dictates

  362. what is just.

  363. God's justice

  364. trumps our justice.

  365. So Jonah says,

  366. I don't see any good reason

  367. for that,

  368. so there must not be

  369. a good reason for that.

  370. And I think we put ourselves

  371. in his shoes

  372. far too many times.

  373. because I don't see

  374. any good reason

  375. to make this change

  376. in the church,

  377. because I don't see

  378. any good reason

  379. to step out

  380. and volunteer

  381. in this new ministry,

  382. because I don't see

  383. any reason

  384. to go do this

  385. kind deed

  386. for someone else

  387. because, you know,

  388. they probably won't

  389. appreciate it,

  390. or it probably won't

  391. make the difference

  392. that everybody

  393. thinks it will,

  394. or maybe I'll be embarrassed,

  395. maybe I'll look bad.

  396. Whatever our reasoning is,

  397. could be something

  398. completely different

  399. that your flesh

  400. and your mind

  401. convinces you of

  402. in your wisdom,

  403. but instead of saying,

  404. I don't see a good reason,

  405. so I'm not gonna do it,

  406. God is waiting on us

  407. to say,

  408. God, I don't get it,

  409. but like Peter,

  410. when Jesus said,

  411. Peter, launch back out,

  412. put your fishing boat

  413. back out there

  414. even though you were

  415. out there all night

  416. and you didn't catch anything,

  417. and Peter says,

  418. God, we already tried that,

  419. it didn't really work,

  420. but at your word,

  421. I will let down the net.

  422. That's the difference

  423. in what happened with Jonah

  424. and what happened with Peter.

  425. Neither one of them

  426. loved the idea

  427. that God told them to do,

  428. but Jonah,

  429. instead of saying,

  430. I don't get it,

  431. but I'll do it anyway,

  432. he ran.

  433. Peter said,

  434. I don't get it,

  435. but I'll do it anyway.

  436. He stayed

  437. and he saw God's miracle

  438. right away.

  439. He didn't have to endure

  440. this great trial

  441. before it happened,

  442. so there's a difference there.

  443. Why do we run?

  444. Our lack of faith.

  445. Secondly,

  446. why does God pursue us?

  447. Why does God pursue us?

  448. Let's look back at the text,

  449. Jonah chapter one

  450. and verse four.

  451. But the Lord hurled

  452. a powerful wind

  453. over the sea,

  454. causing a violent storm

  455. that threatened

  456. to break the ship apart.

  457. Fearing for their lives,

  458. the desperate sailors

  459. shouted to their gods

  460. for help

  461. and threw the cargo overboard

  462. to lighten the ship.

  463. You see,

  464. Jonah's mistake,

  465. his sin against God

  466. is already costing other people.

  467. They had to throw

  468. their cargo,

  469. the very reason

  470. for their journey

  471. on this ship,

  472. they had to throw it overboard.

  473. But all this time,

  474. Jonah was sound asleep

  475. down in the hold of the ship.

  476. He's just content,

  477. relaxed in his running

  478. away from God.

  479. Sometimes we get this idea

  480. that if we flee from God,

  481. if we sin against God,

  482. our lives are just going

  483. to immediately be a wreck

  484. and we're going to be

  485. stressed out all the time

  486. and freaked out

  487. and nothing's going to be right.

  488. You know,

  489. you can actually go a while.

  490. You can actually go a while

  491. feeling just fine

  492. about yourself.

  493. And maybe you have.

  494. Maybe you've gone a while

  495. running from God

  496. and you're feeling just fine

  497. about yourself.

  498. Like Jonah,

  499. you're down there

  500. just sleeping soundly

  501. and peacefully

  502. and thinking,

  503. I got away

  504. and everything is all right.

  505. Can I tell you,

  506. the storm is coming.

  507. The storm is coming.

  508. The Bible says,

  509. be sure your sin

  510. will find you out

  511. and just like Jonah,

  512. his sin found him out

  513. and it cost those around him

  514. and your sin

  515. will find you out

  516. and it will cost

  517. those around you.

  518. My sin will find me out

  519. and it will cost

  520. those around you.

  521. None of us are exempt.

  522. So Jonah,

  523. sound asleep

  524. down in the hold.

  525. Verse 6,

  526. so the captain goes down.

  527. The captain went down

  528. after him.

  529. How can you sleep

  530. at a time like this?

  531. He shouted,

  532. get up

  533. and pray to your God.

  534. Maybe he will pay attention

  535. to us

  536. and spare our lives.

  537. Then what happens?

  538. The crew cast lots.

  539. The crew cast lots

  540. to see which of them

  541. had offended the gods

  542. and caused the terrible storm.

  543. When they did this,

  544. the lots identified Jonah

  545. as the culprit.

  546. How many of you guys

  547. know what we're talking about

  548. when it says

  549. the crew cast lots?

  550. Yeah,

  551. I was probably about

  552. where you are.

  553. She got it.

  554. So,

  555. closest thing

  556. that we could find,

  557. there's a couple

  558. different here.

  559. Have you seen

  560. this little matchstick thing?

  561. You don't have to use it

  562. with matchsticks,

  563. but you're holding them

  564. in your hand

  565. and the back of the sticks

  566. is kind of behind your fingers

  567. where they can't see

  568. how long they are

  569. and you are holding

  570. a group of sticks

  571. and it looks like

  572. they're all the same length.

  573. But in reality,

  574. behind your hand,

  575. one or more of them

  576. are shorter

  577. than the others.

  578. So,

  579. have you ever heard

  580. the expression

  581. drawing the short straw?

  582. So,

  583. that's kind of

  584. where it came from.

  585. It was this idea

  586. and a lot of it

  587. was wrapped up

  588. in mysticism

  589. and all this,

  590. but it was the idea

  591. that the gods

  592. would cause

  593. the person

  594. that they want

  595. to draw

  596. the short stick

  597. or the short straw.

  598. So,

  599. when they're casting lots,

  600. that's what they're doing.

  601. It's this game

  602. of chance

  603. that they believed

  604. was up to fate

  605. or God

  606. to determine.

  607. So,

  608. they play this

  609. and I absolutely

  610. love God's

  611. sense of humor

  612. in making sure

  613. that Jonah

  614. was the one

  615. who drew

  616. the short straw.

  617. It's also a lot

  618. like a game

  619. of dice

  620. and this was kind

  621. of dice

  622. that they would

  623. maybe use

  624. back in those days.

  625. So,

  626. whoever would

  627. draw

  628. the unlucky

  629. number

  630. would be

  631. the one.

  632. So,

  633. they're playing

  634. this

  635. in the middle

  636. of a storm

  637. trying to see

  638. whose fault

  639. this was.

  640. Apparently,

  641. this was unusual

  642. for their journey.

  643. Something about

  644. this storm

  645. made them realize

  646. this is not just

  647. nature

  648. taking its course.

  649. This is a God's

  650. judgment

  651. upon

  652. our journey

  653. and our ship.

  654. So,

  655. let's get back

  656. to it.

  657. Jonah chapter

  658. one in verse

  659. eight.

  660. They see

  661. that Jonah

  662. draws the

  663. short stick

  664. and they say

  665. why has this

  666. awful storm

  667. come down

  668. on us?

  669. They demanded

  670. an answer

  671. from him.

  672. Who are you?

  673. What is your

  674. line of work?

  675. What country

  676. are you from?

  677. What's your

  678. nationality?

  679. Tell us all

  680. about you

  681. because something

  682. is wrong here

  683. and we gotta

  684. fix this

  685. or none of us

  686. are gonna live.

  687. Jonah answers,

  688. I'm a Hebrew.

  689. I worship the Lord,

  690. the God of heaven

  691. who made the sea

  692. and the land.

  693. So,

  694. the sailors

  695. then are terrified.

  696. He'd already

  697. told them

  698. that he's running

  699. away

  700. from the Lord

  701. and now

  702. he tells them,

  703. oh,

  704. by the way,

  705. I'm a servant

  706. of God.

  707. I'm a prophet

  708. of the God

  709. that I'm running

  710. away from

  711. and he is

  712. the one true

  713. God,

  714. not just the

  715. God of the

  716. wind or not

  717. just the God

  718. of the stars

  719. or not just

  720. one of the

  721. Greek gods

  722. that,

  723. you know,

  724. would have

  725. their area

  726. that they

  727. controlled.

  728. He says,

  729. I serve the

  730. God of everything

  731. and I'm running

  732. away from him

  733. and I'm his

  734. prophet.

  735. So,

  736. they're looking

  737. at him like,

  738. what are you

  739. thinking?

  740. Have you lost

  741. your mind?

  742. They say,

  743. oh,

  744. why did you

  745. do it?

  746. They groaned

  747. and since the

  748. storm was

  749. getting worse

  750. all the time,

  751. they asked him,

  752. what should we

  753. do to you

  754. to stop

  755. this storm?

  756. What does

  757. your God

  758. want us

  759. to do

  760. to you?

  761. And Jonah,

  762. the ultimate

  763. martyr,

  764. says,

  765. guys,

  766. you can just

  767. throw me

  768. in the sea.

  769. Throw me

  770. in the sea,

  771. it'll all

  772. get better

  773. for you.

  774. It'll become

  775. calm again.

  776. I know this

  777. terrible storm

  778. is all my

  779. fault.

  780. I heard

  781. somebody say

  782. this about

  783. Jonah's

  784. request to

  785. throw them

  786. in the sea.

  787. He said,

  788. suicide

  789. is never

  790. the answer.

  791. Suicide

  792. is

  793. honestly

  794. the most

  795. selfish act.

  796. and maybe

  797. there have

  798. been families

  799. or lives

  800. in this

  801. room who

  802. have been

  803. touched

  804. by that

  805. tragedy.

  806. There's

  807. usually

  808. mental health

  809. issues and

  810. all kinds

  811. of things

  812. that lead

  813. up to

  814. that

  815. ultimate

  816. final

  817. act.

  818. But

  819. Jonah

  820. is

  821. literally

  822. giving up

  823. his life

  824. instead of

  825. repenting

  826. to God

  827. and saying,

  828. God,

  829. save me

  830. from this.

  831. I repent

  832. of running

  833. from you.

  834. I surrender

  835. myself to

  836. your will.

  837. Do with

  838. me as

  839. you will.

  840. But God,

  841. I repent,

  842. I surrender.

  843. Instead of

  844. doing that,

  845. Jonah says,

  846. end my

  847. life.

  848. Throw me

  849. into the

  850. sea,

  851. and then for

  852. sure I'll

  853. never have

  854. to go to

  855. Nineveh.

  856. God,

  857. I

  858. don't

  859. know.

  860. But the

  861. sailors didn't

  862. take the

  863. bait.

  864. They said

  865. instead,

  866. they rode

  867. even harder

  868. to get to

  869. the ship

  870. to the

  871. land.

  872. But the

  873. stormy sea

  874. was too

  875. violent for

  876. them and

  877. they couldn't

  878. make it.

  879. So finally

  880. they say,

  881. okay.

  882. But they

  883. cry out to

  884. Jonah's

  885. God,

  886. who he

  887. was unwilling

  888. to cry

  889. out to.

  890. And they

  891. say,

  892. oh,

  893. Lord,

  894. immediately

  895. recognizing him

  896. as Lord

  897. and said,

  898. oh,

  899. Lord,

  900. clearly you

  901. have control

  902. over everything.

  903. Even nature

  904. responds to

  905. your command.

  906. They said,

  907. don't make us

  908. die for

  909. this man's

  910. sin.

  911. Don't hold

  912. us responsible

  913. for his

  914. death.

  915. Oh,

  916. Lord,

  917. you've sent

  918. this storm

  919. upon him

  920. for your

  921. own good

  922. reasons.

  923. So they

  924. pick him

  925. up and

  926. they threw

  927. him into

  928. the raging

  929. sea.

  930. And what

  931. happens?

  932. The storm

  933. stops at

  934. once.

  935. And the

  936. sailors were

  937. awestruck

  938. by the

  939. Lord's

  940. great power.

  941. they offered

  942. him a

  943. sacrifice

  944. and vowed

  945. to serve

  946. him.

  947. How crazy

  948. of a scene

  949. is this?

  950. God's

  951. preacher,

  952. God's

  953. prophet

  954. is running

  955. away from

  956. him.

  957. This great

  958. storm comes

  959. down to

  960. grab his

  961. attention and

  962. draw him

  963. back to

  964. God.

  965. And instead

  966. he says,

  967. forget it,

  968. throw me

  969. over.

  970. I'm just

  971. going to

  972. end my

  973. life.

  974. It's all

  975. over for

  976. me anyway.

  977. So they

  978. do it.

  979. He finally

  980. talks them

  981. into it and

  982. they do

  983. it.

  984. Begrudgingly,

  985. they don't

  986. want to.

  987. They feel

  988. terrible.

  989. They're saying,

  990. don't let this

  991. man's blood be

  992. on our

  993. hands.

  994. Jonah doesn't

  995. care if the

  996. blood's on

  997. their hands.

  998. They're begging

  999. God, forgive

  1000. us for this.

  1001. We don't know

  1002. what else to

  1003. do.

  1004. This is your

  1005. prophet.

  1006. He's telling

  1007. us to throw

  1008. him in.

  1009. Clearly your

  1010. judgment is on

  1011. him.

  1012. We surrender

  1013. ourselves to

  1014. you.

  1015. they did

  1016. what Jonah

  1017. was unwilling

  1018. to do.

  1019. And as

  1020. soon as

  1021. he hits

  1022. the waters,

  1023. how surreal

  1024. was that

  1025. experience?

  1026. The storm

  1027. stops.

  1028. Instantly,

  1029. the sea

  1030. becomes

  1031. calm.

  1032. Not just

  1033. a regular

  1034. day on the

  1035. ocean with

  1036. the waves,

  1037. it becomes

  1038. calm.

  1039. can you

  1040. imagine

  1041. how crazy

  1042. those sailors

  1043. what they

  1044. just experienced?

  1045. So they

  1046. said,

  1047. we offer

  1048. you a

  1049. sacrifice.

  1050. We vow

  1051. to serve

  1052. you.

  1053. God just

  1054. got some

  1055. servants in

  1056. that moment.

  1057. Meanwhile,

  1058. Jonah,

  1059. with the

  1060. calm sea

  1061. above him,

  1062. he's now

  1063. falling down

  1064. through the

  1065. depths,

  1066. thinking

  1067. that's it.

  1068. His life

  1069. is over.

  1070. You wonder

  1071. what's going

  1072. through his

  1073. mind.

  1074. Is it

  1075. regret?

  1076. Is he

  1077. having second

  1078. thoughts?

  1079. What did

  1080. I just do?

  1081. In my

  1082. pride,

  1083. in my

  1084. selfishness,

  1085. in my

  1086. ego,

  1087. ego,

  1088. what did

  1089. I just

  1090. do?

  1091. My

  1092. life is

  1093. now over.

  1094. There's

  1095. no hope.

  1096. I'm in

  1097. the middle

  1098. of the

  1099. ocean.

  1100. I'm

  1101. falling

  1102. down

  1103. under

  1104. the

  1105. water.

  1106. I'm

  1107. without

  1108. hope.

  1109. And the

  1110. story could

  1111. have ended

  1112. there.

  1113. And Jonah

  1114. would have

  1115. been a

  1116. cautionary

  1117. tale for

  1118. you and

  1119. for me

  1120. to always

  1121. do what

  1122. God commands

  1123. us to do.

  1124. don't run

  1125. from him.

  1126. Don't be

  1127. like Jonah.

  1128. But to

  1129. answer the

  1130. question we

  1131. asked earlier,

  1132. why does

  1133. God pursue

  1134. us?

  1135. To draw

  1136. us to

  1137. himself.

  1138. God was

  1139. not done

  1140. drawing Jonah

  1141. to himself.

  1142. So let's

  1143. look back

  1144. at the

  1145. last verse.

  1146. The Lord

  1147. had arranged

  1148. for a

  1149. great fish

  1150. to swallow

  1151. Jonah.

  1152. Jonah.

  1153. And Jonah

  1154. was inside

  1155. that fish

  1156. for three

  1157. days and

  1158. three nights.

  1159. Was it a

  1160. whale?

  1161. Who knows?

  1162. Nobody

  1163. knows.

  1164. There was

  1165. a preacher

  1166. who said,

  1167. I believe

  1168. whatever the

  1169. Bible tells

  1170. me,

  1171. if the

  1172. Bible had

  1173. told me

  1174. that Jonah

  1175. swallowed a

  1176. whale,

  1177. I would

  1178. believe that.

  1179. Whatever

  1180. God has

  1181. complete control

  1182. over his

  1183. creation,

  1184. if he

  1185. wanted to

  1186. bloat up

  1187. a goldfish

  1188. so big

  1189. that it

  1190. could swallow

  1191. Jonah,

  1192. God could

  1193. certainly

  1194. arrange

  1195. that.

  1196. But whatever

  1197. it was,

  1198. call it a

  1199. whale or

  1200. a great

  1201. fish,

  1202. Jonah was

  1203. in there

  1204. for three

  1205. days and

  1206. three nights.

  1207. How crazy

  1208. is this

  1209. story?

  1210. It just

  1211. keeps getting

  1212. crazier and

  1213. crazier as

  1214. we unfold

  1215. new chapters

  1216. of this

  1217. tale.

  1218. Now,

  1219. Jonah is

  1220. falling through

  1221. the sea to

  1222. his death,

  1223. and God

  1224. sends the

  1225. whale.

  1226. Jonah

  1227. was

  1228. a

  1229. whale.

  1230. The creator

  1231. of VeggieTales, Phil Vischer, had this really interesting quote to say about this story.

  1232. It's pretty clear in the Bible story that the whale swallowing Jonah wasn't meant as a punishment from God.

  1233. It was God saving him from drowning.

  1234. So it was actually provision to give him a second chance.

  1235. The whale itself was the start of Jonah's second chance.

  1236. Now, about day two, Jonah probably wasn't feeling like this was a great thing.

  1237. Sitting in that whale's belly, all the stinking rotten fish everywhere, and wondering how in the world he's ever going to get out of that.

  1238. He's thinking, man, I was going to drown to death, and then it would have been over, but now I have to starve to death and whatever inside this whale's belly.

  1239. So I'm going to die this way. This is more of God's judgment on me.

  1240. But the whale was actually God's second chance. It was God's way of escape.

  1241. And you know, sometimes in our life, God sends new trials in the midst of trials.

  1242. Have you ever heard, ever felt like you're just being piled on? You ever heard, man, it just gets worse and worse?

  1243. It goes from bad to worse.

  1244. Jonah might have felt like being swallowed by this great fish was going from bad to worse.

  1245. But it was actually God's rescue.

  1246. And maybe whatever is happening in your life is God's rescue.

  1247. Maybe he's going to use it as a way to give you a second chance to do what he told you to do all along.

  1248. So, what is the point of this entire story of Jonah?

  1249. We're going to get into it in chapter 2, chapter 3, and finally chapter 4.

  1250. But it begins here.

  1251. This story points us to the sovereignty of God.

  1252. It's a big word, meaning God is in control.

  1253. God is sovereign.

  1254. His sovereignty, in his wisdom.

  1255. We don't just believe that God is omnipresent.

  1256. He's everywhere.

  1257. We also believe that he is omniscient, all-knowing.

  1258. And he is all-wise and always right, always just.

  1259. And in his master plan, he allows terrible things to happen.

  1260. And sometimes it's to draw us to himself.

  1261. When we run, God pursues us to draw us back to him and to show us his sovereignty.

  1262. So, our takeaway today is God's plan always wins.

  1263. God's plan always wins.

  1264. And that's going to be really the takeaway, the theme of the entire book of Jonah.

  1265. As we race through this book along with Jonah, because this story does not slow down.

  1266. God's plan will always win.

  1267. Despite you and me fighting against it sometimes, God's plan will always win.

  1268. Despite us not liking what he's always doing, his plan will always win.

  1269. In the end, he will win.

  1270. From Genesis to Revelation, God's plan always wins.

  1271. In Jonah's story and in your story and in my story, God's plan always wins.

  1272. In your family, in your circle of life, in the things that you think you're in control of,

  1273. God's plan will win.

  1274. In this church that sometimes you feel like is yours and you've got ownership of it,

  1275. in reality, God's plan for this church will win.

  1276. Don't fight against God.

  1277. Don't run from God like Jonah did.

  1278. God will pursue you to draw you back to himself.

  1279. And in the end, his plan will win.

  1280. Let's surrender to his plan.

  1281. Would you bow your heads with me?

  1282. God, I pray that you would help us surrender to you.

  1283. Teach us.

  1284. Don't let us go running from your face, running from your command any longer.

  1285. God, don't let us take down others with us and harm others in our process of running from you and resisting you.

  1286. God, don't let us fall through the depths of the sea.

  1287. Spend days in the belly of the whale, so to speak, running from you.

  1288. Help us to turn and repent and surrender long before any of that happens.

  1289. And God, if some of us are far from you, let this be a wake-up call from your prophet who ran, your prophet who resisted.

  1290. And help that to grab our attention and turn it back to our Heavenly Father.

  1291. We'll give you all the glory for it, knowing you're in control.

  1292. And we'll trust that you always win.

  1293. In Jesus' name, amen.

  1294. Church, would you take a moment just to pray?

  1295. Brother Greg's going to lead us in this song.

  1296. If you'd like to join in singing, you can.

  1297. Change my heart, oh God.

  1298. Make it ever true.

  1299. That's what we need.

  1300. Jonah needed a change of heart.

  1301. And you and I have the opportunity to do that every day with God.

  1302. So would you take a few minutes and pray through what God has for you?

  1303. Would you bow your heads with me?

  1304. And I want to ask just a couple of questions.

  1305. We haven't done this in a couple of weeks.

  1306. One, if there's somebody here who doesn't know Jesus as your Savior.

  1307. And you say, I'm not a child of God yet.

  1308. I need to place my faith in Him for the first time.

  1309. Would you slip your hand up now and I'll pray for you?

  1310. Thank you.

  1311. There's someone else who says, would you pray for me?

  1312. Because I've got some things I'm struggling with in my life and I need some prayer.

  1313. Maybe it's someone else who's on my heart.

  1314. Or maybe it's something that I'm dealing with who's on my heart and I need some prayer.

  1315. Would you slip your hand up and I'll pray for you?

  1316. Thank you.

  1317. Thank you.

  1318. God, you see these hands and you know what's going on.

  1319. I just pray your power and your blessing over every situation.

  1320. And we'll thank you for it in Jesus' name.

  1321. For those of you who raised your hand or anyone else, I'll be waiting down front if you'd like to come speak with me.

  1322. If you'd like to take advantage of these steps and bring you or your family down for a time of prayer, please do that.

  1323. That's what this time in our service is dedicated for.

  1324. Brother Greg, would you lead us in singing?

  1325. Well, it's like a prayer.

  1326. Okay.

  1327. Agmat iron.

  1328. Have a great day, though.

  1329. Thank you.

  1330. Thank you.

  1331. Bye.

  1332. I'll say again.

  1333. Good night sam an ocurrasca.

  1334. Woo.

  1335. Bye five.

  1336. Thank you.

  1337. Good night.

  1338. Bye.

  1339. Bye.

  1340. Good night.

  1341. Good night.

  1342. Journey.