Fear and Grace

What happens when one is faced with impending doom?

! In Gravity, Sandra Bullock's character, stranded in space, faces death alone.

! And so what does she do?

She says, no one will mourn for me.

I'll pray for myself, but I've never prayed.

Nobody ever taught me how.

And that's what fear does.

Fear strips us.

Fear shows us what we believe, what we hope might actually save us.

And when faced with this unavoidable doom, we instinctively turn to something for help.

We turn to something that will save.

And last week, Nick beautifully set up the premise of Jonah for us.

And we see a prophet who has received the word of God, yet has decided to depart from that same word.

And what today's passage brings us is the question of what is the role of fear for the Christian?

In fact, what is the role, maybe even with the circumstances that bring fear for the Christian?

In other words, the question this passage deems to answer is, where is God amidst our fear?

Where is he?

What is he doing?

And to answer that question, we need to unpack both the idea of fear and grace in this passage.

And so the three simple points are, number one, the character of fear, the character of grace, and lastly, fear the gracious one.

Those points are also in your St. Paul's app if you want to open that up to follow along and take some notes.

But firstly, the character of fear.

Notice in this passage, as we read it, the predominant emotion that keeps coming up, that surrounds all of the characters, is fear.

Jonah and the sailors are situated in the sea, and suddenly there is a great storm, the cause of their fear.

And it is not just an ordinary one, a storm that threatens to break the ship apart.

And so again, they are facing this impending doom, this certain death by drowning.

And just like us, when we get overwhelmed, the sailors cry out for help.

But their help reveals something.

It reveals something deeper about the nature of their misplaced fear.

But notice how it's worded in verse 5.

All the sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own God.

Each cried out to his own God.

In other words, these sailors, they all have a God, and they're all different.

But the storm didn't stop.

The gods were silent.

Multiple.

All of the things, all of the things that they put their trust and their faith in, they are powerless.

And so what do they do?

Immediately what we see in the same verse is that they start lightening the load of the ship.

So let's throw out the cargo.

And the sailors realise that they have no control.

They cannot control the external.

And if they cannot control the storm, they will ultimately try to save themselves.

That makes sense?

But the logic here is the storm doesn't dissipate.

The logic is when you try to calm your fears with false gods or even yourself, your efforts are futile.

You see, Jonah believed that the Ninevites were not worthy enough to receive the mercy and grace of God for the evil works that they had done.

And in a sense, he is right.

But that is what God's mercy and grace is at display, because there is no good work that one can do to receive the forgiveness and pardon of God.

And so what we're presented here is that not even our hardest efforts can even satisfy not just God, but your own deepest longing or even solve your own fear.

And so where was God in this storm?

You see, God gives an undeserving people who have rejected him his mercy, and it's a reminder to turn back to him.

And where does it happen?

At the very beginning of Jonah, it says,

It is the word of God that goes out to bring an unrepentant people to his fold.

The word of God.

It is spoken to an unwilling prophet who must literally be reminded of God's compassion,

who flees and departs from the word and the will of God.

And so what happens?

That wonderful word in verse 4.

But, that magical word, but the Lord sent a storm.

This is a divine storm, one that God intentions and plans, and he sends it.

It's not reckless.

It's not unplanned.

It's sort of spontaneous.

Ooh, let's play a storm.

He is the author of this experience.

He is fully sovereign over every moment of your life, and so too of this storm.

And the question is, where is God?

What is he doing here?

And this is the character of grace.

God uses this moment to redirect Jonah, who tries to flee, not just from the ways of the Lord,

but what is best for him and the Ninevites.

Because God could have just let Jonah run.

He could have let Ninevites stay in the dark.

But his grace won't be ignored.

And there's this interesting phrase that has travelled around the Christian community,

and I appreciate its sentiment, but I don't know if the Bible fully affirms it, and it's this.

How will the nations know if we do not go?

Or how could we judge the one who does not know God if they haven't been told about Jesus?

And what I appreciate by questions like that is that it plays on this sense of urgency,

which is true of Scripture.

It's this outward desperation that you must go.

And there is a reality that I do want to say, St. Paul's,

are you really on mission?

Are you on fire for Jesus?

Have you considered the nations?

What is your heart for the lost?

But I don't want to pray on anxiety to push you on mission,

because I don't think it's right to.

Because this passage, and like many, are saying that God's grace is at display in a non-Christian's life,

in a Christian's life, in everyone's life, that is so visible, that's so tangible,

that's so evident, that it's an opportunity to turn back to him.

Sometimes it's not a big storm.

It might be that quiet realisation that work has become a personal religion,

and there's this gaping hole in your life.

But God's usage of the storm is grace to reveal that he is present.

He is the sovereign one.

In fact, Romans 1 makes it clear that no one has an excuse from seeing the presence, reality, and existence of God.

So in other words, when you're in crisis mode,

and you see that you are helpless,

and you're in need of God,

that's God's grace.

And there is no excuse,

for God uses every mode to point in life back to him.

Have you watched any of those videos of children being jabbed by vaccinations?

If you're a parent here, I can imagine that could have been traumatic for you, not the child.

You know, the doctor tries to distract the child,

and some are successful in distracting the baby,

but the jab, regardless of what you do, it still stings.

So they cry, they don't understand,

but the parent does,

and they stay close.

The child finds comfort not in the jab,

even though it's going to be good for them,

but in the parent who knows that it is for their good,

and stays with them.

In the storms of your life,

they are points of grace that say,

turn back to God.

He is the one who will keep your sails above the waves.

Repent from your ways,

and stop allaying your fears from what is worldly,

and pursue Christ.

Find your hidden place in the comfort of Jesus,

amidst the typhoon.

And so just a little aside, St. Paul's,

when you have a friend who comes to you in crisis mode,

how will you witness to the grace of Christ in your life?

And of course, we want to do it really sensitively.

We want to pray heaps, trust entirely.

But we want to ask the Lord,

is this an opportunity for the gospel?

Is this an opportunity where God can display his grace to this person?

I mean, we even see grace in our main flawed witness in Jonah.

Jonah's sin, despite being massive,

is used still by God to display God's might and power

in comparison to their self-will and their false gods.

The irony is here in verse 9.

I am a Hebrew,

and I worship the Lord,

the God of heaven who made the sea and the land.

Friends, this is the guy,

who only six verses ago,

who was shown the opposite of worship.

He tells them of the God who he worships,

yet he does not do that.

He does not obey the creator of all things.

And so what is the immediate response of the sailor

that is in stark contrast of Jonah?

Verse 10.

This terrified them.

In other words,

they truly understand that God,

from his powerful and visible acts,

that he is not one to be messed around with.

And the sailors,

I guess,

when you think about it,

they now have some relationship with God.

It's a fearful one,

but

they now have a name

who controls the winds and the waves.

They know that this is a God

who is in control of this storm,

who brought it.

And the fear of their circumstance

has shifted.

It's shifted to an object of fear.

They fear not the storm,

but of God himself.

And so how does Jonah respond in verse 12?

Pick me up and throw me in the sea,

he replied,

and it will become calm.

I know that it is my fault

that this great storm has come upon you.

My community group this week

is we were discussing

what possible things

could Jonah have done

instead of

verse 12.

I mean,

when you think about it,

he cares more about the sailors

than he does

about

their own sin.

And the obvious thing for Jonah,

you know,

I would assume,

is that when he realizes

that God is the one

that has brought the storm,

it's to repent.

It's to beckon to God.

It's to say,

sorry.

But he's almost this

imperfect,

willing sacrifice,

but not to appease God,

but to appease the sailors

who've been hounding him.

What have you been doing?

Who are you?

What is your business?

And so what happens?

He's thrown overboard,

and the sea becomes calm.

And God uses this,

doesn't he?

There's a shift in their fear.

Look at verse 16.

At this,

the men greatly feared the Lord,

and they offered a sacrifice

to the Lord,

and made vows to him.

There's still a fear here,

but instead of this

frightening terror,

their fear has become worship.

They realize that God

is the sovereign one

who has power over the storm,

and therefore,

he is worthy of their praise

and obedience.

And this is the Lord's grace at work,

to bring such transformation

in their life purely

through the storm.

Friends,

the call for you and me

is to fear the gracious one.

God,

in his providence,

has used the broken,

the storm,

so that you might fear him.

Fear in the reverent sense.

It's not simply an emotional fear

that makes you flee,

or that makes you want to

be filled with dread,

even though that might happen.

fear in the world.

But,

it's a fear you see

when you look out

when you're on the plane,

and you see the vast sea

and land,

and realize

how small you are.

It's the fear that humbles you,

but the weight of God's glory

increases.

For us,

it might be difficult

to understand this sense of fear.

The fear of God

isn't supposed to make you

hide or flee from judgment.

But if God is the one who judges,

if he is the one who is supreme,

who has control of all the events

and sequences in your life,

the only logic is

to run to him.

Eric Thonese says,

in a podcast,

a true fear of the Lord

realizes you can't run from God,

and the only option is

to run to him.

And when you do,

you find

the embracing arms

of a loving father.

It's a fear of reverence

that is met

with God's compassion.

The sailors are almost

this picture

of a rebuke

for the believer,

like Jonah,

who has followed God

all of their life.

And it is asking

you and me,

what have you been turning to

all this time?

In any form

of storm in your life,

whether it's fear of failure,

missing out,

or death,

you will turn to something.

But the question is,

when you are

struck by fear,

are you turning

to the right thing?

Jesus' famous 12 disciples

who shared life with Christ,

they learnt the ways

of the kingdom,

they spent more time

with Jesus

than any other,

and they,

like Jonah,

and the sailors,

were caught in a storm,

and we are asking

the same question.

Do these disciples

turn to the right thing?

And the disciples,

too,

are fearful.

In Mark chapter 4,

Mark 4 · chapter mention

we see that they question Jesus.

They go,

Teacher,

do you not care

that we are perishing?

And so,

what does Jesus do?

Unlike Jonah,

who says,

throw me,

he speaks

to the storm.

He calms the wind

and the waves

just by an utterance.

He simply says,

Peace.

Be still.

What God did for the sailors

when they sacrificed Jonah,

God does better for you

in Jesus.

Jesus can calm the storm

for he created the sea and land.

And God's son is not just

your sacrifice,

but the very one

who can calm your inner storm

for he is God.

friends,

today,

he is with you

amidst the storm

by his spirit.

And when you come

to the foot of the cross,

when you understand

the grace

that you have

in Jesus,

your fears

slowly allay

knowing

that you worship

the God

who formed

and commands

the wind

to spin

and the waves

to roar.

Some of us

might actually

have this huge block

of understanding

God's grace

and compassion

because of the storm

and the suffering.

And so I really want

to address this.

In Jonah,

what we do see

is that the storm

is a result

of Jonah's disobedience.

I mean,

the sailors

would not be caught up

in the storm

if Jonah wasn't

on the boat.

And so the question is,

is the storm

in your life

due to your sin?

Is it punishment?

What happens

if I'm amidst

the storm?

The answer of grace

does not only say

that Jesus took

the punishment

on the cross,

but it promises

God's presence

amidst the storm.

Regardless of a storm

being a consequence

of our foolishness

or it might be

some unimaginable

random tragedy

in your life.

The Lord uses

those moments

as grace

to redeem your heart,

to know that

there is only

one thing

that you can count on.

Friends,

you rest on the promise

and biblical reality

that's set

in Romans 8.28

that says,

and we know

that in all things

God works

for the good

of those

who love him,

who have been

called according

to his promise.

Friends,

there are pockets

of grace

in everything,

both the good

and the awful.

And what that

should cause you

to do

is that they

should cause you

to run.

Your fear

should actually

cause you

to run harder.

Run harder

not from him

but to him.

Not because

he will punish you

but because

he holds you

amidst the storm.

When you experience

joy,

run to the Father

who loves

giving good gifts

to his children.

When you are

stuck in doubt,

come to God

who brings you

the spirit

of truth.

When dark days

are all around,

seek Christ,

the Prince

of Peace.

For the solution

of fear

is not a suppression,

it's not to ignore,

it's to run.

But don't run away.

Run toward

the Father.

The Father

by whom

you had received

the best

by his son

on the cross

despite you

being at your worst.

And so the question

at the beginning

I asked,

what is God

doing

in the storm

of my life?

Where is God

amidst our fear?

And the answer

is God

is showing

his grace

to you

so that you

would fear him.

To fear

the gracious

one.

Friends,

you've looked

out

from the windowsill

and seen

this stormy

tapestry

unfold.

But I wonder

if there are

similarities

from Jonah

that align

with our lives.

Some of you

here

have come

to church

over the

many years

and you hear

the gospel

of Jesus

that Jesus

died for your

sins

so that you

can be made

right with him.

But Jesus

is only a matter

of the spiritual.

It's only a matter

of heaven.

But does he

shape

your everyday?

I'll listen

to the Bible

and maybe

the pastor

even

when I want

to know

what God

is doing

or to ask

about the

afterlife.

What happens?

What comes

after?

But when it

comes to

my job,

my family,

my time,

my house,

my spending

choices,

that's for me.

God's grace

and what

he has done

in my life

don't actually

take account

into all

the other

spheres.

And I wonder

if that's

sometimes how

we treat

God,

intentionally

and sometimes

absolutely

subconsciously.

But God

has made

you to

worship

and has

made

everything

to point

to his

grace.

The winds

and the

waves

are so wild

that you

can't

escape

seeing

that God

is saying

look,

look at

what I'm

doing.

I'm the

one who

made you.

Turn to

me because

I am

your rock,

your refuge,

your strength,

your solace.

I am

to be

your hiding

place.

The winds

and the

waves in

your life

may not

even be

big.

You might

be in a

season that

fills you

with joy,

but don't

miss the

sign.

How is

God

showing

his

grace

to you?

Maybe

your heart

is sitting

in

dissatisfaction

or discontent

with the

state of

your life,

but God's

grace is

so deeply

visible and

grand

that it

is

inescapable.

And so

I want to

ask you,

what is it

that you

fear that

you don't

believe God

will bring

you or

do better

in the

gospel?

Because God's

word reveals

that there is a

reality in the

gospel, the

good news of

Jesus, that

what is

immediately in

front of you?

And Jesus'

word is so

much better.

God's

word is so

your child.

Maybe you're

finding hanging

up the

laundry is

boring.

Give some

space to

look outward.

Because often

what I think

is I think

the grass is

greener

elsewhere.

Perhaps we

need to

actually look

at the

sailors for

encouragement.

Just like

what Jonah did

with the

sailors.

Are you

sitting in a

place where

you can

observe,

experience,

and reap

how God

is graciously

transforming

non-Christians

for his

glory?

Join a

ministry that

involves people

who are

excited or

keen to get

stuck in the

Bible to

discover Jesus

and see what

God is doing

at work.

Because I'm

convinced that

God will use

that to

inspire and

redeem what

is boring or

seemingly

unfulfilling,

and you'll

see that good

work for your

boss, your

colleagues.

It's a

winsome witness

for Christ.

You'll see that

praying with your

kids and reading

them a Bible

story every

night and then

tucking them

to bed has a

purpose for the

king because you

fear the

gracious one.

You revere that

his name is

great and to be

made holy, and

so you run to

him.

Storm or

sunshine,

grace is

there.

Cry out to

the one who

calms the

seas with a

word.

Cry out to

Jesus.

Don't run

from him.

Run to him,

the gracious

king.

Run to the

arms that are

held out on

the cross and

are held out

for you.

Friends, let's

pray.

Father God, we

thank you so

much that in

Jesus, we

see not only

our sacrifice,

but we see

one who is

present amidst

us in the

storm through

his spirit.

We ask that

we might see

that Jesus is

the gracious

one to turn

to.

He is our

hiding place,

both from the

present turmoil

or even the

coming judgment.

We ask that

we might have

a life

transformed by

the reality

that we are

to fear the

gracious one.

Amen.