The Big Fish

John One's seventeen is perhaps the most amazing verse in

the Bible from a fisherman's perspective. In one verse, we

have this most incredible fish story in history. It's not

a story of a man catching a fish. It's the

story of a fish catching a man, and the story

of the man who lived to tell the story for

us all. The Book of Jonah, small book, few chapters,

amazing story. In fact, it's so unbelievable that many theologians

think there's no way on earth that this story could

have been true. They said, oh, this didn't happen, There's

no way. How many of you ever wondered if the

Book of Jonah is actually a true story or just

a parable or an allegory.

Or something like that.

Yeah, well, let's look at verse seventeen of Jonah one

and the Laura appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah,

and Jonah was in the belly of the fish. What

does the Bible say? Three days and how many nights?

Three nights? How do we really know that this verse

is not a fish story? First of all, it's in

the Bible. How many of you have noticed it's in

the Bible. Gonna raise your hands. It's in the Bible. Okay,

But some might say, wait a second, Pastor Mike, maybe

it's a parable or an allegory that's in the Bible.

Was that an option? Well maybe not probably, but people

think so. Others might say it's just a story of

the moral lesson behind it. Now, let's use the Jesus

test for deciding what's truth. Is that a good test.

Jesus tells us we know, okay, all right, if the

story is true for Jesus, would it be true for us?

Well, yeah, it would be all right. That's all we

have to do.

Jesus left no doubt that this story is not a

fish story, but it's true history recorded for our benefit.

For Jesus, the story of Jonah and the Fish is truth,

pure and simple, a real story of a real prophet

who really lived, a man who was really caught by

a real fish without a reel and rod, who lived

to tell the story for the glory of God and

the good of others. It is not a made up

fish story. Look at Matthew twelve thirty nine. We'll look

at a few verses here, and he Jesus answered them.

And evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign. Now,

Jesus is saying a lot there. He's saying is if

you come to church and you're looking for some external

evidence that I'm with you, it's an evidence that the

problem is with you. Now, I have been in situations

where a few have stood for God in his glory,

and I've been in a situation where there have been many.

And all that matters is being with God in those

who stand.

Are you with me?

It's not measured by our feelings, It's not measured by

our circumstances. It's measured by fidelity the word of God.

We will have a.

Time in human history when people want signs, wonders, miracles

to demonstrate that God is with them, and friend, it

is an evidence of anything. The only thing that matters

is what Jesus has said in his word, and whether

or not we believe it, obey it. And we have

Christ through the Word in the midst of us. So

he said, an evil adult try generation seeks for a sign,

and here's his answer, but no sign shall be given

to it. Accept the sign of the prophet Jonah fishing matters.

Look at verse forty, for his Jonah was three days

and three nights in the belly of the well soul.

Will the Son of Man be three days and three

nights in the heart of the earth. The men of

Ninevah will arise at the judgment with this generation and

condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah.

And behold, something greater than Jonah is here. In case

you don't believe that what Matthew said, what Jesus said

in Matthew, Luke says the same thing Luke eleven twenty nine.

When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, this

generation is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, but

no sign shall be given to it except the sign

of And what does it say in the Bible sign

of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the

men of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be

to this generation. Jesus also affirms in the verse that

follows that the people of Nineveh will arise in the

resurrection because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and

someone far greater than Jonah is here. So the story

is a real story. It didn't just happen in somebody's head.

It's not imaginative literature. Jesus says, it was a lesson

for us, and those people will appear in the judgment day.

One day, Christ taught that there was a real Jonah

who preached to a real Nineveh, and what happened to

him in the belly of the fish was a real

sign for the people of that time. If you believe

that Jesus rose from the dead, he died, and he

was buried, which is the gospel. He died for our sins,

buried to take them away, was raised for our justification,

then the story of Jonah matters to us.

Jonah is just as real as jesus resurrection.

Christ allows no other alternative to the interpretation of the story.

I've been at seminary, I've read smart theologians pontificating about

the Bible. I would rather take the Bible than bother

with the smart theologians must have the truth that passes

the Jesus test. We must consider this story as pure truth.

If we believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth,

and the life. John Jonah one's seventeen again and the

Lord appointed?

What kind of fish?

What does it say in the text, A great fish,

a big fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was

in the belly of the fish three days and three

nights Jesus. Now, I thought the scripture reading was tack

on good. Today there's the little guy. Oh, well, you

let him know. I said that. I thought he did

a stellar job. I hope he does it again and again.

Did you help him a little bit? Not much? But

look at this a preacher in the making anyway, that

just paused. There.

Christ the pointed the fish to save the prophet Jonah

from Jonah. In the story, Jonah doesn't start to pray

until Jonah was swallowed up by the big fish. Christian

Church of fish was a cryptic symbol of Jesus Christ.

The fact is, when you think of the big fish,

you should automatically think of Jesus.

Jesus was considered the big fish.

It was perhaps the most important symbol of the early

Christian Church outside of the Cross. As believers, we are

little fish that are caught in the kingdom net by

the preaching of the Gospel. But in the New Testament,

Jesus is the big fish. The Greek word for fish

is ikfus. It sounds like yucky ichfus. It won't say

it with me i wus okay. And every letter in

the Greek word for fish has a meaning, a cryptic meaning,

and without going into the Greek it means Jesus Christ, God,

Sun Savior. So every time they drew a symbol of

fish in the second century, and you can go to

Ephesus and see these inscriptions I have, they were telling

people who Jesus is, That Jesus is Jesus, Jesus a

human being, Jesus is Christus, which is the Messiah, the

anointed one. Jesus is God, that Us the equivalent of

Elohem in the Old Testament. They affirmed Jesus as God

every single time they drew the picture of the fish

as we as son and soter savior, Jesus Christ, God Son,

Savior fish.

Say it with me ichthus ichthus good. Okay.

Now, when we are baptizing people into Jesus, friends, we

are baptizing them into Jesus Christ, not as a created being,

not as a human being, but as the god man

who perfectly can reveal who God is.

You've got him.

Back to the fourth actually third fourth century, you would

have seen Athanasius defend the deity of Jesus for very

important reasons. Arius, the great champion against the deity of

Christ in his work Failia, argue that Jesus can't reveal

the Father because he wasn't there all it only God

is the wisdom of God. And so he denied the

very words of scripture that teaches that Christ is the.

Wisdom of God.

In First Corinthians and in Proverbs eight and Athanasia says

you have a cross without meaning, you have a cross

that cannod be atoned for if you don't have God

in Christ, as Paul said, saving the world. And so

the word ichthus is a simple evidence that those early

Christians got it right. So we baptize people into the

big fish. When the disciples in John twenty one caught

one hundred and fifty three fish, John is careful to

record the number. After Jesus showed up and told him

to cast the net on the other side, they dragged

the net of one hundred and fifty.

Three fish to Jesus.

One hundred and fifty three fish represents the Kingdom of

God because one hundred and fifty three was considered to

be the number of the fish. Now, how many of

you ever go to Wikipedia for a quick answer? Now?

You don't want to go there for your research papers,

but it's okay to go there for a quick answered.

And I'm going to put something on the screen from

Wikipedia where you can see it mathematically. And one hundred

and fifty three is a triangular numbers? So what is

one hundred fifty three according to Wikipedia, which is really

just citing some mathematicians, a triangular how many sides to triangle?

Three? Okay?

Represents a mountain, also God, the god head. More precisely,

it is the sum of the integer numbers from one

to seventeen inclusive. More significantly, one hundred and fifty three

also has the rare property that is the sum.

Of the cubes of its own digits.

For instance, one fifty three equals one times one times

one plus five times five times five plus three times

three times three.

That's one q five q three cube.

And the time of Pythagoras, one hundred fifty three was

most significant for being one of the two numbers in

the closest fraction known at that time to the true

value of the square root of three, the fraction in

question being two two hundred and sixty five. You know,

by fifty one fifty three the difference between this and

the square root of three is merely zero point.

Zero zero zero zero two five.

The ratio of one fifty three to two sixty five

was consequently known throughout the Hellenistic world at that time

as the measure of the fish. So why do we

have a one hundred and fifty three here? It represents the

kingdom catch. It represents the people that have been called

into existence by God, the Father, God, the Son, and

God the Holy Spirit. The triangle is complete. The kingdom

comes to the big fish. So we are little fish

that comes to the big fish. You want to snapshot

that picture? You got your phone up, go back to

the first slide. Some people, I think I wanted to

get that down. Let's take a picture if you want

to click next one click Now.

I don't care for math that much. How many of

you hate math? Raise your hands?

But doesn't it help a little bit to know the

Bible has some good math in it, all right? So

I put it up there for all of our sakes

so we can grow a little bit.

Now.

When they dragged the one hundred and fifty three fish

representing the kingdom catch that is focused on God, the Father, God,

the Sun, and the Holy Spirit, the three which is one.

Jesus was there on the shore with a charcoal fire.

Does anybody remember was on the fire fish and bread?

Look at John twenty one nine. When they got out

on land, they saw a charcoal fire there and with

fish lying on it and bread. Now, how many of

you think there was a lot of fish there so

they could eat like many, He had all kinds of

fish on their thing.

How many of you think.

There was only one fish there? The Greek indicates one

fish and one bread. Now, something's happening with the fire.

They're hungry. Just one fish and one piece of bread.

The charcoal fire represents the altar of sacrifice and the bread.

Who's the bread of life, Jesus? We know that from

John John six. Jesus affirm that I'm the bread of life.

But you can eat the bread and you live forever. Right, Well,

you can eat the fish, the big fish that's fright

on the altar, because the big fish represents who come

on Jesus, the big fish. We often focus on the

big bread, but not the big fish. The fish in

the net represents believers who are caught in the gospel net,

that is the body of Christ, who is the big Fish.

The number of one point fifty three is important in

the story because it is mathematically tied to the idea

of a triangle, and thus the Triune God had that.

Was revealed through Jesus Christ.

When we are baptized, we are baptized in the name

of What do we say at baptism? I baptize you

in the name of the the Father, the Son, and

the Holy Spirit. Should we say that at a baptism?

Jesus has affirmed that's good stuff. Sister White called the

Triune God had the hoarded love of eternity because there

has never been a time in all eternity when God

was alone without God. God is not a monad. He

is not this isolated one thing. The Bible teaches that

God is the triangle as one the Godhead. I'm reading

from Volume sixteen, nineteen oh one, Manuscript forty seven.

I'm sister White.

Every provision has been made for the salvation of the

fallen race. All power was given to Him who offered

himself as a sacrifice to redeem every son and daughter

of Adam who would accept him as a personal savior.

As many has received him to them. He gave power

to become the sons of God, even to them that

believe on his name.

Here is the focal point.

Christ came to this world and stood before men with

the hoarded love of eternity.

And what is that? She tells you what it is.

The whole ocean of divine love was flowing forth from

its great center, the Godhead. And then she tells us

what this hoarded love of eternity that has no beginning

was The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Were working in behalf of man.

You can't have the hearted love of eternity if you

created at some point in the past. Christ is an

eternal being, the Holy Spirit is an eternal being, and

Jesus God, the Father's eternal being. But they're one God

and the hearted love of Eternity. Every power and they

have a universe was put into activity to carry forward

the plan of redemption. So when we're baptized into Jesus

the Big Fish, we're baptized into the hearted love of Eternity,

the Kingdom of God, that is God. We are swallowed

up and brought into the relationship with the Lord. We're

in the belly of God, the bosom of the fathers.

So to speak, Christ left the bosom of this hearted

love of eternity to save us. He is there again

turned to Acts eight twelve. But when they believe Philip

as he preached good news about the King of God

and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men

and women. Notice he preached about the Kingdom of God,

and he baptized them in the name of Jesus Christ,

or he taught them the name of Jesus as well.

Matthew's thirteen forty seven. Again, the King of Heaven is

like a what what does it say a net which

was thrown into the sea and gathered just pretty fish?

Does it say that? What kind of fish did he gather?

Every fish?

Does God want to save everybody or just you know,

the good looking folk.

It's a good thing.

He wants everybody, because I'm not in the good looking

folk category. You know, he wants to save every kind.

I look at forty eight. When it was full moon,

men drew it, he says, And when it was full

men draw it ashore sat down sort of the good

into vessels, but threw away the bad. So it will

be at the close of the age. So Jesus says,

they'll be an investigative judgment before the Second Coming, and

the angels will sort it.

Out with God's help.

Obviously, the angels will come and separate the evil from

the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire.

Their men will we andash their teeth. I'd rather be

in the net the fire, what about you, okay? So

to pass the scrutiny of the judgment day, we need

to be caught in the Gospel net. In the story

the disciples dragged the one hundred and fifty three fish

to the shore to the.

Open fire with the big fish was frying on the fire.

Friends, we need to come to the big fish who

went to the altar to save us, and we need

the big fish in our lives.

Now, that's how we.

Get into the King of God, and it's also how

we stay in the King of God.

Jonah one point seventeen.

The Lord appoint a great fish, a big fish to

swallow up Jonah. So we should be immediately thinking that

Jesus Christ is interacting with Jonah, and Jonah was in

the belly of the fish three days and three nights

Jonah two to one. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord

his God from the belly of the fish. In the story,

the big fish swallowed up Jonah, and that is the

first time Jonah started praying to God. He was running

from God. He didn't pray to God until he ended

up in the belly of the big fish. In the prayer,

Jonah's prayer is an awful prayer. Some people say, what

a beautiful prayer Jonah prayed. Look, I'm going to analyze

this prayer and I'm going to argue it was an

awful prayer. It sounds good, but it's really not good.

He prays with the attitude of a latest seeing Christian.

In the book Revelation, if you want to.

Know what a latest sea in prayer is like, look

at Jonah's prayer. There's a whole lot in these two verses.

If I was swallowed up by a big fish and

I was conscious, I'd pray right away. What about you?

Did you pray right away? Now you notice here he

says he prayed. It says then at the end of

the three days and three nights it swallowed him up.

I'd pray soon.

He didn't.

So the book begins with description of Jonah's attitude. He's

stubborn and Jonah one three. The Bible says Jonah arose

to flee from the presence of the Lord. In the

story of the prophet, who flees from the presence of

the Lord refuses to pray to the Lord. In fact,

we get the presence of the Lord praying sincerely instead

of praying like the sailors who didn't have a clue

who God was, but who called on their gods to

save them.

He just wouldn't do it.

He was down on the belly of the boat, tight lip,

proud of sleep, no praying going on, and Jonah won six.

The captain told Jonah to rise and to call on

his God before they all died. Start praying, You're God,

we've been praying to ours. In the theology of the

Book of Jonah, prayer is a life and death matter

for the sailors, for Jonah and for the people of Nineveh.

What about us? Is it? It is? That's right?

And you know, if you're not open to the Holy

Spirit because you're stubborn to listen to the word of God,

then how much praying would you do in your life?

Not a lot? Right, Jonah is fleeing.

From the president of the Lord, because Jonah doesn't want

to pray, and Jodah doesn't want to obey the voice

of the Lord. Jonah's in the belly of that fish

for the three days and three nights, and he doesn't

want to say one word to God. God is a

stained j Oman miraculously so he can live. But in

the middle of the belly of the fish, he has

resigned himself.

To not pray.

The proud prophet with his lips shut and his arms folded,

stiff attitude when God's presence is man had sifested and

the belly of a fish swimming in digestive juices, will

pray when he's good and ready to pray, because God

speaks to him on his terms, not God's terms. And

maybe he won't pray at all. It takes Jonah three

days and three nights to soften up inside the belly

of the fish. Must have taken some strong digestive juices

to make his heart turn to God a little. The

Ellen White Steps to Christ, pages ninety eight to ninety nine.

Pray in your closet as you go about your daily labor.

Let your heart be often uplifted to God. It was

thus that Enoch walked with God. These silent prayers rise

like precious incense before the throne of Grace. And here's

the promise. Satan cannot overcome him whose heart is thus

stayed upon God. You feel like God you've been overcoming

your life. You feel like you're in a storm. You

can't manage hey silent prayer constantly.

You're in like Enoch was in. You're all right.

If you want it to strengthen your life, you had

better pray all the time. If you're struggling with sin

in your life, you need to pray constantly. If you

feel like God is far away from you and you're depressed,

pray and you will discover that God is near to you.

If you think that God has forgotten you and that

He doesn't care about you, sleeping saint, awake and pray.

Call upon your God. Before you perish in the storm,

pray and discover that the big fish is there for you.

Jonah wouldn't pray in the belly of the boat when

the storm broke out. And Jonah wouldn't pray in the

belly of the boat until three days and three nights passed.

We have a word for that in the English language.

What's the word? Come on, you know what it is?

Stubborn and say it with me. Stubborn. Stubborn you know

then eye looking stubborn with an attitude looking stubborn.

You know, a.

Converted heart doesn't look stubborn a good A converted heart

is a broken, open person. It's interesting here the Bible

calls it stiff necked in the Bible. Do you ever

have a stiff neck where you have to kind of

crack it a little bit, crack it and look lighten up?

And the belly of the fish nukem. Jonah was too

proud to pray. But finally, Jonah prays, I like to

read the whole prayer to you and the Bible. The

prayer stands alongside the great prayers of the Bible, the

prayer of Ezra, the prayer of Daniel, prayer of Jesus

as the worst example of a prayer that is full

of pride and arrogas that looks religious, but it's worthless.

I've heard people say, oh, what.

A well great prayer, and I uh uh, So let's

read the whole prayer and get a sense of the thing.

This morning. Jonah two verse one.

Then Jonah pray to the Lord is God from the

belly of his fish, saying, I called to the Lord

out of my distress, and he answered me, And out

of the bellius shield I cried, And thou didst hear

my voice. For thou didst cast me into the deep,

into the heart of the seas. And the flood was

running about me. All the waves and thy billows passed

over me. Then I said, I am cast out from

thy presence. How shall I again look upon Thy holy temple?

The waters closed in over me, the deep was round

about me. Weeds were wrapped about my head as the

roots of the mountains. I went down to the land,

whose bars closed upon me forever. Yet thou didst bring

up my life from the pit, O, Lord, my God.

When my soul fainted within me, I remember the Lord,

and my prayer came to Thee and to thy holy temple.

Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their true loyalty.

But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to

THEE what I have vowed. I will pay deliverance belongs

to the Lord. Oh what a prayer. Now Verse ten,

And the Lord spoke to the fish. It vomited Jonah

on the dry land. How do you know it's a

bad prayer. The fish couldn't stand it. It spit him out.

It threw him out with all the mess in his stomach.

And the story friends, the fish is more obedient than

Jonah is. Christ used the symbol of a fish to

describe people who live in the Sea of Nations who

can turn to God.

He said, I will make you fishers of men.

In the story, God has no problems speaking to the fish,

and the fish has no problem obeying God. The fish

is open to God. The fish could easily have let

Jonah slip out of his mouth. He probably loved it,

have got him out of here. Let me just kind of,

you know, get him out. And he let him swim

to the top. But it was waiting for the command

in the direction of God to act in Jonah's behalf.

So I had to endure him for three and three

days and three nights. But as soon as God gave

the fish permission to let him go, the fish vomited

Jonah out of his mouth. Now that's what God says

He's going to do. The latest seeing Christians, Jesus says

I'll will spit you out of my mouth if you

don't quit this self righteous I'm great kind of talk

and come to me for a robe of righteousness. In

the story, I feel sorry for the fish that had

to put up with Jonah in his belly. The fish's

reflex response is the right response to the prayer Jonah

prayed at the end of those three awful days and nights.

Maybe in your life you have prayed a prayer like

Jonah did. Let's analyze it this morning. I like to

focus on six deadly defects in Jonah's prayer that caused

a fish to vomit Jonah out of his mouth. Look

at the first one. The first deadly defect I'll put

on the screen. In Jonah's awful prayers, the focus on himself.

Do you hear me?

The focus on himself In this prayer from the belly

of the fish. Jonah uses the word eye ten times

instead of God's law. It's eye the theme of his

prayers eye me and my. Ten times he says I,

eight times he says me, and six times he says my.

It doesn't take much intellectual material to figure out that

Jonah's prayer is all about Jonah. Jonah is the theme

in Jonah's prayer life. Jonah is the hero in Jonah's

prayer life and Jonah's mind. God rescues Jonah because Jonah

is the worthy worshipper in the prayer. Oh of the

Church needs Jonah so bad? Where would the work of

God be if I Jonah were not around. It's no

accident the Lord's prayer that Jesus never uses the word I.

Have you noticed that? And the Lord's prayer Jesus doesn't

say I, my father, who aren't in heaven. You know,

I'm not saying you can't, but I'm simply drawing attention

to the fact that Jesus doesn't use the word I.

Jesus prays for the we that is us, because the

eye in his prayers wrapped around the we that is

you and me I that need God to be saved.

Christ prayed, our Father, who art in heaven, How would

be thy name? Give us this day our daily bread,

forgive us our debts as we forgive, and he never sinned.

He prayed as one of us. Jesus prayer for himself

was a prayer for us. Sure, Jonah uses the name

of God in his prayer, and he has religious themes

in it also, But when you analyze it deeply, the

theme of Jonah's prayers I me and my worthless prayer.

The second deadly defect in Jonah's prayer is the total

absence of personal responsibility for his own sin. You look

hard and long, and there isn't one thing in Jonah's

prayer that says I have sinned, I have left the

presence of the Lord. It's always focused on others and

Jonah's prayer. God rescues Jonah because Jonah prays to God.

God rescues Jonah and Jonah's mind because Jonah is the

righteous one, the indispensable man with awesome talents, unlike the

idle believers who don't have a clue how to pray.

So hey, look at those bad people with idols.

In verse eight, Jonah says, those who pay regard to

vane idols, forsake there true loyalty and share with you

something here. We had a large parking lot of people

who came to pray this morning at our church. Did

you know that before most of you got here? Because

our dear brothers and sisters and Hozannah Church want to

pray every other week in our church on the Sabbath day,

and they come out in greater numbers than we do.

And God be praised, because my house shall be called

a house of prayer for all people, all people. The

second deadly defect in Jonah's prayers the total absence of

a personal responsibility for his own sin.

I've said that, so, he said.

The idle worshipers are the ones in the story who

are turning to God and praying. When Jonah is so

stuck on himself in his indispensability, he thinks that the

whole world rotates around him.

He's not pray. Three.

The third deadly defect in Jonah's awful prayer is the

blame game with God? Do you ever blame God in

your prayers? Why did you do this to me?

You know? Come on, you have a little bit, am

I the only ones' ever done that? Yeah? Okay, we have,

haven't we?

The third deadly defect in Jonah's awful prayer is the

blame game with God. Notice verse three, Jonah says, for

thou didst cast me into the deep? That's not the

word of truth here, That's not what happened in Jonah

one twelve.

Look at the verse.

Jonah said to them, the men take me up and

throw me into the sea. Then the sea will quiet

down for you, For I know it's because of me

that this great tempest has come upon you. God didn't

tell him do that. He told them to do that.

God didn't tell anyone to throw Janah of the sea.

He could have started praying right there in the boat,

but he didn't. It was Jonah's idea to be thrown

into the sea. Jonah blamed God for his own bad

choices and his own bad idea to be thrown overboard

in the sea. You see, friend, it's possible to pray

a beautiful sounding prayer in your church or at home

and blame the Lord for the challenges of your life.

It's possible that you are the reason the storm has

coming to your life, not God. And when you give

God a break, you really are recognizing God cares about you.

Does God have feelings? Do you think he likes being

blamed for everything that we do?

Lord? Why did you do what I really did? Okay?

The fourth deadly defect in Jonah's prayer is the inability

to recognize that he's the one who's been fleeing from

the presence of the Lord. People say, how can I

have the Holy Spirit?

Pray? Don't run away from God, pray.

The fourth deadly defect is an extension of the blame

game with God. The third deadly defect, Now, one of

the things that we see in Jonah's life, He's focusing

on the unbelievers, what's wrong with them, instead of focusing

on what's his need is in his relationship with God.

You see, so we need to get it right Jonah two. Fourth,

Then I said, I am cast out from thy presence?

How shall I again look upon that Holy temple?

Now?

What does that remind you of in the Bible? Can

you think of someone who has said you have driven

me from your face? And then he went east of Eden?

Who was that? It was Cain?

He's repeating when Cain said God didn't drive Caane away.

Cain drove Kane away, and he put words in God's mouth.

Jonah ran from God's presence by choosing not to pray,

choosing not to obey by a mean visage, mad maniacal,

a prophet who was no longer manageable. And God didn't

remove Jonah from his presence Jonah did. God pursued Jonah

when Jonah left God because God loved Jonah. He n

lobbed that rogue, a wall prophet that needed to come

home and be used again in a different way. When

God caught out to Jonah to go up to Nina.

But Jonah went down to Joppa and charted a boat

for the farthest part of the world, to the straits

of Gibraltar, to the land of peacock's apes and elephants,

where people cannot be found. And when Jonah fled from

the presence of the Lord, God hurled the storm up

on the sea to wake Jonah up in the belly

of the boat. And when Jonah had the sailors throw

him into the sea, God sent the big Fish to

save Jonah from the sea, to give him time to

humble and turn to God.

Humble up.

When Jonah should have died in the depths, God is

the one who made him live in the belly of

the big Fish. But all that Jonah could say to

God was essentially ungrateful stuff. He said, thou didst cast

me into the deep? I am cast from thy presence.

God didn't do that. Jonah's talking like Cain who blamed God. Jonah,

don't give God a hard time when you pray. The

fifth daily defect in Jonah's prayer is the attitude of ingratitude.

On the surface, it looks like Jonah's thankful to God,

but analyze his prayer a little closer, if you would.

He doesn't say thank you for saving my life. He

doesn't say thank you God for forgiving me and my

sins because he won't even admit what they are. He

doesn't thank God for sending the fish which saved his life.

He doesn't thank God for the privilege of preaching his

word to a world that needs it. He thinks God

that he's better than those unbelievers of the idols. That's

not good enough, And Jonah one two. God says, arise,

go to nine of that great city and cry against it.

In Jonah's prayer life, he's not concerned with nine of

it at all. He just wants to go home to

pray in a pretty church at his temple. Now look

at Jonah one four. Then I said, I am cast

out from thy presence? How shall I again look upon

thy holy temple? For Jonah, God's presence is found only

in the temple back at home. Think about that. He

doesn't believe that God is in the storm. He doesn't

believe God is in the journey. He doesn't even believe

God's pursuing him. Really, he believes that God's in the

temple in his country where he's used to go into church.

He doesn't believe that God is found anywhere but back there.

He doesn't think that God is in the belly of

the fish. He just wants to go home. He wants

to be in his church. He wants to get away

from these guys, want to worships a clubhouse kind of God.

Jonah goes to church to find a God at home

and nowhere else in the world and in life. Jonahs

God reaches the reach that stay home instead of the

in the church. Jonahs God teaches the taught that they

have a lot in common with each other in the

church and who wants what they can get out there.

Jonah's God is only found in the church that is

near to Jonah's home. Now, how big is your prayer

list for people who never come to church?

Is that you hear me?

How many people do you pray for deliberately in your week?

You will never don't come to church. You seek them

out in their workplace. You look for their feelings. If

they're up or down, you go the distance to make

a difference in their life. I'm telling you, if you

don't have a group like that, you're Jonah. If you're

only focused on yourself your church friends, you've missed it.

God put us in this world to help our neighbors,

to reach out to those who've never heard of the truth.

There was a godly man who invited me out to

eat last night.

I'm yesterday. I'm not going to tell you who he is.

Actually Thursday, and he did it just to pray for me.

He's not a member of our church, but he loves

the Lord. I do the same for others, but it

felt good when he did it for me. You know

it will feel good when you do it for others.

Jonah tells the sailors that God is the creative of

the land and sea, but when put to the task,

Jonah really believes that God stays at home in his temple.

Jodah wants to go home to be with God in

his temple insular to the world in need. In the story,

Jonah left his home because Jonah was fleeing from the

presence of the Lord. Jonah didn't expect his God to

leave his temple and come after him on the run,

but he did. And that's why Jesus is the good

shepherd who goes for the lost sheep out on the hillside.

The sixth deadly defect in Jonah's prayer is the slot

machine theology of pray and pay Nowaniel Morim made a

great comment today in a Saber school class in the

youth Sabu school class, and I see Samuel back through

affirming that he talked about televangelists who come and they

tell you that if you give so much, then God

will pay you back and you never have bad things

happen in your life. We hear it today a lot.

The seed is the money you give, the seed you pay,

and you pray and pay.

And God blesses you.

Have you ever noticed that when you follow God sometimes

it's hard, and so those prosperity preachers are just flat

out wrong Jonah two nine. Jonah says, but ay, with

the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to Thee what I

have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord.

Pray and pay Jonah believes in a God that saves

and delivers you if you pray and pay. And verse seven,

Jonah says, I remember the Lord and my prayer came

to thee in the book of Malchi. When God says

you aren't paying tithe, remember that book.

You've not read the book of Pelicon.

God says, test me, and see you're robbing me the

whole nation.

Because you're not faithful.

But you know what he says, You are not consumed,

oh sons of Jacob, because I change not. I'm a

merciful being. I'm not treating you the way you're treating me.

My mercy is in your life. My grace is still there.

I have not withdrawn it just because you have not

done what's right. And friends, that's the God that is

pursuing Jonah.

Jonah doesn't get it.

Jonah believes God will save him because Jonah will pray

and pay and then God will save. Jonah isn't able

to reach the people of Nineveh because Jonah needs to

be reached himself with a gospel of God's grace. Jonah

two to one, and the Lord spoke to the fish

and it vomited out. Jonah upon the dry land. We

learn from this story that God cares about the fish.

If you take nothing else from the sermon, who does

God care about Jonah? But who else does he care

about the fish? Because he got that Jonah out of

his stomach. God appointed the fish to save Jonah, but

the fish couldn't take it anymore. At the end of

Jonah's awful prayer, finally God told the fish it's time

to let him go, and the fish was so happy

he had to vomit him out and anything else Jonah

brought into his stomach.

That's what Jesus will do to lay to see in

Christians who live like Jonah.

If we're not soul winning people, if we're not in

the business of sharing our faith with others, if we're

only concerned about.

Our pretty church, and God can take this pretty church.

From us, Do you know that this is a gift

from God? Some people say, well, you know, we need

to have more people in our church. We do, But

you know what, God gave this church to us when

we're not a mega church. He gave this church to

us as the smallest of the small. He said, little flock,

it is the will of your Father to give you

the Kingdom. I glory in God that we have a

resource for the future that He's given us. Today, we

need to work for the salvation of men and women,

one person at a time, not in showmanship and nonsense,

but in saving people and caring about them.

So let's quickly review those six points. Put them on

the screen.

The first deadly defect in Jonah's prayer is the focus

on himself, ie, me and my. The second deadly defect

in Jonah's prayer is the total absence of personal responsibility

for his own sin. Jonahs focused on others but not himself.

The third deadly defect in Jonah's prayer is the blame

game with God. Jonah blames God instead of Jonah. The

fourth deadly defect in Jonah's prayers the inability to recognize

that he's the one who's been fleeing from the presence.

Of the Lord all along.

The fifth deadly defect in Jonah's prayer is the attitude

of ingratitude. Jonah isn't grateful for a God who leaves

him his home to find him. He just isn't thankful.

And the sixth deadly defect in Jonah's prayer is the

slot machine. Theology of pray and pay. Pray and pray

leaves no place for God's grace, no place for the

gospel Jonah's God only saves if you pray and pay

for salvation. The latesty in church experience in the book

Revelation is just like Jonah, and Jesus says, I will

spit you out of my mouth if you don't repent.

Behold, I stand at the door and I knock.

If any man will open the door, I will come

into him and sup with him, and he with me.

The big fish will come into our lives with the

bread of life and without this word and without Bible

study prayer. I mean, if you want to gauge your

personal experience, do you meet with others at some point

in the week to pray? I realize small groups prayer

meeting one of those? Are you just kind of don't

bother and then you're upset if you're devoid of a

crue walk with Christ in your life, ask yourself if

you are running from the Lord like Jonah did at

the end of this message, and we have arrived, I'd

like to look at a better prayer than Jonah's prayer.

Is that fair? Enough.

Why don't you repeat after me the Lord's prayer and

Matthew six nine to twelve, Our Father, which art in heaven,

How would be thy name, Thy Kingdom? Come, Thy will

be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give

us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors. And leave us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom

and the power and the glory forever. Amen, Dear Heavenly Father,

we're the Jonah in the story. At least sometime in

our life. We are religious people. It's so easy to

rely on religion or what we do, or how important

we feel we need to be, and to forget that.

You'll chase after us in life to find us when

we're not doing the right thing or we've lost our way.

Thank you that Jesus is still and has always been

the good shepherd.

Father.

Just save us, Save everyone here. May they have no

doubt that when they call in the name of the Lord,

Jesus saves, and that he is the hound of Heaven

in hot pursuit. Give them the full assurance of that.

But Lord, it takes a broken humble spirit to be saved. Father,

none of us are this without you. Thank you that

Jesus put it right. Blessed or the poor in spirit,

And so Father, I just pray you'll bless everyone here

to be poor in spirit. And the preacher included all

of us, Lord, to live for others to live for

the salvation of men and women. In reaching hearts, Lord,

our name was deliberately chosen, and we moved from healing

hearts to riching reaching hearts. When you Brew moved on,

Brother Christopher, to change our name and father's and reaching hearts,

we have healed hearts. And Lord, there are so many

people all around us that need to be next to

a friend here or there. Lord, thank you for loving

everyone and keeping them. Bless your people, send them home

this week. I pray there'll be no fighting in anger

over this election Tuesday. Lord, who whoever is elected, let

us pray for our president.

Let us not be a.

Divisive people in this church, and let us recognize that

you appoint leaders and help us to be about the

business of soul wedding, not politics. And Lord, just bless

your people. Thank you for hearing this prayer in Jesus' name.

Amen.