Jonah 2

And turn to Jonah, chapter 2, which is on page 774.

Jonah 2 · chapter mention

!

In the world, and it's not at all what we were expecting.

As the world has advanced, people thought that fewer and fewer thought we'd believe in God.

But in fact, the opposite is happening today.

So today, over one third of the population of the world claim to be followers of Jesus.

We know not only a place like that in America, Southeast Asia, China, people are coming to

Christ at a very rabid rate.

In seven years' time, China is going to be the largest Christian nation in the world.

And we can't keep that away with the millions of people becoming Christians.

But it's not happening here.

And it's not happening on our doorstep.

Whatever certain crumly Christians want to tell you.

As long as we think it's okay not to take Jesus too seriously in our culture.

All over the world, people are saying yes to Jesus.

But because of how it is here in the UK, we imagine that we don't have to take him that seriously.

Why should we say yes to Jesus?

Why should we take him seriously?

And that's the question that I want us to think about from Jonah chapter 2.

Jonah 2 · chapter mention

And in our New Testament reading, people were asking the same question.

It's not a new question.

They were demanding a sign.

We saw that in that reading in Luke 11.

Show us a sign, they said.

Despite the fact that Jesus had performed many signs and many miracles.

He was healing the sick.

Casting out demons.

Stilling the storms.

But despite all those miracles, all those signs, they still wanted proof, didn't they?

They wanted irrefutable proof that he was not in league with the devil.

They wanted a sign to confirm all the other signs that Jesus was giving them.

They wanted a token from heaven.

It was as if they wanted something written in the heavens, if you like.

That was given independently of Jesus to show that he really was who he claimed to be.

That he was from God.

And Jesus says to them, doesn't he?

You evil and adulterous generation.

An evil and an adulterous generation.

They demand a sign, but no sign will be given it.

Except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

For as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights,

so the Son of Man will be in the belly of the earth for three days and three nights.

That is the sign.

The sign of the prophet Jonah.

It goes on to say in that New Testament reading,

the men of Nineveh.

That pagan, sprawling city of 120,000 people.

The men of Nineveh, they will stand up on the day of judgment.

And they'll condemn that generation of Jesus' day.

Because they repented at Jonah's preaching.

And something far greater than Jonah is in their midst.

They want a sign.

So Jesus says, look at Jonah.

And Jonah chapter two.

And all the chapters in this little book of Jonah,

the trouble is,

the story of chapter two of Jonah

really isn't going to help us take Jesus seriously.

Is it?

It's the story of a man

who was swallowed by a fish.

How can anyone

take that seriously?

And Jesus said, it really happened.

It is not a parable.

It is a miracle.

It is a miracle.

The people of Nineveh will be in heaven

because Jesus was swallowed by a gigantic fish.

Literally in the Greek,

a meg katos.

The people of Nineveh,

whole generations of Nineveh

will actually be in heaven

because Jonah was swallowed by a fish

and vomited out by a fish.

And this is a friend of mine

preaching on this passage this week

who said to me that

at a very profound point

in the Bible

that vomit is never a good thing in the Bible.

It's remarkable in opening.

But this generation of Nineveh,

they will rise up

and they will condemn that generation.

So according to Jesus,

it really did happen.

It's not a parable.

People try to explain it away

and they say it's just a story.

It is not.

It really did happen.

And that miracle of Jonah

raised from the bottom of the sea

points to the greatest miracle of all

which is Jesus raised from the dead.

As Jonah was in the belly of the fish

three days and three nights,

so the Son of Man

will be in the heart of the earth

three days and three nights.

So we're going to look at the miracle

of Jonah raised from the dead

and look at the miracle of Jesus

raised from the dead.

And I hope we all see

why you have to tonight

take Jesus seriously.

First of all,

the death that we need saving from.

The death we need saving from.

Now you'll pick it up on my first reading.

It's a rescue story.

It's a rescue, a seed story.

And Jesus is the rescuer.

And what do we need saving from?

And the first thing you notice here

is the death that we need saving from.

And the story goes over, doesn't it,

from the end of chapter 1, verse 17.

And the Lord appointed a great fish

to swallow Jonah.

And Jonah was in the belly of the fish

three days and three nights.

And that phrase,

three days and three nights,

used in the ancient world

to say long enough

to be definitely dead.

So you can imagine the headlines

in the local newspaper

and the Joppa Times.

Rescuers call off search

for missing prophet.

Jonah, lost at sea,

presumed dead.

He's a dead man,

as far as everyone is concerned.

He is doomed,

not only physically,

but spiritually,

because he's been running away from God,

as we saw last week.

And to run away from God

is not only to run into physical death,

but it's to run into spiritual management

from God's presence forever.

That's what the Bible calls

the second death.

And so here he is,

as we pick up the story in chapter 2,

heading for a fate worse than death.

Look at chapter 2.

He is sinking down

into a watery grave.

And as you read these verses,

I hope you can pick up

the sensation in the narrative

of falling,

of spiraling down.

Jonah is drowning.

Look at verse 3.

All your billows,

all your waves and your billows

pass over me.

There he is,

bobbing about on the surface,

trying to keep his head above water.

And then in verse 5,

there's progression.

The water's closing over me

to take my life.

Up to the neck,

the watery depths.

The deep surrounding me.

As he tumbles down,

weeds were wrapped around my head

at the roots of the mountains.

He's beginning to sink, isn't he?

And I went down to the land

whose bars closed upon me forever.

It's a very graphic description

of someone drowning.

Down he goes to the roots of the mountains,

banished to the bottom of the sea.

He says that in verse 7,

when my life was fainting away,

I remembered the Lord.

Talk about a last minute conversion.

Talk about an 11th hour rescue.

As my lungs filled with water

and I gasped for breath,

with his last breath,

he cries out to the Lord.

And no doubt,

his whole life flashes before him.

They say that's what happens.

Everything goes in slow motion,

I've read.

And you begin to see your whole life

from the perspective of eternity.

And that is where Jonah is.

Verse 3 says,

can you see it?

For you cast me into the deep.

Now that should shock you.

Why should that shock you?

Because that doesn't matter in chapter 1.

Because in chapter 1,

he says,

the sailors,

you pick me up.

And you throw me in.

And we're told,

they threw him in.

But now at the bottom of the sea,

he realises what is happening.

He realises that

this is a God thing.

You threw me into the depths of the sea.

And verse 4,

I've been banished.

I'm driven away from your sight.

It's interesting,

it's exactly the same word in verse 4,

driven away,

that is used to describe

Adam and Eve from the garden.

Do you remember?

They were doomed for sorrow,

toil, and death,

and driven from the garden.

It's exactly the same word.

But Jonah,

you were banished.

You ran away.

Jonah says,

yes,

but this is where it leads to.

But when you run away from God,

this is where you end up.

This is what death means.

That if you're running away from God tonight,

if you've got no time for God in your life,

this is how you will die.

Don't believe all the nonsense

as the undertaker's brochures.

Death is not a happy release.

If you're on the run from God.

And when we die,

we don't just encounter

our own physical limitations

and the shutting down of our bodies.

If you are running away from God,

you will encounter God

as an angry judge.

And that's where Jonah is at the bottom,

and the sea vanished from God's sight,

crying out for help.

Look at verse 2.

Look at his cry.

I called out to the Lord

out of my distress.

And he answered me,

out of the belly of Sheol,

the place of death,

I cried,

and he heard my voice.

Let's look at this quote.

Chapter 2 is a very interesting chapter.

Everything slows down

in chapter 2.

It's a really fast book,

Jonah.

A really fast,

action-packed book.

Chapter 1 is all action.

Boats and souls

and sailors

and giant fish.

It's a very satirical story.

It's a very funny story.

But suddenly everything

slows down in chapter 2.

It's very serious.

And what you have in Jonah chapter 2

Jonah 2 · chapter mention

is one of the great prayers

of the Bible.

Look at how he prays

from David Jones' locker

right in the bottom

of the Mediterranean Sea.

And you can't help but notice,

the first thing you notice

is that Jonah's prayer

is full of the Bible.

I know we're so unfamiliar

with the Psalms,

we don't spot that,

but Jonah's prayer

is full of the Psalms.

He's a psalm singer.

It's full of the Psalms,

full of Scripture.

It's why it sounds so familiar.

I don't know

whether you've ever noticed that.

Chapter 2 reads

like you've read it before.

And you have.

Because it's packed with Psalms.

A kind of medley of the Psalms.

Psalms that Jonah

would have learned as a child

that he would have sung

in worship.

And these Psalms

are a reservoir of hope.

You'll notice

if you come to visit

a Christian,

an older Christian

who suffers with dementia,

sometimes it's very difficult

to get through to them.

You try to hold

the conversation,

you talk about various things,

and then you quote a psalm

or a song.

And you sing

one of the old hymns.

And they join in.

And it's a bit like

what is happening here

at the bottom

of the Mediterranean Sea.

Do you know the story

of Dick Whittington?

The Lord Mayor of London?

And apparently,

according to the legend,

this is in the 1400s,

he was an orphan

whose only possession

was his cat.

And he used to catch

in rats and so on.

And he runs away.

I think he has one crack

at being Lord Mayor of London.

And he runs away.

And as he's running away

to the edge of the city of London,

he hears the great bell of Bo.

And Bo bells are ringing

in the distance.

And it's almost as if

they were saying to him,

he says,

turn again,

Whittington,

Lord Mayor of London.

He turned around

and went back into the city.

And according to the legend,

he became Lord Mayor of London

another three times.

And it's almost as if

Jonah is running away

from God.

And there he is

at the bottom of the sea

and his life is ebbing away.

And down there

at the bottom of the sea,

he seems to hear,

well, not the great Bo of London,

great Bo bell,

but the singing

of a congregation.

The singing of a familiar psalm

and hymn.

And those psalms

seem to be saying to him,

turn again,

Jonah.

Turn again.

So Jonah here

is hearing these psalms again

and he's turning back

at the bottom of the sea

at the very last moment.

Verse 4,

I've been driven away

from your sight.

Yet,

yet I shall look again

upon your holy temple.

He's turning

and there's hope.

Verse 7,

and when my life

was fading away,

I remember the Lord

and my prayer

came to you

and to your holy temple.

And some people

that live on your street

and live on my street

and who you work with

and who you stand

at the school gate with,

they have never cried out

to God

because they don't think

it matters.

And they don't think

it matters

because they think

they can live their lives

without Him.

And maybe that's you

this evening.

And you sleep easy

at life

at night.

You've got an interesting life,

a full life

and you sleep easy at night

just like Jonah on board

is in chapter 1.

And you've suppressed

your conscience.

It's easy to do that

in the church.

And you're quite happy

without God

really in your life

but you need to see

where it's leading you.

Because to live

without God

is to eventually

die without God.

And that is

a frightful prospect.

And Jesus calls it

dying in your sins.

And I know this is

a very pleasant subject

but we need to make

this point clear.

John Wesley,

the 18th century preacher

said about his people,

our people die well

but not everyone

dies well.

And to die well

you need a saviour.

Think of the train

journey to Wales.

You're going to

the promised land.

Right?

You get all that

having to.

You go on this train

through a pretty

grotty,

dig-off pathway

and red in its

Bristol Park

but even worse.

And then the

tunnels start.

And as you go along

you go under a bridge

and then you go under

a tunnel

and you say

am I there yet?

And then another tunnel

and then another tunnel

and then there's one

quite longer tunnel.

And you come out.

The sun is shut

and the rain is pouring.

You're through the tunnel.

Death, death is like that.

The Christian will not

see death

Jesus says.

A true believer

will not see death.

It will be like that.

You'll go through the tunnel

and before you know it

you'll see you

through the other side.

It's not like that

for those who are

left behind is it?

But that's what death

is like for the people.

You go through the tunnel

and you're out of it

before you know.

But if you're not a Christian

you will come crashing

into death.

And you will encounter

God as your judge

and that is a frightful

prospect.

Psalm 139

says

Many of our people

are saying

I take the winds

from the morning

and I dwell

in the uttermost parts

of the sea

the psalmist says.

Even there you are there.

That's exactly

what Job was trying to do.

If I go as far

as the east

is from the west

that's exactly

what he was trying to do.

I cannot escape God.

It's not true is it

that when you're dead

you're dead.

It's not true.

And so tonight

for every single person

in this room

and in this great city

you will either be gone

as your loving

heavenly father

or your angry judge.

And the time

is very short

to sort that out.

And that is why

you have to take

Jesus seriously.

Because some people

aren't there

and they think

it's too late.

It's too late

to cry out to God.

I've been in church

all my life.

I've become a church

member.

I've been baptised

and I still don't know God.

And I've lived

without him

all my life.

I've lived too long.

It's too late.

I've gone too far.

I've sunk too low.

Well,

Jonah chapter 2

Jonah 2 · chapter mention

is just your chapter.

And it's a great chapter

for those of us

who've got unbelieving

relatives

because as long

as there is life

there is hope.

Because there

at the bottom

of the sea

he cries out

at the end

of verse 3

all your waves

and your billows

they pass over me

and then I said

I've driven away

from your sights

yet I shall again

look upon the holy temple.

Hope in God.

There is hope.

Now Jonah quote

Psalm 42

remember how Psalm 42

ends

hope in God

for I shall again

pray to you

as long as there is life

there is hope.

Second point is

the God who saves us

from death

well that's

the God who saves us

from death

we've seen the death

we need to be saved from

certainly the God

who saves from death

in verse 17

chapter 1

and the Lord appointed

a great fish

for swallow

Jonah

the fish

who knows

who knows

what it was

but that fish

was appointed

appointed

by God

and it was

the vehicle

of Jonah's salvation

it's unimaginable

isn't it?

what it must be

like to wake up

at the belly

of a fish

and not know

whether they're

dead or alive

stuff and nightmares

it must have been

gross

but do you see

what he says

in verse 6

chapter 2

yet you

brought up

my life

from the pit

oh Lord

my God

the fish

was the vehicle

that God

used to bring

Jonah's life

up from the pit

to save him

the fish

was the answer

to his prayer

it was through

that fish

that God

rescued

him

and so

that it's

no coincidence

that this

denizen of the deep

just happened to turn up

at that very moment

the Lord appointed

a great fish

himself

he is the Lord

of heaven

and he can do

the ice

I hope you're not

embarrassed by

the supernaturalism

of the Bible

the supernaturalism

of creation

the supernaturalism

of Noah

of the prophets

of Jonah

the supernaturalism

of Jesus

we must be

unembarrassed

supernaturalists

he commands

the birds

of the air

and the fish

of the sea

have his will

he is their

creator

but thank God

he is their

saviour

and rescuer

what a great

rescuer he is

he said

what does it

take God

to create

how does God

create

he speaks

a word

it happens

it's very easy

for God

to create

he imagines

it

he speaks

it

and it

comes into

existence

but to

save

to save

he has to

give his son

and that is

why Jesus

takes this

story of

Jonah

and connects

him with

his own

story

and that is

why he

links the

story of

Jonah

and the

fish

with his

own death

and resurrection

just like

Jonah

was three

days and

three nights

in the valley

of a fish

so the

son of man

will be

three days

and three nights

this is the

vehicle

that God

will use

to save

human beings

just as he

appointed a

great fish

to rescue

Jonah

in the

Mediterranean

so in

the fullness

of time

God sent

his own

son into

the world

to save

and to

rescue

at just

the right

time

God sent

his own

Jonah

was three

days and

three nights

in the

valley of

the fish

so he

will be

three days

and three

nights

in the

valley of

the earth

Jesus

is the

equivalent

of that

great

fish

in fact

the sign

of being

a Christian

in the

early

times

was a

fish

was it

why

because it

comes from

the word

ichthus

which is a

kind of

acronym

Jesus

Christ

son of

God

and

some

people

some

very bad

drivers

have it

on the

back

of their

car

nobody

can cut

you up

and you

see the

fish

sign

but it

was the

sign

of early

Christians

and that's

how early

Christians

identified

themselves

ichthus

Jesus

Christ

son of

God

and saviour

is what it

means

the death

and resurrection

of Jesus

who died

for our

sins

and wrote

again for

our

justification

the creed

says he

descended

he descended

to the

dead

Paul says

he descended

to the

lower

parts

of the

earth

he descended

to the

dead

why did

he do

it

was it

a tragedy

a mistake

an accident

it was

deliberate

Jesus died

according

to the

determinate

counsel

and foreknowledge

of God

it was

appointed

in eternity

that Jesus

should come

and descend

into Sheol

into the

lowest parts

of the

earth

that was

God's

act of

salvation

for the

human race

and on the

third day

he raised him

from the

dead

in the

late 1980s

I read this

this week

a Christian

book star

in England

paid £50,000

for the

postmark

Jesus is

Alive

you know

the postmark

they stamp

every letter

and he paid

£50,000

that every

letter in the

UK would be

stamped

with the

postmark

Jesus is

Alive

he wanted

Jesus is

Alive

franked

on millions

of letters

leading up to

he paid

£50,000

for it

I'm not sure

if it's a great

use of

that

but it

caused

that upon

the

God

crowd

the British

Humanist

Society

complained in

a letter

to the

Guardian

those who

believe that

Jesus is

dead and

have devoted

certain thoughts

to the

matter do

not wish to

be told

every day

for six

weeks that

he isn't

other letters

concern phrases

like greatly

perturbed

deeply

offensive

obscene

Bernard

Lemon

wasn't a

Christian

but he

was a

journalist

for the

time

through

and

in

a

brilliantly

named

article

the

article

was

called

when

franking

in

senses

he wrote

this in

the

text

he said

suppose

you

go wrong

surely

you don't

mind

supposing

if we

promise

not to

tell anyone

and that

bloke

from

South

then

he was

so

hooked

on

the

pale

of

Galilee

to

the

extent

that

he's

willing

to

shout

out

52,000

pound

to

promote

him

suppose

if he's

right

and Jesus

is alive

what is so

terrible about

that

why wouldn't

you want

that to be

true

why is it

so disturbing

to you that

Jesus is

alive

it's very

interesting isn't

it coming

from an

easiest

why is it

so disturbing

to people

let me tell

you

because people

just want

to be left

alone

they want

to be left

alone

they want

to live

their lives

without any

kind of

interference

without any

kind of

accountability

especially to

God

but you see

if Jesus

really did go

down to the

depths of the

grave for our

sins

and if God

really didn't

raise him on the

third day from

the dead

then it's not the

kind of information

that you can

file away in the

back of your

mind as if

it was just

interesting

that information

that Jesus

Christ is

risen from

the dead

well it's

bomb in the

building

information

isn't it

it's going to

Heathrow

airport tomorrow

morning and the

announcement comes

over the

time

it says it's

an official

announcement

there is a

bomb in the

tomb and I'll

please evacuate

the building

what would you

do

would you order

another flat

white

I doubt it

you would

act on it

wouldn't you

especially if

it was an

official

announcement

because that

sort of

information you

cannot ignore

and I'm

telling you

that this

is the sign

that God

has given

the world

it's the

sign of

Jonah

that on

the third

day God

raised Jesus

from the

belly of the

earth

for our

justification

that is how

Paul preached

the resurrection

to the

intelligentsia

in Athens

on Mars

Hill

he preaches

the resurrection

he says to

the academics

on the

Areopagus

therefore God

has overlooked

the times of

ignorance

isn't that a

wonderful way

of summing up

civilization

he speaks to

the Greeks

for goodness

sake

he talks about

Greek civilization

he talks about

Roman civilization

the greatest

civilizations that

the world has

ever seen

and he says

God

God's winks

at those

times of

ignorance

those great

Greek philosophers

those great

Roman statesmen

God is not

impressed by that

he overlooks them

at these

times of

ignorance

and now

God commands

all people

every culture

every civilization

every language

everywhere

to repent

and to turn

around

because he

has set a

day that he

will judge

the world

in righteousness

people talk

about apologetics

arguing

the cause

of the faith

I've got a big

common

apologetics

in fact I think

apologetics

!

I agree

but it's

got to get

to there

you've got to

get to the

point where

you call

people to

repent

you've got to

get to the

people when

you say to

people

God has

said a

day that

you have

judged the

words

and if

you don't

get there

whatever you're

doing

it's not

possible

proclamation

and he

will judge

the world

in righteousness

by the man

he's appointed

and how do you

know that?

Because he's

raised him

from the

dead

that's what

Paul says

that is a

sign of

Jonah

and embarrassed

supernaturalism

and that's

why you have

to take

Jesus

seriously

to it

so what

do we

need to

do about

it?

Last point

how are we

to respond

to what

God has

done for

three things

that Jonah

mentions at

the end

of the

chapter

verse 8

identify

your idols

those

who pay

regard

to vain

idols

I think

the NIV

I can't

say it's

the NIV

I think

something like

those who

cling to

vain idols

is that

right?

Leslie

Bals

is my

NIV

expert

get off

Facebook

Leslie

it never

works

when you

can't

go

interactive

does it?

What is

what is

verse 8

in the NIV

does anybody

have the

NIV?

Yes

paper

bibles

those who

cling to

worthless

idols

it's very

helpful

isn't it?

Jonah

wakes up

in the

belly of

the fish

he wakes

himself up

it's very

interesting

Jonah was

a prophet

this isn't

the only

place you

see Jonah

Jonah was

a prophet

in the

northern

kingdom

and he's

been used

by God

marvelously

you can

read about

that in

two kings

this isn't

the only

place you

find Jonah

in the

Old

Testament

he's

a prophet

in the

northern

kingdom

he's

a

servant

of God

and suddenly

he's in the

belly of the

fish

and in

the crisis

he wakes up

to the fact

that all

his life

he's made

an idol

of his

ministry

that is a

terrible

thing to

wake up to

you could have

been in

church work

all your

life

and suddenly

you wake up

and you realise

it's been

idolatry

he wanted

ministry

success

that's why

he'd run

away

he didn't

want to

go to

Nineveh

so he

ran away

and God

was telling

him to

go

he says

no

why

because he

put his

ministry

first and

his reputation

first

it's more

complicated than

that

it's more

subtle than

that

he also

had a

kind of

religious

idol

because we

know that

he felt

superior to

the Ninevites

and that's

why he

didn't want

to go

there

they are

pagans

they are

Israel's

enemies

and he's

a Jew

he is

in covenant

with Yahweh

and he'd

rather go to

hell

and see

those pagans

say

I don't

want people

like that

in this

church

I'd rather

go to hell

and see

pagans

and so

he runs

away

and at

the bottom

of the

tree

God shows

him that's

idolatry

Jonah

and as

long as

you cling

to that

way of

thinking

you forfeit

my grace

can you see

that at the

end of

verse 8

you forsake

their hope

of steadfast

love

you forfeit

my covenant

love

what a lesson

to learn

at the very

end

that could

have been

it for

during

goodness

and he

could have

gone into

eternity

clutching

to an

idol

clinging

to an

idol

he could

have

forfeited

he could

have

forsake

the hope

of steadfast

love

of God

is that

how you

will die

that you

will wake

up to

the fact

that all

your life

you've been

clutching

in idols

it's possible

for ministers

that they

have

to do

that

what is

your

idol

well one

of the

things that

you've

nightmares

about

what is

your greatest

nightmare

what do

you worry

about losing

the most

that's

your

idol

what do

you rely

on to

comfort

yourself

when things

go bad

or difficult

what do

you run

into

food

shopping

sex

leisure

what is

it

sport

can't be

no

look at

it

what's

going to

happen

when you're

too old

and too

fat

to play

anymore

will your

idol

comfort

you then

of course

it will

drop you

drop you

to the

second

team

what is

it

is

work

your

idol

do you

think

God

would

impress

with

your

sporting

trophies

bring

them

on

judgment

day

if you're

clinging

to your

career

and you

get your

sense

of who

you are

and your

sense

of

salvation

from your

job

and your

identity

what's

going to

happen

when they

lay off

people

in the

workplace

you're

going to

take your

appraisal

in on

judgment

day

very well

!

got a

bonus

will

work be

kind

to you

what about

your

peers

those who

promise you

such a good

time

will they

still love

you when

you're

no fun

to be

with

what will

it

profit a

man if

he gains

the whole

world

Jesus

says

I mean

he loses

his own

soul

maybe quite

possibly

you're one of

those beautiful

people and

you've lived a

charmed life

and you've

gained the

whole world

and such

I know

people like

that

they've got

plenty of

money

they've got

a decent

home

and then

the news

comes in

from your

doctor

that the

results

of the

tests

are in

and all

the money

in all

the world

is no

use to

you then

because

what you

need then

can you

see it

it's the

end of

verse 8

steadfast

love

loving

kindness

it's grace

and those

who cling

if you

persist in

clinging

to that

worthless

idol

well you

won't have

it

when you

need it

and you

will forfeit

the grace

of God

and it's

so serious

that we

need to

identify

our idols

we need

to go

home and

take a

good long

hard look

at ourselves

and say

what am I

clinging

to

to give

me my

self-worth

to give

me my

self-esteem

and that's

the first

thing

identify

your idols

certainly

give

yourself

to the

Lord

verse 9

but I

with the

voice of

thanksgiving

will not

sacrifice

to you

what I

vowed

I

will

pay

a

friend

of mine

who was a

minister

went to

visit

someone

who hadn't

been to

their church

for years

and they

had been in

the church

generations

past

and they

had a

connection

with the

church

and he

went on

a

visit

in the

pastor

went in

and he

saw

on the

wall

a

framed

baptismal

certificate

he said

well I

talked to

him about

that

why

is he

putting

that

on the

wall

so he

asked

him

the

man

what is

this

and he

says

that's my

certificate

to say

I was

baptised

in your

church

and the

minister

sounded

brilliantly

when are you

going to

cash it

in

when are you

going to

cash it

in

and some

of you

are members

of this

church

and you've

made

membership

vows

to belong

to this

church

and serve

the

Lord

through

this

local

church

when

will you

take

those