A redemption story- Bro Jesse Howell 8-2-2023

Breas the Lord. It's sure he is good to be in the house of

the Lord this evening. He is a mighty good God. I want to

take a quick minute to thank my pastor Y for allowing me this opportunity to

preach. Uh real quick, before I get started. I want to say

that song that Brother Samuels sing. The older I get, the more it

means to me, and the chorus is said, that would be a happy

day. Well, when I was younger, a happy day was when I

turned sixteen, I got my license, and then whenever I got a girlfriend,

that was a happy day. Don't fall out with me, it was

it was for you too, right, That was a happy day. Then

I got my own trull up. That was a happy day. Then I

got married and that was a really happy day. Now I have little babies,

that was a happy day. I have things that I was looking forward

to. Well, I'm starting to slowly check all them things off the list.

And the more I check off the list, the more excited I am

about about heaven. And I know y'all elders are looking at me like I'm

crazy. I know I am, But you were one. You were young

once too, and you wanted to live your life, and we still have

those desires. But as we live our life and as we get older,

we realize what y'all are also excited about. I ain't there yet. I

am very excited about Heaven. I can't wait to go, and I'm excited

about what God has in this service. I really feel like that He's laid

this on my heart. It's kind of a I feel different in my spirit

than I have in any of the other messages that I've preach I don't quite

know how to uh to to go about it. But we're gonna be looking

in the Book of Jonah, the first chapter. We're gonna read the verse,

the first five verses again. Before you stand, I want to say,

we miss our pastor. We love him dearly, very thankful, very

thankful for this opportunity. Take I take it very seriously. Um. It's

so good to see each one in the house of the Lord tonight. Um.

Okay, if you'll stand for the reading of our text Jonah the first

chapter. Begin reading in verse number one. Now, the word of the

Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amittia, saying, arise, go

to Nina of that great city. And cry against it, for their weakedness

has come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshis from

the presence of the Lord, and went down to job and he found a

ship going to Tarsias. So we paid the fare thereof and went down into

it to go with them unto Tarsias from the presence of the Lord. But

the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and that there was

a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be

broken. Then the mariners were afraid and cried. Every man unto his God

cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it

of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship,

and he lay and was fast asleep. I want to preach for just a

little while something that the Lord has laid on my heart, and I'm gonna

pray here in just a minute. I don't want to preach too much on

the downside of Jonah. Jonah made a terrible mistake, but according to the

redemptive power of God, he made a comeback. And I want to priest

with the Lord being aught being my helper a redemption story. Would you lift

your hands in this place ask God to have his way. God. I

thank you for this service that you have allowed us to attend. God,

I thank you for this chance that you've given us the price to your name.

God. I want to thank you for everything that you've done in us

to bring us to this place that we are at. God, and I

ask that your power would overshadow us. God, hide us in your presence,

I breathe, God, let them see you would not be lord me

with my mouth that I should say what you would have me to say,

nothing more and nothing less. God, let us your glory and let us

see your redemptive pallor tonight. I breathe. We'll get your glory for it

and honor for it. And your son named Jesus, who died on Calorie

for us. We'll thank you and for praise you for it in Jesus name,

thee Man and thee Man. Now we know that Jonah didn't want God

to spare Nineveh. He wanted God just to have mercy on Israel. He

didn't want God's mercy to branch out past that sou Whenever the Lord spoke to

him and told him to go to Nineveh, Jonah disobeyed God and uh with

the other way. Jonah made a terrible mistake for disobeying God's word. And

I'm not gonna downplay his mistake and his actions because he paid severe consequences for

them. But when God told Jonah to go to Ninna, but to preach

to the people there, he gets a boat ticket and starts heading some twenty

five hundred miles the other way from God's will, and the Bible says he

sets sail for a city called Tarsish, and we all know the story.

A great storm came up as they were on their way away from God's will.

According to Jonah, and the Bible says, the ship was like to

be broken. So everyone was scared for their life on the ship, except

for one little preacher man sleeping like a rock. The Bible said he was

fast asleep. And when we get out of the will of God for our

lives and we begin to question God's divine plan, we find ourselves making mistakes

that we end up in the storm of our life, just as Jonah did.

And what I want you to realize is Jonah tried to hide from his

mistake, and he tried to hide from the judgment of God. And he

says he went down into the ship and he tried to sleep at off.

He tried to sleep the judgment of God off and but he couldn't escape the

storm of his disobedience in me. And you'll never ever ever hide from your

sin and from the things that are that you're doing that are contrary to the

word of God, David said in Psalms fifty one to three. For right

knowledge, my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. You can you

can try hiding like Jonah did down in the ship, but you will find

out that you cannot hide from the judgment of God. Jonah was trying to

hide the shipmen on debt was trying to save the ship. They were trying

to keep the boat afloat. They were trying everything they could. They threw

everything off that that they could. They were trying to They were trying their

best to save it. And we gotta realize tonight that that when we make

more choices in our life, other people around us are affected by our choices.

Jonah's down in the ship sleeping, the Bible said he was fast asleep.

He had no no trouble going to sleep, and there's some some ship

then, and some deck hands on top up top dead trying to save the

ship. And if you make a decision to run, like Jonah, you

might be fast asleep. The storm may not bother you too much. Maybe

you can sleep it off and it seemingly not touch you. Maybe you feel

like you're doing okay with it. Maybe you feel like you ran from the

will of God, and that's God affected you too much. You may some

mistakes that it's not affecting you. I'm now sleeping, but it will affect

people that are close to you, and they will find themselves in a battle

to keep their boat upright and floating. We have more to worry about than

ourselves. We have people watching us, and they are in fact affected by

our actions and our reactions. Moving on in the story, the ship master

comes to Jonah and and wakes him from his sleep and tells him to pray

to his god. The Bible says, I believe it said they were all

praying to their gods. So the ship master remembers, down in Joba,

there was an old preacher man said he was a preacher, got on the

ship, and when everybody's calling on God, this old preacher is nowhere to

be seen. So the shipmaster goes old Johannah Jonah and wakes him uffing,

tells him to pray to his God to see if he will stave him from

the storm. They begin to cast lots and to see if they could figure

out the reason. And God directed the chance. It was chance, but

God had his divine will and way in it. And the Joanah true the

short stick, if you will. So at this point Jonah fesses up and

he tells him that yes, I'm the reason for the storm. I'm the

reason that I'm running from God's will. And he and he tells him that

if he will, if they'll throw him overboard about the winds, and the

waves will seize and the sea will be called. The Bible says they tried

to row the boat to shore the best they could, and said they they

are. They fought the waves and the and the and the and the winds,

and but they couldn't. They couldn't. They couldn't beat the storm of

God's judgment. So they finally throw the old preacher overboard, and the Bible

says that the seas ceased from her raging. Now I have a mind to

believe that before the Jonah hit the water, the seas were calm. He

throws them over below. I want to point out tonight, Jonah's storm wasn't

over. When the storm ended, the sea was calm, but his punishment

was far from over. When we run from the will of God and the

planet of God in our life, many times we have more than one storm

or more than one battle to fight when we get back. I heard it

all my life. Don't need church, don't get out of church. Don't

lose the holy goals, because if you ever do, you had to fight

way harder to get it back, to get back what you once had.

And Jonah's thrown into the sea, the sea is calm, and his punishment

is not over. But if you're in awe, so he's he's he's he's

dealing with a second, a second storm. If you're wheel because he ran

from the plan of God. And and if you're currently currently living in sin,

or if you have spent any time in sin without the Lord, you

can say, yes I have scars, and yes I have things that I

wish I could heal. I have things that I wish I could go back

and change and I made mistakes like Jolah did. When the Lord lay out

a beautiful plan for my life, I went the other way because it wasn't

what I wanted to do. And now we have the scars and the memories

to show for us doing things our way. Like I said, Jonah had

already faced the storm of his life. But after the storm was calm,

they threw After the storm was calm, and after they threw Jonah over,

the Bible says that the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.

And we all know he spent three days and three nights in the worst hotel

you can imagine. Jonah didn't enjoy his stay at that hotel at all.

In fact, he described it as the belly of hell. It was a

horrible place that God had to take Jonah to get him to realize the error

of his ways and get him to reconsider the way that he acted in to

reconsider his disobedient spirit towards the plan of God. Jonah said a prayer in

chapter two, The Beautiful Prayer. And after the prayer and after Jonah fixes

things with the Lord, God tells the fish to take the old preacher man

to the shore, because I'm not through with him yet. Jonah had made

terrible mistakes of our lives. I've already said, but God wasn't through with

him. You've all heard they're just washed up, right, Well, Jonah

was on the shore, but he sure wasn't washed up. And I've heard

it said they're done for they've gone too far this time. There's no hope

for them. And somebody might feel that way this tonight, that you feel

like you went too far this time, you feel like you've frustrated the grace

of God. Weren't too many times you feel like that hope is running out

and that delight of your day is fading. But God's not through yet.

But if the devil can convince you that there is no recovery, I said,

if the devil can't convince you to give up the fight, and if

the devil can't convince you to lay down and quit, then his his job

is over. He's completed what he was coming to do in your life.

The devil would tell you that you've gone too far, that there's no recovery.

But it's time that we realize that the devil's a liar and he always

be well will be one. Pick yourself up, just your knees are tire

boots, and get to march it again. It's time to rise above the

fall tonight, and don't let the devil have the final say. And you're

like, don't cus sit there and give up and say, well you win.

I can't do it. I can't do it anymore. And I'm not

strong enough. You're right, we're not strong enough. Jonah found out that

he wasn't strong enough. He found out real quick that he get only go

as far as God would leave. I told y'all, I feel a little

bit different than I have since I preached. But this is the way that

I feel that they go. But I'm sure that the Devil wasn't expecting the

Lord to give Janah a second chance. He figured after he boughted that ship

to Tarsha's he ran down to jump. I said, let me get up

out here. The devil said, I got him. He's seen the storm

come up, and you see him through. The devil don't know everything.

He didn't know. He seemed them throw Joana over in the middle of the

sea. Ain't no, I don't know how far they were from land.

I'm sure back in them days. They stayed kind of close to land.

They didn't have the navigational systems that we have. But I'm sure so,

I'm sure they probably stayed with insight. Maybe not. I could be wrong.

I've been wrong before. But when the devil seen him throw Johnah overboard,

maybe he thought that's the end of that old preacher man. Hey,

that's the end of that old say of God. I said, they sail

one too many times. This time there ain't no recurringdrom that fall. Jonah

decided it was time to shake the mistake, to pick himself up from the

fall and the failure of disobedience. And he obeyed the word of the Lord

and the plan of God. And just because you make a mistake don't mean

you give up and quit. Just pick yourself up. Say, if I

fall ten hives, I'm getting off a living. I'm reminded of the old

story that I had that I heard when I was quite a bit younger,

of the old farmer and the donkey. I'm sure you all wholehearted. I

love it. They're walking through the field and there's an old abandoned well there,

Empy well will the old donkey falls off in there and the farmer said,

well, I can't get him out. I'm old. The donkey's old.

She served me, well, I'll just bury it right here. This

will be her grave. She's fell in the hole. Will The old farmer

goes and gets his shovel, and he starts burying the old donkey. Starts

burying the old donkey. But he looked out and there at every time that

he throws his shovel load of dirt on the old donkey's back and just shake

it off and step on it. And before the old farmer knew it,

he had threw enough dirt in there that the old donkey and just stepped right

up from the trouble. That just sapped right up on the dirt. Power

was out of the hole. And if you treat your circumstances that way and

not let the devil get a hold of you, and not let the devil

had to last. Seeing your life, I said, you'll be surprised and

lo the power what Gop do in your life? We need a determination in

this last day to stand strong on the world of God and righteousness and holding

ess inward need and hawardly. I believe holdiness on the inside and mass and

I believe holding us on the outside still matters. I was free. I

told you I'm preaching on every gyptition story. Let me ginning the definition of

Egypt And I don't know that I ain't being on giving definitions in church.

But if you do it, that's fine. I love it. It's my

first time. Redicion means an act of redeeming, atoning for a fault or

mistake, or the state of being redeemed. And let me remind you tonight

that Christ may the atonement for our sins on the cross of Calorie. And

we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus if we accepted a grace of God

and the blood of Jesus in our life, and we understand that He is

the Lord, that he came from the Lord to God for our sins.

They say, everybody loves a good comeback story. The story of Johnny is

one of redemption in the mercy of God on an individual's life. The long

suffering and mercy of Jesus amazes me still many today, I'm gonna get off

right here. Many of today trying to advantage of the mercy of God.

And they say it's okay to sin a little bit every day. But that's

so much of a lie, thinks the devil blush. The devil himself is

proud of that when he's the father of lies. I said, that's a

lie. You don't have to sin every day. You can live about this

world. You can't live according to the plan of God, don't you.

Don't nobody in here take what I'm preaching as a license to sin. Just

ain't no license to sin. And this ain't no charismatic You can sin a

little every day and still make it to heaven because of mercy. Kind of

a message I'm preaching to those that I've lived holy lies cons are created unto

God. Then they found little foxes have came in and started gnalling on the

vines, but good fruit of their life. The Vible said, small foxes,

spoil of vine. You try to live holy, you try to live

godly, and you can through Christ, and you should through Christ. But

if you lie like Jna, and you found in your life a little fox,

a little fox of disobedience, God said, take a laugh, And

I didn't take a lab God said, shout glory. I didn't shout glory.

God said, seeing it, I didn't see God said praise the Lord,

and I didn't praise the Lord, and you've got a small fox in

there. Even all that look true, then your true and righteousness is proven.

That's who I'm preaching tonight. Preach it too. I'm preaching a gospel

that tells you that there is mercy and grace in this place. You can

find a peace and joy that you once you once knew when you get back

in God's will and plan for your life. Once Jonah got back to what

he was supposed to be doing and acting the way that he was supposed to

be acting, then he found God's mercy and grace. Once Jonah made up

in his mind, I believe he made it up before he even even got

out of the fish's belly. God, if you'll get me out of here,

I'll go do exactly what you said. I believe that that Jonah found

mercy on the way to Tarsius. Paul found mercy on the Damascus road.

David found mercy after murder. But these men didn't intentionally continue to use and

abuse God's mercy. Yes, mercy was granted, but it wasn't an everyday

thing. On God, forgive me. I slipped up again today I tripped

up again to day, God forgive me that's abused and the grace and the

mercy of God. And there will come a time in your life whenever you

call for mercy, then when you call for grace and the God of Jesus

on their life, then you won't find it if you treat it that way

the men of God. Peter found mercy after he failed the Lord and betrayed

him. After he told the Lord I'll never deny you, Matthew twenty six

thirty five, Peter saith under him the why I shouldn't die with thee yet?

Will I not deny them? But only about thirty four verses later,

if I counted correctly, Peter denied the Savior. He had just promised the

Lamb of God that he would never deny him. And it only took about

thirty four verses in the Sacred writ And I don't know how long how much

time that equates to, but very short thereafter Peter denies him, and I'm

sir Peter asked what he was saying, I'll never deny you. I'm sure

he meant it. I really don't think that Peter would have intentionally lied to

the to the to God, Almighty God in Carney, God in the flesh.

I don't think he would have him. And if and if if Jesus

would have knew that, would he would have if he if he lied to

him intentionally, Jesus knew he was going to deny you. But I really

believe that Jesus knew that Peter was sincere Peter thought he had a hold of

it. He was sure that he was not or never gonna deny you.

Some here to say, I'm some here tonight, I say. I never

thought that I would get that lot. I never thought that I find myself

in a situation like this one. I gave him the devil a little when

he took a lot. I never expected it to go this far. I

never expected it to turn into this. It was such a little fox,

It was such a little thing that I was doing. But it turned into

my whole life. It turned into my mind. It's all I can think

about. I can't gave it. I feel the Holy Ghost in here like

I had it in a while for myself. When I preaching, the Holy

Ghost is always to hear. I never thought it would turn into this me.

I never thought I would be the one to dealing with this same Peter

that think that he would ever deny the Lord Jesus. I believe that from

the bottom of my lord, I don't think Peter would have lainly lined to

the Lord on purpose. The Bible tells us to who that Peter went out

and wept bitterly. Peter found saving grace at the end of his tears,

at the end of his repents. That's when he found grace. That's when

he found God's birthy over flew. Peter could have acted like he couldn't get

over the thought that he denied Jesus three times. He could have acted like

old God. I can't even bear to look Caddy. I promised him I

would never I would never deny him. I promised him that if I died

with him, I wouldn't deny him. But here I did. I deny

him, not once, but three times. But the fact is is that

Peter got over his faults and his failures and went on to become the preacher

of the Upper Room. At the Upper Room where the Holy Ghost was first

poured out, Peter foundry teeming grace and mercy. And that same grace and

mercy is in this place to take you back to your first love and give

you back the praise and the worship that you left in the fall. Who

versus on the dor that you used to give it on a daily basis that

whenever you let the small fox fox come in, that you lost the fox.

Ain't you pray the cat got your time? I will give that back

to you if you will repent like Jonah, like Peter. Two stories of

God's pregeptive grace, God's pregeptive pallor you must repent and ask God to take

you back to the place. I'm getting ready to make an offer here to

night, and I wonder if there's anyone I will say, I need to

get back, me get a song. I need to get back to that

place where I once was. This isn't the way that I want my story

to end. Jonah's story could have ended in the great Well, in the

Great Fish story. Peter's story could have ended out there in the vide a

five minute warming his hands. It could have ended. Everybody didn't have to

because he prayed for God's saving grace and mercy won his life. And don't

that's your story in that way? Tonight? We stand when God gave Jonah

another chance. He said, yes, Lord, do your will and to

your way. And I really believe that God is offering up a second chance

to someone tonight. I know we looked across the crowd and we see who

could it be. Everyone seems like their dressed to the teeth, they got

their eyes darted and their teeth are crossed. Everything looks just right. But

I really felt this in my spirit that someone can have the life altering night

right here, and that you can save once and for all. I'm done

with it. Sure we will still need the mercy of God and the grace

of God on our lives, but not in the way that we need it

tonight. You don't have to slide back into that same old run that you

slide into every year on that cycle, every few much you end up in

the same face you gave so much ground, and then you end up right

it back where you are. Let your mistakes be in the past, don't

let them rule your future. Don't let your mistakes in your past decide where

you will spend eternity. Yes, we have failed in our lives, and

the Bible says all have said, and come short of the glory of hud.

But you can get over your mistakes and failures in an altar tonight.

You can let the Lord have everything you can. You can offer your your

complete self, the complete sacrifice, a total surrendering, a total complete surrendery

everything every turn I give to you. If you can feel like prayer,

let's find the place to pray. Mike A seven. And they said,

rejoice not against me all my enemies. Where I fall, he didn't say

if I fall. He said, when I fall, I shall arise.

You can have a fresh start tonight. The mercy I got it over shadow

your life in this place. He used the same now as you made up,

how you made up, but you're doing again. Yes, he do

again again. If you just say you love and where you are now and

where you be, He's always go for you. He used the same now

as you may not know how you be not bowing that you do it.

God know the things that you will go through, and he knows how you're

hurting. He knows you hard and just how it's been broke, going too.

But he is the god, the sign and the scene, and he

your father, and he be calm the storm, and he find a lad.

He picts it for you. Yes, you doing again, you again,

if you just speak a look and where you are and where you mean

as he always talking three for you, he's the same now as you mean

not no, how you may not know him. You do it again,

You do it again, if you're just tak to where you are now being

where be as always talk through for you, he's the same how lessons you

may not do, how you may not know why will You may be down

and feel like God and somehow forgotten that you are fing to reserve consences cat

like how he seeing that they're four we out and you'll go in under the

God's cree time and time again. You'll take it. Oh you again,

you again, if you just see the love where you are now and will

be Oh, He's always for He's the same sound as him. You may

have soule hol you. They like the wid