Running from God

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

Jonah chapter one.

The book of Jonah has much to say about responsibility and duty of the Christian.

God calls us to be responsible, to fulfill what He calls us to do.

You and I have a duty.

And in the book of Jonah, we are warned about the consequences of disobedience in the book of Jonah of not fulfilling our duty.

We are warned about the consequences of disobedience, but we are also, in the book of Jonah, encouraged about receiving the blessings because of obedience.

See, it's very simple as a Christian.

If you don't hear anything else, it's worth you sitting here.

If you're willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.

If you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.

Isaiah 1, 19 and 20.

It's really, that's the whole book.

That's the prepositional proposition, preposition.

The theme of the whole book is the results of obedience and the results of disobedience.

You're blessed if you're obedient, hey, you're cursed if you're disobedient.

So that's basically, and by the way, we see that theme all the way through the Old Testament with Israel.

When they were obedient, they were blessed.

When they were disobedient, they were cursed.

So basically, this is a synopsis of the whole Old Testament.

And I told you last week, that's why this book is so important.

People today, though, are not interested in their duty.

They're not interested in responsibility.

They're more interested in privileges than God's precepts.

Can I get an O me?

Amen.

They're more interested in their privileges instead of God's precepts.

They're more interested in their rights than their responsibilities.

Amen.

Big difference.

Big difference.

So, with that said, let's begin and let's look at, I want us to look at five things this morning about Jonah in the first three verses.

Now the word of the Lord, verse one, came unto Jonah, the son of Amatai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.

And Jonah rose up to flee into Tarshus from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa, and he found a ship going to Tarshish.

So he paid the fare thereof and went down into it to go with them into Tarshus from the presence of the Lord.

First thing I want us to look at this morning is the direction of Jonah.

God, we see in the book of Jonah, places a high priority on our responsibilities and our duty.

I mean, a high priority.

He really does.

And the first thing I want us to see under the direction of Jonah is there's two things here from the Lord.

We see, first of all, that the Lord's in charge.

Can I get an amen?

If you are here this morning and you are a Christian, there's no doubt in your mind, you can go back to the place and time where God radically changed your life.

You know you got saved.

Therefore, if any man be in Christ Jesus, he's a new creation.

Old things have passed away.

Behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5, 17.

You can go back to that place.

Listen, I want you to know Jesus Christ is Lord of you.

He is your master.

Can I get an amen?

So I want to look at first of all that God was Jonah's master.

Number one, he's the master over Jonah.

He's Lord.

In fact, we see the word of the Lord is used seven times in this small little book.

Who is the master here?

It's the Lord.

We see in verse 1, he has the first word.

We see in chapter 4, verse 11, he has the last word.

I've got news for you, ladies and gentlemen.

Jesus Christ has the first word in our life the moment we get saved, but he'll also one day have the last word when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

That's it.

He's the beginning and the end.

So we see that stated right up front in the book of Jonah.

Now notice the word Lord, we know is kurios, and but that's in the New Testament, and that's the Greek word for Lord.

But in the Old Testament, the word is Jehovah.

It's Jehovah, which is the redemptive name of God.

Jehovah clothed Adam and Eve with skins in the Garden of Eden.

From the very beginning, we see God provided for man and woman.

From the very beginning, God is our provider.

God is our protector.

And we see throughout Scripture, the Lord is known by several titles, which reveals his work to mankind.

For example, Jehovah Jirah means the Lord provides.

How about Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our healer?

How about Jehovah Nisi, the Lord our banner?

He covers us.

How about Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace, the Lord of peace?

What about Jehovah Reha, the Lord our shepherd?

What about Jehovah Tiskanu, which means the Lord our righteousness?

So we see his name.

The Lord meets every need man has in our life, and it's represented through his names of who he is to us.

My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4.19.

Aren't you glad this morning that God knows who you are, knows where you are, knows hey, what you need, when you need it, how you need it, and if you obedient, he'll provide it.

Now that's worth even a Presbyterian shouting.

Amen.

So, the Lord meets every mean man has in life.

And in this book, the Lord is seeking the redemption of the city of Nineveh.

So, and by the way, to perform that, he conveys the message we see in verse 1 through his word.

Now, listen, let me say this.

God has a duty for you.

God has responsibilities for you.

And you say, Well, here am I.

I signed up, I'm in the army, God's army now, I'm ready to report to duty.

So, when you report to duty, guess what?

God has his manual called the B-I-B-L-E that he delivers his orders through.

Let me just help you right now.

You will get your orders from the general, from the master, from the Lord through the word of God.

If you do not know the word of God, you will not know your duty.

Amen.

That's how important the word of God is to your life.

That's why a wana is so important to your children.

That's why your teenagers, it's so important you to be on here Wednesday night as you're getting the truth from Rick.

It's so important that you hear on Sunday mornings so that you get the truth from the Word of the Living God.

In your small groups.

Oh, in small groups, they're taking questions from this message.

That's why it's so important you be attentive, filling out these lines, because you'll in this small group there'll be three to four questions that you ask that y'all talk out and how can we apply this message to our life?

How can we leave here this morning and be an obedient soldier for the glory of God?

This is all to grow you.

Why, the more you grow, are you ready?

The more responsibility you get.

Well, you say, well, good, then I don't want to grow.

I don't want any responsibilities.

Well, go ahead and go swimming in the belly of the fish.

Hello?

Hey, the the alternative is not a good one.

Hello.

It's not a good one to be obedient.

You'd been better off not getting saved.

Hello?

Did the pastor say that?

Yes! You'd be better off that not have gotten saved than to get saved and then decide you're not gonna live for God.

In fact, sometimes I wonder how you can really get saved if you've done.

I just I struggle with that.

I think when you get saved, you're ready to work for God.

Amen.

You're a new creation.

You have a new attitude, you have a new action.

Amen.

So now I want you to look at this.

Watch this.

Number one, God's word, here it is, is a prerequisite and a priority in discerning our duty.

Before Jonah could know God's will, God's word had to come first in his life.

Now the word of the Lord came into Jonah, verse one.

He must know the word before he can discern God's will for our lives.

If we do not know the word, we will walk in ignorance of our most important responsibilities of our life.

Amen.

Do you see how important the word of God is for us?

If you don't know the word, you don't know your duty.

If you don't, hey, if you don't know your duty, you don't know your responsibilities.

Man, that's good.

So good.

So, it's very important.

We are to be missionaries, watch, to our family, to our friends, to our foes, to our neighbors and loved ones.

We are to actively serve the Lord in our church and get involved.

Can I tell you, if you're in the army, you don't get medals for going to the mess hall.

Hello, amen.

Hello.

You don't.

You don't get medals for going to the mess hall.

You get medals for fulfilling your duty.

And especially fighting, hey, in a war, you're fighting the battle.

You're fighting, hey, for your country, you're fighting for, hey, responsibilities that God has given to you.

Same way in the army of God.

We are warriors.

And we don't just get medals for just coming to church.

Hello.

Now it's part of it.

Why?

Why do you come to church?

You're getting trained.

It's like soldiers going to training.

They get up and go to training.

You come to church, you come to small groups, you come to youth groups, you come to a one-on-one with your kids and family together to get trained so you'll know your responsibilities and your duties for God, and then you go do it weekly faithfully.

That's when you get rewarded.

So we got to understand that.

That is so important.

Second thing, God's word is practical in declaring our duties.

God's word is practical and applicable.

It is never out of touch with circumstances of our life.

I am sick and tired of hearing the liberal media try to tell us that the word of God is not relevant for today.

I got good news for you.

It was relevant from the beginning, and it'll be relevant at the end.

Amen.

Before anything was, his word was, and after everything will be, his word still will be.

Amen.

So we see it is relevant for today.

God's word is practical.

Notice what he said.

He said, go to Nineveh and preach the gospel.

We right now.

It's practical for our lives.

We are to go into Westover and Chelsea, our neighborhoods, our schools, and preach the gospel.

That's why I love every week going into our community, being a blessing, and sharing the good news, giving out the little life and death tracks, giving out the Jesus' awesome bracelets.

That's why Rick's already gotten in, he's uh has become the chaplain now, Tacusa Valley.

We're excited about that.

He's also involved with Christian Hope, Christian uh homeschooling.

He's uh doing, fixing to get involved with first priority, even in the elementary school.

And uh I'm telling you, folks, this is awesome.

We're going after it.

We want to make a difference.

We want to be a light.

Amen.

We're light, not to be hid.

Not to be hid.

God's word was a blessing to Israel, Nineveh, and Jonah, because it revealed God's will to them, their duty and their responsibility.

Now, watch this.

To know God's will and to do it leads to reaping great blessings.

For a person to be ignorant, now listen, of his will is a tragedy.

One of the worst judgments God did to Israel when they neglected the word of God.

Are you ready?

Sounds a lot like America to me.

When they neglected the word of God, he took the word of God from them.

Hello.

Amos, listen to this.

Chapter 8, verse 11.

God said, Behold, the days will come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land.

Not a famine of bread, not a famine of water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.

God help us.

In America, we've done everything we can do the last 25 years to literally kick God out of everything in America.

And we wonder why America has been going down, down, down.

When you kick God out, there's only one direction.

Down, down, down.

When you disobey God, there's only one direction.

Down, down, down.

God help us to have revival in America.

Can I get an amen?

So we see the master.

Now notice the second thing.

Notice the second thing under the direction of Jonah, the message, verse 2.

Jonah's time was much like ours today.

He was living in a time in Israel that it was disobedient, it was depraved and disgusting, even though it was powerful militarily speaking, and money-wise.

Judgment was on the horizon.

God would eventually make, listen, is, hey, God would eventually make Assyria, and boy, is this not true, the rod of his anger.

Listen what he says in Isaiah chapter 10, verse 5.

Isaiah 10:5

O Assyrian, the rod of my anger and the staff in their hand is my indignation.

In other words, he says, I'm going to use Assyria to bring judgment on Judah, on Israel, because of their disobedience.

And he was about ready to do that.

He was about to do that, but he said, No, I'm going to give them another chance.

I'm going to give them another chance.

I'm going to give them another chance.

I'm not going to allow Syria to come in and take them over right now.

I really believe that, you know, these are my people.

I love my people.

I'm going to send the prophet of God, Jonah, over there so he can preach the good news.

They'll get saved.

And they will not what?

Attack Israel.

And he did for 130 years.

There was a blessing because the good news got to the Assyrians in Nineveh.

But we see God had a job for Jonah to do.

Now watch this.

The duty which God gave Jonah opened up a tremendous opportunity for Jonah.

Now don't miss this.

When God taught me this this last month, I said, Oh my soul, if my people at CCW catch this, it could revolutionize everything.

Because see, the church, CCW is no better than you and me individually.

Amen.

Let me help you right here.

A handful of people can't do it.

But a church full of godly people can do it.

You listening to me?

And that's why we're here.

That's why you're here.

For you that are visiting.

That's why God may want you here.

You want to be a part of what God wants to do in Westover and Chelsea.

You want to be a I'm telling you, there were 600,000 people in Nineveh.

600,000.

120,000 of those people were children.

They didn't know the left from the right.

He knew that they needed revival.

He knew that they needed him.

Jesus knew that.

So he gives this unbelievable opportunity for Jonah.

Can you imagine as a preacher an opportunity to go to preach to 600,000 lost folks?

Give me that opportunity.

I won't run in the opposite direction.

Bless God, I'll run right into the middle of them.

And start hollering, Jesus is awesome.

But he tried to run.

Now here's what I want you to see.

Opportunity and duty go hand in hand.

If you're not faithful in doing your duty that God's called you to do, you're going to miss the great opportunities that He has for you.

Somebody say, that's good, preacher.

And my question, the moment I saw that truth, was I wonder how many opportunities I have missed.

Because of my unfaithfulness.

Or because of my will instead of God's will.

Wow.

The opportunity that he was about to miss.

He shuns his opportunity.

He shuns his duty.

Everyone who forsakes duty loses opportunities.

Can you imagine that?

That's kind of enlightening, isn't it?

I don't know about you, but I and I know for you younger folks, you don't quit it doesn't affect you like it affects me right now.

Because I can remember back when I was a 30 years old.

Man, I thought I knew everything.

Then I met Sister Fluffyhead and realized I knew nothing.

I mean, I was just so eager and man, let's just go, go.

In fact, I think back when in my younger days I was going so fast I missed opportunities.

Because I was looking for the big opportunity instead of the everyday opportunity.

Oh, yeah.

See, duty starts, and we I'm getting ahead of myself.

Man, this is so good.

Opportunity.

Rewind.

Opportunity.

Now watch.

Opportunity seldom comes in Christmas packages.

Oh.

Oh, I'm waiting for that big one.

I'm being faithful.

I'm waiting for the big one.

No.

Opportunities come in everyday packages.

Not that big Christmas package.

Not that big Christmas package.

Just plain paper in our everyday duties.

Duty may appear drab, boring, inconvenient, and tiring.

Can I all say amen?

I mean, you get up every morning, you go to where God's given you a job, you go to school, where he's placed you in school, you go to work, you study.

I mean, and same thing over and over and over again, and you're sitting there.

This is boring.

I don't lie.

I mean, we just complain and gripe, and and and you know what's funny?

Then you lose your job and you start complaining and griping then.

So where is it?

I'd lots rather be complaining and griping with a check than with that one.

Hello?

Just a thought.

But but and that was Jonah.

Bless his heart.

He just was so negative.

He really was.

Jonah had a great opportunity presented to him.

Now notice the elements of God's message to Jonah.

This is worth you being here.

First of all, look.

Look at what he says.

God says, arise.

The word there is kum.

It means to stand, it means to accomplish, it means to persist, it means to continue, it means to establish.

This was a really a rising, rousing call to action.

He said, Do something.

God was ready to warn Nineveh and He tells Jonah, let's go.

We need to realize that when God speaks, when God speaks through his word to us, he has something to say.

He has something to communicate to us.

Us when you read your word every day or daily, don't you just get up and read it because you're supposed to read it.

You get up and you read it looking for God to talk directly to you because He's got something for you every day in that book.

He's got positive and He's got negative.

He's got blessings and He's got warnings.

Amen?

Wow, that's good.

So, first of all, notice, arise, we see the walking of duty.

Now, this is not in your notes, but just listen to me.

God was ready to warn Nineveh.

God speaks, He communicates.

Our response is to listen.

Here's our response when God speaks.

We are to listen diligently.

Listen, hey, diligently, and then obey diligently.

Can I get an amen?

That's our response to when God's speaking.

Listen carefully and obey diligently.

The word arise is often used.

Arise, go over the Jordan, Josh.

Joshua, arise and get down to the host of the Mennonites, he said to Gideon, Samuel, arise and anoint Saul.

So God's message is the same today as it was to Jonah.

Arise, CCW.

Go into the community, stand, be persistent.

Hey, in your job, get up, be excited, arise, go to school, arise, stand, be consistent, be persistent in your message that Jesus is alive.

Amen.

Day in, day out.

And the opportunities will flow by.

They will flow by.

I guarantee it.

Guarantee it.

No doubt about it.

What an unbelievable truth.

Now, notice the message.

Nineveh was a powerful city, but its greatness was no substitute for its spiritual anema and apathy toward God.

Look at what he says.

And by the way, hey, it was a great city.

Notice what it said in verse 2.

It's a great city.

It was a great city.

Nineveh is located 75 miles south of Turkey in present-day Iraq.

It was called the Great City four times.

It was a great city of education.

It was the educational capital of the world at that time.

The commerce was unbelievable.

The farm, agriculture, it was just a powerful city at that time.

And the dimensions of the whole square miles was over 350 square miles.

It was huge.

We talked about the walls and the fortified city.

So we know the opportunity here, it was just unbelievable.

But let me remind all, it's kind of like America, we've been so great for all these years.

But Mark 8, 36 says, For what shall it profit a man or a country if they gain the whole world and lose their own soul?

And this, hey, this city was about to lose its whole soul.

This is not the first time we've heard that cry out.

Remember in Genesis 18, and the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, he says, I'm going to come down myself and see the wickedness and bring judgment if they don't repent.

America, if we don't repent, God's going to bring judgment.

Or he would be a liar in the world.

Hey, to Sodom and Gomorrah.

Wow.

What an opportunity.

God describes a city, notice in verse 2, wickedness.

Let me tell you why they were so wicked.

Kind of parallelism here with America.

They were guilty of evil plots against the Lord.

Nahum 1 9, the little prophet.

Now, you say we don't have evil plots against God.

We don't.

Everywhere we turn, they're trying to, we can't even pray in our public high schools anymore.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is America.

I can pray more in Russia and in third world countries than I can in my own country.

We're trying to just completely kick him out.

Evil plots against the Lord.

I mean, now we even have, and God help us, we even have now Muslims.

Are you ready for this?

Muslims saying that they're being distreated with their religious beliefs.

Hello! What is that?

That's an evil plot to just continue to get God out.

Can I get an amen?

Owe me.

Then, secondly, they exploited those who were helpless and were cruel in war.

Nahum 2.12.

And then number three, it was a bloodthirsty city and filled with perfusion.

Nahum chapter 3, verses 1 through 4.

Nahum 3:1–4

Listen to what it says, that whole four verses.

Woe to the bloody city.

Have you read the news lately about policemen being shot filling up their gas tanks?

Have you read in the city how murders are increasing?

There's a 50, 18% increase in murders in the United States in the last six months.

God help us.

What do we need?

We need what the Ninevites needed.

We need revival.

So we see, we see right here that he, you know, that it was such a wicked place.

He was to rise.

Now watch this.

And then he says, go to Nineveh.

Notice his, I call it his walk of boredom.

Nineveh was 500 miles away.

His only transportation was to walk.

It would take him four to eight weeks to get there.

That's, I mean, that's just boring.

It's intense.

It's hard.

And I got to thinking about it.

All I can tell you is about young preachers because I've trained preachers for 35 years.

The young preachers, they're what we, and I was one.

We want the bright lights of success without the boredom of the walk and the work.

Same way with business.

They want to have a million-dollar business overnight.

David Wilson has been in SERPRO 35 years.

I remember when he didn't have squat.

I didn't have squat either.

We squatted together.

Y'all laugh.

That's the truth.

Hey, I'm telling you.

I can remember those days.

Hey, 35 years, let me tell you something.

You do something faithfully for 35 years and put your heart in it.

I'm going to help you, young people.

You'll be successful.

And when you get my age, guess what?

You can start enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Hello.

Well, I want this.

I want that.

Well, bless God work for it.

Well, you got this and you got that.

Yeah, I got it.

I enjoy it.

But I worked for it.

Nobody gave it to me.

You said, Well, I want a cover.

Well, I did.

I wanted a bicycle.

The first thing I wanted was a little bicycle.

I didn't have a bicycle.

My parents didn't have enough money to buy me a$10 bicycle.

Well, they're$15 brand new.

So I went and I got me a paper wrap and I bought a$5 bicycle and I worked with that and I threw papers on that$5 bicycle.

I painted it with a stroke, ugly.

But I painted it and I oiled the chain and I worked and I worked.

And then I wanted a motorcycle.

I bought me a motorcycle and I rode the motorcycle.

Hey, delivering papers, and the policeman stopped me.

They all knew me because I played football and they said, Danny, you don't have license.

I said, I know, but I gotta pay for this motorcycle.

And I uh they said, All right, just don't get on the main highways, just keep going.

Okay, and I kept going.

You know why?

Because I was working.

They appreciated that.

Then I wanted a car.

Guess what?

I couldn't, my parents couldn't buy me a car, so I bought, hey, I started working two jobs and bought me a car.

Didn't keep it long because it was a 394-speed 67 fastback Mustang, and I'm Franklin, we're gonna bill me one.

And hey, hey, and listen, still didn't have a license, but but I had a learner's license.

But hey, hey, and I kept it six months because I couldn't pay for the gas and the insurance.

Sold it, but made a little profit.

Then I went to school, worked, worked, worked, worked, preached, worked, worked, got an education.

So I wouldn't have to work as hard.

Hello, I'm my first job when I got I was changing oil at the Volkswagen and Ball Bennings.

Nothing wrong with changing oil.

But I decided all these young whippers snappers my age were coming in with their briefcases, and I'm sitting there changing their oil, and I thought to myself, now wait a minute, I'm gonna go to school.

I want to walk in with a briefcase, let somebody change my oil.

Hello.

Are you getting the drift?

So when you look at these successful people, let me tell you, it costs something.

Nothing's free, church.

Hard work.

And I know what you're gonna say.

Yeah, but you don't understand my circumstances.

I don't have to.

God knows them.

But I'm gonna tell you, I came from a poor family, came from a broken home, kicked out of my home when I was 11 years old, and I just made up my mind, hey, when my mother and my father forsake me, whoa, I'm about to have a running spell.

And the Lord shall take me up, and I work and I'll be faithful to him and love him and give back to him.

He'll take care of me and bless me unbelievably.

Are y'all here?

Anybody else got that story?

Let me see your hand.

Yeah, that's what I thought.

That's what I thought.

Hello.

So when somebody said, Boy, you've been blessed, I said, Yes, I've been blessed.

And I've been blessed to bless others.

And all along this journey, God's allowed me to bless others.

Bless others.

I've never hoarded it, I've given it back.

The Bible says to whom much is given?

Much is required.

And give, and it shall be given unto you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall men give back unto you.

Amen.

That's good.

You want it?

Go get it.

Nothing, nothing is impossible with my God.

He can take the little old country boy that was voted the most likely to be locked up and do what he's done through my life.

He can do it through you.

My wife graduated sumacum.

See, God knew I needed help.

He sent me a gorgeous, smart, godly woman.

She graduated summakum law.

I graduated, thank the Lord.

I I mean I needed all the help I could get.

When y'all read all that, I don't ever send anything that she doesn't make me sound good.

Amen.

Two are better than one.

Amen.

I'm sorry, but I enjoyed that.

I had that's just been so in my soul.

Here was his message.

Cry out loud.

Lift up your voice like a trumpet.

Listen, I really believe this.

Evil will never be successfully opposed until we get upset enough to cry out.

Earnestly, forcefully, dogmatically, and passionately against it.

Now, when we do that, let me tell you what I've been called.

I wrote some things down that I've been called over the last 35 years.

You ready?

You're gonna some of you, I hope you don't enjoy it, some of you may.

I've been called uncouth.

I've been called undignified, guilty.

I've been called unconcerned.

I've been called unloving, unpolished, uncultured, offensive, judgmental, and narrow-minded.

I'm I I plead guilty to the narrow-minded.

I am.

I only know one way, and Jesus is the way.

By the way, that's biblical too.

Broad is the way which leadeth unto destruction, and many there go therein out.

But what?

Straight and narrow is the way that leads to righteousness.

That one I'm guilty of.

So be ready when you start taking a stand to be called all kinds of things.

I hear, is hey, but that's okay.

That's okay.

As long as I'm pleasing to him, that's what matters.

But a lot of that I am not I am not unloved.

I love you.

But I am not gonna compromise for you.

Okay?

I'm not.

Remember what we said last year?

We can be praising him or pouting for him.

I don't like pouting.

And I'm one of the world's worst sometimes.

Susan straightens me out real quick.

Number two.

Look at Jonah, the desertion.

Flee from the presence of the Lord.

Jonah 1, 3.

But Jonah rose up, last verse.

Oh, that was the first point was the found.

Let me tell you why I took so long on that first point.

That's the foundation of the rest of the book.

What I just taught you is the foundation rest of the book.

But number two, we'll hit these pretty quick.

Number two, the desertion.

Jonah rose up to flee into Tarsus from the presence of the Lord, went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarsus, so he paid the fare thereof and went down into it and go.

Hey, to go with them into Tarsus from the presence of the Lord.

Now we don't know why he's going to Tarsus, except that he was going as far in the opposite direction from Nineveh as he could go.

We don't know if he had fancy.

We don't know.

We just know he's trying to get as far away from God's presence as he could.

Can I remind you?

There are several insights here that I want us to look at.

But first of all, I want you to understand first, there is no way you and I can flee from the presence of God.

Can I get an amen?

No way.

The eyes of the Lord in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Proverbs 15, 3.

He said in Jeremiah 23, 24, Do I not feel heaven and the earth?

And let read this, Psalms 139, verse 7 through 12.

Psalms 139:7–12

Whether shall I go from thy spirit, or whether shall I flee from thy presence?

If I ascend into heaven, thou art there.

If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

If I say, Surely, the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me.

Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day, the darkness, and the light are both alike to thee.

Ladies and gentlemen, say this with me.

I cannot get away from the presence of God.

Say it, church.

I cannot get away from the presence of God.

You can't do it.

Well, what does that mean?

I'm glad you asked.

I asked the same thing.

So, what does it mean to flee from the presence of the Lord?

Look at Jeremiah 23, 39.

This is so good.

Therefore, behold, I even, I will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers and cast you out of my presence.

Now God is talking to Israel.

The term here means that Israel would be separated spiritually from God.

Again, remember, he's omnipresence.

You can't leave his presence.

For example, look what happened.

The temple would be destroyed.

It was.

But the presence means the service of God.

Can I get an amen?

Doesn't that make sense?

Because that's exactly what it means.

And that's what we see.

Now, let me show you something here.

God's presence is intolerable to disobedience and rebellion.

Remember what happened with Adam and Eve when they sinned?

What'd they do?

They went and tried to hide what?

From the presence of God.

They were, hey, they couldn't run from his physical presence.

He was there.

In fact, did he not call out to them?

But they were trying to run from their call and their service to God.

Very powerful.

Very powerful.

Notice another insight in this verse.

Jonah's desertion and disobedience was very rapid and spontaneous.

His desertion wasn't an accident.

Spontaneity and disobedience never occurs, and I wrote this to myself, unless the groundwork has been laid in our lives.

You don't disobey God just automatically that quickly if you haven't been thinking the wrong thoughts, if you haven't been separating yourself from God, you haven't been doing your quiet time.

You hadn't been doing your service.

You hadn't been, hey, you're getting out of church, falling by the wayside, you're trying to disassociate yourself step by step from the presence of God.

Not his physical presence, but his spiritual presence in your life.

And when that happens, bam! Disobedience can go just like that.

And the greatest example of that is a man after God's own heart, David.

He slowly kept slipping away from the spiritual presence of God.

Remember throughout the Psalms, it said he rose up early in the morning three times a day praying unto God?

Well, when he falls into sin with Bathsheba, he is sleeping midday.

Slumbering around.

Slumbering around.

Where should he have been?

He should have been leading the army of God.

That's what he normally did.

He was back home, just goofing off, slumbering.

What, getting away spiritually from the presence of God?

Then he sees Bathsheba, calls for Bathsheba, and the rest is history.

What happened?

He went down.

He started out down, bad thoughts, bad, hey, bad imaginations, then bad actions.

If it'd have been where he should have been, doing what he should have been doing, he'd have never seen Bathsheba naked bathing.

Hello.

Can I get an Amen or O me?

Hello?

You with me?

It's important we understand this.

This is what keeps us intact.

This is what keeps me intact.

Casting down imaginations.

Here it is.

And every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Man, that's good.

I want you to look quickly.

Why did Jonah desert the Lord's call?

Here we go.

This is it.

Why did he desert the Lord's call?

Number one.

Jonah hated the Ninevehes and did not want them to be spared.

He was struggling with bitterness and forgiveness.

Oh yeah.

Remember?

Look at Jonah chapter 4, verse 2.

Jonah 4:2

And he prayed unto the Lord.

Jonah did, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my sayings when I was yet in my country?

Therefore I fled before unto Tarshis, for I knew that thou art a gracious God, a merciless and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

He says, I know your mercy is forever, and you love people, and that you will save the Ninevites.

I know that.

That's why I went the other way.

I didn't want the Ninevites to be saved.

Now, this I know.

The Syria was the most brutal nation in the region.

As we have seen, captives were brutally tortured.

They were skinned alive, burned alive.

The Assyrians were so feared and dreadful by the Israelis that a lot of the little small communities would commit suicide instead of being taken captive by the Assyrians.

That's how ruthless they were.

Now, guess what?

Jonah lived in the northern part of Israel, of Judea, where the Assyrians constantly made a lot of raids and killed and tortured a lot of people.

Now, speculation.

No historical fact whatsoever.

Speculation was that Jonah had friends and family members that probably were killed and tortured by the Assyrians.

Because they lived there.

Chances were that could be true.

But anyway, he was bitter and angry toward their Assyrians.

Now I'm going to tell you something, folks.

And I'm speaking to me.

God says we are commanded by the Lord to forgive those who offend us.

Can we get a o me together?

O me?

But not only does he say that, and throw up, Jason, throw up Matthew 5.44 for me.

I want you to see this.

Matthew 5.44.

But I read it, church.

Read it out loud with me.

Ready?

Read.

But I say unto you, now, how many of us are faithfully do that?

I don't see one hand.

Mine's not up either.

Okay?

So we can't give Jonah too bad a rap because we're right there with him.

But let listen to me.

Let me tell what I'm learning with you.

The more bitter we are without forgiving each other or other people that have done us wrong, the more opportunities we miss to be used by God.

God's not going to use a bitter, sour soul.

Now watch this.

Go to Matthew, boy, this was so good.

Matthew chapter 6, verse 14 and 15.

Matthew 6:14

Read it up, church.

For if ye forgive men their trespasses.

Verse 15.

But if ye forgive not men.

Wow.

So we really don't have a choice, do we?

Not if we want our relationship right with God.

So the hardest thing it's going to be for me and you to do, for people that have hurt us, said all those things about me I've been talked about all these years, is Ephesians 4.32.

Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.

Now let me tell you what that means.

That verse is easily quoted, but that means that you and I go out of our way to those that have offended us and done us wrong to be a blessing to them.

I don't want to bless them.

I want to take him out.

Huh?

Eh?

I'm just saying what I'm thinking.

And you're thinking that you might as well say it.

Amen.

We got a lot of work to do, don't we, church?

It is our, out of our need for forgiveness.

Let me tell you what that says.

It is out of our need for forgiveness that a person is able to forgive others.

You know what I've learned?

People who do not believe they need forgiveness tend to be the most critical, the most condemning, and the most cold people I know.

But for us that know how wretched we were, how downright dirty, ungodly we were, but because of God's grace, He saved us.

And he brought us out of that horrible pit.

Woo! Put us on that new rock.

Put a new song in our souls.

Psalms 42.

We have a lot more to forgive.

Amen.

A lot more to forgive.

Attitude.

That's it.

You need to read Romans 12, 17 through 21.

Therefore, if any enemy hunger, feed him.

Thirsty and give him a drink.

I don't have time.

Just read it.

That'll be a good discussion and question for you, small group.

Reason number two.

Jonah knew the message of judgment could lead to repentance and God's mercy.

That's true.

Lamentations 3, 22, 23, it is because of his compassions we fail not.

Hey, and we're not consumed.

That's it.

It really is.

And the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.

It's because of his mercy we're not consumed.

His compassions were not consumed.

His mercies, hey, endure forever and every day.

We see that in Lamentations.

Lamentations 3:22

Chapter 3, verses 22 and 23.

Tremendous.

And then reason number three Jonah was disturbed and out of God's will.

He struggled in being available to God.

Wow.

Like the prodigal son, he was running away from the authority of God in his life.

Folks, listen to me.

Most Christians have a hard time with the authority of God in their lives.

Hello.

I'm guilty.

It's hard every day to get up and say, Not my will, but thy will be done.

Jonah was not going to Nineveh.

He made up his mind and his will that he wasn't going.

Well, I got news for you.

The person who is available to the Lord refuses to be deterred by deceptive distractions.

Jonah's problem was he got sidetracked.

Now let me say something right here.

We can get sidetracked by good things.

Amen.

There's nothing wrong with hunting.

Can I get an amen?

Amen.

I know Todd loves to hunt.

A lot of you love to hunt.

Okay?

I know Mike likes to coon hunt.

All right?

But when it starts taking priority over what God wants you to do, you're in trouble.

Hello?

Now I'm gonna really get one.

Everybody's gonna really get upset at me.

But I I gotta preach the truth.

Number two is sports.

Boy, we can justify that.

We can justify anything we want to justify.

Jonah justified that it God must be in him running away.

You know why?

He said, Oh, look here, I went to Joppa.

There was a boat waiting on me.

Hello.

Are we not guilty?

Anytime, whether it's sports, whether it's hobbies, whether it's family, whatever, when it starts getting in the way of, hey, what God's called you to do, it's wrong.

It's wrong.

That's all I'm gonna say.

I'm not legalistic.

I'm not gonna give you a bunch of lists that you ought not to be doing because God's in the spirit to tell you, can I get an amen?

I don't have to, my wife does not have to preach to me, even though sometimes it's probably good.

But but I know.

I know when I'm wrong.

And sometimes I just defy it anyway and say, Well, that's okay, I deserve it.

And you know what the Holy Spirit says?

Yeah, you deserve it, you deserve to go to hell.

Whoa! That'll get your attention.

Oh, wait a minute, Lord.

Hey, don't go, don't get upset.

He said, I'm not upset.

I just know what you need to be doing.

God didn't get upset with Jonah.

He didn't get upset.

He just made up his mind.

Jonah, you may think you're gonna get away with this, but you're not gonna get away with it.

And listen to me, church.

Listen to me, Christian.

Listen to Danny.

I'm talking to me.

Hey, I can, hey, I may think I can justify why I'm not doing what God's called me to do, but I got news for you.

He will get my attention.

And when he gets your attention, you know exactly what you're not doing that you should have been doing to put you where you are.

Hello.

Amen.

You're shaking your head.

I know that.

You're bam! That's one of those bam.

I just caught you with a left when you wasn't expecting it.

No man can serve two masters.

For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other.

But that's Matthew 6.24, Matthew 6.33.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Reason number four.

Jonah was possibly afraid of God's method.

Now, I threw that in and I won't deal much, but let me tell you why.

This was the first time that God had chosen the prophet to leave Jerusalem and go preach.

Before all the people that want to know about God came to Jerusalem, it was the hub and the gateway to the whole world at that time.

They would come and hear about God in the temple.

So this was a, by the way, a prototype of where God was going to do in the New Testament when he was going to call the church to go in the middle of the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

So we see the foretelling of what's going to take place in the New Testament church.

It's exciting.

Go in the middle of world, preach the gospel to every creature in March 1650.

Go in the highways and heavens, compel them to come in, then my house may be filled.

Luke 14, 23.

So he was scared, uncertain.

Had a boat waiting to take him in different places.

Satan will use people, places, position, and things, good things, to take us away from the will of God.

Number four, the depletion.

He paid the fare.

It cost him.

Disobedience to the Lord is expensive.

It's offensive, extensive, and tensive.

That means causes tension.

Isn't it amazing when you have the will of God how everything bothers you?

Am I the only one like that?

I can just get upset at anything when I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do.

And then I, you know why I do that?

I figured it out.

I might not, honey, you need to go to the kitchen.

But I figured this out.

Because, see, when I get upset with her, because I'm doing wrong, I know in my heart I'm not doing what I ought to be doing, then then I she's the she's the culprit.

It's not me anymore.

Oh, blame game.

Oh, blame game.

Now, teenagers, we're good.

You're good at that with you about your parents too.

My parents don't understand.

They just they don't listen.

My kids now are old enough, they've got kids.

It's amazing how much they're talking like me and mom now.

Just a thought.

I'm sounding like that.

Now let me tell you this example number through.

We got a choice.

This is when I saw this, I literally started crying.

Tears came in my eyes.

We got a choice.

We can be disobedient and we pay the fare.

And we pay extensively.

In fact, it cost Jonah everything he had.

But not only did it cost Jonah, listen to me, it cost everybody else on that boat everything they had.

They threw everything overboard to try to keep the ship from sinking.

When all they had to do was throw the prophet overboard.

Hello.

See, when you choose to go your way, you'll lose everything you have.

Lost it all.

Lost it all.

Or you can go God's way and he pays the fare.

Amen?

Now let me give you the greatest example in the Old Testament.

This ought to make you shout.

Remember Moses?

Moses' mother?

You remember her name?

Anybody?

That's it.

Jacobed.

I tell you, Susan, that my wife's hard.

Jacobed.

Remember what?

Pharaoh said, I'm gonna kill baby boys from two and under.

So what did God tell Jacobed to do?

Put him in a little basket.

Start playing.

So put him in a little basket.

Put him in the Nile River.

And God spoke to Pharaoh's daughter to go to the Nile River.

She went to the Nile River.

She found the baby.

And then she went to Jacobed, found the servant lady, and said, Jacobed, I've got this little baby boy.

I'm gonna pay you to take care of this little baby boy for me.

Because Jacob was faithful to do exactly what God told her to do.

God, in turn, he gave her baby.

You'll never see my baby again.

No, he picked her out.

And not only does she take care of her own baby, she gets paid to take care of her baby.

Is that not an awesome God?

So you got a choice.

I got a choice.

We can go God's way and He pays the fare.

Or we can go our way.

And we pay the fare and we lose everything.

It's our choice.

What's it gonna be today?

What's it gonna be?

Where are you today?

Where am I today?

Are you following God?

Are you, hey, are you hot over here?

You're hot?

Man, you're with the cross.

Man, I'm living for the Lord.

I'm serving him.

I'm in the quiet time.

I'm faithful to my church, faithful to my small groups of one of the other.

I mean, I really am doing what God wants me to do.

That's what I want to do.

God, I'm listening.

I'm ready to obey.

God, please, just you tell me I obey.

Lord, bless.

I want to be a blessing.

God, I know you're gonna bless me so I can bless others.

I'm following you wholeheartedly, or you're doing this.

You're taking a step away.

By the way, it's not a big step.

Most of the time it's not a big step.

It's these steps.

I didn't have my quiet time this morning.

Well, you know, it's raining.

I don't feel good.

I'm not going to church today.

Oh, Wednesday night, no.

Too tired.

Too tired.

The next thing you know.

Here you are.

Look how far you're from the cross.

Don't even realize it.

Because you're taking a little step at a time.

Then the next step.

There you go.

You went down to Joppa, went down into the ship, went down into the bed, I mean the apartment on the ship, and then went down into the sea, down into the belly of the fish, down to the bottom.

Down, down, down.

Don't go there.

The answer, come back here.

Lord, forgive me.

Lord, I'm sorry.

Forgive me.

I'm just selfish.

I'm just prideful.

I want my way.

I know these things are in your way for me not doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

But God, today I'm asking you to forgive me.

And I'm coming back to the cross.

I'm coming back.

God, use me.

I want to be a blessing, God, to people.

I want to be a blessing to you.

Fulfill your desires in my life.

I love you, Lord.

It's your choice.

I can't do that for you, but I can do it for me, and I just did.

That wasn't a show.

That was me speaking to the Lord.

You just happen to be to see it.

That was me.

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

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