The Consequences of Disobedience
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
The Consequences of Disobedience
The Consequences of Disobedience
When we make our bed we have to lie in it. For a child of God that is on the run from God, there will be discipline from God.
A child of God that is disobedient to God is fair game for whatever means necessary that God sees fit to use to bring His wayward child back in line with His will.
Dr. Johnny Hunts says, “Disobedience always disturbs Deity.” Make no mistake about it: there will always be consequences that come to the disobedient.
Jonah was a prophet of God that refused to carry the message of God. The prophet faced the consequences of not proclaiming God’s word.
Jonah experienced God’s hand of discipline and others suffered for his disobedience as well.
Disobedience will always be followed by discipline in a Christian’s life.
The consequences of the disobedient will be evident in the lives of believers and unbelievers. Let’s take a look at some evidences in a disobedient child of God’s life.
4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
Where does this storm originate?
God Sends the Storm For the Disobedient
God Sends the Storm For the Disobedient
Thank the Lord that He does not give up on us when we turn our back on Him. Even when we run from the will of God, He works in our life to bring us back to Himself.
A restored and forgiven child of God should always be able to thank God for the storms of life.
Great Theological truth: God uses storms in life to confront and correct His wayward children. In verse four the Bible teaches us that God was at work in the prodigal prophet’s life.
Romans 8:28 can be applied to Jonah’s life back then and to our life today.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
God was at work in His wayward child’s life to bring him to repentance and surrender to His will.
“Sent” (tuwl) this word means to pitch over or reel; to cast down or out.
God’s control of the wind and weather is seen in His casting down the wind on the sea. God intentionally sent the storm on the sea to discipline His prophet.
*Jonah’s actions brought action from God.*
Our disobedience will bring discipline from God.
Matthew Henry said, “Sin brings storms and tempests into the soul, into the family, into churches and nations; it is a disquieting disturbing thing.”
The storm in Jonah’s life was no little thunderstorm, but a raging and mighty tempest.
“Mighty”: (gadowl) which means great.
This storm got the attention of the seamen. When God sends storms in our lives for corrective purposes, they will always get our attention.
*The storms that God sends are not just to get our attention, but they are sent to move us to action.*
Jonah’s disobedience brought a great storm that not only endangered his life, but the life of the sailors as well.
Great Biblical Truth: Our disobedience affects our lives and the lives of those around us as well.
So great was the storm that the ship was about to be tom asunder.
“Broken”: (shabar) which means to burst or break in pieces. Ships in peoples lives that are being disturbed and broken:
Fellowship with God and His church
Companionship with spouses
Stewardship of Divine blessings
Lordship of Christ in one’s life
Worship of the Lord Jesus.
Battleship of Spiritual warfare
God showed He was displeased with Jonah with a furious storm that pounded the ship.
Someone has said, ““Locking horns with God is a good way to get dehorned. If you upset God, God will upset you. It would be a great help to man if he got a great deal more concerned about the fact that sin really disturbs God. Men need to get more concerned about God’s reaction to things. Often folk seem very concerned about what other men think of their performance, but seldom do evidence much concern about what God thinks.”
We need to heed Revelation 3:19
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
*Not every storm of life is brought on by our disobedience, but all storms are used by God to make us more like Jesus.*
We know though that some storms in life are a direct result of our disobedience.
Maybe you are in a storm right now and the storm you are in is a direct result of your disobedience.
There will always be consequences that come to the disobedient.
When we face the storms of life, we must turn to and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verse 4 we’ve seen the furious storm from the Sovereign. In verses 5–7 we see:
The Storm Brings Fear
The Storm Brings Fear
The storms in our lives usually generate strong emotions.
Let’s take a look at the sailor’s reactions.
5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
The consequences not only came for Jonah, but also for those around him.
These seasoned sailors must have seen storms before.
But they hadn’t seen any like the one God sent to discipline His disobedient prophet.
They didn’t know why they were going through what they were going through.
*In verse 5 the Bible gives us a well-tested principle.*
When men fear for their lives, they tend to turn to their God.
Cried: (za aq; zaw-ak) means to cry, cry out, call.
The word here refers to a crying out in distress to a pagan god.
One commentator said, “Take a man who can curse like a sailor and when the hurricane comes in, the first thing he wants to do is pray. He cries out to whatever god there may be.
These men certainly didn’t pray to Jehovah, but they did pray.
Many of us (even as Christians) never pray except when we’re in trouble, when we face some disappointment or crisis. Then we pray.”
These pagan sailors were crying out to their gods and Jonah should have been crying out to the real God.
Then they took matters into their own hands.
Look back at verse 5.
They tried to lighten the ship, but the whole weight still remained. The body of the prophet was weighing them down.
Our sin and rebellion is very costly!
Let’s take another look at what’s going on. Look at the last part of verse 5.
Jonah went down to the lower deck, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
While the sailors were trying to spare their lives, Jonah was down below not worrying about anyone’s life.
Jonah was fast asleep. It is a fact that you can be out of the will of God and still get a goodnight’s rest.
Jonah’s senses were so dulled by the hardness of his heart that he slept through the raging wind and waves that tossed the ship. He slept through the storm that was on the verge of tearing the ship to pieces.
Warren Wiersbe writes, “You can be rebelling against God and still have a false sense of security that includes a good night’s sleep.”
Matthew Henry wrote, “neither the noise from without, nor the senses of guilt from within, awoke him.”
The sinners were trying to protect themselves from the storm while the prophet of God was asleep.
Look at verse 6:
6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
In verse six the Bible teaches us that the pagan captain had to rebuke the prophet of God.
The pagans inspected their situation, inspected the ship, and inspected the backslidden saint.
May God help us when a lost world says to us what this lost captain said to Jonah!
“Sleeper”: (radam) means to stun or stupefy with sleep or death.
John Phillips writes, “Today’s world is being tom apart by drugs, drink, immorality, apostasy, and the menace of nuclear war—and the church sleeps. False religions and wicked philosophies are making giant strides—and the church sleeps. Abortion, pornography, syndicated crime, sodomy, and dreadful diseases threaten mankind—and the church sleeps. Friends, family, neighbors, and workmates grope in spiritual darkness—and the church sleeps. Two-thirds of the world’s people will never hear the gospel—and the church sleeps.”
We need to wake up and sound the alarm. Preachers need to wake up and preach the word!
Vance Havner once said, “The problem with the average church is that we are in a non-prophet organization.”
It’s time to wake up out of our sleep! When the world inspects the church do they find a sleeping church?
Let’s look at Romans 13:11-13
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.
Great Biblical Truth: God will use a pagan and lost world and the storms of life to wake us and shake us up.
The world around Jonah was sinking and the prophet slept on. The captain was astonished that he would find someone asleep during a raging storm that was about to destroy them all. This captain was flabbergasted and he rebuked Jonah for sleeping.
The captain was desperate so he called on everyone to pray to their gods. He called on Jonah to pray to his God.
At this point it didn’t matter what god answered and calmed the storm. The captain had everyone call on their god; with all those petitions to all those gods, surely one would answer. In verses 5–6 we’ve seen that people will attempt to protect their person. In verse 7 we see:
When They’re in Trouble, People Will Attempt to Pinpoint the Problem
When They’re in Trouble, People Will Attempt to Pinpoint the Problem
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
The Bible teaches us that the lot fell on Jonah. Not sure what they used, dice, sticks, etc.
It shouldn’t amaze us that God was also in control of the roll of the dice. God revealed that the culprit was Jonah.
We can’t escape from our sins. Numbers 32:23 “and be sure your sin will find you out.”
Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out
Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out
The sailors confronted Jonah.
8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
The wayward prophet was found out and confronted because of his sin. Because the lot fell on Jonah the people reckoned that Jonah would know the reason for the storm.
The sailors had never before seen Jonah and they knew he had not traveled the seas with them before. Because the lot fell to Jonah he was confronted and was intensely questioned.
Jonah was asked what he did for a living. Jonah was asked where he was from and of what people he was from.
“Occupation”: (m la kah; mel-aw-kaw’) ministry, employment; work. The sailors wanted specific information from the prophet.
The sailors wanted some personal information as they were investigating the trouble at hand. These guys were like Matlock or Columbo in a crime scene investigation.
When we are out of the will of God and under the discipline of God, people will confront our sinful lives.
Warren Wiersbe writes, “God was no longer speaking to Jonah through His word; He was speaking to him through His works: the sea, the wind, the rain, the thunder, and even the great fish. Everything in nature obeyed God except His servant! God even spoke to Jonah through the heathen sailors who didn’t know Jehovah. It’s a sad thing when a servant of God is rebuked by pagans.”
In verse 8 the Bible teaches us about the confrontation by the people. In verse 9 we notice:
The prophet confesses.
9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
*Jonah’s fear of the Lord did not prompt faith and obedience to the Lord.*
Jonah’s fear of the Lord is not a good example for us to follow.
These sailors feared their pagan, dead, and ungodly idols more than Jonah feared the living God.
Can you imagine the look on these sailor’s faces when Jonah said that he feared the Lord. Maybe they said, ‘Yea, right Jonah. Sure you fear the Lord. Do you know the meaning of fear?’
Great Biblical Truth: We need to be careful about our confession of faith when we are living in open rebellion.
Jonah’s walk didn’t line up with Jonah’s talk. Does that sound like anybody you know?
Jonah said he feared the God of heaven.
“Made”: (asah; aw-saw’) means to create, do, make.
This confession was a strong confession to pagan sailors. In essence Jonah was saying, ‘My God created the heavens and the sea, and all the dry land.’
Since Jonah’s God created the land and the sea, He also had control of the sea and the storm that they were going through.
Great Lesson: We must confess boldly, in a pagan world, that Jesus Christ is Creator, Savior, and Sustainer.
Jonah knew nothing of evolution. Praise God he knew that His God was Creator.
David Jeremiah said, “Jonah had good theology (who God is) but bad application (how to live in light of who God is). It’s one thing to sin against God in ignorance, and quite another to sin against God knowingly.”
We must understand that there will always be consequences to disobedience.
This passage of Scripture teaches us that what we do in life affects our lives as believers and the lives of unbelievers as well.
Are you in a storm? Arise and call upon your God!
Are we asleep today? Are we asleep to the needs of those around us!
Are we asleep as the world goes to hell?
Only God can calm the storms that you are in!
Come to Jesus for salvation!
Come back to Jesus for service!
Prayer:
Father, I pray for those who are asleep! I pray that You would wake them up and shake them up where they are.
I pray for individuals, families, and churches, that we would come clean with You and confess our sins and rebellion.
I pray that we would trust You and obey You. Lord Jesus confront us and conform us to Your will and Your image.
Draw men and women, comfort the down trodden, convict the rebellious, encourage the discouraged, and calm the storms that we are in.
Now Lord as we have heard may we respond to what You have said with all our hearts.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your discipline and correction in our lives. Thank You for caring enough about us not to give up on us! Thank You for calling us to serve You. Help us to count it a great privilege and honor to serve You. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!