Jonah (Part 2)

No Fake Apologies

Jonah 2:1-10

Scripture

Jonah 2:1-10

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,

and he answered me;

out of the belly of Sheol I cried,

and you heard my voice.

3 For you cast me into the deep,

into the heart of the seas,

and the flood surrounded me;

all your waves and your billows

passed over me.

4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away

from your sight;

yet I shall again look

upon your holy temple.’

5 The waters closed in over me to take my life;

the deep surrounded me;

weeds were wrapped about my head

6 at the roots of the mountains.

I went down to the land

whose bars closed upon me forever;

yet you brought up my life from the pit,

O Lord my God.

7 When my life was fainting away,

I remembered the Lord,

and my prayer came to you,

into your holy temple.

8 Those who pay regard to vain idols

forsake their hope of steadfast love.

9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving

will sacrifice to you;

what I have vowed I will pay.

Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Pray

God help us to see you in our disobedience

Story 1

Story of me avoiding my girlfriend cause I knew she would break up with me when I saw her

Application 1

What do we learn about this?

Honesty – Jonah cries out to God. First time he’s actually talked to God in this story. Up until now Jonah hasn’t been being honest. He’s a follower of God. He’s committed his life to be a prophet of God, but he’s not talking with God. As a matter of fact he’s actively running from God.

With God – is there anything you’re avoiding talking with God about?

4 Then I said, ‘O LORD, you have driven me from your presence.

- Jonah is the one who has run. He’s the one who jumped off the boat. God’s punishment and the natural consequences of our actions are treated somewhat the same in the Bible.

When we choose a path of disobedience we are removing ourselves from the presence of God. Being honest is the first step back.

For some of us, we don’t want to be honest. We want to keep on going, business as usual. We want to live with the sin in our life, but pretend everything is fine.

2.Hope – “but you O Lord snatched me from the jaws of death.” Not yet he hasn’t!

Jonah knows the character of the God he serves. He knows he serves a God who hears the cries of those who repent.

We tend to stay mired in guilt. We’re convinced God won’t forgive us. We beat ourselves up over our bad behavior, and yet never really change. Oftentimes we do this b/c we’ve had a lack of acceptance modeled to us by parents.

God is a God who forgives. No matter where you’re at, God forgives.

3. Repentance - But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise,

and I will fulfill all my vows.

For my salvation comes from the LORD alone.”

Ultimately, this is the point. A legitimate repentance that comes from an acknowledgement of God’s goodness.

Repentance is NOT:

doing good out of obligation

being afraid of God’s punishment

Guilt

An emotional feeling

Repentance is simply this: a reversal of behavior, based on a belief in God’s goodness.

We trust in God’s goodness through Jesus.

Story 2

Imagine being on a moving walkway that’s moving just a little faster than you can run … you’re going to move in the direction of the walkway, but barely. But if you turn and run in the other direction …

Supporting Scripture

Acts 3:19

19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

Application 2

YOU

Last week: do we want to be a church that is accidentally used by God, or that places ourselves in the full momentum of God’s will.

For us to be the church God has called us to be, we have to repent: turn and move in the direction of the walkway.

WE

When we truly repent, the power of God shows up in huge ways:

Talked about this last week: do I really want to hear the voice of God?

Non-Christians: this isn’t entirely for you tonight. We’re kind of doing a state of the union as a church. But it’s a chance to ask “if this is what Christianity is … is this something I’d want to be a part of?”

For Christians: do we really want to hear God’s voice?

Last week: do we want to be a church that is accidentally used by God, or that places ourselves in the full momentum of God’s will?

God will use us regardless … but how much do we want to be used?

Pray

God help us come to true repentance