The Darkness of the Depths - Jonah 1:17-2:10

Hope so.

Jonah 1:17, till the end of chapter 2 verse 10.

Now, the Lord provided a fish to swallow, Jonah, and Jonah, was in the belly of the fish. Three days, and three nights. From inside the fish, Jonah, pray to the Lord, his God. He said in my distress, I called to the Lord. And he answered me from deep in the realm of the Dead. I called for help and you listen to My Cry, you hurled me Into the Depths into the very Heart Of The Seas, the currents World about me. All your waves and Breakers swept over me. I said I've been banished from your sight yet. I will look again toward your Holy Temple being golfing Waters, threatened me, the Deep surrounded. Me seaweed was wrapped around my head to the roots of the mountains. I sent down the Earth beneath, Bard me in forever, but you Lord, my God brought my life up from the pit. When my life is ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord and my prayer Rose to you, to your Holy Temple. Those who cling to worthless, Idols, turn away from God's love for them, but I was shouts of grateful. Praise will sacrifice to you, but I have vowed. I will make good. I will say salvation comes from the Lord. And the Lord, commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah, onto dry land.

The word of God for the people of God. Thanks, be unto God. sometimes, when I see Jonah portrayed in books or particular children's books. I often see it and if you've seen the VeggieTales movie with Jonah, is asparagus and he goes into a big fish. But in those children's instances, when they portray the, the whale or the fish usually Jonah is in this kind of space just room, you know, there's a lot of room in there, just in this like a 5-inch puddle of water. He's just sitting in her standing in it. It might be a glimmer of light beaming on him and he can stretch around and you just kind of move around B&B himself. That is not at all the case. What happened when you really think about this? So Jonah, as a text tells us 1:17, the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow, Jonah, because of his Rebellion because of his animosity towards the ninevites. He didn't want those Wicked people to receive the grace of God to God, sent him a fish to swallow him. Imagine what it was truly like in the belly of a fish, a massive fish. We don't need that. The text say, it was a whale. It could have been we don't know what sea creature was but imagine what it was like in there. why there's no sunlight Stomach. And then stomach in the intestines of a fish, there's a foul stench in the air. My stomach acid and rotting fish and other things in the belly of the fish, and it just smells horrific. And most likely it was very cramped in there. Very tight is hardly any room to stretch or they even going to do the thing that we all do in the morning, just stretch your shoulders and back, no room to do that. How many of you know how annoying it is to have clothes that are wet stick to you while you go to the beach or somebody dumps, a bucket of water on you. You're out in the rain, I just feel nasty. Imagine that three days straight. I also imagined, right? You also know how when you going to pool, sometimes your fingers in your feet, right? They get the wrinkles and they got all nasty. That's only after what 15 minutes, an hour in the water. Imagine being soaked, damp for 3 days straight. How nasty your own skin would feel? And down there. There's no human interaction. Write Jonah, cannot phone a friend down there. Can't call anybody can distract himself with social media. He's in the pitch-black darkness, all alone, and also keep this in mind because it had their tight quarters and the nasty environment. Imagine the sleep It's sporadic at best. She might get 5 minutes 1 minute and then as soon as he goes it off to sleep, the fish starts to turn direction or swallow something else and you just jolted awake and imagine the kind of crazy fawson hysteria. He might have been experiencing because of the lack of sleep. And all of this is what I call. in short, the darkness of the depths What Jonah was experiencing physically is emblematic of what he was experiencing spiritual light because his brother Donald unpack Force last week when Jonah was called to go to Nineveh, but instead, he went down to Joppa, you went down to tarshish. He went down in the bottom of the ship and then he eventually went down into the sea and then down into the belly of the fish. This continual downward projection for Jonah. Which was running away from God.

Right, for you. And I today, none of us have been swallowed by a fish. but all of us in one way or another have experience, I called the darkness of the depths, Write seasons in life moments, in life times in life, which we find very depressing, very demoralizing. Very discouraging, very alone.

A few scenarios that you may personally have live through or, you know, somebody is going through this, right? You walking to the dining room in your house. And you find on the table stack of divorce papers. With a note on top saying, I don't think this is going to work out.

You have a 15 year old son, whom you've loved not perfectly but Faithfully. You pray for them. You love them. You serve them. One day around the supper table, a burst out in anger and they say, I hate you. Look, you straight in the eye and say that.

or the doctor walks in, To your room at the hospital. And tells you you have pancreatic cancer. It's spread to your bones, spread to your lungs. There's really nothing we can do for you, that will really help you. You got three months to live. How many of us have experienced that? Different seasons of Life, different moments of life. The point is whether you are in darkness now. You were, or you will be in the future. The question, for all of us is simple. Where's the hope? What do I do? Where is the Hope? How can I breathe? as we walk through this text, Heavy Siege on his own flights. What I want to do, today's highlight three ways 3, hopefully encouragement for you. In which you and I can respond. When we find ourselves in the darkness of the depths We are in the darkness of the depths. I encourage you cry out to the Lord. Number to consider his discipline. Number 3, cling to his love.

Number one, Cloud to the Lord. This is one versus one. And two attacks tells us from inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said in my distress I called to the Lord, he answered me from deep in the realm of the Dead. I called for help and you got no money. You listen to My Cry. Right though. Jonah experiences. Immeasurable suffering in this chapter, you cannot gloss over this. These first two versus the state of simple truth to us. And that is this God hears us. God hears you when you pray.

The god of creation, hears you. He has an ear Turn to You. And when we pray right in my distress, I prayed to God, I called out to him, I called for help you listen to My Cry for Help, right? When we pray, we're not just venting We're not just exude in a lot of passion and emotion know we are talking to somebody who's real who's alive and more. So who cares for us? 1st Peter, 3 verse 12 tells us the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their prayer. Listen to Psalm 66. A wonderful passage on this topic. Psalm 66 verse 17, I cried out to him to God. I cried out to God with my mouth. His praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God has truly listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld. His love from me. Your church. Let me say it again. God listens to your prayer. He's actively caring and attentive to what you say and focus on what you say. He's never too busy for you but I don't care how much you're your own parents, loved you or how much you love your own children. We all know what it feels like to say, right? They're clamoring for your attention, young teenage ten-year-old, whatever. They're claiming for attention this last step of my taxes. I'll just so I can just get it all done with this batter. So that way I can put in the oven and then I'm all yours. That is never the case with God. He never says, hold on doing something a little more important and then I'll get you got my full attention now. He says come to me. I'm ready for 24/7. I'm ready to listen to you. I'm ready to receive you. My arms are open.

Should your church? When you are in the darkness of the depths, I encourage you to cry out to the Lord. Don't suppress your emotions and thoughts. Don't just put them down and try to bottle it up and contain it. In today's day and age, don't distract yourself with social media and entertainment. Don't lash out, don't lash out on others and throw a pity party for yourself. I'll take it to the Lord in prayer as that good him tells us. Cry out to him for God will hear you.

But that leads us to the second thing to consider God's discipline discipline versus 326. This is Jonah if you would call and 1:12. Jonah said, pick me up. Throw me into the sea. It will become call. I know. It is my fault. That is great. Storm has come upon you. Jonah was aware. Did it was his sin that brought him to this point, but it's my fault. I'm cognizant. We aware of the fact that I have rebelled against God. 7 verse 3. Look at the text Don't you see the word of here? He says, you got you hurled me Into the Depths into the very Heart Of The Seas in the currents swirled about all your waves and Breakers swept over me. Brightkey. He acknowledges that God is the one that God is the one. Who put them there? Right. Sometimes in life. Right, when you think about it. sometimes in life, the pain and suffering you're going through is correlated to your sin. Not every time. I'm not saying every sin you commit, there's an immediate reaction and any type of suffering, you might be in or you might be wanting all, what did I do wrong? Did I deserve this? That's not necessarily the case. Sometimes in life, you simply are experiencing the Brokenness of this world, just the sin cursed world, we live in the Mayhem, the wrecking Havoc because of our sin, in general of our Rebellion, I think about joke. And the blind man in John chapter 9 right in both of those instances and in John chapter 9 there's a blind man, he's suffering. He can't see. Right? And people around her saying whose fault is it what what sin did this man committed was so bad that he deserve to be blind or was it his parents fault that he deserve this punishment and Jesus said, no, that is not at all the case. Neither of those are correct. It's not because either of them send, they were Sinners. But it's not directly correlated or generic because of the Fall because of the curse. I think of Joe, it's not because Joe had slander got done something egregious, and then all of these get, you know, he lost his wife, his family, his kids, his his home, his own healthy, lost everything. It's not because he did something immediate. No, it's because of the the world we live in. Another time since John is aware.

God is the one who sent this to him. But here's what I want to say to you, right? This is why I say all of this in either scenario. Whether you're suffering from that, the send that you committed before and you're experiencing the aftereffects of that. I think of, right of a big one would be adultery. Right? That's one of those things that you send, you, you feel the personal, guilt, the shame, and the Havoc little rack in the family, right? That, that's a kind of a consequence of the sin. We Spirits in this natural Realm, but whether that's the case, or it might just be the Brokenness of this world either way. Remember Proverbs 3 verse 12, The Lord disciplines those, he loves.

Revelation 3:19 Jesus himself, says Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. You see, I hope you see this in a text. God brought Jonah down. Not to destroy him. The correct him. The discipline him not to crush him but the discipline him to correct him. It's for all of you. This is perhaps the most important verse regarding this, consider God's discipline, why it? Why is it? How is that bring me comfort in the midst of my sore? My suffering that I'm in, Hebrews 12 7.

It tells us endure hardship as discipline.

God is treating you as his children. Did you hear the precise wording there? Endure hardship as discipline. It's not necessarily saying that everything is directly from the active hand of God directly giving it to you, right? He is starving. He's in control of all things. Everything passes through his Sovereign Council, for the Texas and saying everything. He sends to you is from him know he's saying everything that happens to you in life, everything endure it as discipline. in other words, the suffering that you're going through But the pain disappointment that depression. The heartache do not waste it. Do not let Satan waste. It do not like your own self waste that opportunity because think about discipline in general, right? Just the generic word for discipline. What is that mean? What are we aiming for as parents or the judicial system? What are we aiming for We're aiming for correction. We're aiming for our wayward actions to be made, right? Or a wayward Hearts to be brought back to the straight and narrow path. That is what God does in every situation in life. Because in all circumstances, God wants us to be reminded. You need me. You need me. You need me. Do not let your suffering go by and wasted endure it as discipline receive it.

I just asked God lord, what are you trying to teach me? What are you trying to show? To me? What it, what can I learn from this Lord? How why, why are you sending it to me?

That's perhaps one of the biggest questions in all of philosophy in life, right? We've all asked it. Why do bad things happen? In general, why am I going through it right now? Why did it happen to me in the past? I can't, I cannot, I can't answer that throughout the entire day of my life, much less than one sermon. But I simply share with you, the truth of scripture. And what is that? In your weakness, his strength is more precious.

Right, when you are down. I've heard it said before, when you said you might have remember this quote. But when you were down on your back in the world, knocks you and your back when Satan knocks you on your back, You're finally in the right place because you're looking up to God in heaven.

Right. In the reality is, we always need Mercy. Jonah needed Mercy. But keep in mind, a context and what's going on in this book? Jonah was a chosen Man by God. He was an Israelite. He serve God, you fear God ever since he was a little child, grew up going to the temple. Tabernacle, bring the sacrifices worshipping, the one true God, he received, he grown up in the grace and mercy of God, but because of that, familiarity. He got complacent with it. There was a suggestion that somebody Wicked would receive Mercy, what did you want to do? You don't deserve that, you know how bad those ninevites are. We're going to pack that next week. They're doing chapter 3 is talk about the mercy that God showed to them. We see the point is Jonah was blind to the fact that he himself was a sinner. Jonah was blind to the fact that he himself was broken. Jonah was blind to the fact that he himself needed Mercy from God. It was only in the belly of a fish that Jonah was reminded I need you. Lord. I need your mercy and your church do Christian sometimes in life. It's the same price just to be frank. Sometimes we get so caught up in life. If it's specially if you've been a Christian a while you get so familiar and used to the grace of God, you forget how every single day you need him. And that's what I'm saying. When you go through suffering, however, grave, it might be however, egregious and wrong, it might be whenever you go through it. Please don't waste it. Consider God's discipline and remember, Lord, I need you. I need your mercy. I need your grace. That leads us to the last night from versus 6 to the end clean to God's love.

Right vs. Exits has to the roots of the mountains I sent down. The Earth beneath Barney in Forever. But you Lord, my God brought my life up from the pit.

When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, my prayer Rose to you, to your Holy Temple. Those who cling to worthless, Idols, turn away from God's love for them, but I would shouts of grateful. Praise will sacrifice to you. What I have doubt. I will make good. I will say salvation comes from the Lord. Lord Commander, the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. Is Bleak is the situation was for Jonah. I hope you see the Rays of Hope, even in this dark belly, this dark stomach, the Rays of Hope that emerge from this prayer because few things I'll point out one When does Jonah say this? He's still in the belly of the fish. Right, he hasn't been vomited back out onto dry land. He hasn't been been able to, you know, eat some good food and breathe, some fresh air clean air know he's still in the midst of this nasty riffic circumstance. But he's still Praises God, he's still a knowledge's Salvation comes from you.

But also, you'll notice verse 4 and verse 7. Is the repeated phrase there that Jonah mentions, you see it.

Somebody pointed out, if you see it, Susan verse 4 and 7, right? When you read the Bible look for repeated things cuz that's perhaps, the main point, the author is communicating

You see it?

Holy Temple. There it is, bingo. In the belly of the fish, Jonah mentions, the Holy Temple of God. You might be wondering how in the world. Does that bring any comfort to a man like that. We have to remember, what is the temple? I would eat something that we're not super in tune with 21st century America, but the temple of God, right? This is before Christ. And all the, then the Holy Spirit present with us right before all of that. God visited people in the temple, he communed with people. He fellowship with people, he revealed himself through the temple, through the sacrifices, the sacrificial system, I'm a goddess. What Jonah is saying is right? I will look again toward your Holy Temple. I long for your temple in my prayer roos2u tour toward your Holy Temple. Her Jonah is longing for the presence of God. What's so great about the presence of God, you might wonder absolutely everything. Psalm 16:11. In your presence. God, there is fullness of joy at your right. Hand are Pleasures forevermore Is he he's a deal. It is absolutely human to want to be rid of pain. But I don't care if you're Muslim Buddhist, whatever your religion might be every single human being wants to be rid of pain and suffering. It's human to want that. It is Christian to want to be in the presence of God.

To be in the presence of Christ. And that is why Church whenever you face darkness in life, what is it that you're longing for? Are you simply longing to be out of the pain? Are you simply longing for it to be over or more? So as a Christian, are you longing to be in the presence of God? Are you going to be able to experience the unhindered on a Bosch presents and beauty of God himself?

We are made not just to be out of pain but to clean the to his love to be in his love. But as you know, we Face a massive problem. Verse 9 Jonah alludes to it. Guy with shouts of grateful. Praise will sacrifice to you. Right? To be in the presence of God, you have to be good, you have to be perfect. And the reality is, as, you know, A single human being is good enough to be in his presence.

From Revelation 21 27, nothing in pure can stand before God. So for all of us, we are all then barred from his presence but then where is the hope? This is what we're leaving to do. You see Christ in the text? You see the allusions in the weather for shadowing of Jesus even here. Right? Because it's Jesus himself said, Matthew 24, Matthew 12, verses 1441, Jesus is a greater Jonah. The true Jonah, the faithful Jonah, Matthew, 12 hours 40, Jesus said as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish. So the son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth. Something greater than Jonah is here. Right? As we read the gospel accounts, the passion narrative, all that leads up to the cross and the resurrection all that. That entails. We know that Jesus is the ultimate one. She went in Xperience, true Darkness for three days and three nights. He was swallowed in the belly of the Earth. The stomach of the earth when he was buried in the grave, but the beauty of Christ, it can even be seen in verse 10. The Lord commanded. The fish that vomited Jonah onto dry land. Is he? Because Christ the belly of the Earth, the grave could not hold him. It's spitting. Back out. He he came back to the surface, he breathes new life. He brought new life for his people.

And that's the, that's the God we serve, we have to wonder. Why did he do all of this? Why does he suffer? Why did he rise in the first place? Hebrews 4:16.

We Christ did all this for us so that we could enter into God's Throne Room of Grace.

We can enter in God's throne of grace with confidence. So that we may receive mercy and find Grace to help us in our time of need. But Jesus is the true Jonah. He is a faithful in the greater one, the one who truly plummeted. The Depths the one who Rose back and came back into the world breathing new life, so that we could go into God's presence to the God's presence might come to us through his Spirit, through his kingdom. So that we would be saved. That's what Jonah declares salvation comes from the Lord.

Sir, Christian the church. I wrap up two things I want to share with you. Or in a these are things you the things that you know, okay? I'm not going to act like you don't already know this stuff. You do love you for this but You know, the reality is we have seen it before, we're very forgetful people. And we need constant reminders of the same basic truth over and over again. So that we might believe it and hold on to it. It is this we are not promise immediate Deliverance in this life. Play Jonah was in there. 10 minutes. I'm sure he wanted to be out the next, the very next second when he was in there. We're not promised immediate Deliverance in this life, but here's the, here's the hope. but because of Jesus, Because of the spirit of God. Now, with us, We are promised God's presence through the pain.

Here's a question for you.

Do you long to just be freed from the pain? Or do you long to be in his presence with the pain?

Let me state. That is a statement. God's presence. In the pain. Is far sweeter than the absence of pain.

God's presence in the pain is far sweeter than the absence of pain. Do you believe that? Is that your hope? Is that what you hold on to? It certainly was Jonah clung to what he relied on in this horrible situation.

Nitro to church, that's what you and I are called to do as well.

some of you may have heard this before, but In reflecting on this passage. I wrote a little poem. What does it? This is the final prayer. Final thoughts.

And then we'll close with the doxology.

What's goes like this? In this moment of Despair, I feel no Comfort arrest. Take heart. A weary soul for the Lord wants your best. Your sin may have dragged you to this place of desolation. Or you may have been succumbed to the curses devastation. The pressure of this pain is too much for me to bear. In the darkness of my life. Does anyone really care? Look up to the light though. You may not see clearly. The Lord's, mercy and Grace freely. Come if you believe. I cannot see a ray of light. No, sounds of rescue. I hear. How the hell am I supposed to gaze with all this heavy fear? O heart, you still have much to learn your called to look with faith. For as you trust in his love, you can rest, calm and safe. Do hard to do, I now cry out with the faint. Breath of my voice for you, oh God are my only hope, my only remaining choice. I don't know what my outcome is, nor what will happen next but I trust in you alone oh Lord through the pain of this test. Align my heart, my hopes, my will to pleasing you alone for you Reign above. My plight ruling from your Royal throne. This despair is real, the pain remains, but I know you'll give me rest in your due time till then I'll praise you in the darkness of this dance.

The grass withers and the flowers fall off the Lord indoors forever.