You Can Run - But You Cannot Hide

You Can Run - But You Cannot Hide Scripture

Jonah 1:3–5 NKJV

3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 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.

May God Bless The Reading Hearing & Understanding of his Precious Word!

Prayer

Confession of Faith

I am not moved by what I see or by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe. I believe the WORD of God! The victory is mine! I have it now! I can see it through the eyes of my faith! In Jesus Name

Intro: Now, in this passage, we find Jonah aboard a ship, fleeing from the presence of God. But as we all know, you can never outrun God or escape His plans for you life. Just like Jonah, we may find ourselves in situations where we feel trapped, running away from our what God is calling us to do, running away from the destiny God has prepared for us. But let me tell you, God's purpose will always pursue us. It's inescapable!

Jonah made a terrible choice when he turned down God's mission. Jonah’s selfishness caused him not to listen to the LORD, so he ran away from him. In his defiance - he caused some very bad stuff to happen. Check this out! Notice how often bad things happen to us when we don't follow the LORD.

Let’s go back to basics

Disobedience - Say It - Disobedience!

This sin , we can’t sugar coat! This sin, we can’t hide under the rug or pretend that it’s not happening! This disobedience of running away from God cause Jonah to leave his family, his home and his country!

Jonah 1:3 NCV

3 But Jonah got up to run away from the Lord by going to Tarshish. He went to the city of Joppa, where he found a ship that was going to the city of Tarshish. Jonah paid for the trip and went aboard, planning to go to Tarshish to run away from the Lord.

Now let me tell you some other things that happen to us when we are disobedient to God!

Relationships are strained when we choose to disobey God!

Disobedience to God many times results in missed chances for your development and your benefits.

When we continue to disobey, we run the risk of hitting a wall in our spiritual development. For instance, a believer's connection with God may deteriorate if they neglect their prayer life and disobey God's charge to seek Him! Today, to many people are in battle with uncertainties, feel a lack of spiritual connection, and have trouble fully experiencing God's presence and direction in their life.

When we disobey, we risk losing the joy and tranquility that come from living in accordance with God's will. Hear is what I mean, a person who refuses to forgive others may carry the weight of bitterness and resentment, depriving themselves of the serenity and joy that forgiveness brings. Their disobedience prevents them from feeling emotionally well and keeps them trapped in negativity.

The payment of continual sin occurs when we are disobedient. God's laws are demands, and when we choose to disobey them, we bring bad things into our life. For instance, breaking relationships, feeling guilty or ashamed, or even having problems with your physical or mental health as a result from disobeying God's order to maintain sexual purity.

When you are disobedient to God’s calling - you put other peoples lives in danger!

Jonah 1:4 NLT

4 But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart.

Jonah 1:5 NLT

5 Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold.

Because of Jonah’s disobedience he put the lives of people who had nothing to do with him in danger!

here is what I mean - After everyone was on board the ship - It sailed out some distance from the land, but Because of Jonah The LORD stirred a great, violent storm when there should not have been a storm at all during that time!

The storm became so violent and so turbulent that the ship was about to break up!

The sailors who were just doing their job and now run the risk of losing their lives because of Jonahs disobedience!

Watch this! _ Look back on your life - have you ever been around a person or people who you know were not doing right in their walk with God, and it began to impact your walk with God?

Now look at where Jonah is in the midst of all this chaos

Jonah 1:5 M:BCL

5 The sailors were terrified. They called out in desperation to their gods. They threw everything they were carrying overboard to lighten the ship. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship to take a nap. He was sound asleep.

Everyone else’ s life is in turmoil! People are impacted by your disobedience and you sleep, acting like nothing is wrong! Acting like their the problem when it’s you!

In this text we see everybody else is praying to their God’s , but Jonah

Watch folks that in the midst of turmoil would rather pretend like nothing is wrong - than to pray!

The captain of the ship had to wake Jonah up

Jonah 1:6 NLT

6 So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”

Jonah 1:7 NLT

7 Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit.

Jonah 1:8–11 NLT

8 “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?” 9 Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.” 10 The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. 11 And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”

Jonahs disobedience actually destroyed his testimony for the Lord!

Jonah could have been a strong witness to God’s saving grace, his saving power, and his grace to those who believed they were about to lose their lives! The storm that occured , it’s size and velocity was unusual for that time of the season! Now these are experienced sailors and the came to the conclusion that their was a God venting wrath against someone on the ship! Now, I believe that was laid on their spirits by God! So they were on a mission to expose the individual - to get to the bottom of why this storm was impacting their lives! This is when God supernaturally pointed them to Jonah!

They began to question Jonah, Who are You? What kind of work do you do, what country are you from, what is your nationality! These sailors were about to lose their lives and they wanted to know why?

This is a critical situation! Jonah had been confronted and Jonah knew not to lie or attempt to deceive his way out of the situation

Jonah 1:9 NKJV

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 1:10 NCV

10 The men were very afraid, and they asked Jonah, “What terrible thing did you do?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord because he had told them.)

Jonah 1:11 NLT

11 And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”

Now, in this text I find something interesting! The one who is guilty, knows what to do to resolve the situation!

Jonah;s disobedience led to him suffering the most severe discipline imaginable

Jonah 1:12 NKJV

12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”

There comes a time when you have to accept responsibility for your sin, your disobedience

Now, he was willing to die himself to save their lives. He told them to pick him up and throw him into the water. He admitted that he was the bad guy, that his sin was what made God send this big storm. But it's also important to remember that he had a lot of faith in the LORD. Even though he disobeyed the LORD in a shameful way, Jonah knew that the LORD would calm the storm once he, the sinner, was off the ship. He knew that the scary storm was not a normal occurrence, but rather God's way of punishing and judging him. So, he was completely sure that the LORD would save the sailors as soon as God took his life. Jonah knew he deserved to die because he wouldn't go to Nineveh and speak to the many people there. By running away from the LORD's call, Jonah caused the Ninevites to die and be cut off from God for all time. He had to kill himself because he had done something so bad against the LORD. So, Jonah gave up and accepted what he thought would happen to him: he would die.

Now watch this - here is where we mess up! trying to save other folks frm what God has planned and purposed in their lives

Jonah 1:13–14 NLT

13 Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”

How many of us try to save people - so they won’t have to deal with the consequences of sin!

They rowed as hard as they could to reach land, but were unsuccessful. Realizing the situation was hopeless, they prayed for the LORD to forgive them for taking the man’s life Even they knew that throwing Jonah overboard would make them guilty of murder. So, They wanted forgiveness from this God who had created and controlled everything in the world. Seeking the LORD’s forgiveness, the sailors acknowledged that the LORD had done as He willed!

They threw Jonah overboard

Jonah 1:15 NKJV

15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.

The sea stopped raging, the winds calmed down and everything went back to the norm! But these sailors had a change in their hearts

Jonah 1:16 NLT

16 The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

They began to worship God! because of what they experienced - they came to a trusting and worshipful relationship with the God Jonah was supposed to have with God! When the storm changed so quickly and dramatically, the sailors were stricken with a deep reverence for the God. They were completely awestruck by the God’s amazing power and the demonstration of His mercy by saving their lives. With thankful hearts, they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made a number of very specific promises (vows) to Him. Just what these vows were is not given. Most likely they were vows to worship and serve the LORD as the God of heaven and earth, the LORD of Jonah who was worshipped by the Jews.

Jonah - You can run, but you cannot hide

Jonah 1:17 NKJV

17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Next week we continue our series on the Book of Jonah - God bless you and God keep you is my Prayer