Jonah 1

Introduction

If we have not had the pleasure of meeting my name is John Colunga and I have the privilige of serving as lead pastor here at New Day Pasadena

I also have the privilige of bringing this weeks sermon

So if you have your Bibles, please turn to Jonah 1

If you forgot your Bible please use the one in front of you and if you dont have a Bible at all, please take home the one in front of you as a free gift to you

Sermon Series

Thats not in my job description Illustration

4 weeks going through the book of Jonah

4 “R”s

Running - chapter 1

Returning - chapter 2

Repenting - chapter 3

Reminding - chapter 4

This is something every Christian, every believer will face

God has given his commandments - Jesus both taught and modled how we should live

And yet, there are times when we run from his commands

And there has to be a turning back to oedience and following him

That requires a repentance on our part

And overwhelmingly - we are remindind of who God is

Set Up

While we are in the book of Jonah - I want us to be consistently pointing back to

Psalm 145:8 “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

gracious - filled with God’s favor

grace - unmerrited favor (giving what we did not earn or deserve)

mercy - witholding punishment that we deserve

slow to anger - not rash (patient), wise, just,

steadfast love - God’s love is unchanged and immovable

Do we believe that these are attributes and actions of God?

One of the things we say here a lot at New Day Pasadena is that the Bible is for man but is all about Jesus

That the Bible is all about how man is redeemed because of Jesus

And what we find in the New Testament, Jesus being fully God and man displays grace, mercy, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love

And while these are clearly the attributes and actions of God, are they then characteristics and actions that we should display?

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose 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, away from the presence of the Lord. 4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” 7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And 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.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. 17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jon 1:1–17.

Verses 1-3 Disobedience, Running (mercy/love)

Verses 4-7 God pursues (love)

Verses 8-10 Reveals/Identity (love and grace)

Verses 11-17 Preserves (grace/mercy)

What are the ways that we run?

Jonah was the son of Amittai – Amittai means “My truth”

Jonah was literally the son of truth and as a prophet he is called to be a son of proclaiming truth

Up till this point, Jonah has proclaimed the truth to Israel

And now, God has called Jonah to proclaim truth beyond Israel to the gentile nation of Nineveh

How lost was Nineveh?

They worshipped fish “g”ods

They tortured people, murdered, liars,

Engaged in full acts of prostitution

And God wants to send Nineveh the “son of truth” so they can repent and turn to God

This passage doesn’t explain it but we later find out in chapter 4 why Jonah flees

But Jonah 4:2 “And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

Jonah was fearful and hateful towards Nineveh.

Jonah doesn’t believe that Nineveh has the right to be saved

By Jonah’s evaluation Nineveh does not deserve God’s grace and mercy,

Nineveh does not deserve God’s love

slow to anger? No! Take your vengences quickly and violently Lord

Take them out!

Jonah wants the Ninevites to die

There is no way they can become God’s people

And so because Jonah doesnt agree with how God is displaying his attributes, he flees and goes the other way

Gentile Inclusion

Now, lets sit here for two reasons

1. Because we see a foreshadow of what is to come

2. Because it magnifies the grace, mercy and love of God

Up to this point in history, God has had a chosen nation who is Israel

But God is now extending his mercy beyond Israel to a gentile nation

Lets fastforward to the New Testament and we also find that Jesus died for both the Jew and Gentile

This event was pointing to the grace, mercy, and love that is to come

And just like Jonah did not like the inclusion of the gentile nation to turn to God

So the Jews had a hard time of the inclusion of the gentiles in the church

And what this does is magnify the word “abounding” that we find in Psalm 145.

God’s love is great

God’s love is plentiful

And God’s love abounds more than we can we can think or even comprehend

And in his abounding love, he gives abundant grace and mercy

And that means that God can love and extend mercy any way he sees fit

Even when it seems illogical or incomprehensible to us

Pursuing Jonah

As Jonah flees, he hops on a ship, he goes to sleep,

And the same mercy God is extending to Nineveh, he extends to Jonah

He pursues Jonah with a great storm

And as the storm is going on, the fisherman wake Jonah up and urge him to pray to his God

It is interesting that Jonah doesnt pray, he knows that the storm is because of him

And after casting lots, it is unmistakable that the storm is because of Jonah

When a person follows God, and is in a time of running, God does not leave that believer alone

Jesus gives the parable of the lost sheep in the book of Luke

That the Shepherd leaves the 99 and pursues the 1

And after that 1 is found

6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 15:6–7.

God is pursuing the fleeing Jonah

And so the storm brought upon the ship by God

The scary circumstance that they are in

Is actually a loving and merciful act by God

God is using the storm to go after his sheep, Jonah

And so we find that Jonah is forced, he is convicted, to come clean about his running

9 And 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, even in his running, knows who he is running from

He knows how big and how great His God is

Preserved

And so he tells the sailors what they must do, they must throw him over

However, in fear of having Jonah’s blood on their hands, they opt to try to make it through the storm

Of course, this didnt last long

The storm grew stronger and they finally decided to throw him overboard

When they did, the storm ceased

And then, we are told that a great fish swallowed up Jonah and he was in the belly for 3 days and 3 nights

God gave a command, Jonah ran from God, God pursued Jonah, and now God is preserving Jonah

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

In this Philippians verse we have three key components

First God does the work of saving and will bring it to completion

Second, God is active in the believers life

Third, God preserves and perseveres the believer to successful completion

God sent the great fish to preserve and persevere Jonah

Application

What are ways in which we run from God?

disobedience - unrepentant sin

distrust or try to keep God at an arms length away

lack of forgiveness

Not obeying the Great Commission

Not listening to the Holy Spirit

Don’t be surprised when God pursues you

Jonah was not surprised

God lets us know when we are straying/have strayed from him

He has steadfast love and has mercy on us

Holy Spirit lives in us

Holy Spirit convicts us

Holy Spirit reminds us of our identity

God will preserve and persevere you

He extends his grace and kindness towards you

God is active and at work in your life

God has a good work prepared for you

God is with you always

Individual then as a church

As a church - missional

Flesh out running from God / Breakthroughs to the needs and mission of God

Silas

If the storm for Jonah is God’s love, then God can lovingly pursue us with storms

We cant just quit - Jonah asks to be thrown over

They have a higher view of obedience to God by not wanting to murder