Jonah 1 C
Jonah • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Turn to Jonah 1. I got home last night around 6pm – been at Camp Kellog since Tuesday – spent time with 4-6th grade boys …. I might ramble – either the Spirit or the after-effects of kid’s camp. And if I talk to you like children - I ask for a lot of grace this morning – let’s trust God.
We’ve spent two weeks getting acquainted with Jonah. A few things to keep in mind:
Remember:
1) God chose the right person …
2) God may send us to our enemies (i.e. “those people” – Nineveh) because sometimes that’s the best method to reveal His mercy
a. We are God’s ambassadors (2 Cor. 5).
3) It’s my opinion that Jonah had experienced something traumatic that caused him, a prophet of God to rebel so drastically …
a. … God possibly chose Jonah for inner healing, for spiritual maturity, growth lesson ….
b. Kicking and screaming
Like I said last week, we’re going to take it slow through Jonah, so there will be a little overlap or repetition with sermons.
And the word of Yahweh came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
“Get up! Go to the great city Nineveh and cry out against her, because their evil has come up before me.”
But Jonah set out to flee toward Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. And he went down to Joppa and found a merchant ship going to Tarshish, and paid her fare, and went on board her to go with them toward Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.
Let’s talk about “those people” for a moment. I want to make sure we understand Nineveh –
“those people.”
So God tells Jonah to go to those people and call them to repentance. Remember, the Assyrians are the enemies of Israel – they have murdered, harassed, oppressed, caused fear …. Humanly speaking, they do not deserve God’s mercy – yet God desires to show mercy.
Q - What does this tell us about God?
God cares about “those people.”
I know I asked you this in the first sermon, but I’m asking again –
Who are the “those people” in my life?
Who is the person or people that if God said, “Go,” you would seriously hesitate, question God, become furious, or run? “Those people!”
Q - What does your reaction reveal about your heart?
If Jesus loves and is concerned about “those people,” then so should I. Am I apathetic, indifferent, numb …? Or do I have the heart of Jesus? What is the heart of Jesus?
“But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die.
None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live.
Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
1 Tim. 2:4 – God wants all people to be saved. John 3:16 ….
What does God need to do in your heart or the heart of KNAZ?
And Yahweh hurled a great wind upon the sea, and it was a great storm on the sea, and the merchant ship was in danger of breaking up.
And the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they threw the contents that were in the merchant ship into the sea to lighten it for them. And meanwhile Jonah went down into the hold of the vessel and lay down and fell asleep.
And the captain of the ship approached him and said to him, “Why are you sound asleep? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps your god will take notice of us and we won’t perish!”
And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots so that we may know on whose account this disaster has come on us!” And they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
So they said to him, “Please tell us whoever is responsible that this disaster has come upon us! What is your occupation? And from where do you come? What is your country? And from which people are you?”
And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
A long pause. Jonah wrestled on the inside …. Identity issue. What you say you believe, who you say you are and how you live …. 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear [or worship] Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Jonah probably thought, “Who am I fooling - thinking I could run from God?” What makes us think we can run from God? Ask anyone who has tried and it’s one of two stories (I finally obeyed = peace or they’re still running and lack peace in their lives). Genuine rest and peace come from obedience, not doing life our way. Heb 4:10-13 Trust and obey.
God knows our story – He knew where Jonah was, what he had been through and where he should be. He also knows the stories of “those people” and who they need.
Camp and Brandon’s story? I seriously questioned why I was there ….
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.
Look at the tremendous cost of sinful disobedience, rebellion …. Jonah paid a fare, the storm, sailors lost their cargo (loss of money), their ship was damaged and would need repaired, which would cost time and money. Furthermore, think about the people paid a price because of Jonah's sin? Obviously, Jonah and the crew. But what about the merchants – buyers and sellers of the cargo, people depending on the cargo, manufacturers, … the list goes on and on.
This may be an extreme example, but
There is a biblical principle here – there is always a cost to our sin and disobedience, and there is always a ripple effect.
Here’s the truth - everyone loses with sin. Romans 6:23 – the wages of sin is death. Something always dies – there is always a ripple effect. It’s a biblical universal truth that we cannot sweep under the rug.
The heart of sin is pride / self-centeredness. Because we’re prideful and inward focused, we often refuse to see, or we’re blinded to see how our sin and sinful or poor choices affect others.
I know this too well. Back in 1999, I was so self-centered, thinking mainly of me, that I had no idea how a sinful choice would effect my family, my youth group, my church, my career … for years. Too many people paid a massive price for my sin.
Q – Am I and others paying a price for my sin, rebellion, or poor choices?
What to do? Confess - Jame 5:16
So they said to him, “What shall we do to you so that the sea may quiet down for us?” because the sea was growing more and more tempestuous.
The crew had no part in Jonah's rebellion, yet they were caught up in his sin and poor choices.
So God caused the storm. Now, understand there is a difference between punishment and discipline. God was not punishing Jonah, or the crew. What was God doing?
Let’s explore this a little. Notice, God did not force Jonah to go to Nineveh, but He did create some interesting and difficult circumstances to get Jonah's attention. I wonder how often this happens in our own lives. Life gets difficult, crazy, things fall apart … lose promotions, relationships, opportunities ….
Rather than seeing God at work in what’s going on around us and learning and responding, we can be stiff-necked and dig in our heals, ignore God ….
There’s a difference between life events, and God orchestrated events.
We all know that life can be very difficult. It’s just life. At other times, God might put on the pressure to get our attention …. How do we know the difference? Jonah knew he was running; therefore he knew the storm was God chasing him.
If life is difficult right now, God may or may not be behind it. Need to take time to reflect, ask God …. Look, if there is sin and rebellion, God will convict you. If not ….
Now, if we can get our eyes off ourselves, we might see that God was doing more than just trying to get Jonah’s attention. There is a much bigger at work here than Jonah’s sin.
God wanted to save Nineveh – and possibly Jonah.
The storm was not all about Jonah. It was about saving a group of people heading for judgment, destruction and ultimately Hell.
Q – What might this tell us about God and our circumstances?
As we close, what’s your attitude to “those people?” What’s the Spirit saying about your heart?
Are you in sin and running, refusing to repent and surrender? Other people are paying the price – most often it’s those closest to you.
Circumstances?
