Going, Going, Gone

Good morning Church

New Series: Jonah “From Depths to Deliverance”

Last week we celebrated the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ

So we should be on fire with the gospel!

What do we do with it now?

It should effect the way we live and how we worship yes

But we are commanded by God to be gospel workers

What kind of work?

The Lord is going to speak about that to us in this book of Jonah

Background:

Jonah a Jewish prophet from the northern kingdom of Israel

This writing takes place in about 760BC

Jonah called to bring a message from God to the gentiles in the city of Nineveh

Nineveh, located in present day Mosul Iraq, was a great city containing almost a million people

And was the capital city of the Assyrian empire.

What we know is that the Assyrians were a powerful nation, conquering all over the region

And they had already been trying to conquer Israel but had yet to be successful (Isaiah 37,2Kings 19)

They were a blood thirsty, godless, and wicked nation

So the people of Nineveh are enemies of and hated by the Israelites

But what we will see here today is that God is going to call Jonah to go and tell the people of Nineveh to repent and worship Him or He will destroy them…

There are 2 themes that run together in this book

PROPHETIC THEME (Messianic prophecy)

Jonah is a picture of Christ and his message is a gospel like message

APPLICATIONAL THEME

The Lord is going to show us how we are to respond his call to go and make disciples

LETS DIVE IN! READ JONAH 1.

Break this down into 3 pieces (Calling,Rebellion,Rebuke)

CALLING FROM GOD (v1-2)

Go to Nineveh

Cry out

Why? (Their wickedness, sinfulness)

Calling for them to repent…tell them they will be destroyed if they don’t repent

Look at the 3 parties at work

-A sinful nation that needs to repent and believe in the Lord

-A mighty and holy and just God that commands their repentance or He will destroy them

-And a man of God called to relay this message

This is the same thing we see in the NT and today

Matthew 28:19–20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

2 Corinthians 5:17–21 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Ambassadors speak for kings

Jonah and us…we have a message to the sinful world from the king of kings

We both have good news…there is grace and salvation through faith

But what does Jonah do…

REBELLION FROM MAN (v3, 12-16)

But Jonah…rebelled

Why? (Remember they hated Nineveh)

They wanted to conquer Israel, enemies

They could kill Jonah…

If they repent Jonah knows the Lord will have mercy and relent (Jonah 4:2)

He would rather have them destroyed than to keep dealing with them and worrying about them

They were a godless people, wicked, Jonah doesn’t want to be around these people.

They aren’t his kind of people

So he runs…

Runs from his calling…

Runs from his duty…

Runs from the Lord…

lets focus in on Jonah’s issues

-He is afraid…will I be killed? Will they one day destroy Israel? (Nahum)

-He is self absorbed…I don’t like them! These aren’t my people (godless gentiles)! It’s out of my comfort zone!

-He is lacking in faith…What becomes of me? What becomes of Israel? Why would you do this Lord?

Like Abraham looking at the alter that he was to sacrifice his son on…Jonah doesn’t understand the Lords plan…

We don’t have to understand why…we just have to trust… We are all called by God to be ambassadors of the message of reconciliation

We are called to fulfill that role…even if we don’t understand, or are afraid…

But how many of us hear that…see the people the Lord is calling us to…

And are too afraid, to self absorbed, or to lacking in our faith to live out that calling…

I don’t know enough, what if I’m not liked, what if it cost me my job, what if it cost me a friend, these really aren’t my group of people,I Don’t HAVE TIME, ITS OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE

YOU HAVE A MESSAGE FROM THE KING

As we go and live out the calling in obedience…God shows us all through his word that we must trust him, be humble like him, and look to him to sustain us as we live out the calling

Proverbs 3:5–6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.””

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Philippians 2:5–8 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Be obedient, be humble, have faith, do not fear…

Are you running from the call?

When you run in disobedience…the Lord will purse and rebuke you.

PURSUIT AND REBUKE FROM GOD (v4-11, 17)

Jonah runs on a ship…

Not any ship…one being crewed by godless men…

Headed for Tarshish…in the opposite direction

The Lord causes a Great and powerful storm

The ship was beginning to break apart…

The pages crew is freaking out! Praying to their gods

where do we find Jonah???

ASLEEP IN THE BOAT!

All around Jonah are perishing people…who don’t want to die…these are people who are ready to be rescued…and he has no care for them…

Jonah himself would rather die than obey…

Rather die than be humble…

He would rather die than be uncomfortable…

Rather die then trust…

These men who are searching for rescue …wake Jonah up and say what are you doing pray to your God!

They cast lots to see who has brought on this destruction

Lands on Jonah…

He tells them “I’m on the run from the Lord of all, the one true God”

Throw me overboard…end my life…he’d rather die then go…

Later on in the book he tells God to end his life…

He is so consumed with himself that he can’t see what’s happening…

What God is doing!

If he would turn his focus from himself to Gods glory he would see…

These godless men he got on the ship with ain’t godless no more!

Jonah didn’t want to go to godless people…people that weren’t his people…

And yet here he is standing before pagan worshippers who are trembling before the Lord…

They pray to the Lord…the one true God Jehovah!

They fear His might…

They sacrifice to the Lord!

SEE THIS! This isn’t Jonah’s work this is Gods work…

He is in control…Even though Jonah is being disobedient…he is still being used to call for repentance and belief of gentiles

Even in his rebellion God is still working and God gets the glory!

And for Jonah…there is a rebuke from the Lord…

Thrown into stormy seas…swallowed by a fish…

Jonah wanted to die…God gave him what he asked for…

BUT it doesn’t end here…

the Lord promises us as His children to chastise us and discipline us…but not destroy us…

So though he is being rebuked…as we move forward in the series…this isn’t the end for Jonah…

When we run away in disobedience…there is discipline…

If you are running from the calling…Gods gonna let you know you ain’t where I want you.

(My story of running) God had a calling for me…I had other plans…and it didn’t go well

I ran…and I was disciplined by the Lord…harder and harder every time

But there is grace and restoration for you…

God has a call for you…if your running from it…stop…turn back

It’s so much better! your worried about being uncomfortable and afraid and stressed about living out the calling…

It’s so much harder running…

And hear this…you belong to Him…and your living in His plan…and He does everything according to His plan…

He is a faithful and trustworthy God…

Look at the text in Jonah… the plan God has…

Here is where the 2 themes come together:

-God has a plan…Save Nineveh…Save the nations

-God has the man to carry out the plan…Jonah….Jesus

-No one (man or Satan) can stop the plan!

God has a plan…His will will be done…

WE WANT TO BE A CHURCH THAT GOD USES TO CARRY OUT HIS WILL

Instruments for His Glory

BIG IDEA: When God calls us to go…we are to respond in obedience with faith, humility, and for His glory!

We want to be a people…that when God tells us to go…yes is already on the table…no matter what…

We are obedient to the call, we go and serve humbly, we have faith and trust in his plan….and all of this is for His glory

PRAY!