Jonah 2 - Just Like Jonah

Just Like Jonah INTRODUCTION

Well Village Church what an exciting time to see others being called to the ministry. Well today we are going to continue a series about another man that was called into the ministry of God as a prophet. His name was Jonah. If you remember Jonah was called by God to go, Jonah said no, and God said, “Oh”.

Right, God was like go to Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria. They were an evil people and Jonah didn’t want them to come to God. So instead Jonah decided to flee 2,500 miles away to Tarshish. So he goes down to Joppa, gets on a boat to run from God. However, God had other plans. He sent a storm after Jonah and it threatened to break the ship he was on and kill everybody. So Jonah finally confesses that he is the cause of the storm and tells the crew to throw him overboard so the storm will stop.

(I think I covered it all).

Now we pick up the story after Jonah was thrown overboard.

Read - Jonah 1:17 “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.”

Jonah 2:1–10 “Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, ‘I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your breakers and your waves passed over me. Then I said, “I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.” The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head. To the roots of the mountains I went down, to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.’”

Today's message is titled “Just Like Jonah.”

Let’s try something. When I say Just Like, I need you to say Jonah.

Ready?

Just Like… Jonah.

Good.

I need your help today.

PRAYER

We have all had those seasons of life where things just go from bad to worse. Like you were just living life and then you hit a season where some bad things happen. Maybe some drama in your life. Maybe loss. Maybe a tire falls off your car while driving. True story for me.

But yeah, we have all had those times where things just seem to keep getting worse.

One time I was driving through this small town and I was speeding of course, and got pulled over of course. When the time came for me to pay the ticket I had to go back to that town to go to court because I was going to see if I could keep the points off and just pay the ticket. That is kind of how it works in South Carolina. You get a ticket, you can pay it, or you can show up to court and often times they will reduce the ticket.

So I show up to ask for a reduced ticket.

I pull into this police station parking lot and I am driving a box truck. It’s like a U-Haul size truck. I pull in the parking lot and one spot is open. I pull in that spot and I look ahead and there is a sign that says “Police Parking Only.”

I was like dang, okay I guess I am going to have to park across the street. So I throw it in reverse and back up. Next thing I know there is a loud boom and the truck shook. I had hit the police station. No joke. I backed into the police station. Not one of those slow backups either. I mean like one of those quick, throw it in reverse, press the gas, whip that truck around kind of backups. So then I do like a 15-point turn to get out of this small lot without hitting anything else. Then I look up and there are like 7 cops standing outside looking at me like what is this idiot doing? So I stop and get out and they are just staring at me.

I was like I am so sorry. I am talking about how I will get a ladder and a hammer and fix their gutter that I had just completely bent in. And the cops are like, why are you here? I said well I did come to talk about a ticket but I am just here to pay it now. So I paid it and left. Should have gotten another ticket but I didn’t. True story.

The point is we all know what it means to have those moments where things just seem to go from bad to worse. Just like…Jonah.

That is what happens in his story. His story goes from bad…to worse…to even worse. When he was first called to go to Nineveh that was bad. When he ran from God and the storm came it got worse. Now he is thrown overboard drowning in the water. Even worse. Then finally he is in the belly of a giant fish. What? I think that would be the worst. It is like Jonah was prepared to die but God had other plans.

See I believe Jonah had run from God so much, and things had gotten so bad, that he decided he was too far gone. He figured his calling was over, his future was over, God’s plan for his life was over. So Jonah sacrifices himself to save the others, but there is another thought behind it. Jonah believes his life is over anyway. So he tells them to throw him off the boat. To kill him. Jonah is ready to end his life because things cannot get any worse than they are. God will not forgive the rebellion I have done. God must be done with me. So throw me overboard.

I bet that is how somebody feels right now. You feel like you have gone too far so you want to just give up. Just like…Jonah. But can I encourage you today? If you are in a storm, it might not be because God is punishing you. It might be because God is pursuing you. And this story shows it. Because look at what God did.

He appointed a fish to swallow Jonah. He not only pursued Jonah…He provided for Jonah.

THE PROVISION

When did the provision come? It came when Jonah needed it. It didn’t come after Jonah prayed. It didn’t come after Jonah repented. It came when Jonah describes his life fading away. It came at just the right time. Yes Jonah prayed to God, but God provided a fish for Jonah long before Jonah asked for provision. God had a plan of provision the whole time. Just like He does in your life. God always factors in our stupidity before He calls us. If you think God was shocked by Jonah running and being thrown overboard you are wrong. God had already factored all of that in.

Don’t worry, God has already factored in your rebellion before He called you.

So when the sailors throw him overboard it gets calm for them above the surface. But beneath the surface the waters begin to shift. Because God has prepared a great fish.

Side note. Imagine the sailors throw Jonah over and the storm stops. I just imagine Jonah floating there looking at the sailors like so how about I just get back in the boat? But the sailors had to leave Jonah there.

This is where people get caught up. The storm may stop when you get Jonah off the boat. But that does not mean it is time to let Jonah back on the boat. Sometimes you cannot see what God is doing beneath the surface in someone else’s life. And you trying to pull them back into the boat might interrupt what God is doing. The sailors had to leave Jonah for dead so that he could be delivered. God provided His own vessel for Jonah when He could have prepared vengeance. God brought deliverance instead of death.

Somebody today needs to hear this. God might be preparing something beneath the surface for you. Something out of sight. Something out of mind. A vessel of deliverance. What looks like death to others might actually be deliverance for you. So do not be upset when people cast you off the boat. Do not be mad when people leave you behind. What if they actually positioned you for what God wants to do with you. See Jonah had to be in the water in order to be swallowed by the fish.

Jonah thought it was over. God is faithful. He still had a plan for Jonah. Jonah could not outrun God’s plan. He could not outlast God’s plan. He could not out-sin God’s plan. So God appointed a big fish to swallow Jonah. That fish was the Uber Jonah needed but did not ask for.

2. THE PRAYER

a. It is like Jonah is down to his last hope. He thought he would have drowned. But he didn’t. Now he is in the belly of a fish. And it is like Jonah finally realizes what God was doing. God was giving him a second chance. We get insight into Jonah after he has been beaten down by everything that has happened. He has found himself at the end of his rope with no hope in himself. He is stuck in a fish destined to die a long suffering death. But after three days Jonah realizes something. If I am not dead…God must not be done. So he cries out to God. But not a prayer of defeat. Not a prayer of despair. It is a prayer of thanksgiving. As a matter of fact he is praying the Psalms.

b. Jonah is praying Scripture back to God. And what is amazing is Jonah thanks God for delivering him before he was delivered. His prayer was a prayer of expectation, not experience. We need to start praying with expectation instead of praying based only on experience. Jonah could have prayed:

God can you provide warmth in here? God can you help with the smell? God can you slow down how much this fish is eating?

c. But instead he praises God for deliverance he has not even seen yet. Are you willing to praise God in the belly of the fish? When life feels cramped…When you feel swallowed up…When everything feels dark…Do you still have the expectation that God is not done with you?

d. Jonah begins to change. His heart begins to shift. He says I will offer thanksgiving to my God again. God is pruning his heart. He realizes God was behind all of this. In the pursuit. In the provision. Even when Jonah did not deserve it. And now Jonah’s prayer becomes the prayer we should all pray. God your will, not my will, be done.

3. THE PURPOSE

a. Now Jonah has been in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. And then something incredible happens. God speaks to the fish. And the fish vomits Jonah onto dry land. Now imagine that moment. Jonah washes up on shore smelling like fish guts, seaweed wrapped around his head, bleached skin from stomach acid. He looks like a mess. But he is alive. And God speaks to Jonah again. “Go to Nineveh.” Same calling. Same mission. Because the purpose of God did not change even though Jonah ran.

b. Somebody needs to hear that today. Your mistakes did not cancel God’s purpose. Your running did not cancel God’s purpose. Your rebellion did not cancel God’s purpose. God did not save Jonah just so Jonah could survive. God saved Jonah because Jonah still had a purpose. The fish was not Jonah’s ending. It was Jonah’s turning point. And sometimes God will allow you to hit rock bottom just so you finally look up. Sometimes God will let you sit in the dark so you can see the light. Sometimes God will let you be swallowed by the fish so you remember your purpose.

Just like…Jonah.

CONCLUSION

Truthfully Jonah should have died. Jonah should have drowned in the ocean and been forever known as the prophet who rebelled against God. That is what he deserved. But instead of drowning him, God delivered him. And the fish that looked like judgment was actually mercy.

And here is the beautiful part of this story. Jonah in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights was pointing to someone greater. Jesus said just like Jonah was in the fish, The Son of Man would be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. Because thousands of years later another man would come. And unlike Jonah, He would not run from His calling. He would walk straight toward it. He would go to a cross. He would die for sinners. And three days later He would rise from the grave. So that everyone who feels like they have gone too far, everyone who feels like they are drowning, everyone who feels swallowed up by life, could find salvation. Because salvation belongs to the Lord. And maybe today you feel…Just like Jonah. You ran from God. You ignored God. You rebelled against God. But the reason you are still here, the reason you are still breathing, the reason God is still pursuing you, Is because He is not done with you yet.

You might be in a storm. You might feel swallowed up. But God still has a plan. God still has provision. God still has purpose. So if you feel just like Jonah. Cry out to the same God Jonah cried out to. Because the same God who rescued Jonah is still rescuing people today.

And salvation still belongs to the Lord.

Let’s Pray