Jonah 1
Super Summer 2026 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewThe mariners and Jonah witnessed four characteristics of the God who calls us in Jonah 1.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Introducing myself
use story of how we came to western Kansas
speak of interview on phone
speak of coming out to see the church and area
Greensburg got hit the night before
muffler fell off
tornadoes again while we are in Larned
I believe that the Lord wants us in Western KS
serving in Hanston, the town I live in now
it has allowed me many opportunities to tell people about Jesus
something I love to do
something I told the Lord I would do as long as he gave me opportunity
Why are you here…
why did you come to this place, this camp
some might not have put that much thought into it
it is just what you church does and when they do it
you have been to camp so many times you how it all works
prepared for dodgeball, knockout, some of you have already noticed somebody…
Sometimes we can miss the most important thing… God
so many know a little about the book
There is a guy named Jonah
He gets swallowed by a big fish
but the book is not about Jonah… or the fish
the book is about the Lord
we are supposed to know him better, more of who he is by reading this book
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:
2 “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because their evil has come up before me.”
3 Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.
Jonah got up, but not to go to Nineveh
He is a fugitive, on the run
going the opposite way that God told him to go
we think we are better because we do not do the opposite that God tells us, we just go a little different way
4 But the Lord threw a great wind onto the sea, and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart.
5 The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.
The one who should be freaking out is the person with no sailing experience
but the ones who do this for a living thought this is bad enough we need to get rid of everything
and find a god that will save us
Jonah… on the other hand, asleep
6 The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god. Maybe this god will consider us, and we won’t perish.”
7 “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots. Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.
8 Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in. What is your business, and where are you from? What is your country, and what people are you from?”
Now I would be terrified at this moment
the sea has not calmed down
the sailers are all staring at you going, what have you done
9 He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 Then the men were seized by a great fear and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence because he had told them.
11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse.
12 He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that it will calm down for you, for I know that I’m to blame for this great storm that is against you.”
Can you imagine… the sheer volume!
the waves, the wind, thunder, yelling
they were probably not speaking as nice as we read here
sailers are known for their bad language
13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they couldn’t because the sea was raging against them more and more.
14 So they called out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, don’t let us perish because of this man’s life, and don’t charge us with innocent blood! For you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.”
15 Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.
They try everything they can to not kill him… they are as afraid of the Lord as they are the storm
notice Jonah is not
They pick him up and thrown him in… and everything goes silent
I think this is where I would be most afraid
16 The men were seized by great fear of the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
17 The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 1 introduces us to a God who is, tonight we will look at four characteristics of God.
God is Compassionate
God is Compassionate
2 “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because their evil has come up before me.”
The specific charges against Nineveh were severe.
The Assyrians earned a reputation as a cruel, violent, and wicked people.
They were known as one of history’s most bloodthirsty civilizations, slaughtering so many that their brutality became legendary.
This is who the Lord is sending Jonah
this is about a 600 mile trip, one way
about as far as Minneapolis MN from Salina… take you about 39 days if you walk about 15 miles a day
How is this compassion…
10 The righteous cares about his animal’s health, but even the merciful acts of the wicked are cruel.
a righteous person cares about life even of this animals
but a cruel person just showers mercy on somebody without telling them the truth and it is cruelty because it leads to death
the sin of the Ninevites had come to the Lord and in his compassion, he is making it known so they can deal with it
The Lord shows who he is to the idol worshipping sailers
all the men on the boat worship other gods
they are trying everything to get their god to rescue them
but they do not have a lot faith in it, they believe they will die
the Lord reveals himself to them through his power
through the power of the storm
and through the calming of it
do you think after these men saw this power they ever doubted that there was a God in Israel
maybe you have doubted or have struggled to feel the compassion of the Lord
I want to challenge you to a couple things this week
ask God to reveal himself in a crazy way to you this week then get out of the way and let him do it
ask questions about the Lord and your relationship with him
ask questions to your sponsors especially in your church groups
most likely there are people there that have the same questions without the boldness to ask
God desires to shower his compassion on you
God is not limited in his compassion
meaning, if he gives you a lot of mercy, that does not mean that he has less for me
God is Everywhere
God is Everywhere
3 Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.
4 But the Lord threw a great wind onto the sea, and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart.
5 The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.
we tend to compartmentalize God
places we expect him to be
we expect him at camp
we expect him at church on Sunday or youth group
wherever I am when I need help
but we do not think of him being where we do not want him
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away.
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
Jonah could not escape the Lord by simply running away
Jonah could not escape by going to the sea
as if God cannot swim
he created the sea, why would he not be there
he created us why would he not be with us
Jonah could not hide in the boat by taking a nap
We do not have to pray for God to show up
he is not the one that disappears from this relationship
that is us… we walk away and chase after our own thing
those things can be different for each of us
they make no difference what they are and they can be good things
they are the things that replace God as the head, the one in charge
he is here,
will you lean into that this week
will you acknowledge him, submit to him, worship him
God is All Knowing
God is All Knowing
He knows the evilness of the people of Nineveh
2 “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because their evil has come up before me.”
Nineveh was an ancient city founded by Noah’s grandson, Nimrod
I used to think they just had weird names at that time
then I realized it was just language to language
Mexico trying to say Doug was impossible
they would introduce me to people and they would laugh because they thought my name was dog
very powerful city of the Assyrians who were known for the brutality
you can read God’s charge against them in Nahum 2-3.
What this shows is that God does not simply know the people he has a relationship with
He knows everything about each and every one of us and all of his creation
the Bible says that he knows every star by name
the Bible says that he knows the number of hairs on your head
He knows that Jonah has run
he did not have to check up on him to see if he has done what he was told
he did not have to inquire of somebody else
he did not have to send a search party
he knows you
He knows the motive for you being here
the pain you brought with you
that struggle you have been dealing with and hoped to escape this week, he knows
he knows that it will be waiting on you when you get home and is ready to deal with it
the idols that you have that you love more than him
the relationships that need mending and the ones that need ended
He knows the second that Jonah is thrown from the ship
15 Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.
God is All Powerful
God is All Powerful
The Lord controls the storm
4 But the Lord threw a great wind onto the sea, and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart.
He controls nature! The storm starts and stops at his command
I cannot even make hair grow on my head!
these are not just little waves
this is breaking the boat apart in a way that is scaring experienced sailers!
they begin to panic and throw everything overboard
they do not throw Jonah yet, why
because they now fear the God that is powerful enough to send this storm
the Lord controls the lots
7 “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots. Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.
In proverbs it even tells us that the Lord controls the lot (Prov 16:33)
Lots is like dice they would put different things on each side and roll them
it would be similar to saying there are six of us, if we roll a three that will be Jonah
imagine if it would have fallen by chance to one of the sailers,
him being tortured to try and figure out why the storm has come
but it falls to Jonah, he tells them and tells them how to fix it
the Lord controls the fish
17 The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
this is amazing! you go swallow Jonah… and the fish does it
The Lord has told me to do a lot of stuff and far too many times I have failed to obey!
We are here this week to worship and get to know an amazing God
a God that knows you, knows everything you are bringing into this room tonight and he loves you enough and is powerful enough to deal with it.
The story of Jonah isn't ultimately about Jonah—it's about the God who pursues people with compassion, knows us completely, is always with us, and has power over all creation. This week, the invitation is to stop running from Him and lean into the God who has been pursuing you all along.
