Resignation Denied
Notes
Transcript
July 21st, 2000 just after 2 in the morning I’m woken briefly by doors banging around and a few voices in my hotel room. That summer I was on a mission trip to Mexico City with our youth group. We were staying in the Hotel San Francisco. I was 17 and since there weren’t enough real adults for every room they figured I was old enough and responsible enough to be in charge of the room with 3 other boys. So at this interruption in my sleep I briefly yell out something about quit making noise and go back to sleep. I promptly go back to sleep. I then wake up to a phone call of some other kid in our youth group calling our room with what I can only assume is some kind of prank, I tell them to go back to bed, hang up, and promptly go back to sleep. The phone rings AGAIN. I answer the phone no so happy this time except on the phone is Amy, the youth leader that also acted as our Spanish translator yelling at me to wake up and get to the second floor.
I need to back up a moment here. When we arrived we were told this hotel was the lone survivor of tall buildings for the entire neighborhood from the devastating earthquake that happened in 1985. Why would they tell us all that as we finally arrive at our hotel after our multi-day drive from Fort Worth, TX? It’s because Mexico City is built on an ancient lakebed. They literally filled it in and built on it. We all learned that in school and there is a tie in to the flag of Mexico but I suspect that’s just in Texas school curriculum and not so much one you might have been taught. It’s worth a read if you decide to look it up later. So this statement about our hotel was intended to be a re-assurance for our group but I think it just made a few people extra concerned that earthquakes are extra bad in Mexico City, because they are...
I think you might now suspect what was happening at 2 in the morning, there had been a 5.9 quake about a hundred miles south and the jelly bowl of Mexico City felt it. Have you ever slept through an earthquake? How about a tornado? Another natural disaster? Some of us are just deep sleepers and oblivious. There’s a guy like that in the Bible named Jonah but before we get to that let’s pray and see what lead up to his oblivious moment.
Rejection
Rejection
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
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.
Jonah gets the call to go to Nineveh. Now at this point Jonah isn’t new to being a prophet. He’s not scared because this is going to be his first time. We know from 2 Kings that he’s already the national prophet that prophesied about Israel’s borders being restored. That restoration has happened. Unlike many of the prophets we read about it’s likely he was actually liked by leaders and the people. You might not be the well established evangelist that gets on a platform to cheers. You might even be very new to sharing your faith with someone else. Whether you’ve had good experiences, bad, or none yet, we are still obligated to share the Gospel.
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.
God would have been justified in rejecting us. We’re sinners who fail to meet the standards of God in every opportunity we would reject Him. But Christ reconciled us to Himself then gave us a ministry of reconciliation.
What is the message of reconciliation? Actually… first of all what is this 6 syllable word that no one but maybe an accountant or lawyer ever actually says? To be reconciled to something means to be made right. When there is a wrong reconciliation is making it right, whether that’s on your accounting sheet, in a courtroom, or it’s your standing as a sinner before a holy and just God.
So if we have been entrusted with the message of reconciliation - that’s telling people about that balance change - we need to know what that message is. The Bible says it this way.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
I do really like adding in the next two verses because it ties it to reality, this isn’t some fantasy story that got made up...
and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
Be prepared to memorize this… if not on purpose but just because you’re going to hear it from me in every sermon as I continue to encourage you to share the Gospel. If you’re ever asked what is the Gospel this is your answer.
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time
It’s the expectation that we know this and tell others this. God’s already told us this in His Word. Whether it’s because they’re someone we know dearly and want them to also have eternal life or because it’s just another person who is also made in the image of God and needs to hear the good news.
But Jonah… he ran… he didn’t want at all to leave the comfort of his position or likely prosperity to go give a message from God to Israel’s #1 enemy. When we’re appointed ambassadors we don’t get to choose our comfort over God’s commands.
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You know, I actually didn’t finish the story I started at the beginning… after finally being woken up I sent the other boys who were awake and unsure of what to do out to go down to the 2nd floor. I eventually got dressed and headed out. I took the elevator and as the doors opened on the second floor I saw people everywhere. They were sitting, they were standing, they lined the walls of the hallways. EVERY SINGLE ONE starred as those elevator doors opened and I walked out. Apparently you shouldn’t take the elevator during or just after an earthquake… That would have been like 9 flights of stairs… I think Jonah got a similar look from the ship captain, let’s go there:
Sovereignty
Sovereignty
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.
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. 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.”
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.
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?”
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.” 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.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU SLEEPER!? *laughing*
Yeah I can image some of the looks Jonah got.
But do you see what’s happening here? God isn’t letting Jonah retire and walk away. God pursues His people sovereignly. Even the wind and the waves obey Him. The other sailors who know these waters are in dismay at how bad this storm is and they’re grasping at anything, everyone calling out their own god, and telling Jonah he should be doing the same thing! The storm was unnatural but so was the next part where they drew lots and it landed on Jonah. That wasn’t by chance it was by choice. God’s choice isn’t random. Even these pagan men knew something was up. Who is this guy, what does he do, where is he from, why is this all happening? Then Jonah says something that shocks the sailors. He worships YAHWEH the God of Heaven who made the sea and the dry land. This wasn’t some local god like people of the area generally believed in and thought were essentially limited to the region they were worshiped in. Jonah’s God is the Creator God, the true and real God of unlimited power. They knew he was running from his God but until this moment they hadn’t realized his God was THE GOD.
The same God of Jonah that pursued him, pursues us. First in drawing us to himself that we would be saved just like we read about in 2 Corinthians about reconciliation. But also he pursues us into all that he has called us to do. The four Gs that we have up behind me and on our signs and shirts are the mission statement of this church. They’re there because these four things are what every christian is called to do.
You can see it written out in our constitution.
At Crossroads Church Tell City we strive to Gather together through worship, Grow the saints with the Scriptures for God-centered relationships and ministry to others, Give from our resources, and Go to the world with the Gospel message.
These are all expectations of Christians in general. Gather, Grow, Give, Go is our mission we have done the first three fairly well as a church since we’ve started. Go has been a bit more hit or miss. We are not going to turn and get a ticket for the slow boat to China but work as we gather to equip one another as we grow together and give from what we have to the kingdom all three help us in going to the world around us and share the Gospel message.
In God’s sovereign pursuit of us we’re always caught up with. Sometimes that’s smooth and comforting and sometimes it’s rough and terrifying. God through the storm caught up with Jona and it was terrifying for everyone on board. Mercy prevails and makes the call to save everyone else lets read it.
Mercy
Mercy
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
Sometimes the Lord takes us to the end of ourselves before we respond to his call on our lives. Eventually Jonah knows this whole thing is because of him. It has taken a storm, a lottery, and the pleas of the men around him but God has finally reached Jonah. Jonah surrenders to the Lord and has mercy on the men caught up in his mess. Being tossed in the sea here is certain death. The sailors know it. They try hard to row back to dry land but they can’t, the storm gets even worse. So even the sailors surrender to God’s will. Jonah is hurled into the waters which then grow still. The last miracle of the chapter is not the seas going calm but the changed lives of the sailors aboard. A similar moment happened for the Israelites themselves.
Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
Seeing what the LORD did they feared him just like the sailors on board that ship with Jonah. Their response to God revealed was worship and covenant. These pagan sailors have gone from worshiping idols and ignorant of the true God to pleading with Him then fearing Him then worshiping him with their very lives changed. It’s a foreshadow of what is to come in the book of Jonah but also in the world as God works to save not just the jews but also the gentiles. Let’s review what happened for these sailors.
God uses someone to tell the sailors who He is. The creator of all things God of heaven and earth maker of the seas and dry land. The sailors recognize their danger from God’s wrath and plead for mercy. The one sent from God is sent to a certain death and the wrath of God is satisfied. The response by these sailors is to worship God and make vows to him.
We have a similar story to tell others. We also tell them about the one true God, creator of heaven and earth. We tell people they are in danger from God’s wrath because God is just. We have all sinned and when we sin we earn that punishment of death by the wrath of God. There is good news though, God has provided a payment for what is owed. He sent his own son Jesus to die and suffer the wrath of God in our place. He did die and was buried but on the third day he rose again just like the Bible tells us. This small and short story is the story of the Gospel, we can tell it longer and even a little shorter but the message boils down to God saving sinners who do not deserve it. God’s work is sovereign and he accomplishes all of His holy will.
God pursues His people and His purpose. Like Jonah you were pursued, Christ is also pursuing those around you and you don’t always know who is the one that needs to hear that message so share it with all. Like the sailors all around Jonah we are surrounded by those who need to know God. We saw in the very first chapter that God’s mission doesn’t fail, not with Jonah and certainly not with Christ who saved us and sent us. This morning be exhorted to Go and reach the world with the message of the Gospel.
