Running From God

Are you running from God? He is faithful and relentless in his pursuit of his children even using some of life's most difficult circumstances to draw them to himself.

Fallen Condition: Jonah- disobedience and running from God

Pagans- disobedient and ignoring God

Jonah- continue to run

Pagans- repent and trust

Heart Longing: Jonah runs from God because he knows his merciful character, and he hates the people of Nineveh, the pagans ignore him because they don’t know his merciful character

Why do we run from God? we are afraid that we don’t measure up- we stubbornly think we know what we need.

Christ Solution: Jesus is the truer and better Jonah- he does not in disobedience set his face to Tarshish- but sets his face towards Jerusalem in order to go to the cross- bearing our punishment to calm the waves of God’s wrath.

Jesus also received a mission- he didn’t get up and go the opposite way- but went straight into it- he didn’t put himself forward to die to bear his own sin- but to bear the punishment for yours and mine

Get at the heart longing/ fcf- not sure how yet- but get there for the whole series- introduce the whole series- God’s unexpected mercy- when God shows up there is mercy and judgement- though it is surprising where it falls.

Introduce myself

Introduce why preaching from the bible

Introduce Series- Jonah: A tale of Unexpected Mercy

I dont know where you are today or what you think about God

-Some of you may be living as though he doesnt exist and be totally fine with that

-Some of you may be really unsure of whether he exists but something in your life right now is causing you to wonder and explore.

-And some of you are here today and youre running from God. You may not look like youre running from God, because youre in Church, but sometimes friends being in Church is a good place to hid from God. You can look like you are doing the right thing- make everyone think you really get this thing down. Youve got it. You are all good. All the while, there is something causing you to run from God- something he’s commanded, something thats happened to you or your family.

Wherever you are today- this story from the bible is sure to address you.

God commands Jonah

(1-3)

Intro- background- who is Jonah? (REMEMBER- many people don’t know the biblical world- check Jonah Prophet profile)- prophet to the northern kingdom- Israel

Who is Israel?- 930 BC- divides north and south- before that- kingdom of God’s people-

Where/ who is Nineveh/ Assyria?- Show the map

Supernatural things in this story… Yes- there are supernatural things in this story and yes I believe they actually happened- now- that doesn’t mean that the bible does not have sections that are metaphorical… also it doesn’t mean that this story should read like our history- ancient forms of narrative use literary beauty to tell historical narrative, simply because the book is structured and told like a story doesn’t mean that the story is untrue.

Now, for some of you, the idea of supernatural things is no big deal. For others of you- its something you are not so sure about. This christianity thing is a big leap of faith that excludes science and reason. Well, friends there is a lot to be said for that, we could talk a lot about why there is not conflict between science and faith. However, I don’t have space to address that here. Although I would love to sit down and buy you coffee and discuss that if you’re in that position- talk to me after the service and we can do that. However, I want to say two things- first, although the christian worldview most certainly has faith- there are also reasons for believing- it is not a blind faith, while also, a strictly scientific worldview also includes steps of faith. For instance- any idea about the origin of the world is at some level a faith step because the scientific method can’t be used upon it to replicate it. It can be based on logic or reason but also has some faith steps in it- to believe that God existed before the world and created the universe out of nothing requires faith- and yet so does it require faith to believe that the universe as a disordered mass of particles created itself into an ordered and life sustaining, furthermore life producing reality on its own.

Secondly, in order to really evaluate the Christian worldview and to see whether or not its true, I want to encourage you to lay aside your belief that the miraculous is impossible. You see, the Christian worldview does depend on the active involvement of a supernatural God. And therefore does not have issue when supernatural events occur. If you do have issue with that however and then come to evaluate Christianity based upon a presumption that the supernatural cannot be real, you have already prejudged Christianity as false. However, If you lay that aside you may be able to look at the evidence and arrive at the conclusion that because of who Jesus is and what he has done, the miraculous is possible.

Why does Jonah run the other way? He is announcing judgement- wouldn’t that be celebrated in Israel? Maybe he knows something we don’t yet know in the story- that God will be merciful to the Ninevites- you see Jonah struggles with racism- or maybe Jonah feared for his life- a legitimate fear- to go into the heart of enemy territory and proclaim the judgement of God.

note- the continual going down for Jonah

-Are you running from God? Why are you running from God?

-Starts by going the opposite way from what God commands- then going down further and further

-maybe it starts because of something in your past

-maybe you’ve been hurt by the church

-Or you are angry with God, something that has happened in your life- and you just don’t want to be near the Lord-

-when we run from God, we just keep running- it gets worse and then worse

God pursues Jonah

(4-6)

-Retell the story

-Contrast between Jonah and the Pagans

-Pagans are crying out- ignoring God- crying out to false gods that cannot hear

-Jonah- asleep- still running from God

-Pagans- irreligious yet virtuous

-Jonah- religious and sinful

-Notice that God is in control- the situation is seemingly spinning out of control for the sailors- and yet God is in control of it every step of the way

-you? Are you ignoring god or running from him? He will use the circumstances of life to wake you up.

God pursues the Sailors

(7-16)

-Jonah- good confession- with no life change note the sea in the front-

-Pagan sailors- when presented with the Lord- repent and change immediately

-God uses the storm to shake them into considering him.

-They see God’s mercy- and they repent-

-Have you been ignoring God? Is he sending turmoil in your life to wake you up?

-loss of a job, death of a friend or loved one, loss of relationship, national tragedies- hurricanes, earthquakes, threats of war, landslides, etc. What is going on? Certainly- we can say that the earth is groaning with pain and brokenness- and that God is using this groaning to wake people up to his reality- God exists- he is loving and merciful and comes to those who have rejected him

How?

God saves the Sailors

Through Jonah’s Death

-Jonah- goes down and the calm comes

There are ways for us to find ourselves in this story- running from God or ignoring God- but there is another to find in this story.

Matthew 12: 38-41

Matthew 12:38–41 NLT

One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.” But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.

-Tell the story of Jesus- emphasize how Jesus is the center of City Hope

-Jesus is the truer and better Jonah who saves- he doesn’t run from God- but sets his face towards Jerusalem

Luke 9:51

Luke 9:51 NLT

As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

-He is sinless- he doesn’t die for his own sins-

Hebrews 4:15

Hebrews 4:15 NLT

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

Jonah goes in the water- not as a sacrifice for the sins of the pagans- but because of his own sin- Jesus is different- he is better- he is without sin- yet he faces our punishment on the cross to bear our sin- so that we can be forgiven.

Are you ignoring God? Or are you running from God? Instead friends- turn to God in repentance and faith- Jesus is pursuing you- How do you know that? Because you are here now- he is in pursuit of you- repent and trust in his mercy. And then friends- obey him- because he is good and merciful- and because he is glorious and terrifying. You see the Christian faith is utterly unique for a number of reasons but this is one- that God remains glorious and terrifying and at the very same time merciful and good. In Jesus God’s justice is satisfied by his mercy so that we no longer run from God- but rather run to him.

No matter whether you have been a Christian for 40 years or are not a Christian- this message is for you- because here’s the thing- we are all often running from God, or ignoring him. And what is God’s response- he brings difficulty- but why? To extend his mercy- to wake people up to the reality of God’s glorious presence- and what does he ultimately do- bear the punishment for sin himself- friends this is unexpected mercy for those who are running from God.