Untitled Sermon (2)

(Part 2 has 6 minutes )

4. By Heading to what we know about God.

​ ESV7 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. 8 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?” 9 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.” 10 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. 11 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. 12 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.” 13 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. 14 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.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.

May I ask another question about this text. Is it possible to flee form the presence of the Lord? And of Course - the natural answer is of course not. V. 9 declares Why, but we will save that for in a few minutes. Instead, lets look at a verse that talks about our inability to escape the presence of God.

​ ESV23 “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.

So as a prophet, he clearly in v 9, know that you cannot escape an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present God So why did he run? Because he justified in his mind - if I run; then I can avoid what God has called me to - and so he became the only prophet who rebelled against God’s commands. Maybe we think that our way is better.Or that G

5. By Heading to God’s Sovereignty.

​ ESV16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

CONCLUSION: The book of Jonah is noted as one of the great classical literatures of the Ancient World. But it is not simply a story, but the real account of a real prophet who struggled with what God had called him to do. Have you ever struggled with doing the will of God. His will cost to much disciples - loose everything. God has called each of us to a specific task. And our hearts may question the will of God, the wisdom of God - and so we each are faced with the challenge to obey it. But the lesson of Jonah chapter 1 is that God gives us the Word to obey it - and that might mean doing soemthing I don want to do I hate. But we need to conform our will to God’s will -as expressed by his Word. ILLUSTRATION: Do you have enough faith to obey God when it scary - when it defies your logic - when it makes you angry 0 when it makes you think this isnt fair Pastor’s and Christians testimony of being forced to go to Africa- what does this really teach us about our faith? Yet, we refuse to God across the street to help the muslim friend and give the Gospel - but we will send lots of money over seas. How often do we do this I follow the rules and cause myself twice the work.It is not fair to ask me to endure again But is that not what GOd has called us to do in the Gospel?May we learn from Jonah and conform our will to God’s will