Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Image ~

An article in the Los Angeles times this “chase” was “one of the most surreal moments in the history of Los Angeles Criminal Justice.

The chase began at 5:56 p.m. (Pacific time) on the Santa Ana freeway and ended 7:57 p.m. (two hours later) at a home in Brentwood, California.

The “low speed” chase of a white Ford Bronco was broadcast on live t.v. and our nation was captivated by the drama of former football star O.J. Simpson being pursed by the LAPD after he failed to turn himself in to the authorities after being charged with the murder of his x-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

The “chase” was eventually overshadowed by the drama of the eventual trial.

I’ll never forget the dramatic chased captured by t.v.

helicopters hovering above as they followed O.J.’s bronco down the freeway.

Perhaps you’ve never been pursued by a fleet of police cruisers like O.J. (maybe a few of you) but I’m willing to bet all of us have been under hot pursuit in our lives.

Let’s find out.

Everyone please – I’m going to make a statement and if it’s true of you go ahead and sit down, eventually we’ll see if someone has never been chased in their lives (whoever remains standing at the end).

· You have been chased by a dog (Sit)

· You have been chased by a goose (Sit).

· You have been chased by a squirrel (Sit)

· You have been chased by a chicken (Sit)

· You been chased by a bat – either one animal or baseball equipment (sit)

· You have been chased by the police (Sit)

· You’ve been chased in a game of hide and seek (Sit)

· You’ve been chased in a game of tag (Sit)

· You’ve been chased in a game of football (Sit)

· You’ve been chased by a boy (sit)

· You’ve been chased by a girl (sit)

· You’ve been chased by a jet ski (Sit)

· You’ve been chased on a ski slop (sit)

All of us have been chased by someone or something in our lives.

All of us have experienced the feeling of being pursued by someone or something in our lives.

Everyone one of us has a story about being chased – I’ve been chased by a psychotic goose on a golf course, I thought she was going to attack me and I didn’t want to use my putter so I ran away – I look forward to hearing your favorite chase story.

Need

Have you ever been chased by God? Have you ever felt like God is pursuing you?

In 1893 English Poet Francis Thompson captured expressed his feelings of being chased by God in his poem entitled “The Hound of Heaven.”

Thompson’s poem was praised by G.K. Chesteron and also influenced the work of J.R R Tolkien (“The Lord of the Rings”).

· Excerpt

· Description

Perhaps you’ve felt like God is “The Hound of Heaven” chasing you.

Like Francis Thompson, the OT prophet Jonah tells the story of being chased by God.

Today we continue our journey through the story of Jonah where we will see “The Hound of Heaven” in action!

If you have your Bible (I hope you do) open it and turn or scroll to . .

If you forgot your Bible or don’t have a Bible there are extra copies in the pew, please grab one so you can participate in this study, it’s good to get used to getting your hands on the Scriptures and follow along as we consider the truth of God’s word together.

Preview

Last week we kicked off our series in JONAH entitled “Pursued by a Relentless God.”

Let me do a one-minute recap for those who might have missed last week.

God called Jonah to preach a message of judgment to the wicked people of Nineveh but the rebellious prophet ran away.

Jonah booked a ticket straight for Tarshish—2,000 miles in the opposite direction of Nineveh (MAP) – instead of preaching a message in the city of Nineveh Jonah took a Mediterranean cruise to Spain.

God said go east and Jonah headed west.

Jonah ran from God because he didn’t want to be His servant, He didn’t want to do the ministry that God had called Him to do, and so this rebellious prophet is on the run.

And when we ended last week this rebellious prophet was on board a Phoenician cargo ship headed to Tarshish.

Jonah has become a “prodigal prophet” – a rebellious prophet who has run away from home.

How will God respond to Jonah?

Will God strike Him down with a lightning bolt?

(A common view of God) Will God be apathetic and do nothing?

How will God respond to us when we run from Him? Let’s dig in.

(Read )

I) GOD’S PURSUIT OF A REBELLIOUS PROPHET

In we see God’s response to this rebellious prophet.

God didn’t strike Jonah down with a lighten-bolt from heaven (our common view of God) and yet God didn’t ignore Jonah’s rebellion either.

The story reveals God’s pursuit of this rebellious prophet.

Jonah’s Mediterranean cruise was cut very short.

Let’s take a closer look at how God pursued Jonah in his rebellion and how that applies to our lives.

A) God pursued Jonah through a Fierce Storm (1:4)

.

4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a

violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.[1]

First, we see God’s pursuit of Jonah (rebellious prophet) through “A Fierce Storm” that impacted his cruise to Tarshish.

Not long after Jonah boarded the ship at Joppa (PICTURE), they got out onto the open seas, and eventually encountered “A Fierce Storm.”

Yahweh “sent a great wind on the sea”—He literally “cast” or “hurled” (threw it down on the sea) a wind so powerful (mighty) that it caused a “violent” storm to erupt on the open sea—the furious winds created a whirlwind so violent that the ship threatened to break up.”

The tempest was so strong, the storm was so fierce, that the ship “seriously considered breaking apart.”

The storm was so fierce that the ship “threatened to break up”—in dramatic and poetic flair the ship is personified as having rational thought—literally “the ship seriously considered breaking apart.”

The winds created such a violent tempest that the ship was on the verge of shattering into many pieces.

Imagine the waves began pounding this vessel, tossing it to and fro in such a violent manner that the ship was going to be broken into pieces, sending everyone on board sinking down to their watery grave.

Don’t skip past this verse too quickly.

God caused this storm to happen…let this sink in for a second.

This wasn’t Mother Nature’s doing, this storm forecasted to hit on this specific time, Yahweh sent this storm.

God is the Creator – God is greater than the weather – and He can cause a great whirlwind tempest to break out on the open sea whenever He wants to.

The Lord caused a “great” wind that produced a “great” storm.

· - He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

[2]

·

We learn right away that God was not going to let Jonah’s rebellion go unchecked.

Jonah’s sin is serious business in the eyes of God.

Jonah had paid the fare to get out of serving God in Nineveh but he will discover that disobeying God will be more costly than the price he paid for the ticket to Tarshish.

This tempest was caused by God – it arose quickly and was perfectly timed – and Jonah was the target of this localized storm.

God caused “The Fierce Storm” to pursue Jonah.

God intentionally sent a storm to discipline Jonah for His disobedience.

Yahweh will use this storm to draw Jonah back to Himself and get him back on track to Nineveh.

Yahweh wasn’t going to allow His commission to preach to the people of Nineveh to be ignored, shoved aside, or outright rejected by this rebellious prophet.

God had called Him to preach to the city of Nineveh and Jonah’s decision to run was not going to get him off the hook

NAC - The plans of a sovereign God are not so easily thwarted by the stubborn will of a puny prophet.[3]

God pursued the rebellious prophet by sending a storm to stop him dead in his tracks.

God created a storm as an instrument of divine discipline in the life of this disobedient prophet.

Maybe you didn’t think God could or would do that, He can and He did, and He would and He will in order to accomplish His divine plan purposes.

B) God pursued Jonah through The Pagan Sailors (1:5-16)

Secondly, we see Yahweh pursuing Jonah through “The Pagan Sailors” on board the ship.

highlights the passenger’s response to the storm.

Interestingly, the story highlights that the ship was the first to respond (threatened to break up), the pagan sailors are the second to respond, and Jonah is the last to respond.

Let’s keep walking through the story to have a deeper understanding of how God pursued Jonah through these pagan sailors.

1) The Sailor’s Distress (1:5-6)

All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god.

And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.

6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep?

Get up and call on your god!

Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish.”

[4]

One the storm erupted on the sea – distress erupted on the ship.