Hope in Hardship

Introduction

1 Kings 8:35–39 KJV 1900

35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: 36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. 37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; 38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

Let’s talk about Jonah…

A. Solomon dedicates the temple and discusses prayer

Yet = No matter what!

1 Kings 35-39

1 Kings 8:35–38 KJV 1900

35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: 36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. 37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; 38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

1.

The Situation

1 Kings 8:1 KJV 1900

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.

2. (35)When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:…(37)If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; (38) What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man…(39) Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

· Jonah was told to go to Ninevah – 1:1-2

1 Kings 8:35–39 KJV 1900

35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: 36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. 37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; 38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

· Jonah decided to take matters into his own hands and do his own thing – 1:3

1) Heading Five

· God sent out a storm – 1:4

i) Heading Six

· Jonah tried to ignore it – 1:5

· Jonah was thrown overboard – 1:15

(a) Heading Seven

· A fish swallows Jonah – 1:17

(1) Heading Eight

· THEN Jonah prayed – 2:1

(i) Heading Nine

o Why did Jonah wait?

o I would have prayed immediately!

I. The Hardship

A. Jonah takes stock of his situation

1. “Yet”

a) Jonah looks around and sees that he is in a difficult place.

1)

2) Jonah is in a very bad place

3) But after looking at his situation he says “YET!”

4) It is a determination that he is not going to allow his current situation to deter him from deciding to turn back to God.

b)

1) Solomon dedicates the temple

2) He proclaims that no matter what, God will always be there for the nation of Israel.

3) (35)When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:…(37)If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; (38) What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man…(39) Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

c) It doesn’t matter what situation or difficulties are present in your life at this moment; the only thing that matters is your willingness to turn to God.

1)

2) Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

2. I

a) Throughout the passage Jonah seems to blame God.

1)

2) For thou hadst cast me into the deep

3) Thy billows and thy waves passed over me

b) But Jonah begins to take responsibility for his actions

1) Notice the shift from God’s doing in the first half of chapter 2 to Jonah’s doing in the second half.

2) Contrast how Jonah says ‘thy billows’ in verse 3 to how he says ‘I went down’ in verse 6.

c) Jonah moved from being the victim to taking responsibility

d) What if the fish was not a punishment?

1) Rather, God is protecting him, waiting to execute His perfect plan for Jonah’s life.

2)

3) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

4) ESV For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

B. Jonah determines to change his outlook

1. Will

a) Jonah is determined to take action

b) He recognizes his previous failure and becomes determined to change his situation

c)

d) Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.

2. Look

a) It is obvious that Jonah is not speaking about a physical action

b) Jonah is talking about what he is going to set his focus on.

1)

2) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

3. Like a sprinter at the start of a race, he sets his eyes on the end goal.

II. The Heart

A. Jonah uses a word that is incredibly revealing of human nature!

1. Jonah says, “again”.

a) Clearly he understands that he has made mistakes in the past

b) He has done this before

2. This is where Satan steps into our lives

a) Satan says, “you have failed again”

b) Satan says, “you have proven to be unfaithful, again”

c) Satan says, “you are weak, again”

3. But God says,

a) “I will never leave you”

b) “You are covered in the righteousness of Christ”

c) “You have been granted God’s immeasurable grace”

B. As humans it is normal for us to hear the accusations of Satan

1. He is described as the accuser

2. He does nothing but bad mouth us to God all the time

C. But the good news is that Jesus has already defeated Satan

1.

2. (10) And I hear a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (11) and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb…(12)Thefore REJOICE!

3. Simply because you have fallen in the past, and you find yourself in a position of needing to look toward God – once again – does not mean you have to listen to Satan.

4. Anytime you make a decision, no matter how small or insignificant you may think it is (or how large and important you may think it is) there is reason to rejoice.

a)

b) And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

I. The Hope

A. Toward

1. Jonah has set a goal

a) Jonah has set a goal

b) He will use that as his navigation point

2. He will use that as his navigation point

c) Notice that Jonah has a plan

3. Notice that Jonah has a plan

1) Practical advice:

a) Practical advice:

i) If you fail to plan you plan to fail.

1) If you fail to plan you plan to fail.

2) Aim at nothing and you will hit it every time.

ii) Aim at nothing and you will hit it every time.

d) We must plan a direction forward.

b) We must plan a direction forward.

e) Setting goals and plans for our lives spiritually is vital to our success.

4. Setting goals and plans for our lives spiritually is vital to our success.

1)

a)

2) Let all things be done decently and in order.

b) Let all things be done decently and in order.

3)

c)

4) Where there is no vision, the people perish:

d) Where there is no vision, the people perish:

B. Jonah recognizes the sovereignty of God

1. Thy

a) There is a recognition here, by Jonah, that God is sovereign

b) Jonah understands who God is, and who he is.

1) This is always the great debate when we find ourselves in a bad place spiritually

2) Too often, we have decided that we are going to take control of the situation and not allow God to have control

c) Jonah gets that God is God and makes the determination to step aside and give God control

d) Whether we have consciously or unconsciously pushed God aside in our lives, the path back to the center of His will is to recognize His sovereignty over us.

2. Holy

C. Jonah recognizes the supremacy of God

a) Not only must there be the recognition of who God is, but there also must be the recognition that He is greater than us.

1. Holy

b)

a) Not only must there be the recognition of who God is, but there also must be the recognition that He is greater than us.

b)

c) For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

3. Temple

c) For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

3. Temple

2. Jonah acknowledges that God is God and that he is not.

a) For Jonah, the temple was a special place

1) It was where he would go to pray

D. Jonah recognizes the subsistence of God

2) It was where he offered sacrifice

1. Temple

a) For Jonah, the temple was a special place

3) It was the very presence of God

b) For us, we do not have to go to a physical place to be with God

1) It was where he would go to pray

1) For us, to return to the temple means to return to a metaphorical place, spiritually, where we relinquish control to God.

2) It was where he offered sacrifice

2) A return to the temple means that we return to an attitude of worship.

3) It was the very presence of God

2) A return to the temple means that we return to an attitude of worship.

b) For us, we do not have to go to a physical place to be with God

1) For us, to return to the temple means to return to a metaphorical place

2) It is a spiritual attitude in which we relinquish control to God.

2. A return to the temple means that we return to an attitude of worship.