2 Jonah 1 vs 4-17
Mutiny's Outcome – Jonah 1:4-17
Intro – The joy of watching the “World’s Most Extreme” chases. I always wanted to see someone with the same vehicle as mine just to see how it handles. I saw a guy in a minivan once, and what in the world entered his mind to think, “I can take these guys.” He made it one block. When you run from the cops, the outcome is prison, but what about when you run from God?
Jonah 1:4-17 4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 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.” 7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” 9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.” 10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) 11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” 12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” 13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried to the LORD, “O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him. 17 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
Mutiny has a number of effects on you -
1) Worsens life for everyone around you (5)
5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god.
Illustration – Going on an airplane and seeing the flight lady freak out.
Illustration - Story of Joel Trout. What is your church missing out on because of your disobedience? What about your school?
Illustration- Story of Achan Notice the results of Achan’s sin:
(1) It affected Israel's Army - A lot of people died and they all became fearful (Joshua 7:5); there can be no victory with hidden sin.
(2) It affected Israel's Leader - Joshua questioned God (Joshua 7:7-9);
(3) It affected God's blessings; God threatened to withdraw his presence from the people (Joshua 7:12);
(4) It affected Achan's family; Achan and his family had to be destroyed (Joshua 7:24-26). (Sin kills everything it touches.)
He was the meanest kid in our youth group. He was a bully and a tyrant.
What others miss - When you are disobedient, the gospel gets neglected, people miss discipleship, encouragement goes missing, people are at risk of death.
Illustration - Reading people's myspace accounts.
What you suffer - Unhappiness, loss of peace of mind, guilt,
When you are living in sin, you cannot be the blessing to others that God is asking you to be.
2) Wears You Down (5)
5 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.
A) Disobedience leads you to exhaustion.
Explanation - It literally takes you down, With Jonah, it took him down - down to Joppa (1:3), he went down below the deck (1:5), 2:6 He sank down to the depths. (When will you wake up and see that your disobedience will only lead you down?)
Illustration - I have seen it with students over the years, how they have so much life and joy in the Lord. Then they allow some sin to come into their lives and they just are not as happy as they were before. Sin is fun - but only for a season. And sin will always take you further than you were willing to go, make you stay longer than you were willing to stay, and make you pay more than you are willing to pay.
Obedience leads you to vitality.
Illustration – Just like Kelly-Ray. (It wore her down in guilt, depression, and friendliness)
Sin is fun, but only for a season
Illustration – It leaves its marks on you. Brian in my youth group, got into drugs, ran away from home, and came back to the Lord in College. He had no teeth at all.
You cannot continue in sin and enjoy it
1 John 3:9 - No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
, 1 John 5:18 - We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. (NIV)
Illustration – Psalm 51 of King David -
Psalm 51:6-13 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.
We can get entangled in sin.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We must stay sober spiritually!
1 Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
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Disobedience to the Lord is exhausting. When are we going to wake up?
How alert are you to the needs of others? Have you personally faced exhustion in your disobedience?
How about you? Have You had enough? Hasn't sin done enough bad for you?
3) Welcomes God's discipline!
God's discipline can come in many shapes. It can even come as death!
“Well that sound wrathful”
It isn't, God is showing mercy because he would rather bring you on home than have you live out your life in disobedience to Him.
God would have love to kill you the moment you put your trust in Christ, but he left you here because you have work to do. Story of Rasheek Morinia
God’s Sovereignty in Disciplining Us – In Jonah He brings the storm, the fish, the plant, the worm, and the scorching east wind.
17 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
Theological Truth - The omnipotence of God - God is all Powerful. He brought the waves and rain, and he also appointed a great fish.
Hebrews 12: 4-11 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
A) He Loves You
B) You are his Child
C) He does it for your good
D) So we can share in his holiness (Hatred and avoidance of sin)
Illustration – The Pruning of my Girlfriend -
John 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. (NASB)
– Remember, if God disciplines you:
Psalm 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance.
Romans 2:3-4 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?
Why a fish? Perhaps God was using the “culture to reach the culture” he provided a fish submarine to reach people who worshiped the fish God. God will use anything t get your attention because he is Jealous for it.
What has God been doing lately to get your attention?
Conclusion - Story of when I was arrested at the age of 12 years old.
Where Jonah ended up in the Belly of a great fish - I ended up in the belly of a cop car.
Submit to the pull of the spirit on your life -
James 4:5 - What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful? (NLT)