Faith Fueled Fear
Jonah: Swallowed By God's Grace • Sermon • Submitted
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Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”
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. 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?” 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.” 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.
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. 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.” 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. 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.” So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Last week we talked about the bad type of fear people have.
This week we will be talking about a good type of fear that the Bible says people who are wise have.
The Fear of the Lord
Fear of God fueled by Faith in God.
listen to what Psalm 111 says about this type of fear.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!
Why would fearing God be the beginning of wisdom?
Here are a few reasons the book of Proverbs says that Fearing God is actually the wisest thing you could ever do...
Not everything in the book of Proverbs is a promise. We need to read these verses understanding that the things that are said are “generally” true.
But this is what they essentially say:
Proverbs 8:13
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
Fear of the Lord leads to you hating what is truly evil. Objective.
Not what the world says is evil: Subjective and always changing.
Proverbs 10:27
The fear of the Lord prolongs life,
but the years of the wicked will be short.
Fear of the Lord has the potential to prolong your life because you will be wise to not do things the Lord has prohibited for your own safety.
It also enables you access to eternal life that is prolonged forever.
Proverbs 14:26
In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence,
and his children will have a refuge.
Fear of the Lord produces confidence because fear of lesser things won’t have power over you.
People who fear lesser things cannot have any confidence in this life.
Proverbs 19:23
The fear of the Lord leads to life,
and whoever has it rests satisfied;
he will not be visited by harm.
Fear the Lord leads to satisfaction with our life.
We know the greatest harm that could come (separation from God and dying in our sins) has been resolved by the one who is worthy of our fear.
Fearing God is not like fearing death, disease, or danger.
When you fear God, it means that two things are true about you
Fearing God
You are intimately aware of who God really is and who you really are
Your deepest desire is to live your life in lite of this knowledge
Who is God?
Creator, sustainer, and holy righteous king of all of creation. Worthy of all our love, devotion, and respect.
Righteous Judge and Loving Savior.
Who are we?
Created beings, completely dependent upon creation and creator, and sinful people in need of mercy and salvation.
We’ve committed cosmic treason and are in need of a savior to rescue us from what we deserve.
Now, in the true story of Jonah, we see characters wrestling with these two realities (Who God is and who we are).
They are examples of two types of people who should have Faith Fueled Fear:
Let’s look at the first person: Jonah
Jonah had...
Hypocritical Faith Fueled Fear
Hypocritical Faith Fueled Fear
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?” 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.”
The scariest thing about Jonah’s Hypocritical Faith Fueled Fear is that unless we are able to see behind the curtain in a person’s story...
Know their motives
Know their secrets
Like we are able to see with Jonah… We may never know if someone is really hypocritical until it’s too late.
Because...
Hypocritical Faith Fueled Fear Serves as Camouflage
Hypocritical Faith Fueled Fear Serves as Camouflage
Jonah, has the appearance of Faith Fueled Fear, but in reality, he’s deeply compromised spiritually.
What he claims to believe does not line up with his affections and his actions.
Christians who have hypocritical faith fueled fear will blend in at church.
They might serve as greeters
They might serve as student leaders
they might serve as pastors
But inside their hearts, they are running from God by
Not desiring Him more than they desire the world
Not submitting to him as their trustworthy and loving father
Not obeying him as their leader
But, they are really good at checking all the right boxes and saying all the right things.
This is where, all of us, including me, we need to take a good look at our lives.
What do we desire?
What we do in secret?
Are we saying things but really not acting or feeling like we do?
What is happening with Hypocritical Faith Fueled Fear is head knowledge not connecting with our hearts.
Two Possibilities
We really don't know who God is and who we are before Him. Unconverted.
We do know, like Jonah, and we are in active disobedience to God.
Both scenarios are terrible for us and we should contemplate why we might be here.
Hypocritical Faith Fueled Fear
The second example of faith fueled fear is seen in the sailors. They started without faith in God, but eventually, they have...
The Sailors gained...
Authentic Faith Fueled Fear
Authentic Faith Fueled Fear
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.” So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
Notice that these sailors, after they’ve been introduced to the true God by Jonah, instead of calling out to a “god”, they call out to the true God by name.
When your Bibles have the word lord formatted like this: LORD - all uppercase. In the original language, it is saying the name of God that he gave to moses: YAHWEH
This is God’s personal name he gave to the Israelites in the Old Testament.
The fact that these sailors are now using God’s name to call out to Him indicates that they get it!
They now understand who God is and who they are
They now desire to conform their lives to this new knowledge
Heres how they seek to conform their lives:
They decide to believe what Jonah said about how powerful God is and how powerless they are
They decide to believe what Jonah said was a possible remedy
After the storm stops they sacrifice something to God
After they sacrifice they commit their lives completely to God
This mirrors what happens when people become Christians
They believe the Gospel detailing who Jesus is and how we need Him to escape the storm of God’s wrath
They believe the Gospel’s answer for our remedy being the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus
They embrace the sacrifice that God offered through Jesus
They commit their lives completely to following Jesus in faith and repentance
Heres the main point:
The birth of “Authentic Faith Fueled Fear” in God is essentially becoming a born again Christian
This is why faith fueled fear towards God is different than fear of death, disease, and destruction.
By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
Fear of death, disease, and destruction is more akin to fear of judgement because these things are really the result of what people are under judgement for: SIN.
We fear God differently because He has endured the punishment for us.
Jesus died in our place so that we won’t incur God’s wrath for sin.
When we believe this, we realize who God is and who we really are.
And the Spirit gives us new birth.
After this happens, it is still possible to have moments of “Hypocritical Faith Fueled Fear”...
Why?
Because we are still sinners needing God’s grace.
But,
The reality is that we, because of God’s spirit in us, we don’t stay in hypocritical faith fueled fear.
Eventually, because God is faithful and His Spirit is in us, he will move us towards a more matured authentic faith fueled fear. He works all things towards this for us. Just as he is working all things toward Jonah understanding who God is and who Jonah really is.
So, where are you at tonight?
Do you have hypocritical faith fueled fear?
Are you checking all the boxes and saying all the right things so you can fit in with this group?
Are you really convinced that God is creator, sustainer, and all powerful ruler over everything we see?
Do you have secret sins and desires that you love and don’t want to give up because your on the run from God?
Where are you?
Look, God doesn’t want you to fear him like you fear death, disease, or any other terrible thing that sin has brought about...
God wants you to know that he loves you like a father. He’s actually made a way for you to become His child.
Because He loves you, He sent His only Son to rescue, redeem you, and make you His child.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Are you tempted to think that God is out to get you?
Are you tempted to think that You don’t need God?
Can you think of a time where you claimed to fear God but were acting as if you didn’t?