You Can Run, But You Can't Hide

Introduction

Illustration: My first day of college

Aviation technology at Mt. SAC

Late, so I sat in the hall

Got up and left, never went back

Have you ever run away from something?

Have you ever run away, and it cost you?

YouVersion: You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide

We’re in Jonah 1

First, let me give you some background

The Bible is not strictly chronological - it is in sections

Pentateuch, history, poetry, major, minor

Most prophecy books are the WORDS of the prophet

Jonah is about the LIFE of the prophet

But Jonah actually appears in another story

What I want to understand is Jonah was a real prophet

Not just a story - 2 Kings is a history book

Actually 1/2 Kings was one giant book - covers Solomon to exile

Essentially all of the KINGS - not just a clever name...

2 Kings 14:23–25 ESV

23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. 24 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. 25 He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.

Jonah the son of Amittai IS the Jonah from our story

Jonah is about a real person, not just a fairy tale

Jereboam II was a wicked king - but God didn’t want to wipe out Israel

So he used the prophets Jonah and Amos

Kind of like Jonah encouraged the things to protect Israel

While Amos attacked Jeroboam’s character

Good cop/bad cop thing...

Notice this: the fact that Jonah encouraged Jereboam means he was kind of a nasty guy

The story of Jonah tells more of that...

With that, let’s jump into the story of Jonah:

Jonah 1:1–2 ESV

1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

It’s important to understand what God is doing here:

Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrians

Remember, Israel was split into 2 kingdoms (Israel and Judah)

God used Assyria to wipe out Israel - Judah was next (although God delays…)

But Assyria was getting too sinful to be His instrument

So he sends HIS prophet Jonah to clean up their act

But there’s a problem: Jonah HATES the Ninevites

Like more than you can imagine

It’s like sending a Klansman to the BLM convention...

You think they’d want to go?

To send bad news, yeah I can see that!

But actually, Jonah is sent to give them GOOD news

We’ll really see that in the 4th lesson in Jonah...

How did He do it? The word of the Lord...

That should tell us something:

1. The Word of the Lord stirs us to action

God sends His word when there is something that needs to be done or change

We still have God’s word today, although usually it’s His written word we go to

Scripture is meant to instruct us! To change us!

Illustration: Anyone watch the Derek Chauvin trial?

Genevieve Hanson - EMT statement

Judge Cahill chewed her out

Lawyer asked questions and she kept arguing and going further than the questions

I understand why, she is trying to get a point across, but there are rules in court

Judge said, “You will not argue with the court, you will not argue with counsel, they have the right to ask questions, it is your job to answer them.”

She said, “I was finishing my answer.”

Judge said, “I will determine when your answer is done. And so, do not argue with the court, do not argue with counsel, answer the questions, do not volunteer information that is not requested… are we clear on this?”

Agree with it or not, the judge rules the courtroom!

It’s the same with God...

Scripture is our instruction, our guide, our communication from God

We should do our best to understand it, and then live it out

Problem is we get that backwards sometimes

I’ll say it this way: Our lives should bend around Scripture, we shouldn’t bend Scripture around our lives

So God sent His word to Jonah to get him to do something

To send a warning to Nineveh to repent

Here’s Jonah’s reaction:

Jonah 1:3 ESV

3 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.

Wow, Jonah really doesn’t want to do this, why?

Is he afraid? Is he preoccupied? Is he worried about being mocked?

This verse doesn’t say, but we’ll see in chapter 4 exactly why he doesn’t go...

But that’s not the thing I want us to focus on now

I want us to see this:

2. Listening to God is a choice

God said go to Nineveh, Jonah went as far as he could go in the exact opposite direction

Show map: Nineveh is east, Tarshish is west

Miles McPherson: “Don’t go outside of obeying God to get something because you will have to stay outside of God to keep it.”

Jonah doesn’t want to go in God’s direction AT ALL

So he goes the other way; that is his CHOICE

Jonah is doing something we often do; I often do

He’s reacting to his own impulses rather than God’s direction

We try to justify our actions then with righteous arguments

Our impulses may be brave, but that doesn’t make them right

Our impulses may be sacrificial, but that doesn’t make them right

Our impulses may be easier, but that doesn’t make them right

Humans are really good at justifying things whether they’re true or not!

Because we want what we want when we want it

And if it costs us a little character, a little virtue, a little holiness… that’s okay!

Jonah 1:4–6 ESV

4 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. 5 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. 6 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.”

Who caused this storm? God!

That should tell us something...

3. Not every storm is from Satan

Lots of Christians think every challenge, every trial, every storm is Satan getting in the way

No, sometimes God is the one trying to get in your way!

Hebrews 12:5–6 ESV

5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Ever see a naughty kid in the store

That’s gonna be rough someday!

I would never let my kids do that!

Why? Because you’re mean?

No! Because you love your kids and care about their future!

You don’t say anything to the kid in the store

You don’t love them like your kids!

So you walk away when they’re naughty

God didn’t send the storm on Jonah because He hated him...

God sent the storm because He loved Jonah!

If He hated Jonah, He’d just let him go! But he doesn’t...

Guess what, that’s the same reason God sends storms in your life too

He loves you, and if you’re in a storm that God sent, it’s because He’s working in you

Sometimes instead of praying, “God, please end this storm I’m in!”

We need to be praying, “Lord, show me the purpose of this storm. What are you trying to change in me?”

Jonah 1:7–10 ESV

7 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.

Let me make something clear: this is Jonah’s storm...

The captain is where he’s supposed to be

The sailors are where they’re supposed to be

Jonah is NOT where he’s supposed to be!

D.L. Moody: “There will be no peace in any soul until it is willing to obey the voice of God.”

What does that mean?

4. You can be in other people’s storms!

Sometimes God is working on someone else, and it just might cost you!

That’s not a bad thing!

We want to say, “Hey God, my brother is the alcoholic! Why do I have to visit him in rehab?!”

“Hey God, my sister had her baby out of wedlock! Why do I have to babysit?!”

Maybe it’s because God feels like honoring your sacrifice

Maybe we’re supposed to be more than leeches in God’s creation...

These sailors find out that Jonah is the problem and they ask which God he offended

He gives a very lofty answer…

“I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Oh really Jonah?

Your God made the sea? So you try to escape Him on a boat? Didn’t think that through...

But the sailors thought it through!

They’re like, “What have you done?!”

5. It’s easier to the see sin in others than in yourself

As a parent, the things that frustrate you most about your kids, are the things you struggle with yourself

Because it’s easy to see your struggles on others, but we’re a lot more understanding when we do it!

Brant hansen Illustration:

Murderers feel morally superior

Do the drill - go sit in a public place and listen to conversations

Guaranteed people will talk about how they’re superior, and others fail

Some might be sitting at dinner talking about how I’m an idiot

Now when it happens you’ll know I’m right!

For Jonah, the sailors immediately see that disobeying God has consequences

They didn’t even know who He was just 30 seconds before

But Jonah still won’t obey - watch this:

Jonah 1:11–13 ESV

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.

Sure seems like Jonah has learned his lesson

How noble to say, “This is my fault, toss me overboard.”

Except that this is NOT noble!

Can you think of any other way he might fall into favor with God?

How about repent! Turn from sin and go back towards God!

But he doesn’t! Why?

Then he’d have to go to Nineveh...

And literally, he’d rather die

Jonah REALLY doesn’t want to go to Nineveh...

He so badly doesn’t want to listen to God, he’ll take death

Not even thinking about how these sailors will have to cope with murdering him for the rest of their lives!

Of course, they don’t want to do that! So they row harder...

But the harder the row, the worse the storm gets

Telling them something important: this is 100% God’s doing against Jonah

That tells us something important too:

6. God will go far to get your attention

God does not want you to be content in your complacency

Whether walking away from sin, or walking towards God’s guidance, He doesn’t want you to be comfortable

Jonah may be running from God, but he’ll never reach his destination!

Psalm 139:7–10 ESV

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

It’s like those old cartoons...

A mouse tries to run but the cat has his tail...

You can run all you want, but God is right there with you

And He’s really good at pushing you more and more and more until you say “Okay God! What?! I give up!”

Just your attention...

And He’s really good at being patient with you until you get there

I think of the things God has used to get people’s attention:

Serious illness, losing a loved one, hitting rock bottom, losing your business, your home, your spouse...

And all of those are painful, but if it works it’s always worth it

And so God takes the next step with Jonah:

Jonah 1:14–16 ESV

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

Talk about confirmation!

You toss a guy and the storm stops! Must be the right God...

And so these sailors became God worshippers!

Jonah did not do the right thing, but God used it for good!

7. God can still use your failures

Joseph said something important in Genesis:

Read to “for good...”

Genesis 50:20 ESV

20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Sometimes we do evil things, but God means them for good

That doesn’t mean our evil is okay or excused...

That doesn’t mean that good didn’t come from it...

But God can still create good from evil

In 1871, Chicago was a growing city with a problem

Buildings were built quickly using cheap wood construction

The fire marshall had pushed for a bigger fire dept. with better equipment, but city wanted growth

From July 4 to October 8, they had 1 inch of rain - everything was dry

Suddenly a fire sprouted in a small barn in the O’Leary barn

Legend says a cow kicked a lantern, but no one knows

Watchman sent firefighters to wrong street so fire spread

Thought the Chicago River would stop the flames, but superheated wind and debris lit the gasworks across the river

It jumped across again to the north side and was burning all three district of Chicago

Then, as firefighters battled hard, burning timber lodged on the roof of the city’s water works

A few minutes later, the building was gone, along with the fire depts. ability to pump water

There was nothing left to fight the fire with - and so it burned unchecked...

Finally, on the next evening, almost miraculously, it started to rain

$222,000,000 in damage was done (1/3 of the cities worth)

1 in 3 was homeless

2,000 acres had burned in a day

Clearly this was a horrible thing!

But some good did come out of it...

New construction materials we’re invented

Construction codes were put in place

The architecture business boomed in Chicago

And in 1885, a new invention arose

NY Home Insurance Company lost their Chicago HQ

Held a contest to see who could design a good replacement

William LeBaron Jenny came up with a new design

Steel frame, reinforced concrete, and 10 stories!

He built the worlds first skyscraper

Over the next couple of decades, more buildings arose

Took Chicago from a rustic prairie town to a metropolis that would be the birthplace of modern architecture

Was the Great Chicago Fire a good thing? No it wasn’t...

But did good things come from it? Absolutely!

That’s how God works in us!

We may ruin things with our sin

But God can still do good things with our mistakes

That shouldn’t make us grateful for our sin...

Rather it should make us grateful for God’s goodness and mercy

In the case of Jonah, fleeing from God’s direction was not good

But he used it to reach a but of ragtag sailors who didn’t even know they needed God

And then, we close with the most famous part of Jonah’s story:

Jonah 1:17 ESV

17 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.

And we’ll get into that part of the story is next week!

Closing

You know what’s exciting about this story for me?

This whole story and here in chapter one - Jonah is in chaos!

I don’t want to do that, I’m going to run, just kill me!

But the whole time, God never changes

He is who is

He is patient

He is loving

He is in control

I see that in my life

I’m the one that falls into chaos, but God is always there

Who are you this morning?

Are you like the sailors?

Not knowing who God is, waiting for God’s next move?

Can I tell you, God’s ready to show you!

Are you how Jonah was supposed to be?

Obedient, living out your purpose?

Sharing the word of God with those who need it?

Or are you who Jonah actually was?

If so, what are you running from?

Think about the answer to that question...

You might want to turn back to Him, before you get tossed overboard!

Prayer