Jonah's Gospel Journey
Notes
Transcript
Announcements
Announcements
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning
Thankful to be here and glad to have Craig and Amy with us. Please be sure to go say hello.
Turn over to the book of Jonah
We are continuing our Gospel Story Series today and looking at the entire book of Jonah to better understand our own journey in life and it is my prayer that you would understand by the end of the message, how you ensure you stay on the path God has for you.
In the article “A Compass Saves the Crew,” Owen Edwards tells the story of a WWII sailor who saved lives when he used a compass found on the ship’s lifeboats, after being hit by a German submarine. Without the compass, they wouldn’t have made it out alive (Owen Edwards, “A Compass Saves the Crew,” Smithsonian Magazine, September 2009, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/a-compass-saves-the-crew-40699276/).
(After sharing this story, hold up a compass in front of your congregation.)
Jonah had a compass on his journey but often chose not to use it.
Let’s review these events in Jonah’s life, identify our compass, and determine how we can follow our compass to the glory of God and for the impact of the gospel
Let’s PRAY
Now, I typically have a passage of scripture that we go through and I seek to exegete it so that we can apply it. Today will be a message that is an overview of the book of Jonah with an examination of the Jonah and his journey with princples for application at the end.
Let’s look a little at Chapter 1 and see
I. Jonah the Prophet
I. Jonah the Prophet
Jonah was a prophet during the reign of Jeroboam. He is mentioned in
25 He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gath-hepher.
I believe the events we have here is not the first time Jonah has heard from God. We can’t derive that from the text of Chapter 1.
1 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
So this wasn’t a call for him to be a prophet like. This is instruction to him after he knows his role.
This is us afire we have trusted in Jesus as our Savior. We know God, we believe in Him and His Word. and God is calling us to do something.
There some things that we all are called to do
Then there are some things that you are called to do.
All of us are called to share the gospel.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
All of us are to love God and serve others
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
But not all of us are called to be pastors, teachers, missionaries, janitors, nursery workers, etc.
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
The purpose of everyone having a calling is so that we can all serve with the same purpose.
The reason for you to have an individual calling is based on how God created you and gifted you.
We are all different and that is not only ok, it is a great thing. If we were all made to preach who would take care of the administration? If we were all made to clean, who would take care of the preaching?
As we see Jonah in Chapter 1 I pray you find yourself in the same situation.
A beleiver in Christ with a general calling and with a specific calling.
I pray you don’t respond like him though. He ran from his specific calling.
He had a compass pointing him in the right direction and chose to ignore it.
Ever had that happen? You know where to go, you have the gps on your phone telling you, or maybe you still use mapquest printouts, and you blatantly ignore it?
That would be silly right?
that’s what Jonah did. And in Chapter 2 we meet
II. Jonah the man of prayer
II. Jonah the man of prayer
This is the chapter most know of Jonah. He is a man of prayer. He is now in the belly of the great fish, commonly accepted as a whale, and does what I believe any disciple of Christ would. He cried out to the Lord.
He was a broken man in what he describes as the depths of hell. The Hebrew word that is translated from is Sheol describing the grave or pit.
He was in a bad spot. As he cries out to God you can see his repentant heart and his desire to come back to the Lord.
When God first called me to ministry, this book is one that He used to help me see what could happen if I did not submit.
And while I do believe it is important for us to understand there are repercussions for not following the Lord when He calls us to something. I don’t want us to see it as a dreadful punishment.
No, it may not be fun BUT it will be purposeful and worth it.
The whale, I believe, is a picture of God’s grace.
Yes, many point to it as a representation of Christ’s three days in the tomb and I don’t argue the allegorical nature of that but if we don’t see how it is the grace of God at work in the life of a man in disobedience, we will misunderstand the whales God sends to us.
God could have killed Jonah, that’s what He did to Ananias and Saphira when they lied to the Apostles about their giving.
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
God is just in both situations.
Here Jonah is in the whale, a man of prayer now, calling out to God and I believe realigning his life to the compass God has given.
Then in Chapter 3 we encounter
III. Jonah the Preacher
III. Jonah the Preacher
Now in Ninevah, Jonah preaches to the people declaring their destruction should they not repent and follow God.
A little backstory on Ninevah
The nation of Nineveh had a violent history. Known for skinning people alive and attaching hooks into the nose of princes and dragging them around. They weren’t the friendliest of people. They had a past that no one should be proud of.
Maybe you are like me and there are parts of your past that your not proud of. You can identify with ninevah, hopefully not for skinning people alive, but for sin in your life.
If that is you, and you haven’t trusted in Jesus as your Savior that’s something you can do today. Ninevah put their faith in God as evidenced by their repentance and were spared.
The gospel message is the same today:
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Jonah went and preached this message. The people responded and Revival took place in the land.
Jonah the Preacher was following his compass exactly as he should and amazing things happened around him.
Then we meet Jonah the pouter...
IV. Jonah the Pouter
IV. Jonah the Pouter
Remember last week when we spoke about Elijah and his mountain top moment? He called down fire on mt. Carmel, slayed the prophets of Baal, and prayed for rain and it came. Then he went in a cave because the king and queen wanted him dead.
He was there because, I believe, he had an expected end that didn’t come to fruition.
Now, we encounter Jonah after a mountaintop moment. He just preached the gospel and an entire town came to the Lord!
However, instead of being on the mountain top he is in the valley. Not because of an unexpected end but because it happened exactly as he thought it would.
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
2 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3 Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
He is saying the same thing Elijah did…Take my life…It’s better for me to die than live.
What’s driving this? Why is it that Jonah is in this place? It isn’t because something great didn’t happen. It’s because he was focusing on what he wanted and not what God’s plan was.
Ever been there? Seeing what God is doing in your life and not happy about it?
Ever wondered why?
Notice this conversation between Jonah and God and let’s see if we can figure out what got him off course
4 Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?
5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
6 And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Did you catch that? Why did God call jonah to do what he did?
Ok, let me pause real quick. I want to remind you of something:
6 For I am the Lord, I change not; Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
God does not change. OK, now check this out
10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
God doesn’t change, Jesus the Son of God, second person of the Godhead, came to seek and to save that which is lost, to save his people from their sins…the same message that God had Jonah preach to Ninevah.
The same purpose God had for Jonah He has for you. How that is specifically carried out will look different than how others will do it and that’s ok.
What’s important is you are all using the same compass.
Did you figure out what the compass is?
A compass is used to help you find north at all times, no matter the location you’re in. Having the compass, which we know is always correct, is always going to take you on the correct path. In a similar way, the Word of God can act as a compass, always able to help us know the correct direction. Without the compass, we can suffer heavy consequences.
How does Jonah’s Journey impact your life? What principles and understanding can you take that will allow you to be more transformed into the image of Christ?
I want you to go to the Holy Spirit for the specific answer in your life however I don’t think I would be a good pastor if I didn’t provide some general direction and application for you.
The first principle I believe we should draw from Jonah’s life is that
1. God has called all of us to be ambassadors
1. God has called all of us to be ambassadors
If you have put your faith in Jesus, you have been called to be an ambassador for Christ. That may be as a pastor, missionary, School bus driver, electrician, etc.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
An Ambassador is someone, like Jonah, that has been called to represent the interests of another party. We have been called to represent the interests of Christ here on earth. In our community. In your workplace.
We do not represent ourselves, we represent the one who sent us. The one who saved us.
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Being His ambassador and represenative in this life is the most reasonable thing we can do. Without Him we wouldn’t have this life. Without Him we wouldn’t have salvation. Without Him we would have nothing.
You know what it’s called when a person thinks they are something and they are not? When they can do and accomplish all these things on their own and don’t need anyone?
They are always right and everyone else is wrong. Arrogance? That’s one word to define it. What’s at the root of arrogance?
Pride
It’s pride that leads to Jonah’s terrible outlook. He didn’t want togo to the Ninevites because of who they were. That’s called racism. The root of racism is pride. Thinking you are better than someone else.
You know what else is a byproduct of pride? Thinking you are better than someone because their sin is “less” than yours. It’s pride that can keep you from being an abassador to those that need it most. Those who have the temptation of Same Sex attraction don’t need you thinking you are better than them.
Our lies, lust, greed, and other sins you know better than I do is just as bad.
“But Pastor, isn’t that an abomination?” Yes
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
But wait…there’s more
Check this one out
5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: Though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
Well then…have you ever been prideful? I have. Are you an abomination…YUP
Is a person committing the acts mentioned in Leviticus an abomination? Yup
Are we all sinners in need of a savior? Yup!
So are we only ambassadors to those that look like, act like, and live like us? Are we ambassadors only to those that we can be in the same group with? Absolutely.
Because we are all sinners in need of a Savior. Someone told you…someone tolld Jonah…won’t you tell someone?
That leads me to the 2nd principle I want you to take from this
2. Your Obedience is your choice, His Will is His
2. Your Obedience is your choice, His Will is His
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
His will, His sovereign will is pretty clear.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
The People of Ninevah were going to hear the message of repentance one way or another. The only question was who would do it.
God called Jonah…Jonah ran…his choice.
God sent a whale…Jonah repentended…his choice
Jonah preached…Ninevah repented....their choice
Jonah pouted…his choice
God’s will, will be accomplished whether you like it or not. The question you have to answer is, what role will you play in the accomplishment of that will.
I want God to use me. I want God to send me to people and places that need Jesus. I think many of us would agree that New England needs to hear about Jesus.
Will you be the one to tell them or will you be the one to see what God does to get your attention?
The last principle that I’d like for you to see this morning is this
3. Your Obedience is determined by your heart
3. Your Obedience is determined by your heart
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Often this is used as a reference to giving and where you put your money. I don’t disagree with that application but I may ask you to look somewhere besides your checkbook for a moment?
What about a more precious commodity than money? What about your time? How are you using your time, the life that you live for the Lord?
If we pulled out your calendar and how you have used the seconds and minutes God is giving you, would it reflect a heart that is surrendered to His will and the life you have in and through Him?
Would it reflect someone crucified with Christ? Man, I know I have days and sometimes weeks where I’m off balance.
Maybe that’s you this morning. Listen, your not perfect and neither am I. It happens. But what are you going to do about it?
That’s where we leave Jonah.
God presents him the opportunity to get his heart realigned with the Lord. That’s where I want you to be this morning.
You may have been neglecting your compass, the Word and Will of God like Jonah.
10 Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Time of Response
Time of Response
Closed eyes bowed head
“Lord, thank you for your word and us knowing your will. I pray you’ll work in our hearts right now to realign ourselves with the compass you have given us to live our lives in such a way so that we can glorify you and proclaim the gospel....
Heads bowed eyes closed
Are you here this morning and you hadn’t thought about a relationship with God? You haven’t thought about what eternity holds or how you can be rescued from your brokenness?
Jesus said
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Are you ready to see what God can do with your life?
Having eternal life and a relationship with God is easy
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
If you believe in your heart you are saved. If you like to make that decision today you say a prayer like this
“Jesus I admit I need a savior, I’m sinful. I know I need salvation, reconciliation with God. I believe you are God and you came and died in my place and you bore my sin, and you rose again, and right now I accept you as my savior, I’m trusting you alone.”
Raise HAnd
Christians in the room today. You are on a journey just like Jonah. You’ve been called to an ambassador and preach the gospel. Maybe you’ve been given a hard assignment. Maybe the Lord’s will for you isn’t easy because it goes against your flesh.
What has the Lord brought to your mind that you know you need to realign with Him? What area of your life have you departed from His will and His Word?
It’s time to get back on track. As God said to Jonah, It’s time get up and preach the message God has given us.
PRAY