Why Are We Running From God

Have you ever felt like running away

The business of day to day life.

the stress and weight of our responsibilities.

If we are honest. all of us have had that feeling or desire to escape life. even if it’s just for a little while.

These thoughts and feelings can arise in our spiritual lives as well. When God calls us to certian task.

God calls us as believers to love our enemies to pray for those who persecute you.

God calls us to go and share the gospel regaurdless of the lines of division we might face.

Sometimes God calls us to specfic task that don’t fit into our plans. he calls us out of our comfort zone to share our story with a total stranger or to help someone.

when God calls us out of our comfort zone everything inside us says run .

I would say if anybody knows anything about running its Jonah.

Jonah 1:1-3 “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.”

God has called Jonah to go and to cry out against that great city Nineveh.

Jonah was a prophet to Jeroboam 2nd. He is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25 where he successfully counceled against the Syrian threat.

Nineveh isn’t just any city. Neineveh is know for it’s evil. The book of Nahum gives great detail about the evil of Nineveh and God’s anger towards them.

Nahum 3:1 “Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey!”

Nineveh was a city of violence, known for it’s burtal treatment of those it conquered. They were notorious for amputating hands and feet, gouging out eyes and skinning and impaling their captives.

I can hear the conversation Jonah had with God in my head. You want me to do what? I’m not going over there. Do you know what they would do to a guys like me? You don’t need me to cry out judgment aginst them judge em. I don’t like them anyway. There evil.

do you ever not like the way God does things. You want it your way or no way. One of the first thing that I learned in celebrate recovery is relize i’m not God. I don”t have to control everything.

As a church we have set a goal to see 100 people come to know Jesus and be baptized in our church. That seems like a lot But do you relize God is sending Jonah because he wants to save the hole city. We serve a big God that wants to do big things and if we will go to the Nineveh that God has given no matter how hard it may seem . We will see God do big things.

God gives Jonah the comand but Jonah rose to Flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Jonah knows he can’t run from God’s pressence but he can run from where God’s pressence is stongest. He thinks if i can run from the temple where the pressence is strongest. If he can get to a place where God is not honored or know. He want hear God’s message to Him.

Jonah had rather be 2500 miles out of the will of God than 500 miles in the will of God.

Psalm 139:7-10 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”

Tell Stephanies story of God’s pressence in Atlanta.

Jonah 1:3 ““ 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.”

Something to notice When we run from God we are always going down in the Wrong direction.

Jonah went down to Joppa and found the ship and paid the fair and went down into it.

Running from God will cost us something. It will cost you money, it will cost you time, it will cost you Joy and peace. Running from God is miserable and God won’t let you do it for long.

Hebrews 12:6 “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.””

have you ever had God hurl a storm at you?

tell my story of my storm.

Jonah 1:4-6 “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.””

This was a supernatural storm. It was a storm with a purpose and it had Jonahs name on it.

These mariners had seen many storms but this storm was diffrent. It was so diffrent that the mariners were afraid and cried out to their god’s. They cried out to there god’s with no luck.

Jonah 1:5 “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.”

When you run from God it not only affects you It also affects those around you.

verse 5 says they tosed the cargo to lighten the load. In other words there pay check just went in the sea and if they make it the cargo will cost them. Meanwhile Jonah is down in the ship fast asleep.

Jonahs justy snoozing

The mariners have exausted everything they know to do. they’ve cried out to their god’s with no luck. They’ve tossed the cargo. so what’s left?

Jonah 1:6 “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.””

We can get so comfortable in sin and diobedence that all hell can be breaking loose around us we can just sleep right through it.

The sinner had to wake the preacher to pray. I can hear the captian in my head . What’s wrong with you were all about to die and your going to sleep. Call out to your god that he may have compassion on us that we might not die. The world is in a bad place when the sinner has to remind God”s people to pray

The captians request for Jonah to pray is a great opportunity for Jonah to witness and demonstraite the power of the Lord but Jonah remains silent.

We have a great opertunity as believers in Christ and the church to be a great witness to a world that is in the middle of a storm.

But we have gotten comfortable in our storm and have crawled down in the belly of the church and gone to sleep. The storm is raveging the world around us and is in need of men and women who will be faithful to the call of God to give the world the answer it’s looking for in their witness and the preaching of God’s word.

What’s God called you to go do? What’s your Nineveh? What’s the thing you know that God wants you to do but you have gone down into the belly of the ship and gone to sleep. The world is looking to the church for answers.

Maybe God’s called you to to go across the street to a neigbor to be a witness. Maybe he is calling you into ministry, to preach or teach his word, maybe he is calling you just to be a witness for his name sake and your scared to death.

we have a great oppertunity as a church to magnify the name of christ in our witness to the world . with covid and everything that is going on. The world is looking for hope and we have it.

Jonah 1:7 “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.”

Just as God used the storm to get there attention. God, is going to use the casting of lots to revile the source of the truble.

God is moving Jonah to a place to where he has to face the issue and his calling as a prohet.

when Jonah is confronted and questioned about the reason for the truble he has to face his calling and be the winess for God.

Jonah 1:8 “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?””

Jonah can no longer hide from what’s going on. Jonah begins to answer the questions. will he be faithful in his witness

Jonah 1:9–10 ESV

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.

Jonah is basicly saying i’m a preacher And the God i”m running from made all this.

they ask him what is this you have done?

In the south we would say What’s wrong with you how are you going to go and run from God that made the sea.

Who in there right mind gets on a boat running from a God that could make the sea stand up and let you walk on dry ground. Jonah knew about Moses and the parting of the Red Sea.

the storm is getting worse and Jonah can’t hid anymore so they ask.

Jonah 1:11 “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.”

Jonah has to consider his guilt and potential death .

He is called to put hiself at risk for the sake of unbeleivers a second time now in a intence situation.

Jonah could have said lets turn the boat around take me Nineveh i’ll do what you want me to God

Jonah 1:12 “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.””

Jonah doesn’t have the will to jump out of the boat himself so he tells them to toss him in the sea.

Jonah had rather die in the sea than ask for forgiveness and repent.

all Jonah had to do is say ok God I’ll do it.

Not only has jonah brought this storm into the mariners lives he’s told them if you want it to stop your gonna have to toss me. i’m gonna put my blood on your hands.

God will use the storm that has your name on it to not only get your attention but he will use it to bring others to him self you want.

Jonah 1:13- 16 “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.”

God will use you even when you don’t want to be used by him. The men on that ship saw the power of God displayed not through his word but through his control of creation. the worse the stom got the closer they got to God. the men on the ship recognized that doing what Jonah said and crying out to his God was the only thing that was going to save them.

Jonah 1:17 “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.”