Jonah: Running back to God
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Jonah 2:1-10 “Running back to God”
Jonah 2:1-10 “Running back to God”
page 633 in the softback pew Bibles.
17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Chapter 2 starts right there in my mind— I’m not sure who separated this, but it seems best to start it right there...
Jonah has been running in disobedience. God sent a storm, the sailors panic, they don’t know what to do… Jonah says, “I know…” He’s thrown overboard; at just the moment… but God has a few more things planned. God appoints a great fish to swallow him.
• You say, “Well, why is God doing this?” Isn’t the storm and this terrible swim enough! Jonah did seem to come to his senses, he confesses what he knows to the sailors. Winston Churchill once stated during the WWII Era:
“Never let a good crisis go to waste” I actually think God also never lets a good crisis go to waste— He has Jonah in the belly of a huge fish. Can you imagine? God is bringing Jonah back— but Jonah has a choice here, as we will see— and I want you to know that you have a choice also. When we are running— and things have fallen apart— we have a choice. I truly believe:
• God is not being mean, he is showing mercy.
• Like I told you last week, this was not God paying Jonah back for his sin; this was God bringing Jonah back from his sin.
• The same thing has happened to some of us; God is getting our attention.
1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.
“I’m sure he did”.
Universal Truth:
It’s never too late to pray.
That verse is action packed:
Where is Jonah? Inside a fish.
What did he do? He prayed.
Who did he pray to? The Lord his God. The same God he was running from— but now yes, he is coming back to God in prayer.— In the digestive system of a great big Fish.
Not back when he was on the ship — not while he was back on the dry land at Joppa— Not back when he first heard the instructions God gave him.. These would have been GREAT times and places to pray— but thank God— it’s never too late to pray.
We are no different, right? The sailors were no different. When we find ourselves in the toughest positions, the most difficult of times, we pray. This week, I was in a dental chair— I needed to have some pretty serious work done on one tooth. It was NOT pleasant, and I prayed. Lord, please hear me, give me some relief here...
Some of you are facing that kind of trouble right now. Just like Jonah—maybe the circumstances of your life have caused you to stop running. Sometimes it doesn’t really matter what you may believe about God— but the strain of the situation causes us to cry out to God— Just like Jonah:
What did he pray? Today we will examine what Jonah actually concludes and prays from inside his mess.
Jonah 2:2 (NIV)
2 He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.
Listen, it is never too late to pray— and God will always here the cries of his children.
Do we really believe that? Sometimes I think we get this thing all backwards in our minds:
We think that we are good— God will hear us. But when we are bad, God ignores us.
That is simply not true!
God will always hear our prayers, because he always loves us.
I can remember when our girls were little, I was honored to be the bedtime story, song, prayer guy. I was blessed to connect with each one of them— one to one for just a couple minutes, and I remember one time I purposely asked Shannon, our oldest (she was maybe 10-11 years old), one day when I knew she had gotten into a little trouble— If she thought that I loved her more when she was good, or when she had been bad? She was pretty quick to answer that she thought I would love her more when she was good. But I set her up that night, because I stopped her and said — honey listen to me, Don’t you ever forget what I’m about to tell you— Your Daddy loves you the same both ways. You can’t do anything that would ever make me love you more— or make me love you less. I told her that that was exactly how God loves us— no matter what we’ve done.
God will always hear us, because he always loves us.
The miracle of prayer is not that we can talk to God— it’s that God is listening to us!
I don’t care if you’ve been in church your whole life, or this is the first church service you have been in in a while— I don’t know if you’re running from God, or you might be running back to God— If you feel like you are running away from God— you need to know that God is listening and he does hear you- Even in the depth of your pain and your despair.
3 You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.
I thought it was the sailors? No— ultimately it was God.
God will get our attention! Often times in my life, I’ve run away, and I’ve gotten myself into some deep pits. But when I’ve looked back, I’ve always been able to see his hand guiding me. His presence going before me, even when I didn’t even know it. Like those footprints in the sand, right?
“Redeeming is what God is into. He is the finder of direction-ally challenged sheep, the searcher of missing coins, the embracer of foolish prodigal children. God’s favorite department is the “lost and found” department.” - John Ortberg
No matter how lost you may feel— I want you to know and never forget:
God’s grace is guaranteed.
Jonah had done a lot of “going down”. But finally he starts to “look up”— check out our next part of the prayer:
4 I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’
5 The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.
Hi went down to Joppa
He went down to the hull of the ship to sleep
He went down, down, down— To the roots of the mountains. That’s pretty low. I looked it up, and the deepest part of the Mediterranean sea is over 17,000 feet deep. Whose to say if this fish went all the way to the bottom— we can’t know, but either way-- I have a very strong fear of deep water. Anyone else?
Just like Jonah— any time you and I run away from God— our life will only go down. Maybe even 17,000 feet down.
We can’t even imagine how deep that is— The closest thing we can visualize is to see a mountain top that is about 17,000 feet high: Well that’s the case for Mount Foraker in Alaska:
But catch the last part of that verse:
Jonah 2:4 (NIV)
4 I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’
Why did he say that?
Solomon actually built the temple Jonah is speaking about. It’s God’s holy temple in Jerusalem! And when Solomon built this temple— he speaks some really interesting and powerful words at the dedication ceremony:
38 and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands toward this temple—39 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart),
Jonah is running back to God, he is truly repenting here.
7 “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.
My prayer rose to you and your holy Temple— Not to Tarshish any more— but to the temple. My eyes and my prayers aren’t toward Tarshish anymore— they are toward you God. He goes on:
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’ ”
You know—Maybe your experience in childhood is similar to mine... when I was a young man, I could be a real rascal. Yes, even me… I was so smart, I could get myself into some real trouble. And with my Dad out working, my Mom was often the chief disciplinarian. And she would spank me. Now, I know, I know, you may not think that spanking is appropriate, and we live in a new time— but I’ll admit it looking back, I needed spanking. But as soon as my mom would make a move for the plastic spatula, I was a changed kid! A new Man! “Please no mom, I’m sorry, I’ll do better—There is no need to spank me! “— but guess what my mom would do? she would say, yes, son I hear you— but you’re still getting a spanking. You see our parents want us to remember the relationship between our rebellion— and something very unpleasant.
And although God’s grace is guaranteed, He does hear us. But you also need to know another truth— it’s found as we read on and examine the situation:
God’s discipline is thorough, but not without thought.
God leaves Jonah in the belly of that fish for three days.
God dismisses Adam and Eve from the garden— after they had disobeyed just that one command.
God warns the nation of Israel, over and over and over in the Old Testament narrative— And often he allows them to be punished, taken captive, exiled.
God’s love never fails us— but his discipline always has a purpose.
Take a look at how the author of Hebrews explains it:
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 spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order 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.
Maybe something is going on in your life, and you feel like you are being disciplined. I have faced this from time to time.
I promise you this is not to punish you for no reason— I’m here to remind you, Jonah’s story is here to remind us, that God is not paying you back— he’s bringing you back. And that, although it might be painful, is the way we can grow, and “share in His holiness”.
To close this section of our study this week— read what Jonah says at the end of this prayer:
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’ ”
I will make good on my vow, my promise to you Lord. I will say “salvation comes from God”. Not from anyone else— nobody can help me now, not my friends, not my parents, nobody on dry land can help me now. Except you God. Salvation comes from the Lord— that’s not just the theme of the Book of Jonah, but it really is a great theme of the entire bible!
Here’s our last truth here in chapter 2:
God gives second chances.
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
God commands that fish— to spit him back out onto the shore. Who knows how that could happen, but it did. Jonah is alive.
And I want to step just one verse into chapter 3— it’s an amazing, life changing verse— one that I would want all of us to memorize:
Jonah 3:1 (NIV)
1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time:
One of the greatest verses in the entire bible. God gives second, and third and fiftieth chances. After all the trouble, all the running, all the shame. God’s word comes to Jonah again! He’s the God of multiple chances! We don't’ take advantage of that. No matter how deep you may end up— He still has a plan and a purpose for your life. Because he loves you.
Run back to God today. Don’t wait.
Menno Simons said it very well, using the “sea” metaphor in a quote:
“Lord of Hosts! When I swim in the merciful waters of your grace, I find that I can neither plumb nor measure the depths.”
Menno Simons
God’s love for you is so deep and so wide. Let’s pray.