Escaping the belly of the fish

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Talk about how I loved and went all out for momentum!

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We all know someone who complains right?

Like really bad… just don’t really want to be near them.

Tonight we are going to look at someone who complains something fierce.

Tell story about how I complained about digging rocks

So I have a fear of the ocean, known as thallasophobia

I was scrolling through TikTok one night and I come across this one

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The title of my message is Escaping the Belly of the Fish

As we take a few moments to look at Jonah’s life, he certainly wasn’t perfect, but his life is a life we can relate to. He struggled with some of the same tendencies we all have been tempted with as humans and as believers.

Despite this, God called Jonah to have three things—the same three things He calls us to have so we can live a life that is pleasing to Him:

An ear for the voice of God

A voice of obedience

A heart of compassion

An Ear for the Voice of God

The Bible is filled with people who heard the voice of the Lord and obeyed, regardless of what they thought or felt. But when God spoke to Jonah, he immediately did the opposite. When God speaks, what is your response? Do you listen and obey His direction? Or do you run away out of confusion, fear, or anger?

When we run from God, we go in the opposite direction of His will.

Jonah 1:1–3 NIV

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

Jonah ran away from God’s original call. In fact, Scripture says he headed to Tarshish—a city that is in the complete opposite direction of Nineveh. Like we read in verse 3, Jonah bought a ticket because he hoped to escape God’s message by sailing to Tarshish.

Similarly, when we run from the call of God, our hearts move opposite to the direction God wants to take us. Isn’t that a scary place to be?

Partial obedience is complete disobedience

it’s no accident Jonah found himself in a storm.

When we run from God and try to divert from His perfect will by own our choosing, we may find ourselves in a storm.

There are three types of storms we can face in life.

Protecting

Perfecting

Correcting

Protecting storms protect us from other things that could seriously hurt or destroy us.

They can also protect us from things that keep us from the best God has for us! It is better to be in a storm than out of God’s will.

Perfecting storms shape us. Sometimes we need to go through difficult things in order to become more like Christ. Maybe we need more faith. It’s easy to say we believe and trust in God when everything is going our way, but do we say the same when life gets hard? Maybe we need strength—not found in ourselves, but in relying on God to get us through the tough times.

And then there are correcting storms, storms that God uses to try to get our attention.

This is exactly the type of storm Jonah found himself in! God wanted to get Jonah’s attention because He has a great redemption plan for Jonah and the people of Nineveh. And God is so compassionate that He gave Jonah and Nineveh a second chance.

We serve a God of second chances!

And not just 2nd chances, but 3rd and 4th chances. There is nothing we can do to outrun God’d forgiveness

There is nothing you can do to outrun God’s forgiveness

And finally, when we run from the voice of God, we fall asleep to the things around us.

Jonah 1:4-6,11-17

Jonah 1:4–6 NIV

Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

Jonah 1:11–17 NIV

The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Our disobedience can affect those around us

What storms are we asleep to right now?

God caused a violent storm that almost destroyed the ship Jonah was on, but he was asleep in the middle of it! When the sailors woke him up, it still took time for Jonah to come to his senses and admit where he was wrong. In order to stop the storm, Jonah was thrown overboard and was swallowed by a great fish where he spent three days.

God is calling each of us to tell the world of His compassion He has for them. What are you running from that God is calling you to?

I think it’s comforting to know that God is still calling people.

God loves you so much and sees value in you that He speaks to you and chooses you to be the voice to the voiceless!

God’s compassion on the world is so great that He sends us to bring the answer to the world’s problems. Throughout the Scriptures God calls people to be His mouthpiece.

A Voice of Obedience

When we disobey God, things often get worse before they get better. We see this in Jonah’s story: He moved from being on a boat going the opposite direction from the place God told him to go, to being in the midst of a storm, to living in a fish for three days.

It’s important to remember that partial obedience is disobedience. God wants our complete obedience—and not just the act of obedience, but a decision made from a pure heart to faithfully and joyfully complete the task God has called you to!

At the beginning of chapter 3, we read that God spoke to Jonah a second time after Jonah had called out to Him from the belly of the fish (Jonah 2).

This moment is a reminder that not only does God hear us when we call on Him, but also that He is a God of second chances.

We should be so thankful for that, but at the same time our prayer should be that it doesn’t take more than one time for us to hear His voice and obey. However, when we do mess up or try to take matters into our own hands, God is right there waiting to speak to us and give us another chance!

And that’s what God did; He gave Jonah a second chance.

Jonah 3:3–5 NIV

Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

Jonah 3:10 NIV

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

Jonah obeyed God this time, and when he shared the message with the people of Nineveh, they believed and turned away from their evil ways!

As a person, your voice is a fundamental aspect of who you are.

Each person has a unique voice that reflects things like age, lifestyle, and personality. And as a believer, your voice is a fundamental aspect of who you are.

The Bible says our words have the power to bring life or death. So, what are you speaking? Are you using your voice for the voiceless? Are you sharing your testimony? Are you sharing the truth that is found in God’s Word? Are you bringing people closer to God or saying things to push them away?

Jonah’s story also shows us that there is power in an obedient voice. Because of one person’s voice, the city of Nineveh received God’s mercy!

Think about what you could do when you use your voice for the gospel. Be bold and strong, and use your voice for the purposes of God!

A Heart of Compassion

In the final chapter of this book, we read that Jonah actually got angry with God!

Jonah 4:1–3 NIV

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah felt that the Ninevites deserved the destruction that was headed their way.

That’s why he was upset that God chose not to destroy them when they repented.

Even though God showed them mercy and compassion, Jonah struggled to do the same.

For a moment, he forgot that the compassion God had for Nineveh was the same compassion shown to Jonah when he disobeyed.

Why do we think we deserve grace and mercy, but others don’t?

Scripture tells us that “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

compassion story dad told

The God of compassion should cause us to have a heart of compassion.

Jonah 4:5–10 NIV

Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.

God also wants to replace our comfort with compassion for others.

Jonah seemed more upset about a plant withering and dying than about the possibility of over 120,000 people losing their lives.

That’s a problem! If we are more concerned with our comfort and in love with what makes us comfortable, then our heart for others gets lost.

It’s easy to forget there are people who don’t know Jesus and that it’s our responsibility to share the gospel. We have to be willing to step outside our comfort zone and ask God to help us see what He sees.

In 2017, there was a woman in the UK who was scheduled for cataract surgery because she could hardly see. It turns out the “film” that had collected on her eyes was actually twenty-seven contact lenses that she had repeatedly left in her eyes over a period of time

The mass of contacts needed to be removed in order to improve the woman’s vision.

Similarly, we need to remove things and comforts that cause spiritual blindness in us and instead say,

“God, let me see what You see!”

It’s likely the Ninevites persecuted Jonah’s people, which may explain why he was so angry.

It is said that when the Ninevites would conquer a village, they would cut their enemies’ heads off and put them on top of stakes to warn anyone who would think of battling them. It is possible that some of Jonah’s own family were brutally killed by the hands of the people God was calling him to rescue.

He probably felt offended that God would ask him to be a voice of compassion to those who he thought were so wicked and undeserving of God’s grace. But God calls us to let go of bitterness and anger, forgiving those who hurt us.

No one is deserving of God’s grace—Jonah, the Ninevites, even you and me! Yet He offers it to us freely because He loves us that much.

He would forgive even the most wicked people if they repented and turned from their evil ways, and we should follow His example.

CLOSING - Call Worship Team Up

There is a movie called Hacksaw Ridge, based off of real events. During the bloodiest battle of World War II in Okinawa, Japan, Desmond Doss saved at least seventy-five men without firing or carrying a gun.1

Although a conscientious objector, or someone who objects to certain requirements because of personal beliefs, Doss joined the U.S. Army in 1942. He believed the war was justified, but still felt killing was wrong.

In 1945, as the Japanese soldiers defended their last barrier from an enemy invasion, the U.S. troops were able to secure the top of Hacksaw Ridge. But there was a surprise Japanese counterattack, and the U.S. troops immediately retreated at the officers’ orders—all except for Desmond Doss.

Two-thirds of the men didn’t make it down the ridge, instead laying wounded and dead. As an army medic, Doss disobeyed orders and singlehandedly rescued as many of his men from behind enemy lines as he could. Putting his own safety at risk, Doss was able to save seventy-five men and he earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism.

As the story goes, Doss continually prayed a simple prayer as he returned again and again to rescue each injured soldier: “Just one more Lord, help me get one more”

The fact of the matter is, people face the worst battle of all, the battle of eternity. Life and death.

There is a real place called hell.

Do you pray for the people around you who don’t know Jesus? Are you willing to set aside your personal opinions and comforts to be obedient to God’s call?

Do you have a passion to see the lost and broken of our world saved?

Let that be our prayer as a result of our compassion, to fulfill the mission God has for each of us as we pray, “Help me get one more.”

Every soul on the planet matters to God and they must matter to us!

ALTAR RESPONSE

Lead a collective response from the front, challenging students to ask the Holy Spirit for help to move out of their comfort zones and to have compassion for the lost.