Transcription
[Music] good. [Music] Alright, ready for a little Jonah this morning? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite to determine me - Jonah as you do. Good morning to the West Campus and the North Campus, those who are watching online, and of course Joplin. We're excited for all that God is doing. As you come to Jonah chapter one, we come to what is really a very fascinating book. I'm always surprised by the leading of the Lord, by the way He guides the preaching of His Word, because this book honestly is a perfect follow-up to the book of Romans. Because this book shows us the power of the gospel, that when God's Word is preached, it transforms the lives of people. We're going to watch one of the great revivals in human history happen at Nineveh. Paul said, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel; it's the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." There's power in preaching the Word of God. It shows the grace of God that will happen when people repent. It shows the grace of God and His correction in the life of believers. This is a book that shows us God is good and God is gracious. This is a book that shows us God loves the lost, and that He speaks to nations and awakens nations and causes great revivals. This is a book that teaches salvation is not by works but by faith, which leads to repentance. This is a book that illustrates God's purpose will be accomplished. You can try to stop God's purpose. You can say, "I'm not going to cooperate with God's purpose." But let me tell you, He is Lord, He is sovereign, and His purpose will stand firm and will be accomplished. This book shows that. This is the one book in the Old Testament that gives us a visual illustration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's the only book that does that. It is a very interesting book. This book, let me say at the outset (because there are some, and I don't know where you're at in your understanding of Jonah and the story, but most people have some sense, and if you don't, you're gonna love the book) – but I want to say at the outset, because it's a very unusual story, that this book is not an allegory, it is not a parable, it is not a fable, it is not made up, it is not make believe. This book is a fact. Jesus Christ Himself regarded it as a factual book. In fact, let's start here in Matthew chapter 12. We read this: "And some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, 'Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.' But he answered them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.'" How can you give a sign if Jonah's make believe? But He says there was a real prophet; his name was Jonah. "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah." Jesus says he was a real person. There was a real revival. There was a real fish. All of the details of Jonah are real. Jesus said it. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here. So settle in your heart: we're looking at a real story. Not only that, but the Old Testament tells us about Jonah. He was a real person, he was a real prophet. We read this in Second Kings: "In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, and Jeroboam the son of Jehoiada, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned for 41 years. And 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." So here is Jonah, and Jonah is a real prophet. And who is the prophet from Gath-hepher? You say, "Where's Gath-hepher?" It would be about a kilometer from Cana of Galilee, so up in the northern Galilee. So here's Jonah. And what Jonah does is, Jonah goes to Jeroboam the second, who is a wicked and a godless king, and the prophet Jonah prophesied that Jeroboam is going to have some military victories that are going to allow him to possess, to dominate, to control land that would have essentially the borders of the kingdom of Israel during the time of King David. And it happened. So Jonah is a real person. Jonah is a real prophet. Jonah is influential. Jonah's a friend of the king of Israel. Jonah's well regarded in the land. People think highly of Jonah. Jonah has got some prestige going on. People say, "Oh, this is a spiritual man, this is a spiritual giant, this is a man who has forecasted great victories, and he's our kind of prophet." But all is not well with Jonah spiritually. You see, what can happen to people is, you can come to church, and you can be in a life group, and you can say the right things, and you can know a lot, and you can have influence with people around you or in business, and you can have had a season where you walked with the Lord and where God used you in a powerful way, and then somehow subtly things change, and you find yourself not quite as passionate about the things of God, and you find yourself somewhat going through the motions, and you find yourself gradually, quietly, over time becoming cooler toward the things of God. No one notices. Everybody still looks at you and thinks, "Hey, they've got it together spiritually." But inside, things are not what they were. And the Book of Jonah speaks to that, because that's exactly where Jonah is when we pick it up in Jonah chapter 1 and verse 1.
And the word of the Lord came to Jonah. Here's the thing that's important to remember: God is speaking. I don't know where you're at in your spiritual journey. I don't know how long you've been in church or been around church. But here's the fact of the matter: God talks. He speaks. Yes, through the Word, but He speaks to our heart. He guides us, He directs us. Three hundred times in the NIV, the New International Version, it says, "And the Lord said," which is telling us God has a lot to say. God talks to the person who listens. He talks to people. He speaks to people. He directs people. Sometimes He speaks through the Word of God jumping off the page, and all of the sudden you're like, "Wow, that's real to me in a way that is unusual." It's God talking. Sometimes it's through the counsel of a friend, and as they're speaking, you get the sense something is happening. God is talking. Sometimes it's you in prayer, and all of a sudden you know something you wouldn't know otherwise. You're impressed on something regarding something that you can't get away from; it's on your heart, it's on your mind, it keeps coming up. God is talking. He talks. And in Jonah chapter 1 and verse 1, here's Jonah, and the Lord comes to him. I want to ask you a question. Not only is God speaking to you – that's a given. My question to you is: what is He saying to you? Do you know? And what are you doing about it? Are you listening? Are you obeying? Are you embracing it? Are you allowing the Word of the Lord to come to you? Listen, this is very real and it's very important. Your decisions need to begin with the Word of the Lord. Your decisions as a parent, your decisions as a business person, your decisions with your kids, with your spouse, with your parents, with your friends should all begin with the Word of the Lord. God is speaking. Are you obeying? When God says to you something that maybe surprises you, or something is different than you wanted to hear, how do you respond? Do you say, "You know what, Lord, I am Your servant, I'm gonna do it"? Or do you say, "You know, God, that's not really what I wanted to hear, and so I have to think about that, I'm gonna have to give that some thought"? Here's what God said to Jonah: "Now rise, go to Nineveh, that great city" – it's a massive city, as we're gonna see – "call out against it." The New Living Translation says, "Announce judgment." The NIV says, "Preach against it, for the evil has come up before me." Just a little background on Nineveh. No one from Israel ever wanted to go to Nineveh. It was the capital of the Syrian people, and the Syrian people were a violent group of people. Archaeologists have uncovered monuments from the Assyrian Empire, and these monuments were built, these tablets were inscribed, to memorialize their cruelty. Listen to things that were on the tablets: "Many within the border of my own land I filleted, and I spread their skins upon the walls. And I cut the limbs off the officers. Three thousand captives I burned with fire. I cut off their hands and their fingers. And from others I cut off their noses, their ears, their fingers. And of many I put out their eyes." When the Assyrians were conquering a land, what they would do – when they were laying siege to a city and their army was surrounding the city – they would capture the inhabitants of the land, and then they would impale them on stakes outside the city so the inhabitants of the city would get the idea: "Listen, you're next." When they captured the city, they would go in and they would take all of the leaders, anybody in leadership; they'd cut their head off, and they would create columns or piles of skulls. The commanding officers would put a skull of the person around their neck and would wear it. These were a violent, violent people, and they are enemies of Israel. Three different times they totally try to eradicate Israel. And so there is this hostility between Israel and the Assyrians. Now Nineveh is a capital city – ultimately becomes the capital – but it's also the province in the Assyrian Empire. It would be like we have Washington DC, and then we have the state of Washington. So Nineveh, as you're reading Scripture, sometimes it's the province, sometimes it's the city. And in some ways you could say this call for God to – or for Jonah to go and preach to the Ninevites would be like God telling you – because honestly, Nineveh is right, it would be a suburb of Mosul in northern Iraq, so that's where that ancient city was – so it would be like you hearing from God and God saying, "Listen, what I'd like you to do is I'd like you to go into Iraq, and I'd like you to get all the ISIS and all the al-Qaeda people together, and I'd like you to tell them to repent." That gives you a sense of how he would feel initially about it. It would be a very dangerous assignment. You say, "Well, I don't blame Jonah for running away. I'd probably do the same thing." But I want to suggest to you there's way more happening here. And the issue, oddly enough for Jonah, is not that Jonah is running away because he's afraid of the Ninevites. He's not afraid. This – I mean, it says something about the guy's courage. His reason for not going to Nineveh does not have to do with being afraid of the Ninevites. His reason for not going to Nineveh is he hates the Ninevites. That's why he doesn't want to go. This guy's a bigot. This guy's a racist. This guy says, "That group of people don't deserve to live. They don't deserve God's grace. They don't deserve God's forgiveness. And I don't want to tell them anything about God, because I hope God judges them." That's a heart so unlike God's heart. You say, "Where do you get that?" Look at it in Jonah chapter 3 and verse 5. Jonah bites – as Jonah preaches, they believed God. And then it says in verse 10: "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He threatened." Let me just say this: that shows you the heart of God to forgive people. That shows you that there is no people group, there is no person, there's no nation, there's no group of people beyond the grace of God. There's no group of people that cannot repent. When we talk about a revival in America or any other country in the world, this tells you it can happen. And Jonah watches all that in Chapter 4. Listen to what he says: "But Jonah was greatly displeased and he became angry. And he prayed to the Lord, 'O Lord, is this not what I said while I was still at home? That's why I was so quick to flee 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. I knew You'd save them, and that's the last thing I wanted.'" This is unbelievable, really. In other words, Jonah didn't run for his safety. Jonah ran because he hated the Ninevites. Jonah ran because he didn't like God's plan. Jonah ran because God's plan was not his preference. He ran because he liked to hobnob with the king of Israel. He ran because he was pro-Israel and anti-Assyrian. He ran because he was more committed to his own agenda than he was to God's. He ran because his relationship with God had become cold. He ran because he was a rebel with a cause, and his cause was himself. Some of you here today – and honestly, no one knows – but you're a rebel. Your cause is you: your position, your influence, your preferences, your goals. Your life's about you. And you're able to hide it behind the cloak of a prophet. You're able to hide it behind a reputation of being spiritual. You're able to hide it because you know God's Word. You're able to hide that coldness in your heart because you know all the right lingo, and you know how to say what you want to say so people think the right things – because you're never gonna let people know. Jonah knows. If it gets out – he doesn't say it right up front in Chapter 1, because that would look awful, that would look terrible – but it finally comes out in the end what's been going on in his heart. Jonah's life is about himself. There are others: you have a relationship with God, but it's growing colder by the day, and you're hiding behind religion. And here's the way – let me give you the test for how you can tell where your heart is relative to the Lord. Your heart is growing cold toward the things of God and the working of God in your life when you're comfortable saying no to God. When you're comfortable – when God puts His hand on your heart, when He puts His finger on your life, when God says, "This is what I want you to do" – and you're comfortable saying, "Well, you know what, I appreciate that, God, and I'll think about that, and I might do it, but I might not." Some of you are bold enough to even say, "You know, I just don't think I want to do that." Jonah is saying to God, "There are parts of my life where you can direct me and speak to me and challenge me, but I may or may not do those things."
Verse 3 – look at it: "But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. And he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish, so he paid the fare." Because you know, listen, it's gonna cost you. Any time you say no to God, there's a price. It costs people to live away from the Lord. Some of you are living away from the Lord, and it's costing you horrendously. Some of you are getting ready to walk away from your marriage; it's gonna cost you like you can't imagine. Some of you have already walked away. Some of you are in a situation – you're sleeping together, you're messing around, you're like, "Hey, I can do what I want!" God says, "You shouldn't do that." "Well, thank you, God, but I think it's okay if I do it." And you don't realize it's gonna cost you. So he paid the fare; he went on board to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. Listen, he is walking away from having the hand of the Lord on his life like he's known it in the past. I mean, look at this – to give you an idea where Tarshish is. Tarshish is 2,500 miles, that's right kind of where the Rock of Gibraltar is. And here's Joppa where Jonah is, and God wants him to go to Nineveh, which is 550 miles. So rather than going 550 miles in the will of God, he'd rather go 2,500 miles outside the will of God. But what you're going to see is God is the one who is in charge. And so along the way, he's going to take the long way to Nineveh. He'll get there, because God loves us so much He doesn't let go very easily. But here's Jonah, and he says, "I'm going all the way over there." The decision will not only take him out of God's will, but will diminish his experience of God's presence on his life. Because the minute you or I say no to God, there's a loss of that sense of His hand on our life. Let me say this: there's not a loss of God. God is still there. We're just not going to know His presence in the same way. He's still at work. He doesn't let go of people very easily. Some of you thought that because you were done with God, God is done with you. Let me give you a frightening thought: not true. You can walk away from God; He's not gonna let go. You can say, "You know, God, I don't want anything to do with You," and God's not gonna say, "Well, okay." God's gonna say, "No, I just love you way too much to let you walk away from Me. You can walk away from other people all you want, but I am God, and I love you, and I'm coming to get you." It's very, very interesting. But nonetheless, when a person says, "I'm gonna walk away from the presence of the Lord" – which is exactly what Jonah says – either because of that conscious decision (sometimes it's a conscious decision, sometimes it's a gradual de-spiritual decline) but every step of the way is down. Now think about this, because when you read the text, it's very, very interesting. Jonah went down to Joppa (verse 3). Jonah went down into the ship – that says that in verse 3; it uses the word: he went down into the ship. And verse 5: Jonah goes down into the sea. Verse 15: he goes down in the fish's belly. Verse 17: and he goes down to the grave in Chapter 2. That's a long way down. You know, a life of running from God, a life of saying no to God, always takes you down. People say, "Well, you know, I want to do my own thing," like somehow that's taking you – you know, when you say, "I want to do my own thing, God, I don't wanna do Your thing" – I'm just telling you, it takes you down. You're gonna go down. Oh, you think you're getting to do what you want, but you're going down. When your life becomes about you, you're living away from God. What happens is you become very self-absorbed, you become blinded to realities. And Jonah is the perfect illustration of this. Some of you have made the decision and you're saying, "You know what, I'm just not – I'm just not as into that as I used to be." You're going down. Some of you have said – and you've come today because I believe God brought you here – because you've been headed away from God for a long time, and God has brought you here because God wants to show you something about yourself, about your journey away from Him, about the way it's affected you, about the way it's affected people around you, about your indifference to the people that love you. But you're just going down, down, down, down in your selfishness and your self-absorption and your sinfulness. And God's going to show you that hey, you're headed that way. He, though, loves you. And why does He do this? He loves us so much that God says, "I'm gonna cause some storms." Not saying every storm is God at work – though I think He uses everything – but sometimes I think God intentionally says, "I'm gonna bring a storm into their life, because I'm gonna get their attention." Some of you today, you're in a storm, and it's not just a part of the normal cycle of life. It's a part of God's working in your life to get attention, to get your attention, because God says, "You're headed the wrong way, and you're not listening, and that's not good. And I love you way too much to let you just do your own thing and destroy yourself and a lot of other people in the process."
Verse 3 – look at it: "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." What we're talking about is a cyclone. All of the sudden Jonah gets on this boat, and all of a sudden there is a cyclone. He's in this ship, and there's gale force winds, 100 mile an hour winds that can come up on the Mediterranean, and it's happening. And why is it happening? It's happening because Jonah has said, "God, I don't want to do what You want me to do. I want to do what I want to do, and I'll go so far as to go the opposite direction You're telling me to go, just to show You that I can do what I want. I'm not – oh man, I don't want to do what You want me to do." There's some here today, and God has sent a storm in your life. And even as I'm talking, you're like, "Oh, that's what's happening." And if you're not thinking that, people around you are.
Verse 5: "Then the Mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that wasn't in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them." Jonah is the cause of the storm, and his rebellion to God is going to cost people around him. It's gonna cost them profit, it's gonna cost them their livelihood, it's gonna cost them things that are precious. It's gonna do – you realize, you say, "It's my life, I can do what I want." I'll forget that your life touches a whole lot of other people's lives. And you can say, "I can do what I want," and true you can, but what's it gonna cost everybody else? Here's these – they're throwing it into the sea. But Jonah had gone down – there's the word – into the inner part of the ship and had lain down there. I mean, the idea is he's going down, he's going down, he's going down. And he was fast asleep. You know what that's saying? How do you sleep in the middle of a hurricane? How do you sleep when there's a cyclone? How do you sleep when the ship is breaking apart? How does that happen? The guy is in a spiritual stupor. He's not even aware of what's happening around him. He's so self-absorbed, he's completely indifferent to the circumstances and the needs of people around him. Storm? What storm? People afraid for their life? "Oh, I'm just so tired; I need a nap is what I need." Some of you are in a storm and you can't even see it. Everyone else can. Everyone else is aware of the damage. Everyone else is aware that the ship is breaking up. You're asleep. You're spiritually asleep, completely oblivious. The captain says this (verse 6): "He went down to him; he said, 'How can you sleep?'" Some of you are thinking of leaving your marriage, and your spouse is saying, "What are you thinking?" "Well, I just want to be happy." How can you sleep? Don't you realize what will happen to your spouse? Don't you realize what will happen to your kids? Don't you realize what will happen to your testimony? Don't you realize your house is breaking apart? And all you can think is, "Well, I just got to be happy." You're asleep. You're going down and down and down, sleeping. The ship captain says, "How can you do that? Get up! Call on God. Maybe He will take notice of us and we will not perish." Can't just say – listen, this is true for everybody: at whatever point we allow sin or spiritual lethargy into our life, it affects the people around us. And here's – even this is sad too. There are unsaved people who are watching you. They've heard your testimony, they've heard you talk about the Lord, they've heard you say what is true, and they'd like you to pray. But look at this in verse 7: "Yes, and they said to one another, 'Come, let us cast lots, that we might know on whose account this evil has come upon us.' So they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. And 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?' And he said to them, 'I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord.'" Well, that's not really true. He'd have been better off to say, "I used to fear the Lord. I used to walk with God, who made the sea and the dry land." You see, when a person is focused on themselves, they start saying dumb things like, "I'm okay with God. I think God's okay with me." No, He's not. You're in a storm, and the ship is breaking apart, and God's trying to get your attention, and everybody sees it but you. And their storyline makes no sense to anybody but them. Have you ever been around somebody like that? There's such a chapter – and they're sitting there telling you this story, this narrative, and you're like, "That's the dumbest story I've ever heard." And they're acting like it's normal. "I'm like, you got the problem because you can't understand? Well, I just think God wants me to be happy." Well, what about all the other people who are going to be really unhappy? And what about how you're dishonoring God's Word? And what about those things? "Well, I don't know, I just know – well, you know what, your story doesn't make sense because you're blind."
Verse 10: "Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and they said to him, 'What is this that you have done?'" Now watch this: "For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them." "Hey guys, don't mind me, I'm fleeing from the presence of the Lord." I mean, that's the dumbest – who says that? You know, though, people do it. "Yeah, I'm not going to church anymore. I decided I don't need that anymore. You know, yeah, I used to go to church, but I've decided..." You're fleeing from the presence of the Lord. You're announcing it. It's like – what? Why would you say that?
Verse 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." See, you're thinking you're gonna ride out the storm. Good luck with that, because God's not going to give up just because you didn't wake up at the first sound of the waves. He's gonna keep coming. "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.'" It's very, very interesting. Here's what Jonah is saying: this is crazy. I know what will calm the storm: if I surrender to God, it'll calm the storm. But I don't want to do that. I'd rather die. I'd rather die than be right with God. I'd rather die than have to do His will. I'd rather – you're like, this is ridiculous; it makes no sense. And here's the tragedy: Jonah can tell them God's will, but he won't do it. You ever met somebody like that? They have a background in the church world, and they can sit there and spout off all these scriptures like some concordance or something, and they can tell you all these things, but they can't live it themselves. They're like Jonah.
Verse 13: "Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous." This is it – it's bad, it gets worse. Now it gets even worse when you think it can't get worse. And the harder these guys are rowing, the worse it gets. Their own efforts are not going to calm the storm. They're not going to get them out of the storm, because this storm is not natural. I mean, remember verse 4: we know that the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea. Verse 11: it grew more and more tempestuous. Some of you are in the storm, and truth be told, here's what's happening: you're rowing, and you're like, "I'm going to get out of this. I'm gonna get out of this." And you're like, "I'm so tired, but I'm gonna get out of this." And the only thing that's gonna calm the storm is when you surrender. It's the only thing that's gonna calm it. If you're in the storm today – some of you in a great storm – it's a storm sent by God to get you back on track. Finally, these pagan sailors surrendered to God. Therefore they called out to the Lord. It's like Romans: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." "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." How do they know all that? This is the heart of a person who cries out to God, prompted by the Spirit of God to say things they would have never known themselves. But the Spirit of God, drawing them to God, is praying through them as they come, as they talked to God. So they picked up Jonah, they hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord – or they worshiped the Lord exceedingly – and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. These are changed men.
I want to wrap this up. When the Word of the Lord comes to you, you can run like Jonah, and it's only gonna get worse. There's some of you here today, and you're running, and it's not gonna get better, because you can't outrun God. Psalm 139: "Where will I go from His presence? If I go to the ends of the sea, You are there. If I go to the depths of darkness, You are there." You know, wherever I go, the psalmist says, "You are there." You can't outrun God. And He loves you too much. This is not God smashing you with a bat or a hammer. This is God saying, "I love you too much to let you get away from My love and be destroyed. And so I'm gonna do whatever it takes to bring you to your senses, because I'm just that committed to you." You can run from God like Jonah – it only gets worse. Or you can surrender to God like the sailors – and instantly you'll see the waters of your life change. Instantly. Some of you are in a storm today. Your heart's cold toward God. You're comfortable saying no to God. You've allowed things into your life you know are displeasing to the Lord, and you're okay with it. You're like, "Well, you know, that's life; nobody's perfect." And you're moving away from your experience of God's presence on your heart and your life. And there's a storm coming. For others, you just flat-out running from God, and you're in a storm. And one of two things is happening: either people are saying, "Can't you see what's happening? Can't you see what you're doing to us? Can't you see what you're doing to yourself?" Or you're like, "No, I got this. I'm gonna row my way out of it." And you're rowing and rowing, and the harder you row, the worse the storm gets. But there is a God who, if you'll turn to Him, will hear your cry and speak "Peace, be still" to the troubled water. He's not abandoned you, and He will not let go of you. He's using the storm to turn you. And He brought you here today – do you hear this message? – so He could do a work in your heart. And if you'll surrender, He'll do a miracle in your life. He'll do a miracle.