Can’t Run from God (Jonah 1)

Ever hear a crazy story – So unbelievable – Made up. Can’t be true. We usually all have one friend who has these kinds of stories. Some I found on the internet – claim to be true – but who knows: 

-Wojtek the Soldier Bear: A Syrian brown bear was adopted by Polish soldiers, held the rank of corporal, and helped carry ammunition during the Battle of Monte Cassino.

-Mike the Headless Chicken (1945): A chicken survived for 18 months after its head was cut off because the axe missed the jugular vein, leaving enough brain stem for it to function.

-The Dancing Plague of 1518: In Strasbourg, hundreds of people compulsively danced for days without rest, leading to deaths from exhaustion and heart attacks.

-The Bike Accident: “When I was 9, I broke my arm and hit my head when I fell off my bike, and a boy in the street helped me up. Twenty years later, I was meeting up with one of my best friend’s friend, and I told the story of that bike accident. Turns out, my best friend’s friend was the boy who picked me up when I fell — and now we’re married.”

—Karen Hathaway Ochu, Facebook

-The Fierce Fluffy: “When I was around 8, my dog followed my dad to wait with me for my school bus. While they were waiting, my dad saw Fluffy get hit by a truck, so he took him and buried him. We then went out of town for the weekend. But on Sunday evening when we got home, Fluffy was standing on our porch! Dad couldn’t believe it and told us, ‘I buried him on Friday!’ Turns out, Fluffy had just been knocked out cold, so he rose from the dead and waited on us to come home.” — Tamara Baker, Facebook

The book of Jonah is one of those stories – A lot of people think – It’s got to be a made up kids story. A guy gets swallowed up by a whale, survives three days, and gets spit out? – Give me a break.

New Series – 4 weeks – until Easter – Invite. Jonah – Hope for Our City. Study/Discover – God’s intention and desire for the people of KL. Pray for our city – that God would be gracious and merciful. Bible. Turn. – Short little book – Old Testament. If you’re at Matthew, Mark, Luke John – You’ve gone too far and need to turn back to the left. Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, keep turning to the right. TOC. Screen.

Jonah 1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” (Jonah is sent to Nineveh to preach to the city so they would repent and believe in God.)

Nineveh – 1x capitol of the Assyrian Empire – Great city – Lots of people. Generally in the Bible – Enemies of God. Worshipped other false gods. Evil. (Similar to Sodom and Gomorrah) – The Assyrians would, not long after Jonah’s time, invade Israel, which of course isn’t great for Israel – but they were God’s chosen instrument to do so because of Israel’s own sin against God. 

God is an equal opportunity offender. Meaning – All sin against a holy God, regardless of who commits it, must be dealt with. God doesn’t overlook any sin. – Call out against it. – God can’t just wave his hand and forgive, because while that may seem loving and generous, NOT, because he would not be just and righteous. (Where there’s sin – Punishment. Absorb the wrong.) Yes, Israel was special to God – They were supposed to be a chosen people/nation to bring all the other nations of the world to worship the one true God – but they didn’t get a pass to do whatever they wanted. 

Observations…

God’s heart towards the lost is love. How do we know that? He sends his prophet Jonah to go and preach to them. Jonah is not the one who comes to God asking to be sent to Nineveh. God is the one initiating. 

God is always pursuing the lost/sinners because his heart towards them is love.

It can be easy for us, like Jonah – To look at our enemies – to those who have wronged us – They don’t deserve God’s mercy. And while that may be true, it is also true that none of us deserve mercy at all. It is only because of God’s love towards us that any of us have any hope for mercy. God’s love is not based on our loveliness/worthiness. But his amazing, self-giving love.

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. (You would think going towards the pagan city of Nineveh would be the direction away from God. But here, that’s the direction to go with God. Have to give it to Jonah – Guts – Flat out goes the opposite direction. To Tarshish – As far away as you could go in the known world. The complete opposite way – as far as he could go.)

Telling God, NO (Disobedience) is the easiest way to distance yourself from God. Telling God NO – Led Jonah away from the presence of God. Repeated 2x. 

That’s what happened in Gen. 3 – The Fall. God made his good ways very clear but man/we decided we knew better and we said no to God and his ways. We want to do things our own way. And our disobedience/rebellion against God had devastating consequences – Death and most importantly – we lost the presence of God. Telling God no, running from God, disobedience – though it may seem fun or promising, always leads to disaster. 

How many of you – If your parents told you not to do something – You got as close as you could but not do it vs. you looked right at them and did it anyway. I was a perfect kid. But I have kids that are wired both ways. (T – I didn’t mean to! vs. E – What are you going to do about it? Did either really honor our desires for them? No…)

(Lots) Types of Disobedience: (Quickly)

1. Delayed Obedience – I’ll do it later. Not now. On my own timeline – When it suits me. When I want to do it.

2. Partial Obedience – Do a little. But not all the way.

3. Begrudging/Complaining Obedience – You’re forced into obedience. God’s not only called you into something – like Jonah in coming chapters – He’s made you do it. No choice. Not happy. Angry. Means – You think you know better than God. That his calling/plans/desires for you are not as good as what you can come up for yourself. Ultimately, show your love is tied to something else other than God – yourself/world.

4. Passive Disobedience – You know what to do, but you don’t do it. Not doing the right thing when you know and you have the power to do it. Sin of omission. (Withholding forgiveness, justice.)

5. Conscious Disobedience – Like Jonah – I don’t care what God says. I’m going to do what I’m going to do even though I know it’s not God’s way. Outright rebellion – Do the opposite. 

6. Subconscious Disobedience – Without thinking. This is what I’ve always done. Stuck in your ways/habits. Don’t really care to change. Regardless of what God says. You’re not trying to grow in obedience.

7. Presumptuous Disobedience – Get out in front of God. I already know what God would want me to do. – I don’t need to consult him. I’m going to bypass God and make my own decisions.

All in the Bible and all are ways we can and often disobey God or tell him no. Listen – There’s always a ship going the opposite direction from God. It may be tempting to think it’s better, it’s easier, it’s more comfortable. But it never ends well. They all drive God away – or rather, drive you away from God. When God – Your Heavenly Father – asks you to do something – Doesn’t mean it’ll be easy. But you can be confident that it is always what’s best and most loving for you. (Even with temptation – no matter how much pleasure or happiness it promises – It’s always better to say no to sin. – It always leads you away from God’s presence.)

Kids – When we ask you to do something – We want you to do it all the way, right away, with a happy heart. Not because we want to boss them around. But because we are discipling them to listen to God that way. When God calls them to do something, no matter how hard or how much they don’t want to do it – We want them to do it all the way, right away, with a happy heart.

How do I know? – Is God always to me too? Yes! Through: 

1. His WORD! Living. Active. He’s spoken and made so much of his will for you very clear here. You have to know God’s word! Study. Internalize. Deep in your heart. Bears fruit.

Where God has made clear in his Word – don’t do it!

-Gossip – Something to talk about. The person isn’t around. It’s fun. It’s entertaining. Harmful/Detrimental to the other person AND yourself – your own heart.

-Envy/Covet – Another person’s stuff, their life. Has comparison ever made you feel better about yourself or your life? Never! Cause you never compare down – I’m so grateful. No. You always compare up – Ungrateful.

-Dating/Marrying a nonbeliever. 

-Sex before marriage. 

-Cheating on your taxes – everyone else does it. Doesn’t make it right!

OR … do it! 

-Care for the poor/needy. 

-Love your neighbor as yourself.

BRP – Ps. 25 4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. In his word – for clear direction…Sometimes, we need to wait…

2. PRAYER – Not just asking stuff from God. For a lot of people that’s all prayer is for them. I’m talking about prayer that allows God space to speak and you just sit still and listen to what God has to say to you.

3. PEOPLE – How were the people of Nineveh going to hear what God had for them? Not through a booming voice from the clouds, but through Jonah. God often chooses to speak through people – Means – Meaningfully be engaged with the people of God in the life of the church. If you’re not, you’re cutting off one of the most common ways God speaks to us. 

If you’re not meaningfully engaged in the Word/Prayer/People – I don’t hear from God. – Of course you don’t – You might as well be saying – God, I don’t want you to talk to me. I don’t want to hear from you. I’m not interested.

Obedience – Heart. And the heart of obedience is love. Obedience rooted in anything else is not obedience. God is not just after your actions. He wants your heart. He wants your love. So that your actions – your obedience – naturally flows from your love of God. It becomes your joy to follow him. – All of the law can be summed up in – LOVE. Love God and love others as yourself.

Jonah is failing to do both here. He’s running from God and people. – He’s loving himself.

4 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. 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. (I don’t know how Jonah is sleeping so peacefully…Seasick.) 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.”(Calling out to their gods didn’t work. Of course it didn’t. There’s only one God who controls and has power over creation…)

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. 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?” 9 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.” 10 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 tells them it’s all his fault – It’s because he’s running away from the God who made the universe and the seas that were raging against them. 

You cannot flee from God. – Where are you going to go? You can’t run. You can’t hide. Ps. 139 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

And why would you? Run from your Creator? Who is all loving and good? Again, nothing good can come from that.

But if you have been running from God…This is good news for you – Because you are never too far gone for God to save you. You’re never out of reach. Doesn’t matter what you’ve done or if you’ve run to the furthest corner of the earth. There is hope for you.

Your sin always affects you and others. It’s never just you. It wreaks havoc on everyone around you. (Ex: Pornogrphy) You are lying to yourself if you think you can hide it, it’s ok, it doesn’t hurt anyone. As long as no one knows. It’s done in the dark. In secret. Lie straight from the devil’s mouth. 

Even individual sin affects our collective witness. It’s so easy, and Christians oftentimes make it too easy, for the world to point out our hypocrisy. We give people reasons not to believe because our lives demonstrate to the world that we aren’t saved and we aren’t dead to sin. That we don’t think obeying God and living for him is all that important. – That he’s really God. Our lives don’t look any different/holy/righteous like God. – Love, forgive, give, serve. Hurts our testimony.

Parents – Affects your kids. Your life speaks way louder than your words. You can tell your children to follow God, to love him, to trust him, to be obedient to him – but if your life doesn’t reflect that you believe/do those things – they’re going to see right through it. And what your disobedience to God and living for yourself is going to communicate to your children and disciple them to believe is that it’s ok – it’s not that big a deal – to disobey God and to live for themselves.

Sin is never just personal. It always has communal consequences.

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. 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.” 13 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. – Kind of good for these men – I would’ve thrown Jonah overboard. But at this point, they are rowing against God. – Dug in their oars. – In their human strength. Have you ever tried to fight God on something? There’s something in us that’s like – I think I can take him this time. I’m going to try. – Pointless – You can fight all you want. Strenuous effort. His will is going to be done.

Joyful submission to God’s ways is always easier/better than rowing against God.

14 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.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

God uses storms to bring you back to himself. – Hardships and suffering. From disobedience to obedience. From death to life. God will use whatever means necessary to bring you back because he’s a loving Father. (Not all)

Storms – Hard things – Sometimes they are consequences of your actions, bad decisions. But God is not trying to punish you. He’s trying to bring you back. It’s not hate. It’s love.

Who is more loving – Go do whatever and face whatever consequences on your own and doesn’t care. OR You’ve messed up but I’m going to bring you back. I’ll always bring you back. REPENTANCE.

How we react when we mess up shows a lot about our relationship with God. – I’ve messed up – I need to run from my Father VS I’ve messed up – I need to run to my Father. The first is based on fear and punishment. The second is based on security and love. God’s desire is always to bring you back and to bring you in. Never to push you away.

How you handle those storms can lead others to worship God too. – The men recognize the power and salvation of God and worship him.

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.

We are Jonah when we fail to share the gospel with others. – When we tell God – No. I’m not doing it. They don’t deserve it. I’m not good at it. It’s too awkward. – We are saying NO to God. Because God has made very clear his instructions to us to make the gospel known to the ends of the earth. Not just for pastors and church staff – every follower of Jesus. Our primary mission in life – make disciples of Jesus. Everything else in our lives should be in line with this mission. Job. Education. Neighborhood. Etc. Mission field. People are the mission.

I’ve failed many times – Old Man/FBM – Selling two bookcases. He had just lost his wife. His world was upside down. He was heartbroken. He didn’t know what to do. And in that moment, I knew that God was prompting me to share the gospel, the hope that is in Jesus. BUT I was tired. Church all day. Preached. Young kids. Didn’t sleep well. I just wanted to get home to take a nap. I had all the excuses. But at the end of the day – I was disobedient. I’ll never forget that moment. And I told myself – I’ll never miss an opportunity like that again. 

WY1 – The one person you are praying for this year. For God to save. For you to faithfully pursue and share with. 

I don’t want anyone in our city to look at me/us/Garden City – Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you make more of an effort? If the gospel is the only way to be saved. – We can’t be laid back when it comes to sharing the gospel – We have to be fervent. Urgency. – Our instructions from God are clear – Make disciples of all nations. City.

Jonah – Dove – Peace between God and man. Sad – While Jonah had this peace, he didn’t want it for the people of Nineveh.

Before we’re called to be Jonah – We were all once Nineveh. Like Jonah, we ran from God – Making us wicked and evil, dead in our sin, just as much as the people of Nineveh. Undeserving. And the only basis we can expect God’s grace and mercy in our lives is Jesus. Not because we’re good or deserve it.

God is faithful even in our disobedience. Long before Jonah – God appointed for Jesus, the one who is greater than Jonah, the one who created us – to be sent to an undeserving world full of wicked sinners for the very purpose of satisfying the storm of God’s wrath for us. 

Jonah is a picture/promise of what God would do for us in his Son, Jesus. Jesus – Slept in the boat during a storm – had the power to calm the seas with just his words – no need to fear the wrath of God – sinless. But he was thrown into the sea of God’s wrath to make atonement/payment for our sins. And he did it with joy! – Swallowed up by death for our disobedience. He was in the tomb for 3 days. But he didn’t stay in the tomb. Not even the grave could hold him. He rose from the dead, defeated death forever and gave us victory of sin and grave too.

Jesus’ obedience to the Father saved us, the disobedient. Our only hope is Jesus’ righteousness given to us.

Hope for us means there’s hope for our city too. I believe God desires to save the people in KL as much as he desired to save Nineveh/you/me. And we need to plead because Jesus is worthy for him to move. And pray that through our obedience – many in KL will come to believe. Every member – Missionary. Experience the love of God through his love for us and others. 

Jesus came to save sinners. He came to save you. He died the death you deserved. He paid the price for your sins. So you could have eternal life. (X better, judgment. Experience.) So you could have God’s presence again. Don’t run. Run back.