A Hampered Mission requires...
RESCUING THE MISSION-I—Jonah 1:4-17
Rescue:
A—4 yr. old Zachary came screaming out of the bathroom to tell me he’d dropped his toothbrush in the toilet.
So I fished it out & threw it in the garbage.
Zachary stood there thinking for a moment, then ran to mom’s bathroom & came out with my toothbrush.
He held it up & said with a charming little smile, "We better throw this one out too then, ’cause it fell in the toilet a few days ago."
Zachary rescued his mother’s mission.
God must go to great lengths to rescue his mission as well.
Need:
God’s mission must be rescued from the pull of sin that so easily lures & sways us.
God rescued His mission from/out of Jonah’s obstinance.
A hampered mission of God must be rescued.
What can be done to rescue God’s mission from man’s obstinance/indulgences?
10 discoveries that can rescue God’s mission.
1—A hampered mission can be rescued/restored thru
Discovery of INTERVENTION(:4-5)
Explanation:(:4-5) Acts of God/Hand/Movement/Concern
:4—“But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, & there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.”
Untamable/Elemental/Natural phenomena/Catastrophe
“Sent/Hurled”—lwj tuwl tool—To hurl, cast; To throw, cast or cast out.
“Mighty/Great”—lwdg—Large/Intense/Elder
“Wind”—xwr—Spirit/Wind/Breath
“Tempest/Storm”—reo—Tempest/Storm/Whirlwind
“Sea”—My—Sea—The Mediterranean here
“Break up”—rbv—Break in pieces/Shatter/Maimed/ Crippled/ Wrecked
Argumentation:
God intervened for Israel to remove their bondage—Ex. 7-12—Rod to Serpent—Water to Blood—Frogs—Gnats—Pestilence—Boils—Hail—Locusts—Darkness—First-born
Ex. 9:35—“And Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, & he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.”
Ps. 106:23-30—“Therefore He said that He would destroy them, Had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, To turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them. Then they despised the pleasant land; They did not believe His word, But complained in their tents, And did not heed the voice of the LORD. Therefore He raised up His hand in an oath against them, To overthrow them in the wilderness, To overthrow their descendants among the nations, And to scatter them in the lands. They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, And ate sacrifices made to the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, And the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up & intervened, And the plague was stopped.”
Deut. 9:24-10:— ““You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you. “Thus I prostrated myself before the LORD; forty days & forty nights I kept prostrating myself, because the LORD had said He would destroy you. “Therefore I prayed to the LORD, & said: ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people & Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ‘Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob; do not look on the stubbornness of this people, or on their wickedness or their sin, ‘lest the land from which You brought us should say, “Because the LORD was not able to bring them to the land which He promised them, & because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.” ‘Yet they are Your people & Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power & by Your outstretched arm.’ “At that time the LORD said to me, ‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, & come up to Me on the mountain & make yourself an ark of wood. ‘And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; & you shall put them in the ark.’”
Isa. 6:5-8—“So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, & said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.””
Mat. 18:15—“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go & tell him his fault between you & him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.”
Gal. 6:1—“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
Rev. 9:20-21—“And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, & the idols of gold & of silver & of brass & of stone & of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; & they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”
Js. 5:19-20—“Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, & someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death & cover a multitude of sins.”
Illustration:
Child running into the street/Parent must INTERVENE
Jan. 16, 2009 New York/US Airways flight 1549 bound for Charlotte-Douglas Int. Airport, NC took off from LaGuardia Airport, NY/Pilot Chesley Sullenberger reported a large flock of birds disabled both engines/ditched in the Hudson River/All 155 aboard saved/Suuly hero because of his INTERVENTION
Application:
?Has Discovery/Awareness of INTERVENTION rescued God’s mission?
?Is God able to rescue His mission from your sin?
2—A hampered mission can be rescued/restored thru
Discovery of LIMITATION / Desperation(:5a)
Explanation:(:5a)Helpless/Weakness/Frailty/Physical limitation
:5a—“Then the mariners were afraid; & every man cried out to his god, & threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load.....”
The end of physical ability.
“The mariners were afraid”—Real, Despairing fear!
Faced with bodily destruction.
“Cried out to his god”—qez za`aq zaw-ak’—To cry, cry out, call, call for help.
—Supernatural relief sought
—Each of the sailors “cried” out to his god. There were many gods revered by the sailors/mariners. It appears that each man sought out the individual god to which he was closest &/or which was most able to come to his aid.
“Threw the cargo overboard”—
Sailors had done all they could do....Reached their limit of protection.
—The sailors lightened their load to stay afloat & keep the gunwales from dipping below the surface & filling the hull with water.
—The sailors did not hesitate to dispense with their major means of income in order to spare their own lives. The “cargo” was of little value in view of their potential loss of life.
Heb. 2:14-15—“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh & blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, & release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
*Acts of God bring us to the limit of our physical ability.
*We must ask the question—?Why is God allowing this?
Argumentation:
Ps. 43:5—“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my countenance, & my God.”
PS. 37:3-5—“Trust in the LORD, & do good; Dwell in the land, & feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.”
Hab. 3:16-19—“I heard & my inward parts trembled, At the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, And in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade us. Though the fig tree should not blossom, And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail, And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold, And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, And makes me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.”
Mk. 14:38—“Keep watching & praying, that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
2Cor. 12:9—“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
Illustration:
World Trade Center/Physically unable to prevent its attack or collapse/Rescue many but LIMITATION & DESPERATION grows out of it.
Car crash on Providence Road, Whigham,GA/Burst into flames/Larry able to rescue one child/Physical limit reached—Helpless/Rescue workers/Limited by physical inability to enter flames/LIMITATION & DESPERATION grows out of it.
Application:
?Has Discovery/Awareness of LIMITATION rescued God’s mission?
?Is God able to rescue His mission from your sin?
3—A hampered mission can be rescued/restored thru
Discovery of PLIGHT(:5b-6)
Explanation/Illustration:(:5b-6)
:5b—“....But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, & was fast asleep.”
—Jonah’s smug unconcern/indifference/willful ignorance was apparent— Self-satisfied—SIN.! Done what he wanted to do & succeeded.
“Lowest parts/Hold”—hkry yer-ay-kaw’—flank, side, extreme parts, recesses.
:6—“So the captain came to him, & said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
A people’s Plight may be brought to our attention thru concern of lost people....
*Illustration:
ACLU, Press in general(CNN,2020,Nightline, etc.), Amnesty International—AWARENESS —Tack taken may not be desirable yet we are made aware!
—Starving children in Africa.
—Ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, Serbia, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Indonesia, India, China, Russia, etc...
—Drug war casualties in Colombia & Mexico
—Abandoned Children in Buenos Aires
—Child slavery in India
—Abject Poverty in Haiti
—Rescue workers/Unsaved/Working to save others/Plight Awareness
*Awareness of the plight of others convicts us of our role & purpose!
Argumentation:
Mat. 9:36-38—“And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed & downcast like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
Job 6:14—“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend; Lest he forsake the fear of the Almighty.”
Jn. 3:16—““For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Ps. 103:13-14—“As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”
Application:
?Has Discovery/Awareness of PLIGHT rescued God’s mission?
?You sought God?
?Is God able to rescue His mission from your sin?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Zachary’s rescued toothbrush
Action:
A hampered mission can be rescued/restored thru Discovery of...
1. INTERVENTION(:4-5)
2. LIMITATION / DESPERATION(:5a)
3. PLIGHT(:5b-6)
