HE PAID THE FARE
1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
There is something about the presence of the Lord. People will respond one of two ways in His presence. They will either see the benefit and run to Him or consider the costs and run from Him.
So in our setting this morning, we have a runner.
What caused this man to run?
Was it the lack of self-confidence?
Moses tried this excuse with God’s command to go to Pharaoh.
Elijah tried this excuse with God’s command to go and give a message to Ahab.
Ananias tried this excuse with God’s command to go and pray for Saul of Tarsus/Paul.
So, God will not accept lack of self-confidence as an excuse not to serve and obey Him.
What made him run?
Maybe it was sin. Its difficult to obey God when practicing sin.
Was it an unforgiving spirit? (Maybe he was done dirty by a spouse, family member, or someone in church.)
Was it a habit out of control? (Which he felt disqualified him?)
Was it hypocrisy? (Its hard to tell someone to live for God when you are not faithful.)
So, you run.
Ps 139:7-12 David said;
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
You can run, but you can’t hide.
3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
One downward motion leads to another.
When God calls to a sinner’s heart, and if they will take note, they will usually discover that their life is on a downward slide. Drunkenness, drugs, pornography, marital problems, etc.
And, when you are running from God’s tug on your heart, you are running down hill to destruction.
4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
Now God is beginning to work on Jonah’s behalf. God is going to channel his life in the right direction, just as He has ours. God’s a great attention getter.
5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
Question;
Does your sin have an impact on other peoples lives? Just how hurtful can your sin be to others? Read the stats today.
There are several families in the Bible who suffered because of dad’s sin. Eli, Haman, Achin, and even David.
What percentage of children grow up and become alcoholics, physically abusive, unfaithful in marriage, and dependent on social services because their father was?
Your children do not have to suffer with the same sins controlling their lives. If you will allow Christ to change your life, do a 180 degree turn from sin, commit to Him, then He will make you a different person.
12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
14 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.
15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Sin is like this fish. It will swallow you up, and though you try everything in the world to free yourself from it, it’s impossible without Christ.
But when you are cleansed, by the blood of Jesus, sin vomits you up, it has to let you go, and when it does, you can’t wait to proclaim it.
2:1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,
2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
3:1 And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
Aren’t you glad that God is a God of second chances?
Matt 18:21-22
21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
(Prodigal son-In the family, out of the family-back in the family because of the father’s love)
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
We saw the damage that our sins do on peoples lives, but now we see how our obedience benefit the lives of others.
What makes this story relevant?
What makes this story relevant is that if you take the fish out of the story, you have the story of a man that is not much different than we ourselves.
We are call by God to serve Him, love Him, obey Him, and I dare say that there are many people sitting on church pews today and have been for a long time who are still running from what He has called them to do.
They’re not happy, dealing constantly with conflict in the home, on the job, with relationships and even health issues. Things will not change until there is a complete surrender.
This man was self-centered, angry, and other than being dealt with, he was unwilling to change. Just as we are.
Jonah did not have to be fish bait, but remember, he paid the fare. But also remember, God is not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance.
When he began to call out to God, that thing that had him so bound had to let him go.
Are you tired of paying the fare? You get what you pay for.
Stop running away from Christ. Run to Him
