INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Today we begin a journey through a unique book of the Old Testament. Over the next four weeks I want us to take a journey together through the book of Jonah.
• Jonah can be called a unique book for a few reasons.
• One reason is that the book is more about the prophet himself than his message; also in the book of Jonah we have four miracles in the four short chapters.
• We have the miracle of the storm, the calming of the storm, the great fish, and a growth of the plant.
• The book also presents some unique challenges. Liberal scholars attack the book on the basis that a person could not live in the belly of a sea creature along with the questioning the other miracles of the book.
• Is Jonah a real person, is the book history or some sort of literary device to make a point?
• As a couple of points of interest, we have a couple of other touch points in the bible that verifies that Jonah was a real person and that Jonah’s ordeal was real history.
• Jesus speaks of Jonah’s ordeal in Matthew 12:39-41 and in 2 Kings 14:25, we are told that Jonah prophesied during the reign of king Jeroboam who was the king of Israel at the time.
• Jonah was given a mission by God to go to the city of Nineveh to try to get the city to change its evil ways.
• The message was simple, “In forty-days Nineveh will be destroyed.”
• When I read the book of Jonah, I have to ask why God gave us a book that is about the life of a prophet instead of his work.
• My conclusion is that God has some lessons for us to learn from the life of Jonah.
• It is easy to get caught up in the miracles in the book of Jonah and miss the lesson that God has in store for us.
• Today we will look at our first life lesson, You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide!
• Let us begin in verses 1-2
• SLIDE #2
• Jonah 1:1-2 ( ESV ) Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. A REQUEST FROM GOD.
• There are many things about Jonah that are not typical to the other Old Testament prophets, but one thing that is the same is found in verse one. The Word of the Lord came to Jonah.
• God instructed Jonah to go to Nineveh and to warn them of their impending doom.
• This seems like a simple request, why would Jonah run from God? God just asked Jonah to go and tell them what He was going to do to them.
• You would think Jonah would enjoy telling the dreaded Assyrians that they going to go down in flames!
• A lesson that we can see right of is that God does not ignore the sins of a nation. The Assyrians were terrible people, they were cruel oppressors.
• What was it about Nineveh that so angered and disgusted God?
• Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrians, Israel’s’ archenemy. They were a brutal people with a horrible passion for a brand of brutality which made the surrounding people shudder with the horror of falling prey to them. We might say the Assyrians were the Nazis of those days.
• Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse said, “...calling Jonah to go to the Ninevites was like asking a Jew in 1942 to go from New York to Hitler, and tell him that God loved him, and that everything he did would be forgiven if he would but repent.
• So the Jew got on a train, all right, and went to San Francisco; then got on a ship to Japan! He wanted nothing to do with it.” Ron R. Ritchie, Discovery Papers, Jan. 29, 1978.
• Everyone has been given a request from God, God wants everyone to be a part of His family, but all too often, the request goes unheeded.
• This leads us to verse three.
• SLIDE #4
• Jonah 1:3 ( ESV ) 3But 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 on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
• SLIDE #5
II. A PROBLEM DEVELOPS.
• This seems simple, God gave Jonah a job to do and Jonah then should go out and do it, right!
• Jonah was given a job by God to do that was not too appealing to him. There were many reasons for his fear, but God told him to go, and he did not.
• How many times are we in a situation where we KNOW what God wants us to do, but instead, we refuse?
• SLIDE #6
• James 4:17 ( ESV ) 17So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
• Jonah was given a job and instead of doing the job, he heads off to Tarshish!
• When did you last go off to Tarshish?
• We think of all the reasons not to do what we know should do.
• When called to go to Nineveh, Jonah chose to run the other way. People run today for the same basic reasons as Jonah. Simply put, when we don’t want to face something or someone, we take off.
• I want us to see another lesson that is tied to running and hiding.
• Notice when Jonah ran, who paid the ticket. Verse 3
• Jonah paid a price because he ran from God.
• Running from God will always cost us something, and usually the price isn’t something we get back.
• Any form of disobedience, regardless of our motives, must bow to the unchangeable laws of God—"What you sow you shall reap.” We all pay if we run.
• We could avoid so much hassle if we’d just go God’s way in the first place, and submit to His plan.
• When you are trying to run away from God, you will be amazed how often you find a ship/a way ready to help you escape… to take your money…to take your ministry…to take your family…to take your relationships… to take all you have…even your life!
• There is another life lesson tied to running from God.
• Let us look at verses 4-5
• SLIDE #7
• Jonah 1:4-5 ( ESV ) 4But 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. 5Then 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.
• SLIDE #8
III. THE FALLOUT FROM RUNNING.
• Jonah thought he could run from God, when you think about that, it seems like a real silly thing to do. Here is a prophet of God, trying to run from God.
• Jonah was going to find out that you can run but you cannot hide.
• Notice that God loved Jonah enough to pursue him in the midst of his disobedience.
• We think that we can ignore God and that is the end of it. As we will see, sin has an effect not just one ourselves, but on other people also, people we do not even think will be affected.
• God always has a response. In verse four we see that God had a response for Jonah. God’s response not only affected Jonah, but also those around him.
• We do not live on an island. What we do can have an impact on those around us.
• Notice what is happening. The storm is about to sink the ship, and all of the crew is in a panic. Jonah is sound asleep.
• When we are disobedient to God we get the same way. A person who is running from God many times will not see the chaos he or she is causing around them. The world around them could be severely damaged or in turmoil and they will just sleep through it. We are blind to the consequences of our own sin.
• Sin affects people around us. (SPEAK OF SINS THAT HURT).
• People get serious in a crisis; the pain gets their attention. CAN LEAD TO CHANGE.
• Look at what the people are doing in the middle of impending doom; they are casting out their cargo. When trouble comes, your priorities tend to change.
• Look at verses 6-7.
• SLIDE #9
• Jonah 1:6-7 ( ESV ) 6So 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.” 7And 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.
• SLIDE #10
IV. YOUR SINS WILL SEEK YOU.
• While the world was falling in around him, Jonah was sleeping. As we looked at the people were in a panic and the Captain of the ship found Jonah and told him to get up and do something!
• The crew was at its’ wits end, then they decided to cast lots to see if they could see who caused the problem.
• The casting of lots was an ancient method by which one thought they could ascertain the will of the divine.
• It looks like it worked in this case.
• Jonah’s sin followed him where ever he was and where ever he would try to run to.
• Finally the truth will seek you and you will pay the price. The people found out that Jonah was the cause of their problems.
• They had a few more questions for Jonah.
• Let us look at verses 8-10.
• SLIDE #11
• Jonah 1:8-10 ( ESV ) 8Then 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?” 9And 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.” 10Then 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.
• The sailors wanted to know why they were suffering. Why are we caught up in this?
• What an awful witness to the lost world we become when we run from God. The sailors were amazed that a person who was following the true God would be disobedient to Him. They spent their whole lives in fear of their false gods, as do many people around the world today.
• When we who claim to follow the true God, run from that God, we make a mockery of God. If we who claim to know Him do not follow and obey him, why would the world take Jesus seriously?
• Let us look at verses 11-16.
• SLIDE #12
• Jonah 1:11-16 ( ESV ) 11Then 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. 12He 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.”
• 13Nevertheless, the men rowed hard£ to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14Therefore 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.” 15So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.
• SLIDE #13
V. GOD SEEKS REPENTANCE.
• Now here we are, Jonah admits that he is the problem, notice how quickly he admits to it.
• Maybe when we are disobeying God, we know it and it is on our mind a lot. Have you ever had a person get mad at you over talking to them about God? Maybe it is a guilty conscience.
• They sailors ask Jonah what to do. He says, “I need to repent and do what God told me to do.” Right?
• No! Jonah said in verse 9 that he feared the Lord. That was a lie. If he feared the Lord, he would have done what he was told to do in the first place.
• Jonah tells them to throw him overboard and it would end.
• Jonah is basically saying that he would die before he would do what God wants him to do.
• Many people will go to their grave with that same attitude. Instead of submitting to God, they will die and go to hell instead of following God.
• Jonah knows he will die.
• Notice that the heathen sailors are more compassionate than Jonah. They did not want to see him die, Jonah on the other hand did not care if the Assyrians all died.
• Finally the inevitable happens, the sailors have to toss Jonah overboard.
• Notice that they prayed for him first. Here is the man who caused them all of the trouble they were in, the loss of expensive cargo, and they are praying to God for him.
• The heathen sailors see the power of God and they worship. Jonah had seen the power of God in his life, yet he was being disobedient. Maybe sometimes we get so familiar with God that we do not have a healthy fear (respect) for him. These sailors sure did!
• Let us finish with verse 17
• SLIDE #14
• Jonah 1:17 ( ESV ) 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.
• This leads us to our final life lesson out of chapter
• SLIDE #15
VI. OUR GOD IS A LOVING GOD.
• Notice that God still cares for Jonah and sends something his way to give him a second chance.
• Here is Jonah, stubborn, disobedient, and unwilling to do what God asked him.
• Jonah was acting like a stubborn child, yet God still cared for Jonah.
• God could have picked someone else to do the job, but this job was for Jonah.
• This is where we will leave our story, next week we will start chapter two with the Fish who went manning.
CONCLUSION
• Read through the book of Jonah and read it looking for the lessons that God wants you to learn.
• Life is so much better for us and other people when we choose to obey God.
• God loves you and only wants the best for you. Have you been running from God, today is the day to stop running to Tarshish and turn to Jesus!
