Title: Overcoming Regret (Jonah 2)
Introduction
Last Sunday we started a sermon series called “Living without Regret” which we are taking from out of the book of Jonah.
I said last week that a life of living without regret is determined by one thing and one thing only!
You will never hear what this one thing is from anywhere else except the word of God so you might want to write it down.
A life of living without regret is determined by obedience to the commands of God!
If we always do what God tells us to do we will always live our life with no regrets!
Overcoming Regrets- Jonah Chapter 2
How do we overcome past regret?
I’m certain that every one of us has said and has done things we later (still) regret.
Let me remind us that even God himself did something he later regretted.
“The Lord was grieved (regretted) that he had made man on the earth and his heart was filled with pain.” (Genesis 6:6)
Of course there are different levels of regret.
1. Some things we regret we get over very quickly
I regret not buying the milk when it was on sale.
2. Some things that we regret take a little longer time to get over.
Examples: regrets about not taking a certain job; regrets about not doing better in school…
All these are regrets that take longer to get over
3. Lastly there are the huge regrets- And unless we experience a miracle these are regrets we will never get over.
Those regrets that fill our hearts with pain…
Here in Jonah chapter 2 we going to find hope for those huge regrets
Chapter 1: God had asked Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach against it because of its wickedness but Jonah ran away from his responsibility.
God in return sends a violent wind; a great storm and Jonah is finally swallowed up by a huge fish.
Read Jonah chapter 2 – overcoming regret
Let us look first at the damage that huge regrets often do to us.
1. A huge regret first of all will distress us (v2)
“In my distress I called to the Lord.”
Just like Jonah we too find ourselves becoming distressed over the big regrets in our life
“The Lord was grieved (regretted) that he had made man on the earth and his heart was filled with pain.” (Genesis 6:6)
•Because huge regrets can be so painful we try not to think or talk about them with others.
•The apostle Peter – when he denied the Lord – he went outside and wept bitterly
2. A huge regret secondly will often define us
“From the depths of the grave I called for help…(v2)
Depths = “an individual’s innermost being”
We become that Huge regret
Our life is consumed with huge regret
We can’t move forward because we are held back by a huge regret.
Jonah – the guy who was swallowed by a whale. And why was he swallowed by a whale?
Peter – the guy who denied the Lord 3 times
3. A huge regret will thirdly deceive us.
“I said, “I have been banished from your sight;” (v4)
Because I have done this terrible thing God wants nothing more to do with me.
There is no hope for me. I might as well just quit
Peter went back to fishing
The devil is the deceiver
oVercoming Regret
How do you overcome huge regret?
1.By calling to the Lord for help
“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.” (v2)
He called = He enunciated a specific message which he addressed to a specific recipient; intending to elicit a specific response.
•He dialed 911
Why don’t we call on the Lord for help more often?
•The cycle of Regret
We often follow up regret with a second regret.
Jonah = he went down to Joppa/ he went down below deck/ he went down into the sea/
Football illustration:
To let your opposition keep following up one down with another down is not good
We don’t want our regrets scoring a touchdown!
The only way to break the cycle of regret is to call on the Lord for help.
To take a spiritual timeout
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
A.God answered
•“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.”
Jonah dialed 911 and God picked up the phone
•Jeremiah 33:3
“Call to me and I will answer you…”
God is a prayer answerer
If we humble ourselves and call on the Lord He will answer
B.God listened
From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.” (v2)
Listened = to give your undivided attention to someone
Mothers = the cry of their child
C.God delivered (v5-6; 10)
“The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.”
“And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”
Nobody is too far gone that God can’t deliver them
God specializes in the impossible
1. He waits until the wine is all gone
2. He finds a man who was an invalid 38 years (not 38 minutes)
3. He feeds 5000 with only 5 loaves and 2 fish
4. He waits until Lazarus is already dead 3 days
D. God restored (v7-9)
“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord.”
1. God wants to restore us by his grace
Replace regret with grace
In order for God to do this we have to let go of worthless idols.
Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.”(2 Cor. 7:10)
What are worthless idols?
Anything we use to medicate the pain of regret.
Busyness, perfection, anger, blame, denial, addictions,
They don’t deliver us from regret. They only make the regret worse.
God wants to restore us to a right relationship with him.
To a place of worship
To a place of service.
Conclusion
What is filling your heart with pain today?
Might God want to deliver you from regret?
