Dealing with Personal Jonah’s, and throwing them overboard
Text: Jonah 1:4-14
Last week we talked about Jonah fleeing from the presence of God and what it cost Jonah to do that, and God’s counterattack to his rebellion.
We said Jonah’s rebellion:
Cost Jonah the smile on God’s face, the peace in his heart, the worst adventure of his life, cost him to become insensitive to God and the hurt he was causing others, caused him to go further in error than he ever expected and caused him to endanger others. God responded before Jonah was born and a plan was meticulously made, from which there was no escape, God started setting off
alarm bells in his conscience, in his circumstances, in the trouble he was facing, God hurled a storm at him, God made things more difficult as time went on, lastly God touched Jonah physically. In the end God won, but what a mess to get there.
Let’s turn the ship around before we have to undergo all that.
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This week we are going to discuss how to deal with personal Jonah’s.
1. We need to recognize Jonah’s attract all kinds of trouble
Remember
Obedience brings blessings
Disobedience brings burdens.
Jonah’s have a neon sign on them in the spirit world that says, "troubles welcome 24 hours a day." And so trouble comes.
* Throw Jonah overboard and the storm will stop!
* Throw unhealthy relationships overboard and those storms will stop!
* Throw unequally yoked partnerships overboard and those storms will stop!
* Throw bad past choices overboard and those storms will stop!
* Throw personal sin and bad character overboard and the storm will stop!
* Throw insecurities overboard and the storm will stop!
* Throw destructive habits and addictions overboard and the storm will stop!
* Throw defeat and depression overboard and the storm will stop!
The following text in Revelation speaks of our need to separate ourselves from things God has earmarked for destruction:
Re 18:1 ¶ And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Re 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Re 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Re 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Re 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
2. Jonah will leave you holding the bag.
A woman and a man are involved in a car accident. It’s a bad one. Both of their cars are demolished but amazingly neither of them is hurt. After they crawl
out of their cars, the woman says, "So, you’re a man...
That’s interesting. I’m a woman. Wow, just look at our cars! There’s nothing left, but fortunately we are unhurt. This must be a sign from God that we should meet and be friends and live together in peace for the rest of our days." The man replied, "I agree with you completely. This must be a sign from God!" The woman
continued, "And look at this, here’s another miracle... My car is completely demolished, but this bottle of wine didn’t break. Surely God wants us to
drink this wine and celebrate our good fortune." Then she hands the bottle to the man. The man nods his head in agreement, opens it, drinks half the bottle and then hands it back to the woman. The woman takes the bottle, immediately puts
the cap back on, and hands it back to the man. The man asks, "Aren’t you having any?" She replies, "Nah. I think I’ll just wait for the police..."
Jonah will leave you holding the bag. For example imagine all that the parents of the Colombine shooters were left with.
When I did drugs. I had a love hate relationship. I liked drugs, but they always bring storms, and always leave you trouble in their wake.
3. Jonah’s want you to do the hard stuff.
He caused the problem and won’t lift a finger to help.
These sailors put up with Jonah being on board until it became evident that they weren’t going to make it with him on the ship. Many times people will put up
with “Jonahs” in their lives until it almost brings them down.
Then they will still be faced with the fact that Jonah won’t do anything about it. They are content for you and the ship to go down with them, rather than change what is bringing the storms into your life.
It is very hard for some people to throw Jonah overboard. They confuse discipline with a lack of compassion, and nothing could be further from the truth.
Storms from God, are his way of helping you with the hard choices you have to make.
4. Jonah’s cause you to lose many things.
Possessions
Peace in the home
Personal dignity, Jonahs will cause you to lose more and more and more
Liberty - you become captive of the storms, the storms dictate your moves.
5. Jonah’s need to be properly identified.
Me, my fault
throwing stuff overboard didn’t help,
What has God targeted for destruction in your life. Get rid of it.
6. No substitute for getting rid of a Jonah.
We have all kinds of substitutes. In the picture on the right is an example of what is called “spray on hair.”
In our world we have substitutes, in the spiritual world there is no substituting getting rid of a personal Jonah.
TV preachers will tell you give them money and your financial storm will cease.
They never tell you to quit shacking up. They never tell you to put the bottle down
They never tell you stop hanging out with those people They never tell you to leave that business partner In the book of Jonah they needed to throw Jonah overboard for their storm to stop, instead the men rowed harder, but the sea grew wilder. Your storm won’t stop until you do the right thing.
7. Jonahs must be confronted,
8. Confrontation is difficult, not confronting them is worse.
God can you make this cross a little lighter. Can you make this task a little easier? No. Some tasks are difficult and there is no “Easy,” button for them despite commercials to the otherwise.
All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. -Jonah 1:5a
Continuing to read this passage, you will notice that the sailors seemed to have two competing fears. They were afraid to throw Jonah overboard, but they were also afraid to keep Jonah. Maybe they were afraid to dump Jonah, because they thought it would be hard on him to throw him into the sea. And they were probably afraid to keep Jonah because of the storm that was threatening their lives!
If you are in a Jonah-induced storm, you have a choice to make. A confrontation is coming. Maybe you’re afraid that you can’t make it without Jonah in your life. Jonah may be a business partner. Jonah may be a romantic relationship. Jonah may be a drug and you’re terrified to face life without it! Don’t let fear of loosing Jonah stop you from throwing him overboard. Throw Jonah Overboard!
Maybe you are struggling with Fear for Jonah. It sounds like this: "Isn’t it unchristian to throw Jonah overboard - because it’s my job to feed and clothe Jonah, and help Jonah get saved. If I don’t help Jonah, who will? If I throw Jonah to the sharks (almost literally in this story), then Jonah will not get the help he needs!"
Listen to me the help Jonah needs is outside of your boat. What does the Bible say: God prepared a huge fish for Jonah. Your actions may be keeping Jonah from the sea adventure he needs to turn his life around.
I’m not saying that you need to push people off buildings, or into rip currents. Throwing Jonah overboard for you may be as simple as loosing some "friends" phone numbers, or as life-altering as checking yourself into drug rehab! Matthew 18 and 1Corinthians 5 give unfortunate circumstances under which a member of the church is to be "thrown overboard." When you finally do throw Jonah overboard, God has a way of working out the related difficulties!
Throw Jonah overboard, and the storm will stop!
We can learn a lot from the story of Jonah. When they finally threw Jonah overboard everything became calm again. The same thing is true for us — when we finally get rid of our Jonah, things become calm for us again.
So… who’s gotten in your boat in recent days or years? What Jonah is sleeping in your lower deck? Is it laziness, procrastination, some secret sin, disobedience of some kind, unfaithfulness with the money you’ve been blessed with, or could it be a bad attitude? A lot of things can become a Jonah in our lives. No matter what kind of Jonah has climbed aboard your ship recently, throw him overboard and the seas will become calm for you once again.
