Jonah 2:7-10
Over the last couple of weeks we have been talking about deliverance, Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego were delivered from the fiery furnace, Daniel was delivered from the lion’s den, these men found themselves in a jam through no fault of their own and God delivered them.
Today we are going to finish this series and see how God can deliver us from the deep and the nasty.
Our unlikely hero today is Jonah, and through his disobedience finds himself in a deep and nasty place where he cries out to God and God delivers him from that terrible place.
We all know the story of Jonah, God comes to him and tells him to go to Nineveh and preach to them but Jonah knows that God will save their sorry souls so Jonah jumps a ship to Tarshish. A big storm comes and all the sailors are frightened and are trying to figure out whose god is mad at them, they go below and wake Jonah up and cast lots to find out who is responsible. Well, Jonah gets the short straw and they ask him who are you and what god do you serve , he tells them he is a Hebrew and serves the God who created the land and the sea , and that God is angry with him, Jonah says to them “ Just throw me overboard and all will be well” well the men don’t really want to do that so they try and try to get through the storm with no avail so they reluctantly through Mr. Jonah over board where he is swallowed by a big fish that God had appointed to carry out this task and he was there three days and three nights.
Well I guess ole Jonah had some time to reflect on the error of his ways and he offered up this prayer to God.
Jonah 2:1-10
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 hast 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.
Jonah through his repentance was delivered from deep in the ocean out of the nasty belly of that fish. Can you think of anything more nasty than being vomited up by a big fish?
We have all been where Jonah was, we have all at some point in our life ran from God, we have all at some point been disobedient. I would be willing to say that most every adult here has been where Jonah is deep into a nasty no man’s land wondering what I have done.
Most of us may have been delivered some of us may still be there , and if you haven’t been delivered and you want to be I’m telling you today that God can deliver you just like he did Jonah. We serve a loving and merciful God who is just waiting on you to cry out like Jonah did or like Blind Bartemaus in
The book of Mark Chapter 10:46-48. 46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!
My friends when we cry out to Jesus it does not fall on deaf ears you will be delivered, no matter what, no matter from where.
You may be sitting there saying preacher you don’t know , Well I am here to tell you today I know Through the grace and Mercy of our Lord and Savior I have been delivered from a deep and nasty place.
Several years ago I was in a place that no one needs to be I was an angry and bitter man, I was at a point in my life where I would wake up and didn’t care one way or another if I lived or died, I have even prayed that God would take my life to get me out of the misery I was feeling. I wanted no part of God or anyone else for that matter.
I should have been on top of the world, I had a wife who loved me, a beautiful daughter, was fit and in shape, had a great job and a successful business. I was making tons of money and living the life or so everyone thought. But inside I was in a turmoil I was bitter and angry about the way life had treated me I resented the hand that I felt God had dealt me and didn’t want anyone to love me or like me. I didn’t think I needed anyone, not even God, I was a self-made man.
I was taking two different drugs for depression, A drug called Klonopin that is usually given to seizure patients but it was given to me to help control my temper, I ached and hurt all the time and was taking about 25 0r 30 Loritabs a day and probably about 10 or 12 muscle relaxers along with them, all legal of course they came from a doctor. And hey I was functioning well I managed to fight fire and save lives, and my business at its peak was profiting me a lot of money. Everything was looking good from the outside.
My drive to make money and be my own man along with my resentment and anger was tearing my family apart, but thankfully Becky and Kayla hung in there with me.
One day through a God thing I met a guy at the fitness center named Davey Wilkinson unbeknown to me he was the pastor of Lauderdale UMC and we became friends then I found out he was a pastor and he invited me to church. Becky and I would go , we sat in the back and as soon as service was over we took off before anyone could catch us, after a while we moved closer to the front and started to get involved. Then one day it hit me, my problems stemmed from running from God and my disobedience to Him. Ii wasn’t a self-made man God made me, in his image and he had plans for me that were good.
So Becky and I decided to join the Church and I recommitted my life to Christ and vowed to do all I could to glorify Him and live a Godly life growing in faith and to put Him first.
When I cried out to God he delivered.
Doctors will tell you that you should get off the drugs they had me on gradually or you could suffer dire consequences , I went home and threw them all away and never looked back. My life is different now. I am not the man I used to be. I was vomited up on the shore and Jesus my Savior cleaned me up and I have never looked back.
If God delivered me he will deliver you to you just have to call to him.
We serve a God who delivers He delivered Jonah, He delivered me and He will deliver you if you let him.
