TITLE: THROW IT OVERBOARD
SCRIPTURE: JONAH 1:1-16
It is important to spend this 52nd and final Sunday of the year 2015 providing proper focus and closure. We have made it and endured another year. I am sure all of us would admit that we have had some struggles and ups and downs throughout the past 12 months.
• Some had it easier than others this year
• Others have experienced real challenges this year
• Some have experienced loss this year and are still shedding tears, yes, this year
• I am sure you would agree as a Church this has not been one of the better years
• I am sure some have even contemplated “Throwing in the Towel” this year
So, here we are on this final Sunday. What is it we need to take away this morning to help us bring a sense of closure and understanding? If God but tarries, the New Year 2016 is pregnant with possibilities. We can re-set and redefine some goals for this New Year. But how we do that will be critical. As we examine this Old Testament text, I want to lift as a thought this morning – Throw It Overboard.
• I believe like Jonah, we too have felt like running away
• I believe like Jonah, we wanted to do something different than what God has asked us to do
• I believe like Jonah, we think it is easier to sit down on God
• I believe like Jonah, we would rather go to Sleep during the Storm
The Prophet, Jonah, here is commissioned to go and cry against the city of Nineveh. The mandate is clear, unmistakable -- preach a message of judgment, preach a message of warning. Tell them that God is going to judge them. Nineveh is the capital city of the Assyrian Empire. And this is his commission. Jonah fully understands God’s instructions and directive to him.
In our text we have seen how Jonah ran from his call to preach to the people at Nineveh. He had found a boat going to Tarshish and boarded it.
• Going in opposite direction of where God called him to be
• Sometimes we think it is just easier to turn our back on our tough situations
• But God sent a strong wind to intercept Jonah
• Can I tell you God will allow us to go so far before He Intercepts us
• It is here we see the futility of man’s free will when God calls him
In the middle of this horrific Storm, Jonah is below sleeping. They had awakened him and asked why he did not cry out to his God for deliverance. He said he was a Hebrew and he feared God, sounds like some of the people we have all met. Tell you they are saved, but sleeping -- Tell they are a Christian, but sleeping – Tell you they belong to a Church, but sleeping. These hard working men find out that this RUNAWAY PROPHET is the cause of God’s fury.
• There are some Storms we have designed ourselves
• There are some Storms we find ourselves in because of our own disobedience
• There are some Storms we are in because we have angered God
In the midst of this Storm, the Mariner’s Inquiry -- “WHAT SHALL WE DO?” -- They knew by now the storm was not an ordinary storm but the hand of God bared against his prophet. BUT WHO SHOULD THEY ASK FOR THE SOLUTION?
• The prophet of God?
• God’s man here upon this earth!
• They asked Jonah
• They knew he was the cause but they also knew he was God’s man and the answer to their dilemma
• He was flesh and bone the same as they were
• But he was more than that he was God’s man
• Anointed and ordained to do the work that God had for him to do
We must be careful who we ask our Questions in the midst of our Storm. All too often we ask the wrong person or people what we should do as it pertains to God’s business.
• We ask the one that never comes to Sunday School
• We ask the one that never comes to Bible Study
• We ask the one that never returns to support any Afternoon Program
• We ask the one that only attends Church 1-2 times a month
• We ask the one that is not involved in the life of the Church
• We ask the one that does not Tithe or invest their time in the ministry of the Church
• We ask the one that never has anything good to say about anything or anyone
People so often think that God leaves it up to them to see if the man of God is doing his duty. What they really want to see is whether he is living up to their standards. PHARISEEISM is still alive and well on planet earth. God set the standards for his man and he’ll handle the disposing of him if he isn’t doing, as he should.
• Obedient or disobedient he is still the man of God
• Whether he be a Pastor or an Evangelists God has him under his Watchcare
• If he is a phony as many probably are God will take care of it
• John spoke of all the false prophets in his day and we could multiply the number by hundreds or thousands today
• There are many today that are mama called and papa sent but God will deal with them we don’t need to
The next Principle we see in the text is a place all of us who are Saved have found ourselves. A Question was asked - “WHAT SHALL WE DO?” --
• The same question men asked Peter after his sermon at Pentecost
• Peter said, “Repent and be baptized”
• The Philippian Jailor when the earthquake had freed Paul and Silas from their cell cried, “What must I do to be saved?”
God sent the answer to all of these questions through His man. THE PROBLEM WAS WITH GOD, SO THE SOLUTION MUST COME FROM HIM. When men are perishing they need to seek God for the answer to their problems. These men asked the prophet what must we do?
Jonah, does have an answer to this question. Can I tell you at first glance it is A STRANGE PROPOSAL. He says – TAKE ME UP AND CAST ME INTO THE SEA --
• Was he so dejected that he felt suicide was the answer?
• No! I believe Jonah was getting a new and revived view of God’s grace
• After all he had professed, “I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord”
The chastisement of God is hard, but it says you belong to God. Nothing testifies more or stronger to our hearts. Jonah began to realize again that he was a chosen vessel of God’s. He was not his own but he belonged to God. If God wanted him at the bottom of the sea he knew there was nothing he could do to prevent it.
These Sailors found in this predicament with Jonah and probably responded just as we would have. They initially refused the request and “NEVERTHELESS THE MEN ROWED HARD TO BRING IT TO THE LAND.”
• Man does not see the need of a Savior until he sees that he is doomed and cannot save himself
• That perhaps the death of Jonah was needful to furnish their salvation they did not want to accept
These men sought to save themselves by working harder but to no avail. If we are out of the will of God, we can work as hard as we can or as hard as we want, it will be to no avail. WE ARE ROWING HARD –
• Still not saving money
• Still see no growth
• Still can’t get along
• Still in the storm
• Must ensure we are in the Will of God
On his journey, Jonah learned that there is no place where God isn't.
• God was in Jerusalem - where Jonah probably lived
• God was in Nineveh - where God told Jonah to go
• And God is on a ship on the way to Tarshish - where Jonah wasn't supposed to be
• I wonder if Jonah remembered what the Psalmist wrote, as he shivered in the storm:
• PSALM 139:7-10 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me
Instead of throwing Jonah overboard, the sailors attempted to out row God. Like a B-grade movie, the men on the ship rowed "desperately" trying to get the ship to shore so Jonah wouldn't be lost. Why?
I mean, what did Jonah mean to these men?
• He was a stranger that had brought trouble to their ship and caused them to lose their payload
• Why would they fight to help a man that brought them a bad situation?
While we're asking questions here, Why didn't Jonah, the prophet of God, have the DECENCY NOT TO DRAG OTHER PEOPLE DOWN IN HIS REBELLION?
• We must be careful when others are in rebellion
• We must be careful not to allow their rebellion to sink us as well
• If we rebel, we should have the decency not to drag our family and friends with us
• Because of Rebellion everyone on the ship lost their payload
• They would arrive at their destination empty handed
• Because of someone else rebellion
Can I tell you even believers have moments of rebellion. It was Paul who said it best in ROMANS 7:15, 19 “FOR THAT WHICH I DO I ALLOW NOT FOR WHAT I WOULD, THAT DO I NOT, BUT WHAT I HATE, THAT DO I…..FOR THE GOOD THAT I WOULD I DO NOT: BUT THE EVIL WHICH I WOULD NOT, THAT I DO.”
God's Grace to Exhausted Sailors Finally, exhausted by the struggle, they laid their oars down and picked the prophet up and threw him overboard. As the sea received the runaway prophet, the storm calmed and the men who were battling against God came to fear Him and offer sacrifices to Him.
Before we move into this New Year of 2016, there are somethings we need to throw overboard. To get out of a GOD ORDERED STORM, we need to come to terms with some stuff and Throw It Overboard.
• There are some storms we Ascribe to that are our Fault
• It is vitally important we correctly identify the Storm we are experiencing
• Jonah storms are storms none of us should go through - we should all learn to stay out of them
• There are storms aplenty for us to face in the world
• Spring storms that make life stressful
• Thunderstorms that make life difficult
• Category 5 storms that make life dangerous
• But Jonah storms are storms of our own making
• The only way out is to Throw It Overboard
At some point we must ask our self – WHY ARE WE GOING THROUGH THIS STORM? I look around and I see storms. Don’t you?
• There is that great storm of Corporate Corruption that leaves millions of innocent people in its wake
• There is that storm of Racism and Open Discrimination of all sorts alive in our land and it devastates life as surely as a hurricane
• There is the storm of Blatant Disrespect of our first African American President
• There is the storm of Modern Slavery that is Human Trafficking, that happens in our state and around the country
• There is the storm of Unmitigated Materialism that props up the myth that you can buy everything you need to make you a happy person
But those are not the Storms we need to focus on as we prepare to close out 2015 - We need to Examine ourselves and our circumstances.
• Confront the obstacles, “our Jonahs”
• They are often found down deep in our souls like Jonah during the storm was found below deck sleeping
• Wake “him” up and bring “him” to the surface
• Don’t get rid of the wrong things, the good and necessary things
• Even after they knew Jonah was the culprit, the crew began to throw their valuable cargo overboard
• Jonah was their biggest problem, not their freight
• Sometimes we try to Get Rid of the Wrong Stuff
• We want to throw the Easy Stuff Overboard
• Somethings we need to bring to the Surface and - Throw It Overboard
What is your “Jonah”? ATTITUDES – RELATIONSHIPS – ENTERTAINMENT – EMOTIONS – RELUCTANT TO FORGIVE? I want to encourage us this morning to take a look over our lives and identify storms that we have designed, the only way out is to Throw It Overboard.
--What hinders you from attending Sunday School – Throw It Overboard
--What hinders you from attending Prayer Service and Bible Study – Throw It Overboard
--Why are you always fussing and complaining around the Church – Throw It Overboard
--What hinders you from even giving a greeting to your Brother or Sister - Throw It Overboard
--What has stolen your Joy – Throw It Overboard
--What has arrested your Smile – Throw It Overboard
--What has hijacked your Kindness – Throw It Overboard
--What had caused that type of Attitude - Throw It Overboard
--Don’t take that Storm into the New Year - Throw It Overboard
--When we Throw It Overboard
--The storm calms
--Life returns to normal
--The course is made smooth, when we – Throw It Overboard
--Bottom line: Take a stand! -- Throw It Overboard
