“You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide”
Jonah 1:1-16
Pastor John Bright
Jonah 1 “1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose 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 down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 So 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.”
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. 12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.
Today I begin a four-part series - "Jonah: God's Reluctant Prophet". You will notice that most weeks we will cover one chapter, four weeks, and four chapters. Guess what I won't spend any time talking about? The big fish - it was a supernatural event, so we will never understand.
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Did you hear about the guy who came home drunk? He quietly went to the bathroom and bandaged up the scrapes and bruises on his face from a bar fight.
The next morning, his wife was right there by the bed - "You were drunk last night!"
Very sheepishly, he said, "No, dear, I was not."
"Well, if you were not drunk, why did you put Band-Aids all over the bathroom mirror?"
We can try to run from our bad choices, but we can't hide from the evidence of them - consider Jonah.
o He lived in the 8th century BC
o During the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel, which ended around 750BC
o During the same period, other prophets are warning of the destruction of Israel
o The Assyrian Empire is gaining strength
o They were brutal in war - they practiced psychological terror - they would often peel the skin off their captives while still alive
o Their capital city was Nineveh
Now, do you understand what is going on when God tells Jonah - "v. 2 Arise, go to Nineveh"?
All of us have run from God at one time or another - Amen? I'm sure we all do, but I will still ask - any runners here this morning?
This is nothing new in the Bible. God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. As soon as they emerge, the complaints begin - no water, no food, no meat - people in the promised land are too large. They questioned God's plan. Have you ever done that? I have!
God reveals His sovereign plans by calling you and me. Not on our schedule. In His perfect timing. With no regard for our "comfort zone." You need to learn this phrase: God wants to use you, not please you.
Repeat that with me (2 times) - God wants to use me, not please me.
God is sending Jonah to a place of bloodthirsty idol worshipers. What would we do in his place? All it takes for us is one little snag, one little bump in the road, and we are ready to give up. We quickly proclaim - "Well, this must not be God's will." There's a truth we need to understand: it's never the right time for us when God calls us!
An old story - there was a flood, and as a rescue boat entered a neighborhood, they saw a woman on the second floor of a house looking out the window.
"Do you need help?"
"No - I'm just watching," and she pointed to a hat floating on the water. As it reached the edge of the property, it turned around and went against the current. Seeing this, the guys in the rescue boat were amazed. She told them, "It's just my husband. He said he was going to mow the grass - no matter what!"
So, let's check in and make sure we are all on the same page - God calls - you're not ready - you run- but you can't hide from God! It's just like what happened to Jonah.
God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, which tells him to go East. (Pick a place east of the church) So, what did Johan do? He buys a ticket for a boat going West. (Pick a place west of the church)
We live in a world of folks who are running from one marriage to another - from one church to another - from one job to another. We don't buy a ticket to Tarshish. We get lost on 900 TV channels. We binge-watch on Netflix. We disappear into porn on our smartphones.
Not a topic we want to deal with at church, but how big is the problem? Here are some stats from 2025:
• Over 35% of all web data transferred on the internet is dedicated to pornography
• The average age at which Americans first view pornography is 11 years old
• The global pornography industry generates approximately $97 billion annually
• About 28,000 Americans visit pornographic websites every second
• Around 20% of all images on the internet are estimated to be adult content, illustrating the scale of online pornography
• The majority of pornography is viewed more on mobile devices (around 80%) than on desktops
• The number of new users accessing adult content on mobile increases by approximately 10% annually
• Women account for approximately 30% of all pornography viewers, a number that is steadily increasing
• An estimated 60 million Americans visit at least one porn site per month
• The adult entertainment industry’s revenue has grown by approximately 30% over the last decade, driven largely by online sales
https://wifitalents.com/porn-viewing-statistics/
It's not just out there - The Barna Group did a study in 2024: “Over half of practicing Christians (54%) say they use pornography compared to 68% of non-Christians. “Barna’s data give strong clues that porn is still a presence, if not a problem, for many Christians—even for practicing Christians who attend church regularly and say their faith is important to them,” say the researchers. “Overall, 75% of Christian men and 40% of Christian women report porn consumption on some level,” according to the report.”
https://churchleaders.com/news/499672-pastors-history-porn-problem-barna.html/2
If you know anybody who is using online porn, give them this website - https://fightthenewdrug.org
And go ahead and give that website to all your grandkids who already have a smartphone.
Maybe you aren't doing the really bad stuff, just running. When we are running, what suffers? Our relationship with God - always. King David knew this - Psalm 32:3-4
"3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer."
If you are running, there will never be any joy in it.
One of the joys of moving from parsonage to parsonage is finding what was left by the former pastor. I have found all kinds of things in attics and basements, but especially in the garage. We moved into one parsonage, and as we were putting things in the garage, I noticed a bag of concrete in the corner. Later, as we began to organize, I went to move that bag of concrete. I have done enough projects with bags of concrete that I expected a certain feel and weight - boy, I was surprised. That bag was rock hard and soooo heavy. As it sat, not sure how long - maybe for years, it had absorbed moisture from the air. It was not good for anything.
Jonah's boat ride to the West becomes a nightmare. There is a raging storm. There are terrified sailors. Where is Jonah? He's asleep in the hold of the ship - lying there like an old bag of concrete. As the story continues, they wake him up and Jonah tells them what they must do - "v. 12 And he said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me." What is he telling them? "KILL ME!" That's what separation from God is like - death.
Life with God is the opposite - Romans 8:12-16 "12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors-not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,"
If you want to be a Child of God, realize that you can't save yourself. Are you still running from the cross – still running from the offer of salvation?
When Jonah was sinking below the waves, he was saved. From the belly of the fish, he prayed, "I give up."
I have to confess to you this morning. Somewhere along the line, as I grew up, I got a part of the Jonah story all wrong. I remember seeing Jonah in the belly of the fish in my picture Bible. I remember seeing Jonah in the belly of the fish on the sheets we colored with crayons in Sunday School. Here's what I don't remember - when I first thought the big fish was a punishment from God. I carried that belief until I first started working on a series to preach, then I found out what really happened back in the 8th century BC. You see - God sent the big fish to save Jonah - not to punish Jonah. WOW!
This morning- right here - do you need to give up and stop running? Is this morning a time of surrender?
If you have sin in your life (and we all do) - repent. What's the beginning of repentance? "God, you're right and I'm wrong." Then, DO NOT pray for God to give you a desire to change. That is your choice alone. If you will commit to change, God will empower you, help you, and lift you up.
Let me tell you what I see over and over in the Body of Christ - folks think all the time, "I can run and I can hide," but you can't hide from the God who wants the best for you!
Today is your day to stop running and stop hiding! Amen
Homework:
• Look up all the Bible verses on your teaching sheet. Are you running? Are you willing to give up?
• Your best chance of success for leaving sin behind is seeking repentance and having an accountability partner. Consider asking someone to start praying with you regularly and consider openly sharing sin with a Brother or Sister in Christ. James 5:16 “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
• Next week: Series: Jonah, God’s Reluctant Prophet, Jonah 1:17-2:10 “U-turns Encouraged Here”
TEACHING SHEET
Jonah 1:1-16
Series: “Jonah: God’s Reluctant Prophet”
“You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide”
Jonah, the reluctant prophet:
o He lived in the 8th century BC
o During the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel, which ended around 750BC
o During the same period, other prophets are warning of the destruction of Israel
o The Assyrian Empire is gaining strength
o They were brutal in war - they practiced psychological terror - they would often peel the skin off their captives while still alive
o Their capital city was Nineveh
Now, do you understand what is going on when God tells Jonah - "v. 2 Arise, go to Nineveh"?
God wants to use you, not please you.
God calls - you're not ready - you run- but you can't hide from God! It's just like what happened to Jonah. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, which tells him to go East. So, what did Johan do? He buys a ticket for a boat going West.
Porn is a HUGE problem today. https://wifitalents.com/porn-viewing-statistics/
It's not just out there - The Barna Group did a study in 2024: “Over half of practicing Christians (54%) say they use pornography compared to 68% of non-Christians. “Barna’s data give strong clues that porn is still a presence, if not a problem, for many Christians—even for practicing Christians who attend church regularly and say their faith is important to them,” say the researchers. “Overall, 75% of Christian men and 40% of Christian women report porn consumption on some level,” according to the report.”
https://churchleaders.com/news/499672-pastors-history-porn-problem-barna.html/2
If you know anybody who is using online porn, give them this website - https://fightthenewdrug.org Be sure to give that website to all your grandkids who already have a smartphone.
Psalm 32:3-4 If you are running, there will never be any joy in it.
Jonah's boat ride to the West becomes a nightmare. There is a raging storm. There are terrified sailors. Where is Jonah? He's asleep in the hold of the ship - lying there like an old bag of concrete. As the story continues, they wake him up and Jonah tells them what they must do - "v. 12 And he said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me." What is he telling them? "KILL ME!" That's what separation from God is like - death. Romans 8:12-16 If you want to be a Child of God, realize that you can't save yourself. Are you running from the cross - the offer of salvation?
This morning- right here - do you need to give up and stop running? Is this morning a time of surrender?
If you have sin in your life (and we all do) - repent. What's the beginning of repentance? "God, you're right and I'm wrong." Then, DO NOT pray for God to give you a desire to change. That is your choice alone. If you will commit to change, God will empower you, help you, and lift you up.
Let me tell you what I see over and over in the Body of Christ - folks think all the time, "I can run and I can hide," but you can't hide from the God who wants the best for you!
Today is your day to stop running and stop hiding! Amen
Homework:
• Look up all the Bible verses on your teaching sheet. Are you running? Are you willing to give up?
• Your best chance of success for leaving sin behind is seeking repentance and having an accountability partner. Consider asking someone to start praying with you regularly and consider openly sharing sin with a Brother or Sister in Christ. James 5:16 “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
• Next week: Series: Jonah, God’s Reluctant Prophet, Jonah 1:17-2:10 “U-turns Encouraged Here”
