We read in Jonah 1:7, Then the men said to each other, "We should throw lots to find out why this is happening to us." So the men threw lots. The lots showed that the troubles came to them because of Jonah. (ERV)
As we continue this series of studies on the life of Jonah and the church, I pray that the Lord will help us to receive God’s word, and be doers of the same, so that our lives will be blessed. God’s command to Jonah was to go to Nineveh, but in rebellion Jonah went in the opposite direction. He undertook a voyage on a ship to a place called Tarshish, and as the ship was midway, they were challenged with a furious storm. All the men on the ship joined hands to find a way of escape from this turbulent storm. We read in Jonah 1:6 that the shipmaster went to Jonah, woke him up from his slumber and spoke to him. Now all the men came together to discover who was responsible for this raging storm, especially when they realized that their lives were in jeopardy.
Generally, when there is a problem, only a few people will think of finding a solution. Very rarely do people come together find a unified solution. Especially in the church, this kind of oneness has become a rarity.
The example of the early church
• Unity among apostles
As we study the life and witness of the early church we will get a better understanding about the things that we could change today.
We read in Acts 2:14, Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles. He spoke loudly so that all the people could hear. He said, "My Jewish brothers and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me. I will tell you something you need to know. Listen carefully. (ERV)
In the above mentioned verse we read that Peter along with the other eleven apostles stood up to speak. This was a beautiful picture of unity that existed among the early apostles. There was much order with one man speaking, and the rest literally standing up with him. Let us look at the background of this preaching by Peter.
We read in Acts 2:12-13, The people were all amazed and confused. They asked each other, "What is happening?" But others were laughing at the apostles, saying they were drunk from too much wine.(ERV)
After the ascension of Jesus, on the day of Pentecost, as the disciples gathered together in one accord and in prayer, the Holy Spirit descended on them in great power. The manifestation of the Spirit was so powerful that all those who had gathered in that room spoke in different tongues. There were in Jerusalem gathered at that time Jews and many other devout people from various regions surrounding Jerusalem. While to some this incident astounded them, there were others who jeered at the disciples.
It was in such a situation that Peter along with the eleven stood up to declare the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This kind of oneness we see therefore, is brought about only by the Holy Spirit. Though only Peter spoke up, all other apostles stood alongside him and extended their unified support.
This kind of unity is becoming exceptional these days, and we as a church need to pray to ask God to give us this sort of a harmony amongst those who are leaders in the church
• Unity amongst the believers
Let us look at the believers in the early church to see how they conducted themselves.
We read in Acts 2:44, And all that believed were together, and had all things common; (ASV)
The believers also were in one accord and had everything in common. This was such a great testimony to everyone, and the Lord attested this with signs and wonders which He performed through them. What happened as a result was that multitudes of people were saved and were added to the church daily.
The church that adds to its numbers daily was the pattern of the early church and such growth is one sign of life within.
Jesus prayed for unity
Jesus prayed this way for His disciples in John 17:21-23, that they may all be one, … that they may be one even as we are one, … that they may become perfectly one, (ERV)
This was the sincere prayer of Jesus, for the will of God is that all of us should live together in unity. Jesus prayed this way for He wanted the unison that was between Him and the Father to be experienced by all of His disciples as well. Jesus also prayed that this oneness should be such that every one of them would be perfectly united with each other.
We are surrounded by disharmony, jealousies, quarrels and competitions that we too like Jesus must fervently pray that the Lord will make all of us one in Him. To work towards perfect unity would mean that we set aside all of our differences, and strive towards growing in this unity so that we all could be perfectly one.
It is indeed so disheartening to see that ministers of God are in such degree of disharmony that is unheard of even amongst unbelievers. It is time to be in one accord and work for His Kingdom.
The lot fell on Jonah
Let me read again from Jonah 1:7, Then the men said to each other, "We should throw lots to find out why this is happening to us." So the men threw lots. The lots showed that the troubles came to them because of Jonah. (ERV)
The people on the ship had somehow come to comprehend that someone on that ship was responsible for the raging storm and when they cast lots, they discovered that Jonah was the guilty one.
The consequence of one man’s sin
We have other incidents in the bible where because of one man’s sin the people of God lost their blessings.
The sin of Achan
Joshua chapter 7 records one such incident that I am sharing with you. When the people of Israel marched to conquer Jericho, the Lord commanded them that they were not to take any of the devoted things from that city. There was a man named Achan, who was part of the Israelites who clandestinely took an expensive robe, some gold and silver and hid them in the ground in his tent. As Achan coveted and took these items he probably assumed that no one had seen, and so it would go unnoticed.
There are many believers who are living in disobedience to God’s commands, and they do so with the thought that no one would know. They also think that this kind of rebellion will have no adverse effect on them or the church of God. What they fail to realize is that everything is open in the sight of God, and there is nothing that is hidden from him or can be done in secret. The Lord can search our deepest thoughts, and he knows everything in our hearts. If we have harbored such disobedience or secret sins, let us confess them to the Lord, and let go of them.
When Israel proceeded on their journey, and went on to conquer the much smaller town of Ai, they were totally defeated. This came as a shock to Joshua and the Israelites who had just had an astounding victory over Jericho. When Joshua fell on his knees and cried before the Lord, enquiring as to what was the reason for this downfall, the Lord called them to gather the next morning so that He could reveal the reason for that defeat.
Though Achan had an opportunity for one full night to confess his faults, he failed to do so and waited for the morning. This is the attitude today with many people who, even when given the opportunity to come clean, fail to do so hoping that they could in some way escape the consequences of their sin.
The next morning the Lord revealed to Joshua that there was sin in the camp and that Achan was responsible for this. The consequence was that Achan and his entire family were destroyed as a punishment for Achan’s sin. Once this was done, the Israelites were able to capture Ai with complete ease.
As children of God we need to be aware that God is aware of our every thought and deed, and we must constantly find out if what we are doing is pleasing to the Lord. We must pray that God will remove Achans from our midst. These people are not only those who are covetous like Achan, but even those who call themselves believers, and continue in rebellion against God.
The entire ship was in danger, and the people were about to lose their lives because of one man Jonah. Here was a prophet of God who instead of walking in obedience to God’s word, rebelled, and thereby put the lives of all his fellow passengers in total instability. Jonah’s disobedience firstly cause panic in the ship, and secondly there was a great loss of cargo which they had to throw out to lighten the ship.
We as children of God must analyze our lives, and if there is anything that displeases the Lord we must repent, while we still have time to do so. Christ is the head of the church and He knows everything. Therefore, as members of God’s body let us be open and discard everything that God does not approve of from our lives. Only when we get rid of the Achans can we experience the victory in every area of our lives and as a church as a whole.
Finding God’s will
They then got together to find out who the culprit was and in order to do so they cast lots. I would like to share a few thoughts about casting lots.
There are many believers who wanting to know the will of God have this habit of opening the bible at random, placing their finger on some verse, thereby seeking God’s guidance. There are others who will hold a whole lot of promise cards in their hands, and then choose one which they think will be God’s word to them. These methods are definitely not the right way to understand God’s will. There are many others who think that they will cast lots and therein discover God’s will for their lives.
How do we understand God’s will?
We read in Romans 12:2, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (ESV)
In order to know God’s will, we must live differently from those around us. Our lives should not be conformed to the ways of this world. Secondly, we must get transformed by the renewal of our mind. There must be a definite change in our thought life, if we want to see a change in our lives. This can be done only as we read and meditate more and more on God’s word. By doing so we understand what’s God’s will, His purposes for our lives and also what is pleasing to Him. This can happen only when we spend time with God and His word.
The Bible is not a book written by man, but it is God’s word inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit. Between Genesis which is the first book in the bible, and Revelation the last book there is a span of over 1500 years. Also the ones who wrote were varied people from various times and professions. There were shepherds, kings, prophets, doctor, disciples and others who wrote these books. Nonetheless all of it is so amazingly connected, and has an overriding theme of God’s wonderful work of salvation from the beginning of creation, to the end of the world. All this was possible because every one of these authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit and were conveying God’s divine message. The word of God alone can change our thoughts and fashion our lives to be in line with the will of God.
Whenever we have a situation that requires us to make a decision, we must ask the Lord to speak to us and make His will clear to us. God will speak to us in many ways. I have heard some people justify the casting of lots saying that even the apostles did so to choose the replacement for Judas Iscariot. I would like to point out that this was way before they received the Holy Spirit, and that in general there is no precedent as such in the bible to follow this method.
The latter half of Romans 12:2, reminds us that in order for one to know what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God, it is possible only when there is a renewal of our minds. Our minds can be renewed by God’s word alone. As we spend more and more time with God’s word this will become a reality in our lives.
Paul writing to the Ephesians says it this way in Ephesians 5:17, Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (ESV)
As children of God we therefore understand that casting lots to comprehend the will of God is not a right method. We have God’s word in our hands, which reveals the will of God to us and we also have the Holy Spirit of God living inside of us, who counsels and guides us in every decision. May we truly desire to know God’s will, and ask the Lord to give us a mind that can comprehend His will in every area of our lives. Every day and every time we are on the brink of decision making, let us sincerely pray and ask the Lord to help us make the right choices, so that they will be in accordance to God’s will. When we do this regularly, we will definitely understand God’s will and fulfill it in our lives without any difficulty.
Firstly, the church today must pray for unity and harmony. Just as the leaders and believers were of one accord in the early church, may we too set aside all our differences and function as one body of Christ. Secondly, we should also ask God to remove from our midst those Achan’s who prevent God from doing His work in building God’s kingdom. Finally, as members of the church, each one of us must pray that we have the mind to discern God’s perfect will, so that together we can fulfill God’s purposes for us a church.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
