What Happens When We Run – Rejecting God’s Will
Text: Jonah 1 (Sunday AM) Date: January 9, 2000
I. Introduction
Attention: I had neatly folded my clothes, at least as neatly as an eight year old could have, and I had placed them in a little bag. I headed to the kitchen to get some food and then out the door I went. You see, I was running away. I felt that I was doing more chores than my brothers and I certainly couldn’t understand why my friends got paid do their chores but I didn’t. So I decided to run away. And so I headed out the door and began to walk and I walked and walked for about 100 yards and started to realize I had made a mistake. So I turned around and went home. Sometimes the comforts of home are not appreciated until they are no longer around
Need: Perhaps many of you also experienced a similar episode in your childhood or your children have tried it. But I think we all reach points even now when we wish we could just run away. For one reason or another the pressure of life gets more than we think we can handle, stress at work, at home, with family, etc. But it is also true that we often run away in a spiritual sense. We find ourselves in situations where we feel led to act a certain way or perform a certain function God wants us to perform yet we run. We decide to ignore God’s request on our life and we head out in our own direction. However, when we get down the road there is always that moment where we realize we’ve made a mistake. And the key is whether or not we decide to turn back.
One of the best examples of a person running from God is the story of Jonah. Turn with me to Jonah in the Old Testament. It is a fascinating story that most of us know because it is the story of a man being swallowed by a fish. Now many modern day scholars don’t believe this was a real story but a parable. And like in most cases, they just can’t believe the supernatural. However, I believe Jesus clearly teaches this story as true by comparing Jonah’s time in the fish with his time in the grave. So that is proof enough for me. For the next four weeks we’ll be in this book and gleaning some valuable lessons about loyally following God’s desire for our lives. In chapter 1 we have the story of Jonah running. I believe it reveals some important principles about what happens when we reject God’s will. So what happens when we run from God? This text gives three results of running from God.
This sermon this morning is for the runaways. For those of us who have tried to throw off the hand of God in our lives and plow our own course. Take time this morning to discern where you are. Are you running from God?
II. Body
1. When we run we reject God’s call (1-3)
Explanation: It was a day just like any other day. Perhaps the prophet had just woken up from a nights sleep only to hear the voice of God. Shaking the sleep off and trying to concentrate he thought he heard God telling him to go to Nineveh. Jonah quickly sized up the situation and realized that Nineveh was the last place he wanted to go. Those people were the sworn enemies of the Jews and they didn’t deserve God’s message. So he got up packed a bag and headed for a ship to go to Tarshish. Instead of going to Nineveh which was about 500 miles east of Jerusalem, he tried to go to Tarshish which was about 2000 miles west of Jerusalem. By running away he was rejecting the call and will of God for his life. Jonah was not dumb or ignorant. I do not believe he actually was trying to run from God. What he was doing by running was telling God no. He would not go to Nineveh but go the opposite direction. It was not a running from God but away from God’s call. He did not want to go where God told him to go mainly because he disagreed with God’s assignment. But his running was a second step because in his heart he had already disobeyed God. When we run we are telling God no and rejecting His call on our lives.
Illustration: My brother Jeff, the one who was here, had a funny response when he was about to get in trouble. When he would disobey my mom and know that he was about to get in trouble he would run. Instead of responding to my mom’s call he would run away fall on his knees and cover his eyes. He felt that if he couldn’t see my mom then she couldn’t see him.
Argumentation: While that is clearly a foolish thing to do, so is running from God. Just because you and I reject God’s call and decide to run from it doesn’t mean we are in the clear. You and I can be genuine believers of Jesus Christ and be spiritual people focused on doing God’s will. Yet we can find ourselves in a situation where we are given direction from God and decide not to do it. We end up running away from God’s desire and thereby rejecting His call on our lives. And let’s understand that typically we run in our spirit long before we physically reject God
Application: As believers we are all called to do something. God has saved and called each of us to something. What are you called to? Or from what are you running? And we can run in a variety of ways. We can run by filling our lives with some other activity to avoid God or even with the busyness of church. We all have a Nineveh and we all have a Tarshish. So the question is, what is our Nineveh? It may not be preaching to your worst enemy. But it may be crossing the street or going to your neighbor to share the gospel. It may be sacrificing some of your own desires in order to help another.
But there is a second result of running from God. When we run from God we can expect to face serious consequences.
2. When we run we face serious consequences (4, 12-15)
Explanation: So now Jonah finds himself on a ship in the middle of a great storm. The boat is being tossed about and these sailors realize this storm must be an act of a god. After praying to their gods they ask Jonah to pray to his. Then they cast lots and realize that Jonah is to blame for the problem. He now tells them the situation and says that the only choice is to throw him overboard. Now Jonah faced serious physical consequences because he decided to run from God’s call. And when we decide to run then there will be consequences. But what we don’t see is also significant. Because Jonah left he was leaving everything. Jonah was leaving home and leaving any life that he had and his very prophetic office. Not only was he in a storm that made experienced sailors cry out in fear but he was giving up his very life. I’m not saying that if you decide to disobey God’s call on your life you will be thrown into a storm but there will be consequences.
Illustration: I think we find examples of this all around us. In the Christian world we see men who were called of God to faithfully proclaim His truth yet find themselves in compromising situations and giving into the flesh. For their actions many of them have lost their families, their friends, and their churches. Just look at the man in a dead end job going through the motions everday without yielding to the tug at his heart to be involved in something God would have him to do. As a result, his life seems empty and meaningless.
Argumentation: There are always consequences to face for stepping outside of God’s desire for our lives. Now in this case it was Jonah not going where God told him to go. But it could also involve us going where God doesn’t want us to go or doing what God has told us not to do. There are a variety of ways we can reject God’s will which will result in certain consequences. Look at the life of Moses. He was so faithful and is known as such a hero of the faith yet he disobeyed God’s call and struck the rock and was unable to enter the Promised Land.
Application: God has called us all to something and if we reject that then we will face some consequences. And the reason it is so serious is because we decide to step outside of God’s will. So what kind of consequences could it be? It could be some physical things. There are some activities outside of God’s will that result in serious physical consequences. But there are spiritual ones as well. The worst being the active and viable presence of God in our lives. He decides to move on and use someone else and leaves us in our rebellion. It could also be a lack of spiritual power and a certain effectiveness in a spiritual life. We begin to lose our ability to discern. For some it could effect relationships with other people. Where are you running? Have you already experienced some consequences? If not, you will.
So when we run from God from openly tell God no and reject his plan. Also, we can expect to face serious consequences for running from God. And the final consequence I see in the life of Jonah is when we run from God we can hurt other people.
3. When we run we hurt other people (5-11)
Explanation: One of the most interesting parts of this story is the reaction of the sailors. Because Jonah was unfaithful and rebellious against God he ended up bringing other people down with him. That storm would not have happened for those sailors had Jonah not been on that boat. But because he was there, he placed those men in a dangerous situation. But there is another aspect to this problem. Jonah also put them in a compromising position to have to throw him overboard and to his death. Now we know the end of the story and that God spares his life but they had no way of knowing that. Rarely will our rebellion be purely private. When we reject God and run from His call, those that are close to us may suffer as well.
Illustration: A good example of this is the story of Achan in Joshua 7. This is the story of a man who kept some gold and silver from a city God said not to take anything from. But he took some and hid it. And because he did God’s anger was sparked against the whole nation. I can’t help but think of the rodeo I went to last night and seeing those men ride the bulls. The strangest folks aren’t necessarily the riders but those clowns who run in front of the bull after he’s really mad. And I’ve thought before, they wouldn’t have to be there if that crazy man didn’t get on the bull in the first place. How many times have the actions of a pastor hurt the congregation? How many times have the actions of an unfaithful husband hurt the whole family? How many times has a fathers’ unwillingness to be the spiritual leader in the home hurt the whole family? How many times have abusive mothers emotionally crippled their children?
Argumentation: Not only did he hurt other people and endanger them but he put them in a position of having to make an awkward decision for him. And so part of the problem becomes our inability to think clearly. One of the lies of Satan is that we can sin or reject God in isolation. We must realize that we don’t live or lives apart form other people. When we sin we reject God’s call we affect others as well.
Application: Who are the people in your life? Are you willing to risk their well being in order to rebel against God?
III. Conclusion
However, there is still a powerful picture of hope and God’s grace. How can that be? Many times people see the fish as part of God’s judgment or discipline of Jonah. In reality, it was the storm that was judgment. The fish is an act of God’s grace and mercy. God should have let the boat slam against the rocks, he should have let Jonah sink like a stone to the bottom of the sea. But instead, he sent a fish. Why? Because God had a plan and in the heart of God’s plan was His desire to use Jonah. God’s sovereign will was going to be accomplished. So God pursued Jonah and gave him a second chance. Isn’t it wonderful to know that God pursues us even though we are stubborn and rebellious? Isn’t it wonderful to know that God is a God who gives second chances?
Isn’t it wonderful to know that the grace of God is a gift we receive each and every day. That not only did God’s grace save us but it keeps us and it continues to forgive us and use us. God pursued Jonah rather intensely. Understand that God will still pursue you. He will do what it takes to give you every opportunity to remain faithful to him. As Max Lucado said "If there are 1000 steps between you and God He will take 999 of them and leave the last one for you."
I thank God for his grace that he gives me, for the chance to be used by him and to be effective and powerful and that’s what God wants to do with your life today. Maybe you’ve been running but now you want to stop. Or maybe God has been moving in your heart and you know you are to accept Christ. Know that if you keep running from God you are telling him no, you will experience consequences, and it could hurt other people you love. Just stop and give Him your life and trust Him with you life.
