God has a way of sending messages to His children. He has three definitive ways of grabbing your attention to let you and I know exactly what is on His mind.
First, there is the avenue of His Word. God’s word has a way of never becoming stale, never becoming outmoded or outdated, and even though His Word has been banned, discarded and even discredited the Words of this book still carry strength.
Secondly, God uses His man to speak to the heart of the believer. The Man of God is His instrument to communicate Heavenly truth and to glean jewels from His word. The Man of God is able to share words with you without an appointment, to touch areas of your life without an X-Ray machine, and to address personal issues without the benefit of a counseling session.
Then there are the times when God allows circumstances in your life to speak volumes to you. The circumstances of life can and will speak to you in ways that you never imagined.
Yes, God allows you to go through circumstances – both self-generated and God-generated in order to get you to the place of His will. Let me be the first to admit that:
God may have to break you in order to build you.
God may have to make you cry in order to allow you to smile.
God may have to take your job in order to grab your attention.
God may have to let the doctor diagnose you in order to heal you.
God may have to let your enemies rage in order to discover peace in Him.
God may have to slap you down in order to pick you up.
God may have to peel away your creature comforts in order to get you to trust in Him.
His will is at stake. Every believer in this room should strive to be in His will. What is His will? For the believer, you have already entered into His will when you came to Jesus Christ. It is His will that none should perish but have everlasting life. That is His primary will. However, God also wants to mold you and make you and conform you to get you into the place where you are in His will.
Can we be honest? There are times when all of us are not in His will. There are times when it is more fun to be out of His will than in His will. There are moments when His will seems secondary to our own carnal adventures of life. There are times when our priorities seem more important than His priorities.
So God unleashes circumstances as a Pandora’s Box, to move us from the outer fringes of His will to dead on center. The interesting paradox to this matter is that we are searching and scrambling to find out what God’s will is for us day after day – and God not only knows what His will is for our lives but He also knows if we can handle it, what we must go through to obtain it, and if we’ll be faithful during the ordeal.
Jonah is the poster child of this principle. God has decided that the people of Ninevah needed to hear a Word from the Lord. God is not interested in raising up a local Ninevite to become “local boy makes good” and to preach to the nation. God is not even interested in bringing in a mega-church pastor to come and share with the nation of Ninevah. God has decided to take, what the old preachers from Bishop College used to call, a “secret” and use him to preach to an entire nation about the goodness of God.
I need to say that if you are a “secret” today – you are in good company. When you read this Bible you will find out that when God wanted to do spectacular things, He chose to use “secrets.”
When you read the lives of the New Testament patriarchs alone. You will find out that God used secrets:
Secret fishermen.
Secret wilderness evangelists.
Secret tax collectors.
Secret woman at a well.
Secret lame man by a gate called beautiful.
Secret former prosecutor of the church.
God is getting ready to move somebody in this room from the “secret” category to the “used by God” category. That’s why you’re catching hell on your job. That’s why your marriage is in trouble. That’s why your children are rebelling. That’s why your family has turned their backs on you. Because your secret days are numbered and God is getting ready to promote you to a position of service for Him.
Jonah is now on a ship. We don’t know how long he has secured passage on this ship, but we do know that has has left the Port of Joppa on the way to the Port of Tarshish. We do know that he must suffer from Klein-Levin Syndrome. In other words, it is an episode of excessive sleeping and a trance-like state.
A severe windstorm has hit the waters – but Jonah is asleep.
The mariners on board are afraid – but Jonah is asleep.
The waves are crashing into the board – but Jonah is asleep.
The cargo is dumped overboard – but Jonah is asleep.
An Ecumenical Prayer Meeting is held – but Jonah is asleep.
And he is now aroused out of his sleep to discover that while he was sleeping, God has been busy. Not only has God moved upon the circumstances but He has moved upon the hearts of the ungodly.
Be not mistaken – God is not only the God of the Saved, He is also the God of the Unsaved. He does not just move upon the Saved. The Bible says that the Heart of the King is in His hand. He appoints princes and kings. He rains on the just as well as the unjust.
When Jonah awakens not only are the climatic conditions changed, but the personalities onboard have changed. They are no longer competent sailors who view this journey as another trip – they are scared mariners, who have done all they can do.
They decide that since their various gods are not returning their urgent phone calls – maybe it’s time to take matters into their own hands. Oh, my brothers and my sisters, that’s why I’m so glad that I’m saved. Because when you don’t know God intimately and serve Him gladly, you’ll never understand that His timetable is different from our timetable. He moves when He gets ready. He answers when He gets ready. He heals when He gets ready. He restores when He gets ready. He blesses when He gets ready. He protects when He gets ready. And grandma said, “He may not come when I want Him to, but He’s always on time!”
The mariners decide to have a “Super Lotto on the Sea.” They cast lots. Using a lot to settle disputed questions dates back to the ancient of days and was practiced by most nations. Magistrates and priests were appointed by it, and the land of conquered enemies was distributed by it.
Casting lots by mixing small stones in a container and then taking one out, or casting lots by some other method, was a popular form of divination used by both pagans and Hebrews.
In Leviticus 16:8 – the scapegoat was selected by lot.
In Numbers 34:13 and Joshua 14:2 – the inheritance of the tribes in the Promised Land were determined by lot.
In Judges 20:9 – the men who attacked Gibeah were selected by lot.
In 1 Samuel 14:41-42 – Jonathan was detected as the violator of Saul’s command concerning fasting during the fight with the Philistines.
In 1 Chronicles 26:13 – the gatekeepers in the temple were decided by lot.
In Matthew 27:35, Jesus’ garments were divided by lot.
In Acts 1:23-26, Matthias was chosen to fill the place of Judas by lot.
These lots were cast to find out why trouble is on us. Jonah had to be in a state of deliribium. He could have saved everyone some trouble and just said, “It’s my fault.” He could have come clean and said, “It’s me.” But the lots pointed in his direction.
Notice that when you get out of the will of God and God is trying to get you in the place that He wants you, God will use the ungodly to ask you Godly questions. Check out their interrogatives:
- whose cause is this storm upon us?
- What’s your occupation?
- Where are you coming from?
- Where is your country?
- Who are your relatives?
Can I contemporize the text?
- Why did you bring all of this grief on us?
- What’s your job, you haven’t lifted a finger to help us in this storm.
- Ain’t seen you before, where you from?
- Where you live?
- Who’s your momma?
When God wants to grab your attention, He’ll make the ungodly question you. He’ll use sinners to ask godly questions. I thought you loved the Lord? Will God bring you through this thing? How come you’re crying? I thought you believed in Him.
If you’re going to make it through your storm – you have to be honest with God. Jonah does not rebel against the questions. He is not facing F. Lee Bailey or Johnnie Cochran. He is not on ABC, CBS or NBC. He is not on Nightline or Jay Leno or David Letterman. He is not on MSNBC, BET or CNN. However, Jonah knows that flesh and blood did not reveal these questions – and God is after him.
He answers by saying, “I am a Hebrew.” There is a vernacular difference here. By answering I am a Jew would typify his heritage of his birth. But by saying I am a Hebrew, he acknowledges the spiritual significance that God has in His life.
Maybe that’s why you’re going through something right now. Maybe God is trying to get you back to your spiritual roots. I know you are:
Black and Proud.
You are somebody.
A Nubian queen.
A Mandingo warrior.
An Asiatic black man.
A seasoned veteran.
A proud woman.
A corporate executive.
A husband or wife.
A proud American
But all of these titles and concepts are not what God is after. He is after your confession and acknowledgement that He is your God and Saviour.
I am a Believer.
I’ve been bought with a price.
I’m too blessed to be stressed.
I’m His and He is mine.
I’m an heir of salvation.
I’m a child of the King.
I don’t believe He brought me this far to leave me now.
I’m dripping with his goodness.
I’m a member of the Royal Family.
I walk with the King.
Somebody here today aught to confess this thing. Anybody here know who Jesus is? Anybody here wants to say, yes, I’m in a storm – but I’m a child of God in a storm. It makes a difference.
I’d rather have Jesus in a storm that to be in the storm alone.
I’d rather have Jesus with food stamps than try to make it without him.
I’d rather have Jesus in bad times than to cry without him.
I’d rather have Jesus in the hospital room than to be there without him.
Somebody here – you are in your storm. But thank God I can still confess that He is great in my storm! The mariners received God’s inspiration – it’s his fault and notice that they even understood that Jonah was running from God.
Can I tell somebody here that it’s time to stop running from God and to confess Him while you have a chance:
He is the First and Last, the Beginning and the End!
He is the keeper of Creation and the Creator of all!
He is the Architect of the universe and
The Manager of all times.
He always was, He always is, and He always will be...
Unmoved, Unchanged, Undefeated, and never Undone!
He was bruised and brought healing!
He was pierced and eased pain!
He was persecuted and brought freedom!
He was dead and brought life!
He is raised and brings power!
He reigns and brings Peace!
The world can’t understand him,
The armies can’t defeat Him,
The schools can’t explain Him, and
The leaders can’t ignore Him.
Herod couldn’t kill Him,
The Pharisees couldn’t confuse Him, and
The people couldn’t hold Him!
Nero couldn’t crush Him,
Hitler couldn’t silence Him,
The New Age can’t replace Him, and
Donahue can’t explain Him away!
He is light, love, longevity, and Lord.
He is goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, and God.
He is Holy, Righteous, mighty, powerful, and pure.
His ways are right,
His word is eternal,
His will is unchanging, and
His mind is on me.
He is my Redeemer,
He is my Savior,
He is my guide, and
He is my peace!
He is my Joy,
He is my comfort,
He is my Lord, and
He rules my life!
I serve Him because His bond is love,
His yoke is easy, His burden is light, and
His goal for me is abundant life.
I follow Him because He is the wisdom of the wise,
The power of the powerful,
The ancient of days, the ruler of rulers,
The leader of leaders, the overseer of the over comers, and
The sovereign Lord of all that was and is and is to come.
And if that seems impressive to you, try this for size.
His goal is a relationship with ME!
He will never leave me,
Never forsake me,
Never mislead me,
Never forget me,
Never overlook me, and
Ever cancel my appointment in His appointment book!
When I fall, He lifts me up!
When I fail, He forgives!
When I am weak, He is strong!
When I am lost, He is the way!
When I am afraid, He is my courage!
When I stumble, He steadies me!
When I am hurt, He heals me!
When I am broken, He mends me!
When I am blind, He leads me!
When I am hungry, He feeds me!
When I face trials, He is with me!
When I face persecution, He shields me!
When I face problems, He comforts me!
When I face loss, He provides for me!
When I face Death, He carries me Home!
He is everything for everybody, everywhere,
every time, and every way.
He is God, He is faithful.
I am His, and He is mine!
My Father in heaven can whip the father of this world.
So, if you’re wondering why I feel so secure, understand this...
He said it and that settles it.
God is in control, I am on His side, and
That means all is well with my soul.
(Close…)
