Sermon Nuggets Week of Nov 22 Jonah Protests Jonah 1
Jonah 1:1-17
1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai:
2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."
3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.
5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
6 The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish."
7 Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
8 So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?"
9 He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."
10 This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)
11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"
12 "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.
14 Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased."
15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.
16 At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.
17 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
(NIV)
Sermon Nuggets Mon Nov 22 – Jonah Protests
Rebellion
A Christian woman was on an air flight reading her bible. When passenger sitting next to her saw her bible he asked: “You really don’t believe all that stuff in there do you?” The woman responded: “Of course I do, it is the Bible.” The man said: “Well what about that guy that was swallowed by the whale?” She replied: “Oh, you are talking about Jonah. Yes, I believe that. It is in the Bible.” He asked: “How do you suppose he survived all that time in the whale?” The woman said: “Well, I don’t really know. I guess when I get to heaven, I will ask him.”
The man responded: “What if he isn’t in heaven?” The woman replied: Then you ask him.”
Many skeptics find this story hard to believe. In another conversation a man told a pastor “if you can prove to me that Jonah was swallowed by a whale, I’ll believe all that the rest of the Bible.” “What do you think of Christ?” “Well I think Christ was the wisest man that ever lived.”
“Well, Let me show you that the wisest man that ever lived believed the story of Jonah when he said, Matt 12:40 “As Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of a fish so must the son of man be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth.
When it comes to the story of Jonah Jesus believed it and preached it.
This book has great value in a number of areas. It is can excellent story on missions, on the love of God or the lost world. It speaks of Christ, cultural relationship, talks of nationalism, racial tension, rebellion, and pride as well as priorities of one’s life.
But Jonah is a prophetic book in that it points us also to Jesus. Jonah is a prophetic book because in some ways we see how Jonah also becomes a type of Israel called of God to witness to the world, but disobedient in her commands, suffered discipline from God and yet evidenced the grace of God.
Dale Lundgren forwarded this video of a young girl telling the story of Jonah. You will delight in hearing it if your computer allows it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4VrujheblY
I want us to also look at this book as a prelude to revival. In what ways can we be prepared?
We begin the story with Jonah’s protest against Gods command for him to go and preach against the sin of this great but ungodly city. Jonah’s protest turns to rebellion.
Even the called and those used of God are tempted to disobey. The sin of Jonah is not fulfilling the complete plan of God, and telling God no. He had good reasons in his mind, but ultimately rebellion comes when we refuse or neglect to obey. May we examine our own hearts to see where we are resisting the call of God on our lives.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues Nov 23 – Reasons for Rebellion
Reasons for Rebellion-
A. Pride. The first reason Jonah didn’t agree with God’s plan. The thought of going to Nineveh was distasteful. Jonah couldn’t bring himself to do what God wanted because he didn’t like his plan. He didn’t like Nineveh. It was a wicked city. It was the capital of the Assyrian empire. It was the world empire for about 300 years, longer than the US has been birthed. It rose to world power during this time. Jonah was called of God to prolong the life of their national enemy which was already in the process of exterminating his own nation.
Whenever we say no to God it is often a pride issue. We have a better plan or we are in judgment of God’s plan. We may never understand what God is doing and don’t like it sometimes, but when we become the judge of God we better look within and see if we aren’t trying to replace him and his wisdom with our own.
For Jonah it was no wonder he fled in the opposite direction, how might you feel if you or your son or daughter were called by God to go into missions to Tehran, Baghdad or North Korea? You learn to fear and hate your enemies, not seek to save them.
B. Prejudice: Another reason is that Nineveh was full of godless people. They were pagans and worshipped idols. Most Christians would much rather be with other Christians and with people who are sinners. That is true from the beginning. That is hard hump to overcome when it comes to a prelude of revival. They were people of a different race and everyone knows what they are like.
That facts are -lost people matter to God. He does not want us to remain comfortable among the saved, but to reach out also to the lost. The longer people are Christians the harder it is to break the barrier of being friends with those who hold different values, different life styles and different morals. It would be easy for Jonah to say, I don’t like those that are not god’s people and I don’t really want to be around them.
Jonah was a racist. He hated the people; he hated the nation; he didn’t want anything to do with them- and now God was calling him to go to them and tell them of God’s love and their need to repent of their sin. Now Jonah did not want God to forgive Nineveh, for Nineveh was an enemy to Israel. Jonah knew something about God’s grace and figured He knew He would forgive Nineveh if they repented.
One poet put it this way. “I hate God’s enemies with a perfect hatred. Why can’t God do as much?” For to show mercy to Nineveh was another difficult thing not only because of his personal prejudice but also because of a brand new idea that many people don’t think is in the Old Testament. “God loves all people of all races and nations.”
C. Fear. So many disobey God and rebel out of fear of others, and fear of the circumstances and the unknown. There may be people who refuse to go to the missions field for fear of safety, or fear of the unknown. Many will never share a testimony or speak up for God’s grace for fear people will laugh at them.
I can imagine Jonah also standing up in the midst of the ungodly people and think they are going to kill me. Most of the disciples of Jesus backed off due to fear of what would happen to them and the only reason they became bold and obedient is that Jesus say you will be with me immediately when you die. So their life wasn’t a big deal to them anymore. Jesus took the fear away.
D. Comfortableness `There is perhaps another reason if we look at 2 Kings 14:25 “He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of Arabbah, in according with the word of the Lord the God of Israel, spoken though his servant Jonah, son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.”
In other words, Jonah was a prophet who God was used in his own land, among his own people. He was apparently enjoying a successful ministry. People were listening to him. He was accepted and loved where he felt comfortable. He was enjoying the Lord and enjoying those around him calling them to honor God. Now he was asked to leave his church to go speak-and go to a tough area when he is unknown, unloved, and unappreciated and discriminated against.
How many people would rather pray than go and speak a word of testimony for the Lord? How many people would rather stay at retreats, camps and Bible study prayer groups than go into the streets among the sinful people? How many would rather share our thoughts in Christian circles and among people who are just like you instead of where you might be made fun of, among strangers and people that are very different? I would.
So I understand the protests of Jonah. We hate change. And when God calls us to do something instead of obeying we want to serve God on our terms. When you look into your hesitancy to obey, how close do those reasons match up with Jonah?
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds Nov 24
Response of Rebellion.
There are more responses when people are in rebellion to be sure, but here are some illustrated by Jonah.
A. Disobedience. First and foremost when someone is in rebellion against God it is usually defiant disobedience or running away from what God is asking or commanding. Nineveh was 500 miles North. He traveled 1,000 miles south and West. Nineveh is by land, He traveled by sea. If God is the God of Israel, Jonah wanted to get out of Israel.
Protesting says, “No”. Only the person who is protesting the loudest runs the furthest. That is what Jonah had in mind.
Disobedience is always downhill. He went down to Joppa; he went down in the ship; he went down to the lowest depth; and down into the belly of the fish.
B. Defiance This is the reaction of depravity of man. (also see Romans 1:28-32.) His reactions were to turn away and run from all that he knew God wanted of him. Rebellion is like that. It uses emotions- it doesn’t use brains. It reacts according to the desires to live our own lives and if we don’t get what we want then we’ll throw temper tantrums.
“OK God, if you don’t do it my way they just wait and see. You want me to go to church. I won’t go. You want me to live a moral life, I’ll live in immorality. You want me to honor my parents. I’ll do what I can to bring shame to them. You want me to live in glory to you. I’ll do everything that brings glory to me. I am the master of my life and I decide how much of my life I’m going to give to you and how much I am not.”
Satan has an amazing way of blinding us to the truth that we cannot outrun God. The black poet, James Weldon Johnson says in God’s Trombones, “Young Man young man, your arms are too short to box with God.”
When you try to escape you are trying to escape the demands of God upon yourself. He was trying to run form God, but no one can. The Psalmist said in 139
“Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee form your presence If I go to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. “
C. Hiding. Running is going away from God. Hiding is what Adam did and Cain did. It is trying to ignore the problem. Perhaps that is what happened when he fell asleep into a deep sleep. Let’s just pretend that God doesn’t know. I’ll go down into the depths of the ship where no one will know.
How do we explain this incredible behavior? People react differently in times of crisis. Some loose sleep and worry and fret. Others become lethargic, lose interest, disassociate themselves from the situation.
I believe Jonah was in the second category. He had sunk into an oblivious, self-blinding delusion. He was in a spiritual depression.
D. Excuses. An important part of the ingredient for rebellion is to come up with excuses for our behavior, or defiance. We think of reasons to say no to God. We excuse sin in our lives in many ways. Maybe it is the excuse we don’t have the money, the gift, the time, the resources. “Others might be better than I am. I am not good enough to be used, or I’m too important to go to this little place, or do that thing. “
Many rebels use excuses as if the make any difference.
We think of rebels to the extreme. Think of Jonah not as an out of control enemy of God, but rather rebelling against God’s will for his life. What about you? Do you see those traits in your life?
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri Nov 26-
The Results of Rebellion. 7-17
A. Personal Consequences- There are consequences to sin and rebellion. For Jonah admitted his sin and was thrown overboard into the sea. For some their personal consequences for sin may result in addiction to drugs, sexual diseases, divorce, break up of family, financial loss, jail, or alcoholism. But praise God you can be released from that bondage and find Spiritual freedom, but the effect of those months or years in rebellion can often have long term effects.
To rebel against God always has consequences. There may be times when we feel we can get our way going against God’s will. The Lord allows that type of freedom, but we are not happy or satisfied in our souls.
Jonah’ planed to sail to Tarsish, but he ended up in the deep.
B. Consequences to Others.. The storm rises. The sailors and other passengers are affected by the sin and rebellion of Jonah. They were planning a nice trip, but the storm aroused such suspicion that surely it had to be something supernatural and so they shook the dice and or lots and found it fell on Jonah.
After hearing of his sin and his suggestion to have them throw him overboard, they didn’t want to be charged with murder by God. They tried to do everything according to their knowledge to keep the ship afloat. It didn’t work. Our own efforts seldom do. They tried praying to their gods. But no one listened.
God had a different plan. I think many people who are ignorant of God and his ways keep trying with sincerity to solve sin consequences but are failing because it is only in faith in Christ that brings salvation. It is only confession and repentance that brings forgiveness. The consequences of rebellion affect others, affect family, friends, acquaintances, people with sin hurt loved ones and damage that cannot be undone.
Due to his sin Jonah knew he didn’t deserve any favor at all. As we get more involved with the story we see the sailors are to be commended. They don’t want to throw Jonah overboard. But when things got worse they realized this was a punishment from God. He is willing to be put to death by being thrown overboard. So against their will after trying one last time they throw him overboard . 16b. The men greatly fear the Lord and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
God give Jonah another chance. We call this mercy. Undeserved but God tried again to bring Jonah to his graces by providing a great fish to swallow Jonah and was inside the first 3 day and 3 nights. God’s mercy was to be extended, not only to the prophet, but also the nation of Nineveh. It certainly did not deserve to be saved. They were a wicked people. That can now be said about a most of our cities in America. The only reason Nineveh was going to get a warning was because of God’s grace. The same can be said about cities. We can even say that about ourselves.
It was through his disobedience that Jonah came into contact with the seamen, yet God so worked that the sailors were spared through Jonah’s testimony. They now turned to the Lord and offered they vows to the one true God.
When there is rebellion remember it is the heart of God to save not to punish. He took punishment himself in order for us to be made right with Him. The great fish was a means to mercy. We don’t know what kind or if it was especially created for this purpose, but even the animals of creation can be used of God for the good of mankind by God’s design and direction.
As G. Campbell Morgan said: “Men have been looking so hard at the great fish that they have failed to see the great God”.
C. Lastly Sin has spiritual consequences. All sin is against God, but the story of mercy is God provides a way of salvation even for Jonah. Rebellion against God is what brought Jesus Christ to the Cross. It costs something. This is a time to realize he went to death and suffering for our sin.
Pastor Dale
