Bible Text: Jonah 1:1-15 | Preacher: Pastor Steve | Series: Vision
Jonah 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah…Arise, go to the Kitsap Peninsula, that great NW Region, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me. But Jonah arose to flee to Canada from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Port Angeles, and found a ship going to Canada; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Canada from the presence of the LORD.  But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the Ferry was about to be broken up.
Jonah 1:10 …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…I know that this great tempest is because of me…they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging…the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah 2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly…
The Lord CALLS all HIS people into SERVICE…God expects ALL of us to SHARE His message.
Jonah is a great historical event because it is about bringing change in our lives
In fact, there is a “Jonah” hidden in every human heart
Jonah’s life was the message not his words
Jonah 3:4 And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
Power and Control
Jonah 1:9-15 And Jonah answered, I am a Hebrew, and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land. Then he told them that he was running away from the LORD. The sailors were terrified when they heard this. Oh, why did you do it? they groaned…Throw me into the sea, Jonah said, and it will become calm again. For I know that this terrible storm is all my fault…Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once!
God will not allow sin to remain hidden in the lives of anyone that loves and serves Him
Remember that God will always provide a way out for our deliverance:
Now the LORD prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.
And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and
three nights.
Having been in a fish’s belly there are several things you might want to learn from Jonah:
Everything around you stinks
It is a cramped, dark, and uncomfortable
There is no way to get out on your own
Remember you would not be in the belly of the fish if we had not tried to run
Jonah 3:1-4 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying. Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was a exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!
The sin of the people of Nineveh is the sin of today:
Self-sufficiency, independence, reliance on our own strength economically, militarily, and socially
Not willing to help others, self-centeredness, thinking the world revolves around us
We are required by the LORD to reach out and SHARE the GOOD NEWS about Jesus and our salvation
Mark 16:15: Jesus said to His followers, Go everywhere in the world and tell the Good News to everyone.
Here is a reminder of an important reality:
If you’re a Christian, Jesus said, Follow Me, and I’ll make you a fisher of men.
If you’re NOT fishing, you’re NOT following
What is Christ’s law?
Love your neighbor as yourself
The bible teaches us that our love is validated by our actions of SHARING and SERVING
God is REALLY against sin but He is REALLY for us!
What is it going to take to reach people?
Jonah 3:5 So the people of Nineveh believed God… Then word came to the king of Nineveh.
Galatians 6:2 Stoop down and reach out to those who were oppressed. SHARE their burdens…
Prayer, fasting and taking personal responsibility for sin
Jonah 3:5-9 …proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water.
Jonah 3:10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way;, and He did not do it. God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them