May 24, 2015 - The Book of Jonah may be the single most ridiculed book in the Bible. There are some that would equate it
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Standing at the Crossroads
Standing at the Crossroads Dr. Brandon Park | May 24, 2015
The Book of Jonah may be the single most ridiculed book in the Bible. There are some that would equate it to being on the same level as Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Yet I choose to believe that what happened to Jonah really did happen for at least two reasons: 1. I believe in the _________________________ of Jesus Christ. 2. I believe in this story because __________________ believed in it. Matthew 12:40, “For a s Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” If what happened to Jonah wasn’t literal, then what happened to Jesus wasn’t literal. What is the Book of Jonah really about? It’s not about Jonah. He’s only mentioned 18 times. It’s not about the fish. It’s only mentioned four times. It’s about God. He is mentioned 38 times. This book is not primarily about Jonah and a Big Fish – it’s about God and His will for us. The reason Jonah was even in the Bible is because he was far away from God! Jonah was running because of something he wouldn’t do. This story is n ot any different from any other believer who happens to be running away from God. There are only two reasons people run away from G od: 1.) We are __________________, or 2.) We are ________________________. You can __________ from God, but you cannot ________ ______________ from God. Jonah teaches us this principle: Obedience always brings _________________; disobedience always brings ____________________. There are four steps along the process to becoming a runaway from God:
Stage 1 – God _________________
Jonah 1:1-‐2, “The word of the LORD came to Jonah son o f Amittai: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’” God’s Word comes to Jonah, and God’s Word always represents God’s Will. The Bible is the revelation of God’s Will for us. In this passage, the Word of God comes in the form of a command. God never makes a request or a suggestion. When He tells us to do something, He is expecting us to do it. The reason we refuse or resist G od’s Will is because it’s n ot always easy to do it. Ninevah was the capital of the nation of Assyria. The Assyrians were the mortal enemies of Israel. They had only one goal in mind – capture and plunder the Israelites. History indicates that Assyria was so feared that whenever a village found out that they were on their way to invade them, the entire village would commit suicide. They would rather die than face what was coming. This army committed some of the most heinous and gruesome crimes against humanity ever known. When you understand just how evil the Assyrians were, you get a good understanding of why Jonah ran away. In his mind, he had legitimate reasons for why he didn’t want to obey God. LIFE PRINCIPLE: God will often ask you to do things you don’t ____________ to do. There’s a little bit of Jonah in all of us. Many times the Word of God comes to us and we know that is exactly what we are supposed to do, but deep down we don’t want to do it. We reason in our minds: “I know that’s what God said, but I don’t want to do it because it doesn’t make sense!” Or we might say, “I know I’m supposed to do that…but I’ll do it later.” We need to remember this: Delayed ________________ is always _________________________. Erwin McManus said, “You can tell the maturity of a person by measuring the distance between the command of God and his obedience to that c ommand. If the distance is short, they are mature. If the distance is long, they are spiritually immature.”
Stage 2 – We _________________
God says basically, “I demand. You decide.” Every day of our lives, the number one responsibility we have in our relationship with God is: “Am I going to do His will or n ot today?” God demands, but He doesn’t force us to obey His demands. When you say, “yes” to the will of God, you may face great __________________ on the outside but you will have great _____________ on the inside. The trouble starts when you decide to say, “No!” Jonah went further than just resisting God. Vs. 3, “But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.” When Jonah decided that he was going to run, he decided that he was going to get as far away from God as he could! Ninevah was 500 miles n ortheast of Jerusalem. Tarshish was 2,500 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Jonah made a decision just like we do every day. There are only two cities that are ever mentioned in this book: Ninevah and Tarshish. Tarshish represents what you want to do and Ninevah represents what God wants you to do. Every day you visit one of those two cities! LIFE PRINCIPLE: You can always find a boat sailing in the _____________ ___________________. If you want to run from the Lord, the devil will always provide the transportation. Vs. 3b, “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.” “After paying the fare” – The most expensive ticket you will ever buy is the ticket to get away from God! When you choose to run away from God, the devil will always provide a ____________; but God will always provide a _________________.
Stage 3 -‐ We _____________________ Look at two phrases in vs. 3, “But Jonah ran away from the Lord…” and then “He went on board to
flee from the Lord.” Jonah had only one goal in mind – get away from God. He not only wanted to get away from the presence of God, he wanted to get away from the purpose of God. He had only one goal in mind and that was to get away from God. Disobedience will always take you ________________ than you want to go; it will keep you ________________ than you want to stay; and it will ____________ you more than you are willing to pay. Maybe for you – you’re not on the run as much as you are drifting. Maybe a month or even a year ago you were really close to God, but now y ou’ve found yourself drifting. When we disobey the commands of God intentionally or unintentionally, we are drifting and separating ourselves from Him. It’s the Jonah in all of us.
Stage 4 – God ______________________ When you run from God, you are headed for a whale of a mess! Vs. 4, “Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship
threatened to b reak up.” This would have been a s hip transporting cargo full of experienced sailors so it must have been a terrifying storm if even the sailors were afraid for their lives. If they didn’t deliver their cargo to Tarshish, they would not be paid. They are literally throwing their livelihood overboard. LIFE LESSON: God may send a ___________ to grab your ____________________. Another great lesson we need to learn is that runaways always hurt the people that are in close proximity to them. Whenever you are running from God, you don’t just hurt yourself. There are family and friends that will be hurt by the shrapnel of your life whenever you run from God. Read Jonah 1:5-‐7. Why does God allow the storm? It’s not because God is interested in _______________ you back. He is interested in ________________ you back! Read Jonah 1:8-‐12 – Jonah was so stubborn that he said, “I would rather die than to obey.” Read vs. 13-‐17 Jonah thought he was running from God, but God was waiting for him the whole time. When you run from God, God doesn’t _____________ you. He just ____________ for you to come back to him. LIFE PRINCIPLE: Jonah’s worst n ightmare was exactly what he _________________. Are you headed in the wrong direction today? Have you gotten on the wrong s hip? Is there any area of your life where you are saying “no” to God when you ought to be saying “yes”?
1
Standing at the Crossroads
Standing at the Crossroads Dr. Brandon Park | May 24, 2015
The Book of Jonah may be the single most ridiculed book in the Bible. There are some that would equate it to being on the same level as Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Yet I choose to believe that what happened to Jonah really did happen for at least two reasons: resurrection 1. I believe in the _________________________ of Jesus Christ. Jesus 2. I believe in this story because __________________ believed in it. Matthew 12:40, “For a s Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” If what happened to Jonah wasn’t literal, then what happened to Jesus wasn’t literal. What is the Book of Jonah really about? It’s not about Jonah. He’s only mentioned 18 times. It’s not about the fish. It’s only mentioned four times. It’s about God. He is mentioned 38 times. This book is not primarily about Jonah and a Big Fish – it’s about God and His will for us. The reason Jonah was even in the Bible is because he was far away from God! Jonah was running because of something he wouldn’t do. This story is n ot any different from any other believer who happens to be running away from God. There are only two reasons people run away from G od: afraid 1.) We are __________________, or arrogant 2.) We are ________________________.
run from God, but you cannot ________ get ______________ away You can __________ from God. blessings Jonah teaches us this principle: Obedience always brings _________________; disobedience always burdens brings ____________________. There are four steps along the process to becoming a runaway from God:
Demands Stage 1 – God _________________
Jonah 1:1-‐2, “The word of the LORD came to Jonah son o f Amittai: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’” God’s Word comes to Jonah, and God’s Word always represents God’s Will. The Bible is the revelation of God’s Will for us. In this passage, the Word of God comes in the form of a command. God never makes a request or a suggestion. When He tells us to do something, He is expecting us to do it. The reason we refuse or resist G od’s Will is because it’s n ot always easy to do it. Ninevah was the capital of the nation of Assyria. The Assyrians were the mortal enemies of Israel. They had only one goal in mind – capture and plunder the Israelites. History indicates that Assyria was so feared that whenever a village found out that they were on their way to invade them, the entire village would commit suicide. They would rather die than face what was coming. This army committed some of the most heinous and gruesome crimes against humanity ever known. When you understand just how evil the Assyrians were, you get a good understanding of why Jonah ran away. In his mind, he had legitimate reasons for why he didn’t want to obey God.
want LIFE PRINCIPLE: God will often ask you to do things you don’t ____________ to do. There’s a little bit of Jonah in all of us. Many times the Word of God comes to us and we know that is exactly what we are supposed to do, but deep down we don’t want to do it. We reason in our minds: “I know that’s what God said, but I don’t want to do it because it doesn’t make sense!” Or we might say, “I know I’m obedience is supposed to do that…but I’ll do it later.” We need to remember this: Delayed ________________ disobedience always _________________________. Erwin McManus said, “You can tell the maturity of a person by measuring the distance between the command of God and his obedience to that c ommand. If the distance is short, they are mature. If the distance is long, they are spiritually immature.”
Decide Stage 2 – We _________________
God says basically, “I demand. You decide.” Every day of our lives, the number one responsibility we have in our relationship with God is: “Am I going to do His will or n ot today?” God demands, but He doesn’t force us to obey His demands. When you say, “yes” to the will of God, you may face great difficulty peace __________________ on the outside but you will have great _____________ on the inside. The trouble starts when you decide to say, “No!” Jonah went further than just resisting God. Vs. 3, “But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.” When Jonah decided that he was going to run, he decided that he was going to get as far away from God as he could! Ninevah was 500 miles n ortheast of Jerusalem. Tarshish was 2,500 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Jonah made a decision just like we do every day. There are only two cities that are ever mentioned in this book: Ninevah and Tarshish. Tarshish represents what you want to do and Ninevah represents what God wants you to do. Every day you visit one of those two cities!
wrong ___________________. direction LIFE PRINCIPLE: You can always find a boat sailing in the _____________ If you want to run from the Lord, the devil will always provide the transportation. Vs. 3b, “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.” “After paying the fare” – The most expensive ticket you will ever buy is the ticket to get away from God! ship When you choose to run away from God, the devil will always provide a ____________; but God storm will always provide a _________________. Disobey Stage 3 -‐ We _____________________ Look at two phrases in vs. 3, “But Jonah ran away from the Lord…” and then “He went on board to
flee from the Lord.” Jonah had only one goal in mind – get away from God. He not only wanted to get away from the presence of God, he wanted to get away from the purpose of God. He had only one goal in mind and that was to get away from God. Disobedience will always take you ________________ than you want to go; it will keep you farther longer cost ________________ than you want to stay; and it will ____________ you more than you are willing to pay. Maybe for you – you’re not on the run as much as you are drifting. Maybe a month or even a year ago you were really close to God, but now y ou’ve found yourself drifting. When we disobey the commands of God intentionally or unintentionally, we are drifting and separating ourselves from Him. It’s the Jonah in all of us.
Disciplines Stage 4 – God ______________________ When you run from God, you are headed for a whale of a mess! Vs. 4, “Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship
threatened to b reak up.” This would have been a s hip transporting cargo full of experienced sailors so it must have been a terrifying storm if even the sailors were afraid for their lives. If they didn’t deliver their cargo to Tarshish, they would not be paid. They are literally throwing their livelihood overboard.
storm to grab your ____________________. attention LIFE LESSON: God may send a ___________ Another great lesson we need to learn is that runaways always hurt the people that are in close proximity to them. Whenever you are running from God, you don’t just hurt yourself. There are family and friends that will be hurt by the shrapnel of your life whenever you run from God. Read Jonah 1:5-‐7. paying Why does God allow the storm? It’s not because God is interested in _______________ you back. bringing He is interested in ________________ you back! Read Jonah 1:8-‐12 – Jonah was so stubborn that he said, “I would rather die than to obey.” Read vs. 13-‐17 Jonah thought he was running from God, but God was waiting for him the whole time. When you chase waits for you to come back to him. run from God, God doesn’t _____________ you. He just ____________ needed LIFE PRINCIPLE: Jonah’s worst n ightmare was exactly what he _________________. Are you headed in the wrong direction today? Have you gotten on the wrong s hip? Is there any area of your life where you are saying “no” to God when you ought to be saying “yes”?
