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00:00God's primary way of speaking to us is through his written word, but secondly God speaks to us
00:07Through the Holy Spirit within and when he speaks to us through the Spirit within he tends to speak without
00:15Speaking you call it a hunch
00:18Sometimes a feeling or in intuition
00:21But the Holy Spirit tends to lead us by letting our spirits know things before our head has figured them out
00:29And I have learned in my life that every time I have pushed
00:33Past the peace that I had in my heart and in my spirit and went ahead and said it did it
00:39Or watched it. Anyway, I ended up regretting it. Is there anyone else in the room? Yeah
00:54The Holy Writ says now the word of the
00:58Lord
00:59now God's
01:02primary way of speaking to us is through his written word, but
01:08Secondly God speaks to us
01:11Through the Holy Spirit within and when he speaks to us through the Spirit within
01:19He tends to speak without speaking
01:24You call it a hunch
01:27Sometimes a feeling or in intuition
01:31But the Holy Spirit tends to lead us
01:35By letting our spirits know things before our head has figured them out
01:41And I have learned in my life that every time I have pushed
01:45Past the peace that I had in my heart and in my spirit and went ahead and said it did it or watched it
01:53Anyway, I ended up regretting it. Is there anyone else in the room? Yeah
01:59But in this verse the Prophet heard more than the voice of his heart
02:06He literally heard the voice of
02:09the Lord and
02:11When you hear the voice of God, it should always compel you
02:17to action
02:19Whenever our conscience hears the Word of God
02:23Going against it is neither right
02:27nor safe
02:29Now the Word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying
02:34Arise and go to Nineveh
02:37Those of you who know history, you know that Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and we talked a little bit about
02:44Assyria last week Nineveh happened to be the largest city in the entire Middle East at the time
02:51It was of great renown and fame and it goes on to add that great city
02:57When God said that to Jonah, my guess is it kind of rubbed Jonah because his own
03:03Country that had a covenant with the Living God Israel though it had prospered and expanded
03:10Because of the poor leadership and the idolatry of its king it had been on and declined morally
03:17for decades
03:19Nineveh though on the other hand had been a very steady and
03:23Emerging power for about a hundred years or so
03:27Somebody said some people won't like you because your strength reminds you of their weaknesses
03:34So sometimes you have to take people's dislike as a compliment
03:39Yeah
03:43They said Jonah what I need you to do is they said I don't need you to go make peace with them
03:48I don't need you to go agree with them. I need you to go and cry out
03:54Against it that city
03:56so
03:58God not only wanted Jonah to give a message
04:01He wanted him to give a message with a certain level of passion. He said cry out. He didn't say just deliver it
04:05he said cry out and
04:08Nothing creates church burnout faster than losing your passion for souls
04:15You got to learn to get all in
04:19Or get out
04:22I think it's Margaret Thatcher who said
04:24Standing in the middle of the road is very very dangerous because you get hit by traffic on both sides
04:32So I
04:34Need you to cry out Jonah against let's be passionate. I
04:40Need that then they hear the ethos of God in your voice
04:44For their wickedness has come up before me
04:48Now the Ninevites at that time were known for their brutality and their cruelty. They were a very very cruel
04:55people particularly
04:57in times of conquest
04:59They would routinely impale people on poles
05:04What they would do is they would take someone that they weren't happy with and they would put a stick through you
05:12like a siskebob and
05:14All your neighbors would watch you squirm
05:18Until you died and
05:21Actually, it was the Romans that that they got the concept of the cross actually was a development from the Assyrians
05:27So the Assyrians impaled people but the the Romans said let's take it a little a little bit further
05:32We want to keep them alive just a little bit longer so they can suffer more and die the the worst kind of death
05:38So impaling you died a lot more quickly than you did on the cross
05:42So the Romans just kind of took it to the the next level, but they also skinned people alive
05:48I want you to imagine that literally your your eyes would be moving your lips your tongue
05:54All your capacities are about you, but they would skin people
05:58Alive
05:59They amputate hands and feet gouge out eyes
06:04But what you need to understand here in this text God cares even for the worst of sinners
06:11Yeah, yeah
06:13This is why he sent him to the Ninevites
06:16Learn to be kind to unkind people because they're the ones that need it the most
06:22But Jonah, he's like no, they're evil. They're wicked
06:27They're my ethnic enemy
06:29But Jonah arose to flee or run from God
06:34Has God ever asked you to do something you didn't want to do?
06:37Has he ever asked you to say something you didn't want to say?
06:40And I want to tell you if you always feel good about everything
06:43God says I kind of doubt you're hearing from God and I also kind of doubt you read your Bible because that Bible
06:48It says things that you don't always want to hear
06:51Six of you in the room agree with me
06:56You know in my life I have found that
06:59The path God sends me on that upsets me the most tends to tease me the most
07:05about myself my prejudices and
07:09in all the rest
07:12so
07:13God spoke to me and he spoke to me and he spoke to me and
07:18I spoke to him, but told him to go one way, but Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish
07:24When God gives you something to do and you do the reverse thing it puts you at risk
07:29So instead of just traveling 500 miles to Nineveh
07:33Jonah began a 2,500 mile journey in the opposite direction and I know you know you may not
07:41Run as dramatically as Jonah ran, but we all run in different ways
07:47Some of us run by burying ourself in our work
07:51Others of us run by burying ourselves and and what our children might need our children might be doing
07:58Others of us at times we bury ourselves
08:02Into in those up, you know better relationship. How many y'all have some you know better, you know better
08:06You ought not be with you know better
08:09Relationships, but but but you're trying to get away from your conscience and God and and so you focus
08:15So you have a hyper focus on entertainment not Roman entertainment
08:18It's right portions and and travel and the next new thing, but just anything to not have to hear
08:25God's Word
08:27So Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish what some say is modern Spain
08:32from the presence of the Lord and
08:35It's important to know Jonah was a for real prophet. He God's hand was upon him
08:41He was gifted in that respect and it wasn't that God didn't matter at all to Jonah
08:47it's just that his personal opinions mattered more and
08:51Often we find ourselves in this situation
08:54Yeah, God, you're important
08:56But what I think is even what I feel and and what I'm going through is even more important
09:02I appreciate your word, but I have some thoughts and some feelings about what I am going through
09:07But I have found when I put God's
09:11Opinion first all the secondary things seem to fall into place by themselves
09:17When God is first, he doesn't compete with any other relationship. He just protects us in them and
09:25sometimes even from them
09:28So
09:30So Jonah is in this precarious situation he
09:34He's running from God though he is a prophet though he is called ordained and appointed
09:40the Bible said he went down to
09:43Joppa, I want you to notice as we read
09:47Both this week and next week how many times the scripture says?
09:53Jonah went down
09:55Because every step we take away from God's leading God's direction and God's Word always leads us
10:02What down and he found a ship going to Tarsus?
10:07You can rent a car you could get on the boat fly an airplane
10:11You could even move to another state, but believe me because I have tried it. I'm not talking down here
10:15I know what I'm talking about today. God will not forget what he has told you or asked you to do
10:24He will find you and
10:27He might sew you up, but he's gonna always get back
10:31To what he told you to do in the first place how many all kind of whisk sometimes God would just forget you know
10:36It's like but
10:37But he doesn't watch this
10:39So Jonah paid the fare. It's costly to run from God
10:45You will waste money. You'll race energy you will waste time
10:51So he paid
10:53The fare he paid a price and it cost him something and then watch this word again, and he went down
11:00Into it. There's that word again. Notice the further the Prophet ran the further he went down
11:06So here's the question. How far do you have to go down before you begin to realize?
11:13What's up? Maybe God is trying to tell you something and all the going down
11:23And he went down into it to go with them
11:27Many scholars say that before Jonah left Israel
11:30He was part of what was called in the book of Kings the school of the prophets to feel more comfortable
11:37He had to leave folk that were talking about God and listening to God
11:42In order to become comfortable in his disobedience. He had to change his companions
11:49So make sure adding new friends is an upgrade and not a downgrade
11:57So
12:00Somebody said if you surround yourself with clowns, don't be surprised if your life ends up a circus
12:10And he went down into it to go with them from the presence of the Lord
12:20You can waste your energy running from God or use that same exact energy
12:26To run with God
12:28Both options are going to cost you something. It's just that the latter is the only one you won't have regrets
12:35Every time I have ran from God into something else I have lived to regret it
12:43but then verse 4
12:46says
12:47my most
12:49favorite
12:51three words in the entire Bible
12:54Despite Jonah's running
12:57despite Jonah's failings
12:59it says
13:01but the Lord
13:04but
13:05God
13:07I read a few verses to you from the New Testament. We're gonna come right back
13:11verse 7 a chapter 5 of Romans
13:14For scarcely a righteous man will one die
13:17Yet perhaps for a good man someone might dare die
13:21But God
13:23Demonstrates his love to us in that why we were still sinners
13:28Christ died for us
13:33But God
13:36First Corinthians 10 and 13
13:39No temptation has overtaken you except that which is common to man
13:43But God is faithful
13:45Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond that which you are able of that which you can bear
13:51Ephesians 2 and verse 3 through 4 among those who we also were once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh
13:58How many of you ever had some lust in your flesh? Come on. Yeah, it's not pretending church
14:04Conducting ourselves in the lust of the flesh
14:07Desiring the desires of the flesh and of the mind church stop acting like you were virgin-born
14:13All of us all of us according to Scripture
14:17have done some dirt and
14:21We're by nature
14:23Children of wrath meaning we were doomed in our mess
14:28It's one thing to have to do a wrong deed. Everything is another thing
14:31Do your very nature be wrong that that that's serious and he said just as others and what he was saying to the Ephesians
14:37I know your church is big and actually the Ephesian church was the biggest church in the world at that time
14:41I know God's revival great things are happening. But but y'all yeah, I don't need to remember where you came from
14:46You are not all that
14:47He said y'all were just like everybody else and the only reason you are where you are is because I put my hand on you
14:54so
15:02Say and you were by nature children of wrath just like everybody else you're like Irvine just as others
15:09But then there's a defect my favorite two words, but God
15:15How many of us can say it has been nothing but God
15:20That has gotten me where I am today. I
15:24Was drowning in my sin, but God I didn't know where to turn
15:30But God I was on my way to a devil's hell, but God
15:36Hallelujah give God a hallelujah for him putting his big butt into your situation
15:46Back to Jonah 1 4
15:50But the Lord despite Jonah sent out a great wind on the sea
15:59Sometimes the storms in your life are God trying to tell you something
16:06And there was a mighty tempest on the sea
16:11So that the ship was about to be broken up
16:15Sometimes we wonder what happened in that relationship. We wonder what happened on that particular
16:21job
16:23But sometimes God must allow the things we hide
16:27From him in to break up before he could put us back together
16:32Then the mariners were afraid of the mariners and
16:37Every man cried out to his God. You've heard it said there are no atheists in
16:42Foxholes if it gets bad enough even the most intellectual the least likely you hear what I'm saying
16:48We'll find themselves crying out to God and they threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea
16:56to lighten
16:57The load so they did everything they knew to do to survive and and they didn't want to
17:04Just give in to to the storm storm, but watch this
17:08But Jonah had gone. There's this word again
17:12Gone down
17:14Dude keeps going
17:17Down and when you run from God, you might feel like you're getting away, but really you are going
17:25Down
17:28And he went down into the lowest part of the ship
17:34When you turn from God you can be surprised with how low you can go. I
17:41Know you're a prophetic and you know, this is a dig but but when you when you when you start running from him, you'll be surprised
17:50the things you're capable of
17:53Doing and
17:56He's at the lowest part of this ship
18:00And he leaned down and was fast asleep
18:06So my question is how could Jonah
18:11Sleep through such a storm
18:15Sure, there was water coming into the boat
18:19Sure, it was rocking up and down
18:21The reason he could sleep in this storm
18:25Was because the storm that was going on on the inside of him
18:29Was nothing compared to the storm outside of him and he just got used to it
18:35And you can get used to
18:37Misery you hear what I'm saying
18:44And if I tell you the truth no one is more miserable than someone who knows better
18:51I
18:55Got I just got to back up for that say that that was that was that was helpful. That was helpful. That was helpful
19:07So the captain came to him and said what do you mean Oh sleeper
19:12It's funny how the captain wanted Jonah to call on his God
19:16But actually the only reason Jonah was on the ship because he was trying to get away from his God
19:22you can run but you cannot hide and
19:27They said to one another
19:30Come let us cast lots
19:32That we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us
19:39You know God will show up in the least likely places to reach those he loves
19:46I've tried to you know as a young man tried to run
19:50From God and all different types of places and I was amazed where God showed up. I'm like Lord
19:56I think you came to places like this. What you doing? What's he doing down here Lord?
20:06So
20:08They cast lots
20:11And these are Gentiles these are heathens using their own means to try to discern
20:16What's going on with the gods plural and the lot fell on Jonah?
20:22Bad boys bad boys. What you gonna do what you gonna do when they come for you, so
20:30God
20:32has located this prophet and
20:36You know, it's one thing when the righteous say well you need to come back
20:40But you know, you've gone far when sinners start talking about
20:44You don't belong here
20:47You are not in the right place you do not fit in
20:51with us here
20:56Then they said to him
20:58Please tell us
21:00For whose cause has this trouble come upon us? What's your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country and
21:07What people are you?
21:08So he said to them. I am a Hebrew and I fear Yahweh
21:14Yahweh
21:15Jehovah, however, you want to pronounce it the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land
21:22Then the man with men when they heard that it was Yahweh were exceedingly afraid they were
21:29Horrified, how can you run from the God that created everything from nothing?
21:36How can you
21:37Run from the God who knows the end from the beginning that the God that's every place at all times at the same time
21:45How could you really think that that's gonna work out?
21:49for you
21:51but still
21:53we hide and
21:56He said to them
21:58Well, they said to him
22:00Why have you done this?
22:03The reality is I don't know why I have done half the stupid things I have done in my life and you don't know either
22:14For the men knew that he had fled from the presence of
22:18the Lord
22:20because he had
22:21Told them somebody said when you feel far away from God guess who moved
22:29Then they said to him
22:31What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us
22:38For as they were
22:39Dialoguing with Jonah seemed to see got angrier and angrier
22:43At Jonah's reaction and the fact that Jonah was in the boat
22:47It says for the sea was growing even more tempestuous. I was already bad
22:52But then it started getting worse and what they started to realize is they were facing a power
22:59even greater than the sea itself
23:01And he said to them. Well, this is what you got to do guys
23:06Pick me up
23:07Throw me into the sea and then the sea will become calm for you
23:12for I know
23:14He knew it all the time and when you know to do right don't do right you put the people around you in danger
23:21It's true
23:24When
23:26God gives you something to say something to do you do not do it you put everybody in the ship
23:34at
23:35risk
23:37Yeah, for I know that this great tempest is because of me. So
23:44What I want you to see is the first step
23:49Jonah took back to God
23:52Was through accepting personal responsibility
24:02It's not always somebody else's fault and
24:05Sometimes it's not just the weather. It's not just the circumstances sometimes
24:10our disobedience has opened the door and
24:14invited certain situations and circumstances into our lives and
24:19we would learn so much more from our mistakes if we weren't so busy trying to deny them and
24:26defend them
24:29Nevertheless the man didn't want to kill them kill him and they rode hard to return to land, but they could not
24:36For the sea continue to grow even more
24:40tempestuous against them so
24:42Just got worse and worse and worse
24:45Worse you see God knew what he was after and would not quit until he got it
24:53God will be as gentle as he needs to be or as tough as he need to be
25:00He'll say it
25:01Sweetly gently make tears come from your eyes, but he also knows how how to how to how to
25:08Bang on the ground if you will and and to shake things up in our lives and say well if you wouldn't listen to sweet
25:15I know how to do rough
25:19Skip to verse 15 and we're gonna wrap up with this verse
25:24So they picked up Jonah and
25:28Threw him into the sea this is what happens here is important important
25:33First he went down
25:35from God's presence to Job
25:38Next he went down into the ship
25:40Then he went down into the lowest part of the ship now he goes down into the water or the sea itself
25:48Sometimes God lets us hit bottom so we have nowhere else to look but up
25:56But but watch what happened
25:58they picked up Jonah threw him into the sea and
26:02immediately
26:03the sea ceased
26:05From its raising the storm just kept intensifying so for it's just suddenly
26:10stop
26:12they knew that that that was a sign God was trying to tell them something and
26:17The fact that the storm stopped the moment Jonah surrendered
26:24Made it clear that the cause of the storm was Jonah's lack of surrender
26:31Likewise there are certain storms in our lives
26:37Maybe not every storm, but there are certain storms in our lives
26:44That the only way we can calm that storm raging on the inside is one word
26:52Surrender
26:55You see I know you have your reasons
26:58You see I know you have your reasons I
27:01Know you've experienced your disappointments. I know you have your reasonable
27:08Reservations, I recognize like everybody else you've been hurt you've been
27:15wounded
27:16But no life is ever more secure than a life surrendered to God
27:27If
27:33You are in the will of God it is safer to be on the battlefield
27:40It is it is safer to be in the most dangerous city at the darkest hour of the night if you are in the will
27:48of God
27:52True safety only really comes in obedience
27:58When you do in the will of God it don't matter if they kill you because you know you go into a better place
28:03It doesn't matter what happens because you know God's got you
28:07There's a confidence that that you can't explain and I know for me and you know
28:13You know, I'm a pastor and I do all this other stuff and and and but I there's no safer place
28:21Than the will of God for me
28:23And I may know the scriptures I might know how to pray
28:28But there's no better pray prayer that can be prayed than a prayer prayed in the will of God
28:34Jesus at Gethsemane
28:36Was in the middle of God's will
28:40But he didn't want to do it
28:42So just because you don't want to do it don't mean you're out of God's will
28:48But but in that situation God not my way but but what thine be
28:53Done and the will of the cross for Jesus
28:59Had him lifted up off the ground naked
29:02The will of God for Jesus had him beaten
29:05Had him nailed
29:07There's so much blood on him that uh, you couldn't even barely recognize him. His face was bruised
29:16But the safest place for Jesus
29:20was the cross
29:22because the cross was the will of God for Jesus and
29:27Because Jesus was in the will of God on the third day
29:32on the third day
29:35on the third day
29:40It might take some time even though you're in on the will of God
29:43But in in the end it will speak and not lie if you're in the will of God the safest place
29:50For any of us is the will of God
29:56And many of us we're doing church instead of the will of God
30:03We're worshiping long instead of the will of God
30:07We're trying to give money to the church instead of the will of God
30:11All those things matter
30:13But but but if you are not operating in the will of God
30:17The walls are down the shield is down and the devil can do things that he wouldn't be able to do
30:24Otherwise you understand what I'm saying? I'd rather struggle in the will of God
30:28Then in complete freedom of my flesh. Do you understand?
30:32What I'm saying here
30:38As I wrapped this morning
30:41All of these things the New Testament says all these Old Testament truths are written down as our in samples the King James Version says
30:48But for for our examples our instruction
30:51to teach us things because he's the same God yesterday today and forever and he hasn't changed and and and and
30:58God is is more concerned about your purpose
31:02Than your comfort
31:05So he let Jonah get extremely uncomfortable
31:10In the the bottom of a boat in order for Jonah to begin to come to himself
31:20and
31:22The question I guess I want to pose to you is how far down does God have to let you go
31:30Before you will look up
31:33How many storms how many
31:35People got to come to you and say you're in the wrong place doing the wrong thing. You don't belong here
31:40You don't fit here. You you you're running. What more does God need to say? Does he need to send the fish?
31:51God will be as hard as he needs to be
31:54But also as gentle as he needs to be
31:57My prayer is that I understand gentle
32:01My prayer is that you understand
32:04gentle and
32:07That we would not all have to always learn the hard
32:11way, what's the old saying hard head sore behinds and and
32:17Spiritually, there's some people in this room. Your backside is so sore
32:23And you trying to play it off with your cologne and your shower and your nice clothes, but you are so sore
32:30Hey God is saying man, if you would just tenderize that heart I don't have to do that anymore
32:36you know as soon as he was thrown into the storm or into the the sea the sea stopped raging as soon as you
32:44Surrender you can get out of this storm. Give God a hallelujah the aircraft
32:51was learning from
32:54Jonah
32:56You
33:26To help us spread this life-changing message of Jesus Christ around the globe. I hope to see you back here again. God bless you
33:56You