The Sermon Running Away by David McGee
Feb 08, 2015
Running Away (39:40)
Referenced Scriptures: Jonah 1:1-17; Jonah 2:2-9; Mark 4:35-41
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The scriptures below are from the WEB Bible.
Jonah 1:1-17
1) Now the word of Yahweh came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2) "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me."
3) But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid its fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.
4) But Yahweh sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was likely brake up.
5) Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was laying down, and was fast asleep.
6) So the shipmaster came to him, and said to him, "What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your gods! Maybe the gods will notice us, so that we won‘t perish."
7) They all said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is on us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
8) Then they asked him, "Tell us, please, for whose cause this evil is on us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?"
9) He said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land."
10) Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said to him, "What is this that you have done?" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Yahweh, because he had told them.
11) Then said they to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
12) He said to them, "Take me up, and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you; for I know that because of me this great tempest is on you."
13) Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land; but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.
14) Therefore they cried to Yahweh, and said, "We beg you, Yahweh, we beg you, let us not perish for this man‘s life, and don‘t lay on us innocent blood; for you, Yahweh, have done as it pleased you."
15) So they took up Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased its raging.
16) Then the men feared Yahweh exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh, and made vows.
17) Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2:2-9
2) He said, "I called because of my affliction to Yahweh. He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried. You heard my voice.
3) For you threw me into the depths, In the heart of the seas. The flood was all around me. All your waves and your billows passed over me.
4) I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; Yet I will look again toward your holy temple.‘
5) The waters surrounded me, Even to the soul. The deep was around me. The weeds were wrapped around my head.
6) I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth barred me in forever: Yet have you brought up my life from the pit, Yahweh my God.
7) "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Yahweh. My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.
8) Those who regard lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9) But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation belongs to Yahweh."
Mark 4:35-41
35) On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let‘s go over to the other side."
36) Leaving the multitude, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. Other small boats were also with him.
37) There arose a great wind storm, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled.
38) He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up, and told him, "Teacher, don‘t you care that we are dying?"
39) He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace. Be still." The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40) He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?"
41) They were greatly afraid, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
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The house as we begin today's message is running, running from God, and we as we think about our lives there and there haven't been times. Maybe there are times that you constantly walk in obedience and maybe that's a overall this way were we should be but God doesn't have a problem with us being us. God doesn't have a problem with us being where were at because he's going to get our attention, you know God is going to get our attention somewhere along the line, and today were reading about looking at the life of John and Joan Joan and the big the big fish. The prepared fish. Now this, this lady was on a plane and she was reading her Bible and the guy beside her safety to believe all that stuff and she says will of course they do. And and and he says, would you believe that fish story where that guy gets swallowed by a well, she says, will of course I do, and ends one hundred dollars, while I get to have an omelette asked him and guy says the herbal one of these not in heaven, and she turns them this is why guess you can ask him about that was funny that I think you can ask of you, but the way to believe. And we do understand this is this is a real story. Again, this is a real event. This is that I fishtail and all this is the tell of a well for while Mattel and this is a true to life experience that a prophet of God went through out couple things to keep in mind that I'm not yes, a great city is somewhere I haven't written I believe it's forty five miles in circumference. Okay, so it's a pretty big place of either love the be the size of Philadelphia or New York City and on how many miles in circumference. They are, but it is a huge city for its time. And there are over a hundred and twenty thousand infants. It's refer to that, there are hundred and twenty thousand people in the city don't know the right hand from their left. So that means they are there little. It doesn't mean that the whole places the as is lacking in their mental abilities. This means that there are children in the city that is to the tune of a hundred twenty thousand that don't have the ability to decide right or wrong. So John, I was sent to the city of Nineveh probably about seven eighty five, seven sixty BC, so he is sent to the city and God has awakened God has called Jonah chapter one verse one. One day long ago, God 's word. I'm reading from the message Bible the word came to Jonah up on your feet and all the way to the big city, the big city of Nineveh preached to them that a bad way and I can ignore it any longer, so there is this message. The goal to the city of Nineveh, but there's a problem, Jonathan, like these people, and rightfully so these though the city of Nineveh, Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire were ruthless. I mean they were in otherwise no civil rights and that the net that community. It was a conqueror and when you're conquered till they would kill, pillage and burn. Now it was it was they were nasty people and whenever they would raid Israel when they would come in war against some of the snow surrounding Israel, they were devastating. They would come, they would take slaves, they would kill people and take the goods and take them back to CNN about so that they were ruthless people that gained a reputation of through their actions and the city of Nineveh was about five hundred miles is aware from Jerusalem from large Jonah was Northeast. It was not along the coast, but it was in word eastward Northeastern from from the Hill, Syria, where Jerusalem. Why so it was a great city, forty eight miles in an diameter and in the circumference it's wicked this is wickedness has come up before the Lord, to the point that God says, I want to do something about it now, Jonah would've preferred God to hellfire and brimstone will take care of them got it all I can. I can accept that Joe is mine. I can accept that type of salvation. You know the old expression, hang on. That'll teach him a lesson. While in this case, blow, not destroy them, and will teach them a lesson God, and so Jonah doesn't want to go to Nineveh. He is already determined that the city needs to burn. Okay, they need to burn for their sins. They need to be destroyed for their breaking Brett wrecking have an breaking habit upon the nation of Israel. They need to pay so John and his compassion verse three, got up and went in the other direction. He the parsers while Tarsus is a city in proper probably insistently the southern Italy. The only island. There so if you have Jerusalem here, you have knit of the up here Northeast memoirs, John Angelico over here, he's taking the fastest route possible to put the greatest distance between Ian God and God 's calling. So he is just takes off. He doesn't argue with God, the God is making a mistake and how that God should somehow just down, kill them all the other be okay. Well, and the opposite direction running away from God. He went down to the port of Joplin found a ship headed for cautious. He paid the fare and when I went on board, joining those going to Tarsus as far away from God as he could get the ever find it. I don't know if I've ever done this probably have in many ways of it. I don't think I've ever run ran from what I believe the calling of God to be in my entire life. I mean, as a kid I was raised in church I my mom and my grandma, my dad. They were all just very spiritual, very compassionate, loving, you know, we week tried our best to obey God, and in one of the things that has been for my downfall is that it's hard for me to recognize how gracious God can be just to to bestow gifts upon us seek for me. You got a work for what you get the farmer help you God have you got awake till spring. I was asking Bob if he killed the snow for his garden yet enough so we get all your work for you. God give God a foot in the time you've got to put in the labor and you've got what do all these things and let you do all the things you are, you get a harvest while yet all. That's how it's done when your farmer when your gardener, but God has away again. That is, above all of that, then he can give to us what we haven't planted because he planted the campus stole a harvest upon us that we didn't plan and that his blessings that come into our life can't be greater than the sum total of what we planted seats. All the blessings of God are greater and the way that God bestows them into our life is in our relationship, and this relationship with Jesus Christ. He brings you the stalls. He pours the shake pressed down, shaken together, and running over the same measure that you measure out to be measured back. We did that in the Sunday school lessons morning spoke about how that the Hebrew nation, its justice and its religious system were combined as one, so that if you broke the laws of the community you were breaking the laws of God. Now in our society we have you used separation of church and state of the separation of laws and God, but in reality if we are pleasing to God. We will be keeping the laws of the state. We don't steal. We don't feel we don't bear false witness. Without you we we do the right things for the right reasons and hear Jonah D he has a different plan in mind. He knows what God has said there is no confusion in this whole whole thing. So he makes up his mind. He's going to run away from God he has a better idea. He has a better plan. He has a better plan, and if he doesn't do it, he doesn't follow God 's plan. Then, these individuals will have to face God 's justice, because I'm not to tell them about his mercy, and so he takes off in a different direction. But God while he's on this store on lies on the ship. God sends a storm. Now it's important that we know not all storms come because were running from God, and the storms in our life, people, people always at the. There are always individuals who will tell you what you should and should not be doing. And the greatest disability that we have is trying to make everybody happy, because we know that the work is a story of an old man and his donkey, and is in his grandson so is walking down a recognized thinking that the donkey grant that grandpa is walking the donkey and the little boy is writing the donkey and they are going to walking down the road. Well, what if her first dressing room comes by and says what a spoiled little boy. They would ride and let his grandpa walk so grandpa takes the boy often he gets on the donkey in their writing down the road and another person comes by and says my what a spoiled old man to make the ride and not limit and make his little boy grandson walk so he picked his grants him up, put on the vote for writing down the road and the next person says my what terrible owners for both of them to be riding a donkey that such a small donkey and so they both got often the next guy came diocese but I have terrible to your carrying the donkey he supposed to be walking. So, whatever you want to make everybody happy. This carrier donkey, so the storm that comes up here and it reminded me of the storm in Mark chapter four, where later that day, Jesus, he said, let us with his disciples, let us go across the other side. They took them in the boat and the and other boats along with an acute storm came up and waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern head on a pillow sleeping. So here in Mark chapter four. Jesus is in the belt and the bulges in the storm. Now we have the storm in Jonah, in which John is running from God. And here we have the storm and Jesus in the boat with the disciples. Now we find out the job is sleeping and so was Jesus. Now they need. Jesus is asleep in the midst of the storm. I don't you sleep when there's water coming out of the boat and get no weapon stuff I I prop. I don't know. But Jesus is asleep now why things in this and the story in Mark chapter four is that no matter what the difficulties are Jesus is a piece see that Jesus is at peace, and that his speech he gives unto us, not as the world gives the gives us peace. So when we are going to the stores of our life. We want to make sure that Jesus is our peace. So whenever I pray with people and they are facing end-of-life choose the most important thing. I feel that I can bring to them is the peace of knowing God as their Savior. So whenever we have peace we can faith any issue that the storms of life are not out-of-control because Jesus is with me. He is in the boat and he's asleep and so then I recognize that I am at peace and no matter what happens in all of the myth of life and no matter what fears and difficulties in what people may say that I know that I'm at peace and one of this this one individual that I was ministering to. She was frightened because on that of an individual who had came to her and prayed with her and it scared her and I thought all what a wad of what an injustice to God that he would cause that people would bring Jesus to them to create fear. Jesus doesn't create fear he he forgives he loves. He restores you know, in an aside is the lesson this morning whenever we were talking about it and there was never no presence there were no presence whenever the children of Israel left Egypt in the end, the bringing of the Commandments and the bringing of the laws into the into the Hebrew, the Jewish society. There were no presence there was an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, you break somebody time they break yours Newcastle. They can thought they cut your hands off there was just it was just way wise, but that was the beginning of mercy. The reason is the beginning of mercy was if that plan came from someone from that family came over here and killed somebody from this family. This family would go and kill everybody in that family. But mercy was we demand to this one who killed his wife to be taken, and then we won't tell everybody else just the pill system in that time was to restore what was stolen and then the person was to be beaten, punished in front of everyone, and that after they were punished, they were restored to the community that the person who had done wrong was not to be looked down upon because of their sin. They were to be punished for their steps in and restored to the community and that is exactly how Jesus dies without us that we are not eliminated from the body of Christ because we fail that way. Sadly asked God to forgive us and we are brought back into the family that we are part of the family of God, and nothing can separate us from the love of God, we are restored. We are brought back into the family. God desires restoration, not separation. He desires restoration. We are restored to the date of the family of God. We were stored to where God wants us to be so here we are in, and this case in Mark chapter four, when Jesus is in the boat with the disciples that when we find ourselves in the midst of the storm. Don't panic, don't throw somebody overboard because we think they send and don't become anxious with Jesus that he sleep in it. He doesn't know what rat. What is a God answer my prayers. I told him what he should do. I even gave him a detailed instructions as to how I want all defensive what are we doing forever. Tell God what's wrong and how to fix it. It's always yes, we say our need. And while the desire in the direction that we would like these things ago, but John has weighed in impressing upon us what his direction is and we are to be giving thanks to God for hearing our prayers and how that he is going to restore and how that he is going to heal how that he is going to work all of this together for good, and so we are in the myths of that relational experience in which we feel know God is in the boat and the book feels like it's filled with water and sink, but it doesn't matter. Jesus is in the boat. The boat will sink in him. I have life that I have it for either the abundance of heaven for eternity. So the disciples, they said to Jesus, teacher, is it nothing to you that were going to drown. Sounds like a modern-day person of Jesus, but you can bet I'm in trouble here and then all these things have gone wrong and that my life is just the mass, then whatever way up and get over here and save me. Jesus awakens in the message Bible says he told the wind to pipe down, he told the wind. The pipe down. The wind ran out of breath. Jesus says when stop this rant over and out, sometimes when you look on the map and you see all these people going to have these disasters from the winds and the hurricanes in the Laurie Stearns and all that stuff. Yup, I was pray God take the wind out of the store I don't know what is needed. I don't know what the problem, I is not God take the wind out of the storm picked up violence out of the store because you're out West where we are having all that rain and mudslides and stuffed rabbit a great drought and it is these massive storms that fill up the reservoirs and sometimes now sometimes it's what are the things going on. I have no idea about, but it is the storms that actually replenish the reservoirs that keep people in water in the dry times and other than the dry seasons of the summer so even though we don't like them. We pray that God would take the violence out of them and keep his people safe, which are his children keep all of them safe and Jesus tells the storm to quiet down and he tells the waves to stop and there is smooth as glass, and the disciples then look in a say in Jesus. Jesus looked at them. In any case, as you call her wire you such cowards worry such cowards deface the storms that are just as natural that you have dealt with over the years, you fishermen these storms are part of the sea and your power to face these and he says, but you have any faith at all. Don't you have any faith at all to face these difficulties knowing that I am with you, and then the next verse forty one and they were they were in absolute awe staggered who is this anyway you see it isn't out of the ordinary for God to do the miraculous to God 's miraculous is ordinary to God. The miraculous is an ordinary thing. So here we are in our life facing our difficulties that are obstacles in the good times are bad times and we are be thanking God for his divine interaction in our life every ability for God to just work within us, so here is a storm that it's his disciples and Jesus is in the boat and very frightened because he's not doing what they expect and to the fears that we face is that because God is doing what we expect them to become perhaps God has something different. He wants us to do perhaps God wants us to be more dependent upon him. Then upon our ability to do the work take for me. I always felt that when I retire. Now I can go do this and go do that because I was always used to doing physical brute I was strong, but through force. You know, if you can't move it move it in again. Now you just have to pick it up and do what you know, just felt to what you might do it while I wash the cars yesterday and by the time I was finished I couldn't stand up. I can't do it anymore because of the problems that I have an guy in the yellow cake, God was wrong with you. Don't you know that I'm your sermon I been here on a faithful and I are back problem, and it's like David, your future is in your brute force your future is not in your strength, your future is in mind, missing, and God wants us to pay ten because he's doing something a little different. Now this isn't for you. This is for me. I now what God does in your back and how he does it with your situation probably entirely different than mine. And what he does in each of our lives. They may be similar, but they're totally different. God has a way of calming the storm and for the disciples. Jesus stands up as above says peace be still applies the start of the Narron off for Jonah. Jonah well, what happened to Job. The ship was about to break in pieces the sailors were terrified. They called out in desperation to their gods. Sometimes we need to know who are guardians some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God, some trust in themselves. Some trust in the government. Some trust in their neighbors, SunTrust and their families. Some trust in this interest in that, and whenever the troubles come. It forces us to really focus on who is what is my God, what am I trusting with my life receipt when dealing with terminal illness and people are at the end of their life. It really boils down to who my trusting the doctors have failed the medications have failed and I have a limited time to live, what and who my going to trust what we need to arrive at those places before our law I is on the end of its effort beyond that in the end of its days. We need to recognize that we are trusting in God, the God of the Hebrews, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God, the delivered to children of Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea is the same God, the same provisions that he did for Israel he could do for us if the same God who called the storms in March after four with the disciples is the same God who call our store and the same God who was with Jonah is the same God was with us and he can do anything he wants any miraculous move that he wants, but he chooses to use. He chooses for us to make our decisions. You know what God. I know I should go to Nineveh, but to you I don't like and I'm not going and going the other way. Find somebody else. And Jonah goes off storm comes where's Jonah sleep yup, I was wondering if some people are afraid to go to sleep because the night of May might hear him live my dream. They might make the young gods in the first partly calls Jonah is up and go a lot of jungle was sleeping just a thought in just a thought. He's asleep and John God says John Elway got to get some white whatnot, but governing amount of yet yeah he unknowingly got the award for Continental and John is asleep. He wakes up and got an animus of Jonah is on this campaign, pain, sleep again until I'm off to hear him on the ship and I'm going in a different and a different direction because I don't want him telling me again to go there, so I'm staying awake. I would fill my mind with activities I'm going to do everything I can to not think of God. I'm not, but it wasn't the bottom up and go to church on the parameter read Bible don't listen to the radio don't listen to Joel Holstein don't listen to the preachers on TV. I am not going to do this on the stay awake until I get on my boat and I'm on my boat and I've had to parse this. I grossly, you know people who do that one run run run run because it are one thing, the truth, well okay he gets on the boat goes to sleep most of the sink broken breaking up young. They do all the things they throw ropes around the body. The boat and they do all this stuff and well nothing was working. So what do they do go to be somebody's fault. So they cast lots. You know, and John and up with the short straw. It's him tell us about you. Well, we tell you about me. I am a Hebrew, they grilled him confess why this disaster. What is your work where you come from what country by family what Jonah says I'm a Hebrew, I worship God, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land eyeing I worship the God who makes that's the I worship the God who created the heavens and the PC. I serve him, and I think he's angry with me and the guys on the boat. They don't want to upset the God of Jonah, so they continue to wrote, they throw everything overboard. They do everything we can keep the boat afloat. And finally they decide what is Jonah first ten. As Jonah talked the soldiers realized he was running away from God. They said to him, verse eleven. What are we going to do with you to get rid of the storm verse twelve Jonas says I think you should throw me overboard now. I like this and this is just my little things that Dave McGee isn't enough. I will give any commentary blame for this one. Jonathan 's last act of defiance. God, I am not going to Nineveh and I will die before I go there from the overboard boys. I didn't do this on my own God. They throw me overboard. Jonah does his swan dive into the ocean. I am not going to noon. Yes, hello there as well. There is a prepared fish swallows up Jonah and Jonah finds himself in the place where he's more receptive to God. Notice one thing the seas called immediately. Jonah hits the water. It's over. Storms are gone. Seas are calm and the people on the boat know that this guy this God of this guy he is really something we better watch out, and you know there's a telephone, telegraph, and the Tele David that you don't communication the gossip. What about all costs. I did that in my name. Anybody also must only me but the salt word gets out in the those days there were no telegraphs, but there was a caravan to everybody dies, wouldn't talk about this. This guide is John. I imagine they got the port in a hurry and Jonah is in the fish now what you think it is like to be digested alive, you know was the time we think of the Pinocchio, the old guy sitting in the belly of the fish with little table in the lamp had hit it off. Jonathan Ares got a little God gave a little dance in the chairs you know any set in their young. Think about all I should become near their seaweed wrapped around his head. He is being digested alive, he's being digested alive then Jonah prayed, he prayed to his God from the belly of the fish. God doesn't talk God doesn't change our calling, even when we run. He loves you for who you are. He wants only the best for you and if being in the belly of the fish you want thrown overboard. You'll think that's the answer until your overboard. Jesus is with us in our most difficult times of life. He is with us to calm the sea or to prepare fish to take us where we need to go Jonah is as you read this, and I'm not a read at all, but in Jonah chapter two, I pray to God and he answered me from the belly of the grave. I cried help you heard my cry. You truly into the oceans into a watery grave. How does Joan and no. He's at the bottom of the sea. Why can't we go to the bottom of the sea. The pressures to great Joan is in the whale and the pressure that he would have felt in the depths of the sea. He talks about. I didn't throw away. I've been thrown overboard. It's like he is struggling to release going. He's going to die. He is going to be digestible live. That's all that he knows and he is going to make things right with Ian God, and he says I will never again lay eyes on the holy Temple. Never again will I see the beauty of that simple and that and the presence of God. Never again will I be there and he is lamenting over this digesting alive seaweed in squid 's cradle. When all the little things swim around him and in his face in his mouth and is being digested alive in the acids are working on his skin got the picture and he feels the depths of the ocean like he's being crushed from the inside. Any company breed the ocean. Britney by the throat. The ancient abyss grabbed me and held me tight. My head was all tangled and seaweed at the bottom of the sea, where the mountains take root. My prayer got through it made it all the way to your holy temple, those who worship hall of God 's God frauds walk away from their only true love but I'm worshiping you, God calling out to you and Thanksgiving and out do what I promised I'd do salvation belongs to God, he realized he was going to live. This is the challenge no matter what our mistakes, no matter what our failures, they don't cock and gets the heart that makes the difference. If we'll have a heart towards God. God is going to open doors closed doors. He's going to be the miraculous power of his love and his grace in his mercy he will bestow upon us things that we could never imagine because it is his will to be gracious and feel what his will to bless us and to hold us and to uplift us because we has away our applicant. He has uplifted because God is being magnified in my voice in my life in my hands and my feet and my doing in my coming in my going. I'm being magnifying magnifying God. And so if we are running. Don't worry, they'll be a storm. And there will be a prepared fish and God will bring you back to land and spew you out on the ground. Still, some wondered and now I put this, but I like the story, some wonder how Jonah could go to the city in everybody be converted well, what does a half digested man looked like, what does it. What does the man who is been absent what you know he does and I think is the most pretty of sites and everybody has heard about the guy who was thrown overboard in the seas calm down. They've all heard about his God Jonah shows up runtime, you know you want to repent to God wants them to repent, God has a way of working in our lives that he wants what he wants to do so don't run give up, surrender, allow God to begin more barrette, bring us to this place of restoration. Allow God 's blessing to flow into our lives in a matter what the seas may do no matter what the turmoil. Maybe God is in the boat. He is the maybe sleeping, not really, he's there, he will call every storm. He will provide every need. He will make a way where there is no way and he will bring you exactly where you need to be and don't ever doubt that because you failed your checked out never. God excepts us just as we are to bring us back into the family. His family to serve and to be blessed and to be part of what he wants to do and then she always do. We've only met a man doing the same. It's do you accept it. Are you in the belly of the well saying all my or a weekend about saying Jesus Palestine, wherever whereat he is there he hears our prayers and he brings us to the place of restoration and then amen, so be it. Lord paymentThe house as we begin today's message is running, running from God, and we as we think about our lives there and there haven't been times. Maybe there are times that you constantly walk in obedience and maybe that's a overall this way were we should be but God doesn't have a problem with us being us. God doesn't have a problem with us being where were at because he's going to get our attention, you know God is going to get our attention somewhere along the line, and today were reading about looking at the life of John and Joan Joan and the big the big fish. The prepared fish. Now this, this lady was on a plane and she was reading her Bible and the guy beside her safety to believe all that stuff and she says will of course they do. And and and he says, would you believe that fish story where that guy gets swallowed by a well, she says, will of course I do, and ends one hundred dollars, while I get to have an omelette asked him and guy says the herbal one of these not in heaven, and she turns them this is why guess you can ask him about that was funny that I think you can ask of you, but the way to believe. And we do understand this is this is a real story. Again, this is a real event. This is that I fishtail and all this is the tell of a well for while Mattel and this is a true to life experience that a prophet of God went through out couple things to keep in mind that I'm not yes, a great city is somewhere I haven't written I believe it's forty five miles in circumference. Okay, so it's a pretty big place of either love the be the size of Philadelphia or New York City and on how many miles in circumference. They are, but it is a huge city for its time. And there are over a hundred and twenty thousand infants. It's refer to that, there are hundred and twenty thousand people in the city don't know the right hand from their left. So that means they are there little. It doesn't mean that the whole places the as is lacking in their mental abilities. This means that there are children in the city that is to the tune of a hundred twenty thousand that don't have the ability to decide right or wrong. So John, I was sent to the city of Nineveh probably about seven eighty five, seven sixty BC, so he is sent to the city and God has awakened God has called Jonah chapter one verse one. One day long ago, God 's word. I'm reading from the message Bible the word came to Jonah up on your feet and all the way to the big city, the big city of Nineveh preached to them that a bad way and I can ignore it any longer, so there is this message. The goal to the city of Nineveh, but there's a problem, Jonathan, like these people, and rightfully so these though the city of Nineveh, Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire were ruthless. I mean they were in otherwise no civil rights and that the net that community. It was a conqueror and when you're conquered till they would kill, pillage and burn. Now it was it was they were nasty people and whenever they would raid Israel when they would come in war against some of the snow surrounding Israel, they were devastating. They would come, they would take slaves, they would kill people and take the goods and take them back to CNN about so that they were ruthless people that gained a reputation of through their actions and the city of Nineveh was about five hundred miles is aware from Jerusalem from large Jonah was Northeast. It was not along the coast, but it was in word eastward Northeastern from from the Hill, Syria, where Jerusalem. Why so it was a great city, forty eight miles in an diameter and in the circumference it's wicked this is wickedness has come up before the Lord, to the point that God says, I want to do something about it now, Jonah would've preferred God to hellfire and brimstone will take care of them got it all I can. I can accept that Joe is mine. I can accept that type of salvation. You know the old expression, hang on. That'll teach him a lesson. While in this case, blow, not destroy them, and will teach them a lesson God, and so Jonah doesn't want to go to Nineveh. He is already determined that the city needs to burn. Okay, they need to burn for their sins. They need to be destroyed for their breaking Brett wrecking have an breaking habit upon the nation of Israel. They need to pay so John and his compassion verse three, got up and went in the other direction. He the parsers while Tarsus is a city in proper probably insistently the southern Italy. The only island. There so if you have Jerusalem here, you have knit of the up here Northeast memoirs, John Angelico over here, he's taking the fastest route possible to put the greatest distance between Ian God and God 's calling. So he is just takes off. He doesn't argue with God, the God is making a mistake and how that God should somehow just down, kill them all the other be okay. Well, and the opposite direction running away from God. He went down to the port of Joplin found a ship headed for cautious. He paid the fare and when I went on board, joining those going to Tarsus as far away from God as he could get the ever find it. I don't know if I've ever done this probably have in many ways of it. I don't think I've ever run ran from what I believe the calling of God to be in my entire life. I mean, as a kid I was raised in church I my mom and my grandma, my dad. They were all just very spiritual, very compassionate, loving, you know, we week tried our best to obey God, and in one of the things that has been for my downfall is that it's hard for me to recognize how gracious God can be just to to bestow gifts upon us seek for me. You got a work for what you get the farmer help you God have you got awake till spring. I was asking Bob if he killed the snow for his garden yet enough so we get all your work for you. God give God a foot in the time you've got to put in the labor and you've got what do all these things and let you do all the things you are, you get a harvest while yet all. That's how it's done when your farmer when your gardener, but God has away again. That is, above all of that, then he can give to us what we haven't planted because he planted the campus stole a harvest upon us that we didn't plan and that his blessings that come into our life can't be greater than the sum total of what we planted seats. All the blessings of God are greater and the way that God bestows them into our life is in our relationship, and this relationship with Jesus Christ. He brings you the stalls. He pours the shake pressed down, shaken together, and running over the same measure that you measure out to be measured back. We did that in the Sunday school lessons morning spoke about how that the Hebrew nation, its justice and its religious system were combined as one, so that if you broke the laws of the community you were breaking the laws of God. Now in our society we have you used separation of church and state of the separation of laws and God, but in reality if we are pleasing to God. We will be keeping the laws of the state. We don't steal. We don't feel we don't bear false witness. Without you we we do the right things for the right reasons and hear Jonah D he has a different plan in mind. He knows what God has said there is no confusion in this whole whole thing. So he makes up his mind. He's going to run away from God he has a better idea. He has a better plan. He has a better plan, and if he doesn't do it, he doesn't follow God 's plan. Then, these individuals will have to face God 's justice, because I'm not to tell them about his mercy, and so he takes off in a different direction. But God while he's on this store on lies on the ship. God sends a storm. Now it's important that we know not all storms come because were running from God, and the storms in our life, people, people always at the. There are always individuals who will tell you what you should and should not be doing. And the greatest disability that we have is trying to make everybody happy, because we know that the work is a story of an old man and his donkey, and is in his grandson so is walking down a recognized thinking that the donkey grant that grandpa is walking the donkey and the little boy is writing the donkey and they are going to walking down the road. Well, what if her first dressing room comes by and says what a spoiled little boy. They would ride and let his grandpa walk so grandpa takes the boy often he gets on the donkey in their writing down the road and another person comes by and says my what a spoiled old man to make the ride and not limit and make his little boy grandson walk so he picked his grants him up, put on the vote for writing down the road and the next person says my what terrible owners for both of them to be riding a donkey that such a small donkey and so they both got often the next guy came diocese but I have terrible to your carrying the donkey he supposed to be walking. So, whatever you want to make everybody happy. This carrier donkey, so the storm that comes up here and it reminded me of the storm in Mark chapter four, where later that day, Jesus, he said, let us with his disciples, let us go across the other side. They took them in the boat and the and other boats along with an acute storm came up and waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern head on a pillow sleeping. So here in Mark chapter four. Jesus is in the belt and the bulges in the storm. Now we have the storm in Jonah, in which John is running from God. And here we have the storm and Jesus in the boat with the disciples. Now we find out the job is sleeping and so was Jesus. Now they need. Jesus is asleep in the midst of the storm. I don't you sleep when there's water coming out of the boat and get no weapon stuff I I prop. I don't know. But Jesus is asleep now why things in this and the story in Mark chapter four is that no matter what the difficulties are Jesus is a piece see that Jesus is at peace, and that his speech he gives unto us, not as the world gives the gives us peace. So when we are going to the stores of our life. We want to make sure that Jesus is our peace. So whenever I pray with people and they are facing end-of-life choose the most important thing. I feel that I can bring to them is the peace of knowing God as their Savior. So whenever we have peace we can faith any issue that the storms of life are not out-of-control because Jesus is with me. He is in the boat and he's asleep and so then I recognize that I am at peace and no matter what happens in all of the myth of life and no matter what fears and difficulties in what people may say that I know that I'm at peace and one of this this one individual that I was ministering to. She was frightened because on that of an individual who had came to her and prayed with her and it scared her and I thought all what a wad of what an injustice to God that he would cause that people would bring Jesus to them to create fear. Jesus doesn't create fear he he forgives he loves. He restores you know, in an aside is the lesson this morning whenever we were talking about it and there was never no presence there were no presence whenever the children of Israel left Egypt in the end, the bringing of the Commandments and the bringing of the laws into the into the Hebrew, the Jewish society. There were no presence there was an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, you break somebody time they break yours Newcastle. They can thought they cut your hands off there was just it was just way wise, but that was the beginning of mercy. The reason is the beginning of mercy was if that plan came from someone from that family came over here and killed somebody from this family. This family would go and kill everybody in that family. But mercy was we demand to this one who killed his wife to be taken, and then we won't tell everybody else just the pill system in that time was to restore what was stolen and then the person was to be beaten, punished in front of everyone, and that after they were punished, they were restored to the community that the person who had done wrong was not to be looked down upon because of their sin. They were to be punished for their steps in and restored to the community and that is exactly how Jesus dies without us that we are not eliminated from the body of Christ because we fail that way. Sadly asked God to forgive us and we are brought back into the family that we are part of the family of God, and nothing can separate us from the love of God, we are restored. We are brought back into the family. God desires restoration, not separation. He desires restoration. We are restored to the date of the family of God. We were stored to where God wants us to be so here we are in, and this case in Mark chapter four, when Jesus is in the boat with the disciples that when we find ourselves in the midst of the storm. Don't panic, don't throw somebody overboard because we think they send and don't become anxious with Jesus that he sleep in it. He doesn't know what rat. What is a God answer my prayers. I told him what he should do. I even gave him a detailed instructions as to how I want all defensive what are we doing forever. Tell God what's wrong and how to fix it. It's always yes, we say our need. And while the desire in the direction that we would like these things ago, but John has weighed in impressing upon us what his direction is and we are to be giving thanks to God for hearing our prayers and how that he is going to restore and how that he is going to heal how that he is going to work all of this together for good, and so we are in the myths of that relational experience in which we feel know God is in the boat and the book feels like it's filled with water and sink, but it doesn't matter. Jesus is in the boat. The boat will sink in him. I have life that I have it for either the abundance of heaven for eternity. So the disciples, they said to Jesus, teacher, is it nothing to you that were going to drown. Sounds like a modern-day person of Jesus, but you can bet I'm in trouble here and then all these things have gone wrong and that my life is just the mass, then whatever way up and get over here and save me. Jesus awakens in the message Bible says he told the wind to pipe down, he told the wind. The pipe down. The wind ran out of breath. Jesus says when stop this rant over and out, sometimes when you look on the map and you see all these people going to have these disasters from the winds and the hurricanes in the Laurie Stearns and all that stuff. Yup, I was pray God take the wind out of the store I don't know what is needed. I don't know what the problem, I is not God take the wind out of the storm picked up violence out of the store because you're out West where we are having all that rain and mudslides and stuffed rabbit a great drought and it is these massive storms that fill up the reservoirs and sometimes now sometimes it's what are the things going on. I have no idea about, but it is the storms that actually replenish the reservoirs that keep people in water in the dry times and other than the dry seasons of the summer so even though we don't like them. We pray that God would take the violence out of them and keep his people safe, which are his children keep all of them safe and Jesus tells the storm to quiet down and he tells the waves to stop and there is smooth as glass, and the disciples then look in a say in Jesus. Jesus looked at them. In any case, as you call her wire you such cowards worry such cowards deface the storms that are just as natural that you have dealt with over the years, you fishermen these storms are part of the sea and your power to face these and he says, but you have any faith at all. Don't you have any faith at all to face these difficulties knowing that I am with you, and then the next verse forty one and they were they were in absolute awe staggered who is this anyway you see it isn't out of the ordinary for God to do the miraculous to God 's miraculous is ordinary to God. The miraculous is an ordinary thing. So here we are in our life facing our difficulties that are obstacles in the good times are bad times and we are be thanking God for his divine interaction in our life every ability for God to just work within us, so here is a storm that it's his disciples and Jesus is in the boat and very frightened because he's not doing what they expect and to the fears that we face is that because God is doing what we expect them to become perhaps God has something different. He wants us to do perhaps God wants us to be more dependent upon him. Then upon our ability to do the work take for me. I always felt that when I retire. Now I can go do this and go do that because I was always used to doing physical brute I was strong, but through force. You know, if you can't move it move it in again. Now you just have to pick it up and do what you know, just felt to what you might do it while I wash the cars yesterday and by the time I was finished I couldn't stand up. I can't do it anymore because of the problems that I have an guy in the yellow cake, God was wrong with you. Don't you know that I'm your sermon I been here on a faithful and I are back problem, and it's like David, your future is in your brute force your future is not in your strength, your future is in mind, missing, and God wants us to pay ten because he's doing something a little different. Now this isn't for you. This is for me. I now what God does in your back and how he does it with your situation probably entirely different than mine. And what he does in each of our lives. They may be similar, but they're totally different. God has a way of calming the storm and for the disciples. Jesus stands up as above says peace be still applies the start of the Narron off for Jonah. Jonah well, what happened to Job. The ship was about to break in pieces the sailors were terrified. They called out in desperation to their gods. Sometimes we need to know who are guardians some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God, some trust in themselves. Some trust in the government. Some trust in their neighbors, SunTrust and their families. Some trust in this interest in that, and whenever the troubles come. It forces us to really focus on who is what is my God, what am I trusting with my life receipt when dealing with terminal illness and people are at the end of their life. It really boils down to who my trusting the doctors have failed the medications have failed and I have a limited time to live, what and who my going to trust what we need to arrive at those places before our law I is on the end of its effort beyond that in the end of its days. We need to recognize that we are trusting in God, the God of the Hebrews, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God, the delivered to children of Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea is the same God, the same provisions that he did for Israel he could do for us if the same God who called the storms in March after four with the disciples is the same God who call our store and the same God who was with Jonah is the same God was with us and he can do anything he wants any miraculous move that he wants, but he chooses to use. He chooses for us to make our decisions. You know what God. I know I should go to Nineveh, but to you I don't like and I'm not going and going the other way. Find somebody else. And Jonah goes off storm comes where's Jonah sleep yup, I was wondering if some people are afraid to go to sleep because the night of May might hear him live my dream. They might make the young gods in the first partly calls Jonah is up and go a lot of jungle was sleeping just a thought in just a thought. He's asleep and John God says John Elway got to get some white whatnot, but governing amount of yet yeah he unknowingly got the award for Continental and John is asleep. He wakes up and got an animus of Jonah is on this campaign, pain, sleep again until I'm off to hear him on the ship and I'm going in a different and a different direction because I don't want him telling me again to go there, so I'm staying awake. I would fill my mind with activities I'm going to do everything I can to not think of God. I'm not, but it wasn't the bottom up and go to church on the parameter read Bible don't listen to the radio don't listen to Joel Holstein don't listen to the preachers on TV. I am not going to do this on the stay awake until I get on my boat and I'm on my boat and I've had to parse this. I grossly, you know people who do that one run run run run because it are one thing, the truth, well okay he gets on the boat goes to sleep most of the sink broken breaking up young. They do all the things they throw ropes around the body. The boat and they do all this stuff and well nothing was working. So what do they do go to be somebody's fault. So they cast lots. You know, and John and up with the short straw. It's him tell us about you. Well, we tell you about me. I am a Hebrew, they grilled him confess why this disaster. What is your work where you come from what country by family what Jonah says I'm a Hebrew, I worship God, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land eyeing I worship the God who makes that's the I worship the God who created the heavens and the PC. I serve him, and I think he's angry with me and the guys on the boat. They don't want to upset the God of Jonah, so they continue to wrote, they throw everything overboard. They do everything we can keep the boat afloat. And finally they decide what is Jonah first ten. As Jonah talked the soldiers realized he was running away from God. They said to him, verse eleven. What are we going to do with you to get rid of the storm verse twelve Jonas says I think you should throw me overboard now. I like this and this is just my little things that Dave McGee isn't enough. I will give any commentary blame for this one. Jonathan 's last act of defiance. God, I am not going to Nineveh and I will die before I go there from the overboard boys. I didn't do this on my own God. They throw me overboard. Jonah does his swan dive into the ocean. I am not going to noon. Yes, hello there as well. There is a prepared fish swallows up Jonah and Jonah finds himself in the place where he's more receptive to God. Notice one thing the seas called immediately. Jonah hits the water. It's over. Storms are gone. Seas are calm and the people on the boat know that this guy this God of this guy he is really something we better watch out, and you know there's a telephone, telegraph, and the Tele David that you don't communication the gossip. What about all costs. I did that in my name. Anybody also must only me but the salt word gets out in the those days there were no telegraphs, but there was a caravan to everybody dies, wouldn't talk about this. This guide is John. I imagine they got the port in a hurry and Jonah is in the fish now what you think it is like to be digested alive, you know was the time we think of the Pinocchio, the old guy sitting in the belly of the fish with little table in the lamp had hit it off. Jonathan Ares got a little God gave a little dance in the chairs you know any set in their young. Think about all I should become near their seaweed wrapped around his head. He is being digested alive, he's being digested alive then Jonah prayed, he prayed to his God from the belly of the fish. God doesn't talk God doesn't change our calling, even when we run. He loves you for who you are. He wants only the best for you and if being in the belly of the fish you want thrown overboard. You'll think that's the answer until your overboard. Jesus is with us in our most difficult times of life. He is with us to calm the sea or to prepare fish to take us where we need to go Jonah is as you read this, and I'm not a read at all, but in Jonah chapter two, I pray to God and he answered me from the belly of the grave. I cried help you heard my cry. You truly into the oceans into a watery grave. How does Joan and no. He's at the bottom of the sea. Why can't we go to the bottom of the sea. The pressures to great Joan is in the whale and the pressure that he would have felt in the depths of the sea. He talks about. I didn't throw away. I've been thrown overboard. It's like he is struggling to release going. He's going to die. He is going to be digestible live. That's all that he knows and he is going to make things right with Ian God, and he says I will never again lay eyes on the holy Temple. Never again will I see the beauty of that simple and that and the presence of God. Never again will I be there and he is lamenting over this digesting alive seaweed in squid 's cradle. When all the little things swim around him and in his face in his mouth and is being digested alive in the acids are working on his skin got the picture and he feels the depths of the ocean like he's being crushed from the inside. Any company breed the ocean. Britney by the throat. The ancient abyss grabbed me and held me tight. My head was all tangled and seaweed at the bottom of the sea, where the mountains take root. My prayer got through it made it all the way to your holy temple, those who worship hall of God 's God frauds walk away from their only true love but I'm worshiping you, God calling out to you and Thanksgiving and out do what I promised I'd do salvation belongs to God, he realized he was going to live. This is the challenge no matter what our mistakes, no matter what our failures, they don't cock and gets the heart that makes the difference. If we'll have a heart towards God. God is going to open doors closed doors. He's going to be the miraculous power of his love and his grace in his mercy he will bestow upon us things that we could never imagine because it is his will to be gracious and feel what his will to bless us and to hold us and to uplift us because we has away our applicant. He has uplifted because God is being magnified in my voice in my life in my hands and my feet and my doing in my coming in my going. I'm being magnifying magnifying God. And so if we are running. Don't worry, they'll be a storm. And there will be a prepared fish and God will bring you back to land and spew you out on the ground. Still, some wondered and now I put this, but I like the story, some wonder how Jonah could go to the city in everybody be converted well, what does a half digested man looked like, what does it. What does the man who is been absent what you know he does and I think is the most pretty of sites and everybody has heard about the guy who was thrown overboard in the seas calm down. They've all heard about his God Jonah shows up runtime, you know you want to repent to God wants them to repent, God has a way of working in our lives that he wants what he wants to do so don't run give up, surrender, allow God to begin more barrette, bring us to this place of restoration. Allow God 's blessing to flow into our lives in a matter what the seas may do no matter what the turmoil. Maybe God is in the boat. He is the maybe sleeping, not really, he's there, he will call every storm. He will provide every need. He will make a way where there is no way and he will bring you exactly where you need to be and don't ever doubt that because you failed your checked out never. God excepts us just as we are to bring us back into the family. His family to serve and to be blessed and to be part of what he wants to do and then she always do. We've only met a man doing the same. It's do you accept it. Are you in the belly of the well saying all my or a weekend about saying Jesus Palestine, wherever whereat he is there he hears our prayers and he brings us to the place of restoration and then amen, so be it. Lord payment