Series: Having a Heart for Nineveh
INTRO
Excuse me, sir, do you have the time?" asked the jogger. "8:25!" the man replied. The jogger said thanks and left. Now the man could see other joggers passing by and he knew it was only a matter of time before another one disturbed him. To avoid that, he got out a pen and paper and put a sign on his window saying, "I do not know the time!" Once again he settled back to sleep. He was just dozing off when there was another knock on the window. "Sir, sir?" said a jogger, seeking to be helpful' "it’s 8:45!"
When I saw the recent news that Ted Haggard, Todd Bentley had a hidden life—a life of drugs and sexual immorality
-I found myself asking questions you may have asked—WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?
-can one become so important in his eyes that he believes he is above the rules?
-beyond the consequences?
-start thinking--I’ve done so much for others—it’s time someone does something for me
-I’ve so much good performance stored up it will reduce any bad effects?
But I find myself asking a bigger question—HOW?
-how is it possible to live such a life of deception?
-how can one compartmentalize sin in such a way that ministry flourishes publicly while a life of sin goes on at the same time privately?
But then, we all know of people who we have admired so much as Christians have made real mistakes, some have repented and been restored others not so much.
I find myself wondering—how many Christians, even now, are bottling up, hiding significant sins
-thinking they can get away with it
-while creating around them an impression that everything is okay?
That’s what makes the book of Jonah so relevant and important—and necessary
-it brings us back to reality—destroys certain myths
-that we can run and hide
-that we can choose both our sin and its consequences
Jonah’s hiding wasn’t some private affair with sex and drugs
-in some respects—it was worse
-Jonah turned his back on God’s call for his life—took charge of his destiny
-resigned from the prophethood
-ran from the center to the edge
-going in the exact opposite direction of God’s will
-using his resources—he bought passage on a ship to Tarshish—what represented the furthest place imaginable from the will of God
-and joined a long list of other hiders—Saul, Cain, Adam
Whose worlds fell apart—as Jonah’s was about to do
-this Carnival cruise soon turned into a voyage from hell
-for running from God, hiding from God, sets a man on a stormy trajectory
-the sooner we get off this ship the better
-but Jonah was not interested in getting off the ship—not interested in setting aside his self centeredness
-and so—as is so often necessary--God sent a storm (read vs 4)
-“sent” misses the force of the verb
-God “hurled”, heaved this storm at Jonah
-affirming the truth of Hosea 8:7—
-sow the wind, and you will reap the whirlwind
Sounds a bit vindictive
-I’ll get back at you Jonah for thumbing your nose at Me, this is not what God is about, he loves you cause he loves you cause he loves you.
-but it is something far more radical
-this is God tenacious--determined to bring Jonah—you, me—into the purpose for why He created us
-He will not give up on us--and if He has to use storms to bring us back—
He will
For storms do a couple of things—
1. STORMS HAVE A WAY OF REARRANGING PRIORITIES (read verse 5a)
A. Seeing that the ship would soon be shattered
-the crew had no choice but to jettison everything that might threaten their well being—strip down to the essentials
-reduce life to the elementals—every man cried to his god
B. That’s what storms do
-whether they be the loss of a job, loss of income, loss of health, the moment the bottom falls out, life has thrown an unexpected
-the moment that leads to a sudden loss of fortunes, loss of security, loss of well being
-the moment we become broken world people
-storms have a way of changing everything--have a way of forcing us to release the things we hang on to, the things we heretofore have trusted in
-bring us to a point where nothing else matters-everything else is insignificant
-reduce us to baseline—bring us to our knees
It’s unfortunate that we need storms for that—but often we do
-sometimes only the sifting work of a storm can bring us back to the call of
God
Maybe you are in the midst of a self-inflicted storm—and God is rearranging your priorities
-unfortunately—Jonah had not yet rearranged priorities
-while Jonah’s sin was effecting others
-for sin has its side effects—reducing the worlds of those we live with, work with
-Jonah assumed he could avoid it all-read vs 5b
-amidst the creaking of the timbers, the popping of the hull, the roar of the storm
-Jonah lay hidden-deep in the recesses (lit “extreme parts”), the far reaches of the ship
-language suggesting that even on board the ship—he was running to the farthest point –where he could renounce all responsibility
-and where he fell into a deep sleep
-how could this be?
-tired from the journey to Joppa? Drowsy from the motion sickness pills?
-most likely it was same tiredness you and I sometimes experience when we are in self-doubt, fear, denial
-when we are hiding from God—and the particular depression this can bring on
-when we are living with a secret—and expending lots of energy to cover it up
-WE SLEEP
-but it was probably more —we surmised PTCOG-post traumatic call of God
-sleep served to dull the pain
-but he would not sleep for long—for there is something else about storms
2. STORMS HAVE A WAY OF BRINGING THINGS TO THE SURFACE (read verse 6)
A. Layer by layer-Jonah’s world began to be exposed
-this storm, like most storms, began to bring things to the surface
-for God will not be brushed aside—ignored
-He will not allow things to remain hidden
B. Jonah was awakened, ironically, by the same word that awakened him to the call of God in verse 2—arise
-Jonah must have thought he was having a reoccurring nightmare
-only this time it was the voice of a pagan
-a captain tapping into every divine possibility
-and in all of this—Jonah was being exposed
3. STORMS EXPOSE OUR SPIRITUAL CONDITION
-a sudden loss, an unexpected setback—and the depth of our relationship with God is often exposed
-Jonah’s walk with God was revealed for what it was--thin
A. He was unable or unwilling to seize an incredible opportunity to give witness to God
-JONAH HAD NO WITNESS
B. Unable, unwilling even to pray—JONAH HAD NO PRAYER
C. Unable, unwilling to discern—JONAH HAD NO PROPHETIC INSIGHT
-even pagan sailors saw that this was more than a natural phenomenon
-this storm was something supernatural
Here was a prophet whose condition was exposed for what it was—
-functional godlessness
-as dead to the world as he was dead to God
-like Samson-devoid of power
-an empty suit
Sometimes it takes a storm to realize how shallow we are
-what happens when we have gotten away from the spiritual disciplines of
word and prayer—that bring depth
-more than spiritual dullness—
4. STORMS LAY BARE OUR PERSONAL DISOBEDIENCE-read vss 7-10
-things continued to come to the surface—next up was Jonah’s sin
-they realized this was no adventurer on the move
-this was a man on the run—from God
-painfully we learn this reality-truth always rises to the surface
5. STORMS REVEAL OUR HEART CONDITION-read vss 11-15
-as the storm increased in intensity--Jonah’s character, Jonah’s course,
Jonah’s faith—Jonah’s heart--everything about Jonah was coming out into the open, exposed
-even the deepest interior parts
-just as storms do in our lives
-Jonah’s offer to be tossed-heroic as it seemed—revealed yet something darker
-a heart rebellious —a heart stubborn--incapable of simple repentance
-the sailors were willing to do whatever God wanted
-Jonah knew what God wanted—but chose to defy it
-he could have simply said—God, I will go
-instead he in effect said to God—I’m not going
-I’d rather go to the grave than go to Nineveh!
APPLICATION
Perhaps you are facing a storm—and not all storms are the same
1. Some storms are not the result of disobedience
-honesty sometimes leads to bankruptcy—taking a stand at school sometimes meets with mocking
-sometimes, storms are the RESULT of obedience
-in another Mediterranean storm, faced by another pagan ship, in Acts 27,
Paul faced the real danger of shipwreck
-off went the cargo, the tackle—but through it all, God was not rerouting Paul
-instead—out of the storm came God’s powerful voice—“Do not be afraid Paul; you must stand before Caesar”
-to paraphrase—you’re on the right course—don’t let the winds push you off-stay fixed
2. But some storms are the result of disobedience
-sometimes storms are of our making—sinful choices, running from God
-that expose us to the severity of God’s mercy
-He will not allow us to live in peace with disobedience
Dear God—depending on the storm—strengthen our resolve—or break us-Amen
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