Sometimes, it’s easier to run towards God’s will then it is to run from it.
now when you preach about Jonah usually
you’re going to hear something about how
he ran from God the Bible says that I
believe it’s in verse 3 I didn’t look it
up that this this morning but I believe
this in verse 3 is it in verse 3 where
it said that Jonah ran away from the
Lord so when you’re preaching to people
you’re always preaching to somebody who
is running somewhere I realize that
everybody in this room is running from
something to something running from the
Lord is how they put it I just want you
to leave the church when I say this but
that Jonah Jonah probably didn’t see it
at the time like he was running from God
did not I’m saying is it’s not it’s not
like how many of you have ever run from
God’s purpose for your life before even
if you just did it for 15 seconds I know
you’re really holy but how many of you
have had a season where you knew God
wanted you to something I don’t want to
do it and you kind of did everything
possible to do it not do it and
sometimes it just be easier to do it
like in the story of Jonah he goes to a
port called Joppa and he finds a ship
and the Lord told him to go to Nineveh
well Jonah decides to go to a place
called Tarshish here’s what interested
me in studying the map of Jonah’s
journey when I looked and traced where
he went I found out where God told him
to go was only 500 miles away from where
he was where he went to get away from
where God told him to go was 2500 miles
from where he was you know sometimes you
got to work harder to disobey God then
it would be to just do what he told you
to do in the first place no I’m serious
I wish some of us would have apply as
much creativity to obeying God as we do
to disobeying him some of you are really
creative sinners you got alibi listen
allies you’ve got two phones to help you
sin
I will come to this side I think I wore
them out already in this early in the
sermon but sometimes it would just be
easier to forgive and to hold on to the
garage why is it that we would rather
run 2500 miles away from God than 500
miles to our assignment I think it’s I
think it’s I think it’s because when
we’re when we’re in our story it’s not
as simple and I’ve been preaching this
all year hope you’re not getting tired
of hearing it but I’ve been
understanding the blessing of
perspective and the usually perspective
only comes with reflection that is the
Bible was not live-tweeted do you
understand this that the Book of Jonah
was not written while Jonah was running
it wasn’t written if Jonah had written
this when he was running he would have
said I’m being logical I’m being
practical that’s how he would have said
it had he written it while he was on the
run touch somebody and say don’t tell
your story too soon because it is only
after Jonah has done the will of God and
experienced a lot of different things
and seen the results of his rebellion as
well as experiencing the transformative
power of repentance
after his resentment that he is able to
say I was running from God I wouldn’t
have known I was running from God until
that storm hit see because we always
want to blame every storm that we face
in our life on the devil especially
however long you’ve been in church
usually you end up talking about the
devil more after being in church 20
years then you talk about God because
everything is the devil that’s one
advantage that people who don’t go to
church have over us and getting their
lives together they don’t have a devil
to blame we just put everything on him
we don’t have to deal with ourselves
I have preaching the Lord you hear
so Jonah
the Bible says can I preach about Jonah
can I preach about Jonah Bible says that
Jonah went to Joppa and he got on a ship
and he paid the fare because somebody
said when you run from God it’ll always
cost you something I’m not preaching
about that today but I could and then
the Bible says that he went down from
Joppa down to Tarshish and somebody said
when you run from God you’ll always go
down but when he got about I don’t know
let’s say let’s say you got about
halfway there and it seemed like he was
working he was sleep under the debt he
was sleeping while the storm was
happening because God sent this storm
because God will allow things to come
into your life to get your attention
because he’s not going to allow you to
be content in your complacency all of a
sudden the sailors realized that the
reason that they were experiencing the
storm was not because of something they
had done but something that this prophet
this rebellious prophet at the and he
was asleep under the deck and when they
woke Jonah up and said call on your God
he said well I can call on him but it
won’t do any good because if I pray
while I’m headed in the wrong direction
my prayer is just a pretense so what
you’ve got to do is throw me off the
boat and the storm will stop and so I
have thought about that one thought that
some some of you are going through a
storm not because of something that you
did but because of who you have on your
boat
in fact I preached it I preached it at a
youth convention one time at a
Pentecostal youth convention one time
and my message was called throw Jonah
off your boat and I was preaching it to
girls who were dating guys that are
dragging them down and so I would I
would encourage some of you maybe you
don’t have Jonah on your boat but maybe
he’s in your phone and I think some some
of you the most
spiritual thing you could do while I’m
preaching and I don’t even mind if you
do it you don’t even have to listen to
me is use that swipe feature on your
phone and you know that red one that
says delete some of y’all got Jonah in
your phone you’ve been texting Jonah
talking to Jonah and wondering why your
life’s going down but today is your tech
touch somebody say delete so when you
preach about Jonah can you tell I like
to preach about Jonah because I see
myself in Jonah I’ve seen myself
rebelling against something God has
called me to do I’ve seen myself go 2500
miles before I realize this is
ridiculous there’s no way that I’m gonna
be able to run from the presence of God
where can I go from your presence if I
said it happens you’re there if I make
my bed in the depths you’re there so I
know what it’s like to run and then find
out after you run you’ll only run so far
before you hit a roadblock and so I know
it’s like the run and I know it’s like
having some relationships that probably
I don’t need anymore and all of that is
good as well as preaching on the subject
of racial reconciliation it is
interesting to note that Jonah was
effective in ministering to people that
he didn’t even like for when he finally
did open up his mouth and preached to
the Assyrian people in the capital of
Nineveh there was great repentance in
the land I don’t think that the Book of
Jonah is about racism but I think it
does apply because we see here a guy on
the outside judging what it’s like to be
people on the inside and from his own
perspective inside of himself he comes
to all kinds of conclusions about what
kind of people God can bless and what
kind of people God can’t bless and what
kind of situations God can work in and
what kind of situations God can’t work
in Jonah finds out in the midst of that
that to the ends of the earth the
compassion of God will reach to anyone
who will call on the name of the Lord
and so we see that picture of
reconciliation in the Book of Jonah but
mostly what we know about Jonah is that
he spent three days in the belly of what
the Bible calls a great fish
which we usually call the whale let’s
get a look at the whale right about the
time that the storm started raging in
Jonah’s life God sends a whale to pick
him up and I don’t know because I am not
privy to the communication that took
place between the whale and God how God
got the whale in the right position at
the right time to know that this is
where Jonah’s gonna be when he’s about
to drown that the whale had I don’t know
how God spoke to the whale to go get
Jonah if it’s anything like finding Dory
God used echolocation and maybe God said
to the whale come on people come on that
section right there know love come on
did you see the movie you know certain
types of whales they emit a sound so God
said to the whale Google June and the
whale set to go Luger in it interesting
how the whale had better sense to do
what God said then Jonah did and the
whale swallowed up Jonah up and
delivered him so the Book of Jonah is a
book about rescue now I need to know I’m
preaching to because there’s a chance
I’ve got the right sermon but I’m
preaching it to the wrong people
has there been a time in your life
I’m just asking where God rescued you
from a situation that your own
disobedience created anybody anybody
anybody has God ever sent a whale to
pick you up now it’s an important thing
to know that God saved Jonah but the
accommodations weren’t that luxurious
could have sent a cruise ship Royal
Caribbean he could have sent it he could
have sent up a freight liner but instead
he put him in a deep dark place see
because of God rescues from your trouble
and makes it too comfortable you’ll be
quick to get back into it so God said I
need to put you in a dark place for a
minute so you’ll remember what
disobedience feels like what I’ve
noticed though is that sometimes we miss
God’s provision because we’re so picky
we don’t like what God sent to pick us
up with and we would rather drown by
ourselves one time in the first year of
our marriage I I got really got really
sick it wasn’t serious it turned out not
to be search about fell serious at the
time because I couldn’t eat every time I
would eat it would just burn all down in
my insides even when I would drink water
and so this went on for like seven days
I didn’t know what the problem was at
the time and I was really enjoying
putting on fifty pounds in my first year
of marriage and this interrupted my plan
that really is true I put on 50 pounds
in the first I think it was 18 months of
our marriage because Holly is a
fantastic cook and she is also a
temptress but man when it what what
happened that I I didn’t know at the
time I took this pill this antibiotic
that went down and got stuck in my
esophagus and then it burned into my
esophagus so then every time I would try
to eat or drink water I couldn’t I
couldn’t do it and so got real bad and
at the time I traveled and preached all
the time and I was always driving you
know up and down the roads usually
usually just driving more than flying
and so I was going from one place to the
other had been about a week that I had
been hurting and I didn’t know what was
wrong I went to see this doctor and kind
of said some things and I didn’t know
what’s going on and so I’m driving to my
next speaking engagement right and I’m
calling Holly and I bust out my razor
phone and I’m like man I’m sucks I can’t
still hurts it hurts worse and worse and
worse and she goes you’re going to the
hospital you need to drive yourself to
the hospital I got breach engagement she
said you’re gonna cancel they can find
another preacher
something’s really wrong with you you
need go to the hospital you’re gonna go
to hospital you gonna call him cancel
and I never called him I canceled before
I don’t think I’ve done it since and so
I was I didn’t want to do it but I did
it and I stared I’m in a hospital I’m
turning the hospital and I remember I’ve
got a couple of hours still left to go
cuz I’m out of town I’m driving south of
town and so I Drive by this hour
hitchhiker and decided to pick him up
because that’s what you do when you’re
driving yourself to the hospital you
pick up hitchhikers when you are a
Christian like me I don’t even know why
I picked him up it was a season in my
life when I pitched and picked up
hitchhikers I don’t do anymore but
this guy yes in my car and I don’t
really feel like talking cuz I’m drive
myself to the hospital because I have a
hold of my esophagus burning my life
away this guy’s all talkative all chatty
and everything and so we ride together a
couple minutes and a lone gasps and I
pull into the gas station and I’m
feeling like cheerful not a cheerful
Giver but I decide to if you probably
want something to eat so I said hey man
I said I’m a pump the gas you go in the
gas station get yourself something to
eat whatever you want to come in and pay
for it afterwards he goes well actually
I see a McDonald’s over there and it
wasn’t like one of the McDonald’s that
was right there in the gas station I’m
gonna have to go now drive through the
drive-through and go to McDonald’s but I
said alright you know Jesus said go the
extra mile and all that so I’m like
alright man pump the gas we’re gonna be
dogs
we’re going through the drive-thru at
McDonald’s and I’m just gonna order
whatever you know cuz I can’t eat
anything and so here I am ordering food
for a guy he’s sitting there I’m not to
smell this food in my car and this
delicious McDonald’s food that’s right
I’m not too good for McDonald’s I said
it was delicious
not that health-conscious freak and so
uh so I’m going to order and he
interrupts my order and he’s like no I
want a quarter pounder hold the Mayo
hold the onions I said alright he wants
a quarter pound I’m gonna get a quarter
pounder hold the Mayo hold the onions he
said and some chicken selects
now listen this was not some skinny
hitchhiker he didn’t look like he needed
a meal that bad
so my compassion is running out quickly
I said all right he wants a quarter
pounder hold the mail hold the onions
and some chicken selects he said and
some fries I said surprise please he
said in a biggie size and I’m thinking
I’m not saying this because I remember
I’m a good Christian I’m a man of God
I’m thinking man you should be grateful
to get a ride now you want to hold the
Mayo hold the onions
you got me spending $75 in the
drive-through and McDonald’s and I can’t
even eat then he took it way too far he
said can I get him McFlurry
I said no he’ll have a water and I got I
got him a water in an interesting how he
can go from I just need a ride do I need
some chickens is it interesting how you
can go from God if you’ll have mercy on
me a sinner in an interesting how you
can go from God if you’ll get me out of
this situation God if you’ll just be
with me but then over time something
happens along the journey and you start
thinking you know I don’t like the way
it smells inside of this whale in an
interesting how when you started serving
God you didn’t need people to notice you
you were just glad to be known by God
but over time you start getting real
picky I came to tell you today then if
you’ll get grateful see this is what
Jonah did he’s in the belly of the fish
and the Bible says that in Jonah chapter
2 for several verses he’s complaining
he’s blaming he’s talking about seaweed
around his head he’s talking about the
pillows that raged over him he’s
describing in detail his distress but
what chapter 2 verse 9 I love it because
the Bible says that when Jonah made this
shift everybody say shift he said but I
with shouts
of grateful praise we’ll sacrifice to
you what I have vowed I will make good
it I will say salvation comes from the
Lord and I don’t think it’s any
coincidence that in the very next verse
after Jonah got grateful even in a hard
situation when Jonah got grateful even
in the belly of a fish when Jonah got
grateful he got out I came to make an
announcement when you get grateful when
you open your mouth clap your hands
shift your mindset lift your eyes and
give God praise come on touch somebody
say I’m coming out with a shout I’m
coming out with a shout you didn’t touch
your neighbor maybe you don’t like the
shout maybe it’s like but that’s not my
personality time no no it’s not your
personality type until you get excited
about something I found out that
gratitude is the gateway into the
provision of God well is it interesting
let’s just study this for a moment
interesting that the Bible says in Jonah
1 verse 17 that the Lord provided a fish
do you think Jonah saw it that way
when he was being swallowed probably not
thank you Lord for this provision didn’t
feel like provision at the time at the
time being in the belly of the fish is a
problem so sometimes it takes time
before you can see the problem as the
provision hey thanks for watching make
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