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Jonah's Rebellion · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Amen. Thank you for that song.
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We do not yet live in that final day of great rejoicing, but we can certainly look to it with great expectation.
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! It seems so often that sickness and sadness reigns in this day, but our God does indeed.
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I think today we're going to have to accept as part of the normal noise of the room, our typical children,
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being in the service with us, which we're so happy for because we love children.
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I think we're also going to have to include in that coughing and sniffling, which we don't love so much.
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It's part of that in-between, part of the curse that we deal with such things.
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I'm really glad to be back with you in this manner this morning, able to preach as I've been in and out and sick.
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We had the Advent season the past four weeks, so we took some turns preaching,
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and the turn I was meant to have, I had to give up.
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Clay very graciously preached on my behalf as I was diagnosed with pneumonia just two weeks ago,
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and I'm gaining in strength.
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I think I've felt a bit obligated to say that each time I've seen you that I've been getting a little bit better.
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I know last Sunday I told Stan that I was at 80%, and then at 90, I saw him at the grocery store last night,
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I said 95%. I'm probably being a little generous in all of that.
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Sometimes I'm feeling like I'm drowning from the inside,
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so forgive me if I take a moment and a break in the midst of preaching to clear myself in that way.
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Prior to Advent season, we were working through the book of Ecclesiastes.
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And I think, if I'm not mistaken, we were seven sermons in.
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I think we got to chapter 2, verse 8, somewhere in that realm as we were marching through the book.
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We're going to take a break from it.
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We're going to stop preaching in Ecclesiastes.
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And here's why.
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The book of Ecclesiastes is an interesting book.
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It's written. It's unique in all of biblical literature.
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Certainly unique as a wisdom book.
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And it's a difficult book to lay some bearing on because it has no real discernible outline.
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It at times really seems like the ranting of a madman.
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And you have to, in each and every time you pick up the book of Ecclesiastes,
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you really need to either read it in a sitting or in the preaching of it.
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You've got to get to the conclusion.
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You've got to bring some sanity to what the preacher is saying in the book.
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And his summary of it, we find in a single verse in Ecclesiastes 12, 13,
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he says,
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The end of the matter, all has been heard, fear God, and keep His commandments.
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For this is the whole duty of man.
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And he gives us some reason for that in verse 14.
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Verse 14,
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For God will bring every deed into judgment with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
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And so he's saying to us that we need to rightly recognize,
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we need to understand that we are created beings,
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and we have a creator who has a standard.
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This is the fear God, and we are meant to keep that standard.
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The book of Ecclesiastes just drips with the gospel because it presents us with the great problem.
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And all of the things in the world, all of the vanities, all of the pointlessness of the world,
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he brings us this summary of this,
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and we're left with this issue of fearing God and keeping commandments.
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This is our duty as people, certainly as Christian people.
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So we're going to take a step away from the book.
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And we're going to go to the book of Jonah.
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So let me invite you to turn there.
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The Old Testament prophet Jonah.
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As an example of a man that didn't do this well.
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The book is characterized by Jonah's rebellion against God's command.
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And it so well for us serves Jonah's life as a wonderful backdrop to consider the character of God
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as we consider what it means to fear Him and to keep His commandments.
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And so, kind of hear this as a continuation of our time in Ecclesiastes,
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as a biblical example of how this is meant to work out in our lives.
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Now, my apologies to you if this is incredibly disappointing,
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if you were really hoping to work all the way through the book of Ecclesiastes.
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So to that, I would just say, if that's a desire of yours, stick around.
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Maybe build a house in the area.
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If you're young, get married and have children.
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And maybe at some point we'll revisit together the book of Ecclesiastes.
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I'll make no promises, but likely we will at some point get into it.
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But for the next three weeks, I want to preach from the book of Jonah.
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I want to structure it in this way.
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The first week being this morning,
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we're going to look at the rebellion found in the book,
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the theme of rebellion in the book of Jonah.
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This morning we're going to look at chapter 1, verses 1-16.
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Secondly, so next Sunday,
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we're going to look at the repentance that's found in the book of Jonah
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by looking at chapter 1, verse 17, through chapter 3, verse 10.
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And then finally, on the third week,
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the regret found in chapter 4.
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So let's look at together, as I read to you,
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Jonah chapter 1, verses 1-16.
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Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying,
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Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it,
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for their evil has come up before me.
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But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
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He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish.
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So he paid the fare and went on board to go with them to Tarshish
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and away from the presence of the Lord.
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But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea,
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and there was a mighty tempest on the sea,
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so that the ship threatened to break up.
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Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his God.
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And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea
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to lighten it for them.
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But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship
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and had lain down and was fast asleep.
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So the captain came and said to him,
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What do you mean, you sleeper?
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Arise, call out to your God.
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Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that we may not perish.
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And they said to one another,
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So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
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Then they said to him,
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Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us.
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What is your occupation?
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And where do you come from?
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What is your country?
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And of what people are you?
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And he said to them,
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and I love this,
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I am a Hebrew,
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and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven,
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who made the sea and the dry land.
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Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him,
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What is this that you have done?
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For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord,
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because he had told them.
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Then they said to him,
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What shall we do to you that the sea may quiet down for us?
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For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
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He said to them,
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Pick me up and hurl me into the sea.
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Then the sea will quiet down for you,
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for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.
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Nevertheless, the men rode hard to get back to dry land,
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but they could not,
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for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.
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Therefore they called out to the Lord,
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O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life,
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and lay not on us innocent blood,
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for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.
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So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea,
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and the sea ceased from its raging.
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Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly,
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and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
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I think that most of us are fairly familiar with the story of Jonah.
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We at least know the plot line of the story of Jonah.
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We're aware of his rebellion,
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and therefore what happens to him as he's swallowed up by a great fish.
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But the rebellion in the story of Jonah goes beyond Jonah himself.
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It's not just Jonah's rebellion that we ought to see together.
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And so I want to look at that,
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and then I want to step away from that a bit to look at God's character,
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as we see in these first 16 verses.
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So notice first, Nineveh's rebellion.
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Chapter 2, the word of the Lord to Jonah is,
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to arise and go to Nineveh, that great city,
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and call out against it,
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for their evil has come up before me.
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The people who lived in Nineveh were Assyrians,
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and they were wretchedly wicked,
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as I will show you in just a moment.
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So they were rebellious against the Lord God.
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Jonah's message, you'll see in chapter 3, verse 4,
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is yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
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So God is bringing judgment,
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and a call of judgment down on Nineveh,
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unless they repent and turn from their ways.
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Notice also the Mariner's Rebellion,
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those who are sailing the ship.
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As they're in this storm,
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they call out to all of their gods.
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It seems that they all have a god of their own making,
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apparently.
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These gods are silent,
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they do not answer,
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but yet they don't worship the one true God,
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and are also in need of repentance.
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And we see them in this text,
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they do in fact repent,
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and we'll talk a bit more about that next week.
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And then certainly highlighted in the midst of all this
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is Jonah's rebellion.
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Jonah's given a very clear command.
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I love how the author,
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we don't know who the author of Jonah is,
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but gets right to the point.
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In this first couple of verses,
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there's a call to Jonah to go to Nineveh,
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and then very quickly in verse 3,
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but Jonah.
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Despite what God had commanded him to do,
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but Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish
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from the presence of the Lord.
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What caused Jonah to run in the other direction?
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Was it the size of the task?
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It's a major task that God put before Jonah.
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Nineveh, called that great city in chapter 1, verse 2,
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took three days to cross.
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Chapter 3, verse 3,
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probably because they're counting the suburbs
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around Nineveh as well.
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Nineveh itself was 18,000 acres
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within the city walls.
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It contained parks and a zoo.
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It was the Assyrian capital in that day.
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The wall was 100 feet tall
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and 30 feet thick.
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In chapter 4, verse 11,
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God says that there are 120,000 small children,
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we presume.
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Persons who don't know their right hand
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from their left hand.
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Hopefully, we know about what age that is.
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Small children, 120,000 of them.
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What a task for a single preacher.
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Would you be overwhelmed by such a task?
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Was that the issue before Jonah?
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Was it the danger of the mission?
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The Assyrian people were extremely wicked.
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In Nahum's prophecy, chapter 3, verses 1-4,
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he's speaking out against these very people
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that Jonah's been asked to go to.
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And he writes,
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Woe to the bloody city,
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all full of lies and plunder,
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no end to the prey,
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the crack of the whip and rumble of the wheel,
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galloping horse and bounding chariot,
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horsemen charging, flashing sword,
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and glittering spear,
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hosts of slain,
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heaps of corpses,
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dead bodies without end.
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They stumble over the bodies,
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and all for the countless whorings of the prostitute,
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graceful and of deadly charms,
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who betrays nations with her whorings
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and people with her charms.
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Incredibly evil,
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incredibly dangerous people
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that Jonah is asked to go to
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as a solitary preacher
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and preach to them destruction.
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Were these the reasons that he didn't go?
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The size of the task
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or the danger of the mission?
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No.
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These weren't the reasons.
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So why then?
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Why then did Jonah go
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in the opposite direction
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from the place that God had asked him to go?
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Nineveh is about 600 miles northeast of Jerusalem.
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It's modern-day Mosul, Iraq.
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Joppa is 30 miles northwest,
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which is modern-day Jaffa, Israel.
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And Tarshish, we're not sure about,
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but it's likely located in Spain.
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So get that picture.
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He's meant to go one direction.
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He walks out of the front of his house,
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and rather than turning right
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to head down the road,
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he turns left.
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He goes in directly the opposite direction
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to get on a ship
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and to sail far away
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across the Mediterranean.
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Why did he flee in this way?
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Why did his flight take this course?
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The book of Jonah answers that for us.
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In chapter 4, verse 2,
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after we see the repentance of the Ninevites,
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he said,
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O Lord, is not this what I said
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when I was yet in my country?
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That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish,
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for I knew that you are a gracious God
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and merciful,
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slow to anger,
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and abounding in steadfast love,
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and relenting from disaster.
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Jonah hated the Ninevites.
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They were enemies of Israel,
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and he knew of God's character
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that he was merciful,
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and that if he were to go
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and preach destruction to these people
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and they were to turn from their ways,
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that God would show them mercy.
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And he did not want that to be the case.
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I fear that in so many ways,
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we do this as a people.
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James Montgomery Boyce,
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in his commentary on Jonah,
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says,
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we can understand the geography
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and Jonah's motives
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if we can imagine the word of the Lord
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coming to a Jew who lived in New York
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during World War II,
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telling him to go to Berlin
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to preach to Nazi Germany,
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and instead of this,
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he goes to San Francisco
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and takes a boat for Hong Kong.
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And this is the issue before us.
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This is the life of a man
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that we ought to filter
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our own lives through.
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Who are your Ninevites?
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This could be on a grand
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and political scale.
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This could also be interpersonal,
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an individual that you just don't care for,
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or a group of people
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that you just don't care for.
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I remember back to my high school days.
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I was not a big fan of the jocks
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at our school,
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with some good reason.
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But it's God's mercy
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not good for them
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should they not also repent
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and believe.
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And we categorize people
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and we break them up in this way
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and we should not.
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So I want to show you,
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with that as the backdrop,
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three things about our God.
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I want to show you God's purpose
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in this text,
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God's power,
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and God's presence.
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And God's purpose in this world,
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I want to sum up in this way,
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is to make Himself known.
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To seek His own glory,
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His own acclaim,
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to make Himself known
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primarily through the merciful redemption
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of His people.
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Let me give you some text to this end.
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Isaiah 43, 6 and 7.
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God says,
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I will say to the north,
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give up,
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and to the south,
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do not withhold.
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Bring My sons from afar
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and My daughters from the end of the earth.
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Everyone who is called by My name,
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whom I created for My glory,
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whom I formed and I made.
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God has always had
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worldwide intentions
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for His glory.
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He has always intended to save peoples
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from every tribe
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and every nation
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and every tongue.
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This theme maintains itself
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all throughout the Old Testament.
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God didn't just intend
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to have Israel as His people.
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The book of Jonah
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is a wonderful expression of that.
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Go to the great city of Nineveh
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and preach destruction
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that they may turn to Me.
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There's always been an inclusion
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in God's people.
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Habakkuk 2, 14.
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God says,
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For the earth will be filled
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with the knowledge of the glory
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of the Lord
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as the waters
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cover the sea.
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For time,
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there's two Old Testament
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examples for you.
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This has always been
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God's intention.
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How is it that He accomplishes
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this great work
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of the glory of His name
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by the redemption
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of His people?
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He accomplishes it
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through preaching.
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And I don't mean
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only this kind
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of preaching.
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I mean the kind of preaching
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that's so often
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translated in that way.
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The Greek word means
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gossiping.
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Like in Acts 8, 4.
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When the early church
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is split up
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because of persecution,
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it says that they went
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about preaching
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the Word of God.
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It means that they told
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anybody and everybody
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as they're dispersed
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back across
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the known world
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about the good news
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of Jesus Christ.
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How is it that we find
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Christianity
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on three continents
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in one generation?
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Because God's people
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preach the good news
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of Jesus Christ.
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They saw that they were
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meant to go
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and to make disciples.
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Romans chapter 10,
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13 through 17.
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Beloved, hear me.
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I often read
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these common texts
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and I think,
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oh, I need to come up
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with more creative texts.
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Right?
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That people haven't heard
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so much.
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But I wonder if I say
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Romans 10, 13 through 17
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if you go,
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I don't read that.
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You should.
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Okay, so hear me.
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You should.
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For everyone
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who calls
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on the name of the Lord
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will be saved.
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Do we care about people
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to that degree?
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Right?
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Even our Ninevites
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that we would want people
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to have what we have.
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Right?
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The mercy of God
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to us in Jesus Christ.
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Everyone who calls
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on the name of the Lord
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will be saved.
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How then will they call
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on Him
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in whom they have not believed?
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And how are they
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to believe in Him
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of whom they have never heard?
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And how are they to hear
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without someone preaching?
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This is that Greek word.
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Don't think that this
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excludes you.
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Right?
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This isn't just a text
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for the pastor.
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This is a text
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for the believer.
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And how are they to preach
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unless they are sent?
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As it is written,
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how beautiful are the feet
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of those
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who preach
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the good news.
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But they have not all
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obeyed the gospel.
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For Isaiah says,
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Lord,
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who has believed
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what He has heard
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from us?
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So there's not a promise
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that everyone's going to turn
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to Christ.
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Right?
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We can see that here.
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Right?
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But there's a command to go.
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Verse 17,
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So faith comes from hearing
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and hearing
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through the word of Christ.
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Jonah seemed to understand this
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better than we do
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so often.
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He didn't want to go
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because he knew
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they probably would believe
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that God would save
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their souls.
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Psalm 96.3,
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the exhortation,
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declare His glory
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among the nations,
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His marvelous works
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among all the peoples.
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Matthew chapter 28,
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another text
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you should be very familiar with.
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Right?
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Just the first part
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of verse 19,
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Go therefore
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and make disciples
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of all nations.
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Acts 1.8,
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You will receive power
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when the Holy Spirit
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has come upon you
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and you will be
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my witnesses
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in Jerusalem,
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in all Judea
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and Samaria
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and to the end
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of the earth.
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If we are disciples
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of Jesus Christ,
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we will care about
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what Jesus Christ
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cares about.
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Luke 19.10,
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For the Son of Man
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came to seek
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and to save
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the lost.
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This is the means
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by which
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He carries the Gospel
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to all peoples.
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And don't hear me
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just making a mission call.
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Certainly include that
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in this.
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Some of you may need
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to go
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and go to the ends
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of the earth,
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to the weirdest
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and most remote places
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where people live.
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All of us need to go
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to wherever we're going
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this week.
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To see that we are
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first and foremost
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disciples of Jesus Christ.
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Everything else
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falls underneath that.
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Everything else
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is subservient
22:58
to the fact
22:59
that we're God's people
23:00
and we're meant
23:01
to take the good news
23:02
of Christ
23:03
to everyone
23:04
everywhere.
23:06
To be messengers
23:08
of the mercy
23:09
of God.
23:11
And this book
23:12
just drips
23:13
with that.
23:15
God displays
23:16
abundant
23:17
mercy
23:18
toward mankind
23:19
in the story
23:20
of Jonah.
23:22
I am always
23:23
so thankful
23:24
for the conjunction
23:25
but.
23:27
You see that
23:28
this command
23:28
is given to
23:29
Jonah.
23:30
Verse 3,
23:31
but Jonah.
23:32
He's given a command.
23:33
Instead,
23:34
he goes and does
23:35
this thing.
23:37
And instead of God
23:38
doing the warranted
23:40
thing for Jonah's
23:40
rebellion,
23:41
right?
23:42
I read these first
23:43
three verses
23:44
and in my mind
23:45
I want God
23:45
to smush Jonah.
23:48
Be done with him.
23:49
Right?
23:49
Ah, rebellious.
23:51
Go on to the next guy.
23:52
Right?
23:53
Somebody else
23:54
in Jerusalem
23:55
certainly would have
23:55
gone.
23:57
But verse 4
23:57
says,
23:58
but the Lord.
24:02
And there's this
24:02
great intervention
24:03
on his behalf.
24:04
He sends a great
24:06
wind and a great
24:07
fish because
24:09
he loves
24:10
Jonah.
24:11
Because he's
24:12
merciful toward
24:13
Jonah.
24:14
He's got this
24:15
mission for him
24:16
that he intends
24:16
to carry out
24:17
and he does not
24:18
need him to
24:19
accomplish this
24:20
thing.
24:20
Could God not
24:21
in some other
24:22
way preach the
24:23
good news to the
24:25
people of Nineveh?
24:25
Certainly he could.
24:27
But he chooses
24:28
to use Jonah
24:29
and to express
24:30
his mercy
24:30
through the
24:31
work of Jonah.
24:33
He shows this
24:34
abundant mercy
24:35
to him.
24:36
And he does it
24:36
on more than
24:37
one occasion.
24:38
He does it
24:38
again in chapter
24:39
4.
24:40
Again, I want
24:40
Jonah to be
24:41
smushed by the
24:42
thumb of God.
24:43
But God
24:44
stays his
24:46
anger toward
24:46
him.
24:48
He shows mercy
24:48
to the mariners.
24:50
We see their
24:51
repentance and he
24:52
stays the storm
24:53
for them once
24:53
they throw Jonah.
24:55
overboard.
24:56
And he
24:57
certainly shows
24:57
mercy to the
24:58
people of Nineveh
24:59
as we see the
24:59
greatest revival
25:00
that has ever
25:00
happened in all
25:01
of history in
25:03
the book of
25:04
Jonah.
25:05
We see God's
25:06
purpose in
25:07
Jonah.
25:08
The redemption
25:09
of people from
25:11
every tribe,
25:12
every nation,
25:13
and every tongue.
25:14
This includes
25:15
all of the ways
25:16
that we section
25:17
ourselves out.
25:19
This includes
25:20
the hipsters.
25:20
God's power.
25:27
The second thing
25:27
I want you to
25:28
see.
25:28
God's power.
25:30
There's a number
25:31
of things that we
25:31
see in the text
25:32
that we can speak
25:33
about God's
25:33
power.
25:34
He calms a
25:35
storm.
25:35
Think about
25:36
Jesus speaking
25:37
to the storm
25:37
on the Sea of
25:38
Galilee and
25:38
calming it.
25:39
He commands
25:40
a great fish.
25:41
He's got power
25:42
over the
25:42
creation.
25:44
We see that
25:45
he changes
25:45
hearts.
25:46
We see that
25:46
the Ninevites
25:47
and the mariners
25:48
turn to God.
25:50
We see all
25:50
this expression
25:50
of God's
25:51
power,
25:51
but I'm
25:51
referring
25:52
specifically
25:53
when I talk
25:54
about God's
25:54
power from
25:55
this text
25:55
to God's
25:57
sovereignty.
25:58
His ultimate
25:59
and complete
26:00
reign over
26:01
all things.
26:05
Nothing
26:05
escapes
26:06
God's
26:08
control
26:08
and power.
26:10
And we seem
26:11
as a people
26:11
to have no
26:12
trouble with
26:12
God's sovereignty
26:13
in the natural
26:15
order of things.
26:15
An example
26:16
of this
26:16
would be
26:17
gravity.
26:18
Have you ever
26:18
heard a person
26:19
complain?
26:20
That God
26:21
is in control
26:21
of the way
26:22
in which
26:22
we stay
26:23
on the ground?
26:24
I never have.
26:25
I'm thankful
26:25
for it.
26:26
I can rest
26:27
in that fact
26:28
that I know
26:28
that I'm
26:30
on the ground
26:30
and gravity
26:30
is going to
26:31
function and
26:31
continue to
26:32
work.
26:33
This is under
26:34
God's purview.
26:35
He is in
26:35
control of
26:36
this right
26:37
now that
26:38
we're where
26:39
we are.
26:39
We're held
26:40
together.
26:41
You're not
26:41
going to float
26:41
up out of
26:42
your seats
26:42
all of a
26:43
sudden.
26:43
Unless the
26:44
sermon gets
26:44
real good.
26:46
You're going
26:46
to stay put
26:47
in your seats.
26:48
We have
26:50
no trouble
26:50
with this
26:50
kind of
26:51
thing.
26:52
We say,
26:52
oh sure,
26:52
God is
26:53
sovereign and
26:53
in control
26:53
of that.
26:54
The orbit
26:54
of the planet.
26:55
Yes,
26:55
God is in
26:56
control of
26:56
that.
26:57
But we
26:57
seem to
26:57
really struggle
26:58
with it
26:58
when it
26:59
comes to
26:59
the experience
27:00
of life.
27:02
Suddenly we
27:02
become,
27:03
because we
27:04
experience
27:04
something
27:04
different,
27:05
we become
27:06
gods in
27:07
ourselves.
27:08
And we
27:08
say,
27:08
oh,
27:08
we couldn't
27:09
possibly be
27:10
sovereign over
27:10
all things.
27:12
we struggle
27:13
with it,
27:14
with things
27:14
like a
27:15
wayward
27:16
saint.
27:18
I think
27:18
all of us
27:19
have been
27:19
around long
27:20
enough that
27:21
we've seen
27:21
a person who
27:22
professes faith
27:23
in Christ,
27:24
who shows so
27:25
much evidence
27:26
of that,
27:27
and then just
27:27
seems in so
27:28
many ways to
27:29
rebel against
27:30
God.
27:31
To run
27:32
off.
27:32
People are
27:33
coming to my
27:33
mind that
27:35
have been
27:35
here and
27:35
have left.
27:36
And this is
27:37
not the
27:37
magical place.
27:38
You've got to
27:38
be here if
27:38
you're a
27:38
Christian.
27:39
But they
27:39
go off and
27:40
with their
27:40
life,
27:41
they just
27:41
kick against
27:42
God.
27:45
Does God
27:46
not have the
27:46
ability to
27:47
actually crush
27:47
our wills?
27:48
Certainly He
27:48
could,
27:49
and sometimes
27:49
I just
27:49
wish that
27:50
He would.
27:51
That He
27:51
would just
27:52
actually make
27:53
me a
27:53
robot.
27:53
I would
27:54
be fine
27:54
with that.
27:55
Help me
27:55
to walk
27:55
in righteousness.
27:58
So we
27:58
struggle in
27:59
this way.
28:01
Jonah speaks
28:02
to this.
28:03
Jonah speaks
28:04
to this.
28:04
God is
28:05
in control.
28:07
His providence
28:08
raised.
28:09
Look at the
28:09
way that He
28:09
deals with
28:10
Jonah.
28:11
to accomplish
28:12
His purpose
28:13
with Jonah
28:14
indirectly.
28:17
Could God
28:17
have, and
28:18
certainly He
28:18
has, there's
28:19
some accounts
28:19
of it in
28:19
the Scripture,
28:20
of changing
28:21
somebody in
28:22
a way that
28:23
causes them
28:23
to do a
28:24
thing?
28:25
Couldn't He
28:26
have done
28:26
that here,
28:26
right?
28:27
Couldn't
28:28
verse 4
28:29
read,
28:30
but God,
28:31
but the
28:32
Lord,
28:34
as He
28:34
was turning,
28:35
as He
28:35
was going
28:36
toward Joppa,
28:37
changed His
28:38
heart and
28:39
caused Him
28:39
to walk
28:40
the other
28:40
direction
28:40
to
28:41
Nineveh.
28:41
Certainly,
28:42
He could
28:42
have.
28:43
But here,
28:44
God works
28:45
indirectly.
28:46
He works
28:47
through
28:47
circumstance,
28:48
a great
28:48
storm and
28:49
a great
28:49
fish.
28:51
Jonah
28:51
recognizes
28:52
God's
28:52
intervention
28:53
in His
28:53
repentance,
28:54
which we'll
28:54
talk about
28:55
next week,
28:56
and does
28:56
the thing
28:57
that God
28:57
had said
28:57
Him about
28:58
doing.
29:00
His
29:00
providence
29:00
reigns at
29:01
all times.
29:02
It never
29:02
does it,
29:03
even if our
29:03
experience
29:04
doesn't seem
29:06
to affirm
29:07
that.
29:08
Beloved,
29:09
the Scripture
29:09
is our
29:10
great high
29:10
authority,
29:11
not our
29:11
experience.
29:13
Psalm 115.3,
29:14
Our God
29:14
is in the
29:15
heavens.
29:15
He does
29:16
all that
29:17
He pleases.
29:18
Proverbs
29:19
16.9,
29:20
The heart
29:20
of man
29:21
plans his
29:21
way,
29:22
but the
29:25
Lord
29:26
establishes
29:27
His steps.
29:29
Proverbs
29:30
21.1,
29:31
says of a
29:31
king,
29:32
and it
29:33
says it of a
29:33
king because
29:34
the king
29:34
was in
29:35
absolute
29:36
control in
29:36
the mind
29:37
of the
29:37
people over
29:38
everything that
29:38
was under
29:38
his reign,
29:39
right?
29:40
But the
29:40
king's
29:41
heart is a
29:42
stream of
29:42
water in
29:43
the hand
29:43
of the
29:43
Lord.
29:43
He turns
29:44
it wherever
29:44
he will.
29:45
Effortlessly
29:46
he turns
29:47
it.
29:47
And certainly
29:47
this gives
29:48
application
29:48
to us.
29:51
God is
29:51
sovereignly in
29:52
control of
29:53
all things.
29:54
Now I
29:54
don't want
29:54
to even
29:54
try to
29:55
work out
29:55
all the
29:55
implications
29:55
of that
29:56
with you.
29:57
I don't
29:57
think we
29:57
will on
29:58
this side
29:58
of glory.
29:59
I think
29:59
it's a
30:00
thing that's
30:00
far too
30:00
high for
30:01
us to
30:01
completely
30:02
understand.
30:03
How it
30:04
is that
30:05
God is
30:05
sovereign over
30:06
all things
30:06
and yet we
30:07
are responsible
30:07
for our
30:08
actions,
30:09
I don't
30:09
want to
30:10
try.
30:11
I don't
30:11
want to
30:11
try.
30:13
Listen to
30:13
this quote
30:13
from Charles
30:14
Spurgeon.
30:15
This is on
30:16
the front of
30:16
your bulletin
30:16
that you
30:17
don't have
30:17
because it's
30:17
sitting in
30:18
the hall.
30:19
So I'll
30:19
try to read
30:20
it carefully
30:20
and you
30:21
can go
30:22
back and
30:22
reread it
30:23
if you
30:24
manage to
30:24
pick one
30:24
of those
30:25
up.
30:26
He once
30:27
said,
30:29
opposition
30:29
to divine
30:31
sovereignty
30:31
is
30:32
essentially
30:33
atheism.
30:36
Men have
30:37
no objection
30:37
to a
30:38
God who
30:38
really is
30:39
no God.
30:41
I mean
30:41
by this
30:42
a God
30:43
who shall
30:43
be the
30:44
subject
30:44
of their
30:45
caprice
30:46
or temper
30:46
tantrums,
30:47
who shall
30:48
be a
30:48
lackey
30:49
to their
30:50
will,
30:51
who shall
30:52
be under
30:52
their
30:53
control.
30:54
They have
30:55
no objection
30:56
to such
30:56
a being
30:57
as that.
30:59
But a
30:59
God who
30:59
speaks
31:00
and it
31:01
is done,
31:02
who
31:02
commands
31:03
and it
31:04
stands
31:04
fast,
31:06
a God
31:06
who has
31:07
no respect
31:08
for their
31:08
persons but
31:09
does as
31:09
he wills
31:10
among the
31:11
armies of
31:11
heaven and
31:12
among the
31:12
inhabitants of
31:13
this lower
31:14
world,
31:15
such a
31:15
God as
31:16
this they
31:17
cannot
31:18
endure.
31:19
Oh, I hope
31:20
we're not
31:21
those people.
31:22
I hope
31:22
we're a
31:23
people who
31:23
rest in the
31:24
sovereignty of
31:25
God over
31:26
all things,
31:27
who believe
31:28
the promises
31:29
of Scripture.
31:31
The same
31:31
way that we
31:32
rest in the
31:33
sure promise
31:34
of gravity,
31:35
we can rest
31:36
in the sure
31:36
promise that
31:37
God is
31:37
sovereignly in
31:37
control of
31:39
everything.
31:41
Young
31:42
people,
31:43
this should
31:43
help you
31:44
as you
31:45
consider what
31:46
comes next
31:46
in the future.
31:48
I know this
31:48
is one of the
31:49
great questions
31:50
on your
31:50
mind.
31:51
What am I
31:52
to do
31:53
next?
31:53
What is
31:54
God's will
31:55
for my
31:56
life?
31:58
God
31:58
accomplished
31:58
it with
31:59
Jonah,
32:00
even when
32:00
Jonah was
32:01
running in
32:01
the opposite
32:02
direction.
32:03
He'll do
32:04
the same
32:04
for you.
32:07
I'm not
32:07
saying don't
32:07
be wise,
32:08
I'm not
32:08
saying don't
32:09
seek counsel,
32:10
walk in the
32:11
way of the
32:12
Lord,
32:12
pray about
32:13
what you
32:13
should do,
32:14
but rest
32:14
in the
32:15
fact that
32:15
God is
32:16
in
32:16
control.
32:19
Thirdly,
32:20
God's
32:21
presence.
32:23
God's
32:24
presence.
32:25
There's
32:26
an interesting
32:26
little phrase
32:28
in this
32:28
first chapter
32:29
expressing
32:32
what it is
32:32
exactly that
32:33
Jonah is
32:33
fleeing from.
32:35
It doesn't
32:35
say the
32:36
command of
32:37
God.
32:37
It says
32:38
that he's
32:38
fleeing from
32:39
the presence
32:40
of the
32:41
Lord.
32:42
It's twice
32:42
in verse
32:42
three,
32:43
it's once
32:44
in verse
32:44
ten.
32:45
He's
32:45
fleeing
32:45
from the
32:46
presence
32:46
of the
32:48
Lord.
32:48
What does
32:49
that mean?
32:50
It's such
32:50
an interesting
32:50
thing.
32:51
I think
32:52
we all
32:53
understand
32:53
that God
32:54
is omnipresent.
32:56
The scripture
32:56
affirms that.
32:58
Psalm
32:58
139,
33:00
7-10,
33:01
which Jonah
33:02
should have
33:03
been aware
33:04
of.
33:04
He's a bit
33:05
of a later
33:05
Old Testament
33:06
character.
33:07
The Psalms
33:08
were completed
33:09
at this
33:10
time.
33:10
They would
33:10
have been
33:11
canonized.
33:12
They would
33:12
have existed
33:12
and distributed
33:13
at this
33:14
time.
33:15
I believe
33:16
he would
33:16
have been
33:17
familiar
33:17
with this
33:17
text,
33:18
which says,
33:20
where shall
33:20
I go
33:21
from your
33:21
spirit?
33:22
Or where
33:23
shall I
33:23
flee from
33:24
your
33:25
presence?
33:26
If I
33:26
ascend to
33:26
heaven,
33:27
you are
33:27
there.
33:27
If I
33:28
make my
33:28
bed in
33:29
Sheol,
33:29
you are
33:30
there.
33:31
If I
33:31
take the
33:31
wings of
33:32
the morning
33:32
and dwell
33:33
in the
33:33
uttermost
33:34
parts of
33:34
the sea,
33:35
even there
33:35
your hand
33:36
shall lead
33:37
me,
33:37
and your
33:38
right hand
33:38
shall hold
33:40
me.
33:42
But yet,
33:43
it's recorded
33:44
that he was
33:44
fleeing from
33:47
the presence
33:47
of God.
33:49
It seems
33:49
that Psalm
33:50
139,
33:50
7-10 was
33:51
written for
33:51
Jonah.
33:52
Once again,
33:52
we get this
33:53
dwelling in
33:53
the uttermost
33:54
parts of
33:55
the sea.
33:55
Who has
33:56
ever done
33:56
that except
33:57
for Jonah
33:58
for three
33:59
days?
34:01
James
34:02
Montgomery
34:02
Boyce
34:02
suggested he
34:03
liked to
34:04
imagine the
34:05
name of the
34:06
ship that he
34:06
got on,
34:07
which we
34:07
don't know
34:08
was Wings
34:09
of the
34:09
Morning.
34:10
He took
34:11
the wings
34:12
of the
34:12
morning,
34:13
and he
34:13
later dwelled
34:14
in the
34:14
uttermost
34:14
part of
34:15
the sea.
34:16
Maybe this
34:16
is the
34:16
text.
34:17
Maybe this
34:17
is the
34:17
way that
34:18
God spoke
34:18
to him
34:19
as he's
34:19
in the
34:20
belly of
34:20
that great
34:21
fish.
34:22
That even
34:22
in these
34:23
places,
34:23
God's hand
34:24
was leading
34:25
him,
34:25
and his
34:25
right hand
34:26
was holding
34:27
him.
34:30
So what
34:30
does it
34:30
mean that
34:31
he was
34:31
fleeing the
34:32
presence
34:32
of God?
34:35
Jeremiah
34:36
7-23,
34:37
God speaks
34:38
and says,
34:38
obey my
34:39
voice,
34:40
obey my
34:39
voice,
34:40
and I
34:41
will be
34:41
your
34:41
God,
34:42
and you
34:43
shall
34:43
be my
34:43
people,
34:45
and walk
34:46
in all
34:46
the way
34:46
that I
34:47
command
34:47
you,
34:48
that it
34:49
may be
34:49
well with
34:50
you.
34:52
And I
34:52
think what's
34:53
happening in
34:54
the book of
34:54
Jonah,
34:55
and the
34:55
reason for
34:56
this record,
34:57
is not that
34:58
Jonah could
34:59
actually flee
35:00
from God
35:00
himself.
35:01
God is
35:02
going to be
35:02
present in
35:03
those places.
35:04
But what
35:04
they're trying
35:04
to express
35:05
is that out
35:05
of Jonah's
35:07
disobedience,
35:08
he was
35:09
fleeing from
35:09
communion with
35:10
God,
35:11
with God's
35:12
pleasure with
35:13
him,
35:14
that he was
35:14
severing that
35:16
which was good
35:18
in the garden,
35:19
which was so
35:20
beautiful and
35:21
precious about
35:21
the garden.
35:22
It was
35:22
paradise,
35:23
there was no
35:23
evil,
35:24
there was no
35:24
death,
35:25
all of those
35:25
things.
35:27
But the
35:27
beautiful thing
35:27
about the
35:28
garden is
35:28
that Adam
35:28
and Eve
35:29
had communion
35:29
with God.
35:30
He walked
35:31
with them
35:31
in the
35:32
garden.
35:33
And this
35:33
is something
35:33
that ceased
35:34
at the fall
35:35
as their
35:35
cast out
35:36
of the
35:37
garden,
35:37
they're
35:37
cast out
35:37
of the
35:38
presence
35:38
of God.
35:40
Christ brings
35:41
us back
35:42
to that.
35:43
That's what
35:43
the great
35:43
restoration
35:44
is for us,
35:45
that we get
35:46
to be back
35:46
in relationship
35:47
with God.
35:49
But even
35:49
as those
35:50
who are now
35:51
positionally
35:52
back in
35:52
that place,
35:53
we can still
35:54
sever communion
35:55
with the
35:55
Lord by our
35:56
disobedience.
35:57
We walk
35:58
in evil
35:58
ways.
35:59
We don't
35:59
walk by
36:00
the Spirit.
36:01
He is
36:02
always there,
36:04
but yet we
36:04
shut him
36:05
off.
36:05
And I
36:05
think that's
36:06
what's
36:06
trying to
36:06
be
36:06
communicated
36:06
here.
36:07
The author
36:07
of Jonah
36:07
is trying
36:08
to say
36:08
that Jonah
36:09
by fleeing
36:09
from the
36:10
will of
36:10
God was
36:10
fleeing
36:11
from the
36:12
relationship
36:12
with God.
36:15
It's good
36:16
to be with
36:16
the Lord,
36:17
even if
36:18
He's saving
36:18
our enemies,
36:20
that we
36:21
would walk
36:22
with Him
36:22
because He's
36:23
our greatest
36:23
good.
36:24
Psalm 119.
36:24
35
36:25
says,
36:26
Lead me in
36:26
the path
36:27
of your
36:27
commandments,
36:28
for I
36:28
delight in
36:30
it.
36:31
It is good
36:32
for the
36:32
people of
36:32
God,
36:32
to be
36:33
with
36:33
God.
36:37
John
36:37
writes in
36:37
1 John 2,
36:40
3-6,
36:41
and by
36:42
this we
36:43
know that
36:44
we have
36:45
come to
36:45
know Him.
36:47
We've
36:48
positionally
36:48
changed.
36:49
We know
36:50
that we have
36:51
come to
36:52
know if
36:53
we keep
36:53
His
36:54
commandments.
36:55
We don't
36:56
keep His
36:57
commandments
36:57
so that
36:58
we can
36:58
know,
36:59
but we
36:59
know that
37:00
we know
37:00
because we
37:01
keep His
37:02
commandments.
37:03
Whoever
37:03
says,
37:04
I know
37:04
Him,
37:05
but does
37:06
not keep
37:06
His
37:06
commandments,
37:07
is a
37:08
liar,
37:09
and the
37:09
truth is
37:10
not in
37:10
him.
37:12
But whoever
37:12
keeps His
37:12
word in
37:13
Him,
37:13
truly the
37:14
love of
37:14
God is
37:15
perfected.
37:16
By this
37:17
we may
37:17
know that
37:18
we are
37:18
in Him.
37:20
Whoever
37:20
says he
37:21
abides in
37:21
Him,
37:22
ought to
37:22
walk in
37:23
the same
37:23
way in
37:25
which He
37:25
walked.
37:27
This brings
37:27
us back
37:28
to God's
37:29
purpose.
37:30
God's
37:30
purpose,
37:31
God's
37:31
power,
37:32
and God's
37:33
presence.
37:35
So let me
37:36
ask you a
37:36
couple of
37:37
questions in
37:37
conclusion this
37:38
morning.
37:40
Are you
37:41
a rebel
37:42
this morning?
37:45
Are you a
37:46
rebel
37:46
positionally?
37:48
Have you
37:48
never believed
37:50
in Christ,
37:51
His person,
37:52
His work,
37:53
His perfect
37:54
sacrifice,
37:55
on your
37:56
behalf?
37:57
Do you
37:58
stand as
37:59
the
37:59
Ninevites
38:00
or the
38:01
mariners
38:01
stand,
38:02
never knowing
38:03
God,
38:03
being cut
38:04
off from
38:05
Him?
38:06
The call
38:07
to you is
38:08
to repent
38:08
and to
38:09
believe.
38:10
Destruction
38:11
is your
38:11
end unless
38:13
you repent
38:14
and believe.
38:16
Or are you
38:17
a rebel
38:17
functionally
38:19
this morning?
38:20
Have you
38:20
repented
38:20
and believed?
38:21
Are you
38:21
positionally
38:22
found in
38:23
Christ and
38:24
yet you
38:24
don't walk
38:25
in His
38:25
way?
38:27
And don't
38:27
think that
38:28
you're waiting
38:28
for the
38:29
word of the
38:30
Lord to
38:30
come to
38:31
you.
38:31
That you
38:31
need a
38:32
vision for
38:32
Him to
38:32
speak to
38:33
you for
38:33
what you
38:33
should do.
38:34
You have
38:35
His word
38:35
already.
38:37
He's given
38:37
you command
38:38
to walk
38:40
in.
38:41
Do you
38:42
love the
38:44
purpose of
38:44
God?
38:45
Do you
38:46
believe in
38:46
the power
38:47
of God?
38:48
Do you
38:48
walk in
38:50
the presence
38:51
of God?
38:52
Of course,
38:52
to all of
38:53
these things,
38:53
all of us
38:54
should say
38:55
imperfectly
38:56
no.
38:57
Imperfectly,
38:58
I hope
38:59
yes.
39:01
And in
39:01
this,
39:02
as you ask
39:03
the Lord
39:03
to search
39:03
your heart,
39:05
the call
39:05
to you
39:05
is repent
39:07
and believe.
39:09
Turn from
39:10
your sin
39:10
and turn
39:11
to Christ.
39:13
Don't be
39:14
Jonah.
39:16
And we'll
39:17
look more
39:17
in the coming
39:18
weeks.
39:18
What the
39:19
rest of
39:19
the book
39:19
has to
39:20
say to
39:20
us about
39:21
our God.
39:22
Let's pray
39:23
together.