Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20240519 - From the Fish’s Belly - Jonah 2:1-7

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#20240519 - From the Fish’s Belly - Jonah 2:1-7 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the Study of God's Word, recorded live at Calvary
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Church in Aurora, Co To learn more about the many resources
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available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our
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live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
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or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
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Good morning, church. I go and open up your Bibles
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with me to the book of Jonah. Be in Jonah chapter one and two
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this morning. While you're returning there, I
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just want to say what a blessing it is to be here to fill this
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pulpit. As you know, you are truly
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blessed to have Pastor Ed as your pastor.
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He has become even one of my pastors.
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It wasn't too many years ago. About six or seven years ago, he
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was at a pastor's conference out in Florida and he wasn't even on
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the docket to teach. And I recognized him and I
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didn't want him to feel bad that no one asked him to teach.
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So naturally, I walked up to him and just said, you know, hey,
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Pastor Ed, I know you don't know me from Adam.
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Ironically, he was there to support a guy named Adam.
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So I made it very confusing and awkward, as I tend to do.
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And I said, but anyways, my name is Eric.
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I I heard you a lot at Calvary Chapel Tucson.
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And I'm just so blessed that you would come all the way to
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Florida just to bless another pastor even though you're not
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even here to to teach at the conference.
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And he's like, oh, yeah, thanks, brother.
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What was your name? Eric.
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What's the church reached church in Jacksonville.
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He's like, great, man. Well, God bless you.
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I'm like, all right. God bless you too.
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That was it. I was like, you know, I was
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hoping that we can make a deeper connection and become friends
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for life, whatever. No big deal.
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But then the next week I'm getting the mail for the church.
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And in there was a handwritten letter from Pastor Ed.
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He was addressed to me and he just went on to encourage me
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saying, like, brother, been listening to some of your
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sermons. The church is really blessed
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there. God is doing a great work.
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Don't grow discouraged in doing good.
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But if ever you do, here's my personal number.
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Call me anytime. Now, my type of personality, I
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take that as a challenge. So I got my phone out right then
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and there. I called him, not expecting to
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hear from him. He's going to see that it's, you
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know, just a random number and he's going to ignore it.
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Nope, he answered. Hello, this is Pastor Ed.
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I'm like, it worked like, you know, so I spent about an hour
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sharing with him all of my my, my cares and concerns.
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And since then we've just developed a really great
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relationship. He's he's a friend, he's a
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mentor. He's now even a board member of
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our church, just as someone who has has blessed our church now
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several times as he's come out to teach just a wonderful,
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wonderful, godly man. He's truly a shepherd in a world
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where a shepherding pastor is is becoming more and more of a
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rarity. And so, I know you guys are
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blessed, but I just. Wanted you to know hear from a
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different voice how blessed you are to have Pastor Ed as well as
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the entire staff here at the church.
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Remarkable, truly. Well, as Sean said, my name is
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Eric Souza. I planted a church in
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Jacksonville about 12 years ago, not much of A story.
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Started a Bible study and then more people started coming.
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So we called it a church and that's that's kind of where
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we're at now. If you want to connect, you can
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find us. You can download our app which
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is Reach Church of Jacksonville. You can follow us online the the
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website isreachjax.com and if you don't want to, well, you're
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dead to me. So whatever.
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Have a nice life, all right? Just kidding, Kind of.
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Anyways, our Bible's open to the book of Jonah.
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Let's pray, and we'll get into our Bible study.
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Lord, as we now come before you, we ask Jesus that you would
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prepare our hearts. But I know that people came in
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here holding on to anxiety, holding on to a situation that
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their mind just won't stop focusing on.
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I I know still others are going through the best season of their
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life, and they came in with hearts that were light, ready to
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worship you, Father. I pray that every single person,
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hearing my voice right now, would humble themselves, would
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lay their heart fully and totally open and transparent to
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you, that we would all invite you to blow through the caverns
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of our hearts and speak to anything that you have to say.
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Father, for those who are discouraged down and defeated, I
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pray that you and only you would lift them up, that you would
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encourage them, that you would set them on their feet, that you
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would be their firm foundation for those who came into this
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room and they are hopelessly lost.
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They do not know what to do. They're confused by where
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they're at in life. I pray that today, Lord, you
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would give them a word, that as you illumine the text to us,
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that you would even light their path before them and let them
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know what step they need to take.
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And again, God, for those who who walked in, and they feel as
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if their life is totally right with you right now.
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I pray God, however. You want to.
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Speak to him that you would, that you would encourage, that
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you would guide and even Lord, that you would rebuke or correct
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whatever it is that you want to say.
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We want you to know we welcome it, so remove the distractions
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of our hearts and our minds. Help us focus fully upon you.
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Now, as your word goes out, we pray that you would speak to the
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people. Thank you, Jesus, for the
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opportunity that you have given to us to open up this word
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without with No Fear of persecution.
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We can just open it and glean from it.
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We love you, Jesus, we praise you, and it's your name that we
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pray. Amen.
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Our main text this morning is going to be Jonah, chapter 2,
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verses one and two. But to get the full context of
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the text, we're going to back all the way up to chapter one so
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we know exactly what was going on in Jonah's mind.
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Where we pick it up in chapter two, we start chapter one.
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Verse one it says Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah.
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The son of a Mitai. Now just pause real quick.
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We know this is not the first time that this prophet Jonah has
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shown up on the biblical narrative.
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He shows up first in Second Kings and in Second Kings we
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find Jonah faithful. We find Jonah preaching the
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message that the that the Lord had given to him.
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And what's more, he was beloved because the message that he had
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was a message of prosperity. He's He is called to God's
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people to go there, to proclaim to them the expansion of their
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borders. So just get into Jonah's mind.
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He he is beloved by his nation and he loves his nation dearly.
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He loves his God enough to deliver the message with clarity
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to to not put his own flair into it.
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But to speak what God told him to speak.
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So it's there that God then shows up, He delivers a word to
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Jonah, and I believe that is the word of God comes to Jonah.
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Jonah is right and ready. He's ready to receive whatever
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the Lord has to say. But there's one loose nerve
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that's sticking out. And often when that happens,
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that's the very thing that God touches.
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We find that in verse two of chapter one, the word of Lord
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comes to Jonah saying arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and
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cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up to me.
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Side note, when we sin, the sin is present with the Lord.
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He understands what's going on. He knows that we there's no
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secret sin that doesn't exist. There's private sins that others
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don't know about, but no such thing as a secret sin, because
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God knows the only person who is going to judge our souls is
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acutely aware of all that we do. That's either encouraging or
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very scary, depending on how you're living your life.
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Jonah is being told to go to a group of people who are
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deplorable, they're wicked, they're evil, and to present the
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gospel to him. Understand that prior to this,
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Jonah had obeyed the call of God, whatever God said he was
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ready to do until right here, God said go.
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Jonah said no. We see that in verse 3.
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But Jonah arose to flee the Tarshish from the presence of
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the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found
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a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare.
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He went down into it to go with them, to Tarshish from the
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presence of the Lord, the one sliver of Jonah's life that he
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had not given to the Lord. It's that very thing that God
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calls him to And and and we see this and we go, Jonah.
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Come on, man. I mean the word.
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The Lord showed up to you. He He told you exactly what to
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do. I wish God would do that for me.
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When we read the Bible, often we we can look down our nose at the
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characters of Scripture. But I just want us to pause real
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quick. What about you?
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What is it in your life that that you have not yet given over
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to the Lord? God, I'll do anything for you
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except that. Except that, I don't know.
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Maybe God would call you to a group of people who you really
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don't like. Maybe it's a group of people who
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are on the opposite side of the political aisle.
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God says I'm calling you to them because their wickedness has
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come up before me. Yeah, they're wicked, all right,
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because they don't vote the way I vote because they don't see
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things the way I see things. Maybe this is Bronco Country,
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right? Maybe God's?
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Called you to minister to a Las Vegas Raider fan.
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I mean, Can you imagine? Can you imagine?
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Maybe you came here today and you're like, all right, Lord, I
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haven't been used by you in a while, and I want to be used by
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you. Anything you want.
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God, there's nothing off limits to you.
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Pastor Sean gets up here, starts talking about vacation Bible
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school, and the Lord just starts working on your heart.
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Like I'm calling you to serve there.
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And you're like, no, no, anywhere but there.
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Not kids, not those little wicked, disgusting sinners or no
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anything. Anything but that.
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So you're tempted to do what Jonah does.
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He runs. And notice as he runs, he goes
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to Joppa, which is the exact opposite direction from where
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God called him to. And there when he gets there, he
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goes as far as he possibly can, the land ends and he's looking
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at the sea. So the only thing he can do is
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get onto a boat. But you know that boat's going
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to cost you. So the author of the book
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brilliantly points out to us that Jonah paid the fare.
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So you can know that when you disobey, you always pay.
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That's my only Doctor Seuss point for you today.
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OK, I wish I had more. My brain just doesn't work that
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way. But when you disobey, you always
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pay. That's Jonah.
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And notice Jonah goes down to Joppa.
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Jonah goes down to the ship. Ultimately, he goes down into
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the belly of the fish and the belly of the fish then takes him
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down into the sea. When you're running from the
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presence of God, when you're running from intimacy with the
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Lord, you only go down. Now look at what happens.
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It doesn't just affect Jonah. Look at verse five.
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I'm sorry, we'll start in verse 4.
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But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a
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mighty Tempest on the sea. So that the ship was about to be
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broken up. We we read this in the new King
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James and it says, but the Lord sent out a great wind and we
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just imagined God saying, OK, there you go wind.
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But in the original, better word for it would be God hurled a
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storm at Jonah 105 mile an hour, fastball right down the plate.
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God created the storm specifically for Jonah and
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noticed the sin and rebellion of a Jonah effects all the people
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around him. That's one of the great lies of
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the enemy. Your sin won't affect anybody
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else. It's.
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Just for you. It's fine.
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It's not true. It affects all those around you.
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We pick that up in verse 5 when it says then the Mariners.
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Not those from Seattle, but these guys here.
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Seafaring folk. OK, Wizards of the waves.
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Titans of the Tempestuous. The guys who spend their life on
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the sea. Then the Mariners were afraid.
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This is no normal storm, guys. This is a storm that was that
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was made in heaven, enthroned to earth, all because Jonah
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rebelled. Where's Jonah at?
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The Mariners. The people who know what they're
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doing on the ship are running around like crazy.
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Where's Jonah? Well, you know the story.
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Jonah is on the bottom of the ship.
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And he's sound asleep. The Bible tells us that this
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storm was about to break the ship, and Jonah is asleep.
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It's not a gentle rocking, OK? The the the boat is being tossed
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by the waves, and Jonah, so comfortable in his rebellion,
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finds himself sound asleep when the experts on the water are.
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Terrified. It's amazing.
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How a prophet of God, due to his hatred for a people can be this
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comfortable in his rebellion and yet he is the captain has to
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come down, shake him by the lapels, wake him up and say to
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him, why don't you cry out to your God.
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We keep trying and nothing's working.
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And so he goes upstairs. We we know the story.
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He draws the short end of the, you know, the the, the, the the
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short straw to find out it was actually him who was guilty.
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He then tells the Mariners, well, I am guilty.
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I've been rebelling against the Lord.
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And they go, OK, well, great, thanks.
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What do we do? They're unbelievers.
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They don't know how to respond to this God.
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And listen to what Jonah says. Jonah says, well, all you need
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to do is pick me up and throw me overboard.
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No. Now it's at this that that my
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inquiring mind has to ask Jonah two questions.
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Number one, Jonah, if the answer is your death, why don't you
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just jump over, right? Like, why do you got to make
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these guys get their hands dirty?
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They'll put the plank out for you.
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You can walk it, go for it, But no, He asks them.
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Now some commentators have focused on this and they said,
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well, it's because Jonah was afraid to die.
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I don't think so. Jonah hasn't been afraid.
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One time he was the one who is asleep on the bottom of the boat
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while everybody else was afraid. Jonah is the one who suggested
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his death is the solution. I don't think Jonah's afraid.
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Here's what I think's going on. Jonah is a prophet of God.
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He's a holy man, and he does not want to die a rebellious death.
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Knowing that suicide is wrong, is it not remarkable that he's
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willing to live in rebellion? But he doesn't.
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Want to die in Rebellion? You see, often when we are
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running from the presence of God, we can still be legalistic.
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Pharisaic is that not exactly what the Pharisees did.
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They lived outside of God's will, and yet they had a holier.
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Than thou mentality we can do the same thing.
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Guy who can sleep around with his girlfriend but goes to work
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and someone tells him I'll just take the pen home.
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He's like Oh no no. Stealing pens at work is sinful
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and thievery. I'm no thief.
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Hypocrite. Hypocrite.
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This is Jonah. So the guys finally agree,
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although they try other options first, they throw Jonah
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overboard. And I believe Jonah's relieved
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because at least he's going to not have to go to Nineveh.
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And then, much to Jonah's chagrin, we read verse 17.
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Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.
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I think as Jonah saw the fish, he thought, oh, you got to be
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kidding me, That was going to die.
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No, no, Jonah, you're going to live and live in misery.
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We read on verse 17 and Jonah was in the belly of the fish 3
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days and three nights. Now, it's unfortunate to me that
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it's this verse that gets the most.
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Attention in the book of Jonah, because the skeptics crawl out
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of their caves and they they point mockingly at us, believers
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throw their head back in laughter saying, how is it that
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you guys could believe such a ridiculous account like this
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that a man would survive for three days and three nights in
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the belly of a fish? Give me a break.
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Well, first to to the skeptic, I would say I have zero problem
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with this. If I can believe the first verse
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of the Bible in the beginning, God, then I have no problem.
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Guys, I would have no problem if it said that God prepared a
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great fish for Jonah and it was an apartment fish it fully
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equipped with with plumbing, electricity.
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He had cable TV, He had air conditioning before it even
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existed. That's great.
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Good for him. I have no problem believing it.
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That's not the amazing part of the book, although it becomes
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the focus of the skeptic. The most amazing part of the
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book of Jonah is the next three words.
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Look at verse one of chapter 2. He's in the belly of the fish 3
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days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed.
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What? How long would it take you to
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have prayed? I must be real.
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I mean, I'm sure I'm looking at several stubborn people here.
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I see some wives nodding their heads.
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OK, good. Several stubborn people.
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I don't think one person hearing my voice right now would take
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this long to break. Not one.
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I think most of us. As soon as the the captain woke
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us from our sleep and we drew the short straw, I think right
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then we would be praying. I think certainly, as the
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Mariners are about to hurl us overboard, We're praying.
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No doubt we're praying as we're airborne.
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We're praying as we hit the water.
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We're certainly praying as we see the great fish.
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And then he swallows us. No doubt we're praying maybe the
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most stubborn person in this room is going to wait one hour.
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Maybe not, Jonah. Jonah waited one hour, then two,
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then 24, then 48. Finally after 70.
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Two, the man breaks. We read verse two.
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I'm sorry, chapter 2, Verse one. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord
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his God from the belly of the fish and guys.
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That's the point, isn't it? The whole point of God hurling
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the storm at Jonah. The point of the endless raging,
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The point of the fish swallowing him.
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The point of him being in the fish 3 days and three nights.
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The point was to drive him to his knees.
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The point was to get his eyes off of himself and on to God.
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The point was to humble him. It was to teach him.
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We could even say it this way. The point of all of this was to
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break him was to break him. And and it did.
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It's at this point that Jonah finally gets the point and he
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finally humbles himself and turns to God.
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He accept that. He accepts that God's ways are
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better than his. He acknowledges that he is wrong
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and God is right. We see just a little bit of that
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in verse two of chapter 2. And he that Jonah said I cried
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out to the Lord. Now, if you underline things in
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your Bible, please underline this verse.
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Highlight it. Look at this next word.
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I cried out to the Lord because This is why I cried out to him.
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Because of my affliction. Because I've been broken.
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Because of the storm, Because of the fish, Because of the 72
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hours. That's why I cried out.
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And then don't miss this. And he answered me clearly.
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Jonah was humbled and he was broken, which now begs the
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question that we'll answer for the duration of our study.
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Why? Why does God break us?
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I was really on the fence about what to teach.
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I had another message prepared for you guys, and about a week
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ago, when I was finalizing which message to do, the Lord put this
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one on my heart. And the reason for that is
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because if you're going to talk about brokenness, you're never
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lacking an audience. I'm positive that I'm talking to
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people right now who have been broken.
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I'm positive I'm talking to people who are broken, and I'm
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positive I'm talking to people who will be.
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And often when it happens, we ask God why?
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Why? Why do you have to break me?
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Why do I have to go through this?
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So today I want to, as briefly as I can, answer that question
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five different ways. Why does God break US?
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#1 to strengthen us, To strengthen us.
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It's like muscles. You tear them down so I get
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sore. You go to the gym, you you work
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out, tear them down. They build up stronger.
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I clearly don't have any experiential knowledge of this.
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But I have read about it in books and magazines.
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If it's not muscles, how about this?
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How many of you guys have ever heard of the the failed science
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experiment, The Biosphere 2? Anybody ever hear the Biosphere
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2? Yes, a couple of you.
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Good job. Anyways, it it happened in
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Tucson, where I'm originally from.
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And it was the most expensive science project ever.
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What they wanted to do is they wanted to to build a Dome that
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would mimic Earth, hence Biosphere 2.
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Since Earth is biosphere 1 and so within this Dome they would
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have all different sections that would represent different areas
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of the earth. So they would have like a
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rainforest, they would have a desert, and they would put eight
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different people in the biosphere to see if they could
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survive for two years. I had the privilege when I was
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in 4th grade to do a field trip up to Biosphere 2 and my teacher
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was really excited. She's like, OK guys, now we get
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to meet the scientists that are in Biosphere 2 and they.
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Can't come out and there's no intercom system.
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So we literally stood there, all of us in our in my class and
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they just stood there looking at us and they wave.
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They we wave back. It was.
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Supremely uncomfortable. And I remember in 4th grade
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thinking they look awful. I mean, they looked emaciated,
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and when I've done research on it, it's because they were
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right. Like, I mean, one person like,
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breathed in the window. Help me like, I mean like
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miserable. OK, but they had survived.
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This was about year one. They had made it.
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But as the year turned into year 2, two different cataclysmic
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things happen to cause Biosphere 2 to fail.
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The 1st is that a little bit of moisture made its way into the
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desert. And I know you, science buff,
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know that moisture in the desert don't belong together, right?
22:51
That that's why it's the desert. It's dry, OK?
22:54
And as it made its way in. What ended up happening is a
22:56
bunch of different insects died off.
22:59
All but. Two different insects.
23:01
The first was ants. I'll give you a guess at the
23:03
second. Anyone roaches, you could have
23:08
dropped an A bomb in that place. They'd have been fine, right?
23:10
They're good. Unfortunately the plant eating
23:15
insects all died off and so the plants ended up growing to
23:19
really large like the the leaves end up getting much larger than
23:22
they were supposed to and end up affecting photosynthesis to the
23:25
point to where the oxygen level got to dangerous.
23:27
Lows equal to living at 15,000 feet in elevation, and I did a
23:32
little bit of research at 600 feet higher than the highest
23:36
peak in the Rockies. Dangerously low oxygen.
23:39
What's more, another thing that they noticed the second problem
23:42
was that the trees within Biosphere 2, they would they
23:45
would sprout up real quick, but then they had no roots because
23:50
there was no wind to cause resistance of the trees, and it
23:54
was discovered that a scientist leaned up against a tree and the
23:57
whole thing fell over. After the failed project, it
24:00
dawned on them. We wanted to create a perfect
24:03
environment, so nobody thought to try to to duplicate the wind
24:07
within Biosphere 2. Leaving the trees immature and
24:12
essentially rootless. So what do we learn, guys?
24:16
We learn that seasons of breaking, seasons of testing, if
24:20
you like, seasons of insects and wind are necessary for our
24:25
growth. I'll even say it this way, guys.
24:29
God loves us enough to allow us to go through difficulties.
24:34
If, if you'd like, God loves us enough to not helicopter parent
24:39
us, OK with God. You don't hear the all the time.
24:44
Any anytime there's something stressful or something
24:46
difficult. I hope I'm not talking to
24:49
anybody who's tempted to do this.
24:51
But just in case you're tempted to helicopter parent, can I just
24:55
remind you that's not how God does it.
24:58
I mean, there's plenty of examples out there.
24:59
I mean, my, my, my wife and I, we have our middle daughter was
25:02
in fifth grade last year and we have we we have radical rules in
25:06
our home like we believe if a kid is given an assignment.
25:09
By a teacher. The kids should do it.
25:12
We're extreme. We're extreme.
25:15
So she had a science fair project and she, like, you know,
25:18
would come to us. I'm like sweet.
25:19
I'll help you the best I can, but I'm not going to do your
25:20
project for you. And so we get we get to the the
25:24
science fair. She does her little thing and it
25:25
looks like a 1/5 grader did a project.
25:29
It looked good for 1/5 grader, right.
25:32
And then other kids, they're like back in there like 3 story
25:36
tall volcanoes like the kids like over the corner like
25:39
picking his nose and like his his shirts all disheveling.
25:42
He's like, I built that like what?
25:44
What happened? The parents thought, well,
25:46
little Johnny can't be under any sort of stress, so.
25:50
I'll just do the project for you, sweetie.
25:51
You just go play with your switch and it's fine.
25:52
Mommy, Daddy, you're going to take care of all of this for
25:55
you. Helicopter parent.
25:57
I I I love to be involved in my kids life, so I I I coach as
26:00
often as I can. In last season I was coaching
26:03
baseball for my son. Love baseball?
26:05
And so we're teaching the kids, the, the, the basics of
26:08
baseball, right? This, this 8 year old baseball
26:10
team, we're teaching them first baseman.
26:13
You got to run through the bag, right?
26:14
You don't have to slide into first, but you get to run
26:16
through and then you peel out to the right.
26:18
That way you can hit the bag at top speed.
26:20
So little Johnny. We'll call him.
26:24
He hits the. Ball, which all the coaches were
26:26
already amazed because Little Giant didn't hit the ball very
26:29
often. He hits the.
26:30
Ball and he starts running and he he's getting to first base
26:33
and he slows way down because he doesn't want to hit the bag
26:36
going too fast and he gets thrown out.
26:40
And so as the coach, I pull him aside and I go, little Johnny
26:44
Buddy remember what? What have we said?
26:49
You got to run through like, yeah man, you got to, you got to
26:52
run through the bag, buddy. Got to go as, as.
26:54
Hard as you can, OK buddy, He's like.
26:56
OK, I'm like, alright, we'll get him next time.
26:58
Tiger, good job. I'm not very competitive though.
27:08
After the game, little Johnny's dad comes up to me and he's
27:10
like, hey, I just want to talk to you about how you handled
27:14
that situation at first base with little Johnny.
27:21
We just don't like negative feedback given to him and I was
27:26
like trying to be trying to be as, as, as good as I could be, I
27:34
said. How would you?
27:35
Recommend that I have handled that situation differently and
27:39
this is what the dad said, he said.
27:41
What? What?
27:41
What I would have really liked is for you to go.
27:44
Great. Hustle Johnny, you did.
27:45
Awesome. I'm like, OK, so the very thing
27:51
he did bad, you want me to tell him that he did good and he's
27:54
like, yeah, I mean, it'd be great.
27:56
And this was the dad said, I'll never forget it.
27:57
He said, listen, I'm just nervous that what you say to him
28:02
will alter the the, the course of his entire life.
28:10
Thank God. Thank God that that's not how he
28:14
deals with us. He doesn't have to shield us
28:16
from every little thing. He allows us to go through
28:20
difficulties so that we can develop backbone, so that we can
28:25
be stronger and grow in him. Guys, it's not just you, It's
28:29
not just me. How about the Apostle Paul?
28:31
I mean, Can you imagine being that guy?
28:32
Every single person he prayed for is seemingly gets healed.
28:36
So powerful was his praying ministry that at one point he
28:39
couldn't make it somewhere. And so someone goes, just give
28:41
me your handkerchief. He's like, OK, there you go,
28:43
just wipe that on him. Why, brother?
28:45
He's healed. Imagine that powerful of the
28:47
Ministry. And then you go to the Lord and
28:49
go. OK, God, It's time for me to be
28:51
healed. It's me.
28:52
It's your guy. It's Paul the Great Healer.
28:54
Lord, I have this thorn in my side.
28:55
Could you please heal it? The thorn in my flesh.
28:58
And what does God say? No, the Bible tells us that?
29:02
He asked three times. Now, a lot of commentators
29:05
believe that asking three times means he asked a complete amount
29:08
of times. He asked over and over and over
29:11
and over, until finally he accepted that God's answer was
29:16
no. How difficult must that have
29:18
been to be dealing with what he was dealing with while at the
29:21
same time God is using those same hands to heal other people?
29:25
That's. That's Paul, And what does God
29:27
say to him? Says Paul.
29:29
The reason I'm doing this is to humble you so you can learn in
29:33
your weakness. I am strong.
29:36
You see guys, often, God breaks us to strengthen us and to
29:39
reveal to us what our strength actually is.
29:42
It's not us, it's him. #2, and I'll be much quicker than the
29:46
other ones #2 Not only does He strengthen us, but He breaks us
29:51
to subdue us, subdue us. Some of us are running way out
29:55
ahead of God. I mean, we have big plans and
29:57
God better catch up. I I, I mean some are so prideful
30:02
about their work ethic. This is the the, the getter done
30:05
type of people that when they here to wait on the Lord to sit
30:08
there and to listen, they buck like the Wild stallions that
30:13
they are. Or should I say the wild Broncos
30:15
that they. Are right.
30:17
And if we're being honest, if this describes us, then we're
30:21
acting like Martha when God asks us to be more like Mary when he
30:27
wants to spend time with us and we refuse.
30:30
Often God has to take extreme measures.
30:33
Often God will even break our legs.
30:36
And you go, OK, Pastor, it's a little graphic.
30:39
It's a bit extreme. No, it's not.
30:41
Because Jesus tells us that he is a Good Shepherd.
30:44
And we know that when a shepherd has a wayward lamb to save the
30:49
lamb's life, often a shepherd will break their leg.
30:54
Mend it. Cast it and then carry them.
30:59
The reason for that is because their leg is now non weight
31:01
bearing, so for six weeks the shepherd has to put the lamb on
31:04
its shoulders and it's amazing what happens during those six
31:07
weeks. The the heart of the lamb is
31:09
knit to the heart of the shepherd because it's spending
31:12
extra time in the presence of the shepherd.
31:16
Often what we go through is to get us to slow down and spend
31:21
time with the Lord. It's painful.
31:24
It hurts, but it causes us to be constantly at his feet in my
31:29
life. I don't know why, but about six,
31:32
6, 1/2, seven years ago, I started developing voice issues.
31:37
I I I lost range in my voice. I have a lot of pain when I
31:40
speak and I I have done everything you can imagine.
31:43
I know all you guys are going to have great solutions to come
31:45
tell me. I'm sure I've tried it.
31:47
If I haven't, I I'm sure I will. OK, but over and over and over
31:51
again I've tried to figure out what's going on.
31:53
I've prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed.
31:55
And it wasn't until recently I found myself what doing what I
32:00
often do while I'm teaching the Bible.
32:03
I'm also praying God, would you just sustain me?
32:06
Would you allow me to get through this message with less
32:08
pain? Would you allow me to just make
32:10
it through this message? I've had to end messages early
32:12
because of I can't keep talking and the Lord just touched my
32:17
heart and said it's because of the pain that you're praying
32:19
right now. I was in the middle of teaching.
32:21
It's because of the pain that you're praying.
32:22
I realized the pain is a tether between me and the Lord.
32:27
I don't pray half as much. I didn't pray half as much prior
32:31
to the voice pain that I do now, over and over and over often.
32:36
This is what God does. He breaks us.
32:38
He takes us through seasons of pain to get us closer to Him.
32:43
If it's not to strengthen us or subdue US, #3 it's to settle us,
32:48
to settle us. As I know I'm talking to a big
32:52
group of people, so no doubt some of us in here, if not most
32:54
of us in here, are warriors. We worry often.
32:59
If you're a warrior, please listen.
33:02
Often the Lord breaks us to teach us an incredibly valuable
33:06
lesson, that what we have been worrying about is actually a
33:11
silly thing, a small thing, perhaps even a sinful thing.
33:17
Wasn't very long ago that my son, he's 9 now.
33:20
This is when he was four. We took him to the the
33:22
paediatrician. And we're like, yeah, I know,
33:24
everything's going pretty good except for he has these these
33:26
lumps under his arm and the paediatrician looks at it.
33:30
And she did what? No.
33:33
You never wanted doctor to do that.
33:34
She goes, oh, that's weird, right?
33:37
That's strange. That's the last thing you want.
33:39
And this is what she just casually says she's like, all
33:41
right, well, we're going to do some more testing because this
33:43
could be lymphoma. It's our four year old lymphoma
33:47
cancer. Hearing a doctor say that about
33:54
your child, What ended up happening with me is all the
33:57
stupid things I've been worrying about.
33:59
Stupid fights with my wife, the growth of the church, you know,
34:05
just different issues. All of it just became small and
34:08
I no longer cared because now I actually had something serious.
34:13
The Lord is breaking just a rest of the story.
34:17
He's fine. We discovered actually this last
34:20
year that it's just a really large muscle.
34:23
So we asked him to flex now, and he lifts his arm up and, like,
34:25
flexes his armpit. We're.
34:26
Like, yeah. Anyways, we didn't know that
34:29
then. It was extremely stressful and
34:31
all the things that I had been worrying about just went.
34:35
Became unbelievably small. Often the Lord will break us to
34:38
settle us. Be like Son, daughter, you don't
34:41
need to be spending so much time worrying.
34:43
We worry because we feel like there's nothing we can do and
34:46
it's at least something we can do.
34:48
So if that's why worrying has been likened to a rocking chair,
34:52
you can move, but you don't go anywhere.
34:54
That's what worrying does. Often the Lord will have to
34:57
break us to settle as #4. The reason He breaks us is to
35:02
stir us. To stir us.
35:04
Some have fallen asleep spiritually.
35:06
They were once on fire for the Lord, but now they're just warm
35:09
under a blanket. At one point they were
35:11
combustible, but now they're comfortable.
35:14
They they they've grown incredibly passive in their
35:16
commitment to Christ. Sometimes God has to break us.
35:22
To wake us and you go, oh, that's not me.
35:24
Well, is it? Let me give you 4 signs really
35:25
quick of what a slumbering Christian looks like.
35:28
You ready? #1 signs that you could be a
35:30
slumbering Christian. You conclude based on
35:33
comparison. You look around and go, well, at
35:36
least I'm better than half the people in here, so I'm good.
35:39
I mean, I walked around the parking lot, man.
35:41
I have a Calvary church window decal and most of the cars
35:45
don't. So I mean doing pretty good.
35:47
I'm good. I mean, when I worship, I'm not.
35:49
I'm not raising my hands on the AM dial.
35:51
I go straight FM, baby. Like.
35:53
I mean, I'm visible. I'm good.
35:56
Based on comparison #2, you're confident in your own
36:00
competence. When we're confident in
36:03
ourselves, we don't turn the Lord for guidance or for help.
36:06
We we buck at Proverbs Chapter 3, verses 5:00 and 6:00, and we
36:10
conclude it's good for me to lean on my own understanding
36:15
because I get it. We read the Bible and we we read
36:18
it as if it's debatable. We go, I mean, I like that part,
36:22
but I don't like that part. I'm going to throw that out.
36:25
I'm not going to actually apply this part to my life.
36:27
We'll even go to counsel. We'll ask the pastor, what is it
36:30
that the Bible says for me to do?
36:32
He says AB and C and we go. No, no, no, I'm good.
36:36
I'm good. You're asleep Now.
36:38
The third sign that you are is you're comfortable with the
36:41
culture. I think this is the biggest sign
36:43
of complacency. The more complacent we are about
36:46
our faith, the more the rationale of the world makes
36:49
sense. The more complacent we are about
36:51
our faith, the more we turn to the world for things like
36:53
guidance. When our church first got
36:55
planted, I was I was doing a counselling session with a lady
36:58
who just kept on making a mess. Of her life?
37:00
And I asked her as gently as I could.
37:01
I said, Why? What?
37:03
Caused you to make that decision.
37:05
I'll never forget it, she said one word.
37:07
Oprah. Like, OK, I think I've
37:12
identified one of the problems, right?
37:14
You're going to the wrong source for wisdom.
37:16
How about instead of turning to the world, we turn to the word
37:20
but. But we're comfortable with the
37:21
world, man. We're comfortable with the world
37:22
for its entertainment regardless of what it says.
37:25
Oh, it's OK regardless of its messages.
37:27
It's fine. Regardless of of what I'm seeing
37:30
and what that does to my mind, regardless of what I'm hearing
37:33
and that does to my mind. It's fine.
37:34
I'm good because I really like the world.
37:38
We're comfortable with the world's morality.
37:40
We affirm certain behaviors. We celebrate selfishness.
37:45
When you're talking to somebody, you go, man.
37:47
You just need AU day. You just need a day where you
37:50
don't think about anyone else but you.
37:53
It's the most unbiblical guidance I could ever have
37:56
heard. Right?
37:57
Have you? Do you?
37:58
Is there one spot in here where Jesus took AU Day?
38:02
Paul, I can't find. I've looked everywhere.
38:04
I've looked in. Second opinions, Third
38:06
Bolognaians. It's not there.
38:08
I mean, look all you want. You're not going to find it.
38:10
But we've grown comfortable with the counsel of the world because
38:14
we like what it makes our flesh feel.
38:18
Fourthly, sign that you're spiritually asleep.
38:21
You're closed off to genuine communion.
38:24
We want Jesus, but not that much.
38:26
We're perfectly content to occasionally attend church.
38:29
And you know what? Some of us are even like level
38:30
24 to 525 Christians. We come on Sunday, and on
38:35
Wednesday. We're good because we're just
38:38
going to come and attend. We'll not along.
38:42
We'll even take notes, but we're not actually living what it
38:44
says. We like the idea of Jesus.
38:48
We just don't like words like sacrifice or service.
38:52
We like the idea of being close to him, but we just don't want
38:55
to put that much relationship, that much effort into the
38:57
relationship with Him. Guys, before you know it, you're
39:01
going to wake up in the belly of a fish wonder.
39:03
How on earth did I get here? The reason is because you're
39:06
spiritually asleep. Often the Lord has to break you
39:10
to wake you. Fifthly and finally, the reason
39:15
God breaks us is to sanctify us, to sanctify us, to set us aside
39:21
for holiness, to make us more like Him.
39:23
The only difference here is that God doesn't break us to sanctify
39:30
us. God broke Jesus to sanctify us.
39:34
You're not alone in being broken.
39:36
Jesus was broken. And now the result of him being
39:39
broken is that you and I get the privilege.
39:42
I I chose my words very carefully.
39:44
We get the privilege to live a holy life.
39:48
Some of us don't view it as a privilege.
39:49
It is. It's a privilege to be an
39:51
ambassador for Christ. It's a privilege to to
39:54
experience the fruit of Jesus's breaking, to have a relationship
40:00
with him that's now possible because he was broken.
40:03
We now have been sanctified. So in conclusion, guys, the
40:07
breaking the Lord. Yes, it hurts, but it's good.
40:11
I know it's painful. We hate it.
40:13
I was talking to someone after first service this morning and
40:17
he said no, we want the breaking.
40:19
He said no, no, we want the results of the breaking.
40:21
We just don't want the actual breaking.
40:23
That's true. We don't like it.
40:25
None of us like to be broken. But I want to encourage you.
40:28
If you're in a season of being broken right now, stop and ask
40:32
the Lord, what do you want to teach me?
40:34
And just be open. Be open to it.
40:37
Try not to pull what I pull and say, Lord, why me?
40:41
How come I have to go through what I'm going through?
40:43
How come all these other clowns out here, they're not doing what
40:46
I'm doing for the Kingdom and yet their voice is just fine?
40:51
Don't do it. Instead, say, Lord, I'm open to
40:55
receive anything that you have for me.
40:57
I'll do whatever you want. I'm here to listen and learn.
41:00
If I need a slow down, I'll slow down anything you want to teach
41:04
me. God, I trust you.
41:05
Because listen, guys, even though your situation is bad, as
41:10
a believer, we need to anchor our faith in this truth.
41:13
God is good, you know. How can God be good in this?
41:18
Be bad Because He is. He is so good, in fact, that he
41:21
will use even the bad in your life for your good.
41:25
It's a promise that we hang our hat on.
41:27
That comes from the book of Romans and the book of Genesis.
41:30
So I want to encourage you. If you're in a season of
41:31
breaking rest, rest. I want to encourage you not to
41:36
pull a Jonah. Don't wait so long to break.
41:39
Don't be so stubborn. Say OK, Lord, I'm broken.
41:42
Whatever you want to teach me, I receive it.
41:45
Amen. All right, let's stand.
41:47
Let's pray. And we'll sing a final song
41:49
before we go. Father, we know this is a heavy
41:56
topic, but we also know, Lord, that you are good and you can
42:03
use anything in our lives. The worst possible thing for
42:08
those who love you and are called according to your
42:10
purpose, you will use for our good.
42:14
I pray, Lord, that we would believe that.
42:17
That we wouldn't just believe it in our mind.
42:19
That we wouldn't believe it hypothetically, but that we
42:21
would believe it experientially. That as we're going through
42:25
these difficulties, that even in those seasons we would trust
42:29
that you are good, help us, Lord, in the difficult days to
42:39
lean not on our own understanding, but to lean on
42:42
you, to trust you. But I know that there are many
42:48
in this room that are hurting, and I pray that right now, right
42:52
now, that they would stop fighting, they would stop
42:56
resisting and they would start resting in you.
42:59
Even in this final song. Lord, as we as we draw now our
43:02
our attention and our affection to you, I pray Jesus, as as we
43:08
sing these praises, as they rise to your throne, that we would
43:11
sing them in spirit and in truth.
43:14
That we would believe what we're saying in any wall that we have
43:19
built between US and you. I pray that it would come
43:22
crumbling down. Forgive us for blaming you.
43:25
Forgive us for being bitter towards you.
43:28
We give it all to you now. We rest in the fact that you are
43:32
good, even if we can't understand why we are going
43:35
through what we're going through.
43:36
We trust you, and more than trust you, We submit to you and
43:42
more than submit to you. We praise you and it's in your
43:45
name that we pray. Amen.
43:49
We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study
43:51
delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
43:55
For prayer. Call us at 87730 Grace.
43:59
That's 877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
44:05
entirety or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
44:10
online at Calvary, Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
44:15
Church app, Be Blessed as You Worship Jesus this week.