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Father in heaven, we are so 
thankful for all that you've 

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given us this day, for the 
reminders that we profess with 

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our mouths, words we hear in 
song and prayer, the liturgy 

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that you've given us to remind 
us of who you are and who we are

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in Christ. 
Father, as we open Your holy 

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word, as we read this account of
Jonah on the boat with the 

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Mariners, we pray that You would
cause our eyes to see correctly 

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in our ears to hear rightly. 
We pray that our hearts would be

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with affection for You and our 
minds would think rightly about 

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the truth that You've given us 
this day. 

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We ask this in the powerful name
of Jesus, praying for the 

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illumination of the Holy Spirit,
all for Your glory and our good,

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and the name of Jesus Christ our
Lord. 

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Amen. 
This morning I'm going to read 

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from Jonah chapter 1, verses 6 
through 16. 

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As I read this, I want to remind
you that we as a church, if 

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you're visiting with us today, 
this is important for you to 

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know right from the beginning. 
We believe what Second Timothy 

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says about God's word, that all 
Scripture is God breathed and is

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useful for teaching, rebuking, 
correcting and training and 

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righteousness. 
We believe that the story you're

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about to hear actually happened.
And we believe that the story is

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not just a fable. 
It's not just something for 

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children. 
And already that might make you 

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go, wow, people really believe 
that we do. 

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And maybe you want to ask why 
it's a question that you need to

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pursue, but we believe it's 
true. 

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But let me say this, we don't 
always live like it's true. 

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We don't always walk into the 
sanctuary expecting to be 

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trained, expecting to be 
rebuked, expecting to be taught,

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expecting to be equipped in 
righteousness. 

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But that's what happens when the
Spirit of God does the work that

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only he can do. 
And I need it, and you need it. 

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This happened, what you're about
to hear on a boat with a man 

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named Jonah who was a prophet of
God, who was rebelling against 

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God's word, and a group of 
Mariners who he was sailing 

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with. 
I'll begin again at chapter 1, 

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verse six. 
So the captain came and said to 

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him, that's Jonah. 
What do you mean? 

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You sleeper, arise, call out to 
your God. 

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Perhaps your God will give a 
thought to us that we may not 

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perish. 
And they said to one another, 

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Come, let us cast lots, that we 
may know on whose account this 

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evil has come upon us. 
So they cast lots, and the lot 

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fell on Jonah. 
Then they said to him, Tell us, 

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On whose account this evil has 
come upon us? 

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What is your occupation, and 
where do you come from? 

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What is your country, and of 
what people are you? 

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And he said to them, I am a 
Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the

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God of heaven, who made the sea 
and the dry land. 

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Then the men were exceedingly 
afraid, and said to him, What is

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this that you've done? 
For the men knew that he was 

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fleeing from the presence of the
Lord, because he had told them. 

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Then they said to him, What 
shall we do to you, that the sea

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may quiet down for us? 
For the sea grew more and more 

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tempestuous. 
He said to them, Pick me up and 

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hurl me into the sea. 
Then the sea will quiet down for

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you. 
For I know it is because of me 

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that this great Tempest has come
upon you. 

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Nevertheless, the men rode hard 
to get back to dry land, but 

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they could not, for the sea grew
more and more tempestuous 

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against them. 
Therefore they called out to the

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Lord. 
O Lord, let us not perish for 

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this man's life, 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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Do not forget that phrase. 
You, O Lord, have done as it 

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pleased you. 
So they picked up Jonah and 

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hurled him into the sea. 
And the sea seized from its 

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raging. 
And the men feared the Lord 

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exceedingly. 
And they offered a sacrifice to 

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the Lord and made vows. 
This is the word of the Lord. 

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Thanks be to God. 
Please be seated. 

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In a few hours, it's estimated 
that 100,000 people will fill 

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State Farm Stadium in Glendale, 
AZ for the memorial service 

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Celebration of Life of Charlie 
Kirk outside I Estate. 

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Millions will watch or hear 
something of that service. 

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We know there are going to be 
people protesting violently. 

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Perhaps even we've seen it 
already. 

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There's confusion, there's 
anger, there's anxiety. 

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Who was he? 
What mattered most to him? 

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Just before he was horrifically 
murdered, he was in an 

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interview. 
When asked what mattered most to

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him, this is his last recorded 
interview, he said God, wife, 

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kids, network, meaning 
mobilizing people. 

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He was a figure that some of you
had never even heard of till he 

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was shot. 
Others of you followed him 

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passionately, appreciating the 
bold way he would stand. 

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Others were a little reluctant 
because of his style. 

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Perhaps that's not what I'm here
to talk about today. 

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What I want to preach today is 
that a man stood up for what he 

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believed courageously, an evil 
that has been in the world since

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the fall. 
The deep, deep darkness of evil 

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was met. 
Hate filled another man who in a

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moment believed that this was 
the right thing for him to do 

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and he took Charlie Kirk's life 
away. 

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Since that time, horrific things
have been said and will be said.

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So how do we respond? 
What is our response? 

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And this is so, so, so important
for us to constantly ask the 

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question of ourselves. 
Who am I really listening to? 

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As Christians, we don't just 
have a worldview, we have a 

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living word. 
We don't just have sound bites 

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that we throw at things. 
We have a living word, the 

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living Word. 
Scripture teaches us with great 

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clarity what we are to believe 
about the world we live in, what

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we are to believe about sin and 
evil and darkness. 

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The Word of God also teaches us 
how we are to live and behave in

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a world that is so full of evil 
and darkness. 

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And above all of that, what the 
Word of God teaches us is about 

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who God is, the sovereign Lord. 
And what I'm about to preach, 

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you're not going to hear on Fox 
News nor on CNN. 

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You're not going to hear it in a
lot of places. 

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00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:18,720
You might go look for 
information. 

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But what I'm about to share with
you is what Christians always 

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have believed about who God is. 
You see, God is not scrambling 

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to figure out what to do, what 
you can be sure of at any moment

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in history. 
And when I see any moment, I 

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mean any breath in history that 
you take is that God on his 

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throne and fully present in the 
world is accomplishing the 

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purpose of His will at any 
moment, the one that's now, the 

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00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:07,040
one that's now, the one that's 
next, God is moving to 

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accomplish purpose of his will. 
God's ways are not always our 

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ways are often not our ways. 
Listen as I read from Isaiah 55 

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verse 8, God's Word. 
For my thoughts are not your 

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thoughts, neither are your ways 
my ways, declares the Lord that 

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didn't matter to Jonah. 
For as the heavens are higher 

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than the earth, so are my ways 
higher than your ways, and my 

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thoughts than your thoughts. 
Listen to this. 

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For as the rain and the snow 
come down from heaven and do not

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return there, but what are the 
earth making it bring forth and 

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sprout, giving seed to the sower
and bread to the eater, so shall

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my word be that goes out from my
mouth. 

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It shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that 

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which I purpose, and shall 
succeed in the thing for which I

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sent it. 
And this is what that means, 

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that no matter what we see, no 
matter how evil rises up, we 

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have faith in the living God who
ordains all sorts of things that

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we don't always understand in 
order to accomplish the purpose 

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of His will. 
Friends, there is no greater 

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comfort than knowing that God is
sovereign. 

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I want you to see how specific 
His sovereignty is on this boat.

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100,000 people inside the 
stadium, thousands of people who

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will be outside, millions 
watching it. 

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This is true. 
We, the human race, are all in 

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the same boat. 
We live in a world that when 

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Adam and Eve fell and sent 
Andrew dead. 

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Darkness, violence, evil 
thoughts met by evil deeds have 

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consumed our world continually, 
and it's going to until the day 

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Christ returns. 
So where do we find our hope in 

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His Word? 
The first two children born, 

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Cain and Abel 1 murders the 
other, and time goes on. 

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God's Word from Genesis to 
Revelation is His sovereign plan

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to save His people. 
And God will use evil kings and 

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godly kings. 
God will use people who will do 

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incredible good and unthinkable 
harm. 

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And God is always our sovereign 
Lord. 

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And friends, that's what we need
most of these moments, to anchor

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us so that we live the way God's
Word has called us to live, 

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courageously, boldly, with love 
and truth, always side by side. 

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So let's go to the boat. 
Jonah, Juan. 

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For those that weren't here last
week or are unfamiliar with the 

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00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:04,800
story or two weeks ago when Paul
kicked the series off, Jonah is 

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00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:09,280
a prophet of God and he has 
received clear instructions from

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the Lord to go to a very wicked 
people to tell them who the Lord

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is and that the Lord is unhappy 
with their ways. 

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Jonah is a prophet of God. 
That means he knows the word and

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he knows the one who gives the 
word. 

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00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:36,200
But because he despises the evil
people in Nineveh, he can't in 

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his mind imagine that God would 
show mercy to them. 

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He can't imagine it. 
And what he can't imagine in the

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flesh. 
And his own mind begins to 

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inform the way he's going to 
think about being obedient to 

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the Lord. 
And so he's not going to be 

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obedient. 
And so begins this dark descent 

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in Jonah's life, spiraling into 
the depths of sin. 

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00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:11,320
And it gets lower and lower and 
lower, but it's going to be 

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00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:16,440
matched by a greater and deeper 
love that is going to chase him 

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down. 
And that's where we are today. 

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Jonah is asleep, sleeping what 
Hugh Martin called the sleep of 

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00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:27,360
sorrow. 
The despair, his anger, his 

180
00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,720
frustration, his sadness, all 
sorts of things going on in his 

181
00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:33,960
heart and mind put him in this 
condition where he is exhausted 

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00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:36,680
and he goes to sleep. 
In the midst of this great 

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00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:41,720
storm, the captain moves towards
Jonah. 

184
00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:45,360
He uses the same word that God 
used to call Jonah to go to 

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Nineveh. 
Arise. 

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00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:50,240
Captain is now using that same 
word, not knowing Jonah had 

187
00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:53,440
heard that from God. 
Arise and he says, call out to 

188
00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:56,120
your God. 
Perhaps the God will give a 

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00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:57,880
thought to us that we may not 
perish. 

190
00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:00,040
They're perishing. 
Now. 

191
00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:01,320
I think this is really 
important. 

192
00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:07,800
It's easy to think that this, 
this story is a boat that's in a

193
00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:09,560
storm. 
But somehow we tend to think 

194
00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,760
things are kind of calm. 
They're not calm. 

195
00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:17,760
These men, Mariners, 
professional sailors, have their

196
00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,440
livelihood on the boat with 
them, are doing everything they 

197
00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:25,640
can in their strength to save 
themselves and one another. 

198
00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,160
They're experiencing common 
grace in a way. 

199
00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,880
They care for each other, but 
not Jonah. 

200
00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:37,560
Jonah's asleep. 
The skipper calls him awake. 

201
00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:42,800
They cast lots ancient ways. 
This is one of the ways in which

202
00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,640
they made decisions. 
Here again you just see the 

203
00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:47,680
sovereignty of God all over this
passage. 

204
00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,440
The lot falls on Jonah. 
Thus begins a conversation, and 

205
00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:54,360
this is the first time we hear 
Jonah speak to the sailors. 

206
00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:57,520
Verse 8. 
They said to Jonah, tell us on 

207
00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:00,440
whose account this evil has come
upon us? 

208
00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:03,600
What is your occupation? 
Where do you come from? 

209
00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:07,000
What is your country, and of 
what people are you? 

210
00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:12,680
Now they want to know, what have
you done? 

211
00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,240
What God have you offended? 
The reason they want to know is 

212
00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:19,800
because these experienced 
sailors were not prepared for a 

213
00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:22,200
storm. 
They didn't see a storm suddenly

214
00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:26,800
coming on the horizon, but God, 
the sovereign Lord of the storm 

215
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:34,480
was bringing it. 
God as soon as Jonah moved away 

216
00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:40,320
from him in his mind knew that 
this storm I'm going to set as a

217
00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,320
specific strike against this 
boat. 

218
00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,600
Why? 
Because I'm going to accomplish 

219
00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:50,280
the purpose of my will and 
saving my people. 

220
00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:54,920
And so Jonah, here's their 
questions. 

221
00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:57,840
Their questions are questions of
identity. 

222
00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,960
What is your occupation? 
Where do you come from? 

223
00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:04,800
What is your country and are 
what people of you? 

224
00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:08,839
Now remember this. 
This is not a moment when 

225
00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:12,079
they're suddenly standing in a 
circle, sitting down. 

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Everything's calm. 
These men are soaking wet by 

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rain and sweat. 
The storm is swelling around 

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them. 
The boat, we're told, is 

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breaking apart. 
These are intense, direct 

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questions. 
The moment matters. 

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Now. 
You've been sleeping. 

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That's incomprehensible. 
Who are you? 

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And then listen to what Jonah 
says, verse 9. 

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Jonah said to them, I am a 
Hebrew and I fear the Lord the 

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God of heaven who made the sea 
and the dry land. 

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Let me say it again, I am a 
Hebrew and I fear the Lord, the 

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God of heaven who made the sea 
and the dry land. 

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Except he didn't. 
He didn't fear the Lord, because

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the one who made the sea and the
one who made the dry land is 

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also the one who said to him, 
Jonah, arise, go to Nineveh, 

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that great land. 
And then the fear of the Lord 

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that Jonah had began to 
dissipate as he went on this 

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decline. 
If a prophet of the word, if a 

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prophet of God can turn his back
against the word of God, so can 

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we. 
So do we. 

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We constantly need the Lord's 
help to show us. 

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Where in my life am I not 
fearing the Lord? 

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And this fear of the Lord is 
what the church needs to be 

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awakened to. 
We need to wake up. 

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There are ways in which we have 
simply fallen asleep and not 

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taken God at His Word. 
We either don't believe what He 

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has said or we don't believe the
way He's called us to live. 

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And friends, this is going to be
a challenge between now and when

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He calls us home or returns. 
Ask the Holy Spirit for mercy to

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show you. 
Where in my life am I saying no 

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to the Word of God? 
Where in my life do I see a 

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group of people and say they 
don't deserve Jesus? 

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Or where in my life do I see a 
group of people and say it's 

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impossible for that person or 
that group to come to Christ? 

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I'm sure the early church 
thought the same about Saul. 

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Jonah had feared the Lord, he 
says. 

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I am a Hebrew and I fear the 
Lord, the God of heaven who made

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the sea in the dry land. 
It's true that he did, but in 

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this moment he doesn't. 
But what happens when he says, I

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am a Hebrew? 
I fear the Lord the God of 

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heaven, who made the sea in dry 
land. 

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It says in verse 10. 
Then the men were exceedingly 

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afraid and said to him, what is 
this you have done? 

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For the men knew that he was 
fleeing from the presence of the

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Lord, because he had told them, 
What is this you have done? 

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They became exceedingly fearful 
of God. 

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Now watch this. 
The man who was a prophet of 

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God, who should have sustained 
and continued to have that fear 

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of God, says that he fears the 
Lord. 

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But he doesn't, not in this 
moment. 

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He is not yet repentant. 
And yet the ones who have not 

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feared the Lord, the pagans who 
have called out to other gods, 

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hear that the God of the 
Hebrews, which they have 

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obviously heard about over time,
is his God, and now they are 

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exceedingly afraid because of 
who He is. 

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How could that happen? 
Because God knows what he's 

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doing. 
He moves in mysterious ways, and

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he has taken this prophet of the
word of God who says that he 

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fears them, but he no longer 
does. 

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00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:56,120
And he has put him, as he seeks 
to distance himself from a ship,

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on a boat with others who are 
about to come into deep 

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confrontation with this living 
God. 

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00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:08,880
I'm a Hebrew. 
I fear the Lord, the one who 

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00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:13,840
made the sea and the dry land. 
Then they were exceedingly 

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00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:16,200
afraid. 
What is this you have done? 

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This is where I'm going to stop 
today. 

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When the Church constantly 
remembers that we are 

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worshipping the one true God. 
Who indeed made the sea that 

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these sailors are floating on? 
Who indeed made the dry land 

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that these sailors desperately 
want to reach? 

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When we realize that this God we
worship is Lord sovereign over 

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00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:15,960
the storms, in the storms, 
before the storms, after the 

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00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:21,520
storms, then we have a fear of 
the Lord that is not based on 

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00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:27,720
this terror of not being able to
come to Him, but this reverent 

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00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:37,520
awe and majestic sense of how 
great He is and He is. 

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00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:46,520
Jonah has chosen to flee from 
Him, His presence. 

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00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:49,800
The sailors begin to see 
something. 

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00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:57,440
And don't you see the sovereign 
hand of God at work on this 

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00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:01,120
boat? 
So let me in here. 

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00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:08,120
Jonah is about to tell them what
to do. 

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00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:12,760
But Jonah doesn't know how the 
story's going to end. 

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00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:19,120
Neither do the sailors. 
So the sailors are not going to 

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00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:23,400
listen to Jonah until there's no
other way, and then they're 

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00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:29,640
going to hurl him overboard. 
Jonah's going to be the picture 

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00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:34,400
of a scapegoat, which is 
fulfilled perfectly and our 

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00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,520
Savior Jesus. 
But here's the difference. 

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00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:40,680
Jonah was thrown overboard 
because of his sin. 

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00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:44,480
He submerged under the water, 
not knowing that a fish would 

314
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:53,000
swallow him. 
Jesus became our scapegoat 

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00:24:54,120 --> 00:25:01,480
because of your set and mine. 
Another difference. 

316
00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:10,880
Jonah didn't die, but Jesus did.
There's a comparison between the

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00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:15,520
two that's remarkable, and we're
going to pick up here next week 

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00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:21,400
in the midst of this painful, 
dark season. 

319
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:28,640
The God who brought the storm to
this boat, to that sea is the 

320
00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:33,600
same God who is in control of 
everything that is happening 

321
00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:38,520
now. 
May you take great hope and 

322
00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:47,320
courage and him our victor. 
And may today we make much of 

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00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:56,280
this one true God. 
May he have mercy to cause us to

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00:25:56,280 --> 00:26:02,800
rise, to wake up, to boldly go 
wherever he's called us. 

325
00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:07,360
Lord Jesus, thank you for this 
flock. 

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00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:13,640
The privilege of walking with 
you with them blesses my life 

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00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:16,640
and the lives of our pastors to 
no end. 

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00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:22,040
Oh Lord Jesus, we pray today 
that what we have heard and what

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00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:26,520
we have said and what we have 
sung would go deep, deep, deep 

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00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:30,400
into our hearts. 
That we really would be a people

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00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:37,920
living in fear of the One who 
made everything, the Lord of the

332
00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:44,040
storm, the Lord of salvation, 
the only Lord we pray in his 

333
00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:45,240
name. 
Amen. 

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00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:45,760
Please stand.