1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:06,440 Well, perhaps you've already heard what happened to Adrian 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:12,320 Simonicus on my birthday, February 8th, 2025, while I was 3 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:14,360 eating cake and hanging out with family. 4 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:19,880 He was in the Magellan Straight kayaking with his father named 5 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:22,000 Dell. And if you haven't seen the 6 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:29,400 video, here it is just kayaking along and Oh yeah, your lunch. 7 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,960 According to the AP News, if you listen to the footage captured, 8 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,480 his father is saying after the whale spit him out of his mouth. 9 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:41,080 Stay calm. Stay calm. 10 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,840 Like, hey, dad, shut up. I just got eight. 11 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:47,600 You might think that this was a one off event. 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,360 I mean, how often do people get eaten by a whale? 13 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:56,160 Well, in 2021, a lobster diver named Michael Packard was 14 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:01,160 trapped in the mouth of a humpback whale for 40 seconds. 15 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,319 When he got out, they were super excited because he only had soft 16 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:07,920 tissue damage, which I don't know what that is, but I bet 17 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,240 that hurt. And he's just like, hey, you're 18 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:12,560 fine, brush it off. I mean. 19 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:17,800 Then in 2019, a wildlife photographer named Rainier Skimp 20 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:21,560 was scooped up into a Brutus whale's mouth while 21 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:23,880 photographing. This is a weird sentence, a 22 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:27,520 sardine run, which is why I don't run. 23 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:32,120 OK. Now today we are beginning a 24 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,680 brand new series on. And for those of you who are 25 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,120 Bible people, you already know where I'm going on the book of 26 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:40,360 Jonah. Now I want to welcome all of you 27 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,640 joining from all of our different locations, those of 28 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:44,840 you watching online, those of you who are part of the crossing 29 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,160 inside. I also want to welcome those of 30 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,320 you who are new here, whether it's your first time or your 31 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,640 first time in a long time, or maybe you've been here for a 32 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,480 while, but you've never kind of raised your hand and said, hey, 33 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,320 I'm actually coming here. We would love a chance to meet 34 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:00,640 you. And I want to invite all three 35 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:02,360 of you. First time, first time in a long 36 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,440 time or been around for a while and never actually said, hey, I 37 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,840 actually come here. We would love for you to swing 38 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:10,720 by the new here booth in all of our lobbies. 39 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,360 And to those of you who are watching online, I want to 40 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,360 encourage you to participate in the online platform, 41 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,680 specifically in the chat. I had a great opportunity to 42 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,120 talk to some of the people that are a part of our online family 43 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:25,880 this week. And I just want, you know, we're 44 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:28,880 trying our best to pastor you and love you and walk with you. 45 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:30,920 So don't just be somebody who spectates. 46 00:02:30,920 --> 00:02:33,160 We'd love for you to engage in the chat. 47 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,280 We have an incredible group of people that serve in that 48 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,080 ministry area. Now, before we jump into the 49 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:40,880 sermon, I got to lay some groundwork. 50 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:46,000 One, I'm going to actually take you through this verse by verse. 51 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:51,280 So some of the questions you're going to have from chapter 1 are 52 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:54,960 not going to get answered until chapter 4. 53 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:57,520 And some of you just went, OK, so this is a four week series, 54 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,080 so if I don't like this, I got to wait three weeks. 55 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,520 That's exactly right. OK, when we get done with this 56 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:05,800 series, we will be on Easter weekend. 57 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,320 So start thinking about the people that you're going to be 58 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,120 inviting on Easter weekend. And I think that this sermon 59 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,200 series is going to be a great way for us to get ready for 60 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:16,640 Easter. So if you're the kind of person 61 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:21,320 that likes to open your Bible, you can turn to Jonah chapter 1. 62 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:25,960 If you're a person who uses your phone for your Bible, you can 63 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,880 hop on that. If you're the kind of person who 64 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,480 pretends to use your phone for the Bible and want to check your 65 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:35,520 Facebook or the March Madness scores, God is watching you. 66 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:41,640 But we're glad you're here. Ready, Jonah, chapter one, verse 67 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,920 one, the word of the Lord came to. 68 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:54,640 Jonah, son of a Mitai, How many of you wish that you got a word 69 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,600 from the Lord? Like you just wish God would 70 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,400 speak to you, make it super clear how you're supposed to 71 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:03,440 live, what you're supposed to do. 72 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:06,680 The word of the Lord came to Jonah. 73 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:13,400 I got good news for you. God is always speaking, always 74 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:17,760 revealing His word. His will is not hard to find. 75 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:23,200 Jesus is the one who says He who seeks finds, the one who knocks. 76 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:27,600 The door will be opened. And the three primary ways 77 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:31,960 through which God speaks to you and I His people, is through His 78 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:36,920 Word, through His Spirit, and through His people. 79 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:41,080 Second Timothy chapter 3 tells us that God's Word, the Bible, 80 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,240 is God. Breathe. 81 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:48,160 And it is useful for you and I to not only become who He has 82 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:52,800 called us to become, but to accomplish what He has called us 83 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,920 to do. Many of us are in a desperate 84 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:00,920 need for a word from the Lord, but we are not spending any time 85 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,400 in His Word. We want a word from the Lord, 86 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,440 but we are not sensitive to His Spirit. 87 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:11,360 We want a word from the Lord, but we are not interacting with 88 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:13,720 God's spiritual people to guide us. 89 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:19,880 God is not silent, we just don't like to listen. 90 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:25,360 Jonah chapter one, verse 2. You guys are going, how many 91 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:27,800 verses are here? OK, here we go. 92 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:31,120 Go. This is what God says to him. 93 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:36,880 Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because 94 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:40,640 it's wickedness has come up before me. 95 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,360 Jonah was not expecting this word. 96 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,840 For those of you who raised your hand at all of our locations 97 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:49,560 going, I wish God would give me a word. 98 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:51,680 Jonah gets a word and he's like, I didn't want that word. 99 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:56,480 Can I get a different one? Not, not Nineveh, not the 100 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,400 Ninevites. You see, Nineveh was a major 101 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,800 city in the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian Empire, for those 102 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:05,520 of you who want to know, it occupies what would be modern 103 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,080 day Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. 104 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:09,960 Here it is. This is geography class with 105 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:11,560 Clayton. Everybody touch your put your 106 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:13,560 finger on your nose. This is how I would do it if I 107 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:15,560 was in 7th grade. Pay attention, everybody paying 108 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:16,560 attention. OK, here we go. 109 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:18,960 This right here is the big continent of Africa. 110 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,200 Here we got Spain. I think this is Portugal. 111 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:23,800 Over here you got Italy because that's the one with the boot. 112 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,840 You come all the way over to here, right? 113 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:29,120 There is Israel. That's the one that's in the 114 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:31,800 news. This is the Arabian Peninsula. 115 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:35,160 This big orange part is the Assyrian Empire. 116 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:38,120 OK. And Jonah hears that, hey, this 117 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:40,800 is where I'm supposed to go. And he's like, I don't want to 118 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,560 have anything to do with the Ninevites. 119 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:48,920 They are the worst people ever. He's not wrong. 120 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:54,800 Nineveh was a place known for its savage dealings with people. 121 00:06:55,280 --> 00:06:57,480 Let me just kind of walk you through the highlight reel of 122 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,760 the Ninevites When they captured a city. 123 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:05,720 They would kill all the children, abuse all the women. 124 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:10,920 They would pile the skulls next to the city gates in a pillar. 125 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:15,000 They would take people and filet them alive and put their skin as 126 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:20,840 decoration on the city walls. One ruler bragged about taking a 127 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:25,000 foreign king and passing his dagger through his jawbone, 128 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,800 running a rope through it and put running him around like he 129 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:32,600 was a dog and made him live in a dog kennel. 130 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,880 The word of the Lord came to Jonah. 131 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:44,280 Go to the Ninevites if you're a Bible reader and you were to go 132 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:48,360 to the book of Nahum. In Nahum chapter 3, it calls 133 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:52,520 Nineveh the city of blood, and it calls them a city known for 134 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:56,440 their cruelty. I got a question for you. 135 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:03,440 What do you do when God calls you to do something you don't 136 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:08,320 want to do? That's what Jonah's feeling. 137 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:13,120 He got a word from the Lord and he didn't want that word. 138 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,880 What do you do when God calls you to be obedient in the area 139 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,680 of baptism? What do you do when God calls 140 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:21,760 you to serve and you don't want to serve? 141 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,440 What do you do when God calls you to give and you don't want 142 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:26,240 to give? What do you do when God calls 143 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:28,040 you to lead and you don't want to lead? 144 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:30,440 Invite and you don't want to invite. 145 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:35,120 Forgive, and you don't want to forgive. 146 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,400 Love your enemy and you don't want to love them. 147 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:46,000 What you do when God calls you to do something you don't want 148 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:51,200 to do reveals an awful lot about you. 149 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,040 If I were for the sake of the sermon to kind of give you 2 150 00:08:56,040 --> 00:09:00,280 anchor points real quick to define your spiritual maturity, 151 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:04,920 I would say there's two ways to kind of get a quick barometer or 152 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,200 a quick light on your dashboard on your spiritual maturity. 153 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:11,680 It would be how long does it take you to do the thing that 154 00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:14,840 God has called you to do? Is it immediate obedience? 155 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:16,360 That would be a sign of maturity. 156 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:21,000 Is it delayed obedience? That would be a sign of 157 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:25,080 immaturity. So how fast do I respond to the 158 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,800 promptings of the Holy Spirit would be a sign of your 159 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,320 maturity. The faster you respond, the more 160 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,400 mature you are in your faith. The other barometer that I would 161 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:36,760 give you is what do you do when God tells you to do something 162 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:39,440 that you don't want to do? Do you do it anyway? 163 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:42,920 That would also be a sign of your maturity. 164 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:46,120 So some of us might be struggling right now with an 165 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,720 immature faith because we know what we're supposed to do. 166 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:51,320 We just are going to take our time getting around to it. 167 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:53,680 I'll get serious about Jesus after. 168 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:56,560 I'll get serious about Jesus after high school. 169 00:09:57,200 --> 00:09:59,520 I'll get serious with Jesus after college. 170 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:03,000 I'll get serious about Jesus after I get married. 171 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:06,520 I'll get serious about Jesus after I land the job, after I 172 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:10,000 get the promotion, after I have kids, after the kids get done 173 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:11,760 with sports. I'll get serious about God 174 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:16,240 after. When we createspace between 175 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:20,560 God's word and our obedience, that is a sign of us being 176 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:23,120 immature. And if the only time we want to 177 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:27,200 do stuff in the Bible is when it's the stuff we already want 178 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:29,640 to do, that is not a mature faith. 179 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:33,600 Because if the only time you have to be obedient to God is 180 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:36,080 when you want to do the things that he's called you to do, what 181 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:39,200 you are innocent saying is God only in the areas where you 182 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:41,520 agree with me while I follow you. 183 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:43,960 But in that case, you're not actually following God. 184 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,080 You're following you. And if God is so much higher 185 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,200 than our ways that I'm guessing there's some things that he's 186 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:52,880 going to point out in your life, in my life that are probably a 187 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,960 long way from how we like to operate now. 188 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,640 You find out real quick how your priorities stack up when God 189 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:03,800 calls you to do something you don't want to do. 190 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:06,840 You find out if you're a fan of Jesus or you're an actual 191 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:14,080 follower of Jesus. What you do when God calls you 192 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:18,800 to do something you don't want to do reveals what you really 193 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:24,160 believe about God. Do you believe that God's way is 194 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:30,640 the best way, even if it hurts? At the beginning of the year we 195 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:35,280 talked about faith and obedience and how they're connected that 196 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:38,320 your faith will never go faster than your obedience and your 197 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:40,440 obedience will never outrun your faith. 198 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:45,680 They move at the same speed. Last week we talked about how 199 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:49,040 there's two groups of people, people who hear the Word of God 200 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:53,600 and do not obey it, and people who hear the word of God and 201 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:55,480 they obey it. For those of you who don't know 202 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,320 the answer to all the questions in the test today, what do you 203 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:05,920 think Jonah did this prophet of God, this mouthpiece of God, 204 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:10,720 when he heard the word, go to the Ninevites? 205 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:17,600 Jonah chapter one, verse 3. But Jonah what? 206 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:22,200 Ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarsus. 207 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,440 He went down to Joppa where he found a ship bound for that 208 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,280 port. After paying the fare, he went 209 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:34,040 aboard and sailed for Tarsus to flee from the Lord. 210 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:40,880 God calls Jonah, who lives in Gath Heifer, to go to Nineveh, 211 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:47,200 500 miles to the northeast. Instead of making a 500 mile 212 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:51,800 journey to the northeast, he goes 60 miles southwest and set 213 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:58,200 sail for Tarshish, 2500 miles to the West. 214 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:02,280 How many of you are going? I got a little Jonah in me. 215 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,400 God's like, hey, I want you to go here. 216 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,240 And you're like, you know what? I appreciate that. 217 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:17,400 I'm so thankful. And I'm he calls him to go 500 218 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:21,960 miles this way and he goes 2500 miles that way. 219 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:26,960 Can I just tell you something? The path of disobedience is the 220 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:32,440 easiest path to find. Have you ever had to like 221 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:38,680 purposefully screw stuff up? No, you could do that without a 222 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:43,920 whole lot of effort. Jesus says wide is the road that 223 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:48,440 leads to destruction, but narrow is the road that leads to 224 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:51,200 eternal life. How hard is a wide road to find? 225 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:54,640 Not hard at all. How hard is a narrow Rd. to 226 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,440 find? You got to look for it if you 227 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:01,720 want to run from God. It is really stinking easy. 228 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,840 And last week we talked about that the decisions that we make 229 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:09,960 end up making us. And what you're going to see 230 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:14,600 lived out in the book of Jonah, in the life of Jonah, is that 231 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:17,880 Jonah's decisions end up making him. 232 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:24,760 He goes from being God's prophet, God's mouthpiece, to 233 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:30,200 being on the run from God. Rough question. 234 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:37,320 Take a deep breath. Where is the area of 235 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:42,720 disobedience in your life that knocked you off who you used to 236 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:47,880 be in Christ? I encounter a lot of used TOS. 237 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,120 Everybody say used to turn to your neighbors say used to. 238 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:53,600 That's like a redneck word. It's just one word. 239 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,560 I used to or used to could, right? 240 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:01,680 I used to could can you dunk? Used to could you still? 241 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:04,520 I hear a lot of used to testimonies. 242 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:08,320 I used to serve. I used to share my faith. 243 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:10,680 I used to attend, I used to give. 244 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:14,800 I used to lead. I used to be committed to the 245 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:18,320 mission. As a staff, we deal daily with 246 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,480 the pain caused by people in used to land. 247 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:29,200 Jonah knew what God wanted, but Jonah did what Jonah wanted. 248 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:35,400 And the sad truth is many of us have had that testimony or are 249 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:39,440 living that testimony. Some of you, you can think of 250 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:44,840 people who used to sit next to you, who used to be chasing God 251 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:48,680 with you, who used to serve the mission with you. 252 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:54,360 Now brace yourself because we're about to enter a really 253 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:59,280 challenging part of the story. Verse 4. 254 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:08,360 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent 255 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:13,400 storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 256 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:20,600 Sometimes God calms the storm. He did it twice with Jesus. 257 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:27,240 Sometimes God allows the storm that the devil causes. 258 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:32,840 He does so with Job. Sometimes it just storms. 259 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:43,760 Sometimes we cause the storm, and sometimes God causes the 260 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:49,640 storm. You cannot expect God's blessing 261 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:56,760 in an area of disobedience. We love to blame the devil. 262 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:00,720 You do something stupid. Devil made me do it. 263 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:06,280 We love to blame others. Well, I was doing but then they 264 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:10,599 I was going to be sweet, but she I was going to be kind. 265 00:17:10,599 --> 00:17:16,839 But they that's how exes talk. It's never them. 266 00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:20,800 It's always if they weren't divorced, who would they blame? 267 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:27,880 There's always somebody else. But where rarely do we own the 268 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:33,840 fact that we are in a storm because of the decisions that we 269 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:39,160 made. And an even tougher reality is 270 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:43,720 this is a storm that God sent to get my attention. 271 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:49,320 Now listen, please, crossing family, do not paint God with a 272 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:54,160 wide brush on this. But I want you to keep an eye on 273 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:59,720 the fact that sometimes God sends the storm to get your 274 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:07,600 attention, but sometimes you are in a storm because you chose it. 275 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:14,600 And no matter how many people warned you, you didn't listen. 276 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:20,800 You were smarter, you were wiser, you knew better. 277 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:26,360 If I can say this gently as your pastor, the easiest place where 278 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:32,000 I can point to that is like a perfect illustration of this is 279 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:37,600 I see couples dating somebody that they should never end up 280 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:42,320 marrying because they are not following Jesus. 281 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,320 And they think that somehow magically it will change. 282 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:51,600 And then they end up marrying that person whose heart is not 283 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:54,720 given to Jesus. And they find themselves in the 284 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:58,320 storm of a marriage, parenting kids, and they're unequally 285 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:04,080 yoked. And that is a painful price to 286 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:09,560 pay. Jonah one verse 5, I'm going to 287 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:11,880 get you guys out of here 6-7 hours, OK? 288 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:18,760 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own God 289 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:23,120 and they threw cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. 290 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:29,240 Notice now how Jonas Sin is impacting the people around him. 291 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:33,520 The storm is so severe that all the sailors are trying out their 292 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:36,400 own gods. They're like, hey, God that we 293 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:38,280 believe in. Get this to stop. 294 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:42,920 Help, help. They start throwing all the 295 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,240 provisions for the journey they got 2500 miles ahead of them. 296 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:47,960 Like get rid of it. We don't need it. 297 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:50,680 We just got to make it through this storm. 298 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,160 They're doing everything they can do to survive. 299 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:59,040 I hear people say this sometimes. 300 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:02,680 It's my life. I can do what I want. 301 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:06,520 I'm not hurting anyone. Wrong. 302 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:10,680 Your sin always impacts other people. 303 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,320 If we had time, I could pass the microphone through our this Gen. 304 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:18,440 ministry and let the kids in our church tell the story about how 305 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,520 Mom's affair blew up the family. How Dad never come into grips 306 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:26,160 with his addiction and the pain that it caused day in and day 307 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,720 out because he refused to acknowledge it. 308 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:34,200 Our sin has an impact. Can I give a little devo to the, 309 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:38,480 you know, teenagers and whatever in the room for just a second? 310 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:40,760 No one. You got to make me a promise. 311 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:43,560 I'm going to tell you one story about me, maybe 2, depending on 312 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:45,800 the time. You are not allowed to use this 313 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,000 story against your parents. Like, look, I can take all the 314 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,640 stupid pills in the cabinet and I might turn out like Clayton. 315 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,200 That is not that is not what I'm telling you. 316 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:58,720 Let me let me just say this. Do you want to know why your 317 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:01,040 parents are super involved in using your friend group? 318 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:04,480 Do you want to know why they're very cautious about the 319 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,400 sleepovers that you're getting ready to go to? 320 00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:09,160 Do you want to know why they try to get you in certain classes 321 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:10,880 with certain kids from certain families? 322 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:13,560 It's because they don't want the wrong people in your boat. 323 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:24,720 I don't want to talk about how old I am, but I was around when 324 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:30,520 the Internet became a thing and I was a sophomore in high school 325 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:35,480 when the came out that whatever that noise was and like the 326 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:38,120 stuff would load on the screen line by line. 327 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,280 And back in those days, if you had a friend that had an 328 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:45,880 Internet connection, it was the wild, Wild West. 329 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:51,200 How wild. We ordered the plans and the 330 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:56,200 supplies to make pipe bombs and had it delivered to his house 331 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:05,440 because you know, 16 year old us was like that sounds fun. 332 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:09,640 We'll just Chuck some pipe bombs off the Cliff and let them blow 333 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,680 up in the Mississippi. So we ordered all the parts and 334 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:14,920 they were like, you know what would be really fun? 335 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:17,960 We should take these 8 inch pipe bombs and we should put them in 336 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:23,800 people's mailboxes. So kid you not, we made a bunch 337 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:26,840 of pipe bombs, put them in the glove compartment of the Grand 338 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,400 Prix, and started driving through the country. 339 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,840 We got to our first house, open up the glove compartment, pull 340 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:37,480 out one of the pipe bombs, stick it in the mailbox and drive off 341 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:42,880 and then stop just waiting for it to. 342 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:50,000 And about that time, a guy came flying out in his vehicle, got 343 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:54,280 us came up, knocked on the door, pretty on the window of the car 344 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:56,760 pretty hard. I asked my buddy for his, his 345 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,520 like ID and he since he was driving, he had it. 346 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:03,000 We all pretended like we didn't have I DS like, yeah, he's the 347 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,760 driver. OK, now, just I, I it didn't 348 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:09,000 even cross my mind. What if somebody had gone out to 349 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,960 there? And I mean, none, none of those 350 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,760 things went through this head. None of those. 351 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:21,400 But we sweet talk and we do our best and we kind of think, hey, 352 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,680 we got past this. The guy didn't call the cops on 353 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:27,520 us favor of the Lord. You know what I mean? 354 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:30,600 I think this thing is way behind me now. 355 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:32,920 That guy was hot ticked. I mean, you have to think he had 356 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:35,840 to go back, reach his hand into the thing that didn't go off 357 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,400 yet. And I mean, we made it wrong is 358 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:39,680 what happened. We can't we don't read 359 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:43,960 directions. I think I'm out Scott free. 360 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:46,160 I'm like, dude, parents will never know. 361 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:48,840 This is perfect. I drive home a couple weeks, 362 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:53,560 like less than a week later and I show up to my parents house 363 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:56,600 after a practice of some court. I've got my backpack on, just 364 00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:00,320 walking into my house and this guy is on his hands and knees 365 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:03,000 installing the trim in my parents house. 366 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:10,600 And he looks at me and I look at him and I did. 367 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:18,920 Mom, Dad, I don't know if I told you that story, but yeah, the 368 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,520 guy who did the trim work in our house, we blew up as well. 369 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:22,960 We tried to. It didn't go off because Chris 370 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:26,040 didn't read the directions. Do you want to know why parents 371 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:28,800 care kids about who's in your life? 372 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:31,600 Because you get some of the wrong people in the boat with 373 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:34,320 you and your life is going to be in a storm. 374 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:39,000 And hear me, I'm not blaming all the people that were in the car 375 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,400 or the boat as if they were the bad dude. 376 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:48,880 I'm saying I was the Jonah causing storms. 377 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,360 You got to be so careful who you put in your boat. 378 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:57,280 Jonah 1 verses 5 and 6. But Jonah had gone below deck 379 00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:59,720 where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 380 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:02,360 The captain went to him and said, how can you sleep? 381 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:07,120 Get up and call on your God. Maybe he will take notice of us 382 00:25:07,120 --> 00:25:09,560 so that we will not perish. Notice what's happening on the 383 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:11,960 boat. They've tried all of their gods 384 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:17,400 and nothing, nothing's changing. So they start like they're doing 385 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:20,080 their whole worship service. Nothing's working out. 386 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:21,920 So like, well, we should go talk to the guy who's asleep in the 387 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:23,880 bottom of the boat and have him do a worship service. 388 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:28,560 They find him, they wake him up and they go, hey, what's going 389 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:32,040 on here? For those of you who have never 390 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,280 really followed God, can you kind of just put on the sailor 391 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:36,920 hat for a second? How's that working for you? 392 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,600 If you're crying out to a false God, that false God will never 393 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:44,720 save you. If your false God is money, 394 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:48,240 you'll never make enough. If you're If you're God that 395 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:50,960 you're trying to chase and serve is sex, you'll never have enough 396 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:53,600 of it. If your God is your spouse, they 397 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:55,760 will never measure up. If your God is your kids, they 398 00:25:55,760 --> 00:26:00,160 will only disappoint you. If your God is you, you will 399 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:10,320 never be satisfied. There's only one real, true, 400 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:16,960 trustworthy God. Unfortunately the only person in 401 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:21,680 the boat who knows him is the one running from him. 402 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:28,080 How many of your Co workers can't find their way to the one 403 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:31,640 true God because you're not following him? 404 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:36,560 You've heard me say this before. There are no undercover 405 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:41,560 Incognito Christians. The Bible says we are to be a 406 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:47,360 city on a hill, a lamp on a stand, light of the world, and 407 00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:51,280 there are people crying out and following a false God because 408 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,440 they can't find the true God because you're choosing a path 409 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:58,280 of disobedience. Verse 7 and 8, This is where it 410 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:01,160 gets fun. Then the sailors said to each 411 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,720 other, come, let us cast lots. Imagine them just throwing a 412 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:06,520 dice and trying to figure out who is responsible for this 413 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:08,920 calamity. They cast lots, and the lot fell 414 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:11,120 to Jonah. So they asked him, tell us who's 415 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:13,400 responsible for making all this trouble for us? 416 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:17,040 What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? 417 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:19,640 What is your country from? What people are you? 418 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,160 They're going, hey, there's a reason why we're going through 419 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:25,600 this storm. They are perceptive that 420 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,120 something is not right. They've tried all their gods 421 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:30,120 they're talking to. They're going, hey, who's in 422 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:32,280 charge of this? And they're like, OK, if it's 423 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:34,600 just, if it comes up a six, it's you. 424 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:38,960 Jonah 6 rolling in. If it's a 5, it's you. 425 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,240 Jonah 5, tell us what are you doing? 426 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:44,640 We're about to die. I love this. 427 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:46,880 Jonah doesn't come out and say, hey guys, it's me. 428 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:50,080 I'm the problem. Here he goes, no, you're going 429 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:53,400 to have to roll for it. You're going to keep rolling. 430 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,840 Then he's the 1 causing it. He doesn't own it. 431 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:01,120 Watch what happens next. I love this Jonah chapter one, 432 00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:03,600 verse 9 through 11. He answered. 433 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:07,640 Listen to how bold he is now. I'm a Hebrew and I worship the 434 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:11,880 Lord, the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land. 435 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,760 This terrified them and they asked, what have you done? 436 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:17,200 They knew he was already running away from the Lord because he'd 437 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:20,760 already told them so the sea was getting rougher and rougher. 438 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:24,360 So they asked him, what should we do to make the sea calm down 439 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:26,520 for us? I love this part of the text. 440 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:29,800 All of a sudden Jonah gets really bold about his 441 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:32,720 relationship with the Lord. But pay attention to what he 442 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:35,680 says. I serve the God of heaven that's 443 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:38,960 causing the wind to blow. I serve the God of the sea 444 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:42,840 that's causing it to rage. And I'm I'm my God is the God of 445 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,720 the dry land, which we are desperate for. 446 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:48,520 He's literally saying all the things that are causing his 447 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:49,440 problems. That's my God. 448 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:53,600 They knew he was running. They just didn't believe that 449 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:59,440 his God was real. But now that Jonah has given his 450 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:03,680 God credit for his power over the heaven, the sea and the land 451 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:13,000 God, I'm gonna make the sea a little rougher just so they know 452 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:16,680 he was telling the truth. They're like, hey, hey, hey, 453 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:18,280 He's got everybody's attention now. 454 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:25,040 Verse 12, pick me up and throw me into the sea, he replied. 455 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:28,560 And it'll become calm. I know that it is my fault that 456 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:30,120 this great storm has come upon you. 457 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,440 How bad is Jonah? He doesn't say, hey guys, I'm 458 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:36,680 going to jump overboard, guys, it's my bad. 459 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:38,360 I'm jumping in. It'll calm down. 460 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,760 He says, here guys, here's what you're going to have to do. 461 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:44,280 You're going to have to pick me up and you're going to have to 462 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:46,400 throw me overboard because I have 0 intention of being 463 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:49,040 helpful. Like the words are coming out of 464 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:51,640 his mouth, but he's refusing to even participate in it. 465 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:55,960 He's like, like, it's I see it. This is probably not in the 466 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:57,160 Scripture. When we get to heaven, you can 467 00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:58,760 all ask him, like, how far off was Clayton? 468 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,120 But I can see Jonah, like his mouth is moving and he's trying 469 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:04,240 to stop it. You're going to have to pick me 470 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:08,080 up and throw me over boards because what would a normal 471 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:10,160 person do? Hey, it's me. 472 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:14,440 Like, that's what you would think, that a normal, like, 473 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:16,600 guys, this is all my fault. But he just goes, yeah, you're 474 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:18,720 going to have to pick me up because I'm going to sit down. 475 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:23,680 OK, now once this is all over, you're going to, you're just 476 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:25,120 going to pick me up, throw me overboard. 477 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,200 Verses 13 through 16. You guys should read your Bible. 478 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:30,840 This is fun, isn't it? Instead, the men did their best 479 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:34,440 to row back to land, but they could not for the seeker even 480 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:37,680 Wilder than before. Then they cried out to the Lord. 481 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:42,440 Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man's life, and 482 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:45,400 do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man. 483 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:47,800 For you, Lord, have done as you pleased. 484 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:51,960 Then they took Jonah, threw him overboard, and the raging sea 485 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,360 grew calm. At this the men greatly feared 486 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,160 the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made 487 00:30:57,160 --> 00:30:58,800 bows to him. Watch this. 488 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:02,880 Now the men who were just like Jonah, who wasn't doing the word 489 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:06,320 that they got from the Lord, Now these men are not doing the word 490 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,320 that they got from the Lord, and instead of throwing them 491 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:10,240 overboard, they start working harder. 492 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:13,000 We got to get this. We got to get this boat to sea 493 00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:14,800 so that. And then when they can't do 494 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:18,600 that, they go, all right, I guess we're going to be obedient 495 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:21,600 to God. He because God turns up the 496 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:23,400 storm while they're trying to row against him. 497 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:29,760 So much so the storm gets so bad that the Pagan guys who used to 498 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:33,840 not believe in the one true God now believe in the one true God 499 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:36,480 and start praying to him. Hey God, we didn't believe in 500 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,960 you a couple of moments ago, but now we are full blown believers 501 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:43,920 and this is our first prayer. So we apologize for getting it 502 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:47,080 wrong, but we want you to know we believe and we want to be 503 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:49,400 obedient to you because we've already seen what happens when 504 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:51,960 we try to do what the opposite of what you told us to do. 505 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:55,360 Jonah hasn't learned this lesson yet, but Lord we have and we are 506 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:57,840 so thankful for sending this really disobedient prophet to 507 00:31:57,840 --> 00:31:59,920 give us a word from you. But I just want to make sure you 508 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:02,760 hear us clearly. Your first command is for us to 509 00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:06,040 throw your man overboard. And I just want to be super 510 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:07,240 clear because it's my first prayer to you. 511 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,480 God, we do not want to be held accountable for this guy dying. 512 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:17,800 And so they throw him into the water like mid prayer. 513 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:21,720 They're like, and Jesus won. We just want to like how, how 514 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:23,000 does it? Oh my goodness. 515 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:25,960 And so like they're like, please forgive us now. 516 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:31,280 As soon as this happens, the sea goes calm. 517 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:36,200 Can you imagine being a sailor like this boat is? 518 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:41,280 You're praying, all right? God, we're so sorry. 519 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,360 We're about to throw this guy in 123. 520 00:32:54,510 --> 00:32:57,870 And what's to say they immediately made sacrifices and 521 00:32:57,870 --> 00:33:03,350 vows to him? They're like, OK, so everything 522 00:33:03,350 --> 00:33:06,680 we have is yours now. That's like they go from 523 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:09,480 worshipping false gods to believing in God, hearing about 524 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:12,800 God, to disobeying God, to believing in God, to throwing a 525 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:15,760 man overboard in response to God, to offering vows and 526 00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:17,040 commitments. And can I just say this? 527 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:22,120 When people realize who God is, sacrifice and commitments are 528 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:26,520 the natural response. He's God. 529 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:32,640 I'm not, I belong to him now. Verse 17. 530 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:42,560 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah and Joni 531 00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:47,520 was in the belly of the fish 3 days and three nights. 532 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:56,800 That is the end of chapter 1. God, in his mercy, does not 533 00:33:56,800 --> 00:34:02,240 allow Jonah to die. Instead, he saves him with a 534 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:07,880 great fish. Jonah, on the run from God, 535 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:13,960 cannot outrun God's grace and mercy to him. 536 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:18,560 While Jonah did not want to extend God's grace to the 537 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:22,920 Ninevites, God extended grace to Jonah. 538 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:28,520 And so God sends a storm. He sends a sailor to wake him 539 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:35,400 up, a fish to swallow him, all in an effort to bring Jonah back 540 00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:39,639 to the heart of God. I got a question for you, 541 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:43,480 crossing family. What is the thing that God has 542 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:48,719 called you to do that you are not doing? 543 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:53,360 Or if you don't like that question, I'll give you a 544 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:58,400 tougher one. What is the storm that others 545 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:04,760 are suffering in because of your disobedience? 546 00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:15,640 The good news is that even when we run, God comes running after 547 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:19,680 us. I just want to know when will we 548 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:25,480 finally stop running from Him and start running after Him? 549 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:28,400 We're moving to a time of decision. 550 00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:36,280 If you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I got great 551 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:38,640 news for you. You can start 1 today. 552 00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:42,560 Maybe like the sailors, you will stop following the ways of this 553 00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:47,040 world and you'll start following the Maker of this world. 554 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:52,200 Today you could be like the sailor and go, You know what? 555 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:54,440 It is time for me to give my life to you. 556 00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:57,600 It's time for me to start worshiping you, following you, 557 00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:02,000 trusting you, obeying you. I've been running my own play 558 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:05,920 long enough. And if you've never started an 559 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:08,600 intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ, there is 560 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:13,080 testimony after testimony after testimony in this room of people 561 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:15,120 who would just tell you that it was the best decision that they 562 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:17,600 ever made. And their biggest regret is that 563 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:21,080 they didn't do it sooner. And in just a few moments, the 564 00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:23,240 people around you are going to stand and sing, and some of them 565 00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:24,920 are going to go to the steps and pray. 566 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:27,800 I would encourage you to walk right over there underneath that 567 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:32,440 screen next to the baptistry, and talk to somebody about how 568 00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:35,680 to start your relationship with Jesus Christ. 569 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:40,040 If you do have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I want to 570 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:45,120 encourage you to use these steps, to use these steps to get 571 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:49,880 your heart and your life right with God. 572 00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:52,880 Maybe you're going to come to the steps and you're just going 573 00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:57,160 to do battle over the thing that you know that God has called you 574 00:36:57,160 --> 00:37:02,160 to do that you are not doing. Maybe it's he's been calling you 575 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:04,920 to serve and you won't serve, lead and He won't lead. 576 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:09,480 Give and you won't give. Forgive and you won't forgive. 577 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:13,720 There's a thing. Oh my goodness, every person has 578 00:37:13,720 --> 00:37:15,480 a thing. How do I know that? 579 00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:19,280 Because we're not perfect. He is and until we've been 580 00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:24,560 perfected in Christ in heaven, there is always a thing that his 581 00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:27,480 Spirit will be calling us to surrender to him. 582 00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:32,200 So there's the thing question is, what are you going to do 583 00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:35,040 with the thing? You're going to keep pushing it 584 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:37,520 back, keep running from it, or are you going to trust that God 585 00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:39,720 has something good for you in it? 586 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:43,400 Others of you? This is, I mean this, this is 587 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:48,600 the tougher 1. What is the storm that the 588 00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:55,320 people you love are having to go through because of your 589 00:37:55,320 --> 00:38:00,560 disobedience? Maybe you come to the steps and 590 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:05,640 you just own your part. Maybe because you won't forgive 591 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:09,360 somebody, there's no trust in your home. 592 00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:13,840 Because you won't forgive and you're getting bitter. 593 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:19,760 Your home has no peace. Maybe because you won't get 594 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:27,000 help, your family has no joy. Maybe because you won't 595 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:32,040 surrender your life to him, your family has no clear purpose and 596 00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:35,320 direction. I know this. 597 00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:40,560 I know many of us want to be the very best husbands and mothers 598 00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:47,560 and wives and daughters and sons that we can possibly be, but I 599 00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:52,320 also know that we want to somehow define what that is and 600 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:56,800 choose our path to get there. And how's that working? 601 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:05,400 So maybe today you don't go to the steps for you, but you go to 602 00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:10,400 the steps for the people that are in your storm, and you get 603 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:13,560 right with God. You own your part. 604 00:39:14,240 --> 00:39:18,040 You ask for forgiveness, so that way you can give them what God 605 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:20,480 wants to give them through you. Would you stand with me? 606 00:39:21,840 --> 00:39:24,600 Heavenly Father, I'm asking you to do a mighty work in US. 607 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:35,480 I'm asking you to show us the consequences, the weight of our 608 00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:41,560 disobedience, and show us the purpose and the direction and 609 00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:46,560 the joy and the peace of obedience and help us to make 610 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:48,000 the right choice. You hear my pray. 611 00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:48,640 Amen.