WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.019 Well, good morning again, and I hope you're having a great 4th of July weekend with your 00:00:08.019 --> 00:00:09.240 family and your friends. 00:00:10.380 --> 00:00:16.879 Over the next four weeks, throughout the month of July, we are going to be looking at the 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:22.140 story of Jonah, which is a prophet story in the Old Testament. 00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:28.359 And I'm really excited to be looking at this story, to be looking at this book, for a number 00:00:28.359 --> 00:00:28.839 of reasons. 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:31.059 It's an amazing story. 00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:36.619 It's a story that perhaps many of us may or may not be familiar with us, we may or may 00:00:36.619 --> 00:00:37.460 not be familiar with. 00:00:38.019 --> 00:00:44.259 But it's an amazing story for a lot of reasons, not only because of the plot and the characters 00:00:44.259 --> 00:00:51.379 and what happens in the story, but the scholars who have studied this over the years are aware 00:00:51.379 --> 00:00:57.379 of how sophisticated a story it is in terms of its form, in terms of its structure, in 00:00:57.380 --> 00:00:58.160 terms of its style. 00:00:59.040 --> 00:01:04.140 Even though it's an incredibly short story, it only takes up about three pages in my Bible. 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:12.219 Even though it's a short story, scholars understand that it is a masterful work of Hebrew narrative, 00:01:12.900 --> 00:01:13.780 of Hebrew language. 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:20.140 There's irony, there's satire, there's humor, and parallelism and symmetry, and so it's 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:21.859 this really amazing story. 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:29.980 And I also love this story because Jonah touches on some of the great themes of the entire Bible. 00:01:29.980 --> 00:01:39.180 It touches on some of the most important themes of all of Scripture, things like the core doctrines of sin and grace. 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:41.620 What does the Bible teach about what sin is? 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:43.859 What does the Bible teach about what grace is? 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:45.579 Jonah gets right at that. 00:01:45.800 --> 00:01:47.080 It touches on God's character. 00:01:47.320 --> 00:01:55.140 It touches on how his justice and his mercy, his holiness and his love and compassion come together. 00:01:55.140 --> 00:02:03.019 Jonah is about the power and the centrality of God's Word and our response to God through his Word. 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:04.579 Jonah is about mission. 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:12.000 It's about our calling to make disciples of all nations and to take the gospel to the whole world. 00:02:13.080 --> 00:02:22.920 Jonah is also about the sins of racism and nationalism and ethnocentrism and the human tendency to feel superior to other people and other cultures. 00:02:22.919 --> 00:02:25.899 Jonah is also about cities. 00:02:27.059 --> 00:02:31.959 Jonah is about the importance of cities, not only to humanity, but also to God. 00:02:32.060 --> 00:02:34.219 So Jonah is about all these amazing themes. 00:02:35.399 --> 00:02:42.239 And another reason why I love this story and I'm excited to look at it is that even though it's an old story, 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:48.939 even though it's an ancient story, millennia old, it addresses modern questions. 00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:52.199 And therefore, it's a really modern story. 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:56.919 It addresses questions like how do we live in a society that has deep differences? 00:02:58.239 --> 00:03:08.079 It addresses questions like how do we become the kind of people who cannot just tolerate but love and live at peace with those who are different from us? 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:13.280 How do spiritual change and social change go together? 00:03:13.799 --> 00:03:18.560 How can a city and a society experience both spiritual renewal and cultural renewal? 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:25.400 And so it's an old story, but it's a modern story because it addresses a lot of our modern problems and questions. 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:30.920 And so for all those reasons, I love this story. 00:03:31.020 --> 00:03:32.140 I'm excited to look at it. 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:43.020 But before we dive into it, there's at least a couple things, one thing in particular, that we have to unlearn before we study this book. 00:03:43.020 --> 00:03:51.460 And one of the things that we have to unlearn as we come to study Jonah is that Jonah is just a children's story. 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:55.360 That it's just a kid's story about Jonah and the fish. 00:03:56.360 --> 00:03:59.420 I think it's common for a lot of people to think about it this way. 00:03:59.419 --> 00:04:02.659 Perhaps that's because of the success of VeggieTales. 00:04:04.199 --> 00:04:06.159 I was telling Deborah about that this morning. 00:04:07.399 --> 00:04:12.779 Or perhaps because of the experience in church that we grew up in, that it tends to be a story that kids like. 00:04:13.219 --> 00:04:17.959 And so it tends to be a story that we associate with just telling our children. 00:04:18.479 --> 00:04:22.659 But for a lot of reasons, for those we already named, it's literary sophistication. 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:25.899 It's all the great themes that it touches on. 00:04:26.339 --> 00:04:28.379 It's actually way more of an adult story. 00:04:28.379 --> 00:04:32.100 It's way more of an adult story than a children's story. 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:37.420 Although, the beauty of Jonah is that kids, it's a story that kids love too. 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:41.860 It's a story that kids and adults can read together and love. 00:04:41.959 --> 00:04:45.500 And so that's something that we have to unlearn as we come to this story together. 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:53.639 The last thing that I'll say, one final thing I'll say, by means of introduction and orientation to this book, 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:55.899 is a word about history. 00:04:55.899 --> 00:05:02.959 So because of the nature of the story, because of some of the fantastic or even miraculous things that happen in it, 00:05:03.560 --> 00:05:09.500 many people are going to read this as just an allegory or as a parable, 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:15.919 as just a symbolic story that reveals a bigger truth about God. 00:05:16.739 --> 00:05:19.539 That whether or not it happened in history doesn't actually matter. 00:05:19.540 --> 00:05:21.660 What matters is the bigger spiritual truth. 00:05:22.400 --> 00:05:23.780 And so that's a question we have to think about. 00:05:23.860 --> 00:05:26.879 Is Jonah just a symbolic story? 00:05:27.180 --> 00:05:28.140 Is it just an allegory? 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:30.319 Or did it actually happen? 00:05:31.260 --> 00:05:33.200 And that's an important question. 00:05:33.340 --> 00:05:34.640 And I do want to address that. 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:38.759 But for the sake of time, we're actually going to leave that for next week. 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:40.280 We're going to leave that for week two. 00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:42.000 Just for the sake of time. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:44.019 But I do want to address it because it's an important question. 00:05:44.100 --> 00:05:49.000 And it's probably a question that many of you all have as you think about the book of Jonah. 00:05:49.579 --> 00:05:51.220 So we'll touch on that next week. 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:55.839 So let's dive in and let's look at Jonah chapter one. 00:05:56.399 --> 00:06:02.279 In the first chapter, in the beginning of this story, we're going to see a couple things. 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:07.699 We're going to see Jonah's flight from God and God's grace in the storm. 00:06:08.659 --> 00:06:12.179 Jonah's flight from God and God's grace in the storm. 00:06:12.299 --> 00:06:15.099 So first of all, Jonah's flight from God. 00:06:16.159 --> 00:06:19.319 So what do we know about Jonah? 00:06:20.799 --> 00:06:29.059 Well, the Bible actually doesn't give us a ton of background information about him except for 2 Kings chapter 14. 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:38.280 And in 2 Kings chapter 14, we learn that Jonah was a prophet who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel in around the 8th century BC. 00:06:39.220 --> 00:06:44.180 And we learn in that passage that God had given Jonah a prophecy. 00:06:45.300 --> 00:06:49.459 He'd given Jonah a prophecy that Israel was going to reclaim land. 00:06:49.459 --> 00:07:01.139 It was going to restore its national borders from land that it had previously lost in previous generations to other powers in the region. 00:07:01.599 --> 00:07:10.859 And in 2 Kings chapter 14, we learn that this prophecy comes to pass under King Jeroboam II through various military campaigns. 00:07:11.039 --> 00:07:15.019 And the northern borders of Israel are expanded and restored. 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:32.339 And the reason why that matters, the reason why that context matters, is because it means that the early days of Jonah's ministry as a prophet were actually a time of national pride for the people of the northern kingdom of Israel. 00:07:32.339 --> 00:07:44.519 Despite the fact that Jeroboam II was a bit of a mixed bag and a pretty terrible spiritual leader, God had nonetheless showed favor on his people in this way. 00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:52.639 The national borders of Israel were expanded to a place that had only been matched in the days of King Solomon. 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:59.839 And if you know the story of Israel, you know that the days of King Solomon were the glory days of Israel. 00:08:00.699 --> 00:08:05.539 They were the glory days of wealth and prosperity and learning and peace. 00:08:07.300 --> 00:08:16.079 And so you can imagine the kind of pride, the kind of honor that Jonah must have felt as a prophet during this time. 00:08:16.599 --> 00:08:22.139 His ministry could be mentioned in the same sentence as King Solomon. 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:24.259 He was God's prophet. 00:08:25.039 --> 00:08:33.039 And he got to preach a message of expansion and glory and victory and success. 00:08:33.500 --> 00:08:35.939 And he also got to see it come true. 00:08:37.019 --> 00:08:44.120 And maybe that meant that in Jonah's days, maybe that meant that the glory days were on their way back. 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:48.360 That the glory days of King Solomon were rolling back. 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:54.440 Jonah may have thought to himself, you know, being a prophet in Israel, this is a pretty great gig, you know. 00:08:55.159 --> 00:09:03.560 I wonder what message of glory, what message of victory, what message of success is God going to ask me to preach next. 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:10.819 But then we see Jonah chapter 1, verse 1. 00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:23.379 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it. 00:09:23.940 --> 00:09:26.740 For their evil has come up before me. 00:09:26.740 --> 00:09:37.460 Now given everything that we had just said about the early days of Jonah's ministry, this was not the assignment that Jonah had in mind. 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:43.320 This would have come as a great shock to him for a number of reasons. 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:52.700 The Lord had never in history before called a prophet from Israel to go to another nation, to go to a Gentile nation. 00:09:52.800 --> 00:09:55.700 He had only sent prophets to Israel and Judah. 00:09:55.840 --> 00:09:57.220 And so this was completely unprecedented. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:00.820 This would have been completely off the radar for Jonah. 00:10:00.820 --> 00:10:08.500 And not only was it a Gentile nation that God had called Jonah to go to, but it was the city of Nineveh. 00:10:09.660 --> 00:10:11.280 It was the city of Nineveh. 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:12.360 Now what do we know about Nineveh? 00:10:12.440 --> 00:10:21.420 Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, that great and powerful, fearful nation to the north. 00:10:21.420 --> 00:10:30.160 A generation earlier, the Assyrians had forced Israel's king, Jehu, to pay tribute, to pay lots of money and gold. 00:10:30.820 --> 00:10:34.320 In order to pay tribute to them. 00:10:35.280 --> 00:10:38.720 They were a people known for their violence and cruelty. 00:10:39.920 --> 00:10:44.180 They were an economic rival in the region. 00:10:44.940 --> 00:10:47.080 They were a constant military threat. 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:50.480 They were constantly trying to expand their own borders. 00:10:51.220 --> 00:10:55.680 And they had this reputation of being a violent people, of being a cruel people. 00:10:56.180 --> 00:11:00.280 Both on the military front and in their own society. 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:07.500 But above all, Nineveh represented a society that was a pagan nation, that worshipped pagan gods. 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:10.299 That worshipped false gods. 00:11:10.299 --> 00:11:16.220 And so Nineveh was a city that embodied everything that Israel was against. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:20.240 Everything that Israel feared. 00:11:20.539 --> 00:11:22.360 And everything that Israel hated. 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:29.659 Needless to say, Nineveh was not on Jonah's summer vacation destination list. 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:33.519 Nineveh was not on Jonah's bucket list. 00:11:33.580 --> 00:11:36.340 It was the last place that he would ever want to go. 00:11:38.539 --> 00:11:43.800 But God told Jonah, that is exactly where I want you to go. 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:46.079 And so what does Jonah do? 00:11:47.719 --> 00:11:50.519 He jumps in the car and he heads to Nineveh straight away. 00:11:51.539 --> 00:11:52.019 No. 00:11:52.679 --> 00:11:53.519 What does he do? 00:11:54.139 --> 00:11:57.439 He runs in the complete opposite direction. 00:11:57.939 --> 00:11:59.319 Nineveh is to the northeast. 00:12:00.059 --> 00:12:01.639 And he goes west. 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:04.359 Or rather, northeast for you and west over here. 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:09.539 And he finds, he goes to a town on the west coast of Israel called Joppa. 00:12:10.100 --> 00:12:12.519 And he finds a ship headed to Tarshish. 00:12:12.980 --> 00:12:16.860 A place that was across the Mediterranean Sea to the west. 00:12:17.700 --> 00:12:24.600 Jonah goes as far away from Nineveh as he could go in direct disobedience to God's word. 00:12:25.300 --> 00:12:28.120 Direct disobedience to God's word. 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:32.620 And so what do we learn from the first part of this story? 00:12:32.620 --> 00:12:36.120 What do we learn from the opening of the story of Jonah? 00:12:36.940 --> 00:12:41.980 Well, we learn that there is more than one way to run from God. 00:12:43.419 --> 00:12:45.580 That there's more than one way to run from God. 00:12:45.639 --> 00:12:50.340 If you're here this morning and maybe you would consider yourself more of a secular person, 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:52.980 you wouldn't consider yourself a Christian, 00:12:53.139 --> 00:12:54.580 you wouldn't consider yourself very religious, 00:12:55.560 --> 00:12:59.799 chances are that when you hear somebody like me, 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:02.839 some pastor or a person in a collar, 00:13:03.179 --> 00:13:06.339 when you hear a person like me talk about running from God, 00:13:06.459 --> 00:13:12.500 chances are you imagine them to talk about living a life of immorality and sin 00:13:12.500 --> 00:13:16.740 and self-indulgence, perhaps a life of hedonistic pleasure, 00:13:17.439 --> 00:13:19.240 apart from church, apart from religion. 00:13:20.379 --> 00:13:23.679 And of course, that is for sure one way to run from God, 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:25.719 but it's not the only way. 00:13:26.479 --> 00:13:31.639 And it's not, in fact, the way that Jonah runs from God here in this story. 00:13:32.019 --> 00:13:33.259 Jonah's not abandoning his faith. 00:13:34.219 --> 00:13:38.819 He's not pursuing a life of hedonistic, sinful pleasure and autonomy. 00:13:40.579 --> 00:13:41.779 So why is he running? 00:13:41.979 --> 00:13:42.779 Why is Jonah running? 00:13:42.779 --> 00:13:50.159 Well, we're going to have to wait for the story to unfold to get a fuller answer to that question. 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:55.579 Jonah gives us a more specific answer to why he runs in Jonah chapter 3, 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:59.539 but for now, we get a preview of that answer here in chapter 1 00:13:59.539 --> 00:14:02.220 by thinking about Jonah as a prophet. 00:14:03.299 --> 00:14:04.179 As a prophet. 00:14:04.179 --> 00:14:12.599 What would it have meant for a prophet from Israel to go to a city like Nineveh? 00:14:13.239 --> 00:14:16.419 Well, of course, it would have meant that he would have had to go 00:14:16.419 --> 00:14:20.419 and confront one of Israel's national enemies in the flesh. 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:24.239 He would have had to go and confront his cultural enemies, 00:14:24.479 --> 00:14:26.579 people that he feared and hated. 00:14:26.580 --> 00:14:32.259 But it also meant the possibility that the people in Nineveh 00:14:32.259 --> 00:14:34.620 would hear a message from God. 00:14:35.660 --> 00:14:38.740 Prophets were people who spoke God's word to people. 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:41.080 They revealed the truth about who God was. 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:44.639 And so if Jonah was going to go and preach a message to the people of Nineveh, 00:14:45.020 --> 00:14:49.139 it meant that they could hear a message about the truth of God. 00:14:49.139 --> 00:14:51.900 And if they could hear a message from God, 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:55.460 then it also meant that they could respond to that message. 00:14:56.580 --> 00:14:57.879 It meant that they could hear the message 00:14:57.879 --> 00:15:03.580 and that they could also respond to it in ways that involved repentance, 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:06.120 in ways that involved change, 00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:09.340 in ways that involved turning from sin, 00:15:09.460 --> 00:15:12.520 turning from their wickedness and their evil 00:15:12.520 --> 00:15:14.600 and their violent ways that they were known for. 00:15:15.259 --> 00:15:18.920 It meant the possibility, not the guarantee, 00:15:18.920 --> 00:15:21.320 but it meant the possibility that those people, 00:15:21.560 --> 00:15:22.640 those Assyrians, 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:27.319 would potentially receive the same mercy 00:15:27.319 --> 00:15:29.120 and the same compassion from God 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:31.379 that Jonah had experienced 00:15:31.379 --> 00:15:32.960 and that all of Israel had experienced. 00:15:34.299 --> 00:15:37.439 Jonah runs perhaps partially because of fear, 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:38.659 but he runs primarily 00:15:38.659 --> 00:15:43.699 because of his own national and cultural and religious pride. 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:46.580 He's not running because he's immoral 00:15:46.580 --> 00:15:48.279 or because he's deconstructed his faith. 00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:50.339 He's running because he cannot imagine 00:15:50.339 --> 00:15:52.220 those people 00:15:52.220 --> 00:15:55.699 having the same relationship with God 00:15:55.699 --> 00:15:58.459 that he has based on grace. 00:15:58.579 --> 00:16:02.179 And the Bible teaches that this is the default operating system 00:16:02.179 --> 00:16:04.259 of every human heart. 00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:05.220 The human condition 00:16:05.220 --> 00:16:07.879 is that we all run from God. 00:16:08.779 --> 00:16:10.059 That we all run from God 00:16:10.059 --> 00:16:12.100 in disobedience to his word. 00:16:12.179 --> 00:16:13.100 That's what sin is. 00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:14.860 That's sin in a nutshell. 00:16:15.480 --> 00:16:16.539 All of us run from God. 00:16:16.539 --> 00:16:19.339 And some people run from God 00:16:19.339 --> 00:16:24.659 in ways that look more immoral, irreligious. 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:29.259 But others of us run from God 00:16:29.259 --> 00:16:31.959 in ways that look very moral, very religious. 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:35.279 It looks like we're actually being a good person 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:36.099 and doing good things. 00:16:38.139 --> 00:16:42.679 There's a character in one of Flannery O'Connor's novels. 00:16:43.139 --> 00:16:45.959 Flannery O'Connor wrote a novel called Wise Blood. 00:16:46.539 --> 00:16:47.379 And, um, 00:16:48.299 --> 00:16:51.099 and one of Flannery O'Connor's characters 00:16:51.099 --> 00:16:54.099 is a man named Hazel Motes 00:16:54.099 --> 00:16:55.759 in her novel Wise Blood. 00:16:56.579 --> 00:16:57.459 And, uh, 00:16:57.500 --> 00:16:58.620 as we read the story, 00:16:58.699 --> 00:16:59.599 we learn that Hazel, 00:16:59.599 --> 00:17:01.579 Hazel Motes learns, 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:03.019 uh, 00:17:03.019 --> 00:17:03.740 he learns, 00:17:04.099 --> 00:17:04.700 he says, 00:17:04.899 --> 00:17:06.720 that the way to avoid Jesus 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:08.899 was to avoid sin. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:11.339 That the way to avoid Jesus 00:17:11.339 --> 00:17:12.200 was to avoid sin. 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:12.759 In other words, 00:17:12.840 --> 00:17:14.080 if we're a moral person, 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:16.039 if we're a good religious person, 00:17:16.100 --> 00:17:17.559 if we've fulfilled our religious obligations, 00:17:18.259 --> 00:17:19.660 then we've paid our dues. 00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:22.360 And if we've paid our dues, uh, 00:17:22.360 --> 00:17:22.840 to God, 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:23.559 then, uh, 00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:25.080 he is obligated to bless us. 00:17:25.500 --> 00:17:27.059 He's obligated to answer our prayers. 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:27.960 Um, 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:29.599 he's obligated to do things for us 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:30.899 on the basis of our own, 00:17:30.899 --> 00:17:31.879 uh, 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:32.700 good works. 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:34.759 The way to avoid Jesus 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:35.639 was to avoid sin. 00:17:36.839 --> 00:17:38.359 But this is in direct contradiction 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:39.919 to what Christianity teaches. 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:40.639 It's, uh, 00:17:40.639 --> 00:17:41.500 at the heart of our faith, 00:17:41.980 --> 00:17:42.200 uh, 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:44.200 we believe that our relationship with God 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:46.279 is based on something called grace. 00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:48.559 It's not based on our own culture, 00:17:48.700 --> 00:17:50.279 it's not based on our own morality 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:50.960 or good works, 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:53.579 but it's based on an undeserved gift. 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:55.980 A gift that he initiates, 00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:58.160 a gift that he freely offers us, 00:17:58.240 --> 00:17:59.460 and a gift that he purchases 00:17:59.460 --> 00:18:00.360 and earns for us. 00:18:01.740 --> 00:18:03.900 And so even though Jonah is God's prophet, 00:18:04.120 --> 00:18:05.460 even though he's a religious person, 00:18:05.579 --> 00:18:08.680 even though he speaks for God 00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:10.220 for his job, 00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:12.720 he has a deficient understanding 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:13.400 of God's grace. 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:15.840 He has a deficient understanding 00:18:15.840 --> 00:18:16.519 of God's grace. 00:18:16.620 --> 00:18:17.160 At his core, 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:17.779 he's still, 00:18:18.819 --> 00:18:20.039 at this point in the story, 00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:21.259 he still basically believes 00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:21.960 that it's his culture, 00:18:22.059 --> 00:18:22.680 it's his morality 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:24.480 that allows him 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:26.099 to receive God's blessing 00:18:26.099 --> 00:18:26.680 and approval, 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:28.740 and that's why he runs. 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:31.079 Because it's that, 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:31.980 it's that belief, 00:18:32.099 --> 00:18:33.500 it's that orientation to the world 00:18:33.500 --> 00:18:35.079 that makes him, 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:36.180 uh, 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:36.659 fearful, 00:18:36.779 --> 00:18:37.420 it makes him say, 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:38.279 I can't imagine 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:40.259 that those people might 00:18:40.259 --> 00:18:42.740 experience the same relationship 00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:43.599 with God that I have. 00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:46.299 And so whether you would consider yourself 00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:47.180 a secular person 00:18:47.180 --> 00:18:48.759 or whether you would say 00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:49.500 that you've been a Christian 00:18:49.500 --> 00:18:50.279 your whole life, 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:51.440 um, 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:52.079 wherever you're at 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:52.660 on that spectrum, 00:18:52.940 --> 00:18:53.799 like Jonah, 00:18:54.059 --> 00:18:55.200 all of us 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:57.339 are blind in some way 00:18:57.339 --> 00:18:58.039 to God's grace. 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:00.019 We're all blind in some way 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:00.640 to God's grace. 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:02.440 We all have blind spots. 00:19:02.500 --> 00:19:03.940 Even if your theology 00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:04.920 of justification 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:07.079 is impeccable. 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:09.819 Even if you can explain 00:19:09.819 --> 00:19:10.440 justification 00:19:10.440 --> 00:19:12.019 clearly and articulately, 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:13.359 all of us have blind spots 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:14.740 to God's grace. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:16.059 If Jonah had blind spots, 00:19:16.180 --> 00:19:17.400 if a prophet from Israel 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:18.140 had blind spots, 00:19:18.140 --> 00:19:19.960 then we all have blind spots 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:20.940 about God's grace. 00:19:22.060 --> 00:19:22.360 Um, 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:23.880 we might be blind 00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:24.360 to, 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:25.920 like Hazel Motes, 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:26.580 we might be blind 00:19:26.580 --> 00:19:27.520 to ways that we 00:19:27.520 --> 00:19:28.940 see our own spiritual life 00:19:28.940 --> 00:19:30.800 as a way of paying our dues 00:19:30.800 --> 00:19:33.520 and getting God to bless us 00:19:33.520 --> 00:19:34.300 and answer our prayers. 00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:35.560 Uh, 00:19:35.560 --> 00:19:36.259 we might be blind 00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:36.800 to our, 00:19:36.860 --> 00:19:38.259 our own patterns of sin, 00:19:39.140 --> 00:19:39.580 uh, 00:19:39.580 --> 00:19:40.940 to our own unhealthy ways 00:19:40.940 --> 00:19:42.420 of relating with other people. 00:19:42.420 --> 00:19:44.400 Uh, 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:45.039 but like Jonah, 00:19:45.160 --> 00:19:46.300 we might also, 00:19:46.300 --> 00:19:46.840 uh, 00:19:46.840 --> 00:19:48.180 be blind to ways 00:19:48.180 --> 00:19:49.620 that deep town 00:19:49.620 --> 00:19:51.380 we actually feel superior 00:19:51.380 --> 00:19:52.580 to other people. 00:19:53.860 --> 00:19:54.180 Um, 00:19:55.060 --> 00:19:56.519 hardly anybody 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:57.440 thinks to themselves, 00:19:57.600 --> 00:19:58.200 hardly anybody 00:19:58.200 --> 00:19:59.320 says out loud, 00:19:59.840 --> 00:20:00.100 you know, 00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:01.240 I'm really better 00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:02.120 than those people. 00:20:02.840 --> 00:20:04.100 I'm just so great, 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:04.920 I'm so superior, 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:06.279 I'm really better 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:07.100 than those people. 00:20:07.099 --> 00:20:09.839 But if you've ever thought 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:10.980 or if you've ever said, 00:20:11.159 --> 00:20:11.559 uh, 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:12.299 things like this, 00:20:12.359 --> 00:20:12.539 you know, 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:12.879 I, 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:14.980 I can't believe 00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:17.500 that those people 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:18.759 or that that person 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:19.699 would think about 00:20:19.699 --> 00:20:20.639 politics that way. 00:20:21.679 --> 00:20:22.779 I can't believe 00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:23.980 that he or she 00:20:23.980 --> 00:20:24.839 would see the issues 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:25.199 that way, 00:20:25.259 --> 00:20:25.839 would see the world 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:26.179 that way. 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:27.740 I can't believe 00:20:27.740 --> 00:20:29.199 that they would vote 00:20:29.199 --> 00:20:29.799 for this person 00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:30.419 or that person. 00:20:31.500 --> 00:20:32.279 I can't believe 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:32.779 that they would send 00:20:32.779 --> 00:20:33.699 their kids to that school. 00:20:34.939 --> 00:20:35.779 I can't believe 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:36.759 that they would live 00:20:36.759 --> 00:20:37.539 in that part of the city 00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:38.240 or live in that neighborhood. 00:20:38.339 --> 00:20:38.640 I can't believe 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:39.180 they would live 00:20:39.180 --> 00:20:40.500 in the suburbs. 00:20:43.819 --> 00:20:44.640 If you've ever 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:46.480 said something like that 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:47.059 or thought about 00:20:47.059 --> 00:20:47.859 something like that 00:20:47.859 --> 00:20:48.339 in your heart, 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:48.920 that's the, 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:49.900 that's the seed 00:20:49.900 --> 00:20:50.460 of superiority. 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:51.980 It's the seed 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:52.519 of pride. 00:20:53.019 --> 00:20:54.319 And that's a blind spot. 00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:56.440 That's a blind spot 00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:56.920 that shows 00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:58.019 a deficient understanding 00:20:58.019 --> 00:20:59.319 of God's grace. 00:20:59.460 --> 00:21:00.279 And one of the secrets 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:01.160 of the Christian life, 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:03.200 one of the secrets 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:04.579 of living as a Christian, 00:21:04.700 --> 00:21:05.579 as a disciple of Jesus, 00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:07.839 is learning 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:08.480 how to discover 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:09.399 your own blind spots. 00:21:11.059 --> 00:21:12.079 And none of us 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:12.799 can do that 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:13.480 by ourselves. 00:21:14.659 --> 00:21:14.919 But we, 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:15.519 whoops, 00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:15.720 sorry, 00:21:15.879 --> 00:21:17.379 we all need to discover 00:21:17.379 --> 00:21:18.279 our own blind spots 00:21:18.279 --> 00:21:18.960 in ways that are 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:20.439 particular to us, 00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:22.799 particular to our own 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:23.299 temperament, 00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:24.240 our own personality, 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:26.159 our own temptations, 00:21:26.259 --> 00:21:27.099 our own story. 00:21:27.939 --> 00:21:29.019 And we do that, 00:21:29.159 --> 00:21:30.460 we absolutely need 00:21:30.460 --> 00:21:30.859 other people 00:21:30.859 --> 00:21:32.000 to help us do that. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:33.500 We need community, 00:21:34.140 --> 00:21:34.859 we need friendships, 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:36.599 we need other people 00:21:36.599 --> 00:21:37.299 in our life 00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:38.839 to help point out 00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:39.539 blind spots 00:21:39.539 --> 00:21:40.839 that we have. 00:21:41.859 --> 00:21:42.819 We also need 00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:43.619 spiritual disciplines, 00:21:43.779 --> 00:21:44.400 the regular means 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:44.839 of grace, 00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:45.339 prayer, 00:21:45.819 --> 00:21:46.839 study of God's word, 00:21:47.380 --> 00:21:47.700 silence, 00:21:47.859 --> 00:21:48.180 solitude, 00:21:48.259 --> 00:21:48.700 and fasting. 00:21:48.839 --> 00:21:49.940 We need all of these things 00:21:49.940 --> 00:21:51.559 to help us discover 00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:53.559 our own blind spots. 00:21:54.460 --> 00:21:55.380 And unless you're 00:21:55.380 --> 00:21:56.359 actively doing that, 00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:57.299 unless you're actively 00:21:57.299 --> 00:21:58.259 uncovering 00:21:58.259 --> 00:21:59.500 your own blind spots 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:00.440 about God's grace, 00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:03.619 our hearts will start 00:22:03.619 --> 00:22:04.140 to wander. 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:06.900 We'll start believing 00:22:06.900 --> 00:22:07.900 things that aren't 00:22:07.900 --> 00:22:08.599 true about God 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:09.059 and our hearts 00:22:09.059 --> 00:22:09.960 will start to wander 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:12.140 away from the reality 00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:12.619 of a relationship 00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:13.119 with God 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:14.519 based on grace. 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:17.079 And if we let our hearts 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:18.160 wander for too long, 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:20.599 if we let our hearts 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:21.539 wander long enough 00:22:21.539 --> 00:22:22.259 and hard enough, 00:22:22.940 --> 00:22:24.420 we'll find ourselves 00:22:24.420 --> 00:22:26.019 running away from God, 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:28.039 not running towards Him 00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:28.799 and His purposes 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:29.359 and His call 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:29.960 on our lives, 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:31.159 but like Jonah, 00:22:31.299 --> 00:22:32.099 running in the complete 00:22:32.099 --> 00:22:32.960 opposite direction 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:35.240 and direct disobedience. 00:22:36.619 --> 00:22:37.480 And that is where 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:38.399 Jonah found himself. 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:39.259 Even though he was 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:40.720 a prophet of Israel, 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:41.599 he found himself 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:43.119 running from God 00:22:43.119 --> 00:22:44.039 in direct disobedience 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:44.500 to Him. 00:22:46.879 --> 00:22:48.339 But how does God respond? 00:22:49.220 --> 00:22:50.579 How does God respond 00:22:50.579 --> 00:22:51.839 to Jonah's flight, 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:52.859 to his disobedience, 00:22:52.940 --> 00:22:53.960 to him running? 00:22:55.019 --> 00:22:55.759 Well, second of all, 00:22:55.960 --> 00:22:57.299 we see God's grace 00:22:57.299 --> 00:22:57.839 in the storm. 00:22:58.799 --> 00:22:59.940 We see God's grace 00:22:59.940 --> 00:23:00.919 in the storm. 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:04.019 Jonah goes to Joppa 00:23:04.019 --> 00:23:05.379 and he boards a ship 00:23:05.379 --> 00:23:06.419 that heads out 00:23:06.419 --> 00:23:07.879 across the Mediterranean Sea 00:23:07.879 --> 00:23:09.619 and the ship gets out there 00:23:09.619 --> 00:23:10.379 in the middle of the sea 00:23:10.379 --> 00:23:11.000 and suddenly, 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:13.180 this violent storm 00:23:13.180 --> 00:23:14.319 breaks out. 00:23:15.159 --> 00:23:16.799 And it threatens the lives 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:18.359 of everybody on board 00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:19.220 the ship. 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:19.779 The sailors, 00:23:19.940 --> 00:23:20.339 the captain, 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:22.200 and panic starts to set in. 00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:24.200 And the sailors 00:23:24.200 --> 00:23:24.880 become desperate. 00:23:25.059 --> 00:23:25.900 They start throwing 00:23:25.900 --> 00:23:29.200 and heaving stuff overboard, 00:23:29.860 --> 00:23:31.360 supplies overboard 00:23:31.360 --> 00:23:32.740 in order to make the ship lighter, 00:23:33.120 --> 00:23:34.140 to make it more buoyant. 00:23:34.700 --> 00:23:36.440 And they start praying 00:23:36.440 --> 00:23:37.819 and they start crying out 00:23:37.819 --> 00:23:39.039 to their gods. 00:23:39.120 --> 00:23:39.940 They start crying out 00:23:39.940 --> 00:23:40.880 to their pagan gods 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:42.100 to save them 00:23:42.100 --> 00:23:43.000 and rescue them. 00:23:44.140 --> 00:23:44.720 And meanwhile, 00:23:45.120 --> 00:23:46.500 what is Jonah doing? 00:23:46.500 --> 00:23:48.720 He's sleeping. 00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:50.079 He's sleeping. 00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:51.839 And the captain says to Jonah, 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:52.619 Jonah, 00:23:52.680 --> 00:23:53.180 what are you doing? 00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:54.279 Get up. 00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:56.299 We are all calling 00:23:56.299 --> 00:23:56.900 on our gods. 00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:57.779 You need to wake up 00:23:57.779 --> 00:23:59.140 and call upon your God. 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:00.779 We're about to go down. 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:01.799 We need all the help 00:24:01.799 --> 00:24:02.960 that we can get. 00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:05.140 And then verse seven, 00:24:05.140 --> 00:24:07.400 the sailors said to one another, 00:24:07.540 --> 00:24:07.820 come, 00:24:07.940 --> 00:24:08.860 let us cast lots 00:24:08.860 --> 00:24:10.360 that we may know 00:24:10.360 --> 00:24:11.180 on whose account 00:24:11.180 --> 00:24:12.259 this evil 00:24:12.259 --> 00:24:13.440 has come upon us. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:15.220 And they cast lots 00:24:15.220 --> 00:24:16.400 and the lot 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:17.480 fell to Jonah. 00:24:19.120 --> 00:24:19.620 Now, 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:20.400 without explaining 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:21.220 the logistics 00:24:21.220 --> 00:24:22.520 of how lots work, 00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:24.220 Jonah, 00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:25.100 as God's prophet, 00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:26.160 would have been familiar 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:28.900 with Proverbs 16.33, 00:24:29.100 --> 00:24:30.000 which says, 00:24:30.800 --> 00:24:31.720 the lot is cast 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:32.340 into the lap, 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:34.860 but it's every decision 00:24:34.859 --> 00:24:36.139 is from the Lord. 00:24:36.979 --> 00:24:37.500 Jonah knew. 00:24:38.379 --> 00:24:39.219 The lot fell to him. 00:24:39.339 --> 00:24:39.859 Jonah knows 00:24:39.859 --> 00:24:40.859 he's the reason. 00:24:41.459 --> 00:24:42.259 Jonah knows 00:24:42.259 --> 00:24:43.139 even without the lot 00:24:43.139 --> 00:24:43.839 being cast to him. 00:24:44.779 --> 00:24:45.359 Jonah knows 00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:46.079 the reason 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:47.099 why the storm has come 00:24:47.099 --> 00:24:48.139 is because of him. 00:24:48.219 --> 00:24:48.839 He's the reason. 00:24:49.659 --> 00:24:50.919 And the sailors say to him, 00:24:51.259 --> 00:24:52.199 who are you? 00:24:52.719 --> 00:24:53.479 Where are you from? 00:24:53.779 --> 00:24:55.299 Why is all this happening to us? 00:24:55.379 --> 00:24:56.199 What have you done? 00:24:57.859 --> 00:24:58.619 Verse nine, 00:24:58.779 --> 00:24:59.399 and he said to them, 00:24:59.479 --> 00:25:00.139 I am a Hebrew 00:25:00.139 --> 00:25:02.659 and I fear the Lord, 00:25:02.779 --> 00:25:03.439 the God of heaven, 00:25:03.679 --> 00:25:04.399 who made the sea 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:05.180 and the dry land. 00:25:06.060 --> 00:25:06.700 And then the men 00:25:06.700 --> 00:25:08.160 were exceedingly afraid 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:09.480 and said to him, 00:25:09.800 --> 00:25:10.860 what is this 00:25:10.860 --> 00:25:12.340 that you have done? 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:16.540 And you can't help 00:25:16.540 --> 00:25:17.259 but notice 00:25:17.259 --> 00:25:19.259 the incredible irony 00:25:19.259 --> 00:25:20.440 that's going on 00:25:20.440 --> 00:25:20.820 in this moment. 00:25:21.300 --> 00:25:22.300 You can't help 00:25:22.300 --> 00:25:22.680 but notice 00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:23.860 the incredible irony 00:25:23.860 --> 00:25:24.880 that is happening 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:26.100 in this scene. 00:25:26.220 --> 00:25:26.960 Jonah's a prophet. 00:25:28.320 --> 00:25:29.280 He's the one 00:25:29.280 --> 00:25:30.600 who's supposed 00:25:30.600 --> 00:25:31.060 to reveal 00:25:31.060 --> 00:25:31.940 the truth about God. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:32.480 He's the one 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:33.040 who's supposed 00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:33.879 to preach God's word. 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:34.920 He's the one 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:36.220 who's supposed 00:25:36.220 --> 00:25:36.940 to tell other people 00:25:36.940 --> 00:25:37.599 about the truth 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:38.359 of who God is. 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:40.639 But who is it 00:25:40.639 --> 00:25:41.220 that's actually 00:25:41.220 --> 00:25:42.299 revealing the truth 00:25:42.299 --> 00:25:43.319 about who God is 00:25:43.319 --> 00:25:44.379 in this situation? 00:25:46.379 --> 00:25:47.579 It's the pagan sailors. 00:25:48.339 --> 00:25:49.399 The pagan sailors 00:25:49.399 --> 00:25:50.519 are actually revealing 00:25:50.519 --> 00:25:51.619 the truth about God. 00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:52.899 The pagan sailors 00:25:52.899 --> 00:25:54.619 are more in touch with, 00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:55.639 they're more consistent 00:25:55.639 --> 00:25:57.379 with Jonah's theology 00:25:57.379 --> 00:25:59.579 than Jonah is. 00:26:00.519 --> 00:26:00.940 Jonah says, 00:26:00.940 --> 00:26:01.820 I worship the Lord 00:26:01.820 --> 00:26:03.580 and yet he runs 00:26:03.580 --> 00:26:04.059 from him. 00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:06.080 Jonah says, 00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:07.460 I worship the God 00:26:07.460 --> 00:26:08.559 who made all things, 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:09.360 the God who made 00:26:09.360 --> 00:26:10.900 the earth and the sea. 00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:13.660 And the sailors 00:26:13.660 --> 00:26:14.340 say to Jonah, 00:26:15.180 --> 00:26:15.420 Jonah, 00:26:15.539 --> 00:26:17.500 if you worship 00:26:17.500 --> 00:26:18.080 the God 00:26:18.080 --> 00:26:19.080 who made the sea, 00:26:20.080 --> 00:26:23.539 then how could you 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:25.059 run from him 00:26:25.059 --> 00:26:26.380 and try to escape 00:26:26.380 --> 00:26:26.960 from him 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:28.820 in the sea? 00:26:28.819 --> 00:26:30.939 If your God 00:26:30.939 --> 00:26:31.679 made the sea, 00:26:32.059 --> 00:26:32.639 how could you 00:26:32.639 --> 00:26:33.960 possibly run from God 00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:35.299 and get away from him 00:26:35.299 --> 00:26:36.759 in the sea? 00:26:37.819 --> 00:26:39.159 It's an incredible irony 00:26:39.159 --> 00:26:40.599 and it shows 00:26:40.599 --> 00:26:41.519 that it was an illusion 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:42.099 for Jonah 00:26:42.099 --> 00:26:43.000 to think 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:45.339 that he could escape 00:26:45.339 --> 00:26:46.079 from Yahweh, 00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:47.159 from the one 00:26:47.159 --> 00:26:47.859 who had made 00:26:47.859 --> 00:26:48.619 all things. 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:51.039 And the storm 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:51.960 and the sailors 00:26:51.960 --> 00:26:53.839 were showing Jonah 00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:55.359 that that was 00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:55.759 an illusion 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:57.539 and that illusion 00:26:57.539 --> 00:26:58.460 was starting to fade. 00:26:58.819 --> 00:27:01.460 And friends, 00:27:01.579 --> 00:27:02.519 here is a 00:27:02.519 --> 00:27:04.579 hard 00:27:04.579 --> 00:27:06.859 but beautiful truth 00:27:06.859 --> 00:27:08.039 from the book 00:27:08.039 --> 00:27:08.399 of Jonah 00:27:08.399 --> 00:27:10.980 that sometimes 00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:13.720 the most loving 00:27:13.720 --> 00:27:15.159 and gracious thing 00:27:15.159 --> 00:27:16.200 that God can do 00:27:16.200 --> 00:27:18.179 when we are running 00:27:18.179 --> 00:27:18.720 from him 00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:22.179 is to send a storm 00:27:22.179 --> 00:27:23.200 into our lives, 00:27:23.700 --> 00:27:25.439 to send difficult 00:27:25.439 --> 00:27:26.039 circumstances 00:27:26.039 --> 00:27:26.899 that make us aware 00:27:26.900 --> 00:27:27.720 that we are fragile, 00:27:28.759 --> 00:27:29.680 that we're dependent 00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:30.280 upon him, 00:27:31.540 --> 00:27:32.519 where the illusion 00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:33.800 that we are in control 00:27:33.800 --> 00:27:34.519 is wiped away. 00:27:35.300 --> 00:27:36.040 And perhaps 00:27:36.040 --> 00:27:37.500 even when our rebellion 00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:38.620 and our 00:27:38.620 --> 00:27:40.800 disobedience 00:27:40.800 --> 00:27:41.759 is unmasked. 00:27:42.759 --> 00:27:44.100 A few years ago, 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:46.200 I was living in Charlottesville, 00:27:46.340 --> 00:27:46.900 I was working 00:27:46.900 --> 00:27:48.320 at the University of Virginia 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:50.619 and one afternoon 00:27:50.619 --> 00:27:52.119 I was driving home 00:27:52.119 --> 00:27:52.639 from campus 00:27:52.639 --> 00:27:54.299 and I was stopped 00:27:54.299 --> 00:27:54.839 at a light, 00:27:54.919 --> 00:27:55.399 I was stopped 00:27:55.399 --> 00:27:56.019 at an intersection 00:27:56.019 --> 00:27:57.519 and the car 00:27:57.519 --> 00:27:58.220 in front of me 00:27:58.220 --> 00:27:59.379 was about to make 00:27:59.379 --> 00:28:00.159 a left-hand turn 00:28:00.159 --> 00:28:01.659 and the light 00:28:01.659 --> 00:28:02.240 turned green 00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:03.700 and over to my left 00:28:03.700 --> 00:28:05.179 there was 00:28:05.179 --> 00:28:06.980 a man 00:28:06.980 --> 00:28:08.039 with his son 00:28:08.039 --> 00:28:09.039 who was about 00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:09.960 six or seven years old 00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:10.419 and his son 00:28:10.419 --> 00:28:11.159 was on a bike 00:28:11.159 --> 00:28:13.039 and when the crosswalk 00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:13.899 sign changed, 00:28:14.899 --> 00:28:16.119 the son started 00:28:16.119 --> 00:28:16.979 to pedal his bike 00:28:16.979 --> 00:28:17.939 across the intersection. 00:28:18.439 --> 00:28:19.319 Only the car 00:28:19.319 --> 00:28:19.959 in front of me 00:28:19.959 --> 00:28:21.219 did not see 00:28:21.219 --> 00:28:21.939 that this was happening 00:28:21.939 --> 00:28:23.639 and the car 00:28:23.639 --> 00:28:25.239 started to turn left 00:28:25.239 --> 00:28:26.479 and the boy 00:28:26.479 --> 00:28:27.279 started to pedal 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:27.819 his bike 00:28:27.819 --> 00:28:29.759 across the intersection 00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:32.019 and the father 00:28:32.019 --> 00:28:33.119 saw what was happening 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:34.199 and he saw 00:28:34.199 --> 00:28:36.699 the ongoing terror 00:28:36.699 --> 00:28:37.199 that was about 00:28:37.199 --> 00:28:37.659 to happen 00:28:37.659 --> 00:28:38.879 and with his 00:28:38.879 --> 00:28:41.099 best dad reflexes, 00:28:41.659 --> 00:28:42.939 he ran after him, 00:28:43.239 --> 00:28:44.000 he jumped out 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:44.339 in the middle 00:28:44.339 --> 00:28:44.819 of the intersection 00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:45.839 between his son 00:28:45.839 --> 00:28:47.079 and between the car 00:28:47.079 --> 00:28:48.859 and he grabs his son 00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:50.199 and he grabs his bike 00:28:50.199 --> 00:28:51.639 and he violently, 00:28:51.959 --> 00:28:53.199 quickly pulls him back 00:28:53.199 --> 00:28:55.000 to the sidewalk 00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:56.259 out of safety. 00:28:58.679 --> 00:28:59.679 The father 00:28:59.679 --> 00:29:00.839 in that moment 00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:01.579 caused 00:29:01.579 --> 00:29:03.699 a mini storm 00:29:03.699 --> 00:29:04.579 in that kid's life. 00:29:05.319 --> 00:29:05.959 He was thrown 00:29:05.959 --> 00:29:06.559 off balance, 00:29:06.679 --> 00:29:07.679 he was jostled around, 00:29:07.819 --> 00:29:09.019 he was prevented 00:29:09.019 --> 00:29:09.579 from going 00:29:09.579 --> 00:29:10.139 in the direction 00:29:10.139 --> 00:29:11.099 that he wanted to go. 00:29:12.159 --> 00:29:12.919 You can imagine 00:29:12.919 --> 00:29:13.759 that even for the 00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:14.359 first few seconds 00:29:14.359 --> 00:29:15.259 he was angry 00:29:15.259 --> 00:29:16.720 that his dad 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:18.379 was pulling him back, 00:29:18.440 --> 00:29:19.059 that he was preventing 00:29:19.059 --> 00:29:19.839 him from going 00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:20.859 where he wanted to go. 00:29:20.900 --> 00:29:21.559 He didn't understand 00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:22.099 what was happening, 00:29:22.180 --> 00:29:22.799 he couldn't see, 00:29:22.940 --> 00:29:24.839 he had blind spots. 00:29:26.180 --> 00:29:27.519 But the father saw 00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:30.259 that the mini storm 00:29:30.259 --> 00:29:32.279 that he created 00:29:32.279 --> 00:29:33.180 in his son's life 00:29:33.180 --> 00:29:34.559 was ultimately 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:35.200 for his good. 00:29:35.700 --> 00:29:36.440 It was ultimately 00:29:36.440 --> 00:29:37.079 out of love 00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:38.599 and it saved him 00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:40.259 from experiencing 00:29:40.259 --> 00:29:41.299 a much bigger storm. 00:29:41.299 --> 00:29:44.339 And sometimes, 00:29:44.639 --> 00:29:45.359 like with Jonah, 00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:46.879 that is what God 00:29:46.879 --> 00:29:48.599 does in our lives. 00:29:50.099 --> 00:29:51.019 Now let's be 00:29:51.019 --> 00:29:52.399 crystal clear on this, 00:29:52.519 --> 00:29:54.379 not every situation 00:29:54.379 --> 00:29:55.419 of difficulty 00:29:55.419 --> 00:29:56.659 in our lives 00:29:56.659 --> 00:29:58.720 is related to us 00:29:58.720 --> 00:29:59.639 running from God. 00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:03.079 But sometimes it is. 00:30:03.899 --> 00:30:04.779 Sometimes it is. 00:30:04.819 --> 00:30:05.559 The Bible is clear, 00:30:06.019 --> 00:30:07.359 difficult circumstances 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:08.500 happen all the time 00:30:08.500 --> 00:30:09.000 to people 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:10.660 who haven't done 00:30:10.660 --> 00:30:11.500 anything to deserve it. 00:30:11.579 --> 00:30:12.119 It's not because 00:30:12.119 --> 00:30:12.680 of their sin. 00:30:13.319 --> 00:30:14.079 But the difficult 00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:15.220 circumstances have happened 00:30:15.220 --> 00:30:16.259 just because we live 00:30:16.259 --> 00:30:17.859 in a fallen world. 00:30:18.299 --> 00:30:19.299 And that's what happens 00:30:19.299 --> 00:30:20.140 to people who live 00:30:20.140 --> 00:30:21.359 in a fallen world. 00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:22.859 We know from Scripture 00:30:22.859 --> 00:30:24.059 that people who love 00:30:24.059 --> 00:30:25.240 and trust 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:26.259 and worship 00:30:26.259 --> 00:30:27.380 and obey God 00:30:27.380 --> 00:30:30.279 can suffer greatly. 00:30:31.559 --> 00:30:32.779 And it has absolutely 00:30:32.779 --> 00:30:33.460 nothing to do 00:30:33.460 --> 00:30:33.920 with their sin. 00:30:34.519 --> 00:30:35.299 It has absolutely 00:30:35.299 --> 00:30:35.880 nothing to do 00:30:35.880 --> 00:30:36.680 with their disobedience. 00:30:38.220 --> 00:30:39.300 But sometimes, 00:30:39.720 --> 00:30:40.920 storms in our lives 00:30:40.920 --> 00:30:42.160 do happen 00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:43.300 because we are running 00:30:43.300 --> 00:30:44.580 from God. 00:30:44.700 --> 00:30:45.420 And rather than 00:30:45.420 --> 00:30:46.700 allowing us 00:30:46.700 --> 00:30:47.500 to experience 00:30:47.500 --> 00:30:48.680 the ultimate storm 00:30:48.680 --> 00:30:49.740 of death 00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:50.400 and separation 00:30:50.400 --> 00:30:51.000 from Him, 00:30:51.420 --> 00:30:52.760 God sends a mini-storm 00:30:52.760 --> 00:30:53.240 in our life. 00:30:53.320 --> 00:30:54.720 He sends a kindness, 00:30:54.920 --> 00:30:55.360 a mercy, 00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:57.340 in order to wake us up 00:30:57.340 --> 00:30:58.080 and to help us see 00:30:58.080 --> 00:30:58.920 our need for Him. 00:31:00.080 --> 00:31:00.760 And the reason 00:31:00.760 --> 00:31:01.540 why we know that 00:31:01.540 --> 00:31:02.940 is because that is 00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:04.520 exactly what happened 00:31:04.519 --> 00:31:05.440 to Jonah. 00:31:07.139 --> 00:31:07.960 Verse 11, 00:31:08.680 --> 00:31:09.599 Then they said to Him, 00:31:10.299 --> 00:31:11.500 What shall we do to you 00:31:11.500 --> 00:31:12.940 that the sea 00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:14.400 may quiet down for us? 00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:16.059 For the sea grew 00:31:16.059 --> 00:31:17.519 more and more tempestuous. 00:31:18.180 --> 00:31:19.180 Nothing that they were doing 00:31:19.180 --> 00:31:20.259 was working. 00:31:21.859 --> 00:31:22.980 And it's at this moment 00:31:22.980 --> 00:31:24.980 that Jonah decides 00:31:24.980 --> 00:31:26.220 to stop running. 00:31:27.059 --> 00:31:27.960 He realizes 00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:29.400 he is the reason 00:31:29.400 --> 00:31:29.920 for the storm. 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:30.420 He realizes 00:31:30.420 --> 00:31:31.599 he cannot outrun God. 00:31:31.599 --> 00:31:32.579 And he realizes 00:31:32.579 --> 00:31:33.719 that his decisions 00:31:33.719 --> 00:31:35.399 have had consequences, 00:31:35.559 --> 00:31:35.919 that they've put 00:31:35.919 --> 00:31:36.939 the lives of others 00:31:36.939 --> 00:31:38.039 in dangers. 00:31:38.879 --> 00:31:39.459 And he says 00:31:39.459 --> 00:31:40.059 to the sailors, 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:41.619 Pick me up 00:31:41.619 --> 00:31:42.699 and throw me 00:31:42.699 --> 00:31:43.319 into the sea. 00:31:43.659 --> 00:31:44.500 I'm the one 00:31:44.500 --> 00:31:45.480 to blame. 00:31:46.259 --> 00:31:47.059 I'm the one 00:31:47.059 --> 00:31:47.639 who deserves 00:31:47.639 --> 00:31:48.279 God's judgment. 00:31:49.500 --> 00:31:50.219 I'll take on 00:31:50.219 --> 00:31:51.259 the wrath of the storm 00:31:51.259 --> 00:31:52.219 so you don't have to. 00:31:52.939 --> 00:31:53.619 I'll die 00:31:53.619 --> 00:31:55.359 so that you can live. 00:31:55.459 --> 00:31:55.959 I'm the one 00:31:55.959 --> 00:31:56.359 to blame. 00:31:57.619 --> 00:31:58.439 Jonah understands 00:31:58.439 --> 00:31:59.539 that his running 00:31:59.539 --> 00:32:00.019 from God 00:32:00.019 --> 00:32:01.299 wasn't just a momentary 00:32:01.299 --> 00:32:02.259 lapse in judgment 00:32:02.259 --> 00:32:04.139 but that it was 00:32:04.139 --> 00:32:05.339 rebellion against 00:32:05.339 --> 00:32:06.819 the king of heaven 00:32:06.819 --> 00:32:07.339 and earth 00:32:07.339 --> 00:32:09.099 and that what he deserved 00:32:09.099 --> 00:32:09.839 was death. 00:32:10.980 --> 00:32:11.759 And so the sailors 00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:12.859 pick him up 00:32:12.859 --> 00:32:14.700 and they throw him 00:32:14.700 --> 00:32:15.200 overboard 00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:16.220 into the sea. 00:32:17.779 --> 00:32:18.879 And the sea 00:32:18.879 --> 00:32:20.420 grows calm. 00:32:21.740 --> 00:32:23.099 And Jonah goes down 00:32:23.099 --> 00:32:23.680 to the bottom 00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:25.119 of the sea. 00:32:25.119 --> 00:32:27.119 Only 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:29.500 Jonah doesn't 00:32:29.500 --> 00:32:30.399 die. 00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:30.919 He's 00:32:30.919 --> 00:32:31.939 rescued. 00:32:32.099 --> 00:32:33.099 The Lord provides 00:32:33.099 --> 00:32:34.579 a great fish 00:32:34.579 --> 00:32:35.299 to swallow 00:32:35.299 --> 00:32:36.359 Jonah. 00:32:36.619 --> 00:32:36.939 Was it 00:32:36.939 --> 00:32:38.279 a whale? 00:32:38.519 --> 00:32:39.279 Was it some other 00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:39.919 great fish? 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:40.659 Was it some other 00:32:40.659 --> 00:32:41.379 marine creature? 00:32:41.539 --> 00:32:42.179 We don't know. 00:32:43.199 --> 00:32:44.359 But what we do know 00:32:44.359 --> 00:32:46.299 is that the great fish, 00:32:46.359 --> 00:32:47.000 the large fish 00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:47.819 was a refuge 00:32:47.819 --> 00:32:50.699 amidst a raging storm. 00:32:51.619 --> 00:32:52.399 It was in the very 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:54.360 center of the storm 00:32:54.360 --> 00:32:57.320 that God revealed 00:32:57.320 --> 00:32:58.460 his grace, 00:32:58.540 --> 00:32:59.040 that he revealed 00:32:59.040 --> 00:32:59.519 his mercy. 00:33:00.019 --> 00:33:00.720 The same God 00:33:00.720 --> 00:33:01.780 who caused the wind 00:33:01.780 --> 00:33:02.320 and the waves 00:33:02.320 --> 00:33:03.040 to stir up 00:33:03.040 --> 00:33:05.700 also called the wind 00:33:05.700 --> 00:33:06.300 and the waves 00:33:06.300 --> 00:33:07.240 to calm down. 00:33:08.160 --> 00:33:09.180 The same God 00:33:09.180 --> 00:33:10.160 who brought 00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:10.860 the storm 00:33:10.860 --> 00:33:13.259 also brought 00:33:13.259 --> 00:33:13.880 the fish. 00:33:14.740 --> 00:33:15.720 The same God 00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:16.620 who brought judgment 00:33:16.620 --> 00:33:18.300 also brought 00:33:18.300 --> 00:33:19.259 salvation. 00:33:19.259 --> 00:33:21.259 And this is a shadow 00:33:21.259 --> 00:33:22.379 of what would happen 00:33:22.379 --> 00:33:23.680 centuries later 00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:25.099 through another prophet 00:33:25.099 --> 00:33:26.359 from Israel. 00:33:27.119 --> 00:33:28.339 In Matthew chapter 12, 00:33:28.859 --> 00:33:29.559 Jesus is talking 00:33:29.559 --> 00:33:30.059 to people 00:33:30.059 --> 00:33:31.519 who wanted him 00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:32.099 to perform 00:33:32.099 --> 00:33:33.740 a miraculous sign. 00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:34.420 And in the gospel 00:33:34.420 --> 00:33:35.200 reading we read 00:33:35.200 --> 00:33:35.839 in Matthew 12, 00:33:35.940 --> 00:33:36.579 Jesus says, 00:33:37.619 --> 00:33:38.700 no sign will be given 00:33:38.700 --> 00:33:39.599 to this generation 00:33:39.599 --> 00:33:40.420 except the sign 00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:40.799 of Jonah. 00:33:41.720 --> 00:33:42.319 For as Jonah 00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:43.000 was three days 00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:43.539 and three nights 00:33:43.539 --> 00:33:43.940 in the belly 00:33:43.940 --> 00:33:44.640 of a huge fish, 00:33:44.940 --> 00:33:45.920 so the Son of Man 00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:46.940 will be three days 00:33:46.940 --> 00:33:47.500 and three nights 00:33:47.500 --> 00:33:47.980 in the heart 00:33:47.980 --> 00:33:48.400 of the earth. 00:33:48.400 --> 00:33:51.600 What is the story 00:33:51.600 --> 00:33:52.340 of Jonah about? 00:33:53.860 --> 00:33:54.860 Well, as we looked 00:33:54.860 --> 00:33:55.360 at earlier, 00:33:55.759 --> 00:33:56.240 Jonah is about 00:33:56.240 --> 00:33:57.040 a number of things. 00:33:57.120 --> 00:33:57.880 It's about lots 00:33:57.880 --> 00:33:58.580 of great themes. 00:34:00.740 --> 00:34:01.720 But it's mainly 00:34:01.720 --> 00:34:02.320 about Jesus. 00:34:03.500 --> 00:34:04.180 It's mainly 00:34:04.180 --> 00:34:05.240 about Jesus. 00:34:05.380 --> 00:34:06.000 Jesus Christ 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:06.660 is the true 00:34:06.660 --> 00:34:07.300 and better Jonah. 00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:09.000 Though we have 00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:09.800 all run from God, 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:10.240 though we have 00:34:10.240 --> 00:34:10.720 all directly 00:34:10.720 --> 00:34:12.180 disobeyed his word, 00:34:12.260 --> 00:34:12.680 though we have 00:34:12.680 --> 00:34:14.320 all rebelled 00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:16.340 against his calling 00:34:16.340 --> 00:34:16.880 on our lives, 00:34:16.940 --> 00:34:17.340 though we all 00:34:17.340 --> 00:34:18.980 have blind spots 00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:19.900 to God's grace, 00:34:21.039 --> 00:34:21.800 though we all 00:34:21.800 --> 00:34:22.700 deserve the storm 00:34:22.700 --> 00:34:23.440 of God's judgment 00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:24.720 for sin on the cross, 00:34:26.640 --> 00:34:27.539 Jesus Christ 00:34:27.539 --> 00:34:29.680 hurled himself 00:34:29.680 --> 00:34:31.440 into the depths 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:32.600 of that storm 00:34:32.600 --> 00:34:33.500 for you 00:34:33.500 --> 00:34:35.039 so that you 00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:35.760 can experience 00:34:35.760 --> 00:34:36.620 only the peaceful 00:34:36.620 --> 00:34:38.280 calm of God's love 00:34:38.280 --> 00:34:39.480 and his grace. 00:34:39.480 --> 00:34:40.480 of God's grace. 00:34:40.480 --> 00:34:41.260 The storm 00:34:41.260 --> 00:34:42.199 that Jonah's face 00:34:42.199 --> 00:34:42.920 was because 00:34:42.920 --> 00:34:43.659 of his sin, 00:34:44.920 --> 00:34:45.760 but the storm 00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:46.380 that Jesus Christ 00:34:46.380 --> 00:34:47.400 faced on the cross 00:34:47.400 --> 00:34:48.480 was because 00:34:49.679 --> 00:34:50.400 of our sin. 00:34:51.059 --> 00:34:51.719 Just as Jonah 00:34:51.719 --> 00:34:52.639 was buried 00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:53.280 beneath the heart 00:34:53.280 --> 00:34:53.699 of the sea 00:34:53.699 --> 00:34:54.219 for three days 00:34:54.219 --> 00:34:54.740 and three nights, 00:34:55.159 --> 00:34:56.240 so Jesus Christ 00:34:56.240 --> 00:34:58.179 was buried beneath 00:34:58.179 --> 00:35:00.079 the infinite weight 00:35:00.079 --> 00:35:00.800 of death 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:01.699 and hell 00:35:01.699 --> 00:35:02.519 and evil 00:35:02.519 --> 00:35:03.300 itself. 00:35:04.260 --> 00:35:05.300 And just as Jonah 00:35:05.300 --> 00:35:06.440 was resurrected 00:35:06.440 --> 00:35:08.320 symbolically 00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:09.460 after three days 00:35:09.460 --> 00:35:10.340 by being 00:35:10.340 --> 00:35:12.539 put back 00:35:12.539 --> 00:35:13.500 onto the dry land, 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:15.639 so Jesus Christ 00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:17.820 was resurrected 00:35:17.820 --> 00:35:18.380 literally 00:35:18.380 --> 00:35:19.220 in power 00:35:19.220 --> 00:35:19.740 and victory 00:35:19.740 --> 00:35:20.659 over death. 00:35:23.200 --> 00:35:24.340 And the difference 00:35:24.340 --> 00:35:24.960 that makes 00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:27.800 is that all 00:35:27.800 --> 00:35:28.800 who take refuge 00:35:28.800 --> 00:35:29.280 in him, 00:35:29.360 --> 00:35:30.159 all who take refuge 00:35:30.159 --> 00:35:30.820 in Jesus Christ 00:35:30.820 --> 00:35:31.820 in the same way 00:35:31.820 --> 00:35:33.079 that Jonah took refuge 00:35:33.079 --> 00:35:33.760 in the belly 00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:34.220 of the fish, 00:35:34.300 --> 00:35:35.099 all who take refuge 00:35:35.099 --> 00:35:35.519 in him, 00:35:35.799 --> 00:35:36.559 can face 00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:37.699 any storm. 00:35:39.299 --> 00:35:40.400 When you see 00:35:40.400 --> 00:35:42.539 that Jesus Christ 00:35:42.539 --> 00:35:44.339 faced the ultimate 00:35:44.339 --> 00:35:45.440 storm of God's wrath 00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:45.860 and judgment 00:35:45.860 --> 00:35:46.360 for you, 00:35:46.699 --> 00:35:47.599 when you see that, 00:35:48.659 --> 00:35:50.000 you can know 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:51.420 that not only 00:35:51.420 --> 00:35:52.839 is every storm 00:35:52.839 --> 00:35:53.380 in your life 00:35:53.380 --> 00:35:54.659 not that ultimate storm, 00:35:54.980 --> 00:35:55.880 it's not that storm, 00:35:55.960 --> 00:35:56.659 Jesus Christ already 00:35:56.659 --> 00:35:57.400 faced it for you, 00:35:57.759 --> 00:35:58.880 but you can also know 00:35:58.880 --> 00:35:59.880 that every difficult 00:35:59.880 --> 00:36:00.519 circumstance 00:36:00.519 --> 00:36:01.940 within your life 00:36:01.940 --> 00:36:04.159 is within his 00:36:04.159 --> 00:36:04.980 sovereign control. 00:36:05.659 --> 00:36:06.579 It's within his 00:36:06.579 --> 00:36:07.839 sovereign care 00:36:07.839 --> 00:36:08.599 and concern 00:36:08.599 --> 00:36:09.440 for you 00:36:09.440 --> 00:36:10.179 and can even 00:36:10.179 --> 00:36:10.880 be a means 00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:12.759 of experiencing 00:36:12.759 --> 00:36:13.980 greater depths 00:36:13.980 --> 00:36:15.779 of God's love, 00:36:16.619 --> 00:36:17.480 of his grace, 00:36:17.599 --> 00:36:18.299 of his presence. 00:36:19.400 --> 00:36:20.559 And it can even 00:36:20.559 --> 00:36:21.380 be a means 00:36:21.380 --> 00:36:22.900 of how God 00:36:22.900 --> 00:36:23.659 wants to work 00:36:23.659 --> 00:36:24.699 through you 00:36:24.699 --> 00:36:25.719 in your life 00:36:25.719 --> 00:36:26.619 in the world. 00:36:26.619 --> 00:36:30.579 And so friends, 00:36:30.699 --> 00:36:30.819 we, 00:36:31.460 --> 00:36:32.219 the human condition 00:36:32.219 --> 00:36:32.980 is that we can 00:36:32.980 --> 00:36:33.799 run from God 00:36:33.799 --> 00:36:34.739 and we can run 00:36:34.739 --> 00:36:35.119 from him 00:36:35.119 --> 00:36:35.839 in a thousand 00:36:35.839 --> 00:36:36.940 different ways. 00:36:38.299 --> 00:36:39.420 Some of those ways 00:36:39.420 --> 00:36:40.659 look quite moral 00:36:40.659 --> 00:36:41.980 and look quite religious. 00:36:43.880 --> 00:36:44.960 But the beauty 00:36:44.960 --> 00:36:45.819 of the gospel, 00:36:46.119 --> 00:36:47.000 according to Jonah, 00:36:47.659 --> 00:36:48.659 is that though 00:36:48.659 --> 00:36:50.239 we run from God, 00:36:51.400 --> 00:36:53.039 God never stops 00:36:53.039 --> 00:36:54.859 running after us. 00:36:54.860 --> 00:36:56.740 in pursuing 00:36:56.740 --> 00:36:57.900 the areas 00:36:57.900 --> 00:36:58.579 of our lives, 00:36:58.700 --> 00:36:59.360 pursuing the areas 00:36:59.360 --> 00:36:59.940 of our hearts 00:36:59.940 --> 00:37:01.400 that are blind 00:37:01.400 --> 00:37:02.160 to his grace. 00:37:03.599 --> 00:37:04.579 And the rest 00:37:04.579 --> 00:37:05.360 of that story, 00:37:06.380 --> 00:37:07.840 the rest of Jonah 00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:08.880 chapters two 00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:09.340 through four 00:37:09.340 --> 00:37:09.880 is about 00:37:09.880 --> 00:37:11.220 that reality, 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:12.820 the reality 00:37:12.820 --> 00:37:13.680 of God's grace 00:37:13.680 --> 00:37:16.200 sinking deep down 00:37:16.200 --> 00:37:17.280 into Jonah's heart 00:37:17.280 --> 00:37:19.280 and extending 00:37:19.280 --> 00:37:20.660 out into Jonah's 00:37:20.660 --> 00:37:21.000 life, 00:37:21.500 --> 00:37:22.080 into the world. 00:37:23.120 --> 00:37:24.019 Jonah's experience 00:37:24.019 --> 00:37:24.800 of God's grace 00:37:24.800 --> 00:37:25.280 in the middle 00:37:25.280 --> 00:37:25.820 of the storm 00:37:25.820 --> 00:37:26.980 takes him 00:37:26.980 --> 00:37:28.460 on both 00:37:28.460 --> 00:37:29.380 an inward journey 00:37:29.380 --> 00:37:31.060 and an outward journey. 00:37:31.160 --> 00:37:31.980 An inward journey 00:37:31.980 --> 00:37:33.320 and an outward journey. 00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:34.000 Chapter two, 00:37:34.100 --> 00:37:34.560 which we'll look at 00:37:34.560 --> 00:37:35.100 next week, 00:37:35.460 --> 00:37:36.600 is about the inward journey. 00:37:36.740 --> 00:37:37.180 Chapter two 00:37:37.180 --> 00:37:37.860 is a prayer 00:37:37.860 --> 00:37:39.700 that Jonah prays 00:37:39.700 --> 00:37:40.620 from the belly 00:37:40.620 --> 00:37:41.140 of the fish 00:37:41.140 --> 00:37:42.160 and we see how 00:37:42.160 --> 00:37:43.560 Jonah's experience 00:37:43.560 --> 00:37:44.100 of grace 00:37:44.100 --> 00:37:44.920 changes him 00:37:44.920 --> 00:37:45.780 from the inside out. 00:37:45.780 --> 00:37:46.980 It shows him 00:37:46.980 --> 00:37:48.240 where his blind spots are. 00:37:48.580 --> 00:37:49.880 It humbles him. 00:37:50.460 --> 00:37:50.980 It brings about 00:37:50.980 --> 00:37:51.420 repentance 00:37:51.420 --> 00:37:52.600 and spiritual renewal. 00:37:53.180 --> 00:37:53.940 It leads him 00:37:53.940 --> 00:37:55.980 to greater love 00:37:55.980 --> 00:37:56.660 for God 00:37:56.660 --> 00:37:57.480 and greater worship 00:37:57.480 --> 00:37:57.920 of God. 00:37:59.220 --> 00:37:59.900 And then chapters 00:37:59.900 --> 00:38:00.740 three and four 00:38:00.740 --> 00:38:02.100 are about how 00:38:02.100 --> 00:38:03.420 that inward transformation 00:38:03.420 --> 00:38:04.620 works its way out 00:38:04.620 --> 00:38:05.440 in Jonah's life. 00:38:05.820 --> 00:38:07.060 It's about the outward journey 00:38:07.060 --> 00:38:07.980 that Jonah goes on. 00:38:08.100 --> 00:38:08.680 We learn how 00:38:08.680 --> 00:38:09.580 Jonah's experience 00:38:09.580 --> 00:38:10.140 of grace 00:38:10.140 --> 00:38:12.820 sends Jonah back out 00:38:12.820 --> 00:38:13.360 on mission 00:38:13.360 --> 00:38:15.680 to obey God's calling 00:38:15.679 --> 00:38:16.339 on his life 00:38:16.339 --> 00:38:17.599 and to learn more 00:38:17.599 --> 00:38:18.980 about God's heart 00:38:18.980 --> 00:38:19.359 for the world, 00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:20.279 to learn about 00:38:20.279 --> 00:38:21.339 how God's mercy 00:38:21.339 --> 00:38:22.079 and his compassion 00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:23.440 extend 00:38:23.440 --> 00:38:25.480 even to those people. 00:38:27.339 --> 00:38:27.980 And so Jonah's 00:38:27.980 --> 00:38:28.839 experience of grace 00:38:28.839 --> 00:38:29.759 in the middle of the storm 00:38:29.759 --> 00:38:31.579 takes him on this 00:38:31.579 --> 00:38:32.519 deep inward journey 00:38:32.519 --> 00:38:33.139 and it takes him 00:38:33.139 --> 00:38:34.239 on this outward journey 00:38:34.239 --> 00:38:34.699 to the world. 00:38:34.839 --> 00:38:35.859 And if we let him, 00:38:37.279 --> 00:38:38.119 he promises 00:38:38.119 --> 00:38:39.339 to do the same for us. 00:38:41.379 --> 00:38:42.179 But sometimes 00:38:42.179 --> 00:38:43.079 it takes a storm. 00:38:43.079 --> 00:38:46.219 But we don't have 00:38:46.219 --> 00:38:46.940 to fear the storm. 00:38:48.079 --> 00:38:48.940 And we don't have 00:38:48.940 --> 00:38:49.679 to fear the storm 00:38:49.679 --> 00:38:52.279 because the same God 00:38:52.279 --> 00:38:53.500 who brings the wind 00:38:53.500 --> 00:38:54.340 and the waves 00:38:54.340 --> 00:38:56.579 also brings 00:38:56.579 --> 00:38:57.960 the fish. 00:38:59.279 --> 00:39:00.219 The same God 00:39:00.219 --> 00:39:01.279 who brings the storm 00:39:01.279 --> 00:39:03.799 also brings 00:39:03.799 --> 00:39:05.019 the cross. 00:39:06.659 --> 00:39:08.139 A place of refuge 00:39:08.139 --> 00:39:09.039 infinitely better 00:39:09.039 --> 00:39:10.420 than the refuge 00:39:10.420 --> 00:39:11.119 that Jonah found. 00:39:11.119 --> 00:39:12.779 Let's pray. 00:39:16.460 --> 00:39:17.480 Our God and Father, 00:39:17.759 --> 00:39:19.819 we thank you 00:39:19.819 --> 00:39:21.279 for ways 00:39:21.279 --> 00:39:21.819 that you 00:39:21.819 --> 00:39:23.539 run after us 00:39:23.539 --> 00:39:24.920 even when we run 00:39:24.920 --> 00:39:25.739 from you. 00:39:27.799 --> 00:39:28.739 Lord, help us 00:39:28.739 --> 00:39:30.699 to see 00:39:30.699 --> 00:39:32.299 our own blind spots. 00:39:32.699 --> 00:39:33.000 Help us 00:39:33.000 --> 00:39:34.039 to experience 00:39:34.039 --> 00:39:35.039 your grace 00:39:35.039 --> 00:39:35.699 at a deep level 00:39:35.699 --> 00:39:36.480 in ways that 00:39:36.480 --> 00:39:37.859 change us deep down. 00:39:37.860 --> 00:39:40.519 Lord, help us 00:39:40.519 --> 00:39:40.960 to know 00:39:40.960 --> 00:39:43.180 that you're with us 00:39:43.180 --> 00:39:43.519 in the midst 00:39:43.519 --> 00:39:44.059 of the storm 00:39:44.059 --> 00:39:46.320 because of what 00:39:46.320 --> 00:39:46.960 Jesus Christ did 00:39:46.960 --> 00:39:47.420 for us 00:39:47.420 --> 00:39:48.320 who faced 00:39:48.320 --> 00:39:48.760 the storm 00:39:48.760 --> 00:39:49.320 for us. 00:39:51.079 --> 00:39:51.420 And it's 00:39:51.420 --> 00:39:51.840 in his name 00:39:51.840 --> 00:39:52.180 we pray. 00:39:52.180 --> 00:39:53.160 Amen.