WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.359 A couple of weeks ago, I illustrated a point in the sermon by talking about how I don't like cats. 00:00:09.259 --> 00:00:20.280 Well, I've heard a lot of comments, and I am pleasantly surprised that no stray cat has turned up in my yard since then. 00:00:21.960 --> 00:00:26.000 No, I was going to say, let it continue as it is. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:39.500 But I think maybe the main reason why people like me don't like cats is because we compare them with dogs. 00:00:39.820 --> 00:00:43.640 And everyone knows that dogs are superior to cats, right? 00:00:44.879 --> 00:00:48.140 Let me ask you this, if you just give an example. 00:00:49.060 --> 00:00:51.740 Have you ever heard of a seeing eye cat? 00:00:51.740 --> 00:01:01.520 Almost all law enforcement agencies now have a canine division. 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:05.879 But I've never heard of one with a feline division. 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:12.400 Dogs are just superior to cats in every way, and the world recognizes it. 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:22.800 Now, dogs can even teach spiritual lessons, important lessons. 00:01:24.100 --> 00:01:27.780 They can teach us how to respond to God's call. 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:29.439 Think about it. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.780 Call a dog, and it'll break its neck to get to you. 00:01:33.800 --> 00:01:35.580 Dogs just want to please. 00:01:35.579 --> 00:01:40.439 Call a cat, and it'll just stare at you. 00:01:41.060 --> 00:01:44.400 Because this attitude is, what's in it for me? 00:01:45.579 --> 00:01:53.079 Now, I have to give credit to that late, great theologian, Louis Grisard, for that quote this morning. 00:01:54.420 --> 00:01:56.019 But on a more serious note, 00:01:56.019 --> 00:02:06.500 How do you most often respond to God when He calls you to do something as you just read His Word? 00:02:07.239 --> 00:02:15.599 He makes it clear about something you need to begin or something you need to stop. 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:30.740 How do you most often respond to God when He calls you to do something from the pages of His Word or just from His indwelling Spirit? 00:02:32.699 --> 00:02:35.519 Do you respond to God like a dog? 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:41.900 Do you break your neck to obey Him because you do want to please Him? 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:50.900 Or do you often hesitate and think, what's in it for me? 00:02:52.159 --> 00:03:01.159 We began a study of Jonah last week and focused on how we respond when God calls us to serve Him. 00:03:02.060 --> 00:03:05.219 I want to look real quickly at the three main points from last week. 00:03:06.180 --> 00:03:09.180 God calls all of His people to serve Him in some way. 00:03:09.180 --> 00:03:11.040 Jonah was a prophet. 00:03:11.540 --> 00:03:14.860 And we looked and thought about, what's our way? 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:20.379 Number two, God sometimes calls His people to serve Him in difficult ways. 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:28.120 It was a very difficult task that God called Jonah to. 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:37.780 And some people in this room, you know it's been hard to be faithful to some of the things God has called you to do. 00:03:37.780 --> 00:03:45.780 Number three, we saw last week, God's call can be disobeyed, but it cannot be quietly dismissed. 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:52.639 Jonah just flat out said no, ran from God's call. 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:55.300 But he didn't get away. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:00.199 He couldn't just dismiss what God called him to do. 00:04:00.199 --> 00:04:08.919 Well, today we're going to look closer at why we sometimes choose to deliberately disobey God 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:12.979 and run from what we know He wants us to do. 00:04:13.619 --> 00:04:16.579 Look back, if you would, to Jonah chapter 1. 00:04:17.419 --> 00:04:19.779 And I want to read the first three verses again. 00:04:20.740 --> 00:04:25.079 We'll look at some more in this book a little bit later on. 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:32.159 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amnitai, saying, 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:39.819 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me. 00:04:40.539 --> 00:04:45.719 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 00:04:46.099 --> 00:04:50.779 He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. 00:04:50.779 --> 00:04:59.119 So he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:02.699 What kind of a person runs from God? 00:05:03.939 --> 00:05:04.779 Now you think about it. 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:06.619 What does it take? 00:05:06.699 --> 00:05:08.979 What kind of a person would run from God? 00:05:09.239 --> 00:05:11.939 Well, the expected answer would be unbelievers, wouldn't it? 00:05:12.679 --> 00:05:14.639 Or unfaithful believers. 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:18.739 Well, I want us to look at the unexpected answer. 00:05:18.740 --> 00:05:20.740 Faithful believers. 00:05:21.740 --> 00:05:30.120 I don't know what your picture is of Jonah, but he's not a bad guy. 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:35.540 Jonah, first of all, was a prophet of God. 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:38.980 I want you to look at how he's first mentioned in Scripture. 00:05:40.100 --> 00:05:42.199 It's in 2 Kings chapter 14. 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:55.560 According to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah, the son of Amnitai, the prophet, who was from Gath-Hefer. 00:05:56.199 --> 00:06:03.599 He's from the northern part of Israel, not far from the Assyrians, the enemy, that we'll look at in a moment. 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:05.600 Jonah was a prophet. 00:06:06.320 --> 00:06:12.700 And he was entrusted with a mission from God that we just read there in verse 1. 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:15.720 Jonah is God's man, called man. 00:06:15.900 --> 00:06:16.460 He's a prophet. 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:17.760 He's God's spokesman. 00:06:18.180 --> 00:06:20.820 He is given a specific mission here. 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:23.900 God knows him, knows his heart. 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:27.280 And he calls him to do something. 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:32.839 It's going to be a message that God's going to use to save many people. 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:43.419 And then, Jonah was an unwavering believer, even in the midst of his rebellion. 00:06:44.159 --> 00:06:45.759 Now look at verse 9. 00:06:46.159 --> 00:06:48.459 Chapter 1, verse 9. 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:52.119 Jonah is in the midst of rebellion. 00:06:52.119 --> 00:06:56.679 He's on a ship headed the opposite direction of where God called him to go. 00:06:58.099 --> 00:07:00.319 And the sailors, everybody's about to panic. 00:07:00.439 --> 00:07:01.399 They think they're going to die. 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:03.059 They think the ship's going to be wrecked. 00:07:04.039 --> 00:07:06.979 And so they're trying to figure out who's to blame. 00:07:07.419 --> 00:07:11.559 And here's, they asked Jonah something about himself. 00:07:11.659 --> 00:07:12.539 And here's what he said. 00:07:12.759 --> 00:07:15.419 And he said to them, I am a Hebrew. 00:07:15.419 --> 00:07:22.799 And I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:24.379 Now I want you to look at it. 00:07:24.379 --> 00:07:26.379 In the midst of his rebellion. 00:07:27.579 --> 00:07:31.060 Running away from what he knows God's called him to do. 00:07:31.659 --> 00:07:33.259 He's not denying God. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:35.819 He's not denying his faith. 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:37.480 Maybe by his actions he is. 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:42.339 But Jonah, he was a man of God. 00:07:42.339 --> 00:07:45.779 He was a man of God called on a specific mission. 00:07:45.779 --> 00:07:51.259 And he's not renouncing his faith at any point. 00:07:52.579 --> 00:07:53.739 Make no mistake. 00:07:54.159 --> 00:08:06.919 There are times when Jonah disobeys God and has a terrible attitude about God showing grace to people Jonah didn't think deserved grace. 00:08:08.199 --> 00:08:09.819 But Jonah's always a prophet. 00:08:09.819 --> 00:08:14.699 He's always on a mission from God and a firm believer. 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:17.639 What kind of person runs from God? 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:18.819 A person like Jonah. 00:08:19.019 --> 00:08:21.540 But number two, look in the mirror. 00:08:23.740 --> 00:08:24.800 Look in the mirror. 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:28.139 You may be a strong believer. 00:08:28.139 --> 00:08:31.579 And you truly love the Lord. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:36.019 And right now you are faithfully serving him in the life of this church. 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:38.799 Or outside this church in some way. 00:08:41.139 --> 00:08:46.000 Don't ever think too highly of yourself and your level of commitment. 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:57.159 Every one of us in this room could tomorrow be just like Jonah and start running from God. 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:06.519 If you're honest, you know there's been times when you have just flat out rebelled against God. 00:09:06.759 --> 00:09:13.840 You've disobeyed what you knew he was telling you to do as you were reading the word. 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:16.540 Or as you heard in a Bible study or sermon. 00:09:17.860 --> 00:09:19.240 Every one of us. 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:22.820 There's been times when we knew what God wanted us to do. 00:09:23.100 --> 00:09:24.480 What he called us to do. 00:09:24.980 --> 00:09:26.060 There was no doubt. 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:27.700 But we said no. 00:09:29.740 --> 00:09:31.420 We disobeyed. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:34.800 We ran from him just like Jonah. 00:09:36.180 --> 00:09:40.600 Now, let's go a little bit deeper with this. 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:43.620 In a room this size. 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:49.879 There are, in all likelihood, there's people in this room right now. 00:09:51.899 --> 00:09:56.340 The best way to describe you is you are running from God about something. 00:09:57.940 --> 00:10:00.500 There's something God's dealing with you about. 00:10:00.500 --> 00:10:04.639 Maybe in terms of forgiving someone. 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:06.639 Reconciling with someone. 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:12.559 Maybe there's something God's dealing with you about in terms of something you need to stop. 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:13.820 You need to repent of. 00:10:14.919 --> 00:10:15.720 Right now. 00:10:16.860 --> 00:10:19.139 Maybe there's something God's working in you. 00:10:19.240 --> 00:10:20.220 Calling you to do. 00:10:20.379 --> 00:10:23.159 To serve him in this particular way. 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:26.320 But right now, your answer is no. 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:32.879 Right now, you are firm in not listening to God. 00:10:33.940 --> 00:10:35.780 So what kind of person runs from God? 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:41.300 A faithful man or woman of God sometimes does it. 00:10:42.140 --> 00:10:47.700 Now, as we look at running from God, Jonah doing this in chapter one. 00:10:47.700 --> 00:10:55.080 Don't think of him for one moment as someone who has been written off by God. 00:10:56.520 --> 00:10:59.500 He is still God's person. 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:01.140 Number two. 00:11:01.700 --> 00:11:03.400 What makes a person run from God? 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:06.580 The story begins. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:08.420 The word of the Lord came to Jonah. 00:11:08.840 --> 00:11:09.940 Verse one. 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:12.320 Verse three. 00:11:13.520 --> 00:11:14.520 He runs. 00:11:15.259 --> 00:11:16.100 He flees. 00:11:16.100 --> 00:11:19.820 He goes in the opposite direction of where God called him to go. 00:11:20.860 --> 00:11:21.259 Why? 00:11:23.139 --> 00:11:24.440 That's just a big question. 00:11:24.700 --> 00:11:25.659 Why would you do that? 00:11:26.659 --> 00:11:28.960 And here, there is no answer. 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:33.120 So it may be that the author, that no one knows who the author of Jonah is, by the way. 00:11:33.980 --> 00:11:39.740 It may be that the author here, by not telling us, we're going to find out later in chapter four. 00:11:39.740 --> 00:11:45.660 But it may be here, he wants us to guess. 00:11:46.100 --> 00:11:52.680 And the best way to do that is, why would we run from God? 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:54.800 Why would anybody run from God? 00:11:55.259 --> 00:11:56.220 Let's think of some reasons. 00:11:56.379 --> 00:11:57.700 Number one, we're afraid. 00:11:59.080 --> 00:12:03.620 If Jonah was running from God out of fear, we can understand why. 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:07.759 We saw last week, Nineveh was the last capital of Assyria. 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:10.019 The Assyrians were brutal people. 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:15.200 They were truly, as we would look at it today, a terrorist nation. 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:17.560 They were masters of torture. 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:24.860 They made the death of their enemies a long, slow, painful process. 00:12:24.860 --> 00:12:34.720 Isn't fear one of the main reasons why we don't obey God when he prompts us, leads us, calls us to do something? 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:47.279 In a room full of Christians, there's been times in our lives when God has called us to share the gospel with a certain person. 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:51.559 Maybe you can think of the time and the place and you were there. 00:12:51.779 --> 00:13:05.100 Or maybe you can think of there's a certain person that God has, really, he's put that person on my heart and mind because he wants me to make it a point to be around them, develop a relationship with them, and share the gospel. 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:06.740 But you haven't. 00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:14.340 And as you think about it, if you're honest, you say, I haven't or I didn't because I was afraid. 00:13:14.500 --> 00:13:15.980 I didn't know how they would respond. 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:19.220 I didn't know what they would say or do. 00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:23.680 Or I didn't know if I might mess it up if I tried to share the gospel. 00:13:27.580 --> 00:13:34.680 We don't sometimes take a stand on the truth of God's word about a particular moral issue. 00:13:34.679 --> 00:13:41.479 Because we are afraid of what might happen to us if we do at work. 00:13:44.059 --> 00:13:45.179 Would I be fired? 00:13:46.899 --> 00:13:53.079 Would I be just sort of cast on the sideline and never have an opportunity for promotion? 00:13:54.359 --> 00:13:59.839 Would my friends think I was some kind of religious fanatic and just stay away from me? 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:07.680 Sometimes we know God wants us to do something, say something. 00:14:08.560 --> 00:14:17.180 But we let fear paralyze us or just prevent us from doing what we know God wants us to do. 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:22.019 A second way we sometimes respond, we think it's beyond our ability. 00:14:22.280 --> 00:14:24.980 We think it can't be done or at least I can't do that. 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:34.060 Jonah may have thought, how could God expect one man to go to that mega city filled with evil people? 00:14:35.899 --> 00:14:42.680 He knows by being sent there and to preach this word, calling them out over their sin, over their evil. 00:14:43.060 --> 00:14:45.800 He knows the intent of God, as we'll read in a moment. 00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:56.620 He knows the intent of God is to wake them up and they repent and they're saved. 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:07.559 Do you think, as Jonah thought about this, even if they don't kill me, they're not going to listen to me. 00:15:07.719 --> 00:15:08.879 They've never heard of me. 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:10.199 They've never heard of God. 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:15.640 Do you think for a minute they're going to listen to me? 00:15:16.020 --> 00:15:17.040 No, they won't. 00:15:17.160 --> 00:15:17.680 Why go? 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:19.420 Why risk my life? 00:15:20.920 --> 00:15:23.520 Do you ever think that some of the things that God calls you to do, 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:30.000 some of the things that is written clearly in his word, is impossible for you to do? 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:36.759 I've heard it recently, had a conversation recently along this line. 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:41.620 Some Christians think it's impossible for them to tithe. 00:15:42.519 --> 00:15:45.899 So they run from God's call to give. 00:15:47.019 --> 00:15:50.220 They keep spending selfishly or even foolishly. 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:53.659 They get deeper and deeper in debt and they wonder why. 00:15:56.059 --> 00:16:00.080 But they run from God's call to be a faithful steward. 00:16:01.139 --> 00:16:04.860 Some Christians think it's impossible to forgive someone who has wounded them deeply. 00:16:04.860 --> 00:16:10.279 Some Christians think, I just cannot. 00:16:10.800 --> 00:16:16.800 God, you don't realize what they've done to me, how they have hurt me, how they have affected my life. 00:16:17.680 --> 00:16:20.000 I just can't go to them. 00:16:21.560 --> 00:16:27.560 Or maybe you are the one who inflicted the wound. 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:34.759 And God's telling you, you need to go and confess this to them. 00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:35.839 Seek their forgiveness. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:37.739 Be reconciled. 00:16:38.739 --> 00:16:40.819 But you think to yourself, there is no way. 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:42.339 I could never do that. 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:45.219 They will not forgive me. 00:16:45.299 --> 00:16:46.579 They may even hurt me. 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:53.160 Why do people run from God? 00:16:53.520 --> 00:16:54.680 Run from God's call? 00:16:55.520 --> 00:16:59.280 Well, the third one, and this is going to be the real one. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:04.880 We don't like or we don't agree with what God's calling us to do. 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:10.000 Jonah is a man of God. 00:17:12.100 --> 00:17:13.660 Been God's spokesman. 00:17:13.740 --> 00:17:14.960 Had good success. 00:17:15.800 --> 00:17:25.100 But now, we learn from his own words that the main reason he runs is because he doesn't like it. 00:17:25.300 --> 00:17:26.400 He doesn't agree with it. 00:17:26.860 --> 00:17:28.340 He doesn't want these people saved. 00:17:28.339 --> 00:17:35.699 Look now with me, if you would, at Jonah chapter 3, verse 10, through chapter 4, verse 2. 00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:40.399 Jonah did go, by the way. 00:17:40.500 --> 00:17:41.279 We're going to come to that. 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:46.599 Most of you know the story, so I'm not letting the cat out of the bag. 00:17:46.679 --> 00:17:48.179 I used the cat in a good way there. 00:17:50.699 --> 00:17:55.159 You know that Jonah does eventually repent. 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:58.880 He does go to Nineveh and preach. 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:02.880 And the people respond well. 00:18:04.940 --> 00:18:06.779 But Jonah didn't like it. 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:07.480 Look at it. 00:18:08.200 --> 00:18:13.700 When God saw what they did, the people, how they responded, how they turned from their evil way, 00:18:14.220 --> 00:18:20.220 God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. 00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:27.440 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:29.460 Look at this. 00:18:29.660 --> 00:18:36.860 And he prayed to the Lord and said, O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:41.120 That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish. 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:48.759 For I knew that you are a gracious and merciful, you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, 00:18:49.199 --> 00:18:54.479 and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from this disaster. 00:18:55.479 --> 00:19:04.239 And the point is, and I didn't want these people to experience your grace and your mercy. 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:18.359 Jonah resented God dealing graciously with the ruthless enemy of his people. 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:23.279 He thought they were unworthy of God's grace. 00:19:25.120 --> 00:19:27.380 He wanted God to give them justice. 00:19:28.779 --> 00:19:29.980 Not mercy. 00:19:30.539 --> 00:19:31.000 Justice. 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:31.240 Justice. 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:36.599 He wanted them to reap what they had sown for their evil. 00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:46.180 It's hard to think of someone being more ungodly than Jonah at this point, isn't it? 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:52.220 I mean, his arrogance is just unbelievable. 00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:55.839 But this is Jonah's prayer. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:58.920 Look at verse 2, chapter 4, verse 2. 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:03.940 Jonah prays, but it's not a prayer of confession and repentance. 00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:17.240 It's his sorry excuse for why he disobeyed God, ran from God's call. 00:20:19.619 --> 00:20:25.039 He didn't want to be a messenger of grace to thousands of people. 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:27.759 He wanted them to die and go to hell. 00:20:29.259 --> 00:20:33.019 That was what was going through his mind. 00:20:34.639 --> 00:20:35.940 Now I want us to think. 00:20:37.619 --> 00:20:39.119 Is there an individual? 00:20:41.220 --> 00:20:49.159 Or is there a certain group of people in your life that you have written off? 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:53.720 You think they're unworthy of God's grace? 00:20:57.779 --> 00:21:02.120 If so, how are you different from Jonah? 00:21:02.120 --> 00:21:08.040 On this Sunday before July the 4th, let's think about this. 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:14.720 Are you more contented or more committed rather? 00:21:14.779 --> 00:21:22.339 Are you more committed to your country or to the kingdom of God? 00:21:24.899 --> 00:21:29.299 Are you more concerned about preserving or advancing the United States of America 00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:32.519 or advancing the kingdom of God? 00:21:35.399 --> 00:21:36.759 Which is your priority? 00:21:36.759 --> 00:21:41.140 We're going to spend more time on this passage. 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:48.799 What Jonah's attitude, Jonah's misplaced patriotism and nationalism 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:51.220 as we go through the book. 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:57.259 But now we need to understand what such an attitude is, what Jonah had means. 00:21:58.539 --> 00:22:01.519 When we run from God's call because we disagree with God, 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:05.859 we have elevated ourself above God. 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:10.839 We have become our own God. 00:22:11.140 --> 00:22:13.799 We start thinking like Jonah was. 00:22:15.799 --> 00:22:18.019 Jonah's making himself God's judge. 00:22:18.180 --> 00:22:20.000 He's saying, God, you're wrong. 00:22:21.099 --> 00:22:23.140 These people should not be spared. 00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:31.820 Jonah is now trusting more in himself and his wisdom than he is in God and God's wisdom. 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:35.420 Let's stop and think about this. 00:22:35.420 --> 00:22:46.519 You could be a Christian who has served God faithfully in this church for many years. 00:22:46.519 --> 00:22:56.500 But if you start or if you are disobeying God because you disagree with him, 00:22:57.059 --> 00:23:01.900 because you don't like what he says, because you think he's wrong, 00:23:02.900 --> 00:23:05.700 what does that say about you? 00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:10.700 It's not what I intend when I do that. 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:18.000 It's not what anyone of us in this room would say we really intend to say or do to God about this. 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:22.559 But we're making ourselves our own God. 00:23:22.660 --> 00:23:24.440 We're trusting ourselves more than him. 00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:29.279 When we arrogantly say to God, you're wrong. 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:31.900 I don't agree and I'll not do it. 00:23:34.320 --> 00:23:39.120 We all know there's nothing more dangerous now or for all eternity 00:23:39.120 --> 00:23:43.240 than to be an idle worshiper, 00:23:43.240 --> 00:23:48.900 which is what Jonah was at this moment and what we are 00:23:48.900 --> 00:23:53.079 when we tell God he's wrong, 00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:56.819 that it's got to be our way, not his way. 00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:00.000 But it doesn't have to be this way. 00:24:01.559 --> 00:24:04.160 There's some good lessons to learn from Jonah's story. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:07.640 What happens to a person who runs from God? 00:24:07.640 --> 00:24:13.100 Well, some experience the judgment of God 00:24:13.100 --> 00:24:16.060 because the way they ran, 00:24:16.200 --> 00:24:19.060 what happened in their life reveals they're not true believers. 00:24:20.460 --> 00:24:23.759 Pastor Richard Phillips makes an important point 00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:26.480 about people who run from God and never stop. 00:24:26.580 --> 00:24:27.080 Look at it. 00:24:27.980 --> 00:24:29.880 He says, had Jonah never repented, 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:34.060 had he gone off to spend the rest of his days in Tarshish, 00:24:34.059 --> 00:24:39.179 we would be justified in concluding that his profession of faith was false 00:24:39.179 --> 00:24:41.379 and that he did not believe in the Lord. 00:24:41.779 --> 00:24:43.859 The same is true for multitudes today 00:24:43.859 --> 00:24:47.179 who say the, quote, sinner's prayer 00:24:47.179 --> 00:24:50.139 or walk down the aisle at a revival 00:24:50.139 --> 00:24:53.940 but never show the fruit of a changed life. 00:24:54.440 --> 00:24:57.059 The Word of God makes that point even clearer 00:24:57.679 --> 00:24:59.740 in the book of 1 John chapter 2. 00:24:59.819 --> 00:25:00.379 Look at this. 00:25:00.379 --> 00:25:02.519 They went out from us, 00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:04.960 but they were not of us. 00:25:05.900 --> 00:25:07.259 For if they had been of us, 00:25:07.339 --> 00:25:08.940 they would have continued with us. 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:10.160 But they went out 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:12.059 that it might become plain 00:25:12.059 --> 00:25:17.019 that they all are not of us. 00:25:17.379 --> 00:25:19.519 John's talking about false teachers who went out. 00:25:21.500 --> 00:25:25.200 They continued in their rejection of the truth. 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:28.960 They proved themselves to be false believers. 00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:32.680 I want everybody to understand this real clear 00:25:32.680 --> 00:25:36.059 because this is a matter of eternal life and death. 00:25:37.500 --> 00:25:40.940 If disobeying God is the regular pattern of your life, 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:48.079 there is absolutely no biblical support for you thinking you are a Christian, 00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:49.960 even if you've been baptized, 00:25:51.059 --> 00:25:52.380 served in the church, 00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:55.020 or done whatever. 00:25:56.020 --> 00:25:59.800 Saving faith in the Bible is continuing faith. 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:05.220 God never stops working in the lives of His children. 00:26:06.140 --> 00:26:08.740 I want you to look at how Paul describes it in Philippians 1.6. 00:26:09.420 --> 00:26:09.980 He says, 00:26:09.980 --> 00:26:11.120 And I'm sure of this, 00:26:11.799 --> 00:26:14.720 that He who began a good work in you 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:17.519 will bring it to completion 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:19.860 at the day of Christ Jesus. 00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:22.500 What God starts, He finishes 00:26:22.500 --> 00:26:25.759 in the lives of those He saves. 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:31.360 Do you have continuing faith? 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:33.099 Not perfect faith, 00:26:33.099 --> 00:26:36.319 but do you have continuing faith? 00:26:37.939 --> 00:26:40.039 It truly does not matter 00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:43.559 when you became a Christian. 00:26:47.139 --> 00:26:48.959 What's important right now is, 00:26:49.559 --> 00:26:53.319 do you know, love, and seek to follow Jesus Christ 00:26:53.319 --> 00:26:54.480 as your Savior and Lord? 00:26:55.039 --> 00:26:56.859 Is that the desire of your heart? 00:26:57.740 --> 00:26:58.759 Even when you fail, 00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:02.399 is that the desire of your heart? 00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:05.860 And is that a general pattern of your life? 00:27:08.180 --> 00:27:10.560 What happens to a person who runs from God? 00:27:10.660 --> 00:27:11.880 Well, some experience 00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:14.340 the corrective discipline of God, 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:17.700 which proves that they are children of God. 00:27:18.840 --> 00:27:20.120 We're going to see next week 00:27:20.120 --> 00:27:22.860 that God did not allow Jonah to escape his call. 00:27:23.800 --> 00:27:24.800 God pursued him. 00:27:26.320 --> 00:27:28.860 And God brought Jonah to the point 00:27:28.860 --> 00:27:31.800 where he willingly obeyed his call. 00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:36.140 God does not allow his true children 00:27:36.140 --> 00:27:39.040 to just disobey him, 00:27:40.040 --> 00:27:41.600 walk away from him, 00:27:41.600 --> 00:27:47.180 and live peacefully in such rebellion. 00:27:48.180 --> 00:27:51.620 God disciplines us if we're His 00:27:51.620 --> 00:27:54.100 because He loves us. 00:27:54.840 --> 00:27:58.140 He's not going to let us just ruin our lives. 00:27:58.140 --> 00:28:00.060 I want you to look at the passage 00:28:00.060 --> 00:28:02.380 from Hebrews chapter 12. 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:04.780 It's going to be on the screen, 00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:05.740 but I want you to look at this 00:28:05.740 --> 00:28:06.520 and I want you to think. 00:28:09.120 --> 00:28:14.140 Do I see God's discipline in my life at times? 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:15.520 Times of rebellion. 00:28:16.020 --> 00:28:17.140 Times of disobedience. 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:18.320 Times of indifference. 00:28:18.460 --> 00:28:19.000 Look at it. 00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:21.740 Have you forgotten the encouraging words 00:28:21.740 --> 00:28:24.099 God spoke to you as His children? 00:28:24.660 --> 00:28:25.160 He said, 00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:28.200 My child, don't make light of the Lord's discipline 00:28:28.200 --> 00:28:30.460 and don't give up when He corrects you. 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:33.400 For the Lord disciplines those He loves 00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:37.420 and He punishes each one He accepts as a child. 00:28:38.519 --> 00:28:41.380 As you endure this divine discipline, 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:45.180 remember that God is treating you as His own children. 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:49.759 Whoever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 00:28:50.440 --> 00:28:53.600 If God doesn't discipline you as He does all of His children, 00:28:53.860 --> 00:28:55.180 it means that you are illegitimate 00:28:55.940 --> 00:28:59.000 and are not really His children at all. 00:28:59.700 --> 00:29:02.820 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, 00:29:03.400 --> 00:29:06.420 shouldn't we submit even more to the discipline 00:29:06.420 --> 00:29:10.200 of the Father of our spirits and live forever? 00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:15.080 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years 00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:16.839 doing the best they knew how. 00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:21.439 But God's discipline is always good for us 00:29:21.439 --> 00:29:24.559 so that we might share in His holiness. 00:29:25.559 --> 00:29:29.199 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening. 00:29:29.859 --> 00:29:30.919 It is painful. 00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:36.480 But afterward there will be a perfect harvest of right living 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:40.119 for those who are trained in this way. 00:29:40.119 --> 00:29:47.059 God disciplined Jonah because He loved Jonah. 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:51.079 God wasn't going to let Jonah run and hide 00:29:51.079 --> 00:29:57.579 and miss out on being used in this great way 00:29:57.579 --> 00:29:59.539 even though He didn't want to. 00:30:00.859 --> 00:30:03.319 God's not going to let us, if we're His children, 00:30:03.479 --> 00:30:09.419 just go away, drift away, and disappear into unbelief. 00:30:10.119 --> 00:30:14.479 I want to remind, sort of issue a reminder here. 00:30:15.879 --> 00:30:20.619 The story of Jonah is about his struggle with God's grace, 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:26.199 not his rejection of God or His grace. 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:35.019 A true child of God can experience some difficult times in their life 00:30:35.019 --> 00:30:36.299 because of their disobedience. 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:41.620 I mean, not everyone, but a lot of us in this room, 00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:42.940 and I'll be the first one to raise my hand, 00:30:43.840 --> 00:30:46.779 a lot of us in this room, we've disobeyed God. 00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:50.360 We have failed Him willingly, intentionally, 00:30:50.359 --> 00:30:53.939 and we've suffered as a result. 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:58.479 Physically, emotionally, spiritually, 00:30:58.779 --> 00:31:03.319 people around us have suffered as a result of our sin. 00:31:03.319 --> 00:31:11.639 But God worked in certain ways to get our attention, 00:31:11.640 --> 00:31:18.480 to discipline us for the purpose of bringing us back 00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:21.840 and not letting us just continue that way. 00:31:23.960 --> 00:31:27.440 If you can ignore God, disobey His Word, 00:31:28.280 --> 00:31:30.759 and just basically live like an atheist, 00:31:31.060 --> 00:31:32.500 as if God does not exist, 00:31:34.080 --> 00:31:35.640 He's not your Heavenly Father. 00:31:35.640 --> 00:31:40.020 Don't deceive yourself. 00:31:41.600 --> 00:31:43.600 God's Word clearly says, 00:31:44.140 --> 00:31:46.140 that lengthy passage, 00:31:46.720 --> 00:31:51.620 God lovingly disciplines His children when they need it. 00:31:52.900 --> 00:31:54.160 When I was growing up, 00:31:54.220 --> 00:31:56.680 my dad had a close friend named Bill. 00:31:57.980 --> 00:31:59.820 Bill made an impression on me 00:31:59.819 --> 00:32:05.740 because he was just always joking around, 00:32:07.079 --> 00:32:07.519 laughing, 00:32:08.460 --> 00:32:10.740 always joking around with me, 00:32:11.839 --> 00:32:12.639 noticing me. 00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:17.079 That's how he had made an impression on me, 00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:17.899 how I remember him. 00:32:18.220 --> 00:32:21.019 And he had a beautiful wife. 00:32:22.019 --> 00:32:24.179 I was just 8, 10 years old, 00:32:24.220 --> 00:32:25.099 maybe 12 at the most, 00:32:25.159 --> 00:32:26.279 probably 8 or 10 years old. 00:32:26.279 --> 00:32:30.660 And I really liked it when Bill came around 00:32:30.660 --> 00:32:32.779 because he was going to have some fun, 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:35.319 and his beautiful wife was going to talk to me, 00:32:35.420 --> 00:32:37.220 and I just enjoyed looking at her. 00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:38.240 I remember it to this day. 00:32:42.019 --> 00:32:44.859 Bill died at a young age. 00:32:45.720 --> 00:32:48.399 He was either in his late 30s or early 40s. 00:32:49.059 --> 00:32:51.099 I don't remember the cause of death, 00:32:51.240 --> 00:32:53.500 but I do remember it was a terminal illness 00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:56.839 that put him in the hospital several times. 00:32:58.059 --> 00:32:59.559 Well, Bill knew he was dying, 00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:03.160 and he told my dad 00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:06.359 that he knew the reason why, 00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:11.500 because he had run from God's call to preach 00:33:11.500 --> 00:33:14.819 ever since he was a teenager. 00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:19.799 Now, my dad told me after the fact, 00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:23.440 and I thought about Bill every now and then 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:24.220 over the years, 00:33:25.220 --> 00:33:27.119 and in thinking about this message, 00:33:28.859 --> 00:33:32.200 Bill didn't just run from God's call to preach. 00:33:33.779 --> 00:33:35.099 Bill ran from God. 00:33:37.220 --> 00:33:40.940 He had lots of problems in his life 00:33:40.940 --> 00:33:46.460 that can be traced from his running from God. 00:33:47.460 --> 00:33:48.859 He was basically an alcoholic. 00:33:48.859 --> 00:33:53.159 He struggled with alcohol. 00:33:54.319 --> 00:33:55.619 He had problems at home. 00:33:56.479 --> 00:33:59.359 There were times that beautiful wife left him. 00:34:01.219 --> 00:34:03.219 He had problems at work. 00:34:03.379 --> 00:34:05.199 He changed jobs a whole lot. 00:34:05.319 --> 00:34:06.819 He couldn't hang on to, 00:34:06.899 --> 00:34:10.639 hold on to any job for any length of time. 00:34:13.739 --> 00:34:15.420 Bill told my dad 00:34:15.420 --> 00:34:18.280 that he had repented of his sin. 00:34:20.280 --> 00:34:21.440 All those years, 00:34:21.539 --> 00:34:22.740 he knew he was a Christian. 00:34:23.320 --> 00:34:24.940 He was being unfaithful to God. 00:34:25.720 --> 00:34:28.619 God disciplined him in all kinds of ways. 00:34:29.880 --> 00:34:31.039 And he thought, 00:34:31.380 --> 00:34:32.880 as he was dying, 00:34:33.880 --> 00:34:34.539 well, 00:34:34.940 --> 00:34:37.400 this is the ultimate 00:34:37.400 --> 00:34:39.500 in God's discipline. 00:34:39.500 --> 00:34:42.519 I don't know. 00:34:42.800 --> 00:34:43.380 I'm not here, 00:34:43.539 --> 00:34:45.039 I'm not using this story to say 00:34:45.039 --> 00:34:47.179 God killed Bill 00:34:47.179 --> 00:34:49.340 as a form of discipline. 00:34:49.659 --> 00:34:50.619 He could have. 00:34:51.380 --> 00:34:52.820 But I don't know that, 00:34:52.900 --> 00:34:54.099 and Bill didn't know that. 00:34:55.019 --> 00:34:56.000 My point is, 00:34:56.880 --> 00:34:58.920 if we are truly God's children, 00:34:58.920 --> 00:35:01.760 we cannot run from God 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:03.579 and live peacefully 00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:06.200 in a state of rebellion. 00:35:08.619 --> 00:35:10.280 If God's calling you 00:35:10.280 --> 00:35:13.159 to get serious about living 00:35:13.159 --> 00:35:15.619 a faithful Christian life, 00:35:17.280 --> 00:35:17.440 I mean, 00:35:17.480 --> 00:35:17.860 God's just, 00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:18.920 if he's calling you 00:35:18.920 --> 00:35:20.700 to quit playing games, 00:35:20.900 --> 00:35:22.180 quit being the hypocrite, 00:35:22.320 --> 00:35:23.880 quit being one way at work, 00:35:24.180 --> 00:35:25.119 one way at school, 00:35:25.460 --> 00:35:26.460 one way at church, 00:35:26.760 --> 00:35:27.900 one way around these people, 00:35:27.980 --> 00:35:28.760 another way around those people, 00:35:28.760 --> 00:35:29.760 if God's calling you 00:35:29.760 --> 00:35:30.280 to do that, 00:35:30.880 --> 00:35:31.960 just do it. 00:35:34.580 --> 00:35:35.740 Confess your sin. 00:35:37.160 --> 00:35:37.780 Confess you've been 00:35:37.780 --> 00:35:38.700 playing a game. 00:35:43.300 --> 00:35:44.080 Repent of it. 00:35:44.580 --> 00:35:45.220 Turn from it. 00:35:45.320 --> 00:35:46.580 Change your mind now. 00:35:48.960 --> 00:35:50.100 Come back to him. 00:35:52.960 --> 00:35:54.320 I can promise you, 00:35:54.440 --> 00:35:55.240 you'll never find 00:35:55.240 --> 00:35:56.180 lasting peace 00:35:56.180 --> 00:35:57.180 if you don't. 00:35:58.760 --> 00:36:01.240 And I pray that you won't. 00:36:03.380 --> 00:36:04.760 I pray that God 00:36:04.760 --> 00:36:06.260 will so work in your life 00:36:06.260 --> 00:36:08.180 that you will be miserable 00:36:08.180 --> 00:36:09.920 until you come to him 00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:11.280 willingly, 00:36:12.040 --> 00:36:12.660 lovingly, 00:36:12.760 --> 00:36:13.820 wholeheartedly. 00:36:13.820 --> 00:36:15.820 I have prayed that 00:36:15.820 --> 00:36:16.620 I have prayed that 00:36:16.620 --> 00:36:17.539 for many people 00:36:17.539 --> 00:36:18.559 in my family 00:36:18.559 --> 00:36:19.340 over the years, 00:36:19.980 --> 00:36:21.120 friends of mine, 00:36:22.539 --> 00:36:24.160 my own self. 00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:26.280 God, 00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:27.440 don't let them, 00:36:27.600 --> 00:36:27.820 God, 00:36:27.920 --> 00:36:28.940 don't let me 00:36:28.940 --> 00:36:30.059 be comfortable 00:36:30.059 --> 00:36:32.100 in any kind 00:36:32.100 --> 00:36:32.700 of relationship 00:36:32.700 --> 00:36:33.180 with you 00:36:33.180 --> 00:36:34.360 except a close, 00:36:34.860 --> 00:36:35.300 loving, 00:36:35.760 --> 00:36:36.820 growing relationship. 00:36:36.820 --> 00:36:37.380 relationship. 00:36:39.620 --> 00:36:40.840 Could it be that God's 00:36:40.840 --> 00:36:41.620 calling you to quit 00:36:41.620 --> 00:36:42.840 living selfishly, 00:36:43.640 --> 00:36:45.800 just pleasing yourself 00:36:45.800 --> 00:36:46.940 and start serving 00:36:46.940 --> 00:36:48.360 the people he's put 00:36:48.360 --> 00:36:49.140 in your life? 00:36:49.820 --> 00:36:49.980 You know, 00:36:50.019 --> 00:36:50.840 God doesn't put people 00:36:50.840 --> 00:36:51.320 in your life 00:36:51.320 --> 00:36:52.600 to be your servant. 00:36:54.180 --> 00:36:55.080 He puts them 00:36:55.080 --> 00:36:55.760 in your life 00:36:55.760 --> 00:36:57.000 for you to serve. 00:36:57.000 --> 00:36:58.699 And in the process 00:36:58.699 --> 00:37:00.079 of serving them, 00:37:01.219 --> 00:37:02.719 you will find joy. 00:37:03.480 --> 00:37:04.360 You will find 00:37:04.360 --> 00:37:05.579 contentment. 00:37:06.119 --> 00:37:06.719 You will find 00:37:06.719 --> 00:37:08.179 your own needs met. 00:37:10.679 --> 00:37:11.940 There are many reasons 00:37:11.940 --> 00:37:12.780 why Christians 00:37:12.780 --> 00:37:13.780 run from God 00:37:13.780 --> 00:37:14.619 and disobey him. 00:37:15.960 --> 00:37:16.800 But there are 00:37:16.800 --> 00:37:18.099 no acceptable reasons. 00:37:20.239 --> 00:37:21.260 And what I want you 00:37:21.260 --> 00:37:22.460 to see in Jonah, 00:37:22.599 --> 00:37:23.579 he's a miserable man 00:37:23.579 --> 00:37:24.219 a lot of times 00:37:24.219 --> 00:37:24.820 in this book. 00:37:24.820 --> 00:37:27.140 You'll never 00:37:27.140 --> 00:37:28.260 experience this life 00:37:28.260 --> 00:37:29.960 that you truly desire 00:37:29.960 --> 00:37:32.620 as long as you're 00:37:32.620 --> 00:37:33.200 on the run 00:37:33.200 --> 00:37:33.780 from God. 00:37:35.460 --> 00:37:36.360 So why don't you 00:37:36.360 --> 00:37:37.380 stop running now? 00:37:38.600 --> 00:37:39.059 Why don't you 00:37:39.059 --> 00:37:39.720 turn around 00:37:39.720 --> 00:37:40.380 and come back 00:37:40.380 --> 00:37:40.880 to him? 00:37:41.680 --> 00:37:42.380 If there's sin 00:37:42.380 --> 00:37:43.100 to confess, 00:37:43.300 --> 00:37:43.900 confess it. 00:37:44.120 --> 00:37:44.720 If there's new 00:37:44.720 --> 00:37:45.200 commitments 00:37:45.200 --> 00:37:45.980 that need to be made, 00:37:46.360 --> 00:37:46.880 make them. 00:37:47.280 --> 00:37:47.820 But renew 00:37:47.820 --> 00:37:48.620 your commitment, 00:37:48.820 --> 00:37:49.420 your trust, 00:37:49.580 --> 00:37:50.360 your love, 00:37:51.360 --> 00:37:51.920 your devotion 00:37:51.920 --> 00:37:53.120 to him right now. 00:37:53.119 --> 00:37:55.219 If you're not 00:37:55.219 --> 00:37:55.719 a Christian, 00:37:56.400 --> 00:37:57.980 you will never 00:37:57.980 --> 00:37:58.980 know this peace 00:37:58.980 --> 00:38:00.019 and contentment 00:38:00.019 --> 00:38:00.779 I'm talking about 00:38:00.779 --> 00:38:01.259 until you have 00:38:01.259 --> 00:38:02.039 a right relationship 00:38:02.039 --> 00:38:02.539 with God 00:38:02.539 --> 00:38:03.359 through faith 00:38:03.359 --> 00:38:04.219 in Jesus Christ. 00:38:04.319 --> 00:38:04.759 And I encourage 00:38:04.759 --> 00:38:05.659 you to trust him. 00:38:08.019 --> 00:38:08.980 If you are 00:38:08.980 --> 00:38:10.279 faithfully serving God 00:38:10.279 --> 00:38:11.139 and the last thing 00:38:11.139 --> 00:38:11.719 that you would 00:38:11.719 --> 00:38:12.519 describe yourself 00:38:12.519 --> 00:38:13.380 as being this morning 00:38:13.380 --> 00:38:14.239 is running from God, 00:38:14.759 --> 00:38:15.500 thank God 00:38:15.500 --> 00:38:16.739 but be on guard 00:38:16.739 --> 00:38:19.339 because you know 00:38:19.339 --> 00:38:20.859 the temptation 00:38:20.859 --> 00:38:21.819 will come. 00:38:21.820 --> 00:38:23.300 it comes to 00:38:23.300 --> 00:38:24.180 all of us. 00:38:25.640 --> 00:38:26.380 Final thought. 00:38:27.780 --> 00:38:29.620 We can run 00:38:29.620 --> 00:38:30.180 from God 00:38:30.180 --> 00:38:30.700 and sometimes 00:38:30.700 --> 00:38:31.519 we do 00:38:31.519 --> 00:38:34.400 but we cannot 00:38:34.400 --> 00:38:35.620 run from God 00:38:35.620 --> 00:38:36.800 and hide 00:38:36.800 --> 00:38:37.460 from God. 00:38:39.600 --> 00:38:40.840 We cannot 00:38:40.840 --> 00:38:42.300 find the life 00:38:42.300 --> 00:38:43.460 that we want 00:38:43.460 --> 00:38:45.800 away from him 00:38:45.800 --> 00:38:47.740 if we're truly 00:38:47.740 --> 00:38:48.460 his children. 00:38:49.580 --> 00:38:50.019 Let's pray. 00:38:50.019 --> 00:38:51.659 Dear God, 00:38:52.659 --> 00:38:55.619 just help us 00:38:55.619 --> 00:38:56.179 see the truth 00:38:56.179 --> 00:38:56.980 about ourselves. 00:38:59.460 --> 00:39:00.259 Show us 00:39:00.259 --> 00:39:01.259 exactly how 00:39:01.259 --> 00:39:02.039 we should respond 00:39:02.039 --> 00:39:02.780 to you now 00:39:02.780 --> 00:39:04.639 and help us 00:39:04.639 --> 00:39:05.340 to do it. 00:39:07.420 --> 00:39:07.940 And let's just 00:39:07.940 --> 00:39:08.880 in an attitude 00:39:08.880 --> 00:39:09.300 of prayer 00:39:09.300 --> 00:39:09.900 do that. 00:39:10.679 --> 00:39:11.320 I'd be happy 00:39:11.320 --> 00:39:12.239 to pray with you 00:39:12.239 --> 00:39:12.719 right here 00:39:12.719 --> 00:39:13.159 at the front 00:39:13.159 --> 00:39:13.599 right now 00:39:13.599 --> 00:39:14.599 about this situation 00:39:14.599 --> 00:39:15.460 or whatever it is 00:39:15.460 --> 00:39:16.400 that you'd like 00:39:16.400 --> 00:39:16.960 to pray about. 00:39:17.940 --> 00:39:18.440 I'll be here 00:39:18.440 --> 00:39:18.980 at the front 00:39:18.980 --> 00:39:19.480 during these 00:39:19.480 --> 00:39:20.240 next few minutes. 00:39:20.239 --> 00:39:50.219 Thank you.