say again it is a real honor to be with you and thank you for having me and I just want to
apologize for those of you who are disappointed that the more exciting part of my family is not
here we are all coming down in June and we'll actually have a info night here on Saturday June
the 15th which will be a chance to give you a bit more detail and God willing a bunch will have
happened in that month we might even be able to introduce you to some of the team that will be
coming with us but it is an honor to be with you in Mission Month and Open the Bible and I apologize
John I'll stick to my notes from now on. A recent study that came out of America by the Barna Group
discovered that nearly half of all active church attending millennials nearly half of them believe
that sharing their faith is wrong not hard not difficult not intimidating but wrong and that's
the generation that's supposed to read the Bible more than their parents and grandparents did this
is the generation that serves more in churches than the generations before them and the main reason that
they give flows out of this kind of cultural pluralism it's this belief that you can't or at
least you shouldn't be telling anyone else what they're supposed to believe it's because we live in
this generation that says you do you it's got this culture of tolerance where you can believe anything
you want apparently as long as it doesn't hurt somebody else and so we think truth is something
that everybody must discover for themselves and we shouldn't be telling them what we think it is
now aside from the fact that that worldview just doesn't work because it's incoherent
where does that perspective that culture leave us as Christians like what do we do with the fact as we
we're embarking on a mission month here at St Paul's we remind ourselves that Jesus calls us to be
witnesses to the witnesses to the ends of the earth what does that look like in a moment like this in a
culture like ours in a word it looks intimidating I mean think about the Israel for last Israel for
last saga over the last few weeks whether you agree with how he did it essentially what he did was
quote the Bible and he'll probably lose his job for it so the question we need to ask this morning
is is mission a good thing to do
and what will it look like for you to do mission well in your workplace with your family with your
friends because God has always been on mission from the beginning of the Bible the book of Genesis
the goal from God has been that he would dwell with people that they would know him that there'd be a
closeness he's been drawing people back to himself and that's still the goal when you get to today
in the New Testament Matthew 28 the risen Jesus says all authority in heaven on earth has been given to me
therefore go make disciples be on mission I mean it's it's on the wall it's DNA here at St Paul's it's
what makes St Paul's St Paul's that we want to be united in our desperation to see the world around
us encounter Jesus that that's that's our heartbeat but it's not easy some people think it's wrong
most of us even if we don't think it's wrong struggle to do it
and so this month we turn to the Old Testament book of Jonah to try and catch a glimpse of God's heart
when it comes to mission not just the task that he's given but to catch a vision for God's patience
with a world that doesn't want to know the truth with reluctant missionaries like us and most
importantly we want to catch a glimpse of the power of God to save people and so I want to encourage
you to open your Bible to Jonah as we're going to work through the passage that Adrian read out for us
and we're going to begin at Jonah 1 verse 1 as we meet an unwilling missionary
it says the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittar go to the great city of Nineveh and preach
against it because its wickedness has come up before me so that begins with the word of the
Lord coming to Jonah because that's how all mission begins if it's Christian mission if it's God's mission
then it's his message it's his gospel that needs to go out but but when you first read those verses if
you look it doesn't sound like a good news message that Jonah has I mean Jonah is to preach against
Nineveh and the reason he's to preach is specifically because of their wickedness
and let's be honest we know that this is the sort of message that gives Christians a bad reputation
this is the way people look at us they call us judgmental they think that we think we're better
than everyone and we're here to tell them how wrong they are I mean isn't that kind of why everyone's
really angry with Israel Folau because they look at his post and what they hear is you think you're
better than everyone and therefore everyone else is going to hell I don't think that's what he's saying
but that's what they're hearing and so we've got to ask the question is the message that God has given
to Jonah and ultimately the message he's given to us a good news message and I want to say yes for two
reasons firstly built into this message is the possibility of this city of Nineveh finding out
about their wickedness finding out about God's judgment and then repenting turning back and
following Jesus because if there was no chance that something could change in this if the only possible
outcome was Nineveh hears that they're wicked and then God destroys them this is kind of a waste of
effort don't you think if God's just going to lay waste to them just lay waste to them don't send
Jonah to have to travel to the city and speak on his behalf and in fact we find out when we get to
chapter 4 that Jonah fully expects God to have mercy so built into this message of bad news this
preaching against this message of their wickedness is at least the possibility that something could change
that's the first reason it's good news the second reason this is good news is because it declares
the character of God which is the whole point of mission
the reason God wants us to go out and speak is so that people might know him and even in this tiny
little gospel presentation and you'll see how short it is when we get to chapter 3 we get a view of God's
holiness we get reminded as Jacob just told us that God is a God of justice he's not okay with evil and
wickedness in the world that God cares about these things that he will judge these things
but instead of passing on this message instead of declaring this gospel Jonah runs
verse 3 Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish he went down to Joppa where he found a
ship bound for that port after paying the fare he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee
from the Lord now we know from two kings in the Old Testament that Jonah was an official prophet in
the royal court so he was employed by the king he exercised a ministry as prophet that means he spoke
on behalf of God we know he's commissioned by God it happened just there in verse 1 and we know that God
spoke to him giving him messages to deliver on God's behalf which is what makes this reaction
so weird he runs he flees God this is a guy with the privileged role of speaking on behalf of God
this is a man who hears directly from God Almighty who receives messages to pass on and then when he
receives them he runs in the opposite direction and disobeys God and it's got to make you ask the
question why I mean is it just that he lives in a time like ours where you know you do you and you
can't tell me what to believe well when we get to chapter 4 you're going to get a bit more of a glimpse
of his motivations and what he's doing but you'll have to come back in a few weeks for that
but what we do know is that Nineveh this city that Jonah has been sent to preach to is an Assyrian
city and there's not a lot of love lost between Israel and Assyria Assyria is one of the superpowers
in the world at this particular point in history they have tormented Israel over and over throughout
their history and in fact Assyria will be the nation that ultimately wipes out Israel off the face of the
earth destroys the northern kingdom altogether we know that Jonah worked for the king that he was a
nationalist and he's not interested in the good of this wicked nation Assyria
he doesn't think they deserve the chance to know God like he knows God he doesn't want them to get the
benefits of having God around and being loved by God and he certainly doesn't want to be the one who
introduced them to God in the first place now we just need to slow down here for a second and ask a
question is there anyone in our life in our world that even subconsciously we view in the same way
is there anyone in your life who is maybe unlike you ethnically culturally maybe somebody who dresses
different to you has a different moral code maybe somebody who's hurt you in some way
that deep down you don't think deserves to know the gospel
you don't want to share the gospel with because you don't want them to respond and find forgiveness
and hope I mean on top of the fact that the world is hostile that it's scary to try and talk about what
you believe in and everything else do you find yourself rationalizing with certain groups of
people or maybe even certain individuals they don't deserve to be forgiven anyway so it would be a waste of time
and yet this wicked Assyrian city that will continue to do evil down the track is loved by God
and so what's God's response to his unwilling missionary what's his response to us when he sees that kind of
hardness in our heart it's the same as it is towards Nineveh
he's sending Jonah to warn them he's showing grace to them that they don't deserve and he treats them he
treats Jonah and he treats us all better than we deserve
God pursues people who don't deserve to know him even people who are running away so that they
might know him and his goodness verse 4 Jonah after running away it says then the Lord sent a great
wind on the sea and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up all the sailors were
afraid and each cried out to his own God and they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship
but Jonah had gone below deck where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep
God's not passive at this point in the story he's not disinterested that his prophet is disobeying him
he actually cares that Nineveh hears the message he's got for them and so he chases Jonah
he sends a violent storm a serious storm sufficient to scare experienced sailors so that Jonah comes back
God wants Nineveh to hear the gospel and God actually cares that his prophet Jonah understands the gospel
as well the storm is so intense as it arrives that even the sailors straight away work her out that
there's something special about this this is a divine storm this isn't just your summer thunderstorm that
rolls through it's exciting and then it moves on this feels personal because it is personal
God sent it because he's angry he's not trying to destroy Jonah he's not trying to kill the sailors he's not
trying to sink the boat he's disciplining Jonah he's drawing Jonah back so that he might see the mistake that
he's made so that he might come back and do the job that he's been given again even though this is an
intense storm if God wanted to just kill Jonah in his anger there's more direct ways than a storm and
sinking a boat full of other sailors he's pursuing his reluctant unwilling missionary implicit in this storm
is the invitation to return is the invitation despite running away for Jonah to come back and still be
in God's grace now one of the challenges of this book one of the challenges of life in general when it
comes to following Jesus is how we understand the relationship between our sin and suffering so the
temptation is we look at this story and we look at our lives and we think that whenever there's suffering
whenever I suffer it's because I must have done something wrong and therefore I've got to fix that
thing to convince God to take away my suffering and it's true in this story that Jonah is suffering
because of his sin Jonah is in this dangerous storm that might sink the boat specifically because he
disobeyed God and ran away but it's also true that the sailors are suffering not because of their sin
but because of Jonah's sin they're suffering because Jonah ran in the other direction in fact you find
the sailors treat God better in this story than even Jonah does it's not their sin it's Jonah's sin
Tim Keller who's a pastor out of America says the Bible does not say that every difficulty is the result
of sin but it does teach that every sin will bring difficulty so storms and suffering that we face in
life are always an opportunity for us to either run towards God or run away from him it's an opportunity
to either in the storm find that God is continuing to pursue us and gently draw us back to him
or to blame him and become bitter and angry
and in this story we find Jonah isn't finished running from God yet he's still fleeing the discipline
and gentle pursuit and invitation this time he tries to escape by escaping reality the sailors are fearing
for their lives and what's Jonah doing he's asleep he's sleeping in the bottom of the boat and that's
not because he's just really relaxed he's just really fine with storms he doesn't find you know
waves scary this is the the sleep that maybe you even know in your own life that that sleep of of
hopelessness that sleep of depression that sleep of darkness that sleep that just doesn't want to get
out of bed because it wants to somehow escape the reality that is there when we open our eyes
it's the sleep that longs to be somewhere else as God pursues Jonah Jonah continues to run
he continues to reject the gentle invitation of his heavenly father to come back and what is God's
response to his still unwilling missionary patience
listen to the captain in verse 6 the captain went to him and said how can you sleep and listen to this
really carefully get up and call on your God maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish
get up and call out to your God this is an invitation to draw near to the God that he has been fleeing
an invitation to draw near to the gracious God despite his disobedience and the invitation comes out of the
mouth of a pagan the very people that Jonah doesn't want to know the gospel the very people that he refuses
to tell about his gracious God the sailor is more of a prophet in this story than Jonah is
because he is speaking of the God who welcomes people back this is Jonah's second chance or maybe his 22nd
chance in life who knows he's run from his mission he's fleeing God and yet God is calling him back still
but Jonah continues to run away
he continues to ignore the invitation he continues to reject God look at verse 7
then the sailors said to each other
come let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity
they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah
so they asked him
tell us who is responsible for making all this trouble for us
what kind of work do you do where do you come from what is your country from what people are you
he answered
I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land
this terrified them and they asked what have you done
they knew he was running away from the Lord because he'd already told them so
the sea was getting rougher and rougher so they asked him
what should we do to make the sea calm down for us
pick me up and throw me into the sea he replied and it will become calm
I know that it's my fault that this great storm has come upon you
instead the men did their best to row back to land but they could not
for the sea grew even wilder than before
what's missing in that interaction just there
Jonah refuses to cry out to his God
even in this moment of potential death
he would rather be thrown into the sea and drown
than simply call out to the God who is gently and repeatedly inviting him back
he is an Israelite who knows that God has been faithful to his people
that God is generous and yet still
in this moment of near death he will not cry out to God
this time instead of returning he chooses death
and so rather than be the prophet God has called him to be
rather than cry out to his God
on behalf of these sailors he instructs them to throw him in the sea
which is effectively suicide
he runs from God's mission
he continues to flee as God pursues
he rejects God's patience
he rejects the second chance
and his life appears to be over
and we're still in chapter 1
but there is this tiny glimmer of hope
even in his disobedience
this is the first time that Jonah begins to see
and serve the very people that God is sending him to
he sees that these sailors are in need
and he lays down his life for them
now he has something better to offer
he could cry out to the God who sent the storm
and who has power over the elements
but he refuses to declare the glory of God with his mouth
that these sailors may discover the majesty of his God
but then he unwittingly displays God's character
in what is almost an unwitting gospel presentation
I mean this is a moment where like you know you're at work
and you just it's intimidating to talk about Jesus
so you just kind of commit internally that you know what I just won't
and then God gives you a colleague
who just keeps asking you and keeps asking you
and not just you know hey do you go to church
but tell me what you believe
you know that gospel presentation that you can't dodge
that's kind of what's going on for Jonah
it's like you don't want to have that conversation
but Jonah ends up displaying the mercy of God
because even though Jonah can't see it yet
God's grace in sending him at the beginning of this chapter
God's grace in pursuing him with the storm
God's grace in patiently giving him a second chance
is beginning to transform him
it's beginning to change him
he's beginning to look and see what God sees
he's beginning to look at these pagan sailors
and not just see evil people that he's not worried about
but he's looking with God's eyes
and seeing lost people who need a saviour
people who matter
people who are created in the image of God
Jonah resists and resists God
even to the point of being thrown in the ocean
and what is God's response to his repeated disobedience?
The same as it was for Israel when he chose them as a nation
the same as it is for you and I
God saves him
God intervenes
verse 14
then this is the sailors
they cried out to the Lord
please do not let us die for taking this man's life
do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man
for you Lord have done as you pleased
then they took Jonah and threw him overboard
and the raging sea grew calm
at this the men greatly feared the Lord
and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord
and made vows to him
now the Lord provided a huge fish
to swallow Jonah
and Jonah was in the belly of the fish
three days and three nights
God intervenes in this story
not to just keep Jonah safe with a fish
so that he doesn't drown
but he intervenes so that
even in his disobedience
Jonah fulfills the mission that God has given him
even though he's running
even though he's fleeing
not only will Nineveh hear about God from Jonah in the future chapters
but God reveals himself to the sailors through Jonah's disobedience
as Jonah runs and God
the storm
these sailors get a glimpse of the power
of Jonah's God
as Jonah is thrown in the sea
and is ultimately rescued
and the storm calms
they get a glimpse of the mercy
of God
God is not only sparing Jonah's life
but he is transforming his disobedience
into a moment to reveal his power and mercy
in the calmness of the storm
as God's anger settles
these sailors
having encountered
the one and only God
respond as only people can
they make vows
they offer sacrifices
they find salvation
they meet the God of heaven
they go from being
crying out to all their different gods on the boat
hoping someone would help them
to finally seeing that there is a God
one God
the only God
of heaven and earth
who rules over everything
who is powerful
and merciful
they
get
saved
even in our weakness
and failure
God can and does use us
to draw others
into the hope and life of Jesus
his power is perfect
in our weakness
in our fear
in our inadequacy
in our stumbling
his love for people
his pursuit of people
cannot be stopped
by our inadequacy
or even our disobedience
he does not need us
for the mission
of pursuing people
he does not need us
so that people will meet him
he can send storms
he can send giant fish
he can turn up in flames
and clouds
but for Jonah's sake
and for our sake
God includes us
in the mission
of telling people about him
so that we get the joy
of not just knowing the gospel
not just being aware
that Jesus died on a cross
and rose again
and we're forgiven
in spite of who we are
not just so that we know that
but because
by sharing the gospel
by telling the gospel
by being the gospel
as we go out
and speak to people
as we care for people
as we inhabit
God's heart for people
as we be his hands and feet
this knowledge
becomes this knowledge
this idea that God loves
and pursues me
becomes something
that I feel
as I get to love
and pursue those
who are far away
on his behalf
Jonah's choice to die
so that the sailors
don't have to
is actually a glimpse
of the kind of
sacrificial love
that God has shown us
in Jesus
his choice
to be thrown
into the ocean
so that they might be safe
is this small vision
of the way
that God loves us
at his own cost
through death
God is a pursuing God
he pursues those
who are running
like Jonah
he pursues those
who aren't looking
like the sailors
and he continues
to pursue
even those
who are wicked
like the great city
of Nineveh
and he is pursuing us
Jesus
shows up
in flesh
so that a world
running from him
a world
ignorant of him
and a world
full of evil
might discover
grace
might discover
that God
can love them
in spite of that
when Jesus
goes to the cross
he's praying
for the very people
who are nailing him
to that piece of wood
when Jesus
is arrested
his closest followers
desert him
and flee
and yet
he is the one
greater than Jonah
who lays down
his life
not so that
they might survive
a storm
but so that
they might be
brought back
into a relationship
with their heavenly father
is mission difficult
absolutely
will people be
hostile towards us
as we try and share
the message
that God is king
and that there is
judgment
and that the only
possible hope
is found
in a king
Jesus
who sacrifices
for them
yes
but is mission
good
and right
and necessary
for us
as well as
for those
who don't yet
know
absolutely
the book of Jonah
is not a book
about a fish
it's not even
a book about a city
it's a book
about the
gracious
loving God
who is patiently
reaching
not only sailors
not only a city
but even Jonah
his prophet
so that he might
better understand
the miracle
of God's grace
to people
who don't deserve
it
the thing that
really stops us
from being on mission
whether we say
that it's because
we think it's wrong
whether we say
it's because we're
scared
whatever reason
we may give
the thing that
really stops us
from sharing
the wonder
and majesty
of a savior
who died for us
and rose again
is that we don't
actually grasp
the wonder
of a savior
who died for us
and rose again
step one
in going out
with the message
of a loving God
who pursues us
with grace
is always
first discovering
the love of God
who pursues us
with grace
is first receiving
and experiencing
and tasting
and dwelling in
and enjoying
the freedom
that is ours
because of the grace
and love of God
shown to us
in Jesus
it's recognizing
that as we speak
of grace
we need that grace
even in that moment
it's recognizing
that Jesus
on the cross
is how far
God will go
so that you
will be loved
so that you
may one day
spend eternity
with him
and then being able
to look at the world
with new eyes
that sees people
who matter to God
whether they're like us
or not like us
whether they're good
in our eyes
or evil
in our eyes
they are created
in the image of God
and they matter
to him
whether they're close
to him
or far to him
they matter to him
and we know
that God's heart
is burdened
for those
who are far away
I don't know
exactly
where you're at
with God
but I'm pretty
confident
that there will be
some people
in this room
who are still
running from God
maybe you're
somebody who has
never said
you would follow
Jesus
and you get
dragged here
or you come here
for whatever reason
you like the people
but you are not
someone who is
ready to obey
him when he gives
you commands
maybe you're
someone who
started following
Jesus
but commands
like this one
specifically
that will involve
you standing up
and being bold
and being mocked
and receiving
hostility
and maybe even
losing your job
that's a bridge
too far
and you're running
from that
you still want
God
you still want
Jesus
you still want
heaven
you still want
forgiveness
but you don't
really have any
desire to let
him tell you
how to live
whether you're
someone who's
all in for
Jesus
and chomping
at the bit
to walk out
of here
and share
the gospel
in Chatswood
as you walk
home
or you're
somebody who
is still
intimidated
and is ready
for this service
to finish
and you're
planning to
book other
things for
your next
three Sundays
wherever you
sit on the
spectrum
what every
one of us
needs to hear
this morning
is the same
what God
wants to say
to every single
one of us
this morning
is the same
it's the message
Jonah needs
to understand
God loves
him
even though
he doesn't
deserve it
God sent
his son
for him
for you
for me
you matter
to him
and the
call to
go on
mission
is actually
an invitation
it's an
invitation
for you
and I
to have
a deeper
fuller
experience
of God's
love for
us
because as
we seek
to share
it with
whoever will
listen
and even
those who
won't
we get
to be
the kind
of love
that God
has for
us
we get
to be
the hands
and feet
and words
and mouthpiece
of the heart
of God
himself
this
mission
month
rediscover
that the
the call
to go
is actually
an invitation
to come
it's to
go with
God
it's to
go in
his power
in his
grace
in your
weakness
and know
that his
power will
work through
you
this
mission
month
ask God
to open
your eyes
as you
walk to
work
each
day
as you
spend time
with people
ask God
to let
you see
what he
sees
people who
are lost
just like
you were
people who
desperately
need to
know the
grace
that he
offers
freely
ask that
he would
do the
miracle
for people
in your
life
that he
did for
you
that he
would bring
them from
death to
life
from darkness
to light
that they
would know
the God
of heaven
who loves
them
unconditionally
in his
son
you