WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.740 Father, we ask that you would gently but deeply pour out the Holy Spirit upon us, 00:00:04.299 --> 00:00:07.419 that we might receive from your word. 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:10.640 Father, we need your word to come to the very center of who we are, 00:00:11.080 --> 00:00:13.380 the control center of our life, our heart. 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:17.719 We need your word to come there, that you might grant us freedom, 00:00:17.900 --> 00:00:20.359 that you might grant us deliverance, that we might know you, 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:25.000 that we might follow you, that we might be changed from one degree of glory to another 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:27.199 as we serve you and bring you glory in this world. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:32.019 Father, we need the help of your Holy Spirit to bring your word deep to the center of our heart. 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:36.280 And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. 00:00:36.859 --> 00:00:37.640 Please be seated. 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:45.640 So, we're looking at the story of Jonah. 00:00:46.500 --> 00:00:49.340 And last, we're on chapter 2. 00:00:49.820 --> 00:00:52.560 So there's sort of a—I didn't talk about it at all last week. 00:00:52.560 --> 00:00:57.740 There's a very obvious question that most people want to ask when you study the book of Jonah. 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:01.740 I don't care if it's Christians or non-Christians, but especially non-Christians. 00:01:02.040 --> 00:01:05.120 But usually the non-Christian question would be something like this. 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:10.520 Of course, George, you don't believe the story's true, that something like this actually happened. 00:01:11.140 --> 00:01:15.400 And for a lot of Christians, when you have a question like that thrown to them, 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.300 that's when you get to see how well Christians can dance. 00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:25.620 They start to do a little bit of shuffling and a little bit of this and maybe this and maybe that and in the Hebrew this. 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:28.659 And so the question would come to me, 00:01:28.780 --> 00:01:34.439 George, do you think the story really happened, that this Jonah being swallowed, etc., etc.? 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:37.319 And the answer is, yes, I think it really happened. 00:01:38.459 --> 00:01:40.700 And I really—I think it happened for three reasons. 00:01:40.700 --> 00:01:46.480 The first reason I think it happened is an inconvenient truth for Christians, 00:01:46.740 --> 00:01:50.939 and that is that the way at the level—actually at the level of the original language, 00:01:51.540 --> 00:01:57.359 the way the book begins actually is the way that historical books usually begin. 00:01:58.140 --> 00:02:04.600 So Joshua and Judges and 1 and 2 Kings begin the exact same way, 00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:10.219 and everybody who reads it reads it understanding that they are claiming to tell us the basic historical thing. 00:02:10.219 --> 00:02:13.120 That's the first reason why I would believe it. 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:19.840 The second reason is that Jesus—even more inconvenient for us—is that Jesus treats the story as real. 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:23.060 He does it in both Matthew and Luke. 00:02:23.180 --> 00:02:29.120 He treats Jonah as if Jonah was a real person and as if he actually was in the belly of the fish. 00:02:30.139 --> 00:02:34.039 And that's not as big—I mean, that's actually a pretty big deal for a Christian. 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:38.739 I don't know where you are with the Lord, but at the very, very simple level, 00:02:39.239 --> 00:02:47.159 what a Christian is is somebody who's heard about Jesus, heard about who he is, what he did, and accomplished for us, 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:49.539 and we've now put our faith and trust in him. 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:51.239 He is our Lord, our Savior. 00:02:51.379 --> 00:02:53.340 He is our Master, and I am his disciple. 00:02:53.340 --> 00:03:02.840 If you go back and read the book of Acts, you'll see that disciples of Jesus were called Christians for the first time in Antioch. 00:03:02.920 --> 00:03:07.500 So the way that people would have understood being a Christian at the very, very basic level 00:03:07.500 --> 00:03:10.159 is a Christian is a person who's a disciple of Jesus. 00:03:10.740 --> 00:03:11.560 He is my Lord. 00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:12.539 He is my Master. 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:13.920 I trust him. 00:03:14.099 --> 00:03:14.960 I follow him. 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:15.719 I believe him. 00:03:16.120 --> 00:03:18.460 And I'm not a disciple of Jesus if I say, 00:03:18.460 --> 00:03:19.520 Jesus, I trust you. 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:20.400 I believe you. 00:03:20.760 --> 00:03:23.060 Oh, but by the way, you're wrong about this. 00:03:23.159 --> 00:03:24.219 You're wrong about that. 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:25.159 You're wrong about this. 00:03:25.219 --> 00:03:28.360 And you need to learn from me because I can set you straight on these other matters. 00:03:28.460 --> 00:03:30.680 At that point in time, you're no longer a disciple of Jesus. 00:03:31.659 --> 00:03:34.740 You've put yourself up to be the Master, and he's your disciple. 00:03:36.140 --> 00:03:38.260 You can ask me about this at the coffee time, 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:44.080 but the reason I left the Anglican Church of Canada is because at a very official, solemn level, 00:03:44.620 --> 00:03:47.000 they said, by the way, Jesus, you're wrong. 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:49.620 And you need to learn from us. 00:03:50.060 --> 00:03:53.000 And at that point in time, at an official doctrinal level, 00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:56.300 I could no longer be part of the Anglican Church of Canada. 00:03:56.500 --> 00:03:58.719 It goes against what it means to be a Christian. 00:03:59.879 --> 00:04:02.860 And so some of you might say, well, George, that's all very interesting, 00:04:02.939 --> 00:04:04.780 but couldn't you just be wrong about this? 00:04:05.500 --> 00:04:09.620 You know, like, don't get all high and, you know, go, whoa, all the way over there. 00:04:09.659 --> 00:04:12.639 Like, no, like, I told you there's three reasons. 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:13.420 I've just given you two. 00:04:13.479 --> 00:04:14.400 Here's the third reason. 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:22.319 At the heart of the very, very, very, very heart of the Christian faith is the belief 00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:27.280 that Jesus lived among us, and that time and time and time again, 00:04:27.459 --> 00:04:32.360 he said he was going to die on a cross, and on the third day, he would rise from the dead. 00:04:32.780 --> 00:04:34.600 And he said that time and time and time again. 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:39.480 All of the historical records, all of the ancient documents say that that's what he claimed. 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:45.980 And I believe that there's good reason, good historical reasons, not to compel, 00:04:46.100 --> 00:04:47.580 but that that's, in fact, what happened. 00:04:47.740 --> 00:04:53.000 That he really did die on a cross by crucifixion, something he couldn't have arranged by himself. 00:04:54.200 --> 00:05:00.060 And that he did, he was, the Romans guaranteed his death, so to speak. 00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:02.340 He was put in a tomb on the third day. 00:05:02.339 --> 00:05:04.060 The grave clothes were there. 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:05.819 The body was not there. 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:11.000 And Jesus then appeared on many, many occasions to many people in different places, 00:05:11.259 --> 00:05:13.979 showing that he was fully and utterly alive. 00:05:14.159 --> 00:05:15.079 And so here's the thing. 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:19.699 If I believe in the resurrection, this is a small miracle. 00:05:20.559 --> 00:05:22.779 It's just as simple as that. 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:27.719 This is a tiny miracle, if that big miracle of the resurrection is true. 00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:35.400 And so I believe we're hearing the story of a miracle, which is the story of Jonah. 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:41.220 But however, having said that, I believe in Jonah in a far deeper way. 00:05:41.340 --> 00:05:44.040 It's not just that I go, aha, there's proof of a miracle here. 00:05:44.980 --> 00:05:47.060 The fact of the matter is, is the story of Jonah. 00:05:47.080 --> 00:05:48.880 Most people just know about Jonah and the fish. 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:52.400 But it's actually a very, very, very fascinating story. 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:58.679 And the way to understand it is, imagine that you're watching a BBC series or a Netflix series 00:05:58.679 --> 00:06:02.079 of four separate stories or episodes. 00:06:02.359 --> 00:06:06.500 And each story has its own integrity, its own drama. 00:06:06.799 --> 00:06:10.579 But the four of them together tell a bigger and far more subtle story. 00:06:10.620 --> 00:06:12.039 And that's what's going on here in Jonah. 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:13.599 There's actually four stories. 00:06:14.379 --> 00:06:16.439 And last week, we looked at the first story. 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:22.779 The first story begins with something that many people in our world would just, they say 00:06:22.779 --> 00:06:23.459 they would love it. 00:06:23.540 --> 00:06:28.879 I've had so many people tell me, George, if God wants me to believe him, why doesn't he 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:29.519 just show up? 00:06:29.579 --> 00:06:31.759 Why doesn't he just appear to me and tell me? 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:33.920 Just show me that he exists and then I'll believe in him. 00:06:34.500 --> 00:06:35.800 Well, that's what happens to Jonah. 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:37.000 That's how the story begins. 00:06:37.139 --> 00:06:38.040 God shows up. 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:42.899 But unfortunately for Jonah, God shows up and also gives him something to do. 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:48.379 And Jonah's response to being given something to do is to run away from God. 00:06:48.819 --> 00:06:50.459 He flees from God's presence. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:57.259 In fact, he's so committed to fleeing from God's presence, he basically sells his possessions 00:06:57.259 --> 00:06:57.639 or whatever. 00:06:57.779 --> 00:07:03.579 He gets enough money that he can go one year away, one year of traveling away from where 00:07:03.579 --> 00:07:06.199 the Lord has met him. 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:10.459 And that's, you know, he would have had to go like quite a way just to go to where the 00:07:10.459 --> 00:07:11.099 Lord wanted him to go. 00:07:11.100 --> 00:07:13.120 But he takes enough money to go a year away. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:15.980 And then the Lord, he's on a ship. 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:17.320 The Lord sends a storm. 00:07:18.260 --> 00:07:23.620 And the pagans believe the same thing as the pagan sailors believe the same thing as most 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:24.840 Canadians do today. 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:30.160 Because most Canadians today believe in some form that you get what you give. 00:07:30.460 --> 00:07:32.920 What goes around comes around. 00:07:33.760 --> 00:07:37.379 That there's a reason why everything happens to you. 00:07:37.760 --> 00:07:39.980 In fact, it's a type of form of karma. 00:07:39.980 --> 00:07:49.379 It's something that the most postmodern hipster barista and a pagan sailor in 755 BC both 00:07:49.379 --> 00:07:50.000 believe. 00:07:50.520 --> 00:07:51.360 Hard to believe, eh? 00:07:51.420 --> 00:07:52.319 But that's in fact the case. 00:07:52.340 --> 00:07:54.620 It's a very, very deeply held human belief. 00:07:54.700 --> 00:07:55.740 What goes around comes around. 00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:56.680 You get what you give. 00:07:57.319 --> 00:08:02.080 And because these pagans believe that, they said there's a storm going on. 00:08:02.140 --> 00:08:04.439 It must be because a god has been angered. 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:05.920 And they start to try to figure it out. 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:07.500 And eventually it comes to Jonah. 00:08:08.100 --> 00:08:13.460 And Jonah reveals that it's in fact precisely because of what he's done that the storm is here. 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:17.699 So the pagans being good pagans, they want to hedge their bets. 00:08:18.200 --> 00:08:19.280 They try to get free. 00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:20.700 But they want to hedge their bets. 00:08:21.259 --> 00:08:25.540 And if Jonah, but at the end of the day, they throw Jonah overboard. 00:08:26.139 --> 00:08:27.980 And that's really how chapter one ends. 00:08:27.980 --> 00:08:30.500 The storm stops. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:38.320 And so the pagans know that the Lord was really the one responsible for the storm, that he really exists. 00:08:38.860 --> 00:08:43.000 And so they sacrifice, sacrifices, vow, vows, and fear fearfully. 00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:46.420 And that's really in the Jewish version of the Bible. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:48.220 Chapter one ends right there. 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:53.899 In our version, we sort of give away what happens and then have chapter two. 00:08:54.360 --> 00:08:55.159 But what happens? 00:08:55.259 --> 00:08:55.840 Jonah goes over. 00:08:55.940 --> 00:08:56.800 The storm stops. 00:08:56.799 --> 00:08:58.159 Obviously, the Lord is real. 00:08:58.779 --> 00:09:01.159 And in a sense, it's left right there. 00:09:01.539 --> 00:09:01.819 Perfect. 00:09:02.099 --> 00:09:03.799 Andrew, I'm so glad you have that up there. 00:09:04.419 --> 00:09:05.939 That's where chapter one ends. 00:09:06.079 --> 00:09:13.879 Episode one, a cliffhanger, except at the end of chapter one, basically, they don't know there's a huge aquatic beast in the water. 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:15.319 Jonah goes overboard. 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:16.779 And now let's pick up the story. 00:09:16.779 --> 00:09:19.459 Chapter one, verse 17. 00:09:19.460 --> 00:09:26.680 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:30.519 And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:32.480 And now just sort of pause there. 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:37.539 Believe it or not, there's lots of stuff in here, which is really important to understand the story. 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:42.539 The first thing is that he uses the word Lord. 00:09:42.620 --> 00:09:44.039 I didn't talk about this last week. 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:56.659 One of the things which is very interesting about the Jewish people, the Tanakh, is they had a different name for their God, so to speak, than for generic God, the God of other people. 00:09:56.659 --> 00:10:01.419 And so Jonah, all the way through this, uses the word the Lord. 00:10:01.620 --> 00:10:03.100 It's the word Yahweh. 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:10.139 And what this is, is it's the name for the personal God that can be known. 00:10:10.620 --> 00:10:12.379 It's not just God in general. 00:10:12.579 --> 00:10:15.719 It's not just a deistic, vague God. 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:19.139 The Lord has revealed himself to Israel. 00:10:19.379 --> 00:10:20.659 He's spoken to Israel. 00:10:21.059 --> 00:10:22.480 He is their covenant God. 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:25.019 It means that he's entered into a relationship with them. 00:10:25.019 --> 00:10:26.740 He loves them. 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:28.079 He cares for them. 00:10:28.179 --> 00:10:28.939 He knows them. 00:10:29.019 --> 00:10:29.899 And they are to know him. 00:10:30.379 --> 00:10:32.000 And that's the name of God that they use. 00:10:32.079 --> 00:10:35.159 Not just covenant, just not abstract God, but the Lord. 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:36.879 Would be really handy. 00:10:37.340 --> 00:10:40.819 I wish so many times that that would be true in Canada today. 00:10:41.439 --> 00:10:46.139 Because as you've heard me say many times, I don't believe in the God that most Canadians believe in. 00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:49.139 I don't believe that God exists. 00:10:49.259 --> 00:10:51.240 I believe in the God that's revealed by Jesus. 00:10:51.379 --> 00:10:53.699 That's the God who actually does exist. 00:10:53.700 --> 00:10:56.780 And that's the God who's being talked about all the way through this story. 00:10:57.500 --> 00:11:00.879 And the Lord appointed a great fish. 00:11:01.640 --> 00:11:11.320 And what that word appointed means is that God worked through the natural processes so that at the very time that Jonah is being thrown into the water, 00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:20.300 as he starts to sink, at the very exact time God has, through circumstances, arranged for a great fish to be there who's going to swallow Jonah. 00:11:20.820 --> 00:11:22.320 That's what the word appointed means. 00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:29.960 That God is acting in the natural processes to see that the thing that he wants to be done will be done. 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:36.360 And the word for great fish in the original language actually means aquatic beast. 00:11:37.560 --> 00:11:42.460 So it is a great aquatic beast that has swallowed. 00:11:43.040 --> 00:11:46.220 It doesn't actually, I mean, as we all know, whales aren't fish. 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:46.820 They're mammals. 00:11:47.259 --> 00:11:48.400 So it might have been a whale. 00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:51.700 But whatever it was, is it was a great aquatic beast. 00:11:51.700 --> 00:11:58.780 And that great aquatic beast comes by the Lord's command and swallows Jonah. 00:11:59.680 --> 00:12:00.780 So what happens? 00:12:01.280 --> 00:12:04.560 Well, that's what we're going to see in the rest of the chapter or chapter 2, verse 1. 00:12:05.300 --> 00:12:10.980 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, 00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:16.879 I called out to the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me out of the belly of Sheol. 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:19.600 I cried, and you heard my voice. 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:21.639 And just pause here for a second. 00:12:23.659 --> 00:12:24.820 When it says here, 00:12:25.040 --> 00:12:28.360 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 00:12:28.940 --> 00:12:35.600 part of the literal meaning of that word belly is the entrails of the fish. 00:12:36.740 --> 00:12:38.040 It's not just the belly. 00:12:39.040 --> 00:12:40.540 I mean, he's into the intestines. 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:45.560 And then it says, 00:12:45.560 --> 00:12:47.440 So I called out to the Lord. 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:49.900 So what Jonah's doing here, 00:12:51.260 --> 00:12:55.460 So we're going to see, actually, when it says later on, it's going to say three days and three nights, 00:12:55.520 --> 00:12:56.680 which is just an idiom. 00:12:57.900 --> 00:12:59.380 An idiom is just like a saying. 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:02.780 You know, if I say somebody's cuckoo, you all know what I mean. 00:13:02.820 --> 00:13:08.240 If I say somebody's, you know, missing, you know, a few screws or has a screw loose, 00:13:08.300 --> 00:13:08.880 you all know what I mean. 00:13:08.920 --> 00:13:09.780 Those are idioms. 00:13:09.779 --> 00:13:12.319 And so later on, when it says three days and three nights, 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:15.139 it doesn't necessarily mean literally three days and nights. 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:17.699 It's an idiom for the Jewish people. 00:13:17.799 --> 00:13:19.199 And it might mean 26 hours. 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:21.759 It means a period of time that would have touched on three days. 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:25.379 And so what Jonah's doing here is that Jonah spends, 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:30.819 is going to spend quite a few hours in the inside, this great aquatic beast. 00:13:30.820 --> 00:13:36.760 And obviously, Jonah's going to survive it because we have this story. 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:44.320 And so how is Jonah going to communicate what went on for him for those hours and hours and hours 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:50.260 that he is completely and utterly caught up in the entrails of this great aquatic beast? 00:13:51.580 --> 00:13:56.080 And obviously, Jonah has thought about this and prayed about it. 00:13:56.080 --> 00:14:00.639 All of the things in the story, including all of the really embarrassing things about Jonah, 00:14:00.740 --> 00:14:02.960 must have been revealed by Jonah, written by Jonah. 00:14:03.879 --> 00:14:12.879 And Jonah decides to summarize his experience in the form of an eight-verse prayer, a psalm. 00:14:15.259 --> 00:14:19.139 That's how he decides that he wants to communicate what goes on to him. 00:14:19.560 --> 00:14:24.759 And he's going to use this very powerful, powerful, powerful poetic language. 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:31.259 And it's all going to be the language of hopelessness and doom. 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:41.220 That what Jonah wants to communicate is that he was doomed, his life was hopeless. 00:14:43.419 --> 00:14:46.319 But for some of us, that's how we like to communicate. 00:14:46.679 --> 00:14:49.259 You like to hear me just say, Jonah was doomed and hopeless. 00:14:49.379 --> 00:14:52.019 I've just summarized most of chapter two. 00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:56.000 But for a lot of us, that doesn't do very much. 00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:58.960 Our minds and hearts are wired a different way. 00:15:00.579 --> 00:15:06.039 To say, one foot up, one foot down, that's the way to London town, 00:15:06.519 --> 00:15:10.259 is a very different thing than saying, I walked to London. 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:16.919 For some of us, we like just the straight, bland phrase, I walked to London. 00:15:16.919 --> 00:15:21.959 But for others, one foot up, one foot down, that's the way to London town. 00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:23.740 It's going to communicate far more. 00:15:24.379 --> 00:15:25.719 It was far more memorable. 00:15:25.839 --> 00:15:26.419 It grips you. 00:15:27.339 --> 00:15:33.659 And so what Jonah is doing here is he's going to communicate through this very simple message 00:15:33.659 --> 00:15:38.379 of being completely and utterly hopeless in the form of this very, very powerful prayer 00:15:38.379 --> 00:15:40.519 filled with poetic imagery. 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:47.379 And what more fantastic way to communicate the hopelessness of life than to say, 00:15:47.579 --> 00:15:51.879 I found myself in the entrails of a great aquatic beast. 00:15:53.860 --> 00:16:00.500 And while in the entrails of a great aquatic beast that's going to take place for many hours, 00:16:01.059 --> 00:16:02.699 I prayed to the Lord my God. 00:16:03.299 --> 00:16:05.539 In the beginning of his prayer, verse two, 00:16:05.539 --> 00:16:09.839 I called out to the Lord out of my distress and he answered me out of the belly of Sheol. 00:16:10.019 --> 00:16:12.079 I cried and you heard my voice. 00:16:12.599 --> 00:16:16.719 The belly of Sheol, it's a different word here for belly than in verse one. 00:16:17.339 --> 00:16:19.219 And this one actually does mean belly. 00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:23.679 So what he's saying is he's picturing Sheol is the land of the dead. 00:16:24.139 --> 00:16:29.860 And now the other image he's giving is that the land of the dead has consumed me. 00:16:31.379 --> 00:16:34.659 I've been eaten by the land of the dead. 00:16:34.659 --> 00:16:36.459 That's where I find myself. 00:16:38.039 --> 00:16:38.819 Verse three, 00:16:39.019 --> 00:16:42.139 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, 00:16:42.339 --> 00:16:44.480 and the flood surrounded me. 00:16:44.620 --> 00:16:47.319 All your waves and your billows passed over me. 00:16:47.860 --> 00:16:50.480 Then I said, I am driven away from your sight. 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:53.600 Yet I shall again look upon your holy temple. 00:16:54.179 --> 00:16:55.079 And just sort of pause. 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:57.399 There's a debate amongst scholars. 00:16:57.839 --> 00:17:00.600 And some of you, if you look at different translations of the Bible, 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:06.160 that last little bit, your Bibles will translate them a little bit differently. 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:12.120 And for some, this little bit, yet I shall again look upon your holy temple, 00:17:12.120 --> 00:17:15.839 is the first little glimmer of light in hopelessness. 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:18.220 That's how some people translate it. 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:22.660 But it can also be translated that I will never again see your temple. 00:17:22.660 --> 00:17:27.440 That his sense of doom is ongoing. 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:30.300 He's getting deeper into the sense of doom. 00:17:31.300 --> 00:17:35.340 And when Jonah is referring to the temple of the Lord, 00:17:36.380 --> 00:17:39.480 in the Jewish, in the Tanakh, the Old Testament, 00:17:40.040 --> 00:17:42.160 often when people talk about the holy temple, 00:17:42.860 --> 00:17:46.180 they're using a very, very powerful and rich image 00:17:46.180 --> 00:17:48.360 to communicate two different ideas. 00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:52.319 And it's hard for us to have a single, 00:17:52.719 --> 00:17:56.119 sort of just to try to grasp this double, 00:17:56.279 --> 00:18:00.919 that's the way their mind worked at two levels at the exact same time. 00:18:01.459 --> 00:18:04.039 And on one hand, when they talk about the holy temple, 00:18:04.199 --> 00:18:06.139 they're meaning, of course, the temple in Jerusalem. 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:10.459 And they're meaning that the Lord is present amidst among his people. 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:14.779 He's not a God far away, but he dwells among his people. 00:18:14.939 --> 00:18:17.479 He is, in a sense, Emmanuel, God with us. 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:20.360 But at the same time, when they were using this imagery, 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:21.940 they're also referring to heaven. 00:18:22.539 --> 00:18:26.180 They're referring to the transcendence and majesty of God. 00:18:26.779 --> 00:18:29.180 And so when he is saying that I'm cast away, 00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:31.819 or I don't know if I'll ever be again in your presence, 00:18:31.900 --> 00:18:35.140 he's acknowledging that the Lord is transcendent. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:38.799 He's high over all of human affairs. 00:18:39.339 --> 00:18:42.099 He is in the place of holiness and beauty and splendor. 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:44.200 But at the same time, he's not just a God 00:18:44.200 --> 00:18:47.079 who's high over all human affairs. 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:50.779 He's the same time he is the Lord who is among us, 00:18:50.899 --> 00:18:53.639 who is among his people, at the center of his people, 00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:54.939 caring for his people. 00:18:55.480 --> 00:18:59.919 And so Jonah is giving this imagery of he's sinking in water. 00:19:00.379 --> 00:19:01.099 Read it again. 00:19:01.460 --> 00:19:04.460 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:06.119 and the flood surrounded me. 00:19:06.199 --> 00:19:08.519 All your waves and your billows passed over me. 00:19:08.859 --> 00:19:12.019 Then I said, verse 4, I am driven away from your sight. 00:19:13.619 --> 00:19:14.299 Now we don't know. 00:19:14.299 --> 00:19:16.579 Is this the first little tiny pinprick of light? 00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:19.740 Yet I shall again look upon your holy temple, 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:20.859 or should it be translated, 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:22.539 but I'll never see your holy temple. 00:19:23.180 --> 00:19:24.720 But he continues on in his prayer. 00:19:25.139 --> 00:19:27.119 The waters closed in, verse 5, 00:19:27.539 --> 00:19:29.839 to take over me, to take my life. 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:31.200 The deep surrounded me. 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:33.779 Weeds were wrapped around about my head. 00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:35.180 At the roots of the mountains, 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:36.819 I went down to the land. 00:19:36.819 --> 00:19:39.119 And this is now referring to the land of the dead. 00:19:39.220 --> 00:19:43.720 I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. 00:19:44.659 --> 00:19:47.299 Yet you brought up my life from the pit, 00:19:47.399 --> 00:19:48.480 O Lord my God. 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:50.539 And the image, I don't like, 00:19:50.779 --> 00:19:54.139 okay, I'm a first world wimp. 00:19:54.779 --> 00:19:56.619 I hate swimming in weeds. 00:19:58.279 --> 00:19:59.240 Like I know I'm a, 00:19:59.419 --> 00:20:01.559 I just, I imagine terrible things 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:03.579 if I go swimming in a lake or a stream, 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:05.319 and there's all these weeds. 00:20:06.579 --> 00:20:08.500 I was visiting my son, Tosh. 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:10.500 They'd rented a cottage last summer. 00:20:10.619 --> 00:20:12.240 And to get to where it was good to swim, 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:13.759 you had to swim through weeds. 00:20:14.519 --> 00:20:15.000 And so, 00:20:15.819 --> 00:20:16.500 I just 00:20:16.500 --> 00:20:19.039 gird up my loins 00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:20.119 and manned it out 00:20:20.119 --> 00:20:21.899 and swam through those weeds. 00:20:22.099 --> 00:20:23.240 But I hated it. 00:20:23.559 --> 00:20:23.940 And so, 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:25.119 I think it's a common thing. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:25.480 And here, 00:20:25.579 --> 00:20:26.299 the image is, 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:28.339 not just that he's swimming through weeds, 00:20:28.339 --> 00:20:30.579 the weeds have wrapped itself around his head 00:20:30.579 --> 00:20:32.480 because he's completely and utterly hopeless. 00:20:32.659 --> 00:20:33.759 Those of you who don't like weeds, 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:35.240 that's a terrible image. 00:20:35.939 --> 00:20:37.559 And then the image of the land of the dead, 00:20:37.659 --> 00:20:38.179 it's as if 00:20:38.179 --> 00:20:39.579 you've been sent to jail. 00:20:39.639 --> 00:20:39.759 You know, 00:20:39.779 --> 00:20:40.779 when you see all those movies, 00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:41.819 or maybe for some of you, 00:20:41.879 --> 00:20:42.659 it's your experience, 00:20:42.779 --> 00:20:43.980 and they put you in jail, 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:45.579 and then the door clangs shut. 00:20:45.939 --> 00:20:47.179 That's the image which is there. 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:48.720 I've gone down to the land of the dead. 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:49.679 Not only has the, 00:20:49.959 --> 00:20:52.139 am I in the belly of the land of the dead, 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:54.679 but when I went down to the very, very depths, 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:56.399 when I went down to the land of the dead, 00:20:56.399 --> 00:20:56.919 the door, 00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:59.039 the prison door clanged shut. 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:00.300 That's my experience. 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:01.340 Listen to it again. 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:02.759 Verse 5 and 6. 00:21:03.100 --> 00:21:05.440 The waters closed in over me to take my life. 00:21:05.560 --> 00:21:06.720 The deep surrounded me. 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:08.460 Weeds were wrapped about my head. 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:09.740 At the roots of the mountains, 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:11.440 I went down to the land 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:15.259 whose bars clanged shut upon me forever. 00:21:16.500 --> 00:21:17.880 Yet you brought me up. 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:20.820 You brought up my life from the abyss, 00:21:21.600 --> 00:21:22.640 O Lord my God. 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:23.640 Verse 7. 00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:26.120 When my life was fainting away, 00:21:26.420 --> 00:21:27.100 ebbing away, 00:21:27.780 --> 00:21:29.040 I remembered the Lord, 00:21:29.940 --> 00:21:33.060 and my prayer came to you 00:21:33.060 --> 00:21:34.900 in your holy temple. 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:37.040 I'll just sort of pause there. 00:21:37.800 --> 00:21:39.360 He remembers the Lord. 00:21:39.640 --> 00:21:43.580 His life is completely and utterly hopeless. 00:21:43.880 --> 00:21:45.220 He is praying, 00:21:46.259 --> 00:21:46.740 thinking, 00:21:47.100 --> 00:21:49.860 in the entrails of the beast. 00:21:49.859 --> 00:21:53.599 And in the entrails of the beast, 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:55.079 he remembers the Lord, 00:21:55.139 --> 00:21:56.259 and he calls out to him. 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:00.859 And while he says this in verse 8, 00:22:01.059 --> 00:22:03.419 those who pay regard to vain idols 00:22:03.419 --> 00:22:05.879 forsake their hope of steadfast love. 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:08.019 Now just sort of pause there. 00:22:09.500 --> 00:22:11.799 This is a profoundly offensive statement 00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:12.500 to Canadians. 00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:17.119 Those who pay regard to vain idols 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:19.480 forsake their hope of steadfast love. 00:22:20.420 --> 00:22:22.519 What Jonah is acknowledging, 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:26.359 the two words vain and idols, 00:22:26.900 --> 00:22:28.559 in the original language, 00:22:28.839 --> 00:22:30.680 the first word is the word, 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:32.900 if you read through the book of Ecclesiastes, 00:22:33.140 --> 00:22:33.279 you know, 00:22:33.339 --> 00:22:34.279 vanity of vanities 00:22:34.279 --> 00:22:35.559 or futility of futility, 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:36.660 that's the same word. 00:22:37.240 --> 00:22:38.680 And what it means is vapor, 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:40.380 something which is completely 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:41.519 and utterly impermanent. 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:43.240 Do you want to get an image of it? 00:22:43.299 --> 00:22:43.559 In fact, 00:22:43.779 --> 00:22:45.379 they couldn't use this 00:22:45.379 --> 00:22:46.379 in the Old Testament 00:22:46.379 --> 00:22:48.039 because they lived in a warm climate. 00:22:48.180 --> 00:22:49.480 But we know this perfectly. 00:22:50.019 --> 00:22:50.799 It's January, 00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:52.279 and when you breathe out 00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:53.420 and see your breath, 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:55.160 you see your breath. 00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:57.299 How long does that last? 00:22:58.900 --> 00:22:59.700 Not at all. 00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:01.180 That's the image. 00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:03.960 All the way through Ecclesiastes, 00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:06.519 when it's talking about life being vain, 00:23:06.660 --> 00:23:08.000 that's saying life is like 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:09.119 when you're on a cold day 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:10.059 and you breathe out 00:23:10.059 --> 00:23:12.440 and you can see your breath 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:13.259 for just a moment 00:23:13.259 --> 00:23:14.059 and then it goes away. 00:23:14.159 --> 00:23:14.899 That's your life. 00:23:15.740 --> 00:23:17.679 And what Jonah is saying, 00:23:17.879 --> 00:23:19.259 you see any God, 00:23:19.899 --> 00:23:20.720 you see anything 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:22.220 that you put your trust in, 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:24.659 those of us who put our trust 00:23:24.659 --> 00:23:25.700 and get our identity, 00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:26.879 maybe from the fact 00:23:26.879 --> 00:23:27.500 that we are, 00:23:27.919 --> 00:23:28.500 you know, 00:23:28.539 --> 00:23:29.440 in the alt-right, 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:30.799 they put their trust 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:31.319 and identity 00:23:31.319 --> 00:23:32.639 in the fact that they're white, 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:35.040 that is a vain idol. 00:23:35.900 --> 00:23:37.980 And it's this vaporous, 00:23:38.100 --> 00:23:39.180 and the word for idol 00:23:39.180 --> 00:23:41.480 is the word for worthless nothingness. 00:23:41.900 --> 00:23:43.200 So he's put together 00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:45.460 that anybody who puts their trust 00:23:45.460 --> 00:23:47.460 in something other than the Lord, 00:23:47.600 --> 00:23:49.180 what they're putting their trust in 00:23:49.180 --> 00:23:52.120 is like a breath on a cold day 00:23:52.120 --> 00:23:56.580 which describes a type of worthless nothingness. 00:23:56.800 --> 00:23:58.160 And if you are in the alt-right 00:23:58.160 --> 00:23:59.259 and you put your faith 00:23:59.259 --> 00:24:00.440 and your hope in being white, 00:24:00.800 --> 00:24:02.740 that is an idol. 00:24:02.980 --> 00:24:04.120 It is vapor. 00:24:04.380 --> 00:24:05.080 It is nothing. 00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:06.740 If you put your faith 00:24:06.740 --> 00:24:08.160 and trust in your sexuality, 00:24:08.540 --> 00:24:09.660 in your ethnic identity, 00:24:09.860 --> 00:24:10.740 if you put your faith 00:24:10.740 --> 00:24:12.420 and trust in your job, 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:14.120 if you put all of your faith 00:24:14.120 --> 00:24:14.700 and your trust 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:15.500 in your identity 00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:17.100 and how good-looking you are, 00:24:17.320 --> 00:24:18.660 or your athletic ability, 00:24:18.840 --> 00:24:19.620 or your IQ, 00:24:20.019 --> 00:24:21.560 or your academic attainments, 00:24:21.800 --> 00:24:23.220 or the place that you live, 00:24:23.220 --> 00:24:24.740 or the money that you make, 00:24:25.040 --> 00:24:26.200 that is a vain idol. 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:30.480 And it also extends to other religions. 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:31.740 That's what Jonah is saying, 00:24:31.820 --> 00:24:35.240 which is profoundly offensive to Canadians, 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:37.380 including Canadian Christians, 00:24:37.620 --> 00:24:39.600 because we, like everybody else, 00:24:40.100 --> 00:24:43.060 are very prone to make idols. 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:48.759 To stop remembering the Lord 00:24:48.759 --> 00:24:51.340 who is to give us a secure identity, 00:24:51.340 --> 00:24:52.960 which we'll talk about more in a moment, 00:24:53.560 --> 00:24:55.100 and we start to get our... 00:24:55.099 --> 00:24:56.639 We serve, we believe, 00:24:56.939 --> 00:24:57.959 we trust in, 00:24:58.119 --> 00:24:59.139 we get our identity 00:24:59.139 --> 00:25:00.879 from these things, 00:25:00.939 --> 00:25:01.679 which are nothing. 00:25:02.679 --> 00:25:03.579 Which are nothing. 00:25:06.639 --> 00:25:08.500 And what he's saying here, 00:25:08.519 --> 00:25:09.559 it's very, very powerful. 00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:10.759 Those, once again, verse 8, 00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:12.319 those who pay regard to vain idols 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:14.359 forsake their hope of steadfast love. 00:25:14.679 --> 00:25:15.179 In other words, 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:15.839 what it's just saying, 00:25:15.959 --> 00:25:17.359 it's just making common sense. 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:21.219 Like, if I turn my back, 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:26.179 the word here for steadfast love, 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:28.079 it's one of the most important words 00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:28.859 in the Old Testament. 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:29.559 It's hesed, 00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:31.240 which I didn't pronounce 00:25:31.240 --> 00:25:32.099 because in Hebrew, 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:33.639 you'd have to go hesed, 00:25:33.699 --> 00:25:34.579 or something like that. 00:25:34.619 --> 00:25:36.259 Like you're going to spit. 00:25:37.459 --> 00:25:37.939 Hesed. 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:40.320 And it's this image 00:25:40.320 --> 00:25:41.380 that the Lord 00:25:41.380 --> 00:25:43.080 is a God 00:25:43.080 --> 00:25:45.820 who's unfailingly loving, 00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:48.820 unfailingly kind, 00:25:49.660 --> 00:25:51.640 unfailingly affectionate, 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:53.460 unfailingly merciful, 00:25:53.720 --> 00:25:55.259 unfailingly good. 00:25:55.860 --> 00:25:58.759 And he invites you and me 00:25:58.759 --> 00:26:01.279 to accept him as our Lord 00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:02.320 and as our God, 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:04.380 and nothing can stop him 00:26:04.380 --> 00:26:06.300 from that loving kindness 00:26:06.300 --> 00:26:08.380 and mercy and goodness. 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:11.680 And Jonah is just speaking common sense. 00:26:13.820 --> 00:26:15.660 If I turn my, 00:26:15.840 --> 00:26:19.940 if I pursue what is worthless and empty, 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:21.620 and I pursue it, 00:26:21.660 --> 00:26:22.400 I seek it, 00:26:22.460 --> 00:26:23.900 then I'm turning my back. 00:26:23.900 --> 00:26:28.160 I'm forsaking the reality 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:30.320 that there is in fact a God 00:26:30.320 --> 00:26:31.260 who does exist, 00:26:31.880 --> 00:26:33.260 who's described as being 00:26:33.259 --> 00:26:34.819 unfailingly kind, 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:36.119 unfailingly loving, 00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:37.500 unfailingly good, 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:38.980 unfailingly merciful, 00:26:39.220 --> 00:26:40.740 who cries out 00:26:40.740 --> 00:26:42.619 because he longs to be 00:26:42.619 --> 00:26:44.359 once again your God. 00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:46.460 And we turn our back on that. 00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:47.819 And if we turn our back on that, 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:49.720 we are walking towards nothingness. 00:26:49.819 --> 00:26:51.700 We are walking towards 00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:53.019 putting our hope 00:26:53.019 --> 00:26:54.740 in what comes out of our mouth 00:26:54.740 --> 00:26:56.680 on a cold January day 00:26:56.680 --> 00:26:58.839 which lasts hardly a second. 00:26:58.839 --> 00:27:04.480 This is Jonah's meditation 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:06.839 in the entrails of the beast. 00:27:07.639 --> 00:27:09.220 How he wants to communicate 00:27:09.220 --> 00:27:11.279 what went on in his life 00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:12.779 and in his thoughts 00:27:12.779 --> 00:27:14.299 and bear witness to us 00:27:14.299 --> 00:27:15.319 in the form of a prayer. 00:27:17.299 --> 00:27:18.599 But it goes on, 00:27:18.699 --> 00:27:19.179 verse 9, 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:19.740 but I will, 00:27:19.899 --> 00:27:21.319 I with the voice of thanksgiving 00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:22.579 will sacrifice to you 00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:24.220 what I have vowed I will pay. 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:27.740 Salvation belongs to the Lord. 00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:33.359 It's his statement of faith 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:35.740 that he's called out to the Lord 00:27:35.740 --> 00:27:37.920 even in the entrails of the beast, 00:27:38.839 --> 00:27:41.200 even with the bars 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:42.700 of the land of the dead 00:27:42.700 --> 00:27:44.660 having clanged shut behind him. 00:27:45.019 --> 00:27:47.079 Salvation belongs to the Lord. 00:27:48.299 --> 00:27:49.039 For all of you, 00:27:49.120 --> 00:27:49.700 health and wealth, 00:27:49.819 --> 00:27:51.180 I know there's probably nobody here. 00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:52.519 If you're into health and wealth gospel, 00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:53.740 you wouldn't come to this church. 00:27:55.240 --> 00:27:57.039 But there's a problematic text 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:58.740 because what happens? 00:27:59.299 --> 00:28:01.220 Well, does Jonah become a superhero? 00:28:01.619 --> 00:28:02.159 Does this happen? 00:28:02.220 --> 00:28:02.440 No. 00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:04.279 Verse 10, so funny. 00:28:04.899 --> 00:28:06.119 And the Lord spoke to the fish 00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:07.879 and had vomited Jonah 00:28:07.879 --> 00:28:10.480 out upon the dry land. 00:28:12.379 --> 00:28:13.220 Jonah's humbled. 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:16.079 I just guarantee, 00:28:16.259 --> 00:28:16.960 if you're spit out of, 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:18.119 if you're vomited out of a fish, 00:28:18.180 --> 00:28:19.960 that would be a very humbling experience. 00:28:20.460 --> 00:28:21.379 It's not something 00:28:21.379 --> 00:28:22.799 that you want to put on your resume 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:24.899 and you probably would want 00:28:24.899 --> 00:28:26.000 to get a bath as quickly 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:26.759 as you could 00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:29.099 to smell way better. 00:28:29.480 --> 00:28:30.639 So what does all this mean 00:28:30.639 --> 00:28:33.119 in terms of trying to bring it home for us? 00:28:33.460 --> 00:28:34.700 Andrew, if you could put up 00:28:34.700 --> 00:28:35.500 the first point. 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:37.460 You know, 00:28:37.539 --> 00:28:40.279 Amy has done a spectacular graphic for us. 00:28:40.319 --> 00:28:41.119 I really love it. 00:28:41.180 --> 00:28:41.819 And you'll notice 00:28:41.819 --> 00:28:42.759 that the name of this, 00:28:43.139 --> 00:28:44.200 one of the ways to understand 00:28:44.200 --> 00:28:46.000 what happens in all four stories 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:47.079 is, 00:28:47.579 --> 00:28:48.419 because I said 00:28:48.420 --> 00:28:49.779 the sermon series 00:28:49.779 --> 00:28:50.220 is called 00:28:50.220 --> 00:28:50.880 No Other, 00:28:51.460 --> 00:28:52.460 the story of Jonah. 00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:53.580 And it's working 00:28:53.580 --> 00:28:54.740 in two levels. 00:28:54.940 --> 00:28:56.220 And all of the different stories 00:28:56.220 --> 00:28:57.300 in some way or another 00:28:57.300 --> 00:28:58.779 develop this common idea. 00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:00.380 It develops lots of other stuff as well. 00:29:01.259 --> 00:29:02.640 And so one of the ways to put it 00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:04.400 is because the Lord is God, 00:29:04.779 --> 00:29:07.320 there is no other God. 00:29:07.840 --> 00:29:08.300 Hence, 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:10.180 there is no other 00:29:10.180 --> 00:29:11.880 when it comes to people. 00:29:13.060 --> 00:29:13.840 We Christians 00:29:13.840 --> 00:29:16.560 have had a terrible history of this 00:29:16.560 --> 00:29:17.620 and it's still something 00:29:17.619 --> 00:29:19.019 which is a problem for us. 00:29:19.379 --> 00:29:20.579 We share the normal, 00:29:20.859 --> 00:29:21.379 human, 00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:23.199 fallen fear of the other, 00:29:23.619 --> 00:29:24.459 the stranger. 00:29:25.219 --> 00:29:25.859 Those of us 00:29:25.859 --> 00:29:26.719 who are more on the left 00:29:26.719 --> 00:29:27.439 of the spectrum, 00:29:28.139 --> 00:29:29.539 people who would vote for Trump 00:29:29.539 --> 00:29:31.079 are the other. 00:29:31.559 --> 00:29:32.939 Those of us who like Trump, 00:29:33.439 --> 00:29:34.919 those at the other extreme, 00:29:35.019 --> 00:29:35.659 those maybe who, 00:29:35.779 --> 00:29:36.119 I don't know, 00:29:36.239 --> 00:29:37.319 the postal union, 00:29:37.459 --> 00:29:38.500 they are the other. 00:29:38.619 --> 00:29:41.359 It can do across bridges of race, 00:29:41.579 --> 00:29:43.279 across sexuality, 00:29:43.639 --> 00:29:46.859 across ethnicity 00:29:46.859 --> 00:29:47.859 and nationality, 00:29:47.939 --> 00:29:49.119 this common human problem 00:29:49.119 --> 00:29:51.099 that we're afraid of the other. 00:29:51.699 --> 00:29:52.439 But actually, 00:29:53.539 --> 00:29:54.839 once it actually, 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:55.859 and part of what Jonah 00:29:55.859 --> 00:29:56.659 is all about 00:29:56.659 --> 00:29:58.139 is not only Jonah's 00:29:58.139 --> 00:29:59.119 constant testimony 00:29:59.119 --> 00:30:01.779 that the Lord is God, 00:30:02.199 --> 00:30:03.179 that means there is 00:30:03.179 --> 00:30:04.039 no other God. 00:30:04.459 --> 00:30:05.599 But what the consequence 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:07.019 of that should be 00:30:07.019 --> 00:30:08.219 as it grips us 00:30:08.219 --> 00:30:09.039 within the context 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:09.679 of salvation, 00:30:10.039 --> 00:30:10.819 it should mean that 00:30:10.819 --> 00:30:11.359 ultimately, 00:30:11.679 --> 00:30:13.319 when I meet another human being, 00:30:13.659 --> 00:30:14.579 he is not other. 00:30:14.579 --> 00:30:15.559 See, 00:30:15.659 --> 00:30:16.839 the fact of the matter is, 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:19.919 and actually, 00:30:20.039 --> 00:30:20.839 we can see this 00:30:20.839 --> 00:30:22.119 as the belief in one God 00:30:22.119 --> 00:30:23.379 has waned in our culture. 00:30:23.879 --> 00:30:24.539 What's happening 00:30:24.539 --> 00:30:25.359 in our culture 00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:27.939 is not greater unity, 00:30:28.460 --> 00:30:31.019 but more and more tribes 00:30:31.019 --> 00:30:34.359 listening to their echo chambers 00:30:34.359 --> 00:30:36.179 and only leaving 00:30:36.179 --> 00:30:37.419 their echo chambers 00:30:37.419 --> 00:30:38.279 to yell 00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:40.919 at people in different tribes 00:30:40.920 --> 00:30:42.960 and to shake our fists 00:30:42.960 --> 00:30:44.460 and give them fingers. 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:46.680 But you know what? 00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:48.039 If, in fact, 00:30:48.120 --> 00:30:49.740 there is only one God 00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:50.920 who truly exists, 00:30:51.019 --> 00:30:52.120 if I meet somebody 00:30:52.120 --> 00:30:53.000 in North Korea, 00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:54.240 he was made 00:30:54.240 --> 00:30:55.220 by the only God 00:30:55.220 --> 00:30:55.820 who does exist 00:30:55.820 --> 00:30:56.480 just like me. 00:30:56.519 --> 00:30:57.259 If I meet somebody 00:30:57.259 --> 00:30:58.200 in Saudi Arabia, 00:30:58.560 --> 00:30:59.440 I meet somebody 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:00.140 who is made 00:31:00.140 --> 00:31:01.140 by the one God 00:31:01.140 --> 00:31:01.920 who exists, 00:31:02.019 --> 00:31:03.080 who made that person 00:31:03.080 --> 00:31:03.700 and made me. 00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:04.640 If I meet somebody 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:05.320 in China, 00:31:05.420 --> 00:31:06.140 if I meet somebody 00:31:06.140 --> 00:31:06.900 in Nigeria 00:31:06.900 --> 00:31:07.980 or Kenya 00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:09.079 or Rwanda, 00:31:09.240 --> 00:31:10.819 if I meet somebody 00:31:10.819 --> 00:31:12.900 who goes to the gay pride parade 00:31:12.900 --> 00:31:14.319 or goes to an alt-right thing, 00:31:14.360 --> 00:31:15.299 in every case, 00:31:15.400 --> 00:31:16.819 I am meeting a human being 00:31:16.819 --> 00:31:17.620 who's been made 00:31:17.620 --> 00:31:18.880 by the only God 00:31:18.880 --> 00:31:19.900 that does exist. 00:31:24.120 --> 00:31:25.700 And as this belief 00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:26.640 grips us, 00:31:26.839 --> 00:31:28.140 it means that we start 00:31:28.140 --> 00:31:28.700 to learn 00:31:28.700 --> 00:31:30.120 that there is no other 00:31:30.120 --> 00:31:31.160 when it comes 00:31:31.160 --> 00:31:31.980 to human beings. 00:31:32.220 --> 00:31:33.200 It's one of the big messages 00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:33.740 of Jonah. 00:31:34.380 --> 00:31:35.559 But get to this story 00:31:35.559 --> 00:31:36.339 in particular. 00:31:36.339 --> 00:31:38.559 If you could put up 00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:40.000 the second point, 00:31:41.159 --> 00:31:41.779 there's sort of 00:31:41.779 --> 00:31:42.679 two big things 00:31:42.679 --> 00:31:43.439 that are going on 00:31:43.439 --> 00:31:44.899 here in this story. 00:31:46.519 --> 00:31:48.099 Death swallowed Jonah 00:31:48.099 --> 00:31:50.179 and the Lord had death 00:31:50.179 --> 00:31:53.419 spit Jonah out alive. 00:31:54.779 --> 00:31:56.159 Death, in a sense, 00:31:56.480 --> 00:31:57.139 that's what it says, 00:31:57.220 --> 00:31:58.159 the land of the dead. 00:31:59.119 --> 00:32:00.959 The beast swallowed Jonah 00:32:00.959 --> 00:32:02.339 and the Lord had death 00:32:02.339 --> 00:32:03.899 spit Jonah out alive. 00:32:03.900 --> 00:32:05.220 You know, 00:32:07.380 --> 00:32:07.900 I mean, 00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:08.800 I've talked about this 00:32:08.800 --> 00:32:09.700 a lot because it's just 00:32:09.700 --> 00:32:11.340 very, very, very deeply true 00:32:11.340 --> 00:32:12.540 is that it's 00:32:12.540 --> 00:32:14.019 no matter how 00:32:14.019 --> 00:32:15.180 virtually anybody 00:32:15.180 --> 00:32:16.100 I talk to, 00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:18.340 they all have a sense 00:32:18.340 --> 00:32:19.240 that there has to be 00:32:19.240 --> 00:32:20.600 some way that human life 00:32:20.600 --> 00:32:21.200 continues, 00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:22.840 that death can't be final. 00:32:23.840 --> 00:32:24.820 But at the end of the day, 00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:25.440 other than the fact 00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:26.080 that there's a hope 00:32:26.080 --> 00:32:26.980 or a longing for that, 00:32:27.040 --> 00:32:27.780 there's no basis 00:32:27.780 --> 00:32:28.620 to believe that. 00:32:28.619 --> 00:32:32.519 And it's, 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:34.559 and we human beings 00:32:34.559 --> 00:32:36.239 are so hardwired 00:32:36.239 --> 00:32:38.259 for a sense 00:32:38.259 --> 00:32:39.159 that there's something 00:32:39.159 --> 00:32:40.319 beyond death 00:32:40.319 --> 00:32:41.859 that even though 00:32:41.859 --> 00:32:43.699 the way we understand 00:32:43.699 --> 00:32:45.179 how all life came to be 00:32:45.179 --> 00:32:47.339 or how we understand ethics 00:32:47.339 --> 00:32:48.519 or how we understand 00:32:48.519 --> 00:32:49.139 spirituality 00:32:49.139 --> 00:32:51.099 or how all of those 00:32:51.099 --> 00:32:51.919 types of things, 00:32:52.079 --> 00:32:52.339 you know, 00:32:52.399 --> 00:32:53.239 end up just leading, 00:32:53.439 --> 00:32:54.759 they don't actually solve 00:32:54.759 --> 00:32:55.419 the problem either 00:32:55.419 --> 00:32:56.179 and they end up 00:32:56.179 --> 00:32:57.139 deepening the problem. 00:32:57.140 --> 00:32:58.440 But it doesn't matter, 00:32:58.759 --> 00:32:59.040 you know, 00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:00.220 we still just have 00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:01.180 this sense. 00:33:01.300 --> 00:33:01.840 And here we have 00:33:01.840 --> 00:33:02.259 this very, 00:33:02.380 --> 00:33:03.820 very powerful story, 00:33:04.420 --> 00:33:07.020 which I believe is true, 00:33:07.160 --> 00:33:08.600 that speaks very deeply 00:33:08.600 --> 00:33:09.140 to the fact 00:33:09.140 --> 00:33:10.180 that on one hand 00:33:10.180 --> 00:33:11.440 we know that death 00:33:11.440 --> 00:33:11.960 is final, 00:33:12.040 --> 00:33:12.820 but on the other hand 00:33:12.820 --> 00:33:13.540 we really feel 00:33:13.540 --> 00:33:14.440 that death should never 00:33:14.440 --> 00:33:14.960 be final, 00:33:15.100 --> 00:33:16.080 cannot be final, 00:33:16.280 --> 00:33:17.620 there must be something else 00:33:17.620 --> 00:33:19.259 and we have this powerful story 00:33:19.259 --> 00:33:21.560 of death swallowing a man 00:33:21.560 --> 00:33:22.780 and the Lord, 00:33:23.820 --> 00:33:25.259 who is the God of life, 00:33:25.900 --> 00:33:27.040 the Lord of the living, 00:33:27.140 --> 00:33:28.860 causes the fish 00:33:28.860 --> 00:33:30.300 to spit Jonah out. 00:33:31.400 --> 00:33:32.140 But for us, 00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:33.100 this points us 00:33:33.100 --> 00:33:34.740 to a far greater story. 00:33:35.060 --> 00:33:35.600 If you could put up 00:33:35.600 --> 00:33:36.400 the next slide. 00:33:37.320 --> 00:33:38.380 Death swallowed Jonah 00:33:38.380 --> 00:33:38.980 and the Lord 00:33:38.980 --> 00:33:40.240 had death spit Jonah 00:33:40.240 --> 00:33:41.040 out alive. 00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:43.400 Death swallowed Jesus 00:33:43.400 --> 00:33:45.240 and the Lord 00:33:45.240 --> 00:33:48.740 spit death out dead. 00:33:48.740 --> 00:33:48.799 death. 00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:53.039 The story of Jonah 00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:55.519 is preparing us 00:33:55.519 --> 00:33:56.819 for one who is vastly 00:33:56.819 --> 00:33:57.680 greater than Jonah. 00:33:59.700 --> 00:34:00.259 Obviously, 00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:02.440 unless Jesus comes back 00:34:02.440 --> 00:34:03.200 before I die, 00:34:03.259 --> 00:34:03.980 I will die. 00:34:04.799 --> 00:34:06.480 But the entire teaching 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:07.319 of the New Testament 00:34:07.319 --> 00:34:08.280 time and time 00:34:08.280 --> 00:34:09.500 and time and time again 00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:11.019 is to tell us 00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:11.760 that death, 00:34:12.239 --> 00:34:14.099 the death of Jesus 00:34:14.099 --> 00:34:15.619 was the death 00:34:15.619 --> 00:34:17.000 of death. 00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:20.179 It was the beginning 00:34:20.179 --> 00:34:21.299 of the death 00:34:21.299 --> 00:34:22.219 of death. 00:34:22.940 --> 00:34:24.480 When I put my hand, 00:34:24.860 --> 00:34:25.619 when Jesus, 00:34:26.319 --> 00:34:27.579 he calls me 00:34:27.579 --> 00:34:28.539 to be his child 00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:29.299 and his friend 00:34:29.299 --> 00:34:30.519 and he is, 00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:31.000 in a sense, 00:34:31.079 --> 00:34:31.699 on one hand, 00:34:31.739 --> 00:34:32.779 an infinite distance 00:34:32.779 --> 00:34:33.599 away from me, 00:34:33.699 --> 00:34:34.480 I put up my 00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:35.659 very finite, 00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:37.440 limited hand 00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:38.299 towards him, 00:34:38.360 --> 00:34:39.400 but he crosses 00:34:39.400 --> 00:34:40.139 the distance 00:34:40.139 --> 00:34:41.259 of infinity itself 00:34:41.260 --> 00:34:41.860 and when I put 00:34:41.860 --> 00:34:42.720 my faith and trust 00:34:42.720 --> 00:34:43.280 in Jesus, 00:34:44.060 --> 00:34:44.660 when I say, 00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:45.020 Jesus, 00:34:45.140 --> 00:34:46.020 I've heard about you 00:34:46.020 --> 00:34:47.620 and what you said 00:34:47.620 --> 00:34:48.680 and who you are 00:34:48.680 --> 00:34:49.580 and what you accomplished 00:34:49.580 --> 00:34:50.320 for me 00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:51.820 and having heard it, 00:34:51.860 --> 00:34:52.880 I want to put my faith 00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:53.580 and trust in you. 00:34:53.620 --> 00:34:54.220 I want to have you 00:34:54.220 --> 00:34:55.020 as my master. 00:34:55.220 --> 00:34:57.000 I want to be your disciple. 00:34:57.140 --> 00:34:57.560 I want to learn 00:34:57.560 --> 00:34:58.420 how to follow you 00:34:58.420 --> 00:34:59.440 in my day-to-day life. 00:34:59.540 --> 00:35:00.520 I want to trust you 00:35:00.520 --> 00:35:01.840 and when I put my hand out, 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:04.020 my feeble little hand out, 00:35:04.520 --> 00:35:05.380 Jesus reaches 00:35:05.380 --> 00:35:07.240 his resurrected hand 00:35:07.240 --> 00:35:08.220 all the way 00:35:08.220 --> 00:35:09.120 from infinity 00:35:09.120 --> 00:35:10.440 and grabs mine 00:35:10.440 --> 00:35:11.960 and I share 00:35:11.960 --> 00:35:14.559 in his defeat 00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:15.639 of death. 00:35:17.159 --> 00:35:18.320 Jonah had to die. 00:35:19.740 --> 00:35:21.400 He was swallowed by death 00:35:21.400 --> 00:35:22.420 but eventually 00:35:22.420 --> 00:35:23.360 he would be swallowed 00:35:23.360 --> 00:35:23.900 by death 00:35:23.900 --> 00:35:24.559 and not live. 00:35:25.340 --> 00:35:25.980 But Jesus 00:35:25.980 --> 00:35:27.880 was swallowed by death 00:35:27.880 --> 00:35:30.079 and death died. 00:35:31.780 --> 00:35:33.320 That is the Christian hope. 00:35:36.139 --> 00:35:37.420 But the Christian hope 00:35:37.420 --> 00:35:38.139 is even more 00:35:38.139 --> 00:35:39.340 than just a deliverance 00:35:39.340 --> 00:35:40.500 from death. 00:35:42.420 --> 00:35:43.300 If you could put up 00:35:43.300 --> 00:35:45.079 the next point, 00:35:45.519 --> 00:35:45.800 Andrew, 00:35:46.120 --> 00:35:47.000 in religion 00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:48.180 and spirituality, 00:35:49.519 --> 00:35:50.380 if you're religious, 00:35:50.600 --> 00:35:51.600 if you're spiritual, 00:35:52.160 --> 00:35:53.220 here's how it works. 00:35:53.380 --> 00:35:54.460 You make vows 00:35:54.460 --> 00:35:56.440 and you do sacrifices 00:35:56.440 --> 00:35:58.000 and if you make vows 00:35:58.000 --> 00:35:59.140 and do the right vows, 00:35:59.320 --> 00:36:00.280 you're very good 00:36:00.280 --> 00:36:01.220 at doing vows. 00:36:01.400 --> 00:36:01.579 You know, 00:36:01.640 --> 00:36:01.880 Lord, 00:36:01.960 --> 00:36:02.800 I'm not going to have 00:36:02.800 --> 00:36:04.380 bad thoughts anymore. 00:36:04.640 --> 00:36:05.840 I'm only going to be good 00:36:05.840 --> 00:36:06.579 to my wife 00:36:06.579 --> 00:36:07.420 from now on. 00:36:07.420 --> 00:36:08.860 I'm going to be a better employee 00:36:08.860 --> 00:36:11.920 and I'm not going to go 00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:13.720 eating double Big Macs 00:36:13.720 --> 00:36:14.920 at McDonald's anymore 00:36:14.920 --> 00:36:16.340 for the rest of my life 00:36:16.340 --> 00:36:18.019 because it's bad for me 00:36:18.019 --> 00:36:19.380 and if we're really good 00:36:19.380 --> 00:36:20.579 at making those vows 00:36:20.579 --> 00:36:21.340 and we're good at making 00:36:21.340 --> 00:36:22.940 the right type of sacrifices, 00:36:23.139 --> 00:36:24.079 didn't I say I gave up 00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:25.159 double Big Macs, 00:36:25.500 --> 00:36:25.760 Lord, 00:36:26.159 --> 00:36:26.920 and maybe doing 00:36:26.920 --> 00:36:27.639 the right rituals? 00:36:27.639 --> 00:36:28.559 If we do all of that, 00:36:28.659 --> 00:36:29.680 something like salvation 00:36:29.680 --> 00:36:31.380 will eventually happen to us. 00:36:32.079 --> 00:36:33.519 That's how all religion works. 00:36:33.619 --> 00:36:34.840 It's how all people 00:36:34.840 --> 00:36:35.660 who are spiritual, 00:36:36.280 --> 00:36:37.579 it's just different. 00:36:38.720 --> 00:36:38.920 You know, 00:36:39.620 --> 00:36:40.820 you recycle 00:36:40.820 --> 00:36:42.400 and you do yoga, 00:36:42.620 --> 00:36:42.880 you know, 00:36:42.940 --> 00:36:44.180 rather than giving up 00:36:44.180 --> 00:36:45.260 the double Big Macs 00:36:45.260 --> 00:36:45.579 or whatever. 00:36:45.680 --> 00:36:46.300 I don't know what it is, 00:36:46.340 --> 00:36:47.400 but it's the same type 00:36:47.400 --> 00:36:48.059 of process. 00:36:48.900 --> 00:36:50.280 But the gospel works 00:36:50.280 --> 00:36:51.700 in a completely different way. 00:36:52.460 --> 00:36:53.340 With the gospel, 00:36:54.100 --> 00:36:55.340 salvation leads 00:36:55.340 --> 00:36:56.180 to vows 00:36:56.180 --> 00:36:57.400 and sacrifices. 00:36:58.240 --> 00:36:59.340 With the gospel, 00:37:00.559 --> 00:37:01.920 salvation leads 00:37:01.920 --> 00:37:02.680 to vows 00:37:02.679 --> 00:37:03.739 and sacrifices. 00:37:04.339 --> 00:37:04.500 Like, 00:37:04.719 --> 00:37:05.500 how does this scene 00:37:05.500 --> 00:37:06.099 in the story, 00:37:06.779 --> 00:37:07.899 look at the story of Jonah. 00:37:08.480 --> 00:37:09.559 What did Jonah do 00:37:09.559 --> 00:37:10.519 to save himself? 00:37:13.219 --> 00:37:13.659 Nothing. 00:37:14.619 --> 00:37:15.759 What could he have done 00:37:15.759 --> 00:37:16.419 to get himself 00:37:16.419 --> 00:37:17.519 out of the entrails 00:37:17.519 --> 00:37:18.980 of a great aquatic beast 00:37:18.980 --> 00:37:19.559 underwater? 00:37:21.460 --> 00:37:21.940 Nothing. 00:37:25.279 --> 00:37:27.059 Absolutely nothing. 00:37:27.639 --> 00:37:28.379 Only the Lord 00:37:28.379 --> 00:37:29.000 could do it. 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:31.019 Was Jonah worthy 00:37:31.019 --> 00:37:32.800 of the Lord 00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:33.659 paying attention 00:37:33.659 --> 00:37:34.219 to him 00:37:34.219 --> 00:37:35.860 and saving him? 00:37:36.500 --> 00:37:37.199 No. 00:37:38.380 --> 00:37:39.940 He was a man 00:37:39.940 --> 00:37:42.300 who doesn't like pagans. 00:37:43.099 --> 00:37:44.219 We would call him 00:37:44.219 --> 00:37:45.380 prejudiced. 00:37:45.739 --> 00:37:47.440 We would call him racist. 00:37:49.099 --> 00:37:51.340 He had God show up 00:37:51.340 --> 00:37:53.119 and his response was, 00:37:53.340 --> 00:37:54.280 I want to run away 00:37:54.280 --> 00:37:54.940 from you. 00:37:55.840 --> 00:37:57.039 Jonah's not worthy. 00:37:57.039 --> 00:37:59.259 He's not good. 00:37:59.920 --> 00:38:00.960 He can't do anything 00:38:00.960 --> 00:38:02.179 to save himself. 00:38:02.800 --> 00:38:04.199 Who does all the saving? 00:38:05.079 --> 00:38:06.000 The Lord. 00:38:07.300 --> 00:38:08.380 And it's only after 00:38:08.380 --> 00:38:09.880 the Lord has saved him 00:38:09.880 --> 00:38:11.159 that he says, 00:38:11.239 --> 00:38:11.719 I'm going to make 00:38:11.719 --> 00:38:12.980 vows and sacrifices. 00:38:16.380 --> 00:38:18.800 And this is preparing us 00:38:18.800 --> 00:38:20.300 to understand, 00:38:20.840 --> 00:38:21.199 you see, 00:38:21.239 --> 00:38:22.079 it's not just that 00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:23.139 the New Testament 00:38:23.139 --> 00:38:24.460 gives you this idea 00:38:24.460 --> 00:38:25.340 that the Old Testament 00:38:25.340 --> 00:38:26.000 never had. 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:27.179 You go back 00:38:27.179 --> 00:38:28.280 and read 00:38:28.280 --> 00:38:29.920 the Exodus. 00:38:30.119 --> 00:38:31.199 You read the Ten Commandments. 00:38:31.340 --> 00:38:34.059 How does the Ten Commandments 00:38:34.059 --> 00:38:34.440 begin? 00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:36.380 The Ten Commandments 00:38:36.380 --> 00:38:37.400 don't begin with, 00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:38.179 listen, 00:38:38.659 --> 00:38:39.139 people, 00:38:39.599 --> 00:38:40.619 if you're really good 00:38:40.619 --> 00:38:41.639 at having no idols, 00:38:41.840 --> 00:38:42.639 if you're really good 00:38:42.639 --> 00:38:43.860 at not committing adultery, 00:38:43.960 --> 00:38:44.679 if you're really good 00:38:44.679 --> 00:38:45.420 at not stealing, 00:38:45.579 --> 00:38:46.239 if you're really good 00:38:46.239 --> 00:38:47.000 at not coveting, 00:38:47.099 --> 00:38:47.980 I will be your God. 00:38:48.079 --> 00:38:48.400 No. 00:38:48.659 --> 00:38:49.500 The Ten Commandments 00:38:49.500 --> 00:38:50.059 begin with, 00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:51.039 I am the Lord 00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:51.679 who delivered you 00:38:51.679 --> 00:38:52.420 out of Egypt. 00:38:52.420 --> 00:38:54.300 therefore, 00:38:55.340 --> 00:38:56.039 keep these. 00:38:56.700 --> 00:38:58.000 Salvation comes first. 00:38:59.059 --> 00:38:59.940 And out of that 00:38:59.940 --> 00:39:01.220 comes anything else 00:39:01.220 --> 00:39:01.800 that we're going to do. 00:39:01.880 --> 00:39:02.099 In fact, 00:39:02.139 --> 00:39:02.740 if you could put up, 00:39:02.800 --> 00:39:03.860 this is a very startling thing, 00:39:03.900 --> 00:39:04.920 if you put up the final point, 00:39:05.019 --> 00:39:05.200 Andrew, 00:39:05.400 --> 00:39:06.500 this is very, 00:39:06.599 --> 00:39:06.840 very, 00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:07.180 very, 00:39:07.260 --> 00:39:07.500 very, 00:39:07.500 --> 00:39:07.840 very, 00:39:07.840 --> 00:39:08.780 very startling. 00:39:09.780 --> 00:39:10.920 Grace leads 00:39:10.920 --> 00:39:11.960 to faith and obedience. 00:39:11.960 --> 00:39:14.539 So your faith and obedience 00:39:14.539 --> 00:39:15.880 flow out of grace. 00:39:18.760 --> 00:39:20.720 It isn't as if I have faith 00:39:20.720 --> 00:39:21.960 and then I receive grace. 00:39:22.039 --> 00:39:24.400 It's this profound mystery 00:39:24.400 --> 00:39:26.400 which Jonah is preparing us 00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:27.500 to understand. 00:39:29.280 --> 00:39:32.400 God shows unmerited, 00:39:32.820 --> 00:39:34.380 powerful grace 00:39:34.380 --> 00:39:36.079 to unworthy, 00:39:36.559 --> 00:39:37.460 dead, 00:39:37.659 --> 00:39:39.179 and dying Jonah. 00:39:39.179 --> 00:39:39.299 Jonah. 00:39:40.819 --> 00:39:42.759 And Jonah finds himself 00:39:42.759 --> 00:39:44.159 still alive, 00:39:44.559 --> 00:39:46.119 even in the entrails 00:39:46.119 --> 00:39:47.599 of the beast. 00:39:48.940 --> 00:39:50.779 And out of the entrails 00:39:50.779 --> 00:39:51.419 of the beast 00:39:51.419 --> 00:39:52.179 that the Lord 00:39:52.179 --> 00:39:53.079 has shown him 00:39:53.079 --> 00:39:54.000 such grace 00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:54.719 and favor, 00:39:54.899 --> 00:39:55.679 out of that 00:39:55.679 --> 00:39:56.859 comes his statement 00:39:56.859 --> 00:39:57.519 of faith 00:39:57.519 --> 00:39:59.960 and his commitment 00:39:59.960 --> 00:40:01.559 to vow vows 00:40:01.559 --> 00:40:02.759 and make sacrifices. 00:40:03.559 --> 00:40:04.579 And the same it is 00:40:04.579 --> 00:40:05.299 with you and me. 00:40:06.519 --> 00:40:08.019 The gift of grace 00:40:08.019 --> 00:40:09.679 is what creates faith. 00:40:10.340 --> 00:40:11.559 The gift of grace 00:40:11.559 --> 00:40:13.159 is what creates 00:40:13.159 --> 00:40:13.619 a desire 00:40:13.619 --> 00:40:14.619 to make sacrifices. 00:40:14.920 --> 00:40:16.000 The gift of grace 00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:17.759 is what 00:40:17.759 --> 00:40:19.280 makes his desire 00:40:19.280 --> 00:40:20.199 to make vows. 00:40:21.440 --> 00:40:21.920 Grace 00:40:21.920 --> 00:40:23.320 comes first. 00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:26.280 And there's no point 00:40:26.280 --> 00:40:26.920 in time 00:40:26.920 --> 00:40:27.880 that grace 00:40:27.880 --> 00:40:28.820 for a Christian 00:40:28.820 --> 00:40:30.219 isn't to be that 00:40:30.219 --> 00:40:30.960 out of which 00:40:30.960 --> 00:40:31.880 a life flows. 00:40:32.880 --> 00:40:33.820 Please stand. 00:40:33.820 --> 00:40:33.880 Thank you. 00:40:33.880 --> 00:40:33.940 Thank you. 00:40:38.019 --> 00:40:45.739 No matter how hopeless 00:40:45.739 --> 00:40:46.619 your life might be 00:40:46.619 --> 00:40:47.340 this morning, 00:40:48.800 --> 00:40:52.239 the story of Jonah 00:40:52.239 --> 00:40:52.940 is there for you 00:40:52.940 --> 00:40:53.480 to call out 00:40:53.480 --> 00:40:54.099 to the Lord. 00:40:55.599 --> 00:40:56.599 And in heaven 00:40:56.599 --> 00:40:57.380 we'll find out 00:40:57.380 --> 00:40:58.059 it is because 00:40:58.059 --> 00:40:58.860 God's grace 00:40:58.860 --> 00:40:59.699 is even coming 00:40:59.699 --> 00:41:00.519 to your heart 00:41:00.519 --> 00:41:01.980 even now 00:41:01.980 --> 00:41:02.940 that you feel 00:41:02.940 --> 00:41:03.579 that tug 00:41:03.579 --> 00:41:04.239 or desire 00:41:04.239 --> 00:41:04.980 to call out 00:41:04.980 --> 00:41:05.300 to him 00:41:05.300 --> 00:41:06.019 and have faith 00:41:06.019 --> 00:41:06.440 in him 00:41:06.440 --> 00:41:08.239 who does not 00:41:08.239 --> 00:41:09.800 weigh your merits 00:41:09.800 --> 00:41:10.619 but pardons 00:41:10.619 --> 00:41:11.280 your offenses, 00:41:11.519 --> 00:41:12.179 does not look 00:41:12.179 --> 00:41:13.059 upon your beauty 00:41:13.059 --> 00:41:13.820 but makes you 00:41:13.820 --> 00:41:14.199 beautiful, 00:41:14.340 --> 00:41:14.960 does not look 00:41:14.960 --> 00:41:16.039 upon your power 00:41:16.039 --> 00:41:16.719 but gives you 00:41:16.719 --> 00:41:17.159 power, 00:41:17.679 --> 00:41:18.300 does not look 00:41:18.300 --> 00:41:19.259 upon your favor 00:41:19.259 --> 00:41:20.039 but gives you 00:41:20.039 --> 00:41:20.380 favor, 00:41:20.480 --> 00:41:21.199 that it all 00:41:21.199 --> 00:41:22.800 comes from him, 00:41:22.920 --> 00:41:24.460 it all comes 00:41:24.460 --> 00:41:25.579 from grace. 00:41:26.860 --> 00:41:27.780 And for many 00:41:27.780 --> 00:41:28.159 of us 00:41:28.159 --> 00:41:28.880 the way forward 00:41:28.880 --> 00:41:29.480 in the Christian 00:41:29.480 --> 00:41:30.360 life is to be 00:41:30.360 --> 00:41:30.860 gripped 00:41:30.860 --> 00:41:32.019 and reminded 00:41:32.019 --> 00:41:32.940 by grace 00:41:32.940 --> 00:41:35.180 rather than 00:41:35.180 --> 00:41:35.640 vows and 00:41:35.640 --> 00:41:36.260 obligations. 00:41:37.519 --> 00:41:38.220 Let's bow 00:41:38.220 --> 00:41:38.480 our heads 00:41:38.480 --> 00:41:38.860 in prayer. 00:41:39.000 --> 00:41:39.280 Father, 00:41:40.960 --> 00:41:45.920 I am a recipient 00:41:45.920 --> 00:41:46.700 of grace. 00:41:47.460 --> 00:41:48.920 I am unworthy. 00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:51.240 I am finite. 00:41:51.700 --> 00:41:52.700 I am fallen. 00:41:52.980 --> 00:41:53.579 I am all 00:41:53.579 --> 00:41:54.539 of those things. 00:41:55.780 --> 00:41:56.460 Your grace 00:41:56.460 --> 00:41:57.680 came to me 00:41:57.680 --> 00:41:58.640 unmerited. 00:41:58.639 --> 00:42:02.599 And I 00:42:02.599 --> 00:42:03.379 don't know 00:42:03.379 --> 00:42:03.920 what to say, 00:42:04.139 --> 00:42:04.199 Father, 00:42:04.279 --> 00:42:04.659 other than 00:42:04.659 --> 00:42:05.259 thank you. 00:42:06.699 --> 00:42:07.339 And that 00:42:07.339 --> 00:42:08.639 may your grace 00:42:08.639 --> 00:42:09.839 grip me 00:42:09.839 --> 00:42:10.519 more and more 00:42:10.519 --> 00:42:11.379 and form me 00:42:11.379 --> 00:42:12.059 more and more 00:42:12.059 --> 00:42:12.679 and help me 00:42:12.679 --> 00:42:13.400 to understand 00:42:13.400 --> 00:42:14.239 myself and 00:42:14.239 --> 00:42:14.960 my identity 00:42:14.960 --> 00:42:15.879 and my present 00:42:15.879 --> 00:42:16.739 and my past 00:42:16.739 --> 00:42:17.559 and my future 00:42:17.559 --> 00:42:18.879 more and more 00:42:18.879 --> 00:42:19.299 and more. 00:42:19.440 --> 00:42:20.099 And forgive me, 00:42:20.239 --> 00:42:20.440 Father, 00:42:20.559 --> 00:42:21.339 for the idols 00:42:21.339 --> 00:42:22.779 that I start 00:42:22.779 --> 00:42:23.539 to turn to 00:42:23.539 --> 00:42:24.400 as I forget 00:42:24.400 --> 00:42:24.960 grace 00:42:24.960 --> 00:42:26.639 and for the 00:42:26.639 --> 00:42:27.339 ways that I 00:42:27.339 --> 00:42:28.339 feel that by 00:42:28.339 --> 00:42:28.619 making a 00:42:28.619 --> 00:42:29.199 vow or a 00:42:29.199 --> 00:42:29.619 sacrifice, 00:42:29.799 --> 00:42:30.359 I can somehow 00:42:30.359 --> 00:42:31.159 bind you 00:42:31.159 --> 00:42:32.139 or make you 00:42:32.139 --> 00:42:32.659 do my, 00:42:32.819 --> 00:42:33.319 but Father, 00:42:33.380 --> 00:42:33.980 I can't do 00:42:33.980 --> 00:42:34.259 anything. 00:42:34.359 --> 00:42:35.119 It's all grace. 00:42:35.420 --> 00:42:36.099 You are the 00:42:36.099 --> 00:42:37.359 great giver. 00:42:37.559 --> 00:42:38.099 You are the 00:42:38.099 --> 00:42:39.019 one who forgives. 00:42:39.139 --> 00:42:39.759 You have provided 00:42:39.759 --> 00:42:40.219 Jesus. 00:42:40.400 --> 00:42:40.839 You have done 00:42:40.839 --> 00:42:41.400 everything. 00:42:41.859 --> 00:42:42.659 And your grace 00:42:42.659 --> 00:42:43.559 even gives me 00:42:43.559 --> 00:42:43.940 faith. 00:42:44.099 --> 00:42:44.299 Father, 00:42:44.420 --> 00:42:45.099 I can do 00:42:45.099 --> 00:42:45.859 nothing other 00:42:45.859 --> 00:42:46.380 than say 00:42:46.380 --> 00:42:47.099 thank you 00:42:47.099 --> 00:42:48.559 and ask that 00:42:48.559 --> 00:42:49.039 you would make 00:42:49.039 --> 00:42:49.699 me a disciple 00:42:49.699 --> 00:42:50.259 of Jesus 00:42:50.259 --> 00:42:51.059 gripped by the 00:42:51.059 --> 00:42:51.539 gospel, 00:42:52.259 --> 00:42:53.039 learning to live 00:42:53.039 --> 00:42:53.839 day by day 00:42:53.839 --> 00:42:54.719 for your glory 00:42:54.719 --> 00:42:55.539 to lift Jesus 00:42:55.539 --> 00:42:56.619 high in my life 00:42:56.619 --> 00:42:56.960 and to the 00:42:56.960 --> 00:42:57.400 ends of the 00:42:57.400 --> 00:42:57.619 earth. 00:42:57.619 --> 00:42:58.819 And all 00:42:58.819 --> 00:42:59.400 God's people 00:42:59.400 --> 00:42:59.799 said, 00:43:00.539 --> 00:43:00.799 Amen.