Well, a few months ago, as I was taking one of my children a little bit further north for a
running club that she's a part of, I saw a sign for a local church broadly announcing
and proclaiming, your story's important.
And while it is certainly true that God loves us, that he cares deeply about us,
that he knows us intimately, the sign pointed to an age-old universal temptation
that faces human beings in all places and all times.
It's that temptation, that desire to make the story all about me.
To steal the plot line from our Creator and to garner the glory for ourselves.
It's what Adam and Eve did in the garden.
Taking and eating the fruit so that they could establish their own standard of what was right and what was wrong.
It's the same temptation that we read about today in Jonah chapter 1.
And if we're honest with ourselves, it's the same temptation we face every morning we wake up.
In Colossians 1, 15 through 20, the Apostle Paul clearly presents God's plot.
In summary, he states,
Let us keep this in mind as we consider the first chapter of Jonah as a cautionary tale.
A cautionary tale for those of us tempted to steal the plot.
Tempted to steal the plot by making the story about us instead of making it about God's sovereign grace.
But rest assured, even when we attempt to steal the story from our Creator,
we discover, like we do in Jonah,
that God sovereignly weaves both good and evil,
obedience and rebellion,
the mighty and the lowly of this world,
and the entire pageantry of his creation
into the plot of his enduring grace.
And so when we read through Jonah 1, 1 through 16,
I'd ask for you to be on the lookout for three warnings
that we will consider
about elevating our story
and stealing the plot.
But before we do that,
if you would join me in prayer,
and then we will turn our attention to reading Jonah 1.
Let us pray.
Amen.
God, we are thankful for your word.
God, for it is a bedrock of truth
in a world that doesn't know what truth is.
And God, we are thankful for your son, Jesus Christ.
God, we are thankful for your Holy Spirit,
and we ask that your Holy Spirit might even now
prepare our hearts for the reading and the teaching of your word.
And all of this might be done for our good and your glory.
In Christ's name we pray.
Amen.
All right.
So if you would join with me in turning to Jonah 1,
we're going to read all the way up to the point
where everybody thinks that Jonah is about,
which is the big fish.
We're not even going to touch the big fish today.
And so let's start with Jonah 1, verse 1.
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying,
Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it,
for their evil has come up before me.
But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
He went down to Joppa and found the ship going to Tarshish.
So he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish,
away from the presence of the Lord.
But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea,
and there was a mighty tempest on the sea,
so that the ship threatened to break up.
Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his God.
And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them.
But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship
and had lain down and was fast asleep.
So the captain came and said to him,
What do you mean, you sleeper?
Arise, call out to your God.
Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that we may not perish.
And they said to one another,
Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.
So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
Then they said to him,
Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us.
What is your occupation, and where do you come from?
What is your country, and of what people are you?
And he said to them,
I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven,
who made the sea and the dry land.
Then the men were exceedingly afraid,
and said to him,
What is this that you have done?
For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord,
because he had told them.
Then they said to him,
What shall we do to you that the sea may quiet down for us?
For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
He said to them,
Pick me up and hurl me into the sea.
Then the sea will quiet down for you,
for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.
Nevertheless, the men rode hard to get back to dry land,
but they could not,
for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.
Therefore, they called out to the Lord,
O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life,
and lay not on us innocent blood,
for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.
So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea,
and the sea ceased from its raging.
Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly,
and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
Well, we see the first warning here in the first three verses.
And really, what we see before getting into that is,
you know, in today's culture,
in today's Christian culture, I would say,
we make much ado about open doors.
And I remember, as a kid,
pleading with God,
God, would you just open this door or close this door?
That way I would know what you want me to do.
So we plead with God for these open doors or the closed doors.
Oftentimes, you know, it's more like,
God, would you open the easy doors,
and would you close the doors that would be hard for me to walk through?
We also praise God.
You know, we praise God when he opens the doors,
especially the ones we want open in,
and we have this sense of peace that God is working in our lives
and moving us towards this one open door.
And we praise him for closing doors,
and we see what would have happened maybe if we'd gone through that door,
and we thank him for the protection that he's given to us.
And then when we're talking with other people about decisions that we've made,
we present this concept of open and closed doors
as a way of saying,
hey, yeah, you know, this is justification for why I'm making this decision.
And sometimes we fail to avail ourselves
of what God has presented to us
as a way of knowing what it is that we are to do
to glorify and enjoy him forever.
We may ask for open doors,
but do we look to Scripture
where God has clearly laid out
what it is that he requires of us?
Do we pray and seek
the confirmation of the Holy Spirit
as we consider,
and do we ask for the wisdom
to make these difficult decisions?
Do we consult godly men and women
that God has placed in our midst
who have life experiences
that can help us
to know what it is that we are to do
and to make a wise decision?
And I bring that up
because really this first warning
is a warning against,
well, not nearly against,
but to beware
of following and pursuing open doors.
Because when we look at Jonah's life,
we can see here
where in many ways,
Jonah followed open doors
in direct opposition
to what God had called him to do.
God called him to go preach to the Ninevites.
Jonah said,
I don't want to do that.
And he had open doors.
He had a profession
that allowed him to travel.
Oh, open door.
He had a profession
that provided him with at least funds
to make such a trip.
Huh, open door.
He had
an ability
to go
to the
port.
Open door.
There's a port nearby.
Not only is there a port nearby,
there's a ship in that port.
Ah,
and lo and behold,
there are sailors there
that are getting ready
to depart to Tarshish,
the furthest place
away that I want to go
from Nineveh.
And guess what?
They're going to take me on
as a passenger.
Open door.
Jonah using
the very blessings
of the God
he is seeking
to flee from
just
to follow
his own plot.
And what plot is that?
Well,
God's plot was,
Jonah,
I want you to go to Nineveh
and show them grace
to be the mouthpiece
that calls them
to repentance.
Jonah's like,
nope,
nope.
God,
I want you to pour out
your wrath and judgment
on them.
I don't want to offer them
your grace.
God says,
Jonah,
I want you to go tell
the Ninevites
how much I love them.
Jonah says,
no,
no.
No,
no.
God says,
Jonah,
I have an internal
perspective here.
I'm looking
at bringing
these people
into my kingdom.
And Jonah says,
no,
God,
these are the people
that have hurt us.
These people have killed us.
These people will invade
our land
if we give them
the chance.
No,
no,
I want you
to totally
obliterate them.
So he flees
using the very blessings
that God had given him
to turn his back
on service to God.
Jonah didn't have very much
compared to what we have today.
Think of the resources
that we have
because we live
in this time
and this place.
Then how many
of those conveniences
and blessings
can we use
to justify
turning our back
on doing what God
has called us to do?
we're there
with Jonah
fleeing
from the service
of God
and we
turn from that
to him getting
on board ship
to all of a sudden
we are in
a very chaotic scene.
Right?
We see this
supernatural storm
that as the reader
we know
is God
hurling this storm
at this ship
but all we see here
are these salty sailors
who are scared.
They have not seen
a storm like this.
And so there is
a flurry of activity
as they are taking
their precious cargo.
It is those things
that make their livelihood.
It is those possessions
that they will use
to turn a profit
to take care
of their families
and they are throwing
it overboard
in some chance
to lighten the ship
that it might
break free
from the storm.
The text tells us
that the storm
is so violent
that the ship
threatens
to break apart
to disintegrate.
Now this is
no small storm.
This is a storm
that places
the lives
of Jonah
and not only Jonah
but all of the sailors
on board
in jeopardy.
But it is because of Jonah
that they are there.
Right?
Jonah,
the plot stealer,
the rebellious prophet
who insists
upon his own story
instead of following
God's story.
It's as if God
is throwing this storm
at this little vessel
saying,
Jonah,
you need to make
a plot correction.
You're going
in the wrong direction
and I need you
to turn around now.
And we see
this chaotic scene
taking place
above deck
and where is Jonah,
the plot stealer,
the one who God
is trying to get
his attention?
He's down
in the hold
of the ship.
Is he cowering?
No.
He's fast asleep.
Deep sleep.
The word there
is for sleep
like you're
in surgery asleep.
I mean,
this dude's out.
And he doesn't
even know
what's going on.
Completely
oblivious
to the fact
that his rebellion
has his life
in peril
and also
all of the sailors
on board
that ship.
So the captain
comes down
and he sees Jonah
and he says,
wake up!
Wake up,
you sleeper!
What are you doing?
Call out to your God.
Don't you know
that we're in danger here?
Perhaps,
just maybe,
your God
will hear
and he'll save us.
the race
is the question
of how could
Jonah
sleep
at a time
like that?
Man,
I've been
on a very
small ship
and in the
very small
waves
comparatively
and not
in the storm
and
let's just say,
I did not
enjoy that
and we weren't
even in the
open sea
but we were
bouncing up
and down
and the
hold is
even worse.
You get down
in there,
there's no air
moving,
start turning
green,
you wish you
were back
up on deck
but there's
Jonah
fast asleep
with a
hardened
heart
oblivious
and
calloused
to God's
plot.
It's
odd
that while
Jonah
definitely
doesn't have
peace with
God,
he's found
peace within
himself.
He's
happy,
he's content
with what
he's done.
gives me
pause
to think
are there
times in
my life
where perhaps
I've wrested
the plot
from God's
hands
and attempted
to make it
all about
me
and in
doing so
have hardened
my heart
to what
God's
calling me
to do.
That I've
pursued
my own
story
instead of
caring
about God's
plot.
But even
in the midst
of Jonah's
hardened
calloused
heart,
even in the
midst of him
running away
from God,
God's
sovereign
grace is
at work.
Even in
the midst
of his
rebellion.
You see,
the ship
captain didn't
have to go
down into
that hold.
The ship
captain didn't
have to see
Jonah.
The ship
captain didn't
have to wake
him up.
What a
grace that
God gave
Jonah in
the form of
that captain
to come
down and
to wake
him up.
Otherwise,
Jonah would
have plunged
to a
watery
grave,
along with
all the
other
sailors.
We see
God's
sovereign
grace at
work in
the casting
of lots.
These sailors
aren't doing
this,
saying,
let's see
what Yahweh
Jehovah
God has to
say about
this situation.
They're like,
hey, this is
how we figure
out whose
fault this
is.
So let's
throw some
dice.
Let's
pick some
straws.
And whoever
has the
lowest number
or the
shortest
straw,
yeah, I
guess that's
the one
who's causing
all this
trouble.
God in
his sovereign
grace ensures
that Jonah
pulls the
short straw.
It could
have been
sailor number
two for all
we know.
But God
sovereignly
oversaw it
to make
sure that
Jonah was
identified.
And then we
see God's
sovereign grace
at work in
Jonah's
confession.
Now as
soon as he
pulls the
short straw and
they start
peppering him
with questions,
he's like,
yep, it's
me.
Hi, I'm
the problem.
Yep, it's
me.
They say,
oh, okay, so
what are we
to do,
Jonah?
You're the
problem.
Tell us what
do we need
to do here.
And he
says, just
like you've
done with
your cargo,
pick me up
and hurl
me into
the sea.
And they'll
say, they're
saying, no,
no, no, no,
no, that
can't be the
answer, Jonah.
That's not the
answer.
We're going to,
I tell you what
we're going to
do, Jonah.
We are going to
row our
hardest.
So they take
their oars and
it says they
dug their oars
into the sea,
trying to get
themselves out
of this storm,
but the storm
doesn't relent.
They don't make
any progress.
In fact, the
text tells us
the storm got
worse.
The harder
they fought
against it,
the harder
the storm
fought.
But we're not
much different
than the sailors,
are we?
we're invited
to join God's
plotline
through the
free grace
offered by
Jesus Christ.
Yet there's
something that we
can't give up,
is there?
It's that age-old
temptation, that
idea of making
the story all
about me, of
self-reliance,
which is so
strong, even
in our country.
No, no, no.
We want to be
like the sailors
and say,
no, God,
God, I got
this.
Let me just
roll a little
bit harder.
Let me know
that in some
way I
contributed,
that in some
way I
earned it.
just like the
sailors struggling
to toss Jonah
overboard, we
struggle to
accept God's
rescue presented
in the once and
for all sacrifice
of Jesus
Christ.
We find
ourselves
fighting against
the prophetic
words of
Caiaphas in
John chapter
11 when he
says,
better that one
man die than
the whole
nation perish.
But we
want to work
for it.
We want to
earn it.
We want to
grasp for
ourselves through
our own
efforts the
rescue that
is freely and
graciously bestowed
upon us through
faith in Jesus
Christ.
after all,
like our
first parents,
we love
pursuing our
own plot
line.
We want to
make it all
about us.
In closing,
we see that
just like
Jonah,
our story is
not the main
plot line.
Instead,
the main
plot of
Jonah's life
and of our
lives is
that of
God's
sovereign
grace
pursuing us.
God's
sovereign grace
pulling us
into his
story.
His story
of reconciling
all things
unto himself
by making
peace with
us through
Christ's life,
death,
and resurrection.
So when
you're at the
end of the
rope in
your story,
when you
dug the
oars in
deep and
you're not
getting
anywhere and
the stormed
waves keep
crashing against
you,
when you
are hopeless,
helpless,
and even
numb to
God's
plot,
the heavenly
father is
poised and
ready to
rescue you.
he is
there to
pull you
into his
gloriously
grand plot.
You don't
need to
hold on,
you don't
need to
row hard,
because the
work is
done.
Christ,
the son
of God,
has made
peace with
God for
you.
In other
words,
your story
is important.
God,
it is
never more
important than
when it is
woven into
God's grand
plot of
making all
things right.
Let us
pray.
Oh God,
we thank you
for your
word, we
thank you for
the life of
Jonah, we
thank you for
his struggles,
for in them we
see our own.
God, more
importantly than
seeing our
struggles, God,
we see your
sovereign grace,
your grace at
work, and
even the most
mundane things,
in the storms,
in the casting
of lots, and
people waking up
Jonah.
God, we ask
this morning that
you might allow
us through the
power and presence
of your Holy
Spirit to see
your grace at
work in our
lives, that we
might trust you
and not
ourselves.
In Christ's name
we pray, amen.
Amen.