WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.000 Good morning everyone. My name is Patrick Daley and I have the privilege to serve here at Ontario Community Church. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:18.000 Today we're going to be going over in our Bibles. We're going to go over Jonah chapter 1 verses 7 through 10. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:28.000 We're going to learn today about Jonah revealing himself to the sailors who he is and the God that he believes in. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:35.000 So if you'd like to, feel free to turn to your Bibles to page 920. 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:43.000 I'd like us to read it. Then we'll go ahead and pray and we'll get started. 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:52.000 So it's going to be Jonah chapter 1 verse 7 through 10 and page 920 in your Pugh Bible. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:01:00.000 So here we go verse 7. It's a little bit echo-y real quick. Okay, that's alright. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:07.000 Alright, verse 7 it says, and they said to one another, this is the sailors talking, 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:14.000 Come, let us cast lots that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:19.000 So they cast lots and they fell on Jonah. 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:24.000 Then they said to him, tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:32.000 What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you? 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:47.000 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. 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:54.000 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, what is this that you have done? 00:01:54.000 --> 00:02:03.000 For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord because he had told them. 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:10.000 And let us pray. Father, we thank you for this time and this opportunity to come before you 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:18.000 as we are in our current moment, our current circumstance, our current discur- current moment in time. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:23.000 Regardless of what we have been through or what we are going through or what we will go through, 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:30.000 we want to offer it all to you. You are the comforter of the week. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:38.000 You give us strength. You give us new life. And you place us on a path towards you. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:45.000 As we go through these passages in your word, let us be curious to know who you are. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:53.000 Let us get to know and have that relationship with you. Let us grow with you and let us go into the world 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:59.000 and make a difference in your holy name. Without you, Father God, we are nothing. 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:05.000 But because of you, we can live. Help us see the connectedness of Scripture. 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:13.000 Help us be inspired by your word to draw closer to you. Help us to learn to speak to people who come to us. 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:22.000 Help us to learn so that we can teach others. May we never be afraid of your word, who you are, 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:31.000 or the fact that you made us in your image. It is in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:39.000 You know, in our culture today, there is a word that has been used more often than I have heard when I was growing up. 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:46.000 Perhaps you have heard this word more, more often. It is the word identity. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:59.000 It has been used more and more today. Identity is defined as who we are, what we are, and what we stand for. 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:10.000 And I want to remind us that although culture may change, technology may change and people may change. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:20.000 The word of God stays and remains constant. Let me repeat myself. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:29.000 Culture may change, but Christ is our firm foundation. It is the rock in which we build our lives on. 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:34.000 It is important for every single one of us to find out who we are. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:42.000 You know, when we're younger, we may have these questions of, who am I? What do I believe in? What do I live for? 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:50.000 And I think it's important that every single person asks this question. These are fundamental for every single person. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:57.000 We see that in Jonah, although he is running away from God, he's trying to flee to Tarshish. 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:07.000 We see that Jonah will have to speak to these sailors, letting them know of who he is and who he believes in. 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:20.000 He will have to speak to them. And in the same manner, we too as Christians, we should never be afraid about sharing who we are in Christ. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:27.000 We should never be afraid about sharing the gospel or sharing our testimony to other people. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:35.000 We find that in the story of Jonah, we have been unpacking the wisdom, the insight, and the application for our very lives. 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:44.000 God called Jonah, remember? But what did Jonah do? He ran, right? He ran away from God's call. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:53.000 Jonah ran from God's presence and as a consequence, he was separated. He fled from the presence of the Lord. 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:56.000 For when we sin, we are separate. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:05.000 And what's happening is God is seeing to it that Jonah is being stopped from fleeing to Tarshish by the storm. 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:13.000 God brings forth the storm and yet Jonah was asleep. And remember last week we had the captain rebuke Jonah. 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:24.000 But that leads us to this week. That leads us to where the sailors are casting lots to see if they can find out why in the world is this storm happening? 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:30.000 We need to know who is responsible for this storm. That leads us to where we are today. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:38.000 I'm titling this sermon, Faith and Fear, the Revelation of God and Jonah. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:48.000 And we come right into this part of the story where, right after the captain is telling Jonah to wake up and to call to his God. 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:56.000 It says in verse 7, come, let us cast lots that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:07:00.000 So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:08.000 Casting lots is a very interesting wording that we...it's not really a word that we are familiar with today. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:14.000 In biblical times, it was more common. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:18.000 Some of us may wonder, well, what does that mean to cast lots? 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:24.000 Well, a modern day version would be kind of like flipping a coin or rolling a dice or drawing straws. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:34.000 But the idea behind it was this idea of investigating and figuring out, hey, where is God directing us here? 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:37.000 In your notes, you'll see some verses on casting lots. 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:42.000 And I found that we're not going to go through all of these verses, but they are in your notes for your reference. 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:51.000 Casting lots was a way for God's people and even for others to try to figure out how to make a decision. 00:07:51.000 --> 00:08:02.000 So we find in the slide, casting lots is finding God's will in a situation or, not of, or leaving it to chance. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:11.000 So sometimes you'd have people, they're like rolling the dice or flipping the coin, trying to see is this God's will for a decision. 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:17.000 It was also used for chance, trying to see like, how should we make a decision? 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:24.000 There's not really, like I said, there's not really a modern day way that we would do that, but that was back then. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:29.000 We find that as the sailors were casting lots, it fell on Jonah, which means that through the investigation, 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:36.000 through them trying to figure out what's going on and who is responsible, it pointed towards Jonah. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:43.000 And all this means is they came to that conclusion that Jonah is responsible for the storm. 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:47.000 The sailors had not dealt with the storm this bad where they feared for their lives. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:57.000 Certainly if you have professional sailors who are constantly going from Jopah to Tarshish or different other cities in the Mediterranean Sea, 00:08:57.000 --> 00:08:59.000 they probably ran into storms before. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:05.000 But this storm was different where they were crying out to their gods and yet nothing was happening. 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:12.000 So they asked Jonah to call to his God and they're still in that scene where they're trying to figure out when the world's going on. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:16.000 And that leads us to verse 8 where it tells us, then they said to him, 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:20.000 tell us on who account this evil has come upon us. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:24.000 What is your occupation Jonah? Where do you come from? 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:27.000 What is your country? And of what people are you? 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:30.000 This is when the sailors are questioning Jonah. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:39.000 Let me ask you a question. If a storm is going on in your life and you come to the conclusion that maybe there's someone responsible for it, 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:41.000 wouldn't you ask the same kind of questions? 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:45.000 You might ask, hey, what did you do? 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:48.000 That's what these sailors are asking. What did you do Jonah? 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:52.000 This is a big storm going on. I need to know exactly what's going on. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:56.000 So I can relate and we can relate to these sailors. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:01.000 So they have concluded that Jonah is responsible to the storm. 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:06.000 So Jonah is questioned and Jonah must answer. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:10.000 Jonah needs to give an account to the sailors. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:14.000 And this is a great reminder of what we need to do. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:24.000 If you're not a Christian, you are encouraged to come to know the Lord, to come to know who Jesus Christ is. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:33.000 If you are a Christian, you are encouraged to grow in faith, to grow in Christ. 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:37.000 So remember that that's not in your notes. That's just for you here. 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:40.000 If you're not a Christian, know the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:42.000 Know who he is. Have that relationship. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:50.000 And if you are a Christian, we never stop learning. We never stop growing in Christ. 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:55.000 We find that the more we study and read scripture, the more we learn from it. 00:10:55.000 --> 00:11:01.000 You can read Jonah 10 times. You can read the Gospel of Matthew 100 times. 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:08.000 And you still take away different things because God speaks to us through the Word of God. 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:19.000 As we grow in our faith, Christians, we need to be able to know our faith in such a way that we can explain it to other people. 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:25.000 In simple terms. Let me repeat that. 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:32.000 We are to be encouraged to know our faith so that we can speak to it to others. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:43.000 Just as how Jonah needs to give an account to the sailors, so too will there be situations in our walk with the Lord where we have circumstances. 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:49.000 We have situations where we need to speak to someone who may not know what we believe in. 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:58.000 They may not know the Lord. How many of you have met someone before who doesn't know the Lord and you had that opportunity? 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:02.000 Did you speak to them? You don't have to raise your hand. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:06.000 But by all means here, you only you know those stories. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:10.000 You know those times when you met someone and you had the opportunity. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:17.000 So certainly be able to know your faith in such a way to where you can explain it to people. 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:21.000 The people that we meet on a day to day basis, we have no idea what they're going through. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:25.000 We have no idea their story. We have no idea if they know the Lord. 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:29.000 We cannot assume that everybody that we interact with knows the Lord. 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:31.000 You simply cannot assume that. 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:36.000 And don't let this be discouraging, but rather let this be encouraging. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:41.000 That with every interaction that you have with people in the grocery store, 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:45.000 people at the coffee shop or people at the restaurant or your own family, 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:54.000 it is an opportunity for you to share in your faith by word, by action, right? 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:56.000 By doing. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:59.000 Now granted, we're not saved by works. No. 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:04.000 But because we are saved, we do good in the world. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:07.000 And this reminds me of a verse. 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:17.000 I want us to turn this is not in your notes, but let's go ahead and turn to page 12.1205. 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:20.000 1200 and five. I want to share this with you. 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:23.000 It's in 1 Peter. 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:25.000 Some of you will know this. 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:29.000 If you're if you're not using the Pew Bible, it's first first Peter 315. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:34.000 And I find this just so very interesting. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:36.000 So very good. 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:42.000 First Peter chapter 3 verse 15. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:50.000 And it says in here in your hearts, honor Christ, the Lord as holy, 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:53.000 always being prepared to what? 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:58.000 To make a defense to anyone who asks you. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:06.000 For the reason for the hope that is in you yet do it with anger and hostility. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:08.000 No, it doesn't say that. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:12.000 It says do it with quickness and haste. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:17.000 No, with gentleness and respect. 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:23.000 Now granted, we are reminded we must be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks us for the reason 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:27.000 for this hope that is in us and do it with gentleness and respect. 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:34.000 First Peter mentions that we should be ready to explain to anyone who asks us questions about our faith. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:37.000 And we should be able to articulate it. 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:45.000 Yes. In first Peter, it's saying that he's taught for Peter is talking about the situation where someone is 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:48.000 challenging your faith and questioning you. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:52.000 So that's a very specific situation where you're giving a defense for it. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:15:01.000 But when we look back in Jonah, here is a situation where Jonah has to speak to the sailors because he did wrong. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:08.000 So in any situation, we have the opportunity to share our faith with others. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:16.000 And whether you're facing these storms by design or storms by default, we must be able to speak to or defend 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:19.000 or answer someone's questions. 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:28.000 What happens when a college student comes up and says, how do you know Jesus Christ is Lord? 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:30.000 Can you show me in the Bible? 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:41.000 Or, hey, I read in the Bible about judgment. 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:43.000 Can you help me? 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:46.000 That's an opportunity for you to speak to someone. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:53.000 Someone may have a question and say, hey, who is King Nebuchadnezzar? 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:55.000 That's a very specific question. 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:58.000 But they may be learning something. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:05.000 Maybe they watched a YouTube video or maybe they're having a discussion with classmates or even as adults. 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.000 Even when we, as we grow older, we may still have questions. 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:15.000 And certainly, may we always be open to have that conversation. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:25.000 People will know that we are Christians by loving them and standing firm on the truth of the Word of God. 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.000 There are two types of storms. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:36.000 As we learned last week, there are storms that just happen just because God set into motion Mother Nature. 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:41.000 Fires and earthquakes and all sorts of storms just happen. 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:48.000 And other times there are storms that are caused well by our own faults, just as in the case of Jonah. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:51.000 Jonah had received the rebuking from the captain. 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:58.000 Jonah had received the storm in the first place by God seeing to it that he's hurling a storm to stop him. 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:00.000 And now he's being questioned by the sailors. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:02.000 So it's like a triple whammy right there. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:11.000 So Jonah responds in the next verse, if we go back to our verse on page 920. 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:13.000 What does Jonah say? 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:16.000 Let's go, let's read this together. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:19.000 What does Jonah say? 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:21.000 How does he respond to him? 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:23.000 I don't know. 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:24.000 Did he say that? 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:25.000 No. 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:30.000 No, he goes, let's go to that verse. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:32.000 It's in verse 9. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:45.000 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. 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.000 It's an interesting response. 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:54.000 Jonah reveals at this moment that he is a Hebrew. 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:56.000 This is Jonah's identity, right? 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:59.000 I am a Hebrew and that he fears the Lord. 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:01.000 We can put this on the screen. 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:03.000 Let's go to the next slide here. 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:11.000 Jonah responds by saying number one, who he is as in who Jonah is. 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:12.000 So who is Jonah? 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.000 I am a Hebrew. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:20.000 He's also saying who he believes in, the Lord. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:25.000 Then he's saying who capital he, right? 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:27.000 Who God is. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:29.000 The God of heaven. 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:31.000 And what does God do? 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:33.000 He is the creator. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:41.000 So Jonah is telling the sailors about who he is and who God's who God is. 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:46.000 This is the part where we learn about the revelation of Jonah and God. 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:56.000 Jonah's identity is that he is a Hebrew and that he worships the Lord. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:58.000 And that makes me think of us. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:03.000 We go to the next slide. 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:09.000 Our identity is in Christ. 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:11.000 We are Christian. 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:13.000 We are Christians. 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:19.000 We follow Christ. 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:22.000 I have reference verses for you. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:24.000 We're not necessarily going over that. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:26.000 But I bring these verses up. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:31.000 It's the simple fact that for the Christian and hopefully all of us know the Lord. 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:34.000 If you don't, I encourage you. 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:37.000 Make that decision for Christ. 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:44.000 When we become Christian, we have a new identity in Jesus Christ. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:53.000 I am reminded of second Corinthians chapter five verse 17 that says if anyone is in Christ, 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:56.000 he is a new creation. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:20:03.000 The old, the old identity has passed away and behold, the new one has come. 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:10.000 My friends, when we think about the word identity, let us think of Christ. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:18.000 Let us think of who we are, that we are Christian and we belong to God. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:22.000 We are his. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.000 The identity is not in what we do. 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:35.000 I'm sure there's a lot of people that their entire identity is being a volleyball player or in being a lawyer or in being a teacher. 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.000 For others, it might be their identity is in their personality. 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:42.000 I'm an extrovert or I'm an introvert, right? 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:47.000 It's just like what was said earlier. 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:50.000 It's not having a personality. 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:51.000 That's the issue. 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:55.000 It's that when that personality is consuming you. 00:20:55.000 --> 00:21:00.000 I think of people who are doing or smoking cigarettes, for example. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.000 Who's doing the smoking, the cigarette or you? 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:09.000 What I mean by that is are you smoking the cigarette or is the cigarette smoking you? 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:16.000 For some people who are addicted to that, it may be the cigarette smoking you rather than you smoking the cigarette. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:23.000 So with that, we tend at times to make things our identity. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:25.000 Let's not make things our God. 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:30.000 Let's make Christ at the center of our lives. 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:36.000 As Christians, we have to understand that we are made in the image of God. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:44.000 I'm reminded of Galatians chapter 2 verse 20 that refers to the fact that it is no longer I who live, 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:47.000 but Christ who lives in me. 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:51.000 When we become a Christian, we have Christ in us. 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:56.000 We are saved by grace through faith so that we can do good. 00:21:56.000 --> 00:22:00.000 Again, we are not saved by works. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.000 Instead, we are saved for works. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:06.000 You understand the difference? 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:12.000 If we're saved by works, I can tell you there's a lot of scripture that speaks against that. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:14.000 That's incorrect. 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:20.000 What is correct is we are saved by Jesus Christ by believing in him. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:27.000 By making that decision to have that relationship so that we can do good in the world. 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:30.000 That is the difference. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:36.000 Our identity is not in the things of this world, but it is in Christ. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:38.000 Jesus Christ loves us. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:43.000 He gave himself for us and died on the cross so that we can live. 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:53.000 And the fact that we have new life in Christ should encourage us to go out into the world and spread the good news of the gospel to others. 00:22:53.000 --> 00:23:00.000 Telling people, sharing with people, being a light that is the light is from Christ. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.000 It shines through us for others to see. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:07.000 We can exhibit love and firmness. 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:14.000 I'm always going to preach this, my friends, is let's be loving, but let's stand firm. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:17.000 It is the balance between both of those. 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:20.000 You can be all loving, but not firm. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:23.000 You can also be firm, but not loving. 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:28.000 What happens is if you don't have that balance, you gravitate towards one or the other. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:34.000 It's a balance between love and standing firm on the word of God. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:47.000 The price of sin was paid on the cross and we are as first Peter chapter two, verse nine says we are called out of darkness into his marvelous. 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:51.000 What light is marvelous light? 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:54.000 Our identity is not in what we do. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:56.000 It's not in what we like or dislike. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:02.000 It's in Jesus Christ and we are children of God. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:10.000 As mentioned in John chapter one, verse 12, we are created in Jesus Christ to do good. 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:17.000 We are saved by Jesus Christ so that we can do good in the world. 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:19.000 First there's salvation. 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:21.000 Then there's doing works. 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:23.000 Then there's doing good things. 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:24.000 Get your priorities straight. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:27.000 Some people only do good and they don't worry about salvation. 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:33.000 I encourage you come to know the Lord and come to grow in the Lord. 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:41.000 And I want to further note that scripture mentions that whosoever believes shall not perish. 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:44.000 You don't have to be perfect to turn to Christ. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.000 You do not. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:55.000 You must believe in order to be saved and in receiving and accepting this free gift of salvation from Christ. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:58.000 Your life will never be the same. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:09.000 We find that our identity, that our lives are rooted in Christ, the solid rock, the firm foundation. 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:14.000 I think of proverbs and how it says trust in the Lord, right? 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:23.000 And lean not on your own understanding because the leaning is like how we lean on the wall 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:28.000 instead of focusing on God is the firm foundation. 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:31.000 How do you build your life? 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:33.000 How do you live your life? 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:36.000 Do you live for the next fix? 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:39.000 Do you live for the next high? 00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:42.000 Do you live for materialism? 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:48.000 Having your fifth or fiftieth house? 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:50.000 What do you live for? 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:59.000 This is a question we should be reminded of and we should be able to answer to by saying I am a Christian. 00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:04.000 If you're struggling with who you are, if you're struggling with your identity, 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:09.000 by all means I encourage you to come to Christ who is the way, the truth and the life, 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:17.000 God will give you clarity in this confusing fog of a world that we live in, in this culture. 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:20.000 Our culture is confusing, isn't it? 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:23.000 So confusing. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:30.000 And I hate saying this, but it's certainly getting more confusing as time goes on. 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:33.000 We need clarity in our lives. 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:38.000 Don't you love it when life is just simple? 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:45.000 Don't you love it when, hey, I'm a new creation in God. 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:47.000 I believe in Jesus Christ. 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:49.000 He loves me. 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:51.000 He died on the cross for me. 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:59.000 Simple, not complicated as the world makes it simple. 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:05.000 If you're struggling with what you believe in, come to Christ. 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:11.000 There is so much wisdom and insight, truth, knowledge, the story of salvation. 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:17.000 I've been saying these past few weeks, interwoveness, connectedness from one verse to the next. 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:24.000 This helps on your faith journey, seeing that, huh, it's not one book. 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:27.000 It's many books into one. 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:31.000 It's a library of books, but yet they're all connected somehow. 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:36.000 It's not like reading Lord of the Rings where it's just three books and they're all connected. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:38.000 I mean, Lord of the Rings is fine. 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:40.000 There's a lot of other books, right? 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:43.000 But here there's that connectedness in there. 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:45.000 There's something to it. 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:48.000 I wonder what that something is. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:53.000 Maybe it's the fact that God had something to do with the book. 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:58.000 If you're struggling, I encourage you to come to know the Lord. 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:02.000 And if you know the Lord, I encourage you to grow in the Lord. 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:04.000 Maybe you feel that emptiness. 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:07.000 Maybe you feel that separation or that void. 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:10.000 Maybe you need to get your life right with the Lord. 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:13.000 Come back, return to him. 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:16.000 May you grow in Christ. 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:19.000 God provides us for all. 00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:21.000 He gives us all that we need. 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:24.000 He gives us salvation. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:29.000 And because of salvation, I got to tell you, I feel secure. 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:33.000 I feel secure knowing that I worship the true God. 00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:37.000 There's that sense of security and there's that sense of safety 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:41.000 that God will protect us wherever we go in life. 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:45.000 And Jonah reveals to us a framework on how we can speak to 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.000 not just the sailors, but our neighbor. 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:52.000 You know, when I think of our neighbor, 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:57.000 one of these days I'll really speak on this. 00:28:57.000 --> 00:29:00.000 I want you to think of an empty chair. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:03.000 Consider this chair over here. 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:07.000 Say it's empty, right? No one's sitting in that chair. 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:11.000 Who is going to sit in the chair? 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:13.000 Who is your neighbor? 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:17.000 You can imagine many people sitting in a chair. 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:20.000 It might be someone tall, someone short, 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:25.000 male or female, older, young, black or white, Japanese. 00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:26.000 We don't know. 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:30.000 But the idea is the empty chair. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:36.000 And it makes you think, who is your neighbor? 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:38.000 Jonah gives us a framework. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:42.000 And I'd like to share with you Jonah's faith proclamation. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:46.000 And it says, I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord, 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:50.000 the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:52.000 And the question may come up. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:55.000 Okay, Patrick, you just talked about a chair for a second there. 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:58.000 What does that have to do with me loving my neighbor? 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:04.000 Well, Jonah gives us a framework for how we can share our faith with others. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:08.000 Let's go to that next slide. 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:12.000 This would be a Christian adaptation to Jonah's proclamation. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:15.000 I know that's fancy, but basically it's, 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.000 how would a modern day Christian say what Jonah's saying to the sailors? 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:21.000 It says, I am a Christian. 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:26.000 And I follow Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, the savior of humanity, 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:31.000 who offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:34.000 You see the similarity there? 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:40.000 Jonah is speaking to the sailors about who he is and what he believes in. 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:45.000 And in the same way, when we speak to our neighbor, the empty chair, 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:47.000 we don't know who our neighbor is. 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:49.000 It could be anyone. 00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:52.000 We can say something as simple as I'm a Christian. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:54.000 I follow Jesus Christ. 00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:57.000 I believe he's the way, the truth and the life. 00:30:57.000 --> 00:30:59.000 That's it. 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:02.000 I mean, I know this, you could even condense this even shorter, 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:06.000 but it should be an encouragement to us that wherever we go, 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:09.000 may we share with what we believe in. 00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:14.000 Let us never be afraid of being a Christian and let us be prepared 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:17.000 to speak to those who ask questions. 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:23.000 And to even those who don't ask questions, how we live our life, 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:29.000 how are we being, what does our everyday look like? 00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:31.000 What would Jesus do? 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:33.000 I'm reminded of those old school little bracelets. 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:35.000 Do you guys remember those? 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:37.000 What would Jesus do? 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:41.000 You know, that impacted me as I was growing up. 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:43.000 And I still think about that today. 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:46.000 What would Jesus do in this situation? 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:48.000 How would you respond? 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:50.000 Sometimes it may not be words. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.000 Sometimes it may be actions by helping our neighbor. 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:56.000 How do we love our neighbor? 00:31:56.000 --> 00:32:00.000 How do we share our faith with others? 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:03.000 Jonah reveals who he is. 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:06.000 He reveals the God that he believes in. 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:11.000 And in verse 10, it says here that the men were exceedingly afraid. 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:12.000 They weren't just afraid. 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:13.000 They were exceedingly. 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:15.000 They were greatly afraid. 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:18.000 And they said to him, what is this you have done? 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:21.000 For the men knew that he was freeing from the presence of the Lord 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:23.000 because he had told them. 00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:25.000 And I find it very interesting. 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.000 If you look in your Bibles on that page 920 here, 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:32.000 you read it like it's a question. 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:35.000 What is this you have done and has an exclamation point? 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:40.000 When you read the Hebrew, it can be interpreted as a question or a statement. 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:42.000 So it could be they're like, what have you done? 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:43.000 Like we don't know. 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:44.000 Or what have you done? 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:46.000 It could be either of those. 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:51.000 But in any case, they were confused, right? 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:53.000 They were like, you did this. 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:55.000 It could be an accusation or it could be a question 00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.000 because in any case, Jonah is going to speak to them. 00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:02.000 That word sticks out to me though. 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:07.000 You know, what's interesting is that it says they were exceedingly afraid, right? 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:11.000 And it says in there, that is the fear of the Lord. 00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:15.000 It's the same word when you find in Proverbs 1 7 that the fear of the Lord 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:17.000 is the beginning of wisdom. 00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:22.000 How interesting that the sailors, once they found out who Jonah was 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:26.000 and the God that he believes in, they started to respect. 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:30.000 They started to be afraid of God's power and might. 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.000 Not the fear that, oh, I'm afraid. 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:37.000 But they began getting the fear of the Lord at that moment. 00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:41.000 Because when Jonah spoke to the sailors in that time of crisis, 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:43.000 they began getting it. 00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:49.000 They began realizing who God is, how powerful he is. 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:52.000 When we read the fear of the Lord, that's what it is. 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:57.000 It's having that awe and that sense of wonder for who God is. 00:33:57.000 --> 00:34:01.000 Even though Jonah ran away from God, 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:06.000 God still used Jonah to reveal himself to the sailors. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:11.000 These sailors, they didn't know who God was. 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:16.000 It was through Jonah speaking to the sailors that they began to understand 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:19.000 who God is. 00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:25.000 And that is an encouragement for us to be able to speak to others. 00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.000 Even though we sin, and even though we run away from God 00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:34.000 or we try to hide from God, we try to escape reality at times. 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:40.000 Our lives still matter to God. 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:45.000 In fact, no matter what wrong you do, 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:52.000 for the most part, you have the opportunity to turn your life around. 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:54.000 I have this final slide in here. 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:59.000 The fear of the Lord means reverence and recognition. 00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:01.000 You have respect for God's power, 00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:05.000 his authority, his sovereignty, his holiness, who he is, 00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:07.000 to be in that awe and wonder. 00:35:07.000 --> 00:35:12.000 And also recognizing that we have our own limitations. 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:18.000 Uh-oh. What about those self-help people that say we have an unlimited life 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:20.000 and we can do whatever we want? 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:22.000 Uh-oh. 00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:24.000 We have limitations, don't we? 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:29.000 I'd like to be a basketball player, but I'm not seven foot tall. 00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:32.000 Now I have to learn either to jump high or to grow. 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:34.000 Which one is it probably going to be I have to do? 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:36.000 Assuming that I can get that. 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:39.000 It's probably going to learn to jump high really quick, right? 00:35:39.000 --> 00:35:42.000 The reality is there are limitations. 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:47.000 And when we have that fear of the Lord, it is recognizing our limitations. 00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:50.000 We need to seek first to the kingdom of God. 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.000 We need to believe in God first and foremost. 00:35:54.000 --> 00:35:58.000 You do not need to be perfect to come to the Lord. 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:03.000 When we think of the fear of the Lord, we think of this is part of belief. 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:09.000 This is part of believing who Jesus Christ is that we are in awe and wonder 00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:15.000 of who Jesus Christ is by performing many miracles, by being born in the manger, 00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:23.000 walking on water, healing the sick, raising people from the dead. 00:36:23.000 --> 00:36:28.000 He himself being raised from the dead is a miracle. 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:34.000 We need to come to the Lord through faith, through believing in him. 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:36.000 Like the thief on the cross. 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:42.000 It's he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. 00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:46.000 What a beautiful way to say it. 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:51.000 Remember me that at the moment the thief was going to die. 00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:54.000 He said, Jesus, remember me. 00:36:54.000 --> 00:36:57.000 And in the same way like these sailors are beginning to get it. 00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:01.000 And here's a little preview. 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:03.000 They get it. 00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:06.000 In fact, they eventually come to the Lord. 00:37:06.000 --> 00:37:11.000 They get converted despite Jonah's disobedience. 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:13.000 They still come to the Lord. 00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:14.000 Because here's the thing. 00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:19.000 God will use you even if you disobey Him. 00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:23.000 So the fact that Jonah's running off and thinking you can get away. 00:37:23.000 --> 00:37:30.000 God still found a way that His will to the sailors would happen. 00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:33.000 Let's get our life right with God from wherever we are. 00:37:33.000 --> 00:37:38.000 Whether you're running away from God, may you turn things around and come back to the way, 00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:40.000 the truth and the life. 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:43.000 Come back to the light out of the darkness. 00:37:43.000 --> 00:37:47.000 May we come to know the truth about Jesus Christ, the salvation, 00:37:47.000 --> 00:37:54.000 the free gift for all who believe that we may not perish but have eternal life. 00:37:54.000 --> 00:38:01.000 May we come to know that new life and our identity exists in Christ. 00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:06.000 Our lives will never be the same once we decide to come to Christ, 00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:10.000 return to Christ and grow in Christ. 00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:13.000 Let's pray. 00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:20.000 May the God who controls all of creation be with us as we leave this place. 00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:26.000 May the God of healing and restoration restore each and every one of us to know you, 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:30.000 to grow with you and to go with you wherever you lead us. 00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:32.000 May we know our neighbor. 00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:36.000 May we know that when we stray away you call us back to you. 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:40.000 May you bring us back with grace. 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.000 May we learn that our actions have consequences. 00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:50.000 May we, like the sailors, come to a sense of awe and wonder and reverence for you. 00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.000 Your power and your might are great. 00:38:54.000 --> 00:38:58.000 May we trust in your plan for our lives. 00:38:58.000 --> 00:39:04.000 May we learn to love like you, just like you have loved us. 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:08.000 May we learn from the wisdom found in your word. 00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:12.000 May we learn that to fear, to have the fear of the Lord, 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:15.000 that it is the beginning of wisdom. 00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:18.000 Let us go forward knowing that you are a good God. 00:39:18.000 --> 00:39:22.000 You are the living and the true God. 00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:24.000 And your love is everlasting to everlasting. 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:25.000 It's never ending. 00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:30.000 You are constant and your grace is sufficient. 00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:32.000 May we go in peace today. 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:34.000 May we love and serve you. 00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:39.000 And may your blessings be with us now and always. 00:39:39.000 --> 00:40:05.000 And we all say in Jesus' name, amen.