WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.419 We're going through a five-part series in the book of Jonah. 00:00:06.020 --> 00:00:12.540 Jonah is a book which is about God's love for a city. 00:00:14.140 --> 00:00:19.320 A city which is a bit like Hong Kong, the city of Nineveh. 00:00:19.699 --> 00:00:28.440 It's a story about how God calls his people, his person, Jonah, to go to this city. 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:35.079 It's a story about how this person rebels against God. 00:00:35.160 --> 00:00:39.140 And yet, even in his rebellion, God is gracious to him. 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:47.640 Today, we have the privilege of seeing Alfie is going to speak to us. 00:00:47.700 --> 00:00:50.579 God has raised up a number of people who can bring God's word. 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:56.620 And Alfie is someone who has been working tirelessly in the university ministry, 00:00:56.619 --> 00:01:03.659 along with Henrika, connecting with students and engaging them with God's heart 00:01:03.659 --> 00:01:07.459 and helping them to see the amazing God that we have. 00:01:07.679 --> 00:01:13.979 So as Alfie comes to speak to us, let me just pray that God would really engage with our hearts. 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:18.799 Because he doesn't just want to tell you some information this morning. 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:21.879 God wants to speak to you, each person. 00:01:21.879 --> 00:01:25.859 So let me just pray, then Alfie will come and share God's word with us. 00:01:28.039 --> 00:01:32.219 Father, you're a God who loves this city of Hong Kong. 00:01:33.079 --> 00:01:35.619 You're a God who loves each one of us. 00:01:36.399 --> 00:01:42.000 And I pray that this morning, as Alfie comes to speak, that we would hear you speaking to us. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:46.299 That we would not go away saying, that was a nice sermon. 00:01:46.900 --> 00:01:49.439 But we go away saying, God has spoken to me. 00:01:49.900 --> 00:01:51.079 And I need to change. 00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:51.960 I need to respond. 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:53.799 I need to be different in the light of this. 00:01:54.659 --> 00:01:57.099 Open our eyes to see something more of you this morning. 00:01:57.819 --> 00:02:00.780 Thank you that you're an amazing God who wants to speak to us. 00:02:01.379 --> 00:02:01.620 Amen. 00:02:05.539 --> 00:02:06.140 Good morning. 00:02:06.140 --> 00:02:09.840 That is the last time I let Chris introduce me. 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:15.960 Like I said, yes, I'm on staff at Watermark. 00:02:16.039 --> 00:02:17.300 I work with university students. 00:02:18.139 --> 00:02:20.139 And today we're continuing in Jonah. 00:02:20.740 --> 00:02:23.280 Graham, one of our elders, started this series last week. 00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:27.539 And he talked about four great things. 00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:32.300 But it's the two greater things that he talked about that are continuing on in this story. 00:02:32.759 --> 00:02:36.099 Those are a greater God and a greater grace. 00:02:37.139 --> 00:02:44.739 Graham talked about a God who reaches out to the Assyrians in Nineveh, the people who are probably furthest from his grace. 00:02:45.399 --> 00:02:53.500 He reaches out to them and he sends Jonah and he gives him a chance at redemption, at restoration, a chance at repentance. 00:02:54.739 --> 00:02:56.859 But as we know, Jonah refused to go. 00:02:57.959 --> 00:03:02.299 He went on a ship to Tarshish and ran away. 00:03:02.300 --> 00:03:02.380 Okay. 00:03:05.020 --> 00:03:10.860 But one of the things that Graham asked us last week, and it really, really stuck in my mind, was, 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:14.080 where is our Nineveh? 00:03:14.300 --> 00:03:15.100 Who is our Nineveh? 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:22.280 Who are the people that God is sending us to that we're running away, that we're refusing to engage with the gospel? 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:26.699 Today, I want to talk a bit more about grace. 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:29.340 We saw a bit of what it looked like for Nineveh last week. 00:03:29.819 --> 00:03:37.379 Today, I want to zoom in and really look at what it was like on the boat, what it looked like for the sailors, what it looked like for Jonah. 00:03:37.379 --> 00:03:43.699 As we know, there's a storm in this story, and in Hong Kong, we have our own storms. 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:48.539 Monsoon season is coming, and we have typhoons that come and batter Hong Kong. 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:52.519 And as a child growing up, I had a love-hate relationship with typhoons. 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:59.359 I would hate them because they would ruin my summer holidays. 00:04:00.539 --> 00:04:01.560 I'd have to stay at home. 00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:02.319 I couldn't go outside. 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:03.019 I couldn't play. 00:04:03.020 --> 00:04:08.040 But then, if typhoons came late enough, they'd cancel school. 00:04:08.180 --> 00:04:10.520 And I loved them because, man, I could stay home and watch TV all day. 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:16.860 But sometimes, again, they came during the weekends or on public holidays and ruined those days for me again. 00:04:18.019 --> 00:04:23.680 But growing up in Hong Kong, I never really appreciated what a storm was really like. 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:24.720 We're very sheltered. 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:25.800 We have good buildings. 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:31.360 But in the Philippines, for example, last year, we saw Typhoon Yolanda come and tear up the country. 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:33.280 Storms are a big deal. 00:04:34.400 --> 00:04:35.660 They destroy lives. 00:04:35.939 --> 00:04:37.900 They're dangerous and disruptive. 00:04:39.819 --> 00:04:43.400 But very much like typhoons, we face storms in our own lives. 00:04:44.840 --> 00:04:46.319 Some are more literal than others. 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:52.400 It could be something at home or at work, something with our families, 00:04:52.620 --> 00:04:57.160 something that comes or runs through our lives and leaves us helpless and wondering what just happened. 00:04:57.160 --> 00:05:08.400 It could be a failing marriage, the loss of a scholarship, the death of a close friend, leaving Hong Kong. 00:05:09.780 --> 00:05:13.160 Or you could be stuck outside in the middle of a black thunderstorm. 00:05:14.379 --> 00:05:15.580 We all face storms. 00:05:15.579 --> 00:05:22.240 And in them, we have this immense opportunity to see grace, to see God working in our lives. 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:27.519 We have an immense opportunity to turn to God and to respond to him. 00:05:29.620 --> 00:05:32.099 So today, we meet Jonah on a boat to Tarshish. 00:05:32.939 --> 00:05:36.759 In this little bit, we see that he's rejected God's heart to reach out to lost people. 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:39.620 And in his pride, he said that, 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:44.159 I'm a prophet of God's chosen people, and the Ninevites are evil. 00:05:44.539 --> 00:05:45.759 They deserve to die. 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:48.120 So I'm going to run away in this other direction. 00:05:48.180 --> 00:05:49.120 I'm going to go to Tarshish. 00:05:50.159 --> 00:05:52.240 Because, you know, God doesn't hang out in Tarshish. 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:53.759 I'll get away from him. 00:05:54.899 --> 00:05:58.539 He gets in the boat, and God sends this storm that rocks the boat. 00:05:58.819 --> 00:06:00.039 And the sailors are freaking out. 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:01.899 They decide, this is not a normal storm. 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:03.560 Something supernatural is going on here. 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:06.480 Let's cast lots and see whose fault it is. 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:07.939 It comes up with Jonah. 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:10.079 And as we know, he ends up thrown overboard. 00:06:10.660 --> 00:06:11.800 The storm stops. 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:13.920 And the sailors worship God. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:16.639 It says they make vows and sacrifices. 00:06:19.240 --> 00:06:21.019 But this story is more than about Jonah. 00:06:21.259 --> 00:06:22.540 It's more than about the sailors. 00:06:22.819 --> 00:06:25.819 And even later on, it's not really about Nineveh. 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:28.199 This story is about what God is doing. 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:31.579 This story is about God's grace. 00:06:31.579 --> 00:06:35.300 It's about the grace that he's pouring out on those who are his people. 00:06:35.719 --> 00:06:38.519 It's about the grace he's showing to people who aren't his people. 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:41.800 It's about grace that he's showing to you and that he's showing to me. 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:45.180 God is gracious in many ways. 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:48.019 And sometimes grace is easy to see. 00:06:48.479 --> 00:06:50.240 Other times it takes a little bit of digging. 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:57.879 But as I've been preparing and looking at Jonah, I realized that I needed to be reminded of what grace was. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:59.160 We talk about grace a lot. 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:02.439 And sometimes we see, ah, okay, that is grace. 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:04.280 We have this very good picture of what it is. 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:08.980 And other times it kind of gets muddled up in the things that are going on in our life. 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:10.220 And we don't really see it. 00:07:10.540 --> 00:07:11.680 So I looked for a definition. 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:14.100 And I came across with this. 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:16.819 And I really like it. 00:07:17.060 --> 00:07:17.500 It says, 00:07:18.579 --> 00:07:23.639 Grace is undeserving love given lavishly by an unobligated giver. 00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:29.100 Undeserving love given lavishly by an unobligated giver. 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:32.320 Grace is God reaching out. 00:07:32.540 --> 00:07:33.960 It's him chasing us. 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:34.840 It's him loving us. 00:07:34.900 --> 00:07:36.100 It's him refining us. 00:07:36.180 --> 00:07:38.180 It's him turning us into his image. 00:07:38.840 --> 00:07:40.160 And not because we deserve it. 00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:42.000 But because he's God. 00:07:42.060 --> 00:07:43.700 Not because he owes it to us. 00:07:44.500 --> 00:07:45.939 But because he is God. 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:50.340 So this morning I have a few things I want to show you. 00:07:50.700 --> 00:07:51.480 And talk about. 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:55.820 The first is how God shows grace in this story. 00:07:55.819 --> 00:08:00.459 The second is how people respond to that grace. 00:08:00.939 --> 00:08:03.819 And the third is what that might look like in our lives. 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:07.139 Let's start with Jonah. 00:08:08.719 --> 00:08:11.300 Now if there's anyone in this story who knows about grace, it should be Jonah. 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:12.560 He was a prophet. 00:08:12.699 --> 00:08:13.339 It was his job. 00:08:13.779 --> 00:08:14.459 Go to these people. 00:08:14.659 --> 00:08:15.199 Preach grace. 00:08:15.459 --> 00:08:16.180 Go to those people. 00:08:16.420 --> 00:08:16.920 Preach grace. 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:19.240 If someone knew about grace, it should have been Jonah. 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:22.039 But in this story, he didn't. 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:28.260 Something didn't connect between the work that he did and what God was trying to show him. 00:08:29.420 --> 00:08:31.400 In this story, God is so gracious to Jonah. 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:32.039 He's so loving. 00:08:32.680 --> 00:08:34.519 And I never really noticed it. 00:08:34.680 --> 00:08:35.700 And Jonah didn't either. 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:42.180 I think until recently, when I looked at the story of Jonah, I was always looking at Jonah and what Jonah did. 00:08:42.539 --> 00:08:43.420 Jonah on the boat. 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:44.500 Jonah and Nineveh. 00:08:44.759 --> 00:08:45.899 Jonah and the fish. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:48.340 But this story is about God. 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:51.019 This is about what God is doing. 00:08:51.019 --> 00:08:56.419 It's about all the seen and the unseen actions that God is doing through the story. 00:08:57.120 --> 00:08:59.299 God's grace isn't passive in the story of Jonah. 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:00.179 It's very active. 00:09:00.379 --> 00:09:01.779 God is doing things. 00:09:04.220 --> 00:09:07.460 The story of Jonah could have ended in a million different places. 00:09:08.019 --> 00:09:09.639 It could have ended a hundred different ways. 00:09:10.100 --> 00:09:13.159 And the existence of the story of Jonah in itself is grace. 00:09:13.220 --> 00:09:14.039 That's grace to us. 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:16.620 And it's the first bit of grace for Jonah. 00:09:16.620 --> 00:09:22.960 I'm imagining a situation in which God goes and speaks to Jonah and says, go to the Ninevites. 00:09:23.340 --> 00:09:25.759 And Jonah says, no, I'm just going to stay here. 00:09:26.340 --> 00:09:27.139 I'm going to go play on my Xbox. 00:09:27.139 --> 00:09:32.360 Or he could have run away and God could have let him run away. 00:09:32.860 --> 00:09:35.279 You know, he'd hear the story about, hey, remember Jonah? 00:09:35.419 --> 00:09:35.939 He was a guy. 00:09:36.019 --> 00:09:37.240 He preached in Israel for a little bit. 00:09:37.639 --> 00:09:37.899 Oh, yeah. 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:38.899 Now he lives in Tarshish. 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:39.740 All right. 00:09:39.860 --> 00:09:40.799 It could have been that. 00:09:42.500 --> 00:09:45.319 Or it could have been something different. 00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:49.460 It could have been, ah, well, who is Jonah? 00:09:49.460 --> 00:09:49.580 Jonah. 00:09:49.940 --> 00:09:50.900 I don't know a Jonah. 00:09:51.879 --> 00:09:53.040 No Jonah in the story. 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:54.379 No Jonah heard of anywhere. 00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:57.160 But God wasn't happy with that. 00:09:58.019 --> 00:10:00.900 God wanted to see Nineveh being redeemed. 00:10:01.379 --> 00:10:04.940 God wanted Jonah to see Nineveh being redeemed. 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:06.019 God wasn't letting go. 00:10:07.980 --> 00:10:09.780 The next bit of grace we see is a storm. 00:10:09.980 --> 00:10:14.120 Now, a storm isn't ideally what you'd think of when you think about grace. 00:10:15.320 --> 00:10:17.440 But God needed to catch Jonah's attention. 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:22.080 He needed something to show his grace that Jonah wouldn't miss. 00:10:22.520 --> 00:10:23.640 So he sends a storm. 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:25.780 And, you know, it looks like a punishment sometimes. 00:10:26.620 --> 00:10:28.460 I think that if I was God, that's what I would do. 00:10:28.940 --> 00:10:29.760 I tell someone to do something. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:30.300 They disobey. 00:10:30.540 --> 00:10:30.900 Storm. 00:10:31.060 --> 00:10:31.300 Dead. 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:32.200 All right. 00:10:32.400 --> 00:10:33.480 Now someone else come and do it. 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:36.140 And it's probably a good thing that I'm not God. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:39.280 But the storm doesn't kill Jonah. 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:40.020 It wakes him up. 00:10:40.060 --> 00:10:42.740 And as the captain says to Jonah, wake up, wake up. 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:45.420 And God is saying the same thing to Jonah. 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:47.380 God is calling to Jonah and saying, 00:10:47.760 --> 00:10:48.480 Wake up. 00:10:49.900 --> 00:10:56.280 Next, God orchestrates this scenario in which the sailors are compelled to cast lots. 00:10:56.680 --> 00:10:57.400 They cast lots. 00:10:57.780 --> 00:11:00.600 And now Jonah is stuck in a situation where the blame is on him. 00:11:01.060 --> 00:11:02.720 And he's called to account. 00:11:03.140 --> 00:11:05.080 He said, you know, what's the deal? 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:05.920 What's going on? 00:11:06.180 --> 00:11:06.660 Who are you? 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:07.320 Where are you from? 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:10.240 And he says it in verse 9. 00:11:11.100 --> 00:11:13.460 But, and the sailors realize that they are in trouble. 00:11:14.420 --> 00:11:15.240 And they're terrified. 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:17.460 And they ask what they must do to save him. 00:11:17.740 --> 00:11:19.480 Now I'm surprised they asked in the first place. 00:11:19.920 --> 00:11:20.900 I imagine I'm a sailor. 00:11:20.899 --> 00:11:21.539 I'm on my boat. 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:22.840 I'm going off on this journey. 00:11:23.299 --> 00:11:30.259 And this guy who's running away from God comes in my boat and tells me, ooh, actually, there's a God who's angry with me. 00:11:30.259 --> 00:11:34.419 And so this storm that's about to destroy your boat is my fault. 00:11:34.819 --> 00:11:37.279 I'm surprised the sailors didn't just, you know, kill him on the spot. 00:11:37.620 --> 00:11:38.220 Get it done with. 00:11:38.340 --> 00:11:40.100 You know, get rid of the bad guy. 00:11:40.100 --> 00:11:42.379 But they didn't. 00:11:42.440 --> 00:11:46.200 It seems that even these sailors care more about obedience to God than Jonah does. 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:51.180 Now the result of this interchange is that Jonah's thrown overboard. 00:11:51.360 --> 00:11:53.800 And again, God would have been satisfied with that. 00:11:54.399 --> 00:12:02.960 He could have been satisfied with a story which said that, well, God didn't kill the sailors, but he killed Jonah because Jonah sinned. 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:04.800 But he doesn't. 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:07.620 You know, later on we see that he sends a big fish. 00:12:08.180 --> 00:12:09.899 And I'm always thinking it could have been a shark. 00:12:10.100 --> 00:12:17.940 But God's story isn't about getting revenge on Jonah. 00:12:19.060 --> 00:12:21.680 God's story is about grace for Jonah. 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:24.960 It could have ended in Israel, in Tarshish. 00:12:25.300 --> 00:12:27.159 There could have been another prophet who had gone to Nineveh. 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:30.240 It could have ended in the bottom of the ocean or in the belly of a shark. 00:12:31.180 --> 00:12:33.220 But God isn't satisfied with that. 00:12:33.779 --> 00:12:35.360 He's always reaching out. 00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:38.279 He's always calling Jonah back to himself. 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:43.179 He says, Jonah, I love you and I want you to see what I'm about to do for Nineveh. 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:46.240 I want you to come along with me and I'm not going to let you run away. 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:56.019 Now, like the ship's captain waking Jonah, God says to him, wake up and see my grace. 00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:58.220 See my grace that I have for you. 00:12:58.340 --> 00:12:59.460 See my grace in this storm. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:01.879 See my grace that is all around you. 00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:07.779 You know, in the story of Jonah, we continue to see time and time again God showing grace to Jonah. 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:09.659 He sees it in the belly of the fish. 00:13:09.659 --> 00:13:10.559 We see it in Nineveh. 00:13:10.620 --> 00:13:11.779 We see it on the mountainside. 00:13:12.259 --> 00:13:16.019 God is always pouring out and showing Jonah how much he loves you. 00:13:18.699 --> 00:13:20.199 The sailors had a different story. 00:13:21.019 --> 00:13:22.259 They were very different from Jonah. 00:13:23.139 --> 00:13:23.939 Jonah was a prophet. 00:13:24.819 --> 00:13:25.459 They were sailors. 00:13:26.319 --> 00:13:27.059 Jonah was a Hebrew. 00:13:27.939 --> 00:13:28.879 They were pagans. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:30.960 They probably worshipped a million different gods. 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:35.620 And the sea being very unpredictable, they were probably very religious. 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:38.360 God still reaches out to them. 00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:39.740 And we see grace in three ways. 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:40.720 I'll run through them real quick. 00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:42.299 The first is a storm. 00:13:42.460 --> 00:13:44.220 And God is catching their attention with that storm. 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:47.939 Like waking up, but, you know, they were not sleeping like Jonah. 00:13:49.799 --> 00:13:54.159 I think it's safe to assume that the sailors were convinced this was a supernatural storm. 00:13:55.580 --> 00:13:58.460 You know, they tried to throw everything overboard. 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:00.759 You know, the cargo that they were going to be paid for. 00:14:01.700 --> 00:14:05.139 They prayed to gods, and they prayed to any god that would listen. 00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:08.019 And they cast lots. 00:14:08.779 --> 00:14:11.679 And through the storm, we see that God is capturing their attention. 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:15.419 And through the lots, we see them directing their attention. 00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:19.519 God says, sailors, listen to me. 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:20.059 All right? 00:14:20.220 --> 00:14:21.360 Now go listen to Jonah. 00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:24.720 And Jonah says to them, we see it in verse 9. 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:26.519 I am a Hebrew. 00:14:27.040 --> 00:14:31.940 I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. 00:14:32.779 --> 00:14:36.639 So here we have sailors on a boat, convinced of a supernatural storm. 00:14:37.040 --> 00:14:39.300 And now they have a reason for that storm. 00:14:40.540 --> 00:14:44.680 And God's grace continues as he confirms to the sailors that actually what Jonah was saying is true. 00:14:44.679 --> 00:14:51.079 Because we know that as soon as they threw Jonah overboard, the sea stopped. 00:14:51.439 --> 00:14:52.039 The storm ended. 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:56.039 And the sailors worshipped God. 00:14:56.519 --> 00:15:00.459 Through all of this, God is bringing not just Jonah back to him, 00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:05.059 but he's bringing the sailors step by step closer to knowing him, to worshipping him. 00:15:05.059 --> 00:15:08.319 We have two very different displays of grace. 00:15:09.079 --> 00:15:10.939 For the sailors, it's, wake up. 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:12.479 Your gods can't help you. 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:13.719 You're helpless. 00:15:14.359 --> 00:15:17.339 Come to me, and I will show you what salvation looks like. 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:21.199 But to Jonah, he says, he's always realigning Jonah's story. 00:15:21.339 --> 00:15:26.319 Jonah tries to go one way, and God is realigning him and pointing him in another direction. 00:15:26.939 --> 00:15:27.739 Never letting go. 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:29.219 Always reaching out. 00:15:30.659 --> 00:15:33.099 In this story, grace comes as a wake-up call. 00:15:33.100 --> 00:15:35.139 Wake up, sailors. 00:15:36.340 --> 00:15:40.379 Come, be in a relationship with me, because your gods will leave you helpless. 00:15:42.060 --> 00:15:45.399 Jonah, I am serious about using you to reach new people. 00:15:47.340 --> 00:15:48.519 Come with me. 00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:50.740 Come, take part in my mission to bless the world. 00:15:53.019 --> 00:15:59.480 The grace of God is that God is big enough to create a storm, 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:02.899 but also gentle enough to show us grace through it. 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:08.740 There are two responses to God's grace in this story. 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:13.379 We see rebellion on one hand and worship on the other. 00:16:14.500 --> 00:16:15.899 But not quite how you expect. 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:19.600 You'd think that because Jonah's a prophet, he would be the one worshipping God. 00:16:21.220 --> 00:16:22.960 But instead, he worships himself. 00:16:23.860 --> 00:16:24.519 He rebels. 00:16:24.519 --> 00:16:29.240 C.S. Lewis says that all human beings are worshippers. 00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:31.340 We all worship something or other. 00:16:33.299 --> 00:16:36.360 The difference between us would be what we're worshipping. 00:16:38.079 --> 00:16:40.819 Someone who worships something that is not God rebels. 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:45.439 And Jonah, it seems, was serving his own sense of righteousness. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:48.160 He worshipped his position as a prophet. 00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:53.800 He worshipped his position as a Jewish person, part of God's chosen people, 00:16:53.940 --> 00:16:56.400 more than he worshipped the God who actually chose the people. 00:16:57.900 --> 00:17:00.620 And we see this in the way that he responds to God's grace. 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:01.800 We know he's running away. 00:17:02.700 --> 00:17:04.400 And he says in the beginning that, 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:07.720 actually, I don't want to preach the gospel to Nineveh. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:14.300 Because I think that my sense of justice, of mercy, of righteousness is better than God's. 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:16.980 And it continues in the boat. 00:17:18.620 --> 00:17:20.040 Jonah says in verse 9, 00:17:20.380 --> 00:17:21.300 this is who God is. 00:17:21.360 --> 00:17:23.100 This is who I am as a Hebrew person. 00:17:23.560 --> 00:17:25.280 And it sounds almost like a creed. 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:27.000 And when you say a creed, 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:29.400 you're reminded of who you are and what you believe. 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:33.840 And you'd think that this is the kind of thing that would cause Jonah to turn to repent. 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:34.919 But he doesn't. 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:36.659 I don't get it. 00:17:38.139 --> 00:17:39.179 It doesn't work for Jonah. 00:17:39.619 --> 00:17:41.519 He says, I'm a Hebrew and this is God. 00:17:41.899 --> 00:17:43.559 And the sailors come to him with questions. 00:17:44.459 --> 00:17:46.279 And Jonah admits, the storm is my fault. 00:17:46.959 --> 00:17:50.699 And he's asked what they should do to make the sea quiet. 00:17:50.899 --> 00:17:52.980 What they must do to satisfy God. 00:17:54.919 --> 00:17:57.240 Now, growing up in a Christian household, 00:17:57.539 --> 00:18:00.059 I was never really surprised by Jonah's response. 00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:02.679 Every time my mom told me the story of Jonah, 00:18:02.679 --> 00:18:03.419 it was the same. 00:18:03.840 --> 00:18:05.140 Jonah says, throw me in the water. 00:18:06.080 --> 00:18:07.539 But why does Jonah give that answer? 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:12.539 Now, I always thought that at that moment, 00:18:12.860 --> 00:18:16.440 we have Jonah who has seen God in the storm 00:18:16.440 --> 00:18:20.220 and realizes that, ooh, I've done a bad thing. 00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:22.880 And now his heart is repentant. 00:18:23.320 --> 00:18:26.080 And he's going to say, I'm going to do the noble thing 00:18:26.080 --> 00:18:29.480 and sacrifice myself so that you guys can live. 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:31.960 I always thought that Jonah was being noble in that moment, 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:34.819 that he was reformed and that he was going back to God. 00:18:35.579 --> 00:18:38.920 Or maybe that Jonah had an inkling that God would send a fish to rescue him. 00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:42.300 But the Bible doesn't say anything about that. 00:18:42.300 --> 00:18:48.000 And a noble Jonah, that doesn't really fit in with his character. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:54.039 I think that Jonah who was touched by grace may have said something like this. 00:18:55.299 --> 00:18:57.859 Well, God asked me to preach the gospel to Nineveh, 00:18:57.980 --> 00:18:59.359 so I'm going to preach it to you instead. 00:18:59.920 --> 00:19:02.700 Repent and turn to God, and God will stop the storm. 00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:05.680 Or maybe he would have said, turn the ship around. 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:06.839 Take me back to Nineveh. 00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:09.160 And then God will stop the storm. 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:12.560 But Jonah's response is rebellion. 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:16.140 We see Jonah rebelling from God and running away. 00:19:17.840 --> 00:19:19.060 We'll see in the coming weeks, 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:21.580 Jonah's heart rebelling as God saves the Ninevites. 00:19:22.840 --> 00:19:25.040 And when Jonah's telling the sailors to throw him overboard, 00:19:25.740 --> 00:19:27.340 I think he's thinking one of two things. 00:19:27.420 --> 00:19:30.220 Either he's thinking, well, God has caught up with me, 00:19:30.259 --> 00:19:31.480 and he's right to punish me. 00:19:32.220 --> 00:19:34.920 But what I think he was actually thinking is something along these lines. 00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:38.100 I don't want to preach to the Ninevites. 00:19:39.160 --> 00:19:42.460 I don't want to preach the gospel to Ninevites so much 00:19:42.460 --> 00:19:47.240 that I would rather go into the ocean and die and drown in this stormy sea 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:49.620 than do what God has called me to do. 00:19:52.140 --> 00:19:55.519 And that's consistent with Jonah's character, I think. 00:19:55.840 --> 00:19:59.120 In chapter 4, we see Jonah saying, after God saves Nineveh, 00:19:59.560 --> 00:20:01.160 he says, I'm so angry I could die. 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:03.320 That's the same Jonah in the boat. 00:20:03.840 --> 00:20:07.420 The same Jonah that's running away is the same Jonah who's saying, 00:20:07.420 --> 00:20:09.640 I would rather die than do God's work. 00:20:10.019 --> 00:20:11.100 I refuse to bow down. 00:20:11.180 --> 00:20:12.840 I want to do things my way. 00:20:14.779 --> 00:20:17.700 So there's Jonah's rebellion, and there's this. 00:20:18.820 --> 00:20:22.960 There is a bunch of sailors on a boat worshiping God. 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:26.620 Now, the question I always ask is, 00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:29.539 how do we know that these sailors had truly turned to God? 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:33.840 It says that they made sacrifices, they made vows, 00:20:34.120 --> 00:20:37.700 but is that something that really changed their life? 00:20:37.700 --> 00:20:42.360 I don't know where they made these sacrifices, 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:44.940 whether they made them on the boat or off the boat, 00:20:45.059 --> 00:20:48.160 but the time they made the sacrifice, I think, gives us a big clue. 00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:51.880 It says it was after the storm had calmed. 00:20:52.819 --> 00:20:54.640 And I think that after is very important. 00:20:57.319 --> 00:21:00.480 Before my mom had me and my siblings, she was a medical doctor. 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:04.079 And she used to tell us stories about different things that happened in the hospital. 00:21:04.779 --> 00:21:08.940 And her favorite story was about a man who came to the hospital with breathing difficulty. 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:15.140 This guy came in, and he was making really short, shallow, painful breaths. 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:17.759 And he also had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. 00:21:19.220 --> 00:21:22.220 Now, you didn't have to be a doctor to know where his breathing problems came from. 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:25.279 You don't have to be a genius to know why mom told us the story. 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:26.880 She didn't want us smoking. 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:32.160 So this man comes in, and he's settled in, and the doctors come, and they do the tests. 00:21:32.320 --> 00:21:34.460 And later on, mom goes to speak to him and says, 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:36.180 You have emphysema. 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:41.060 Emphysema is this lung disease where the linings on the inside of your wall, 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:44.680 they begin to shrivel, and the alveoli become small, 00:21:44.760 --> 00:21:46.680 and they're not really good at doing oxygen transfer. 00:21:47.320 --> 00:21:49.820 And basically, the result of it is you feel like you're drowning, 00:21:50.020 --> 00:21:51.460 even though you're breathing pure air. 00:21:53.320 --> 00:21:54.480 But mom said to him, 00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:57.079 Actually, it's quite early on. 00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:58.480 We can do something about this. 00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:00.599 We can treat you. 00:22:01.299 --> 00:22:04.519 But the thing is, if you continue smoking, it's going to get worse. 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:08.039 So this guy was so happy. 00:22:08.220 --> 00:22:08.420 He said, 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:11.599 Doctor, I will do anything to get rid of this pain. 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:13.460 You know, treat me. 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:16.120 And a couple of weeks later, he was on his way, having recovered. 00:22:16.119 --> 00:22:22.399 Now, a couple of months later, mom was doing a rouse and heard a familiar voice calling out to God, 00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:23.179 God, help me. 00:22:23.459 --> 00:22:24.500 Doctor, save me. 00:22:29.299 --> 00:22:30.779 Yeah, he was begging to the doctors. 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:33.839 And mom went and had a look, and it was the same man. 00:22:35.319 --> 00:22:38.019 Now, obviously, he hadn't carried out on his promise. 00:22:38.699 --> 00:22:40.759 He'd kept smoking, and the emphysema was back. 00:22:41.179 --> 00:22:42.039 It was worse than ever. 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:44.460 And a couple of days later, he passed away. 00:22:46.259 --> 00:22:51.599 I don't know about you, but in my experience, the more terrifying the situation, the more religious people become. 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:55.220 It doesn't matter whether they've been in church their whole lives or if they're an atheist. 00:22:55.940 --> 00:22:58.039 When people are terrified, they turn to God. 00:22:58.039 --> 00:23:04.180 You know, they'll do anything to make the pain go away. 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:05.899 And I think you see this in the same time. 00:23:06.920 --> 00:23:08.220 We see this with the students. 00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:12.079 When exams are coming, all of a sudden, they turn up at church. 00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:12.819 And I love it. 00:23:16.339 --> 00:23:19.759 But, you know, they'll do anything to pass the exams. 00:23:19.819 --> 00:23:22.859 Under pressure, we will do anything to make our pain go away. 00:23:22.859 --> 00:23:31.419 And the difference between the sailors in a boat and this patient with emphysema is that after the storm had calmed, the sailors were still worshiping. 00:23:32.939 --> 00:23:40.679 Getting off the abyss at Ocean Park, the irreligious man forgets the promise he made to God never to go on this ride just 80 meters higher. 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:44.340 And he runs and goes back to the line to get on the ride again. 00:23:45.900 --> 00:23:50.940 The alcoholic forgets the vow he made while hungover that he would never touch another drink. 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:55.000 And the patient left the hospital and forgot his suffering. 00:23:57.259 --> 00:23:59.900 The sailors' plea for salvation was a different kind of pleading. 00:24:00.740 --> 00:24:01.600 They knew the seas. 00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:03.960 They knew that this wasn't a natural storm. 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:08.880 So when they saw their salvation from God, they worshipped. 00:24:09.100 --> 00:24:13.100 They were shown, what we see later in chapter 2, that salvation belongs to the Lord. 00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:17.259 This was a transformation that continued after the storm. 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:20.700 Their response wasn't to forget or to ignore God. 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:24.000 Their response was to be changed. 00:24:24.779 --> 00:24:25.579 They became worshippers. 00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:34.740 Jonah and the sailors and the Ninevites later on, they find themselves in this helpless situation. 00:24:35.179 --> 00:24:36.579 Something in which they could do nothing. 00:24:37.619 --> 00:24:39.559 The sailors were changed by this. 00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:42.359 The Ninevites were changed by this. 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:43.859 But not Jonah. 00:24:45.059 --> 00:24:46.159 He worships himself. 00:24:46.279 --> 00:24:48.299 He refuses to follow God. 00:24:50.139 --> 00:24:52.819 A lot of the times in the storms that we face in our lives, 00:24:52.819 --> 00:24:55.480 whether it's something that's big and shattering like divorce, 00:24:55.619 --> 00:24:58.500 or whether it's something small like missing our bus. 00:24:59.379 --> 00:25:01.539 We lose sight of our helplessness. 00:25:02.899 --> 00:25:05.119 And we try to figure out how to save ourselves. 00:25:05.799 --> 00:25:10.919 We get consumed in ourself, and we turn to our self-God to save us. 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:13.200 There's that response. 00:25:13.259 --> 00:25:15.639 Or there's another response where we see our helplessness, 00:25:15.639 --> 00:25:17.200 and we realize there's nothing we can do, 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:19.079 and we turn to despair. 00:25:19.539 --> 00:25:21.960 We become depressed and wallow in our own sadness. 00:25:22.819 --> 00:25:27.079 We're torn not just by the storm, but by the depression we fall into. 00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:31.019 A typhoon season is coming. 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:34.460 And Watermark, how are we responding? 00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:36.220 How are we responding to our storms? 00:25:38.379 --> 00:25:41.539 What do we do when our boss asks us to work all weekend? 00:25:43.079 --> 00:25:44.500 Or when the cat needs surgery? 00:25:45.619 --> 00:25:47.159 Do we trust ourselves? 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:53.019 Or when we get that letter from the bank asking for this and that charge? 00:25:53.380 --> 00:25:55.400 Or when your essay deadline is coming? 00:25:56.380 --> 00:25:57.440 Are we despairing? 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:04.300 Or what about that conversation that you're going to have with your child's teacher about his behavior? 00:26:04.299 --> 00:26:10.259 Or when you find yourselves wondering where next month's rent is going to come from? 00:26:11.659 --> 00:26:12.919 Are we turning to ourselves? 00:26:13.919 --> 00:26:15.079 Or are we turning to God? 00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:21.259 Is our heart's response to trust God with our helpless state? 00:26:21.259 --> 00:26:26.960 Is Watermark a place where we worship God in our storms? 00:26:28.539 --> 00:26:29.759 Or do we worship ourselves? 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:36.160 It's usually pretty easy for me to know if I'm in a storm. 00:26:36.859 --> 00:26:41.480 Because when something bad happens, it consumes my mind and my focus and all my attention. 00:26:41.480 --> 00:26:43.880 I've been this way since I was a kid. 00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:47.140 As a child, and still now, I hated mosquitoes. 00:26:47.880 --> 00:26:49.860 And in the summer, I smelt like a chemical factory. 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:54.140 Because I'd put everything on to make sure the mosquitoes wouldn't come within a mile of me. 00:26:55.299 --> 00:26:59.319 But that was because if a mosquito bit me for the next three hours, 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:03.440 there was nothing I was going to do except for look at my wound and tend to it 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:06.839 and make sure that it gets better and that the itching stops. 00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:10.740 When the storm of a mosquito bite hit my life, that was it. 00:27:11.480 --> 00:27:12.620 Nothing else was going to be done. 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:14.000 Nothing was going to be thought about. 00:27:15.299 --> 00:27:16.980 I'm not so bad anymore, I think. 00:27:17.779 --> 00:27:19.720 I still respond to storms in a similar way. 00:27:20.920 --> 00:27:22.579 My response isn't usually despair. 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:24.620 It's usually the thinking. 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:26.940 Sometimes I think I'm a really intelligent guy. 00:27:28.019 --> 00:27:29.160 How long do you decide for yourselves? 00:27:31.660 --> 00:27:34.839 I turn to the idol of my own intellect, my own resourcefulness. 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:38.500 Because I think that if I can figure it out, that everything will be okay. 00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:45.220 A couple of years ago when God was showing me that he wanted me to leave the church I was at 00:27:45.220 --> 00:27:48.940 and look for something else, another place to serve, 00:27:49.420 --> 00:27:52.720 I had a thousand reasons why my plan to stay was better. 00:27:54.460 --> 00:27:55.180 It wasn't. 00:27:56.200 --> 00:28:00.099 Or when I used to work in labs and an experiment would go wrong. 00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:03.960 I would sit there and I would just be consumed by everything. 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:05.019 Okay, what did I do wrong? 00:28:05.019 --> 00:28:07.200 All right, did I put the PCR in long enough? 00:28:07.379 --> 00:28:07.859 Did I do this? 00:28:07.879 --> 00:28:08.339 Did I do that? 00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:12.000 And I would think and think and think and think until days had passed 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:15.900 and I hadn't done anything but think about what I had done wrong. 00:28:18.879 --> 00:28:20.339 Now, are these responses rebellion? 00:28:22.579 --> 00:28:23.259 I think so. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:26.819 I'm not despairing, but that doesn't make it okay. 00:28:26.819 --> 00:28:32.539 Because in each of those situations, I would say in my heart that my thoughts were greater than God's thoughts, 00:28:32.639 --> 00:28:34.639 that my will should be done. 00:28:36.019 --> 00:28:37.779 The thing is, I never really thought I was turning away. 00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:40.379 I just kept doing what Alfie normally does. 00:28:40.879 --> 00:28:43.980 Alfie has a problem, he sits down, he thinks, he works it out. 00:28:46.659 --> 00:28:47.559 Let me tell you a story. 00:28:48.700 --> 00:28:50.619 Earlier this week, I went to a lawyer's office. 00:28:50.619 --> 00:28:53.119 I wasn't in trouble. 00:28:54.599 --> 00:28:59.259 But my parents are incredibly generous and they're helping me buy my first place. 00:28:59.959 --> 00:29:01.439 In Hong Kong, that's a really big deal. 00:29:03.699 --> 00:29:07.259 And, you know, the thought of buying a place and getting on the property ladder 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:09.739 has really consumed a lot of my mind, probably more than it should. 00:29:10.319 --> 00:29:13.099 I could probably have done with listening to this sermon a couple of times. 00:29:14.259 --> 00:29:17.059 But I stepped in the lawyer's office and the lawyer was telling me that 00:29:17.059 --> 00:29:19.659 they had sent off a purchase agreement to the other guy's lawyer 00:29:19.660 --> 00:29:22.080 and he had sent it back with an amendment. 00:29:22.660 --> 00:29:24.700 I looked at it and I was like, okay, that looks good. 00:29:25.080 --> 00:29:28.440 But I'm not a lawyer, so I didn't know that what actually had happened 00:29:28.440 --> 00:29:31.259 was this guy was trying to cover himself in case, you know, 00:29:31.340 --> 00:29:34.660 the tenant backed out or broke the tenancy agreement 00:29:34.660 --> 00:29:38.779 and would leave me in the cold with a house where I have to pay a mortgage on 00:29:38.779 --> 00:29:40.300 and no rental income. 00:29:41.900 --> 00:29:46.320 So for the next hour and a half, I sat there with a lawyer discussing, debating, 00:29:46.560 --> 00:29:48.560 thinking, trying to figure out what could we do, 00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:52.179 how could we adjust this or change it so that they would accept it 00:29:52.179 --> 00:29:53.919 and so that I wouldn't be left out in the cold. 00:29:56.879 --> 00:29:58.079 Eventually, we came up with a solution. 00:29:59.220 --> 00:30:05.099 And so we drafted a little counterproposal and it was done. 00:30:05.099 --> 00:30:10.319 But in that moment, in that hour and a half, there was never a moment when I thought, 00:30:10.419 --> 00:30:12.799 hey, Alfie, you know that sermon you're preaching on Sunday? 00:30:13.179 --> 00:30:14.879 You know, the one about trusting God in the storms? 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:17.259 How about you trust him now? 00:30:18.099 --> 00:30:18.959 I didn't think that. 00:30:19.719 --> 00:30:24.399 I was thinking, if we sit down and we work this out, everything will be okay. 00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:29.820 Now, I'm not saying that when someone is trying to take advantage of you 00:30:29.820 --> 00:30:32.580 that you should roll over and say, oh, well, I'm just trusting God. 00:30:33.120 --> 00:30:34.259 Yeah, I'm not being like Jonah. 00:30:34.400 --> 00:30:36.280 I'm trusting God and letting people take advantage of me. 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:38.620 And, you know, I know a lot of you in the business world, 00:30:38.700 --> 00:30:41.460 you're working with people who are out to get you. 00:30:42.740 --> 00:30:46.560 But my question is, what does it look like to trust God when you're making these decisions? 00:30:48.180 --> 00:30:50.600 It doesn't mean rolling over on the back, on your back, 00:30:50.599 --> 00:30:54.159 but I think maybe God has something to do in that. 00:30:54.579 --> 00:30:56.919 God has something to say in that situation. 00:30:59.059 --> 00:31:02.000 In my story, God really showed me where my idols were. 00:31:02.779 --> 00:31:04.919 Because after we drafted that counterproposal, 00:31:05.279 --> 00:31:07.819 we called up the other lawyer to see if it was acceptable, 00:31:08.279 --> 00:31:10.539 and he found out that actually, the whole time, 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:12.379 the lawyer had already retracted his amendment. 00:31:13.279 --> 00:31:16.039 For an hour and a half, I spent my life worrying 00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:18.259 about something that wasn't even an issue. 00:31:18.259 --> 00:31:20.619 And not one moment did I think, 00:31:21.160 --> 00:31:24.740 wow, there's a God of grace who's there. 00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:28.019 I was so relieved. 00:31:28.619 --> 00:31:32.200 But in this experience, God is telling me that, 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:34.740 Alfie, you're preaching about trusting a God of grace, 00:31:35.160 --> 00:31:36.859 but you don't even trust me yourself. 00:31:39.559 --> 00:31:42.440 God is saying, I am great, and you don't have to be in control. 00:31:43.779 --> 00:31:45.599 He says, I'm good, and I'm gracious, 00:31:45.940 --> 00:31:47.099 and you don't have to prove yourself. 00:31:48.259 --> 00:31:50.559 God is saying that, I am God, and I love you, 00:31:50.680 --> 00:31:51.920 and I want to show you grace. 00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:55.240 Turn to me and see my grace. 00:31:57.660 --> 00:31:58.859 God taught it to the sailors. 00:32:00.099 --> 00:32:01.460 He says, I'm a God of grace, 00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:04.859 and my weakest grace is stronger than you at your strongest. 00:32:06.660 --> 00:32:07.819 God showed it to me, 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:09.099 and he said that, 00:32:10.299 --> 00:32:10.680 Alfie, 00:32:11.160 --> 00:32:13.319 you're turning to yourself. 00:32:14.039 --> 00:32:14.940 It is idolatry, 00:32:15.299 --> 00:32:16.539 rather than turning to me. 00:32:16.539 --> 00:32:20.200 Another storm I was facing was this sermon. 00:32:21.500 --> 00:32:23.379 I don't know if you can tell, but I'm really nervous. 00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:26.099 On Friday, I sat with Chris, 00:32:26.139 --> 00:32:27.240 and we're talking about this sermon, 00:32:27.379 --> 00:32:28.639 and he pointed out to me that, 00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:29.519 you know, Alfie, 00:32:30.200 --> 00:32:32.539 this sermon is actually an opportunity for you 00:32:32.539 --> 00:32:34.700 to exercise what you're preaching. 00:32:36.859 --> 00:32:37.339 And so, 00:32:37.779 --> 00:32:39.480 what would that look like? 00:32:39.480 --> 00:32:40.779 So, I made plans, 00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:41.759 and I decided that, 00:32:42.360 --> 00:32:44.860 I would make plans for all my Saturday afternoon, 00:32:45.160 --> 00:32:46.220 and all my Saturday evening, 00:32:46.420 --> 00:32:48.259 so that I wouldn't be spent sitting at my desk, 00:32:48.640 --> 00:32:50.200 pondering how to make the sermon perfect. 00:32:50.500 --> 00:32:52.360 If that sentence is in the right order, 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:53.819 or maybe I should change it. 00:32:53.819 --> 00:32:58.119 I did end up working mostly afternoon, 00:32:58.399 --> 00:32:59.419 but I didn't in the evening. 00:33:01.779 --> 00:33:02.220 But, 00:33:02.419 --> 00:33:04.099 trusting God for me meant, 00:33:04.819 --> 00:33:06.919 trusting God to speak his word, 00:33:07.480 --> 00:33:08.559 trusting God to change hearts, 00:33:08.659 --> 00:33:10.980 and me not trying to be you guys' savior. 00:33:12.319 --> 00:33:13.799 I think we should remind each other, 00:33:15.099 --> 00:33:16.939 that the God of grace that we serve, 00:33:17.819 --> 00:33:19.379 is stronger than we are at our strongest. 00:33:19.380 --> 00:33:22.480 We should remind ourselves that, 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:23.120 you know, 00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:24.140 when we're turning to God, 00:33:25.240 --> 00:33:26.620 it doesn't matter what the storm is, 00:33:27.080 --> 00:33:28.360 we're free to worship him. 00:33:28.940 --> 00:33:30.020 We're free to love him, 00:33:30.060 --> 00:33:31.100 and rest in his grace. 00:33:33.120 --> 00:33:33.920 In storms, 00:33:34.100 --> 00:33:36.260 Alfie obsesses with the practical. 00:33:37.500 --> 00:33:38.640 I sit and brood, 00:33:38.700 --> 00:33:39.260 and I ponder, 00:33:39.400 --> 00:33:40.140 and I think, 00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:41.320 and then I get grumpy, 00:33:41.440 --> 00:33:42.080 and unsociable, 00:33:42.560 --> 00:33:43.840 and then people ask me how I'm doing, 00:33:43.860 --> 00:33:44.320 and I lie, 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:45.380 and say that everything is fine. 00:33:47.160 --> 00:33:48.040 And then I think, 00:33:48.120 --> 00:33:49.160 and when I have a perfect plan, 00:33:49.160 --> 00:33:50.220 I carry it out. 00:33:50.900 --> 00:33:51.820 Because I think, 00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:52.360 in that moment, 00:33:52.420 --> 00:33:53.180 that I am God, 00:33:53.420 --> 00:33:54.779 and the plan that I have, 00:33:55.040 --> 00:33:55.980 will end the storm. 00:33:57.320 --> 00:33:58.140 I do this a lot. 00:33:58.200 --> 00:33:58.720 I do this when, 00:33:58.840 --> 00:34:00.340 I'm overwhelmed with the student ministry. 00:34:01.840 --> 00:34:03.320 I do it when I'm worrying about a sermon. 00:34:04.220 --> 00:34:05.540 I do it when I'm thinking about, 00:34:05.720 --> 00:34:06.560 what being an adult, 00:34:06.640 --> 00:34:07.759 and having a mortgage is like. 00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:10.579 In my heart, 00:34:10.659 --> 00:34:11.220 in my storms, 00:34:11.320 --> 00:34:11.980 I separate, 00:34:12.460 --> 00:34:13.240 the practical, 00:34:13.940 --> 00:34:14.740 from the spiritual, 00:34:14.860 --> 00:34:16.320 as if they have no effect on each other. 00:34:17.220 --> 00:34:17.900 And I'm pretty sure, 00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:19.039 I'm not the only one who does this. 00:34:19.159 --> 00:34:21.119 In my heart, 00:34:21.199 --> 00:34:21.619 I say that, 00:34:21.779 --> 00:34:22.779 the spiritual God, 00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:23.759 can't help me, 00:34:23.839 --> 00:34:25.539 with my practical issues. 00:34:26.699 --> 00:34:28.039 I did this in a lawyer's office. 00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:29.980 I carried the storm by myself, 00:34:30.059 --> 00:34:30.420 because, 00:34:31.420 --> 00:34:33.920 I thought the Alfie God was strong, 00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:34.159 but, 00:34:34.699 --> 00:34:35.519 the Alfie God is weak. 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:39.139 I didn't look out for, 00:34:39.340 --> 00:34:40.639 that God of grace, 00:34:40.739 --> 00:34:41.780 that powerful God. 00:34:42.980 --> 00:34:43.219 You know, 00:34:43.259 --> 00:34:43.519 I say, 00:34:43.619 --> 00:34:46.039 I'll let God take care of the spiritual things in my life, 00:34:46.480 --> 00:34:46.980 my heart, 00:34:47.079 --> 00:34:47.480 my soul, 00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:48.099 my salvation, 00:34:48.759 --> 00:34:50.800 but I won't let him touch the actual, 00:34:50.980 --> 00:34:51.719 practical things. 00:34:52.840 --> 00:34:53.739 And Jonah did the same. 00:34:53.980 --> 00:34:56.619 He separated the practical evil from Nineveh, 00:34:56.759 --> 00:34:58.440 from the spiritual grace, 00:34:58.980 --> 00:35:00.559 that God was offering them. 00:35:00.980 --> 00:35:02.019 And he thought he could do it again. 00:35:02.219 --> 00:35:02.500 He said, 00:35:02.599 --> 00:35:04.799 I'll separate the practical and the physical Jonah, 00:35:04.940 --> 00:35:06.460 from the spiritual God, 00:35:06.699 --> 00:35:07.440 by running away. 00:35:08.659 --> 00:35:10.099 God doesn't see that separation. 00:35:11.340 --> 00:35:12.019 The Bible says, 00:35:12.139 --> 00:35:13.219 and I believe that this is true, 00:35:13.380 --> 00:35:15.980 that the practical and the spiritual in our lives, 00:35:16.019 --> 00:35:17.259 are really intertwined. 00:35:17.860 --> 00:35:18.779 And God uses that. 00:35:18.780 --> 00:35:21.140 God used a practical storm, 00:35:21.660 --> 00:35:24.760 to show Jonah his spiritual grace. 00:35:25.720 --> 00:35:27.380 He used a practical fish, 00:35:28.080 --> 00:35:31.140 to show Jonah his spiritual love. 00:35:35.060 --> 00:35:36.660 We can respond like Jonah. 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:39.360 We can reject God. 00:35:40.320 --> 00:35:41.380 Or we can despair. 00:35:42.220 --> 00:35:44.980 Or we can try to strain at the oars in our storms. 00:35:45.760 --> 00:35:48.040 Or we can respond with worship and changed hearts. 00:35:48.780 --> 00:35:51.480 We can respond, 00:35:51.720 --> 00:35:55.280 recognizing our need for a strong God in our lives. 00:35:56.180 --> 00:35:59.080 Recognizing our helplessness and God's greatness. 00:36:01.740 --> 00:36:03.680 So what are we doing with the storms in our lives? 00:36:05.440 --> 00:36:08.280 Is God calling out to you in your storm? 00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:11.740 Are you seeing the grace that he has there for you? 00:36:12.340 --> 00:36:13.240 Where are you turning to? 00:36:14.760 --> 00:36:15.620 Do you despair? 00:36:16.940 --> 00:36:18.120 Do you worship yourself? 00:36:18.780 --> 00:36:23.760 Or are you turning to God and worshiping him? 00:36:26.160 --> 00:36:27.840 If there's nothing else you remember this morning, 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:29.460 whether you're like Jonah running away, 00:36:29.680 --> 00:36:31.200 or whether you're serving yourself, 00:36:31.320 --> 00:36:32.440 or whether you're despairing, 00:36:33.040 --> 00:36:34.240 I want you to remember this. 00:36:34.300 --> 00:36:36.680 It seems to me that in the story of Jonah, 00:36:38.180 --> 00:36:39.519 that God isn't done. 00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:43.759 You know, I see it in my life. 00:36:44.500 --> 00:36:46.820 In my life, when, you know, throughout my university, 00:36:46.820 --> 00:36:49.519 I was trying very, very hard to run away from God. 00:36:50.320 --> 00:36:52.119 But God wasn't done with me. 00:36:53.059 --> 00:36:54.139 God was bringing me here, 00:36:54.559 --> 00:36:56.639 to where I now serve university students. 00:36:57.619 --> 00:36:58.759 And it's not just in my life. 00:36:58.800 --> 00:36:59.420 I see it in the Bible. 00:37:00.039 --> 00:37:02.719 God wasn't done with Abraham when he lied about his wife. 00:37:02.719 --> 00:37:04.759 He wasn't done with Jacob, 00:37:04.759 --> 00:37:06.019 who stole his brother's blessing. 00:37:06.619 --> 00:37:08.059 He wasn't done with Israel, 00:37:08.159 --> 00:37:09.299 who was faithless in the desert. 00:37:09.419 --> 00:37:12.480 He wasn't done with kings who wandered and served themselves. 00:37:14.299 --> 00:37:18.179 Jonah wasn't done with faithless disciples in a stormy lake. 00:37:19.439 --> 00:37:21.779 Jonah, Jonah, God, 00:37:22.139 --> 00:37:24.799 wasn't done with Peter, who betrayed Jesus. 00:37:25.899 --> 00:37:26.980 God wasn't done with me, 00:37:26.980 --> 00:37:28.199 and he isn't done with you. 00:37:29.539 --> 00:37:31.320 And the cross of Jesus shows us this, 00:37:31.500 --> 00:37:32.539 that God isn't done. 00:37:33.900 --> 00:37:35.460 God keeps coming after us with grace. 00:37:35.639 --> 00:37:37.559 He'll follow us into a stormy sea. 00:37:37.920 --> 00:37:40.179 God's grace will follow us to his death on a cross. 00:37:41.539 --> 00:37:43.460 He'll follow us to that disagreement with your boss. 00:37:45.260 --> 00:37:46.079 God isn't done. 00:37:47.780 --> 00:37:49.179 The sailors weren't beyond hope, 00:37:49.880 --> 00:37:50.679 and neither was Jonah. 00:37:52.099 --> 00:37:53.420 We see in verse 17, 00:37:54.019 --> 00:37:56.559 and God appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. 00:37:57.800 --> 00:37:59.039 As much as Jonah tried, 00:37:59.420 --> 00:38:00.400 his story wasn't over. 00:38:01.719 --> 00:38:02.820 God's grace kept coming. 00:38:04.219 --> 00:38:05.900 God's grace kept chasing him. 00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:10.380 The thing about this God of grace 00:38:10.380 --> 00:38:14.400 is that his undeserving love is given freely, 00:38:14.860 --> 00:38:15.960 and it touches us, 00:38:16.500 --> 00:38:18.599 and it reaches out to us wherever we are. 00:38:20.280 --> 00:38:20.860 Let's pray. 00:38:24.539 --> 00:38:25.860 Father God, I thank you. 00:38:25.860 --> 00:38:28.980 I thank you that you give us the story of Jonah, 00:38:29.740 --> 00:38:32.700 that we're able to see how you're reaching out 00:38:32.700 --> 00:38:35.700 and loving and changing people. 00:38:37.460 --> 00:38:38.559 Father, I pray for us. 00:38:38.620 --> 00:38:39.440 I pray for Watermark, 00:38:40.440 --> 00:38:42.180 that in the storms that we're going through, 00:38:43.740 --> 00:38:46.380 that we would remember to turn to you, 00:38:47.180 --> 00:38:48.380 a God of grace who is powerful 00:38:48.380 --> 00:38:49.960 and stronger than us at our weakest. 00:38:49.960 --> 00:38:53.079 Father, I pray that you would change my heart, 00:38:54.280 --> 00:38:55.820 that you would remind me to trust you 00:38:55.820 --> 00:38:57.400 when I would rather worship myself. 00:38:58.940 --> 00:39:00.000 Father God, we love you, 00:39:00.059 --> 00:39:01.539 and we pray this in Jesus' holy name. 00:39:02.360 --> 00:39:02.619 Amen. 00:39:02.619 --> 00:39:07.960 Father, amen. 00:39:07.960 --> 00:39:08.440 We love it. 00:39:10.579 --> 00:39:12.079 Amen. 00:39:12.079 --> 00:39:12.779 Amen. 00:39:12.779 --> 00:39:13.480 Amen. 00:39:13.519 --> 00:39:14.059 Amen. 00:39:14.119 --> 00:39:14.779 Amen. 00:39:14.779 --> 00:39:15.359 Amen. 00:39:15.359 --> 00:39:15.599 Amen. 00:39:15.599 --> 00:39:15.699 Amen. 00:39:15.880 --> 00:39:16.380 Amen. 00:39:16.559 --> 00:39:17.639 Amen. 00:39:18.039 --> 00:39:18.659 Amen. 00:39:18.659 --> 00:39:20.719 Amen. 00:39:20.779 --> 00:39:21.279 Amen. 00:39:21.279 --> 00:39:22.299 Amen. 00:39:22.299 --> 00:39:22.440 Amen. 00:39:22.539 --> 00:39:23.539 Amen. 00:39:23.579 --> 00:39:24.159 Amen. 00:39:24.179 --> 00:39:24.279 Amen. 00:39:24.279 --> 00:39:24.319 Amen. 00:39:24.400 --> 00:39:26.199 Amen. 00:39:26.199 --> 00:39:28.359 Amen. 00:39:28.359 --> 00:39:28.480 Amen. 00:39:28.480 --> 00:39:28.639 Amen. 00:39:28.639 --> 00:39:29.699 Amen. 00:39:29.699 --> 00:39:30.559 Amen. 00:39:30.559 --> 00:39:30.639 Amen.