WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.419 Well, people often talk about life-changing experiences, don't they? Some people, young people leave school, head off from university, head off around the world to have a life-changing experience. 00:00:11.080 --> 00:00:20.379 Some of us may have had life-changing experiences staying a bit closer to home. I found one particular website that had 25 top tips for changing your life. 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:25.879 Number one was travel the world. That's perhaps not a great piece of advice for some of us. 00:00:26.539 --> 00:00:31.619 Number two is change your job. Some might like to change their jobs, but it's not that easy. 00:00:32.439 --> 00:00:36.820 Number three was sell your house. I guess that means you have to have a house in the first place. 00:00:37.379 --> 00:00:40.420 And it certainly will change your life to sell your house, but maybe not for the better. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:45.840 The rest of the list was pretty similar. Number 17, I was intrigued to see, was have a baby. 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:52.600 Well, that will change your life. That is true. May not be an option for everyone. 00:00:53.080 --> 00:00:59.900 Number 19, slightly less radical, watch less television. Of course, that presupposes you're watching a lot to begin with. 00:01:01.340 --> 00:01:06.859 Life-changing experiences might be something lots of people want, but they can be hard to come by, can't they? 00:01:07.800 --> 00:01:11.920 Jonah, in fact, didn't want a life-changing experience, and yet he got one. 00:01:12.800 --> 00:01:15.580 He didn't have to travel to get it, although, in fact, he was travelling. 00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:20.880 He didn't have to change his job to get it, although he did want to change his job. 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:23.960 In fact, his job doesn't change, as we'll see next week in chapter 3. 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:27.640 In fact, nothing Jonah did changed his life. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:31.140 This is what God did that changed his life. 00:01:31.960 --> 00:01:35.900 But we can see the big change. Chapter 1, he wanted to flee from the presence of the Lord. 00:01:36.340 --> 00:01:39.359 Now look down at the end of the reading today. Chapter 2, verse 9. 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:41.319 What does Jonah say? 00:01:41.679 --> 00:01:47.920 I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you what I have vowed I will pay. 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:54.980 Having been wanting to get out of commitment completely, now he wants to be completely committed to the Lord. 00:01:54.980 --> 00:01:58.340 That's the effect this life-changing experience had on him. 00:01:59.380 --> 00:02:01.880 So what was it? What changed? 00:02:02.800 --> 00:02:05.219 We'll look at two parts of it here. 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:07.120 First of all, what Jonah experienced. 00:02:07.939 --> 00:02:10.879 And secondly, what Jonah concluded. 00:02:11.379 --> 00:02:14.120 What Jonah experienced and what Jonah concluded. 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:16.379 There are several stages to what he experienced. 00:02:16.980 --> 00:02:19.980 The first part of his experience was he felt helplessness. 00:02:19.979 --> 00:02:20.780 Helplessness. 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:22.819 He felt his own helplessness. 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:24.500 You see that in verse 3. 00:02:25.539 --> 00:02:28.819 I called out to the Lord, out of my distress. 00:02:30.419 --> 00:02:32.659 It must have been quite some distress, wasn't it? 00:02:33.339 --> 00:02:36.439 Thrown overboard, out of a boat, in the midst of a storm. 00:02:37.459 --> 00:02:38.879 Sinking through the waters. 00:02:39.539 --> 00:02:42.539 And suddenly a big fish comes and gobbles him up, or swallows him down. 00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:47.359 And there he is, crying out from the belly of the whale. 00:02:48.439 --> 00:02:49.899 Verse 3 continues. 00:02:49.979 --> 00:02:50.739 Verse 2 continues. 00:02:51.099 --> 00:02:53.500 Out of the belly of Sheol I cried. 00:02:55.019 --> 00:03:00.639 Sheol is a Hebrew word for the place where the dead lay awaiting God's judgment. 00:03:01.299 --> 00:03:04.319 The place of the unrighteous dead will await God's judgment. 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:06.399 And that's where Jonah feels he is. 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:10.560 Trapped in the belly of this fish, having thought he was drowning. 00:03:11.339 --> 00:03:14.159 He feels he's in the place of the dead awaiting God's judgment. 00:03:14.959 --> 00:03:16.399 He feels his own helplessness. 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:22.319 And you can sense that helplessness in his description in verse 5 of the whole experience of drowning. 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:25.819 The waters closed in over me to take my life. 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:27.680 The deep surrounded me. 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:29.840 Weeds were wrapped about my head. 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:32.560 At the roots of the mountains I went down. 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:35.340 To the land whose bars closed upon me forever. 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:38.420 He felt helpless. 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:41.180 He felt helpless. 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:42.960 He felt like life was coming to an end. 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:45.180 And it's often the way isn't it? 00:03:45.219 --> 00:03:46.740 It's the moments of helplessness. 00:03:47.260 --> 00:03:48.620 When we cry out to God. 00:03:49.640 --> 00:03:51.379 We can go for weeks, months even. 00:03:51.700 --> 00:03:53.040 Without thinking about God. 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:55.800 And then suddenly something happens. 00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:58.939 I remember a man in my last church. 00:03:59.340 --> 00:04:00.340 Almost a year ago now. 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:01.020 He turned up. 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:02.160 First time. 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:04.520 He was my age approximately. 00:04:04.660 --> 00:04:05.860 In his early 40s. 00:04:07.020 --> 00:04:08.780 And I said, you know, what's brought you here? 00:04:09.340 --> 00:04:11.260 He said, well my mother said I should come back to church. 00:04:11.620 --> 00:04:12.100 Well that's good. 00:04:12.140 --> 00:04:13.580 He's still listening to his mother in his 40s. 00:04:13.600 --> 00:04:14.520 That's a good example for me. 00:04:16.060 --> 00:04:17.080 And he explained what happened. 00:04:17.080 --> 00:04:18.879 He was about to be made redundant. 00:04:19.420 --> 00:04:21.900 He was under threat of disciplinary proceedings at work. 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:24.040 Which would actually ruin his whole career. 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:26.660 He wouldn't be able to get another job in the financial sector if that happened. 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:28.280 He was hugely in debt. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:30.200 He was in distress. 00:04:31.960 --> 00:04:36.020 And that was what God had used to finally bring him back. 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:38.000 To finally get him calling out. 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:40.100 That's what Jonah experienced. 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:41.740 He experienced his own helplessness. 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:44.680 But in the midst of that helplessness. 00:04:44.960 --> 00:04:47.460 He also had this moment of spiritual awakening. 00:04:48.300 --> 00:04:49.720 As he felt God's hand. 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:50.400 That's the second thing. 00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:51.480 He felt his own helplessness. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:53.520 And secondly, he felt God's hand. 00:04:54.540 --> 00:04:57.020 He suddenly realised that everything that was happening to him. 00:04:57.280 --> 00:04:58.360 Was not a coincidence. 00:04:59.260 --> 00:05:01.360 It was not just fate. 00:05:02.020 --> 00:05:03.319 But it was God doing something. 00:05:04.400 --> 00:05:05.580 You see that if you look at verse. 00:05:06.020 --> 00:05:07.180 If you look back over the page. 00:05:07.340 --> 00:05:09.060 Or not over the page in your book perhaps. 00:05:09.260 --> 00:05:09.840 It is in mine. 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:11.680 To verse 15 of chapter 1. 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:13.920 There we read that the sailors. 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:15.180 Picked up Jonah. 00:05:15.420 --> 00:05:16.780 And hurled him into the sea. 00:05:18.140 --> 00:05:20.180 If you look down to chapter 2 verse 3. 00:05:20.180 --> 00:05:23.139 How does Jonah describe his experience there? 00:05:23.840 --> 00:05:25.800 For you Lord. 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:27.420 Cast me into the deep. 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:30.579 Jonah realises it was the Lord who was doing all this. 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:32.540 It was the Lord who sent the storm. 00:05:32.840 --> 00:05:34.240 It was the Lord who in chapter 1. 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:35.980 Had fixed the lot. 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:37.000 So it fell to Jonah. 00:05:37.139 --> 00:05:38.920 And Jonah was found to be guilty for the storm. 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:41.439 It was the Lord who had him thrown overboard. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:44.000 It was the Lord then who had appointed this great fish. 00:05:44.500 --> 00:05:45.339 To swallow him up. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:46.360 And save him from drowning. 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:48.540 That this was all the Lord's doing. 00:05:49.660 --> 00:05:51.620 It's this moment of spiritual awakening for him. 00:05:52.259 --> 00:05:54.079 Having been running away from God. 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:56.899 He now sees that God has been pursuing him. 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:00.079 He has felt God's hand on his life. 00:06:01.420 --> 00:06:04.120 And there are no coincidences in any of our lives are there? 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:08.699 There are no coincidences for any of us. 00:06:09.560 --> 00:06:13.199 The Bible is clear that the God of the Bible is the God who is in control of everything. 00:06:14.099 --> 00:06:15.479 Ephesians 1 puts it like this. 00:06:15.539 --> 00:06:19.680 That he works out everything in conformity with the purpose of the world. 00:06:21.300 --> 00:06:22.199 No accidents. 00:06:22.379 --> 00:06:23.159 No coincidences. 00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:23.899 No fate. 00:06:24.919 --> 00:06:27.319 Now that doesn't mean we're like pawns in a game of chess. 00:06:28.039 --> 00:06:30.000 God just shifting us around as he pleases. 00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:34.860 Rather we're children who are loving father disciplines and brings back. 00:06:34.860 --> 00:06:37.759 And we'll use even bad things in our lives. 00:06:37.840 --> 00:06:39.780 Sometimes especially hard things in our lives. 00:06:40.139 --> 00:06:43.080 To bring us back into his good purposes. 00:06:43.220 --> 00:06:45.540 And into his love as he does here with Jonah. 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:46.540 As we'll see. 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:49.600 So the question this raises for us is. 00:06:50.139 --> 00:06:51.580 When hard times come. 00:06:52.400 --> 00:06:53.500 When life is difficult. 00:06:53.900 --> 00:06:54.840 How do we respond? 00:06:54.980 --> 00:06:56.020 What do we think? 00:06:57.300 --> 00:06:58.680 Do we roll up our sleeves and think. 00:06:59.100 --> 00:07:00.139 Okay this is a challenge. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:01.759 I've got to get through this. 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:04.860 Yeah it's a very male response sometimes. 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:05.639 Me man. 00:07:05.740 --> 00:07:06.199 Me win. 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:07.719 That kind of attitude. 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:11.039 Maybe we try and rationalise away the difficulties. 00:07:11.899 --> 00:07:12.699 Or it was a coincidence. 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:13.699 Maybe this happened. 00:07:13.980 --> 00:07:15.259 Maybe something else happened. 00:07:15.459 --> 00:07:16.199 It's all random. 00:07:17.579 --> 00:07:20.159 Or maybe when it's painful we try and escape the pain. 00:07:20.899 --> 00:07:22.360 Medicate the pain in some way. 00:07:23.300 --> 00:07:24.360 Some do that through shopping. 00:07:24.539 --> 00:07:25.639 Some do it through drink and drugs. 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:26.740 Some do it through entertainment. 00:07:27.599 --> 00:07:29.120 Or maybe we try and fill the holes. 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:31.379 Fill the gaps in our lives. 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:32.719 With busyness. 00:07:32.980 --> 00:07:33.699 With work. 00:07:35.699 --> 00:07:37.959 Even with charitable deeds. 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:40.519 Trying desperately to fill the gaps. 00:07:42.599 --> 00:07:45.599 Or do we like Jonah recognise God's hand at work. 00:07:46.579 --> 00:07:49.099 Recognise that the God who made the heavens and the earth. 00:07:49.779 --> 00:07:51.000 Is shaking us up. 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:53.699 Johnny Erickson Tarder. 00:07:53.699 --> 00:07:56.600 A Christian lady who is a young woman. 00:07:57.060 --> 00:07:59.819 Who was paralysed in a freak diving accident. 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:02.420 Wrote this a bit later on. 00:08:02.420 --> 00:08:05.580 When God brings suffering into your life as a Christian. 00:08:05.580 --> 00:08:07.100 Be it mild or drastic. 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:11.340 He is forcing you to decide on issues you have been avoiding. 00:08:12.180 --> 00:08:14.860 He is pressing you to ask yourself some questions. 00:08:15.580 --> 00:08:18.120 Am I going to continue trying to live in two worlds? 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:19.459 Obeying Christ. 00:08:19.459 --> 00:08:21.379 And my own sinful desires? 00:08:22.379 --> 00:08:24.100 Or am I going to refuse to worry? 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:26.639 Am I going to be grateful for my trials? 00:08:27.280 --> 00:08:29.040 Am I going to abandon my sins? 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:30.699 In short. 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:32.480 Am I going to be like Christ? 00:08:34.060 --> 00:08:35.639 He provides the suffering. 00:08:36.200 --> 00:08:37.440 But the choice is yours. 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:40.440 I think they are remarkable words from a woman. 00:08:41.500 --> 00:08:42.380 Who is quadriplegic. 00:08:42.820 --> 00:08:44.220 After that diving accident. 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:46.500 And yet seized God's hand. 00:08:47.240 --> 00:08:48.140 For her good. 00:08:48.660 --> 00:08:49.740 In the midst of that suffering. 00:08:51.380 --> 00:08:52.560 So what did Jonah experience? 00:08:52.680 --> 00:08:53.200 Well first. 00:08:53.500 --> 00:08:55.180 He felt his own helplessness. 00:08:55.900 --> 00:08:56.420 And secondly. 00:08:56.540 --> 00:08:58.340 He felt God's hand at work. 00:08:58.440 --> 00:08:59.700 He saw God's hand at work. 00:09:00.040 --> 00:09:00.740 In his life. 00:09:01.500 --> 00:09:02.280 But thirdly. 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:04.680 He discovered his greatest fear. 00:09:04.680 --> 00:09:06.360 He found what his greatest fear was. 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:08.240 Back in chapter 1. 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:10.180 Three times. 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:11.580 We are told that Jonah was fleeing. 00:09:11.740 --> 00:09:12.680 From the presence of the Lord. 00:09:12.820 --> 00:09:14.379 You see that twice in verse 3. 00:09:14.659 --> 00:09:16.019 Once again in verse 10. 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:17.899 And in the original language. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:18.560 That is literally. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:21.820 Fleeing from before the face of the Lord. 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:24.800 And yet you see what Jonah fears. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:26.800 As we look at verse 4. 00:09:26.940 --> 00:09:27.720 Of chapter 2. 00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:30.639 Take it from verse 3. 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:32.039 You cast me into the deep. 00:09:32.340 --> 00:09:33.220 Into the hearts of the sea. 00:09:33.539 --> 00:09:34.500 And the floods surrounded me. 00:09:34.580 --> 00:09:35.340 All your ways. 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:36.279 And your billows. 00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:37.100 Cast over me. 00:09:37.560 --> 00:09:38.620 Then I said. 00:09:39.019 --> 00:09:40.740 I am driven from your sight. 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:42.680 This man who fled. 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:44.639 Away from before the Lord's face. 00:09:45.060 --> 00:09:46.100 Is now terrified. 00:09:46.800 --> 00:09:48.519 That he is out of God's sight forever. 00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:51.259 Do you know what it is like. 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:52.000 To feel invisible. 00:09:53.259 --> 00:09:54.300 I feel invisible. 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:55.240 Almost every time. 00:09:55.340 --> 00:09:56.019 I go into a pub. 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:57.419 Or any restaurant I am in. 00:09:57.820 --> 00:09:58.019 You know. 00:09:58.019 --> 00:09:59.220 Try to attract someone's attention. 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:00.620 They don't see you. 00:10:00.620 --> 00:10:01.220 They look over you. 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:01.779 They ignore you. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:04.340 And that is what Jonah fears. 00:10:04.340 --> 00:10:05.920 Now that God is going to do to him. 00:10:06.019 --> 00:10:07.440 I have been driven from your sight. 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:09.200 You no longer care about me. 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:10.879 You are no longer looking at me. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:12.480 I am just invisible to you. 00:10:12.480 --> 00:10:15.420 And that actually. 00:10:15.419 --> 00:10:19.079 is a sort of beginning experience. 00:10:19.079 --> 00:10:19.459 Of what. 00:10:19.459 --> 00:10:19.579 Of what. 00:10:19.579 --> 00:10:20.740 Of what. 00:10:21.379 --> 00:10:23.519 Is ultimately fulfilled in hell. 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:26.839 In hell. 00:10:27.059 --> 00:10:27.399 Is to be. 00:10:28.740 --> 00:10:30.120 In a sense completely. 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:30.439 Well. 00:10:30.579 --> 00:10:32.879 To be completely disregarded from God. 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:35.919 Completely out of the scope of his loving care. 00:10:36.579 --> 00:10:37.620 Completely distant. 00:10:37.939 --> 00:10:38.959 From his fatherly. 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:39.939 Concern. 00:10:39.940 --> 00:10:41.620 Completely away. 00:10:42.060 --> 00:10:43.060 From any peace. 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:43.720 And love. 00:10:43.880 --> 00:10:44.300 And light. 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:44.980 And hope. 00:10:46.700 --> 00:10:48.340 Because that is ultimately what hell is. 00:10:49.660 --> 00:10:50.760 God giving us up. 00:10:50.820 --> 00:10:51.680 To our selfishness. 00:10:51.740 --> 00:10:52.360 To our hate. 00:10:53.340 --> 00:10:54.380 And he carrying the wrath. 00:10:54.560 --> 00:10:55.600 And anger for eternity. 00:10:55.760 --> 00:10:56.220 That comes. 00:10:56.740 --> 00:10:57.220 When we. 00:10:57.480 --> 00:10:58.280 Turn away from him. 00:10:59.740 --> 00:11:01.620 And that is what Jonah is so terrified of. 00:11:01.860 --> 00:11:02.520 In verse 6. 00:11:02.580 --> 00:11:03.520 He puts it slightly differently. 00:11:03.880 --> 00:11:05.020 I went down to the land. 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:06.740 Whose bars closed upon me forever. 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:08.760 As he sinks down to the sea. 00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:10.179 He thinks I am going to the underworld. 00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:11.960 I am going to the place of the dead. 00:11:12.259 --> 00:11:13.919 I am going to be out of God's reach forever. 00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:16.860 And it is only at that point. 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:19.299 Faced with the reality of being cut off from God. 00:11:19.819 --> 00:11:20.860 That Jonah realises. 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:23.220 That is actually the worst possible thing. 00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:24.080 That could happen to him. 00:11:25.860 --> 00:11:26.799 Many people think. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:28.120 That actually to get rid of God. 00:11:28.220 --> 00:11:28.659 And be good. 00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:30.399 That God is the cause of problems. 00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:32.759 That God is the cause of grief in my life. 00:11:33.819 --> 00:11:35.240 And yet the reality is. 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:36.480 There is no hope. 00:11:36.659 --> 00:11:37.500 There is no love. 00:11:37.740 --> 00:11:38.620 There is no life. 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:39.600 There is no life. 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:40.759 There is no joy. 00:11:41.419 --> 00:11:42.399 Without God. 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:45.000 So to be cut off from God. 00:11:45.419 --> 00:11:47.639 Is absolutely the worst thing. 00:11:47.720 --> 00:11:48.720 For any human being. 00:11:50.259 --> 00:11:52.340 And Jonah in the depths of the sea. 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:53.980 And in the belly of the whale. 00:11:54.580 --> 00:11:55.939 Now realises that. 00:11:57.080 --> 00:11:59.639 He realises that is not what he wants at all. 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:01.019 He wants God back. 00:12:02.279 --> 00:12:03.559 And yet look again at verse 4. 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:06.659 Because he also senses this hope. 00:12:07.439 --> 00:12:08.039 Then I said. 00:12:08.099 --> 00:12:09.799 I am driven away from your sight. 00:12:10.599 --> 00:12:11.039 Yet. 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:13.919 I shall look again upon your holy temple. 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:16.099 The temple was a place in Jerusalem. 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:16.399 Where. 00:12:16.899 --> 00:12:19.219 A visible sign of God's presence among his people. 00:12:19.219 --> 00:12:20.759 The place where God could be worshipped. 00:12:21.500 --> 00:12:21.979 So Jonah. 00:12:22.219 --> 00:12:23.579 Fearing being cut off forever. 00:12:24.379 --> 00:12:25.279 Suddenly thinks. 00:12:25.699 --> 00:12:27.000 Actually there is still hope. 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:28.739 There is still hope. 00:12:28.740 --> 00:12:31.600 I will yet look again. 00:12:31.899 --> 00:12:32.799 On your holy temple. 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:33.960 Now why did he think that? 00:12:35.139 --> 00:12:36.340 I think there are two reasons. 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:38.060 One is. 00:12:38.659 --> 00:12:40.779 He had just been swallowed by a big fish. 00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:42.759 That was little clue to him. 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:43.360 There was hope. 00:12:43.680 --> 00:12:45.580 He wasn't actually going to drown after all. 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:48.500 Surely it must have been God who sent that fish. 00:12:49.700 --> 00:12:50.899 But I think the other reason. 00:12:51.139 --> 00:12:51.820 He had hope. 00:12:52.460 --> 00:12:53.960 That's the reason we see as we get to the end. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:56.759 Is that he knew the character of God. 00:12:58.040 --> 00:12:59.820 He knew that the Lord God is gracious. 00:13:00.100 --> 00:13:00.700 And compassionate. 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:02.560 The Lord God is the one. 00:13:02.800 --> 00:13:03.920 Who brings salvation. 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:05.740 And we will come back to that. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:06.440 In a moment. 00:13:07.660 --> 00:13:09.379 But there is an important lesson for us here. 00:13:10.300 --> 00:13:12.840 Here was Jonah trying to flee from God's presence. 00:13:13.700 --> 00:13:16.600 And it is only as he acknowledges his need for God's presence. 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:18.879 His need for God to have his eyes upon him. 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:20.660 That he starts to. 00:13:21.340 --> 00:13:22.720 Return to the Lord again. 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:26.100 See restoration to God. 00:13:26.580 --> 00:13:28.100 Had to begin in the area. 00:13:28.540 --> 00:13:30.500 Where rebellion against God. 00:13:30.860 --> 00:13:31.840 Was first manifest. 00:13:32.500 --> 00:13:33.300 Let me say that again. 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:35.259 Restoration to God. 00:13:35.899 --> 00:13:38.279 Had to begin in the very area. 00:13:38.779 --> 00:13:40.519 Where rebellion against God. 00:13:41.040 --> 00:13:42.080 First flared up. 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:44.580 So Jonah's rebellion. 00:13:44.680 --> 00:13:46.480 Was he wanted to flee from the sight of the Lord. 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:47.980 Flee from the presence of the Lord. 00:13:49.259 --> 00:13:50.519 Now restoration begins. 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:53.179 As he longs to come back to God's temple. 00:13:53.340 --> 00:13:56.000 He longs to be back in God's sight again. 00:13:57.259 --> 00:13:57.779 And remember. 00:13:58.379 --> 00:13:59.620 Jonah's a believer here. 00:14:00.539 --> 00:14:01.500 He's a prophet of God. 00:14:01.579 --> 00:14:03.139 He's somebody who believed in the Lord God. 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:06.360 So this isn't about becoming a Christian for the first time. 00:14:06.379 --> 00:14:07.480 Although it does apply to that. 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:10.920 But for those of us who are Christians. 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:12.360 There are times in our lives. 00:14:12.460 --> 00:14:13.440 We rebel. 00:14:13.539 --> 00:14:14.259 We walk away. 00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:17.920 And the way back to restore fellowship with God. 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:21.460 Is to return in the very area where we went astray. 00:14:21.460 --> 00:14:25.940 So maybe we go astray through our work. 00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:27.960 Actually we end up working for ourselves. 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:28.560 Not for God. 00:14:28.700 --> 00:14:30.200 We leave God out of our work. 00:14:31.220 --> 00:14:32.000 Then repentance. 00:14:32.280 --> 00:14:33.600 Being restored to fellowship with God. 00:14:33.780 --> 00:14:35.259 Begins in that very workplace. 00:14:36.180 --> 00:14:38.160 As we recall that we're working for him. 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:40.120 As his servants. 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:41.360 As his ambassadors. 00:14:41.580 --> 00:14:42.240 As his children. 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:44.440 We commit our work to the Lord. 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:48.220 Or maybe if our rebellion is first expressed. 00:14:48.380 --> 00:14:49.860 In a sense of pride. 00:14:50.580 --> 00:14:52.000 And looking down on other people. 00:14:53.520 --> 00:14:55.660 Then restoration to fellowship will begin with. 00:14:57.840 --> 00:14:58.320 Humility. 00:15:00.400 --> 00:15:03.140 Seeking forgiveness from those people we've offended. 00:15:03.300 --> 00:15:03.860 And looked down on. 00:15:05.860 --> 00:15:07.320 See what did Jonah experience? 00:15:07.540 --> 00:15:09.100 He experienced his own helplessness. 00:15:10.160 --> 00:15:12.240 He experienced God's hand in his circumstances. 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:16.460 He experienced that his greatest fear was to be without God. 00:15:17.340 --> 00:15:19.700 As that opened the way for restoration with God. 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:22.799 And that leads us on to the fourth thing he experienced. 00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:24.399 Which was God's grace. 00:15:24.899 --> 00:15:25.980 Look again at verse 4. 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:29.039 Then I said I'm driven away from your sight. 00:15:29.379 --> 00:15:31.480 Yet I shall again look upon your holy temple. 00:15:34.180 --> 00:15:36.019 Verse 6 we see it even more clearly. 00:15:36.460 --> 00:15:38.799 At the roots of the mountains I went down to the land. 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:41.139 Whose bars closed upon me forever. 00:15:41.139 --> 00:15:44.980 Yet you brought up my life from the pit. 00:15:45.439 --> 00:15:46.580 O Lord my God. 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:49.960 This is the first time Jonah's come up. 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:53.000 All the way since chapter 1 he's been going down. 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:54.620 If you want to look at it for a moment. 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:56.139 Chapter 1 verse 3. 00:15:56.679 --> 00:15:58.740 Jonah went down to Joppa. 00:15:59.620 --> 00:16:01.939 Chapter 1 verse 5. 00:16:01.940 --> 00:16:06.900 He lay down. 00:16:07.280 --> 00:16:09.640 Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship. 00:16:09.800 --> 00:16:11.380 And lay down and was fast asleep. 00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:13.980 He's been going down away from God all the time. 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:15.360 Then verse 15. 00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:17.380 And he was thrown out. 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:20.540 He was thrown out into the boat. 00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:22.000 He sinks down into the water. 00:16:22.920 --> 00:16:24.020 Doesn't use the word exactly. 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:25.300 But the image is there isn't it? 00:16:25.299 --> 00:16:27.439 And it's only here. 00:16:28.199 --> 00:16:29.319 It's only here. 00:16:29.819 --> 00:16:31.679 Where suddenly the direction is reversed. 00:16:32.479 --> 00:16:33.799 Now Jonah comes up. 00:16:33.939 --> 00:16:34.799 Why is he coming up? 00:16:35.319 --> 00:16:36.199 How is he coming up? 00:16:37.179 --> 00:16:38.219 What does it say? 00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:39.099 Verse 6. 00:16:39.319 --> 00:16:42.240 Yet you brought up my life from the pit. 00:16:42.899 --> 00:16:44.819 See Jonah is experiencing God's grace. 00:16:45.099 --> 00:16:46.899 The grace that's pursued him across the ocean. 00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:50.039 The grace that's sent a fish to swallow him up. 00:16:50.419 --> 00:16:52.879 The grace that's now lifting him back up. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:55.220 When previously he was helpless. 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:00.600 Ultimately that's how change comes about. 00:17:01.620 --> 00:17:02.539 It's not through his travel. 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:04.079 It's not through his job. 00:17:04.740 --> 00:17:05.940 It's through God's grace. 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:08.019 Jonah experiences God's grace. 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:09.200 Lifting him up. 00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:10.319 Redirecting him. 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:12.660 So that's what Jonah experienced. 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:14.279 His own helplessness. 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:15.700 God's hand. 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:18.839 His deep fear of being without God. 00:17:19.299 --> 00:17:20.740 And God's grace lifting him up. 00:17:20.740 --> 00:17:24.039 So what does Jonah conclude from all this? 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:28.500 Well he gets his conclusion and its implications in verses 8 and 9. 00:17:29.779 --> 00:17:33.880 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:39.359 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you what I vowed I will pay. 00:17:39.859 --> 00:17:40.519 And here's why. 00:17:40.660 --> 00:17:41.380 Here's the conclusion. 00:17:42.099 --> 00:17:44.680 Salvation belongs to the Lord. 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:47.840 Salvation belongs to the Lord. 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:50.500 That means rescue belongs to God. 00:17:50.620 --> 00:17:51.779 It's God's prerogative. 00:17:51.940 --> 00:17:52.880 It's in God's power. 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:54.460 It's in God's ability to do. 00:17:54.860 --> 00:17:56.000 Not in hands. 00:17:56.200 --> 00:17:57.160 Not in minds as Jonah. 00:17:57.980 --> 00:17:58.840 Let's think for a minute. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:00.320 Did Jonah deserve to be rescued? 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:02.740 Absolutely not. 00:18:02.820 --> 00:18:04.220 He deliberately run away from God. 00:18:04.980 --> 00:18:07.180 Did Jonah do anything to aid his rescue? 00:18:08.539 --> 00:18:09.519 No of course not. 00:18:09.740 --> 00:18:11.779 He didn't even have a life jacket on when he's thrown overboard. 00:18:12.140 --> 00:18:14.000 Health and safety would have something to say about that. 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:16.640 The rescue is entirely God's. 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:18.819 And so that's Jonah's conclusion. 00:18:19.140 --> 00:18:19.539 Salvation. 00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:20.700 Rescue. 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:22.019 Belongs to God. 00:18:22.819 --> 00:18:25.940 Now salvation is one of those very Christian words, isn't it? 00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:27.579 Christians use it a lot. 00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:28.440 But what does it mean? 00:18:29.859 --> 00:18:35.920 As we read through the Bible we find that salvation is actually a deep longing of every human heart, really. 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:39.660 The fact it comes from God is the thing we don't like. 00:18:39.660 --> 00:18:45.779 On one level, we often ask, can I be accepted and loved despite the mistakes I've made? 00:18:46.300 --> 00:18:48.220 Can I be forgiven for the things I've done wrong? 00:18:50.460 --> 00:18:53.440 Another question people ask is, can I change? 00:18:53.820 --> 00:18:54.700 Can I be different? 00:18:55.340 --> 00:18:56.940 Or am I stuck in this way of life? 00:18:56.940 --> 00:19:01.299 Am I stuck in my being the kind of person I am? 00:19:01.620 --> 00:19:02.759 Formed by my parents. 00:19:02.940 --> 00:19:03.779 Formed by my culture. 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:05.000 Formed by my genes. 00:19:05.120 --> 00:19:06.120 Can I change? 00:19:06.500 --> 00:19:07.640 Is the hope of change? 00:19:08.779 --> 00:19:12.320 And the final thing people ask is, can I ever be free from suffering? 00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:14.320 Can this world ever be free from suffering? 00:19:15.380 --> 00:19:17.320 Is there ever a time the pain will end? 00:19:17.740 --> 00:19:19.279 Is there ever any rest and peace? 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:21.440 Can I be accepted? 00:19:22.180 --> 00:19:23.299 Can I change? 00:19:23.859 --> 00:19:26.680 Can I know peace and safety? 00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:29.839 The Bible's answer is yes. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:32.740 Yes to all of those. 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:35.879 But not on your own terms. 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:39.639 Salvation belongs to the Lord. 00:19:39.940 --> 00:19:42.039 It's only God who can bring the salvation. 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:45.879 Who can say, yes, there is a way to be forgiven and loved and accepted. 00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:48.240 Yes, there is a way to change. 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.640 Yes, there is a way for the pain to end and everything to be made right again. 00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:55.299 That is what God does. 00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:58.120 He demonstrates that here with Jonah, doesn't he? 00:19:58.620 --> 00:19:59.559 Can Jonah be forgiven? 00:20:00.140 --> 00:20:01.900 Yes, God is bringing him back. 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:05.359 And we'll see next time how God recommissions him again. 00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:07.640 Can Jonah's heart change? 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:09.700 Yes, we see that here, don't we? 00:20:10.059 --> 00:20:11.700 He wants to flee from the Lord. 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:15.720 Now he's crying out to the Lord and glad the Lord is answering him. 00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:18.220 Was there hope for Jonah? 00:20:18.620 --> 00:20:22.600 Was there hope for life after the apparent death of being in the fish? 00:20:23.059 --> 00:20:24.400 Yes, look at verse 10. 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:29.259 The Lord spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:31.220 So it was hope. 00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:33.940 It was life after death, as it were. 00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:36.940 What about us? 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:39.279 What is this salvation that God offers us? 00:20:40.600 --> 00:20:47.440 Well, if we keep on reading through the story of the Bible, we find a man who came and spoke about the sign of Jonah. 00:20:48.100 --> 00:20:52.100 And said, as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of a whale, 00:20:52.620 --> 00:20:58.519 so the Son of Man will spend three days and three nights in the ground and then be raised to new life again. 00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:01.759 That man, of course, was Jesus. 00:21:02.619 --> 00:21:06.940 It's in Jesus' death, in trusting Jesus' death, we can find acceptance. 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:10.319 He died to pay for all the wrongs we've done. 00:21:10.839 --> 00:21:14.160 So that we can get his perfect record instead of our lousy record. 00:21:15.299 --> 00:21:19.099 He rose again to show that there is new life. 00:21:19.740 --> 00:21:21.879 He sends his spirit to all who trust in him. 00:21:22.220 --> 00:21:24.619 To change our hearts, to change us from the inside. 00:21:24.619 --> 00:21:28.399 So, like Jonah, we can have a new heart. 00:21:28.539 --> 00:21:29.959 We can be changed. 00:21:31.459 --> 00:21:33.439 And, of course, his resurrection shows us hope. 00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:37.859 That there will be a day coming when he comes back and makes everything new. 00:21:38.679 --> 00:21:41.139 Just as there was life after death for him. 00:21:41.479 --> 00:21:46.119 So there will be true, real, proper life for all who trust in him. 00:21:46.939 --> 00:21:47.839 Where does that come from? 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:51.139 Salvation belongs to the Lord. 00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:52.659 It's all his work. 00:21:54.619 --> 00:21:55.879 Well, there's our choice, isn't there? 00:21:57.319 --> 00:21:58.419 Jonah puts it in verse 8. 00:21:58.459 --> 00:22:00.739 This is the implications of this conclusion Jonah reaches. 00:22:01.339 --> 00:22:01.799 Verse 8. 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:07.539 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:11.819 That steadfast love is the Lord's steadfast love. 00:22:13.219 --> 00:22:15.239 It's his key characteristic, if you like. 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:21.039 But if we pay regard, if we trust it, if we live our lives looking to vain idols for hope, 00:22:21.640 --> 00:22:23.700 then we forfeit that love. 00:22:25.120 --> 00:22:28.660 The word translated idols, they're literally these empty vanities. 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:30.120 Nothings of nothingness. 00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:33.460 Yet so often we look for hope in those things, don't we? 00:22:33.900 --> 00:22:36.339 Be it in Korea or other religions. 00:22:37.180 --> 00:22:39.579 Looking for Buddhism for peace and refuge and hope. 00:22:39.579 --> 00:22:41.059 That is not salvation. 00:22:41.779 --> 00:22:43.480 Salvation only comes through Jesus. 00:22:45.259 --> 00:22:48.799 And if we pursue these vain idols, we miss out. 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:51.259 We forsake the hope of steadfast love. 00:22:52.159 --> 00:22:56.139 The hope of the transforming love of God expressed in his son Jesus. 00:22:56.140 --> 00:23:03.280 So either we reject that love or, what does Jonah do at verse 9? 00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:05.420 He's grateful for that love. 00:23:06.120 --> 00:23:09.240 With the voice of thanksgiving, I will sacrifice to you. 00:23:09.320 --> 00:23:10.580 What I have vowed, I will pay. 00:23:11.140 --> 00:23:12.800 Salvation belongs to the Lord. 00:23:13.660 --> 00:23:17.660 Having experienced God's grace was a life-changing experience for Jonah. 00:23:18.980 --> 00:23:24.980 And so he pledged a new commitment to the Lord as gratitude for what the Lord had done for him. 00:23:26.140 --> 00:23:28.000 We may not have been in whale's tummies. 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:30.980 But we're all naturally cut off from God. 00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:36.580 And it's only in Jesus we can be lifted back up and know the salvation that God offers. 00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:38.120 Let's pray.