I am Jonah

Today on Summit life JD Greer does a lot of godly people what what you're walking with God in every other way. Like Jonah, but there's something very there some area to say no to him in.

Listen, listen, you were never farther from God when you're close to him and you say no. What Jonah is a God who is religious and abstain in every way.

Got one area of God. You cannot touch this out later that you should rent dad that are subject today on Summit life after JD Greer. I'm your host Molly events beginning highly relevant theories to begin this new year titled Castaway Pastor Jenny is opening the book of Jonah to remind us of God's relentless love for runaway profit and rebellious people. If you're new to the ministry. Let me be the first to say welcome and happy new year you learn more about Summit life when you visit us@jdgreer.com now is always grab your Bible and join Pastor JD with today's message title. I let's dive in Jonah chapter 1 verse one. I will be reading from the ESV version of the Bible. Jonah chapter 1 verse one. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of MSI and said arise, go to Nineveh that will stop right there because if people know anything about Jonah they know it's got something to do with God telling Jonah to go to Nineveh and Jonah say no and then somehow Jonah ended up being swallowed by big fish were well or whatever.

A lot of people stop right there. At this point the story under like this to be true.

I mean seriously, how is that even possible staying alive in the belly of a fish for three days. This is gotta be a myth.

What I would just remind you if that's kind of your reaction to this. This is not a story about a big magical fish or how people can stay alive in the belly of a fish for three days.

This is a story about God.

Honestly, I would not even put this in my top 10 hardest things to believe in the Bible. West Genesis 11 in the beginning God created everything there is. With just the word of his mouth about look to God was born as a baby and then God grew up in God did miracles he raise the dead. He healed the sick, and he was crucified and raised himself back from the dead.

What you what you believe goes think it's the rest of the stuff is not that hard to believe the real question that you got asked to simply this, is there a God and does he work in the world. Is there a God and does he work in the world was God at work in Jesus Christ redeeming the world what you believe that God spoke all this into existence, and you believe that God was really present in the world in Jesus Christ discussed us not be that difficult for you to get your mantra. I know that it cannot your gut reaction is this this week in our family devotions times you have four kids my oldest is eight I was somehow.

I know you know how we got off on this was about we get off on explaining to them what the resurrection from the dead, how Jesus is going to come back to earth and raise people's bodies from the dead, and my oldest daughter terraces this this is even her tone.

She says Jesus are dead, you're telling me that it's Jesus that none of us have ever seen is going to come back through the clouds back to the earth and raise people's dead bodies out of the dirt so that their spirits will be rejoined with our bodies. Yeah, that's what the Bible says this is honored at something mystical to me. So yes, I stand, but that's kind of the reaction for this, but again, just keep your focus on the right question. Is there a God who works in the world and if so, is this an accurate record of the work that he is done. If God came as Jesus, and this should not be that big of a deal to you, well some people say will maybe this is supposed to be read like a parable. Maybe it's like a Enlightenment that has a point to it. The problem is this is not written that way.

The names the dates the details it's it's written in the genre of history you notice how it's a Jonah, the son of MSI not Once upon a time there was a got a Jonah is giving you a detail. Plus, you can look in 1714 and you'll find the story of Jonah did a bunch of other stuff. In addition to this, right here, but the other thing is that Jesus thought of the story is actually history. He referred to the historical events is a very important prophetic sign for his own ministry. Matthew 1241, Luke 1130.

I should Jesus thought of it as actual history. I just feel like he would be a position to know so if he believes his actual history almost right verse two verse two. Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city and call out against it because they're evil has come up before me. Two things about Nineveh. First of all, it was a very great city. Secondly, it was a very wicked city. It was very great. It was huge.

Jonah tell you it took him three days to walk from one side of the Metroplex to the other historians told allies that Jonah's walls were so thick you could ride three chariots across them at the same time to tell why they were. It was a great city it had a lot of great architecture.

It was a cultural hub but in addition to that, it was a very wicked city that a lot of times is true about big cities. In fact, historians tell us that Nineveh was one of the cruelest most vicious cities in the ancient world, Nineveh's own histories tell us that I was looking this week a series of pictures like hieroglyphic kind of stuff that the Ninevites produced about what they would do to a city when they conquered bait they boasted in their histories and in these pictures there was still alive. A lot of the men and the women and the children they would spread out their skins over the city walls they would take some of these people after they partially skim them and they would bury them alive up to their heads in the sand they would pull their tongues out to give us all the pictures they pull their tongues out and drive a stake through their tone into the sand so that they would just sit there for several hours languishing in pain and dying of thirst, and then at night if they were still alive that would make them listen. The Paris Hilton cities over and over and over again and not about that part.

But these people were unspeakably brutal.

They would rate women and kill them. They even boasted in their histories about raping and killing little girls. One account describes how they would take the soldiers and impale some of them alive outside of the city gates they would be had a bunch of others and they would make a big mountain of heads that covered over the city gate they would give a message to ever though everybody.

This is what happens when you dare oppose Syria.

These are the people that God has told Jonah to go to not violate it.

If you read the Old Testament, you know, one of Syria's primary enemies was Israel talking about Jonah going to a group of people that had done these kind of think the people that he no I thought you probably shouldn't be so judgmental on Jonah, Jonah disobeyed God, he got what was coming seriously.

Won't you have got if God told you to go to those kind of people. Jonah has personal bitterness against the Ninevites verse three search Jonah. But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish for the presence of the Lord went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish, so he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord here begins Jonah's rebellion against God. God clearly told him to go. And Jonah runs the other way. By the way, not just a little bit out of the way. Tarshish was 1500 miles away from Nineveh right enter in a world where you walk everywhere or will detail more, whatever. That's a long way right so here's couple things you should notice about his disobedience. Your cake first. Jonah was outstanding in every other way.

Jonah was outstanding in every other way. Second Kings 1425 referred to that earlier tells you that Jonah was one of Israel's primary religious leaders. He was there, the religious leader at a time when Israel was at one of their economic and spiritual heights under the under under the reign of Jeroboam. Jonah had made some prophecies and they come true. Jonah was like the Billy Graham of Israel. He was there religious and spiritual leader right this damn rebellion is simply saying no to God.

Rebellion is simply saying no to God.

The reason I say this is because we tend to evaluate our walk with God by comparing how godly we are to others when we can think like a bell curve like you know I'm on the side of it. I go to church more often and I got better morals unite I give a little more think as long as God grades on the curb as long as I'm around.

Aside everything's going to be fine because I think proportionally I'm better than a majority of people but Lordship is one of those things. Listen that if it's not absolute and total it's not real it's not absolute and total it's not real. You are never far different God than when you are close to him and say no. There's a lot of godly people who look like they're walking with God in every other way.

Like Jonah, but there's some area there some area to say no to him in maybe for you it's a relationship that you know is not pleasing to God, but you won't quit every other party like is fine, but you got this one area. This relationship that you know is not pleasing to God.

But you're not gonna let him put his hands on that maybe there's a sacrifice that God is put in your heart to make babies, put his finger on on something you want you to give away some amount of money you want you to give away your fine they really are an active church person you're doing a big city which I know God, you cannot touch that you cannot have your poverty of spirit right now ought to be enough to let you know that you're not walking with God in this but you won't give it up and not to give that up because I need that for security. I need that for pleasure. I'm just not gonna do it.

Maybe it's a sin you need to confess.

Maybe it's a sacrifice of your time to God is leading you to make to be involved in some ministry entrances like no I'm not giving that up.

Maybe it's like Jonah to go somewhere, somewhere very uncomfortable to leave family friends to leave.

What's comfortable and to go to a place and you are just saying no to God. Listen, listen, you were never farther from God when you're close to him and you say no. What Jonah is is a guy who was religious and abstain in every way but is got one area where he's like no God. You cannot touch this second thing that I notice in this verse is that little phrase says he found a ship ready to ship ready you ever noticed that people assume the readiness of the ship is like God's okay on whatever situation there that are there about to go into.

I can't tell you how many conversations I've had were people doing something clearly against the will of God and are like awful lot it just all worked out an image of all happened right in front of me that's got to be God you know okay because, otherwise how would it have happened is what I thought the people in the midst of adultery.

I know I well was miserable in my marriage and then magically I just met this other person under perfect and I know that God wants me to be happy. That might be needed miserable marriage that must be God's okay that that he wants me to go into this new relationship and I want to say to people, don't you think that there might be an enemy who was laying a trap for you.

You got it enemy whose primary responsibility is to ready the ship for your disobedience, the readiness of the ship is not necessarily God's okay and the situation the readiness of the ship might be your enemy that is laying a path and a trap for your destruction say something again.

Write this down if you want to run from God. If you want to run from God.

There will always be a ship ready to Tarshish to save it.

Tarshish, every time I say if like to raise lesson okay I'm coming to know the serious point right so if you want to run from God.

There is always a ship that will be ready to take you away. You got an enemy whose sole role is that if you allow your eyes to wander. There will always be a girl, who will return your flirtations.

If you want your marriage. There will always be a too good to be true relationship that presents itself out of nowhere on Facebook if you tolerate greed in your life. There will always be a great deal on something that you just have to have about this and I hear the slow times. Why just had a piece of my heart about people say to me how little you have the whole put my hand up. I just want to point them in the throat all yet appeasing God. I must override God's word Genesis 3. The original temptation what Satan doing that. Oh, it's good for food, and it'll make you wise.he is giving her a piece about disobeying God your enemies role is to give you peace about doing the wrong thing that peace in your heart might not be God's affirmation might be Satan numbing your conscience if you lead you down the path toward death. All of the peace in your heart as a guide to what God wants you to do peace in your heart can be as fickle as it is what you determine about what you ate that morning. What kind of mood you're in God's word is a rock God's word never changes. God's word that came to Jonah was the God for what he was supposed to do right verse four, but the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea.

That's the problem.

She would run from God is God's already the place you run into these in the whole place in between the place where you are and where you're going.

So God fully in charge. He's hurling up your storm from a bear so that the ship threatened to break out the mariners were afraid each one cried out was on got your situation. All the sailors on top of this deck of the ship there, scared out of their minds and a lot more God you worship what you pretty and will guide you will want to pray to him like pulling the resources or get all the bingo cards together, and the like. Hopefully one of these.

God will pick up one of them to be in a good mood and he's there to save this one.

Appraise them will be saved. Okay that's what's going on I'm barefoot all plot the crystals and amulets and their hankies that are blessed with a television evangelist in the wave and wipe and rub it in. Everything in and are all praying for verse were verse five and hold the cargo that was in the ship and see the light for them.

This Jonah is a literary masterpiece you don't read Hebrew, which I didn't.

On numerous of you are neither you'll see much of this but this is one of the verses where Jonah employs all these rhetorical devices for short Jonah. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and have laid down and was fast asleep.

How ironic is this. Here the pagan sales rep on the deck of a ship having a theological discussion about God and the prophet of God with the message of God is down in the belly of the ship, asleep. There's a play on words happening here that you should see the word down Jonah's. Like this that were down is being repeated right he's going down into Joppa down to the inner part of the ship down into sleep. That word sleep.

By the way is it is a Hebrew word that means a deep sleep. It's not like you say he does it mean it's the same word was used. God put Adam to sleep and maybe talking about asleep of asleep of death. What he is doing is giving you a picture of the downward progression of sin. It starts with small disobedience and it goes down down down into total spiritual disaster.

It's kind of like when you're your swim in the ocean and you know you're you're kind of your 20 yards from the sand and then you look up like 30 minutes later and you're like 15 hotels down from where you started and you like it. I just get swept into another city where am I your their interest. You will hopefully it's not take you out and you never come back mature in this current that you don't even perceive it just carries you what he sin is sin is like that. But there's these little acts of disobedience and you are being swept along until you were swept into something that takes you farther than you ever wanted to go.

You have to beware of the drift of sin because it is subtle and it'll take you out to where you never come back.

What I'm trying to tell you his adulterous relationships at 40 start with pornography addiction.

The 20 that's what I'm telling her or I'm telling you that eating disorders in college starts with jealousies that you don't deal with when you're in middle school and obtuse hard 50 years old that will listen to anybody including God starts with rebelling against the God-given authorities in your life when you're in college beware of the drift of sin. Verse six, so the captain came and said to him what you mean all sleeper arrives call out to your God.

Perhaps the God will give you a thought give about us. We may not perish, so they said to one another, let us cast lots that we know no one whose account is evil has come upon us, so they cast lots and the lot fell on surprise Jonah the roulette well.pickle ball puts it on Jonah, but will try to get Jonah. Jonah Jonah Jonah 43 times in a row like Jonah.

Jonah's like all right, Mr. look at him as a tell us on whose account is evil is come upon us. What is your job. By the way where you come from, what your country what people are you from, Jonah said to them, I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord, not very much, but little the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land, and the men were exceedingly afraid and they said to him, what is this that you have done for the men knew that he was fleeing for the presence of the Lord is he just told them right right on a couple more things right. Disobedience affects others are disobedience affects others.

We never sin and private for some of you. Your disobedience is just rolling the people around you. It is causing you to be a bad father. It's causing you to be to be an unfaithful husband to be an unfaithful friends. There are people that God intends to use you in their lives positively as a blessing and your disobedience is killing your kids are becoming materialistic because your materialistic your poisoning in your destroying.

We never said in private CFOs a great picture of this in his book the great divorce. He talked about people running from God. They begin to get more more hollow as individuals, to the point they become see-through, but once the money comes back to God. They begin to take on texture and color and what he was trying to show is that when someone is walking with God to become so much more alive. They become the right father, they become the right husband, the right wipe the right kind of friend. God intends to use you for redemption and salvation in people's lives in your disobedience is killing some of those people is having any effect on some of those people. The greatest gift that you could ever give to somebody that you love is your personal walk with God.

I think about that I think about how my what we got affects my wife how to fix my kids how it affects you. Yeah I serve God for God's sake.

I serve God for my own sake but also do for your sake and for their sake because the greatest gift I can give my children is my walk with God. I almost think of it like you're on your airplane.

Natalia your doctor to mass drops out to do what what what should be counterintuitive for you which is to put it on your face before you put on your kids face God intends to use you positive the user was a blessing and their their lives, but if you're not breathing spiritually you're telling them. Disobedience affects others is another thing God sandstorms to break his people from self-reliance God sandstorms to break his people from self-reliance God sandstorms in your life you get your attention seeking one of two things will humble you was of this is your theology or discussed on this kind of affliction. Your theology should humbly your theology should teach you your center that you desperately need God rebellious, stupid, that that pride is stupid, but because most of us, including me, are hardhearted and because we don't usually report on the street and say model basis of my life is all body.

God what God usually does. He sends a storm of affliction. He put you flat on your back so you look in the right direction.

The attacks your idol so that you will learn how much you need God and how much of the wall with him. So for example if your slave to money they got ataxic. If you're addicted to people's approval.

For God lets them disappoint you. You're proud you will listen anybody. So God allows you to fail the kind of person. It feels like you don't need anybody to make things work out for you, including God, to God allows you to face devastation your self-centered got larger mayors to blow up some of you are there right now aren't you, some of you were there right now now but when I talk about all affliction, all affliction goes back disobedience. Sometimes God allows these things part of his plan in our lives, but sometimes there's a storm.

The God puts in there because he is in love. Trying to wake you up again your going through storm right now.

Surviving the storm comes in.

We submit to God. You're listening to some it might.

Jamie Greer. Today's message is titled I am Jonah and will pick up where we left off tomorrow or if you tuning me and you'd like to hear this message again. Visit our website and browse through our archives. Just go to Jamie Greer.com Pastor JD last month we asked our listeners to really take a step of faith and get involved in supporting this ministry financially little bit about what they're getting accomplished yet. Molly, like we said last month the end of the year is a critical time financially for ministries like ours. Here at Summit life. We are so, so grateful for every single one of you stepped up and join with us so we can close out or you're a very solid position ready to take advantage of the opportunities that that God is placed in front of us to make the gospel more accessible and help people go deeper in the gospel. In addition to that, because of your generosity. We were able to give very crucial support to the Rudolph family who are are living in church planting in Germany in a very unreached part a very underserved part of Germany were able to expand their ministry there.

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