Salvation Comes from the Lord (Part 2 of 2)

When God commanded Jonah to preach to the Ninevites.

He rebelled back. It wasn't until he was drowning that he finally surrendered to God's will. Today unTruth for Life. Alastair Beck explains how God uses overwhelming circumstances to draw us to himself were in Jonah chapter 2 where Jonah has been swallowed by a great fish. The emphasis in these verses is not so much upon the predicament and of Jonah as it is upon the provision of God, not so much about what Jonah has done to get himself in this situation as it is upon what God has chosen to do to save his servant in the situation and there is little doubt that Jonah would have had in the immediate aftermath of these events.

Many occasions to harass what happened to him and to repeat again. The summary which is contained in verse two and his friends would've said to him what in the world is been happening and then he would've said in my distress I called to the Lord and he answered me, and from the depths of the grave.

I called for help and you listen to my cry. He was in the water, half drowned, suffocating from the seaweed around his head and he cried out to God, he cried out to the very God, from whose presence he sought to run. He was then to discover that the psalmist is true or large. You have searched me and you know me you know when I sit down and when I stand up. Where can I go from your presence. If I go up to the heavens you there. If I make my bed in the depths you are there, and as he plowed around in the water in this most graphic circumstance. He discovered that God had answered his cry even as he had fallen from the side of the vessel and down into the depths of the water idea cried out for help and God had listened to his cry. He was discovering in the deep. What many of us have discovered when we tried to run away from God that you can run but you can't hide with 1 foot. Is it wet already in the grave he had called out to the Lord and the Lord had listened that we are not to miss the fact that there is a great encouragement in this.

For those of us who today find ourselves in distress who may find ourselves in the depths and the reason for it is one word and the word is disobedience may not be known to those who are nearest and dearest to us. We may have managed to hide it from all but God himself. And yet, as we sit within the framework of this congregation. We know that the reason we're in the predicament in which we find ourselves is because God has said: we've said no because God said I want you to do this and we said I'd like to do that because God said this is my way and we said and I like this way, and the immensity of the wonder of God's dealings is found in the fact that God in his grace and in his kindness is determined to complete the work in our lives which he has begun. Philippians 16 and that is why he comes to the young prodigal in the pigsty and he meets in there that is why he comes to Jonah in the stomach of the fish and he meets them there. Both in stinking situations literally one surrounded by pigs and all that they do. The other engulfed in the vetting got of this large fish and both in the pigsty and in the fish's stomach God was coming to pluck them to clean them and to restore them to his purposes loved ones. Those of us have walked any time with Christ know that is the case polarized the Christian life is been a series of new beginnings. It is not all been plain sailing.

We have not done everything right.

Every day we have not proceeded in the right direction. Every time we know ourselves to of been at least metaphorically with the seaweed wrapped around our heads and suffocating as a result of our own disobedience. Thank God that he has chosen not to say fine if that's the way you wanted go ahead and drown. That's the mystery and the wonder and the encouragement of what we find what he says in verse three you huddled me into the deep.

I just want to identify these phrases for you. You hurled me into the deep.

Now the average boy or girl is here this morning that here's an image of the going to perk up on this and they're going to say what is it mean speaking to God and that wincing, you hurled me into the deep. We know who hurled them into the deep. It was the sailors who hurled them into the deep. The sailors threw them overboard.

Jonah said I'm running from God, throw me overboard.

And so they threw them overboard. And now here it is in the heart of the fish and he says you told me into the D know what is this Jonah is recognizing that what it taken place was under the determining hand of God that the sailors in fulfilling Jonah's instructions became the instruments of God in the same way that the brothers in the story of Joseph was restored in in the chapters in Genesis who acted according to their own willful passions, their jealousy and their spite their desire to be rid of Joseph they sold him into the hands of the Ishmaelite traders they banished him off to Egypt and when they are finally encountering Jonah again in Genesis 45 and they realize with alarm that they are face-to-face with a brother that he had banished what is Joseph say to them. He says it was not you who sent me here, but God what he mean by that that they somehow or another were atomic tons that God was working them the way a person would work a puppet with the strings know they fulfill their own willful desires, and in the exercise of that God is the primary cause was taking this secondary cause and using it to fulfill his ultimate purpose of the same is true with the same and as he went flying over the side of the boat, thinking to himself I'm done for now it was God that threw them off the ship, not to destroy but so that he could continue to use sin because it wasn't possible to make use of him while he was very silent underneath the deck. A backslidden nuisance to everybody, not least of all himself, tended to say I love sleeping down here this is terrific. Now I'm on my own now I can do what I want and God pursues them in the ocean throw them over the side says Jonah we gotta talk and as soon as he has them in the position when he's ready to talk. Jonah says and I called to the Lord in my distress.

But what was he doing another sleep when Margaret Parsons wrote about tremendous poor M 38 verses are so I would've the memoirs of Samuel Rutherford. She tends in their this wonderful stanza with mercy and with judgment.

My web of tying he wolf and IRA. The Jews of sorrow were less stirred by his law.

I will bless the hand that guide. I will bless the hearts that plan when thrown, where glory dwell in the manuals ill that he blessed us is our good and unblessed good is ill and all is right. That seems most wrong if it be his sweet will, and he steps back from the event and he says you know what it was you that huddled me into the sea, but notice what he says in verse four. Not only you hurled me into the deep, he says, but I have been banished from your site. I don't know about you but this picture of them going down in the water scares me half to death in a swimming is not my forte.

I mean I can stay afloat. But I'm not about to, you know, try and swim for Catalina Island from the West Coast or something like that. And so the idea of this is absolutely horrendous to me. I can almost feel this experience, but I get scared like this in a swimming pool. So this is no surprise but do you think that it is this physical thing that really creates the terror dealing.

This is nothing.

It isn't these circumstances, and all of their devastating impact are all only, and ultimately devastating.

Inasmuch as they represent a more terrifying situation and the terrifying situation is this. I have been banished from your site. I'm no longer in communion with you.

We are not on speaking terms. We are not talking. Let me point out two things. First of all, for those of you are here today and you do not believe in God you have not come to lay hold of God's great and precious promises for me to tell you that the ultimate terror in the ultimate anguish is to be found in the fact that he is banished from the sight of God say while I'm prepared to take your word for it, but it means nothing to me. I don't see any sense of terror. I don't see any sense of anguish of the you know why because you never known God because you have no sense of being in his presence. And since you've never been in his presence. You never know what it was like to be out of his presence. Since you've never been drawn into the love that is his and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Since you've never come to know him on all of his fullness. Since you've never trusted in him and rested in him and knowing what it is for him to love and care for you and to provide for you. The idea been banished from his presence is like hearing was a big deal and in your circumstance, you need to cry out to God, or that I might seek you and Diane that I might find you when I search for you with all of my because you're able to take this information this morning say he's clearly concerned about it. III concede I just from his posture, but I don't know why in the world he would be so concerned.

The reason is you're a stranger you see this word here is a word to the believe it is award to the running believe it is a word to the backslidden belief is the word to those of us who are prepared to admit to the power of sin in our life's is award to those of us who understand the trial of having our spirits awakened is award to those of us were haunted by the anxiety created by my own disobedience. For you see, hell is to be banished from God forever is why Jesus in Luke 11 says you should be concerned about those who can kill the body, that's nothing to be concerned about the one who can cast you down into hell and Jonah says I have been banished from your site and this dreadful sense of separation and isolation will only mean nothing to the individual who knows what it is to live in God's presence. If you saw the film the patriot the most one piece in the whole movie for me is the dissonance between the patriot and his tiniest Dr. and how she climbs up and would speak to and how he gets ready to go off the back as she stanza where he kisses his wife goodbye and worked on the line and still she stanza, and as he turns his horse to go and she comes after daddy what you want me to say to you say anything to you what you want me to say, not a father not says all always that painful, but I guess the average 17-year-olds gong man is so cheesy.

In his gracious this is pathetic. Let's get out of here, you know once you've known communion. You understand banishment. You are either they are playing the game of two sides of the fence trying to ride the escalator up another escalator down. God comes to us in the storm, and a sense of isolation in the sense of separation is an act of just judgment on his behalf in order that we might realize this is not where the child of God is supposed to be.

This is not what God has for me.

Just when he thought he been abandoned for beauty swallowed by the fish not a great place to live but a wonderful place to learn and there in this new little bed-and-breakfast accommodation.

His affliction becomes a source of good to him as he realizes that if Gordon wanted just deal with them for good and for whatever he would've let the seaweed wrap itself.

A final time around his face and at the root of the mountains is he saying he would be barred and for whatever, but he is remembered the Lord.

Verse seven and he has looked to the Lord, represented in his meeting with his people in his holy temple. And so he says you hurled me into the deep. I've been banished from your site, and finally verse 6B, but you brought my life up from the pit, but you brought my life up. Who else could bring his life. He went down to Joppa. He went down below the deck. He went down into the depths and here God intervenes divinely remember the psalmist I waited for the Lord my God, and patiently did bear this is the metrical sound that lends to me he did incline my voice and cry to hear. He took me from Miami pit and from the sticky clay any set my feet upon a rock in the establish my way to him. Writer then follows the sound right there and he says I was sinking deep in sin, sinking to rise no more. Very deeply stained with sin, far from the peaceful sure then the master of the sea haired. My despairing cry and from the waters.

He lifted me and now safe in my are you going to give yourself either your mess.

I'll fix it. You say I'll get to it. I got a number of approaches will look at the observation that he then makes in verse eight.

Those who cling to worthless idols 4 feet. The grace that could be theirs.

Those amongst his own people in Israel who were tempted to cling to these worthless idols who were tempted to worship the bales if they continued in that direction. Then they would've forfeited an awareness of the Lord's gracious hell. One of the Trent most tragic things is to see the way in which the contemporary churches tempted to cling to the worthless idols that are offered to us and we look so pathetic in the world hiding below the deck talking to ourselves being waking up by the pagans there centers why you down here if God is such a great God why you running and hiding from them, don't you have something to say for yourself finally thrown into the midst of all of this confusion and we start to get smart and say you know I think there's a number of ways we can get ourselves out of our predicament. There's only one way I called to the Lord and he answered me, so his observation is that his consecration is there in verse nine, I'm going to sing a song of Thanksgiving. I'm going to sacrifice to you and I'm going to see it through what I have vowed I will make good. In other words, an attitude of repentance and faith will not simply mark this moment in his life will mold his life for the future observation verse eight consecration verse nine liberation verse 10 and the Lord commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

I look forward to hearing the details of that, I don't you will will tuning anyone helped him in all cleanup work but are you doing go looking for those big leaves like you do when you fall and stuff, and you're out in the country.

Why put it off. People looking sin is not the prophet Jonah down there what they can secede to some so I saw fish spat them up. Yeah sure okay fine fine because when he asked me what I said. How did you get here and how did you get back and you would assemble a fish swallowed me and spat me out.

This is under attack is only supposed to put is not what our friends later when we fallow the way that we got out of our predicament was as a result of the death of a Galilean carpenter on a Roman gibbet 2000 years ago, on the by the shedding of his blood.

God poured out his Roth upon sin and he took the punishment that we deserved and because he died in our place were now that vomited up and were free to go about and live life in our friends they don't be ridiculous. In between, trying to clean himself up in verse one of chapter 3. He must've wondered to himself a mile washed up. He knew he was literally washed up.

What was he going to be washed up as far as God's servant was concerned as he got someone else in my place. I'm sure I don't deserve to go back and innovate now and should have been put down to row nine. Then the word of the Lord came to join a second time.

Some of us may be here this morning with a deep sense of failure, and regret we done our own running with on our own attempt at hiding God is come to us in various storms and he's waking us up and he said our feet back there. The devil comes to us and says you're finished now you're all washed up and tell him to go to where he belongs and remind him that God is the God of the second chance, third chance. The fourth chance in the fifth chance to salvation comes from the Lord saving me from the penalty of my sin saving me daily from the power of sin and saving me one day from the very presence of sin. And Jonah is an unforgettable reminder of this essential truth the wonderful truth that is God takes sinners like you and me and uses us in his plan for his glory your listing to Truth for Life.

The Bible teaching ministry of Alistair Begg. Alister will close with prayer in just a minute, so please keep listing before we get to that today is the last opportunity I have to remind you about an exceptionally helpful book something we been highlighting this month. It's a 31 day devotional are very relevant topic. The topic of anxiety's estimate of the 23 million Americans suffer from panic attacks, millions more identify themselves as battling routine anxiety. We worry about our health about our loved ones about global news politics.

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When you give a gift online at truthforlife.org/donate or call 888-588-7884. Now here's Alastair close with prayer father out of a multitude of words. We pray that we might hear your voice.

I pray particularly for summer here today and the idea of being banished from you is no consideration to them at all because they have never known a sense of your presence, they remain in the condition described in Ephesians 2 enemies of God, that in their trespasses and sins. Why would a dead person ever be concerned about these matters of life. So we pray that, in your mercy, you will come and make them alive that he might hear your truth and that they might respond to it and believe in you.

For those of us who have been going our own way, seeking to run and take our own cruises all away from the direction of your appointing. Pray that, in your mercy, and in your love, you will come throws overboard into such a sense of isolation that will we will cry out to you that we might be known of your fresh that you will pick us up and said our feet back on the pathway of your appointing hear our prayers and let our cry come unto you, and on to him, the one who is able to keep us from falling to present this faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy to the only wise God our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power. Now and forevermore. Amen.

I'm Bob Lapine for Alistair Begg and all of us to truthfully hope you have a great weekend.

Hope you're able to rest and relax and worship with your local church family. If you're looking for a way to supplement the teaching you receive in your home church. Keep in mind that Alister's teaching at Parkside church is streamed live most weekends find out if Alister will be teaching this weekend. You can check the schedule go to truth for like.org/live and then join us Monday as we continue our series about Jonah called man overboard. Today's program was furnished by Truth for Life for the learning is prolific