Man Overboard!

Most of us have prayed a prayer at some point in our lives said got I just want to know your will. But how do we respond when God answers that prayer and his revealed will.

Doesn't line up with what we want to do. That's our topic today on Truth for Life as Alistair Begg resumes.

Our study in the book of Jonah were in chapter 1 is titled this message man overboard.

If you have sailed and you haven't particularly enjoyed sailing eyes when you fly if you do not particularly enjoy flying as a passenger in the first indication of turbulence or discomfort. One of the things that you intend to do is to look at the eyes of the crewmembers to look at the gaze of the those who are assisting within the cabin and, if possible, listening on the headphones to get a flavor for what's going on in the cockpit itself. No verse five is clear it is not one of two of the sailors was unsettled by what was going on but we are told that all the sailors would afraid now the evidence of their fear. Then in verse five is made obvious first about. We are told that they were crying. They were crying out each to his own God and the polytheism of the day, these sailors would've had particular gods for particular duties and they would also have had particular gods for particular locations.

So one of the games that they played one of the necessities that they had was in trying to make sure that they dialed in the right God for the right situation and if we had gone on board at this particular moment in time to find all of this cacophony of sound as the various sailors were all crying out to the particular deities they could think of all God. Whoever you are and whatever you are. Please help us here. This is a dreadful circumstance at the same time as they were crying, each to his own God casting stuff into the sea. The through the caramel into the sea to lighten the ship. A ship like this moving towards a smelting port would probably be carrying all kinds of stuff. Much of it could not be taken and thrown overboard. Therefore, anything that could reduce the weight of the ship and raise it in the waves would be something that they would like to do and so they cried to their guard and they cast the cargo overboard and then we are told at the same time they cast lots to find out who was responsible for the calamity of these lots.

What originally little stones the little stones were dark on one side and light on the other side what he would do is they would take the stones and they would throw them the way in which you throw dice and if they both came up on the dark side and that was to convey and negative situation and a negative response to their question if they both came up on the light side and clearly it was a positive response and if one came up late and one came up dark and basically the word from the deities was hold everything.

Don't do anything at the moment of the interesting thing is that when you read your Bible, you discover a variety of references to this in the Bible.

I can tell you where they are. For example in your show 18 in first Chronicles 24 in Leviticus 16. You also have it at the at the beginning of the acts in the replacement of Judas after Pentecost would read nothing of it in the Bible et al. in the most helpful summary statement that I was able to discover concerning it is in Proverbs 1633 where Solomon says the law is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. So in other words, we can throw the dice and we can use that as a basis for deduction. He says, but God who is sovereign over all things, even controls the role of the dice and amazing thought. So they cast the lots. The lots, direct them to this particular individual who will come to in a moment, and so they conduct an investigation. Verse eight Dallas who is responsible for making all this trouble for us. What do you do when you come from, what is your country from what people are you and once again you see as they thought in terms geographical terms in relationship to the influence of the deity if they could find out where this individual was from. Then maybe that would give them an indication as to which God they should be calling on so that that really essentially looking for Jonah ZIP Code. Hoping that they can tie his ZIP Code to a deity that will be able to get them out on this most ferocious and incredible mess. So they asked them in verse eight. What you do and then the estimate verse 11 what should we do when he gives his response which will consider in a moment instead of taking his advice immediately and throwing them overboard. They not only having conducted an investigation, leave it there but the role with an even greater determination and it interesting how kind and considerate pagans can be. I don't mean that facetiously in any way at all. The fight of the matter is that some of our non-Christian friends seem to bed an awful lot trainer and an awful lot more considerate than those of us who profess to be Christian in our testimony these dreadful people who had no understanding of the one true living God, whom Jonah presumably would've wanted disdain in the same way that he had little time for the conversion of an innovative were the very ones who when he said to him, I am the problem, get me out of here. They said no we don't want to do that to them.

Let's roll like feuding out and see if we can get this thing back to dry land. So they conducted an investigation. Verse eight the road with greater determination. Verse 13 and then he prayed for their own preservation. Verse 14 realizing what they were going to have to do.

They cried out to the Lord. Oh Lord, please do not let is die for taking this man's life because they were very clear.

If we throw them overboard is done. And so that's exactly what they did. The conducted an investigation the road with greater determination.

The prayed for their own preservation and then he carried out his execution. Goodbye Jonah nice knowing you, albeit briefly. Death by drowning, and then the sea was completely calm, causing them to fear the Lord to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and to make great values to the Lord. If fishermen are known for their tall tales and sailors for their seafaring yarns than this crew. When they got back from this voyage had a story to talk all stories what's taking a camera this turn on the sailors. Let's take a camera that is turned on Jonah and let's look at it from Jonas this advantage point rather than from his vantage point. While all this feverish activity is taking place up on the deck and when one of the other cameras is at carrying that material back to our base can all the shouting and praying and chucking of stuff into the sea. We have another camera that gives us a picture from below deck and look at where he is in a deep sleep. This is a remarkable picture of this individual. What's led to it.

We can only assume that he was exhausted after his hurried departure to Joppa. He decided not to stay on deck to watch the process of the departure. He probably didn't really want to engage in conversation with anyone at all and so we determined that he would go down and find the sleeping quarters and we followed him down into the sleeping quarters in the areas and he is in a sleep that we are told is indeed he fell into a deep sleep. Now the captain comes down and it's interesting that it is the captain.

He may be said to some of the people is there anyone else here that we haven't accounted for and someone said whether the fellow got on right at the very beginning. I haven't seen him since he got on I think he went down into the sleeping quarters is unusual for people to go and do that most people are up on deck, they like to see the thing go away. Sorry would've been quite unusual, so the captain goes down. We don't know whether he should give gently by his shoulder whether he kicked his boots are literally just flung them off is better. Whatever he did to, but he wakes them up any system. How can you sleep.

Can you sleep through this.

Sylvia scratched now, of course, Jonah's response would be sleep through what choices. How can you sleep through this and as he begins to come out of his foggy condition, what is he here he hears essentially the same word that had led to his running get up and that being the words that the whole thing starts out with that. I pointed out to you in the Hebrew is narrowed to be left out in the NIV, RI, is go to the great city of Nineveh, get out, go to Nineveh and he decided he wouldn't go to Nineveh any runaway down into the depths of the ship, sound asleep, kicked to awakening by this individual. And now here in the very same what I want you to get up.

He says, and call on your God of all the things he might've said say that I'm not talking to God in the moment I'm running away from God just now had that experience on a business trip somewhere. You shouldn't be enjoying the moment that you shouldn't enjoy some pig insisting today to pray for me human. Talk to the God that right now. I was trying to run away from this is if you manage to get through your God. Maybe we won't perish.

We been up on the declarations.

We tried every guard retried every phone number that the risk we just wonder whether you get an access code, or perhaps get is an answer to this problem because frankly, we're all about to go down with the ship and the fact is that he knew when they took out the lots that he was busted and so he was honest in the answers to their questions. What should we do to make the SECAM for us is that you better just pick me up and thrown into the sea, and it will all become calm and in those moments when they laid hold of him, presume they wanted to took his hands in one or two took his feet and the way that you might do with somebody that you were fooling around in the backyard. I'm not sure that they turned to music or put it into you know and why, and to now. I think they were pained. I think they were saddened by can only imagine the terror that was involved look at this man, the prophet of God. The voice peace of God with a big preaching mission with clear directions where to go and clear directions, what to say and he decides that he's going to be Mr. no turns his back on it makes a run for it and now finds himself trapped in the hands of these Phoenician crewmen what anything about in those moments did he say to himself, just for a sense of my own personal satisfaction. I would endure this we know what happened later when he finds himself in the belly of the fish but I wonder was he repenting as he went over the sunny.

I finally let's look at it in terms of what were told about God and God's hand in these events.

First of all, in verse four. Notice the Lord send accent a great wind on the sea. The word that is therefore sent is not the usual word for send but it is actually the word for throw. It is the same word that is used later on for the throwing of the cargo, it is the same word that is used later on for the throwing of Jonah. So there's a lot of throwing going on in the first throwing that takes place as the hand of God throwing down upon the ocean. This quite furious storm. It is a reminder of what we find permeating the psalmist work your laws and you are to this day, says the psalmist for all things serve you and the divine control over the oceans of the universe was one of the constant themes of Israel's praise when you read the Psalms you find them again and again praising the fact that God is sovereign over all the affairs of the ebb and flow of the tides he gathers up the oceans and he puts them in jars in the same way that you and I may put together a gallon of pink lemonade.

I know ourselves sovereign over that affair to the two God Almighty, the oceans of the world are as much under his control as if he was able to simply gather them up and put them in jars now how different this is. You see, from the pagan mine said in the day of Jonah.

For these crewmen then regarded the sea as a primeval force that was uncontrollable and at whose mercy. Everyone lived.

I was start gathering and flying into Denver just as an aside, into the lightning and thunder storms over over Denver airport Thursday night and when we landed we sat on the ground for almost 2 hours before we got to the gate and there we sat with all the technology and brilliance of the Denver international Airport completely capitulating to the hand of Almighty God who turn the lights off and then made the lightning flashed across the sky and remanded all of his proud boats can't even figure out how to bring our stairwell up to the side of the airplane. You know all queued up from the perspective of God.

I thought about as I looked at is all I said this must be when I see those little things in my garden. I look at the mega wonder you.

You know what you doing like I like my new fiddling around that I don't go over there, go somewhere else and I imagine God look down from heaven, says hey, here is the Denver international Airport here is all the proud posting of my gear is all that ultimate baggage technology and computer technology, and it is all rendered absolutely patently useless and then you churn in the Jolly weather Channel and some right face lady talks about what mother nature has for us tomorrow morning. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars and the deep into store houses. Some 107, 25, he spoke and stirred up a Tempest that lifted up the waves God as creator exercises his rightful Lordship over these events and that you see was what made this the things so significant when in the storm on the Sea of Galilee with the disciples. Now all freaked out, saying to Jesus Lord, don't you care that we perish.

And Jesus stands up and to the winds and the waves in this dramatic storm. He says essentially that's enough of that and immediately it is, remember what they said they looked at one another and they said what manner of man is this, that even the winds and the waves obey him because they knew that only the sovereign creator Laura was able to gather up the oceans in jars and bring the store houses under his control. And Jesus stands up and he says I am he. This is the Jesus to whom we commit our lives. This is the Jesus under whose banner we marched this is the Christ, who is sovereign over the affairs of our time do we think we can run from such a God. Another point is simply this, that Jonah was not engulfed by a chance occurrence. The Lord uses the sea as an instrument of punishment to discipline his reluctant prophet God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the CMT rides upon the storm so the Lord verse for send a great wind on the sea. In verse 17 the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah.

He did not leave his servant to the fate that seemed to of overtaken him provided the means of rescue and fight this picture of the providence of God is very powerfully here in these few verses in chapter 4, particularly will see it when we come to 678 the Lord provided divine. The Lord provided a warm, the Lord provided a scorching east wind. We do not go out tomorrow to be cast about on the sea of chance or buffeted by blind impersonal forces.

He is the God who determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name and he creates a punishment for Jonah that comes as close to the experience of dying without actual death. It is here. Of course that many skeptics get off the whole boat.

All other three days and three nights in a great big fish. That's a total impossibility to say nothing like this could ever happen. Therefore, it didn't happen. Now I don't think there's any great service in trying to find contemporary illustrations that are striking in this respect as a means is aware of justifying the text of Scripture. The text of Scripture stands alone before which we will bow, but I was interested to read from an article from the Associated Press and some of you may have seen when the Air France flight 71 from prepaid friends Paul and easy in the South Pacific arrived in Los Angeles at 7:48 PM at the terminal gate a maintenance worker spotted a blanket hanging from a wheel well on the 747, 400 aircraft and notified authorities and he found a man virtually frozen survived the subzero temperatures at 38,000 feet at 600 miles an hour for eight hours when he got them down out of there. His crows were threadbare.

He was covered in all kinds of grease and his core body temperature was 79°. That's when he got them into the UCLA medical center. We don't know of any other person, whose body temperature drop this law who has survived anything below 85° is usually fatal said the doctor what is actually happened is face it most of it on a number of and understand our stereo works.

Why would we be fighting with God over these things I say to you again. Jesus was quite prepared to use this to draw the parallel with his own death, which involve the punishment for sin and also after that a resurrection to come another contemporary's of Jonah were able to see this messianic foreshadowing, but they did see this rebellion against God is wrong. Death is the appropriate penalty. God is able to rescue from death and grace and salvation are capable of offsetting even the most atrocious since causing observations. One none of us lives to himself.

You can run away and disobey God and do it all on your own.

You'll take other people with you to may not be that Jonah below deck silenced by his disobedience is a picture of the contemporary church in our society down below the deck totally asleep to the cries up top, totally unaware of all of the angst and the agony of those who are buffeted by the storm, with a loss of identity, such that people have to compensate.

Who are you and with a loss of authority sexily come and say what you have to say about this striking thing about it is as I say when you're asleep.

You don't know your asleep when you do one of those afternoon sleeps when you weren't supposed to waken up. You always say the same dumb thing. Dona, I have been asleep for long remember what Jesus said using the picture of his return is when the owner of the house comes back. Make sure you're not asleep, cautionary message from our study of the book of Jonah titled man overboard listing to Truth for Life. The Bible teaching ministry a baluster bag and you. We are delighted whenever we receive letters or emails from listeners like you people who take time to share how God is use this program in their lives. What's remarkable about those stories is how frequently people write to us and explained that they weren't even searching for Bible teaching. They were simply skimming through radio stations and stumbled on to a guy with an intriguing Scottish accent in the Listing well.

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