Afraid of God (Jonah 1:4-6)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.839 Well, I'm preaching this morning from the book of Jonah, as I mentioned 2 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:07.910 earlier. You can turn there if you like, or simply listen. Please 3 00:00:07.990 --> 00:00:13.470 remain standing if you're able, as we hear God's word. This is Jonah 4 00:00:13.509 --> 00:00:18.390 A, chapter one. So in the Black Bible, from the Cart Jonah 5 00:00:18.469 --> 00:00:24.219 is on seven hundred and seventy four, seven, seven four. Now this 6 00:00:25.420 --> 00:00:28.339 story, I call it that because it has all the elements of a story, 7 00:00:28.500 --> 00:00:33.020 but it is his story. It's a true account of the things that 8 00:00:33.140 --> 00:00:38.250 God has done in the world, recorded for us here on these are the 9 00:00:38.649 --> 00:00:43.450 this is one of the great works which we are told to remember, that 10 00:00:43.570 --> 00:00:48.850 he causes us even to remember. So let's hear with that kind of ear 11 00:00:49.049 --> 00:00:54.520 this morning. Jonah Chapter One. I'll read verses one through six. Now 12 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:58.119 the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amy Tai, 13 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:03.200 saying arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against 14 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:07.750 it, for their evil has come up before me. But Jonah rose to 15 00:01:07.870 --> 00:01:11.989 flee to tarshish. From the presence of the Lord. He went down to 16 00:01:11.069 --> 00:01:15.989 JOPPA and found us a ship going to tarshish. So he paid the fare 17 00:01:17.109 --> 00:01:21.700 and went on board to go with them. To tarshish, away from the 18 00:01:21.739 --> 00:01:26.500 presence of the Lord. But the Lord Herald a great win and upon the 19 00:01:26.620 --> 00:01:30.219 sea and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship 20 00:01:30.379 --> 00:01:34.689 threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid and each cried out to 21 00:01:34.810 --> 00:01:38.049 his God. They and they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into 22 00:01:38.049 --> 00:01:44.409 the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the 23 00:01:44.450 --> 00:01:51.000 inner part of the ship and had laid down and was fast asleep. So 24 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:55.280 the captain came and said to him, what do you mean, you sleeper? 25 00:01:55.760 --> 00:02:00.239 Rise, call out to your God. Perhaps the God will give us 26 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:02.790 a thought, or give a thought to us, that we may not perish. 27 00:02:05.549 --> 00:02:08.710 This is the word of God. Arise, listen to it. You 28 00:02:08.789 --> 00:02:15.430 may be seated. Well, it's good that we can hear the Lord and 29 00:02:15.590 --> 00:02:21.620 obey our where whatever position we find ourselves in, whether we find ourselves in 30 00:02:22.419 --> 00:02:29.259 prison, whether we find ourselves in our homes or on a train or in 31 00:02:29.340 --> 00:02:34.409 the sky, anywhere, when the Lord speaks, we ought to hear. 32 00:02:36.650 --> 00:02:40.129 Sometimes the Lord speaks, though, in a way that is terrifying, and 33 00:02:40.770 --> 00:02:49.280 we see the sailors experience that here, although ironically, not Jonah the same 34 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:55.159 experience right, same Oh, same see, same God, and yet two 35 00:02:55.400 --> 00:03:02.909 very different reactions to this situation. I want you to really imagine yourself in 36 00:03:04.069 --> 00:03:07.430 this situation. Maybe start by asking yourself, what's the most scared I've ever 37 00:03:07.509 --> 00:03:12.939 been? Don't you personally? They don't need to worry about me. What's 38 00:03:12.979 --> 00:03:17.020 the scared Moll, scared you have ever been a time that made you sweat, 39 00:03:17.699 --> 00:03:22.780 made your chest feel tight, your heart beat faster and you really worry? 40 00:03:23.979 --> 00:03:29.810 Maybe it was an emotional or or social danger, maybe your sin was 41 00:03:29.889 --> 00:03:32.930 about to be exposed. Maybe you were in a building and you're seeing people 42 00:03:34.050 --> 00:03:37.810 walk out and losing their job throughout the day and wondering if you're going to 43 00:03:37.889 --> 00:03:42.960 be next. Or maybe it's a physical thing, being chased by an animal 44 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:49.560 or in a house that's on fire. There's all kinds of dangers we've we 45 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:53.280 face in life, hopefully not too often. What's the most scared you've ever 46 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:59.270 been? When you think of that feeling, I think it's right. You 47 00:03:59.310 --> 00:04:02.830 can take that and now think of yourself in the shoes of these these sailors. 48 00:04:02.990 --> 00:04:10.819 Here we don't hear the backstory on these men, but no doubt this 49 00:04:10.979 --> 00:04:14.699 would have been one of the scariest times in their lives, and I think 50 00:04:14.699 --> 00:04:17.060 we can say that with confidence for the reasons that are given to a US 51 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:21.620 here in the Bible. For one, it says that they were afraid, 52 00:04:24.139 --> 00:04:29.129 they were very afraid. In Verse Five. They were so afraid because, 53 00:04:29.250 --> 00:04:33.370 as we read in verse for, the ship threatened to break up. We 54 00:04:33.490 --> 00:04:39.240 also see the expression of their fear and their willingness to jettison the cargo that's 55 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:43.519 on their ship. These guys weren't, doubt for, you know, fun 56 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:46.600 weekend, and even then it would have been costly. These are men, 57 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:54.269 very likely, who have their profession tied up on this boat, their livelihood. 58 00:04:55.110 --> 00:05:01.069 A trip to tarshish was probably a year's journey from where they were headed. 59 00:05:01.149 --> 00:05:04.589 These were committed people. They were ready for a long voyage, and 60 00:05:04.670 --> 00:05:12.139 now they're throwing things overboard at the expense of their job, at the cost 61 00:05:12.180 --> 00:05:16.899 of the mission. Why? Because their ship was breaking apart. They were 62 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:20.420 willing to destroy the cargo and even eventually, as will read there, were 63 00:05:20.649 --> 00:05:26.810 willing to destroy the life of this man, Jonah, though, unwilling to 64 00:05:28.209 --> 00:05:33.009 why? Because that's how serious this is. Imagine you're at home this afternoon 65 00:05:33.129 --> 00:05:36.319 and you lay down to take a nap and you wake up and you smell 66 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:41.839 smoke and all of a sudden you realize that your house is on fire. 67 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:46.040 Right how what are you willing to do to get out of that situation? 68 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:51.310 Let's say there's a window in your bedroom that you need to break, but 69 00:05:51.470 --> 00:05:58.550 the heaviest object is something that's very important to you, maybe a precious book 70 00:05:58.670 --> 00:06:03.189 that you had been given, maybe a delicate vase that had been bequeathed to 71 00:06:03.339 --> 00:06:08.300 you, maybe several generations old, something that's been special. Would you be 72 00:06:08.459 --> 00:06:14.060 willing to take that vase, take that book and smash the window to get 73 00:06:14.060 --> 00:06:18.209 out? I hope you would. I hope you would, that you would 74 00:06:18.209 --> 00:06:23.209 do whatever it takes to get out of a burning house. That's what these 75 00:06:23.329 --> 00:06:29.569 sailors are feeling. Their ship is falling apart and they're out on the seas. 76 00:06:30.529 --> 00:06:33.439 They are going to die, and so they're trying to figure out what 77 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:44.279 to do. They are really, really scared. Jonah, however, seems 78 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:48.230 to be in a whole other world. Imagine again, your house is on 79 00:06:48.350 --> 00:06:53.350 fire. Maybe your wife or your husband is sleeping next to you. You 80 00:06:53.470 --> 00:06:57.670 are taking a nap together and honey, wake up, wake up. It's 81 00:06:57.750 --> 00:07:00.670 you gotta get out of her. What are you doing? You're sleeping. 82 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:08.579 That's what Joan is doing. He's not doing whatever is necessary to save his 83 00:07:08.699 --> 00:07:13.540 life, and it may even be that he takes this action after the storm 84 00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:18.410 began. It's a little hard to tell, but that may be the case. 85 00:07:18.689 --> 00:07:25.449 This lord throws, hurls as great violent word. He hurls a great 86 00:07:25.490 --> 00:07:30.480 wind upon the sea the mariners. Then the mariners were afraid and each cried 87 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:32.240 out to their God. They hurl the things on to the sea. But 88 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:40.160 Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship. What's he doing 89 00:07:40.199 --> 00:07:45.790 down there? Why is he not waking up? No doubt there was a 90 00:07:45.990 --> 00:07:50.389 fair amount of noise. The ship is rocking, the sea is churning, 91 00:07:51.269 --> 00:07:58.699 the wind is pounding. People are yelling to get the ropes, grab this 92 00:07:58.899 --> 00:08:05.579 box, get over here, and Jonah blocks it out. He leaves his 93 00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:13.129 shipmates thinking nothing of their lives, only of his resignation, only of his 94 00:08:13.370 --> 00:08:20.050 unwillingness to follow the Lord. And he's going to take a nap. Maybe 95 00:08:20.089 --> 00:08:26.560 he hoped he would never wake up. Perhaps there have been times in your 96 00:08:26.600 --> 00:08:31.480 life when you hoped you would never wake up, perhaps times where you went 97 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:39.480 into sleep, maybe even a nap, a maybe something more, to get 98 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:43.509 rid of the pain, to get rid of the shame, to get rid 99 00:08:43.549 --> 00:08:50.389 of the terrible feelings and the frustrating things that were going on, just wishing 100 00:08:50.429 --> 00:08:56.820 it would all end, just wishing you could escape. We all feel burdened 101 00:08:56.059 --> 00:09:01.860 like this sometimes. Sometimes it's not really any fault of our own, sort 102 00:09:01.860 --> 00:09:07.299 of like these sailors. They didn't ask for Jonah to come on this ship. 103 00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:09.850 This wasn't there, or they had their own sins, of course, 104 00:09:09.970 --> 00:09:16.129 but this was for Jonah. Yeah, first and foremost. Sometimes those things 105 00:09:16.169 --> 00:09:20.370 happen in our lives. The God puts us in a position that we weren't 106 00:09:20.409 --> 00:09:26.080 expecting for reasons we don't understand. We find that we need relief, we 107 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:35.120 need somewhere to turn. Other times we find ourselves in these situations because of 108 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:41.549 our own making, like Jonah, like little Jonah's, we put ourselves in 109 00:09:41.629 --> 00:09:48.909 these situations that get from bad to worse, to worse to worse. How 110 00:09:48.990 --> 00:09:54.700 do we deal with them? which person would you be in this story? 111 00:09:54.500 --> 00:09:58.700 Jonah or the sailors? Our and it? And you can think about that 112 00:09:58.740 --> 00:10:03.700 not only from the way in which they enter or this situation, but also 113 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:09.370 from their reactions to the situation. Would you be the one working hard, 114 00:10:09.570 --> 00:10:13.250 doing whatever you could, with in all moral means, to save your life 115 00:10:13.289 --> 00:10:16.970 and the life of your teammates, of your crew, of your family? 116 00:10:18.169 --> 00:10:22.279 Or would you be the one giving up, the one with no hope, 117 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:33.639 the one who didn't care, the one in resignation? I heard a famous 118 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:39.429 teacher this week talking about a school he was a principle of. The school 119 00:10:39.549 --> 00:10:43.110 was failing, it was doing worse and worse and worse and because of the 120 00:10:43.230 --> 00:10:46.470 way our schools work, he couldn't pay him anymore. He didn't have any 121 00:10:46.509 --> 00:10:52.019 choice over that matter. So what is HE gonna do? How do you 122 00:10:52.299 --> 00:10:54.580 change a school? How do you turn things around? One of the things 123 00:10:54.620 --> 00:10:58.860 he told his teachers is because you got imagine us all like a bus. 124 00:11:00.179 --> 00:11:03.860 We're like on a big bus, and think of Fred Flintstone style right, 125 00:11:03.289 --> 00:11:07.970 no floor. We're all running. That's how we make this thing move. 126 00:11:09.049 --> 00:11:13.409 And he talked to his teachers and he said there's different categories of you here. 127 00:11:13.409 --> 00:11:16.649 Some of you are on this bus and your your runners. You're running. 128 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:22.279 You get on this bus and you are excited about what we're doing. 129 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:26.320 You're excited about your mission, your on task, you're ready to move in. 130 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:31.320 You are are runners. Your feet are moving and they're grinding and nothing's 131 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:35.629 going to stop to you stop you. Others of you are joggers on the 132 00:11:35.710 --> 00:11:41.389 bus. Others of you are, you know, doing your job, getting 133 00:11:41.470 --> 00:11:45.750 by, but you're really in it for the accolades. You're really in it 134 00:11:45.870 --> 00:11:48.940 because you need your paycheck. You're really in it because you want to be 135 00:11:50.059 --> 00:11:52.700 known or recognized. You'll do your job as long as it kind of keeps 136 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:58.460 things moving, but your heart's not really in it. Some of you are 137 00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:05.129 walking, barely moving, barely getting by, just enough not to be in 138 00:12:05.210 --> 00:12:11.049 the last category, Dead Weight, people that are just sitting on the bus, 139 00:12:11.169 --> 00:12:16.440 dragging everyone else down while we're trying to get moving. And this principle 140 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:22.279 said to his teachers, I need you to be runners. If you're dead 141 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:24.320 weight, become a walker. If you're a walker, become a jogger. 142 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:30.789 If you're a Jogger, it's time to run. This idea of moving forward 143 00:12:30.789 --> 00:12:33.789 and a people being on task and on mission and all of this, this 144 00:12:33.950 --> 00:12:39.269 sort of thing. When you think about Jonah and his team here, Jonah's 145 00:12:39.389 --> 00:12:46.460 deadweight. Jonah is sitting there, literally being like a piece of cargo that 146 00:12:46.580 --> 00:12:52.419 they're perhaps beginning to wonder, what do we do with this guy? And 147 00:12:52.539 --> 00:12:58.730 so the captain goes to his says be a runner, solve this problem, 148 00:12:58.529 --> 00:13:03.649 help out the team. We need to move, and this is, course 149 00:13:05.250 --> 00:13:11.370 true of all kinds of situations in life. God has given us a mission 150 00:13:11.490 --> 00:13:15.360 to be on, a thing to do. We're not all called to be 151 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:18.799 prophets like Jonah, not all called to be evangelists in the same way, 152 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:24.519 but God gather. God has given his church a mission, a thing to 153 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:28.549 do. Are we going the opposite way? Are We being dead weight? 154 00:13:28.669 --> 00:13:33.309 Are we just sitting there, or are we moving forward, and how much 155 00:13:33.350 --> 00:13:39.429 are we doing it with our heart in it? Well, when we refuse 156 00:13:39.590 --> 00:13:46.419 the Lord's command to be and make disciples for him, what happens? Well, 157 00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:50.460 if you're a Christian who has been born of God and is one of 158 00:13:50.539 --> 00:13:56.730 his sons and daughters, he will discipline you as any loving father would. 159 00:13:56.769 --> 00:14:00.970 He comes to us in various ways in our lives and he says, my 160 00:14:01.210 --> 00:14:07.850 child, you are to follow after me and you're not. And so in 161 00:14:07.970 --> 00:14:13.879 all kinds of various ways he spurs us on, sometimes that's with an encouraging 162 00:14:15.080 --> 00:14:18.960 words. Sometimes that's with a reminder of the task that we're supposed to do, 163 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:24.509 the Paul that we have in our lives. Other Times it's worth a 164 00:14:24.590 --> 00:14:28.429 tempest, and that's what JANA is experiencing here, and maybe you've experienced that 165 00:14:28.549 --> 00:14:33.870 in your life, when everything is crashing around you and it's time to wake 166 00:14:33.950 --> 00:14:39.139 up, it's time to see that you have not been doing and the things 167 00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:41.299 that you've been called to do not being the things you've been called to be. 168 00:14:43.659 --> 00:14:46.659 In revelation we read that this comes not only to individuals, but also 169 00:14:46.740 --> 00:14:54.929 to churches, bodies of believers who are not following the Lord, not loving 170 00:14:54.970 --> 00:15:00.009 him as they ought, not doing the things that they ought. The question, 171 00:15:00.250 --> 00:15:01.889 then, that I'm trying to take you all to in your own hearts 172 00:15:03.009 --> 00:15:07.519 is this, how am I responding? How do I respond to the discipline 173 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:16.679 of the Lord? Well, Joanah's response is is simple and sad. He 174 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:22.789 loves his sin more than he loves the Lord, at least at this moment. 175 00:15:22.870 --> 00:15:26.230 He loves his sin, his disobedience, more than he loves his own 176 00:15:26.269 --> 00:15:31.269 life. He loves his sin, he loves his disobedience more than he loves 177 00:15:31.350 --> 00:15:35.269 the crew and these people that he's with, people that are dedicated to saving 178 00:15:35.710 --> 00:15:41.539 his life. He's willing to sit in the burning house, in the burning 179 00:15:41.580 --> 00:15:45.299 room, and let it all crumble around on him around him, rather than 180 00:15:45.340 --> 00:15:52.970 do the right thing. Maybe you've struggled with yourself, or maybe even with 181 00:15:52.090 --> 00:15:56.409 others in your life like this, people that you're thinking, what is it 182 00:15:56.649 --> 00:16:02.649 that has to happen to wake this person up? They've lost their family, 183 00:16:02.730 --> 00:16:06.440 they've lost their job. There and you just list the things down. You're 184 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:14.120 like, why do they keep doing x, drinking themselves to death, holding 185 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:21.590 on pornography, gambling all their money away, striving after social credibility, whatever 186 00:16:21.710 --> 00:16:26.149 it is? Why won't they just let it go? Who would be so 187 00:16:26.669 --> 00:16:36.500 crazy as to simply allow themselves and even purposefully go down into the depths of 188 00:16:36.940 --> 00:16:41.539 even death, pulling everyone else down with them for the sake of garbage? 189 00:16:45.059 --> 00:16:49.809 Happens all the time, doesn't it? It happens all the time. The 190 00:16:49.970 --> 00:16:53.929 reason is is because, ultimately, it's a heart issue. That's the problem. 191 00:16:56.690 --> 00:17:00.169 We love our sin more than we love the Lord. That's what Jonah 192 00:17:00.210 --> 00:17:03.680 is doing and that's what we're to learn from this about our sin to flee 193 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:07.240 from the presence of the Lord, to flee from him and his will is 194 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:14.119 to make a choice and to say I want my sin more than I want 195 00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:22.589 God. It's really as simple as that. And in a way, when 196 00:17:22.670 --> 00:17:27.109 somebody's asleep like that, you can't do anything to wake them up. It 197 00:17:27.349 --> 00:17:34.660 seems crazy, it seems insane. Why would you not preserve your own life? 198 00:17:36.740 --> 00:17:41.740 And yet there they sleep. And the reason is is because our hearts 199 00:17:41.779 --> 00:17:48.769 are that bad. They can't change by themselves. They need the work of 200 00:17:49.089 --> 00:17:56.690 God. And in another twist of irony in this story, the sailors seem 201 00:17:56.809 --> 00:18:02.640 to get that when Jonah doesn't think about this. As we come to the 202 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:10.759 end of our passage this morning, he says to him a rise, call 203 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:14.549 out to your God. Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that 204 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:19.269 we may not perish. He doesn't say, grab a rope, get that 205 00:18:19.549 --> 00:18:26.750 sale, help with these these boxes. He says call out to your God. 206 00:18:26.109 --> 00:18:30.019 The sailor, this pagan sailor, who doesn't know anything about Yah Way, 207 00:18:30.380 --> 00:18:34.460 who is worshiping false gods, who is in fact himself calling out to 208 00:18:34.539 --> 00:18:40.420 a God that cannot here, can see and cannot do anything. The proof 209 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:45.130 tempest is still here. He is failing with his God, and yet he 210 00:18:45.369 --> 00:18:51.289 still seems to have a sense and acknowledge that the heart of this problem is 211 00:18:51.490 --> 00:18:57.279 bigger than a storm. And that's true of everything in life. We cannot 212 00:18:57.400 --> 00:19:03.160 disconnect the things that we face in this world with the Lord. Now, 213 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:07.839 we may not always understand exactly how this connects to that. In fact most 214 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:12.150 of the time we don't, but we can know for certain, as this 215 00:19:12.710 --> 00:19:21.470 captain does, as this Pagan, unbelieving captain realizes, that ultimately everything is 216 00:19:21.710 --> 00:19:30.339 controlled by God and you should seek him. God is the only one who 217 00:19:30.339 --> 00:19:33.940 can save us. God is the only one who can change our hearts. 218 00:19:33.980 --> 00:19:37.849 And so when we fall into darkness and when our friends call into darkness, 219 00:19:38.490 --> 00:19:44.049 sure we should avail ourselves of all kinds of secondary causes and things God has 220 00:19:44.089 --> 00:19:47.369 given us in this world, medicines and programs and all things like that, 221 00:19:48.289 --> 00:19:52.480 but at the bottom of it, nothing will ever truly change, certainly nothing 222 00:19:52.599 --> 00:20:00.119 for eternity, if the heart doesn't change. Now the sailor doesn't understand. 223 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:04.240 Maybe all that. The sailor doesn't understand who the true God is and how, 224 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:10.349 not in the way Jonah does, but he does understand what the root 225 00:20:10.470 --> 00:20:15.990 of the problem is, and I'd like to stop just a moment and praise 226 00:20:15.109 --> 00:20:22.740 God for this. Praise God that His grace is so abundant that it pours 227 00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:29.740 out across the world, even to unbelievers who are so blinded to their by 228 00:20:29.779 --> 00:20:34.460 their own sin that they worship false gods and yet are able to teach people 229 00:20:34.500 --> 00:20:41.769 who are children of the true and living God something about him. That says 230 00:20:41.849 --> 00:20:47.289 something about how gracious God is. We call it sometimes in theology, his 231 00:20:47.609 --> 00:20:52.599 common grace, the way that he spreads His grace, his knowledge of him 232 00:20:52.599 --> 00:20:59.000 and his works throughout the world, even beyond the people the apple of his 233 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:07.549 eye. Jonah is attempting to flee from this gracious God. The deepest solution 234 00:21:07.670 --> 00:21:12.269 he needs is not God taking away the penalty for his disobedience, the removal 235 00:21:12.349 --> 00:21:17.910 of the tempest, the calming of the seas. What Jonah needs is not 236 00:21:17.950 --> 00:21:21.819 a solution to the symptoms of the problem, but a solution to the problem 237 00:21:22.220 --> 00:21:27.059 that's in his heart. Call out to your God, he says, to 238 00:21:27.299 --> 00:21:33.769 the Prophet of God, who's very task is to call out the word of 239 00:21:33.809 --> 00:21:44.490 the Lord. This sailor seems to understand at least a sense of this and 240 00:21:44.650 --> 00:21:49.079 a sense too, of the nature of prayer. He doesn't say do these 241 00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:56.160 things and we're guaranteed to be saved. He understands that God hears and answers 242 00:21:56.279 --> 00:22:00.920 prayer and yet, at the same time, as not a vending machine that 243 00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:04.470 we can simply demand things of. No, we go to him as supplicants. 244 00:22:04.549 --> 00:22:08.309 We go to him if faith and humility and we ask him and we 245 00:22:08.470 --> 00:22:12.029 beg him and we entreat him when we say, Lord, hear me, 246 00:22:14.549 --> 00:22:21.140 and he promises to hear our prayers. Yes, perhaps he will save them. 247 00:22:21.740 --> 00:22:26.059 In fact, God promises to save us from our sins when we call 248 00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:32.650 out to him. Maybe we won't, maybe we will have to suffer the 249 00:22:32.769 --> 00:22:37.650 disciplines of this world. Maybe God will even take our very lives from this 250 00:22:37.890 --> 00:22:44.400 world. But if it allows us to live and eternal life forever, I'll 251 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:49.200 take it. I would much rather give up the honor and the wealth and 252 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:55.920 the the the even the physical life that we have here and now, if 253 00:22:55.960 --> 00:23:00.430 we can have the glories of eternity forever. Lord, take my life if 254 00:23:00.509 --> 00:23:07.589 that's what it takes to bring me to you. This should be our prayer, 255 00:23:08.029 --> 00:23:12.980 to call out to him and to know that he will indeed save us. 256 00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:22.460 Jesus says something similar along these lines in matthew ten. I want to 257 00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:29.450 read read their his some thoughts that relate that to this. Jesus says in 258 00:23:29.569 --> 00:23:33.369 Matthew Ten the verse Twenty Six. Have no fear of them, for nothing 259 00:23:33.490 --> 00:23:37.769 is covered that will not be revealed or hidden, that will not be known. 260 00:23:37.930 --> 00:23:41.279 What I tell you in dark I say in the or what I tell 261 00:23:41.319 --> 00:23:45.079 you in the dark saying the light, and whatever you hear whispered, proclaim 262 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:51.960 on the housetops. And do not fear those who can kill the body but 263 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:56.109 cannot kill the soul, but rather fear Him who can destroy both body and 264 00:23:56.589 --> 00:24:06.670 soul in hell. Those are strong words. Who is he talking about? 265 00:24:07.190 --> 00:24:12.740 Who can take our lives, not only here and now, but take our 266 00:24:12.900 --> 00:24:21.700 souls and place them in hell forever? No Man or woman on this this 267 00:24:21.819 --> 00:24:26.490 earth, can do that, but God can. And why would God do 268 00:24:26.690 --> 00:24:30.970 that? We don't have to guess. He tells us why. He would 269 00:24:30.970 --> 00:24:37.839 do that as punishment for our sins, the things that we experience in this 270 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:44.079 life, the tempests on the sea and the other disciplines that we have and 271 00:24:44.200 --> 00:24:49.279 that you may have. These are four tastes of the judgment, either that 272 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:56.630 we have been saved from through Christ, or that we will experience in ourselves 273 00:24:56.710 --> 00:25:02.750 apart from Christ. This isn't as bad as it gets, Oh sailors, 274 00:25:03.710 --> 00:25:11.140 oh Jonah, this is just a foretaste of what's coming on the Great Judgment 275 00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:15.660 Day. And there are many of these inscriptures. The pouring down of fire 276 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:22.809 and brimstone on Sodom and Gomra, the ransacking of cities, the armies pouring 277 00:25:22.809 --> 00:25:32.450 in and plundering and taking lives and people, these anticipations of judgment in this 278 00:25:32.569 --> 00:25:36.400 way. What are they intended for? Ultimately, they're intended to wake you 279 00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:41.079 up and me up to fear. The Lord who is Jesus, says, 280 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:48.680 not only can take the body, but can also take the soul. But 281 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:53.069 this one, who can take both body and soul, is also the one 282 00:25:53.109 --> 00:25:57.470 who has the power to save us, the one who we can call out 283 00:25:57.509 --> 00:26:03.109 to and say, okay, I'm waking up, I'm seeing what you're trying 284 00:26:03.150 --> 00:26:07.980 to tell me, I'm hearing the message. What shall I do to be 285 00:26:08.099 --> 00:26:15.819 saved? And Jesus's answer is repent and believe and you will be saved. 286 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:23.329 Full Stop. Call out to your God. Even as this sailor says, 287 00:26:25.250 --> 00:26:30.009 call out to your God and you will be saved. But it's not good 288 00:26:30.049 --> 00:26:33.880 enough, I have to tell you. It's not good enough to call out 289 00:26:33.160 --> 00:26:40.880 to a higher power. We know that from the sailor's own example, because 290 00:26:40.920 --> 00:26:45.079 that's exactly what they were doing and they were having zero success. A big 291 00:26:45.400 --> 00:26:51.710 fat zero higher power at all. You want all day and you will get 292 00:26:51.910 --> 00:26:57.069 nowhere. You don't need a higher power, you need the true and living 293 00:26:57.230 --> 00:27:07.940 God, because there is no higher power than him. Only he has created 294 00:27:07.019 --> 00:27:11.700 the world, put the stars in their places, can cause the winds to 295 00:27:11.700 --> 00:27:18.369 rise up and the storms to seize. And the same God who created the 296 00:27:18.490 --> 00:27:26.049 world, as I said earlier, from Hebrews, this same God has come 297 00:27:26.289 --> 00:27:30.839 into the world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, this image of the 298 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:36.559 Living God, the exact imprint and radiance of his nature, who, in 299 00:27:36.759 --> 00:27:41.759 one instance during his earthly ministry, stands on a boat where sailors are terrified 300 00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:48.109 and he speaks to the sea and it is immediately calm, instantly calm, 301 00:27:51.710 --> 00:27:59.299 and they say, who is this that commands the winds and the sea? 302 00:28:00.339 --> 00:28:07.500 It is the very same one who will calm the waters and instantly create safety 303 00:28:07.619 --> 00:28:18.609 for the sailors when they eventually toss Jonah overboard. Will come to that perhaps 304 00:28:18.650 --> 00:28:22.369 next time, and consider that more, but for now I want you to 305 00:28:22.650 --> 00:28:32.839 just consider these sailors words when he says arise, call out to your God. 306 00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:37.000 Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that we may not perish 307 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:44.829 here though, those words, they are recorded by the Holy Spirit for you 308 00:28:45.509 --> 00:28:52.390 to hear them, but not just hear them in the light of this captain's 309 00:28:52.029 --> 00:28:57.819 particular world view and his idolatry and his confusion and all that, but to 310 00:28:57.980 --> 00:29:02.980 hear them in light of the God who has recorded them here for your benefit. 311 00:29:03.940 --> 00:29:07.900 Here them in light of the word who has come into the world to 312 00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:14.809 help you, to cause you even to see. Hear them in light of 313 00:29:14.970 --> 00:29:18.289 Jesus of Nazareth, who can stand on a boat and calm the waves, 314 00:29:19.130 --> 00:29:26.039 who can hang on a cross and forgive your sins, who can rise up 315 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:32.839 out of the dead, out of the grave, and promise you that when 316 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:38.029 you trust in him, you too will rise even from the dead, no 317 00:29:38.109 --> 00:29:41.789 matter what calamity comes on you in this life, no matter what trouble, 318 00:29:41.869 --> 00:29:48.869 no matter what discipline of the Lord, if you belong to Jesus, you 319 00:29:48.069 --> 00:29:53.980 will be saved by him. So trust him, call out to him. 320 00:29:55.019 --> 00:30:02.019 Rise, my sleepers, and awake to the news of the Living God. 321 00:30:02.140 --> 00:30:03.779 Amen. Let's pray