Jonah 1:11-17

We are hoping that next week the sermons will be able to be recorded and will be up on the website, but reading is just as good! Here is a recap of our 3rd week through the book of Jonah.
Jonah 1:11-17
Without slowing down a bit and taking this story in, we might miss the fact that God uses Jonah even before he's swallowed up by a great fish! These sailors, who are being introduced to the LORD for the first time, have a huge decision to make about Jonah, but through that decision they will accept the LORD. Which is cause for excitement!! The church really needs to be excited more, right?? How many times do we hear that Bobby or Julie gave their hearts to the Lord and we are like, 'Oh, that's nice. About time.' Are you kidding me?? Break out the streamers and party hats!! Another name is added to the list of life!! Alright, I'll settle down.
V. 11: ‘And they said to him, ‘What shall we do with you, so the sea will be calm for us?’: The word of the LORD has come to Jonah-he says no by not saying anything at all. He boards a boat, has a sleeping problem and falls asleep during a storm. The sailors of the boat throw some dice around and find Jonah guilty of the storm. They figure out that Jonah’s God is at fault for the storm. Jonah reveals to them that his God is not just any god, but Thee God. He is Yahweh. The creator of the sea and the land. The sailors are terrified. Now, they look to the near future.

Jonah is not only the cause of the evil that has come to them but also their lifeline to the terrifying power behind it all. So Jonah’s words hold the key to their future as well as his own.

‘For the sea was getting more and more stormy.’ If they don’t get things right with Jonah-and soon-they die. Before the storm was bad enough to 'break apart' the boat, now it's gotten worse!

V. 12: ‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea,’ he replied: Some may look at this and say Jonah has suicidal tendencies, but I would disagree. I believe by saying this Jonah has actually found relief. It means that he gets to stop fleeing. And yet in handing himself over to God in this way, Jonah is also at his most Christlike. He gives up his life so that others might live. He treats the lives of these good sailors as more valuable than his own.

‘and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.’: We see this admission of guilt from Jonah. It doesn’t inform them of anything new but rather reminds them of what they already know, with the aim of convincing them that they’re not going to get out of this alive so long as Jonah is with them.

V. 13: Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. This is you, and this is me. We hear from the LORD, or in this case these sailors hear from a prophet from the LORD aaaaaaand instead. Sometimes 'instead' rules our lives. I know what the Bible says about giving buuuuuut-instead. I know what the Bible says about loving my neighbor buuuuuuut-instead. I even know what the Bible says about Jesus being the only way, the only truth, and the only way to eternal life buuuuuut-instead. 

The sailors rowed as best they can, but they couldn’t make it back to land. They had no power to save themselves. We have no power to save ourselves. 

V. 14: Then they cried out to the LORD, ‘Please, LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased.’ The first prayer to the LORD in this story comes from the mouth of Gentiles. The picture on the deck of this ship has completely changed. Instead of everyone screaming to their own god, all of them are now crying out to one God, the LORD. This is one of the surprises of this great book that we’ve been reading. The people on this boat are not incidental to the story, instruments that the LORD uses to deal with Jonah. On the contrary, Jonah is the instrument that the LORD uses to deal with them. These sailors were worried about innocent blood. They tried to first row back. But now a choice has to be made. It echoes Pilate washing his hands of innocent blood (Matt. 27:24), but these sailors have no noisy crowd intimidating them, they have the God of heaven himself. The sailors acknowledge not only that the sea is his to do with as he desires (Ps. 95:5), but that Jonah is his prophet, so that the word of Jonah is the word of the LORD.

V. 15 ‘Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard and the raging sea grew calm.’ It happens as Jonah promised. As the water closes around his head, and sucks his body to the bottom of the sea, it calms. Like an angry lion suddenly tamed. Jonah by the grace of God accomplished the sort of thing Christ accomplishes: calming the sea, converting the Gentiles, and teaching them the name of the LORD.

V. 16 ‘At this the men greatly feared the LORD,’ For the second time the sailors fear a great fear (1:10), but this time it is described as the fear of the LORD, the reverent fear that is the ground for worship, thanksgiving and praise. All is well, and they know why.

‘and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.’ Vows of sacrifice are the fruits of gratitude. The vows also serve to show that the sailor’s conversion to the LORD will last beyond the time they get off the boat.

The fact that these Gentile sailors were ready to make sacrifices and vows to the LORD like this made me re-examine my vow to the LORD. These past 2 weekends I’ve had the privilege to lead 2 couples in marriage vows. As I think about my marriage, it would begin to be strained if I didn’t tell anyone that I had a wife. And yes, if Kelsey chose not to tell people she had a husband I would have a hard time with that.

Somehow, someway we have neglected letting others know about our vow to the LORD. It’s gone from something exciting and cherished to something moderate and secret. Maybe it’s time for you to go back to the beginning of your love with the LORD. Remember the fire you had in your soul, when you saw life for the first time.

I’m excited about what Jesus is doing in my life, I’m excited about what Jesus is doing in this community and in our neighborhoods.

He wants his people to grow. For his children to turn back and run to him, and as the church it’s not a duty-I know some of you think, ‘Here we go-invite your neighbors to church.’ Well, you know we talk about Jesus right?!?! The source of life!! Or maybe we are still consumed with 'instead'. 

It shouldn't be a duty, it’s a privilege that we share. Jonah simply shared the name of the LORD with these sailors and they gave their lives to Him. Think about your neighbor doing the same. 

V. 17 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.  This verse is for next Sunday-Discovery Channel has Shark Week, we have Fish Week!!

-PC

pastorcory@rescuesumner.org

www.rescuesumner.org

   

Jonah 1:4-10

Due to our technical difficulty this past week (our church sound system being stolen), I will be using my blog this week to give a little bit of a recap from my sermon yesterday. We started the book of Jonah 2 weeks ago, and I know what you're thinking, 'Isn't that more for children's church?' Well, yes and it's for adults as well. Because the question is asked to us, 'What do we do when we hear the word of the LORD?'
In Jonah's own book he doesn't even speak till verse 9! Which should give us a scary proposition-we don't need words to disobey God. He runs away, buys a ticket elsewhere and boards a boat. A storm comes but not an ordinary one-a great storm. We need to remember that this isn't just a short book of the Bible. It is a great book of the Bible. It's the story of God calling and us responding.
When we pick up the story in chapter 1:4-5 the storm has come, the sailors are calling out to multiple gods and Jonah is fast asleep in the cargo hold. It's a sad picture of what today looks like sometimes. Unbelievers in times of trouble will call out to what they know, and all of these sailors do not know the LORD. While Jonah, whether he knew what was going on or not, is fast asleep as the ship is going down. I wonder if God looks at me sometimes and sees me fast asleep while those around me are crying out against the storms of their life.
In verse 6, a responsible captain comes down to Jonah to ask him if he would call on his God. Does it strike you as odd that someone who does not know the LORD calls Jonah to come out and pray? This is a reminder that even unbelievers have a concept of the grace, mercy and especially the power of God. But they needed to know His name.
In verse 7 we like to look at these sailors as gambling fools because they decide to cast lots to figure out who is to blame for this storm. We need to be careful though because casting lots was used by rulers in ancient Israel to decide guilt (1 Sam. 14:40-42) and even to decide a king (1 Sam. 10:19-21). What could be considered a silly game will once again prove to us that God can not be stopped.
Verse 8  shows that these sailors have an immense amount of patience with Jonah. Usually when you had 'lost' the casting of lots, there would a swift penalty and judgement. Instead, they want to get to know Jonah a little more, but more importantly find out more about this God.
In verse 9 we hear Jonah speak for the first time. And what does he say?? That he's a Hebrew. Sounds nice, but he didn't even say his name and at this point in history saying you're a Hebrew would be like me asking you what county of Washington you live in and you answer, 'I am an American.' Yes, that's nice but doesn't do a whole lot for me. Saying you were Hebrew didn't give any geographical reference like 'Assyrian' or 'Ninevite'. It doesn't clarify lineage like 'Israelite' meaning 'son of Israel'. And at this point in the Old Testament, it wasn't even linked to a language form yet.
But hey! Jonah makes up for it in his description of his God, the LORD. He tells them that he's the God of heaven (term used by Jews in the Babylonian exile), and that he made the sea and land.
Which now leads us to verse 10 where all the sailors are now freaked out. Most likely after the casting of lots, these sailors assumed that Jonah was running away from his God, but now they have a description of how powerful this God is! He made the sea that is trying to engulf them!! So yes, I'd be terrified. And then they asked a question that wasn't really a question-'What have you done?' When my dogs tear apart a pillow in our garage, I don't ask them, 'What have you done?' because I really don't know. I'm making an announcement. And that's precisely what these sailors are doing. Its the same thing God said to Eve after the first sin (Gen. 3:13) and to Cain after the first murder (Gen. 4:10). Do you really think God didn't know, or was he making an announcement of guilt? Jonah's guilt is most likely painted all over his face. And now the sailors have a big decision to make about Jonah.
I have been where Jonah has been before. No, not on a ship ready to go down with a bunch of unbelieving sailors. But I've had moments in my life where I am caught. I've been caught in my sin. The easiest next step is to do something to forget the pain, but what we will see next week with Jonah, because he tells them about the LORD, they will be saved-not just from this particular storm, but their lives will have the saving mercy from God himself.
People are waiting to see how you react in tough, stormy situations. Will you use the name of the LORD the right way or the wrong way?

-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org

The 4th of July

I can't remember the last time I bought fireworks. I'm going to guess maybe 10, 12 years ago? But I remember buying fireworks growing up!! School had been out for a couple weeks and I couldn't wait for my dad and mom to drive to some parking lot tent so I could spend way too much money and not get enough fireworks. My favorite would be getting a watermelon and filling it up with firecrackers and watching the flesh of the melon explode into our driveway. And then I would cry because I just realized I blew up a watermelon (I was a different kid).
But this year I wonder-what are we celebrating? What am I, a middle aged (ugh), Christian, husband, daddy of 2 celebrating this year? Am I celebrating a country that is glorifying God, or one that simply glorifies itself in tolerating instead of standing? It's hard for me sometimes to be a proud American. There are so many news stories that come from our 'leaders' that make me shake my head. When I was a teenager I didn't care, mainly because I didn't understand. Now that I'm an adult I need to care, because I do understand what's going on.
In the name of tolerance our country would rather not be a Christian nation anymore. We would rather be a melting pot of every religion, culture, and philosophy because we want to be known as inclusive to everyone and everything. It's kind of like your Facebook profile. What can I say to spruce it up a little bit? How can I receive more friends, more likes? And in doing so lose my identity and in actuality, lose my soul. We are losing the fabric of who America is and why we were here in the first place, because we are forgetting.
We are forgetting why we are here. We are forgetting the sacrifices of those families that crammed into a ship and made the first voyage to the colonies, we are forgetting the sacrifices our armed forces have made through the centuries. We are forgetting that there is a God.
So we need to remember. We need to remember that there is a reason for us to be here. There is a reason that America exists, and there is a reason we are where we are right now.

You remember George Washington? Pretty good guy. He risked his life for a country that had not even been formed yet. We have America, and yet we ask everyday what can America do for me, what can I get out of America, instead of giving something back (sound like a famous quote?). And for some of you, you're thinking, 'Why would I give to a country thats corrupt?' Good question. Can you help America by loving your neighbor? Can you help America by praying for it's leaders(YES ALL OF THEM!)?
Without this blogpost becoming a rant I want to sum up my thoughts. I love America. I was proud when I went to Lowe's and bought a flag for my house. I'm humbled and fortunate that I get to raise my family here. But please listen.
The time has come for us to stand. The time for whining is over. This is a great nation because we serve a great God. We have an incredible inheritance of faith in this country and we need to pass it on. We need to teach that true freedom comes from Christ alone.

-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org