Jonah 1 | Where Are You Running?

Sunday Morning | January 4, 2025 | John C. Majors | Louisville, KY

Pastor John begins the series on the book of Jonah. In Jonah chapter 1, Pastor John reminds us that the gospel confronts the places we run and reveals the mercy that relentlessly runs after us. Jonah’s flight from God shows how easily our hearts resist God’s presence and purpose, yet the storm at sea is not punishment but a pursuit of mercy, as God lovingly chases His prophet. Through sacrifice, sin is addressed, and through rescue, God demonstrates His power to save, pointing to a central theme of Scripture: God is sovereign and gracious. The passage calls us to examine where we may be running from God, to listen attentively to His Word, to recognize mercy even in tragedy, to trust His constant presence, to align ourselves with His mission, and ultimately to let God be God in every area of our lives.

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Transcript

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Well, good morning, Valley View. Thank you Isaac. Thank you, Worship team for leading us. It's a great way to start the New Year. It's great to gather together as we go into a new year. And I don't know about you, but I just always look forward to the start of a new year. There's something about it that creates excitement, you know, it's just another day, but there's something about it that creates excitement, vision, hope, anticipation. I'm looking forward to what God might do in the coming year in my life. For some reason, the start of the year creates that, and I think that happens in the church broadly as well. I think if you're a Christian, you came today hoping to hear from God. You came hoping that he would speak to you this year. You came hoping that he would do something radical in your life today. I hope, I hope that's what's stirring. I hope you're longing to hear from him, that he will speak to you this year in a fresh, new way every year. That excitement should be there. Now, the question is, though, I think that many of us face-- God will speak. What will we do when he speaks? How will we react when his voice shows up? When His Word shows up in our life? We're going to look at the book of Jonah for the next four weeks, and look at how one man reacted to God's voice in his life. Learn some principles for that. And I think, especially in this first chapter, which we're going to look at today, I think we'll see four aspects of the gospel. You know, the Old Testament, obviously, Jesus isn't in the Old Testament. He comes in the New Testament, but the Old Testament points forward to Jesus coming. There are hints of the gospel. There are pictures of the gospel that we get over and over again. And this first chapter of Jonah gives us some of those elements of the gospel, aspects of the gospel. We're going to draw on those today, and then we're going to provide some application points for what that means for us today. So if you have a Bible, turn to Jonah, chapter one. If you have a church Bible, I don't know the page for that. Look around. Have others ask you for help to find it. Jonah's somewhere near the latter half of the Old Testament in the Minor Prophets section. They're called the Minor Prophets because the books are shorter, basically not because they're less of a person or anything. They're just shorter books. There's 12 minor prophets. Jonah falls kind of in the middle of those. And what do we read? The first three verses of chapter one to get our bearings as we dive into these four elements of the gospel in chapter one. So Jonah one verse one. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me. But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare, went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. Jonah begins by introducing us to the person. The book is named after Jonah, but notice he's called son of Amittai. That same phrasing of that same name of him shows up in Second Kings, and we can't be exactly sure it's the exact same person, but good chance there is. He would have been prophesying back in Second Kings during the time of Jeroboam, and Jeroboam was one of the kings that was listed as an evil king. Now, all this sets the context for who Jonah is and what his message was and what he's about. He's a prophet during the reign of an evil king. The other thing about Jonah that's interesting, Jewish legend holds. And there's, you know, there's a number of extra books of the Bible that aren't in the Bible that were written sometimes after the Bible, but that sum up different legends. We can't know if they're fully true. Jewish legends hold, though, that Jonah would have been the son of the widow of Zarephath. I don't know if you remember that story or not, but she was the widow that Elijah came to, and he asked her to feed him, and she says, I'm out of bread and oil. And he said, as long until it rains, whenever you go to get some bread and oil, you will have plenty. And while Elijah was in her home, and until it rains over and over again, God provided. Her son dies. The widow’s son dies. And Elijah heals him, raises him back to life. Jewish legends hold that that was Jonah. Again, we can't be exactly sure that that's the case. Either way, Jonah lived in a time where the nation has strayed from God, and Jonah would have seen many miraculous things even if he wasn't actually the widow's son. He would have known about the ministry of Elijah and Elisha and all the miracles that were done through them. He would have seen God at work in amazing ways. So that gives us some of the context of who Jonah was. But here's the interesting thing about his name that also helps us understand the whole book of Jonah. The whole book of Jonah is about contrasts and irony, and we see it right away in his name. Okay, son of Amittai, Amittai in Hebrew would have meant something along the lines of truthful or faithful. Jonah, son of faithfulness. And what does Jonah do right away in the book? Runs from God. In fact, this is the first picture we get of the gospel. This first point in your outline, Jonah runs from God. That's not the gospel, but that's where the gospel begins, because that's what all of us have done. We've run from God. God gives us a word. God gives us a message. He tells us what to do, and we say, no thanks. I don't want any part of that. Leave me alone. Jonah runs from God, son of faithfulness says, no thanks, I'm out of here. Not only that, there's not only that contradiction, but even his name. Jonah. Okay, the word Jonah, the name Jonah means dove. And of course, for us as Christians, when we think of a dove, you think of the presence of the Holy Spirit. And it's warm and fuzzy and inviting and comforting and encouraging. But at this time, Hosea called Israel a dove.

And if you look at Hosea 7: 6:27

11, you can look it up later on your own. But he says that the bird, the dove, the nation is flighty, running quickly to Egypt, running quickly to Assyria, where Nineveh was a capital, looking for other nations to follow, not faithful to God. Here's the whole point of all this. This is setting the context that the main message of the Book of Jonah is to get the attention of Israel. You who are straying, the King who is evil, the faithless one, wake up! This is the point of this book. Many times the prophets are prophesying against other nations. Wake up. In fact, we're going to see. He's really saying be like Nineveh, repent, turn to me. Don't continue to run from me. Jonah has run. He's running to. In this section, the city listed three times is Tarshish. We don't know exactly where that is. Most believe it was maybe at or near the western end of Spain. And basically it's a symbol of the farthest Jonah could possibly get away from God. We'll just pick somewhere that's way out. So far, you can't imagine even going that far. That's where he's headed. As far from God as you can possibly get. That's where Jonah wanted to be. Jonah is running from God actively. He's doing all he can to get away from what God has asked him to do. Now, if you look back at what he says, he gives him a mission and a message. First he says, God says to him, rise and go to Nineveh. It's a common refrain in the Old Testament. We see that with a number of different key Old Testament figures like Abraham. Rise. Go to the place that I will show you. There's this call. And I think as Christians, we know part of our call is to be mission minded, to go. That's how the book of Matthew ends. It's some of the last words Jesus gives his followers go into all the world, proclaim my name to the world. We see a picture of that here. Go, arise and go. He gives him a mission, but he also gives him a message. Call out against them because they are evil, because of this evil that has come upon them. Now, it's hard to imagine the challenge, and this is probably the reason why Jonah was rejecting this. It's hard to imagine what this would have been like, because none of us have probably been to Nineveh, or known anyone from Nineveh, or known their political values and desires and structures, or have been personally offended by anyone from Nineveh. It's hard to have put yourself in this, but some have said this would be somewhat like because Nineveh would have been one of their sworn enemies. This would be somewhat like sending Einstein to Berlin in 1940 and asking him to tell the whole country to turn back to God, to turn away from their wickedness, the absurdity of it, the chance of that making a difference. And of course, Einstein's going, oh, why me? Can't you pick some other dude to do that? Because I know how this is going to end up. And you can see how Jonah would think this isn't really the mission I feel called to Lord, there's other ministries I feel like maybe you have for me out there. Can we discuss some of these other options? He didn't even go there. He says, I'm out of here. I don't want any part of this mission. I'm not going to proclaim this message and look at how it's described, what he does. God says, arise and go. What does Jonah do? Verse three Jonah rose to flee. If you say, rise and go, I'll go for sure. And he flees. He does the opposite. And this is one of the major themes of this book, by the way. We're going to see it over and over again all throughout here. Jonah is often going to do the opposite of what a prophet should do. You think Jonah is a prophet of God? Prophets should act in a way that honors God, and oftentimes he does the exact opposite of that. He flees. I'm going to Tarshish. I'm going to get as far away from all of this as I can. And by the way, I think, I think some of us can relate to that. Who would say you ought to raise your hands? I've been there. I said to God, I don't want any part of what you're asking me to do. I'm going to get as far away from you as I can. I think any person who's honest about themselves can see there have been times where you have felt that way about what God, God's call on your life. Jonah says, no thanks, I'm out of here. But what does God do in response? Now let's look at the next group of verses. How does God react to that? What is his response to his prophet saying, leave me alone. Look at verse four. But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid. Each cried out to his God, and they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship, and had lain down and was fast asleep. There's this progression. We'll see where Jonah keeps going down and down and down, emphasizing the reality that he is further distancing himself from God on the path to hell even many speculate. He's gone down, he's laid down, he's done the opposite of rise and go up. I'm going down and laying down and going all the way to sleep. So the captain came and said to him, what do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your God. Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that we may not perish. Jonah's response to this is to run from God, to run away from God. God's response is to run after Jonah immediately to pursue Jonah. You're going to run from me. I'm going to come find you. I remember how he's laughed at this. Tommy Nelson said, I told my wife, you can never leave me, because if you leave. He was a pastor in Dallas, well known Bible teacher. If you leave me, I'm coming with you. I'm going to come find you. I'm coming after you. And I thought that's a little stalkerish. But his point being, I'm in this for the long haul. It was meant to be positive. And God is saying to Jonah, I'm coming after you. You can't get away from y-. me. I'm pursuing you. My love for you is so deep that even when you reject me, I'm coming after you. Now, but look how he does it. This isn't how we want God to pursue us, per se. He sends a storm, and it's a storm so violent that the sailors are afraid. And they're taking extreme measures to protect themselves from death. The ship, in their minds, is about to break apart. They're throwing stuff overseas to lighten the ship, to. Hopefully that'll get through it somehow. Here's where we get this picture of Jonah being the opposite of what he should be. In fact, we get this contrast between Jonah and the sailors. At every turn they act more noble than Jonah. At every turn, they do what he should have done. Jonah should have been the one going, I think God is in this trying to get my attention. Here's what we need to do, guys. Let's all kneel and pray. Let's call out to God. I hope that he rescues us, but they're all calling out to their gods and they're wondering why he's asleep. He don't want any part of it. He's completely checked out. The sailors are more noble. They care more about their life than Jonah does. But God is continuing to pursue him. And look. And we're going to talk more about this in the application. Don't assume that every challenge in your life doesn't have a greater purpose. When we are running from God, if you are his, he will send a storm to rescue you. It don't always feel that way. It doesn't feel very loving. He disciplines those he loves. This is what he is doing with Jonah. And by the way, not every storm in your life is because of your sin. I'm not saying that, but he pursues us. He pursues who is his. He wants to get his attention, just like he wants to get Israel's attention who is running from God. And notice what the sailors do to further show us that they are more noble than Jonah. In fact, throughout the book of Jonah, everybody is more noble than Jonah. Even the animals we'll see are more obedient than Jonah as we progress through the book. The captain comes to him and says, why don't you at least pray to your God? Here's what they do after this. Verse seven. They said to one another, come, let us cast lots that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us. Maybe our version of flipping a coin to figure out who could be a part of this. So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country, and of what people are you? And he said to them, I am Hebrew. I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, what is this that you have done? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. So the sailors know this storm. Something's not right. Look at all the ways that they act the way Jonah should have. The first thing they do is to seek divine guidance. We don't know why this has happened. Clearly, there must be some God angry at us. Let's cast lots. Let's do what we know to do in order to find out. Can we get a message from God? Can we get a word from these gods? Can we find out somehow some divine intervention? And Jonah sleeps. They are seeking a word from God and Jonah sleeps. Then when they find out it's Jonah, they come to him with questions. A lot of questions. And really, all these questions are trying to figure out who is this God that you've ticked off. This is what we're trying to learn here. Who have you upset because we're reaching out to our gods and they're not saying anything. Who is it that you've upset? And this is what terrifies them is how he responds. Look at what he says to them again. He says, I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord. Notice how he describes the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. This would have brought fear to them, because more than likely at this time, most people who had their own God, a nation who had their own God, they were following maybe just one aspect of that the sun God, the agriculture God, the God of the sea. They would. There's one element they would have worshiped. And now Jonah is saying, I worship the one who's over all that. You put them all together. That's who I worship the God above all gods. And of course they're thinking, you idiot! It's. It's one thing to tick off one of those gods and you've offended them all. What are you doing? And their fear for God increases. Again the contrast. They become more afraid. They show fear for God. He says he's afraid of God, but he's not showing it. I fear the Lord. Really? Are you sure? This is who I'm supposed to serve? And in them we see those more noble than Jonah again. And ultimately, the point being more noble than Israel. By the way, we're not just talking about someone a long time ago. This is meant to also prick our hearts. As Christians, this is meant to wake us up. To what way am I running from God? The sailors know that's what Jonah's doing. He had told him that's what he was doing. And of course, they're wondering. Now that we know this, how do we fix this? God has sent a storm trying to get your attention. Sin is satisfied through sacrifice. Let's look at what that means here in this next group of verses. Verse 11. Then they said to him, what shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us? For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, pick me up, hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you. Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land. They could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to the Lord, oh, Lord, let us not perish for this man's life Lay not on us innocent blood, for you, Oh Lord, have done as it pleased you. So they picked up Jonah. They hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and made vows. Sin... This is point three, the third aspect of the gospel in chapter one of Jonah, sin is satisfied through sacrifice. Jonah is offered as a sacrifice for his sin to save the sailors. Now, I've wondered when I read this because Jonah's the one who recommends this. Why does he immediately recommend throwing himself into the sea as the solution to this problem? Where did that come from? He's probably not seeking out God for that answer. We know he's been running for him. He doesn't want to hear from him. I've also wondered, why didn't he say, why don't you just take me back to land and I can go on to Nineveh? Let's take the easy path here. I'd really like to survive this thing. I know you know. I'm running from God and I don't want to go there. Take me back. I think what this hints at is, the reality is that Jonah still has no interest in hearing from God or going to Nineveh. He just wants out. He wants it all to be over. Even though he can't throw himself into the sea, he's got to put that on them. He still has no interest in following God's plan, God's mission for his life. I just want this all to be over and we see the sailors acting more noble. You say that's what we're supposed to do. That can't be it. We can't just throw you into the sea. We're going to try to get back to dry land. They rowed hard. They couldn't do it. And when it comes time, when they realize this is our only way out. They seek God's face. They pray. They ask for forgiveness. They do all they can to get out of doing it. And then when they throw him in, look back again at how they react. They've thrown Jonah in, the sea calms. Verse 16. Then they feared the Lord exceedingly. Their fear for the Lord increased when the sea calmed down. They feared him. They offered sacrifice and made vows. These are the very things Jonah should have been doing from the beginning. They feared. They sacrificed. They worshiped. Feared, sacrificed, worshiped. Jonah should have been modeling worship from the very beginning. Sacrifice is what satisfies sins in this part of the story. And it's interesting. I say that this points forward to the gospel because obviously Jonah was a sacrifice, but he was running from God. He was an unwilling sacrifice at one level, he wasn't looking to fulfill God's grand plan for human humanity or something. But we know this points forward to a day when the true Jonah came and the true Jonah died on behalf of all people, and the true Jonah died not just to rescue a few sailors, but all of humanity from their sins. And he did it willingly and perfectly. You see how Jonah is pointing forward to the greater reality. Sacrifice for sins. And then lastly, the fourth way that Jonah chapter one points forward to the gospel is verse 17. And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish. Three days and three nights Jonah is sacrificed for the sins of the sailors. But and Jonah, probably as he's sinking down, hears that imagery again down into the ship, down to Joppa, down into the ship, down into the sea. He's thinking, finally, I don't have to go to Nineveh. It's all over. This is the end. And God sends a large fish. We often say a whale to rescue him. This is the fourth element of the gospel we see here. The rescue rescues him from himself. I've got to tell you how many times I've needed that. And God shows up and rescues even when he didn't want it. And some have. Look, this story has been the premier example for liberal scholars of how absurd the Bible is. And unreliable. You mean to tell me that some giant fish, which you think is a whale? And we know a whale is different from a fish? That already shows how backwards you are. But you understand that a whale, and for many people's minds is a large fish. Whatever it is, we don't know exactly. But they say, how could someone you really think someone could be swallowed inside a fish live that way? Three days. Of what I say to the same person is so you mean to tell me though. But you're totally fine with the entire world being created just randomly by chance, over time, unguided by any other principle? That seems like a lot bigger miracle to me than some one person living inside a fish for three days. Like, you can believe all that, but you can't believe that this could possibly happen. If you're a Christian and you believe the first words of the Bible, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. You believe those words. This is nothing. God can do this. And we're going to see what this is really pointing forward to. God rescues Jonah. Now, what are the six application points? I've got six of them for us to talk about. Six quick application points that I think we can draw from this. Here's the first. And it's especially important, it sounds like. Alarming dare I say? Know the ways you are tempted to run from the presence of God. Be aware of the ways that you personally are tempted to run from the presence of God. Know the thing that if he asks you to do it, you say, I'm out. God, do not ask me to do that. I could never do that. Be aware of that tendency within your heart. We all have it, okay? Some of us feel ashamed because I have this thing that if God asks me to do that, I don't know. I'm not sure I could. All of us could list something. The first step is to be aware of it, keep bringing it to him, bring it to him in faith. God, this is how I feel. I'm acknowledging the reality of it. I don't ever want to do that. I can't imagining doing that. I can't imagine serving a God who would ask me to do that. And I'm asking you to give me the strength that if you do that I could. That I could walk by faith, that I could walk by your strength through it. Know what that is. Be honest about that and don't run from it. Second, listen when God speaks, listen when God speaks. Have ears that are open to hear. Jonah's supposed to be a prophet. You know, one commentator I read said, I think this is actually a manual of how not to be a prophet. These are all the ways to be the exactly opposite of a prophet, because when God speaks, Jonah runs. He doesn't want to hear it. Listen for God's Word. Have ears that are open. Be praying and asking him to speak to you. And what's the most powerful way to hear from him by far is to be in his word. In fact, the thing I want to ask everyone here today is to pray about and consider not missing a day in His Word this year. There's all kinds of great resolutions you can make going into a new year. There's no greater one than to say today I am not going to miss a day studying, reading, being in God's Word faithfully in 2026. Imagine what your life would be like if you could make that commitment in this year. I promise you, if you do that, you'll hear from God. He speaks to us through His word. He will. He'll speak to you. And if you're not hearing from him and you're not in his word, there may be a correlation. Commit to being in his word this year. We've got a Bible reading plan. It's not very long. It's like a chapter a day, maybe a chapter and a half, sometimes half a chapter. It's not much. It's super easy. Commit to being in his word every day this year. Find someone to keep you accountable. Text one another when you do it, encourage one another. It's not a legalistic thing, but I'm telling you, if you get in his word, you'll hear from him. Number three look for God's mercy in the midst of tragedy. Look for God's mercy in the midst of the storm. Many times I've got a friend like this right now. Every time something bad happens in his life, it almost doesn't matter how trivial a flat tire. See another sign that God hates me. He's against me. Everything. All he wants is for my life to be miserable. Everything that happens goes through that filter. But what if our filter instead - This was God's mercy. What was God protecting me from by sending that flat tire? And again, by the way, not every storm is God trying to get your attention because you're sinning, right? Some of it's the result of living in a fallen world. But some of those tragedies that you've taken as him being against you may of him may have been his mercy in your life. You may need to go back. In fact, if there is an issue in your life that you look back to and you're still mad at God about it, you may need to go back and look at it through that lens. Again, it may not be that he was trying to get your attention because of your sin. But why continue to carry around that anger and bitterness? Go back, look at it and see how was God's mercy at work in the midst of this? And then number four. Remember, he is always present. He's always there with you. He's always nearby. He says in Hebrews, I'll never leave you or forsake you. He says in Psalms 139, how far can anyone run from the presence of God? The answer being, you can't. Trying to run from the presence of God is like a kid who closes their eyes so that you can't see them. And you've seen that, right? They're hiding from you by closing their eyes. You can't run from the presence of God. Adam and Eve tried that. They were hiding in the garden. He's like, you're hiding in my house. My garden, I made this, I know exactly where you are. Open your eyes. I'm right. I can see you. But. But we still do it. He is there with you. Look for him instead of running. Acknowledge your error. God, I know you're here. Show up in my life. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being in my life. Look for his presence in your life. I think the powerful one of the powerful parts of the story in Jonah chapter one in particular, you know, if you've read the New Testament, you may have seen similar stories to this. Remember Jesus in the boat with the disciples? It's in Luke chapter eight. Jesus is in the boat with the disciples, and he takes them out onto the lake. And he, like Jonah, falls asleep in the boat. And they, like the sailors, are afraid. And they are wondering, why aren't you helping us? And they're mad at him. And Jonah, God stills the storm through Jonah. But in the story with Jesus, Jesus wakes up and he calms the storm with a word. And just like with the sailors, the disciples are more afraid of Jesus than before. Who is this? That he has power even over the wind and the waves? Who is this? Who can do that? And here's the crazy part of that story. This is the thing that's always both baffled and comforted me about that reality. Jesus is the one who took them into the storm. He knew they were going into a storm and he will take you into storms. I can guarantee it if you're a Christian, if you think life is going to be easy, and in many ways it might be harder, it might be more challenging, but he will be with you. He took them into the storm. He was there with him the whole way. He knew. He knew that they needed to know more about who he is. And all of us need that as well. He is with you. Remember, he is always present. Number five get on board with his mission. God still has a mission for you, even if you've run from him. Even if you've spent three days in the belly of the fish and you've said, I don't want any part of it, your mission might change. We're going to see God brings Jonah back to Nineveh. He still has a plan for you. Get on board with his mission. Be seeking it out. Be asking him, God, what mission do you have for me this year? What do you want to do through me? How do you want to work through my life? I don't want to reject that any longer. And then, number six, let God be God. Let God be God. And of course, that's ridiculous to say, because God is God, whether I let him be or not. But in my mind, I might have shaped my own image of who God should be. Jonah did that. I can't serve a God who would show mercy to Nineveh. There's no way I could be a part of that. How would you? You know who they are. You know where there are sworn enemies. You know what they've done to my loved ones. And you would show mercy to them. I can't believe in a God like that. All of us have done that. All of us have said, if your God would do this, I can't believe in that. I can't believe in that kind of God. Let God be God. He knows better who he is than we do. Stop trying to make him into your own image. Instead, let our lives conform into his image. All of us have this thing. All of us have something. And maybe it's in the past, maybe it's present. Maybe it's in the future that you're running from God about. Maybe you're not actively running right now. In fact, maybe you're running towards him. And I hope that's the case. I read a story this week of a man he grew up in, in a Catholic home, in a Christian home. Heard about God. But then as he got older and graduated, went off to college, he realized, I can't follow Christianity because of my same sex attraction. I feel like God has put this on me and I need to live this out. And I can't follow Christianity as a result because these obviously seem opposed. Now don't, as I tell this story, by the way, don't get derailed on that sin. That was his issue. That was his thing that said that was his Nineveh. I can't follow a God like that. I can't follow a God that would be against this. Okay, you have one too. Don't let that derail you. I'm not just picking on him, but he said I could not follow a god like that. And I had to go all in in my sin, lived a lifestyle to the fullest. He moved to LA, got involved in the movie industry and went all in in his same sex relationships, in his pagan lifestyle. And he ran from God, ran. One day sitting in a coffee shop with a friend, and they see a guy come in carrying a Bible and he said, I have not seen that in years. Someone carrying a Bible who has the audacity to walk into a coffee shop in Hollywood carrying a Bible, and then he sees a whole nother group of guys come in and they sit down together. They even pray in public together. And he goes up to the guy after and he goes, what are you doing? What is this about? Who are you? What do you believe? He says, I couldn't believe I was asking him this as I came. It was like the sailors asking Jonah, who are your people? Where are you from? What is your occupation? Who are you? And the guy began to talk to him about his faith. And this was a Bible study in that he's a part of a church. And he invited him to church. He said, before I even knew what I was doing, I said, yes, I'll be there. What am I doing? The whole next, the whole rest of the week he's wondering, how can I get out of this? All you gotta do is say, no, but I gotta, how can I? And he goes, and he's in church. By the way, don't ever give up on anyone. You never know what God's doing in their life. He seemed as distant from God as you can possibly be. Don't ever give up. He's in church and he just felt the Holy Spirit fall down on him. And broke in repentance and wept the entire service. From the moment the pastor started to pray, he wept. And here's what he said. I'm going to read you his quote. I clipped it out of the book. God revealed his holiness to me, and I saw the utter depth of my sin in light of his holiness, in light of who he is. After my stunning encounter with God, I knew I could no longer pursue this immoral relationship. More surprisingly, I was perfectly fine with this. The complete reversal of my opinions and pursuits in this area worked like this. I had just met the King of the universe. How could I hold on to anything that didn't bring me closer to him? When you let God be God and you let his holiness overwhelm you, everything else falls away. There is nothing that you want to be kept between you and him. And as much of an obstacle as it seems now. Let God be God. Let's pray. God, I thank you for the picture of the gospel we have in Jonah, that even when we run from you, you pursue us. You offer a sacrifice on our behalf. You rescue us. Every one of us has run from you at times. Some are right now. Would you give us the courage to stop running, to sense how great you are and to follow you? Thank you for coming to this earth in the flesh and dying on our behalf. I pray that every one of us today and in this week would hear from you, and unlike Jonah, that we would obey when you say rise and go, we say, yes, Lord. Thank you Jesus, we love you. Amen.