If you would remain standing and turn into God's word to the book of Jonah. We are in Jonah chapter one. We're going to look at verses four to the end of the chapter Jonah chapter one, beginning in verse four, reading the verse 17. If you don't know where Jonah is, I printed the page number there for you. For the church Bible, it's in front of you. Should be able to turn right to it there. It's a small book. Before we read it, let's go to the Lord in prayer again.
Let's pray, Father. We thank You that You are God and we are not.
We are creatures. And help us to remember that, to remember that you are holy, holy, holy. You are completely other. You are so far and beyond sin, Lord, but we thank you that you have revealed to yourself to us, not only as the creator of man, but the redeemer of man. I pray that you will give us heavenly eyes to see and behold Jesus Christ this day, as we turn to this book.
Give us ears to hear Your word and give us hearts to receive it. Help us not simply this day to be hearers that walk away hearing something interesting, but help us to be doers. Grant us by the power of your Spirit, the gift of faith, to hold fast to our Savior and have peace and to be able to rest in Christ.
Bless your people, for Christ's sake, amen, people of God, here God's word for you this morning from Jonah, chapter one, beginning in 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 was threatened to break up.
Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his God, and they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to light in it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 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. And they said to one another, Come let us cast lots so we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us. 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, and where do you come from? What is your country, and of what people are you? And He said to them, I am the 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. 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 and 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 rode hard to get back to dry land, but 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 and lay not on us innocent blood for you, oh Lord, have done as it pleased you. So they picked up Jonah and 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, 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, He who has ears, let him hear the Word of God. Please be seated. Have you ever noticed man and mankind were always seeking to do the impossible, fly like a bird.
Well, you know what we did? We made a plane we can fly now, right? Go to space. We planted a flag on the moon. But there is one impossible. Possibility that man strives for that is probably greater than any other desire of his heart. But no matter how much time passes and no matter how many technological advances we create, it will always end forever be an impossibility for mankind, and that is to run from the presence of God. It will never be accomplished in this life or even in the next Jeremiah 23 reminds us God reminds us that he says in a rhetorical way, am I a god at hand? Declares the Lord, and not a god far away. Can a man hide himself in his secret places so that I cannot see him? Declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? Where can you go and get away from heaven and earth and anything in creation. If you go to the top of the mountains, have you escaped? If you go to the bottom of the sea, have you escaped, or even if you go beyond this life, have you escaped God? And the answer, of course, is No, and that's Jonah's problem here in our text, it was easy for him to get away from Israel, but he's having a harder time getting to get away from God, and in fact, he won't be able to do it. He can't do it. It's an impossibility. And what I want us to see here too is that Jonah is not just running away from his circumstances in verse three, if you look back, as we considered last week, it doesn't tell us that Jonah is running away from Nineveh. It tells us he's running away from God, that Jonah's real problem with his life is God. Do you ever feel like Jonah, this Christianity thing isn't quite working out like I thought it would. God isn't listening to the wonderful plan that I have for my life. I thought my life would be different by now. I thought I would be different by now. And God has the power and the ability to change my circumstances or to even change my heart in a moment, and yet he hasn't done it. And so I think we, like Jonah, find ourselves that our problems in our lives are not so much the things happening around us in our circumstances or even us, but our problems and frustrations have to deal with God that we're frustrated at God. We're angry at God in our calling, like Jonah's calling here, is to actually be fully, completely and utterly submissive to the will of God for our lives as we find it in His Word. You know, Martin Luther has this very interesting quote that I think makes the point. He said, If God told me to eat the dung from the streets, not only would I eat it, but I would know it was good for me. Now, thankfully, God hasn't told us to do that, but Luther is making the point that this is what it means to actually fear the Lord, to trust Him, to submit to Him when it contradicts our desires and our will to remember that His ways are higher than our ways, and His ways are better than our ways. And there may be things in your life, even this very moment that God is calling you to do, that maybe even seem worse than eating dung from the street.
Maybe God's calling you to forgive someone that you have refused to forgive. Maybe God is telling you to bring the Gospel to someone that you have been terrified to bring the Gospel to. Maybe God is calling you to repentance and faith this day, and you have never done it in your life, and yet you have been stubborn and hard net.
But thankfully, what seems impossible for us is very possible for God, and He will work and change our hearts, just to remind us where we have been so far in Jonah, we haven't gotten very far. We've only gotten through verse three, but Jonah has called God has called Jonah, this celebrated prophet in Israel, to now go to the enemy of. Of Nineveh and Jonah runs away, but as we discussed, it's like running away while on a treadmill. You're not going to go anywhere, and you're just going to tire yourself out. And Jonah finds himself on a ship that's going to Joppa, that or in finds a ship in Joppa that's going to Tarshish, seeking to escape. He finds a desire of his hearts. And if I was God, that'd be the end of Jonah. And Jonah would be very short book, just be about three verses, and then we'd start another sermon series. But that's really the surprise of this book, isn't it?
It doesn't just end with verse three. I would have ended it with verse three If I was God, no more, Jonah. But what we find is God does not turn his back on this rebellious, hard hearted, stiff necked prophet. God has provided this boat he then provides this storm, and then he also provides a rescue, even for Jonah, and that is our hope. In verse four, we see this storm.
The Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so the ship threatened to break up now the gods, the the Jonah's disobedience, Please, God, absolutely, absolutely not. God hates sin, and this storm is a small reminder of God's holiness and righteous anger against sin.
It's a reminder to us in Jonah's rebellion, that the wages of sin is death. Jonah deserves to die.
Jonah deserves to be cut off at the end of verse three, and there be no more Jonah. And the storm is a reminder to us that God hates sin, and He is a righteous, holy, holy, holy God.
This storm, it scares these seasoned mariners. If you look at the text, it's not just one or two of these green horned newbies who are afraid. And then there's a salty sailor on the side saying, I've seen worse.
They're all terrified.
And what are many inclined to do when they find themselves in a desperate situation? They pray and it says, And they are each crying to their own God. They're crying out to his God. But it doesn't work, because they're crying out to all these false gods. You know that, as we said, there's one God, there is one true God, there is one Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And not only in their time, but also in our time. We live in a very pantheistic world, not only with false religions, but also people, trusting in their money, trusting in materialism, trusting in success, trusting in powers, trusting in these things that somehow it'll make a difference. When they stand before God on the last day, it's worthless and it does them nothing, and it does us nothing.
Imagine I stand on the shores when Hurricane Helene or Milton is coming, I start just throwing gold bars at it. What difference is that going to make? Nothing.
It's ridiculous. It's silly. And so they are crying out hopelessly in the face of the fury and wrath of God. They then try to lighten up the ship by tossing cargo overboard to lighten the ship so when it goes up and then dives down. Maybe it won't dive down as far, but again, the sailors are trying to do what is impossible with man, escape the judgment and wrath of God. Verse five, Jonah has gone down into the inner parts of the ship and has lain down and he is fast asleep. The waves have almost been like a cradle to Jonah, rocking him back and forth to sleep. How is Jonah asleep through all of this?
Well, he's hiked to Joppa, which has been a long journey from Israel. But sleep is sometimes an escape as well. Disobedience can be exciting for a moment, but if you've ever been there, sin is exhausting. Have you ever felt the weight of your conscience convicting you? It's draining and. So you're thankful when you're finally able to get some relief in sleep. And we do that, not only in sleep, but now maybe we'll escape and our reality and our situations and video games or streaming services. And I just don't want to think about that anymore. And I think sleep is doing that for Jonah, and he's so happy to be asleep and away from the alarm ringing and his conscience as he's trying to flee from God.
And then the captain comes to Jonah and says, What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise. Arise.
Arise. Has Jonah heard these words before he has God has told him to arise and to go, and now he has this echoing voice in his ears, arise and pray you. Uh, but Jonah, he says nothing and he does nothing. He's like waking up a teenager in the morning that Jonah does nothing.
You're trying to get him up, and he's not doing anything. The last thing Jonah wants to do is to pray. I'm not praying to the god. I'm running away to from I'd rather die in this storm than pray to God. The storm here is meant to awaken Jonah to his senses. Wake up, wake up. Jonah, and we should be frightened at a Holy, Holy, Holy God when we too have sinned. And sometimes God presents difficulties or challenges in our lives to wake us up to the idolatry in our hearts to shake us awake that we might let go of the things of this world and hold fast to him.
And here is the irony in this text, that you have this pagan sailor who is now pleading to the prophet of God, an ordained man, to pray to God on his behalf, and he refuses to do it.
Also, just to mention, there is no such thing as a victimless sin. Do you see how Jonah's Rebellion has also placed these sailors in this storm? Do you also just see how Jonah's refusal to pray is having an effect on these men. The things, the sins that you do and that you think affects no one but yourself, are absolutely affecting everyone around you, whether you realize it or not, it's happening here in this text as well. So another thing that men do when they find themselves in a desperate situation is not only pray, but we also like to find whose fault it is when things go wrong. Who did it? How could have this been prevented?
And that's what they do. They trying to find out who's responsible for this thing occurring. So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah, we're told. And it's hard to know exactly what method they use for this casting of lots, but it it's most likely some sort of stone that was used in a way that we might use die. And we know God is in control of the ship. We know that God is in control of the storm, but is God in control of these casting lots, this seemingly random act?
Well, the Proverbs remind us that he is. Proverbs 1633, says the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. It's a reminder that God is in control of dice or coins and all things. And this lot falls on Jonah. Now, when most people win the lottery, they're excited, but this lottery is not actually winning, it's losing. And the sailors then begin to interrogate Jonah.
They ask him a bunch of questions. What do you do? Where are you from? What people are you? If they could find out, maybe where Jonah is from, then maybe that would give him an indication of what God they need to focus on and pray to and get some relief from this storm. And so Jonah responds, and he says to them in verse nine, look at it. It's a great profession. He says, I am a Hebrew. I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea in dry land. Wow.
Wow, such a bold profession of faith. Finally, right? Oh, man, maybe Jonah is finally coming to his senses. Maybe, yes, the storm is finally awakening Jonah to what's going on, not only around him, but in his heart, that I worship the true and living God who is in control of all things. But does it seem that Jonah is fearing God? What we actually find here in this text that Jonah is honoring God with his lips, but his heart is far from God. Jonah has a great profession of faith, but he does not have a possession of faith, the knowledge of the truth, especially here you all and on, the reformed community is not the end goal. The purpose of our confessions is not just to appreciate the things that are true. The truth is meant to draw us near to God in repentance and faith, the word of God is not just to make us smarter or be to be able to better engage people in a debate level, it is to make us holy and set apart for God to do His Will. Just having sound doctrine will not result in a life of obedience. Just having a wonderful profession and confession of faith, as we do, will not result in your obedience to the Lord. You must embrace it, and that's what faith, really is. Faith is not just knowing the chair is able to hold me up, right. Faith is not even just agreeing that yes, if I sit in the chair, it will hold me up. Faith is me sitting in the chair and resting in it, and so it is with Christ.
Faith is not just knowing that Jesus is the Son of the living God who died for sinners like you and me. Faith is not even just agreeing that, yes, I think that is true, I would affirm and even confess it in a Sunday service that is true. Faith is holding fast to the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is mine. That's the difference, and that's the difference here with Jonah, such a wonderful profession, but he is not possessing it. And let that not be true for us. Let's let us possess and hold fast to the Word of God, not just let it come from our lips. I also just want to point out here too that there's one actually question that Jonah doesn't answer. He doesn't tell them what he what he does. He doesn't tell them what his occupation is, because I bet that would be pretty embarrassing for Jonah. What do you do? Well, my job as a prophet is to encourage people to follow God's will and obey it. What are you doing right now, not following God's will and obeying it? Right? Have you ever had a time like that in your life like Jonah has that, and I can sadly think of times with my thoughts and words and deeds that I would have been very embarrassed if people found out I was a pastor. Ever have that happen to you? Maybe not as a pastor, but even young folks, especially, ever been with a group of friends or out and about, and you've done something or said something, and you you might be embarrassed that they found out that you're a Christian or a member of this church. I think we all have those moments in our lives, like Peter, where we want to say, I don't know the man, and so that's what we have here. He's ashamed, so he doesn't say anything at all when we've all done that, we've all have our profession that has been disconnected from our possession of faith. At times, and then they go to Jonah, and they say, What shall we do to you that the sea may quiet down for us, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous. And I just want you to see what's happening is that Jonah is a terrible prophet.
He's a terrible minister of the word, but his profession has still rung true in their ears, even if he himself is not holding fast to it. And so they ask him, What must I do? What must we do? Jonah, and so they're even going to him, and they're asking, what do we do in the face of God's wrath? What we might expect Jonah to say at this point is, I have been self righteous. I have been a prideful man. I have rebelled against God. I have forgotten his presence in my life. I've been a spiritual racist. I have thought that God's grace is good enough for me and the people of Israel, but not good enough for the people of Nineveh. But I am the chief of sinners, and I am the true enemy of God, but the God that I worship is gracious.
You slow to anger and abounding and steadfast love, and I will seek his forgiveness and rest in His Messiah and submit to His will, and all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
But that's not what happens here. We know God is not out to destroy known Jonah. That could have happened already, and sadly, there is no hint of Jonah moving toward repentance or seeking the Lord's forgiveness.
He makes no prayers, He makes no sacrifice. He makes no vowels.
There's no sack cloth or ashes, even like the Ninevites will do later in this book, he simply says, Pick me up and hurl me into the sea, and the sea will quiet down for you. For I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you in a very calm, apathetic way.
He says, I've done wrong, toss me overboard. This sounds heroic and noble until you realize he's just saying it to get out of following God's command. He would rather face God's judgment than repent, trust and obey.
He's incredibly stubborn and hard hearted. If he would repent, there would be Grace here and now. But they simply says, hurling into the sea.
Isn't that sad? He knows what to do. He knows how he can receive grace and mercy, but he is so stubborn he will not do it. And that is any of us today who have heard God's word, and we go from here not repenting and putting our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the sailors, they frantically try to find another solution. They try to work harder, but it's, it is not going to happen against God.
It's it's futile. They begin to consider what Jonah has now said about this God and what Jonah has asked them to do. And so they begin to pray. And this time it's not to their God, but it's actually to Yahweh or Jehovah. It says, Therefore they called out to Yahweh, oh, Yahweh, let us not perish for this man's life and lay not us.
Lay not on us innocent blood for you. Oh, Yahweh, have done as you please. And again, here is the irony in this passage that these pagan sailors are now fearing the Lord and praying for the forgiveness of the true and living God and offering sacrifices and vows to him and this terrible Prophet and minister. He doesn't even pray for the sailors, but God, who is rich in His mercy, is saving these pagan, polytheist men. And it certainly makes clear throughout the theme that the theme of this book is that is salvation is from the Lord. It is clearly not from Jonah that God is doing this God often uses crooked sticks to make straight blows. And so they throw Jonah overboard. And immediately, in an instant, there, the storm was gone and the sea was still. God had also provided a rescue. A big fish comes and swallows Jonah. And I will spend more time on that next week. And again, though, in Jonah's.
Sadness, apathy, depression, and we can see ourselves in many ways, like Jonah. But what is our hope? What's our hope for our stubbornness, our stiff necked hearts? Well again, Jonah is pointing us to another and this time, not only pointing us to a better prophet, but also pointing us to a better sacrifice, a better rescue.
Jonah is not a sinless, spotless sacrifice that is is thrown overboard. Jonah deserves every bit of what he's getting the wages of sin is death and and Jonah will sink down into the depth of the sea. But Jonah, as you know, is all pointing us to Jesus. Jesus has come to do just this, the face the one thing all of us should be absolutely terrified of the righteous anger of God against sin that you and I deserve, that Jonah deserved, and yet Jesus willingly goes into the heart of the storm of God's wrath, and he goes to the cross, and He gives his life for ours, As he said in Mark four, when he is with his disciples in the boat, he stands up and he speaks to the storm, and he's able to say, Peace, be still.
And I think that's a good reminder for us. Is when we're feeling frustrated again at the will of God in our lives.
Sometimes we just feel like I just need to work harder, and that'll please God and things will change, or I'm just apathetic and I'll just give up.
I think it very well could be that God is using these circumstances in our lives to waken us up, to repent, to draw near to Him, to not just leave here today with interesting information about Jonah, but to leave here crying out to our Lord Jesus Christ, and knowing that when we do, maybe the circumstances of our life don't change, but we have peace with God. That's the peace we need.
We need that rest, and we can hear the words of Christ, who says, Peace, be still. And so we can have peace, not only in this life, but in the world to come, as we look to our faithful Savior, who is a better Jonah in every way, not only a better prophet, but the better sacrifice to come the storm of God's wrath. Any other alternative to escaping the wrath of God will fall short. We will just be like those sailors trying to row harder and harder to no end. It will get us nowhere. Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father, except through me. And so let us use this text to waken us up. Let us arise this day and put our faith, our possession, in Christ and be saved. Let's pray, Father, we thank You for Your word and Lord we do. Pray that you would stir us and waken us our hearts. I pray that you will help us to see our many failings and the many failings of Jonah, but stir us that we would not be apathetic and just give up. Stir us that we're not just going to seek to work harder for our salvation, but we would call upon the name of the Lord this day and be saved and know that Jesus took our sin, not in part, but the whole, and nailed it to the cross so that we bear it no more, so that peace is ours, and we can leave This day in peace, and we can rest in peace, knowing that Christ is ours, and he has taken all of our sins upon himself and given us his righteousness, Lord, we thank you for your grace, and it's in Jesus' name we pray Amen.