WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:00.719 Good morning. 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:01.280 There we go. 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:04.639 I'm about to not be. 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:17.839 Now uh I know it's kind of hard to tell because it's so subtle, but um I'm wearing a fur coat right now. 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:24.000 And uh I don't know what this is uh this is ridiculous, obviously. 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:25.600 But I uh I got this from somebody. 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:32.719 I borrowed this from somebody uh here this week and oh man, I wanted to get this off um before somebody took a picture. 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:33.200 That's great. 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:35.759 We're gonna look like a like a crazy cult now online. 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:40.560 The pastor wears this robe every single weekend, and uh that can't be good. 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:46.240 But uh this this coat actually happens to be uh real as far as I understand it. 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:50.240 It's like Arctic Fox or something, uh kind of wild like that. 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:56.640 But um but of course a lot of people have like like fake fur coats, right? 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:58.880 Like faux fur, okay? 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:05.680 And and they got like you know, coats and and scarves and hats and blankets and all of that. 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:15.200 Now I'm the kind of person, and maybe this is this is true for you, I'm the kind of person that doesn't quite have an eye to be able to tell, you know, real from the fake, right? 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:17.840 Like this is, I mean, this thing is nice. 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:18.719 It is cold enough. 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:24.799 I probably could wear this the entire day and be totally good up here, but again, I don't have a very trained eye for this. 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:31.840 Now, maybe some of you, uh some of you do, uh, but to me, it kind of all looks the same. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:34.079 Now, I'm gonna pass this to my wife. 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:37.200 She can wear it for the service as she sits there. 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:39.040 But uh, thank you, Tracy, for that. 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:40.239 Appreciate that a lot. 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:49.599 But um, hey, I say all of this because as we head into Jonah chapter two, um, it's not because I'm trying to stick with some kind of animal theme or something like that, right? 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:53.840 There's a fish in Jonah 2, and there's animal, it's it's not that at all, okay? 00:01:53.920 --> 00:02:02.640 Uh but rather uh it's because this passage is often thought of as Jonah's heartfelt repentance, all right? 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:07.439 So he's he's run away from the Lord, he's he's disobeyed God, he's fled. 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:11.599 He's supposed to go to Nineveh, he jumps on a ship to Tarshish. 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:28.879 And of course, in this passage we're gonna look at here, he you know he gets he gets swallowed by the fish, he you know, he's finally broken in that moment, and he cries out to the Lord, the the fish spits him out, and you know, off he goes to finally fulfill his calling. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:38.960 Only a closer look at this reveals that it's not nearly that neat and tidy of a situation. 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:46.479 All right, in fact, I would say it's more like it's more like fake repentance than real. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:53.520 At best, you could call what Jonah does here as maybe partial repentance, right? 00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:58.800 He he he comes he comes partway in getting himself right with the Lord. 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:04.479 He shows some signs of uh of headed in the right direction. 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:15.520 But there's enough here, as we're gonna see here in God's Word, uh to be able to kind of sense that not everything is quite the way it should be. 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:18.639 Something is seriously missing. 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:23.840 Okay, now you and I, you and I relate to this, I think. 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:37.280 And we all experience moments, plenty of moments, I believe, through our walks with the Lord where our repentance is at best kind of partial. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:41.840 Okay, it's you know we we we we have to deal with our sin. 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:46.400 You know, but we but we don't we don't quite face it head on. 00:03:46.879 --> 00:04:00.080 Okay, and what we have to realize here is that anything less than total, genuine, you know, contrite real repentance is not adequate. 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:04.000 It's not good enough to come part way. 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:06.400 It's actually fake. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:14.800 Now, the thing that's so cool is that God's love still works with us in this. 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:21.439 When you and I find ourselves in that kind of situation, God doesn't give up. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:22.879 We just sang about that. 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:26.240 We see that in the life of Jonah, absolutely. 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:36.560 And I and I find it here, you know, in chapter two, and we're gonna see it over the next two weeks after this, how just how mind-boggling God's relentless pursuit of us really is. 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:42.399 Because again, as we were kind of looking at last week, and we're gonna see it here today, Jonah's not that great of a guy. 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:50.959 His heart's pretty hard here, and and listen, as we really kind of look inward as well, we realize, you know what, I'm not much different than him. 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:58.079 And so the question for you and I here this morning, as we look at this, is really this is my repentance real? 00:04:58.480 --> 00:04:59.439 Is it real? 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:01.600 Is it is it from the heart? 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:04.399 Is it is it real brokenness? 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:11.360 Is it producing not just outward obedience, where yeah, sure, I'm on the outside, it looks like I'm doing all the right things? 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:17.279 Is it is it producing heartfelt obedience, joyful obedience, or like I can't wait to follow the Lord. 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:18.480 This is gonna be awesome. 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:19.040 Right? 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:19.920 Is that what it is? 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:25.199 Or or would our repentance be considered fake? 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:26.800 Is it for show? 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:28.959 Is it is it outward? 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:31.680 Is it is it not of the heart? 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:41.600 As you think about this and you kind of take a look back even over the last couple of days, you kind of realize, like, oh man, like I need I need help in this. 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:43.600 That's exactly how I felt for sure. 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:45.199 And so I want to go to the Lord on our behalf. 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:47.040 Why don't you join me as we pray? 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:55.920 God, we come before you and Lord, we all know that we struggle in our hearts to to repent at times, or we're we're hard-hearted, we're we're stubborn. 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:01.680 We want what we want, we want our way, our our flesh takes over so quickly. 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:24.720 And God, we see over time you you begin to show us that giving into what we want and giving into temptation and and not yielding to you and not confessing sin as it comes up, not all of that leaves us in a place of of discomfort, of misery, of pain, uh lack of joy, uh, broken relationships, you name it. 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:44.879 And so, God, here today, Lord, we bring ourselves limping and broken before our great and awesome God who uh continues to chase us down uh despite our weaknesses, despite our failures, despite the fact that we make a mess of things quite easily. 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:50.800 And so, God, we want to rejoice, we want to praise you, we want to exalt the name of Jesus. 00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:55.680 And God, we also want to cry out for more of your power in our lives, God. 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:56.399 That's what we want. 00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:59.279 We want to see you shatter us if need be. 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:01.680 God, we want to see you soften us. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:05.519 We want to see your Holy Spirit encourage us in these moments, Lord. 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:10.319 Would you bring us to the place of heartfelt, true, real repentance, Lord? 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:12.959 Done with the fake variety, done with all of that. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:16.240 And so, God, we recognize that we need you for this. 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:18.319 This is not something we can conjure up. 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:20.800 We've said that before, we know that. 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:31.600 And so, God, we just bring ourselves before you and ask and plead and pray that you would move, that you would work by your grace, in your love, continue to pursue your wayward people, your wayward sheep. 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:34.160 God, we pray all this in Jesus' name. 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:35.120 Amen. 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:36.000 Amen. 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:40.000 So again, we're going for genuine, true, real repentance this morning, all right? 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:48.560 But but what we're gonna do is we're actually gonna come at it kind of from the other side of the coin or or or from a different angle here, uh, looking at what its counterfeit looks like. 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:52.079 All right, so here's what fake repentance involves. 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:58.480 First thing, uh acknowledging a lot of the right things, but but not owning my faults. 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:07.199 All right, take a look at this here uh as we look at the last verse of chapter one and then uh jump into the second chapter. 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:09.680 Of course, we know this, bringing us up to speed here. 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:12.879 Jonah has uh he's just been thrown overboard, right? 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:19.360 He knows that the Lord is not happy and had sent the storm, and the mariners, the the sailors were stressing out to the max. 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:24.560 That tells you right there that these veteran sailors were, you know, that tells you the storm was bad, right? 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:27.040 If it could get to them and get under their skin. 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:30.560 And so, you know, the the sailors they don't want to throw Jonah overboard. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:35.679 And Jonah says, you know, do it anyways, and he'd rather rep he'd rather be killed than repent. 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:38.399 That's how kind of a dark spot he is in. 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:42.960 And so they throw him over, and they're, you know, the storm stops immediately, right? 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:45.120 It says that it stops, it's raging. 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:48.159 And the sailors are trembling at the power of God. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:50.320 And then here's the verse, chapter 1, verse 17. 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:56.639 It says, And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. 00:08:56.960 --> 00:08:58.480 And what's that all about? 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:02.000 Well, it it could have been uh, you know, some kind of fish. 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:04.000 Maybe it was a fish that has gone extinct. 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:10.799 I mean, I don't know of an actual fish these days that would be big enough to swallow uh a man whole, but it uh it also could have been a whale. 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:11.679 That makes a lot of sense. 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:16.320 I know a lot of people say, well, you know, it says fish, not whale, so you can't say that it was a whale. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:24.720 Well, you know, relax on the grammar police there, but uh it's actually a very general word in the Hebrew, uh, suggesting that it could have been uh either or. 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:26.320 It could have been a whale, it could have been a fish. 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:27.679 It just says fish. 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:31.679 Okay, so this fish comes, it swallows up Jonah. 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:36.639 Keep going, it says, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:38.320 That seems pleasant. 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:43.039 And Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish. 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:46.960 Okay, a couple of things uh to note here about this. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:58.480 First of all, uh that Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and and three nights automatically kind of gets our our thinking and and and reminds us of what? 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:00.799 Reminds us of of Jesus, right? 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:02.879 He you know, he spent you know three days. 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:08.159 He was, you know, he died on Friday, and and then uh on on Sunday he was risen. 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:11.200 He was risen three days uh later, right? 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:14.879 And that's of course uh what we celebrate every year at Easter. 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:23.200 All right, so so in Jonah, what we see here is uh you know uh a hint of foreshadowing towards the Messiah. 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:24.559 How cool is that, right? 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:27.360 Because it's to get us to think about that. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:39.919 Okay, so so as God raises Jonah from the from the depths of of the sea and and certain death, okay, God would raise Jesus, okay? 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:45.440 Um Jesus to uh from the grave to defeat sin and death. 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:47.039 That's what he would do. 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:54.720 All right, as as God raises Jonah to be an instrument of salvation and and uh redemption for the Ninevites. 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:57.440 We're gonna look at that next week in chapter three. 00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:06.399 God victoriously raises Jesus to be the means by which by which you and I are redeemed from the wages of sin and death forever. 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:06.799 Right? 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:08.799 So you see the parallels there? 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:19.919 I mean, there's so many, so many connections, not just in this story, but so many different stories in the Old Testament that point ahead constantly towards what Jesus Christ would do. 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:20.720 Right? 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:26.480 It points ahead to, it's even a picture of what God desires to do in us. 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:30.559 He desires to raise us from the dead, spiritually speaking. 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:43.360 He desires to rescue us from the belly, rescue us from sin, and and to raise us up and forgive us and to use us and give us purpose to go and share the gospel, the good news with people. 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:44.159 Right? 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:50.559 I love all of that foreshadowing that you see in the Old Testament, and it all comes true in Jesus Christ. 00:11:50.879 --> 00:12:00.080 Okay, second thing to notice here and to to really understand, and the the English translation here does just isn't quite captured as well as as the original language. 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:05.039 Okay, but in but in Hebrew it it uses the word there, belly, right? 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:05.919 Belly of the fish. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:07.360 You see it there in the verse? 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:10.480 It uses it actually two different ways. 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:14.000 It uses it in in 1 verse 17 and in 2 verse 1. 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:21.360 So in 1 verse 17, that word is in the masculine form, okay, meaning just just literally belly. 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:23.440 Okay, pretty straightforward, I think. 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:29.039 But in 2 verse 1, it uses it, it uses it in the in the feminine form. 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:30.240 Now that doesn't usually happen. 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:34.720 Usually when you're using a word and you use it a bunch of times, and an author would do that, it would just be in the same form. 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:40.720 But he uses it a little bit differently here to signify or mean womb. 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:43.120 Okay, that's the that's the use of the word there. 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:43.679 Now why? 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:45.200 Why would he do this? 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:57.279 Well, the author, it's the author's way of letting us know that the appointment of the fish by God is his way of both judging Jonah's sin. 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:00.720 Okay, that's that's certainly part of what's do uh what's going on here. 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:01.279 Right? 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:04.559 He's he either there's judgment happening here, right? 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:08.960 Because being in the in the belly of the fish, I mean, just picture that. 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:10.960 Jonah's thing, it's over. 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:11.519 Right? 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:13.840 Like I am literally fish food. 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:19.200 I, you know, imagine uh the sea- the stomach pile, I mean, do I have to paint a picture for you? 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:20.639 It's it's it's death. 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:23.519 There's no rescue from this at all. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:32.399 I mean, the word the word swallow that's in the verse there as well, that that verse is used multiple times throughout the Old Testament, and it signifies God's judgment. 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:34.480 Okay, God's judgment on sin. 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:46.080 And yet at the same time, what we see here in this verse, okay, being in the fish's womb, okay, indicates that Jonah's about to experience a new birth. 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:48.399 Alright, so he so he'll be saved. 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:50.960 He's going to be rescued. 00:13:51.200 --> 00:14:01.759 And so we see through these verses here, and what you realize is that God is, again, both judging Jonah for his sin and simultaneously saving him. 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:06.159 Right, which is which is exactly what he does in you and I. 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:17.120 When he convicts and when he disciplines us, anytime we get out of line or or when we sin and all of that, it's not just God judging us. 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:17.600 Right? 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:21.519 It's not just his disciplinary hand, right? 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:28.799 But but it's to actually redeem us and to and to raise us up and give us a new birth of sorts. 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:29.440 Right? 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:33.360 It's to it's to forge deeper holiness in us. 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:42.000 So when you sense the hand of the Lord on you, and it and it's heavy, and it's that, it feels like you just had heart surgery. 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:54.559 You have you experienced that before when the Lord, when the Lord convicts you, and it's super uncomfortable, and maybe you felt you know hot and sweaty, and just the the weight of the of the realization of what you have done has has come over you, and all of that. 00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:59.759 When you when you experience that discipline, you experience the consequences of your sins and all of those actions and all that. 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:02.960 It's not it's not God just breaking you down. 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:04.480 Okay, that's part of it. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:06.480 But that's only one step. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:09.519 It's also God building you up. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:11.120 That is what he is doing. 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:13.279 It's what he's doing here in Jonah. 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:16.399 Okay, now here's how Jonah responds. 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:19.600 Again, he's been in the fish for how many days and nights? 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:20.159 Three, right? 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:21.600 Three days, three nights. 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:23.679 And then pick it up there, two, verse one again. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:28.960 It says, Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish. 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:31.840 Does that strike you as kind of interesting? 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:32.480 Right? 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:40.960 It took him three whole days and three whole nights before he's like, you know what, I should like, I should talk to God about this. 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:44.159 You find that I find that kind of funny in some ways. 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:49.679 I mean, you'd think, I love how we always think we're way better than everybody else in the scriptures who make mistakes, right? 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:56.879 You'd think that all it would take is like, I'm in the fish's stomach for two seconds and I'm like screaming out to the Lord for help on all of this. 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:58.480 That's what that's what you would think. 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:06.480 But I think it just it just goes to show us here in this in this verse how how far we have to fall sometimes. 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:07.120 Right? 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:09.519 How how we we don't learn. 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:14.000 We're very hard-headed, we're very thick skulled. 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:15.440 And and some of you know that. 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:28.399 You think back to your testimony, you think back to your life before Christ, and maybe even some seasons of waywardness uh since giving your life to the Lord, and you realize, man, like I had I really had to go through it. 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:33.120 I wish that my heart was softer to God's to God's voice. 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:36.960 I I I wish that I saw it, I wish that I understood. 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:47.200 But sometimes we have to fall far and we have to fall hard, and we have to get wet and gross and a fish's stomach, hopefully not literally for us, right? 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:51.440 Before we we kind of wake up and and look to God again. 00:16:51.759 --> 00:16:55.679 Now here's what he prays, and pay really close attention to this. 00:16:55.840 --> 00:16:59.759 Not just what he says, but but what he doesn't say. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:02.159 Okay, that really screams at us here today. 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:03.039 Verse 2, take a look. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:08.079 It says this I called out to the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me. 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:09.920 Out of the belly of Sheol. 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:14.000 Okay, that was a word that was uh their idea, their understanding of like the grave. 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:16.319 That was the word for that grave and death. 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:18.400 He's like, I was I was at death's door. 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:19.599 That's what Sheol was like. 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:23.920 Okay, I cried out of the belly of Sheol and I cried, and you heard my voice. 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:28.799 You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me. 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:32.240 All your waves and your billows passed over me. 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:36.079 It's just ascribing the moment of being in the water and all of this. 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:42.000 And then I said, I'm driven away from your sight, from your presence. 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:46.640 And he says, Yet aga yet I shall again look upon your holy temple. 00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:55.519 The waters closed in over me to take my life, the deep surrounded me, weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:18:01.519 I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:06.319 Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:20.319 Now, what Jonah uh what he says here, okay, uh, and and a lot of what he does, kind of in what he says through these verses here, um, it's pretty good. 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:20.960 Right? 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:24.319 It seems like his doctrine is pretty strong, okay? 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:26.640 At least at face value, anyways. 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:30.799 Okay, in verse 2, he says, it says he calls out to the Lord. 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:34.480 And again, exactly what we should do uh whenever we're in a jam. 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:40.000 Okay, when we when we fled from God's presence, cry out to him, ask him to draw us back again. 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:42.160 Okay, so he's off to a good start. 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:44.960 We also see that his his theology is pretty solid. 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:47.920 He says there, uh, you heard my voice. 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:48.960 You heard my voice. 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:52.079 So he knows that if I pray to God, he will hear me. 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:53.359 He's not doubting that. 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:53.920 Right? 00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:56.640 He believes in prayer. 00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:02.319 He believes that God hears the prayers of his people when you and I we cry out in distress. 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:04.640 And verse 3, look what he says. 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:07.920 He says, For you have cast me into the deep. 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:12.160 So right there, he clearly, he clearly believes in God's sovereignty. 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:12.799 Right? 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:17.920 He understands it was the, you know, physically speaking, the the sailors are the ones that that chucked him overboard. 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:21.759 Okay, but he understands that the that the Lord was teeing all this up, right? 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:30.240 The Lord was working behind the scenes, and he orchestrated all of this for Jonah to be cast into the deep. 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:34.880 So, right, so right there, that's pretty good, right? 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:35.440 Check. 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:37.039 Verse 4. 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:40.960 He says there, he says, I am driven away from your sight. 00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:45.599 Meaning that he's been driven away from intimacy with God. 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:46.079 Right? 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:46.480 Correct. 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:48.559 We would say, yeah, yeah, that's what our sin does. 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:50.000 It's it's us running away. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:51.759 That's what we looked at last week. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:59.279 Continuing, he says, I shall yet again, or he says, yet I shall again look upon your holy temple. 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:00.400 Do you see that there? 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:04.400 This is actually a bit of a mashup of some other scriptures. 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:16.000 It comes to us from uh Psalm 5, verse 7 and Psalm 31, verse 22, where in both of those places, David is crying out to the Lord in his distress. 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:18.079 And so what do we take from that? 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:20.559 We take that Jonah be like he knows the Bible. 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:21.039 Right? 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:23.440 He understands, he knows, he knows his word. 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:27.839 And so he uses that scripture uh in his prayer. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:32.880 And so it's all very spiritual lingo that he's using here, right? 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:37.519 And he's very poetic, even dramatic, you might say. 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:38.559 I mean, look at verse 5. 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:39.279 Look at verse 5. 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:42.799 He said the waters closed in over me to take my life. 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:44.720 There's a lot of drama in that. 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:50.720 The deep surrounded me, weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:53.599 He's like deep, deep, deep into the ocean. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:57.920 I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me. 00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:01.519 He feels that bondage and that separation from God there. 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:06.559 Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:08.960 Again, he's using very Davidic language there. 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:11.519 He's he's borrowing from the Psalms. 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:18.160 Now listen, I'm not I'm not suggesting here that Jonah's a complete phony. 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:19.759 Okay, I'm not saying that. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:28.720 I'm not saying none of his words have, you know, have any shred of authenticity or or anything like that. 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:29.200 Right? 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:31.039 He does acknowledge a lot of the right things. 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:33.599 I think we would agree with all of that here. 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:36.400 But listen, he is deceived. 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:38.559 Because what's missing? 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:40.079 Have you thought about that? 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:44.480 Have you noticed uh what might be missing from the text here as we look at this? 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:45.839 How about this? 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:47.680 Repentance. 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:49.599 Right? 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:51.440 Owning his faults. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:56.400 Clear and specific admission of his guilt. 00:21:56.720 --> 00:21:57.759 He hasn't done any of that. 00:21:57.920 --> 00:21:58.880 Do you see that there? 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.440 There's no confession of sin. 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:05.680 He acknowledges that his life happens to be terrible right now. 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:06.160 Right? 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:07.279 I'm sinking. 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:09.599 I'm in the belly of a fish. 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:11.920 This is not my ideal day. 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:14.160 That's what he's saying here. 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:19.759 He acknowledges that God can, in fact, rescue, which is true. 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:21.279 He can recite truth. 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:23.119 He can say all of the right things. 00:22:23.200 --> 00:22:27.599 And he can obviously be very emotion, emotive and dramatic about it all. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:31.359 But missing from this is actual, real repentance. 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:33.200 It's not there. 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:38.559 Now listen, we do the exact same thing, don't we? 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:41.039 Have you seen that in your life? 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:42.160 Right? 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:47.920 Maybe you're right now, you're in that place where you're like, well, well, hey, I pray to God all the time. 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:57.200 And I bring to him the difficulties of my life, and I'm constantly bringing that to him, and I'm always asking him to remove it. 00:22:57.279 --> 00:22:59.119 And I'm and I'm asking for help. 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:01.599 And you know, and I'm transparent about that. 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:03.920 I'm talking to other people, other believers. 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:06.319 We talk about the stuff that's going on in my life all the time. 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:07.519 I'm authentic. 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:09.359 I'm even vulnerable. 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:13.440 I could close the world off, but but I don't do that. 00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:17.279 Again, maybe you do a lot of a lot of the right things. 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:19.920 A lot of those things are great. 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:25.680 But at the end of the day, maybe you're starting to see here that your heart isn't exactly changing. 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:29.759 And in fact, maybe maybe it's getting harder. 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:32.319 Maybe it's growing colder. 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:45.440 Because despite all those good words and and all of those great actions and outward behaviors and all of that, there's been a critical failure in you to actually address the sin. 00:23:48.240 --> 00:24:11.039 Listen, I've said this before, but but you and I, people, we cannot bypass around, okay, you know, the confession and and the brokenness and and the heart surrender and and the admission of guilt and that coming from the heart, all of that, and and you know, and arrive at getting right with the Lord. 00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:13.039 You can't do it. 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:20.480 You can't skip repentance, you can't toss that behind you and expect everything to be okay between you and God. 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:22.799 It just doesn't work that way. 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:25.279 We gotta address it. 00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:26.640 We've got to deal with it. 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:28.319 We gotta we gotta own it. 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:34.079 Because that's what Christians do. 00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:35.839 That's what we do. 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:37.440 You may be thinking, well, why? 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:38.559 Why do we have to do that? 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:40.160 Why do we have to face that stuff? 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:42.079 It's it's uncomfortable. 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:43.680 I I don't like it. 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:48.160 It's pardon me, it's it's easier to just kind of avoid it. 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:50.640 And I don't want to face that head on. 00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:53.839 I don't want to have maybe some hard conversations with loved ones. 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:56.799 Excuse me. 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:00.160 So why should we address the sin? 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:01.680 Why should we own it? 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:06.079 Well, because we have confidence in our salvation. 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:10.480 We have confidence that God will forgive us every single time. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:11.039 Right? 00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:12.799 That's what the gospel tells us. 00:25:13.119 --> 00:25:16.960 Jesus Christ, if you're a Christ's follower today, he has redeemed you. 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:21.680 Hey, he has He has made you new, He has made you a new creation. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:25.920 And the gospel promises that forgiveness is available to us. 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:31.839 God has paid the price for your sin at the cross and through his resurrection. 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:38.079 We don't have to be, we don't have to be like a uh uh you know fearful that he's not gonna do that. 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:39.839 We we shouldn't be. 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:41.519 We should be just very open about this. 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:42.240 Yeah, you know what? 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:51.519 I am I am broken and and and I am a mess and and I do mess up, and it's okay that I talk about this because we're all in the same boat and we all do it together, really. 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:57.440 We shouldn't fear his forgiveness, we shouldn't avoid it ever. 00:25:57.599 --> 00:26:25.519 Now, listen, if this is striking a chord for you or or maybe you're you know aware of the presence of sin in your life, and you know, you really want to own the faults and and you don't want to be that fake repentance person and and and all of that, but you but you're kind of sensing in your heart that it's just not there, and and I and I and I want to like put the paddles on and and and kind of jolt it back to life, but I can't seem to do it, and my repentance just feels like you're super mechanical and and wooden and stiff. 00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:26.400 It doesn't feel very real. 00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:27.599 Like, what do I do here? 00:26:27.839 --> 00:26:28.880 I need some help. 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:43.039 And if you're feeling like your repentance is empty words and it's feels maybe fake, I want to just share with you uh some scriptures here that personally I just I think about a lot. 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:52.720 And I tend to go back to these and I read over them and I kind of pray through all of these when I'm in that place because you better believe I get into that place. 00:26:54.319 --> 00:27:04.640 Because here's the thing, as as much as there is an onus on us to repent, right, and and to turn away from our sin and embrace forgiveness in Jesus Christ, there's there's an onus, there's a responsibility on us. 00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:05.839 I think we understand that, right? 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:12.720 As much as there is all of that, we we also have to understand how repentance works overall. 00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:13.519 Right? 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:15.920 We have to understand the whole package here. 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:23.440 And and the Bible tells us uh over and over again that repentance, even repentance, is a gift of God. 00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:26.240 It's something that he gives us by grace. 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:33.359 He works it out in our hearts as you and I humble ourselves and get low before him. 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:39.359 You want to see the Lord uh bring repentance into your life and breathe new joy into you. 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:40.799 Just get low before him. 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:44.240 Get yourself, get yourself down there, prostrate hard. 00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:47.839 I'm not just talking about like a physical action where you do that and people are watching. 00:27:47.920 --> 00:27:48.480 I'm not saying that. 00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:49.680 I'm like getting your hearts low. 00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:50.960 Confess your sin. 00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:53.839 That's gonna usher in the power of God to transform you. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:55.839 That's what's gonna happen. 00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:59.200 And I would say, here are some verses again that have helped me. 00:27:59.279 --> 00:27:59.920 Pray through these. 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:01.200 Here's the first one. 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:03.680 Okay, Romans 2, verse 4. 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:04.960 Jot this down. 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:07.599 I love this part here. 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:15.920 It says, Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to what? 00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:20.000