WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:07.599 Well Melissa and I um we took Beck to the movies by himself uh last week while his brother and sister were at camp. 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:14.640 We went to see Toy Story 5, which is Toy Story as a franchise, I think, is now taking on Fast and Furious. 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:16.719 And it's hard to believe. 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:21.120 I was looking back at when the first Toy Story came out in 1995. 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:28.000 The first Pixar movie, Toy Story, came out in 1995, and now Toy Story 5 has come out in 2026. 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:30.239 It's over 30 years. 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:37.200 And I can only imagine, you know who Sean Wallace is, the guy from The Princess Bride who's always like, inconceivable. 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:41.600 That guy is the voice of Rex in Toy Story. 00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:45.039 And I can only imagine that when they said you can be Rex, he's great. 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:46.000 I like this character a lot. 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:47.039 Like, you better love him. 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:48.640 You're gonna die in this character. 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:53.920 He's 82, and he's still doing the voice of a toy dinosaur. 00:00:54.240 --> 00:01:00.079 Now, I mentioned this because when I was working on this passage, I started thinking about Toy Story One. 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:03.520 And I was like, I don't even know if we remember Toy Story One. 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:20.400 But in Toy Story One, you remember the main antagonist, Sid, who's got these like demonic toys, uh, he blows up toys, he dismembers toys, and um Buzz and Woody end up in Sid's room, which is like being in like the worst neighborhood possible. 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:21.439 They're terrified. 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:25.280 And they see these toys for the first time, and do you remember what they cry out? 00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:26.799 They're like, they're cannibals. 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:29.680 They're terrified of these toys. 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:34.400 Buzz ends up falling, knocking off one of his arms. 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:36.079 He's vulnerable, he's helpless. 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:49.599 These toys surround him, and to his great horror and Woody's horror, they start like grabbing at him and they think they're about to exploit this vulnerable toy who cannot defend himself, they're going to eat him. 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:52.719 Only to find they put him back together. 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:59.519 They heal him, they put him back together, and they realized they've been wrong about these toys the whole time. 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:09.280 They looked like cannibals, they looked demented, they looked terrifying, but they were actually far more noble than anyone gave them a chance to be. 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:21.439 And I mention that because in the book of Jonah, every single character functions in the exact opposite of how you would stereotypically expect them to function. 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:31.280 That God's prophet Jonah is the shadiest character in this story because he hears God's voice to him clearly and runs from him. 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:44.719 Meanwhile, the godless Gentiles, whether they be the Ninevites or the sailors that he ends up with on this boat, they end up listening to God more than Jonah does. 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:54.000 And so there's a twist when we're reading Jonah, you expect all the characters to act a certain way, and yet they act in the exact opposite way. 00:02:54.240 --> 00:03:01.360 And in this way, we learn something both of sin and grace in this story. 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:05.919 So let me read this passage and ask for God's help. 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:11.840 Jonah chapter one, verses four through sixteen. 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:22.479 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. 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:32.719 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 lighten it for them. 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:39.199 But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship, and had lain down and was fast asleep. 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:43.840 So the captain came and said to him, What do you mean, you sleeper? 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:46.400 Arise, call out to your God. 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:50.560 Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that we may not perish. 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:59.520 And they said to one another, Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us. 00:03:59.919 --> 00:04:03.680 So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:12.479 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? 00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:15.680 What is your country, and of what people are you? 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:23.600 And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:29.279 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, What is this that you have done? 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:34.959 For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:40.000 Then they said to him, What shall we do to you that the sea may quiet down for us? 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:55.360 For the sea grew more and more tempestuous, and he said to them, Pick me up and hurl me into the sea, then the sea will be quiet, then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you. 00:04:55.759 --> 00:05:04.959 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. 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:17.360 Therefore they called out to the Lord, O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you. 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:23.759 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:30.720 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:32.480 The word of the Lord. 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:40.480 Father, would you help us this morning? 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:51.759 As we contemplate and consider a familiar passage, would you speak to us words of conviction, but would you also speak to us words of grace? 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:56.639 Would you dig out for us ears to hear and give us eyes to see Jesus? 00:05:56.959 --> 00:05:59.600 And we pray that you would do this by your Spirit. 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:00.560 Amen. 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:04.639 So my outline this morning is threefold. 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:12.240 I want to look at the storm, and then I want us to look at the scrutiny and then the solution. 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:16.800 The storm, the scrutiny, and the solution. 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:28.160 And we saw last week, I know that we're probably familiar with this story, but last week God calls this hometown prophet to go and proclaim his mercy to his enemies. 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:38.639 And Jonah is far more concerned with his national borders and his national security than he is with obeying God's command to preach mercy. 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:40.720 And so he flees. 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:50.319 God says, rise and go to Nineveh, and he rises and he goes to this boat where he can catch a ship going the opposite direction. 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:52.240 So he's running from God. 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:59.519 And what we ought to see in this passage is that God is chasing him down in this storm. 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:11.199 Verse 4, 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. 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:26.079 And so right out of the gates, what Jonah, the book of Jonah, is doing is what the rest of Scripture does, and it proclaims to us that the God who made heaven and earth, as he says in verse 9, is a God who is sovereign over heaven and earth. 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:29.839 That God controls and orders his creation. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:35.439 And even if Jonah is being disobedient to him, the wind and the waves obey. 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:36.879 That's what's going on. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:42.800 That the wind and the waves are doing exactly what God has orchestrated for them to do. 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:50.959 And so what this book is describing, it's an event of weather conditions that have changed immediately. 00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:08.319 No sooner had they gotten just away from land that this storm comes and now they are helpless. 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:15.199 This is a supernatural event, and the sailors on this ship, they're in tune to that pretty quickly. 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:21.839 On July 2nd, 2019, many of you know this story. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:29.040 I remember the date because it was my anniversary, but it was also my first day working at Grace and Peace. 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:37.360 And so on my very first day, my very first staff meeting, we gathered in Swamp Rabbit Cafe, eating inside as we did pre-COVID. 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:44.879 And while we were sitting there, a deranged man came and threatened me with the fork off of my plate. 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:46.799 He threatened to stab me with it. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:52.559 And then once he was briefly deterred, he punched me in the face, gave me a black eye. 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:54.960 It was a terrifying experience. 00:08:55.200 --> 00:09:09.679 And after it was all said and done, once the police were gone, once I got this very generous gift card from Swamp Rabbit Cafe, I remember looking at Tim and saying, I don't really know how to say this, but that felt spiritually dark. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:11.279 That was my hunch. 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:12.960 It felt spiritually dark. 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:16.480 And Tim said, I felt the exact same thing. 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:28.000 Now I don't know if it was or not, but in this passage, the sailors have a hunch something spiritual is happening, and the scriptures confirm they're right. 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:35.840 They have a hunch that something, someone divine is behind this, and they're exactly right. 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:37.519 They're exactly right. 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:42.799 They can't escape this feeling that this storm has divine origins. 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:48.000 And what we find is they're simultaneously right and wrong in their impulses. 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:51.919 They're right because they recognize the divine origin. 00:09:52.240 --> 00:10:02.639 They're right because they have an impulse to pray, but they're wrong because they don't know who has sent it and they don't pray to the true and living God. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:12.159 And what we have in this passage, in these sailors, is a glimpse of what theologians call common grace. 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:15.679 Common grace is not saving grace. 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:19.440 It's the kind of grace that God gives to all image bearers. 00:10:19.519 --> 00:10:25.440 It's the kind of grace that restrains us from being consistent with our sin nature. 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:36.799 And so we see something of God's grace to Jonah, even in the way that these sailors respond, even idolatrously, to this storm. 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:37.840 How? 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:44.720 In verse 6, we read, The captain came and said to Jonah, What do you mean, you sleeper? 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:47.600 Arise, call out to your God. 00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:52.240 Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that we may not perish. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:59.600 I don't think this captain has any idea how important what he just says is. 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:07.440 He's echoing to Jonah what God had called Jonah to do in the first three verses. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:10.240 It's not verbatim, but it's pretty close. 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:15.919 First of all, he says, Arise, which is what God told Jonah in verse 1 or 2. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:18.240 And then he says, call out. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:26.799 In Jonah, the first couple of verses, God says, Arise and go to Nineveh and call out against that people. 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:29.039 Arise and call. 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:31.279 He's doing the exact same thing. 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:36.799 This captain is using God's words to Jonah, even though he has no idea. 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:49.679 And here's, I don't know if it's been, if you've seen Batman, the Batman movie that came out in 2005, there's a scene in it when, you know, spoiler alert, Bruce Wayne is Batman. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:12:05.679 And there's a scene, there's a scene in there where Bruce Wayne is interacting with Rachel Dawes, and she is condescending to him because what she thinks is that she's got this guy figured out as a shallow, materialistic guy. 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:12.080 And she says, it's not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you. 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:16.000 It's not who you are underneath, but what you do who defines you. 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:18.799 It's not exactly a gospel message, but that's what she says. 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:19.360 Okay? 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:32.320 At the end of the movie, as Batman is rescuing her, he says to her, Batman says back to Rachel, it's not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you, and it clicks for her. 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:34.399 I know who's talking to me. 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:42.320 I can't help but think when the sailor says these same words to Jonah, I know who's talking to me. 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:45.919 And you might think, I don't know, Joe, I still think that's a stretch. 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:51.519 But then he says, Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that we may not perish. 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:56.159 That is what God is sending Jonah to Nineveh for. 00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:02.720 That he has told Jonah, I have given them a thought that they might not perish, and Jonah is running away. 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:13.120 And now a Gentile is using these words, not against Jonah, he's pleaing out as honestly as he can, even if it's also in ignorance. 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:17.120 I think this would have been very on the nose for Jonah. 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:22.320 And yet still, no response from Jonah is recorded. 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:24.480 He's still silent. 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:28.720 Which leads to my second point, the scrutiny. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:30.240 I mean, 20 questions. 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:32.320 We've read all these questions they ask him. 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:32.879 Who are you? 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:33.440 Where are you from? 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:34.480 What's your occupation? 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:36.399 Who are you? 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:40.639 And what are you doing on this ship is the gist of what they're getting at. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:46.240 They cast lots, which is so foreign to us. 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:52.000 We don't know what to do with casting lots, and I don't think this book is telling us you ought to start casting lots. 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:58.320 But the point here is they cast lots, and God is behind it, because God is writing this story. 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:01.840 And it reminds us of what we read in Proverbs 16. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.720 Again, a theme of the sovereignty of God. 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:11.039 The law is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:15.919 That every roll of the dice, the decision comes from the Lord. 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:17.519 God is sovereign. 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:21.600 He is the creator of the land and the sea. 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:27.440 And so they begin asking him questions and they cast lots and they say, We think that you are our man. 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:31.440 We think that the answers we are looking for are in you, Jonah. 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:35.440 Tell us who you are and what you're doing on this boat. 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:37.840 And Jonah finally speaks. 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:41.120 I am a Hebrew. 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:43.120 I fear the Lord. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:45.759 And we see the Lord there is all caps. 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:47.120 I fear Yahweh. 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:54.799 I fear the covenant God of Israel, who made where we are and who made where we want to go. 00:14:55.039 --> 00:15:00.879 This is his storm, is what Jonah is acknowledging and proclaiming to them. 00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:14.240 In other words, the God I worship is in control of all things, and there is nothing in our finite wills that can bypass what it is that God intends to do. 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:18.559 Now I wonder if you picked up on the irony there. 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:21.440 He's basically saying, I fear the true God. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:22.639 I fear him. 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:27.360 But he's the only one in this passage not praying. 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:30.639 He's the only one in this passage not looking for God. 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:33.200 He's actively trying to get away from him. 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:36.159 I fear God, but I'm running from him. 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:40.240 I fear God, but I'm reluctant to talk about him. 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:45.279 I fear God, but I am actively sinning against him. 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:52.720 And if we see common grace in the sailors, we see indwelling sin in Jonah. 00:15:53.679 --> 00:16:03.120 Common grace teaches us that even flawed impulses in every image bearer will have points of contact on what is true and good and beautiful. 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:11.120 But indwelling sin teaches us that even those of us who've been reconciled to God by grace will sometimes run from him. 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:24.399 And what this means is that nobody is all bad and nobody is all good, because those who are far from God have common grace, and those who are near to God have indwelling sin. 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:34.159 And this ought to humble all of us because there really is no ground to look down on anyone, which is what Jonah has been doing. 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:49.759 Through common grace, these sailors have actually blessed the prophet of God by reminding him of God's words and then asking him questions and pointing to him and saying, We think the answer is you. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:55.279 God uses these Gentiles to get Jonah to finally speak to Gentiles. 00:16:56.320 --> 00:17:05.359 And so Jonah has to tell them, my sin has led us to face the wrath of God in this storm. 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:16.720 Here's a reminder, I think, for all of us, that though we may not see it, our sin always affects others. 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:24.559 Surely Jonah thought this is just between me and my God, and I'm running away from him, and look at what he's brought these sailors into. 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:32.880 And it's a reminder for us that you and I, even when we sin in private, it affects those around us. 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:39.119 It affects those in our families, it affects those in our church community, it affects those in our office. 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:49.440 I mean, how often have we caught ourselves with an attitude that has forgotten who God is, how gracious he has been to us, what he calls us to? 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:58.640 We forget that, and maybe our attitude leads others to not see anything good in us, but just a just a rotten spirit. 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:01.839 I'm so guilty of that in my own family sometimes. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:09.519 You know, God has called his people from the very beginning to be a blessing to others. 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:12.079 You see this in the calling with Abraham. 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:15.440 Jesus sort of says it this way in Matthew 5. 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:20.880 He says that others should see our good works and give glory to God. 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:32.640 And yet, so often when people see the works that we do, maybe with our close friends or family or coworkers, I don't want to give glory to anyone. 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:38.160 We see just how profoundly Jonah is failing at this. 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:45.119 And one of the ways that we see this is because Jonah's faith has become utterly private. 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:51.920 He's been called actively to talk about the God who made heaven and earth. 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:58.400 He has been sent to a particular people and he has utterly privatized his faith. 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:07.440 He's not embraced his calling to live among others and to encourage them to give glory to the God of mercy and grace. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:11.039 And we we struggle with the same thing. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:24.240 Culturally, it's very common to say that faith is it ought to be a private thing, compartmentalize that, but in the public square, everything else needs to be, you know, you know, you need to agree on everything. 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:34.880 And I'm not talking about, so we ought to go out there and make laws and we ought to do this sort of heavy-handed, top-down approach, but we ought to live a consistent life before God. 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:44.160 If we're created in his image, if we're created to bear witness to him, then we ought not to intentionally run from him. 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:52.640 You know, I used to say all the time on campus, you don't need to force God into any conversation, but don't force him out of a conversation. 00:19:52.880 --> 00:20:02.480 When you have that hunch of like, we're talking about something that makes me think about the grace of Jesus, and you say, but I'm not going to talk about that right now. 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:07.599 We are running from an opportunity that God has given us. 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:11.920 Faith is not to be compartmentalized. 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:16.160 And in fact, this idea is the tail end of our mission statement. 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:28.960 I don't know if you've thought about it this way, but if serving can, we say we ought to, we're seeking the kingdom of God by receiving the good news of Jesus Christ and living it out in all of life. 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:38.960 That our mission, the mission that Jesus has tasked us with, is to live out the good news that has shaped us. 00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:39.920 Where? 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:41.599 In all of life. 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:54.319 In our relationships and in our finances and in our office space, you get the idea that we ought to be thinking, what, how does my faith inform how I live this day? 00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:57.279 How I approach this interaction. 00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:08.720 And Jonah doesn't understand that if he fears Yahweh like he says he does, it will permeate every area of his life. 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:13.839 Faith ought to influence even the most mundane aspects of our life. 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:21.920 And so, as true as this is on a personal level, it's also true on a corporate level. 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:26.640 I mean, think about your dreams for this church. 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:28.640 And I have dreams for this church. 00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:31.279 We ought to have dreams for this church. 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:37.920 But there's a way to have dreams for this church that forgets the other people in this room. 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:42.960 There's a way to have dreams for this church that forgets those who aren't here yet. 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:48.319 There's a way to have dreams for this church that makes it about only personal fulfillment. 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:49.920 And someone's like, are you talking about? 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:52.799 I'm not talking about anybody, I'm talking to myself. 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:59.200 We're reminded in this passage that our following Jesus permeates all of life. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.680 To be mindful of those who are not ourselves. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:06.480 In this room and not in this room. 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:10.640 We ought to see ourselves in Jonah where it's appropriate. 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:19.119 And you might think, well, what if what if I open my mouth and I'm rejected? 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:23.039 Or what if I open my mouth and I'm awkward? 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:32.799 You know, Jesus says that there will be people who actually think of you as an enemy, but he says, don't avoid them and don't fight them. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:36.480 Love them and pray for them. 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:44.640 This can only be, this posture can only be born out of a heart that has been gripped by grace. 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:59.359 It says, what God thinks of me and what he has done for me and the mercy he has for me is far more important than what others can say and do to me. 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:13.440 It's only because of the sailor's scrutiny that Jonah has finally been able to present with them who God is truly. 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:19.119 And what he finds is they're far more receptive than he could have imagined. 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:23.039 Which leads to our last point, and that is the solution. 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:32.079 To the sailors' credit, in all of their scrutiny and all of their searching, they listened to Jonah. 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:37.680 And they said to him, Well, what shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us? 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:45.839 For the sea grew more and more tempestuous, and he said to them, Pick me up and hurl me into the sea, then the sea will quiet down for you. 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:52.559 For I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you. 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:55.200 Why do you think Jonah says, throw me in? 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:00.559 But he's just told us, it's because of me that this storm has come. 00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:03.920 It is because of my sin that this storm has come. 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:08.880 And he might now, for the first time, be thinking of somebody besides himself. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:16.559 I could be wrong, but my hunch is I think that Jonah thinks, I am going to die in this storm one way or another. 00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:27.839 I'm going to die on this ship with these sailors, or I'm going to die in the ocean without these sailors, but this storm has my name on it, and if they throw me in, they might be spared. 00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:29.039 That's my hunch. 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:31.039 I think that's what's happening. 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:36.319 I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you. 00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:37.759 But they resist. 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:39.119 They don't want to throw him in. 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:45.440 Again, the Gentiles show they have a higher regard for life than Jonah has been showing this whole time. 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:49.759 But as hard as they try, they cannot resist this storm. 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:53.039 And then something remarkable happens in verse 14. 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:59.359 These Gentiles who've been crying out to any God they can think of, they cry out to Yahweh. 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:03.759 They cry out to the covenant God of Israel. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:09.359 They recognize his sovereignty and they ask for his mercy. 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:18.640 They called out to the Lord and they said, O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood for you. 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:22.319 For, O Lord, you have done as it pleased you. 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:29.359 They cry out for mercy and they acknowledge that he is the God of the storm and the sea. 00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:35.039 And they obey God's word to them through Jonah, and they find mercy. 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:40.640 They pick him up, they hurl him into the sea, and the sea ceases from its raging. 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:45.279 Well, I wonder if you notice, some of you surely did. 00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:50.640 Our New Testament passage is so similar to this passage. 00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:52.319 And I think it's on purpose. 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:53.680 I mean, look at page six. 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:54.960 I'm not going to reread that. 00:25:55.039 --> 00:25:56.480 We've already heard it. 00:25:56.880 --> 00:26:05.359 But Jesus and his disciples are on a boat, and a storm comes upon them suddenly, and we see a number of similarities. 00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:08.480 Like Jonah, Jesus is asleep. 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:13.200 Like the sailors, the disciples wonder if they're going to perish. 00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:16.400 And this storm comes. 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:20.000 It's immediately silenced in both of these. 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:25.839 Not to mention, when Jesus and his disciples are on this boat, they're headed to Gentile country. 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:28.720 They're headed to save one Gentile to come back. 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:30.480 There's so many similarities. 00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:32.079 But here's the obvious difference. 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:35.839 Jonah is thrown into the sea while Jesus is not. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:37.920 He just speaks peace. 00:26:38.880 --> 00:26:44.400 I mean, if Mark knew what he was doing, wouldn't he have had Jesus thrown into the sea? 00:26:45.119 --> 00:26:47.920 But I think that that's exactly what Mark is doing. 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:51.759 He's saying Jesus was thrown into the sea. 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:54.960 He just wasn't thrown into this sea. 00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:58.720 He was not just thrown into the wrath manifested in waves. 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:03.599 He was thrown into the full wrath of God on the cross. 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:10.079 Joan and the sailors, they're confronted with God's wrath against sin in these waves. 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:16.960 And what they find is there's nothing humanly speaking that they can do to avoid it. 00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:23.039 Unless Jesus is thrown into the heart of it for us. 00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:27.519 Unless Jesus dies in that wrath for us. 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:34.480 Unless we are united to this Jesus by faith in what he has done for us. 00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:38.400 And this is exactly what happens on the cross. 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:42.640 Jesus willingly goes to the cross. 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:49.200 And he's not just modeling for us sacrifice, he's actually sacrificing himself. 00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:56.319 He's actually enduring in his humanity the wrath of God upon sinful humans. 00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:01.039 So that we can no longer fear God's wrath. 00:28:01.119 --> 00:28:03.039 That's what Romans 8.1 is all about. 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:08.559 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:13.200 No condemnation for those who still wrestle with indwelling sin. 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:21.839 No condemnation for those who have earned God's punishment because that punishment has been fully satisfied in Jesus. 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:25.680 That changes how we think about repentance. 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:30.960 This is what happens to the sailors. 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:32.799 How do they respond? 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:36.799 Do they respond now a toast to the God of Israel? 00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:44.799 No, we read that they they feared the Lord exceedingly and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. 00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:49.200 And every commentator I read says, clearly they didn't do that on the boat. 00:28:49.359 --> 00:28:51.440 They had to have gone back to land. 00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:59.599 And then once the imminent danger was gone, they still made sacrifices to Yahweh. 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:05.680 They still trusted in the mercy and the sovereignty of Yahweh. 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:09.200 These sailors have been met with the mercy of God. 00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:14.079 They feared the Lord exceedingly. 00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:20.720 What's interesting is that the fear is such a common theme in this passage. 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:26.880 Jonah's afraid, the sailors are afraid, but they're always afraid of what's going to happen to them. 00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:30.720 And now we see that fear of the Lord is the proper fear. 00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:33.759 We're not afraid that God is going to punish us. 00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:44.160 We see that he has all things in his hand, and that makes us tremble with love and out of a place of security. 00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:48.000 And we're really called to follow the same pattern. 00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:50.720 I intended to read a passage from Romans. 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:59.119 I'm not going to read that, but the tail end of Romans 11 and the beginning of Romans 12, Paul talks about the mercies of God. 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:02.079 He's just explained the grace of Jesus. 00:30:02.319 --> 00:30:04.400 That God justifies us by grace. 00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:06.079 He begins to sanctify us. 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:09.680 And now he praises God because of his inscrutable wisdom. 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:15.920 And then he says, Let us therefore offer our lives as a willing sacrifice to God. 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:22.319 Let's live lives of sacrifice, having experienced the mercy of God, which is what the sailors do. 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:26.160 And just briefly, how might we apply this? 00:30:26.319 --> 00:30:28.559 How might we live lives of sacrifice? 00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:30.079 There's a million ways. 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:38.079 But there are two ways that I think that we can follow what we see in this passage, in terms of common grace and saving grace. 00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:48.000 In terms of common grace, we need to intentionally practice learning to listen from anybody. 00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:58.640 That doesn't mean check your wisdom and your discernment at the door, but look for the ways that God has granted common grace even to those who are far from Him. 00:30:58.880 --> 00:31:14.799 I mean, one of the reasons that I'll often put sort of a rock quote in the bulletin is just to kind of remind us that even those who are far from God, at moments they have touchstones of grace, insight, longings for forgiveness and purpose. 00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:23.599 We ought to learn to listen, even to those who are far from God, because we can learn sometimes what it is to be a better friend. 00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:25.920 We can learn sometimes the opportunities. 00:31:26.079 --> 00:31:27.359 We should be praying right now. 00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:29.039 We just know who to pray to. 00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:34.960 We ought to look for impulses that are right and recognize them in others. 00:31:35.119 --> 00:31:41.279 Because if we can learn from anybody, that will humble us and it will show others that we care. 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:47.119 I mean, Teddy Roosevelt said, nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. 00:31:47.599 --> 00:31:51.119 And you can show great care by listening. 00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:53.359 So we all learn to listen. 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:56.559 But we also need to learn how to speak. 00:31:57.039 --> 00:32:00.319 Because common grace is not saving grace. 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:12.160 And we need to, when we find impulses of things that are true and recognize that, we also need to be able to call out what is broken, sinful, and idolatrous. 00:32:12.319 --> 00:32:16.799 Not in heavy-handed ways, but in ways that are merciful and gracious. 00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:19.759 There is a reason that our conscience haunts us. 00:32:19.920 --> 00:32:20.720 Sin is real. 00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:24.559 There is a reason why we feel terrified in certain circumstances. 00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:27.119 There is a reason that we don't like injustice. 00:32:27.279 --> 00:32:34.160 Our hearts were made for justice, but everything points to the God who made heaven and earth. 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:39.359 And the sin problem that we all know can only be dealt with in Jesus. 00:32:39.599 --> 00:32:46.559 We need to learn how to listen and we need to learn how to speak, but we have to be able to pair these together. 00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:53.119 And I'm not talking about like in every single interaction, but a disposition of the way that we live. 00:32:55.279 --> 00:33:34.960 If Jesus has drawn near to us, has shaped us and changed us, he's called us to model that to others, if he tells us, because of what I've done for you, you get to live in a way that others might see your good deeds and glorify God, then there's an invitation to lean into that, not out of raw duty and God, will you love me if I do it, but because we've learned to fear the God from a place of safety, we can do something that would otherwise feel uncomfortable. 00:33:36.640 --> 00:33:39.200 Let's ask God to help us with that right now. 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:51.759 Father, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for Jonah, and we thank you for common and saving grace, and we ask that you would give us eyes to see both. 00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:54.079 We pray these things in Christ's name. 00:33:54.400 --> 00:33:54.960 Amen.