WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:12.480 This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:18.000 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:25.519 Lord, thank you that you came to save the hellbound man and the hellbound woman. 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:27.199 That's who we are by nature. 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:29.120 We're not by nature your children. 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:31.760 We are by nature your enemies, and we deserve hell. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:34.960 That's a happy Mother's Day thought there, Jesus. 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:37.359 But that is the truth. 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:38.320 That is the gospel. 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:43.039 It's why we sing the gospel here, we say the gospel, we celebrate the gospel. 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:54.000 Because the gospel tells us that the same power that you use to raise Christ from the dead, you use to raise us from being spiritually dead, spiritually incapable of doing anything to change our life. 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:59.920 It's why you came to save hellbound men like me who deserve it. 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:12.319 I do not deserve forgiveness, I do not deserve heaven, I do not deserve purpose or peace or life, and yet I got all those things, as did every believer in this room. 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:17.840 And so, Lord, you didn't come to play a part in our lives. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:24.319 We are here to play a part in your life, to represent who you are and how you are. 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:33.280 And so, Holy Spirit, as we begin a new book of the Bible, give us eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church today. 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:34.959 Lord, thank you for your word. 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:37.519 Thank you for what it's going to do to us today. 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:38.719 We were grateful. 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:40.719 So, Holy Spirit, illuminate it now. 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:45.439 We ask in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, Amen, amen. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:46.159 And you can have a see. 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:49.040 If you got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open it up to the book of Jonah. 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:56.799 The book of Jonah, if you're visiting today, we preach through books of the Bible, not like religious history lectures, but it's like life-giving truth. 00:01:56.879 --> 00:01:59.599 Uh, we do a New Testament book, then we do an Old Testament book. 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:04.719 We just finished the book of Acts a while back, and now we're gonna do the old the Old Testament book of Jonah. 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:12.719 Jonah, kind of towards the back of the Old Testament, uh, you know, but right before you get to the people with the funny names like Malachi and things like that. 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:16.639 Uh, and I want to talk to you this morning about the motivating power of God's nature. 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:19.039 The motivating power of God's nature. 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:29.520 Sounds kind of nerdy, and I'll unpack it as we go, uh, but there's there's a motivation for the Christian life that you do not understand nor experience until you understand what God's really like. 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:31.039 That's what I mean by his nature. 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:33.120 But let me give you a couple of introductory thoughts. 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:36.159 I like to do this anytime we begin a new book of the Bible. 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:38.400 Some introductory thoughts about the book of Jonah. 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:40.159 This is not in the list, but it should be. 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:44.560 And I just want to say this the book of Jonah is about more than a big fish. 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:45.280 Okay? 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:49.360 Because a lot of people are like, oh yeah, Jonah got swallowed by a whale and he lived in there three days. 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:54.240 He lit a candle and read his Bible and hung out until the whale kind of pooped him back up on the beach. 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:56.960 Not so much, but we'll get to that a couple Sundays from now. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:01.439 Uh but let me give you three things about the book of, just as an introduction to the book as a whole. 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:02.719 It's only four chapters. 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:05.120 I mean, you could read the book of Jonah every day. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:07.360 We're gonna be in it for the next seven Sundays, okay? 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:10.080 You could read every day a whole book of the Old Testament. 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:11.120 People say, What did you do today? 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:12.960 Well, I read an Old Testament book in the Bible. 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:14.800 Be like, wow, that's impressive. 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:18.080 Uh but here's a couple things, just kind of a framework. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:20.639 Number one, Jonah is a prophetic narrative. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:28.000 Basically, it tells the story of this prophet named Jonah, who is not like other prophets, because prophets in the Old Testament they hear the word of the Lord. 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:30.400 God tells them this is what I want you to do, and they do it. 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:31.840 Jonah is not that way. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:33.439 He's guilty of nationalism. 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:36.080 You know, we hear nowadays a lot of talking about Christian nationalism. 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:38.319 Jonah believed in Christian nationalism. 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:41.360 He believed that God loves Israel and nobody else. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:43.680 Israel is good, all the other nations were bad. 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:47.039 So God tells him to go to a place called Nineveh, and he's like, I don't want to go. 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:48.240 Those are bad people, okay? 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:49.439 I mean, are you kidding me? 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.319 I they deserve what they're gonna get, unlike me. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:58.800 So he's nationalistic, he's petty, he's peevish, he's disobedient to what he knows God is telling him to do. 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:04.479 I mean, he hears clearly what God says, and he turns around and does the exact opposite. 00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:06.719 Reminds you of anybody? 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:09.199 Here's the second thing about the book of Jonah. 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:10.479 It's not an allegory. 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:12.159 Let me just put my cards on the table. 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:20.720 I do not believe the book of, I believe it's literal, I think it's true, I don't think it's some story, some allegory, some figure of speech that God uses and teach us a moral lesson. 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:22.639 I think it's actually really happened. 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:25.040 I believe the events in the book actually happened. 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:28.800 Uh, and I believe most people have been taught wrongly about the book of Jonah. 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:30.560 Here's the last introductory statement. 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:37.759 It there's a throughout the book, there's this symbolic use of geography and climate uh to kind of mirror what is happening. 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:38.639 You say, What do you mean? 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:40.800 Symbolic use of geography and climate. 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:44.560 When he receives the word of the Lord, he's on dry land, everything is good. 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:48.160 But when he disobeys and runs, he's typically on the storm-toss sea. 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:56.800 If you want to see a modern-day equivalent of it, there was a sequel, there was a movie called The Equalizer, and then they made The Equalizer 2, where Denzel had to smoke some more fools. 00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:04.639 Okay, in the movie The Equalizer 2, one of the things that happens, if you've ever seen it, is the weather gets more intense as the plot develops. 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:07.759 It's raining, it's kind of sprinkling, and then the wind's blowing. 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:09.920 It's a big climactic scene at the very end. 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:12.399 I mean, it is like a hurricane is blowing in. 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:18.000 By the way, if you've never seen uh The Equalizer, Equalizer 2, maybe there's a fun Mother's Day activity right there. 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:19.600 Just have the kids all in the room. 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:21.920 Uh, because here's the best line in Equalizer 2. 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:28.000 Denzel meets the bad guys and he says, I'm gonna kill everyone, and in a very calm voice, I'm gonna kill every one of you. 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:31.040 And my only regret is I'm only gonna get to do it once. 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:34.160 And I just thought, I want to say that to somebody before I die. 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:34.959 Amen. 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:38.399 And so the Bible, I mean, people picked up on this. 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:40.800 And the guy, the director, he's like, Yeah, yeah. 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:42.319 It's like in the book of Jonah. 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:45.439 I wanted to see that when things got intense, the weather increased. 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:47.519 And so I was like, okay, so this is what you see. 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:51.199 There's a symbolic use of geography and climbing, okay? 00:05:51.279 --> 00:05:51.920 So let me read. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:54.240 I'm just gonna read the first four verses of the book of Jonah. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:55.920 We'll be in it for the next four chapters. 00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:01.600 I'm gonna preach seven sermons from the book of Jonah, because I want us to go slow and just understand all that God is saying. 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:03.439 Uh, Jonah chapter one, verse one. 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:13.759 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amitai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for the evil has come up before me. 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:17.519 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:27.759 He went down to Joppa and he found a ship going to Tarshish, so he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:35.439 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. 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:37.120 And we'll just stop right there. 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:38.319 Four verses. 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:40.720 This is how dense and nourishing the Bible is. 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:43.680 I want to I want to point to six things in four verses, okay? 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:47.199 Uh, under the banner of this is the motivating power of God's nature. 00:06:47.360 --> 00:06:56.639 In other words, you will, there's a motivation that you find when you understand who God is and what God is like that you don't find in any anywhere else, in anything else, okay? 00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:01.680 Here's the first thing we see in the word that hearing the word of the Lord comes with a responsibility. 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:08.639 Hearing the word of the Lord, the book begins, and by the way, it's the only book in the Bible, older New Testament, that starts off with this. 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:11.120 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah. 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:16.000 The central figure in the book of Jonah is not a great fish, a whale, whatever you call it. 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:19.199 It's not Jonah, it's the word of the Lord. 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:23.680 God begins and ends with this because this is the most central and important thing. 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:34.639 And when you hear, now he says, you know, the word of the Lord, it's not a reference to the Bible, as much as it refers to something God has decreed that is going to come to pass, and he entrusted to an individual. 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:35.920 Let me say that again. 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:42.959 The word of the Lord in this context is not a reference to the Bible, but it refers to something that God has decreed this is going to come to pass. 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:46.079 And I'm going to entrust this to an individual, this prophet Jonah. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:46.560 Okay? 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:55.920 Now, it's God saying, I have I have a specific message for a specific people, for a specific reason, and I've entrusted all of this to this specific person, all right? 00:07:56.160 --> 00:08:01.199 Now, I say all that to say uh about Jonah and the word of the Lord to say this to you and I this morning. 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:07.759 Most of your life will be influenced and informed by how you respond to what you know God is calling you to do. 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:09.199 Let me say that again. 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:18.399 Your life, most of your life, will be most greatly informed and influenced by how you respond to what you know God is calling you to do. 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:18.879 All right. 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:23.519 So first thing I want you to see that hearing the word of the Lord comes with a responsibility. 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:28.399 Now, that's Jonah hearing the word of the Lord in way back in the eighth century. 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:33.679 It's you sitting in this room this morning, hearing the Bible taught, comes with a great responsibility. 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:35.759 Okay, here's the second thing we see in the text. 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:39.840 God sees things as they are and as they will be. 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:43.759 God sees things as they are and as they will be. 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:47.840 Mom, hold on to this, put a star by this, because moms do this better than anybody in the world. 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:49.039 He said, Where do you get that? 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:50.080 It's that next sign. 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:58.240 He says, Now the word of the Lord, verse one, came to Jonah, the son of Amitai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:00.159 For the evil has come before me. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:01.440 Let me back up. 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:02.799 Arise, go to Nineveh. 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:08.240 Here's what I mean when I say God sees things as they are, and He sees them as they will one day be. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:11.440 When He says this phrase, go to Nineveh, that great city. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:13.759 Now, here's the thing about Nineveh that you need to understand. 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:16.559 Two things that God knew that is not inherent in the text. 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:19.840 Number one, Nineveh at the time is not a great city, okay? 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:21.600 It is a very violent city. 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:25.279 They are known for the way they punish people, and they punish people severely. 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:26.720 I'll show you that in just a minute. 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:31.039 But I just want to say when God says go to that great city, people are like, What? 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:36.720 No, not Nineveh is like probably the third ranked city in this country, okay? 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:40.320 But only in God's economy is how God was going to use it one day. 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:41.120 God knew two things. 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:44.879 Number one, that Nineveh would eventually become the capital of Assyria. 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:49.440 Now, let me ground this in every day because some of you are like, Nineveh, what do you mean, Assyria? 00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:52.159 It's not the capital, but it would eventually become the capital. 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:52.960 Think of this. 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:58.399 Twenty years ago, there was a little sleepy community on the west of uh of Sugarland out here called Fulsher. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:01.200 Okay? 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:02.799 You tracking with me now? 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:04.480 It's not sleepy anymore. 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:06.320 I remember we used to go, we had friends that lived out there. 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:09.039 We go see them, there were longhorn cattle in the pastures. 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:10.799 You could just, I mean, it's nothing now. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:12.559 There's houses everywhere. 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:14.399 And they're building more, okay? 00:10:14.559 --> 00:10:16.960 It's funny, somebody said to me the other day, man, we're getting out of here. 00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:18.480 We're going to, and they name some city. 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:20.960 And I said, Well, eventually, Sugarland will connect with that. 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:23.440 It's just gonna just keep building and going that way. 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:26.720 20 years ago, 25 years ago, that's what Folcher was like. 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:28.240 Not so much today, okay? 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:29.600 That's what Nineveh was like. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:37.679 But God saw God, God is one of the only people that can see things, God and mothers who see things as they are, but also he can see them as they're going to one day be. 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:39.200 Here's the other thing that God saw. 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:42.000 He saw that Nineveh would eventually become the capital of Assyria. 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:47.039 And secondly, God knew how he would use Assyria to discipline his own people. 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:51.279 This is why I've said this a long time ago, I just repeat every once in a while. 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:54.240 He's not just a God of instrumentation, he's a God of orchestration. 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:59.919 He is orchestrating events because later on in 722 BC, he raises up a nation called Assyria. 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:02.080 Nineveh is the capital of Assyria. 00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:05.519 Right now, and it's not what it's going to one day be. 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:09.759 But God raises up the country, the nation of Assyria to punish his people. 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:16.559 And I would submit to you on this first day that we jump into the book of the little Old Testament book of Jonah that God knows what he's doing all along. 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:23.039 And he rescues and redeems, and he sends a man to preach the gospel to this to this depraved city. 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:24.320 And you say, No, what do you mean? 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:26.960 It was not what is it one day going to be? 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:28.399 No, it was very violent. 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:33.600 The city, the Assyrians were known for their brutal violence, and they would commemorate their violence. 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:36.240 They would not do something brutal and go, we didn't do that. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:37.679 No, they had artists. 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:40.399 I brought you a representation of what I'm talking about. 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:41.360 They had artists. 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:46.799 This is a bronze plaque on the wall of the city, and it shows them cutting people's feet off. 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:51.279 And back up on the right, look away, small children, are the heads of people. 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:55.440 Now, if you're riding into the city and you see this on uh this is like a billboard. 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:56.799 Welcome to Nineveh. 00:11:57.440 --> 00:11:58.960 Now, this is in Jonah's mind. 00:11:59.120 --> 00:11:59.519 Take that down. 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:00.879 There's small children here. 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:03.279 Uh now you're welcome, parents. 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:06.399 Uh uh, Nineveh bad, Sugarland good. 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:09.679 Uh no, this is what they were known for. 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:15.519 And this is this is why I say God sees things as they are, and as they will one day be. 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:19.600 Anybody could look and go, oh my gosh, Nineveh, it's the city of blood. 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:21.279 Those people are bloodthirsty and crazy. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:22.559 I wouldn't go there for anything. 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:24.799 Now, here's something you need to understand about God. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:26.240 Now, let me just say this. 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:32.000 Moms, when I say see things, God and mothers can see things as they are, and as they're going to one day be. 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:42.399 Moms, if you have a prodigal, if you have a kid that's off the reservation or not living like you know they are capable of living, there may be people in your life that are coaching you up on what you should do and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:43.279 Let me just say this. 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:50.240 As a mom, you have this great Christ-like capacity to see them as they are, but also as they're going to one day be. 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:52.399 Now, you you gotta you gotta do both. 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:56.720 You gotta see them, you gotta be honest and say, this is not your bright, shining moment. 00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:59.440 I love you, I'm your mom, I'm never gonna stop believing in you. 00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:04.320 But what gives you hope is you see who they are, but you also see them as they can one day be. 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:06.720 If that makes sense to anybody besides me, say amen. 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:10.399 And so sometimes people come to you and they're like, hey, you need that, blah, blah. 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:14.159 Like, I used to coach my mom on how to discipline my brothers. 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:17.679 And I would say things like, Mom, you just don't understand. 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:18.639 And my mom would look at me. 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:22.080 My mom smoked back then and she was like, Are you done? 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:26.000 Uh, my youngest, who was on probation in the eighth grade. 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:27.600 Yes, yes. 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:32.720 Because self-righteousness is a disease that everyone catches at some point in your life. 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:39.279 And when I got my act together, I looked down my self-righteous nose at my brother, is kind of like, Why can't you guys do good? 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:40.960 Can't you see how you're hurting our mother? 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:42.720 If you loved our mother, would you do this? 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:46.559 And my mom was like, I'll be their mother, you be their brother. 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:49.840 And I was like, Okay, mom, here's what I didn't understand back then. 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:54.559 My mom saw my brothers, it's who they are, but also she saw who they could be. 00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:57.120 Now, by the grace of God, one of them has come there. 00:13:57.360 --> 00:13:58.480 One of them's got to that place. 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:00.320 The other one's kind of still on the journey. 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:01.919 And you say, Well, what's that like? 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:03.039 I see him as he is. 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:08.559 I don't I don't lie to myself and say, Oh, it's not what he's like, but I also pray for him as he can one day be. 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:12.879 This, if you're not careful, if you just see people as they are, you pray at them. 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:16.080 If you see them as they can one day be, you pray for them. 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:17.840 There's a big difference. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:19.200 You should ask your kids. 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:23.279 If you've got a prodigal, ask your kid, hey, do you feel like I pray at you or for you? 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:25.840 And then don't try to edit their answer. 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:27.840 Because you may not like their answer. 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:31.039 You you don't just pray at them, you pray for them, okay? 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:33.039 Now, here's something you need to understand about God. 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:35.919 He acts in the now to get us ready for the then. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:39.279 He acts in the now to get us ready for the then. 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:42.559 You ever sin and wonder why God doesn't strike you down right there on the spot? 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:43.519 Say amen. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:45.519 There's a few real sinners in here. 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:46.399 Let me ask that again. 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:49.600 You ever sin, you ever like Jonah, you have something you know it's wrong? 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:55.759 I mean, you didn't know what your mama didn't have to tell you it's wrong, your daddy don't have to tell you it's wrong, your boyfriend, spouse didn't tell you it's wrong. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:57.600 You know in your bones that it's wrong. 00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:00.960 You get there's a party who's like, I'm gonna do it anyway, okay? 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:04.480 And then after you do it, you're like, I don't know why God didn't strike me dead. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:05.200 Thank you, God. 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:06.799 Well, here's why, okay? 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:07.919 Listen very carefully. 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:11.600 I'm not minimizing sin, I'm magnifying the nature of God, okay? 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:14.720 Here's what God acts in the now to get you ready for the then. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:18.000 And maybe, maybe he's seeing now through the lens of then. 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:19.919 I'm not saying that sin's not a big deal. 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:21.039 I'm saying this. 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:24.720 God knows that you won't always struggle with this sin. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:27.200 He knows this will not always be a part of your life. 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:30.240 Said differently, he's seeing now through the lens of them. 00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:34.080 What you have to do is not mistake patience for indifference. 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:36.879 Don't mistake patience. 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:40.720 The Lord is patient with you, not willing that any should suffer. 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:42.480 That doesn't mean that he's indifferent. 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:47.279 I've had people say to me over and over in my office when they say, Yeah, here's where I'm, I'm just, dude, I'm living sin. 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:51.919 It's blatant, I know it's wrong, but nothing bad has happened yet. 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:56.000 And I just say, you know, the only word I heard in that sentence was yet. 00:15:57.039 --> 00:15:57.679 Yeah. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:58.399 Yeah. 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:00.720 Again, you say, Well, what are you talking about? 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:05.919 I'm talking that God sees things as they are and as they will be. 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:07.440 That's the great thing about God. 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:09.440 Here's the third thing I want you to see from the text. 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:12.000 God can be patient in the in response to evil. 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:14.000 God can be patient in response to evil. 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:17.519 He says, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it. 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:18.000 Why? 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:20.720 For their evil has come up before me. 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:23.200 Their evil has come up before me. 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:36.639 And I was standing in a business about four days ago, uh, and and I was renting space for a climate-controlled storage unit to put my kids' stuff in because a 21-year-old girl's got a lot of stuff and it don't fit in my house. 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:38.559 And I'm just like, I'm gonna get a storage. 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:42.080 And I'm standing there talking to the lady, and she goes, Well, you need this many months, and I'll give you one month free. 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:42.960 And I'm like, that's great. 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:44.320 And then she said, It's this much. 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:45.360 And I just was joking. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:46.879 I said, Man, these women are expensive. 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:50.159 And the man behind the counter said, That's why I only date men. 00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:58.879 And there I was, he's four feet away. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:04.400 And I pointed my finger at him and I said, It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:05.279 I tell you what. 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:12.960 No, no, I was just like, that explains the pants you're wearing. 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:17.359 Because he had these knickers on, had little bows on the side of them. 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:20.480 I was like, dude, do they sell men's pants when you got those? 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:21.680 Watch it, buddy. 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:26.319 Uh and so the next day, I'm loading stuff into the common control storage unit. 00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:29.279 I rented, and guess who's in the hallway with me? 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:32.000 And I said, Hey man, I didn't get your name yesterday. 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:33.119 And he told me his name. 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:38.160 I told him my name, and I said, I don't know if you're meaningfully connected to a church, but I pastored the church right down the street. 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:40.400 I just wanted you to know you'd be welcome. 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:47.039 And we're shaking hands, and he's looking at me like, you ever shake hands with somebody you can feel them trying to get away? 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:53.039 And I just kind of squeezed his hand and I said, I thought you liked holding hands with men. 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:56.960 Not yours. 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:02.559 And I said, he said, then he said to me, again, it gets better. 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:04.559 He said to me, Well, I'll send my wife. 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:06.000 She's a real sinner. 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:08.799 And I said, Well, your wife? 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:10.799 How have you worked that deal out? 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:14.880 Your wife would be welcome because there's real sinners at my church. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:16.480 And he's like, Really? 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:17.839 I said, Oh yeah. 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:19.119 Live every Sunday. 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:25.680 I want to get one of those signs with a yellow arrow that points and just put on it real live sinners every Sunday. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:27.759 But the elders won't let me. 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:31.839 He's like, So your church is full of sinners. 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:32.480 Yes. 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:35.519 Some are redeemed, some are still on the way. 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:39.920 And the look on his face said, That's enough of this. 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:41.680 And he grabbed himself and walked off. 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:42.480 And I said, Amen. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:43.599 See you later. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:45.119 He said, Nice to meet you. 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:46.240 I said, Nice to meet you. 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:53.519 You see, it's one thing to say God can be patient in response to evil, but if you claim to know God, you have to be patient in response to evil as well. 00:18:54.319 --> 00:19:02.079 And by the way, all sexual behavior outside the context of marriage, heterosexual or homosexual, is evil in the eyes of God. 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:04.640 I'm not piloting the homosexual community. 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:09.519 If you're heterosexual and you're and you're committing sexual sin, that's evil as well. 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:13.519 I'm just saying, God can be patient in the presence of evil. 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:17.359 He's not like an alcoholic stepdad who flies off the handle anytime we make a mistake. 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:21.359 Matter of fact, this is how the Bible describes God in the 103rd Psalm. 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:26.319 It says the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:29.920 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:32.720 He does not deal with us according to our sins. 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:33.839 And let me just stop right there. 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:36.720 That line that says, Nor will he keep his anger forever. 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:42.079 You should hear that and ask yourself, are you keeping anger in you for somebody right now as you sit in this room? 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:45.920 Because that's not Christ-like. 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:47.680 Not at all. 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:56.799 The Bible says of God, the person, the only person who really has the right to be angry at every all of us for the rest of eternity, the Bible says, He will not keep his anger forever. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:01.440 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:06.079 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him. 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:10.799 As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:20.960 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him, for he knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust. 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:22.720 Yes. 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:26.799 And so I just want to point out there evils come up before him, he doesn't fall off the handle. 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:27.680 What? 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:28.799 No. 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:36.079 Because God can be very patient, very patient in the presence in response to evil. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:37.920 Here's the fourth thing I want you to see in the text. 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:40.319 There's nowhere you can go to get away from God. 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:43.200 Verse 3, this is where I just chuckle when I read this. 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:49.519 It says, But Jonah rose to flee from Tarshus from the presence of the Lord, like God lived in Tarshus. 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:51.279 Okay, I'm leaving Tarshish. 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:52.720 You can't get me. 00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:57.599 Then he says this from the presence of the Lord. 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:05.119 He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshus, and so he paid the fare and went down into it to go with him to Tarshus away from the presence of the Lord. 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:11.200 I just want to say, I don't want to spend a lot of time on this, maybe just a little bit, and just say, there's nowhere you can go to get away from God. 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:15.920 So at some point, you have to come to some conclusions about God. 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:24.079 Whether you're here today, you say, Hey, I'm a Christian, I'm an atheist, I'm an agnostic, I'm a seeker, I'm kind of curious, I don't know about all this. 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:30.000 You will have to come to some conclusions about God because there's nowhere that you can get away from him. 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:35.599 Think about it like this when Jesus was getting ready to be crucified, and Pilate did not want to take responsibility. 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:38.400 So he says to the crowd, I'll tell you what, I'll release a criminal. 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:40.079 I got this guy here, Barabbas. 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:41.920 He he this guy's pathetic, okay? 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:43.920 Everybody knows he's the con man and a crook. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.319 He got a rabbish as long as your arm, all right? 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:49.759 Uh, you want Barabbas or do you want Jesus who is called to Christ? 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:51.039 I'll I'll set one of them free. 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:52.960 And the crowd said, Give us Barabbas. 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:59.519 Even after you make a bad decision, the wrong decision, you still have to come to some conclusions about Jesus because. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.079 Pilate looked at the crowd and he said, Well, what then shall I do with Jesus? 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:11.759 Even after you make your choice, you still have this consequence of, like, okay, what am I going to do with this whole God thing? 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:15.039 It doesn't go away just because you chose something else. 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:17.759 There's nowhere you can go to get away from God. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:19.759 Jonah decided to go to Tarshus. 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:20.319 Why there? 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:23.279 It's the most western destination he could think of. 00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:31.680 But also, you don't have to turn there, but Isaiah 66, the Bible describes it as a place that has not heard of God's fame or seen his glory. 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:36.000 And Jonah thought, that sounds like a great place to run from God. 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:37.279 Let me ask you a question. 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:40.000 When you're trying to get away from God, where do you go? 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:43.200 Is it to a person or is it to a place? 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:52.400 When you're trying to run and get away from God, now the Bible warns us again about this, the futility of this kind of thinking in the 139th Psalm. 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:55.440 It says this, he says, O Lord, you have searched me and know me. 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:59.279 You know when I sit down and when I rise up, you discern my thoughts from afar. 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:03.839 You search out my path and my lying down, and you're acquainted with all my ways. 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:08.799 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it all together. 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:09.759 Excuse me. 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:12.240 You hem me in behind and before. 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:13.920 You lay your hand upon me. 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:16.079 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:18.240