Four Questions for Jonah!
Jonah 1:1-17 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: [2] "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." [3] But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. [4] Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. [5] All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. [6] The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish." [7] Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. [8] So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" [9] He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." [10] This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.) [11] The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?" [12] "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you." [13] Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. [14] Then they cried to the Lord, "O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O Lord, have done as you pleased." [15] Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. [16] At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. [17] But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
I. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
a. What are You doing?
b. Running away from God.
c. It is related that one fearfully stormy night a boat was wrecked. As the dawn came, many were seen out in the icy waters, holding on to anything that would prevent them from sinking. Ed and Will Spencer came to the scene. Ed was a fine swimmer. He swam out and out again until he had rescued many, and was almost exhausted. He saw a woman holding on to a piece of board and crying for help. They said, "Ed, you’d better not go." But it was too much for him. He swam out into the icy waters and brought her to shore. Then he swooned. He was taken to the hospital. After some hours, he became conscious and said to his brother Will, "How many were drowned?" Will replied, "I do not know." Then he said, "How many did I save?" Will replied, "Ed, you saved seventeen." But Ed sadly said, "Did I do my best?" He would become unconscious, and every time ask the same question when he would revive. "Will, did I do my best?" Have we done our best? We fear we are playing at religion and soul winning.
d. Some time ago, I was visiting with a man who consults with some of the largest U.S. companies about their quality control. Because ministry is a form of human quality control, I thought I’d ask him for some insights. He said, "In quality control, we are not concerned about the product." I was surprised. But then he went on to say, "We are concerned about the process. If the process is right, the product is guaranteed." How relevant to our Christianity. We tend to be more oriented to the "product" of our faith than the process. As American Christians, we tend to desire and demand products of righteousness, but give little attention to the process.
II. WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?
a. I come from a place where obedience to God is expected.
b. A crowded gather of distinguished scientists had been listening spellbound to the masterly expositions of Michael Faraday. For an hour he had held his brilliant audience enthralled as he demonstrated the nature and properties of the magnet. He had brought his lecture to a close with an experiment so novel, so bewildering, and so triumphant, that for some time after he resumed his seat, the house rocked with enthusiastic applause. And then the Prince of Wales. . . afterwards King Edward VII rose to propose a motion of congratulation. The resolution, having been duly seconded, was carried with renewed thunders of applause. Suddenly the uproar ceased and a strange silence settled over the audience. The assembly waited for Faraday’s reply. But he did not appear. Only his most intimate friends knew what had become of him. He was a Bible class teacher in a little church. . . a church that never boasted more than twenty members. The hour at which Faraday concluded his lecture was the hour of the weeknight prayer meeting.
c. Matthew 4:10 … ’Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’"
d. Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
e. Luke 4:8 Jesus answered, "It is written: ’Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’"
f. Romans 1:9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
g. Romans 7:6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
h. 1 Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
III. WHERE ARE YOU GOING
a. Anywhere except for where God wants me.
b. Is your place a small place? Tend it with care!-He set you there. Is your place a large place? Guard it with care!-He set you there. What e’er your place, it is Not yours alone, but his Who set you there. John Oxenham
c. There was once an old codfish dealer, a very earnest and sincere man, who lived prayerfully every day. One of the great joys of his life was the family worship hour. One year two other merchants persuaded him to go into a deal with them by which they could control all the codfish in the market and greatly increase the price. The plan was succeeding well, when this good man learned that many poor people in Boston were suffering because of the great advance in the price of codfish. It troubled him so that he broke down in trying to pray at the family altar, and he went straight to the men who had led him into the plot and told them that he could not go on with it. Said the old man: "I can’t afford to do anything which interferes with my family prayers. And this morning when I got down on my knees and tried to pray, there was a mountain of codfish before me high enough to shut out the throne of God, and I could not pray. I tried my best to get around it or over it, but every time I started to pray that codfish loomed up between me and my God. I won’t have my family prayers spoiled for all the codfish in the Atlantic Ocean, and I shall have nothing to do with this market control business, or with any money made from it."
IV. TO WHOM DO YOU BELONG
a. If the Lord be God then Follow Him!!
b. "So run that ye may obtain the prize" We should run the Christian race with sobriety, for our eternal life is at stake. Let others pursue for enjoyment what they will, but in our race everything vital is at stake. The eternal consequences of losing should motivate us to a greater effort than that put forth by those making sport.--Duane V. Maxey. Recently I read a fable about a dog who loved to chase other animals. He bragged about his great running skill and said he could catch anything. Well, it wasn’t long until his boastful claims were put to the test by a certain rabbit. With ease the little creature outran his barking pursuer. The other animals, watching with glee, began to laugh. The dog excused himself, however, by saying, "You forget, I was only running for fun. He was running for his life!" That does make a difference! Motivation is the most important factor in everything we do.
c. The sign in the window read: "Boy Wanted". Young John Simmons, though he was lazy, saw his opportunity and applied. He was quickly hired by elderly Mr. Peters. The pace was leisurely so he enjoyed the job. Toward the middle of the afternoon however, he was sent up to the attic -- a dingy place full of cobwebs and infested with mice. "You will find a long, deep box there," explained Mr. Peters. "Please sort out the contents and see what should be saved." John was disappointed. It was a large container, and there seemed to be nothing in it but old junk. After a few minutes he went back to the ground floor. Asked by the proprietor if he had completed his work, he replied, "No, sir, it was dark and cold up there and I didn’t think it was worth doing." At closing time he was paid and told not to return. The next morning the old sign "Boy Wanted" appeared in its usual place. Crawford Hill was the next to be employed. When he was asked to tidy up the same box, however, he spent hours separating the usable nails and screws from the things to be discarded. Sududdenly he raced down the stairs all excited. "At the very bottom I found this!" he exclaimed, holding up a 20-dollar bill. At last the store owner had discovered a conscientious boy to whom he could entrust his business when he retired. Years later Mr. Peters said, "This young man, who is now my successor, found his fortune in a junk box!" Then, correcting himself, he added, "No, he actually found it in his mother’s Bible because he heeded the verse she made him memorize: ’He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much!’"
Disclaimer: The work found here comes from a multitude of sources including but not limited to Sermon Central, personal sermon collections and others. In all cases where similarities may occur I have taken materials such as outlines or creative ideas and added my own illustrations as led by God. There is no attempt to claim sole authorship for anything offered here. Enjoy and God Bless.
