BUYING YOUR OWN TICKET TO HELL
Jonah 1:3; 2:1-2
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A young boy from down south attended Sunday school for the first time with his grandparents who lived up north. He was so excited he couldn’t wait to tell grandma about the lesson.
2. "My teacher taught us all about the whales," he announced. "You mean Jonah and the whale?" grandma asked. "No," he said, "Jacob and the whales."
3. "I think it was Jonah," the grandmother gently corrected. "He was swallowed by a whale in the ocean." But this young man knew his lesson.
4. "No, it was Jacob. He moved out into the desert and when he got thirsty, he dug some whales."
B. TEXT
1:3 “But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” 2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol [Hell] I cried, and You heard my voice.” NKJV
C. THESIS
1. The title of this message is “Buying Your Own Ticket to Hell.” Nobody really wants to go to Hell. Its very name conveys the ideas of “dread” and “punishment.” Only 3% of people think they might go there. It certainly wouldn’t be anyone’s vacation destination.
2. So why would a man buy a ticket to this horrible place? What kind of transportation could take him there? What kind of currency could purchase his ticket to this place of weeping and misery?
3. As strange as it sounds, one man in Scripture did buy his own ticket to Hell. It’s very possible that some of you here tonight are in the process of buying your own ticket there.
4. You say, “How could I be buying my own ticket to Hell?” Here are five ways:
I. LACK OF CONCERN TOWARD GOD
A. GOD DESERVES OUR BEST EFFORTS
1. You say, “Is lack of concern about God a sin?” Lack of concern about many things will get you in a world of trouble:
a. Your TAXES. Try not turning in your taxes!
b. Your JOB. Show lack of concern about your job and you’ll get fired!
c. When DRIVING A CAR. It’s very dangerous to not pay strict attention to how you’re driving. IT’S ALSO IMPORTANT TO PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR WALK WITH GOD!
2. Jonah had been told to go speak to the Ninevites for God. Jonah didn’t want to go. So he tried to run away from God’s job for him and ended up in Hell (the belly of a fish).
3. You say, “The belly of a fish isn’t Hell.” Have you ever smelled rotting fish? Jonah thought the fish’s belly was as close to Hell as he wanted to get!
4. Is God low on our priority list? Is there little or no concern about prayer, church attendance, tithing, & reading our Bible? Many people just ‘tack-God-on’ to what they’re doing.
5. Many Christians are “mediocre,” which means of low quality, low performance, ordinary, so-so. GOD DESERVES OUR BEST! He gave His best for us, and it’s only right that we give our best to Him!
B. ILLUSTRATION
1. A young brother and sister were playing “Noah and the Ark.” An old shoe box was the ark; the bathtub was their flood. After the flood was over they decided to make an offering to God.
2. Noah (the boy) said to Mrs. Noah (the girl), “Here, take one of your toy animals as a sacrifice.” “No,” she replied, “Let’s use one of your animals instead!” When they couldn’t agree, the little girl ran up to the attic.
3. In a moment she was back with a toy lamb. It was dirty, it’s head smashed, and it’s tail missing. “Here,” she cried, “let’s give this as a sacrifice. We don’t want it anyhow.” Her brother agreed, and they made their sacrifice. The little broken lamb they didn’t want was given to God. [Ed Wood]
4. God told the Israelites through the Prophet Malachi that He didn’t want their leftovers; “When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.” Mal. 1:8.
5. We need to give God our very best!
II. ACCEPTING OTHER’S OPINIONS INSTEAD OF GETTING YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE
A. THE BLIND MAN JESUS HEALED
1. In John 9, there was a blind man who was healed by Jesus. The man was questioned by the Pharisees about his healing.
2. The Jewish leaders could have gone to Jesus themselves, but they didn’t want to humble themselves and take the time to seek Him.
3. So they asked the man HOW Jesus had opened his eyes, WHERE Jesus might be, WHO he thought Jesus was (“a prophet”), and tried to get the man to DISCREDIT Jesus. Instead, the man told them Jesus was from God and had performed an unparalleled miracle. They threw him out.
4. Vss. 35-41 tell how Jesus came back to reveal Himself personally to the healed man. He got to see Jesus’ face with his new eyes. He said, “Lord, I believe” and he worshiped Jesus. Jesus then told the Pharisees watching that they were still blind!
5. POINT: One man LOOKED UPON the Savior with spiritual eyes because his heart was hungry for God; but the others went away empty because they didn’t have an open mind.
B. MISTAKEN NOTIONS OF GOD’S REQUIREMENTS
1. There’s going to be a lot of surprise at the Judgment Seat. People will be saying, “But Lord, there must be some mistake!”
2. “I was a good parent for my kids. I taught Sunday school. I paid my tithes. I was a good citizen. I went to prayer meetings. I was a regular member of a church. Surely there’s a mistake! I must be one of the ones You approve!”
3. But the Lord will answer, “But the one thing that really mattered you didn’t do. It’s all about relationship! You never tried to get to know Me. I don’t know you. Go away from My presence.”
4. THE KEY: KNOWING CHRIST. Matt. 7:22, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.’”
5. So we need to draw near to God, to study about Jesus in the Bible (John 5:39), spend time with Him (“Be still & know I am God” Ps. 46:10), feel after Him in prayer (Acts 17:27-28).
III. VACILLATING, INSTEAD OF COMMITTING
A. A PICTURE OF COMMITMENT
1. After WW2, millions of men returned to the United States, got married and got a job, and kept the same woman and job till they got old. They bought houses on 30-year mortgages and paid them off.
2. Contrast that to today. People don’t want to make any kind of commitment. The CHANGE JOBS every 3 years; they’d rather LEASE A HOUSE or car than buy them; 2/3 are LIVING TOGETHER because they don’t want to commit to a marriage.
3. This same “spirit” of unwillingness to commit is evident in people’s relationship with God. But Jesus demands a total and permanent commitment to Himself, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me” Mt. 16:24. God wants a ‘once-and-for-all’ commitment to Jesus Christ!
B. HOW LONG WILL YOU WAVER?
1. They people in Elijah’s day had trouble with commitment. Elijah asked them, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.” 1 Kings 18:21. To “waver” means “be unsteady or unreliable; to be undecided, irresolute.”
2. The Israelites of that time practiced “syncretism;” at times they repented and worshiped the Lord, but at other times they went back to their pagan gods.
3. It’s like Christians who serve the Lord when they feel like it, but at other times they indulge the flesh in some sin. God says to us, “Enough of that! You belong to Me. Don’t take your consecration back!”
4. The Laws of Revival have Never Changed! What is hindering revival in your life? The Hindrance is NOT ON GOD’S SIDE, BUT OUR SIDE. God is always ready to bring revival. When the conditions are right, revival will come.
IV. THINKING YOU’VE ARRIVED
A. POEM, “JUST NEXT TO ME”
Our preacher sure did pour it on,
But he just let me be.
He took the starch all out of them
That sat just next to me.
You should have heard the things he said;
It was true as it could be;
He burned the seat from under them
That sat just next to me.
He hit the nail square on the head;
With him, I did agree.
He trimmed the dead limb off them
That sat just next to me.
And when I got to thinking
I felt sneaking as could be;
And when I turned to look at him
His guns were turned on me.
B. WE ALL NEED IMPROVEMENT
1. Galatians 3:3 says, “Are you so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh?” If you began your walk by the Holy Spirit’s regeneration, the only way you can keep it going is by continuous interaction with the Spirit.
2. We’re saved by grace, but we’re never finished being perfected. It’s the process of sanctification.
3. We all need improvement. If Paul said he “inwardly burned”; if James said “we all stumble in many ways;” if Peter said “we’ve all strayed from the Shepherd of our souls;” if Job regularly repented and Daniel too, how could you think you don’t need to?
4. We all need a closer walk. We haven’t arrived!
V. DISOBEYING, LIKE JONAH
A. EXPOSE YOURSELF TO GOD’S LIGHT
1. Jonah had a word from God about something he was supposed to do. He was given an assignment from God but he
didn’t want to do it. He kept evading God’s searchlight, His conviction.
2. We may not get on a ship to run away from the presence of the Lord, but when we don’t want to listen to what God’s saying, we may do the same thing by turning on the radio or the television. We ignore the dealings of the Holy Spirit.
3. How scary would it be for you to take down your walls, pull off your mask and say with David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxious heart; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” Ps. 139:23-24? NKJV.
4. When David finally “came clean” from his sin with Bathsheba – in Psalm 51 – he acknowledged, “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts” (vs. 6). God wants us to be honest, not to try and hide anything, but be open and transparent. Can you do that tonight?
B. THE PLACE OF REPENTANCE
1. Paul said, “Now I am happy…because your sorrow led you to repentance. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation” 2 Cor. 7:9-11.
2. We ALL stumble in many ways! We all need to repent and return to the Shepherd of our salvation. We’re going to do that before we go home tonight.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: WE CAN BECOME LIKE CHRIST!
1. A story is told – by Fredrick Beuchner I believe – called “The Happy Hypocrite."
2. It is a story about a man who was born with an awful facial deformity. He grew up alone and lonely. When reaching adulthood, he decided to move from his town to begin a new life.
3. On his way he discovered a beautiful mask that fit him, making him look handsome. At first the mask was uncomfortable and he was afraid that people would find out who he really was, but he continued to wear the mask everyday.
4. In his new hometown, he made many friends and fell in love. But one day a wicked woman from his old home came to his town and discovered this man’s true identity. In front of his friends and fiancé, she forced him to remove his mask. When he removed the mask, it revealed a handsome face. His face had conformed to the mask!
5. Becoming like Christ is analogous to this. Go ahead and put on Christ. At first it may feel unnatural or uncomfortable, and maybe you may think, “who am I trying to fool?” But everyday just keep putting on Christ and every day you will grow to look more like him.
B. THE CALL
1. How many of you have something you need to come clean from? Raise your hands.
2. How many want to begin having an experience of your own? How many want to make a firm commitment tonight?
3. How many want to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ and you know you’re not there yet? How many want to quit running from the presence of the Lord?
4. PRAYER.
