The Cost from Running and the Blessings for Obeying the Call of God
Jonah 1:1-3:10
By Clarence E.Weaver, Sr.
Introduction
Through out time God has called ordinary people to do extraordinary work for building the Kingdom of God. When God call you to work for his kingdom, he doesn’t ask you for a resume to see your experience, education, or reference. He knows everything about you.
Romans 8:29-30 says, "For those he predestined, he called; those he called, he justified; those he justified, he also glorified" NIV.
When God call you to carry out the great mission he has commission you to perform the job. He doesn’t want any justification or explanations why you can’t do the job, but he rather you to be obedient and carry out the order. God doesn’t want us doing good and godly things in the wrong way, at the wrong time, or for the wrong reason. He wants you to do the job the way he told you to accomplish the job.
Isaiah 55:11 says, "so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Many of you sitting here today under the sound of my voice has been called by God to carry out a mission for his kingdom. Jonah’s mission to bring the Word of God to his enemies, the people in Ninevah, but He refused and ran away from his calling. Many of us are like Jonah. When it comes to wittiness to our enemies or to people of different faith instead of standing, run away. Jonah is transparent, he was prejudice, bigoted, stubborn, open rebellious, and spiritually insensitive, but he reminds us too much of ourselves. Most of what we see about Jonah we see in ourselves. We have the same personalities of being fearful, spiteful, and proud. Others prophets ran to the LORD. He ran from him. Brothers and sisters I will present to you this morning the warning for running from God and the blessings for obeying God:
I. Don’t Let Your Past, Present, and Pride Cause You to Run
II. Running Leads To Disaster and Endanger the Live of Others
III. Running with a Proud Conscience will Cause you to be Swallow Up
IV. Obedience is Better than Sacrifice
V. God Gives Second Chance For Obedience
VI. Obedience Changes Condemnation into Victory
I. Don’t Let Your Past, Present, and Principle Cause You to Run
A. Don’t let your past cause you to run away from the call of God. Like Jonah, we often receive clear instruction God yet still feel frightened and uncertain about where God is taking us. When we are following God new direction for our life, don’t let the awareness of your past in sins, enemies, or maybe a sufficient temptation cause you to distrust God’s leading. God want us to face our problems with forgiveness and love.
B. Don’t let your present cause you to run away from the call of God. You may have grown up hating people for reasons that still continue in your present life today. God knows the depth of human shame, and only he can heal the pain in your life. Sometimes we do not have a choice about what happen to us. But the choices we make concerning the disgraceful incidents in our lives are crucial to our well-being during the rest of our lives. Jonah hated Nineveh and he responded with anger and indifference. When God call you for his mission, we must not answer by only to limit our ministry to our on people. God want people to proclaim his love in words and action to the whole world.
Matthew 28:19-20(19)Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age NIV.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life John 3:16 NIV.
C. Don’t let pride cause you to run from the call of God. Pride will keep you from repairing broken relationship. Defending what we know to be wrong is a costly and futile effort. Jumping to wrong conclusion, responding to others with prejudice, and misunderstanding other people’s intentions are all familiar mistakes we make. God want us to put pride aside our pride and seek reconciliation, even if we feel like we are the offended party. God is trying to use you for his glory.
Will you answer God’s call? Remember God is the same God yesterday, today, and forever more. Attacks come toward all who stand for something. When your feet are firmly planted in principle and pressure mounts to compromise, brace yourself with courage. God will fill your life with boldness when standing for him.
Warning!
Don’t let your anger of your past, present, and principle prevent you from witnessing God’s Word and cause you to backslide from the call of God.
II. Running Leads To Disaster and Endanger the Live of Others
A. Jonah’s call to service began catastrophically. We don’t know why he chose to run from his assignment to preach to Nineveh, but we can guess fear was the main motivation. May because of the lifestyle the people of Nineveh live. God may be calling you to bring His Word on your job or other places that you know where the people live ungodly lives. Instead of staying put Jonah put great distance between himself and Nineveh. How many jobs or neighborhoods have you move to due to the people lifestyle? Jonah chose to run from God than obey him. We should not let people lifestyle stop us from sharing God’s love and mercy on their lives. Jonah’s disobedience to God endangered the lives of the ship’s crew. We have a great responsible to obey God’s Word because our sin and disobedience can hurt others.
B. I can remember the day God call me to teach and preach His Word. I ran also because of my background of chasing after women, getting married, then getting a divorce. I said to God, "Lord I am a man with many past faults. Everyone knows me, and they know I was the last one in the clubs, so I know that you are not asking me to preach your Word." God said, "Yes you!" Rather than answering God’s call, I ran. Because of Jonah’s disobedience the LORD sent a great wind on the sea on the very ship that Jonah was running away from God. All of the sailor’s lives were estate. Like Jonah, we endanger the lives of our love ones because our disobedience to God.
Warning!
Don’t cause storms in people lives for being disobedience to God
How about you what storms are you causing in people lives?
How is your life going right now for not being obedience to the call of God?
III. Running with a Proud Conscience will Cause you to be Swallow Up
A. The sailors threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the load, but the storm did not stop. But Jonah had gone below deck where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. If you are running from God, you might know the darkness Jonah experience. Condemnation and guilt bring powerful anxiety. Sleep alcohol, drugs, and other things only bring temporary relief. When you wake up, the emotional struggle of life resumes, only more intense.
The sailor cast lot to see who was responsible for the calamity of the ship. Jonah told them he was running away from the LORD. You must confess your faults one to another. Jonah confession caused the sailor to believe in the LORD and the LORD heard their prayers when they threw Jonah into the sea.
B. Because of my disobedience, my father died, my nephew and his wife got killed in a car accident, my mother died, and finally my son got hit by a car. I stop going out to the clubs, drinking and other things but it did not stop the storms. You would have thought that I would have chosen to answer God’s call, but I did not. It was until I lost everything that I own except my mobile home and clothes. I lost my job then the rest of my saving was used to pay the bills. I found myself with nobody to talk to, and nowhere to go. It was in the winter, my lights got turned off and we got twenty-six inches of snow that year. I almost froze to death. Pride swallowed me up. I found myself in the belly of debt. I went to the church for help but the church only gave me three dollars. What was funny to me is when I got the three dollars; I found out that two of those dollars were given by somebody that didn’t even attend my church. I knew I had to turn to God for help. I knew he would hear my call for help. I truly repent for my disobedience and accepted my calling. I found out that it is better to obey God than to defy him or run away.
Warning!
A proud and stubborn is like poison inside of us. We may think our bitterness, anger, and prejudice hurt others, but it really only hurting you
Don’t be swallowed up with pride, you will find yourself in a dark hole.
You can Run, but You can’t Hide!
IV. Obedience is better than Sacrifice
A. When Jonah confess his fault for running away from the LORD it cause the sailors to cry out to the LORD, and ask him not to let them die for offering Jonah as a sacrifice to him. The men began to reverently ’and worshipfully fear the Lord, offered up sacrifice unto the Lord and made vows.
Blessing!
Obedience to the Lord is the first step towards deliverance
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."(Romans 10:12-13 NIV)
B. God way of protecting you from the storms of life may not be the way you expect shelter. Even at the point of drowning in your disobedience, repentance will once again cover you with the blood of Jesus. Jonah was thrown overboard into the sea, but the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days. It was better for Jonah to be in the belly of the fish that to try to swim to safety.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who has been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NIV)
C. You need to spend some quite time with the Lord in prayer and worship. Jonah may have found himself in the belly of the big fish, but there he was isolated from the outside world. The only one he could talk to that could hear was the Lord. He asked for forgiveness, praised God with thanksgiving, and vowed to follow his commandments. The Lord commanded the fish to vomited Jonah onto dry land.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who see what is done in secret will reward you Matthew 6:6 NIV.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you John 15:7 NIV.
If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God; whom he has not seen 1 John 4:20 NIV.
Blessing!
Obedience is better than sacrifice and personal attitude towards others. Your relationship to the Lord in prayer and following and obeying his commandments will bring greater rewards in your life.
V. God Gives Second Chance For Obedience
A. Jonah was given a second chance to live for his vow to take salvation to the people of Nineveh. God word was given to Jonah a second time. Jonah did not hesitate to proclaim God’s word on his first day that Nineveh will be overthrown in forty days.
B. Faithful to God and his Word will make a bad situation turn out better. The people of Nineveh believed God declared a fast, from the greatest to the least. Even the king of Nineveh began to fast and made a decree that ever man and beast take part in the fast. When we spread the Salvation of the Lord to the worlds we live in God will give a second chance to a sinful nation. We need a revival In the United States. It must begin with you and the take it like a wild fire everywhere you go.
If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their land 2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV.
VI. Obedience Changes Condemnation into Victory
A. The people of Nineveh gave up their wicked ways and their violence. God had compassion by not bring destruction on that city. They turned their life over and started serving God. God knows and searches the heart of men. He will give mercy and compassion to all that worship him in spirit and in truth.
B. Jonah obedience of bringing God’s word to Nineveh, that city changed from one city of people living a life of being wicked and violence to being one city under God. God set them free. The obedience of one man of bringing the Word of God to a corrupted city that God was to condemned, became a city that became victorious in serving God.
I tell you the truth, whoever hears my words and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life John 5:24 NIV.
THEREFORE. THERE is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus Romans 8: 1 NIV.
Blessing!
God will not condemn you if you believe in him and live by his word. You will have an abundantly life for being obedient to God.
Conclusion
If you are running from God, you might know the darkness Jonah experienced. If this Sermon describes you, you can be sure God is designing a storm to get your attention. Let the truth be known, believe me you might now want to be in a preacher shoes if you only knew what it took to made them become obedience to God and his Word. If God is calling you to be a voice for his kingdom, please say yet your servant will go. Don’t call storms in other people lives. Remember that God love you and the blood of Christ paid for your sins. If you running from God and have booked a trip on the same trip that backslider Jonah took, think twice. God cares too much about you to leave
