When The Fish Went Manning Series

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE #1

• In the movie Pinocchio a kindly woodcutter named Geppetto is swallowed by a whale named Monstro. Inside the dark, damp belly of the whale, Geppetto sits for what seems like an eternity. Then one day the whale violently coughs, and the woodcutter is expelled from his watery grave.

• Sound familiar? Every Sunday-school child would recognize this retelling of the story of Jonah. But unlike the Disney movie, Jonah’s incredible adventure is not fantasy but fact.

• We need to remember that the whole ordeal of Jonah in the fish is a miracle and if we believe that God can create the heavens and earth from nothing, He can make sure a person can do what Jonah is recorded as doing.

• In chapter 2 we could debate whether a person could live in the belly of the fish for three days.

• There is a documented case from 1891 of a person (James Bartley) that had a similar but shorter ordeal in a whale and survived.

 Jonah was given a job to do by God and he decided he was going to try to run from God.

 How many times to we do the same or how many people do you know who are running from God?

 Today, we are going to talk about the heart.

 When you look at the story of Jonah, it really comes down to the heart.

 Jonah made some bad decisions because Jonah had a heart problem.

 When we make decisions in life, our decisions spring from our heart.

 When this happens, what does it take to get a person back on the right track?

• Sometimes it will take something drastic to happen in their life, they may need to be swallowed by a great fish.

• Today we will study Jonah 2, THE FISH THAT WENT MANNING!

• As we look at chapter 2, let us look at the heart of Jonah.

• Before we get into chapter 2, I want us to look back at 1:17

• SLIDE #2

• Jonah 1:17 ( ESV ) And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

• As we look at the heart of Jonah, let us begin by examining his stubborn heart.

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

I. A STUBBORN HEART PROLONGS OUR PROBLEMS. (1:17)

• Did you notice something in verse 17? How long was Jonah in the belly of the fish?

• It is good to notice that Jonah was in the stomach of the fish for three days before he decided that it was about time to turn back to his Lord.

• It took three days of climbing stomach walls. It took seaweed constantly tripping him up and wrapping around his head.

• It took a sense of complete failure and helplessness, before he finally said yes.

• I want to jump to verses 4-5.

• SLIDE #4

• Jonah 2:4-5 ( ESV ) Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; Yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head

• I wonder how quickly Jonah could have ended this ordeal; did he have to spend three days in the belly before he escaped?

• Jonah with his stubborn heart sat in the belly of the fish. Day one. What was he thinking? Day two, what was he thinking? Day three. I wonder at what point in the day he decided to have a change of heart?

• I wonder if Jonah sat there with a scowl on his face arms crossed?

• Do you realize the state of your heart is a choice you make! Jonah chose to have a stubborn heart.

• Do you remember a time in which your own stubbornness caused your ordeal to last longer?

• It is easy to look at Jonah and pick on him for his stubborn heart, but I know I better look in the mirror before I say too much.

• Jonah could have completely avoided this ordeal had he just followed what his loving God called him to do.

• It is easy to look from the outside and say that Jonah’s situation looked bad.

• Our situations can look bad to other people, but until we realize how bad things are, we will not turn to God. After three days it was time for Jonah to turn to God.

• This leads us to Jonah’s next state of heart.

• SLIDE #5

II. A PAINFUL HEART CAN CAUSE US TO EXAMINE OUR CIRCUMSTANCES. (2:1-8)

• When we are on the run from God, it usually takes something drastic to get our attention.