Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Do not fall in here.
[00:00:04] You will not make it.
[00:00:06] Hearing those words, I kind of chuckled, kind of laughed.
[00:00:12] I thought it was some kind of gimmick to make our whitewater rafting trip more adventurous. I thought the guide was just kind of being extreme, trying to be fun, trying to scare the group, trying to, if you fall out here, you're going to die.
[00:00:29] That can't be true. That can't be reality.
[00:00:34] And then she looked at me with a very serious tone and said, no, if you fall out here, you will die.
[00:00:43] And it just so happened where we were on that day, I guess the currents and the weather, she was being serious, and you could kind of see panic in her eyes. We have brought this group here to this point, and we've got to figure out how to get this group through this part of the white water rafting trip. It was in 2007. I remember it vividly. We were in West Virginia, and I was a youth pastor at this time. And I love trips like this. Until this day.
[00:01:19] My boat was first, and I made it through safe everyone on our raft.
[00:01:26] And I did think, wow, that was intense.
[00:01:30] And I got nervous and I turned around to see the last raft go through this part of the rapids.
[00:01:39] And I turned around just in time to see some of, you know, this person, Ashley Kirschner, go about 10 foot up into the air. At least that's the way it felt in that moment.
[00:01:54] She hit a wave, rapids, she flies up into the air, she comes down on the side of the raft, and in that moment, Nikki Johnson, at the time, Nikki McCall, who's now married to Pastor Casey McCall in Oldham county, just with a reflex, she jumps up and grabs Ashley before she goes into the water.
[00:02:24] And there the two of them are, draped on the side of this raft, and they are riding the rapids like they are on some mad bull that's about to throw them off.
[00:02:37] And I've never, in ministry felt such helplessness.
[00:02:41] And I looked at all the guides and I could see them grabbing ropes, and I could see them getting ready to, I don't know, jump in and rescue this, at the time, middle school girl whose life I had put in danger on this trip.
[00:02:58] And I found myself standing on the side of the boat screaming in panic, hold on, hold on, Nikki. Do not let her go. And everyone in the boat getting up and grabbing them. And then the boat is making it through all of the waves. And I remember my short ministry career flashing before my eyes.
[00:03:23] I literally, in probably 15 or 20 seconds, rehearsed a conversation that I was going to have with Ashley's parents after the trip if she made it or even if she didn't make it. I was thinking through all of those things.
[00:03:39] They finally made it through. And some of the adults that were on the trip are here today and they know that was my last trip as a youth pastor.
[00:03:49] I didn't get fired, but I didn't. I never wanted to go on one of those trips again.
[00:03:56] Water ruined my youth pastor career.
[00:04:01] And water is uncontrollable.
[00:04:07] What is fun and enjoyable. We think about rivers, seas, what is soothing.
[00:04:15] The sounds put us to sleep, can ruin your life, can destroy your life. I'm being a little extreme about my ministry career, but we know that we've seen that through floods and hurricanes, tsunamis can destroy people's lives. Water is. Is uncontrollable and it's dangerous, and it can just be frustrating.
[00:04:42] Just a small leak in your house, the drip can drive you crazy.
[00:04:49] And at times you feel like you can't stop it.
[00:04:53] No matter how good you are at plumbing or the plumbers that you call in, water can just frustrate your life.
[00:05:03] And we get to the Bible, we have to understand, especially in the book of Jonah, water is never meant to be seen as cartoonish.
[00:05:13] It's meant to be scary.
[00:05:17] And the sea in the Bible is a place of mysterious power.
[00:05:25] It's something no one can control.
[00:05:29] Many believed it's where these foreign gods and just unknown gods, where they resided in this realm over the sea, this place where things can't be controlled, this mysterious realm of the uncontrollable.
[00:05:49] And that's why when we read the book of Jonah, we see Jonah when he sets out to see.
[00:05:57] In many ways, he is committing suicide.
[00:06:01] We often view this book as cartoonish.
[00:06:04] He's running from God.
[00:06:07] No, Jonah wants to die.
[00:06:10] That's why he picks a fight with God and goes out to the water, this realm of the uncontrollable.
[00:06:20] Jonah doesn't want to live anymore in light of what God has called him to do.
[00:06:27] And we see first of all this pagan prophet, Jonah. Notice verse 1.
[00:06:33] Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah. Now, Jonah's name means dove, or some translate it faithful. But Jonah was to be a symbol of peace, like a dove in his faithful ministry. Notice Jonah, the son of Am, which means amen, or this is true. And so he was to be a true prophet, a faithful prophet after his name's sake.
[00:07:02] And so the Lord comes to him and says, arise.
[00:07:06] This is a command.
[00:07:08] Get up and go. To Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come against me. And so this prophet of God, this one who is to symbolize peace, is called to go to Nineveh, a place where the enemies of God were symbolized fury and wrath in this great city. And he is to call against it. For their evil here has come up before me. It's a picture of their worship. If you want to characterize the Ninevites, they are idolatrous and they worship pagan gods. And now their deeds are like an offering before the gods. The things they do, the horrendous things they do in tribute to their gods.
[00:08:01] You see, Nineveh was the capital of Assyria.
[00:08:04] This was an idolatrous, barbaric nation.
[00:08:08] And at this time, they threatened the security of Israel.
[00:08:15] The Syrians, they skinned their enemies alive.
[00:08:21] When they would defeat their foes, they would rip out their tongues while they were still alive, until finally they would decapitate them and then force family members to parade them through the streets.
[00:08:40] This was a barbaric, idolatrous people.
[00:08:45] You couldn't imagine their wickedness.
[00:08:48] And here the Lord God says, their evil has come up before me and we have to do something about it.
[00:08:56] The issue with Jonah, though, is he knows what it means to call out against the city's sin because he is called out against his city's sin. And the people of Israel have repented and God has been gracious and kind to them. So he puts it together. If I'm to call out against these vile, wicked people and warn them of judgment, it must mean God wants to be gracious to them the same way he's been to Israel, my people, and he doesn't want to do it.
[00:09:31] First of all, it's extremely scary many ways. Jonah was a nationalist, a patriot of sorts. He was for Israel, pro Israel.
[00:09:44] And through his message, Israel had been blessed.
[00:09:49] So what God was calling him to do here is scandalous.
[00:09:53] It would be like asking one of us to put on a Bruce Springsteen shirt. Born in the usa, find the most wicked, violent, terrorist state in the Middle east and go and condemn Islam to call out against Allah.
[00:10:17] That's not going to go well for you.
[00:10:21] And Jonah realizes this is not only dangerous, it is scandalous.
[00:10:27] He doesn't want God to be gracious to these people.
[00:10:31] That's not what he wants. And so what does he do? Notice verse three.
[00:10:36] Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish.
[00:10:40] Now, this is a place of great wealth, but it's significant because it is in the total opposite Direction of Nineveh, where God has called him to do. He is rebelling here. And notice where his rebellion takes him from the presence of the Lord.
[00:10:58] We understand in Scripture, obedience is what God demands. And this is where we enjoy the presence of the Lord.
[00:11:07] But all the way back to Genesis 3, when Adam disobeys God and he is cast out of the garden. Disobedience moves us away from the presence and blessing of the Lord. And that is the point here. Jonah is moving away in disobedience from God's blessing in the opposite direction. And notice where he goes. He went down to Joppa. This was a port city. Now what's significant about this place is that it was a place of multicultural multi religion.
[00:11:42] We think some of us who have been to New Orleans and we've gone there and we've seen all of the voodoo spirituality on the streets, this is what Joppa would have been like. It was a port city.
[00:11:55] Many cultures are brought into this place.
[00:11:59] And here Jonah is going to find himself with a multi religious crew of sailors headed down to Tarshish.
[00:12:10] Notice it says he paid the fare.
[00:12:13] Now that's just thrown in there to let us know that Jonah was wealthy.
[00:12:19] He had been blessed through his ministry. He was the people's prophet of the day.
[00:12:24] Many of the other prophets condemned Israel. Jonah's message was, God is going to make Israel great again.
[00:12:32] And he did, and Jonah was blessed for it.
[00:12:37] But the greatness of Israel, the blessings of God became idols to them.
[00:12:45] And they began to think too highly of themselves.
[00:12:50] And much of their worship was corrupt.
[00:12:54] Just like in the city of Joppa, they began to mix pagan practices together.
[00:13:00] They began to worship foreign gods.
[00:13:04] Up north in the northern kingdom, there were golden calves that the people of God were bowing to. And so as we see Jonah walking through this port city, as we see him moving away from the presence of God, he is to be a parable for Israel.
[00:13:22] He is saying to his people through his life and eventually through his destruction. This is what you're doing to yourself.
[00:13:31] You who have been set apart by the word of the Lord are rebelling against the word of the Lord. You are moving away from the blessings of God. You are moving toward paganism.
[00:13:42] One of the things I want you to notice here is sin always provides a boat.
[00:13:49] A lot of us would think, oh, in the providence of God, you know, Jonah may even think, this is the will of God.
[00:13:59] I got a boat to go where I want to go to.
[00:14:03] He may even justify his disobedience. See, God provided A boat no sin, provided a boat sin was, will take you where you want to go if you allow it.
[00:14:16] That's exactly what's going on with Jonah. Moving away from the presence of the Lord.
[00:14:22] But this is a picture of Israel's sin, specifically Israel's paganism.
[00:14:29] Notice in this section he arises and then he goes down.
[00:14:35] Those words are significant in this section because it is the description of someone bowing to an idol over and over.
[00:14:45] And Jonah on this trip, on this trip to Tarshish, he is a picture of Israel's paganism. What you are doing is you are bowing down to an idol. But which God are they bowing down to?
[00:15:00] They are bowing down to the God of themselves, just like Jonah.
[00:15:05] Jonah is a self centered pagan idolater, here worshiping himself and he is giving God's people a picture of what that looks like. What does it look like? It is very simply to disregard the very word of God and do whatever you want to. Essentially, that is pagan idolatry. Do you understand that you don't have to have a block of wood or a statue or incense or, or engaged in some ritual to be pagan to be involved in idolatry.
[00:15:42] Some of us, even in this room, with the songs that we are singing and the things that we are doing to the Lord Jesus Christ, are involved in idolatry because you are at the center of all of those things and you are taking part in all of those things that to be happy, to be blessed, and you are at the center of all of it.
[00:16:06] But just like Nineveh, your evil deeds rise to the Lord when you just simply say, I'm in control and I will call the shots.
[00:16:17] I know better than you, God.
[00:16:20] You find yourself doing that when you hear yourself in your mind or sometimes coming out of your mouth, say the words, I know it's sin, but that's pagan idolatry because you have replaced yourself with God and you are now worshiping yourself, serving yourself when you hear yourself or feel in your heart.
[00:16:50] I know the Bible says, but that's idolatry.
[00:16:58] You have placed yourself on the throne, you have placed yourself on the pedestal.
[00:17:04] And you are in danger of serving yourself by rebelling against God and doing what you want to do. This is exactly what Jonah is doing and this is exactly what Israel was doing. We know God is holy. We know the God of Israel fulfills all of his promises. But we're going to do whatever we want to do. That's paganism. And just like the Ninevites, the people of God deserve judgment for it. That's why it's so important for you in your life to never say those words. I know it's sin, but.
[00:17:41] But when you hear the word of God to immediately align your heart with it.
[00:17:46] This is God's word. And unlike Jonah, I'm going to immediately do what God has said. That's how you fight against the pagan in your heart.
[00:17:56] That's how you topple the idols in your heart. Is immediately responding to God's word.
[00:18:03] But next we see the scary. Not Carrie. She's up here.
[00:18:08] The scary consequences of our sin.
[00:18:13] Specifically for others. Notice verse 4.
[00:18:16] But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea. The word hurled is the same word used of a warrior with a spear in his hand.
[00:18:26] And so what does the Lord, who is a warrior hurl?
[00:18:30] He hurls a wind upon the sea. He controls the wind and waves. And here he's going to use them for his purposes. And it is a purpose of judgment against Jonah. Jonah has declared himself an enemy of God.
[00:18:45] Again, this isn't cartoonish.
[00:18:48] He is in this mysterious place of the uncontrollable. And yet there is one who controls it all and there is one who is against him.
[00:18:57] And notice there is a mighty tempest on the sea. The language is just too emphasize the extreme, Exaggerate the wind and the waves so that the ship threatened to break up this mighty storm, this weapon of God.
[00:19:24] It feels as if the boat is about to break.
[00:19:30] The sailors would have never experienced this before and understand that they've gone on this trip over and over.
[00:19:39] They've gone on this trip from Joppa to Tarshish over and over. This was probably something they did every day of their life.
[00:19:46] And all of a sudden there's a storm like they've never seen.
[00:19:52] And there are boards that are cracking.
[00:19:57] And notice the mariners were afraid, seasoned sailors.
[00:20:03] This is something they have never seen before. And so what do they do? They do what's natural to them. They each call out to his God. And there were probably many gods on the boat represented by the sailors.
[00:20:18] You call to your God. You call to your God. One of them. It's going to work. We've got to get out of this.
[00:20:26] The Lord hurled a great wind. And one of the things he's telling Israel here, remember Jonah is a parable to his people is that he is preparing a great wind which will eventually be the Syrians, who will be a storm who will judge them on his behalf.
[00:20:45] Notice the great city that you are to prophesy against. And then a great storm. They will become one in the same as God will eventually judge his people.
[00:20:55] But here, these pagan pirates, they're crawling out to their gods. And notice what they begin to do. They hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. Here they are in a full on war with God.
[00:21:12] God is their enemy. Hurling like a weapon, wind and waves. And so they begin to hurl the cargo to the now what's significant about that? They are getting rid of their livelihood.
[00:21:26] This is something they've probably never done before.
[00:21:29] What do we do?
[00:21:31] Well, the cargo that we're taking to Tarshish, our money, our livelihood, dump it over the boat. We have no choice but to save our lives.
[00:21:43] And we see a point here. Riches do not profit in the day of trouble.
[00:21:49] Notice. But Jonah had gone into the inner part of the ship and lain down and was fast asleep. So in all of this commotion, the boat is sloshing around the wind and the waves. Where is the prophet of God? He is asleep.
[00:22:07] And how in the world could he be asleep?
[00:22:12] Well, God is pointing something out to us. Jonah is dead in his sin.
[00:22:17] He is so committed to himself, so dead to his rebellion, that he doesn't realize anything going on around him.
[00:22:30] And notice the captain said to him, what do you mean, Sleeper, Arise.
[00:22:35] This is a pagan who begins to rebuke the prophet of God.
[00:22:41] Arise again.
[00:22:42] He's heard that word before. Where did he hear it? Arise and go to Nineveh.
[00:22:48] So waking from his slumber, he hears again the word of the Lord. From a pagan captain. Pirate. Arise.
[00:22:58] What's going on there? The word of the Lord is tracking him down.
[00:23:03] The word of the Lord is haunting him even in his deadness, even in his sleep. And he says, what do you mean, sleeper? Arise. He cannot escape the purposes of the Lord. And he says, call out to your God again. It's a reminder of who he is. He is the prophet of the Lord. Get up and do what your God has called you to do. At least call out to him. Perhaps the God will give thought to us that we may not perish.
[00:23:35] We see a picture of Israel here.
[00:23:38] They are to be a light to the nation. God has blessed them so that they would bless the nations. If they are going to be asleep and dead in their sin, they will never fulfill that purpose.
[00:23:48] It's the same thing that goes on in your life.
[00:23:51] If you're going to walk around in rebellion and be so dead to your sin, you're not going to be the witness that God has called you to be. And here even the pagans rebuke the witness of God. But notice verse seven.
[00:24:06] And then they said to one another, come, let us cast lots that we may know on whose account this evil has come. This is the way pagans do things. And this is where Jonah finds himself in paganism.
[00:24:19] And they cast lots. And the lot fell on Jonah. And the providence and sovereignty of God. God uses the pagan lots to uncover his prophet.
[00:24:31] And they realize this is your fault.
[00:24:35] And in verse eight, they said to him, tell us on whose account this evil has come on us.
[00:24:40] What is your occupation?
[00:24:42] What do you do for a living?
[00:24:47] The prophet of the Lord.
[00:24:50] And where do you come from?
[00:24:52] What is your country?
[00:24:55] And of what people are you? And he said to them, I am a Hebrew. And. And I fear the Lord, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and dry land. Now that's just lip service.
[00:25:06] Jonah is just.
[00:25:09] He's just saying, yeah, I'm a Christian, I go to church.
[00:25:13] It means nothing in this moment.
[00:25:16] You want to know who I am?
[00:25:19] I'm a Hebrew. And yeah, yeah, yeah. I fear the Lord God of Heaven, who made the sea and dry land.
[00:25:25] No big deal to him. But notice the men were exceedingly afraid. Again, the exaggeration of language.
[00:25:33] They're scared of the storm now. They're really scared.
[00:25:38] It just keeps upping and upping their fear.
[00:25:42] And they said to him, what is this you have done?
[00:25:47] You are a Hebrew and you say you fear the Lord.
[00:25:51] Hold on.
[00:25:53] Your God is the one who controls the wind and waves. And you're asleep.
[00:26:00] And by the way, you've rebelled against him.
[00:26:05] No doubt this is your fault.
[00:26:08] No doubt. We are here because of you. What have you done?
[00:26:14] Because notice they found out. They knew. Jonah probably told them he is fleeing from the presence of the Lord. They notice.
[00:26:21] I know it's sin, but he's not even making excuses here. This storm has come upon us because of my rebellion. Jonah described us what your rebellion is like.
[00:26:34] Disobeying God and fleeing his presence, not doing what he has called me to do.
[00:26:41] And here's the reality, Christian. The world sees your hypocrisy.
[00:26:45] They see it.
[00:26:48] You declare I am a Christian.
[00:26:52] You declare I believe Jesus is King of kings.
[00:26:57] And sometimes the unbelieving world is looking at you, saying, if you really believe that, you should probably be scared.
[00:27:05] The way that you live, the things that you say and do, that they see our hypocrisy. Do you really believe that?
[00:27:15] Not the way you talk, not the way you act.
[00:27:18] And then why Are you running from his will? Why are you directly disobeying what even they would know is the word of God?
[00:27:26] One of the things we see here again is Jonah is so committed to himself, self worship, idolatry, that he forgets about others on the boat.
[00:27:38] He's so delusional, he doesn't care.
[00:27:41] He doesn't care that he's going to take down these pagan prophets.
[00:27:46] And this is the way we are so often in our own sin. We don't care who it affects.
[00:27:53] In some sense, innocent pagan prophets and Jonah has brought his sin onto their boat and he is going to take them down.
[00:28:03] We can be so delusional. We don't care who our sin affects.
[00:28:08] We can be so delusional worshiping the idol of ourselves, thinking we are in control of things at times. And we will say, oh, this isn't going to affect my wife and kids.
[00:28:22] Why would it? I'm in control of this.
[00:28:25] This is between me and God.
[00:28:27] Who else could this affect?
[00:28:30] My sin is my business. Who's it going to hurt? Because we think we're in control so often we should just look around at the fear, misery and insecurity in our life and say, why are people around me so miserable?
[00:28:46] Why are people around me so fearful?
[00:28:50] Oh, the lot falls on me because I have convinced myself that my sin is my business and doesn't affect anyone else.
[00:28:58] And there are other people on the boat.
[00:29:01] There are people in your home, in your workplace, in your church, in your community. And they're asking the question, are we going to sink with this guy?
[00:29:10] Are we going down too, as you ruin your family?
[00:29:15] The kids hear the thunder.
[00:29:18] Look into their eyes.
[00:29:20] I hate this. When I'm talking to people about marriage and divorce and they say our kids will be fine, that is a lie from the pit of hell.
[00:29:32] And you are delusional in saying that.
[00:29:37] Let's carry this out five and ten years from now and let me tell you what your kid's life will be like.
[00:29:43] But I want to do what I want to do.
[00:29:48] I am the idol that I worship and so I don't really care.
[00:29:55] And I will convince myself that no one else should be scared of my sin.
[00:30:01] That's not what's going on on this boat.
[00:30:04] Notice Next we see God's purposes despite our sin.
[00:30:08] Verse 11. Then they said to him, what shall we do that the sea may quiet down for us?
[00:30:14] You prophet of God. Oh, you're clergy.
[00:30:20] You know about these things, how to appease God.
[00:30:24] You're a religious guy. You're a pastor, you tell us how to get out of this situation.
[00:30:32] Notice again, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
[00:30:37] Again, just exaggerations.
[00:30:40] Not exaggerations. As if it wasn't true exaggerations to describe what is going on.
[00:30:46] As the scene unfolds, the storm is not being quiet.
[00:30:50] God is not giving up.
[00:30:53] As the prophet of God stands before these pagan pirates on this boat, God begins to quake the boat even more.
[00:31:04] Tell us how to appease this God. Hurry up, quick. Tell us.
[00:31:10] And notice the solution.
[00:31:12] Pick me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will quiet down for you.
[00:31:18] For I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.
[00:31:25] I am the reason this is happening.
[00:31:29] Me.
[00:31:31] Now, we often think, oh, Jonah's heart is softening here.
[00:31:37] Now he begins to feel sorry for the sailors.
[00:31:42] Throw me into the sea. How sacrificial.
[00:31:46] No, Jonah is saying to these pagans, I still don't want to obey God.
[00:31:54] I will walk the plank.
[00:31:56] Kill me.
[00:31:58] Notice his rebellion.
[00:32:00] Notice his rebellion before the unbelievers.
[00:32:03] I still will not obey God.
[00:32:08] But notice verse 13.
[00:32:10] Nevertheless, the men rode hard to get back to dry land.
[00:32:15] Now, what's going on here? The pagans look at the prophet and go, throw you into the sea. Kill you. We know that ain't right.
[00:32:25] Not doing that.
[00:32:27] We got to get back to dry land.
[00:32:30] And the pagans begin to show Jonah the mercy that he refused Nineveh.
[00:32:36] They began to show him grace and mercy. But we see here, the sea grew more and more tempestuous again. It just heightens and heightens and heightens. And God is saying to the prophet, and God is saying to the sailors, you're not going to get away from me.
[00:32:55] Nothing will quell the storm but justice for Jonah's sin.
[00:33:01] And that's what we see in verse 14.
[00:33:03] Then they called out to the Lord. They're still unsure about what they're about to do, but they called out to the Lord.
[00:33:11] And if you're an Israelite and you're reading the book of Jonah, you stop right there and you go, what in the world?
[00:33:21] Realize that these pagans, they're not even. Where they're from is not even described.
[00:33:28] So you could divide the map up and you got people groups here, people groups there. And you got, this group worships this God. This group worships this God. The pagan pirates aren't even identified. So one of the points is they are beyond the ends of the earth.
[00:33:47] They don't have a specific religion.
[00:33:50] And here they are calling out to the Lord, the promise keeping God of Israel.
[00:33:56] They're not allowed to do this. It's shocking. And notice what they say. O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life and lay not on us innocent blood.
[00:34:08] We got to be sure. This is a prophet of God. This is one of your chosen people. We're not just going to throw him haphazardly into into the fury of the storm.
[00:34:19] But they've come to realize something.
[00:34:23] It's not Jonah who's in control. They're not in control.
[00:34:27] For you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.
[00:34:32] They are in a place of helplessness.
[00:34:37] This is all we got but to do what you through your prophet, your rebellious prophet is telling us to do.
[00:34:46] All we got is to obey you.
[00:34:49] Because you're the one who controls the wind and the wave and the sea and the uncontrollable.
[00:34:54] You do as you please and we're obeying you. What Jonah should have done in the beginning. Everything the sailors are doing is to be a rebuke to Jonah and Israel.
[00:35:05] Pagans are doing what Israel is to do in worship and obedience.
[00:35:11] In verse 15 they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea. And the sea ceased from raging. Verse 15 is significant.
[00:35:19] We've seen this war between God and Jonah. We've seen God use the weapon of the sea against Jonah. And here the war is finally over. The battle at sea is finally over.
[00:35:37] When Jonah is hurled as a weapon into the raging sea, the war is over.
[00:35:44] This word ceased here. It's this. It comes from the word that we get, Sabbath, which means rest.
[00:35:52] There's no rest until there is justice for Jonah's sin.
[00:35:59] And the final blow in this battle is that Jonah is given as a substitute for. For the pagan sin. And it's the same imagery that we get of the scapegoat in Israel's sacrificial system.
[00:36:12] The lot fell on Jonah. He is the scapegoat for the people's sin.
[00:36:19] He pays for. It's his only sin. But he is the substitute before God.
[00:36:25] And notice what it causes among the pirates.
[00:36:28] They fear the Lord exceedingly. Again, throughout. It just keeps ramping up, ramping up. They're scared. They're scared. They fear the.
[00:36:36] They fear for their lives.
[00:36:39] They fear the Lord.
[00:36:41] And now they've seen justice for Jonah's sin. This is what God demands. Obedience. And this is justice. And they fear the Lord exceedingly.
[00:36:51] They can't fear the Lord anymore. Here again, it's a rebuke to Israel. You need to fear the Lord.
[00:36:59] These pagans fear the Lord in the way that you should fear the Lord and then notice what they do. They, because they fear the Lord, they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
[00:37:12] These are words of Israel's worship.
[00:37:15] If you fear the Lord, he owns you, and so you sacrifice to him.
[00:37:24] And here we see the First Ministry cruise ship.
[00:37:29] There's a worship service on the boat.
[00:37:33] And they are offering to the Lord God of Heaven out in the middle of nowhere, a sacrifice that says, we're yours, pagans.
[00:37:43] We belong to you.
[00:37:46] All these other gods, they don't help us.
[00:37:49] They can't do anything about the sea, the uncontrollable.
[00:37:54] You're high and lifted up above all gods, and so now we belong to you. And they probably put a cross on their ship from now on.
[00:38:04] It's a joke.
[00:38:08] They made vows to the Lord. They give their life over to the Lord.
[00:38:12] And the first point we see here is the Lord does as he pleases.
[00:38:19] You won't worship God until you really believe that.
[00:38:25] And there's freedom in that.
[00:38:29] The Lord does as he pleases.
[00:38:34] And when he calls you to do something, you should do as he pleases.
[00:38:41] Why would you fight against a sovereign God who controls the wind and the waves and the uncontrollable and every molecule? Why would you say no to Him?
[00:38:51] That's suicidal.
[00:38:53] That makes no sense.
[00:38:55] But there's a great rebuke for Israel here.
[00:38:59] Pagans worship the way that you should worship.
[00:39:02] And one of the points of the first chapter is, if Jonah had feared the Lord and worshiped the Lord the way these pagans do, he would obey the Lord if his heart had been had been set apart to the holiness of God. And God is sovereign and he is king when God spoke to him. And if he had been enamored by God in that way, in worship, he would have headed straight to Nineveh.
[00:39:28] But he doesn't worship the way these pagans do. And he doesn't fear the Lord the way these pagans do. And this is why God has pushed him out to sea, to invoke such fear in his heart.
[00:39:39] The one who controls the uncontrollable is worthy of worship. And if you worship him, you will obey him.
[00:39:46] It's the same thing Jesus was trying to teach his disciples.
[00:39:49] We read in the Gospels. It's in all four gospels of this story of Jesus taking his disciples out to sea.
[00:39:58] And as he is on the boat with his disciples, he goes down to take a nap.
[00:40:06] And what happens it is the same exact language of the book of Jonah.
[00:40:11] There is a mighty wind. There is storms.
[00:40:17] And he begins to mount and mount until the boat is about to break.
[00:40:22] And Jesus on the boat with these seasoned sailors.
[00:40:27] They begin to fear. And they rush in to wake him up.
[00:40:35] And they still unclear about all of the things that he says. King of Kings, Lord of Lords.
[00:40:42] But maybe he can control the uncontrollable.
[00:40:49] And Jesus steps out on the boat, gathering his balance, and speaks these words, peace, be still.
[00:41:01] And the uncontrollable is controlled by the sovereign King.
[00:41:07] And what do the disciples do?
[00:41:10] They are in awe of him.
[00:41:13] Literally, they are worshiping him the way these pagans do.
[00:41:17] Why?
[00:41:18] Because he has declared to them, I am the Lord of the storm.
[00:41:24] And as you read the Book of Jonah and you see this storm, I am the one who controls it.
[00:41:31] I am the one who is behind the winds and the waves. And what is Jesus telling us there? He is the one who deserves our worship.
[00:41:40] We are to take ourselves off of the pedestal and realize that Jesus owns it. He owns it all.
[00:41:48] And he controls the uncontrollable. And we are to worship Him. That is what he demands. Here. This trembling before who he is.
[00:41:57] His disciples, even though they were safe, they still were scared. Peter says, I can't be in your presence because of the power you have. I fall short of your glory. I act like I'm God, but I'm not.
[00:42:13] You are the one who controls all things.
[00:42:18] And he calls his disciples to worship.
[00:42:21] Just like these pagans move in to worship.
[00:42:26] And maybe you're here today and you can't imagine where you are right now as being a place of worship.
[00:42:33] We look at this story, pagan pirates out in the middle of the sea. None of them woke up that morning and says, I need to get ready for church.
[00:42:43] They didn't know their day would end in a worship service.
[00:42:47] This was unimaginable.
[00:42:49] And you're in moments of your life right now where you're like, worship.
[00:42:54] The kids are out of control. The bills seem to be out of control.
[00:42:59] Your relationships seem to be out of control. Your sin seems to be out of control.
[00:43:04] There are storms that you are bringing up on your life because you are in rebellion to God. Everything seems out of control. And you're saying this should be a place of worship. This is exactly where God has you to worship because he's proving to you you're not in control.
[00:43:23] You're trying to grasp control of all these things in your life. You're trying to toss cargo over Trying to minimalize your life. You're trying to row faster. And you're not going to find peace until you worship.
[00:43:38] That's what he's calling you to do in a place you never imagined.
[00:43:43] Your life is falling apart.
[00:43:46] If you mapped it out six months ago, you would have never said, I'm going to be in this spot, on this boat, in this storm right now.
[00:43:55] Why, God, am I here?
[00:43:58] So realize I am Lord of the storm and worship me.
[00:44:03] Declare my worth.
[00:44:06] But notice they're able to worship because they have peace through the substitute.
[00:44:13] The one who controls the uncontrollable has given peace for you to worship even in the storm.
[00:44:20] The Lord of the sea, Jesus, the one who controls the wind and the waves, the one who we should be in awe of.
[00:44:27] He is the one who was drowned, baptized, the wrath of God for your sin.
[00:44:36] The one who controls the wind and the waves was destroyed by the wind and the waves of your sin.
[00:44:43] He's the scapegoat.
[00:44:45] One greater than Jonah, one whose blood is innocent, one who we plead today, cover me in your blood.
[00:44:54] And he stands on the other side of the sea of death and hell, and he declares to you today, peace be still.
[00:45:02] And so you're thinking, in this situation, in my life, how in the world could I worship?
[00:45:09] Well, he's in control.
[00:45:12] He's also died to give me peace. In this moment, the things that I think are going to bring me peace will not bring me peace.
[00:45:20] If I can just get the raise, if I can just get to the vacation, if the kids can just get to this stage in life, if I could just get here, I would have peace. And it never comes.
[00:45:30] It never comes.
[00:45:32] Not the peace that you want, not eternal peace in the temporary, but in all of those stages, in all of those storms and all of that chaos and destruction that you might have to endure. You have the power to worship because of the cross, because the waves and winds of your sin, the waves and winds of hell, have been quelled through the substitute who is Christ.
[00:46:02] You see, this scene really is unimaginable.
[00:46:05] Pagan pirates holding a worship service.
[00:46:09] It's just as unimaginable that you, a pagan who so often worships yourself and rebels against God, would be invited into this peace through the cross to worship. That is unimagined. That's the point of Jonah.
[00:46:26] Jonah is actually a book about worship.
[00:46:30] He's not just calling you to obey. He's calling you to start with worship. And you do that through the cross. And it begins by being blown away.
[00:46:40] That you a pagan, a Gentile God would send his son to die for you and make you a friend who was once an enemy.
[00:46:52] You see, it's not just water that is mysterious and powerful, breathtaking and uncontrollable.
[00:46:59] And that can ruin and even change your life.
[00:47:04] Even more so is the Lord God.
[00:47:07] And that's good news for self righteous idolaters like Jonah, like me and you.
