Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction: My dad and I have a lot of things in common and one of those is that we are both dog lovers!

The very first memories I have are of two dogs we owned when we lived in an old farmhouse in North Carolina.

I was just a little boy, but I remember our Chihuahua named Queenie and our black lab named Sam.

Queenie met a poodle and as a result had a couple of puppies, one of which we kept.

Someone gave her the name Fifi and she lived for well over 12 years.

At some point we got another outdoor dog named Tibby, who was my dad’s best friend.

When Michelle and I got married we had various dogs on and off through the years, but one of my favorites was Oscar.

Oscar was a black and tan, long haired dachshund.

Oscar and I became great friends.

Unfortunately Oscar was a little stubborn and often when we would let him outside to do his business he would wander.

I recall one time, when we were living in the country he would find his way into the cow pasture across the street.

Whenever he knew he was caught he would get as low to the ground as he possibly could and try to hide in the grass or behind a bush.

Yes, Oscar was my buddy and he could play dead better than any dog we’ve ever had.

One afternoon we were moving some furniture in and out of our house and we had propped the door open.

At some point, when we weren’t looking Oscar snuck out.

Later that afternoon we realized he was missing and looked EVERYWHERE!

Then it dawned on me that maybe he snuck out when we weren’t looking.

We went outside and called and called his name to no avail.

Then, out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw something lying by the road.

In my heart I knew it was him, but I had to go and check to make sure.

I scooped up his lifeless body, and amid the cries and screams of heartbroken children I buried him in our backyard.

Oscar paid a high price for his disobedience.

He didn’t understand the rules and boundaries I had set for him were for his own good.

He didn’t comprehend that the boundaries I had put in place were to protect him, not to keep him from having fun.

If that is true for a doggy and his owner, how much more is it true for us and a loving, caring, generous God who knows what is best for His creation and His children and gives us instructions accordingly?

He gives us boundaries in our lives, not to destroy us, or to rob us of joy, but rather to protect us because HE knows what is lurking on the other side of the fence.

He is aware of the scars that will come as a result of our rebellion.

He also knew that Jonah needed Nineveh as much as Nineveh needed Jonah.

But unfortunately Jonah chose to run from the center of God’s will and plan for his life and run in the opposite direction. . .

Scripture Introduction: Last week, near the end of my message I shared this quote with you:

You may find your ship, and it may sail right on time.

But if you are en route to Tarshish when God has called you to Nineveh, I want you to know something: There’s a storm brewing on the horizon.

And before long you’ll go overboard.

Why?

Because God loves you, and He’s not going to allow His child to go astray without pursuing you.

(Laurie, p. 29)

This is exactly where we find Jonah today.

He is in a boat headed to Tarshish to try to get away from God and God’s will for his life and there is a storm brewing.

God doesn’t just strike Jonah dead or let him get hit by a stray chariot.

Instead, God in his mercy love and grace SENDS A STORM into Jonah’s life.

You know we all have storms in our lives.

Some storms are of our own making, like Jonah’s was, and some storms aren’t, but one thing is for sure...

Storms Are Sure to Come

Notice vv.

4-5 . . .

Explanation

Before anyone misunderstands this statement, I want to say this again.

I want it to be crystal clear that storms come to EVERYONE’s life regardless of whether or not they are running from God.

As a matter of fact storms come to the lives of people who know Christ and to people who don’t know Christ.

Storms come to those who are in the center of God’s will and to those who are running from God’s will, as Jonah was.

There are different types of storms and I want to explore two with you today.

The first type of storm we will look at is the type of storm Jonah was experiencing.

It is what I like to call a “correcting storm.”

Correcting Storms

God does not just overlook rebellion in the lives of His children.

The Lord can use a storm to wreak havoc and wreck our plans when we rebel against Him.

Greg Laurie says this about a correcting storm:

“A correcting storm is one we usually bring upon ourselves.

We reap what we sow, experiencing the consequences of our own actions…This was a storm intended to get Jonah’s attention.

As a child of God, Jonah was experiencing God’s hand of discipline, or chastening.

It was a reminder to Jonah that the Lord loved him and still wanted to use him…Because Jonah was God’s loved child, he was disciplined.

The Lord sent him into a great storm and crisis to remind him that he was loved.

God was saying to him, ‘I’m not finished with you yet, Jonah.’”

(Laurie, p. 36, 38)

The other type of storm I want to briefly mention is what I like to call a “perfecting storm”:

Perfecting Storms

This type of storm came into Joseph’s life.

He was betrayed and sold into slavery by his brothers.

He was falsely accused of rape and wrongly imprisoned.

Over and over and over again he faced storms.

However, “God was in the midst of refining Joseph’s character, molding him into the man He wanted him to be…Joseph, the son of a sheep rancher, would become the second most powerful man in all of the world…

Sometimes God places us right in the middle of one of those perfecting storms.

God uses these storms to stretch, deepen, and refine our character.

While there may be a few “storms” we could talk about, today we will just focus on these two.

Notice what God’s Word has to say about these storms:

Illustration

for instance talks about God’s “correcting storms.”

Did you hear that verse.

Just let that sink in for just a moment.

God is going to lovingly correct and discipline His children!

also talks about God’s “correcting storm”

God’s children are not going to live in rebellion and disobedience without grabbing the attention of a loving Heavenly Father who cares about them, their wellbeing, their testimony and their spiritual growth and let them continue to live that way and do nothing about it.

He is going to DISCIPLINE His children because He loves His children.

He’s going to chastise those who belong to Him! Hebrews makes it perfectly clear . . .

if YOU can live in rebellion and disobedience without God’s discipline and chastisement, it is a CLEAR indication YOU don’t belong to Him!

I do want to say another word about God’s “perfecting storms.”

Because some of you are going through a perfecting storm right now.

You are not going to through discipline and chastisement because you have done something wrong, but rather you are going through difficulties and struggles and problems because God may be preparing you, or shaping you, or developing you, or purifying you.

I mentioned Joseph earlier.

God used some difficult storms in Joseph’s life, but in the end, there was a beautiful rainbow that appeared on the horizon and Joseph understood that the storm his brothers meant for evil, was actually a storm that God meant for good.

Now let’s turn to the New Testament and see how Jesus used storms in the lives of the disciples.

On two particular occasions Jesus allowed them to find themselves right in the middle of a violent, raging storm, while they were in a boat!

Some of these disciples were experienced fishermen who had spent their lives on boats and had faced many storms, and even they were afraid for their lives!

Why on earth would Jesus allow the disciples to find themselves in the middle of a storm?

Why didn’t He warn them and tell them to wait.

Why did He allow them to face the storm?

These storms were not intended to correct, but rather to perfect them.

Note these two occasions:

:

:

Application

It is vitally important to understand that God allows “storms” to come into our lives for a variety of reasons.

Some people assume, like Job’s friends, that storms come because of disobedience and some assume that storms because of a lack of faith.