Man Overboard!
Notes
Transcript
Ships and Things
Ships and Things
Last week, we left our young hero, Jonah on the deck of a ship headed toward Tarshish. The ship was in danger of sinking because of a great wind God hurled against the sea. Jonah, a prophet of the Lord, rebelled against God’s instructions to go to Nineveh and preach against their sin. Instead, he boarded a ship, headed toward Tarshish, the opposite direction, to “flee from the presence of the Lord.”
On his journey, Jonah learned that there is no place where God isn’t. God was in Jerusalem, where Jonah probably lived, God was in Nineveh, where God told Jonah to go, and God is on a ship on the way to Tarshish, where Jonah wasn’t supposed to be. I wonder if Jonah remembered what the Psalmist wrote, as he shivered in the storm: Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
Let’s get this picture solidly in our minds. “Where can I go from Your Spirit”. David wasn’t telling us here that he was trying to escape from God’s presence, but rather that there is no place in this whole universe where God’s spirit is not felt. It doesn't matter whether we are heaven or hell which is the grave, He sees and knows. Have you ever felt his presence as the sun comes up over the horizon? Where ever we go, His strong right arm is there to lead, guide and protect. What a word picture this presents. We should begin every morning with these thoughts on our minds.
Well, it is very comforting to me and I hope for you to know that God is everywhere, but it wasn’t to Jonah. He was running from God and he hoped he could find a place where God wasn’t. Let’s rejoin the story this morning
10 The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. 11 And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?” 12 “Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.” 13 Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.” 15 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! 16 The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.
I like the last verse there in the NLT where it say the sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power.
Obviously, Jonah had his share of character flaws, but you have to admire his honesty. He is honest with God, honest with the sailors, honest with the Ninevehites, and honest with his readers. Have you stopped to consider that this book is can be considered and autobiography? Jonah is honest enough with us that he tells his story, “warts and all.” Do you know where that expression, “warts and all” came from?
In the mid seventeenth century, a painter “touched up” a portrait he was doing of Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England. The artist painted Lord Cromwell in a flattering way, omitting his unsightly warts. Cromwell insisted that the artist repaint the portrait “warts and all.”
Honest but not Helpful One of Jonah’s warts is obvious in the opening verses of this passage. Though Jonah is honest with the sailors, he was not particularly helpful. The sailors asked, ‘What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?‘Jonah responded in verse 12 by saying, And he said to them,
‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.‘
Have you ever considered what might have been going on here? If Jonah knew that he was the cause of the problem and that the solution was for him to get off the boat, why didn’t he just jump into the water himself? Was he trying to take the ship down with him? Or was he trying to get the sailors on the ship to join him in his struggle against God?
That’s what happened!
13 Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it.
Like a B-grade movie, the men on the ship rowed “desperately” trying to get the ship to shore so Jonah wouldn’t be lost. Why? I mean, what did Jonah mean to these men? He was a stranger that had brought trouble to their ship and caused them to lose their payload. Why would they fight to help a man that brought them bad luck? You know how people can be. We always think that we can accomplish things through our own strengths and abilities. So they tired it.
While we’re asking questions here, Why didn’t Jonah, the prophet of God, have the decency not to drag other people down in his rebellion? These pagans are showing more compassion than God’s prophet.
The truth is, even people who make poor choices have their moments of kindness and clarity. There is an inborn response within us that will reach out to someone in trouble even if we don’t really like them. Unless Satan has complete control of someone, that urge to help will come out in a persons response to someone in need. Thinks of 9/11 and how the prejudice of people evaporated in a common need and goal.
Fighting for Jonah, showed compassion, but fighting against God demonstrated a lack of wisdom. Why would they risk God’s anger against them to help His errant prophet?
Perhaps you might say, they were atheist and didn’t believe in God at all, but if you do, I’d remind you that the captain of the ship woke Jonah so he would pray to his God!
Pagans don’t think twice about fighting with God, in fact it comes quite natural to them. But what about the prophet of God? Shouldn’t it be unnatural for a believer to pull against God? Actually, no!
Even believers have times when they are in rebellion with God. Paul said it best in Romans 7:15–18,
15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. 18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t.
I don’t think Paul was trying to make excuses for his behavior in this text. Some of you may remember a guy named Flip Wilson declaring, “the Devil made me do it.” In a moment of unusual candor, Paul says what we all know to be true, the desire to sin and rebel against God doesn’t end when we come to faith in Christ. Temptation continues, and all of us sin. As righteous as Paul was, he called himself the “chief of sinners” in 1 Timothy 1:15.
The High Cost of Sin As Jonah learned, the inevitability of our sin does not excuse it. I wonder what Jonah was thinking as he watched his new “friends” try to out row God’s wind? How did he feel when he saw other people suffering for his sin?
That’s the way it always is, you know. Others suffer when God’s people sin. They suffer when we fail to do good. We don’t serve as God calls us, and people suffer when ministry isn’t done. We don’t witness at every opportunity, and someone’s eternity is jeopardized. We don’t tithe, and ministries are cancelled or missionaries have to do without what they need. Don’t get me wrong I’m not pointing my fingers at anyone. But it is a scary thought. If we pass up a chance to help out in someway, have we stopped someone being able to see God work in their lives?
And of course, people also suffer when we do evil. Jonah rebels against God and innocent people lose their cargo and fear the safety of their ship because of Jonah’s sin.
As it usually happens when we have failed, we turn to God. The sailors were no different. Even though they had never known Him before, they came to the same realization that we must all come to at some point in our lives. They acknowledged God’s control in this situation.
14 Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”
The realization that there god’s were useless, made them cry out to Jehovah.
God’s Grace to Exhausted Sailors
15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.
Finally, exhausted by the struggle, they laid their oars down and picked the prophet up and threw him overboard. As the sea received the runaway prophet, the storm calmed and the men who were battling against God came to fear Him and offer sacrifices to Him.
What changed them? From the Holy Spirit induce storm to dead calm. If you saw this, would it have an effect on you? It worked on sea hardened sailors. It also work on fisherman. Remember?
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. 23 As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. 25 Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?” The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!”
Psalm 111:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom …” These sailors had bright days waiting for them. They may of lost their cargo, but they found the Lord!
Things don’t look so bright for Jonah, our young hero. As his shipmates are praising the Lord, he is sinking deeper and deeper into his destiny. What will happen to Jonah? Has God turned His back on his wayward prophet? You’ll have to come back next week to find out.
Last week, Jonah learned that he couldn’t outrun God, this week he discovered that even with the help of others, he can’t out row Him either. Jonah was caught up in a battle of the wills, and discovered this his was weak, but God’s is Sovereign.
What about you? Do you find yourself struggling against God’s will for your life? Are other people suffering because of your sin? Are you ready to turn back to God, or will you wait for the sailors to come and throw you overboard?