Pastor Paul Page March 2021 Jonah

 Even strong who have known God for a long time have told God no.

 Jonah 1 ¹Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,² Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.³ But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.⁴ But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.⁵ Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.⁶ So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.⁷ And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.⁸ Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?⁹ And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.¹⁰ Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him. Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.¹¹ Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.¹² And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.¹³ Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.¹⁴ Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.¹⁵ So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.¹⁶ Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.¹⁷ Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

 

We see Jonah being a witness even though he was being disobedient. He told the men who his God was, and as soon as he realized he was the cause of the storm he told them to throw him overboard, even though they didn’t want to. When the storm calmed they praised Jonah’s God.

 

Life gets rough when we tell God no. God called Jonah to do something. God calls all men to salvation 2 Peter 3:9 ⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He wants us all to spend eternity with Him.                                                                       

 

God calls all humanity to come to Him, and He calls all Christians (those who already have a personal relationship with Him) to serve Him.

 

Micah 6:8⁸ He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

 

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

 

We need to walk humbly with Him, to lay down our lives to Him. If we’re Christians, we should not be living like this world, but in God’s word. 1 John 2:15¹⁵ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

 

He saved us through grace, and only grace, but we show our love and obedience to Him through good works AFTER salvation. We go to God FIRST. Then we find a Bible believing, God fearing, faithful church family to support us. Ephesians 2:8-10⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

 

Jonah’s hate for the Ninevites was so great that it caused Him to sin against God. Sin separates us from God. Jonah ran from God – he kept going down – when you get into sin it is always a downward spiral. You just keep spinning down. Jonah 1:3³ But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

 

But he couldn’t run from God, and we can’t run from God, we can’t hide from God. Nothing is hidden from His sight. Hebrews 4:13¹³ Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

 

Psalm 139:1-12 ¹O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.² Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.³ Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.⁴ For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.⁵ Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.⁷ Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?⁸ If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.⁹ If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

¹⁰ Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.¹¹ If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.¹² Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

 

We can’t hide from God, He is everywhere and sees everything. We need to listen to what He tells us. Because of Jonas’s sin, the other people on the ship were in danger. Our sin affects the people around us and can put them in danger physically as well as spiritually. Jonah was down as far as he could go – God will let you go as far as you can go until you are ready to own your sin and cry out to Him. It’s easy to get off track – we need to seek God. God will bring us back to Him, it’s up to us how hard the journey is.

 Jonah 2 ² Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly,² And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.³ For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.⁴ Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.⁵ The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.⁶ I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.⁷ When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.⁸ They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.⁹ But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.¹⁰ And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

I Ran My Car Into God Today by Roshni D'Souza

I ran my car into God today;
I thought I had the right of way.
He says He’s suing after all;
Can you believe the Almighty gall.
“What happened to your spiel on Love? ”
“Not right now, Ms. Gilles Villeneuve!
I’ve been trying to get your whole attention;
I’m tired of your so-called good intention! ”
But I have things to do, a schedule to keep;
That Sunday check, it is not cheap!
Clients, family, even a yard,
And a shoddy attempt to be a bard.
But He tells me He’s feeling quite neglected;
Always the last one to be selected.
So I’m thinking “a little TLC”
And, just maybe, I could go scott-free.
I suggest coffee in a couple of days.
“I’m giving up caffeine! ”, so He says.
“So, what are my options? ” I almost yell.
“I thought you’d never ask to tell.
Take Me with you. I’ll ride along! ”
“A ride along? Now that's just wrong!
Will You pick the radio stations too? ”
“Is that too much to ask of you? ”
I threatened I would write about this…
“Go ahead! Won’t be your first hit-and-miss! ”
“Alright! Alright! Just come along,
But don’t say much and don’t sing that song! ”
So in order to prevent litigation,
I’m taking Him along…even on vacation!

 

Roshni D'Souza