My take on todays sermon: JONAH

Jonah 1:1-3 "Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 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."

Right from the very start of Jeff’s teaching, we hear about Jonah and how he is disobedient. God comes to Him with a command to obey Him. Like a lot of us, Jonah totally relies on his own understanding, and not God's and decides to go his own way…not too smart. (And I will be honest and say, even though I knew the “kids’ story” of Jonah, I did NOT remember WHY he was in there till now!)

Jonah 1:2 "But Jonah rose up to flee…from the presence of the LORD…" God is everywhere. You can’t outrun him, so good luck with that one! Have you ever 'run from God'? It can't be done, but most of us have tried. You can make your own path, but God is always there.

Another thing that Jonah missed is God is omniscient; He knows everything. He knew that Jonah was going to get into the boat. So…..along comes a storm, just to prove how mighty he can be. Jonah 1:4 "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." That's what you get, Jonah. For being disobedient you have endangered not only your life, but also the lives of everyone on that ship. Not too smart, huh. But God isn't mean or uncaring; He's a god of love. So, God makes a way for the men on the ship to be spared and to glorify Himself. Jonah 1:15, 16 "So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the LORD (ask Jeff what an all caps LORD means) exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows." It's pretty awesome that the Lord can use our disobedience to further His kingdom. He can use us in spite of ourselves, thank goodness!

Well, the rest of the story is pretty well known: Jonah gets swallowed by a big ol’ fish and is in the fish for 3 days and nights, finally being vomited (Jeff’s favorite part) up on the beach near Nineveh, the very place he didn't want to go. Jonah preaches to Nineveh and they repent of their sin, and God saves them. (Then he has to put Jonah in his place AGAIN because of the shade tree. I am not getting into that part, but challenge you to dig deeper and read that part yourself, because it is a BIG part of it all) God will put you where He wants you, so stop fighting it. Quit being disobedient, because it's a complete waste of time and you'll only end up hurting yourself. God will use everything for His honor and glory, no matter what you do. So moral of the story, GIVE IN. TO GOD. NO ONE ELSE. No one knows how many chances he will give you.......

Have you lived a life of disobedience to God? Have you done your own thing even though you know that God wants something else for your life? Look at your life for a minute. Are there things that happened that could have been avoided if you did what God wanted you to do?

God will often ask you to do things you don’t want to do. What are some
things that God asks us to do, in the Bible, that seem unreasonable or difficult
to obey? Is there something God asked you to do that you didn’t want to do, but you did. What was the result? Who or what is currently the Nineveh in your life?
God may send a storm to grab your attention. What kind of storms has
God used in the past to get your attention? What did your storm
show you? How long did it take for you to have a change of heart? Are you as stubborn as Jonah was?
Your disobedience can cost others, not just you…..
Jonah’s worst nightmare was exactly what he needed. What was God’s
purpose in sending the storm and the whale? In the past, how has God
used your worst circumstances to turn your life around? What nightmare are
you currently going through and how can Jonah’s story help you?
What sort of example are you? Do you claim to worship and follow God, yet act in disobedience to God's commands? When people look at you, do they see someone who says one thing, but does another? This is what Jonah was like, in my opinion. He was a prophet of God, but when God told him to go to Nineveh with a message for the people, Jonah disobeyed and ran away from God's command.
Now take that sentence and change two words.
…..”but when God told ME to go to MONTICELLO with a message for the people….”
Hmmm……..would the next sentence be I disobeyed and ran away from God’s command?