And God, the great I AM, provided a great…
Review: a small sampling of great-ness…
· Grace to transform our hearts and our Heart’s condition - being sent AS Jesus was sent, may go, AS, as Jesus went - because it is in and through that He (has chosen) to still go! (Why He is so committed tot the transformation of our hearts and minds - loves and lives - John 17:15-19; Eph 2:8-10;hil 1:6; 2:12-16)
· God speaks to us in great ways - according to who each of us is by His Holy Spirit (paraclete) - that is how He has purposely made us for His pleasure and glory and His will in and through us in accordance with who we are, our gifts, talents, according to our making and calling or assignment - by faith or God’s divine persuasion, in accordance with our making - God is not surprised
God’s story of Jonah
A great opportunity to speak to a great city with a great message from a great God
A great wind
A great (and violent) storm
Our privileges are given to us according to our making to accomplish our great calling
GREAT = God’s GREATNESS in and over everything
Do we see God’s greatness in and over everything (Phil 2:5-11; Col 1:15-20; Heb 1)
Do we see His mercy that leaves us and leads us to His saving grace? (Mat 5:1-12; Rom 1-6)
Could it be… that Jonah failed to recognize, appreciate, and be grateful for, God’s mercy… and, thus, squandered his privileges, We see that Jonah is a real-life parable – a place and time where God reveals and reminds us of His great mercy…
And God provided a great fish…
God IS great, in fact, greater, that IS the theme of Jonah 1
More than anything, this story is about the great-ness of God; the sovereignty of God – His good and great ruling over all He has created and made; and maybe most profoundly - the great mercy of God, and the great intentions of God… and what it is God’s great-ness accomplishes (Luke 4:36; 8:25; 9:37-43)
God’s great love expressed…
God’s greatness is perhaps best displayed in His great mercy, expressed in His great patience, tolerance, and kindness
Romans 2:4 “…do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”
Why? We might ask? Because they provide for God’s greatest desire, to accomplish His greatest purpose, perform and establish His greatest miracle - repentance (in His greatest love): mankind. The bringing back, home, the Repentance of those He loves - John 3:16. This is the Father’s great love expressed to us. In one word: Jesus.
Giving life to the dead (Rom 6; Eph 2:1; Col 2:13), peace to His enemies Rom 5:), salvation to the sinful (Matt 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32; 15:7-10; 18:10-14; Rom 8:30), the only way to the Father (John 14:6,21; Heb 10:19-24)
It is the greatness of God that does all that we see - to stand in awe of Him, in reverent fear, is to have seen a measure, a glimpse of His greatness (Pr 1:7; 9:16)
In a world out of control we must know our great God is in control… and mercifully, at that
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/millennials-over-american-dream-hard-124559596.html
Jonah: A little longer in, a little deeper into Jonah 1 and into Jonah 2
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God” …because they imitate God, will we realize that it is ours, each, and every one of us, to bring a message of peace. But, will we? Will we?
Jonah 1:1-2 The word of the Lord came to Jonah… for Jonah, this word is clear and concise, Jonah heard and knew, he had experienced this before…
Jonah 1:3-5a Jonah ran…
To what lengths was Jonah willing to go to avoid going to Ninevah?
Jonah 1:5b-6 Jonah slept, soundly, so soundly through a raging storm (of his own making) that he had to be awakened…
Questions we must answer for ourselves: How soundly do I sleep? Where do I go to slumber when…? Maybe me, you, it is not sleeping that distracts me, or allows me to be distracted, or, frankly, I would rather be doing… what are those things that gobble my time?
Jonah 1:4-15 Who was Jonah willing to put at risk to escape?
Those with whom Jonah sailed suffered terribly! Yet, from Jonah, there is no care, no consideration, no courtesy, no matter, and only taking responsibility when finally confronted - when cornered… again: the testimony of the good God Jonah served??
Now, were the merchant sailors completely innocent? No. They knew Jonah was avoiding his “God” and took him anyway. In that sense, they were accomplices, or at least reticent or cavalier about Jonah and his flight from God, and their part in helping him escape. But, one must add, they did not know Jonah’s God - the Person, the Power, the sovereignty, of Jonah’s God - but they would see, experience, fear, turn, and worship Him
Questions we must answer ourselves: Do I recognize the peril my running puts others in? Do I realize the effect my sin has on others? Do I see what my sin and rebellion do to God’s name (Eph 4:1; 5:1-2), that is my life and word’s testimony of God’s working in me?
Jonah 1:16 the sailors turn from their gods to Jonah’s God… God displays His sovereignty over all creation and making, saying, repeating, in essence, “I AM, and there are NO others beside me!”
We might say: “But, but, they all turned to God! Why then should I be disciplined??” please see: Romans 5:20-21 - 6:1-14 (,15-23)
Questions we must answer ourselves: What will I do to avoid the one to whom I am called? What excuses do I use to not go? What is it that I think of them, feel about them, that is holding me back? To what lengths have I, or will I go, to not only not go, but to avoid, or even go the other way, to avoid them and share with them what God desires them to know, receive, and be?
Who am I willing to put at risk to avoid my call and responsibility, my PRIVILEGE to exercise my PRIVILEGE to be a beloved child of God - by grace (afforded to me God’s mercy on me)? My PRIVILEGE of being God’s ambassador, His representative?
It is our privilege to go… to bring a message of hope through our obedience
Jesus speaking of Himself said “...something greater than Jonah is here…” Jesus speaking of us, His disciples, also said “...you will do greater things…”
Jonah 1:17 “God provided a great fish…” God grants mercy to Jonah, much like He had and did to Israel, despite Jonah’s/Israel’s sin and rebellion… WE MUST REMEMBER: discipline and warning, correction and rebuke, are part of mercy… and often, it is not until we reach the bottom, as we see our own sin, and sense God’s “heavy hand upon us” that we finally “come to our senses” (Luke 15:17) and look up, to God… “...3 days and 3 nights…” just in time, just long enough, for God’s merciful discipline to do what it is going to do!
Jonah 2: the GREAT prayer of repentance in the face of God’s greatness…
Compare and contrast to Luke 15:11-32
