Opening Illustration: Teaching my kids how to use a landline phone. This past week, my family and I had the chance to get a few days away to soak up some sand and sunshine. The place where we were staying had a landline phone with the twisty cord. Do you know what I’m talking about? It’s the cord that eventually  stretches out to like 10 feet long – every kitchen had one back in the day. As an adult, I’ve never had a landline phone. So, my kids were having a blast with this phone. They loved being able to punch the numbers to make a call. And it was so exciting when someone called because they would have to “pick up” the phone to answer it. Well, I learned something watching one of them – they didn’t know you had to say “hello” after you pick up the phone. They would just pick it up and hold the phone to the their head. I would tell them “You have to say hello!” “When someone calls, you have to let them know you are there!”

As I was driving back, reflecting on their use of simpler technology, I realized that our spiritual lives aren’t really that different than my kids’ experience with a landline phone. There are key moments in our lives when God calls. There are moments when God puts a calling on our lives for His kingdom, for His glory, and for His purpose. What’s your response when God calls? Some of you know God is calling, but you won’t answer – you just let it ring. Some of you hear God’s calling, but you’re ignoring Him – maybe you’ve taken the phone off the hook. The original “do not disturb” – remember that noise the phone would make?! And then some of you know exactly what God is calling you to do, but you’re telling Him “no”.

Today, we are going to see what happens when God is told “no”. We are starting a four-week series looking at man – by the name of Jonah – who told God “no”. We are going to look at his journey as part of God’s relentless love. New Sermon Series: Jonah: The Relentless Love of God. Here’s where we start off in the book of Jonah: When God calls, you’ve got to go. Read Jonah 1. Pray.  The book of Jonah starts off with God’s calling on Jonah’s life. In the first three verses, Jonah is forced to answer the question, “What am I going to do?” And that’s where we start as well: What are you going to do when God calls? 

1) What are you going to do when God calls? (vs. 1-3) Let’s look at verses 1 and 2: ¹The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: ² “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” To understand the significance of these first two verses, we need some historical context. If you were to thumb through your Bible, you would find a section of books called “Prophets”. This section was broken up into two groups called “Major Prophets” and “Minor Prophets”. The major and minor simply refer to the size of the books. The book of Jonah is in the “Minor Prophets” group. The prophets in the Old Testament were used as God’s mouthpiece. These men had the responsibility to stand in between God and man. God would use what’s natural of the prophets – their demeanors and personalities – to declare the supernatural. God would use these men to tell nations what He was going to do. To add a little more context, Jonah was most likely a contemporary of Elisha and Elijah. Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings as one of the premier prophets. Jonah is upstanding in every way – a man that walks with God.

Jonah received a message to go to Nineveh. Nineveh was a huge city. We’ll learn that it takes Jonah 3 days to walk across the city. Nineveh was also a wicked city. They were known to be extremely cruel people, especially to their enemies. On top of that, Nineveh was an enemy of Israel. Jonah knew the Ninevites personally and he wanted nothing to do with them. And we’ll find out more later in the book that Jonah didn’t want God to have anything with them as well. For now, let’s look at Jonah’s response to God’s calling. What did Jonah do? Look at verse 3: ³ But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish. Jonah picked up that phone, heard what God said, and went, “Nope!” Jonah packed up his bags and went the opposite direction. To get an idea of just how “opposite direction” this is, take a look at this picture. Show Map Picture. Jonah is making a point – he’s not going to Ninevah. He’s stomped his foot and said, “No!”.

So, Jonah rebels against God. Now, I want you to notice something about what happens when Jonah sets out. What happens when Jonah goes down to the port of Joppa? There is a boat waiting on him. Now, we don’t know what was going on in Jonah’s mind as he made his way to the port. But I would venture to say by the time he reached the port, he had found some form of justification for his rebellion. And then, when he arrives at the port and there is a ship waiting on him, he goes, “See! I knew I was right. I’m not really supposed to go Nineveh. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a ship ready for me!” Listen to me on this: Whenever you want to rebel against God, there will always be a ship ready to leave for Tarshish. There will always be a place or a person you can run to. There is an enemy that makes it easy to walk away from God. Satan will always make it convenient for you not to be in the center of God’s will. Don’t mistake Satan’s convenience for God’s providence. When God calls, you’ve got to go. Jonah didn’t. But God’s plans wouldn’t stop just because Jonah hopped on a ship. Here is what Jonah is about to learn: God will do what’s necessary to bring us out of rebellion against Him. 

2) God will do what’s necessary to bring us out of rebellion against Him. (vs. 4-6) Jonah punched his ticket, walked on the ship, and probably took a deep breath. “Ok. I’m glad that’s over. I can rest now.” “Once I’m off this ship, I’ll be so far away that God can’t use me anymore. He’ll have to find someone else.” Now, with some sanctified imagination, I can see God saying, “Really, Jonah? That’s your big plan? To take a Mediterranean Sea Cruise?” What happens next? ⁴ But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. This wasn’t just some small storm. It was fierce. These would have been seasoned sailors on this ship. What was the sailors’ reaction in verse 5? ⁵ Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. Each one of the sailors are pulling out their lucky rabbits foot and praying that their god would save them. They also throw all of their future money overboard. And where was Jonah when all of this was happening? Look at the rest of verse 5: “But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold.” I don’t know if he took some Melatonin or Benadryl or was exhausted from running from God, but Jonah was sound asleep.

The desperate captain goes down to find Jonah. ⁶ So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.” In an ironic twist, the pagan captain is asking if Jonah has a God that would save their lives. But Jonah is so deep in his rebellion that he can’t even see the opportunity to show these sailors. Did you catch the use of the word “down” in these verses? Jonah went down to Joppa. Jonah went down into the ship. Jonah was asleep, most likely, laying down. God is showing us how rebellion happens. It’s not a wake up and run away. It’s a slow, downward progression. Illustration: The “whale kite” at the beach. On our family trip last week, we were hanging out on the beach. This guy next to us pulls out this massive “whale kite”. And I felt like he was cheating a little bit because his kite was basically a parachute with a string. Everyone needs to the experience the struggle of getting those little diamond kites up in the air. His kite took off in the air. He had one these special reels on it – the string would just release quickly. Little by little, this kite was up there in the air, but it was also moving farther away from the beach. Well, the farther away you get from the beach, the wind changes. And he started to notice that – it was close to hitting a house. The whole time Rachel and I are like, “Reel in the kite!” Instead, he lets out more string, probably thinking that would help the kite rise. What happened? The kite landed so far off the beach, behind these houses. If he just would have come back, the kite would have made it.

Jonah’s rebellion probably started long before he made his way down to the ship. Something began to stir in Jonah’s heart and it brought him to this point where it almost seems like he doesn’t care if he takes the ship down. The road to rebellion starts with one step away from God. Keep peddling that bike. I’m going to be broken record with this: keep pursuing God! Even though Jonah was running, God wasn’t done with Jonah. God sent that storm for Jonah. God, in His relentless pursuit of Jonah, was going to do what it took to get Jonah where he was supposed to be. God’s was in pursuit of those people in Nineveh and Jonah was the man for the job. God is going to do whatever is necessary for His plan and His purpose. Jonah finds himself on a sinking ship in the middle of a God-ordained storm. He has another decision to make. Will Jonah submit to God at this point? Here’s what we learn next: The first step out of rebellion is to submit while in the storm.  

3) The first step out of rebellion is to submit while in the storm. (vs. 7-13) Jonah’s awake and aware of everything that’s happening. And he knows he’s the problem, but he won’t admit it. God won’t let him hide any longer. Let that serve as a reminder for all of us – your rebellion can’t hide forever. God decides to control the toss of a few rocks to out Jonah: ⁷ Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. ⁸ “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?” These sailors are desperate to live. They wanted to know exactly why Jonah was causing this storm. Look at how Jonah answered: ⁹ Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.” Do you catch what question Jonah didn’t answer? Jonah didn’t tell them his line of work. He was too ashamed. Jonah’s answer sent the sailors into more of a panic: 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.

In the midst of the storm and sink that was starting to break apart, they look at Jonah, and say, “How do we fix this?” ¹¹ And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?” I don’t know what response the sailors were thinking Jonah would say, but I think Jonah’s response took them by surprise: ¹² “Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.” Jonah told them to throw him overboard, which they all knew would result in his death. The sailors didn’t like that plan. They didn’t know God, but they feared God. They didn’t take Jonah’s advice. They started rowing even harder: 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. When I read this verse, I couldn’t help but get this image of God just placing His finger on the boat as they rowed. It didn’t matter how hard they rowed, they were never getting away. Illustration: I remember when my kids were really little and they would try to get away from me. They could be running as fast as they can and all I had to do was pick them up. Their little legs would keep running, even though their feet were not even on the ground. They were not going anywhere. That’s where Jonah and these sailors were. It didn’t matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t escape God.

It’s the same for you. You can’t row yourself out of rebellion. You can’t run yourself out of rebellion. You can’t work yourself out of rebellion. You can’t hide yourself out of rebellion. The only way out of rebellion is to stop running and submit. Why didn’t Jonah suggest for the sailors to return to Joppa? Why didn’t Jonah turn to God in the moment? The only other place Jonah needed to go down to was his knees in repentance and submission. Rebellion stops when submission starts. Cry out to God and say you’re sorry. Ask God to help you get back to Him. Look to God and say, “You’re God and I’m not. I want Your will to be done. I’m scared, but I trust You.” Your rebellion doesn’t have to end with a sinking ship or a three days in the belly of whale. Your rebellion can end with submission to God. Can you imagine that scene on the boat? Jonah standing on deck, watching those men row. They realize there was no escaping the storm. So, they walk over to Jonah and say, “Are you sure? The only way to stop the storm is to throw you into the storm?” Jonah says, “That’s the only way.” The sailors hand Jonah some arm floaties, pick him up and go, “Welp, see ya later!” I don’t think it went down like that, but you can tell there was a lot of fear involved in the process. But we are about to see that even in the greatest storms, with fears at an all-time high, God has a plan. That’s where end this first chapter of Jonah: God has a rescue plan. 

4) God has a rescue plan. (vs. 15-17) We see the true sailors’ reaction when they realize their only hope for living was for Jonah to die: 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. Look at the relentless love of God in this chapter: In this moment, these sailors realize that their false gods are worthless and they turned to the one true God. While we don’t know their hearts, I can’t help but read these verses and see men that surrendered to Jesus. God was relentless in saving these rough sailors. God wants to save the Ninevites. Jonah is the plan. God will do what it takes to get Jonah there for the nation of Nineveh. And God is working on the heart of Jonah. God is relentless about His love for you and the world.

God is so relentless that He’ll go to great lengths for you. Look at what God did for Jonah: ¹⁷ Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. We are going to pick up here next week with this great fish. We are going to see what happened to Jonah during those three days. I want us to end chapter one with this: God has a rescue plan and His name is Jesus. Being fresh off of Easter, that last verse should have caught your attention. How long was Jonah in this whale? Three days. Jonah was taken down to the depths of the sea and three days later he came back to the land of the living. What about Jesus? Three days. Jesus was dead for three days in the heart of the earth and then He came back alive. What did Jesus say in Matthew 12? ³⁹ But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. ⁴¹ “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent. God has a rescue plan and His name is Jesus. 

When God calls, we have one response: You’ve got to go. For some of you, God’s been calling for a long time. It’s time to make Him your Savior and Lord.

GOSPEL PRESENTATION

For some of you, it’s time to stop running and submit. You need to realize the storm in your life is not to pay your back for your sin, but to bring you back from your sin. For all of us, it’s time to take the hope of Jesus to those who desperately need it. During the month of May, I’m going to spend 30 days praying for our community and sharing the hope of Jesus with our community. As a heads up, next week, I’m going to ask you guys to join me. God has called us to be in Spring Hill, so we’ve got to go. I truly believe that God has a rescue plan and His name is Jesus. And I truly believe that God has called us all to go to tell the world about the hope of Jesus. Let’s pray.  

Transition to Lord’s Supper

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