Amen. Thank you, Amanda. We'll dismiss the bill 1654321 and go with Mr. Schwartz, your class, into creche. And the rest of us, please open up our Bibles and join us. It's been a joy to have Amanda with us. And this has become tradition on Thanksgiving to have her up here. And for this weekend, I appreciate her serving the Lord, even though she's away from the ministry that God's put her in. And we had fun watching, since she was at our house, a video that the mission team put together of their travels, both here and then down in Peterborough. And we watched that, and it was great to have the memories of what they did while they were with us, and their testimony of the time spent here, and how they were impacted by what they saw here. So that was a blessing this week as well. Often in evangelism, In Scotland, I point out to atheists the Christian heritage of Scotland by referring to the fact that they probably know people named John, or Ruth, or Luke, or Paul, or those Bible names that are a part of the culture here, because this was a very strong Christian nation. I had an atheist that called me that Scurling is a village out by Bigger, and we've done some evangelism out there. He called me and spoke to me. several months ago for about 45 minutes, to tell me not to leave a flyer anymore at his house. But anyway, as we spoke for a while, it came out in the conversation that he has a Luke, he has a Hannah. I've heard from the farmer of Skerling. I call him that because he said to me, he said, don't, and I've told you this, but don't put a flyer through my mail slot again. I said, that's fine, just tell me your address. And he said, begrudgingly, the farmhouse in Skerling, so he's not a farmer, but I call him that. and I hope you get saved. But even as an unbeliever, he named his kids, maybe family names, but he knew that they were Bible names. And that's what we called them, don't we? We called them Bible names. But have you ever noticed that certain names that are Bible names aren't popular names. Now, they might be names like Carpus, Barnabas, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Tychicus, or Trophimus, or something like that, and we get that, we understand that. Maybe that just doesn't sound that good in English, and so unless it's a derivation of that name, you're not going to maybe hear of somebody called that. But there are other names that are violent, they might sound okay. Names like Jezebel, Lucifer, Sapphira, Achan, they don't necessarily of themselves sound bad, but because of the action by which they are associated we understand that they're not a name that we'd like to give. It's similar to the fact that as human beings we associate sometimes names with actions. I know that we'd go canoeing down a river near my house and there were rocks that we called Jason rocks. They're the rocks that you can't really see except there's maybe a little bubble in the current. I guess there was this kid that somebody knew in our group that his name was Jason and Jason had this a condition where he couldn't get past those rocks. He'd always hit those rocks. And you've got to keep an eye out for them. And so we called them Jason rocks. And so we do that. We associate names with actions. Parents know that when they go to name a child, they might suggest to their spouse that, hey, what about this name? And the other one says, well, wait a second. I knew somebody that was named that. And so we do associate in our minds names with actions. As we come to this book, this man is a man of God. But his name isn't a popular name because probably when you say the name Jonah, somebody automatically thinks Jonah and the whale. Because that's Sonny's story. That's what you learn about Jonah. That's the main idea of the story. The man's idea of the story is not the good part about Jonah. Jonah was a man of God. God did use, but it's a bad part of his name. And so with those names like Jezebel, or Lucifer, or Sapphira, or Achan, We would use that name as a warning to somebody. We would use that name perhaps by saying, hey, don't be a Jezebel, don't be a Lucifer, don't be like the wicked one, or that's a characteristic of him. And so we could say about Jonah, don't be, if I say it this way, a Jonah in the whale, Jonah. All right? Jonah chapter one, Jonah. And that's what I want to preach on this morning. Don't be like that Jonah. And so, I already liked that Jonah this morning. And, you know, I'm not anticipating that somebody's going to be driving home, and they're going to get pitched out, and a great fish is going to come swallow them, and get that guy's prepared. But, you know, we can be more like that Jonah, chapter 1 Jonah, than it is possible to be like that Jonah more easily than we think it is. just by the things that take place in Jonah chapter 1 that we'll look at this morning as we consider this idea of don't be like the Jonah and the whale. And I know it's a great fish, okay? Jonah. Let's pray. Father, I pray that the Spirit of God would speak to our hearts this morning as we come to this text. Father, we thank you for the Word of God. And Father, I praise you as I look at Jonah and the whale. I praise you that you're a merciful God. I praise you, Father, that it's possible to serve God having rebelled against God. We see that in the life of Peter, his denial of Christ, and yet his restoration. Well, Father, we're looking at the bad part about Jonah this morning, and I pray that the Spirit of God would give us grace to not be like that Jonah. And Father, would you use this message in our hearts today? I pray that the Spirit of God would give us ears to hear, help us to listen and be in tune and be considerate of the truth of Scripture as we see it this morning. Father, I pray that it would make it to our feet to help us interlock with God. And Father, I can't preach without your help. I pray, Father, that you'd help me to preach practically, help me to preach biblically. Father, help me to preach lovingly, help me to preach powerfully. And Father, I confess, I can't speak at all without you. And Father, I pray that the Spirit of God give liberty in this service. We had such a precious service Thursday night. And Father, we're thankful for the grace that you give for our ministry. But Father, what we really need is to hear from heaven. Father, we need the Spirit of God to do a deep work in our hearts and our lives. And so Father, we just lift ourselves up before you now in this time and ask that we know the sweetness of the presence of God in this place, in this hour. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. So don't be a Jonah in the whale Jonah, Jonah chapter 1. And so how do you not do that? All of my points this morning are going to be don't statements because the emphasis is don't be like that Jonah. So the first one is don't refuse God's instruction. Don't refuse God's instruction. God is not pressed or it's not difficult for God today to make His will known to us or to you or to myself. And so the Bible says in verse 1, Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, Sinai. And so Jonah's there, and God knows where Jonah is. And God comes to Jonah with a message. And there's different ways back in this time period that God would speak to these prophets. Sometimes a prophet had a vision, like Peter. on the rooftop in Acts chapter 10 where the Bible speaks about it and says in verse 9 on the morrow as they went on their journey and drew nigh into the city the people coming from Cornelius up to Peter that Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. and became very hungry and would have eaten. And while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven open and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet, knit at the four corners and let down to the earth." And sometimes a prophet had a vision that was like Peter had there. It's daytime, but he kind of falls into this semi-consciousness of this trance as God speaks to him. Sometimes God would speak in a vision that was more like a dream at night time, like the man of Macedonia. In Acts 16 verse 9 it says, And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia and prayed and sang, Come over into Macedonia and help us. And as immediately they conferred, because they knew it was God. God was speaking to them and they were going to hasten to do what God wanted them to do. Sometimes God would speak in these days audibly, as he did with Samuel in the Old Testament, 1 Samuel 3 verse 10. The Lord came and stood and called, as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak. for thy servant here. And so there was that communication that took place between God and man. It was very clear when it took place. And so we understand, as we look at this this morning, that it didn't matter how God spoke. What mattered is that when he spoke, he spoke in a way which that man would know that it was God speaking to them. And so that Jonah isn't going to fail in our story because of a misunderstanding between him and God. There was no ambiguity, there was no misunderstanding. Jonah is going to fully comprehend exactly what God wanted him to comprehend. And so, in our text, God told Jonah where to go. Verse 2 says, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city. This is the capital of Assyria. It's the great enemy of the northern kingdom of Israel. They're already swallowing up the northern kingdom, and where they would take people if you... I've seen Reliefs, I guess, that they kind of chiseled or whatever, however they made these reliefs that show the Assyrians with heads by their feet, because when they would take their enemy, they would not just kill them, they would torture them. They were barbarous people that were despised people. And God said, go to them. Now, we're going to look at some reasoning as to why Jonah disobeyed. But the fact is, Jonah knew where God wanted him to go. And there's going to be times in our life where God is going to have a place where he wants you to go. And God's not going to have a problem communicating that to you. And if I were to suggest, and I will give us some suggestions this morning, but the suggestions as to what that could be are endless. Because God has so many places that he could potentially want somebody to go. God might tell somebody to go to a local church. That there's a place of worship that God says to them, that's where I want you to go. It may be God telling somebody to go to Bible college, to a place, a specific school, a specific location, whatever education, a specific place that God wants them to go. It might be a career path. that God has for somebody that God wants them to go. It could be a person or a group of people that God desires them to go to. It could be something like an invitation time. If we had a come forward invitation in our church, as some churches call it an altar call, it could be to that place that God wants them to go. It might just be to make it practical in my heart, I can look back at many times where even as a child or as a teen, God spoke to my heart. I knew what God was saying to go. When I got saved, I was five years old, sitting in the service as my dad preached a message on hell, and somebody said internally to me, go speak to your dad. Nobody talked to me, but I knew I needed to go talk to my dad. And I went to my dad's study and went to him and told him I wanted to get saved. I remember when God spoke to my heart about surrendering my life to Him and I shared the testimony that for me to say to God, whatever you want to do with my life, go ahead and do it, was a big deal because I was scared to death God was going to call me to preach. You know, and God did. But I mean, I remember sitting at Camp Shechak, and by the way, Pastor Randy Tanis Also known as PR, is the director of Camp Jetech. He's going to be with us on a Thursday night, in two weeks from this Thursday night. That's the camp that he wasn't there. That's the camp that God worked in my heart in that regard. But I remember being compelled to go out at the invitation. because God had somewhere he wanted me to go. And when God has somewhere he wants us to go, as he communicates that to us, as he did with Jonah, he often tells us what he wants us to do. And so he says, arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it. Jonah was to preach there in Nineveh, and so God said go and cry against it. The message that he preaches is a message that we know because he eventually does go to Nineveh. The message is, Jonah 3 verse 4, yet 40 days in Nineveh shall be overthrown. And so there's a specific reason that God has that God wants them to go. So God says to go, go to that place and cry against it. And again, as we think about just the places that I suggested to us this morning that God could be telling somebody to go to, God could tell somebody to go to church. Why? Because they need to get saved. Go to church. Why? Because they need to get baptized. Go to church. Why? Because they need to be a part of the local body of Christ as the whole New Testament is about that local assembly and how that assembly works and what that assembly does and why that is an important place. People might be led of God to go to Bible class because God has a Christian education that He desires them to get. They might be directed to a job situation because there's maybe something there that God has for them then or maybe something God has for them there for the future that God desires them to do. There are individuals and people groups that God might send us to because they need the gospel. Because they didn't get saved. And so God wants us to go and cry the gospel to them. An invitation people may need to go and get right with God and deal with the thing that God has put in their heart that is a decision they need to make for God. And as we speak about this this morning, it's not mystical today to say that God has places He wants us to go and things that He wants us to do. It says, Practicals, Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all thy heart. Lean not into thy own understanding in all thy ways. Acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy path. And it might be the Spirit of God speaking through the Bible of God speaking through a preacher of the Word of God as he stands up and declares what God says and the Spirit of God comes and says, this is something that you need to do and this is where you need to go and then God tells Jonah why to do it. He says, for their wickedness is come up before me. God was disgusted with the Ninevites. And God's not going to take it any longer. God's not going to let it be that way anymore. One way or another, God's going to deal with Nineveh, and God is going to have this situation resolved for the wickedness that's come up before me. You know, God doesn't have to tell us why this morning. As the Spirit of God speaks to our hearts about, through the Bible reading or through preaching or however God speaks to us and consistent with His Word. God doesn't have to say why, but maybe often I would say that God does. And that often the reason is very maybe similar to that with Jonah. God has people that God wants right with Him, whether it's ourselves or somebody else, and God is directing us to get that accomplished. And so this morning, and every time we come to the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, every time you open up the Word of God, and God speaks to your heart about a very specific truth, not something again mystical or ethereal or something else, but something very clear in the Word of God that God's Word says to do, is there that in your heart that says, God, I want to do that? Like David said, I will run the way of God's commandments without shutting the waters in my heart. God, you speak. I've got my ears open to you, God. Whatever you want me to do, God, I'm going to do it as fast as I can do it. By the grace of God, I don't want anything in my life that is God saying this to me and me saying no, God. Because I want to receive. I don't want to refuse God's instruction. Don't be a Jonah, don't refuse God's instruction. And then don't be a Jonah, don't run from God's call. Okay, now we're getting to the heart of the story of Jonah, the prophet who runs from God. Don't run from God's call because you will have to make a conscious decision to reject God. Verse three says, but Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. And so Jonah's lacing on his running shoes. I mean, he's getting up. He's getting ready to take off. And we went to Israel. And actually, these guys have been to Israel as well. Blake and Amanda have been to Israel. And we went to Joppa. And we got postponed on our tour because of a late flight. And it was supposed to be early in the week, but it ended up being later. It just happened to be that the day that we went to Joppa and when we went down to the harbor, Ironically, it actually rained. It's the only time it rained on us, but it rained when we were standing at the harbor and Jonah went out into the Mediterranean as he fled from God. The world has a lot of excuses for why people do bad things. They have a term that they particularly seem to like when it comes to somebody that has done something horrible and something criminal. They use the term temporary insanity, as if that person is unintentionally transgressing, as if it wasn't really them. It was something within them that took place. And yet, as we look at Jonah and we understand this with regard to those that trespass against God, Jonah wasn't suffering from temporary insanity. He was in a simple case of rebelling against God. Jonah is not a coward. As you read the story of Jonah, you struggle with the fact that, I mean, it's a very bold man as he is on that ship and he says to the sailors, he says, throw me overboard. He's not afraid. It doesn't appear that he's panicked or anything. And we know from the story that he's going to walk into the city of the Ninevites that do these barbarous crimes against Israel. They're the enemy of Israel. He's coming from Israel as a preacher and he's going to walk into that city and preach. So Jonah isn't a chicken or a coward. Jonah knew God was merciful. And he knew that these were the enemies of God that God could destroy, and that God was going to spare him, as we read about in Jonah chapter 4. And so as we think about that, we think, you know, Jonah, in running from God, Jonah did so intelligently. Jonah made a conscious decision that he wasn't going to obey God. And so it is with us, as the Spirit of God speaks to our heart about something, whether it's a standard separation, sin issue, a decision of obedience, or evangelism, or church, whatever God is speaking to our heart about, there has to be a conscious decision where we say to God, God, I'm not going to do that. And we know God wants us to do that. Jonah did. Don't run from God's call. You'll have to make a conscious decision to reject God. And then you'll go in a direction which is the opposite of where you should go. It says he went down to Joppa and he found a ship going to Tarshish. Jonah didn't make a long turn on his way to Nineveh. Nineveh was east. Jonah went as far west as Jonah could as far as they knew the end of the known world as he went to a place that, I guess, is near Gibraltar in southern Spain. I mean, that's where he's going, as far away from God as he could. I believe this to be a true statement. As soon as someone rejects God's command to go, they will quickly find themselves going in the opposite direction of where God intends them to go. Why? Because you can't reject God's counsel without turning your back on God. I mean, no matter how small it is, this morning, as the Spirit of God speaks to somebody's heart about something God wants changed in that individual's life, to reject that is to say to God, no, and to say to God, no, is to turn and to depart from God. When Peter denied Jesus, he had to curse and swear and leave the presence of the Savior. I mean, how did he make it known that, I'm not with him, I mean, he had to say things that a Christian shouldn't say, and then he had to depart from the presence of the Lord. And so it is, as somebody, God speaks their heart about something, and they refuse, it's going to take them in a direction that's away from God. Don't turn from God's call. You'll have to make a conscious decision to reject God. You'll go in a direction that's opposite of where you should go, and you'll choose companions who are going in that contrary direction. You'll choose companions who are going in that contrary direction. It says, so he paid the fare thereof, and he went down into it to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Now, the point is not that these were wicked men, any more than ungodly men are wicked men. They weren't God-fearing men at the beginning of this chapter. And so they're not. But Jonah and getting the ship with them, they're innocent. I mean, God didn't call them to go to the Ninevites. They're just on their way to Joppa. But my point is this, as Jonah gets with them, he has to get with people that are going away from where God wants Jonah to go. And notice the terminology that the Bible uses. And you see this in Jonah's rebellion, this idea of going down. And that says to go with them and to Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord. It is true this morning that your companions speak volumes about the way that you're going. If I were to examine my heart this morning and say, you know what, what is the direction am I going? Am I really going the way God wants me to do? One of the basic things I could do is just examine the friends that I have, those close relationships that I have. If I'm closely associated with them that are walking away from God, then my trajectory probably isn't towards God. The Bible says in Proverbs 13 verse 20, He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Our companions had a lot to do with the way that we're going. And my mom, I've said this before, but she had some good advice that the only advice I remember my mom giving me as I went to Bible college is find good friends. Find good friends. Why? Because those are people that are walking with their God. Jonah, as he ran from God's call, he had to make a conscious decision to reject God. He had to go in a direction opposite of where he should go. He had to choose companions that were going in that direction. Don't be a Jonah. Don't run from God's call. And then don't be a Jonah. Don't ignore the tempest of God's wrath. Tempests blow in life. I mean, there's gonna be times where, I mean, in life we're gonna face a storm And it could be kind of different sources. I listened to a good message this past week about Job and Job chapter 1. And Job faced a storm in his life, a storm that destroyed his family, as it were. And as Job faced that, that tempest was a tempest from the devil, Job chapter 1. Jonah, as he faced this tempest, he's facing a tempest from the wrath of Almighty God. What's the difference? Well, Job knew he was right with God. I mean, if you ask Job, Job defended it throughout the ordeal that he's facing. Job, the Bible says, God said Job was a righteous man. Job defended his righteousness. But Jonah, Jonah knew that he was running from God. Jonah knew that he wasn't right with God. And if somebody's like that this morning, somebody that would be in a position of disobedience to God, and you know you are, I'm not trying to make us afraid that whatever situations in our life it's because God hates me. Alright, understand that. There are times where as a believer we could be walking with God and we'll go through a tough time, right Joe? But if I know my heart's not right with God, and I know I'm in disobedience to God, sin that I've not dealt with, things that I haven't changed, I don't know what God wants me to change. If I'm in a condition like that, in that sense like Jonah, you should have sense enough to be afraid when the tempest comes. So verse 4, It says that 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. I mean, it's just a horrible storm. Have you ever been in a bad storm? We were laughing at Sunday School because my sister's family is staying in our travel trailer in the States. They've got it right now. And there was a thunderstorm this morning while we were here. She texted me, I can't sleep right now because they're just getting used to staying in it. And when rain hits the top of a, not a tin roof, but a rubber roof, it's very loud. It's like a tin can. And a storm can be a very scary experience. I remember being in a trailer, as we travel on deputation in that way, and we had a horrible storm come around the Atlanta area, so bad that March Madness was taking place, basketball tournaments were taking place in Atlanta, and it began to lift the ceiling off of one of the stadiums because a tornado had passed, and that tornado went close by us. I mean, I was shaking. And the thing about a storm like that, it passes quickly. I even texted my sister back. when I could this morning, in just 10 minutes or so, and she said, but it's quiet now, it's packed. Those kind of storms pass quickly. But this storm that was a real physical storm that was taking place was not going to stop until God was appeased. And God took that ship right to the edge, the Bible says, so that the ship was like to be broken. Verse five, 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 to the sides of the ship and he lay and was fast asleep. And you think, well, I mean, he's a man of God. He's not scared, even though there's a tempest. He's down there, and he's able to rest. But he's not, in that sense, a man of God. Like, we think of Jesus. As Jesus sits in the boat, the storm comes, and Jesus is sleeping. The disciples awaken. Master Karestan, not that he perished, but the Bible says that he arose in Mark 4, 39, and reviewed the winds. And as I've read that passage, I've often thought that was a satanic storm. The Lord Jesus Christ is in that boat. He stands up. He rebukes sin. Jesus was resting in a perfect relationship with Almighty God. In contrast, Jonah is somehow able to slave when his heart and his life are not right with God. He knows that they're not right with God. In fact, the main thing in Jonah's life right now is the fact that he has rebelled against God. And yet, in that condition, he's able to sleep. He's like a young person getting a snack and he smiles and says, is that the best you can do? Right? It's like God is throwing it all at him, but he doesn't care. He's so calloused. We ought to take caution this morning. I'm like Jonah that I could be so calloused that my ship could be almost sinking and I can sleep through it as if it's no big deal. And that's where Jonah was. So don't ignore the tempest of God's wrath. You should have sense enough to be afraid and you need to wake up and call upon God. Verse 6 Says, so the shipmaster came to him and said unto him, what meanest thou, O sleeper, arise, call upon thy God. It so be that God will think upon us that we perish not. And this shipmaster, again, I don't think he was a godly man. I believe they became God-fearing men, as takes place in this story. But he's an ungodly man that's afraid. And he knows we ought to cry out to God. He has to say to Joe, wake up, sleeper. I think it's a sad day. And that I can suggest to us this morning that the ship of Scotland is sinking. And that there's some ungodly people that are afraid that maybe with Brexit or with even the perversity of our society and the rebelliousness of our children and the terror attacks that are taking place, that our world is waking up. They don't know God, but if they believed in God, I believe they might cry out to God. They don't. It's an atheistic, post-Christian society. But even unbelievers will get to a point where they pray. But what's sad today, I believe, is that there are Jonahs in our Christian family that have a heart that's so hard to God. They're sleeping through the tempest. And we could say, when we look around at society, we look at everything going on, we could say, it's the tempest of the wrath of God. But they're not crying out to God. They're not pleading with God. And we don't understand. Jonah knows he's guilty. He's running from God. The boat is sinking. He doesn't care. But he needed to wake up and call upon God. And so this morning, as we think about it, don't be a Jonah. Don't ignore the tempest of God's wrath, specifically in your life, in your family, in what's taking place in your life because of sin. Don't ignore that. Then don't be a Jonah. Don't think unbelievers will never know about your rebellion. Don't be a Jonah. Don't think unbelievers will never know about your rebellion. And they said, every one to his fellow come and let us cast lots that we may know from whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah. 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? And Jonah's trial has come. It's taking place on board that ship. As the other leaders called to the tribunal, and they say, Hey, we know you're the guilty guy. Tell us about it. Tell us why this is taking place. We know it's you. And so, he has to confess to them, I'm a man that is in a covenant relationship with God. Verse 9, he said unto them, I am a Hebrew. We just finished Sunday school, and in Sunday school we ended with the privilege of the Jewish people. These were the people of God, the people of the God. And Jonah was not only that, Jonah was a prophet, he was a preacher of God's. And the Bible says about Jonah in 2 Kings 14 verse 25 that he restored the coast of Israel from the entry of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which is a Gath heifer. And as the Bible speaks about Jonah, he is a servant of God, he's a man of God, he ought to be living his life for God, but he has to almost apologize apologetically say to these sailors, well, you know, I'm actually a son of God. And his God was the God. It says, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. As they're on this ship that is being cast about, Jonah has to confess that he is a servant of the God, and by the way, his God's the creator. His God is the God that made the sea, the God that made the dry land, the dry land that can't get you, the sea that won't be calm, and it's been passed to us that His God is that God. Notice what Jonah says, he says, I fear the Lord, the God of heaven. You know, fear is not what you say, but fear is what you do. Do you? Remember that I said recently I had an opportunity to speak to a young man up at Brother Don's church up north. And he said, I fear God. Do you fear God? I said, well, fear is not you know, a statement. Here's the reality. I said to him, I said, where should a person be on the Lord's day if they fear God? He said, church. Yeah, I mean, Jonah says he fears God. How has he gotten into this situation? If he truly feared God, wouldn't he then be a place of obedience to God? These unbelievers better not fear God than Then Jonah did, the Bible says in verse 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, if we read the verse backwards, he told them that he feared God, he told them that he ran from God, then the men feared the Lord exceedingly. These unbelievers had a better idea of what it meant to fear God than this believer did. So don't be a Jonah. Sadly, these unbelievers are going to find out about Jonah's hypocrisy and the sin that was in his life. He may have thought they'd never know. He's just a companion on a boat. So don't be a Jonah. Don't think unbelievers will never know about your rebellion. And then don't be a Jonah. Don't jeopardize others by your following. Do you know some reason that the captain thought Jonah should pray? Verse 6, the end of that. He said, pray, pray, call upon thy God. That me? Perish not. He could have rightly said to Jonah what the disciples said to Jesus. Carest thou not that me? Perish. Don't you care? Don't you care about those that are in the boat with you? Verse 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. And he said unto them, take me up and cast me forth into the sea, so shall the sea be calm unto you. Notice the statement, for I know. that for my sake, this great tempest is upon you. Okay, Jonah had no doubt why the sea was heaving. The sailors are completely innocent. The sailors that are on the same boat with Jonah, they haven't disobeyed God, they haven't rebelled against God, they haven't run away from God, and yet because of the disobedience of God's servant, the heaving sea that they're experiencing with Jonah, It's because of Jonah's sin, and Jonah didn't care about them. He didn't care about the Ninevites, and he didn't care about thieves in the boat. We could look at so many stories in the Bible, but you could ask the question, did Achan care about his family when he hid God's spoil in his tent? They stopped to think, how is this going to affect my family? God said, you know, the spoil of Jericho, that's the Lord's. That's the first battle that's going to take place in the promised land. That is holy. That's sanctified to God. And the truth of the spoil, the Bible says, he hid it in his tent. And when it comes time for judgment, Joshua chapter 7, verse 24, Joshua and all Israel took him. They took Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his donkeys, and his sheep, and his tent. And all that he had, and they brought them into the valley of Achar. And Joshua said, why hast thou troubled us? By the way, Israel suffered from aching sin as well as they went up to fight that battle at Ai that they lost. The Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore, the name of that place was called the Valley of Acre unto this day." Acre, did you care about your family? Did you think about your family? When you made that decision to rebel against God? Did Korah care about his family when he led a rebellion against God's leadership? Numbers 16.32 says, And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that pertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They and all that appertained to them went down alive into the pit. And the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the congregation. Did he care about those that were going to suffer because of his rebellion against God? Did Pharaoh care about the firstborn sons and the families that were going to be grieving? Because he refused to yield to God. Because he hardened his heart when he knew what God wanted to do, let my people go that they may serve me. And see the thing is about men's sin, our sin does not just affect ourselves, our sin affects those who are about us. And so if in my heart today, there is aught that God has said to me, look, this is something I want you to do, this is a place I want you to go, this is how your life should be, and I say to God, God, I refuse, it doesn't just affect me. It affects those that are in the boat with me. Those that will suffer because God isn't going to just let me go my own way and rebelling against God and not deal with my sin. Don't be a Jonah. Don't rebel because others will be jeopardized by your following. And then don't be a Jonah. Don't let your life be a bad example. Verse 13 says, nevertheless the men rode hard to bring it to the land. The last thing they want to do is take this prophet and throw him in and kill somebody, they think, by throwing him overboard. They tried to get to land, but they could not. For the sea wrought was tepestuous against them. 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 hath pleased thee. And what they're pleading for when they say, lay not upon us innocent blood, is they're about ready to pick up that prophet, as God said to do, and take him and hitch him overboard. And they don't want that blood on their hands. And they're pleading with God, God be merciful to us. We're in the boat too. We've got to deal severely with this. And the Bible says in verse 15, So they cast him forth into the sea, and the sea ceased from raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows. The sad thing is, I mean, I believe he's been a king of faith. But they came to faith by seeing the wrath of God against a man that hardened his heart against God and said, God, I'm not going to do that. And God had to bring this big storm that we'll talk about in a second as to God's work. God has to bring this big storm into this man's life. But as soon as they dealt with the man, by the way, notice when they threw wares out of the boat, it didn't satisfy God's wrath. But when they threw the man out of the boat, that did. And I think there's an interesting picture there in that God doesn't want us to surrender things. God wants us to surrender ourselves, right? I think there's a biblical idea there. That's what appeases God. I can see two different brethren by the mercy of God. They present their bodies as a living sacrifice. And the thing is this, this morning, if you don't want to be like Jonah, you ought to say to God, God, whatever I've got, and whoever I am, and whatever my plans are, God, I'm not the things, but the man. God is yours. That ought to be us to God. That keeps us from being a Jonah because whatever God says, I do. If God says be faithful to church, if God says to tithe, if God says to evangelize, if God says to be a member, if God says to purify your life, if God says to surrender, if God says get rid of sin, if God says turn that program off, if God says don't listen to that, if God says don't go there, if God says don't hang out with those people. then that's fine. Because God, the man is surrendered. God, you've got the man. Right? But when they see this, they see everything go calm, then based on a bad example they saw, they go, man, I fear God. I don't want to mess with a God that can make this Mediterranean Sea heave because of a disobedient prophet. God help us from being an example like that. It's like Ananias and Sapphira, isn't it? that when they died, the Bible says in Acts 5 verse 11, great fear came upon all the church and upon as many as heard these things. They thought, man, I don't want to mess with God. There ought to be in our hearts this morning a soberness as we consider the power of God. See, the God of Jonah and the God of Ananias and Sapphira is the same God that we serve. God is as able today, listen, to bring the same form that he brought to Jonah into Jonah's life because he's God. And then, lastly this morning, don't be a Jonah. Don't think God doesn't know how to bring you to repentance. Don't think God doesn't know how to bring you to repentance. You know, Jonah probably thought, that storm was pretty bad. I guess by the time he woke up and everything's heated and everything, throw me in the water. Maybe he's thinking this, this is the way out of this problem for me too because I want to escape. I don't want to serve God. I don't want to obey God. He's not repentant on the boat. Notice that. I believe if he would have been, perhaps the storm would have ceased. But he's not ready to admit, I'm wrong. That will take place. But it's going to take place worse than Jonah thinks. Jonah thinks, maybe this is an escape. This is the end. I'm out of it. He hits the water. And God prepared a great fish that comes up and swallows Jonah. Now, I don't know about you. But if I had a list of experiences I don't want in life, and what is the top of the list, probably being swallowed alive by a great fish is right there at the top. I mean, you read about Jonah. How does Jonah describe it? Jonah describes it as the belly of hell. Chapter two, verse one. Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, and said, I cried by reason of my affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me. Out of the belly of hell, cried I, and thou heardest my voice, for thou hast 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. Then I said, I'm cast out of thy sight, yet I will look again for thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul. The depths closed me round about. The weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth with her bars was about me forever, yet has not brought up my life from corruption. O Lord, my God, when my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came in unto thee, into thy holy temple. They that observe blind vanities forsake their own mercy, but I will sacrifice them with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that that I have vowed salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. Okay, here's the second worst thing. But it's the mercy of God. Jonah cries out to God and says, OK, I repent. Now, I want to point this out. If the prophet didn't repent, the testimony that went into that, those wicked cities that didn't deserve the mercy of God. of what commentators believe might be the case of a bleached prophet, bleached by the juices that were in that fish's belly, and the testimony that caused the sailors to fear, caused these men to fear, as a man was spat out on the land by fish, and that man walked into the cities and said, 40 days, and God's judgment is coming. Why? Because God was merciful to the prophet, Why? Because God cared about a city that needed a nationwide revival. That's the mercy of God. And so as we look at the story, I don't want anybody in here to experience a fish's belly or a ship in a storm. But I would say this, it is better in the mercy of God, if God's Spirit takes you through that, so that God can use you, so that you impact those that God wants you to impact, that's better than for God just to let you go, and have his own way of rebutting against him. For whom will the Lord allow to keep chastisement? If you be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then you are illegitimate, and not sons, right? But as a son of God, we ought never be able to turn our back on God and think, oh, I've got to leave with it. Jonah probably isn't going to ever be a popular baby name, all right? And it sounds fine. I mean, there's Noah, right? But Jonah, why? Because of Jonah and the whale. It's the connotation of what his name is associated with. Jonah, by the grace of God and the mercy of God, he became a great man of God. And he was a great man of God. He failed terribly. And as a person today, if you look at your heart, if you are a Jonah, if there's aught in your heart that does condemn you, hey, praise God for the mercy and the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that you can be right with God, and that God can use you just like He used Jonah, right? But I'm preaching a message this morning on Jonah chapter 1, so the message is don't be a Jonah. Don't be that person that refuses God's instruction. And so as the Spirit of God speaks through the preaching of the Word of God, not something mystical or ethereal that is nothing to do with what God really wants somebody to do. But the specific things that the Word of God speaks about and the Spirit of God puts on your heart that are right things that please God, and you know God wants you to go and do. Don't refuse that. Don't run from God's call. If you refuse God's command, you're going to have to go the way away from God. Don't ignore the tempest of God's wrath as the trouble begins to come. Respond and go, okay God, I'm going to make sure my life's right with God. I want to be a Jehovah, not a Jonah. I want to be somebody that's going through it because Satan's bringing it, not because God is bringing it. Don't think unbelievers will never know about your rebellion as if, you know, it doesn't really matter, you know, I'm a Christian so I can just be in rebellion against God and they'll never know. They may find out someday, to your disgrace, as they question you and go, why did you do that? Why did you run from God? Don't jeopardize others by your folly. They're in the boat with you. Don't let your life be a bad example, so that people would say, don't be like that person. And don't think God doesn't know how to bring you to repentance. Don't be a Jonah the whale, Jonah. Let's pray. Father, in the Spirit of God, speak to our hearts. Father, the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it. Oh, Father, I'm not preaching to anybody that's never been a Jonah. Father, every single one of us have many times in our life rebelled against God. But I pray, Lord, may it not be the rebellion that the Bible speaks about when it says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Father, will we cherish the things that you despise? Father, will we refuse to do the things that you want us to do? It might be surrendering to be a missionary, to be an evangelist, to be a preacher, to be a teacher. It might just be surrendering. It might be baptism. It might be church membership or evangelism. Father, it could be so many things that the Spirit of God has clearly said to do, and if we're to really be honest, we haven't obeyed, and we've run from God. Father, I pray that the Spirit of God would speak to each heart now. I ask that you do that. I'm going to have an invitation this morning. You're welcome to come up here, by the way. Anytime we have an invitation, send an invitation to him, you're welcome to come up front. But if you just keep your heads bowed and eyes closed, I just want to ask one question, and that's this. Is there anything specific that the Spirit of God has put in your heart? Whether it's something that we consider, that's a big thing, or that's a small thing. But something the Spirit of God has clearly said to you to do in the past, and to this point, it's not been done. And if there's something specific like that, just ask, if you're willing to deal with that with God today, and you want to deal with that with God, would you just raise your hand as a testimony to that? The Spirit of God speaking to your heart in a specific way, and that you want to deal with that? Amen, see those hands? Amen. Praise God, anybody else that's born into something specific, that gospel in your heart? Amen, I appreciate you being honest and raising your hands about those things. Let's commit those to the Lord. Father, we thank you for those that raised their hand. It might be that some didn't raise their hand, but there might be something specific. Well, Father, I pray for these to have victory. Lord, God, give them grace to deal with these things. Lord, we want to have a heart that's just right with God, so that we can say, you know what? I'm not a perfect person. It's not that I never fail God. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. He's the light in his way. Though he fall, Father, it happens. Well, Father, by the grace that you give, help us to be people that can say, as best I know, I'm striving to live my life for God. That there's nothing in my life that I know God wants me to take care of, and I've refused to do that. Like Jonah. May the Spirit of God take his word and do a deep work in our hearts. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Let's stand and sing that hymn that states what we all ought to be able to say this morning. That is, God, I surrender all. That there's nothing in my life that I am holding back from you. Let's stand and sing it, please. The page number is 390. 390. I surrender all. Stay with me, please, as we say.