0:08 1 now the word of the Lord came unto
0:11 Jonah the son of amiti
0:15 saying arise go to Nineveh that great
0:17 City and cry against it for their
0:20 wickedness is come up before
0:24 me but Jonah rose up to flee on tares
0:26 from the presence of the Lord and went
0:27 down to
0:31 japa and he found a ship going to tares how
0:32 how
0:34 convenient and so he paid the fair and
0:37 went down into it to go with them unto
0:40 tares from the presence of the
0:43 Lord now if you have a butt Jonah in
0:45 verse three you've got to have a butt
0:48 the Lord in verse four you start butting
0:50 against the Lord he let you know about
0:55 it but the Lord sent out a great wind
0:57 into the sea and there was a mighty
0:59 Tempest in the sea so that the ship was
1:01 in danger of being
1:04 broken then the Mariners and
1:06 interestingly enough the Hebrew word
1:09 there for Mariners is the word
1:12 salts most Sailors don't like to be
1:15 called salts then the Mariners were
1:18 afraid and cried every man unto his God
1:20 and cast forth the Wares that were in
1:22 the ship into the sea to lighten it of
1:25 them but Jonah was gone down into the
1:27 sides of the ship and he lay and was
1:30 fast asleep
1:32 so the shipmaster came to him and said
1:34 unto him what meanest thou Oh
1:38 Sleeper arise call upon thy God if so be
1:41 that God will think upon us that we perish
1:42 perish
1:51 person wake up oh believer and get
1:58 perishing and they said everyone to his
2:00 fellow come let us cast lots that we may
2:02 know for whose cause this evil is upon
2:04 us they knew the storm was something
2:07 great so they cast lots and the lot fell upon
2:08 upon
2:10 Jonah then said they unto him tell us we
2:13 pray thee for whose cause this evil is
2:16 upon us what is thine occupation from
2:18 whence comest thou what is thy country
2:21 of what people art thou it's a strange
2:23 place for a press conference isn't
2:26 it and he said unto them I am a Hebrew
2:28 and I fear the lord you'd never believe
2:31 that the god God Of Heaven who hath made
2:34 the sea in the dry land then were the
2:38 men exceedingly afraid and said unto him
2:41 why hast thou done
2:44 this yeah there's no answer to that
2:47 question J Hudson Taylor witnessed to a
2:50 mandarin scholar in China and led the
2:52 man to the Lord and the man said how
2:55 long have your people had this
2:58 message he said hundreds and hundreds of years
2:59 years
3:03 he said my father and my father's father
3:06 and my father's father's father died in
3:08 darkness why were you so late in
3:12 coming there's no answer to that
3:15 question for the men knew that he fled
3:17 from the presence of the Lord because he told
3:18 told
3:22 them then said they unto him what shall
3:24 we do for thee that the sea may be Cal
3:27 unto us for the sea raged and was
3:29 tempestuous he said unto them take me up
3:31 and cast cast me forth into the sea so
3:33 shall the sea be calm for you for I know
3:36 that for my sake this great Tempest is upon
3:37 upon
3:41 you that next word is an amazing word
3:44 nevertheless the men rode hard to bring
3:47 her to the land but they could not for
3:49 the sea raged and was tempestuous
3:51 against them wherefore they cried out
3:53 unto the Lord the thing Jonah wasn't
3:56 willing to do and said we beseech thee
3:59 Oh Lord we beseech the let us not perish
4:01 for this man 's life and lay not Upon Us
4:04 innocent blood for thou oh Lord Hast
4:07 done as it pleased thee isn't it amazing
4:14 Calvinists they believed in the
4:18 sovereignty of God so they took up Jonah
4:20 and cast him forth into the sea and the
4:22 Sea ceased from its raging then the men
4:23 feared the Lord
4:26 exceedingly and offered a sacrifice unto
4:27 the Lord and made
4:29 vows now the Lord had prepared prepared
4:32 a great fish to swallow up Jonah and
4:35 Jonah was in the belly of the fish three
4:41 days and three nights and then Jonah
4:45 prayed now we don't have to wonder why
4:47 Jonah disobeyed God I have read many
4:51 scholarly treatises on why did Jonah
4:56 disobey God when it tells us in verse
4:58 three that Jonah was fleeing from the
5:00 presence of the Lord that doesn't mean
5:01 he was trying to run away from God he
5:04 knew you couldn't run away from God why
5:06 if you descend the deepest hell he's
5:07 there you go to the highest Heaven he's
5:10 there Jonah knew his theology this
5:12 phrase from the presence of the Lord
5:15 means he was resigning his job as a
5:17 prophet the prophet stood in the
5:20 presence of the Lord and God said Jonah
5:22 go to the Heathen and tell them my
5:26 message and Jonah said I'm
5:28 resigning now why did he do it well he
5:31 tells us why he did it back in chapter 4
5:32 in verse
5:36 2 and he prayed unto the Lord and said I
5:39 pray thee Oh Lord was not this my saying
5:41 when I was yet in my country Oho he
5:43 tells us now what he'd been thinking
5:48 about therefore I fled before un tares
5:51 for I knew that thou art a gracious God
5:54 and merciful slow to anger and of great
5:56 kindness and repent us thee of the evil
6:00 Jonah fled because he did not want God
6:05 to save the ninevites he tells
6:08 us you see the Assyrians and Nineveh was
6:11 the great capital of the Assyrian Empire
6:13 the Assyrians were on the
6:16 rise they were a growing power and they
6:19 were a threat to Israel and Jonah said I
6:22 would rather the Assyrians be destroyed
6:24 than Israel be
6:26 destroyed and so he fled and would not
6:29 carry God's message but the interesting
6:31 thing is this now don't miss
6:33 this this
6:40 Nineveh the story of Nineveh ends in chapter
6:47 3:1 if this book were about Nineveh 3:1
6:48 would be the
6:51 end the book is not about Nineveh
6:53 Nineveh is mentioned nine times in this
6:55 book books about
6:59 Jonah he's mentioned 18 times in this book
7:00 book
7:05 and God is mentioned over and over again
7:08 this is not a story about Jonah and
7:10 Nineveh it's a story about Jonah and
7:13 God did you know that the
7:18 worker is more important in the
7:22 work God spent 13 years getting Joseph
7:23 ready to do his
7:28 work God spent 40 years really 80 years
7:39 work would you believe that Jonah needed
7:43 Nineveh as much as Nineveh needed
7:46 Jonah did you know that when God calls
7:49 you to do something he's not calling you
7:51 be only because of what they need from
8:05 ninev because God could not make out of
8:08 Jonah all that Jonah could become if
8:12 Jonah was not obedient to go to
8:14 Nineveh I'm talking to somebody right
8:17 now who's gotten a calling of some kind
8:19 God spoken to you and said here what I
8:20 want you to do you say Lord I'm not
8:22 going to do
8:24 it does it doesn't make sense it's not
8:26 rational it's not reasonable I'm not
8:28 going to do it if you don't do it you
8:30 won't stand to the the same place you'll go
8:32 go
8:35 backwards God called Jonah to Nineveh
8:41 Nineveh if he was going to be fulfilled
8:44 in his life as he should by the way
8:47 that's why God gives us his will God
8:48 doesn't give us his will just to get things
8:54 done God called Hudson Taylor to China
9:01 Taylor God called grenal up to Labrador
9:03 not just for the nation's sake but for
9:05 the doctor's
9:08 sake God called DL Moody to minister in
9:09 Great Britain when he landed in Great
9:11 Britain he was so seasick he said I'll
9:14 never come back he went
9:17 back because Great Britain did something
9:20 for DL Moody that Chicago didn't
9:25 do I say it again now Jonah needed
9:28 Nineveh as much as Nineveh needed Jonah
9:29 and you need the will of God and I need
9:31 the will of God because only then can we be
9:33 be
9:35 fulfilled now I want to show you how
9:38 Jonah missed his
9:42 fulfillment on four levels of his
9:45 life you take you take Jonah the person
9:47 and you can look at him on four
9:50 different levels you can see him as a
9:53 creature in God's creation just one of
9:56 God's creatures that's the lowest
9:58 level then you can see him on the next
10:01 level a man man in God's image not just
10:04 a creature but a man then the next level
10:07 a Hebrew in God's covenant and in the
10:09 highest level of all a prophet in God's
10:12 service now you take those four
10:16 levels a creature in God's
10:20 world a man in God's image a Hebrew in God's
10:22 God's
10:24 covenant a prophet in God's service you
10:26 take those four levels and you
10:31 see how Jonah did not fulfill himself
10:34 because he rebelled against the will of
10:37 God we Christians have the foolish idea
10:40 we can play with the will of God we can
10:42 turn it on and off like the TV set or
10:46 the radio you can't you know who is hurt
10:48 the most if we don't obey the will of
10:49 God we
10:51 are and God looked at Jonah and said
10:53 Jonah you are a creature I want you to
10:56 be fulfilled you are a man I want you to
10:58 be fulfilled you are a Hebrew I want you
11:00 to be fulfilled you are a prophet I want
11:03 you to be
11:06 fulfilled Jonah said no and he lost on
11:08 every level of his life he was a
11:12 creature in God's world now in the Book
11:15 of Jonah there are many evidences of
11:19 creation Jonah said I worship God who
11:21 made the heavens he made the Earth he
11:24 made the dry land and the sea I worship
11:29 the god of creation oh
11:30 let's start with the mineral Kingdom
11:33 that's the lowest Kingdom the sea
11:35 sea obeyed
11:37 obeyed
11:40 God that ship could not have been
11:42 sailing on that sea if the sea had not obeyed
11:45 obeyed
11:47 god let's take the vegetable Kingdom
11:50 that's the next one get to chapter four
11:53 there's a gourd that obeys
11:56 god let's move into the animal kingdom
11:58 there's a great fish that obeyed God
12:00 chapter 1
12:01 chapter 4 this little
12:06 worm that obeyed God everything in
12:16 Jonah did you ever stop to think that
12:20 all of creation obeys God now even the
12:24 disasters that we look upon somehow fit
12:26 into God's plan I don't understand
12:29 earthquakes and plagues and fires and
12:31 Bloods and neither do
12:34 you but I have a suspicion that these
12:36 Heathen Sailors were in the right when
12:39 they said Lord thou Hast done as it is pleased
12:41 pleased
12:44 thee when the weather gets bad I
12:47 sometimes turn to Psalm 148 I recommend
12:50 this to you it's better than the weather
12:53 report Psalm
12:55 148 praise ye the
12:58 Lord praise the Lord from the heavens
13:00 praise him in the Heights praise ye him
13:03 all his angels praise ye him all his
13:08 armies praise ye him sun and moon praise
13:11 him all ye stars of light Oho the sun is
13:15 obeying God and praising him so is the
13:18 moon Praise Him ye heavens of heavens
13:20 and ye Waters that are above the heavens
13:22 let them praise the name of the Lord for
13:25 he commanded and they were created he
13:27 hath also established them forever and
13:29 ever he hath made a decree which shall not
13:30 not
13:33 pass praise the Lord from the earth ye
13:37 serpents and all deeps fire and hail
13:41 snow and Vapor stormy wind fulfilling
13:45 his word mountains and all Hills
13:48 fruitful trees and all Cedars beasts and
13:52 all cattle creeping things and flying
13:57 fowl interesting thing all of creation
14:01 is obeying God even those little dice
14:03 that they were throwing on board ship
14:05 imagine throwing dice on the deck of a
14:07 ship tossed in the
14:10 stor that those dice obeyed
14:13 God I say it again everything in
14:16 creation was obeying God except
14:18 Jonah now do you know why all of
14:21 creation obeys God because the only way
14:23 they can fulfill themselves is to be
14:26 obedient if a shrimp tries to act like a
14:28 whale he disobeys God and doesn't
14:30 fulfill his
14:32 purpose if a tree tries to act like an
14:35 animal it doesn't fulfill its purpose
14:37 and doesn't glorify God do you know that
14:45 sharing I remember hearing um a preacher in
14:46 in
14:49 seminary who had just finished going
14:51 through a cancer
14:53 operation and I can never forget the
14:55 first statement of his message he stood
14:57 in the it was Earl V Pierce he stood in
15:00 the Pulpit at the Seminary and he said
15:02 do you know what a cancer cell
15:06 is we all sat and waited he said a
15:09 cancer cell according to my doctor is a
15:18 cooperate you know what Jonah was Jonah
15:20 was a cancer cell in God's Universe he
15:22 wouldn't cooperate the wind was
15:25 cooperating the waves were cooperating
15:29 the vegetable Kingdom the animal kingdom
15:30 but not
15:34 Jonah now if this universe did not work
15:37 together you and I would die if the sun
15:39 decided I'm not going to give light to
15:41 those people down there look what they
15:44 do they put smog up in the air I can't
15:47 even get through anymore no more light
15:50 no more light we
15:54 die if the moon were to
15:56 say I don't like this business of of
15:59 traveling around the earth I'd sooner be
16:00 on my
16:03 own we'd be in
16:06 trouble if some star out there decided
16:08 to go it on his own and not contribute
16:12 to the total giving of the universe we'd
16:13 be in
16:15 trouble I say it again all of the
16:19 universe is sharing and giving and
16:23 cooperating and obeying God except Jonah
16:25 he was a creature in God's world but he
16:28 was selfish and he wasn't fulfilling his
16:30 purpose purpose as a creature which is to
16:37 give if nature stopped
16:45 living now let's move to the second
16:48 level by disobeying God Not only was he
16:51 not fulfilling himself as a creature in
16:53 God's world he wasn't fulfilling himself
16:56 as a man in God's image Jonah was a
16:58 member of the Human family and so are
17:00 you and I I'm glad I don't belong to the
17:06 stone I'm glad I don't belong to the
17:08 vegetable Kingdom I I would want to be a
17:10 head of lettuce or
17:15 spinach I'm glad I don't belong to the
17:18 Animal Kingdom I don't know what animals
17:26 Cows as they've stood
17:29 there chewing their cup
17:33 go I thought to myself what an awful
17:36 thing not to be able to think a noble
17:39 thought not to be able to have a mind
17:42 that can grasp things I'm glad God made
17:46 me a human being with all of its
17:48 limitations we belong to the Human
17:50 family God created us in him we live and
17:53 move and have our being God provides for
17:56 us he gives us food to eat and he lets
17:59 the seasons come Faithfully they arrive
18:00 a little later a little earlier
18:02 sometimes but they always Faithfully
18:06 come do you know that as a human being
18:08 you share the same common burdens of
18:11 human beings all over the
18:13 world that's why Paul writes to the
18:17 churches of galaa and he says
18:20 now I want you to do good to all
18:22 men especially those who are the
18:23 household of
18:26 faith last year we received a special
18:29 offering for the um earthquake victims
18:31 in Central
18:34 America and uh somebody said well is all
18:35 this going to go to Christians I said
18:39 who cares we're helping
18:41 people when I was in the hospital and
18:43 they had to pump three pints of blood
18:44 into my system I didn't ask if that
18:51 Christians I didn't ask the man who was
19:01 saved there are human things we do for
19:04 human beings just because they're
19:07 human the story of the Good Samaritan
19:10 reminds us that the man lying on the
19:13 roadside dying is a human being and if
19:15 I'm a human being I have an obligation
19:24 be Cain killed his brother and then he
19:28 had the audacity to lie about it
19:30 God said where is your brother he saidh
19:32 how do I know where my brother is am I
19:33 My Brother's Keeper and the answer to
19:35 that question is
19:39 yes you are your brother's
19:41 keeper and if Jonah couldn't go to
19:43 Nineveh because they were lost Sinners
19:45 who needed salvation he at least could
19:49 go as a human being to help human
19:51 beings did you know the greatest thing
19:52 you can do for a person is to share the
19:59 him Jonah Not only was unconcerned about
20:01 Nineveh he was unconcerned about these
20:05 Heathen Sailors he got them into
20:08 trouble now you may not like this
20:11 statement that's all
20:13 right you go through your Bible and you
20:16 find that whenever a Believer gets out
20:18 of the will of God he gets unbelievers into
20:25 trouble Abraham got out of God's Will
20:34 David got out of God's
20:37 will people were in
20:40 trouble Jonah got out of God's Will and
20:41 the Very Heathen he should have been
20:46 witnessing to he almost
20:48 killed now the most one of the most
20:50 convicting things in this book is in
20:54 verse 13 nevertheless would you notice
20:57 that here were Idol worshiping
21:00 unbelieving he Heathen Sailors get this
21:09 Jonah they said here is a human being
21:10 who needs our help and they did
21:12 everything they could to save Jonah and
21:15 Jonah was doing nothing to save the
21:17 people he was sent
21:22 to I have seen unsaved
21:25 surgeons hover over the bodies of
21:29 Christian people and spend hours working
21:33 on them unsaved doctors and nurses and
21:36 anesthesist and all kinds of
21:39 technicians human beings helping human
21:42 beings I wonder how many Christians
21:43 would go out of their way to talk to
21:45 some of them about how to be
21:48 Sav what I'm saying is the unsaved put
21:50 us to
21:52 shame yeah if God if God suddenly
21:55 removed all the unsaved people from the
21:57 administration of the city of Chicago
21:59 you'd be in trouble and so would I
22:01 who's going to make the electricity I
22:02 just wonder if all this electricity is
22:06 made by saved people I doubt
22:09 it who's going to put out the fires
22:11 who's going to protect the
22:15 city you see we Christians get so Elite
22:18 we become so
22:22 separatist we think that unsafe people
22:24 can't do anything unsaved people put us
22:28 to shame in doing their job
22:31 when you look at the way we do our job
22:33 Jonah why aren't you in Nineveh trying
22:36 to win those people I'm running away
22:38 yeah but look at these unsaved Mariners
22:46 life Jonah was a creature in God's world
22:48 but he wasn't fulfilling his purpose as
22:52 a creature he was a man made in God's
22:54 image and he wasn't fulfilling his
23:00 man now let's move to the third level he
23:02 was a Hebrew in God's
23:05 covenant but he wasn't living like it
23:06 you know why God called the
23:09 Jews God called the Jews to bless the
23:11 Gentiles you knew
23:15 that Genesis CH 12 when God gave his
23:17 Covenant to Abraham he said now Abraham
23:19 I'm calling you I'm calling you out from
23:21 among the Gentiles you're going to be
23:22 the first
23:25 Jew and I'm going to bless you and I'm
23:29 going to multiply you that through you
23:31 all of the nations of the earth might be
23:36 blessed God separated the Jews that they
23:38 might be a blessing to the
23:40 Gentiles and you know what they didn't do
23:45 it when you read the history of Israel
23:47 you find that instead of staying
23:50 separated so they could be a blessing
23:53 they got involved they became like the
23:55 Gentiles seven times in the Book of
23:58 Judges God brings in a nation to spank
24:00 is Israel then when Israel would not
24:01 learn her lesson God picked her up and
24:05 took her out to a gentile Nation
24:07 Babylon know the church has made the
24:10 same mistake election in the Bible is to
24:13 responsibility God chooses us that he
24:14 may use
24:17 us and here was a Jew and that Jew
24:19 should have looked at those Gentiles and
24:22 said God this is why you called me you
24:25 separated me that I might minister to them
24:32 the Jews not only made the mistake of
24:35 getting infected by the Gentiles but
24:37 they made the mistake of getting
24:38 isolated from the Gentiles they went the
24:41 other extreme when Jesus came to the
24:44 Earth he found the Pharisees wrapping
24:45 their robes around themselves and
24:49 calling the Gentiles dogs uncircumcised
24:53 dogs he found a wall in the temple that
24:55 said if any Jew if any Gentile goes past this
24:56 this
24:59 wall he'll be killed
25:01 and so when Jesus died he ripped the
25:04 veil and said come on in to God and he
25:05 knocked down the wall and said there's no
25:12 difference Jonah was a Hebrew in God's
25:15 covenant God had separated him and God
25:16 had called him that he might be a
25:18 blessing of the
25:21 Gentiles but he wasn't doing it instead
25:22 he was
25:24 asleep instead he was causing
25:27 trouble he wasn't praying he wasn't awake
25:30 awake
25:33 the one man on board that ship who had
25:36 the answer to the problem was Jonah and
25:44 job it's not hard to see Christians in
25:46 chapter one of
25:50 Jonah did you notice the
25:55 adverb he went down to japa he went down
25:59 into the ship he went down into the
26:02 sides of the ship over in Chapter 2 he
26:06 went down to the bottom of the mountains
26:08 what is the direction when you turn away
26:13 from God's will down down down and what
26:16 were the Heathen saying we're perishing
26:24 sleeping I tell you when that trumpet
26:26 blows to wake up the dead some of the
26:32 and more than one sleeping Saint is
26:34 going to sayl not now it's going to be
26:42 yeah he was sleeping when he should have been
26:44 been
26:46 praying he was disobeying when he should
26:48 have been
26:51 obeying he was an ambassador of Peace
26:55 who caused a storm and his name means
26:57 Dove what a
27:00 dove well like a
27:03 vulture the dove is a symbol of Purity
27:05 and he was a sinner the dove is a symbol
27:08 of peace he was a
27:10 troublemaker he was a Hebrew in God's
27:12 covenant but he wasn't fulfilling his
27:14 purpose you know why God's called The
27:16 Church you know why we're separated from
27:19 the world not to be isolated from the
27:20 world but that we might be able to
27:23 minister to the world if we're like the
27:25 world we can't help the world if we're
27:27 unlike the world we can win people to Christ
27:38 close he did not fulfill his purpose as
27:40 a creature he did not fulfill his
27:42 purpose as a man he did not fulfill his
27:44 purpose as a
27:47 Hebrew he did not fulfill his purpose as
27:50 a prophet in God's service Jonah you
27:53 aren't just a a creature you're a man
27:54 you aren't just any man you're a Jewish
27:57 man and you aren't just any Jew you're a prophet
28:00 prophet
28:02 you see as a creature he just declared
28:04 the glory of God all of creation does
28:06 that as a man he was made in the image
28:09 of God as a Hebrew he' had the special
28:12 blessing of God as a prophet he could
28:14 share the message of God and he wasn't
28:21 sleeping Jonah was given a very very
28:27 prophet you say well I'm not called to
28:28 be a prophet you're called to be a
28:34 Witness I was in traffic court a couple
28:39 of weeks ago now don't be criticizing
28:42 me it was a very slippery day and I had
28:43 to make the choice of either going
28:45 through a red light or hitting my brakes
28:47 and skidding and so I went through the red
28:48 red
28:50 light and the policeman hadn't gotten
28:52 his quota that
28:55 day so he pulled me
28:57 over and uh gave me a ticket so I went
29:00 to traffic court now I didn't enjoy
29:03 spending 3 hours sitting there but I
29:04 certainly learned a lot my it's great to
29:10 lives they had a fell up before the
29:12 judge by the way lest you worry about me
29:14 I went up and he said why did you do it
29:16 and I told him what I told you he said
29:18 go home so I went home that was the end
29:20 of that but they had a man up before the
29:23 judge who had been guilty been been
29:25 accused of a number of things and he was
29:26 supposed to have a witness there to help
29:28 him and so the judge said where is and
29:30 he called witness for so and so nobody
29:32 showed up tried it again where is so and
29:35 so w I thought to myself isn't that
29:40 witness God said to me how many times
29:41 have people been in trouble because you haven't
29:43 haven't
29:46 witnessed you see God called Jonah to be
29:48 a prophet a prophet is one who speaks
29:50 forth he is a fourth teller not just a for
29:52 for
29:54 teller and God has given to us the
29:56 Glorious privilege of opening our mouths
29:59 and saying something worth listening to
30:01 to ever listen to conversation on a bus
30:04 or an elevator it's
30:07 crazy everybody in Chicago talks about the
30:08 the
30:10 weather I can't think of a better way to
30:12 waste your time because you can't do
30:14 anything about it anyway and just by the
30:21 changes baseball season is starting
30:22 before long I'll be talking about
30:26 baseball there's so much innan insipid
30:28 conversation we have the privilege of
30:30 opening our mouths and sharing Jesus
30:33 Christ he was a prophet in God's service
30:36 and he failed in his high
30:38 calling and I think the church has done
30:40 the same thing God has called us to
30:43 speak out ye shall be Witnesses unto me
30:44 to the uttermost parts of the Earth but
30:46 we don't do it so on these three on
30:49 these four levels Jonah failed God said
30:51 Jonah if you'll just go to Nineveh
30:53 you'll fulfill your purpose as a
30:55 creature in my universe all of the
30:58 universe will be cooperating with you if
30:59 you obey me but you know what he
31:01 disobeyed and everything in the universe fought
31:03 fought
31:07 him the wind was against him the waves
31:10 were against him the Mariners were
31:12 against him after they couldn't get the
31:16 ship to land the dice were against him
31:19 the great fish was against him
31:21 everything was against Jonah when as a
31:25 creature he was not obeying the Creator
31:26 this is why people out of the will of
31:28 God have such a tough time time all of
31:30 the universe is fighting against him but
31:33 you know when we're obeying the will of
31:35 God everything in the universe works for
31:38 us the stars in their courses will fight
31:41 for you when you're walking in the will of
31:42 of
31:45 God if you haven't read lately or never
31:49 have read Dr Olsen's magnificent book
31:51 doctar read
31:54 it I cannot get over when I first read
31:56 that I said to myself this is the
31:58 closest thing to Jay Hudson tlor in
32:01 modern times I've ever read how God did amazing
32:03 amazing
32:06 things in answer to prayer because
32:09 people were in the will of God the
32:12 weather worked for them everything just
32:13 went right
32:16 together Jonah did not fulfill his
32:17 purpose as a human
32:20 being he did not have compassion for
32:22 fellow human
32:26 beings and therefore he ended up in
32:33 ocean Jonah did not fulfill his purpose
32:34 as a
32:38 Believer as a member of God's covenant
32:42 family so God had to chasen him Jonah
32:44 did not fulfill his purpose as a servant
32:48 of God a prophet and therefore God
32:50 couldn't talk to him anymore God wanted
32:51 to talk to him face to face but he
32:53 couldn't do it had to talk to him
32:54 through the wind had to talk to him
32:56 through a storm had to talk to him
32:59 through a fish
33:00 I tell you friend when you get to the
33:02 place in your life where God can't talk
33:08 out well fortunately Jonah didn't stay
33:10 that way but we have to pick that up
33:13 next time then Jonah
33:16 Jonah
33:18 prayed what is the message of Jonah
33:26 missionary all the angels are looking
33:28 down watching Nineveh any minute now any
33:40 there a missing missionary but you know
33:41 who was missing the most the missionary
33:44 was missing the
33:47 most he was missing the privilege of
33:50 fulfilling everything that God had made
33:52 him because he was rebelling against the
33:54 will of
33:56 God that's why the scripture says the
34:00 way of the trans transgressor is
34:03 hard that doesn't mean a bum on skid row
34:05 that means anybody the way of a
34:08 transgressor is hard if you're missing
34:15 missing if you obey God's will and I
34:18 obey God's will it means fulfillment
34:22 becoming all that we can
34:24 become and the result is people get
34:26 saved and God is glorified and all the
34:29 universe works with with
34:31 us and there's
34:37 missing because if you're missing the
34:39 will of
34:43 God you're missing the blessing of
34:46 God gracious father someone right now
34:48 may be out of your
34:51 will and knows
34:53 it perhaps it's some unbeliever who's
34:55 never been saved and God is not willing
34:57 that any should perish we know it's your
34:59 will for them to come and Trust Christ
35:00 help them to
35:03 come perhaps it's some
35:05 student perhaps it's some member of The
35:07 Moody Church Father I don't know but I
35:10 pray that your spirit will so apply the
35:13 word that we'll realize tonight what a
35:15 privilege it is not just an obligation
35:19 but an opportunity to do the will of God
35:21 and to find that blessed fulfillment in
35:23 every area of Our
35:27 Lives to your glory to that end I pray
35:31 pray that as we sing this time of song of
35:32 of
35:35 dedication that um we might do it from our
35:37 our
35:40 hearts and that we might not go
35:42 away running in the opposite direction
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