0:05 [Music]
0:07 welcome to back to the Bible radio in
0:09 just a moment we'll join pastor and
0:11 best-selling author Warren Weir's beat
0:13 or an encouraging message from God's
0:16 Word but first let me remind you to
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0:37 that's back to the Bible org now God's
0:39 work depends upon God's workers and
0:42 God's workers have to do God's will
0:44 using God's Word that's what we
0:46 discovered from the first two verses of
0:49 The Book of Jonah in Chapter 1 we find
0:53 Jonah afraid of God's will he's running
0:56 away and he learns the lesson of God's
0:58 providence that you can't run away from
1:01 God that God has everything in control
1:04 consider now the losses that Jonah
1:06 experienced because he refused to obey
1:08 the will of God these are the same
1:10 losses that you and I will experience if
1:13 we try to run away from the will of God
1:17 first of all he lost his high purpose
1:20 God said arise and go to Nineveh but
1:23 verse 3 says but Jonah rose up not to go
1:26 to Nineveh to flee unto Tarshish the
1:29 opposite direction from the presence of
1:32 the Lord and he went down to Joppa and
1:34 he found a ship going to Tarshish so he
1:37 paid the fare and went down into it to
1:39 go with them unto Tarshish from the
1:41 presence of the Lord
1:44 Jonah was too smart a man to know or to
1:46 think that he could run away and go to
1:48 some place where God couldn't see him
1:51 when we're told that he left the
1:53 presence of the Lord
1:55 twice in verse three and you also find
1:57 it in verse 10 he had told the man that
1:59 he fled from the presence of the Lord
2:01 this phrase means he resigned his
2:04 commission a prophet stood in the
2:07 presence of the Lord a prophet would say
2:09 in the name of the Lord before whom I
2:12 stand and Jonah said I'm no longer going
2:14 to stand in the presence of the Lord I'm
2:17 gonna go at my way now everything in
2:19 nature has a purpose to full
2:21 Phil and you'll notice in the book of
2:23 johna that everything did fulfill God's
2:28 will the wind the waves the worm the big
2:32 fish the boats the dice the gourd
2:35 everything in this book fulfills the
2:38 will of God except Jonah and Jonah has
2:40 the most to lose
2:42 he lost his high purpose what was his
2:45 high purpose to serve God and to do
2:48 God's will it's interesting to note that
2:51 the heathen sailors tried to rescue
2:54 Jonah in verse 13 nevertheless the men
2:57 rode hard to bring her to land but they
3:00 could not for the sea rage and was
3:02 tempestuous against them
3:04 Jonah said throw me in they said oh no
3:07 before we'll do that we'll try harder to
3:09 get to land isn't this something the
3:12 heathen sailors were willing to save the
3:15 preacher but the preacher wasn't willing
3:17 to go to the heathen to share the
3:19 message that God had given to him
3:21 you know sometimes unsaved people put us
3:24 to shame by their devotion and their
3:27 dedication so Jonah was a creature in
3:29 God's creation he should have obeyed the
3:32 Creator furthermore he was a prophet
3:34 whom God had called but before we
3:36 criticize him let's stop and ask
3:38 ourselves are we doing all that we ought
3:41 to do to reach a lost world for Jesus
3:43 Christ we are creatures in God's
3:46 creation we are human beings we are our
3:47 brother's keeper
3:49 we are certainly a part of the New
3:52 Covenant as believers in Jesus Christ we
3:55 have been called to serve Him in one way
3:57 or another are we fulfilling that purpose
3:58 purpose
4:02 Jonah's first loss was he lost his high
4:05 purpose he's no longer living to serve
4:09 God he's living to please himself in
4:11 verse 4 I noticed he had a second loss
4:14 he lost the voice of God but the Lord
4:17 sent out a great wind into the sea and
4:20 there was a mighty tempest in the sea so
4:22 that the ship was in danger of being
4:25 broken why did God send a wind a storm
4:28 because Jonah would no longer listen to
4:30 the word you see when we won't listen to
4:32 God's words then we have to
4:35 into God's works and sometimes God has
4:39 to speak to us very very loudly using
4:42 the storm and the wind God could no
4:45 longer talk to him through the word God
4:47 had to speak to him through the storm
4:49 God even had to speak to him through the
4:53 heathen sailors in verse 6 so the ship
4:55 master came to him and said unto him
4:58 what meanest thou o sleeper arise call
5:00 upon thy God if so be that God will
5:03 think upon us that we perish not this
5:05 word perish keeps showing up here that
5:09 we perish not in verse 14 they said
5:11 wherefore they cried unto the Lord and
5:13 said we beseech thee O Lord we beseech
5:16 thee let us not perish for this man's
5:19 life and lay not upon us innocent blood
5:22 for Thou O Lord has done as it pleased
5:25 thee they were perishing do you realize
5:27 that today there's a world filled with
5:30 people who are perishing and it's
5:31 important that you and I get the word
5:32 out to them
5:35 he lost his high purpose and he lost the
5:37 voice of God is God talking to you
5:40 through his word do you hear the voice
5:43 of God saying this is the way walk ye in
5:46 it there was a third loss that he
5:48 incurred verse five he lost his
5:51 spiritual energy then the Mariners were
5:53 afraid the Hebrew word translated
5:56 Mariners really means salts the old
6:00 hands the these experienced sailors not
6:01 experienced sailors don't get frightened
6:03 in a storm but this was a very special
6:06 storm and they knew it then the Mariners
6:08 were afraid and cried every man unto his
6:10 God that didn't do any good
6:13 they cast forth the wares that were in
6:15 the ship into the sea to lighten it of
6:17 them that didn't do any good either the
6:21 storm got worse but Jonah was gone down
6:24 into the sides of the ship and he lay
6:27 and was fast asleep the Jewish people
6:29 were not Mariners they were landlubbers
6:32 and as such they weren't too interested
6:35 in being on a ship in a storm I'm amazed
6:39 that Jonah could sleep on that ship in
6:41 that terrible storm when the Mariners
6:43 were afraid you see he lost his
6:45 spiritual energy he was sleeping instead
6:46 of serving
6:49 he was selfish he wasn't sacrificing for
6:51 others he wasn't trying to do anything
6:54 to save even those crew members he was
6:57 in danger and didn't realize it a false
6:59 security and did you notice the
7:02 direction that Jonah is taking he went
7:06 down to Joppa he went down into the ship
7:08 he went down into the sides of the ship
7:10 when you rebelled against the will of
7:12 God there's only one way you can go and
7:13 that's down
7:16 he lost his spiritual energy there's a
7:19 fourth loss that he incurred verses 6 &
7:22 7 he lost his power in prayer the
7:24 shipmaster came down and told him to
7:28 wake up and pray and apparently he did
7:31 but nothing happened because in verse 7
7:32 they said everyone to his fellow come
7:35 let us cast lots that we may know for
7:37 whose cause this evil is upon us and
7:39 they cast lots and the lot fell upon
7:42 Jonah Jonah was not praying he was
7:44 sleeping sounds like the Apostles in the
7:46 garden doesn't it when Jesus was praying
7:49 they were sound asleep now we aren't
7:52 told that Jonah actually prayed but we
7:54 are told that the situation got worse
7:56 and they had to discover who was to
8:00 blame some 66:18 says if i regard
8:02 iniquity in my heart the Lord will not
8:04 hear me that means if I know there's sin
8:06 in my life and I'm keeping it there and
8:08 I'm protecting it and I'm defending it
8:11 God is not going to hear me pray in
8:13 verses 8 9 and 10 Jonah lost his
8:16 testimony they cast lots and the Lots
8:18 fall upon Jonah and they say to Jonah
8:20 what's going on so he tells them I'm a
8:23 Hebrew I fear the Lord you'd never know
8:25 it the God of heaven who made the sea in
8:28 the dry land Jonah believed in creation
8:29 but he wasn't willing to obey the
8:33 Creator and the men asked him why has
8:35 thou done this and he had told them that
8:38 he was running away from the will of God
8:40 you see Jonah had a wrong attitude
8:42 towards service he thought that service
8:44 was something you turn on and off today
8:46 I will serve God tomorrow I won't serve God
8:47 God
8:49 he had a wrong attitude toward
8:51 witnessing he thought that witnessing
8:52 was something you could do whenever you
8:53 felt like it
8:55 we are always serving God we are always
8:58 witnessing we are their good servants or
8:59 bad servants
9:02 good witnesses or bad witnesses here's a
9:04 man who lost his testimony can you
9:06 imagine that here's the preacher on
9:09 board ship the only man on the ship who
9:11 knows the true and living God and he's
9:13 lost his testimony it's like when
9:15 Abraham went down to Egypt he lost his
9:17 testimony before Pharaoh and Pharaoh
9:21 rebuked him and now Jonah has lost his testimony
9:22 testimony
9:24 well they say what should we do he says
9:27 cast me forth into the sea I know that
9:29 it's my fault and it's interesting here
9:32 Jonah would rather die than do the will
9:35 of God the trouble is he didn't die to
9:40 self and that's the tragedy had he died
9:43 to self had he given himself totally to
9:45 the Lord this never would have happened
9:48 well as I've already mentioned in verse
9:51 a 13 the heathen sailors did their best
9:54 to try to save Jonah and then they cried
9:55 out to God and said don't blame us for
9:58 this and in verse 15 they took up Jonah
10:01 and cast him forth into the sea and the
10:03 sea ceased from its raging a miracle
10:04 took place
10:07 he lost his testimony and he almost lost
10:10 his life not because he was devoted to
10:12 the Lord but because he was disobedient
10:14 to the Lord he'd rather die than serve
10:16 it's a dangerous thing to rebel against God
10:17 God
10:20 King Saul rebelled against God he lost
10:23 his life Samson rebelled against God he
10:26 lost his life Ananias and Sapphira in
10:29 Acts chapter 5 rebelled against God they
10:31 lost their lives for this cause many are
10:34 weak and sickly among you and and some
10:36 sleep said the Apostle Paul to the
10:39 Corinthians it's possible to disobey God
10:41 and be chastened to the point where God
10:44 will take the life and that's a
10:48 dangerous thing Jonah almost lost his
10:51 life then the men feared the Lord
10:54 exceedingly and offered a sacrifice
10:56 under the Lord and made vows it's rather
10:59 interesting that God used this
11:01 experience to convert these heathen to
11:03 believing in the true and the Living God
11:06 well Jonah didn't lose his life he'd
11:09 lost his high purpose he lost the voice
11:11 of God he lost his spiritual energy he
11:13 lost his power in prayer
11:15 he lost his testimony and he almost lost
11:18 his life but God in His mercy spared him
11:21 the Lord prepared a great fish and the
11:24 great fish swallowed up Jonah and Jonah
11:26 was in the belly of the great fish three
11:29 days and three nights you know why
11:32 because God loved Jonah and God was more
11:34 concerned about the worker than he was
11:37 the work he know that Jonah needed to
11:41 obey you count the cost of serving God
11:43 you'd better count the cost of not
11:47 serving god it's far more costly to
11:50 disobey God than to obey Him obey Him
11:52 and he will bless you don't be like
12:01 now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah
12:04 the son of a myth high saying arise go
12:07 to Nineveh that great city and cry
12:10 against it for their wickedness has come
12:15 up before me Jonah chapter 1 verses 1 &
12:18 2 The Book of Jonah is a love story
12:22 God's love for Jonah in God's love for a
12:24 lost world
12:27 because God loved Jonah he called him to
12:30 be a part of this love story and yet
12:33 Jonah disobeyed God there are four
12:36 factors involved in this marvelous love
12:39 story and these four factors are given
12:42 to us in Jonah chapter 1 verses 1 & 2
12:47 the first factor is God's work our Lord
12:50 Jesus Christ said my father has been
12:54 working and I am working we must work
12:56 the works of him that sent me while it
12:59 is yet Dave what is God's work God's
13:02 work is the work of winning a lost world
13:06 to salvation that's why the church is
13:09 here God has not left us here for the
13:11 purpose of just fighting battles or
13:14 carrying burdens God's left us here to
13:17 be a blessing God's left us here to use
13:20 our hands and our feet to use our lips
13:23 and our eyes and our ears and all of our
13:26 being to Minister the gospel of Jesus
13:29 Christ to a lost world are you involved
13:32 in God's work are you praying for the
13:33 lost are you praying for those who
13:36 minister to the lost are you giving that
13:39 people might come to know Christ God's
13:42 great concern is for a lost world and
13:45 this is why we are here factor number 2
13:48 in this love story is God's Word now the
13:52 word of the Lord came unto Jonah you see
13:55 our God is a God who speaks throughout
13:57 the Book of Jonah you'll find that when
14:00 God speaks things happen in verse 4 God
14:03 speaks to the wind and the wind begins
14:05 to blow and there's a mighty tempest on
14:10 the sea in verse 15 once again he speaks
14:11 to the sea
14:14 into the wind and it ceases it's raging
14:18 he's a God who can speak to nature he
14:21 speaks to the great fish in verse 17 of
14:23 chapter one and the fish swallows Jonah
14:26 he speaks to the fish again in chapter 2
14:30 verse 10 and the fish regurgitates Jonah
14:33 our God is a God who can speak to the
14:37 wind and to the waves and to the fish he
14:40 even speaks to a gourd in Chapter four
14:42 of Jonah he prepares the gourd and the
14:45 gourd grows up in shelters Jonah and
14:47 then God speaks even to a lowly little
14:51 worm in chapter four verse 7 and that
14:54 worm causes the gourd to die then God
14:57 speaks to another wind in chapter 4
15:00 verse 8 and this hot wind blows upon
15:03 Jonah is it not interesting that God
15:07 speaks to nature and nature obeys God
15:10 speaks to a man and the man disobeys
15:14 everything in nature obeys God even the
15:18 stormy winds fulfill his word but when
15:21 God speaks to man man says well I don't
15:23 think I'll obey and Jonah decided to go
15:26 in the opposite direction today while
15:29 you hear his voice harden not your heart
15:33 god's word is the second factor in this
15:36 love story and god's work means getting
15:40 out god's word to a lost world now
15:42 what's God saying to us today well he
15:45 says all authority in heaven and on
15:49 earth is given unto me go get going go
15:50 into all the world and preach the gospel
15:53 to every creature repentance and
15:55 remission of sins shall be preached
15:58 beginning at Jerusalem as the father has
16:01 sent me so send I you you shall receive
16:03 power when the Holy Spirit is come upon
16:05 you and you shall be witnesses unto me
16:07 unto the uttermost part of the earth he
16:10 says to us get going because the Word of
16:14 God is what fulfills the work of God
16:18 God's work factor number 1 god's word
16:21 factor number 2 now factor number 3
16:24 god's worker now the word of the Lord
16:28 came unto Jonah the son of Amitai saying
16:33 God spoke to a servant God spoke to his
16:38 prophet Jonah Jonah was a prophet in the
16:42 palace of Jeroboam ii he was sort of the
16:44 court chaplain we might assume and he
16:46 was a well known prophet he had
16:48 prophesied victory for Jeroboam and this
16:53 had happened Nineveh needed Jonah arise
16:55 go to Nineveh that great city and cry
16:57 against it for their wickedness has come
17:00 up before me 14 times in the Book of
17:02 Jonah you'll find the word great and
17:04 whenever Nineveh is referred to it's
17:06 called a great sitting it was a great
17:10 city the city and its suburbs really
17:12 forced cities put together had a
17:16 circumference of about 60 miles they had
17:20 a huge wall around this arrangement of
17:23 cities probably a million or more people
17:28 lived in Nineveh at that time and it was
17:30 a great city great in history and great
17:33 in size and great in splendor and great
17:37 in power great in sin and Nineveh needed
17:39 Jonah because Nineveh was a wicked City
17:42 but you know what Jonah needed Nineveh
17:45 you see the will of God is the
17:48 expression of the love of God for us
17:53 Jonah was a very patriotic Jew the
17:56 Ninevites were enemies of the Jews and
17:58 Jonah did not want the enemy to succeed
18:01 he had good theology as you stay The
18:03 Book of Jonah you'll discover this man
18:05 has wonderful theology he knows all
18:07 about God he can quote scripture by the
18:10 yard and he has his theology straight
18:13 but he's very narrow he doesn't believe
18:15 in bringing the message out to anybody
18:19 else he's selfish and God says to Jonah
18:22 I want you to go to Nineveh Nineveh
18:25 needed Jonah but Jonah needed Nineveh
18:27 this is why God has put you where you
18:30 are you need that job you need that
18:33 exposure you need that challenge God was
18:36 going to put something into Jonah and
18:38 bring something out of Jonah
18:40 that he never could have accomplished
18:43 had he left Jonah where he was oh I'm
18:45 just like you I I don't like things to
18:48 change I like to get comfortable with my
18:51 circumstances and comfortable with my
18:53 work and wake up in the morning and say
18:55 well I can handle things today and then
18:57 along comes a challenge from God and I
18:59 say Lord I can't handle this and he says
19:03 how else are you gonna grow God uses
19:06 people to accomplish his work factor
19:08 number one God's work winning a lost
19:12 world factor number two God's Word the
19:14 word of the Lord came factor number
19:17 three God's worker the word of the Lord
19:21 came unto Jonah factor number four God's
19:24 will verse to arise go to Nineveh that
19:27 great city and cry against it for their
19:30 wickedness has come up before me God
19:33 gives to - Jonah the specific details of
19:35 what he wants him to do where he wants
19:38 him to go when he wants him to go what
19:41 he wants to do the will of God is not
19:43 something we have to mysteriously search
19:47 into God shows us what he wants us to do
19:50 and then as we obey his will he reveals
19:51 more to us
19:54 the problem is Jonah did not have the
19:56 right attitude toward the will of God in
19:58 chapter one he was afraid of God's Will
20:01 O God if you loved me you wouldn't send
20:03 me to Nineveh the Ninevites are wicked
20:05 people they skinned people alive they
20:08 are terrible people arise and go to
20:11 Nineveh don't be afraid of God's will in
20:14 Chapter two Jonah wanted God's will only
20:16 because he was in trouble he was in an
20:19 emergency oh I've met people like that
20:21 they get into an automobile accident or
20:24 sickness or surgery or something else oh
20:25 I want the will of God why didn't you
20:28 want the will of God before well I
20:29 didn't need it I was afraid of it and
20:31 yeah but now you want it because you're
20:34 in trouble and Jonah ran to God because
20:36 it was an emergency chapter three of
20:39 Jonah he obeyed the will of God because
20:41 he had to is afraid not to
20:43 God might chasing him again and there
20:45 are many people who today are doing
20:47 God's will only because they have to
20:49 they don't do it from their heart
20:51 because they love God
20:53 they can't say with the Lord Jesus my
20:56 meat is to do the will of him that sent me
20:56 me
20:58 I am nourished by the will of God I
21:01 enjoy the will of God just like sitting
21:04 down to a wonderful meal no no they just
21:06 do the will of God because they have to
21:09 in chapter 4 Jonah learned the most
21:11 important lesson in life he learned to
21:13 love the will of God he learned to do
21:15 what God wanted him to do because of his
21:17 love for people and his love for the
21:22 Lord God's will and of course the result
21:23 of all of this is because Jonah was
21:26 afraid of God's will he starts to run
21:28 away God said arise and go but he rose
21:31 up to flee and you'll notice he starts
21:34 to go down down to Joppa down into the
21:37 ship down into the bottom of the sea
21:40 down down down when you fight against
21:41 the will of God you go in one direction
21:45 down down when you obey the will of God
21:48 you go up and you get closer to the Lord
21:50 these are the four factors that are
21:53 involved in this great love story God's
21:56 work he wants to win the lost in this
21:58 world are you a part of God's work God's
22:02 Word he tells us in his word what his
22:05 will is are you in the Word of God do
22:07 you believe the Word of God God's worker
22:09 are you available to do what God wants
22:12 you to do now the word of the Lord came
22:15 on to put your own name there arise go
22:19 to where God wants you to go the fourth
22:21 factor is God's will do you really want
22:23 God's will are you afraid of it are you
22:26 running away from it are you obeying it
22:28 because you're afraid or are you obeying
22:30 the will of God because you really love
22:34 him Ephesians 6 6 doing the will of God
22:37 from the heart God's Word still comes to
22:41 us personally lovingly because the will
22:43 of God is the expression of the love of
22:46 God don't run away from God's will enjoy
22:48 it it's the greatest thing in all the
22:51 world thanks for being a part of our
22:53 back to the Bible listening family so be
22:55 sure to come back again for more wisdom
22:57 from God's Word [Music]
