A Big Storm, A Big Fish - A Big God

A couple of recent news stories highlight the fact that a lot of our trouble in this life is self-inflicted by either unwise decisions or actions just four weeks ago today on July 3rd. A man by the name of Philip Contas died in an accident that probably could have been prevented. 55 year old motorcyclist was participating in New York State in a protest against a protest ride against the helmet laws for motorcyclists. And as he was cruising down the highway on his Harley he began to fish tail. Lost control of his Harley was catapulted over the handlebars, hit the pavement on his head and died in a protest against helmet laws. State police who arrived on the scene said his accident would not have been fatal if he had been wearing a helmet. In February of this year an unnamed man was taken to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He had a real serious gash in his face and a bullet lodged in his sinus cavity. The doctors were able to repair the damage and take care of him and he did survive but as they began to question what had happened they heard an amazing story. This guy had been chewing on a bullet. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Had been chewing on a bullet when it went off. Self-inflicted. Now I know that would be extremely rare, seemingly impossible, but that's what happened to him. Much of what we do in this life, much of the pain, much of the difficulty that we face in this life, if we trace it back to its origin is self-inflicted because of unwized decisions and actions that we ourselves have made. Certainly that is true of the Old Testament prophet Jonah. We're in a series in the book of Jonah and also I invite you to turn to the book of Jonah and find your place there in Jonah chapter 1. Jonah is commanded by God as we saw last week to go to Nineveh. Get up, go to Nineveh, God says. Immediately you have this commission to go to Nineveh and preach my judgment, preach my message against them. But Jonah, Jonah got up and went the opposite direction. Now please remember that what Jonah was being told to do and commanded to do by God was not an easy thing to do. The nearest relationship we can find that makes any sense to what Jonah would be called upon to do would be if you and I were called upon to go to the Taliban today. Remember a Syria was a world power that was extremely brutal and cruel in its treatment of towns and cities and nations that they conquered. It would be similar to God saying to us, go to the Taliban. Tell them I love them but they will be judged if they don't repent. You're going to want to take that message to the Taliban? Think of think of if the Taliban were the world power in control of this world. The number one power in all of the world and you're going to tell them God's going to judge you. It was a difficult thing that Jonah was being asked to do and when Jonah receives God's command, Jonah says no. Jonah's response is to turn and go the other way and as we saw last week he was resigning his prophetic commission. He was resigning and throwing in the towel. He was quitting the ministry. He was saying to God, I will no longer worship you. I will no longer serve you. I am going the opposite direction to get as far away as I can from anything that reminds me of my formal life of service to you. I'm done. God says Jonah responds and the question we find today is how will God respond? I assure you he will. He will respond. God will respond. This is like a chess game. Every move that Jonah makes God will counter move. God will not let his prophet get away and if you are God's child you cannot disobey him with impunity. You cannot get away disobeying God. You try to run from God. You try to go the opposite direction. He's told you in his word to live. You try to abandon your commitments to him. Your faithfulness to him. He will not let you go. He will pursue you. He will chase you. The hound of heaven as the poet said will come after you. He will counter every move you make. The writer to the Hebrews said it this way in Hebrews chapter 12 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son in door hardship as discipline. God is treating you as his children for what children are not disciplined by their father. So God when his children disobey him will discipline. He will pursue. He will not let you go. He will counter your every move. Paul said it this way to the Corinthians when they were bringing sin, sinful attitudes and actions into the Lord's suffer the fellowship meal that preceded their communion service. Paul said this to them. He said for those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. Now these are believers and because of their sinful lifestyle bringing God's judgment on them and he goes on to say that is why many among you are weak and sick and a number of you have fallen asleep. Paul's word for actually have died. But he says if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves we would not come under such judgment. Paul is saying these events have happened in the church at Corinth because you're sending against God you're running from him. You're disobeying him and so God is disciplining you. God is judging you. If we would examine ourselves more carefully we would not have that kind of judgment. God disciplines his own. Now please please listen I want to be very careful here. Not every difficulty in this life is God's discipline. Please don't misread this message. Not every difficulty in life is God's discipline. Many of the things that happen in life simply happen because we live in a fallen world and we are laboring, groaning under the curse just like the rest of mankind, humankind. That's the reason a lot of things happen. But whenever difficulty does happen we need to ask ourselves is there something God would be disciplining before? There may not be. I certainly do not want to paint a picture of God this morning as angry, uncaring, delighting and making life miserable for you. Just girking you up and whacking you around all the time. That's not the God I know. That is not the God of the Bible. But he will discipline children who run from him. And if you're running from him he will not let you get by with that. Jonah is one of the best examples in all of the Bible of that very thing. If you disobey God, if you run from him he will not leave you alone. He will pursue you. How will he discipline you? There may be any number of ways in which he will do that. But in Jonah's case we find four elements of God's discipline in his own experience. Four elements that God sent into his life to discipline him. Elements that we would do well to take note of. The first one was a natural disaster versus four and five. Look at verse four. Then stop right there. First word is significant. It's the same word as the word but in verse three. It's a strong negative. It's a strong turn in what's happened. God commands Jonah to go but Jonah. Okay Jonah but God. You see God will counter his every move. If Jonah is going to move God is going to move. So but the Lord sent a great wind on the sea. So God responds first of all with a natural disaster. Would you notice the seriousness of this disaster? The Lord sent the word is literally hurled. It's not just that he allowed this God hurled this great wind at this ship and on this sea. By the way the author who probably is Jonah writing later about his experience uses the same word hurled several times in the passage for emphasis in verse five when the sailors hurled the cargo out of the sea. In verse 12 when Jonah says if you want this sea to calm down hurl me over the side of the ship and in verse 15 where the sailors finally decide to do that and they hurl him over the side of the sea or the side of the ship. By the way there's also another hurling in this passage the whale will eventually hurl Jonah. A lot of hurling going on here although although that hurl is not quite the same Hebrew word I must admit not the same word but it's the same idea. But God is hurling throwing this this natural disaster at the sea. Notice how serious it is. It's a great wind on the sea and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. The interesting way that's stated that actually the ship is is personified the ship is made to act and speak as though it were a person. It's as though the ship is saying to the sailors if you don't do something here I'm going to pieces I'm threatening to break up I'm not going to take this much longer. So the ship is threatening to break up verse 5 all the sailors were afraid now these are experienced sailors the only ships that sailed to the far reaches of the world in that time were Phoenician ships. These were the expert sailors of the ancient world these men knew how to handle a boat. Now these are not novices but they're terrified they're afraid of this storm so much so that the Bible says in verse 5 they each cried out to his own God they are reduced as pagan sailors to crying out to whatever God they can think of might be able to help them in this storm and notice the Bible says they hurled the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship anything that was not batten down anything that could be tossed was being tossed this is no ordinary storm this is a God sent disaster hurled at the sea but in the midst of this serious storm notice if you will the sleepiness of the prophet verse 5 the end of the verse says but Jonah had gone below deck indicating this happened before the storm started this is a past event he had gone down below deck where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep so before the storm started Jonah had gone down below deck had fallen asleep and now as the storm commences and picks up an intensity he's still asleep what an amazing picture that is what an amazing picture we have here people who do not know the Lord are struggling in life's greatest calamity to find answers to that calamity and the one with the answers is asleep that's what happens when you run from God that's what happens when you start running from God people around you who do not know your Lord fighting against the calamities of life struggling to stay afloat going down once twice maybe going down for the last time sinking into spare and you got the answer I have the answer but too often we're asleep what an amazing picture that is when you're running from God you lose your passion for the loss you lose your sensitivity to the needs around you you become self-centered you become spiritually lazy you get a sleep in the light you're asleep while the lost are struggling with life's battles and life's disillusionments trying to figure out how to make sense of life and you've got the answer not even sensitive to what your neighbor's going through not even realizing what's happening across the street or to your coworker asleep what an amazing picture that is for pagans to be struggling and here's a man who has the answer but he's asleep are you asleep are you running from God do you have even any care at all of what's happening around you to this lost and dying world that is going to hell and that is suffering to make sense of life the sleepiness of the prophet I want to be careful here again I want to make a caution I want to give you a caution today about interpreting disasters I hear it you hear it every time an actual disaster comes along earthquake tornado hurricane whatever it may be people some people are very quick to say God's judging us God's judging us and that may be true but be careful be careful not to assign every disaster to the judgment of God just just a couple reminders here remember Jesus had that happen to him in Luke 13 when his disciples can and said you remember the the Galileans whose blood pilot mixed with their sacrifices in other words Galileans in the temple and pilot kills them and their blood mixes with their sacrifices tell us Lord why that happened and Jesus didn't tell them why it happened he basically said the point is this unless you repent you will all likewise perish you went on to say remember the tower of salam that fell and killed 18 people terrible disaster terrible tragedy it's not because these people were in a greater centers in anybody else the lesson we need to learn is not was God judging them no no the lesson we need to learn is we're all gonna die someday and we need to be ready unless you repent you will likewise perish Jesus was asked one time by his disciples about a blind man why is this man blind that he centered at his parents in Jesus said neither his parents nor he sin that's not what this is about so just be careful not to read God's judgment into everything that happens okay just just a caution there but when an actual disaster does happen and a lot of those things happen simply because we live in a fallen world we live under the groaning of the curse upon nature because of man's rebellion against God and the garden and because of that nature has gone awry a lot of it happens for that reason but when it does happen God and his sovereignty sometimes uses those events to get through to his people to challenge us about our own spiritual needs and those events can be times when we seriously think about our direction in life but be careful before you assign every catastrophe to God's judgment on somebody it's not always the case in this case it's very clear God hurled the storm to counter the disobedience of his prophet God sent a natural disaster to discipline Jonah but Jonah is still not repentant and so God sends another element of discipline and that is the embarrassment of discovery Jonah is caught red handed Jonah is caught he is discovered and he suffers the embarrassment of discovery notice what happens in verse six we find that he is caught in laziness look at verse six the captain went to him and said how can you sleep literally the original says the original language this is written in Hebrew says what do you sleeper and others what do you think you're doing sleeping notice he goes on to say this captain does get up and call on your God all the pagans are praying but you're sleeping the embarrassment of spiritual laziness pagans crying out to their God what are you doing sleeping and then he says get up and call on your God all how this must have stung the word get up is the same word that God uses in verse two when he said to Jonah go remember we talked about last week it's actually two verbs get up and go arise and go and now the captain is saying to him arise get up all how that must have gone into Jonah's mind as a sharp arrow from God reminding him of when God said to him get up God said get up Jonah wouldn't do it so now the next thing he hears on this boat is get up you know God has a way of reminding us of our commitments to him God has a way of touching our hearts our consciences of pricking us of convicting us and you may even use an unsafe neighbor to do it to challenge us about how spiritually lazy we are get up oh that's what God said to me get up and I didn't do it his heart is pricked his conscience is challenged get up call on your God notice what he says next maybe he will take notice of us and we will not perish maybe your God will be concerned about where we're perishing God was concerned about them perishing right God was also concerned about the Assyrians perishing and here is a pagan captain crying out to an unknown God a false God reminding Jonah that maybe it's his God that cares about perishing people shameful that Jonah has to be reminded by a pagan that his God is concerned about others Jonah knows that Jonah should be living that but here's a pagan who recognizes that about Jonah's God seemingly better than Jonah does himself how embarrassing pagans praying but not Jonah pagans suggesting that God might be concerned about perishing people but Jonah not caring that God is concerned about the perishing Assyrians how shameful to be discovered in spiritual laziness and how shameful it is for us to be undone by unsafe people how shameful for us to be outdone in our lifestyle by people who don't even claim to know God how shameful for a lost and dying world to live better lives morally than believers do how shameful that is how shameful that pagan people can be more devoted to their religion of trying to work their way to heaven then we are to our great God who so freely given us the gift of heaven how shameful how embarrassing to be outdone by pagans in spiritual duties how shameful for a pagan to outdo us in concern for perishing people concerned for the lost how shameful how embarrassing for pagan people unsafe people to have more zeal and serving their neighbors than we do showing the love of Christ and so God chastens and disciplines his prophet through a pagan sea captain who shows Jonah up spiritually how awful how shameful how embarrassing what a rebuked to me that that happens in my life what a rebuked to me that I can see a neighbor carrying more about the neighborhood carrying more about other people in the neighborhood than me a representative of Jesus Christ in my neighborhood what a shameful rebuked that is to me what a discipline it is from God the embarrassment of discovery he was caught in laziness but notice he was also caught in disobedience for seven then the sailors said to each each other come let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah now if you're familiar with your Bible you may have heard or seen in several locations this idea of a lot and you may have wondered what what is that what are those the casting of lots in Bible times both old and new testaments by the way was a way of determining what decision to make and in some cases even God's guidance lots were kind of like drawing straws you know everybody draws a straw and the shortest straw is the person who's chosen to do whatever except in Bible times probably lots were little stones and there was one of those stones that would have a different color than the others and whoever drew that stone for whatever the case might be would be the guilty party or would be the one chosen to do something or in some way it would indicate God's will God used the casting of lots to indicate his will at times in the Bible in judges chapter seven it was the use of the casting of lots that identified Aiken as the culprit sinner who caused Israel to lose the battle of life in Acts chapter one God allowed the apostles to use lots to choose the apostle who would take Judas's place look at this verse in in Proverbs 16 verse 33 the lot is cast into the lap but it's every decision is from the Lord indicating that God did sovereignly use that means of making decisions to sometimes indicate his will to Old Testament and New Testament people in this case this was a very very common ancient Near Eastern way of making decisions and in this case again God uses it to show Jonah is the problem Jonah is now caught in his disobedience the spotlight is now on Jonah everyone is looking at him the pressure is on and these sailors fire five rapid fire questions at him in verse eight please understand this is not a little tea party here this is not a sit down discussion this is not a meeting that's opened up with the reading of the minutes of the last meeting there in the middle of a storm that's about ready to tear the ship apart and so rapid fire they ask him these questions so they ask him tell us who's responsible for all this trouble on us what do you do where do you come from where is your country from what people are you you can just hear these questions being fired from all sides at Jonah interestingly enough they do not yet know he's the culprit did you notice the first question in their minds the lot just has determined who will explain this to us who will explain who's responsible for this tell us who is responsible for making all this trouble for us by the lot you've been chosen as the one to explain why has this come upon us maybe Jonah will say well the captain did something wrong or whatever the guy who plotted the course plot the wrong course you know they will find out soon enough that it was Jonah himself that was the problem and so Jonah is caught in his disobedience how shameful how shameful how embarrassing for a believer to be caught red handed and shamed by pagans by unbelievers by the world for sinful behavior disobedience to God he was caught in his disobedience but notice that doesn't stop there Jonah was also painfully embarrassingly caught in hypocrisy I mean out and out hypocrisy verse nine he answered I am a Hebrew this is how other people's like Phoenicians would understand who Jews were I am a Hebrew and notice what he says next and I worship the Lord the God of heaven who made the sea in the land oh really you worship God word which means to fear to serve to obey trace the concept of worship through both old and new testament even the original words used for worship which are several in both testaments and they have the idea of submission and obedience of a recognition of a sovereign to whom obedience is due one of the New Testament words even means to to kiss toward which was used of a king that would come and you would kneel and kiss toward blow a kiss toward this king as a sign that you were obedient you reverence him you recognize his authority over you and Jonah says I recognize God's authority over me he's the one I worship the one I fear the one I obey oh really really Jonah his actions prove otherwise do hours do we come to church sing the songs worship God at least outwardly but on Thursday our lives give a lie to what we have said on Sunday and what we've presented on Sunday is that the case with us notice the depth of this hypocrisy in how Jonah talks about God oh he's got great theology notice what he knows about God I am the Hebrew and I worship the Lord capital L capital O capital R capital D Jehovah Yahweh the covenant making God the covenant keeping God the one who makes covenants with his people and keeps them and Jonah all the while is breaking the covenant he's made with God to serve him and be his prophet oh I serve the covenant keeping God great theology he knows who God is he's just not living it and then he says I serve the God of heaven that means the one who lives in heaven who is overall above all who is sovereign over all the universe this great God this big God who rules overall oh really Jonah that's the God you serve and you're not going to obey him and let him rule over your life you're not going to submit to him oh yes he rules over all creation but just not me what hypocrisy and then he identifies him as the creator he's the one who made the sea in the land he made all things he's the creator yes Jonah and he also created people like the Assyrians and he's told you to go minister his message to them you see Jonah is guilty of the same hypocrisy that we all are at times if we know what the Bible teaches great theology we have a doctrinal understanding we know who God is he is we can call his names we can talk about his attributes we know who God is he is the covenant keeping God but we may all the time be breaking our promises to him he is the sovereign overall but I'm not going to yield to him I'm going to live my own life he's the creator of all things but I will not recognize his lordship over people he's called me to you see it's it's one thing to know your theology it's one thing to know your doctrines one thing to know your Bible it's an entirely other thing to live it and Jonah is caught red handed in hypocrisy hypocrisy he is not living what he knows notice these guys pick up on that they know that verse 10 this terrified them what Jonah has just told them terrifies them why I mean their fear is escalating why because if what Jonah says about God is true then they're in trouble they're in trouble this is a great God this is a big God this is a God to whom reverence must be given they recognize that sad to say even better than Jonah does so they're terrified and noticed they asked him what have you done now that's not a question for information they're not trying to document exactly what Jonah has done what what level of disobedience what kind of disobedience this is a statement of shock in fact Jonah indicates that in the parenthesis there in your Bible they knew he was running away from the Lord because he had already told them so that was part of his response to their questions it's just not recorded for us what they're doing is basically this if what you say about God is true then we're all in trouble and what in the world do you think you're doing this obeying a God like that it's shock it's indignation that he would even think to disobey and run from a God like that wow the embarrassment of being caught in hypocrisy living the opposite of what you say you believe and an unsaid person calls you on it how embarrassing how painful but sometimes God uses that to wake us up sometimes he uses that as his discipline it is painful to be caught in sin it is painful to be caught in disobedience and to be caught being spiritually lazy not even as zealous as unsaved people it's painful to be caught in hypocrisy saying you believe one one thing living the opposite but sometimes it's the best thing that can happen to us because God uses it as a sharp discipline to prick our conscience and to challenge our hearts and to get us where he wants us to be the problem is here in our story so Jonah is still unrepentant Jonah does not respond to the second discipline of God the embarrassment of discovery and so God will move yet again God will pursue God will not let him go God will not let his disobedient prophet win God will now move in with this third element of discipline smashed plans and there are a number of plans that take place in these next few verses that God just smashes one right after another the first one is the planned run Jonah's plan to run from the Lord to Tarshish away from God's command and then of a notice verse 11 takes care of that one the sea was getting rougher and rougher so they asked him what should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us Jonah's plan to flee to Tarshish is smashed it's clear he's not going to go to Tarshish this this is not a little storm they're going to weather and get through and it'll be nice on the other side it's clear he is not going to Tarshish God smashes his plan God will not allow him to go sometimes my friend you get busy running from God you get busy living your own life going your own way doing your own thing and you will find God smashing your plans as a discipline to get through to you and get to your heart but there's another plan if Jonah can't run then he will rebel so there is a plan to rebel in verse 12 pick me up and answer to the question Jonah says pick me up and throw me into the sea he replied and it will become calm I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you that doesn't that sound chivalrous doesn't that sound down right brave I know I'm the problem I know how to solve this just pick me up and throw me over board just I'll die I know but the storm will be calmed wow how brave nothing could be further from the truth this is out and out rebellion if the storm is because Jonah is running from God and disobeying him the only thing Jonah needs to do to calm this storm is to repent and obey God and when he says Lord I will obey you the reason for the discipline is no longer present the discipline will cease the storm will subside but Jonah doesn't do that that's all that needs to be done to calm the storm but Jonah says no I will not repent okay Lord you're not going to let me run I'd rather die than to go to Nineveh so guys just throw me over board this is out and out rebellion against God and you know what God is going to do with this plan we'll find in verse 13 and later that God is going to smash that plan Jonah will not even be able to rebel not in the way God will not let him die in rebellion against him so a third plan is hatched this time by the sailors it's the plan to row verse 13 instead the men did instead instead of Jonah's plan the men did their best to row back to land and the word for rose the word which is used other places in the Old Testament of digging I mean they were straining at the ores the sales no longer any good in this storm maybe the masters even broken their resign now to the ores and they're pulling and digging into the sea with all of their might trying to get back to land this is a fierce struggle is the way this presented but notice but they could not for the sea grew even wilder than before so the plan to row smashed God smashes that plan there is only one plan that will work in this situation and that is God's plan to redirect Jonah so notice in verses 14 through 17 after the plan to run a smash after the plan to rebel a smash after the plan to row a smash God says I am going to institute my plan and my plan is to redirect you Jonah notice how it happens verse 14 then they cried to the Lord oh Lord these are the sailors now oh Lord please do not let us die for taking this man's life do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man for you oh Lord have done as you please again they are more concerned about the life of one man than Jonah is about the life of a whole people in Nineveh at least 120,000 people they're more concerned about saving his life how embarrassing how shameful that is God please don't hold us accountable for you have done as you please notice they use the name for Lord Jehovah covenant keeping God are they coming to see are they coming to recognize that this really is the true God is this really an act of repentance on their own part are they coming to true faith recognizing his sovereignty overall things you've done as you please there are those who say well no not really I mean they're just adding this God to their list of gods and probably just recognizing this situation this is the one they should cry out to that may be true but the following verses to me are pretty strong in their affirmation that these men may have come to a true recognition of the true God verse 15 says then they took Jonah and threw him overboard and the raging sea grew calm at this at this the men greatly feared the Lord Jonah said I fear God I worship God but it wasn't genuine these men after what they have seen greatly feared Jehovah God and notice they show it they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him literally the text reads they vowed vows to him probably they did not sacrifice anything right there on the ship remember they've thrown all the cargo overboard but when they get back to land they have vowed vows which shows their earnestness their zeal their seriousness they have made a vow no they have vowed a vow to sacrifice to God I think there's a good likelihood that these men actually recognized who the true God was and genuinely feared him and began to worship him but notice verse 17 here's God's plan to redirect Jonah is now in the ocean and we'll find in chapter 2 that he's sinking but verse 17 but the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah this is God's redirection plan this is God's new ship for Jonah this is the next stage of his journey to get him back to where he needs to be the Lord provided or literally appointed a great fish you see God in his sovereign control over all of his creation and to fulfill his purpose has a fish in exactly the right place at exactly the right time ultimately the reason the fish is there is to deliver Jonah so this is God's redirection plan Jonah's plan to run smashed Jonah's plan to rebel smashed Jonas or the sailors plan to row smashed God's plan to redirect will now be enacted what about you my friend running from God and all of your plans being smashed all of your efforts to try to make life work smashed when you're running from God only God's plan to direct your life to be your Lord and master and direct the way you go will succeed are you willing to yield to him again there's one other thing though before we leave this passage that God uses to get through to Jonah and this this nails it and that is a crisis situation for 17 great fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights by the way three days three nights is used consistently through the Old Testament as a Jewish idiom a Hebrew manner of speaking for any part of three days doesn't have to be three nights just any part of three days can be a 24-hour period and a little bit of the day on either side consistently use that way in the Old Testament and the Jewish expression for that was three days and three nights so Jonah was in the belly of the fish at least we know over 24 hours and it is there that God gets through to him it is there that he will finally repent and pray now I'm fully aware of the problem of the fish again for many many years a lot of attention has been given to the fish liberals have rejected the idea people who don't believe in the miraculous and try to discredit even the history of scripture have said there's no way a fish could swallow a man and conservatives have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to prove that it could be so I believe in the truthfulness of the Bible I don't want to let the fish become the focus of the book what God says is true this book is true if God says a fish swallow Jonah a fish swallow Jonah but just in case you're still doubt look at this picture taken three weeks ago off the coast of Mexico this is a bowl of what a whale shark gathering plantin with its mouth wide open see the diver in front of him but oh wrong place wrong time by the way this happens often off the coast of Mexico I read and these whale sharks are not really any threat to people they just open wide their mouth and gather plankton and stuff that way and people snorkel and and deep sea dive around them all the time and there's no harm intent here but I tell you what I wouldn't want to be in front of that guys mouth look at that mouth look at that don't tell me a fish can't swallow a man okay that's all the attention we're going to give to the fish let's move on what's the point of the crisis the point of the crisis is that the fish is designed to deliver Jonah but also to discipline him also to discipline him can you imagine what this would be like to see that thing coming at you can you imagine what it would be like to look around and see that mouth open like that and realize as water starts to gush toward that mouth you're caught in it can you imagine the darkness inside can you imagine the gastric juices beginning to do their work on you can you imagine what else has come in there with you and it's bouncing up against you but you can't tell what it is because you can't see this is a horrifying experience God is using it to discipline his profit sometimes God allows a crisis in our lives to get our attention it may be listen to me it may be a physical crisis it may be a financial crisis it may be a family crisis sometimes God allows us to be in situations where we have no clue how we will ever get out of it in order to get our attention and it is inside that belly of this fish that Jonah will pray and repent and recommit himself to serving God that's for chapter 2 listen my friend if you are a believer and you are running from God God will not let you do that without disciplining you the writer of Hebrews told us if you're a child of God he will discipline you he will come after you he will pursue you he will not let you get by he will not let you make the final move on the chess board he will counter every move you make I can promise you that he will discipline every child that he accepts is that harsh no no it's not harsh it's the most loving thing he can do for you it's to keep you from destroying yourself and destroying others around you I love the poem written around the turn of the 19th 20th century late 1800s early 1900s by Francis Thompson the hound of heaven songs have been written about this poem including one of my favorite artist Michael Carter wrote a song on this Francis Thompson is talking about trying to run from God and what happens when you do and he says I fled him down the nights and down the days I fled him down the arches of the years I fled him down the labyrinth ways of my own mind and in the mist of tears I hid from him even under running laughter I hid from him from those strong feet that followed feet capitalized to indicate this is God this is the hound the hound of heaven that's following me from those strong feet that followed followed after listen to how he describes God pursuing God chasing but with unhurrying chase an unperturbed pace deliberate speed majestic instancy they beat he's keeping pace with you he's chasing you he's not going to let you go they beat and a voice beat more instant than the feet and here's what Francis Thompson says the voice says all things betray thee who betrayest me then he goes on second stands to describe more what it's like to run from God and he ends with this statement in my own words you will find no shelter if you don't find it in me another stands of what it means to run from God and try your best to make your own way in life ends with this statement you will find no contentment if you're not content in me another stands of Francis Thompson writes of running from God desperately desperately trying to figure out life and it ends this way with that hound of heaven on your track saying do you all things fly away from you because you fly away from me and then finally the runner stops he's exhausted he can't go any further he's desperate he's in a crisis he can't go anymore and he hears the footsteps of the hound of heaven around him and he can feel the breath of the hound of heaven and he's afraid but what the breath says is this I'm not wanting to harm you you've misunderstood my chasing you all along I am the one you're really seeking and he ends with these words you drove love away because you drove me away my friend the hound of heaven will chase you if you try to run from God if you're his child he will discipline you he will pursue you he will not let you succeed or go away from him why because he's mad at you no because he loves you he loves you he wants you to stop so that he can encircle you with his love and let you know I never chased you to harm you I never brought these things into your life to harm you I wanted you to stop pursuing your own way which was going to destroy you you'll only find contentment rest peace fulfillment life in me in me I want you back I want you back God was saying to Jonah I want you back Jonah you're saying to you as he chases you down the corridors of life and your own self will running from him I want you back I want you back let's pray together