God will always have the last word - Greg Laurie - http://www.wnd.com/2014/06/god-will-always-have-the-last-word/?cat_orig=faith
Pastor Greg Laurie identifies several applicable lessons from story of Jonah
There is probably no story in the Bible more ridiculed than that of Jonah and the whale. The problem is that we focus so much on the whale, or the "huge fish" as the Bible calls it (Jonah 1:17 NIV), that we end up missing the forest for the trees. The essential message of Jonah is not about a whale. It is really a story about a man who was given a job to do, and he refused to do it. But because God loved Jonah, he would not let him off the hook. God got his attention, Jonah finally obeyed, and a massive revival took place.
God had spoken to Jonah and told him to go and preach to the great city of Nineveh. But Jonah effectively said no, and he boarded a boat going in the opposite direction. Jonah went down to Joppa, then he went down to the bottom of the ship, and then he went down into the stomach of a huge fish. Finally, he went down into the depths of the sea, reminding us that any step away from God is always a step down.
Now, why did Jonah not want to go and preach to the people of Nineveh? The answer is very simple: He didn't want God to spare them. You see, God had told him to go and preach to this city, and Jonah knew that judgment was coming. The way he saw it was that if he didn't preach to them, judgment would come, and Nineveh would be wiped out. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the avowed enemy of the Jewish people. Not only that, but the Ninevites were renowned for their wickedness and atrocities. In fact, God himself said, "Their wickedness has come up before Me" (Jonah 1:2). In other words, the sins of Nineveh were stinking to high heaven.
Historical records, in addition to biblical history, tell us that the Ninevites would boast of the horrific things they would do to people. They would behead captives and take the skin off their bodies to mount on the city walls. They would build monuments boasting of these horrible things. So when God told Jonah to go to these people, Jonah said, loosely paraphrased, "There is no way." So he found a ship, paid the fare and went in the opposite direction.
Sin will always take you further than you want to go, it will keep you longer than you want to stay, and it will cost you more than you want to spend. And know this: God will always have the last word.
The Bible tells us that God "sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up" (Jonah 1:4). He sent a mighty storm to get the attention of the prodigal prophet. Meanwhile, all the sailors were crying out to their gods. None of them had the right one, but they called out to the various deities. Theirs was an emergency religion. As it has been said, there are no atheists in foxholes. (I am sure there are a few, but not too many.) Humans are invariably religious creatures. When a crisis hits, it is almost like a knee-jerk reaction to invoke God's name. That is a good thing if you are calling out to the right God. But none of these sailors did. So, they cast lots. (We might call it drawing straws.) They determined that the culprit and cause of the storm was Jonah. They knew that storms like this never happen. This was not a normal storm. It was unusual. It was bizarre. And they found out that the culprit was Jonah. So they woke him up and said, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" (Jonah 1:8)
So Jonah told them, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land" (verse 9). They had heard of this God. This was Yahweh, Jehovah. This was the God who parts seas and drowns armies. This was the God who raises the dead.
They said, "What have you done?" (verse 10). Instead of following God, Jonah was running from him, and I think they were wondering why someone would try to run away from a God so powerful. Jonah was being called out for his hypocrisy. They were already scared by the storm, but when they found out that the God of Israel was behind it, it really scared them.
So Jonah told them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me" (verse 12 NKJV). The men basically ignored him and kept trying to row against the waves and return to land. They were trying to do things their own way, but they could not. So they finally tossed Jonah overboard, and sure enough, the storm was gone. Meanwhile, God had a custom-designed watercraft moving in Jonah's direction: "The Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah" (verse 17).
Jonah was inside the "great fish" for three days and three nights before he prayed. Now, that is stubborn. But he was a child of God, and he finally broke down. Jonah, the prodigal prophet, prayed from the fish's belly, reminding us that we can call out to God wherever we are. It was an amazing prayer. Eight times he quoted from the book of Psalms, from portions of the Scriptures he had committed to memory.
It's interesting to note that Jonah did not ask to be delivered; he simply started praising God. Jonah was wrapped in seaweed, no doubt with a bunch of stinking fish lying around. Do you think that felt good? Yet he praised God and gave thanks to him. Then we read that God "spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land" (Jonah 2:10).
Maybe there in the belly of that fish, Jonah had wondered whether God would ever use him again. God was certainly under no obligation to do so. But all this happened to Jonah because he was loved by God.
The Bible is filled with stories of people like Jonah to whom God gave second chances, including Adam and Eve, Samson, David, and Simon Peter. Do you need a second chance? God loves you. He will forgive you. And he will give you a second chance.
Pastor Greg Laurie identifies several applicable lessons from story of Jonah
There is probably no story in the Bible more ridiculed than that of Jonah and the whale. The problem is that we focus so much on the whale, or the "huge fish" as the Bible calls it (Jonah 1:17 NIV), that we end up missing the forest for the trees. The essential message of Jonah is not about a whale. It is really a story about a man who was given a job to do, and he refused to do it. But because God loved Jonah, he would not let him off the hook. God got his attention, Jonah finally obeyed, and a massive revival took place.
God had spoken to Jonah and told him to go and preach to the great city of Nineveh. But Jonah effectively said no, and he boarded a boat going in the opposite direction. Jonah went down to Joppa, then he went down to the bottom of the ship, and then he went down into the stomach of a huge fish. Finally, he went down into the depths of the sea, reminding us that any step away from God is always a step down.
Now, why did Jonah not want to go and preach to the people of Nineveh? The answer is very simple: He didn't want God to spare them. You see, God had told him to go and preach to this city, and Jonah knew that judgment was coming. The way he saw it was that if he didn't preach to them, judgment would come, and Nineveh would be wiped out. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the avowed enemy of the Jewish people. Not only that, but the Ninevites were renowned for their wickedness and atrocities. In fact, God himself said, "Their wickedness has come up before Me" (Jonah 1:2). In other words, the sins of Nineveh were stinking to high heaven.
Historical records, in addition to biblical history, tell us that the Ninevites would boast of the horrific things they would do to people. They would behead captives and take the skin off their bodies to mount on the city walls. They would build monuments boasting of these horrible things. So when God told Jonah to go to these people, Jonah said, loosely paraphrased, "There is no way." So he found a ship, paid the fare and went in the opposite direction.
Sin will always take you further than you want to go, it will keep you longer than you want to stay, and it will cost you more than you want to spend. And know this: God will always have the last word.
The Bible tells us that God "sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up" (Jonah 1:4). He sent a mighty storm to get the attention of the prodigal prophet. Meanwhile, all the sailors were crying out to their gods. None of them had the right one, but they called out to the various deities. Theirs was an emergency religion. As it has been said, there are no atheists in foxholes. (I am sure there are a few, but not too many.) Humans are invariably religious creatures. When a crisis hits, it is almost like a knee-jerk reaction to invoke God's name. That is a good thing if you are calling out to the right God. But none of these sailors did. So, they cast lots. (We might call it drawing straws.) They determined that the culprit and cause of the storm was Jonah. They knew that storms like this never happen. This was not a normal storm. It was unusual. It was bizarre. And they found out that the culprit was Jonah. So they woke him up and said, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" (Jonah 1:8)
So Jonah told them, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land" (verse 9). They had heard of this God. This was Yahweh, Jehovah. This was the God who parts seas and drowns armies. This was the God who raises the dead.
They said, "What have you done?" (verse 10). Instead of following God, Jonah was running from him, and I think they were wondering why someone would try to run away from a God so powerful. Jonah was being called out for his hypocrisy. They were already scared by the storm, but when they found out that the God of Israel was behind it, it really scared them.
So Jonah told them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me" (verse 12 NKJV). The men basically ignored him and kept trying to row against the waves and return to land. They were trying to do things their own way, but they could not. So they finally tossed Jonah overboard, and sure enough, the storm was gone. Meanwhile, God had a custom-designed watercraft moving in Jonah's direction: "The Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah" (verse 17).
Jonah was inside the "great fish" for three days and three nights before he prayed. Now, that is stubborn. But he was a child of God, and he finally broke down. Jonah, the prodigal prophet, prayed from the fish's belly, reminding us that we can call out to God wherever we are. It was an amazing prayer. Eight times he quoted from the book of Psalms, from portions of the Scriptures he had committed to memory.
It's interesting to note that Jonah did not ask to be delivered; he simply started praising God. Jonah was wrapped in seaweed, no doubt with a bunch of stinking fish lying around. Do you think that felt good? Yet he praised God and gave thanks to him. Then we read that God "spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land" (Jonah 2:10).
Maybe there in the belly of that fish, Jonah had wondered whether God would ever use him again. God was certainly under no obligation to do so. But all this happened to Jonah because he was loved by God.
The Bible is filled with stories of people like Jonah to whom God gave second chances, including Adam and Eve, Samson, David, and Simon Peter. Do you need a second chance? God loves you. He will forgive you. And he will give you a second chance.
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY PROPHECY WEBSITES...............................
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.