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Running the Wrong Way

Jonah: God’s Matchless Grace
Sunday, February 4, 2024
Pastor Jojo Ma

 

 Jon 1:1-3 1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

Lk 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Jn 5:46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.

It’s very important to learn to read the Old Testament in light of the New Testament and especially how Jesus and the apostles understood and interpreted the Old Testament.

Jesus is all over the Old Testament because he is the centerpiece of the Bible --- God’s Son, the promised Redeemer.

The Bible is not about you, it’s about Christ. The book of Jonah is not primarily about a prophet swallowed by a great fish, it's about a majestic God who gives a matchless grace to a very undeserving sinner.

We will clearly learn of man's sin and God's grace, of man's rebellion and God's rescue, of man's desperation and God's deliverance. And what Jonah learned, and what we will learn, is that we have a merciful God who bestows a matchless grace toward all who believe.

I.          The Authority of the Word
II.        The Foolishness of the Wayward
III.       The Graciousness of the Warning

I.         The Authority of the Word
1-2 1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before Me.”

Do you realize you are reading and hearing the very words of God?

Receive God's Word with great humility and quick obedience.

1-2 1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before Me.”

Have a humble immediacy about it. Trust and obey, right away. The more you respond quickly, the more it becomes habit. And that is what we want to form -- godly habits. And quick obedience is key.

II.        The Foolishness of the Wayward
3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

Learning to identify with Jonah's struggles, realizing that we are very much like Jonah in many ways, is one of the primary keys to understanding this Old Testament book.

3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

This is why church memb in a local church is so crucial to spiritual maturity. Commitment to a local body of believers helps us share life together in Word, prayer, support and encouragement, fellowship, and living out the “one anothers” as a church family. It's a big part of how we grow.

First, he was sinning against his beliefs. 9 I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.

Our profession of faith demands a life of obedience, a life of holiness, a life that is careful how we walk in this world, a life set apart for the Lord, a heart committed to His glory.

Jam 2:18 I will show you my faith by my works.

Second, he was sinning against his privileges.

Third, Jonah was sinning against reason. 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

9 I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.

Ps 139:7-8 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

You can run but you can’t hide. You cannot escape God; there is no place where God is not there. Thinking this is insanity and justifying grievous sin like this will only make things worse.

III.      The Graciousness of the Warning
All sin is idolatry, all our disobedience displays our false worship. Every time we sin, every time we ignore God's Word, every time we disobey Him, we are making ourselves god and choosing to rule our own lives.

We have a God of matchless grace. So God, in His “gracious grace”, gives us warnings. The book of Jonah was written not only to warn Jonah but to warn us. And we must believe that God's warnings are filled with grace.

First, don't neglect Christian fellowship. Heb 3:12-13 12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

One of the most important decisions you can make in life is to commit to a local church and invest in other believers.

Second, don't neglect weekly church attendance. Heb 10:24-27 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

I.          The Authority of the Word
II.        The Foolishness of the Wayward
III.       The Graciousness of the Warning