Talk

Running and Chasing

Ben Stuart

April, 8, 2018

Fixed points are the only things that we can really use to find our bearings. In this message from Ben Stuart, we are kicking off a new series looking at the journey of Jonah. In the story of Jonah, we can find two fixed realities to help us know the direction God is wanting us to head, and we must, for the storms are coming and without the proper directions we will not make it through.

Key Takeaway

Everybody runs. The best thing you can do is figure out how you run. And then turn and face God again, acknowledge who you are, confess, and surrender yourself back to Him. He will chase you down, but it's because of His grace.

There is a tendency in us to resist the leadership of God. To run from Him. It doesn't make sense for us to do it, but we do it anyway. It's called sin.

There is a tendency in God to chase us. He interrupts our self-destructive behavior. It's called grace.

Jonah 1:1-2. God calls Jonah, a prophet, to go to Nineveh. That city was massive, but it was also the most violent city of that day. Nineveh as a whole is an intimidating foe. The Israelites and the Ninevites both hated each other. Overall, the mission sounded crazy and Jonah wanted nothing to do with it.

Jonah 1:3. Jonah runs. The book of Jonah is filled with humor and wordplay. The first example is that God said "Arise and go", Jonah arose and fled going in the exact opposite direction from where God directed him. Jonah did what he wanted to do. Three times in one paragraph he flees from the presence of the Lord. We all do this. It started in Genesis 1-3, Adam and Eve did what they wanted. We do what we want. The best self-knowledge you can have is to know how you do things your own way. Paul's was coveting. Elijah's was his mouth. Augustine's was lust. We are made for God, but we run after vain things.

How does God respond? Verse 4.

He chases Jonah. Proverbs 3:12 says the Lord disciplines those He loves. Sometimes to get you to see the problem, God will introduce pain. He doesn't do it to hurt you but rather to help you. It usually happens in one of two ways.

1) He will not give you what you want.

2) He will give you everything you want and you'll find that it's not enough.

Jonah goes down in the boat and goes to sleep. There's a repetition of the word "down". Down to Joppa, down to the ship, down to the hold, down to sleep. It's making the point that as you run from God, your life starts to spiral down. This is also our world right now. As Christians make mistakes and try to do things their own way, they start going down, feeling sorry for themselves. Meanwhile. the world is spinning and needs the Christians to arise and call on God. See verse 6.

What do you do when you realize everybody runs and so have you?

1) Face God. Just stop running, turn, and face Him.

2) Acknowledge who you are. Be honest about it. See verse 9. The other sailors didn't care when Jonah told them that he was running for God. However, they really cared when he told them that his God was the God who created the sea. That scared them because it made no sense. Why are you running from the God who created the sea in the sea that He created!? It makes the same amount of sense when we do it: none. We can't outrun God. He knows exactly where we are.

3) Confess. Jonah confesses what he's done and owns all of it. Verses 10-12.

4) Surrender to God. In his giving himself over, the sailors turn to God as well. When we finally get honest and surrender, it causes others to take God more seriously. Jonah knows God is God over the sea, so he tells them to throw him over to Him. He didn't know how it would all work out, but it was part of his surrender and his trusting God.

Jonah 1:17. The fish that swallowed Jonah is not punishment, it's a rescue. God appointed the fish. Why? So we would know that God did it, that He is the means of rescue, the means of grace.

Traditionally, on the Day of Atonement, every year the people would read the book of Jonah. Collectively they would say, "I am Jonah", they would recognize that they have run from God and sinned, but God chased them. Jesus loves this story and talks about it often. He too says he is like Jonah. Was he a sinner and had run from His Father? No, but he would get thrown into the storm of God's wrath for us. He would be buried for 3 days for us, and rise to save us. He will be the one to calm the wind and the waves. He will set us back on track and rescue us.

“

"The best self-knowledge you can have is to know how you run (do things your own way"

”

Ben Stuart

Discussion Questions

What is an example of how you have run from something God called you to do and how God chased you down?
Why did it seem like a disaster to go to Nineveh? Did Jonah have good reason to not want to obey?
Everybody runs. Everyone does something the way they want to do it. Paul coveted, Elijah fired off at the mouth, and Augustine had a lust problem. What's yours?
Ben told a story about a dove having to get constricted to be moved to a place of freedom. We usually see pain as a bad thing. How does God use it for good? See Proverbs 3:12.
Why is the use of repetition of the word "down" to be noted? How is this seen in Christians today?
What is the first step you should take when you realize you have been running from God?
How is Jonah 1:9 an example of how we should respond? Read Jonah 1:10-12. What did Jonah confess that scared the sailors so terribly? Why did it terrify them?
Finally Jonah surrenders. How do the lives of the sailors change because of it?
Have you ever thought of the fish as being the rescue plan instead of punishment?
Why did Jesus love this book so much?

Scripture References

Jonah Flees From the

Lord

1The word of the

Lord

came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2“Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

3But Jonah ran away from the

Lord

and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the

Lord

4Then the

Lord

sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

7Then the sailors said to 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. 8So they asked him, “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?”

9He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the

Lord

, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the

Lord

, because he had already told them so.)

11The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

12“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.”

13Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14Then they cried out to the

Lord

, “Please,

Lord

, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you,

Lord

, have done as you pleased.” 15Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16At this the men greatly feared the

Lord

, and they offered a sacrifice to the

Lord

and made vows to him.

Jonah’s Prayer

17Now the

Lord

provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

The Beginning

1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

6And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

11Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

20And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Ben Stuart

Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime.