The Christians Hour

Bob Russell: It's time now for The Christians Hour. Thank you for joining us today. It's a joy to have you with us. The Christians Hour is a ministry of Gospel Broadcasting Mission, where we use radio and media to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world, proclaiming that hope and salvation found in him until all have heard.

You know, the Bible tells us that God sent his only son into the world to save it. That means you and me. You see, Jesus, he came for every person who has ever walked on this earth. Well, did you know that God is pursuing you today? He wants you to know you're loved, that your life has purpose, and that he has plans for you. No matter what you've done, where you've been, or how far you've run, his arms are still open. His grace is still enough. His pursuit of you is not driven by condemnation, but by love and mercy and forgiveness.

In today's message, Rick Atchley, lead pastor of The Hills Church, he continues our study through the book of Jonah. He explores how Jonah tried to run from God by distance, by direction, and by distraction. But no matter how far he went, he was never beyond God's reach. You see, God's pursuit of Jonah would not be stopped. And the same is true for you. There's no place too far, no failure too great, and no life too lost for the grace of God to reach. So let's explore this in the life of Jonah. Here's Rick to share more.

Rick Atchley: What I love about the Bible is that it is so honest about the faith and the flaws of its heroes. When you look at that great chapter on heroes of faith, Hebrews 11, every person in there had flaws. In fact, some of those people—Samson, Gideon, Jephthah—I wonder how did they get in there? And that's what I think when I consider the story of Jonah. What a flawed saint he was.

The story of Jonah reminds us that we all have times when we try to run from God. But it also reminds us that at no time will God stop running after us. So, we're going to go back to chapter one of the book of Jonah. God said, "Go take the word to Nineveh." Jonah rebelled. He knew what kind of God he served. He did not want to see Ninevites saved. He did not want to see them repent. He did not want to see them have revival. He thought God made a mistake. And so he got on a boat and he tried to sail as far away from that assignment as he possibly could.

We're going to pick up now in verse four. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All 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.

The 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." Then 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.

So 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?" And he answered, "I'm a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." This 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.

The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to make the sea calm down for us?" "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." Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.

Then 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." Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him. Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Rick Atchley: And so Jonah says, "I want nothing to do with what God wants me to do." He didn't think he could escape the presence of the Lord. He thought he could escape the service of the Lord. He thought he could get so far away from where God wanted him to be that this mission couldn't take place. And so he goes down to Joppa to get on a boat. I told you, the Hebrews did not like the sea. Nobody got on boats. He's the only person in the Old Testament ever depicted on the Mediterranean Sea.

By the way, do you think it was a coincidence that Jonah was able to find a ship sailing for Tarshish so conveniently? If you want to run from God, the devil will always give you a ride. Not all open doors come from God. Sometimes the devil opens a door to help you run from God. And we see this in Jonah. In fact, it's interesting how the text depicts him in a constant state of descent. He went down to Joppa. He went down below deck. He lay down to sleep. And ultimately, he was thrown down into the sea.

What the author's doing is he's mirroring physically what is happening to Jonah spiritually. Here's the thing. You can't stiff-arm God and become a better person at the same time. You can't turn your back on God and turn into a healthier human being. But even as you try to run away, you can't keep God away. God doesn't recognize your stiff-arm. Jonah takes off for Tarshish and the very next verse says, "But the Lord sent a great wind on the sea."

Now, obviously, it wasn't blowing when they took off. They looked at the weather, everything seemed like it was safe sailing. They take off and this storm came up so suddenly that it caused the sailors to think there's something supernatural about this storm. And they each began crying out to their particular god.

Mike Breaux: I need to take a quick timeout for a side point, because this story illustrates a very important point. And that is that when you run away from God, you often take other people with you. That when you make bad choices that cause storms to come up, the waves often splash on the innocent. I'm talking to a lot of people right now whose lives have been deeply impacted by the storms caused by someone else's disobedience.

Someone else's alcoholism cost you the childhood you should have had. Someone else's infidelity blew up the marriage that you pledged to last a lifetime. Someone else's breach of integrity has damaged or cost you your reputation. Someone else's dishonesty or laziness in the marketplace might have cost you a promotion or even a job, or in some cases, their lack of ethics even cost you your savings.

Perhaps saddest of all, someone else's hypocrisy may have damaged your faith. Personal disobedience can have communal consequences. And that's what's happening in this story. These men, their lives are being threatened because of someone else's bad choice.

Aaron Brockett: Because the sailors don't know which god is responsible for this storm, they're puzzled and they're irritated that Jonah is not praying. They say, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god!" Hey, have you ever been asked by somebody to pray to the very God you've been avoiding? That's awkward, isn't it? Because people who schedule disobedience don't typically schedule quiet times. The college students heading to the coast on spring break to see how wild they can live and drunk they can stay, the girlfriends going to Vegas to do the same thing, the guys on a business trip planning a night at a strip club—none of them are saying, "But first I need to do my daily Bible reading."

Rick Atchley: But Jonah, he didn't have to pray to find out what was going on. He knew. The wanderer did not have to wonder who sent this storm. He replied, "I worship the Lord. I worship Yahweh, the name of Israel's God." And Jonah said, "He's the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land."

Back then, everyone thought everyone's god had a particular place they were lord over. Jonah says, "My God owns it all." And in that short statement, he says some huge doctrinal truths. He says the sovereignty of God knows no borders. You can't go to a land, you can't go anywhere on the sea where the God I worship isn't in charge. He says creation does what he tells it to do because he made it all. And he says, "And you can't run and hide from this God like I tried to do."

Jonah is doctrally correct. He's got huge theology, but he's got a puny heart. He knows what's going on. Instead of being able to run from God, Jonah realizes, "I have run right smack into God." And that storm should have been his wake-up call, literally. He should have woken up and he should have said, "Guys, my bad. Row me back. Row me back to land so I can go and fulfill my assignment from God." I think that sea would have been instantly calm and that's exactly what could have happened.

Rick Atchley: But Jonah, he says instead, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea. I know it's my fault that this great storm has come upon you." Now, let that sink in. Instead of going to Nineveh, preaching the word, and hoping that that city repents and is saved, Jonah says, "I would rather die if it means the people of Nineveh will die too." He was sunk by his own ethnic idolatry and bigotry. You see, Jonah was a committed nationalist. The first words out of his mouth were, "I am a Hebrew." And he was guided by this mantra: Israel first, everything else second, including God.

You know, the way the story's written, who could blame God for just writing him off? But the same God who chases pagans also chases prodigals. So they throw him into the sea, and the water does become calm. And it says the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah. And that fish was just as ordained as that storm. I imagine a conversation something like this: Lord says, "Fish." And fish says, "Yes, Lord." "Got a job for you." "Yes, Lord." "I need you to go pick someone up." "Yes, Lord." "I need you to deliver him somewhere. I'll tell you later." "Yes, Lord." "Now, fish, this is really important. I need you to swallow, not chew." And the funny thing in the book of Jonah is that everybody—fish and worms and winds—everybody in the book obeys God better than Jonah does.

Rick Atchley: You see, God specializes in interventions. You can run away from his will, but you can never escape his reach because God loves you and me too much to let us get comfortable with our compromise. And so God will send storms to correct us and perfect us.

Listen to what I just said. It's one of our least favorite truths of the Bible. In fact, I'm about to read what I think is one of the best verses in the Bible, but one of the least popular. It's from the book of Hebrews, chapter 12. "Don't give up when he corrects you, for the Lord disciplines those he loves." In other words, God doesn't just calm storms, God will send storms when we have gotten off course to correct and perfect us.

Ben Cachiaras: Here's the whole sermon in one sentence: that God does not chase to pay back, but to bring back. You see, a lot of people read this book and think the fish was God's punishment. No. The fish was not Jonah's sentence, the fish was Jonah's salvation. See, God didn't need Jonah. He could have sent some other prophet to Nineveh. He chased Jonah because Jonah needed God. And this is why God chases us, even if it means sending a storm.

Rick Atchley: Can you think of a time in your life when like Jonah you made choices that took you away from God? And God had to do something extreme to get your attention. It could have been a health issue, a job loss, a family crisis. It could have been God letting you go to prison. Your past doesn't define you or determine your future. And you made choices that brought great hurt to your life and maybe the lives of others. But God is not trying to pay you back. God wants to call you back. Everyone I'm preaching to, no matter where you are, needs to hear this right now. You can run from God, but God's storms are faster than your ships. And God loves you too much to compromise when you get off course.

Rick Atchley: You see, this book is really more about God pursuing Jonah than about God pursuing Nineveh. And God is going to be as faithful as Jonah is stubborn. But chapter two is a prayer. He's inside this fish, and Jonah prays. And you can read it and it is a beautiful prayer. Every part of the prayer is a scripture quotation. Jonah knows his Bible. Jonah has good theology. And he prays such great and beautiful and awesome things. Hang on to that.

And it says that after that prayer, verse 10 of chapter two, end of chapter three, the Lord commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. And then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you."

And let me tell you, those verses are just drenched with the mercy of God. Even the part about him getting vomited out. You think, well, that's pretty gross. Let me remind you, there's another way you could leave a fish. There's more than one way to exit a fish. God chose the best possible way for Jonah, trust me.

Gene Appel: And Jonah goes to Nineveh. He surrenders his agenda to God, but not his heart. He still doesn't want to go. He still doesn't want to see them repent. Back to that prayer I mentioned—go read it. Not one time in that prayer does Jonah ever say, "God, I'm sorry. God, I repent. God, I am going to go and do the thing you've asked me to do with great joy."

And we're going to see all the way to the end of this book, God keeps chasing Jonah. And the message is obvious. The Jonah spirit needs to be thrown overboard. God doesn't just want us to obey him, God wants us to want to want to obey him and be on board with his will. And what is that will? Well, we've already seen. First, that God pursues all peoples.

The Bible doesn't tell the story of people far from God trying to get back to him. The Bible tells a story of a pursuit that started in heaven. Now here's a verse we all love, it's John 3:16, right? For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Do you understand how shocking a verse that was when it was written? Nobody believed God loved the whole world. God only loved their part of the world. But that's not the message of scripture. That's not the word of Jesus. God loves the whole world. And God's agenda is that his son would be followed and worshipped by people from every nation on the earth. And that means that the idol of nationalism has got to be laid on the altar that's dedicated to the global kingdom of God.

Rick Atchley: We should never assume that some people just don't deserve and they would not even receive the word of God. You know, there's great irony in this text. These pagan sailors are more eager to do the will of God than Jonah is. And when they see that sea calm down, it says that they offered sacrifices and vows to the Lord. Notice, they offered sacrifices and worshipped Yahweh after the storm was over. Now anybody will worship God in the middle of a storm when they want it to go away. But after the storm, these pagan sailors had become convinced there is one true God, the God who has rescued Israel.

Rick Atchley: Our assignment is not to take God to the world. Our assignment is to take God's message to the nations where God is already at work. Nineveh, the ruins are in modern-day Iraq. And the very place where Jonah is sent, God is still at work and bringing people into surrender to the lordship of his son. You have never met a person God is not chasing. Because God not only pursues all people, but God pursues all prodigals.

You know, the story could have ended chapter one, verse 15. They threw him overboard. End of story. What's the moral? Don't be like Jonah. But the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. See, God doesn't give up just because men have trouble giving up. The scripture says 2 Peter 3, "God is being patient with you. He doesn't want anyone to be lost. He wants all people to change their hearts and lives." And so the word of grace comes to you and me a second time, and a third time, and a fourth time, and a 100th time. And God's capacity to redeem is greater than our capacity to rebel.

Acappella Ministries: Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me

You have been so, so good to me

Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me

You have been so, so kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it, I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me

You have been so, so good to me

When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me

You have been so, so kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it, I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it, I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Bob Russell: How about you? Are you running? Do you feel too far gone from God to pursue you? To save you or to use you? Slow down and recognize that the very one you may be running from is the one who came to rescue you. Turn to Jesus. Trust in what he has done for you. Come and discover the grace, hope, and purpose waiting for you in him. Step into his grace and walk in his will and follow him with obedience and expectancy because God can use your life in ways beyond anything you could have ever imagined.

Our thanks to Rick Atchley for that powerful teaching today. And our thanks as well to Acappella Ministries for their music of worship. If you'd like to hear this program again or stream it online, visit us on our website at thechristianshour.org. There you'll find all this year's programs and you can download today's message for free. You can also listen on your favorite podcasting platform. Simply search "The Christians Hour".

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