Today's Word Radio

Brett Meador: Poor Jonah, the mariners cast him out of the ship, but God did not cast him out. God had his hand on Jonah, and Jonah was not out of the sight of God even though he was in the belly of the whale.

Guest (Male): Pastor Brett Meador reflects on how the whale that swallowed Jonah turned out to be a lifeboat.

Brett Meador: Jesus said in John chapter 6, verse 37, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." The Lord was actually taking him up and getting him going in the right direction.

Guest (Male): With the intention of sailing far away from the call of God, Jonah realized he couldn't get far enough after being tossed in the sea by the sailors amidst a threatening storm. But in his attempt to run from him, Jonah finally recognized that he had never been out of God's hands in the first place. With more from our study of Jonah in Today's Word, here's Pastor Brett Meador.

Brett Meador: Jonah chapter 1. The first part of this story is greatly about rebellion—Jonah's rebellion against the Lord. He goes against the Lord's way, in the opposite direction. God wants him to go one way; Jonah goes the other.

We saw number one, the rebellion against God. We saw the separation from God. But now we see the preparation of God, and we see that in one of the most fascinating verses in all the Bible. I think this is a loaded verse: verse 17 of chapter 1. It says in verse 17, "Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."

What a short little verse, but there's a lot to process there. First of all, the Lord prepared a fish. When you and I prepare fish, that's on a stove with some seasoning and stuff like that, but the Lord prepares a fish to do business with Jonah—to swallow him up for three days and three nights. It makes me wonder. God prepared a fish. That's what the Bible says. The preparation of God.

It makes me wonder, what is God preparing for me to correct me, to get me going on the right direction? For Jonah, it was preparing a fish. Sometimes the Lord will use any number of things that you might say, "Well, that's horrible. That's a bad thing." Do you think Jonah thought, "I've been swallowed by a big fish. That's a problem"? But some of the problems that come your way, if you're walking in rebellion as a Christian or as a non-believer and you're wondering why everything is going so horribly, could it be the Lord is using those things as a vehicle to bring you where you actually need to be?

Some of you know how this works out long-term. You see, "I got fired and I was so upset, but the Lord had a totally different job for me that was going to be better to begin with." What is the vehicle God is using to bring you back where you need to be? That brings us to the fourth consideration: You've got rebellion against God, you've got the separation from God because of your rebellion, and then you've got the preparation of the Lord as he prepares whatever it is that's going to bring you back.

That brings us to the correction from God, and that's what we're going to see in the next verses in chapter 2. Let's take a look. Chapter 2, verse 1: "Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly." That's an interesting place to pray. "And said, 'I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.'"

Mark the word "hell" there. Many of your Bibles have a marginal reference there, and it's the grave. Death, hell, the grave. That's what Jonah is basically saying—I'm in hell. But it's not just general hell; it's the grave, I'm dead, and it's also Hades. That comes into play. Don't forget that; that's going to be part of our study as we get further.

So he says, "The Lord heard me. Out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hast cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, 'I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.' The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed round about me, the weeds were wrapped about my head."

Do you get a little claustrophobic reading this? He's in the belly of a whale. Not only that, he's got seaweed wrapped all around his head, and he's talking about how the waves and everything closed in upon him. This is starting to make me feel claustrophobic. And then he says, "I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me forever." Again, we're talking about Hades and Sheol here. "Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God." Or the pit—you've brought me out of the pit.

Interesting. What are we seeing here? This is the correction from God. God is using this situation to correct his thinking. God wants Jonah to digest the situation that's going on in his life, pardon the pun. I wonder if Jonah thought, "I've gone too far. This is it. I'm dead." Here Jonah thinks he's in hell. He thinks it's over. He even thinks the Lord has cast him out of his sight.

Did you see that in verse 4? In verse 4, "Then I said, 'I am cast out of thy sight.'" By the way, that's what Jonah felt, but I don't think that was actually true. Poor Jonah. The mariners cast him out of the ship, but God did not cast him out. God had his hand on Jonah, and Jonah was not out of the sight of God even though he was in the belly of the whale or the big fish. God still had his sights on him.

I love what John chapter 6 says. Jesus said in John chapter 6, verse 37, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." So Jonah says, "Oh, the Lord has cast me out." Not really. The Lord was actually taking him up and getting him going in the right direction. That's what the Lord does to people he loves.

And so this is the correction of Jonah. God's using this whale to correct his path and to get him going, which then brings him to an interesting point, number five on our list of considerations: the desperation of Jonah. So it's bad enough that he's in this whale and he says, "I'm in hell," and seaweed wrapped around my head. But now, how desperate is he?

The question is, before we read this, how desperate will you be before you finally say, "Okay, Lord, I repent, and I want to go your way and go with your word and your truth"? How far will you go? Well, Jonah takes it to the very end. Check it out. You can tell when he says, verse 7, "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord." Now pause for a second. Many of you have gone to a point where your body has fainted within you.

Have you ever worked out so hard or exerted so much energy where you literally run out of fuel and you literally can't move? I've done that a few times in my life where I was just trying so hard and working so hard physically, and you're done. I can't move. I can't go. But what about your soul? That's your mind and your emotions. When you get to that point where you're saying, "My soul is done," that's when you know you've reached the end.

But Jonah's like, "I've got nothing left. My soul faints." And then he says, "But then I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came in unto thee, into thy holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy." In other words, there are people that just say, "Yeah, whatever, we're not going to repent, and so we're not going to see mercy." But Jonah says, "That's not me. But I," verse 9, "will sacrifice unto thee," which means he's acknowledging his sin, "with the voice of thanksgiving, and I will pay that which I have vowed." And then he says, "Salvation is of the Lord."

This is where Jonah's desperation brings him to the beautiful place where you and I need to be: a place of repentance and confession. That's what we all need, whether you're micro-rebelling—just some small little thing in your life that you've chosen to rebel against the Lord—or if it's huge and you've rejected God altogether and you've never accepted Christ and you're an unbeliever, unsaved, and you're in rebellion. The answer is confession and repentance.

Jonah had reached that place of brokenness, and that's why he ends up in his place of desperation. He's broken to that point of desperation. His soul is fainted. And so finally he just says, "O Lord, have mercy on me." And he's broken and repentant. That's what's required of you and me, just like Jonah.

I love the end of verse 9. It says, "I will pay that I've vowed. Salvation is of the Lord." And that brings us to our final point: Salvation is of the Lord. Jonah's salvation was only going to come from the Lord. No one else could save Jonah. He was at a place where there was no other alternative.

And then let's finish this chapter. Verse 10 is hilarious: "And the Lord spake unto the fish." Do you speak fish? God does. I want to get the video of this and understand. Did the Lord say, "Mr. Fish?" and he's like, "Yeah. Would you go barf out on the beach and make sure Jonah is out there?" He's like, "Okay." What did the Lord say, or how did that work? I don't know, but the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon dry land.

This is where I probably think too much, too much detail. But what did Jonah look like at this point? I mean, he's half-digested. The gastric juices in this big fish had to do a number. In fact, there are people that have actually measured what would have happened to a guy who had been in a big fish's belly for three days and three nights. The first thing is the clothes would have just deteriorated right off his body.

And his skin would have been bleached white because of the bleaching nature of the gastric juices. And maybe even his hair gone—his beard and his hair—because of the way the hair follicles would react to the juices in the stomach. So maybe a bald, naked guy that's as white as snow. Can you imagine you're just sitting on the beach, all of a sudden this whale barfs and this guy gets up stark naked, looking like Casper the Friendly Ghost?

No wonder the men of Nineveh said, "Okay, we'll repent!" Jonah must have been a scary dude at this point. I don't know for sure, but that's where my mind goes with all these things.

So salvation belongs to the Lord, as the Bible says. As soon as Jonah was swallowed by the big fish, he starts going in the right direction. This fish just starts swimming back. I love that. This story is a beautiful picture of something more than just a repentant rebel. That's a beautiful thing—how the Lord takes a guy in his rebellion and turns him around and gets him going back on track. I love that part of the story.

But did you know there's even a greater truth in this story? This story is a picture of Jesus Christ. It speaks of Jesus, what happened after he died on the cross, was in the tomb for three days, and then rose from the grave. "Brett, how do you make that?" Well, this is the good thing. It's not me making this up. This is Jesus who said that. So if you've got a problem with what I'm saying, you've got a problem with Jesus. Would you turn with me to Matthew chapter 12?

Now the scribes and the Pharisees, the religious leaders who were very critical of Jesus, they're wanting to see more signs and wonders from Jesus. He'd already healed people and raised people from the dead and done miracles, but do miracles ever really bring about real faith? The answer is no. That's why Jesus responds like he does here when these guys come up. Check it out. Matthew 12:38.

It says, "Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, 'Master, we would see a sign from thee.' But Jesus answered and said unto them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.'"

Who's the greater than Jonah in this story? Jesus. Why is Jesus greater than Jonah? Well, that's ridiculous. I don't even need to cover that, but let me talk about a few things. First of all, Jonah was preaching judgment and wrath, and he really wanted that upon Nineveh. But the Ninevites repented. Jesus came preaching kindness and grace. People marveled at his gracious words. That's why Jesus was better than Jonah.

Jonah was disobedient. Jesus said, "I always do the will of my Father." Jonah was preaching to one city. Jesus was going to change the whole world. I could go on and on about how Jesus said, "There's one here that's greater than Jonah." Now the religious dudes of that day, they almost sainted Jonah by that time. "What? Who's better than Jonah?" And the reason they thought Jonah was so cool is because he preached eight words, and the whole city of Nineveh—this evil, horrible city—all repented and got saved. Eight words and he just, whole city changed.

But Jesus said, "But a greater than Jonah is here," and even makes a correlation: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." What's that all about? Well, this is where a lot of Christians haven't really done their homework in the Bible. I'm actually kind of always shocked when I bring this up. People look at me like, "Brett, you're making this stuff up."

But this is what happens if you actually follow through the way things go out. Let's back up. A little quiz time for you. When Jesus died on the cross next to the thief, and remember the thief that believed in Jesus? What did Jesus say to the thief when he started believing? "Today you'll be with me in Paradise." Is Paradise heaven? No, it's not. Now this is where some of you are like, "Wait a minute, Brett, what are you talking about?"

Paradise is not heaven. Paradise is half of a place. What do you mean half of a place? Do you remember Abraham's Bosom? In the Bible, there's a place called Abraham's Bosom, and it's a place that has two sides. Luke chapter 16 gives us the picture of this. Remember the rich man and Lazarus? The rich man goes to Hades and Sheol. That's the bad side of Abraham's Bosom. And the poor guy, the beggar, he ends up in Paradise.

And there's a whole parable about that, and there's this great gulf between the two. And remember the guy in the torment side? He says, "Oh, just a drop of water on my tongue, for I am in torment." And he goes and says, "At least go and tell my brothers of this place so they don't go here." He was in a place called Hades and Sheol. Another idiom of that in the Bible is the center of the earth. Now is it literally in the center of the earth? I don't know, I've never been there.

But there is a place, according to the Bible, called Abraham's Bosom. Half of it's good, half of it's bad. The good side's Paradise; the bad side's Hades, Sheol—sometimes referred to as hell. You say, "Okay, Brett, that's great, whatever." Okay, we already established Jesus said, "Today you'll be with me in Paradise," which means Jesus went to Paradise with this guy on the cross. Which means Jesus went to Abraham's Bosom.

Remember what Paul said? Jesus, before he ascended into heaven, what did he do first? He descended where? In the lower parts of the earth. This is what we're talking about. Jesus took the thief on the cross down to Paradise with him. Now we're going to go deep into theology. What did Jesus do when he was there? It's the first thing he did when he got there. He was preaching to demons. Yes! Wow, that's good.

Now why would you preach to demons? Well, it wasn't really preaching for their salvation. He was preaching against the demons of the hell side of death and hell. Are you guys with me still? Bible says that. Before he ascended, he descended, and the first thing he did was preach. And there's more detail here; I'm just giving you the fast version. What's the next big thing that he did that's really important? He then led captivity captive.

That's the King James way of saying he took all the people that were in the Paradise side. Now who's that? All the believers of the Old Testament. Abraham and anybody who was a believer before Jesus died on the cross. They were in that Paradise side, which was a good place, but he took them out of that place and brought them to heaven at that point.

Now this is confusing to people. Abraham's Bosom, the Paradise side, has now been retired. The Paradise side doesn't seem to have a purpose anymore in the world's history or future. Because when you die today, you'll be with the Lord. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. When you die today, you don't go to Paradise; you go to heaven. That's what the Bible teaches. That's some good news.

If you die today as a non-believer, where do you go today? Same place: the bad side of Abraham's Bosom, Hades or Sheol, death and hell, as the Bible calls it. The same language Jonah used, by the way, when he said, "I am in death and hell when I'm in the belly of the whale." That's the language Jonah was using.

So that's where those people are now. Will that be the place that those people are for all eternity? The answer's no. What does in fact happen to the people that are in Hades or Sheol, death and hell? The Bible says there will be a resurrection of the dead. There are two resurrections: there's a resurrection unto life and there's a resurrection unto death. And that's in Revelation chapter 20.

What is this? When, pray, will the people in Hades and Sheol be taken up out of there? Does anybody know? The Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the millennial kingdom. There's the Rapture of the church, in my opinion, the seven-year tribulation period, then you've got the millennial kingdom—a thousand years where Christ rules and reigns on the earth. At the end of that time, read Revelation 20. It says all of death and hell—Hades and Sheol—will be taken up to the Great White Throne Judgment where all people who rejected Christ and will not be saved will stand before God and be judged for their sins.

And at that point, there's no turning back. There's no turning back once a person's in Hades or Sheol too. But when you stand before the judgment, the Great White Throne, it says that at that time, Revelation 20, Satan and all his demons will be thrown into—now this is where we get confused. The Greek word is Gehenna. But that's the more traditional hell that we all think about. When we think of a lake of fire and eternal darkness and all the horrible stuff of hell, that's the hell. That's the eternal hell that everybody who's rejected Christ, including Satan and all his fallen angels and demons, they'll all be thrown into Gehenna.

That's the long-lasting hell. And after the Great White Throne, it says not only will Satan and his demons, but all of death and hell, all of Hades and Sheol, will be thrown into that final place called Gehenna. "Well, Brett, now you're scaring—are you a fire and brimstone preacher?" I have to agree with the Lord. The Bible says, "Oh, the Lord would that no one would perish." "Well, if God is love, he won't send people to hell." Exactly!

But God doesn't force you to go his way. You can rebel against him, but you're on your way to hell and destruction. And that's why you've got to repent of your sins. If you're not a believer in Christ, it's time to really re-evaluate, because the Bible makes us really clear what's going to happen. That those who reject Christ are going to be in real trouble. And you don't have to do that. Why? Because when Jesus came—Jesus, who is God, Emmanuel, God with us—came and died on the cross for our sins.

Jesus said, "I'll take your penalty, and instead of you going to hell, I will die on a cross with nails in my hand and feet. Even though I'm perfectly innocent, I will take the sins of the whole world upon myself." God took the sins of the world upon himself so that anyone who would want to be saved, that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. You'll be part of that second resurrection. One's a resurrection unto death and hell; the other one's a resurrection to life in eternity in heaven with the Lord.

You didn't deserve it; you didn't earn it. But anyone who wants it can have it. Nobody's going to be able to say, "Well, that wasn't fair that God sent me to hell." Nobody will say that, because God has given all of us a chance to repent, change our mind, go God's way. It's really a decision God leaves in your court. What are you going to do?

And some of you have tried it without God, and you wonder why your life is not—you might even have everything going on. You might be wealthy and healthy and seemingly wise, but you're still unhappy. Because you're still in your sin. You've got to repent. You've got to Psalm 51, "Lord, forgive me. Be merciful to me and forgive me of my sins." And the Lord, he's amazingly merciful. His mercy endures for how long? Forever.

And his grace is sufficient for you, the Bible says. I did all the hard work. That's why Jesus on the cross said, "It is finished." And so all you've got to do, according to Romans 10:9 and 10, is if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart the Lord Jesus, that God raised him up from the dead, it says you will be saved.

Jesus did what Jonah did in that sense. He died on the cross, was buried, descended, led captivity captive, and then he ascended into heaven. And then he said anyone who will receive the work of the cross will be saved. So anyone who can confess with their mouth, believe in the cross, and believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, it says you will be saved. It's the gift of God: eternal life. Don't miss that chance. So if you're in a micro-rebellion as a Christian, turn 180 degrees, confess, and the Lord will get you back on track. But if you're in a huge rebellion saying, "I haven't believed in God, I haven't accepted Christ, I'm still in my sin," today is the day of salvation. Don't wait. Be saved.

Guest (Male): Pastor Brett Meador has been drawing important New Testament application for us from the remarkable plight of the prophet Jonah from Today's Word. And Pastor Brett has some important closing comments in response to this message in just a moment. But first, Today's Word is the radio ministry of Athey Creek Church in the Portland, Oregon, area where Pastor Brett Meador is the senior pastor. We invite you to find out more by going to todayswordradio.com.

If you've missed any portion of our study, you'll find all of his messages online at todayswordradio.com. I also want to mention that in addition to the main Athey Creek campus in West Linn, Oregon, we also have locations in Hillsboro and McMinnville. For more information, go to todayswordradio.com and click on the link "Locations". Again, todayswordradio.com and click the link "Locations". Well, before we go, here again is Pastor Brett Meador with some concluding thoughts for us today.

Brett Meador: I wonder if there might be a few who would say, "Yes, I need to repent of my sins." Just because you may have gone to church or owned a Bible or said happy thoughts or whatever, that doesn't mean you're saved. The saved person is a person who repents and confesses and says, "Lord, I'm a sinner. I acknowledge my sins before you and I receive the gift of forgiveness from the cross." And by that confession with the mouth and the belief in the heart, the Bible says you'll be saved. So if that's you and you want that, I'd like to pray that prayer of confession of faith right here, right now. The Lord hears your heart, and he knows your attitude as you're praying this. So know that he is the one who will hear and save, and let's just do this together.

Dear Father in heaven, I believe in your Son Jesus Christ, that he came and died on the cross for my sins, that he rose up from the grave and that I'm forgiven. Help me to walk with you. Thank you for saving me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Lord, I pray blessing upon these who've just confessed faith. Lord, would you wrap your loving arms around them? May they know the reality of your forgiveness and your mercy. Just lift their spirits with joy, Lord, because what an amazing thing for you to lift the burden of sin off our shoulders, Lord. We didn't deserve that, but you're gracious and merciful. We applaud you, Lord, for your goodness. And I pray for the Christians that have been long-time Christians. Lord, may we walk in your truth. Help us not to be sucked into worldviews that are contrary and rebellious, but help us to follow you in your word. And this we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Guest (Male): Amen. Pastor Brett Meador here on Today's Word. And if you've just prayed those words with Pastor Brett, we want to welcome you into the family of God. And to help, we've put together some teachings that will help you begin your walk with Jesus. Just go to our website at todayswordradio.com and click on the link "Are you a new believer?". Again, todayswordradio.com and click the link "New Believer". Well, we're so glad you've joined us today. Next time, Pastor Brett Meador will share another verse-by-verse study from the book of Jonah.

Today's Word with Pastor Brett Meador is an outreach of Athey Creek Church in West Linn, Oregon.