Listen To Me, I Am The God Of Second Chances.

More On Jonah

With Jonah are the sailors. 

Without knowing it they are involved in a curious history.

These Joppa sailors do not belong to the Jewish people.

 They are pagans, or, in modern terms, non~Christians.

But they have set sail with a member of the chosen people, a Christian.

 The lot of non~Christians is henceforth linked; they are in the same boat.

The safety of all depends on what each does.

But each has his own thing to do.

They are in the same storm, subject to the same peril, and they want the same outcome.

What do these sailors do?

First, they do all they humanly can; while Jonah sleeps, they try all human methods to save the vessel, to keep the enterprise going.

 What experience, nautical science, reason, and common sense teach them to do, they do.

In this sense they do their duty.

 The sailors are in charge of the world, and in normal conditions they discharge their tasks correctly.

We can ask no more of them.

The tragic thing here, however, is that if conditions cease to be normal, it is not the fault of the sailors, the pagans, it is the fault of the Christian who has sailed with them.

 It is because of him that the situation is such that the knowledge and tradition of the sailors can do no more.

 We have to realize that this is how it usually is with the world.

 The storm is unleashed because of the unfaithfulness of the Church and the Christians.

Today, we are in a storm.

While Jonah Christians are asleep below deck. At some point their dreams and visions and zeal have been extinguished.

 In their churches there is more marketing than miracles.

They have no impact.

Todays Christians are mostly living harmless, insignificant lives they have no business living.

 Living lives of secure routines by choice instead of their true destinies.

 Like Jonah, refusing the call to duty and sleeping below deck in the matrix of false security, abandoning destiny.

Recognizing vaguely the presence of spiritual forces, the sailors try next to approach them.

 As each knows best they beseech their gods, both good and evil.

 No doubt they also put their trust in their false gods.

What else can they do, seeing they do not know the true God?

They also turn to obscure powers, magic.

They draw lots.

Then the sailors approach Jonah.

Non~Christians address Christians.

 Jonah, like Christians, is asleep.

But after all, each is calling upon his god, and why should not they be invited to do so as well?

 Even if it does no good.

Perhaps non~Christians do not expect much of Christians.

 But at this event they rouse them, they make Christians see what is really going on.

A remarkable thing about even the active Christian is that he never has much more than a vague idea about reality.

He is lost in the slumber of his activities, his good works, his chorales, his theology, his evangelizing, his communities.

He always skirts reality.

 He views the storm from outside, not as one who is in the boat, even if his intentions, unlike Jonah's are good.

It is non~Christians who have to waken him out of his sleep to share actively the common lot.

A sleep having "a form of godliness" but denying the power. II Tim 3:5.

We are in an end times obsession with security.

We are giving up our destiny for security.

 Jonah wanted to be secure, giving up his God ordained destiny for supposed security.

"We can not be safe as long as we are secure," said Matthew Henry.

 Security is the demented pursuit of all things that remove uncertainty.

 Security offers you food and shelter in exchange for your freedom.

It is the Matrix.

When you subconsciously decide that our nation is unchangeable; that you can't make a difference; that your dream just takes too much out of you; then you end up in the prison of security.

Safety is peace through victory.

It is placing your life at divine risk; choosing to find and fulfill the purpose of your life.

Being in the center of God's purpose for your life is the safest place there is.

Your in the Matrix of a non-impact life.

 Your ministry is over.

 Your asleep below deck on the boat of life.

What's it gonna take to awaken you?

Our nation is not a Christian nation and we sleep below deck...

What happened to our impact?

Our authority?

It is time to wake up.

 It is time to go forth and to fulfill our destiny.

 Time to stop giving up our freedoms to Tyrants, seeking after security, time to obey God Almighty!

Mark 16:15
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

 16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 

17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 

18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

If the Holy Spirit is quickening you, then who can speak against it?

Not even you can speak against the voice of God telling you to get up and go do it!

 When Jonah recognizes his responsibility, when he sees his guilt, when he realizes he ought to be for these non~Christians, for the world, when Christians and the Church confess the totality of their faith, the result is a series of astonishing facts.

He is ready to be completely condemned for his unfaithfulness and to lose his live.

 He thus becomes the witness, the martyr.

This is what is really needed.

When the Church is ready to play its part in the world's adventure- this is why it is sent- it is neither the power which organizes and dominates the world nor takes it over.

It preaches the gospel with signs following. It is not retreating and giving up of freedoms because of "terror."

We should not forget that in Psalm 130 God pardons in order that we may fear Him.

This fear comes from accomplished grace.

The condemned man who is pardoned is seized by fear at the power which has caused death to retreat.

The sailors are led by this fear to put themselves in the hands of God.

Jonah was doing what doesn't work, sleeping.

God had called him to deliver a message.

A message to some of the wickedest people upon this planet.

For sure he would loose his life if he did it he thought.

 So he ran.

He would give up his destiny for security..

Jonah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

 If you feel that you have failed Jesus so deeply that you could never be used of God again, then how do you explain the tremors of gifts yearning to come out of you?

Unplug from the Matrix.

Be insecure and free.

 Forget everything that holds you back.

All of the negative voices around you.

All of your past failures.

Decide that no matter what happens, you are going to obey God.

You are going into the face of perceived danger and stand and deliver the message.

You are going to be a Christian with an impact.

 Every person will be influenced by you.

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Acts 4:13

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. 

14And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.