1:17 God prepared a great fish, God’s provisions. In a case like Jonah God did not allow him to die because He was not done with him. One thing we can understand, if you are still living God is not finished with you.
Three days and three nights Matt 12:40 Jesus as a type Gospel
Vrs1-3 Jonah prayed he cried out because of his affliction. When do you pray? When things are going wrong. Like the mariners usually the last resort of life is to turn to prayer. As believers we need to pray regularly
Sheol-place of death or hell. Jonah was down and out in the belly of the fish. Next stop he was whale waste on the bottom of the sea. It does not get much lower then that.
Have you ever felt down and out because you messed up and did something that was pretty bad and the consequence of that were hard to deal with.
Maybe you were or are experiencing what Martin Luther calls ”God’s merciful wrath” You are feeling the consequences of an act of disobedience and God is bringing you into a place in which you need to be to get you through it.
I admit there are many things and people that you can turn to that will be a quick fix to your sin. Duct Tape ill
We need long term solutions for the sin in our lives and only God can provide that. Gospel
Jonah’s advice for a believer is a Prayer of repentance
Jonah references 15 different Psalms almost no original words in his prayer. He prayed Scripture, that is the value of memorizing Scripture.
V4 Jonah’s response to discipline “I will look toward your holy temple”
We learn from consequences not to make the same mistakes again. God’s mercy through wrath teaches us. Jesus says he prunes us so we can grow. We grow by repentance which simply means… changing our mind about the things that we were doing. Not going to make the same mistake two times
Old Boy's Law: you don't learn anything the second time you're kicked by a mule.
Jonah realized that running from God does not work. Maybe you have learned from past sins. Money, relationships, bad decisions, gossip etc. But we demonstrate that we truly learn by not going down that same route again, then we have growth in our lives
V5-6a He dwells on what has happened. When we are in prayer there is nothing wrong with brutal honesty in our prayer. God it hurts it is horrible
V6b But You oh Lord brought me out of this or through this. Prayer of faith
V7 “When my soul fainted I turned to the Lord” That was a wise decision
V8 When we put our trust in idols we are forsaking what God has to offer
Tim Keller Quote “What is there in your life without which you would lose the will to live?” A functional savior, what are you living for?
Jonah’s idol was his position, he was a Hebrew and his people were prospering and living in the prosperity that God had given them he did not want to go to his enemies and see them feel God’s grace
Maybe God even told Jonah that he would in years to come use the Assyrians to attack Israel.
Idols in our lives can be a main cause of sin. Because of them we don’t listen to God
John6:66-69 We need to follow the example of the twelve and not follow the crowd. The crowd will tell you “this works better”
V9 Jonah reaffirms his commitment to the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord Acts 4:12
V10 Jonah was vomited him out. Deliverance
1. Jonah sinned –are you living in sin right now? 2. God disciplined-are you experiencing discipline or realizing it is right around the corner? 3. God provided-has God provided during the discipline? 4. Jonah repented-has you changed your mind about your sinful patterns 5. God delivered-have you experienced God’s deliverance?
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