Grace Beneath The Waves

Just as coal must be crushed to become a diamond, there is a brokenness we must learn if we're ever to be useful to God. As we'll learn today, that's exactly what happened to Jonah. God crushes a man to temper him so that he can be useful. From Chicago, this is The Moody Church Hour, a weekly broadcast of worship and teaching with Pastor Philip Miller. Today join us for the third of five messages on Relentless, the Book of Jonah.

Our focus to day, Grace Beneath the Waves. Here now is Pastor Philip and worship leader Tim Stafford.

Well, good morning, everyone, and welcome to The Moody Church. We're so glad you've joined us today as we continue in our series through the book of Jonah, a series we're calling Relentless, God's Unrelenting Grace for Undeserving People. And today we find Jonah in the belly of the whale where he finally comes home to himself and he finds repentance and he returns to the Lord, which is what each and every one of us need to repeatedly do. We sin constantly and we need to come home to the grace that is ours in Jesus Christ.

So would you stand with me this morning and let's pray and give this service to the Lord. Father, we thank you for your matchless grace, your grace that is greater than all our sin. Your grace that invites us to repent, to come home. and to get right with you. That grace is Most beautifully encapsulated for us in Jesus as he dies and rises again on our behalf so that we can be right with you.

And so, Father, help us to remember what it means to run home. That no matter how far we've gone, it's just one step, one turn, and we're home. Because your grace pursues us all the way. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

What love could remember no wrongs we have done Omnition aloe, He comes not their son thrown into a sea without bottom or shore Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more praise the Lord His mercy is more stronger than darkness to every born of sin, they are many, His mercy is more. What nations would wait as we constantly roam? What Father so tender is calling us home? He welcomes the weak age, the violence of war. Our sins they are many, his mercy is more.

Praise the Lord, His mercy is more stronger than darkness, new every more. Our sins they are many, His mercy is more. Riches of kindness he lavished on us. His blood was the payment, his life was the cost. We sinned even we could never avoid.

Our sins are many, his mercy is more, his mercy is more. Praise the Lord, His mercy is more. Stronger than darkness knew every Lord. My sins, they are many, His mercy is more. Praise the Lord.

Sing it out. His mercy is more stronger than darkness to everyone. I sing they are learning. His mercy is more. I sing they are learning.

His mercy is more. I sing they are learning. His mercy is more praise the Lord for His mercy today. Praise Him. Thank Him for His mercy.

Amen. Amen. How sweet the sound that sings. Arrest like me. I once once lost, but now I see oh twas grace that taught my heart to fear embrace my fears release how rich in that grace of.

To be all of us believe to me as good my host, he will my shield and glance as long as thine gold through many days. And side over His grace that run is wrong and grace will be whole enemy shine. In all words, grace to sing God's grace and reverse be God. Are you grateful for God's mercy today? Do you remember what it feels like to be forgiven?

This is the grace of God. Thank you, Lord, for your continuing overflowing. Mercy. And grace. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen. You know one of the miracles of the book of Jonah is that God heard Jonah's prayer at the bottom of the sea. Innoval. In a great fish. He was dead.

It was death for him. But God heard him there. and provided all the mercy Jonah needed. And in his prayer, it sounds like Psalm 116. Let's read that together.

This is God's holy word. I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me. The pangs of Shiol laid hold on me, I suffered in distress and anguish.

Then I called on the name of the Lord. O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and the And righteous our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple. When I was brought low, he was He saved me.

Return, O my soul, to your rest. For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death. My eyes From tears. My feet from stumbling I will walk before the Lord.

in the land of the living. This is the mercy of God. I once was lost. I was. Away the road was dark.

I could not see my whole. Was gone. The pain. was real but you're You saw my steps, you felt my feet, you heard my cries, you caught my taste, arms opened wide. You ran to me with your mercy.

You gave me life beyond the grave. My deepest shame is passed away. You sing a song that covers me with your mercy. Your mercy, your mercy. I stand before my knees and bow my heart to sing.

You save me, you raise me. You guide my good live. Lorainness, your mercy, your mercy. Your loving kindness leads me to repentance, your loving kindness. Leads me to repentance Lord, let your kindness lead us to repentance Lord, let your kindness lead us to repentance Your mercy, your mercy I stand before like King and bow my heart to sing you save me You lacing you down so I could bear.

No greater love than this, Your mercy, Your mercy. I stand before my king, and all my heart to sing. You save me, you leave me. You died so I could live. No greater love than this, Your mercy, your mercy.

Just like Jonah, we were dead, Lord. And you pulled us out of the depths. In your mercy. Praise the Lord. Amen.

Alan Redpath, who was senior pastor here at The Moody Church from 1953 to 1960. 62 famously said this. When God wants to do an impossible task, He takes an impossible man Mm. crushes him. Pastor Redpath understood something.

He understood that certain kinds of traits in our personality that might get us ahead in life. are actually liabilities when it comes to spiritual life. Things like drivenness. or strength of will. or self-confidence.

or ambition. That these are in fact spiritual. liabilities until they have been tempered. chastened. Humbled.

Under the hand of Almighty God. Just as coal has to be crushed if it's ever to become a diamond. And just as gold has to go through the fire if it's ever to be refined. Pure. and valuable.

There is a brokenness that we all must learn if we are ever to be. supremely useful to the Lord. And that's exactly what's happening in Our story with Jonah. That's what's happening to Jonah. God has an impossible task to be done.

He wants to see The Ninevites come to repentance. The most feared terrorist nation on the planet. And God therefore grabs an impossible man, Jonah. And he gives him this assignment. Jonah is strong-willed, he's self-reliant, he's a tenacious individual.

And the Lord crushes him. Not to destroy him. But to temper him, to make him pliable and teachable and obedient in order that he might. supremely used. Him.

So today we join Jonah. As he finally comes to the end of himself, and the beginning of his usefulness in ministry.

So grab your Bibles. We're going to be in Jonah chapter 2. Jonah chapter 2, the whole chapter pages 774 to 775 In the Pew Bible, if you would like to use that, just grab that. 774 wrapping around a 774. Seven five Let's read these words together.

Jonah chapter 2, verses 1. through ten. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish. Same. I called out to the Lord out of my distress, and he He answered me.

Out of the belly of Sheol I cried. And you heard my voice. For you cast me into the deep. into the heart of the seas. And the flood surrounded me.

All your waves and your billows passed over me. Then I said, I am driven away from your sight. Yet. Yet I shall again look upon your holy temple. The waters closed in over me to take my life.

The deep surrounded me. Weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. And yet You. Brought up my life from the pit.

O Lord, my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord. And my prayer came to you into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you.

What I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to to the Lord. And the Lord spoke to the fish. and it vomited Jonah out on the dry land. Thanks be to the Lord for the reading of his word.

Don't you love that vomit is inspired By the Holy Spirit. That's amazing. This is a beautiful poem, isn't it? A psalm of praise. From Jonah's lips, and it is an invitation as we follow this psalm, this poem, to join Jonah as he goes through this.

Crazy moment of distress where he's sinking into the watery grave. He even uses the word Sheol, which is the Hebrew word for death, the place of the dead. as he sinks into the depths of darkness, then he cries for help. against all hope when he doesn't have a prayer. and the Lord's salvation comes.

In the embodiment of this giant fish that Swallows him up, that is his saving. Grace and Jonah gets his life back. And he gives his life. to the Lord in surrender. It's a beautiful poem here.

In many ways, this is the song. of Jonah's coming home to God. It's his moment, and I think there are four significant shifts that occur. in this psalm. And they all begin with R.

And I just want to point those out to you. Highlights as we go through this this morning.

So we see first recognition. Then remembrance, repentance, and redemption.

Okay, recognition, remembrance, repentance. And redemption. That's our outline for this morning.

So let's begin this journey with Jonah. Through this pit. Pivotal moment that changed his life. Forever. But before we do that, let's pray.

And ask the Lord to be our teacher. Let's bow our heads. Father, repentance is hard. We're stubborn people. It costs us our pride to.

Admit when we are wrong. But the great irony is that when we realize our sinfulness, Acutely, that is also the moment when we realize your love. Most deeply. And so, when we embrace our sinfulness, we also embraced our identity. as deeply loved children of God.

That's what Jonah discovers. Help us. to learn this this morning. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

Amen. So first we have recognition here. Recognition. Jonah's come to God moment begins with a moment of recognition. As he's plunging beneath the stormy sea, it finally comes home to Jonah that all of this, all of it, Is from the hand of God.

The storm, the sailors, the lots, the sea, all of it. is from the hand of Almighty Sovereign. Gone. Look at verse 3. He says, For you cast me into the deep.

Oh, that's interesting. I thought it was the sailors that threw him into the sea. But Jonah says, you, O Lord, you. cast me into the deep. That's interesting, isn't it?

Into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me, all your waves. And your billows passed over me. It's interesting. All of this, Jonah is beginning to realize these are not random events. Of misfortune in his life.

This is the Lord's storm, it's the Lord's sea, it's the Lord's waves, it's the Lord's billows. Jonah realizes these are not chance events in his life. This is the Lord's doing. This is the Lord's buffeting. The Lord's chastening.

The Lord's discipline. And Jonah perceives the Lord's discipline. Jonah perceives the Lord's Discipline. That's why he says in verse 4, I am driven from your sight. You say, wait a minute.

I thought that's what you wanted, Jonah. You were trying to go away from the presence of the Lord, right? Multiple times we heard that phrase, and yet. Be careful what you wish for. Jonas says, Look, Lord, you gave me what I wanted.

And it was she all. It was death, it was the grave. itself in the depths of the sea, and yet I know you, God. I know you. All this distress.

is discipline. It's intended not for my ruin, but for my redemption. In all of this, All of these conspiring events You are drawing me back to yourself, to your presence. That's why he says, and he continues in verse 4: yet I shall again look upon your holy name. Temple.

All this discipline you've brought into my life, God. It means you haven't given up on me. If you loved me less, you would let me go. But you love me, O Lord, enough. To bring all of these conspiring events together to bring me to the end of myself.

Which means you have a reason you did all of those things. and you're not finished with me. I shall again look upon your holy temple. Do you see the hope? The joyous confidence in the Lord God right there.

Jonah begins to realize that God loves him enough. to stop him in his tracks and bring him to the very end of himself. that these events are intended not for his destruction, but for his discipline. In other words, the Father, God is operating as a Father. And he is correcting his beloved son.

In this discipline, this is the Lord's. Discipline. It reminds me of a passage in Hebrews chapter 12. Verses 5 down to 11. Just listen to these words.

My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord. nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves. and chastises every son he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure.

God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, In which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

for they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, But he disciplines us for our good. that we may share in His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant. But later, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. This is the discipline of the Lord.

And Jonah perceives that's what the Lord is doing, and it gives him hope. God is treating him as a son. Not as a castaway orphan. but as a beloved son that he's committed to. To get him through this moment of rebellion and and backsliding and running away.

that the Father has never given up on him. This is beautiful. I am driven away from your sight, Jonah says, and yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.

So that's the first part. Recognition. Secondly, Remembrance, remembrance. Jonah's come home to God moment. Continues in remembrance here.

Look at verse 7. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord. And my prayer came to you into your holy Temple.

So here he is, as the depths of the sea are crushing in upon him, when everything is fading into darkness, in these final moments where he has no breath left and his lungs are screaming, Jonah comes to himself. And he remembers. the Lord, not a oh yeah, but like Oh, come home. Notice it is the Lord, capital L-O-R-D. This is the name behind it in Hebrew: Yahweh, the covenant name of God that God gave to Moses that speaks of his steadfast love and keeping the covenant with Israel.

In Exodus 34, this is what God said: The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty. And in this moment, friends, Jonah remembers the Lord's covenant. In this moment, Jonah remembers the Lord's covenant. He comes home. Notice he says very interestingly: My prayer came to you into your holy.

Temple. He's in the depths of the sea. Hundreds of miles from the temple in Jerusalem, right? Because he ran away so far. There's no way, listen, there's no way Jonah's voice could be heard in the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.

Nowhere. What is he talking about? He's realizing The whole The cosmos is the Lord's temple. There is nowhere he can go where God's holy presence is not dwelling. And Jonah cries from the depths of the sea, the place where no God could rule or reign, in the ancient Near Eastern thought.

That's what they thought. And yet, even there, The Lord is in his holy temple. and can respond to the voice of his desperate child.

Now What is it that helped Jonah remember the Lord? He remembered the Lord, but what triggered his memory? It wasn't the distress or the fear. He dug down deep.

Something rose up in him in this moment. What brought Jonah's remembrance of the Lord's covenant faithfulness to mind? And I think Joan is giving us a clue in the way that he writes this poem, the Psalm. Because if you'll notice, these phrases sound really familiar, don't they? If you know your Bible, this poetry is echoing something we've read before.

It's a paraphrasing of the Psalms of Scripture. Let me just give you a snapshot. This is not even all of them. I don't want to waste your time, but listen to all of these illusions. Psalm 34, verse 6.

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. Psalm 61, 1 and 2. Hear my cry, O God. Listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to you, and my heart is faint.

Psalm 18, 4 through 6. The cords of death encompassed me. The torrents of destruction assailed me. The cords of Sheol entangled me. The snares of death confronted me.

And in my distress, I called upon the Lord. To my God, I cried for help. And from his temple he heard my voice. My cry reached his ears. Psalm 69, verses 1 to 2 and 14 to 16.

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire where there is no foothold. I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. Deliver me from sinking in the mire. Let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.

Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me. Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good. According to your abundant mercy, turn to me. Psalm 86, verses 12 to 13. I will give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your steadfast love toward me. You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. Psalm 139, verses 8 to 10. If I ascend to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me. Even there your right hand shall uphold me. Psalm 31, 6 and 7, I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction and you have known the distress of my soul. And then finally, Psalm 3, verse 8, salvation belongs to the Lord.

So in the moment Do you see what's happening? In Jonah's moment of greatest distress, when all hope seems lost and he comes to the very end of himself. There's something there. He falls. but his fall is caught by something.

And it is the word. of the living. God. It is the promises and poetry of the worship of God's people that. upholds his soul in its moment of utter collapse.

God's word brings the Lord's faithfulness to mind. It is the anchor of his soul, and he remembers the Lord. His covenant, his promises, in his utter helplessness, he finally cried. to the Lord. And the Lord Answers him.

Which the Lord always does, friends. In our moments of greatest distress, we are never too far gone. He will come. He will answer the moment we cry to him. And now we see repentance.

Repentance. Jonah's come to God moment continues with repentance. It's very interesting here. If you look through this poem, this psalm, it's kind of. It's hard to pinpoint the moment where Jonah repents.

If you read through and you're looking for something like King David's confession, you know, against you, O Lord, and you alone have I sinned. He never does that. He never says overtly That he's repenting. He never confesses his sin. specifically.

And yet it is obvious throughout the entire Psalm that he is repentant. He is kind of hidden between the lines, you know. But I do think his clearest moment of repentance is found down in verse 8. And this is what he says there. Those who pay regard to vain idols, Forsake their hope of steadfast love.

Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. And at first, we probably would think he's talking about pagan people, you know, pagans and their idol worship. You know, those people really are missing it, but I've got it right. You know, that's how we would assume. That he means this, but the word here for steadfast love.

is cursed. Chessed is the word for God's covenant. Faithfulness, his loyal, committed love within the covenant of Israel.

So he's talking about those who have been enfolded into the chessed love of God, his covenant faithfulness. And yet are forsaking that love for Idols.

So he's not talking about pagans on the outside of the covenant. He's talking about confessing Israelite people that are part of the covenant of God who are forsaking the love of God within that covenant as they chased after Idols. Interesting. I think he's describing himself. Think about it.

Jonah forsook the hope of steadfast love. Because of his idols. He had made idols out of Good things, his popularity in Israel, his access to the king's inner circle, his vision of national prosperity for the people of God, his love for his nation. He had taken all these good things, and they had become, to Jonah, more important than obedience to God. Hadn't they?

So that when God called him to this gospel assignment, I want you to go to your nation's enemies, your most feared enemies, and call them to repentance so that they might receive the mercy and forgiveness of the Lord. He Do you realize it threatened everything in Jonah's world? It would have trashed his popularity. It would have threatened his status in the inner circle with the king. It undermined his nation's political, geopolitical agenda.

And so Jonah ran. See, Jonah was okay with serving God as long as it advanced his political agenda. But the moment God called him to love his political enemies, It exposed his idolatry. He couldn't do it. He took good things, his nation and all of this.

And he turned it into the ultimate thing. Made it more important than even obeying God and bringing the good news to his enemies. And I think this is Jonah's confession. Those who pay regard to vain idols. Forsake their hope of steadfast love.

That was me. That's my story. That's why I ran. And no more. Because in this moment, Jonah is returning.

To the Lord's steadfast love. Jonah returns to the Lord's steadfast love. He lays down his idols. and he comes back to the hope of steadfast love. And here's the irony, friends.

In this moment, Where Jonah feels the acuteness of his sinfulness in the greatest degree he's ever had. He also experiences The love of God. In a way he'd never experience before. Isn't that amazing? Simultaneously, deeply sinful.

and profoundly loved. This is the gospel. That we are far more sinful than we ever dared realize, and yet far more loved than we ever dared hope. That what?

So we have recognition. Remembrance Repentance. And now the final moment in Jonah's coming home. Journey. Redemption.

Redemption. Look at verse 9. But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord.

Once again, we have to kind of read between the lines here because Jonah never tells us what his vow was. He says, I will pay my vow. What I vowed, I will pay. But if you read through this psalm, you won't see a vowel. It's not in there.

It's between the lines. Kind of like his repentance is sort of between the lines. His vow is sort of between the lines. And yet, in the context, it's not hard to figure out what he's saying, is it? He's laying down his idols.

He's stopped running. He's returning to the hope of the steadfast love of God. He's coming back to the covenant. And he's choosing to obey, isn't he? He's saying, okay, God.

I give in. Whatever you ask, I'll do it. Whatever you want, I'm all in. wherever you send me. I'll go.

You gave me my life back. And so I give you my life. in return. That this is my thanksgiving. This is my sacrifice.

This is my vow. I'm all yours. You see? To use New Testament language, he's offering himself as a living sacrifice. It's the only appropriate response.

to the mercies of God. And I love how he ends this. Psalm. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Salvation belongs to the Lord.

Jonah glories. in the Lord's salvation. Jonah glories in the Lord's salvation. And if you think about it, the only thing Jonah contributes to his salvation is his sin, his rebellion, and his distress, right? Every ounce of his salvation belongs to the Lord and the Lord alone.

It was the Lord's storm, it was the Lord's sea, it was the Lord's lots, the Lord's casting, the Lord's waves, the Lord's discipline, it was the Lord's word that brought back the Lord's memory, it was the Lord's scripture and the Lord's promises, it's the Lord's steadfast love and his kindness, it's the Lord's mercy and his attentiveness, his compassion, the Lord's grace, the Lord's fish, the Lord's rescue, the Lord's redemption from beginning to end. Salvation belongs to the Lord. And in this moment, Jonah finally gets it. He finally gets it. In verse 10, I love it, the Lord spoke to the fish.

and it vomited Jonah out on dry land. And Jonah gets his life back, doesn't he? And this time He's ready to obey. God's impossible man. is now ready.

for God's impossible task. It's all mercy. It's all grace. It's all of the Lord.

So two final thoughts. as we wrap up first. There's more mercy in Christ than sin in us. Aren't you grateful? That there's more mercy in Christ than there's sin in us.

The mercy and grace that Jonah received. in the salvation that was his in the Belly of the great fish. Is a foreshadowing of the even greater mercy and grace that we have received. in the salvation that is ours in Jesus Christ. And just as Jonah discovered, that God's mercy was greater than all his sin.

We, friends, know there is more mercy in Christ than there is sin in us. Remember that description the Lord gave of his name to Moses? He said, The Lord, gracious, merciful, slow to anger, willing to forgive, and all of this. There's a weird line it ends with: but will not let the guilty go unpunished.

So, the Lord is merciful and gracious. He's going to forgive. He's going to accept you. He's going to forgive your sins and give you a second chance, but he won't let the guilty go unpunished. It's interesting.

How does God do that? How is it that Jonah gets away with his sin? How does Jonah get mercy and grace and forgiveness and compassion from the Lord? And yet his sin goes unpunished, doesn't it? Who makes atonement for Jonah's sin?

See, all of that, God is being patient and forbearing with Jonah's sin because one day He will send Jesus Christ. Who will die on the cross in our place and for our sake, and bear all of our sin and shame. God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we in him might become the righteousness of God.

So Jonah is saved. Jonah is saved 700 years before Jesus on the basis of Christ's atoning work on the cross. All of history All of humanity. Jesus bears the sin of the world in his atoning death on the cross. Jonah is saved by grace through faith in the coming Messiah, the promise.

the reality of whom is found in Jesus Christ. Just like we 2,000 years after Jesus. Our sins are covered and atoned by the blood of Jesus Christ, who dies for the sake of the sins of the world. Amen? Which means.

This is so comforting. Which means that all your sin, past, present, and future. Jesus knew it all when he went to the cross for you. There is no sin in your life, past, present, or future. That Jesus did not die for.

Which means nothing can separate you from the love of God. That is in Christ Jesus our Lord. I love the song we sang earlier: His Mercy is More. Just listen to these lines, they're so good. What love could remember no wrongs we have done.

Omniscient, all-knowing, he counts not their sum. Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore, Our sins they are many, His mercy is more. What patience would wait as we constantly roam What Father, so tender, is calling us home. He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor. Our sins, they are many.

His mercy is more. What riches of kindness he lavished on us. His blood was the payment, his life was the cost. We stood neath a debt we could never afford. Our sins, they are many.

His mercy is more. Praise the Lord. His mercy is more. Stronger than darkness, new every morn. Our sins, they are many.

His mercy is more. Our sins, they are many. But His mercy is more. Which means, friends, that salvation belongs to the Lord. Right?

Salvation belongs to the Lord. The only things we contribute to our salvation are our sin, our rebellion, and our distress. Every ounce of our salvation belongs to the Lord and to the Lord alone. Ephesians 2 says this, when you were dead, How much help can dead people bring? Nothing.

when you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked. God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead. In our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved. And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is a gift of God. not a result of works, so that no one, no one may boast. Friends, Jesus is the hero of our stories.

Amen. Jesus is the hero of our stories. If our life was a fairy tale, We would be the damsels in distress, right? Jesus is the hero. He rides up on the white horse.

He slays the dragon. He scales the tower. He wakes us from our death sleep and he sweeps us off our feet and rides us into the sunset. All we do. is swollen.

That's all we do. We swoon in the arms of our hero, who is Jesus, because from beginning to end, salvation belongs to the Lord. Which is why. In the end of all of history in Revelation chapter 7. A great multitude that no one can number from every nation, tribe, people, and language are standing around the throne of God.

And they are saying, Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and unto the Lamb. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. Friends, every ounce of our salvation. belongs to the Lord and the Lord alone.

Amen? Amen. Father, we Glory. in Christ Jesus. In the salvation that is ours by grace through faith in Christ alone.

You are our only hope. That all of our sin. A mast in our lives can do nothing. Under the atonement of Jesus Christ to separate us from the love of God. That it is finished.

in him. You deserve all the praise. All the glory. All the fame. All the majesty.

For you. Alone. are our salvation. from beginning to end. We worship you.

And give you praise in the glorious name of our Jesus. And everybody said, Amen. Amen. On today's Moody Church hour, we heard Pastor Philip Miller with another message in a series he's calling Relentless, the Book of Jonah. we heard about Grace beneath the waves.

Now that Jonah is where God wants him, he knows he must obey the call on his life.

Next time a chastened prophet meets the god of second chances. The Moody Church Hour is a listener-supported ministry. We count on the ongoing financial support of listeners like you. Together, we share solid biblical teaching that transforms lives across America and around the world. You can call us at 1-800-215-5001.

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