Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Perhaps you are a Christian. But you're running from God, running from some assignment, perhaps running from God's truth. Today, stop running. Don't be a Jonah.
Turn around, repent. God's will for your life is perfect. Seek him and search him. With all of your heart. Don't run from God.
Trust him. And obey him. Welcome to the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. This daily program is a media ministry of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. The story of Jonah and the big fish is more than mere legend.
It's part of Holy Scripture and a powerful lesson on being obedient to God's will. Let's discover what this Old Testament prophet can teach us about our relationship with God today. Here's Pastor John Monroe with his message, running from God. Last time we began a new series in the intriguing book of Jonah. and we were introduced to a runaway prophet, Jonah.
God commanded Jonah to preach to the city of Nineveh. which is in present-day Iraq.
Now, The Ninevites were the cruel enemies of the Israelites.
So Jonah has his own ideas, his prejudices, and doesn't want to do what God has told him. In fact, Rather than heading to Nineveh, he heads in the opposite direction. Aren't fear and self will powerful forces in our lives. And they often prevent us from humbly obeying the Lord and doing His will. We're just like Jonah.
Let's continue our study in the opening verses of Jonah 1, where we will learn important principles on the will of God. And so we see in verses one and two that God's will is, first of all, revealed to Jonah, but secondly, God's will is disobeyed. by Jonah. His will is revealed, verses 1 and 2. His will is disobeyed by Jonah in verse three.
He's told to arise and go to Nineveh, he gets off all right. But he gets up. To flee. Verse 2 arise Go to Nineveh. There's Three, but Jonah Rose, same word.
He rose up. to flee. Tatarshius. the presence of the Lord. Jonah wants to resign as a prophet.
It's got to get out of Israel. It's too hot to stay there. Once they get to a place where no where no one knows them. He wants to resign as a prophet. He wants to get away from the Lord.
This assignment was simply too hard. I mean, isn't that understandable? Jonah was very happy to serve God at home. Very happy to communicate God's blessing. to the people.
But he was not prepared and wasn't going to be a foreign missionary. He was not going to go to Nineveh. If God wanted someone to preach in Nineveh, He'd got the wrong man. He needed to get someone else because as for Jonah, he's going in the opposite direction. Nineveh was over five hundred miles northeast from Israel.
Remember, there's no cars, there's no planes. Jonah which means dove. There's a lot of does a little bit of flying. flying in the opposite direction. He gets aboard going to Tarshis.
which is was probably located In southern Spain, at the other end of the Mediterranean, about 2,000 miles away, the opposite direction from Nineveh, because Jonah. wants as we sometimes want. to get as far away from God. And as far away from the voice of God and the word of God and all godly influences, he wants to get as far away as he can. And so he goes.
In the opposite direction. He's a prophet. on the run. Why did he disobey God and flee? He may have been afraid to preach against Israel's enemy.
After all, I read what they did to the prisoners of war. He may have been bigoted. After all, He was a Jew. He was part of God's chosen people. The Assyrians were Gentiles, they were pagans.
But the main reason for his disobedience was a theological one. Turn to chapter four, verse two. Jonah tells us himself. Why he didn't want to go. Jonah four, verse two.
He prayed to the Lord and said, Please, Lord, was this not what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore, in order to forestall this, I fled to Tarshius, For I knew here it is That you are A gracious And compassionate God. Slow to anger. Abundant, overflowing in love, abundant in loving kindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. Jonah is saying to the Lord, Listen, Lord, the reason I didn't go at the first time is that I know what kind of God you are.
After all, Jonah was a prophet, he knew about God. And I knew that if I preached against Nineveh And the people repented, you are such a gracious God, and you're such a compassionate God that you would relent concerning the calamity, and instead of judging the people, which they deserve. I mean, as far as Jonah was concerned, hell isn't hot enough for the Ninevites. But I know what kind of God you are. Instead of judging them, which they deserve, you would bless them, and so I'm not going to go.
That was. His reason. He wanted God's judgment. not God's blessing. To fall.
on Assyria. You say, Well, Nineveh didn't deserve God's compassion, that's true. Neither does America. Neither do you. Neither do I deserve God's compassion.
Isn't it true that we sometimes prefer our enemies to be judged? rather than to be saved. Don't we Christians sometimes object? If the murderer on death row turns to Christ at the last moment, we think that's kind of unfair, isn't it? That wretched individual.
See, Jonah feared that he would be used to help the enemy that would later destroy the people. The book of Jonah is a, if you think of it broadly, the book of Jonah is a compelling illustration. of God's grace. of God's sovereign grace. towards sinners Towards the Ninevites.
towards Jonah and and towards you. And me. What do we see in the first two verses? God's will is revealed. Verse 3: God's will is disobeyed.
Now, Four lessons on God's will. Before I mention the first of the four. Let me say that Today's message could be summarized in this way. Don't Run. from God.
Don't run from God, but trust God and obey God. Did you get that? Today, trust God with all of your heart. Today obey God irrespective of the cost.
Now, what's the first lesson in God's will? It is this: every step out of God's will is a step. downwards. We can see that in this chapter. What does Jonah do when he turns his back on God?
He goes down. He goes down to Jopper. He goes down into the ship. In fact, he goes right down in the hold. Then he's thrown down in the sea.
He says in chapter two, verse three, that God has cast him down into the heart of the sea. This is a man whose path is downward. He's going away from God, and every step he takes is a step down. Such a step Bring sorrow. Heartache?
suffering and pain. Every step out of God's will is always downward. The proverb says that the way of the transgressor is hard. Satan never tells you that. Satan always tells you.
to keep running. Satan doesn't want you to stop and think. He doesn't want you to be still and know God. He always wants to keep you running. He's always got something else for you.
He's always saying, well, you can think about it tomorrow, but. How about this? And as we listen to him, we go further and further away from God and further and further down. Paul in the New Testament in Galatians 6 says, Don't be deceived. God is not mocked.
What you sow, you reap. God may allow you. that path of disobedience. Like Jonah, he may allow you to run, but the word of God is very serious this morning. This is a tough message.
Don't be deceived. You may do it. You may choose your own path. You may go down. But don't be deceived.
God is not mocked. What you sow, you will reap. And Jonah.
So is the wind. and reaps the whirlwind. He pays his fare to Tarshius. He never gets the Tarshius. He's thrown overboard.
You see, you can never run away from God. And the first lesson is that every step out of God's will is a step downward. Secondly, God reveals his will. to the humble. and the willing heart.
I like that. And it's true. If you are here. And you've got a humble heart. And you are here and you're willing to do God's will, I guarantee that God will reveal his will.
for you. Turn with me to the book of Proverbs. few books further back in the Old Testament. Proverbs three Verses five and six. Here it is.
Trust. In the Lord. With all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. That was Jonah's problem. He was leaning on his own understanding rather than trusting God with all of his heart.
Verse 6. In all your ways acknowledge him. And he will make your paths straight. He will direct your steps. God guarantees it.
Acknowledge him in all of your ways. In the big decisions in life, yes, but also in the small, seemingly trivial matters in life. Commit that to the Lord. Acknowledge the Lord in all of your ways, in all of your decisions. And here is the wonderful promise that God will direct your steps.
See, God was not directing Jonah's steps. Jonah was directing his own steps. But if you trust in the Lord with all of your heart, If you don't lean on your own understanding, close your ears and your heart to what ungodly people are saying and listen to God. And acknowledge him in all of your ways. He will direct.
Your steps. See, the question is: isn't God's will, the issue is your will. Are you willing? Don't answer too quickly this morning. Are you willing to do God's will?
Are you? In a wonderful statement in John 7, verse 17, our Lord said: If any man is willing to do his will, that's his Father's will. He will know of the teaching. Do you really want to know God's will for your life? And so a young man or a young woman comes to me and says, Pastor.
I I want you to pray for me. I'm trying to discern God's will for my life. Where to go to school, what career, who to marry. I need God's direction in my life.
Well, wonderful. The question is not whether God will reveal His will to you. The question is: are you really willing to do His will? That's the issue. If God revealed his will to you, would you do it?
That's the question. You say, Well, I really would like to know what it is first. I I think the same way. But God says no. I'm not going to tell you.
Here's I will. Are you willing? To do My will. Are you willing to? to do God's will.
Do you come with a humble heart? Or do you have your own agenda? You've already decided who you're going to marry, you've already decided your path, and all you want is God to endorse your decisions. No. If you're willing to do his will, Humble heart.
Willing heart. He will Direct your steps. Number one, every step out of God's will is a step downward. Number two, God reveals His will to the humble. And Willing Heart three, God's will is found in God's Word.
God never leads us contrary to God's word. Beware of circumstances and feelings to rationalize your disobedience. Jonah could have done that in verse 3. Jonah, arise and go to Nineveh. I don't want to go to Nineveh.
I'm going to go to Tarshus. And so he goes down to Joppa. And he thinks, Well, I wonder if there's a ship going to Tarshi. Oh, there's a ship right here. Captain's on deck.
Captain? Do you know any ships going to Tarshus? Right here. In fact, we're leaving in two hours. Not Jonah would have said.
Oh, I must be in God's will The ship is right here. Maybe I didn't hear God right after all. Maybe he didn't want me to go to Nineveh. Perhaps God is more understanding and less demanding than I thought. And after all, if God didn't want me to go to Tartars, this ship wouldn't be here.
I must be in God's will. This is providential. This is a circumstance. I look forward to bringing this up at the next prayer and praise that we have service. You know, God is so wonderful.
I wanted to go to Tarshius, and the ship is right there. No, Jonah. Absolutely. Not. The ship going to Tarshi was not a sign of God's approval.
It was a test. of Jonah's obedience. Not a sign of God's approval, but a test. of Jonah's obedience and the tests which he failed. You see, looking to circumstances and feelings rather than God's word will result in immaturity and confusion in your life.
Many people say the Holy Spirit is guiding them when in fact they're ignoring God's word. You've been following this debate. And some of the denominations as to whether they should have gays or lesbians in church leadership, an amazing debate. as you listen to the level of the debate. And basically many of them are saying, I know the Bible talks about these things, but, and I quote, the Holy Spirit, they say, may lead in ways not previously envisioned.
E. g. ignore the Bible, but the Holy Spirit is now telling us it's all right to have gays and lesbians as pastors and leaders and bishops and whatever. How dangerous. How dangerous.
The Holy Spirit, who inspired the Word of God, will never ever lead us contrary to the Word of God. We must be careful that we're not clothing our own selfish desires and our own agenda under the phrase, the Holy Spirit told me, that could be a breach of God. of the Ten Commandments when we're told not to take the Lord's name in vain. Don't allow your feelings Don't allow your circumstances to replace the clarity of the word of God. That's why.
We need to saturate ourselves. With scripture. And during these summer months, when most of us have a bit more time, when you go to the beach or the pool or the mountains or whatever you do with yourself to relax, take your Bible with you. Don't just read a verse a day, but take some time to study the word of God. Here, the word of the Lord, verse 1, comes to Jonah.
And the word of the Lord comes to us. You have the experience as I do as you're reading the Word of God, one verse or some passage, or perhaps even a phrase, just jumps right out and has got your name written right on it. John, that's for you. Oh, I don't like that one, Lord. I know you don't like it, but that's for you, Mundre.
You're in danger. of going against my word. Be careful, John. Or this is what I want you to do. Or on an occasion like this, you're listening to the preaching of the word, and you think, you know.
I know I know Monroe's a bit kind of crazy, but you know, has he got cameras on me all week? He seems to know about my life. No, I don't have a camera on you. I don't read your diary. But the Holy Spirit knows exactly What you need to hear.
And so, and at a time like this as well, the word of the Lord comes to you. And something from the Word of God, something in the exposition, the unfolding of the Word has your name on it. Bob, Mary, Sue. Jack, this is for you, the Spirit is saying. The Word of God comes to us.
And we have no difficulty in understanding it. And we mustn't run from God, we must trust God. And obey God, because God's will is found in God's Word. The final one is: doing the will of God is sometimes costly. Of course it is.
Jonah was given a tough assignment. Do not buy into the trap. That when you do God's will, life is always easy. No. Being sent to a wicked city to preach repentance is not an easy task.
And Jonah Perhaps understandably didn't want to go there. They were the enemies, they were wicked, they were idolaters, they were pagans. Jonah, like us, was quite happy to do God's will, provided it met and conform to his own expectations and his own agenda.
So I come back with this, Are you really open to God's will for your life? Or if it's costly. Are you going to run from God? As I say, don't buy into this false popular gospel of all smiles and happiness. And if you're a Christian, you're going to be wealthy and healthy, and everything is fine, and it's just praise the Lord all the time.
Life is absolutely wonderful. No, it's not always wonderful. Life sometimes is pretty tough and pretty difficult. And doing the will of God, read your Bible. Doing the will of God often means hardships.
Think of Paul's life. Think of Christ, think of Job. Think of all of the Old and New Testament saints. Following Christ, Is sometimes difficult. There are obstacles, sometimes there's discouragement, sometimes there's criticisms.
And God seemed to be asking Jonah to go on Mission Impossible. And perhaps God is asking you today. to go on what seems to be mission impossible. a very difficult assignment. You're working in an office And there's an agnostic or an atheist, and my, he loves to get in your face.
And he loves to point out the hypocrisy of Christians and all of the failures. He's a real sceptic. And you feel like wringing his neck sometime, but you can't do that because you're a follower of Christ. But you've never yet witnessed to them. You say, John, this guy You know, he's my boss, he may fire me.
He may. That's a tough assignment. I don't relish these situations when someone is so obnoxious and someone is against the gospel. Are they any worse than the Ninevites? I'm sure they're not.
And perhaps God. Is saying to you, you know, you're the very person that needs to tell. this man, this woman, of God's love. And Nisa tell them that Jesus Christ came. to seek and to save them.
and that God In His grace. wants to forgive Their sense Don't run from that assignment. Ask God for his help. Trust God. Obey God.
But perhaps You're in the middle of a relationship which is very unhealthy, in fact, very sinful. And the Spirit of God for some time has been getting your attention and telling you to end that relationship. And today, the Word of God comes to you and says you must end that relationship. You say, John, you don't know the implications of that. That's not so easy.
It may be very, very difficult. It may be very, very painful. You may be misunderstood. But you are always, we are always to do that which is right. We are always to do that which is consistent with the word of God.
That's what it means to do the will of God in our life. Yes, it is costly. Jesus said: if anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross. and follow me. Perhaps God is calling some of you, like Jonah, to go to another culture with the gospel.
to go out of your comfort zone. Because God tells us that we can never resign our commission. Jonah wanted to resign his commission as he's told to go. And we can never ever resign our commission because Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of all of the nations. Will you go?
irrespective of the cost. Don't run from God. Trust God. Obey God, because the greatest joy for the Christian is obeying God and doing God's will. Perhaps you're here and you've never yet trusted Christ.
This is where the Christian life begins: with a personal encounter with the living Christ, that God loves you, cares for you. Maybe you've been running. From him for a long, long time. Today is the time to come home, to hear his voice, to respond, and to be embraced by the one who loved you, who died for you, who rose for you. Perhaps you are a Christian.
But you're running from God, running from some assignment, perhaps running from your family. Running from a situation, running from God's truth. Today, stop running. Don't be a Jonah. Turn around, repent.
God's will for your life is perfect. Seek him and search him. With all of your heart. Don't run from God. Trust Him.
And obey him. This is the verdict featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God.
To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org. While you're there, consider making an investment in this Bible teaching ministry. Whether it's $5, $50, or more, your gift today helps cover the cost of sharing these gospel messages to listeners around the world.
And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the Verdict Podcast, featuring John's weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandam. It's available wherever you get your podcasts, or simply go to our website. Again, that's theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road.
If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ. We invite you to join us for our Sunday services. For more details about Calvary and our service times, visit theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? What has been your experience regarding the will of God? Every true follower of Jesus wants to do God's will. But doing God's will is often costly, Often contrary to our own expectations, the very opposite of our selfish desires. Going your own way is always a step downward.
and running away from God has serious consequences not only for yourself but for those around you. Don't run from God. Trust him with all of your heart. And join me next time as we think of Jonah lost at sea. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict.
I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
