Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. In these difficult circumstances of life, Such as Jonah lost at sea. When you find yourself in the middle of the storm, don't resist God's will, but humbly accept it. This morning, our passage is a reminder Of what happens when you And I are out of the will of God. Welcome to the verdict.
featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Senior Pastor of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. The book of Jonah tells the story of a man who tried to run from God and do his own thing.
Sound familiar? Today we're exploring what happens to ourselves and others when we follow our selfish desires instead of God's plan.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with part two of his message, Lost at Sea. I trust you're enjoying our study on Jonah, this runaway proverb. What happens when we deliberately disobey the Lord? When the Word of God clearly points us in one direction, and we deliberately go in the opposite direction. Does God give up on us?
It's an evidence of the grace of God. That even when we're out of the will of God, He still is at work in our lives. He still watches over us. And His discipline, while it may be severe, is a severe mercy. It's an evidence of His love for us.
Jonah discovers that God is in control of the weather. in control of the storm. And he's also in control. of a special submarine, a huge sea creature. How foolish to run away from God.
First of all, this morning we want to understand that when we're out of God's will, There are always consequences. When you are out of God's will, there are always consequences. Here we see that Jonah's disobedience had consequences. First, the storm. Then there was the fish.
He was swallowed up by the sea monster, that's where he is. When we're out of the will of God, There are always consequences. When we're out of God's will, your sin affects not only yourself but others. Have you found that out? When you are out as an individual, When you are out of God's will, Your sin not only impacts you, it does that, as we've seen.
It impacts other people. The pagan sailors as well as Jonah experienced the storm. The sailors have done nothing wrong. In fact, they react very well. They pray.
They throw the cargo overboard. They challenge Jonah. They experience fear. They lose their cargo. They're in danger of being lost at sea, all because of Jonah's disobedience.
Lewis Berry Schaffer, the first president of Dallas Theological Seminary, said, You may sin in secret. But you Certainly don't sin. Alone. Have you discovered that in your life? You may sin in secret.
But you don't sin alone. The point is. Although we don't want this to happen, it inevitably does happen. that our sin impacts others. Here's a man.
Let's take a little bit of pornography.
Well, that's just me. I know I shouldn't be doing it, but. There's no harm, it doesn't harm anyone else. Really? First, it offends God.
Most importantly. Secondly, it's going to change you. Don't allow anyone. to tell you something differently, it's going to harden your heart. It's going to desensitize your conscience, and I also guarantee it will impact your relationship with others.
With your wife, with your family, with people, the way you view the world, because sin. has that nature. having a drastic impact not only on ourselves but on other people. Your sin, brother and sister, will impact your family, your relationships, your church, your thinking, your priorities. The Bible says, be sure your sin will find you out that what you sow, you reap.
And we have to learn that when we are out of God's will Our sin impacts not only ourselves but but others. Here's the third one. When we're out of God's will, God will discipline you. When you're out of God's will, God will discipline you. God is disciplining his choice servant, his runaway prophet Jonah.
Jonah is experiencing a supernatural storm and an unexpected swim. Doesn't say whether he could swim or not, but he's in. to the stormy Mediterranean. But you know, there's good news.
So what was the good news? The good news is that God was at work. in his life. Did you notice verse 4? And the Lord hurled a great wind On the sea.
Who is responsible for the storm? The Lord. Centred. You see, if the Lord had not intervened With that storm, Jonah would have continued with his back towards God going further and further away from the Lord heading to Tarshus. What would Jonah have done in Tarshius?
Do you think there he would have started preaching the truth of God? I don't think so. I think you'd have been miserable. And if he continued with his back to God, His heart would have got harder and harder. Best thing that happened to Jonah.
was That the sovereign lord of the universe hurls a great storm in the Mediterranean. because the Lord was disciplining Jonah. The pagan sailors got it right. That storm was all because Jonah was running away. From the Lord.
And so, after praying, after throwing out the cargo, after rowing. And of that work. Until the sailors threw Jonah overboard. Verse 15.
So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea. And the sea stopped its raging. Yes, the problem was Jonah. Immediately he's out of the ship, the sea is calm, the storm is over. And God arranges special transportation for Jonah.
Very unusual transportation. He arranges a special submarine. At the right time in the Mediterranean Patiently waiting, for the runaway profit Jonah. It is God that sends the storm, it is God that sends the fish, it is God that arranges. for this unusual transportation for Jonah to take him from the middle of the Mediterranean to dry land.
He didn't forget Jonah. God is sovereign. He's sovereign over the seas, he's sovereign over the sea creatures, and he is sovereign. Please get this this morning. He's sovereign over every circumstance of your life.
And mine. Do you understand that? In these very extraordinary circumstances, God has a special assignment for Jonah. You say, why on earth would God choose a runaway prophet? Before you answer that question, answer this question: why did God choose you?
I'm more staggered by the fact that God chose me. Than the fact that God chose Jonah. The fact is, as we read our Bibles, that we understand that God uses imperfect people He uses prophets to run away from him, like Jonah. He uses apostles who deny him like Peter. He uses people who doubt his resurrection like Thomas.
That God takes ordinary people, imperfect people, people who fail, people who mess up. Transform them with his grace. using ordinary people for extraordinary situations so that he will get all of the glory and that we will understand, as Paul says, that the power is not of ourselves. But is of God. That's it.
Aren't you thankful that God doesn't write off people? Aren't you very thankful that God didn't write off Jonah? I'm glad because I understand something more of the character of God as I read this book of Jonah. That he doesn't ride us off when we run from him. That he doesn't write us off when we turn our back on him, that he uses people.
Therefore, in these difficult circumstances of life. Such as Jonah lost at sea. When you find yourself in the middle of the storm, don't resist God's will, but humbly accept it. Acknowledge his sovereignty. and humbly do his will even when you don't understand it.
God still disciplines his obedient children. If you have your Bible there, turn to the book of Hebrews at the end of the New Testament, Hebrews chapter 12. We'll see that God still disciplines those who run from Him. You say really? Is God going to throw me in the sea?
Is He going to get a sea monster to gobble me up? I don't know what He's going to do in your life. But he still disciplines those who run from him. Hebrews twelve. There are five And you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons.
My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint. When you're approved by Him, for whom the Lord loves. He disciplines do you get it? Who does the Lord Discipline? Those whom he what?
Loves. and he scourges every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father doesn't discipline?
But if you are without discipline of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Verse 9.
Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Shall we not much rather 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 Notice this.
that we may share Here's Holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful but sorrowful, yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful. fruit. of righteousness. When we are saved, When we receive Jesus Christ into our hearts and our lives as our personal Saviour, we become part of the family of God.
As many as received him To them he gave the right to become the children of God. John 1:12 and 13. That's a wonder. Of being a Christian.
Now I'm part of God's heavenly Father. We enjoy the privileges of family life. But one of the privileges, and it is a privilege, of having God as our Heavenly Father is that He disciplines us, verses six and seven. If you're an earthly father, who do you discipline? The neighbour's kids?
You sometimes feel like doing it, but if you're smart, you don't. You discipline your own children. And this discipline We're reading in Hebrews and throughout Scripture. This discipline is a sign of your heavenly Father's love. and is always Always.
Always. for your good. You believe that? Writer is telling us this, writer of Hebrews. Our parents disciplined us for our good.
If they did that, our Heavenly Father, whose discipline is perfect, always disciplines us for our good. Verse 10, they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them. You say, well, my parents disciplined me, and they sometimes got it wrong, yes, but they did what they thought was right at the time. But He, your Heavenly Father, disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. You're now part of the family.
And as a member of the family, you should bear a family resemblance. We should be displaying Jesus Christ. And when we stop displaying Jesus Christ, when we begin to run from God and we're out of the will of God, God in his own way disciplines us. Not to punish us, not to condemn us, but out of love, so that we would become more and more like his son. Bear the family resemblance.
they will know we are Christians by our love, for example, and when we're unloving, the Father disciplines us so that we may reflect His holiness and His love and His character is the point. And His discipline. is always perfect. He never makes mistakes when he disciplines us. He's all-wise, he's all-knowing, he understands every detail of your situation.
The discipline may hurt you, it may be very painful, but it will never harm you. It may hurt you. But it will never harm you. Why? It is always.
for your good. little boy's boat went out of reach in the pond. Started floating away. The little boy was very sad. The man came and started throwing rocks.
at the boards. Little boy was horrified and told the man to stop until he realized that the rocks which the man were throwing, we're going over the boats. Causing ripples, which was driving the boy's little boat back to shore and into the arms of the little boy. And many times when we stray from God, It appears that he's throwing rocks at us. Yeah, but Ever experienced that?
You thought God was trying to hurt you? He was throwing a rock or two at you. He's not trying to hurt you. No, he's using these ripples. to drive us back home.
Such suffering. In your life is your father's. Discipline, your heavenly Father's discipline, correcting you for your good. And God never allows us to be tempted beyond which we are able to bear. 1 Corinthians 10:13.
He never allows a burden too difficult to be placed on our shoulders. No, never. Because discipline is a sign of your Father's love and it is always for your good. And when we're disciplined, it's possible to regard it lightly and to despise it, or it's possible. to be exercised Buy it.
And if God is disciplining you now, don't despise it. Don't become hardened against God. Don't become angry at God. Don't become bitter at God. But rather understand that your Father in love.
It's conforming you to the image. of his perfect son. our Lord Jesus Christ. I don't know what your experience of discipline Has been earthly disciplined. Surprising as it will seem to some of you, as a boy, I needed and received a lot of discipline.
I tended to speak too quickly, too quick with my tongue. tended sometimes to be disobedient, disrespectful. And my father was the old school. He didn't argue about it. He didn't debate the issue.
But he administered The discipline. He believed. in discipline. And that discipline although was sometimes painful, sometimes It was hard to take. I knew my father.
I knew he's a godly man, and I knew that the discipline was always given in love. His goal was not to hurt me. His goal was not to humiliate me. His goal was lovingly to correct me so that I would understand the importance of speaking respectfully, that I would understand authority, that I would understand what it meant to be obedient. He was always acting in my best interests.
He was always acting. in love. Our Heavenly Father, Always Always. Acts. In love.
My earthly father, I'm sure, sometimes got it wrong.
Sometimes he should have disciplined me and he didn't. Perhaps occasionally, because I was one of six boys, sometimes I got the discipline that someone else should have got. But. God never ever gets it wrong, does He? He knows exactly what you need.
He knows how much you can take. He knows when it w when it is to turn up the crucible of the heat. He knows when to increase the storm. He knows when it's time to throw you into the sea monster. He knows when it's time to get you up onto dry land, because he always acts in our best interests.
He always acts. In love. And so, in the midst of the storms of life, don't be bitter. And when, like Jonah, you find yourself lost at sea, don't be resentful. God's discipline is an act of love, it's an act of mercy.
It is what CS Lewis calls a severe mercy. God acting on Jonah was very severe. It was very extreme, but Jonah needed extreme discipline. It was severe, but it was very merciful. The best thing that happened to Jonah was that God stopped him in his tracks.
threw him into the water. Got a sea monster to swallow him up and to take him to shore. That was the best thing that happened to Jonah. Painful, humiliating. Yes, but done in love.
Because God and His grace wasn't finished. with Joanna. And like Jonah, You may sometimes be out of God's will. But you will never ever be out of God's love. You will never, brother or sister, be out of the compassion.
Of God. Don't run from God. The safest place in all of the world is being in the center of God's will. If you're running from God this morning, if you're ignoring His voice, stop. God has a perfect plan.
For your life. And Jesus says when the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 12, Say to him. We want to see a sign from you. Matthew twelve verse 39, he answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign, and yet no sign shall be given to it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet. And just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation of the judgment. And shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold. Get this.
Something Greater than Jonah. is here. What's Jesus saying? Jonah was delivered from certain death by a miracle. God appointed a great fish And Jonah was in it for three days and three nights.
But something greater than Jonah is here. Our Lord Jesus Christ. was three days and three nights in the tomb in the heart of the earth. And through his death, his burial and resurrection, salvation and grace come to us. We're all like Jonah, lost.
Facing certain death because of our sin. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And for our salvation, we require a divine miracle. We require a supernatural way of escape, and Jesus is the only one who conquered death.
Was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, but it now is risen from the dead, eternally alive.
Something greater than Jonah is here. This is the greatest sign from God. And so If you have never yet placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, do that. Because God's love and God's grace are offered to you. Jesus says the Ninevites repented of their sin.
The question is, will you? Will you look to Jesus Christ, who took your sin and your selfishness on the cross, who was buried and who is eternally alive? Will you today receive him as your Saviour if you're a follower of Christ? Don't run from him. But submit joyfully, yes, joyfully.
To the Lordship of Christ over every area of life, in the tough circumstances, in the disciplines of life. Submit to His Lordship over every circumstance of your life, knowing that He is working for good and knowing that He loves and cares for you and wants to use you for His glory.
So love and serve Him wherever He leads you and experience the blessings. of his grace and compassion. The great Methodist John Wesley says God. is more full of grace Than I am. of sin as wonderful.
Wonderful. God is more full of grace. Then we are of sin. And where sin abounds, grace super Abounds, may you know that grace. And the Lord's forgiveness and salvation and transformation.
In your life. Help us, our Father and our God. As we give you thanks for this. Servants of yours that we can read about. Almost 3,000 years later, but It's so true and we identify with Jonah because We are often like him.
Ourselves, thank you for your patience with us. Draw each one of us to you, pour your grace on us in Christ's name. Amen. 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.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? How have you responded to the discipline of God in your life? Discipline is tough, isn't it? It's painful. and in a sense unnecessary when we realize that it could have been avoided if we simply humbly obeyed the Lord.
But discipline is also a sign of our Heavenly Father's love for us. Today, don't be bitter against God. Perhaps God is using certain difficult circumstances to bring you back into His will. Don't miss next time. God isn't finished with Jonah, and He's not finished with you.
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.
