If God asked you to do something you didn't want to, How would you respond? with obedience or with rebellion. Jonah chose rebellion, and today on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah reveals what happened to him as a result. Can you ever win by going against God's will?
Stay tuned as David continues his series, Jonah the Runaway Prophet, with today's message, No Man is an Island. Have you ever thought about what happened with Jonah? I mean, he actually decided to go into a contest with God. God said, go this way. Jonah said, I'm going that way.
And he thought he could win. How God brought him back is the whole message of the book of Jonah. And he may not use as dramatic a way to bring you back, but he will follow you. He's the hound of heaven, and he will not let you get away without pursuing you. Don't run away from him, run toward him, and we're going to see what happens if you don't.
In this edition of Turning Point, we're studying Jonah, the runaway prophet. Hey, you can get the study guide for this series along with both the audio and video of the teaching of this. It's rather recent, and we want you to have it. If you can go to our website, which is davidjeremiah.org, there you will find everything you need to put this in your library and have it available to you going forward. We hope you will do that.
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Now here is part one of No Man is an Island. Voltaire was one of the most famous philosophers of the French Enlightenment. He was brilliant and witty and very openly hostile to Christianity. He mocked the Bible. He attacked the church.
He predicted that faith would be replaced by education, philosophy, and human reason. He said, It is impossible that Christianity will survive.
Well Voltaire died in 1778, convinced that history would prove that what he said was true. and what actually happened. But less than sixty years after his death, Voltaire's former residence in Geneva became a center for the storage and distribution of Bibles and gospel tracts through the Evangelical Society of Geneva. And that's not all. There is a record that the printing presses he once used to attack Christianity were repurposed to print Bibles.
And I have to thank the Lord has a sense of humor as he looks at the thing. that people say You know, history and scripture are filled with people who. have tried to stand against God and lost. It is an ever good to get into a contest with the Almighty. No one ever wins that battle.
The Lord wins a hundred percent of the time. Jacob wrestled with God and lost his strength. Pharaoh defied God and lost his nation. Nebuchadnezzar exalted himself and lost his mind. Saul of Tarsus fought against Christ and lost his cause.
And Herod Agrippa claimed God's glory. and lost his life. When you fight against God, you lose. As I think about the book of Jonah, it seems to me that it is really a book about a contest between God and Jonah. Yeah.
And it almost sounds foolish to say that because, I mean, who would ever want to get into a contest with God? But that is exactly what Jonah did. He believed there was some way he could escape. the will and purpose of God. But the psalmist sums it up.
The psalmist says, where can I go from your spirit, or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend unto heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there. The Bible tells us that God is omnipresent. That means he is always present everywhere all the time.
There is never a place where you can go where the presence of God is not already there.
So what Jonah tried to do was a rather foolish thing. I wish He had heard my message. Maybe he wouldn't have done that. Because twice in the opening verses, we are told that Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord. That is what he was trying to do.
But it was impossible. Because no matter where he went, God was already there. I would not be surprised if maybe there's not someone here today who Has been trying to do the same things. I mean, you would not use those words. But in your heart, you know that God has been speaking to you about some things, and you've chosen.
Not to do what you know he has asked you to do. You have rebelled against him, and you've said, I don't want to do that, I'm going to do this. I hope that before we are finished today, you will see how foolish it is to try. to run and hide from God. We began following the opening movement in the book of Jonah.
We saw how clear God's command was. He gave Jonah three simple instructions, commands the prophet could not have misunderstood. He said, arise, go, preach to Nineveh. And then we saw Jonah get up. And instead of obeying God, He arose to flee.
He went in the opposite direction of the will of God, down to Joppa. down into a ship headed for Tarshus. Whenever you run from God, the path is always down. Down, down. And that sets the stage for everything that follows in this story.
So we begin today at verse 4 in the first chapter and notice the disturbance of Jonah's plan. But the Lord sent a great wind on the sea. And there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. Verse 4 marks the moment in this story when God steps in. Jonah is running, but God is not going to let him go.
So the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea. The phrase sent out is sometimes used in the Old Testament for throwing a weapon like a spear or a javelin. And the picture is of God throwing a storm after Jonah. as he's running away.
Sometimes even today. God has to use hard things to get our attention. You know. I don't mean this in a mean spirited way, but some of you are really hard-headed. Or should I say some of us are really hard-headed.
Sometimes God can't whisper to us. He has to shout. And many times the louder voice comes through difficult moments in our life. Through things we weren't expecting, through challenges we didn't anticipate. Nor did we want.
Here's the truth. Sin often brings a storm with it. Bad choices usually come with hard consequences. Here's the hope. For those who belong to God, nothing is wasted.
You know, the Bible says it this way, that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. God uses years of waiting and famine and disappointment. to teach Abraham how to trust him when nothing seemed to be happening. God used betrayal by his brothers. to prepare Joseph to be the Prime Minister of Egypt.
God used fear, failure, and 40 years in the desert to humble Moses.
so that he would be ready for the last 40 years of his life. leading the people of God. Not every storm happens because of sin, don't get me wrong. Every storm can be used by God to grow us. Hard seasons can teach us faith.
I've told you before that all the important things in my life I seem to have learned during difficult times.
Sometimes they shape our character. They always draw us closer to God. And for many people, the hardest moments of their lives are the moments that led them to Jesus. Jonah did not understand it yet, but even in the middle of the storm, God's mercy was working. God was not trying to destroy Jonah.
He was trying to get him to come back home. and behave. The disturbance of Jonah's plan is followed by the disruption of Jonah's world. All of a sudden, everything about Jonah's life. Is in disarray.
Notice what happens next.
So that the ship was about to be broken up. And the mariners were afraid, and every man cried out to his God, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea. to lighten the load. Jonah is on board, God sends the wind, and the storm begins to rage. The waves grow larger and larger, and the sea is violent, and the scripture says the ships fall in apart.
Stuff's falling off the ship. It's coming unglued. The sailors are terrified. They do not know what to do, so the first thing they do is they try to lighten the load of the ship so that it will ride higher in the water. they begin jettisoning the cargo.
And then the Bible says they start to pray. I mean, they're really desperate. Every one of them is crying out to his own God. You know, these sailors weren't Hebrews, these were Jewish sailors. They were polytheistic pagans.
Each man had his own God. They did not know what else to do, so when they lost control, they started to pray. How many of you know that there are no atheists in the foxhole? People pray when things get tough. No matter how anti-prayer they are before the incident happens.
They may not know how to pray. They may not know who they are praying to. But there is something within the human heart that says, when you come to the end of yourself, There is someone outside of you who can help you.
Now we know who that someone is. But even people who don't know Jesus pray. They pray out of fear. They pray out of desperation. People who do not know him pray the best way they know how.
And that is how desperate these sailors were. They were petrified, they panicked, and they prayed.
Now notice what happens next, the discovery of Jonah's sin. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship. and lay down and was fast asleep. Doesn't that seem strange? I mean, I don't think I'd be sleeping in a storm.
Here he is at the bottom of the ship. He's sleeping, and the captain came to him and said to him, What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God. Perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish. And they said to one another, Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.
So they cast lots. And the lot fell on Jonah. As the storm continues to rage, the captain looks around and realizes someone is missing. I can almost hear him reasoning out, didn't we pick somebody up in Japa? Where is he?
Did he go overboard? And one of the sailors said, You know, Captain, What I think I saw was that guy down in the bottom of the ship and I think he's down there sleeping. And the captain says, You've got to be kidding me. I just added that. I don't think he really said that, but that's what I would have said.
So he goes down to where Jonah is, and notice the steps that take place. First there is inspection. They search the ship and they find Jonah asleep. Then there is interrogation. The captain asks Jonah, What do you mean, sleeper?
Can you imagine how unbelievable that must have seemed to the captain? Everybody else is praying, throwing cargo overboard, probably sick to their stomachs. Doing everything they can to survive, and here is this one man at the bottom of the ship.
Sound asleep. The captain is saying, What are you doing? Don't you know we're about to go under? Get up and pray to somebody. Then there is intervention.
This is one of the most interesting moments in the story. The sailors say, Here's what we'll do. Let's find out who the problem is. Let's cast lots. In their own way, they entered what we would call a lottery.
They cast lots, and the Bible says the lot fell on Jonah. And I've read some people who say, what a coincidence that was. You know, I don't think that was. I mean, if God could send the wind and the storm, I think He could figure out how the lot was supposed to come out. And make sure it fell on Jonah, because that's who it should have fallen on.
So finally there is the identification. through their own pagan way, Jonah is singled out as the culprit. The lot fell on Jonah.
Sort of as a reminder to us, be sure your sin will find you out. Jonah is now in the center. of their target. One of the most sobering things that I've watched over the years as a pastor. is how often the discovery of sin comes long after the sin itself.
The Lord never says exposure will be immediate, but He does say accountability is inevitable. I could tell you some incidents that come to mind. when I say what I just said. of people who Got in trouble. They shouldn't have been in.
Nobody knew about it and seven years later, It came to light. and destroyed their life. You know, we think that if we get away with something for a short period of time, we've got it made. The Bible says, be sure your sin will find you out. Sin has a long, long tail.
and you almost never get away with it. You may think you're clever more so than anybody else. that you can cover it and nobody will find out. But come and tell me the same thing five years from now. Jonah has run from the Lord.
He is asleep. He's trying to shut everything out, but God orchestrates the events.
So that Jonah is singled out as the one man to whom God has now directed his attention.
Now we look at Jonah's discussion about his guilt. in verses 8 through 14. This is a discussion that goes on between the Mariners and Jonah. Let's walk through this together. First of all, the concern of the mariners.
Then they said to Jonah, Please tell us. For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from, and what is your country, and of what people are you? After they realized that Jonah was the cause of the storm, the sailors said to him, Please tell us.
For whose cause is this trouble upon us? And then the questions start coming one after the other: what's your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?
Later, they will ask the ultimate question. What are we supposed to do with you? But here they are saying, Jonah, if you are the reason we are in this mess. We need to know who you are.
Now notice Jonah's confession.
So he said to them, I am a Hebrew. And I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. If this verse were all there were in the text, we would say Jonah has come back, he's got everything back together. But unfortunately, this is not a confession of disobedience, it's just a confession of truth. I love this.
Jonah was thinking a lot about dry land right then. Did you see that in his text? Isn't it interesting that Jonah could say something like this in the middle of his rebellion? He said, I am a Hebrew. I fear the Lord.
Well, Jonah, you don't really fear the Lord enough because if you feared him the way you should, you wouldn't be where you are doing what you're doing. But here's the important point. Jonas' theology was correct. and he was still disobedient. Isn't that interesting?
You can have correct theology. You can know everything to the last Drop. And Just because you know it doesn't mean you're going to obey it.
some of the most brilliant men that I have ever known. Demonstrate what I am saying now.
So brilliant. And yet Disobedient to God. And the consequences are even greater when that is true. Did you know that the more we know, the more responsible we are? Listen to Hebrews.
Hebrews is a very challenging verse. It says: think about how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God. And have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy. and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to us. It's one thing to sin against God in ignorance.
It's quite another thing to sin presumptuously. To know the truth, to know God, to know what's right, to know what's wrong, to know what Jonah said about God in verse 9, to claim to fear God and then still choose to do wrong.
So Jonah confesses what he knows about God. but he has not yet confessed his disobedience. That does not happen until the next chapter when he reaches the lowest point of his life. We come out of confusion of the mariners. When Jonah finishes speaking, we're told that the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, Why have you done this?
For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord because he told them. And they said to him, What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm for us? For the sea was growing more tempestuous. All the time they were having this interchange between them. The wind was blowing harder and the waves were getting bigger.
And the sailor said, We got to come to some resolution, Jonah. If you're the cause and you're the reason. Please tell us what to do so we can get rid of you and get back to calm.
Now listen to Jonah. And Jonas said to them, Pick me up. Throw me into the sea, and the sea will become calm for you. for I know that this great tempest is because of me. That's a pretty good start for Jonah.
He's not all the way home yet, but that's a good place to begin. You know, when we finally come to grips with the facts that it's us. And we quit blaming everybody else. And we say, you know, like the old spiritual that says, it's me, it's me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer. Not my brother, nor my sister, but it's me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer.
I tell people now more than ever: until we face the truth, we have nowhere to go. Jonah couldn't get back to where he should be until he was willing to be honest. Truth is the starting place for recovery and restoration. As long as we avoid the truth about ourselves, nothing will change. As long as you keep trying to cover it up, as long as you're trying to excuse it, as long as you're trying to make reason for it.
It will never get better until you face up to what's happened and what you've done, honestly, look in the mirror and say, it's me. I'm the reason for this. We are very good at shifting blame. We blame our parents. We blame our upbringing, we blame our schools, we blame our environment, sometimes we blame our churches.
We blame our circumstances. We just seem to always find someone else to blame. But the Turning Point comes when we stop deflecting and we start being honest. When we look in the mirror and say, I'm the problem, this didn't happen to me. I made it happen to me.
So Jonah finally came to that moment of truth, and he said, if you want to get rid of the storm, Then you better get rid of me. That's me. I'm the reason for the storm. And In a moment of courage. He said, throw me overboard and everything will be all right.
Now I want you to pause for just a moment and I want to ask you this question. If you had been a sailor, How long would it have taken you to get to Jonah? and get him out of the ship. You would have immediately grabbed hold of his clothes and thrown him overboard as fast as you could. hoping that this craziness that's going on in the ship would stop.
But that's not what happened. Notice what it says in verse 13. Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to return to land. But they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, we pray, O Lord, do not let us perish for this man's life.
and do not charge us with innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.
So, if I'd been one of those sailors, the moment Jonah said that word, I would have grabbed him by the shirt and he'd been on the water. Can you understand that? You're the one causing all of this. You're gone. You're out of here.
Hosto la vista. But did you see what they did? They rowed as hard as they could to shore. And the Bible says they prayed. They didn't pray to their old gods.
Now, somehow, they've decided that maybe Jonah's God is the right one since he brought the storm. And they began to pray.
Somehow, through that conversation with Jonah, they had come to believe at least in some measure in the true God. And instead of crying out to their many gods, they're now calling on the Lord Himself. Oh God, do what you must do, but don't let us perish in the process. All of this is a remarkable testimony to the sailors' compassion for Jonah. They had no obligation to help him.
They had every right to get rid of him. He was the reason they were in this storm, and yet they chose mercy over convenience. Isn't it interesting that sometimes people who do not know God. Treat others better than people who do know God. I've made that observation, and I'm kind of ashamed to say it.
It's not mostly true, but sometimes true, and it was certainly true in the book of Jonah. These ungodly mariners. We're more concerned about Jonah than many you and I know would be. They didn't want to just get rid of him because he was the source of their trouble. They were concerned about him as a person.
Hey, this is No Man is an Island Part 1, and we'll finish up the 16th verse of the first chapter. when we get together again tomorrow. Hope you'll join us then. We're moving through Jonah in this daily broadcast and we're so happy to have you with us. Don't forget when you have a moment today to sit down and send a note and a gift to Turning Point and ask for your copy of the calendar for 27.
You do really want to have this. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing to have and you'll find so many places you'll want to put it and I know you'll use it because there's plenty of place for all of your appointments. Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow. Uh For more information on Dr.
Jeremiah's series, Jonah the Runaway Prophet, please visit our website where we also offer two free ways to help you stay connected. Our monthly magazine Turning Points and our daily email devotional. Sign up today at davidjeremiah.org slash radio. That's davidjeremiah.org slash radio or call us at 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of our 14-month 2027 calendar, The Light of the World, and deepen your faith daily throughout the coming year.
It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard, New International and New King James Versions, available in several attractive and resilient cover options. Get all the details when you visit our website, davidjeremiah.org/slash radio. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we continue the series Jonah the Runaway Prophet on Turning Point with Dr.
David Jeremiah.
