A ‘Whale’ of a Time – Obey God and Leave the Consequences to Him (Redeemer Group)

Personal Testimonies/Preliminary Discussion
• Has God ever called you to do something, go somewhere, or give something up (an idol, perhaps, like we talked about several weeks ago)?
• Did you obey God’s command?
• If you didn’t obey, what was the consequence of disobedience?

The events in the Book of Jonah demonstrate the importance of obedience to God’s command, as well as trusting in God’s promise that He will never give us anything that we can’t handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). God assures us that, with obedience to His command and faith in His everlasting promises, He will reveal to us His wonderful plans for our lives. We are reminded, “Obey God and leave the consequences to Him”; Jonah serves as an example of what happens when we place our own plans ahead of God’s. Remember Exodus 20:3 – “You shall have no other gods before me.”

Jonah 1:1-3
Jonah Flees From the LORD
1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." 3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.

• Verse 1-2 - God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh, a place of great wickedness. The Ninevites were known as “vicious, bloodthirsty Pagans” – they did not believe in the one true God. God had even threatened to destroy the city of Nineveh if they did not turn from their wicked ways.
o Discussion – Has God called you to a “Nineveh”? In other words, has God called you to a situation that was “less than comfortable” for you so that His work could be done?
• Verse 3 – Jonah is fearful of the violent Ninevites, so he decides to pay a large sum of money to get on a boat sailing for Tarshish (the opposite direction from Nineveh). Jonah had a plan of his own. We also know that Jonah was an arrogant man. Try this.
Edging
God
Out
o Discussion – When God called you to your “Nineveh”, did you obey? Or maybe you decided Nineveh was too dangerous for you. Or in American culture - it wasn't "cool" enough for you. Did you act opposite of God’s command? Did you oppose His instructions?

Jonah 1:4-17
4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish."
7 Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
8 So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?"
9 He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."
10 This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)
11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"
12 "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.
17 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

• Verses 4-12 - Because of Jonah’s disobedience, God sent a raging storm that crushed the ship that Jonah was on. The other sailors called on their own gods to find out what was causing the violent storm, but Jonah knew that the storm was caused by his disobedience of God’s command.
o Discussion – Because of your disobedience, has God ever “thrown a wrench in your plans?”
o When His children are disobedient or ignorant, God has the power to “get their attention”. And when God wants your attention, there's nothing you can do to avoid His wrath. But remember, His wrath is revealed to us as a means of discipline. God the Father disciplines us His children. The Bible indicates that the parent that does not discipline his or her children indeed does them a disservice - he or she "hates" them.

• Verses 13-17 – The other sailors, knowing that Jonah was responsible for the storm, attempted to row back to land, to no avail. Therefore, the sailors are forced to toss Jonah overboard, which immediately calmed the storm. Having seen the powers of God at work, the sailors believed in the Lord. Meanwhile, God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah, where he remained for three days and three nights.
o Realize that when God wants to get our attention, there’s nothing we can do to prevent all-powerful, Almighty God from getting His message across. “Ask Him to ‘examine’ you” (Psalm 26)
o When God’s trying to grab your attention, He manifests His power to both you and people around you.
o As a parent disciplines a child for disobedience, God disciplines His children for disobedience. At the same time, He is a merciful God.

In Jonah 2, Jonah prays for repentance from God for his disobedience. As a result, God commanded the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land – leading Jonah right back where he started!
• Because of your disobedience, have you ever felt like God moved you all the way back to 'square one'?
o God demonstrates that whether we cooperate or not, His Will is going to be done regardless. In obedience to His command, "God never said it would be easy, but He promised us it'd be worth it!"

In Jonah 3, God again calls Jonah to the city of Nineveh, and Jonah obeys. For three days, Jonah delivered the message of the God of Israel, a merciful and loving God. And the city of Nineveh, formerly a center of evil and wickedness, became a city that boldly proclaimed God.
• God used Jonah, in all of his humanly flaws, to accomplish great things. God gives us the power of testimony. Jonah was bleached by the stomach acid of the fish - a creature that was worshipped by the pagan Ninevites. Therefore, when Jonah arrived in Nineveh, the Ninevites willingly listened to him.
o God doesn’t always choose the people whom you’d always expect to do His work.
And rest assured that God NEVER calls ANYONE to do ANYTHING that He has not already fully equipped them to do.
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

When we do as He commands, we will find that our priorities will fall in line - in line with JOY.
Jesus First
Others Second
Yourself Last

What is true peace?
Psalm 16:8
I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
We stand on God's promises, "when all other ground is sinking sand". Here's how!
Prayerfully
Engaged
And
Christ-
Endearing