We’re All Runners
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Today we’re starting a new series called Runaways. It’s called Runaways, and it’s all about God’s grace in rebellion. Over the next 5 weeks we’re gonna study a book of the bible called Jonah, it’s a book many of us are familiar with, but many of us often misunderstand. I mean many of us think it’s just a book about Jonah being swallowed up by a whale, which is certainly a part of it, but it’s not the main point of Jonah. The main point is about how Jonah rebelliously runs from God, it’s about God’s grace towards Jonah despite his rebellious running, and it’s about God’s desire for Jonah to share God’s grace with the world around him. It’s primarily a book about God’s undeserved grace, and when we talk about God’s grace what we’re talking about is God giving us what we don’t deserve. It’s when you deserve to be punished for something, but instead of being punished you receive mercy and forgiveness. It’s about God giving us what we don’t deserve, even in times when we’re rebelliously running from Him, and that’s the story of Jonah. The story of Jonah is a story about God’s undeserved grace.
Now in particular what we’re gonna learn today is Jonah’s a runner...Jonah’s a runner, meaning he runs from God. God tells him to do something, he disagrees with God, gets angry with God, and so he runs from God. It’s something that happens to all of us. It happens when God tells us to do something we don’t want to do, it happens when God doesn’t answer our prayers, it happens when our life doesn’t go the way we want. When things like this happen we get all angry with God to the point where we’re ready to run from God. Everybody’s a runner like Jonah...I’m a runner, you’re a runner, everybody’s a runner like Jonah...We’re all running a race called life, and sometimes you’ll run your life with God, sometimes you’ll run it without God, and what you’re gonna learn today is God’s grace can always outpace your rebellious running...God’s grace can always outpace your rebellious running. Let’s turn to Jonah 1:1-4 and get into it. The title of today’s message is Everybody’s A Runner. Now I usually like to give you a little context, but most of our context will come as we go, so let’s get after it. Here we go.
The Word:
Jonah 1:1-4 states this, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai...” Okay so here’s what we know historically about Jonah. We know Jonah was a prophet of Israel around 8th Century B.C. during the reign of King Jeroboam II. He was known for predicting the restoration of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and under the reign of King Jeroboam II Israel was able to expand its territory back to the size it was under the reigns of King David and King Solomon. So at this point Israel’s become a very prosperous nation again. But unfortunately Israel starts to morally decline, there becomes political corruption, King Jeroboam starts doing some evil things, and the entire time Jonah remains a faithful patriot to Israel which is perhaps one of his greatest flaws. It’s that he’s more loyal to Israel than he is to the God of Israel. See Jonah knows God’s going to eventually punish Israel through an enemy nation, he’s not happy about it, and it becomes one of the reasons he runs. It’s because he’s a patriot who has a greater loyalty to Israel than he does to the God of Israel. It’s similar to what some Americans do today when they put their political parties and political agendas over their faith and relationship with God. Jonah has a greater loyalty to Israel than he does to the God of Israel, he thinks he knows what’s best for Israel over God, and when it comes down to it he chooses his country over God. Jonah’s a runner...He’s a runner...Everybody’s a runner. Sometimes you run your life with God, sometimes you run it without God. But God’s grace can always outpace your rebellious running.
Again vs. 1 states, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city...” So here’s what we know historically about Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, and it was known as one of the greatest capital cities of the ancient world, hence why the text states it’s a great city. It’s a great city because of its size, strength, and prosperity. In fact some historians report the walls of Nineveh were so massive, they were 100 feet tall and wide enough to ride 3 chariots across the top at the same time. Nineveh was a great city, but it was also a wickedly brutal city. It was known as one of the greatest capital cities of the ancient world, but it was also known as one of the cruelest. Archaeologists have found Assyrian artwork that entails images of war, execution, impalement, even the skinning of enemies. They also discovered an ancient Assyrian library that contains some of the records of Ninevite Kings, and here’s what some of these Ninevite Kings wrote:
“A mountain of heads I erected from the conquered king’s city. Their youths and their maidens I burnt up in the flames.”
“I cut their throats like lambs. I cut off their precious lives as one cuts a string. Like the many waters of a storm, I made the contents of their gullets and entrails run down upon the wide earth. Their hands I cut off.”
“I pierced another conquered king’s chin with my keen hand dagger. Through his jaw I passed a rope, put a dog chain upon him, and made him occupy a kennel.”
“I flayed a conquered king. His skin I spread upon the wall of the city.”
There’s even reports of them literally skinning their enemies alive, hanging their skin on their city walls, burying their skinned enemies alive up to their heads in sand, and then they’d drive a stake through their tongues so they’d thirst in pain until they died. They were very cruel, wickedly brutal people, and this is the city God’s telling Jonah to go to. This is the city God’s telling Jonah to go and preach to. What’s God tell Jonah to preach? The text tells us.
Again vs. 2, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” Notice God’s justice is being displayed here. His justice is being displayed in that He’s noticing and addressing the evil of the Ninevites. The text says their evil has come up before me, meaning God notices their evil, but it also says God’s sending Jonah to call out against them, meaning He’s addressing their evil. He’s sending Jonah to call out against them, to tell them He’s not gonna let their sinful brutality go unnoticed or unaddressed anymore. Some of you are like, “But why didn’t God stop them sooner?” For the same reason God doesn’t stop us from breathing in our own sinful rebellion. It’s to give us a chance to repent and turn to Him. The bible teaches us that God’s both just and gracious. He’s just in that He’s not willing to let sin go unnoticed or unaddressed, but He’s also gracious in that He gives us a chance to repent of our sins and turn to Him. The very fact God even gives us a chance to repent and turn to Him proves He’s a gracious God, because God doesn’t have to give any of us a chance to repent and turn. He gives us chances because He’s a gracious God, but He’s also just which is why He can’t let the Ninevite evil go unnoticed and unaddressed anymore. The Ninevites are running out of time, and if they don’t repent, turn from their evil ways, and turn to God, they’ll be destroyed. This is the message God’s sending Jonah to tell the Ninevites. He’s telling them to repent or be destroyed. He tells Jonah to call out against them, to preach against these brutal Ninevites.
Man how would you like to have Jonah’s job? How would like to be Jonah? You think starting a church in Orlando’s hard, try starting one in Nineveh. I mean we know Nineveh was located in the Northern parts of Iraq close to Syria, and so Jonah going to preach in Nineveh is like us going to Iraq or Syria, walking into ISIS headquarters wearing an American flag t-shirt, while playing some Toby Keith since Jonah’s a patriot. It’s like us going to ISIS headquarters waiving an I love Jesus flag, calling out against them like the text says, and telling ISIS to repent, turn to Jesus, or else that Toby Keith song will be a fulfilled prophecy and God will put a boot in their hinny...Anybody want to volunteer for that job? 1-2-3 not it!..You wouldn’t volunteer for that job, and neither did Jonah. But it’s the job God’s called Jonah to do. He’s called Jonah to go to Nineveh, to call out against them, to tell them to repent of their wicked ways or be destroyed, and how’s Jonah respond? Like a runner...He responds like a runner...Listen to vs. 3.
Vs. 3 states, “But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Jonah runs. He runs from both Nineveh and God. But He doesn’t just run from Nineveh, he runs as far away from Nineveh as he can. Historians believe during this time Tarshish was the farthest place he could get from Nineveh, roughly 2,000 miles west of Nineveh. God tells him to go east and he goes as far west as possible. But he’s not just running from Nineveh he’s also running from God. The text says he’s running from the presence of the Lord, which is just ridiculous because how do you run from God? God’s faster than Usain Bolt and the Flash combined. God’s omnipresent, He’s everywhere, so it’s impossible to run from God. Psalm 139:7-10 states, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me.” We simply cannot run from God. We can try, but running from God is like running on a treadmill, it’ll get you nowhere. You can run a lot of miles, but it’ll get you nowhere. It’s run, run, run, run, run “I think I lost Him.” God’s like, nope still here. You’re working hard, but it’s getting you nowhere. Need a towel?..For those of us who are prideful runners like Jonah we’re like “No, I don’t need your help! I don’t need you or your towel! I’ll just keep running my life without you! I’ll bump it up to 10 and burn you!” Then it’s back to run, run, run, run, run, until eventually you get tired and you can’t run anymore. God’s like “Still here. You’re still working really hard and out of breath from running life without me, but I’m still here and ready to help. Just stop your running, turn to me, and I’ll help.” But Jonah’s not willing to stop. He’s a prideful stubborn runner and he’s running as far away from Nineveh and God as possible.
It’s actually a very interesting twist in biblical history because Jonah’s the only prophet in the bible that was given a message from God and instead of preaching it he conceals it. As a prophet he’s called to go to the rebellious, but now he’s become the rebellious. He’s supposed to speak the word of the Lord that comes to him like vs. 1 states, but he ends up concealing it. So when Jonah starts running it’s big deal. It’s not just some single act of disobedience, it’s a resignation. What Jonah’s basically saying is “God I quit! I’m done with you! I’m done being your prophet! I’m done living my life for you and what you want, I’m gonna start living my life for me and what I want. I quit!” Jonah’s literally quitting on God and wanting nothing to do with God anymore. Why? Why’s he so angry and wanting to run from God? I get why he’d run from Nineveh, it’s a scary place, but why’s he so angry and wanting to run from God? We’ll get to it eventually in this series, but in ch. 4 Jonah tells us he’s running because he’s afraid the Ninevites will repent, turn to God, and God will forgive them. He hates the Ninevites so much and knows God is so gracious, that he doesn’t even want to give them the slightest chance to repent and be forgiven. This should tell us just how gracious the God of the bible really is. I mean Jonah’s not running because he’s afraid of God’s wrath, he’s running because he’s afraid of God’s grace. He’s not running because he’s afraid of God’s wrath against the Ninevites, He’s running because he’s afraid of God’s undeserved grace being given to the Ninevites! I know some people claim the God of the Bible’s an angry, wrathful God, but Jonah’s response tells us otherwise. It’s true God has a righteous anger and a righteous wrath against unrepentant sin, but He’s also very gracious. He’s been gracious all throughout history, all throughout our lives patiently giving us numerous chances to repent and turn to Him. Jonah’s not angry and running because he’s afraid of God’s wrath, he’s angry and running because he’s afraid of God’s undeserved grace.
Again vs. 3 states, “But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.” Look if you want to run from God, there will always be a ship ready to take you...If you want to run from God, if you want to try and live your life apart from God, there will always be a ship ready to take you...You need to know this, you need to know the bible teaches us God has an enemy, his named is Satan, and he always has a ship ready to take you away from following God. If you flirt with cheating on your spouse emotionally or physically, he’ll have a ship ready with somebody on it who will flirt back and treat you better than your spouse. If you flirt with greed, he’ll have a ship ready with a chance to steal, cut corners, or take advantage of somebody. If you flirt with wanting to run from God or run from something God’s called you to do, Satan will always have a ship ready to take you to Tarshish like Jonah. All Satan’s waiting for you to do is to climb aboard, but if you climb aboard, it’ll lead to a shipwreck. Jonah climbs aboard, and it leads to a shipwreck.
Vs. 4, “But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.” The ship’s leading to a shipwreck...The ship Jonah’s sailing on is leading to a shipwreck, it’s threatening to break up as the text states. If you want to run from God, if you want to live your life without God, there’s always a ship ready to take you, and if you climb aboard, it’ll lead to a shipwreck. But God’s grace can always outpace your rebellious running. Did you see it? Did you see God’s grace outpacing Jonah’s rebellion? Did you see God’s grace being given to Jonah, or did you miss it?..I’ll give you a hint. Who caused the storm?..Who caused the storm that’s busting up Jonah’s ship?..It was God...It was God that caused the storm...The text says it was the Lord that caused a great wind to come upon the sea, meaning it’s God who sends the storm to bust up Jonah’s ship, and that storm’s an act of God’s undeserved grace for Jonah. How? How’s the storm an act of God’s undeserved grace for Jonah? How are the storms in your life an act of God’s grace to you? Come back next week, and you’ll find out. There’s so much grace in the storm. Come back next week, and you’ll see it.
The Big Idea:
Let’s get to the big idea. Here’s the big idea. Everybody’s a runner like Jonah, and sometimes you run your life with God, sometimes you run it without God. But God’s grace can always outpace your rebellious running...God’s grace can always outpace your rebellious running...Look everybody has their moments where they run from God. In fact some of you might be running from God right now. You might come to church acting like your life’s okay, but there’s parts of your life that aren’t okay. There’s parts of your life that you’re not willing to submit to God, parts of your life where you’re running without God just like Jonah. What are those parts for you?..What are those parts, those areas in your life that you’re not willing to submit to God?..What are the areas in your life where you’re running without God?..
Listen you’re not alone. I want you to know you’re not alone in your rebellious running, because even the bible’s best had their rebellious running moments like Jonah, everybody except Jesus. You’ll see that in this series, you’ll see that Jesus is the better Jonah, he’s the faithful Jonah who not only came to a hostile world to warn us, but he also came to die for our sins as another act of God’s undeserved grace. It’s the greatest act of God’s undeserved grace that’s been given to our rebellious running world. But all of us are runners like Jonah. It’s why every year the Jews gather on Yom Kippur to read the book of Jonah, and then after the reading is over they say the same congregational response “We’re Jonah.” Every year they say “We’re Jonah.” It’s because they know everybody’s a runner like Jonah. Jonah was willing to submit to God in everything except for areas that mattered most to him. But we’re Jonah, we’re just as stubborn of a runner as Jonah was, we’re just as unwilling to submit to God in areas that matter most to us, and if we sail on that ship long enough it’ll lead to a shipwreck...If we’re not willing to submit those areas to God, if we keep running our lives without God, it’ll lead to a shipwreck. God warns us, He gives us chances to repent, He’s even giving us that chance now. So you can’t get mad at God if the shipwreck happens, instead swallow your pride, repent of your sins, and turn to Jesus because there’s even grace in the shipwreck, there’s even grace in the storm. Turn to Jesus, repent of your sins, believe Jesus lived, died, rose again for the forgiveness of your sins, and submit every part of your life to Jesus...because he’s a gracious God who’s always willing to forgive and help clean up the shipwreck of anyone who repents. Everybody’s a runner, but God’s grace can always outpace your rebellious running, and that’s the story of Jonah.