Jonah Week 2 - Rebound From Rebellion
Read
Jonah 1:17-2:10
17 The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 2 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish: 2 I called to the Lord in my distress, and he answered me. I cried out for help from deep inside Sheol; you heard my voice. 3 When you threw me into the depths, into the heart of the seas, the current overcame me. All your breakers and your billows swept over me. 4 And I said, “I have been banished from your sight, yet I will look once more toward your holy temple.”
5 The water engulfed me up to the neck; the watery depths overcame me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. 6 I sank to the foundations of the mountains, the earth’s gates shut behind me forever! Then you raised my life from the Pit, Lord my God! 7 As my life was fading away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, to your holy temple. 8 Those who cherish worthless idols abandon their faithful love, 9 but as for me, I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation belongs to the Lord. 10 Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Summary
Welcome back for week two of our Jonah series. The sermon this week was entitled Rebound From Rebellion. The book of Jonah is a great story of God’s relentless pursuit of sinful people and a rebellious prophet. It’s a story of mercy, surrender, repentance and sacrifice. It’s a story that asks us to recognize the miracle of mercy. Jonah found himself writing while in the belly of the fish, thinking he was going to die, he felt like he was in Sheol, a place of the dead. In the midst of the judgement, God offered him mercy. Let’s keep in mind that it’s out of judgement, that mercy is offered. God’s mercy is revealed while Jonah thinks he is losing it. It’s in the fish that Jonah finds silence in the storm that leads to his surrender. He surrenders when he sees the state, he is in. Jonah believed that God was done with him, but God had other plans. He tried to run from God’s will, but God would not have it. From within the fish Jonah experienced the power of repentance. Repentance is a response to the faithful love of God.
This week we had three points: The Miracle of Mercy, Silence The Storm Through Surrender, and Serve & Sacrifice. Our first point is found in verse 17 of chapter 1 and the first 6 verses of chapter 2. In these verses Jonah was able to recognize God’s mercy. The fish kept him from the storm, it led him to repentance and it saved his life. We find mercy from the storms of life, while we are in the storms of life.
Our second point is found in verses 6-8. In these verses that we see repentance, a change in direction. Repentance has to come with a change in direction, you can’t change your mind about Jesus and not change your direction towards Jesus. Repentance is a full change, not just a feeling of wanting to change. In the story we see a literal storm and a storm of disobedience. What does it mean to have peace in the storm? It is the understanding that God is holding you as the storm rages around you. He clarifies the silence.
Our final point is found in verses 9-10. Jonah realized that his job was to serve the Lord by following His commands. Following God, often comes at a sacrifice. Jonah had to sacrifice his comfort, his safety, and possibly himself to fulfill God’s will.
We often find ourselves in rebellion to God’s will, but that does not mean that God is done using us. It is when submit to God and release control to Him that we see His great plan for our lives. We want to run to God, before we run into God. Let’s recognize God’s miracle of mercy in our lives so that we recognize mercy for others and no longer view them as though we are their judge.
Discussion
Have you ever experienced the Miracle of Mercy in your life? Share
Have you experienced Silence in the midst of a Storm? Share
Have you had to surrender in the midst of a storm? What did it look like? Share
Have you ever had to sacrifice something so you could serve more efficiently? Share
What part of Jonah’s story can you relate to? Explain
Announcements
I want to start out by thanking all of our amazing CG Leaders! It has been a blessing to watch how the Lord has worked in BT these last two years. As I stepped into this role, we had less than a dozen active CGs, and today we have over 50. I know that God has BIG plans for His Church and His CG Ministry. This fall our church will go through a six weeks series on the importance of COMMUNITY. Pastor Chris and all our Campus Pastors will be speaking to the church about COMMUNITY Groups. We are expecting more CGs to form during this series.
This past month I attended a conference and had time to sit down with a pastor who is leading a ministry of over 700 CGs. I shared what the Lord is doing here at BT and he encouraged me to implement the next phase in our CG Leadership Plan. Our plan called for the implementation of CG Directors, but after speaking with him in depth, I have decided to change the title from Director to Shepherd. As I spoke to him, he showed me how this role is one of caring for people and I have to agree. I will be reaching out to 5 couples from our McAllen Campus and 1 couple from each of our additional campuses asking them to prayfully consider the role of a CG Shepherd. I am asking all of you as CGs to please pray that the Lord would rise up new CG Leaders and that He would confirm in the hearts of these couples the desire to lead and love our CG Leaders.
Once again, I want to thank all of you for the work you do serving the people of BT Church.
Pastor Isuaro Medina
Isauro.medina@bt.church
Cell: (956) 984-9380
