The Odd Story, The Odd God EFCI

Transcription

1 The Odd Story, The Odd God EFCI

2 What do you know about Jonah?

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4 The story unfolds The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me. Jonah 1:1-2 NASB

5 3 But Jonah rose up flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Jonah 1:3

6 To Flee from His Presence Rose up Went down to Joppa Found a ship a ship going to Tarshish Paid $$ Went down into it Go with them to Tarshshih

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8 So why did Jonah run?

9 Why did Jonah Run? Resentment toward Nineveh Personal Agenda No OT prophets have been ordered by God to personally travel to a place that would threaten their lives.

10 Jonah has legit reasons to run from God! But can he really run from God?

11 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? -Ps. 139:7

12 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Gen. 4:16

13 from the presence of the LORD = Broken relationship 我不爽你! I m pissed at You!

14 So, let s be honest We all have moments when we are upset at God because we just don t get it! God can handle your anger!

15 Story Continues The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and 4 there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. Then the sailors 5 became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep. 1:4-5

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17 cast lots 骰 子

18 Jonah s answer: I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land. 1:9 LORD = Yaweh 耶和華 = God s personal name. Jonah knows God well.

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20 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. 1:17

21 Disobey the LORD and swallow by a fish??

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23 While in the fish Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish, 2:1 I called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. 2:2 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD. 2:9

24 Big Fish = God s salvation for Jonah Salvation = Deliverance so we can be with God

25 Perhaps, a bad place that we are in can be a place of salvation, a place of intimacy, a place of loving encounter. But what does it look like to you?

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27 Jonah 1 (Before the fish) Jonah 3 (After the fish) The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me. 1:1-2 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you. 3:1-2 3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord 1:3a 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord 3:3a

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29 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. 3:10

30 The Climax 故事 高峰! But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, Didn t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my 3 life from me, for death is better to me than life. 4:1-3 NASB + NLT

31 4 The Lord said, Do you have good reason to be angry? 5 Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city.

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33 he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, Death is better to me than life. Then God said to Jonah, Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant? And he said, I have good reason to be angry, even to death. 4:8-9

34 The story ends with LORD said to Jonah Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals? 4:!

35 So Whom did God have compassion for? a) Nineveh b) the pagan sailors in ch. 1 c) Jonah d) all of the above

36 Even in the midst of anger, confusion and difficulties, know that His love is for you. His compassion is beyond reasons. His redemptive plan cannot be stopped.

37 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow not even the powers of hell can separate us from God s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ro. 8:38-39 NLT 38 因为我深信 : 无论是死 是 生, 是天使 是掌权的, 是现在的事, 是将来的事, 是有能 力的, 39 是 高天的 是深渊的, 或是任何别的被造之物, 都不能叫我们与神的爱隔绝, 这爱是在我们的主耶稣基督 里的 羅 8:38-39