Running From God(Jonah) Jonah 1:3 I. Introduction. A. There are many who try to flee from the Lord. B. Fail to understand: Psalm 139:7-10. C. Someday--no one can hide from the Almighty: Romans 14:10. D. Easy to hide feelings and thoughts from humans--even to hide one's physical self. E. A man who tried to run away from God: Jonah 1:3. 1. Why Tarshish?(Perhaps a city on the coast of Spain--no longer exists. 2. Jonah(a dove) sought a way to escape responsibility. 3. Was it because he was a Hebrew sent to a Gentile city? 4. Time c800 BC. 5. Nineveh(a great city) needed to repent and Jonah was to be God's messenger. a. Destroyed in 612 BC. b. When Alexander the Great fought a battle near the site 300 years later "did not know a city had ever been there." F. Recount the episode of Jonah. II. Body. A. There is no place to hide from God. 1. Not in a ship far out at sea: Jonah 1:4. a. God sent a storm and Jonah slept! b. The ship's crew determined their problem was Jonah. c. When questioned as to who he was, Jonah replied: Jonah 1:9. (1 Jonah confessed to "fleeing from the presence of Jehovah"(Jonah 1:10b). (2 But--he could not and did not--the Lord knew everything. d. Finally, at Jonah's insistence, he is thrown overboard. 2. Not in a great fish could he hide: Jonah 1:17. a. Jonah pleaded: Jonah 2:7, 9. b. The Lord answers: Jonah 2:10. 3. God gives Jonah another opportunity: Jonah 3:1-2. a. Jonah complied and in three days is warning Nineveh they would be destroyed in 40 more days. b. The response of Nineveh: Jonah 3:5-9. c. The Lord's decision: Jonah 3:10. 4. None of those involved could hide from the Creator of all creation. B. The anger of Jonah: Jonah 4:1. 1. Acknowledged the mercy of God. 2. So mad, he wanted to die: Jonah 4:3. a. The Lord's question: Jonah 4:5. b. Anger rarely accomplishes anything(righteous anger does). c. Pouting never accomplished anything. 3. Jonah builds a booth to cool off; see if the Lord would destroy the city: Jonah 4:5. a. He was a poor builder. b. The Lord made a gourd to shade him. c. Then the Lord sent a worm and caused the gourd to die. d. The hot sun caused Jonah to faint. e. Now--he pleads for God that he might die. f. How angry was he? Jonah 4:9-10. 4. Contrariness gets more folks in trouble than Jonah. 5. A lesson from God: Jonah 4:10-11. C. Lessons from one who ran from God: 1. It is best to obey the commands of God when we first learn them. a. Why did Jonah try to avoid doing what God commanded? b. Perhaps Jonah had preached so long to the Jews without results that he saw only failure in this task. 2. One cannot run away from God. a. All men are accountable: Mark 16:15. b. All men will face the Lord in judgment: Matthew 25:31-32. c. There is no place on land or sea or space where one can ignore Jehovah, His creation, and His law. 3. God uses His creation to accomplish His purposes. a. Storm at sea; great fish. b. In the days of the apostles, he used miracles to confirm Christ's will. c. Today, he grants all mankind a mind to think with, a will to obey, and an opportunity to be obedient to the God of Heaven. d. God has His way in the end. e. Uses His own methods to control and guide men. 4. Pray to God when you are in trouble. a. Jonah was--he prayed--God spared him. b. Of course, pray to God always is the way of a Christian. D. What did Jonah learn? 1. God's will is executed regardless of the plans and intentions of men. 2. The Lord accepts those who are willing to repent. a. In the age of Christ--accompanies obedience. b. True repentance does bring action from the individual. 3. The mercy of God: a. Spared more than 60,000 souls in Nineveh. b. Demonstrated to an unhappy Jonah. c. Taught Jonah a lesson: never fail to try... III. Conclusion. A. How do men try to run from God in the present? B. Don't run: stop and obey.-jy