Psalm 139:7-10
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, 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.
Jonah 1:1-3, 17
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose 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 from the presence of the Lord.
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2:1
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.
Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” 3 What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
Matthew 12:39-41 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
Hebrews 2:17 For this reason He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.
THE GREAT PURSUIT OF GOD:
1. God is motivated to pursue from
John 3:16 (Jesus said) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
THE GREAT PURSUIT OF GOD:
2. God is motivated to pursue us to
John 3:17 (Jesus said) For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Luke 19:10 (Jesus said) for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
THE GREAT PURSUIT OF GOD:
3. God is motivated to pursue us to
Jonah 1:1-2 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”
LESSONS FROM JONAH’S HUMAN RESPONSE:
1. Jonah
Jonah 1:3, 9, 10
3 But Jonah arose 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 from the presence of the Lord.
9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
Question: Are we really making the assignment God gives us about ourselves or should it be about Him?
Some run from God’s assignments because of
LESSONS FROM JONAH’S HUMAN RESPONSE:
2. Jonah discovered that there is no place you can
Psalm 139:7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
Jeremiah 23:24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.
Jonah 1:4 But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
Jonah 1:15, 17 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
LESSONS FROM JONAH’S HUMAN RESPONSE:
3. Jonah found that when you
Psalm 139:8-10 If I ascend into heaven, YOU ARE THERE; If I make my bed in hell, behold, 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.
Jonah 2:1-9 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. 3 For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ 5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. 6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God. 7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. 8 “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”
Psalm 139:17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
Conclusion:
God is pursuing you, what is your response?
Are you running from God’s assignment?
Are you running to God’s assignment?