Jonah The 1st Submarine Captain
(Hebrews 12:1 NIV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
(Jonah 1:1-5 NIV) The word of the LORD came to Jonah: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port… Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
How to Recover from Bad Choices
1) Take
(Jonah 1:12 NIV) “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
(Proverbs 28:13 LB) A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.
John Wooden: “You’re not a failure until you start blaming others for your mistakes
(Jonah 1:15 NIV) Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.
(Jonah 1:17 NIV) Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
2)
(Jonah 2:1 NIV) From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.
(Jonah 2:9 NIV) “…What I have vowed I will make good…”
(Acts 3:19 NIV) Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Bruce Wilkerson: Repentance means to change your mind so deeply that it changes you.
(Jonah 2:10 NIV) And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
3)
(Jonah 3:1 NIV) Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time…
John Maxwell: Grace always runs downhill. It met me when I was at the bottom not the top.
(Hebrews 4:16 NIV) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Don’t let bad choices
(Romans 8:1 NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Warren Wiersbe: The word of the Lord will never lead you where the grace of
God can’t keep you and the power of God can’t use you.
Don’t let bad choices
(Romans 8:28 NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
How to Safeguard Against Making Bad Choices
1) Use God’s Word to
(Psalm 119:105 NIV) Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
2) Ask the Holy Spirit for
(John 16:13 NIV) But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
3) Seek
(Proverbs 13:20 NIV) He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffer harm