Creekside Church, Sunday, May 28, 2023
Chapter 1 - The Foolishness of a Hard Heart
Locations & Times
Creekside Church
660 Conservation Dr, Waterloo, ON N2J 3Z4, Canada
Sunday 9:00 AM
Sunday 10:30 AM
Jonah is a very unusual book in the Bible.
· It’s the only book in the Bible that is a story about an event in the life of a prophet and yet doesn’t have a single prophecy.
· The guy the book is named after isn’t the hero in the book
· It’s got a number of wild and crazy things that happen in it. And because the book is so unusual Biblical critics attack it voraciously.
We believe the book is fact not fiction.
· Archaeological evidence that a guy by the name of Jonah actually lived. Archaeologists have identified what they believe to be his grave. Archaeologists have also uncovered ancient coins that carry the picture of a man coming out of a fish’s mouth.
· In 2 Kings 14:25 Jonah is identified as a real person, in the context of a real king named Jeroboam, and a real sea called Arabah, and a real nation called Israel!
· Jesus identifies Jonah as a prophet, speaks of his preaching and references the Jonah fish story.
"As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40)
Jonah has a hard heart.
The Bible spends a lot of time talking about our hearts.
“As water reflects a face, so a person’s heart reflects the person.”
(Proverbs 27:19)
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.”
(Proverbs 4:23 NLT)
· My heart is like an engine.
· My heart is like a thermostat that sets the temperature of my life.
· My heart is also like a GPS system. The heart directs my life.
· My heart is like playdough.
YOU SHAPE YOUR HEART AND THEN YOUR HEART SHAPES YOU.
What does my heart look like?
Jonah has a hard heart.
Hard hearts hurt God, hurt others, hurt us.
Hard hearts hurt God, hurt others, hurt us. How’s your heart?
"The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: '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. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD."
(Jonah 1:1-2 NIV)
Jonah knows the will of God. Jonah chooses to disobey God.
Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh because he didn’t want them to hear the merciful heart of God and repent of their wickedness and have God forgive them. Jonah wanted Nineveh destroyed by God not forgiven by God.
Notice the last phrase in verse 3 . . . to flee from the LORD. Jonah should have known that this was impossible. How could Jonah ever think that he would be able to hide from God?
Jonah’s hard heart leads him down, down, down, down, down, down.
"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." (Jonah 1:4-5a NIV)
The sailors are frantically praying, each to his own god.
Meanwhile . . .
"But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” (Jonah 1:5b-6)
Hard hearts do strange things.
"Then the sailors said to each other, 'Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.' They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah." (Jonah 7 NIV)
"So they asked him, 'Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?'”
(Jonah 1:8 NIV)
These guys are trying desperately to figure out what has caused the storm and see if they can fix it. Jonah answers.
"He answered, 'I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.'” (Jonah 1:9 NIV)
"This terrified them and they asked, 'What have you done?' (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)" (Jonah 1:10 NIV)
"The sea was getting rougher and rougher." (Jonah 1:11a NIV)
Why is the sea getting rougher and rougher? Because Jonah’s heart is hard and he is not allowing God to break through.
"So they asked him, 'What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?'
'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.'”
(Jonah 1:11b-12 NIV)
Have you noticed something about rebellion? The longer you are into it the harder it is to come back. Jonah is so far gone that rather than getting on his knees and confessing his sin he is willing to be thrown overboard.
"Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the LORD, 'Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.' Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.
Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."
(Jonah 1:13-17 NIV)
It is interesting to see how the sailors respond. First, they recognize God is active in this storm. Second, they obey God. They knew that what Jonah told them to do was the truth. It was what God wanted. They obeyed. They threw Jonah overboard. Third, they worshipped God. They put him in his rightful place. Fourth, they made vows or commitments to him.
How’s your heart?
Is it a hard heart that’s far from God?
Where are you right now in terms of your relationship with God? Are you wandering away? Is there an area in your life that you are trying to hide from God? Is he trying to get your attention?
· It’s the only book in the Bible that is a story about an event in the life of a prophet and yet doesn’t have a single prophecy.
· The guy the book is named after isn’t the hero in the book
· It’s got a number of wild and crazy things that happen in it. And because the book is so unusual Biblical critics attack it voraciously.
We believe the book is fact not fiction.
· Archaeological evidence that a guy by the name of Jonah actually lived. Archaeologists have identified what they believe to be his grave. Archaeologists have also uncovered ancient coins that carry the picture of a man coming out of a fish’s mouth.
· In 2 Kings 14:25 Jonah is identified as a real person, in the context of a real king named Jeroboam, and a real sea called Arabah, and a real nation called Israel!
· Jesus identifies Jonah as a prophet, speaks of his preaching and references the Jonah fish story.
"As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40)
Jonah has a hard heart.
The Bible spends a lot of time talking about our hearts.
“As water reflects a face, so a person’s heart reflects the person.”
(Proverbs 27:19)
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.”
(Proverbs 4:23 NLT)
· My heart is like an engine.
· My heart is like a thermostat that sets the temperature of my life.
· My heart is also like a GPS system. The heart directs my life.
· My heart is like playdough.
YOU SHAPE YOUR HEART AND THEN YOUR HEART SHAPES YOU.
What does my heart look like?
Jonah has a hard heart.
Hard hearts hurt God, hurt others, hurt us.
Hard hearts hurt God, hurt others, hurt us. How’s your heart?
"The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: '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. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD."
(Jonah 1:1-2 NIV)
Jonah knows the will of God. Jonah chooses to disobey God.
Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh because he didn’t want them to hear the merciful heart of God and repent of their wickedness and have God forgive them. Jonah wanted Nineveh destroyed by God not forgiven by God.
Notice the last phrase in verse 3 . . . to flee from the LORD. Jonah should have known that this was impossible. How could Jonah ever think that he would be able to hide from God?
Jonah’s hard heart leads him down, down, down, down, down, down.
"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." (Jonah 1:4-5a NIV)
The sailors are frantically praying, each to his own god.
Meanwhile . . .
"But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” (Jonah 1:5b-6)
Hard hearts do strange things.
"Then the sailors said to each other, 'Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.' They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah." (Jonah 7 NIV)
"So they asked him, 'Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?'”
(Jonah 1:8 NIV)
These guys are trying desperately to figure out what has caused the storm and see if they can fix it. Jonah answers.
"He answered, 'I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.'” (Jonah 1:9 NIV)
"This terrified them and they asked, 'What have you done?' (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)" (Jonah 1:10 NIV)
"The sea was getting rougher and rougher." (Jonah 1:11a NIV)
Why is the sea getting rougher and rougher? Because Jonah’s heart is hard and he is not allowing God to break through.
"So they asked him, 'What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?'
'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.'”
(Jonah 1:11b-12 NIV)
Have you noticed something about rebellion? The longer you are into it the harder it is to come back. Jonah is so far gone that rather than getting on his knees and confessing his sin he is willing to be thrown overboard.
"Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the LORD, 'Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.' Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.
Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."
(Jonah 1:13-17 NIV)
It is interesting to see how the sailors respond. First, they recognize God is active in this storm. Second, they obey God. They knew that what Jonah told them to do was the truth. It was what God wanted. They obeyed. They threw Jonah overboard. Third, they worshipped God. They put him in his rightful place. Fourth, they made vows or commitments to him.
How’s your heart?
Is it a hard heart that’s far from God?
Where are you right now in terms of your relationship with God? Are you wandering away? Is there an area in your life that you are trying to hide from God? Is he trying to get your attention?