"Of Whales and Worms"

Jonah 1
"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.
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. 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, and we will not perish."
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.
So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?"
He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."
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.)
The sea was getting rougher and rougher. 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."
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 to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O 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.
But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights."

Notes taken from Isaac Hunter's sermon (05/31/09):
*"Be obedient, be faithful."
*"God may call you to places you do not want to go."
*"God will redeem disobedience and He will bless obedience."
*"The ship of Tarshish was from a huge kingdom of great wealth. Jonah was a wealthy guy running to a wealthy place. His God was bigger than his wealth"
*"Sometimes we think rebellion will produce better results than surrender and obedience."
*"The sooner you surrender, the better off you are."
*"The world is saying to us, just as those on the boat said to Jonah..."Wake up...pray to your God."
*"Do something to make a difference. Keep your eyes open to what is going on."
*"Jonah is humbled, God is great."
*"Even if it costs him his life, it would save theirs."
*"Give ourselves fully to find life with Him, to the One who loves us best."

Psalms 104:1-2
"Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent."

Psalms 84:1-2
"How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."

Psalms 84:10
"Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked."

Psalms 119:67
"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word."

Matthew 11:28
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Hebrews 7:25
"Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."

Jonah 2:2-3
He said: "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave [a] I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me."

Jonah 2:5-6
"The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God."