The Runaway: Nowhere to Run
Pastor Rollan Fisher
Focus: God will call us to himself and then to the people whom he works through us to save, whether we like it or not.
Where Will You Run?
God Will Have His Way
Christ in the Belly of the Fish
Where Will You Run To?
God’s presence is often found in the very place from which we want to run.
Jonah 1:1-6 ESV
“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me." But Jonah rose 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, away from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish."”
God loves people that we don’t and cares about people and places that we won’t on our own.
That is good news for us because it is the reason any of us are here today (I Corinthians 1:26-31).
God always calls his servants to a place, to a people and for a purpose.
This is a theme that we see throughout Scripture.
God has his eyes on the city and sends his people to minister to it, not just enjoy and take from it.
God’s concern is not just the pleasures and career opportunities that people can find in the city, but the evils that exist there.
*Though God called Jonah to minister to the city, Jonah fled seeking comfort over confrontation.
This can be a pattern in Christendom, Christians fleeing the cities to find their fortresses of safety free of trial and pain.
It is interesting that as Jonah fled from Nineveh, he fled from the presence of the Lord who was there to work in that city.
Jonah found a ship going to Tarshish, away from Nineveh where he did not want to be, but where God wanted Jonah to be.
*Opportunity does not equate to the call of God.
*Whether it be a job, a home or a relationship, If you are determined not to listen to God, you can find a vessel to take you where you want to go.
God called Nineveh a great city.
Don’t run from what God calls great so that you can find what you think is good.
Jonah paid the price to run from Nineveh and again it was repeated, the presence of the Lord.
What we can find outside of God’s circumstantial and geographic call is a certain perceived ease, but it will come with a price.
When we step outside of the will of God, we stop asking questions as to what he wants us to do, so that by willfully ignoring his voice, we can create a pseudo-spirituality of our own making where God is available to us whenever we call rather than when he calls us.
Have you ever found it difficult to engage the presence of the Lord when you knew you were outside of his will?
Jonah 1:4 ESV
“But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.”
God will disrupt things in our lives when we are off course to get our attention and the attention of those around us that things have got to change.
The trouble that came upon everyone because of Jonah’s sin caused the sailors to call upon their false gods, but no help would come until there was an acknowledgment of the one true God of Israel from whom Jonah was running.
Have you ever been found running from God?
How did it affect your life and the lives of those around you?
God Will Have His Way
God’s peace is found solely in the middle of his will - he will have it no other way.
Jonah 1:7-16 ESV
“And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?" And 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." Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you." Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to the Lord, "O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you." So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.”
*We are called to walk with Jesus, not just believe in him.
As always, if you are living in disobedience to God, your sin will find you out.
God will arrange it so that your quiet life that you think that you’ve constructed for yourself will inevitably spit you out.
It can be a job loss, relational or financial distress, even a health challenge that comes in the place that you thought you would find peace.
When trouble came to the ship, the people on board with Jonah were determined to find out why.
When you are thinking about building a home, raising kids and providing the best future for your family, you need to remember the words of a woman devoted to God through the horrors of the Holocaust:
“The safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.”
-Corrie Ten Boom
Prior to his crucifixion, there were people who tried to throw Jesus off of a cliff as he ministered - yet he walked right through them (Luke 4:29,30).
The good news is that even in Jonah’s willful disobedience, God came to discipline, deal with and redirect Jonah.
Don’t be a portent - if God has to redirect you through discipline, he will.
God will use your trouble in the midst of your discipline to minister to others the truth about Jesus.
What did God use to finally grab your attention and turn you to Jesus?
Christ in the Belly of the Fish
Jesus is our great God and prophet leading us to reconciliation with the Father through his own time spent three days in the grave after being crucified for our sins.
Jonah 1:17 ESV
“And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”
This is all a foreshadowing of the life and work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What was your belly of the fish moment?
How did Jesus meet you or is he now coming to meet there?
“Hold loosely to the things of this life, so that if God requires them of you, it will be easy to let them go.”
-Corrie Ten Boom
Because Jesus was the better prophet, he ran to the city, not away from it, to provide a word that would bring salvation to the world.
As God in the flesh, Christ lived sinlessly showing us the way of perfect obedience to the Father and walked with him all the way to the cross to pay the price for our rebellion.
Because of his innocence, though he was in the grave three days, Jesus rose from the dead to provide an opportunity for repentance and forgiveness of sins to those who would put their faith in and truly follow him.
All who are called of God are called to be servants of God.
God wants to not only turn our lives around, but then calls us to the very cities from which we would otherwise run, to find his presence, his peace and his prophetic word for the people he has come to save.
Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher