Survivor Series

Pastor Phillips' Sermon

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Please pray with me. Heavenly Father, in our own lives, we encounter storms, things that happen we would prefer not to go through, difficult times, hardships, pain, and loss. In the story of Jonah, your holy and inspired Word, we see how people respond to a storm. We see how people respond when they are afraid. Bless us tonight as we hear these words. Touch our hearts and shape our minds to think your ways and to react in the way you would have us when we encounter those storms. In Jesus' name. Amen.

We continue with this survivor series, the story of God's love, God's compassion on His people. The story we began last week when we talked about how Nineveh was wicked and sinful, much like the world around us, the things that went on there are the things that go on in our world today. And how God did not desire their ultimate destruction. Though He would have been justified in wiping them off the face of the earth, God was compassionate and He called His servant, Jonah, to go and be a missionary of love and compassion, that those people might be spared. Jonah had a different reaction than what God intended. God's purpose was to save them. Jonah's was to be safe and not to go where God was sending him.

Tonight we're focusing now on the sailors and their role and their reactions to this situation. Now they weren't called by God. They didn't even know who God was. They were simply men who were hired to make this ship go from port to port. They were being paid probably with a share of the profits of transferring their cargo from one place to another. And here they are, just part of the package. No warning. Jonah gets on board, pays his fare, and, as soon as they leave land, the storm comes. We read in our text, “The sea was getting rougher and rougher.” I don't know how many of you have been out on the ocean, but it doesn't take long when a storm comes to realize how small your boat is and how insignificant you are in the face of such power. And then you think of God who created all things and is even in authority and in control over the wind and the waves. Well, if you've been in that position, you know what I'm talking about. These sailors were scared. What do you do when you're scared? What do you do when your life is on the line or somebody you love is going through a difficult storm?

What I want to do is look at what the sailors did. What was the action they took and what was the result from that action? Well, the first thing that happened it says, “They cried out each to their own god.” Now you know when it says “each to their own god” that none of them knew the true God because it's using a small “g” to refer to what they were worshiping or what they consider the deity. And people of that time had many gods and they would worship whatever god was convenient, the god of the wind, the god of the storm, the god of that. Each region had their own religions and cultures and traditional beliefs and so, since the men were from various regions, they called out to various gods and various names with various expectations. What was the result? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing happened when they called out to false gods. The waves didn't stop. The wind didn't stop. The storm didn't go away. Their fear continued.

Their next action was to throw their cargo overboard. Now remember, this was what was used to pay them for their work. When the cargo was transported and sold at the next location, the sailors were paid from those profits. No cargo, no profits, no pay. But these guys knew the storm was so bad that money didn't matter anymore. See how insignificant money is? When you life is on the line, it doesn't matter anymore. It means nothing. And so they throw their cargo overboard. And also, I think that was a ploy that the ship might be better prepared to survive the storm if it wasn't so heavy and weighed down. What was the result? Nothing.

The wind continued to blow. The waves continued to smash their ship around. It said in scripture it even threatened to break it up, to break the ship into pieces. The men continued to react to the storm. They conducted an investigation, and this was the beginning of their choosing the right path. They conducted an investigation. They cast lots, which was a traditional way of making a decision of determining the will of the gods or something like that. They cast lots, and we're not sure if they drew straws or cast pebbles that were colored or numbered or something like that, but they cast lots because they believed, through that means, it would be revealed who on board that ship was causing their problem. And it actually worked that way. The lot fell on Jonah. And they knew, it said in our text, he was running away from God. But that didn't make a lot of sense to them. A lot of people run away from things and get on ships or planes or trains or in a car and go somewhere, but that's not necessarily significant. So when the lot fell on Jonah, they said, “Who are you? Where do you come from? What did you do that was so bad that God is going to destroy our ship and we're all going to die? What did you do?” Jonah identifies himself as a Hebrew and that he worships the true God, the God who made everything, everything you see, even the wind and the waves. And when they heard those words, the people were terrified, these pagans who had cried out to their gods, were terrified.

They continued their investigation, and they asked Jonah, “What should we do?” They saw something in him that appeared to have authority and truth. When he spoke about his God, it was different from what they said about their gods. So they said, “What should we do?” Jonah told them. “Pick me up. Throw me into the sea. The sea will become calm. You will live happily ever after, and that's okay.” That was what the result of that question was.

The next thing they did was ignore it. God's prophet, Jonah, had spoken God's word to them. And instead of listening to God speaking through His prophet, they ignored it. They had the truth. They had the answer. They had the way to be saved from that storm, and they ignored it. Instead, they relied on themselves. “We're sailors. The shore's right there. Let's row for it.” Now those ships, you know, you've seen them in the old movies, they have sails and they have oars, too. So the men took up the oars, and they were fighting the storm going for shore. But that wasn't going to work. It says it grew even wilder. The sea grew even wilder than before. Wilder than threatening to break up the ship into pieces. Wilder than scaring those people so much they were in fear of their very lives, throwing over their valuable cargo. The sea grew even wilder.

Finally, in desperation, they did as God's prophet had told them. They talked to God and they said, “Forgive us. Don't hold us accountable for killing this innocent man.” And they followed the prophet's direction and they lifted him up and they threw him into the sea and it became calm. They were amazed. Because they had followed the direction of God, a miracle had happened. The storm was gone. They were safe. Now they could return home. They saw the power of God. They encountered God in a wonderful way. And their response was that they now feared Him, fear in a good way, fear in the sense they knew God was the only true God and He had absolute authority over all things. And so they made sacrifices to Him and they made vows to Him. There's not a lot of explanation of what that meant, but I have heard of many times that people, under extreme circumstances, make a lot of promises to God. “Lord, if you get me out of this, I'll be a pastor.” Or something like that. We've heard the expression, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” Right? Because when your life is on the line and you know it, there's no more philosophical playing around with ideas, whether God exists and all that kind of stuff, you know you need Him. That's what happened for those sailors in the storm. They knew they needed Him. They knew they had no choice. Their strength, their understanding of the sea, their ability to row didn't matter anymore. Their expensive cargo. Nothing mattered anymore. Only God. That's the story.

Now I want to make some observations. First, Jonah knew the truth. He knew the true God. He knew the mission of God. He knew the truth, but he refused to share it. He knew the truth, but he refused to obey the true God. James 2:14-17 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food, if one of you says to him ‘Go. I wish you well. Keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Jonah believed in God. He just didn't agree with Him. He just didn't want to do what He said. Doesn't that sound familiar? Aren't there some things about God in the bible that we react to in that way? Oh, we believe and we know all the answers but we're still going to do it our way. Hum.

Second observation. The sailors did not know the truth but were sincere in searching for it. And when they heard the truth, at first they ignored it. Remember? Jonah told them, “Throw me into the sea and it will become calm.” They said, “Ah, forget that. We're going to row for it.” In the Hebrew, it says they dug into the water with the oars. They dug in, and it was very strenuous. They gave it all they had. But all they had wasn't enough because they didn't have God. Finally, when they had no choice, they trusted God's word spoken through the prophet, Jonah, and they were saved.

Third observation. Jonah had no compassion on the great city of Nineveh but was willing to die for these sailors on the boat with him. He said, “Pick me up. Throw me in the sea.” Isn't it funny how our sinful nature causes us to choose who we want to love and who we want to be compassionate towards? Imagine if God did that? John 3:16 says, “God so loved the whole world that He gave His only Son to die.” Imagine if He was selective? Would we be in? God loves everyone. He gave His Son for everyone. He will forgive everyone who believes. That's the direction He wants our hearts to move.

Fourth. The sailors showed great reluctance to take the life of Jonah by throwing him into the sea, and this stands in sharp contrast to Jonah's reluctance to warn Nineveh of the coming destruction if they did not repent. Pagan sailors had more compassion than the prophet of God.

Fifth. God shows His steadfast love even for His disobedient servant, Jonah, by providing a great fish. The scriptures, whether you look at the Hebrew Old Testament scriptures or the Greek and New Testament scriptures, which talk about this, do not specify the type of fish. They just say God provided, and God provided a safe place for His stubborn servant to think about it. Three days, three nights, and he did think about it.

Sixth. Nothing worked. All those things these sailors tried, nothing worked until they trusted God and followed His Word. That's exactly the way it is for you and me. When we are in a storm and we insist on doing it our way and we're knocking our head against the wall, nothing will work until we do it God's way, until we give it up to Him, until we ask Him to take over. It's kind of like that saying, “If God is your co-pilot, you're in the wrong seat.” I like that one. He is God.

You think back on this story, and there are a few “if only's.” If only Jonah would have just gone to Nineveh , the sailors' lives never would have been threatened. If only the sailors would have listened to Jonah the first time, maybe they could have saved their cargo and maybe they could have saved some of their equipment. If only God's people would listen to His Word, His holy and inspired Word, the Ten Commandments, all the beautiful teachings of scripture, if only they would listen to Him when He tells them the best way to live, how much pain and suffering we could avoid. If only the world, when they hear the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus, would listen, they would all be saved from the ultimate storm that we enter because of our sin, the ultimate storm of God's judgment that appropriately should fall on all of us but, by His grace, fell on His Son. God's wrath, God's punishment was placed on Jesus on the cross.

God's way is the best way. It was the best way for the sailors, but they couldn't hear it. They wouldn't hear it. In their stubborn hearts, they refused to hear it until they had tried everything else. What about us? Can you hear it? God's way, the best way. He has lovingly, compassionately revealed it to us. He's given us His ways so we might avoid pain and suffering in our lives. He's given us His Son so we might avoid pain and suffering in eternity.

The sailors survived ultimately by the grace of God who kept watching over them, kept reaching out to Him, and that is how we survive, too. Day by day, by God's grace, when we sin, we confess it, we are forgiven, in Jesus' name. Amen.