Jonah 1:6

Mary says my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant for behold from now on all generations will call me blessed for he who is mighty has done great things for me and Holy is his name and his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud and the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty from the thrones and exalted those of humble estate. He has filled the hungry with good things and the and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as he spoke to our fathers to Abraham and to his offspring forever and he has He has Redeemed us his people. And so let's go and to him in prayer this morning and pray a prayer of adoration to our great God.

Dear only father we come to you this morning and we set aside everything To look to you God you are worthy of our praise this morning God you have redeemed us God you have poured upon us grace upon grace upon grace that we do not deserve.

Because you are a God of grace. You are a God of mercy and kindness and Lord, we are so grateful That you are long-suffering with us and that we are Recipients of that grace that you have bestowed on your children.

So I pray that you would be honored in our worship this morning in Jesus name. Amen.

Your worship this morning. One of the ways that he has shown his grace to us is it's through this the church.

God has set the church. This is this church has one foundation as Jesus Christ. And though we. Struggle it though. We struggle with hypocrisy though. We struggle with with Difficulty within God's Bride God's Church here on earth.

It is still.

It is still held by Christ. Amen because the foundation of this of this church is.

Christ.

This is the one true foundation and this is an old hymn about that. The church is one foundation. There's a lot here. There's a lot of lyrics that we had to learn this morning and I hope that you're able to to stop in this moment as we sing about this one foundation and Call out to the Lord and praise For the fact that he has shown us grace through this through the church.

Amen. Let's sing this great old hymn together.

The church is.

One.

Christ Creation from every nation or just caretakers of it for a moment help us to be.

Prudent.

Caretakers of what these offerings would be honoring to you in Christ's name. Our study in Jonah.

We're still in chapter 1 today. And if you were here last week, I'm looking around. I think most of you were here. We talked about the blessing of a storm. Talked about what what a blessing it is that that God is the God that brings the storm into our lives.

He's the one that sustains us through that storm. He's the one that brings it for a reason and and he uses these storms for different reasons and at different times. For different people and different circumstances, but all with one purpose, right?

All with one purpose that is for those of us that are his. And that is for our good and for his glory. He's making us more into the image of his son. He's he's guiding us through this storm and and here in our study of Jonah.

We we see that God has brought this storm upon Jonah because of Jonah's disobedience. But we also saw last week that that God didn't just bring the storm to Jonah. It was kind of a God double-dipping here.

He also brought the storm to the mariners.

Didn't he?

The men that are on the ship as Jonah runs from God. As Jonah goes down to Joppa gets on a ship to go across The Mediterranean Sea to run away from the presence of God. There are sailors on that ship.

There's other people on this boat and God has brought this storm to them. And and as these men Are on the top of this ship just trying to survive their their Their perishing what is Jonah do. He climbs into the bottom of the ship and finds a nice comfy spot.

And he decides he wants to go to sleep. And this is where we left off as these men are frantically trying to survive. They realize that Jonah is asleep. And so that leads us into the verse for today verse 6 of chapter 1.

Let's look at it. Says 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.

Now.

Again, if you were here last week you already know and that we have covered this verse and We looked at a chunk of verses 4 on up to 6. And we talked about it briefly. But if I'm being honest, and if you look back and think about it, I really kind of skimmed over this verse.

I didn't really have much to say about verse 6 and So we didn't address it. We didn't we didn't talk much about it and so this past week I was preparing to just jump right into verse 7 and try and finish out the chapter and as I was studying this and preparing and and laying out a format and we got to Friday and I was finalizing my notes and I was.

Unsettled I.

Called Jeremiah. I said man, I'm unsettled. I don't think this is where God's leading today I don't think this is what God wants us to to talk about today because you see I've been itching to get to those verses From the beginning of this study.

I wanted to get to verse 7 and the reason is is because we see this this beautiful picture of the process of salvation in This narrative with these Mariners and I wanted to talk about salvation. That's what I wanted to talk about.

I wanted to talk about the process of salvation but God kept driving my attention back to verse 6 and So as I prayed as I was continuing to prepare I was wondering why God why are you driving me back to this verse?

We've already kind of we've already kind of talked about it and I didn't have much to say so we just moved on through but As I was praying and preparing it hit me. It struck me in that moment. Have you ever been struck by something by God in God's Word?

Where it feels like God may just kind of hops out of the Pages of the Bible and with a 2x4 and smacks you right here. Not so much here or here but like right here dead center. You ever felt that I? Had one of those moments where God hit me.

I wanted to preach about the saving power of God and my own power. I'm just being honest. I feel like I was asleep at the bottom of a ship Knowing good and well that God was going to do his saving work up above.

Without me.

With me or without me. However, he wants to do it. He's gonna do it and there's a storm outside those walls there's a storm in some of your lives and I knew God was gonna accomplish his purposes with that storm after all God's sovereign, right?

So I was just gonna rest. You ever have those moments? When you realize your own sin, I just wanted to rest and these words startled me out of my slumber. What do you mean you sleeper? That's why God was driving my attention back to verse 6.

You see I just like Jonah knew that God Was in control and I knew who God was intellectually not only intellectually. I've experienced God. Jonah had experienced God hadn't he? I mean good grief. Jonah had been spoken directly to by God telling him what his will was and so he'd experienced God, but.

But here in his indifference and Jonah's just straight-out rebellion. He wanted nothing to do with what God had planned.

Pity.

He wanted nothing to do with what God had planned. He was only interested in his own plan. Jonah was only interested in what he had thought was best and I find myself Falling prey to that at different times in my life.

We think we need we know what we need to preach. When you know, we know what we need to do. We know what we need to say. We know how we need to say it sometimes God uses Uncommon means to shake us out of our sleep, right?

Think about think about this passage verse 6. God used an unbeliever the captain of this ship a man that has just been praying to his own God. He has no idea who God is, but God uses him as a tool to wake Jonah up.

And what did that unbeliever say? He said arise call out to your God. Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that we may not perish and as I read that verse as I as I meditated on that as I thought about what What God was? Was telling me through his word.

I Was reminded of the fact that there is a lost.

Dying.

Broken world out there. One that you and I were once part of and we can step into this room. And we can forget about that. Can't we and become so introspective while they're perishing. They're perishing as we sit comfortably at the bottom of the ship content in our theological expertise.

Content and growing deeper and deeper into our Biblical knowledge of who God is. Yet rarely if ever interceding for our fellow man, and I'm not gonna lump anyone in this room into that. Like I'm pointing all my fingers at myself this morning.

Hoping that the Holy Spirit does his work in each individual heart. There may be some prayer warriors in here some people that have been diligently at the top of that ship praying. Interceding. I'm speaking for myself this morning and whoever else God wants to speak to this through this.

Because we've been talking an awful lot of through this series about Knowing who God is, right? Defining our terms and knowing who God is. Well part of knowing who God is is acknowledging what we know intellectually through our actions.

If it stops here.

Where's the power?

What's the worth? What we see about God is that? God does use means. He uses means. We know who he is. We know that he's sovereign. We know he's in control and we know he's gonna carry out his perfect plan, but he has chosen to use means hasn't he?

He's chosen to use means and he's allowed us his children to play a part of that sovereign plan. I can't help but think of The fact that his sovereign plan is carried out through a war that we don't see with our eyes, right?

It's a war that we don't see going on around us at times, but The spiritual war isn't it? That's where God carries out his purposes in the midst of that spiritual war. I think of Ephesians chapter 6 for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers.

Against the authorities. Against the cosmic powers over the present darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly places. And if this is a war if this is where God has called us to to take part in his perfect plan.

And his sovereign working in this world. Then God has issued us weapons for that war hasn't he? And I'm afraid That one of the most powerful weapons that he has issued us Is the one that we most neglect or at least I do the most powerful weapon that we have.

To fight the war that God's called us to fight in the spiritual realm. To to play a part in carrying out his perfect sovereign plan and purposes. Is one that we neglect the most. That's prayer. We want to do things in our own power.

We don't tap into what God has prescribed for us. So I jotted down these These thoughts and questions for myself, and I want to share them with you is. Do we really want to see the people in this community restored?

Restored back to their creator. Restored from their brokenness. Are we praying for that? I don't mean Dropping a little prayer here and there as we think about it. Do you really want to see them restored?

Do I want to see them restored? Are we praying? Are we praying that God would do a work in their lives? Do we really care at all that our neighbors and our loved ones are perishing on the top of the ship?

Do we really care? Because if we do we're going to pray aren't we? We're going to diligently pray. We're going to intercede on their behalf. Do we want more opportunities to speak about what we know of God to them?

Do we really want more opportunities? Do we want to speak truth into their life? Do we want to speak the word of God into their lives? Are we praying that God gives us those opportunities? Because I don't think I'm praying enough for that.

Let us call out to our God. And perhaps he will give thought of them. And they will not perish. See, I think God stopped me in my tracks from preaching the sermon. I wanted to preach this morning. As I wanted to jump into these next few verses and talk about this great salvation that God has brought upon us.

But but God was saying you want to see me move. Then wake up and call upon me wake up. I want I want to see us. I Want to see me. Become a praying people we can talk about God. Doing a great awakening and Jonesboro and Northeast Arkansas and our nation and the world we can talk about it all we want.

We can dig into theology. Which by the way is a driving force of this church and always will be. Because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and we only fear God when we know God. So that is a staple, but if we stop there, what do we expect?

God has prescribed means hasn't he? He's called his children to call upon him and bring intercession. For those that are perishing and for the lost and dying world around us. You all are familiar with this passage.

1st Timothy chapter 2 Paul urges. Timothy says he says. I urge that supplications.

Prayers.

Intercessions and Thanksgiving be made for all people. Talks about positions of authority talks about living a peaceful life and he says he says this is good and is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior who desires all people to be saved and Come to the knowledge of the truth.

God has an elect outside those doors. He is a people that have not yet been called. He's given us the privilege. The ability the duty to call out to him on their behalf to call out for our our brothers and sisters that are That are blind.

They're deaf. They're lost they're dead and their sins at this moment God's gonna awaken them and we get to play a part in interceding. Praying for them and praying that God would give us opportunity to speak truth into their life and that God would save them.

As I said theology and knowledge of God is of the utmost here. But if it doesn't call us to action, then it's just dead orthodoxy, isn't it? It's not working itself out in our lives. Yet we of all people Here that love God's Word and love the deep truths of God knowing what we know about God should be the most praying people.

We should be the most praying people because because we know what God can do and what God will do. We can rest assured in that that he will save to the utmost. We can rest assured that his sovereign plan will follow what will will continue will go through it will happen because Of what we know about God.

So why do we not? Why do we not fall on our faces as we ought to and intercede and pray? So that being said you can see we're set up a little different we're set around tables today. I want us to spend the next few moments praying together.

Calling out to God we're gonna we're gonna make a habit of this on a regular basis where we as a church come together and pray.

Together.

If you look at your order of service there Flip it over to the back side you see a section on there of time of prayer. I Wanted us to break into groups of three to five the tables work. We can break into these groups of tables and I want us to spend just a few moments praying through each of these categories.

I Want you to give everyone at your table opportunity to pray as they're comfortable. You can see the first one is we're gonna pray a prayer of adoration to God acknowledging God for who he is and what he's done.

We have a time of confession we have to acknowledge our sin. There's unrepentant sin in your life. Awareness of our sin help us to run from sin and and then Just some things here to ask God to help us with to be a praying people and you can see the list here.

The next one is ask God to use us as tools for his work as soldiers for his kingdom and and then close it off with a praise acknowledgement an Acknowledging of who God is and acknowledging for what he's gonna do and how he's gonna do it and why he's gonna do it.

So, let's spend a few moments praying through these together. And here and here after a few I'll come back up and We will close out by going to the Lord's table and our benediction.

But.

Let's call out to God. Let's cry out to God. We want to see God move. Let's call out to him. Let's go to him together this morning.