Out At Sea

By Pastor Dan Williams, July 10, 2020

Our Lord is a God of boundless compassion not just for insiders like “us” but also for outsiders like “them”.

MAIN STORY: A subversive story about a rebellious prophet who despises his God for loving his enemies.

BIG IDEA (vv4-16)
God is willing and able to throw at us anything he desires in order to accomplish our salvation or correction.

The Pain & Suffering Caused By Self-Determinism

  1. God will sometimes storms at us to redeem or restore us.

4 But the LORD hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Hebrews 12:9–11 (ESV)

  1. Our responses to storms expose our functional .

...9 Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”

5 Responses Of a Functional Atheist

1. Terror & Panic

v 5, 10 -12

2. Try Common Sense

v 5

3. Try Checking Out

v 5b

4. Try Crying Out To Our Gods

v 5b,6

5. Try Even Harder

v 13

How does God want to save Jonah from the storm he hurled at him?

  1. You’re only saved by .

14 Then they cried out to the LORD, Jonah’s God. “O LORD,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O LORD, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.” 15 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! Psalm 115:3, 135:6

How could these pagan sailors respond to Jonah’s God like this?

  • They were awestruck by the Lord’s great power.

16 The sailors were awestruck by the LORD’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

  • The evidence of a fear of God is awestruck worship & obedience.