MAIN MESSAGE: 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: (1:17-2:10) God changes our lives with His supreme grace by arranging or allowing us to reach rock bottom. Jonah 1:17–2:10 (NLT) 17 Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. Rock Bottom: “It is only when you reach the (very bottom), when everything falls apart, when all your schemes and resources are broken and exhausted, that you are finally open to learning how to completely depend on God.” . ~ Dr. Timothy Keller Jonah’s from rock bottom. 8 ...all God’s mercies. 3 Life Changing Truths To Pray While At Rock Bottom I acknowledge my . 3 You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. I admit my spiritual . 6 I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. I’m aware of my salvation. 4 Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’ 7 As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. “God’s grace becomes wondrous, endlessly consoling, beautiful, and humbling only when we fully believe, grasp, and remind ourselves of all three of these background truths— that we deserve nothing but condemnation, that we are utterly incapable of saving ourselves, and that God has saved us, despite our sin, at infinite cost to himself. ~ Timothy Keller, The Prodigal Prophet Jonah’s prayer ends with a . 6 ...But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! 9 But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.” Jonah’s restoration is in . 8 Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. 4