Sermon Title: God Wants You Back
Jonah 1:17 “ Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”
Jonah 2:1-5 “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. He said: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’
Jonah 2:8-10 “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the LORD.’” And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”
No pain, no gain. It’s a popular motto on the sports field, but it’s also true in the spiritual realm – God often uses the pain of discipline to grow our faith. Jonah certainly experienced the discipline of God through the pain of being thrown overboard from a ship and swallowed by a whale. It was not a pleasant experience to say the least! But it caused him to come back to God and ask for His forgiveness for his disobedience.
Without the pain of discipline from God, we would never change and grow. Dr. David Jeremiah writes the following about discipline and spiritual growth:
There is a real case made in the New Testament that without discipline there is no growth, no real maturity. In fact, one of the reasons for God’s discipline is that we might share in His holiness: “… but He [chastens us] for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). I find that one of the most amazing verses in the Bible. He disciplines us for our profit or benefit. And what is the benefit? Sharing in His holiness! Now, turn that concept around and ask yourself, Would I share in His holiness if He didn’t discipline me? Well, we don’t have a verse that answers that question, but the implication is pretty strong that we would not.
When we experience the tough times of life, God often uses those times to grow us in our faith. His ultimate desire is that we might become like Him, “holy” and bringing glory to Him in our thoughts, words and actions. This coming Sunday we will talk more about the “blessing” of God’s discipline as we continue our sermon series, “Returning to God: Lessons from Jonah.” Hope to see you then!
