disobedience

September 9, 2024

Jonah’s Disobedience

Jonah 1.1-16 (Hebrew)

God’s plan has always been for the nations. He promised Abraham that through him all the families of the earth would be blessed. For God so loved the world He gave His one and only Son…

How did Jonah miss that? He had a tremendous response from folks he seemingly couldn’t care less about…exhibit A…the men on the ship who go from fearing the storm to fearing the LORD. Jonah definitely doesn’t share God’s heart on the matter.

I think if we are honest with ourselves we can be like Jonah. Maybe for good reason…or so we think. Maybe someone’s hurt us in some way. Maybe they are making bad life choices. I don’t know. We can come up with all kinds of reasons why, but the bottom line is: we don’t think they deserve God’s mercy. We of course do. But they definitely don’t. Oh, we would never say it out loud, or at least not where anyone could hear us. But our action or inaction speaks louder than words. Who are you avoiding/refusing to share your story with? Maybe you think they won’t respond in faith, or maybe you think they will. But how can we expect God to be gracious to us if we won’t share His grace with others? 

And while Jonah tells the sailors he fears the LORD, his actions don’t seem to make that obvious. But for the sailors, fear/belief has resulted in action. Their response of faith has been just that…a response. Our actions don’t save us, but they do demonstrate the faith that we say we have. Remember to hear and not do is not to hear. To believe and not to respond is not to believe. Jesus said, “He who hears My words and does them will be like a man who built his house on the rock…” Is your faith obvious by the way you live your life? Would folks know you’re a Christian by your actions?

Two things that are unmistakable in this story…God’s sovereignty over and His love for His creation. He appoints a great wind. He directs His prophet and even uses Jonah’s disobedience to accomplish the salvation of a group of unsuspecting sailors. He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of calamity. He loves the lost. He loves us too. And like a good Father, He pursues us even when we are running from Him.

Sin is serious and impacts the folks who are around us…Jonah’s sin impacted the sailors, and it affects those closest to us too. Even though we may think otherwise. Sin is greedy that way.

So don’t be like Jonah. We all need the LORD’s compassion. We all need His mercy. Who do you need to share it with this week?

BTW if you have not yet trusted in Jesus, please make today the day. It is as simple as recognizing that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Believing that Jesus is the Savior that God promised. He lived a perfect life. He died a sacrificial death on your behalf and was raised the third day conquering both sin and death, so that by faith in Jesus you can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our Jonah series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X or Threads: @ccclancaster. You can also download our Central Christian app in the iTunes App Store.

September 22, 2014

There and Back Again

Genesis 33

Jacob is well on his way to becoming Israel. We’ve seen tremendous progress in his spiritual journey. When we think back to his selfishly, despicable treatment of his brother Esau and his father Isaac earlier in his life, it is amazing the changes that God has worked in his life.

Reconciling with Laban was nothing compared to making amends with Esau, but both are necessary before Jacob is ready to enter the land as Israel. And just when we think he’s arrived, Jacob starts to show up again, doing things his way, settling for “close enough”. At this point in the story, his partial obedience doesn’t appear to be a big deal, but trust me it is. We will see the disastrous consequences of it in living color next week.

Partial obedience is disobedience. It’s a symptom of our failure to trust God…fully. It whispers, “you can call the shots, you don’t need anyone else telling you what to do”. It’s evidence of our sinful rebellion against our Creator God. Not unlike Adam and Eve in the garden. So when we fail to do what God asks us…we compromise on the things He’s clearly revealed to us through His Word and through His Spirit’s work in our lives, it doesn’t matter that “it’s only a little white lie” or that “everybody’s doing it” or “it’s ok because we’re in love” or “it’s only wrong if you get caught” we are living in disobedience. We’re repeating the sin of the garden, saying we know better than God what is good. And the consequences of our rebellion are sure to come.

But the good news is…Jacob is well on his way to becoming Israel. He’s made great strides in trusting God more and more. And though he still has a ways to go, God’s not done with him yet. He’s a work in progress. And so are we. We too have been given a new name…child of God. Though we often fall short in our obedience, fail to live fully in our new identity, His grace is still at work in our lives. He’s shaping and molding us into the image of His Son. He’s calling us to trust Him more fully, more completely. Jacob’s struggle to become Israel is an Old Testament picture of the believer’s struggle to walk in the Spirit.

Maybe you haven’t taken that initial step in trusting God yet. Today is the day that you could do that. Your life will be forever changed…the Bible describes it as passing from death to life, transferring from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son. By believing that Jesus, the One whom God promised to send to rescue us way back in Genesis 3.15, the Head-Crushing Seed of the woman, really did come and live a perfect life, die a bloody, horrible death, was raised the third day conquering both sin and death and crushing the head of the serpent, we could be reconciled to our Creator God, experiencing peace with Him and living in His kingdom forever…returning to paradise.

May we be a people, living in His grace, letting go of half-hearted attempts at obedience and learning to trust Him more and more.

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on our Genesis series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster