September 10, 2023
Pastor Ricky Smith

Sermon Notes

I. One Piece to a Larger Puzzle

Jonah 1:1
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai,

Wickedness against God brings calamity in our lives and in the world.

2 Kings 14:25-27
In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher. For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel. But the Lord had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

II. Go to Dark Places

Jonah 1:2
saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

III. God Says Go, but You Say Stop

Jonah 1:3
But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

Partial obedience is disobedience.

Next Steps

• I confess my sin and turn to Jesus as King for the first time
• I admit that I’m running from God and choose to go and not stop.
• I commit to go this week and share Jesus with a specific person or group.

Deep Dive

• Why did Jonah run away from God’s command?
• Read Psalm 139. Are we able to run away from God’s presence?
• How are we often like Jonah when God tells us to “go”?

Springboard

• What does willful rebellion look like?
• How is rebellion different from disobedience?
• Read Psalm 32:8-9 and discuss how this relates to rebellion.