NOT NECESSARILY OF GOD

 

1.    A week ago we began our 2003 Vacation Bible School.

2.    If you were in the adult class your heard an extended discussion about deceit.

3.    I want to continue this thought but not repeat what was said in last Sunday’s class.

 

THE BASIS FOR TODAY’S STUDY IS THE LIFE OF JONAH, ESPECIALLY THE INFORMATION IN JONAH 1:3.

 

A.    Jonah tried to run from God and he got off to a good start.

B.    The Bible says he found a ship.

C.    At one time or another many of us have needed transportation.

D.    It may have been a taxi, plane, train, or ship.

E.     We need to go but no transportation was available.

F.     This was not the case for the runaway prophet.

 

2.     There was a boat that was well suited for Jonah’s travel plans.

3.     Not only was a boat available, this vessel was going to the very place he wanted to go.

4.     Some of us have been told that transportation is available, but it does not go where we need to go.

5.     Jonah didn’t have this problem.

6.     The prophet also fared well in the ticket department.

A.    Sometimes people are told that tickets are not available.

B.    The prophet found that a ticket was available for purchase.

C.    Furthermore, he had enough money to pay the fare.

 

7.     The prophet received everything he needed to board a ship that was sailing far from Nineveh.

8.     When we consider how everything fell into place for Jonah, we may construct a helpful point.

9.     Suppose Jonah said, “My not going to Nineveh must be acceptable to God.”

10. “God is blessing me as I run away from His will.  Look what has just happened in my life.

11. I have found a ship.  It is going where I want to go.

12. A ticket is available for me to make the voyage, and I have the money to pay the fare.

13. Heaven has blessed me with the health to make the voyage.

14. The ship is departing at a time that is consistent with my timetable.

15. God is good, and concerning my voyage, He is helping me in every way.

 

16. From the information in Jonah 1:4 we know that this kind of logic is false.

17. Certain things were permitted for a time and then punishment came.

18. Until God’s judgment came upon the prophet, it appears things were going well for Jonah.

 

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN VERSE 3, WE FIND A POINT THAT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND PRACTICAL FOR OUR DAY AND TIME.

 

A.    Almost everyone in this room knows of at least one person who has said, “God has blessed me.”

B.    “God is doing good things in my life.”

C.      If you do not know anyone who says these kinds of things, listen to religious television for 10 minutes.

D.    These statements are common and they often come from people who have not obeyed the gospel.

E.     People do not become a Christian as the Bible describes but claim God is doing great things for them.

 

2.     Jonah 1:3 tells the church and the world to be careful about attributing things to God.

3.     Good fortune does not mean that we are right with God or that He is directly helping us.

A.    Consider another example, the young man Jesus described in Lk. 15.

B.    This young fellow came to His father asked for his share of the inheritance.

C.    The son got the money.

D.    The young man had the health to leave home.  His father didn’t stop him.

E.     He apparently got to a far country without any injury or being robbed.

F.     I say this because when he arrived at his destination he was able to spend his inheritance.

G.    He had a chance to everything he had.

H.    Things fell into place for the young man time and time again.

 

4.     Someone might say, “He had to know that what he was doing was wrong.”

5.     “Jonah must have also known that his actions were wrong.”

6.     These statements are surely true, but they have no bearing on my point.

7.     When good things happen to people, we cannot necessarily attribute them to God’s direct intervention.

8.     Yet, this is what many religious people do.

9.     If the reasoning of many is right, the young man in Lk. 15 and Jonah had God’s blessing.

10.  

11. The Bible understands this type of thinking and says it is completely erroneous.

12. In Mt. 5:45 Jesus said the rain falls on the just and the unjust.

13. This shows that a man may receive good things but this is not a direct blessing from God.

A.    Let’s put the matter in the form of an illustration.

B.    An unjust man (someone who is not right with God) sees his crops withering during the summer.

C.    He has no real interest in God and is not a Christian but he prays for rain to see what happens.

D.    His attitude is that praying will not hurt anything and it just might help.

E.     The next day it rains, but it is not very much rain.

F.     He is encouraged by this and wants more rain.

G.    A few days later it is Sunday.

H.    He goes to a religious group and tosses a $20 bill in the collection plate hoping for more rain.

I.       It rains hard on the following Monday and Tuesday.

J.      The rain that was needed has now come.

K.   Suppose the unjust man were to come to us and say, “God blessed me.”

L.     “I prayed and it rained.  I gave a $20 to God and I got all the rain I needed.”

M.  Would this be right in saying that God responded to his half-hearted prayer and $20 contribution?

N.   No.  In Mt. 5:45 Jesus said this is not how things work.

O.   Rain comes to those who are saved and those who are not.

 

14. Receiving rain during a needed time does not necessarily mean those doing the asking are saved.

15. Receiving good things in life does not necessarily mean that someone is living a life pleasing to God.

16. Receiving evil things is also not always an indication of God’s displeasure (Lk. 13:1-2).

17. As Christians we have a difficult message for people in the word.

18. When someone who has not obeyed the gospel says, “God has done numerous things for me.”

19. It is our job to say, “God sends rain upon the just and unjust.”

20. Good things in life are not proof that God is blessing people.

A.    Saddam Hussein and his sons were blessed.

B.    They had money, real estate, palaces, hundreds of cars, paintings, about everything people can have.

C.    Would anyone wish to argue that their blessings were a result of God’s blessing them?

 

THE PRINCIPLE WE ARE CONSIDERING FROM JONAH 1:3 CUTS TWO WAYS.

 

A.    On the one hand it applies to unsaved people saying God has specifically aided them.

B.    This principle is also negative.

C.    Members of the church sometimes get what they do not want or deserve.

 

2.     One of the things we hear from others, or may ourselves say, is this:

3.     Why did God do this to me?

4.     Why did God allow this event to happen in my life?

5.     “If I am a child of God why has this affliction come upon me?”

6.     Right now there is a member of the church who preached for several years.

7.     He is a faithful member of the Lord’s body but can no longer serve as he once did.

8.     He unexpectedly came down with MS.  Why?

9.     A former president of a Christian university was in a serious auto accident about 2 years ago.

10. This man has done a lot of good in the brotherhood and has exerted a tremendous influence for good.

11. In the accident he lost his wife.

12. He has been left with lingering health problems.  Why does he need to suffer?

13. Why did God allow terrible consequences to come upon him?

A.    The sailors on board the ship with Jonah were thinking along these same lines.

B.    Verse 14 – READ.

 

14. Why did the sailors need to suffer?  What actions on their part justified the storm?

15. It does not appear that the sailors were being punished.

16. Today a similar point is true when we think about Christians.

17. When we face hard times, the difficulties may not be coming directly from God.

 

18. In Acts 12:5 we find that Peter was imprisoned.

19. This apostle might have asked the questions that were raised just moments ago.

20. God, why did you put me here?  Why did God allow an important preacher to be jailed?

21. God didn’t put this apostle in prison.  Satan and his helpers did that.

22. God was the one who came to the rescue.

23. Gal. 6:2 says we have “burdens” which we need to help each other with.

24. Where do the burdens come from?

25. Many come from our own lives and bad choices.

26. People sometimes suffer because they make bad choices.

27. There are other afflictions that arise because we are members of the human race.

28. Just as the rain comes to the just and unjust, so such is the case with problems and hurts.

29. God does not directly afflict us; the problems come because we are in an environment affected by sin.

30. One of the people who learned this very early in life was Job.

A.    This great man said some very unkind things to God.

B.    In 7:12 he said to God, “Am I some type of monster so you will not leave me alone?”

C.    In 7:19 he said God would not leave him alone long enough to spit.

D.    In the next verse he said to God, “Why have you made me a target?”

E.     13:24 is where Job charges God with turning away from him.

F.     This verse also alleges God turned Job over to the enemy.

 

31. By 24:1 Job is extra frustrated.

32. He asks why God doesn’t open the courtroom so Job can try his case with the Almighty.

33. Job believed his misfortunes were all tied in with God.

34. It was because of heaven that he was suffering.

35. Readers eventually come to Job 40:4, a verse which contains an amazing statement.

36. Job said “I lay my hand upon my mouth.”

37. This great man said he had spoken too much; he had been rash.

38. He didn’t know what he was talking about so he needed to be quiet.

39. He came to realize that God was not intentionally inflicting punishment upon him.

 

A LONG TIME HAS PASSED SINCE THE DAYS OF JOB BUT MANY STILL HAVE NOT LEARNED THE GREAT TRUTH EXPRESSED BY HIM.

 

A.    Many strongly believe God helped them do this or that.  He has blessed them or cursed them.

B.    Jonah could have argued that God blessed him.

C.    Saul could have made this same argument when he was persecuting the church.

D.    He could have said, “last month I imprisoned 10 Christians.  Last week it was 25.

E.     “It is only Wednesday and I have already jailed 30 more this week.”

F.     “God is helping me fight Christians.”

G.    Saul felt like he was doing God’s will and God was blessing his persecution efforts.

H.    This man came to learn that his efforts were not endorsed by God.

I.       Certainly God was not helping him injure the members of Christ’s body.

 

2.     The good and bad events in the lives of people are not necessarily directly related to God.

3.     Communicating this point to many outside the church is difficult.

4.     As hard as this can be, this point will always be true.

5.     Whether people want to know and apply this truth or not, we can apply it to ourselves.

6.     When bad things happen, we need to be careful about blaming God for our hardships.

7.     There are times in life when some things simply happen.

8.     Rain comes to the just and unjust.

9.     In a similar way good comes to the righteous and unrighteous.

10. Evil also comes to the saved and unsaved.

 

If we want to make definitive statements about God, use the scriptures instead of subjective guesses.

God will do what is promised in His word.

One of the things He will directly do for people is forgive them.

This morning we hope that He has forgiven you of your sins.