1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:08,040 Well, now let’s turn to the book of Jonah. Chapter 1. The title for our series is How 2 00:00:08,040 –> 00:00:12,980 To Avoid a God-Centered Life. I am not going to explain this every week, but just so that 3 00:00:12,980 –> 00:00:18,660 you’re clear, our aim is that we will avoid avoiding a God-centered life, if you see what 4 00:00:18,660 –> 00:00:23,660 I mean, and that we will, in fact, pursue a God-centered life by learning from the way 5 00:00:23,959 –> 00:00:30,620 in which Jonah avoided that so much of the time in his own experience, and it is an extraordinary 6 00:00:30,620 –> 00:00:36,139 story, because we saw last time that Jonah really was a mature believer with a very well-respected 7 00:00:36,139 –> 00:00:42,020 ministry. He saw miracles in his life and his own preaching was used to transform a 8 00:00:42,020 –> 00:00:47,619 pagan city in Nineveh, and yet when Jonah writes his book he wants us to know that he 9 00:00:47,619 –> 00:00:55,919 spent much of his life actually avoiding the God that he had set out to serve and so we 10 00:00:55,919 –> 00:01:01,959 saw that this book is going to give a unique insight into some of the inner struggles that 11 00:01:01,959 –> 00:01:07,779 go on in the life of a Christian believer, and perhaps especially someone who is deeply 12 00:01:07,779 –> 00:01:15,459 committed to the cause of Jesus Christ. We saw that although Jonah had a widely appreciated 13 00:01:15,459 –> 00:01:22,839 ministry, he seems to have loved the work that he was involved in, his life unravelled 14 00:01:22,839 –> 00:01:28,940 when God called him to leave the work that he loved and to begin something new. And it 15 00:01:28,940 –> 00:01:35,279 was a defining moment for Jonah. He really discovered how selfish he was at that time. 16 00:01:35,279 –> 00:01:41,099 That God really cared, God had a passion for lost people, but Jonah’s heart was wrapped 17 00:01:41,139 –> 00:01:47,559 up with his own comfort and his convenience. And so at the end of our first study in Jonah 18 00:01:47,559 –> 00:01:52,139 last week, we really formed this prayer that we’ll run I think through this series. 19 00:01:52,139 –> 00:01:59,139 Lord, make me less like Jonah, and make me more like Jesus. 20 00:02:00,839 –> 00:02:05,639 Now I want to take up the story at verse 3 where we’re told that Jonah ran away from 21 00:02:05,639 –> 00:02:12,259 the Lord, and he headed for Tarshish. Someone asked me the question this week, you know, 22 00:02:12,259 –> 00:02:13,699 why did he bother going to Tarshish? 23 00:02:13,699 –> 00:02:17,460 If he didn’t want to go to Nineveh, why didn’t he just stay where he was? 24 00:02:17,460 –> 00:02:23,460 Well, I think the answer to that is that Jonah was a prophet, and that meant that Jonah received 25 00:02:23,460 –> 00:02:29,960 special revelation from God. God spoke to Jonah directly in a way rather like the way 26 00:02:30,539 –> 00:02:37,059 Moses. So when Jonah refused God’s call and disobeyed God’s command, he would have known 27 00:02:37,059 –> 00:02:43,880 that that would have shut off any further direct revelation from God into Jonah’s life. 28 00:02:43,880 –> 00:02:49,139 That meant that he could not continue as a prophet. If he made up his own prophecies 29 00:02:49,139 –> 00:02:54,059 without receiving revelation from the Lord, he would be a false prophet. If he stopped 30 00:02:54,059 –> 00:02:57,399 prophesying in Gath-Tepha, everyone would know that there was something wrong in Jonah’s 31 00:02:57,479 –> 00:03:02,339 relationship with the Lord. Why had his ministry suddenly been turned off? 32 00:03:02,339 –> 00:03:07,399 The choice that this man faced, I think, was either that he should obey God and go to Nineveh, 33 00:03:07,399 –> 00:03:13,080 which he did not want to do, or that he quit being a prophet, start over a new life in 34 00:03:13,080 –> 00:03:17,660 some other kind of work in a new place and with a new identity. And it seems that 35 00:03:17,660 –> 00:03:23,500 that’s what Jonah decided he wanted to do. He ran away from the Lord and he headed for 36 00:03:23,880 –> 00:03:28,580 to Tarshish. Now, notice verse three tells us that he went down to Joppa. And when he 37 00:03:28,580 –> 00:03:33,860 got there, here’s an amazing thing… He found a ship just sitting in the dock there 38 00:03:33,860 –> 00:03:40,899 that was ready to sail for that very port. Here’s an interesting thing. If you decide 39 00:03:40,899 –> 00:03:47,580 to go to Tarshish, there will always be a boat to get you there. Isn’t that amazing? 40 00:03:47,580 –> 00:03:52,259 When a person decides to move away from the Lord, there will always be opportunities to 41 00:03:52,419 –> 00:04:00,520 pursue that desire. C.H. Spurgeon told a wonderful story. I love this one. It’s about a man who 42 00:04:00,520 –> 00:04:07,419 had a violent temper. And Spurgeon said there was a pattern with this man’s behavior. When 43 00:04:07,419 –> 00:04:12,520 he got angry, he would lose his temper. And when he lost his temper, he would pick up 44 00:04:12,520 –> 00:04:18,320 something and he would throw it. And Spurgeon said, what really surprised me about this 45 00:04:18,320 –> 00:04:25,739 man was not that he got angry and lost his temper, not even that when he lost his temper 46 00:04:25,739 –> 00:04:32,200 he would throw things. What really surprised me said Spurgeon was that whenever he was 47 00:04:32,200 –> 00:04:40,160 angry there was always something there at hand just waiting to be thrown. Now Jonah 48 00:04:40,160 –> 00:04:48,700 was running from the Lord and there was the very opportunity waiting for him. The boat 49 00:04:48,700 –> 00:05:00,320 was there in the port. Never trust circumstances when you are refusing the Word of God. For 50 00:05:00,320 –> 00:05:05,519 if you are running from God there will always be opportunities for your sin and your rebellion 51 00:05:05,519 –> 00:05:07,399 to become worse. 52 00:05:07,399 –> 00:05:12,739 Now thank God that is not the end of the story. Jonah’s sinful heart is taking him away from 53 00:05:12,739 –> 00:05:20,260 the Lord but God wonderfully in his mercy is set and determined on bringing Jonah back. 54 00:05:20,260 –> 00:05:25,040 And at this point in the story, I want you to notice it is almost as if the focus moves 55 00:05:25,040 –> 00:05:32,079 because Jonah now wants to tell us the remarkable story of the ship’s crew and how these men 56 00:05:32,940 –> 00:05:38,500 at the beginning, when they launched out on the journey to Tarshish, they knew absolutely 57 00:05:38,500 –> 00:05:41,760 nothing about the God of the Bible. 58 00:05:41,760 –> 00:05:48,220 But in the course of this journey, they were wonderfully converted to faith in the god 59 00:05:48,220 –> 00:05:54,100 of the Bible and became truly God-centered believers. 60 00:05:54,100 –> 00:05:56,339 A wonderful conversion. 61 00:05:56,339 –> 00:06:00,739 And I once suggested in the story that we are going to look at today of the conversion 62 00:06:00,820 –> 00:06:02,779 of the ship’s crew. 63 00:06:02,779 –> 00:06:07,899 We have one of the clearest pictures of the gospel in all of the Bible. 64 00:06:07,899 –> 00:06:12,540 If you want to know simply, and if you are the kind of person who thinks in pictures, 65 00:06:12,540 –> 00:06:14,059 what is the gospel all about? 66 00:06:14,059 –> 00:06:18,040 You’ll never get it clearer, I think, than right here. 67 00:06:18,040 –> 00:06:20,619 Because the gospel at its heart is about two things. 68 00:06:20,619 –> 00:06:25,440 It is about the storm and it is about the sacrifice. 69 00:06:25,440 –> 00:06:32,920 It is about the storm of God’s judgment and it is about the sacrifice by which we can 70 00:06:32,920 –> 00:06:36,160 be saved from that judgment. 71 00:06:36,160 –> 00:06:41,040 These two things are powerfully presented to us right here in this part of the story 72 00:06:41,040 –> 00:06:43,700 we have come to today. 73 00:06:43,700 –> 00:06:48,200 So let’s look first at the storm then, beginning at verse four. 74 00:06:48,200 –> 00:06:59,339 The Lord sent a great wind on the sea and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened 75 00:06:59,339 –> 00:07:00,820 to break up. 76 00:07:00,820 –> 00:07:05,700 Now, let’s pause there for a moment and think about this. 77 00:07:05,700 –> 00:07:11,260 God sent the storm. 78 00:07:11,260 –> 00:07:16,739 God sent the storm. 79 00:07:16,779 –> 00:07:19,380 Storms don’t happen by chance. 80 00:07:19,380 –> 00:07:26,100 Now folks talk a lot about mother nature as if nature operated by its own independent 81 00:07:26,100 –> 00:07:27,600 power. 82 00:07:27,600 –> 00:07:32,720 But the Bible never suggests to us that nature operates by its own independent power. 83 00:07:32,720 –> 00:07:37,959 The Bible says to us that God sustains all things by His powerful word. 84 00:07:37,959 –> 00:07:40,000 That’s Hebrews chapter one and verse three. 85 00:07:40,000 –> 00:07:44,859 When the disciples were with the Lord Jesus, and remember, He calmed the storm, the disciples 86 00:07:44,859 –> 00:07:47,420 said about Jesus, who is this? 87 00:07:47,420 –> 00:07:53,459 Even the wind and the waves obey Him. 88 00:07:53,459 –> 00:08:01,760 So when it comes to storms, when it comes to disasters, when it comes to tragedies 89 00:08:01,760 –> 00:08:08,959 in life, you have two choices as to what to believe. 90 00:08:08,959 –> 00:08:15,880 Either you will believe that God is in control, even of these things, or you will end up concluding 91 00:08:15,880 –> 00:08:21,760 that He is somehow a helpless or at least passive observer. 92 00:08:21,760 –> 00:08:29,640 Now, Christians debate how we understand the Bible on these issues and someone might well 93 00:08:29,640 –> 00:08:36,219 say, you know, if you’re saying that God is sovereign, controlling all things, doesn’t 94 00:08:36,219 –> 00:08:37,679 that give you a problem? 95 00:08:37,900 –> 00:08:42,080 If you say that God is sovereign even over storms that wreck ships. 96 00:08:42,080 –> 00:08:51,380 Listen, I would rather live with the problem of a God who is sovereign over all things 97 00:08:51,380 –> 00:08:58,140 than live with the problem of a God who is a helpless or passive observer of the worst 98 00:08:58,140 –> 00:09:01,299 things that happen in life. 99 00:09:01,299 –> 00:09:03,659 Wouldn’t you? 100 00:09:03,659 –> 00:09:05,940 God sends the storm. 101 00:09:06,919 –> 00:09:13,239 The storm is God’s intervention in Jonah’s life. 102 00:09:13,260 –> 00:09:19,380 You may want to think about this a little, but I thank God that God did not leave Jonah 103 00:09:19,380 –> 00:09:21,679 to His own free will. 104 00:09:21,679 –> 00:09:27,400 Jonah’s will was moving right in the wrong direction, into a wasted life. 105 00:09:27,400 –> 00:09:33,419 And, but for the intervention of God, that’s where he would have remained. 106 00:09:33,419 –> 00:09:40,299 God was messing with Jonah’s rebellious will to save him from a life wasted in disobedience. 107 00:09:40,299 –> 00:09:45,159 Don’t you think God for the way in which His hand has intervened in your life, and 108 00:09:45,159 –> 00:09:50,460 where would you have been if it was not for His gracious intervention in your life. 109 00:09:50,460 –> 00:09:58,299 And at the same time, this God who steps in and messes with all kinds of human affairs, 110 00:09:58,299 –> 00:10:04,840 He is stepping in to redeem a ship’s crew, to touch the lives of a group of men who know 111 00:10:04,840 –> 00:10:07,159 not the first thing about Him. 112 00:10:07,159 –> 00:10:10,179 Our God is amazing. 113 00:10:10,179 –> 00:10:15,080 Even His judgments are filled with His mercy. 114 00:10:15,080 –> 00:10:22,760 And if He can use the crucifixion of His own Son to bring the redemption of the world, 115 00:10:22,799 –> 00:10:31,239 you can trust Him and His wise and loving hand in the darkest storms and the greatest 116 00:10:31,239 –> 00:10:35,520 tragedies of your life, as well. 117 00:10:35,520 –> 00:10:42,640 But our minds will struggle with this but I want to encourage you to hold tightly to 118 00:10:42,640 –> 00:10:50,320 the comfort of knowing that God is sovereign and that, though we live in a confusing world, 119 00:10:50,320 –> 00:10:55,020 we do not live in a world that operates on random chance. 120 00:10:55,020 –> 00:11:03,440 Now, remember at this point the crew who become the focus of the story – they do not know 121 00:11:03,440 –> 00:11:04,659 the God of the Bible. 122 00:11:04,659 –> 00:11:09,559 The had their own religion as of course the vast majority of the people in this world, 123 00:11:09,559 –> 00:11:15,739 east and West, have some form of religion but they do not know the God of the Bible. 124 00:11:15,780 –> 00:11:23,020 So when they find themselves in a storm we read verse 5, that all the sailors were afraid 125 00:11:23,020 –> 00:11:28,020 and each cried out to his own God. 126 00:11:28,020 –> 00:11:31,380 Now, they all had a religion. 127 00:11:31,380 –> 00:11:36,460 And they did what human beings always do in a time of crisis and trouble. 128 00:11:36,460 –> 00:11:41,179 They instinctively invoked their religion and they cried out to their God, they began 129 00:11:41,179 –> 00:11:42,179 to pray. 130 00:11:43,059 –> 00:11:46,239 I don’t know how many crew would be on the ship. 131 00:11:46,239 –> 00:11:49,820 But it says, each of them cried out to their own God. 132 00:11:49,820 –> 00:11:54,080 That’s an awful lot of gods who are being asked to help here, right? 133 00:11:54,080 –> 00:11:57,460 If each of them’s crying out to his own God. 134 00:11:57,460 –> 00:12:02,260 And for all this crying out to these many gods, there is nothing that is actually happening 135 00:12:02,260 –> 00:12:06,580 to make any kind of a difference. 136 00:12:06,580 –> 00:12:11,840 And so Jonah had gone below deck, you’ll see it in verse six, and he had fallen into a 137 00:12:11,840 –> 00:12:13,359 very deep sleep. 138 00:12:13,359 –> 00:12:18,020 And the captain goes down and calls on him, get up, he says to Jonah, and call on your 139 00:12:18,020 –> 00:12:21,859 God because maybe he will take note of us and we will not perish. 140 00:12:21,859 –> 00:12:26,239 You know, he’d say, Jonah, I don’t know how in the world you can be asleep because all 141 00:12:26,239 –> 00:12:29,960 of us on the deck, we’re all calling on our gods and it’s not done any good so far. 142 00:12:29,960 –> 00:12:36,039 Why don’t you get up, you call on your God, see if he’ll do anything to help us. 143 00:12:36,039 –> 00:12:43,940 The fascinating thing here is that Jonah is silent because he can’t pray. 144 00:12:43,940 –> 00:12:50,700 How can you pray to a God you are actively disobeying at that very time? 145 00:12:50,700 –> 00:12:52,419 It’s impossible. 146 00:12:52,419 –> 00:13:00,739 Christians running from God are of no use to lost people in a storm. 147 00:13:00,739 –> 00:13:04,859 And RT Kendal has a wonderful comment in his book on Jonah at this point. 148 00:13:04,859 –> 00:13:12,179 He says, perhaps one of the most embarrassing things that can ever happen to a backslidden 149 00:13:12,179 –> 00:13:20,219 Christian is for an unbeliever to come to you and say, I need you to pray for me. 150 00:13:20,219 –> 00:13:27,080 And you see that’s what’s happening for Jonah right here, but he’s immobilized because of 151 00:13:27,159 –> 00:13:37,799 his unresolved conflict with God and his tenacious holding on to his own continuing sin. 152 00:13:37,799 –> 00:13:41,159 Maybe you see yourself in Jonah here. 153 00:13:41,159 –> 00:13:47,119 He couldn’t pray because he was locked into this unresolved conflict with God. 154 00:13:47,119 –> 00:13:48,320 So Jonah is silent. 155 00:13:48,320 –> 00:13:51,880 And there is no witness aboard this ship. 156 00:13:51,960 –> 00:13:58,640 Imagine it, he is the only man on board the ship who knows the living God, the only man 157 00:13:58,640 –> 00:14:03,320 who can pray to the Almighty knowing him. 158 00:14:03,320 –> 00:14:09,359 And he says nothing, he has nothing to offer because he’s immobilized by his own sin. 159 00:14:09,359 –> 00:14:17,960 Thank God the story doesn’t end there because again, the God who steps into human lives 160 00:14:18,000 –> 00:14:22,919 takes the initiative and he does this in a very unusual way. 161 00:14:22,919 –> 00:14:29,840 God exposed Jonah’s sin and he did it in this remarkable way. 162 00:14:29,840 –> 00:14:39,640 He used tumbling dice to reveal his rebellious servant’s secret. 163 00:14:39,640 –> 00:14:44,159 Look at it there right in verse seven, the sailors said to each other, come let us cast 164 00:14:44,799 –> 00:14:45,960 lots. 165 00:14:45,960 –> 00:14:50,200 And to find out who is responsible for this calamity. 166 00:14:50,200 –> 00:14:57,119 And they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 167 00:14:57,119 –> 00:15:01,460 I don’t know actually whether they used dice or what form of casting lots they would actually 168 00:15:01,460 –> 00:15:07,599 have used, but whatever form it was, the book of Proverbs tells us that God is sovereign 169 00:15:07,960 –> 00:15:09,960 over the outcome of the lot. 170 00:15:09,960 –> 00:15:17,200 That’s in Proverbs chapter 16 and God sovereignly overruled the outcome of the dice or whatever 171 00:15:17,200 –> 00:15:25,479 lot was being cast so that Jonah was identified to these men and exposed as the source of 172 00:15:25,479 –> 00:15:26,479 the problem. 173 00:15:26,479 –> 00:15:35,320 By the way, if God exposes your sin, it is because He loves you. 174 00:15:35,320 –> 00:15:41,260 The Lord disciplines those He loves. 175 00:15:41,260 –> 00:15:44,159 Not those He hates. 176 00:15:44,159 –> 00:15:46,140 Disciplines His own children who He loves. 177 00:15:46,140 –> 00:15:51,760 He will not allow your unconfessed sin to remain secret forever. 178 00:15:51,760 –> 00:15:54,659 He will not allow you to be immobilized. 179 00:15:54,659 –> 00:15:59,739 If you are really His child in terms of usefulness in this world forever. 180 00:15:59,739 –> 00:16:00,880 He steps in. 181 00:16:00,880 –> 00:16:04,080 And what was not confessed is now exposed. 182 00:16:04,119 –> 00:16:08,340 And I think that Jonah must have been relieved at this point. 183 00:16:08,340 –> 00:16:12,159 At last his secret was out. 184 00:16:12,159 –> 00:16:17,200 Something similar happens, you remember, to King David where he carried secret sin that 185 00:16:17,200 –> 00:16:21,419 was unconfessed in his own life for some time. 186 00:16:21,419 –> 00:16:26,719 And then you remember the prophet Nathan came and by that means God exposed this unconfessed 187 00:16:26,719 –> 00:16:27,719 sin. 188 00:16:27,719 –> 00:16:34,940 What do we know about the relief that it was to him to finally have this weight off his 189 00:16:34,940 –> 00:16:40,299 back and to be able to be open and authentic before God, and no longer to live a life of 190 00:16:40,299 –> 00:16:41,960 covering up? 191 00:16:41,960 –> 00:16:44,440 You can read about it in Psalm 32. 192 00:16:44,440 –> 00:16:46,340 Let me just quote these verses to you. 193 00:16:46,340 –> 00:16:52,320 He says, “‘When I was silent, when I was keeping the big secret. 194 00:16:52,320 –> 00:16:57,039 Here’s what it was like – my bones wasted away.’ 195 00:16:57,119 –> 00:17:02,859 but he says to God, day and night, your hand was heavy upon me and my strength it was 196 00:17:02,859 –> 00:17:08,119 just drained out, it was sapped as in the heat of summer. 197 00:17:08,119 –> 00:17:17,180 I just felt exhausted living this covered up kind of a life day after day, week after week. 198 00:17:17,920 –> 00:17:23,660 It was like being exhausted on a scorching summer day.” 199 00:17:23,660 –> 00:17:27,560 And then he puts at the end of that that word that comes in the Psalms, have you ever noticed 200 00:17:27,560 –> 00:17:31,680 that, the word sila, it just means think about that. 201 00:17:31,680 –> 00:17:36,599 Says, this is what my experience of covering up was like. 202 00:17:36,599 –> 00:17:40,979 It was exhausting, think about that. 203 00:17:40,979 –> 00:17:47,959 And then he says, then I acknowledged my sin and did not cover up my iniquity. 204 00:17:48,219 –> 00:17:55,619 I said I will confess my transgression to the Lord and you forgave the guilt of my sin. 205 00:17:55,959 –> 00:17:59,040 Sila, think about that. 206 00:18:01,959 –> 00:18:15,420 The release, the relief, the freedom that I am no longer living a secret life. 207 00:18:15,459 –> 00:18:23,079 And God’s hand is on the tumbling dice because he loves Jonah and he won’t 208 00:18:23,079 –> 00:18:35,140 allow his ministry to be compromised or his life to be stunted any longer. 209 00:18:35,140 –> 00:18:39,859 Now, when God exposed Jonah’s sin, it was the beginning of hope not only for him 210 00:18:39,979 –> 00:18:43,660 but also for the entire crew of the ship. 211 00:18:44,239 –> 00:18:47,959 And you’ll notice in the story that they begin to pepper Jonah with questions. 212 00:18:47,959 –> 00:18:48,939 What do you do? 213 00:18:48,939 –> 00:18:49,780 Where do you come from? 214 00:18:49,780 –> 00:18:50,420 And so forth. 215 00:18:50,420 –> 00:18:54,599 And Jonah tells them, verse 10, that he is running from the Lord. 216 00:18:55,459 –> 00:18:58,660 The crew obviously then want to know, well, tell us about the God you are 217 00:18:58,660 –> 00:19:02,180 running from, because this is obviously significant. 218 00:19:02,180 –> 00:19:08,560 And Jonah says, verse 9, I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, 219 00:19:08,560 –> 00:19:11,800 who made the sea and the dry land. 220 00:19:11,800 –> 00:19:17,739 And so notice how, now, Jonah is free now that the sin has confessed and it’s all 221 00:19:17,739 –> 00:19:18,920 been brought out into the open. 222 00:19:18,920 –> 00:19:23,859 Jonah is now in a position where he can be of use and now tells them about the God 223 00:19:23,859 –> 00:19:24,760 of the Bible. 224 00:19:24,760 –> 00:19:27,239 Who is unlike any other gods. 225 00:19:27,239 –> 00:19:30,839 He is the God of heaven, he is the God who created the earth. 226 00:19:30,839 –> 00:19:36,160 He’s the God who rules over the winds and the waves and even uses tumbling dice to 227 00:19:36,520 –> 00:19:38,959 expose his rebellious servants. 228 00:19:38,959 –> 00:19:44,040 He is the God who sends storms, he is the God who wrecks ships, and he is the God 229 00:19:44,040 –> 00:19:45,040 who saves them, too. 230 00:19:45,040 –> 00:19:49,040 Now, I want you to think about this picture of the storm. 231 00:19:49,040 –> 00:19:56,160 I said that the gospel is right here for us, in clear pictures. 232 00:19:56,160 –> 00:20:01,219 The storm in the story of Jonah clearly is a judgment from God. 233 00:20:01,979 –> 00:20:09,219 It points us to this great, universal truth that runs all the way through the Bible. 234 00:20:09,219 –> 00:20:18,500 That on account of our sins, God is against us, he stands opposed to us. 235 00:20:18,500 –> 00:20:23,719 That the beginning of his judgment is poured out in this life, as the beginnings of his 236 00:20:23,719 –> 00:20:28,239 judgment were poured out right there over the ship, on the sea, in the storm. 237 00:20:29,140 –> 00:20:34,859 But though the beginning of his judgment is poured out in this world, the eye of the storm 238 00:20:34,859 –> 00:20:38,459 of God’s judgment is in the life to come. 239 00:20:38,459 –> 00:20:46,420 Which is why Hebrews says, it is appointed for man to die once, and after we die, and 240 00:20:46,420 –> 00:20:51,560 we only die once after we die, then the judgment. 241 00:20:51,560 –> 00:20:55,459 That’s what Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 27 says. 242 00:20:55,540 –> 00:21:04,260 Now, suddenly these pagan sailors, the crew of the ship, are learning who the living God 243 00:21:04,260 –> 00:21:11,579 really is, tasting his power and realizing the immense human problem, that this sovereign 244 00:21:11,579 –> 00:21:18,780 God who made heaven and earth is against us on account of our sins. 245 00:21:18,780 –> 00:21:22,520 And they see that their ship is about to be wrecked. 246 00:21:22,520 –> 00:21:23,599 It’s about to break up. 247 00:21:23,660 –> 00:21:27,319 They see that their lives look to have no hope whatsoever. 248 00:21:27,319 –> 00:21:32,540 And so they ask in verse 11, perhaps the most important question that any human being could 249 00:21:32,540 –> 00:21:34,880 ever ask. 250 00:21:34,880 –> 00:21:41,239 And when you come to know the God of the Bible, you will ask this question, verse 11, what 251 00:21:41,239 –> 00:21:43,619 should we do? 252 00:21:43,619 –> 00:21:44,760 What should we do? 253 00:21:44,760 –> 00:21:51,680 OK, Jonah, you’re telling us undeniable truth, we’ve experienced the way in which God has 254 00:21:51,680 –> 00:21:56,420 just exposed you, through the lot we have, we are experiencing right now His power in 255 00:21:56,420 –> 00:22:00,780 the storm, we see absolutely what you’re saying, that obviously He’s against us and He made 256 00:22:00,780 –> 00:22:05,099 the sea and the land, boy this is just all making sense, what do we do? 257 00:22:05,099 –> 00:22:11,579 Jonah, tell us, how can we pacify the anger of this God that is being poured out against 258 00:22:11,579 –> 00:22:13,500 us? 259 00:22:13,500 –> 00:22:19,079 What can we do to placate your God, Jonah? 260 00:22:19,219 –> 00:22:24,140 I want to suggest that is the single most important question in all of the Bible, because 261 00:22:24,140 –> 00:22:35,719 if God is against us, we have no hope, we have no future, what should we do? 262 00:22:35,719 –> 00:22:41,560 That takes us to the second great theme of the story, it’s about the storm and it’s about 263 00:22:41,560 –> 00:22:44,680 the sacrifice. 264 00:22:44,680 –> 00:22:47,959 Version 11-16, Jonah answers the question clearly. 265 00:22:47,959 –> 00:22:51,680 Pick me up he says. 266 00:22:51,680 –> 00:22:58,459 And throw me into the sea and it will become calm. 267 00:22:58,459 –> 00:22:59,599 Simple answer. 268 00:22:59,599 –> 00:23:06,739 If you want to be saved from this judgment of God that is being poured out around us 269 00:23:06,739 –> 00:23:11,400 right now, Jonah says to them, if you want to be saved from the fierce anger of God, 270 00:23:11,400 –> 00:23:12,680 ditch me. 271 00:23:12,680 –> 00:23:14,140 Throw me overboard. 272 00:23:14,140 –> 00:23:20,599 Now, here is an interesting question, how did Jonah know that the sea would become calm 273 00:23:20,599 –> 00:23:22,900 if he was thrown overboard? 274 00:23:22,900 –> 00:23:25,599 I think there is only one answer to that that makes sense. 275 00:23:25,599 –> 00:23:27,400 At least to me. 276 00:23:27,400 –> 00:23:29,319 God must have revealed it to him. 277 00:23:29,319 –> 00:23:32,119 How else could he have known that? 278 00:23:32,119 –> 00:23:36,719 Which means that Jonah is back in the position of having the ministry of a prophet again, 279 00:23:36,719 –> 00:23:38,780 and he speaks the prophetic word to these folks. 280 00:23:39,160 –> 00:23:44,979 And he tells them in a prophetic word how it is that they can be saved. 281 00:23:44,979 –> 00:23:49,280 God is now revealing to these men how they can be saved. 282 00:23:49,280 –> 00:23:51,219 It’s wonderful. 283 00:23:51,219 –> 00:23:55,760 I want you to notice their first response. 284 00:23:55,760 –> 00:24:01,339 Jonah say’s very simple, you are going to have to throw me over the edge of the boat, 285 00:24:01,599 –> 00:24:11,699 In verse 13, the first instinct of the crew is to refuse the prophetic word that Jonah 286 00:24:11,699 –> 00:24:13,079 has just brought to them. 287 00:24:13,079 –> 00:24:14,699 Instead, instead. 288 00:24:14,699 –> 00:24:20,300 So, immediately, they are saying no, no, no, Jonah, we are not going to do that, we hear 289 00:24:20,300 –> 00:24:23,180 what you’re saying, but we are not going to do that. 290 00:24:23,180 –> 00:24:24,839 Instead, what did they do? 291 00:24:25,099 –> 00:24:31,219 The men did their best to row to the land. 292 00:24:31,219 –> 00:24:36,160 So, the crew feel they can get through the storm here. 293 00:24:36,160 –> 00:24:40,900 They’re saying Jonah, we hear what you’re saying, but we think we can get by without 294 00:24:40,900 –> 00:24:44,880 making that kind of a sacrifice. 295 00:24:44,880 –> 00:24:47,979 We can row harder. 296 00:24:47,979 –> 00:24:52,859 By the way, we’re getting a picture of the surest way to avoid a God-centered life right 297 00:24:52,859 –> 00:24:54,699 here. 298 00:24:54,719 –> 00:25:03,079 The impulse to refuse the sacrifice, the impulse to say, I will not go down the line of being 299 00:25:03,079 –> 00:25:11,859 saved by the death of another, is a powerful force that comes from the pride of the human 300 00:25:11,859 –> 00:25:14,140 heart. 301 00:25:14,160 –> 00:25:19,819 There’s something within the fallen human mind that says, we can make it even through 302 00:25:19,819 –> 00:25:20,920 the judgment of God. 303 00:25:20,920 –> 00:25:24,680 If I live a better life, if I row harder, if I make a greater effort, 304 00:25:24,699 –> 00:25:29,239 if I pour myself into being the kind of person that I want to be and I think God wants me to be… 305 00:25:29,260 –> 00:25:31,939 I think I can make it through the judgment. 306 00:25:31,939 –> 00:25:38,819 There is an impulse within us that immediately reacts against the idea of being saved from 307 00:25:38,819 –> 00:25:43,760 God’s judgment by the sacrifice of someone else. 308 00:25:43,760 –> 00:25:44,939 You see that in verse 13. 309 00:25:44,939 –> 00:25:48,260 We don’t want to go there, the crews say. 310 00:25:48,260 –> 00:25:50,500 Just let us try harder. 311 00:25:51,479 –> 00:25:58,099 There’s a poem that many of us I think probably know at least a few lines of it. 312 00:25:58,099 –> 00:26:04,640 It was written over a hundred years ago by a man who faced many, many difficulties in 313 00:26:04,640 –> 00:26:07,719 his life and was immensely courageous. 314 00:26:07,719 –> 00:26:12,739 But you’ll see in the words that he wrote, intensely resistant to God. 315 00:26:12,739 –> 00:26:17,199 The man’s name was William Ernst Henley. 316 00:26:17,239 –> 00:26:20,760 And he wrote a poem called Invictus. 317 00:26:20,760 –> 00:26:23,000 Invictus. 318 00:26:23,000 –> 00:26:27,520 And let me quote two of the four stanzas to you. 319 00:26:27,520 –> 00:26:29,000 He says, 320 00:26:59,000 –> 00:27:04,020 Now, there’s a great deal of courage in that. 321 00:27:04,020 –> 00:27:05,939 There’s also a great deal of resistance to God. 322 00:27:05,939 –> 00:27:06,959 Do you see what he’s saying? 323 00:27:06,959 –> 00:27:09,540 I’m the Lord of my life. 324 00:27:09,540 –> 00:27:13,760 I am the captain of my own destiny. 325 00:27:13,760 –> 00:27:21,359 It doesn’t matter, he’s saying, what judgments God pours out, I’m in charge. 326 00:27:21,359 –> 00:27:25,859 And that is the polar opposite of a God-centered life. 327 00:27:25,859 –> 00:27:28,719 You’ve read these words and thought them admirable? 328 00:27:28,900 –> 00:27:37,880 Will you think about this again because that is the polar opposite of a God-centered life? 329 00:27:37,880 –> 00:27:40,819 And this is exactly where the sailors were. 330 00:27:40,819 –> 00:27:43,680 We can deal with this. 331 00:27:43,680 –> 00:27:46,020 We’re not going to sacrifice you, Jonah. 332 00:27:46,020 –> 00:27:47,400 We can get out of this. 333 00:27:47,400 –> 00:27:51,380 We can roll through the judgment of God. 334 00:27:51,380 –> 00:27:54,140 But I want you to see what happened. 335 00:27:54,459 –> 00:28:02,479 They did their best to roll back to land, and then four words that are another turning 336 00:28:02,479 –> 00:28:04,099 point in the story. 337 00:28:04,099 –> 00:28:08,339 But they could not. 338 00:28:08,339 –> 00:28:15,099 Then, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 339 00:28:15,099 –> 00:28:21,739 And when the crew realized that they could not beat the storm, they turned in desperation 340 00:28:21,939 –> 00:28:27,760 God had said through the prophet Jonah. 341 00:28:27,760 –> 00:28:30,160 Picture it like this. 342 00:28:30,160 –> 00:28:34,699 Jonah – we’re spent on rowing. 343 00:28:34,699 –> 00:28:38,819 There’s only one thing else for us to do. 344 00:28:38,819 –> 00:28:42,140 And I picture in my mind Jonah saying, do it! 345 00:28:42,140 –> 00:28:46,660 And they threw him over. 346 00:28:46,900 –> 00:28:53,880 That Jonah records for us that the sea became calm. 347 00:28:53,880 –> 00:28:59,420 When you become – come to that place of being at the end of yourself, you may just 348 00:28:59,420 –> 00:29:05,439 be at a place where your mind and heart open to the saving and redeeming love of the Lord 349 00:29:05,439 –> 00:29:08,319 Jesus Christ in a whole new way. 350 00:29:08,319 –> 00:29:11,199 But they could not. 351 00:29:11,219 –> 00:29:20,020 And at that moment they say to Jonah, we gotta go with what you say. 352 00:29:20,020 –> 00:29:25,599 Storm of God’s judgment is stronger than any of us. 353 00:29:25,599 –> 00:29:29,959 You can’t overcome sin enough, you can’t make yourself good enough to survive God’s 354 00:29:29,959 –> 00:29:30,959 storm. 355 00:29:30,959 –> 00:29:40,160 The storm of God’s judgment will wreck you unless you are saved by the sacrifice of someone 356 00:29:40,160 –> 00:29:41,160 else. 357 00:29:41,160 –> 00:29:48,280 That’s the principle that is being vividly taught in this compelling story and that 358 00:29:48,280 –> 00:29:51,640 is why Jesus Christ came into the world. 359 00:29:51,640 –> 00:29:54,380 That is why Jesus Christ went to the cross. 360 00:29:54,380 –> 00:30:03,339 He was cast out as the sacrifice to placate the wrath of God on your behalf and mine. 361 00:30:03,339 –> 00:30:08,739 He died on the cross, so that we who deserve God’s judgment and are under God’s judgment 362 00:30:08,739 –> 00:30:14,060 by nature because of our sin in this life and for the life to come, so that we should 363 00:30:14,060 –> 00:30:17,739 be saved from that storm by His sacrifice. 364 00:30:17,739 –> 00:30:21,439 The gospel is about the storm and the sacrifice. 365 00:30:21,439 –> 00:30:27,959 It is about the judgment of God and the salvation from and through that judgment by our Lord 366 00:30:27,959 –> 00:30:30,180 and savior Jesus Christ. 367 00:30:30,180 –> 00:30:37,560 It’s hinted never more clearly than right here in the book of Jonah. 368 00:30:37,560 –> 00:30:44,780 Now, in these last moments, let me suggest to you, learning from this story, three ways 369 00:30:44,780 –> 00:30:50,339 in which we may actively cultivate or pursue a God-centered life. 370 00:30:50,339 –> 00:30:52,520 We’re going to keep coming back to this through this series. 371 00:30:52,520 –> 00:30:58,239 Now, how then can I, learning from this, pursue a God-centered life? 372 00:30:58,239 –> 00:30:59,260 Here’s the first thing. 373 00:30:59,260 –> 00:31:05,540 Turn to the Lord, that is to the God of the Bible, and ask Him for mercy. 374 00:31:05,540 –> 00:31:06,560 That’s verse 14. 375 00:31:06,900 –> 00:31:12,339 They cried to the Lord, to Yahweh, to the God of the Bible. 376 00:31:12,339 –> 00:31:16,660 They abandon all confidence in all other gods. 377 00:31:16,660 –> 00:31:18,920 They turn from all other gods. 378 00:31:18,920 –> 00:31:23,680 They see that what matters is finding peace with this God of the Bible who made the land 379 00:31:23,680 –> 00:31:28,699 and the sea, who sends storms, who speaks through prophets, and tells them how they 380 00:31:28,699 –> 00:31:30,119 can be saved. 381 00:31:31,839 –> 00:31:34,239 And they cried to Him, verse 14. 382 00:31:34,260 –> 00:31:38,380 O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. 383 00:31:38,380 –> 00:31:41,920 Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man. 384 00:31:41,920 –> 00:31:45,380 For You, O Lord, have done as You pleased. 385 00:31:45,380 –> 00:31:49,380 By the way, do you see the sanctity of human life right there? 386 00:31:49,380 –> 00:31:59,079 Even a crew of pagan sailors understood the sanctity of human life. 387 00:31:59,079 –> 00:32:02,699 And they’re saying, oh, God, this is what You have said? 388 00:32:03,280 –> 00:32:07,599 Prophetically we are to do, and yet we’re going to incur guilt in 389 00:32:07,599 –> 00:32:13,000 the very act of doing it because we understand the sanctity of human life, 390 00:32:13,000 –> 00:32:17,479 so they’re saying, Lord, have mercy on us. 391 00:32:17,479 –> 00:32:23,079 Now, I got asked three times after the Saturday night service. 392 00:32:23,079 –> 00:32:26,280 This is the benefit of coming on Sunday, you get the improved version. 393 00:32:26,280 –> 00:32:31,739 Three times in 20 minutes after the service, I was asked the same question. 394 00:32:31,780 –> 00:32:34,140 Why didn’t Jonah just toss himself overboard? 395 00:32:34,140 –> 00:32:38,479 And I think this is the answer. 396 00:32:38,479 –> 00:32:43,079 Remember that the Bible is given to us, it’s all about Jesus Christ. 397 00:32:43,079 –> 00:32:47,180 And stories in the Old Testament are shaped in God’s grace so 398 00:32:47,180 –> 00:32:51,119 that we’ll have floodlights onto Jesus Christ. 399 00:32:51,119 –> 00:32:56,260 And Jesus Christ did not take his own life. 400 00:32:56,260 –> 00:33:00,939 There was human guilt that we all share 401 00:33:00,939 –> 00:33:04,400 in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. 402 00:33:04,400 –> 00:33:10,079 We nailed Him to the cross, and there’s guilt in that sacrifice. 403 00:33:10,079 –> 00:33:14,839 Yet, He gave His life for us, as Jonah said, throw me over. 404 00:33:14,839 –> 00:33:18,859 And for us, there is salvation through that sacrifice. 405 00:33:18,859 –> 00:33:21,160 And both things are made very clear here. 406 00:33:21,160 –> 00:33:27,180 These men see their own guilt in the sacrifice, in the death of Jonah, 407 00:33:27,180 –> 00:33:31,400 and they find their own salvation through the sacrifice, 408 00:33:31,400 –> 00:33:35,719 through Jonah’s voluntary giving off himself. 409 00:33:35,719 –> 00:33:41,199 And so that takes me to the second way to pursue a God-centered life, 410 00:33:41,199 –> 00:33:48,900 abandon all hope in self-rescue, and stake your life on Jesus Christ, 411 00:33:49,500 –> 00:33:54,199 who was cast out as a sacrifice to placate the wrath of God for you. 412 00:33:54,199 –> 00:33:58,380 I’m intentionally using that strong language, so that we’ll understand it clearly. 413 00:33:58,380 –> 00:34:03,839 Because that’s what we’re learning in the book of Jonah, God sent the storm. 414 00:34:03,839 –> 00:34:08,659 So these men then, they are seeing their guilt in the sacrifice, verse 14, 415 00:34:08,659 –> 00:34:14,159 but to their amazement they are finding salvation through the sacrifice, that’s verse 15, 416 00:34:14,560 –> 00:34:16,620 and that takes us to the cross. 417 00:34:16,620 –> 00:34:22,719 We crucified the Son of God, that’s our guilt. 418 00:34:22,719 –> 00:34:26,399 Yet He chose to lay down His life as a sacrifice for us. 419 00:34:26,399 –> 00:34:31,199 That is our salvaion. 420 00:34:31,199 –> 00:34:37,360 Now of course there is this great difference between Jonah and Jesus. 421 00:34:37,360 –> 00:34:43,120 Jonah is cast into the sea on account of his own sins. 422 00:34:43,679 –> 00:34:50,479 Jesus was nailed to the cross on account of your sins and mine. 423 00:34:51,120 –> 00:34:56,320 He was without sin but He became the sacrifice for sin. 424 00:34:56,320 –> 00:34:59,439 He bore our guilt in His death on the cross, 425 00:34:59,439 –> 00:35:06,739 and in His death He absorbed the judgment of God on our behalf. 426 00:35:06,739 –> 00:35:10,560 So abandon all hope in self rescue, 427 00:35:10,639 –> 00:35:15,360 all hope of self salvation, and you stake your life, 428 00:35:15,360 –> 00:35:18,320 your death, and your eternity on Jesus Christ, 429 00:35:18,320 –> 00:35:26,340 who was cast out as a sacrifice to placate the wrath of God for you. 430 00:35:26,340 –> 00:35:27,979 That is the gospel. 431 00:35:29,520 –> 00:35:31,040 And here’s the last thing, 432 00:35:32,639 –> 00:35:39,699 pledge your redeemed life to Jesus Christ. 433 00:35:40,860 –> 00:35:44,600 Verse 16, the raging sea grew calm, 434 00:35:44,600 –> 00:35:47,699 and at this the men greatly feared the Lord 435 00:35:47,699 –> 00:35:49,780 and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord 436 00:35:49,780 –> 00:35:53,300 and made vows to Him. 437 00:35:53,300 –> 00:35:55,219 They made vows to Him. 438 00:35:55,239 –> 00:35:56,659 That was their response. 439 00:35:59,639 –> 00:36:03,340 Surely, all of us have been really moved 440 00:36:03,340 –> 00:36:06,100 by the remarkable deliverance 441 00:36:06,100 –> 00:36:08,260 of all these folks in the plane 442 00:36:08,260 –> 00:36:11,719 that came down on the Hudson River this week. 443 00:36:11,719 –> 00:36:14,719 Isn’t that an amazing story 444 00:36:14,719 –> 00:36:19,679 and an amazing expression of God’s great grace 445 00:36:19,679 –> 00:36:21,699 into their lives 446 00:36:21,699 –> 00:36:25,360 and giving them this remarkable deliverance. 447 00:36:25,360 –> 00:36:27,840 I find it compelling just following some of the reports 448 00:36:27,840 –> 00:36:30,520 on the media that have come out of this story. 449 00:36:30,520 –> 00:36:32,840 I expect you’ve picked up the same 450 00:36:32,840 –> 00:36:34,959 how many times there have been references 451 00:36:34,959 –> 00:36:37,659 to people praying on the plane 452 00:36:37,699 –> 00:36:41,620 as it was going down onto the Hudson River 453 00:36:41,620 –> 00:36:45,300 and I think we would all have done the same. 454 00:36:47,100 –> 00:36:49,699 But, you know, what matters most 455 00:36:52,860 –> 00:36:57,020 is not what you say to God when the plane is going down. 456 00:36:58,439 –> 00:37:00,739 What matters most is what you say to God 457 00:37:00,739 –> 00:37:04,320 after you’ve survived the plane going down. 458 00:37:05,239 –> 00:37:07,540 A lot of people cry out to God 459 00:37:07,540 –> 00:37:10,399 in the middle of a storm, 460 00:37:10,399 –> 00:37:12,459 but the real test of where your heart is 461 00:37:12,459 –> 00:37:15,239 and where my heart is is what we’re saying to God 462 00:37:15,239 –> 00:37:18,399 when he’s brought us out of the storm. 463 00:37:19,260 –> 00:37:23,199 I think for the crew to make vows to God 464 00:37:23,199 –> 00:37:24,340 in the middle of the storm 465 00:37:24,340 –> 00:37:27,139 would have been much less impressive. 466 00:37:27,139 –> 00:37:29,600 Easy to say oh Lord, if you just get me out of this, 467 00:37:29,600 –> 00:37:32,560 you know, I’ll be yours forever. 468 00:37:32,860 –> 00:37:34,739 What’s really impressive is that 469 00:37:34,739 –> 00:37:37,399 after God has brought them out of the storm, 470 00:37:37,399 –> 00:37:39,239 after the sea is calm, 471 00:37:39,239 –> 00:37:41,860 then they bow and they say, 472 00:37:41,860 –> 00:37:44,860 we want to make our vows to you oh Lord. 473 00:37:45,780 –> 00:37:48,719 That’s the evidence I think of real conversion, 474 00:37:48,719 –> 00:37:51,139 of a genuine change of heart. 475 00:37:52,379 –> 00:37:55,600 These men feel that their life has come back from the dead, 476 00:37:55,600 –> 00:37:57,159 they feel that what they have now 477 00:37:57,159 –> 00:37:58,719 is like a kind of resurrection. 478 00:37:58,719 –> 00:38:01,120 They have a new life that has been bought with a price 479 00:38:01,560 –> 00:38:03,239 and given back to them by God’s grace. 480 00:38:03,239 –> 00:38:05,219 And so what else can they do but say Lord, 481 00:38:05,219 –> 00:38:09,020 this life must now be yours now and forever. 482 00:38:09,020 –> 00:38:11,899 They made their vows to the Lord. 483 00:38:14,659 –> 00:38:16,020 Here’s the very last thing. 484 00:38:16,899 –> 00:38:19,340 I was checking out on the web the words 485 00:38:19,340 –> 00:38:24,340 for William Henley’s self assured poem, 486 00:38:25,020 –> 00:38:27,419 I’m the Captain of my Soul. 487 00:38:28,459 –> 00:38:31,020 And when I got on the website where I found that, 488 00:38:31,020 –> 00:38:34,540 it was a discussion page underneath. 489 00:38:34,540 –> 00:38:35,399 I clicked onto that, 490 00:38:35,399 –> 00:38:37,620 and found that people have made various contributions, 491 00:38:37,620 –> 00:38:40,459 and one person who is evidently a Christian 492 00:38:40,459 –> 00:38:44,780 had put an alternative version of the poem. 493 00:38:44,780 –> 00:38:47,379 I just want to read it to you, and then we’re done. 494 00:38:47,379 –> 00:38:48,719 I don’t know the name of this person, 495 00:38:48,719 –> 00:38:52,020 it was anonymously said on the website. 496 00:38:52,020 –> 00:38:53,639 But these were the words. 497 00:38:54,860 –> 00:38:58,320 Out of the night that dazzles me, 498 00:38:58,320 –> 00:39:02,100 bright as the sun from pole to pole, 499 00:39:02,100 –> 00:39:05,060 I thank the God I know to be 500 00:39:05,060 –> 00:39:09,439 for Christ, the conqueror of my soul! 501 00:39:09,439 –> 00:39:11,979 I have no fear, 502 00:39:11,979 –> 00:39:14,300 though straight the gate, 503 00:39:14,300 –> 00:39:18,120 He cleared from punishment the scroll. 504 00:39:19,139 –> 00:39:21,919 Christ is the master of my fate, 505 00:39:21,919 –> 00:39:26,879 and Christ is the captain of my soul! 506 00:39:26,879 –> 00:39:30,580 And to that, every Christian believer would say a hearty 507 00:39:30,580 –> 00:39:31,760 Amen! 508 00:39:31,760 –> 00:39:35,899 Lord, thank you that you have not left us to ourselves, 509 00:39:35,899 –> 00:39:40,659 that you have not abandoned us in the storm, 510 00:39:40,659 –> 00:39:43,479 but even the storm is full of your mercy. 511 00:39:44,679 –> 00:39:49,679 And in Christ, you yourself give that sacrifice 512 00:39:50,500 –> 00:39:55,500 that we may be saved, that we may bow before you 513 00:39:55,540 –> 00:39:58,060 and know that we no longer live for ourselves 514 00:39:59,360 –> 00:40:03,679 but for the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us 515 00:40:03,679 –> 00:40:08,679 and even now bids us follow him for time and for eternity. 516 00:40:10,080 –> 00:40:15,080 We bless you for this Gospel of our Lord Jesus 517 00:40:15,560 –> 00:40:18,239 and we thank you in His name, Amen. 518 00:40:19,679 –> 00:40:20,500 Amen.