1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,000 Now, please have your bible open at Jonah in Chapter Four. 2 00:00:03,000 –> 00:00:07,600 We’re going to follow these verses fairly closely today. 3 00:00:07,600 –> 00:00:12,580 And we’re seeing that the Book of Jonah is about the unraveling of a mature believer’s 4 00:00:12,580 –> 00:00:14,880 inner life. 5 00:00:14,880 –> 00:00:17,959 We’re also discovering the marvellous faithfulness of God. 6 00:00:17,959 –> 00:00:22,920 That when the wheels come off, as it were, God does not abandon his own children. 7 00:00:22,920 –> 00:00:25,719 He is faithful to his own. 8 00:00:25,719 –> 00:00:29,139 Jonah is really opening up what happened in his life. 9 00:00:29,180 –> 00:00:33,580 And God he wants us to know that underneath his fine reputation there was really a divided 10 00:00:33,580 –> 00:00:34,820 heart. 11 00:00:34,820 –> 00:00:40,020 And that while God used him in remarkable ways, he spent much of his life actually avoiding 12 00:00:40,020 –> 00:00:43,380 the God he set out to serve. 13 00:00:43,380 –> 00:00:48,419 And as we’ve moved into chapter four, we’ve found this surprising truth that although 14 00:00:48,419 –> 00:00:54,500 God used Jonah in such a remarkable way to transform a city through his ministry, after 15 00:00:54,560 –> 00:01:00,200 that great revival experience, Jonah is not full of joy but rather he is angry and he 16 00:01:00,200 –> 00:01:01,860 is frustrated. 17 00:01:01,860 –> 00:01:07,440 And it might be helpful for us just to think of it this way, that actually God does a double 18 00:01:07,440 –> 00:01:09,820 restoration in Jonah’s life. 19 00:01:09,820 –> 00:01:14,239 Most people know about the first restoration when he’s thrown into the water and God saves 20 00:01:14,239 –> 00:01:16,860 him by sending this fish. 21 00:01:16,860 –> 00:01:21,559 But there’s another restoration that is every bit as important in the book. 22 00:01:21,820 –> 00:01:26,440 Because Jonah’s problem was not just the rebellion of disobedience that you have at the beginning 23 00:01:26,440 –> 00:01:33,339 when he goes off to Tarshish, it’s the hidden anger and resentment that is bubbling under 24 00:01:33,339 –> 00:01:35,580 in his heart and in his life. 25 00:01:35,580 –> 00:01:41,360 And God delivers him from that and restores him from that in chapter 4, that is every 26 00:01:41,360 –> 00:01:46,779 bit as important as the restoration that took place in chapter 1. 27 00:01:46,779 –> 00:01:51,419 And so that’s why we’ve come today and we’re taking it up in chapter 4 in verse 5, where 28 00:01:52,099 –> 00:01:59,099 this experience of being used by God in Nineveh and the frustration and anger that Jonah was 29 00:01:59,879 –> 00:02:02,540 experiencing in the wake of it. 30 00:02:02,540 –> 00:02:07,360 We read that Jonah went out and he sat down at a place east of the city. 31 00:02:07,360 –> 00:02:13,020 And there he made himself a shelter and he sat in its shade, and he waited to see what 32 00:02:13,020 –> 00:02:16,059 would happen to the city. 33 00:02:16,059 –> 00:02:20,339 Now let’s try and put ourselves in Jonah’s shoes. 34 00:02:20,339 –> 00:02:26,699 You’re in the desert, you’re on your own, it’s a hot day, you’re sitting in the sand 35 00:02:26,699 –> 00:02:30,839 looking at a city you really don’t like. 36 00:02:30,839 –> 00:02:34,940 You’re feeling miserable, you’ve got some resentment that’s going on and you are not 37 00:02:34,940 –> 00:02:36,899 happy about life. 38 00:02:36,899 –> 00:02:39,399 The sun is beating down on your head. 39 00:02:39,399 –> 00:02:43,320 It’s a sweltering hot day and you think I really need to make myself a shelter. 40 00:02:43,320 –> 00:02:47,339 But you’re out in the desert so there isn’t much to make a shelter with. 41 00:02:47,479 –> 00:02:53,139 You know a few pieces of brick perhaps or clay, some stones that are around, nothing 42 00:02:53,139 –> 00:02:58,559 very much that is living or growing and so you make yourself a little baked clay shelter 43 00:02:58,559 –> 00:03:02,979 and there you sit absolutely miserable. 44 00:03:02,979 –> 00:03:05,419 And then God steps in in verse 6. 45 00:03:05,419 –> 00:03:09,779 And we had this wonderful expression of the kindness of God. 46 00:03:09,919 –> 00:03:16,860 The Lord God provided a vine, this living plant full of green foliage. 47 00:03:16,860 –> 00:03:23,279 And He made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort. 48 00:03:23,279 –> 00:03:30,520 Now for you gardeners you need to know Miracle Grow never had anything on this. 49 00:03:30,520 –> 00:03:33,320 This was a miracle plant. 50 00:03:33,320 –> 00:03:35,759 In the desert God just causes it to grow. 51 00:03:35,759 –> 00:03:40,100 I’m thinking in my mind of where you have one of these high-speed cameras that you know 52 00:03:40,100 –> 00:03:46,039 planet Earth type programs can show you the growth of a plant in a few seconds. 53 00:03:46,039 –> 00:03:49,339 We can give that appearance on a high-speed camera. 54 00:03:49,339 –> 00:03:56,619 Well God gave that reality by a miracle of His grace and He did it for this simple reason. 55 00:03:56,619 –> 00:04:03,380 Jonah was really uncomfortable he’s there with nothing more than a baked clay shelter 56 00:04:03,380 –> 00:04:09,440 and God provides this vine we’re told in verse six to cover to give shade for Jonah’s 57 00:04:09,440 –> 00:04:12,160 head and to ease his discomfort. 58 00:04:12,160 –> 00:04:20,399 It’s a wonderful expression of the kindness of God and as God gives this very simple and 59 00:04:20,399 –> 00:04:28,079 very wonderful good gift into Jonah’s life, we read in verse six that Jonah was very happy 60 00:04:28,079 –> 00:04:31,359 about the vine. 61 00:04:31,359 –> 00:04:34,920 And I can imagine Jonah looking at his old baked clay shelter and then looking at this 62 00:04:34,920 –> 00:04:42,459 mass of green foliage that has come up overnight and he’s saying to himself, my God’s shelter 63 00:04:42,459 –> 00:04:45,839 is sure better than mine. 64 00:04:45,839 –> 00:04:56,359 God’s gift then of the vine brought joy, it brought comfort, it brought blessing into 65 00:04:57,239 –> 00:04:59,619 this particularly difficult time. 66 00:04:59,619 –> 00:05:02,140 He was very happy about the vine. 67 00:05:02,140 –> 00:05:05,540 Now here’s the question, I think you’ll find it easy to make the connection with 68 00:05:05,540 –> 00:05:07,600 the message this morning. 69 00:05:07,600 –> 00:05:09,980 What is your vine? 70 00:05:09,980 –> 00:05:18,000 What in your life brings joy, comfort, blessing? 71 00:05:18,000 –> 00:05:24,239 What in your life is a gift from God that you would say, that’s my vine it just has 72 00:05:24,239 –> 00:05:26,200 brought blessing into my life? 73 00:05:26,200 –> 00:05:31,059 I think of my own life, I think of my wife, I think of my children, I think of my home. 74 00:05:31,059 –> 00:05:35,779 I think of the privilege of being part of this church, I think of the joy of fulfilling 75 00:05:35,779 –> 00:05:36,779 work. 76 00:05:36,779 –> 00:05:38,260 The list goes on and on and on. 77 00:05:38,260 –> 00:05:39,700 What’s your vine? 78 00:05:39,700 –> 00:05:47,179 God is good, and into every life he brings good gifts that bring you joy that you would 79 00:05:47,179 –> 00:05:50,720 not have if it was not for that gift. 80 00:05:50,720 –> 00:05:55,459 Think about this with me, what is your vine that brings joy, that brings blessing. 81 00:05:56,459 –> 00:06:01,220 that brings comfort, that makes your life in this world so much better than it would 82 00:06:01,220 –> 00:06:11,200 be if it was not for this gracious gift of God in his abundant kindness. 83 00:06:11,200 –> 00:06:17,019 Valentine’s Day is coming up so for the guys who are looking for a good line to write in 84 00:06:17,239 –> 00:06:29,480 card to your wife, you could just say, you are my vine, you are the gift of God to me, 85 00:06:29,480 –> 00:06:35,200 you bring me blessing, you bring me joy, my life is so rich because of you and I thank 86 00:06:35,200 –> 00:06:40,459 God for you and I love you and ladies you might even consider saying that in regard 87 00:06:40,459 –> 00:06:41,459 to your husband. 88 00:06:41,459 –> 00:06:42,380 What else is your vine? 89 00:06:42,380 –> 00:06:43,380 Friends. 90 00:06:43,579 –> 00:06:50,959 You have a business that has been blessed, and others speak well of you? 91 00:06:50,959 –> 00:06:54,320 You have enough money to spend some on your pleasure? 92 00:06:54,320 –> 00:07:00,380 Thank God for the vine. 93 00:07:00,380 –> 00:07:06,179 Now notice the next thing that happens in verse seven, because no sooner has God poured 94 00:07:06,179 –> 00:07:12,000 in this wonderful good gift into Jonah’s life, but verse seven, something else happens. 95 00:07:12,600 –> 00:07:22,179 At dawn the next day, God provided a worm which chewed the vines so that it withered.” 96 00:07:22,179 –> 00:07:23,700 Now, can you imagine this? 97 00:07:23,700 –> 00:07:28,320 Jonah has been enjoying the cool shade of God’s vine. 98 00:07:28,320 –> 00:07:32,679 The blessing of God in his life, and he wakes up the next day, and he thinks, oh, this is 99 00:07:32,679 –> 00:07:33,959 good, life is good. 100 00:07:33,959 –> 00:07:39,399 Another day rejoicing in the cool shade of God’s vine, and he looks around as he awakens 101 00:07:39,399 –> 00:07:46,040 himself up, and there’s the vine lying withered limp on the sand. 102 00:07:46,040 –> 00:07:48,760 The worm has come and has chewed up the vine. 103 00:07:48,760 –> 00:07:53,959 Now, put yourself in Jonah’s shoes, you know what you would be saying, what I would be 104 00:07:53,959 –> 00:07:54,959 saying. 105 00:07:54,959 –> 00:07:56,220 Lord, what in all the world are you doing? 106 00:07:56,220 –> 00:08:01,779 Yesterday you gave me this wonderful good gift, today it’s lying withered on the ground. 107 00:08:01,779 –> 00:08:06,440 You pour happiness into my life, now you take it away, the vine that you gave has gone as 108 00:08:06,459 –> 00:08:08,000 fast as it came. 109 00:08:08,000 –> 00:08:10,859 One day you pour in your blessing, the next day you take it away. 110 00:08:10,859 –> 00:08:11,859 What are you doing? 111 00:08:11,859 –> 00:08:14,279 Now, there’s a pattern here. 112 00:08:14,279 –> 00:08:21,640 The vine brings joy, comfort, and blessing into Jonah’s life, and we are all able to 113 00:08:21,640 –> 00:08:26,399 think of the good gifts of God that bring blessing and joy to us. 114 00:08:26,399 –> 00:08:32,919 But the worm brings sorrow, loss, and disappointment into Jonah’s life. 115 00:08:33,119 –> 00:08:34,479 It’s an obvious question. 116 00:08:34,479 –> 00:08:36,820 What is your worm? 117 00:08:36,820 –> 00:08:44,739 What is going on in your life right now that brings you sorrow, that brings you loss, that 118 00:08:44,739 –> 00:08:46,520 brings you disappointment? 119 00:08:46,520 –> 00:08:54,479 And all of us will be able to identify not only the vine, but also in our experience 120 00:08:54,479 –> 00:08:57,359 the worm. 121 00:08:57,500 –> 00:09:03,580 You build a business and it is a great blessing, but as times change it becomes a burden rather 122 00:09:03,580 –> 00:09:05,840 than a blessing. 123 00:09:05,840 –> 00:09:08,359 Your ministry sees evangelistic success. 124 00:09:08,359 –> 00:09:10,140 God blesses it in an amazing way. 125 00:09:10,140 –> 00:09:13,859 And then something happens and it seems that all the good work that you have been doing 126 00:09:13,859 –> 00:09:15,419 seems undone. 127 00:09:15,419 –> 00:09:21,400 You devote your life as a mother to children in the home, and you pour yourself into them 128 00:09:21,400 –> 00:09:25,700 and then they’re off at college and the home is quiet and empty. 129 00:09:25,760 –> 00:09:30,000 The vine that has brought such blessing and joy into your life is no longer there. 130 00:09:30,000 –> 00:09:33,320 And you say, what’s my life for? 131 00:09:33,320 –> 00:09:40,080 By the way, isn’t this a helpful way of thinking about what’s going on in our economy? 132 00:09:40,080 –> 00:09:41,679 Think of it. 133 00:09:41,679 –> 00:09:49,359 God sends a bull market and we all rejoice in the vine. 134 00:09:49,359 –> 00:09:54,979 God sends a bear market and we all complain about the worm. 135 00:09:55,440 –> 00:09:59,359 The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. 136 00:09:59,359 –> 00:10:03,320 And that’s what Jonah is learning here, and it is painful stuff. 137 00:10:03,320 –> 00:10:08,859 By the way, it’s also a helpful way of thinking about times when you may fail or fall into 138 00:10:08,859 –> 00:10:12,859 sin as a Christian believer. 139 00:10:12,859 –> 00:10:17,039 Let’s think about a guy who’s been struggling with one particular temptation, failed again 140 00:10:17,039 –> 00:10:18,260 and again and again. 141 00:10:18,260 –> 00:10:22,960 And then, in God’s mercy, through some prayer and some help and through some accountability, 142 00:10:22,960 –> 00:10:24,580 begins to get victory. 143 00:10:24,580 –> 00:10:27,219 And he goes for some time, he’s victory. 144 00:10:27,219 –> 00:10:31,219 And he’s rejoicing in the victory as blessing and comfort. 145 00:10:31,219 –> 00:10:33,580 His victory becomes his vine. 146 00:10:33,580 –> 00:10:35,320 Lord, this is great! 147 00:10:35,320 –> 00:10:39,539 I’ve never been here before and then something happens and suddenly, he’s back where he was. 148 00:10:39,539 –> 00:10:42,940 He’s fallen into his old sin one more time. 149 00:10:42,940 –> 00:10:44,179 The worm has come. 150 00:10:44,179 –> 00:10:50,619 And he says, Lord, you’ve taken away the very thing that you just gave me, the victory that 151 00:10:50,619 –> 00:10:52,340 was such a joy to me. 152 00:10:52,340 –> 00:10:53,659 What is going on? 153 00:10:54,179 –> 00:11:02,140 Now this vine-worm pattern is repeated in a thousand ways in every human experience. 154 00:11:04,179 –> 00:11:07,599 Then I want you to notice something else because it gets worse. 155 00:11:07,599 –> 00:11:13,500 Verse eight, the wind, when the sun rose, so this is the same day as the vine was chewed 156 00:11:13,500 –> 00:11:14,440 up by the worm. 157 00:11:14,440 –> 00:11:22,159 Now the sun’s coming up and we’re told, when the sun rose, God provided a scorching east 158 00:11:22,520 –> 00:11:29,520 wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s so that he grew faint. 159 00:11:29,520 –> 00:11:37,619 Now again, try and put yourself in Jonah’s shoes, it’s bad enough to lose the vine, but 160 00:11:37,619 –> 00:11:42,919 now on the same day as the vine is chewed up, God now sends this east wind, so the sand’s 161 00:11:42,919 –> 00:11:45,880 blowing into Jonah’s face. 162 00:11:45,880 –> 00:11:48,799 The sun is beating down on his head. 163 00:11:48,940 –> 00:11:53,780 The vine is thinking, Lord, if you’re going to take away my vine, at least take it away 164 00:11:53,799 –> 00:11:56,179 on a cool day. 165 00:11:56,179 –> 00:11:59,900 But now you’ve taken away the vine and you send a scorching east wind. 166 00:11:59,900 –> 00:12:03,200 Have you discovered troubles never come singly? 167 00:12:03,200 –> 00:12:08,619 And when one thing happens that brings disappointment and pain and loss into your life, so often 168 00:12:08,619 –> 00:12:14,520 there is something else that brings aggravation and makes it even worse. 169 00:12:14,520 –> 00:12:18,539 So the vine brings comfort and it brings joy and it brings blessing. 170 00:12:18,539 –> 00:12:26,219 The worm brings sorrow and loss and disappointment, and the wind makes it worse by adding affliction 171 00:12:26,219 –> 00:12:31,179 and pain and distress. 172 00:12:31,179 –> 00:12:36,640 So the obvious question, what is your east wind? 173 00:12:36,640 –> 00:12:42,299 What as you look at your life right now is bringing to you a sense of affliction? 174 00:12:42,299 –> 00:12:44,940 What brings you pain? 175 00:12:44,940 –> 00:12:47,900 What brings you distress? 176 00:12:47,900 –> 00:12:58,179 Now, let’s stand back from this, this vine, worm, wind pattern is really a very helpful 177 00:12:58,179 –> 00:13:02,400 little handle for us thinking about how God operates in our lives. 178 00:13:02,400 –> 00:13:05,739 And it is very important to ask this question. 179 00:13:05,739 –> 00:13:11,400 Once you’ve got them in your mind the vine, the worm, and the wind, which of these comes 180 00:13:11,400 –> 00:13:12,619 from God? 181 00:13:13,419 –> 00:13:16,580 That’s a very important question. 182 00:13:16,580 –> 00:13:19,580 Which one comes from God? 183 00:13:19,580 –> 00:13:24,320 Because everyone is quick to say the vine comes from God, but some of us are not so 184 00:13:24,320 –> 00:13:29,419 sure about the difficult things that happen in life and where God is in them. 185 00:13:29,419 –> 00:13:34,820 I want you to see the clear teaching of the Bible here in verse six, seven, and eight. 186 00:13:34,820 –> 00:13:38,140 It really couldn’t be more plain. 187 00:13:38,299 –> 00:13:46,840 Verse six of chapter four, God provided the vine, and then you notice exactly the same 188 00:13:46,840 –> 00:13:48,859 phrase in chapter four and verse seven. 189 00:13:48,859 –> 00:13:50,099 Do you see it there? 190 00:13:50,099 –> 00:13:52,940 Who provided the worm? 191 00:13:52,940 –> 00:13:54,239 God provided the worm. 192 00:13:54,239 –> 00:13:58,820 Clearly stated, and then just to make it absolutely plain, if you look in verse eight, notice 193 00:13:58,820 –> 00:14:00,700 exactly the same language. 194 00:14:00,700 –> 00:14:04,820 Who provided the scorching east wind? 195 00:14:04,820 –> 00:14:05,820 Answer. 196 00:14:06,000 –> 00:14:08,820 God provided the scorching east wind. 197 00:14:08,820 –> 00:14:13,080 It’s the same word, and it’s used three times in three verses, because Jonah is teaching 198 00:14:13,080 –> 00:14:15,619 us this very important truth. 199 00:14:15,619 –> 00:14:20,479 He’s saying, I want you to understand that God’s hand was as much in the worm and the 200 00:14:20,479 –> 00:14:23,380 wind as in the vine. 201 00:14:23,380 –> 00:14:28,799 That God was working as much in the wind that brought affliction and pain and distress, 202 00:14:28,799 –> 00:14:32,059 and in the worm that brought sorrow and loss and disappointment. 203 00:14:32,059 –> 00:14:37,460 He was working as much in them as He was in the vine that brought comfort joy and blessing. 204 00:14:37,460 –> 00:14:43,960 He provided all three, and they were all being used in God’s sovereign purpose in Jonah’s 205 00:14:43,960 –> 00:14:44,960 life. 206 00:14:44,960 –> 00:14:51,059 By the way, there is one more time that the word provided is used in the book of Jonah. 207 00:14:51,059 –> 00:14:54,739 One more thing that God provided, and it’s the most obvious thing in the book of Jonah. 208 00:14:54,739 –> 00:14:57,460 What else did God provide at the beginning of the story? 209 00:14:57,460 –> 00:15:00,099 He provided the fish, that’s it. 210 00:15:00,099 –> 00:15:03,940 The same word, you can check it out in chapter 1 and verse 17. 211 00:15:03,940 –> 00:15:09,780 The Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and it was in this way that Jonah, 212 00:15:09,780 –> 00:15:12,059 of course, was saved from drowning. 213 00:15:12,059 –> 00:15:18,320 So, put these things together, and we’re learning this truth, that the God, who saved 214 00:15:19,280 –> 00:15:31,039 it, by providing a great fish now sanctifies Jonah by providing a vine, a worm, and an 215 00:15:31,039 –> 00:15:32,039 east wind. 216 00:15:32,039 –> 00:15:34,479 It’s the same word. 217 00:15:34,479 –> 00:15:38,280 By the way, we try to learn Bible words so that we know them when we see them in the 218 00:15:38,280 –> 00:15:43,619 Bible, and so, it’s good for us to know the words justification and sanctification. 219 00:15:43,619 –> 00:15:45,140 You can think of it this way. 220 00:15:45,619 –> 00:15:49,179 Sanctification is how God forgives us through Jesus. 221 00:15:49,179 –> 00:15:51,739 Sanctification is how God makes us like Jesus. 222 00:15:51,739 –> 00:15:52,739 The first is an event. 223 00:15:52,739 –> 00:15:55,239 The second is a process. 224 00:15:55,239 –> 00:16:00,299 We’re talking here about our sanctification that is how God works in a believer’s life 225 00:16:00,299 –> 00:16:03,460 to make us like Jesus. 226 00:16:03,460 –> 00:16:07,599 What Jonah is discovering as one who was saved by God’s wonderful provision at the 227 00:16:07,599 –> 00:16:14,700 beginning of this story, he is now being sanctified by God’s amazing provision, and God sanctifies 228 00:16:14,900 –> 00:16:18,260 through gifts that bring you joy. 229 00:16:18,260 –> 00:16:22,700 He sanctifies through trials that bring you sorrow. 230 00:16:22,700 –> 00:16:28,280 He sanctifies through experiences that may bring you pain. 231 00:16:28,280 –> 00:16:36,119 He sanctifies through the vine, and through the worm, and through the wind. 232 00:16:36,119 –> 00:16:40,099 So Jonah wants us to know that God’s hand is right in the middle of it. 233 00:16:40,099 –> 00:16:42,919 The fish is God’s fish. 234 00:16:42,919 –> 00:16:52,679 The vine is God’s vine, the worm is God’s worm, and the east wind is God’s east wind. 235 00:16:52,679 –> 00:16:59,219 Now as we try to let that settle in our minds that God, the New Testament puts it this way, 236 00:16:59,219 –> 00:17:04,859 God works in all things for the good, the ultimate good, the sanctification of those 237 00:17:04,859 –> 00:17:07,280 who love him, Romans 8 28. 238 00:17:07,280 –> 00:17:09,099 He works in the vine for that end. 239 00:17:09,119 –> 00:17:14,459 He works in the worm for that end, and he works through the wind for that end. 240 00:17:14,459 –> 00:17:15,500 Let’s ask this question. 241 00:17:15,500 –> 00:17:21,160 I can see how God works through the vine, but how does God work? 242 00:17:21,160 –> 00:17:22,839 What does God do through the worm? 243 00:17:22,839 –> 00:17:26,079 What does God do through the wind? 244 00:17:26,079 –> 00:17:31,979 I want to suggest that you think about it this way, that God used the worm and the wind 245 00:17:31,979 –> 00:17:38,760 to save Jonah from a vine-centered life. 246 00:17:39,079 –> 00:17:46,479 God used the worm and He used the wind to save Jonah from a vine-centered life. 247 00:17:46,479 –> 00:17:53,079 Remember the vine was the gift of God that brought blessing, joy, happiness to him in 248 00:17:53,079 –> 00:17:57,260 the particular situation in which he found himself? 249 00:17:57,260 –> 00:18:03,319 And a person who lives a vine-centered life is a person who ends up loving God’s gifts 250 00:18:03,319 –> 00:18:08,560 more than we love the one who gives the gifts. 251 00:18:08,560 –> 00:18:17,939 And at the heart of our sanctification, God’s work to make us more like Jesus is to wean 252 00:18:17,939 –> 00:18:25,140 us away from a vine-centered life so that rather than living a life that is centered 253 00:18:25,140 –> 00:18:30,800 on God’s good gifts in this world, you will live a God-centered life for His praise and 254 00:18:31,040 –> 00:18:36,920 for His eternal glory. That’s at the very heart of what sanctification is all about. 255 00:18:36,920 –> 00:18:49,500 Now, I want you to see the tragedy of a vine-centered life because I think that’s where Jonah got. 256 00:18:49,500 –> 00:18:54,640 He’s so happy about the gifts of God that when the gift of God is taken away, you see 257 00:18:54,939 –> 00:19:02,959 some very, very devastating reactions. Notice that in verse nine, if you live a vine-centered 258 00:19:02,959 –> 00:19:08,599 life, you will end up being angry about the vine. I like to think about this a little 259 00:19:08,599 –> 00:19:14,500 more. It’s not the wind or the worm that Jonah is angry about when the vine goes. He’s angry 260 00:19:14,500 –> 00:19:20,819 when the vine goes about the vine in verse nine. Think about that. Do you have any right 261 00:19:20,819 –> 00:19:26,500 to be angry about the vine God says, verse nine? Jonah says, I’m angry enough to die. 262 00:19:26,500 –> 00:19:35,699 It’s interesting that Jonah was already angry in verse four. What the vine did was it masked 263 00:19:35,699 –> 00:19:45,439 his anger. See, that’s what money, good friends, being in fellowship, relationships, blessings 264 00:19:45,439 –> 00:19:55,900 in this world, success, the esteem of others, it can mask for a time, the hidden anger of 265 00:19:55,900 –> 00:20:02,339 your own heart. And that’s what happened to Jonah. The happiness that he found in the 266 00:20:02,339 –> 00:20:07,439 vine, merely covered up what was going on in him at a deeper level underneath. Which 267 00:20:07,439 –> 00:20:12,479 is why when the vine was taken away, what was really going on in his life and in his 268 00:20:12,479 –> 00:20:19,680 life, was actually revealed and it was exposed. If you live a vine-centered life, you will 269 00:20:19,680 –> 00:20:29,119 end up an angry person, angry about the vine. And notice more than that, that if you live 270 00:20:29,119 –> 00:20:34,640 a vine-centered life, when the vine goes, you end up feeling you have no purpose in 271 00:20:34,640 –> 00:20:40,199 your life any more. Which is what Jonah finds here. He says, I’m angry enough to die. It 272 00:20:40,239 –> 00:20:50,239 would be better for me to die than to live. If you live a vine-centered life, find comfort 273 00:20:50,239 –> 00:20:55,439 and joy and blessing in God’s gifts in this world, to such an extent that they are your 274 00:20:55,439 –> 00:21:00,619 primary joy, what happens is, that when the vine is gone, you feel, I no longer have any 275 00:21:00,619 –> 00:21:09,160 reason to live. We experience this. This is reality. But if I don’t have this job, if 276 00:21:09,180 –> 00:21:13,939 I don’t have that role, if I don’t have this position, if this is taken from me, I don’t 277 00:21:13,939 –> 00:21:19,420 have a reason to live anymore. See, that is saying something about what you have been 278 00:21:19,420 –> 00:21:26,420 living for. Why did Jesus say, if you are going to come after me, you have to love me 279 00:21:26,839 –> 00:21:34,359 more than husband, wife, father, mother, or children? What is that about? He is saying, 280 00:21:35,000 –> 00:21:42,000 you daren’t live a vine-centered life. Because if you live a vine-centered life, you will 281 00:21:43,520 –> 00:21:49,540 find that it takes you to a place, where ultimately you end up an angry person, angry about the 282 00:21:49,540 –> 00:21:55,520 vine, and a person who no longer sees any reason to live, because actually you have 283 00:21:55,520 –> 00:22:02,520 been living for the wrong thing. The amazing thing is that when Jonah is saying, I no longer 284 00:22:02,819 –> 00:22:09,000 have a reason to live, better for me to die, he is speaking to the One who is the reason 285 00:22:09,000 –> 00:22:16,000 to live. Live a vine-centered life, and your reason for living will wither with the vine. 286 00:22:19,719 –> 00:22:26,719 Friends, the vine is a good gift from God, but the vine is not the reason to live. Your 287 00:22:27,140 –> 00:22:33,339 family, your friends, your business, your work, your money, they are good gifts from 288 00:22:33,339 –> 00:22:40,339 God, rejoice in them and give thanks, but they are not the reason to live. Thank God 289 00:22:41,760 –> 00:22:48,760 for the vine, but don’t live for the vine. For the reason to live lies not in the gifts, 290 00:22:49,219 –> 00:22:56,199 but in the giver. 291 00:22:59,020 –> 00:23:04,819 And the Bible has a word for a vine-centered life, where you take God’s wonderful gifts 292 00:23:04,819 –> 00:23:09,800 in this world and you put them in the place of God Himself. What is the Bible’s name 293 00:23:09,800 –> 00:23:16,359 for a vine-centered life? It is idolatry. It’s what it is. 294 00:23:16,359 –> 00:23:25,420 It is the first sin, and it is the hardest for us to overcome. Now, the worm and the 295 00:23:25,420 –> 00:23:34,760 wind are exposing where Jonah’s heart is centered. And God is doing this in Jonah’s 296 00:23:34,760 –> 00:23:41,420 sanctification, because God will not leave this man there. My friend, it is a disaster 297 00:23:41,579 –> 00:23:45,839 to live a vine-centered life. 298 00:23:45,839 –> 00:23:52,839 Now, let’s step back just one more time. I want you to see a fascinating contrast. Jonah 299 00:23:53,880 –> 00:24:00,880 was not the only one to experience the vine, the worm, and the wind. Let’s think of another 300 00:24:01,140 –> 00:24:06,219 person who went through the same pattern of experience, actually in a much more devastating 301 00:24:06,219 –> 00:24:13,219 way. That, of course, is Job in the Old Testament. Think about Job’s Vine. Read in chapter 1 302 00:24:15,719 –> 00:24:21,079 of his story. This man had one wife. He has seven sons, three daughters. He has seven 303 00:24:21,079 –> 00:24:24,560 thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yolk, a fox, and five hundred donkeys, 304 00:24:24,560 –> 00:24:29,699 a large number of servants. In other words, in our terms today, because wealth was measured 305 00:24:29,699 –> 00:24:35,839 in terms of animals and possession of that sort, but in our terms today, this is a massive, 306 00:24:36,500 –> 00:24:42,760 massive portfolio. This man is superbly wealthy. In fact, the Bible says he was the greatest 307 00:24:42,760 –> 00:24:49,760 man among all of the people of the East. That is some vine! Job’s life. 308 00:24:51,500 –> 00:24:57,640 But then, do you remember Job’s worm? One day, and it all happened in one day, there 309 00:24:57,640 –> 00:25:04,640 was this terrible loss. His financial security, represented in these animals, torn to shreds 310 00:25:05,920 –> 00:25:11,199 in a single day when raiders come and destroy the animals leaving them for dead meat out 311 00:25:11,199 –> 00:25:17,959 in the countryside. And then, a much worse tragedy happens on the same day. All of his 312 00:25:17,959 –> 00:25:22,640 children, the seven sons and three daughters are gathered together. They’re having a party 313 00:25:22,640 –> 00:25:28,180 in a house, and a wind comes in and hits the four corners of the house, the Bible says, 314 00:25:28,180 –> 00:25:31,319 and the house collapsed, and not one of them survived. 315 00:25:32,119 –> 00:25:46,339 Folks, that is some worm. Just every blessing in this man’s life is blasted away in a day. 316 00:25:46,339 –> 00:25:52,859 Then what about Job’s east wind? Well, as he tries to move forward from here, what does 317 00:25:52,859 –> 00:25:57,880 his wife say to him? Why don’t you curse God and die? The person you love most in the world 318 00:25:57,880 –> 00:26:06,839 says give up on God. Boy, that rubs salt into the wound. And then at that point, Job’s health 319 00:26:06,839 –> 00:26:15,520 breaks down. Chapter 2 tells us that his whole body is covered in sores. And then just to 320 00:26:15,520 –> 00:26:22,420 increase the affliction, his three friends arrive, and their trite religion aggravates 321 00:26:23,099 –> 00:26:31,079 the pain, the sorrow, and the loss that is already the grief and burden of this man’s 322 00:26:31,079 –> 00:26:40,040 life. Now, I want you to notice the contrast between the way Jonah responds to the vine 323 00:26:40,040 –> 00:26:47,640 worm wind experience and the way that Job responded to the vine worm wind experience. 324 00:26:47,780 –> 00:26:55,800 Jonah responds with anger. He says, I am angry enough to die, take away my vine, you take 325 00:26:55,800 –> 00:27:01,160 away this blessing in this life, I no longer have a reason to live. I’m angry. And I see 326 00:27:01,160 –> 00:27:08,900 no point in life. Job, in contrast, responds with worship. Chapter 327 00:27:08,900 –> 00:27:17,579 1, verse 21, he falls to the ground in worship and he said, the Lord gave, and the Lord gives 328 00:27:17,819 –> 00:27:26,280 and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. 329 00:27:26,839 –> 00:27:33,400 You see, both men go through the same pattern of experience and it takes one man into anger 330 00:27:33,400 –> 00:27:40,400 and it takes another man into worship. Last time we were saying that God’s grace will 331 00:27:40,979 –> 00:27:46,900 move people either to anger or worship, remember? Now we’re saying that God’s gifts tend 332 00:27:46,979 –> 00:27:53,979 to move people also either towards anger or towards worship. By the way wouldn’t that 333 00:27:55,660 –> 00:28:02,660 be some text to write over any investment in this strange time in the economy? The Lord 334 00:28:02,900 –> 00:28:09,900 gave. The Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. 335 00:28:09,979 –> 00:28:14,739 Blessed be the name of the Lord. You see all of us are facing an all kinds of circumstances 336 00:28:14,739 –> 00:28:20,420 of life. The question as to whether the worm and the wind will lead us to anger or whether 337 00:28:20,420 –> 00:28:27,420 it will lead us to worship. And what the wind and the worm are doing is exposing whether 338 00:28:28,140 –> 00:28:33,760 we really are folks who love God or whether we are really folks who love the plant. The 339 00:28:33,760 –> 00:28:40,880 line. It’s interesting to think of it this way. Right now every person is moving in one 340 00:28:40,880 –> 00:28:45,800 of two directions. Either we are growing to love God more or we are coming to resent God 341 00:28:45,800 –> 00:28:52,800 more. None of us are standing still. The Bible makes it very plain that at the end of human 342 00:28:53,479 –> 00:28:57,699 history when the Lord Jesus Christ winds up human history as we know it, there will be 343 00:28:57,699 –> 00:29:02,959 two groups of people. One who love God forever and the other who hate God forever. And every 344 00:29:03,939 –> 00:29:10,739 person is moving along one of two lines. Either we are moving towards perpetual joy in God 345 00:29:10,739 –> 00:29:17,739 or we are moving towards perpetual resentment in God. We are every day moving nearer to 346 00:29:18,339 –> 00:29:27,339 either heaven or to hell. It is the reality of our lives. Now you say, you put it like 347 00:29:27,560 –> 00:29:34,560 that? That gives me a big question. I think many of us would be saying today, I am more 348 00:29:35,239 –> 00:29:42,239 like Jonah than I am like Job. Feel that? You will want to ask, as I have been asking 349 00:29:43,219 –> 00:29:50,219 this question, how can I love God more than I love His gifts? How can I overcome the idolatry 350 00:29:51,060 –> 00:29:58,060 that hides within my own heart? How can I become a person who finds my reason to live 351 00:29:58,099 –> 00:30:05,099 in God more than I find my reason to live in His wonderful good gifts in this life? 352 00:30:05,239 –> 00:30:12,239 How can I overcome hidden resentment that may lurk within my own heart towards God? 353 00:30:12,739 –> 00:30:18,819 You ask the question, How can you come to love God more? The New Testament answers 354 00:30:18,920 –> 00:30:35,119 that very plainly. 1 John 4, verse 19, We love Him because He first loved Us. And therefore 355 00:30:35,199 –> 00:30:45,380 the more I come to grasp His love for me, the more I will grow in my love for Him. The 356 00:30:45,420 –> 00:30:51,560 way to love Christ more is to grow in the knowledge of Christ’s love for Us. That is 357 00:30:51,560 –> 00:30:56,680 why in all of our worship, and in all of our preaching, and in all of the life of the church, 358 00:30:56,680 –> 00:31:02,160 we want to keep circling back to the center of gravity which is in the cross of the Lord 359 00:31:02,160 –> 00:31:09,160 Jesus Christ, where His love for us is displayed, proved, demonstrated, placarded, poured out 360 00:31:09,719 –> 00:31:16,719 so that it may be experienced in your heart. Have you ever thought about the vine worm 361 00:31:21,280 –> 00:31:28,280 wind experience of Jesus? What was his vine? What brought him comfort and joy and blessing 362 00:31:29,140 –> 00:31:36,140 in this world? Mark tells us in chapter 4, he called 12 men to be with him. Friends, 363 00:31:37,640 –> 00:31:44,640 comfort, companionship, conversation. He trains them and then he sends them out on a mission 364 00:31:47,160 –> 00:31:52,760 and the spirit of God works powerfully through these men and it brings Jesus great joy to 365 00:31:52,760 –> 00:31:57,760 see the blessing of God coming through their ministry. He says, in Luke chapter 10, I saw 366 00:31:58,319 –> 00:32:05,319 Satan fall like lightning and he’s seeing the advance of ministry through the friends 367 00:32:05,819 –> 00:32:12,819 He has chosen and He finds joy in it at some vine. 368 00:32:14,579 –> 00:32:20,239 And then the worm comes. The disciples who had brought Him comfort, joy and blessing 369 00:32:20,239 –> 00:32:25,780 all forsook Him and fled. You remember in the garden of Gethsemane. Judas comes and 370 00:32:25,880 –> 00:32:32,020 betrays Him with a kiss. Peter later denies him with a curse. And Jesus is plunged into 371 00:32:32,020 –> 00:32:37,020 sorrow and loss. 372 00:32:37,020 –> 00:32:44,020 And that was when the east wind blew. That was when He was scourged and mocked and crowned 373 00:32:44,900 –> 00:32:50,979 with thorns and nailed to a cross and plunged into total darkness. And there in agony of 374 00:32:51,300 –> 00:32:58,300 body, soul, and spirit, He cried out, My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me? And why 375 00:33:01,400 –> 00:33:08,400 was this? He bore our sins, your sins, my sins, in His body on the tree. The Son of 376 00:33:09,339 –> 00:33:16,339 God loved you, and gave Himself for you. I think of it this way, He endured the worm 377 00:33:29,359 –> 00:33:36,359 that never dies, and entered the heat of the fire that is never quenched, and raised His 378 00:33:39,099 –> 00:33:46,099 Kingdom, so that you by His redeeming love might spend your eternity under God’s vine 379 00:33:47,439 –> 00:33:51,959 of blessing forever and forever.” 380 00:33:51,959 –> 00:33:58,959 Now, I need to take that love of Christ into my life and into the core of my being every 381 00:34:01,520 –> 00:34:08,060 single day. That’s why we say preach the gospel to yourself. Tell yourself the love of Christ. 382 00:34:08,060 –> 00:34:12,120 Its accorded in the cross because there’s the vine, the worm, and the east wind going 383 00:34:12,120 –> 00:34:16,820 on in your life as there are in mine. 384 00:34:16,820 –> 00:34:23,820 But when you see the love of Jesus Christ in which the Redeemer embraces you, in which 385 00:34:24,939 –> 00:34:31,800 He holds you in all the mixed experience of this world, you will find that you move away 386 00:34:32,020 –> 00:34:36,000 from anger and you discover more of worship. 387 00:34:36,000 –> 00:34:43,000 Oh, Job worship, his worm and wind experience, it was his finest hour. 388 00:34:43,780 –> 00:34:50,780 He worshipped through tears. This was not a shallow or an easy thing, but in his tears 389 00:34:52,800 –> 00:34:59,800 the worm and the wind became for him the finest moment of his entire life and his testimony 390 00:35:00,000 –> 00:35:06,639 redounds to the praise and glory of God in heaven and hell and on earth even still. He 391 00:35:06,639 –> 00:35:10,800 worshiped in his pain an his loss. 392 00:35:10,800 –> 00:35:17,800 Are you seeing God’s love for you in Jesus? King David, who lived before the time of Jesus, 393 00:35:20,580 –> 00:35:27,260 he saw it and he knew it in his own soul so clearly that he said, Your love is better 394 00:35:27,459 –> 00:35:34,459 than life. See what he’s saying? Lord, your love in Jesus Christ to me, it’s better than 395 00:35:36,520 –> 00:35:41,040 the vine. It’s better than any blessing in this life, it’s better than any gift that 396 00:35:41,040 –> 00:35:48,040 you have given to me. Your love is better than life. God’s gifts to him were amazing 397 00:35:48,719 –> 00:35:55,719 but he said your love is better than any gift in this life that’s given or taken away and 398 00:35:55,760 –> 00:36:02,760 Job saw that too. The good news is that Jonah got there eventually. The whole point of the 399 00:36:03,199 –> 00:36:08,899 book surely is that God did not abandon Jonah in his anger and in his frustration, in fact 400 00:36:08,899 –> 00:36:14,340 we’re going to continue with this God willing week seeing how God moved him from the position 401 00:36:14,340 –> 00:36:20,280 he was even in verse 9 and moved him forward how? By the knowledge of his love. That’s 402 00:36:20,280 –> 00:36:26,840 why we’re ending there today. And God will not abandon you in your anger, your frustration, 403 00:36:26,840 –> 00:36:31,719 your resentment, you draw near to the Lord Jesus Christ who loved you and gave himself 404 00:36:31,719 –> 00:36:38,719 for you and ask him to warm your heart and change your heart, he will not abandon you 405 00:36:39,439 –> 00:36:46,439 in your experience of the worm or the wind. I want to suggest just in these last moments 406 00:36:46,939 –> 00:36:53,939 three very simple prayers for all of us who feel that we want to be less like Jonah and 407 00:36:55,399 –> 00:37:01,080 more like Jesus. They’re very simple and they’re very obvious. Lord, I want to be less like 408 00:37:01,080 –> 00:37:05,820 Jonah. I want to be more like Jesus. I don’t want to be an idolater. I don’t want to live 409 00:37:05,820 –> 00:37:11,159 a vine-centered life. I want to prize you the giver more than anyone of your gifts to 410 00:37:11,159 –> 00:37:19,899 me. Here’s three simple prayers. Lord, help me to receive your gifts gratefully. Now one 411 00:37:19,899 –> 00:37:25,399 of the things the vine teaches us is just this. Whatever blessing God has poured into 412 00:37:25,399 –> 00:37:29,500 your life, receive it with gratitude. Count your blessings. Name them one by one. It will 413 00:37:29,500 –> 00:37:35,560 surprise you what the Lord has done. Whatever gift brings you joy, and comfort, and blessing, 414 00:37:36,560 –> 00:37:44,300 of thanksgiving and praise. Lord, help me receive your gifts thankfully. I need to cultivate 415 00:37:44,300 –> 00:37:50,939 gratitude. And then here’s the second prayer. Lord, help me to hold your gifts lightly. 416 00:37:50,939 –> 00:37:56,520 Help me not to make idols of any gift that you give. Help me to remember that your gifts 417 00:37:56,520 –> 00:38:03,899 are gifts. They’re not rights. Because as soon as you start confusing gifts with rights, 418 00:38:03,939 –> 00:38:11,560 you move into anger and you lose a God-centered life. The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. 419 00:38:11,560 –> 00:38:21,600 Nothing in my life lasts forever. In this world, save the Christ who holds me, keeps 420 00:38:21,600 –> 00:38:29,580 me. And then here’s the third prayer. Lord, help me to love you more than I love your 421 00:38:29,699 –> 00:38:37,780 gifts. Help me to love you more. Help me to grasp more of your amazing love for me, so 422 00:38:37,780 –> 00:38:42,060 that I will not be the kind of person who lives a vine-centered life with all the anger 423 00:38:42,060 –> 00:38:48,459 and frustration and futility that lies down that road. But one who lives a life that is 424 00:38:48,459 –> 00:38:57,179 centered in my love for the giver, which is supreme even above my gratitude for the gift. 425 00:38:57,320 –> 00:39:03,159 I think I’ve told you this story before, but just in this last moment to wind it up, it’s 426 00:39:03,159 –> 00:39:09,199 been so powerful for me especially because I love the privileges that I have in serving 427 00:39:09,199 –> 00:39:16,739 the Lord as a pastor. I just love it. Such a gift, it’s a vine. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, 428 00:39:16,739 –> 00:39:23,939 perhaps one of the two best-known Christian leaders in Britain in the last century, along 429 00:39:23,979 –> 00:39:29,320 with John Stott I guess, a marvelous life. Traveled all the world, preached all over 430 00:39:29,320 –> 00:39:34,360 the place, was given great blessing on his ministry. Was there ever someone certainly 431 00:39:34,360 –> 00:39:41,360 in Britain whose ministry was so singularly blessed and life so privileged and saw so 432 00:39:41,860 –> 00:39:47,300 many things happen that were so dear to his own heart, and at the end of his life he is 433 00:39:48,179 –> 00:39:52,300 and got swimming, and he was confined to his bedroom couldn’t get out of his bedroom, 434 00:39:52,300 –> 00:39:58,340 and that was it. And one of his friends came to see him and 435 00:39:58,340 –> 00:40:05,340 asked him this question. Said, Doctor, how is it with you now? You’ve had the joy of 436 00:40:06,719 –> 00:40:12,300 being in platforms all over the world, speaking to thousands and thousands of people, you’ve 437 00:40:12,399 –> 00:40:15,879 had all this joy of ministry in every way in which God has blessed you and here you 438 00:40:15,879 –> 00:40:22,879 are, you can’t get out of your own bedroom. How is it with you now, Doctor? 439 00:40:25,020 –> 00:40:29,040 You know what Lloyd Jones said? He quoted some words of Jesus. He said, 440 00:40:29,040 –> 00:40:36,040 Do not rejoice that the spirits are subject to you but rejoice that your names are written 441 00:40:37,040 –> 00:40:44,060 in the Book of Life. It goes right through me every time I think of it. Don’t find your 442 00:40:44,080 –> 00:40:51,080 joy in your ministry because that too will pass away. Don’t find your primary joy in 443 00:40:54,080 –> 00:40:58,860 anything that God gives you, any good thing that God gives you in this life. You find 444 00:40:58,860 –> 00:41:04,479 your primary joy here that you belong to Jesus Christ and he will never let you go and that 445 00:41:04,540 –> 00:41:09,899 your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And if you should find yourself confined 446 00:41:09,899 –> 00:41:16,899 to one bedroom awaiting transportation into eternity you will know that while the vine 447 00:41:17,959 –> 00:41:27,459 passes away God’s love never passes away. Father deliver us from vine centered lives, 448 00:41:27,899 –> 00:41:35,939 Father deliver us from vine centered lives, deliver us from the idolatry that 449 00:41:35,939 –> 00:41:44,399 lurks in our hearts that loves the gifts more than you the Giver. Show us more 450 00:41:44,399 –> 00:41:49,040 deeply and daily your amazing love for us that we may come to have higher and 451 00:41:49,040 –> 00:41:57,360 greater joy in you and to rejoice not that the spirits are subject to us but 452 00:41:57,540 –> 00:42:03,679 rather that our names are written in the book of life and receive our thanks 453 00:42:03,679 –> 00:42:13,679 today that at an unfathomable cost you endured the worm and the east wind on 454 00:42:14,560 –> 00:42:27,939 the cross that we may enter an eternity of unmixed joy under your vine in the 455 00:42:27,939 –> 00:42:32,879 new creation into which our sovereign redeemer will bring every one of his 456 00:42:32,879 –> 00:42:39,479 children from this day until that let us be those who are growing and all that 457 00:42:39,479 –> 00:42:45,060 it means to live for you and to worship you in every circumstance of life for 458 00:42:45,060 –> 00:42:51,560 these things we asked in Jesus name and God’s people together said