On the Edge | Part 4 - Finding Purpose in The Pain of Running from God | Pastor Adam Bishop

It could be your marriage. Could be parenting. Your career. There's all these different things that if we're not careful, we're actually keeping things from God. And once we start down that road, eventually, we will find ourselves in a place where we are in fact running from God, going in the exact opposite direction that he called us to. So we're gonna take a look at a guy today. It's actually what he's known for. Can you imagine that? For all of human history, you were known for being the person who ran from God. K? And that's Jonah. [00:19:54] (27 seconds)

Don't you love it like when we get mad at God for being kind to other people and forget how kind he's been to us. K? It should encourage you if you do that. You've done that. Don't act like you haven't done that. You've done that this week about your neighbor. You've done that. Okay? You've done that. Jonah did it. He's in the bible. So we're good. You're in good company. Okay? [00:23:48] (20 seconds)  #HandGodThePen

See, Jonah's not recording the book of Jonah, this narrative account in real time. He he's reflecting later in life and he's telling us the story of what happened. And when Jonah got into the well, that was actually the first time he had an opportunity to reflect about what had just happened. How he had been thrown into the sea, how God had rescued him, how he had cried out to God. And for Jonah, the the power of the well was the time to reflect upon what had happened while he was in the water. He doesn't tell us anything about what being inside a well looked like. He doesn't describe what it smelled like, which seems like he would have gone out of his way to tell us, which is why some people don't believe this account. [00:24:30] (42 seconds)

but that's not what's happening in this account. There's nowhere in the story of Jonah that he makes a tangible idol to bow down and worship. Jonah is speaking about an idol that's caused him to turn away from God's love. And and what I would like to suggest to you today is that Jonah's idol had actually become his own comfort, his own safety, his own expectations of God. And when God told him to do something that did not sync up with that, he went in the opposite direction. And what I want us to see today, church, is that we're just like Jonah. Yeah. Come on. [00:27:47] (38 seconds)  #HiddenHeartIdols

We don't build tangible idols, but we all have idols in our heart. So that's kinda harsh, pastor. I mean, I I mean, I know I'm not perfect, but to say I have an idol in my life. An idol is anytime you take a good thing and you turn it into a God thing. An idol is anytime you take something and you seat it on the throne of your life. The only person who should be seated there is Jesus. [00:28:25] (24 seconds)  #RevealMyIdol

Oftentimes, there's an idle driving this. And it's always easier to just address the behavior. It's always easier to just talk about what needs to change. Stop being so angry. Anybody ever told you that before? Quit losing your temper. It's like, well, okay. I appreciate you pointing out the problem, but, like, that's not really helping me change. But we always try to modify the behavior instead of actually looking at what's causing the behavior. And I'm suggesting it might be an idol. We do this with our kids. We do this with our kids. So if your kids are anything like mine, they disobey you. Okay? Yes. The pastor's kids disobey him. Okay? They disobey me. And one of the traps I've fallen into as a parent is that it's easier to try to modify their behaviors than do some heart diagnosis and figure out what's driving their behaviors. [00:30:22] (47 seconds)  #TrustScripture

Now the good thing for us is we have God's word in God's word. And one of the reasons we read God's word is so that God will actually expose the idols in our heart through his word. And church, we have so much more information about God than Jonah did. I mean, first of all, we know about Jesus. Jonah didn't know about Jesus. We know that that Jesus lived the perfect life and then he defeated death through the resurrection. Those of us who are Christ followers, we have the holy spirit permanently in us. We have two thousand years of church history. We have an entire bible. Jonah didn't have any of those things. But when we read God's word, one of the things that God will do through his word is expose idols in our heart. See, we don't read the bible just so that we can learn more information. We read it so we can experience transformation. [00:32:41] (49 seconds)  #ReadForTransformation

So I didn't say this. There's lots of smart people who have said this. But it's true. The bible's the only book that as we read it, it reads us. Yeah. So when I read the bible, I I don't don't sense that that's happening. Well, you're not doing anything wrong, but can I can I challenge you that this week when you sit down to read God's word, before you open his word, just pray that prayer? Hey, God, as I read your word today, will you search my heart? Will you expose any idol in my heart? Is there anything in my life that's seated on the throne that only you are supposed to be seated on? And will you be gracious to show me that idol? And see the most kind and gracious thing God could do is show you the idol in your heart. [00:33:32] (48 seconds)  #ScriptureReadsYou

Show me the idol in my heart. Because in doing so, he begins to show us what's actually driving our behaviors. But make no mistake about it, when he does that, it's not always going to be comfortable. It's not always going to be fun, but it is always going to be for his glory and our good. Let me give you the third thing from Jonah. Just like Jonah, we make idols out of comfort, safety, and expectations. Now this is a point I didn't wanna teach. [00:34:20] (29 seconds)  #WellOfReflection

Show me the idol in my heart. Because in doing so, he begins to show us what's actually driving our behaviors. But make no mistake about it, when he does that, it's not always going to be comfortable. It's not always going to be fun, but it is always going to be for his glory and our good. Let me give you the third thing from Jonah. Just like Jonah, we make idols out of comfort, safety, and expectations. Now this is a point I didn't wanna teach. [00:34:20] (29 seconds)

I've heard people lie in churches for years. I don't think they were trying to lie, but they were lying in churches. And here's what I mean. I've heard this lie preached from pulpits telling people that the safest place you can be is the center of God's will. That's a lie. Because if the safest place you can be is the center of God's will, there's a problem with about 75% of the bible. Because as I read God's word, when people take steps of obedience and place themselves in the center of God's will, oftentimes, it puts them in a place where they're less safe. Right. [00:35:39] (32 seconds)  #FaithOverComfort

Try telling the disciples who are martyred for their faith after Jesus ascended into heaven that the safest place to be is the center of God's will. That's right. Try telling our brothers and sisters who live in other parts of the world where they're persecuted for their faith that the safest place to be is the center of God's will. Church, I'm here to tell you that oftentimes when you put yourself in the center of God's will, it will make your life less comfortable, and it'll actually place you in areas where you're not safe at all. See, God is good and his will is good, but do not equate God's goodness with safety and comfort for your life. [00:36:11] (34 seconds)  #MeanItWhenYouSayIt

Try telling the disciples who are martyred for their faith after Jesus ascended into heaven that the safest place to be is the center of God's will. That's right. Try telling our brothers and sisters who live in other parts of the world where they're persecuted for their faith that the safest place to be is the center of God's will. Church, I'm here to tell you that oftentimes when you put yourself in the center of God's will, it will make your life less comfortable, and it'll actually place you in areas where you're not safe at all. See, God is good and his will is good, but do not equate God's goodness with safety and comfort for your life. [00:36:11] (34 seconds)

Parents, don't make the safety of your children an idol. I've seen it before. Teenager or college student walking with Jesus feels called to something, tells their parents, I feel like God's calling me to go into a place to go into a place where the gospel message isn't being preached. Maybe it's another city, maybe it's another nation. And I feel like God's calling me to be someone that he wants to use, and the parents shut all that down. No. No. No. No. No. God wouldn't call you to do that. That's not safe at all. Do you know why the parents are saying that? Because they're good parents. [00:37:24] (36 seconds)  #DontIdolizeSafety

But see parents, our kids don't belong to us. They belong to God. Parenting is a stewardship. What if God calls your kid into something that's not safe? Are you going to join your kid in praying? That they have the faith to be obedient to what God calls them to no matter the cost? [00:38:00] (21 seconds)  #GodsWillIsCostly

And oftentimes, what's keeping us from fully stepping into what God's calling us to do is we're just like Jonah. Wait a second. That call feels a lot more like Nineveh. You're calling me to something that's not safe. It's uncomfortable. That doesn't match the expectations, God, of of what you're supposed to do. I mean, we go before God with our list and say, God bless this. God says, why don't you get rid of your list and hand me the pen? Come on. Give me the sheet of paper. Quit bringing your expectations to me and let me do with you what I wanna do with you. And if you'll roll with this, it's going to be good. But it might actually make you feel a little uncomfortable. [00:38:52] (39 seconds)  #RepentBeforeCrisis

just like Jonah, we get to determine how severe it gets before we respond in obedience. For Jonah, he did not respond in obedience until there was seaweed wrapped around his head. That is severe. He was drowning. He was fighting for his life. But what I want you to see is it didn't have to be that way. Yeah. And for about the next five minutes, which y'all know if a preacher says the next five minutes, it means 10. We're all on the same page there. Okay? For the next five to ten minutes, I do think for some of you this is a it's a providential appointment. God wants to show you something, that you get to determine how severe it gets [00:39:42] (46 seconds)

He went up to a ticket counter and there was a poster over here and it was tickets for Nineveh. And there was a poster over here and it was tickets for Tarshish. And it was very obvious. I mean, there were two lines. And he knew which line he was supposed to get in, but he didn't get in that line. He got in the line to go to Tarshish. And so he purchased his ticket and now he is walking down a dock to get on a boat he's not supposed to be on. And in my mind, as Jonah's walking down that dock and he's holding this ticket that's supposed to say Nineveh, but in fact it says, Tarshish, what if in a moment he had come to his senses? What if he had said, what am I doing? Like, I'm looking at a ticket and it has the wrong destination. I am intentionally running from God. I am deliberately disobeying God. What if in that moment he had come clean? What would have happened? God would have forgiven him. God would have forgiven him. What would the severity of the consequence have been? A ticket he couldn't use. [00:41:24] (59 seconds)  #ChooseObedienceEarly

I am on the wrong boat. I can see the other boat. It hasn't left yet. The one that's going to Nineveh. I'm supposed to be on that boat. What if in that moment, he had recognized, I'm not doing what God called me to do and he'd yelled out, stop the boat. What would have happened? Well, God would have forgiven him. What would the severity of his consequence have been? A lot of embarrassment. I mean, no one wants to be the guy who stops a boat, makes it pull back in the harbor, like you get off, everybody's talking about you on social media, like, yeah, you're not gonna believe this guy, like, we're leaving. So like, it would have been really embarrassing. Not a fun day for Jonah, but it's better than having seaweed wrapped around your head. [00:43:34] (41 seconds)  #MiraculousRescue

``It wasn't until Jonah was thrown into the depths of the sea drowning with seaweed wrapped around his head that he was finally willing to own what he had done. And in that moment, he was then experiencing the severity of his consequence. Listen to me. For some of you, you're just like Jonah. It takes having seaweed wrapped around your head before you will finally own your sin, own your disobedience. I mean, not till the marriage is com has completely fallen apart and there is literally no hope for repair, that you're finally now willing to own what you contributed to it. And say, okay, God, I come clean. And listen, if that's where you're at, that's your only move, is to come clean. And let me tell you what God does. He responds in kindness and forgives you, But you've got a whole lot of consequences you have to deal with. And it didn't have to be that way. [00:44:16] (57 seconds)  #OwnYourSin