The Ministry Within: The God Who Meets Us In The Deep | Pastor Ken Wise

``If you think you know the story, you might be surprised that the book of Jonah is not just about the big fish or as the whale, as some of you like to say. It's a lot more to it than that. The heart of the story is very different than what most of us really think because Jonah is a man running from God. Have you ever tried running from God? But see, it's not what you think. He's not running from the wrath of God. He's running from God's mercy. [00:01:01] (42 seconds)  #RunningFromMercy

So we start off in verse 1. It says, now the word of God came to Jonah. See, this gives us the very foundation of what we're going to be dealing with. This tells us that the story is all about God's word. And to know it, you have to read it. And I hear from people all the time that say, you know, I try to get into the word of God and I just don't have time or I lose pace or I lose track. In fact, how much time have you spent scrolling on your phone? [00:09:48] (29 seconds)  #MakeTimeForScripture

Instead of scrolling through people's stuff and people's mess. Oh, yeah. And instead of being in that show hole on that favorite streaming service, you can have the word of God read to you. So we can't use that as an excuse. Now, I'm going to ask you, when's the last time, before today, when's the last time you read the word of God? Don't even answer. Because y'all might have to deal with that in your small group. [00:10:30] (38 seconds)  #SwapScrollForScripture

So we're going to deal with the word of God. Because it's going to give us truth and direction for our life. But not just only direction, but it's also going to give us correction and show us how to live. It's going to get us off the wrong path and on to the right path. And that's what we want. Because God's word reveals his character and his nature. You can't know who he is if you're not reading his word. [00:11:11] (27 seconds)  #LetScriptureShapeYou

So when we begin to understand this, you'll realize you can't fit God into a neat little box, even when you don't agree with his word. You know, you never want to change it and make it say what you want it to say. And when we realize this, you realize when you get into God's word, you know what God's promises are. [00:11:38] (24 seconds)  #DontEditGodsWord

If you don't get into his word, you don't know what to do when you're lonely. You don't know what to do when it says the brokenhearted. If you're brokenhearted, you don't know what to do. You don't even know how to ask God to get you through a storm. But guess what? It's all in his word. But you don't know that if you're not reading it. And that's why a lot of us deal with things that we don't have to deal with. And we struggle with things that we don't have to struggle with. Because we don't know God's word. [00:12:08] (38 seconds)  #ReadTheWordDaily

Now, mind you, Jonah was a believer. He was a prophet of Israel. He was first mentioned in 2 Kings chapter 14 as a prophet to King Jeroboam II who did evil in the sight of the Lord. He was a prophet of God sent to this wicked king to tell him what God had said at that time. So he's been in this position before. So we have to understand that every believer, if you're a believer in here today, that we all have an assignment. And that's the ministry within. That's the ministry within. But guess what? You don't get to pick the assignment. The assignment picks you. [00:15:56] (53 seconds)  #AssignmentFindsYou

The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead is the same Spirit that lives in you. And just as God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, he will give you life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living within you. So that means as long as we are yielding and obeying the Spirit within us, there should be a certain direction we should be walking, a certain life that we should be living. [00:18:36] (30 seconds)  #YieldToTheSpirit

He didn't want to do what God had told him to do. And not only did he arise to flee, but he arose to flee to Tarshish, which is really the opposite of obeying what God told him to do. See, as believers, we're all called to follow the Most High God. When we signed up to say, Jesus, be my Lord and my Savior, be my leader, be my provider, be my protection, be my strength, we signed up to follow the Most High God. [00:19:20] (34 seconds)  #SignUpToFollowGod

But see, Jonah flees to Tarshish, which is as far west as you can go from Nineveh. I mean, if you look at the Mediterranean, it's really what modern-day Spain is. But to them, that was towards the end of the earth because Jonah wasn't just fleeing from the presence of God. He was also fleeing from God's mercy because Jonah knew something. You ask, why would he want to run from God? Jonah knew that God was a gracious and compassionate God. And he did not want to see God's forgiveness be placed on the Assyrians. So he runs the other way. But like I asked you in the beginning, can you really escape God? [00:19:55] (67 seconds)  #YouCantEscapeGod

My first anchor point is this. It's really God's call versus our plans. And we got to deal with it. See, Jonah's first response to God was not rebellion of belief. Oh, it's not because he didn't believe God. It was a rebellion of obedience. See, too often we approach our relationship with God casually when he longs to be our highest priority. Getting to know Jesus should be pursued with an intentional urgency. [00:22:21] (41 seconds)  #ObeyWithUrgency

God's call often exposes the places we don't want him to touch. That's why he's calling you. And see, disobedience, although we might think it is, disobedience is not, I'm just being neutral. Disobedience is a direction. You're heading somewhere when you're being disobedient. And see, we often run from God's calling when it conflicts with our comfort zones. So what's the application? [00:23:55] (32 seconds)  #CallBreaksComfortZones

See, God sent the storm not to destroy Jonah, but to restore him. He had to get his attention. See, the storm was not meant for punishment. It was really meant for intervention. Running from God always leads down. We see that as we read the story that Jonah goes down to Joppa, the Bible says. He went down into the ship, and he went down into sleep. The Bible was very clear by pointing out how many times he went down. But we have to remember God's discipline is always an act of love. Always an act of love. [00:33:01] (44 seconds)  #StormsRestore

And Jonah's resistance to God was the real problem. But if you look at the sailors' response, in verse 15, it says that they feared the Lord exceedingly. And they began to sacrifice to God and made promises to serve him. They have had an entire heart change. Notice that the vows that the sailors took came after it was believed that they were delivered. And based on this, many commentators believe that the sailors came to know true faith in the living God. [00:37:35] (51 seconds)  #SailorsFoundFaith

See, now this is where people have a problem with the book of Jonah. They say, there's no way somebody could live in a fish for three days and three nights. Well, we're talking about the God who created the heavens and the earth. We're talking about the God that created a fish from nothing and into something. We're talking about the God who breathed life into dirt and created man. So you say, well, this must be some kind of miracle. And I say, I agree with you. It is a miracle. [00:38:46] (41 seconds)  #GodMakesTheImpossible

This next anchor point says, when Jonah trades rebellion for surrender, everything changes. Everything changes. But he had to surrender. He had to surrender. See, Jonah's disobedience actually affected innocent people. The sailors that were around him, they were affected by his disobedience. But even in rebellion, God pursues us. But sometimes his pursuit involves both consequences and his mercy. See, Jonah had to be thrown overboard, which means he had to face the consequences of his running. But once he surrendered, the sea became still. And then God appointed this great fish. And it's something we need to understand about when God's mercy comes upon us. Sometimes the rescue comes from an unexpected source. [00:40:24] (77 seconds)  #FromRebellionToSurrender

What's the application? What overboard moment, and what I mean by that is what surrender moment, is God calling you to embrace so he can calm the storm in your life? Oh, y'all got to deal with these questions. Don't just write them down and sit on them. Because see, our decisions, if you look at Jonah's, our decisions impact not only us, but can also impact those around us. [00:42:17] (36 seconds)  #SurrenderCalmsTheStorm

Because he's always there with his arms open wide and saying, come back to me. Come back to me. That's why you got to read his word. Because the word says something about drawing closer to God. It tells you how to draw closer to God. But if you don't know it, you don't know that if you draw closer to God, it says that he draw closer to you. But if you don't know what the word says, you don't know that. [00:43:06] (26 seconds)  #DrawNearToGod

Jonah discovers that you're never too deep for God's mercy. No matter how far you think you've fallen, God can still reach you. Even if you've got to prepare something to scoop you up, he can still reach you. See, God saves us even when we created the mess. Jonah prays from inside the fish and the grace of God meets him in the belly of his consequences and drives Jonah to an authentic prayer. See, his prayer got real. [00:47:05] (42 seconds)  #GraceInTheMess

Our lowest moments often become God's launching pad for a comeback story. The question is, where in your life do you feel most distant from God? And how might he want to use you? Say me. Put me in that place. How does he want to use you in that exact place for your restoration? How does he want to use me? How does he want to use you? [00:49:52] (41 seconds)  #LaunchFromLow