Lessons From Jonah

I was honored to preach this sermon at Living Hope Community Church on June 25, 2023.

The Book of Jonah is located toward the back of the Old Testament, between Obadiah and Micah. That’s a part of the Bible called the Minor Prophets. Jonah is one of these minor prophets. He didn’t really want to be a prophet. But God still used him.

Most Christians are at least somewhat familiar with the story of Jonah. You may even recall the main moral of the story – something about running away from God? But there are actually multiple lessons we can learn from this story that are relevant to us today. It’s a lot more than a Veggie Tales episode.

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.”

Jonah 1:1-2

God is a God of love, mercy, and forgiveness. But he’s also a God of justice, so he hates injustice. He’s a God of peace, so he hates violence. He’s a God of holiness, so he hates evil.

There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.

Proverbs 6:16-19

Because he’s a God of love, and because he’s a God of justice, he rescues the oppressed and he brings wrath against the wicked. 

When God revealed himself to Moses, this is what God said about himself:

“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

Exodus 34:6-7

God is balanced. He runs to show mercy and love. But there comes a point where wickedness is so egregious, that God must, in his justice, bring judgement upon the wicked – whether that be an individual, or a nation.

God judges nations. Genesis 18:25 calls him “the judge of all the earth.” In the Old Testament, God brought judgement upon Babel, Sodom and Gomorrah, Egypt, Canaan, Edom, Israel, Judah, and Babylon, to name a few.

But God isn’t spiteful or vindictive. Destroying nations isn’t the goal. God wants to forgive. He wants nations to repent of their wickedness, and re-establish justice and peace in the land.

So, usually, God won’t destroy a nation without warning. He provides warning first, and he usually does this through prophets. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God send prophets to speak against wicked nations.

That’s exactly what God is doing here with Jonah. He’s sending the prophet Jonah to speak against Nineveh.

Ninevah is located in modern day Iraq. At the time, it was a great city of the Assyrian Empire.

At the top of this blog post is an artist’s rendering of what Ninevah may have looked like. It was a rapidly growing city, growing in both population and prestige. It would later become the capital of the Assyrian Empire, adorned with this ornate palace and massive stone gates.

At the time, it was a city of 120,000 people. That may not sound like many by today’s standards, but in the ancient world, that was absolutely massive. It meant that Ninevah was one of the largest cities in the world.

God is saying to Jonah: God and speak against this great city!

But Jonah doesn’t want to go.

But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

Jonah 1:3

If you’re wondering where Tarshish is, you’re not alone. Few Israelites would know where it is, as it is far – very far – from Israel.

From his starting point in Joppa, Jonah needed to travel 550 miles northeast to go to Nineveh.

Instead, he set out to travel 2,550 miles to the west.

He set sail for Tarshish, in modern day Spain.

Now, Jonah didn’t know about North and South America, so from his perspective, Spain is literally the end of the world. After that, it’s just ocean. 

God called him to go to Ninevah. He went as far he could possibly go, in the opposite direction!

At Living Hope Community Church, we recently just finished a series on outreach, witnessing, sharing the gospel. Perhaps, as we went through that series together, you felt inspired to share your faith with a friend, a coworker, or a stranger.

Has God ever inspired you to speak to someone?

I call this a “go to Ninevah” moment.

As some of you know, I am aspiring to learn Chinese as a second language. So, I went to a language learning meetup group here in Albany. I met a Chinese American guy who is fluent in English, Chinese, and Spanish. He’s a really cool guy, and right off the bat we had a great conversation about Chinese. So, we actually got together to hang out a few times, and he helped me a lot with my Chinese by teaching me idioms and things that they don’t teach you in class, that help you sound really authentic.

We became Facebook friends, and, as some of you know, on Facebook I don’t hide the fact that I’m a Christian. So, he probably knew I was a Christian, and I even sensed that he might be curious about it, but I didn’t say anything.

Then one day we’re sitting in a coffeeshop and he’s telling me about a trip he took to a city in China called Wuhan. Now, this is before the pandemic, so at the time, most Americans had never heard of Wuhan. But I had heard of Wuhan, because when I was learning Chinese in college, I had a pen pal in Wuhan who was herself a Christian, and she came to Christ when Americans who run a coffeeshop in Wuhan shared their faith with her. 

Now, my Chinese American friend is telling me about his trip to Wuhan, and about a coffeeshop he went to that’s run by Americans. Now, Wuhan is a city of 12 million people. There are thousands of coffeeshops in Wuhan, and actually a lot of them are run by Americans. So, I don’t think too much of what he’s telling me at first. But then, he tells me that this particular coffeeshop is run by Christians who came to Wuhan hoping to share their faith with the Chinese, but they can’t just start a church or a home fellowship because missionary work is illegal in China. However, through the coffeeshop, they’ve been able to talk to some of their customers about Jesus. 

When he tells me this, my jaw drops because I realize he’s talking about the same coffeeshop I know about. That seems pretty astounding because we’re talking about a city of 12 million people on the other side of the world yet somehow we both know about the same coffeeshop.

Also, he’s really interested in this. He’s like, “It’s wild to me that someone would literally move to other side of the world just to talk to somebody about Jesus. Like, they must really believe this stuff.”

This was a “go to Ninevah” moment.

This was perfectly set up for a faith conversation. We both shared a common connection. The topic of Jesus was naturally brought up – it wasn’t forced. And, he expressed interest. Bewilderment, perhaps, but that’s still a form of interest!

Just like God spoke to Jonah “GO TO NINEVAH” it was like God was screaming at me “TALK ABOUT JESUS“!

Just like Jonah sailed to Tarshish, I too took the conversation in a different direction than where God was telling me to take it.

I’m not proud of it. And I regret it. But I’m gonna be honest with you – I totally wimped out.

Can you relate?

See, Jonah gets a bad rap. Of all the prophets, he’s probably the one we make fun of the most.

But I think most of us – if we’re honest with ourselves – have had a Jonah moment.

Why did Jonah set sail to Tarshish?

The Bible doesn’t tell us, but it’s probably the same reason we don’t share our faith with others: fear.

Jonah may have had good reason to be afraid. The Assyrian Empire was a brutal culture. They laid waste to cities, slaughtering or enslaving their populations. Not long after the time of Jonah, the Assyrian Empire invaded Israel, taking ten out of the twelve tribes of Israel into captivity.

Here’s a quote from one of the kings of Assyria on his exploits:

Their men young and old I took prisoners. Of some I cut off their feet and hands; of others I cut off the ears noses and lips; of the young men’s ears I made a heap; of the old men’s heads I made a minaret. I exposed their heads as a trophy in front of their city. The male children and the female children I burned in flames; the city I destroyed, and consumed with fire.

Ashurnasirpal II

Now, we don’t know if Assyria in Jonah’s day was as violent as the Assyria that laid waste to Israel. But, if the Assyria of later generations is any indication, Jonah had good reason to be afraid.

This was an empire hostile to Israel. And Jonah, an Israelite, is going to show up and proclaim a message of doom? How do you think that’s going to be received? Probably not well. Jonah’s life could be in danger.

It’s completely understandable why he’d be afraid. Even though he’s being sent by the God of angel armies, who will be with him every step of the way. So, he should have faith and confidence in that. But, he gives into fear. And he sails to Tarshish.

The LORD hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. Then the sailors were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. The captain came and said to him, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up; call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.”

Jonah 1:4-6

The sailors said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” “I am a Hebrew,” he replied. “I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them so.

Jonah 1:7-10

Talk about an effective witness! Jonah shared his faith with these sailors, and they immediately believe!

He said: “I worship Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea of the dry land.”

So let me get this straight: he’s the God of heaven, the sea, and the dry land?

That’s wild. In the ancient world, you had a god for each individual thing. So, you’d have a god of the sea, like Poseidon in the Greek tradition. Then you’d have a different god for the dry land.

But Jonah’s like, “No, my God is just the God of everything. Also, he made everything.”

So these sailors are just absolutely astounded by how powerful Jonah’s God is. And they’re like, “Let me get this straight… you thought you could run away from that God?”

You can’t run away from that God!

Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.” Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, O LORD, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you.” So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the LORD even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.

Jonah 1:11-17

What I think is so funny about this story, is that Jonah is so wildly successful as a prophet and as a missionary, even though he’s trying so hard not to be. He’s literally running away from God, trying not to be God’s messenger, and he ends up converting a bunch of people to faith in the one true God, basically by accident. Amazing.

He tried to run from God, but God wouldn’t let him run. And he gets swallowed by a big fish.

But God is faithful. He saves Jonah’s life. Jonah gets spit out, and ends up on the shore. God gives him a second chance.

Now, in chapter 2 there’s an awesome prayer that Jonah prayed while he was in the big fish. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to read it, but I highly recommend that you bookmark this page and read it during the week. It’s really awesome.

But for now, turn to Jonah chapter 2 verse 10.

Then the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out onto the dry land.

Jonah 2:10

And now Jonah has learned his lesson. He obeys God. He goes to Ninevah.

So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

Jonah 3:3-4

Ninevah was surrounded by a wall 33 feet high and 49 feet thick, which stone towers spaced every 59 feet.

This is probably the gate that Jonah walked through when he entered Ninevah. It was reconstructed based on an archaeological excavation of the original Assyrian wall. This gate was a major historical landmark and cultural artifact. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by ISIS in 2016 and no longer stands.

Imagine what Jonah felt when he passed through this absolutely massive stone gate representing the overwhelming power and might of Assyria.

He probably felt some fear!

But, he’s learned his lesson. He’s not gonna run away this time. He’s trusting in God. Yahweh is his confidence.

So he goes throughout the city and proclaims the message: “FORTY DAYS AND NINEVAH WILL BE OVERTHROWN!”

Normally, prophets are sent to the king. But in this case, God sent Jonah to just preach to ordinary people. So he’s just out on the street, proclaiming the message.

It was probably awkward!

He was probably afraid of how people would react!

How would people respond to this message?

Why would they listen to Jonah?

He’s just some random guy from a foreign country!

How would you respond if you were walking through the city of our local city of Albany, NY and you saw a random guy with a thick accent yelling: “FORTY DAYS AND ALBANY WILL BE OVERTHROWN!”

Would you believe him?

Probably not.

But guess what?

And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Humans and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”

Jonah 3:5-10

It’s absolutely wild that the people of Ninevah repented when they heard Jonah’s message! It’s completely not what you’d expect to happen! It’s as crazy as seeing a cow in sackcloth!!

The people repented! They believed in Yahweh and cried out to him for mercy!

It’s nothing short of a miracle.

At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it,but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it.

Jeremiah 18:7-8

God is a God of second chances. He’s not a bully out to get you. He loves to forgive. He loves to give another chance. All you need to do is turn to him. Turn from evil, and turn to him.

This next verse was written about Israel, but I think the story of Jonah proves that the same principle applies to all people who put their trust in God:

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

That’s exactly what happened.

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.

Jonah 3:10

It’s a miracle.

While this is going on, Jonah is sitting outside the city, and he can’t wait for the city to be destroyed. Don’t forget, Ninevah is part of the Assyrian Empire. The Ninevites are enemies of Israel. Jonah hates the Ninevites!

He can’t wait for fire to fall down from heaven and destroy the city.

Get out the marshmallows! We’re having a fire tonight!

But to his great shock and disappointment – the city is NOT destroyed!

But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning, for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” Then the LORD said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also many animals?”

Jonah 4:1-11

Here is Ninevah, a city the size of Albany, NY.

God is saying: “Dude, are you kidding me? you care more about a plant, than all the people in this city?” 

120,000 people, not to mention all the cows walking around in sackcloth!

Jonah’s heart wasn’t God’s heart.

Jonah wanted Ninevah to be destroyed. But God’s heart was that the Ninevites – even though they were some of the most wicked people in the world – God’s heart was that they would repent and be saved.

“For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone,” says the Lord GOD. “Turn, then, and live.”

Ezekiel 18:32

God has a heart of compassion for the lost. Do we have that same heart?

Do we have compassion for the even the worst, most despicable people?

Or do we have grudges against them? Disgust? Bitterness? Unforgiveness?

Do we celebrate with heaven when a sinner repents?

Or do we respond with cynicism?

 “I see so-and-so is back in church today. We’ll see how long that lasts.”

“So-and-so says he’s a Christian now. What a joke.”

Are these godly attitudes?

Are there people in your life who you don’t share your faith with, because, I mean, what’s the point?

When it comes to some people, you just know, they’re not gonna want to hear about Jesus. Don’t waste your time.

That’s prejudice. The reality is, you don’t know their hearts. God does.

The Book of Jonah really challenges us here to not allow your prejudices to get in the way of the gospel.

We see over and over again in the Book of Jonah, and indeed throughout the whole Bible, that the truth can set even the most unlikely person free.

The sailors on Jonah’s ship were pagans worshipping Poseidon, literally the last people you’d expect to make a sacrifice to the one true God. Yet when Jonah told them about Yahweh, they believed.

The people of Ninevah were so wicked that God had proclaimed his judgement against them and threatened to destroy their city. Literally the last people in the world you would expect to repent and believe in the one true God. But when they heard Jonah’s message, they repented.

You can’t write people off. No one is too far gone. No one is too lost that they can’t be reached.

Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).

He didn’t come to pat the righteous on the back and tell them what a great job they’re doing.

He came to eat dinner with sinners and corrupt tax collectors.

He came to give forgiveness and undeserved mercy and grace to prostitutes and robbers.

He came to pursue murderous men like Saul of Tarsus and say to them, “I’m giving you another chance. I want you in my kingdom.”

That’s God’s heart.

The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

Not wanting any to perish.

That’s God’s heart.

Is that your heart?

Jonah gets a bad rap – lots of people make fun of him, even call him a “failed prophet” because he ran from God, and when he finally obeyed God, he did it with the wrong heart.

But Jonah was just a human, no different than you or me. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we often have the same struggles Jonah had.

So the book of Jonah should be a wakeup call.

Let’s learn from Jonah, and not make the same mistakes.

When God calls you to do something, do it. Where is your Ninevah? It’s time to go there. You can pray about it and seek wise counsel, but don’t let anyone talk you out of doing something God called you to do. And don’t let fear stop you.

Respond to difficult people with compassion. Don’t hope that they “get what they deserve.” Hope that they repent and change and grow. Look for the best in people.

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Within the Hour

Luke 24:13-33a That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him.

He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”

They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”

“What things?” Jesus asked.

“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

“Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”

Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them.Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!

They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem.

The journey to Emmaus in Luke 24 is one of my favorite stories in the gospels. It’s a part of the Easter story that is often overlooked. On the same day that the women discovered the empty tomb, two other disciples of Jesus (one named Cleopas, the text does not tell us the name of the other) were walking seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. This journey that would have taken them at least 2-3 hours without stopping.

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus appeared and began walking alongside them, but “God kept them from recognizing him.” They talked about everything that had happened in the last 3 days, from the crucifixion of Jesus to the women’s discovery of the empty tomb. These two disciples had not yet seen the risen Lord, and were probably extremely skeptical about the women’s report. Then Jesus “took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

What an awesome Bible study that must have been. Yet still the disciples did not recognize that this was Jesus. When they finally arrived in Emmaus, it was getting late, and they invited him to stay the night with them. As they sat down to eat, Jesus took the bread, blessed it, and gave it to them.

Suddenly their eyes were opened and they recognized that it was Jesus. In that moment he disappeared.

I have always loved the mystery that surrounds this text. But this Sunday our Senior Pastor preached on it from a perspective I hadn’t heard before (see above video). I had always acted as if the story ends in verse 31 when Jesus disappears. But in reality, this was only the beginning. The text goes on to say that “within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem.”

Although I have read this chapter many times, I never took the time to consider what that really means. The disciples had just walked for seven miles. They must have been exhausted. Add to that the fact that it was already getting late when they first arrived at Emmaus – by now it was probably night.

By human reasoning, it makes no sense that the disciples would walk for seven miles all the way back to Jerusalem at night after walking all day to get to Emmaus. It was not only exhausting, but dangerous to travel at night. Yet their hearts burned within them when Jesus explained to them the scriptures. When they realized that Jesus was alive, their passion and excitement was too great to contain. There was no way they could sleep that night. They had to immediately go to Jerusalem and tell the other disciples the news: Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.

God’s timing is perfect, even when it doesn’t make sense by human reasoning. The two disciples walked all night, and arrived in Jerusalem in time to witness the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven (verse 51). Not only that, but Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (verse 45).

Imagine if these disciples had stayed in Emmaus to rest. If they had delayed their journey to Jerusalem, they may have missed one of the greatest moments in the history of the world.

God’s timing often requires our immediate action.

Acts 16:6-10 Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas. That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.

In this passage I’m blown away by two things. First, the direction of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, in guiding Paul and Silas, and giving them specific instructions on where to go. Second, the speed at which they responded to the Spirit’s leading. When Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia, he wasted no time: “we decided to leave for Macedonia at once.”

Put yourself in Paul’s shoes for a moment. Would you leave for Macedonia at once? Or would you question whether the vision was from God, or the pizza you ate last night?

The Holy Spirit gave Paul such incredible clarity of vision that there was no question this was from God. He knew exactly where he needed to go. All that remained was for him to step out in faith and go there. It didn’t matter that Paul had other travel plans. Those plans had to scrapped. God gave him a specific calling for Macedonia.

Consider the way in which Jesus called his first disciples:

Matthew 4:18-22 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.

I’m blown away by the simplicity of this passage. Again, try to put yourself in the shoes of Peter and Andrew. You’re out fishing for a living. Would you leave your nets behind and follow a complete stranger for no apparent reason?

Yet there is something powerful about the call of Jesus. Scripture repeatedly tells us that he “spoke with authority” (Luke 4:22, Mark 1:22, Matthew 7:29). As soon as Peter and Andrew received the call of Jesus, they knew what they had to do. From a human perspective, it made absolutely no sense for them to abandon their nets – their only source of income – to follow a complete stranger. But the calling of God is like that. It often does not make perfect sense. It often requires sacrifice and immediate action.

Luke 9:57-62 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”

The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”

Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”

But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

We often forget that the call of God is time sensitive. These people wanted to wait for a more convenient time to follow Jesus. He rebuked them. His call requires immediate action.

Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

What is God calling you to do? How often do we use excuses like “we need to slow down, don’t want to rush things,” or “God’s timing is not our timing” to avoid stepping out in faith right now? Although they may sound spiritual, these are really just excuses for our own laziness. We don’t want to count the cost, drop the nets, and step out of the boat. We don’t want to change our plans so we can follow God’s plan. Although Jesus has clearly called us in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) to “go and make disciples of all the nations,” often times we just don’t want to move. But Jesus says: “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

In the Great Commission we are called to go into the world, to baptize, and to teach. Scripture describes us – the church – as the “body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12). We are “Christ’s ambassadors” and “God is making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). God gives us incredible opportunities to represent Christ in the lives of other people. But these opportunities have expiration dates. If we don’t move when God calls us to move, we can easily lose the opportunity to make a difference.

When we think about “calling” we often think about some massive life-long thing. But I think it’s the small callings in life that we struggle with the most. God lays a particular person on your heart for you to go minister to them, encourage them, speak life into them. How often do you put that off? The Holy Spirit urges us to show a random act of kindness to someone, but we feel awkward about it, so we ignore it and hope the feeling will fade away.

By doing so, we are being like the men in Luke 9 who were unwilling to follow Jesus on his schedule. They would rather go about their own business than the Lord’s business. They weren’t willing to keep up with the pace at which Jesus moves.

I think the main reason we fail to act on the small, daily callings of God is because we accept this one lie from the devil: It won’t really make a difference.

How often do we accept that lie, and use it as an excuse for our inaction? I know God is calling me to encourage and speak life into that person, but “it won’t really make a difference.” I know God is calling me to bless that person with this act of compassion, but “it won’t really make a difference.” I know God is calling me to go introduce myself to that first time guest at church, but “it won’t really make a difference.” I know God is calling me to preach the gospel, but “it won’t really make a difference.” And so we sit on the sidelines and completely miss out on the opportunities Jesus is giving us to represent him in the world.

I love this quote from our Senior Pastor: “I believe that a high five in the name of Jesus is more powerful than you know. I believe that a fist bump in the name of Jesus is more powerful than you know. I believe that a hug in the name of Jesus is more powerful than you know.”

Sometimes it’s the little things God calls us to do that are the most powerful. Sometimes a simple word of compassionate truth changes a person’s entire perspective on life. And if we’re not being obedient in the little things God instructs us to do, why would he entrust us with greater things (Luke 16:10)?

God has a calling on your life. Sometimes we spend so much time trying to figure out exactly what the calling is, that we never take any steps to accomplish anything. Take one step first, then God will reveal more. He doesn’t necessarily reveal everything at once. He reveals his will for our lives piece by piece as we remain obedient to follow it.

Psalm 37:4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

I used to think this verse meant that God would give me whatever I want. But that made no sense. First of all, God has never given me everything I want (and praise God for that, because many of the things I wanted were not what was best for me). Secondly, what if I desire something that is contrary to God’s will? Will he still give that to me? Why would God give me whatever my heart desires, if, as the Bible says, “the human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9)?

These are tough questions, and for a long time, I never really understood Psalm 37:4. Then one day I read the same words again, yet saw a completely different meaning. It was like scales fell from my eyes so I could see the text clearly for the first time.

God doesn’t give us whatever we desire. God gives us the desires themselves.

As we grow in the process of regeneration/sanctification, the Holy Spirit begins to root out the carnal desires of our sinful nature, and replace them with righteous desires that are pure and holy. God doesn’t call us to do something, and then not equip us for it. He gives us the ability to do it, and he gives us a passion for it.

God has a calling for your life. It’s the intersection of opportunity, skill, and passionate desire. These three things create the sweet spot where God works through you to change the world.

If you’re skilled at something and passionate about it, but God never gives you the opportunity to do it, then you get nowhere.

If you have the opportunity and you’re passionate about it, but God hasn’t given you the skill for it, then you get nowhere.

If you have the opportunity and the skill, but God hasn’t given you a passionate desire to do it, then your heart won’t be in it, and you won’t do it justice. You get nowhere.

Every day my prayer is for God to give me a heart to do his will for my life, to give me the desire to pursue it, to give me the skill to accomplish it, and to give me the opportunity to do it.

Often times, God gives us all of these things in abundance, yet we still don’t move. We count the cost of following Jesus, and the cost seems too great. We don’t want to step out in faith to do something that God is clearly calling us to do, even though it may not make 100% sense from a purely human perspective.

In times like that, I remind myself of the Emmaus story in Luke 24, and how the disciples left for Jerusalem “within the hour.” It didn’t matter that it was dark outside, and they were exhausted. As soon as they recognized Jesus, they moved. As soon as Paul received the vision of the man from Macedonia, he changed all of his plans and he immediately moved. As soon as Jesus called Peter and Andrew, they left everything behind and immediately followed him.

Jesus is moving quickly to change the world, and we need to respond quickly to keep up.

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