Fleeing, Coming and Going

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This sermon takes a look at three passages of Scripture (one in Jonah and two in Isaiah) as they reveal the responses of three different individuals to God’s agenda and mission of reaching the lost, and applies those observations to the lives of believers today.

Written Excerpts:

Jonah 1:3 ^(NKJV) But Jonah arose 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 the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

Isaiah 53:5 ^(NKJV) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 6:8 ^(NKJV) Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

Introduction:

The inspiration for the message today came from some comments that were in the video messages that our men’s Bible study group watched this week.

The three passages of Scripture (1 in Jonah and 2 in Isaiah) illustrate responses of three different individuals to God’s purposes of reaching the lost. For a brief time today I want to draw from these three examples in order to give us a sense of God’s will for humanity and how we might fit into that plan.

So, to start off, I want to state something that should be obvious to all of us already: God loves people and wants everyone to be in a relationship with Him.

2 Peter 3:9 ^(NKJV) The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Let me just pause right here to ask you, “Do you really believe that it is not God’s will for anyone to perish?” Do I really believe that God’s will is for all to come to repentance? If we really believe that verse is the absolute truth, how should it affect our lives?

Is there any way in which our lives do not communicate our agreement with the fact that God is not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance?

I.    Jonah exemplifies those who flee from God’s call.

(Expositor's Bible Commentary) Jonah is commissioned because the wickedness of Nineveh has come to the Lord’s attention. This development does not imply that the Lord was previously unaware of that great city’s depravity; rather, the situation there so degenerated that his patience has become overshadowed by the mandate of justice. In this way, the case of Nineveh is similar to that of Sodom and Gomorrah (Ge 18-19).

Jonah does not want to obey the instructions given to him, so he takes steps to avoid [the mission]…. Jonah does not necessarily think that distance will put him out of range of the Lord’s reach … he may have thought his flight [would] simply result in the Lord finding someone else for the job.

Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria who was the enemy of Israel. Although there was no conflict presently going on between the two nations, it still would be viewed as an enemy.

Why didn’t Jonah want to go to Nineveh?

(Coffman Commentaries) (1) Jonah doubtless knew of the sadistic cruelty of the hated Assyrians, and he could not have failed to confront an element of physical fear of what might befall him in a place like Nineveh….

(2) National prejudice certainly entered into it, because no true Israelite could imagine such a thing as preaching to Gentiles….

(3) The reason given by Jonah himself (Jonah 4:3) was that he feared that Nineveh might repent and that God, after his usual gracious manner, would spare them and refrain from destroying their city. As to why such an eventuality was so distasteful to Jonah, there are two conjectures: (a) … the prospect of his becoming widely known as a prophet whose words did not come to pass. (b) … deep love he had for his own nation, "fearing lest the conversion of the Gentiles should infringe upon the privileges of Israel, and put an end to its election as the nation of God."

Jonah 4:2 ^(NKJV) So he prayed to the LORD, and said, "Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.

Jonah admits that he was fleeing because he did not like the prospects of God forgiving the sins of a city (nation) who, in His mind, deserved the judgments of God.

Who have we purposely avoided reaching out to with the message of God’s love and salvation simply because we felt they deserved God’s judgment rather than His mercy?

II.  Jesus exemplifies the perfect response to the call.

The next person I want to focus on is described for us in the 53^rd chapter of Isaiah. We know that this passage is referring to the Son of God who left the glory He shared with the Father in order to come into our world to redeem us.

Philippians 2:6-7 ^(NKJV) who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

Hebrews 10:9a ^(NKJV) then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God."

Think of every possible reason that Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh and Jesus is the exact opposite of that. The drastic contrasts between His home in glory and His “mission field” on earth can never be duplicated in the same degree, only to some fraction of degree. Depravity; enemies; deserving of judgment …

We see Jesus, not like Jonah as the one who is fleeing from God’s call, but One who is coming to fulfill God’s call (mission).

Jesus came to earth to do more than provide an example for us, but He did provide the example as well. I thank God for those who followed the example of Jesus and came to our ancestors and forefathers with the message of saving grace.

Not only is Jesus the one who comes to fulfill God’s mission, but everyone one of us is here today because someone obeyed God’s call and came to us with the message we needed about Christ.

III.  Isaiah exemplifies the willing response to the call.

The third person we want to focus on is also described in the book of Isaiah – the prophet Isaiah himself.

If Jonah represents the one who flees and Jesus represents the one who comes, then Isaiah represents the one who goes.

Isaiah 6:8 ^(NKJV) Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

Isaiah’s ministry occurs approximately 15-30 years after Jonah’s ministry. Isaiah was called to his own people, but he was also called to give proclaim God’s Word regarding many of the other nations of the world.

Isaiah’s call and response occurs following a vivid revelation of God and his holiness. A genuine encounter with God causes us to unite with Him in the things He desires – and that most certainly includes the salvation of the lost. When we get to know God better and better, I believe we will want to advance His mission or agenda more and more.

Conclusion:

I stated earlier that every one of us who knows the Lord today knows Him because God sent someone to evangelize the person who led us to Christ, and to every other person up the long chain of people before them.

God loves people who may be our enemies.

God loves people who are unlovable.

You and I have God-given roles we can fill in reaching the people God wants to reach.

Let us close the service today by singing the hymn

I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go