33.o. “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

 

Matthew 16:1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

 Luke 20:23    But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them,

Luke 12:54-56    You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

 Acts 2:40    And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

Luke 11:29-30   When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

“It is an extraordinary phenomenon to find a combination of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They stood for both beliefs and policies which were diametrically opposed.” (Barclay) Yet for all these differences, Jesus brought them together. Not in a good way – they came together in opposition to Jesus, but they came together nonetheless. 

Show us a sign was their request. They had heard of and seen the lame, deaf, mute, blind, and sick healed right before their eyes and still said, “show us a sign”.   Asking for a sign indicates they knew who Jesus claimed himself to be and they rejected not only what He said but what they had witnessed Him doing.  

Think about how God had done 8 wonders/signs in Egypt that rescued them from slavery. Think about how He had water come from a rock, manna from the sky, and birds for meat every day. The Israelites had witnessed God’s power, love, grace, and provision and yet they still did not trust Him to continue. The Bible gives repeated examples of those who saw remarkable signs, yet did not believe.

In Romans, it is also clear men reject God and have no excuse for their rejection. For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts

No person can claim ignorance. Faith does not require a sign, though many may be given. Faith – believes, trusts, obeys, follows, and relies on Jesus Christ.  

32.u. “So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace”

 

Matthew 12:38  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

 James 4:4    You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

 Luke 11:29-30   When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.  For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

 Ezekiel 16:51-52   Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed.  Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

Jesus condemned them for seeking after a sign, especially when countless signs had already happened before their eyes. It is easy to overestimate the power of miraculous signs to change the heart of doubters and skeptics. (Guzik)

Every believer displays a miraculous sign. They are born again. They are a new creation. They are filled with the Holy Spirit of God. This miracle certainly ought to be seen and witnessed in the lives of every believer. Why else would Paul say “to be ready to give an answer to anyone who, when they see the hope in you ask where is it from.”

Jonah spent three days in the belly of a great fish – certainly, he died but after 3 days he was spit up onto shore alive. Jonah was a sign to Nineveh and they recognized it. The Queen of Sheba recognized the wisdom God gave Solomon. The central point to be sure in this is; “you are asking for a sign – I am God’s sign – and you have failed to recognize Me”.  because of this they will, as an example, rise up in judgment against you. Simply put, Nineveh had lesser signs shining in their presence (it was the Word of God spoken by Jonah) and repented. Greater will be the judgment on those who have been given greater signs – the presence of the Son of God doing signs and wonders daily in your presence. This rejection by the religious leaders is indefensible. 

Think about this; Jonah preached for 40 days – Jesus preached for several years. Jonah preached but displayed no miracles – Jesus preached and did miracles, signs, and wonders often. The people of Nineveh repented – the religious leaders rejected a much great witness.

The Word of God has never been so available as it is right now. There is no excuse for not knowing how to find it. There is no excuse for being too busy to find the time to go get your bible – it is in your pocket via your phone. There are hundreds of apps available to help study the bible and hundreds of thousands of resources available with just a click on your screen.  There is no excuse for neglecting it. I wonder if it could be said that these religious leaders efforts will stand in judgment against those who are too busy to take time in God’s Word, too busy to meditate on it, too busy to have little to no application in their lives, too busy to hear what quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading, too busy to pray, too busy in worship, too busy to help others, too busy to give, too busy to be kind, too busy to praise Jesus, too busy to ……

We should be very mindful of how we spend our time in light of the abundance and availability of God’s Word in our lives. Anytime idleness and busyness are allowed into our lives, Jesus Christ will never be honored and glorified.

14.w. “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times”

John 2:18   So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

John 6:30   So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?

Matthew 21:23   And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

Acts 4:7    And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

Mark 8:11   The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.

Matthew 12:38-42    Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”  But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 16:1-4    And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.  He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’  And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.  An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

“But you cannot interpret the signs of the times”.  Wars, rumors of wars, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, ungodliness, lawlessness, rioting, hate, fear, delusion, false teachings, unable to separate false from the truth, falling away from God, and denying God, in more and more increasing numbers and occurrences are all signs of the times and the return of Jesus Christ.  These are signs but where is the voice crying out in the wilderness proclaiming them?  We understand the “World” not seeing and believing but why is it the Christian church silent on these signs?  Have we diluted our walk with Jesus Christ to the point where we are unable to see them ourselves?  Have we bought into a lukewarm comfortable life so close in resemblance to the unbelievers that our eyes are closed to the signs?  Have we strayed far enough away from Jesus Christ that our pastors and teachers, wanting to be culturally correct, do not preach and teach the signs of the times?  Is our heart turning to stone and we are not allowing the Holy Spirit into it to teach, lead, and instruct us?

Some may say we have had wars, famine, disease, riots, wars, earthquakes, etc…. and Jesus has not returned.  It was not true before and is not true now.  The frequency surely has increased and yet it is denied.  The number of countries across the globe experiencing these signs is overwhelming and yet it is denied.  When there should be repentance and a turning to Jesus Christ there is denial and defiance.  Where there should be preparing and looking for the return of Jesus Christ there is denial and defiance.  When there should be a proclaiming of the signs of the times there is silence.

In the last days, God will send a strong delusion and people will grab hold of this like finding a lost treasure.  They will believe they have found truth and they are fighting for the right cause and belief.  They believe lies because they have denied the truth.  These too are signs of the soon return of Jesus Christ.  All of the warnings and signs have been given so that through them people will repent and turn to Jesus Christ.  When Jesus Christ returns will He find you watching and waiting or unprepared?  I imagine there are many right now that are waiting for signs before they get serious about their faith in Jesus Christ.  It is both “not too late” and “too late”.  It is never too late to repent and trust Jesus Christ but the signs would indicate the return of Jesus is closer than ever before.  A heart that rejects the need for redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ will certainly reject the signs of His soon return.   Rejection is an intentional choice.  You are just one breath away from eternity and your choice of belief or rejection will determine Heaven or Hell, blessings or torment, peace or anguish, Eternal light or complete darkness.

Jesus has called us to believe and trust in Him alone.  He has demonstrated His love for us in that He died for our sin.  He has promised blessings now and for eternity. He has told us He will return to gather us onto Himself.  He has told us what the signs will be to indicate His pending return and that we are to watch and be ready.  And He has given warnings of what awaits those who reject Him. If you choose to reject His love how much more will you receive His wrath?  Watch and be Ready!  The signs are there if you are seeking and desiring the return of Jesus Christ.

10.r. “Do you do well to be angry?”

Jonah 4:1   But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

James 4:5-6     Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?  But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

James 1:19-20     Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;  for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

It is hard for me to understand why Jonah was mad enough to want to die.  Did he see their sin and wants to see them punished as God said He would do if they did not repent?  Did he want to see the judgment upon the city and all of the people rather than see them repent?  I just don’t know.  Jonah seemed to have a death wish for some reason.  “Cast me into the sea” and “Please take my life from me” and “It is better for me to die than to live” are all death wish statements.  It is very hard to understand why but what is recorded tells us much about the grace of God.  He saved Jonah from the depths of the sea and the belly of the great fish.  God saved Nineveh from destruction after they repented.  God had pity on them for they were blind to their actions and when they were exposed, called out, they repented.  God is gracious and full of mercy and steadfast love.  We honor and glorify Him by recognizing our sin, repenting, turning away from our wayward ways, trusting, relying on, following, and obeying Him.

10.p. “For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish”

Jonah 3:1   Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Luke 15:18-20    I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’  And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

Deuteronomy 8:20  “Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God.

Proverbs 1:32  “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

Isaiah 60:12   “For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, And the nations will be utterly ruined.

Jonah repented and went back to Nineveh to speak the word of the Lord.  He called out against that great city as the Lord commanded. Nineveh listened and acted upon what they heard. They repented as a whole city, from the king down to every citizen, or at least most of them.  They heard the word spoke against their current way of living, they believed it to be a true understanding of their sinful ways.   They believed God.  They had to know something of God and both His promises of destruction and His gracious acts that turned away from anger when those condemned repent.  They believed in 40 days they would be destroyed because the word of God proclaimed to them.  Do you ever wonder what people would do if they were told in 40 days they would die because of their sin?   Some believe and some do not.  Some think all of this talk about God and sin is foolishness.  Others believe it to be true but will wait until later in life. And, still, others take immediate action and believe.  They understand the eternal consequence of dying in their sin.  They understand the frailty of life and that they could die at any moment for a host of reasons.  We have not been given a 40-day notice, but we have been given notice.  We can deny it, wait, or take repentant action.  It all depends on what you believe to be the truth.  Nowhere is it more clear than in John 3:16-19 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

10.o. “I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.”

Jonah 2:1  Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Psalms 50:15    and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Psalms 91:15    When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.

Isaiah 26:16     O LORD, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whispered prayer when your discipline was upon them.

James 5:13    Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

Hosea 6:1-3    “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.  After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.  Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

Hosea 5:15     I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.

Idle ineffectiveness for eternal things has a way of gaining our attention on our own comfort, enjoyment, self-worth, self-reliance, and self-satisfaction.  Troubles, trials, and distress in our lives, on the other hand, have a way of resetting out wayward inner self-reliant beliefs.  Well, that is true for some.  Others harden their hearts and will not even give God a second glance for help.  For those who are humbled and realize their only hope in the situation is from the Mighty Hand Of God, and when they call out to Him, their prayer will be answered and they will be rescued and delivered.  Why is it so hard t repent and turn back to God?  Why do we choose to neglect His word and applying it in our lives?  Are we not blessed and find joy, hope, rest, peace, and strength when we are always desiring and seeking to be nearer to Him?  And yet, we seem to find time after time neglect and complacency creep in.  I can tell you this with 100% assurance when God’s Word is not hungered and thirsted for our natural default is neglect, complacency, and worldly contentment.  Spend time in His Word and intentionally choose to grow closer and closer to Him.

10.n. “So he left them and departed.”

Jonah 1:17   And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Matthew 12:40     For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Luke 11:30     For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

Matthew 16:4     An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

The people of Nineveh did not know that Jonah had been reluctant to warn them.  They did not know he had been swallowed by a great fish of the sea and spit back out.  They did not know any of this but when the word of God was spoken through Jonah they believed God.  Here is a large city that is being called out by God for its sin and evil.  What is uncommon is their response to being called out, they repented. Maybe this is not uncommon though.  Maybe what we see in our time is that sin is not called out.  Tolerance, neglect, and complacency have overtaken the pulpits of our nation.  When is the last time you have heard a message preached on sin and the need for repentance?  Messages seem to be more in line with what you can get from Jesus Christ; (ie. health, prosperity, peace, joy, courage, hope, etc…) and all of this is true but the lack of calling out personal and national sin first and foremost is leading us into separation from God.  Thinking we can live without the need for repentance is choosing to live in ignorance.  It is easy to preach all the comforts and promises associated with being a follower of Jesus Christ and leave out the need for repentance.  Repent from what you may ask.  SIN.  If sin is not called out and if God’s Word is not thirsted and hungered for then what is it that will mature us in our walk with Him.  What will make us aware of the sins in our thoughts and our sins in acts?  The greatest tragedy in the church today is the lack of individual choice to be in God’s Word with the thought of honoring and glorifying Him, and wanting, desiring, seeking, and trusting the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and minds and change us from the inside becoming more and more aware of our sin and more and more aware of God’s grace, mercy, and love through Jesus Christ.

10.l. “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.” 

Johna 1:4   But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

Psalms 107:24-31   they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep.  For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.  They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;  they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

Isaiah 44:17-20    And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”  They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.  No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”  He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

A mighty storm comes upon the ship and all who are on it.  Mariners were not the type to be afraid in a storm, so this one had to be a notch above the worst any of them had seen.  What do mariners do when they are at sea and afraid?  They called upon their god, each to their own god.  They started to hurl cargo off of the ship and where was Jonah?  He was sound asleep below deck.  Johan was just happy to be on this ship and being able to put distance between him and the task the Lord had asked him to do.

Doesn’t it seem like the sea is raging around the world right now?  Pandemic, riots, shortages, unemployment, and governments trying their best to sort it all out while people are looking for a breath of reprieve.  Whatever God’s plans and purposes are in all of this we can rest assured it is in control and will accomplish what He alone has set in place.  We can worry, thinking there is so much uncertainty facing the world right now, or we can rejoice in knowing our God and Savior Jesus Christ have all of this under control.  We can rest in His promises.  We can find peace in His embrace.  We don’t have to read much news or watch much news to see all of the confusion, anxiousness, and uncertainty that is being communicated.  It is as if they want us to forsake trusting that God is in control.  It is if they want to feed us panic, worry, and fear.  I well by not allowing them to rob us of trusting God, rejoicing in God, and finding peace that passes all understanding.

10.k. “I am weary with holding it in”

Jonah 1:1  Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose 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, away from the presence of the Lord.

Exodus 4:13-14     But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”  Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.

Jeremiah 20:7-9    O LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me.  For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.  If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.

Ezekiel 3:14   The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me.

Luke 9:62     Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

1 Corinthians 9:16   For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

Have you ever come to a time in your life where you did what you knew the Lord wanted you to do but had bitterness in your heart?   Have you ever been led down a path in life by the Lord and then looked back at where you were before and had a want to go back there to easier times?  Have you ever felt the nudge of the Lord to clearly do something and said, “please send someone else”?  Have you ever just wanted to get away from what the Lord has asked you to do?  We read of many great men of God who felt as though they knew better or had enough and they threw up their arms in a full STOP.  We know when Jesus is leading us there are power, strength, and courage we get when our eyes are kept focused on Him.  It is when our focus is on the situation or our wants more than our want to humbly serve, honor, follow, trust, and obey Jesus Christ.

Not how Jeremiah and Paul put it; “there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in”, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”

Can you Run From God

The story unfolds with Jonah being told by God to go to Nineveh and Jonah running away from the presence of God.  In Psalms it says no matter where we are we can not flee from the presence of God.  We can try as we might to close our ears to His leading and hide from His purpose for us to choose obedience to Him and His plan for our life, but we will never find rest, peace, joy, comfort, hope, love, satisfaction, or blessings.  Choose to run to Him in humble obedience.

Matthew 12:41
The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here

Jonah 1:2
“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose 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, away from the presence of the Lord

Psalms 139:6
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.