Plight (Chapter 2) Myles Bancroft June 8, 2014 Series: Life Interrupted

1. Plight (Chapter 2) Myles Bancroft June 8, 2014 Series: Life Interrupted

2. 3Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. 4At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. 6Then he said, “Throw out your net… (cont’d) ~~John 21: 3-7

3. …on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it. 7Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. ~~John 21: 3-7

5. Jonah’s Plight • He had fled from God • He had disobeyed Divine orders • He had put other people at mortal risk • He was in the belly of the “great fish”

6. Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. ~~Jonah 1: 17

7. Jonah’s Plight God had his rebelliousprophet pinned to the ground and wouldn’t let him up. Jacob wrestled with God ~Genesis 32~

8. Jonah Relents 1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. 2 He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!

9. 2 Samuel 11

10. 7Purify me from my sins, I will be clean; wash me, I will be whiter than snow. 8Give me back my joy; you have broken me—now let me rejoice. 9Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 11Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. ~~Psalm 51: 7-11

11. We must pray… • When we are in GREAT TROUBLE - vs. 2

12. Jonah Repents 3 YOU threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. 4Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’

13. “When the gods want to punish you, they answer your prayers.” ~ IsakDenisen Jonah wanted to get away from God… and now he was.

14. How do you process life’s storms? Why is this happening to me? How can a loving God allow this? - OR - God is working for His Glory AND my good. - REMEMBER - People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord. ~ Proverbs 19:3

15. Jonah Reassess 5 “I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. 6 I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever.

16. Jonah Reassess

17. We must pray… • When life SEEMS HOPELESS and nothing MAKES SENSE!

18. Jonah Praises 6b But you, Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! 7 As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies.

19. Jonah Recommits “But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”

20. We must pray… • In FAITH and with THANKSGIVING before and after God answers prayer

21. God Intervenes Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.

22. But… Which Beach? Nineveh?  On banks of the Tigris River  300+ miles away Joppa?

23. But… Which Beach? God often takes us back to the place of our disobedience and makes us start over.

26. Plight (Chapter 2) Myles Bancroft June 8, 2014 Series: Life Interrupted