Pagans, Prodigals, And Prayer | Jonah 1:5-6 | Pastor Mark Griffin

I invite you to turn with me to the book of Jonah. Last August, I started this series, so it's been a while. So we're going to do some refreshing as we begin. But the book of Jonah is filled with deep, profound, breathtaking realities. We see the sovereignty of God demonstrated alongside the mercy of God.

We see the pervasive power of sin in the lives of humans and God's great purpose of evangelism as a means to us to accomplish his redemptive plan. Jonah is also filled with truth and wisdom on other timely and relevant topics such as racism and ethnocentrism, repentance, pride, anger, justice, mercy, and forgiveness. And as the Lord wills, I hope to be able to go into depth on all of these topics in the future. But tonight tonight, I want to talk to you about prayer. We'll look at just two verses in detail, verses five and six of chapter one, But let's read these verses in context.

Beginning at Jonah chapter one verse one. 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. 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 he 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. Father, we thank you for the reading of your word. We thank you for blessing us with your word. At this time, Lord, may you open the eyes of our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit to hear from you.

Lord, may you minister to the hearts of everyone present, by your word. Lord, may we be transformed more into the image of Christ. May we love you more because of what we read and we study this night. May you be glorified in everything. In Jesus name, amen.

In a previous bible study, we looked at the first four verses of chapter one. We were introduced to the main character of this book and that is God. God's word, his presence, and his power permeate every chapter, every verse of the book of Jonah. And then we looked at the prophet himself. Chosen by God to fulfill a specific mission to go to the great city of Nineveh and call out the sin of the people there.

No ambiguity. Right? No questioning, was this really what God wanted me to do? No. Crystal clear.

Go to Nineveh and be my mouthpiece. But Jonah Rebeld, a prophet of the Lord who heard the word of the Lord chose disobedience, chose to literally go in the opposite direction. We saw how when the when in disobedience to the Lord, whether you are a prophet like Jonah or a man or a woman living in the twenty first century, when disobeying God, you will in your sin always be able to find the means to continue your sin. People to go along with your sin, and you will learn that there is always a price to be paid for your sin. Jonah tried to flee from the presence of the Lord.

So he went to Joppa and he found a ship going to Tarshish, 2,000 miles in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to go. He found sailors with whom he could go, and he paid the fare to go with them. The means, the people, and the price of sin. But, of course, Jonah could not outrun or hide or escape from the Lord. No matter where he went, while Jonah was in the ship, God demonstrated his all knowing, all powerful sovereignty.

God sent a mighty wind and caused a tempest on the sea. The storm was so great that the ship threatened to break apart. But even even in the beginning of God's judgment of Jonah, we see glimpses of God's mercy to this disobedient prophet, as well as the unsaved and unbelieving sailors on that ship. You see, God God could have simply sent a bolt of lightning and destroy the entire ship and everyone on it. Right?

And if he did that, he would be absolutely just in doing so. He had the authority. He had the right and he had the power to do just that, but he didn't. He sent a storm instead instead. A violent storm, but a storm that gave the people on the ship, including Jonah, time.

Time to discern God's will. Time to pray and time to repent. And this is where we pick up our study tonight. So tonight, here's the big idea that I want to leave you with. Two prongs.

Two warnings or exhortations from our passage. First, don't pray like a pagan. And second, don't act like a prodigal. Verse five of Jonah chapter one begins, the Mariners were afraid and each cried out to his God. So while the Lord chose not to immediately wipe out Jonah and the sailors, he did send a huge storm their way.

He wanted to get everyone's attention, and he wanted Jonah to know that there was no place that he could flee from the presence of the Lord. Remember, these were experienced sailors. From Joppa to Tarshish was a trip of about 2,000 miles. It was a ship filled with valuable cargo. These men had to know what they were doing on the open sea.

So for them to be afraid, the storm that the Lord sent must have been huge and violent and truly terrifying. Anything to worry about is by looking at the flight attendants. Right? They're experienced. They've encountered turbulence and shaking before on an airplane.

If they're not afraid, you're probably fine. But if you see them nervous or frightened or even crying out, then you have a problem. Same here. Same with these sailors. These sailors were terrified by the storm.

They believed that they were going to die that night. So they did what most people would do in their situation. They started to pray. First five, each cried out to his God. We know from this that these sailors were pagans.

They did not believe in the one true God. They did not fear the Lord. Now in their time, as in ours, there were many idols, many so called deities, and these men each cried out to his own false God for salvation. You know what this shows us? This shows us that even pagans pray.

Unbelievers can and do pray. Idolaters can and do pray. But there is no power in their prayers because the power in prayer comes from the object of our prayers. The one to whom we pray. So the warning from these verses for us is don't pray like a pagan.

You see, pagans pray as a last resort. These sailors believed that they were on the brink of death. The ship threatened to break apart because of the wind and the waves, so they cried out to their gods. When faced with death, especially a sudden and terrifying encounter with your own mortality, people pray and they pray to whomever they think will hear and answer them. Nothing else worked.

No one else helped. There is no way out. There is no hope. There's nothing else I can do. So let me pray.

That's what these sailors did. You know, that says that these sailors didn't truly believe in the gods they were praying to. They didn't truly believe that their gods would help or even existed. So they only prayed to them as a last resort, when death was staring them in the face. We'll see this more in verse six.

But for now, this is instructive for us. As Christians, we ought not to pray as a last resort, but as our first decision. Let prayer be our initial reaction to life's uncertainties, or questions or trials or problems. Let prayer be our primary reflex in our everyday. Philippians chapter four verse six, familiar passage.

You don't need to turn there, but it says the apostle says, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be be made known to to to pray for us. For us. For us. For us. For us.

For us. For us. For us. Christian. Six eighteen.

After Paul talks about putting on the full armor of God for believers to take up God's spiritual armor, he says, praying. Take up the spiritual armor, praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication. So when are Christians supposed to pray? At all times, Not as a last resort. Not just on the brink of death.

At all times about everything. That's how Christians ought to pray. Then we read in back in Jonah verse five of chapter one, and they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. Pagans pray as a last resort. And pagans pray with a divided heart.

With a storm raging, the waves crashing over the side of the ship. The sailors thought that the ship would be flooded with water and sink. So they finally attempted to lighten the ship and raise it higher in the water so there would be less chance for it to get flooded. Now, in order to do that, they threw their cargo into the sea. Cargo was heavy and it caused the ship to sit lower in the water, but the cargo was also valuable to them.

It cost money to buy, and its loss would cost them money in trade. So they didn't want to get rid of it. They didn't wanna lose it. But finally, to try and save their lives, they dumped it all overboard. But you notice, they only dumped the cargo after they they didn't want to give it up.

They it was precious to them. Their hearts were divided. Their desires were conflicted. On one hand, they wanted the help of their gods. They wanted to be rescued.

But on the other hand, they wanted to hold on to what was valuable to them, even if they were holding on to the things that were causing them to sink and perish. Things valuable to us that are costly to us won't save us, And they may actually threaten to destroy us. Put another way, a love of material possessions, a love of money, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, these things will hinder your prayers because you will be praying with a divided heart. Don't pray like a pagan and expect God to answer you while you are indulging in the things of this world and gratifying the flesh. While you are still holding on to sin that is causing you to sink lower and lower until you drown.

Hebrews you can turn there Hebrews chapter 12, The writer to the Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter 12 verse one, therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking to Jesus. God is saying to throw off, cast off any weight or sin that is holding on to you, that is dividing your love so that you can run this race as you look to Jesus. If you don't cast them off, there are consequences in your walk with the Lord and in your prayer life. Let's look at a couple of verses from the Old Testament that testify to this. Verses that if we really meditate on them, This should be a warning to us, church.

The psalmist says in Psalm sixty six sixteen, if I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Sentiment, this reality, this truth. So, Isaiah fifty nine one and two. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. Of course, God is all powerful and he can work miracles.

But the Bible says that God will not even listen to you if you are harboring sin in your life. If part of your heart is calling out to the Lord, but the other parts are indulging in the delights of this world or cherishing the desires of the flesh. Folks, that's terrifyingly serious. And if God doesn't listen to you, he certainly won't answer your prayers. So you can pray all you want, but your prayers with a divided heart will be misguided.

James chapter four. James chapter four verses two and three. James says, you desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.

You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. Folks, God is not a genie. He does not grant you three wishes to satisfy yourself and your desires. So my question tonight, Are you praying to God for peace in your marriage while you are secretly indulging in porno? Why would he listen to you?

Are you praying for more friends and deeper relationships while you go around gossiping and slandering others? Are you praying that God opens a door for you in ministry while you have a love for money? The Bible says you're wasting your time praying because your loyalties are divided and God does not share his glory with anyone or anything else. Repent. Confess your sin.

Cast every weight off of you and then start praying. Pray like the psalmist in Psalm 86. To turn there, but the psalmist says, teach me your way, oh Lord, that I may walk in your truth. Unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, oh Lord, my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

When you pray, pray just like that. God, unite my heart to fear your name. And then see how God answers your prayer. So let's continue. Let's go back to Jonah.

I might say you wanna put your finger in the book of Jonah or a bookmark as we flip back and forth. Verse five again. 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. We'll come back to Jonah in a minute.

Verse six. 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.

Pagans pray as a last resort. Pagans pray with a divided heart. And pagans pray without any assurance. Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that we may not perish. This captain assumes a distant God.

A God that even if it does exist, it doesn't really care about mankind. It may or may not give a thought to what is going on at that moment in that ship. This captain is an example of what we see in our culture today. A spirituality without the God of the Bible or religiousness without Christ. You've heard it.

I've heard it. Oh, I'm I'm I'm a spiritual person, but but I don't subscribe to any particular faith or path. Or I'm very religious, but I don't need the Bible or any other book to tell me how to live. What does that even mean? I'll tell you.

Spirituality, religion without Christ means no foundation, means no hope, no assurance. It means nothing. In reality, this captain was closer to the truth that he probably realized. Right? His his God, his idol, the idols of the sailors on that ship didn't care about them.

False gods do not love mankind. They don't care if man lives or dies. Now we studied this passage a couple of weeks ago, but I just wanna briefly look at it again tonight because it so succinctly and accurately and devastatingly captures the truth behind praying to false gods and idols. First Kings chapter 18. You know where we're going.

First Kings 18 verse 25. First Kings eighteen twenty five. Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, choose for yourself one bull and prepare it first, for you are many and call upon the name of your God, but put no fire to it. And they took the bull that was given them and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, oh, Baal, answer us. But there was no voice and no one answered.

And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon, Elijah mocked them saying, cry aloud for he is a god. Either he is musing or he is relieving himself. Or he is on a journey or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened. And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out upon them.

And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered. No one paid attention. I love how the Bible warns us in no uncertain terms that to pray or worship or depend on idols is utterly foolish. Of course, the captain of the ship prayed without assurance because he knew deep down that that his faith had no foundation.

It was as unstable as the waves that tossed his ship. No one was going to listen to him. No one was going to answer because no one was paying attention. Let's look at one more passage that highlights the absurdity of praying to idols because we'll see how this isn't just a problem for the ancient Near East people from thousands of years ago, but remains a deadly issue for us today. Turn to Isaiah chapter 44.

Isaiah 44 beginning at first 14. Isaiah 44 verse 14. He cuts down cedars or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man.

He takes a part of it and warms himself. He kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also, he makes a god and worships it. He makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it, he burns in the fire.

Over the half, he eats meat. He roast it and is satisfied. Also, he warms himself and says, I'm warm. I have seen the fire. 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. What? A piece of wood cut in half with one half you light on fire and bake bread and eat your meat. On the other half, you carve an idol and worship it and pray to it. How do you have assurance, true abiding assurance that your prayers are heard and valued and answered when you're praying to something you literally made with your hands?

Honest answer? You don't. You pray without assurance. You pray not truly expecting an answer. And now lest we think that these are just warnings for uneducated, unenlightened, pre industrialized, superstitious barbarians.

Right? We would do well not to commit the act of chronological snobbery. We know better than them. We have evolved to a higher existence. No, we haven't.

Look. Look. Look at the false gods that people worship now. Science. Science doesn't care whether you live or die, yet people worship it.

Technology. Technology doesn't care whether you live or die. How about money or entertainment or sex? Yet men and women worship these things every single day. And here's the connection.

While people might not actually bow down and say the words, I'm praying to you, hear my prayer. What they do say in their thoughts and hearts and by their actions, they say, I'm looking to you to help me. Science, I'm looking to you. I'm hoping that you can heal me and save my life. Money, I'm seeking you to make my life safe and secure to provide for my needs.

Sex, entertainment, fulfill my life, make my existence easy, and fun, and carefree. Yet, while men and women give their hearts to these idols, I think they truly know. I I think they truly know that there is no care for them in these places or with these things. There is no love or compassion or grace. There is no hope.

There is no assurance. There's nothing. So Christian, don't slip into those habits. Don't be like unbelievers. Don't depend on the modern equivalent of a block of wood that you cut in half and use partly for fuel and partly for an idol.

Aluminum. Right? Glass. Silicon. Do you bow your head over this thing expecting it to fulfill your desires or looking to it to calm your anxiety, to help you with your problems or your relationships, yet knowing in your heart that there are no answers here.

No phone or app or social media or website cares for you. This does not give a thought to you one bit. But here's the gospel hope for us. Turn back to Jonah. Here's the gospel hope.

Perhaps the God will give a thought to us that we may not perish. Let me tell you. There is only one God, and he has given more than just a thought to you. Psalm thirty four seventeen. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Why? What's behind the Lord's deliverance? Well, God hears and answers because he loves you. Turn with me to Matthew, the gospel of Matthew. We're gonna spend a little bit of time here.

We begin at Matthew chapter six verse 26. God cares for you. Matthew six twenty six. Jesus says, look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they? And which of you, Being anxious can add a single hour to the span of life. And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, oh you, of little faith? Turn a couple pages to Matthew chapter 10. We see this even again, Matthew chapter 10 verse number 29. Jesus says, are not two sparrows sold for a penny, and not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

Fear not, therefore, you are of more values than many sparrows. Look, brother, sister, man, woman, child, I don't know if anyone has told you this before or whether it's been a while, but hear me now. You are of great worth, and you are more valuable than you can possibly imagine because God, the one true infinite triune God says it is so. So look to him. Trust in him.

Pray to him. And when you pray, don't pray like a pagan. Pray to God as your first reflex, not your last resort. Pray to him with a united heart, a fully devoted heart that repents and turns from sin. And pray to him with full assurance that he hears, that he's listening, and that he will answer according to his good and loving and perfect plan.

We now turn to the man, Jonah. This prophet of the Lord trying to run away from the presence of the Lord. Read with me in Jonah chapter one verse five again. 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 laid him down and was fast asleep.

The warning to us from looking at the sailors is don't pray like a pagan. The warning to us from looking at Jonah himself is don't act like a prodigal. You see prodigals isolate themselves. Jonah was running from the word of the Lord. He left his people.

He left his country. Even he even removed himself from the other people on the ship all because of his disobedience and his rebellion. Look, he knew what he was supposed to do. He knew what the Lord had said to him. But since he didn't want to obey, he didn't want to be held accountable or to be called out or confronted over his sin, he isolated himself.

He went down into the inner part of the ship. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He certainly didn't want to talk to the Lord. So he went as far away as he could into the belly of the ship and went to sleep. Church, there is a reason that the Bible exhorts us repeatedly to be in fellowship with other believers.

Hebrews chapter 10 verse number 24 says, and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. And all the more as you see the day drawing near. You see, we need each other. We need each other for encouragement because life can be hard, temptation can be relentless, and sin is always crouching at the door ready to devour us. It is not surprising that when people are walking away from the Lord, some of the first things to go in their life are church attendance and fellowship with other believers.

And this makes sense. Right? If you are in disobedience, you don't want to be reminded of your sin. You don't want other brothers and sisters asking you hard questions. You are Proverbs eighteen one.

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire. He breaks out against all sound judgment. And you also don't want to see the joy of the Lord in others because in actually an ironic way, it becomes an irritant. It becomes an annoyance to you to see others walking with the Lord when you yourself are at odds with him. So you avoid.

You isolate. You run away from the Lord and others just like Jonah. Christian, don't do that. If you feel yourself growing cold to the things of the Lord, if you see your life heading in the direction away from the Lord, isolation is the very worst thing that you could do. Run back to the fellowship of the saints.

Run back to godly men and women for counsel and prayer, and run back to the Lord. Prodigals like Jonah isolate themselves. And prodigals also make peace with their sin. Jonah five verse Jonah chapter one verse five. And Joe but Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had laying 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. You would think that Jonah was wrestling with his decision to disobey the Lord. That he couldn't sleep because his conscience was in such turmoil that all he had to do that all he couldn't do was stay awake. Or even that if he fell asleep, it would be tossing and turning all night such that a strong gust of wind shaking the boat would wake him up.

But no. He fell fast asleep and was in such a deep sleep that even this great storm didn't disturb his slumber. How could this prophet who knew the Lord, who had received the very words of the Lord sleep like this is only possible if Jonah had made peace with his sin. He wasn't tired. He wasn't exhausted.

He was content in his disobedience. He wasn't bothered by it anymore. Even if his conscience was tugging at him, he completely ignored it. He was sinning and he knew he was sinning, and he was okay with that. There are clues here that reinforce this understanding that Jonah had made peace with his sin.

In verse six, the captain wakes him up and rebukes him for not praying. Arise, call out to your God. Nowhere in the rest of chapter one does Jonah pray. While on the ship, there's no mention of his remorse or his contrition or him calling out to the Lord for help. That should be surprising for us unless Jonah was in such a state that he didn't have a problem with his sin.

And even more than that, that because of his hardness of heart, he was unwilling to seek the Lord even in the face of a deadly storm. The first recorded prayer of Jonah was when he was in the belly of the fish. Now some might say, okay. Well, that's just arguing from the negative. True.

But, clearly, the absence of any prayer by Jonah on the ship is significant when we compare that with the clear and multiple mentions of the pagan sailors praying. But even more than that, turn with me in Jonah to chapter four verses one through three. This will drive this point home for us. Jonah eventually went to Nineveh and proclaimed the word from the Lord and the people repented. And because of their repentance, God relented from his judgment.

But then we read in Jonah chapter four starting at verse one. But it God's relenting of his judgment against the Assyrians. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, oh 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, oh lord, please take my life from me for it is better for me to die than to live. Honestly, Jonah is not really sympathetic. Jonah admits. He says clearly, I never wanted to go to Nineveh because I hated the fact that you might forgive the sins of the Assyrians. This was not a decision Jonah wrestled with.

What should I do? Should should I obey or should I go to Tarshish? No. He had no intention of obeying the Lord. He had made peace with his sin and that's why he was able to sleep like a baby.

Brothers and sisters, that should be a powerful warning to every one of us. It is a stark reminder that we can deceive others, and we can deceive even ourselves of so much. We can justify our sin. We can rationalize our disobedience from the clear word of the Lord. Jeremiah seventeen nine.

You know this. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it? Proverbs 14 verse 12. I know I'm going fast, but these are short verses.

Proverbs fourteen twelve. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Just because you have peace about something in your or just let me start over. Just because you have peace about something or your conscience is so called clear does not mean you are walking with the Lord, especially if you are acting in a way that goes against the word of the Lord. John Calvin, he wrote, it is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God's face and then descended from contemplating him to scrutinizing himself.

In other words, you can, in your sinfulness, deceive yourself. The only way to truly judge your heart and your motives is to first look to God. And God has revealed himself to us through the Bible. And then we examine ourselves in light of what the word of God says. So that means if you have so called peace about a decision, but the Bible says something completely different, then you are deceiving yourself to your own detriment.

Now there are lots of examples of this that we could study and it would be a a valuable and fruitful study, I think, but of what has been called respectable sins or domesticated sins. Sins that we, even as Christians, are okay with. Sins that we have plucked out of the Bible and have given a pass to. Sins like gossip, or gluttony, or anger, or even anxiety and fear. But for the sake of the our remaining time together, let's just look at one that I have seen increasingly accepted in the modern church among believing, bible believing Christians, men and women.

A sin that is acceptable more and more despite the clear word of god. Second Corinthians chapter six verses fourteen and fifteen. The apostle Paul writes in second Corinthians chapter six beginning at verse 14. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? What fellowship has light with darkness?

What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? The idea of so called missionary dating must end in the church. I'm a follower of Christ. I love Christ with my whole heart, but I'm willing to date or to even marry an unbeliever.

Someone who does not love Christ. Church, may this not be so among us. Second, only to your relationship with God, the marriage covenant is the most important relationship will you will have in your entire life. Folks, the Bible is crystal clear about this. There is no interpretive issue or historical or cultural relativism.

God holds marriage in the highest degree because marriage is a parable or a picture of the beauty of Christ's covenant with the church. When he says do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, it is a command and one that we as Christians are duty bound to follow. But but like everything in the Bible, this command is for our good. It is not onerous, but rather a delight for us. It is so hard is it so hard to believe that God knows what is best for you and your life?

He isn't trying to make your life miserable and deny you a perfect spouse. He isn't he's saying rather, I love you so much. I want the absolute best for you in your husband or wife. Don't partner with someone who is in rebellion against me. In other words, don't yoke yourself to someone who does not love Christ because they will not truly love you.

But unfortunately, there are some who like Jonah, they know what the Bible says about this, but choose to do the exact opposite and they sleep like a baby. Please hear me. Young man, young woman, may that not be you. I wanna say this gently but clearly on the authority of the word of God. If you are a Christian, if you love God, if he has redeemed you, then you have no business dating or marrying an unbeliever.

Full stop. Now some might say, woah, woah, woah, Griffin. Okay. Now you're going overboard. I could give you a whole list of Christians who married unbelievers and it worked out.

Yeah. Well, I I have seen marriages where the husband or the wife later becomes a believer and it turns into a beautiful marriage. Yes. But here's the thing, it doesn't always work out that way and even more, God is merciful and gracious and He does forgive and He does redeem, but it is not for you to presume on the kindness of God. Let's turn to Romans to look at this in more detail.

Two passages passages in Romans. We'll start with Romans chapter two verse number four. Romans two verse four. Paul says, or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance. Don't presume in the Lord's kindness and act any way you want to do.

The second verse is the one that our pastor Bena read earlier, but I wanna read it again to reinforce this idea. Romans chapter six Romans chapter six verses 15 through 18. Romans six fifteen through 18. This is a serious issue, folks. Not just in in so called missionary dating or marrying an unbeliever, but in every aspect of our life.

When the word of God says something, we choose to do the opposite presuming on the grace of God. Paul says, don't do that. Romans six verse 15. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under the law but under grace by no means?

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey either of sin, which leads to death, or obedience, which leads to righteousness. But thanks be to God that you, who were once slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed. And having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. Christian, you have been set free from being a slave to to disobedience and to sin. Don't go back to your old master.

If you are a Christian and dating an unbeliever, put an end to it tonight. Yes. Share the gospel. Share Christ, but don't yoke your heart or your affections to this person. Obey the Lord.

If you are a Christian who married an unbeliever and your spouse has since come to know the Lord, praise God. Let the Lord's kindness lead you to repentance. Rejoice and let your heart overflow with praise and thanks giving because God truly is gracious and merciful. And based on his mercy, don't say in your heart, well, it worked out, so I must I I must not have done something too terribly wrong. No.

The humble and contrite heart simply says in this situation, thank you. But what about the Christian who married an unbeliever and their spouse is still an unbeliever? Here's the thing. I am not condemning you. God is not condemning you.

For there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. This is not the unforgivable sin. No condemnation. But there is a call to confession. Acknowledge your disobedience.

Confess your sin and honor the Lord. Look. You will face trials and difficulties because you do not share the same goal with your spouse. You're pulling in different directions while still being yoked together. But first Peter three one and first Corinthians seven sixteen.

We don't have to turn there, but they are instructive for us. Let your life be a testimony to your unbelieving spouse of the goodness and kindness and love of God. And pray to the Lord that he would use you as a means for your husband's or your wife's salvation. Prodigals isolate themselves. Prodigals make peace with their sin.

And lastly, prodigals don't pray. Very briefly, we've looked at this already, but I wanna end on this point. Jonah chapter one verse six. 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. The pagan ship captain had to call on the prophet of Israel to pray. But that's what sin does to us. It dulls your senses. It scrambles your mind and it shuts you off from communing with the Lord.

When you're in sin, you don't even wanna pray. Why would you? Praying means talking to the very one that you're disobeying. Praying means being confronted with your sin. Even if your life seems to be falling apart around you, prodigals are still resistant to praying.

For Jonah, it took being thrown into a storming sea and being swallowed by a fish for him to call upon the Lord. For many others, it means sleeping and eating with the pigs, or going to jail, or facing death for them to call upon the Lord. Don't wait for that. If you are in disobedience tonight, backslidden, far from the Lord, don't act like a prodigal. Get around people of God, the people of God.

Be in community. Be open and honest. Be willing to accept rebuke and exhortation so that you can receive then encouragement and edification And fight your sin. Don't make peace with it. Sin wants to kill you, so you kill it instead.

Lastly, come back to the Lord and submit to him through prayer and confession. Don't wait for calamities. Don't wait for judgment. Come back to him tonight. And if you are an unbeliever hearing this message, you don't know the Lord.

I thank God that you're here. Don't be like those sailors. Don't wait until your life seems like it's about to end for you to pray. Don't wait for disease or danger or death to call out to the Lord. Do it now before it's too late.

Jesus Christ is greater than any pleasure or delight or satisfaction or longing you have. And the gospel of Jesus Christ is the best message you will ever hear. You are a sinner, deserving God's wrath and deserving of death. But Jesus entered the world, lived a sinless perfect life, and died on the cross to take the punishment for sin. He arose from the dead and is now seated in heaven with God the father.

So if you confess your sins and turn from them and put your trust in Jesus Christ alone, then you will be saved with nothing to fear and abounding in joy. May this day, may this hour be the time of your salvation. Let's pray. Heavenly father, we thank you. We thank you for putting books of the Bible like Jonah before us so that we can take heed of the mistakes of others.

Lord, we thank you for your constant grace in warning us over and over again through your word to live for Christ, to spurn the desires of the flesh, to fight sin with all of our might. And Lord, we we thank you for the gospel that we see even in the book of Jonah. That we can look to you, that you hear us, that when we call upon you as believers, as those your children, that when we call upon you, you answer us and you rescue us. Lord, we thank you for your word. May you implant it deep in our heart and may we refresh ourselves in it every single day.

You are good and your mercy endures forever. In Jesus name, amen. Amen. Church, as we close, if you will stand and we'll sing one more song in worship to the Lord tonight.