Alright, a very good afternoon to every one of you. It’s a joy for me and my family to be here to worship the Lord together with you. Alright before we consider this passage, let us turn to God in prayer. Let’s pray.

“Our Father in heaven, Your Word is a lamp to our feet and the light to our path. And we pray that Your Spirit will enlighten us to the sins in our hearts and show us once again the glorious gospel in our Lord Jesus Christ even as we consider this passage here in Jonah. All these we pray and give thanks. in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Alright so today I’ve brought some items, and I would like you to identify the usage of these items at homes. Alright, the first item is a ruler. Next, a hanger. I see some smiles. A belt. Now can you link them all together? Alright maybe this would give it away, the cane. Now when we look at all these items, probably some memories would flood back to us. And we know it’s for one purpose when you use it in our homes, and it’s for discipline. And therefore, that’s what we’re going to consider this morning alright. And therefore, I’ve entitled the sermon this morning “Disciplined By God”.

Now in the last sermon, we considered three things. We considered who this person Jonah is. He was a prophet from the Northern Kingdom of Israel. And he was called or he was commissioned to do one thing which is to go to Nineveh. And Nineveh is the capital of Assyria, the enemies of the Israelites. And what was he called to do? He was called to warn them of their sins, warn them of their wickedness and an impending judgement that will be coming upon them. And then we lastly saw his response.

And what was his response? He responded by running away alright he flee. We see that in verse 3. He fled. He rose and ran to Tarshish. And Tarshish is believed to be the opposite direction, and it’s even further than Nineveh, but that was his response. And today, we will pick up from where we left off and we will consider it in three points. Firstly, we will see the decline of Jonah. And then we will see the discipline from the Lord. And lastly, a renewed declaration. Now if we look at verse 3. Apart from recording for us the rebellion of the prophet, the author also described Jonah’s journey in one word, and it is the word ‘down’ alright.

Look at verse 3: “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.”. Now at verse 5: “Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.”. So here we see step by step Jonah was going down and down and down until he was asleep.

Now in what condition was he sleeping in? Now we see in verse 4: “there was a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest, so that the ship was about to be broken”. Now to help some of us who are not very familiar to the sea; now we seldom go to the sea. Now if you remember when Malaysia Airlines MH370 went missing, and then it was after that discovered that its last flight path was over the Indian Ocean, and there were search and rescue ships that were deployed to search for the airplane. And there were footages that were released on the internet alright on Facebook showing that the waves were indeed huge alright. And these videos were taken from the bridge alright.

The bridge is where the captain sits, he controls the ship, and that’s about two or three storage above deck. And we see that the water splashes in alright. We can see that it is indeed unforgiving to be in the sea when there is a great tempest. Now, this also reminds me of my experience when I was offshore when I had some assignment on the ship. It was during the monsoon period, and it was the off course of Kelantan. And I was there for six days, one of the worst six days I ever had because there was a great monsoon.

And the waves were only about three meters high alright, we can see that on the ship alright there were markings. And the wave could go up to about three meters, but it was constantly hitting the ship and it was rolling from side to side. And it was constantly 24/7 side to side, front to back. And it was a challenge even to walk, what more to climb the stairs and to eat? And our bunk beds had to be tied to the wall alright. Otherwise, you can imagine. We would just swing from left to right and the beds would also follow. Alright even as I was sleeping alright, it was almost the feeling of rolling off the bed alright. So we couldn’t really sleep well alright for the six days.

And here we are talking about modern ships alright. And back in the days of Jonah, ships are made of wood. And you can imagine the stress that the waves had on the ship. Probably some planks were about to crack. And in verse 4 (at the end of verse 4), we see the ships were about to be broken up. And apart from that in verse 5, there was a lot of chaos going on as well. Alright verse 5, let’s read: “Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load.”.

Now bear in mind these mariners are seasoned seafarers alright. They are not like us, once in a while, we go to the sea, get on a cruise alright. But that is their work, and they had a fair share of experience in the storms. And they probably know what to do. But this was like no other alright. They were afraid. And they were so afraid that they were calling out to their gods, and they were lighting off the cargo. Now, why would they do that? Why would they throw their livelihood? We know they make a living out of transporting the cargo. What they were like saying, I don’t care. I need to survive, even if I have to give up my cargo.

Now they must be stirring up the whole place, searching for cargos that they can throw off and lighten the ship. And where was Jonah? He was nowhere to be found. He was fast asleep. Alright in the middle of the storm, in the middle of chaos, he was fast asleep. Now, my brethren, I don’t know whether this describes you. Now, how so? Now do you realise the path of disobedience, there’s only one way? It’s downward alright- it is spiritually downwards. We will decline and decline and decline, and then we will be in spiritual slumberness just like Jonah. And to think of it, Jonah is not the only one in the Bible alright.

Think about King David. It all started off with him idling on the rooftop alright when he was supposed to be at war with the kings and his generals. But we know from then on it was a slippery slope downhill. Alright what happened after that? He saw a woman bathing. His neighbour’s wife bathing, and he lusted. He coveted. He brought her over. And was that the end? No, he got her pregnant. And then he plotted and he schemed to cover his tracks. And not only that, he also got her husband murdered. Alright so I think you can see that if we persist in our sin and unrepented sin, there is only one direction. It goes down and down and down.

Let us also not forget that our sin erodes our relationship with God. Now God has given us a conscience. Initially, the conscience speaks loudly to us, warning us of the dangers of sin. But if we persist, we are suppressing that voice. And the longer and longer we persist in our sins, it becomes quieter and quieter. And soon, it doesn’t call out to you anymore. So are we also in this state of spiritual slumber like Jonah, so insensitive to what’s going on around us? Now we know that even we like Jonah, there are many pagans who are living around us. They are desperate just like the mariners. They are desperate because they are suffering. They are in pain, especially during this pandemic. They’re losing their life alright they’re losing their livelihood.

And what are we doing? Are we also insensitive to their needs? And this is talking about physical alright- physical suffering. But how about their spiritual needs? Alright in John 3:18. Alright we know in John 3:16, but what’s after that? “He who believes is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already”. Do you know that people who do not trust the Lord Jesus Christ is condemned already? And this is their spiritual state. They are in a desperate need, but are we sleeping? Now the Bible tells us that many who do not come to Christ are on a broad way. And where are they heading to? They’re heading to destruction alright they are perishing. Souls around us are perishing. Now how do we know that we have fallen into spiritual slumberness like Jonah alright are there symptoms?

Alright we are probably quite expert in detecting symptoms for Covid. That’s why we do the temperature check. That’s why the government lists down some of the symptoms that if you have that, you should go and check yourself. And one of the prominent ones is the loss of taste and smell. So does spiritual slumberness have symptoms? Oh yes, and one of it is like Jonah. While others are crying out to their God, what was he doing? He was not even found alright he was sleeping alright. He was not found, yet he was sleeping. And he was not praying. Alright so are you in spiritual slumberness? Are you found praying?

But you might say again I pray every day alright. But what do you pray about? It’s not just the act of doing it. It’s not just a practice that we do. Are we praying “my kingdom come, my will be done”? For backsliding Christians like Jonah who persist in their sins, their prayer is always and often inward-looking. It is often self-centred because true prayer is praying according to God’s will. It is praying “God’s kingdom come, and God’s will be done”. It is praying for the advancement of God’s kingdom through the gospel that lost souls may be saved. And it’s exactly what the song, that hymn that we sang just now alright to go to the world.

Now how did God respond to Jonah’s rebellion and decline? How did God respond? And that brings us to our next point. The next point is the discipline from God. Now, look at verse 4 onwards. Verse 4: “the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea”. Verse 6: “So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.”

So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. (Verse 8) And they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And what people are you?””. Now, these verses tell us that God was not done with Jonah. And this part here in verse 4 really strikes us. “But God” alright- but God did not abandon Jonah although Jonah turned away from God. God initiated a plan and using means to confront His prophet. Now, this is the part where God takes out His cane and says: Jonah, I’m not done with you yet. Now we know parents can get very creative in using instruments for punishment. Especially if they are in the kitchen, now one spatula would come. Or in the bathroom, the water hose.

Now let’s see what instrument did God use to discipline His prophet. Now the first instrument. Verse 4, God sent out a great wind, the great wind on the sea to cause a mighty tempest. Now Jonah was hoping that the wind and the sea would carry him away far from his commission, but the wind and the storm obeyed God to oppose this disobedient prophet. Now it might not have impacted Jonah immediately, but it did to the people around him. And that brings us to the second instrument. God used people alright- He used the people around him. Verse 6: “So the captain came to him, and said, “What do you mean? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us”.

Now the forces of nature caused the mariners to fear, and they started panicking. And when they were searching, probably searching for their cargos, they found there is Jonah sleeping. And what did they do? They rebuked him. What on earth are you doing? How can you even sleep in a condition like this? Do you know that we are perishing? The boat is about to be broken up. Now apart from that, they also decided to draw lots alright in verse 7. Verse 7: “And they came to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.””. Now they believed that this was an abnormal storm. It was divine. It was unusual, and someone must be the cause of this. And they decided to cast lots.

And we see in Proverbs 16:33 that: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from” who? It is from God. And so we know it was God who was behind this, and it fell on Jonah. Jonah was the cause. And what happened after that? They asked Jonah in verse 8: “Please tell us! Who has caused this trouble? What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And what people are you?”. Now these questions, questions after questions that were thrown at him were pricking his conscience alright. So we have seen now how God uses the forces of elements, God uses people around him to confront Jonah and to deal with this backsliding prophet. Now let us consider some lessons for ourselves.

Now I’d like to once again draw your attention to the significance and the importance of verse 4: “but God”. If there was no “but God”, this book would have been just four verses alright. This Jonah from Amittai, he was called to go to Nineveh. He fled away and God gave him up. That’s it. I found someone else who is willing to do the job. But no. Why would God even bother to deal with people like this? Why would God persist to pursue? Why would God want to confront? Now there’s a passage in the New Testament that explains this. Let us turn to Hebrews. The book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 12.

Hebrews chapter 12, reading from verse 5: “And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? (Verse 8) But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.”. Now, why would God bother to pursue Jonah in his rebellion and when he was declining? Just leave him, find someone else. We see in verse 6: “whom the LORD loves He chastens”. Because God loved Jonah.

And in verse 7, and because God treated him like a son. And for what purpose? Why would God do that? Alright, let’s continue on in Hebrews 12:10- “For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present”, and I believe we can all attest to that alright. The cane is nothing joyful about. It is painful. “Nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”. Now all the dealings of God with Jonah are a dealings of a loving father towards his son, and it is to bring this erring child back to obedience.

And therefore, God was willing to pursue. And God willing, we can see more of that in my next sermon (chapter 2). Now through what means does God use to chasten us today? Now perhaps it is also something from His creation, a microorganism that has brought this pandemic alright maybe to rebuke us because we might have been too busy. We have been taking His blessings for granted. Perhaps we have been so engrossed in pursuing our success. Now has the Lord called you to be quiet and to reflect upon the church, upon your own life during this pandemic? Alright if you don’t have time, boom came the MCO alright. Is that still an excuse for us? No, I got no time. And everything seems to have halted, stopped.

Now that things are resuming, are we moving on with the lessons that God has for us? Now perhaps He is also using the people around us to rebuke us. Now here we see God uses probably the most unlikely of people, the pagans alright, the non-believers to rebuke His prophet, to rebuke His child, and to put them to shame. Shame on you alright. We are all praying to our gods, and what are you doing? Sleeping. Now we live in a Muslim country alright, and we know that they pray five times a day. Now just the other day as we brought Lucas for a vaccination and we came back around noon time. And it was a Friday, and I was seeing why the roads are so jammed, the traffic is so bad? Then only I realised: Oh, there’s a mosque nearby.

Alright so people have gone back to the mosque to pray, and they have double parked their cars, creating inconvenience for others. But it’s okay, they need to pray. Now deep in our hearts we know that these practices avails nothing alright because there is only one true and living God, the God of the Bible. But let us use it to reflect on ourselves. Now that things have opened up, are churches eager to open and meet again, to meet to pray? Or are they still debating: Aya, what activity should we have? Maybe just the service, then after that we can go back and do our own things. It was so convenient when it was online. Let’s just reduce it to that. Is there still a debate whether physical prayer meeting is needed?

Alright maybe you’re worried that it takes too long, we are exposed. Or have we found satisfaction in Zoom, in online services? Now, these non-believers are flocking back to the mosque to pray. Shame on you! Now, aren’t we the ones who have direct access to the throne of grace? Now how many of us see it as a privilege and it’s our privilege to come together to pray? Now how many times have we sinned, but God has used the rod of correction to bring us back? Now, what was the outcome? What was the outcome of God’s discipline towards Jonah? That leads us to our last point, a renewed declaration. Now Jonah finally speaks in verse 9: “So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.””.

Now, how significant was this when he declared this to the mariners? Verse 10, he tells us: “Then the men were exceedingly afraid”. Now what I believe was going through their mind was going through the mind of this lady in Joshua 2. I’m not sure whether you remember, otherwise, I’ll pass the cane to Woei Chyuen, and he will make sure that you remember. Joshua 2. Now turn with me to Joshua 2. Joshua 2, beginning with verse 8: “Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof”. Now Joshua sent out two spies to Jericho to survey out, and they were hunted. And therefore, they hid at Rahab’s place and she hid them at the roof.

And in verse 9: “and she said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. And we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and the earth beneath”.

Now don’t forget, these mariners were transporting goods from Joppa, which is somewhere in Israel. They would probably have heard that when you deal with these people, be careful. Why? Because they serve a God who is all-powerful. And they probably also heard about the crossing of the Red Sea alright as Rahab did. And when Jonah was confronted alright, he was reminded of who he was alright. He was a servant of the God of heaven above and the earth beneath. He was a man of privilege, and that’s why he said I am a Hebrew. Now it is as if he is saying that I am a Hebrew of which the nation that God set His love upon and He singled out among all nations.

And He gave us the Law. He gave us an approach to Himself through the priests and the sacrificial system. And that is what it means to be a Hebrew, an Israelite. But yet, here is this prophet who needs to climb over all these blessings, all these privileges, and to run away. And that reminded him of his disobedience. The questions that were probing him. And therefore, he ended up with this declaration. I am a Hebrew. I fear the Lord. I have reverence for this God. I worship this God. It is this God Almighty who created all things, who made the sea and the dry land. And it was this point that Jonah could not hide himself anymore alright.

Everything was working against him, and even the lot fell upon him. It singled him out and he was pricked. His conscience was pricked by the questions that the mariners were asking him and he arrived to this wonderful declaration. Now, what happened after that? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of God because he had told them. “And then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.””. He realised I was the cause alright. It was me who caused these people to be in harm’s way. And he told them something very shocking to throw him into the sea.

And what happened after that? It stopped. Now after we have been confronted and after we have experienced the discipline from God, will we like Jonah be convicted of our sins to realise that we have been running from God? And we will come to a renewed declaration just like Jonah? Now when he said I am a Hebrew, it is as good as us saying I am a Christian who was dead in trespasses and sin, who walked according to this world who were the children of wrath. But God. “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love for us made us alive together with Christ”.

Now my dear brethren, when we are awoken, when we are confronted, when we are disciplined, and when we repent, we become useful. We become useful as a channel of God’s divine salvation in bringing the gospel to the loss. And when we renew our declaration or our confession and when we obey, we become His instrument. And of course, we see this self-sacrificing act was a foreshadow of what was to come. A greater Jonah would come and recognising there was no other way for His people to be saved but to sacrifice Himself. So will you once again renew your declaration towards the Lord, take up the cross, and follow Him?

Now, in conclusion, our loving Father is so patient with us. He is willing to work His purposes through you and through me who are failings, who are runners, who often decline spiritually. And He wants to use us often disobedient, sour, bitter, and not willing to be an instrument to carry out His redemptive plan. And so if this morning you are found to be sleeping, pray that the words of the Lord will wake you up, would convict you of your sins that you’ll once again declare that He is your God and that you fear Him, that you worship Him.

Now to my unbelieving friends, this message is also for you alright because we all as sinners are like the mariners. Alright in times of trouble- in times of trouble when you pray to your gods, there is no response. Alright we see that in Mount Carmel. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal: Cry out to your god, but there was no response alright because there is only one and true living God which is the God of the Bible. And though you decline in your sins, but God can deliver you if you call out to Him and declare Him as your Lord and your Saviour.

And that is actually what the Bible is all about. Alright if you look at the Bible, it could have ended also in four chapters. Chapter 1, creation. Chapter 2, life in the Garden of Eden. Chapter 3, the fall of man. Chapter 4, and God destroyed them all. Alright but chapter 4 onwards all the way until the end is God’s plan of redemption. Don’t forget this word “but God”. “But God demonstrates His love toward us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”. Alright, let us close and pray.

“Our Father in heaven, we thank You for confronting us with Your words and reminding us that it is indeed a dangerous thing to continue in unrepented sin. O Lord, we above thank You that this story gives us hope because You are a loving Father who pursues those who have run from You, those who have declined and You draw us back. And we thank You for using means that are around us to remind us that we worship a God, a Creator. And we pray that You’ll grant us the willingness to come to seek for forgiveness.

And we pray that You’ll restore us. We thank You that You are also willing to use us despite of our frailties, despite of our failures. And we pray that You’ll grant us once again that we might be winsome in our testimony towards others and to pick up the cross daily to follow our Lord Jesus Christ. All these we pray and give thanks, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.