It’s good to be back here to worship the Lord together with you. I’ll be continuing my series on Jonah. And just a slight correction. The sermon text is what I’ll be reading to you now. So if you would turn with me to Jonah chapter 1 beginning with verse 17 all the way until the end of chapter 2. Alright 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. (Chapter 2 verse 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.” Now before we consider this text, let us turn to God in prayer.

“Our Father in heaven, we come before Your living and Your powerful Word. We pray that Your Word that is sharper than any two-edged sword will search our hearts this morning and will try our thoughts. And if there’s any ways that are sinful, we pray that You will lead us in a way everlasting. All these we pray and ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Now it has been two years being a parent, and it’s amazing how the Lord uses this phase of life to continue to teach us not just about our children but about ourselves. Why? Because we are very much like our children alright before the eyes of the Lord. And there’s this incident where I brought my son to the playground. And he likes to sit the slide. And back then he was still a year and a half, so he was still struggling with his strength and he just learned to walk. So, he would climb the steps to the slide, and he would hold one hand on the railing and one hand he would hold my hand.

But there was this particular morning. When I reached out my hand to him, he pushed it away. He said no, don’t want daddy. I said wow, he realised that he thinks today is the day that he thinks that he’ll climb up by himself. And I tried to tell him, if you do not hold my hand, you might fall. But he said no, don’t want daddy. And so okay, I just watched. And sure enough, his hand wasn’t strong enough. His grip wasn’t firm enough, and he fell through the gaps of the stairs. Ploop! His four limbs were folded up, sandwiched, and he was in distress.

Now these are just one of the many times where he found himself in this kind of situation. And that is what we are considering today about. It is the foolishness and the rebellion of this prophet Jonah that has landed him in a distressing situation. Now God asked him to go, he said no. God asked him to go to Nineveh. Nineveh is the capital of the Assyrian empire to warn them of their sins. Now you can imagine a country Taiwan is so small which is like Israel, and God asks you to go to China who has been harassing you.

And the prophets say no, I don’t want to go. He doesn’t want to even warn them about their sins because he knows- he knows his God. If God wanted to destroy them, He would have done it already. Why does He want me to warn them? And he refused to go. And instead, he fled to the opposite direction. He went to Tarshish, far, far away from Nineveh. And he went through a ship. And like any good parent, when your child disobeys you, there comes out the cane alright to discipline him. And that’s what God did. God hurled the storm. God caused the captain to rebuke him because he was sleeping through the storm and ask him: How are you sleeping in times like this?

And Jonah came to his senses and said: I am a Hebrew. I’m actually Hebrew. I worship this God who created the heavens and the earth, and I’m running from Him. He said, what? You’re running away from the almighty God. And they asked him: What should we do now? And he said throw me into the sea. And that was the distress that came upon Jonah. Now let’s look at verse 2 of chapter 2: “I call out to the LORD out of my distress”. Now what was the distress that Jonah was going through? Now let’s look at verses 3.

Verses 3: “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.’” Look again at verse 5: “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; When my life was fainting away.” Now here Jonah described the experience when he was tossed from the ship. From the deck of the ship, probably about ten meters down into the open ocean. And he went down and down and down, and we know he was reaching the bottom.

Why? Because there were weeds that were wrapping around his head to the roots of the mountains. And there he described his situation as going to the place of no return. “Went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; my life was fainting away.” And at this point of time, perhaps Jonah started swallowing a lot of water and he knew that he was going to die. And it was a near-death experience, a moment of great distress. And at this time, the LORD appointed a fish to swallow him, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Now this is the distress of Jonah. Can you imagine what he was experiencing? Now have you seen someone struggle and panic in the water because they don’t know how to swim? And usually, we see that in a swimming pool, but this is an open sea. And even strong swimmers sometimes struggle to keep afloat. And it was at this point he realised that his life was fainting away. He was drowning. He was near death. And not only that, after he was swallowed into fish, he probably realised that it is dark, it is smelly. It probably smells of vomit. It is slimy.

Now wouldn’t you be in great distress to experience this? But let me tell you something that this wasn’t Jonah’s greatest distress. It wasn’t his greatest distress. It is no doubt greatly distressing, but it wasn’t his greatest distress. Now what was his greatest distress? What was his greatest concern? Now let us read Jonah 2:2-4, “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”.

Now this is his greatest distress, a sense of being taken away, being cast away, being expelled, being banished by God. This is his greatest distress. And I wonder if that sense of separation from God is your greatest distress also as a child of God. Now have you ever experienced taking away a child from their parents? Now I understand Eden is quite clingy to her mom. And sometimes you don’t even have the intention to take her away. We just want to carry her, but you can hear the distress in her cry alright. It’s distressing to her. It is instinctive in a child if you separate them from their parents, they will cry. Now if this happens to a child, shouldn’t it happen to us as a child of God?

Now is there anything else that is more distressing than being cast away and being driven away from God? Now but what causes this separation? What causes separation between us and God? Now turn with me to Isaiah. The Old Testament, Isaiah 59. Isaiah 59:1-2. Isaiah 59:1- “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.”

Now it is our sins that are separating us between us and our God and not in an ultimate sense but our fellowship with God is affected by our sins. And He hides his face from us because He is a holy and righteous God. Now for a true child of God, that sense of being separated should be the greatest distressing thing in our life. Or is it not? Or is there a relationship in your life that hurts more than the thought of a severed fellowship with your God? Perhaps your relationship with an unbeliever, your relationship with your work, your relationship with your family. Is there anything that is more agonising than knowing that God’s face is hidden from you?

Or perhaps you do not feel distressed at all. Have you come to a point where you have suppressed it, that you don’t feel it anymore, that your conscience is quiet, that as long as nobody sees it, it’s okay? It doesn’t bother you and pretend it never happens. And it’s only when it’s exposed, you feel ashamed. You feel ashamed that you have been caught not that because you have sinned but you have been caught in a shameful situation. Now a true child of God when he has fallen into sin and he has rebelled against his God, he feels distress. It is greatly distressing.

Now David said that in his prayer of repentance in Psalm 51. It is against You- “against You only have I sinned.” “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Even a true child of God and you have sinned against God, it is distressing. Now what did Jonah do with his distress? Who did he turn for help? And that is our second point- the deliverer of Jonah. Deliverer of Jonah. Let’s turn back to our text, Jonah chapter 1.

“Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God (verse 2) saying, “I called out to the LORD, (Verse 4) Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ (Verse 6) 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.”

Now who did Jonah turn to for deliverance? The very man who tried his best to flee from the presence of God is now fleeing, looking, seeking for the presence of God. As is what he said, he’s looking to the temple because in the Old Testament, that’s where the presence of God is manifested. Now isn’t this ironic? And that is something I also learned in parenting.

Now before I became a parent to my son, I was quite puzzled and surprised to see that happen between Ezra and his dad. When his father has disciplined him, he cries, but he runs back to the father. And it was the same experience that I had. When I’ve disciplined my son, he’s crying. The same hand that has smacked him is the same hand that is wiping away his tears, that is comforting him. And that is that sense and comfort and security that a child would have with his father. It’s as if what has happened previously has forgotten. He only looks to him as a comfort. Now that is what we read in the prayer of Jonah. It is his God. O LORD my God. There is that sense of belonging, and he turned to his God for deliverance.

Now did his God respond? Now it’s one thing to know who to look for, but will that person respond? Will He be able to help you? Now we know during an emergency alright we make a distress call especially when we see an accident, now we call 999 alright. We know they will pick up our call. We know their response, but will they come in time? How long would they take to come? And if you have a victim there who is losing lots of blood, and you tell him hang on, hang on, help is coming. After ten minutes, hang on, hang on, help is coming. Twenty minutes, thirty minutes, where’s the ambulance? Where is your help?

But thankfully in our Christian life, we don’t have to say that. We don’t have to say hang on, hang on, help is coming because the Bible tells us “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Was there a response from his God? Oh yes, let’s look back at the passage. Jonah 2:2- “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. At the roots of the mountains. I went down (in verse 6) to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.”

And that was why God sent the big fish to swallow Jonah, to deliver him from his death. Now can you also with confidence this morning said that my God will deliver me? Who do you turn to in moments of distress? Now Jonah has something to say to you. If it is not of God of the Bible that you are turning to for deliverance, now look at verse 8. Jonah 2:8- “Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own mercy.” Now he is probably recalling an incident that happened previously.

Now let’s look back at Jonah chapter 1. Jonah chapter 1, verse 4 onwards. Verse 4 to verse 6. Jonah 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.”

Now here he witnesses the mariners in a similar situation, life-threatening situation, that they were going to perish. They were greatly distressed and they cried out to their God. And what happened? Nothing. Nothing happened. Now doesn’t this remind us of a story in the Old Testament of Elijah who challenged the prophets of Baal into a fire making competition? And they see whose God answered them in fire, and he allowed prophets of Baal to go first. Go, call upon your god to bring down fire. From morning until noon there was no answer. And the prophet Elijah mocked them, saying maybe your God is travelling. He cannot hear. He’s not at home. He’s musing. He’s reliving himself.

And they cried even louder. They cut themselves until blood was gushing out. There was still no answer. Well, turn with me to Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 10. Jeremiah chapter 10, begin with verse 3: “For the customs (Jeremiah 10:3)- for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”

Now is this a description of your God? Now if you do not trust and have faith in the living God of the Bible, this is the description of your God. Now the prayer of Jonah reminds us there is nothing else in this world who has that power to ultimately deliver us from our greatest distress, and that is the wrath of God that is upon you because of your sins. and it’s only through the Lord Jesus Christ who has come to die on the cross for the sins of sinners where salvation is found. and as Jonah said: Salvation belongs to the LORD”.

Now how did Jonah ended his prayer after he has received deliverance in his distress? Our third point, the dedication of Jonah. Now Jonah’s prayer ended with a dedication in verse 9: “But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed.” Now Jonah now is filled with gratitude. He is now responding by offering up a sacrifice of praise to the Lord. And he is thanking God for how remarkable and how kind the Lord has been and gracious He has been to Jonah. And usually in the Old Testament when they are thankful to the Lord, they will bring an offering. They will bring an offering to the temple to give it to the Lord.

And here, Jonah likewise did bring an offering. Although he was not in the temple; he was in the belly of the fish, he could not bring a physical offering but he brought an offering of thanksgiving. And also, he made a vow, that offering that is of greater importance alright because in the other parts of the Scriptures the people can come and bring bulls and bring lambs, but the offering of obedience is not what the Lord really wants to see. Now turn with me to Psalm 50.

Psalm 50, beginning with verse 7: “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.” Alright so he’s not complaining. God is not complaining about the sacrifices that they are bringing. They bring continually. “I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High.”

Now God is not just looking for the external, physical sacrifice. But what is greater importance to Him is the heart. The heart of obedience. And therefore, that was what Jonah offered to God. Jonah offered a vow. Now what that vow was exactly is not detailed here for us. But in the later chapters in chapter 3, we can deduce that the vow was to do God’s will, to be obedient to God. And spoiler alert, probably I don’t have to worry because by the time I come here next time you probably already forgot. But in chapter 3, Jonah obeyed the command of God and he went to Nineveh. That’s what he did. He went and warned them of the judgement of God.

Now recently there has been joyous occasions in this church- baptism. And I’m sure in the testimony of the candidates you have heard how the Lord has delivered them from their distress. And baptism is an occasion to publicly announce that I am now a follower of Christ and there is no other lover apart from Him. And isn’t this what the candidates are saying in baptism? And then followed by covenant. The church has covenant, and they enter into a covenant with the church. And I’m sure one of it is a vow to say that now that I’ve experienced that deliverance from my distress, I will want to also share it with those who are in their sins.

And we have likewise taken a vow. After that experience of distress, our greatest distress from sin being delivered in the blood of Christ, and there here is the challenge for us. Now I’m not sure if you remember there is this viral incident during the MCO where a couple on the motorbike went past a vaccine centre in KL (Grant Seasons Hotel). And he saw that the SOP wasn’t being followed. Everybody was so close to each other as if they were hugging each other. And the guy on the motorbike was so distressed.

He came down. He tells them hey, you should be distancing yourself. He told the police hey, why don’t you do something? He appealed to the authority, why don’t you do something? People are dying. Children are dying. And later we found out that he has a family member who has fell victim to Covid. And to him, it is a real danger.

Now putting our views on Covid aside, don’t we have that distress to see fellow sinners queuing up at the gates of hell? And do you not feel so distressed that you want to plead with your God to do something? Will you not be on your knees to plead with God for deliverance for fellow sinners who are queuing up to the gates of hell? Now this man knows the danger of Covid. We know the danger of our sins. Will we not do something?

Now this man, what he did after that was, he put markers on the floor at night with his team. He put markers on the floor because he knows something has to be done. Now in response to thanksgiving of the salvation that we have received, will we not dedicate ourselves to warn others of their sins and to offer the hope that is in the Lord Jesus Christ? Now if our sins and the sins of others do not distress you this morning, I pray that the Lord will intensify that distress, that He will plunge you into the sea, that you may respond as what Jonah did. Now let us close in prayer.

“Our Father in heaven, we have not loved You as we ought, but we thank You that You are a loving Father that despite of our rebellion against You, You continue to bring Your children back. We pray that the distresses in our life will not go to waste, that when we see Your sovereign hand behind it that it will turn our hearts to flee from our sins but to flee to Your presence. Lord, we plea that You would grant us that heart of compassion for those who are still lost in their sins and to remind them that there is that judgement to come and to be reminded once again that we have found this hope in Christ. And help us to always be ready to share this good news of salvation that is in the Lord. All these we pray and ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.