Keith Battle - The Jonah Story - Part 1

I’m starting a new series today from the Old Testament book of Jonah, and I’m calling this series «The Jonah Story.» So if you have a Bible or access to one, join me now in Jonah chapter 1. While you’re going there, let me also take a moment to thank everyone for your financial support of our church. It really means a lot. You have strengthened us as a ministry, and we thank God for all of you who faithfully support us financially through your tithes and offerings. It’s a blessing.

This reminds me of something: just yesterday, I was driving in my car, and my gas light had been on since the day before. I had been so busy that I didn’t stop and get gas. If you’ve ever noticed when your gas light is on and you see how much farther you can go, the lower that number gets, the less confidence you have, and the more anxiety builds up. I was just trying to coast around corners and down hills. When I finally got to the gas station and refueled, filling the tank up gave me so much confidence in driving.

I share that because that’s exactly what you all have done for us. You have empowered us as a church so that we’re not low on resources. Your giving has fueled our ministry, and we’re not wasting it. We are using it to touch lives around the world, to help those in need, and to employ almost 90 part-time and full-time staff in our church to serve this community and the world. So thank you so much for your giving.

Now, let’s go to Jonah chapter 1. I’ll be looking at the entire chapter today, but to set up the subject I want to discuss, I’ll read the first three verses from the New Living Translation: «The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amitai. Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I’ve seen how wicked its people are.» Let’s pause for a moment. God says this is your assignment, Jonah: get up, go to Nineveh, and speak my judgment against them. This is what I’m telling you to do; this is your assignment.

Verse 3 says, «But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.» I’m going to stop right there and use the subject for part one today: «A Dropped Call.»

Whenever two people are having a conversation and at least one of them is using a cell phone, if the conversation abruptly ends—sometimes without warning—that is considered a dropped call. This can be very frustrating, particularly when the conversation is important and you want it to continue. Of course, you don’t care if a call drops if it’s from someone you didn’t want to talk to anyway.

If you’ve ever experienced a dropped call—and anyone who has been on a cell phone has—you know that what usually causes this is geographical in nature. It means one of the people is in what you call a «dead zone.» When you’re in a dead zone, there’s poor service. Stick a pin in that right there. Whenever you’re in a bad area and are in a dead zone, there’s poor service. We often know where those dead zones are in our house. For instance, I know I’m in a part of my house where I don’t get good service.

We even tell the person on the other line, «Hey, I’m about to drive on this street, and whenever I hit this street I lose service, so I’ll call you right back if I lose you.» We know where those spots are where the service drops. They may also be at work, in a building where we work, or a place we drive through periodically. They’re called dead zones.

Usually, when the call drops, it’s because both parties are not close enough in proximity to the cell phone tower. The tower is what provides the connection. It’s interesting how when there’s not close proximity to the tower, we lose connection with the call.

I’m saying this because just as this happens in the natural realm with cell phones, it also happens in the spiritual realm. There is something that God does periodically in the life of every human being—I believe— and that is He calls you. He calls you to do something. You may ask, «What is the call?» It’s similar to what happens in the book of Jonah in chapter 1: God called Jonah, and Jonah dropped the call. What do I mean by «call,» you may ask? Well, let me explain that. When God speaks to you directly and gives you an assignment, we in the church world…