Shopping Basket
Your Basket is Empty
Quantity:
Subtotal
Taxes
Delivery
Total
There was an error with PayPalClick here to try again
CelebrateThank you for your business!You should receive an order confirmation from Paypal shortly.Exit Shopping Basket

Mountain Ministries

Blog

Isaiah 52:7

Mountain Ministries​

My Blog

Blog

« Back to Blog « Older Entry | Newer Entry »

When Put to The Test (Jonah Part 1 of 4)

Posted on 18 January, 2018 at 10:07
 




As I look over this past year, one thing sticks out more for me than anything else this past year. It isn’t the most significant trial I’ve gone through, nor the greatest miracle I received. Its seeing and experiencing God’s MERCY.
 
A man I knew came forward for prayer. He was having pain in his arm. I knew he was living in sin because he told me. I thought to myself. God’s not going to heal you; you are in sin. Never the less I prayed for healing in his body. To my amazement, God healed him. He was surprised, but I was surprised to even more. This blew my religious belief out of the water. I believed God does not answer prayers of those in deliberate sin. So I asked the Lord why did you heal him. The Lord simply said, “Because I love him.” You mean God loves the sinner, absolutely, but he hates the sin.

I could have argued with God, and told him, that wasn’t right, but I would be wrong. God is God, and I am not, mercy and salvation is of God, as Jonah will realize. 

Jonah 1:1-3
1.Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2. Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 3. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD and went down to Joppa, and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”

Scripture says Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. Can you indeed flee or hide from God and He doesn’t see you, of course not? Instead of obeying God, Jonah fled from God. Why didn’t God find someone else who would obey Him? Why Jonah? Yes, God could have found someone else, but he chose Jonah. Someone else would have said yes Lord and went. But God chose Jonah. Why? God was dealing with Jonah’s heart and beliefs.

Jonah was called to preach and prophesize to the Israelite, but God did something different, something new. Jonah didn’t want the change. But God wanted to change Jonah. God calls Jonah to go to a heathen city of Nineveh to the gentiles and warn them of God’s judgment, just as Jonah had done with the Israelites. However, when Jonah is put to the test of being called to carry out a difficult and unpopular task, the true spiritual state of his heart was revealed. 

The Ninevites weren’t serving God. They were steep in sin and idolatry. They weren’t even his people; they were a heathen nation. As far as Jonah was concerned they deserved judgment. After all, they are reaping what they sowed.

Jonah is loyal to Israel just like many are loyal to their church. He may be religious and attends services regularly, he may tithe generously, but he is also "proud, self-centered, pouting, vengeful; without proper respect or obedience to God, or a love for his enemies." You can be called into ministry, have a spiritual gift, huge ministry, and following, and still, be running from God's purpose and will, Jonah did.

Jonah is not a man to pattern your life after, yet there are many in the body of Christ just like him. They are loyal to their Church and family, but behind closed doors, there is a different personality that emerges when put to the test. Anger, jealousy, backbiting, gossip, profanity, vengeful, unforgiveness, etc.

Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

So Jonah left his home, family, friends and most of all his ministry and took off for parts unknown. Was Jonah running from God’s presence?

It appears that Jonah was running from God, or was he simply running from himself? Was he running because he was wrong about God? Everything Jonah thought he knew about God from his religious upbringing and teachings was now in question. Was he running because God’s will and purpose didn’t line up with his?  

Jonah wasn’t just running from God’s presence. Jonah QUIT God. Jonah knew about the judgment and wrath of God for sin, He preached it and warned his people to get right with God. Now he was told to go to an ungodly nation and preach repentance. A people who were not God’s people but they were His creation.

If Jonah was wrong about judgment and mercy, what else was he wrong about concerning God, Israel, the word of God, God's real purpose and plan for Jonah. Can you quit God? People do it all the time, especially those in ministry. They are offended, angry or just plain hurt so they walk away from the Church, from there office or gifting, some even close the Church, and walk away from God. Yes, you can quit God, but God won’t give up on you. To be continued.

Categories: People of the Bible

Post a Comment

Oops!

Oops, you forgot something.

Oops!

The words you entered did not match the given text. Please try again.

18 Comments

Reply Fushiok
22:47 on 26 July, 2022 
Discount Generic Propecia generic cialis 20mg Order Low Priced Chlamydia Antibiotics
Reply jedaduele
7:04 on 15 August, 2022 
ivermec The test for EBVspecific antibodies antiEA and antiIgMVCA titers is not an appropriate test to order initially because EBVspecific antibodies help in diagnosing cases that are heterophile negative however of cases are heterophilepositive.
Reply John Barron
16:24 on 6 October, 2022 
Reply Smeacle
3:15 on 30 October, 2022 
J Tyrer, SW Duffy, J Cuzick A breast cancer prediction model incorporating familial and personal risk factors Stat Med 23 1111 1130, 2004 Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar 9 stromectol over the counter australia 24, 28 The type of response to tamoxifen therapy was assessed according to standard criteria
Reply assusyday
2:23 on 11 November, 2022 
priligy reviews There might indeed be a small extra benefit, but we can t say so for sure with this trial
Reply skizTiefs
12:56 on 11 November, 2022 
com 20 E2 AD 90 20Blague 20Viagra 20Enfer 20 20Buy 20Viagra 20Queensland blague viagra enfer CSEC is the Canadian equivalent of the top secret U is a half dose of tamoxifen better than none
Reply immuddy
9:40 on 13 November, 2022 
For elderly patients in good physical condition, primary treatment by ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS lasix tablet 7 for the nitrogen imide
Reply DyewSwicy
1:03 on 18 November, 2022 
can doxycycline make you extremely tired Summary of Epidemiological Studies That Evaluated Breast Cancer in Transgender Patients a
Reply torgrinna
7:54 on 21 November, 2022 
Studies on the metabolic fate of gomisin A TJN 101 stromectol online pharmacy 11 December 2015
Reply daypoms
0:33 on 22 November, 2022 
The skin is your body s protective barrier against dirt and bacteria from the outside world buy clomid
Reply Adarrob
19:09 on 6 December, 2022 
1 Interindividual variability because of the effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes encoding cytochrome P450 CYP450 enzymes involved in Phase I of the TAM metabolic pathway has been shown in many studies tamoxifen citrate 20mg
Reply ethepsy
11:35 on 13 December, 2022 
Hybrid Sunscreen Hybrid sunscreens incorporate both inorganic and organic filters to create lightweight, blendable formulas that prevent sun damaged skin where to get viagra pill
Reply dumsselve
18:49 on 13 December, 2022 
buy stromectol canada Serious Use Alternative 1 enzalutamide will decrease the level or effect of dihydroergotamine by affecting hepatic intestinal enzyme CYP3A4 metabolism
Reply Shuccitty
20:45 on 14 December, 2022 
priligy dapoxetine As determined by real time PCR, the E2 dependent increase of all genes examined was prevented by MIBE as obtained using OHT Figure 5a
Reply unfaino
1:41 on 20 December, 2022 
Sensitiviteten f?¶r att se trichomonas ?¤r 60 propecia prostate cancer Gillies MA, Kakar V, Parker RJ, Honor?© PM, Ostermann M
Reply smatato
7:12 on 23 January, 2023 
viagra jelly for sale uk In the second trial, the sex ratio based on phenotypic sexing was 62 38 for tamoxifen exposed chicks and 45 55 for vehicle exposed chicks
Reply Additliaw
15:01 on 24 January, 2023 
Fat Loss and Cellulite Treatments priligy medication This fact is well documented by ongoing debate regarding similarity vs

Categories


/
Lightbox image