Pastor J.T. Kalejaiye: For Jonah's Sake

TOPIC: FOR JONAH’S SAKE

TEXT: JONAH 1

PREACHER: PASTOR J.T. KALEJAIYE

It is possible to be blessed through the good deeds of other people; It is equally to be punished through the evil deeds of other people. For example;

·         For Joseph’s sake, God blessed Potiphar and his household – Genesis 39:5.

·         For Sarah’s sake, king Pharaoh entreated Abraham well – Genesis 12:16.

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For Abraham’s sake, God blessed Isaac and he also multiplied his seeds – Genesis 26:24.

·         For Gehazi’s sake, all his children carried an evil load (leprosy) – 2 Kings 5:27.

·         For Jonah’s sake, some mariners experienced turbulence.

According to Jonah chapter one, God sent Jonah to Nineveh but Jonah disobeyed God. He left the presence of God and went down to Tarshish. Jonah’s action displeased God and he sent a mighty tempest/wind that almost damaged the ship. The mariners were exceedingly afraid so they cast some wares/goods into the sea in order to lighten the ship but that that did not solve the problem. They prayed but their prayers went into the voicemail.  Surprisingly, Jonah was fast asleep during the tempest. The people cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah; the people discovered that Jonah was the cause of the problem. And according to Jonah 1:12, Jonah was thrown into the sea as a way to solve the problem. Immediately after John was jettisoned, they storm ceased and they experienced peace.

The mariners sail regularly on that sea but they never encountered such experience until the day Jonah entered their ship. They might have suffered great losses or even died if they had accommodated Jonah beyond that time. The disobedience of Jonah brought about a terrible storm which would have claimed the lives of those innocent mariners.

Disobedience can provoke punishment; it can provoke curses – Genesis 3:16-19, Deuteronomy 28:15-16

Disobedience can bring about death – 1 Kings 13

There are some lessons to be learnt from the story of Jonah;

1.       It is dangerous to leave the presence of the Lord

2.       Get rid of Jonah (disobedience), otherwise that Jonah will get rid of you.

3.       Let your motto be ‘Thy Will Be Done’.

4.       There must be a discovery before a recovery.

PRAYER POINTS

1.       Father, please do not let me depart from your presence.

2.       Father, please reveal to me the Jonah (cause of the problem) in my life.

3.       Father, please let every storm in my life cease now in Jesus’ name.

God bless you and may your payers be answered in Jesus’ name. You can drop your prayer requests in the comment box below. See you next week. SHALOM!!