St. Simons Community Church

When Jonah needed a second chance, God gave it to him.  Jonah ran away from God’s call to go to Nineveh.  Eventually, after a detour in the belly of a great fish, the word of the Lord came to Jonah “a second time.”  God gave Jonah another chance to obey and get it right commanding him, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you” (Jonah 3:2).

The word “Go” literally means “arise and go” or “get up and go.”  It implies an imperative need to quickly obey.  God is telling Jonah, “Don’t delay.  Get up and do it now.  Don’t wait another minute.”

Have you ever heard a command from God that you intended to obey, but you waited?  Perhaps you delayed a little bit and reasoned you would get around to it later.  So you waited and waited and waited.  In the end you never obeyed God.  If Jonah had waited too long, he might have eventually backed out again.  He might have let the urgency to obey slowly fade away.

How many times have you let this happen in your life?  God spoke to you clearly about an issue and you didn’t follow through.  You were going to obey, but you waited.  Perhaps God spoke to you in church on Sunday morning, or listening to Christian radio, talking to a friend, or reading your Bible.  Wherever it was, God convicted you and laid something on your heart.  You were committed to following through and obeying God.  You told yourself that you were going to end an unhealthy, ungodly relationship.  You told yourself and God that you were going to share your faith with a friend.  Maybe you promised God that you going to begin to tithe, or give some money to meet a need.  Maybe you told yourself you were finally going to forgive someone who had hurt you, or find some help to overcome your addiction.

There are numerous things that God might have laid on our heart.  You knew it was him.  Your heart was beating.  Your mind was clear.  You knew what you need to do.  You just just needed to “get up and go,” but instead you waited.  You stared making excuses, and putting it off.  Maybe you rationalized that it wasn’t that big of a deal.  And so you never followed through.  You know what God calls that -  disobedience.

Perhaps, God is calling you to “Get up and go” today.  Go and obey. Do it.  Walk in obedience to God.  Don’t put it off anymore.  If it is within your power and ability, don’t the let the sun go down another day without obeying the Lord.

I remember several years ago when I was in seminary, I felt I had been dishonest on an assignment I had turned in for one of my classes.  It wasn’t a real big thing, but it was a compromise in my integrity.  I made a bunch of excuses in my head, but I knew when I turned it in that I had not fully been honest.  I went home for Christmas break, but guess what I couldn’t quit thinking about it?  It was really hard for me to fully enjoy my self. I kept trying to blow it off, but I couldn’t.  I knew what I had to do.  When I got back to campus, I had to “get up and go” to my professor and make it right. He was very gracious and understanding.  Even though in his mind, my indiscretion was fairly minute, he was glad I came to clear my conscience.  I left his office that day feeling as though a load of bricks was off of my shoulder.  I was free.  I was right with God.

Is it time for you to get up and go?  God gives second chances, but we must respond in obedience.  So just do it.  Now.  Don’t wait any more.  Get up and go obey.  And that’s the word.

Who you gonna call?  If you were alive in the 80’s, you probably think of one response to that question.  Who you gonna call?  Ghostbusters!  That may be a fun response to the question, but I am not sure the Ghostbusters can offer a lot of help to a man or woman in real need.  Over the last few weeks, we have looked at the story of Jonah.  Jonah was a man on the run from God, boarding a ship headed in the wrong direction.  During a great storm, Jonah realized that God was chasing him.  In his desperation, he had the sailors throw him overboard into the depths of the ocean.  Jonah literally felt he was in hell, lost at the bottom of the ocean.  He must have cried out to God all the way down as he was sinking before the Lord sent a great fish to swallow him.

The Bible records: “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.  He said, ‘In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.  From the depths of the grave I called for help and you listened to my cry’” (Jonah 2:1,2).  Who you gonna call?  According to Jonah, there is only one person to call upon – the Lord.  One of the themes of the book of Jonah is that God answers the cries of our distress, and he is truly faithful to those who call upon Him.  This is a focal point of the book of Jonah.  The captain urged Jonah to “get up and call on your God” (Jonah 1:6).  The sailors “cried (called) to the Lord” (Jonah 1:14).  Later on in Nineveh, the king called the people to “urgently call upon God” (Jonah 3:8).

So, who you gonna call?  This word for call means to “call out, cry out, or cry for help.”  It is not a word used to talk about casual conversation.  It is not a nice little bed time prayer, and it is not the kind of prayer where you just give your shopping list to God.  This kind of prayer is a cry out to God because one sees how deeply he or she needs God’s help and intervention in his or her life.

When the storm hit the ship, the sailors were afraid and they each “cried out to his own god” (Jonah 1:5).  That was the only thing they knew to do.  They cried out to their idols and false gods, who could offer no help at all.  That was all they knew to do though.  They looked to idols for some sense of hope, some sense of comfort.  We too look to our idols in times of trouble.  The idols we serve however are not false gods per say.   Our idols are the things we run to for comfort other than God when we are fearful.  Some run to alcohol to comfort them, some to food, some to the shops.  Others seek to control and manipulate.

After their gods provided no relief, the sailors threw the cargo overboard and tried to row back to shore.  They could not overcome the sea, however, because it was so wild.  They did their best, but their best wasn’t enough.  What do you do when your best is not enough?  What do you do when you have lost hope?  What do you do when you feel like you are dying on the inside?  You call out.  You cry out to the Lord.  The sailors called out to the Lord.  In his distress, Jonah called to the Lord – and the Lord answered him.

Are you in need?  Are you in over your head?  Call upon the Lord.  Cry out to the Lord, and he will answer you.  And that’s the Word.