This powerful teaching explores the story of Jonah and the battle between our will and God’s will. Through Scripture, personal testimonies, and practical application, Christian Searer challenges believers to stop running from God’s calling, embrace true repentance, and surrender their lives completely to Jesus. Discover how obedience impacts those around us, why heart posture matters, and how God’s goodness leads us into freedom, transformation, and His perfect will.

🧠 What You’ll Learn:

• The story of Jonah and the consequences of disobedience

• Why God’s will is greater than our own

• How obedience and disobedience affect those around us

• Recognizing when God is using storms to get our attention

• The power of repentance and surrender

• Why obedience without love misses God’s heart

• How God’s goodness leads us to repentance

• Walking in freedom and fulfilling God’s calling

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Sound Bites

“Your disobedience doesn’t only affect you, it affects those around you.”

“The right thing done the wrong way is the wrong thing.”

“Repentance is the only true way to aligning with God’s perfect will in our lives.”

“God’s will is going to be done no matter what.”

“Satan accuses, but the Holy Spirit convicts.”

“No more running. No more hiding. No more pretending.”

Chapters

00:00 Worship, Spiritual Maturity & Encouragement

01:40 Don’t Quit! A Personal Testimony

05:38 Your Will, Not Mine — Luke 22:42

07:32 Biblical Numbers, Symbolism & Surrender

11:25 Dying to Self and Living for Christ

13:13 Jonah: Running From God’s Calling

17:38 How Disobedience Affects Others

19:53 Is God Using Your Storm to Get Your Attention?

21:10 You Cannot Hide From God Forever

24:42 Jonah’s Surrender and the Sailors’ Salvation

26:08 Personal Testimony: A Divine Appointment

30:52 Hearing God’s Voice and a Life Transformed

34:03 Jonah’s Repentance in the Belly of the Fish

37:22 Repentance Aligns Us With God’s Will

39:14 Jonah’s Second Chance and Nineveh’s Repentance

41:01 Obedience Without Love: Examining Our Hearts

45:38 A Call to Repentance and Spiritual Maturity

49:10 The Decision: God’s Way or Our Way?

51:55 An Invitation to Surrender and Encounter God

55:27 Prayer, Healing & Deliverance Ministry

59:13 Responding to God’s Conviction

01:03:57 The Difference Between Accusation and Conviction

01:04:42 Forgiveness and Releasing Unforgiveness

01:06:34 Surrendering Control to Jesus

01:07:51 Overcoming Bitterness and Judgment

01:08:57 Don’t Give Up — Your Breakthrough Is Near

01:10:28 Closing Ministry and Prayer

Scripture References:

Luke 22:42 | Jonah 1–4 | John 15 | Luke 8:17 | Philippians 4:6 | Ephesians 6:18 | 1 Timothy 2:1

this little stand. I just gotta be close to you guys. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus.

You guys have awesome leadership here. Do you know that? Holiness and reverent fear of the Lord is in this house. Worship last week was incredible. Worship this week is incredible. Thank you, Jim, for drawing our attention to what is going on in the worship team. It starts with worship.

Thank you, Lord.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but I believe worship is the beginning of maturity. And what's going on here in this house is nothing shy of maturity. You guys are growing in the Lord, and it is awesome to be here and to be with you again this week.

I'm not happy necessarily under the circumstances in which I'm here. So we just declare Vaughn completely healed and made whole in the name of Jesus. Father, we thank you that you're speaking revelation to him even now, God. That next week he's going to have some pretty cool things to say. God, we bless him in Jesus' name.

On the way up here this morning, I was reminded of a time in my life, and I really felt impressed to share this. It might not make sense to 99% of the room, but there's somebody in here who needs to hear this.

I grew up with a golf club in my hand. I started playing around the age of four and competitively around the age of seven. And all of my life I really wanted to do great at golf. and I put a lot of pressure on myself to do good. And when I didn't do good, I'd kind of crack under pressure and and blow up, if you will. I never threw a club, I never walked off the course except once.

But it definitely brings out the best and the worst of you, the game of golf. In my senior year, I was playing

In sectionals. We went through division, I forget what all the different levels are, but we went into sectionals and I started off doing really well in the round, but things didn't start to end up going my way. And instead of me leaning in, pressing in and trying to to go harder to lock in, I I started to crumble and I started to fall apart.

And I started looking at my failures more than what I was doing good in the round. And instead of rolling with the punches, I let the punches hit me. And somewhere about halfway through the round, I quit inside in my heart. I just I quit. I knew that I wasn't going to make it in the the top five. I knew that I wasn't going to make it to the next round. I I did two bad prior holes. I can't make up for it in the future.

So I sucked. Can I just be real with you guys? I sucked the rest of that round and I carded an eighty two, which isn't awful if you know golf, but it is when you're playing sectionals. And I missed the cut by one shot.

Because I quit. I didn't think I was good enough.

But had I have just leaned in and pressed in and refocused and let things that were affecting me in the moment roll off of my shoulders, I would have made the cut. And who knows, I might have even placed in the top five. And I believe that there's somebody here who's allowing the past life circumstances to beat them up a little bit too much.

I think there's somebody here that believes that they're not good enough and that what they've done in the past outweighs what God can do for them in the future. I believe there's somebody here who has given up in their heart. But I want to encourage you that if you would just press in, you're going to make it.

If you would just press in those punches, you're going to start bobbing and weaving, and they're not going to hit you, and you're going to land a couple back. If you just press in, the Lord will redeem what has happened in your past. He has plans to prosper you and to give you hope in a future. He has predestined you to be conformed into the image of his son.

I encourage you, whoever this is for, do not be like me. Do not quit because you're going to look back and be like, if I woulda, if I just coulda. You have that opportunity today to make that decision in your heart to turn from what it is that's beating you up or holding you down or weighing you down and to turn towards Christ. He has a good round of golf for you.

Amen. I just need to share that. This was somebody this morning that really is weighing heavy on your heart. I'd love to pray for you, whoever that is, at the end of the service. Last week I shared a lot about Psalm 72. and I had this awesome word about Jonah, which we were not able to get into.

and that's okay because the Holy Spirit had way better plans than me babbling on for a little bit up here. we got to see some healings, praise God. We got to see some people get laid out in the spirit, deliverance was in the house because the deliverer was here.

Vaughn asked me to come back. It was Friday. And I was like, okay. Was not expecting that. But you guys are awesome, so it's so good to be here. And he's like, well, what's your what's your sermon title? Like, what was your title for like the Jonah message? And I thought it was Signs You Need to Repent. I thought that was the title. But in my spirit, as him and I were communing back and forth and just trying to figure out what Sunday was going to look like, I heard the Lord say, Your will.

So he's already changing up the Jonah message. boy, he just likes to mess up our plans.

Thank you, Lord. your will, not mine, comes out of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is right before he was taken, before his crucifixion. And it's in Luke 22, 42, and he says this: he says, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup of divine wrath from me. Yet not my will.

But always yours be done.

I shared with you how Psalm 72 got its name last week. I was driving, and three times the number 72, 72, were literally the number 72, was on a license plate in front of me with the last car cutting me off, and the only numbers being on that license plate was 72. I shared with you that numbers do not have power, but these are ways that Jesus speaks to us. His voice is a sound of many rushing waters. He speaks through the radio, he speaks through nature.

He speaks through numbers, he speaks through people and pastors and those in our lives. And I looked at Luke 22, 42, and I said, Lord, what does 22 mean? What does 42 mean to you? Did you know that the Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters in it?

Those are the words that God spoke that formed the thread of this universe. Creation and light. God created 22 distinct things in the beginning throughout the six days of creation. The book of Revelation, the final book, has 22 chapters. The Gospel of John, the word light, appears 22 times.

There are 22 generations between Adam and Jacob. The book of Numbers, Numbers 22, covers that famous story with Balaam and the donkey. Remember when the donkey spoke, Balaam's out here trying to do his own thing, and the donkey is trying to save his behind, and he's like, Come on, I'm going to kill you, donkey. Like, move forward. And God opens up his eyes, and there was an angel that was getting ready to strike him down. Kind of our ways and in God's way, that battle.

I believe twenty-two speaks of light and completion, hope for a better future, a way that is not our way, but his way. And then number 42, is there any baseball fans in here? Matthew? Very good.

Each franchise retires numbers, jerseys that other people cannot put on and and play with. But there's only one jersey out of all the franchises that can no longer be worn. What number is that? Come on. Come on.

There's only one baseball jersey that is retired out of all the franchises, and it's a number 42. It marks the end of a season. To see a rainbow, you have to be at a 42-degree angle. Little Children is said 42 times in the Old Testament. Elijah, after he heals the river, was it the River of Jordan with the salt that he healed? He came back and there was these boys yelling, hey Baldy, to him. And he called curses and two mother bears.

Came out and killed 42 boys. 42 marks the end of the season. Elijah prayed that the rain would stop and it did for three and a half years or 42 months. The Antichrist will reign for three and a half years, 42 months. It marks the end of a season, the Antichrist, the end of times. And I believe when we look at Luke 22, 42, not your will, or sorry, not my will, but your will be done.

I believe the numbers 22 and 42 are saying there is a complete way to move forward that brings life and it marks the end of mine.

Did you know the Bible says that your life is no longer your own?

You are purchased with the price. That is the blood of Jesus. John says, we have to decrease so he can increase. I've heard it said like this before. God, you have all of God that you can get right now as you sit here in these awesome padded chairs. You have all of God that you can get, but does He have all of you that He can get?

There's a Bible verse that says, For whoever wishes to save his life in this world will eventually lose it through death. But whoever loses his life in this world for his sake will find it.

The goal here is that we die and come alive in Christ. The goal here is to invite the light of the world into our hearts. Light was shared 22 times in the Gospel of John that we would invite the light of the world into our hearts and give up ours. God is calling us to an end of a season, and it's our life to pick up his.

We all want to see the glory. We all want to see God move in miraculous and mighty ways and healings and words of knowledge and the prophetic. We want to see him active in our marriage and in our life and in our children's life. We want to see him move in power in the marketplace and at work. But we have to put our life down to pick up his. We can't run away.

Jonah ran away.

If you didn't know we're segueing into Jonah now. Okay, I'm just making sure there's a pulse out there that we're there. All right, praise the Lord. I'm gonna be reading a lot of scripture today. It's gonna be right out of the book of Jonah.

Jonah chapter one. I feel like an audio Bible. Now the word of the Lord.

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amitai.

Saying, Go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim judgment against it, for their wickedness had come up before me. Verse 3. But Jonah ran away to Tarshish to escape from the presence of the Lord and his duty as prophet. He went down to Jopa and found a ship going to Tarshish, which is the most remote of the Phoenician trading cities. He's trying to get away.

So he paid the fare, went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish, and away from the presence of the Lord.

Has God been calling you to something in your life?

That you're running away from

Has God called you into missions? Has he called you to be the spiritual leader of your household? Has he called you to pick up an instrument? Has he called you to write a book?

Has he called you to open your mouth and share the saving grace, that knowledge that you have that saved you?

Are you running away from it? Are you making up excuses in your life that I'm not good enough, I could never? Lord, I'm not worthy.

Or are you straight out just rejecting the call of God on your life, hearing clearly what it is, and you're like, no, I'm good.

We have to read between the lines sometimes and let our imagination go. And this is my personal interpretation of Jonah. The Lord may show you something else about him and his character. But I believe Jonah loved God. Somewhere in there, he started off prophesying as a prophet for God. He heard the call of God on his life. He started in a relationship with him.

But Jonah wanted things done his way, a certain way. He wanted to prophesy when it was convenient. And I believe Jonah was a little selfish.

Verse 4. But the Lord hurled a great wind toward the sea. There was a violent tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to break. Then the sailors were afraid, and each man cried out to his God to lighten the ship and diminish the danger. They threw the ship's cargo away into the sea. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship and lain down.

And he was sound asleep. Here is a man running away from God. The waves of life are crashing around him. The end of his life is right around the corner, and he is sound asleep. This is how I know he knows God. Because when God starts a work in us.

He will see it through until completion. He knows the goodness of God, which he talks about later in Jonah. That he knew he would save Nineveh, that he knew the character of God. That means Jonah spent time with him. And I believe that's why he was sound asleep in the boat, because he knew that God would see it through.

But that storm didn't only affect Jonah.

That storm that was raging outside had sailors throwing precious cargo and good off of their ships. What could have taken years to build a certain ship was about ready to break in a moment because of the wind that God hurled towards it. In our life, when we run from the call of God, it doesn't only affect us. Hello?

Is it possible that maybe there's things going on in your family that isn't necessarily out of their disobedience but yours? Does your workplace have calendars up on the wall that really shouldn't be appropriate for a workplace, but things are awry in the workshop because you're not standing up and saying something? But it's eating you inside.

But your tongue is just caught.

Disobedience not only affects us, but those around us. But on the flip side of that, the obedience not only affects our lives, but others around us. And when God does stuff through us, it's not intended for us. Yes, there's blessings and residual things that we get from it, sure. But it's always for the other person.

It's always for the benefit of the individual or group that is in front of us. It's not about us, it's for them.

Dino we become toxic to the body of Christ when we are lukewarm.

Oof.

That hurts, right?

Our disobedience and obedience not only affects us, but those that are around us.

God hurled that storm towards that ship. It says so. Is it possible that in your life you are blaming the devil for the trials and tribulations and the storms in your life, but it's actually God trying to get your attention?

I think we give too much credit to the devil. It's easy to see all the crap that's going on in our life. But it actually takes some effort to lean into the spirit and say, God, what are you trying to teach me in this moment? Is this you? Are you directing my life? Are you speaking to my heart? Is there something that I need to change and repent of?

Or is this just some circumstances that are just happening to me by chance?

First seven.

And they said to another, Come, let us cast lots, so we may learn who is to blame for this disaster. So they cast lots, and the lot fell on the disobedient one, Jonah.

In Luke 8:17, it says this: For there is nothing hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come out into the open. You can only run from God for so long. You can only play with fire for so long until you get burnt.

Come on, we've all been told that as kids, right? I was the one that my parents told me the stove is hot, and I was dumb enough to still put my hand on the stove and find out, boy, it's hot. Remember what the Lord has saved you and delivered you from. Remember that the Lord is good and that he is directing your life. So Jonah's caught.

He can no longer run away from the Lord. There comes a point a headway in our lives that there needs to become a decision. We're either for him or we're against him. We either gather or we scatter. Hello?

We all need to come to a point in our hearts, and I believe God will drive us there. Doesn't matter how we get there, he will drive us there to that deciding point. Will we harden our hearts and turn away from the Lord? Or will we soften our hearts, allow him to change us, and lean in to that completion that he wants to do? That complete end of a season. Our life for his.

Verse 81. Then they said to him, Now tell us who is the blame for this disaster? What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? So he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I reverently fear and worship the Lord. Debatable, but he's preaching. Come on, give him that.

The God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land. He's saying, My God is the God above all other gods. And even though I'm in rebellion, I still know he is God. And your fish gods and your pagan gods and your moon gods and all of that, pale in comparison. They can't speak, they can't hear, they're dumb, they're stupid. My God is the awesome God. That's what he's saying here.

Then the men became extremely frightened and said to him, How could you do this? Sounds like conviction is gripping their heart, even in Jonah's disobedience. Interesting. For the men knew that he was running from the presence of the Lord because he told them. He fessed up, he got caught. It had to come out into the open.

Then they said to him, What should we do to you so that the sea will become calm for us? For the sea was becoming more and more violent, verse 12. Jonah said to them, Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you. Nevertheless, the men rode hard, breaking through the waves, to return to land. But they could not, because the sea became even more violent.

Surging higher against them. Sounds like they were trying to do stuff in their own strength. God just happened to be a little stronger.

Then they called on the Lord and said, Please, O Lord, do not let us perish because of taking this man's life, and do not make us accountable for innocent blood. For you, O Lord, have done as you pleased. So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. Then the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and made vows.

See, back in that day when somebody said, I will do something, they actually will do it. When they made vows, it was as good as done. Because of Jonah fessing up his sin, truly repenting here, even to the point of death, being thrown into the sea for their sake, because it's not about us, it's for those that are in front of us.

They were gripped in the heart. They knew that he was the one and only God. And they sacrificed to him and made vows. These men gave their lives to God. Even in our disobedience and poor attitude, God can, will, and desires to use you.

There was a time in my life where I was not close to God. I would have considered myself Jonah, running away from him. He kind of spoke some really cool things over my life, and I was afraid of them. Because when he asks you to do something, it requires everything. And there's these points in our life where you give it all.

And then there comes another point where he wants more. It's like I just gave you everything, and he's like, No, you haven't. But I just want to hold on to this thing in my right pocket. All I want is that thing in your right pocket.

I was not close with the Lord and I was painting and I went into this beautiful home that we were painting. And as I walked in, this drywaller was coming out, and he said, Hey man, what's up? And I was like, man, I just found out my truck's all rusted out, gotta replace the bed. But you know what? The sun's shining, I have work, God's good. He's and I said, What about you, man? He's like,

My roommate got drunk last night, trashed my entire apartment. I don't know where he's at. I got a text from one a a relative that my brother's all busted up, his body's broken, he was in an awful car crash. I've had him blocked on my phone for four years now, but he has nowhere to go and I need to bring him in. And he said, I'm just really struggling right now.

So like my antennas are up. I'm running away from the Lord, but I can see obviously there's a divine appointment in front of me. And I said, hey man, where's your faith at? I said, Do you have faith? And he said, What little faith I have is hanging on by a thread. And I felt the weightiness and conviction of God on my heart. I knew this was serious. I didn't know how serious this conversation was.

I'm not in a good place with God, okay? I would say that I'm also going to Tarshish at this point, which is one of those farthest trading Phoenician cities, far away. I'm running from the presence of the Lord at this time. And this story, this testimony, should make you realize that the goodness of God actually leads men to repentance.

And I said, Well, what what's your hang-up with faith? Why is it only hanging on by a thread? And he says, I don't believe God can hear us. And I I really don't believe we can hear him. I was like, brother, like that that's that's not accurate. And I gave him a couple testimonies of praying for some people, some words of knowledge. And he gave me a challenge. He said, Since you're so buddy-buddy with God.

Lord?

Since you're so buddy buddy for God, by the end of the workday, you're going to come to me and you're going to tell me what I've prayed for over the last year, months, and weeks. Go to God, get a word from Him, and you come bring it to me. I left that conversation weeping.

Because I knew I wasn't in the right relationship with God. I felt the heaviness of the ask that He gave. And I knew in that instant that there was a life that was balancing between life and death. That was the thread. I knew this was serious. And I knew that I couldn't give him Christian sear. I needed to give him Jesus Christ.

And I went up to the room that I was painting and I wept and I cried and I said, Lord, you need to come, you need to come. It can't be me, it's gotta be you. I didn't hear anything. So I'm like painting miserably all day, dreading the end of the day that I have to answer this guy the impossible question. It's like, Daniel Nebuchadnezzar, you tell me my dream, and if not, I'll chop off your head. That's what it felt like. I'm serious.

Everybody leaves, it's just me and this drywaller, and I take my bag out to the car and I come back in. I was like, all right, bro, like let's let's go pray. Let's let's go do this. And he sits down in a receiving posture. I'm like, who is this guy? One, you're challenging God for a word, and two, you sit down in expectancy to receive something from him.

I think his faith was a little bit stronger, but his life was actually still in the balance. And I said, buddy, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna close my eyes, I'm gonna pray, and whatever comes to my mind, I'm just gonna spit it out and believe that it's God. I said, I don't have anything. I can't, I can't do this. Like what you've asked is impossible. So all I can do is pray for you and trust God in this instant.

I close my eyes. He's sitting there.

And I see a whiskey bottle in my mind's eye, my imagination, and I and I feel that it's linked to his dad. And I I said, Drywaller, you grew up in a very religious and strict household. I said, your father drank and he was abusive to you. He's actually abusive to all of you, and not just verbally. And I said, I see this lady that you were actually going to marry. and at this point, I was just like, I'm all in, Lord.

I'm just gonna spit this stuff out. And I said, she was five foot five, she had brown curly hair and blue eyes, and was a teacher. And I said, the thing that you've been praying for over the last years, months, and weeks is what is my purpose and why am I even alive? Because you're one silly mistake away from committing suicide. And I opened my eyes. And he's sitting there stone cold.

And I said, dude, you k like you gotta give me something here.

And he said she was five four, but everything else was one hundred percent accurate.

Even in my disobedience, there was a life that was on the line. And this is why it's important that we are not disobedient, because there's a way that seemeth right to a man, but actually leads to death.

That act of obedience and act of faith opened up his heart to a two-hour plus conversation. We sat on the floor. I shared the gospel and I shared Jesus. And at the end of that, I said, Drywaller, I don't believe who you think is Jesus is actually Jesus. And he said, You know what, Christian, you're right. He isn't.

But now I know the true God. He didn't fall down on his face and give his life to Christ that day, but I stayed in relationship with him. And over the from that instant, over the two years, he ended up giving his life to Christ. And he's all in. Like, he's all in. There's it's undeniable.

Just like when Jonah was thrown into the sea and the sea calmed, those men knew because signs, miracles, and wonders follow.

Jonah's in the the belly of the beast, the belly of the whale.

And he cries out to God in distress. This is Jonah chapter 2. He says, I called out of my trouble and distress to the Lord, and he answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried for help, and you heard my voice. For you cast me into the deep, into the deep heart of the seas. And the currents surrounded and engulfed me. All your breakers and billowing waves passed over me. Then I said, I have been cast out of your sight. Nevertheless, I will look again toward your holy temple. The waters

Surrounded me to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me. Seaweed was wrapped around my head. I descended to the very roots of the mountains, to the earth with its bars closed behind me, bolting me in forever. Yet you have brought up my life from the pit of death, O Lord my God. When my soul was fainting within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you into your holy temple. Those who regard and follow worthless idols turn away.

As for me, I will sacrifice to you. With the voice of thanksgiving I shall pay that which I have vowed. Salvation is from the Lord. So the Lord commanded the fish and vomited Jonah up onto dry land.

It took Jonah the realization, I don't know how many sailors were on that boat. I don't know. Twenty, thirty, a hundred.

I don't know how many sailors were on there, but he realized that his disobedience was actually putting their life at risk and at danger. And if he would not repent and own up to what he's doing in his life and actually turn and praise God and look to him and say, I am nothing. John chapter 15, I can do no thing, nothing apart from you.

They could have all perished that day. But Jonah actually ended up sacrificing his life. He realized that there is something greater, more important than what I want. Similarly to me, that day I realized that Drywaller's life was in the balance of whatever words came out of my mouth. And I cried on the Lord. And Hebrews says, if we draw near to him,

He will draw near to us. Do you know that's a promise?

That's all we have to do is turn. Whatever it is that we're doing, it doesn't need to be something crazy. It could be something as simple as: I know that I'm not supposed to eat cereal at three in the morning, but I keep doing it anyways. Lord Jesus, deliver me from this. I turn away from this lifestyle, and I turn to walking in the holiness in the perfect temple that you have created inside of me. Lord Jesus, change me. Maybe it's something more drastic.

But repentance is the only true way to aligning with God's perfect will in our lives. And unless you repent, the lives of others are in balance. Your disobedience doesn't only affect you, it affects those around you. This message is a call to repentance. Jonah repented and he was spat back up on land right where he started.

He probably didn't have to go through all of that. He could have just gone to Nineveh and preached, and it would have been fine. But he was thrown into the sea to the point of death, and a fish swallowed him up. And the Bible actually says that because of the stomach acid in the fish, his face was bleached. So the dude gets spat out of a fish, smelling like guts, his face is all bleached, and he's right back to where he started.

But now he's in right relationship with God, but he's got a couple bruises along the way that could have been avoided. But God uses all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Jonah's back on track.

He runs into Nineveh, but he really didn't like the Ninevehes. He actually despised them, that's why he didn't want to go there in the first place. But what's interesting about those at Nineveh is that they worshipped fish gods.

Isn't that interesting? And I believe that somebody saw Jonah rolling out of a belly of a whale and said, He's here! The prophet, the one that we've been looking for. And they run back to Nineveh. He's coming, he's coming, he's coming.

Do you know Jonah was spat out at Jopa? That's where he started his journey. Does anyone else remember Jopa in the Bible? There's one other story about Jopa. Robin, you're shaking your head. All right. Okay, Jopa. How about Peter and Cornelius in that vision?

About bringing salvation to some Gentiles. Well, that's what's going on here. He's to preach, and this is starting from Jopa. That's where his journey starts. He's a little bit of a foreshadowing hello. He's to preach to these Gentiles, salvation is from the Lord. And he goes in and he proclaims. What does he say? Forty days more remain, and then Nineveh will be overthrown. Mind you.

Even though Jonah has had an encounter with the Lord, there's still a turning of his heart that's happening. He still doesn't like Nineveh, but he knows that he needs to do what God's calling him to do.

And we can do what God is calling us to do, but if we have a poor attitude about it, we're not doing it the right way. The right thing done the wrong way is the wrong thing. And I believe Jonah was saying, 40 more days, and y'all are done. I think he was going around like, y'all gonna get it in 40 days. I'm doing what you want me to, Lord. 40 more days. And they all started repenting.

They all started going into sackcloth. Mind you, dude's face is bleached from the fish, and somebody saw him roll out of a whale. So it doesn't matter what he says, they're going to believe him. It's a setup. God's still checking his heart. Yes, he's doing what God's called him to do. Yes, there's fruit on what is being done, but his heart is still rotten inside.

We know this because at the end of 40 days, God tells him that he's going to spare the city. But he goes up on the hill, he gets his popcorn out, he builds himself a little shelter, a nice little seat, and he sits there. And he's ready for this destruction to happen. And it never comes. It never comes. And Jonah is disappointed. God raises up a tree for him, gives him shade.

Coddles him, if you will, says, I love you, gives him an opportunity to check his heart. In Jonah chapter 4, God even says, Do you have the right to be angry?

He's like, do you really have the right to be angry? Like everything that you just went through, hello? You think your heart would be in a better place, and you understand that I am sovereign, that I know what is good for my children, that I love them, that I want to see them come to salvation. Just like you saw those sailors come to salvation, I also want that for Nineveh. But Jonah was more concerned about that plant than he was the lives of those that were in Nineveh.

At the end of Jonah four I think it says

There's definitely over a hundred thousand. It says in verse 11, 4, 11, Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 innocent persons who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left hand and are not yet accountable for sin? That's 120,000 children that he's talking about that don't know their right hand from their left hand, that are not yet held accountable by sin.

And Jonah's like, burn them all in 40 days. He's doing what God has called him to do. It's a divine setup. God's will is going to be done no matter what. But Jonah is rotten inside. Are there things in our life that God has called us to do that we're doing out of obedience, but not out of love? Because if love is not the motivator, we're nothing. We're a noisy gong.

Where does the sound?

A crappy smell blowing across somebody's nostrils. But we're doing what you told us to do, God. Are there things in your life that God has called you to that you're doing out of obedience, but you're not doing out of love? My wife is quick to tell me. She's not here with me today, who I believe is my better half. she has me on loan to you guys, so I have to go back, I'm sorry.

My wife is quick to tell me when I'm doing things out of obedience and not out of love. Because she knows we're in relationship with one another. If I sigh or if I groan or do I really have to? That's not love. I do it anyways. I go do the thing that she asked me to do, but it doesn't make her feel good.

It's like, man, I'm making him do something he doesn't want to do. It is clear on his face. Can you imagine going up to somebody and evangelizing to them and be like, Jesus Christ really loves you? Do you want what I have? It's great. It's really good what God has done for me. Let me tell you about it. Do you want what I have? Nobody wants that. Nobody wants that.

And can I tell you that the generation that is here on earth today has, how do I say that appropriately in church? They know when something is real and not real. They have a detector that is inside of them that knows when something's authentic or something is not. It's the nicest way I can say it.

And God is calling us into true repentance to lay down our life to pick up His, to walk in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, to present the authentic gospel to those around us, so none shall perish, but all come to the saving grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. But you got to do it out of love, not out of obedience. Well, the Bible says, and you go to the store, repent, or you're going to hell. There you go, God. I told him.

Huh?

I feel like the Lord is doing some heart checks this morning. And I think a lot of pastors will even say that they're preaching to themselves when they're up here. I'm not exempt from this.

I felt like how I was supposed to end this. I want to read a couple Bible verses to you. they're from three different books. I'll just hit them real quick. I feel like we are to enter into a call of repentance. And if anybody here says that they have fully arrived, you're a liar.

There are all things in our lives, each and every single one of us, that we can grow in, that we can mature in, that we can invite the Holy Spirit into. We've all been predestined to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

Predestined simply means there is a path that God has created for you to walk on. Are you gonna walk on it?

Philippians 4, 6 says, Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything, every circumstance and situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your specific requests known to God.

Ephesians 6 18 says, with all prayer and petition, pray with specific requests at all times, on every occasion, and every season in the Spirit. And with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition, interceding in prayer for all God's people. First Timothy 2:1 says, First, I urge that petitions, specific requests.

Prayers, intercessions, prayers for others, and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all people.

I can't repent for you.

I can give you this message about repentance, about the right heart posture, not running away from what God has called you to do, how your disobedience and obedience affects those around you. I can't repent for you. Jesus died for you. By the blood of Jesus, you're washed clean. You're put in right standing, righteousness with God.

And all you have to simply do is turn to him, and if you draw near to him, he's going to draw near to you. He loves you, he wants a relationship with you. He's created that path for you to walk down, to look like, to sound like, to evangelize with joy on your face, to do things out of love and not out of obedience. Yes, you're obedient because of the love that you have for him. Not telling you not to be obedient.

I'm saying do it out of love.

I can share all of these things that God has placed in my heart for you this morning, but I can't do it for you. I can't do it for you. My life isn't even my own. Your life is definitely not mine.

And we're all this morning coming to a decision point. Are we going to be thrown off the ship? Are we going to pay that price and get on the ship? Or are we going to do what God has called us to do and trust that his ways are better for us? That he knows what's good for us. That he who gave his only precious son the best thing that he had, he gave to us. So why would he withhold anything else from us?

Those are your options this morning.

You can pay the price and get on that boat, which is ultimately gonna be led to you being thrown off the boat. Maybe you're on the boat. Repent. Repent. Fess up. There's nothing hidden that will not be brought to the light. And if it's in light, it cannot be darkness. Hello. The one thing that you really don't want to do, the only way to do to get rid of it is to bring it to the light. It's called freedom. And Jesus paid that price for all of you.

Every single one of you have the opportunity to walk in freedom. The penalty of sin has been removed. O death, where is your sting?

But it starts with repentance. It starts with saying, God, my way of thinking is not like yours.

Your way of thinking is better than mine. In true confession to you this morning: the more I know, the less I know.

I don't know anything. I'm a child. God is infinitely older than me. And I I I can guide my daughter around. I can teach her things. But she doesn't know a whole lot. And I know way more than her, but I don't know a whole lot. And God knows infinitely more than me.

Why would I struggle through life and crawl and be battered and beaten and woe is me and I'm gonna do it this way and run away from the Lord? And why would I go through all of that headache when we have somebody that will guide and direct our paths? That will be a light unto our feet, who loves you, who sent his only son for you to die for you, to give you freedom. Jesus became who we are so we could become who he is. Hello!

He gave you his precious Holy Spirit and yet you go to Google for answers instead of asking him. Or even worse, you treat Holy Spirit like Google instead of a person.

I cannot lead you into repentance. I can bring you to this decision point. But you have to decide. And like those three verses said, with specific prayer requests, with specific petitions or intercessions.

If you need ministry this morning, I'll be here. I'll minister to you. Maybe there's healing you need in your body. Maybe there's deliverance you need in your body. I've heard it before like this: the altar, this place up here is for the hungry. It's for those who want more, who want change in their lives.

Yes, you can do business with God right where you're at, and I'm sure He'll honor it, but there's something about surrender. There's something about coming up here willingly submitting yourself to God, saying, you know what, I've been a little short in some areas, and I just need your touch. God, I'm sorry I've been thinking this way. I've been doing this sinful nature thing. I I've been stuck in this pattern, and I know if I don't break the pattern today, it's going to repeat tomorrow. I don't want it.

To repeat tomorrow, gotta give it to you. There's something that God honors about those who step out in faith. And maybe for you this morning, faith is speaking that out of your mouth in the seat that you have. But I would encourage you, out of an act of obedience to the Lord, to come do business with him. Enough is enough.

It's time to step into the fullness of what God has called you to do. No more running. No more hiding. No more pretending. It's time to get real. It's time to wake up. No more sleeping on the bottom of the ship. It's time to wake up, and it's time to come do business with the Lord. I'll minister. That's great. I will do that. I want to do that.

But where the real ministry is going to happen is between you and God, with your heart, with your mind. He's going to speak to you this morning if you're brave enough to come up here. He's going to touch your heart this morning and heal parts that were broken. He's going to stop thought cycles that are in your mind that are going on like a broken record. That's going to happen up here with you and him at the altar.

an act of obedience and repentance by faith.

There's elders here. There's people in the church that are that you guys call leadership, that are leadership here in the church. If you are struggling to figure out how to repent, I'm sure they can lead you and guide you in that direction. But this is between you and the Lord. This has nothing to do with them. It has everything to do with you in the Lord. Get right inside so you can.

Help those that are around you.

So I don't know if we have some like soft music and like a minor key that makes people cry, we could throw that on. I'm gonna pray for us this morning.

But it's your prayer to God.

Father, I thank you that you're leading people with conviction in their heart, that you're building up courage inside of them to get right with you, not on their own strength, but by inviting you back into their lives. God, maybe they're trapped.

in a jail cell and they don't need you to break them out like a magic genie, but they need you to break into their hearts. God, break into their hearts this morning. Father, you are the deliverer, the healer.

You light our feet, our lamp unto our feet. You light our path. You're not a God of confusion, but of clarity. I just speak clarity over this house this morning. That confusion has to break, that it has to stop. And God, those that feel shameful, that who am I? I'm not worthy. You don't know what I've done. Do not quit.

Do not run away. Press in. There's more holes to play. You will make the cut because of the one who has cut for you.

Lord move on their hearts this morning.

I can't do it, God. Only you can do it. There's no shame in the altar. There's no shame of repenting. Repenting literally brings life. Says those that are led by the Spirit are led into life. And those that are led by the flesh, it will always lead to death. Father, I pray that they would partner with life this morning and not death.

That they would lay down their lives to pick up yours.

Father, you are so good. It's your goodness that actually leads us to repentance. You're not up there, you're not mad at us, you're not ready to strike us with a lightning bolt. You're asking us into a good relationship with you.

You're asking us into your will. I don't know where else I'd even want to be.

God, I ask for a spirit of courage and boldness to rise up this morning.

And as those that come up here to do business with God as a body, I would hope and pray that the body with specific requests, with petitions, with intercessions, intercedes on their behalf. But if God's speaking to you in your heart and your mind, just like when an airplane and the and the masks fall.

You got to get right with the Lord first. Put your mask on first, and then go help others. Father, thank you for breathing new life into us this morning. Thank you for filling us afresh. Thank you for chains breaking, for mindsets breaking. There's none like you.

There will never be one one like you. God, we want to be like you. We want to know you.

If you're here this morning and God is touching your heart and you know there are things that you need to adjust in your life, do not harden your heart.

Allow him in

Receive his love. Receive his instruction.

There are some of you that this word might have hit pretty hard.

And it says, those that are chastised by God or loved by God, they're sons of God. Allow him this morning to speak to you in a loving and corrective way. He's not upset at you, he's not mad at you. He just knows your potential. He knows what he's put inside of you and what you're capable of.

Mighty men, mighty women of valor, rise up.

Awake O sleeper.

Awake O sleeper.

There are people here that fear man more than they fear God.

Come, do business with the Lord, allow that to be broken off of you this morning, where it's nobody else's opinion that matters but his.

Nere do zero trapped in anxiety.

That are caught in the cares of the world. It's this thought pattern that just draws you in, even into a depressive state.

Allow him to speak good things to you this morning in your heart. That he has plans to prosper you, that he's working all things for your good, to not be anxious nor worry about anything.

With specific requests, with petitions. This means that you have to participate with your mouth to his ears.

Have you come to the point that you're so sick and tired of being sick and tired? This morning is a decision point for you that you have to make. Nobody else can make it. You have to make it.

Just like God created the universe, that's how power is released through us, through the Holy Spirit. That's how repentance is released. It's through your mouth to his ears.

You're in a safe place surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ. If you can't repent here, how could you elsewhere? Wrap your arms around your brothers and sisters in the spirit, right now, by faith. Let them know that they are loved. Encourage them into a better way.

There are those here that feel as if, it's just happened again, why even try?

You need to repent. It is worth trying. There's people's lives that are on the line. There are missions and divine appointments set aside for you to commune with, to co-labor with God in. There are people's lives hanging in the balance. You're not a victim, you're a victor.

There's this this depressive thing, there's there's like this heaviness thing. There's this heaviness thing.

This heaviness thing needs to lift in the name of Jesus.

Satan accuses, but the Holy Spirit convicts. Satan tells you you're worthless. God tells you you're worthy. Do not listen to the voice of the accuser this morning, but lean into the spirit and listen to the conviction that is on your heart. It's inviting you into something deeper this morning. It's to draw you near.

Not to retract you from. It may hurt. It may hurt.

But it's good.

There's somebody here. Okay, there's three people here that need to forgive. There are people that have wronged you. And I get it. It wasn't right what they've done in your life. It wasn't right what they've done to you. It's definitely not cool that it set you back in areas.

But unforgiveness is like drinking poison and believing it's going to get the other person sick. You need to release it. There's three people in here this morning that need to forgive others in this room.

Matthew 18 says that if you do not forgive, like my father has, he'll actually throw you to the torturers.

There has been a big price paid for the forgiveness of your sins. And there is a big penalty for the unforgiveness of others. Release that burden today, it's not yours to carry. Thank you. Someone just did it. Good job. Hallelujah. Someone needs to forgive themselves.

You know that you haven't been doing what God has called you to do. You haven't been living up to the fullness of your potential.

You need to forgive yourself for that and move forward. Today is the day.

There's a control thing. There's someone with a control thing where

The world's just always spinning out of control around them and they they just grasp at whatever they can control. And I even feel like it's brought OCD into your life where you have to have your salt and pepper shakers a certain way. And I don't think I'm just saying that. I think this is specifically someone who puts their salt and pepper shakers a certain way. I feel like you have to do things a certain way because it brings you a sense of control and it doesn't allow you to be vulnerable to the outside world.

And I want to remind you that he who holds on to his life will lose it. That's control. But he who loses his life for God's sake will find it. Tonight, today, you need to allow Jesus to truly take the wheel in your life. Release this control. It's bringing you death, it's actually plaguing your health.

You need to release this control and allow God to take the wheel.

There's somebody here who's really bitter in their heart.

They're they they're they'd be what you'd call a pessimist, where they always see kind of the negative of things. And specifically towards people.

I see you you f sense like you you just feel a certain way towards people that is not godly.

I need to remind you that those are God's children and He paid a price for them as well. That they are all worthy because of the shed blood on the cross.

And God's desires that none should perish, not even the Ninevehites.

Is there one holy? Is there one worthy?

Bitterness needs to go in the name of Jesus. Father, I thank you for cleansing the wells of people's hearts and eyes right now in the name of Jesus.

Man, there's just somebody who's just like on the brink of wanting to give up. I just I know I keep coming back to this thing, but your breakthrough is right around the corner. You're about to see the top of the mountain. You're about to get that view that everybody wants to see. You're so close to getting there. Do not give up right now. You will miss it. Don't miss it. God's inviting you into it.

You're worthy. You're worthy. You're worthy. That's the Lord touching your heart. You're worthy. You're worthy. You're worthy. Receive. Receive.

Breathe him in.

And breathe you out.

Let's continue to stay in a spirit of

repentance.

If your time has come today, we bless you and release you. If you have conversations to be made, make them out in the lobby. Let's not interfere with what God's doing in here in people's hearts. If you need to stay a while, stay a while. Let God minister to you.

Thank you, Lord.