How God Teaches Us | #GraceChurchVa | Bishop Derek Grier

When Jonah surrendered, the storm surrendered. And it's in dying to ourselves that we find ourselves. You see, when you finally surrender to God, you'll no longer need to surrender to anyone or anything else. So they tossed him into the sea, in verse 16. Then the men feared. One man's disobedience put everyone on the ship in danger. Your particular contribution means more or matters more than you'd ever think. Whenever God tells you to say something or to do something and you don't say it or you don't do it, everyone else is put at risk. You see, we only have one generation to reach our generation. And here's the question, if not you, who? If not now, when? You know, second, third, fourth, fifth chances are not promised to anyone. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly. Now if you were with me last week, you know that at first they feared the storm. But when they realized and saw God's power over the storm, they feared the Lord. And when we truly fear God, every other fear begins to take second, third, fourth, and fifth place. And they offered a sacrifice to the Lord. Now there wasn't a whole lot left on the ship. I'm sure they began to throw a lot of things overboard. But whatever livestock was left, they sacrificed it to God. And God has designed creation so that whenever we truly encounter our creator, our most basic instinct is to worship him. Said differently, if Jesus be God and died for me, then no sacrifice is too great for me to make for him. A writer said, we can give without loving, but we cannot love without giving. And after they offered the sacrifice, they took vows. They began to dedicate themselves to the one who saved them. In any successful walk with the Lord begins with being faithful. And what's wonderful about God is he doesn't ask us to make a vow of perfection. How many think you could do that? But we can make a vow to worship. And I have found in my journey, in my life, God only requires me to worship him on two occasions. When I feel like it and when I don't. But whatever my situation, do it anyway. Now verse 17, we start getting into the important stuff here. It said, now the Lord had prepared a great fish. Now many of us, you know, we went to Sunday school, we heard about Jonah and the whale, but the scripture here doesn't identify the particular species. The only thing it focuses on is the fact that God prepared it. So if God had to use something ordinary to do what had never been done, by the way, whole giant squid, some giant squids like 30 feet long have routinely been found in the stomachs of sperm whales. So this is possible. So God might have used something ordinary to do what had never been done. Or maybe by a special act, God created something extraordinary to do what nothing else could. But here's the big point. God still knows how to reach us wherever we are and do whatever it takes. Now the Lord prepared. He providentially guided the fish to the right location. He guided the fish with a right physiology, right temperament, just the perfect amount of hunger to encounter Jonah at just the right time. And I said all that to say there are no accidents with God. But I wanna make a bigger point here. Normally we catch the fish, but God also knows how to catch the fish that will catch us. I just said something. God knows how to design the fish that will catch you. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish. How many of us who hear my voice right now have ever been swallowed up by something? You've ever found yourself in the belly of something you couldn't quite get out of? Perhaps it was an illness, maybe a relationship. Maybe it was loneliness, a financial situation. Maybe it was a bout of confusion or a myriad of other things, but you were just stuck in a situation that you couldn't quite get out of. But what I've learned, I've learned that what the devil intends for evil, God still knows how to work out for our good. So here we have Jonah in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. So the big question is why did it take Jonah three days and three nights before he does what he's about to do? Because in the next verse here, we're gonna discover that he prayed unto the Lord. So why did it take so long for Jonah to seek the Lord? But maybe I could put it to you this way. Why has it taken you, though you're dying to talk to this person, but somehow you refuse to text them first? Somebody said stubbornness and stupidity are twins. Sometimes we're not really waiting on God, God is waiting on us. So watch this. Then after three days and three nights, Jonah finally, finally prayed to the Lord. You know, it's important to have mommy and daddy praying for us, auntie and uncle, you know, sister, brother, you know, maybe pastor or elder, granny, grandmother, grand-granddaddy, but some things will not change unless you learn to pray for yourself. Until you get sick and tired of being sick and tired, some things will not shift in our lives. Some answers to prayer are on a certain frequency. I can't quite explain it, but it's not until we reach that frequency of intensity. And there are moments I'm kind of like, okay, God, I cry, please help me. And God's like, well, when you really want help. And the next time around, well, God, come on, come on, would you help me? He's like, well, when you're really serious. But then after a while, I go, God, would you help me? And that cry comes from my heart, it unlocks things. And there are moments in our journey a casual prayer won't do. But finally, Jonah prayed to the Lord. Now watch where he prayed from, from the fish's belly. This message today is for folks that are still in the middle of it. You've been asking God for a way out of it, but you feel stuck. Well, Jonah's about to tell us what to do. Watch what he did. And what Jonah really, he starts telling a narrative, he starts telling his story. And he said, I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction. Why is it that it often takes affliction before we cry out the way we need to cry out? Psalms 119.71 says, it says, it was good that I was afflicted that I might learn your statutes. Now that's grown folks stuff right there. Because when you're young, you don't understand why this affliction happens. But you see, when you live long enough, you understand there's certain lessons you only learn when you've been afflicted, when you've been through something, when you felt something, when you got to the end of your cell. David said it this way, Psalm 18.6, in my distress, had I not been distressed, I might not have cried out. I might've watched another television show. I might've called another friend on the phone, but in my, it got bad enough, I had to find myself on my knees. In my distress, I called upon the Lord, cried out to my God, and he heard my voice from his temple. Unfortunately, sometimes affliction is the only way we'll learn. It used to be said, and I don't know that it can be said anymore, and I don't want to get anyone in trouble with social services. Love your children. Please do not abuse and harm your children. But in my generation, it was said that God put special padding in a special location on the backside of a child, special padding. So if they wouldn't learn from your word, they learn from the hand. Now I'm not recommending that. I don't want to get anybody in trouble. Certainly don't leave any bruises. I'm teasing and serious at the same time. So sometimes, affliction is the only way our hard-headed selves learn. So God has to reluctantly send us to school. So Jonah prayed to the Lord from the fish's belly, and Jonah said, and he answered me. You can pray from wherever you are. While you're still in the midst of that perversion, in the midst of that addiction, in the midst of bitterness, exasperation, God still hears a sinner's prayer. Amen.