Participants: John Dinzey (Host), Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: 14HC
Program Code: 14HC000006
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00:50 Amen and praise the Lord! I will echo that.
00:53 This is to prepare your heart for the coming of the Lord. 00:57 And Jesus Christ is coming soon, Amen? Amen! Amen. 01:00 We have wonderful people. They have come from different 01:02 parts of the United States 01:03 and even outside of the United States 01:05 here in southern Illinois. 01:07 And we are praising the Lord because we are here 01:10 to hear the preaching of God's Word 01:13 and we just praise the Lord for what we have heard thus far. 01:16 Would you say amen to that? Amen! Amen. Amen. 01:19 It's my privilege to be here with you during this moment. 01:23 My name is John Dinzey. 01:24 And I just praise the Lord for what God is doing through 01:27 Three Angels Broadcasting Network. 01:30 And this Camp Meeting we are in expectation of 01:34 great blessings from God because we have come together 01:37 to worship His name and to hear the preaching of His Word. 01:41 During this hour we have with us the speaker 01:44 Director and President of Amazing Facts 01:48 Pastor Doug Batchelor. Praise the Lord! Amen! 01:51 And he will be coming out in a moment 01:53 to preach a message that has an interesting title: 01:57 The Storm of Jonah... The Storm of Jonah. 02:01 How many were blessed last night during the message? 02:03 Praise the Lord; praise the Lord. 02:05 And we expect God to bless us again. 02:09 We're going to pray in a moment and we're going to ask for 02:13 God's blessing for this hour. 02:15 And we are also blessed to have Sr. Celestine Berry with us. 02:20 And the Lord has blessed her with a wonderful musical talent, 02:24 and her husband also has this musical talent in his blood 02:28 and Bro. Michael Berry will be 02:30 accompanying her on the piano. 02:32 Before that I would like to invite you to please stand 02:35 for prayer, and let us approach God's throne of grace 02:38 and let us humble ourselves before the Almighty God. 02:42 Let us pray together. Our loving Heavenly Father, 02:47 we thank you so much for Your great goodness and mercy 02:52 and for this opportunity, Lord, that You give us 02:56 to hear Your words through Your servant: Pastor Doug Batchelor. 03:01 We pray that You will use him. Bless him with the Holy Spirit. 03:05 Use him to speak Your words 03:07 and help us understand of Your goodness, Your mercy, 03:12 and to warn us 03:15 of a change that is needed in our lives. 03:19 We pray, Heavenly Father, for a blessing upon all that are 03:22 here and all the people that accompany us in different parts 03:26 of the world. We thank you for hearing our prayer 03:30 for we ask it in the blessed and mighty name 03:33 of Jesus. Amen... amen. 03:36 You may be seated. I leave you with Sr. Celestine Berry 03:39 and then after this musical offering 03:41 the next voice you will hear will be that of 03:43 Pastor Doug Batchelor. May God bless you. 04:07 Speak, O Lord, 04:10 as we come to You 04:14 to receive the food 04:19 of Your Holy Word. 04:24 Take Your truth, 04:27 plant it deep in us, 04:31 shape and fashion us 04:35 in Your likeness. 04:39 That the light of Christ 04:43 might be seen today 04:47 In our acts of love 04:51 and our deeds of faith 04:56 Speak, O Lord, 04:59 and fulfill in us 05:03 All Your purposes 05:07 for Your glory. 05:20 Teach us, Lord, 05:23 full obedience, 05:27 Holy reverence, 05:31 true humility. 05:35 Test our thoughts 05:39 and our attitudes 05:43 in the radiance 05:47 of Your purity. 05:51 Cause our faith to rise, 05:55 cause our eyes to see 05:58 Your majestic love 06:02 and authority 06:07 Words of pow'r 06:10 that can never fail 06:14 Let their truth prevail 06:18 over unbelief. 06:32 Speak, O Lord, 06:35 and renew our minds, 06:39 Help us grasp the heights 06:42 of Your plans for us... 06:47 Truths unchanged 06:50 from the dawn of time 06:54 That will echo down 06:58 through eternity. 07:02 And by grace we'll stand 07:06 on Your promises, 07:09 And by faith we'll walk 07:13 as we walk with You. 07:17 Speak, O Lord, 07:20 till Your church is built 07:24 And the earth is filled 07:28 with Your glory. 07:32 And by grace we'll stand 07:36 on Your promises, 07:39 And by grace we'll walk 07:43 as we walk with You. 07:48 Speak, O Lord, 07:51 till Your church is built 07:54 And the earth is filled 07:58 with Your glory. 08:21 Amen! 08:25 Amen! Thank you very much. That was beautiful. 08:30 Afternoon everyone. Afternoon! 08:33 Boy, you folks are faithful. You even come out 08:34 for the mid-day meeting on a Friday. Bless your hearts. 08:38 And very thankful for those who are joining us also on TV 08:41 for this 3ABN Homecoming Camp Meeting. 08:44 It's a delight to be back here again 08:46 and see so many of our friends 08:48 and to be able to study and proclaim the Word of God 08:52 together. Now, some interesting things are coming soon. 08:57 In about a month... Yep, just a little more, couple days 09:01 more than a month, 3ABN is also going to be 09:04 uplinking a special evangelistic program with Amazing Facts 09:08 from New Mexico... from Albuquerque, New Mexico. 09:12 And some of you have heard about this. Several times in the 09:15 past we've done programs like this with 3ABN 09:17 where we do sort of a Net evangelistic meeting 09:20 where people can invite their friends into their home 09:23 or into their church, and we try to make evangelism easy. 09:28 And so if you have no evangelistic plans for this Fall 09:31 we'd encourage you to think about tuning in 09:34 to the Landmarks of Prophecy evangelistic program. 09:38 You can make your church, you can make your home 09:40 one of the sites. It'll be here on 3ABN. 09:43 It'll be on AF TV... it'll be on YouTube. 09:45 But one of the best places is going to be right here 09:48 because you'll get a nice, strong signal. 09:50 And there online. Just go to the website... 09:52 it's landmarksofprophecy. com landmarksofprophecy. com 09:57 We've got a whole new series of lessons called 09:59 Landmarks of Prophecy. You can go through the lessons. 10:02 We'll be preaching the gospel and bringing souls to Christ. 10:05 Can you say amen? Amen! And please pray now for 10:07 those meetings that God will pour out His Spirit 10:10 and it will be just as successful as a number of 10:14 these other series in the past. I think people are wondering 10:17 what's coming and people are asking questions. 10:20 So we're excited about that. About a month away. 10:23 We're... we're starting on October 31st. 10:27 And so we're putting a sign up there on the freeway 10:31 in Albuquerque that says Landmarks of Prophecy. 10:35 If you want beasts, come to this program. 10:42 So we'll have monsters... something like that. But anyway 10:45 we're advertising right there on the highway. 10:48 As a matter of fact, we had a call yesterday from some of the 10:51 leaders of the Texaco Conference and they were wondering 10:54 "Can we do two programs because we think there's so many 10:57 people that are planning on coming they may not all fit 11:00 in the building. " So we're real excited and 11:03 just pray that God blesses and that the word goes out clearly. 11:07 We're talking about storms this week, and before we get into 11:11 today's study why don't we just have another brief word 11:13 of prayer. Loving Lord, 11:17 again we just recognize the times in which we're living. 11:20 Though we don't know the day or hour, You've told us 11:23 to look at the signs and to lift up our heads. 11:26 And as we do that, we do see the day is approaching. 11:29 And we know that there'll be a storm at the end. 11:31 We pray that You'll grant us the faith that will endure 11:34 whatever You send. I pray that You'll just teach us now 11:38 through our study today. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen. 11:43 Jesus said the storm comes to the wise man 11:47 and the storm comes to the fool. 11:49 And what separates the wise man from the fool 11:52 is the wise man hears the Word of God and does it. 11:56 The Bible tells a story about a stubborn prophet 12:00 who heard the Word of God but he was frightened 12:04 and he did not want to do it. 12:06 And his name is Jonah. 12:08 Now we started out with the words of Jesus talking about 12:11 Noah. Again we're going to start with the words of Jesus 12:13 talking about Jonah. And you can read a couple of places. 12:17 One is in Luke chapter 12. 12:23 Jesus says in verse 29: "And when the crowds were 12:27 thickly gathered... " I think that's the only place 12:29 you find that term... "thickly gathered together 12:32 He began to say: 'This is an evil generation. 12:35 It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it 12:39 except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 12:42 For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites 12:45 so the Son of Man will be to this generation. ' " 12:48 Remember we had a question during the Bible question time 12:50 last night about Jonah and we quoted from Matthew 12:40 12:55 where Jesus says: "As Jonah was in the belly of the great fish 12:58 three days and three nights. " You notice Luke doesn't even 13:00 reference that. He says that as Jonah was assigned to the 13:03 Ninevites. Be that as it may, 13:05 both in Matthew and in Luke 13:08 Jesus is saying: "Jonah is the only sign 13:11 that will be given to this generation, " 13:13 speaking of His time, but Jonah is also a sign 13:16 for our generation. We'll find out how 13:20 as we go to that famous story. So go to that little book 13:22 in the Bible called the book of Jonah. 13:25 And you'll find that there among the minor prophets. 13:29 Verse 1: "Now the Word of the Lord came to Jonah 13:34 the son of Amittai. " Jonah is a real prophet in the Bible. 13:38 He not only appears in this book that is by his name 13:42 probably by his hand. You also read about Jonah 13:44 in II Kings 14:25 and other prophecies that he gave. 13:50 He really lived. He's a person of history. 13:53 If you've been watching the news you saw that one of the things 13:56 that ISIS did... the Islamic state... 13:59 recently is they blew up the proposed 14:04 tomb of Jonah over there in Iraq. 14:07 How many of you remember hearing that? 14:09 He's a historical character. It's been accepted just all over 14:12 the Middle East... not only among Christians 14:15 and Jews but among Muslims. 14:19 Heard about an old lady who was riding the bus every day. 14:22 She'd go take care of her grandchildren and babysit 14:24 during the day. It was the same time when a man 14:26 rode the same bus on his way to work. 14:29 They frequently saw each other on the bus. 14:31 He was an atheist; she was a very devout Christian. 14:33 And he'd usually get up and give her his seat. 14:36 He noticed that she always read the Bible. 14:39 And she seemed so nice he thought it was such a shame 14:43 that here she was so deluded to believe this ancient book. 14:47 Finally he couldn't contain himself one day and he said: 14:49 "Grandma, I see you on the bus every day. " 14:52 He said: "I see you're reading the Bible. " 14:55 "Yes sir... Word of God. " 14:57 He said: "Do you really believe it's all true? " 15:01 She said: "Absolutely! I believe it's all true. " 15:04 He said: "Including all the stories? You believe all those 15:07 miracles and stories are true? " 15:09 She said: "I believe it's the Word of God absolutely. " 15:12 He said: "You mean to tell me you believe that God made 15:15 the whole world starting out with just Adam and Eve? " 15:18 "God's Word said it, sir. I believe it! " 15:21 And he said: "And you believe that the whole world was flooded 15:25 in the days of Noah? " She said: "I have no problems 15:28 believing the Word of God. It says so in the Bible. " 15:31 And he said: "I suppose you believe that Jonah was in the 15:34 belly of a fish for three days and three nights? " 15:36 She said: "Absolutely! 15:38 God said he did it, and I believe the Word of God. " 15:41 He said: "But how in the world could a man survive 15:44 inside a fish for three days and three nights? " 15:46 She said: "Well I'm not exactly sure. I suppose when I get to 15:49 heaven I'll have to ask him. " 15:51 He said: "But what if Jonah's not in heaven? " 15:53 She said: "Well then, of course, you can ask him. " 16:00 But you know, for me some of the strongest evidence 16:03 that Jonah is true is if you say "I believe the Bible 16:08 but you know that story of Jonah... " 16:09 Well you can't believe any of the Bible because Jesus 16:12 says it's true. Amen! And the fact that Jesus says 16:17 that God made the world in six literal days and Jesus 16:21 says Adam and Eve are true and Jesus says that the words 16:24 of Moses are true, we have to believe the whole Bible. 16:28 Amen! 'Cause Jesus treated the whole Bible as though it was 16:30 real and true and if you believe the words of Jesus. 16:33 So the word of the Lord comes to Jonah. 16:36 The word Jonah means dove. 16:39 And it says: "Arise, go to Nineveh - that great city - 16:43 and cry out against it for their wickedness is come up 16:46 before Me. " Same terms that you find in Genesis 18 when it says 16:50 the wickedness of Sodom had "come up before the Lord" 16:53 meaning there is impending judgment. There's a limit 16:56 to what God can take. We talked about the days of Noah 17:00 last night and compared it with our age in which we live 17:03 where violence and wickedness and evil is rife in the land. 17:08 And you just marvel at the patience of God when that was 17:11 going on. God's Spirit bore with them 120 years. 17:15 Seventh-day Adventist Christians are sometimes mocked because 17:18 we talk about the eminence of God's coming. 17:21 And people say: "Oh, you've been saying that 17:24 for 150 years. Who're you kidding? " 17:26 Ah, but of this they're willingly ignorant: 17:29 that the Lord is longsuffering with usward, not willing 17:32 that any should perish. And when that day does come 17:36 people will think it came too soon... not too late. 17:39 It's going to come... even though God bore long with them 17:43 in the days of Noah, He bore long with the Ninevites 17:47 in the time of Jonah. 17:50 God is very patient, but there is a limit where the judgment 17:53 just comes up before Him. Says: "I have to do something. " 17:57 I think we're at that point with our world right now 18:00 but God is patient. But God's Word says: "Arise 18:05 and go and preach. " Jesus said for us to go 18:07 and tell the world. But Jonah didn't want to. 18:11 Now you can understand that. 18:15 The feelings were not very affectionate between the people 18:18 of Assyria and Nineveh and the Israelites back then. 18:22 They were constantly at war. 18:24 And that would be something like asking an Israelite to go 18:27 into central Gaza and tell them all how wicked they are. 18:32 How long would you last? 18:35 Or if you were to send a Jew up into Syria today 18:39 and tell them all to repent of their sins 18:42 how long would you last? And the idea that 18:47 their judgment was looming and God was about to destroy them 18:50 but God wanted Jonah to go preach and warn them. 18:52 Jonah thought: "And if I don't warn them, they'll be destroyed. 18:56 That'll be a good thing. " 18:59 So Jonah had a lot of reasons to not want to go 19:02 to Nineveh. And so the Bible says: "But Jonah 19:07 arose... " And he ended up running as far as he could 19:11 in the diametric opposite direction. 19:13 The word of the Lord said: "Arise and go east. " 19:16 Jonah went west. God told him: "Go by land... " 19:19 he went by sea. 19:22 When you go towards the Word of God you get closer to God's 19:25 presence, but he was fleeing from the presence of God. 19:29 But can you really flee from the presence of God? 19:33 The Bible tells us in Psalms: "Where can I go from Your 19:36 Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? 19:39 If I go to the farthest parts of the sea, You're there. " 19:45 And it says: "He went down to Joppa 19:48 and he found a ship going to Tarshish. 19:51 And he paid the fare and he went down into it 19:54 to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. " 19:58 How foolish even for a prophet to think you can hide from God! 20:03 But you know, you can talk yourself... If you don't want to 20:05 do something and you make up your mind you don't want to do 20:07 God's will, you can convince yourself that anything's OK. 20:11 Well for one thing, his launching point 20:16 to run from God's presence 20:19 because he did not want to preach to the Gentiles 20:22 was Joppa. Isn't it interesting 20:26 that 800 years later the Word of the Lord came to Peter 20:30 and said: "Arise and go and talk to the Gentiles. " 20:34 And Peter said: "I don't want to go... they're unclean. " 20:37 God gave Peter a vision of that sheet with all these 20:40 unclean animals. He said: "Do not call unclean what I have 20:43 cleansed. " Peter said: "OK, Lord, I'll go. " 20:45 So from Joppa 800 years later Peter goes and preaches 20:49 the gospel to the Gentiles. 20:51 God asked Jonah to go and preach to the Gentiles. 20:55 He didn't want to go. Same town. Just goes to show you 20:58 God does what He sets out to do. 21:01 So Jonah... he's running from the will of God. 21:05 By the way, you're going to hear about a storm before 21:08 the story's over. Some storms just come because of what's 21:11 happening around you. You have no control. 21:13 Some storms happen because of decisions you make. 21:18 And Jonah is an example of someone who's bringing his own 21:21 trials on himself, and he brings his trials on those around him 21:25 as well. If we are not doing God's will for our life, 21:29 it will not only impact us. It will certainly impact those 21:32 around us. So if we think: "Well, if I don't want to serve 21:36 God, that's just between me and God. " 21:37 No, you're wrong. No man is an island. 21:40 Your decision to serve the Lord will influence other people 21:44 towards God or away from God. 21:47 All of us create drag behind us that brings other people 21:53 in our direction. 21:55 By your example you will pull people to the kingdom 21:58 of God or to the lake of fire. 22:02 So people who think, well you know, "I am not real interested 22:05 in church but I'm going to encourage my wife to get up 22:07 the kids and take them to Sabbath School, " 22:09 they're going to follow your example as much as anything. 22:13 Amen! And Jonah thought: "Well, I'll just keep this all 22:16 to myself and I'm just going to run from God. 22:18 I'm going to take a little cruise and maybe God will 22:20 forget about this. " And as Jonah is talking to himself 22:25 maybe he throws out a fleece if he's like some of us. 22:29 And Jonah - on his way down to Joppa - he says: 22:32 "All right, well Lord, if there's a ship that's heading 22:36 towards Tarshish... " Tarshish was the furthest destination 22:41 that they knew of in the then marine world. 22:44 Tarshish was one of the sons of Japheth. 22:48 He settled the region they believe around Spain. 22:51 It was the furthest-most port that the Phoenicians would sail 22:55 to because after you left the gates of Hercules - 22:57 that's where it was, you know, the Straits of Gibraltar. 22:59 That's was where Tarshish was. 23:00 And after you left there you went off into the Atlantic 23:03 and as far as they knew you dropped off the end of 23:05 the earth. And it was out in what they call 23:07 "dragon country. " And so... It's like today 23:11 if you've ever heard the expression: "He went all the way 23:14 to Timbuktu. " You know where that comes from? 23:17 Because it used to be the furthest-most place 23:22 a U.S. Marine could be stationed in the 1800's. 23:25 We actually had a base in Timbuktu in northern Africa. 23:29 And so the Marines would say: "Where are you going? " 23:31 He'd say: "I'm going to Timbuktu. " 23:33 That meant as far as you could go. 23:35 It was the ends of the earth. 23:36 And so the very fact that Jonah fled to Tarshish 23:39 you may as well put in the word "Timbuktu" 23:41 because that's what it meant to the readers back then. 23:43 He wanted to go into a far country. 23:47 Where did the Prodigal Son go? 23:49 As far as he could from his father. 23:52 Tried to get away from that nagging conscience 23:54 of his father. "Maybe if I go to Timbuktu 23:56 and Tarshish I won't hear that voice 23:59 bothering my conscience any more. " 24:02 So he thought: "Well, if there's a ship 24:05 and it's going that way, I'll take it as a sign that 24:09 God is going to relieve me of my obligation to go to Nineveh. " 24:13 He gets to Joppa. Sure enough, there's a ship 24:15 and it's going to Tarshish. 24:17 And he thought: "Well, maybe I need another sign. 24:20 Maybe there's no room on the ship. 24:21 If there's room on the ship, I'll take that as a sign. " 24:25 And he talks to one of the sailors there when they're 24:28 loading up, and he says: "Sure enough, it looks like 24:30 we've got berth for one more passenger. " 24:32 "Praise the Lord. " And then, you know, he said: "I need one 24:35 more sign Lord. I need to have enough money. " 24:38 "So how much does it cost? " He tells him the amount. 24:41 Jonah checks his pocket... has just the right amount. 24:44 "Praise the Lord. God has let me off the hook; 24:46 God is going to bless my journey. " 24:49 And then he says: "Just one more thing: 24:51 we'll need good weather. " 24:52 Beautiful gentle sailing weather. 24:55 And Jonah has so convinced himself that God is going to 24:58 relieve him of His command to go and preach to the Ninevites 25:02 he says: "Look... what providential openings! 25:05 He's arranged the cruise; they've got room for me. 25:08 I just happened to find the last cabin; 25:11 I have just enough money. God is going to let me go. " 25:15 You know why I say that? I meet people all the time... 25:19 They know what the Word of God says, but they try to 25:22 talk themselves into thinking somehow they are exempt. 25:26 And they look for... It's almost like people witching 25:30 for water. They just look and grasp around for any kind of 25:32 evidence they can find that God is going to let them do 25:35 what they want to do. I have met people - 25:40 Christians... raised in the church - 25:43 a man or a woman will come to me and they'll say: 25:46 "Pastor Doug, I realize I'm married to John or Betty 25:52 or whatever the case might be 25:53 but we've just had such a difficult marriage. 25:55 We're just unhappy... it was a mistake. 25:58 And I've met this other person and I know what the Bible says 26:02 but I see such providential openings. 26:06 God just is blessing... God is leading, 26:10 and I just sense that this is His will. " 26:13 It's like, the Bible says don't commit adultery 26:16 but they found the way to convince themselves 26:19 that He really has another plan 'cause they don't want to stay 26:23 with this character any more. 26:25 They've got their sight set on something else. 26:28 Now that's one of many examples. You've seen it before. 26:31 When a person decides they don't want to do what the Bible says 26:34 the Word of the Lord says "do such and such" 26:37 and they say: "I don't want to do that. " 26:40 I've gone to churches before where I've preached the Sabbath 26:42 truth and I'll talk to individuals afterward. I'll say: 26:46 "Subject make sense? " "Made sense. " 26:47 "You believe it's biblical? " "Yes, it's biblical... 26:50 but the Spirit is telling me 26:54 that God really wants me to just stay where I'm at 26:56 right now because He's got a mission project for me there. " 27:01 And I say: "You don't think He wants you to keep the Sabbath 27:04 today? " "Well, you know, these things started happening. " 27:07 Can the devil change your providence and circumstances? 27:13 You know, sometimes the devil can give you prosperity 27:16 and calm sailing - Amen! - 27:18 to deceive you. 27:21 And so he went down into the ship. 27:24 You notice how many times the Word of the Lord comes 27:27 and says "Arise! " When he runs from God 27:29 it says he goes down to Joppa. 27:31 And he goes down to the ship and he goes down in the ship. 27:34 He's going down, down, down, and he's getting ready to go 27:36 down one more time from the presence of the Lord. 27:40 The Word of the Lord says "Arise! " You run from God down. 27:45 But the Lord... So the boat leaves. 27:48 They untie; they hoist the sails. 27:51 Gentle breeze; gentle rocking. Jonah finally says: 27:54 "Haa... free at last! " 27:57 And he goes down into the lowest parts of the ship 28:00 and he goes to sleep on some bedding or baggage down there. 28:05 And he begins to snore and sleep the sleep of the lost. 28:11 Are there people sleeping on their way to destruction? 28:14 Could Peter sleep in prison on death row 28:17 when he was about to be executed? 28:19 Are there people in the world out there that seem perfectly 28:21 content on their way to destruction? 28:24 And here you have Jonah. 28:26 Funny thing is he's the only one on the boat that knows 28:28 Jehovah... and he's sleeping. 28:34 "So the Lord in His mercy He sent out a great wind 28:38 on the sea and there was a mighty... " Notice that word 28:41 great, you might circle that. "And there was a mighty 28:44 tempest on the sea that the ship was about to be broken up 28:48 and the mariners were afraid. " 28:50 These sailors who had a lot of experience sailing... 28:52 "Every man cried out to his god... " 28:56 Notice "his god... " small g. 28:57 All their various gods... all these pagan gods. 29:00 "And they threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea 29:03 to lighten the load. " They were afraid they were 29:04 going to perish. The purpose for this trip was 29:07 to make money, but they're saying to themselves: 29:09 "What profit is it if you gain the whole world 29:11 and lose your soul? " And they had sense enough 29:13 to unload in order to be saved. 29:16 Now that's something that you might make a note of. 29:21 "A man's life, " Jesus said, "does not consist in the 29:24 abundance of things that he possesses. " 29:26 And we just so happen to be living in the generation 29:29 that possesses more things than any other generation. 29:32 The average person today 29:35 has infinitely more than the average person 100 years ago. 29:39 Just walk around Wal-Mart. Look how many things you could buy. 29:43 It used to be when you went to the supermarket there was 29:45 only about 50 things you could buy in the supermarket. 29:47 That was super back then! 29:50 Now look at all you could buy. 29:52 The reason they had a super- market is they had different 29:54 sizes, but there weren't that many things to buy. 29:58 I remember when I was in Russia right around the fall of the 30:00 Iron Curtain. Someone said: "We'll take you 30:02 to the supermarket. " I couldn't believe it. 30:05 They took us to a market where they had about 6 things 30:07 and everyone was lined up. They called it a supermarket. 30:11 What's your garage look like? 30:16 How about the closets? 30:18 There's a law in life: Whatever space you have will fill 30:24 unless you're very disciplined. 30:27 I see they're having kind of a... There's a fad going 30:29 around right now... people are downsizing. 30:32 Talk about downsizing, people are moving into houses 30:34 that are ridiculously small. 30:37 As a matter of fact, there's a joke and you can take it too far 30:40 both ways. And... But let's face it, 30:47 we have so much junk. 30:50 I know 'cause I do too. 30:53 But I know when I travel from country to country 30:56 I have to fit the basics I'm going to need to survive 30:59 in one or two suitcases depend- ing on if it's a very long trip. 31:03 Just one coming here. And I'm very happy. 31:06 I remember when I lived in a cave. 31:08 About everything I had I fit in my backpack, 31:10 and I hitchhiked around the country and I was very happy 31:13 with everything you could put in a backpack. 31:15 A man's life does not consist in the abundance 31:17 of things he possesses. You can become a slave 31:19 to your possessions. Amen! 31:22 Some of you say: "I can't go to church because I'm afraid 31:23 burglars will come by... rob my junk. " 31:28 So you're at home guarding your stuff and you can't worship God. 31:34 And our weekends we should spend with our families 31:37 we have to spend repairing and watering and oiling 31:39 and changing and modifying and buying more stuff! 31:46 The sailors realized when they got near the end 31:48 "Boat's going to go down if we don't unload. " 31:52 So they began to throw everything overboard. 31:54 And they're praying. They're doing what they can and 31:57 they're praying. "But Jonah had gone down 32:01 into the lowest parts of the ship. " 32:04 Running from God will land you in the lowest parts. 32:08 He's down there with the bilge, 32:12 and he's laying down and was fast asleep. 32:14 There he is snoring with all the foul bilge sloshing around 32:19 in that storm. "And the captain came to him... " 32:23 No doubt the captain's got his lamp. He's down there 32:25 in the lowest parts of the ship and he's looking for other junk 32:28 he can throw overboard and what does he find? A wayward prophet. 32:31 Indignant and amazed the captain says to him: 32:36 "What meanest thou? " What do you mean? "O sleeper? " 32:40 "Arise. " He didn't even know his name. 32:42 "Who are you? There's a person sleeping in this storm? 32:45 We're about to go down! " 32:46 "Arise! Call on your God 32:51 that He might consider us that we may not perish. " 32:55 Now before I go any farther 32:57 Jesus said: "No sign will be given but the sign of Jonah. " 33:00 Right away you ought to notice something. 33:02 Tonight in our storm presentation we'll talk about 33:05 two experiences of Jesus on the Sea of Galilee in a boat. 33:08 In one of those experiences it says Jesus was in the lowest 33:11 part of the boat - the stern, which is the lowest part if you 33:14 know anything about boats - asleep during a storm. 33:18 And the disciples woke up Jesus and they said: 33:22 "Master, carest Thou not that we are perishing? " 33:25 What did the captain do? He comes to Jonah 33:27 who is asleep in a storm and he says: 33:30 "Wake up. Do you not care that we are perishing? " 33:33 Same words. The only person on that boat 33:37 in the days of Jonah that had the answer 33:39 that could save those sailors was Jonah. 33:41 And the only person that could help the apostles 33:44 in that storm was Jesus. 33:47 And the only person that can help you in your storms 33:50 is Christ. Amen. But sometimes He must be 33:55 aroused by prayer so to speak. 33:58 Need to wake Him up. Not that Jesus is sleeping. 34:01 But we need to pray. Isn't it something that you would ask 34:05 a question like that of the Lord? 34:07 "Carest Thou not that we are perishing? " 34:12 Does Jesus care? Amen. 34:15 That beautiful song... Does Jesus Care? 34:19 "And they said to one another: 'Come, let us cast lots that we 34:22 might know for whose cause this trouble is come upon us. ' 34:25 So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. " 34:31 Were lots being cast at the foot of the cross 34:33 in the story of Jesus? 34:37 Now do you know what casting lots is? 34:39 It took me a little study to find this out years ago. 34:42 We talk about casting lots, well what does that mean? 34:44 As near as they can tell, in Bible times 34:46 it was you know we call it drawing straws or something. 34:49 It was just a method to try and single someone out 34:51 that was fair and unbiased. 34:54 And they had a clay jar with a narrow mouth. 34:57 They've recovered some of these that still had stones in them. 35:00 And they would get however many people you were casting lots 35:04 among. Suppose you had 20 people and you wanted to pick one 35:06 for something. They would get 19 white stones 35:11 and they would get one black stone. All about the same size. 35:14 Just big enough to go into the mouth of the jar. 35:16 They close the lid of the jar. It's kind of like they have a 35:19 lottery, you know? That's where the word comes from. 35:22 And they shake it up and then they would tumble out 35:26 one stone at the feet of each of the individuals 35:29 from which they were choosing. Whether they were choosing 35:31 apostles in Acts chapter 1 35:33 or whatever they were doing. 35:35 And so when they got up there on the rolling deck of the ship 35:38 they shook the bottle. All the sailors gathered. 35:40 They realized this is a supernatural storm. The gods, 35:43 they thought, are angry at somebody on this boat. 35:45 We've never seen a storm like this before. 35:47 Came out of nowhere... the wind is shrieking! 35:50 They just sensed that this was a spiritual storm. 35:53 So they had the perception right. They cast lots and 35:56 as they drop out all the white stones fall 35:59 at the feet of the different mariners. And wouldn't you know, 36:01 Jonah comes last and plop... out comes that black stone. 36:05 And he didn't look at all surprised, did he? 36:08 And they looked at him. They said: "Tell us, what's up? 36:11 What can you tell us that might help us 36:14 know how to recover from this storm? " 36:17 Verse 8: "They said: 'please tell us: for whose cause 36:22 is this trouble upon us? 36:24 What is your occupation? Where do you come from? 36:27 What is your country? What people are you of? ' " 36:30 Now... don't miss this: 36:33 The only person on that boat that understands the storm 36:36 is Jonah. They're all about to perish. 36:42 They didn't pay much attention to Jonah until the storm. 36:45 Now Jonah has 100% of their attention. 36:47 These are pagan sailors that do not know Jehovah. 36:51 But through the storm God is going to use Jonah 36:54 in spite of his disobedience to answer the big questions 36:58 for them. Do you have neigh- bors that think you're a kook? 37:05 How many of you? 37:09 We've got some neighbors that think that way, too... 37:13 and I've got more reason than you. 37:16 Or sometimes they think your religion is strange. 37:21 Or they think even being a Christian is strange 37:23 in our culture. But you know what happens in a storm? 37:28 They're going to want to know "Who can I go to that might have 37:30 answers? " I've got a neighbor, I've got an ant on my Bible! 37:40 He's back! Maybe it's termites! 37:44 Really! Anyway, I've got a neighbor 37:49 who is an atheist. And we've knocked on the door before 37:54 and invited them to meetings, and they've actually said: 37:56 "Well you know, Bro. Doug, we appreciate that you don't 37:58 preach to us... " And they're saying that while I'm trying to 38:00 preach to them... Here we've been knowing them for years 38:03 you know. And one day... Good neighbors. 38:06 I mean, things like they locked themselves out of the house 38:08 one time and I broke in for them because I know how to do that. 38:11 And so we've done nice neighborly things for people, 38:16 each other before and so they like us. 38:19 You know, I need a ride... Sometimes we'll give each other 38:21 a ride to the airport or to pick up their repaired car. 38:23 So we're good friends, good neighbors. Kid's played together 38:25 but don't preach to us 'cause they're atheists. 38:28 And she was over one day for just some... picking up the mail 38:32 or something for us or whatever. 38:34 And she said: "You know, our son is just really having 38:37 a struggle and he's actually been thinking of suicide. 38:41 We don't know what to do. " And I said: "Well one thing is 38:44 prayer. " And she kind of was being dismissive 38:47 and I said: "Well you realize I used to be an atheist 38:49 and I used to think about suicide. " 38:52 "You were an atheist? I didn't know that. " 38:55 I said: "You never give me a chance to talk to you. " 38:58 I said: "When I was a teenager I was an atheist. " 39:01 And she said: "So what made the difference? " 39:03 I said: "God... the Bible. " 39:05 I said: "I've got a book that will tell you the whole story. " 39:08 "You have a book? " 39:10 I said: "Let me give you one of these books. " 39:14 Got another neighbor. They don't want to hear about 39:17 your religion but then someone in the family gets a terminal 39:20 disease and then you say: "Do you mind if I pray with 39:25 you? " "Would you please? " 39:29 Or yet another neighbor... 39:31 Someone dies and they're going through a storm. 39:36 And you say: "You know, the Bible tells what happens 39:39 when a person dies. " 39:42 All of a sudden they've got questions. 39:45 And while you were totally ignored, off sleeping by 39:48 yourself as far as they're concerned, when the storm comes 39:51 they've got 100 questions for you. 39:53 They're asking Jonah... You notice that? 39:55 "Whose cause? What is your occupation? 39:57 Where do you come from? What is your country? 39:59 What are your people? " And then they say: 40:01 "Why have you done this? " 40:03 For they heard that Jonah ran from God. He had to blush! 40:07 "And then they said: 'What shall we do to you 40:10 that the sea may be calm for us' for the sea continued to 40:13 grow more tempestuous. 40:16 And he said to them: 'Pick me up and throw me into the sea 40:22 and the sea will become calm for you 40:24 for I know that this great tempest is because of me. ' 40:28 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship to land. " 40:32 They didn't want to do that. 40:34 They tried to save themselves by rowing. 40:37 In one of the stories we'll study tonight of Jesus on the 40:40 Sea of Galilee when Christ came to the disciples they tried 40:43 to save themselves by rowing. 40:46 They didn't want to do it. These sailors... you know, you 40:49 have to give them credit. They seemed... I mean you'd think 40:52 that these pagans they would care less; throw him overboard. 40:55 They had some spiritual discernment. 40:59 Jesus said: "Many sheep I have that are not of this fold 41:04 and they're going to hear My voice. 41:06 And there'll be one fold and one Shepherd. " 41:08 And God is going to help them hear His voice 41:10 through you and me. And it's during the storm 41:14 that they listen! 41:17 You know, God's people through history have always been 41:19 the best witnesses not when He saves us from trial 41:22 but through trial. Amen! 41:24 How many of you would like to see revival in the church? 41:27 Revival is going to come in response to prayer, but I... 41:31 I have a theory: we're not going to see revival 41:34 until we see persecution. 41:36 I don't' think we're going to see a revival until we see 41:38 some storms because it's when the storm happens 41:42 and God's people get shaken 41:43 first of all some people will be shaken out. 41:46 A lot will be shaken out. 41:48 Some people will be shaken in, 41:50 and it's during that time your faith is really tested 41:54 in the fire. And God is going to use us to be witnesses. 41:58 When did God get the best publicity from His people? 42:04 It's when three Hebrews were thrown in a fire in Babylon 42:08 and Jesus went with them through the trial. 42:13 And then when they came out of the fire unharmed 42:16 the king of Babylon made a declaration that went to 42:18 the world about the God of the Israelites. 42:22 Not when they were in the Promised Land 42:25 drinking the milk and honey 42:27 but when they were in Babylon in captivity 42:30 is when He made the most widely-spread statement 42:33 of who He was because three men stood up 42:37 during the time of their captivity and their trial 42:39 for God when everyone else bowed down. 42:41 Isn't that right? It was through the trial. 42:45 It was through the trial when Daniel said: "I will not 42:48 hide my prayers. " Then he goes to the lion den... 42:52 the lion's den. And king Darius when he sees the God of Israel 42:56 through the trial that God's people went through 42:59 makes a declaration for the whole world. 43:02 It may not be... A lot of people say: Seventh-day Adventists? 43:05 Who are they? " There'll be a trial 43:09 and that's when we're going to be brought before kings 43:11 and rulers and that's when we're going to witness. 43:12 And a lot of people, as I said, are going to be shaken 43:14 during that storm. I hope that you cling to God 43:18 at that time. "What shall we do? " 43:21 "Throw me overboard. " I used to think: 43:23 "Oh, Jonah, if you think that's the answer why don't you just 43:25 help them out? Why do they have to throw you overboard? 43:29 Why don't you just take a running leap? " 43:33 Why did Jonah say: "You must be culpable. 43:37 You must take me and offer me. " 43:40 Just like we must take responsi- bility for the cross of Christ. 43:45 They didn't want to do it. 43:47 "There must be another way. " "There is no other way. " Amen! 43:53 So finally they rowed and rowed 43:55 but they weren't getting anywhere. "The sea, " verse 11: 43:58 "got more tempestuous. 44:01 The men rowed hard to bring the ship to land 44:04 but they could not for the sea continued to get more 44:07 tempestuous. " Doesn't Jesus say there is a storm coming? 44:11 Daniel chapter 12: "There'll be a time of trouble 44:14 such as there never has been since there was a nation 44:17 even unto that same time. " That should make you shudder 44:19 because you just think about some of the times of trouble 44:21 that our world has seen. There's been some bad times. 44:24 When you think about... I reference the tsunami 44:27 that happened in Indonesia and the one that happened in Japan. 44:30 And then you think about World War I and II 44:32 and the genocide in different countries 44:34 and the plagues that have happened. 44:37 In 1918 there was a flu that killed more than World War II. 44:41 Did you know that? 44:43 I mean... And you coalesce all these times of trouble 44:46 that have come to the world and Jesus says in Matthew 24 44:49 "For then shall be great tribulation such as was not 44:52 since men were upon the earth 44:54 so terrible and so great. " Christ tells us: "Read the book 44:57 of Daniel. Him that would read let him understand. " 45:00 Yeah, there's going to be a storm and it's coming, friends. 45:03 And I don't worry about... I don't worry about, 45:06 you know, what will I do then. I worry about what I'm doing now 45:09 to prepare for then. Amen! If I'm grounding myself 45:13 or I have a living daily connection with Jesus, 45:16 I won't have to worry about what happens then. 45:19 Some people are going to wait until then to get ready. 45:21 It's too late then. 45:23 "What shall we do to you? " 45:25 "Pick me up and throw me into the sea. " 45:27 They rowed and they couldn't so they prayed a prayer. 45:29 And it's interesting. They start out praying to their god, 45:33 small g. You notice in verse 14, I'm in Jonah chapter 1 45:37 "We pray O Lord... " They're now talking to Jonah's God. 45:41 You know why? Because Jonah had just told them: 45:44 "I worship the God that made the heaven and the sea. " 45:46 You know by the way, that comes out of the Sabbath command. 45:50 "For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth 45:52 and the sea and the fountains of waters. " 45:54 Jonah is now referencing "I worship the God that made 45:57 all those things. I worship the Creator 45:59 who made the world in 6 days and rested on the seventh. " 46:04 They realized there was no other opportunity. 46:06 This storm is getting worse and worse, and if you had been 46:08 out there on that dark sea that night 46:10 you could hear the shrieking of the wind and the sails ripped 46:13 to shreds and the boat is pitching and reeling. 46:15 And every time the boat comes up on the top of a wave 46:18 and that wave passes it feels like the ground went out 46:21 from under and it just plunges down into the trough 46:23 of the next wave. And then they feel the "G forces" 46:26 and the whole boat begins to groan and creek and splinter. 46:29 And the water is coming in through the cracks 46:30 and it pushes them back up again. 46:32 And the wind is stinging their faces with the water 46:35 and all this is going on. It's getting worse and worse 46:38 and they think that every time they start diving off the crest 46:40 of another wave they're going to just keep going down like a 46:43 submarine. This is it! 46:46 And they realize: "Look... next wave's going to kill us. 46:48 What have we got to lose? We hate to offer 46:50 an innocent man, but he's tell- ing us this is the only way. " 46:54 So reluctantly the said: "Do not let us perish 46:59 for this man's life. Do not charge us with innocent blood. " 47:03 What did Pontius Pilate say at the cross 47:06 at the trial of Christ? 47:08 "I will not be responsible for this Man's innocent blood. " 47:12 "Let us not perish for this man's life. " 47:16 And they go on and the say: "You, O Lord, have done 47:20 as it pleased You. " You know what it says in Isaiah 53 about 47:23 the Messiah? "It has pleased You 47:26 to bruise Him for our sakes. " 47:29 These are all references to Christ. 47:31 "No sign will be given but the sign of the prophet Jonah. " 47:34 So they picked up Jonah. 47:37 Counted to three. 47:39 They hurled... It doesn't say that. I just figured they'd go 47:41 "one, two, three... " 47:43 They wanted to make sure and get him all the way over. 47:46 "And they hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased 47:51 from its raging. " Jonah calmed the stormy sea. 47:56 Does Jesus calm a stormy sea? Amen! 47:58 When they offered Jonah they had peace. 48:01 How will you have peace in your storm? 48:03 Through Christ. 48:05 Now it doesn't matter what kind of storm you're going through. 48:07 But these men came to the point of complete surrender. 48:11 You notice that? They had come to the point of an absolute 48:14 surrender. They had thrown everything overboard they could 48:17 throw overboard. They're praying to God. 48:22 They finally get to the point where they are making 48:25 the offering of a life 48:30 realizing they're about to die. 48:32 They didn't want to do that. 48:33 And then they find peace when they offer Jonah, 48:36 and we find peace when we offer Jesus. 48:39 What does the name Jonah mean? Dove... peace. 48:45 All of a sudden it says "there's a great calm. " 48:47 And these men realize that was a supernatural storm. 48:49 They knew they did the right thing. 48:51 The Bible says: "The men feared the Lord exceedingly. " 48:54 You know what happened after Jesus calmed the storm? 48:57 They feared - the disciples feared 48:59 exceedingly. Uses the same words. 49:02 They were more afraid when Jesus calmed the storm 49:04 than they were during the storm. 49:06 "Then they feared exceedingly and they offered a sacrifice 49:11 to the Lord. " Now who are they worshiping? 49:12 Because of Jonah, these Gentiles have now turned to Jehovah. 49:17 God said... Now, was it God's plan for him to run 49:21 from Nineveh? Can God work together all things for good? 49:26 And even though he took a detour that was not His plan 49:28 he went through a terrible trial he did not 49:30 need to experience... I mean, you and I have no idea 49:34 what Jonah went through, and it's only starting right here. 49:37 He's now got to go through the fish. 49:40 He went through great trials. Can God work things together? 49:43 Even some people who are running from God... 49:45 Could God witness through Israel in Babylon 49:48 even though He never wanted them to be carried off captive? 49:53 And sometimes you've been running from God, and God might 49:55 use you to reach someone else. It doesn't mean you're in the 49:57 middle of God's will. It just means God wants to save people 50:01 and He's going to use you because there's hardly anything 50:03 left to use. God is using you and me 50:06 because He's reached the bottom of the barrel 50:08 and there's all these reluctant believers out there 50:11 and that's all He's got. 50:12 Jonah's a type of the Jewish nation. 50:15 He gave them a message to reach the Gentiles 50:19 and they kept it to themselves. 50:21 And it was only through their trials they were finally able 50:24 to witness. It was in captivity 50:27 to the Egyptians and the Babylonians and the Assyrians 50:29 and the Romans they ended up being witnesses. 50:33 That was never God's plan. 50:34 He wanted them to be a free nation of kings and priests. 50:37 And you and I run from God. 50:39 "Now the Lord... " verse 17... "had prepared a great fish 50:43 to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish 50:47 three days and three nights. " 50:49 And he prays from the belly of the fish 50:52 and God hears his prayer. 50:55 That tells me it doesn't matter how far you are from God 50:58 God can hear your prayer. Amen? 51:00 Now I want to rush ahead. I'm going to get back to 51:03 the fish in just a minute. After three days the fish 51:05 is inspired to burp Jonah out on dry land. 51:08 And the Word of the Lord comes to Jonah. 51:12 Is it different now or is it identical? 51:15 God's Word doesn't change... same message: "Arise 51:18 and go to Nineveh and preach. " 51:19 Does he go? Yes. Says Nineveh was an exceeding 51:23 great city of three-days' journey. 51:26 Jonah enters the city a day's journey. 51:28 That means 12 hours 'cause there were 24 hours 51:31 in the day. Jesus said: "Are there not 12 hours in the day? " 51:35 So you've got 3 days and then you've got 12 hours 51:38 which is half a day. And then he preaches in 40 days 51:40 they would be destroyed. 51:42 Jesus said no sign would be given to His generation but 51:45 the sign of Jonah. Think about this. 51:47 Jesus - who is a type of Jonah - preaches for 3-1/2 years 51:53 to His people from His baptism to His crucifixion. 51:56 And He says: "This generation. " A generation is how long? 51:59 Forty years. "This generation will not pass away till all 52:03 these things be fulfilled. " He said: "There will not be left 52:05 one stone upon another" that would be standing in the temple. 52:09 Jesus was a sign to the Jews 52:11 just as Jonah was to the Ninevites. 52:14 Except the Ninevites repented at the preaching of Jonah 52:17 but the Jews did not repent at the preaching of Jesus. 52:21 Three and a half years Jesus preached 52:24 and in 40 years Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. 52:29 That's the big message there that Christ is giving us 52:33 about how Jonah was a sign to that generation. 52:37 Now, back to the fish... 52:40 How can a man survive in a fish three days and three nights? 52:45 And can God hear a person's prayer when they're down there 52:48 in that kind of darkness? 52:50 There was actually a man named James Bartley 52:53 who in 1881 was on a whaling vessel off the Falkland Islands 52:57 that was swallowed by a sperm whale 52:59 and 24 hours later he was extracted when they carved up 53:02 the whale and he was still alive. Unconscious but alive. 53:05 The whale had swallowed him. 53:09 Something interesting happened this year back in March. 53:12 There was a Nigerian tugboat twenty miles off the coast 53:16 of Nigeria. Big seas... pulling a tanker. 53:21 Got hit by a freak wave. 53:24 Capsized the boat... crew of twelve. 53:27 It went down in 100 feet of water. 53:31 Eleven out of 12 of the sailors died almost instantly. 53:35 They were drowned. 53:37 But one of them - his name was Harrison Okene - 53:40 he was there in the bottom of the boat 53:43 sleeping. Two in the morning when all this happened. 53:46 Was wearing his boxer shorts 'cause it's hot 53:49 there on the coast of Nigeria. 53:51 He wakes up and everything is tumbling around 53:54 and water is coming in and he's in his bunk 53:56 and he had to retreat to the bottom of the boat 53:58 'cause that was where the pocket of air was. 54:00 And as the boat settled on the bottom 54:02 he had managed... Before all the lights went out 54:05 he grabbed a flashlight. 54:07 He went up and he was stuck in this little pocket 54:11 surrounded by water in the darkness 54:14 and was hoping someone would come to rescue. 54:18 Water - warm on the surface - when you go down 100 feet 54:21 even in Nigeria water is about 50 degrees. 54:24 It was cold. And he sat there. 54:28 Flashlight went out pretty soon. 54:30 He didn't know what was going to happen. 54:32 Scared... cold... darkness. 54:35 And he was down there for three days. 54:38 At that point a Nigerian recovery company 54:42 had made arrangements to send this special ship 54:46 with deep diving equipment and video cameras 54:49 to recover the bodies. 54:51 It was a Norwegian company that was hired. 54:55 And during this time - this three days - you know what 55:00 Harrison was doing? 55:02 While he was a sailor, his wife on the coast would text him 55:05 Psalms. Text him messages... things for him to pray about. 55:10 And she had texted him something from Psalm 54. 55:14 This is what it said: 55:16 "Save me, O God, by Your name. 55:19 Behold, God is my helper. The Lord is with those 55:21 who uphold my life. " For 72 hours that was his prayer 55:25 in the darkness. Only thing he found as he fumbled around 55:28 was a can of Coke. He had nothing else to drink 55:32 for three days. All of a sudden at the end of three days 55:35 when he realized the air in his chamber was running out 55:39 he saw the light beginning to turn green. 55:42 His head was getting light from the low oxygen 55:45 in this pocket of air that he'd been breathing. 55:47 And he thought: "I'm just hallucinating. " 55:49 Then he saw bubbles and the air was turning green 55:51 and he was scared 'cause he had heard the banging around of 55:54 sea creatures that actually had been feeding on his shipmates. 55:59 And he didn't know what was going on, so he's scared. 56:02 Then he sees this helmet coming up and bubbles. 56:05 The Norwegian diver had a video camera going 56:08 with a line and air connected to the surface. 56:11 So they were directing him through the ship. There were 56:13 two of them down there. Had this thing going through 56:15 this room. "Turn left. " "All roger. " 56:18 And he's talking back and forth to them. 56:19 Harrison sees the light and he sees this guy. 56:22 It's pretty creepy. I'm a diver, and I've done some 56:25 wreck diving, and it's already creepy. And if you're down there 56:28 wreck diving and you know you're looking for bodies 56:29 it's really creepy. 56:32 And all of a sudden a hand reaches out 56:34 and grabs the diver. 56:38 And you can hear - they've got it recorded - 56:40 you can watch this whole thing on YouTube, 56:41 you hear the diver go "ah, buh, buh... " 56:46 And they were able to... He said: "We've got a survivor. " 56:49 And they were able to pump air into Harrison's chamber 56:53 and it took a couple days to extract him and help him 56:56 decompress... but God heard his prayer. 56:59 Amen! Does God know how to save us from our darkness? 57:02 Sometimes it takes a storm to get our attention. 57:05 But no one could be further away from God than Jonah. 57:08 But God heard his prayer and God changed his circumstances. 57:11 God can save you from your circumstances. 57:14 But it begins by making a complete surrender 57:16 which is what Jonah had to do 57:18 and being willing to go wherever God sends you. 57:21 Because Jonah went the whole nation of Nineveh 57:24 was saved. Greatest revival in the Bible! 57:26 And God wants to use you to revive others, friends. 57:29 Amen. |
Revised 2015-07-09