Tuesday, December 6, 2016

The Sign OF Jonah

Jonah 1:1-17

Now, THE WORD OF THE LORD (GOD Almighty) CAME TO Jonah, The Son OF Amittai, SAYING, “ARISE, GO TO Nineveh, That Great City, AND CRY OUT AGAINST IT (Nineveh); FOR Their Wickedness HAS COME UP BEFORE Me (GOD Almighty).”  BUT, Jonah AROSE TO FLEE TO Tarshish, FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD (GOD Almighty).  He (Jonah) WENT DOWN TO Joppa, AND FOUND A Ship GOING TO Tarshish; SO He (Jonah) PAID The Fare, AND WENT DOWN INTO IT (The Ship), TO GO WITH Them TO Tarshish, FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD (GOD Almighty).

BUT, THE LORD (GOD Almighty) SENT OUT A Great Wind ON The Sea, AND THERE WAS A MIGHTY TEMPEST ON The Sea, SO THAT The Ship WAS ABOUT TO BE BROKEN UP.  THEN, The Mariners WERE AFRAID; AND Every Man CRIED OUT TO His god, AND THREW The Cargo That WAS IN The Ship INTO The Sea, TO LIGHTEN The Load.  BUT, Jonah Had Gone Down INTO The Lowest Parts OF The Ship, Had Lain Down, AND WAS FAST ASLEEP.

SO, The Captain CAME TO Him (Jonah), AND SAID TO Him (Jonah), “What DO YOU Mean, Sleeper?  ARISE, CALL ON Your GOD (GOD Almighty); Perhaps Your GOD WILL CONSIDER Us, SO THAT We May NOT Perish.”  AND They SAID TO One Another, “Come, Let Us Cast Lots, That We May KNOW FOR Whose CAUSE This Trouble HAS COME UPON Us.”  SO, They CAST LOTS, AND The Lot FELL ON Jonah.  THEN, They SAID TO Him (Jonah), “PLEASE TELL Us!  For Whose Cause IS This Trouble UPON Us?  What IS Your Occupation?  And Where DO YOU Come From?  What IS Your Country?  And OF What People ARE YOU?”  SO, He (Jonah) SAID TO Them, “I AM A Hebrew; AND I FEAR THE LORD, THE GOD (GOD Almighty) OF Heaven, WHO MADE The Sea AND The Dry Land.”

THEN, The Men WERE Exceedingly Afraid, AND SAID TO Him (Jonah), “Why Have YOU DONE THIS?”  For The Men KNEW That He (Jonah) FLED FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD (GOD Almighty), BECAUSE He (Jonah) HAD TOLD Them.  THEN, They SAID TO Him (Jonah), “What Shall We DO TO YOU That The Sea May BE CALM For Us?” For The Sea WAS Growing More Tempestuous.  And He (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 THIS GREAT TEMPEST IS BECAUSE OF Me.”

Nevertheless, The Men ROWED HARD TO RETURN TO Land, BUT They COULD NOT, For The Sea Continued TO Grow MORE Tempestuous AGAINST Them.  Therefore, They CRIED OUT TO THE LORD (GOD Almighty) AND SAID, “We Pray, O LORD, Please Do NOT Let Us PERISH For THIS MAN’s Life, AND Do NOT CHARGE Us WITH Innocent Blood; FOR YOU, O LORD, HAVE DONE AS IT PLEASED YOU.”

SO, They PICKED UP Jonah AND THREW Him INTO The Sea, AND The Sea CEASED FROM ITS RAGING.  THEN, The Men FEARED THE LORD (GOD Almighty) EXCEEDINGLY, AND OFFERED A SACRIFICE TO THE LORD (GOD Almighty) AND TOOK VOWS.  Now, THE LORD (GOD Almighty) HAD PREPARED A GREAT FISH TO SWALLOW Jonah.  AND Jonah WAS IN THE BELLY OF THE FISH, Three (3) Days AND Three (3) Nights.

Jonah 2:1-10

THEN, Jonah PRAYED TO THE LORD His GOD, FROM THE FISH’s BELLY.  AND He (Jonah) SAID: “I CRIED OUT TO THE LORD BECAUSE OF My Affliction, AND He (GOD Almighty) ANSWERED Me (Jonah).  “OUT OF THE BELLY OF Sheol, I (Jonah) CRIED, AND YOU (GOD Almighty) HEARD My Voice.  FOR YOU CAST Me INTO The Deep, INTO The Heart OF The Seas, AND The Floods Surrounded Me; All Your Billows AND Your Waves PASSED OVER Me.

THEN I (Jonah) SAID, ‘I Have Been CAST OUT OF Your Sight; YET I Will Look Again, Toward YOUR HOLY TEMPLE.’  The Waters Surrounded Me, EVEN TO My Soul; The Deep CLOSED AROUND Me; Weeds WERE WRAPPED AROUND My Head.  I WENT DOWN TO The Moorings OF The Mountains; The Earth WITH ITS BARS CLOSED BEHIND Me, Forever; YET, YOU HAVE BROUGHT UP My Life, FROM The Pit, O LORD, My GOD (GOD Almighty).

“WHEN My Soul FAINTED WITHIN Me, I REMEMBERED THE LORD (GOD Almighty); AND My Prayer WENT UP TO YOU, INTO YOUR HOLY TEMPLE.  “Those Who regard worthless idols, FORSAKE Their Own Mercy.  BUT, I WILL SACRIFICE TO YOU, WITH THE VOICE OF THANKSGIVING; I WILL PAY WHAT I HAVE VOWED.  SALVATION IS OF THE LORD.”  So, THE LORD (GOD Almighty) SPOKE TO THE FISH, AND IT VOMITED Jonah (ALIVE) ONTO Dry Land.

Fellow Believers, Why Did Jonah Have TO GO THROUGH THIS TRIAL?  Well, BECAUSE Jonah Purposefully Sinned AGAINST GOD Almighty!  That’s Right, GOD Almighty TOLD Jonah TO GO TO Nineveh AND CRY OUT AGAINST IT, but what did Jonah do instead?  Jonah boarded a ship, in Joppa, heading for Tarshish.  So, what was GOD Almighty’s Punishment for This sin?  Jonah WAS TOSSED INTO The Sea, SWALLOWED BY A GREAT FISH, AND Jonah WAS IN THE BELLY OF THE FISH, Three (3) Days AND Three (3) Nights.

Folks, GOD Almighty CREATES A Specific Path, FOR EACH OF Us TO Walk; I call it, “GOD Almighty’s Path.”  FROM The Day We ARE CONCEIVED, We Begin Walking THIS PATH!  However, SIN TAKES Us AWAY FROM Walking This Path.

Once We Acknowledge GOD Almighty’s Amazing Saving GRACE AND Accept GOD Almighty’s FREE GIFT OF Salvation, Which Comes ONLY, THROUGH Jesus Christ, THEN We BEGIN Walking This Path, WITH PURPOSE IN MIND!  What is THIS PURPOSE, YOU ask?

Well, WITH GOD Almighty AS Our First Priority, Serving Him (GOD Almighty) IS Our TRUE PURPOSE, IN THIS, Our Natural Body Life!  Sharing The Gospel OF Jesus Christ WITH EVERYONE, Who Has EARS TO HEAR AND EYES TO SEE, THE TRUTH, IS Our Primary Goal, IN SERVING GOD Almighty.

GOD Almighty Gives Each of Us Spiritual Gifts, IN ORDER TO FULFILL Our Primary Goal.  We KNOW That Jesus Christ WALKS WITH Us, The Holy Spirit TEACHES Us, AND GOD Almighty WATCHES OVER Us, KNOWING THIS, Should FILL Each of Us WITH Comfort AND Confidence.

Now, TO The Main Point, GOD Almighty Charges Us WITH Specific Tasks, Which He (GOD Almighty) Commands Us TO Perform, just like Jonah.  It may be to pack up and move to another place; OR it may be to speak to a specific person; OR it may be to change professions; OR IT MAY BE TO Boldly Preach The Gospel OF Jesus Christ, Even Though We ARE ONLY Laypersons!

GOD Almighty SPEAKS TO Us, IN SO Many Ways, GOD Almighty SPEAKS TO Us, THROUGH HIS WORDS We READ, IN The Holy Bible.  GOD Almighty SPEAKS TO US, SPEAKS TO Our Hearts, AS We READ HIS WORDS, IN The Holy Bible.  GOD Almighty SPEAKS TO Us, SPEAKS TO Our Hearts, AS We Sleep AT Night, AND Throughout Our Waking Day.  GOD Almighty SPEAKS TO Us, AS We Commune WITH Him (GOD Almighty) THROUGH Prayer.  AND GOD Almighty SPEAKS TO Us, THROUGH Fellow Believers, as well.

GOD Almighty MIGHT BE SPEAKING TO YOU, Right Now, COMMANDING YOU, TO DO Something YOU Probably Do NOT Feel Comfortable Doing, Perhaps OUT OF Your Comfort Zone.  My Question For YOU, IS THIS, DO YOU WANT Your Own Personal “Sign of Jonah?”  DO YOU WANT TO Wake Up “IN The Belly OF A Great Fish”, SO TO SPEAK?

My Prayer, FOR EACH OF YOU, IS THIS, That GOD Almighty IS Your First Priority, That YOU Are Using Your Spiritual Gifts TO Share The Gospel OF Jesus Christ, That YOU ARE Jesus Christ’s LIGHT UPON THIS World (Satan’s World), AND Most Importantly, That YOU ARE Striving, Daily, TO ALLOW GOD Almighty TO MOLD YOU AND CHANGE YOU, TO BE MORE LIKE Him, AND LESS LIKE The Rest OF Mankind.

Fellow Believers, GOD Almighty, Jesus Christ, AND The Holy Spirit WILL GUIDE YOU, Daily, Even OUT OF Your Comfort Zone, SO, YOU MUST BE PREPARED FOR THIS!  THIS IS Our TRUE PURPOSE, IN THIS LIFE, AND UNTIL “The Being Caught Up Together” OR GOD Almighty TAKING Us FROM THIS World (THROUGH Death), THIS REMAINS Our TRUE PURPOSE!

Revelation 3:10

Because YOU (Believers) Have KEPT My (Jesus Christ’s) COMMAND TO Persevere, I (Jesus Christ) ALSO WILL KEEP YOU (Believers) FROM THE HOUR OF TRIAL (The Great Tribulation), Which Shall COME UPON The Whole World (Satan’s World), TO TEST Those (Unbelievers) Who Dwell ON The Earth.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17    

FOR THE LORD (Jesus Christ), Himself, WILL DESCEND FROM Heaven, WITH A SHOUT, WITH The VOICE of an Archangel, AND WITH THE TRUMPET OF GOD (GOD Almighty).  AND The Dead IN Christ (Dead Believers) WILL RISE First.  THEN, We (Living Believers) WHO ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN, Shall BE CAUGHT UP TOGETHER, WITH Them (The Dead IN Christ), IN THE CLOUDS, TO MEET THE LORD (Jesus Christ) IN THE AIR.  AND THUS, We (Believers) Shall ALWAYS BE WITH THE LORD (Jesus Christ).

Hebrews 12:22-24

BUT YOU (Believers) HAVE COME TO Mount Zion (Heaven) AND TO THE CITY OF THE LIVING GOD (GOD Almighty), THE HEAVENLY Jerusalem, TO AN INNUMERABLE COMPANY OF Angels (GOD Almighty’s Holy Angels), TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN, WHO ARE REGISTERED IN Heaven, TO GOD (GOD Almighty) THE JUDGE OF ALL, TO The Spirits OF JUST Men (Believers) MADE PERFECT, TO Jesus, THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW COVENANT, AND TO THE BLOOD OF SPRINKLING, THAT SPEAKS BETTER THINGS, Than That OF Abel.

The Being Caught Up Together May Occur IN The Next Millisecond.  SO, There IS NO Time TO Waste, GET OUT There, Show YOU Care, AND Share The Gospel OF Jesus Christ.

“SUDDENLY, We (Believers) WILL BE NO MORE; FOR Jesus Christ HAS TAKEN Us!”

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