COLERAINE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY 1 DECEMBER 2024 pm – MR LAWRENCE KENNEDY
Jonah 1 verses 1 to 5, 10 to 16
Last Friday the UK Parliament
voted on Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Bill.
It passed the first stage with the voting of 330 to 275 in favour. It made me think of the situation of taking
life and suicide. The tragedy of immense
proportion. 800,000 people die every
year because of suicide. That is one in
every 40 seconds. For every death due to
suicide there is some 20 attempted suicides.
A global crisis. Northern Ireland
has the highest rate – there were 223 suicides in 2023. They occurred mostly in towns and cities –
North Belfast, South Belfast, Fermanagh and South Tyrone had a greater
proportion than anywhere else. There were
more males than females and they were usually within the 25/35 years of age. Most people thankfully have a support network
who are aware of symptoms and are able to keep things in perspective. For some there is no escape from emotional
darkness, no way of communicating that pain or the cause of it. There are multiple reasons for suicide – many
bipolar disorders, depression, bullying, mental illness, alcohol abuse, drug
addiction, low self-esteem. Loads of
reasons for it. For the thousands of
cases there are many examples of those who feel there is no point in life. There is one case of suicide in the bible
that is surprising but true. A preacher
of the gospel who had a panic attack. He
runs away from family, ministry and is trying to run from God. Suicide seems to be the only option. We join him 2000 miles out at sea. On the starboard side is Greece and Italy,
Spain and France. To the left is Egypt
and Morocco on the coastline. Depressed,
angry and annoyed. God was not working
the way Jonah wanted him to. He was not
doing the things he thought appropriate.
He was angry.
The journey – verse 3. He was away from the presence of the Lord. For these sailors they were heading to Joppa,
east to west. Tarsus is present day
Seville in Spain. The sailors could tell
of wind speeds and tidal currents, past crossings, exploits and humorous
happenings. Here though they didn’t
realise it, they never planned it – they were travelling away from the presence
of God. It is so easy to drift, to lose
your bearings, not to be aware of drifting further away. This story of Jonah reminds us of the biggest
cruise liner all humanity is born on.
Every child is born on board, all are lost. We have drifted. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of
us all.” (Isaiah 53 verse 6) The
symptoms of suicide, loneliness, dark thoughts, anger, depression,
unworthiness, emptiness. Symptoms of a
world drifting away from God. Symptoms
of sinful nature. We have lost
connection with the creator God. If you
are not a Christian you are on this ship.
It is made up of every person on earth.
If you don’t have Christ you are drifting away from God.
The danger – verse 4. In Jonah’s day there were no lifeboats, no
satellite navigation. He was not only
travelling away from God. Lots are in
danger, frightened. Is there a parallel,
a comparison? If suicidal you are in
great danger, logic is impaired, there is no glimmer of hope, no light on the
horizon. Some would say “it is best for
everyone if I wasn’t here.” They forget
about eternity. They forget God is angry
because of sin. You are on a journey the
same as Jonah and you are travelling away from God. You will be further away next week than this
week. Drifting away from God’s
presence. Your life is precarious. Eternity lies ahead. Sin is falling short of God’s
requirement. Separation between you and
God. Satan wants you to stay separated
until you end up in a lost eternity. You
should be frightened. You should have a
fear of facing death without the only Saviour.
Facing death without knowing Jesus Christ.
The condition – verse 5. Jonah is oblivious to it all. Some people are like that. You could preach to them and they are not
computing. It is going in one ear and
out the other. They are fast
asleep. They don’t see the danger of
being without Jesus. They are asleep and
not even afraid. I pray that a lost
eternity will terrify you. Those
hardened, seasoned sailors – when God speaks they become afraid. They tremble.
In our society we need people who when God speaks they will tremble at
the thought of facing an angry God. Suicidal
people have a fear, a dread, the fear of the impact of their actions, letting
people down. The method they have purposed
– most commit suicide today by hanging.
When God speaks man should tremble.
We should fear because sin separates us from God. Eternity is so long. Hell is so real. Maybe God is touching your life to get your
attention. What did these sailors do
when God touched the waves? They got
religious. They never thought of God for
years and now all of a sudden because of fear they got on their knees and cried
to their god whoever he was. They maybe
never thought of God and religion before now
Never feared. Now got
religion. It didn’t stop the danger. Next they got renewed. They turned over a new leaf. They threw all the excess baggage to make it
lighter. People will say they will turn
over a new leaf – not curse or drink or gamble.
“I will change and lighten the load.”
People will try all kinds of things, throwing the stuff overboard but it
didn’t stop the storm. It didn’t stop
the danger.
The salvation – verse 12. Salvation for these sailors is through the
death of one man. Jonah has had enough. His preaching struggle was at an end. His fear was not with the great fish or the
city of Nineveh but the dark struggles of heart and mind. “Throw me overboard, take my life, it is
better for you all if I was not here.”
The sailors wouldn’t obey him – verse 13. They didn’t want to throw him overboard. They didn’t want his suicide on their
conscience. They decided to row harder
and get to land. Some people say “I will
do my best, try the hardest I can to get to heaven, try harder.” They give more effort, more energy and the
result is exhaustion. The solution is
found in verse 15. Their salvation was
through the death of one man. The only
solution. To take Jonah and throw him
overboard. In Matthew 12 Jesus uses this
story to speak of himself. Jonah was in
the belly of the fish for 3 days. The
truths of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection are seen through this story. Jesus knew what this picture was about. Going into death, going to Calvary. The
willing perfect sacrifice. He became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Through the death of one man a whole ship
would be saved. At Calvary Jesus took my
life. “I will shed my blood, be the
ultimate sacrifice so you can go free."
When you see that trust in the Saviour.
The sea goes calm, it makes the danger disappear. God loves you so much. It was worth the sacrifice. His one and only son. The only salvation. Maybe you know someone who is ill and
suffering with suicidal thoughts. Please
be there for them, that they may know a safe, confident person. Do not judge them unfairly. You have never walked in their shoes. They need to know someone who loves and
values them. Ultimately God loves and
values them. He not only forgives but
satisfies and blesses and takes away all fear.
Suicide plagues our society. We
have looked at this real life example.
The answer was in one man, the death of that one man. Immediately the sea was calm. The Lord had a fish ready to swallow
Jonah. The sailors didn’t know the final
story. They didn’t know the rest of the
book. Our hope, our salvation is in the
one who gave his life for us as a ransom for us. Keep praying that this Assisted Bill will not
go through. People feel that such a Bill
is about finishing life with dignity.
Remember this amazing case study of Jonah. He ran away, drifted from God, how God
intervened in his life through a storm.
God is getting your attention. Salvation
was found in the death of one man. Our
hope is found in Jesus Christ.
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