Mount Isa Baptist Church

Preacher on the run

Jonah 1:1-17

In Jonah, we see a man who tried to make a getaway because he wanted his own way and not God’s way. As a result, he suffered for it, but at the same time, God’s measureless grace was displayed as well.

The question is: Why disobey?

We can see answers in verse 1 where God’s called Jonah: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because its wickedness has come up before me.”

God had given Jonah a task: to go to the city of Nineveh and preach against it. But Jonah didn’t want the job. God said, “GO,” but Jonah said, “NO.” Jonah, instead of heading for Nineveh, some 500 miles east of Jerusalem, he went sailing west towards Tarshish, 2000 miles away. Maybe it disrupted Jonah’s life and called him to do something he didn’t want to do. vs.2 records God’s call to Jonah to “arise” and “go to Nineveh.” The Lord called him to action and told him where to go. There was also a motive for God calling him to Ninevah; He was concerned about their wickedness. Jonah was given the opportunity to have the greatest evangelical impact in Ninevah, but he did not want it because he was politically and culturally opposed to Ninevah and did not have God’s heart for them.

How often are we like that? God tells us to go speak to someone, but because we do not have His heart for them, we just like Jonah say “NO.” vs.3 provided Jonah’s contrasting response, “Jonah gets up and flees to Tarshish.” Not only did Jonah want to steer clear of Nineveh, but he was also attempting to flee “The presence of the Lord.” David in Psalm 139 says: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

It was not possible for Jonah to flee from the presence of the Lord.

Why does Jonah fail to do what the Lord asked him to do?

To answer this question, we must jump ahead to chapter 4:2. What immediately precedes this verse is the repenting of Ninevah, and God promising to relent with the calamity He had previously threatened in chapter 3:10. In 4:2, the text says that Jonah prayed, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning, for I knew that Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, and One who relents concerning calamity.” The reason for Jonah’s disobedience is confessed unashamedly. Jonah couldn’t have cared less about the people of Nineveh. These people were Israel’s enemies, and Jonah was not about to inconvenience himself to help enemies receive God’s mercy. Before we condemn Jonah, I think it is important for us to examine our own tendencies. In light of the fact that God has called every Christian to share the gospel, we need to evaluate our own level of faithfulness to God’s command. When God called us to “GO” we often just like Jonah flee or we rationalise a more moderate alternative for ourselves.

Why do we do this? Because it will call us out of our comfort zone, our security, and our desires to care for cruel and troubled places like Ninevah. God’s grace always calls us to do something we cannot do, something that is overwhelming for us, something that frightens us. If we are honest, we will admit that we are governed by the law of convenience. When it is convenient, we attend Sunday service, when it is convenient, we pray, when it is convenient, we read our Bible, for many of us, we are faithful Christians, so long as being faithful does not require an extraordinary break from our planned routine. And yet, it seems apparent that God sometimes calls for our faithfulness during times of great inconvenience. God sometimes calls us to do things that we are not naturally inclined to do. And what we learn from Jonah is the foolishness of resisting God's call. God does not let His children wander indefinitely. The reason God's children are not left wandering indefinitely is because God is not held captive by our choices to disobey. He has the power to bring us back into fellowship with Him, and we see this so clearly in the account of Jonah. Here, in Jonah, we are reminded that we are not Sovereign and our choices do not necessarily get the last word. The testimony of Scripture is that it was the will of Jonah to buy a ticket and to board a ship at Joppa. The testimony of Scripture also teaches us that, by God's power and will, Jonah was prevented from reaching the destination of his choice. The testimony of Scripture is that God's will for Jonah superseded Jonah's will for Jonah. The lesson of Jonah, chapter 1, is that God is sovereign. And since God is sovereign, it is impossible for you and me to ultimately “flee” from His presence. God, who has called you, will not let you go. This is the lesson of Jonah; in the end, Jonah did not get to where he wanted to go. God had other plans for Jonah.

Below is a letter from Pastor Morgan Slykerman with all the details. If you would like to contribute financially, you can do so in three ways:

1. Add your Donation to the Offering Bag in an envelope clearly marked for Cooktown Baptist Church Roofing Fund

2. You can deposit into the MIBC bank account electronically. Please state in the description what the offering is for so all donations are easily identifiable for their intended purpose (Bank account details are toward the bottom of this Newsletter).

3. You can give directly to Cooktown Baptist Church's own Bank Account. The details are at the end of the letter.

To our Brothers and Sisters in Christ

I am writing to make known a need we have for our fellowship. We are in a position where we need to replace our leaking roof and are presently $20,000 short of the funds required. We are reaching out to see if there are any congregations or individuals who may be able to assist us in meeting this shortfall of funds.

The fellowship of Cooktown Baptist Church is the Northernmost Baptist Church in Queensland, Australia. We are comprised of a small group of families who love Jesus and are actively engaged in sharing the gospel in our community. Many within the fellowship are teachers or other staff members of the local Christian School, as well as some retired folk who bless us with their wisdom and experience.

As a group of Christ followers, we are passionate about sharing the gospel, loving God, and loving others. We focus on being genuine in our individual walks with the Lord, and have seen new believers find a home amongst us where they feel valued and safe to grow in their faith as well. Our building is in a central location next to the only grocery store in town and is highly visible to the wider community. We see this as a good thing, as the witness of Jesus is shining boldly into the community.

However, we are currently faced with a challenging situation. We have been blessed with a turn of the 20th Century wooden building as our place of worship. However, maintaining a 120-year-old building comes with many challenges.

2 years ago, we worked together as a congregation and painted the inside of the church. This year in June, we painted the outside of the building. We are now facing a further significant challenge in that our roof also needs replacing. About 12 months ago, we patched lower portions of the roof that were leaking. However, the repairs were not completely successful. Water is still leaking in and causing damage to the building interior. The roof needs a complete replacement to ensure that it is both leak-proof and cyclone-proof.

This year, we have learnt that due to the roof pitch, not all roofing contractors have the capacity to do the job. We had a local contractor organised for the job, but it turns out the scope of the job is beyond his capacity. The materials were purchased at the time and are ready and waiting in the church yard. We have made enquiries with a number of roofing contractors but have so far been unsuccessful in locating a company either locally or further afield with capacity to complete the job.

The wet season is now fast approaching. This week, in faith, we laid hands on the roofing material and asked God to provide. At 0730 the next morning a Cairns based roofing company walked into the local hardware where I work as a bi-vocational job. Upon explaining the situation and on their inspection of the roof, they have returned with a quote and the ability to complete the work before Christmas, which importantly is before the start of our wet season. We rejoice in Gods provision of this contractor; however, their quote is substantially higher than the initial local quote. We now understand that due to the specialist nature of the roof, the installation costs will be charged accordingly.

Our small fellowship gives generously and faithfully; however, the quote for the roof installation is almost the same as our annual income. If others within the church community were able to support us at this time of need, we would be greatly appreciative.

Yours in Christ
Morgan Slykerman
Pastor
Cooktown Baptist Church

Bank Account Details

Cooktown Baptist Fellowship

BSB 014-303 (ANZ)

ACC 2954-26307