The Saved Castaway: Storms, Sailors, and the Savior (Part II)

Sermon Title: The Saved Castaway: Storms, Sailors, and the Savior

Good News Statement: God leads us toward the Savior

Preached: Sunday, July 16^th, 2023, at Dogwood Prairie and Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSV): Jonah 1:4-16 – Today’s Scripture reading comes from the Book of Jonah chapter one verses four thru sixteen. In the opening chapter of the Book of Jonah, we are called by God to encounter storms, to notice that our decisions affect others, and that salvation is on the other side.

Jonah Tries to Run Away from God

⁴ But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ Then the sailors were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. ⁶ The captain came and said to him, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up; call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.”

⁷ The sailors said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. ⁸ Then they said to him, “Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” ⁹ “I am a Hebrew,” he replied. “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” ¹⁰ Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.

¹¹ Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. ¹² He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.” ¹³ Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. ¹⁴ Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” ¹⁵ So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. ¹⁶ Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

 

Introduction:

How many of you have encountered or heard about a storm that changed your life? Just a few months ago, our very county encountered a storm that left many people saying, “That was too close for comfort” while others were left picking up debris from what they thought would never happen to them. Storms take place every day, all over the world, but we often only pay attention to the ones that are “too close for comfort.” In 2005, everyone was impacted by one of the most devastating storms in United States History.

On August 23rd, 2005, a tropical depression formed over the southeastern Bahamas, becoming Tropical Storm Katrina on August 24th as it moved into the central Bahamas. The storm continued to track west while gradually intensifying and made its initial landfall along the southeast Florida coast on August 25th as a Category 1 hurricane with wind speeds averaging 80mph. After moving west across south Florida and into the very warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Katrina intensified rapidly and attained Category 5 status with peak sustained winds of 175mph for a period of time as it moved northwest on August 28th. Katrina weakened to a Category 3 before making landfall along the northern Gulf Coast, first in southeast Louisiana (sustained winds: 125mph) and then made landfall once more along the Mississippi Gulf Coast (sustained winds: 120mph). Katrina finally weakened below hurricane intensity late on August 29th over east central Mississippi.[1]

Hurricane Katrina became a large and extremely powerful hurricane that caused enormous destruction and significant loss of life. It is the costliest hurricane to ever hit the United States, surpassing the record previously held by Hurricane Andrew from 1992. In addition, Katrina is one of the five deadliest hurricanes to ever strike the United States. In all, Hurricane Katrina was responsible for 1,833 fatalities and approximately $108 billion in damage.[2]

The damage and loss of life inflicted by this massive hurricane in Louisiana and Mississippi was staggering with significant effects extending into Alabama and the western Florida panhandle. This was a storm that captivated the public and media with most coverage occurring in the New Orleans area. Considering the scope of its impacts, Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters in United States history.[3]

Seeing first hand, even after eighteen years, the destruction that remains from this devastating and traumatizing storm, I can tell you that it was painful to view: there is sadness in the rebel, grief in the abandoned and torn apart homes that once rang with laughter and joy, sorrow engraved in the pavement that used to welcome the footsteps of walkers and runners, and suffering draped on ever blown down tree, turned over vehicle, and empty school house. Even though Hurricane Katrina has come and gone, its memory, its depravity, its deaths, and its catastrophic and cataclysmic destruction has left an eternal impression on the lives of everyone. In the words of Babe Ruth from the movie Sandlot, “Heroes get remember, but legends never die.” Hurricane Katrina will be remembered, but its aftermath will never die.

Our story of Jonah for this week begins by informing us that a storm has come upon the sailors—a storm that has changed their lives. We don’t know what kind of storm has engulfed them while at sea, but we do know that this storm causes the sailors, whose lives are on the line, to cry out to their own gods, they desperately lighten the ship by throwing cargo overboard, and cast lots to discover whose sin caused such a violent storm. The sailors interrogate Jonah, hear his witness, and are terrified, since his god is Yahweh, who “made the sea and the land.”

In life we encounter the storms of nature—heavy rain, flash flooding, gusty winds, hail the size of quarters or greater—but we also encounter internal storms that change our life. These storms not only affect us, but they affect those around us. These storms are not meant to cause destruction but construct restoration in the presence of our Savior, Jesus Christ. God leads us to the Savior through the storms and strangers in our life.

Body:

            As I stated earlier, our story of Jonah for this week begins by informing us that a storm has come upon the sailors. By the end of this story, the sailor’s relationship to Yahweh moves to the foreground. According to James Bruckner, “With charity toward Jonah, they attempt to row out of their difficulty, but the sea grows ‘even wilder than before,’ and they cry out to Yahweh for mercy. When they throw Jonah overboard, the sea stands still, and the sailors believe, offer sacrifices, and make vows to the God of heaven, sea, and earth.” In the storm—in the rain and wind and flashing lightening—the sailors experience a change of heart: they, themselves, begin to feel saved. Before we explore this transformation, this restoration, let me remind you of what we talked about last week.

Last week, we were formally introduced to a prophet named Jonah, living during the mid-eighth century before Christ in the days of King Jeroboam II. We are told from verse one that “the word of the LORD came to Jonah” and that he was supposed to go to this great and wicked city called Nineveh. But he didn’t go. We don’t know exactly why Jonah chose not to go to Nineveh—maybe it was because of their wickedness, because they weren’t Jewish, or maybe because he didn’t want to let the LORD down—all we know is that he fled 2,500 miles to Tarshish to attempt to run from the LORD. And as we found out last week, there is no point in running from the LORD since the LORD already knows where you are going!

The opening verses to the Book of Jonah remind us of three things: first, we—you and I—have been given the word of the LORD and have been commissioned to do His will on earth as it is in heaven; Second, we have or will deny what the LORD is calling us to do because we are scared, because what He has told us is challenging and uncomfortable, so we pretend to ignore Him and we run; and Third, since the LORD already knows where we are going when we decide to run, the time has come to stop running from God and instead run towards God. How many of you ran from God this past week? How many of you said “No matter what God is going to tell me, I am going to do it?” Again, we are all Jonah, running from God. But the story doesn’t stop there! Jonah is still on the run, and while on the run to Tarshish he encounters storms, sailors, and his Savior.

Storms: Jonah 1:4-6 reads, “But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. Then the sailors were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. The captain came and said to him, ‘What are you doing sound asleep? Get up; call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.’”

So, here’s the situation: all these pagan sailors, scared out of their minds, throwing cargo overboard seeking to stay afloat, are like “everybody pray to their god, and hopefully one of them will pick up and be in a good mood and then we’ll all be ok.” The sailors are desperate but Jonah is calm. In their desperate plea for help, Jonah decides to go down into the inner part of the ship and take a nap. Another famous Biblical figure was found sleeping during a storm. Mark 4:38-40 states, “But he [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ And waking up, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Be silent! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’” The sailors, like the disciples, have no faith when trouble comes tearing their sails apart. Whenever we encounter a “storm”—a battle, doubt, frustration, lack of guidance—in our life, we often act out of desperation rather than stepping back and looking at the situation. We throw “cargo” out of our ship praying that that is the answer, but it’s not.

Then the captain came and said to Jonah, “’What are you doing sound asleep? Get up; call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish’” (Jonah 1:6). Even the captain knows that there is something special about Jonah and the God that Jonah worships—“maybe your God will give us a thought.” Jonah’s God can be called upon, can spare people’s lives just from a thought, and can cause people not to perish. In a way, the captain is making a desperate plea for help: he wants to believe so that he will not perish (John 3:16). We must remember, that no matter the storm we are currently going through—doubt, sin, confusion, stress, frustration, continuous pain, struggle, defeat—the help that we need is already in the boat with us. Jesus is in our stern waiting for us to wake him up, to believe in him, and to commit our life to him. In a way, the storms we face are not meant to cause destruction, rather they are meant to cause restoration—a restored faith in the One that allows us not to perish but have everlasting life.

Sailors: After tossing cargo overboard, giving up on their gods, and waking up Jonah, the sailors try a different strategy. The sailors said to one another, “‘Come, and let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose accounts this calamity has come upon us.’ So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, ‘Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?’” (Jonah1:7-8). Notice, the sailors, who were just acting in desperation in fear of the storm, seeking to wake up Jonah, have time to cast lots—essentially role dice and gamble—and then interrogate Jonah. I guess they aren’t too concerned about the storm at this point! We are the same way at times. We know something is bothering us but we try to ignore it or distract ourselves from it.

During their interrogation, notice what they are asking Jonah: “What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” The sailors, after letting this stranger on the boat, in an act of desperation to save their lives, are now seeking to get to know Jonah: who he is, what he does for a living, where he comes from, and what he believes in. When you meet someone you don’t know, what is the first question you ask them? The first question you ask them is what is important to you.[4]

Jonah answered boldly, ‘I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.’ Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, ‘What is this that you have done!’ For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so” (Jonah 1:9-10). In Jonah’s response we know who he is, where he comes from, what country he lives, his people, and his occupation. In just a few words, Jonah tells the sailors what they want to know. But I ask you, if you were asked these questions, what would be your response. For example, I would say the following: My people are those of Greek and Pennsylvania Dutch background who follow the Lord; I come from the country of the United States of America; I come from the land of the Quad Cities, specifically Colona, IL; and my occupation is to worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who mad the sea and the dry land and then I am pastor to God’s people. I challenge you to think about the questions you ask people you don’t know. And then think about what your occupation truly is.

After getting to know Jonah, the sailors remember they have been caught in a deadly storm. They say to Jonah, “’What shall we do to you that the sea may quiet down for us?’ For the sea was getting worse. He said to them, ‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.’ Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them” (Jonah 1:11-13). Kudos to the pagan sailors; they at least don’t want Jonah to die. But now they are in a rowing contest against God. How would you like that? You’re rowing and God has His finger on the stern. The harder we fight God, the worst it gets. Think of it this way: the harder you strive to get out of quick sand, the quicker you become immersed. There are moments in life that we wish to go against God, to flee from God, because we don’t like what He is telling us or wanting us to do. So we decide to row upstream instead of with the current of God. We seek to fight rather than relax and trust the situation. In life, we must learn to listen and follow God’s lead rather than pushing back and always striving to do things on our own. With God, everything is possible; but without God, the possible becomes impossible (Matthew 19:26); we continue to fight the current and the storms ahead of us.

Savior: Jonah concludes this section of the text by introducing an acceptance of hope in the Savior. Jonah 1:14-16 asserts, “Then [the sailors] cried out to the Lord, ‘Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.’  So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.” In order to cease the storm in their life, the sailors, like many of us, had to submit to the will of God. They realized they couldn’t fight the storm on their own: they needed help, they needed God. So they listened to Jonah, threw him overboard, and feared and worshiped the LORD. These last verses remind us of three things: First, we cannot overcome the storms in our life alone: we need help, we need God, and we need to submit to the will of God. Job 22:21 states, “Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you.”

Second, we must realize that the storms in our life affect others. Jonah had an issue with God and because he disobeyed God he put the lives of others in jeopardy. The storms and battles we face in life not only affect us but they have a way to ripple to others. We must own up to our faults and sins and not blame others for the storms in our life. Ezra notes in 10:4, “Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it.”

And Third, God does not put storms in our life to challenge us; instead He puts storms in our life to restore us. The sailors were restored after devoting themselves to God, Jonah will be saved by a large fish after coming to terms with his commission, and we are able to see the light at the end of the tunnel when we see the storms in our life as God’s willingness to restore us and to make us whole. 1 Peter 5:10 states, “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.” In every storm there is the opportunity of be saved, of accepting the Savior, and the restoration of hope.

Conclusion:

In conclusion this portion of our text provides us with the following realization: God sends storms to break His people from self-reliance. God sends storms into your life to get your attention. Although we may not always agree with the storms—the battles, the temptations, the trials, the tribulations, the valleys, the doubt, the fear, the disappointment, the anger—in our life, God does promise us that those who believe in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. Even though the storms in our life are storms that we do not want to face, if we remain close to God, instead of fleeing from God, we will not perish: the storms will become calm and the waves will diminish. The storms are God’s way of restoration in our life.

The sailors from our text represent our daily reminder to repent and seek God. When Jonah first meets the sailors, they do not know who God is, though they ask for forgiveness before tossing Jonah overboard. However, when the storm is over, the sailors offer thanks to God for their deliverance and make vows to be faithful to Him. Through the actions of the sailors we are reminded that it is never too late to ask God for forgiveness, it is never too late to seek repentance, and it is never too late to turn toward God and worship Him.

Finally, from this text we learn about the Savior—the saving grace of God, the LORD of the heaven and creator of the sea and dry land. When we truly give ourselves to God, ask for forgiveness of our sins, and allow Him to restore us, we begin to know what it means to worship a God who does not want us to perish, but wants us to have everlasting life. The time has come to worship the LORD and submit to His will so that we may overcome the storms in our life.

Although Hurricane Katrina has been labeled as “one of the most devastating natural disasters in United States history,” today hope can be found in the lower-ward of New Orleans, Louisiana. Colorful houses are being built, debris is being removed, and neighborhoods are being re-populated. Hurricane Katrina may have brought destruction but for the people it now offers a chance of restoration and hope for new beginnings after a storm that changed their life.

Through the storms, sailors, and the Savior found in Jonah, we are challenged to live a life in submission and hope in the LORD: to walk in his footsteps, to pray to Him on a daily basis, to listen to Him and not ignore Him, to seek restoration, to act upon His will today as we serve others so that all will be saved, and to see the hope and restoration after the storms. As you go about this week, don’t let the storms in your life tear you down but restore you, guide others to know Jesus Christ, and allow the Savior to deliver and rescue you.

Let it be so…

 

Closing Prayer:

Let Us Pray…Dear Saving God, save us today from the storms in our life, from the battles and struggles that are weighing us down. May we see these storms as opportunities of restoration and hope for new beginnings. Give us the strength to lead others to Your Son and may we strive to be saved by your amazing grace all the days of our life.  All honor and glory is yours, now and forever, Amen.

 

Benediction:

May this week be blessed with moments of restoration and hope as you allow God to save you, deliver you, and rescue you from the storms in your life. And may the LORD challenge you to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others in your life. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, go out into the world knowing that you have been restored. And all God’s people said, Amen. Amen. Amen

 

 

 

[1]https://www.weather.gov/mob/katrina#:~:text=In%20all%2C%20Hurricane%20Katrina%20was,moved%20into%20the%20central%20Bahamas.

[2]https://www.weather.gov/mob/katrina#:~:text=In%20all%2C%20Hurricane%20Katrina%20was,moved%20into%20the%20central%20Bahamas.

[3]https://www.weather.gov/mob/katrina#:~:text=In%20all%2C%20Hurricane%20Katrina%20was,moved%20into%20the%20central%20Bahamas.

[4] Studies of shown that the number one question to ask a person you just met relates to getting know what their occupation is.