The Golden Ticket to Tarshish...

 O.k. we will return later to Jennifer's whale of a tale..for that story gets wet and wilder!! However, let's take a look at her ancient look alike, Jonah!! According to Biblecharts.org, there were some pretty interesting facts about Jonah!! First of all, did you know that Jonah's name means, "dove"? Seeing how Jonah is later used as a sign and or symbol by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I found this intriguing to say the least! Being a Nazarene and missions guru, I have always cherished seeing the logo of our Church's seal put on Churches around the World.  Symbols always point the way to something greater don't they?? Well, as you can see from the logo above, there is a dove and a splash of Holy fire; holiness is the main point of victory in our church's doctrinal base! All that to say, the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and His role in bringing conviction through the fiery process of Sanctification for those who surrender it all to God!  Wow, the prophet Jonah is a real person and yet a symbol and representation of our lives when they are not fully surrendered to the Savior, not totally under the control of the Holy Spirit! Friends, peace only comes like a dove, when our hearts are surrendered, our sin consumed like fire, and our steps ordered by the Holy Spirit!  Alright, so what are the facts! We have Jonah, a dove, not yet sanctified in His call to be God's prophet.  Yes, Jonah is a symbol to all of a life that needs the power and wisdom of the Holy spirit; all of us can admit that we need the Holy Spirit every hour!!  Not only do we need the Holy Spirit every hour, but we need to allow the Spirit to help us get a grip on directions.  Just like a treasure map that has been rent in two pieces is humanity after the fall of man!! Only through the reading of the word along with the guidance of the Holy spirit to understand it, will we ever be able to navigate in the right direction.  Heaven knows that we need a compass and we need to make sure that we understand how to read that compass.   Let's examine exactly where Jonah was located and how he might have ended up so far from the right place!! When Jonah was called to go to Nineveh, he was a resident and native of Galilee, only three miles away from Nazareth. Interestingly, Jonah  enjoyed being a prophet amongst his own people and right outside Jesus' future hometown! Sometimes we are on a journey to find the world's greatest treasure; we have a treasure map to take us to the gold. However, while we are walking the roads and rowing across the rivers of life, we sometimes find ourselves under a very shady Oak tree, beautiful Olive branch, or a gorgeous rainbow of promise! In fact, sometimes we tell ourselves that we have arrived and that God's dream for us can stop because our surroundings make us happy and content!!  After all, if we like to read the newspaper, why try a novel?? Therefore, we must understand that life will sometimes offer you a deal that is really convenient and wonderful; many times good is not great, and nice is not God's best!  Is Jonah's nice situation in Galilee like any of your situations in ministry?? Have any of you set up ministry in a very sweet spot? Furthermore, have any of you followed God's call into ministry and not been inconvenienced very much yet??  Finally, have any of you ever asked yourselves if you would be willing to give up one ministry that is completely delicious and perfectly pleasurable to you and been shocked at your own level of resistance??  As we will learn later as I give more of my own personal testimony, I became resistant to the change that following God would have brought to the ministry I had planned.  Let's jump back into the book of Jonah shall we??  

Jonah 1

New International Version (NIV)

Jonah 1

Jonah Flees From the LORD

 ¹ The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: ² “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” ³ But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
 ⁴ Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
   But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. ⁶ The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”




Alright, time to buckle up and resist the wind if you dare!! Let me paint a picture for you!! Imagine with me for a minute that you are snuggled up in your bed!! Completely exhausted, you have finally reached that blissful moment of perfect sleep! Moreover, imagine that the warm and inviting covers and blankets are holding you just right. In fact, your head has found that spot in the pillow where comfort carries your worries away! Now, suddenly your alarm goes off and two hours too early!! AHHHHHHH!! What is the first thing that we all do when that horrible situation takes place??? We shut it ____!! You fill in the blank!! We bury our head into the pillow and desperately try to find the serenity that has been lost!! Just like Jonah...we try so hard to hold onto our serenity, not realizing that the road ahead is more than serene, it's eternity with the Prince of Peace!! Just like Don Quixote, we chase the windmill and try to build castles in Spain...Yikes!! Jonah...the prophet of God, tried the best he could to get out of the picture so that God would send someone else and he could keep his sweet picture of what he had settled for somewhere long ago: Fools Gold!! Jonah bought a golden ticket to Tarshish to hold onto a life that he mistakenly thought was golden!! Yet,  the ticket turned out to be a fool's golden ticket to the bottom of the sea...!!

⁴ Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

   But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. ⁶ The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

  Wow, to think that Jonah even went to sleep as the sailors were fighting off the storm!! Fools Gold!! We try and try so hard to make something work, when we cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip...and we cannot make our plans into the plans of God!! Go ahead and close your eyes in order to wait out the storm!! I dare you!! However, you will find that the waves will only get bigger and the thunder will only become louder until you realize that you are not your own!! You were all bought at a price..therefore honor God with your life!!


The reality is that we all have a treasure map written on our hearts...and the real gold for us all is God, His Son Jesus and His precious Holy Spirit! Do not be fooled by fools Gold...Go for God's gold..for the life He brings will last forever..don't settle for temporary...wait on God and reap eternity!!


When was the last time you settled for temporary happiness and missed a piece of His eternity?? I'll leave you with an encouragement on this matter,

Ephesians 3:7-9

New International Version (NIV)

 ⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. ⁸ Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.


The greatest hope we have is that our Hope is in the God of grace!! Praise the Lord..even when we run..he is faithful..Even when we sin..God forgives..Only by the gift of grace we partake in a calling that brings us to the true treasure and then beckons us to bring the same treasure to those who do not know the Hope of Jesus!!  Go for the Gold and then by His grace..tell the whole world!!