Transcript Slide 1

How do you react when God prompts you to do
something quite difficult or inconvenient?
Do you tend to obey God joyfully, or follow Him
grudgingly; or simply ignore Him?
What excuses do you make?
Quick Review of Week 5 ….
External and Internal
Situation in Israel when
Jonah began to Preach
The Sins of Jeroboam
• New Places of Worship
• New Forms of Worship
• New Priesthood
• New Holy Day
• Subjugated Church to the State
Ancient Near East
“Dark Ages” End:
The Rise of NeoAssyria
Assyria Heads West, Again
• Following both internal and external revolts against Shalmaneser III late in
his reign, Assyria remained in a state of weakness through much of the
rulership of his son and successor Shamshi-Adad V (824-811 B.C.)
• Not until the reign of Adad-Nirari III (811-782 B.C.) did the Assyrian power
really revive and take the road to conquest again
• In 806 BC he takes his army into Syria for the first time in three decades
• Adad-nirari attacked and defeated Syria, taking extensive tribute from
Ben-hadad
• Assyria’s western expeditions continued until 802. The entire west
became tributary to Assyria.
• Adad-nirari’s campaign in the west relieved Syrian pressure on Israel,
making him Israel’s “savior” during the last days of Johoahaz (2 Kings 13:5)
• This verse illustrates that God also used one foreign power (Assyria) to
deliver His people from the hand of a more immediate oppressor (Syria)
• In a stelae found in Nineveh, Adad-nirari says: "I received the tribute of
Jehoash the Samarian, of the Tyrian [ruler] and of the Sidonian [ruler].“
• After the death of Adad-Nirari in 803, Israel under Johoash, son of
Jehoahaz, was able to inflict defeat on Syria
Assyria
• Adad-nirari III (811 - 783)
• Imposed tribute on Aram-Damascus (Syria), Phoenicians,
Philistines, Israelites, Edomites, and others
• Probably the “savior” of 2 Kings 13:5 who allowed Israel
to escape domination by Aram-Damascus
• Army rebelled against monarch – deposed him
Judah
Israel
• Joash (835 – 796)
• Jehoahaz (814 – 789)
• Amaziah (796 – 767)
• Jehoash (789 – 782)
• Defeated the Edomites
• 785: Lost war with Jehoash
• Continued struggle with Syria
• Paid tribute to Adad-nirari III
• Elisha dies during his rule
• Jeroboam II (782 – 753)
• Greatest king of Israel’s 200 year
history
• Time of prosperity and ease
Assyria Goes Home
• After the Assyrians attacked and defeated Syria,
they suddenly stopped their advance toward
Palestine and returned to Nineveh
• This abrupt retreat unwittingly set the stage for a
surge of Israelite wealth and power that had
steadily waned following Solomon's reign
• In the absence of foreign domination, Israel's
prosperity and influence began to grow
• Assyria experienced a half century of decline
when it had to contend with its own internal
affairs as well as with threats from Urartu in the
north, it greatest rival in the eighth century BC
JONAH
Assyria
• Shalmaneser IV (782 - 773)
• Son of Adad-nirari III
• Remembered as weak and inept
• May reflect the preaching of Jonah (780)
Judah
• Amaziah (796 – 767)
– Also known as Uzziah in
the Old Testament
Israel
• Jeroboam II (782 – 753)
• Amos preaches against easy
life (760)
• Hosea preaches against
unfaithful Israel (755)
Golden Age
• The word of the LORD spoken by Jonah
concerning Jeroboam's reign was being fulfilled
• At the expense of Syria, Israel was expanding as
far northeast as Damascus and as far north as
Hamath
• Judah was also expanding their territory and
profited from their relationship with Phoenicia,
which controlled trade in the Mediterranean
world
• All of these factors created a new Golden Age for
Israel and Judah
Israel and Judah in the Days of Jeroboam II and Uzziah
• Uzziah and Jeroboam II were strong leaders who presided over a
time of prosperity that had not been seen since the time of Solomon
• Cities were re-conquered, lost territory regained, and the
Transjordan trade route was secured throughout the territory
• The two kingdoms were at peace with each other; there was a
feeling of great confidence and optimism
• However, not everyone benefited from this prosperity. The wealthy
were very, very wealthy. Archeological findings at Samaria revealed
beautiful buildings and furniture with ivory inlays
• But the poor did not share in this prosperity. The State did not
protect them from the dishonest practices of business, and the
courts offered no redress since judges were corrupt
• Moreover, while people practiced religion, it was often not the
religion devoted solely to Yahweh, but was often syncretized (mixed)
with the religion of Ba’al
• Finally, the prophets were forbidden to prophesy, and the Nazarites
were corrupted and forced to drink wine (2:12)
• Thus, socially, morally and religiously Israel, which superficially
looked in great shape, was actually falling into a dangerous decay.
Israel’s Spiritual/Moral Decline
• Israel’s economic prosperity led to:
An ivory that decorated furniture
in Israel
– Self-indulgence
– Exploitation of the poor
– Sexual immorality
– Pride
– Idolatry
– Legal corruption
– A society divided between the
unrestrained rich and the embittered poor
• Ironically, this spiritual and moral descent occurred while religion
flourished
– The people faithfully attended the shrines at Bethel, Dan,
Gilgal, and Beer-sheba
– They offered their sacrifices
– They believed that their relationship to God would protect
them from disaster
… Now Week 6
The Structure of the Book of Jonah
 Scene 1: Jonah’s First Call
(1:1-3)
 Scene 2: The Storm at Sea
(1:4-16)
 Scene 3: Jonah’s Deliverance & Prayer
(1:17 – 2:10)
 Scene 4: Jonah’s Second Call
(3:1-3a)
 Scene 5: Jonah’s Preaching Converts
(3:3b-10)
Nineveh & Yahweh Changes
His Verdict
 Scene 6: Jonah’s Response to Yahweh’s (4:1-3)
Change of Verdict to Save Nineveh
 Scene 7: Yahweh’s Provisions and
Jonah’s Response
(4:4-11)
Herman Melville, Moby Dick
“Heaven have mercy on us all –
Presbyterians and Pagans alike – for we
are all somehow dreadfully cracked
about the head, and sadly need
mending.”
Jonah 1:1-3
SCENE 1
1Now
the word of the LORD came to
Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call
out against it, for their evil has come up before
me.” 3But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the
presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa
and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid
the fare and went down into it, to go with them
to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
What is meant by the phrase “the word of the LORD”
in verse 1?
How did the Word of the LORD come to Jonah?
The Word of God
• Hebrews 1:1-2 -- “Long ago, at many times and in many
ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in
these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he
appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he
created the world.”
• John 1:1-3 and 14 -- “In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in
the beginning with God. All things were made through him,
and without him was not any thing made that was made …
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we
have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the
Father, full of grace and truth.”
How does the Word come to us?
How is the way the Word comes to us different from
the way it came to Jonah?
How is it the same?
Jonah 1:1-2
1Now
the word of the LORD came to Jonah the
son of Amittai, saying, 2“Arise, go to Nineveh,
that great city, and call out against it, for their
evil has come up before me.”
What does God command Jonah to do?
Where did the LORD command Jonah to go?
What was he supposed to do when he arrived there?
Why?
The City of Nineveh
Genesis 10:8-12 – “Cush fathered
Nimrod; he was the first on earth to
be a mighty man. He was a mighty
hunter before the LORD. Therefore
it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty
hunter before the LORD.” The
beginning of his kingdom was Babel,
Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the
land of Shinar. From that land he
went into Assyria and built
Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and
Resen between Nineveh and
Calah; that is the great city.”
The
Hebrew
word gadol
(“great”) occurs several times in
When
was Nineveh
founded?
the
book
Jonah.
word is used to describe the city
Who
wasofthe
city’sThis
founder?
of
Nineveh
in both
10:11-12
How
does the
text Genesis
depict this
man? and Jonah 1:2.
In what ways was Nineveh great?
Jonah 1:1-2
1Now
the word of the LORD came to Jonah the
son of Amittai, saying, 2“Arise, go to Nineveh,
that great city, and call out against it, for their
evil has come up before me.”
In Jonah 1:2, Nineveh is also described as “evil.” The
How might
theused
terrifying
of thesee
Assyrians
Hebrew
word
here isreputation
ra’ah. As we’ll
in the
influenced
thestudy,
way Jonah
the LORD’s
callinto
course
of this
ra’ah responded
is importanttorecurring
word
go to
Nineveh?
the
book
of Jonah.
Why is ra’ah an appropriate description of the Ninevites?
2 Kings 17:1-8
“In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began
to reign in Samaria over Israel, and he reigned nine years. And he did what
was evil in the sight of the LORD, yet not as the kings of Israel who were
before him. Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria. And Hoshea
became his vassal and paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria found
treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and
offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year.
Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. Then the
king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria, and for three years
he besieged it.
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he
carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the
Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the
LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from
under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods and
walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the
people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced.”
The events described here took place around 722 BC, sixty years or so after Jonah’s
mission to Nineveh. What did the king of Assyria (Shalmaneser V) do to Israel?
What insight do these verses give us into Jonah’s rejection of God’s call to go to
Nineveh?
In light of all this, how do you imagine Jonah might have
felt about God's command to “call out against" Nineveh?
What was the Purpose of Jonah’s Mission?
Why did God want him to go to Nineveh and preach to
the very people who, some sixty years on, would be
responsible for the total destruction of Israel?
• To stir up the people of God
• To declare the message of salvation to the
nations beyond Israel
• To foreshadow the person and work of the
Lord Jesus Christ
Jonah 1:1-2
1Now
the word of the LORD came to Jonah the
son of Amittai, saying, 2“Arise, go to Nineveh,
that great city, and call out against it, for their
evil has come up before me.”
Whothere
are the
we who
easilymight
thinkthink
of as
Are
anypeople,
groups or groups,
types ofwho
people
"enemies"?
the
church sees them as "enemies"?
What can we do to show them compassion?
Jonah 1:3
3But
Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the
presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa
and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid
the fare and went down into it, to go with
them to Tarshish, away from the presence of
the LORD.
How does Jonah respond to God's command?
What do you think of Jonah's actions here?
• Jonah was from
Gath-hepher, a
small town in the
Galilee region
near Nazareth
Gath-hepher
• Jonah was
directed by God to
“arise, go to
Nineveh” which is
Northeast of Israel
• But Jonah went
down to Joppa
which is
Southwest of
Israel in the
opposite direction
Let’s Examine How Other
Prophets Responded to
the Call of God
Call of Moses: Exodus 3-4
“Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children
of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to
Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with
you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought
the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The
God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what
shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to
the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” …
Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my
voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.’” The LORD said to him,
“What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And he said, “Throw it on the
ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from
it. But the LORD said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he
put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—“that they may
believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” …
But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past
or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or
deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with
your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please
send someone else.”
What did Moses say to the LORD in response to His call?
Call of Isaiah: Isaiah 6
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne,
high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him
stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and
with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to
another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is
full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of
him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and
I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the
King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his
hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he
touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is
taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who
will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
How did Isaiah respond to seeing the Lord in glory?
How does he respond to God’s call to go?
Call of Jeremiah: Jeremiah 1
“Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed
you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated
you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak,
for I am only a youth.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am
only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and
whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”
Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the
LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I
have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up
and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to
plant.”
What did Jeremiah say in response to his call from God?
What did Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah do after the
LORD called them?
What did Jonah do when the LORD called him?
• Normally prophets protest their inability to
speak
– Moses protests that he is not a man of words
– Jeremiah fears that he does not know how to
speak
– Isaiah insists that his lips are unclean
– But Jonah goes the opposite direction – without
saying a word!
Jonah 1:1-3
1Now
the word of the LORD came to Jonah the
son of Amittai, saying, 2“Arise, go to Nineveh,
that great city, and call out against it, for their
evil has come up before me.” 3But Jonah rose to
flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to
Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into
it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the
presence of the LORD.
Why could it have easily remained hidden until God spoke to
What does
Jonah
Jonah
in Jonah
1? appear to love more: his country or his God?
Why would
truth
have
easy totoday
spot to
in worship
2 Kings 14?
What
kind ofthis
things
is not
it easy
forbeen
Christians
instead of God without noticing?
Divine Interruption
• Put yourself in Jonah's shoes and try to imagine what this
divine interruption was like
• You are enjoying a successful ministry among God's people
• You are well known and well appreciated for your
celebrated prophecy about restoring the borders of Israel
• You feel settled, fulfilled and contented, but now the Word
of God disturbs your comfortable 'Christian' life
• God is calling you to leave the people you love, move to a
new location and venture into an uncertain future
• Your assignment is to serve people of another race, who
regard you as an enemy, and you are to do this by speaking
'against' the great city of Nineveh
• Instead of prophesying blessing on God's people, your new
calling is to pronounce judgment on God's enemies
• Nothing in this new calling is attractive to you; it all seems
like an overwhelming loss
Imagined Conversation with God
“Jonah, I want you to go ... "
"Lord I am really happy with what I am doing for You
here."
"I want you to do something else."
"You want me to leave the work I love?"
"That's right."
"Where do you want me to go?"
"Nineveh."
"That's in enemy territory. There are terrorists and
torturers there. What do you want me to say?"
"Preach against the city, because its wickedness has
come up before me."
God-Centered Life?
• Nothing is more disturbing to our comfortable faith or
our comfortable church than God's passion for the
world
• Jonah was happy serving people of his own race, but
when God called him to serve people of another race,
in a country hostile to his own, the selfishness of
Jonah's heart was exposed
• The prophet known and acclaimed for his fruitful
ministry had lost touch with God's heart and God's
mission to the world
• Jonah was a long way from navigating a God-centered
life, but no one, not even the prophet himself, would
have known it until God stepped in
Genesis 12:1-3
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your
country and your kindred and your father's house
to the land that I will show you. And I will make
of you a great nation, and I will bless you and
make your name great, so that you will be a
blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and
him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all
the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
What is God's purpose for Israel among the nations?
Jonah wants God only to bless Israel. How does this clash with
God's promise to Abram?
How should Genesis 12:1-3 affect Jonah's response toward
God's commissioning of him?
Ways of Escaping God
• Our busy schedules … we don't pause to reflect
and read Scripture because we're afraid of what
we'll hear
We may think Jonah foolish in his attempt to flee from God
• Our
…we
wesometimes
justify our
lack
(and
we'daccomplishments
be right)! But how do
live
thisof
way
obedience
to God
ourselves?
Are there
any and
areasrelationship
of your life in with
whichGod
you are
through
what
we've
managed
to achieve,
or what
currently
resisting
God's
direction
and living
at cross-purposes
need to achieve
withwe
thestill
Lord?
• Our needs … when God helps us, then we'll
respond in faith and obedience
• Or we might simply get on with following God in
all kinds of ways except one, which we consider
too hard, unrealistic or demanding, and which we
quietly ignore
How God Interrupts Your Life
• God's Word came to Jonah with such force and directness that
there was no doubt in Jonah's mind that God was speaking and that
God was sending him to Nineveh
• Being a prophet meant that Jonah received direct revelation from
God
• It's different for us. God speaks to us through the Scriptures, and
since the Bible does not contain individual instructions on where
you should live, whom you should marry, or what work you should
do, God's interruptions in your life will usually come through
secondary means
• An interruption may come through unwelcome decisions by other
people, or through circumstances beyond your control
• Something unexpected happens and your whole life is completely
different
• You lose the life that you love and you face a future that you fear
• So let's look at some examples of what God's interruption might
look like in your life today
God Interrupting
Our Ministry
Jim and Julie's New Assignment
• Jim and Julie had served as missionaries for ten years
• They were the first couple to join the field when the mission began
work in the country where they serve
• Making the move half way round the world from their home in the
American Midwest took extraordinary courage
• Learning a new language and adapting to an alien culture
seemed an impossible task, but Jim and Julie persevered
• After a decade of hard work, a small but robust fellowship of
local Christians had been established with about fifty believers
meeting in homes for worship, teaching and encouragement
• Jim and Julie were like mother and father to these people …
this mission church had become their life
• However, early last year their denomination adopted a policy calling
for missionaries to move to a new assignment after ten years
• Someone from the home office visited with them to talk about
what this would mean … it was not an easy meeting
Jim and Julie's New Assignment
• "You don't understand," Jim said. "These believers need us here.
We're not in a position to move to another town."
• The man from the home office pressed his point. "These believers
belong to Christ, not to you," he said. "As long as you are here, they
will depend on you. They won't step up and take responsibility
unless and until you move on.“
• "Besides," he continued, "the mission you signed up for was to
reach this country, and there are other towns where new churches
could be planted. You have shown great courage in leaving your
home and building a new life here. Now we are asking you to leave
this work and bring the gospel to another community."
• After the meeting Julie told Jim that she would "rather go back
home than put up with being pushed about like this"
• She felt it was up to each missionary to decide what is best for his
or her own situation, and she didn't have a good word to say about
the man from the mission home office
Imagine you are this couple. How would you react?
Is it God’s will for you to move on to a new location?
What is being exposed here?
God Interrupting
Our Job
Michael's Company
• As his wife was pregnant with their first child, Michael made the
decision that he wanted to start his own business
• He had grown weary of working for people who cared more about
themselves than their customers; he wanted to create his own
software company, where he could glorify God with the way he &
his team acted toward customers & employees in the marketplace
• Michael wanted to set a godly example for his family, & felt sure he
could do this better by building his own company based on godly
values than by carrying on with frustrations of his present work
• With a child on the way, he felt called to pursue this dream now
• Under his leadership, Michael's new company thrived
• Prospective customers, talented employees, and shrewd investors
were drawn to his company's fresh way of doing business
• As the business grew, Michael received many accolades
– Three years after the company's founding, he was named one of the top one
hundred entrepreneurs in the country
– Shortly thereafter, his Christian college alma mater asked him to deliver the
commencement speech at its graduation ceremony on the topic of "Godly
values in the world of commerce."
• Things were going better than he could have ever dreamed
Michael's Company
• One day, Michael's investors called to tell him they had received an unsolicited
bid to buy the company
• The offer made financial sense for all of the company's stakeholders, and opened
the door for Michael's company to reach new markets around the world
• The problem for Michael is that he would no longer be the CEO
• The acquiring company wanted to keep him on as vice-president of product
management
Think about your current work situation.
• Instead
of being
the leader,
Michael
would
have towith
be a follower
Are you
modeling
Christ
in your
dealings
people?
• But Michael had got so used to his role as the unquestioned person in charge
Hasthe
God
changed
your
work
over theofyears
(different
that
idea
of working
under
the direction
someone
else was making him
job, new place, different boss) that caused you to
uncomfortable
• Michael
knew that
takeover made sense for his employees, for his customers
grumble
andthe
complain?
and for the investors; but the change wouldn't be easy for Michael
Has God revealed hidden layers of self-interest in your
• So he began taking actions that slowed down the deal, and soon he was at the
heart? it altogether
pointown
of jeopardizing
• Michael started out with a vision of modeling godly values in which he cared for
his employees and customers
• But the takeover was uncovering hidden layers of self-interest in his own heart of
which he had not even been aware
God Interrupting
Our Family
Angela's Daughter
• Angela had raised two daughters without support from her
husband, who walked out shortly after their younger daughter
was born
• Living in a small town, she had survived in large measure through
the help of her family and friends, all of whom were deeply
involved in the local church
• When her husband left, Angela determined that she would make a
success of raising her family
• She found a part-time job and then poured herself into providing a
stable, loving and God-honoring home for Christine and Stacy
• Angela's daughters had all the advantages of a thorough
grounding in truth; she taught them to memorize Scripture verses,
and led family prayers at the end of their meals
• The girls made good friends in the youth group, and God used
them to lead other girls in their school to faith in Christ
• People in the church commented on the sweetness of these girls
and how their modest charm was a credit to their remarkable
mother
Angela's Daughter
• Angela met regularly with three other women who had
covenanted together to pray for their children
• These women encouraged each other in maintaining ordered and
godly homes, but none of them exceeded Angela in putting their
high aspirations into practice … Angela's energy astonished her
friends
• Her disciplines were exemplary, and her capacity to handle the
bumps and bruises of life seemed greater than the other women,
who were doing the same job without having to work and with
the support of a loving husband
Angela's Daughter
• Angela's eldest daughter, Christine, married her high school
sweetheart and settled with her husband a few miles from her
mother's home
• They attended the church and usually came 'home' for Sunday
lunch; Christine was her mother's joy and delight
• Stacy was another story … as a senior at college, she hooked up
with Kamal with whom she had almost nothing in common
• Hearing that Kamal was not a Christian, Angela was immediately
anxious, and her anxiety was intensified as Kamal seemed
reluctant to visit their home, and was largely uncommunicative
when he did
• Stacy's sweetness seemed to vanish overnight, and Angela
noticed that her younger daughter was becoming increasingly
withdrawn
• There was a tension in the home when Stacy was around,
something Angela had not experienced before and did not know
how to handle
Angela's Daughter
• As the tension descended into conflict, mother and daughter
soon found it difficult to be in the same room
• Then Stacy walked out and moved in with Kamal
• Angela was brokenhearted and felt that God had let her down
• Why had God allowed things to go so wrong with Stacy after
Thinkhad
about
your herself
own family
situation.the
Have
you
Angela
poured
into honoring
Lord
in poured
the way she
raised
her children?
… It on
made
nokids
sense
toto
Angela
out your
love and labor
your
only
see it fail with
• Then,
she
some
ofstopped
them? meeting with the prayer group and was rarely
seen
church
Areatyou
more concerned about how this appears to others
• Christine
couldn't
figure
happened
to her mother
in the church
than
youout
are what
abouthad
your
kid’s hearts?
• ForIf years,
Angelaare
hadalltaught
the
girls
to honor
and
trust the
our children
serving
the
Lord,
has our
family
Lord,
whatever
happens
become
an idol?
• But now what had happened with Stacy had eclipsed everything
else for Angela
Placing your Dream on the Altar of God
• When God calls you to something new He may expose a thinlyveiled selfishness at the heart of your devotion to Christ
• That's what happened to Jonah
• It happened to Jim and Julie in their ministry, to Michael in his
business, and to Angela with her family
• It could happen to you
• The pattern is always the same: You pour yourself into work,
family and ministry, then something unexpected happens and
you discover that the work you are doing, the family you are
raising, the ministry you are leading has become more important
to you than the God you set out to serve
• You fall in love with your dream, the dream becomes an idol and
God brings the idol down
• Our culture says “live your dream,” but God calls you to place
your dream on His altar and to keep it there at all times