what a great morning or worse a incredible testimony let's turn now to jonah chapter two if you brought a bible with you i don't i mean old testament towards the end of the old testament close to the new testament there and let's pray together father we thank you for this time to seek you we thank you as we saying your streams of mercy are never ending and amaze us your grace just keeps coming and covers our c n n lord we thank you that you're there you're there at each turn you're in there in the difficult times and you're there right now and so we draw near with that promise that as we draw near to you you draw near to us and we give you the praise in jesus name amen there is a common phrase going deeper or going deeper with god and you might think a song forty two we're deep cries out to deep but what does that mean and what are the main elements of going deeper with god as we look at jonah story and we're encouraged by this because in his most difficult moments it was the highlight of his walk with god if you're going through a difficult time right now just be encouraged that it might be the richest in deepest time you have with god in jonah when he when into the fish he didn't come out the same way and if you're going to a trial right now be encouraged that you will come forth by god's grace as gold and you won't come out the same way when you when you come out with god's changing you and what we're going to see in jonah in what was happening inside the fish so today we're going to look at some helpful questions chapter two in jonah raises some of these questions to help us think through our relationship with god so we turn to jonah chapter two and we start with just the first verse from inside the fish jonah prayed to the lord his god some key phrases inside the fish none of us will ever have an opportunity i don't think to be inside of the fish but he was inside the fish and of course he didn't have a scroll or a smartphone with him to write down the scripture while he was inside the fish so he wrote this a little later on but what a time of being inside the fish the one who is trying to run away from god now has no where to run have you ever felt like that the one who is going to run away from got all a sudden life gets real simple and real still and real easy in our world is complex in our world is fast paced but god sometimes slows everything down and says right now you and me here now in so that's what jonah has here's a question for us slowed everything down alone to with draw now jonah had more of a solitary confinement jesus a little more optional and intentional but what are the places that you go to have you created enough time is there enough margin in your schedule so that you're having ridge deep times alone with jesus often or have you just bought in to the line our culture that busier is bad or and you're chasing after everything so it slows down for jonah god slows it down then we read jonah prayed and you'd say well he's a prophet of course he prayed but that was missing in all of chapter one that's why it stands out in  it the case in our walk with god where we stop we say wait a second that's what was missing prayer in so chapter one no prayer starting chapter two jonah prayed to god let it not be the missing piece i could make all kinds of puns about missing piece and missing piece but i won't go there but either spelling a piece works in this context right here and then he prays to the lord he is god have you ever blown it really blown it and just wondered what god is thinking to the lord his god the god who is still there still right there the god who's faithful the god who is merciful jonah knows after everything he's done and all his rebellion that god is still there he knows where to go for love he knows where to go for grace and he goes back to his god who is a bonding and loving grace god is often more forgiving than what you in to support i don't know what your view of god is if you think he's always trying to squash you and nail you but when i read the bible is often far more forgiving than what people anticipate in so we come to our god and we come in prayer and we come home early before him and just a powerful thought that god never let jonah go you think he's let you go he's never letting us go he's holding on to jonah he's still there so let's drop down to verse two he said jonas prayed this in my distress i called to the lord and he answered me from the depths of the grave i called for help and you listened to my cry so here's a question are you being honest are you being really honest with god not just kind of honest but most honest when you pray to god is the honesty so avid and that's what we see with jonah he talks about his distress depths of the grave cried out i'm needing help he's being honest with god this same prophet who is stubborn who was sleeping who is silent who is going down who is slipping think of the levels that jonah went down he started out running away from god he went down to the port in joppa and then he went down to the boat in the boat went out into the sea the storm came in he went down to the lower section of the boat he went down to sleep in there he went down to try to numb the pain in his dreams he's sleeping well what happens a storm comes now he gets thrown in the ocean now he's thinking down in the ocean he's thinking further down the ocean and then a fish comes swallows and now he's down in the belly of the great big can you get any lower and everything is going down thinking he's thinking he's thinking in sync he's saying solo that finally he's at a position where he's going to open up and get honest with god what does it take for you to really open up and get honest with god when you open up when i open up we're never going to surprise god that has guaranteed but god's waiting for us to open up and be honest and talk with god to draw near to him to verbalize those three words god i need you strong words the other words i love you if you're married you don't just hopefully don't just walk around all the times yeah she knows he knows kids no i don't need to say it they should just know there is somethin about verbalizing there is something about the words and we need to be able to say i love you and when it comes the guy we say i love you i need you god if you ever just cried out to maybe no one's around you don't want to let them see that part of your walk about you just go god i need you right it's wrong with jonah it's not all paulist it's not old thirty he's in the belly of the fish and he's crying oh god i need you and it takes courage to do that something new in jonah's walk to face reality of his situation to admit he needs god he says he still loves god to give up some of that control his idol was control all in the say god i am going to trust you and your leadership and that's where i'm going what happens if we don't do that well you get dead religion you get hypocrisy you get inconsistency you get a shallow relationship with god you play games you play church games that's what the alternative is but jonah's tired of that he's had enough of that in honesty is not the end goal honesty is the starting point that leads to progress in more closeness in alignment with god but without honesty without truth our god is a god of truth can we follow him can we play games so we're honest but that's not the end goal of the honesty leads to trust in progress and growth in alignment with god bethany hamilton story what a powerful story of crying out to god thirteen years old surfing and this tiger shark comes along fourteen feet so how do they know they caught a shark right after that in that vicinity and when they caught that shark they found the surfboard in the teeth and not only that but the marks of the teeth matched the surfboard so that was the zakk shark tiger shark chewed off her arm there were turtles in the area she was on her surfboard came in chewed off her arm at thirteen years old she's watching her arms gone she loses sixty percent of her blood in by the grace of god there was some medical help that just happened to be in and so she's crying out to god even the paramedic whispers and says god is still with you god is still here in so she cries otoh i got seven surgeries it wasn't like oh all better about seven surgeries continuing to cry out to god getting back on the surfboard to imagine the fears running through her mind and back on that surfboards trying to compete after falling over and falling over having to learn how to surf again with one arm surfing she's now twenty six and married has a child service she won many competitions in all she does maybe a saw the movie soul surfer but she gives glory to god and i just think what an example of crying out to god throughout the entire process not just in the low point but in the healing in the whole in the recovery and letting god rebuild and restart and all of our stories are different and it's not always that simple down up you know but that modeling of that crying out to got involved with god god i trust you to walk me through the low points of the valley i trust you to walk me through climbing back up to the heights and everything in between so jonah is experiencing the range bethany hamilton experience the range and i would guess that if you looked at your life at the high points in the low points there's quite a range in which one's easier for you is easier to draw near to god when you celebrate and things are going well or in the low points but can you do bill can you do both so that's what we're seeing with jonah now let's take a look at verse eight because it's a profound verse but it's also simple to in so verse eight says this what his statement over life those who claim to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs so if you go to africa and you read about this as well you can catch a monkey with just three objects all you need a jar of banana in a net you say well how does that work you put the jar out where a monkey's hand can enter the jar if the monkey wants to slide the hand in but then with a banana in the jar and the monkey grabbing the let go with that banana and run free run free but the thing is if the banana is an idle then the monkey is going to hold on to the banana even if it cost a monkey its life kind of simple what are the idols that you might be holding onto that are costing you more of the grace of god you see a common one scripture is pride even religious leaders stand up and say yes i do give a tenth i'm so faithful with my tie then i fast twice a week and the pride in god says no that blocked the grace experience all that pride so are there any idols maybe yourself your comfort another person is there something you're holding on to you say i will not let go of this idle god i don't care if it cost me grace of god i will i will hold on to this if it's the last thing i do money career what is it instead of the freedom that god wants us to have in the grace he wants us to experience idols or simply this substitution for a god god first no when there's an idol the idol first a substitution for god and i don't of course are common but i'll tell you this an idol will rip you off finds mercy blessed is the man who always fears the lord but he or she who hardens their heart well they fall into trouble would unite agree that's jonah story hard heart fall into trouble and you just pray lord we don't want a har heart here's the question how willing are you to receive god's grace how willing are you to receive it i remember when i was young i think about jonah story you know when i was young and i'm a shared this before but my parents were also young thousand and twenty when they had me before it was one year old we were in a canoe together and is on a river and there was a current in that river so semi dangerous but my parents were young and in love and you know on the canoe and i was with them until the canoe and they both managed to grab trees but i was underneath the canoe and so my mom took one dive under the canoe and couldn't find me i didn't surface took another dive couldn't find me my dad's not a strong swimmer he was holding on to the tree and it was about time where a baby is not going to make it my mom took one more dive a third dive underneath and found me wedged into the corner of the canoe under the water in so i'm just aware of my own life that standing here it's by the grace of god and you've got stories where you know the reason you're sitting here is by the grace of god in on one hand grace is not too complicated for just as i was you know as a child less than one year old here comes the rescue and then yes i didn't have the cognitive you know the willful ability but yes i'm taking the rescue i'm receiving the grace there is no way i can get out of this canoe myself i'm dead unless there's a rescue we are dead unless god sends his son in rescues us and that's the grace of god for eternity but then his grace is also every day grace to sustain us grace to encourage us but we need to receive that grace every day so the willingness to receive it life does get more complicated than just you know baby receiving a rescue in so we do have many ways of resisting but here's a few helpful reminders encouraging things number one your sin is not greater than god's grace there is no sin too great for romans five tells us where sin abounds grace abounds all the more if your conclusion is you've done too much sin to receive god's grace then your view of god's grace is too small there is no grace without sin i'm not encouraging sin but i am saying if you've sinned there's grace the cover to wash away to forgive to bring a new start here's a second thing god's grace can reach any place in any time you mean you could reach all the way down into the ocean it could reach all the way down into a fishes stomach any player who can limit the grace of god i read in the bible seven chronicles two that even the highest heavens can't contain him no temple can contain him he is everywhere he offers his grace everywhere people have turned to him you know in a bar after they've thrown up next the toilet his grace reaches everywhere oh of course none of you super spiritual people you know i've ever heard about that kind of testimony but but there are people out there you know who have we've got stories don't we we've got some stories and we need to share those testimonies how god's grace reached high seas god's grace has reached us so he'll do it anywhere any place any time isn't that interesting joan his deepest ritual lesson came in the belly of  fish you might have your deeper spiritual time sitting down at grace church i certainly hope we go deep with god here but god might meet you deeply in many places and in many places that are unexpected and even in your low points would you just take down those walls when you're at a low point would you take down those walls that we so often put up that no god couldn't love me in this god couldn't be here in god shouldn't have to see this will he sees that he wants to get here he wants to bring his grace and he wants to heal and so we take down some of those walls and then we were reminded that no situation is too difficult some forty six one our refuge help an ever present strength in trouble his grace is sufficient scripture says that his grace is sufficient for eternity and for each day kind of sounds like daily grace we have i heard that before rolls out he prays you hurled me into the deep into the very heart of the seas and the currents swirled about me all your waves and breakers they swept over me i said i have been banished from your sight yet i will look again toward your holy temple the engulfing the waters threatened to me the deep surrounded me seaweed was wrapped around my head into the roots of the mountains i sank down the earth beneath barred me  forever but you brought my life up from the pit oh lord my god here's the question will you embrace god's word and his method that's how jonah started in jonah chapter one the word of the lord came to jonah jonah didn't want to embrace the word jonah resisted the word don't as drifting from the word in so he didn't embrace the word and then the sequence that happens after that one after another  mission there's many people when you talk about the book of jonah who are skeptical and they say well how could this everything happen so a couple thoughts on that number one there are stories throughout history of being swallowed and then survival in sight of a great fish so we have that and some are more documented than others but we have that also we know that inside of a large fish there is sufficient air there is sometimes up to fifteen feet i mean it's bigger than some apartments  downtown seattle so he got fifteen feet and the cost is less but you know digestive process isn't going to happen until jonah starts to die but let's even step back from the natural physical parts of being inside of a fish and just ask the question well how big is your god it surprises me sometimes that say he will say yes god can raise people from the dead but i'm not sure he could sustain jonah inside of a fish for a couple days and it's easy sometimes does think that way you know how big is your god if god can't keep a man or a woman inside of a fish alive for a couple days then i don't want to worship that guy the he can and he certainly did thanks for watching our program today and i want to let you know about our web site activate life died or you can send us your prayer request we are honored to pray for you we also have daily devotions and other resources you can sign up for and if you want to support us financially you can do that through the website now or get back to the teaching as we get into god's word to get in real so how does he conclude verse ten this is how the chapter ends and the lord commanded the fish and it vomited jonah on to dry land it was a good vomit jonah was ready when he said no to before he suddenly flying out of the fish saying yes i want to do this i am ready you know what is god asking you to do what about this summer what's the asking you to do what's his message to you what is he wanting to you you do maybe you don't like it would you say yes to what his plans are this summer you say i'm crying out to god that's the way to do it cry out to god notice the sequence in this book god will first change the heart of his child and then he'll change the cd god will first change the heart of his servant in then he'll change the heart of change in his attitude what does god ask you to change your attitude direction priorities relationships beliefs passion teach ability this is what was in the fish swallows jonah jonah is trying to swallow the mission swallow the chain swallow god's direction sometimes that's a big swallow in the fish swallowed jonah jonas trying to swallow the change god do is doing something new in jonah's life he's doing something new in nineveh i would dare to say god is doing something new in your life and in my life and i think of what jesus said in matthew nine seventeen he says neither do men pour new wine into old wine skins if they do the old wine skins they're going to burst and the wine will run out and the wine skins will be ruined no they pour new wine into new wine skins and when jonah is hurled vomited out of the fish i just picture him you know in the air landing on solid ground i don't know maybe white sand shore when he hit the ground the ground never felt so good he landed into the sand when the sand said this is the grace of god he emerged from that it's a beautiful picture in i think about god's grace thomas aquinas said this to splendor of a soul in grace surpasses the beauty of all created thing and that grace when we receive it it's attached to a purpose jonah has received grace but is attached to a purpose in nineveh in god it is poured out his grace and your life will continue to pour it out but it's also attached to a purpose and we talk about going deep with god that's how we started that's how we'll and going deep with god we will never go deeper than trust and teach ability in saying yes to the mission into obey we're never going to go deeper than a bt and we're never going to deeper than trust in jonah and it took the belly of the fish in those situations that god used but he is finally in that place where he's saying thank you god for your grace and yes  mission could you say that today thank you god for your grace and yes to your mission and i'll close with the question what has god prepared you to do for this important time for this season he's prepared you it wasn't an accident he redeemed strategies what is he bill you up now to do during this season in his grace and through his strength let's pray father we thank you how you meet us in the belly of a fish and some places don't seem that spiritual but yet you are fully there and you communicate to us and then god you're patient with us and we're stubborn and were silent and we're stuck until we finally open up and we cry out to you and when it looks like there is no hope god in in it's on empty you start to bring hope back into our lives and god there are some times and places we never thought we would go we never thought we would be that low we didn't know the valley could be that low but a low valley doesn't always mean a wrong turn and even when we make a wrong turn in the lowest valleys you are still there god we you today for your grace for your mercy streams of mercy never ceasing we praise you god that you work on us in our hearts so that we are ready to reach a of god we pray that if you zoom in here who doesn't yet know you jesus maybe because of idols they forfeit the grace that could have been there as we pray for your grace to be received today eternally the savior fully god fully man died on a cross equal with the father dead risen alive resurrected appeared hundreds now in heaven and the father's right hand will be coming back king of kings lord of lords don't wait put your trust in watching today and i want to let you know about our web site activate life that org there are so many free resources to help you grow in your faith and if you've been blessed during the teaching please send us an e mail if you want to learn more about jesus we'd love to hear from you again our website is