God's Reach, Your Run | Jonah and the Whale | Pastor Steve Andres

<p>Have you been running from God? This weekend Pastor Steve Andres started a new series, JONAH AND THE WHALE, with a message about God's reach when we run.</p><p><br></p><p>Jonah 1:3</p><p>So Jonah went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.</p><p><br></p><p>The book of Jonah is only four chapters, but it’s three chapters too long. Jonah says no to God and runs from God’s call on his life.</p><p><br></p><p>1) When you are running from God, there is nowhere to go but down.</p><p><br></p><p>Eventually, we reap from whatever we sow. If we sow obedience, we reap good fruit. But if we sow disobedience, we see the fruit of that as well.</p><p><br></p><p>2) When you are running from God, you pick up the tab. </p><p><br></p><p>When you are in the will of God, He always provides. When we are running from God, we pay a price we rarely want to pay.</p><p><br></p><p>3) When you are running from God, expect the weather to get bad.</p><p><br></p><p>If you are a child of God in rebellion, you can expect a storm or else you might be somebody else’s kid!</p><p><br></p><p>4) When you are running from God, everyone around you suffers.</p><p><br></p><p>Your rebellion means that others have to deal with your storm. </p><p><br></p><p>Proverbs 13:20</p><p>He who walks with wise people will be wise,</p><p>But a companion of fools will suffer harm.</p><p><br></p><p>We have all experienced the collateral damage of someone else’s foolishness. </p><p><br></p><p>5) When you are running from God, everything God does is to save you and restore you.</p><p><br></p><p>To Jonah, the fish that swallowed him seemed like a cruel punishment, but it was actually the means of saving him!</p><p><br></p><p>Jesus, the obedient prophet, faced our storm and was swallowed by death so that we could be rescued! God’s reach is always greater than our run!</p>