Sermon Outline Answers

Unstoppable Week #2
You Can’t Out Run God
Jonah 1-3

1. You can run from God but you cannot out run God

The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” Jonah 1:1-2

God speaks through His Word and His Spirit

2 types of revelation:

a. General revelation

b. Specific revelation

The more submitted we are to God's general revelation... the more aware we become of His specific revelation.

But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish. Jonah 1:3

Every time we run from God it will cost us

When we run from God we do stupid things

There are 2 types of runners:

a. Outside runner

b. Inside runner

But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. 5 Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. Jonah 1:4-5

When we run from God, it not only costs us, it costs other people

Our sin always affects other people

2. God is not trying to get you back, He’s trying to bring you back

The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. 11 And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?” 12 “Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.” Jonah 1:10-12

When we run from God, we always wind up in dark places

Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. Jonah 1:17

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. Jonah 2:1

Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach. Jonah 2:10

Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.” 3 This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. Jonah 3:1-3