Ask him by the liberty Oh, thank you by the Lord with me. May be seated. Now, Dave and Jerry will come and sing for us. It was love that sent our Savior to this world of sin and woe. It was love that left heaven's portals and came down to dwell below. It was love that stills our waters from the stormy Galilee. It was love that paid sin's ransoms, One dark day on Calvary. Love so divine, Love so sublime, Love that is deeper than any sea, Love for us all, Oh, how can it be? It is love that still is knocking at the hearts of sinful men. It is love that never tires, but that knocks and knocks again. It is love that solves all problems in this world of care and strife. It is love, the love of Jesus, that is hope and peace and life. Love so divine, love so sublime, love so sublime, Love that is deeper than anything. Love for us all. Oh, how can it be? It's wonderful how God uses singing and music as well as His word. It's tremendous. I said last week after hearing a special number, sometimes after that you'd just like to be able to sit for a few minutes and just really soak it in and take it in, wouldn't you? I've never said this before at Bristol. I don't know what leads me to say it now, but it really grips me, and I hope it does you. When I think of coming to Bristol... And I think of the cost that you pay for your room and board, which I believe is probably as low as any conference in the country. But I think about that just for room and board. And then I think of the program, all the other things that you have and that we have together, things like we're doing this morning and the ministry and the fellowship and the Bible discussions and all of that. You know, people say, well, I have to go to the beach for my vacation. Well, that's nice. All of us like to get away for rest too. But you go and you spend more money, but what about the program? It's lacking. Here you've got all of this spiritual. We just thank God for all of it. And when you stop and think of all you get, isn't it wonderful and doesn't it make it worthwhile? Just to hear the music and the ministry of God's Word and the fellowship with the saints and to get away from the radio and the television and the newspaper, and I'm serious. I won't read it till I get back home. I probably will then, but I don't know what's going on. I do know there was a serious thing in Washington this morning. I heard someone say, which lets you know what's going on outside in the world. I believe the top ambassador or the leading person from Israel in our country was shot in Washington. He just reminds us that out there, that's what's going on. But how good to lay aside those things and to be able to just think of our high priest, our risen Lord Jesus Christ, and to sing of him and to get it so well down in our hearts that when we go home, we can live it out. Now let's hear from God's servant and from his word, our brother Don Ceylon, from Clark. Will you take your Bibles and turn to the Book of Jonah? I'm not going to ask for a show of hands how many read the little book through between last night and this morning. It's page nine hundred forty-one in my Bible, if you need a little help. The Book of Jonah. We're going to be using our Bibles a lot, at least when I have the privilege of speaking to you, so keep them handy. This is a tremendous little book. There are five prayers in this book of Jonah. This is a book of repentance. The sailors repent. Jonah repent. Nineveh repent. God repent. This is a book of prepared things. We have a prepared fish. We have a prepared wind. We have a prepared gourd. And we have a prepared worm. We're going to be talking about gourds and worms and several different things in the will of God when we speak of this from this little book together. Shall we just bow our heads and hearts in a word of prayer please? God, our Father, We're asking thee now to quiet our hearts in thy presence. We think of our country right now. We think of this shocking news. But we thank thee that God rules in the kingdoms of men. And so we leave these things in thy hands. We pray again this morning that as we look into thy precious words, that the author of that word, the blessed Holy Spirit, may illuminate our hearts and minds. Help us to understand this, thy word. Help us to retain it in our hearts and minds. And we pray that we may be benefited and blessed as we consider it together. Father, we're looking to thee for a special message from thyself to us this morning. And so come in in a very special way we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. Jonah chapter one, verse one. Jonah chapter one and verse one, let's read it together, just the first three verses. Jonah one and one, reading together the first three verses. Here we go. Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarsus from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa, and he found a ship going to Tarsus. So he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarsus from the presence of the Lord." And I'm sure God will bless to us again this morning. this portion from His own precious words. It's very interesting, as you think of this little book of Jonah, to realize that this among many books, probably more than any other book of the Bible, has been attacked by Satan. Again, the book of Jonah has also been ridiculed by atheists. Again, the book of Jonah has been betrayed by modernists But thanks be to God it's been authenticated by our Lord Jesus Christ." Now there are three things. We have a threefold picture in the book of Jonah, which I think is very interesting. First of all, we have in this little book a picture of the nation of Israel. It was God's avowed purpose, you know, that the nation of Israel should make known to the nations of the world that God was the living God. Now we know that Israel has neglected to do this, and so because of Israel's disobedience they have been set aside. But we know too that God indicates in his word that one day there's a day coming when Israel's eyes will be opened and they will acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ is their Messiah, and then they will fulfill their missionary journey or their missionary calling to the world. Secondly, we have a picture in this little book of Jonah of our Lord Jesus Christ. You remember what he said? But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. But there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew twelve, thirty-nine and forty. So we have in this little book a picture of Israel as a nation. We also have a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. But then thirdly, we have in this little book a picture of the church in its present day. I believe you'll agree with me that to a large extent the present day church has missed its calling. Our rebellion against God and failing to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ is evident. In many instances, I believe the present day church is busy, but not busy in the Lord's name. I think you will agree with me that in many instances the Church of Jesus Christ has become obsessed with the physical and the temporal and has forgotten its mission to the world. Now I want to give you some practical things from this little book this morning by way of introduction. In chapter one of this little book of Jonah we have Jonah in a ship, Paine. In chapter two we have Jonah in a fish, Paine. In chapter three we have Jonah in a city preaching, and in chapter four we have Jonah in a booth pouting. Now I've been giving you that too fast. Some of you are trying to take it. Let me give it to you again. In chapter one we have Jonah in a ship paying. In chapter two we have Jonah in a fish praying. In chapter three we have Jonah in a city preaching, And in chapter four we have Jonah in a booth pouting. Now that gives you an outline of the book. But now we want to turn our attention this morning to Jonah chapter one, and I want to give you an outline of chapter one. It's not the outline that I'm going to use, but I think it may be helpful to you. In verses one and two of chapter one we have Jonah's call and commission. In verse three we have his disobedience and departure. In verses four through eleven we have his rebuke and reply, and in the balance of the chapter we have his suggestion and sacrifice. Now let me give them to you again. Verses one and two we have Jonah's call and commission. Verse three we have his disobedience and departure. Verses four through eleven we have his rebuke and reply. And the balance of the chapter, we have his suggestion and sacrifice. But as I approach this little book this morning, the words of William Culper come to me. God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps on the sea and rides upon the storm. Blind unbelief is sure to err and span his work in vain. God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain. Dear William Culper, as he dragged himself through his city, baffled and battered and beaten, there was only one thing that brought comfort to that dear man's heart, and it was this, that God was an overruling God and that God was acting in the life of William Culver. We heard something in a previous evening, or I'm just not sure when, but I heard someone mention it, about the Welsh Revival. They tell me that there was a cry that went up during the Welsh Revival that seemed to keynote the whole thing. It was this. Lord, bend me. Lord, bend me. You know, I have a boy, as I mentioned the other night, and when Dad gets angry with him, he says, Dad's getting bent out of shape. Well, I'm not going to do that, but I'm asking God this morning that in these days of conference, God will bend this fella. He's going to bend you. So that we won't be the same as when we came to Bristol. Now this book of Jonah is unusual. I think it's unusual for several reasons, but it's rather unusual that a man would sit down and record for us his, well, I course inspired by the Spirit of God, but that he would record for us his faults and his thoughts. But you know, as I read this little book, I find that in a sense I become involved with this man, Jonah. His problem is my problem. His difficulty is my difficulty. And as we make our way through this little book, we're going to hear the swish of the wind. We're going to hear the roar of the storm. We're going to hear the cry of the sailors. And we're going to hear the sob of a city. But over all this we'll look up into heaven, and over it all we're going to see God. God in His sovereignty in forty-eight little verses. You know as I read this account of Jonah, I become aware of this, that God is not only the God of the significant and the big, but He's also the God of men and of winds. and a storm. And I find myself, as I read this little book, confronted with the absolute sovereignty of God. You know, as I read the word of God, I find that God is sovereign in all his ways, in all his acts, and in all his doings. He's the God of the great, but he's the God of the lowly. He's the God of joys, And I can attest to this. He's the God of sorrows. And He can comfort the fallen man. And He can comfort the fallen woman. You see, from the very beginning of the Bible to the very end, the sovereignty of God is displayed. And listen, if as we study this little book of Jonah together, and you only see a fish and you miss God, you've missed the message of the book. Have you ever thought of the sovereignty of God in nature? I turn in my Bible, don't turn to it, but I just want to remind you of some words from Genesis chapter six and verse seven this morning. God says this, And behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth. Did you know that Amos wrote about the fact that God lets it rain in Bristol City, Tennessee, and doesn't allow it to rain in Bristol, Virginia? Did you know that Amos wrote about the fact that he allows it to reign in Raleigh, North Carolina, not in Durham? If you look it up, Nick, when you get back to your room in Amos chapter four and verse seven, you'll find it out. The sovereignty of God in nature. But then I think of something else. I think of the sovereignty of God in nations. We often think of the fact that the nations of the world are ruled by men. But when I turn in my Bible back to Daniel chapter four and I read about this wicked king who is brought to his senses, he's forced to acknowledge there's a sovereign God. And he says this, that the living may know that the most high ruleeth in the kingdoms of men, and he giveth it to whomsoever he will, and set us up over the basis of man. And this king is... wicked though he is, is forced to acknowledge the fact that he holds his office by divine appointment. And what happened in Washington this morning is no mistake. The sovereignty of God, the sovereignty of God in nature, the sovereignty of God in nations, and you can be sure of this, whatever God has decreed God will carry it out. But have you ever discovered this, that the divine sovereignty of God includes you and it includes me? Let's look at Jonah one and one. The Word of the Lord came unto Jonah, God's sovereign call. You know, it's very interesting that the Word of God doesn't tell us anything about this man, Jonah. His name is only mentioned one other place in the Old Testament. I think it's in Second Kings chapter fourteen. Prior to his receiving this call from God, we have no record of his performing any special feats or doing anything outstanding. Personally, I believe that Jonah was just an ordinary man of his day. I sometimes think, you know, that we feel that God's sovereign call only comes to the learned and to the educated and to the person gifted to speak and to the professional person. However, this isn't always the case. Now, I know that God does use the educated. God does use the learned. God does use the person that's gifted to speak and so on. But very often, God calls a nobody. and makes of him a somebody to accomplish his purpose. Paul told that to the Corinthians in First Corinthians chapter one, you remember, for ye know your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But who is called then, Paul? But God hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen the weak things of this world to confound the mighty. And God hath chosen the things which are despised and the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that are. First Corinthians one, twenty-six through twenty-eight. And it's through people like this that God does most of his work. Let me give you an example of that. Turn back to Jeremiah chapter one, will you please? Jeremiah chapter one. Keep your finger here at Jonah because we're coming back to see him. Jeremiah chapter one. And look at verse four. Jeremiah chapter one and verse four. The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nation. Now notice his reply. Then said I, O Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child, for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak. And if we took time this morning to go to the little book of Amos, in Amos chapter one and verse one we read the words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Ticoa. God's sovereign cause. You know, I want to add something this morning. The only reason you're here in this place this morning is because of the sovereignty of God. And I'm wondering if we can say this morning, and the word of the Lord came unto me. Do you remember when you heard the word of the Lord for the first time? Oh, that was something. I mean, you know you heard it. But when you really heard it for the first time, and when it gripped you, and you forgot about everyone else that was around you, oh, that's right. This was a message from God to you. Now, in all probability, there are other people there. But the message just seemed to bypass the other people, and it came directly to you, and you realize that this was God in His sovereignty speaking to you. My Christian friends, the word of the Lord comes to us today, and the word of the Lord came unto Jonah. And I'm praying. that the Word of the Lord may come into our heart, with all its life-giving, all its life-cleansing, and all its life-sustaining powers. God's sovereign call. Now the Word of the Lord came unto Jonah. But I notice something else here. Look at verse two. Arise. go to Nineveh that great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me." Now it's been the first phrase we had God's sovereign call. Here we had God's sovereign commission. If we took time this morning to go back to Genesis chapter ten, we would find or we would be given an insight into the first city council meeting where Nimrod was elected mayor of that great city. So this city is great in its antiquity. But then there's something else I noticed about this city of Nineveh. It's great in its sin. All you have to do is read what some of the other prophets say about this city. They call it that wicked and that bloody city, that hateful and that deceitful city. You see, everything that could be said about a modern day city is said about Nineveh. great in its antiquity, great in its sin. But then there's something else I notice about this city. It was great in its size. Archaeologists tell us that it was sixty miles around that city. The wall that surrounded that city was so wide that chariots could ride two abreast as they went along the wall of that city. This was Nineveh, wicked. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh that great city." Now notice, not only was Nineveh great in its scene, not only was Nineveh great in its size, not only was Nineveh great in its antiquity, but that city was great to God. God had not forgotten that city. I'm wondering, my Christian friends, as you drive up and down the streets of the city in which you live, I wonder if you, as I try to do, try to understand how God sees that city. You know, there have been times as I've driven up and down the streets of Lake Park, Riviera Beach, West Palm Beach, Juno Beach, and Jupiter. And I have asked God that I might have a passion and a compassion for that city like God does. I wonder if you've ever felt that for your city, that city in which you live. My Christian friends, I think in some instances we lost it. Is it possible? that in these cities in which we live, these wicked and corruptible cities, that we've forgotten that there are priests, there are people whom God is concerned about, and that they don't get the message from you. Who are they going to get it from? Don't pass the buck to the other fellow. Listen, God is sovereign in his commission. Now, it's not my prerogative this morning to question anyone as to why you do what you do, or why you go where you go, but I do know this, that the God who is sovereign to call me is the God who is sovereign to place me. Now, that doesn't mean you don't move. Man, we get more people that criticize the service of God because they feel they've got a ministry somewhere else. Oh, goodness, they quit. Listen, Jonah had to move. Jeremiah had to move. Philip the Evangelist had to move. The God who is sovereign to call me is the God who is sovereign to place me. But listen, I want to add something to this. You better be in the place where God wants you. Because, brother, when the adversity comes, then it comes. God have mercy on you if you're in the wrong place. And I can speak from experience. Listen, this is no isolated teaching in the Old Testament or the New Testament either. When God called Jeremiah, as we read just a couple of minutes ago, this great man remonstrated, and God said, Thou shalt go and I'll send thee. You know, I often think of this fellow Ezekiel. Wow. If I'd ever gotten called to go to the place where he did, do you remember what it said? Let me just paraphrase a couple of verses from Ezekiel chapter two for you this morning. God said, Well, I'm going to send you. I'm going to send you to a people, and you're going to say, Thus saith the Lord. And he said, Now whether they'll hear, or whether they'll forbear, that's not the point. For they are a rebellious house. But listen, God says this. They shall know that there has been a man of God, a prophet in their midst. You know, as I read this, from Ezekiel, I'm encouraged this morning. And I hope you get a sense of encouragement as well. Listen, just because a week ago those Sunday school scholars in your class weren't as attentive as they should be. Does that mean you quit? Huh? I mentioned to someone, I guess I mentioned it publicly yesterday. I used to sell a little bit before I was in the work I am now. Boy, if I took a no every time I got a no answer, if I quit I'd starve today. Listen, just because that little coffee that you have to have in your home, dear sister, is not as well attended as the other lady on the other side of the town, does that mean you quit? We've had coffees in our home. I shall never forget when dear Ruby Giles down the street came to the coffee. She heard the gospel. A few weeks later, we had the privilege of going into her home, and I said, Would you like to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior? She said, Yes, I will. And I said to her, After we had given her the gospel, of course, well, I said, Let's hear you. Asked for her, I've never prayed before, seventy years old. I said, All right, Mrs. Giles, but I want to hear you. And I heard a dear seventy-year-old lady cry to God for salvation. It was worth it. My dear friend, if you are where you are by divine appointment, God will take care of you in that place, regardless of the difficulty, regardless of the problems, regardless of what you might think. God is sovereign. God is sovereign to place you there. And men shall know that a prophet of God has been in their midst. God is sovereign in his cause. God is sovereign in his commission. And I want to say this. Attempting to run away from the will of God is like fleeing light for darkness. Attempting to run away from the will of God is like relinquishing wealth for absolute poverty. Attempting to run away from the living God and the will of God is like disdaining wisdom for absolute ignorance. Running away from God's will is like abandoning joy and welcoming sorrow, giving up peace for chaos. You know, as I read about this little man, Jonah, every step that he took on his course of self-will carried him farther away from God. And when a person decides to run away from the Lord, you know Satan always provides complete transportation facilities. He does. God's sovereign call. God's sovereign commission. And I want you to notice with me something else. God's sovereign message. The middle of verse two. Arise. Go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it. Do you know that when the Word of the Lord came to Jonah again, as we'll have the privilege of seeing, if it pleased God, on that seashore that morning, you'll notice what God said. Just turn over the page, the chapter three in verse two. Just notice what it says. Arise. go unto Nineveh that great city and preach unto it the preaching that I shall bid thee." You see, God is also sovereign in his message. Now, if Jonah would have gone to that particular city of Nineveh and worked with political groups, in all probability he would have had some influence. If Jonah would have preached to that city, some other things, probably working with other organized groups, he might have been fairly successful. But do you notice what it says here? And Jonah preached what God told him to preach in that city which was great in its wickedness, in that city which was great in its age, in that city which was great in its size, and do you know what the result was? He accomplished the purposes of God. Now that was not accomplished by counseling, as good as counseling is. That was not accomplished by giving good advice, as necessary as good advice is. This was accomplished by preaching the message of a sovereign God. When I turn to first Corinthians chapter one, I read, for after that the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom, knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. But now listen. God comes to each one of us this morning, as he did to Jonah of old. I don't care what your age is here this morning. You may be the most senior citizen here. You may be the youngest person. God comes to you and He comes to me this morning. He says, listen, I'm calling you. I'm commissioning you. And I'm going to give you the message. Now, God also says, wherever I tell you to go, whether it be to the remotest corners of the earth, you know where the remotest corners of the earth are. your next-door neighbor. That lady rhymes out there washing on the face right across that's the remotest corner of the earth to you and tell you of one of them for Jesus Christ. I get so sick and tired of thinking that you have to go overseas to win people to Jesus Christ, it's not true. I'm living in a mission field, probably with some of the most affluent people in the world. There are more raw heathen on Palm Beach than any other place in the world, as far as I'm concerned. Boy, they may have a little money in the bank, but they haven't got anything. They're poor, they're poor. Oh, listen, I thank God for every person who's heard the call of God and has gone overseas and has witnessed him for God. But I wrestle against the same one, the prince of the power of the earth, as they do. And the devil is just as prominent in Palm Beach or West Palm Beach as he is in the darkest, remotest part of Africa. If you don't believe it, come with me, I'll show you. You know, there were some men in the New Testament that I read about, and they invaded a corrupt pagan society. But because they were empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, the same person that empowers you and me, it says in Acts chapter seventeen in verse six, these men who turn the world upside down. We know that men and women are moved by God by the preaching which God has bid them to preach. Now you'd think it would have been tremendous. If your old friend Jonah would have said, why, this is tremendous. God called me. God's given me a message. Thank you, Lord. I'm on my way. But he didn't. Look at verse three. But Jonah rose up to flee. Now the word of the Lord comes to you and me this morning. and the commissioning of God upon our lives. I'm going to ask you this morning, what's been your attitude, what's been my attitude regarding what God has done? Have you rebelled against the message of God? Is it possible? or is there a willingness to do the will of God? But Jonah rose up to flee. I want to tell you this story, and I'm through, and my time is gone. This is a true story. I heard related by a man some years ago. He worked among the people of God, and when he was home and not traveling, he used to meet in this particular city with a group of evangelical preachers. He enjoyed their fellowship, and I enjoyed a fellowship of those who preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, whether they were our label or not. God blessed every one of them. And he enjoyed fellowship with these men, and they used to meet probably fifteen or sixteen of them on either a Monday or a Tuesday morning, I've forgotten, for prayer to gather. On one of these particular mornings, a man entered into the room. They knew him well. But his countenance was sad. And they could see that he was visibly shaking. In fact, they could see that he had been shedding some tears before he came in. And finally this man sat down, and the man that was sitting next to him said, Is there something wrong this morning?" The man looked at him and he said, There's been something wrong from any morning. So the other said, Man said, Well, why don't you tell us about it so that we can share with you in this problem? The man whom I heard relate this story said, I knew what he was talking about, because he talked right to me. And this dear man said, As the tears coursed down his cheeks, I was a student at the Moody Bible Institute. One night we had a missionary emphasis night where a man spoke on Africa. And he said, I listened that night to that man speaking on Africa. And the word of the Lord came unto me saying, Arise, go through Africa, that dark city and cry out against it. And he said, as soon as I heard the Amen, I hurried back to my dormitory room, and he said, with rebellion in my heart for what had taken place that night in that service. And he said, I fell down on my bed, and I said, God, anywhere but Africa. And he said, I repeated it again, anywhere but Africa. And he said, after I repeated it, the matter was closed. And then he looked at those gentlemen and he broke down. And he said, Gentlemen, for the last twenty years I've had everything but Africa. And he broke down and stopped. And then he added this, I want you to know that I've been haunted so long ago by that word. When twenty years ago The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Arad, go to Africa. And I said, any place but Africa. God's speaking here this morning. He may be calling some dear soul to Africa. I don't know. God bless if he is. But I think he's calling you to the neighbors within two blocks of your house. And are you going to leave this service this morning and go back to your room and lay your Bible down and say, Oh God, any place but my neighborhood. God, have mercy on you if you do. Because I believe that God not only is sovereign in his call, But he's sovereign in his commission, and he's given you a message. Don't you dare, Hashida. Don't you dare. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh that great city and cry against it. But Jonah rose up to flee from the presence of God. Tomorrow morning, please, God, we'll talk about disobedience to God. Shall we pray? Oh, God. They're speaking to us this morning. They're speaking to me. Oh God, may I not be disobedient to the heavenly calling. May there not be one of us disobedient as I'm calling this morning. May it never be said of any of us. And John and Barbara rose up to flee. when God has called them and commissioned them and given them a message. O God, work in our hearts. May the Blessed Holy Spirit of God, through the Word of God, work us over good. And may we say, Here am I, Lord. Take me. Help us, O God, we pray, in the name of Christ Jesus the Lord. Amen. Going to ask Brother Redling to just close in hymn number one. Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that I need. He lets me worship in a dream, and leads me beside a quiet stream. He keeps on giving helps me to do what honors him the most, even when walking through the dark valley of death, valley of death. For he is close beside me. Guiding, guiding all the way. He spreads his feasts before me. In the presence of my enemy. He welcomes me as his son to get with blessings of I'll blow away forever