Surviving The Disasters of Life (Illustrated by the Book of Jonah) Chesed Bible Fellowship

Jonah is a great example of what happens when a watchman proclaims a message of impending judgment & the people actually heed his words. He told the people of Ninevah (his hated enemies) that they were going to be judged. He probably really enjoyed telling them that they were going to hell! THEY BELIEVED HIM & REPENTED! As a result the doom that was sure did not come on them at that time (it did later, but only because they fell back into their old ways). Jonah had a big-time problem with their repentance – he wanted them to go to hell! Just like us, he had a lot to sort out in his people/circumstance testing! Surviving The Disasters of Life - Jonah

God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh. (Jonah 1:1, 2) Surviving The Disasters of Life - Jonah But Jonah takes off in the other direction! (Jonah 1:3) So God sends a storm! A mighty storm!

The crew tries everything, but eventually they have to throw Jonah overboard to make the storm stop. (Jonah 1:5-15) Surviving The Disasters of Life - Jonah And the seas became calm. And the sailors were very afraid. (Jonah 1:15-17)

Surviving The Disasters of Life - Jonah God had prepared a GREAT fish to swallow Jonah! (Jonah 1:17) And it wasn’t like this! It was more like this!

Surviving The Disasters of Life - Jonah

The Essence of God S overeignty R ighteousness J ustice L ove E ternal L ife O mnipotence O mniscience O mnipresence I mmutability V eracity God The Father God The Son God The Holy Spirit

How does the Book of Jonah show the Essence of God? It shows the Sovereignty of God in: - His having made all things (1:9) - His sending a great storm (1:4) - His calming the great storm (1:15) - His preparing a great fish to swallow Jonah (1:17) - His causing the great fish to spit up Jonah (2:10) - The king of the great city bowing before Him (3:6-9) - His preparing a plant to shade Jonah (4:6) - His preparing a worm to eat the plant (4:7) - His preparing a vehement east wind (4:8)

It shows the Righteousness of God in: - The wickedness of Nineveh offending Him (1:2) (idolatry, cruelty, & violence) It shows the Justice of God in: - His requirement that there be judgment for their wickedness (1:2; 3:1, 2, 4) It shows the Love of God in: - His persistence in sending the prophet to Nineveh (1:2; 3:1, 2) - His deliverance of Jonah (2:10) - His deliverance of Nineveh (3:10; 4:2, 11) – He is not willing that any should perish (II Pet. 3:9) It shows the Eternal Life of God in: - His sharing that life with all who believe in Him (3:5-10 cf. Matt. 12:41) How does the Book of Jonah show the Essence of God?

It shows the Omnipotence of God in: - His absolute control over the forces of nature (1:4, 15, 17; 2:10; 4:6-8) It shows the Omniscience of God in: - Keeping Jonah in the belly of the fish exactly the amount of time to be a type of how long Christ would be in the grave (1:17 cf. Matt. 12:38-40) - His having already prepared the great fish beforehand (1:17) It shows the Omnipresence of God in: - His already being wherever Jonah tried to run (1:3, 10 cf. Ps. 139:7-12) - His hearing Jonah’s prayer even from the belly of the fish in the depths of the sea (2:1-9 cf. Ps. 139:7-12) How does the Book of Jonah show the Essence of God?

It shows the Immutability (unchangeableness) of God in: - His never leaving or forsaking His servant (cf. Ps. 139:7-12 & Heb. 13:5, 6, & 8) It shows the Veracity of God in: - the name of Jonah’s father, Amittai (truth) – Jesus Christ & His Father are truth (John 14:6, 7) (as is the Holy Spirit – John 16:12-14) How does the Book of Jonah show the Essence of God?

The Essence of God S overeignty R ighteousness J ustice L ove E ternal L ife O mnipotence O mniscience O mnipresence I mmutability V eracity God The Father God The Son God The Holy Spirit

Gary Horton, former Army Ranger and now a youth missionary, composed the following sentence. Each red letter is the first letter in one of the ten attributes of God: Stop and Remember Jesus' Love, then Every Obstacle will become an Opportunity for you to drive On In Victory

Under the reign of King Jeroboam II (786 – 746 B.C.E.), Israel goes through a time of rapid growth & prosperity (II Kings 14:23-27). Jonah goes to 760 B.C.E. King Uzziah (King of Judah) dies 742 B.C.E. Isaiah begins his ministry (Is. 6). Assyria begins pushing against Israel & 740 B.C.E. Sometime between 740 B.C.E. & 722 B.C.E., the prophecy of Is. 9:10 is given. Israel is conquered & goes into the 5 th Cycle of Discipline in 722 B.C.E. – Judah is spared because they listen to Isaiah (II Kings 18, 19). Nineveh is destroyed by the Babylonians in 612 B.C.E. The Assyrians are completely conquered in 605 B.C.E. King Nebuchadnezzar starts his first campaign against Judah in 604 B.C.E. Daniel is taken to Babylon in this first wave of captivity. Jerusalem & the Temple are destroyed in 586 B.C.E. Final wave of captivity.

U.S. National Debt Clock November 2014 An Overview of the United States National Debt The Current Outstanding Public Debt of the United States is: $17,941,406,575, Last Updated: Saturday, November 15th, 2014 Every man, woman and child in the United States currently owes $59,052 for their share of the U.S. public debt Public Debt: $12,872,812,914, Intragovernmental Holdings: $5,068,593,660, Total U.S. National Debt: $17,941,406,575, Intragovernmental Holdings

Question: Who owns the public debt? Answer: Mutual funds, pension funds, foreign governments, foreign investors, American investors, etc. Which Foreign governments own the most U.S. debt? Answer: Here is the Top 10 (as of May/2014) 1. China, Mainland, $ billion dollars 2. Japan, $ billion dollars 3. Belgium, $362.4 billion dollars 4. Carib Bkg Ctrs, $310.8 billion dollars 5. Oil Exporters*, $257.9 billion dollars 6. Brazil, $250.1 billion dollars 7. All Other, $190.7 billion dollars 8. United Kingdom, $179.8 billion dollars 9. Taiwan, $174.4 billion dollars 10. Switzerland, $174.0 billion dollars *Includes oil exporting countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran **includes countries such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands Of the $5.1 trillion dollars of US debt that is owned by foreign governments, China and Japan own nearly half, as evidenced by this chart:

Growth of US Debt Over Past 50 Years Current: $17,941,406,575, : $13,178,317,356, : $7,379,052,696, : $5,656,270,901, : $4,692,749,910, : $2,857,430,960, : $1,572,266,000, : $826,519,000, : $475,059,815, : $353,720,253, : $311,712,899, : $284,705,907,078.22