The Man Who Ran Away

(boat whistle) Did you ever hear the strange and terrible thing that happened to the man that tried to run away from God? And guess why. All because he didn't want to obey God and be a missionary. One day God said to Jonah: "Go to the big city of Ninevah and thunder in their ears that I am seeing all their wickedness." Well, Jonah didn't want to be a missionary and go and preach to those people so he began to run away. He ran down to the seashore, paid his fare on a big ship and started out to sea. (boat) When the big ship started to move away from the shore I guess he thought he was safe, and since he was very sleepy he curled up in a corner and went to sleep.

Do you think Jonah could run away from God? Listen and see if he did. Away the ship sailed out on the waves and everything was going fine. But suddenly a furious wind began to blow and it shook the ship. Soon there was a heavy storm. (storm) The waves got so high they splashed into the ship and the sailors began to get scared. They prayed to their idols. Of course their idols couldn't stop the storm. "Whose fault is this?" they thought. "Where's that fellow?" (Call "Jonah" with head turned away from mike) They found him lying fast asleep down in the ship and cried out, "Get up, you sleepy-head, and call upon your God so that we won't perish." Then they asked him, "Who are you, and where are you from?" Then Jonah told them.- that he worshipped the true God, but had run away from Him. And he said, "It's all my fault; throw me overboard and the sea will be calm again."

They didn't want to do that. They hated to see him drown. But it was too late now and the storm just got worse and the waves higher and higher. At last they picked up Jonah - 1, 2, 3, - go! and out over the edge they swung him and splash into the sea he went.(silence) And sure enough the storm stopped.

Then the strangest thing happened. God had a great big fish like a whale waiting right there. The big fish just opened wide it's mouth, and down went Jonah. Swallowed whole by a fish!

I guess you wouldn't like to be in a fish's stomach for three whole days and three whole nights any more than Jonah did. No, sir! It was black dark and I suppose it didn't smell very good. But Jonah knew it was his own fault and he began to pray to the real, true God and said, "I will give thanks unto your Name and will do what I have promised to do. I know that You are the only One Who can save." When God saw that Jonah was truly sorry He made the big fish go to the shore and it threw up Jonah on the land.

Well, you can be sure Jonah obeyed God this time. He headed for Nineveh as fast as he could go and began to preach. And because Jonah told them about God, do you know what happened? Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people--big people and children, too; began to pray and were saved - just because one man did what God told him to do.

Now God has told us to do something, just as surely as He did Jonah. God wants all Christians, all of His children to be missionaries and tell everyone they can about the Gospel. Gospel means "The Good News" that Jesus Christ can save us from sin. In His Word God gives us this command, "Go ye - that means you - into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature."