Jonah - 8
The Sleeping Church
This time we are looking at chapter 1 and verse 6. In the previous verse we see that God has sent a great storm and the ship is in danger of sinking. The sailors are full of fear and have cried out to their various false gods for deliverance. Trying to save the ship they have thrown the cargo overboard. Last time we finished by observing that while all this was going on Jonah was fast asleep below decks. So we read in verse "The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish."“ Here is a man of God sleeping while he and all around him are in mortal danger. I am going to use this situation as a picture of "The Sleeping Church.” Jonah, as God's servant, represents the church. The captain of the ship in many ways represents the world. The captain has essentially two things to say to Jonah: the first is a REBUKE and the second is a REQUEST. The rebuke is, "How can you sleep? ” And the request is, "Get up and call on your god!"
Let's look first at the rebuke. It was a fully justified rebuke. The master of the ship wasn't being malicious or vindictive. He was saying, "How can you possibly go to sleep when we are in such danger? ” The truth is that Jonah was in spiritual conflict with God and it had taken its toll on him physically. He was exhausted, his energy was spent and all was not well between his soul and heaven. He had lost his peace so how could he pray?
Had Jonah been in the will of God, he might have replied that he was experiencing perfect peace and the calm of faith in the storm. He might even have quoted Psalm 46 verse 1 to 3: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."
What a testimony that would have been! Are we missing opportunities to testify to the grace of God in different situations because we are out of fellowship with the Lord, as Jonah was? Or are we seeking to shine as a bright light in a dark world so that men might praise our heavenly Father? Isn't this how we were drawn to Christ? What if our spiritual teachers had been asleep, how would we have known about the Saviour? Are you a sleeping or a shining Christian?
No wonder that the captain of the ship was amazed that Jonah could be so sound asleep when all around him was chaos and danger. He appeared to have no concern for the situation. He appeared indifferent and the captain demands that Jonah too pray to his god like the rest of the crew. Christians who are spiritually asleep are lukewarm to the needs of those around them. One of the first casualties of spiritual lukewarmness is prayer for the lost.
Look for a moment at the nature of Jonah's sleep. Men and women on board that ship were about to die and the need was great. They were doing all they humanly could, but to no avail. They were throwing the cargo overboard and they were placing their faith in false gods. In these circumstances the master of the ship could not understand Jonah's attitude to the situation. Is it possible that the people of the world might say to us, "You say you believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and yet you seem to be asleep. You don't seem to take it seriously that people are perishing and facing a lost eternity."
The challenge is this: do we pray for those around us who, by their own efforts or by their false religions are seeking to gain salvation? They do not know the Living and True God or His Son Jesus Christ and yet we are lukewarm in our attitude towards them in their desperate need. It is probable that the captain was angry with Jonah, and we could say that the world has a right to be angry with us as Christians if we do not point them to the only Saviour and appear indifferent to their plight.
The apostle Paul said: "If the trumpet does not give a clear call, who will get ready for battle?” (1 Corinthians 14 verse 8) But what if there is no sound at all, just silence? Sleep means silence and where there is no vision, no sense of responsibility, no compassion, then the people perish. But don't we all have a tendency to become spiritually sleepy? We need to stir up ourselves continually. Our love for the Lord Jesus Christ is like a fire, it must be watched and poked and replenished. The flames must be fuelled and fanned by our constant watchfulness in prayer and the reading of God's Word.
So here is Jonah being rebuked by a man who did not even recognise him as a man of God. The second things he says to Jonah is a request as he says to Jonah: "Get up and call upon YOUR god!” He is saying in effect, "We are calling on our gods, you call on your god.” His second statement is a pathetic longing, "Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish.” He had no certainty that his own god would either hear or answer his prayer. Here is a superstitious man and all his crew about to lose their lives in the storm begging this sleepy man of God to pray for them. The reality was that it was only Jonah who could pray. His prayer would not be directed to the false gods of the world, but to the God of Heaven, Maker of all things, the very one who had sent the storm in the first place!
The prayers of God's people are so important! The prayers of obedient Christians are heard by the Lord. James says in chapter 5 verse 16 of his letter: "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” O the mystery of prayer, the seeming contradiction that we are told to pray and yet our prayers are actually prompted by the Holy Spirit according to God's will. You may well say, "God knows everything, so why should we pray? ” The answer is quite simple, God commands us to pray. Paul, writing to the Philippian Christians says this: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4 verse 6)
The Lord Jesus Himself set us a great example of prayer and how we should pray. We know that God uses the instrumentality of prayer in a mysterious way. Through it He teaches and trains us into a deeper knowledge of Himself. As we go through crises and difficulties in our lives and as we pray, we have a new understanding and appreciation of God's love for us.
In our prayers we are to claim the promises of God. We must never demand things from God, but we must approach Him with reverence and godly fear. We must approach Him through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only way to God. He is the one who, by His death for sins on the cross, has opened up the way into the holy presence of God for us. The Holy Spirit prompts our prayers and we ask in the name and authority of our Saviour.
Are you a sleeping believer or are you a praying believer? May we have discovered much to challenge and help us from Jonah who slept in the midst of the storm.