This morning Pastor Steve shared a devotion based on his preparation for Preaching Jonah chapter 2 this Sunday. It was very profound as we focused on what it means to be brought low or brought to the end of ourselves and how that leads to the ‘exchanged life’ of the Christian. His notes are below.

Our Purpose (Romans 15:30 paraphrased): I urge you brothers, by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in prayer to God the Father for the glory of the name of Jesus.

As Jonah flees from the presence of the Lord, he goes only one direction: Down.

Jonah 1:3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went (down in Hebrew) on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
Jonah 1:5 And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.
Jonah 2:6 at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever;

Jonah 2
1Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish, 2saying, “I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. 3For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. 4Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ 5The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head 6at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God. 7When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. 8Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!” 10And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Martin Luther [95 Theses] #1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said “repent,” willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.

Tim Keller in “All of Life is Repenance:”
“In religion our only hope is to live a good enough life for God to bless us. Therefore every instance of sin and repentance is traumatic, unnatural, and horribly threatening. Only under great duress does a religious person admit they have sinned—because their only hope is in their moral goodness. . . . In religion we repent less and less often. But the more accepted and loved in the gospel we feel the more and more often we will be repenting. And though of course there is always some bitterness in any repentance, in the gospel there is ultimately a sweetness. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. The more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God’s grace and acceptance in Christ, the more you are able to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions of your sin.

Jonah 1 – God calls, we run, God pursues with sovereign grace. He brings storms to wake us up. He exposes our hearts and sin. He brings us to the lowest place where we come to the end of ourselves. There, in faith we exchange our broken rebellious lives for the life of God in Christ in us. “You are not competent to run your own life until you realize that you are not competent to run your own life” (Tim Keller).

The Christian life is an exchanged life:

2 Corinthians 5:21
21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Galatians 2:20
20I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Matthew 16:24-25
24Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Prayers for our Campus

Continue to pray for Gary Kingsbury’s recovery. Praise for his progress and for the health of his grandbaby.

Pray for the potential building in Lynnwood.

Pray for Pastor Steve as he prepares to preach on Sunday

Pray for the August 16th Vision House prayer night, that it would be well attended and that this project to house homeless single mom’s would be bathed in prayer.

Pray for Crushin’ for a Cause event to be well attended and to raise a ton of money for Vision Nationals’ new medical clinic. Pray for God’s blessing on the ministry of Vision Nationals as well.

Pray for wisdom and fruitful participation from our campus as we plan for Fall mid-week.

Pray for marriages on our campus. Especially separated spouses.