2026 Summer Bible Retreat special (1), Running Away from God, Pursued by God
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2026-08-02 15:52
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Running Away from God, Pursued by God
Jonah 1
God chose Israel to become a holy people and a kingdom of priests to make God known to all peoples of the world. However, Israel fell into religious and national superiority. The Book of Jonah points this out precisely. Are we preaching the word of God as kingdom of priests in obedience to God? According to 2 Kings 14:25, Jonah was a court prophet, prophesying the expansion of Israel's territory, and it was fulfilled. He was a renowned prophet.
Now, God gave him another mission. Verse 1. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” Nineveh is notoriously cruel to tear their enemies’ mouths and bodies. They built pyramids out of their enemies’ bones. When Jonah was commanded, he raised a unpleasant question, “Go to Nineveh to be killed? No. Those wicked people must be judged.” However, the problem is that Jonah's thought and God's heart are different. Jonah thought it was unjust for such wicked people to be saved and go to heaven. To Jonah, they deserved to be destroyed by fire like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Jonah did not understand God's heart. God said to Ezekiel, "Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?" (Ezekiel 18:23).
But Jonah did just the opposite of what God commanded. He disobeyed God by his racial and ethnic prejudice. He wanted to deliver the message of God to Israel, not Nineveh, his neighboring nation.
Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened. Take my yoke upon you and you will find rest for your souls” In life, there are two kinds of burdens. One is the burdens each has to carry for themselves and the other is for others. You study and work and pay the rent or mortgage. It is your burdens. You donate money for the suffering people in Venezuela. You pray for them and help them to come to God. We are to carry the burdens of others. That is responsibility. Life is about carrying my own burdens and the burdens of others simultaneously.
In life, along with my own burdens, such as my study, work and family, there are burdens of our neighbors I also have to carry. That is mission and responsibility.
Yes, you and my burden are heavy. Still, you and I must also bear the burdens of our neighbors. It is the mission given by the Lord. “Jonah, rise, go and preach to Nineveh!” If you and I obey, God grants us greater grace and power.
Look at verse 3. “But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.” At that time, the end of the earth was Tarshish, a large and wealthy port city in Spain built by Tyre and Sidon—a nice resort like Hawaii. He went to Joppa (Tel Aviv), and there happened to be a ship going to Tarshish. A ship from Joppa to Tarshish was usually once or twice a year. The chances of catching that ship were very slim. Yet, on the very day Jonah went to Joppa, the ship to Tarshish was ready and Jonah boarded it. Jonah must have been thrilled. “Wow, things are going well!”
There are times when things are going well even though man is walking a path contrary to God's will. Is this truly going well? You run away from God and his mission, yet your grades improve, you earn more money, people gather around you—is that really going well? If things are going well while you are disobeying God, you must come back to God right away. Because there is a storm of death ahead.
Psalm 73:27-28 says, “Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.” Distancing from God leads to destruction, while drawing near to Him is a blessing. Satan blinds our eyes and minds. I want you to realize that the blessings the world speaks of—making a lot of money, driving a fancy car, living in a big house, and traveling here and there without God, worship, prayer, and gospel work—are not true blessings. Being poor in spirit, mourning, hunger and thirst for righteousness, show mercy and meditating on and obeying the word of God day and night—is the true blessing. Why do we keep seeking and chasing after worldly blessings? We are people who seek things above.
Jonah paid the fare. It implies that he is well-off. At that time, most prophets were poor. However, Jonah, a royal court prophet, must have had quite of money. Instead of using that money to do God's work and save souls, he used it to travel to Tarshish.
Here we see that money makes man flee from God. Money gives us expectations of pleasure and a false sense of security. If we feel burdened by God and our mission, money actually blocks the path of the mission. This is the danger of money. Paul understood this. Once he was a young wealthy Pharisee. When he came to know Jesus and received his mission, he realized that money was harmful. Therefore, for the sake of Christ and his mission, he regarded money as a harmful and worthless thing. But with money, Jonah fled from God and sought an easy life and false comfort in Tarshish.
Folks, we, we are not to seek easy or comfortable life. Do you know what it means to believe in Jesus? It means seeking out hardship. Why? Because there are value, joy and reward from. If you feel right now, "I am so comfortable," then know that something is wrong. We are following Jesus on the narrow path, the path of suffering and sacrifice. Therein lies the fruit, joy, and glory.
Jonah's problem is selfishness. He lacks humanity toward all nations of the world. The people of Nineveh are currently waiting for God's message of salvation. All he has to do is rise, go and preach. The door to evangelism has opened. However, because he was selfish, he did not go there.
Love on blood relation is called instinctive love. Animals possess this love, too. If we remain in love based on blood relation, what distinguishes us from animals? It is said that there are no blood relation in heaven. We love our families. But don’t’ remain there. True love is love shared through the word of God in Jesus Christ. Jonah is trapped in his own world of nationalism and blood tie. He is a racist.
Jonah fled from God and his mission. Then he encountered a storm of death. It is a storm caused by his disobedience. Though Johan fled God, God still loved him. God desired him to come out of his narrow world and selfish love. God desired him to return to his place, the place of his mission. Jonah faced the storm because of disobedience. His life was shaken. However, this storm was beneficial to Jonah.
First, he encountered the essence.
It is said, “A little bit of skill and a lot of luck" or "Success is 70% luck and 30% skill." It signifies that luck (God’s grace) is major factor in man’s achievements than man’s effort. Folks, work hard and diligently. And for the remaining areas, worship, pray and entrust them to God. Then God will complete your work. That is why God made the Sabbath day. We come to God on the Sabbath day having rest in Him. Then God completes what we do. That is the essence. God is the beginning and the end.
The prodigal son in Luke 15 left his father’s home for freedom. After squandering all things, he went totally bankrupt. No one would even give him food for pigs. Facing the storm of bankruptcy, he encountered the essence that he had a father and he was generous. “I must go to my father. He will at least hire me as a servant.” He realized the essence that love and power lie in his father. Victory comes from realizing the essence amidst the storms of life.
Jonah disobeyed God. He kept falling to the bottom, and he faced wild storm. However, amidst the storm, he encountered the essence again. Look at verse 9. He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” A Hebrew means the one who crossed the river of sin, death and judgment of hell by the grace of God. Jonah came back to his sense that he was the one who received God’s grace. At the same time, he confessed that God is the Creator who rules over the universe and man’s life. Jonah was like the prodigal son who remembered his father in crisis. Jonah met the essence during storm that God is the Creator who controls his life. This is a blessing. Though you may lose everything in the world, if you believe and know Christ Jesus, you gain everything.
Life is likened to a peach. The yellowish or reddish ripen peach skin draws people's attention. But who would eat the skin of peach? The part we eat is the flesh or pulp. However, the life of peach is neither in the skin nor the pulp but in the seed, which cannot be eaten. The skin of peach represents a person's appearance, career and achievements. We would see and be easily attracted by such things. Many young people see the other opposites’ beauty or educational background or career. Often, it ends in regret and crisis. The flesh represents man’s inner self, life attitude, disposition and morality. However, the most important thing in man is the life within—namely, their relationship with God and spirituality. If we have such view, we realize that man does not live by bread alone, but by the word of God.
Folks, do not be attracted or deceived by the skin. Also, do not just see the flesh. Go deeper and know that although it cannot be eaten, life is in the seed. This is the essence of truth. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. (John 6:35, 40) Jesus is the source of life. I pray that you may meet Jesus, who is the essence of life.
Second, he woke up.
Before the wild storm, out of panic, all the sailors prayed to their gods. They also threw away all their cargos to the sea to control the ship. They exerted all their strength. Verse 5 says, “But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.” This is called the sleep of death and irresponsibility. Sleeping without God and mission is like death. Jonah is now disconnected from God. This is death.
The captains rebuke Jonah, “Hey, how can you sleep? Get up and call on your god!” Jonah who ran away from God and mission did not pray. This is what sleeping is. It is like death. When Jonah slept, he failed to exert godly and life-saving influence on the people of the world before the wild storm.
In Acts 27, Paul boarded a ship bound for Rome as a prisoner. When the ship encountered a wild storm, all the sailors and passengers were terrified. At that time, because Paul was connected to God, he remained awake. He prayed to the Lord and got answer from Him. Then he exerted tremendous influence over them. "Take courage, God will save you. So, eat and be strong." Indeed, they all were saved.
But look at Jonah. He was sleeping during life threatening storm. Then an unbelieving captain rebuked him, “How can you sleep at a time like this? Don’t you ever pray to God?” Jonah should have woken the sleeping unbelievers, but instead, the unbelievers wake the sleeping prophet, Jonah. God is using an unbeliever to wake him up.
Sin causes one to lose influence. Jonah’s sin was disobedience, running away from God and his mission. He finally woke up during the storm by the captain. He repented of his sin in the face of the storm and regained his influence on unbelievers. Is there anyone who faces storm? Once Canada was missionary sending country to Korea and many nations. But now, Canada is sleeping. People in this country love travelling. If they travel to preach the gospel, how wonderful it would be! I believe God is waking up Canada through a storm, Mr. Trump. Recently a Canadian old lady confessed that Canada has been too complacent, dependent and passive. I pray that we may wake up to pray to God and exert godly influence on many people.
Third, he met the cross.
Look at verse 7. Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity. They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.” Then Jonah must have realized that he could not run away from God anymore. Verse 12 says, ““Pick me up and throw me into the sea, and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” “It is my fault. It is my sin. I am a sinner.” Throw me into the sea. I am willing to die to save you.” He did not avoid the responsibility anymore. He denied himself and bore the cross “I will die for them”. During the wild storm, he met the cross. He was willing to die to harvest many souls like a grain of wheat.
Look at verses 15, 16. “Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.” When Jonah took up his cross, salvation and revival came to many. Once the sailors cried out to their gods. But now, they all returned to the God, Creator. This is glory.
Earning a lot of money, driving a fancy car, possessing a big house and going to fantastic resort are not glory. That is just showing off. "I am a sinner; have mercy on me, Lord. I will carry the cross." Then glory appears.
Jonah 1
God chose Israel to become a holy people and a kingdom of priests to make God known to all peoples of the world. However, Israel fell into religious and national superiority. The Book of Jonah points this out precisely. Are we preaching the word of God as kingdom of priests in obedience to God? According to 2 Kings 14:25, Jonah was a court prophet, prophesying the expansion of Israel's territory, and it was fulfilled. He was a renowned prophet.
Now, God gave him another mission. Verse 1. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” Nineveh is notoriously cruel to tear their enemies’ mouths and bodies. They built pyramids out of their enemies’ bones. When Jonah was commanded, he raised a unpleasant question, “Go to Nineveh to be killed? No. Those wicked people must be judged.” However, the problem is that Jonah's thought and God's heart are different. Jonah thought it was unjust for such wicked people to be saved and go to heaven. To Jonah, they deserved to be destroyed by fire like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Jonah did not understand God's heart. God said to Ezekiel, "Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?" (Ezekiel 18:23).
But Jonah did just the opposite of what God commanded. He disobeyed God by his racial and ethnic prejudice. He wanted to deliver the message of God to Israel, not Nineveh, his neighboring nation.
Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened. Take my yoke upon you and you will find rest for your souls” In life, there are two kinds of burdens. One is the burdens each has to carry for themselves and the other is for others. You study and work and pay the rent or mortgage. It is your burdens. You donate money for the suffering people in Venezuela. You pray for them and help them to come to God. We are to carry the burdens of others. That is responsibility. Life is about carrying my own burdens and the burdens of others simultaneously.
In life, along with my own burdens, such as my study, work and family, there are burdens of our neighbors I also have to carry. That is mission and responsibility.
Yes, you and my burden are heavy. Still, you and I must also bear the burdens of our neighbors. It is the mission given by the Lord. “Jonah, rise, go and preach to Nineveh!” If you and I obey, God grants us greater grace and power.
Look at verse 3. “But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.” At that time, the end of the earth was Tarshish, a large and wealthy port city in Spain built by Tyre and Sidon—a nice resort like Hawaii. He went to Joppa (Tel Aviv), and there happened to be a ship going to Tarshish. A ship from Joppa to Tarshish was usually once or twice a year. The chances of catching that ship were very slim. Yet, on the very day Jonah went to Joppa, the ship to Tarshish was ready and Jonah boarded it. Jonah must have been thrilled. “Wow, things are going well!”
There are times when things are going well even though man is walking a path contrary to God's will. Is this truly going well? You run away from God and his mission, yet your grades improve, you earn more money, people gather around you—is that really going well? If things are going well while you are disobeying God, you must come back to God right away. Because there is a storm of death ahead.
Psalm 73:27-28 says, “Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.” Distancing from God leads to destruction, while drawing near to Him is a blessing. Satan blinds our eyes and minds. I want you to realize that the blessings the world speaks of—making a lot of money, driving a fancy car, living in a big house, and traveling here and there without God, worship, prayer, and gospel work—are not true blessings. Being poor in spirit, mourning, hunger and thirst for righteousness, show mercy and meditating on and obeying the word of God day and night—is the true blessing. Why do we keep seeking and chasing after worldly blessings? We are people who seek things above.
Jonah paid the fare. It implies that he is well-off. At that time, most prophets were poor. However, Jonah, a royal court prophet, must have had quite of money. Instead of using that money to do God's work and save souls, he used it to travel to Tarshish.
Here we see that money makes man flee from God. Money gives us expectations of pleasure and a false sense of security. If we feel burdened by God and our mission, money actually blocks the path of the mission. This is the danger of money. Paul understood this. Once he was a young wealthy Pharisee. When he came to know Jesus and received his mission, he realized that money was harmful. Therefore, for the sake of Christ and his mission, he regarded money as a harmful and worthless thing. But with money, Jonah fled from God and sought an easy life and false comfort in Tarshish.
Folks, we, we are not to seek easy or comfortable life. Do you know what it means to believe in Jesus? It means seeking out hardship. Why? Because there are value, joy and reward from. If you feel right now, "I am so comfortable," then know that something is wrong. We are following Jesus on the narrow path, the path of suffering and sacrifice. Therein lies the fruit, joy, and glory.
Jonah's problem is selfishness. He lacks humanity toward all nations of the world. The people of Nineveh are currently waiting for God's message of salvation. All he has to do is rise, go and preach. The door to evangelism has opened. However, because he was selfish, he did not go there.
Love on blood relation is called instinctive love. Animals possess this love, too. If we remain in love based on blood relation, what distinguishes us from animals? It is said that there are no blood relation in heaven. We love our families. But don’t’ remain there. True love is love shared through the word of God in Jesus Christ. Jonah is trapped in his own world of nationalism and blood tie. He is a racist.
Jonah fled from God and his mission. Then he encountered a storm of death. It is a storm caused by his disobedience. Though Johan fled God, God still loved him. God desired him to come out of his narrow world and selfish love. God desired him to return to his place, the place of his mission. Jonah faced the storm because of disobedience. His life was shaken. However, this storm was beneficial to Jonah.
First, he encountered the essence.
It is said, “A little bit of skill and a lot of luck" or "Success is 70% luck and 30% skill." It signifies that luck (God’s grace) is major factor in man’s achievements than man’s effort. Folks, work hard and diligently. And for the remaining areas, worship, pray and entrust them to God. Then God will complete your work. That is why God made the Sabbath day. We come to God on the Sabbath day having rest in Him. Then God completes what we do. That is the essence. God is the beginning and the end.
The prodigal son in Luke 15 left his father’s home for freedom. After squandering all things, he went totally bankrupt. No one would even give him food for pigs. Facing the storm of bankruptcy, he encountered the essence that he had a father and he was generous. “I must go to my father. He will at least hire me as a servant.” He realized the essence that love and power lie in his father. Victory comes from realizing the essence amidst the storms of life.
Jonah disobeyed God. He kept falling to the bottom, and he faced wild storm. However, amidst the storm, he encountered the essence again. Look at verse 9. He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” A Hebrew means the one who crossed the river of sin, death and judgment of hell by the grace of God. Jonah came back to his sense that he was the one who received God’s grace. At the same time, he confessed that God is the Creator who rules over the universe and man’s life. Jonah was like the prodigal son who remembered his father in crisis. Jonah met the essence during storm that God is the Creator who controls his life. This is a blessing. Though you may lose everything in the world, if you believe and know Christ Jesus, you gain everything.
Life is likened to a peach. The yellowish or reddish ripen peach skin draws people's attention. But who would eat the skin of peach? The part we eat is the flesh or pulp. However, the life of peach is neither in the skin nor the pulp but in the seed, which cannot be eaten. The skin of peach represents a person's appearance, career and achievements. We would see and be easily attracted by such things. Many young people see the other opposites’ beauty or educational background or career. Often, it ends in regret and crisis. The flesh represents man’s inner self, life attitude, disposition and morality. However, the most important thing in man is the life within—namely, their relationship with God and spirituality. If we have such view, we realize that man does not live by bread alone, but by the word of God.
Folks, do not be attracted or deceived by the skin. Also, do not just see the flesh. Go deeper and know that although it cannot be eaten, life is in the seed. This is the essence of truth. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. (John 6:35, 40) Jesus is the source of life. I pray that you may meet Jesus, who is the essence of life.
Second, he woke up.
Before the wild storm, out of panic, all the sailors prayed to their gods. They also threw away all their cargos to the sea to control the ship. They exerted all their strength. Verse 5 says, “But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.” This is called the sleep of death and irresponsibility. Sleeping without God and mission is like death. Jonah is now disconnected from God. This is death.
The captains rebuke Jonah, “Hey, how can you sleep? Get up and call on your god!” Jonah who ran away from God and mission did not pray. This is what sleeping is. It is like death. When Jonah slept, he failed to exert godly and life-saving influence on the people of the world before the wild storm.
In Acts 27, Paul boarded a ship bound for Rome as a prisoner. When the ship encountered a wild storm, all the sailors and passengers were terrified. At that time, because Paul was connected to God, he remained awake. He prayed to the Lord and got answer from Him. Then he exerted tremendous influence over them. "Take courage, God will save you. So, eat and be strong." Indeed, they all were saved.
But look at Jonah. He was sleeping during life threatening storm. Then an unbelieving captain rebuked him, “How can you sleep at a time like this? Don’t you ever pray to God?” Jonah should have woken the sleeping unbelievers, but instead, the unbelievers wake the sleeping prophet, Jonah. God is using an unbeliever to wake him up.
Sin causes one to lose influence. Jonah’s sin was disobedience, running away from God and his mission. He finally woke up during the storm by the captain. He repented of his sin in the face of the storm and regained his influence on unbelievers. Is there anyone who faces storm? Once Canada was missionary sending country to Korea and many nations. But now, Canada is sleeping. People in this country love travelling. If they travel to preach the gospel, how wonderful it would be! I believe God is waking up Canada through a storm, Mr. Trump. Recently a Canadian old lady confessed that Canada has been too complacent, dependent and passive. I pray that we may wake up to pray to God and exert godly influence on many people.
Third, he met the cross.
Look at verse 7. Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity. They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.” Then Jonah must have realized that he could not run away from God anymore. Verse 12 says, ““Pick me up and throw me into the sea, and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” “It is my fault. It is my sin. I am a sinner.” Throw me into the sea. I am willing to die to save you.” He did not avoid the responsibility anymore. He denied himself and bore the cross “I will die for them”. During the wild storm, he met the cross. He was willing to die to harvest many souls like a grain of wheat.
Look at verses 15, 16. “Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.” When Jonah took up his cross, salvation and revival came to many. Once the sailors cried out to their gods. But now, they all returned to the God, Creator. This is glory.
Earning a lot of money, driving a fancy car, possessing a big house and going to fantastic resort are not glory. That is just showing off. "I am a sinner; have mercy on me, Lord. I will carry the cross." Then glory appears.