When
The LORD God Almighty sent Jonah to Nineveh, Jonah ran away from The LORD in
an attempt to avoid the mission of The LORD. What Jonah did not know
was that as a result of attempting to run away from The LORD, the
mission The LORD had assigned him was actually expanded by The LORD.
So
we find that as Jonah was headed to Tarshish via a ship in an attempt to flee
from The LORD, his first assignment actually began in the ship. And
so The LORD used him to preach to the sailors in the ship. What Jonah did not
realize is that The LORD had anointed him and the spirit of The LORD was upon
him.
So when The LORD God Almighty sent a great wind on the
sea and the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god, the captain of the ship confronted Jonah who by then
was in a deep sleep. And the captain told Jonah: “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god!. Maybe he
will take notice of us, and we will not perish.”
This
is well captured in the book of Jonah 1:4-6 which states as follows: “Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a
violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the
sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw
the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 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 so that we will not perish.”
So The LORD then used Jonah to preach to the sailors (and the captain) and for them to know that the God of Jonah was
The LORD. The LORD God Almighty was thus
setting a distinction between Himself and the gods (idols) that the sailors and the captain
were worshipping.
So
Jonah preached to them about his God whom he worships, and made them know
that He is The LORD who created everything. So when he told them
this, they were terrified because the presence of The LORD and the Spirit
of The LORD was upon Jonah and upon the ship and so they were engulfed by
the power, the presence and glory of The LORD; and this touched them deep
in their souls, spirit, minds, hearts and body; and hence they were in awe
of this God of Jonah and thus became terrified. The ship thus became an
altar of The LORD; a holy ground from which The LORD was speaking from.
This
is well captured in the book of Jonah 1:8-10 which states as follows: ‘“So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for
making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do
you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” He answered, “I am a
Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” This terrified them and they asked, “What have
you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had
already told them so.).”’
To
show them how powerful and mighty He is, The LORD placed upon
Jonah the Spirit of prophesy, so that he prophesied to the sailors (and
the captain) concerning what action was to make the sea calm. Through this
The LORD God Almighty was revealing Himself to the sailors (and the
captain) so that they could know that He is The LORD: The God of Jonah, The God of Israel (Hebrew)
and beside Him there is none.
This is well captured in the book of Jonah 1:11-12 which states as follows: ‘“The sea was getting rougher and rougher.
So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that
this great storm has come upon you.”’
This
became fulfilled in the book of Jonah 1:15 which states as follows: “Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the
raging sea grew calm.”
So after Jonah had preached to the sailors, then they
actually received The LORD and from then, they worshipped The God of Jonah, for
then they realized that The God of Jonah: He is The LORD. And so after being
preached to and receiving The LORD, they no longer worshipped their gods, but
now worshipped The LORD God Almighty and sought Him and enquired of Him. And
that’s why they even embraced Righteousness and sought to be in the will of The
LORD God Almighty; for now they even considred it a sin to murder/kill
somebody, because The Holy Spirit convicted them in their hearts about the
commandments (Ten) of The LORD God Almighty and being accountable to Him: for
now they were walking in the Righteousness of The LORD. This is well stated in the book of Jonah
1:13-14 which
states as follows: ‘“Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But
they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not
let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing
an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.”’
So, when The LORD whom Jonah had preached to the sailors
manifested Himself in avery mighty, powerful and glorious way, the sailors
became wise in The LORD (For they greatly feared The LORD) and they stopped
everything and praised and worshipped The LORD God Almighty; for then they
realized there is no any other God but The LORD God Almighty: The God of Jonah, The God of the Hebrews (Israel), The
God of Heaven, Him who made the sea and the land, and could even command the
sea to be calm when a raging and great storm hits. This is well captured in the
book of Jonah 1:15-16 which states as follows: “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."
It
is also very important to note that one of the main reasons why The
LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah was so that The LORD could prepare
Jonah for the Nineveh mission by cleansing him, purifying him, washing him and
sanctifying him through prayer and fasting for 3 days and 3 nights as he was
inside the fish. The belly of the great fish became his wilderness upon which
The LORD could prepare him for His mission to Nineveh as he prayed and fasted.
We find this in the book of Jonah 1:17 which states as follows: “Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah,
and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." And also in the book of Jonah 2:1-9 which states as follows: '“From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he
answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and
you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of
the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept
over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’ The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep
surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the
mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my
God, brought my life up from the pit. “When my life was ebbing away, I
remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “Those
who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. But I, with
shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make
good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
By allowing the great fish to swallow Jonah, The LORD was
essentially “killing” the flesh of Jonah, so that Jonah could now learn to
operate in the spirit. So that his spirit could be strengthened by the
anointing and the great move of The Holy Spirit. Remember Jonah was a very
stubborn and proud person who was not ready to move out of his “comfort zone”. So
The LORD had to press upon his nature by “killing” his flesh and pressing him
hard in the belly of the fish, so that his flesh could no longer rise; but only
his spirit could now be activated and uplifted through the anointing and the
great move of The Holy Spirit.
Only
after He prepared Jonah for the mission by cleansing, purifying, cleaning up,
washing, refining (like Silver), testing (like gold) and sanctifying him did
The LORD command the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land; meaning The LORD dried
him up in the flesh and thus he was now ready for the dry land (the mission of
The LORD) without any baggage/resistance of the flesh that was initially
hindering his spirit from embracing The move of The Holy Spirit of The LORD. And this is well captured in the book of Jonah
2:10 "And
the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land."
So
when the word of The LORD came to Jonah a second time, he
immediately obeyed and went straight to Nineveh without attempting to flee away
from The LORD as he did the first time. This was because his flesh had been
“killed”: the flesh of stubbornness and pride. And his spirit had been uplifted
through the anointing and the great move of The Holy Spirit. Remember the flesh is always in competition with the
spirit and one has to give way for the other; and The LORD desires
that the flesh gives way for the spirit so that He can outpour His Holy Spirit
upon a person (The spirit) for the great move of The LORD to be manifested and
accomplished. And this is well captured in the book of Galatians
5:16-17 which
states as follows: “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit,
and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each
other,so that
you are not to do whatever you want."
It
is very very important to note that when The LORD is sending His Servants to a
mission with a message to the place (people) of the mission, The LORD is after
the souls of such a place/ a people so that they be redeemed through
Repentance. And this is well captured in the book of Jonah 4:10-11 which states as follows: “But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this
plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and
died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of
Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who
cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
So in summary the message to the servants, children,
sons, daughters of The LORD and everybody everywhere on the earth is this:
1-The
flesh has to be “killed” in order for one to serve The LORD; by their
spirit-man being uplifted so that the Holy Spirit of the LORD can
move and manifest in a very tremendous and a mighty way.
2-The LORD
God Almighty, the creator of heaven and the earth, The God of the sea and
indeed Heaven, The God of Hebrews; He is The LORD. And beside Him
there is none.
3-In
the presence of The LORD upon His Holy altar, the power, the anointing and the
glory of The LORD flows and moves; for the LORD shall have tarbanacled (dwelt)
there.
For that place thus becomes a Holy ground. The LORD touches and engulfs the soul, the spirit, the
mind, the heart and the body of the persons present in the altar of The LORD
(The presence of The LORD/The Holy ground).
Some may feel as if they are terrified and shaken deep
within their souls, mind, heart, spirit and body for then The Holy Spirit of
The LORD shall have moved.
4-Those
who receive The LORD and embrace Him by Repenting of their sins and taking to
the path of Righteousness, Holiness, Truth and Complete Surrender to The
LORD Jesus Christ by even worshipping Him and offering sacrifices to
Him will acquire the wisdom of The LORD. They will be the wise ones;
for then they will walk in the great fear of The LORD, in reverence of The LORD
, in awe of The LORD.
They
shall have thus acquired and been imparted by the wisdom that comes
from the throne room of The LORD God Almighty in Heaven.
5-The
LORD is concerned and interested in souls. He wants none to perish but that all to Repent of their
sins so that they be saved through the blood of Jesus Christ by their sins
being forgiven.
The LORD is however a consuming fire who passes judgement
and punishes the wicked fools who have refused to humble themselves before Him in
Repentance for the forgiveness of their sins.
SHALOM!!!
PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
IN ABSOLUTE REPENTANCE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, HOLINESS, TRUTH AND COMPLETE SURRENDER
TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH). TIME IS ABSOLUTELY OVER; THE
MESSIAH JESUS CHRIST IS IMMINENTLY COMING TO PICK HIS BRIDE!!!
REPENTANCE PRAYER
Precious
Jesus,
I
acknowledge today that you are LORD and savior of all mankind,
and
today I have recognized my shortfall,
I
repent and turn away from all sin.
Please
cover me with your precious blood,
and
establish your word in my life,
that
I may be found in righteousness and holiness
and
write my name in your book of life
and
baptize me with the power of the Holy Spirit
in
the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Shalom!!!
Shalom!!! Shalom!!!
Kevin Mirasi
What a blessed and spirit filled word!
ReplyDeleteThank- you brother!!
God bless
May The LORD bless you too.
Delete=how interesting..........isn't this how the LORD first appear to you from a ship at age 8?
ReplyDelete"The ship thus became an altar of The LORD; a holy ground from which The LORD was speaking from."
What you have said is very very powerful; I hadn't thought of it like that; but I have been touched by what you have said because it reminds me of the first visitation of The LORD to me when I was an 8 year boy in 1990.
DeleteIt is actually as you have said it.
May The LORD bless you.
Shalom!!!