The Satan Will Ship a Automobile

Jonah was a prophet on the run from the Lord. When the command got here to evangelise to Ninevah, he “rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” Within the port metropolis of Joppa, conveniently, he “discovered a ship going to Tarshish” (Jonah 1:3).
You possibly can think about how a person in Jonah’s sneakers would possibly justify this in his coronary heart: “See? If I’d been alleged to go east, there wouldn’t be this ship right here able to take me west. And I’m certain that I’m actually supposed to go on the ship, as a result of in spite of everything, there’s a ship right here, and I need to go on a ship. It’s an open door if there ever was one!”
However an open door isn’t all the time all it’s cracked as much as be. “The gate is broad and the best way is simple that results in destruction,” mentioned Jesus, “and those that enter by it are many” (Matt. 7:13). After we’re able to run from the Lord, the satan will you should definitely ship a automotive. After we’re itching to fulfill sinful needs, we’re sure to search out considerable temptations.
The surest measure of God’s will just isn’t what’s handy; it’s what’s written. We should always by no means undergo an open door to a spot God’s Phrase tells us clearly to not go.
The reality is, once we need to run, we gained’t want an excuse. The Lord will converse clearly about some difficulty in our lives by means of the Bible, by means of our brothers and sisters in Christ, or by means of His light hand on the conscience. We’ll say, “No. That may’t be proper. It should not imply what it says.” And we’ll run.
The surest measure of God’s will just isn’t what’s handy; it’s what’s written.
That is, after all, what Adam and Eve thought they’d do. As quickly as they fouled up, they mentioned, “Let’s go run and conceal within the bushes.” However God didn’t surrender on them. He requested, “The place are you?” (Gen. 3:9). He knew the place they had been. However He wished them to reply.
Jonah, in his try and get as far-off as potential, was ready to take something to get anyplace. But it surely didn’t change into so easy. And though it might at instances appear straightforward for us to run, the entire thing tends to go haywire. We’ll both discover ourselves someplace we hadn’t counted on, or we’ll quickly see that our devoted God is urgent His pursuit. The transportation He later despatched to carry Jonah again on monitor didn’t have a luxurious inside. We’re higher off obeying the primary time.
This text was tailored from the sermon “The Man Who Mentioned No” by Alistair Begg.