Part II: Stop Running From God
Updated: Sep 18
✨I know someone is getting deliverance from this and I pray my brother, my sister, that the Lord moves miraculously in your life not because you are perfect but because of your obedience and your trust in the surrender! Blessings to you always in our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.
Jonah Tried to Run Too
Jonah knew exactly what God told him to do ( like most of us today, WE know)
“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it…”
— Jonah 1:2, KJV
God gave Jonah an assignment.
And Jonah ran.... Imagine trying to hide from the ALL knowing Omnipresent God who sees and knows ALL.
“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD…”
— Jonah 1:3, KJV
Sound familiar? I mean, at least it does to me.
God tells you to go one way, and you go another.
God tells you to leave something alone, and you keep returning.
God tells you to speak, and you stay quiet.
God tells you to forgive, and you hold onto the offense.
God tells you to surrender, and you negotiate.
God tells you what He has called you to do, and you spend years trying to become somebody else.
Stop running from God.
Jonah got on a ship going in the opposite direction, but he could not outrun the assignment of God.
A storm came.
Jonah was thrown overboard.
God prepared a great fish to swallow him.
And inside that fish, Jonah finally prayed.
“Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly.”
— Jonah 2:1, KJV
Sometimes God will allow you to reach the end of yourself so you finally surrender what you should have surrendered in the beginning.
Jonah repented, God caused the fish to release him, and then look at what happened…
“And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time…”
— Jonah 3:1, KJV
The second time.
I love that.
Jonah ran, but God still called him.
Jonah disobeyed, but after repentance, God gave him the instruction again.
And this time, Jonah went.
Your Obedience Isn’t Just About You
Jonah entered Nineveh and delivered the warning God gave him.
And the people responded.
“So the people of Nineveh believed God…”
— Jonah 3:5, KJV
The king humbled himself.
The people fasted.
They turned from their evil ways.
And God showed mercy.
Jonah had been running from an assignment connected to the repentance of an entire city.
Think about that.
What if God is wanting to use YOU to help save your community?
What is stopping you from answering your calling so the Lord can use you to bring revival to your city?
Augusta? Tampa? Houston? New York City? Baltimore? Hollywood? Seattle?
Jonah was sent to Nineveh, a whole city that desperately needed to hear from God. What if there are people connected to your obedience? What if God has placed a burden for your city, neighborhood, workplace, school, or family on your heart because He intends to use YOU there?
“Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.” — Jonah 3:2 (KJV)
What if your calling isn’t just about you?
What if somebody else’s encounter with Jesus is connected to your willingness to obey?
No, you are not anyone’s Savior,
Jesus Christ is the Savior.
But God uses surrendered people.
He uses our testimonies.
He uses our voices.
He uses our gifts.
He uses our obedience.
He uses our teaching.
He uses our lives.
Through the power and leading of the Holy Spirit, God can use your obedience to point somebody else directly to Jesus Christ.
That is why the enemy wants you distracted.
That is why he wants you compromising.
That is why he wants you convinced that your body, your choices, your testimony, and your calling don’t matter.
They matter.
Your calling may be attached to people you haven’t even met yet.
You Were Bought for Too High a Price to Live Common
Jesus paid too much for you to keep treating yourself like you’re common.
You were bought with blood.
Called by God.
Set apart for His purposes.
Your body is an offering.
Your life is an offering.
Your gifts are an offering.
Your testimony is an offering.
Your obedience is an offering.
Romans 12 tells us to become living sacrifices.
The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl back off the altar
Uh oh how many times have you crawled off the alter?
Many of us keep doing exactly that.
“Lord, I surrender.”
Then we take it back.
“Lord, use me.”
Then He tells us what to do and we run.
“Lord, Your will be done.”
Until His will becomes uncomfortable.
Jonah teaches us something powerful...
You can run, but running will never give you the peace that obedience will.
Stop trying to fit into places where God called you to stand out.
Stop lowering your standards because holiness makes other people uncomfortable.
Stop treating what God calls sacred like it is common.
Stop negotiating with the calling.
Stop pretending you don’t hear Him.
Stop running.
Turn around.
Repent.
Present yourself back to the Father, who love you!
And when He speaks again, go.
Because there may be people on the other side of your obedience who need to hear what God placed inside of you.
You were never called to save anyone yourself.
Jesus saves.
But you were called to surrender yourself to Jesus so that the Holy Spirit can use your life to point others toward Him.
So the question isn’t only:
“What’s your price?”
The question is:
After Jesus already paid the highest price for you, what could this world possibly offer that is worth running away from Him?
Scriptures to Study
Jonah 1–4
Romans 12:1–2
1 Corinthians 6:19–20
1 Peter 1:18–19
1 Peter 2:9
Luke 9:23
John 10:27
Matthew 16:24–26
*This message was encouraged by a teaching by Pastor Travis Greene from Forward City Church.
We've attached the link below if you would be interested in watching the teaching.
We love you all and we thank you for being here on this journey with us.
Blessing to you always and forever from our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Stay tuned for PART III....
✨Obedience Over Compromise
-The Surrendered Walk🤍
Gloooooooory to God in the Highest!!!
STOP RUNNING!!