Jonah 2:6 says, I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.  Jonah was in about as hopeless a situation as a person could be.  He felt the whole world was bearing down on him.  Still, even in his situation, he said his Lord and His God had brought him up from corruption.  When we find ourselves in a seemingly hopeless situation in this world, do we acknowledge that God has already delivered us from corruption, no matter the outcome.  Remember, Jonah was still in the belly of the whale at this time.  We, as followers of Christ, need to realize that we are everlasting delivered already and to thank God for that daily.  In verse seven, Jonah continues, When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.  Jonah could in no way rely on his own ability to save himself, so he prayed to God.  We can never save ourselves today, but if we are followers of Christ, we have already come to understand that.  If we aren't, until we come to understand that, then nothing else matters.  As followers of Christ, if we are out of His will, then we need to turn to Him again, and hopefully we will do it before we are brought as low as Jonah was.  Remember, he was still one of God's chosen people.  In verse eight, Jonah continues, They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.  If we believe that there is anyway we can save ourselves, then we are believing lying vanities.  There are those today who claim they do not need God's forgiveness, but rely on their own ability to forgive and thereby save themselves, but in so doing, they cut themselves off from the mercy of God.  Verse nine says, But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.  Jonah acknowledged that salvation was only from the Lord.  He would sacrifice to God with thanksgiving and do what he had vowed to do.  We today need to acknowledge that Christ is the only way to salvation and serve Him with thanksgiving.  Then, in verse ten we read, And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.  Jonah's prayers were answered, and he was returned to dry ground.  He still had the same mission.  We today, when we are restored to God, still have the mission of proclaiming His word.

Jonah 3:7 says, And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:  There was not just a claim of repentance, but there was a total change in life.  It affected not only the people, but also their animals.  Nothing was to eat or drink.  I think sometimes today, we take repentance too lightly.  We want to repent without anyone knowing that we did anything wrong.  Repentance requires acknowledging that we have sinned and asking God's forgiveness.  It requires humbling ourselves and admitting that we cannot restore ourselves to a right relationship with God.  As long as we feel that our sin isn't really a big deal and that as long as we utter words of repentance God has to forgive us, I am not sure we have really repented.  Repentance should touch every aspect of our life.  I don't believe we can truly repent and stand on our own goodness.  Sinning against God is a serious thing, and repentance should be also.  Verse eight says, But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.  They were called on not just to show outward signs of repentance, but to change the very nature of the way they lived.  Repentance has to bring change, based on turning everything over to God.  We cannot feel that our sins are small and other people's are big.  Any sin separates us from God, and we can only be restored to a right relationship with Him when we ask His forgiveness.  Nothing else should be of importance until this happens.  The outward signs are not enough until we call on God.  Verse nine continues, Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?  The king was hopeful that God would hear them, and that He would not destroy them.  We today know that as God's followers He is not out to destroy us, nor anyone else, but that doesn't make sin any less powerful.  We cannot effectively follow God with sin in our life, no matter how small we feel it is.

In Jonah 2:3, Jonah continued, For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.  From this statement, we can almost say Jonah was blaming God for his predicament.  He knew that the sailors weren't responsible.  Jonah acknowledged that God was still in control.  Even as he ran, even in the belly of the whale, He knew that God was working in his life.  Through all his misfortunes, God had not given up on him.  We today can take courage from the fact that no matter how bad things may seem in life, if we are truly followers of God, He will never forsake us.  That even includes when we are not following His will.  Verse four says, Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.  Jonah, in one of the most hopeless places I can think of, still had hope in God.  Anytime we are out of the sight of God, that is out of His will, we may see a situation as nearly hopeless, but we need to realize that God is with us.  Even if we are firmly in God's will and the world seems determined to destroy us, we need to remember that God is with us.  We need to look to God through it all.  Verse five says, The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I think we sometimes think of Jonah going straight from the ship to the being swallowed by the whale, but he says he was deep in the water with weeds wrapped around his head before the whale swallowed him.  We may not immediately be rescued when we have trouble in this world, but we are assured that God will make a way.  We never need to live life as though we are defeated.  God is with us if we are His followers.

Jonah 2:1 says, Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly.  After three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, Jonah decide to call on God.  I am not sure how long we may chose to rebel against God, but I do know that when we do, we will suffer spiritually until we call out to Him again.  God was saving Jonah during this time.  Had God decided to give up on Jonah, He could have simply let him drown.  Jonah was stubborn about being willing to do God's will.  Hopefully, we as His followers will not be the same way today, but if we are running from God's will, we can be certain that He will not be out to destroy us, but to protect us until we call to Him again.  Verse two says, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.  Jonah finally realized that his only hope was to ask God for help.  Jonah may not have been concerned with the people of Nineveh, nor with the sailors that he put in danger, but he was finally concerned with his own life.  He discovered that he had not outrun God.  We today can be certain, even if we don't want God around, when we call out to Him earnestly, He will hear.  Until we are obedient to God in our own lives, we cannot be effective in reaching the lost world.  Jonah said he cried out of the belly of hell.  No matter how plush things may be, when we are running from the will of God, we are spiritually in hell.  We may not literally be in the belly of a whale, but if we are not with God spiritually, there is only one other place to be.  There are not multiple places to reside spiritually, only heaven or bell.    If we are out of God's will, we cannot think that where we are isn't too bad.  Though our ultimate destination is still heaven, if we are out of His will today we are choosing to live in a spiritual hell.

Jonah 1:17 says, Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.  Jonah hadn't gotten very far in his attempt to run from God.  God was already preparing for his rescue.  I always heard that Jonah was swallowed by a whale when I was growing up, and some people now say it wasn't a whale, but a great fish created by God just to rescue Jonah.  Still, in Matthew 12:40, Jesus calls it a whale, so that will do for me.  God can and does use ordinary things and ordinary people everyday to bring people to salvation.  If we are running from His will, He is going to call us back and be at work to make a way for us to return.  It may not be an easy way in the eyes of the world, but it will be a way back.   I know all we have to do is repent and we will be restored, but our attempt to run may have brought about consequences, and God will be at work to help us through those.  Jonah was not in the sea because God wanted him there, but God was still at work in Jonah's life to save him.  Jonah had been asleep in the ship, and I wonder what he did for three days in the belly of the whale.  If we are running from God, I don't believe we can run farther than this.  Jonah had plenty of time to consider his actions.  We today may have to be brought very low to quit running from God, but as His followers, we need to realize that He will always be with us.  As Christians, we must remember that wherever we go, the Holy Spirit goes with us.  Even if we were to find ourselves feeling as hopeless as Jonah must have felt, God is with us forever.  After we accept Christ as Savior, not following God's will for our lives when He calls us to a specific task does not mean we are no longer His.  Jonah was still God's chosen spokesman to go to Nineveh, and God was still at work to get him there.

Jonah 1:15 says, So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.  The sailors finally did what Jonah had told them to do, and the sea calmed.  Jonah was a spokesman for God, even if a reluctant one.  When the sailors did what Jonah, a spokesman of God told them to do, the storm passed.  If we, as God's people today, humble ourselves and obey God, we may never know the full extent of the effect it has on those around us.  Jonah and the sailors saw the effect immediately.  Verse sixteen says, Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.  Jonah did not go to witness to those sailors, but the storm and his testimony as to his reason for running followed by the calming of the sea led them to believe in the God.  God may work through us, even if we are disobedient to Him, to reach others if they know we are His followers.  I am not sure how Jonah felt.  The sea was now calm, but he was no longer in the ship.  Regardless, he had to know God was still there.  One thing we can be sure of is that wherever we go, God is there.  Jonah may have been attempting to desert God, but God had not deserted him.  We can never outrun God, no matter how hard or how often we try.  Once we accept Christ as our Savior, we are His forever.  Life may get stormy when we are not following God's will, but He will never desert Him.  Jonah felt that what he wanted was more important than what God wanted, and we may at times feel the same way.  Jonah found that life out of the will of God was dangerous, and the same is true for us today.

Jonah 1:13 says, Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.  Even though Jonah had brought the trouble to them, they were trying very hard to save him.  Jonah still had not agreed to do what God had called him to do.  He was willing to die running from God before going to Nineveh.  We need to pray that we never become so full of hatred that we would rather die than to witness to certain people.  Jonah, one of God's people, would die rather than witness, while those of the world, the sailors, were still risking their own lives to rescue him.  That is a sad situation, and it cannot be successful spiritually.  Lost people today may think they have a way to save others spiritually, but no matter how hard they try, they will never be successful.  If we, the followers of Christ, do not reach the lost of the world with His message, it is not going to happen.  We need to ensure that we reach out to everyone with God's love, or like Jonah, if we are running from God, we will start to be dependent on the world and put them in danger.  If we do not reach them with the only way to salvation, which is through Christ, then we definitely put them in spiritual danger.  I believe had Jonah simply accepted God's call at this point the ship could have gotten him safely ashore.  Verse fourteen says, Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.  The sailors called out to God.  They may still have not claimed Him as their God, though it seems they likely did, but they recognized Him as the One Who could save them.  They didn't demand, but pleaded with Him for Jonah's sake and that they not be held accountable for his death.  When the lost of the world start to be more concerned for our well being than we are for theirs, then there is something wrong with our obedience to God.  We are to reach the lost and not look for their destruction, even if they hate us.  We are called to God's standard and not the world's standard.

Jonah 1:11 says, Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.  They knew now that Jonah was the problem, but they were still trying to be fair to him.  They could have just killed him, but that might not have solved their problem.  I think they wanted to know what would keep God from destroying them.  If we are running from God as His people, we cannot hope to bring others to salvation.  We may even cause more problems for those around us.  Jonah had not been fair to them by attempting to run and hide from God on their ship.  Verse twelve says, And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.  At least Jonah accepted responsibility for his being the source of the problem.  If we realize today that our running from our relationship with God is causing problems, for those around us and for us, the first thing we must do is accept responsibility.  We cannot reach others with the gospel when we are not following God, and by that very fact, we put them in everlasting danger.  In one respect, Jonah was giving himself up that others might live as did Christ later on.  There was a big difference though.  Jonah was in this position because of his own sins, but Jesus was in the position of giving His life for us because of our sins.  Jonah did not say that he was the problem and jump overboard.  He put himself at their mercy.  If we today, as followers of God, find ourselves in trouble in the world, that does not mean we are to take ourselves out of the world.  We must accept our responsibility and place our earthly fate in the hands of the earthly rules of law.  If we have hurt others, there is no free pass for us to deny responsibility because God has forgiven us.  We are called to a higher standard, not one that excuses us from responsibility to act with concern for the lost of the world.  If we are running from God, our earthly purpose has been sacrificed, so we must first acknowledge this before we can hope to help others.

Jonah 1:10 says, Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.  Jonah may have been asleep, but the men had been battling to save the ship, and now they were truly afraid.  Jonah told them he believed in the one true God, and yet he was running from Him.  They asked him why he had done this.  If he believed in the God Who created the heavens and the earth, where was he going to run to get away from Him.  They also wanted to know why Jonah had involved them.  They had already lost their cargo and were about to lose their ship.  We today may want to believe that our simple act of not doing what God calls us to do affects only us, but if God's people are not obedient to Him, then all those around us, and maybe even some far away, suffer.  We have to realize that not only were those on the ship in danger, but those in Ninevah were still living in danger of destruction.  If we decide not to go where God sends us, or do what God tells us to do, we bear the burden for those not reached.  There may be areas today where we really don't feel that people are worthy of salvation, but we have to remember that no one is worthy of salvation.  It is not based on my worthiness verses anyone else's worthiness, but on everyone's unworthiness.  If we, as God's people begin to believe that we should not reach out to those we don't like, then we endanger all those around us.  Now, there are those who believe that some are destined to be saved and some lost, but I do not believe we would have been commanded to go into all the world making disciples if this were true.  There are none worthy of salvation and guaranteed it, nor are there any doomed without hope of salvation because of who they are.  The only salvation for anyone is through the sacrifice of Christ.  It is up to us, as followers of Christ, to go wherever God sends us and share the gospel.

Jonah 1:9 says, And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.  Jonah identified himself as one of God's people by birth, a Hebrew.  We cannot identify ourselves as God's by nationality.  We can only become His by faith in Christ.  Jonah said he feared the Lord, but not enough to keep him from running from Him.  We today may live in fear of God, but that is not what we are called to do.  We are called to a loving relationship with God as His children.  We aren't called to act out of fear of God punishing us if we don't do what He calls us to do, but to act out of a sincere desire to please Him.  Jonah recognized God as the Creator of all, including the sea they were being tossed about on.  In our storms of life today, we need to understand that we serve an all powerful God.  He will be with us through the storm and keep us safe, whether in this life on earth or its continuation in heaven.  If we, as His followers, are running from Him, though, the consequences may dire here on earth.  Jonah had not stopped being one often God's chosen people, but he had become a disobedient child of God.  Verse ten says,Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.  When the world is going crazy today, we need to ensure that we as God's followers are not the problem.  Those on the ship had called to their gods with no results, but Jonah told them he served the one true God Who could save them.  We today need to acknowledge that we serve the one true God.  As the world calls on their gods to save them, we need to point them to God, in our case, through Christ.  Jonah had told them what he had done, and they asked him why.   When the world is full of storms today, and we as God's followers are running from Him or are spiritually asleep, the world has a right to ask us why.  We are called to reach the world for Christ, and we cannot do this by attempting to separate life into spiritual and secular.  As followers of Christ, all of life is spiritual.

Jonah 1:8 says, Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?  The ship's crew had some faith in the lots, but didn't rush to judgment .  They wanted to know several things about Jonah.   First, they wanted to know the cause of the evil that had come on them.  What evil thing had Jonah done that the gods were after them.  People today want to look for the cause when things go wrong, and as Christians, we need to ensure that we are not the cause.  If God's people are running from Him, then evil will run rampant.  They wanted to know what he did for a living,  where he came from, and what group of people he came from.  They at least were trying to get the facts.  We today need to get the facts in any situation before we act.  If we start to believe we are capable of making the best decisions based only on our own knowledge, without the leadership of God, we will often come to the wrong decision.  One reason they wanted to know Jonah's country and people was to determine what god he might serve.   There are regions of the world today associated with a particular god, and if we find someone from that country in our midst, we may figure that evil is going to follow them.  We must remember that the cause of the tempest on this ship was not those who followed a false god, but Jonah who believed in the One true God, but was running from Him.  If we find the world to seemingly be overcome by evil today, we as followers of Christ must first ask if we are at least part of the problem.  If we are not following the teachings of Christ and are surrendering to the evil in the world instead of working to overcome it, then we are part of the problem.  Once again, we are called to go into the world, not to withdraw from the world.

Jonah 1:6 says, So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.  Jonah was the cause of all their problems, but they had to wake him up to get him involved in trying to save the ship.  When God's people are spiritually asleep today, and the world seems to be coming apart, someone needs to wake us and tell us to call on our God.  Jonah was the only one who knew the true God.  Jonah may have felt that he could sleep because he had outrun God.  Whatever our excuse for being spiritually asleep today, we can be sure that we cannot outrun God, nor hide from Him.  Matthew Henry points out that Jonah should have been rebuking the King of Nineveh, but instead he was being rebuked by the shipmaster.  When we fail to follow God, even the lost of the world will rebuke us.  Our only power comes from God, and if we begin to live by their values without the morality of God, they are going to question how we are different.  We shouldn't need the world to wake us up.  If we are following God, we are already spiritually awake.  Verse seven says, And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.  They had prayed to their gods and had gotten no answers.  Now, they were looking to the casting of lots to reveal the source of their problems.  We see no evidence of Jonah stepping up and acknowledging that he was the problem.  We also see no evidence of his praying to God.  If we today know that we are out of the will of God, we need to acknowledge it it and pray to God for forgiveness.  Jonah was a man called by the heavenly Father, but he wasn't ready to admit that he was the source of the problem.  Each of the others must have felt they weren't the problem, so they were looking at one of the others as the guilty party.  We today can only be sure of our own relationship with God.  Casting lots was a way God's people determined His will at one time, but here it was being used by those who weren't His people.  The truth was still revealed.  Jonah was the source of their problems.  Today, the lost of the world may be quicker to recognize when we a source of problems when we are out of God's will than we are quick to confess it.  God will reveal the truth to us, and we must then confess and ask forgiveness.

Jonah 1:4 says, But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.  Jonah's actions affected not only himself, but also those he was with while he tried to run from God.  They also affected those he was supposed to go witness, or proclaim God's word, to.  We may want to believe if we choose not to obey God, or even attempt to run from God, that it only affects us, but that is not true.  Even if we don't place them in physical danger, we are putting them in spiritual danger.  We cannot effectively witness or even teach others how to follow God if we are running from Him.  God still knew where Jonah was, and He certainly knows where we are as His followers, because the Holy Spirit indwells us.  God sent a mighty tempest to get Jonah's attention.  We may have nothing more than a tempest inside us, but God will let us know when we are running from Him that He is still with us.   Verse five says, Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.  Those mariners on the ship with Jonah were struggling to save the ship.  They were throwing cargo overboard and each calling to their God.  There are people today in the storms of life who are afraid and calling out to a god to save them.  They sometimes have to leave everything just to save their life.  Where was Jonah while all this was happening?  He was in the ship, fast asleep.  Jonah had no concern for the people of Nineveh, and he at this point had no concern for those he had put in danger.  The question for us today, as followers of Christ, is are we asleep as those around us are in danger of losing everything they have as they cry out to false gods?  Jonah had the answer to save those on the ship, but he was asleep.  We have the answer to save the lost of the world, so we need to wake up and spread the gospel.  If we don't, we leave the lost searching in vain for the answer to how to be saved.

Jonah 1:3 says, But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.  Jonah had been called by God to go and witness, but he chose to attempt to run from God.  He didn't just say no, but he went to a lot of effort and at least some expense to get away from doing God's will.  If we today know that God is calling us to a specific task and we attempt to run from His calling, it is going to cost us.  It may not cost us materially, but it will cost us spiritually.  Again, we will still be God's child, but we will lose the joy of that relationship.  Jonah was actively trying to separate himself from God.  I'm not sure why he chose Tarshish, except it was away from the direction of where God wanted him to go.  Matthew Henry says it may have been the first ship he could get passage on or he may have had friends there, but for whatever reason, he chose Tarshish, he was trying to run from God.  Where do we go today if we attempt to run or hide from God?  We may not physically go anywhere, but we may run spiritually.  It is possible to be sitting in the church building and running from God.  Just as Jonah was to discover that there was no place to successfully hide from God, if we are His followers,  no matter how quickly or how far we run He will always be with us.  We cannot follow God if we don't let Him lead us.  When we know what He wants us to do, there is no reason to delay.  We need to go quickly to do His bidding and not quickly to run away.  Jonah was willing to go and pay the expense of going, but he wanted to go his way instead of God's way.  We need to be careful that we do not do the same thing.

I will next be looking at what the book of Jonah has to teach us as followers of Christ.  Jonah 1:1 says, Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,  We need first to realize that Jonah recognized God's voice.  We as His followers today must recognize God's voice if we are to serve Him.  There is a lot of noise and confusion in the world today.  People tell us and promise us many things that may sound appealing, but first we must listen for what God tells us before we act on any other call to action.  Jonah was identified as a specific person, and God identifies us today specifically and individually.  He knows each of us from our beginning to who we are now.  We are born to be a part of His plan.  Again, we still determine if we will follow God or not, but we do have a purpose when we are born, and especially when we are reborn.  In verse two God said to Jonah, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me."  God specified Jonah's mission.  He did not leave Jonah guessing as to what He was to do.  I don't believe that God leaves us guessing today.  First Jonah was told to arise.  We may know God's will for us today, but in order to do it, we must first arise.  Jonah was told where he was to go and why.  We, as followers of Christ, have already been told where we are to go and why.  We are to go into all the world and make disciples, because the wickedness of the world has come up to God.  Again, when we think of the evil in the world today, we need to realize that it is nothing new.  When we see all the ethnic wars today, we can simply look back to Nazi Germany to see that it is nothing new.  God sends us to cry out against evil.  We are called as individuals to be a part of the overall mission, reaching the world with the gospel, and it is up to us how we respond, just as it was for Jonah.

I will examine one more area before moving to a new book, and that is the second coming of Christ.  When Peter asked Jesus about what was going to happen to John, Jesus said if John tarried until He came, what that was to Peter.   Jesus's then said "Come, follow Me."   As I stated earlier, many of the early Christians were sure Jesus would return in their lifetime, but their call was not to watch and wait, but to follow.  In every generation since, some have felt certain that Christ's return would be soon.  Many Christians today are certain the second coming is to happen in their lifetime.  What we do know is that we are told that He will come as a thief in the night, when least expected, and that Jesus Himself does not know when this will be, but only the Father.  We are given signs that the second coming is approaching, but are told that the signs do not mean that it is now.  For the Christian, for us as followers of Christ, the second coming is a glorious thing, but for the lost it is an everlasting death sentence.  Selfishly, we may want Christ to return, but we need to pray that He will tarry for those who are lost to be saved.  We are told that there is one thing that must occur before Christ returns again, and that is that the gospel must be spread to all the world.  It is possible that at some point in history this has happened everywhere, but I cannot say for sure.  I can say that we, as followers of Christ, should be spreading the gospel, and more so if we feel that the second coming is getting closer, as indeed it is every day.  We are not called to sit and interpret signs, but to follow Christ and reach the lost world.  I believe we need to look to the second coming not from the point of our own release from the troubles of this world, but from the view of those who are lost.  As long as Jesus tarries, we are simply to follow Him.  He came to seek and save those who were lost, and we must carry that message to the lost world today.  We cannot view it as bad people getting what they deserve, but as lost people being lost forever.  If we lose our compassion for all lost people and want only what is best for us, then we are not living by what Christ taught.

Continuing with the summary of John, we need to realize what a call to follow Jesus means.  The disciples were called away from the life they knew to follow Jesus wherever He led them.  Though we may not be called away from our life physically, we are called away spiritually.  Our faith and hope cannot be in this world or the things of this world.  If we begin to see God as a way to bigger and better things, I believe we are missing the true teaching of Christianity.  The disciples relied on Jesus to meet their daily needs, but not to make them rich.  They may have thought that was what was going to happen, but Jesus always corrected them.  He came to suffer and die, and the servant is no greater than the Master.  We are called to be servants.  Jesus did not attempt to destroy His enemies, but He continued to love them, even from the cross.  We as His followers cannot promote hatred, even to those who hate and would destroy us.  On the cross, Jesus did not ask the Father to avenge His death, but to forgive those who crucified Him.  The Jews saw themselves as morally superior to the rest of the world simply because they were born as Jews.  Jesus taught that all are equally valuable.  The Jews were chosen to be God's people, not because they were great in the eyes of the world, but because of faith.  They continually failed God, and too often we as His followers do today.  When a tragedy happens here in America, we become angry and want revenge.  When something worse happens elsewhere in the world, we think they deserved it.  This is not what Jesus taught.  I don't profess to have all the answers, but if we, as followers of Christ, live by the same rules as the lost world, something is wrong.  Morality has to matter in all of life, not just part of the time set aside for God.

I think today I will do a brief review of some of the things John taught us about being a follower of Christ.  We must first acknowledge the eternal nature of Jesus.  He did not come into existence at His conception, as we do.  He was there at the creation of the world.  I almost said He came into existence in His human form at birth, but it is clear that He was in existence in human form nine months prior to that.  In Mary's situation, today many women might feel that His conception was inconvenient and He might never have the chance to be born.  I believe the Bible teaches us that human life starts at conception.  We also learned that Jesus was always obedient to the heavenly Father.  He did not look for what would be easiest or bring Him the most glory.  We are called to do the same as His followers.  We do not become children of God to extol our own virtues, but to follow the will of the Father in humble obedience.  This is the example that Jesus set for us.  Jesus called disciples to follow Him.  One , Judas, betrayed Him and was never restored.  One, Peter, showed great faith, but denied Jesus in a crisis, but repented and was restored.  One, Peter,was a true follower and one, Judas, wasn't.  If we are truly His followers, we will never stop being His.  We will fail at times, some more than others, but we are still His.  We are born again.  There is a difference between being a good person and a born in again believer.  We cannot restore ourselves, but must go to Jesus for forgiveness and restoration.  The disciples were called to follow Jesus first and put everything else second, and so are we.  They were to reach the world with the gospel, and we are to also.  They were to nurture fellow believers, and so are we.  Following Jesus is a lifelong calling, not a situational one.  We cannot separate life into secular and religious as His followers.  Everything we do must be to glorify God.

John 21:23 says, Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die; yet, Jesus said not unto them, he shall not die; but, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?"  The brethren were spreading the words of Christ incorrectly.  They misinterpreted what Jesus said to conform to what they wanted to believe.  Many early Christians thought Jesus would return in their lifetime.  There are those today who base their beliefs on misinterpreting what the Bible says.  One aspect has to do with the second coming, which the brethren in that day were looking to also.  Nearly every generation of believers has felt that Jesus's return was imminent.  The world of the early Christians was an evil place, and it has remained so every since.  John corrected them by stating what Jesus really said.  We need to base our understanding on what the Bible actually says, not on what tradition may teach.  As for the second coming, we are not to make it the focus of our hope.  Spreading the gospel is our calling and there are fields white with harvest.  We need to be busy witnessing, realizing that when Christ returns, those without Him are lost forever.  Verse twenty four says, This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.  John did tarry longer than most of the disciples, and he recorded his time with Christ so we would have an accurate record of that time.  There are those today who say they have additional scripture, but those writings contain things that Jesus never taught.  Some today only believe the Old Testament to be scripture, while others want to discredit the Old Testament and follow only the New Testament.  We as followers of Christ must believe the whole Bible to be true.  Verse twenty five says, And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.  Amen.  We have recorded what we need to know in order to follow Christ.  Though many other things could have been written, like what He looked like, these are unnecessary for salvation.  We simply have to believe what is recorded.

John 21:20 says, Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also laid on His breast at the supper, and said, "Lord, which is He which betrayeth Thee?"  Peter realized that John was still following them.  John was the one that Jesus had told who was going to betray Jesus, after Peter had asked John to ask Jesus.  Matthew Henry says Peter may have looked to John because Peter was now in the position closest to Jesus.  We need to be concerned not only with our own relationship with God, but that of all believers.  We are not to judge, but we are to look and see if they are following.  John was.  Verse twenty one says, Peter seeing him saith to Jesus,"Lord, and what what shall this man do."  I don't believe Peter was asking out of jealousy, but just out of concern.  He had at least temporarily taken his eyes of Jesus.  Matthew Henry says even the best Christians can become distracted by other things, but we must try to keep our focus on God through everything.  We need to concentrate on what God has called us to do without being overly concerned with what others are called to do.  Verse twenty two says, Jesus saith unto him, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?  Follow thou Me."  Again, our concern should be following Jesus.  John did not die as a martyr, but as an old man.  He was not promised that he would live until the second coming, but God did come for him through death.  Sometimes today we may wonder why someone died so young and at times violently while faithfully serving Christ, and yet others live to old age in relative peace.  What we need to do is remember our calling, "Follow thou Me."  Those followers who die young and those who live until they are old both go home to God.  We simply need to keep our focus on Jesus.

In John 21:18 Jesus said, "Verily, Verily I say unto thee, when thou wast young, Thou girdedst thyself, and walkest whether thou wouldest; but when thou shalt be old, Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and take thee whether thou wouldest not."  Peter was bold in his actions, but there was coming a time when he would find himself in the hands of guards.  We today may speak of how strong we are in the faith, but God warns us we may find ourselves in the hands of the powers of the world.  Verse nineteen says, This He spake, signifying by what death he should glorify God.  And when He had spoken this, He saith unto him, "Follow Me."  Three times Jesus had asked Peter if he loved Him and had instructed him to feed His flock after he said he did.  Now, Jesus was telling Peter what the cost would be.  Ultimately, Peter would be executed for his faith in Christ.  Having been fore warned of the cost, Jesus once again issued His original call to Peter, "Follow Me."  We today need to ask what kind of death we will have to glorify God.  We may live a long and prosperous life, but at the end, the question will be whether at our death we glorify God.  We, as followers of Christ, must realize that this life is temporary, no matter how long we live.  So, while we have the strength and agility, we must be spreading the gospel.  We, like Peter, know we could be killed for our faith in Christ, but we must still simply follow Jesus.  If we do, no matter how we die, our death will glorify God.

John 21:15 says, So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?"  He saith unto Him, "Yea, Lord, Thou knowest I love Thee."  And He saith unto him, "Feed My lambs."  After their physical need was satisfied, Jesus began to address Peter, but He did not address him as Peter, but as Simon, son of Jonas.  Peter's faith had not proven to be very rock like, so Jesus addressed him as He had originally met him.  I can only wonder how Peter was feeling as he was again in the presence of Jesus, though this time it was a resurrected Jesus.  Peter was not moving away now, though, but was staying with Jesus.  Jesus asked if Peter loved Him more than these.  Our love of Christ must be greater than our love of anyone or anything else.  Peter answered that Jesus knew he loved Him, even if his actions hadn't shown it.  If we fail in our relationship to Christ, that does not mean we don't love Him still. It only means we need restoration.  Jesus then told Peter to feed His lambs.  Peter was to bring the lost to Christ, and they would be as lambs, needing nurturing.  Jesus was now again entrusting Peter with this task.  Verse sixteen says, He said unto him a second time, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?"  He saith unto Him, "Yea, Lord, knowest that I love thee."  He saith unto him, "Feed My sheep."  The question was not exactly the same, but it still dealt with how Peter felt about Jesus.  I don't think Jesus was attempting to make Peter feel bad, but simply was getting him to examine his love for Jesus.  When we fail, God does not come at us to punish us, but calls us to examine our love for Him.  Jesus had not forsaken Peter, but was calling him to a recommitment to his calling.  Verse seventeen says, He saith unto him a third time, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?"  Peter was grieved because He said unto him a third time, "Lovest thou Me?" And he said unto Him, Lord, "Thou knowest all things, and Thou knowest I love Thee."  Jesus saith unto him, "Feed My sheep."  Peter was grieved, but I believe Jesus was also when Peter denied Him.  We may profess a love for God, but we need to realize that God knows all things.  Though Peter had denied Jesus at the cross, he now submitted to Him again as Lord and told Him that He knew that was true.  We can never fool God, but when we as His followers fail Him, we can certain that He waits to welcome us back and to have us continue to feed His sheep.

John 21:12 says, Jesus saith unto them, "Come and dine."  And none of the disciples durst ask, "Who art thou," for they knew it was the Lord.  That invitation meant two things at least.  One was to have their hunger satisfied after fishing all night.  The other was to fellowship with Jesus and each other.  As His followers, Jesus gives us the same invitation today.  We come to Him to have our needs met, but more importantly to fellowship with Him and each other.  When He offered the invitation, the disciples did not have to question Who Jesus was.  They knew it was Jesus and He was the Lord.  When God calls to us today, we must recognize the same thing.  He is the Lord.  Verse thirteen says,  Jesus then cometh, and taketh the bread, and giveth them, and the fish likewise.  They had just recognized Jesus as Lord, but He was still serving them and meeting their needs.  We today need to have that same servant attitude as we serve God.  We are not better than those we witness to.  We are simply forgiven.  We certainly are not better than other believers even if we feel that they have sinned more greatly than we have.  Jesus, even after His resurrection, was willing to be a servant to His disciples, and we should be likewise.  Verse fourteen says, This was now the third time that Jesus showed Himself to His disciples, after He was  risen from the dead.  Jesus did not just appear once to His disciples and then go away.  He had appeared to others, like Many Magdalene, but this was His third appearance to a group of His disciples.  They were to be the main ones to begin the spreading of the gospel, and Jesus was ensuring they knew the truth of His resurrection.  God will never leave us confused about the reality of the resurrection of Christ if we are His followers.  Salvation through Christ alone is the only way, and we must always present this truth to the world.

John 21:10 says, Jesus saith unto them, "Bring the fish which ye have now caught."  We notice again that Jesus had not needed their fish in order to feed them, but He did ask them to bring their catch to Him.  We today are promised that as His followers our needs will be met, but we still need to bring everything we have to God.  I personally believe that the idea that ten percent is God's and the rest is ours to do with as we please is wrong.  We are to bring everything to God, and after He meets our needs, we are to pray that He will direct us on how to use the other ninety percent.  Again, my personal belief, I don't believe that God expects us to live in abundance while others go hungry.  Verse eleven says, Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land, full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was the net not broken.  Peter had left the ship to get to Jesus, but he was quick to do what Jesus instructed them to do.  Matthew Henry says that this order to bring the fish was to teach them that blessings were not to be buried and laid up, but to be used and laid out.  They had been unable to bring the net in until they were working under the command of Jesus.  We today may be struggling to accomplish things in life because we are working under our own power instead of the power of God.  We must allow God to be in control of everything we do.  We are called to be fishers of men but if we are struggling with empty or broken nets, as the disciples struggled and failed to catch anything before being directed by Jesus, we need to make sure we are following His command.  When we do, we may start to have an abundance of souls being saved.  God has promised to provide for our needs, not our wants, and we need to bring everything we are blessed with to Him.

John 21:8 says, And the other disciples came in a little ship;  (they were not far from land, as it were two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fishes.  We cannot say that all should have done as Peter and abandoned the ship to get to Jesus.  We need to remember that Jesus was the one Who told them where to cast their nets.  John was the first to recognize Jesus, but He stayed on the boat.  Those who remained on the boat could not condemn Peter, because he was simply going to Jesus.  Sometimes people today do things that seemingly leave all the hard work for others to do, but if they are truly doing it for God, they are to be commended by those still dealing with the net and fishes, as it were.  Not everyone serves God the same way and not everyone is noted the same way.  The other disciples that stayed on the boat are not mentioned again by name as was Peter, but that doesn't mean they were less committed to Jesus.  Verse nine says, As soon as they were come then to land, they saw a fire of coals, and fish laid thereon, and bread.  They had not brought their catch to Jesus yet, but He already had a meal prepared for them.  I believe that it is important that we bring to God all that we can to advance His kingdom, but He will meet our needs even if we come empty handed.  God will provide, and even if in this world we go hungry or suffer for His sake, we can rest assured of His everlasting provisions.  All we can bring to God is our self.  We never need to feel jealous of the Peters of the world.  Those who are well known by the world for their service to God are no more important to Him than those who are never noticed.  Jesus did not say for Peter to come first, nor for the others.  The provision was for all equally.

John 21:6 says, And He said unto them, "Cast the net on the right side, and ye shall find.  They cast therefore, and now they were unable to draw it in for the multitude of fishes.  The disciples still had not recognized Jesus, but they were willing to listen to what He said.  They had failed on their own, but hadn't totally given up.  We need to listen to others at times today when were are feeling defeated, but we ultimately do need to ensure that the advice we heed is from God.  The Holy Spirit will enable us to know what is from God.  When the disciples did what Jesus told them to do, even though they didn't recognize Him, they had an over abundant success.  There may be times when God gives us great blessings that we aren't even aware are from Him to start with.  The disciples had left all to follow Jesus, and He was there to meet their needs.  We need not worry that God will ever desert us.  Verse seven says, Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved, saith unto Peter "It is the Lord."  Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, He girt his fishers coat unto him, (for he was naked), and cast himself into the sea.   John recognized Jesus first, and he told Peter.  John was quicker to recognize Jesus, but was slower to try to reach Him.  When we recognize Jesus, and know it is truly Him, we should tell others.  Peter was always quick to act.  He did not ask Jesus to bid him to come to Him, but again left a boat to get to Jesus.  We must at times leave all that seems secure to us and simply go to Jesus.  He is our only real source of strength and safety.  Peter wasn't going to wait for a more convenient time.  He was going to Jesus.  Peter abandoned all else to get to Jesus, possibly because he had earlier abandoned Jesus to save all else.  He needed restoration with Jesus.  If we find we have abandoned God in any way, our first priority must be getting back to Him and being restored.  Peter had not stopped being a disciple in the eyes of Jesus, but he did need to be restored in his own eyes.  We do not cease to be saved if we fail God, but we must come to Him to be restored to what we should be as His followers.

John 21:4 says, But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.  The disciples had been fishing all night.  They had caught nothing, which had to add to their frustration.  Though they had seen the empty tomb, and Jesus had appeared to them after the resurrection, they were seemingly still at a loss as to what they should do next, and weren't even successful at what at least some of them had done before.  They were no longer looking for Jesus, but He was there on the shore.  When we are in doubt about what to do next, we need to look to God for direction.  Verse five says, Then Jesus saith unto them, "Children, have ye any meat?"   And they answered Him, "No."  These were grown men, but they were followers of Jesus and children of God.  As His followers, when God calls to us, it as His children, not as anything we were before.  He will not leave us in doubt and confusion if we only listen to Him.  Jesus asked if they had caught anything.  When we are off, doing our own thing, God is always going to be questioning us about how successful we are by going our own way.  There is always going to be a sense of a lack of fulfillment when we are not looking to God for direction.  We cannot follow God as we should if our focus is on the world.  It must have been even more frustrating for the disciples to have to admit their failure even at fishing.  There was nothing sinful about fishing, except it wasn't what Jesus had called them to do, and they were doing it by their own design.  There are many things today that are not sinful, but if we are doing them without God's leadership then they are wrong.  We must do everything under His leadership if we are to be faithful followers.

John 21:3 says, Simon Peter saith unto them, "I go a fishing."  They say unto him, "We also go with thee."  They went forth and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.  A lot had happened in a few days in the lives of the disciples, and though they were gathering together, they didn't seem to be doing much else.  Sometimes, life can get to be a little overwhelming for us, and when it does, what do we do?  Gathering together as Christians is a good start, but we must be ready to move forward in our service to God.  We cannot allow conditions in the world to dictate our serving God.  Peter chose to go back to what he had done before he met Jesus.  He was going fishing, which is what Jesus had called him away from.  When we are seemingly overwhelmed by the world as followers of Christ, it might be comforting to just go back to everyday life and forget what we are called for, but it is not the answer.  Peter and the disciples had a new calling.  The were to be fishers of men.  We have that same calling.  Our primary purpose as Christians is to present the gospel.  That does not mean that we don't have other jobs, but if God calls us away from a particular job in order to serve Him, we need not run back to it when things aren't going as we hoped.  Peter had made his living as a fisherman, but that night they caught nothing.  He had to have been even more frustrated.  When we attempt to go back to what we were before we met Jesus, we can never be fully satisfied, even if we are successful in the eyes of the world.  Peter and the disciples had a new calling, which was to come and follow Jesus.  That is our calling today.  Even in our most stressing moments of feeling defeated, we must follow His calling.  We will find satisfaction no where else.

John 21:1 says, After these things, Jesus shewed Himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias;  and on this wise shewed He Himself.  The disciples were no longer locked away, but were out in the world again.  That is where God expects His people to be.  Yes, we need to gather together at times, but we are commissioned to go into the world.  We cannot win the lost by withdrawing from the world.  We can be assured that when we are in the world, God is with us.  The Holy Spirit indwells all believers, and to borrow from a commercial, we never leave home without Him.  Verse two says, There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of His disciples.  Seven of the eleven remaining disciples were there.  Peter, who was always quick to act, was one.  Thomas, who was prone to doubt was another.  Two were not named, but were there still identifying with the others .  Four were not there, so they missed this meeting with Jesus.  No matter how we may have failed as His followers, God does not abandon us.  Peter had denied Jesus and Thomas had doubted His resurrection, but He had not abandoned them.  We are all different in nature.  Some of us are act quickly and boldly as Peter usually did and some are more questioning as Thomas was, but God is there for all of us.  When we fail, as we will, we do not need to live in despair.  God is still with us, to forgive and strengthen us.  The disciples accepted Peter and Thomas as still being fellow disciples.  When someone fails as a Christian, and asks God for forgiveness, we need to accept them without judgment or reservation.  When someone is restored, that person is fully restored.  We cannot feel that we are better than them.  The world may hold their actions against them, but God washes away all sin.  Jesus came to them while they were going about life, and the Holy Spirit does the same with us today.  He is with us always.

In John 20:30,says, And many other signs truly did Jesus do in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book.  John was not giving us a detailed, minute by minute account of the life of Jesus, either before His crucifixion or after His resurrection.  Verse thirty one says, But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through His name.  We do not study the Bible because it is good literature or good history or science.  We study the Bible to learn about God and His Son Jesus Christ that we might have life through Christ.  Once we have that life through Him, we study the Bible to learn how to relate to the world under the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus did not have a long ministry nor a long life, but if every event had been recorded, the book would have been several volumes long.  What is recorded is all that we need to know to understand Jesus in relationship to God the Father and to mankind.  There have been those who have sought to prove that Jesus was a historical figure to make it easier for people to believe in Him.  We have all the proof we need in this Book called the Bible.  It is a record of God's revelation of Himself to mankind and His calling of mankind into a personal relationship with Him, which will ultimately culminate with each person in God's presence forever or separated from Him forever through Christ.  What Jesus did for the eight days between visits to the disciples has no bearing on salvation.  If we needed to know every detail of the life of Jesus to be saved, it would have been recorded for us.  John said that what was written was what we needed to know so that we could believe in Jesus and have salvation.  All we really must know is Jesus Christ, crucified, resurrected, and Lord, and we accept this by faith alone.  We may demand a sign, but ultimately we must accept in faith by the sign of the cross.

John 20:26 says, And after eight days again were His disciples within, and Thomas was with them: then came Jesus, the door being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace be unto you."  Eight days had passed since Jesus first appeared to the discoples.  We are not told what they had been doing for these eight days, but imagine how Thomas must have felt for that period of time.  He had said he would not believe until he had physical proof.  I wonder how often we spend days in doubt waiting for physical proof from God instead of just moving ahead in faith.  Jesus once again offered them peace.  When we stop living by sight and start living by faith, we will find peace.  The events of those few days had not changed, but Jesus offered the prospective of peace through belief in Him.  We often cannot change our circumstances, but we can change the way we deal with them through faith in God. Verse twenty seven says, Then He saith to Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger and behold My hands, and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing."  Thomas had said he needed physical proof, and Jesus offered it, but with a call to faith and belief.  Physical proof without faith and belief in God is not enough, nor will it ever satisfy our needs.  Through faith alone can we truly believe God.  Verse twenty eight says, And Thomas said unto Him, "My Lord and my God."  Jesus was offering Thomas the physical proof that he said he had to have.  There is no evidence that Thomas actually touched Jesus's hands and side, but instead finally accepted Him by faith.  Jesus was no longer a defeated man to Thomas, but a resurrected Lord.  Verse twenty nine says, Jesus saith unto him, "Thomas, because thou has seen, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed."  I think we can apply that same statement to our faith today.  If we only believe what God tells us if we see proof we think we need in order to believe, we miss the blessing of just believing no matter what.

John 20:24 says, But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.  We are not told where he was, but he did not see the risen Jesus. The other disciples were gathered together, but Thomas was absent.  Though we cannot always be together with all Christians, we may miss a real blessing when we fail to gather with others.  Verse twenty five says, The other disciples said therefore unto him, "We have seen the Lord."  But he said unto them, "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my fingers into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe."  Thomas was a skeptical man.  He evidently had not listened when Jesus had said He would rise again on the third day, or didn't fully believe Him.  There are people today who hear the gospel, some who have grown up in Christian families and studying the Bible who are skeptical of the truth that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected the third day, if at all.  They look for physical proof, but it comes only by faith to believe the gospel.  He did not believe his fellow disciples report.  When people today doubt the truth of the Bible, they are going to be inclined to not believe the testamony of Christians.  Again, until someone comes to a personal knowledge of Christ as Savior, they are not going to accept someone else's word for it.  Thomas said he needed physical proof he could verify for himself.  If we demand physical proof of the truth of salvation, we are going to miss that truth.  We can only come by faith.  Thomas was one of the twelve closest to Jesus, and he did not yet understand Who Jesus really was.  Being close to those who are closest to God today doesn't mean we understand Who Jesus is.  People can be like the other disciples were with Thomas and tell us that they have seen the truth of the gospel, but we may still demand physical proof. Yet ultimately, we must simply accept by faith.