The Reason Why I Praise Pt.2: Love Lifted Me

The Reason Why I Praise Pt.2

Love Lifted Me

Jonah 2:1-10, “Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. 3 For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ 5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. 6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God. 7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. 8 “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.” 10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”

Jonah 3:1-2, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”

I. Introduction
Scripture Reference:
James 4:8(a), “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

II. The Consequences of Your Disobedience
A. This affliction was caused by your actions

1. The deeds of disobedience took you deeper than you anticipated

III. The Consciousness of Your Decision
A. The distance caused me to long for God’s closeness

           1. Psalm 22:1, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so  far from helping Me, and from      the words of My groaning?”

1. I was bound, but He brought me out

   1. Psalm 40:1-2, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.”

IV. The Commitment Led to Deliverance vs. 7
A. My prayers produced results
1. James 5:16, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

1. 1 John 5:14-15, “14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
2. This time, I said yes
3. Salvation is of the Lord

V. God Has Remembered You
1. The Lord was with you even when you went through it

2. Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.”

1. Your displacement didn’t destroy you

VI. God Has Responded to You Jonah 3:1-2
1. Mercy came to give me a second chance

1. Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”
2. Hebrews 4:16, “Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

VII. God Has Restored You
1. You have been forgiven and favored

2. Joel 2:25-27, “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, The consuming locust, and the chewing locust, my great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.”

1. You’ve been set up for a set time:
2. Love Lifted Me
3. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to [a]buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.