S.O.S. – Sitting On Salvation
Jonah 2nd Chapter
9 But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will
sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the
LORD." 10 And the LORD commanded the fish, and
it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Here’s a good question for the people of God : "Who was the last person
you witnessed to?" So often we "sit" on our salvation instead of
sharing it with others. One example of a person who sat on his salvation was
Jonah.
Now we know Jonah had to have had a relationship with the Lord for two
reasons: (1) The Lord was speaking to him on a regular basis and (2) The Lord
commissioned Jonah to do His work. After the Lord told Jonah to go to Nineveh
to "cry against the city " (speak the Lord’s word), Jonah chose to
get in a boat and go to another city, Tarshish. The 1st chapter, 3rd
verse states Jonah’s choice best : "But Jonah rose up to flee unto
Tarshish FROM the presence of the LORD."
Well as the story goes, during Jonah’s trip, a storm arose, and the other
men on the boat were desperate to survive it. They each fearfully cried to
their gods to calm the storm, but that did not work. They even cast equipment
and other valuable items overboard, but that didn’t work. Finally, they
confronted Jonah and he told them the entire scenario. He also told them that
they had to cast him overboard for the sea to be calmed. Eventually they did
just that, and Jonah ended up in the belly of a great fish for three days and
three nights.
Many of us are just like Jonah. The Lord has told us to minister to someone
or to minister somewhere, but we chose another route. Now let’s not get cute
here! It’s no wonder so much hell is bustin’ out in offices, homes and schools.
God’s people aren’t putting enough heaven into them. You see if we "S.O.S.
– sit on salvation," we will wind up like Jonah… CALLING OUT
"S.O.S. – Some One Save me."
If Jonah would have gone where he was supposed to go, he would not have
endangered himself or the men on the ship. And he surely wouldn’t have ended up
in the belly of a fish. In the end; however, Jonah’s rebellion did lead to two
things. (1) His repentance and (2) his rescue. The first thing Jonah had to do
was repent —- TURN from his ways. Now many associate this term with simply
saying " I’m sorry. " However, if Jonah’s repentance would have been
from his mouth only and not from his heart, he’d still be in that fish. The
Lord knows our hearts, so he knew that Jonah was sincere; therefore, Jonah
received his rescue/salvation when he professed it.
Often times, we are stuck on the "repentance" step because after
repenting we know that we really want to go back to "sitting" and not
to changing. And we know that old excuse all too well, "Child, you know
I’m set in my ways." To put it point blank, if you want the Lord to
deliver you, you have got to stop sitting on your salvation and start walking
in it. The power of salvation is endless . If we choose to follow the Lord’s
way and not our own, we will find our deliverance from tribulations and WALK
right into the manifestations God has for us.
Last week we shared with you, "We are going His way —— the High
Way!!!" We no longer choose a low standard of excellence; instead, we
press toward the mark of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus. We will no
longer go around and around and around with the same old problems satan throws
at us day in and day out, all because we were "sitting" on our
deliverance and not doing what the Lord told us to do . But today, not in the
mo’nin’, but today, we will walk in this victory Jesus paid the price for. So
we shout with triumph because we choose to no longer Sit and Spin; instead we
choose to Walk and Win!!