The God of Terror or the God of Grace 

Jonah 1:4-16 (NIV)

Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.  
      But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. ⁶ The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish."  

⁷ Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.  

⁸ So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?"  

⁹ He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."  

¹⁰ This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)  

¹¹ The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"  

¹² "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."  

¹³ Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. ¹⁴ Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." ¹⁵ Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. ¹⁶ At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.  

1. Every human being has deep religious and spiritual longings but most of these longings are distorted and driven by fear and terror

Jonah 1:5 (NIV)

     All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. 

Romans 1:20 (NIV)

     For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 

All our religious expressions are essentially religions of fear, if grace is not central 

Jonah 1:14 (NIV)

     Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." 

The natural tendency of the human heart is to know that there is a God but a God we cannot really trust 

The test for whether we have a religion of terror and fear: what happens to our relationship with God after we get out of trouble? 

What is the prayer of terror: God, I will come to You only if I can use You 

The prayer of faith – God, if You loved me enough to exit heaven and die for me, I can fully surrender and trust You to lead every area of my life for You 

2. We are to use our faith and the Gospel of Grace for the public good and for the benefit of others

Jonah 1:6 (NKJV)

     So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” 

Why we are powerless in the world – because we are absorbed in ourselves and because we are not using the resources of our faith to bless others 

3. While the Gospel of grace is transforming you, be self-forgetful enough to impact the lives of the people around you by faith

Jonah 1:14-16 (NIV)

      Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." ¹⁵ Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. ¹⁶ At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.