不情願的先知
When Rochelle and I came back from USA almost 24 years ago, she was pregnant with Harrison. And so came back with bunch of stuff for babies and toddlers. Among stuff, were couple of cloth books for babies with handful Bible stories. Each had 5 or 6 – classics like David and Goliath, and Daniel in Lion’s Den – even people not in church often heard of them. And one of them had classic story Jonah and whale.
大约 24 年前，当罗谢尔和我从美国回来时，她已经怀上了哈里森。所以回来时我们带了一堆婴儿和儿童的东西。在这些东西中，有几本为婴儿准备的布制书，上面有圣经故事。每本都有 5 到 6个，如《大卫与歌利亚》和《但以理在狮穴》这样的经典故事，即使是不来教会的人，也常听说过这些故事。其中一本就有《约拿和鲸鱼》的故事。
The Reluctant Prophet – Jonah 1:1-3
不情愿的先知（约拿书 1：1-3）
Jonah’s story found in least known part of Bible – call it Minor Prophets. These writings of 12 prophets of God to nation of Israel over 300-400 years.
约拿的故事记载于于圣经中最不为人知的部分，我们称为小先知书。这些篇幅是上帝的 12 位先知在 300-400 年间写给以色列国的文字。
The Minor Prophets
Hosea, Nahum, Joel, Habakkuk, Amos, Zephaniah, Obadiah, Haggai, Jonah, Zechariah, Micah, Malachi
小先知书
何西阿书、约珥书、阿摩司书、俄巴底亚书、约拿书、弥迦书、那鸿书、哈巴谷书、西番雅书哈该书、撒迦利亚书、玛拉基书
The irony is that most of us don’t really read these writings too often, and 11 out 12 aren’t well known at all. Apart from Jonah. He’s the one “minor prophet” that we think we know well.
具有讽刺意味的是，我们大多数人并不经常阅读这些小先知书，而且 12 部著作中有 11 部根本不为人所知。除了约拿之外，他是我们认为自己很了解的一位 "小先知"。
Today, we start a new 6-week series in the book of Jonah. And part of reason is that my belief is that while we think we know Jonah’s well, I think the vast majority of people have missed the key messages of the book. So, what does Jonah’s story have to say to us, today?
今天，我们开始一个新的为期 6 周的约拿书讲道系列。其中一个原因是，虽然我们认为我们很了解约拿，但我认为绝大多数人都错过了这本书的关键信息。 那么，约拿的故事对我们有什么启示呢？
This morning I just want to dive into the opening 3 verses and set the scene for the coming weeks. The book begins this way in Jonah 1:1.
今天上午，我只想深入探讨开头的三节经文，为未来几周的讲道信息做个铺垫。这本书的开头是这样的：
The word of Yahweh came to Jonah son of Amittai. Jonah 1:1
耶和华的话临到亚米太的儿子约拿，说：（约拿书 1：1）
Now this is a pretty standard beginning for one of the prophets in the OT – a number of them start the same way. Introduces us to main character – Jonah – and immediately tells us that he was a prophet or spokesman for Yahweh, the God of Israel.
这是旧约先知书非常标准的开头，许多先知书都是这样开始的。开头向我们介绍这本书的主要人物，约拿，紧接着告诉我们他是耶和华、以色列神的先知或代言人。
And that’s verified by the only other reference to Jonah in the OT outside of his book:
这一点在约拿书之外，旧约中唯一提到约拿的地方得到了验证：
[Jeroboam II] was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher. 2 Kings 14:25
（耶罗波安二世）收复以色列的边境，从哈马口直到亚拉巴海，正如耶和华以色列的 神的话，就是借着他的仆人迦特希弗人亚米太的儿子约拿先知所说的。（王下十四 25）
At this point in the biblical story, the nation of Israel was divided into two kingdoms – Judah in the south and Israel in the north. And while the southern kingdom continued to be ruled by the descendants of the great king David, the northern kingdom had a series of dynasties and assassinations. Jeroboam II, however, was probably their most successful king. And Jonah, it seems, was hand-picked by God to deliver an encouraging message that He was going to bless Jeroboam and expand Israel’s borders.
在圣经故事里的那个时侯，以色列国被分为两个王国，南方的犹大和北方的以色列。南方的王国继续由大卫王的后裔统治，北方的王国则发生了一系列的朝代更替和暗杀事件。然而，耶罗波安二世可能是北国最成功的国王。约拿，似乎是上帝亲自挑选的，来传递一个鼓舞人心的信息，即祂将祝福耶罗波安二世并扩大以色列的边界。
So this was pretty sweet. Other prophets like Amos and Hosea were preaching around the same time, and God gave them pretty harsh messages to share. But Jonah was given a message of encouragement. He seems to have had it pretty sweet. In fact, best-selling author Priscilla Shirer writes:
这是非常好的处境。其他先知如阿摩司和何西阿在同一时期传道，上帝给了他们相当严厉的信息来分享。但约拿得到的是鼓励的信息，他似乎得到了很好的待遇。事实上，畅销书作家普里西拉西勒写道：
Most likely, therefore, he was popular, highly respected, and greatly appreciated in his role…
He was living the prophet’s dream. And he was more than content for things to keep on going the way
they’d always gone, the way he had planned and fully expected they would. He was living for God,
doing His work, and doing it well. Priscilla Shirer
最有可能的是，他很受欢迎，受到高度尊重，并在他的角色中受到极大的赞赏......。
他正在实现身為先知的梦想。而他更满足于事情继续按照他们一直以来的方式进行，按照他所计划和完全期望的方式进行。
他在为上帝而活，做他的工作，而且做得很好。（普里西拉-西勒）
The problem was – God had other plans for Jonah.
问题是，上帝对约拿有其他计划。
One of the things we’re going to do in this series is step back at times from Jonah’s story and reflect on our own. Because you and I are a lot more like Jonah than we sometimes realise. That‘s why we’re calling this series, “I am Jonah.”
在这个讲道系列中，我们要做的一件事是，从约拿的故事中抽身出来，反思我们自己的故事。因为你我比我们有时意识到的更像约拿，这就是为什么我们将这个讲道系列称为 "我是约拿"讲道系列。
See, there is a tradition in many Jewish synagogues even today, for the book of Jonah to be read on the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. That’s the day in the past when an animal would sacrificed for the sins of God’s people, an event that pointed forward to the death of Jesus on the cross for our sins.
即使在今天，许多犹太教会堂都有一个传统，即在一年中最神圣的一天，即赎罪日（Yom Kippur）读约拿书。在过去，这一天会有动物为上帝子民的罪而被献祭，这一事件指向耶稣在十字架上为我们的罪孽而死。
But on the Day of Atonement, once the book of Jonah is read through to the congregation, the tradition is for the people to stand and say together three simple words: “We are Jonah.” See it’s an acknowledgment that we are sinful and rebellious too, and we can be just like Jonah in our lives.
在赎罪日，当约拿书被读给会众听时，传统的做法是让人们站起来，一起说三个简单的词。"我们是约拿"。 你看，这就是承认我们也是有罪的，也是叛逆的，我们在生活中也像约拿一样。
And so in this series we’ve personalised that phrase – “I am Jonah” – and in each message we’re going pause at times and think about how we can be like this wayward prophet.
因此，在这个讲道系列中，我们将信息个人化，"我是约拿"，在每篇信息中，我们将不时暂停一下，思考我们如何能够像这位落魄的先知一样。
So here’s the first “I am Jonah” reflection:
因此，这里是第一个 "我是约拿 "的思考：
I am Jonah … when I resist God altering my life plans
我是约拿 …… 当我抗拒上帝改变我的生活计划时
You see, Jonah had a great life. He was loved and respected; he had delivered this uplifting, encouraging prophecy while the other guys had bring the messages of judgment. He was pretty happy with his lot. But then as we’re about to see, God’s going to change tack, and given him a new assignment that’s he’s not going to like.
约拿有一个美好的生活。他受到爱戴和尊重；他发表了令人振奋、鼓舞人心的预言，而其他人却带来了审判的信息。他对自己的命运相当满意。但正如我们即将看到的，上帝要改变策略，给他一个他不喜欢的新任务。
Doesn’t that sound familiar? How many times in your life have you been content and happy, only for God to turn everything upside down and put you on a new path?
● We’re in a job we love, but then we’re made redundant, and God moves to a new place or career
● We’re in a romantic relationship that we thought was going somewhere, then all over.
● We’re content with life, then hear the unmistakable call of God to move to something new
这听起来熟悉吗？在你的生活中，有多少次你已经满足和快乐，上帝却把一切都颠倒过来，把你放在一个新的道路上？
- 我们本有一份我们喜欢的工作，但后来我们被裁员了，上帝让我们去一个新的地方或开始一个新职业。
- 我们本有一段浪漫的关系，我们以为会有所发展，然后一切都结束了。
- 我们对生活感到满意，然后听到上帝明确无误的呼召，让我们走向新的生活。
What we’re going to see in this story is that Jonah doesn’t like God changing his plans and his life.
So Jonah’s going to resist; he’s going to say no. And we often do the same. Here’s what happened:
在这个故事中我们要看到的是，约拿不喜欢上帝改变他的计划和他的生活，所以约拿要反抗，他要说不。而我们也经常这样做。事情是这样的：
The word of Yahweh came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’ Jonah 1:1-2
耶和华的话临到亚米太的儿子约拿，说：“起来！到尼尼微大城去，警告其中的居民，因为他们的恶行已经达到我面前。”（约拿书 1:1-2）
Now to really understand how shocking this was for Jonah, we need to get our heads around two things.
First, no other prophet was ever sent outside the borders of Israel to preach. Daniel and Ezekiel were exiled with God’s people and prophesied from captivity, but no one else was sent to another nation. But the second and far worse thing for Jonah, was where and to whom he was sent. The great city of Nineveh was one of the main cities of an empire called the Assyrians. You may or may not have heard of them before, but they were horrendous. Their battlefield tactics, and their actions after conquering a city or people, were despicable. Archaeology has helped us realise just how nasty the Assyrians were. Listen to the boasting of one of their kings, Ashurnasirpal.
要真正理解这对约拿来说是多么令人震惊的事情，我们需要理清两件事。
首先，从来没有其他先知被派到以色列边界以外的地方去传教。但以理和以西结与上帝的子民一起被流放，并在被囚禁的情况下说了预言，但没有其他人被派往其他国家。对约拿来说，第二件、也是更糟糕的事情是，他被派往哪里，派给谁。伟大的城市尼尼微是亚述人帝国主要城市之一。你可能听说过亚述人，也可能没有，他们是可怕的。他们的战场战术，以及他们在征服一个城市后的行动，都是卑鄙的。考古学帮助我们认识到亚述人是多么令人讨厌。听听他们的一位国王纳西拔二世的吹嘘。
I flayed as many nobles as had rebelled against me [and] draped their skins over the pile [of corpses]…
I burnt their adolescent boys [and] girls … I captured many troops alive: I cut off of some their arms
[and] hands; I cut off of others their noses, ears, [and] extremities. I gouged out the eyes of many
troops… I hung their heads on trees around the city. King Ashurnasirpal II
我剥掉了许多反叛我的贵族的皮，[并]把他们的皮披在[尸体]堆上...... 我烧死了他们的青少年男孩
[和]女孩...... 我活捉了许多军队。我砍掉了一些人的胳膊[和]手；我砍掉了其他人的鼻子、耳朵
[和]四肢。我挖掉了许多部队的眼睛...... 我把他们的头挂在城市周围的树上。（亚述王纳西拔二世）
This was common practice of this nation, designed to horrify and frighten their opponents. The Assyrians were quite simply the Nazis of the ancient world. Listen to one author:
这是这个国家的常见做法，旨在让他们的对手感到惊恐和害怕。亚述人简直是古代世界的纳粹分子。一位作者这样写道：
The Assyrians were the Nazi storm-troopers of the ancient world. They were the pitiless, power-crazed foe… For Jonah, Nineveh stood as a symbol of evil incarnate. Hayyim Lewis
亚述人是古代世界的纳粹突击队。他们是无情的、权力至上的敌人...... 对约拿来说，尼尼微是邪恶化身的象征。（哈伊姆-路易斯）
Suddenly some of the story begins to make sense, doesn’t it? Especially for those of you who know what Jonah is going to do when he gets this call from God. Verse 3:
突然间，有些故事开始变得有意义了，不是吗？特别是对于那些知道约拿在接到上帝的这个呼召时要做什么的人。第三节：
But Jonah ran away from Yahweh and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from Yahweh. Jonah 1:3
可是约拿却起来，要逃往他施去，躲避耶和华；他下到约帕，找到了一只要开往他施去的船；他给了钱，就上船，要和他们同往他施去，离开耶和华。（约拿书 1:3）
Jonah ran. And he didn’t just run up the road or over to the next town or even the next country. He tried to run as far away as he could get. You see this best when you put up a map with the three key locations that verses 1-3 mention – Nineveh, the port city of Joppa, and Tarshish.
约拿跑了。他不只是跑到大路上，他跑到下一个城镇，甚至下一个国家。他试图跑得越远越好。当你把 1-3 节提到的三个关键地点，尼尼微、港口城市约帕和他施，在地图上标出时，你就会发现这一点。
What immediately stands out is how far Jonah was planning to run. He was heading in virtually the exact opposite direction to where Yahweh was sending him, and he was going to go as far away as he could – to the very edge of the known world. You couldn’t go further in Jonah’s world than Tarshish.
立即引人注目的是，约拿打算跑多远。他的方向与耶和华派他去的地方几乎完全相反，他打算走得越远越好，到已知世界的边缘。在约拿当时，你不可能比他施走得更远。
The problem was, Jonah hadn’t considered the words of Psalm 139, which had already been written by this point:
问题是，约拿没有考虑到《诗篇》第 139 篇的话语，那时已经写好了：
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139:7-10
我到哪里去躲避你的灵？我往哪里去逃避你的面呢？
如果我升到天上，你在那里；如果我在阴间下榻，你也在那里。
如果我展开清晨的翅膀，飞到海的极处居住，
就是在那里，你的手仍必引导我，你的右手也必扶持我。
（诗篇 139：7-10）
And make no mistake that’s exactly what Jonah was trying to do – to flee from the presence of God. You see, the text of Jonah is very clear in verse 3. Twice it tells us that Jonah ran away from Yahweh. He wasn’t just running from Nineveh – he was actually running from God himself.
毫无疑问，这正是约拿想做的事，逃离上帝的存在。约拿书的第 3 节中说得很清楚，经文两次告诉我们，约拿躲避耶和华。他不仅仅是在逃避尼尼微，他实际上是在逃避上帝本身。
Can I suggest today that we do the same thing in our lives? We may not make a run for the other side of the world. We may find a boat to take us to Tarshish or Timbuktu or Antarctica. In fact, we may not even walk out our front door. But here’s the reality:
我们在生活中是否在做同样的事情？我们可能不会跑到世界的另一边去，但我们可以找到一艘船带我们去他施、廷巴克图或南极洲。事实上，我们甚至可能不会走出我们的前门。但现实是这样的：
I am Jonah … when I say no to what God has clearly said
我是约拿...... 当我对上帝明确说过的话说“不”的时候
See, Jonah’s problem was not that he didn’t hear or understand what God had said. He had heard
Yahweh’s call perfectly. He just didn’t like it. And so he didn’t do it. And we do that in our lives too.
● God has clearly said “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18).
● God has clearly said “Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
● God has clearly said “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house” (Exodus 20:17).
● God has clearly said “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27).
● God has clearly said “Do not worry about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34).
● God has clearly said “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).
约拿的问题不是他没有听到，或者不理解上帝说的话。他完全听到了耶和华的呼唤，他只是不喜欢这个呼召，所以他没有去做。我们在生活中也这般如此。
- 上帝说：“要逃避淫乱的事”（林前六 18）
- 上帝说：“要不住祷告”（帖前五 17）
- 上帝说：“不可贪爱你邻舍的房屋”（出二十 17）
- 上帝说：“当爱你们的仇敌，善待恨你们的人”（路六 27）
- 上帝说：“不要为明天忧虑”（太六 34）
- 上帝说：“你们要去使万民作我的门徒”（太二十八 19）
Our problem is not that we do not understand what God has said. Our problem is that we struggle to
obey. As Mark Twain said,
我们的问题不在于我们不理解上帝所说的话。我们的问题是，我们很难去服从。正如马克-吐温所说：
It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it's the parts that I do understand. Mark Twain
困扰我的不是圣经中我不能理解的部分，而是我理解的部分。（马克-吐温）
And then as the video showed at the start of the message, we sense the call, the whisper of God to do something, to take action, to reach to someone, to say something … and what do we do? We pretend to be busy; we tell ourselves it’s all in our heads; we convince ourselves it’s okay to not obey.
然后，正如讲道开始时的视频所示，我们感觉到上帝的呼唤，上帝的耳语，要我们做些什么，采取行动，向某人伸出援手，说些什么...... 而我们做了什么？我们假装很忙；我们告诉自己这些都在我们脑海中；我们说服自己，不服从也没关系。
You see, I am Jonah – and so are you.
大家看到了吗？ 我是约拿，你们也是。
I am Jonah … when I say no to what God has clearly said [same as slide 14]
我是约拿...... 当我对上帝明确说过的话说“不”的时候
There’s another way that we can be like Jonah in our lives as well.
我们在生活中也可能像约拿一样，是以另一种方式。
If you look carefully at verse 3 where Jonah decides to run from Yahweh, you may notice that something is missing. Jonah doesn’t pray. He doesn’t talk to God. He doesn’t share his concerns about the Ninevites and how they treated people. He doesn’t raise his objections or debate with God. He just runs.
如果你仔细看第 3 节，约拿决定从耶和华那里逃跑，你可能会注意到缺少了一些东西。约拿没有祈祷，他没有与上帝交谈。他没有分享他对尼尼微人的担忧，以及他们如何对待人民的。 他没有提出他的反对意见，也没有与上帝辩论。他只是逃跑。
And that’s completely different to other people in the biblical story whom God calls. Moses at least debates with God at the burning bush. Jeremiah tries to say he’s too young. The apostle Peter attempts to tell Jesus he’s too sinful.
这与圣经故事中其他被上帝呼召的人完全不同。摩西至少在燃烧的灌木丛中与上帝争论。耶利米试图说他太年轻了。使徒彼得试图告诉耶稣他罪恶深重。
But Jonah doesn’t pray – he just runs. And you and I can often be the same.
但约拿没有祈祷，他只是逃跑。而你我往往也可能是这样。
I am Jonah … when I fail to talk to God
我是约拿...... 当我未能与上帝交流时
The constant call of Scripture is to keep praying; to pray continually. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:
圣经一再呼吁我们要不断地祷告、持续祷告。保罗在腓立比书四章写道：
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
应当毫无忧虑，只要凡事借着祷告祈求，带着感恩的心，把你们所要的告诉 神。这样， 神所赐超过人能了解的平安，必在基督耶稣里，保守你们的心思意念。（腓四 6-7）
Finally, I want to point out one final observation from what Jonah does in these opening verses again.
最后，我想再次指出对约拿在这些开篇经文中所做的事情的一个观察。
But Jonah ran away from Yahweh and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from Yahweh. Jonah 1:3
可是约拿却起来，要逃往他施去，躲避耶和华；他下到约帕，找到了一只要开往他施去的船；他给了钱，就上船，要和他们同往他施去，离开耶和华。（拿一 3）
Notice that when Jonah decides to run – doesn’t speak to God – and heads to the port city of Joppa, there just happens to be a ship headed for the farthest destination possible, Tarshish. Wouldn’t you know it – that’s exactly where he wanted to go. And there just happened to be a ship right there ready to go.
Best-selling pastor and author JD Greear writes,
请注意，当约拿决定逃跑、不和上帝交流、并前往港口城市约帕时，恰好有一艘船驶向最远的目的地他施。你看，那正是约拿想去的地方。而那里恰好有一艘船准备好要去。
畅销书作者、牧师JD Greear 格力尔写道：
If you want to disobey, there will always be a ship prepared to take you to Tarshish. JD Greear
如果你想违抗，总会有一艘船准备好带你到他施。（JD Greear 格力尔）
It’s true isn’t it? It’s amazing what the evil one is willing to do to get us to doubt God and run.
这是真实的，不是吗？恶者愿意做些什么让我们怀疑上帝并逃跑，真是令人惊讶。
If marriage is struggling and toying with having affair, always be someone attractive and available.
If in conflict and rather gossip than forgive, always be someone to listen across café table.
If struggling with materialism; spending money to mask pain, always be another mail-order catalogue.
如果婚姻在婚外情中挣扎并被玩弄，那就永远存在一个有吸引力和可利用的人。
如果在冲突中，宁可说闲话也不选择原谅，总会存在一个在咖啡桌乐意倾听的人。
如果在物质主义中挣扎；花钱来掩盖痛苦，总会存在一个购物清单。
But why is that? Why do want to run? What is it that makes us second-guess what God commands?
What is lurking deep inside that makes us want to disobey and run, instead of do what God says?
但这是为什么呢？我们为什么想跑？是什么让我们怀疑上帝的命令？
是什么潜伏在我们内心深处，使我们想违抗和逃跑，而不是按上帝说的做？
Ultimately, I think it’s that deep down, all of us at different times and in different circumstances, aren’t fully convinced that God deeply loves us and has plans that are the best for us.
归根结底，我认为是在内心深处，在不同的时间和不同的环境下，我们并不完全相信上帝深爱着我们，并有对我们最好的计划。
I am Jonah … when I don’t trust the goodness and grace of God
我是约拿...... 当我不相信上帝的良善和恩惠时
One of my favourite authors and preachers, NY pastor Tim Keller, has written:
我最喜爱的作者、牧师之一，来自纽约的提摩太-凯勒，这样写道：
Jonah had a problem with the job he was given. But he had a bigger problem with the One who gave it to him. Jonah concluded that because he could not see any good reasons for God’s command, there couldn’t be any. Jonah doubted the goodness, wisdom, and justice of God. Tim Keller
约拿对他所得到的工作有意见。但他对给他工作的人有更大的意见。约拿的结论是，因为他看不出上帝给出命令的任何好理由，所以不可能有任何理由。约拿怀疑上帝的良善、智慧和公义。（提摩太-凯勒）
And that’s you and me too.
We look from our limited perspective, and we don’t understand why God’s commanded what He has.
Or why He’s calling us to do something we may not want to do.
Or why He’s allowed something to happen in our lives, esp. when that’s hard.
这也是你和我。
我们从我们有限的角度来看，我们不明白为什么上帝要这般命令。
为什么上帝叫我们做一些我们可能不愿意做的事情。
为什么上帝允许一些事情发生在我们的生活中，特别是不好的事情。
And so, like Jonah, we don’t trust the goodness and grace of God.
我们像约拿一样，不相信上帝的良善和恩惠
And so we don’t do what God calls us to do. Which means we run – just like Jonah did.
因此，我们不做上帝呼召我们做的事。这意味着我们逃避，就像约拿那样。
See, here’s the crucial thing we need to understand as we start this series:
看，这就是我们在开始这个讲道系列时需要了解的关键问题：
I am Jonah when I run from God …
even if I don’t leave the house
当我逃避上帝时，我就是约拿......
即使我没有离开自己的住所
See it’s too easy for us to read the story of Jonah and think that we would do something so dumb as to run from God. But we all have.
Whenever we choose to give in to temptation, and disobey God, we run from Him.
Whenever we disregard what God has commanded in His word, we run from Him.
Whenever we ignore the quiet promptings of His Spirit, we are running.
Even when we’re simply drifting in our walk with God, we’re actually on the run.
我们读到约拿的故事，很容易认为我们不会做出逃避上帝这样的蠢事。但我们确实做过。
每当我们选择屈服于试探，不服从上帝时，我们就是逃离上帝。
每当我们无视上帝在他的话语中的命令时，我们就是逃离上帝。
每当我们无视圣灵的安静提示时，我们就是逃离上帝。
甚至当我们在与上帝同行的过程中，游移不定时，我们实际上也是在逃离上帝。
And we don’t have to have left our flat or family, our work or routines. We don’t need to physically leave to be on the run. See, I am Jonah when I run from God – even if I don’t leave the house.
我们不必离开我们的公寓或家庭、工作。我们不需要实体上离开，但实际是在逃离。你看，当我逃离上帝时，我就是约拿，即使我没有离开自己的住处。
I am Jonah when I run from God …
even if I don’t leave the house
当我逃避上帝时，我就是约拿......
即使我没有离开自己的住处
I have to tell you as we finish, this is going to be a fun series. I hope you’re going to see Jonah’s story in a way that you never have before. But it’s also going to be an incredibly challenging series. ‘Cos I’m convinced that you and I are much more like Jonah than we want to admit.
在讲道即将结束时，我必须告诉你，这将是一个有趣的讲道系列。我希望大家会以一种从未见过的方式来看待约拿的故事。这也将是一个极具挑战性的讲道系列。因为我相信，你我都比我们愿意承认的更像约拿。
But here’s the great news – hundreds of years after Jonah ran, God came running.
但这里有一个好消息，在约拿跑了几百年后，上帝来了。
In the gospels we read that Jesus stood up and announced that someone greater than Jonah was here.
And because you and I are like Jonah, Jesus came.
在福音书中我们读到，耶稣站起来宣布，有一个比约拿更伟大的人在这里。
因为你我都像约拿，所以耶稣来了。
And whereas Jonah ran from sinful Nineveh, Jesus deliberately stepped into our sinful Nineveh.
When Jonah said no to God, Jesus said yes to God.
When Jonah chose to disobey, Jesus chose every time to obey.
约拿从罪恶的尼尼微逃跑，而耶稣却故意踏入我们罪恶的尼尼微。
当约拿对上帝说不时，耶稣对上帝说是。
当约拿选择违抗时，耶稣每次都选择顺从。
And what that means is that whenever we stand and say, “I am Jonah,” we have someone to run to, who
was great than Jonah. Because through His life and death and resurrection, Jesus invites to come running
back to the Father through faith in Him.
这意味着，每当我们站着说 "我是约拿 "时，我们就有一个可以奔向的人，祂比约拿还伟大。因为
通过祂的生命、死亡和复活，耶稣邀请我们藉着对祂的信靠跑回天父身边。
I am Jonah, But Jesus is greater than Jonah – and greater than Jonah’s sin and mine.
我是约拿，但耶稣比约拿更伟大，也比约拿的罪和我的罪更伟大。
So let’s run to the Father.
因此，让我们奔向天父
