Alright, let's delve into the second chapter of Jonah. You've all grasped the theme of Jonah chapter two quite accurately. Astonishingly, even some elderly folks, whose literacy might not be top-notch and handwriting resembles that of children, have correctly identified the theme: Salvation belongs to the Lord. Salvation belongs to the Lord, but what exactly is salvation? We shall address this gradually.

In the previous chapter, Jonah does something rather intriguing; he volunteers: throw me into the sea. But when he was thrown into the sea, the tables turned; Jonah experienced Hades. You see, it's often only through some sort of tribulation that one truly comes to know God. Everyone has to undergo something. Jonah was on the ship, not in the bed. If he was in the bed, that would be troublesome. On the ship, he declared: this calamity has befallen you because of me.

Now, Jonah's reaction to this whole affair is quite interesting; he is not afraid to die. Later on, I found that a lot of people react this way; they would not shed tears until they see their coffin, for they have seen through life. But Jonah experienced Hades and when he got there, he found the situation was not all that trivial. Living is so tiring. Do you think you are done with it when you die? Let me tell you, you are not.

1. Jonah's experience in Hades

Everyone must realise that you should not assume all is well and you are in a state of peaceful existence. I am telling you, why is it that people are unwilling to die before their death? You do not know oh. People are usually unwilling to die before they die. Jonah casually says: throw me down. Why? Because he thought he would be done with it. But is that really the case? No. Do not think that people is done with it when they die. If it is so cheap, we won't need to revere the Lord.

In regards to what Jonah said earlier: throw me down! This reminds me of a crosstalk from our time. A man got drunk, laid in the middle of the road and shouted: ride over me, ride over me. People said: get up, here comes a car. What car? A bicycle. People do not have anything better to do. They will ride over you, and you will blackmail them and leave them bankrupt. Why would they entertain you, a drunkard? As a result, the rider went around him. Then another car came, what car? A motorcycle, which went around him as well. Why would they entertain you? After a while, another car came. What car? An ambulance. As a result, he got up, for one should not be run over and killed. Why? Causing a death is not worth paying for, who told you to lie there?

So I must tell you that many people do not know and think they will be done with it once they are dead. Why is it so cheap? Jonah was somebody who would rather die then go, but he did not know what it was like to die. As a result, he was thrown into the sea and called to the Lord from the depths of Hades. Why? Into Hades. Throwing him in means You cast me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. Jonah made a mistake and thought that he will be out of breath once he was thrown in. How come this breath is so long? This is not about having a long breath. It is about having a spiritual experience between life and death. Everyone must realise that if you can’t see through when you are alive, it is justified. It is unjustified when you can't figure it out when you are alive! Do you want to be done with everything with a blown candle? There is no such thing!

Jonah said: Though I have been driven out of your presence, I will look again toward your holy temple. The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped about my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me forever.” I guess he only wrote down a little bit of what he experienced. In other words, during the whole process, Jonah was pressed to the bottom of the sea. As a result, he found there was a door and was stuffed to the door. As a result, he could not come out. Isn't that Guo Degang's crosstalk? There is a large oil pan, which deep fries a large fruit or dough twist.

So it is not the case that you think you will be done with it when you throw yourself to the sea. He is done for. So Jonah said: I cried from the depths of Hades. Everyone must know that things at the bottom of the sea are scary. There are a lot of ghosts in islands. Do you have anybody from the coast among us? People from the coast that earn a living by fishing by worshipping stuff. Why? The sea is too scary. Therefore, they have to worship.

There is a sense of willfulness in Jonah. A lot of us are pretty willful as well. A lot of us who have not seen Hades are stubborn. People that have seen Hades will know: oh! Please let me out. So I am telling you, a person must revere the Lord when they are alive. If you do not revere when you are alive, how would you have a chance in that moment? I do not know if everyone has a chance. You might not necessarily have that grace.

Jonah was imprisoned in the depths of Hades and then he found undying worms in hell all around him. Let me tell you that hell is a scary place. I have ministered to people and suddenly they stopped breathing. Oh my god, then you know what? The voices of me and my colleagues changed. As a result, this person gradually woke up after half an hour. Oh my god! This person went to hell for a bit and told me how hell looked like. It was scary.

Jonah has entered hell. He suddenly discovered: I cried out to the Lord in my affliction. He has softened up. Before, he said it was okay and called to be thrown down. Is he still saying it now? He will not say it. Then he found that the Lord responded to him when he cried to the Lord. Can you read this out? Praying in the belly of the fish. What happened before Jonah was swallowed by the fish? He experienced a small part of hell, which was extremely scary. As a result, while he was crying to the Lord in hell, what happened? The Lord rescued him of his life from the pit.

Thank the Lord! I am very interested in things in the spiritual realm. Chinese Mingding Destiny's understanding of the spiritual realm is merely the tip of the iceberg. One year, my mother had Alzheimer's disease. Then I found something wrong. This must be something from the spiritual realm. I prayed and my mother's Alzheimer's was healed. What's the reason? I got rid of the demon. Many times, my mother's legs were as cold as meat taken out of the refrigerator. Among us, current people might have it too. Then I prayed for a while and my mother woke up. She said: Son, do you know where mama was brought to by that old horse? He has taken her to a water prison where she was knee-deep in freezing water. It was so cool, the type that freezes one to death. She said: Son, if it wasn't for your prayer, I would have never made it back.

My brothers and sisters must know, why these sicknesses are healed among us after prayer? Because spiritual things are behind these sicknesses. Therefore spiritual things are too mysterious. So I saved my mother through my prayer to the Lord. There was even a time when my mother was taken away by the demon. While she looked alive to me, she was already talking nonsense. Then I prayed for a while and my mother was back. The senile disease that my mother had given me that was a great grace that had allowed me to understand more spiritual things. Therefore, hell is not a place that you can joke

Everyone must know that Jonah experienced that. Why not go earlier? He didn't know before. Although Jonah was a prophet, he did not know what hell was like. He thought he would be done with it when he was thrown down. That is not the case. In the depths of hell, he cried to the Lord, the Lord saved his life from this pit, God is a saving God.

How did God save him? Let me tell you that God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah. God opened the gate, God saved Jonah out of the seabed. How deep is the seabed? I do not know. I guess it must be at least a couple hundred meters. Bang! Then the fish saved Jonah. So the big fish swallowed Jonah and Jonah made this prayer. He said: I cried out to the Lord in my affliction, and he answered me, from the depths of Hades I called for help, and you listened to my cry.

2. I cried out to the Lord in my affliction, and he answered me

You might think with my story: how can that be? It is okay. When you reach there, study Jonah. You will discover: oh my god, there's an ox-headed demon on the left and a horse-faced demon on the right. I cried out to the Lord in my affliction, and he answered me. Why did Jonah say salvation belongs to the Lord? That is the meaning. Salvation belongs to the Lord. It is not us that can save ourselves, but God. We are all pretty stubborn people. The willfullness within us isn't as better than Jonah. Do you know? Jonah is pretty stubborn, right? He said: throw me down. What is he thinking?

There was a sister who was in a car accident, the car was smashed to pieces but she was unharmed. She was kept safe by god's preservation. When she got out of the car, she was pouting and said: “Humph! Why didn't I die? After listening to this, I wondered, what is she thinking? That is willfullness. Jonah suddenly concluded: my God is so great! Salvation comes from God. If God did not save her, if she continues in her ways and only wants to win. God would say: Let me give you air, the type that makes a hellish bao that you have to eat.

Oh, let me tell you that people are willful! But later Jonah repented, what did he repent? A fish suddenly comes when he prays during hardship. The gates have opened, that is God's grace. Jonah has discovered that my life was saved by God. You have rescued me from the pit, from the pit of the abyss of death. Does everybody want to know what that pit looks like? Others would say: Have you seen it? I have not seen it. I do not want to see it. I only want to see my god.

But the people that I have ministered also have this willfullness like Jonah. They have went there and have lost their breath at the time of the prayer. Where do you think she has went? She has went to the pit. Oh, that pit, there are worms as big as a woman's arms. You think a worm as big as a chopstick would already scare you, let alone a worm as big as an arm. Those worms will be standing and chomping. The pit is so deep, around the pit are cliffs like a well. The walls are slippery and she is stuck there. Once she comes back, she will talk to me. I asked: can you hear my prayers? She said: I can. I was just shouting there, do not stop praying.

What's happening? Upon pausing my prayer, she would start to slide. Upon resuming the prayer, she would be lifted up by a force. Upon falling, there would be monsters at the bottom. She would fall on worms that were as big as arms. She was scared. People will not be as willful if they have a couple of experiences like this.

So I need to tell you that if you want to experience, it is best have miracles like Jonah. That miracle of Jonah, that is repentance. People will not shed tears without seeing hell. So sometimes, I am very emotional. What am I emotional about? I am emotional about the stubbornness of people. We often talk about not turning back without hitting the south wall, not shedding tears without seeing the coffin. Let me tell you, if you must shed tears without seeing hell, please do not cry out to the Lord in hell. Why not revere the Lord when you are alive? Why continue to be forceful? What are the benefits of it?

I remember at the beginning, we were not that great at exorcising demons. There was a brother who was a polytechnic student and was only 21 years old. He was a little stupid. He said: I want to experience ghosts. I said: Is experiencing ghost even a good thing? That day, he was really captured and was shivering on the ground. We were so tired. We prayed for a while and finally saved him. I said, are you out of your mind? You wanted to experience ghost? What are you experiencing it for? That is called stubbornness.

Now, god is asking Jonah, Although I made this up. Does Jonah remain stubborn? He is not as stubborn. If he had to get to the sea again, would he allow someone to throw him in again? He does not want to go to the sea. Has he learnt his lesson? He has learnt something. Why children cause trouble? Because they don't know any better. Do you know what that represents? Actually there are lots of people like Jonah. But God still has abundant grace and mercy. This is the miracle of repentance. God saved him from his distress. At this point, Jonah had entered the big fish.

Is the order of me saying things this way? He got into the big fish, oh, finally taking a moment to rest. While the stench is not good and is like an aroma from a seafood bazaar, it is manageable and better compare to the abyss. But that is alright, and its better than the aroma of abadon. God saved from distress, and at this point it is better.

My goodness, Jonah then quickly prayed and thanked the lord. Jonah had experienced what in the big fish's body. In the big fish, Jonah said if only I thought of the lord when I was still able to think.

3. When My Soul Fainted Within Me, I Remembered the Lord

Jonah started praying again. Why? He was in the belly of that great fish, talking to himself: What a wretched place! So foul! Where does this stench come from? He began to complain. As he complained, his soul grew faint, and the fish's belly became increasingly foul, the stench overwhelming. He felt like he had fallen into shrimp paste.

Have you ever eaten shrimp paste? Being soaked in it, he became part of the shrimp paste himself. Heavens! With his soul fainting, he quickly considered things that were in accordance with God’s will. This time, Jonah remembered the Lord again and started to pray. As a result of his prayer, the stench seemed to diminish slightly. He could not complain anymore, or else would he want to be sent back to Sheol again?

Let me tell you, this Jonah was quite muddle-headed. I think there are many among us who are like Jonah. Jonah thought, I dare not! When my soul faints, I quickly remember God, and my prayer comes into your holy temple, reaching your presence. I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. What I have vowed I will pay. Giving thanks to God in the fish's belly was almost like giving thanks to God in shrimp paste. Later, Jonah dared not. God asked him, Will you go to Nineveh? Jonah said, I promise you, I will definitely go. I vow, I will definitely go.

I was thinking, wouldn’t it have been better if you had gone earlier? If you had gone earlier, why would you have been submerged in shrimp paste? Why would you have taken a trip to Sheol? Why would you have run into the belly of a great fish to smell that fishy stench? It was sickening. I think God is quite humorous. Where is the humor? It would have been so much better to fly out in a UFO, but instead, He arranged for a great fish to swallow him.

Do you know how many days he was swallowed for? Three days and three nights. There are many stories to tell about these three days and three nights, aren't there? In those three days, he was muddle-headed for a while, then repented; muddle-headed again, then repented again. The stench grew stronger for a while, then diminished slightly after prayer; when the stench diminished, he complained again, and the stench started to grow stronger again. Alas, after three days and three nights, Jonah finally corrected his muddle-headed habit.

I believe many brothers and sisters among us have a bit of Jonah's nature, that is, they never learn the lesson of repentance. They become muddle-headed at every turn. Jonah was not faint in his soul; he was muddle-headed in his soul. Do you understand? Muddle-headed in his soul. I thank God. I tell you, God is truly patient. God truly endured him for three days and three nights.

After being tossed back and forth for several rounds, Jonah concluded: Salvation is from the Lord. What is that? It is not that God should save us. God should have pinched us to death, crushed us to death, just like we would pinch a mosquito or crush an ant. That is how it should have been. We are all terribly muddle-headed, aren't we? We often become muddle-headed in our souls, but God still saves us. I tell you, which one of us deserves God's healing? None. No one deserves God's healing, but God still heals us. Which one of us deserves God's grace? None, but God still saves us.

So, as we speak of this, may brothers and sisters be able to be like Jonah, I will sacrifice to God with the voice of thanksgiving. You don't need to bring your gold and silver treasures. You don't need to. You need to offer the voice of thanksgiving to God! Thank Him for saving us from death; thank Him for saving us from the power of Sheol; thank Him for bearing our curses and carrying our sorrows. This is our God. How vast, how wide, how high, how deep is His grace! How wonderful is His grace! Our God is worthy to be praised, worthy to be thanked. Our God is worthy of glory. This is our duty.

If not for God's grace, who could stand on this earth? We must thank God well and reflect well on the past. How many times have you been like Jonah in the past years? That is stubbornness. If you are willing, I tell you, if you are soft-hearted, doing as God says, would you have had to take a trip to Sheol? If you did as God said, would you have had to be in the belly of that great fish? How many stubborn people are there among us? Many. Of course, I am no better, sometimes I am stubborn as well.

If we truly soften, we will suffer less, won't we? What's the point of running into the fish's belly now? To travel there? It's hard work. No need to go there. Let's thank God every day. When people are willful, it is ignorance. When people are willful, it is a kind of foolishness. I can tell you, foolish people inherently think they are good.

Jonah usually did well as a prophet. God spoke to him, and he declared it. All was well. But all was well led to willfulness. Some brothers and sisters, no matter how many times they have experienced things, are still hard-hearted in their bones. It's very difficult to get them to reflect on their past foolishness. They think, No, I am very clever. Isn't this Jonah? Therefore, Jesus said that only the sign of Jonah will be given to you. If a person does not repent, only the sign of Jonah will be given to you. Adjust yourself well.

4. Jonah's Reflection: Salvation Is From the Lord

Jonah experienced Sheol, experienced the belly of the great fish, took a trip, and repented deeply in the belly: I am not worthy for God to save me, but God still saves me. I must repent deeply. Before, he had only heard of God, heard of Sheol, heard of hell, heard of the belly of the great fish, but this time, he saw God with his own eyes and experienced God himself. Job had previously heard of God, but now he saw God with his own eyes, experiencing a series of disasters. Jonah repented, Job also repented. We must never be like Jonah. The Bible does not say that Jonah did well.

What advice can I give you? If your thoughts and intentions are as soft as Jesus, gentle and humble in heart, not so self-righteous, you will suffer less. I tell you, is there any meaning in being in the fish's belly? This is not glorifying God; it is evidence of your mistake. Jonah was the same, because he thought he was good, but he was far, far away from God's requirements. He could not answer any of the questions God asked him. In the end, Jonah concluded that he was a foolish person.

Therefore, the grace of redemption is from God. It is all grace. God is the God who saves people. Do not think that experiencing what Jonah experienced is something great. Walking down the street, with your arms crossed, thinking that you came out of the fish's belly, you should not think that this grace is what you deserve. It is only God's grace. God's grace is higher than the heavens. We must repent.

That is not a proof to boast about. If we are to boast, we boast in our soft-heartedness, that we do as God says, no longer stubborn and rebellious. God tells you to go east, and you go west; God tells you to chase dogs, and you catch chickens. In the end, God puts you in the fish's belly. Sometimes, I tell you, with the stubbornness of some of our brothers and sisters, I guess God gave Jonah a grace, which was to spit him out from the mouth. But if it were our brothers and sisters, it would likely be pulled out from the rear end. That is also grace, but is it great? No, it is not great.

I must tell you, in this world, I am not afraid to offend anyone. If I offend, I offend. When I was ministering to a sister, she said that her whole family was busy for the local church's pastor, but her sister was very miserable, dying of cancer last year, and the whole family was very sad. Her sister went to the hospital, and the hospital examination showed cancer. Her sister said, I am not afraid of pain. I am fine. I have God. But when she returned home, she was in terrible pain and later was admitted to the hospital again. She died miserably of cancer, and until her death, she did not understand what she had done wrong.

I tell you, traditional theological concepts are abhorrent. How many churches are temples made by human hands? How many people offer strange fire? How many people think they are helping God? How many people incur God's wrath without even knowing it? It is truly pitiful! So our brothers and sisters begin to tremble at God's word. I thank God. I react quickly. When I see that the situation is not good, I quickly repent, often thinking that I have not done things correctly. Salvation is from the Lord God. I can only repent. I can only often say that this matter was not done correctly, that matter was not done correctly, this thing was not understood clearly, that thing was not understood clearly. I must be vigilant because of God's word. This is the core concept of our theology.

A person's faith in God and pursuit of knowing God has no end. As long as you listen to my Bible studies and sermons, you will find that the pastor has grown again. Haven’t I? The pastor's height has increased again. Why? Because I always feel that my height is not enough. Some time ago, I said to the brothers and sisters that I had exhausted my limited skills. Alas, what should I do? I don't know what to do. I only have these few tricks. Once I realize that I only have these few tricks and begin to know that I am not capable, I must come to trust in God again. Isn't it so? Alas, I feel that God is so good. God is the God who saves me. God is not the God who needs me! I am not here to help God. I am here to receive grace.

Ask God to use me well, so that I can become a vessel for manifesting God's glory. God, let me constantly pursue knowing You throughout my life, let me always walk in Your will, and give spiritual food to the brothers and sisters in due season. How good is that!

5. Conclusion

What we need most is reflection. Can everyone write reflections? Just look at our reflections. They are empty, speaking a lot of official jargon. Let's talk about something real! Talk about how you came out of the fish's belly, where you didn't do things right, where your cognition was wrong, where your understanding is still very superficial, and where you are still short of God's glory. This is our duty. Thank God. When we repent, if we repent deeply enough, God will spit us out from the fish's mouth.

We must thank God that we did not come out from the other end of the fish. Jonah repented well, experiencing three days and three nights, but that's okay. You may have been in the fish's belly for a day, or you may have been in the fish's belly for two days. Some people may be in the fish's belly and are about to be spat out, still covered in fishy smell. You have been spat out. May God have mercy on us.

How much of the world's logical system do we have in our minds? Some people think their minds are very dirty. They think, Can I live in this world without sinning and without offending God? Listen to this. If you offend God in this world, can you live? Do you want to live offending God? Offending God is not a good thing. Don't play with offending God. Repent well.

Jonah reflected well. God said, See, you reflected well. As a result, the great fish spat him out. After being spat out, thank God, Jonah repented deeply and acted according to God's word. But later, he relapsed. When the Ninevites repented, he became angry. What was that about? Didn't stay in the fish's belly long enough? Last time, that big fish swallowed you. Now, let’s change to a small fish for you. My goodness, it’s very tight inside. After being swallowed by the fish, there is no space. Why is this house so small? I'll let you complain. There are too many places on people where repentance is needed.

Thank God that God wrote the Book of Jonah through the prophet. We do not be Jonah, we want to be Jesus Christ, let us be Apostle Paul, so that our place because of God, that place become Antioch! What is Antioch? Once there were prophets, many pastors, came to Singapore, declared that this place will become Antioch in the future, now does not seem like Antioch at all.

One day I was thinking, I said: God ah, this is Antioch? I was confused there, many prophets to this place to declare that this is Antioch. Later God's grace came upon me, God's word came upon me. I suddenly, received a revelation from God, originally this place is Antioch! Not because there are so many churches in this place, how many percentage of Christians. But this place has a group of Pauls, in fact, one Paul is enough, a Paul to build a church, this place is called Antioch!

Now the place where you are standing is to be called Antioch! Because you are Paul, Paul builds the church and becomes a blessing to many people. Paul gave his life to God at the cost of his life, people like the Apostle Paul, often with the death of Jesus Christ, and often let God's power of resurrection from the dead can protect them, he does not need to run into the fish's belly for a few days like Jonah.

Jesus Christ chose the Apostle Paul, chose people like Moses, in the Bible I do not know if there are others. I know Moses one, Jesus Christ one, Apostle Paul one, they all said themselves is gentle and humble in heart. Moses said he was exceedingly humble; Jesus Christ said he was gentle and humble in heart; Paul said he was humble in heart. They were not boasting themselves, they really is this, they think they are not good, but God absolutely is good, this is called humility.

May God raise up among us a group of apostles of Jesus Christ, each one like Jesus Christ. Once decades ago someone made a prophecy, there is a church, there is a group of people, they are each like Jesus Christ, each like the Apostle Paul. Now we dare to say, this sentence is about those of us, we are promises that God's glory be manifested through us; may God's glory, lead us to fill the whole earth, Amen!

Now speaking for myself very excited, not because of the mouth of the fish or the ass of the fish, but because the place where we are is to become a missionary place, will become a place to build a church. As long as we are there, that place will be blessed because of us, Amen!

May God bless everyone!