WEBVTT 00:00:01.903 --> 00:00:08.775 We're on the third checker of the book of Jonah, and Jonah is a very interesting book. 00:00:08.775 --> 00:00:17.007 It has lots of turns and twists and comparisons, and our study in Jonah is really at a point where Jonah has been in trouble. 00:00:17.007 --> 00:00:23.466 If you were with us last week, you know Jonah found himself in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. 00:00:23.466 --> 00:00:29.112 This is a fish that God appointed and it caught Jonah and Jonah was there. 00:00:29.112 --> 00:00:33.811 And so we're looking at this and we have this in mind, that this story is just that. 00:00:33.811 --> 00:00:41.527 It's a story about a fish or sometimes we think of it as a whale, but it says a great fish and it's swallowed Jonah. 00:00:41.527 --> 00:00:51.326 But it's more than that, this story of Jonah, and the more you read it, the more you see the things that God wants to teach us, and so you know that's what's in our memory. 00:00:51.326 --> 00:00:56.610 You know I have a memory of several years ago, back when I was in high school, a sophomore. 00:00:56.610 --> 00:00:59.148 I went out on a charter fishing trip. 00:00:59.148 --> 00:01:06.084 I went to Florida, the Gulf, with my best friend and his parents, his mom and dad, and my best friend and his dad. 00:01:06.084 --> 00:01:18.763 We all went out on the fishing trip and we went out there and I about 15 miles out and, you know, just several hours later we got back into the port having caught. 00:01:18.763 --> 00:01:24.884 I didn't caught nothing except the sunburn, or so I thought. 00:01:24.884 --> 00:01:31.308 You know, since it was so late that day, I remember that we went, you know, and decided, well, let's just go ahead and go on to the restaurant. 00:01:31.308 --> 00:01:38.712 We did go back to our hotel, went on to the restaurant, we went to one of those all you can eat buffets and seafood buffets. 00:01:38.712 --> 00:01:42.971 I don't know if they still have those, but maybe post COVID, I don't know. 00:01:42.971 --> 00:02:02.841 But we went there and as soon as we got in the line with people that are already there, and so we began to just kind of and everybody else notice this horrible aroma that was in the in the place as we were in line, and everybody's kind of looking at is that you, you know, it just was horrible and it was so bad. 00:02:02.861 --> 00:02:09.646 We went ahead and got through the line that we, we sat down and the, the smell followed us to the table. 00:02:09.646 --> 00:02:23.985 We could hardly eat, it was so sickening, and we went through and finished the meal barely, and then we got out to the car finally, and, and I realized something that while I was there, out on the fishing trip. 00:02:23.985 --> 00:02:34.228 I had been putting the bait on and had put on wet squid on the end of the line and instead of wiping my hands on the rag of towel I did this. 00:02:34.228 --> 00:02:41.443 All of that in the hot sun had dried on me and so the secret was out. 00:02:41.443 --> 00:02:42.746 The stink was on me. 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:51.110 You know, it's one thing to catch a fish, but it's quite another for a fish to catch you. 00:02:51.110 --> 00:02:53.605 But this is what happened to Jonah. 00:02:53.605 --> 00:03:07.480 He said God made at times for each one of us a point of fish metaphorically, spiritually speaking, to get us to turn around and to reconsider the direction we're headed with him. 00:03:07.480 --> 00:03:15.766 And sometimes those fish may be more drastic and larger than we'd like, but but sometimes he has to do that so he can get our attention. 00:03:15.766 --> 00:03:19.890 So you know if we're going deliberately in the wrong direction. 00:03:19.890 --> 00:03:28.926 So maybe that may speak to some of you today, if you feel far from God and maybe you've asked the question why am I here? 00:03:28.926 --> 00:03:31.326 Ever asked that, why am I here? 00:03:31.326 --> 00:03:33.943 I have Obviously not. 00:03:33.943 --> 00:03:37.611 Every problem has something to do with our being far and running away from God. 00:03:37.611 --> 00:03:43.610 But here's the thing we do well to pay attention Whenever we go through adversity and trouble and struggle. 00:03:43.610 --> 00:03:47.564 We should stop and think why is this happening to me? 00:03:47.564 --> 00:03:49.727 Is there something, god, you want to show me? 00:03:49.727 --> 00:03:53.929 This is what he did with Jonah and he pursues him. 00:03:53.929 --> 00:03:56.062 Hebrews says this. 00:03:56.062 --> 00:04:05.449 It says in Hebrews 12, 6, the Lord disciplines those he loves, the one he loves, and corrects with punishment the one he receives. 00:04:05.449 --> 00:04:08.907 And this was surely what was going on with Jonah. 00:04:08.907 --> 00:04:22.473 So we should know that this journey that he's been on has been taking a steadily downhill course ever since chapter one, and I want to show you just for the moment, how he experiences this. 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:31.505 In chapter one, verse three, jonah says he paid the fare and went down down into a ship, away from the presence of the Lord. 00:04:31.505 --> 00:04:39.324 In chapter one, verse five, we know what happened, that he encountered a storm on the sea and a terrible storm to ship. 00:04:39.324 --> 00:04:46.101 And it says but Jonah had laid down into the inner parts of it and he had gone to sleep. 00:04:46.101 --> 00:04:50.668 Finding that Jonah is the problem was the problem. 00:04:50.668 --> 00:04:51.571 What did the sailors do? 00:04:51.571 --> 00:04:52.723 They tossed him overboard. 00:04:52.723 --> 00:05:02.531 He recommended that, in fact, and we find him in chapter two last week and Mark did such a great job with that, the prayer of Jonah, and you see some things there. 00:05:03.113 --> 00:05:07.887 In chapter two, verse three, in his prayer it says that he was cast into the deep. 00:05:07.887 --> 00:05:12.406 In chapter two, verse five, he was surrounded by the deep. 00:05:12.406 --> 00:05:20.485 In verse six, and this is in his own words, he says down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. 00:05:20.485 --> 00:05:27.766 Jonah is describing, you see, his downward movement from the surface of the waters all the way down, he says, to the roots of the mountains. 00:05:27.766 --> 00:05:30.444 So this is a long journey for him. 00:05:30.444 --> 00:05:33.211 All the way down to his watery grave. 00:05:33.211 --> 00:05:34.723 Jonah thought he was going to die. 00:05:34.723 --> 00:05:38.586 So Jonah is sinking and stinking. 00:05:38.586 --> 00:05:50.271 And here's the question I want to kind of pose to you today how far does the love of God, how deep does the love of God go in his pursuit of us? 00:05:50.271 --> 00:05:54.005 How deep does the love of God go? 00:05:54.005 --> 00:05:57.809 Well, let's look for the answer as we read our text this morning. 00:05:57.889 --> 00:06:04.504 In Jonah, chapter two I'm going to read that last verse in chapter two and then chapter three, verses one through 10, read along with me. 00:06:04.504 --> 00:06:06.185 We're reading out of the ESV. 00:06:06.185 --> 00:06:11.786 And it says and the Lord spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. 00:06:11.786 --> 00:06:22.129 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you. 00:06:22.129 --> 00:06:26.209 So Jonah rose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. 00:06:26.209 --> 00:06:32.009 Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days journey in breath. 00:06:32.009 --> 00:06:40.884 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey, and he called out yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:44.565 And the people of Nineveh believed God. 00:06:44.565 --> 00:06:50.141 They called for a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least of them. 00:06:50.141 --> 00:06:59.187 The word reached the king of Nineveh and he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and set in ashes. 00:06:59.187 --> 00:07:23.529 And he issued a proclamation and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, let neither man nor beast heard nor flock taste anything, let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and let them call out mightily to God Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 00:07:23.529 --> 00:07:31.648 Who knows God may turn and relent, and turn from his fierce anger so that we may not perish. 00:07:31.648 --> 00:07:45.600 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them and he did not do it. 00:07:46.672 --> 00:07:53.497 Well, you know, chapter 2, verse 10 sort of sets the stage for this message, because I think of it as like a bad meal. 00:07:53.497 --> 00:08:02.860 The fish comes up, he brings God, brings him up to the surface and it literally says he vomits it out, vomits him out onto the beach, the land. 00:08:02.860 --> 00:08:09.336 So it's kind of like ugh, this was a bad meal and Jonah is that bad meal. 00:08:09.336 --> 00:08:13.279 You see, there's something going on with Jonah that's not quite right. 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:23.057 Jonah is in what we might call process and all of us are in process and at various degrees, what I think of Jonah? 00:08:23.057 --> 00:08:26.723 Jonah had been running 180 degrees away from God. 00:08:26.723 --> 00:08:30.377 Now maybe he's turned just a little bit. 00:08:30.377 --> 00:08:32.201 To what degree I don't know. 00:08:32.201 --> 00:08:35.730 But let's just see how this begins to turn around. 00:08:35.730 --> 00:08:38.710 And I want to look at this in three movements, if you will. 00:08:39.797 --> 00:08:41.730 I highlighted here in our text this morning. 00:08:41.730 --> 00:08:45.710 The first one is the turning of the prophet Jonah. 00:08:45.710 --> 00:08:51.581 Secondly, the turning of a city and then lastly, probably the most important, is the turning of our God. 00:08:51.581 --> 00:09:01.636 So let's look at the first one, the turning of this prophet Jonah, and that's in verses one through four, you know, in almost all of the Old Testament prophetic books. 00:09:01.636 --> 00:09:05.303 We look at those books and the focus is always on the message. 00:09:05.303 --> 00:09:11.140 But in Jonah, jonah is unique because the focus is on an unwilling messenger. 00:09:11.140 --> 00:09:20.443 And only Jonah, of all the prophets, all the biblical prophets, has to have his assignment given to him twice. 00:09:20.443 --> 00:09:23.258 So he's obviously not listening right. 00:09:23.258 --> 00:09:25.336 And so let's look at it. 00:09:25.730 --> 00:09:32.841 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it. 00:09:32.841 --> 00:09:43.224 The message that I tell you, and the thing that stands out here to me, the most important thing, is that the Lord has compassion on Jonah, even though he's been disobedient. 00:09:43.224 --> 00:09:47.100 He has compassion on Jonah and he gives him a second chance. 00:09:47.100 --> 00:09:55.258 So we serve a God of second chances and we come and we fail, like you know Aaron was talking about. 00:09:55.258 --> 00:10:03.456 Many of us fail a lot of times in every day, but God gives us another chance to turn and come back to him when we return to God. 00:10:03.456 --> 00:10:06.710 God promises he will return to us and we can count on that. 00:10:06.710 --> 00:10:09.710 But this time Jonah what does it say? 00:10:09.710 --> 00:10:11.638 He chooses to obey? 00:10:11.638 --> 00:10:14.541 Well, this is great and kind of amazing. 00:10:14.541 --> 00:10:21.844 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord, and now there's no delay at all. 00:10:21.844 --> 00:10:22.710 He goes right away. 00:10:22.710 --> 00:10:30.918 Jonah completely reverses course, and it's really so surprising that one of the commentators, elaine Phillips, said this about Jonah. 00:10:30.957 --> 00:10:42.120 The contrast between rebellious and gloomy Jonah of chapters one, three and four, which we haven't got to yet, and pious Jonah singing from the fish's belly is dramatic. 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:44.817 Could this really be the same guy? 00:10:44.817 --> 00:10:59.320 So he's changed, but he's not all changed yet, and so it begs the question why does Jonah suddenly turn around, and why do we turn around when we choose to? 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:04.522 Well, let's think a minute, because Jonah has some motives that we need to check out. 00:11:04.522 --> 00:11:10.523 Jonah obeys, but I would put sort of Sort of he's a lot like us. 00:11:10.523 --> 00:11:15.081 We can, we obey as much as we, as we kind of make it look good. 00:11:15.081 --> 00:11:15.662 Sometimes. 00:11:16.091 --> 00:11:24.397 We get the sense, though, of this form of this prayer that he prayed while I was in the fish, and I just want to go back to it for just a minute. 00:11:24.397 --> 00:11:30.690 Chapter two, verse one, sort of summarizes it in his own words, what Jonah really thought. 00:11:30.690 --> 00:11:37.355 He says I was in trouble, I called to the Lord for help, he rescued me. 00:11:37.355 --> 00:11:38.955 I will give him thanks. 00:11:38.955 --> 00:11:41.515 Sounds really spiritual, doesn't it? 00:11:41.515 --> 00:11:46.875 But you know, there's no repentance in that, none whatsoever. 00:11:46.875 --> 00:11:49.668 Jonah just doesn't want to die in the fish. 00:11:49.668 --> 00:11:51.710 I mean, if that'd be the thing, it's kind of like us. 00:11:51.710 --> 00:11:54.258 We just don't want to die in our situation. 00:11:54.258 --> 00:11:55.754 God, have you ever prayed the prayer? 00:11:55.754 --> 00:12:01.061 God, if you'll just get me out of here, I will promise I'll serve you the rest of my life. 00:12:01.061 --> 00:12:04.177 You know, it's kind of a skate prayer, right? 00:12:04.177 --> 00:12:08.390 So we do that, and just like Jonah. 00:12:08.551 --> 00:12:21.903 In reality, though, jonah wants the mercy that he really is willing to, I guess, tell Nineveh that they can't have. 00:12:21.903 --> 00:12:26.456 He wants to withhold it from him. 00:12:26.456 --> 00:12:30.609 So his feet may be walking to Nineveh, but guess what? 00:12:30.609 --> 00:12:39.836 His heart, it's not in the river, it's not in the river with God, it's God's heart, and so he's got, he's got a, he's in process. 00:12:39.836 --> 00:12:43.359 God is changing him, just like he does with us. 00:12:43.359 --> 00:12:46.518 He's compliant, but he's certainly not compassionate. 00:12:46.518 --> 00:12:52.542 In fact, he would love to do these Ninevites in, because they were known to be the most violent people. 00:12:52.542 --> 00:12:57.936 They had one of the strongest armies in that day, and they were violent, violent people. 00:12:57.936 --> 00:13:01.274 What is God's heart? 00:13:01.274 --> 00:13:17.575 Well, here's what I know God will go to the most extraordinary links to let all people know that he loves them and he wants them to experience his love. 00:13:17.575 --> 00:13:23.466 And we only have to think of our Lord, jesus Christ. 00:13:23.466 --> 00:13:30.259 God sent his only one and only son that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have eternal life. 00:13:30.259 --> 00:13:40.023 You know, it's interesting what God will do to get his message out, and sometimes he does it because we don't do what we need to do. 00:13:40.023 --> 00:13:46.778 He takes matters, I believe, sometimes in his own hands because he loves the world. 00:13:47.855 --> 00:14:06.801 You know, following that supernatural I guess unusual, not supernatural but the terrorist attack that the Israelis experienced back in was it October this past year what can only be described, I think, as a miracle occurred in Gaza. 00:14:06.801 --> 00:14:18.764 And listen to this account from an American Christian professor, michael Lacona, who said he received this report from an underground Christian ministry in Palestine. 00:14:18.764 --> 00:14:22.361 He writes these words "'God is working in the midst of war. 00:14:22.361 --> 00:14:31.563 "'over the past two days, we have ministered "'to hundreds of fathers who have lost most, "'if not all, of their children in the war. 00:14:31.563 --> 00:14:50.499 "'as we moved these men to safety, we fed them, "'wasst their clothes and began to read the Bible to them, "'sharing the way of peace through Jesus' "'Then a big miracle happened "'Last night, jesus appeared to more than 200 of them "'in their dreams? 00:14:50.499 --> 00:14:58.062 "'they have come back to us to learn more from God's word, "'and are asking how to follow Jesus'". 00:14:58.062 --> 00:15:03.714 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. 00:15:03.774 --> 00:15:08.076 The skeptic that I am looking at things on the internet is always. 00:15:08.076 --> 00:15:14.105 You know, you don't know whether you read is always an accurate thing. 00:15:14.105 --> 00:15:17.024 So I thought, well, I'd like to check this out a little bit more. 00:15:17.024 --> 00:15:20.424 And I did find a report that was confirmed in January. 00:15:20.424 --> 00:15:24.365 This January, by a former aide of the late Yasser Arafat. 00:15:24.365 --> 00:15:28.558 He worked for him until this man actually turned, became a Christian. 00:15:28.558 --> 00:15:34.484 This man had formerly been a sniper, a terrorist who was a sniper, and he became a Christian. 00:15:34.484 --> 00:15:36.221 He turned completely around. 00:15:36.221 --> 00:15:43.506 His name was Tessir Sadda and he's got a report that kind of confirms this. 00:15:43.506 --> 00:15:51.269 He says I have a report from one of my team members that 200 Gazans gave their heart to Jesus in one lump sum. 00:15:52.095 --> 00:15:56.783 The Lord appeared to them in visions and dreams and they were hugging each other and rejoicing. 00:15:56.783 --> 00:16:03.120 They realized all of them had the same vision that each of the other had. 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:04.658 Isn't that amazing? 00:16:04.658 --> 00:16:06.500 Only God can do that. 00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:13.423 But what you get out of that is God loves people, he loves people, he loves you, but he loves the people that you don't love. 00:16:13.423 --> 00:16:19.041 He loves the people that you would, and I would say these are our enemies. 00:16:19.041 --> 00:16:34.321 You see, our own spiritual condition makes us dull to the reality that there are those people out there who are perishing, but whom God is preparing, and we don't give them consideration. 00:16:34.321 --> 00:16:40.738 God is preparing people and our task is to open our mouth, thinking as Christians. 00:16:40.738 --> 00:17:00.740 I think sometimes we no longer need to be concerned really about being rescued, because we're rescued ourselves and we, like Jonah, we fall asleep to the mission and we may agree with the gospel, but we're not really invested in it. 00:17:00.740 --> 00:17:02.799 So here's a test for you. 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:08.704 I had to work through this myself this week and I'm convicted by chapter three of Jonah. 00:17:08.704 --> 00:17:13.397 How many of us this week have shared our faith with one person? 00:17:13.397 --> 00:17:17.980 And I'm not raising my hand because I didn't. 00:17:17.980 --> 00:17:22.942 So let's move on. 00:17:22.942 --> 00:17:24.641 I'm stepping on some toes, let's move on. 00:17:25.055 --> 00:17:32.903 The text tells us in verse three Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, and that greatness is communicated to us in a couple of ways. 00:17:32.903 --> 00:17:35.222 Number one is that this is a really big city. 00:17:35.222 --> 00:17:36.779 The city was huge. 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:39.779 By that day's standard, it was an immense size. 00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:47.519 Three days journey and breath and that's not really talking about from one side of the city to the other. 00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:58.462 This is in a straight line and it's not talking about the, maybe the circumference alone, the walls itself, and, by the way, they have actually excavated the walls so they know how big the city walls were. 00:17:58.462 --> 00:18:12.819 It's a large city, but it probably included the outskirts, what we call the suburbs, and if we are walking, say, 20 to 30 miles a day, which is normal, you could say if it took three days, you're talking about 60 miles. 00:18:13.714 --> 00:18:18.502 But Jonah is wandering around in the city and he's talking, he's sharing the message of God. 00:18:18.502 --> 00:18:39.421 So, bottom line, this city is huge and Jonah has an enormous task, not to mention the fact he's going to talk to people who might want to skin him alive, who want to do him in, and so this is a terrifying prospect of going to a people who were known to be violent. 00:18:39.421 --> 00:18:54.578 And so if we put ourselves in those kind of sandals that Jonah had been walking in, we might sometimes say well, I'm afraid too when I talk with people, but here's what I know God was with Jonah and he'll be with us too. 00:18:54.578 --> 00:18:59.006 If we just trust and obey, god can do miracles. 00:18:59.006 --> 00:19:07.573 But if we don't cooperate with God, what happens? 00:19:08.694 --> 00:19:17.515 Well, the greatness of this city is also communicated in another way, a more subtle way, something that is really found in the Hebrew. 00:19:17.515 --> 00:19:22.055 The Hebrew literally says the city was great to God. 00:19:22.055 --> 00:19:27.788 Not just a great city, but it was a great to God or for God. 00:19:27.788 --> 00:19:30.623 So Nineveh is great to God. 00:19:30.623 --> 00:19:30.996 Why? 00:19:30.996 --> 00:19:33.163 Because God loves the people. 00:19:33.163 --> 00:19:38.583 And he said later in chapter four there were over 120,000 people in that city. 00:19:39.394 --> 00:19:42.644 And what happens when, jonah, you don't go and speak my message? 00:19:42.644 --> 00:19:45.020 They're headed for a certain destruction. 00:19:45.020 --> 00:19:50.115 So Jonah doesn't go. 00:19:50.115 --> 00:19:52.560 What happens? 00:19:52.560 --> 00:20:01.065 So, in spite of how he feels, I just say Jonah probably just takes a deep breath and he goes let's just get this over with Cause. 00:20:01.065 --> 00:20:02.049 He doesn't wanna do it. 00:20:02.049 --> 00:20:05.153 He takes a deep breath and he starts walking. 00:20:05.153 --> 00:20:16.011 He gets one day's time in the city and he begins to declare God's word and he says here and he called out yet 40 days and none of us shall be overthrown. 00:20:16.345 --> 00:20:26.471 Now there's something really interesting to me about that last word overthrown, because this is the word that we would not want to tell all these people who might kill us. 00:20:26.471 --> 00:20:30.474 But another way to translate it is to overturn. 00:20:30.474 --> 00:20:35.276 Jonah thinks of it as God's going to annihilate you. 00:20:35.276 --> 00:20:42.632 He's gonna wipe you off the face of the map and he's going yes, but that's not what's in God's mind. 00:20:42.632 --> 00:20:45.432 The word can also be translated in scripture. 00:20:45.432 --> 00:20:52.593 It has the meaning of to be turned as in, to be turned from their ways or to something to become new. 00:20:52.593 --> 00:20:55.852 So you kind of get this idea of what's in God's heart. 00:20:55.852 --> 00:21:00.055 It's kind of a foreshadowing of what's going to come. 00:21:00.055 --> 00:21:04.233 So Jonah's thinking God means to get rid of these people. 00:21:04.233 --> 00:21:12.529 But we see there's this foreshadowing and we also get another hint of where God's heart is here the preference. 00:21:12.590 --> 00:21:17.174 I would say that he would prefer to do this for Nineveh. 00:21:17.174 --> 00:21:19.973 It's a subtle contrast that's found in chapter one, verse two. 00:21:19.973 --> 00:21:31.314 He said there to Jonah arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me. 00:21:31.314 --> 00:21:37.476 And in contrast to that, we have the same God's given Jonah a second chance. 00:21:37.476 --> 00:21:43.430 In chapter three, verse two, it says it doesn't say, like your text may read in the ESV, call out against it. 00:21:43.430 --> 00:21:50.267 It says literally this time Jonah call out to this people Nineveh. 00:21:50.267 --> 00:21:52.150 You see what God's doing. 00:21:52.150 --> 00:21:58.272 He's not wanting to destroy this city, he wants to engage them in personal relationship. 00:21:58.272 --> 00:22:00.368 This is God's heart. 00:22:00.368 --> 00:22:01.905 You say. 00:22:01.905 --> 00:22:03.332 Well, what's the point? 00:22:03.332 --> 00:22:12.457 God's not wanting to get rid of these people, he's not wanting to destroy them, he wants to show his mercy to them, unlike Jonah. 00:22:12.457 --> 00:22:18.971 Well, the city matters, even if it doesn't matter to Jonah. 00:22:18.971 --> 00:22:24.090 It matters to God, and I think so often this is a swear. 00:22:24.372 --> 00:22:32.155 Often we're reluctant, begrudging messengers with the gospel we have, but we never deliver. 00:22:32.155 --> 00:22:36.934 Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 00:22:36.934 --> 00:22:37.266 You know what? 00:22:37.266 --> 00:22:37.646 That's? 00:22:37.646 --> 00:22:39.353 Only five words in the Hebrew. 00:22:39.353 --> 00:22:49.454 Five words, and you'd say, well, I'd love to go to Jonah's church man, those sermons are short and get out of there before lunch for sure with his sermons. 00:22:49.454 --> 00:22:57.388 The thing that's unique about this Jonah warns them of what's coming, but he never tells them why or what to do about it. 00:22:57.388 --> 00:23:00.848 What a strange sermon God's gonna get you. 00:23:00.848 --> 00:23:02.948 That's basically what it is. 00:23:02.948 --> 00:23:06.636 But what does this do? 00:23:06.636 --> 00:23:10.948 This tells us the power, the incredible power, of God's word. 00:23:10.948 --> 00:23:19.529 It achieves what it's sent for and God knows, if Jonah just gives the message, God will take care of the rest. 00:23:19.529 --> 00:23:24.771 That'll give comfort to us, because we're not responsible for the results. 00:23:24.771 --> 00:23:29.453 We don't write the mail, we just deliver it right. 00:23:29.453 --> 00:23:33.545 So, in spite of this reluctant prophet who? 00:23:33.545 --> 00:23:37.452 God is in the process remember process of turning God's message. 00:23:37.452 --> 00:23:39.530 It doesn't fall on deaf ears. 00:23:39.530 --> 00:23:43.073 Well, let's now see the turning of the city. 00:23:43.845 --> 00:23:47.912 Chapter three, verses five through nine the people hear and believe God's word. 00:23:47.912 --> 00:23:52.433 In verse five it tells us that and the people of Nineveh believed God. 00:23:52.433 --> 00:23:58.430 They called for a fast, they put on sackcloths, from the greatest of them to the least of them. 00:23:58.430 --> 00:24:02.930 The word of God reaches and touches everybody, from the top down. 00:24:02.930 --> 00:24:04.529 It doesn't leave anyone out. 00:24:04.529 --> 00:24:05.413 It affects everyone. 00:24:05.413 --> 00:24:11.594 Everyone is convicted by the word of God, and this is only something that the Holy Spirit can do. 00:24:11.594 --> 00:24:20.615 He brings conviction of our sin and he brings brokenness to our hearts and we become aware that we're not right with God in some way. 00:24:20.615 --> 00:24:22.888 This is what he does. 00:24:22.888 --> 00:24:25.890 He says the people believe God. 00:24:25.890 --> 00:24:27.871 Say, well, were they converted? 00:24:27.871 --> 00:24:29.310 Were they, did they become saved? 00:24:29.310 --> 00:24:31.351 Well, I don't know, but they sure changed. 00:24:31.351 --> 00:24:44.471 They changed says they believed in God doesn't say that they necessarily doesn't say they believed in God, but it says they believed God right About their possible destruction. 00:24:44.765 --> 00:24:51.650 Here's what I think most people believe Is that God is just kind of kidding around when he says stuff like this. 00:24:51.650 --> 00:24:58.250 The message that we carry, which says that every person without Christ is under the wrath of God. 00:24:58.250 --> 00:24:59.730 Yeah, that's pretty funny. 00:24:59.730 --> 00:25:05.131 God says that means that without him, we will wind up in a place called hell. 00:25:05.131 --> 00:25:11.894 Ah, that's funny stuff, and it's one reason the church has quit sharing it. 00:25:11.894 --> 00:25:15.270 It's part of the gospel, but that's the part that we don't like. 00:25:15.270 --> 00:25:17.050 That God is a God of wrath. 00:25:17.050 --> 00:25:21.151 But listen, folks, if God is a God of love, he has to be a God of wrath. 00:25:21.151 --> 00:25:29.936 He has to give us the choice to pursue him, but we choose ourselves to walk away. 00:25:29.936 --> 00:25:34.534 Well, the city didn't walk away. 00:25:34.534 --> 00:25:36.511 In fact, it shows the response. 00:25:36.511 --> 00:25:43.291 They took God's warning seriously and maybe for this city it's just the start of something else. 00:25:43.291 --> 00:25:54.326 You know, if Jonah spoke more than these words though I don't know if he spoke just that that's what the text kind of says leads us to believe. 00:25:54.326 --> 00:25:59.434 But maybe he added to it because I'm sure the city had probably heard Jonah. 00:25:59.565 --> 00:26:03.955 This is the guy that had been swallowed by the fish. 00:26:03.955 --> 00:26:05.428 That's the guy. 00:26:05.428 --> 00:26:07.852 Three days and three nights, can you believe it? 00:26:07.852 --> 00:26:12.972 And Jonah made himself decided to say you know, yes, guess what happened to me? 00:26:12.972 --> 00:26:18.551 And I was caught by a fish and I spent three days and three nights in it. 00:26:18.551 --> 00:26:23.498 I know what it is to be pursued by God. 00:26:23.498 --> 00:26:26.505 Let me tell you what happened to me. 00:26:26.505 --> 00:26:34.463 You know, the thing is that your personal testimony, my personal testimony, is one of the most powerful things that we carry with us. 00:26:34.463 --> 00:26:36.482 What God has done for you. 00:26:36.482 --> 00:26:36.704 Guess what? 00:26:36.704 --> 00:26:40.339 Nobody can argue with it because it's your story. 00:26:40.339 --> 00:26:41.545 It's your story. 00:26:41.545 --> 00:26:46.201 It's the story that God brought you through the process and to come to him and to return to him. 00:26:46.545 --> 00:26:49.820 Well, not only did the people turn to God, it says, the king did as well. 00:26:49.820 --> 00:26:53.882 The king hears and believes God, His word. 00:26:53.882 --> 00:27:03.025 In verse six, the word reached the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 00:27:03.025 --> 00:27:09.017 This is repentance, repentance, changing your mind. 00:27:09.017 --> 00:27:31.454 And it says and he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles, let neither man nor beast herd nor flock taste anything, let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and let them call out mightily to God. 00:27:31.454 --> 00:27:36.330 Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 00:27:36.330 --> 00:27:38.382 Who knows? 00:27:38.382 --> 00:27:46.694 He said God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger so that we may not perish. 00:27:47.201 --> 00:27:58.770 Now, the king's actions and his edict that he put out there for publishing on probably put it on every place you could put it was telling us some things and it's really a pattern for real revival. 00:27:58.770 --> 00:28:08.913 I have had an opportunity at one time in my life to be a part of a genuine revival and it was incredible. 00:28:08.913 --> 00:28:13.830 God worked like amazing, in amazing ways. 00:28:13.830 --> 00:28:31.413 But one of the characteristics of that, as we experienced the presence of God in our church, was this idea of repentance and we would spend time in prayer asking God to reveal our sins and to show us where we were distant from him. 00:28:31.413 --> 00:28:37.609 You know what, if that's the kind of prayer you pray, god will, through his spirit, will tell you. 00:28:37.609 --> 00:28:45.484 The problem is we don't sit down long enough for him to get a word in edgewise, right, we're too busy. 00:28:45.484 --> 00:28:48.849 Well, look at the actions of this king. 00:28:48.849 --> 00:28:52.047 It's the pattern for revival. 00:28:52.067 --> 00:28:54.555 The first thing is says he removed his royal robe. 00:28:54.555 --> 00:28:55.880 What does that say? 00:28:55.880 --> 00:29:00.771 It says it's basically signifying he's taking off what's offensive to God. 00:29:00.771 --> 00:29:02.525 Why did he remove his robe? 00:29:02.525 --> 00:29:10.992 He was the king, he had a right and he had privileges, and this is for us a way to say for us to get rid of our pride. 00:29:10.992 --> 00:29:13.920 So it's a removing of pride. 00:29:13.920 --> 00:29:20.393 It says he covered himself with black sackcloth and that day and time it meant it was a symbol of confession of sin. 00:29:21.320 --> 00:29:27.859 What's amazing is that the animals do this too, and they fast. 00:29:27.859 --> 00:29:29.967 They say what's up with that? 00:29:29.967 --> 00:29:38.246 I think it's just a way of saying everything is affected by our sin, paul said one time. 00:29:38.246 --> 00:29:43.920 He said the whole creation grown waiting for the sons of God to be revealed. 00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:51.316 So the sin that we, I guess, experience in the fall affects the whole creation. 00:29:51.316 --> 00:29:55.428 Maybe that's what he's getting at, I don't know, but it's the animals too. 00:29:56.861 --> 00:30:21.900 And then it says sitting in ashes and dirt, which is an attitude of mourning what that meant and humility, sorrow, grief, weeping over our sin and then calling for every individual to not eat or drink but to pray intensely and consistently to God. 00:30:21.900 --> 00:30:23.864 As I said, even the animals. 00:30:23.864 --> 00:30:38.880 What we're seeing here is that the emotions come into play Grief over our sin and then calling for every single person to radically turn from the lies and violence of which they were guilty. 00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:41.900 You see, because you can, you can pray to God, and that's important. 00:30:41.900 --> 00:30:47.209 You can confess your sins, but if nothing ever changes, then it's not real repentance. 00:30:48.381 --> 00:30:54.951 Repentance requires change in our actions, and this is what the king was exemplifying. 00:30:54.951 --> 00:30:56.920 And what does he say? 00:30:56.920 --> 00:31:00.669 Who knows what God, what this God, will do? 00:31:00.669 --> 00:31:08.353 If God is not obligated to do anything different, he's not obligated to respond. 00:31:08.353 --> 00:31:10.727 He'll do what he pleases. 00:31:10.727 --> 00:31:12.023 He's God. 00:31:12.023 --> 00:31:19.028 But I'll tell you one thing God pays attention when we begin to repent. 00:31:19.028 --> 00:31:32.712 So, threatened by what the king sees coming, the king is thinking but now let's, let's just respond to this and see what God does by turning from our sin. 00:31:32.712 --> 00:31:35.666 And guess what the whole city did. 00:31:35.666 --> 00:31:37.547 This is a miracle. 00:31:37.547 --> 00:31:45.711 This is incredible when God is at work, when people follow this example. 00:31:46.940 --> 00:31:58.943 You know I had seen a recent post somewhere that read this At this point, jesus doesn't need to take the wheel, he needs to pull over and spank some of y'all with his flip-flop. 00:31:58.943 --> 00:32:19.424 I'm not obligated to share that, but anyway, god is spanking Jonah and he needs to spank some of us. 00:32:19.424 --> 00:32:21.782 I got a spanking this week. 00:32:21.782 --> 00:32:25.086 How about you? 00:32:25.086 --> 00:32:29.365 Here's the thing I can't begin to know God's purposes as we look out on our world today. 00:32:29.365 --> 00:32:30.869 I can't begin to know His purposes. 00:32:30.869 --> 00:32:31.643 You can't either. 00:32:31.663 --> 00:32:42.012 But here's what I know, the answer to the crisis that's going all around us is not impending our hopes on a political figure that we think is going to save the day. 00:32:42.012 --> 00:32:52.692 I'm not saying we shouldn't champion for righteousness and the laws, but only God can change a heart. 00:32:52.692 --> 00:33:01.787 Real change comes from the inside out, not from the outside in, and no law is going to change your heart. 00:33:01.787 --> 00:33:18.880 So here's the thing, my friends the nations are literally knocking down our doors trying to get in, maybe because we've not gone out, so he's bringing them to our shores. 00:33:18.880 --> 00:33:19.923 Potentially. 00:33:19.923 --> 00:33:24.920 We need to think that this is a possibility, that God has gone out of His way to make this happen. 00:33:24.920 --> 00:33:37.789 He'll do whatever it takes to make sure all people know the love of God, even our enemies, who would need this more than the people who are breaking the law. 00:33:37.789 --> 00:33:48.949 So the question is are we willing to be salt, flavoring, seasoning, preservative? 00:33:48.949 --> 00:33:59.182 Are we willing to be light shining in a dark place, so that people can know the light of the gospel in the face of Jesus Christ? 00:33:59.182 --> 00:34:11.786 Genuine change starts from the inside out, not the other way around, and so the gospel brings the only hope to people who are lost in sin and on their way to destruction. 00:34:13.074 --> 00:34:13.556 And here's the thing. 00:34:13.556 --> 00:34:16.806 It's not as if God is blind to the Assyrians. 00:34:16.806 --> 00:34:17.996 He sees clear. 00:34:17.996 --> 00:34:19.842 He said these people are evil. 00:34:19.842 --> 00:34:27.661 He's intending to destroy them, right, because of their evil ways. 00:34:27.661 --> 00:34:30.086 His justice requires it. 00:34:30.086 --> 00:34:34.043 But guess what supersedes justice Mercy. 00:34:34.043 --> 00:34:44.682 Mercy triumphs over justice and they'll never repent unless Jonah shares the message. 00:34:46.775 --> 00:35:03.025 Second Chronicles 7, 14 says if my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 00:35:03.025 --> 00:35:04.742 Now, this is kind of the way I look at things. 00:35:04.742 --> 00:35:07.898 It's like, okay, that was for them, is that still for us? 00:35:07.898 --> 00:35:10.141 That was for ancient Israel. 00:35:10.141 --> 00:35:11.519 Does this still apply? 00:35:11.519 --> 00:35:14.161 Well, do you think God's heart has changed? 00:35:14.161 --> 00:35:17.621 Do you think God still cares about nations? 00:35:17.621 --> 00:35:22.199 He absolutely does, and I think it still applies. 00:35:22.199 --> 00:35:35.702 If we will get on our knees and pray out to God, cry out to God, looking at our sin, humbling ourselves and agreeing with God about our sin and asking Him to forgive us, he will turn and he will heal our land. 00:35:35.702 --> 00:35:38.402 That still can be Say, is it too late? 00:35:38.402 --> 00:35:39.117 I don't think so. 00:35:39.117 --> 00:35:42.757 So here's the thing. 00:35:42.757 --> 00:35:50.326 I am Jonah, are you? 00:35:50.326 --> 00:35:51.277 You know this past week. 00:35:51.518 --> 00:36:16.766 I am familiar with this place called the Life Action Ministries and one of the things on their website I really love because it basically goes through a list, and the list is basically called the Heart God Revives and it is a list of what they show as proud people versus broken people, and I've actually printed the list out for you as you go out today. 00:36:16.766 --> 00:36:19.284 I've got one more point, but it's there on the tables. 00:36:19.284 --> 00:36:37.041 If you'll pick one of those up, if you really, since God's speaking to you today and you really are serious about doing what God says, pick one of those up and let God speak to your heart like he wants to speak, okay, well, finally, let's look at the last thing, the turning of our God. 00:36:37.041 --> 00:36:40.686 We saw in the turning of a prophet, the turning of a city. 00:36:40.686 --> 00:36:43.157 Now, the turning of our God, chapter three, verse 10. 00:36:43.574 --> 00:36:59.219 When God saw what they did not what they said, what they did, how they turned from their evil way, god relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them and he did not do it. 00:36:59.219 --> 00:37:04.264 And then we might think God's just well, he's changing His mind here, right? 00:37:04.264 --> 00:37:06.782 Well, here's the thing God does never. 00:37:06.782 --> 00:37:11.710 He never changed His character, his nature, always stay the same because it says. 00:37:11.710 --> 00:37:15.061 He says I'm the same yesterday, today and forever. 00:37:15.061 --> 00:37:16.719 So what's going on here? 00:37:16.719 --> 00:37:29.744 He doesn't change His mind about holiness and righteousness, good or evil, but he can and he does relent this is the word here, word that means to draw in the breath. 00:37:32.135 --> 00:37:33.840 It's a way of saying God has compassion. 00:37:33.840 --> 00:37:38.684 He will have compassion on people when they repent. 00:37:38.684 --> 00:37:41.902 And he can and he does overturn. 00:37:41.902 --> 00:37:42.958 We looked at that word. 00:37:42.958 --> 00:37:48.286 He can overturn the verdict that sin brings against us. 00:37:48.286 --> 00:37:59.762 See, the Bible says that while we were yet sinners, christ died for us, but before that, god's wrath abides on us. 00:37:59.762 --> 00:38:05.853 If you're a person here that has not trusted Christ, you not received Christ. 00:38:05.853 --> 00:38:07.739 God's wrath abides on you. 00:38:07.739 --> 00:38:13.505 So I'd encourage you to turn to Christ today to rescue you. 00:38:14.454 --> 00:38:28.815 And Peter says in 3,9, the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 00:38:28.815 --> 00:38:31.782 Did you know that repentance is a gift? 00:38:31.782 --> 00:38:34.858 God gives that to us. 00:38:34.858 --> 00:38:38.637 We can't work it up. 00:38:38.637 --> 00:38:48.005 So here's the question for us how, then, do we relate to people who seem bent on doing evil? 00:38:48.005 --> 00:38:52.485 Where do we draw the line between mercy and judgment? 00:38:54.219 --> 00:39:02.077 See for Jonah to warn these Ninevites would seemingly set them up for God's mercy and allow them to get away with murder literally Get away with murder. 00:39:02.077 --> 00:39:09.947 You know, when most people are faced with disaster, they'll relent or turn, they'll repent, and guess what? 00:39:09.947 --> 00:39:12.739 A while later, right back to what we're doing. 00:39:12.739 --> 00:39:16.858 That's not repentance, going back to the old ways. 00:39:16.858 --> 00:39:23.141 Mercy triumphs over judgment, though, but here's the thing God's patience doesn't last forever. 00:39:23.141 --> 00:39:30.643 God is concerned about law and order and justice, but he's also a God of mercy. 00:39:30.643 --> 00:39:39.257 You know for Nineveh this, really, even though they turned, this is just a stay of execution for them. 00:39:39.257 --> 00:39:53.123 This is a temporary reprieve, because a few years later, in 612 BC, the Babylonians came and decimated this nation of Syria. 00:39:54.695 --> 00:39:56.237 Jonah's prophecy did come true. 00:39:56.237 --> 00:40:03.684 You know, the heart of God is for all people. 00:40:03.684 --> 00:40:09.985 It's for all people To know His love, even though we will call our enemies. 00:40:09.985 --> 00:40:22.083 And as we look at Jonah chapter 4, next couple of times, god has some questions for Jonah, and maybe, just maybe, he has some questions for us too. 00:40:22.083 --> 00:40:25.338 How deep is the love of God? 00:40:25.338 --> 00:40:28.820