WEBVTT 00:00:19.099 --> 00:00:24.460 Well, church, if you will, I want to invite you to take your copy of God's word and turn with me to Jonah chapter four. 00:00:24.699 --> 00:00:25.980 Jonah chapter four. 00:00:26.059 --> 00:00:27.579 I know it's a change from your bulletin. 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:29.660 That's just how we roll here. 00:00:29.740 --> 00:00:34.379 And I want to introduce this series, spend a few minutes talking about what we're going to be doing this summer. 00:00:34.700 --> 00:00:39.099 Because summer is one of those seasons where people they kind of come and they go very quickly. 00:00:39.259 --> 00:00:46.299 I don't like doing long series because I don't like you leaving for a couple of weeks and then coming back and saying, why are we in the middle of the Song of Solomon for? 00:00:46.379 --> 00:00:47.340 Or something like that. 00:00:47.579 --> 00:00:50.460 I want you to know exactly where we are and what's going on. 00:00:50.539 --> 00:00:55.339 And so what we're going to do through this series is we are going to walk through a series. 00:00:55.579 --> 00:00:57.659 I'm calling it What Would Jesus Post? 00:00:58.539 --> 00:01:04.859 How many of you remember the acronym or the letters WWJD? 00:01:05.099 --> 00:01:05.340 Right? 00:01:05.500 --> 00:01:07.659 Okay, most of you over the age of 40. 00:01:07.819 --> 00:01:08.060 Perfect. 00:01:08.219 --> 00:01:10.539 Okay, this is gonna this is gonna land solidly. 00:01:10.620 --> 00:01:11.340 I love this. 00:01:11.659 --> 00:01:13.019 WWJD. 00:01:13.340 --> 00:01:14.379 What would Jesus do? 00:01:14.460 --> 00:01:18.620 Well, I kind of want to ask that question, but I want to ask it about Jesus' post. 00:01:18.939 --> 00:01:27.099 What would Jesus post concerning uh the current affairs and events and culture, cultural happenings, those kinds of things. 00:01:27.179 --> 00:01:28.540 Now I know what you're thinking. 00:01:28.700 --> 00:01:30.060 Uh, you're kidding me, Pastor. 00:01:30.140 --> 00:01:34.060 This is going to be an entire sermon series talking about nothing but politics. 00:01:34.219 --> 00:01:36.459 I'm going to tell you, I abhor politics. 00:01:36.620 --> 00:01:42.859 Without a doubt, we're going to probably have to deal with it at some point because that's just the nature of where we are right now. 00:01:43.099 --> 00:01:58.939 But what I want to focus on is to look at contemporary happening, news events, pop culture, those kinds of things, and to bring that to the scripture and see how scripture would interpret what's being said or demonstrated in that particular event. 00:01:59.099 --> 00:02:00.219 Why are we doing this? 00:02:00.459 --> 00:02:03.099 We're doing it because it's what Jesus did. 00:02:03.260 --> 00:02:07.500 We're doing it because if Jesus were here, this is what he would do. 00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:18.540 He would take some cultural event, a tower falling in Silo, or a group of people whose blood was mingled with their sacrifices, or a coin that had the inscription of Caesar on it. 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:25.259 And Jesus would say, Let me tell you about God, how God can be seen in this event or this affair. 00:02:25.420 --> 00:02:42.379 Because the reality is in a world where God is everywhere and where He controls and is sovereign and rules this entire planet, there's no place you can go where you can hide from the imprint of God's hand. 00:02:42.540 --> 00:02:43.500 It's everywhere. 00:02:43.660 --> 00:02:47.980 And so I hope you get the chance to see that throughout this sermon series. 00:02:48.139 --> 00:02:57.579 But above that, I hope that you also or we learn how we can take these events and leverage them for gospel currency. 00:02:57.899 --> 00:03:03.180 People may not talk to you about Jesus, but they will talk to you about Bobby Cox. 00:03:03.339 --> 00:03:20.939 And once they start discussing or talking to you about Atlanta baseball and Ted Turner and Bobby Cox, once you get that door open, well, that's a good time, a good opportunity for you to interject what you're really there for, and that is to discuss Jesus. 00:03:21.180 --> 00:03:31.740 And so this morning, what we're going to look at is the recent deaths of two of Atlanta, the Atlanta Braves Foundation's key leaders in history. 00:03:31.899 --> 00:03:34.540 Ted Turner, of course, died a couple of weeks ago. 00:03:34.620 --> 00:03:37.899 And then a few days after him, a man named Bobby Cox passed away. 00:03:37.980 --> 00:03:40.060 Now you probably know Ted Turner. 00:03:40.300 --> 00:03:47.339 You know CNN, you know his impact in the Atlanta area and around the region, but you may not know Bobby Cox. 00:03:47.500 --> 00:03:53.579 Bobby Cox was Ted Turner's manager over the Braves program for many, many years. 00:03:53.899 --> 00:04:01.259 He was an influential figure, one of the most successful managers and coaches in baseball history. 00:04:01.420 --> 00:04:05.899 He is number four in all-time wins as a manager. 00:04:06.060 --> 00:04:06.860 That's pretty good. 00:04:06.939 --> 00:04:08.300 He's in the top five. 00:04:08.540 --> 00:04:21.980 He has won 100, I'm sorry, uh 14 different uh division championships and even has a uh a world championship uh in his uh on his resume. 00:04:22.060 --> 00:04:27.500 And so he's a well-accomplished individual, but Bobby Cox is known for something else. 00:04:27.579 --> 00:04:36.699 In addition to his World Series championship and his division championships, he was ejected from more games than anyone else in baseball by far. 00:04:37.580 --> 00:04:42.379 162 ejections in his career. 00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:47.180 That is 40 more than anyone else in baseball history. 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:55.020 Now, um, so this led to some comments whenever Bobby passed away. 00:04:55.180 --> 00:04:56.860 Someone wanted to point this out. 00:04:57.100 --> 00:05:11.980 And um an uh ESPN commentator named Kevin Scott um posted on X the comment he said that he could just imagine Bobby Cox standing before St. 00:05:12.139 --> 00:05:15.740 Peter, kicking dirt, arguing his way into heaven. 00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:19.819 Now, I read that and I did what you probably are doing now. 00:05:19.980 --> 00:05:27.819 You smirk a little bit, we laugh because it is funny, but then it also kind of gripped me because the statement is very telling. 00:05:28.060 --> 00:05:46.780 Now, I don't know what Kevin Scott's background is, if he's religious or not religious, and I'm almost certain he's not envisioning literally Bobby Cox walking up to the pearly gates or whatever, and in some fiction sort of idea of heaven and arguing his way through the gates as Saint Peter is standing there. 00:05:47.020 --> 00:05:48.780 By the way, every bit of that is wrong. 00:05:48.939 --> 00:05:52.939 I'm just telling you, the very first person you're gonna see is not Saint Peter. 00:05:53.020 --> 00:05:58.699 The very first person I believe you're gonna see is Jesus, and certainly he's the one I'm going to look for whenever I get there. 00:05:58.860 --> 00:06:00.860 And so that's not what's happening here. 00:06:01.100 --> 00:06:06.060 But the idea does tell us something about what we think about God. 00:06:06.540 --> 00:06:23.020 There's this viewpoint for many of us that sort of leads us to believe that we can argue our way with God, that all we need to do when something goes wrong is to charge the mound, to charge the plate, and to start kicking dirt. 00:06:23.100 --> 00:06:33.259 And if you've ever seen a video of Bobby Cox arguing with an umpire, because that's what got him kicked out, um, you know, like he's he's not slowing down. 00:06:33.580 --> 00:06:41.500 I almost brought in a video to show you so you could get a feel for it, but I was afraid some of you might read lips and that would become offensive real quick. 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:45.340 Like, like he would show up and he would kick the dirt and he would just give it all that. 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:52.300 Some of us think that like that's sort of how it works in reality, that you know, we can argue our point with the sovereign God. 00:06:52.460 --> 00:06:59.180 Now, what you're gonna see today as we look at Jonah is you're going to see an individual who kind of did that very thing. 00:06:59.340 --> 00:07:08.860 Like literally, he's in the desert and he is upset with God and he is kicking sand around and arguing his point with the ultimate umpire. 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:16.540 And so we're gonna see how this went for him and what we can learn from it to see, okay, what does it mean to argue our point with God? 00:07:16.699 --> 00:07:24.220 What does it mean to stand before God's true gatekeeper and to argue our case? 00:07:24.379 --> 00:07:25.340 Is that okay? 00:07:25.500 --> 00:07:28.300 And if it is okay, what is it, what should it look like? 00:07:28.460 --> 00:07:49.740 Well, if you have your Bibles open to Jonah chapter one, uh four, rather, Jonah chapter four, verse one, we're just going to walk through these first couple of verses, talk about kind of what's happening here, and then we're going to see how God responded whenever Jonah pulled a Bobby Cox and got right up in his face and complained about the call that God was making. 00:07:49.980 --> 00:07:50.939 All right, you ready? 00:07:51.100 --> 00:07:52.220 Verse number one. 00:07:52.699 --> 00:07:57.500 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 00:07:57.660 --> 00:07:59.180 He was very angry. 00:07:59.259 --> 00:08:00.620 What's he so mad about? 00:08:00.780 --> 00:08:04.060 Well, if you know anything about Jonah, you probably know about the fish. 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:06.620 That's the part of the story that everyone remembers. 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:12.300 But if you think about it very long, you will recall while why he was in that fish. 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:20.860 See, Jonah had just completed one of the most successful uh evangelistic meetings in world history. 00:08:21.580 --> 00:08:28.780 He stepped out into a city that was more wicked than anything you and I can imagine. 00:08:29.100 --> 00:08:36.860 And 120,000 people repented from their sin over an eight-word sermon. 00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:43.740 Carrie, I was thinking about this the other day that maybe the secret to good preaching is eight words. 00:08:45.100 --> 00:08:46.779 Not gonna happen. 00:08:47.259 --> 00:08:48.860 This is not gonna happen. 00:08:49.179 --> 00:08:51.180 So uh, but that's that was Jonah's experience. 00:08:51.259 --> 00:08:54.940 He stood up and said, Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overturned. 00:08:55.100 --> 00:08:55.820 That was it. 00:08:56.060 --> 00:09:02.860 And yet, because those words were words that came from God, they had the impact of soul change. 00:09:03.100 --> 00:09:05.259 There's a lot to be said that to that, isn't there? 00:09:05.419 --> 00:09:22.860 Some of you like you're looking for the impact of soul change, like you've tried changing your physical habits, you've tried changing your physical physique, you've tried changing your mental status, and I'm telling you, like all of that reverbs from something far deeper inside of you that only answers to the word of God. 00:09:23.100 --> 00:09:34.220 And so whenever Jonah proclaimed the word of God, those eight words that seemed to you and I just to be unimpactful, because they landed with the force of the Spirit of God. 00:09:34.300 --> 00:09:37.180 They pierced the heart of Nineveh and people repented. 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:39.899 And Jonah was so excited about it. 00:09:40.300 --> 00:09:41.899 No, he was not. 00:09:42.220 --> 00:09:44.060 He was very upset, he was angry. 00:09:44.139 --> 00:09:47.259 In fact, he went outside the city and he prayed to the Lord. 00:09:47.419 --> 00:09:59.820 The last time we saw Jonah praying to the Lord, he was repenting from the belly of the fish because God had said to him, Go to Nineveh and preach to that great city, the capital of the Assyrians. 00:09:59.899 --> 00:10:01.019 Go and preach to them. 00:10:01.180 --> 00:10:03.580 And Jonah did, in fact, go up. 00:10:03.899 --> 00:10:17.740 And instead of trying to uh going out to the Via Basilica and turning right and heading north, he turned and he turned left and headed south and went down to the port and he boarded a boat. 00:10:17.980 --> 00:10:19.980 He was going to head off to parts unknown. 00:10:20.139 --> 00:10:25.340 He was leaving, he was getting as far away from that call on his life as possible. 00:10:25.899 --> 00:10:26.460 Why? 00:10:26.779 --> 00:10:29.820 Because the Assyrians were brutal people. 00:10:30.860 --> 00:10:46.860 Whatever you think about terrorists, just imagine like terrorism mixed with Iran, mixed with Russia, all compiled together uh and and mingled with a class on how to behead people and stack those heads together into a pyramid. 00:10:47.019 --> 00:10:48.300 Those were the Assyrians. 00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:56.060 I mean, they were horrifically, they were among the most horrific military force the world had ever seen. 00:10:56.139 --> 00:10:57.659 They were brutal. 00:10:58.460 --> 00:11:04.860 The relief of Lachish in the British Museum stands as a testimony to this. 00:11:05.100 --> 00:11:10.620 You know, most of the time, most of the time, whenever a country does something terrible, they minimize it. 00:11:10.779 --> 00:11:16.139 They're like, oh, well, you know, there was this that happened, or they just don't tell you at all until some years later. 00:11:16.300 --> 00:11:22.539 They don't put it on the front page of the news and tell you how brutal and terrible they actually actually were. 00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:24.940 Well, that wasn't what the Assyrians did. 00:11:25.100 --> 00:11:27.740 The Assyrians made a relief about it. 00:11:27.820 --> 00:11:31.180 Uh, it's nearly a 200-foot-long carving. 00:11:31.259 --> 00:11:33.340 Uh, it stands about eight foot tall. 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:34.779 It's massive. 00:11:35.019 --> 00:11:41.259 And it shows the most brutal depiction of people being brutalized in the worst way possible. 00:11:41.580 --> 00:11:43.340 This was in, this was in his palace. 00:11:43.419 --> 00:11:45.899 This is where the guy ate, this is where he ate lunch. 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:55.580 I mean, it tells you the kind of brutality that was in this culture where they did not just do the worst things imaginable, they celebrated it. 00:11:55.820 --> 00:12:06.860 And Jonah is looking at the Assyrians to the north of him, and he sees their rising power and the border skirmishes that are already taking place, and he thinks to himself, no, no, no, no, no. 00:12:07.180 --> 00:12:14.539 I don't want whatever that is, whatever that looks like trying to show grace to these people, I don't want any part of that. 00:12:14.620 --> 00:12:24.940 Because if I know Jonah knew, he knew that if he was going to proclaim judgment, there's a reason why God was sending him to proclaim judgment. 00:12:25.100 --> 00:12:29.659 He was being sent out to proclaim judgment so the people might seek grace. 00:12:31.100 --> 00:12:37.259 See, some people in our world they get all sideways about the proclamation of the judgment of God. 00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:44.060 As though warning people that they're standing inside of a house that's burning down is somehow a sin in itself. 00:12:44.539 --> 00:12:50.779 But the truth is, judgment, the proclamation of judgment, is there so that people may see grace. 00:12:51.259 --> 00:12:54.539 And so that's what Jonah, Jonah, he knows this. 00:12:54.700 --> 00:12:57.659 This is this is this is his whole argument. 00:12:57.980 --> 00:13:03.659 Whenever he comes out, he prays to God, not the sweet prayers that you and I would pray. 00:13:03.820 --> 00:13:10.940 He turns to God and says, Oh Yahweh, oh Lord, is this not exactly what I said whenever I was in my home country? 00:13:11.659 --> 00:13:15.100 That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshus. 00:13:15.340 --> 00:13:26.060 I knew that you, well, listen to this, you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster. 00:13:26.460 --> 00:13:41.980 What a weird thing to pray to God, because for me, whenever I think about who God is and the essence of his nature, I am very grateful that I serve a God who is gracious and merciful and long-suffering. 00:13:43.180 --> 00:13:44.220 How about you? 00:13:44.700 --> 00:13:46.620 Like I want that. 00:13:47.740 --> 00:13:49.019 I need that. 00:13:49.659 --> 00:13:52.779 I want that to be part of God's character. 00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:58.700 But there's also this other part of me that wants that to be God's character that's directed towards me. 00:13:59.419 --> 00:14:08.060 And people like me, and people who have my particulars sins and my particular failings and my particular struggles. 00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:20.620 But for people who are not like me, who don't have my particular failings and my particular struggles, well, for those people, I'm a little less interested in them getting grace. 00:14:21.500 --> 00:14:26.700 I mean, like whenever I see someone who's posting something that to me just seems ad ho abhorrent. 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:35.180 When I witness an individual or hear about an individual who has has hurt an innocent person brutally, I mean, like I want judgment. 00:14:35.259 --> 00:14:35.659 We all do. 00:14:35.820 --> 00:14:37.259 Judgment is necessary. 00:14:37.740 --> 00:14:41.740 Society should protect itself from people who do the most heinous things. 00:14:41.980 --> 00:14:45.740 But there's something in my heart that wants something far worse for that individual. 00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:48.220 That's Jonah's spirit here. 00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:52.860 He's like, God, you just need to give them what they deserve. 00:14:53.419 --> 00:15:06.779 And because I know who you are, I decided I don't want any part in even the smallest sliver of possibility that these people may repent and change their mind and not get not get destroyed, not be judged. 00:15:07.180 --> 00:15:16.460 Therefore, Jonah says, Now, oh Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. 00:15:16.779 --> 00:15:17.419 Wow. 00:15:18.060 --> 00:15:21.340 This guy was seething angry. 00:15:21.500 --> 00:15:31.180 He is, he is, he is Bobby Cox standing at an umpire and saying, How could you ever, ever declare that person safe? 00:15:31.899 --> 00:15:34.460 Waving his hands and throwing his hat. 00:15:35.100 --> 00:15:39.180 The divine umpire does not change his mind. 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:42.060 By the way, that's an interesting fact. 00:15:42.300 --> 00:15:45.340 163 ejections because he argued with umpires. 00:15:45.500 --> 00:15:50.220 Do you know how many umpires changed their mind and reversed their call? 00:15:50.700 --> 00:15:51.340 Zero. 00:15:52.060 --> 00:15:52.860 Not a one. 00:15:52.940 --> 00:16:01.259 Now that's a whole nother sermon in itself, but you know, maybe there's a better way to get someone to change their mind than standing up in their face and screaming at them. 00:16:01.419 --> 00:16:03.659 But again, it's another sermon for another day. 00:16:03.740 --> 00:16:05.659 Uh no umpire ever changed their mind. 00:16:05.740 --> 00:16:15.340 And when you talk about the ultimate umpire who has thought the thing through, like you don't have to go to him and say, hey, listen, here's a fact you may not have thought of. 00:16:15.659 --> 00:16:16.860 Or here's an idea. 00:16:16.940 --> 00:16:19.340 Maybe if you if you look at it from this way, God. 00:16:19.659 --> 00:16:21.340 Like that, that's not, God knows. 00:16:21.419 --> 00:16:22.220 He is sovereign. 00:16:22.300 --> 00:16:25.100 He is he is perfectly aware of the situation. 00:16:25.180 --> 00:16:30.060 And so whenever he decides, when he makes a call, the call stands. 00:16:31.659 --> 00:16:34.220 That's not a warning, that's not a wait. 00:16:34.460 --> 00:16:35.580 That's a blessing. 00:16:35.899 --> 00:16:39.019 I'm glad that Jesus' calls stand. 00:16:39.740 --> 00:16:57.500 I'm glad whenever I knelt down by my by my little my little couch the night that I think that I was saved, whenever I knelt down there and I slid into the dirt and Jesus called me safe, doesn't matter how what kind of enemy stands up and yells and says, I can't believe you called him safe. 00:16:57.659 --> 00:16:58.700 Do you know what he's going to do? 00:16:58.860 --> 00:16:59.740 Do you know what he's done? 00:16:59.820 --> 00:17:06.139 Do you know what kind of person he's going to be up in up in Jesus' face as an umpire trying to get him to change his call? 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:09.740 And yet Jesus does not change his call for me. 00:17:09.819 --> 00:17:12.379 And he didn't change his call for you. 00:17:13.019 --> 00:17:18.139 Whenever you were called to salvation, you were called to salvation for eternity. 00:17:18.460 --> 00:17:20.299 Because he's the divine umpire. 00:17:20.460 --> 00:17:24.219 And he does not change his mind no matter what may come. 00:17:24.379 --> 00:17:26.299 He knew exactly what kind of person you were going to be. 00:17:26.379 --> 00:17:29.419 He knows exactly what kind of person you are going to be. 00:17:30.059 --> 00:17:36.219 And ultimately, in his mind, he knows that person is going to be conformed to the image of his son. 00:17:36.699 --> 00:17:38.219 That's where he's heading to. 00:17:38.539 --> 00:17:38.939 All right. 00:17:39.179 --> 00:17:43.419 So, what does God do with Jonah's kicking dirt and complaint? 00:17:43.659 --> 00:17:50.779 Because I know, like, with me as a parent, if I had this kind of response from one of my children, like, I can kick dirt back. 00:17:51.099 --> 00:17:56.859 And so that would be like my response, but God is much more gracious and much more precise. 00:17:57.099 --> 00:18:04.939 And at this point, right, God, God had a heart for 120,000 lost people and wanted to see them come back. 00:18:05.259 --> 00:18:12.859 But the ultimate objective of this entire program wasn't to save 120,000 people, it was to save 120,001. 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:17.579 And now there's one lost sheep who needs to be addressed. 00:18:17.899 --> 00:18:21.740 So God asked Jonah a series of questions. 00:18:22.059 --> 00:18:35.500 And we're going to walk through them rather quickly, but ultimately what you're going to see is these three questions, they they point to Jonah's misunderstanding of the situation. 00:18:35.979 --> 00:18:42.539 And ultimately, what God is going to ask him in these next few verses are do you do right? 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:44.859 Do you have the right? 00:18:45.500 --> 00:18:46.779 And is God right? 00:18:47.419 --> 00:18:47.979 Am I right? 00:18:48.139 --> 00:18:49.259 God would say to him. 00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:54.779 And is God right? 00:18:55.259 --> 00:18:56.699 Okay, verse number four. 00:18:56.939 --> 00:18:57.899 Do you do right? 00:18:58.059 --> 00:18:58.939 God says to him. 00:18:59.179 --> 00:19:03.740 The Lord said, Do you do well to be so angry? 00:19:04.139 --> 00:19:07.339 Hey, look, there are things in life that we should be angry about. 00:19:07.579 --> 00:19:15.979 I mean, we should not be okay or lackadaisigal about the horrors that surround us, the depravity of leaders in this world. 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:22.459 I mean, that the the actions of people who do the most heinous things to the most vulnerable people. 00:19:22.859 --> 00:19:24.139 That should anger us. 00:19:24.219 --> 00:19:25.740 There is a divine anger. 00:19:25.899 --> 00:19:29.019 This is why we're told in the epistles to be angry. 00:19:29.179 --> 00:19:32.299 That's fine, but be sure that you do not sin. 00:19:32.939 --> 00:19:43.259 Watch yourself so that the anger doesn't become something that controls you, but instead you are using the anger as energy to take action in this world. 00:19:43.339 --> 00:19:45.419 And that's really what it's all about, isn't it? 00:19:45.659 --> 00:19:49.500 See, in this world, it's uh anger is anger is all the rage. 00:19:49.819 --> 00:19:50.619 That's a pun. 00:19:50.699 --> 00:19:52.539 I didn't mean for that to work out that way. 00:19:52.859 --> 00:19:54.219 Anger is all the rage. 00:19:54.299 --> 00:19:55.099 It really is, isn't it? 00:19:55.259 --> 00:19:57.979 I mean, it's like everyone's everyone's up on anger. 00:19:58.059 --> 00:19:59.259 Let's be angry about something. 00:19:59.419 --> 00:20:00.379 Let's say something. 00:20:00.539 --> 00:20:01.819 Let's start something. 00:20:01.899 --> 00:20:03.819 Let's be mad about something. 00:20:04.379 --> 00:20:08.939 But the problem is, is that form of anger, and this is where we really have to check our heart. 00:20:09.099 --> 00:20:09.979 We have to check ourselves. 00:20:10.219 --> 00:20:22.219 We have to very carefully diagnose what's happening to us whenever we become angry and we approach the plate and begin to argue our point with the one who's managing all of this. 00:20:22.699 --> 00:20:24.459 Because there are different types of anger. 00:20:24.619 --> 00:20:26.859 There is a divine anger, which is appropriate. 00:20:27.019 --> 00:20:29.740 It's a righteous anger at things that are unrighteous. 00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:30.939 And that's okay. 00:20:31.099 --> 00:20:43.899 Jesus had that as he stood and turned over the tables in the in the temple because the people there were marketing salvation, and Jesus says salvation is going to be free, people. 00:20:44.059 --> 00:20:45.740 And he was angry about that. 00:20:45.819 --> 00:20:47.259 And he turned over the tables. 00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:49.419 He didn't, like he wasn't doing it nicely. 00:20:49.579 --> 00:20:53.419 He wasn't going by and saying, Hey, excuse me, guys, just going to tip this right over here. 00:20:53.579 --> 00:20:54.299 No, no, no. 00:20:54.459 --> 00:20:56.859 He was he was throwing stuff around. 00:20:57.019 --> 00:21:01.579 That like sometimes we need that kind of attitude, that kind of action. 00:21:01.740 --> 00:21:11.979 But we have to always do, we have to always execute our anger, understanding that we are fallen people, and sometimes we cannot control our emotions. 00:21:12.539 --> 00:21:13.899 There are other types of angers. 00:21:13.979 --> 00:21:15.339 There is a disappointed anger. 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:17.339 You know what disappointed anger is, right? 00:21:17.579 --> 00:21:25.899 It's whenever you're you're not angry about a wrong that occurred, you're angry about a want not achieved. 00:21:27.179 --> 00:21:31.339 So this is where like you may be angry at the wealthy people in this world. 00:21:31.579 --> 00:21:32.299 And that's fine. 00:21:32.459 --> 00:21:39.659 You can be angry at the wealthy people and how they manipulated society and how that some of them got golden parachutes, and that's fine. 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:41.899 But where's the real motivation for that? 00:21:42.459 --> 00:21:48.699 Is the motivation about the wrong that was executed, or is it about the want that you didn't achieve? 00:21:48.779 --> 00:21:54.459 Is it would you be just as angry at that level of wealth if you somehow had eight billion dollars? 00:21:56.299 --> 00:21:57.179 Tough, isn't it? 00:21:58.699 --> 00:21:59.819 I don't know if you would or not. 00:21:59.899 --> 00:22:04.699 I do know you should definitely tithe on it if you ever do come into that kind of money. 00:22:04.939 --> 00:22:09.419 There's disappointed anger and then and then also there is displayed anger. 00:22:09.819 --> 00:22:20.299 You know, one of the great substitutes in our age for for righteous actions or for advocating for Marginalized people. 00:22:21.500 --> 00:22:33.339 One of the great substitutes, substitute for being for being actively involved in struggles of others is to complain about it. 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:43.579 It's so much easier to rant and to rave about an injustice in the world than it is to go out and be involved in that injustice. 00:22:43.979 --> 00:22:46.539 You can see how that that's that feels good. 00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:53.500 It's a moral substitute for moral action, but it is an anger that does not accomplish the righteousness of God. 00:22:53.740 --> 00:22:56.219 Because it's it's that that's what scripture says. 00:22:56.459 --> 00:23:02.539 Don't be angry, because the anger of man has never accomplished the righteousness of God. 00:23:02.859 --> 00:23:20.139 And if our anger is a disappointment anger that we didn't get what others have, or if our anger is a displayed anger and it's just there to show people our moral indignation is equivalent to our moral standing, that's not the anger that God gives. 00:23:34.219 --> 00:23:38.619 He's angry about what he was afraid was going to happen to his people. 00:23:39.339 --> 00:23:54.379 Which brings us to the next point, the next question, which is um number two, does that anger, oh, lovely notes. 00:23:54.939 --> 00:23:56.539 Do you have the right? 00:23:57.259 --> 00:23:58.459 Do you have the right? 00:23:58.699 --> 00:23:59.500 Are you right? 00:23:59.740 --> 00:24:00.619 Ah, you're not right. 00:24:00.699 --> 00:24:03.740 You could be angry and be right, but you're not right, Jonah. 00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:04.939 This is not okay. 00:24:05.179 --> 00:24:07.179 Do you have the right to be angry? 00:24:07.419 --> 00:24:09.259 Do you have the right to feel this way? 00:24:09.500 --> 00:24:17.419 God says to him in verse number nine, because what happened was after Jonah made his point and God asked him this question and just sort of let it hang there. 00:24:17.579 --> 00:24:19.899 Is it okay for you to feel this way, Jonah? 00:24:19.979 --> 00:24:21.819 Do you do well to feel this way? 00:24:22.139 --> 00:24:27.259 He leaves and he lets Jonah contemplate what's happening there. 00:24:27.659 --> 00:24:30.299 You know, we don't do enough of that in our world. 00:24:30.459 --> 00:24:34.779 We don't stop long enough to contemplate what's really going on in our heart. 00:24:34.939 --> 00:24:46.459 The idea of true self-reflection is a lost art, especially that true self-reflection that comes whenever we hear God's word and we begin to compare ourselves to what God is saying. 00:24:46.859 --> 00:24:48.459 That's what God does to Jonah. 00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:50.619 God speaks, his word is there, and it hangs in the air. 00:24:50.699 --> 00:24:55.740 And now Jonah is forced to look at the word of God as though it's a mirror, diagnose himself. 00:24:55.899 --> 00:25:00.139 And when God leaves, he sets up an illustration for Jonah. 00:25:00.379 --> 00:25:18.139 It's hot out there in the desert sand as you're kicking dirt up in the on the ankles of God, and God graciously causes a small plant to grow up, just large enough that Jonah could hunker down and could find some shield from the sun. 00:25:19.179 --> 00:25:21.179 It was a grace, it was a true mercy. 00:25:21.500 --> 00:25:25.259 Jonah was very, very happy about that gourd. 00:25:25.500 --> 00:25:27.339 God had appointed that gourd. 00:25:27.579 --> 00:25:36.379 But the same God who appointed the girl gourd, Jonah tells us, after he appointed the gourd, he appointed a worm to come by and to eat that gourd up. 00:25:36.859 --> 00:25:47.579 And then God appointed a wind to come blowing by, so that Jonah's now being parched by the sand and the sun and the and the wind, and it's very uncomfortable out there. 00:25:47.659 --> 00:25:52.779 And Jonah is again very, very angry and demands that God kills him. 00:25:53.579 --> 00:25:55.819 So God comes by and asks a second question. 00:25:55.979 --> 00:25:56.779 Verse number nine. 00:25:56.939 --> 00:26:01.979 This is the question that says, Is it right or you is it is it right for you to feel this way, Jonah? 00:26:02.139 --> 00:26:04.379 Are you, do you have the right to feel this way? 00:26:04.539 --> 00:26:08.779 God comes to him and says, Do you do well to be angry for the plant? 00:26:09.259 --> 00:26:15.899 I mean, I know you were angry about the whole thing in Nineveh, but is it okay for you to feel angry about this plant that I gave you? 00:26:16.059 --> 00:26:20.939 And Jonah's response is, of course, yes, I do feel angry enough, angry enough to die. 00:26:21.099 --> 00:26:25.419 I'm just in feeling the way that I feel. 00:26:25.659 --> 00:26:28.299 Now think about what Jonah is doing here. 00:26:28.779 --> 00:26:33.740 Um, in psychology, they refer to it as loss aversion. 00:26:34.699 --> 00:26:54.619 Loss aversion is the way of looking at things that uh tells us that you are more upset or angry about losing something that you had than you ever would be about not having something that you've never had. 00:26:55.099 --> 00:27:04.539 So, like if you had a brand new car and uh someone comes by, I mean, I'm not talking brand new$80,000 vehicle. 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:06.459 I'm like you went by and you made Randy's Day, right? 00:27:06.539 --> 00:27:07.019 You bought two of them. 00:27:07.099 --> 00:27:08.539 Let's just say you bought two of them. 00:27:08.939 --> 00:27:16.059 And you like those are your cars, but then then the state came by and they took those cars away from you for some reason. 00:27:16.219 --> 00:27:18.379 Like you'd be really, really angry. 00:27:19.019 --> 00:27:20.619 Really, really angry, wouldn't you? 00:27:20.699 --> 00:27:24.459 I mean, like if someone stole your brand new car, you'd be very, very angry. 00:27:24.699 --> 00:27:27.740 But you're sitting here right now and you don't have that brand new car. 00:27:27.979 --> 00:27:29.579 Are you angry about it? 00:27:30.139 --> 00:27:31.019 I mean, you may be. 00:27:31.259 --> 00:27:31.979 I'm not judging. 00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:33.339 I'm just saying you may be angry. 00:27:33.500 --> 00:27:35.099 But no, you're probably not angry about it. 00:27:35.179 --> 00:27:44.699 And the reason is because you're angry about losing something that you had, much more angry than you would be not having something that you wanted, but you never had. 00:27:44.939 --> 00:27:45.740 This is Jonah. 00:27:45.899 --> 00:27:49.579 Jonah would have never been angry about the gourd, except for the gourd existed. 00:27:49.819 --> 00:27:57.179 And he's looking at the gourd and he is saying, that was mine, this was me, this is this was my last thing, God. 00:27:57.419 --> 00:28:04.379 And you couldn't protect me from having this one last thing, and he's angry and he's frustrated. 00:28:04.619 --> 00:28:06.539 Now, why is he angry and he's frustrated? 00:28:06.699 --> 00:28:16.459 Because he thinks he deserves it, that he's earned it somehow, that it was, it was his own private possession, and now it's gone, and he knows that God took it away. 00:28:17.179 --> 00:28:20.299 You know, we fall into the same trap, don't we? 00:28:20.459 --> 00:28:29.339 Whenever we see something happening in the world and we become angry about it, we're frustrated because we've lost something, right? 00:28:29.659 --> 00:28:36.859 God's taken something away from us that we had, and deep inside we feel like we've we deserve it, we own it. 00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:45.979 And yet we recognize that God in his sovereignty moves the way he needs to move for his glory and not our own. 00:28:46.859 --> 00:28:48.299 We want fairness. 00:28:49.259 --> 00:28:51.339 We want good things to happen to us. 00:28:51.579 --> 00:28:55.019 And the reason we want good things to happen to us is because we're good people. 00:28:56.139 --> 00:29:00.939 And by converse, bad things should happen to bad people because they're bad people. 00:29:01.179 --> 00:29:06.619 And the world works in this very fair, very consistent, very predictable sort of way. 00:29:06.859 --> 00:29:09.019 Now, of course, there's a couple of problems with that. 00:29:09.179 --> 00:29:12.219 The first problem is who knows what good actually is? 00:29:12.859 --> 00:29:20.059 Because the things that have I felt have been bad for me have actually turned out to be some pretty good things in my life. 00:29:20.299 --> 00:29:26.939 I was talking to a pastor the other day and he was asking me about my vision impairment, and he did what a lot of people do. 00:29:27.419 --> 00:29:28.859 They apologize at some point. 00:29:29.019 --> 00:29:29.899 Oh, I'm sorry. 00:29:30.139 --> 00:29:32.219 I'm going to apologize for. 00:29:32.699 --> 00:29:34.619 This is the best thing that could ever happen to me. 00:29:34.779 --> 00:29:40.139 And I can list reasons why, because the thing that I once thought was so bad actually turned out to be quite good. 00:29:40.299 --> 00:29:43.179 So we can't argue what is actually good or bad. 00:29:43.259 --> 00:29:48.699 But beyond that, the other problem with fairness is that the truth is we don't want anything to do with it. 00:29:49.099 --> 00:30:01.579 Because whenever I sit down and like whenever I think about myself as a good person, I'm thinking about myself as a person who, you know, I'm looking at the highlight reel of my life. 00:30:01.819 --> 00:30:04.379 I'm not looking at the times that I swung and miss. 00:30:04.779 --> 00:30:07.179 I'm looking at the times that I hit a home run. 00:30:07.419 --> 00:30:12.939 But whenever I look at the true resume of my life, what I realize is I am not a good person. 00:30:13.579 --> 00:30:16.699 I'm a bad person, which means I want grace. 00:30:16.859 --> 00:30:17.579 I want mercy. 00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:19.740 I must have grace and I must have mercy. 00:30:19.899 --> 00:30:26.539 But if I want grace and mercy for me and judgment for other people, can I just ask you, is that fair? 00:30:27.099 --> 00:30:28.539 It's not, is it? 00:30:29.259 --> 00:30:37.979 Do you know 162 times Bobby Cox charged the umpire to kick dirt and complain about a call? 00:30:38.139 --> 00:30:48.459 Do you know how many times he did that to complain about a wrong call that was made against the team they were playing? 00:30:49.659 --> 00:30:55.899 Do you know how many times he charged the mound to complain about a call that benefited him? 00:30:56.539 --> 00:30:57.179 Zero. 00:30:57.819 --> 00:30:59.179 Not a single time. 00:30:59.339 --> 00:31:05.579 And the reason is pretty obvious is because he wasn't interested at all in right or wrong. 00:31:06.139 --> 00:31:15.899 It's funny how the notions of right and wrong, fair or unfair, become more clear to us the in proximity to our own needs and wants. 00:31:16.299 --> 00:31:24.299 Closer it is to us, the more we like to complain and kick dirt and sand and to say to God, God, why is this happening? 00:31:24.539 --> 00:31:28.219 And for Jonah, of course, he's he's upset about this gourd. 00:31:28.619 --> 00:31:32.619 And so he does feel like he's angry, angry enough to die. 00:31:32.779 --> 00:31:39.099 God has one more question for him, and this is where I I love, I love it when God does this. 00:31:39.339 --> 00:31:40.859 Um, in scripture, not to me. 00:31:40.939 --> 00:31:44.059 I don't like it when he does it to me, but in scripture, I love it whenever he does this. 00:31:44.139 --> 00:31:47.259 He's like he walks someone, and God's like, okay, just stand right there. 00:31:48.139 --> 00:31:51.019 Two feet forward, stand right there, don't move, stand right there. 00:31:51.259 --> 00:31:56.619 And then God pulls the rope and the trapdoor opens up, and the boom, person falls into truth. 00:31:56.779 --> 00:31:59.419 That's exactly what God has done here with Jonah. 00:31:59.579 --> 00:32:03.819 He's walked him into this very hot, very difficult place. 00:32:03.899 --> 00:32:05.419 He's allowed Jonah to be angry. 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:16.619 In fact, God has used Jonah's anger to He's used Jonah's sin to walk him into a place of grace so he can ask him one simple last question. 00:32:17.899 --> 00:32:20.139 Is it right for you to be angry? 00:32:20.459 --> 00:32:22.539 Like it's okay to be angry sometimes. 00:32:23.259 --> 00:32:33.500 Is is it is it is it uh is it right like are you right to be so angry about this thing when you're calling for fairness and yet I just showed them fairness? 00:32:33.579 --> 00:32:34.059 Is that right? 00:32:34.219 --> 00:32:37.899 And then the third question really is God says, Am I right? 00:32:38.939 --> 00:32:48.219 Do I have the right as you know God to do the thing with the thing that I've made, the thing that I've owned, like just gourd that that you're angry about? 00:32:48.539 --> 00:32:52.059 Don't I have a right to be to be something? 00:32:53.099 --> 00:32:58.699 If you have the right to be angry over the gourd, don't I have the right to be sorrowful over Nineveh? 00:32:59.979 --> 00:33:01.579 Look at verse number 11. 00:33:03.419 --> 00:33:17.339 Should I not have pity on Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000, literally in Hebrews, souls. 00:33:19.899 --> 00:33:25.899 For Jonah, 120,000 souls were not worth his one fear. 00:33:27.019 --> 00:33:31.419 They could have all perished so long as his one concern was abated. 00:33:31.659 --> 00:33:34.939 That was the concern of his national identity. 00:33:36.059 --> 00:33:39.899 To hell with all of them, so long as my people prosper. 00:33:40.379 --> 00:33:42.139 Very tribal, isn't it? 00:33:42.379 --> 00:33:47.740 We're very happy to pursue rights and wrongs and fairness. 00:33:47.899 --> 00:33:52.219 Whenever those things benefit us, we'll kick dirt and sand in the umpire's face. 00:33:52.379 --> 00:34:00.139 But whenever there's a right or whenever a wrong call on the field that benefits us, we will set in the on the bleacher and just let it go down. 00:34:00.619 --> 00:34:02.219 Not near as passionate. 00:34:02.459 --> 00:34:17.260 Yet if we had the heart of God, those 120,000 souls we would recognize were 120,000 children of God for whom he was deeply passionate and loved, who do not know their right hand from their left. 00:34:17.500 --> 00:34:20.619