Mercy to the Self-Righteous and Sinful Rebel - Jonah 3:1-10

Invite you to turn to Jonah chapter 3, with me.

Jonah chapter 3.

Jonah 3 verses 1 to 10.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. Go to the great city of Nineveh and Proclaim to it. The message I give you. Jonah obey, the word of the Lord went to Nineveh. Now, Nineveh was a very large city, it took three days to go through. It Jonah began by going, a Day's Journey Into the City for claiming 40 more days, and Nineveh will be overthrown. The ninevites believe, God that's was proclaimed. And all of them from the greatest to the least put on sackcloth When Jonas warning, reach the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne took off his Royal robes covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation by the king, do not let people or animals hurt their flocks taste. Anything do not let them eat or drink but let everyone be covered with tack cloth. Let them called urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God May yet relent, and with compassion turn from his Fierce anger, so that we will not perish. We all saw what they did. Now, they turn from the evil ways, he relented and did not bring them to destruction here, threatened. The word of God for the people of God. Thanks, be unto God.

In life whenever you hear a report of good news or a report of something, dangerous or bad going to happen soon. And it affects you personally, a response is demanded from you. That's just a simple basic principle. If somebody brings good news to you or bad news and it affects you directly of response is demanded from you. If you have a son who is serving in the military and You're a couple years ago when the Taliban took over Afghanistan, if your son was called to go over there to help rescue and bring back Americans and others to escape from that regime. I hate you sent overseas. He goes there is certainly not at all a safe environment to be in. But you get a call from the general. Who says your son has? Completed his task, he's on the plane. He's in route now he's going to be back home this coming Wednesday. That deserves demand a response from you. You should throw a party for him, you should bring him back into your home. Open Arms. You should celebrate with him smile, hug him Rejoice. That he's back home with you. Conversely, I say you're going to Hawaii. Soak up some sunshine and you're on the plane and seems like every time I'm on the plains for some reason, I always end up on the wing. I guess it's a just put out, I guess it's a cheap. See, I don't know why the most on the wings to imagine you're sitting on the wing and you're in the window seat that you're sitting down, you're enjoying the flight, take off your in the air, all of a sudden, Your your headphones and you just hear a loud. You look out on the wing, one of the engines has just burst into flames. I see videos of this, sometimes a people who posted about this. But do you see that one of the engines is just in flames? The announcer, the caption announces that's playing. It's going down. Bad news. Demands a response from you and you have to let you can't just sit there and keep popping in pretzels, in your mouth like nothing's happening, right? You have to put on a parachute, you have to put on that life jacket thing. If you're over water you have to put down, put on that mask thing, right? Good news or bad news, if it affect you directly of responses demand from you at some point between our texts today in Jonah, chapter 3, what we see is both the good news of God's mercy. But we also see the sobering news about judgment, against sin and wickedness. Let's go see if you walk to the text and if you zoom out and look at the entirety of Jonah as a whole, the overwhelming message in this book, is the boundless mercy of God. It is the sheer mercy of God being displayed to Jonah and the sailors to the ninevites and the Jonah. Again, a lot to Jonah. And the overwhelming message is just a message of sheer Mercy from the Lord. Let me see in this text, we see God's beautiful, boundless, Mercy, being displayed, and three kind of big ways. We see him, one of the mercy of God, being revealed as Jonah is recommissioned. Secondly, we see the mercy of God, displayed, as the city repents. And finally, we see the mercy of God. Displayed as God himself or Lintz from sending rap. What's our goal, what's our aim this morning where we headed, what it? What it what should we strive to do in response to the text simply Miss bask in the beautiful mercy of God, asking it rejoice in it, the light in it, see it's a buret and we see his Mercy. Clearly displayed beautifully. In this chapter, the first lie. God's Mercy is displayed, as shown himself is recommissioned. Look at first one with me. The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. Are you stop right there? I hope you see the parallels here. This is very, very similar to the wording in chapter 1, chapter 1, verse 1, the word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of amittai, verse to you very parallel as well. Go to the great city of Nineveh chapter, 34 claim to at the message, I gave you chapter 1, go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because its wickedness, has come up before me almost identical openings. But very different responses from Jonah. What happened in chapter one?

What happened? Jonah ran away, okay? You would expect a man of God a prophet of God who served in Ministry. Several times before hand would expect him to respond in obedience, but instead he runs the opposite direction. This Time, chapter 3, what happens verse 3, Jonah obeyed, the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh, Couple things to take note of first lady God's word has not changed. God's word. Call God's command had not changed the same. God, the same word the same instructions. This time Jonah obeyed. What happened? Why the difference why the different response I would suggest chapter 2? See Jonah obeyed in part because he had just experienced a fresh. Time, a fresh sense of God's salvation has been in the belly of the fish. He had just been in the darkness of the depths get, just been into the realm of the dead at the text says, which function like you was dead or 3 days 3 nights and Jewish. Thought if, if somebody was gone for that long, if they were buried in the Tomb for that long, they were fully declared a thought of his dead. Jonah was functionally dead. We got delivered him. Raised him from the dead, he spit him, command of the fish, you vomited Jonah onto dry land. Jonah had just been delivered, it just freshly pasted of God's salvation and now in response to that delivers Jonah. Now obeys the word of the Lord. Everything's take note of look for repeated phrases. This is something. I say almost every week but what is repeated hear the word of the Lord came to Jonah? What is the word? Lord go to the great city of Nineveh and do what for claim to it or claim to the ninevites the message? I give you the word. I give you verse 3, Jonah obeyed. What the word of the Lord. And went to Nineveh in a very large city took three days to go through. It Jonah began. I going a Day's Journey Into the City, for claiming 40 more days and then I will be overthrown. Jonah was proclaiming you speaking the word of God. And this is so important that that simple truth. That simple observation right there. That is so vital for both Jonah's Ministry and our present-day lives. We are called all Christians. We are called to spread the word of God, to preach. The gospel that doesn't necessarily mean from a Pulpit like this. Not everybody is called to do that, totally understandable, but every single Christian, if you breathe, if you are a follower of Jesus and you have a voice box that works, you are called to proclaim the gospel to speak the gospel, to share the gospel, to share the word of God. Not your thoughts, not, your idea is not your preferences, not your opinions, but to share the word of God, that's Jonas instruction. That's our instruction as well. And that is what we see the pattern throughout the Bible. First Corinthians chapter 15, The Apostle Paul said, For what I received I passed on to you as a first importance. Peter James a lot of the first apostles and disciples early leaders in the church. They did not invent Christianity. Absolutely not. I didn't sit around a round table and take what should we say? What should we not say? No Christ himself. Brought the word Christ. Himself is the word Christ, brought the word, he gave the word and even you go back to you on that. Jesus says, I speak nothing except that which the father has given me. Write the word comes from God. Comes from the father Christ, gives it to us. We now are entrusted with the word by the spirit of God. We are called to share that same word with the world around us.

And in that simple opening right there, the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, right there. We see the mercy of God being displayed again to this. Broken messed up, very messed up. Prophet, very messed up, preacher. Very messed up, man. Because you see Jonah, God didn't need to do that. God didn't do anything to Jonah. Are you, somebody was rebellious hateful, Wicked had a nasty horrible attitude. Wicked Garden by Jonah, you're disqualified. I'm going to send Isaiah. I'm going to send another Prophet somebody who actually loves me. Somebody, like, she cares. Someone who actually served me Faithfully. You disqualify yourself. God does not do that. He gives Jonah a second chance because that is the God. We serve a god of second. Third fourth, fifth chances, Louis anything. God doesn't need to use us but he wants to use as he wants for you to experience his race. He wants for you to be used by him as his hands and feet to spread the word of God. That is the God. We serve a god of boundless Mercy. God. We commissioned this broken vessel. As we continue to text. Only that happen but we see, secondly, that God's Mercy is displayed as the city repents. We see this in verse 4, Jonah began by going, a Day's Journey Into the City. Proclaiming 40 more days and Nineveh will be overthrown. Do a couple of things to take note off right off the bat in the Hebrew language. That Sherman right? There has been dubbed, the shortest Sherman and all of the Bible because in Hebrew that sermon is only five words telling, you all that, you need to learn from Jonah and get a little more condensed in life. I just simply say, I'm not that good. But this is kind of interesting right before two more days and then we'll be overthrown pick that apart. What's going on in that sermon notably? What is lacking from the sermon was not here. There's no reference to God. No reference to send, there's no reference to repentance. Jonah. It's as if there's still some kind of bitterness and callousness going on in his heart. It's as if Jonah. Just tells the people, the bare minimum he doesn't tell him to repent. You'll go to come to God, you're going to be destroyed. But if you repent, God will forgive, you know, it seems like there's some bitterness going on. 40 more days, Nineveh will be overthrown. Keep that in mind as well unpack that more next week in chapter 4. But I was right he is he's walking in the city walking through out for claiming this throughout the city of thing to keep in mind is the city of massive three days to go through it. 3 days to walk through. It is a massive City hundred. Twenty thousand people we find out an in chapter 4 and it's not as though. Jonah stood in the literal center of town and every single person came around, he most likely had to go from house to house from Street to Street, proclaiming this message. So everybody could hear it and it's Jonah entered into the city. Remember it's not just a sip, this is the Assyrian Fortress the Syrian capital of Nineveh. And his brother Donald Khmer save talked about a couple weeks ago as he started our timing and Jonah that this was a completely nasty Society. One commentator for you kids here he's a little warning for you but one commentator said the ninevites they were known for torturing their captives men women or children. By hacking off noses, ears, or fingers gouging out their eyes were tearing off their lips and hands. They reportedly covered the city wall with the skins of their victims. Rebellious subjects would be massacred by the hundreds. Sometimes burned at the stake, then their schools will be placed in great piles by the roadside as a warning to others. That is just a tiny little, snapshot into the nasty people that the ninevites were. Is Jonah, keep in mind it right that the human element in, this Jonah was called to go to this place. And notice also Jonah wasn't promised the outcome I didn't say if you preach, if you go there you'll have success. You'll see convert. You'll have a mighty wave of God move. He's just simply given the task. We don't know what the outcome is that best Jonah would simply be mocked and ridiculed. And at worst He would be tortured and killed himself. If United day, we're not given the clear outcome, when it comes to gospel Ministry, we don't know exactly who made her pants, who may respond when it will happen. If we don't know, we're not promised that. That's in the Lord's hands. The fruit is in his hand. We are simply called to spread the seed to water the ground to till up the ground. The Harvest is determined by the ultimate land owned by the Ultimate Farmer. God himself. Self John preaches at the super short, sermon Jonah, preaches. And then surprisingly in verse 5 by the mercy of God, the ninevites believed God. Fast was proclaimed. All of them from the greatest to least put on sackcloth.

And you might be wondering, what does that mean? What it, what is? This talk of sackcloth, we don't think about that today, Tater pointed out with a sack cloth, or if this was a common means of the ancient world of expressing grief, humility, and penitence, the Hallmarks of true repentance is right there, really quick. It's kind of similar. It's not at all the same thing, but I asked him to take the modern-day analogy funeral, we typically wear black, right? That's just cultural, especially in America, the Western World, we wear black. It is there something wrong with wearing color know, right? It's, it's just something that's kind of customary to do Her back then this is customary. If you were repentant, if you were sorrowful before the Lord, voucher sin, you would wear sackcloth, you would be covered with ashes and you would fast computer continues to sack cloth that was used. This was a thick coarse cloth as normally made from goat's hair. If a word is it, symbolized. The rejection of Earthly Comforts and pleasures. I said this is a clear Vivid physical demonstration that they are repenting that they are sorry that they do not want to hold on to the pleasures of the world that they want to give it all up and give it to the Lord. And a text. I was as it happened from the greatest to the least from the King all the way down to the poorest man in society. And also is fascinating in the text, you'll see particular, a seven and a state of the decree of the king. And his Nobles, do not let people or animals herd or flock taste. Anything do not. Let them eat or drink but let people are and animals be covered with stacked law. For the few is not the only time in scripture in which the animals are noted of repenting, and I'll be sorrowful, their sin, that would make sense of that today out the clear, the animals, were not culpable of sin, all right? That the, the reason that the, the author of Jonas, conveying, this is quite simple, the repentance is thorough, it is it covers the entirety of their lives, right? From the King, all the way down to a little cow. The repentance is extremely thorough. Church. When I want to point out and bring the light, the steel is this. The city repenting in another itself, is a gift of God. It is a mercy of God, because in 2nd, Timothy 2:25, in an axe 11:18, we see that repentance is a gift from God. It doesn't come ultimately, from man, doesn't start in the heart of man. Repentance is a gift from God. And that is the case with the ninevites. Thank God and their situation. May God grant them, soft hard, a responsive heart, a heart that was sensitive to the God for you today, right? If you're here and you're Christian, thank the Lord. That he softened your own heart. Thank God. That the word of God which is hard to receive. Thank God that he softened Your Heart by his spirit that he's giving you the gift of repentance so that you could respond, so that you could taste of God's kindness and of his compassion at the mercy of God is seen as the ninevites repent. But doesn't in their verse 10, we see finally. The mercy of God is displayed as God himself relent. The language used in the NIV. It tells us when God saw what they did, how they turn from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring them the destruction, he had threatened.

A couple things to take note of. First lady. In in the Hebrew Bible, or even in the English Bible. Look at it with me. Inverses 52 verse 9.

beginning and verse five, it tells us the ninevites believed God, I'll look in a few versus prior versus three in particular, Jonah obey. The word of the Lord in your Bible, probably the word lordaeron verse 3. That's one of those all caps mentions of Lord. What does that mean in the English Bible that is in Hebrew the Covenant personal name of God Yahweh. So Jonah, the word of the Lord, the word of Yahweh came to Jonah forced regen obeyed, the word of Yahweh, the personal Fellowship, the personal communion with God, but notice in verse five, it tells us the ninevites believed God, Didn't believe the Lord, a personal Lord, they believe the Creator. They acknowledged the deity L is the, is the the Hebrew word. It's just the generic name for God, send, invites believe God. And then you notice throughout the rest of that section about the ninevites, Looking for State. Let everyone call urgently on God. This generic name for someone who knows. God, maybe we're lens with compassion turned from his fear saying. Why do I say all of that? Well, from different commentators, have read people kind of different this but I tend to think this way, the ninevites didn't genuinely fully repents and have a personal relationship with God. They look at look at what they did. They didn't cry out to the Lord, by his name, they didn't give sacrifices to the Lord. There was no evidence of circumcision. Hear a different signs of what true repentance is with the personal God, but rather what seemed to happen was a repentance on a societal level. They'd given up their wicked brutal. Evil Wicked Ways doesn't mean they were actively passionately serving the one true God think of it like this in the u.s.a., how glorious it would be if we saw massive widespread scale of Revival breakout in every single person in this country get more specific in this state, the more specific in the city of Charlottesville and Crozet. If every single person Was saved, was truly born again. How glorious that would be. But even if that weren't the case, how wonderful of a gift it would be if in Charlottesville abortion was outlawed, if in Virginia abortion was Unthinkable, the people would stop championing this as a right to that my, for my own body, as this think that, I am allowed to murder children, right? Even if people weren't genuinely Christian, they weren't actively in church. What a gift of Grace, that would be in this Society. In this land, it's similar to what was going on here. They made definitively one way or the other. They may not have had a true genuine personal relationship with God. But Society I think they gave up the evil ways and when God saw that when God saw that they can recognize some of their sin was bad. Some of it was just so egregious, so disgusting. You sold they repented they left all that behind. What is the text say? God relented. It did not bring them the destruction that he had threatened. My God was merciful is extremely merciful. But I hope you understand. When God withheld his wrath, it was simply that God withholding his Wrath. Isn't what's an invite slate. Clean it and sending invites. It's all right. What you did is not that big a deal. No, I'm not going to destroy you because I'm just loving and kind like that. Merely withheld his wrath. It was for stalled, it was put off. Because if God were to do that, if he would have said you don't turn lights, fully bright, the raft that you deserve. It's gone completely gone. I just finished it like a magic trick. It's gone. That would mean, that God did not care about all of those. From the ninevites had abused It would mean that the Israelite girl, who didn't brutally assaulted. I mean, it would meant that God didn't care about her. That that crime, that disgusting abuse was nothing. It's not that big a deal. No, God merely put off the rat for a Time. For United day, we know what happened? What what were the sled, right? Some six, seven, hundred years later, the Justice, the unhinged wrath of God wasn't held on any longer for the father. Unleash it. But who did he Unleashed it on?

Jesus Christ. That's the gospel here. Even hints of it that you can see and Jonah 3. And God saw what they did. How they turn from the evil ways? God relented, did not bring them the destruction that he had threatened. To the destruction Church, the destruction that the ninevites he was poured out on the Christ when he was on the cross. But you have to understand, Jesus wasn't guilty of sin. He was perfect. He was innocent. He was pure. I mean the more Vivid picture than the king of Nineveh did, right? The king wore these glorious beautiful robes he took them all off, put on nasty cheap, goats Hair Skin covering clothes, Cover himself with sackcloth shut down on the dust in a much more start comparison. Jesus took off the Royal Roads of Glory of Heaven of being fully exuding his divinity, he put on clothes to self with a broken human body. And he was beating, he was with, he was tortured. This to text tells us that Jesus is the one who experienced the fierce anger of God. Jesus is the one who perished under the weight of Wrath and of sin. So that we could have his Mercy. But the reason that the ninevites could experience Mercy is because ultimately of what Christ did on the cross, in the Old Testament question, I think a lot of people might have our people in the Old Testament saved by this before Jesus came. So, how did, how are they safe? How they go to heaven? You ever thought about that question. Very, very valid. It's fairly simple in the past, the Old Testament. They looked ahead to what God would do on the cross to what, how all of that would be resolved. We today, we look back on what God did. It's all about faith. It's all about looking to the goodness of God, the provision of God, they didn't see it fully yet. Thankfully, we have the New Testament, we can see clearly how this all played out, but in both scenarios, it was the mercy of God through Christ that enabled the ninevites to be saved. I threw for us today or how true is that the reason that we are breathing today? Did you hear me the reason that you are breathing today is by the mercy of Christ. God does not owe you a single more breath, a single more day of life you are here because God is merciful to you through Christ.

a merciful of God, we serve the church as I wrap up.

In this chapter, we see the mercy of God, displayed. As he is kind and gets a second chance to a broken Fallen man. Jonah. The mercy of God in this is displayed as a word of God is preached to the ninevites by. God, did not have to send Jonah there. It's kind of, it's one of the things that makes Jonas. So unique God did not have to send somebody to go to Nineveh, but in his Mercy he chose to send a messenger to this wicked City because God care for these Gentiles, these Outsiders The word that marks of God is displayed as the word is preached. The mercy of God is displayed, as they repent, and his God, withhold, his wrath for a time until it would later be poured out. When Christ Church, this is good news. Do you see that? Do you see yourself fitting into the shoes of one of these individuals or of these audiences here in chapter 3? And when you hear good news, when it personally affects you and where we began, it Demands a response from you. for some of you when you hear about the message and mercy the gospel message reminded of it again for some of you Your calling is to be obedient to God's message, proclaim the word.

Some of you.

Well, not somebody All of You by all of us are called to preach the gospel. Every single one of you in here today, and I said earlier, if you have a voice box even if you don't, you can only sign, right? You still you called to do that. What is Jonah was given that task go preach, go for claim. Think about it in your own context. I often times we have a, a friend of ours, or co-worker, or perhaps the hardest of all a close family member who's not a Christian. Are we have no comparison? Is it the same audience in terms of the ninevites and whoever, what you might be thinking of the worst that they could do is what your ma Q sworn you laugh at you tell you to shut up. I don't want to hear any of that, right? no comparison, but so often fear and pride, sometimes keeps us from sharing the word, Some of you today when you hear the message of Mercy, I can forward. You think about just one person in your life right now, who is not a Christian, who needs to be saved, needs to hear the gospel who needs to respond, whom God has placed in your vicinity when you could potentially share it with. I simply encourage you, pray. Pray that God would give you that opportunity. And then when that opportunity comes, you better take him up on that. Play the prefers pray that God will give you the opportunity to. He'll give you the right context that the Lord would soften that person's heart. Perhaps ideally they would come to you or that's wonderful. If that that's an area when they eat another having Brokenness in their life they come. Hey, I know you go to church. I know you're Christian. Can you give me just something that I can hold on, to you once that moment comes, how will you respond? You don't need to be eloquent. You don't need to have this long Soliloquy. Jonah had five words. I'll be there or not necessary, the best words. None, the less you have five words to say, what would you say to your neighbor who is in need? and for some of you, the other the other side of it, This describes both all of us in different contexts in life. Some of us. The mercy of God for especially being a Christian a while. you're enjoying the mercy of God, your living day after day, but the reality is, you are abusing that Mercy by living in sin continual sin

for some of you, when you hear the message, when you hear the gospel, when you hear the word of God, He's a step on, it's easy to abuse. It is easy to use God's grace. As a license for sin is the book of Jude talks about some of you, some of us, some of all of us, we need to repent. Are there be a continual struggle with lust? Being addicted to alcohol. Or being consuming an inordinate amount of media and entertainment, drowning yourself out with Facebook and Instagram and YouTube and all or TV show. Some of your just engaged so much in busybody gossip. You have a short temper anger with your family, whatever it might be. But the reality is we all are still broken, people struggling with sin. and when we hear the message of Mercy, we cannot it is absolutely unchristian to say God, forgives me. Therefore, I can go do this is It's not that big a deal. God going to forgive me, right? He's merciful, he's kind what I do. I know it's wrong but he still going to forgive me. That isn't very unchristian attitude to have to use the grace of God as a license for sin, 94 Jew that is a simple thing I bring to your attention. What did this Mercy cost? You & I we can experience that Mercy for free today because Christ paid the cost for us. This is a simple principle in life. Learn this. The older they get, right? How You're going out and I can bring it to make a concrete. You going out to a restaurant right as parents it cost nowadays, 50-60 $70 for meal for family of four, right? As a child gets older, they realize all my Chick-fil-A meal with the milkshake. It cost $10. I actually have to pay that that's expensive. Right? It's not free. The parents are. Glad to give it glad to provide for the children, but it's not free they cost and this is staying with God, the mercy of Christ is free. It's sweet. It's beautiful and precious but it is very, very expensive. It cost Christ. His life. Langford, you think about that? Ponder that dwell on that. Make that drive you to obedience. Church. Bask in the beautiful mercy of God. Bask in his beautiful Mercy. Let's pray, then will close with the doxology.

Our Father. We thank you that you've spoken a beautiful word to us and that you've not left us in the dark, you've not left us in ignorance.

As we have, received your message of Grace, your message of Mercy. Will you please help us to respond and repentance to respond in obedience that you will help us to share this news with others?

And that you will transform us and help us to be your hands and feet by the power of your spirit. We thank you that you do not give up on us. Do we make many mistakes that we stumble and sin and fall so often Thank you that you were there that you uplift us that you will uphold us. And though it may feel like we have stumbled though, it may feel like we have fallen. We thank you that your love and your truth will. Uphold us forever. That one day, you will take us into Glory. Until that day comes help us to be faithful. Help us to be persistent. Help us to be compassionate in the story of the Lost.

Commit, these things to you in Jesus name. Amen.