Aligning Your Heart to God's Heart (Jonah 4)

Let me just start off with a word of prayer. Father. Thank you for giving us your word. Thank you for telling us who you are and what you've done. So that we can be saved and live the way that brings you. The most glory and brings us the most joy and peace. I pray that you would speak through me as I preach your word. Please transform Us by your spirit into the likeness of your son. Through the hearing, if your work today. We ask all this in Jesus name, amen. Well, we are going to be looking at the story of Jonah today. You might be wondering why the switch. Is Ryan has been preaching for Ephesians, and I've been preaching through some of the more familiar songs. Well, I've been studying through Jonah in my Hebrew exegesis class at Cornerstone Seminary, and I thought it'd be good to share with you all some of the stuff that I've been learning. So as quickly as we can, though we're going to look at the whole story of Jonah so that we can maintain the context and the point of the story as a whole. But we're actually going to focus on chapter 4 specifically, where the point of the story can be clearly seen. So I've titled the sermon, aligning your heart with God's heart because throughout the story Jonah's heart is out of alignment. And God wants Jonah and the nation of Israel and you and me to have hearts that are aligned with his heart. Have you ever driven a car that's out of alignment?

That's not very comfortable. Especially when you're driving high speeds on the freeway car. Vibrates so much and shake so much I can feel it was like an earthquake. Pretty irritating, right? Pretty irritating to drive a car that's out of alignment. How much more irritating must be to try to live a life with a heart that is out of alignment.

Now, when our car is out of alignment, we take it to a mechanic. Who attaches our car to a machine. It shows how the wheels should be positioned and balanced. So that the mechanic can make the proper adjustments to the car. You think it would be very helpful? For the mechanic to try to adjust the machine instead of the car.

Nope. That wouldn't do any good for the car's alignment issues. Well, sometimes our heart gets out of alignment because we get thoughts in our head that are contrary to God's thoughts. When that happens, we must go to God's word and ask how our hearts need to change. How are thinking needs to change rather than how God should change to make? Couldn't to meet our broken thinking? Jonah's heart was so out of alignment with God's heart that when God told him to bring a message to Nineveh, He directly disobeyed. What is the capital city of Assyria and they were Israel's enemy. Now, if we were to read the story of Jonah for the first time, it would come as a bit of a shock than Jonah disobeyed God. But once we get to chapter 4, he explains why he disobeyed in the first place, Jonah, knew that God's word is powerful. And that it would accomplish God's purposes, and he knew that God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding, in steadfast love and faithfulness. He knew that if he went to his enemies would repent, And God would not destroy them. He knew all this and he didn't want that to happen. So he ran from God. He went down to Joppa Charter to ship to tarshish in the opposite direction of Nineveh. He went down into the bottom of the ship and fell asleep. But Jonas Disobedience would not change. God's purposes to the see. That was so bad, the sailors thought they would die, and the ship was about to break apart. The sailors found out that the storm was Jonah's fault. As he was running from the almighty Creator. God. He's the one who made the sea that was threatening to kill them and the dry land that they wished that they were on at that moment. After some debate and attempts to do it their own way, the sailors agreed to Jonah's explanation, that tossing him into the sea would calm the storm and they reluctantly did. So, but seeing the storm calm so suddenly cuz the Sailor's Return To God from their Idol. Worshiping amazing.

Then God had compassion on Jonah and appointed, a great fish to swallow him.

While he was inside that fish for three days and three nights Jonah prayed to God and explain how he was. Sorry that he had disobeyed even though he still didn't like what God was going to do. After Jonah agreed to go to Nineveh. God made the fish, spit Jonah out onto dry land and he told John that second time to go to Nineveh and Proclaim God's message of condemnation to them this time John obeyed, but again, he did so begrudgingly. Jonah's heart still wasn't in alignment with God's heart. Nineveh was a massive city which would have taken three days to navigate from one end to the other. Now, I think that this is not because it was so wide. But because it was so Dennis.

The twisting turning streets of Nineveh were filled with people animals, carts vendors, garbage, and all kinds of obstacles and debris. As Jonah attempted to navigate this maze, he called out the message. God had given him 40 days in a row, be overthrown.

That that's it. That was the entire message, 40 days and then it'll be overthrown. How in the world could that message produce the result? God wanted? From a human standpoint. It doesn't make sense. But God's word is powerful. And it accomplishes God's purposes.

only one day into his journey through Nineveh and already the entire city believed in God and repented, even the king of Nineveh heard the message and ordered, all the people and animals too fast and where's that cloth? In fact, the picture of the king rising from his throne, taking off his robe, putting on sackcloth and then sitting down in the ashes is a perfect picture of what repentance looks like.

Well. God's on the end of his repentance and he did what Jonah was afraid he would do. He had compassion and did not destroy Nineveh. All these events and conversations. I've been leading up to one crucial point. That Jonah, the nation of Israel. And all of us need to hear

This has been a rather lengthy introduction, but we need to understand the context of this final chapter of Jonah before trying to figure out what it means. Chapter 4 of John is divided into two sections. The first section diagnosis Jonah, as being out of alignment, as he displays intense anger, at God's apparent, lack of Justice. In the S section shows the remedy for that misalignment as God displays his compassion and mercy.

Johnny seems to focus on justice, but God seems to focus on Mercy. And when your child disobeys, you have a choice whether to show them, Justice by punishing them. For their wrong Behavior, or to show them Mercy by not punishing them. You cannot show them both at the same time. Jonah is insisting that God show Mercy, show Justice but that is not God's heart. God's heart is Mercy. God's heart is to forgive Jonah's heart is out of alignment and he is insisting that God changed to match his own heart. That's like what we talked about earlier. Right. It's like asking it's like taking the alignment machine and trying to adjust that to the car that's out of alignment. God's not acting the way Jonah expects him to act. What are we to do? When we see God acting differently, then we may expect him to act. God is showing Mercy when Justice is clearly dessert. How can God maintain Justice and still show Mercy? We'll answer these questions as we go through this chapter together. Let's read Jonah chapter 4 and we'll see what it looks like to have a heart that is out of alignment and what to do about it.

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was angry. And you prayed to the Lord and said, oh, Lord, is this is not this. What I said when I was yet in my country, that is why I made haste to flee to tarshish for, I knew that you are a gracious. God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster there for now. Oh Lord, please take my life from me for it. Is better for me to die than to live. and the Lord said, do you do well to be angry? Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself. There, he sat under it in the shade till he should see what would become of the city. The Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah but it might be a shade over his head to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plan, but when Dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered, when the sun rose got appointed a scorching East Wind and the Sun Beat Down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and he asked that he might die and said it is better for me to die than to live. But God said to Jonah, do you do well to be angry for the plant? And he said, yes, I do well to be angry angry enough to die and the Lord said you pity the plant for which you did not labor. Nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night? And should I not should not I pity Nineveh that great City in? Which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also much cattle.

To the first section.

I saw his verses 1 through 5. In that we see the diagnosis of a misaligned heart. Inverse one, it says that it displeased Jonah. What was it? That displeased Jonah so much. Why would he be so distressed when the entirety of a massive City had just repented of the evil and violence that characterize their culture?

This was a massive Revival one that we would expect to produce excitement and joy. But it seems to have had no effect on our reluctant prophet.

In fact, it seems to have had the opposite effect. You see Jonah didn't want Nineveh to repent. He wanted them to be destroyed. But God didn't destroy them. He had mercy on them. God's Mercy is wonderful when we experience it.

but when others experience it, it's a little bit of a different story. How to put ourselves in Jonas shoes? We may think of a situation where we made desire Justice for someone. Rather than Mercy.

Consider the conflict in Israel right now.

The conflict with Hamas.

Hamas is actually the Hebrew word for violence. the same word when describing Nineveh, but they repented of the violence that was in their hand, they repented of their hummus,

Are there. Absolutely atrocious. Things being done to other human beings over there right now. I'm not going to go into detail about the inhumane and evil violence being done. It deserves Justice. regardless of whether the land belongs to one group of people or another there, violence and evil deserves punishment,

These people should pay for their crimes against humanity.

The, how outraged would we be if after the conflict settles, if it ever Settles. Those who performed these crimes were pardoned as if nothing had ever happened.

Simply because they said, they're sorry.

That wouldn't be Justice.

That would be Injustice.

That would be an abuse of Justice.

This is where Jonah is emotionally. This is where we can find ourselves when we encounter Injustice and sin in the world. In the state of emotional agitation that John responds and anger to God, praying and verse to a sort of self-justification for his previous Disobedience. He says, to God, I knew you would do this. I knew you were going to have mercy on them. They don't deserve it.

This is why I ran away to Tarsus to prevent this very thing from happening. How could you got? How could you show them Mercy after the evil that they've done?

Jonah refers to God's character. Originally written in the book of Exodus Exodus 34:6 this reference many times in the Bible, he's a gracious and merciful god slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, God's character is no secret to the nation of Israel. It makes perfect sense. That Jonah would know that this is who God is. It is God's glory to show Mercy Grace, steadfast love and forgiveness to whoever he Wills as we read in Romans 9. It's presumptuous and prideful to think that we could ever judge God. The weekend ever say to God. Why did you make me like this?

How could you show Mercy to Nineveh?

But that's exactly what John has done. Exactly what we can be tempted to do when we see mercy and place of Justice. Jonas anger, compels him to ask for death in verse 3. He says therefore now. Oh Lord. Please take my life from me for. It's better for me to die than to live. You see? Jonah doesn't want to live in a world where evil goes unpunished.

Really, he's blind. To the reality that God showed him Mercy just two chapters ago. When he was as good as dead.

And the fish swallowed him and God rescued him from Death, even though he deserved Justice for disobeying God.

He's also throwing away the gift of life that God had given him. God, save Jonah's life and Jonah turns around and ask for it to be taken from him. Throwing that gift back in God's face. This is the blindness that can come when our anger is allowed to run unchecked.

I noticed here that God does not condemn Jonah's anger. How does God respond?

He says to Joan and verse for. Do you do well, to be angry?

He asked him a question.

This is not an uncommon thing for God to do. There's a similar instance in 1st Kings, 19. After running from Jezebel, Elijah despaired and asked for the Lord, to take his life. Much like Jonah, but for different reasons. God, strengthen him with food and rest and then ask him a question.

He said, what are you doing here, Elijah?

Got question was designed to an act of change and Elijah's heart from despair to confidence in God and God's questions. A Jonah was also designed to enact A Change by exposing John his blindness and getting him to think about the misalignment of his heart being angry at God's mercy.

A Jonas anger in and of itself was not bad. But God wanted him to see that his anger was not being dealt with in a right way. Jonas. So confident that God will see the error of his ways and come around to his point of view that he goes out of the city in verse five and makes a little lean-to for himself.

So you can see what would happen to the city. Doing it clearly does not respond positively to God's question. He feels justified in his Judgment of the situation. He goes out to see what's going to happen. once God sees things from his perspective,

Jonah's response to God's compassion in these verses gives us a clear diagnosis of his heart as misaligned. Jonas, heart is to see Justice Done to his enemies.

Make no mistake, God is more concerned with Justice than Jonah is

This is perfect. Holiness encounters man's wickedness, but that is not his heart. God's heart is to show Mercy. There's a clear misalignment of Jonas heart now that we can clearly see the problem. What's the solution? The solution is to bring Jonah's misaligned heart into contact with the standard of alignment, God's heart.

We see God bringing Jonas heart into contact with his own heart, as the standard in verses 6 through 11 and verse 6 through 8, God sets up an object lesson. He appoints a plant a worm and a scorching wind. And verse 6, a plant gives Jonah, some personal Comfort. Inn verse 7, a worm removes that Comfort Inn Denver State. A scorching wind afflicts Jonah with even more discomfort Enjoying a response to the plant with great rejoicing. It says he is exceedingly, glad because of the plant.

Oddly enough. This is the first time in the entire narrative. The entire Book of Jonah first time. Any of the characters exhibit, any sort of positive emotion?

up to now, everything is been fear, despair, sorrow and anger, This is the first time somebody's been glad and it's over a plant.

How absurd is that? The one thing. It's a puny little plan. A plant which God destroyed the very next day, by appointing, a worm to attack it. And Jonah is met again with a contrast between his situation and his thinking maybe even more potent by a scorching wind also appointed by God. Jonas angry again because his discomfort and the perceived Injustice against this plant does not match his expectations. This poor Plant have done nothing wrong. Nothing to be done, nothing to deserve to be destroyed by that horrible little worm. I imagine Jonah saying to himself that plant was so beneficial and comforting to me. How could God allow it to be wiped away? God, how could you? Some of us may have similar thoughts.

God, how could you allow the innocent to be oppressed?

How could you allow? Millions of unborn babies to be murdered even before they had a chance at life.

How could you allow this sickness to ravage my family member, when they did nothing to deserve it? How could you allow this husband to betray his wife and leave her for another? How could you allow this abuse to continue to the point that this child is left with the physical and emotional scars? How could you allow this terrorist group to violently murder innocent people.

Ajanta responds in his anger the same way he did previously. Denver State, he asks that he might die. He says, it's better for me to die than to live.

John is angry. Both sides of perceived Injustice enough to consider death preferable to life, where Injustice exists, the guilty are pardoned, And the innocent. Innocent or afflicted.

Jonah, does not understand. He's in the same boat as Nineveh. Guilty. And deserving of God's Wrath. We're all more like Nineveh. And I think we would like to admit

We are all in need of Mercy. And mercy does not rightfully belong to us. It's not owed to anyone. That's the nature of Mercy. It's inherently gracious. God responds to John and outbursts, just like you did before with a question. The same question in fact, but this time directed specifically at Jonah's response to what happened to the plant. God says in verse 9, do you do well to be angry for the plant? This time Jonah response to God's question.

Genesis. Yes, I do well to be angry angry enough to die. Is he God has pinpointed. The reason Jonas heart is out of alignment. God is not acting the way Jonah thinks he should act.

God sees the source of Jonas discomfort and pokes it So, the Jonah will become aware of it as well. Sometimes simply becoming aware of the source of a problem is enough to enact change. But sometimes more is necessary.

God designed to show Jonah, just how far out of alignment. His heart is to the standard of God's heart by way of comparison. Verses 10 and 11. God Compares, Jonas compassion to his own.

when God, places the magnifying glass, Over Jonas response to the plant. He reveals Jonah's priorities.

And they're selfish.

Notice the god of firms that Jonah has Compassion or pity. He says you pity the plant. We might have expected. God to rebuke Jonah for not having compassion at all. But he chose the Jonah does have compassion. The problem is not a lack of compassion. The misguided compassion due to selfishness and entitlement.

Jonah had compassion on the plant even though he had zero investment in its establishment or growth and the personal benefit of the plan to Jonah was so brief.

Jonathan passion only included what he felt. He was owed. but was denied,

the comparison is actually almost comical. If little Jonah. Has compassion on something. So insignificant as a one-day old plant. How much more should all Mighty God? The Sovereign creator of everything. Have compassion on something as significant as a massive City. Full of image bearers who need guidance.

Rather than destruction.

At the end of The Narrative is haunting as God leaves his question to Jonah unanswered. The effect leaves us readers to wonder if our own hearts are misaligned.

Would I have pitied the plant but called for nineveh's, Destruction like Jonah did.

Do I see Injustice in the world around me and send in my anger?

Can I show forgiveness, and compassion, to those who have done, such evil things, as we see happening in Israel right now. Can I show forgiveness? even to those who have cut me off in traffic, Or those who insult me on social media.

Can I show compassion? Even to those who inconvenience me? or to those who should care about me, but don't

There are as many reasons to be angry and want justice as there are people in the world.

But there is one infinitely strong reason to have compassion. The Compassion. God showed you.

We saw what it looks like to have a misaligned heart as Jonas heart was diagnosed as such. We also saw that God's heart of compassion is the standard by which we are to bring our hearts into alignment. And the remedy for a misaligned heart. Is to remember how much. Compassion. God has shown you.

The proper heart alignment is compassion not Justice and God's compassion to you and me, is our motivation to show compassion, to all those people who stir up our anger. All those people who made provoke our desire for justice.

We must be careful not to pit. One of God's attributes against the other.

But there is a bit of a paradox when it comes to Justice and mercy. A paradox has become clear when a missing bit of information is revealed the missing, but here is the cross. You see the only reason God's mercy to Nineveh is not considered unjust is because God's justice is either satisfied at the cross or satisfied at the final judgment. That's the only reason that God's mercy to Jonah is not unjust, is the only reason that his Mercy to you and me is not unjust. Our hearts must be brought into alignment by remembering the Forgiveness, we have in Jesus Christ and trusting that he will bring perfect Justice when he returns in glory. Jesus is the only person in all of humanity who did not deserve God's Wrath, because he was the perfect Son of God. but, Is Heavenly, Father sent him to die to atone for the sins of the world. but even that is not unjust, because Jesus went to the Cross willingly It was a joy for him. a joy to endure the cross because he knew that Mercy could only come to us, if it seemingly unjust death took place,

And just like Jonah Rose from the belly of the fish. Jonah rose from the dead. Sorry. Jesus rose from the dead securing, our eternal life with him. If we come to him and repentant Faith to be saved from the Wrath to come, just like the message to the people of Nineveh. God's Wrath is coming. Is judgment is coming. How will you respond? If you repent and put your faith in, Jesus Christ is the one who bore the just penalty for your sins and you will be saved. and if you've received this Mercy already and have compassion, like God does on those who haven't, If you've been saved, then you're a new creation with a new heart, a heart that's at peace when it's in proper alignment. Compassionate Hearts cannot be created by us. They're given to us by God when he saves us. We saw how Jonah's heart was diagnosed as misaligned and how God showed that the proper alignment was compassion. If you're having difficulty showing compassion. like Jonah was don't beat yourself up by trying to create that compassion from a guilty conscience.

Remember that God has given you a compassionate heart out of his own abundance of compassion. God's heart his desires? That all would come to repentance faith in his son.

He does not want to destroy. He wants to pardon

And as a child of God with a new heart, you already have the capacity for compassion. Now you just need to remember how much you've been forgiven in Christ. God's commands in the Bible, show us how he wants us to be and what he wants us to do. But he also causes us to obey. Through his Holy Spirit and Union with Christ. If you've been saved, but your life doesn't quite look the way the gods commands depict. I don't dwell on those deficiencies.

the difference between the way you are and the way God wants you to be,

Will become less and less the more you dwell on, all you have in Christ. Will become more compassionate the more we dwell on his compassion. Toward us and adopting us into his family. Our hearts will become more closely aligned with God's heart. The more we focus on how much he loves us and how much we have been forgiven.

Sprite.

Father, we are so thankful that you are gracious and merciful. Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. We confess that we deserve your wrath, we deserve your judgment. But you chose Mercy, instead. You forgave us through the blood of your son Jesus and God, I pray that you would not let any of us. Forget that amazing gift.

Please keep our minds. Firmly fixed on you and the infinite love. You have shown us at the cross. That's the only way we can live in alignment with your heart. We need your spirit to constantly remind us of your love for us. Especially when life doesn't seem fair.

Are there so many songs in your word that speak about the difficulty of living in this Fallen World, where the wicked prosper and those who fear, you are persecuted.

We cry out with them. How long? Oh, Lord. How long until you come again to rule and reign in perfect Justice? But we know that you are more concerned with Justice than we will ever be. So, we trust you. We trust that you always do, what is best. And we desire to align our hearts with yours.

Father, help us to navigate. The difference between standing against wickedness and showing compassion. It's not easy.

So, please align our hearts to be compassionate. But still, give us wisdom to know how. And when to speak out against wickedness and Lord, we know that we We can't do this on our own.

You've given us a family Brothers and Sisters in Christ that we can encourage each other to Hope in Jesus as the days become more and more wicked.

Thank you again for everything you've given us in Christ. It's in his name. We pray. Amen.