1-21-24 Sermon "Go Anyway"

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

This morning I'll be reading Jonah chapter 3 verses 1 through 5,,, then skip down to verse 10. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Jonah is the only prophet that dwells on his own life and experiences rather than his words of prophecy. As a result,,, we can use this story to guide us as well. Jonah 3:1–5, 10 (HCSB) 1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord’s command. Now Nineveh was an extremely large city, a three-day walk. 4 Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed, “In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished!” 5 The men of Nineveh believed in God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least. Jonah 3:10 (HCSB) 10 Then God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways —so God relented from the disaster He had threatened to do to them. And He did not do it. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18,,, and we seen that God is all knowing,,, God is everywhere at all times,,, and God is all-powerful!

There is nothing that we can do that He doesn't know about,,, as a matter of fact,,, He knew about it before we ever did it or said it!

There is great comfort and peace in recalling that we are made,,, known,,, and loved,,, by the God of the universe.

He is mighty,,, and powerful,,, and the creator of all things,,, and yet He cares for us as individuals.

God knows our thoughts and understands us,,, inside and out.

He knit us together,,, and designed us with purpose.

We can rest assured that we are valuable and loved,,, no matter what we might do or not do.

We have worth because of God’s love,,, and He will guide us in our lives.

Because of this,,, we can be assured that God wants what's best for us!

We are also assured that His power is sufficient to take care of us as well!

I told you,,, that as we continue into this new year,,, my prayer is that we truly realize what a mighty God we serve,,, and not only that,,, but that we also realize that "power",,, is available for us to use as well!

And,,, I've said it many times before,,, but because of all that God knows and does,,, that we know nothing about,,, we must trust Him,,, to do what's best for us!

And He does this,,, because of His love for us,,, that we neither deserve,,, nor earn,,, but so that we can give Him the true glory and praise,,, that He truly deserves!

So let's be sure that we continue our journey into the new year,,, with God as our strength and provider,,, as we strive to "Trust God" in every aspect of our lives,,, during each and every day,,, of the year!

This morning we will look at these verses in Jonah,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verses 1-2 said: 1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach the message that I tell you.”

Jonah,,, as most of you know,,, was told by God to go to Nineveh the capital city of Israel’s prime enemy,,, Assyria.

In a way,,, you can understand the prophet’s dread of going there since this was their enemy,,, and when you consider the terrible things that legend says that they did to their prisoners,,, to us,,, as human beings,,, it almost makes sense!

But just as Jonah realized,,, we don't understand everything that is going on at the time,,, so we need to remember to be obedient to God first!

Instead of immediately obeying God,,, Jonah sets out in the opposite direction from Nineveh as he boards a boat sailing to Tarshish,,, and as a result he ends up being thrown from the boat to save the crew during the terrible wind that God caused to get their attention.

After being thrown overboard,,, he was swallowed by a great fish that God has positioned there waiting for him.

In the belly of this great fish we know that Jonah repents and is spit up onto dry land so that he can continue to Nineveh,,, which is where we begin this morning.

And we see that the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time!

We are given at least one more chance to obey God when we ignore Him,,, and,,, it's usually many chances,,, not just one!

Since,,, just like Jonah says in Jonah 4:2 ,,, after he has seen that God doesn’t destroy Nineveh,,, “He prayed to the Lord: “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster.”

Remember,,, this is the Old Testament,,, that some people think that God is not the same God portrayed in the New Testament!

Anyway,,, continuing on,,,

___________________________________ Verses 3-4 said: 3 So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord’s command. Now Nineveh was an extremely large city, a three-day walk. 4 Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed, “In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished!”

Now we can see that Jonah is obedient as he gets up and goes to Nineveh.

Jonah again mentioned the great size of the city,,, commenting that it took three days to go all through it,,, that is,,, through Nineveh and its suburbs.

When it says,,, Jonah set out on the first day of his walk,,, does not mean that Jonah traveled into the city for a whole day before preaching.

Instead it means on the first day "as" he entered the city,,, he began preaching.

The message God gave the prophet was the threat of complete destruction of Nineveh within 40 … days.

Perhaps this was a period of grace,,, giving the people an opportunity to repent before the judgment fell.

Anyway,,, Jonah continued this proclamation for three days before going “east of the city” as it says in chapter 4:5.

___________________________________ Verse 5 said: 5 The men of Nineveh believed in God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least.

According to my Bible Believers Commentary,,, the Ninevites,,, who worshiped the fish god Dagon,,, apparently knew what had happened to Jonah.

It said that other men who have survived similar experiences in history had the same mottled skin from the digestive juices,,, and this would make them stand out in any crowd.

So as a result,,, he was a sign to them.

Whether this is true or not,,,

The entire city repented and believed God,,, from the greatest to the least.

A fast was proclaimed for man and beast alike,,, and sackcloth was put on all,,, from king to cattle.

___________________________________ Verse 10 said: 10 Then God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways —so God relented from the disaster He had threatened to do to them. And He did not do it.

As a result,,, Nineveh was spared from the disaster.

He had spared Jonah (chap. 2); now He spared Nineveh.

God’s mercies are always unmerited; His grace is never earned.

Repentance is not a work to be rewarded.

But this is not to say that God does not act in response to such repentance.

Nineveh’s repentance delayed God’s destruction of the city for about 150 years.

We know from history,,, that the Assyrians returned to their wicked ways,,, and their capital was destroyed.

___________________________________ After Jonah has given his message to the Ninevites,,, he,,, for reasons unknown,,, again lets his displeasure be seen to God as you will see if you read further.

Maybe he forgets the way that God has been merciful to him,,, the things that God knows and does that he doesn't know or understand,,, whatever the reasons,,, that is never a good thing.

Regardless,,, we can see from this that God is merciful to the Ninevites,,, and to Jonah as well.

More than either of them deserve,,, and that's true for us as well.

___________________________________ Earlier in the week,,, when I began to look at these scriptures,,, the words that caught my attention were,,, A second time? - Get up, go, got up, went.

These words seemed to be calling out to me,,, trying to get my attention.

What are the significance of these words,,, and how can they help us today?

The first three sets of words,,, "a second time",,, "get up",,, "go",,, show that God is giving Jonah another chance,,, even though he has made some terrible mistakes!

Maybe you have made some terrible mistakes,,, or you know someone that has,,, just know,,, that God is still available!

The opportunity is always there,,, we just need to humble ourselves and admit that we messed up,,, and God will give us another chance!

The other two sets of words,,, "got up",,, and,,, "went",,, show Jonah's obedience after God has given him that second chance.

We must realize that God gives us another chance,,, but we still must take advantage of that chance.

We must begin to do the job that God has called us to do,,, and that begins,,, when we get up,,, and answer the call that God has for each of us,,, no matter what it is,,, or where it is,,, or who we are to help,,, we just are told,,, to obey God's voice,,, no matter what we think,,, or want!

Because when God calls us,,, we must,,, "go anyway",,, even when we might think it's not right,,, or a waste of time,,, because as Jonah figured out the hard way,,, it would have been easier to go in the right direction the first time,,, instead of making things harder on himself,,, and ignoring God's help,,, along the way.

So lets remember,,, that even if God calls us in a direction that we don't understand at the time,,, we must be obedient,,, and "go anyway"!

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------