Majoring in the Minors Part 5 - Jonah
Majoring in the Minors • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 4 viewsThe love and faithfulness of God is sharply contrasted with the disobedience and prejudice of Jonah. What can we learn from the judgment scene turned gracious forgiveness?
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A man who lived on Long Island was able one day to satisfy a lifelong ambition by purchasing for himself a very fine barometer. When the instrument arrived at his home, he was extremely disappointed to find that the indicating needle appeared to be stuck, pointing to the sector marked "HURRICANE." After shaking the barometer very vigorously several times, its new owner sat down and wrote a scorching letter to the store from which he had purchased the instrument. The following morning on the way to his office in New York, he mailed the letter.
That evening he returned to Long Island to find not only the barometer missing, but his house also. The barometer's needle had been right--there was a hurricane!
Today we study
story of Jonah
Trust and Obey.
Background
Background
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Would be all we know.
Bible skeptics...
not real.
Quoted and alluded
by other people:
2 Kings 14:25 (ESV)
He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord,
--
the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.
What we learned
lived during reign
of Jeroboam II
good days.
Prophet to northern kingdom.
From Galilee
Can This Story Really be True?
Can This Story Really be True?
Jesus speaks of him.
For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Jesus does not
appear to be
speaking fictitiously.
When he mentioned that
he would be in
the grave and raise
he meant it
literally!
So we can assume
Jesus believed
story of Jonah
literally happened.
Some debate
Whale
Fish
Not point!
Amazing Miracle!
The Story
The Story
Jonah 1:1–3 (ESV)
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
--
But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
See on map
As you can see,
he went as far
away as possible!!!
(attempted)
don’t know how
far he got...
Jonah 1:4–5 (ESV)
But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.
--
Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them.
--
But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.
Sleeping peacefully?
Running from God
conscience not attacking?
Ready to sleep
Greatest problems
worst fears
need to pee
felt like need to pee
Nobody else
is sleeping!!!
Throughout his administration, Abraham Lincoln was a president under fire, especially during the scarring years of the Civil War. And though he knew he would make errors of office, he resolved never to compromise his integrity. So strong was this resolve that he once said, "I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me."
Today In The Word, August, 1989, p. 21.
So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”
They think they are
going to die!
Everyone is praying!
They think
“gods must be angry!”
And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
Who are they angry at?
Jonah made God’s angry!
What did you do?
Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
You are running
from your God???
Not Good!
What should we do?
How can we
appease God’s anger?
Jonah answers:
He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”
But they didn’t
want to do that!
They tried to row to shore.
They realized
no use.
Can’t fight
with God!
Decided to do
as Jonah suggested
first asked forgiveness:
Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.”
As they thew him in
suddenly storm stops!
Men are afraid,
pray to God.
consecrate themselves.
remember this God.
Reminds me of another story
A woman testified to the transformation in her life that had resulted through her experience in conversion. She declared, “I’m so glad I got saved. I have an uncle I used to hate so much I vowed I’d never go to his funeral. But now, I’d even be happy to go to it any time.”
(Autoillustrator.com, A Cure for Hatred).
If this was
wicked pagan God
angry at people
appeased by blood
story ends there.
Thankfully,
not character of God.
not trying to kill
just get attention!
And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Those 3 days
good timeout period
think about choices...
One thing can be sure
Jonah spent time
in prayer!
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish,
Prayer of repentance
Prayer for deliverance
Prayer for hope.
Prayer of obedience.
As you can imagine,
when God’s command came
the second time
Jonah was ready
to listen!
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”
Yes Sir!
Jonah replies!
Amazing truth
God is patient
with is workers.
We may be tempted
to think that we
are very special
that’s why God called us
to be light bearers
in these last days.
On the contrary
I think this mission trip
was as much for Jonah
as for the Ninevites!
Let us be humble
servants for God.
So Jonah goes
to Nineveh this time...
He has learned his lesson!
kinda...
Harsh Message
Harsh Message
Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
I mentioned before
we stand in place
of Jonah!
We also have
message of judgment
for this world.
We call it
3 angels’ messages
Rev 14:6-14
Not easy job!
not well liked!
seen as bad guy
just messenger
but dangerous job!
Amazing part
Ninevites repent!!
And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
Even the king
seeks repentance
public consecration
Jonah 3:6–9 (ESV)
The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
--
And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything.
--
Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God.
--
Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
Kinda amazing.
Because prophets
often shared messages
like this in Israel
with poor results...
Think of
Isaiah
Jeremiah
etc.
They were
Ridiculed
abuse
persecuted
killed
false prophets
I have seen
this be true
for our message as well.
Preach to
so-called Christians
rejected quickly
even worse to SDA’s
eat you for lunch.
Often, people of world
can see and believe
prophecies of
the last days!!!
Rejection is in the Eye of the Beholder
A young salesman became discouraged because he had been rejected by so many customers he approached. He asked a more experienced salesman for some advice.
“Why is it that every time I make a call on someone I get rejected?”
“I just don’t understand that,” answered the older salesman. “I’ve been hit on the head, called dirty names, and thrown out the door, but I’ve never been rejected.”
Rejection isn’t what happens to us but how we interpret what happens to us.
(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 44)
God sees
repentance of people.
He gives grace!
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
You can imagine.
after 40 days of doom.
It doesn’t happen,
everyone happy.
People rejoice!
God relented!
Everyone that is,
except Jonah...
Jonah 4:1–2 (ESV)
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, 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.
Jonah upset???
Why???
Few reason:
1. Makes him look
like a false prophet.
2. These are enemies
of Israel.
Jonah sulking
goes out of city
to see what will happen.
Hot climate.
Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.
God have him
shade plant
hide under.
Then God appointed
worm to kill plant
very hot
very winding
terrible experience.
wants to die!
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.”
Patience of God.
talk with him
teach him
grace on him.
No 40 days and you die!
Yet still
angry
melancholy
discontented
Jonah 4:10–11 (ESV)
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 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?”
How can you
feel sorry for plant?
not for people?
Abrupt Ending
Abrupt Ending
The book
just ends there.
we never hear
Jonah repents
converted
grace.
Perhaps the book
left unfinished
so that we
could write final chapters
with our own life.
Will we
have grace on sinners?
teach of judgment?
lead to repentance?
love repentant people?
welcome broke members?
Years ago, my father coached a team of eight-year-olds. He had a few excellent players, and some who just couldn't get the hang of the game. Dad's team didn't win once all season. But in the last inning of the last game, his team was only down by a run. There was one boy who had never been able to hit the ball--or catch it. With two outs, it was his turn to bat. He surprised the world and got a single!
The next batter was the team slugger. Finally, Dad's players might win a game. The slugger connected, and as the boy who hit the single ran to second, he saw the ball coming toward him. Not so certain of baseball's rules, he caught it. Final out! Dad's team lost! Quickly, my father told his team to cheer. The boy beamed. It never occurred to him that he lost the game. All he knew was he had hit the ball and caught it--both for the first time. His parents later thanked my dad. Their child had never even gotten in a game before that season.
We never told the boy exactly what happened. We didn't want to ruin it for him.
Appeal
Appeal
Love Sinners
Preach Truth
Spread Grace