Jonah: The Heart of the Lord for Sinners

Well, it's so good to be with you and we're in the Book of Jonah today a book that is familiar to any of us who grew up in church. It's a well-known story and I believe it was written by Jonah probably at the end of his life and Jonah the prophet is mentioned in the book of 2nd Kings as having a very successful Ministry. He had prophesied in predicted the wide extent of King jeroboam conquests, and he lived during the same time as Elijah the prophet and at the same time as Amos and Hosea. And I'll just give you the ends of what I'm hoping to show you this morning, which is the Jonah is intending for his people to see the same thing that he has come to learn that the servant of the Lord must have the same heart as the Lord that God loves to save Sinners and from the beginning God intended the nation of Israel to be his chosen people for the fulfilling of the abrahamic Covenant to be a blessing to All Nations. We heard this in Romans 15 the Israelites. However began to take pride in being God's chosen people and they began to look down on all others with scorn. So let's turn to the Book of Jonah and it breaks up really quite nicely as a a story. It's not really a prophetic book. Like we think of in Prophecy. It's a narrative and it breaks up into two acts the First Act Jonah runs from God and he ends up on a storm at sea and swallowed in the belly of a fish. And then in the second act Joan is obedient and goes to Nineveh and but he's not happy about it. He's very reluctant to do this and he preaches and Nineveh repents. And so let's go ahead and and begin by reading in The Book of Jonah I'm just going to read the first chapter four now 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 and he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to tarshish until he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to tarshish away from the presence of the Lord, 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 and 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 Delight in it for them. But Jonah he'd gone down into the inner part of the ship and it laid down and was fast asleep. 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. 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 in the lot fell to Jonah and then they said to him he'll put us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? And what is your country and of what people are you and he said to them? I'm a Hebrew and I fear the lord the god of Heaven who made the sea in the dry land. And then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him. What is this you've done for the men knew he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord because he had told them and then they said to him what shall we do to you than to see me quiet down for us for the sea grew more and more tempestuous and he said to them pick me up and hurled me into the sea than the sea will quiet down for you for I know it is because of me that this great Tempest has come upon you nevertheless the men rode hard to get back to dry land, but they could not for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. There were they called out to the Lord. Oh Lord, let us not perish for this man's life and lay not on us innocent blood for you. Oh Lord have done as it pleased you. So they picked up Joan and hurled him into the sea in the sea ceased from its raging and then the men feared the Lord exceedingly and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows 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. Amazing here you have in the first three verses Jonah is commissioned by God arise and go up to Nineveh because this great City their evil has come against me cry out against it. You would think from the perspective of Jonah was a prophet of God that he would have loved to prophesy against Nineveh. But as we're going to see it doesn't say it at the beginning of the book but Jonah accuses God at the end of the book saying hey, there's a reason I didn't go to Nineveh and I don't want to spoil the story completely. But Jonah in Nineveh was enemies of Israel and of Jonah they had murdered and slaughtered their people. They were at war with them. They had committed atrocities this this nation of Assyria that had come in and conquered the northern kingdom and Jonah was like God, I don't want to prophesy to them. I want them to be destroyed. I want you to Newcomb right off the face of the Earth. And so Jonah says na Lord give somebody else talk to Amos talk to Elijah. I'm going to go to Spain tarshish with Spain. I'm going to get a ship heading out of town the opposite direction from Nineveh. I'm out of here. And what happens if this storm at sea is that God gets Jonah's attention, doesn't he? He is the god who will not let go. So God in verse 4. Hurls a great when he appoints Calamity to get Jonah's attention. Now if God were like me and he's not praise the Lord, but if you were like me, he would write off people is useless. But God took his choice of Jonah. So seriously that he would actually sink a ship rather than allow Jonah to go his own way. And to emphasize the severity Jonah personifies the ship as he's riding in and he says the ship thought it was going to be destroyed the E. He just writes in this is very graphic manner. It reminds me of when I was a kid and watching Looney Tunes and Sylvester the cat as he tried to catch Tweety Bird in as soon as he knew he was going to get hit by something. He just would go mother and it would you do then smash them into the wall or whatever. Jonah is personifying the ship is thinking the ship's thinking I'm going to be destroyed because of this man whose Down Below in the hold of the ship in a deep sleep. In fact, the Hebrew word here Riddim for deep sleep is this really deep stupefied snore of asleep. He's like a baby rocking to The Waves as the sailors are trying to prevent the ship from going down in the so the captain approaches him and says, how is it you're sleeping? Get up and cry out to your God. Know what's interesting is the way the language is arranged there when the captain says arise and cry out to your God. It's the same languages verse to do when God said Jonah arise and go to Nineveh. So Jonah should have been hearing in the captain's words the Lord. Oh here. I am on the way on my way to Spain away from supposedly the presence of the Lord and nobody's going to bother me. Nobody knows me and the captain wakes him up and says the same kind of words that God had said and so what is God do he exposes Jonah's sin versus 7 to 10 of chapter one? the sailors are extremely frightened because once Jonah reveals who he is they know by reputation who Yahweh is They know by reputation that Yahweh had brought Israel out of Egypt had destroyed the armies of pharaoh had conquered the city of Jericho had conquered the Canaanites around them. They knew who Yahweh was by reputation. He's the one who brought the plagues on Egypt. He's the one who parted the Red Sea. He's the one who protected his children in the wilderness for 40 years providing Mana. He's the one who parted the Jordan River who levelled the walls of Jericho who caused the sun to stand still at gibeon. This is not a week God pursuing Jonah. It's the god of Heaven who made the Sea and the dry land it is God over all that. That's what Jonah says. I'm a Hebrew. I fear the lord verse 9 the god of Heaven who made the Sea and the dry land is the one I worship. What's amazing about that? Is there on the sea and they wanted to be on dry land. Jonas I got in The God Who made both the see where you are in the dry land where you want to be. So they're like cry out to him if he's the king over all of that. You better talk to him. When God brings Jonah to the end of himself at the end of this chapter. Isn't it interesting that the one who prayed was not Jonah it was the sailors. Jonah did not cry out to God. And in this is a great irony. Jonah is being stubborn in his rebellion, and I believe these Sailors came to True saving repentance and Faith when it says they feared the Lord exceedingly and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. We don't know for sure but it sure seems that the irony that Jonah's writing about is I was so stubborn in my sin that I refuse to pray to God. Cuz I would rather have God kill me in the ocean then send me to Nineveh so that I would preach to them. And so here we come to this great Phish the end of this First Act and it is praising God in odd places, isn't it? And what we see in here in verse 17 and then the rest of chapter 2, which I'm going to read shortly is that Jonah is humbled. He's humbled by God, but he's humbled specifically by the grace of God. Let's reach after choosing Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish saying I called out to the Lord out of my distress and he answered me out of the belly if she'll like ride and you heard my voice you cast me into the deep into the heart of the season the flood surrounded me and all your waves and your Billows passed over me and then I said I am driven away from your site. Yet I shall again. Look upon your Holy Temple the waters closed in over me to take my life. The Deep surrounded me weeds were wrapped around my head at the root of the mountain. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever yet. You brought up my life from the pit. Oh Lord my God when my life was fainting away. I remember the Lord in my prayer came to you into your Holy Temple. Those who pay regard to Vain Idols forsake their hope of steadfast love put a pin in that verse 8, we're going to come back to it. But I with the voice of Thanksgiving will sacrifice to you what I found out I will pay salvation Belongs to the Lord in the Lord spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land verse 17. We see God's grace. He appoints a great fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah is not abandoned by God.

I just want to make a by way of application brothers and sisters you are not abandoned by God this morning either. You may feel like you're abandoned by God, but you're not. We're going to see his character here in this chapter in an amazing way and the Miracle is not that there's a fish large enough to swallow Jonah we've seen National Geographic. We know that that's true. The miracle is that God appointed the fish to be at the right place at the right time ready to swallow Jonah and that he was kept alive for three days and nights before being vomited up on the land. It was like a resurrection from the dead which is of course why Jonah Praise In the Belly of the fish here in Chapter 2 and what we see is his praise. And I want to think about Jonah's. Situation for a moment he's there because he's reaping the consequences of his own decisions. He's getting what he deserves for disobeying God and running from God and yet in the midst of its. God answers Jonas prayer and shows him his steadfast love. So if you would this morning might be in trouble in your life because of your decisions to disobey God. But take Hope from this book God is the god who is faithful and steadfast in his love who keeps his promises and if you belong to him because you're in Jesus. He causes all things to work together for good. Even the evil things quite incredible here verses 5 and 6 you have this Jonah describing. How bad it was to be at the as he was sinking down in the O in this Mediterranean Sea in the weeds were wrapping around his head and he went to the roots of the mountains literally in the Hebrew. He went to the bottom and then this fish swallows him. It reminds me that's in our lives. It sure seems like distresses in trouble coming back patches. They don't often get spaced out so we can handle them one at a time. Wouldn't that be nice? It seems to me they might experience that circumstances often develop to the point where we cannot see any way out. That Paul speaks of this in second Corinthians one. He says that trouble had come upon him. So Great in Macedonia that they despaired even of life so they would learn not to trust themselves but to The God Who raises the Dead And then they were able to comfort with the same comfort with which they were comforted others who were in the same experience. You in the midst of trouble? Maybe it's your own doing maybe it's your own sand that's placed you there or maybe it's because you live in a fallen world. Take great. Hope your father has not forgotten about you. He's there with you. He's for you and not against you. He's proven it by giving his son and pouring out his spirit and if he didn't spare his son howling out with him freely, give us all things. Will Jonas hard is a shirt of God's mercy and kindness. He says you brought up my life from the pit. Oh Lord my God. Verse 6. He's humbled by grace. I didn't deserve it when my life was fading away. I remembered the Lord. And my prayer came to you into your Holy Temple. Are there any makes this comment in verse 8 that's a little puzzling in our English to maybe understand those who pay regard to Vain Idols forsake their hope of steadfast love is the way the ESV translates it he's beginning to think with some compassion on the terrible plight of idolaters and unbelievers. Those who cling to worthless Idols forfeit the grace the Covenant love that could be theirs. So he's beginning to think in the midst of this fish upon Nineveh. And maybe the sailors were the reason because they were idolaters. They were unbelievers and yet God showed them Mercy.

He had a renewed commitment to the Lord what I have vowed. I will pay. Okay Lord. I'll go to Nineveh and he had a fresh view of the Sovereign Grace of God salvation is from the Lord. This morning if you're running from God. Oh stop and turn to him run to him humble yourself under his mighty hand that he would exalt you in due time as the scripture says he's a god of steadfast love God of grace and mercy.

That's the end of the First Act Jonah was in the belly of the fish. But yet now he's willing to go to Nineveh.

Let's turn to act 2 chapter 3 verse 1 then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time. Arise go to Nineveh that great City and call out against it the message that I tell you. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great City three days journey in breath and Jonah begin to go into the city going a Day's Journey and he called out yet forty days and none of us shall be overthrown the people of Nineveh believe God and they called for a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least of them. And the word reach the king of Nineveh and he rose 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 but neither man nor Beast heard 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 turned from his evil ways 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. When God saw what they did how they turned from their evil way God relented of the disaster that he said he would do to them and he did not do it. So this mission to Nineveh in chapter 3 what Jonah is essentially preaching is fear this gracious and compassionate God fear the lord. The end again if I was God and I'm not I would have had just about enough of a Jonah Jonah ran from God. He would rather die than serve God he told the sailors to throw him overboard and God graciously saved him with a fish. You know, if I was God I might have said Jonah. Why don't you just go home? I'll get Amos or Elijah or one of the other prophets Hosea to going in your place, but that's not what God does God calls Jonah a second time with the same language arise and go to Nineveh chapter 3 and in the response of Nineveh to the warning of God is remarkable. Jonah's a reluctant Prophet, but his fruitfulness is effective all of Nineveh repents. They're convicted of send Jonah was a sign as it were of the anger and wrath of God, but also a sign that a center can be spared sometimes in the commentaries. Don't make comment about what Jonah must have look like when he came out of that fish. After three days bleached skin hair crazy and as he's walking through that city, of course, they're going to believe him. But if they had heard this story, it's not every day that a man gets swallowed by fish and he comes back out 3 days later. If they had heard this story. They would have known that God is the one who can spare sinners.

Nineveh has a sorrow for sin the king of Nineveh declares a fast and they all put on sackcloth, even the animals which was representative of their repentance and they're sorry we don't do that today. We would wear black at like at a funeral will they would put on sackcloth then it says in verse 8, they repented they turned from their evil ways and the violence in their hands and the King says who knows God may turn and relented in the Hebrew. There's quite a bit of wordplay here because the word for evil the word for repent and relent. They're all these these stems that are related. And so we lose some of that that word play but it's it's similar in it sounds similar in the sense of Nineveh repented. So God relented but God is not a man that he would ever repent. He doesn't make mistakes. He doesn't change his mind, but he changes his action in time when Sinners repent and isn't that good news? Because that's what he's done with us. He changed his actions towards us and he didn't give us what we deserve instead. He gave us Jesus and we have forgiveness of sins and we have a hope we have joy at the right hand of God Pleasures forevermore. The psalmist says until God relent sin verse 10 and shows Mercy Now this fourth chapter we see that God is more merciful than even his Prophet. We see the misery of Jonah in the mercy of God in chapter 4. Let me read it to you chapter 4 verse 1 it displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was angry. What was that? That Nineveh repented in God relented Jonah didn't want Nineveh to be spared. He wanted Nineveh to be nuked. Have you prayed to the Lord verse 2 and he said oh 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're a gracious God and merciful slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster what is better for me to die than to live. The Lord says to him. Do you do well to be angry? Jonah went out of the city and sat in the east of the city and made a booth for himself there and he sat under it in the shade till he would see what would become of the city. And the Lord God appointed the plants made it come up over Jonas there might be a shade over his head just save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly. Happy glad because of the plants but when the dawn came up the next day God appointed a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered and 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's 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 in Paris tonight? And should not I pity Nineveh that great City and which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also much cattle. The chapter 4 the end of the story. Jonah questions God's character God's Mercy is evil to Jonah. He's exceedingly angry at greatly displeased him and leads them into a fit of anger and perhaps even depression and inverse two of chapter 4 is is the key right Jonah understood that God's intention flows from his character and that's why he went to Spain or tried to he describes God how not as the holy and exalted one who dwells an unapproachable light who's going to by no means clear the guilty. What does he say God? I knew your the gracious and compassionate one slow to anger and abounding in love and kindness in the one who lends concerning Calamity. He's quoting Exodus 34 when God revealed his name to Moses when God hid Moses in the cleft of The Rock and passed by in his glory. He's repeating the name that was repeated over and over in the Psalms the gracious and compassionate one. This is quoted in numbers 14 and Nehemiah 9 and Joel to it was part of the temple worship. As I said in the Psalms 86 and 103 and 145 in thick about Jonah is a prophet who love to worship God in the temple. He had sing those songs. He knew that this was God's character in God's name and he would rather die than see God respond this way to Nineveh. until God questions Jonah's anger Do you have a good reason to be angry birds for? No, I would take it that this is a gentle questioning. This isn't God putting his finger in Jonah's face and saying you don't have any right to be angry. He's Jet Li. Asking Jonah. Do you have a good reason? Jonah really it shows he didn't know God as well as he thought he did. If we were to use a parable of Jesus, he's like the older son. When the younger son is brought home who the father thought was dead and is now alive who throws a party who gets the the finest animal from the herds and and kills it so that they can have a feast and he puts a ring on his finger and a robe around his shoulders and the older son sulks while the father celebrates and he the older son feels cheated by the prodigals return. This is how Jonas feeling God you should only be gracious and compassionate to us not to the Nations to us. And look at how God responds to Jonah first. He knows strong language. He appoints a vine to grow he Sovereign in this story Jonah son, righteously angry at him and God pours out more love and kindness. He causes a plant to grow over Jonah's head so he could have stayed cuz evidently that Boosie build was insufficient. And what's remarkable is what's Jonah's response to the plant? He's exceedingly glad it's the first time he's happy about anything in the whole story.

He's happy because God was finally doing something for him.

Well, that's a little convicting, isn't it? Are we only happy with God when he does something for us? Do we rejoice when others Rejoice do we weep when others weep or do we get mad when God blesses others and doesn't bless us?

And so God wants to teach Jonah and so he appoints a worm to eat this plant and it has two effects that exposes Jonah to the heat of the Sun in the scorching East Wind would got also appointed by the way, and it provokes Jonah to another temper tantrum. It's all God questions Jonah again in verse 9.

By the way, no one compelled Jonah to sit out in the sun Divine hadn't even been there in the beginning. Why did Jonah go up to the to overlook the city and wait cuz his prophecy was in forty days Nineveh will perish I assume he sat there for forty days and when God didn't bring the heat down on Nineveh on day 45 mad as a hornet God. What are you doing? Just kill me now.

God exposes the sheer Madness of Jonah's obsession with the destruction of Nineveh and God responds and verses 10 and 11. Basically saying should I not pity Nineveh that great City? God is showing Jonah what free Grace is all about in verse 10. The vine was a free gift, but Jonah was acting as if god Odin the Vine.

How are you reacting when the Lord's gifts are given and removed in your life?

We were angry with God often times. It's because we love his gifts more than we love God. What do I mean by that He blesses us. He gives us things and then we begin to think that we rode those things and then we fall in love with those things rather than God and we got takes those things away like a Vine were mad at God. They become our Idols in other word. The things that we think are going to provide happiness and joy and satisfaction in life. We worship our Vine rather than our God, but the vine May wither Your job made tail off. You may lose it. That's Charming friendship is broken off. A golden-haired little one breaks your heart in rebellious youth. We must look beyond the gifts themselves to the grace of the one who gives He is good. And he does good and God is showing his love for the lost in verse 11. He has a concern for a perishing world. He has a commitment to practical evangelism and he has a confidence in his purpose is to save listen to what God is saying Jonah gets upset with God again because God causes a plant to be raised up and then kills it the next day and God questions Jonas Jonas anger and God tells Jonah you had compassion over a plant that you did not cultivate and grow and died. And how can I not have compassion on a city that I planted a people that I created that I caused to grow. That's what God saying to Jonah at the end of this there's many in this city who will die and faced me and judgment apart from repentance Jonah. How can you not have compassion on them? Do you have a right to be angry?

If you're living in Anger this morning may be angry at your boss angry at your spouse. angry at the government's And if I told you to go share the gospel with them and you said share the gospel, I don't want to share the gospel with them. I want them to go to hell. I want God's justice to fall on them. This was Jonah's attitude toward Nineveh. This was Israel's attitude towards the Gentiles and this is often time to church his attitude towards the culture around us, but it's not God's attitude. God loves to save Sinners. He is gracious and compassionate and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and if anyone repents and submits to Christ as their King God relent concerning the Calamity that he's promised to bring on every Center apart from Christ. That's the hope of the Gospel. You seeing this day in the life of Jonah? This wasn't just another event in his life. This was a sign not only to the people of Jonas time, but to all future Generations about the character of God about his plan to save out of every nation and tribe in people in tongue about his plan to save through the person and work of his son the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember when Jesus was walking on the earth, he was constantly being asked to show a sign. Jesus give us a miracle show us a sign. In fact on two occasions. Jesus told his hearers there would be a sign but it would be much different than the kind. They expected. It would be the sign of Jonah what they wanted was proof that Jesus really was from God. And Jesus says, okay. I'll give you a sign. Look to Jonah. What did he mean? What what is the sign a sign it points to something for me? That's what I signed does are Trinity Church sign out there points to the the front of the church. It isn't the church, but it's a clear and unmistakable sign that if you look at it, you'll get to the church. Hopefully successfully. Hopefully the arrow on the side of the curb is pointed this way and not towards Nations.

In Jonah's experience that were plenty of signs that he had. He had heard about Manna From Heaven the sun standing still in the days of Joshua Samuel causing Thunder and hail in a time of harvest Elijah bring down fire from heaven. This sign was something different in the Miracles. He was already performing. That is Jesus. What what is the sign of Jonah turn over to Matthew 20in will close with his thoughts on the sign of Jonah.

Matthew 12:40 will we won't turn over to the Luke 11 count, which is parallel, but we'll just look here at Matthew 12.

Verse 44 just as Jonah actually, let's get the context verse 38 then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him saying teacher we wish to see a sign from you but he answered them and evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah or 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. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the Judgment with this generation and condemn it for they repented at the preaching of Jonah and behold something greater than Jonah is here. So Jesus says the key to understanding this sign of Jonah is the three days and three nights Jonah's experience in the belly of a fish is a prophetic picture and acted out prophecy of what was going to happen to Jesus. The Incarnate Son of God Jonah went the way of death. So did Christ Jonah remain for three days in the grip of death? So did Christ Jonah returned to the land of the living on the third day so did Jesus and Jonah was assigned to the ninevites and Christ is assigned to his own and all generations as the one risen from the dead that he is the author of Eternal salvation for all who obey him. Jonah was three days in this great fish and he was there because of God's righteous anger against his sin and Jonah's death in the belly of the fish is a picture of the death of Christ. Not Jonah didn't pay our debt of sin. Jesus did. That's why Jesus says something greater than Jonah is here. Joan is a picture of how God can bring the dead to life how God can show Mercy in the midst of judgment how God can forgive sin. He's the type. But Jesus is the Fulfillment. He's the antitype. Jesus is the one who actually when he died and was buried in Rose again, according to 1st Corinthians 15:3. He died for our sins according to the scriptures and was buried and rose again on the third day according to the scriptures 1st Peter. 3:18 says Christ died for sins once for all the just for the unjust in order that he might bring us to God. So what is Jesus saying the sign the Pharisees should have been looking for was simply the death of Christ and his burial in his resurrection. And after three days Jonah's vomited up on the beach and he comes back from the dead. Is it worth? It just had a massive effect on the ninevites. They all repented Jonah was assigned to them. But Jesus says something greater than Jonah is here. However, amazing the story of Jonah is and it's quite remarkable. It's almost unbelievable. Isn't it? Something get Smith because it just seems too crazy to believe. It pales in comparison to the resurrection of the Son of God Jesus Christ. And what's crazy about Jesus they count in Matthew. Is that the different response? Jesus says the men of Nineveh are going to rise up on the Judgment Day and tell those Pharisees and those religious leaders who denied Jesus you're under greater judgment. We repented at the preaching of Jonah and you didn't repent at the preaching of Jesus.

facts for those of you who don't believe the message of the Gospel here today who don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus. I could wish that he was right here to prove it. But Jesus himself said if they don't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't be convinced. Even if someone rises from the dead. It's not remarkable. Here's the significance the ninevites repented at the preaching of Jonah but hard-heartedness and spiritual blindness means to reject Jesus completely after he'd risen from the dead. And so what what we're bringing is a message of hope that you don't need another sign. You don't need a voice from Heaven. You don't need writing in the sky. You need to believe the reports the gospel. In fact, sometimes we think of the Gospel as an offer, but it's also placed as a command believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't beat disbelieving but be believing And so to disbelieve the command of God to believe in Jesus is to disobey God is Not incredible.

I think about Jonah.

He wrote that book and the ending is quite Swift. Should I also not pity to send of it this city of Nineveh and it has all these 120,000 people who don't know the right hand from their left, whether that's a reference to children who are too young to know between the right and left or a reference to their illiteracy not knowing the right hand from a left and it's a lot of people. And even have pity on the animals he says God says. But Jonah, I believe came to understand exactly what God meant that he learned it in when he wrote it at the end of his life is that we have to have the same hard for the Lord that God loves to save Sinners and he's gracious and compassionate and we need to be on this same mission to share the gospel. This is what we desire to do is Trinity Church this new Church Plant to to see the Lord use us to to see an impact in Benicia for the gospel to see people saved and delivered and helped and given hope that never puts to shame. Hope it never disappoints believe in Jesus isn't just wishful thinking or a pipe dream. It's an Earnest expectation that God keeps his promises. And he's kept his promises. Kept his promises to Jonah to Nineveh. He kept his promises and Christ. In fact, all of his promises are summed up in Jesus. Which means he's going to come back and get us and he's going to make all things new.

Got it. Thank you for this time and your word has returned to the table now. Would it be an encouragement to our hearts?

It is a reflection of your heart.

You're the gracious and compassionate one abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. We love you in Jesus name. Amen.