Jonah 4: 5 Days of Fun - Real Change for Real Joy

Introduction

https://www.unilad.com/news/man-wins-lottery-while-reenacting-lottery-win-051033-20230101 -

Talk about a life change! God has something better for you than winning the lottery twice. Imagine the most amazing thing that could possibly happen in your life. God has something more amazing for you than that: a life of purpose and eternity with Him.

God wants to change your life so that you will experience more joy than you can ever imagine.

Jonah 4 doesn’t seem like a chapter about joy. In fact, it’s the biggest pity party in the Bible. Jonah witnesses an unbelievable move of God. Thousands experience the grace of God and Jonah responds by whining.

I want to ask you two questions to help you determine if you have a really joyous life.

Are your greatest moments of joy experienced when you get what you want?

Jonah = reluctant prophet. He did what God wanted him to do, but Jonah 4 reveals his heart. You would have thought that after what Jonah had experienced he would have been a changed man. Radical rescue from drowning and preaching the greatest evangelistic crusade the world has ever seen. But, Jonah is the same Jonah that ran from God in ch. 1. He’s hard-headed. He’s prideful. He’s hateful.

Vs. 2 – “This is why I didn’t want to come to Nineveh.” Jonah did God’s will but not willfully. Jonah obeyed God – but out of obligation – because he felt like he had no other choice. After all, he had made a vow to God. (2:9) Now, he’s angry. He even wants to die (vs 3).

Obligation may describe your faith. You attend church because you have to. You do Christian things because you have to, but you don’t really care about you faith. You haven’t surrendered to Jesus.

A faith out of obligation is a faith that lacks compassion. Jonah KNOWS the character of God, but he didn’t want the people of Nineveh to know the character of God. Talk about self-centered and hateful.

God: vs. 4 - “Is it right for you to be angry?” Or, “What’s wrong with you?”

Jonah: builds himself a booth and sits outside of the city just hoping for the spiritual high in Nineveh to wear off. He’s just hoping the people would go back to their rebellion and God would smite them. Jonah wants to see fire from heaven fall on Nineveh.

God appoints a plant to grow over Jonah’s head to give him some shade. He comforts Jonah. Jonah was greatly pleased. First time in the whole book that Jonah is glad about anything, and he’s glad about a plant. A hundred thousand people just got saved, and there’s no joy in that, but there’s joy in a shade tree! Silly!

Are your greatest moments of joy when you get what you want?

Maybe when you think of what would bring you the most joy, it has nothing to do with God.

When your enemies get what they have coming to them.

When you made the team.

When you got the “A.”

When you finally get to hang out with your friends.

When you get that new pair of shoes or that new gadget.

When you get to go on that trip.

NOT wrong to enjoy good times in life, but it’s selfish when your greatest moments are when you get what you want without any regard to what God wants. That says something about your heart!

Or, are your greatest moments of joy experienced when you see God’s will being accomplished?

Or, are your greatest moments of joy when you see God’s will being accomplished? When you see God at work in the life of a brother or sister in Christ, or you hear of someone coming to faith in Christ, or you see your child progressing in the faith? Our greatest moments of joy should be those moments that affect eternity. My bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream does not affect eternity.

Whatever gives you the most joy is what you will pursue.

God teaches Jonah a lesson. God sends a worm to eat the plant. Then he sends a scoring wind to burn Jonah’s head. . Jonah gets ticked. “It’s better for me to die!” (Another great opportunity for God to take Jonah out.) Imagine Jonah’s frustration: “Here I am miserable, my head is getting sunburned, while those worthless people of Nineveh are enjoying the blessings of God. This is not right!” (You’ve been there. You’ve been inflated in self-righteousness and self-pity.) Jonah cares far more about himself than he does other.

God: Why are you angry? You didn’t create the plant, you didn’t water it, you didn’t care for it, you didn’t make it grow. You did nothing but enjoy it. But I created the people of Nineveh. I breathed life into them. I know the numbers of hair on their heads. I even made the animals. I care for it all. Why wouldn’t I extend grace?”

God wants Jonah to have His heart for people. God wants Jonah (and us) to look past all our self-centeredness and see that the greatest joy is loving God and loving others with the love of Christ. God doesn’t give up on Jonah.

God shows Jonah grace, but it’s an uncomfortable grace. Isn’t that what God does over and over in order to shake Jonah to his core and show him His plan – uncomfortable grace.

Two ways we need to respond in order to put ourselves in a position to allow God to change us into willfully obedient and graciously compassionate people:

Ask God to give you uncomfortable grace. We don’t need God to pamper us. Like Jonah, we need God to shake us. Greatest times of growth are when God sends a worm – (Hurricane Katrina) The only thing that will wake some of us up is a worm eating away the things we love. Don’t be afraid to pray for that. It’s a hard prayer, but needed. Pray for God to strip away anything that is keeping you from understanding His heart’s desire for you.

Don’t let your story end with a question. The book ends with a question. Does Jonah get it? Don’t let your life end with a question – let Jesus do a work in you. Don’t resist. Trust that He knows what is best for you. The cross proves Jesus knows best. His death and resurrection proves that He has the power to change us and that He wants to change us. Through His death and resurrection he has taken us from death to life. We were on our way to hell and He changed our eternal destination. This morning – look to Jesus for salvation. Look to Jesus to change you. The more you know His grace the more you want Him to change you.