When a Curse Becomes a Blessing

Introduction

Election this Tuesday. Vote!

In 1960, during John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign, he needed to reassure the American public that his Catholic faith would not subject him to the influence of the pope in Rome.

Today, we have two candidates who do not know the Lord or follow His teachings. Therefore, this vote is not about choosing between a Christian and a non-Christian, but rather about determining which candidate offers the best policies for our country’s future.

But this I know as Paul was writing to the churches in the Roman Empire.

Romans 13:1–2 ESV

1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

It's important to understand that those in positions of authority are ultimately under God's authority. Just as God appoints leaders, He also has the power to remove them. Therefore, participate in the voting process, but place your trust in God rather than in the candidates themselves. Live for God and vote as ambassadors of His kingdom. Regardless of the election outcome, represent God's love so that, by your actions, some may be saved from a misguided generation.

Let’s pause and pray for peace and safety in our country as we go through this election.

The City of Nineveh

Nineveh was a city of great power and influence, but it had become wicked in its practices. The King of Nineveh allowed corruption to spread throughout the city, promoting evil instead of good, which caught God's attention. Nineveh was about to learn who truly held authority. If the appointed leaders fail to control evil, God steps in.

Jonah had the responsibility of delivering a warning to people who did not know him.

Exposition

The God of Second Chances

Jonah 3:1 ESV

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,

Jonah needed a second chance from God

He was living in rebellion, running from God.

He had given up on life and his calling.

Like the prodigal son, he found himself in the pit.

The prodigal son is a parable told by Jesus about the jewish people. He renounces his father and demands his inheritance only blow it all on riotous living. When he comes to the end of himself he wakes up in a mud pit with the pigs with no one around to help him. So in his despair he goes back to the father to see it he can just be a servant and is surprised that the father receives him as a son, because he is a son.

God’s love prevailed over the pit.

God is pursuing you even when you’re running.

Your running doesn’t change your status as a son or daughter of God.

The father was waiting for Jonah to return to him just like the prodigal son.

God is in the restoration business.

He can take a broken heart and mend it.

He can take a broken life and give it purpose and meaning again.

Jonah needed to rise to the occasion.

Jonah 3:2–3 (ESV)

2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 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 breadth.

A second chance is a new birth, a resurrection. Old things pass away, and all things become new.

You can’t stay where you are and go with God. You must arise from the ashes and follow him.

Luke 15:18–20 (ESV)

18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

Take your second chance and rise to the occasion.

When a Curse Becomes a Blessing

Believe God

Jonah 3:4–5 ESV

4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 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.

It’s only a curse if you don’t heed the warning.

John 3:17–18 ESV

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

God's intention is to save us from our sins.

The warning provides a way of escape.

The first step in moving a curse to a blessing is believing the warning.

The Ninevites were living in condemnation.

Humble yourself Before God.

Jonah 3:6–8 ESV

6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 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, 8 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.

Place yourself under the mighty hand of God.

James 4:6 ESV

6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Prayer and Fasting

It takes humility to pray.

It takes humility to fast.

“Biblical fasting is very specific about the denial of food. Sustenance is a primary need for every person. When you fast, you trust the Lord to sustain your life, and it causes you to focus and pray to him.” (The Potter’s Clay, Bill Sizemore p. 79)

Turn from Your Evil Ways

Jonah 3:9 ESV

9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

Repentance is critical to a second chance with God.

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Turning from sin causes God to turn from wrath.

Jonah 3:10 ESV

10 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.

James 4:8 ESV

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

The blessing instead of the Curse

Jesus became the curse so we might be saved.

Luke 11:32 ESV

32 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.

Turn your curse into a blessing.

Colossians 2:13–14 ESV

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Closing Statements

God offers a second chance—will you rise to the occasion? Step out of the ashes, trust His call, and let Him turn your past into purpose.

Nineveh changed when they humbled themselves before God. Today, we have the same choice: humble yourself, pray, and watch as He brings blessing instead of wrath.

Don’t let the curse of sin hold you back. Turn to God, and let Him transform your life with His powerful blessing and renewal. Step forward in faith!

Call to Action

We make our country better when we turn from sin and live in God blessing. Let’s humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and pray that others will see our witness.

RGroup Questions

What does the story of Jonah tell us about God's nature and His willingness to give second chances?

How can we apply the principle of humility in our lives as seen in the response of the people of Nineveh?

Why is belief in God's warning essential for it to become a blessing rather than a curse?