Jonah's Second Chance

The God of Second Chances

Bible Passage: Jon 3:1-10

Summary: In Jonah 3:1-10, Jonah is given a second chance to fulfill God's command to preach repentance to Nineveh. The people of Nineveh heed his warning and turn from their wicked ways, leading to God's mercy and forgiveness for them.

Application: This sermon emphasizes that no one is beyond the reach of God's grace and that everyone has the opportunity for redemption, regardless of their past. It encourages Christians to embrace their own second chances and to extend grace to others.

Big Idea: God's grace is abundant, and His desire for repentance offers everyone a fresh start—our past does not dictate our future in Him.

Introduction

Jonah runs from God…chapter 1

Jonah’s prayer…chapter 2

Jonah’s second chance…God’s mercy, chapter 3

1. Graceful Command

Jonah 3:1–3 NLT

Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.” This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.

1. Jonah heard God again; same command as before…you must do God’s will God’s way (if he hasn’t spoke in a while, did you go do what he already spoke?)

2. The Lord won't allow you to go further in this season until your obedient in what he told you the previous season. 3. Jonah's second chance emphasizes God's persistent call on our lives despite past failures. 4. This highlights the sovereign grace of God in giving us new opportunities. 5. The command to Jonah exemplifies how God doesn't give up on us, aligning with Christ's invitation to redemption through His grace and forgiveness.

Nineveh

Took 3 days to get across and explore; important, popular city and 60 miles (20 miles a day), walls of 100 ft high, towers of 1500, and 120,000 population in this city…over 1 million total populatio.

Proper visit by a foreigner: 1. Meet with state ambassador: arrive, get settled, locate governmen, and present credentials. 2. Recieve by officials in charge and do business. 3. Official send off in the region.

2. God's Mission Urgency

Jonah 3:3–4 NLT

This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!”

Prophets represented ambassadors; They enjoyed diplomatic immunity and court status, ex 1 kings 22.

2. Ninevites seen the concealment of the messege in Jonah for them that caused him to be an outcast and entombed as a sign to them…Jonah was a wonder to the people to taste death and live. 3. An announcement of ruin in 40 days, not a 40 day cry against sin…Jesus, Moses, Elijah all fasted 40 days

4. They seen mercy on one hand and wrath on the other; they seen guilty Jonah resulted in guilty Nineveh.

Luke 11:30 NLT

What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son of Man will be a sign to these people that he was sent by God.

Matthew 16:1–4 NLT

One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority. He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.

4. The people knew if no time period was given, then no time for repentance…God gives mercy and grace with so much patienc wishing all come to repenetance.

3. Transformative Repentance

Jonah 3:5–10 NLT

The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow. When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city: “No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.” When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.

FOUR ways to make a king change his mind:

Invasion of an enemy . 2. Total solar eclipse. 3. Famine and disease. 4. Flood.

NOTE: Around that time Assyrians had palgues and 3 total esplise, but now a prophet…lead to quick repentence.

Repentence broke out on day 1!; 2nd and 3rd day was prayer and fasting. 2. Their repentance was legit but temporary; God spared the city but it was destroyed in 612 bc (Habbakukk and Nahum 1:1-15

Nahum 1:1–15 NLT

This message concerning Nineveh came as a vision to Nahum, who lived in Elkosh. The Lord is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and rage. He takes revenge on all who oppose him and continues to rage against his enemies! The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet. At his command the oceans dry up, and the rivers disappear. The lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade, and the green forests of Lebanon wither. In his presence the mountains quake, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles, and its people are destroyed. Who can stand before his fierce anger? Who can survive his burning fury? His rage blazes forth like fire, and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence. The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him. But he will sweep away his enemies in an overwhelming flood. He will pursue his foes into the darkness of night. Why are you scheming against the Lord? He will destroy you with one blow; he won’t need to strike twice! His enemies, tangled like thornbushes and staggering like drunks, will be burned up like dry stubble in a field. Who is this wicked counselor of yours who plots evil against the Lord? This is what the Lord says: “Though the Assyrians have many allies, they will be destroyed and disappear. O my people, I have punished you before, but I will not punish you again. Now I will break the yoke of bondage from your neck and tear off the chains of Assyrian oppression.” And this is what the Lord says concerning the Assyrians in Nineveh: “You will have no more children to carry on your name. I will destroy all the idols in the temples of your gods. I am preparing a grave for you because you are despicable!” Look! A messenger is coming over the mountains with good news! He is bringing a message of peace. Celebrate your festivals, O people of Judah, and fulfill all your vows, for your wicked enemies will never invade your land again. They will be completely destroyed!

3. The people repented to the message but not to serving God…Prayer without reformation is a mockery to God. 4. Prayer must precede true reformation as we can’t turn to God from our evil unless God first turns us. Jeremiah 31: 18-19

Jeremiah 31:18–19 NLT

I have heard Israel saying, ‘You disciplined me severely, like a calf that needs training for the yoke. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the Lord my God. I turned away from God, but then I was sorry. I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.’

5. Our past disobedience doesn’t disqualify us from future serving if we simply repent and get back up and commit to the calling of God.

6. Nineveh's collective repentance is a powerful testament to God's readiness to forgive.

Proverbs 24:16 NLT

The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.