God's Great Patience

“If God gave us what we deserved the moment we deserved it… none of us would have made it to church today.”

I. The Rebellion Against God (1-3)

The call of God was clear “Go and preach against the sins of Nineveh!” After years (3700) of long-suffering God was ready to judge that great city, and in one last act of compassion and grace... God sent Jonah to warn them.

The call was urgent, immediate, and unmistakable, but was met with rebellion. God said, “Go.” Jonah said, “No.” Immediately he packed his bags and ran in the opposite direction. Nineveh was 500 miles east (Mosul Iraq)… but Jonah headed 2,000 miles west to Tarshish (NW Spain) the edge of the known world.

The Bible says he fled from the presence of the Lord. That’s an impossible task —and Jonah knew it (Psalm 139). He wasn’t escaping God’s presence… he was declaring his resistance to God’s will and his unwillingness to serve the Lord. Jonah was a back slidden prophet who had the wrong attitude towards God’s will - He thought it was difficult and dangerous. He had the wrong attitude towards witnessing - He thought He could turn in on and off as he wanted to. He had the wrong attitude towards his enemies - He wanted to see them perish.

Likewise, many of us are back slidden Christians, whom God has made some things crystal clear in our lives, “Align yourself to my will” but we fight and resist. “Witness and make disciples” but we are afraid and refuse. “Forgive your enemy” but you won’t. “Let it go”… but you hold on. “Trust Me”… but you take control anyway.

That my friend is open is rebellion. We are like a stubborn children looking straight at our father… hearing exactly what he said… and doing the opposite anyway.

Jonah overruled God, and if we’re honest… so have we. But instead of instead of instant judgment, we see something unexpected… the patience of God.”

II. The Restraint of God (4-6)

Jonah was a back slidden Prophet. many of us are back slidden Christians and the direction that we slide is always down! Jonah went down to Joppa, down into the ship, down into the sea, down in the great fish! Dear friend the Christian has been raised from the dead, raised up through faith (Col. 2:12) and the Christian seeks the things from above where Christ is seated at the right of God (Col. 3:1)! To back slide is a downward spiral into the sin you have been forgiven of, and it angers God yet He is patient with us, showing restraint towards us.

God had every right to destroy Jonah, but He chose to pursue Him! God has every right to destroy us but He peruses us. God sent a storm, not as judgment but as intervention! Jonah had lost the voice of God so God shook him up by hurling a storm in the sea.

There is nothing uncommon about a storm at sea. (ILL: the storm we got into on flats.) But this had a special purpose. The verb “sent” is elsewhere used of hurling an object such as a spear (1 Sam. 18:11, 20:33) and its translated three different times as “threw” (5, 12, 15) in this chapter. Its as God threw the storm at Jonah to stop him in his tracks!

The storm was so violent that the ship was determined to come apart, yet God patiently held it together for a little while longer! Meanwhile the pagan sailors cried out to their God and the Captain of the ship woke up a sea sick back slidden prophet and entreated him to cry out to his God! Call on your God, perhaps your God will be concerned and about us so that we don’t perish (6)!

III. The Revelation of God (7-10)

IV. The Relentlessness of God (11-17)

“The same God Jonah ran from… is the same God who refused to give up on him.”