God's Tender Mercy
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
4 And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? 10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
Introduction:
When we think about the mercy of God, our thoughts are driven to the cross of Calvary!
It is there we find the tender mercy of God toward us, who believe in Christ.
But what of those every day people of the world who have not entered into the covenant relationship with God through His Son?
Does God extend mercy toward them?
The answer is yes and no.
Yes, that His mercy is realized by them in this world!
No, that His mercy is not extended to them in the final judgment!
2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
You see, the point Jesus was making is, we all deserve such judgment, but God is still merciful to spare some.
When natural disasters come, many are affected by them, even believers.
God is not judging them because they are more wicked.
If it were not for the mercy of God, none of us would be spared.
In our text from Jonah, we find a cruel people that are deserving of being wiped out, but somehow find grace in God’s sight. This is a reaffirmation that God is capable and willing to save anyone, not just the Jew.
And so even those who are not believers can experience the mercy of God, because God is slow to anger and not willing that any perish!
I. God’s mercy is available to all who repent.
I. God’s mercy is available to all who repent.
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
A. No one’s beyond His reach.
A. No one’s beyond His reach.
How bad does one need to be in order to be beyond the reach of God’s mercy?
One of our sinful misgivings, is that we are really good at measuring ourselves against others, and when we engage in this type of categorization, we determine where the line is.
We then deem certain behaviors beyond God’s help!
But, is this truth?
Well, the truth is...
B. No sin is unforgivable.
B. No sin is unforgivable.
Some Christians teach that believers must beware of committing the unpardonable sin!
29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”—
The blasphemy here spoken of is when one denies the power of the Holy Spirit, as was demonstrated by Jesus’ miracles.
Thus, as long as they refuse to believe in that power, they prevent themselves from accessing that power, which results in unforgiveness.
It is not that they denied it at one time and have sealed their fate forever!
II. But, repentance must be genuine.
II. But, repentance must be genuine.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,
8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,
A. Words alone are meaningless.
A. Words alone are meaningless.
Repentance literally means to change (META) the mind (NOUS).
But, is that the extent of it?
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 41.52 μετανοέω; μετάνοια, ας
μετανοέω; μετάνοια, ας f: to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness
Since repentance means to change one’s mind regarding something
Why the added action?
Because a proper changing of the mind brings about change of action.
B. Actions speak volumes.
B. Actions speak volumes.
The Ninevites repented of their wickedness, and it was evident in their wearing sack cloth (a sign of humility before God), and their fasting from food and water.
How long they stopped their wickedness is irrelevant.
And that’s good for us as well, because if the omniscient God of the universe were to judge our repentance now on our future actions, we would have no hope!
Conclusion:
We can learn much from this passage in Jonah.
For one thing, we need to realize that God will judge us for our wickedness, whether Christian or not.
If we continue living a sinful life, we can expect His strong hand of chastening.
8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
Unbelievers can expect hell fire.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
And conversely, we can expect His mercy when we repent of our sinful actions.
For Christians, He will take us up in His arms and comfort us.
For unbelievers, He will save you from hell and destruction and make you a child of God and a member of His family.