What God desires from us ?

What Does God Desire of Us?

Jonah 4:1-11

September 21st, 2008

Introduction:

Ø  Jonah 4 begins with the end of the chapter rather than the beginning.

Ø  The words of Jonah 4:1 are meant to get our attention:  In Jonah’s eyes what God had done for Nineveh was wrong.  Jonah hated what God had done, it made him furious.

Ø  How could God have done this?  Jonah knew exactly how God could have done this. (v. 2)

o   It was part of who God was; it was consistent with everything that Jonah knew about God. Yet it angered Jonah, Why?

o   Because in Jonah’s eyes the people of Nineveh did not deserve the mercy and love of God, they deserved judgment and punishment.

Ø  God through a series of events reveals exactly what is important to Jonah; Jonah.

Ø  Jonah chapter 4 shows us the heart of God; a heart and lifestyle we are to model as well.

Ø  What does God desire from us?

I)        To extend mercy:

A)     God desired to extend mercy towards the people of Nineveh.

1)      Because they deserved it? Hardly, they were a ruthless people.

2)      God did this because it is consistent with His nature. (Neh. 9:30-1-31)

3)      David understood that God was merciful and appealed to this mercy. (Ps 51:1)

B)      In light of the mercy of God directed towards us, we are called to be merciful towards others.

1)      What merciful acts has God done for us?

(a)    Ps. 103:1-4, 8,10

2)      Jesus commanded us to be merciful, just as God our Father is merciful. (Lk 6:32)

(a)    Illustration: “I can’t love them.”

II)      To have compassion: (vs. 10-11)

A)     Jonah was more concerned over his personal welfare than the eternal welfare of those in Nineveh.

1)      Often times God will use something in our lives to reveal where are hearts truly are.(e.g. Vine, worm)

B)      The phrase “has more than 120,000 who do not know their left hand from their right is an idiom. It literally means that the people of Nineveh did not have the knowledge to be able to free them from the mess that they were in.

1)      Likewise there are countless millions of people who do not know who Jesus is or what He has done for them.

(a)    Illustration of my call to ministry.

2)      God will hold them accountable for knowledge of Him. (Rom. 1:20-21, Ps. 19:1-4a)

3)      Likewise God will hold us accountable for what we do with the knowledge we possess.

III)    To express God’s love:

A)     The motivation of Jonah’s heart was not love.

1)      Rather it was disdain- that is why he ran away.

B)      Upon finally going to Nineveh we still see that there is no love in his heart.

C)      We are called to do all that we do in a spirit of authentic love.