Jonah--week 3

Recap:

We are in a series going through the book of Jonah. To give you a recap of what we have done through so far here is the first two chapters:

· God called to Jonah and told him to go preach to this crazy city Nineveh.

· Jonah was scared because he heard about how brutal these guys were.

· So he said, “NOPE!” and basically ran the other direction. He was trying to run away from God.

· God then sent a storm after Jonah; he was thrown overboard.

· God sent a fish after him to swallow him up.

· Last week we walked through Jonah’s prayer while he was in the fish, and how this shows we need to pray it out too.

· Then the fish threw up Jonah on the shores of Nineveh.

God is a God of Second Chances

Jonah 3:1–4 ESV

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 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. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

God was patient with Jonah

Has there ever been a time when you needed a second chance?

Has there ever been a time when you got a second chance?

Are you someone who gives second chance?

Really, the second chance is the ultimate form of forgiveness /

When was an example of you getting a second chance?

Story of getting a second chance.

Jonah obeyed the second time

God is a God of mercy, but He expects us to obey

Should we continue in sin so grace may abound? By no means.

How would you feel if you forgave a friend and they went out and did the same thing again?

We need to be like Jonah, when we have a second chance obey

When we obey, God moves

Jonah 3:5–10 ESV

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. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 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, 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. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” 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.

God works through broken vessels

Do you ever have opportunities to witness?

DO you take them

Story of Jim Ward

God wants to work through you…give Him the opportunity

When God works, lives change

Look at the 180 turn around in these people?

These people TOTALLY changed.

Think of the story of daniel in lion’s den

Daniel 6:26–27 ESV

I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”

This was because Daniel was faithful to God, and God used that to change the eharts of Darius and all his people

If we allow God to work through us, He will change the hearts of us and the people around us.