Messages

Good morning once again…it is such a joy to be able to be here on Sunday morning and open the word with my spiritual family. You know, I hear time and time again how there are so many churches that talk about family ad being a spiritual family, but there is just something different here at LRBC. I can’t tell you how blessed I am to get to serve you all here and experience the love and grace that has been instilled within the fabric of LRBC and continues to be a defining characteristic, so thank you for welcoming me into this amazing family.

You know, that really is important as we think about the impact that we can have on the community around us. The fact that there are so many people that have no spiritual family and frankly many have no idea what they are even missing. To borrow a term from another pastor, they are spiritual orphans, and they have no spiritual home or spiritual family. Well, God has blessed LRBC with a great spiritual home and a great spiritual family and it is just so exciting to get to think about adding to our spiritual family and having the opportunity to be a blessing to those around us in some way…That said, I want to welcome those of you that are joining us online, we truly love you and are blessed to be able to call you part of our family, even if we are a littler separated for the moment. You know, we have some that are ill, some that are on vacation, some that are home for whatever reason it may be and I am so grateful for the technology to be able to still have you be a part of our spiritual family on Sunday morning, or whatever time you may be watching this on YouTube of Facebook when we are not live. We do have our services live every Sunday morning here at 9:30 am right here in the amazing village of Leaf River.

So, what have we been talking about over the last few weeks? Oh, thats right, we have been in this series going through the book of Jonah. Now, I want to draw your attention briefly to the tagline for this year. Many of you will remember that back in January I told you all that if we learned anything from last year that we need to take into our future it is “get used to different” Well, you should notice that every single graphic that we produce for our sermon series has the phrase get used to different on it. Now, this really throws Beth off as she produces these slides becuase she has to find a creative way to put that phrase on there. The question is, what does it mean? Well, it means that there are some things that are different and as a church we have to be prepared to do things differently from time to time. This has been and can be a problem for many people these days can’t it. I mean really, we have changed some things around the building here in the last two years and things continue to change around here on a fairly regular basis. Many times its something small like changing the format of the service, other times its fairly big like reformatting the lobby area. The point is that things are constantly changing because we are constantly learning and growing…or at least we should be...

Well, Jonah was a prophet of God and in this role he would many times have to go to the people of Israel and tell them about their sins and call them to repentance. He knew this was part of the job. Jonah even knew that he would be called on to give a message to an opposing army or maybe to a nearby town or people group that were not living a life pleasing to God. However, God called Jonah to do something pretty off-putting, or different when he called Jonah to go and give a message to Nineveh. You see, Jonah was ok with being God’s prophet and delivering messages to the people that he was comfortable with, or the people that were like him. However, God called Jonah to go to a people that had not heard of him, and that he was nothing like. Jonah had nothing in common with these people in Nineveh other than the fact that they were both human, although Jonah probably questioned that if we are honest. I mean, surely these people are animals with the type of sin and violence that they welcome into their homes.

So, Jonah had kind of a hard time getting used to different, which is why he ran away from God, thinking that he could hide from God for just long enough that God will use someone else to deliver the message, or God would change his mind. Jonah was pretty set in his ways and that did not include being a messenger to these type of people. God is sending him into a large community with about 600,000 people and as we will see today, about a three day journey to to walk through the city. Well, this was different that what he was used to, and maybe a bit different than what he was expecting to be called to do at any point in his life. This morning as we continue our look at Jonah and see that Jonah is having to get used to different, we will see three different messages that are proclaimed and they may not be quite what would have been expected. Join me as we look at

Jonah 3:3–4 (ESV)

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!”

So the first thing we see here is...

Jonah’s message to Nineveh (3-4)

So there very first thing we should pay attention to this morning is Jonah finally has a different response. Remember the thirst time Jonah was called by God, Jonah arose and fled…now, Jonah is arising and going to Nineveh. This isn’t an easy trip for Jonah. Depending on the exact location of Jonah at this time, this trip to Nineveh would be around 500 miles. Now, if Jonah has a camel or a donkey, then this trip will take him around 1 month to get there, if he is on foot the whole way then it will be much longer. So, Jonah is arise and going and when he arrives at the great city of Nineveh he is faced with the size of the city. Remember Nineveh is a large place and it is actually a bit of a metroplex that has with it a few cities. We see that in...

Genesis 10:11–12 (ESV)

From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

So basically, think of Nineveh as Rockford and Cherry Valley, and McChesney Park and Loves Park. While all technically different, they are really the same space. So, Jonah is needing to proclaim the message that God has given him to this entire city area. This is an area that will take 3 days to walk through. Now, based on what we know about Jonah so far, he is likely not interested in setting up camp and hosting some bible schools and doing some work days in order to connect with people to make sure that they understand God’s message…No, Im pretty sure he just wants to relay the message so that he can technically be obedient to God. So what is this message that Jonah is going to be telling to these sinful people?

“Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” —Jonah

This does not seem like a very hope filled message. I would imagine that Jonah is yelling this message as he walks through town. Now, I do wonder a little bit about the physical condition of Jonah at this point. We know that it has been likely at least 1 month since he was spit out of the mouth of this great fish. From what we have seen before when people are in the belly of a whale or a dogfish for a couple of days, they have come out a bit bleached and discolored. I also would imagine that people saw this fish vomit out Jonah. Now, if you know anything about human nature it is that we have a tendency to gossip and tell about all of the things that we have seen.

Actually, I have a Facebook friend that posted something pretty funny this week in response to the ChemTool fire. You see, when the fire happened on Monday everyone was talking about it. Actually it made world news, so all over the world this was being discussed. Well, a friend of mine posted something to the effect of saying that we all saw the smoke, yet everyone posted pictures of the smoke as well. It was kind of funny, and so my response was to post a picture of the fire and ask if he had heard about the fire at ChemTool. That was funny, and there were truly some amazing pictures of the smoke and the way the smoke looked in the horizon, but the sentiment is pretty dead on, isn’t it?

If we all saw all of those pictures online, and people were talking about a fire, which tends to happen from time to time, how much do you think people would be talking about seeing a man be spit out of a fish? Not only that a man was spit out of a fish, but likely he was discolored, which would be part of the story as well, right? So, now, Jonah has been walking towards Nineveh for a month, and there are likely some that traveled faster with horses or wagons, so the story surely has reached Nineveh ahead of Jonah. Then you have a man that matches the description and maybe even the name that was given for the man that was spit out onto dry land.

That is the scene that Jonah is stepping into when he begins sharing God’s message of, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Although we do not know everything that Jonah said to the people of Nineveh, we can absolutely understand that this is the central theme behind everything that Jonah said. You know, throughout Scripture, the number forty seems to be identified with testing or judgment. For instance, during the time of Noah, it rained forty days and forty nights (Gen. 7:4, 12, 17). The Jewish spies that explored Canaan did so for forty days (Num. 14:34), then the nation of Israel was tested in the wilderness forty years (Deut. 2:7). The giant Goliath, you remember him, taunted the army of Israel for forty days (1 Sam. 17:16), and now the Lord gave the people of Nineveh forty days to repent and turn from their wickedness. But what is their response to this violent message from God? Let’s take a look at ...

Nineveh’s message to God (5-9)

Now, their response is interesting becuase we don’t know all of the details about Jonah’s message in Nineveh. For instance, did Jonah tell the people that they have a chance to save themselves if they will only repent, or did he leave that part out? We are not totally sure about every word that Jonah said because Scripture only records the message of destruction in 40 days. Look with me in...

Jonah 3:5–9 (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.”

Ok, so this is actually really important. You see, I love the response of those in Nineveh, “Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” They are truly just giving it their best option. Clearly God used Jonah’s message to spark a fire in the hearts of every man woman and child in Nineveh. This is truly amazing, is it not. God gave these people 40 days to turn around their lives and repent, but it seems that they did not need that long. I also love that this did not start in the upper realms of Nineveh. No, when the king heard about it, then he responded, but before that the people of Nineveh were already responding to Jonah’s words. We really get the impression that from the very first time they saw Jonah and heard his warning, they paid attention to his message. Then word spread quickly throughout the entire area and the people humbled themselves by fasting and wearing sackcloth. Now, that is a little weird, right? I mean, what is sackcloth and what does not have to do with anything? Well, in that time sackcloth was a way to show mourning, typically with Israelites, but clearly for others as well. Sackcloth was meant as a humbling experience and a sign of submission. That means that the Ninevites were submitting to God in hopes that it was not too late.

What is amazing about this response is that everyone did this. It started with the general civilian, but as soon as the king, or monarch heard about this, they placed an edict, or an order that everyone would respond in this way. He went further than simply telling everyone to repent using vague language, he told them how to repent and what to do. That is amazing to me…Remember this is a ruling class who’s typical response to someone like Jonah that seems to be threatening them would be to skin them alive and impale them as a warning to others. However, there is something different here with Jonah…Something that gives this message power that others have not had. You see, this time the words are accompanied with the power of the one true God. That is a big difference, and it comes with big promise. Now the Ninevites may not have known about this promise, but God is the same and his promises are true whether you know about them or not. Look over with me at

Jeremiah 18:7–8 (ESV)

If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.

Repentance begins with believing God. The People of Nineveh believed God. As we believe then we have the power to transform our lives so we reflect him. You can’t believe God without the Word of God. Therefore believing God must start with hearing the Word of God by either reading Scripture for yourself, or hearing faithful biblical preaching, or by hearing from a friend or coworker. That means it is all the more important for us individually to engage in telling our friends, family, and neighbors about the Word of God.

Repentance includes action. The people of Nineveh fasted and put on sackcloth. Repentance is not a call to continue life as normal, but for there to be a change. Those in Nineveh understood this concept. They could have believed and lived it up for the next 40 days, instead they repented.

Repentance includes seriously going to God.The people of Nineveh cried out mightily to God. You see, there was no partial statements or vague declarations. There was the seriousness of crying out to God as if their lives depended on it, becuase it did, as does ours. Their repentance did not include the reason for the sin. When we give excuses for our sins it is simply an attempt to justify our sin, which removes at least part of the blame from ourselves. That is not repentance. Either you sinned, or you did not. If you did, then there is no excuse. If you did not, then there is no need to repent.

David Guzik says, Repentance and excuses simply don’t belong together.

There was no excuse as to why they lived the way they did, they knew that, so they simply cried out to God in hopes of his accepting them for who they were. They had hopes that God would respond in a positive way to their repentance, so what is God’s message to them, as well to all...

God’s message—to all… (10)

Ok, so we saw how God responded to Jonah previously, but what about to those in Nineveh. They have just repented, and cried out to God mightily, so what is God’s response. Well, let’s take a look at

Jonah 3:10 (ESV)

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 relented of the disaster that he promised them. Nineveh repented, and God relented.

This is such a beautiful picture of what happens when there is true repentance of sin. We see time and time again how there is fake repentance. This is when someone gets caught in sin and they apologize and they are sincere for about 5 minutes, and then they continue on in their sinful ways. A perfect example of that is the child that gets caught cheating on a test, and then continues to cheat on the next test. That person is sorry becuase they got caught, but not sorry enough to change what they are doing. However, what we see in Jonah from the Ninevites is true repentance that was accompanied by action and a change in behavior. This is the difference between wordly sorry or grief, and Godly grief. We see this in

2 Corinthians 7:10 (ESV)

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

We are all faced with our own sin and our own rebellion. Jonah was faced with his and he obeyed, Nineveh was faced with theirs and they repented. We are all faced with decisions that we have made and we have been faced with consequences of those decisions. Sometimes, we have responded with worldly sorrow, and sometimes we have responded with godly sorrow. Here is the really important part of that particular verse in 2 Corinthians though. Worldly sorrow, that leads to death which is an eternal separation from God. So the real question this morning as we close out is...

What is Your Response to the Gospel?

If you were faced with the proclamation this morning of forty days and you will be destroyed…what would you do? We all know or at least have heard of

John 3:16 (ESV)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

That shows us that there is a way out, there is a way to eternal life…it starts with belief and leads to God through Christ sacrifice and your repentance.

—Prayer—