Running With God
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Sunday morning, we preached on the God of the Second Chance. That message was all about the recommissioning of Jonah. Tonight, we are going to look at what happens when Jonah began running with God.
1 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
We looked at the fact that God’s message, motive, and God’s method were not change. The instructions given to Jonah the second time were the same as the first. The only difference is that this time the instructions come, Jonah accepted and began to run with God.
Let’s see what happened after Jonah was recommissioned, and he followed God’s instruction, went to Nineveh and preached what God had told him to...
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
What happened? Revival happened!
When the servant of God, preaches the Word of God, empowered by the Spirit of God, you will always see God work!
Revival always has and always will involve several things:
Praying
Power
Preaching
People
Presence of God
Participation
There are four things concerning this revival that we find in the text:
Nineveh’s Response
Nineveh’s Response
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
The people didn’t rebel, but they responded to the preaching.
Jonah’s preaching did not fall on deaf ears.
People will still believe God when they hear His word. The word of God hit the people of Nineveh right where they were. God will use His word to draw sinners to Himself.
The people’s faith was seen in their announcement and then in their actions. They proclaimed a fast and then they fasted. They sought to do without the necessities of life so that they could focus totally on calling on God.
The people’s faith is seen in their announcement; they proclaimed a fast; but it was also seen in their actions; they put on sackcloth.
Sackcloth is coarse loose clothing or sacking, like mesh, it was a symbol of mourning. It was often made of goats or camel’s hair and it was often dark in color. The shape of the garment could have been either a loose fitting sack placed over the shoulders or a loin cloth.
The wearing of sackcloth was an outward symbol of mourning and grief. The discomfort of the itchy, coarse hair was a symbol of the discomfort of the soul. The people of Nineveh put on sackcloth because they were mourning over their sins.
The sackcloth was not worn as a fashion statement, but as a faith statement. They believed God!
From the greatest to the least; over 120,000 people were in sackcloth and mourning over their sins.
• From slaves to slave owners,
• from politicians to doctors,
• from cooks to cleaners,
• from tax collectors to soldiers all had on sackcloth.
The first mark that a sinner responds to God’s word is their statement of faith.
The people of Nineveh were not ashamed to believe God and cry out for His mercy.
A statement of faith consists of a confession of sin and a confession of the Savior.
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Those who love Jesus and know Jesus will confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Many people in our day will not confess Jesus publicly before the church because they are intimidated or they are shy, but the word of God tells us to confess the Lord before men.
If our statement of faith is not bold in the house of God, then we will not have a bold statement of faith in the world.
If you do not confess Jesus before people who claim to love Jesus, how in the world are you going to confess Jesus in a hostile and sinful world that hates Jesus?
The people of Nineveh had a statement of faith because they believed God!
The first mark that someone has rightly responded to God is their statement of faith.
Nineveh’s Repentance
Nineveh’s Repentance
6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
Notice that repentance involved:
The animals. (v.7)
Their appetite (fasting).
Their appeal (they cried for help). (v.8)
Their actions. (v.8)
The word of God affected the king and moved him to proclaim a city wide fast. The king cared for his city and the people in the city. The king took responsibility in leading the people. The king had it proclaimed throughout. That means that every citizen of Nineveh heard the decree of the king.
The decree is a royal order…Could you imagine in America? The President declaring prayer and fasting? Ordering everyone and everything to be included. No exceptions!
What was the decree?
Jonah 3:7–8 (KJV 1900)
7 ...Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
The government had a repentant attitude and the people had a repentant attitude. That is something you just don’t see everyday. When a pagan government confesses sin and calls for the people to confess sins that indeed is drastic measures. What the people of Nineveh did was drastic to the people of the world, but it is expected from God in heaven. Great Biblical Truth: Before we can ever receive the mercy of God we must first humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.
I’ve already mentioned it a little, but seriously, could you imagine if the government said,
stop offering your children to false gods,
stop abortion,
we renounce the gay rights and call for all homosexuals to repent;
call for all adulterers to repent;
call for all murderers to repent;
call for all child abusers to repent;
call for all spouse abusers to repent;
call for all drunks to repent;
call for all drug addicts to repent;
call for all liars to repent;
call for all cheaters to repent;
call for all backbiters to repent;
we call for all sinners to repent.’
That would be a great day and a mighty day of revival in this world.
Nineveh’s repentance ought to be a rebuke to us today...
We have the full Bible and possession of the Holy Spirit…Neither of which they had, but yet, we see them repenting and getting serious with God.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
Nineveh’s Rejoicing
Nineveh’s Rejoicing
9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
What unfolds here in verse 9 and 10 certainly would cause Nineveh to rejoice!
In verse 9, the king asked a question in hope of a positive response. The reason Nineveh fasted and put on sackcloth and cried out to god was to be forgiven. When sinners come to the realization of who they are and what they have done, the proper response is to request mercy from God.
*The king of Nineveh desired mercy from the KING of KINGS!*
They desired that God would be merciful and not destroy them like He did Sodom and Gomorrah. The people of Nineveh wanted God to turn away from the judgment that He said was coming.
God responded to Nineveh’s repentance.
There’s always some question concerning verses 9 and 10 concerning God repenting…repentance in these verses means “change of mind.”
It is not that He changed what He said…Wrath would have come in 40 days had they not repented.
What happened right here is that the people changed, not God...
God didn’t change His attitude concerning sin, but because they repented of their sin, God did not send His wrath.
Repentance doesn’t always have to do with evil or sin. Sometimes it is a change of action and attitude.
We see the grace of God on display here toward the sinners.
We see the grace of God in blessing the ministry of an imperfect servant.
Jonah didn’t even love the people of Nineveh, but God used His Word to change them.
That shows you and I tonight that there is power in the Word of God! It’s not us!
Nineveh’s Results
Nineveh’s Results
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Nineveh did what this verse says and God healed their land...
This was one revival and a half...
Nineveh’s turning shows sincerity.
True evidence of faith is a change - I preached on that Sunday evening...
In closing, we can summarize this chapter like this:
Verses 1-4: The Cry of the Missionary.
Verses 5-8: The Confession of the Multitude.
Verses 9-10: The Compassion of the Master.
This revival involved:
A Man.
A Message.
A Miracle.
Mercy.
God loves the sinner in spite of us unfaithful servants...
Nineveh had two options when Jonah preached his messages. They could reject it and be destroyed or repent and be spared. Nineveh accepted the message, turned from their evil and repented.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Do you have a statement of faith? Have you personally trusted in the Lord Jesus to save you? Have you turned to God in godly fear and godly faith? Do you have a sorrow over your sins and failures? Have you been broken and contrite before the Lord? Would you call upon the Lord Jesus and turn to Him in faith? Would you cry out to God and call out to God for revival for our lives, our homes, our marriages, and our nation? Do you have signs of forgiveness? Have others seen that you are repentant? Would you step out on faith and begin to live out your faith in the Lord Jesus?