Witness: Nineveh
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Jonah 4
INTRODUCTION
COVID's affect on churches
in 2020 more churches closed than were started. Membership fell below 50% of US population for first time in 80 years.
Our attendance is down over 30%.
-after a great June and July the second wave of COVID hit and attendance tanked. Online numbers did not go up like first wave.
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.
3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”
5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.
6 Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.
7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.
8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.”
10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.
11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”
How does Jonah, the great prophet of God end up in such a sad predicament?
Proper understanding of God will keep you from running.
Staying out of God's will leads to bitterness.
Our faithfulness is important we serve in 2022.
3 Truths That Keep Us Faithful in 2022
I- God is Love
I- God is Love
A. He is not prejudice.
1. Jonah was fueled by prejudice-
2. Jonah 1:1-3
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
B. He desires to be glorified by all nations.
1. Isaiah 49:6
6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
C. Because he did not understand God's love, his vision was wrong.
1. Jonah's vision was for Israel to be the only nation to experience salvation.
a) Elitist- it is only for me.
b) They know where to find us if they want to know.
c) If they wanted to be saved they already would have been.
2. God's vision of the world is for all to be saved.
a) John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
b) 1 Timothy 2:3-4
3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
II- God is Holy
II- God is Holy
A. The captain didn't have a good understanding of God. (1:6-8)
6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
1. Why would an unbelieving boat captain have good theology?
2. Don't expect the lost to have good theology. Having the right theology is fixed after salvation. We are not saved by works.
B. Jonah didn't truly fear God. (1:9)
9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
1. Jonah claimed to fear God. This was an empty word.
a) He was making a religious statement not based in belief.
b) We are guilty of making religious statements that aren't true.
(1) Jesus is my Lord-- is He your boss or a good luck charm?
(2) I will pray for you -- as a way to end an awkward conversation.
2. True fear leads to repentance- Isaiah 6
a) Isaiah 6:1-8
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
3. When we understand God's holiness we are driven to repentance.
a) Because God is holy he has to punish sin. Can't allow it- he would not be holy.
b) Those who are not saved will spend eternity in Hell.
4. Understanding God's holiness also drives us to obedience
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
III- God is Patient
III- God is Patient
A. He was patient with Jonah.
1. Why did it take him 3 days to repent? (1:17)
17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
2. Why does God keep giving us chances?
3. Why hasn't Jesus' come back? He desires for more to be saved.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
B. He was patient with Nineveh.
1. They deserved to be destroyed.
2. He was giving them one last chance to repent.
C. There is an end to God's patience (3:4)
4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
1. Final 3 days for Nineveh
2. The Flood- 120 years to build- every day was a testimony of coming judgment.
3. The final trumpet- will blow without warning. All warnings have been given. We must be alert and ready.
CONCLUSION
While Nineveh was experiencing revival, Jonah was on top of the hill bitter and angry.
-don’t lose site that many places are experiencing revival. Even some churches in our city. Jealousy is not the answer. Let them be an encouragement to us.
Our failure to live in obedience to God's desire can leave us bitter. Other’s decisions cannot cause our unfaithfulness.
Some of most bitter people I know are people who surrendered their life to Christian service and later ran from their calling.
Are you running from God's call in your life?
Surrender to God’s call on your life?
-Call to Salvation
-Call to Witness
-Call to Church Membership
-Call to Ministry