What's your excuse?

Arise and Go

Jonah 1:1–2 KJV 1900

Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

Every New Years day people embark on a new diet or workout plan. It is believed that the majority of people who start fade after a couple of weeks. Most of the time excuses are made as the reason why people can’t stick with a workout plan or diet. It is amazing how we can make so many excuses in our lives. We can talk our way around doing anything that we don’t want to do. This evening I want to ask a question that I want you to ponder.

What’s your excuse?

Please turn in your Bible to Jonah chapter 1. This evening I want to look at the life of Jonah and see what his excuse was.

Arise, Go! This was the command that God had given Jonah. If you’ve read through your bible you have surely read through those two imperatives. The Book of Acts is the history of the early church and over and over again we see God tell people to Arise, and Go to fulfill His plans. In Acts 8 26-27

Acts 8:26–27 (KJV 1900)

And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

Philip was told to Arise and Go, and Philip Arose and went

It’s amazing to think how God used Philips life to see the Ethiopian Eunuch’s life saved! As we read this passage we can think about how different that Ethiopians life would’ve been if Philip didn’t arise and he made excuses. To think of how God had a purpose and a plan for that man to get saved and to compare that to the lost world around us, it makes you wonder what’s the difference?

Lets go back to Jonah and see his response to God’s command.

Jonah 1:3–8 KJV 1900

But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

Jonah 3:1 Who can tell What God will do with You! God is more concerned about His worker than His work Jonah 3:1 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, He gives Jonah a second chance and has given many people in the Bible a second chance Do not think that it is a guaranteed thing that He will give you a second chance. He didn't give the nation of Israel a second chance to enter the promised land Esther was warned that God could always raise up another and she and her family would die There is no promise in the Bible to a second chance If the workers are what they ought to be then the work will be what it ought to be Without a farmer the farm will not produce Though God is at work in His workers He will accomplish His work God works in the life of His people and uses them in His work God buries His workers but never His work The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God can’t keep you and the power of God can’t use you. Notice that the second time Jonah still gets the same instructions. God is giving each of us a chance to be involved in getting the gospel to the world Today is the day you consider where you are in God’s program of getting the gospel to the world Are you praying for our missionaries and the lost souls all around the world Are you helping inform others of the needs of world evangelism Are you helping train young men and women to fully dedicate their lives to the cause of Christ and His kingdom where ever God might have them Are you giving from your heart and with your heart of your means to get the gospel to the world. Will you be increasing your giving so that God’s Word can be preached This is another chance for you to do more and not waste your life, your time, your talents, and your treasure but rather use it for God and His kingdom purposes The work was bigger than Jonah could do Jonah 3:3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. The city was 3 days across so probably 50 or 60 miles in diameter It was a super wicked city They were very powerful and prideful No reason to think that one small Jewish man could impact a city and much less do so in less than 2 months His message was not an easy message and could have landed him in jail or worse Jonah 3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. Not sure if Jonah preached anything else or not Not sure if he told his story of how God got him here We are sure of the message line It was a message that would only make people mad This message was never very adapted or contextualized God’s work is always bigger than what any of His workers can do It took Jonah nearly a month walking to get to Nineveh. He probably thought over and over how he was not able to do the work God wants the glory for whatever He does Today as we consider our desire to get the gospel to the world it may seem bigger than you could ever do How could Jonah reach an entire city, how can you be expected to make a difference around the world It is not a question of what you can do but what God can do with you and what you place in His hands If you will but give Him your life and all that you own you will get to see what God can do Don’t look at why you can’t be used of God but rather how God can use you Don’t see the obstacle but the opportunity, not the problem but the power of God Why don't you give your life to God right now to be used any way He wants to use you Why don't you just tell Him that you and all you have is His to be used for His purposes and you are His to serve Him There is an unexpected and unexplainable reaction to the message Jonah 3:5 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. This verse starts with the word “so.” No explanation is given. It just happened, they believed God Nineveh believed God, It is God who convicts and makes men see truth Jonah 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? Jonah doesn’t have any tools to make this happen We often focus more on methods and less on message We focus on learning how to reach them when what we need is to focus on the God who saves and changes men All Jonah could do was preach Jonah preached and they heard the Word of God The people believed God True faith responds and they did as much as they knew how-they fasted They turned from their sin Jonah 3:8 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. God will use you and all you have in ways that you would never have expected Jonah could never have expected all those people to repent Jonah could never have expected such great revival but God did it You as you give your life will have no idea what God can do with you Your little offering may seem small when you give it but God makes much of it Your little prayers may not seem to do much but God uses them for His honor and glory Let’s give our all and just wait and see what God does He will do more than we could ever have expected God responds in grace and mercy Jonah 3:10 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. The message had been one of doom and gloom Somehow these people have learned that God is a merciful God Did Jonah tell them Had they seen these truths exhibited some other way Did their fear just cause them to believe that maybe God would forgive Regardless they asked and He heard The Bible is full of dire warnings of Hell and they are true All men are already guilty before God. They deserve Hell. God has paid the sin debt so that they can be saved We can faithfully tell men and women about Jesus knowing that God is a prayer hearing and answering God. We know that He is merciful and ready to forgive and save One of the biggest thrills we can have is to see God show His grace and mercy There is no reason that He would use us There is no reason that we would see souls saved or lives changed There is no reason that my pitiful life should have purpose or meaning but God in His mercy and grace makes it so I have always been thrilled to see God show people just how great He is I have been thrilled to see God make those that hate Him surrender and love Him, now is your chance to see God use you to do bigger and greater things than you ever thought What lessons do we take home? If you are listening today God may be giving you a second chance Jonah 3:1 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. The message will still be the same You may have run because the ministry seemed filled with danger and difficulty and it is Maybe you felt like God wanted too much of you, your family, your time, and your money Maybe you have felt that it was too risky to tithe and give even more to faith promise Maybe you have wondered if God would bless that God is able to do what seems impossible The work is bigger than you and you are right to tremble before it God will do things that aren't explainable and you should never ever take credit for what He does Faith promise gives you that chance You are watching for God to give you money to be able to do more for Him You know you are a channel of blessings more than the giver yourself It is more the power of God getting the job done than trying to make your message work Step out on nothing but faith in God and His Word and let Him do a work through you Expect God to do what no one could ever expect He can give to you so you can give He will bless your ministry so you can make a difference Give all the glory and praise to Him Know that He is a good, gracious, kind, merciful God that wants to save