WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.160 And this is the word of the Lord. 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:09.679 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was angry. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:10.800 And he prayed to the Lord and said, 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:13.960 oh Lord, is not this what I said 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:15.839 when I was yet in my country? 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:18.920 That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish. 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:22.199 For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:25.260 slow to anger and abounding and steadfast love 00:00:25.260 --> 00:00:27.640 and relenting from disaster. 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:30.960 Therefore now, oh Lord, please take my life for me. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:34.719 For it is better for me to die than to live. 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:37.920 And the Lord said, do you do well to be angry? 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:41.600 Jonah went out of the city and he set to the east of the city 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:44.240 and he made a booth for himself there. 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:47.040 And he sat under it in the shade 00:00:47.040 --> 00:00:49.560 till he could see what would become of the city. 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:51.519 Now the Lord God appointed a plant 00:00:51.519 --> 00:00:53.519 and made it come up over Jonah 00:00:53.519 --> 00:00:55.719 that it might be a shade over his head 00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:58.000 to save him from his discomfort. 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:01.039 So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:02.839 But when dawn came up the next day, 00:01:02.839 --> 00:01:05.799 God appointed a worm that attacked the plant 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:07.280 so that it withered. 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:08.200 And when the sun rose, 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:10.359 God appointed a scorching east wind 00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:12.840 and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:14.560 so that he was faint. 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:16.200 And he asked that he might die 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:20.960 and he said, it is better for me to die than to live. 00:01:20.960 --> 00:01:23.079 But God said to Jonah, do you do well 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:25.560 to be angry for the plant? 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:28.719 And he said, yes, I do well to be angry, 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:30.840 angry enough to die. 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:32.719 And the Lord said, you pity the plant 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:34.560 for which you did not labor, 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:36.280 nor did you make it grow, 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:40.480 which came into being in a night and perished in a night, 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:44.079 and should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:47.359 in which there are more than 120,000 persons 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:50.400 who do not know their right hand from their left. 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:52.439 And also much cattle. 00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:55.599 This is God's holy word, Simon. 00:01:58.519 --> 00:02:01.560 Thank you so much for reading that. 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:02.599 As I was sitting down there, 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:06.439 I was thinking about whether I should make a joke. 00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:08.359 But then I thought the Bible forbids to make jokes 00:02:08.359 --> 00:02:12.240 about the elderly or short men, so not tonight. 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:16.079 We've made it. 00:02:16.079 --> 00:02:21.079 This is the last sermon in our Jonah Sermon series. 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:23.960 And in God's providence, tonight's passage 00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:27.400 is all about bringing hope to a great city. 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:30.520 And we've heard Derek and Katrina talking about their vision 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:33.240 that they have of planting a hope church, 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:36.880 a church that brings hope to a great city. 00:02:38.640 --> 00:02:40.680 Today's chapter is really, really interesting. 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:44.240 It's really important because the rest of the book 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:45.600 is very parallel. 00:02:45.600 --> 00:02:48.760 We had parallels in chapter one and chapter three. 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:53.159 Jonah going to the meeting the Mariners, pagans, 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:54.000 they come to God. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:56.639 And chapter three, Jonah going to Nineveh, 00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:58.280 they come to God. 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:00.239 They repent, they turn around. 00:03:00.239 --> 00:03:03.039 In chapter two, we have Jonah talking to God, 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:05.359 praying to God, having experience of faith. 00:03:05.359 --> 00:03:07.479 In chapter four, in the first few verses, 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:08.639 we have the same thing. 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:09.840 But then we have that little bit 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:12.120 that sticks out in the very end. 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:14.199 And that is very important. 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:16.599 That's done on purpose. 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:19.079 To tell you, this is where it all comes together. 00:03:19.079 --> 00:03:22.599 This is where you now understand 00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:25.280 the whole point of the book. 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:28.079 And on the most basic level, there are two things 00:03:28.079 --> 00:03:30.079 that we can see in this chapter today. 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:34.639 First of all, God's compassion for Jonah. 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:39.639 Second of all, God's compassion and love for the city. 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:43.959 God is patient, God is compassionate. 00:03:43.959 --> 00:03:45.840 We will talk about that today. 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:47.879 How can God's love be seen? 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:50.879 God's love and compassion for Jonah. 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:54.159 Well, the whole story, the whole chapter, 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:58.840 is God performing heart surgery on Jonah, as it were. 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:00.520 And God is very creative in that. 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:02.360 He uses objects. 00:04:02.360 --> 00:04:05.759 Jonah is a prophet we've said in the last few weeks, 00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:10.480 who has run away from God and God has pursued him. 00:04:10.480 --> 00:04:13.039 And then finally, Jonah went to Nineveh and preached, 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:14.920 but then he's really, really angry. 00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:17.719 And now God's pursuing him again. 00:04:17.719 --> 00:04:18.919 God is patient. 00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:23.039 God is trying to make a point to Jonah. 00:04:23.039 --> 00:04:28.039 He's trying to make him understand more of his character. 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:33.319 We see Jonah in this chapter rebelling again. 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:34.159 How do we see that? 00:04:34.159 --> 00:04:37.399 We see that in Jonah leaving the city. 00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:41.439 He goes to Nineveh, he preaches, they repent. 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:42.839 He gets really, really angry. 00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:45.159 He has a little argument with God. 00:04:45.159 --> 00:04:48.319 It ends with God asking him, do you do well to be angry? 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:51.000 And then we don't get a response from Jonah. 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:55.560 Because Jonah knows, of course, I don't do well to be angry, 00:04:55.560 --> 00:04:57.079 but he doesn't want to admit it. 00:04:57.079 --> 00:04:58.679 If you have a fight with your partner, 00:04:58.679 --> 00:05:00.519 with your friend, or with your parents, 00:05:00.519 --> 00:05:03.639 what's the most annoying thing that can happen? 00:05:03.639 --> 00:05:06.439 If they say something in that argument, 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:09.239 that is, that you know is true, right? 00:05:09.239 --> 00:05:12.819 You argue with someone and the other person makes, 00:05:12.819 --> 00:05:14.480 a point that is really true and you know it, 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:16.719 but you can't admit it, so you just walk away. 00:05:16.719 --> 00:05:17.920 That's what's happening here. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:22.000 Jonah goes outside the city and there he sits in his anger. 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:26.060 And it's very interesting, he goes to the east of the city. 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:30.240 Now, in the Old Testament, going east 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:31.879 is never really a good sign. 00:05:31.879 --> 00:05:34.439 This is echoing books like Genesis, 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:38.839 where we read that Cain, after being banished from Eden, 00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:40.680 leaves to the east. 00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:43.840 Again, Jonah is leaving, trying to get away 00:05:43.840 --> 00:05:45.519 from the presence of God. 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:49.360 It is a sign of rebellion that he's leaving 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:51.720 to the east of the city. 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:56.400 We see that Jonah is now again in an environment 00:05:56.400 --> 00:06:01.399 that is dangerous and that symbolizes chaos. 00:06:01.720 --> 00:06:04.319 First he was in the ocean, which is dangerous. 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:07.280 Now he's in the desert, the wilderness, 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:12.279 that is echoing the Israelites, 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:14.759 sojourning through the wilderness 00:06:14.759 --> 00:06:16.319 after they've left Egypt. 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:20.279 It's dangerous, it's reflecting his spiritual state. 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:23.659 He's surrounded by chaos, he's left the presence of the Lord. 00:06:23.659 --> 00:06:25.559 He's running away once again. 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:29.479 And what does he do there? 00:06:29.479 --> 00:06:32.399 He builds a booth, he builds a little hut 00:06:33.659 --> 00:06:35.799 that is supposed to bring him shade. 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:39.439 And shade in the Old Testament is often a symbol 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:41.560 for God's protection, but in this case, 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:44.400 it's a shade that he made for himself. 00:06:44.400 --> 00:06:48.560 He built that little hut, he built that little booth. 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:51.480 And he's sitting there still being angry, 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:53.960 really, really angry. 00:06:53.960 --> 00:06:56.360 And now we see something very interesting. 00:06:56.360 --> 00:07:00.680 Jonah's running away and God again comes and talks to him. 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:05.680 God is once again showing Jonah his mercy. 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:07.600 How does he do it? 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:10.720 He makes a little plant grow into a big plant 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:13.199 that gives Jonah even more shade. 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:15.840 He's showing him grace, he's showing him mercy. 00:07:15.840 --> 00:07:19.040 Though that is not all that is going on in that passage. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:23.000 It's not that God just wants to do something nice for Jonah, 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:25.519 he also wants to teach him something. 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:27.639 So what does God do? 00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:30.600 He makes a plant grow, it gives Jonah shade, 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:32.920 Jonah is really, really happy about it, 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:35.680 exceedingly glad it says he has these, 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:36.720 he's like a roller coaster. 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:39.600 First he's happy, then he's angry, then he's happy again. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:43.840 And then he becomes angry again, why? 00:07:43.840 --> 00:07:47.840 Because God sends a little, he appoints a worm. 00:07:47.840 --> 00:07:49.120 So we see in the whole book, 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:53.120 God is using creation and animals and plants and wind 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:58.120 and weather and all the elements to bring Jonah back on track. 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:00.560 And here he now appoints a little worm. 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:03.759 And it says the worm attacks the plant, 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:05.120 which is very interesting, 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:10.120 the verb in Hebrew for attack, it's a military term. 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:12.360 So in my mind, I don't know if I'm just weird, 00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:14.840 but in my mind the worm is wearing a helmet 00:08:14.840 --> 00:08:16.759 and has a little sword in its hand. 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:19.800 And it's attacking the plant and the plant withers 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:21.120 and it's gone. 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:22.759 And that is not enough, no. 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:27.759 God actually sends a wind that makes Jonah's name 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:30.159 and Jonah's little booth crumble 00:08:30.159 --> 00:08:34.439 and now Jonah sits there without any shade 00:08:34.439 --> 00:08:39.039 in the hot sunlight and he is angry. 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:42.240 I told you last week he's burning with anger. 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:45.759 He is like that little man in the movie Inside Out, 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:47.399 like the little anger figure in your head 00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:49.879 that his head's on fire, 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:53.779 he's really, really not pleased with the situation. 00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:56.620 What's the point of all of this? 00:08:57.860 --> 00:09:00.899 I think we can take a lot of symbolism in this text 00:09:00.899 --> 00:09:05.299 and we can take more obvious points, 00:09:05.299 --> 00:09:07.179 we can go a little deeper. 00:09:07.179 --> 00:09:09.500 One of the obvious points is this. 00:09:09.500 --> 00:09:14.500 God is giving Jonah a plant, giving him mercy 00:09:15.659 --> 00:09:17.620 and he takes it away. 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:19.179 When does God take the plant away? 00:09:19.179 --> 00:09:20.899 When does he take the shade away? 00:09:20.899 --> 00:09:25.899 At noon, just when Jonah needs the shade the most 00:09:26.459 --> 00:09:29.419 in the hot sun in the Middle East. 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:35.459 The plant is mercy, the worm means judgment. 00:09:35.459 --> 00:09:39.259 God is making Jonah feel on a very, very small scale 00:09:39.259 --> 00:09:42.779 what judgment actually feels like. 00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:46.539 Because Jonah is sitting outside of the city 00:09:46.539 --> 00:09:50.699 praying for God to destroy the city. 00:09:50.700 --> 00:09:53.500 Hoping that God will actually, 00:09:55.180 --> 00:09:57.540 hoping and praying that God will actually kill 00:09:57.540 --> 00:10:00.259 all these people, that the city will be destroyed. 00:10:02.540 --> 00:10:06.580 And God says, Jonah, you don't know what you're asking for. 00:10:06.580 --> 00:10:10.460 You have no idea what you're asking me to do. 00:10:12.540 --> 00:10:14.340 The same with his booth. 00:10:14.340 --> 00:10:16.940 Jonah is making this little booth. 00:10:16.940 --> 00:10:20.460 He's sitting there creating his own little world, 00:10:20.460 --> 00:10:22.139 building up his own little, 00:10:23.700 --> 00:10:25.259 construct his own little house 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:29.019 and it almost feels like he's trying to do things his own way. 00:10:29.900 --> 00:10:31.019 And even that doesn't work. 00:10:31.019 --> 00:10:32.220 God takes that away too. 00:10:32.220 --> 00:10:35.180 He says, your own ideological ideas, 00:10:35.180 --> 00:10:37.940 your own agenda is also not gonna work. 00:10:37.940 --> 00:10:39.500 You are dependent on me. 00:10:39.500 --> 00:10:43.660 And these people in Nineveh are depending on me. 00:10:44.860 --> 00:10:47.620 And we see that as well in how God uses creation. 00:10:47.620 --> 00:10:49.620 He appoints the fish, he appoints the worm, 00:10:49.620 --> 00:10:53.460 he appoints the wind and weather and the sea and the sun. 00:10:53.460 --> 00:10:57.899 And he says, no, everything is depending on me, 00:10:57.899 --> 00:10:59.740 even salvation. 00:10:59.740 --> 00:11:01.740 And though Jonah said in chapter two, 00:11:01.740 --> 00:11:03.740 salvation belongs to the Lord, 00:11:03.740 --> 00:11:08.620 it seems like he still doesn't understand what that means. 00:11:08.620 --> 00:11:11.899 Because if you don't want other people 00:11:11.899 --> 00:11:13.980 to experience God's grace, 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:17.539 then you have to be ready to also have a taken away from you. 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:22.539 God says, I'm taking this little plant from you. 00:11:22.740 --> 00:11:26.219 I'm taking away the mercy that I've given you. 00:11:26.939 --> 00:11:28.980 And you're so angry. 00:11:28.980 --> 00:11:33.980 And you're asking me to take the mercy away from Nineveh. 00:11:33.980 --> 00:11:37.299 They don't even, they have had no revelation about me. 00:11:37.299 --> 00:11:40.339 They had one reluctant prophet, Jonah, 00:11:40.339 --> 00:11:42.819 who went there, who preached a couple of sermons. 00:11:43.819 --> 00:11:45.620 That's all they knew about me. 00:11:45.620 --> 00:11:48.340 And even then they turned away from their sin. 00:11:48.340 --> 00:11:50.220 And you're asking me to destroy them? 00:11:50.220 --> 00:11:53.220 They don't know the left hand from their right hand. 00:11:56.019 --> 00:12:01.019 Listen, if we don't experience what it means 00:12:01.019 --> 00:12:03.019 to fall under judgment, 00:12:03.019 --> 00:12:08.019 if we don't experience suffering to a certain degree, 00:12:08.019 --> 00:12:11.220 we will never understand what it means 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:13.620 that God will judge some people. 00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:15.620 God is sovereign. 00:12:17.620 --> 00:12:19.620 God doesn't want people to die. 00:12:21.620 --> 00:12:23.620 How can we, how can Jonah, 00:12:23.620 --> 00:12:25.620 who has experienced God's mercy, 00:12:25.620 --> 00:12:28.620 sit there and wish that God takes away the mercy 00:12:28.620 --> 00:12:30.620 from the Ninevites? 00:12:30.620 --> 00:12:32.620 It's not that Jonah doesn't like God's mercy. 00:12:32.620 --> 00:12:35.620 It's only that he doesn't like that God is extending it 00:12:35.620 --> 00:12:37.620 to other people. 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:41.620 How can you, how can I, how can Christians 00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:44.620 just judge people in their minds 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:47.620 and send them to hell? 00:12:47.620 --> 00:12:50.620 Do we know what we're talking about? 00:12:50.620 --> 00:12:53.620 Do we actually know what it means 00:12:53.620 --> 00:12:57.620 that a soul can be lost for time and eternity? 00:12:59.620 --> 00:13:02.620 We should never, ever speak lightly of that. 00:13:04.620 --> 00:13:06.620 God is teaching Jonah that. 00:13:06.620 --> 00:13:09.620 And the text, chapter four here, 00:13:09.620 --> 00:13:12.620 is also showing that in a different way. 00:13:12.620 --> 00:13:14.620 There is another little parallel 00:13:14.620 --> 00:13:17.620 to a different prophet in the Old Testament. 00:13:18.620 --> 00:13:20.620 Jonah says he's angry enough to die. 00:13:20.620 --> 00:13:24.620 There was another prophet who said he wanted to die. 00:13:24.620 --> 00:13:28.620 Elijah, remember when Elijah was running away, 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:30.620 when he had preached and preached, 00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:33.620 preached his heart out and Israel didn't repent. 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:37.620 He was sitting in the wilderness under a tree and a plant, 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:41.620 and he expressed his wish to die. 00:13:43.620 --> 00:13:46.620 Elijah said because Israel did not repent. 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:49.620 Jonah said because Nineveh did repent. 00:13:49.620 --> 00:13:53.620 And it's supposed to create a little bit of an irony here. 00:13:53.620 --> 00:13:56.620 Elijah was persecuted, he was frustrated. 00:13:56.620 --> 00:14:00.620 He longed for nothing but for Israel to turn back to God. 00:14:00.620 --> 00:14:04.620 And he's exhausted and he's depressed and he's ready to die. 00:14:04.620 --> 00:14:08.620 Jonah, he just preached and Nineveh did repent. 00:14:08.620 --> 00:14:10.620 He's doing okay. 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:14.620 It's simply the fact that God had taken away his plant. 00:14:14.620 --> 00:14:18.620 It's simply the fact that God had extended his mercy 00:14:18.620 --> 00:14:22.620 to other people and he wants to die. 00:14:22.620 --> 00:14:25.620 All of this, it makes you wonder, did Jonah ever get it? 00:14:25.620 --> 00:14:27.620 Did Jonah ever get it? 00:14:27.620 --> 00:14:30.620 Did God ever understand what God is all about? 00:14:30.620 --> 00:14:33.620 What God's mercy is all about? 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:38.620 Did he ever understand that he was called to be a blessing to others? 00:14:38.620 --> 00:14:41.620 Do we understand that? 00:14:41.620 --> 00:14:44.620 Do you know that you are blessed 00:14:44.620 --> 00:14:48.620 so you can be a blessing to others? 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:53.620 Did Jonah understand that he was saved by grace? 00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:57.620 Did Jonah understand that he was saved by grace? 00:14:57.620 --> 00:15:00.620 That he did not deserve it? 00:15:00.620 --> 00:15:03.620 That God is sovereign in creation? 00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:06.620 That God is sovereign in salvation? 00:15:06.620 --> 00:15:09.620 The truth is we don't know. 00:15:09.620 --> 00:15:11.620 You see, God does all of this. 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:13.620 He makes the plant grow. 00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:16.620 He's trying to hold a mirror into Jonah's face, 00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:19.620 showing him how he has doubled standards, 00:15:19.620 --> 00:15:23.620 where his inconsistencies are in his theology, 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:26.620 how he has such a distorted view of mercy, 00:15:26.620 --> 00:15:31.620 how his heart is so full of hate and judgment. 00:15:31.620 --> 00:15:33.620 And in the end, God asks him a question. 00:15:33.620 --> 00:15:36.620 He says, you're mad about that little plant 00:15:36.620 --> 00:15:39.620 and you didn't even make it. I did. 00:15:39.620 --> 00:15:44.620 Why shouldn't I pity this great city? 00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:45.620 You pity the plant. 00:15:45.620 --> 00:15:49.620 Why shouldn't I pity that great city 00:15:49.620 --> 00:15:55.620 with hundreds of thousands of people in it and much cattle? 00:15:55.620 --> 00:15:59.620 What's Jonah's answer? What's his response? 00:15:59.620 --> 00:16:01.620 We don't get an answer, 00:16:01.620 --> 00:16:03.620 because what happens in that moment is that 00:16:03.620 --> 00:16:05.620 this book is turning to you. 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:07.620 It's turning to me. It's turning to us. 00:16:07.620 --> 00:16:11.620 And it's saying, you are a Jonah. 00:16:11.620 --> 00:16:14.620 Why shouldn't God pity the city? 00:16:14.620 --> 00:16:18.620 Why shouldn't God save your enemies? 00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:20.620 The people that you can't stand, 00:16:20.620 --> 00:16:22.620 the people who are bullying you, 00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:24.620 the people who are political enemies, 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:26.620 the people who are making your life hard, 00:16:26.620 --> 00:16:28.620 who are mocking you for your faith. 00:16:28.620 --> 00:16:33.620 Why shouldn't God pity them? 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:37.620 God loves Jonah and he's showing him his mercy again and again 00:16:37.620 --> 00:16:41.620 by waking him up, by holding a mirror in front of him. 00:16:41.620 --> 00:16:44.620 Why? Because God sees us as we are. 00:16:44.620 --> 00:16:46.620 He loves us as we are. 00:16:46.620 --> 00:16:48.620 He accepts us as we are. 00:16:48.620 --> 00:16:52.620 But by his grace, he does not leave us where we are. 00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:55.620 God works in us. God pursues Jonah. 00:16:55.620 --> 00:16:57.620 God shows his compassion to him. 00:16:57.620 --> 00:16:59.620 All of this is just a big lesson for him. 00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:01.620 All of this is a big lesson for us. 00:17:01.620 --> 00:17:06.619 So we understand that mercy and grace and salvation 00:17:06.619 --> 00:17:08.619 belongs to the Lord. 00:17:08.619 --> 00:17:12.619 Secondly, we see God's love for the city. 00:17:12.619 --> 00:17:15.619 Throughout the book of Jonah and Nineveh, 00:17:15.619 --> 00:17:17.619 it is referred to as a great city. 00:17:17.619 --> 00:17:21.619 Every time preach against Nineveh, that great city. 00:17:21.619 --> 00:17:23.619 Go to Nineveh, that great city. 00:17:23.619 --> 00:17:26.619 Why shouldn't I pity Nineveh, that great city? 00:17:26.619 --> 00:17:30.619 At one point it even says that great city to God. 00:17:30.619 --> 00:17:34.619 In that time, it was probably the largest, 00:17:34.619 --> 00:17:38.619 the biggest city in the entire world. 00:17:38.619 --> 00:17:44.619 120,000 people, it says, live there. 00:17:44.619 --> 00:17:46.619 It could be even more than that. 00:17:46.619 --> 00:17:51.619 Sometimes in the Bible, 120,000 just means a lot of people. 00:17:51.619 --> 00:17:53.619 A lot of people. 00:17:53.619 --> 00:17:58.619 God says, like the plant, I saw Nineveh grow. 00:17:58.619 --> 00:18:02.619 I saw it, how the people in there were developing 00:18:02.619 --> 00:18:04.619 and just increasing in number. 00:18:04.619 --> 00:18:07.619 And there are so many people that I created. 00:18:07.619 --> 00:18:09.619 God pities the city. 00:18:09.619 --> 00:18:11.619 He loves the city. 00:18:11.619 --> 00:18:12.619 He doesn't love the sin. 00:18:12.619 --> 00:18:14.619 He doesn't love the violence. 00:18:14.619 --> 00:18:19.619 He doesn't love the people do things that don't please him. 00:18:19.619 --> 00:18:21.619 But he loves the people. 00:18:21.619 --> 00:18:23.619 He loves the city. 00:18:23.619 --> 00:18:26.619 If you're here tonight, chances are high. 00:18:26.619 --> 00:18:29.619 It's likely that you live in a great city too, 00:18:29.619 --> 00:18:31.619 unless you're a visitor. 00:18:31.619 --> 00:18:36.619 But you probably are from Edinburgh or around Edinburgh. 00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:38.619 A great city. 00:18:38.619 --> 00:18:41.619 God loves that great city. 00:18:41.619 --> 00:18:43.619 Look around you. 00:18:43.619 --> 00:18:48.619 The beauty of architecture, the culture, the art, 00:18:48.619 --> 00:18:52.619 all the diversity, the different individuals 00:18:52.619 --> 00:18:57.619 who walk about every day. 00:18:57.619 --> 00:19:00.619 We live in a great city, friends. 00:19:00.619 --> 00:19:03.619 There's an application here for us. 00:19:03.619 --> 00:19:06.619 It is that God sends us to the city. 00:19:06.619 --> 00:19:08.619 Now let's talk a little bit why. 00:19:08.619 --> 00:19:11.619 Have you ever thought why did God send Jonah to the city? 00:19:11.619 --> 00:19:14.619 Why not a little village somewhere? 00:19:14.619 --> 00:19:16.619 It's quite obvious, isn't it? 00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:19.619 If you send Jonah to a little village on the countryside 00:19:19.619 --> 00:19:23.619 and God does the same thing, everyone turns around and repents. 00:19:23.619 --> 00:19:25.619 You've got 100 people maybe, 00:19:25.619 --> 00:19:27.619 but you send Jonah to the city, 00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:31.619 you've got 120,000 people who get saved. 00:19:31.619 --> 00:19:36.619 You send Jonah to Nineveh and the news will spread to the countryside, 00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:38.619 in any case. 00:19:38.619 --> 00:19:42.619 God wanted to save that city because it was a great city to him, 00:19:42.619 --> 00:19:44.619 because there were so many people in there 00:19:44.619 --> 00:19:47.619 who didn't know the right hand from their left. 00:19:47.619 --> 00:19:50.619 They didn't know the God who created them. 00:19:53.619 --> 00:19:56.619 We need to understand this. 00:19:56.619 --> 00:20:01.619 We are a church who, in the heart of Edinburgh, a great city, 00:20:01.619 --> 00:20:05.619 on the royal mile, this is part of our vision. 00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:08.619 This is part of the values we have here. 00:20:08.619 --> 00:20:10.619 A gospel movement. 00:20:10.619 --> 00:20:13.619 A city-wide gospel movement. 00:20:13.619 --> 00:20:16.619 That is what happened in Nineveh. 00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:20.619 That means that if we preach and we live the gospel in Edinburgh, 00:20:20.619 --> 00:20:24.619 like Jonah did at some point in chapter 3, 00:20:24.619 --> 00:20:27.619 God will do great things. 00:20:27.619 --> 00:20:29.619 I'm sure of that, 00:20:29.619 --> 00:20:33.619 because God does not delight in the death of many. 00:20:33.619 --> 00:20:37.619 God wants to bring hope to the city. 00:20:37.619 --> 00:20:38.619 Why a city? 00:20:38.619 --> 00:20:41.619 If you go to a smaller place, 00:20:41.619 --> 00:20:43.619 and smaller places are great, 00:20:43.619 --> 00:20:45.619 they also need great churches, 00:20:45.619 --> 00:20:47.619 they also need the gospel preached, 00:20:47.619 --> 00:20:49.619 but if you go to a smaller place, 00:20:49.619 --> 00:20:53.619 maybe you'll reach the politician, 00:20:53.619 --> 00:20:56.619 but you'll never reach politics. 00:20:56.619 --> 00:20:58.619 Maybe you'll reach a teacher, 00:20:58.619 --> 00:21:01.619 but you'll never reach education. 00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:03.619 Maybe you'll reach an artist, 00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:05.619 but you'll never reach culture. 00:21:05.619 --> 00:21:07.619 Maybe a philosopher, 00:21:07.619 --> 00:21:10.619 but you will never change the mindset of a large city, 00:21:10.619 --> 00:21:13.619 the way people live, what is right, what is wrong, 00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:16.619 what they wear, how they act, how they speak. 00:21:16.619 --> 00:21:19.619 Now, if you reach the city, you reach all that, 00:21:19.619 --> 00:21:22.619 and then that can change the rest. 00:21:22.619 --> 00:21:24.619 And we can see that throughout the Bible, right? 00:21:24.619 --> 00:21:26.619 We can see Paul. Where does he go? 00:21:26.619 --> 00:21:30.619 He goes to Antioch, Rome, Corinth, Philippi, 00:21:30.619 --> 00:21:34.619 Thessalonica, Ephesus, and many, many more cities, 00:21:34.619 --> 00:21:39.619 because he knew from there the news will spread like wildfire, 00:21:39.619 --> 00:21:42.619 and it'll reach all the villages and little towns 00:21:42.619 --> 00:21:44.619 in between the cities. 00:21:44.619 --> 00:21:48.619 We have the privilege of being in a city, 00:21:48.619 --> 00:21:52.619 of reaching places and people in the city, 00:21:52.619 --> 00:21:55.619 of bringing about a movement. 00:21:55.619 --> 00:22:00.619 By the latter half of the second century Christianity 00:22:00.619 --> 00:22:03.619 had spread through media, Perseaparthia, and Bactria. 00:22:03.619 --> 00:22:06.619 By the end of the fourth century, 00:22:06.619 --> 00:22:09.619 it was officially adopted as Rome's state religion. 00:22:09.619 --> 00:22:11.619 It worked. 00:22:11.619 --> 00:22:15.619 You find all kinds of people in the city. 00:22:15.619 --> 00:22:19.619 God sent Jonah to the city because he had compassion 00:22:19.619 --> 00:22:23.619 and love for the city. 00:22:23.619 --> 00:22:25.619 And that is what he wants us to do. 00:22:25.619 --> 00:22:32.619 To go into the city, to reach people in the city, 00:22:32.619 --> 00:22:38.619 to seek transformation, to seek real change, lasting change. 00:22:38.619 --> 00:22:41.619 Why? Why should we do that? 00:22:41.619 --> 00:22:43.619 Why should we go to the city? 00:22:43.619 --> 00:22:48.619 Why should we not just stay comfortable in, I don't know, 00:22:48.619 --> 00:22:51.619 somewhere where you can have a garden, for example? 00:22:51.619 --> 00:22:55.619 Why should we sacrifice things to be in a place 00:22:55.619 --> 00:22:59.619 that sometimes is pretty inconvenient? 00:22:59.619 --> 00:23:01.619 Because it's worth it. 00:23:01.619 --> 00:23:04.619 Because we have been forgiven. 00:23:04.619 --> 00:23:07.619 Our debt was taken away. 00:23:07.619 --> 00:23:10.619 So we have to make sure to let other people know 00:23:10.619 --> 00:23:16.619 that their debt can be taken away if they trust in Jesus Christ. 00:23:16.619 --> 00:23:19.619 You see, if we don't do that, 00:23:19.619 --> 00:23:24.619 then we are not any better than the man in the parable that Jesus tells, 00:23:24.619 --> 00:23:26.619 who was forgiven all his debt, 00:23:26.619 --> 00:23:29.619 and who turned to the man who owed him money 00:23:29.619 --> 00:23:32.619 and put him in the prison. 00:23:32.619 --> 00:23:34.619 That's what Jonah does. 00:23:34.619 --> 00:23:35.619 He goes to the city. 00:23:35.619 --> 00:23:37.619 Finally, he preaches. 00:23:37.619 --> 00:23:41.619 Afterwards, he says, I wish I hadn't done it. 00:23:41.619 --> 00:23:44.619 I wish they wouldn't repent. 00:23:44.619 --> 00:23:48.619 Or like the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son, 00:23:48.619 --> 00:23:53.619 who is not delighted when his younger brother turns around and comes home. 00:23:53.619 --> 00:23:55.619 Are we like that? 00:23:55.619 --> 00:23:58.619 Do we actually long for people to be saved, 00:23:58.619 --> 00:24:00.619 to give their lives to Christ, 00:24:00.619 --> 00:24:04.619 to experience transformation? 00:24:04.619 --> 00:24:06.619 Jonah is like the older brother. 00:24:06.619 --> 00:24:10.619 He doesn't understand grace well enough anyways. 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:13.619 He doesn't want to go and bring the younger brother home. 00:24:13.619 --> 00:24:16.619 Are we doing that? 00:24:16.619 --> 00:24:22.619 Are we ready to go into the city with compassion? 00:24:22.619 --> 00:24:25.619 Why shouldn't I pity the city? 00:24:25.619 --> 00:24:27.619 Why shouldn't I pity Nineveh? 00:24:27.619 --> 00:24:30.619 Why shouldn't God pity the city? 00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:33.619 Do you see what that reveals about God's character? 00:24:33.619 --> 00:24:37.619 Pity, compassion. 00:24:37.619 --> 00:24:45.619 So often, Christians are empty of compassion. 00:24:45.619 --> 00:24:48.619 How can we be empty of compassion 00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:53.619 if we have received compassion from God, the living God, 00:24:53.619 --> 00:24:57.619 if we have received forgiveness? 00:24:57.619 --> 00:25:00.619 We see that in Jesus all the time, don't we? 00:25:00.619 --> 00:25:05.619 Jesus looks at the people in Israel and he's moved by compassion. 00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:08.619 They're like sheep without a shepherd. 00:25:08.619 --> 00:25:12.619 They don't know their left hand from their right hand. 00:25:12.619 --> 00:25:16.619 He goes to Jerusalem and he weeps. 00:25:16.619 --> 00:25:19.619 He's moved by compassion. 00:25:19.619 --> 00:25:21.619 Will we be moved by compassion? 00:25:21.619 --> 00:25:25.619 Has the gospel changed our hearts enough to share 00:25:25.619 --> 00:25:30.619 the good news of Jesus dying for you? 00:25:30.619 --> 00:25:35.619 Or is it just too awkward sometimes? 00:25:35.619 --> 00:25:38.619 Mercy isn't just the job of the Christian. 00:25:38.619 --> 00:25:42.619 Mercy is the mark of the Christian. 00:25:42.619 --> 00:25:46.619 That's what Tim Keller says. 00:25:46.619 --> 00:25:49.619 What do you do when you meet someone you struggle with? 00:25:49.619 --> 00:25:51.619 You have compassion. 00:25:51.619 --> 00:25:53.619 What do you do if someone bullies you? 00:25:53.619 --> 00:25:55.619 You have compassion. 00:25:55.619 --> 00:25:58.619 What do you do if someone calls you the worst names 00:25:58.619 --> 00:26:00.619 for the fact that you're a Christian? 00:26:00.619 --> 00:26:03.619 You have compassion. 00:26:03.619 --> 00:26:05.619 Why? 00:26:05.619 --> 00:26:09.619 Because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had compassion. 00:26:09.619 --> 00:26:15.619 You see Jonah, he's sitting outside the city, hating it. 00:26:15.619 --> 00:26:19.619 Jesus stands outside the city, weeping for it. 00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:24.619 Jonah went outside the city to witness condemnation. 00:26:24.619 --> 00:26:27.619 He went outside the city to judge it. 00:26:27.619 --> 00:26:31.619 Jesus went into the city, he preached, 00:26:31.619 --> 00:26:36.619 and he was forced to get outside the city with a cross on his back 00:26:36.619 --> 00:26:39.619 because he couldn't see the city being judged. 00:26:39.619 --> 00:26:41.619 So he was judged for it. 00:26:41.619 --> 00:26:43.619 Let us pray. 00:26:43.619 --> 00:26:48.619 Father, help us to have compassion on the people around us. 00:26:48.619 --> 00:26:50.619 As you had compassion with us. 00:26:50.619 --> 00:26:53.619 Help us to love them as you loved us. 00:26:53.619 --> 00:26:58.619 Help us to love you well, to follow you well, 00:26:58.619 --> 00:27:01.619 and to reach this city, Father. 00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:04.619 Bring about a movement of the gospel. 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:09.619 Bring about transformation, change that lasts. 00:27:09.619 --> 00:27:14.619 Father, we pray for our church plans in this city 00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:20.619 that you would reach many, for you said you have many people in this city. 00:27:20.619 --> 00:27:45.619 In Jesus' name we pray, amen.