WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.640 On the 8th of December 2003, a friend of mine was in central London, and he was passing a bus stop. 00:00:07.640 --> 00:00:12.960 and he heard two ladies speaking to each other, saying, where are all the buses? Where are they? 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:19.080 Why are they taking so long to come? I don't know where they were going, but they certainly wanted to be somewhere. 00:00:19.740 --> 00:00:25.679 And they were so preoccupied with their own concerns and what they were doing, that they'd missed the big picture of what was going on around them. 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:35.480 Because the 8th of December 2003 was the day the England rugby team were having a parade through central London, having just won the Rugby World Cup. 00:00:36.480 --> 00:00:44.320 But these dear ladies completely missed the big picture of what was going on, and so they were rather disgruntled because their own specific needs were not being met. 00:00:45.239 --> 00:00:49.079 And as we turn to Jonah chapter 4, we see something similar happening. 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:55.320 Jonah is not just disgruntled but angry enough to die, because he's missed the big picture. 00:00:55.679 --> 00:01:00.479 Of what God is doing, and more importantly, the big picture of who the Lord God is. 00:01:01.780 --> 00:01:03.640 And aren't we sometimes a bit like that? 00:01:04.299 --> 00:01:05.739 Well, let's have a look at Jonah. 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:07.739 We've got to work through this chapter. 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:10.700 We'll look first at Jonah's anger with God. 00:01:11.480 --> 00:01:13.799 Then we'll look at God's lesson for Jonah. 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:17.700 And finally, God's gracious invitation to us all. 00:01:18.060 --> 00:01:21.039 So let's start with Jonah's anger with God there, in verses 1-4. 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:23.260 It's extraordinary, isn't it? 00:01:23.440 --> 00:01:27.480 He just had this extremely successful mission trip to Nineveh. 00:01:27.940 --> 00:01:33.660 You'd think at this point he'd be signing up a contract on the God channel to rake in lots of money for his fantastic preaching. 00:01:34.240 --> 00:01:34.940 But no. 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:36.580 How does he respond? 00:01:37.160 --> 00:01:37.880 Verse 1. 00:01:38.340 --> 00:01:40.200 It displeased Jonah exceedingly. 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:45.460 That is, the fact that the people of Nineveh had taken the message seriously and repented. 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:48.120 And the fact that God had shown them mercy. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:50.340 That displeased Jonah greatly. 00:01:51.100 --> 00:01:51.960 And he was angry. 00:01:53.219 --> 00:01:55.659 And to his credit, he does a good thing in his anger. 00:01:55.780 --> 00:01:56.719 He talks to God about it. 00:01:56.740 --> 00:01:57.480 Look at verse 2. 00:01:57.960 --> 00:01:59.420 He prayed to the Lord and said, 00:01:59.420 --> 00:02:20.560 See, up until this point we haven't been told why Jonah ran in the opposite direction. 00:02:21.420 --> 00:02:24.199 But now he tells us, or at least partly explains it. 00:02:24.199 --> 00:02:29.639 He said, God, I didn't want to go preach to those people because I knew what you're like. 00:02:29.979 --> 00:02:31.219 I knew you'd forgive them. 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:35.939 It's funny, most people today are angry with God if they think he exists. 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:37.459 They think he's a mean bully. 00:02:38.659 --> 00:02:42.079 Jonah was angry with God because he knew God is a forgiving God. 00:02:43.739 --> 00:02:51.120 See, at the heart of it, Jonah was angry because he didn't want the Lord God to show mercy to the people of Nineveh. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:56.980 He didn't want them to receive mercy and grace and forgiveness. 00:02:57.620 --> 00:02:59.240 Now we're not told exactly why. 00:03:00.099 --> 00:03:02.420 We don't know exactly what Jonah had against those people. 00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:04.879 Was it he was scared of them? 00:03:04.939 --> 00:03:06.099 That's what some people will say. 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:07.560 Assyria was a big power. 00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:10.560 Actually, at the point of Jonah's life, it wasn't a big power. 00:03:11.140 --> 00:03:12.180 Well, they got bigger again. 00:03:13.080 --> 00:03:15.159 Was it that Jonah was just racist? 00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:16.960 Just didn't like those people over there? 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:18.540 That's possible. 00:03:19.540 --> 00:03:20.280 But we don't know. 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:28.280 Was it that Jonah felt he was somehow spiritually or morally superior to those cruel Assyrians who worshipped other gods? 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:29.659 And they were cruel people. 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:33.400 History records the terrible things they did to the nations they conquered. 00:03:35.099 --> 00:03:39.200 For whatever reason, Jonah felt he didn't want the Lord to show their mercy. 00:03:40.379 --> 00:03:42.900 Underneath it all, at the heart of it, Jonah was proud. 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:48.120 Whether that was proud of his race, proud of his religion, proud of his performance. 00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:51.860 He just didn't want God to be nice to other people. 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:54.379 He only wanted God to be merciful to him. 00:03:54.379 --> 00:04:01.180 And what's important for us is not the reason why Jonah didn't want the Lord to be gracious to them, to forgive them. 00:04:01.180 --> 00:04:05.560 What is important to us is the fact that that's what Jonah didn't want. 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:09.920 The fact that Jonah didn't want God to be merciful to these others. 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:14.419 And actually, are there times when you and I are like that? 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:22.120 Are there people who we look down on because we think we're better? 00:04:23.259 --> 00:04:25.339 Are there people we loathe because we fear them? 00:04:26.539 --> 00:04:30.699 Are there some people we just think are too bad, too hopeless for God to save? 00:04:30.699 --> 00:04:36.899 I think of good Christian people who are studying Bible studies with. 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:43.759 Who would love most people who then talk with absolute venom about their political enemies. 00:04:45.159 --> 00:04:50.159 Or others who welcome in the stranger, who welcome in people from all over the world. 00:04:51.300 --> 00:04:56.719 But who just loathe the idea of people who fall into sexual sin, especially homosexual sin. 00:04:56.720 --> 00:05:03.780 It's as if they cannot imagine God could ever be gracious to them, to those type of people. 00:05:05.180 --> 00:05:06.580 Well, that's Jonah's attitude. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:11.660 How could God be merciful to the people over here? 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:15.880 And even if we don't have that attitude in quite the same extent. 00:05:17.540 --> 00:05:19.600 Actually, we sometimes feel the same way, don't we? 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:22.960 Why does God bless that church over there and not my church? 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:26.000 Why did God give that colleague there? 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:28.759 Why does she keep her job when I'm being made redundant? 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:32.879 Why did that man get promoted when he's not nearly as good as I am? 00:05:33.060 --> 00:05:34.420 Why is God doing that? 00:05:36.060 --> 00:05:40.660 Like Jonah, we want God to be merciful to us and kind to us and give us good things. 00:05:41.579 --> 00:05:45.000 But we can end up resenting it when he gives those good things to other people. 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:49.459 So whenever we think along those lines, we're thinking like Jonah. 00:05:50.420 --> 00:05:52.600 But you see how strongly Jonah feels about this. 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:53.879 Look at verse 3. 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:57.519 See how angry he is with God for showing mercy to the people of Nineveh. 00:05:58.300 --> 00:06:01.680 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me. 00:06:02.019 --> 00:06:04.240 For it is better for me to die than to live. 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:10.639 I'd rather die than you show mercy to these people, God. 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:13.399 It's an astounding thing to say, isn't it? 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:16.319 How could he talk like that? 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:20.899 What could it be that Jonah's whole sense of identity and self-worth 00:06:20.899 --> 00:06:25.199 was so challenged by God showing mercy to the people of Nineveh 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:28.279 that he felt like life was no longer worth living? 00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:31.419 Maybe he thought he was superior to them. 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:33.879 Maybe he thought he was morally better than them. 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:35.919 Maybe he just feared them. 00:06:37.299 --> 00:06:40.419 But the fact that God is showing mercy to the Ninevites 00:06:40.419 --> 00:06:46.119 means that Jonah sort of lost his whole sense of purpose and identity and worth in life. 00:06:47.419 --> 00:06:48.719 I don't know if you've ever seen Les Miserables. 00:06:49.319 --> 00:06:51.259 There's a little parallel in it, I think. 00:06:51.259 --> 00:06:54.219 So Les Miserables is the tale of Jean Valjean, 00:06:54.599 --> 00:06:56.240 a man arrested for stealing a loaf of bread, 00:06:56.699 --> 00:06:58.959 who, as we go on in the story, 00:06:59.219 --> 00:07:01.519 is forgiven and set free by a bishop 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:03.819 who treats him with mercy and kindness. 00:07:04.599 --> 00:07:06.159 And so his whole life has changed around. 00:07:06.939 --> 00:07:08.399 And he starts being kind to people. 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:11.060 But all the time he is hotly pursued by Javert, 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:13.680 the policeman who is on his case, 00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:16.420 the policeman who wants to arrest him and get him back in jail 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:17.740 for jumping his parole. 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:20.660 And later on in the story, 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:23.100 20 years on from the first time we meet them, 00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:27.360 Valjean is in a situation where he can kill Javert. 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:29.220 Yet he doesn't. 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:30.139 He lets him go. 00:07:31.660 --> 00:07:33.220 If you know the story, at that point, 00:07:33.819 --> 00:07:36.300 Javert decides life is no longer worth living. 00:07:37.220 --> 00:07:38.759 He goes and drowns himself in the sand. 00:07:38.840 --> 00:07:40.900 He sings a song which I will not sing for you. 00:07:41.900 --> 00:07:42.199 He says, 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:46.560 Damned if I'll live in the debt of him. 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:51.139 Damned if I'll yield at the end of the chase. 00:07:51.579 --> 00:07:53.680 I am the law and the law is not mocked. 00:07:53.879 --> 00:07:55.899 I'll spit his pity right back in his face. 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:57.660 There is nothing on earth that we share. 00:07:58.180 --> 00:07:59.800 It is either Valjean or Javert. 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:02.340 That's kind of what Jonah is saying here. 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:04.340 It's either the Ninevites or it's me. 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:05.899 We don't have anything in common. 00:08:07.100 --> 00:08:09.340 So how can you show mercy to them? 00:08:09.980 --> 00:08:13.399 His whole sense of identity is completely unraveled 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:15.439 by God showing mercy to these people. 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:18.079 I'd rather die than live. 00:08:20.339 --> 00:08:22.019 See, for Jonah, his self-esteem and identity 00:08:22.019 --> 00:08:24.879 is somehow in what he did or who he was 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:27.439 or his ethnic identity or his status. 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:32.000 And it wasn't in the fact that he was someone 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:33.580 who needed God's mercy. 00:08:36.659 --> 00:08:39.600 If we put our sense of identity and self-worth 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:43.720 in anything we do or anything we think we are on our own, 00:08:44.820 --> 00:08:46.299 then that thing can go from us 00:08:46.299 --> 00:08:49.419 and we might end up like Jonah and want to die. 00:08:49.419 --> 00:08:55.360 But if our identity is based on being someone in need of God's forgiveness, 00:08:55.860 --> 00:08:58.339 someone who needs God's mercy and God's compassion, 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:01.219 then that is something that can never be taken from us. 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:03.719 That is a rock-solid place to live. 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:07.360 So how do we see ourselves? 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:09.720 How do we see ourselves? 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:13.200 Well, Jonah certainly didn't see himself as someone who needed God's help 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:14.879 despite what he'd been through. 00:09:16.340 --> 00:09:18.700 But do you notice how the Lord deals with Jonah's tantrum? 00:09:19.480 --> 00:09:20.340 Look at verse 4. 00:09:21.800 --> 00:09:22.440 He doesn't shout. 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:23.120 He doesn't scream. 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:31.679 When my kids have tantrums, 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:33.820 I'm not that patient. 00:09:34.940 --> 00:09:36.279 I've been challenged this week 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:37.519 as I've been reflecting on this passage. 00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:40.820 And hopefully I'll do better as a result. 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:42.360 But what do you think? 00:09:42.379 --> 00:09:43.659 What's your answer to Jonah's question? 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:45.480 Or to God's question to Jonah? 00:09:45.879 --> 00:09:47.019 Was Jonah right to be angry? 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:50.379 What did the Lord done for Jonah up until this point? 00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:53.620 Well, even when Jonah had run away 00:09:53.620 --> 00:09:55.320 in the opposite direction, 00:09:55.779 --> 00:09:56.740 the Lord had brought him back. 00:09:57.340 --> 00:10:00.519 When Jonah was going to drown in the sea, 00:10:01.059 --> 00:10:02.419 when he despaired of his life, 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:04.779 the Lord sent a big fish to rescue him. 00:10:06.019 --> 00:10:07.559 Such that when Jonah prayed to God 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:08.919 from the belly of the fish, chapter 2, 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:11.720 he came to the conclusion that salvation belongs to the Lord. 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:13.980 That rescue could only come from God. 00:10:14.100 --> 00:10:15.000 It's all his business. 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:17.299 Yet now he seems to have forgotten that. 00:10:17.299 --> 00:10:20.799 Oh, the Lord had shown great mercy and compassion to Jonah. 00:10:21.579 --> 00:10:23.159 If only he recognized it. 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:26.659 Well, that's Jonah's anger with the Lord. 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:30.379 He's angry because God showed mercy to other people. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:33.000 Let's look at the Lord's lesson for Jonah, 00:10:33.079 --> 00:10:34.079 verses 5 to 11. 00:10:36.579 --> 00:10:38.059 Look what Jonah does, verse 5. 00:10:38.139 --> 00:10:39.219 Jonah went out of the city 00:10:39.219 --> 00:10:40.819 and sat to the east of the city 00:10:40.819 --> 00:10:42.439 and made a booth for himself there. 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:44.439 He sat under it in the shade 00:10:44.439 --> 00:10:46.279 till he could see what became of the city. 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:48.439 Jonah is like the man 00:10:48.439 --> 00:10:50.100 who hears as an airplane crashed 00:10:50.100 --> 00:10:52.120 and takes his video camera along to record it. 00:10:53.079 --> 00:10:54.139 That's what he's doing here. 00:10:54.220 --> 00:10:55.439 He's hoping against hope 00:10:55.439 --> 00:10:56.759 that the Lord will change his mind 00:10:56.759 --> 00:10:58.279 and will destroy Nineveh 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:00.279 and you'll see some great kind of pyrotechnics 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:02.819 as sulfur and fire rains down the city. 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:05.059 Now, because he's sitting in a desert 00:11:05.059 --> 00:11:05.899 and it's very hot, 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:07.740 he tries to build himself some shade 00:11:07.740 --> 00:11:08.419 and some shelter. 00:11:09.199 --> 00:11:10.500 After all, if you've been in a desert 00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:11.199 in the heat of a day, 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:12.399 you'll know it's not good 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:13.299 to sit and direct sunlight. 00:11:13.299 --> 00:11:16.099 But Jonah's shelter was inadequate. 00:11:16.659 --> 00:11:18.339 But look what the Lord does, verse 6. 00:11:19.019 --> 00:11:21.319 Now, the Lord God appointed a plant 00:11:21.319 --> 00:11:23.000 and made it come up over Jonah 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:24.719 that it might be shade over his head 00:11:24.719 --> 00:11:26.439 to save him from his discomfort. 00:11:27.839 --> 00:11:28.759 Back in chapter 1, 00:11:28.819 --> 00:11:30.459 the Lord appointed, same word, 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:32.659 a fish to rescue Jonah. 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:35.120 In verses 7 and 8, 00:11:35.199 --> 00:11:36.879 we'll see the Lord appoints other things 00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:37.859 for Jonah's good. 00:11:37.860 --> 00:11:42.120 And how does Jonah feel about this? 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:43.919 So Jonah was exceedingly glad 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:44.700 because of his plant. 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:46.500 God, you're doing something good for me. 00:11:46.560 --> 00:11:46.940 Thank you. 00:11:47.100 --> 00:11:47.779 That's cheering me up. 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:51.680 He was as overjoyed about the plant 00:11:51.680 --> 00:11:53.320 as he was overwrought 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:56.500 about God's grace and mercy to Nineveh. 00:11:57.700 --> 00:11:59.259 But then look what the Lord does. 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:00.560 Verse 7. 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:02.279 But when dawn came out the next day, 00:12:02.860 --> 00:12:03.740 God appointed a worm 00:12:03.740 --> 00:12:04.620 that attacked the plants 00:12:04.620 --> 00:12:05.240 that had withered. 00:12:05.240 --> 00:12:07.180 And when the sun rose, 00:12:07.680 --> 00:12:09.860 God appointed a scorching east wind 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:11.639 and the sun beat down 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:12.379 on the head of Jonah 00:12:12.379 --> 00:12:13.379 so that he was faint. 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:15.139 The Lord gives 00:12:15.139 --> 00:12:16.659 and the Lord takes away. 00:12:17.419 --> 00:12:19.159 The Lord who appoints a big fish 00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:21.100 and appoints a plant to grow up 00:12:21.100 --> 00:12:22.299 is the same Lord 00:12:22.299 --> 00:12:24.080 who appoints a worm 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:27.299 and appoints a hot east wind. 00:12:28.580 --> 00:12:30.120 And he does it all for Jonah's good. 00:12:31.700 --> 00:12:32.580 He's the one who appoints 00:12:32.580 --> 00:12:34.440 where we live, where we die, 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:35.580 and appoints 00:12:35.580 --> 00:12:38.200 all the ups and downs of our lives. 00:12:38.880 --> 00:12:40.140 He does it all for our good. 00:12:41.680 --> 00:12:43.420 Even if Jonah doesn't realise it just now. 00:12:43.740 --> 00:12:45.220 As his precious shade is destroyed, 00:12:45.300 --> 00:12:46.060 look how he responds. 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:47.600 He asks that he might die. 00:12:47.680 --> 00:12:47.800 He says, 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:49.480 it's better for me to die than to live. 00:12:50.520 --> 00:12:51.440 Well, Jonah wanted to die 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:53.020 when he saw the Lord being merciful to Nineveh. 00:12:53.620 --> 00:12:54.500 Now he wants to die 00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:55.600 because he's no longer comfortable. 00:12:56.400 --> 00:12:57.800 As we fare to him in the scorching heat, 00:12:57.860 --> 00:12:58.660 it would have been really hot. 00:12:59.300 --> 00:13:00.340 But do you see what Jonah 00:13:00.340 --> 00:13:01.600 was primarily concerned about? 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:04.500 He's concerned about his own comfort, 00:13:04.620 --> 00:13:05.659 his own status. 00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:09.620 Like the ladies at the bus stop, 00:13:09.680 --> 00:13:10.899 he's missed the big picture. 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:13.700 He's just concerned about his convenience 00:13:13.700 --> 00:13:14.639 and his comfort. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:17.879 And isn't there a bit of Jonah in all of us? 00:13:19.820 --> 00:13:20.700 Let me ask you, 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:21.820 if you pray, 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:23.540 what kind of things do you pray about? 00:13:23.539 --> 00:13:26.860 Is it for our health and work? 00:13:28.959 --> 00:13:31.099 Or for growth and becoming more like 00:13:31.099 --> 00:13:31.919 the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:13:31.980 --> 00:13:33.059 becoming more Christ-like? 00:13:33.899 --> 00:13:35.279 Do we pray for our friends and families? 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:36.039 It's good if we do. 00:13:37.079 --> 00:13:38.740 Or do we pray for our enemies as well? 00:13:40.939 --> 00:13:42.879 Do we pray just for our concerns? 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:46.860 Or for the big picture of God's concerns, 00:13:47.019 --> 00:13:47.879 God's compassion, 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:49.599 God's purposes in the world? 00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:53.960 Well, the Lord appointed all these things 00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:54.980 for Jonah's good, 00:13:55.300 --> 00:13:56.379 to teach him a lesson. 00:13:57.399 --> 00:13:58.960 When difficult things come in our lives, 00:13:59.040 --> 00:14:00.200 it reveals our hearts, doesn't it? 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:01.420 It shows what we're really like. 00:14:02.460 --> 00:14:03.779 We think we're quite nice, 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:04.159 and then, 00:14:04.800 --> 00:14:06.180 we think we're patient, 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:07.759 and then the train doesn't come. 00:14:09.820 --> 00:14:11.300 We think we're quite nice and kind, 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:12.820 and then the guy in the BMW 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:14.580 carves us up as we're driving along the road. 00:14:15.220 --> 00:14:16.420 We think we trust God, 00:14:16.500 --> 00:14:17.300 and then we lose our job. 00:14:17.299 --> 00:14:20.259 The Lord appoints these things 00:14:20.259 --> 00:14:20.979 to show us, 00:14:21.459 --> 00:14:22.740 help us see our own hearts, 00:14:24.539 --> 00:14:25.419 and so that we will then 00:14:25.419 --> 00:14:26.939 cry out to him for mercy again. 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:28.579 Look how the story goes on. 00:14:29.019 --> 00:14:30.240 So Jonah said he wants to die. 00:14:30.419 --> 00:14:30.919 Verse 9, 00:14:31.219 --> 00:14:32.039 God said to Jonah, 00:14:32.379 --> 00:14:34.259 Do you do well to be angry for the plant? 00:14:34.939 --> 00:14:35.299 And he said, 00:14:35.359 --> 00:14:36.819 Yes, I do well to be angry. 00:14:37.139 --> 00:14:38.179 Angry enough to die. 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:41.579 Well, he's a petulant child, isn't he? 00:14:42.599 --> 00:14:43.799 And look how the Lord speaks 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:44.799 to this petulant child. 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:46.000 He said, 00:14:46.039 --> 00:14:47.039 Do you pity the plant 00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:48.240 for which you did not labour, 00:14:48.779 --> 00:14:49.879 nor did you make it grow, 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:51.759 which came into being in a night, 00:14:52.219 --> 00:14:53.240 and perished in a night? 00:14:54.179 --> 00:14:56.219 Should not I pity Nineveh, 00:14:56.759 --> 00:14:57.939 that great city in which 00:14:57.939 --> 00:14:59.979 there are more than 120,000 persons, 00:15:00.319 --> 00:15:01.620 who do not know their right hand 00:15:01.620 --> 00:15:02.299 from their left, 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:03.639 and also much cattle? 00:15:05.079 --> 00:15:06.019 You see the contrast 00:15:06.019 --> 00:15:08.159 that the Lord is pointing to Jonah too. 00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:10.339 Jonah, you care about a plant, 00:15:10.439 --> 00:15:12.000 but you didn't make it grow. 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:14.159 You didn't plant it in the first place. 00:15:14.539 --> 00:15:15.460 And it was very short-lived. 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:18.679 Here's the city of 120,000 people. 00:15:19.179 --> 00:15:20.320 I created all of them. 00:15:20.379 --> 00:15:21.460 They're made in my image. 00:15:21.820 --> 00:15:22.519 I love them. 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:26.679 Shouldn't I be concerned about them? 00:15:29.139 --> 00:15:30.080 And by the way, Jonah, 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:30.799 your plant, 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:31.860 it was only here for a day 00:15:31.860 --> 00:15:32.340 and then gone. 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:33.919 These people, 00:15:34.519 --> 00:15:35.960 as those created in my image, 00:15:36.460 --> 00:15:37.240 will live forever. 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:38.500 They either live forever 00:15:38.500 --> 00:15:40.039 in heaven or in hell. 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:43.159 They're not just short-lived. 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:45.059 And by the way, Jonah, 00:15:45.539 --> 00:15:47.100 if you don't like the people of Nineveh, 00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:49.360 at least think about the cattle, 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:50.639 because there are quite a few of them as well. 00:15:50.860 --> 00:15:52.340 And they're more valuable than the plant, 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:52.980 by the way. 00:15:57.019 --> 00:15:57.720 And do you notice 00:15:57.720 --> 00:15:59.159 how the Lord describes these people? 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:01.460 I guess Jonah would have thought 00:16:01.460 --> 00:16:02.860 they're horrible Assyrians, 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:03.679 they're immoral, 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:04.460 they're disgusting, 00:16:04.659 --> 00:16:05.220 they're violent. 00:16:05.220 --> 00:16:07.560 How does the Lord describe them? 00:16:08.500 --> 00:16:09.160 In that verse? 00:16:09.399 --> 00:16:10.019 Verse 11? 00:16:10.920 --> 00:16:11.540 They are people 00:16:11.540 --> 00:16:12.920 who do not know 00:16:12.920 --> 00:16:14.340 their right hand from their left. 00:16:15.160 --> 00:16:15.940 That doesn't mean 00:16:15.940 --> 00:16:16.800 they're really stupid. 00:16:17.540 --> 00:16:18.600 It's a picture of being 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:20.160 morally clueless. 00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:21.779 Yes, they're responsible 00:16:21.779 --> 00:16:22.600 for the evil they do. 00:16:22.700 --> 00:16:23.600 The Lord had called it evil 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:25.160 back in chapter 1, verse 2. 00:16:25.660 --> 00:16:27.220 He pronounced the message of judgment 00:16:27.220 --> 00:16:28.460 on the evil they did 00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:31.259 back in chapter 3, verse 4. 00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:32.740 So they're guilty, 00:16:32.860 --> 00:16:33.320 irresponsible. 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:35.000 And yet the Lord 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:35.700 in his compassion 00:16:35.700 --> 00:16:36.560 also sees them 00:16:36.560 --> 00:16:37.900 as people who are just lost. 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:39.460 People who are clueless. 00:16:40.160 --> 00:16:41.020 Just as the Lord Jesus 00:16:41.020 --> 00:16:42.220 looked out in the crowds 00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:44.040 who are harassed 00:16:44.040 --> 00:16:44.540 and helpless 00:16:44.540 --> 00:16:45.900 like sheep without a shepherd. 00:16:48.540 --> 00:16:49.300 See, what's the lesson 00:16:49.300 --> 00:16:49.700 that the Lord 00:16:49.700 --> 00:16:50.680 is teaching Jonah here? 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:54.500 He's teaching Jonah 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:55.120 that the Lord 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:56.280 is compassionate. 00:16:57.040 --> 00:16:57.960 And that those people 00:16:57.960 --> 00:16:59.600 need his compassion. 00:17:01.880 --> 00:17:03.020 Amongst people I know, 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:04.759 I have a friend 00:17:04.759 --> 00:17:06.100 who came to the Lord 00:17:06.100 --> 00:17:06.519 in prison. 00:17:07.299 --> 00:17:08.059 He was there 00:17:08.059 --> 00:17:09.940 for child sex offences. 00:17:11.860 --> 00:17:12.700 But his life's been 00:17:12.700 --> 00:17:13.200 turned around. 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:15.700 I have another friend 00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:16.940 I used to visit in prison. 00:17:17.779 --> 00:17:18.799 I visited in prison. 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:19.759 I didn't know him 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:20.180 before this. 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:21.440 I met him in prison. 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:23.620 He was in prison 00:17:23.620 --> 00:17:24.759 because he'd 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:25.440 murdered his wife. 00:17:27.340 --> 00:17:28.059 Several years 00:17:28.059 --> 00:17:29.220 after finally getting out, 00:17:30.059 --> 00:17:31.080 he also came to faith 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:32.119 the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:17:33.399 --> 00:17:34.039 He's a much humbler 00:17:34.039 --> 00:17:34.839 and different man. 00:17:36.460 --> 00:17:37.240 How can the Lord 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:37.839 show compassion 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:38.919 to people like that? 00:17:38.980 --> 00:17:39.460 How can the Lord 00:17:39.460 --> 00:17:40.059 show compassion 00:17:40.059 --> 00:17:40.720 to a wicked city 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:41.179 like Nineveh? 00:17:42.879 --> 00:17:43.539 Well, the answer 00:17:43.539 --> 00:17:44.379 is through Jesus. 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:46.220 As we go on 00:17:46.220 --> 00:17:46.599 to the pages 00:17:46.599 --> 00:17:47.379 of the New Testament, 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:48.879 we find that God 00:17:48.879 --> 00:17:49.740 so loved the world 00:17:49.740 --> 00:17:50.819 that he sent his own son 00:17:50.819 --> 00:17:52.139 to live as a man 00:17:52.139 --> 00:17:52.799 on this earth. 00:17:53.259 --> 00:17:54.079 The only man 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:56.079 who fully loved God 00:17:56.079 --> 00:17:56.859 with all his heart, 00:17:57.000 --> 00:17:57.679 soul, mind, 00:17:57.680 --> 00:17:58.220 and strength 00:17:58.220 --> 00:17:59.080 and loved his neighbours 00:17:59.080 --> 00:17:59.580 and self. 00:17:59.940 --> 00:18:01.299 Who lived the perfect life 00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:03.240 and yet who died 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:03.840 on a cross. 00:18:04.580 --> 00:18:05.700 Who took the punishment 00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:08.240 that sinners like me 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:08.700 deserve. 00:18:11.120 --> 00:18:11.940 See, God doesn't just 00:18:11.940 --> 00:18:12.820 overlook evil 00:18:12.820 --> 00:18:13.380 and injustice. 00:18:13.840 --> 00:18:15.039 It all gets paid for. 00:18:16.519 --> 00:18:16.900 And it will either 00:18:16.900 --> 00:18:17.420 be paid for 00:18:17.420 --> 00:18:18.680 by Jesus on the cross 00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:19.640 or for those 00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:20.460 who reject Jesus, 00:18:20.940 --> 00:18:21.580 they themselves 00:18:21.580 --> 00:18:22.440 will pay ultimately 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:23.380 in hell. 00:18:24.420 --> 00:18:25.060 That's how God 00:18:25.060 --> 00:18:25.799 can show mercy. 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:27.819 He provided someone 00:18:27.819 --> 00:18:28.480 a substitute 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:29.339 to take away 00:18:29.339 --> 00:18:30.279 the sins of the world. 00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:31.480 And there's a big 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:32.200 contrast between 00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:32.960 Jesus and Jonah, 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:33.359 isn't there? 00:18:34.339 --> 00:18:35.099 Jonah said, 00:18:36.379 --> 00:18:37.619 Lord, I'd rather die 00:18:37.619 --> 00:18:38.099 than have you 00:18:38.099 --> 00:18:38.619 show mercy 00:18:38.619 --> 00:18:39.279 to those people. 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:41.440 I'd rather die 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:42.099 than have the Lord 00:18:42.099 --> 00:18:42.599 show mercy 00:18:42.599 --> 00:18:43.240 to those people. 00:18:44.180 --> 00:18:44.960 Jesus said, 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:46.480 I'd rather die 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:48.259 so that my Father 00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:49.279 can show mercy 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:50.180 to those people. 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:52.119 So you see 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:52.919 Jonah's anger. 00:18:54.220 --> 00:18:54.799 You see God's 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:55.539 lesson for Jonah 00:18:55.539 --> 00:18:55.960 and a lesson 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:56.680 in his compassion. 00:18:57.579 --> 00:18:58.420 And implicit in all 00:18:58.420 --> 00:19:00.019 this is the Lord's 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:00.539 invitation, 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:01.359 not just to Jonah 00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:01.920 but to you 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:02.879 and to me as well. 00:19:03.619 --> 00:19:04.099 See, how does the 00:19:04.099 --> 00:19:04.519 story end? 00:19:04.619 --> 00:19:05.379 Verse 11 ends 00:19:05.379 --> 00:19:05.799 with a question, 00:19:05.879 --> 00:19:06.180 doesn't it? 00:19:07.139 --> 00:19:07.680 How does the 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:08.319 question get answered? 00:19:11.379 --> 00:19:12.019 We don't know 00:19:12.019 --> 00:19:12.579 what Jonah does, 00:19:12.639 --> 00:19:12.879 do we? 00:19:13.879 --> 00:19:14.240 And there's a 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:14.799 reason for that. 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:16.500 The question is 00:19:16.500 --> 00:19:17.059 left there 00:19:17.059 --> 00:19:17.920 because it's a 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:18.619 question for us 00:19:18.619 --> 00:19:19.500 to answer as well. 00:19:20.259 --> 00:19:21.259 It's the Lord's 00:19:21.259 --> 00:19:22.440 invitation to us. 00:19:23.059 --> 00:19:23.639 It's an invitation 00:19:23.639 --> 00:19:24.579 to see ourselves 00:19:24.579 --> 00:19:25.460 as he sees us 00:19:25.460 --> 00:19:26.279 and to see the 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:27.079 world around us 00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:27.859 as he sees it. 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:30.139 To see ourselves 00:19:30.139 --> 00:19:30.899 as Jonah's 00:19:30.899 --> 00:19:31.699 who naturally 00:19:31.699 --> 00:19:32.819 run away from God 00:19:32.819 --> 00:19:34.159 and who would not 00:19:34.159 --> 00:19:34.879 be able to come 00:19:34.879 --> 00:19:35.460 back to God 00:19:35.460 --> 00:19:36.059 if it was not 00:19:36.059 --> 00:19:38.179 for his kind, 00:19:38.379 --> 00:19:38.960 compassionate, 00:19:39.259 --> 00:19:40.299 merciful intervening 00:19:40.299 --> 00:19:40.980 in our lives. 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:44.440 The Lord is saying 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:45.279 do you see yourself 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:46.339 as I see you? 00:19:47.099 --> 00:19:47.899 That's the invitation. 00:19:48.659 --> 00:19:49.220 And it's an invitation 00:19:49.220 --> 00:19:50.159 to see the world 00:19:50.159 --> 00:19:51.339 as the Lord sees it. 00:19:53.019 --> 00:19:53.759 How do we see the 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:54.859 people on the bus 00:19:54.859 --> 00:19:55.559 with us heading to 00:19:55.559 --> 00:19:55.779 work? 00:19:55.859 --> 00:19:56.399 How do we see the 00:19:56.399 --> 00:19:58.240 people on the streets 00:19:58.240 --> 00:19:59.240 walking past the 00:19:59.240 --> 00:19:59.720 town hall? 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:01.539 How do we see the 00:20:01.539 --> 00:20:01.879 people on the 00:20:01.879 --> 00:20:02.379 television, the 00:20:02.379 --> 00:20:03.139 politicians, the 00:20:03.139 --> 00:20:03.779 business leaders, 00:20:04.579 --> 00:20:05.180 the filmmakers? 00:20:05.180 --> 00:20:08.720 How do we see the 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:10.660 drug addicts? 00:20:13.460 --> 00:20:14.240 Do we see them as 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:14.980 the Lord sees them? 00:20:15.820 --> 00:20:16.880 As those in need of 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:17.200 mercy? 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:19.720 Or do we just see 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:20.740 them as people out 00:20:20.740 --> 00:20:21.279 there, like the 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:22.779 Ninevites, people 00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:23.340 who aren't as good 00:20:23.340 --> 00:20:23.660 as me? 00:20:23.660 --> 00:20:26.960 Here's the invitation. 00:20:27.100 --> 00:20:27.880 Will we see ourselves 00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:28.759 as God sees us? 00:20:29.259 --> 00:20:29.720 Will we see the 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:30.759 world as the Lord 00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:31.200 sees it? 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:33.600 Or will we be like 00:20:33.600 --> 00:20:34.779 Jonah and miss the 00:20:34.779 --> 00:20:35.340 big picture? 00:20:35.880 --> 00:20:36.740 So caught up in our 00:20:36.740 --> 00:20:37.779 own comfort, our own 00:20:37.779 --> 00:20:38.920 status, our own 00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:39.259 needs. 00:20:40.660 --> 00:20:41.759 John Newton was a 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:42.660 slave trader in the 00:20:42.660 --> 00:20:43.320 18th century. 00:20:44.140 --> 00:20:44.940 Did some terrible 00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:45.720 things as a slave 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:46.540 trader, as part of 00:20:46.540 --> 00:20:47.019 that trade. 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:49.259 And yet, came to 00:20:49.259 --> 00:20:50.480 saving faith in 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:51.500 Jesus Christ as his 00:20:51.500 --> 00:20:51.840 saviour. 00:20:52.660 --> 00:20:53.540 Very near the end of 00:20:53.539 --> 00:20:55.059 his life, as he 00:20:55.059 --> 00:20:56.319 was, his brain 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:57.139 wasn't necessarily 00:20:57.139 --> 00:20:57.960 working as well as 00:20:57.960 --> 00:20:58.519 it once did. 00:20:59.379 --> 00:21:00.180 Pretty much on his 00:21:00.180 --> 00:21:00.680 deathbed. 00:21:02.579 --> 00:21:03.639 He said this, 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:05.019 One thing I still 00:21:05.019 --> 00:21:07.000 know, I'm a great 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:08.720 sinner, but Jesus 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:09.579 Christ is a great 00:21:09.579 --> 00:21:10.019 saviour. 00:21:11.399 --> 00:21:12.420 Is that how we see 00:21:12.420 --> 00:21:12.799 ourselves? 00:21:14.659 --> 00:21:15.339 Let's pray.