WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.560 love, your consistent love and your prayers and your support for us personally and for the work. 00:00:05.660 --> 00:00:07.560 We really do appreciate it. 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:17.719 So we're going to jump in in Jonah chapter 4, but there's been three chapters before chapter 4. 00:00:18.339 --> 00:00:22.039 So what happened in Jonah chapter 1 is that God says to Jonah, 00:00:22.260 --> 00:00:27.339 go to Nineveh and call out against this for their great evil has come up before me. 00:00:27.339 --> 00:00:31.820 So God commissions Jonah, tells him to go to Nineveh and Jonah doesn't go. 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:35.399 He instead tries to get to Tarshish on a ship. 00:00:35.899 --> 00:00:40.820 So he gets on the ship and he falls asleep and doesn't go where God wants him to go. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:47.079 And while he's on the ship, God sends a storm and the sailors start freaking out. 00:00:47.260 --> 00:00:52.659 But Jonah stays asleep and they tell him, Jonah, you need to start calling out to your God. 00:00:52.659 --> 00:00:58.299 And he eventually tells them who he is, what he believes, who he believes in. 00:00:58.779 --> 00:01:06.399 And he convinces them that if they throw him into the sea, then God will stop this storm, which they do. 00:01:06.739 --> 00:01:11.979 The storm stops and then God provides this great big fish to swallow Jonah. 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:21.280 And when Jonah is in the fish in chapter 2, he prays this amazing prayer to God from the belly of the big fish. 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:27.260 In chapter 3, then, God gets to say to Jonah again, Jonah, go to Nineveh. 00:01:27.540 --> 00:01:31.500 The same thing that he had said in chapter 1, but this time Jonah goes. 00:01:32.140 --> 00:01:37.819 And he goes to Nineveh and he proclaims to Nineveh this thing that God has told him to say. 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:43.980 And when he does that, there is an incredible revival, for want of a better term. 00:01:43.980 --> 00:01:51.020 So the Nineveh, who are a very evil people, all turn back away from their evil ways to God. 00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:52.659 It's an amazing thing. 00:01:54.219 --> 00:02:04.359 And so Jonah, we pick up with him in chapter 4, and we start to see how he responds to what is essentially a revival that God has brought about. 00:02:04.359 --> 00:02:06.959 So the start of chapter 4. 00:02:07.620 --> 00:02:12.960 But to Jonah, this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 00:02:13.979 --> 00:02:18.139 He prayed to the Lord, isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:22.819 That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. 00:02:22.819 --> 00:02:30.379 I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love. 00:02:31.079 --> 00:02:34.799 A God who relents from sending calamity. 00:02:35.959 --> 00:02:42.579 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:47.120 But the Lord replied, is it right for you to be angry? 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:53.780 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. 00:02:54.200 --> 00:03:00.000 There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade, and waited to see what would happen to the city. 00:03:00.819 --> 00:03:10.180 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head, to ease his discomfort. 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:13.879 And Jonah was very happy about the plant. 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:20.379 But at dawn the next day, God provided a worm which chewed the plant so that it withered. 00:03:21.219 --> 00:03:25.479 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind. 00:03:26.180 --> 00:03:30.639 And the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:37.319 He wanted to die and said, it would be better for me to die than to live. 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:43.500 But God said to Jonah, is it right for you to be angry about the plant? 00:03:43.879 --> 00:03:46.960 It is, Jonah said. 00:03:47.519 --> 00:03:48.699 And I'm so angry. 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:50.900 I wish I were dead. 00:03:50.900 --> 00:03:59.759 But the Lord said, you have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:03.420 It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 00:04:03.419 --> 00:04:19.279 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and also many animals. 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:26.779 I wonder who was the last person who wronged you. 00:04:27.919 --> 00:04:30.199 Maybe you don't have to think too long and hard. 00:04:30.299 --> 00:04:33.139 Maybe it was the person who cut you off in traffic this morning. 00:04:33.979 --> 00:04:35.479 I hope it wasn't me. 00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:46.280 Maybe it was the noisy neighbours who keep having house parties until 4am, who keep you awake all night, and the kids awake as well. 00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:50.719 How does it feel when that person gets away with it? 00:04:50.919 --> 00:04:58.359 When you flash your light and they just drive on and they're oblivious to the fact that they have nearly caused an accident. 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:11.300 How does it feel when you call round to the noisy neighbours the next day at a reasonable gentlemanly hour, civilised hour, and you want to explain to them just the reality of the situation. 00:05:11.580 --> 00:05:13.100 And they don't answer the door. 00:05:13.960 --> 00:05:15.699 And they never answer the door. 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:19.480 And it just seems they always get away with it. 00:05:19.939 --> 00:05:26.600 It can be pretty hard going when you feel that somebody has done something wrong and nothing is done about it. 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:28.640 Justice is not done. 00:05:29.640 --> 00:05:34.340 Or maybe a bit more seriously, what about the bankers who have misled people? 00:05:35.080 --> 00:05:41.640 The ones who have moved 7 billion euros around in order to mislead their investors? 00:05:41.900 --> 00:05:46.460 Who have caused countless arguments over dinner tables? 00:05:46.640 --> 00:05:51.740 Who have put families under huge pressure as a result of their actions? 00:05:51.740 --> 00:05:59.900 The penny pinching and the sacrifices that these men, and they're mostly men, have caused as a result of what they have done? 00:06:00.819 --> 00:06:02.759 How would you feel if they got away with it? 00:06:03.960 --> 00:06:10.740 Or what about somebody like Jihadi John, the infamous terrorist who we saw in the last couple of years online, 00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:15.740 posting videos of the most horrific things you could imagine? 00:06:15.740 --> 00:06:18.500 What if he had got away with it? 00:06:19.699 --> 00:06:23.800 Is it right for you to be angry in such circumstances? 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:28.079 We're going to ask four questions today. 00:06:28.259 --> 00:06:31.300 Is it right for Jonah to be angry about Nineveh? 00:06:32.259 --> 00:06:35.360 Is it right for Jonah to be angry about the plant? 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:39.120 Is it right for God to be concerned about Nineveh? 00:06:39.460 --> 00:06:43.420 And is it right for God to be concerned about Jonah? 00:06:43.420 --> 00:06:48.740 So first, is it right for Jonah to be angry about Nineveh? 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:55.900 I was really tempted to ask everyone to answer these questions out loud to see what you would say just out of interest. 00:06:56.379 --> 00:06:58.860 Is it right for Jonah to be angry about Nineveh? 00:06:59.660 --> 00:07:04.340 When we come across Jonah in chapter four, he is certainly very, very angry. 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:07.700 In verse one, it says that Jonah became angry. 00:07:07.699 --> 00:07:12.800 And in verse three, it says, it is better for me to live. 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:16.139 Sorry, it is better for me to die than to live. 00:07:16.199 --> 00:07:17.519 He is raging. 00:07:18.539 --> 00:07:20.060 Why is he so angry? 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:25.839 Why is he so angry that the Ninevites have repented and not been destroyed by God? 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:31.180 God had warned the Ninevites of the danger they were in. 00:07:31.180 --> 00:07:39.259 Back in chapter one, when Jonah ran away from this commission, we weren't told exactly why he ran away. 00:07:39.500 --> 00:07:43.840 But Jonah here makes it abundantly clear in verse two. 00:07:44.840 --> 00:07:54.939 I knew, God, that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. 00:07:54.939 --> 00:07:58.839 A God who relents from sending calamity. 00:07:59.719 --> 00:08:02.360 This is why Jonah is angry. 00:08:02.540 --> 00:08:11.860 He knew that if he told the Ninevites to repent, that God might relent from the disaster that he would bring on them. 00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:13.639 And that's exactly what's happened. 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:16.839 The Ninevites have repented on a massive scale. 00:08:17.379 --> 00:08:19.139 And so God has relented. 00:08:19.139 --> 00:08:25.819 It's hard to convey, I think, the extent of Jonah's rage. 00:08:25.979 --> 00:08:28.779 Why precisely is he so angry? 00:08:29.579 --> 00:08:32.759 The answer is hinted at in verse one. 00:08:32.939 --> 00:08:35.399 To Jonah, this seemed very wrong. 00:08:35.899 --> 00:08:40.879 Or as a more literal translation puts it, to Jonah, this seemed like a great evil. 00:08:41.439 --> 00:08:45.620 It seemed wrong that the Ninevites should get away with all that they have done. 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:49.019 And the Ninevites were extremely evil. 00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:59.919 When you walked into the Ninevites' city, what you would see on banners was not welcome to Nineveh with smiley faces or Nineveh fair trade city for ten years. 00:09:00.580 --> 00:09:08.960 What you would see was the Ninevites' enemies impaled on poles, dying slow and agonizing deaths. 00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:11.399 These people were evil. 00:09:11.699 --> 00:09:14.480 And so Jonah is angry. 00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:17.580 I wonder, would you be angry? 00:09:17.580 --> 00:09:23.700 Do you think Jonah should be angry that the Ninevites have apparently got away with it? 00:09:23.900 --> 00:09:26.340 That they haven't been destroyed by God? 00:09:27.940 --> 00:09:31.780 He has good reason, I think, to call them enemies. 00:09:31.779 --> 00:09:37.500 God asks them in verse four, is it right for you to be angry? 00:09:37.639 --> 00:09:39.919 And Jonah doesn't give an answer. 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:42.419 And so the story moves on. 00:09:44.179 --> 00:09:48.600 Our second question, is it right for Jonah to be angry about the plant? 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:56.639 The fact that the Ninevites have repented and seemingly got away with it isn't the only thing that angers Jonah. 00:09:57.060 --> 00:10:04.300 So after leaving Nineveh, he goes out and sits on the east side of the city and he builds himself a little hut. 00:10:04.299 --> 00:10:12.179 And I imagine the hut was something like I would build, totally inadequate for the job that it was built for. 00:10:12.379 --> 00:10:23.439 It's supposed to shade him so that as he all but grabs his popcorn and watches and hopes that God will destroy Nineveh, that he is in some kind of comfort. 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:27.980 But humorously, I think, the hut doesn't do what it's supposed to do. 00:10:28.140 --> 00:10:34.500 And so God miraculously, supernaturally provides a leafy plant in verse six. 00:10:34.580 --> 00:10:38.140 And the plant grows up over Jonah and this does the job. 00:10:38.540 --> 00:10:40.220 And Jonah is happy. 00:10:40.520 --> 00:10:43.880 He is very happy about the plant in verse six. 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:47.160 A little bit of shade from the scorching sun. 00:10:48.680 --> 00:10:50.640 It seems like he's out there all night. 00:10:50.639 --> 00:11:00.500 And then in verse seven, morning has broken and his plant is going to be broken as well by this worm that God appoints. 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:01.819 So God appoints a worm. 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:05.120 It chews the plant in verse seven. 00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:11.639 And the plant withers and dies with the result that Jonah's shade is gone. 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:16.500 Not only that, when the sun rose in verse eight, 00:11:16.500 --> 00:11:24.320 God appointed or provided a scorching east wind, the kind of wind that has never been felt in Carigalheim. 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:27.019 It was scorching hot. 00:11:27.379 --> 00:11:29.240 And the sun blazed on Jonah's head. 00:11:29.299 --> 00:11:35.720 And for some reason, I can just imagine him sitting there, bawled and getting sunburnt on his head. 00:11:35.779 --> 00:11:36.860 No factor 40. 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:46.820 And you can nearly see the steam starting to come out of his ears once again as his anger rises over this situation. 00:11:48.680 --> 00:11:54.019 And he says it would be better in verse eight for me to die than to live. 00:11:55.560 --> 00:12:00.940 And again, God presses this question, the same question that he had back in verse four. 00:12:00.940 --> 00:12:05.960 Is it right for you to be angry this time about the plant? 00:12:07.700 --> 00:12:10.300 But back in verse four, Jonah didn't respond. 00:12:10.640 --> 00:12:12.520 But now Jonah does respond. 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:14.360 And he makes it very clear. 00:12:15.160 --> 00:12:18.580 Yes, it is right, he says in verse nine. 00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:20.760 And I am so angry. 00:12:20.980 --> 00:12:22.740 I wish I was dead. 00:12:23.580 --> 00:12:24.860 It is emphatic. 00:12:25.760 --> 00:12:29.760 And even in the circumstances, it is incredibly disrespectful. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:33.960 It is incredibly insolent towards God. 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:40.799 When you compare this to the way in which other prophets react to God, Isaiah in chapter six, 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:46.899 that he realizes just who he is in light of this incredible holy God. 00:12:47.439 --> 00:12:51.559 And yet Jonah answers back to God like a petty little child. 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:55.100 It is right for me to be angry about this plant. 00:12:55.819 --> 00:12:56.759 I'm so angry. 00:12:56.860 --> 00:12:57.919 I wish I were dead. 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:08.620 As I've read through Jonah and every time I read this chapter, I never really know whether to laugh or to cry at Jonah at this point. 00:13:08.839 --> 00:13:11.539 Because he has had a rough time of it. 00:13:11.599 --> 00:13:20.079 He's had the whole storm thing, the whole big fish thing, the whole Ninevites repenting and not getting destroyed like he wanted thing. 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:22.920 And he's been sleeping rough all night. 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:26.740 And his one apparent comfort in life has been taken away. 00:13:27.800 --> 00:13:36.120 It would be like as I brew my coffee on the counter and my elbow flies and knocks it all over the floor. 00:13:36.400 --> 00:13:38.759 My one comfort in life has taken away. 00:13:39.520 --> 00:13:40.600 And I am angry. 00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:45.540 He's angry that the Ninevites have not been destroyed. 00:13:45.680 --> 00:13:48.080 And he's angry that the plant has been destroyed. 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:51.940 And the question for us is, is it right for him to be angry about the Ninevites? 00:13:51.940 --> 00:13:55.200 And is it right for him to be angry about the plant? 00:13:55.420 --> 00:13:56.140 What do you think? 00:13:58.420 --> 00:14:02.440 Our third question is, should God be concerned about Nineveh? 00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:09.100 Well, God is indeed slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 00:14:09.100 --> 00:14:15.279 And he patiently makes the point abundantly clear to Jonah in verse 10. 00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:19.800 Jonah, you have been concerned about this plant. 00:14:20.560 --> 00:14:26.860 Though you did not tend it or make it grow, it sprang up overnight and died overnight. 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:38.000 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than 120,000 people and also many animals? 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:39.940 So what's the point? 00:14:40.100 --> 00:14:42.899 Is it that God is anti-plant? 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:46.480 That he doesn't like a nice leafy fern? 00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:47.700 I don't think it's that. 00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:52.379 I think the point is that, of course, Jonah should be concerned about the plant. 00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:53.139 That's okay. 00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:53.899 That's valid. 00:14:55.179 --> 00:14:59.340 But should he not be so much more concerned about this city? 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:05.940 120,000 people and many animals, all the commerce, all the business that was going on there, 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:12.060 all these souls destined for an eternity in God's anger. 00:15:14.460 --> 00:15:18.200 Should God not be concerned about Nineveh? 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:20.760 What do you think? 00:15:21.060 --> 00:15:22.920 Keeping in mind how evil they were. 00:15:24.920 --> 00:15:30.320 Our fourth question, is it right for God to be concerned about Jonah? 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:36.120 So God asks the question, should I not be concerned about Nineveh? 00:15:38.460 --> 00:15:40.160 And Jonah knows the answer. 00:15:40.280 --> 00:15:44.140 In theory, he knows the answer because he has said back in verse 2, 00:15:44.139 --> 00:15:52.139 I know that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:58.000 So in theory, Jonah knows, well, of course God is going to be concerned about Nineveh. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:13.840 What Jonah doesn't seem to realize, though, is that he is just as deeply in need of God's love and mercy and patience and steadfastness as the Ninevites are. 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:18.500 It's true that he hasn't killed a bunch of people like the Ninevites. 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:27.100 But if you picked up Jonah from under his plant and plonked him on the throne with the power and the authority to do it, 00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:31.840 do you think he would wait for one moment before wiping out Nineveh? 00:16:33.480 --> 00:16:40.480 Jonah doesn't seem to realize that he is just as deeply in need of God's love and compassion as the Ninevites. 00:16:41.299 --> 00:16:44.000 Think about what has happened in the story so far. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:50.000 The first thing that happens is that Jonah openly rebels against God and tries to go to Tarshish. 00:16:51.100 --> 00:16:52.799 And yet God is patient with him. 00:16:53.379 --> 00:16:58.419 The next thing that happens is that Jonah is on a boat with a load of people who don't know God. 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:03.480 And rather than sharing his faith with them, he falls asleep in the boat. 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:08.180 It would be right, I think, for God to be angry in that situation. 00:17:08.359 --> 00:17:10.480 And yet God is patient with him. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:15.740 The next thing that happens is that Jonah gets thrown into the sea. 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:20.400 And rather than plunge down to the depths, God provides a big fish to save him. 00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:23.900 It would be right, I think, at that point for God to let him go. 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:25.259 And yet God doesn't. 00:17:27.660 --> 00:17:30.000 Jonah preaches to the Ninevites. 00:17:30.460 --> 00:17:32.059 And there's a massive revival. 00:17:32.059 --> 00:17:38.980 And Jonah's reaction, rather than being overjoyed and thinking, how can we get these folk discipled, is, 00:17:39.460 --> 00:17:42.019 I really wish this hadn't happened. 00:17:42.299 --> 00:17:45.059 I am really angry about this. 00:17:46.139 --> 00:17:50.679 And God, rather than being impatient with Jonah, is patient. 00:17:51.379 --> 00:17:55.799 He could have squashed Jonah so many times so far in this book. 00:17:56.159 --> 00:17:57.700 But he doesn't let him drown. 00:17:58.440 --> 00:18:00.700 He gives him another go at the mission to Nineveh. 00:18:00.700 --> 00:18:04.680 He doesn't let him fry too much in the midday sun. 00:18:05.539 --> 00:18:16.240 And he doesn't let Jonah miss this point, that he is as much in need of God's patience and love and compassion as the Ninevites are. 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:23.019 So I wonder, who do you associate with in this story? 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:26.519 Do you put yourself in the shoes of the Ninevites? 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:29.160 Or in the shoes of Jonah? 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:35.160 Are you like the Ninevites who feel like they have done so many horrendous things, 00:18:35.259 --> 00:18:37.359 they don't need to be reminded twice. 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:45.059 And the minute that the opportunity to know God's love arises, they turn to him away from their evil ways. 00:18:46.279 --> 00:18:48.719 Or maybe you associate more with Jonah. 00:18:48.899 --> 00:18:52.659 You know in your mind that God is gracious and compassionate. 00:18:52.660 --> 00:18:59.640 But you're not entirely convinced that you're bad enough to need his love towards you. 00:19:00.420 --> 00:19:05.400 I think whoever's shoes you put yourself in, you're opposed to God. 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:06.900 You're an enemy of God. 00:19:07.800 --> 00:19:12.080 And that God has a right to be angry, whether it's with Jonah or with Nineveh. 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:16.519 He has a right to be angry with those who oppose him. 00:19:17.419 --> 00:19:19.879 But he is slow to anger. 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:29.099 And so we have a conundrum because neither Jonah nor the Ninevites deserve God's love. 00:19:31.179 --> 00:19:33.679 He has a right to be angry with both. 00:19:33.679 --> 00:19:36.019 And yet he is slow to anger. 00:19:36.659 --> 00:19:41.839 And so we wonder, how does God make his enemies into his friends? 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:46.859 I think this is what's at the heart of Jonah's anger at the start of chapter 4. 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:54.379 Is God going to just overlook all the horrendous things that the Ninevites have done to real people? 00:19:55.000 --> 00:20:00.460 Is God just going to overlook Jonah's rebellion against him throughout this book? 00:20:00.699 --> 00:20:02.059 Will he just ignore it? 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:04.939 Is that the kind of God that we know? 00:20:04.940 --> 00:20:16.279 When Paul the Apostle is writing to the church in Rome in the New Testament, he picks up on this very question. 00:20:17.019 --> 00:20:19.100 He is all too aware of this issue. 00:20:19.259 --> 00:20:22.400 How is God going to resolve this problem? 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:29.560 Because on the one hand, there are all these people, the whole human race, who are deserving of God's anger. 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:33.600 And yet on the other hand, God is slow to anger. 00:20:35.040 --> 00:20:40.240 On the one hand, you have all these people, the whole human race, who are enemies of God. 00:20:40.900 --> 00:20:44.920 And yet God is in the business of making friends out of his enemies. 00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:47.080 What's the solution? 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:58.279 Paul says that while we were enemies, and he's writing to the church, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God. 00:20:58.779 --> 00:21:00.440 And how does he say it happened? 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:02.860 Was it by God overlooking our sins? 00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:04.620 Turning a blind eye? 00:21:04.740 --> 00:21:06.960 Winking at the things that we have done? 00:21:07.080 --> 00:21:07.580 The rebellion? 00:21:07.579 --> 00:21:14.819 No, he says we were enemies, and we were reconciled to God by the death of Jesus. 00:21:17.179 --> 00:21:19.379 The Ninevites deserved to die. 00:21:19.679 --> 00:21:21.779 Jonah deserved to die. 00:21:21.919 --> 00:21:24.839 And we deserved to die. 00:21:24.839 --> 00:21:26.899 There is no doubt about it. 00:21:28.099 --> 00:21:33.179 But instead, in our stead, in our place, Jesus dies. 00:21:34.159 --> 00:21:36.000 And our sins aren't overlooked. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:40.380 The horrific things that the Ninevites have done are not overlooked. 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:43.559 Jonah's rebellion isn't overlooked. 00:21:44.819 --> 00:21:48.700 Jesus pays the price for all of those things. 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:56.019 As a result, we, God's enemies, are reconciled to him and made his friends. 00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:03.980 And even death is transformed into a door into his presence. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:12.839 The book of Jonah ends, as you've noticed, with a question mark. 00:22:12.839 --> 00:22:18.180 A massive font 72 size question mark. 00:22:18.380 --> 00:22:21.559 Should I not be concerned for Nineveh? 00:22:22.220 --> 00:22:24.559 And we never hear Jonah's answer. 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:25.819 I wonder what he said. 00:22:25.819 --> 00:22:31.639 It invites us to answer the question for us to enter into this story. 00:22:32.659 --> 00:22:36.179 By answering yes, you should be concerned. 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:41.039 We don't ignore the fact that the Ninevites are sinners any more than God ignores it. 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:46.179 But we know that he's in the business of making friends out of his enemies. 00:22:46.180 --> 00:22:50.799 By answering yes, you should be compassionate towards the Ninevites. 00:22:51.640 --> 00:23:00.600 We are acknowledging that we experience God's love for us as well, that we were once his enemies, that we have been reconciled to him. 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:07.559 By answering yes, God, you should be concerned for Nineveh, for Ireland, for Cork, for Carigalline. 00:23:07.899 --> 00:23:17.139 We are committing ourselves to the same cause of sharing with others the truth of how God makes friends out of his enemies. 00:23:17.140 --> 00:23:20.320 But here's the crucial thing. 00:23:20.420 --> 00:23:23.540 We don't primarily answer with our lips. 00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:26.340 We answer with our actions. 00:23:27.580 --> 00:23:31.920 You remember back in chapter 1, Jonah answered very clearly with his actions. 00:23:32.680 --> 00:23:35.300 The question is, should God be concerned for the Ninevites? 00:23:35.420 --> 00:23:39.140 And Jonah says, no, I'm going to Tarshish. 00:23:40.100 --> 00:23:43.060 Jonah answered with his actions, and we do the same. 00:23:43.059 --> 00:23:49.159 We say yes when we see others just like ourselves, in need of God's compassion. 00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:57.159 We say, yes, God, you should be concerned for Nineveh when we long to see others know God and turn away from their rebellion against him. 00:23:58.019 --> 00:24:05.500 We say yes when we realize that our greatest concern in life is to see others to come to know him as well. 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:17.160 We certainly answer yes when we don't allow fleeting material things like plants or like coffee take priority over people in our lives. 00:24:17.660 --> 00:24:25.019 We answer yes when we take the time, we make the effort, we make the sacrifice, and it is a sacrifice, 00:24:25.019 --> 00:24:32.740 to get to know people, to talk to them, to share our lives with them, invite them into the messiness of our own lives. 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:41.119 As we pray for them, we answer yes, you should be compassionate, God, and we too long to share that same compassion. 00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:48.379 I think it's an amazing thing that God has not just made us into his friends, 00:24:48.380 --> 00:24:54.300 but he invites us into this mission with this question, should I not be compassionate? 00:24:55.500 --> 00:25:02.360 It's a great and joyful thing for us to be able to answer yes, not just with our lips, but with our actions. 00:25:04.560 --> 00:25:05.260 Let's pray. 00:25:05.260 --> 00:25:05.280 Let's pray. 00:25:18.380 --> 00:25:29.500 Heavenly Father, you have made us your own, and we can call you Father because you have loved us, 00:25:29.620 --> 00:25:35.640 that we were enemies, but you have reconciled us to yourself by the death of Jesus, 00:25:36.500 --> 00:25:40.920 that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:48.200 Lord, help us to realize just how true that is, and help us to move from there, 00:25:48.380 --> 00:25:53.640 Lord, into rejoicing in your goodness towards us. 00:25:54.440 --> 00:26:00.740 And Lord, please help us to reflect your compassion to others this week. 00:26:01.300 --> 00:26:06.580 Lord, it is difficult, it is hard in the realities of life to make time, 00:26:06.700 --> 00:26:09.360 to make the effort for those around us. 00:26:09.780 --> 00:26:15.100 And Lord, so often we are rebuffed or we are turned away, 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:18.399 Lord, but we pray that you would help us to go, 00:26:18.879 --> 00:26:23.779 knowing that we share your love for people as we speak with them, 00:26:24.279 --> 00:26:26.119 and welcome them into our lives. 00:26:26.819 --> 00:26:30.079 Lord, we look forward to seeing what you are going to do. 00:26:30.599 --> 00:26:34.379 Lord, how you will continue to make more people your friends, 00:26:35.159 --> 00:26:38.539 Lord, who were your enemies as a result of what Christ has done. 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:43.740 We praise you for this, and we ask, Lord, that you would help us to worship you. 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:44.960 Amen. 00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:54.079 I think we are going to stand again and sing. 00:26:54.079 --> 00:27:03.399 We are indeed going to sing. 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:05.579 Thank you, Peter. 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:10.019 God so loved the world that he gave his son. 00:27:11.059 --> 00:27:13.059 His concern was for the nations, 00:27:13.559 --> 00:27:16.699 and he proved that concern by sending Jesus. 00:27:16.899 --> 00:27:18.599 So, as we sing this song, 00:27:19.179 --> 00:27:21.079 if we need to flick it on here, there we go. 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:22.779 So, as we sing this song, 00:27:22.859 --> 00:27:24.859 may it also be a prayer that 00:27:24.859 --> 00:27:30.579 God's concerns would become our priorities. 00:27:30.859 --> 00:27:33.159 God's concerns would become our priorities. 00:27:33.299 --> 00:27:34.539 May that be our prayer 00:27:34.539 --> 00:27:38.939 as we remind ourselves of God's amazing love to us. 00:27:38.939 --> 00:27:40.519 Let's stand together as we sing. 00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:57.599 May that we sing. 00:27:58.859 --> 00:28:01.559 May that be our prayer 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:07.099 Good night. 00:28:07.099 --> 00:28:08.799 May that we sing. 00:28:08.859 --> 00:28:09.339 Amen. 00:28:09.339 --> 00:28:09.960 Amen. 00:28:10.359 --> 00:28:11.199 Amen. 00:28:11.379 --> 00:28:12.659 Amen. 00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:17.099 Amen. 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:19.139 Amen. 00:28:19.139 --> 00:28:19.259 Amen. 00:28:20.639 --> 00:28:21.019 Amen.