WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.120
 Father, we know that no one is good enough to warrant going to heaven.

00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:12.359
 That as the Creed said, in a sense, whatever righteousness we have comes from Jesus, not from ourselves.

00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:18.960
 And to fulfill your good and perfect will is to put our faith and trust in Jesus, not as a work,

00:00:19.859 --> 00:00:24.280
 but as a fulfillment of the leading of your Holy Spirit and the desire of your heart,

00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:27.960
 that we might trust Jesus and him alone as our Savior and Lord.

00:00:28.400 --> 00:00:31.460
 Father, we ask that you would pour out the Holy Spirit upon us today,

00:00:31.660 --> 00:00:34.840
 that you would bring your word and touch our hearts,

00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:39.700
 that we might be disciples of Jesus who are gripped by the gospel, learning to live for your glory.

00:00:39.859 --> 00:00:42.439
 And this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

00:00:43.120 --> 00:00:44.019
 Please be seated.

00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:54.340
 So quite a few years ago, it's not one of my kids who are at church today,

00:00:54.340 --> 00:00:58.800
 but quite a few years ago, one of my children was in the car with my mom and dad,

00:00:58.840 --> 00:01:04.800
 and they were on the Queensway, and somebody cut my dad off, and my dad said,

00:01:04.939 --> 00:01:05.460
 what an idiot.

00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:12.620
 And my son, because it was a son, he piped in, I think he was like eight years old or something at the time,

00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:18.520
 my son piped in with just the innocence of a child and said, yeah, that guy's a jerk.

00:01:18.519 --> 00:01:23.060
 And then he continued, there's lots of jerks on the road.

00:01:23.459 --> 00:01:25.399
 My dad says that all the time.

00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:29.579
 As we're on the Queensway, he's always talking about all the jerks on the road.

00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:32.500
 Just complete level innocence.

00:01:33.019 --> 00:01:36.859
 And I, of course, just, my parents came and told me about it afterwards,

00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:38.739
 and I just wanted to cringe.

00:01:38.819 --> 00:01:44.060
 I didn't realize that I said I had an anger problem on the road.

00:01:44.060 --> 00:01:46.879
 That's a problem that other people have, not me.

00:01:47.460 --> 00:01:54.299
 But obviously, my children heard differently, and in a sense, it not condemned me.

00:01:54.379 --> 00:01:56.299
 It really challenged me about how I drove.

00:01:58.340 --> 00:02:02.659
 Today, we're going to talk about anger, amongst other things, but we're going to talk about anger.

00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:08.920
 And one of the things about anger is that often people like myself,

00:02:08.920 --> 00:02:12.980
 who have bouts of anger or maybe even constant low-level anger,

00:02:12.979 --> 00:02:17.119
 we don't recognize it in ourselves, but we think we see it in others.

00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:23.719
 It's often a sin or a fault, as I said, that we don't acknowledge ourselves as having,

00:02:24.339 --> 00:02:25.959
 but we think other people have.

00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:29.780
 One of the things, and that's actually one of the reasons why,

00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:35.419
 for old Christians, when they were coming up with ways to try to understand how to live a moral life,

00:02:36.019 --> 00:02:38.979
 they came up with this idea of the seven deadly sins.

00:02:38.979 --> 00:02:43.099
 And this is going to be a bit of a surprise to some of you if you are a guest,

00:02:43.219 --> 00:02:46.039
 but in the list of the seven deadly sins, lust was there,

00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:50.919
 but lust is the least deadly of the seven deadly sins.

00:02:51.899 --> 00:02:54.139
 And part of that, of course, is that,

00:02:54.239 --> 00:02:58.319
 I mean, I've told this story before.

00:02:58.659 --> 00:03:01.599
 I used to visit a man in a hospital who was 100 years old,

00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:03.259
 and we got talking about it someday or another,

00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:07.879
 and he just told me when you hit 100, lust isn't much of an issue in your life anymore,

00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:11.239
 not compared to when you were a 16-year-old male.

00:03:11.459 --> 00:03:15.219
 So that's one of the reasons it's a bit of a less deadly sin than some of the others,

00:03:15.579 --> 00:03:18.019
 because just with your body getting old and tired,

00:03:18.139 --> 00:03:20.039
 it just becomes a little bit less of an issue.

00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:25.739
 And the other thing about it is that often people know when they're filled with lust.

00:03:25.740 --> 00:03:31.540
 But just as one of the things that makes cancer so deadly is not only will it kill you,

00:03:31.640 --> 00:03:34.740
 but there's many forms of cancer that you don't know you have it

00:03:34.740 --> 00:03:37.360
 until it's too late to do anything about it.

00:03:38.340 --> 00:03:41.780
 So it is that anger and pride,

00:03:41.900 --> 00:03:45.860
 which in fact are the two most deadly of the seven deadly sins, pride and anger,

00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:50.300
 anger is a deadly sin because it will do great damage to our lives,

00:03:50.300 --> 00:03:54.780
 but at the same time we often don't recognize that we actually have an anger problem ourselves,

00:03:54.780 --> 00:03:56.020
 or anger-driven.

00:03:56.800 --> 00:04:00.060
 So today we're going to look at a famous story about anger in the Bible.

00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:01.979
 It was read earlier to us by Deborah.

00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:05.719
 If you don't have a copy of a Bible to look, there'll be a text up on the screen.

00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:08.139
 But it's always good to bring your own Bible to church

00:04:08.139 --> 00:04:11.420
 and be able to make little notes on it as we go through and talk about this text.

00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:14.379
 So we're going to be looking at Jonah chapter 4,

00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:16.620
 and we're going to be looking at,

00:04:16.620 --> 00:04:19.000
 and for some reason I also have it open to Micah,

00:04:19.379 --> 00:04:23.579
 we'll turn to Jonah, Jonah chapter 4, just these four verses.

00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:25.579
 And if you're curious about why we're doing this,

00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:28.459
 one of the things we do at Church of the Messiah is we preach through books of the Bible,

00:04:28.539 --> 00:04:29.579
 we're preaching through Jonah.

00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:32.120
 And a good way to understand the book of Jonah

00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:37.620
 is to compare it to watching a good BBC series on Netflix or Crave

00:04:37.620 --> 00:04:40.299
 or whatever it is that you happen to subscribe to.

00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:43.579
 And in a really good BBC series,

00:04:43.819 --> 00:04:46.699
 what you'll do is it tells you one story,

00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:51.479
 but it tells you one story by telling maybe four or six or eight or ten stories,

00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:52.360
 whatever the number is.

00:04:52.660 --> 00:04:55.120
 In this particular case, there's four separate stories.

00:04:55.259 --> 00:04:56.379
 Think of them as episodes.

00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:58.939
 And each episode is a story,

00:04:59.180 --> 00:05:01.500
 but when you talk all four of them together,

00:05:01.500 --> 00:05:03.900
 it tells you a very different, like it's nuanced.

00:05:04.540 --> 00:05:06.840
 And we're not going to look at all of episode 4 today.

00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:08.860
 We're going to break episode 4 into two parts.

00:05:08.960 --> 00:05:11.640
 We're just going to look at the first part of episode 4, so to speak,

00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:14.140
 4A, and then next week we'll look at 4B.

00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:16.560
 And just if you're not familiar with the story,

00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:21.079
 what's happened in episode 1, God shows up and speaks to Jonah

00:05:21.079 --> 00:05:25.319
 and tells Jonah he has to go to Nineveh and proclaim a message.

00:05:26.019 --> 00:05:31.280
 And Nineveh was the major power of the ancient Near East at that time.

00:05:31.420 --> 00:05:34.199
 Israel, which is where Jonah was from, was a vassal state.

00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:37.860
 They'd been conquered by Assyria and had to pay tribute.

00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:39.519
 And God says to Jonah,

00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:42.980
 go to Nineveh, the capital, and proclaim this message against him.

00:05:42.980 --> 00:05:45.759
 And Jonah reacts by saying, I'm not going to do it.

00:05:45.780 --> 00:05:48.140
 I'm going to get as far away from God as I can

00:05:48.140 --> 00:05:49.860
 and as far away from Nineveh as I can.

00:05:50.300 --> 00:05:53.360
 And of course, the rest of episode 1 is what most people think of

00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:54.319
 when they think of Jonah.

00:05:55.100 --> 00:05:56.480
 There's a huge storm,

00:05:56.900 --> 00:05:59.980
 and he ends up that Jonah gets thrown overboard

00:05:59.980 --> 00:06:04.660
 to stop the storm by the pagan soldiers with Jonah's permission.

00:06:05.319 --> 00:06:07.939
 And in a sense, episode 1 ends with a cliffhanger.

00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:12.580
 The storm stops, so the pagans got it right.

00:06:12.980 --> 00:06:14.500
 And Jonah's sinking into the water.

00:06:14.939 --> 00:06:17.220
 Episode 2, that's how you want to watch episode 2.

00:06:17.280 --> 00:06:18.160
 What happens to Jonah?

00:06:18.259 --> 00:06:22.080
 Episode 2, God appoints a huge aquatic beast

00:06:22.080 --> 00:06:25.540
 to show up just as Jonah's about to die in the water.

00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:28.420
 The huge aquatic beast swallows Jonah,

00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:31.860
 takes him right into the entrails, the intestines.

00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:36.980
 And chapter 2 is Jonah's, in a sense, reflection and summary

00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:41.379
 upon what it was like to be in the belly of a great aquatic beast

00:06:41.379 --> 00:06:43.259
 for that period of time.

00:06:43.300 --> 00:06:45.259
 And he ends up putting it in the form of a prayer.

00:06:45.400 --> 00:06:48.420
 And it's really a form of a prayer about how he comes to realize

00:06:48.420 --> 00:06:52.620
 that the Lord is merciful, slow to anger, filled with compassion,

00:06:52.620 --> 00:06:55.360
 and that the Lord has delivered him.

00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:59.200
 And Jonah's filled with gratefulness.

00:06:59.620 --> 00:07:00.939
 How does episode 2 end?

00:07:00.939 --> 00:07:05.759
 In a way that humbles Jonah, Jonah is vomited onto the land

00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:07.240
 by the great aquatic beast.

00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:12.779
 If you're vomited by a fish, that would be a humbling experience for you.

00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:15.300
 So, episode 3, what's going to happen next?

00:07:15.379 --> 00:07:18.899
 Well, in episode 3, we find Jonah actually showing up in Nineveh.

00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:22.000
 And Jonah goes throughout Nineveh proclaiming,

00:07:22.459 --> 00:07:26.199
 in 40 days, the Lord is going to overthrow you.

00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:29.879
 And the word overthrow is the same word that's used about Sodom and Gomorrah,

00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:31.620
 how they're completely destroyed.

00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:34.300
 So, Jonah proclaims this message.

00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:40.459
 And lo and behold, everybody in Nineveh, the capital city, repents.

00:07:40.539 --> 00:07:41.480
 The king repents.

00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:42.500
 The nobles repent.

00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:43.800
 The people repent.

00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:45.099
 Everybody repents.

00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:47.939
 And as a result, the Lord sees their repentance,

00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:50.719
 and he stays his judgment.

00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:54.159
 Now, here's the question.

00:07:54.159 --> 00:07:55.519
 We have episode 4.

00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:58.259
 What on earth could go on in episode 4?

00:07:58.500 --> 00:08:01.959
 If you think about it, this is the perfect Hollywood movie.

00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:04.539
 It's the type of Hollywood movie that people like to watch.

00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:07.159
 Hollywood movie that people like to watch,

00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:11.319
 it would be as if, from your point of view, it's a J, right?

00:08:11.599 --> 00:08:13.879
 In a good Hollywood movie, you begin up here.

00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:15.899
 Some type of crisis happens.

00:08:16.019 --> 00:08:17.000
 You're all being defeated.

00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:18.180
 Everything's going.

00:08:18.979 --> 00:08:21.399
 It looks like it's just going to be disaster and tragedy.

00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:23.399
 But then, things conclude.

00:08:24.219 --> 00:08:26.560
 And at the end, you're higher up than when you began.

00:08:27.099 --> 00:08:31.159
 And in a good Hollywood movie, I just watched Hunter Killer, a not very good movie on Netflix.

00:08:31.620 --> 00:08:32.319
 How does it end?

00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:35.620
 Classic American ending of a J story.

00:08:35.620 --> 00:08:39.279
 Everybody's clapping because the good guys win.

00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:40.759
 The bad guys die.

00:08:40.899 --> 00:08:42.240
 High fives, hugs.

00:08:42.779 --> 00:08:43.419
 Everything's going.

00:08:43.799 --> 00:08:47.080
 And in a good Hollywood movie, it either ends up that the guy gets the girl,

00:08:47.179 --> 00:08:49.299
 or the girl gets the guy, and they ride off into the sunset,

00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:52.000
 or there's applause, or there's both, or there's all of that type of stuff.

00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:53.440
 Lord of the Rings, it has it all.

00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:56.620
 The wedding, and of course, the applause and the ceremony.

00:08:56.620 --> 00:09:01.539
 So you think, Jonah should end with chapter three, but there's episode four,

00:09:01.639 --> 00:09:02.879
 which we're going to do in two parts.

00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:03.500
 Why?

00:09:03.820 --> 00:09:06.600
 Because Jonah is like the movie The Sixth Sense.

00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:10.519
 And if you haven't seen the movie The Sixth Sense, I'm not going to give you a spoiler.

00:09:10.980 --> 00:09:14.840
 I did that in another sermon, and a couple of people told me off for it.

00:09:15.060 --> 00:09:18.100
 What I can tell you is if you watch The Sixth Sense,

00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:21.500
 something happens in the last three or four minutes of the movie

00:09:21.500 --> 00:09:25.519
 that makes you reconsider everything that went on in the entire movie.

00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:29.159
 It completely and utterly blows the whole storyline away.

00:09:29.299 --> 00:09:32.679
 You have to rethink everything that you saw, and that's what's going to happen in Jonah.

00:09:33.100 --> 00:09:34.679
 And here is how it begins to happen.

00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:38.039
 It happens with three questions in terms of what happens to Jonah.

00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:39.539
 So chapter four, verse one,

00:09:40.699 --> 00:09:44.819
 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.

00:09:45.059 --> 00:09:46.019
 And just sort of pause.

00:09:46.439 --> 00:09:47.740
 Very, very good translation.

00:09:48.519 --> 00:09:52.799
 But what it actually says in the original language is far worse.

00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:59.039
 They can't actually indicate the full depth of what's being communicated in the original language.

00:09:59.859 --> 00:10:03.539
 It says displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.

00:10:03.659 --> 00:10:09.139
 What it says is it was a catastrophe to Jonah what had happened.

00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:11.519
 A great catastrophe.

00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:14.359
 And it burned him.

00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:24.019
 The word for anger there is actually that he's so consumed, he's burning with anger at the great catastrophe which has just happened.

00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:30.539
 Remember the great catastrophe is that the people of Nineveh listened to his preaching, repented,

00:10:31.100 --> 00:10:38.659
 called out to the Lord for mercy, to God for mercy, and God stayed his judgment against them.

00:10:38.659 --> 00:10:42.219
 And to Jonah, this is a huge catastrophe.

00:10:42.740 --> 00:10:47.939
 And it's such a huge catastrophe that he's completely and utterly burned up with anger.

00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:53.139
 So, well, why is he so filled with anger?

00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:55.399
 Well, that's what verse two begins to tell us about.

00:10:55.480 --> 00:10:56.379
 And look at verse two.

00:10:57.240 --> 00:10:59.240
 So Jonah prayed to the Lord and said,

00:10:59.459 --> 00:11:02.959
 Oh Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?

00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:04.480
 That's in chapter one.

00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:09.580
 That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish.

00:11:10.379 --> 00:11:11.120
 Chapter one.

00:11:11.680 --> 00:11:25.360
 For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster, from catastrophe, from calamity.

00:11:25.580 --> 00:11:29.200
 That's the different ways that that word disaster could be translated.

00:11:29.980 --> 00:11:31.539
 So why is he angry?

00:11:31.539 --> 00:11:34.599
 He's angry that Nineveh was spared.

00:11:36.139 --> 00:11:38.759
 He's angry that Nineveh was spared.

00:11:39.860 --> 00:11:45.539
 And all of a sudden, and his great anger shows how much he hated Nineveh.

00:11:46.599 --> 00:11:54.559
 You see, one of the reasons why anger is considered a bad thing by almost everybody in Canada

00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:59.519
 is that anger is a very, very, very quick road to hatred.

00:12:00.839 --> 00:12:09.799
 And not only is anger a very quick road to hatred, anger is a very effective way to maintain and deepen hatred.

00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:21.659
 And that's amongst other reasons why it's generally viewed as being a bad thing, even in our culture today, that anger is a bad thing.

00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:23.159
 We're going to talk more about it in a moment.

00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:25.919
 But all of a sudden, you realize, one moment.

00:12:26.699 --> 00:12:30.039
 So, in fact, sometimes if you hear people talk about the story of Jonah,

00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:36.039
 they'll describe that the reason that Jonah left and didn't want to go to Nineveh was because he was afraid.

00:12:36.659 --> 00:12:43.500
 Because Nineveh would sort of be like going to Tehran and telling the leaders to repent or something like that.

00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:47.759
 It would be going to the capital of North Korea and telling the leader to repent.

00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:49.439
 And people will often use those analogies.

00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:51.240
 But that's not actually what the text says.

00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:53.700
 He didn't want to...

00:12:53.700 --> 00:12:57.039
 The reason he ran away from the thing wasn't because he was afraid,

00:12:57.379 --> 00:13:03.980
 but because he was worried that God would listen, that they would repent and God would listen,

00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:05.360
 and they wouldn't all die.

00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:08.779
 Jonah wanted them to all die.

00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:11.200
 He wanted God to kill them.

00:13:13.340 --> 00:13:14.200
 And whoa!

00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:17.139
 Well, that changes your reading of the first thing.

00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:22.100
 Like, do the pagans there, who were all, like, sort of trying to be nice to Jonah in that first story,

00:13:22.139 --> 00:13:23.960
 do they realize how much he hates pagans?

00:13:24.539 --> 00:13:25.340
 They don't.

00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:29.419
 And then in chapter 2, where all of a sudden God saves Jonah,

00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:30.840
 now you go to yourself,

00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:34.319
 why on earth did God save a guy who's so filled with hate?

00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:37.019
 And then you go to chapter 3,

00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:38.539
 and then you think to yourself,

00:13:38.980 --> 00:13:44.019
 why is it that God used a guy who's so filled with hate so successfully?

00:13:44.860 --> 00:13:46.559
 Like, if you're a guy like me,

00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:48.519
 and I, you know, I have some anger issues,

00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:50.339
 but I, you know, generally I try to fight against him,

00:13:50.359 --> 00:13:51.299
 I don't have that success.

00:13:51.419 --> 00:13:54.519
 So, God, why is it that Jonah has this success,

00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:55.959
 and he's filled with hatred,

00:13:56.199 --> 00:13:57.679
 and I'm trying to do a good job,

00:13:57.719 --> 00:14:00.339
 and I don't have anything even remotely close to his success?

00:14:00.539 --> 00:14:02.579
 Like, what on earth is going on with the whole story?

00:14:02.659 --> 00:14:04.639
 You see, all of a sudden, it's like the sixth sense.

00:14:04.719 --> 00:14:06.679
 It changes the way you look at all the earlier stories,

00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:08.379
 when you see that Jonah

00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:11.159
 actually did not want to go to Nineveh,

00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:12.480
 because he was worried

00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:15.039
 that if he went and did what he was supposed to do,

00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:16.659
 that God wouldn't kill them all.

00:14:18.179 --> 00:14:19.539
 And then some of you might think,

00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:20.339
 some of you have heard me,

00:14:20.439 --> 00:14:21.360
 if you've been here before,

00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:24.419
 I like saying that in conversations,

00:14:24.579 --> 00:14:27.159
 when it can come up with a non-Christian,

00:14:27.319 --> 00:14:30.339
 I like to tell them that I don't believe in the God of Canadians.

00:14:30.339 --> 00:14:33.000
 I don't believe the same God that most Canadians believe in.

00:14:33.659 --> 00:14:35.939
 I believe in a different God altogether,

00:14:35.940 --> 00:14:40.420
 and then I go and try to describe the difference between the gods.

00:14:41.060 --> 00:14:42.220
 For many Canadians,

00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:44.800
 if it's not a deistic God or an impersonal force,

00:14:44.900 --> 00:14:49.180
 they worry that the God is like bloodthirsty.

00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:50.880
 I've shared this with you before,

00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:52.860
 that the God they're afraid of exists,

00:14:52.920 --> 00:14:53.740
 and they don't want to believe,

00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:56.020
 is a God who likes to have people die.

00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:57.560
 He likes to kill people.

00:14:57.640 --> 00:14:58.460
 He's bloodthirsty.

00:14:58.460 --> 00:14:59.180
 And I tell them,

00:14:59.300 --> 00:15:00.760
 the God that I believe exists,

00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:02.040
 that's revealed by Jesus,

00:15:02.400 --> 00:15:04.100
 isn't a God that likes to kill people,

00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:06.300
 but a God who died for people.

00:15:06.700 --> 00:15:07.680
 The complete opposite.

00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:10.100
 So maybe that's what's going on here with Jonah.

00:15:10.279 --> 00:15:12.060
 But no, that's not what's going on with Jonah.

00:15:12.180 --> 00:15:14.620
 Jonah has a very, very, very, very good

00:15:14.620 --> 00:15:17.720
 Orthodox Old Testament, New Testament view of God.

00:15:17.800 --> 00:15:19.920
 Look again at what he says in verse 2.

00:15:20.420 --> 00:15:21.740
 How does he describe God?

00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:25.620
 I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful,

00:15:25.620 --> 00:15:29.019
 slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love

00:15:29.019 --> 00:15:31.160
 and relenting from disaster.

00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:33.860
 Like that's bang on.

00:15:34.560 --> 00:15:35.720
 And it's really puzzling.

00:15:35.820 --> 00:15:38.100
 If you go back later on and you read Exodus 34,

00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:40.940
 the same words are used to describe God.

00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:43.019
 But these very descriptions of God,

00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:45.600
 that he is gracious, merciful,

00:15:45.820 --> 00:15:47.800
 slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,

00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:51.159
 that's the entire basis of the writer's hope.

00:15:51.800 --> 00:15:53.240
 Because the nation of Israel,

00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:55.259
 after they had been delivered out of bondage

00:15:55.259 --> 00:15:56.519
 and slavery into Egypt,

00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:58.379
 and they're on the way,

00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:00.840
 and even though they've done all these terrible things,

00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:02.320
 they refuse to obey God,

00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:03.440
 and they create idols.

00:16:03.980 --> 00:16:06.400
 And the writer, it's Moses, is saying,

00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:08.120
 the whole reason I have any hope

00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:13.360
 is because you are gracious, merciful,

00:16:13.520 --> 00:16:15.300
 slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love,

00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:16.280
 and relent from disaster.

00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:18.040
 Go read the book of Lamentations,

00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:19.500
 a very, very wonderful book.

00:16:19.540 --> 00:16:21.320
 And if you read at the very heart of Lamentations,

00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:22.260
 in chapter 3,

00:16:22.259 --> 00:16:24.179
 for the first 20 verses,

00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:25.819
 it's our memory verse this week,

00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:27.960
 it's 21 to 23 in Lamentations 3.

00:16:28.019 --> 00:16:29.220
 It's a great verse to memorize.

00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:32.159
 And all these things that the person has done wrong,

00:16:32.259 --> 00:16:33.480
 and the nation has gone wrong,

00:16:33.580 --> 00:16:34.279
 and then it comes,

00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:36.139
 the whole basis of my hope

00:16:36.139 --> 00:16:38.179
 is that

00:16:38.179 --> 00:16:39.740
 you are a gracious God,

00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:40.179
 and merciful,

00:16:40.379 --> 00:16:40.939
 slow to anger,

00:16:41.019 --> 00:16:42.100
 and abounding in steadfast love,

00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:43.080
 and relent from disaster.

00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:43.919
 But this

00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:46.340
 is why Jonah

00:16:46.340 --> 00:16:46.899
 Jonah

00:16:46.899 --> 00:16:48.540
 is angry at God

00:16:48.540 --> 00:16:49.220
 and hates him.

00:16:53.420 --> 00:16:53.660
 In fact,

00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:54.000
 you know,

00:16:54.139 --> 00:16:55.540
 there's something

00:16:55.540 --> 00:16:56.700
 which is going to be really interesting

00:16:56.700 --> 00:16:57.980
 that happens in the next verse.

00:16:58.740 --> 00:16:59.379
 Just remember,

00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:00.940
 this text of Scripture

00:17:00.940 --> 00:17:01.899
 was probably written

00:17:01.899 --> 00:17:04.620
 around the year 755 B.C.

00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:06.700
 755,

00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:08.720
 758 B.C.

00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:09.500
 So 20,

00:17:09.620 --> 00:17:11.200
 almost 2,800 years ago.

00:17:11.799 --> 00:17:13.299
 One of the interesting things about it

00:17:13.299 --> 00:17:14.200
 is this text

00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:15.100
 in the story

00:17:15.099 --> 00:17:16.539
 brings out something

00:17:16.539 --> 00:17:17.779
 that modern psychology

00:17:17.779 --> 00:17:19.319
 discovered in quotation marks,

00:17:19.419 --> 00:17:20.199
 which is the connection

00:17:20.199 --> 00:17:21.639
 between depression and anger.

00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:23.839
 Look what happens in verse 3.

00:17:24.659 --> 00:17:24.679
 So,

00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:28.079
 Jonah's burning with anger.

00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:29.839
 Whether he recognizes it or not,

00:17:29.919 --> 00:17:30.959
 we don't know.

00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:32.539
 But verse 3,

00:17:32.619 --> 00:17:33.859
 Therefore now, O Lord,

00:17:34.299 --> 00:17:36.419
 please take my life from me,

00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:38.339
 for it is better for me

00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:39.699
 to die than to live.

00:17:39.959 --> 00:17:41.139
 That's a perfect description

00:17:41.139 --> 00:17:41.740
 of depression.

00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:43.259
 I just want to,

00:17:43.659 --> 00:17:44.359
 depressed,

00:17:44.359 --> 00:17:45.399
 I just want to fall asleep

00:17:45.399 --> 00:17:46.159
 and not wake up.

00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:50.959
 Many people commit suicide.

00:17:51.459 --> 00:17:52.119
 They want to die.

00:17:52.179 --> 00:17:53.419
 They'd rather die than live.

00:17:53.500 --> 00:17:55.879
 It's a very powerful description

00:17:55.879 --> 00:17:56.559
 of depression

00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:57.939
 in this text

00:17:57.939 --> 00:17:59.979
 written in 755 B.C.

00:18:01.859 --> 00:18:02.479
 So how does,

00:18:02.579 --> 00:18:03.859
 how does the Lord respond?

00:18:05.299 --> 00:18:06.000
 Verse 4,

00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:07.639
 And the Lord said,

00:18:08.179 --> 00:18:09.000
 now,

00:18:09.139 --> 00:18:09.979
 this is very interesting.

00:18:10.039 --> 00:18:10.899
 It's a good translation.

00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:11.620
 You know,

00:18:11.660 --> 00:18:12.100
 one of the things

00:18:12.100 --> 00:18:12.500
 when you're going

00:18:12.500 --> 00:18:13.660
 from one language to another,

00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:14.620
 I know there's people here,

00:18:14.700 --> 00:18:15.519
 lots of people here

00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:16.800
 who know multiple languages,

00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:20.580
 and you know the experience

00:18:20.580 --> 00:18:21.660
 of trying to translate

00:18:21.660 --> 00:18:22.940
 from one language to another.

00:18:23.280 --> 00:18:24.340
 Two summers ago,

00:18:24.820 --> 00:18:25.800
 I was in Angola,

00:18:26.280 --> 00:18:27.080
 and I got,

00:18:27.240 --> 00:18:28.200
 I had this great honor.

00:18:28.420 --> 00:18:29.040
 I was on the edge

00:18:29.040 --> 00:18:30.080
 of the Kalahari Desert,

00:18:30.080 --> 00:18:30.940
 and I got to preach

00:18:30.940 --> 00:18:31.920
 at a mission statement

00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:33.700
 to a semi-nomadic tribe

00:18:33.700 --> 00:18:35.360
 that was just beginning

00:18:35.360 --> 00:18:36.539
 to hear the gospel,

00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:37.940
 and I got to preach to them,

00:18:38.440 --> 00:18:39.860
 and it was a great honor.

00:18:40.180 --> 00:18:40.819
 When I spoke,

00:18:40.940 --> 00:18:42.360
 I really had to work on it.

00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:43.620
 I really tried to pray

00:18:43.620 --> 00:18:44.559
 about how to make

00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:46.019
 cultural connections with them,

00:18:46.100 --> 00:18:46.480
 and I, you know,

00:18:46.519 --> 00:18:47.160
 how could I do that?

00:18:47.180 --> 00:18:47.920
 I didn't know them very,

00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:48.420
 at all,

00:18:49.059 --> 00:18:50.059
 and I had to preach

00:18:50.059 --> 00:18:52.019
 simply from the Bible,

00:18:52.340 --> 00:18:53.440
 and every time I said

00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:54.140
 a few words,

00:18:54.180 --> 00:18:54.900
 it would be translated

00:18:54.900 --> 00:18:55.500
 in Portuguese,

00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:56.620
 and it would be translated

00:18:56.620 --> 00:18:59.420
 into the tribal language,

00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:00.340
 because many of them

00:19:00.340 --> 00:19:01.080
 spoke Portuguese,

00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:03.100
 and one of the things

00:19:03.099 --> 00:19:03.559
 I wanted to do

00:19:03.559 --> 00:19:04.019
 at the beginning

00:19:04.019 --> 00:19:04.659
 was just to try

00:19:04.659 --> 00:19:05.139
 to describe

00:19:05.139 --> 00:19:06.039
 how different I was

00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:06.399
 from them,

00:19:06.439 --> 00:19:07.139
 and I'd looked up

00:19:07.139 --> 00:19:08.059
 how much snow

00:19:08.059 --> 00:19:08.919
 we had in Ottawa

00:19:08.919 --> 00:19:09.639
 the year before,

00:19:10.519 --> 00:19:12.339
 and so I said to them

00:19:12.339 --> 00:19:14.500
 that where I come from

00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:15.419
 last winter,

00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:16.879
 we had three meters

00:19:16.879 --> 00:19:18.000
 of snow,

00:19:18.740 --> 00:19:20.419
 and they translated

00:19:20.419 --> 00:19:21.240
 into Portuguese,

00:19:22.119 --> 00:19:23.099
 and then all of a sudden,

00:19:23.199 --> 00:19:24.259
 there was a five-minute

00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:26.480
 discussion amongst them,

00:19:26.779 --> 00:19:28.339
 because, of course,

00:19:28.379 --> 00:19:29.119
 they had no word

00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:29.699
 for snow,

00:19:30.019 --> 00:19:30.699
 and they were trying

00:19:30.699 --> 00:19:31.500
 to think of what word

00:19:31.500 --> 00:19:32.619
 they could give for snow,

00:19:32.619 --> 00:19:33.139
 and they ended up

00:19:33.139 --> 00:19:34.179
 coming up with ice,

00:19:34.619 --> 00:19:35.939
 which just made

00:19:35.939 --> 00:19:36.839
 the whole room look,

00:19:37.639 --> 00:19:38.399
 how could there be

00:19:38.399 --> 00:19:40.119
 three meters of ice

00:19:40.119 --> 00:19:41.259
 that lands on him?

00:19:41.379 --> 00:19:41.559
 I mean,

00:19:41.619 --> 00:19:42.479
 it was, anyway,

00:19:42.959 --> 00:19:43.819
 but so when you translate,

00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:44.859
 there's some issues.

00:19:44.959 --> 00:19:45.500
 This is a perfect,

00:19:45.639 --> 00:19:46.979
 but in the original Hebrew,

00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:47.859
 it's very powerful.

00:19:48.019 --> 00:19:48.819
 There's two senses

00:19:48.819 --> 00:19:49.899
 in the original Hebrew

00:19:49.899 --> 00:19:50.819
 when it says here,

00:19:51.259 --> 00:19:52.500
 do you well to be angry?

00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:53.179
 The one is,

00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:54.119
 is in a sense,

00:19:54.199 --> 00:19:54.959
 the Lord asks,

00:19:55.159 --> 00:19:55.899
 in Hebrew,

00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:56.899
 it's just three words,

00:19:56.979 --> 00:19:57.359
 actually,

00:19:57.819 --> 00:19:59.519
 and what he says is,

00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:00.299
 is it right for you

00:20:00.299 --> 00:20:00.900
 to be angry?

00:20:02.099 --> 00:20:02.839
 Great question.

00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:03.940
 Is it right that you're

00:20:03.940 --> 00:20:04.720
 so angry

00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:07.259
 that I stayed judgment

00:20:07.259 --> 00:20:08.740
 on this city,

00:20:09.379 --> 00:20:10.879
 that I didn't do

00:20:10.879 --> 00:20:11.700
 Sodom and Gomorrah

00:20:11.700 --> 00:20:12.119
 on this city?

00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:12.900
 Is it right for you

00:20:12.900 --> 00:20:13.359
 to be that?

00:20:13.819 --> 00:20:15.000
 And the other thing is,

00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:15.720
 it's actually

00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:16.619
 a searching question.

00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:19.719
 I remember being really,

00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:21.979
 really being angry,

00:20:22.399 --> 00:20:23.099
 short-tempered,

00:20:23.219 --> 00:20:24.719
 not realizing I was angry

00:20:24.719 --> 00:20:25.599
 and short-tempered,

00:20:25.799 --> 00:20:27.479
 and the person I was with

00:20:27.479 --> 00:20:27.879
 said,

00:20:28.959 --> 00:20:30.119
 they knew me very well.

00:20:30.399 --> 00:20:30.819
 They said,

00:20:31.179 --> 00:20:31.819
 George,

00:20:32.259 --> 00:20:32.879
 you're grumpy,

00:20:33.199 --> 00:20:33.500
 angry,

00:20:33.659 --> 00:20:34.419
 and short-tempered.

00:20:34.519 --> 00:20:35.259
 We've got to get you

00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:36.239
 something to eat

00:20:36.239 --> 00:20:38.539
 because they knew

00:20:38.539 --> 00:20:39.519
 that if I had something to eat,

00:20:39.539 --> 00:20:40.139
 I'd be a little bit

00:20:40.139 --> 00:20:41.279
 less grumpy and angry,

00:20:41.459 --> 00:20:42.299
 which was true.

00:20:42.500 --> 00:20:43.359
 I didn't recognize

00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:44.259
 I was feeling grumpy

00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:44.679
 and angry.

00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:45.559
 They did,

00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:47.700
 and so the other thing,

00:20:47.779 --> 00:20:48.460
 so the first thing

00:20:48.460 --> 00:20:49.019
 that God says,

00:20:49.099 --> 00:20:49.419
 in a sense,

00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:50.159
 with the Hebrew,

00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:50.919
 has this wonderful

00:20:50.919 --> 00:20:51.619
 double sense.

00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:52.759
 Is it right for you

00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:53.519
 to be so angry?

00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:54.960
 And the other thing is,

00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:55.839
 do you realize

00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:57.319
 how thoroughly,

00:20:57.619 --> 00:20:57.940
 deeply,

00:20:58.139 --> 00:20:59.299
 completely angry

00:20:59.299 --> 00:20:59.960
 you are?

00:21:03.859 --> 00:21:04.980
 Do you realize it?

00:21:05.419 --> 00:21:06.379
 That's the two senses

00:21:06.379 --> 00:21:07.019
 of this great,

00:21:07.679 --> 00:21:09.159
 these three words

00:21:09.159 --> 00:21:10.139
 in history.

00:21:11.079 --> 00:21:11.359
 So,

00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:12.679
 let's try to bring

00:21:12.679 --> 00:21:13.460
 this whole text

00:21:13.460 --> 00:21:14.279
 home to us,

00:21:14.359 --> 00:21:14.759
 to you and me,

00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:15.419
 now that we sort of

00:21:15.420 --> 00:21:16.519
 understand the story.

00:21:17.860 --> 00:21:18.240
 So,

00:21:18.340 --> 00:21:18.420
 here,

00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:18.940
 I'm going to do

00:21:18.940 --> 00:21:19.940
 a simple test

00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:20.500
 because,

00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:21.200
 remember I said

00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:22.019
 how one of the problems

00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:22.700
 with anger

00:21:22.700 --> 00:21:24.100
 is that we tend

00:21:24.100 --> 00:21:24.740
 to think of all

00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:25.440
 the other people

00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:26.480
 that it applies to.

00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:28.039
 So,

00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:28.560
 imagine,

00:21:29.420 --> 00:21:30.039
 now you guys

00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:30.680
 have to figure out

00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:31.320
 which category

00:21:31.320 --> 00:21:31.840
 you're in,

00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:32.259
 okay?

00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:33.420
 You're driving

00:21:33.420 --> 00:21:34.279
 home today

00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:36.300
 and whatever it is,

00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:37.240
 Apple News

00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:37.860
 or whatever it is,

00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:38.400
 but somehow,

00:21:38.759 --> 00:21:39.600
 you're driving

00:21:39.600 --> 00:21:40.039
 with somebody,

00:21:40.100 --> 00:21:40.820
 they get a tweet

00:21:40.820 --> 00:21:42.240
 and they tell you

00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:42.900
 what's going on

00:21:42.900 --> 00:21:44.000
 and they tell you

00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:45.220
 of some terrible,

00:21:45.460 --> 00:21:45.940
 stupid,

00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:47.080
 evil decision

00:21:47.080 --> 00:21:48.200
 that Donald Trump

00:21:48.200 --> 00:21:48.720
 made

00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:51.560
 or Doug Ford

00:21:51.560 --> 00:21:52.960
 just to be Canadian

00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:54.400
 and they tell you,

00:21:54.620 --> 00:21:55.180
 did you hear

00:21:55.180 --> 00:21:55.820
 the terrible,

00:21:56.259 --> 00:21:56.540
 Doug,

00:21:56.920 --> 00:21:58.500
 Trump just did this.

00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:01.019
 Can you believe it?

00:22:01.420 --> 00:22:01.940
 Or,

00:22:02.060 --> 00:22:02.900
 the rest of you,

00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:04.780
 it's Trudeau.

00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:06.380
 You're driving home

00:22:06.380 --> 00:22:07.820
 and they just get

00:22:07.820 --> 00:22:09.260
 some news announcement

00:22:09.260 --> 00:22:10.240
 of this terrible,

00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:10.840
 terrible,

00:22:11.040 --> 00:22:11.860
 terrible thing

00:22:11.860 --> 00:22:13.240
 that Trudeau just did.

00:22:14.060 --> 00:22:14.320
 Now,

00:22:14.340 --> 00:22:15.160
 that's not the test.

00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:16.900
 The test is tomorrow

00:22:16.900 --> 00:22:18.440
 in the afternoon,

00:22:18.760 --> 00:22:20.100
 there's a news item

00:22:20.100 --> 00:22:21.080
 to say,

00:22:21.980 --> 00:22:22.660
 we apologize

00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:24.380
 for that last newscast.

00:22:25.600 --> 00:22:26.860
 It didn't happen.

00:22:28.520 --> 00:22:29.120
 Now,

00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:30.340
 here's the test.

00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:31.400
 How do you respond?

00:22:33.320 --> 00:22:34.560
 Do you say,

00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:35.220
 oh,

00:22:35.339 --> 00:22:36.000
 thank goodness

00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:37.139
 Trump didn't do that.

00:22:37.659 --> 00:22:38.240
 Thank goodness

00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:39.319
 he's not as bad

00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:40.539
 as it sounded.

00:22:40.899 --> 00:22:41.899
 I'm so relieved.

00:22:43.399 --> 00:22:43.879
 Or,

00:22:44.259 --> 00:22:44.740
 you say,

00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:45.799
 thank goodness

00:22:45.799 --> 00:22:46.879
 Trudeau didn't do that.

00:22:46.940 --> 00:22:47.079
 I mean,

00:22:47.099 --> 00:22:48.000
 he's our prime minister.

00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:49.019
 I'm glad he didn't do

00:22:49.019 --> 00:22:49.659
 something like that.

00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:50.339
 I'm so relieved

00:22:50.339 --> 00:22:51.119
 that he's not as bad

00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:51.960
 as I thought he was.

00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:53.819
 Is that how you respond?

00:22:54.379 --> 00:22:54.700
 Or,

00:22:54.779 --> 00:22:55.539
 do you not believe

00:22:55.539 --> 00:22:56.819
 the news report?

00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:00.079
 Do you want to hang on

00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:01.679
 to how bad they were?

00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:04.380
 If you do not respond

00:23:04.380 --> 00:23:05.360
 with relief,

00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:07.640
 you have an anger problem.

00:23:09.779 --> 00:23:12.000
 You and I

00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:13.680
 have an anger problem.

00:23:14.940 --> 00:23:16.620
 Because our anger

00:23:16.620 --> 00:23:18.000
 at these people

00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:19.100
 wants us,

00:23:19.539 --> 00:23:20.400
 we rejoice

00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:23.759
 that they're bad

00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:24.980
 and we don't want

00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:25.500
 to let it go.

00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:27.980
 we have an anger problem.

00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:33.480
 Our culture

00:23:33.480 --> 00:23:34.500
 is very conflicted

00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:35.039
 about anger.

00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:37.680
 It's a very,

00:23:37.799 --> 00:23:38.619
 very common thing

00:23:38.619 --> 00:23:39.940
 if you go into psychology.

00:23:40.119 --> 00:23:40.680
 They'll talk about

00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:41.480
 negative emotions

00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:42.619
 and positive emotions

00:23:42.619 --> 00:23:43.539
 and anger

00:23:43.539 --> 00:23:44.339
 is almost always

00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:45.279
 a negative emotion.

00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:46.759
 We

00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:49.920
 have a very,

00:23:50.299 --> 00:23:51.559
 we have a great problem

00:23:51.559 --> 00:23:52.700
 about it

00:23:52.700 --> 00:23:53.200
 because

00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:54.900
 we want,

00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:55.920
 if not for ourselves,

00:23:56.019 --> 00:23:56.440
 if we think

00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:57.580
 we have an anger problem

00:23:57.580 --> 00:23:58.480
 or if we have a,

00:23:58.559 --> 00:23:59.580
 we're married to somebody

00:23:59.580 --> 00:24:00.720
 who has an anger problem

00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:02.380
 or a kid has an anger problem

00:24:02.380 --> 00:24:03.580
 and our boss

00:24:03.580 --> 00:24:04.420
 has an anger problem

00:24:04.420 --> 00:24:05.080
 or a co-worker

00:24:05.080 --> 00:24:06.700
 has an anger problem,

00:24:06.779 --> 00:24:07.819
 we want them

00:24:07.819 --> 00:24:08.259
 to go through

00:24:08.259 --> 00:24:09.360
 some type of therapy

00:24:09.360 --> 00:24:10.299
 or some counseling,

00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:11.200
 maybe take up

00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:12.480
 Buddhist meditation

00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:13.380
 or something like that

00:24:13.380 --> 00:24:13.799
 where they can

00:24:13.799 --> 00:24:15.819
 get rid of their anger,

00:24:16.100 --> 00:24:17.380
 it can be taken away.

00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:20.039
 We have a problem

00:24:20.039 --> 00:24:21.220
 obviously in our culture

00:24:21.220 --> 00:24:22.120
 which is being talked

00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:22.719
 about a lot

00:24:22.719 --> 00:24:24.199
 but we don't know

00:24:24.199 --> 00:24:25.039
 what to do about it

00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:25.599
 that it seems

00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:26.539
 as if our culture

00:24:26.539 --> 00:24:27.979
 with all of the social media

00:24:27.979 --> 00:24:28.679
 that in fact

00:24:28.679 --> 00:24:30.359
 we get into little tribes

00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:31.299
 and echo chambers

00:24:31.299 --> 00:24:33.579
 and it furthers anger.

00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:35.359
 We have a problem

00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:35.799
 as I maybe

00:24:35.799 --> 00:24:37.019
 have just shared with you

00:24:37.019 --> 00:24:38.079
 in terms of not recognizing

00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:39.019
 we have problems

00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:39.459
 with anger

00:24:39.459 --> 00:24:40.579
 as we describe

00:24:40.579 --> 00:24:41.299
 our opponents

00:24:41.299 --> 00:24:42.659
 as being anger driven.

00:24:42.819 --> 00:24:43.239
 The problem

00:24:43.239 --> 00:24:44.279
 with the Trump people

00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:44.879
 is that they're all

00:24:44.879 --> 00:24:45.839
 filled with anger.

00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:46.859
 The problem

00:24:46.859 --> 00:24:48.619
 with the social justice warriors

00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:49.239
 is they're all

00:24:49.239 --> 00:24:50.079
 filled with anger.

00:24:50.199 --> 00:24:50.519
 The problem

00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:51.339
 with the conservatives

00:24:51.339 --> 00:24:52.359
 is they're all angry.

00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:53.019
 The problem

00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:53.599
 with the liberals

00:24:53.599 --> 00:24:54.759
 is they're angry

00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:55.980
 and we see it

00:24:55.980 --> 00:24:56.639
 as other people

00:24:56.639 --> 00:24:57.339
 but not ourselves

00:24:57.339 --> 00:24:57.919
 but we're very,

00:24:58.039 --> 00:25:00.399
 very confused about it.

00:25:00.839 --> 00:25:01.619
 So just to get us

00:25:01.619 --> 00:25:02.679
 thinking back to the text

00:25:02.679 --> 00:25:03.639
 I want to say something.

00:25:04.419 --> 00:25:05.159
 The day

00:25:05.159 --> 00:25:06.259
 they discover

00:25:06.259 --> 00:25:07.059
 a therapy

00:25:07.059 --> 00:25:08.740
 or a meditation technique

00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:09.699
 or a drug

00:25:09.699 --> 00:25:10.679
 that removes

00:25:10.679 --> 00:25:11.519
 all anger

00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:12.579
 from human beings

00:25:12.579 --> 00:25:14.059
 will be the day

00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:15.000
 that tyrants

00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:15.939
 throw a party

00:25:15.939 --> 00:25:16.839
 and dance a jig.

00:25:16.839 --> 00:25:19.419
 The day

00:25:19.419 --> 00:25:20.240
 that somebody

00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:21.339
 invents a drug

00:25:21.339 --> 00:25:22.019
 or a therapy

00:25:22.019 --> 00:25:23.159
 or meditation technique

00:25:23.159 --> 00:25:23.819
 to take away

00:25:23.819 --> 00:25:24.579
 all anger

00:25:24.579 --> 00:25:25.419
 from human beings

00:25:25.419 --> 00:25:26.159
 will be the day

00:25:26.159 --> 00:25:26.919
 that tyrants

00:25:26.919 --> 00:25:27.759
 and oppressors

00:25:27.759 --> 00:25:28.720
 throw a party

00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:29.639
 and dance a jig.

00:25:30.679 --> 00:25:30.959
 If you could

00:25:30.959 --> 00:25:31.740
 help the first point,

00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:32.059
 Andrew,

00:25:32.139 --> 00:25:32.579
 we'll go through

00:25:32.579 --> 00:25:33.759
 these relatively quickly.

00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:35.599
 It is good

00:25:35.599 --> 00:25:36.159
 that the Lord

00:25:36.159 --> 00:25:37.119
 is slow to anger.

00:25:37.919 --> 00:25:38.500
 It means

00:25:38.500 --> 00:25:39.679
 that justice matters.

00:25:39.859 --> 00:25:40.559
 That's why I said

00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:41.079
 that if there was

00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:41.659
 something that could

00:25:41.659 --> 00:25:42.039
 take away

00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:42.879
 all anger

00:25:42.879 --> 00:25:44.299
 from human beings,

00:25:44.500 --> 00:25:45.599
 tyrants and oppressors

00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:46.459
 would love it

00:25:46.459 --> 00:25:49.959
 because we would have

00:25:49.959 --> 00:25:52.419
 lost our ability

00:25:52.419 --> 00:25:53.939
 to be concerned

00:25:53.939 --> 00:25:55.179
 about justice.

00:25:56.859 --> 00:25:57.839
 It is good

00:25:57.839 --> 00:25:58.399
 that the Lord

00:25:58.399 --> 00:26:00.199
 is slow to anger.

00:26:00.359 --> 00:26:00.819
 It means

00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:01.740
 that justice

00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:03.000
 matters.

00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:04.339
 Many Canadians

00:26:04.339 --> 00:26:05.000
 complain

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:06.019
 that the Christian God

00:26:06.019 --> 00:26:06.879
 is angry,

00:26:07.099 --> 00:26:07.919
 an angry God.

00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:08.919
 Actually,

00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:09.679
 he's a slow

00:26:09.679 --> 00:26:10.559
 to anger God

00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:11.139
 and the slow

00:26:11.139 --> 00:26:11.559
 to anger

00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:12.059
 is very,

00:26:12.139 --> 00:26:12.319
 very,

00:26:12.399 --> 00:26:13.299
 very important.

00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:14.500
 The emotion

00:26:14.500 --> 00:26:15.019
 of anger

00:26:15.019 --> 00:26:16.220
 is connected,

00:26:16.460 --> 00:26:17.400
 intimately connected

00:26:17.400 --> 00:26:18.400
 to our experience

00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:19.240
 of right and wrong.

00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:21.799
 It's intimately

00:26:21.799 --> 00:26:22.480
 connected

00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:23.720
 to our experience

00:26:23.720 --> 00:26:24.779
 of right and wrong.

00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:26.920
 If we had

00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:28.039
 no anger

00:26:28.039 --> 00:26:28.879
 at all,

00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:30.420
 it would mean

00:26:30.420 --> 00:26:31.079
 that we never

00:26:31.079 --> 00:26:31.900
 thought that we

00:26:31.900 --> 00:26:32.700
 came across

00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:33.660
 things in this world

00:26:33.660 --> 00:26:34.420
 which are just

00:26:34.420 --> 00:26:35.019
 wrong.

00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:39.279
 A case in India,

00:26:39.619 --> 00:26:40.460
 they all got

00:26:40.460 --> 00:26:41.440
 convicted of a group

00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:42.180
 of men that raped

00:26:42.180 --> 00:26:43.319
 an eight-year-old girl.

00:26:43.319 --> 00:26:44.059
 If you don't think

00:26:44.059 --> 00:26:44.720
 that's wrong,

00:26:44.819 --> 00:26:45.859
 you have a problem.

00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:48.379
 It's very,

00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:49.139
 very interesting

00:26:49.139 --> 00:26:50.519
 that in Eastern

00:26:50.519 --> 00:26:50.939
 religion,

00:26:50.939 --> 00:26:51.579
 and it's actually

00:26:51.579 --> 00:26:52.279
 not a very good

00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:53.079
 thing in our culture.

00:26:53.220 --> 00:26:53.839
 This isn't just

00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:54.379
 dissing them,

00:26:54.859 --> 00:26:57.179
 but in Eastern cultures

00:26:57.179 --> 00:26:58.439
 at the end of the day

00:26:58.439 --> 00:26:59.259
 in the overarching

00:26:59.259 --> 00:27:00.759
 mythology of whether

00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:01.519
 it's Hinduism

00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:02.019
 or Buddhism

00:27:02.019 --> 00:27:02.939
 is this belief

00:27:02.939 --> 00:27:03.700
 that everything

00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:04.779
 ultimately

00:27:04.779 --> 00:27:05.799
 will become one.

00:27:06.859 --> 00:27:07.799
 The governing metaphor

00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:09.039
 is the drop of water

00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:10.299
 returns to the ocean

00:27:10.299 --> 00:27:11.480
 and when the drop

00:27:11.480 --> 00:27:11.899
 of water

00:27:11.899 --> 00:27:12.859
 returns to the ocean,

00:27:12.940 --> 00:27:13.639
 the drop of water

00:27:13.639 --> 00:27:14.500
 ceases to exist.

00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:15.480
 There's just the ocean

00:27:15.480 --> 00:27:16.579
 and within that,

00:27:16.659 --> 00:27:17.259
 there's ultimately

00:27:17.259 --> 00:27:18.579
 no real right or wrong.

00:27:20.159 --> 00:27:20.480
 And so,

00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:21.819
 attempts to do

00:27:21.819 --> 00:27:22.319
 meditation

00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:22.940
 or other things

00:27:22.940 --> 00:27:23.899
 to try to calm

00:27:23.899 --> 00:27:25.240
 our feelings of anger

00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:25.879
 on one level,

00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:26.460
 there's obviously

00:27:26.460 --> 00:27:27.240
 some things in there

00:27:27.240 --> 00:27:27.619
 that are good,

00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:28.180
 but the problem

00:27:28.180 --> 00:27:28.819
 is it's often

00:27:28.819 --> 00:27:30.079
 connected with

00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:31.200
 losing a sense

00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:32.980
 of right and wrong.

00:27:34.639 --> 00:27:34.819
 So,

00:27:35.159 --> 00:27:35.399
 I mean,

00:27:35.500 --> 00:27:36.159
 the fact of the matter

00:27:36.159 --> 00:27:36.980
 is that,

00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:38.279
 and this is beyond this,

00:27:38.339 --> 00:27:38.919
 we'll talk about this

00:27:38.919 --> 00:27:39.879
 a little bit next week

00:27:39.880 --> 00:27:40.560
 because anger's

00:27:40.560 --> 00:27:41.240
 going to return

00:27:41.240 --> 00:27:42.040
 at the last part

00:27:42.040 --> 00:27:42.680
 of Jonah 4.

00:27:43.240 --> 00:27:43.640
 I mean,

00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:44.600
 the problem with anger

00:27:44.600 --> 00:27:45.640
 is that our sense

00:27:45.640 --> 00:27:46.460
 of right and wrong

00:27:46.460 --> 00:27:47.200
 is wrong

00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:48.120
 and we get angry

00:27:48.120 --> 00:27:48.840
 too much,

00:27:48.900 --> 00:27:49.500
 we get angry

00:27:49.500 --> 00:27:50.060
 too little,

00:27:50.180 --> 00:27:50.800
 we get angry

00:27:50.800 --> 00:27:51.420
 too easy,

00:27:51.520 --> 00:27:52.100
 we get angry

00:27:52.100 --> 00:27:53.200
 about the wrong things,

00:27:53.280 --> 00:27:53.760
 we get angry

00:27:53.760 --> 00:27:54.360
 too quickly,

00:27:54.500 --> 00:27:55.600
 we can't get out

00:27:55.600 --> 00:27:55.880
 of anger.

00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:56.720
 There's a whole range

00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:57.320
 of reasons

00:27:57.320 --> 00:27:58.080
 by which anger

00:27:58.080 --> 00:27:58.640
 is wrong,

00:27:58.780 --> 00:27:59.780
 but God can't

00:27:59.780 --> 00:28:00.560
 remove our sense

00:28:00.560 --> 00:28:00.900
 of anger

00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:01.680
 without removing

00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:02.160
 our sense

00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:02.840
 of right and wrong.

00:28:04.900 --> 00:28:05.420
 And so,

00:28:05.480 --> 00:28:05.900
 the gospel

00:28:05.900 --> 00:28:06.580
 is going to try

00:28:06.580 --> 00:28:07.260
 to reorder

00:28:07.260 --> 00:28:08.060
 and heal

00:28:08.060 --> 00:28:08.580
 our sense

00:28:08.580 --> 00:28:09.320
 of right and wrong

00:28:09.319 --> 00:28:10.139
 as well as give

00:28:10.139 --> 00:28:10.599
 this other

00:28:10.599 --> 00:28:11.539
 very powerful

00:28:11.539 --> 00:28:12.679
 insight

00:28:12.679 --> 00:28:13.980
 about what it is

00:28:13.980 --> 00:28:15.039
 that can maintain

00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:15.500
 a sense

00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:16.299
 of right and wrong

00:28:16.299 --> 00:28:18.319
 but not have us

00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:19.559
 be so anger driven.

00:28:20.259 --> 00:28:21.119
 If you could put up

00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:21.960
 the second point,

00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:23.179
 that would be

00:28:23.179 --> 00:28:23.740
 very good.

00:28:25.500 --> 00:28:26.579
 Notice the key

00:28:26.579 --> 00:28:27.859
 slow to anger

00:28:27.859 --> 00:28:28.819
 which is very key

00:28:28.819 --> 00:28:29.720
 in the whole text.

00:28:30.339 --> 00:28:31.319
 You can have justice

00:28:31.319 --> 00:28:32.220
 without mercy

00:28:32.220 --> 00:28:33.579
 but you cannot

00:28:33.579 --> 00:28:34.419
 have mercy

00:28:34.419 --> 00:28:35.519
 without justice.

00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:37.900
 You can have justice

00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:38.619
 without mercy.

00:28:39.940 --> 00:28:41.059
 You just can.

00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:42.879
 And at the end

00:28:42.879 --> 00:28:43.180
 of the day,

00:28:43.259 --> 00:28:44.119
 we can't complain

00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:44.599
 that something

00:28:44.599 --> 00:28:45.259
 was unjust.

00:28:45.539 --> 00:28:45.720
 You know,

00:28:45.819 --> 00:28:46.940
 you did the crime

00:28:46.940 --> 00:28:47.460
 and you're going

00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:48.200
 to pay the penalty

00:28:48.200 --> 00:28:49.180
 and that's just

00:28:49.180 --> 00:28:49.740
 the way it is.

00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:50.440
 You did the crime,

00:28:50.519 --> 00:28:51.099
 you pay the penalty.

00:28:52.180 --> 00:28:52.920
 But mercy

00:28:52.920 --> 00:28:53.980
 is also connected

00:28:53.980 --> 00:28:54.660
 to a sense

00:28:54.660 --> 00:28:55.400
 of right and wrong.

00:28:56.180 --> 00:28:56.440
 You see,

00:28:56.500 --> 00:28:57.139
 what's at heart

00:28:57.139 --> 00:28:57.660
 of mercy?

00:28:57.819 --> 00:28:58.500
 There's obviously

00:28:58.500 --> 00:28:59.339
 sometimes mercy

00:28:59.339 --> 00:29:00.240
 can just be

00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:01.579
 shown towards

00:29:01.579 --> 00:29:02.680
 misfortune,

00:29:02.680 --> 00:29:03.580
 but primarily,

00:29:04.140 --> 00:29:04.880
 mercy is shown

00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:05.660
 when something

00:29:05.660 --> 00:29:07.180
 wrong has been

00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:08.120
 done to you

00:29:08.120 --> 00:29:10.039
 and you know

00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:10.880
 that it's wrong

00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:13.320
 and you want

00:29:13.320 --> 00:29:13.940
 to temper

00:29:13.940 --> 00:29:15.000
 your response

00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:15.960
 of justice

00:29:15.960 --> 00:29:16.840
 with a sense

00:29:16.840 --> 00:29:17.380
 of mercy

00:29:17.380 --> 00:29:18.180
 and compassion

00:29:18.180 --> 00:29:19.120
 for the other person.

00:29:20.320 --> 00:29:20.680
 See,

00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:21.039
 that's why

00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:21.720
 slow to anger

00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:22.580
 is so important.

00:29:23.480 --> 00:29:24.620
 It's giving this hint

00:29:24.620 --> 00:29:25.580
 and if you go back

00:29:25.580 --> 00:29:26.640
 and look at verse 2 again

00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:27.380
 when it describes

00:29:27.380 --> 00:29:27.860
 the Lord

00:29:27.860 --> 00:29:28.759
 that he's a gracious

00:29:28.759 --> 00:29:29.720
 God and merciful,

00:29:29.900 --> 00:29:30.600
 slow to anger

00:29:30.600 --> 00:29:31.120
 and abounding

00:29:31.120 --> 00:29:32.240
 in steadfast love,

00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:33.160
 is that when you

00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:34.240
 have the steadfast love,

00:29:34.279 --> 00:29:34.940
 when you have mercy,

00:29:35.019 --> 00:29:35.819
 when you have grace,

00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:36.880
 it doesn't mean

00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:37.640
 that you no longer

00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:38.480
 see things that are

00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:39.099
 right and wrong,

00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:39.839
 but you realize

00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:41.559
 that reacting

00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:42.059
 to something

00:29:42.059 --> 00:29:42.779
 which is wrong,

00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:45.160
 there's another response

00:29:45.160 --> 00:29:46.480
 other than just justice.

00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:48.319
 There is a response

00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:49.720
 that involves mercy

00:29:49.720 --> 00:29:51.980
 and the more

00:29:51.980 --> 00:29:52.640
 that mercy

00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:53.460
 and compassion

00:29:53.460 --> 00:29:54.279
 become important

00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:54.819
 to you,

00:29:55.720 --> 00:29:56.440
 it means,

00:29:56.700 --> 00:29:57.640
 if it's real mercy

00:29:57.640 --> 00:29:58.519
 and real compassion,

00:29:58.700 --> 00:29:59.539
 it means that

00:29:59.539 --> 00:30:00.660
 it will slow down,

00:30:00.740 --> 00:30:01.480
 it will temper

00:30:01.480 --> 00:30:02.819
 your response

00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:03.460
 of anger

00:30:03.460 --> 00:30:04.519
 at the injustice.

00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:06.779
 If you could put up

00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:07.660
 the third slide,

00:30:08.700 --> 00:30:09.759
 to offer mercy

00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:11.319
 is to offer

00:30:11.319 --> 00:30:12.660
 to personally

00:30:12.660 --> 00:30:14.740
 bear a cost.

00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:16.779
 To offer mercy

00:30:16.779 --> 00:30:17.759
 is to offer

00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:18.759
 to personally

00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:20.279
 bear a cost.

00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:21.960
 And that's very,

00:30:22.079 --> 00:30:22.440
 very hard

00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:23.339
 for all human beings

00:30:23.339 --> 00:30:24.339
 but increasingly hard

00:30:24.339 --> 00:30:25.140
 for our culture

00:30:25.140 --> 00:30:26.519
 which is so confused

00:30:26.519 --> 00:30:27.200
 about anger

00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:28.460
 and confused

00:30:28.460 --> 00:30:29.160
 about even the way

00:30:29.160 --> 00:30:29.920
 to move forward.

00:30:31.840 --> 00:30:32.279
 Back,

00:30:32.580 --> 00:30:34.100
 my first five kids

00:30:34.100 --> 00:30:35.820
 I had two boys,

00:30:35.880 --> 00:30:36.220
 a girl,

00:30:36.360 --> 00:30:36.960
 two boys

00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:38.240
 and my boys

00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:40.420
 were boys

00:30:40.420 --> 00:30:42.860
 and if they were,

00:30:43.140 --> 00:30:44.240
 if we had three of them

00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:45.600
 sitting at the back seat

00:30:45.600 --> 00:30:46.220
 of the van,

00:30:46.560 --> 00:30:47.800
 at some point in time

00:30:47.800 --> 00:30:48.460
 one of the boys

00:30:48.460 --> 00:30:49.460
 would do this

00:30:49.460 --> 00:30:51.060
 or do this

00:30:51.060 --> 00:30:52.300
 or move over

00:30:52.300 --> 00:30:53.779
 into the other person's space

00:30:53.779 --> 00:30:55.819
 and the other boy

00:30:55.819 --> 00:30:57.579
 would do this

00:30:57.579 --> 00:30:58.980
 or do this

00:30:58.980 --> 00:31:00.539
 and before you know it

00:31:00.539 --> 00:31:03.160
 you have lots of elbows

00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:04.660
 and stuff like that.

00:31:05.259 --> 00:31:06.119
 And there's other times

00:31:06.119 --> 00:31:07.339
 when you give them a push,

00:31:07.539 --> 00:31:08.639
 push, push, push,

00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:10.119
 punch, punch,

00:31:10.299 --> 00:31:10.720
 whatever,

00:31:11.399 --> 00:31:12.279
 you get the picture.

00:31:12.899 --> 00:31:13.500
 So one of the things

00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:14.420
 I would say to my kids

00:31:14.420 --> 00:31:15.019
 all the time

00:31:15.019 --> 00:31:15.519
 is I said,

00:31:15.660 --> 00:31:17.759
 we have a choice.

00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:19.160
 Do we want to live

00:31:19.160 --> 00:31:19.619
 in a house

00:31:19.619 --> 00:31:20.839
 where we're punching

00:31:20.839 --> 00:31:21.379
 each other

00:31:21.379 --> 00:31:22.559
 and calling each other names

00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:23.460
 or do we want to live

00:31:23.460 --> 00:31:23.799
 in a house

00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:24.799
 where there's some sense

00:31:24.799 --> 00:31:25.359
 of peace?

00:31:26.279 --> 00:31:27.179
 And the only way

00:31:27.179 --> 00:31:27.619
 there's going to be

00:31:27.619 --> 00:31:28.720
 any sense of peace

00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:30.220
 is if one of you

00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:31.240
 doesn't retaliate.

00:31:32.159 --> 00:31:33.339
 If one of you

00:31:33.339 --> 00:31:35.419
 lets the other one win.

00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:38.500
 Otherwise there's no peace.

00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:41.279
 Somebody has to be the one

00:31:41.279 --> 00:31:42.000
 who'll just say,

00:31:42.940 --> 00:31:43.619
 okay,

00:31:43.919 --> 00:31:45.859
 you hit me nine times,

00:31:45.919 --> 00:31:46.599
 I hit you eight,

00:31:47.379 --> 00:31:48.099
 you win.

00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:51.700
 And if there's nobody

00:31:51.700 --> 00:31:53.740
 willing to pay that cost,

00:31:54.319 --> 00:31:56.480
 then it just keeps going

00:31:56.480 --> 00:31:57.660
 and it escalates.

00:31:58.319 --> 00:31:59.860
 One of the wonderful things

00:31:59.860 --> 00:32:01.019
 about South Africa

00:32:01.019 --> 00:32:02.640
 when Nelson Mandela

00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:04.220
 became the head

00:32:04.220 --> 00:32:05.100
 of that country

00:32:05.100 --> 00:32:08.559
 was that Nelson Mandela

00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:11.740
 understood the power

00:32:11.740 --> 00:32:12.880
 and importance

00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:13.759
 of mercy

00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:15.319
 and forgiveness.

00:32:16.120 --> 00:32:17.259
 And he knew

00:32:17.259 --> 00:32:18.840
 that unless

00:32:18.840 --> 00:32:20.059
 there were people

00:32:20.059 --> 00:32:20.879
 who were willing

00:32:20.879 --> 00:32:21.919
 to just say

00:32:21.919 --> 00:32:22.879
 we are not going

00:32:22.879 --> 00:32:23.940
 to pursue justice

00:32:23.940 --> 00:32:24.480
 to the end.

00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:24.899
 Doesn't mean

00:32:24.899 --> 00:32:25.679
 we're not saying

00:32:25.679 --> 00:32:26.179
 what they did

00:32:26.179 --> 00:32:26.799
 was right,

00:32:27.339 --> 00:32:28.579
 but unless there's mercy

00:32:28.579 --> 00:32:29.559
 there will be no peace

00:32:29.559 --> 00:32:30.279
 in our society.

00:32:30.419 --> 00:32:31.000
 He was a very,

00:32:31.139 --> 00:32:31.960
 very great statesman,

00:32:32.019 --> 00:32:32.500
 still viewed

00:32:32.500 --> 00:32:33.299
 as a great statesman,

00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:35.279
 probably one of the

00:32:35.279 --> 00:32:36.099
 greatest statesmen

00:32:36.099 --> 00:32:37.519
 of the 20th century.

00:32:38.259 --> 00:32:39.299
 And he understood

00:32:39.299 --> 00:32:40.319
 the importance

00:32:40.319 --> 00:32:41.440
 of mercy.

00:32:41.960 --> 00:32:43.000
 But you understand,

00:32:43.940 --> 00:32:44.720
 and he himself

00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:46.059
 was a living embodiment

00:32:46.059 --> 00:32:46.319
 of it,

00:32:46.359 --> 00:32:46.960
 he wasn't just

00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:49.600
 some ivory tower rich guy

00:32:49.600 --> 00:32:50.620
 who'd never had

00:32:50.620 --> 00:32:51.740
 anything wrong done

00:32:51.740 --> 00:32:52.200
 to him,

00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:53.240
 and goes off

00:32:53.240 --> 00:32:54.000
 and shows mercy

00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:54.680
 to people who,

00:32:54.819 --> 00:32:54.940
 well,

00:32:55.059 --> 00:32:56.559
 these people hurt

00:32:56.559 --> 00:32:57.279
 this group,

00:32:57.660 --> 00:32:58.579
 I'm going to show you mercy.

00:32:58.860 --> 00:32:59.680
 This people hurt

00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:00.480
 that group,

00:33:00.740 --> 00:33:01.519
 I'm going to show you mercy.

00:33:01.640 --> 00:33:02.559
 That's not mercy.

00:33:03.200 --> 00:33:04.420
 That's cheap grace.

00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:07.140
 That's telling everybody

00:33:07.140 --> 00:33:08.420
 else to suck it up.

00:33:12.100 --> 00:33:13.120
 Nelson Mandela

00:33:13.120 --> 00:33:14.180
 spent time in jail.

00:33:14.319 --> 00:33:15.519
 He was oppressed.

00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:16.839
 He knew what it was like

00:33:16.839 --> 00:33:17.420
 to be oppressed.

00:33:17.579 --> 00:33:18.700
 He knew what injustice

00:33:18.700 --> 00:33:19.420
 was like.

00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:21.960
 And unless you are

00:33:21.960 --> 00:33:22.940
 willing to pay

00:33:22.940 --> 00:33:24.240
 the cost

00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:25.859
 of showing mercy,

00:33:25.859 --> 00:33:26.740
 which is going to involve

00:33:26.740 --> 00:33:27.859
 something like forgiveness,

00:33:29.740 --> 00:33:30.139
 well,

00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:30.940
 it's not mercy.

00:33:33.180 --> 00:33:33.359
 Now,

00:33:33.440 --> 00:33:33.599
 just,

00:33:34.139 --> 00:33:35.139
 here's a bit

00:33:35.139 --> 00:33:36.000
 of a shocking thing.

00:33:36.099 --> 00:33:36.200
 So,

00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:38.119
 the story of Jonah,

00:33:38.200 --> 00:33:38.700
 in some ways,

00:33:38.920 --> 00:33:40.879
 it posits

00:33:40.879 --> 00:33:42.519
 a bit of a

00:33:42.519 --> 00:33:43.819
 riddle.

00:33:43.819 --> 00:33:44.819
 see,

00:33:44.899 --> 00:33:45.500
 the fact of the matter

00:33:45.500 --> 00:33:45.899
 is,

00:33:45.939 --> 00:33:46.799
 is that many of us,

00:33:46.859 --> 00:33:47.839
 if we went back in time,

00:33:47.899 --> 00:33:48.579
 we would probably

00:33:48.579 --> 00:33:49.619
 side with Jonah.

00:33:51.139 --> 00:33:52.079
 Because Jonah

00:33:52.079 --> 00:33:54.079
 was right

00:33:54.079 --> 00:33:55.220
 on one level,

00:33:56.019 --> 00:33:56.879
 that what the Lord

00:33:56.879 --> 00:33:57.460
 did

00:33:57.460 --> 00:33:58.639
 to Nineveh

00:33:58.639 --> 00:33:59.700
 wasn't just.

00:34:00.819 --> 00:34:01.899
 Because Nineveh

00:34:01.899 --> 00:34:03.179
 was terrible.

00:34:04.359 --> 00:34:05.659
 They were a terrible,

00:34:05.859 --> 00:34:06.759
 oppressive people.

00:34:07.059 --> 00:34:07.639
 I think I shared

00:34:07.639 --> 00:34:08.420
 with you last week

00:34:08.420 --> 00:34:09.199
 or the week before,

00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:11.579
 22 years,

00:34:11.980 --> 00:34:12.719
 23 years

00:34:12.719 --> 00:34:13.460
 after this,

00:34:14.659 --> 00:34:15.699
 when Nineveh's

00:34:15.699 --> 00:34:17.239
 gotten over

00:34:17.239 --> 00:34:17.859
 their repentance

00:34:17.859 --> 00:34:18.539
 and gone back

00:34:18.539 --> 00:34:19.439
 to their old ways,

00:34:19.559 --> 00:34:20.699
 they literally,

00:34:20.919 --> 00:34:21.599
 literally

00:34:21.599 --> 00:34:22.659
 practiced genocide.

00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:24.460
 And in

00:34:24.460 --> 00:34:25.819
 722 BC,

00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:27.500
 the Assyrians

00:34:27.500 --> 00:34:28.179
 invaded

00:34:28.179 --> 00:34:29.359
 Israel,

00:34:29.460 --> 00:34:30.199
 the northern kingdom

00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:30.779
 of Israel,

00:34:31.099 --> 00:34:32.379
 and they carried

00:34:32.379 --> 00:34:33.219
 all the people

00:34:33.219 --> 00:34:33.500
 away.

00:34:33.639 --> 00:34:35.259
 Those 10 tribes

00:34:35.259 --> 00:34:36.000
 of Israel

00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:37.039
 have been lost

00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:38.039
 forever from history.

00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:39.960
 they literally

00:34:39.960 --> 00:34:41.139
 practiced genocide.

00:34:44.820 --> 00:34:46.019
 And so the text

00:34:46.019 --> 00:34:47.420
 has a bit of a riddle,

00:34:48.019 --> 00:34:48.759
 and it has a bit

00:34:48.759 --> 00:34:49.320
 of a riddle

00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:51.739
 that only the gospel,

00:34:52.279 --> 00:34:52.820
 only the rest

00:34:52.820 --> 00:34:53.420
 of the revelation

00:34:53.420 --> 00:34:53.920
 of the Bible

00:34:53.920 --> 00:34:54.699
 can actually start

00:34:54.699 --> 00:34:55.139
 to help us

00:34:55.139 --> 00:34:55.900
 to understand.

00:34:56.940 --> 00:34:58.259
 Just one thing

00:34:58.259 --> 00:34:59.420
 is that what Jonah

00:34:59.420 --> 00:34:59.900
 didn't know

00:34:59.900 --> 00:35:00.980
 is that the Lord,

00:35:01.259 --> 00:35:02.400
 he's slow to anchor,

00:35:02.519 --> 00:35:02.940
 but he's still

00:35:02.940 --> 00:35:03.739
 concerned with justice.

00:35:03.900 --> 00:35:04.699
 He stayed

00:35:04.699 --> 00:35:05.519
 the judgment

00:35:05.519 --> 00:35:06.199
 on Assyria,

00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:07.239
 but eventually

00:35:07.239 --> 00:35:08.099
 when they returned

00:35:08.099 --> 00:35:08.819
 to their evil ways,

00:35:08.979 --> 00:35:10.000
 the judgment

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:10.579
 upon them

00:35:10.579 --> 00:35:11.919
 for their horrendous

00:35:11.919 --> 00:35:12.799
 acts of genocide

00:35:12.799 --> 00:35:13.579
 and violence

00:35:13.579 --> 00:35:14.539
 were in fact judged

00:35:14.539 --> 00:35:15.059
 by him,

00:35:15.719 --> 00:35:16.559
 and Assyria

00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:17.639
 would later on

00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:18.959
 disappear from history.

00:35:21.199 --> 00:35:21.719
 But

00:35:21.719 --> 00:35:23.539
 what's going on

00:35:23.539 --> 00:35:24.479
 in Jonah's heart?

00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:25.279
 Well,

00:35:25.359 --> 00:35:25.939
 if you could put up

00:35:25.939 --> 00:35:26.699
 the next point,

00:35:27.039 --> 00:35:27.279
 Andrew,

00:35:27.299 --> 00:35:27.639
 that would be

00:35:27.639 --> 00:35:28.199
 very helpful.

00:35:28.199 --> 00:35:31.339
 your enmity

00:35:31.339 --> 00:35:32.059
 to the Lord

00:35:32.059 --> 00:35:33.339
 is always present.

00:35:33.679 --> 00:35:33.839
 See,

00:35:33.879 --> 00:35:34.639
 one of the problems

00:35:34.639 --> 00:35:36.239
 with anger,

00:35:36.919 --> 00:35:37.539
 one of the many

00:35:37.539 --> 00:35:38.399
 problems with anger,

00:35:38.859 --> 00:35:39.579
 is that not only

00:35:39.579 --> 00:35:40.039
 does it make

00:35:40.039 --> 00:35:40.359
 a very,

00:35:40.460 --> 00:35:41.159
 very quick road

00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:41.699
 to hatred,

00:35:41.980 --> 00:35:42.519
 and as I use

00:35:42.519 --> 00:35:43.139
 my example

00:35:43.139 --> 00:35:43.599
 about whether

00:35:43.599 --> 00:35:44.379
 you heard tomorrow

00:35:44.379 --> 00:35:45.099
 that Trump

00:35:45.099 --> 00:35:48.319
 and or Trudeau

00:35:48.319 --> 00:35:49.119
 were not as bad

00:35:49.119 --> 00:35:49.960
 as the news reports,

00:35:50.159 --> 00:35:51.059
 and we don't want

00:35:51.059 --> 00:35:51.559
 to let go

00:35:51.559 --> 00:35:52.179
 of our hatred

00:35:52.179 --> 00:35:52.679
 and anger

00:35:52.679 --> 00:35:53.179
 and desire

00:35:53.179 --> 00:35:53.539
 for them

00:35:53.539 --> 00:35:54.299
 to be humiliated,

00:35:54.299 --> 00:35:54.679
 and we don't want

00:35:54.679 --> 00:35:55.399
 to let go of that,

00:35:55.439 --> 00:35:55.919
 and it reveals

00:35:55.919 --> 00:35:56.739
 we have an anger

00:35:56.739 --> 00:35:57.879
 problem,

00:35:57.979 --> 00:35:58.459
 is that not only

00:35:58.459 --> 00:35:58.919
 does anger

00:35:58.919 --> 00:35:59.719
 quickly take us

00:35:59.719 --> 00:36:00.119
 to hatred,

00:36:00.279 --> 00:36:01.899
 but it deepens

00:36:01.899 --> 00:36:02.319
 hatred,

00:36:02.659 --> 00:36:05.439
 it nurtures

00:36:05.439 --> 00:36:05.899
 hatred,

00:36:06.159 --> 00:36:07.259
 it gives oxygen

00:36:07.259 --> 00:36:07.819
 to hatred,

00:36:08.039 --> 00:36:08.719
 but the other

00:36:08.719 --> 00:36:09.519
 thing that it does

00:36:09.519 --> 00:36:10.239
 is it creates

00:36:10.239 --> 00:36:10.979
 within you

00:36:10.979 --> 00:36:11.759
 a sense of

00:36:11.759 --> 00:36:13.000
 God-like,

00:36:13.919 --> 00:36:16.639
 God-like

00:36:16.639 --> 00:36:19.099
 virtue

00:36:19.099 --> 00:36:20.619
 and towering

00:36:20.619 --> 00:36:21.779
 over others.

00:36:22.959 --> 00:36:23.539
 That's what

00:36:23.539 --> 00:36:24.459
 anger always does.

00:36:25.199 --> 00:36:25.739
 You feel

00:36:25.739 --> 00:36:26.399
 God-like,

00:36:26.739 --> 00:36:29.919
 and you

00:36:29.919 --> 00:36:30.479
 like it.

00:36:31.479 --> 00:36:32.399
 I like it.

00:36:34.559 --> 00:36:35.299
 The Bible

00:36:35.299 --> 00:36:36.079
 describes

00:36:36.079 --> 00:36:36.979
 that every

00:36:36.979 --> 00:36:37.500
 human being

00:36:37.500 --> 00:36:38.219
 is at enmity

00:36:38.219 --> 00:36:38.819
 with God.

00:36:38.899 --> 00:36:39.359
 In Genesis

00:36:39.359 --> 00:36:40.179
 chapter 3,

00:36:40.259 --> 00:36:41.419
 when we chose

00:36:41.419 --> 00:36:42.259
 that we didn't

00:36:42.259 --> 00:36:42.859
 like the idea

00:36:42.859 --> 00:36:43.279
 that God

00:36:43.279 --> 00:36:43.879
 was God

00:36:43.879 --> 00:36:44.519
 and we were

00:36:44.519 --> 00:36:44.799
 not,

00:36:44.879 --> 00:36:45.259
 and we wanted

00:36:45.259 --> 00:36:45.759
 to be just

00:36:45.759 --> 00:36:46.519
 like him,

00:36:46.659 --> 00:36:47.139
 and that's

00:36:47.139 --> 00:36:47.659
 the beginning,

00:36:47.839 --> 00:36:48.339
 it's the

00:36:48.339 --> 00:36:49.439
 ur-sin,

00:36:49.519 --> 00:36:49.779
 the root

00:36:49.779 --> 00:36:50.519
 of all sin

00:36:50.519 --> 00:36:51.239
 is a desire

00:36:51.239 --> 00:36:52.519
 to no longer

00:36:52.519 --> 00:36:53.219
 love God

00:36:53.219 --> 00:36:54.079
 or trust God

00:36:54.079 --> 00:36:54.559
 or want to be

00:36:54.559 --> 00:36:55.099
 in submission

00:36:55.099 --> 00:36:55.679
 to God

00:36:55.679 --> 00:36:56.299
 or just

00:36:56.299 --> 00:36:56.839
 allow God

00:36:56.839 --> 00:36:57.259
 to be God.

00:36:57.339 --> 00:36:57.900
 We want to be

00:36:57.900 --> 00:36:58.739
 just like God,

00:36:58.839 --> 00:36:59.039
 in fact,

00:36:59.099 --> 00:36:59.920
 maybe even better,

00:37:00.460 --> 00:37:01.639
 and so we resent

00:37:01.639 --> 00:37:02.360
 his authority,

00:37:02.480 --> 00:37:03.500
 we resent the fact

00:37:03.500 --> 00:37:04.219
 that he is the creator,

00:37:04.360 --> 00:37:05.420
 we resent the fact

00:37:05.420 --> 00:37:06.099
 that he is infant

00:37:06.099 --> 00:37:06.739
 and we are finite,

00:37:07.059 --> 00:37:08.099
 we resent the fact

00:37:08.099 --> 00:37:08.940
 that we live in time

00:37:08.940 --> 00:37:09.440
 and he does not

00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:09.880
 live in time,

00:37:09.940 --> 00:37:11.000
 we resent these things,

00:37:11.199 --> 00:37:12.119
 and it is such a

00:37:12.119 --> 00:37:12.860
 common thing

00:37:12.860 --> 00:37:13.920
 of our experience

00:37:13.920 --> 00:37:14.400
 that we often

00:37:14.400 --> 00:37:15.179
 don't even realize

00:37:15.179 --> 00:37:15.839
 that we have this

00:37:15.839 --> 00:37:16.759
 as a low-level

00:37:16.759 --> 00:37:17.980
 condition in our lives.

00:37:18.460 --> 00:37:19.639
 It's exactly like gravity.

00:37:19.639 --> 00:37:21.019
 None of us experience

00:37:21.019 --> 00:37:22.079
 gravity right now

00:37:22.079 --> 00:37:23.119
 or we don't feel

00:37:23.119 --> 00:37:24.259
 like gravity exists,

00:37:24.319 --> 00:37:26.119
 yet it's just so common

00:37:26.119 --> 00:37:26.980
 to us that we no longer

00:37:26.980 --> 00:37:27.739
 think about it.

00:37:28.599 --> 00:37:29.920
 And the Bible describes

00:37:29.920 --> 00:37:30.500
 that Jonah

00:37:30.500 --> 00:37:31.460
 and every human being,

00:37:31.579 --> 00:37:32.159
 you and me,

00:37:32.579 --> 00:37:33.460
 that we have a problem

00:37:33.460 --> 00:37:35.019
 with enmity against God.

00:37:36.319 --> 00:37:38.139
 And we are people

00:37:38.139 --> 00:37:39.699
 who always need

00:37:39.699 --> 00:37:40.519
 God's mercy.

00:37:40.739 --> 00:37:41.519
 I am not better

00:37:41.519 --> 00:37:42.480
 than anybody else.

00:37:42.639 --> 00:37:43.359
 I am one

00:37:43.359 --> 00:37:44.299
 who is completely

00:37:44.299 --> 00:37:45.139
 and utterly dependent

00:37:45.139 --> 00:37:46.279
 upon the mercy of God.

00:37:46.659 --> 00:37:47.119
 If you could put up

00:37:47.119 --> 00:37:49.179
 this almost last slide,

00:37:49.299 --> 00:37:49.579
 Andrew.

00:37:50.319 --> 00:37:51.460
 On the cross,

00:37:52.059 --> 00:37:54.039
 Jesus bore the full cost

00:37:54.039 --> 00:37:55.719
 of the Lord's mercy to you.

00:37:55.779 --> 00:37:56.519
 Remember I said,

00:37:57.279 --> 00:37:58.980
 all mercy always involves

00:37:58.980 --> 00:38:00.559
 bearing a personal cost.

00:38:00.799 --> 00:38:02.159
 If you forgive the person

00:38:02.159 --> 00:38:03.099
 who ripped you off

00:38:03.099 --> 00:38:04.179
 when you bought your vehicle,

00:38:04.519 --> 00:38:06.079
 if you show mercy to them,

00:38:06.460 --> 00:38:07.440
 it means you're going to have

00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:09.139
 to absorb some of the lost money.

00:38:09.259 --> 00:38:10.059
 Maybe not all of it,

00:38:10.119 --> 00:38:10.679
 but some of it.

00:38:10.739 --> 00:38:11.859
 There's a cost to be borne.

00:38:12.279 --> 00:38:15.259
 If you don't get the vengeance

00:38:15.259 --> 00:38:16.199
 which you desire,

00:38:16.420 --> 00:38:17.839
 you have to give up something

00:38:17.839 --> 00:38:18.420
 when you do that.

00:38:18.460 --> 00:38:19.019
 You have to give up

00:38:19.019 --> 00:38:20.019
 your right for vengeance,

00:38:20.139 --> 00:38:21.119
 your desire for vengeance.

00:38:21.239 --> 00:38:22.159
 You have to bear

00:38:22.159 --> 00:38:23.280
 the personal cost.

00:38:23.440 --> 00:38:24.000
 And you do it

00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:24.920
 because at the end of the day,

00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:26.099
 mercy is so worth it.

00:38:26.179 --> 00:38:27.699
 Forgiveness is so worth it.

00:38:27.759 --> 00:38:28.719
 But there's a cost

00:38:28.719 --> 00:38:29.300
 to be borne.

00:38:29.300 --> 00:38:30.159
 And it helps us

00:38:30.159 --> 00:38:31.400
 to understand why it is

00:38:31.400 --> 00:38:32.599
 that Jesus had to die

00:38:32.599 --> 00:38:32.980
 on the cross.

00:38:33.099 --> 00:38:33.719
 Why it is

00:38:33.719 --> 00:38:34.679
 that in Matthew

00:38:34.679 --> 00:38:35.280
 and in Luke,

00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:36.639
 Jesus is described

00:38:36.639 --> 00:38:37.300
 as the true

00:38:37.300 --> 00:38:38.139
 and greater Jonah.

00:38:38.259 --> 00:38:38.840
 He is the true

00:38:38.840 --> 00:38:39.519
 and greater Jonah

00:38:39.519 --> 00:38:40.400
 not only because

00:38:40.400 --> 00:38:41.519
 he didn't just spend

00:38:41.519 --> 00:38:42.079
 three days

00:38:42.079 --> 00:38:44.759
 in a great aquatic beast.

00:38:44.820 --> 00:38:45.759
 He spent three days

00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:46.160
 in death

00:38:46.160 --> 00:38:46.640
 and in hell.

00:38:47.080 --> 00:38:47.920
 He's a true

00:38:47.920 --> 00:38:48.600
 and greater Jonah

00:38:48.600 --> 00:38:49.580
 not only because

00:38:49.580 --> 00:38:52.400
 he can speak

00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:53.000
 the words of God

00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:54.140
 but he is the word of God

00:38:54.140 --> 00:38:54.720
 and he speaks

00:38:54.720 --> 00:38:55.760
 the very, very true

00:38:55.760 --> 00:38:56.420
 words of God

00:38:56.420 --> 00:38:57.320
 in everything that he does.

00:38:57.660 --> 00:38:58.340
 And he's the true

00:38:58.340 --> 00:38:59.820
 and greater Jonah

00:38:59.820 --> 00:39:00.640
 because in fact

00:39:00.640 --> 00:39:01.700
 what he does

00:39:01.700 --> 00:39:02.400
 with his life

00:39:02.400 --> 00:39:03.800
 is to make real

00:39:03.800 --> 00:39:04.240
 to us

00:39:04.240 --> 00:39:05.660
 a mercy

00:39:05.660 --> 00:39:06.700
 that every single

00:39:06.700 --> 00:39:07.720
 human being needs

00:39:07.720 --> 00:39:08.340
 because we are

00:39:08.340 --> 00:39:09.320
 at enmity with God.

00:39:09.780 --> 00:39:10.760
 And he takes that

00:39:10.760 --> 00:39:11.960
 when we understand

00:39:11.960 --> 00:39:12.940
 that there is a price

00:39:12.940 --> 00:39:13.600
 to be paid

00:39:13.599 --> 00:39:14.500
 to show mercy

00:39:14.500 --> 00:39:15.440
 and if God

00:39:15.440 --> 00:39:16.219
 is to show mercy

00:39:16.219 --> 00:39:16.739
 to us

00:39:16.739 --> 00:39:18.579
 he has to absorb

00:39:18.579 --> 00:39:20.159
 the cost of that

00:39:20.159 --> 00:39:21.059
 and the cost

00:39:21.059 --> 00:39:22.539
 of him showing mercy

00:39:22.539 --> 00:39:23.380
 to you and me

00:39:23.380 --> 00:39:24.380
 is what we see

00:39:24.380 --> 00:39:25.839
 when we see Jesus

00:39:25.839 --> 00:39:27.579
 dying on the cross.

00:39:27.779 --> 00:39:28.960
 It is the cost

00:39:28.960 --> 00:39:30.019
 of mercy

00:39:30.019 --> 00:39:31.019
 to you

00:39:31.019 --> 00:39:32.019
 and to me.

00:39:36.360 --> 00:39:37.259
 If you could put up

00:39:37.259 --> 00:39:38.019
 the final point

00:39:38.019 --> 00:39:38.860
 which is just a prayer

00:39:38.860 --> 00:39:39.360
 I'm going to invite

00:39:39.360 --> 00:39:40.139
 you all to stand.

00:39:43.599 --> 00:39:44.400
 Every week

00:39:44.400 --> 00:39:45.199
 in the mailing

00:39:45.199 --> 00:39:46.059
 I do a blog

00:39:46.059 --> 00:39:46.739
 I do a growing

00:39:46.739 --> 00:39:47.259
 in grace

00:39:47.259 --> 00:39:48.059
 and I also try

00:39:48.059 --> 00:39:48.920
 to put the scripture

00:39:48.920 --> 00:39:50.360
 text to a prayer

00:39:50.360 --> 00:39:52.139
 and today

00:39:52.139 --> 00:39:53.259
 if you look at this

00:39:53.259 --> 00:39:54.079
 you'll see both

00:39:54.079 --> 00:39:55.599
 part of Jonah chapter 2

00:39:55.599 --> 00:39:56.940
 but you'll also

00:39:56.940 --> 00:39:57.860
 see James

00:39:57.860 --> 00:39:58.619
 as well

00:39:58.619 --> 00:39:59.519
 which is a reflection

00:39:59.519 --> 00:40:00.299
 upon Jonah

00:40:00.299 --> 00:40:02.059
 I mean Jonah chapter 4

00:40:02.059 --> 00:40:02.639
 verse 2

00:40:02.639 --> 00:40:03.480
 and I put both

00:40:03.480 --> 00:40:04.059
 of those together

00:40:04.059 --> 00:40:05.099
 in the form of a prayer.

00:40:05.799 --> 00:40:06.480
 You see it's

00:40:06.480 --> 00:40:07.920
 it says we're gripped

00:40:07.920 --> 00:40:08.559
 with the gospel

00:40:08.559 --> 00:40:09.739
 as we come to understand

00:40:09.739 --> 00:40:10.960
 that I experience

00:40:10.960 --> 00:40:12.059
 enmity towards God

00:40:12.059 --> 00:40:13.139
 and enmity towards other

00:40:13.139 --> 00:40:13.699
 in my life

00:40:13.699 --> 00:40:15.019
 without realizing it

00:40:15.019 --> 00:40:15.500
 in the same way

00:40:15.500 --> 00:40:16.480
 I experience gravity

00:40:16.480 --> 00:40:17.739
 without often thinking about it

00:40:17.739 --> 00:40:19.440
 when I begin to understand

00:40:19.440 --> 00:40:20.519
 that my whole

00:40:20.519 --> 00:40:21.579
 and only standing

00:40:21.579 --> 00:40:22.320
 before the Lord

00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:22.820
 is because

00:40:22.820 --> 00:40:24.219
 at great cost

00:40:24.219 --> 00:40:24.840
 to himself

00:40:24.840 --> 00:40:26.079
 he showed mercy

00:40:26.079 --> 00:40:26.619
 to me

00:40:26.619 --> 00:40:27.619
 as that story

00:40:27.619 --> 00:40:29.059
 begins to grip me

00:40:29.059 --> 00:40:30.199
 that it's not

00:40:30.199 --> 00:40:30.739
 as if God

00:40:30.739 --> 00:40:31.679
 gave me a pass

00:40:31.679 --> 00:40:32.679
 because I'm Canadian

00:40:32.679 --> 00:40:33.320
 or because

00:40:33.320 --> 00:40:34.659
 I'm nice

00:40:34.659 --> 00:40:35.820
 or because I'm me

00:40:35.820 --> 00:40:36.739
 but he

00:40:36.739 --> 00:40:38.980
 he didn't forsake justice

00:40:38.980 --> 00:40:40.199
 but he responded

00:40:40.199 --> 00:40:41.559
 in the justice

00:40:41.559 --> 00:40:42.199
 that I'm deserved

00:40:42.199 --> 00:40:42.980
 in a different way

00:40:42.980 --> 00:40:43.659
 he responded

00:40:43.659 --> 00:40:44.279
 with mercy

00:40:44.279 --> 00:40:45.159
 in such a way

00:40:45.159 --> 00:40:45.759
 that justice

00:40:45.759 --> 00:40:47.460
 was still maintained

00:40:47.460 --> 00:40:48.519
 by paying

00:40:48.519 --> 00:40:49.699
 the cost

00:40:49.699 --> 00:40:50.879
 of mercy

00:40:50.879 --> 00:40:51.659
 and the cost

00:40:51.659 --> 00:40:52.279
 of the punishment

00:40:52.279 --> 00:40:53.579
 in his own person

00:40:53.579 --> 00:40:54.480
 as that story

00:40:54.480 --> 00:40:55.359
 grips me

00:40:55.359 --> 00:40:58.279
 it helps me

00:40:58.279 --> 00:40:58.939
 to understand

00:40:58.939 --> 00:40:59.980
 why I need

00:40:59.980 --> 00:41:00.460
 to grow

00:41:00.460 --> 00:41:01.039
 in mercy

00:41:01.039 --> 00:41:01.899
 and compassion

00:41:01.899 --> 00:41:02.899
 without losing

00:41:02.899 --> 00:41:03.679
 a sense of right

00:41:03.679 --> 00:41:04.139
 and wrong

00:41:04.139 --> 00:41:04.779
 to temper

00:41:04.779 --> 00:41:05.919
 the anger

00:41:05.919 --> 00:41:06.639
 of my life

00:41:06.639 --> 00:41:07.399
 that it will not

00:41:07.399 --> 00:41:08.079
 consume me

00:41:08.079 --> 00:41:08.819
 or take me over

00:41:08.820 --> 00:41:09.500
 and I've tried

00:41:09.500 --> 00:41:09.940
 to put it

00:41:09.940 --> 00:41:10.640
 in the words

00:41:10.640 --> 00:41:11.260
 of this prayer

00:41:11.260 --> 00:41:13.019
 so if the Lord

00:41:13.019 --> 00:41:13.880
 has touched your heart

00:41:13.880 --> 00:41:14.640
 if you would pray

00:41:14.640 --> 00:41:15.320
 this with me

00:41:15.320 --> 00:41:16.100
 if you don't pray it

00:41:16.100 --> 00:41:16.600
 that's fine

00:41:16.600 --> 00:41:17.300
 it's up to you

00:41:17.300 --> 00:41:18.480
 but let's pray

00:41:18.480 --> 00:41:19.340
 this prayer together

00:41:19.340 --> 00:41:20.660
 Lord

00:41:20.660 --> 00:41:21.900
 you are full

00:41:21.900 --> 00:41:22.500
 of grace

00:41:22.500 --> 00:41:23.180
 and mercy

00:41:23.180 --> 00:41:24.920
 slow to anger

00:41:24.920 --> 00:41:25.780
 and abounding

00:41:25.780 --> 00:41:27.140
 in steadfast love

00:41:27.140 --> 00:41:29.059
 you take no delight

00:41:29.059 --> 00:41:29.780
 in the death

00:41:29.780 --> 00:41:30.360
 of a sinner

00:41:30.360 --> 00:41:31.600
 but desire

00:41:31.600 --> 00:41:32.460
 that we turn

00:41:32.460 --> 00:41:33.640
 from our wrongdoing

00:41:33.640 --> 00:41:34.440
 and live

00:41:34.440 --> 00:41:35.980
 please bring

00:41:35.980 --> 00:41:36.920
 the good news

00:41:36.920 --> 00:41:38.200
 of who Jesus is

00:41:38.199 --> 00:41:39.460
 and what he did

00:41:39.460 --> 00:41:40.059
 for me

00:41:40.059 --> 00:41:41.839
 deep into my heart

00:41:41.839 --> 00:41:43.199
 so that I will be

00:41:43.199 --> 00:41:44.159
 slow to speak

00:41:44.159 --> 00:41:45.500
 slow to anger

00:41:45.500 --> 00:41:47.000
 and quick to listen

00:41:47.000 --> 00:41:48.699
 in Jesus' name

00:41:48.699 --> 00:41:49.359
 Amen

00:41:49.359 --> 00:41:50.319
 Father

00:41:50.319 --> 00:41:51.439
 pour out the Holy Spirit

00:41:51.439 --> 00:41:52.119
 upon us

00:41:52.119 --> 00:41:54.319
 that we might be

00:41:54.319 --> 00:41:55.359
 gripped by the gospel

00:41:55.359 --> 00:41:56.539
 and so gripped

00:41:56.539 --> 00:41:57.279
 by the gospel

00:41:57.279 --> 00:41:58.139
 that we learn

00:41:58.139 --> 00:41:58.960
 the importance

00:41:58.960 --> 00:41:59.759
 of mercy

00:41:59.759 --> 00:42:00.619
 and compassion

00:42:00.619 --> 00:42:03.879
 and without losing

00:42:03.879 --> 00:42:04.659
 a sense of right

00:42:04.659 --> 00:42:04.960
 and wrong

00:42:04.960 --> 00:42:05.939
 healing our sense

00:42:05.939 --> 00:42:06.739
 of right and wrong

00:42:06.739 --> 00:42:08.239
 that we would look

00:42:08.239 --> 00:42:09.019
 at the world

00:42:09.019 --> 00:42:09.859
 with compassion

00:42:09.859 --> 00:42:10.879
 and the importance

00:42:10.879 --> 00:42:12.859
 to show mercy

00:42:12.859 --> 00:42:15.379
 and to be described

00:42:15.379 --> 00:42:16.279
 as a person

00:42:16.279 --> 00:42:17.119
 of mercy

00:42:17.119 --> 00:42:18.899
 deliver us from the lie

00:42:18.899 --> 00:42:20.719
 help us to love

00:42:20.719 --> 00:42:21.259
 the truth

00:42:21.259 --> 00:42:22.239
 and be filled

00:42:22.239 --> 00:42:22.839
 with mercy

00:42:22.839 --> 00:42:24.779
 and we ask this

00:42:24.779 --> 00:42:25.719
 in the name of Jesus

00:42:25.719 --> 00:42:26.559
 Amen

00:42:26.559 --> 00:42:27.559
 God bless you

00:42:27.559 --> 00:42:27.799
 Amen

00:42:27.799 --> 00:42:27.860
 amen

00:42:27.860 --> 00:42:28.259
 thank you

00:42:28.259 --> 00:42:29.820
 thank siz