Okay, let's turn our thoughts then to Jonah, particularly verse 1 to 3, and we will be referencing
! Chapter 4, verse 2 as well.
! When you come to a book like Jonah, I think it's one of the most important things
in terms of starting off looking at Jonah is that you see yourself in the message,
or you see a little bit of Jonah's heart in ourselves. I think the shocking reality for
us that when we do and look at Jonah, the shocking reality is we're more like him than we think.
And that's the challenge I hope that we are willing to face up to. So, when we hear the hard call of God,
in his case, to go to Nineveh to a people that he despised and hated because of what they did,
and they were an enemy of Israel. But we might find it difficult with some neighbors,
difficult people around us, and we might actually be a little bit more like Jonah than we realize.
And the challenge, of course, is to realize that God is sovereign, God is all-powerful,
God is gracious, and so on. And he will empower us as we live our lives for the glory of Jesus,
even with the most difficult people around us. Because our calling is to be like Jesus,
not just as we gather and sit beside each other in church, but to those that we are called to go out
to. Because that is what God called, Jesus called his disciples to do, to go to all the ends of the
earth, to all the people groups in his name and his power and his authority to make disciples of all
nations. And here God calls Jonah. And immediately you see the struggle that he faces. Now, we don't know
a great deal about Jonah other than some words that are mentioned for us in 2 Kings 14. And the words
that are recorded for us from Jonah there are that he confirmed in the time of Jeroboam that the Lord was
building the boundaries or rebuilding the boundaries of Israel. That's all we know. But why is that
important? Well, if you go back to the previous verses that what the Lord revealed to Israel and to Jonah
and to everybody around them was this, that during the time of Jeroboam II, it says that he did evil in
the eyes of the Lord which had caused Israel, which he had caused Israel to commit. And this is the
challenge I think that we always face as Christians. When we have a culture and we see things moving and
changing in our culture and the impact it has on the Christian church, on the gathering or mission,
the fear that we might have, that we might get a mouthful from whomever we have, in a sense,
we might also have a disparaging view of the mission field that you're called to go to.
And that is what is exposed here. The hypocrisy of Jonah is this,
that he knew the repeated mercy of God in the life of Israel. The ups, the downs, the ups,
the downs. You cannot read the Old Testament without seeing it for yourself.
Times of great, you know, terrible events and terrible lifestyles, etc., in there by,
led by kings and Jeroboam in this case, his sin came up before the Lord. And it is easy to forget that,
to forget even our own sin from what we have been saved from, and see others and their lives as much
worse and much more terrible than what God had to deal with with you and me.
And it's a dangerous move from the church. And it's an easy thing to fall into, an easy pattern.
And it is so easy to forget what the Lord saved you and me from. Now, granted, most of you were
probably not like me back in the day. And all the mistakes and the wrongs, etc., I'm very much an unlikely
candidate. But God, but God stepped in. But God saved. God saves the unexpected, the rascals,
the people of Nineveh. He showed, he called Jonah to go to these people that he despised,
forgetting the very sins that the Lord had repeatedly forgiven and restored Israel time
and time again. So, it is easy to fall into that pattern. And that's the challenge I think we face as
we look at Jonah, as we think about the first three verses and also his own confession regarding God's
character when it comes to dealing with the sins of people. Now, one writer said this. He says,
challenging us about our Christian lifestyles, our mission, etc. He said, your Christianity is not defined
by Sunday morning when you're throwing your head back and singing praise to God.
He says, that's the easy call of God.
That doesn't define your Christianity alone. Our call is to be Christ-like in every day
and in submission to Him and in worship every single day of our lives. Now, that includes the very clear
command of Scripture, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love
your neighbor as yourself. And as we all know, sometimes they can be the most difficult of people.
Sometimes God calls us to hard things, to hard places. It's not easy, but we are never going on our own strength.
And so, you can understand in one sense Jonah's unwillingness to go,
but he had known God's redeeming grace repeatedly in the life of Israel.
And it's something that he didn't want to share with the people of Nineveh.
So, when God is calling you to tough places, what's your response?
How do you respond to Him?
We could say, and I think I've probably done this myself,
Lord, lead me anywhere you want me to go.
Except, and except, or in Jonah's case, Nineveh.
In fact, his effort was to try and reach as far away from Nineveh as possible and go to Tarshish,
the end of the then known world would be Europe to most commentators.
So, what do I hope that we do this evening as we look at these words, and as we think about the
tough call of God on your life? What if He's calling you to ministry,
and you feel there are so many hurdles in your way? What if He's calling you to
minister in some way or other to people at work, or whatever it may be? And sometimes you just simply
resist and don't fulfill that calling because it's too tough for you and for me.
Well, here we find out that God is truly sovereign and all-powerful.
And that is what we need to take on board in the tough calls that He gives us,
the people that He seeks you to minister to, because He goes with you and before you,
and it is through Him that people come to know Him. So, what is the first thing then about Jonah that we
should take consideration of? It's his heart. His heart.
You know, you read these words, the first three verses there, and there is clearly something about
the prophet. He does a runner. He just runs. How do we know his heart? It comes from his confession
in chapter 4. He says,
O Lord, and he prayed to the Lord and said, O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?
That is why I made haste to flee to Tarsus. For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster.
There is the revelation of what he knew about God in this moment.
He knew the character of God in every aspect of his life, and what he said about the character of God,
what God displayed even through the message of judgment in the time of Israel,
was a God who was compassionate and slow to anger and rich in mercy, and who relented when the people
prayed in repentance. What an incredible testimony to the majesty and the grace and the wonder of God.
God, but it exposes his heart. It shows you how he was so disturbed at the thought that these terrible people
might discover, feel, receive that compassion,
that love,
that slow to anger and rich in mercy, God in heaven, who relents from disaster.
There is the exposure of his heart and what he is truly thinking,
and that he is willing to be a roadblock to these people ever responding to God.
It is really difficult to try and understand how someone could get to that place.
Very difficult.
How someone refused, or he was, yes, he refused till later,
but he refused to go to Nineveh,
wanted to go to Tarshish because he didn't want
to proclaim the gracious judgment of God.
Now, one or two of you might be saying,
did he just say gracious judgment?
Yes, that's exactly what I said.
God's gracious judgment.
Now, if you're a non-Christian and you're hearing the word judgment,
it's probably the case that you really don't like
that word,
and very often
we don't do a great job
when we're talking about the gracious judgment of God.
A lot of us have probably never put the two words together.
But I call it gracious judgment for a reason.
You can call it gracious revelation.
God knew the heart of the people of Nineveh.
Their sin had come up before him.
It also had come up before Jonah,
and Jonah's response was,
really, in a sense,
Lord, just bring rain down judgment upon them.
But when the Lord reveals judgment in this way,
in this gracious judgment way,
what He is doing is,
is He exposes the heart of people.
And if you're a non-Christian this evening,
when He reveals your heart,
the point of it is to bring you to a place
where you are no longer on the throne of your life,
but that He is on the throne,
and He is the one who is supreme Lord and sovereign King.
He is the one who judges.
But He is also the gracious one
who will relent when you turn to Him.
He is the one who provided the means
for you and me to turn away from this judgment
because He gave His only begotten Son,
and judgment was poured upon Him
for the sin of the world.
And that's the incredible truth in front of you,
that this prophet of God,
God spoke to him.
God called him to a hard calling
to get up and go,
and not just simply lob grenade bombs
of judgment on the people of Nineveh.
Pick yourself up,
go to Nineveh,
and proclaim what I have told you to proclaim,
that their sin has come up before me,
and judgment is coming.
Why does the Lord do that?
So that you can turn.
So that you can turn from it,
from its outcome.
When you want to be Lord of your own life,
but there is only one Lord,
and it is Him who offers you
mercy and love and compassion
and salvation and transformation
and the new birth and eternal life.
That's why I call it His gracious judgment.
Now, of course, we know the outcome
when He goes to Nineveh and preaches it,
and you read that in chapter 3.
The whole city, everybody turns to Him.
And I just want to point this out to you.
There are different responses in the Bible
to God's gracious judgment.
God's gracious judgment came to Nineveh.
The whole place, every person,
and even sackcloth and ashes on animals.
It was incredible.
What a glorious moment it could have been
for Jonah to be remembered as the prophet
to have seen 100 plus thousand people
come to the Lord.
But He despised them.
I want to give you another example
about God's gracious judgment
that wasn't received.
Go back to the time of Noah,
when their sin had come up before the Lord,
and there was 120 years,
and only some were saved.
And judgment reigned.
The point is this,
that when God speaks judgment,
He wants you to come to Him
because it is Him who can heal you,
save you, change you,
and make you His child
and part of His family.
That is the God that Jonah confesses.
I knew that you were gracious,
a gracious God,
merciful and slow to anger,
abounding in steadfast love
and relenting from disaster.
That's the call that I have for you tonight
if you're a non-Christian.
For us as Christians, then,
what an incredible challenge it is.
You know, if the statistics are right,
and I cannot confirm the statistics are right,
but I have heard many a preacher
and many a person say
that if we in this nation
only have about 2% of evangelical,
2% of the nation
engaging in evangelical Christianity,
things are rough.
Times are tough.
But God hasn't changed.
It is the same God
who is slow to anger
and rich in mercy.
The same God.
Why has the church diminished so?
We can give loads of different reasons,
but I want us to really think that through.
When you hear what Jonah confesses
in light of what took place in Nineveh,
that God relented,
God poured out His grace,
God brought these people to life,
He hasn't changed.
And our calling is to go
in His name,
His authority,
even to the tough people
in this town.
And many a person
who lambasted a Christian
eventually came to know
the King of Kings,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so,
His heart is exposed
to the reality of who God is.
And we, the church,
need to take confidence,
if I can put,
it's a weak word,
I suppose,
but it's,
you get the idea.
And who we are
redeemed by,
saved by,
whom we worship in song,
whom we worship in life,
whom we seek to give glory
in our lives,
it is the same Lord
who provided His
only begotten Son,
the same Lord
who raised Him
from the dead,
defeating sin and death,
the same Lord
that raised us to life.
don't be a Jonah
and run away
from the hard call of God.
Jonah did something
he knew he couldn't do.
When we were singing
our first praise,
again,
I hope that most ministers
try and pick something
relating to the text
and not just our favorite
bits of Scripture,
you hear the words
of the psalmist,
which I'm pretty sure
he would have known.
O Lord,
you have searched me
and you know me,
you know when I sit
and when I rise,
you perceive my thoughts
from afar,
you discern my going out
and my lying down,
you are familiar
with all my ways
before a word
is on my tongue,
you know it completely,
you hem me in
behind before,
you have laid
your hand upon me,
such knowledge
is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me
to attain.
Where can I go
from your Spirit?
Where can I flee
from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens,
you are there.
If I make my bed
in the depths,
you are there.
If I rise
on the wings of dawn,
if I settle
on the far side
of the sea,
his Tarshish,
even there,
your hand will guide me,
your right hand
will hold me.
He was delusional
and we are delusional
ourselves
or lacking
in understanding
that this God
is our God
and his almighty power,
he uses his church
as a vessel of grace
to the world
that is broken.
And that is
our call
to go.
It is on his name,
his authority,
on his provision
and on his message
that reveals
the heart
of people
and exposes it
to his living word.
And some will say,
no can do.
I don't want to know.
Some of us said that
a few times.
But I praise God
that he continued
to this day
even in my stubbornness
when I finally
heard him say,
come,
follow me.
Three things
I want to say then
before we conclude.
And this is the challenge
I hope that we will take
regarding what we see
here with Jonah.
The first thing is this
and listen carefully.
Jonah ran from God
because he did not have
God's sensitivity
to sin.
Just pause and think
of what I'm trying to say.
You see,
many of us
have preached judgment
and we let people
know the full force
of the word
in that moment.
what I mean
about the sensitivity
is that God knows
their predicament.
God knows
their situation.
And we go
with that sensitivity
knowing
that the outcome
is dreadful.
But we go
with a sensitivity
in that God
will relent.
That God will relent
when a person
repents
and turns to the Lord.
That is the message
that we're called
to go with.
it is a sensitivity
to reignite
in us
a sensitivity
to the fallenness
of man,
to the broken world
around us,
that the testimony
of the church
to the majesty
of Jesus
is getting
lower
and lower
and dimmer
and dimmer.
it is time
for us
to have
that sensitivity
to be driven
by the character
of God
to a people
that are lost.
And even if it's
just one
or two
or five hundred
the call
is to go.
We need
that sensitivity.
and it is
driven
by our own
life
and knowledge.
Amazing grace
that saved
a wretch
like me.
That's the first thing.
The second thing
is this.
It is clear
that Jonah
resisted
the plan
of God.
The plan
was simple
but hard.
Go to Nineveh
and speak.
the message
of judgment
against it.
That I have
seen their sin.
The plan
of God.
We know
the plan
of God.
It is preached.
I've listened
to Calum
and others
preaching.
I know
that the plan
of God
has been spoken
about repeatedly
in this place
and in other churches.
Praise be to God.
But we need
to not only
listen
and hear
the words
but put
them in action.
Put the plan
of God
in action.
Jesus
said it
to his disciples
and I repeat
go
therefore
go
therefore
into all
the earth
and your town.
Now I am
very grateful
for the opportunity
of speaking
about Mission
International.
It is my delight
to be able
to do that
and to raise
the profile
of Christians
in different
places.
But I marvel
at the fact
that these people
speaking in tough
situations
or preaching
in tough situations.
Myanmar
with a military junta
bombing
just because
they can
because they want
to.
They bomb churches
and everything
so that people
aren't meeting
together.
And yet
every month
I get a report
that the
pastors
and the evangelists
are going to
different places
throughout Myanmar.
And sometimes
they say
we spoke
to 60 people.
Nobody
professed
faith in Jesus.
And other times
they tell
the story
of many people
reached
20 interested
10 baptized.
The Lord
is working
in the tough
places.
What I fear
is that we've
got comfortable
with church
being our
safe place.
It should be
a safe place.
Absolutely.
But it's a
commissioning place,
an equipping place
for us to be
prepared to do
the works of
good service
and proclamation
of the gospel,
the message,
to fulfill
the plan of God
through the
New Testament church
to the world
around us.
That's what
we're called to.
Thirdly,
Jonah
did not
have a
commitment
to the
grace of God
and the
outworking
of that
grace
through the
message of
his word.
That is
such a
challenge.
It really
is.
There are
times when
the Lord
confronts me
about my
own heart,
about my
lethargy
at times,
whatever it
may be.
He speaks
and confronts
through his
word,
through preachers,
but through the
reading of his
word,
through reading
books.
Just,
he does it
and I freely
admit it.
Grace
to us
and we know
it full well.
And this is the
challenge,
whether it's to
people who have
wronged us
or offended us
or the people
that we are
called to on
mission or
people within
the church
that we don't
get on with.
We may be
able to sing
out loud,
amazing grace
that saved
a wretch like
me.
Amazing grace,
how sweet
the sound
that saved
a wretch like
me.
But we're
becoming
resistant
to sharing
that grace
to someone
who may
offend us,
to the
culture
around us
that is
anti-Christian.
That's
where we
were.
Some of us
didn't grow up
in church,
but that's
where we
were.
Ever so
thankful that
someone stopped
one day to
just give me a
tract and start
the discussion.
Didn't go down
too well in
some ways,
but you get
the gist.
Someone did
it.
Someone heard.
Someone
was a
practitioner
of the
grace of
God to
go to
rebels,
and they
picked six
or seven
of us
in our
ranger
scars.
He's
joyful this
weekend.
It'll not
last long.
But there
we are.
They came to
people that
they wouldn't
probably normally
speak to,
but they
did.
And eventually,
as God
opens doors
and whatever
he did to
bring me to
a place
where I
professed faith
in him,
I'm ever so
grateful for
that moment.
We have to
have a
commitment to
the grace of
God, to
the plan of
God, and
understand God's
compassion for
the broken world
that we're called
to go to.
We need to be
equipped,
encouraged,
discipled,
prepared for
action.
But it's
driven by
grace.
It's driven
by the grace
of God for
a broken
world that
he knows
full well
that he gave
his son
for.
And it
is him
who not
only took
judgment
upon himself
and the
judgment of
my sin
and your
sin upon
himself,
but that
same one
who exchanged
that judgment
for his
righteousness
and my
standing and
your standing
as a believer
completely altered
and changed
because of the
grace of God,
the saving grace
of God.
but we also
live by
that grace.
That's the
challenge.
Are we
channels
of
his
grace?
Are we
throttling
that grace
for whatever
reason?
Are we
listening
to the
hard call
of God
and depending
on him
in humility
because he
strengthens
us if we
come with
humble hearts
saying,
I can't
do this
by myself.
And that
is a
delight to
God
because God
resists the
proud.
And maybe
churches in
this country
have demonstrated
more pride
than humility
when God
resists
pride.
But he
will work
with the
humble,
restore,
empower us
to fulfill
this commission
of grace
to a broken
world.
So we
have that
challenge in
front of us
as we
kind of
close our
time together.
Do you
have God's
sensitivity
to sin?
Do you
understand the
plan of God
for you as a
Christian and
as a church?
do you have
God's commitment
to this
incredible
grace,
this gracious
God who
blessed us
with His
grace when
we were
lost?
Well,
He wants
us to
do to
others what
others did
for you when
they were
channels of
God's grace.
God saves.
But He
uses the
vehicle of
the church
and His
people to
proclaim the
message and
not be afraid
in a time
when the
culture is
difficult and
resistant.
He is
still sovereign
over all
nations.
He is
still ruler
and power
over all.
He is on
His throne
and He
wants to
use every
single gift
He has
bestowed upon
you, His
people, you
this church,
His people,
to use every
gift for the
glory of His
name, for
the blessing
of the people
of Stornoway
or if you
include Plasterfield
and different
places like that
in Stornoway
these days, I
think you do,
but in all the
places that you
belong to.
And I
believe that God
will do great
things when
we're a
humble
church that
comes with an
open heart
knowing we
cannot do it
ourselves, but
He will do it
through us for
the glory of
His name.
We pray all
things.
Let's pray.
Lord God,
our Heavenly
Father, Lord,
we just pray
that you will
continue speaking
to us and
challenging us,
checking our
hearts this
evening, Lord,
searching us.
May Your
Word be like a
mirror to us,
exposing the
weaknesses of
our character,
the flaws in
us that feel
anxious about
our time,
but this is not
our home,
Lord.
This is,
grace, we
know that we
are in the
in-between time,
and it is still
the time of
grace until
You return.
And I pray
then that we
would have that
sense of
urgency,
be prayerful,
be willing
to share the
grace of God
with people,
in the hope
that they too
may come and
join us at
Your feet.
Lord God,
our Heavenly
Father and
Savior,
we thank You.
Lord, I pray
that You will
move us as a
people and we
commit ourselves
to You.
I pray in a
new way to
see You do
great things in
this town and
further afield.
for the glory
of Your
name we
pray.
Amen.
Okay, we're
going to sing
our final
praise this
evening from
Psalm 130,
and that's
in the
Psalter,
page 421,
actually.
Lord,
from the
depths I
cried.
My voice,
Lord, do
Thou hear,
unto my
supplications
voice,
give an
attentive
ear.
We'll sing
the whole of
that psalm
to God's
praise.
For from the dead to thee I cry, my voice for dear thou dear,
Until thy son in nature's heart, in heaven at every year.
Lord, who shall stand in power, O Lord, to spark iniquity?
But yet will thee forgive, that if thou hast me,
I wait for God, my soul of me, My hope is in His word.
For from the dead to thee I cry, my soul of me, My hope is in His word.
I say, Lord God, may I to watch, The Lord be not to see.
Let Israel open the door, For with Him bless His King.
And when Jesus redeemed for His name,
And from all His name, He will be, He is blessed and redeemed.
And now may the grace and the mercy and peace and joy and the love of God
that we find in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God,
may these blessings rest upon you and dwell in your lives now
and until you meet them face to face.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen.