1 00:00:04,366 --> 00:00:06,166 Good morning church. 2 00:00:06,166 --> 00:00:06,766 Good morning. 3 00:00:06,766 --> 00:00:09,766 Good morning, good morning. Oh, 4 00:00:10,633 --> 00:00:13,633 God. Someone new on stage this weekend. 5 00:00:14,300 --> 00:00:15,266 If we have not met yet. 6 00:00:15,266 --> 00:00:17,466 My name is Michael, 7 00:00:17,466 --> 00:00:19,466 and my wife and I, and we have two kids. 8 00:00:19,466 --> 00:00:22,466 We have been at flip side for about two months. 9 00:00:23,466 --> 00:00:25,500 right before school started, we joined the team, 10 00:00:25,500 --> 00:00:28,500 and we are so grateful for it. 11 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,100 this weekend, Pascale has the amazing opportunity to visit family in Idaho. 12 00:00:33,100 --> 00:00:34,700 And so I ask this. 13 00:00:34,700 --> 00:00:35,900 Well, first of all, I don't know if it happened, 14 00:00:35,900 --> 00:00:39,600 but if you have his number, please text him right now. 15 00:00:39,700 --> 00:00:42,300 Just pull your phone out, tell him you you miss him. 16 00:00:42,300 --> 00:00:43,400 You're thinking about him. 17 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:44,400 You're praying for the Vikings. 18 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:46,900 You're praying for the Raiders. 19 00:00:46,900 --> 00:00:48,200 so I sent him a text. Tell me you're thinking about it. 20 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:49,500 We're going to see him next week, 21 00:00:49,500 --> 00:00:52,233 and he's going to jump back into judges nine and judges ten. 22 00:00:53,233 --> 00:00:55,933 But as you can see this morning, we're going to take a break from judges. 23 00:00:55,933 --> 00:00:57,600 It's been a great study. 24 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,766 we've we've really been able to see God's mercy on full display. 25 00:01:01,833 --> 00:01:02,133 Right. 26 00:01:02,133 --> 00:01:03,366 We see his faithfulness, 27 00:01:03,366 --> 00:01:06,500 his goodness, his gentleness, his guidance, his correction. 28 00:01:06,500 --> 00:01:10,966 We've seen God just show up over and over and over, even when God's people 29 00:01:10,966 --> 00:01:13,966 are falling away, even when God's people are saying no to him. 30 00:01:13,966 --> 00:01:17,333 And for decades at a time we've seen walking away, right. 31 00:01:17,333 --> 00:01:19,800 We we've talked about how how God delivers them. 32 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:21,366 And then they kind of flirt with sin 33 00:01:21,366 --> 00:01:25,166 and they fall into to to disobedience, and they're far from God. 34 00:01:25,166 --> 00:01:27,900 And they they spend time there and they and then they enter into a time 35 00:01:27,900 --> 00:01:30,566 or a space of defeat. Right. And they're just there. 36 00:01:30,566 --> 00:01:31,400 They have no hope. 37 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,900 No, there's nothing that can get them out of that space. 38 00:01:33,900 --> 00:01:35,100 And so what do they do? They repent. 39 00:01:35,100 --> 00:01:37,200 They cry out to God. They say, we need you to rescue us. 40 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:38,166 We need you to guide us. 41 00:01:38,166 --> 00:01:40,266 We need you to to help us. 42 00:01:40,266 --> 00:01:40,966 And what does God do? 43 00:01:40,966 --> 00:01:43,966 He shows up time after time again because we have a faithful God. 44 00:01:44,133 --> 00:01:46,400 As David said he is. He is constant. 45 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,800 He is constantly in pursuit of us, and he is constantly trying 46 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,866 to help us, to correct us, to guide us, to encourage our hearts. 47 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:55,200 and so, 48 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:56,666 we're going to spend just a little bit of time 49 00:01:56,666 --> 00:01:59,033 talking about judges, like, I almost want to like a movie trailer preview it. 50 00:01:59,033 --> 00:02:02,100 So there's not two weeks without some time in judges. 51 00:02:03,300 --> 00:02:07,500 but I do want to, kind of echo something Pascal's been saying over and over again. 52 00:02:07,500 --> 00:02:10,333 Remember, it's not just a history lesson, right? 53 00:02:10,333 --> 00:02:11,100 The book of judges. 54 00:02:11,100 --> 00:02:11,666 This is 55 00:02:11,666 --> 00:02:12,766 this is our time to 56 00:02:12,766 --> 00:02:15,333 to apply what we're learning to our own spiritual walk with Jesus. 57 00:02:15,333 --> 00:02:15,633 Right. 58 00:02:15,633 --> 00:02:17,500 It's not just a fun history lesson, although it 59 00:02:17,500 --> 00:02:20,700 is cool to kind of see what happened because we believe this to be true, right? 60 00:02:20,700 --> 00:02:21,833 We believe it to be accurate 61 00:02:21,833 --> 00:02:24,633 and honest and and we believe it to be a guide for us. 62 00:02:24,633 --> 00:02:27,566 But, we don't want to just read it for history, but rather, 63 00:02:27,566 --> 00:02:30,566 how can this enrich our spiritual walk with Jesus? 64 00:02:30,900 --> 00:02:34,100 Before I jump in, I want to ask for prayer real quick. 65 00:02:34,300 --> 00:02:36,466 Heather to call me out I love it. 66 00:02:36,466 --> 00:02:38,933 Last service I kind of said this unannounced, 67 00:02:38,933 --> 00:02:40,833 but my wife and I found out that she is pregnant. 68 00:02:40,833 --> 00:02:43,833 So if you are a prayer like yeah, if you could pray for her, that would be awesome. 69 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:47,133 we have two boys. 70 00:02:47,133 --> 00:02:51,300 Theo is seven and Jude is two, and so we're going to have a crazy household 71 00:02:51,333 --> 00:02:54,233 either with three boys running around or we'll get a little girl that'll, 72 00:02:54,233 --> 00:02:55,533 maybe even things out a little bit. 73 00:02:55,533 --> 00:02:57,300 And so if you can pray for that, that'd be awesome. 74 00:02:57,300 --> 00:03:00,333 She's about eight weeks, and so there's still a long ways to go. 75 00:03:01,566 --> 00:03:02,400 but. Right. 76 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:06,233 Judges Pascale initially said, hey, Michael, take nine, I'll take ten. 77 00:03:06,500 --> 00:03:08,833 And then he he came a couple of days. I was like, you know what? 78 00:03:08,833 --> 00:03:11,366 These are kind of they're interesting chapters. Let me. 79 00:03:11,366 --> 00:03:12,733 I want a sandwich nine and ten. 80 00:03:12,733 --> 00:03:14,466 But I told them I want to at least preview it, 81 00:03:14,466 --> 00:03:16,433 at least give us a little bit of thought. 82 00:03:16,433 --> 00:03:17,966 And so remember what we've learned so far. 83 00:03:17,966 --> 00:03:20,733 Gideon has passed, right? He is. He died. 84 00:03:20,733 --> 00:03:25,133 And and Scripture told us he had 70 sons, which is why yield to me, right? 85 00:03:25,133 --> 00:03:26,066 70 kids. 86 00:03:27,033 --> 00:03:27,833 he was walking with God in 87 00:03:27,833 --> 00:03:30,833 some ways, and obviously not in this way, like 70 kids. 88 00:03:30,933 --> 00:03:32,400 and he had wives, he had concubines. 89 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,400 And one of those concubines was from the city of Chicago. 90 00:03:35,966 --> 00:03:38,233 And we hear about them in Genesis 12. 91 00:03:38,233 --> 00:03:42,533 We hear about him with Abraham, with Jacob in the book of Joshua. 92 00:03:42,533 --> 00:03:43,866 We hear of them. 93 00:03:43,866 --> 00:03:46,333 And in some of these instances, it's a place of worship. 94 00:03:46,333 --> 00:03:47,466 It's a place of honor. 95 00:03:47,466 --> 00:03:49,766 It's a place of of of God. You are our God. 96 00:03:49,766 --> 00:03:52,033 We are your people. We want to dedicate ourselves to you. 97 00:03:52,033 --> 00:03:53,800 That happens in Joshua 24. 98 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:56,800 Actually just the book right before judges. 99 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:58,100 And then we have a right. 100 00:03:58,100 --> 00:03:59,300 There's power vacuum happens. 101 00:03:59,300 --> 00:04:03,266 Gideon is no longer around, and he wants to take power, right? 102 00:04:03,266 --> 00:04:04,666 He wants to lead. 103 00:04:04,666 --> 00:04:06,566 And and he appeals to the people in shack. 104 00:04:06,566 --> 00:04:08,200 And he says, hey, I am of you. 105 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:09,000 I was born here. 106 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:09,933 I was raised here. 107 00:04:09,933 --> 00:04:12,500 Like, do you want my 70 brothers to rule over you? 108 00:04:12,500 --> 00:04:14,000 Or do you want just me? 109 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:15,466 And then they're like, yeah, that sounds pretty good. 110 00:04:15,466 --> 00:04:18,266 Just you and so they, they said, yeah, they they inspired him. 111 00:04:18,266 --> 00:04:21,900 They gave him a little bit of money, to support his candidacy. And, 112 00:04:22,900 --> 00:04:26,466 and Abimelech was crowned this illegitimate king of God's people. 113 00:04:26,933 --> 00:04:29,000 And I wanted to remind you of that, that sin cycle. Right? 114 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,100 That deliverance would fallen away in despair, disobedience in him, 115 00:04:32,100 --> 00:04:35,400 where we're in this nasty place of of of distance from God. 116 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:37,966 And then we cry out to him in repentance like I feel like again, 117 00:04:37,966 --> 00:04:41,366 this is an example where where the people are falling away from God, right? 118 00:04:41,366 --> 00:04:43,633 They're not saying, God, who do you have for us next? 119 00:04:43,633 --> 00:04:46,466 This is like a power vacuum where I've been like I says, I am. 120 00:04:46,466 --> 00:04:47,466 Who's next? 121 00:04:47,466 --> 00:04:50,333 I don't know if God is mentioned or God is asked in any way 122 00:04:50,333 --> 00:04:51,900 to be honored and glorified. 123 00:04:51,900 --> 00:04:55,300 So what happens in Joshua 24, whether it's a place of honor in 124 00:04:55,566 --> 00:04:57,433 in check on the place of worship 125 00:04:57,433 --> 00:05:00,500 now in judges nine is is kind of a place of sin and despair. 126 00:05:00,500 --> 00:05:03,700 And so you can see that that fall, we can see that kind of the how things 127 00:05:03,700 --> 00:05:06,700 were so high here and now they're kind of low spot. 128 00:05:07,333 --> 00:05:11,133 But again, just a preview, just a trailer pastor car will jump in and 129 00:05:11,133 --> 00:05:13,066 and tackle nine and ten next week. So read them this week 130 00:05:13,066 --> 00:05:15,833 if you got some time, spend time in in judges nine and ten. 131 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,133 this morning though, we gonna spend time in the book of Jonah. 132 00:05:19,133 --> 00:05:21,600 My desire is actually to survey the entire book. 133 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,100 There's only four chapters, and so we're going to Bible study 134 00:05:24,100 --> 00:05:26,600 it up, we're going to read God's Word, and then we're going to unpack it. 135 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:28,266 And so I'm going to I'm going to kind of chunk it. 136 00:05:28,266 --> 00:05:31,266 We'll do chapter one unpack to unpack and so on. 137 00:05:32,066 --> 00:05:34,300 and so while you turn there, we're going to go, Jonah one, 138 00:05:34,300 --> 00:05:37,300 it's towards the latter part of the Old Testament. 139 00:05:37,300 --> 00:05:39,100 just a little bit of background for you. 140 00:05:39,100 --> 00:05:42,133 The last 12 books of the Old Testament are the Minor Prophets, right? 141 00:05:42,166 --> 00:05:43,666 They're not minor because they're insignificant. 142 00:05:43,666 --> 00:05:46,666 They're minor because they're just smaller letters. 143 00:05:47,700 --> 00:05:50,233 Jonah is 144 00:05:50,233 --> 00:05:51,566 five of 12. 145 00:05:51,566 --> 00:05:53,700 He's right in the middle of those minor prophets. 146 00:05:54,700 --> 00:05:57,333 and I would I would venture to say he's probably the most well known. 147 00:05:57,333 --> 00:05:57,733 Right. 148 00:05:57,733 --> 00:06:01,766 Because we read in the text that he was swallowed by a great fish. 149 00:06:01,833 --> 00:06:02,066 Right. 150 00:06:02,066 --> 00:06:05,700 Which is a wild, weird, interesting fact about Jonah's testimony. 151 00:06:05,700 --> 00:06:08,633 His experience. 152 00:06:08,633 --> 00:06:11,066 and, and and even though Jonah. 153 00:06:11,066 --> 00:06:15,266 Right, in my kind of prayer over this, in my research and my unpacking this week, 154 00:06:15,966 --> 00:06:18,266 even though it's a prophetic book, I would say 155 00:06:18,266 --> 00:06:21,133 that it's actually more of a story or a narrative. 156 00:06:21,133 --> 00:06:24,333 It's not about what the prophet says, it's about what the prophet does 157 00:06:24,333 --> 00:06:25,366 or doesn't do. 158 00:06:25,366 --> 00:06:28,366 It's about Jonah's obedience and his disobedience 159 00:06:28,500 --> 00:06:31,000 and how we can kind of sometimes instead of saying, Jonah, I like it. 160 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:32,100 Insert my own name 161 00:06:32,100 --> 00:06:35,833 and I can find myself in chapter one, or I can find myself in chapter two or 3 162 00:06:35,833 --> 00:06:39,266 or 4 kind of following in the brokenness that we see in Jonah's life. 163 00:06:39,733 --> 00:06:41,000 So it's about his obedience. 164 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:42,600 It's about his disobedience. 165 00:06:43,966 --> 00:06:46,000 Jonah or Jonah means dove. 166 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,166 Jonah is referenced in Second Kings about 780 BC, 167 00:06:49,633 --> 00:06:51,800 and he's also contemporaries of Amos and Josiah. Right. 168 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,700 Just a little bit of back on the last thing before we jump in. 169 00:06:54,700 --> 00:06:57,500 It is important for for Jonah's walk 170 00:06:57,500 --> 00:07:00,500 is that during this time, the Assyrian empire is on the rise. 171 00:07:00,500 --> 00:07:00,666 All right. 172 00:07:00,666 --> 00:07:01,933 We're going to talk about the people of Nineveh, 173 00:07:01,933 --> 00:07:03,666 which was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. 174 00:07:03,666 --> 00:07:06,666 They were wicked, destructive, hurtful, nasty people. 175 00:07:06,666 --> 00:07:08,433 They were pagan people. They didn't know God, right? 176 00:07:08,433 --> 00:07:09,900 They don't want nothing to do with God. 177 00:07:09,900 --> 00:07:12,300 And Jonah wanted nothing to do with them. 178 00:07:12,300 --> 00:07:16,233 And so this book is kind of like a letter where God is Saint Jonah. 179 00:07:16,233 --> 00:07:19,900 I want to use you to redeem these lost, broken, helpless people. 180 00:07:20,300 --> 00:07:20,566 Right? 181 00:07:20,566 --> 00:07:21,666 They are spiritually dead. 182 00:07:21,666 --> 00:07:23,733 They have no hope aside from me. 183 00:07:23,733 --> 00:07:26,333 And I want to use you in their lives. But Jonah says, you know what? 184 00:07:26,333 --> 00:07:28,266 God is not going to work for me. 185 00:07:28,266 --> 00:07:30,666 And so we're going to unpack that, this morning. 186 00:07:32,266 --> 00:07:34,066 I love how God authors Jonah. 187 00:07:34,066 --> 00:07:34,400 Right. 188 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:38,200 So it's only four chapters, and the first, first and third chapter, 189 00:07:38,233 --> 00:07:40,700 they talk about Jonah's interaction with pagans. 190 00:07:40,700 --> 00:07:44,100 The first with pagan sailors, and the second with 191 00:07:44,133 --> 00:07:46,800 the pagan city of Nineveh, the people of Nineveh. Okay. 192 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:47,400 But what's interesting 193 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,500 is like a Freaky Friday situation where the rules have been reversed. 194 00:07:50,733 --> 00:07:53,400 The prophet of God is kind of running from God. 195 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:54,100 He's distant. 196 00:07:54,100 --> 00:07:56,366 He doesn't want anything to do with God and the pagans. 197 00:07:56,366 --> 00:07:59,166 They humble themselves, they worship God, they find salvation. 198 00:07:59,166 --> 00:08:02,933 And so it's really quite interesting how God authors this book and how he uses 199 00:08:02,933 --> 00:08:05,933 Jonah's disobedience, his brokenness, 200 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,000 to still bring about good in this world. 201 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:10,633 and I think that he does that with us, too. 202 00:08:10,633 --> 00:08:11,400 I really love it. 203 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,466 And then chapters two and four, their prayers to is 204 00:08:14,466 --> 00:08:18,233 Jonah is stuck in the belly of a fish and he's in a weird space. 205 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:20,033 And then four is he cried out to God. 206 00:08:20,033 --> 00:08:21,466 He prays to God. 207 00:08:21,466 --> 00:08:23,833 And then chapter four, we see Jonah. 208 00:08:23,833 --> 00:08:26,133 We see a dialog for the first time in Jonah's. 209 00:08:26,133 --> 00:08:30,000 He's actually really mad at God for being so merciful, for extending grace 210 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,200 and mercy and love and kindness and and in first saying, you know what? 211 00:08:33,500 --> 00:08:35,333 They're wicked and evil, but they're worth it. 212 00:08:35,333 --> 00:08:37,866 I'm going to die for them. I'm going to eventually save them. 213 00:08:37,866 --> 00:08:41,366 And God wants to use Jonah to to bring them to repentance, right? 214 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:43,066 To help them to turn another way. 215 00:08:43,066 --> 00:08:45,200 And Jonah wants nothing to do with it. Right. 216 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,500 Again, Freaky Friday upside down situation. 217 00:08:47,500 --> 00:08:49,166 And it's very interesting. 218 00:08:49,166 --> 00:08:52,000 So this morning I want to read through all of one. 219 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:53,533 It's probably the longest chapter we're in. 220 00:08:53,533 --> 00:08:55,166 And then we'll do the same with two, three and four. 221 00:08:55,166 --> 00:08:56,333 And with this unpack them a little bit. 222 00:08:56,333 --> 00:08:58,033 So if you every Bible is going to read Jonah one one, 223 00:08:59,133 --> 00:09:00,466 it says the word the Lord. 224 00:09:00,466 --> 00:09:04,633 It came to Jonah, son of Amitai, go to the great city of Nineveh 225 00:09:04,666 --> 00:09:08,300 and preach against it, because it's wickedness has come up before me. 226 00:09:08,933 --> 00:09:11,933 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. 227 00:09:12,466 --> 00:09:15,933 He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. 228 00:09:16,500 --> 00:09:17,566 After paying the fare, 229 00:09:17,566 --> 00:09:20,900 he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. 230 00:09:20,900 --> 00:09:21,833 So we know what he's doing. 231 00:09:21,833 --> 00:09:24,333 He wants to flee from God wants nothing to do with God. 232 00:09:24,333 --> 00:09:27,200 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the on the sea, 233 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:30,500 and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 234 00:09:30,833 --> 00:09:33,666 All the sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own God, 235 00:09:33,666 --> 00:09:36,200 and they threw cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. 236 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,566 But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 237 00:09:40,700 --> 00:09:42,966 The captain went to him and said, how can you sleep? 238 00:09:42,966 --> 00:09:43,900 Get up. Come on, your God. 239 00:09:43,900 --> 00:09:48,233 Maybe he will take notice of us that we will not perish for seven days. 240 00:09:48,233 --> 00:09:50,033 And the sailors said to each other, come, 241 00:09:50,033 --> 00:09:53,033 let us cast lots to see who is responsible for this calamity. 242 00:09:53,500 --> 00:09:56,133 And they cast lots and a lot fell on Jonah. 243 00:09:56,133 --> 00:09:58,333 So they asked him, tell us who you are. 244 00:09:58,333 --> 00:10:00,300 What? Who was responsible for making all this trouble for us? 245 00:10:00,300 --> 00:10:01,600 What kind of work do you do? 246 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:03,766 Where do you come from? What is your country? 247 00:10:03,766 --> 00:10:05,600 From what people are you? 248 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,666 And verse nine says, he answered, I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, 249 00:10:08,966 --> 00:10:10,333 the God of heaven, 250 00:10:10,333 --> 00:10:12,600 who made the sea in the dry land, which is an amazing truth. 251 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,100 But we do not see that in Jonah's lifestyle right? 252 00:10:15,100 --> 00:10:16,600 I don't know how he's worshiping the Lord 253 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,100 or honoring him or have reverence for him. 254 00:10:19,100 --> 00:10:21,700 This terrified them and they asked, what have you done? 255 00:10:21,700 --> 00:10:24,233 For they knew that he was running from the Lord because he already told them so. 256 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:27,366 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. 257 00:10:27,366 --> 00:10:27,900 So they asked. 258 00:10:27,900 --> 00:10:31,733 They asked Jonah, what should we do to you to make the sea calm down? 259 00:10:32,900 --> 00:10:34,733 John says, pick me up and throw me into the sea, 260 00:10:34,733 --> 00:10:37,733 essentially saying, kill me and it will become calm. 261 00:10:37,900 --> 00:10:40,900 I know that this is my fault, that this great storm has come upon you. 262 00:10:41,300 --> 00:10:43,400 Instead, the men did their best to roll back the land, right? 263 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:45,533 They they're like, no, we don't want we don't want to kill you. 264 00:10:45,533 --> 00:10:46,366 You're a prophet of God. 265 00:10:46,366 --> 00:10:48,666 And he's doing this like, no, we're not going to kill you. 266 00:10:48,666 --> 00:10:50,933 That's that's that's that's not the plan. 267 00:10:50,933 --> 00:10:53,366 But the sea grew even wider than before. 268 00:10:53,366 --> 00:10:55,200 And then they cried out to the Lord, please, Lord, 269 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,233 do not let us die for making this man or for taking this man's life. 270 00:10:59,033 --> 00:11:01,833 Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man 271 00:11:01,833 --> 00:11:04,200 for you, Lord, have done as you pleased. 272 00:11:05,233 --> 00:11:08,200 They took Jonah and thrown overboard in the raging sea grew calm. 273 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:12,033 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord, 274 00:11:12,033 --> 00:11:12,966 and made him right. 275 00:11:12,966 --> 00:11:15,900 It sounds like they found God or they found salvation. 276 00:11:15,900 --> 00:11:18,900 Then in verse 17, it ends with now the Lord provided a huge fish 277 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:20,733 to swallow up Jonah. 278 00:11:20,733 --> 00:11:22,200 And Jonah was in the belly of the fish. 279 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:24,566 Three days and three nights. 280 00:11:24,566 --> 00:11:27,566 Interesting opening chapter. Right? 281 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:30,900 I think we fall into three categories here. 282 00:11:30,900 --> 00:11:32,433 We can fall into one of three categories. 283 00:11:32,433 --> 00:11:35,533 Rather, we can believe that that the book of Jonah is a fable. 284 00:11:35,533 --> 00:11:38,266 It's a story that we can pull element out of. 285 00:11:38,266 --> 00:11:40,700 We can fall into the camp where we believe it's allegorical, 286 00:11:40,700 --> 00:11:43,500 or it's like about God's character, about forgiveness of sins. 287 00:11:43,500 --> 00:11:45,233 It's about God's mercy. 288 00:11:45,233 --> 00:11:46,600 It's about God pursuing us. 289 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:49,166 Or you can fall into the camp where you believe it's a factual story, 290 00:11:49,166 --> 00:11:52,500 but actually happen is as bizarre as someone being in the belly of a fish. 291 00:11:52,500 --> 00:11:54,733 Is that that that happened. 292 00:11:54,733 --> 00:11:58,133 And this morning, I want to I want to encourage you 293 00:11:58,133 --> 00:12:01,333 to believe that this is factual, right, that this actually happened. 294 00:12:01,333 --> 00:12:04,733 And I want to use the words of Jesus to do so. 295 00:12:04,966 --> 00:12:05,466 Right. 296 00:12:05,466 --> 00:12:07,800 So in Matthew 12, he's uses talking to the Pharisees, 297 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:10,266 a religious leaders, and he's saying, 298 00:12:10,266 --> 00:12:11,700 you know, they're kind of challenging him 299 00:12:11,700 --> 00:12:13,500 and questioning him, and they don't really have reverence 300 00:12:13,500 --> 00:12:17,400 and respect for Jesus as, as as God's son, Son of Man, the Son of God like. 301 00:12:17,700 --> 00:12:20,700 And so he's talking to him and he says in verse 40 says, For Jonah 302 00:12:20,700 --> 00:12:23,700 was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish. 303 00:12:23,733 --> 00:12:26,700 So the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 304 00:12:26,700 --> 00:12:29,866 So the men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation, 305 00:12:29,866 --> 00:12:31,733 and they were going to condemn it again. 306 00:12:31,733 --> 00:12:34,833 This is the evil, wicked, nasty Ninevites, right? 307 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:38,800 Jesus says, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah. 308 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:41,600 And now something greater than Jonah is here. 309 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:43,566 I think Jesus is referring to an actual event, right? 310 00:12:43,566 --> 00:12:44,866 You don't compare yourself to someone 311 00:12:44,866 --> 00:12:48,366 who is not real in an effort to make yourself right, say I am greater 312 00:12:48,366 --> 00:12:51,433 than as Jesus is saying here, he's referencing his. 313 00:12:51,433 --> 00:12:53,600 His eventual death is three days and three nights 314 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:57,433 in the belly of of the earth, as Jonah was in the fish, and then at the judgment. 315 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,500 And so the people of the devil will stand and condemn this current 316 00:13:00,500 --> 00:13:05,500 religious generation that is so broken towards me and so sinful and so lost. 317 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:06,466 Right? 318 00:13:06,466 --> 00:13:09,466 I think, again, referring to a very real people. 319 00:13:10,133 --> 00:13:12,766 And I start here this morning because if we're going to talk 320 00:13:12,766 --> 00:13:14,566 about God's mercy, right, 321 00:13:15,533 --> 00:13:18,433 depending on how we interpret this story, 322 00:13:18,433 --> 00:13:20,700 that's going to vary and depend on how what we can pull out of it. 323 00:13:20,700 --> 00:13:21,400 Right? 324 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:23,400 If we believe it's just a story, then it's going to be different 325 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,966 and it's going to impact us differently than we believe this actually happened. 326 00:13:26,966 --> 00:13:29,966 Jonah was a real dude like we are, and he was in a belly of a fish 327 00:13:29,966 --> 00:13:33,000 and broken towards God, but God still use him in a really cool way. 328 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:37,833 And so my, my heart, my hope is that you believe that this is real. 329 00:13:37,833 --> 00:13:41,200 This was a real dude, really walked this earth and God really used him, 330 00:13:42,566 --> 00:13:44,366 to redeem people. 331 00:13:44,366 --> 00:13:46,466 So this morning, right, 332 00:13:46,466 --> 00:13:49,366 we as we, as we process Jonah, we process judges. 333 00:13:49,366 --> 00:13:52,133 We're kind of in that mode. We're going to look at God's mercy. 334 00:13:52,133 --> 00:13:53,100 We're going to look at God's mercy. 335 00:13:53,100 --> 00:13:55,800 And so for the sake of togetherness and being one, 336 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,066 this is the definition we're going to work out of, okay. 337 00:13:58,066 --> 00:14:02,433 That the mercy of God is his love, his kindness, and his compassion 338 00:14:02,866 --> 00:14:07,200 towards people, his love, his kindness, and his compassion towards you and me, 339 00:14:07,333 --> 00:14:10,766 toward Jonah, towards the pagan sailors, towards the people of Nineveh. 340 00:14:11,266 --> 00:14:12,900 So this is the definition we're working from. 341 00:14:12,900 --> 00:14:16,300 So whenever I, you know, talk about the mercy of God, kindness, 342 00:14:16,300 --> 00:14:19,300 compassion and love, okay. 343 00:14:19,300 --> 00:14:22,433 And so right when we jump in right off the top, the word the Lord came to John. 344 00:14:22,433 --> 00:14:24,133 I said, go to the people of Nineveh. 345 00:14:24,133 --> 00:14:26,466 Right? So right away we know the wicked. 346 00:14:26,466 --> 00:14:28,500 They're evil, they're destructive, they're brutal, 347 00:14:28,500 --> 00:14:31,366 they're they're they're everything we don't want to be. 348 00:14:31,366 --> 00:14:33,833 And yet God has already extended his mercy to them. 349 00:14:33,833 --> 00:14:35,400 Are you saying, Jonah, go to them. 350 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:36,700 You see, when a word comes to a prophet, 351 00:14:36,700 --> 00:14:38,900 it's good news for the people of God, right? 352 00:14:38,900 --> 00:14:39,633 And instead hear 353 00:14:39,633 --> 00:14:42,300 God saying, no, I want you to go give good news to someone else, 354 00:14:42,300 --> 00:14:44,233 someone that you dislike. Jonah. 355 00:14:44,233 --> 00:14:46,933 And so two phones where two things are happening, Jonah 356 00:14:46,933 --> 00:14:49,566 or God wants to fix Jonah's broken heart, right? 357 00:14:49,566 --> 00:14:51,600 And the sin that he has, the hatred, the prejudice 358 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:53,000 he has towards the people of Nineveh, 359 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:54,766 but he also wants to do a work in the city of them. 360 00:14:54,766 --> 00:14:56,033 Nobody wants to save them. 361 00:14:56,033 --> 00:14:57,600 He wants to redeem them. Right? 362 00:14:57,600 --> 00:14:59,166 These are the ancient Assyrians, 363 00:14:59,166 --> 00:15:02,200 because none of it was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, which is now Iraq. 364 00:15:02,900 --> 00:15:05,766 And again, the ruthless, godless, savage, brutal people. 365 00:15:05,766 --> 00:15:07,366 And you saw them coming to conquer you. 366 00:15:07,366 --> 00:15:09,600 You you did not want to be there, right? 367 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:12,166 They were they were bad people. 368 00:15:12,166 --> 00:15:15,200 And I think what God is telling us right away here is that 369 00:15:16,166 --> 00:15:18,166 he doesn't quite 370 00:15:18,166 --> 00:15:20,066 look at sin like you and I look at sin. 371 00:15:20,066 --> 00:15:20,433 Right. 372 00:15:20,433 --> 00:15:23,500 Well, we can kind of rank things and judge things and say, I'm a little bit better. 373 00:15:23,500 --> 00:15:25,933 You're a little bit worse because Jonah fell into that trap 374 00:15:25,933 --> 00:15:28,000 where he's like, I know I have sin, God, I know I'm broken. 375 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:29,866 But the people of Nineveh, you know their sin. 376 00:15:29,866 --> 00:15:32,533 You're going to stand your mercy to them, 377 00:15:32,533 --> 00:15:33,066 right? 378 00:15:33,066 --> 00:15:36,666 Jonah got in this weird trap of, we're comparing and we're ranking sin. 379 00:15:37,500 --> 00:15:40,500 and God is saying, Jonah, they're worth saving. 380 00:15:40,933 --> 00:15:44,933 You do not get a say in who I extend my mercy to know 381 00:15:44,933 --> 00:15:49,033 your role and know that you were created for my purpose and for my good, right? 382 00:15:49,033 --> 00:15:49,900 Not for your own. 383 00:15:52,066 --> 00:15:54,666 That God does extend his mercy, his mercy to the worst of the worst. 384 00:15:54,666 --> 00:15:57,066 His love is his kindness, his compassion. 385 00:15:57,066 --> 00:15:58,933 His grace is forgiveness. 386 00:15:58,933 --> 00:16:01,100 And that's challenging because we there are people 387 00:16:01,100 --> 00:16:03,633 that just get under our skin and they're so different from us. 388 00:16:03,633 --> 00:16:06,133 And they just we don't quite understand how 389 00:16:06,133 --> 00:16:09,300 how God can love them in their brokenness until we get to know God's Word 390 00:16:09,433 --> 00:16:10,300 and we realize 391 00:16:10,300 --> 00:16:13,766 that they have a veil over their eyes and they cannot do anything about it, 392 00:16:13,966 --> 00:16:16,200 they they're spiritually living in darkness and sin. 393 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,033 And it's just 394 00:16:18,033 --> 00:16:19,233 they can't do anything. 395 00:16:19,233 --> 00:16:20,800 If you're spiritually dead, what can you do when you're dead? 396 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:22,133 Nothing. Right. 397 00:16:22,133 --> 00:16:24,033 And we need people like Jonah. 398 00:16:24,033 --> 00:16:25,466 We need people like this community. 399 00:16:25,466 --> 00:16:27,533 Go out and share this good news and share the gospel 400 00:16:27,533 --> 00:16:30,533 so that God could do a work in someone's life. 401 00:16:31,133 --> 00:16:34,100 And so I think chapter one, as we see Jonah's testimony, 402 00:16:34,100 --> 00:16:36,233 we walk through and see his sin nature. 403 00:16:36,233 --> 00:16:38,466 It's a good time to pause and reflect on our own. 404 00:16:38,466 --> 00:16:41,300 In what ways are you and I running from God? 405 00:16:41,300 --> 00:16:43,200 Are always are we pursuing Tarshish? 406 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:45,533 In what ways are we distant from God? 407 00:16:47,100 --> 00:16:47,466 This morning? 408 00:16:47,466 --> 00:16:50,933 There are four things I really want to hopefully pull out of the text. 409 00:16:50,933 --> 00:16:53,933 And this is the first one, is that God's mercy is not earned. 410 00:16:54,500 --> 00:16:57,133 God's mercy is not deserved, right? 411 00:16:57,133 --> 00:16:58,600 The people of Nineveh, based off who 412 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,600 they were in their characteristics, they didn't deserve God's mercy. 413 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:03,900 But if I'm being honest, I don't deserve God's mercy. 414 00:17:03,900 --> 00:17:05,000 We don't deserve it. 415 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:05,833 We can't earn. 416 00:17:05,833 --> 00:17:09,400 It is something that God freely gives right. 417 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,400 His love, his kindness, and his compassion. 418 00:17:12,766 --> 00:17:14,933 And this week I was reminded of Paul, his example. 419 00:17:14,933 --> 00:17:16,700 Right? He says, 420 00:17:16,700 --> 00:17:18,366 he says, I'm the chief sinner. 421 00:17:18,366 --> 00:17:20,766 I am the worst sinner. Right? 422 00:17:20,766 --> 00:17:24,166 And he says that with confidence, but not not to boast about it, but to say, 423 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,800 God like, I need you every second of every day. 424 00:17:28,133 --> 00:17:31,300 I think where Jonah misses the mark and where you and I can find that 425 00:17:31,300 --> 00:17:33,433 same trap is again, Jonah's looking left and right. 426 00:17:33,433 --> 00:17:36,066 He's looking at these like, horizontal relationships and saying, 427 00:17:36,066 --> 00:17:38,333 yeah, based off my sin. And you're saying you don't deserve it? 428 00:17:38,333 --> 00:17:39,133 You do. 429 00:17:39,133 --> 00:17:42,166 Maybe you know, but but Paul is like 430 00:17:42,166 --> 00:17:45,200 looking to God and saying, God in my brokenness, in my comparison 431 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:49,333 to your holiness and how good you are, I am the worst sinner. 432 00:17:49,833 --> 00:17:52,833 And in that way, when we look to God and not left and right, 433 00:17:53,233 --> 00:17:56,233 we can extend mercy a little bit easier right now. 434 00:17:56,300 --> 00:17:58,133 Sure, we'll make mistakes after repent, 435 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:01,500 but we need to follow Paul's example, right of saying, God, 436 00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:03,500 let me compare myself to you and your grace and your goodness 437 00:18:03,500 --> 00:18:06,333 and your holiness, and not left and right to the people around us. 438 00:18:06,333 --> 00:18:08,033 So begin to that trap of they don't deserve it 439 00:18:08,033 --> 00:18:10,866 because based off that standard, they don't, right? 440 00:18:10,866 --> 00:18:11,766 We can't earn it. 441 00:18:11,766 --> 00:18:12,966 We don't deserve it. 442 00:18:12,966 --> 00:18:15,533 But God still gives freely. 443 00:18:15,533 --> 00:18:18,066 And I'm thankful that the Scripture tells us that God wants none 444 00:18:18,066 --> 00:18:21,400 to perish once, none to perish, but all to come to repentance. 445 00:18:22,466 --> 00:18:25,466 And as people that have been redeemed by God, 446 00:18:25,500 --> 00:18:27,466 our eyes have been opened and we have the Holy Spirit 447 00:18:27,466 --> 00:18:29,466 as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. 448 00:18:29,466 --> 00:18:33,033 Someday we need to say, God, use me, I'm available. 449 00:18:33,033 --> 00:18:34,600 Like, what do you want me to do? How do you want me to? 450 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:37,200 What do you want me to go? I'm available. I'm available. 451 00:18:38,500 --> 00:18:38,866 But you want. 452 00:18:38,866 --> 00:18:40,933 I didn't think so. Right, Jonah? 453 00:18:40,933 --> 00:18:42,900 He didn't think they deserved to be saying he was playing God. 454 00:18:42,900 --> 00:18:43,900 He thought he knew better than God. 455 00:18:43,900 --> 00:18:45,333 I mean, God is clear. 456 00:18:45,333 --> 00:18:46,900 Saying, go to the city of Nineveh. 457 00:18:46,900 --> 00:18:48,666 It's evil. It's wickedness is hurt. 458 00:18:48,666 --> 00:18:51,133 It's destruction. It's violence is come up before me. 459 00:18:51,133 --> 00:18:52,666 Go help correct them. Fix something. 460 00:18:52,666 --> 00:18:54,433 You need someone. 461 00:18:54,433 --> 00:18:55,700 And Jonah was like, nope. 462 00:18:55,700 --> 00:18:56,966 Oh, I'm going. 463 00:18:56,966 --> 00:18:58,666 You want, you want. You ended up going to Tarshish, right? 464 00:18:58,666 --> 00:19:00,166 Which end up being west. 465 00:19:00,166 --> 00:19:03,533 And instead of going to Nineveh, which was east, right or northeast. 466 00:19:03,533 --> 00:19:05,400 And so he's going the exact opposite way. 467 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:08,333 And actually, as I was kind of deep diving in, unpacking things, 468 00:19:08,333 --> 00:19:10,300 Tarshish would have been like the furthest part of the known world. 469 00:19:10,300 --> 00:19:12,266 Think like Spain, right? Western Europe, 470 00:19:13,333 --> 00:19:15,300 and if we take a look at Isaiah 471 00:19:15,300 --> 00:19:18,400 6619, it actually gives us an insight why Jonah picks Tarshish. 472 00:19:18,533 --> 00:19:19,233 It wasn't random. 473 00:19:19,233 --> 00:19:21,300 It wasn't just I close my eyes on a map. 474 00:19:21,300 --> 00:19:22,566 I'm going to go. 475 00:19:22,566 --> 00:19:26,066 It says, I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive 476 00:19:26,066 --> 00:19:27,833 to the nations, to Tarshish, 477 00:19:27,833 --> 00:19:31,633 the Libyan, Lydian, the Tubal, and Greece of the distant islands. Why? 478 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:36,533 Because they have not heard my fame and they have not seen my glory. 479 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,733 So Tarshish does not know God's name, his fame, or his glory. Yet 480 00:19:40,733 --> 00:19:44,600 they don't know God yet again, furthest part of the known world at this time. 481 00:19:45,333 --> 00:19:47,533 And so what Jonah saying is, because Tarshish doesn't know 482 00:19:47,533 --> 00:19:50,733 my name, or my fame, or my glory, no God's name, fame or glory. 483 00:19:50,733 --> 00:19:53,533 I'm going to go there because you want I want nothing to do with God. 484 00:19:53,533 --> 00:19:56,533 He didn't want to see God or hear God anymore. 485 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:58,600 Again, the prophet of God, right? 486 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,333 Living in that same sin cycle we see in judges, right where he is 487 00:20:01,333 --> 00:20:04,333 very much disobedient in this moment. 488 00:20:04,500 --> 00:20:05,500 But yet God chose 489 00:20:05,500 --> 00:20:08,966 or Jonathan chose Tarshish because he wanted nothing to do with God. 490 00:20:08,966 --> 00:20:11,966 He wanted to be away and as far away as he could from him. 491 00:20:12,500 --> 00:20:13,833 But then what does God do? 492 00:20:13,833 --> 00:20:16,400 It says, he sends a great wind, says, no, Jonah, 493 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,500 come on back like God doesn't need, don't need you and me. 494 00:20:19,533 --> 00:20:23,000 You can speak the world into existence, but he wants to use us. 495 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:25,833 And so right away, mercy shown to Jonah. 496 00:20:25,833 --> 00:20:28,000 I mean only thankful for second and third and fourth 497 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,133 and fifth and sixth chances with God. 498 00:20:30,133 --> 00:20:31,633 And that's what God gives Jonah. 499 00:20:31,633 --> 00:20:33,633 I'll try again. Jonah, I'm going to send a wind. 500 00:20:33,633 --> 00:20:34,266 I'm going to send a star. 501 00:20:34,266 --> 00:20:37,133 I'm going to correct you. I'm going to bring you back to myself. 502 00:20:37,133 --> 00:20:40,033 Not because I need you or because I want to do a work in your heart. 503 00:20:40,033 --> 00:20:41,100 I want to change you. 504 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:44,166 And. Well, it's interesting as we read, 505 00:20:44,166 --> 00:20:47,333 is that we see that the pagans, sailors who get caught up in Jonathan. 506 00:20:47,966 --> 00:20:48,133 Right. 507 00:20:48,133 --> 00:20:51,333 Jonah's the one running, and they actually have a little humor. 508 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:53,100 They have a little bit of concern for Jonah. 509 00:20:53,100 --> 00:20:55,366 They said, like, what do we do, man? 510 00:20:55,366 --> 00:20:57,666 We don't want to kill you. God, we don't want this guy's blood on our hands. 511 00:20:57,666 --> 00:21:00,033 Like we don't want that at all. So he tried to roll back even. 512 00:21:00,033 --> 00:21:03,066 It says in verse 13, but the sea grew even rougher. 513 00:21:03,066 --> 00:21:04,200 Right? It was. 514 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:06,266 The storm was just too much. It was too wild. 515 00:21:06,266 --> 00:21:07,100 It was too out of control. 516 00:21:07,100 --> 00:21:09,300 Even though their sailors and their experts on the sea, 517 00:21:09,300 --> 00:21:11,400 they couldn't do anything about it. 518 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:15,100 And what's fascinating for me this week is it's I was thinking about this is 519 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:18,333 I think sometimes God is doing a work in our lives. 520 00:21:18,333 --> 00:21:19,800 He's correcting us. He's guiding us. 521 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,800 Maybe you a little bit of a storm to pull us back. 522 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:24,100 And what's going on here? 523 00:21:24,100 --> 00:21:25,666 The pagans, sailors, they have the right motivation. 524 00:21:25,666 --> 00:21:28,333 They want to help. They want to rescue. They want to help. They want to like. 525 00:21:28,333 --> 00:21:29,500 Like, let me help rescue you. 526 00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:30,700 Don't let me get you back to dry land. 527 00:21:30,700 --> 00:21:33,500 They're trying to roll back in the day. 528 00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:36,500 They're actually getting in the way of what God is doing in Jonah's life. 529 00:21:36,900 --> 00:21:38,633 God is correcting him. God is pursuing him. 530 00:21:38,633 --> 00:21:42,300 And the pagan sailors with the right motivation are getting in the way. 531 00:21:42,900 --> 00:21:46,166 And you and I can fall into that same trap where we want to help. 532 00:21:46,166 --> 00:21:47,700 We want to rescue, we want to be there for people, 533 00:21:47,700 --> 00:21:50,866 and we're actually getting in the way of what God might be doing in their lives. 534 00:21:51,866 --> 00:21:52,533 Very fascinating. 535 00:21:52,533 --> 00:21:55,533 Right. 536 00:21:55,566 --> 00:21:57,300 and then, yeah, the sailors, they cry out to God, 537 00:21:57,300 --> 00:22:00,200 they're like, we can't do this anymore. We're sorry. God. 538 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,200 And they throw John into this watery grave right? 539 00:22:03,500 --> 00:22:05,333 And I think it's proper to pause. 540 00:22:05,333 --> 00:22:08,333 Like, why didn't the prophet of God, why didn't you just repent, 541 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:10,366 say, God, I'm sorry. Like I'm messed up. 542 00:22:10,366 --> 00:22:12,766 Let's try it over. Let's do this again. 543 00:22:12,766 --> 00:22:15,266 Or why did he just tell the dudes like, hey, take me back to Joppa. 544 00:22:15,266 --> 00:22:18,166 Let's go back, take me to the port. You'll be good to go. 545 00:22:18,166 --> 00:22:20,966 I'll figure out my way or even, like, I don't want to go on anyway. 546 00:22:20,966 --> 00:22:22,100 You guys want to go with me? 547 00:22:22,100 --> 00:22:24,600 At least I'll have company. Let's go to Nineveh. Like none of it. 548 00:22:26,266 --> 00:22:29,266 Because Jonah would rather die than obey God. 549 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:30,366 This is very interesting. 550 00:22:30,366 --> 00:22:33,366 Jonah would rather die than obey God. 551 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:36,666 I think this shows a sin in disobedience. 552 00:22:36,666 --> 00:22:39,400 It takes us toward a path of death. 553 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:42,700 Sin and disobedience takes us toward a path of death. 554 00:22:43,933 --> 00:22:45,233 Right? 555 00:22:45,233 --> 00:22:48,600 If we are not careful, you and I like Jonah, 556 00:22:48,900 --> 00:22:52,600 we can have faith in God that lacks true fear and reverence for God. 557 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:54,633 Jonah knows in his heart he says, I'm a Hebrew. 558 00:22:54,633 --> 00:22:56,666 I worship the God who created the dry land in the seas. 559 00:22:56,666 --> 00:22:59,700 He knows that God is real, but he doesn't know him in his heart. 560 00:23:00,366 --> 00:23:03,433 He doesn't have true respect and true fear and true reverence for God. 561 00:23:03,733 --> 00:23:05,500 He just knows it in his head. 562 00:23:05,500 --> 00:23:07,066 And again, if we're not careful, we can. 563 00:23:07,066 --> 00:23:07,900 We can find ourselves 564 00:23:07,900 --> 00:23:11,400 worshiping a God, following a God saying we know a God and Jesus a Savior, 565 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:15,133 really kind of distant from him, where he's not a part of our daily walk. 566 00:23:15,133 --> 00:23:18,133 Right? Carl always slaps face and slaps his head and slaps his heart. Right. 567 00:23:18,133 --> 00:23:19,200 We need to know this. 568 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:21,600 When you know God's characteristics, we need to know. 569 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:25,800 Know His is his desires for us and who he is and who we are. 570 00:23:26,333 --> 00:23:26,566 Right? 571 00:23:26,566 --> 00:23:29,200 Our role in the grand scheme of things. 572 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,566 And so we don't know God in his head, but not in his heart, right? 573 00:23:31,566 --> 00:23:33,133 Not here. Not in this moment, at least. 574 00:23:34,333 --> 00:23:34,766 And again, I 575 00:23:34,766 --> 00:23:38,600 think as the reader, this is really just a book written for you and me. 576 00:23:38,633 --> 00:23:43,000 It is a mirror of sorts, like right now, where are we? 577 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,000 If we take an inventory, like what does our face look like? 578 00:23:46,066 --> 00:23:49,066 Is it like Jonah's where we know God or we're kind of distant, 579 00:23:49,333 --> 00:23:52,600 or is it like the sailors who are who are new to the faith and are like God? 580 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:54,966 We we don't really know you, but 581 00:23:54,966 --> 00:23:58,066 we're in fear of you and of you, and we want to bow down and worship 582 00:23:58,066 --> 00:23:59,533 you and sacrifice to you. 583 00:23:59,533 --> 00:24:02,000 As it says in verse 16, 584 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,166 they make vows to God. 585 00:24:03,166 --> 00:24:05,333 And so it's a good inventory. 586 00:24:05,333 --> 00:24:07,700 Time to check in with our own heart. Where is God? Where? 587 00:24:07,700 --> 00:24:08,400 Who is God? 588 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:11,266 Where are we in the whole relationship? 589 00:24:11,266 --> 00:24:12,600 And I'll end with this for chapter one. 590 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:13,766 There's so much more we can unpack, though. 591 00:24:13,766 --> 00:24:15,733 I believe, and I love this. 592 00:24:15,733 --> 00:24:19,800 This really takes the weight off our shoulders like it shows God does it all, 593 00:24:21,300 --> 00:24:21,700 even in 594 00:24:21,700 --> 00:24:26,333 Jonah's disobedience, even in his running from God, even when he's doing everything 595 00:24:26,333 --> 00:24:30,266 wrong, God brings about salvation through him to these pagan sailors. 596 00:24:31,133 --> 00:24:32,733 So Jonah didn't do a thing right. 597 00:24:32,733 --> 00:24:35,500 And yet God redeems people in his life. 598 00:24:35,500 --> 00:24:37,400 You and I can sometimes not do anything right. 599 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:41,733 And God is so big and mighty and powerful and above us and before us and behind us, 600 00:24:41,866 --> 00:24:45,366 that he can redeem people even through our disobedience. 601 00:24:45,866 --> 00:24:46,800 And so how much greater is it 602 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:49,800 than we want to say yes to God and we're available to God? 603 00:24:49,933 --> 00:24:53,400 But know that this morning God can use us even when we don't have it all together. 604 00:24:53,433 --> 00:24:54,366 We don't have all the answers. 605 00:24:54,366 --> 00:24:57,366 We don't know God's Word perfectly, or have a perfect prayer life, 606 00:24:57,600 --> 00:24:59,833 or serve or tithe or we don't have it all together. 607 00:24:59,833 --> 00:25:01,800 God doesn't need us to have all together. 608 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:05,000 He just needs us to say yes to him and to be available to 609 00:25:06,933 --> 00:25:07,966 be available. 610 00:25:07,966 --> 00:25:10,000 All right, let's jump into chapter two. 611 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,933 It says again, Jonah stuck is in a weird space. 612 00:25:12,933 --> 00:25:15,866 He says from inside the fish. Jonah, pray to the Lord his God. 613 00:25:15,866 --> 00:25:18,866 He said, in my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me 614 00:25:18,900 --> 00:25:20,400 from deep in the realm of the dead. 615 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:22,900 I call for help, and you listen to my cry. 616 00:25:22,900 --> 00:25:25,900 You hold me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas. 617 00:25:25,933 --> 00:25:27,700 And the current swirled about me. 618 00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:30,700 All your waves and breakers swept over me. 619 00:25:30,900 --> 00:25:32,566 I said, I have been banished from your sight. 620 00:25:32,566 --> 00:25:35,566 Yet I will look again towards your holy temple. 621 00:25:35,633 --> 00:25:38,633 The engulfing waters threaten me so deep surrounded me. 622 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:42,900 Seaweed was wrapped around my head to the roots of the mountain. 623 00:25:42,900 --> 00:25:45,600 I sink down the earth beneath. 624 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:46,800 Barred me in forever. 625 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,166 But you, Lord, my God, brought my life up from the pit. 626 00:25:51,333 --> 00:25:53,633 Verse seven says, when my life was ebbing away, 627 00:25:53,633 --> 00:25:58,066 I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. 628 00:25:59,133 --> 00:26:02,266 Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them. 629 00:26:02,733 --> 00:26:05,966 But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you 630 00:26:06,733 --> 00:26:09,266 what I have vowed I will make good. 631 00:26:09,266 --> 00:26:12,166 I will say salvation comes from the Lord. 632 00:26:12,166 --> 00:26:13,866 And verse ten says, and the Lord commanded the fish 633 00:26:13,866 --> 00:26:15,566 and vomited Jonah onto dry land. 634 00:26:15,566 --> 00:26:18,766 I heard one pastor say this week, as I was just kind of deep diving. 635 00:26:19,133 --> 00:26:22,733 He wishes that Jonah was like a mile off and like this, this, this, this fish 636 00:26:22,733 --> 00:26:27,200 just spit him a mile and he just hit, skidded and landed like, 637 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:28,800 can you imagine if you were there and you, like, saw 638 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:32,366 this fish vomit a grown man and be like, all wild a scene ever. 639 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:35,633 But what I think this shows us is, I mean, nasty, right? 640 00:26:35,633 --> 00:26:38,066 Gross. God's mercy is surprising. 641 00:26:38,066 --> 00:26:39,633 God's mercy is surprising, 642 00:26:40,900 --> 00:26:42,033 even in the small things. 643 00:26:42,033 --> 00:26:42,400 Right? 644 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:44,000 My wife and I have this conversation all the time. 645 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:45,366 I'm more half glass full. 646 00:26:45,366 --> 00:26:47,766 She's more half glass empty, right? 647 00:26:47,766 --> 00:26:49,366 I think we can get stuck sometimes 648 00:26:49,366 --> 00:26:54,833 and and we're looking for God's mercy in some big, majestic, massive way 649 00:26:54,966 --> 00:26:57,133 when sometimes these kind of rescue us in the little things 650 00:26:57,133 --> 00:27:00,133 and save us and provide us mercies and the little things. 651 00:27:00,300 --> 00:27:03,233 Sometimes it looks like a great fish right in Jonah's life. 652 00:27:03,233 --> 00:27:06,666 And it's a weird place that's stinky for us and unknown. 653 00:27:06,666 --> 00:27:08,866 And it doesn't feel like God's mercy. It just is. 654 00:27:08,866 --> 00:27:11,700 It's like this can't be God, right? 655 00:27:11,700 --> 00:27:14,833 And yet God use this stinky, smelly, disgusting fish to save. 656 00:27:14,833 --> 00:27:15,900 Join us live! 657 00:27:15,900 --> 00:27:17,366 So sometimes we be mindful that 658 00:27:17,366 --> 00:27:20,633 although it may not look like a mercy initially, it very well could be 659 00:27:22,266 --> 00:27:22,900 right. 660 00:27:22,900 --> 00:27:25,966 It could be not making the team and what that can do 661 00:27:25,966 --> 00:27:28,966 for our character, what that can do to spur us on. 662 00:27:29,066 --> 00:27:32,033 It could be a flat tire, 663 00:27:32,033 --> 00:27:35,500 a frustrating conversation that has to happen, right? 664 00:27:35,733 --> 00:27:36,900 If we're not careful, 665 00:27:36,900 --> 00:27:40,800 we can miss the mercy of God in the daily lives that we live. 666 00:27:41,466 --> 00:27:41,700 Right? 667 00:27:41,700 --> 00:27:44,266 Jonah says it right there. Again, Jonah knows God in his head. 668 00:27:44,266 --> 00:27:46,866 He says it. He says it. 669 00:27:46,866 --> 00:27:49,900 those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them, right? 670 00:27:49,900 --> 00:27:53,700 If we're not intentional, we can miss God's mercy and cling to worthless idols. 671 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:56,300 Right, Jonah? No, no. 672 00:27:56,300 --> 00:27:59,900 That the belly of this fish that he was stuck at, I love. 673 00:27:59,933 --> 00:28:02,166 It's the gospel message in one verse. 674 00:28:02,166 --> 00:28:06,333 It says in verse nine that the latter part, salvation comes from the Lord. 675 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:08,400 And we see that we're going to see that in chapter three. 676 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:12,200 Salvation comes from the Lord, not my strength or my understanding, 677 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:14,600 or my ability to teach, or my ability to connect. 678 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:16,733 Salvation comes from the Lord, right? 679 00:28:16,733 --> 00:28:18,766 And we need to humble ourselves and say, thank you, 680 00:28:18,766 --> 00:28:22,700 God that you do all of it, and that we are just faithful, which are to be faithful. 681 00:28:23,766 --> 00:28:26,633 The last little bit, right as we talk about salvation comes from the Lord. 682 00:28:26,633 --> 00:28:29,633 Again, Jonah knows these important truths about God 683 00:28:30,633 --> 00:28:33,433 is had knowledge for Jonah, though at this point in the game, 684 00:28:33,433 --> 00:28:35,966 not heart knowledge where he is living for God, 685 00:28:35,966 --> 00:28:39,166 where he is chasing after God, it feels like God chasing after him. 686 00:28:39,166 --> 00:28:41,233 And Jonah wants nothing to do with him. 687 00:28:41,233 --> 00:28:45,366 But I'm glad that we have a God who chases after us and pursues us. 688 00:28:46,233 --> 00:28:49,700 So why will that the God who just spoke 689 00:28:49,700 --> 00:28:53,666 this whole thing into existence, who came to earth, who died 690 00:28:54,900 --> 00:28:57,900 on a cross and said, it is finished and rose three days 691 00:28:57,900 --> 00:29:01,966 later like he does it all just as Michael, be faithful. 692 00:29:02,266 --> 00:29:03,900 Don't just let it be head knowledge. 693 00:29:03,900 --> 00:29:07,400 Let it be heart knowledge where I am able to guide your steps day after 694 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:08,333 day after day. 695 00:29:10,433 --> 00:29:11,366 So chapter two is quick. 696 00:29:11,366 --> 00:29:13,500 Jonah stuck in a weird place, 697 00:29:13,500 --> 00:29:16,366 but now we're going to get to the good stuff here in chapter three it says. 698 00:29:16,366 --> 00:29:18,733 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. 699 00:29:18,733 --> 00:29:23,233 It says, go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you. 700 00:29:24,433 --> 00:29:26,700 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord, and he went to Nineveh. 701 00:29:26,700 --> 00:29:28,666 But now Nineveh was a very large city. 702 00:29:28,666 --> 00:29:30,566 It took three days to go through it. 703 00:29:30,566 --> 00:29:33,466 Jonah began by going a day's journey into the city, proclaiming, 704 00:29:33,466 --> 00:29:36,466 40 more days and never will be overthrown. 705 00:29:36,633 --> 00:29:38,033 Eight word sermon. 706 00:29:38,033 --> 00:29:40,266 It is saying this over and over throughout the city. 707 00:29:40,266 --> 00:29:43,266 40 more days and none of it will be overthrown. 708 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:46,666 And then if it's believed, God and a fast was proclaimed, 709 00:29:46,666 --> 00:29:49,666 and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. 710 00:29:50,100 --> 00:29:52,600 And when Jonah's warning reached the king of Nineveh, 711 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:53,633 he rose from his throne, 712 00:29:53,633 --> 00:29:57,200 took off his real robes, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat down in the dust. 713 00:29:57,766 --> 00:30:00,766 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh by decree of the king 714 00:30:00,766 --> 00:30:01,833 and his nobles. 715 00:30:01,833 --> 00:30:05,700 Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks taste anything. 716 00:30:06,300 --> 00:30:09,700 Do not let them eat or drink, but let people and animals 717 00:30:09,700 --> 00:30:10,866 be covered with sackcloth. 718 00:30:10,866 --> 00:30:13,333 Let everyone call urgently on God. 719 00:30:13,333 --> 00:30:16,133 Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 720 00:30:16,133 --> 00:30:19,800 Who knows, God may yet relent and with compassion 721 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:22,800 turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish. 722 00:30:23,533 --> 00:30:24,633 And the chapter ends with this. 723 00:30:24,633 --> 00:30:24,900 In verse 724 00:30:24,900 --> 00:30:28,800 ten it says, When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, 725 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:32,600 he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened 726 00:30:33,733 --> 00:30:34,200 did not 727 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:37,233 bring on them the destruction that they deserved. 728 00:30:37,966 --> 00:30:40,600 So what do we read right, Jonah? 729 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:43,600 The word comes to him a second time against second chance 730 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:47,466 to three days journey that says the city's huge right is a massive city. 731 00:30:47,633 --> 00:30:48,500 He's walking through it. 732 00:30:48,500 --> 00:30:49,333 Eight word sermon. 733 00:30:49,333 --> 00:30:52,200 Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 734 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:53,533 Eight words. 735 00:30:53,533 --> 00:30:56,266 And I did process that word overthrown. 736 00:30:56,266 --> 00:30:57,300 Or a couple meetings. 737 00:30:57,300 --> 00:30:58,800 It could it could be communicated. 738 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:00,300 One destroyed. Right. 739 00:31:00,300 --> 00:31:01,133 We have a just God. 740 00:31:01,133 --> 00:31:04,266 And he says this wickedness, evil needs to be stamped out, 741 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:08,433 either destroyed or two turned over, right over, 742 00:31:08,566 --> 00:31:12,233 over overthrown, to be turned over, made new, repentant. 743 00:31:12,866 --> 00:31:15,600 And so obviously God's hoping for that. 744 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:17,033 But Jonah's hoping for the destruction. 745 00:31:17,033 --> 00:31:20,200 He wants them to be blotted out no more. 746 00:31:20,900 --> 00:31:22,366 But here's interesting about the sermon 747 00:31:22,366 --> 00:31:25,366 now he was at eight words, but Jonah doesn't mention sin. 748 00:31:25,866 --> 00:31:27,700 He doesn't mention the Ninevites sin. 749 00:31:27,700 --> 00:31:30,700 He also doesn't mention how to respond to their sin. 750 00:31:31,266 --> 00:31:33,366 They put on sackcloth. They humble themselves. They don't eat. 751 00:31:33,366 --> 00:31:34,833 They don't drink from the King to the lowest. 752 00:31:34,833 --> 00:31:36,400 No animals, no people. 753 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:38,100 But Jonah doesn't mention sin. 754 00:31:38,100 --> 00:31:40,100 Jonah does not mention how to respond to their sin. 755 00:31:40,100 --> 00:31:42,200 And Jonah does not mention God. 756 00:31:43,166 --> 00:31:45,000 It's such an interesting sermon. 757 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,833 I mean, it says God says proclaim the message I give you. 758 00:31:49,166 --> 00:31:50,700 So either God gave him eight words 759 00:31:50,700 --> 00:31:53,733 to show his glory, that he can redeem an entire city with eight words. 760 00:31:53,900 --> 00:31:56,533 Or Jonah still like grudgingly doing this, right? 761 00:31:56,533 --> 00:31:58,566 He's like, I'm going to kind of do the minimum work. 762 00:31:58,566 --> 00:32:01,200 God, I'm going to give them eight words and we'll see what happens. 763 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:03,600 And God's like, okay, I can do. I can work with eight words. 764 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:05,600 I don't need many more than eight. 765 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:06,333 I mean, it just finished. 766 00:32:06,333 --> 00:32:08,366 Now I need three words right. 767 00:32:08,366 --> 00:32:10,733 But Jonah, he eventually does do it. 768 00:32:10,733 --> 00:32:12,833 He does obey. 769 00:32:12,833 --> 00:32:14,600 and this is maybe the greatest revival ever. 770 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:18,633 Like they repent, they hear God, and they remember chapter two, 771 00:32:18,633 --> 00:32:20,533 where salvation comes from the Lord alone. 772 00:32:22,533 --> 00:32:24,533 Man that shows the power of God's Word. 773 00:32:24,533 --> 00:32:26,200 Isn't it like eight words? 774 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:27,900 And he redeemed an entire city? 775 00:32:27,900 --> 00:32:30,900 Hundreds and hundreds of thousands, if not more people. 776 00:32:31,466 --> 00:32:36,100 All right, so we've seen not only the the pagan sailors repent. 777 00:32:36,533 --> 00:32:38,733 Now, we've seen the entire city of Nineveh, 778 00:32:38,733 --> 00:32:41,866 but still not quite there with God's own prophet. 779 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:45,366 So we can be doing amazing works and we can be seen. 780 00:32:45,366 --> 00:32:49,500 God transform lives, and yet our heart can still be kind of broken towards God. 781 00:32:49,866 --> 00:32:52,866 I think that's what Jonah's communicating to us. 782 00:32:53,966 --> 00:32:56,033 You know, if you were with it was actually just first service. 783 00:32:56,033 --> 00:32:58,766 I said this story in first service two weeks ago. 784 00:32:58,766 --> 00:33:00,033 I was in the back of the room. 785 00:33:00,033 --> 00:33:00,800 Pascale had a 786 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:03,700 he and I were talking before service and he shouted out to me unexpectedly 787 00:33:03,700 --> 00:33:05,366 and he asked me a question and I kind of like fumbled. 788 00:33:05,366 --> 00:33:07,600 I like got all nervous. I was like, oh, I don't know. I don't know. 789 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:08,366 But he asked me a question. 790 00:33:08,366 --> 00:33:09,700 He said, hey, we were talking before service 791 00:33:09,700 --> 00:33:12,633 and you mentioned something, and I fumbled the bag. 792 00:33:12,633 --> 00:33:15,033 And but this is what we were talking about, 793 00:33:15,033 --> 00:33:18,000 and this is the truth I think we see in the book of Jonah 794 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:21,633 that we see in our lives, that God's capacity to forgive is greater 795 00:33:21,633 --> 00:33:26,033 than our capacity to sin against him, that we cannot out sin. 796 00:33:26,033 --> 00:33:28,866 God's grace, his mercy, his love, his forgiveness. 797 00:33:28,866 --> 00:33:30,333 I mean the collective sin 798 00:33:30,333 --> 00:33:32,933 of all the people of Nineveh or this room the world over. 799 00:33:32,933 --> 00:33:35,033 We can't out sin. 800 00:33:35,033 --> 00:33:38,866 We can't out for produce God's grace and his mercy and his love. 801 00:33:39,233 --> 00:33:39,400 I mean, 802 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:43,800 that should be such a freaking reality for us that when we do make mistakes. 803 00:33:44,266 --> 00:33:45,700 God. I'm sorry. Forgive me. Us repent. 804 00:33:45,700 --> 00:33:47,700 Let's move a different direction and move forward. 805 00:33:47,700 --> 00:33:50,700 Not sit in it, not wallow in it, but say, God, I'm sorry, 806 00:33:50,700 --> 00:33:53,166 not do Jonah's example and say, you know, I'm kind of like, 807 00:33:53,166 --> 00:33:54,766 not really gonna acknowledge I'm gonna do my own thing. 808 00:33:55,766 --> 00:33:56,900 God's capacity to 809 00:33:56,900 --> 00:34:00,100 forgive is greater than our capacity to sin against him. 810 00:34:00,900 --> 00:34:02,900 It's an amazing truth. 811 00:34:02,900 --> 00:34:05,700 I mean, in God's mercy, in his pursuit, in Jonah, he's constantly saying, 812 00:34:05,700 --> 00:34:09,066 Jonah, Michael, everyone turn from sin, turn 813 00:34:09,066 --> 00:34:12,233 from self, and turn towards God and turn towards others. 814 00:34:12,833 --> 00:34:16,400 Turn from sin, turn from self, turn towards God and turn towards others. 815 00:34:18,133 --> 00:34:19,966 I think the miracle that we've seen so far 816 00:34:19,966 --> 00:34:23,933 is not the fish, it's the pagans repenting and the people of the river of painting. 817 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,700 Those are the two miracles in the story. 818 00:34:26,700 --> 00:34:27,333 That's wild. 819 00:34:27,333 --> 00:34:31,866 What God has done with eight words point three this morning is this 820 00:34:31,933 --> 00:34:35,900 is that God's Word is, or rather, his mercy isn't partial, right? 821 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:37,000 God has compassion. 822 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:40,133 Who is going to have compassion on towards ruthless people? 823 00:34:40,133 --> 00:34:43,133 That people that we don't think deserve it because God does not hold back. 824 00:34:43,333 --> 00:34:45,233 He loves all he died for all. 825 00:34:45,233 --> 00:34:48,500 He extends his mercy to all his love, his kindness and his compassion. 826 00:34:49,900 --> 00:34:50,733 And we need to be 827 00:34:50,733 --> 00:34:53,933 careful not to fall into the same trap and have spiritually dead lives. 828 00:34:54,666 --> 00:34:57,933 rather be dead than to see people that we just don't get along with. 829 00:34:57,933 --> 00:35:00,900 Or maybe we, when we categorize as we hate in this world, 830 00:35:00,900 --> 00:35:03,766 they're just so different or so broken or so different from us. 831 00:35:03,766 --> 00:35:05,866 We we can't fall in that same trap as Jonah, 832 00:35:05,866 --> 00:35:08,866 where we don't want to see God do a work in their lives. 833 00:35:09,933 --> 00:35:12,300 I was talking with the high schoolers a couple Wednesdays ago about this. 834 00:35:12,300 --> 00:35:15,366 We're going through the sermon on the Mount, right? 835 00:35:15,733 --> 00:35:19,133 So with the Beatitudes, these blessed statements, these promises from God. 836 00:35:19,500 --> 00:35:21,566 And then we get into, like the meat of what it means to follow you. 837 00:35:21,566 --> 00:35:23,933 This is tough. Like we're salt or light. 838 00:35:23,933 --> 00:35:28,533 I mean, he equates murder with hate and idolatry with just lust. 839 00:35:28,533 --> 00:35:31,800 And it's like they're really challenging text, so challenging. 840 00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:35,333 But we get to a point where the challenge of that night was, 841 00:35:35,700 --> 00:35:38,333 I know we we struggle to get to a point where we can, like, love 842 00:35:38,333 --> 00:35:41,333 someone that we hate, but maybe we can just pray for their soul. 843 00:35:41,433 --> 00:35:45,400 Maybe we can just say God to do a work in their lives because I can't. 844 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:46,800 I don't know what to do with them. 845 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:48,500 We're so different. I just don't like them. 846 00:35:48,500 --> 00:35:49,233 They don't like me. 847 00:35:49,233 --> 00:35:50,533 But I want to pray for their soul 848 00:35:50,533 --> 00:35:53,533 and genuinely hope that God doesn't work in their lives. 849 00:35:53,700 --> 00:35:55,666 Because if we can, God can transform them. 850 00:35:55,666 --> 00:35:58,433 And that's going to make that that relationship a little bit easier. 851 00:36:00,100 --> 00:36:02,233 So maybe we can start processing. 852 00:36:02,233 --> 00:36:04,166 Who do we need to pray for? Who's sold? 853 00:36:04,166 --> 00:36:06,766 We need to pray for who's who's broken and living in sin. 854 00:36:06,766 --> 00:36:09,966 And just in discussing that, we can pray for with a genuine heart, 855 00:36:10,700 --> 00:36:14,433 because if we're not careful, we see this with Jonah, we can be blind 856 00:36:14,433 --> 00:36:18,033 to God's mercy where he can receive it really well, but struggle to give it out. 857 00:36:18,566 --> 00:36:20,600 I struggle to extend it. 858 00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:23,300 Love, kindness, compassion. 859 00:36:23,300 --> 00:36:23,533 Right? 860 00:36:23,533 --> 00:36:26,533 Jonah's example is a great one of what not to do. 861 00:36:27,366 --> 00:36:28,866 but let's finish up with chapter four. 862 00:36:28,866 --> 00:36:29,966 It says this. 863 00:36:29,966 --> 00:36:32,733 It says, but to Jonah, this seemed very wrong. 864 00:36:32,733 --> 00:36:34,100 And he became angry. 865 00:36:34,100 --> 00:36:36,333 He prayed to the Lord, isn't this what I said, Lord? 866 00:36:36,333 --> 00:36:37,200 When I was still at home? 867 00:36:38,766 --> 00:36:41,033 That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. 868 00:36:41,033 --> 00:36:45,333 I knew, I know that you were a gracious and compassionate God, slow to be, 869 00:36:45,333 --> 00:36:48,800 slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 870 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:51,800 So he's trying to justify why he didn't want to go to Tarshish. 871 00:36:52,066 --> 00:36:54,300 But now the Lord. 872 00:36:54,300 --> 00:36:56,600 he says, now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me 873 00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:59,600 to die than to live like he wants nothing to do with the situation. 874 00:37:00,233 --> 00:37:01,800 And then the Lord, he responds. 875 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:03,800 He says, is it right for you to be angry? 876 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:06,633 Jonah, where were you when I created this thing? 877 00:37:06,633 --> 00:37:07,700 I'm your dust. 878 00:37:07,700 --> 00:37:09,333 Is it right for you to be angry? 879 00:37:09,333 --> 00:37:11,500 And Jonah doesn't even respond. 880 00:37:11,500 --> 00:37:13,166 He just moves on. 881 00:37:13,166 --> 00:37:15,866 It says in verse five, Jonah had gone out and sat down at a death, 882 00:37:15,866 --> 00:37:17,700 a place east of the city. 883 00:37:17,700 --> 00:37:19,233 There he made himself a shelter. 884 00:37:19,233 --> 00:37:22,266 He sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 885 00:37:22,566 --> 00:37:24,533 He wanted them to repent of their repentance. 886 00:37:24,533 --> 00:37:25,866 He wanted it to be destroyed. 887 00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:28,500 And then it 888 00:37:28,500 --> 00:37:32,433 says in verse six, then the Lord God provided a leafy plant. 889 00:37:32,433 --> 00:37:34,266 This is comical, right? 890 00:37:34,266 --> 00:37:37,766 And he made it grow up over Jonah to give him shade for his head 891 00:37:37,766 --> 00:37:38,800 to eat, his discomfort. 892 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:41,033 So even in Jonah's brokenness, guys like, I'm going to provide comfort. 893 00:37:41,033 --> 00:37:43,400 Jonah, you need this right now, right? 894 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:44,466 It's like being hungry or something. 895 00:37:44,466 --> 00:37:46,066 He's like, I'm going to feed you a little bit. 896 00:37:46,066 --> 00:37:48,600 Let's see if you can cool down right. 897 00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:52,766 Plant for his had comfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 898 00:37:52,766 --> 00:37:55,200 Like the first time Dawn has been happy in the book. 899 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:57,233 Not all the repenting that's happening on a ship. 900 00:37:57,233 --> 00:38:00,900 God's mercy being shown, but at the plant that provides shade for his head. 901 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:03,600 But it says at dawn the next 902 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:07,600 day, God also provided a worm which chewed the plant and withered it. 903 00:38:08,266 --> 00:38:11,233 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, 904 00:38:11,233 --> 00:38:14,233 and the sun blares on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. 905 00:38:14,966 --> 00:38:17,100 Jonah again echoes what he already said. 906 00:38:17,100 --> 00:38:21,166 He wanted to die, and said it would be better for me to die than to live. 907 00:38:22,033 --> 00:38:25,366 But God said to Jonah, is it right for you to be angry about the plant? 908 00:38:25,900 --> 00:38:27,300 Jonah said, it is. 909 00:38:27,300 --> 00:38:29,000 And I'm so angry, I wish I were dead right? 910 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,166 If we don't see God's mercy here in Jonah's life, he's like, 911 00:38:31,166 --> 00:38:33,033 I want nothing to do with you, God, I want nothing, I want nothing, no, 912 00:38:33,033 --> 00:38:34,700 nothing. I want to die, I want to I want to die right? 913 00:38:35,866 --> 00:38:37,500 But verse ten says, what the Lord says. 914 00:38:37,500 --> 00:38:40,433 You've been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it 915 00:38:40,433 --> 00:38:41,400 or make it grow. 916 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:44,400 It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 917 00:38:44,433 --> 00:38:47,433 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, 918 00:38:48,166 --> 00:38:50,933 in which there were more than 120,000 people 919 00:38:50,933 --> 00:38:54,100 who cannot tell the right hand from their left, and also many animals. 920 00:38:54,333 --> 00:38:56,066 And that's where it ends. 921 00:38:56,066 --> 00:38:57,400 We don't even get an answer to it. 922 00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:01,633 And I think that's intentional by God, because it is a question for us to write. 923 00:39:01,733 --> 00:39:04,166 This is the first conversation between Jonah and God. 924 00:39:04,166 --> 00:39:06,900 And God is going to show Jonah mercy again and again and again. 925 00:39:06,900 --> 00:39:07,666 Right? 926 00:39:07,666 --> 00:39:09,800 He's going to show mercy with the shade. 927 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:12,800 and again, I think it highlights that God's like, mercy is up to me. 928 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:15,800 And, Jonah, I will provide you the shade, but I also can take it away. 929 00:39:16,133 --> 00:39:18,000 Right. I'm in control here. 930 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:20,000 I mean, it's just mercy is on display, enjoying his life. 931 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:22,400 He's asked for dust two, three, four times. 932 00:39:23,866 --> 00:39:26,566 And then I love the reference to 120,000 people who don't know 933 00:39:26,566 --> 00:39:30,000 the right hand from their left, as I was like going through some, some, 934 00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:34,333 study Bibles and commentaries, there was, there was that really cool 935 00:39:34,466 --> 00:39:38,533 presentation of this, this verse where it's talking about 120,000 people 936 00:39:38,533 --> 00:39:40,266 who are just spiritually dead or living in darkness. 937 00:39:40,266 --> 00:39:43,300 They don't know right from left, but also it could be acknowledging 938 00:39:43,300 --> 00:39:46,666 how the size of the city, 120,000 children 939 00:39:47,266 --> 00:39:49,666 who don't know the right hand from their left, 940 00:39:49,666 --> 00:39:52,733 which I think hits me and I don't know any parents in the room like he's like, 941 00:39:52,733 --> 00:39:56,133 Jonah, should I not have mercy on 120,000 children? 942 00:39:57,266 --> 00:40:00,466 Not even on these children, Jonah, who are lost and in need of of hope. 943 00:40:01,866 --> 00:40:05,666 I mean, I know my biggest prayer for my two boys is eternity. 944 00:40:05,866 --> 00:40:06,966 I want you to trinity with them. 945 00:40:06,966 --> 00:40:08,533 I want them to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. 946 00:40:08,533 --> 00:40:11,400 And this hundred and 20,000 like hits me. I'm my God. 947 00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:14,100 The hurt, the just, the frustration Jonah 948 00:40:14,100 --> 00:40:17,933 has to be living in right now has got to be so overwhelming for him. 949 00:40:17,933 --> 00:40:21,300 Not even 120,000 children to find repentance. 950 00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:23,133 I mean, we 951 00:40:23,133 --> 00:40:26,133 see Jonah's arrogance to the way he's just talking to God. 952 00:40:26,133 --> 00:40:27,933 We see his prejudice. 953 00:40:27,933 --> 00:40:30,866 And what I think we ultimately see in chapter four 954 00:40:30,866 --> 00:40:34,833 is Jonah's pursuing comfort over obedience. 955 00:40:35,700 --> 00:40:36,366 Comfort. 956 00:40:36,366 --> 00:40:38,700 He was happy with a leafy plant. 957 00:40:38,700 --> 00:40:40,700 It wasn't happy when the people Nineveh repented. 958 00:40:40,700 --> 00:40:41,800 It wasn't happy when the pagans repented. 959 00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:43,800 He wasn't happy when God saved him with in the belly. 960 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:46,433 The fishermen cried out to God but didn't quite repent. 961 00:40:46,433 --> 00:40:49,433 He wasn't happy when he was walking through this massive city. 962 00:40:49,866 --> 00:40:52,166 He's not happy now. 963 00:40:52,166 --> 00:40:54,266 He was because he's choosing. 964 00:40:54,266 --> 00:40:57,233 He's choosing comfort over obedience. 965 00:40:57,233 --> 00:40:58,700 You know, when sometimes we fall into that same trap, 966 00:40:58,700 --> 00:41:01,700 it's like, I know I should give, I know I should help, I know I should pursue, 967 00:41:01,866 --> 00:41:04,866 I know I should do this or that, and yet 968 00:41:04,966 --> 00:41:07,400 we don't because we choose comfort, right? 969 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:10,266 We say, maybe next time or I can help then. 970 00:41:10,266 --> 00:41:11,466 Or let me pray about it. 971 00:41:11,466 --> 00:41:14,566 Let me talk about it right where God's like, let me do a work in your life. 972 00:41:15,866 --> 00:41:17,433 You know, I shared the first service in a four months. 973 00:41:17,433 --> 00:41:19,500 I was a teacher in Hanford. 974 00:41:19,500 --> 00:41:21,533 and funny enough, one of my students was in the room from last year. 975 00:41:21,533 --> 00:41:23,866 It was like, really random timing. 976 00:41:23,866 --> 00:41:24,600 I was like, why are you here? 977 00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:25,200 You live in Hanford. 978 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:28,200 But it was awesome. And it was here. 979 00:41:28,500 --> 00:41:30,533 but I mean, like summers off and it paid, okay. 980 00:41:30,533 --> 00:41:32,700 And I was like, this sounds good. And change is hard and difficult. 981 00:41:32,700 --> 00:41:35,166 And but then Pastor Carl reached out and I was like, let's talk. 982 00:41:35,166 --> 00:41:38,566 Like, it'd be so fun to be a youth pastor again and process that. 983 00:41:38,700 --> 00:41:41,566 And and I'm glad that I didn't let comfort get in the way. 984 00:41:41,566 --> 00:41:45,333 Not that I do this perfectly, because I do not, I do not, I love comfort, 985 00:41:47,033 --> 00:41:48,766 but God is really just saying to Jonah, to you 986 00:41:48,766 --> 00:41:52,100 and me, like, it's okay to be a little uncomfortable. 987 00:41:52,700 --> 00:41:55,700 I mean, I can do a work when you're a little uncomfortable, 988 00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,800 I want obedience, I want your heart. 989 00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:01,800 I want you to say yes to me. 990 00:42:01,833 --> 00:42:04,100 And our fourth point this morning is, 991 00:42:04,100 --> 00:42:07,066 is God's mercy knows no bounds. 992 00:42:07,066 --> 00:42:08,333 I mean, it never runs out. 993 00:42:08,333 --> 00:42:11,100 It's it's it's extended forever and forever, friend. 994 00:42:11,100 --> 00:42:11,700 Forever. 995 00:42:11,700 --> 00:42:15,000 Hebrews 416 says, let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence. 996 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:18,300 You and I can approach God's throne of grace, 997 00:42:18,733 --> 00:42:22,933 love, kindness, mercy with confidence, so that we may receive mercy 998 00:42:22,933 --> 00:42:25,166 and find grace to help us in our time of need. 999 00:42:25,166 --> 00:42:26,400 We don't have to have it all together. 1000 00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:31,133 We can approach God with confidence like Jonah is a mirror. 1001 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:33,300 Sometimes we're in chapter one. 1002 00:42:33,300 --> 00:42:35,066 We are running from God. 1003 00:42:35,066 --> 00:42:38,566 Sometimes we are in chapter two, and we are in a stuck, 1004 00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:41,000 weird place and we have to cry out to God sometimes. 1005 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:41,833 We're in chapter three 1006 00:42:41,833 --> 00:42:44,833 where we are doing God's work, but kind of with a broken heart. 1007 00:42:45,666 --> 00:42:48,500 And sometimes we're in chapter four where we're choosing comfort over obedience. 1008 00:42:49,733 --> 00:42:52,866 It's a great story to just to sit in and have an honest conversation of, 1009 00:42:52,866 --> 00:42:55,866 where am I at when it comes to my relationship with God? 1010 00:42:57,666 --> 00:42:58,466 Right. 1011 00:42:58,466 --> 00:43:01,566 I think, I hope that by seeing Jonathan 1012 00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:05,400 seeing his testimony, it'll help us to recognize our own. 1013 00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:08,333 Have Paul's posture say thank you, Lord. Forgive me Lord. 1014 00:43:08,333 --> 00:43:11,400 We can extend grace a little bit easier this next week. 1015 00:43:13,433 --> 00:43:16,700 I think the point of this book is nothing to do with Jonah. 1016 00:43:17,300 --> 00:43:20,666 It's this idea that are we okay with God loving our enemies 1017 00:43:21,366 --> 00:43:24,366 like the people we genuinely just, Nope. 1018 00:43:24,733 --> 00:43:26,800 Like, are we okay with him loving them? 1019 00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:27,766 And I hope the answer is yes. 1020 00:43:27,766 --> 00:43:31,300 Because remember, at one point we were all God's enemies, right? 1021 00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:33,533 There's no way between us. God, it's it's we are for God. 1022 00:43:33,533 --> 00:43:35,700 We are against God until we open our eyes, until he redeemed us. 1023 00:43:35,700 --> 00:43:36,633 We were against God. 1024 00:43:39,266 --> 00:43:41,400 I mean, 1025 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:44,866 we have a God who came to earth, and in our brokenness, we killed him. 1026 00:43:45,566 --> 00:43:47,066 Right in our anger, in our hate him. 1027 00:43:47,066 --> 00:43:50,000 We killed him right? 1028 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:51,300 And yet God still pursues us. 1029 00:43:51,300 --> 00:43:53,433 And yet his mercies are still new every day. 1030 00:43:53,433 --> 00:43:56,466 I mean, aren't we glad that God loves his enemies because he was once us? 1031 00:43:56,466 --> 00:43:58,366 It was once us. 1032 00:43:58,366 --> 00:43:59,566 And this morning I went in with this scripture. 1033 00:43:59,566 --> 00:44:00,900 It's Colossians 116. 1034 00:44:00,900 --> 00:44:04,300 I feel like it gives us the proper perspective to enter this next week. 1035 00:44:05,266 --> 00:44:08,300 hopefully this next season of God is like re-energize, like God, I'm for you. 1036 00:44:08,300 --> 00:44:09,533 I'm with you. 1037 00:44:09,533 --> 00:44:13,000 It says, for in him, in God all things were created. 1038 00:44:13,766 --> 00:44:16,566 Things in heaven and on earth, visible, 1039 00:44:16,566 --> 00:44:19,533 invisible, thrones, powers, rulers, authority. 1040 00:44:19,533 --> 00:44:22,900 So it's really nothing happened on this earth without God allowing it to happen. 1041 00:44:23,133 --> 00:44:23,933 It's just the reality. 1042 00:44:23,933 --> 00:44:26,000 God's will is going to happen. 1043 00:44:27,366 --> 00:44:28,700 But I love the latter part. 1044 00:44:28,700 --> 00:44:31,300 This applies to us in such a cool way. 1045 00:44:31,300 --> 00:44:33,733 All things have been created through him and for him. 1046 00:44:33,733 --> 00:44:37,033 You and I have been created through him, but for him, 1047 00:44:37,566 --> 00:44:40,566 not for self, not for Jonah's example. 1048 00:44:41,166 --> 00:44:41,400 Right? 1049 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:44,500 We've been called and created to to say, God, what do you need? 1050 00:44:44,800 --> 00:44:47,400 Yes, like I'll go, I'll try. 1051 00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:49,400 And if I fail, forgive me. 1052 00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:50,766 Equip me, help me. 1053 00:44:50,766 --> 00:44:53,033 Let me do it. Let's try again. Right. 1054 00:44:53,033 --> 00:44:54,900 That's I'll think about that this week. Pray about that. 1055 00:44:54,900 --> 00:44:55,500 This week. 1056 00:44:55,500 --> 00:44:58,000 I who do you who sold you need to pray for? 1057 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,366 I know it's hard to get there with the person, but. 1058 00:45:00,366 --> 00:45:00,700 But who? 1059 00:45:00,700 --> 00:45:03,300 So can you pray for? Say God do a work in their lives. 1060 00:45:04,833 --> 00:45:07,633 I've been created for you and through you, through you and for you. 1061 00:45:07,633 --> 00:45:10,800 How can I just be more like you and be your hands and your feet? 1062 00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:11,800 Jesus, how can I? 1063 00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:14,433 How can I sit in your word and let it guide my path? 1064 00:45:14,433 --> 00:45:16,533 This week? 1065 00:45:16,533 --> 00:45:17,900 So think about that, pray about that. 1066 00:45:17,900 --> 00:45:21,966 And don't forget jump back into judges nine and judges ten as Pastor 1067 00:45:21,966 --> 00:45:23,833 Carl will be with this next week to unpack that. 1068 00:45:23,833 --> 00:45:25,566 Okay, let me pray for us. 1069 00:45:25,566 --> 00:45:28,566 And then we're going to sing one more song this morning. 1070 00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:31,633 God, I thank you for your grace 1071 00:45:31,633 --> 00:45:33,566 and your mercy and your love and your goodness. 1072 00:45:33,566 --> 00:45:35,400 I thank you for everyone that's in this room. 1073 00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:39,733 Lord, I thank you for an opportunity to repent, for me to say yes to you. 1074 00:45:40,533 --> 00:45:43,333 God, I thank you that that you pursue us. 1075 00:45:43,333 --> 00:45:45,066 God, I thank you that your mercies are new every day. 1076 00:45:45,066 --> 00:45:45,933 I thank you that you're. 1077 00:45:45,933 --> 00:45:46,333 I thank you 1078 00:45:46,333 --> 00:45:50,133 that your grace abounds, that we can't out sin the forgiveness of the cross. 1079 00:45:50,133 --> 00:45:50,833 Lord. 1080 00:45:50,833 --> 00:45:52,233 And I pray for everyone in this room, Lord, 1081 00:45:52,233 --> 00:45:55,233 that we would find the courage and the strength to say yes to you, 1082 00:45:55,500 --> 00:45:58,500 to not pursue comfort, but to pursue obedience, 1083 00:45:58,666 --> 00:46:02,000 to not pursue self, but to pursue your will for our lives. 1084 00:46:02,633 --> 00:46:05,233 And when we make a mistake, God help us to genuinely repent 1085 00:46:05,233 --> 00:46:07,900 and have head and heart knowledge of your goodness. God, 1086 00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:12,200 Lord, I thank you for this church and what you're doing through it. 1087 00:46:12,300 --> 00:46:15,300 I pray that that as a church we would focus 1088 00:46:15,300 --> 00:46:18,300 solely on you, on your word 1089 00:46:18,366 --> 00:46:22,533 and your desires to use us in the ranchos and in the Valley and in this world. 1090 00:46:22,533 --> 00:46:25,533 Lord, please, Lord, forgive us. 1091 00:46:26,100 --> 00:46:29,533 Help us on to to find a renewed spirit, to worship you every single day. 1092 00:46:29,533 --> 00:46:32,666 Lord, praise in your name, Jesus. Amen.