The Making of a Witness

The book of Jonah has three major purposes:

1. It shows us how God pursues sinners -- of which I am the greatest
2. It contrasts God's heart for people who are far from Him, and ours
3. It shows how God uses His people for His purposes, even when they are stubborn and rebellious. 

In Jonah 3, we are given three truths that really drive home the point of what it takes for us to be a part of God's salvation plan.

Jonah 3:1–2 (ESV) -- "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ² “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”

The Lord comes to Jonah a second time and tells him a second time to go to Nineveh and deliver the message that he is going to give him. When I look at my life and I see all the times that I have disobeyed God, I am thankful that God gives us second chances. Unlike the first time, Jonah gets up and heads to Nineveh to obey the Lord.  

Jonah 3:3–4 (ESV) -- "Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. ⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!'”

The phrase "an exceedingly great city" in Hebrew is literally translated, "a city great to God." I know that the main point of this statement is to emphasize the physical size of the city, but I cannot help but think it also a reminder that the city of Nineveh was deeply loved by God. I'm not sure we'll ever be true witnesses of God until we see that the place that we live is deeply loved by God.

In verse 4, Jonah delivers an eight word sermon. It is a message of judgment that contains no explanation of why judgment is coming and there is no opportunity given to turn to God. But in verses 5-8, we find the Ninevites believing God, humbling themselves in His presence and turning from their evil ways. In verse 10 we are told "When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that He had said He would do to them, and He did not do it" (ESV).

Don't miss this point: God doesn't delight in judgment, but He overflows in mercy. The Ninevites deserved God's wrath, and yet in love we find Him sending His prophet and when the people repent, God shows them mercy. 

We find this same thing in the book of Joel, when the prophet declares to the people, "Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster" Joel 2:13 (ESV).

As those who have experienced God's mercy and His grace, how should we respond?

1. We need to take every opportunity to make much of Jesus to a world that is walking in darkness.
2. We should pray like crazy for those who are far from God. 

I want to encourage you to think about this question: If God were to answer all of the prayers that you have prayed over the last seven days in a moment, would anyone new be added to the Kingdom of God? If your answer is NO, then you are faced with the question, Do you really understand the Gospel? 

The Futility of Life without God

As I read through the book of Jonah I cannot help but think about Jonah's journey up until this point. He went from walking with God as a prophet, to running from God's presence, to being sound asleep in the bottom of a sinking ship, to being swallowed by a great fish. It is here in the belly of the giant fish that we learn three valuable lessons from Jonah's prayer.

1. We learn the futility of life without God

In Jonah 2:1-6, Jonah uses some key words that describe the hopelessness of his situation. He says that he called out to the Lord, out of his "distress;" from "the belly of Sheol" he cried; the Lord had "cast" him into the deep of the sea; he was "driven" from God's sight; the "deep surrounded" him; and the "weeds were wrapped around his head."  It was in the place of hopelessness that Jonah found himself calling out to God for deliverance. In Jonah 2:6-7, Jonah says, "Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple." It was in hopelessness that Jonah called out to the Lord for deliverance. It has been said that there is a deliverance that is greater than the deliverance from bad circumstances, and that is the deliverance from sin itself. 

2. The emptiness of idols

In Jonah 2:8, Jonah says, "Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love." In the belly of the fish Jonah recognizes that the source of his own sin was idolatry. An idol is anything that we love more than God. Jonah's idols were his national pride and his unwillingness to believe that God could care enough about other people that He could extend His grace to them. 

For Jonah, he would rather disobey God and hold on to the things that he loved than obey God. The tragedy is that when Jonah allowed the idols to control his life he forfeited the grace that could have been his.

What is the thing that you say, "Without _________________ life just isn't worth living"? 

3. Salvation belongs to the Lord

We are told in Jonah 2:9, "But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!" It was in the belly of the fish, that Jonah understood that it was impossible for him to save himself. There was nothing that he could do to escape the belly of the fish. It is then that he looks to God to provide what he could not provide for himself -- he needed God's grace.

The Bible teaches that all have sinned and the consequence of our sin is death. No matter how hard we try to escape the grip of death, we are unable to deliver ourselves. It is for this reason that Jesus lived the life that we could not live and then He died the death that we were condemned to die, and then He offered us salvation as a gift.

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV), “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

A few things for you to consider:

1. Have you ever received God's free gift of salvation?
2. Is there anything in your life that has hindered your walk with God? If there is, that is an idol.
3. Do you feel hopeless? Cry out to God and allow Him to bring life and hope into your life.

I am Jonah

  The story of Jonah is one that most of us have heard about from our early childhood. We often think that Jonah and the big fish are the key characters in the story, but in reality it is a story about a man who ran from God and the God who pursued him in love.

  The Bible tells us in Jonah 1:2 several key thoughts that are vital if we are going to understand the story. It is here that we are told that God had told His prophet, Jonah, that he was to go at once to Nineveh to tell them that their evil had come to His attention. We are also told a couple of key things about Nineveh. 1) Nineveh is a great city, which speaks to its size. Jonah tells us it was a three days walk across the city and that around 120,000 people lived there. 2) Nineveh is an evil city. The prophet Nahum described Nineveh as city of blood shed. They took great comfort in torturing their enemies and they were a perpetual enemy of Israel. 

  As I read through Jonah 1:1-16 there are several things that stood out to me that I would like for you to consider.

1. When we say NO to God we are rebelling against His Lordship over our lives

  In Jonah 1:3, we are told that Jonah got up and headed to Joppa and found a ship headed to Tarshish. The problem with is that Tarshish is 2,000 miles west of Israel. This man who is a prophet of the most High refuses to obey what he has been commanded to do. Don't miss this point: you are no further away from God than when you are close to Him and you say, "NO!" 

2. Our disobedience always affects others

  In Jonah 1:4, we discover that the Lord seeing that His prophet has disobeyed His command hurled the wind like a spear to stop the fleeing prophet. The wind and waves became so severe that the ship determined to break apart. If the ship breaks apart, not only will Jonah perish in the sea, but so will the sailors who are manning the ship. We have this tendency to believe that our sin will not be found out and that if it does it will only affect us. But the reality is that our sin impacts not only our lives, it impacts our family, our friends, and our church family!

3. God sends storms into our lives to wake us up from the slumber of sin

  In Jonah 1:5-16, we begin to discover the reason that God sends this storm into the life of His prophet. We are told that the sailors are deathly afraid and they cry out to their gods for deliverance and they begin throwing the ships cargo overboard trying to lighten it so that they can regain control. While the prayer meeting is going on, the prophet of God is down in the bottom of the ship sound asleep. They wake Jonah up and then they begin to cast lots to see who is the one who has offended the deities. The lot falls on Jonah and they begin to ask him a bunch of questions. 

  In verse 9, Jonah tells them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." It seems ironic that the person who says that he fears, (worships, reverences), the Lord, is the one who would rather flee from His presence than to obey Him. As you read through the story it also amazes me that this man of God would rather be thrown into the sea than to repent and obey the Lord. But then I reflect on my own life and I see many times that I would rather pursue the desires of my heart than to obey the God who has purchased my life with the blood of His Son. After these sailors have tried everything to no avail, they finally do what Jonah had suggested and they throw him into the sea.

  Please don't miss this point: God sent the storm into Jonah's life not to punish him for his sin, but to bring him back from his sin. 

  In his book, The Gospel According to Jonah, J. D. Greear tells the story that each year during Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, that the people read the entire book of Jonah and then they say in unison, "We are Jonah!" The truth is that all of us can identify with Jonah because there have been times in our lives where we have said no to God. At this moment you may be saying no to God.

• Maybe it's a relationship that you know is not pleasing to God, and yet you refuse to end it. Or maybe it's a relationship that is broken and you refuse to forgive and make things right.
• Maybe it's something that you are doing that you know is wrong and yet you have decided that you aren't going to quit. 
• Maybe it's something that you know that you should be doing with your life, your money, or your time and yet you have chosen to tell God no.

  If you find yourself in the storm of God's discipline, why not surrender and just say, "YES!"