"Lessons Learned From The Prophet Jonah"

LESSONS WE CAN LEARN

FROM THE PROPHET JONAH

Text: Matthew 12:38-41

"Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees

answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign

from thee.

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and

adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and

there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign

of the prophet Jonas:

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in

the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be

three days and three nights in the heart of the

earth.

The men of Ninevah shall rise up in the judgment

with this generation, and shall condemn it: be-

cause they repented at the preaching of Jonas;

and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here."

-Jesus

Introduction-

We can all learn a lot from the life and

experiences of the O.T. prophet, Jonah, if we

will only open up our hearts and minds.

I.First, WE CAN LEARN THAT GOD IS A HOLY GOD, WHO

HATES SIN.

Jonah 1:2b-"...cry out against it(Ninevah, capital

of Assyria), for their wickedness is come up be-

fore me."

God cannot be indifferent to sin and still be a

holy and righteous God. He must punish evil, and

evil-doers.

God knows about all of the evil that men do. He

is Omnipresent, and Omnicient(all knowing). No

one can do wrong without His knowledge. When we

sin, we sin against a God who sees us and knows

all about us. He sees deep within our hearts,

and knows who and what we really are.

Ninevah was the capital of Assyria, Israel’s bitt-

er enemy. Should they be spared, they might be

a threat to Jonah’s nation, and he knew it, so

he was being patriotic when he didn’t want to

go to Ninevah. But, he was not being godly, or

pleasing to God. God wanted them warned of their

impending and certain doom if they did not repent.

He is willing that none should perish, but that

all should come to repentance.

II.Secondly, WE CAN LEARN THAT WE CAN RUN, BUT CAN’T

HIDE FROM THE PRESENCE OF GOD.

Jonah 1:3-"But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish,

from the presence of the Lord..."

God found him, and caught up with this rebellious

prophet. No matter where we go, or where we try

to hide, God will find us.

Jonah was found to be the cause of the storm at

sea, so he was cast overboard, and swallowed by

a great fish. When we sin, it affects others.

It may be our family, or friends, or even people

that we do not know personally.

III.Thirdly, WE CAN LEARN HOW TO PRAY AND HOW TO OBEY.

You can bet your life that Jonah prayed more

earnestly and sincerely than he ever had before

in his life. He prayed and submitted his life

to God’s will. He was now willing to go to

Ninevah and say whatever God wanted him to say.

IV.Fourthly, WE CAN LEARN THAT GOD SOMETIMES GIVES US

A SECOND CHANCE TO DO HIS WILL.

Jonah 3:1-"And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah

the second time, saying,.."

The mission hadn’t changed, but Jonah had, at least

to some degree.

V.Fifthly, WE CAN LEARN THAT THE WORD OF GOD IS

QUICK AND POWERFUL, AND CAN CHANGE ANY LIFE.

If a message of condemnation, preached by an un-

sympathetic prophet could change a wicked people

like the people of Ninevah, it can change anyone.

Jonah 3:5-"So the people of Ninevah believed God,

and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from

the greatest of them even to the least of them."

Talk about a far-reaching, life-changing revival!

It touched everyone in that city, even the king.

It humbled them, and brought them to repentance.

And, God relented. He decided to spare them for

about 200 more years before Ninevah met its doom.

VI.Sixthly, WE CAN LEARN THAT GOD’S LOVE IS MUCH

GREATER THAN OUR LOVE.

There was no tear in Jonah’s eye as he told the

people of Ninevah of their certain destruction.

But, there was still rebellion in his heart at

at how loving and forgiving His God was.

Jonah 4:4-"Then saith the Lord, Doest thou well

to be angry?"

Why was Jonah so upset at God’s goodness? Be-

cause, what he really wanted was to see them

destroyed, forever, and never become a threat

to his own nation. God taught him a lesson

through the goard that we all need to learn.

God will do what is right, and best, and in

accordance with his holiness, righteouness, and

love.

Invitation-God loves you, too, no matter who you

are, or what you have done. He wants to forgive

you, and He will, if you will only hear His word,

and repent.