“Obedience Leads To Revival”
Jonah pt 3
Opening Video Illustration: Show clips from Ascension Convention!
Opening Question: How many here in church today want revival? Ask for a show of hands.
Thesis: Obedience is the first step to revival and this first step starts with the heart of the believer then spreads to the unsaved.
Scripture Text: Jonah 3
1Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2“Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
3Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city—a visit required three days. 4On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” 5The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
6When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh:
“By the decree of the king and his nobles:
Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”
10When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.
Introduction:
In my last few sermons on Jonah we discovered that Jonah in chapter one had ran away from God because he did not want to do what God asked Him to do. In chapter two Jonah runs back to God after going through a storm, getting thrown overboard from a ship and being swallowed by a whale. You could say that when Jonah found himself inside the whales belly he decided to pray a pivotal prayer of repentance to God. The whale of a story is really about what God did inside of Jonah’s heart and not really what happened around Jonah in the belly of the whale. His disobedience to following God’s call cost Jonah and it also hurt those around him. In reality it almost cost him his own life. But Jonah prayed a pivotal prayer at the point of ultimate failure with God and God heard his cry and responded with deliverance.
Jonah ran away from God! Then Jonah ran back to God in the belly of the whale! Then in this chapter Jonah runs to Nineveh for God and revival runs wild!
This last week I started reading the book, “Pivotal Praying,” - Connecting with God in times of great need. The book is written by John Hull and Tim Elmore. The book has been enlightening to say the least but in chapter 5 Tim shares about how important it is to run to God in prayer when we find that we have failed God. He notes how all of us like to hear stories of the “Failure to Fortune” kind or the “Rags to Riches” type. I thought as I was reading this chapter you know this is the story of Jonah “Failure to revival” – really every prophet wants to be a part of a great revival. Jonah got to be a part of one in his life – think about it “A heathen city went from living lives filled with evil to repentance , to revival and to serving Jehovah God.” Sounds like the kind of event I would love to be a part of – Maybe this is one reason why I loved being a part of the revival happening in India with Dr. Nichol’s.
Tim opened chapter 5 with one of those “failure to fortune stories” let me share that story with you.
Charles B. Darrow set a goal while still in his twenties. He determined he was going to become a millionaire. This isn’t too unusual today, but Charles lived during the Roaring Twenties, a time when a million dollars was an enormous sum. He even married his wife, Esther, promising that they would be millionaires one day. Then tragedy struck, 1929 rolled around; and the Great Depression began. Both Charles and Esther lost their jobs. In fact, they mortgaged their home, lost their car, and used up most of their life savings. Charles was crushed. He sat around the house depressed, until one day he told his wife she could leave him if she wanted to. After all, it was clear they were never going to reach their goal. Esther wasn’t about to leave. She told Charles they were still going to reach their goal, but that they would need to do something every day to keep the dream alive. “Keep it alive?” Charles responded. “It’s dead! We’ve failed.” But Esther didn’t believe this. Instead, she suggested that every night they take some time to discuss what they would do when they reached their goal. They began doing this each night after dinner. Soon Charles came up with the idea of creating play money-something quite appealing, since money was so scarce in those days. He would sit around with lots of time, and now lots of “easy money” to play with, as he and his wife pretended to buy things like houses, property, and other buildings. Soon they turned it into a full-fledged game, with a board, dice, cards, little house and hotels…and you guessed it: that was the beginning of a game you probably have in your closet right now. This is how the game Monopoly was born…The game was copyrighted in 1935, and Parker Brothers bought if from Charles Darrow. And do you know how much money they gave for it? That’s right (with royalty rights) he received over one million dollars” (Pages 54, 55).
It’s amazing how failure can be such an amazing and insightful teacher for success in life. Jonah discovered this in the belly of the great fish!
Elmore states, “Failure can be an insightful teacher. It can teach us how to proper in adversity and make us resilient when we encounter defeat and trials. It can develop emotional muscles that would never grow if we only succeeded. It teaches lessons we’d never learn if we had always had it easy. These are lessons we all should learn, as certainly every one of us has failed and will fail again” (55, 56).
The truth is Jonah’s story shows us that failure does not have to destroy our life. We can learn through the process of failure like Jonah did. His point of failure with God and his position in the belly of the whale caused him to surrender his life and will 100% to God. The truth is Jonah’s act of surrender in the belly of whale was his salvation. His willingness to pray a pivotal prayer of repentance to God was the one act that stopped the downward spiral of disobedience and failure. The truth is his act of surrender was the action that actually saved him and set in motion a revival in his heart and in Nineveh!
I like what Elmore says. “In his classic book, Prayer, Ole Hallesby sums it up this way, ‘Prayer and helplessness are inseparable. Only he who is helpless can truly pray. Your helplessness is your best prayer” (page 60).
T.S. - This is exactly what Jonah discovered in the belly of the whale and it is what set in motion a great revival! He needed to be revived to bring revival to the Ninevites!
I. Step one to revival: The heart of the believer needs to be revived.
a. Finney coined the following thoughts about revival from his lectures and book called Revivals of Religion (1835):
i. “A revival always includes the conviction of sin on the part of the church…In a true revival, Christians are always brought under such convictions, they see their sins in such light , that often they find it impossible to maintain a hope of their acceptance with God…Backslidden Christians will be brought to repentance. A revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God. Just as in the case of a converted sinner, the first step is a deep repentance, a breaking down into the dust before God, with deep humility, and forsaking of sin…Christians will have their faith renewed…A revival breaks the power of the world and of sin over Christians. It brings them to such vantage ground that they get a fresh impulse towards heaven. They have a new foretaste of heaven, and new desire after union with God; and the charm of the world is broken, and the power of sin overcome…When the churches are thus awakened and reformed, the reformation and salvation of sinners will follow, going through the same stages of conviction, repentance, and reformation. Their hearts will be broken down and changed” (pages 15-17).
1. In the middle of Finney’s thoughts on revival he coins an important phrase that we need to pay attention to today, “A revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God.”
2. Is this not the case with Jonah and the Ninevites? Jonah brought revival to these people because he finally obeyed God! Obedience to God and to His call will always bring revival into the hearts of the obedient and this will spread to others.
ii. Finney makes it clear in his book Revivals of Religion what revival is. Listen to his description of revival:
1. What a revival is? It is the renewal of the first love of Christians, resulting in the awakening and conversion of sinners to God. In the popular sense, a revival of religion in a community is the arousing , quickening, and reclaiming of the more or less backslidden church and the more or less general awakening of all classes, and insuring attention to the claims of God” (pages 14, 15).
a. Jonah’s obedience after God’s persuasion brought this type of revival to the city of Nineveh! It transformed the city and spared the lives of many people.
b. When the word of Lord gives you a chance to do something over it sparks a fire of revival. Because you realize that God really does love and want the best for you.
i. Jonah gets a second chance to do it all over again and to choose to do it right this time.
1. This do over is set in motion by Jonah’s act of repentance in the belly of the whale.
2. His willingness to fulfill his vows to God or in other words to be obedient to what God called him to do set this revival in motion.
ii. Finney wrote a lot about revival and the important link to obedience in any revival.
1. Listen to his thoughts: “Religion is the work of man. It is something for man to do. It consists in obeying God with and from the heart. It is man’s duty. It is true, God induces him to do it. He influences him by his Spirit, because of his great wickedness and reluctance to obey. If it were not necessary for God to influence men-if men were disposed to obey God, there would be no occasion to pray, ‘O Lord, revive they work.’ (Like in Hab. 3:2) The ground of necessity for such a prayer is, that men are wholly indisposed to obey; unless God interpose the influence of his Spirit, not a man on earth will ever obey the commands of God” (pages 9, 10).
iii. Example: Highlight transformation videos and the stress placed on the first step to the revival in these videos was revival within the Christian community first.
T.S. – Jonah’s revival within his heart opened the door for revival for the Ninevites. But this revival would not have happened if Jonah never went to Nineveh. He to go do what God had trained and called him to do. Preach repentance to this wicked city.
II. The second step to revival is we must go do what God has called us to do – to tell people that they need to repent of their sin.
a. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:18-20: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
i. God himself at the point of Jesus Baptism said this in Matthew 3:16, 17: “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
ii. Then in Mark 9: 1-7 at the Mount of Transfiguration were Jesus met with Elijah and Moses and the 3 disciples watched this happened. .. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them…Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud; ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
1. The truth is we need to start listening to the teaching and the commands of Jesus if we want revival to come to our city, county and nation.
a. Maybe we need to see the pure light of Jesus – to change us and to revive us!
i. Illustration: Spot light from Boat – shine it on the congregation! This is what the Disciples saw shooting out of Jesus!
ii. I believe the church in America needs to see the light like this today so that the church is revived and then America could be revived!
iii. John Hull in his book shares a story about a man who brought revival to a sinking ship:
1. A widowed Scottish minister named John Harper and his six-year-old daughter were on board the Titanic the tragic night it sank. When the ship began to sink, Harper, traveling second class, handed his daughter to an officer on an upper deck, who put her into a lifeboat. He then began to help those on his deck. Others were doing this as well, but Harper’s assistance was unique because of his instructions, heard over and over during the chaos: ‘Women and children and the unsaved into the lifeboats first. Women and children and the unsaved into the lifeboats first.’ John Harper recognized that moment as the threshold of eternity. He was ready to face God, but knew that many on board were not. As a minister, Harper’s lips had often declared God’s love for the lost. Now his life jacket declared it as an ultimate act. When he came upon a man without a life jacket, Harper took off his own and put it on the man. Later, floating in the emptiness of the dark chilling waters, a survivor came within sight of a man struggling to stay afloat. It was John Harper. Rather than asking for help, Harper called out to the man, ‘Are you saved?’ ‘No,’ came the answer. ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved,’ Harper said. The man’s reply was one of silence as they drifted out of sight of one another. A little later, the main spied Harper again, and again Harper called out to him. ‘Are you saved now?’ Again the answer, ‘No, I can’t honestly say that I am.’ Again the refrain, weaker but still clear, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.’ Then silence, as John Harper slipped below the surface and into the arms of God. Later, in a meeting in Ontario, Canada, the survivor stood up and told this story. He ended with these words: ‘Shortly after he went down, and there, alone in the night with two miles of water under me, I believed.’ Paul wrote to the church at Rome, ‘If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved’ (Rom. 10:9). John Harper proclaimed these words to anyone who would listen as he treaded the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean that fateful night. These were not the words of a lunatic fearing death, but of a man who understood that eternity for him and others was just around the corner. He was ready, and he wanted others to be ready as well. John Harper knew that people don’t just drift to heaven. They need to be told about Jesus and then must receive Him into their lives. He shared with those fearful passengers that Jesus loved them and that He would save them from their sins and for eternity. He wanted them to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him into their lives. He wanted them to pray the most important pivotal prayer they could ever pray” (pages 214, 215).
b. Video Illustration: Take the shot – you were prepared for this! Bluefishtv.com.
i. The reality check for us today is who will tell them the good news if we don’t?
1. The Buddhists?
2. The Muslims?
3. The Hindu’s
4. The New Ager’s
5. The Atheist’s
6. The Secularist’s
7. The Humanist’s
ii. The hope for revival lies in the heart and the actions of the Christian church. God has always used obedient people to bring revival to the world. God usually sets things in motion for revival but he uses us to bring the message:
1. There are several historical clues which seem to point to a date for this prophecy somewhere in the late 750’s BC --- perhaps around 758 BC and the openness of the Ninevites for revival:
a. During the reign of Adad-nirari III (811-783 BC) there was a swing toward monotheism. However, at his death the nation entered a period of national weakness and even greater moral decay. "During this time, Assyria was engaged in a life and death struggle with the mountain tribes of Urartu, and its associates of Mannai and Madai in the north, who had been able to push their frontier to within less than a hundred miles of Nineveh" (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 7).
b. In 756 BC a plague struck the nation, followed by a second plague in 759 BC. In 763 BC there was an eclipse of the sun. These were "events of the type regarded by ancients as evidence of divine judgment, and could have prepared the people to receive Jonah’s message" (The Ryrie Study Bible). "No doubt this depressed state of Assyria contributed much to the readiness of the people to hear Jonah as he began to preach to them" (Homer Hailey).
c. There is some historical evidence that during the reign of Ashurdan III (771-754 BC) a religious awakening occurred. This may have been the result of Jonah’s preaching. In 745 BC Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 BC) came to the throne and Assyria again became a major power. Under his leadership the Assyrians became "the rod of God’s anger (Isaiah 10:5) against His rebellious people Israel. Israel finally fell to the Assyrians with the capture of Samaria in 722 BC (through the efforts of Tiglath-pileser’s successors --- Shalmaneser V and Sargon II).
c. Jonah obeyed the call of God, he preached the message of repentance to the evil city and revival broke out.
i. History of Nineveh:
1. Holman Bible dictionary states this about the city:
a. NINEVEH (Nihn’ uh vuhh) The greatest of the capitals of the ancient Assyrian Empire, which flourished from about 800 to 612 B.C. It was located on the left bank of the Tigris River in northeastern Mesopotamia (Iraq today). Its remains are represented by two mounds named Quyundjiq “Many sheep” and Nebi Yunus “The Prophet Jonah.”
b. Biblical References Nineveh is first mentioned in the Old Testament as one of the cities established by Nimrod (Gen. 10:9-12). It was the enemy city to which God called the reluctant prophet Jonah in the 8th century B.C. The Book of Jonah calls it “that great city” (1:2; 4:11), and “an exceeding great city” (3:3). The additional phrase “of three days’ journey” (3:3) has been rendered by the NIV: “a visit required three days.” The phrase could be an idiom which would refer to the first day for travel to, the second for visiting, and the third day for the return from a site. The phrase “more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left” (4:11) has sometimes been taken to refer to children, which would yield a population of 600,000. The area within the city walls, however, would not have contained more than 175,000.
ii. The amazing thing is that the people repented of their sin and got right with God. Could you imagine Revival sweeping over the city of Bagdad today?
1. They even fasted!
a. Holman Bible Handbook notes this about fasting: FASTING Refraining from eating food. The Bible describes three main forms of fasting: 1) The Normal Fast, involving the total abstinence of food. Luke 4:2 reveals that Jesus “did eat nothing.” Afterwards “He was hungered.” Jesus abstained from food but not from water. 2) In Acts 9:9 we read of an Absolute Fast where for three days Saul “neither did eat nor drink.” The abstinence from both food and water seems to have lasted no more than three days (Ezra 10:6; Esther 4:16). 3) The Partial Fast—in Daniel 10:3 the emphasis is upon the restriction of diet rather than complete abstinence. The context implies that there were physical benefits resulting from this partial fast. However, this verse indicates that there was a revelation given to Daniel as a result of this time of fasting.
b. Fasting is the laying aside of food for a period of time when the believer is seeking to know God in a deeper experience. It is to be done as an act before God in the privacy of one’s own pursuit of God (Ex. 34:28; 1 Sam. 7:6; 1 Kings 19:8; Matt. 6:17).
c. Fasting is to be done with the object of seeking to know God in a deeper experience (Isa. 58; Zech. 7:5). Fasting relates to a time of confession (Ps. 69:10). Fasting can be a time of seeking a deeper prayer experience and drawing near to God in prevailing prayer (Ezra 8:23; Joel 2:12). The early church often fasted in seeking God’s will for leadership in the local church (Acts 13:2). When the early church wanted to know the mind of God, there was a time of prayer and fasting (C. Robert Marsh).
2. The king himself even repented!
a. He put on sackcloth – means he humbles himself before God!
i. Could you imagine President Bush putting on sackcloth and repenting for the evil done in this nation!
b. He issued a proclamation calling on the people to call out to God – to repent of their sin– to humble themselves in the sight of God – this is the signs of godly leadership!
d. The importance of national repentance has been revealed in the history of America:
i. There have been times in America when presidents have called for national times of fasting and prayer.
1. History from http://www.religioustolerance.org:
• 1775: The first day of prayer was declared when the Continental Congress "designated a time for prayer in forming a new nation."
• 1783: "...the conclusion of the Revolutionary War marked a temporary end to the National Day of Prayer."
• 1795-FEB-19: George Washington proclaimed a day of public thanksgiving and prayer.
• 1813: President James Madison proclaimed a day of prayer.
• 1863-MAR-30: Abraham Lincoln signed a Congressional resolution of MAR-3 which called for a day of fasting and prayer during the Civil War (1860-1865).
• 1952-APR-17: A bill proclaiming an annual National Day of Prayer (NDP) was unanimously passed by both houses of congress. President Truman signed it into law. It required the President to select a day for national prayer each year.
e. Remember this revival in Nineveh happened because Jonah obeyed the Word of the Lord and if we do the same today we could experience revival like this in America.
f. Think about it “What could happen if we all chose to obey the Lord and do what He wants us to do?” Answer: “Revival in our homes, our towns, counties and cities?”
i. So what do we have to do to be obedient too God’s call today to see revival in this generation?
1. Tithing? The truth is many steal what belongs to God today. In America many Christians steal God’s money and then have the audacity to ask God to bless them financially so they can spend more on themselves. The reality is if everyone in America tithed then the Gospel would have a greater impact and more venues to reach the lost could be developed.
a. Many ministries are hamstrung today because of the lack of finances!
2. Sharing Jesus? Many Christians withhold the Good News because of fear and apathy toward the unsaved and therefore stop revival from coming to America.
a. If Christians would start to share Jesus then more people would get saved!
3. Serving? Many Christians today squelch revival because of selfishness toward others in the Kingdom and in the world. They hoard their time and talents from the church and keep revival from happening. They serve themselves and expect the church and its leadership to serve them!
a. The truth is it’s not what can the Kingdom of God do for me but what can I do for the Kingdom of God!
4. Unity? Many groups and individuals have killed revival in America because of the mindset of disunity and pride.
a. Dissension and division are the tools of the enemy and many Christians practice them regularly today and therefore hinder revival.
5. Living holy lives? Many Christians live the life of a hypocrite and the world takes note and these actions undermine revival from ever happening.
6. Forsaking sin? Many Christians do not forsake sin in their life and their sins keep revival from happening in our society and in the unsaved community.
7. Following the commands of Jesus? Many Christians feel that they can write their own rules, do their own thing, believe their own way and in the process they stomp on the seeds of revival.
T.S. – If we want revival then we have to preach the truth and live the truth and then watch God set it all in motion.
III. Revival swept over this city because God saw the humble repentant hearts of the people.
a. If we are willing to obey God and repent then we could see a revival like the Ninevite’s experienced.
i. They received the gift of mercy and grace from God – he saw their actions and relented from his judgment.
b. Why did God relent because of the willingness of the Ninevite’s to listen to God and too repent of their sinful ways.
i. They turned from their evil ways and were spared!
1. They admitted their sin and called it what it was – evil!
2. People do not want to call sin – sin today!
a. Reference book: Whatever happened to sin?
c. The sad truth is the Ninevites revival did not last long.
i. Through the preaching of Jonah, and the repentance of the people of Nineveh, the city was spared at this time. However, history tells us their repentance was fairly short-lived. Soon they had fallen back into their sinful way of life. The prophet Nahum was then sent to these same people. However, they failed to repent (as they had with Jonah), and thus were destroyed in 612 BC.
d. We should never take God’s grace and mercy for granted
i. Sin will always bring God’s judgment – even in this era of grace we live in
ii. Paul warned us not use our gift or grace as a license too sin!
1. Romans 6:1-18
a. Vs. 1, 2: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
b. Vs. 11, 12: “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.”
Conclusion:
Summary of the first 3 chapters of Jonah:
God says “Go!” Jonah says “No!”
Jonah runs. God has some fun.
Jonah gets swallowed. God gets honored.
Jonah says “Yes!” God says “Guess!”
Jonah preaches to Nineveh. God reaches out to Nineveh.
To be revived means to be brought back to life! God brought Jonah back to life and then God used Jonah to bring the city of Nineveh back to life.
To obey means you are willing to say “Okay!” This is what Jonah eventually did for God and it revived his heart and it also brought revival to a wicked city.
Today many of us need to say Okay to God so that we can be instrument who will bring revival to our homes, cities, and counties today!
