Have you ever found yourself getting angry over something that is foolish? These little episodes reveal something about the human personality.
I read a story that reveals this truth. One dark rainy night a salesman had a flat tire on a lonely road. To his dismay he had no lug wrench. Seeing a nearby farmhouse, he set out on foot. Surely the farmer would have a lug wrench, he thought. But would he even come to the door? And if he did, he’d probably be furious at being bothered. He’d say, “What’s the big idea getting me out of bed in the middle of the night?” This thought made the salesman angry. Why, that farmer is a selfish old clod to refuse to help me. Finally the man reached the house. Frustrated and drenched, he banged on the door. “Who’s there?” a voice called out from a window overhead. “You know good and well who it is,” yelled the salesman, his face red with anger. “It’s me! And you can keep your old lug wrench! I wouldn’t borrow it if it was the last one in the county.” Foolish anger!
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Bruce Howell)
I can still remember mine and Judy’s first argument. Do you know what it was about? It was over a sandwich. The real issue was my insensitivity and not the object (sandwich) at the center of the disagreement. Have you noticed that when we get angry the object of our anger is never the real issue!
I want you to look with me at a man who got angry over a vine. God destroyed a vine that was providing shade for Jonah. Jonah said “ ‘Death is better than this!’ And God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?’ ‘Yes,’ Jonah said, ‘it is; it is right for me to be angry enough to die!’“ (Jonah 4:8-9) Jonah felt justified in his anger. However, the object of his anger was not the real issue. It is imperative that we pull back the layers and see the real issue. God had asked Jonah to go to the city of Ninevah and preach. Jonah was prejudiced toward the people of Ninevah. Asking him to go to Ninevah was about like asking a member of the KKK to preach to a group of African Americans. Initially Jonah refused to go to Ninevah; however, with God’s persuasion he was convinced to do God’s will. He went and preached and there was a mass movement toward God. This made Jonah mad (see 4:1). At that point God decided to teach Jonah a lesson. He goes outside the city and sits under a vine which gives him a cool place to relax. As he relaxes, God kills the vine. Jonah got mad. He was angry over a dead vine. Is that not insance! Remember, the vine is not the issue! What is the issue? That is the meat of my sermon today. I want to show you four issues that were behind Jonah’s anger. These things still plague us in churches today.
Reason number one for being angry over vines is: things become more important than people. This is the major affliction affecting American Christians today. In our text Jonah had more pity for a vine than a whole city of people who did not know God. Things can become more important than people.
This can be true in the church.
• We become obsessed with buildings (sanctuaries, multi-purpose buildings, etc.)
• We become obsessed with the trimmings.
• We become obsessed with having things done for us.
This can also be true for us individually.
• We become obsessed with our homes.
• We become obsessed with a hobby.
• We become obsessed with having things done for us.
There is a condition described in the Bible that can afflict any of us. It is called carnality. Paul describes it in I Cor. 3. Carnality occurs when a believer is controlled by the human nature (or flesh) rather than the spirit of God. You can be a Christian but live in the flesh. That was the essence of Jonah’s problem. He was controlled by the flesh.
The spending habits of the American public illustrate this point. One survey taken a few years back showed the American mentality. We spent 16 billion dollars for amusements, 2 billion for travel, 325 million for cat and dog food, 304 million for chewing gum, and 76 million for lipstick. During the same period, the total given for foreign missions by all Protestant churches of the United States was said to be only 145 million dollars—less than half of what Americans spent on chewing gum. If these figures are only reasonably accurate, isn’t it evident to you and me that people are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God?
(Contributed to Sermon Central by James O. Davis)
Our attitude can adversely affect our faith. Jonah was prejudiced toward Ninevah. His attitude destroyed his sensitivity to people.
Illustration: Many of you recognize the name of John Dillinger. The Dillinger pistol was named after him. He was the most wanted criminal on the FBI’s list in the early 1930’s. When just a boy he was arrested for a minor crime and placed on probation. His folks sent him to Sunday school, but some of the parents said to the Sunday school teacher, “We don’t want our children to associate with a criminal. If Johnny Dillinger continues to be in your Sunday school class we will withdraw our children.” As a result, Johnny dropped out of the class. He never returned, and less than 20 years later headed the list of most wanted criminals. It makes you wander what might have happened had those parents invested in John Dillinger rather than throwing him away.
Reason number two for being angry over vines: feelings become more important than faith. Jonah got his feelings hurt. He must have been a Baptist. In verse 9 God confronts Jonah about his feelings. He justifies himself and says “it is right for me to be angry.” Feelings can control you and defeat you.
Illustration: Several years ago there was a basketball player at the University of Florida by the name of Dewayne Schintzius. The coach asked Dewayne to get his hair cut. He quit the team because he was offended and his feelings were hurt.
ILLUSTRATION: It is like the man who was rescued after being stranded alone on a deserted island. His rescuers asked him what the three structures were that he had built on the island. Three buildings seemed perplexing for just one man. He said one was his house, one was his church, and one was where he used to go to church before he got his feelings hurt!
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Toby Powers)
Your feelings can place you on a roller coaster ride.
"We mutter and splutter, we fume and we spurt, We mumble and grumble, our feelings get hurt, We cannot understand things, our vision gets dim, When all that we need is a moment with HIM."
(Contributed by Sermon Central)
Joke: John Maxwell tells a story about a grandpa and grandma who visited their grandchildren. Every afternoon grandpa would lie down for a nap. One day, as a practical joke, the kids decided to put Limburger cheese in his mustache. Quite soon he awoke sniffing. “Why, this room stinks,” he exclaimed as he got up and went out into the kitchen. He wasn’t there long until he decided that the kitchen smelled too, so he walked outdoors for a breath of fresh air. Much to grandpa’s surprise, the open air brought no relief, and he proclaimed, ‘The whole world stinks.”
Reason number three why we get angry over vines: comfort becomes more important than obedience to God. Jonah would rather sit in a cool shade and pout than get in the sun and obey God.
We have been studying in the book of Genesis on Sunday mornings. One of the central characters in Genesis is Abraham. God called Abraham to be one of the central characters in world history. God chose Abraham to be a blessing to the world. However, before that could happen Abraham had to move beyond his own desire for comfort. Notice the scripture “Now the Lord had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, From your family
And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation.” (Gen. 12:1 NKJV)
• He was to leave his family.
• He was to leave his country.
• He was to leave his home.
• He was to face uncertainty.
Obedience was more important to him than comfort.
Lets take a principle from church life. Some people feel lead to teach a Bible study class or work with preschoolers, children, or youth in their church. That requires leaving the comfort of an adult Bible study group. That requires giving up some of their personal relaxation time in order to fulfill that responsibility.
There is a beautiful example of this from the World Trade Center bombing.
On the morning of September 11, 2001 Jeannie Braca switched on the television to check the weather report, only to hear that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. Jeannie’s husband, Al, worked as a corporate bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald. His office was on the 105th floor of Tower One. His wife said she knew that Al would do the same thing this time, “I knew he would stop to help and minister to people,” she said, “but I never thought for a minute that he wouldn’t be coming home!” A week later, like so many others who were in that building, Al’s body was found in the rubble. Al’s wife, Jeannie, and his son Christopher were devastated! Then the reports began to trickle in from friends and acquaintances. Some people on the 105th floor had made a last call or sent a final e-mail to loved ones saying that a man was leading people in prayer. A few referred to Al by name. Al’s family learned that Al had indeed been ministering to people during the attack! When Al realized that they were all trapped in the building and would not be able to escape, Al shared the gospel with a group of 50 co-workers and led them in prayer. This news came as no surprise to Al’s wife, Jeannie. For years, she and Al had been praying for the salvation of these men and women. According to Jeannie, Al hated his job and couldn’t stand the environment. It was a world so out of touch with his Christian values, but he wouldn’t quit. Al was convinced that God wanted him to stay there, to be a light in the darkness, and although Al would not have put it this way, to be a hero! Al was not ashamed of Christ. Al shared his faith with his co-workers….many of whom sarcastically nicknamed him “The Rev.” And on that fateful day…on September 11, in the midst of the chaos, Al’s co-workers looked to him—-and Al delivered! At the same time, Al too tried to get a phone call through to his family. He asked an MCI operator to contact his family. “Tell them that I love them,” he said. It took the operator more than a month to reach the Bracas, but the message brought them much-needed comfort. “The last thing my dad did involved the two things most important to him—God and his family,” his son Christopher told a writer for Focus on The Family. “He loved to lead people to Christ. That takes away a lot of the hurt and the pain.” (SOURCE: compiled by Kenneth Sauer from "A Light in the Darkness" by Christin Ditchfield. Focus on the Family Magazine, September 2002. Contributed to Sermon Central by Kenneth Sauer)
Reason number four why we get angry over vines: we get out of touch with the very thing which is the heart of God. God’s heart beats for the people who do not know him.
“Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.” Ps. 96:3
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Mt. 24:14
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Mt. 28:19
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’’ Acts 1:8
God is concerned about the Ninevahs of the world. God is concerned about the John Dillingers of our world. When we get overly concerned about things we lose touch with the very thing which is at the heart of God.
May we not be pre-occupied with the vines in our lives. God has much more to accomplish.
