SERMON BRIEF
Date Written: January 2004
Date Preached: January 2004
Church: OZHBC (PM) Wednesday
FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS
Series: Study in Jonah
Title: The Loving Patience of God
Text: Jonah 2:10-3:9
Introduction:
When you hear the word ‘patience’ what does it mean to you? There are 3 definitions of this common word.
1st is the most common, and that is ‘stoical endurance’ or in other words able to endure ANYTHING without showing emotion. Like sitting in traffic without getting upset at the long wait… or why the traffic is stopped!
Even tho’ we may admire those who can do this, such an attitude usually deteriorates in time and turns into self-pity and bitterness.
The 2nd kind of patience characterizes those people who are endless optimists… these people are those who seek to find the silver lining in all the dark and gray times of life!
And although we can commend those people for that upbeat optimism, it usually only succeeds in hiding their faces in the sand and not really facing what is before them in life. As they tend to fantasize and refuse to accept the reality of the situation.
Then there is the 3rd kind of patience and this type is the most rare! It is the kind of patience God shows to His creation… it is the kind of patience God showed to Jonah in his situation!
This type of patience turns a seemingly impossible situation into a great learning experience!
Even tho’ Jonah had some problems and issues AFTER he preached in Nineveh, we can see that he still learned some valuable lessons about God thru his experience in the storm and in the great fish!
And so tonight I want us to focus in on the subject of God’s unwavering love and patience toward those who disobey Him.
When we look at the passage 2:10-3:2 we can find God calling Jonah, yet one more time to go to Nineveh…
I want to ask you a question… does it surprise you that God spoke to this great fish and instructed him where to go and what to do?
If it does, then I would like to point out that God is the creator of ALL things, why would we believe anything different! He created it and that means that He can communicate with it!
But even before this spectacular event took place, we can see that Jonah was convinced in his mind that he could do NOTHING in Nineveh… that God could NOT work there! That these people were beyond hope and belief in God.
Don’t we often find ourselves in that very situation! We feel that someone is simply beyond hope and we simply give up on them… even tho’ God does NOT!
God brings us to the absolute utter end of ourselves so that we can see, beyond a shadow of doubt, that when HE rescues us or delivers us from our impossible situation… it is totally of HIS doing and nothing of our own!
And this was precisely the point God was driving home with Jonah. When Jonah finally came to the point where he knew and understood that he was helpless on his own, and that his only salvation and help was in God!
Jonah hit rock bottom… and when he did God had Jonah’s undivided attention!
It was at that time that God spoke to the fish and out Jonah came. From a spiritual perspective this verse in and of itself reveals a great promise from God Himself! When God speaks… He liberates, He delivers… and this is because He is the TRUTH! His Words embody the all eternal truths that we should seek to live by. Jesus told those who followed Him, “…and you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free…”
The 1st 2 verses of chapter 3 present to us the high point of this particular book of the Bible.
It is here that we come to see one of the most gracious and beautiful expressions in the Bible about God’s love…even for those who are disobedient.
Look at 3:1 “…the word of the Lord came to Jonah a 2nd time…” In Eph 2 Paul tells us that by our very nature we are objects of God’s WRATH! That is because our nature is to rebel against God and to serve ourselves!
But Paul goes on in that same chapter to tell us, “…but because of His great LOVE for us, God, who is RICH in MERCY, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in our transgressions – it is by GRACE you have been saved…”
Yes, God came to Jonah a 2nd time, it was God’s grace and mercy… God’s enduring love and patience that brought Him back to Jonah that 2nd time! To show Jonah and to teach Jonah about His love and mercy.
But also to make way for those in Nineveh who would turn to Him, to have God’s mercy and love be poured out on them. We can rest assured that God is a God of 2nd chances… and even more!
God’s 2nd call to Jonah reveals his patience and love for Jonah and for those who do not know His salvation. But let’s see if Jonah reacts like we think he should…
I want us to also look at hoe Jonah reacted when he realized he was given a 2nd chance by God.
So many times we fall short and we find ourselves in the same position as Jonah… well maybe not in the belly of a fish… but in a situation where God is the only one who can deliver us! When he does deliver us, how do we react to that deliverance? READ 3:3-4]
As for Jonah , we can see here that he learned a very important lesson here – and I believe it is one we can still learn today!
Jonah learned that God’s will does NOT change. The 1st time God called Jonah… he told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach against it…
God said, GO and Jonah said NO! Maybe Jonah thought that if God had a little time to think about it that He would change His mind about that wicked city Nineveh. So Jonah thought he could take a Mediterranean Cruise…
But we find that Jonah learned that God DOES NOT change his will… He told Jonah to go to Nineveh the 1st time and he told him the same thing again the 2nd time!
And we find that this time Jonah obeyed God and went to Nineveh and began to preach as he was told. We know that Jonah would have preferred someone ELSE to do this job, but he found out that HE was who God chose to do it…
God knew that Jonah had the right personality and character to reach the people of Nineveh. God knew that Jonah’s preaching style or way of communicating would be the best fit for Nineveh.
And although God could have used someone else, He chose Jonah for specific a purpose…
Likewise, God has a plan for us here in this world, that plan requires that we listen to Him and that we follow His leadership.
God is going to be there to help us do what He has called us to do, but we have to be willing and obedient to His calling… that is why Paul wrote, “…I can do ALL things thru Christ who gives me strength…”
In our passage tonight we can see the patience and love of God toward His people is evident in this book… but we can also see how we need to react to being given a 2nd chance… finally we can look and see the response to God’s call in Nineveh.
When we look at Scripture in the NT we find Jesus teaching that Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites. What Jesus meant was that everything that happened to Jonah… the news hit Nineveh even before Jonah got there.
They had already heard the story of one running from God and what God does when you disobey Him. They had heard how God hates sin and how God punishes sin… God used Jonah disobedience as an object lesson for the people of Nineveh.
But they also learned that God forgives those who come to Him with broken and repentant hearts.
Now in the original Hebrew language, Jonah’s sermon was only 5 words long. But when we translate it into English it is a bit longer.
Look with me to 3:4 “…40 more days and Nineveh will be overturned…” Nowhere else in the Bible… or no where else in any ancient writings can we find ONE sermon from a prophet or servant of God that was used in such a great way! Because of Jonah’s obedience… the ENTIRE city of Nineveh repented of their sin and believed in God!
I want us to realize something here that is REALLY important… The people of the city did not set their eyes on JONAH. They did not lift him up as some sort of national hero. He was not an overnight sensation or he did not become a household word for what he did for God.
The account we have in the Bible shares with us that they turned their attention TOTALLY to God… and they did not even wait for the King… this was a spontaneous and willful action made by the people as they heard the message of repentance.
And when the King finally heard God’s message thru Jonah, he did as the rest of the city had done… he fell down before God and repented and believed in God.
Because of their reaction to the message from God, because of their repentance and changed hearts we find that God spared Nineveh from the punishment that He had pronounced on their city.
They were spared from impending judgment because they turned to God. And when we study this account we can find that it is still like that today.
When we acknowledge our sin and repent of our sin, God is willing to forgive us and He is willing to remove the punishment that was certain… if we would NOT have repented.
The focus of tonight message is how God reacts to disobedience. He does NOT excuse disobedience, but He is also not like we would be…
He is patient, loving and merciful. He comes to us time and time again to coax us and lead us into obedience.
When He has to, God disciplines, chastens and correct us… in order to gain our attention of His will and His purposes. God still does come to us a 2nd time and even more… God is loving and caring and He is willing to give us a 2nd chance.
That 2nd chance and all other chances given by God must be taken up here in this world. And because of that we have to understand that we can never know how much time we have left.
We cannot presume that just because God is a God of 2nd chances that we are guaranteed more chances. We don’t know IF we will ever see another chance.
So tonight, if you are battling with discipline problems, if you are NOT being submissive to the HS in your life… God is patient.
