God goes the extra mile for His creation. Beloved tonight I want to declare to you that we serve a God that is a merciful God, just and true, glorious and marvelous in all His ways. God has in past times took drastic measures to get the attention of His people. He went above and beyond to get the attention of His people all because He loves us. Tonight I want to preach a sermon I have entitles “all He would do just for me”.
1st Point “Hearing, not listening and running away”
Jonah 1:1-3
1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me. 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Here in our text we find that God has chosen a man to go a particular city a great city and cry out against it, in other words witness and testify to a perverted city that they may turn from their wicked ways and flee the wrath of God. Here is God coming to man to reach man, what a tremendous privilege to be called by god to reach a people that they may escape eternal damnation. Yet He hears God and decides to not listen to God.
See beloved in our scripture we read that Jonah had a word that came from the Lord, in that word God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh and cry out against it. Instead of obeying the voice of the Lord He chose to go the other direction. How many know that is like many today, hear me out God is speaking to His people with this still small voice and we hear Him yet can easily go the other direction away from His purpose away from His redemption grace away from His will, only to find ourselves in a terrible storm.
He paid to go the other direction, He paid to disobey God, hear me out tonight, your disobedience beloved will cost you more than what you bargained for. Listen to me He tried to flee the presence of the Lord. He paid to go the other direction and this is what happened: it cost others almost their lives.
Jonah 1:4-6
4 But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, "What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish."
Jonah a man that heard from God, clear directions, disobeyed and it cost Him whatever he paid but it cost others all that they had. And the sad thing about this beloved hear me out is that this man of God was comfortable in his disobedience, yet God was not. This storm that God sent upon this ship is a good indicator and should give us clear understanding that whatever we do in our lives that do not satisfy the eyes of the God we serve will affect all those around us.
The Mariners were throwing their cargo off the ship and to top it off the storm was so fierce that they were afraid the boat was going to be torn apart. Could it be possible that your disobedience or my disobedience can cause someone else their lives?
But in the midst of this beloved the good that came out of this is that God was involved and had things planned out according to His grace and mercy. First beloved these sinners were able to see the length, the distance God would go for those that He loves and secondly, after they threw Jonah into the sea they began to worship and sacrifice to God.
2nd Point “Protection in the storm”
Beloved God corrects because He loves, but in that correction there is protection. He will not correct us and disciple us without a process of healing being involved. God allows these things to come to pass to show us His divine mercy and provision for us. In addition He graciously gives us time to repent.
Jonah 1:17
17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2:1-2
1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish's belly. 2 And he said: "I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, And He answered me.
The grace of God is sufficient for all mankind, yet in this grace God brings correction to help us get back on track. Even though some may be comfortable in their disobedience God will not allow them to stay that way for long. And in that exposure He prepares, protects and redeems.
Here’s Jonah swallowed up by a huge fish, a whale, yet in the belly of this whale God’s hand of mercy is upon this man and His ear is attentive to Jonah’s prayer. He thought God had quite forsaken him, would never return in mercy to him, nor show him any token for good again. He had no example before him of any that were brought alive out of a fish's belly; if he thought of Job upon the dunghill, Joseph in the pit, David in the cave, yet these did not come up to his case. Nor was there any visible way of escape open for him but by miracle; and what reason had he to expect that a miracle of mercy should be wrought for him who was now made a monument of justice? How his own conscience told him that he had wickedly fled from the presence of the Lord, and therefore he might justly cast him away from his presence, and, in token of that, take away his Holy Spirit from him, never to visit him more. What hopes could he have of deliverance out of a trouble which his own ways and doings had procured to himself? Sometimes the condition of God's people may be such in this world that they may think themselves quite excluded from God's presence, so as no more to see him, or to be regarded by him. But it is only the surmise of unbelief, for God has not cast away his people whom he has chosen.
So here we have a promise in God this evening that as believers in Christ we are a chosen people by faith and even in times of failing to respond we see God loves us so that He would respond to us. What happened to Jonah? The fish vomited him out.
Jonah 2:10
10 So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
3rd Point “With obedience comes fruit”
Jonah 3:1-10
1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you." 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. 4 And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk. Then he cried out and said, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" 5 ¶ So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? 10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
Here it was seen the anointing of God upon this man’s life after God restored him because of his disobedience. Listen to me beloved god has a purpose and destiny for every single one of us in this place, this is why He allows U-turns in life. To correct that which was going astray.
Our word tells us that the Lord spoke to him a second time. That’s encouraging to know that even through my mishaps and mistakes God will not forsake me. In that second time the whole city of Nineveh got right with God. The city repented, the people made it right, God relented and God’s plan brought forth life. This beloved tonight could easily be anyone of us. Disobedient, going the wrong direction, getting chastened felling as if God forgot about you, if we would repent how I believe God would take us out of that belly and right where He would want us to do His will. Being fruitful and obedient to the will of Christ.
