Somebody’s Got To Come Preaching…
Jonah 1:1-2 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
Jonah 3:1-2 And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
Somebody’s Got To Come Preaching today. Why is the need so important today? Today is similar to the day that Jesus looked over the multitudes and he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Oh, this was a day, because it was people in need [EVERYWHERE].
They were tired, broke down, displaced, needing guidance, needing support, lost, and left behind.
There was a man sick of the palsy. He was paralyzed, laying upon his bed. He needed something.
There were certain scribes there that believed that they had a monopoly on the grace of God so much so they slandered the name of Jesus. They too needed something.
There was a man named Matthew who collected taxes and he was there. Matthew needed something as well.
There were many publicans and sinners there who ate with Jesus. They needed something from Jesus.
There were Pharisees who judged the impartialness of Jesus. Lord knows, they too needed something.
There was a woman diseased with an issue of blood for the last 12 years. She too was there. This woman needed something.
A certain ruler’s daughter had just recently died (Father full of hope). The Certain ruler needed something.
Two blind men showed up crying and saying Thou son of David have mercy on us. They needed something.
A dumb man was brought to Jesus, possessed of the devil. He too needed something.
But when Jesus saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Somebody’s Got To Come Preaching.
Today is no different from that day in that we all need something.
A society ravaged by COVID-19 affecting how we live, play, worship, and entertain. A society that is infiltrated with high inflation. Families having to make decisions like should I pay a bill or buy food for my family. A society that is shaken by school-shootings and domestic terrorism. A society that says the children are our future but pays the teachers less than a living wage. A society that is witnessing more mental health conditions today than we have ever seen. A society that has young people taking their own lives and the lives of others at a pace that local law enforcement agencies believe that they need more police men and women on the streets to curb the violence and harm being done to and by our children.
Somebody’s Got To Come Preaching.
We all got something going on.
We all can stand a little grace.
My need may not be Your Need but you can believe we all are in need of something.
Today. The most segregated day of the week is the day that we have the most in common and that is that we all need something.
So Somebody’s Got To Come Preaching!!!
In the days of Jonah, the son of Amittai, a prophet of God had a Divine Call of God to direct a message to the lost.
This message was to the great city of Nineveh who had been the largest power of the time but was seeing some decline.
At this point in Jonah’s prophetic ministry, his job was to share God’s message to them. Due to their behavior, God had enlisted Jonah to preach to them.
These people weren’t your ordinary folks that said a little white lie here and there.
These Assyrians worshiped the vicious god Ashur and a multitude of other gods and goddesses. Their brutality and cruelty were legendary. These Assyrians were known to impale their enemies on the stakes in front of their towns and hang their heads from trees in the king’s gardens. They also tortured their captives–men, women, or children–by hacking off noses, ears, or fingers, gouging out their eyes, or tearing off their lips and hands. They reportedly covered the city wall with the skins of their victims. If you got out of line, they would be massacred by the hundreds, sometimes burned at the stake. Then their skulls would be placed in great piles by the roadside as a warning to others.
If Jonah had to decide between warning them that they would be overthrown or to not follow God, Jonah had to think about that. Jonah had to weigh all options. Jonah needed to make sure this decision was going to fit who he was and what he wanted to do.
Jonah decided that he would rather quit the prophetic ministry than preach to such people.
Somebody’s Got To Come Preaching because we don’t have a monopoly on God’s grace
For I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. (Jonah 4:2b)
Jonah feared the graciousness of God is the salvation of all men
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.
The forgiveness that Jonah knew would be given to the Ninevites even though they were undeserving is a type of forgiveness that we enjoy today being a member in the family of God the church of Christ.
We should not deny others when we are just as undeserving as they are
God willingly gives us grace each and every day.
Ephesians 2:5-6 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Jonah feared the mercifulness of God
God has shown mercy over and over again. Not to take away our responsibility but to give us a chance to repent and to be saved.
The Ninevites didn’t deserve mercy. What they did were terrible and horrible acts. But it is God who gave them the chance to repent and to be saved.
If given the chance to change, what will we do? What have we done? If given the chance to forgive our neighbor, what will we do? If given the chance to help our friend, what will we do? If given the chance to tell someone close to us about the mercy of God, what will we do? Do we settle for the status quo, Do we allow our neighbor to fail? Do we let our friend down? Do we keep the gospel hidden in our heart?
Jonah feared the thoughtfulness of God
Oftentimes, out of all my figuring, robbing Peter to pay Paul, my schemes, and ideas, God has already worked my situation out to my benefit. Most of the time folks are praying for me that I don’t even know are praying for me.
Sometimes, God puts folks in your life that you need at that moment to accomplish His purpose. Be thankful unto Him and Bless His name. Sometimes we need to thank God for our enemies. Because God can use our enemies to increase our own understanding. Jonah needed something.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Ain't God Thoughtful. God had already worked it out. God knew we were not going to be able to save ourselves.
Jonah feared the kindness of God
God is so kind, that He sent His son to die on an old rugged cross on calvary
God’s kindness saved us
God’s kindness provided us a new name
God’s kindness speaks on our behalf
God’s kindness was displayed on the Ninevites.
The Ninevites benefitted from God’s kindness but Jonah still needed something as well.
Hate is not worth dying for
We must be careful not to live by our own justification. Have you ever been around somebody that has an excuse for everything? Jonah’s excuse was that the Ninevites were from the other side of the track. They aint like us.
Do you remember when two men went up to pray and the one said, Lord , I am glad I am not like him. I pray, I fast, I do this, I do that, but his excuses, I call them excuses, did not justify the state of his heart.
Jonah felt justified to leave his prophetic ministry. Jonah felt empowered to go against God. Jonah felt he had no choice. The only justifier is Jesus Christ.
We must Let God do the judging
For it is not our place to do the judging.
Isaiah 33:22 For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us.
Jesus says, Judge not, lest ye be judged (Matthew 7:1)
Jonah judged the Ninevites. Jonah said within himself, they are not worthy. They do not deserve salvation. He basically questioned God like, “Do you really know these people?” Jonah took the posture of disdain because he felt like God was out of touch. Like God was unaware of what pattern of men these people were. Jonah thought within himself that If I don’t go, they won’t be saved.
Somebody’s Got to Come Preaching because God says that our compassion is not where it needs to be
God Sent A Great Wind and He used it to stir up Jonah’s compassion. Sometimes God needs to stir up our compassion. Sometimes God needs to show us that we don’t have it all together either. And so from the perspective of the mariners and the shipmaster…
Jonah deserved the punishment/judgment of God but the mariners and shipmaster did not.
Jonah purchased a ticket, got on this ship, went down to the bottom of the ship like he hadn’t done anything all the while knowing he was a fugitive of the law of God
Jonah turned his back on God, putting his desires above God’s desires for him
Jonah willfully set out in rebellion of God, waving his high hand saying within himself that he knows better than God himself.
God is omniscient, Not you Jonah.
God is all-knowing, Not you Jonah.
God is sovereign, Not you Jonah.
The judgment was for Jonah but others were impacted as well. Sometimes, what we do can impact others. Sometimes when others act out, we are the ones that have to pay for it.
Jonah put them in harm’s way without their acknowledgement, without their permission.
The mariners and the shipmaster were subject to this Great Wind because of the actions and behavior of Jonah.
God cast Jonah into the Great Sea
This Vast Emptiness was to much for Jonah to bear
God had to show Jonah that everyone needs God’s compassion, no matter what their past actions were. They all need God’s compassion. Jonah needed the compassion of God more than ever. No matter where Jonah reached, there was not anything to catch hold of. Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt helpless? Have you ever felt powerless in your situation? Have you ever felt hope just disappear right before your eyes? This is how Jonah felt in that vast sea.
But the good news is that God can be relied upon even if you feel like you are out on your own with no one in sight. God can be trusted. God is faithful. God is aware of our day to day situations. God takes the time to know everything about each and everyone of us.
Feeling alone is no reason for you to be written off. God is faithful. God is ever so near even when we feel totally abandoned. You are not alone when you are a child of God. Even in our loneliness, our situation that we believe no one else understands, God can see through our clutter and give us what we need just at the right time. We serve an on-time God.
Jonah learned that the Extreme Depth of the Sea was not enough to keep him out of God’s reach.
God is sovereign even of the deepness of the sea. Even when we are at our lowest point. God can reach us. Somebody’s Got To Come Preaching. Listen to what Paul said to the Church at Rome. Romans 8:28-30 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
When it couldn’t get any worse, God in his sovereignty, sent a Great Fish not to punish the deserving Jonah but to save the repentant Jonah. God is willing to save us if we are willing to turn from our evil ways and turn to God.
So at this low point in Jonah’s prophetic ministry, Jonah was off track, God got Jonah back on track.
God had stirred up his compassion, God had shook his very foundation, God got Jonah to see it from his perspective. God was willing to give Jonah another try. Who in here wants another try. When the game clock of life is ticking down, we too want a another try. Hezekiah wanted another try when he asked God for a little more time. Do you want a little more time?
God applied the Strenuous Pressures of the Sea while having Jonah surrounded roundabout. This too was no match for God. God is sovereign. All He had to do but was to speak and the problems that Jonah was facing would come to a halt.
When the pressures of the world surround us, it is then that we need to place our trust in God. It is then that we must give up our old habits putting on the behaviors of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Sometimes it can feel overwhelmingly frustrated, tired, and left out, but we need to be reminded that God seeks to save that which is lost. Sometimes we can be lost, and that feeling does not have to be permanent. Our situations don’t have to be permanent but if we never decide to follow the will of God, Heaven will not be our home.
Somebody’s Got to Come Preaching because God desires that all men everywhere REPENT
God desired the Ninevites’ Repentance. And they did respond to the preaching of Jonah.
Jonah 3:5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
II Corinthians 7:8-10 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. 9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Even the evil Ninevites made time to Repent
The Ninevites were sorry for what they had done.
How much time have we wasted by not Repenting?
The time is ripe for Repentance.
The events on Fox 13 should be enough to convince us that Repentance need to be preached.
The events on CBS News channel 3 should be sufficient for us that Repentance should be preached.
Luke 24:47 and Repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
God desires Jonah’s Repentance
Jonah 3:2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I did thee.
The preaching that God bid Jonah was to get Nineveh to stop what they were doing and for them to do what God desired for them to do.
God was also teaching Jonah a lesson, to do His will even when he felt it was not what he personally wanted to do.
Somebody’s Got To Come Preaching
To the preachers watching this message. Even when the crowd is low, Somebody’s Got To Come Preaching.
Even when you might not be getting the respect from your peers, Somebody’s Got To Come Preaching.
Even when you might not be getting the outcome that you want right now, Somebody’s Got To Come Preaching.
I began a work a book that I have endeavored to author and it is called “Endangered Species: The Gospel Preacher.” This work identifies the struggles of being a gospel preacher in this era where flashiness and large followings make you right. That said, the preacher's life can be hard but rewarding, thankless but fruitful, long but forgiving. But even those less than perfect days, Somebody’s Got To Come Preaching.
Finally, God desires Our Repentance
Luke 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
God wants our Repentance.
It is a command Acts 17:30
It is tailor made for us Luke 5:32
It is a call Matthew 9:13
Change is what our society needs today. I say No more to Hate. Let us come together as a City, a State, a Region, a Country, as one Race, the human Race working together to make heaven our home.
Repentance means to turn to God. Putting our desires a distant second and God’s desire our priority.
God’s graciousness is available to us and also to all those that are lost in the world:
Atheists, Gnostics, Catholics, Calvinists, Buddists, Muslems, Whites, Blacks, Asians, Latinos, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, those in the prisons, the homeless, LGBT community, Pro Life, Pro Choice
Repentance from our person wills to the will of God
That will is for us all to be part of his family, baptized believers.
Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
My job is to come preaching
My job is to tell you that Jesus (the Son of the Living God) came from His Heavenly Home down to the sin-sick world [all man and all God all at once] to die for the sins of all mankind and also to rise to the right hand of God never to see corruption.
In succession, the good news continues, Jesus will be back to retrieve what is His and that is His body of believers, the Church that he purchased with His own blood Acts 20:28
The most important thing for you to do at this moment is to
Hear this gospel message
Believe it with all your heart
Repent of your sins just like the Ninevites
Confess the most beautiful name on moral tongue Jesus Christ the Son of God
Be Baptized for the remission of sin just like the first century church in Acts chapter 2
Be Faithful until death Revelations 2:10
