This is a series that I will be sharing based on the life of Jonah, and the lessons that the church can learn through this book. These messages are the sequel to the series of devotions that were shared with me by spiritual friend Michael Collins and is also found on Sermon Central entitled “The Church Called Jonah.”. As I read these studies I knew that there was much that we could learn from this and that this would be a great help to our spiritual growth.
For today’s message we will meditate on Jonah 1:1-2, One day the LORD spoke to Jonah son of Amittai. He said, "Go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak out against it; I am aware of how wicked its people are." (GNB)
God asked Jonah to go and speak to the people of Nineveh against their wickedness. With no one to admonish them, their wickedness had reached the heights. The people of Nineveh continued in their corrupt ways because they thought God was silent and not observing what was going on. At one point God had to intervene and he called out to Jonah to go and preach against the atrocities of the people of Nineveh.
Even today people continue in their evil ways simply because God is long-suffering, and does not punish them immediately. The first thing we learn from the above mentioned verse is that the evil and unrighteousness of mankind is certainly being noted by God in heaven, but He chooses to be patient for a period of time. It is therefore good for us to take stock of our lives, analyze all those things that don’t please God and be willing to let go of the same.
The people who lived in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were also similar to that of those in Nineveh. They too continued in rebellion and sin, until one day the Lord came down on them with strong judgement.
The similarity between the call of Jonah and The Great Commission
The first verse in the book of Jonah reminds us of the last verse in the gospel of Matthew.
This is the great commission as found in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” (GNB)
The command that Jesus gave to His disciples before his ascension, is so similar to the command that Jonah received from God. In the Old Testament, God called individuals and here He called Jonah to go and preach against Nineveh. However, in the New Testament the commission that Jesus gave, was to all of His disciples to go and preach the Gospel to people all over the world.
The ones who received this commission from Jesus were not those who just followed after Him for any and every reason. This was the selected group of those who had been with Jesus all through, right up to the time when He was crucified, buried, resurrected and ascended into heaven. There were many others too who followed after Jesus for a season, but when they heard His teachings they left Him, as they found they could not comply with them.
Oftentimes we forget that the focus of Christianity is discipleship. This is so lacking and therefore many are unaware as to the reason why Jesus came to the earth. We as the church have forgotten the focal point of the great commission of our Lord Jesus. The call of God is to make disciples, but it is also a fact that only those who are good disciples of Jesus, can disciple others.
Who is a disciple?
The word disciple comes from the Greek word ‘mathet?s (µa??t??)’ which implies one who is a student, learner and follower.
1. A disciple is a student
The moment we hear the word student, the thought that comes to our mind is discipline. Before imparting education to students, it is the goal of a school that they teach children to be disciplined. That is the reason schools have timings and when children come late to school they are not allowed in, in order to teach them to be disciplined. This is also why uniforms and shoes are checked so as to help children learn to be orderly.
As a disciple of the Lord Jesus we too need to be disciplined. For example we need to respect people, and when we tell them that we would meet them at a certain time, we must make every effort to do so. If we are unable to make it on time for some reason, we should have the courtesy to call and inform the person that we are delayed. When the pandemic struck, there were many who complained that they are unable to go to church and fellowship with others. Sadly, when the doors of the church were wide open, so many took this for granted, and did not bother to be there on time.
There is also the indiscipline of not keeping our word. David explains this in Psalm 15:1, “Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?” (NLT)
David gives the answer in Psalm 15:4, “They despise those whom God rejects, but honor those who obey the LORD. They always do what they promise, no matter how much it may cost.” (GNB)
Among the many things that David mentions, note how he explains in the last part of Psalm 15:4 that such privilege will be for those who are faithful to keep their word, no matter what.
In the New Testament James elucidates the power of our words in James 3:2, “All of us do many wrong things. But if you can control your tongue, you are mature and able to control your whole body.” (CEV)
Some people have shared with me of how they have out of pity, gone out of the way to help someone, sometimes borrowing from someone else to give to them, and when the time comes to repay the people they helped, will completely ignore them. It is vital for a disciple to be one who is disciplined in every area of our lives. We must learn to be disciplined in our words and our actions, and do our best to fulfill all the commitments we make, no matter how hard it is.
2. A disciple is a learner
The next mark of a disciple is that he is teachable, and willing to learn. It is a very good practice for us to have our bibles open, and to take notes whenever we hear the word being preached. Churches are locked up now, but when they open up, let us go with an open-mind and a heart to learn. After we hear the message being preached, it is also important for us to meditate on it and to search the scriptures again. A humble person will want to constantly learn, and will not take the word of God for granted. Every time we listen to the word of God with a teachable spirit, we will most certainly learn new truths from God, and will be able to benefit from the same as we apply it to our lives.
Oftentimes we miss out on the enhancement that God’s word can bring to our lives because after hearing a message, we divert it to someone else, and convince ourselves that it was aptly spoken for the other person. Such an attitude will not benefit us in any way. Read the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples, He said pray, ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ Not only do we need physical food, but we also daily need our personal share of God’s word which is the true bread of life for our spiritual well-being. We must be willing to receive the word of correction and rebuke from God, and not try to pass it off to others. Irrespective of who is preaching we must have the attitude and openness to receive the word as from God, and not be distracted by the one who is sharing it.
With the onset of online church, many have the habit of multi-tasking, wherein they are hearing the word, but also engaged in other chores. These people are a combination of Mary and Martha I think. There is a blessing when we take time to quieten ourselves, and hear the word of God. The transformation that God’s word brings in our lives cannot be brought about by money or position, friends or any other thing. There is life in God’s word and we need to listen to it with sincerity and genuine zeal. The Holy Spirit of God will surely bring about all the needed changes in our lives when we are willing to learn and receive the word with humility.
3. A disciple is a follower
Here are the words of the Apostle Paul as found in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” (NLT)
I wonder how many of us can say what Paul said so boldly. Paul was following Jesus Christ so meticulously, and with such discipline that he could confidently say that others could follow him and imitate him.
I have heard many excuse themselves as weak, and not therefore not willing to be an example for others to follow. It is only when we walk closely with Jesus, and in obedience with Him every day can we become more and more like Him.
The church has forgotten to make disciples. A disciple should be one who listens to God’s word, follows it wholeheartedly, and also teaches others to do so. This responsibility to disciple others is placed on every believer. Many are content to receive the word, be saved and become a member of a church. The question is have we become disciples of Jesus Christ? If we are disciples of Jesus, it is our duty to go and make disciples of others, and for this to happen we have to get ready to go where God wants us to go.
The greatest challenge today is that our words and deeds must go hand in hand. When Jesus was here on earth, all of the sacrifices and ceremonies were being carried out in the temple as always. John the Baptist who came as a fore-runner of Jesus was himself born in a priestly family. The word of the Lord came to John the Baptist in the wilderness. The word of God did not come to the temple where the worship was taking place, but came to God’s messenger in the wilderness. As John the Baptist preached about the kingdom of God and the coming of the Lamb of God in the wilderness, the multitudes thronged him to hear the word which was not found in the temple where it was supposed to be.
If there is a dichotomy between words and deeds, people will easily identify this discrepancy.
Paul preached and lived exactly as the Lord desired of him and like him we too should be able to say, ‘follow me and I follow Jesus.’
Let us come back to the story of Jonah. Jonah’s message was directed towards the people of Nineveh. However, the message that God gives to us must be shared with people all over the world. Jonah’s message was about a destruction that was impending Nineveh if they did not repent. Our message is the good news that Jesus has reconciled us to God by His death on the cross and therefore we can be saved from hell’s eternal grips. Not only that, when we believe and repent, God grants us His grace to live a victorious life here on earth. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life for all of mankind.
Paul writing to the Corinthian church says it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:18, “But all things are of God, who has made us at peace with himself through Christ, and has given to us the work of making peace;” (BBE)
Further in 2 Corinthians 5:19 we read, “In other words, God was using Christ to restore his relationship with humanity. He didn't hold people's faults against them, and he has given us this message of restored relationships to tell others.” (GW)
God has given us a ministry to make those who are at enmity with God to be reconciled with Him and be at peace with Him. God did not hold mankind’s sins against us, because in Christ He has removed our sins from us, and restored our relationship back to Him.
Again in 2 Corinthians 5:20, we read, “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (NLT)
We are called to be ambassadors of God who are appealing people to get back to God, and be reconciled with Him. Those who do so will be saved from eternal destruction in hell, and will be able to lead a life of victory over sin while here on the earth.
The purpose of Jonah’s life
God chose Jonah to be his mouth-piece and His voice to the people of Nineveh.
What is the purpose of our life as we live here on earth?
We read in Mark 12:30-31, And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (ESV)
The goal and purpose of our lives is to love God wholeheartedly, not just with our words, but by living in obedience to His word every single day. To love God means to live a life that is totally pleasing to Him, doing those things that He approves of, and letting go of those that He doesn’t. We worship God and tell Him that we love Him, but those words have to be intentionally lived out in our day to day lives. Our purpose for living should be to live for God, love Him, speak up for Him, obey Him all the days of my life on earth.
The other purpose is for us to love others the way we love ourselves. If we love others we will not miss opportunities to share the gospel with those around us. As we compare the life of Jonah and the church, we have understood that we too have a call and a purpose like God had a purpose for Jonah. Our call and purpose from God is that we become good disciples of Jesus Christ and make disciples of others. Let us do all we can to go, and be ready to make the use of every opportunity to lead others to Christ. A good disciple will be able to raise up another good disciple of Jesus.
We as the members of the body of Christ have been left with the responsibility to go and declare to everyone that when they believe in Jesus, they too can be reconciled with God and become children of God. The good news is that we can let everyone know that Jesus will forgive their sins and there is hope for eternity. In the days to come, for those who are unbelievers our lives may be the only bible that people will read. May our words and actions be pleasing to God and let us pray that we will be able to share with at least one person about the Lord Jesus every single day of our lives and lead many into His kingdom. Let us be obedient to the great commission that God has given to each one of us.
This is not the responsibility of a select few who are called to serve God, but the collective responsibility of every person who is a child of God. If this burden has not overwhelmed us, it is a sure sign that we are not yet disciples of Jesus and if this is so we can never make disciples of others. By so doing we have failed to obey the greatest commandment of Jesus, for we do not love others as we ought to love them. We may have missed many opportunities earlier in our lives, but let us be good disciples who are disciplined, teachable and the true followers of Jesus as long as we live here on earth, and go out to make many others disciples of our Lord Jesus.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
