How many of you have ever been wrong? (show hands)
How many of you have ever had to undo, redo, or make do because of your bad-do?
You know what? Welcome to the human race.
If you’ve never screwed up and been totally wrong -- you haven’t lived, breathed or existed !!
Welcome to the Jonah club !
All of us are card carrying members in this non-elite society of the "I messed up royaly" club.
Sometimes our wrongness is quiet, subdued and no one knows about it but us --
Other times we have flown off handle, and let someone really have it only to discover that what we thought happened didn’t really happened, and we were totally off base and in the wrong.
It’s the stuff that life’s most embarrassing moments are made of, or at least what sit-coms are made of.
In the story I want to share with you this morning, Jonah gets it wrong -- way wrong.
God calls Jonah and says I want you to go to Ninevah and preach for the people to repent.
Let’s pick up with what happens next and read some of the story -
(Jonah 1:3 NKJV) 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.
Jonah was called by God to go and preach to the people of Nineveh.
He was to tell them that God was going to destroy the city because of its wickedness.
Nineveh was indeed wicked, and evil.
And Jonah did not want to go there -- nor did he want those people to come his church.
They didn’t deserve to have God’s mercy.
So instead of taking the next camel to Nineveh, he jumps on the next boat for Tarshish, which is at the exact opposite end of the then known world.
He is running from God.
But what he didn’t know was that God was running after him.
There came a huge storm so bad that it threatened to destroy the ship he was on.
To keep the story simple -- let’s just say that the sailors figured out that Jonah was the problem,
And they ask him what they should do, and he says that they must throw him overboard into the raging sea.
They don’t want to do it, but the storm is so bad and they are afraid for their own lives,
And so they finally throw him over.
The storm stops as Jonah sinks to the bottom.
But remember -- while Jonah was running away from God --
God was running after Jonah.
So God doesn’t let him drown, but sends a fish to swallow him.
Jonah is stuck for three days and three nights in the belly of this fish.
I know we picture him sitting on a stool with a candle in a large cavernous whale interior --
But more than likeley he was in a stomach just big enough to hold him --
And he’s probably lieing down, and looks like a giant sausage.
While he is there he prays, and admits his wrong.
The fish spits him up on to dry land, where God calls him again to go to Nineveh.
This time he obeys, and he goes and preaches to them.
Ninevah is a very large city -- it would normally take 3 days to walk from one side to the other.
So on the first day Jonah begins his task, and prophesies God’s message to them.
Jonah may have said more, but all we are told that he said was "Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed."
Now -- he is only one day into his three-day preaching tour and the people begin to repent.
They declare a fast, they remove their fancy clothes, they sit in the dust, and go about mourning.
This act of repentance is complete in that from the least person in the city, to the greatest, they all repent.
Even the King, when he hears the news of their impending doom, gets off his throne, removes his royal robes puts on sackcloth and sits down in the dust.
He sets a royal decree to fast and wear rags.
Nineveh goes from powerful, arrogant, wicked city to a city of massive repentance.
They actually turn from their wickedness and begin to do what is right.
Jonah 3:10 speaks of God’s fantastic mercy:
"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened."
What an amazing thing!
These people were so evil that God saw the need to wipe them from the face of the earth!
But they repent – stop their evil ways and begin to live right.
God has mercy and changes his plan.
And Jonah is furious.
1. These guys deserve God’s wrath – they are evil
2. Jonah looks like an idiot – he said they’d be destroyed and now they won’t be.
3. They are Assyrians -- and Jonah doesn’t like those kind of people to begin with.
But Jonah is dead wrong. For the second time.
He doesn’t get God’s heart at all – he just doesn’t get it.
Forgiving is what God does best.
I want you to look at something --
Jonah 4:2 ... (Jonah 4:2 NKJV) So Jonah prayed to the LORD, ....
Some translations read he "yelled at God" .. he was upset
(Jonah 4:2 NKJV) So Jonah prayed to the LORD and said, "Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.
(Jonah 4:3 NKJV) "Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!"
(Jonah 4:4 NKJV) Then the LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"
See it was wrong for God to forgive the people of Ninevah --
But it was perfectly right for God to forgive him of his disobedience.
Ouch.
How often do we expect to be forgiven for all of our short comings and our mistakes --
But there is no way in Ninevah that we’re going to forgive others for their mistakes or short comings.
Hey you have to forgive me when I wrong you -- but don’t expcet me to forgive you when you wrong me.
And God said -- "Wait a minute -- do you have the right to be angry?"
Jonah thought these people deserved judgement!
They were the Assyrians -- a cruel and heartless people -
Assyrian engravings depict people being tortured, skulls worn around their necks to show their cruelty.
The truth is that they did deserve Judgement –
But Jonah is mad at God for showing mercy when he should have drowned himself.
The truth is, Jonah would be dead if God was not “a gracious and compassionate God, "
Jonah is a prophet --
He knows the very Word of God,
He proclaims the righteousness of God to the nations,
And yet he spends all of chapter one running from God in disobedience.
Yes -- the Ninevites are living wrong
But they don’t know right from wrong, they are ignorant of what God says is right.
They live evil lives.
But they are clueless as to God’s laws.
I know we could argue the severity of the offense is different --
But friends -- mercy is mercy, and forgiveness is forgiveness.
Jesus told the Parable of the unforgiving servant.
(Mat 18:23 NKJV) "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
(Mat 18:24 NKJV) "And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
(Mat 18:25 NKJV) "But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
(Mat 18:26 NKJV) "The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ’Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
(Mat 18:27 NKJV) "Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
(Mat 18:28 NKJV) "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ’Pay me what you owe!’
(Mat 18:29 NKJV) "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ’Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
(Mat 18:30 NKJV) "And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
(Mat 18:31 NKJV) "So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
(Mat 18:32 NKJV) "Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ’You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
(Mat 18:33 NKJV) ’Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’
(Mat 18:34 NKJV) "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
(Mat 18:35 NKJV) "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
What Jesus is showing us here is that while one debt was astronomical --
Unpayable, unthinkable --
And the other debt was kind of puny,
Yet Jesus said both required mercy and forgiveness.
Jonah has been forgiven for intentional disobedience,
But he can’t handle God forgiving ignorant disobedience.
Yes the Ninnevites deserved judgement --
But so did Jonah
Neither one deserved mercy.
That’s the reason it’s called mercy -- we don’t deserve it!
Jesus says don’t try to pluck the speck out of other’s eyes until you take the plank out of your own.
The Ninevites may have had a two by four in their eye, but Jonah was judging them while had a two by six in his own.
The whole kingdom of God is based on this principle.
Extending mercy and forgiveness where it is not deserved nor earned.
The whole existance of the church is based on this principle.
This church is based on that principle -- we cannot exist without it.
See, I’ll tell you up front -- I’m not perfect,
I don’t do everything the way that people think it should be done.
That’s partly because we all do everything differently -- and sometimes there is no right or wrong way.
But there are other times that I may walk in the deepest ignorance you have ever seen.
You may have known termites that showed more wisdom than me some situations.
But I’m counting on your mercy and forgiveness to keep our relationship together.
And there are times when I totally disagree with what you’re doing, or how you’re doing it ...
But you know what, we’re family.
And family forgives, and family extends mercy.
In our relationships with each other --
We have to acknowledge that all of us make mistakes.
And that all of us will screw up.
And that we can’t jump on the unforgiveness band wagon.
There is too much at stake.
We have lives to change, we have souls to save, we have people to reach,
And we can’t do it if we can’t live mercy.
How can you tell someone who is lost, that God will forgive them of all they have ever done wrong,
Then try to explain why we can’t walk in mercy and forgiveness with someone in the church.
Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that unless we forgive others, God will not forgive us,
(Mat 6:14 NKJV) "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
(Mat 6:15 NKJV) "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
The word "trespass" means "a side-slip, a lapse or deviation, an unintentional error or a wilful transgression:
If can’t forgive others - God can’t forgive us.
Ouch.
Look at your neighbor and smile an say -- "just in case, I forgive you -- so God can forgive me".
Up to the 4th chapter, Jonah just doesn’t get God’s heart.
God heart is about mercy and forgiveness.
In Luke chapter 15 Jesus told a story;
(Luke 15:3 NIV) Then Jesus told them this parable:
(Luke 15:4 NIV) "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
(Luke 15:5 NIV) And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders
(Luke 15:6 NIV) and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ’Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’
(Luke 15:7 NIV) I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."
Friends -- If there is great rejoicing among the angels of God over the repentance of one sinner, can you imagine the party that was going on in heaven on the day that Nineveh repented?!
There were more than 120,000 evil people who turn and repent and follow God.
Jesus shared another parable -- the one about the two sons --
One took his inheritance and blew it.
And one stayed home and took care of dad ...
And when the wayward son finally comes home --
Dad throws a party.
And the good son get mad.
We could call that the "Jonah Spirit".
See, it’s kind of common.
But our job is to be watching out for it.
So that we don’t caught in the "jonah trap".
We don’t allow our feelings about other’s mistakes, and other’s wrongs cause us to miss God’s heart.
Let me share some things that might help you deal with other people.
1) First and foremost -- can you remember that your not perfect either.
That’s a big one -- because none of us see our mistakes as being any where near as big as anyone elses!
We’re not as hard to get along with as those other folks.
We’re smarter, we’re brighter, we’re wiser, we’re nicer, we’re holier, and doggon’ it -- we’re right.
If we can see ourselves through the eyes of others -- we will see others differently.
2) secondly - try to see others through God’s eyes
No to Jonah, the Ninnevites were basically pond scum.
There were no worse people.
Barbaric, mean, evil -- you name these people were the best at the worst.
But you know, we’re all in the process of being changed.
Let me show you something --
(2 Cor 3:18 NKJV) But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
(2 Cor 4:1 NKJV) Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.
Note those words -- as we have received mercy.
"But pastor -- I don’t make as many mistakes as they do,
I don’t mess up as often as they do,
I am right most of the time, and their wrong most of the time"
Welcome to "Club Jonah"
Try to see other through God’s eyes,
He shows them mercy and forgiveness.
3) Pray for them instead of Criticizing them
It’s amazing what God can do when you can’t.
I have discovered so many people that don’t really care what I think --
But who really will listen if God shows them something.
4) and the last thing that I think will help -- is make a vow to bless them, not curse them
See, everytime you open your mouth to talk about the wrong --
You derail the right.
Everytime you speak the negative, you destroy the positive.
If you’re haveing trouble putting up with someone --
Make a vow to bless them.
Speak blessing into their life.
Make it a point to tell the very ones that before you would have grumbled to --
Make it a point to speak a blessing to them instead.
You know what, you tell enough people how great those other folks are --
And before long you’ll believe it yourself!
Jesus said in (Mat 5:44 NKJV) "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
Even with two wrongs -- things can be right --
If we walk in mercy and forgiveness.
