Have You Totally Lost Your Gourd?
Sunday a.m., April 6, 2003
Jonah 4:1-11
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. 2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. 3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. 4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?
5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. 6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. 7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. 8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. 9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. 10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
I. INTRODUCTION
We all know the story about Jonah and the whale. God called Jonah to preach to the people of Nineveh. Jonah didn’t want to go so he took a ship and went off in the opposite direction of Nineveh. A storm came up and threatened to sink the ship. Jonah knew it was God. He confessed to the sailors on board. They threw Jonah overboard, the storm calmed down. Jonah didn’t drown but was swallowed by a whale which later up-chucked Jonah on shore. God told Jonah that he had better head for Nineveh this time and tell the people that the city of Nineveh and all the people would be destroyed unless they repented.
EXPLAIN ABOUT NIMROD ESTABLISHING NINEVEH WHICH BECAME THE GREATEST CITY IN THAT PART OF THE WORLD. Population 120,000. (Genesis 10:8-9)
The whole world has been focused on the war in Iraq.
Actually this didn’t start with Saddam Hussein and his regime. It can be traced back several thousands of years to the King of Babylon named Nebuchednezzar. Saddam believes he is the next Nebuchednezzar.
But we can go even beyond Nebuchednezzar and find out that it really began right after the flood in Noah’s time. Noah and his family of eight people were saved. Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. Ham was a rebel and rebellious nature passed down to a grandson named Nimrod.
The Bible says “Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord”. What that means is that Nimrod was defiant before the Lord. The name “Nimrod” means “let’s revolt” and he lived up to his name. After the flood Nimrod settled on the plains of Shinar, today we know that same area as Iraq.
Nimrod led his people away from the Lord and to gods of their own making. He united the people into building the Tower of Babel which they believed was going to reach heaven.
The goal of Nimrod was a one-world system, one-blood line, one language and one great world kingdom with him king. If that sounds familiar it’s because it was the same goal of the Devil from the time he was cast out of Heaven.
God confused the language of the people so they couldn’t understand each other. Building the Tower was put on hold while the people went separate ways into the world.
But that same spirit of Nimrod lingers in the area of Babylon to this day and I believe that is what motivates Saddam Hussein.
II. WHALE UP-CHUCKS JONAH - HE PREACHES TO NINEVEH AFTER ALL
1. Jonah ended up in Nineveh where he preached to the people.
2. He told them that if they didn’t repent, God was going to destroy them in 40 days.
3. People believed Jonah and repented.
4. Instead of destroying the city, God spared the people.
III. JONAH UPSET WITH GOD
1. That didn’t set too well with Jonah.
2. Jonah was afraid that God would spare Nineveh if they repented.
3. He’s sitting on a hill overlooking Nineveh and pouting.
4. His reputation as a prophet was at stake.
5. Jonah prayed that God just take his life.
6. Instead, God raised up a gourd vine that provided shade.
7. Did God change when He decided not to destroy Nineveh?
8. No, Jonah told Nineveh to repent OR God would destroy them in 40 days.
9. God didn’t change, Nineveh did. They repented and God spared them.
IV. HOT IN THAT PART OF THE WORLD.
1. Jonah was hot, tired and glad to see the shade of the gourd.
2. Desert temperature in that part of the world can reach 120 degrees
3. All he cared about at this point was his personal comfort.
4. Jonah was more concerned about himself and his gourd than he was about the salvation of the people of Nineveh.
V. WHY DIDN’T JONAH DIDN’T LIKE THE PEOPLE OF NINEVEH?
1. Jonah lived the same time as the prophets Isaiah, Hosea and Amos.
2. They had prophesied that the Northern kingdom of Israel would someday be conquered by the Assyrians, which included the people of Nineveh.
3. Jonah was aware of the prophecies.
4. The Assyrians had a reputation of being one of the most cruel people in that part of the world.
5. They were so bad that people of some cities would commit suicide before letting the Assyrians capture them.
6. Jonah didn’t have any love for Assyrians or the people of Nineveh.
7. He knew some day these same people would probably be killing fellow Israelites, raping the women and taking the people into captivity.
VI. JONAH WAS AFRAID GOD WOULD SPARE NINEVEH.
1. Jonah understood God and His mercy.
2. His biggest worry was that God would forgive Nineveh.
2. He knew that if he warned the people they just may repent and God would change His mind about destroying them.
3. To be truthful, as far as Jonah was concerned the Ninevites could go to hell.
4. There is a scripture in the New Testament that fits Jonah.
Paul said it but it fits Jonah.
1 Cor. 6:19:
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
VII. JONAH HAPPY IN THE SHADE OF THE GOURD VINE
1. Jonah was satisfied just resting in the shade of his gourd.
2. He was in his “comfort zone”.
3. He’s on this hill overlooking Nineveh.
4. He doesn’t have any friends around and he’s not about to look for any among the people of Nineveh.
5. He’s mad at God for not destroying the people of Nineveh.
6. But he has the shade of his gourd to keep him company.
VIII. GOD SENDS A WORM TO DESTROY THE GOURD.
1. God raised up a worm that destroyed the gourd.
2. No more gourd. No more shade.
3. The Bible says, Jonah “pitied the gourd”.
4. He missed its shade.
5. He probably kept the gourd watered everyday.
6. He probably talked to it.
7. It was his most prized possession at that time.
8. So God destroyed it and sent a hot wind.
THINK ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED. JONAH WAS GOD’S MAN WITH A MISSION. HE WAS TO GO TO NINEVEH BUT INSTEAD WENT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. HE DIDN’T WANT THE PEOPLE OF NINEVEH TO BE SAVED FROM THE WRATH OF GOD, BUT GOD, IN HIS MERCY, DID.
JONAH SITS ON HILL OVERLOOKING NINEVEH, REGRETTING HE HAD OBEYED GOD. GOD PROVIDED A GOURD VINE TO GIVE SHADE. THEN GOD SENT A WORM TO DESTROY THE GOURD. THEN HE SENT A HOT, DRY, DUSTY WIND.
JONAH MISSED THE GOURD SO MUCH HE WANTED GOD TO TAKE HIS LIFE. GOD SAID: “JONAH, WHY DO YOU GRIEVE OVER THE GOURD? YOU DIDN’T CREATE IT, YOU ONLY ENJOYED ITS SHADE. YOU CARE MORE ABOUT THE GOURD THAN THE PEOPLE OF NINEVEH.”
WHAT IS SO AMAZING TO ME IS GOD’S PATIENCE AND GENTLENESS WITH JONAH. THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE FACT THAT GOD WILL NEVER INTERFERE WITH OUR FREE WILL. GOD WILL NEVER FORCE US TO DO ANYTHING AND THAT INCLUDES ACCEPTIING OUR OWN SALVATION.
HE’S MOVED HEAVEN AND EARTH TO COME KNOCKING AT OUR HEART’S DOOR BUT HE’LL NEVER FORCE HIS WAY IN. HE’LL NEVER COME IN UNINIVITED. HE WILL NEVER FORCE US TO STAY IN FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM. BUT IT’S BEST THAT WE DO.
IX. WE CAN LEARN FROM JONAH.
1. We can learn some things from this but we don’t have to go through the experience of being swallowed by a whale.
2. But we’re going to have to lose the comfort of some of our gourds.
3. Let me explain:
a. We all have one or more gourds in our lives.
b. What is a Gourd?
c. It’s anything we value more highly than our relationship with the Lord.
d. That doesn’t necessarily mean we do it on purpose. It’s something that just sneaks up on us if we’re not careful.
3. A gourd in our lives could be a lot of things:
a. It could be Family, friends or our possessions, the material things we have accumulated: cars, boats, home or furniture.
b. Money, talents or gifts we may have. It could be concern about our appearance - how others see us. It could be a career or a job and the struggle to improve a lifestyle.
c. The gourd could be our habits, our comforts and pleasures in life.
d. It could be relationships with church members, taking priority over our relationship with the Lord.
X. Go back and look at:
verse 4, chapter 4, Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?
1. Another translation puts it this way, “Is doing good and saving the Ninevites making you unhappy?”
a. Jonah was mad. His reputation was on the line. He had prophesied the demise of Nineveh and God, in His Grace, forgave and spared them. So now Jonah is mad and pouting.
b. The problem was: Jonah was more concerned about his reputation than God’s.
XI. Verses 5 & 6, So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
1. Jonah was all alone and out of fellowship with God. He wasn’t’ about to go to Nineveh and make friends. But he found a friend in the gourd. It provided comfort to Jonah.
XII. Verses 7, But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
1. The gourd was gone. It only took a little worm.
a. God prepared a big whale to get Jonah to the place where He could use him.
b. Now God used a little worm to bring Jonah back into fellowship.
2. Verse 8: And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
a. There was no shade from the gourd and now God had sent a strong east wind.
b. In that part of the world a vehement east wind is not just a gentle breeze. It was what they called a “sirocco”, a hot, dry dusty wind. When it blows animals and birds look for shelter in caves, under rocks or anywhere else they can get a little relief.
c. Jonah was really miserable. He missed the gourd so much that he just wanted to die.
XIII. Verse 10 says, Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
1. Now God is going to teach Jonah a lesson. He begins by asking Jonah if he thought he had a right to be mad about the loss of the gourd.
a. It says, Jonah pitied the gourd. The word “pity” means that Jonah had compassion for the gourd, he felt sorry for the gourd and pitied himself at the loss of the gourd.
b. God had compassion on the people and decided to spare them.
c. Jonah only had compassion for his gourd.
XIV. HERE IS THE POINT OF THE MESSAGE
1. Jonah was only concerned about himself.
a. “Self” was in control of Jonah’s life.
b. “Self” breeds “selfishness”.
2. Look back at verse 2, And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3. Notice how many times he prayed using the pronoun “I”.
4. I pray thee, I was yet in my country, I fled, I knew.
5. This concern about “self” just opens the door to the Devil.
6. In fact, that’s where the Devil works best.
7. Listen to the “I wills” of the Devil taken from Isaiah 14:13-14
a. I will ascend into heaven b. I will exalt my throne c. I will sit also upon the mount. d. I will ascend above the heights. e. I will be like the Most High.
XV. THE DEVIL’S PERFECT DISGUISE IS “SELF”.
1. One of the most effective weapon the Devil has to defeat people, even Christians, is his disguise as “SELF”.
a. What do I mean by “Self”.
b. We are three part beings. Spirit, soul and body.
c. “Self” is that third part of us that still needs some work by the Holy Spirit.
d. When we become Born-Again our spirit is renewed instantly.
e. Our mind is not. Our bodies will be renewed when Jesus returns.
e. Our soul is our mind and it still needs a lot of work. That’s “Self”.
f. It’s the part of us that still clings to a bit of the old sinful nature.
g. Until our minds are totally renewed to the mind of Christ our soul, or mind is tuned in to “self”.
g. For every temptation the Devil puts in our way there is a certain part of our old nature that wants to answer and give in to, that temptation. Especially in the days we live today.
h. 2 Timothy 3:1-5, This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
XVI. What did Jesus say about “Self”?
1. John 5:30 , I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. Jesus is our example. His “self”, or Mind, was completely “in tune” with God, the Father.
2. Matt 22:38-40: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
3. In the Book of James loving thy neighbor as thyself is called the Royal Law, what we know as the Golden Rule:
a. James 2:8, If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
XVII. OTHER SCRIPTURES ABOUT “SELF”
Romans 12:2: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, (or soul, or self) that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Eph. 4:22-24: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
2 Cor. 4:16: For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. The renewing of our mind is a continual process.
XVIII. The Devil’s Best Tool And His Garage Sale.
1. There is a story about the Devil having a garage sale. He was selling the old tools he used in his warfare against the Body of Christ. Early the morning of the sale he had all of his tools laid out and marked with prices. Each tool was labeled. There was greed, hatred, lust, envy, gossip, jealousy, deceit and all the other tools of evil that only the Devil could come up with.
2. There was one tool in particular that looked different than the others. It was wedge shaped and worn down a lot more than the other tools. But this particulat tool was priced much higher than the others.
3. Someone picked it up and looked at the label. It just said, “Self”. The Devil was asked why it was so expensive because it looked like it had been used so much.
4. The Devil answered, “Because it is more useful to me than any of the others. I can pry open and get inside a man’s consciousness with that tool when I couldn’t get near him with any of the others. It even works on Born-Again Christians. Once inside I can use him in whatever way suits me best. It’s worn down because I use it on nearly everybody. It’s the most valuable tool because very few people know that it actually belongs to me.”
5. That is the one tool that didn’t sell because the price was so high. The Devil still owns it and is still using it.
6. Here’s how it works. The Devil doesn’t come at us in his own name. He uses a disguise. It’s the “self” in each of us.
7. All he has to do is to deceive the Born-Again Believer into living for himself.
8. It’s all for “my job, my work, my pay, my house, my friends, my family, my car, my favorite sport, my traveling, my comfort, my health, my overweight, my, my, my, my.
9. That’s where the Devil wants us. It’s living for “self”.
10. That’s when we stop living for the Lord.
IXX. BACK TO JONAH - GOD TRIES TO REASON WITH HIM
1. Jonah 4:11, And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons (120,000) that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
a. 120,000 people that can’t tell their right hand from their left has to be children.
b. God was saying, “Jonah, if you can love a gourd could you at least show a little kindness towards the children of Nineveh?” And notice that God even shows His mercy to the cattle.
c. Sometimes teachers of the Gospel, or preachers, will talk about the cruel God of the Old Testament. They go on about how God told the Israelites to go into Canaan and destroy every living soul. And He did just that. What they don’t realize is that God gave those people in Canaan 400 years to repent. Not only that, but God had planted a High Priest in the land. He was also a king named Melchisedech who was a light to the people in that dark world of Canaanites. They had chances to repent and change their lifestyles but the pull of the world was too strong. But God would have saved them.
XX. We serve a Good God.
1. We serve a caring and loving God. He set a perfect example for us when it comes to being unselfish. He sent His only Son into the world to die. Even for people who may never accept His gift of salvation. That’s a love we will never really understand. We can only take advantage of it.
a. Job asked this question about the love of God. In Job 7:17, What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
b. Jer. 31:3, The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
c. John 17:23, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
d. Romans 5:8, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
e. Why do people see God is such an uncaring old Man sitting on a throne waiting to drop the Mercy Seat on their spiritual heads?
V. The gourd in Jonah’s life was only temporary.
1. So are the gourds in our life. Rust, moths and decay will destroy most gourds in our lives.
a. Matt 6:19-21 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
b. Anything we put before God or the needs of others will soon disappear. Mark 8:36, For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
XXI. Others who lost their gourd.
1. Adam & Eve (Gen. 3)
a. They wanted to be like God.
b. They put their own desires above the desire of God and they gave more value to the words of the serpent than the words of God.
c. They lost what they selfishly desired, they lost their “gourd”.
d. They also lost the fellowship with God, they lost peace, Paradise and life.
e. They were cast out of God’s presence, all because of a gourd: “SELF”.
2. Samson (Judges 16)
a. Samson was more concerned with pleasing Delilah than God, more concerned about having her than God.
b. Samson put his selfish desires above God’s calling on his life to be the deliverer of Israel from the Philistines.
c. Consequently he lost his hair which represented his strength, He lost his eyes. He lost Delilah, his gourd and he lost the call of God.
3. King Saul lost his gourd too.
a. His gourd was wanting the favor of his people but jealousy of David was more important to him that God’s favor.
b. He lost the favor of God and the people. He lost his kingdom, his life and maybe his soul.
4. Ananias and Sapphira lost their gourd. (Acts 5:1-10)
a. They grieved the Holy Spirit by lying about some land they owned.
b. First they lost their respect within the church.
c. Unlike others who were concerned about winning souls to the Lord, they were concerned about self.
d. They not only lost their gourds but they lost their lives, falling dead at the feet of the apostles.
5. Judas lost his gourd. (Matthew 26:47-49; 27:3-5)
a. He lost his desire for the 30 pieces of silver he received for betraying the Lord.
b. He lost Christ, he lost the fellowship of the others, he lost his peace, his life and his soul.
6. The Rich man in Luke 16:19-26 lost his gourd.
a. He lost his earthly wealth and pleasures, his gourd in life.
b. He lost eternal wealth and the privilege of a glorified body.
c. He lifted up his eyes in hell and realized his great loss.
V. Conclusion:
1. Have you totally lost your gourd?
2. Here’s how to lose our gourd without having God do it for you.
a. First of all, we discover what the gourds are in our life.
b. Then we pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the gourds.
c. Ask the Holy Spirit: What is preventing me from a closer walk with the Lord?
d. Is it TV? Radio? Books? Neighbors? Job? Friends? Money? Career? Is it my own selfish desires?
e. Second: Once you know what the gourds are, give them over to the Lord. The Bible says, to Draw nigh unto Him and He’ll draw nigh unto you. Notice the order, we take the first step by drawing closer to God. Then God responds by coming closer to us.
f. Third: Put God, His will and His kingdom first, don’t let a gourd grow in your life.
g. If we don’t’, some day right in the middle of enjoying the shade of our gourd, whatever it may be . . . .
h. God just may raise up a little worm and see to it that we totally lose our gourd in order for us to come closer to Him.
i. Let’s not learn the hard way. Let’s totally lose our gourds in life.
VI. This morning is a perfect opportunity to do that as we celebrate communion . . . .
