1 out of 4 in the series, "Second Chances,
Your yesterdays don’t always have to determine your tomorrows."
We’re going to begin a new series today by learning from the case history of the Old Testament prophet Jonah.
We’re pretty familiar with Jonah’s story. Skeptics foolishly believe that they have Bible believers over a barrel with the story of Jonah spending three days inside of a whale and living to tell the story. They say its not true but maybe a "good moral tale."
But Jesus used Jonah as an example of his 3-day stay in the tomb. Jesus believed Jonah’s account and so do we.
Jonah wound up in a whale because of direct disobedience to God.
There’s a little Jonah in all of us. We don’t always get the doing of God’s will right the first time around. So God sometimes has to give us a second chance...a third chance...
The first time God told Jonah to go to Nineveh he balked. His response to God was, "Here am I, send somebody else."
Unfortunately that’s the part of Jonah’s autobiography that gets the most press.
But Jonah’s story is more about a second chance than it is about God’s discipline in his life. The provision of a whale for Jonah in the storm tossed sea is actually part of the second chance scenario. If God had only wanted to judge Jonah he would have let him drown in the sea. The whale wasn’t about judgment - it was about salvation!
God didn’t want to curse Jonah He wanted to bless him! God wanted to bless Jonah by giving him a part in His plan and wanted to make him a blessing to the Ninevites. He wanted to bless him by giving him an opportunity to change his mind, heart and spirit.
God also wants to bless you and He wants to make you a blessing. But there’s a big obstacle in the road to that happening – a negative spirit. Just like Jonah, God can’t bless you until your spirit changes from negative to positive.
When I speak of a negative "spirit" I’m not talking about some detestable demon that smells like sulfur and has fire flashing out of his eye sockets.
I’m talking about something that lurks inside of every human being. I’m talking about the virus each of us carries around in us - the infection of negativity - the human tendency to think the worst, to be discouraged, depressed, to think things aren’t ever going to turn out right, to believe that others don’t love us, to be filled with worry, harbor bitter feelings in our hearts toward others, to talk pessimistically, to believe we’ll never be able to overcome the bad things we’ve done in the past or the bad things that have been done to us, and just overall live in the pit of despair.
The good news is that, although we’re all carriers, we don’t have to let this bug become active. We don’t have to let the human proclivity to negativity take charge in our lives. Because of God’s love we each have a chance to develop a positive spirit.
Jonah sinned because he was self-absorbed. He tried to exert his will over the will of God. He was more concerned about his prestige than he was about the Assyrians coming to know God.
Basically that’s what sin is – putting ourselves in God’s place.
Jonah sorely needed to develop a positive spirit and that’s really what this book is all about.
Humans have this natural bent towards negativity.
God wants to give you a second chance to see that your negativity is placing a strain on things. A negative spirit can wreak havoc on things like your relationships, your finances, and more importantly than anything – negativity can ruin your walk with God. He wants to give you another chance to develop a positive spirit.
Even if a negative spirit has controlled you in the past and it has messed up things in your life, as it always will, you don’t have to keep letting a negative spirit call the shots in your life. God has a positive message for you today! God can help you develop a positive spirit for your life.
The text of Jonah’s story gives us the essentials we need.
1. Develop a positive spirit toward God by obeying Him.
Jonah 3:1-2 (NLT) 1Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: 2"Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message of judgment I have given you."
Notice the term, "second time" in verse one, that phrase found in the Bible is the basis for this series. God comes to us a "second time" - and how we praise Him that He does!
The first thing you need to do to develop a positive spirit is to see obedience to God as a good thing. God said, "Get up and go Jonah. Deliver the message I’ve given you. Do as I have instructed."
The greatest thing you can do in your life to live positively is to follow God’s instructions.
As soon as I say that most of you think I’m talking to someone else. But I’m not. I’m talking to you – every single one of you.
Every person is born with a sinful nature that is against God. And if you let it, it can control your thinking.
Romans 8:7 (NCV) When people’s thinking is controlled by the sinful self, they are against God, because they refuse to obey God’s law and really are not even able to obey God’s law.
Every one of us has a "sinful self." The sinful self takes God for granted, doubts God, and wants to see if it can’t get by without paying attention to God’s instructions.
The good news is that you don’t have to allow your sinful self to control your thinking.
Romans 8:6 (NCV) If people’s thinking is controlled by the sinful self, there is death. But if their thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace.
You’ve got to let God control your thinking in order to develop a positive spirit.
The first time God called him to go to Nineveh Jonah let his sinful self control his thinking. The second time he did right, but even then, God had to work on his thinking some more.
God is constantly working on our thinking, our attitude, our spirit, constantly working to develop in us that positive spirit that comes from Him.
So how do you get the Spirit of God to control your thinking rather than allowing your sinful self with all of its potential for negativity to control your thought life?
There’s only one way. The Bible describes it in Galatians 5. (NLT)
16So I advise you to LIVE ACCORDING TO YOUR NEW LIFE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And THE SPIRIT GIVES US DESIRES that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. 18But when you are DIRECTED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, you are no longer subject to the law.
19When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, 20idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, 21envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22But WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT CONTROLS OUR LIVES, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.
24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, LET US FOLLOW THE HOLY SPIRIT’S LEADING IN EVERY PART OF OUR LIVES. 26Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another.
In order to rid your self of a negative spirit you must be led by God’ Holy Spirit. He must rule in your life – not your ego, not your self-will, not your wisdom, not your skills, not your emotions, not your material possessions, not your puny successes – but the Spirit of God must be in charge if you are going to develop a positive spirit.
You must decide; are you going to live in the kingdom of God or the kingdom of self? You must conform your will to God’s will. You must decide whether you want to be an achiever or a believer – are you going to place your faith in what you can do (achiever) or what God can do (believer)? You must do what the Word of God and Spirit of God tell you to do even when you don’t understand why.
Proverbs 3:5 (NLT) Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.
You need, and God wants you to have, a positive spirit and this is the first essential.
1. Develop a positive spirit toward God by obeying Him.
Obedience is not the boogey man it’s made out to be. Obedience is good for you!
The second essential for developing a positive spirit:
2. Develop a positive spirit toward others by being gentle and humble.
Jonah 1:3-5 (NLT) This time Jonah obeyed the LORD’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. 4On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: "Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!" 5The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they decided to go without food and wear sackcloth to show their sorrow.
Jonah was obeying God but his spirit still needed tweaking. The reason we know this is because of the last chapter in Jonah’s story. Look at Jonah’s attitude after the people of Nineveh believed God’s message and repented.
Jonah 4:1 (NLT) This change of plans upset Jonah, and he became very angry. 2So he complained to the LORD about it: "Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you were a gracious and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. I knew how easily you could cancel your plans for destroying these people. 3Just kill me now, LORD! I’d rather be dead than alive because nothing I predicted is going to happen."
Before you judge Jonah’s spirit too harshly think of all the times you have said things, bitter and hurtful things, that you later regretted saying. Jonah was dead wrong but he isn’t alone. We’ve all been guilty of wrong thinking and talking.
Jonah was concerned over the fact that nothing he predicted actually happened. He was afraid of appearing foolish. Haven’t we all felt that way before? We want others to love us and respect our opinion. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. But when your foolish pride blinds you to spiritual realities you are not going to have a positive spirit.
Jonah was negative against the people of Nineveh. He cared more about his prestige than he did their salvation!
But how often are we guilty of similar sins? We would rather be "right" than have peaceful fellowship even with those we love.
Marriages often fail because of pride. No one wants to say, "I’m sorry, I was wrong, please forgive me." We’re afraid of appearing weak. I have news for you – we are weak! If it weren’t for the breath of God upon us we’d be nothing but dust!
Church families often fail because of pride.
Even if you disagree with a brother or sister in Christ you should never allow a negative spirit against them to persist in your mind and heart.
Your first excuse about being negative toward another person is to point out their bad qualities, their faults, or the things that they have said or done to hurt you. You think you have a right to harbor a negative spirit against someone because of these things. But according to the Word of God you have no such right.
Romans 14:10 (NLT) 10So why do you condemn another Christian? Why do you look down on another Christian? Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God.
12Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God. 13So don’t condemn each other anymore. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not put an obstacle in another Christian’s path.
1 Corinthians 11:31 (Amplified Bible) For if we searchingly examined ourselves [detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition], we should not be judged and penalty decreed [by the divine judgment].
What Paul was talking about in 1 Corinthians 13 was the discipline of God that some of the church members in Corinth had been experiencing because of their misobservance of the Lord’s Supper. God was allowing illness and even death in some instances because of their bad behavior. If they had examined themselves God wouldn’t have had to judge them.
This is the judgment that the Scriptures teach us, self-judgment. Each one of us is to look into our own hearts and lives and keep in check our own motives: our own pride, our own lust, our own envy and greed. That should keep us busy enough without having to judge others.
Jesus taught us the right order for finding fault.
Matthew 7:3 (NLT) "And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4How can you think of saying, `Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
So let’s say you’re sure you have the log out of your eye and you really want to help a brother or sister get a speck out of theirs."
How do you go about it?
Galatians 6:1 (NLT) 1Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody.
God did not bring us into one another’s lives to criticize one another but to help each other, and to do it in a spirit of gentleness and humility. Not in a spirit of anger and harshness. Not in a spirit that says, "I’m going to set them straight. I’m right and they’re wrong and I’m going to prove it even if I have to get ugly!"
A number of years ago, Dr. David H. Fink, a psychiatrist for the veterans administration, wrote an article for Coronet Magazine, entitled, "Release from Nervous Tension." In his article, he outlined his research into the causes of mental and emotional disturbances.
From over 10,000 case studies, he discovered that there was a common trait with all his patients who suffered from severe tension. They were habitual fault-finders, constant critics of people and things around them.
Those who were free from tension were the least critical.
His conclusions were that the habit of fault-finding is a prelude or mark of the nervous, or the mentally unbalanced. Those who wish to retain good emotional and mental health should learn to free themselves from a negative and critical attitude.
Free yourself from a negative spirit. Start developing a positive spirit toward others that says, "I’m not going to see how I can criticize others,"and that won’t be hard because everyone has some characteristic you can criticize – including you, but instead say, "I’m going to find a way to work with them in gentleness and humility."
1. Develop a positive spirit toward God by obeying Him.
2. Develop a positive spirit toward others by being gentle and humble.
3. Develop a positive spirit toward your self by being honest about your sin.
Jonah 3:6-10 (NLT) When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in sackcloth and sat on a heap of ashes. 7Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city: "No one, not even the animals, may eat or drink anything at all. 8Everyone is required to wear sackcloth and pray earnestly to God. Everyone must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 9Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will have pity on us and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us."
10When God saw that they had put a stop to their evil ways, he had mercy on them and didn’t carry out the destruction he had threatened.
The king of Nineveh actually had a more positive spirit than the prophet Jonah! He viewed God as merciful and forgiving. He also considered himself in the right way. When he heard God’s message he admitted that it was true. He owned up to his sin and to the sins of the people in his kingdom. He didn’t say, "Compared to King so and so I’m not so bad,”"or, "I really think this sin thing is all in your head Jonah." He didn’t try to excuse, explain away, or abdicate his responsibility.
The King of Nineveh did what you need to do to develop a positive spirit, he was honest about his sin.
1 John 1:8 (Amp) If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude and lead ourselves astray, and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not in us [does not dwell in our hearts].
9If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
10If we say (claim) we have not sinned, we contradict His Word and make Him out to be false and a liar, and His Word is not in us [the divine message of the Gospel is not in our hearts].
