COLERAINE
INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY 6 OCTOBER
2024 – PHILIP ROBINSON
JONAH 3 VERSES
1 – 4
God’s Great
Message for a Great City
When
we think of Jonah, every time we think of a man who was swallowed by a fish but
if we delve into the book of Jonah we will discover there is more meaning to
the whole book. There is so much to learn
from Jonah even in these 4 verses in chapter 3.
God gave Jonah a task – to go to Nineveh. Nineveh was a wicked city. If any one came to proclaim Christ in that
city more than likely they would have been captured or killed. Jonah knew what was in front of him. The Ninevites were the arch enemy. Jonah turned his back on God. He got on a boat to Tarshish, a storm arose
and he was cast into the sea. Jonah was swallowed
by the fish. At the bottom of the ocean
he prayed to God. God took him to the
bottom of the ocean to show him what he had done was wrong. He had run in the opposite direction from
God. Here in chapter 3 we see God gave
Jonah the second chance. He wanted to him
to give an important message to these evil people. A race he absolutely despised. “And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the
second time.” We can think of many who
turned their back on God in the past but God gave them a second chance. God welcomes us back into his kingdom with
his outstretched arms. I want us to
think of a few simple thoughts from these 4 verses.
God’s
second chance for Jonah –
verse 1. A second chance to complete the
task God gave him to complete the first time.
God was not going to give up on Jonah.
God does not give up on us no matter how many times we fail to speak up
for Christ. He gives us another
opportunity. There is never a day when
we do not mess up. It is a struggle. Jonah messed up, he ran away from God. God told him to go to Nineveh in chapter 1,
he turned and went the other way. A big
mistake on Jonah’s part. He ended up by
being swallowed by a big fish. God
caught up with him and he does the same to us today. God would give Jonah a second change to go and
speak to the Ninevites. Although Jonah
turned his back on God, God did not turn his back on Jonah. Maybe we have been given an opportunity to speak
for Christ and we have failed to do it.
Sometimes we find it hard to witness to people. God has a plan for each of us. Time and time again you will fail God and
turn your back on him. Many times we may
feel inadequate. Moses said he had a
stutter, how could he speak to Pharaoh and ask him to let the people go? God will give us chance after chance to speak
for him. I am sure Jonah felt and
questioned why God was to give him a second chance. God had a plan to take this message to
Nineveh. Jonah 3. Jonah’s second chance. Maybe you feel you cannot do a work for God
for whatever reason. God will give you
the help you need. He is always there to
help you through those times. God will
always be there to help us when we are challenging people about salvation,
witnessing for him. We live in houses
where there are people not saved. The
second chance Jonah had. Think of the
same given to us. When the Lord asks us
to come to him we asked for his forgiveness.
We repented and accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour.
God’s
3 commands for Jonah –
verse 2. First one is “arise”. Notice the urgency of this command. It was not “whenever you get a chance or in a
years time go to Nineveh.” God is giving
an urgent command to go to Nineveh now.
Get up and go, take the message of the gospel to Nineveh. The urgency behind this command. Why is it so urgent? Because it is urgent today. We have an urgent message to share with everyone
today in a world of chaos. In the world
and in our own country there are nations, countries and cities that have completely
turned their backs on God. Think of Sunday
trading and how far society has gone from God and the bible. We see all over the world the rise of LGBT
and other religions. There are more
atheists in Northern Ireland today than evangelical Christians. It shows how urgent this message is. We mignt not physically go to Ninevah as
Jonah did but we have our own cities to take the message that God has
given. An urgent message to be taken to
the people still in their sins, to share the good news of the message. Secondly “go unto Nineveh” – the place of
the command. God gives Jonah the
destination for his message - Nineveh that wicked city. Jonah’s tribes and Nineveh despised each
other. Nineveh slaughtered people
without recompense. Jonah knew what would
happen if he went there. He was probably
scared. What would happen when he went
into the city? What would Jonah be
thinking at this time when God told him to go to Nineveh? He maybe felt scared. Why did he want him to go there after
all? He didn’t go there the first
time. In chapter 4 we see that message
changed an entire nation. Maybe we think
like Jonah. Why give it a second
chance? You know the things Nineveh has
done. Maybe we think the same today. Why
does God give us a second chance? The
beauty of our God and our Saviour – he gives the second chance even when we
fail him many times. Thirdly, the
command itself – “preach unto it”. G od wants Jonah to preach this message
and nothing else Jonah wants to tell the
people of Nineveh the message that comes from God. Unfortunately in today’s world we see many
people who preach a different gospel. We
see it in our own land and in America we see it in the mega churches. They are only interested in money
gained. It is a completely different
gospel to what the bible teaches. Many
have been led astray by so many of these preachers. It is important for us to preach the true
gospel – that Christ died for our sins.
We have to repent of our sins, turn from our sinful way, commit our
lives to God and live our lives for him.
He was to preach the message God gave him. The truth of the gospel. Even when people don’t like it. People today don’t like being told they are
sinners and in need of a Saviour. The bible
is being pushed out of society. The
bible was always a simple part of school years ago. Grace was said before lunch. Now it is non-existent. Sad to think that God is no longer a priority
for people across the world, they have no time for things of the bible, no time
to go to missions, to invite people to hear the gospel. Think of the many people who we work with –
Sunday is just another day for many.
God’s
message for Nineveh –
verse 4. Remember how wicked
Nineveh was. Here God is giving a
message specifically for Nineveh. “Yet
40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”
49 days to repent. Jonah knew the
wickedness of Nineveh. Why are you going
to do this? Some people think God is talking
of an army coming down and taking them captive.
No, God will send people in to destroy the city. Nineveh is referred to as a great city, a
city of great wickedness. If Jonah or
anyone else had gone to the city they would either have been taken captive or
killed. Today we know of the persecution
many face around the world. This was the
message sent from God to tell the people of Nineveh. We have the same command in our lives. We have to take the good news of the gospel
into the highways and byways of this country and the world. A simple message given to Jonah about Nineveh
is also given to us today. If they did
not repent in 40 days they would be destroyed and Nineveh would be
overthrown. They had to repent of their
sins. The same is true today. The message God gave Jonah is the same one we
have to give to people all around us. To
repent of our sins and ask God to forgive us.
To stay in our sins is to die without Christ. It means a life time in hell. Jonah went into that city and told them this
message God gave him. In chapter 4 we
see how this message impacted the people of Nineveh. It is the same way the gospel impacts people
here in the Northern Ireland and throughout the world. The message of the gospel, of Jesus dying for
our sins. In chapter3 our God speaks to
the people of Nineveh and they turned from they ways – verse 10. The message Jonah preached in Nineveh had the
effect of people repenting of their sins.
The king put out a decree as well for the people to turn from their
wicked ways. We need to pray this too
for our monarchy and for our government.
We are living in days when the gospel is a second thought. That is why we have an urgent message. That is how it impacts the people of
Nineveh. Thousands repented of their
sins and their wickedness. That is why
we have an urgent message, to take the gospel into the highways and
byways. We should take every opportunity
to share the gospel with those we work with and our neighbours too. This message God gives is a message God wants
us to take to the world. In a world where
people are trying to find joy in other things that only last for a short time. Remember we will not take our possessions
with us beyond the grave. We need to
repent of our wickedness and take the good news of the gospel to others. We need to be like Christ, to live for Christ
and tell the good news to others. There
are many today who don’t want anything to do with the gospel, they want to continue
to live in their wicked ways. The
challenge is clear – will we take the good news to them?
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