The Reluctant Prophet 1st sermon

The Reluctant Prophet

Jonah 1:1-3

August 31st, 2008

Introduction:

Ø  Most people have heard of Jonah because of the account of Jonah and the great fish.  But what do we know about him?

o   He was a prophet during the time of Jeroboam II, after Elisha the prophet.

o   He was real and the account in the book of Jonah was real.

§  Jesus referred to Jonah twice. (Matt. 12:39-41) Thus validating the man, the ministry and more importantly the Word of the LORD.

“The word of the LORD cam to Jonah son of Amittai”

Ø  Whenever God speaks through His word it is to reveal to us Himself, His purposes and His ways.

I)        God Reveals Himself (v. 1-2)

A)     When God speaks by the Holy Spirit, He often reveals something about Himself.   He reveals His name, His nature, and His character.

1)      In this case we know that it is the word of the LORD. 

(a)    That is the very name of God, and encompassed within that name is the character of God. (2 Peter 3:9, Ex. 34:6-7, Lk 1:37)

B)      When God speaks it is to involve a person in His work. (v. 2)

1)      Preach to the city of Nineveh for its wickedness has come up before me.

2)      God desired to work in the hearts of the people of Nineveh, (He had already been at work)

(a)    Six years of famine.

(b)   Great internal strife

(c)    Illustration: The work of the Lord in the hearts of the Hmong people before the missionaries came to northern Laos.

3)      God desired to work in the hearts of the people of Nineveh, and He wanted to involve Jonah in that work.

C)      God reveals Himself, His purposes and His ways to increase our faith that leads to action.

1)      There is going to come a time when you are going to have to act upon what you know to be the truth.  That is why it is so important to know that it is God who is speaking.

2)      Jonah knew it was God who was speaking to him. (v. 3- Jonah ran away from the LORD)

3)      Jonah also knew the character of God. (4:2)- So even though he knew it was the LORD, and He knew the character of the LORD he still chose to disobey and run away.

4)      We may know the will and the character of God for our lives, but are we acting upon that knowledge or are we like Jonah running away?

II)      God reveals His purposes (v. 2)

A)     God reveals His purposes so that we will know what He desires to do.  It is not our purpose to get a cursory idea of what God desires so that we can tear off and do our own thing.  We are shown the purposes of God because this is what and how it will be accomplished.

B)      What was God’s purpose for the people of Nineveh?  (2 Peter 3:9)

1)      The purpose of the preaching against the wickedness of the people was not so that they would know how evil they were it was meant to show them not only their sin but their need for repentance before calamity came. God revealed this purpose to Jonah (Amos 3:7)

2)      God’s purpose for the people of Nineveh was that they might repent and have a relationship with Him.

(a)    This is not what Jonah wanted though. (v. 3 very deliberate running away from the LORD). Even though Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh God’s plans will succeed. (Ps. 33:10-11, Prov. 19:21)

III)    God reveals His Ways.

A)     God’s ways are the only way.

1)      What was God’s way and how did it involve Jonah?

(a)    That Jonah would go to the city and preach.

(i)      At first glance this was probably both frightening and repulsive.

·         Frightening because the ferocity of the Assyrians was well known.

·         Repulsive because of the fact that Jonah did not feel like the Assyrians deserved the mercy of God.

(b)   Couldn’t God have gotten someone else to do his will? Sure, but God was seeking in the midst of this time to have a relationship with Jonah as well.

B)      God’s ways are not our ways. (Isa 55:8)