Jonah's Do Over (5 of 6)

Rich Bailey

Jonah • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Nehemiah 8:1–12

Jonah 3:1–10

Jonah goes to Nineveh

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Jonah 3:1–10 NLT

1 Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.” 3 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. 4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” 5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow. 6 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 burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. 7 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city: “No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. 8 People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.” 10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.

Introduction

Remember what happened the first time the word of the Lord came to Jonah? He went due west instead of northeast. He tried to run from God. Jonah paid a terrible price for that rebellion. There is no running from God. Now we read in verse one of chapter three that the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.

The prophet was being given a second chance - a do-over.

What would Jonah do with his do-over?

God will often give us another chance to get things right. He doesn't have to but in His grace He often does. However, eventually we have to get things right or our second chances quit coming.

Notice what Jonah did with his do-over after the whale lost his lunch.

JONAH'S DO-OVER LED HIM TO GO TO THE RIGHT PLACE

Jonah 3:3 NLT

3 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.

God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh and Jonah finally went to Nineveh. Admittedly, he certainly took the scenic route to get there but he got there. The Lord is like this sometimes. Jonah discovered the hard way that the Lord has His ways of getting us to where He wants us to be in life. Sometimes His methods can be a little extreme but that's up to us.

In Jonah's case the Lord considered the salvation of thousands of people to be worth confining His prophet in a whale's belly. If God is forced to take extreme measures to get you to where He wants you to be He will but He will always have a good reason.

JONAH'S DO-OVER LED HIM TO PREACH THE RIGHT MESSAGE

Jonah 3:4 NLT

4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!”

Jonah did exactly what God wanted him to do. He went to Nineveh and preached judgment. He told the truth. Sometimes the truth is not always a popular message but it will always be the correct message. Think Jonah was dreading this message? Likely, but this is something God will never ask us about. He will never ask us about how we feel about what He's asking us to do.

Frankly, it didn't matter how Jonah felt about preaching judgment in the capital city of Israel's most hated enemies. How would it make you feel if the Lord asked you to do something like this? Would it make you mad or sad? Would you be terrified? Like Jonah we must master our emotions to do what God wants us to do in life.

JONAH'S DO-OVER LED HIM TO WITNESS GOD'S GREATNESS

Jonah 3:5 NLT

5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.

I think we'd all admit that God has a better plan than we do. Having heard Jonah's sermon and finding themselves in a state of supernatural conviction the people repented. There weren't just a few decisions recorded in Nineveh - it seems as if they all got right with God. As a sign of their conviction the people wore sackcloth and cried out to God for mercy. This was God's plan from the beginning.

Only by being faithful to our calling as believers will we ever see God do something we cannot do for ourselves. The supernatural must intervene in our lives and ministries before we'll ever see the kind of results that Jonah saw in Nineveh. Unless we make the most of our do-overs we will never see what God can do. We will never see His greatness.

A DO-OVER

Thomas A. Edison was working on a crazy contraption called a ''light bulb'' and it took a whole team of men 24 straight hours to put just one together. The story goes that when Edison was finished with one light bulb, he gave it to a young boy helper, who nervously carried it up the stairs. Step by step he cautiously watched his hands, obviously frightened of dropping such a priceless piece of work. You've probably guessed what happened by now; the poor young fellow dropped the bulb at the top of the stairs. It took the entire team of men twenty-four more hours to make another bulb. Finally, tired and ready for a break, Edison was ready to have his bulb carried up the stairs. He gave it to the same young boy who dropped the first one.

NOW: That's a true do-over.

Five Characteristics of Genuine Spiritual Renewal

Just like Jonah, many spiritual leaders received a second chance to do what God called him to do. Adam sinned in the garden and God covered him. Moses murdered a man and God called him. Elijah quit and complained then God re-commissioned him. Peter denied the Lord and then God used him at Pentecost. John Mark deserted the mission team at Pamphylia yet God moved upon him to write the second Gospel.

And that has been the story of the church through the ages. We have all received a multitude of opportunities to return and serve God. And once God corrected His reluctant prophet, He continued the work He intended. Jonah's third chapter reminds us that authentic revival impacts both the individual and the culture.

So, what are the characteristics of genuine spiritual renewal?

I. A sovereign work of God to forgive and change – Jonah 3:1

Jonah went to preach with unquestioned obedience. But we must ask, "Why them? Why then?" The People of Nineveh were not praying for revival, nor were they interested. To a degree, Jonah has a point. The Assyrians qualified better as candidates for God's sovereign judgment than as candidates for God's sovereign grace.

But Jonah's successful preaching campaign had nothing to do with Jonah's ability or the Assyrian's worthiness. All we say for sure is that God had a purpose beyond human understanding. If we take John 3:16 seriously, then we must conclude that before God showered Nineveh with grace He reached to them with love.

Perhaps we can look at God's choice to save the Assyrians differently. Maybe this represented God's plan to produce more good in the world by saving the worse people in the world. No doubt their pillaging stopped for at least a short time. In the end, the revival at Nineveh is nothing short of a sovereign work of forgiveness that produced change.

II. A scriptural work of God to correct error - Jonah 3:1-2

God told Jonah go and "preach the message that I tell you." While spiritual renewal may occur without a preacher or prophet, it never occurs with divine truth. And here Jonah declared the Word of God. Interestingly, the prophet didn't sugar-coat the truth out of fear of offending the audience. He neither clamored for their favor, nor trembled from their threats. This scenario reminds the preacher of his duty as a messenger of God.

A. We must speak the truth in love [see Ephesians 4:15 ]

Ephesians 4:15 NLT

15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

While we might question Jonah's motives based on the last chapter of his book, declaring the message of God's pending judgment against lost humanity qualifies as an act of love.

B. We offer the truth to all people

He declared the truth to the commoners in the street and leaders in the palace. God's offer of grace extends to all races in all places. This, of course, reminds of our commission to go into the entire world with the gospel.

C. We obey the truth whole-heartedly

Jonah's message was not a dissertation on the possibility and probability that God could destroy the city of Nineveh. When we declare the truth, we do more than simply inform. Instead, we call for radical obedience to the truth of God. The Assyrians responded to the message with genuine repentance. To say it differently, they believed the Word of God and then behaved in a consistent manner with the truth. In fact, Jonah 3:10 indicates that when "God saw their actions" He forgave them and withheld His judgment.

III. A sudden work of God on an unexpected people – Jonah 3:6

This revival was totally unexpected. And, initially, it was undesirable. Consider the probability that this brutal king would suddenly repent and turn to God. For that matter, why did they even listen to Jonah? Some commentators have suggested that the gastric juices of the fish bleached Jonah's skin. But we cannot qualify anything about his appearance.

Paul, the Apostle, had a similar experience with God. While traveling to Damascus to imprison Christians, the hostile enemy of Christ suddenly and unexpectedly encountered God. And that confrontation resulted in a radical change in his life.

This truth brings hope to all those parents that plead with their wayward children to return to God and to all those pastors that plead with their indifferent congregations to return to God. God has and can move suddenly on those that don't even expect to hear from Him.

IV. A saving work of God on an undeserving people – Jonah 3:10

When God's people experience revival [i.e. Jonah], lost people that completely ignore God came to Him in repentance. To say it differently, God must do something to us before He does anything through us.

Notice two key terms here: "saving" and "undeserving." "God relented" or spared the Assyrians from destruction. Of course, this pictures God's grace because the people did not deserve His mercy. We should be careful to remember that no one deserves mercy. But, from a human perspective, if anyone lacked moral decency and deserved wrath, they did.

V. A sanctifying work of God in the culture – Jonah 3:7-9

Notice the transformation of the prevailing culture. Only God could produce such a radical change in an entire city. Remember that when God regenerates the soul, outward manifestations of holiness should follow. The convert that feels comfortable in his former rebellion probably never truly repented in the first place.

It is easy for those in the church to cast stones from behind our mortar and brick walls at the sinners. But will that type of preaching or evangelism make a difference in our world? Probably not. The message of repentance, however, can change hearts. If we in the church hope to impact our world for good, we must declare the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

In conclusion:

In contrast the Ninevites in the story of Jonah, let’s look at how revival came to the Israelites in the Book of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah records one of the great revivals of history. In the ninth chapter, Ezra , the prophet, read the Word of God for six hours .

Nehemiah 8:3 NLT

3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.

And unexpectedly the people began to "weep." What did Ezra and Nehemiah instruct them to do in response to God's moving? They told the people to do two things:

[1] Honor God in His holiness and

[2] share God's blessings with your neighbor [see Nehemiah 8:9-11].

Nehemiah 8:9–11 NLT

9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” 11 And the Levites, too, quieted the people, telling them, “Hush! Don’t weep! For this is a sacred day.”

But we must not forget that revival didn't come to the Israelites until renewal and commitment came to Nehemiah.

Similarly:

It must start with us.

Amen

Please pray the “Lord’s Prayer” along with me.

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